"You can't be serious!" Mine, a particularly pink coloured girl said, slamming her hands down on the meeting room table. Sending a glare Parc's direction, "he wouldn't last! We can't just let any random straggler into Night Raid! He's going to get us killed!" Her pink pigtails fluttered in the wind as she ranted.
"Mmn," another girl with long straight black hair and bright red eyes like those of Parc hummed while snacking on cookies. Offering Parc an unusually chilly glare for reasons unknown to himself.
"Mine, I understand your concerns. But we also cannot let him roam free. As I mentioned, he is being hunted by Esdeath. And the chance that she may come after him herself may provide the perfect chance to put her down for good." Najenda calmly replied, puffing a ring of smoke from a new cigarette.
Mine looked to want to retort, but she was right, it wasn't often the Revolutionary Army gained an asset that may very well lead to the death of the most dangerous person alive. "I still don't like it."
"You don't need to like it. You just need to keep him alive until we can put him to use."
'She does know I'm right here, right?' Parc thought, feeling less like a human and more like a fine piece of raw steak to be placed in a bear trap.
"I don't see the problem…" a soft-spoken, purple-haired girl spoke up, "if we can help. I don't see why not." She wore a revealing lilac cheongsam with detachable sleeves. On her face a pair of purple glasses and a small, barely noticeable scar along her cheekbone.
"Sheele! You're supposed to be on my side!" Mine retorted.
"I am," Sheele replied calmly and with a smile.
At this, Leone spoke up, "Ah, he'll be fine. Just gotta keep an eye on him at all times, don't we? I'll be more than happy to take that job." She rose her hand. Her feet atop the table while rocking on the back feet of her chair.
Lubbock snorted, "you're more interested in sleeping with him than watching over him. Not that you haven't already." Lubbock said from his makeshift hammock chair. Drawing the surprised looks of Mine and Sheele, Mine's being much more obvious and mortified.
A vein sprouted on Leone's forehead. "Lubbock," she uttered terrifying Lubbock from how angered it sounded, "Shut up."
"Yeah, yep, I'm gonna do just that. Please don't kill me."
"We will see." Leone turned to Mine and Sheele her anger dissipating to a cruel, teasing look. "You should try him out sometime, really hits the spot," she winked, cackling when she saw Mine and Sheele's responses.
Mine recoiled, bursting into a shade of pink almost as deep as her hair while steam almost seemed to leak from her ears, "Wha!?" Besides her, Sheele had a much more subtle blush while Akame was still giving Parc the coldest gaze he'd ever felt. Seemingly having not heard a single thing Leone or Lubbock had said. And making it extraordinarily difficult for him to calm down enough to let the cold sweats soaking his back dry up.
"General," for the first time since they had all been collected, bar one. The black-haired girl spoke up.
"Yes Akame?" Najenda asked.
"Can I eat him?" she asked with utter seriousness on her face. Causing most all those in the room to sputter. While Leone started laughing uproariously, Lubbock joining in a moment later when he saw Parc's horrified look.
"No." Najenda blankly said. Akame huffing displeased that her meaty smelling meal was off-limits. Though, she was no cannibal funny enough. At least, that's what Parc remembered about her from the show.
"Why would you want to eat him!?" Mine screeched.
Akame tilted her head to the side, giving Mine a blank look, "he smells like roast meat." As if to accentuate her words, her stomach growled, thoroughly silencing everyone before Leone returned to laughing.
Mine's mouth hung open, dumbfounded, "you're kidding, right? You wouldn't actually eat someone because they smell like meat. Would you?" Akame didn't respond, "Akame, come on. Please tell me your joking." Still nothing. Mine vowed to never coat herself in meaty scents, not that she was doing that anyways but adding that to her things not to do list was certainly a plus.
Soft sniffing noises drew Mine's attention to Sheele, who was lightly sniffing the air to see if she too could smell it, "Sheele, stop that! Not you too."
"I smell lavender…" she softly said in almost a whisper.
"Huh?" Mine flinched.
"It smells like lavender in here…"
Mine blinked rapidly, trying to process what Sheele had just said.
"What'd you smell?" Lubbock asked Leone, who gave him a chilly stare as if to ask 'Why do you want to know?'. "Jus-just curious."
Leone squinted at him and smirked, "the manliest scent you could never make," she turned to Parc and licked her lips. Lubbock deflating at her blatant disregard.
"What about you boss, what's he smell like to you?" Leone asked the general. Lubbock perking up at that, eyes sharpening to look at Najenda. The others just as curious looking to her, except Akame who had begun to fantasize about cooking some danger beast whole for her dinner.
"Y-yeah, what did he smell like to you? I don't smell anything," Lubbock said, not so subtly finding a journal in his hand along with a pencil.
General Najenda's eyes flickered between the five. Shutting them and saying, "I reserve my right as leader to remain silent on this matter."
"Oh, come on!" Leone groaned. "Ain't gonna judge ya, boss. Come on," Najenda kept silent. "Fine, be that way…" she mused, "probably oil and metal anyways."
"As much as I like hearing what a bunch of incredibly beautiful women smell of me, can we please continue this? I've been awake for like, an entire day and most of it was spent in pain. I've still got a splitting headache from that screaming girl. How's she doing by the way? She and the other doing well?"
"Both are doing fine, neither have awoken. Mine has checked, cleaned and replaced all bandages. Maya's breathing is stable but weak. Nothing life-threatening. Eris's is strong but she dealt a number to her throat. If she wakes up any time soon she will be unable to speak or use her teigu." Najenda ground the tip of her cigarette on the table.
"Mine, Sheele," Najenda called to them, "I want you two to keep an eye on him for the next week."
"What!? No!" Mine refused, "I've got a mission to do! I can't waste my time babysitting this-this INTRUDER!"
"Then take him with you. If what Leone said is true, he should be able to keep up with you and Sheele. I will not repeat myself. Am I understood?"
Mine wanted to scream no. But could only reluctantly cross her arms and grumble, "fine, but Sheele's the one keeping watch over him! I can't afford to be distracted."
"That's fine. So long as one of you are with him the entire time. We will craft a proper schedule once all currently assigned missions are finished. I will leave you to brief Parc on the mission details." Najenda pushed herself up, her chair scraping against the floor behind her, "that will be all, Leone, attempt not to destroy the compound. Lubbock…" Najenda looked him in the eyes. Lubbock's cheeks flashing a faint red, "…I advise you to run."
Lubbock jolted as when Najenda finished speaking, Leone cracked her knuckles loud enough that it sounded like bones snapping. A hint to Lubbock to hightail it out of there and hope to whatever was holy that he could escape her wrath.
"Understood," his hand shot up, the spool on his back reeling fast enough that he was dragged through the air and through a small window high up in the meeting room that Leone easily jumped up to with the assistance of her teigu that turned her into a living, breathing cat girl with added paw pads and fur around her arms as a bonus.
"GET BACK HERE YOU CREEPY BASTARD!" Parc could hear her from outside, soon followed by numerous crashes and the sight of falling trees in the distance.
"I believe that is all. Mine, I will be expecting a full report on all actions taken by Parc alongside your mission report upon your return. Dismissed." Though she dismissed herself more than Mine and Sheele as she was the only one to leave.
The two pink and purple girls remained with him. One with a friendly smile the other with a scowl. "So… uh, what we doing?" he asked nervously.
Mine was seathing that he even dared to speak up now. Turning on the spot she stomped her way out the room towards the training range where she could blow some steam off in the form of shooting stuff.
"I can see she doesn't like me," he said. Though she didn't like Tatsumi in the beginning either.
"That is not true…" Sheele said seating herself nearby him, "Mine simply cares about us all… she worries for us… we are her only family after all…" her smile soft but radiant. "She will come to care for you as well… give her time…"
Parc scratched his cheek, he knew that. He wasn't one to think he was hated after only a single meeting, if someone showed him such spite at first, they likely had a reason. "Yeah, I get that." He sighed, holding his hand out to Sheele palm up, "as you heard earlier, names Parc."
Sheele looked at his hand funnily for a moment unsure as to what type of handshake he was asking for, tradition from his home? She thought placing a hand atop his palm. His thumb lightly pressing on the tips of her fingers to tilt her hand down while he bent forward and gave a quick kiss to the back of her hand before releasing them.
Lifting his head to look her in the eyes, noting the small, barely noticeable tint her cheek had taken. "S-Sheele," she surprisingly stuttered. Lowering her hand to her lap.
"A pleasure to meet you, Sheele."
***
"Can't believe this, I'm an elite assassin and I'm stuck babysitting some nobody," Mine grumbled as she lay prone on her belly. Peaking with one eye through the sights of her weapon, the Roman Artillery: Pumpkin, in its sniper form.
"Sorry if I didn't have much choice in this either," Parc said besides her atop the rooftop. Sheele sat a bit away staring into the stars above, not really focusing on anything else.
"Shut it, don't talk to me." She growled.
'Sheesh, sorry,' for what, he was unsure. But he remained silent to keep her happy.
Looking through his binoculars towards their target, a large mansion in the capital noble district. Guards and servants bustling in and around the building. "What are we looking for again?" he attempted to ask, only to be met with silence.
'Fine, act that way.' Lifting his head, he looked to Sheele, "hey Sheele, what are we here for again?" he asked. His voice annoyingly loud to Mine who was attempting to keep herself stealthy.
"Hmm?..." Sheele looked to him with a tilt of her head, thinking for a second before saying, "Marcus and Maria Tellien… We have reports of homeless people disappearing never to be seen again after entering their homes… Najenda wants us to scout and see if we can see anything…" she repeated for him as she had during this afternoon meeting before his short, albeit welcome nap.
"Thank you," he nodded to her. Sheele giving him a small, radiant smile before returning to her stargazing. "See, would have been so much easier had you just told me."
"Shut. Up." Mine hissed. Likely to shift her aim from the mansion to Parc's head if he kept talking.
"Okay, fine. Act like that. Not like we're stuck with each other for at least the next week." He grunted, thankfully shutting up to give Mine her much wanted peace and quiet.
It wasn't much later that Mine spoke up of her own accord, "Carriage approaching the estate. Four horse. No guards."
Parc shifted his binoculars, turning to the front of the lavish estate where he could indeed see a four horse-drawn carriage without guards stopping just outside the main entrance where a blonde-haired woman in a pale sundress and a portly, grey-haired man was standing. Both with soft smiles on their face as a blonde-haired girl around Mine's age stepped out, greeting what he could guess were her parents.
"Fuck," Parc exclaimed as he saw two figures follow behind her, exiting the carriage.
Though Mine wasn't too enthused to hear him speak, the way he exclaimed informed her that he had recognized someone there. "What?" she asked in a cold ordering tone.
Though he was not happy with how Mine was treating him, he wasn't going to let that stop him from speaking, "those two. Their names are Sayo and Ieyasu, ran into them a few days ago. They were travelling with a friend before getting separated during an attack by some bandits. They're in the capital to earn some money for their village." He had run into them days prior, helped them with a small danger beast problem before separating after a short break.
"Well," Mine snorted, "there your friends go. Right into the mouth of the beast." All five forms disappeared into the mansion.
"What do we do? We can't just let them kill them." He said, urgency to his voice.
Mine glanced to him with lips curled down, "can't exactly burst in there guns blazing. There only two of us of actual worth. A compound like this is for at least three if not all of Night Raid. Plus. From what I've just seen. It's a nice, humanitarian family offering some homeless bums a safe nights rest in their home."
'Oh, now I'm getting pissed off.' He didn't mind the personal attacks, but acting like that when two innocents were in such danger? That he could not stand for.
"Just stop it Mine, I understand you don't like me. I'm the new guy. The guy without the teigu that just up and appeared out of nowhere. Najenda's probably searching for anything she can about me with her contacts at this moment. She doesn't want you near me to keep an eye on me. She's keeping you near me so that if she gives the kill order my head goes flying and you all can forget I ever existed. How about you just think of me as another mission. You don't need to 'like' me, but show me at least a bit of human decency." He scowled.
Mine squinted at him, letting out a sigh, "It's not that I don't 'like' you, well, actually, I don't. Everything you said was accurate. But what I really don't like, is that I am stuck out here, having to split my attention onto two fronts for an unknown that we've only known for a few hours at most. I didn't want to be lumped in with you."
"Nor I you." He replied, "Like you, I didn't have a choice. But, I do have to agree with Najenda. You and Sheele are the aptest to keep watch over me." She looked at him in confusion, how could she be even so as remotely better than someone like Akame or hell, even Leone at keeping him under watch.
'No, wait… Leone's more likely to get drunk than do her job…' At this point, it was beginning to annoy her that he was. In fact. Correct. Maybe if Bulat wasn't on that long term mission that was just wrapping up, he could have been stuck with Parc. But Akame? She'd do so much better. If… she didn't eat him. Which she still wasn't entirely sure was something she wouldn't do.
"So, do you think we could just call it a truce? End this little feud before it flares up and gets someone hurt?" he asked.
She looked at him to see if he was being serious, the way he looked her straight in the eyes. How he seemed like such an open book, made it seem like he was being honest with her. Not to mention that strangely alluring citrusy scent lingering around him at all moments.
"Fine. But I'm still not happy I'm stuck babysitting you." She humphed, returning her eyes to the sight as Parc smiled, happy to have hopefully snipped this problem in the bud. His eyes falling to worry when he saw her body tense up.
"Movement?" he asked, following her line of sight with his binoculars. What he saw gave him a pause as he saw Sayo and Ieyasu unconscious being dragged across the backyard by their ankles towards the storehouse. 'Crap, faster than I expected.'
"We need to save them." He turned to Mine, who had lifted Pumpkin from the rooftop, separating the barrel from it while flipping Pumpkin's case open, laying the two pieces in the case before shutting it and throwing the strap over her shoulder.
"No." she bluntly put. "We are going to return to base. Inform Najenda, and then she will give us orders from there."
"Your kidding!? We just watched them drag two innocents into what is probably a torture den! We can't just sit by and do nothing! We can help them!"
Mine's hand dug into the side of Pumpkin's case, "yes, we could. But one of us will die. We haven't had the time to prepare. While Sheele and I are skilled. We are not ghosts. There are too many variables that we can't deal with on our own. I am not sacrificing mine or Sheele's life for two civilians who may just survive until our return, once we have a plan. So suck it up." She turned away from him. Leaving him silent, "Sheele, we're heading back. We've seen all we need to."
Parc grit his teeth. Casting a glance back to the mansion. 'I'm not letting you two die like that.'
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Just as a little note to all reading this. It doesn't matter who the mc is sleeping with THEY ARE OF LEGAL AGE. If they aren't in their original story, I will more likely than not, be upping their age to the proper one. in my case this is 16 at the minimum. Meaning all characters that sexually interact with Parc, as well as other characters will be at least 18 YEARS OF AGE.
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PS. I'm saying this right now, but there is a big N.O for ntr and scat along with Guro (likely will be gore, but not visualized in a sexual manner.) Probably a few other things to add to this list, like baby play and what not, but thats all I have for this chapter. Peace.
Due to reactions of current chapters 4-7, I will be reworking said chapters. So anything you read currently will likely be heavily altered or replaced in its entirety, which is the most likely form of change it will take.
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