Fair warning, this chapter follows very closely to the first Hotline Miami mission. The rest of the story will follow Akame ga Kill, with elements of Hotline Miami. I believe that this serves as a perfect segue to the rest of this story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The young man slowly opened his eyes. He didn't remember falling asleep, nor did he remember where he was.

Noticing his surroundings, his eyes gaped open and immediately stood up, taking a defensive posture. One thing's for sure, if he were to have slept, it wouldn't have been in a dark, mysterious, and dirty room. He reached for his side, noticing that his trusty sword was not there. He opened his mouth to vocalize his disbelief but discovered he cannot speak. Trying all his might, not a single noise was produced.

He was getting nervous. He felt vulnerable. His heart began to race as he looks around the room. There was only one door directly in front of him. Walking towards it, he turned the knob, indicating that it was unlocked. Opening the door let a bright light blind him briefly, causing the young man to shield his eyes.

"And who do we have here?"

The young man jumped in fright. His eyes adjusted and he found three people, sitting in chairs around him in a semicircle. He was unnerved when he saw that their faces were obscured with rubber masks. The woman that talked was wearing a black shirt and a short, matching skirt. She was wearing a donkey mask, her long, black hair escaped from inside.

"Do you know who you are?"

Does he know who he is? Now that he thought about it, his identity couldn't come back to him. He couldn't remember who he was for some reason, and that scared him. He looked at the woman wearing the mask with a stressed impression on his face. It appears that the woman caught wind of his dilemma.

"Oh, you don't know who you are...?" the woman asked, "Maybe we should leave it that way?"

What? Why would he not want to know his identity?

"But I know you," said another person.

The source of the voice sounded like it should have belonged to him, but instead it came from the man in the center. He was wearing a rooster mask, as well as the same exact clothes the young man was wearing. It scared him.

"Look at my face. We've met before…"

He would've liked to see their faces as well, if they weren't wearing masks.

"Who are you? I don't know you!" said the last voice.

The young man took notice of the hostility the final voice had. It indicated that the speaker was also a woman. She appeared tall and slender, and donned general's apparel. She was wearing an owl mask, with her long blue hair escaping the mask just like the donkey masked woman.

"Why are you here? You're not welcome here!"

The young man flinched at this. Why is she hostile towards him? Weren't they the ones who brought him here?

In fact, the young man would have loved to leave. He still didn't know what was going on, nor does he understand why he can't talk or remember anything. If he could remember how he ended up here, or who he is, now would be the time.

"Do you really want me to reveal who you are?" the donkey woman asked.

Tatsumi turned to face her. Either she knew what he was thinking, or that timing was merely a coincidence. Despite this, she sounded like she knew his identity. With this knowledge, he shook his head "yes".

"Are you sure? Knowing oneself means acknowledging one's actions. As of lately you've done some terrible things…"

What? What the hell is she talking about?

"You don't remember me?" interrupted the rooster.

The young man looked at him. It seemed that the donkey woman didn't acknowledge the sudden change in conversation.

He continued to stare at the rooster man, trying to remember anything about meeting a man wearing such a thing.

"'I'll give you a clue…" said the rooster, "Does April the 3rd mean anything to you? I believe that was the day of our first encounter."

April the 3rd?

Tatsumi thought about that date, despite not remembering anything.

And then something began to form in his head.

"You look like you might be remembering something," said the rooster.

The young man thought and thought, then suddenly, everything went black.

April 3rd, X283

Tatsumi woke up and hastily stood up straight. His breath was heavy and his body was slightly sweaty. He looked around the room he was in. Clothes lying on the floor, broken and unkempt walls. Even the ceiling itself had holes. This room was not fit for living, but Tatsumi knew this room well.

It was the bedroom in his apartment.

He was able to rent a small apartment at the slums of the Capital, as well as secure a job to support himself. The job he got was average, he couldn't complain, but living in the slums was very difficult to adjust to. He remembered the first couple of weeks living here. He was mugged several times, which taught him to bring his sword everywhere. And for a number of times his stuff was stolen. This stopped when Tatsumi began to keep his valuables hidden. All of these experiences toughened Tatsumi up. He's become more alert with his surroundings, and he no longer trusted people right away. All this came with a truth that soured Tatsumi's mood whenever he thought about it.

The Capital is a terrible, unforgiving place.

Leaving this thought in the back of his mind, he rubbed his eyes.

"Ugh, bad dream," he said to himself, the memory of the dream fading away with every waking second.

He's been getting them frequently for some reason. As a result, his sleep cycle took a large toll. Feeling groggy and weak, Tatsumi gets out of bed and exits his room.

**Time Skip**

Wearing his somewhat clean clothes, Tatsumi exited his room to go to work, only to be stopped by his landlord, who was holding an unknown box. She was a middle-aged, well-built woman who is often seen with a cigarette in her mouth. She did not look pleased in the slightest, and Tatsumi was breaking into a light sweat due to her presence.

"You're two months late for rent," she said in an annoyed tone.

Tatsumi was hoping to avoid her, but she must has learned quick about his morning routine of him leaving early to avoid her.

"I know," Tatsumi said, trying to give her a believable smile, "I get paid at the end of the week, you'll have your money then."

The landlord got angrier, "That's exactly what you said last time brat."

Tatsumi held his breath, hoping she won't kick him out. The landlord kept on her cold stare, the smoke from her cigarette leaving through her nostrils. She then briefly shook the box in her arms.

"This came for you," she threw the box at Tatsumi, who barely caught it, "Apparently, you don't have the money for your rent, but you have the money to have a package delivered to you."

She began to walk away.

"Remember this, I'm giving you till the end of the week. If I don't get my money, your ass is sleeping on the streets. Do you understand?"

Tatsumi could only nod, which prompted the landlord to leave.

When she wasn't in sight, Tatsumi walked back to his apartment. Again, he left early to avoid the landlord; his didn't have to go to work for another hour. He sat down on his dusty couch in his living room to get a good look at the box.

"I don't remember ordering anything…" he told himself.

There was a letter on the top of the box. At least the landlord had the curtesy to not open it. Opening it himself, he reads its contents.

"Hi, this is Tim at the bakery. The cookies that you've ordered have finally arrived. Thank you for shopping with us and we hope to see you again!"

"Cookies?" Tatsumi said to himself, "I never ordered any cookies…"

He barely had enough money to buy breakfast, let alone cookies. His job doesn't give him much, and having to sustain himself with what little he makes doesn't leave him with much. However, this package is addressed to him. It has his address on it, so this isn't a mistake. Perhaps he didn't need to buy lunch today.

Opening the package, what he found wasn't baked goods. Instead, inside was another note. Right next to the note was an odd rubber rooster mask. Confused, Tatsumi inspected the mask. There was a little folded piece of paper inside the mask. Unfolding it revealed a name.

Richard.

"Huh, must be the name of the mask."

Tatsumi grabbed the note that was next to the mask.

"The target is a briefcase. Discretion is of essence. Leave target inside of a dumpster at the address behind this note. Failure is not an option. We'll be watching you."

The note ends.

Tatsumi was dumbfounded.

"What kind of joke is this?" said Tatsumi, his mood far too foul to humor the note.

Tatsumi, once again, was reminded that not everything was at it seems in the Capital. It was silly to think that someone would be nice enough to give him cookies for free. He suddenly remembered something that made him stifle a laugh.

He could remember a time when he was innocent enough to trust everyone. Innocent enough to believe that everyone is a good person. He remembered that he and his friends had high hopes when traveling the Capital, expecting opportunity and money to support their cause.

'Funny', Tatsumi thought to himself, 'I can't remember anything after that.'

He flipped the note to see two addresses on the back. One for the location of the briefcase, and the other for the dumpster. There was also a specified time that he was to be expected to be at the location where the briefcase is supposed to be.

If this was a joke, they were really taking it seriously. Almost too seriously.

He looked at the mask again. It was nothing special, just a rubber mask of a rooster. He assumed that, if he did follow the letters instructions, the mask's purpose would be to mask his identity. An odd choice for a mask, but it would serve its purpose. He kept looking at the mask, then, out of curiosity, he went to his bathroom to look in his mirror. And then, just to see what he would look like, Tatsumi put on the rooster mask.

…

…

…

He looked like a complete weirdo.

"This really is a joke," Tatsumi said to himself.

Of all the masks they could have used, it had to be a ridiculous looking rubber mask. No one would be caught dead wearing this in public. Had it been a regular mask, this whole joke would have been more believable. He turned to his side to make sure that-

"GAH!" Tatsumi screamed, tripping on the ground. He immediately took off the mask.

Whatever he saw was no longer present. He got up from the ground and took a good look at the walls, only to find nothing. He exited his bathroom to find anything wrong with the walls, to no avail. He came back to the bathroom and looked at the mask he was just wearing. He thought of something.

"No," said Tatsumi, "That's impossible…"

Carefully, he picked up the rubber mask and inspected it thoroughly once again. Again, he saw nothing but a plain rubber rooster mask. Then, cautiously, he put the mask on and looked at the same spot he saw.

Tatsumi jumped again, but left the mask on.

At that same spot, Tatsumi can see a red silhouette of a women, sitting on a chair and reading a book. It was his neighbor. He took off the mask and no longer saw the red silhouette. He put it back on and the red silhouette was present again. He repeated this for a while, until he took off the mask for the last time.

He looked at it once again in compete awe and confusion as to how this rubber mask is able to do something like this. With that in mind, he exited the bathroom and grabbed the note, rereading it.

"There's no way this can be a joke," he said.

How the mask can do such a thing was in the back of Tatsumi's mind. No one would give someone such a mask as a joke. Someone sent him this note, and this mask, on purpose. The whole cookies façade was probably used to not arouse suspicion, and whoever orchestrated this is ordering him to complete this mission without failure.

Who sent him this, and why pick him of all people?

Tatsumi can't think of anything from the top of his head that can answer either question. However, Tatsumi knew that there's no way he should trust the letter, nor should he follow its directions.

Yet, for some reason, he felt like he should do it.

It wasn't curiosity; for some reason Tatsumi felt like he had nothing better to do. It almost felt like nothing really mattered. He has no idea why he felt like this, so instead of delving into this he compromised. He would go to the location, just to check it out. He would bring his sword, just in case, as well as the mask to hide his identity. If it looked sketchy, he would leave. No harm done. However, despite this compromise, he has no idea what to expect.

The time on the note was during the afternoon as the sun was setting. This worked well with Tatsumi's work schedule. The address led him to a garage, where plenty of carriages were seen. It was located in the middle-class district of the Capital. The buildings were much more maintained and the area itself was more brighter and less unsafe than the slums. Apparently, this is where the briefcase is located.

Tatsumi was highly suspicious, alert, and quite nervous. He looked around, noticing how there were less people on the streets due to the late time. Grasping the hilt of his sword, he walked towards the entrance of the garage.

He didn't enter the building, but he did put on the mask to see what's inside. There were two red silhouettes in the building. One was sitting in another room, and the other was standing around in the center of the room. There was also a staircase that led to another floor downstairs.

"Are they waiting for me?" Tatsumi said to himself, referring to the silhouettes.

Cautiously, he opened the front door, to reveal that the red silhouette in the center was an Imperial Soldier. The soldier quickly turned around and went on high alert.

"Who are you?!" demanded the Imperial Soldier, "Why are you here!?"

Tatsumi was caught off guard by this.

"Wha-What are you-"

The soldier didn't let Tatsumi finish his sentence. He took out his weapon, which was a long sword.

"No one was supposed to know about this," the soldier began running towards Tatsumi, "I'll slice your head off brat!"

Tatsumi, senses suddenly heightened, dodged to the right. The sword, instead of slicing him, hit the ground with a loud thud.

"The hell was that?!" yelled the other Imperial Soldier in the other room.

The Imperial Soldier from the center stumbled as a result of the missed attack, allowing Tatsumi to unsheathe his sword. The soldier regained his footing and swung at Tatsumi, resulting in a clash between swords.

"I-I was sent here to get a briefcase from you guys!" he yelled, trying to push the soldier back. The Imperial Soldier instead pushed off against Tatsumi, allowing him to get some distance.

"No one was supposed to know about the briefcase, brat!" said the soldier, preparing another strike, "If I let you live, you'll get me killed!"

He attacked again, swinging and overpowering Tatsumi. Tatsumi can only blocked the onslaught, the soldier not allowing him to attack. He eventually stumbled on his footing due to the power the soldier possessed. The soldier smirked and, trying to take advantage of the opening, tried to slash Tatsumi's waist.

Tatsumi jumped back, dodging the swing, but tripped on his landing. The soldier saw this and rushed him again, hoping to get the final blow.

"I'LL END YOU BOY!," the soldier yelled, lifting his sword overhead to end Tatsumi's life.

Tatsumi saw this and, with a sudden boost of adrenaline, swung his sword at the soldier's waist as hard as he could.

**SLASH**

And everything went silent. Tatsumi's eyes were closed inside the rooster mask. He slightly opened them after a couple of seconds have passed. Something wet was flowing towards his hand. He opened his eyes to see the liquid on his hand. It was blood, but it wasn't his blood.

"Ah…" was the only thing the soldier could say as his torso opened up, allowing a pool of blood to stream out. His upper body then slid off from the lower body, both landing on the ground with a grotesque thud, along with the sword that was still raised over the soldier's head.

Tatsumi only stared, sweat forming behind his mask. His breath grew ragged, his hands were shaking, his eyes dilating, his focus not leaving the body. He looked at his hands, half of it covered in blood. He just killed a man. Worse, an Imperial Soldier.

Tatsumi knew how he is supposed to feel. Empty, then terrified and sick. These are the emotions he should be feeling. He read them everywhere and heard stories about it. However, despite the stories, he did not feel any of those. He was not terrified, he was not sick, nor did he feel empty. Tatsumi couldn't explain it quite perfectly. He looked at his hands again, the dead soldier, then up to the ceiling. He felt the feeling again.

Tatsumi felt satisfied.

That's the best he could explain it. His breath calmed down, and his hands stopped shaking. He looked at the soldier again. He shouldn't feel like this. But Tatsumi couldn't ignore it. Killing him, it felt right. Almost like the soldier deserved to die. Most of the soldiers in the capital are just as worse as the rich and powerful they work for. He felt he had every single right to have killed him. It felt like he was doing the right thing, and he hasn't felt such a way in a long time.

"Oi, is everything alright out there!?" yelled someone.

Tatsumi immediately turned around, with his hands on his sword. He completely forgot about the other soldier. He could still see the red silhouette through the wall.

Looking through the door, Tatsumi saw he was on the toilet.

"Are you there!?" the soldier continued to yell.

There was no doubt in Tatsumi's mind that when the soldier comes out and finds him, he would try to kill him as well.

"Why aren't you answering?! Is everything alright?!"

Tatsumi felt his heart pumping with adrenaline. He can see the man through the wall. He knows exactly where the soldier is in the room.

"Hey!? Answer me!"

He adjusted the sword in his hands.

"The hell's wrong with you?!"

He positioned himself in front of the door.

"I swear, I'm gonna get up from here and-?!"

Tatsumi kicked the door open and rushed in.

"WHAT THE-!"

**SLASH**

Tatsumi swung his sword, slicing the soldier in two. The soldier made no noise after that.

Tatsumi's heart was still pumping. He felt stronger than usual. Perhaps it's the adrenaline. He looked around and did not find anyone else. He promptly walked out of the bathroom and started heading downstairs, there was probably more soldiers there.

He walked to the corner of the hallway in front of him. There was a total of three rooms in the basement. You would need to enter one room to get to the other.

There were five more silhouettes downstairs that Tatsumi can see. One in the first room, and two in each of the last rooms. There was no way he could kill all of them at the same time. They would surround and easily overpower him.

He remembered how he killed the soldier in the bathroom. That's exactly what he will do. He will kill them all, one by one, before they can react.

The first soldier had his back facing Tatsumi. His adrenaline kicked in again. Without hesitation, Tatsumi rushed the soldier and sliced him in half. The soldier didn't know what hit him, his face not even indicating the sudden pain he should have felt before death.

Tatsumi felt that same satisfaction again. It felt good.

He looked at the next room, with two soldiers diligently guarding the room by pacing around it. Despite this, Tatsumi, for some reason, did not feel hindered in the slightest. He knew what he could do. He waited for the two soldiers to position themselves at the left of the entrance.

Once they were in position, Tatsumi rushed in.

He sliced the closest soldier in half with a surprising amount of swiftness. The other soldier took noticed, and made the motion to take out his weapon. However, Tatsumi rushed him and sliced him in half as well, along with the soldier's arm trying to unsheathe his weapon.

"What the hell was that?!"

Tatsumi looked at the last entrance to the last room. The two last silhouettes were running towards the room he's is in, their hands grasping the hilts of their weapons.

Tatsumi only looked, oddly calm about the entire situation.

A normal person would have hurried out of the room and hid from the soldiers. A normal assassin would have planned to separate them so they could kill them individually.

Tatsumi was neither of these normal people, because instead of doing either option, he ran to the side of the entrance and waited for them to reach it. He could feel his heart pumping again, the sweat dripping off his neck, his breath indicating the anticipation of what's about to come.

The first soldier walked through the entrance and –

**SLASH**

Was sliced through his chest. Before the second soldier could react, Tatsumi readjusted his hands and arms and, with the same foreign swiftness –

**SLASH**

Sliced the other soldier who was just behind him. The attack was so surprising the lower bodies kept running for a very short distance before collapsing, lifeless.

His heart was calming down, along with his breath. He looked around the room, no longer seeing any red silhouettes. He had killed all the soldiers.

He looked into the last room and saw a man wearing a trench coat, cowering in fear against the wall at the very end. For some reason, he was only tinted in a slight red, unlike the soldier's more prominent red. Despite this, Tatsumi walked closer to the man, and saw a briefcase in his hands. The one of which Tatsumi was supposed to retrieve.

"G-GET BACK" he was trying to reach for the gun at his side.

Tatsumi wouldn't let that happen. He rushed at him and as the man grabbed the gun, taking aim, Tatsumi sliced his forearm off. The man, still pointing his arm out, screamed in horrible pain. He scoots away from Tatsumi to the corner of the wall, knocking down a mirror and other miscellaneous items.

"Y-Y-Y-YOU M-M-M-M-MANIAC!"

Maniac?

Tatsumi took notice of the large, broken mirror next to the man.

He saw himself. Normal clothing along with the rubber rooster mask and his sword, all of which are covered in blood. Tatsumi was stunned. For those who knew Tatsumi well, which were a very few amount, they knew him as an easygoing, happy-go-lucky boy. He was tough but naïve, strong but gentle, nice but tempered. Tatsumi looked at his reflection and he didn't see himself. The mask he was wearing was no longer weird.

Tatsumi looked terrifying.

As he continued to stare at his reflection, Tatsumi didn't notice the man trying to take out something from inside his trench coat. The man took out a knife and desperately made a move to stab–

**SLASH**

Tatsumi suddenly beheaded the bright red silhouette.

He looked at the dead body, then at himself again. He finally analyzed how fast he was able to kill the man and the soldiers, how his strength was so great, and how incredible his reaction time was. His was never this good before. In fact, he was able to dodge the first soldier's advance at such a rate that would have been impossible for him. He couldn't explain why, but he figured he could think about it later. Tatsumi grabbed the brief case that he was tasked to get.

When he picked it up, he heard rumbling from the top floor. Someone must have arrived at the garage, must likely the people who the package was supposed to go to. He rushed out of the room towards the top floor.

His thought was proven correct as two more soldiers came out of a carriage. Their weapons were in hand, indicating they noticed the two dead bodies Tatsumi left. Tatsumi knew they weren't going to let him leave, nor would they keep whatever happened here quiet. He knew what he needed to do.

The briefcase he was holding made it difficult for him to hold his sword, and he didn't want to take any chances that might cause the briefcase to be taken. He sheathed his sword and held onto the briefcase.

He walked towards the entrance to the garage and waited. The red silhouettes were in a position similar to the two silhouettes in the basement.

Tatsumi entered and bashed the first soldier's head with the brief case, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. He ducked under the second soldier's attack and, adjusting the briefcase, and bashed him too. It was effective, but there was one problem.

They weren't dead.

Tatsumi ran and knelt over the first soldier and began to bash his head in with the briefcase. Again, and again, and again, until-

**SPLAT**

The front of the man's head caved in, with blood spilling on the ground and brain matter on the case. The second soldier got up and rushed at Tatsumi, sword in hand. Tatsumi turned around and, with the briefcase, redirected the incoming swing. His heart was pumping with adrenaline again, and with this newfound energy, he slammed the case into the soldier's face. Unlike before, the face was immediately caved in, killing the soldier.

Tatsumi began to breath heavily, from exhaustion both physically and mentally. He looked at what he did and only felt satisfaction. However, he couldn't stay here any longer. He quickly got up and ran to the exit, suitcase in hand.

It was dark out. The sun had set long before.

Tatsumi followed the address to the outskirts of one of the many fancy districts of the Capital. No one was outside, due to crime normally taking place at this hour. Tatsumi was already tense about what happened back at the garage, so he hoped he wouldn't have to face the same situation until he calmed down. He walked into an alley. The walls made the atmosphere darker and menacing than usual. Tatsumi paid no mind to this. Turning to the corner, he found the dumpster specified by the letter. Why this spot, Tatsumi will never know. He opened the dumpster lid and deposited the case inside.

"DIE!"

Tatsumi immediately turned around to move away from a knife that would have been thrusted into his stomach. He tripped on the ground. He looked at the stabber. It was a bearded man with an angered look on his face. The clothing he wore indicated he was homeless. He was holding a combat knife, what was caked in blood.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but anyone who trespasses" he rushed towards Tatsumi, "DEALS WITH ME!"

His heart pumping once again, Tatsumi tried to unsheathe his sword.

"I DON'T THINK SO!"

The man slashed his knife towards Tatsumi's hand, causing him to drop his sword. He kicked the sword behind him and juggled his knife between his hands.

"I'm going to kill you rooster boy, slowly," he rushed at Tatsumi again.

Tatsumi's mind was going a million miles per second. His only form of protection was taken away from him. The man started swinging, and Tatsumi was cornered. At the back of his mind, Tatsumi could only think of one thing. He put his hands up.

"I WANNA HEAR YOU SCREAM WHEN I-"

**POW**

Tatsumi had successfully landed a strong punch at the homeless man's face. Said man fell to the ground, holding his face in pain.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'LL MURDER YOUR FAMILY!"

Tatsumi rushed the man while he was grabbing for his fallen knife. When he grabbed it, Tatsumi stomped at his arm, causing him to drop it again, as well as cry in pain.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU-" out of nowhere, Tatsumi grabbed the man's head with both hands, "W-WAIT, WHAT ARE-"

**SMASH**

Tatsumi smashed the man's head into the pavement with both hands.

**SMASH**

Again.

**SMASH**

And again.

**SMASH**

And again.

**SPLAT**

Tatsumi's heart calmed down again, his breath abnormally calm, his eyes now portraying emptiness. He couldn't explain why, but throughout the whole ordeal, his mind went blank. He didn't process what he just did, but he knew he did something. He looked at the homeless man.

The back of the homeless man's head had exploded, covering the pavement with blood and brain matter. His dead eyes were left widened, likely due to the pain. His mouth was open, showcasing his rotting teeth. He must have been trying to scream. His hands were grasping Tatsumi's. He was probably trying to pry his way out of his grasp. One things for sure, he suffered. Tatsumi continued to stare at the body. What he just did had not fully process through his mind.

Without a second thought, he got up, retrieved his fallen sword, and made his way to exit the alley.

Not even after four steps, began to feel something. He noticed his legs getting heavier. He began to lean against the wall with every step taken. He broke into a cold sweat. His breath was getting heavier. His eyes began to dilate. His heart pounding harder.

At the edge of the exit, Tatsumi collapsed on his knees.

"I-I," Tatsumi finally spoke, after his long hours of silence, "I-I killed eight people."

He was wrong. He didn't kill eight people, he slaughtered them. In one night. The soldier's deaths were grotesque, being sliced like butter, despite their armor. But the death of the homeless man did it for him. It was like a nightmare. Tatsumi began to hyperventilate, desperately wishing to wake up from his night terror. His heart couldn't stop pounding and his mind couldn't stop replaying the death of the homeless man.

He felt sick to his stomach. Tatsumi took of the rooster mask-

**BLEEUUUURRRRGGH**

And threw up on the pavement.

The hyperventilating continued. His eyes were shaking. His heart continued to fiercely pound against his chest. The cold sweat on his face was dripping off his nose and chin. He looked at the homeless man again. The pool of blood got bigger by the second. Slowly, Tatsumi found the strength to stand up. And then, without thinking, he ran.

Before Tatsumi went home, to rid his mind from the events of tonight, he stopped by at a location that he hadn't visited in a while. He was back in the middle-class district of the Capital, almost halfway across the city itself. If there was ever a perfect time to come here, this would be it.

The location he wanted to visit was a convenient store. Nothing shabby, just a place to buy miscellaneous items like milk, candy bars, and even toiletries and cleaning supplies. Your normal convenience store. Opening the door rang a little bell, indicating the cashier and the janitor that someone has arrived.

"Good afternoon, welco-…" the female cashier stopped for a moment, eyes gaping in surprise, "Tatsumi?"

"Hi Sayo," Tatsumi smiled meekly.

Sayo left the register and walked up to Tatsumi. When she was in range-

**BONK**

She bonked Tatsumi's head with her fist.

"Don't 'Hi Sayo' me! We haven't seen you in weeks!" said Sayo.

Tatsumi was crouched on the ground, holding the large bump on his head with both hands.

"I know, it's…good to see you Sayo," said Tatsumi, giving Sayo a bright smile despite the pain.

Sayo rolled her eyes, and the stern look turned into a warm smile. She helped Tatsumi up and promptly gave him a hug.

"Well, it's good to know you're okay," she released the hug, "We were worried about you. Ever since we couldn't enter the army, you've been very gloomy."

The janitor walked out of one of the aisles.

"Hey Sayo, who're you talking-" he looked at Tatsumi, "Holy Crap! Tatsumi!"

"Good to see you too Ieyasu," said Tatsumi, stifling a giggle, "I never took you for a janitor though."

"Oh don't give me that," said Ieyasu, walking up to Tatsumi and giving him a short hug, "I haven't seen you in weeks, and the first thing you do is make fun of me."

Both Sayo and Tatsumi laugh.

"Don't laugh at me!" yelled Ieyasu, now annoyed, "Sayo, it's supposed to be your turn to mop, I don't know why I gotta do it!"

"Apparently, you forgot about the little 'joke' you pulled on the boss a couple of days back," said Sayo, now looking at Tatsumi, "He's not real fan of our boss-"

"He's a jerk, that's what he is," Ieyasu interrupted.

"-and Ieyasu thought it would be funny to replace the ketchup for his lunch with hot sauce-"

"Jerk had it coming."

"-I won't lie, it was funny. Ieyasu's been stuck as the janitor ever since."

"It sucks dude."

"Be glad he didn't fire you," said a stern Sayo, now facing Ieyasu, "He may be a jerk, but he's the guy who pays us so we can pay our bills and support our village."

"Oh please, you wouldn't be saying that if you were the one mopping, you lazy cow."

**BONK**

Ieyasu fell to the ground, his hands holding a large bump on his head curtesy of a pissed off Sayo.

Tatsumi looked at his two bickering friend of his and smiled. Why did he stop coming to see them? If anyone can cheer him up, it would be them. Already, he could feel the nightmare of tonight begin to fade away. He walked up to Ieyasu and helped him up. They had stopped bickering by this time.

"Thanks Tatsumi," said Ieyasu, giving him a bright smile, while also looking at Sayo with an annoyed look.

"Well, anyway," said Sayo, "You feeling okay Tatsumi? You don't look so good."

Ieyaso looked at Tatsumi.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, you look paler than usual. You sick or something?" asked Ieyasu.

"I…" Tatsumi didn't want to be reminded about what he just did, "I…did something that I would like to forget. I'd rather not talk about it."

He didn't want to share something like that to his friends. It would worry them even more.

"Oh, okay then," said Sayo, "We know you've been going through with some stuff, so we won't pry."

"Yeah dude, no worries, tell us when your ready," said Ieyasu, "But, you know, you should come visit us every once in a while."

"We've been thinking about you every day."

"Yeah, really Tatsumi, we thought something bad happened to you."

Their such amazing friends.

"Well, I've been fine, believe me," said Tatsumi, trying to sound convincing.

Sayo and Ieyasu saw through it. Before Sayo could say anything, Ieyasu spoke.

"Tell you what," he said, pointing towards an aisle, "Why don't you go grab a snack over by the snack isle."

"Yeah," Sayo smiled, agreeing with Ieyasu, "A snack will make you feel better. Take one, it's on the house."

Truly amazing friends. Tatsumi gave them a warm smile. He now felt a lot better about the nightmare of tonight. He walked to a shelf and grabbed himself a candy bar.

"You're the best guys, thank you."

"No worries Tatsumi," said Sayo, "Have a good night."

"Yeah dude, and please, see us again," said Ieyasu.

"Yeah…Definitely," said Tatsumi.

He walked out of the convenience store. His mind now clearer from tonight. And because of this clarity, he could see that, under the circumstances, he was in the right to kill those men. They would have killed him had he not defended himself. In fact, had Tatsumi left them alive, they would have probably gone and end up killing someone else, especially the homeless man. He took a deep breath, opened the candy bar, and took a bite. He was glad to have seen his friends.

He started walking back to his apartment. Despite feeling comforted, the thought of tonight still lingered in his mind. Tatsumi sincerely hoped that whatever happened last night was a one-time thing.

He hoped that this would never happen again.

I personally enjoyed the thought of this crossover and figured I would just bring it to life. I'm worried that I might have rushed some parts and over extended some others. But other than that, this was cool.

Edit: I changed some parts of this chapter, including some fixes. I barely had a direction for this but now one is forming. Changes needed to be made to accommodate. Hope you all enjoy and please review, I'm not the best at finding flaws.