In case you don't know, italics (italics) mean Tatsumi's thoughts.

Chapter 2: The Guilty

"How do you know it's Night Raid?" I asked.

"I can just… feel it," Seryu told me. "It has to be!"

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

Seryu said nothing.

She dragged me through the streets, which were empty now that it was nightfall. The sun hid behind the city's walls as she stopped.

Seryu did not seem to be out of breath, as I struggled. She pointed at a tree and said, "I'll be up here with Coro," her bubbly nature gone.

I nodded and saw her hide in the tree's branches. Her dog hid with her and blended in quite well.

I waited, leaning against the tree. Then I saw them: two figures, both around Seryu and I's age. They were running in my direction to my right.

Their shoes made quiet but audible clapping sounds on the stone ground. I saw one of them, male, glance at me but kept going.

Seryu then jumped from her hiding spot and shouted, "Night Raid!"

Both of the assassins stopped right in their tracks and back up.

The one who looked at me thrust his right arm forward and something thin-strings?-launched from each of his fingers at Seryu. Coro threw himself in front of Seryu and grew to an enormous size.

I couldn't believe it. I thought Seryu was a bit nutty (based on her slight insanity), but she was just throwing herself at these trained assassins!

Seryu came out from behind Coro and fired bullets from a pair of gun tonfa. The male assassin went for her with a spear made from those strings.

"Tatsumi! Help Coro with the other one!" she shouted before disappearing into the trees with her pursuer.

Coro, at his colossal size, towered over the other assassin easily. His mouth opened, revealing a tunnel of sharp teeth.

The assassin I was left with sliced a katana at Coro, who was unfazed and went to eat her (judging by the swiftness of the attack, I could tell it was a female). She avoided it and jumped aside.

I heard Seryu shout some kind of command, but I couldn't hear her. But Coro understood, growing a long pair of muscular arms that reached his legs instead of his stubs.

He grabbed for the assassin, who nimbly jumped over his hand. She sliced his arm off, which quickly regrew.

I realized I was staring.

Do something useful! I scolded myself.

Coro looked at me and swiped for the assassin again. It was a trick, though, and he attacked with his other hand when she was in the air. The assassin was hit with Coro's giant fist, knocking her to the ground and causing the katana to land somewhere else.

I ran over to the Night Raid member and kneeled, pointing my sword to her throat.

I froze.

She was, as predicted, my age, with long black hair, ivory skin, and red eyes. She was wearing some kind of woman's black tuxedo (sleeveless and with a skirt) with a red tie and a black trenchcoat. Red gauntlets protected her arms and worked as a shield.

Most of all, her face was how I imagined mine looked: shocked and confused.

For some reason I couldn't explain, I didn't let myself kill her. I heard my heart beat fast.

After a few seconds of confusion, she kicked her legs up and slammed her feet into my chest, sending me up in the air a few inches. The air in my lungs blew out and I hit my back on the ground.

The assassin dodged Coro's swipe and shouted, "Lubbock! We're going!"

Right then, the male assassin ran out of the forest, Seryu still shooting at him.

"You'd be better off staying here so I can finish you off!" Seryu shouted. "Better than you creating more evil!"

"Do I have to?" the male asked.

"Die, evildoer!"

"I HATE THIS JOB!"

He threw another spear at Coro and another at Seryu, making it sail high and in an arc that would kill her. She shot it out of the air and realized that Night Raid was gone.

I didn't recognize this version and Seryu, and I didn't like her: she had a twisted scowl, wild eyes, and looked more violent than Coro (who was growling loudly).

"We lost them!" she shouted furiously.

I walked to her, cautious of getting a beating myself.

Her face relaxed as she turned to me. She put her weapons away as she assured me, "It's not your fault, Tatsumi. Night Raid are creepy, sly, evildoers."

I wasn't sure about that; I saw something pained in that female assassin's eyes. I said nothing either way.

Coro shrunk, and Seryu told me, "We'll get them someday, Tatsumi. Justice will be served in the end!"

I fist pumped halfheartedly.

"Yay, go us," I mumbled.

Seryu nodded vigorously and said, "I heard that Night Raid are Imperial Arms users. If I file this report, maybe I can get you your own Imperial Arms!"

"Those were Imperial Arms?" I asked.

"Yes. From what I've been told, Akame's sword has cursed poison in it."

"Akame?"

"The female you and Coro failed to apprehend."

Akame. That was her name. I'd seen it from the posters but never paid attention to the faces.

"Cursed poison?" I asked dumbly.

"You get it in your blood, there is no turning back," she told me.

"Oh. What about the other?"

"I don't recognize him. Although, now the capital will know him."

"Yes. Everybody should keep an eye out for whoever that is."

"They will!" Seryu cried happily, Coro hopping up and down.

Later that night

My small house was uncomfortable, but I preferred it over the crammed barracks that everybody else lived in. I figured that if I worked harder, it could seem inhabitable. It was surely possible.

I lay on the creaky bed and swiped at the spider webs before laying my head on the torn pillow. Moonlight shone through the old, rusty, square window at my face.

It would be a long night.

I had just gotten used to the stream of light in my face when I could tell the light was darkened.

I opened my eyes and turned my eyes to the window. My eyes then widened and I launched off my ratty mattress and grabbed my sword from the floor.

Akame was trying to open my window, having trouble with the rust. She gave it a few tries and then, with one big jerk, opened the window.

I put myself in a fighting stance and Akame drew her sword so fast I didn't immediately register the fact that I was disarmed.

"I'm not here to kill you," she told me.

I was confused. A member of Night Raid… not here to kill me?

"I want to thank you," Akame continued. "You… you spared me."

She didn't exactly get the details right: I had been shocked and froze. But I wasn't going to get that cleared up. I wanted to live.

"Well, uh, you're welcome?" I asked.

Akame nodded. Then she told me, "Tell anybody you saw me, and I'll kill you."

I nodded and said, "You're welcome to come here any night."

Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid.

I don't know what got me to say that. I just wanted to talk to her more. Despite her monotone, I kept on wanting to hear her voice even if we were on opposite sides…

But Akame nodded and turned to the window. She said, "I'll be sure to see you again. You're… different."

I took this as a compliment and nodded. Akame went to the window, glanced at me, and slipped out of the window.

Idiot.

In case you're wondering why he already met Akame:

Main reason is that I didn't want Tatsumi getting too friendly with Seryu before he met Akame. I wanted both relationships to be fairly matched. I want their chances to be even. So Akame and Tatsumi meet every night and talk, but that is little time. And Seryu and Tatsumi meet every day, but her insanity is obviously a drawback. Why wouldn't it?

Also, I love Tatsumi/Akame. This fic is a brotherly request, don't forget that.

R&R!