Kurome

Kurome is a former member of the Jaegers, and the younger sister of Akame. Sold by her parents to the Empire along with Akame, the sisters were trained as assassins. She was drafted into a different assassin group than her sister and the siblings parted ways.

Appearance
Kurome looks very similar to her sister. She has short, black hair in a twintail style and black eyes. She wears a black sailor uniform and wears a red belt that has a red side skirt cover like Akame's, with long, black socks and shoes. Her shirt is slightly too short as it doesn't cover her belly button. She also wears red gauntlets like Akame. She keeps her Teigu with her at all times.

Personality
Although she shares some traits with her sister, such as her social awkwardness and big appetite, Kurome is much more aloof and seems to show darker sides of her personality when it comes to killing her enemies. She is cold and ruthless in battle, usually ending the lives of her enemies as one would expect from a seasoned assassin.

Secretly, she is very scared of being seen as weak, knowing that, in the Assassination Division, if she became dead weight, she'd be taken out to keep her silent. This had a lingering effect of her upbringing, as she almost did suffer this fate, were it not for the drug therapy she later underwent.

Before the destruction of her Teigu, Yatsufusa, she displayed an unstable mental attachment to her fallen comrades as she kept them as her corpse dolls, as shown with Run. When he was severely injured and about to die, she stated that it allowed them to be "together forever", and she intended to add her sister to this collection. When she expresses this desire to add Akame to the collection, Kurome says that they "could be together again like old times". This, along with Kurome's expressions and words throughout the anime/manga, can be seen as evilly persuasive sweetness and carefreeness, or boastfulness and the belief that she will definitely win.

She also seemed to play with the corpses of those she has killed, as well as keeping powerful ones to use in her permanent collection, which is limited to eight.

It was later revealed by Akame and during the events of Akame Ga Kill Zero, that a majority of Kurome's negative aspects are due to the extensive brainwashing and mental conditioning the Empire had done to her in order to insure her continued obedience to it from her childhood that was only further strengthened due to her addiction and dependence for her drug doping addiction that would cause her to enter painful spasms and seizures if she did not regularly ingest them.

This, combined with the numerous loses of her friends and comrades, would only further solidify Kurome's loyalty to the Empire due to her believing that she had to make sure that their deaths and sacrifices during their mission were worth something.

Following the end of the war, Kurome is shown to have been affected by PTSD and deep emotional regret and guilt for her past actions during her time as an assassin due to the effects of her mental conditioning, brainwashing and drug dependence now being removed. She is shown to be a much more demure and dependent on others, especially Wave and Akame, to help cope with her newfound empathy, the latter of whom she now genuinely cares for and loves. At times, she hallucinates seeing her former corpse dolls and her numerous victims, vengefully approaching her, to which she is immensely remorseful.

Events of Akame ga Kill Zero!
Along with her sister Akame, Kurome was among a group of children sold to the Empire who were forced to participate in a survival exam in a forest full of danger beasts. After the sisters survived by working together, they were drafted into different assassination divisions (because of their superiors reluctance to keep sisters in one group).

After joining her division, Kurome was subjected to cruel treatment in the Empire's scheme to develop her into a cold and heartless killer. As she was deemed to be not as innately talented as the Elite Seven, Kurome was instead placed into the Group of Terror, where she was given the kill rank of No. 8, making her the most innately talented member of the secondary group. She was then trained in a prison/execution facility of the Empire together with her Teammates and eventual close friends, Natala, Gin, Womyn and Remus killing Prisoners to develop their skills. During her time training under the units commander and trainer, Uncle Bill, Kurome was made to put to death a half insane inmate and was given her very first Katana. Kurome was very reluctant to do so and showing obvious fear at the prospect of taking off an alive and tried to refuse her orders until Bill eventually forced her to draw the blade and pushed her towards the convict, stabbing him right on his heart and killing him instantly, causing Kurome to react in disgust and horror and Bill with enthusiasm and delight. This incident was noted by Kurome to cause her to puke all night due to her sense of disgust at her actions but eventually she "got used to it" as time went on and her training progressed. During her training it was eventually ruled out that to make up for the groups lack of ability and talent, their superiors decided that they would use artificial means to strengthen their assassins. They then proceeded to give and have her ingest experimental drugs, making her body more powerful and giving her the same enhanced physical abilities as the Elite Seven but at the cost of putting a severe amount of strain on her brain, reducing her lifespan and causing her to become addicted to the drugs that they gave her severe withdrawal syndrome if she did not ingest it after a certain amount of time.

Eventually, their superiors decided that the Assassination Units were all sufficiently trained for actual field work and had given Kurome and her team their first assignment, to flush out and eliminate Foreign spies who have infiltrated the outer villages in the Empire's provinces who hoped to obtain information and take advantage of the Empire's declining stability for their own gain and root out any spies from the Revolutionary Army as well. To do this, Bill commissioned Dr. Stylish to develop a poison that mimicked the effects of the disease Rubeola and made a deal with Kurome's superior to exchange for 10 male prisoners to be used as his test subjects from his prison. The targeted village was then poisoned with this fake Rubeola by dumping it into the town's well, forcing the Revolutionary/Foreign spies to flee. Kurome's group was tasked to intercept these spies as they left the city. The group waited for their targets to arrive and finally spotted them, taking their doping pills to enhance their strength as they began their attack. The group initially had the advantage against the spies, but soon the tides began to turn when Remus was grievously wounded and Womyn was killed by manner of bisection. Heavily wounded and distraught by the death of their comrade, the group returned to base, where they were treated cruelly and locked up. The group's leader withheld their medication and told them to reflect on their failures in punishment. The leader then heads to the infirmary and inquires about the status of "number 32", a female doctor informs him that Remus is wounded so badly she will never be able to be an assassin again. He then enters the room where Remus attempts to apologize for her failure, but the leader injects her with a vial of poison, euthanizing her.

Events of Akame Ga Kill!
While her sister eventually became aware of the Empire's evil nature and left it to join Night Raid, Kurome did not have this option due to her constant need to rely on medicinal drugs, which only the Empire could supply her. Eventually, after having participated in a slaughter with several Empire soldiers, she was given an order to join the Jaegers. She later cooperated with the rest of the Jaegers to annihilate a bandit group as their first assignment but was evidently disappointed in the level of her opponents.

Kurome participates in a hunting expedition with Esdeath, Wave, and Tatsumi. She is ordered by Esdeath to accompany her, due to not having a clear picture of her abilities from the previous fight with the bandits. This leaves Wave to watch over Tatsumi, which he fails when Tatsumi manages to slip away. As a result, Esdeath has Wave punished with Kurome's assistance. She comically drops stones on a subdued Wave's lap and drips hot candle wax down his back.

Kurome and Wave are dispatched to the Head of Finance's home with information of an impending assassination attempt. The duo arrive too late and find the official already dead. The Jaegers eventually receive intel on Akame and Night Raid's location. Despite the possibility of a trap, Esdeath chooses to go for it and orders Kurome, Wave, and Bols to track down Akame, which pleases Kurome. Once on the road, Wave reassures Bols of their victory against Night Raid. Kurome takes the opportunity to tease Wave about his usefulness in the coming battle, annoying her teammate. The trio are quickly ambushed by the entirety of Night Raid, with Mine attempting to snipe Kurome. She dodges, but is caught off-guard by an attacking Susanoo. Wave intercepts and protects Kurome, but is blown far away by the force of the attack. Kurome and Bols prepare themselves for battle, with Kurome politely greeting her sister Akame. She expresses interest in adding her to her "collection" and activates her Teigu's special abilities. Kurome summons seven of her eight puppets and ponders just how many people will survive the coming battle. She then duels her sister with the assistance of Natala, the corpse of their childhood friend. After her Desta-Ghoul puppet disrupts the battlefield with a power blast, Kurome surveys the battles as her puppets engage Night Raid. She leisurely eats her sweets as the battle continues, and ponders how far Wave had been blown away. She reassures herself that he is most likely not dead. Seeing an opening in Leone's defenses, Kurome takes the opportunity and severs her enemy's left arm before falling back again. When the majority of her puppets are destroyed her disabled, Kurome fights against Susanoo's trump card briefly before being interrupted by Bols Teigu's self-destruct. Kurome flees in the resulting chaos with Natala and wonders what happened to Akame.

Kurome begins the trek back to town, lamenting that most of her dolls were destroyed. She takes the time to stop and eat some candy only to be interrupted by Bols. Kurome expresses happiness that her teammate had survived and the two begin traveling together. Kurome eventually collapses due to not eating enough of her sweets. "Bols" goes to help Kurome, only to stab her in neck, revealing that it had actually been Chelsea in disguise. She promises to give Kurome a charm for the pain and finishes the Jaeger off. Chelsea begins to leave, only to be shocked when Kurome not only survives her fatal injury, but prepares to retaliate. Chelsea flees and Kurome dispatches her puppets after her. Realising that Chelsea must have killed Bols already, Kurome orders her puppets to slice Chelsea to pieces. They proceed to do just that.

An unconscious Kurome is later found by Wave and taken to the nearby town of Romari. After some time resting she awakens and claims that her injuries have healed considerably. Esdeath proceeds to test Kurome by attacking her. Kurome blocks the attack and is permitted to return to service. Kurome is later found by Wave struggling with her injuries. She begs Wave not to tell Esdeath for fear of being disposed of due to being useless. She assures Wave that she will be fine, though the latter notes that Kurome seems to be trying to convince herself.

Kurome and her fellow Jaegers are next assigned to protect Path of Peace official Bolic. During a welcoming ceremony, Kurome begins to feel her wounds, which worries Wave. She quickly reassures him that she is fine. He later reassures Kurome that he would make up for his past failures. When Night Raid launches its assault, Kurome is assigned to protect Bolic personally as the other Jaegers engage the attackers. Night Raid eventually makes its way to Bolic, but is confronted by Kurome and Esdeath. Due to her injuries, Kurome does not perform at her best and is unable to prevent Akame from assassinating Bolic.

Months after failing their mission, Kurome, Wave, and Run are seen having lunch together in the capital. Kurome is depressed and regrets not being able to complete the mission. She is cheered up by Wave who offers her his cake in return. Kurome happily accepts. Sometime later, Kurome runs into an angry Wave at the Imperial Palace. She questions what the matter is but is interrupted by the arrival of Syura, who takes the opportunity to mock Wave. Upon seeing Kurome, Syura expresses interest in her and grabs her arm. He immediately notices that Kurome is doping and declares her to be his new toy. Wave proceeds to strike Syura, sending him flying. He tells Syura not to touch his comrade with his filthy hands and prepares to fight. General Budo quickly arrives and orders everyone to stand down. Wave and Syura agree to a fist fight with no Teigu and Kurome attempts to warn Wave of Syura's strength. Wave acknowledges the situation but resolves to win.

During the fight between Syura and Wave, Kurome displayed confidence in her companion's strength by claiming that he will win. After the result of the fight, Kurome and Wave listen to Run's plan to change the Empire from the inside. Just as Run is heading to Wild Hunt's station to take revenge on the one who killed his students, Kurome interrupts him and joins him, claiming that they are no help to the empire in any way.

The two work together for vengeance, with Run luring Champ out of the base and Kurome preventing Cosmina and Enshin from intervening. Kurome summons Natala and Doya to attack them, with Enshin amputating both of Doya's hands and slicing Natala. Two Danger Beasts, summoned by Kurome are easily defeated by the sound waves produced by Cosmina's microphone Teigu. This attack is blocked by Kurome by covering her ears as she cuts Enshin on his back. She then gets corned by the Wild Hunters. However, just as they attack, Run lifts her up with the help from his Teigu. Run and Kurome get trapped in a whirlwind by Champ's elemental Teigu, but Run protects Kurome during a fire explosion, taking a lot of damage. The two fall to the ground. Night Raid intervenes and Akame and Kurome have a short confrontation, with Akame questions why the Jaegers are attacking Wild Hunt. Kurome claims that they were disturbing the peace and prepares to fight Night Raid. Run shoots feathers at Night Raid which are blocked by Tatsumi and the two flee together.

As Run falls, accepting his death with a smile, a mentally unstable Kurome rejects the thought of her comrade dying. Shedding tears, she stabs Run with her Teigu, who shows a face of despair at her choice, enslaving Run and turning him into her corpse puppet. Kurome stops crying and smiles, happy to keep her comrade "alive", even if he won't be the same.

Kurome later buys cake and shares it with Wave, the latter shocked at what she did to Run and declaring how he would protect her.

Several days later, Kurome meets up with her former unit, the Dark Squad, along with her old friend Kylie. Their mission was to assassinate key Revolutionary Army members. Half of the unit splits up, one being met by Leone and the other Akame. Kurome meets up with Leone's side where they engage in a brief battle until Akame arrives, which prompts her sister to summon some puppets including Run, and then retreats. During her retreat, Akame issues Kurome to meet up outside the capital for their final duel.

Returning after a failed mission, Kurome is saddened and Wave attempts to cheer her up. Wave tries to persuade her into leaving the dark squad, dropping her drugs, and begs her to find something to live for. Again, Wave attempts to stop her by force when she suddenly kisses and renders him unconscious from a punch to his stomach. With that, she leaves for her duel with Akame.

Kurome meets Akame on the outskirts of the capital at Gyou Forest. They briefly talk about the past before engaging in combat. The two sisters engage in battle and thanks to a very powerful drug, Kurome is able to land a couple of blows on Akame. Due to being tricked, Kurome then summons her puppets which include Run, Doya and Natala only for them to be disabled with ease by Akame. Just as Akame spots an opening and goes in for the kill, Run moves in to protect Kurome from the blow.

With the defeat of her puppets, Kurome regains her strength and resolves to fight using her own skills. As the battle continues, Kurome becomes slower due to the drugs wearing off and Yatsufusa taking its toll. Kurome attempts to ingest more drugs in order to beat Akame, only to be stopped by Wave. He speaks about protecting Kurome and declares his love for her which causes her to be conflicted and so she still tries fighting until Wave snatches her weapon and shatters it stating that she needs closure.

After being kissed by Wave, Kurome tearfully asks for him to take her away. Wave announces their defection from the Empire and he returns to the war. After the war's conclusion, Kurome rekindles her sisterly bond with Akame. Haunted by the phantoms of the people she's killed, Kurome hallucinates on occasion out of regret for her actions. Akame assures her that she will be all right and the two spend some time together before Akame decides to journey East. Kurome continued to live with Wave and would occasionally be visited by Akame. Her life changed for the better and was said to be happy with her new life.

In the epilogue, Kurome remembers her time when bathing in a hot spring with Jaegers until her nightmare begins haunting her again. Wave immediately comforts her. At their resting place, Kurome doesn't mind Wave's cooking that mostly involves fish, shellfish and seaweed as the main ingredients since her stomach also belongs to him now. She then requests Wave to serve her like a princess, much to his approval.

Equipment and Skills
Kurome was noted by her superiors in the Assassination Division to have one of the most powerful and innate ability and skill for combat, despite not having finished the survival exam on her own and was deemed to be the most talented member of the secondary unit, the Group of Terror. This assessment is further cemented due to her being given the Kill Rank of No, 8. With her overall skills only being eclipsed by her older sister and the rest of the Elite Seven.

Like her sister, for some unexplained reason, Kurome seems to be able to consume large amounts of food without any adverse effects on her body. No matter how much she eats, she is somehow able to metabolize all the food she ate without becoming full or even remotely fat, quite possibly due to her high metabolism.

Swordsmanship
Kurome wielded an offensive Teigu like her sister, in the form of a sword named "March of the Dead: Yatsufusa", which allowed her to enslave up to eight enemies killed with the Teigu. However, the corpses did not show any emotion. Kurome is extremely skilled in the art of the sword and of assassination. She possesses superhuman reflexes, being capable of dodging Mine's long range sniper fire with only a moment's notice, as well as superhuman endurance, able to survive a fatal wound to the back of her neck. However, both of these extraordinary feats were due to the drugs that Kurome had taken. Kurome states that the only reliable way to kill her is to either crush her heart or decapitate her. She was even able to land a hit on Esdeath. Kurome's abilities are not solely due to natural training, but through doping and continued drug use.

Drug Enhancements
Due to being considered Inferior to the innate talents found in the Elite Seven, Kurome was instead given various experimental Drugs to boost her natural abilities to make up for her inferior skills during her childhood and training in the Group of Terror. And as a result, Kurome has developed immense physical strength, speed, reflexes, stamina, and durability, allowing her to easily mow down a number of seasoned veterans in battle despite her initial inexperience during her first few missions as an assassin.

However, due to these drug enhancements, Kurome was noted to have become severely addicted to her medications and would suffer severe full body pains, seizures and violent withdrawal syndromes should she not take a prescribed amount after a set amount of time. As another consequence of her reliance on Doping, Kurome's natural lifespan was also severely shortened and her body slowly weakened due to the effects of years of prolonged ingestion, as seen where some of her hair was already beginning to fall off unnaturally and her suffering physical and psychological issues if she did not periodically and constantly dope herself with drugs.

It was later implied and admitted by Kurome that after Akame abandoned the Empire and joined Night Raid, the scientists in charge of developing the Dark Squad's performance-enhancing drugs was able to successfully created a more advanced and more powerful version of their doping pills. Their effects were a hundred times more powerful than their original prescribed pills given to Kurome during her first missions. As a result, Kurome's physical stamina, strength, durability and reflexes were enhanced even further. Kurome's speed and reflexes were so fast that she could easily doge shots fired by Mine using Pumpkin a few millimetres from hitting her head with ease, and later, despite being stabbed in her central nerve connecting her head to her body in her neck by Chelsea, her body was paralyzed and severely internally damaged by her needle injection, but Kurome was still strong enough to get up, activate and even use her Teigu, albeit her stamina rapidly draining due to the damage.

The new drugs given to her are later implied to have a shorter interval between taking them, as her original pills had a few hours interval between them. Kurome's new medicine is now needed to be taken ever so often and it was hinted that Kurome needed to take massive doses of the drug itself to maintain her body due to her eating large amounts of candy laced with the stuff almost constantly.

Upon being injured near fatally by Chelsea and recovering, Kurome was noted to have been severely weakened and her body no longer having the same physical strength it once had despite doping up.

Upon preparing for her final battle against Akame, Kurome had acquired an even stronger version of her usual medication that once a single pill was ingested, it skyrocketed her physical powers and abilities to an entirely new level of strength, as seen when she managed to overpower her sister Akame when using it and later Akame herself noted that while in effect, Kurome's strength far surpassed her own. However, the major weakness to this enhanced drug was the fact that the moment where the drug's effect began to wane, Kurome's strength immediately began to plummet at an alarming rate and weakening her body further and reducing her physical abilities to an even lower level due to the insuring internal damage done to her.

Trivia

 * "Kurome" can mean "black eyes" in Japanese.
 * Her measurements are 80-51-81.
 * In the manga, Kurome is apparently left-handed as seen when she wields her Teigu. Interestingly, in the anime, she uses her right hand, indicating a degree of ambidexterity.
 * Kurome is often seen snacking and refuses to share her "snacks" with anyone; in truth, these are actually drugs she relies on to boost her physical abilities as a result of being subject to experimental drug therapies, and if she goes too long without them she suffers withdrawal and becomes increasingly anxious and erratic.
 * According to Volume 14's Post Script, it is written that Wave is now Akame's brother-in-law, implying he married Kurome at some point after the story.
 * Kurome is one of few characters to survive in the manga, but not in the anime.

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