Disclaimer: I do not own Akame ga Kiru!

Genre: Adventure, Angst, Romance and Drama

Pairings: Esdeath x Tatsumi. Some other pairings too.

Warning: This is just something I wrote without much planning. The idea just came into my mind. So updates will be a bit strange, and also this is Un-Beta'ed.

Also, this is an AU, so there will be some changes.

This takes place after the Boric assassination and will be completely based on the manga.

I hope you guys enjoy it the prologue.

Najenda was dying.

It was a fact. The leader of the Night Raid didn't have as much stamina to begin with, due to having sustained life-threatening injuries that turn her flesh weaker. However, no matter how vulnerable she had become, she kept living, kept moving on. To at least live on until the revolution is complete and able to stand against the corrupt Empire.

However, it seems that it wouldn't happen.

The last mission had cost her for all the strength that she had gathered over time was quickly drifting off, comforted by using the last bit of stamina in the mission to manifest her trump card - to be able to bring every one of her comrades back home alive, but that was so naïve to ever thought about it.

Because of her optimism, two of her friends have died in the process, Mein and Suzanno, not they gave up their lives in the mission, so they could escape. Sacrifice their lives so they could live and built a bright future.

Although they had saved her, it had been too late. The moment she manifested Suzanno's second usage of magatana manifestation, she had given her forty percent strength left, leaving her at a state; where her sight slowly begun to fade, her limbs atrophied and it became difficult to walk without having a cane.

Recently Najenda had already felt her time was probably up, it was about a matter of weeks, days, or even hours perhaps. In other words, leaving the spot of leader to the night raid vacant.

Which she has already decided who would take over, out of all her comrades alive, Akame is the best option. The girl may not know, but she has the right set of skills to lead, she would be even better than Najenda ever be. She wouldn't make the same mistakes than Najenda has done. That's for sure.

However, it didn't change the main issue that threatened the revolution from success.

General Esdeath, the Empire's Strongest had become even more powerful than before. To the point, that Esdese has broken the limit of the teigu use by letting her shape her own trump card - freeze time. Something impossible and abnormal for a human being has been capable of doing, yet Esdeath has pushed the boundaries of limitations no matter the cost.

It terrified Najenda on how Esdeath was almost little steps from becoming an overpowering force. That even with just herself, could effortlessly wipe them out.

All that effort the revolution had put over the years would be turned into dust; the sacrifices of her dearly comrades would be in vain. The people would continually be living on with fear of the Empire who for them nothing matters to them except their money and their power—and how they could use it to manipulate those around them.

In Najenda's position, there wasn't much for her as she couldn't hold a thought properly as her body slowly painfully shut down. Instead, she was spending her last moments in their new headquarters, laid down in bed with her comrades beside her. With Akame feeding her meals, Leone and Lubbock keeping the mood up with their bickering.

She was pleased that her last moments and memories were to be of her friends. Of their smiling and laughing.

Still, at the same time, dreadful nightmares came to hunted her mind; each night she went through, it became intensely realistic worse. She dreamed of her comrades were tortured and killed by no other than the young sadistic General Esdeath.

Najenda trusted them that they would able to succeed in their missions, that they changed the world, but something inside of her tells her that they were to fail, that they would meet a gruesome death at the hands of Esdeath just like in her dreams.

The former young General knew that this was the risk in joining the Night Raid, of taking part in the revolution.

But as a friend, did she want to see her friends die like that?

No.

She didn't.

But was there anyone who could put a stop to Esdeath? Was there any human being to stop such a monster?

That was when images flashed of two years ago in her mind. The shape of soldier bodies in the road, the scent of burned flesh, crumbling stone and mostly the sharp coldly red eyes that held nothing but pain and anger.

There was someone.

Someone that could defeat her.

No one knew about it, except her.

A secret she thought she would have kept it to her grave.

But no more.

Najenda gripped her cane.

Even if there was a chance that the person could become their greatest enemy, could strengthen the empire, yet at the same time, there was a chance that the person could become their greatest trump card and ended the decaying empire.

She would take that gambling.

At that moment, everything began.

The story of the war.

Of death.

Of love and hate.

Of hope and despair.