No one's POV
The trio from before were currently still making their way to their destination on Hakurou River where the Elite 7 were currently using as their base for their next mission. The Elite Seven true enemies keeps getting closer and closer. Chelsea being one of them could barely breathe, let alone feel her legs right now after all the walking they were doing.
Chelsea(mind): How far was this damned camp at even?!
She knows that they needed to be concealed and far away enough to not get easily noticed, but even still she was at her brink.
Chelsea: Hey, can we stop? My legs are like lead right now.
???: Oh really? Well, suck it up.
Chelsea: Have you already forgotten how far we've already walked today?
???: Don't treat me like a senile old fool. I remember what I had for dinner a week ago.
Chelsea: 😓 That's because you only eat hamburgers...
The other girl who was around Chelsea's age was a young lady with long, dark grey hair and lime eyes. She immediately lifted Chelsea up carrying on her back and a happy voice come out of Chelsea's mouth.
???: I'll give you a lift.
Chelsea: Sweet!
???: Don't spoil her, Taeko. Back when I was young and beautiful—
Chelsea(mind): Ack! She's going to start boasting and lecturing... I've got to change the subject.
Chelsea thought in a panicked.
Chelsea: So! Our next mission is to assassinate one of the empire's top secret units, right? Are we going to lure them out?
Taeko: I imagine that's the only way...
???: The trade route that foreign countries have been supplying and financing the rebel army has been located. This false information should have been fed to the Empire by now.
Chelsea: So we're going to act as merchants on that trade route and ambush them. Hm? Teacher look.
???: Seems we've arrived at our destination.
They all saw a branch with a flag. It showed that Chelsea and the other two had finally arrived at their destination. As they head past a few more trees to make it there, finding a few mercenaries there who smirked towards them.
Mercenary 1: Well, well. So we'll be teaming up with these girls?
Mercenary 2: Are they really that good?
Mercenary 1: Do you think the two younger ones are grappling and wrestling specialists?
Mercenary 2: If so, I'd love to test their skills.
Chelsea(mind): And that's the sort of talk that's going to lead to getting your ass kicked.
Mercenary 1: But what are you doing here, granny? You do the cooking?
Barbara: Don't call me 'granny.' The name's Barbara.
Mercenary 1: Wait, did you say Babara? As in the Barbara Oarburgh?
Their tones immediately change from high and mighty to a bunch of scaredy cats. The scared senseless looks Chelsea was expecting to see sooner.
Barbara: That's right. I am the adviser to the Oarburghs. Would you like me to kill one of you to prove it?
Mercenary 1: N-no. Just your aura is proof enough. Sorry.
Barbara: Taeko there is an assassin who's been trained by the Oarburghs since she was a baby. You'd do well not to get on her bad side.
The mercenaries once again gulp trying to swallow their fear from the aura Taeko was emitting. But Chelsea butted in on the tense atmosphere with her giddy attitude.
Chelsea: I'm in training under granny as well! Name's Chelsea!
Barbara: Did you just call me granny?
Chelsea: I did no such thing~
The mercenaries looked at Chelsea. She didn't execute any intimidating aura unlike Barbara or Taeko. But the mercenaries were even more wary of her. Because like they say, never judge a book by its cover.
Mercenary 1: We're-
Barbara: Judging by your attire, you're the mercenary unit the Tengus.
Mercenary 1: That's right. If they hired not only us but the legendary Oarburghs too our enemies this time must be really dangerous.
Barbara: We'll have to prepare for the worst.
(Elsewhere)
Hakuro River, Ryu and the other elite seven's next targets were supposed to be there by nightfall according to what Gozuki said. However there seemed to be something at least somewhat off about this mission. Was it because we didn't know which specific foreign countries were supporting the Rebel Army? Or would their trade route really be this out in the open?
Ryu(mind): I'd expect them to be much more secretive about this rather than going by sea but who knows...
Cornelia: All right, come at me Poney!
Ryu saw from the sideline with Gozuki and Najasho. The Elite Seven were just having fun in the river with Cornelia and Poney were currently on the last match for a grappling tournament between all of the Elite Seven excluding Najasho, the two of them finishing up the girl's side of this competition as the others all stayed out of the water and only watched.
Poney: This time, I'm going to beat you, Corey!
The blonde girl grabbed Poney's arm and yanked it downwards, lifting the auburn haired girl into the air. She then slammed Poney down into the water, the impact made the water splashed everywhere and wetting the girls cloths. Gai who is watching from the side clap his hand with a smirk on his face.
Guy: As always, Cornelia wins! Now, it's time to take on the champion of the guy's matches!
Gai rushes towards Cornelia who is catching her breath. As perverted as he is, he had an ulterior motives. He's taking advantage of Cornelia's confusion to cop a feel out of Cornelia's body. But it didn't go the way he imagine it would, as Cornelia landed a huge blow on his face making him dropped down.
Gai: Punching is against the rules!
Cornelia: I felt threatened, so I couldn't stop myself...
Poney: Nice one Corey!
Cornelia: And besides, didn't Ryu won the match from you guys?
Gai: He's just laying there sleeping like usual. Could you blame me for being the one who took his place.
Ryu: Zzzz
The girls along with Gai and Green all looked at the sleeping boy who's not interested one bit at the conclusion. Until Akame kick the river sending a splash onto the sleeping boys face making his eyes opened as he cough for a breath.
Ryu: What was that for, Akame?! Damn, I think some of the water got inside my nose.
Akame: Sorry. Couldn't help myself. And its your turn.
Ryu: Huh...?
Ryu looked forward to see that what was truly going on. Cornelia wanted to spar against the winner of the boys grappling match, but Ryu just groaned.
Ryu: Nah... Too lazy— Hey!
Once again someone splash a water at him, and this time it was Poney.
Poney: Get your butt up and settle this!
Ryu: Seriously?! And stop it! Your getting my clothes all wet!
Cornelia: Are you going to keep a lady waiting? If so, you're not as a gentle man as I thought.
This time it was Cornelia whom splash him as the three girls all surrounded the boy splashing him everywhere with water. Gai and Green were looking at Ryu with envy as it was always him and not them that were surrounded by the girls.
Ryu: Why you?! That's it, you three are so dead!
Cornelia, Poney, Akame: That's the spirit!
Cornelia: Now come at me, Ryu!
Ryu: Hope you don't have regret, Corey!
Cornelia: Never!
Poney: I'll start the countdown then. Five, four, three, two, one. Begin!
At Poney's signal, the match began.
Cornelia immediately ran at Ryu. The moment she did, she swung her punch at him, catching him at just the right timing. Even an experienced warrior would have found such a movement difficult to react to, much less an amateur, but Ryu deflected the attack with a swing of his hand. But blocking just the first attack wasn't enough to stop Cornlia's movements; with a swift and graceful arm, she swung her legs in another attempt to hit Ryu. That movement even made Gai's eyes widen in awe.
Ryu(mind): As expected. Out of all the girls, Corey had the most strength.
Every one of her movements clean and efficient, she had a good sense of technique to make her actions hard to predict. However, Ryu was keeping up with her movements perfectly, so their match was turning out to be much more advanced than the others. Ryu had only moved a few meters while fighting Gai, Green, Akame and Poney, but now he was being forced to move much farther to deal with Cornelia's attacks. The observers of their match all had their eyes opened wide.
Meanwhile, Ryu switched from defense to offense. He pursued the trajectory of Cornelia's kick, swinging his legs across in the same direction to counterstrike. Cornelia used the force of her swing to leap to the side, evading Ryu's counter by a hair's breadth. Ryu proceeded to pursue her by closing in. Until now, he'd avoided aggressively attacking the other sparring partners, so the observers started buzzing with noise.
Cornelia: Guh...
Cornelia noticed this as well. Since the other participants hadn't been actively attacked, she was surprised enough to widen her eyes faintly. But it still wasn't enough to shake her up—she was able to react to his attacks. With a backstep, she handled his attack, making Ryu move forward like he was dancing with her. Ryu's attacks were also splendid, making the observers hold their breath. With one final attacked, Ryu managed to get behind Cornelia, hugging her before dunking her on the water.
Cornelia: Ow...
Ryu: Well... Does that conclude with my victory, Corey...?
Ryu said as he smile at Corey who was laying down in front of him.
Cornelia: I'll win next time.
Ryu: Sure you will.
Cornelia: Is that sarcasm?
Ryu: Who knows...
Ryu land his hand forward and Cornelia grab it as too help her stand. But as soon as she did, Cornelia blackout for a moment. It would seems that she hit her head to hard during the last slam. Ryu noticed this and immediately grab her, but his feet slip and the two of them fell onto the river with Ryu on the bottom and Cornelia at the top.
Ryu: You alright Corey?
Cornelia: Yeah. It seems I hit my head a bit to hard. Uh—
But it would seems like they were caught in an awkward situation. Cornelia was on top of Ryu as she was just staring at him. Cornelia just stared into his amethyst eyes, along with his strand of black-purple hair as if like a river.
*Badamp* Badamp*
Her heart was pounding loudly. She didn't know the reason why. She just stared at him until Ryu broke the trance.
Ryu: Um, Corey. Are you sure your alright?
Cornelia: Eh?! Uh?! I'm fine!
Gai: You damned bastard! How dare you lay a finger on my, Co-
Ryu: You better shut your mouth before I strangle you.
Gai: But you're already strangling me you asshole!
Ryu was already strangling Gai and he was having a hard time escaping Ryu's grasp. Cornelia only looked away with blush on her face but she was smiling. Poney scooted over to her grinning, while Akame hadn't had the slightest clue to why Cornelia was blushing. The children down the river just enjoy themselves as they begin to splash water onto each other.
Najasho: Is this okay, father? For us to be so relaxed? Our target will be coming down the river.
On the bridge, Najasho looked up from his book and looked over at Gozuki with confusion.
Gozuki: We'll received word once they're near enough. Until then, there's no need to hurry. Although...
Gozuki glanced up over the area. Men and women had gathered around. They were too busy ogling the female while the women had set their eyes on Ryu.
Gozuko: Maybe they are attracting a little too much attention...
(Timeskip)
Later that night, the Elite Seven had been notified that their targets were on sight, so they prepared themselves. Meanwhile, the ships that the Tengus and assassins were on quickly went on route for an ambush, everything was set with the Oarburghs staying in the back as their strongest and last line of defense if necessary. One of the boat were Barbara, Chelsea, and Taeko.
Barbara: This is the perfect point for an ambush. Chelsea, scout the area.
Chelsea: Okay!
The auburn girl smirk as she took out a makeup set. Using whatever ability it has, she transformed herself and disappear from the group doingwhatever reconnaissance was needed. But it seemed like it wasn't needed as a boat was spotted already.
Mercenary: Ready the guns. Wait... there's nobody on board?
From under the boat, Najasho appears on board and kills the first wave of enemies immediately before looking ahead as other boats came closer to theirs.
Najasho: Shrimps, proceed.
Everyone other than Akame and Ryu appeared, the two of them staying under water and killing anyone who was trying to retreat. Further down the river, Taeko was instantly alerted to the Tengu mercenaries ship being attacked.
Taeko: That commotion... So they're already here.
Barbara: They attacked sooner than I expected.
With the Elite Seven, Poney had dashed to her next victim with a grin. The Tengus didn't have time to react from Poney's speed and legs strength as she kicked his face upwards. The mercenaries face was instantly twisted like a tornado as the bones in his neck was shattered into a million pieces.
One of the mercenaries tried to attack her with long range weapon, but he was instantly ambushed by Gai and his armor. He grabbed the mercenaries bodies and did a head slam, slamming the mercenaries head onto the boat. Seeing the Tengus slaughter, Taeko broke into cold sweat as she prepared her sword trying to attacked.
Taeko: They made a surprise attack right down the center... Did we make a mistake in our positioning?
Barbara: Hold it!
Barbara steps in slapping Taeko in the butt, stopping Taeko as she shriek from the touch, and Barbara started making a new plan.
Taeko: 😳
Barbara: On the contrary. It's actually better that we were at the end of the line. They wiped out the Tengus with incredible speed and force. We need to retreat now before the enemy gets here, dive in!
Taeko: Yes ma'am.
The two immediately dove into the water before the Elite Seven could noticed them. After getting away at considerable speed and distances, Barbara looked back noticing Chelsea wasn't with them. They could only leave it up to her to identify their opponents.
(Elsewhere)
Back at the boat, Najasho and Green had quickly ran up to the other boat that were coming up the river.
Green: There's nobody here?
Najasho: They must've dived into the river.
Green: Well, that's why we stationed Akame and Ryu there.
Najasho:...
Najasho could feel that they were being watched somehow, staring into the sky to find a mega owl. But someone jumped out of the river caught Najasho and Green off guard, covering his face as he shot a bullet towards the mega owl that changed it trajectory multiple times but still missed as the Mega owl quickly made its way away from the scene.
Ryu: Damn it...
Najasho: Did you also think it was a messenger bird?
Ryu: Mega owls usually avoid humans, something was off about it, that's for sure.
Still two of their faces were seen now, with another being known to exist. This could quickly grow out of hand if they aren't careful.
(Timeskip)
In a rundown building, Barbara and Taeko had take a refuge there for the time being. They were soaked with water after making their way alive out of the ambush.
Barbara: Phew... We should be okay here.
Taeko: I wasn't expecting an underwater ambush too...
Barbara: It's a good thing there were others who had jumped into the river. We were able to get away while they were being attacked.
Taeko: We did a terrible thing to the Tengus.
Barbara: I don't doubt for a second that they were strong.
Taeko: Just who are we dealing with here...?
Taeko finally let her uncertainty show knowing they were in the alright.
Barbara: If they were able to defeat the Tengus like nothing... Then they must be in the same class as the 4 demons...
Suddenly, the Mega Owl that managed to escaped Ryu's barrage of bullets landed near Barbara and Taeko.
Barbara: How'd it go, Chelsea? Did you get a look at the enemy? If you didn't. We're eating poultry tonight.
The Mega Owl shriek before turning into smokes revealing Chelsea who was in disguise as she was panting heavily.
Chelsea: Haa... Haah... It's tiring being a bird... But I saw them!
Barbara: They're just children.
Taeko: they look a little younger than me...
Barbara: Were there no others? I can't imagine there were only two of them.
Chelsea: There was one more who suddenly jumped out of the river. But he was covering his face with a mask so I wasn't able to get a look at him. And that one is sharp. He or she noticed that the bird I was in was just a disguise. I barely made it out alive from all those bullets that were aimed at me.
Chelsea shiver as she recalled the attack as Barbara and Taeko looked surprised.
Taeko: He could tell that it was just a disguise?
Barbara: You did well making it out alive and with these information. Just the fact that we now know what our enemy looks like is a huge accomplishment.
Chelsea: Well, we'd better get these drawings to our spies quick. We'll have them search the nearby area town.
Barbara(mind): It may have been cowardly of us to flee.. Even if it did enable us to survive. But if it's a battle between youngsters... There's no way they can beat my Taeko...
Taeko: Next time, it'll be our turn to attack.
The fight between the Elite Seven and the Oarburghs had barely just begun.