I dont own Medaka Box or Akame ga kill!
But of course, you already know that.
...lets get to the story, !(•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑
Chapter 2 "Welcome, Loser (And Co.) to Night Raid!"
It has been 3 days since then…
Tatsumi and Ieyasu were outside on a cliff…
Sayo was in Night Raid's base but they couldn't go in because they weren't members…
"Tatsumi…what do you think about…you know, our situation?" Ieyasu asked his brown haired partner.
「I don't swing that way.」Tatsumi replied, creeped out.
"I didn't mean it that way!" Ieyasu shouted.
「Oh. Well, this place needs some work on it, but with time, it could be our evil lair to dominate the whole world! 」
"You always play around…."
「Of course!」Tatsumi then looked at the horizon. 「I can't tell you what you need to do, you are not a child anymore, Ieyasu. Just follow your heart.」He looked at the cliff, nostalgic of the good ol times.
"About night raid…should I join?" Ieyasu asked, hesitantly.
「Night raid? What are you talking about? 」Tatsumi asked.
"What are you talking about?" Ieyasu asked back.
「You coming out of the closet.」
"I AM NOT GAY, DAMMIT!"
「Hey there, nice lady!」
"Whoa!" Ieyasu turned to see Leone who was standing in front of him.
"Damn, I thought I could take you by surprise" She pouted. "Hey there! It has been 3 days, Have you made your decision about joining night raid?"
「This Is literally the first time I heard of it!」Tatsumi was shocked.
"Well, you were kind of busy at that time…" Leone trailed off.
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"I WILL KILL YOU!" The roars of a pink haired girl could be heard in the forest. "COME BACK HERE!"
「It's not my fault that nature decided to give you such small breasts!」
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「Oh yeah…that happened. So Ieyasu, what do you think about it? 」
"You are asking me?!" He sounded surprised.
「Of course. The whole point of this travel was to gain money and be free of the oppressive yoke of this empire. But then!」Tatsumi, raises his arms 「The plot thickens! We find out that even if we buy the village, it doesn't matter! If the fat imbecile known as the prime minister decides to make us his happy workers. So yeah…kind of lost our purpose in life.」
"Well, that's one way to say it…" Leone said, sweat dropping off her forehead.
"I…I don't know what to do…" He really didn't know what to do.
「Not a surprise. Common people would be at odds against a situation like this.」
"Well, if you are unsure of what to do, I can give you a tour of the facilities."
「Yay!
"What is this, a workplace visit?!" Ieyasu started running to catch them. "Hey! Wait for me!"
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"Is it really okay to leave it in the open?" Ieyasu asked, confused.
They were in front of a white, enormous building that was hidden under a cliff.
「Don't worry. Because of the cliff, they are protected from aerial vision and I saw some threads on the way here. Kind of a security alarm if intruders…intrude.」
'He spotted Lubbock's threads?' Leone thought while looking at Tatsumi. 'He is good, alright.'
"I see…"
「I can also detect plot armor here. 」He said, absentmindedly.
"Plot what?"
「So, how is Sayo doing?」He changed the subject, remembering that there were three of them.
"I forgot! How is she?!" Ieyasu panicked.
"She hasn't woke up yet. But don't worry, they have examined her already and they haven't found anything wrong." Leone said with a reassuring smile on her face.
Ieyasu left a relieved sigh to escape his mouth. Tatsumi was beaming a smile.
「She is going to have your ass in silver plate if she knows that you forgot about her!」
"You won't tell her, right?"
「Of course not…」His smile crooked 「in exchange of money.」
"You devil!" He tried to punch Tatsumi, only to feel air stroking his fist.
Leone was looking at the two boys with interest.
'The boss may arrive today. I want to ask her, no, convince her about these two…in special, Tatsumi.' She eyed the brown haired kid, who had an apparently eternal blank smile on his face.
「Is something wrong, Leone?」His face was really close to Leone's.
"Ah?!" When he got close?! "No, it's nothing, don't worry about it!"
He narrowed his eyes and gave her a creepy smile.「I know what you are thinking about!」
'He does?!'
「You were thinking about where do I keep my screws, right?」
"Screws?" Ieyasu asked.
'Screws…' She saw the insufferable bitch Aria get impaled in the head by an oversized screw… 'Now that I think of…where does he store it? We didn't see a bulge or something on his clothes and didn't have a screw on his hand when we met in the barn…'
'Could it be a Teigu?' "Well now that you bring the subject…"
「It's easy! I have a dimensional pocket that can store infinity of things!」
'It is a Teigu after all?!' Leone ponders on what kind of Teigu could do that.
'Why the image of a blue cat just went through my head?' Ieyasu thought, confused about his own thoughts.
「…not! I lied!」Tatsumi smirked.
"Gah!" Leone gawked.
Ieyasu was thinking if he should see a shrink. Maybe being exposed to Tatsumi's craziness is taking a toll on him.
「The explanation is, even more, simpler than that!」
"You are gonna tell us?" Ieyasu asked.
Leone was looking expectantly at him.
「When everyone is present. I don't like to repeat myself.」
…Now she was looking forward to when the boss arrives.
Ieyasu was also interested. He did know that Tatsumi could heal minor injuries, but this is the first time he heard about those screws…
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They walked into the hideout, and a couple of minutes later, they were in some kind of meeting room, with a big table and a banner on the wall. Tatsumi thought that the symbol in the banner was from Night Raid.
In the table, a woman with long purple hair and purple eyes was sit. She was wearing a revealing sleeveless lilac cheongsam with detached lilac arm sleeves and white boots and glasses. She had a little scar on her right cheek
"Huh? They haven't made their decision to join yet?" She asked.
"Yeah Schele, could you give them some advice for me?" Leone grinned at Schele.
"In the first place, both you know where our hiding is, so you'll be killed if you don't join." Schele stated. Her words didn't have any meaning. They were carelessly recited.
Ieyasu paled at this and was sweating. Tatsumi, on the other hand…
「Hmmm…in that case, you don't really leave any much choice…」Tatsumi tilted his head. 「but in the first place, what does Night Raid offer his employees?」
"Huh?"
「Do they give us dental plan? Remunerated weekends? Paid Vacations?」
"W-What?" Schele
「Side benefits of working here. You can't just wish for me to work here just for money and death threats.」
"B-But you will be killed if you don't join!"
「You can't expect every person that comes here to be afraid of death. I don't see any satisfying perks on associating myself with you, so until I see more of your hideout and discuss the terms of the contract with the manager of this branch, my answer is no. 」
Schele and Leone were giving him thunderstruck looks. Ieyasu was thinking how handy was having someone who is not afraid of speaking what he has in mind. Even if most of it was nonsense.
「On other note, Nice to meet you!」He bowed to her.
"Eh? -Ah. Nice to meet you too!" She bowed but forgot that she was sitting and her face hit the table. "Owie!"
Ieyasu and Leone sweat dropped at this. Tatsumi was unfazed.
"Hey!" They heard a shout coming from behind. Ieyasu and Tatsumi were already familiarized with its owner.
Aa young girl with very long pink hair tied in twin-tails on the right and left sides of her head. She has big pink eyes. She was wearing a long pink dress.
The sniper, Mine.
"Wait a second, Leone. What are these guys doing in our hideout?!"
"Cause they are one of us!"
「We are?」"We are?" Both Tatsumi and Ieyasu asked at the same time.
"They aren't! They haven't boss permission yet!" She yelled, gritting her teeth. She then turned to give a look to the two boys that were standing there.
Ieyasu was sweating, looking uncomfortable. Tatsumi was smiling with his eyes closed and waving his hand at her.
"Fail!" She shouted. "Just look at them! How they would be able to work with us! They are amateurs!"
"What?!" Ieyasu yelled, angered. Who the hell does she think she is?!
「The term you are looking for is 'n00bs'」Tatsumi didn't even care. 「Also…」
He approached her and was looking straight at her eyes 「If memory doesn't fail me, 3 days ago, you tried to kill me. 」He grinned 「But you couldn't shoot at me, right? Doesn't that make you more incompetent than me?」He cocked his head.
"What?!"
「After all…You couldn't kill an amateur like me!」
"Burn!" Ieyasu shouted, taunting Mine.
Leone was smirking. It was hilarious to see Mine get caught at her own game.
「Also…just because you have the chest size of a brat doesn't mean that you can act like one!」
…
Ieyasu's jaw dropped.
Tatsumi dodged the incoming kick 「Whoa!」
"Not again!" Ieyasu grabbed Tatsumi by the collar and started running. "Let's just get out of here!" They then started running towards the exit.
"Wait!" Leone followed suit.
"I WILL MURDER YOU!" They heard the bloody shriek of a banshee coming from behind.
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「That was close…」Tastumi muttered, with tiredness on his voice.
"Why do you antagonize her so much?" Leone asked. She could understand that they didn't like the pink blob of happiness that was Mine. But Tatsumi didn't look the type to hold grudges.
"Why are you tired when I was the one who dragged you all the way?" Ieyasu was tired. He was glaring at his brown haired friend, who ignored him and talked to Leone.
「Antagonize? I thought she was teasing us, so I decided to tease her in return!」He happily said, with a smile on his face.
"I don't think she was-"
"Please, Leone, don't ask." She was cut by Ieyasu, pleading her to not open the Pandora (Tatsumi) box.
"Ah…*ejem*Well, now we are at the training grounds!" Leone showed them an outfield filled with mannequins.
"NWOOOOH!" That cry picked their attention.
The source was a tall, muscle build man with black eyes and a pompadour hairstyle.
"Wow!" Ieyasu exclaimed. 'I can't even see the way he moves. I only can see blurs.' He thought, amazed at the prowess of the muscular build man.
「Amazing…」Tatsumi was impressed. He hasn't saw someone move so fast without the aid of a 'Teigu'.
"The man who reeks of sweat is Bulat." Leone signaled Bulat, who just finished his warm-up and was walking towards the group.
"Hey! It's Leone!" Bulat greeted Leone "and those two…are the dudes from before!"
"How does he know about us?"
「He was the one in the armor.」
"How did you know?"
「Well…Process of elimination. I know how Akame, Leone, Mine, Schele, and that green haired guy look like. The only way for him to know is that he was there, and the only one who was present there, apart from the others, was the guy with full armor.」
"Correct! I am impressed." Bulat praised Tatsumi's deduction.
「That was a lie. I just guessed right!」At that, Bulat fell anime style. Ieyasu was already accustomed at his antics so he only chuckled at this. Leone was getting the hang of (building resistance at) Tatsumi's personality so she only sweat dropped.
「My name is Tatsumi. And this one can present himself.」Tatsumi bowed at Bulat「Nice to meet you!」
Ieyasu put his hands behind his back and straightened his back. "My name is Ieyasu, sir! Nice to meet you, sir!"
"No need to be so formal, you know…" He then smiled confidently "My name is Bulat. Nice to meet you!" He shakes hands with both Tatsumi and Ieyasu.
"By the way...this guy is a homo, so be careful you two" Leone said, with a playful tone of her voice.
"Hey Hey…" Ieyasu thought he also was bullied with jokes about his (apparent) sexual preferences. 'Finally! Another comrade who understands my suffering.' He was in tears. He was tired to tell Tatsumi that he was straight. 'I found a friend who suffers the same treatment as me!'
"They would misunderstand, right?" Bulat blushed and had a bishojo look in his eyes.
Ieyasu was petrified.
Tatsumi opened his mouth「*Inhales*」
"Don't you dare!" He snarled at Tatsumi.
Leone just chuckled at the duo's antics.
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They were currently walking in a forest.
"Does someone live here?" Ieyasu asked Leone, they were pretty far away from the hiding.
"The correct question would be 'does someone peep here?'" Leone said, annoyed and tired.
As in cue of that, the heard a voice laced with perverseness and lecherous intentions.
"It's almost Leone's bath time. I won't think twice about the danger if it's to see those jugs!" A green-haired man said between pants and moans.
He had green eyes and. He wore a long green jacket with a fur trimmed hood over a white and red ringer shirt and blue jeans. He had red google on his head.
"Then how I break two fingers?" A cold, emotionless voice was heard behind him.
*CRACK*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A deafening screaming can be heard in the woods.
"You never learn, Lubbock." Leone tiredly said.
"Fuck! I can still go on!" The man shouted with determination.
「Do you see the size of his spirit?」Tatsumi gasped, astonished. 「Its over 9000!」
"I don't see his spirit…but I am sure as hell that I can see his determination!" Ieyasu exclaimed, looking at the source of such determination.
Tatsumi and Ieyasu exchanged looks.
「A true man!」"A true man!" They both exclaimed in admiration.
"Guys…" Lubbock didn't know those two…but he could feel their perverted spirits. Finally, he found peeping comrades!
"So you don't mind sharing his fate, do you?" Leone asked the two, with a sinister smile on her face.
「…」"…" They looked at Leone with a blank look
They looked at themselves.
「As a true man, he will die for his beliefs.」Tatsumi said.
"As a true man, he will never be forgotten." Ieyasu said.
And then, they walked off, abandoning Lubbock to save their own skin.
"Wait, help me!" Lubbock was crying.
"Your arm is next." Leone sadistically grinned.
"NOOOOO!" They could hear the scream of his (short-term) companion. A picture of Lubbock can be seen in the sky…smiling at them.
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They were walking next to a riverbed.
「If we go with elimination process, unless that there is someone else, the next person on the list is…」Tatsumi muttered.
They saw smoke coming from a fire that was on the floor, near a Black haired woman. She was wearing a dark sleeveless mini dress with a white collar and a red tie and a red belt that has a red side skirt cover.
"Amazing! She took an Evil bird on her own!" Ieyasu exclaimed, amazed. He knew how hard that beast was to be taken down.
"Akame may look like that but she grew in the wild." Leone crossed her arms, with a proud smile on her face.
"You should eat too, Leone." Akame said in a monotonous tone as she tossed a piece of meat to Leone.
"Oh, thanks!" Leone exclaimed, giving her regards to the chef (Akame.)
Akame then glanced at the two newcomers, Tatsumi especially, who was smiling at her. She was unnerved by his blank smile. She didn't know why, but she thought it was abnormal.
"Did you…became one of us?"
「We are still reviewing the contract, so no.」Tatsumi shrugged his shoulders.
"We had a contract?" She tilted her head.
「I have to say, you people seem pretty happy working under such flawed conditions.」He widened his eyes in fake surprise.
Akame gave Leone a questioning look, which Leone answered with a 'Don't mind him.'
"So you are not members…then I can't give you this meat."
"Oh man!" Ieyasu, who was drooling rivers, said dejected.
「Don't worry! We can leave their refrigerator empty afterward!」
"Yeah!"
"Wait, what?!" Akame stood up, glaring at the two boys.
"Calm down, Akame, they are joking!" At least, Ieyasu was. "By the way, what is the occasion for such extravagant meal?"
「I think is because of the silver haired dude over there.」Tatsumi signaled the 'man' sitting in a chair, eating meat.
"Dude?" Ieyasu asked. When he saw him, he said "Oh, yeah. He has an eye patch and a mechanical arm. How did we miss him?" Ieyasu was truly impressed at how they could overlook such extravagant appearance.
He was wearing a black suit that shows her cleavage….
「Wait…what?」
"…" The silver haired 'dude' broke the bone in his hand.
They looked at Akame and Leone, whose jaw dropped to the floor and face looked terrified as if they saw a monster.
"Not even a day…" Akame muttered, amazed.
"It was nice to meet you two!" Leone said, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
"W-what happened?" Ieyasu asked, put off by their actions.
Tatsumi narrowed his eyes and realized something.「Ieyasu, I think we screwed up.」
"What?!"
「Look at the dude's chest.」He pointed at the chest of the 'man'.
"What do you mean by- Holy shit!" Ieyasu yelled. "Look at the size of those things!"
「Ehem」Tatsumi coughed, gaining the attention of all the presents. 「Nice to meet you, Ieyasu. 」 then ran away, leaving Ieyasu behind.
"Wait!" before he could even start running, 'something' grazed his cheek.
Something went for Tatsumi, then, something grabbed him by the collar, pulling him towards the silver haired woman.
"So…who are these two?" The woman asked in a low, rough tone.
"Ah…Boss! I recommend those two to join night raid! Especially the one that you have on your hand!"
'Boss' analyzed Tatsumi, who was smiling at her. "Do they show promise?"
Leone remembered how he survived in a fight against Akame and killing Aria "Yeah, they do." She smiled, confident about her judgment.
"We are gonna do it then?!" Ieyasu asked Tatsumi, confused.
「Mmmm…」
"Give it a try!" Leone encouraged Tatsumi.
"The wage is high too." Akame played along.
「…」
"Akame." Boss called Akame "Gather everyone in the meeting room" She ordered. "I want to hear the results of the previous operation, in detail, including these young boys."
「I still haven't heard a word about Dental plan.」
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The people of Night raid, as well Tatsumi and Ieyasu, were in the meeting room. The boss, now identified as Najenda, was sitting on a chair.
They reviewed the events that happened 3 days ago, as well Taking Tatsumi, Sayo and Ieyasu with them. Leone and Akame also mentioned Tatsumi's strange ability.
"Wait, he can heal people?" Mine asked, curious about Tatsumi's ability.
"I think you forgot the part where he supposedly revived his old teammate?!" Lubbock shouted.
"I think he has a totally believable explanation about that you know…" Schele muttered, not actually understanding the matter.
"Silence!" Najenda's voice reverberated on the meeting room. "As we have many interrogates about the matter, we are here specifically about the matter of recruitment."
She then looked at Ieyasu and Tatsumi. "Tatsumi, Ieyasu, would you like to join Night Raid?"
"We…we are dead if we decline, right?" Ieyasu asked, hesitantly.
"No, that's not gonna happen. But we can't let you go back. We'll have you work as a laborer in our workshop."
「So either way, we are stuck here…We also have the matter about Sayo. Has she woken up yet?」
"No…she is still sleeping." Akame answered quietly.
「I see…」Tatsumi looked at Najenda, his smile still in place. 「What are Night Raid's objectives?」
"The freedom of this country." Najenda stated.
"The freedom of this country?" Ieyasu asked. Tatsumi was listening intently.
"The capital is a rotten place. The countryside is suffering because its central is rotten to the core." Bulat said.
"Bulat was originally a skilled imperial soldier. But he learned of the empire's corruption and became one of us."
"After all, our work is eliminating the evildoers in the capital. It's much better than working under those rotten people." Bulat told.
"But, even if you just kill bad guys little by little, the world won't change greatly will it?" Ieyasu asked, looking down "In the end, place in the remote regions like my village won't be saved by that"
"I see, then, Night Raid fits you even more." Najenda said, smiling at Ieyasu.
"How so?"
"Far south the capital, there's the hideout of an anti-empirical force, the revolutionary army."
"Revolutionary army?"
"The revolutionary army, which started out small, had grown into a large scale organization by now."
"Then, inevitably, a unit handle covert jobs such as assassination and information gathering was created." She signaled the Bann that was in the wall "That us, Night Raid."
「In other words, they are killing vital targets, weakening the link between the capital so the revolutionary army can make a full-scale attack. When the army takes action, they would use the confusion and…」
"Kill the prime minister, the root of all the corruption in the capital." Najenda finished for him.
"Take out…the prime minister?!"
"That's our goal. Although I can't say anything specifically about when they will take action. We have prepared a plan to win. When the time comes, this country will take action."
"I see…Awesome!"
Najenda looked up at Ieyasu.
"So the killing you're doing now is just targeting bad guys to clean up the trash…Is what they call assassins of justice, isn't it?!"
…
"HAHAHAHAHA!" The whole group, excluding Akame, who was just staring at Ieyasu and Tatsumi, who was blankly smiling at him.
"What's so funny?!" He felt Embarrassed.
"Ieyasu…no matter how you look at it, what we're doing is murder." Leone had a dark expression on her face.
"There is no way there is any justice in there." Schele simply said.
"Every person here…could receive their retribution and die at any moment." Bulat's face was somber.
"Are you an idiot?" Mine put her two cents, mocking Ieyasu's naïve thinking.
"I-I see…" Ieyasu wanted to cover himself with dirt. He used the wrongs words to express his thoughts…
「aaaa….」He heard the whisper of his friend. Now that he noticed it…
He was too quiet…
「WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」Then he was struck by a sea of tears.
Everyone was startled at the sudden noise.
Tatsumi was covering his eyes with his right arm, crying waterfalls. 「Oh lord. That was deep! It commoved me. Your beliefs, your sacrifice, your conviction! It was so heartwarming! 」
"What the heck is wrong with him?" Mine said, creeped out by Tatsumi's behavior.
「But it's so sad…」He stopped crying. 「How wrong you are.」
Everyone noticed the change of tone in his voice…unlike his normal one, this one sounded empty and uncaring. Devoid of any emotion. Ieyasu flinched at his tone. He never heard him talking like that. It was out of place to someone as Tatsumi.
「Anyway…」He was back to normal. 「Putting aside that naïve outlook of yours…」
'Naïve?' Najenda asked herself. What does he mean by that?
「I couldn't really care about what happens to this rotten empire or sorts. But if killing the prime minister is necessary for me to make my dream come true, then bring it!」he fist bumped.
"Your…dream?" Najenda asked him, still perplexed at the sudden change of voice tone and his erratic behavior.
「My dream…」He looked at Najenda straight in the eyes「Is to buy this guy's village.」
"Really?" Ieyasu asked him. He really cared about them and the village? He sometimes had his doubts, giving Tatsumi's attitude and the fact that it was nearly impossible to read him at all.
"Tatsumi…" He was looking at his friend with new fond respect.
「And then…」He smiled brightly「build my own thematic park, filled with blackjack and hookers!」
…
「In fact, screw the park!」
Respect that disappeared as fast as it appeared.
"Why must you toy with my emotions…" Ieyasu was looking at him with a dead look. Then he started laughing
"I second that!" Lubbock yelled, only to be punched by Leone in the gut. "Regret…nothing."
Everyone was looking at him with a variety of expressions.
Leone was flabbergasted. She thought that no one could be weirder than her teammates. She was proved wrong. Tatsumi was giving weird a new signification.
Schele was smiling. She was thinking about what attraction she should try in the thematic park. Yeah, she wasn't paying attention to the atmosphere.
Bulat was troubled. This was the first time he met such person in his life. He was even more eccentric than his teammates in Night Raid and back at his time in the Empire.
Akame was anxious. She was thinking about what he meant by 'how wrong you are' and the sudden change of personality. She also was thinking on his confrontation with him. His abilities are a mystery.
Mine was thunderstruck. How can someone be such an idiot at these times? She was also holding a grudge because of the insults at her chest.
Lubbock conflicted. One on hand, he was happy that he had peeping mates and someone who understood the beauty that is the female body. On the other hand, he was cautious of him. He still hasn't disclosed his 'Teigu' for the matter.
Ieyasu was laughing. Tatsumi was Tatsumi. His best friend always found the way to cheer him up or save him from embarrassment at times like these. He placed his worry about his change of character in the back of the burner for now.
Najenda was sweat dropping. This kid was quite the character. But there was one truth. She can't read him. He also gives her an uneasy feeling.
"Ah!" Leone exclaimed. "Tatsumi, didn't you say that you were going to explain the ability of you Teigu?"
「True.」
That word gained all the world's attention.
"So is a Teigu?" Lubbock inquired.
"…" Akame was putting all of her attention at Tatsumi. She was both curious and eager to know Tatsumi's ability.
「Well for starters-」he cut his speech short when he heard Lubbock's gasp.
"Najenda-san, we have intruders!" Lubbock shouted, alarming the other members of Night Raid.
"How many of them?"
"According to my barrier, it seems that there are 18 guys here"
「So much for secret base…」
"They have infiltrated near the hideout!"
"I see…To be able to sniff this place out, that means that they are probably mercenaries from another race…There is no other way." Najenda lightened a cigar.
Her expression grimed. "This is an emergency. Don't let any of them return alive."
Ieyasu was trembling. The bloodlust inside this room was drowning him.
"Tatsumi what do we-Tatsumi?" Ieyasu asked.
They then noticed that the brown haired boy was missing.
"Uh? Where is he?!" Mine asked.
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"Hey, who is that?!" One of the 3 men yelled, alerting the others 2.
A brown haired kid in a white coat was walking towards them. He had a blank smile and was apparently disarmed.
"It's just a kid…"
「Hey there, fellas! I am sorry to say that this place is off limits!」The kid shouted at them. 「Go back to your turf and we can say that nothing happened here!」
"So we actually hit the jackpot!"
"This is Night Raid hiding place!"
"With this, we can-" His words were cut short, for the pain that erupted in his body. Blood was foaming from his mouth.
"W-What?"
The other two only saw how their teammate's corpse fell to the ground. It was impaled with a multitude of oversized screws.
「Oh my…This isn't some Shonen magazine, you know? Why did you think I was going to stay put while you were gloating about your discovery?」They heard a mocking voice coming from behind. 「You amateurs.」
"What the-?!" He could say anything else as something penetrated his face. His body fell to the ground, with a screw stuck on his cranium.
「Thug #2 is dead. What will thug #3 do about this?」
The man was fell on his butt. He didn't even register him moving. In less than a fraction of a second, his 2 companions were corpses, dead on the floor.
"I…wait…" He stammered, his voice full of fear.
「You can either fight and die like a man …or… I could give you five seconds to get away like a chicken and we forgot all about this. Of course, that includes the location of whatever is here. 」The brown haired kid flashed a bright smile at him.
He didn't waste chance and started running in the opposite way.
He heard a chuckle coming from behind…and then.
*STAB*
"W-What…" He felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. When he looked, a screw was impaled on his stomach.
「I changed my mind.」He heard the same voice.
"It-It wasn't…even one second!"
「It was your fault. You think I am just gonna let you run away with knowledge of this place? For a professional, you are pretty naïve, you know?」the kid titled his head.
"You…fucking…liar." The last thing he noticed was something piercing his skull.
「3 down, 15 to go.」
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Everyone split up, to cover more ground in the search of the intruders. Mine and Schele formed Team Air/Tsun heads. Bulat and Ieyasu formed the team Onii-sama. Leone, Lubbock, and Akame went on their own, more accustomed to solo play. They were also on the lookout for Tatsumi.
Leone was looking for the intruders in a clear when her nose picked up a too familiar smell.
"This is..!" She picked up the pace and went to the source of the smell.
It was then when she saw the bodies of 5 intruders…
"What?"
Stuck on nearby trees and in the ground. All of them impaled with oversized screws. Some of their faces were unrecognizable, being mashed into the ground.
Leone recognized those screws "Tatsumi!" He did all of this?
Damn! He was good. These guys didn't even stand a chance!
'He is getting more interesting as time passes.' She thought, finding the brown haired boy both amazing and mysterious.
.
.
.
There was an intruder running away from the forest.
'The enemy detected our infiltration. But it's certain that here is a hideout. Even this information by itself has immense value!' He smirked 'I will survive and report it to our client, the Empire!'
Unbeknown to him, a certain pink haired sniper was aiming her gun at him.
"He's run very far away…I have to expose myself like this to be able to hit that…" Mine muttered. She aimed her Teigu, pumpkin to the intruder's head.
It was then when she felt movement from behind. "Gotcha!" A male voice shouted.
Mine grinned. She wasn't alone, after all. She was waiting for the fool to show himself.
"Guh!" It was then when she heard the painful gasp from the intruder and when the body fell down.
"Thanks, Schele!" She turned to thank her teammate…
"I…I didn't do anything!" Schele was looking at the now corpse of the intruder. Mine turned to see her teammate standing beside the assailer's twisting body.
An oversized screw struck the assailer's chest, where the heart was. He was bleeding profusely.
"What?!" Mine shouted. She then remembered the running intruder. "Shit!" She turned to the other man that was escaping.
Only to see him also on the ground, looking like Swiss cheese. Many screws were stuck on his body.
"What the fuck?!" She yelled.
"Could it be Tatsumi?" Schele asked Mine. "Leone did say that he used a screw to kill that noble lady…"
Tatsumi…
But!
She didn't felt his presence. He was just a newbie (according to her) and yet, he sneaked on them and killed two experienced assassins, with a fairly large distance between them, in a matter of seconds!
Who is he?
.
.
.
Ieyasu decided to stick with the apparently most normal guy on Night Raid. It would be a change of pace on his life, being stuck with Tatsumi. Not that he disliked it or anything, but he needs a break from time to time.
"Bulat-san!" Ieyasu ran alongside Bulat.
"Oh! Ieyasu, do you want to come with me?" Bulat asked Ieyasu with a friendly smile on his face.
"Yes!"
"Also, call me Handsome or Aniki!"
"Yes, Aniki!"
"OK! Feels great!" Bulat was flattered at the respect that Ieyasu gave him "As a reward, I will show you something cool. Stand back a bit!" Bulat then stopped in his tracks.
Ieyasu did as he was told and then, Bulat shouted…
"INCURSIOOOOOOOOO!" it was then that something wrapped Bulat's body.
Ieyasu widened his eyes in surprise. When the smoke cleared, he saw a man covered in a full armor.
"Whoaaaah!" Exclaimed Ieyasu as if he was a five-year-old.
Who could blame him, when he was watching a real life Kamen Sentai?
"Awesome!"
"Right? This is the Teigu, Incursio." Bulat made a battling pose.
"Teigu?" "I don't really get it, but it's getting me pumped up!" He was impressed.
"So you understand what's so good about this!"
They then started running again.
In the way, the found the bodies of 4 intruders. They were a mess, having their faces crushed and their bodies impaled by what it seems were giant screws.
"W-What is…who did this?"
Bulat had a suspicion of who did it. Leone and Akame told that they witnessed Tatsumi kill their target by what it seemed and oversized screw. What a weird choice for a weapon…
"Ieyasu listen to me…now I will tell you your first job in Night raid."
"Y-Yeah!"
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.
.
Akame was running through the forests, still not finding any intruders. She was also on the lookout for Tatsumi. Maybe if she watched him fight, some of her doubts could clear…
'How did he survive Murasame? And what he did to that girl, Sayo?' Those questions were in Akame's head since he met him at the mansion…
Also…there was something on him that alerted Akame. His smile…it unnerved her. It felt like when she is killing. With no apparent emotion. But he was the 24 hours sporting that look and smile.
"!" She stopped dead in her tracks. There were enemies ahead. She was running towards the location for the intruders, when…
She stopped sensing their presence.
"What?!" Were they already killed?
By who?
She hid in the bushes, erasing her presence.
「That makes 17… there is still one of them left…」She heard the voice said, calculating…
"Tatsumi?"
At his name being called, he turned to Akame 「Hey there!」He greeted her, with a smile plastered on his face.
His white coat was stained with blood. There was some blood on his face as well and he was holding a giant screw on his right arm. Surrounding him were the corpses of 3 man. It seems that they were stabbed with screws on their vital points and bleed to death.
She looked at the source of the mess, who was wiping off the blood on his face with a handkerchief. 「Would you like to help me localize the last intruder?」He blankly smiled at her.
She shivered. She didn't felt his presence, and she was a professional assassin in that regard…
「Akame?」
"Y-Yes, let's go." Akame said. She was going to be alone with him.
Her 5 senses were on high alert. She didn't trust him.
Not because she was afraid of him, mind you.
.
.
.
"A rabbit…" Ieyasu muttered, annoyed at his current task. He remembered the wise words of Bulat Aniki…
'Listen…if the enemy were to run away, there's a large possibility that they'll come through here. Even slowing them down's okay. Just fight back.'
"What a total newbie role…will the enemy even come through here?" Ieyasu asked himself.
He was also thinking about Tatsumi's whereabouts. He left the meeting room without making any sound…
'Those screws…' He heard the report of Leone and Akame, putting attention at the part where Tatsumi killed Aria.
He didn't care about how he killed her at that moment since he was probably going to die and give two fucks about everything…but now…he was intrigued about the murder weapon. He never saw Tatsumi using screws in their hunts, only sticking to the short sword on his belt to kill the animals.
'Is he keeping any secrets from me?' he then thought of Sayo, who was still bedridden 'Us?'
…wait a second.
He narrowed his eyes. 'Why I am here, exactly? I am not a part of Night Raid…yet.'
He didn't have more time to think deeply as he felt the bushes moving. 'An enemy?!'
He was right. A bulky man with a…tiger head (or is it a pelt of a tiger that he is wearing on his head?) passed through Ieyasu's hiding place.
They locked looks… and both of them jumped back.
"Shit! They even have someone stationed here!" The man cursed.
"I can't let you pass through here!" Ieyasu shouted, with his blade on his hand, his entire body ready to fight.
"Even though you are a boy…" The man smiled, letting his bloodlust out "I won't hold back!"
Unknown to them, there were two people watching the confrontation, hidden in the bushes.
「Mmmm…it seems that Ieyasu found him first…」Tatsumi said, with his hand on his chin.
"Shouldn't we help him?" Akame asked his partner, whose attention was on the fight.
「Nope.」
"…" Akame was waiting for him to elaborate.
「Now be silent, I want to watch this…」
"That it?!"
It was kind of hypocrite of her to be startled, as she does the same thing.
Back to the fight.
The two of them were engaged in close combat. Ieyasu was dodging the incoming slashes and parried the ones he couldn't dodge. The fight was even.
"Damn! You are just a kid!" The man shouted "Just a country bumpkin!"
…Ieyasu widened his eyes.
'You are just pumpkins from the countryside!'
'Just cattle, waiting to be butchered!'
'No one would even care about what happens to you!'
'YOU ARE JUST TRASH!'
「This is over…」Tatsumi muttered. He had seen the look his friend had now.
In the blink of an eye, Ieyasu slashed trough the man's arm, severing it.
"AAAAH!" The mean screamed in agony.
Ieyasu's face contorted into one with hate, loath and anger. He slashed the man's chest countless of times, blood splattering everywhere.
"RGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A scream with wrath and loath could be heard on the forest.
「…」Tatsumi knew about his friend's abilities and skills. He could easily kill the intruder, but his sense of right and wrong was holding him.
But he also knew about his trauma. Being treated like trash, as if he was nothing more than a disease…was ingrained in his mind.
Akame was watching intently…she was shocked at the sudden hostility and killing intent coming from the young boy called Ieyasu.
「Sayo could be like that too…」Tatsumi muttered.
"You…You are not surprised?" Akame looked at Tatsumi, who still smiled. Although, it felt hollow.
「You are an assassin. You should be familiar with feelings like hate, loath, revenge, and the most important, wrath.」Tatsumi looked at her in the eyes. 「He remembered his suffering and drew power from those negative emotions.」
Akame realized then, that Ieyasu was suffering a psychological breakdown. The words of the man triggered his memories from the Harvard's manor.
The man was nothing more than a puddle of limbs and flesh on the ground. Ieyasu was panting, soaked in the man's blood. He was in shock. His hands were trembling.
He then dropped to the floor, only to be stopped by Tatsumi's hand.
「Go to sleep. You did well.」He smiled at his friend's sleeping face. 「Shame that I don't have Scooby snacks to give you.」
"…" Akame was looking at the pair. Tatsumi was not disgusted or afraid of his friend's actions and behavior, on the contrary, it felt like he accepted them.
"Do you…regret not been there with them?" Akame now knows that Tatsumi was strong. Enough to escape and kill the guards at the manor if he were with them in the occasion.
Tatsumi turned forward, carrying his sleeping friend on his back.「No.」
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.
.
"Hey look! They are here!" Lubbock shouted, gaining everyone's attention.
They saw 2 figures walking into the meeting room. One of them was a brown haired kid carrying his other brown haired friend on his back and the other was the familiar figure of Akame.
「Hey there!」Tatsumi greeted the members, while Akame just nodded.
"You are back!" Bulat exclaimed.
"Uhn." Akame nodded.
"Now that we all arrived, I want to hear the details and about our enemy." Najenda requested.
…They all looked at Tatsumi.
「…What?」
"I am waiting." Najenda urged them.
"Well, the thing is…" Leone started.
"We didn't encounter any intruders that were 'alive'." Bulat finished for her.
"…Alive?"
"They were all dead when we found them." Mine said.
"Explain that."
"They were stabbed in vital points of the body with oversized screws." Lubbock elaborated.
"Screws?" Then Najenda realized. There was only one person that she knows use screws as his main weapon. "Tatsumi."
「That would be my doing.」Tatsumi said. 「As I was finding intruders, I killed them.」He then tilted his head, still smiling「Something wrong?」
"You just took all the enemy force by yourself!" Mine said, irked.
「Why are you so surprised? They were pretty weak.」
"So they were weak…" Najenda was about to say something but she was cut off.
「Anyway, I need to take Ieyasu to a bed. He fainted.」
"He fainted? What a weakling."
「Yeah, fainted after he turned his enemy into pastry.」At that, Mine gasped. 「What? Did you think he was soaked in ketchup?」
"You are excused. There is an unused room at the end of the hall. You lay Ieyasu down there."
「Oh! Thank you very much!」
.
.
.
After Tatsumi and Ieyasu left the room, the members of night raid remained.
"So…what do you think of them?" Najenda puffed a cigarette and asked the members about their impression.
…
"Nothing?"
"It's just that we don't have any much to say, as they have shown basically nothing." Mine said.
"You blind? He just took care of all the enemy force by himself, what does that have to say?" Lubbock countered.
"That's!-"
"True." Bulat said "But a question remains, how did Tatsumi take care of them?"
"Didn't he stabbed them with screws and killed them?" Schele tilted her head.
"That's the point." Leone said "Where does he keep those screws? And there is also another matter."
"Another?" Mine asked.
"He was stabbed by Murasame."
"!" At this everyone gasped. Najenda just widened her eyes.
"I stabbed him in the heart. I saw him bleeding to death." Akame said.
"Are you sure?"
"The curse activated." Akame said, remembering the time when she fought Tatsumi. "When I turned, I heard his voice…" Akame grew paler. "When I saw…He was perfectly fine."
"Fine like?"
"Like it never happened. The wound, the blood, even his clothes were perfectly fine. Also…the blood on the floor disappeared." "As if our fight never happened."
"This must be the doing of a Teigu!" Lubbock exclaimed. "But I don't recognize it…It wasn't in the book."
"Does Tatsumi have a Teigu?" Najenda asked the members of Night raid.
「I can assure you that I don't have a Teigu on my persona, honey.」A voice whispered in Najenda's ear.
"Gya!" Najenda gasped at the voice that was heard in her ear. She stood up to see the source of that voice.
Tatsumi was in front of her, eating a roasted piece of meat and looking at her mischievously.
…
'Such womanly gasp…' The others thought in unison.
Wait!
When did he get here?!
「Nothing makes me happier than breaking characters and expose their gap moe!」
"Tatsumi!" Leone exclaimed.
「It is I.」
"Is Ieyasu fine?" Bulat asked, concerned. In his mind, it was his fault at letting him fight and kill a person when he wasn't even a part of Night Raid yet.
「He is sleeping. I don't think he will wake up until tomorrow, so I was thinking about continuing our talk.」
"Continue?"
"Ah!"
「Yeah. You asked what my ability was, right?」He asked them. He couldn't evade the subject forever… not that he wanted to.
But explaining it is such a pain. Although…the expression that people put when they heard its really funny!
「Well, kiddies sit around the fire and let daddy tell you a history.」
"…"
「Fine, have it your way.」Tatsumi said, disappointed. 「Ehem, well for starters…」
「I don't have a Teigu, Shingu nor any similar gear on my person.」Tatsumi said.
"Shingu?" Schele asked.
Akame was surprised. He knows about the Shingus?
「Something a recent emperor tried to do to gain fame and fortune but failed miserably. In his despair, he sealed all of his creations on a vault located somewhere in the Empire.」He then chewed another piece of meat. 「What an idiot. It doesn't matter the quality of the weapon but the way you use it.」
"So they are like downplayed version of Teigus." Bulat said. "I've heard of them but never saw one in my life."
「Of course, being considered a failure, the production was cut short. Only a handful was created and the ones who were created were sealed in darkness for an eternity.」
"You know a lot about them…" Akame asked him. The only way of him to know was to see one…or fight a user.
「Mm? Not really, is just that I heard someone say that.」That was a full-fledged lie. But they were not gonna dwell on that.
"If you don't have a Teigu…then, what do you have?"
「A skill.」
"A…skill."
「A superpower. An ultimate ability. Call it whoever you want. The point is…is a special ability. Like those ones in the Shonen Magazines!」
"You mean…like superpowers?" Lubbock asked. 'What is Shonen magazine?'
「Kind of.」
"That's bullshit!" Mine shouted. "You must be playing a prank or something. There is no way that is possible."
「Mm. Correct me if I am wrong, but you are using a laser cannon in a medieval setting where we use horses and beasts to go from place to place.」He then smiled, closing his eyes. 「And you dismiss the possibility of the existence of superpowers?」
"Well…" She was at loss, but quickly dismissed it. "Is because we haven't seen anyone! How can you prove something that hasn't been saw or felt?"
「…You should ask that question to the religious ones, not me.」He finished eating his meat and was holding a bone. 「Well, if you are that skeptic about the matter, why don't I show you?」He smiled.
He had everyone's attention. 「Welcome to the magic show of the great Tatsumi!」He dramatically pulled his hands up 「For my first trick, I will make this bone disappear.」
"…"
「Look at the bone.」They looked at the bone. 「Look at the bone.」okay.
「Look at the empty place.」Oka-wait…
The bone disappeared.
"What…that's your magic trick?!" Lubbock shouted, feeling as he was cheated.
"That doesn't really show us anything but that you have quick hands." Akame said, annoyed. On the inside, feeling the same as Lubbock.
Najenda had tick marks on her forehead. She was losing her patience.
"Oh, bravo!" Schele clapped, impressed by Tatsumi's trick.
「Hm! It's good to see that at least one of you appreciate my acts! Thank you, ojou-chan!」Tatsumi bowed and winked at Schele.
"We-"
「For my second trick, I will use a volunteer!」He then looked at his audience. 「Najenda-san!」He extended his hand. 「Come with me and let me show you the best magic trick that you will ever see!」.
Najenda reluctantly took his hand. 「Now for my second trick!」
「I will make Najenda-san normal again!」
'Normal?'
「Now I want all of you to close your eyes for one second. You too, Najenda san. Starts…now!」
They complied and closed their eyes. For one second, everything was black. Najenda felt a hand on the shoulder were her mechanical arm was.
Then they opened their eyes. They saw Tatsumi smiling at them.
Najenda was looking at them, asking them if something happened.
「Now…Najenda-san, how does your right arm feel?」Tatsumi asked.
'My right arm?' She thought. 'I lost it when I fought that sadistic monster Esdese.'
…
"Boss…!" Lubbock was the one to break the silence. His voice was trembling.
She looked at the group, only to see them looking at her as if all of a sudden another arm from her body.
"Your arm!" Bulat exclaimed, shocked.
"My arm?" It was then when it dawned on her. She could feel her right arm. It was there. She saw her right arm, moving at her will.
「I should also tell you that your right eye is also okay!」
She took off her eye patch. She was seeing her comrades look at her as if she was something out of this world.
"Your right eye!" Mine gasped.
"…" Akame was had her jaw dropped.
「This is my super power.」Tatsumi said.
"So you can heal people!" Schele exclaimed, impressed. She only saw Teigu and weapons that were made to harm others. It was the first time that she was something as good as Tatsumi's ability. "Does that make you a superhero?"
「…」Tatsumi looked at her, with his trademark smile (a blank smile.)
"This is a blast!" Lubbock exclaimed "Doesn't this mean that we don't have to care about grievous injuries as long as Tatsumi is with us?" He was excited. The possibility of his comrades dying in the field was now at 10% at best.
「You shouldn't make assumptions like that.」Tatsumi said, moving extending his right arm and then, moving his index finger in a negative manner. 「I never said that my superpower was healing, you know?」
"Uh?"
「Something as positive as a healing ability doesn't fit someone twisted as me, who can kill people mercilessly with a smile on his face.」 Tatsumi happily said, unaffected by his harsh words at himself. 「In any case, …ehem…」
He then pointed his finger at Schele and shouted.「YOU GOT THAT WRONG! 」
"I am sorry!" Schele shouted.
「I forgive you, Schele chan!」
"In that case," Akame said, looking directly at Tatsumi. "Your ability does resemble a healing ability, but it isn't. Then, what is your superpower?"
「…」He smirked. 「Nothing.」
"Huh?"
「What I control…is nothing.」
'Is he playing around again?' the others thought in unison.
He put his right hand behind his back, and when he brought it up,
He had an oversized screw on his hand.
"Where did that appear?" Schele asked.
「Nothing. I can make smalls injuries like the one Akame inflicted on me, nothing.」
He pointed the screw to his head. 「I can make the time that takes me to travel to a certain distance nothing.」
The tip of the screws was touching his temple. 「I can make death become nothing」
He then, slowly, introduced the screw on his cranium. He grinned, gleefully, as the screw penetrated his brain. Blood was coming out of the hole that was being made in Tatsumi's head.
"!" The members of night raid widened their eyes at such act.
Parts of what apparently were gray matter and brain were spilled on the floor.
"W-What are you doing?!" Mine screamed, horrified.
"Stop it!" Najenda yelled at Tatsumi.
He took his hand of the screw on his head and smiled at them.
「…This is my third act!」Tatsumi continued to talk normally, although…
His smile was not a happy one. It was a sinister grin. He didn't look human. For some reason, it disgusted the members of Night Raid.
「I made my death nothing!」His eyes were narrowed and lacked light.「With no death, the only thing that can be present is life!」His dark smile scared the members of Night Raid. Even Akame.
「I didn't heal Boss' injuries, but I made the reality where she was injured nothing! As of that, the opposite should happen. A reality where she is perfectly fine, with all her organs in place.」
Najenda widened her eyes.
「When I was stabbed by Murasame, I made my injuries became nothing.」He looked at Akame and Leone 「The reality where Ieyasu was sick and on the verge of death…I made it nothing.」
Then he put his hand on his chin「But there was a problem. Sayo was dead. Completely dead. She wasn't breathing, her body was a mess and all the stuff that happens when you are dead.」
「I can't revive death people…technically.」He then closed his eyes.「But I can make the reality where they died nothing.」
Everyone widened their eyes.
「This is my Minus…「All Fiction」」. The ability to make reality nothing. 」.
"…" Everyone was wide eyed at the show that was witnessed. An ability to manipulate reality itself.
「*Yawn* Well, that's all for today!」He was waving his hand at the stupefied faces of the members of Night Raid. He was back to his… 'Normal' self.
「Thank you for coming at the Magic show of the great Tatsumi!」He then walked off, probably to his room, with the screw still impaled on his head. There were drops of blood where he stood and more were formed as he walked away.
「It will be a pleasure working for you, Najenda-san and Night Raid!」He said without turning. 「Good night!」
It was bizarre.
The room fell silent. No one was making any sound. They were processing what just took place. It was surreal. It was something impossible.
Finally, someone spoke.
"What…" Najenda muttered.
"The fuck?!" Mine shouted.
"Oh! I get it!" Schele clapped her hands in realization. "He is a zombie!"
Everyone was looking at her with narrowed eyes and dropped jaws.
.
.
.
Tatsumi was looking at the sleeping forms of Ieyasu and Sayo. He was thinking of the new life they were going to experience.
「Welcome to the path of carnage, blood, and cute chicks!」He said excited, although, they couldn't listen to him.
「…」Tatsumi was looking through the window.
「They are no good. 」He muttered, concerning to Night Raid. 「Even if their abilities are a cut above everyone I had met until date, they are still no match for her.」The smile on his face disappeared.
It was replaced with a blank expression. His eyes lacked the light that he had before. It was empty, devoid of any emotion.
「We are all pawns on a board. They don't realize that this war is nothing more than a game.」He then started to ponder about the motivation of such play. 「There is someone pulling the strings up there.」
「An'shinin. I really hate you.」
「If someone stronger doesn't appear soon, I may have to take action by myself」he muttered.
He really didn't like the idea of fighting her.
Respect, gratefulness, or just plain fear. There were many reasons that he didn't want to fight her. But if you asked him why he didn't want to fight…
「Because I don't want to.」
He needs to find someone or do something himself before the time expires.
Or everything will be one hundred times more difficult.
He wasn't confident that he would win in such conditions.
In fact, he wasn't even sure of winning in the actual conditions.
After all…
He was a born loser who failed at everything.
There is a plot in there. An'shinin will have a great role in the war between the revolutionary army and the empire. With this, i say goodbye.
Take care of yourselves.