There was a strange beauty to this, climbing a tree and sleeping on one of the tall thick branches. I didn't trust Night Raid enough to sleep in one of the spare rooms that they offered me.
After that encounter, they forcibly took me and Tatsumi back to their hideout. The blond women told me how they weren't going to kill me, but I still slept with my sword that night on top of that tree.
It was outstretched over the mountain that was under the hideout, a massive house or castle was built under the mountain.
I realized something new about me...I wasn't afraid of heights. The branch which I was sleeping on was outstretched over the cliff edge.
If it was broken or if I fell off the side, it would be sudden death and I would become a splat on the ground.
But waking up and taking in a huff of fresh air and seeing that bright red sun breaks the horizon into pleasant shades of pink.
Made this the best bed in the world. I stared below me, seeing the rough brown dirt and clumps of rocks.
I carefully balanced myself along the branches until I spotted something right next to me. A glass plate with something on it.
Poison...a bomb...a threatening note? No, it was just some pancakes and bacon.
Or pancakes and bacon with poison...god I was paranoid. A brief memory passed through my head about what happened the night before, they were trying to kill me...no she.
If that yellow haired girl didn't interfere, then one of us...one of us would be dead.
I stared at the fork and food, it did look good and I was really hungry. I didn't eat anything the night before.
"Well...to hell with it." I grunted as I sat down along the tree and began eating the food
The pancake was good, and the bacon was really crispy and tasty. Wow, this was probably one of the greatest breakfasts that I might have ever had.
Or the only one that I could remember. That black-haired girl...the one that was pretty, I wonder what she is doing right now.
No... no..no I was trying to...god what is wrong with me.
I left my backpack and jacket along the tree, there was a chill in the wind but I still enjoyed the cold air.
The only thing I had on was black mountain boots, brown worker pants, and a white t-shirt. I holstered my sword along my back.
Maybe they had a workshop which I could use to fix my weapons, when they were fixed and after I talked to Tatsumi I would leave.
I knew how corrupt the capitol was, but how could a single group like them truly change anything. In the end they will be surrounded by fear and Deadman, that's not life, that sounds like hell to me.
What could they change?
I began walking through the forest, pushing myself through the soft moss stuck to the branches of bushes and trees. I intentionally avoided looking for Tatsumi around the hideout, I didn't want to run into the rest of Night Raid.
A part of me was trying to convince myself to just leave, but I needed to know who I was. Maybe he could solve this mystery of who I am.
I spotted him after a couple of minutes, kneeling in front of two graves. His friends...wait were they my friends?
"What are you doing here Ben?" Tatsumi said without looking in my direction
"I have questions...I need to know..."
"Questions...how about you answer this one. Where have you been for the last nine months?"
"Nine months?" I said, has it really been that long.
He turned towards me, his tear streaked face and snot were visible. He got up and began pacing towards me.
"Don't act stupid Benjamin! She waited for you...every day, she waited for you to come back, but you never came!" Tatsumi yelled out as he pointed towards one of the graves
He grabbed my collar and brought me towards him, what was I supposed to say?
"I'm sorry...I just don't know."
"Don't know." Tatsumi madly chuckled
"You abandoned her, you abandoned me and everyone else you asshole."
"Tatsumi listen to me…"
"No! you think you could talk to me like everything was fine. But it isn't there dead Ben, look at their corpses!"
He got ready to swing, he cocked his arm back to punch me but I caught it quickly. I slammed my right fist into his face, feeling bone between my knuckles.
He went flying as he cradled his nose. My hand was bloody and sticky, like that one time he saved me in the river.
"Tatsumi I don't remember anything! I lost my memory...I don't know who they are!" I yelled out choking down a sob
He held his nose that was oozing blood, as he struggled to get up. "You what?"
"I can't remember anything."
I began to explain to him the week that I had, and the circumstances of me finding him. He stared eagerly as he listened to the story.
"You really don't remember?" he said with a blank face
"Yeah...hey I'm sorry for...the nose."
He didn't say anything as he began walking to the hideout. "Hold your nose up, it will help stop the bleeding."
"Thanks...asshole." he laughed as he held up his face towards the sky
We began walking to the hideout as a stiff awkward silence ensnared us. I wanted to ask questions. Tell him that I was sorry, but I couldn't open up my mouth for the words to spill out.
When I entered the doorway of the hideout, I was expecting a dungeon. Uncomfortable floor, walls full of chains and torches, and some blood on the floor.
But it looked like a...home. Wooden floorboards, a wall made of smooth stone, and numerous candles illuminated the hallway.
It was even warm...the whole thing felt nice.
"What happened." someone said
The blond woman ran towards Tatsumi who was sitting down on one of the chairs, he brushed it off saying some excuse about running and falling.
But the girl noticed my bloody hand, she stared intently at me. Basically, saying how she knew what I did without saying anything. She took both of us to the nursing room where she began to clean up Tatsumi's wounds.
"Is it broken?" Tatsumi asked
"Stop talking, you will swallow your own blood." she said as she adjusted a piece of cloth on his nose, after a couple of minutes it finally stopped bleeding.
"You're lucky, it isn't broken or anything crazy like that." she said as she thrown out the cloth
Tatsumi walked towards the sink, wiping the dried blood around his nose and mouth.
"How did you sleep." she asked me
"Fine...why do you ask?"
"I was the one that brought your breakfast, a dangerous place to spend the night."
"Yeah." I said shrugging it off
"You know that we had a spare room for you."
"Yes...I was aware."
She stared at me, what was with everybody staring around here?
When Tatsumi was done she got up from her seat and began to walk out of the room. "Follow me, let me introduce you to the crew."
"No than…"
"Of course." Tatsumi interrupted me as he bolted towards the women's side
I still haven't talked to him about my past and I needed to know. So instead of listening to my instincts to escape, I reluctantly followed the pair.
She began showing us all around the hideout, but after showing us the first floor and parts of the second floor I began to grow suspicious.
They were an organization that dealt with secrecy and they were showing two outsiders their hideout. There entrances and exits...even their meeting hall where they discussed their missions.
Only things there members should know...wait...members. Are they going to try and integrate us into their group?
As we walked, we encountered a girl, a pink haired one with a very expensive dress. It was so expensive that I stared down at my simple clothes feeling like I should have bought a more fashionable pair.
"Leone, why are they here?" she asked
She purposefully didn't look in either me or Tatsumi's direction. Well I guess I knew what the blond ladies name was.
"Relax Mine I got a good feeling about the boy...he might make a fine addition to Night Raid." she said
She stared at both of us, but she strangely said boy not boys. Meaning which one of us showed the most potential?
"I'm not interested...I'll leave when I have the chance." I blurted out
Both girls looked at me, a couple seconds passed as they both erupted into loud laughter. Leone began walking away from Mine as we followed behind her, this was bad.
I needed to find a way to escape, I didn't want to become a fugitive to the capitol. Everybody knew how bad the capital really was...but there dream...how could a small group like them truly hope to change things.
We began walking to an outside training area where there was a man twirling around a spear, he was taller than me and way more muscular. He reeked of discipline and training.
Me and Tatsumi started with our jaws open as we saw the massive man spar. "And this is…"
"Bro, you guys can just call me bro." he smirked at us as he reached for a towel to dry off his sweating body
"Bro?" Tatsumi repeated
I nodded my head; his haircut was strange but his technique with the spear was unmatched. Even Pa would have a hard time against him...wait Pa used a spear?
"You're the one right, the one that fought Akame."
I scratched the back of my head. "The girl, then yes."
Bro sat down on one of the steps leading to the training grounds. It was a pretty surreal place, for a hideout it looked nice.
The bright colors, the nice landscape, and the wild animals grazing around the area. This didn't feel like a terrorist organization's hideout.
"If you don't mind, maybe me and you can train together?"
"Me?"
"Of course! If you were able to handle Akame then I would like to see how you would be able to go up against a spear master like myself."
I nodded my head, maybe not everybody here was weird and snotty. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.
No, I can't stay here for too long, I have to talk to Tatsumi in private and figure out who I am.
Bro's eyes went to my sword that was hanging behind me. "Mind if I see it?" he asked
"Sure." I said as I drew my blade and handed it to him
He stared at the thin and tall design, running his fingers around the cracks and dents of the sword as he lost interest and threw it back to me.
"It's a strong blade...even I would have a hard time using a sword like this."
I returned the sword back to the scabbard. "You would have lost...against Akame if Leone didn't intervene." he said solemnly
"What?" I said taken aback, I was so shocked that I swallowed my spit
"She could have easily destroyed your blade, hell she probably saw the cracks in your sword the moment you took it out of your scabbard."
His eyes stared directly off of the edge of the training grounds, maybe he was imagining in his head the way the fight would have gone down.
Her precisely hitting my sword where the most obvious crack was, splitting it in half like it was a log in the woods that the old man was cutting.
Her finally having the upper hand and impaling me with the sword, those unmoving and intense eyes staring deep into my soul.
"I would advise you to use the workshop we have in the hideout, make your repairs...and for the love of god clean your sword." Bro said as he stretched and began walking down the steps
I stared at the blade and scoffed, I returned the sword back to my scabbard and began following Leone and Tatsumi again.
I dug my hands into my pockets and stared at my feet, just like the time I was walking the streets of the capitol.
We eventually went outside, my boots crunching along the dry grass. Maybe after a few minutes of walking through the forest, I began to smell something.
Smoke...wait roasting meat? I looked up seeing a fire roaring. Beautiful orange flames danced around us, and there was a bird cooking on the fire.
The girl...I instantly gripped my sword. Tatsumi hearing the click of my ejected sword quickly began to shake his head.
What was he thinking! We couldn't trust them, she was the one that was trying to kill us the night before!
I clicked my blade back into the scabbard and the girl turned back to look at me. Her beautiful eyes scanned my direction, my heart felt like it was about to burst from my chest.
She was way prettier in the daylight then at night. I could feel my face slowly getting hotter as my face began to turn red.
Say something...anything!
"Yo." I stuttered
Fool...I was an idiot...a literal idiot...all the things I could have said I choose to say...yo.
She didn't say anything back to me, just went back to eating as the blond girl went behind her and whispered something into her ear. She then quickly turned back towards us.
"What are your names."
"Tatsumi."
"Ben...Benjamin but you can just call me Ben." I blurted out
Everybody was looking at me. Tatsumi began to softly snicker as he began to hold back a laugh. "I'm sorry but he gets really nervous around girls." Tatsumi chucked out
"Tatsumi!" I yelled out as him and Leone began to loudly laugh
But the girl was silent, still staring at me with interest. Maybe she was trying to read my body language or something.
"What about you?" I asked
"Me."
"Your name...I would like to know it."
She stared at Leone for approval and Leone nodded her head. "Akame." she said as she began to continue eating
"Akame...that's a pretty name." I said
She stopped for a second, maybe I caught her off guard or maybe I said something that I shouldn't have.
"Are you going to join us?" she asked Tatsumi
"Not sure yet…"
"No." I said cutting off Tatsumi
For a split second, maybe I was imagining things but I could swear that I saw her pouting. But who was she sad for, me or Tatsumi?
Why did I care if she was sad, sure she was really pretty...probably one of the prettiest girls that I had ever seen. But they were involved in something bigger than I could ever imagine, getting involved would be more trouble than it is worth.
"Then I can not give this to you." she said as she pointed at me, still holding the hunk of meat like she was pointing her sword at me
Whatever, we began walking to the hideout as Leone began talking to Tatsumi about the other two members of Night Raid. But as we kept on walking farther and farther away, I would take occasional glances at Akame.
She always looked...so alone. Whatever, why the hell do I even care?
"Wait."
"Yes, we're on our way to meet the rest of the group…"
"I'm going to head to the workshop now okay." I said as I purposefully ran towards the hideout to avoid Leone trying to stop me
The moment I made it to the hideout I didn't stop running until I was in the basement area, I caught my breath and I was staring at probably the most bland workshop that I might have ever seen.
Just a bench with hammers, half a pitcher of oil, and a sharpening stone. I removed my sword from the scabbard and laid it carefully on the bench.
"This sword is yours...it is your body...your soul...your life...all that matters is this sword." my father once told me
I began banging away at the sword, the sparks were...beautiful. And after each bang a pleasant spark would go around.
Each spark would illuminate different people...Akame's fierce but beautiful face...Tatsumi's broken nose...the blond woman...no, Leones smiling face as she gave a tour.
Is this reality? It has always been at my side, through pain I could hardly endure. Yes, this is part of me.
Whenever I met death, my sword was with me as I moved past it. For all the places I have seen, and people I forget, I felt everything through the tip of my sword. This sword is the proof that I ever lived.
The light born in the clash when two swords meet. They serve me well. Throughout my life...the moments, and people who have defined me...they have all been illuminated...by sparks.
And as I lifted the sword, the blade was perfect...the cracks were gone.
I left the workshop seeing the whole crew gathered around some lady, oh shit this couldn't be good.
"Hello." the women said as she me trying to sneak out of the hideout
"Hi." I waved as I began walking over towards her
Tatsumi, Mine, Akame, Leone, Bro and two others were there. Some girl with very cute features and glasses, and a boy with a thick pair of goggles hanging around his neck.
"Let's continue the discussion." the woman said as she pressed her hands together and stared intently at me and Tatsumi
"Yes...I would like to join."
"Tatsumi!" I yelled out
I was even caught off guard by my yelling. "What are you thinking you fool! You're going to get involved in a war."
"Yes...but we can't leave."
"I know...but are you crazy, fighting the empire!"
"We can make a difference, I can help support the village…"
"How much help will you be when you die, huh...tell me Tatsumi how are you going to fight off the empire."
He stared down at his shoes as I reeled into him, why did I care so much? I was a borderline stranger to him, I was nothing more than a vessel, a face that was absent of memories.
"You should be the last one to say anything Ben...your father and you hated the empire! They wiped out your people."
I stared into his face as those words cut deep into me. "I didn't hate the empire, that was my old man."
Tatsumi's face went blank.
"Wait you don't hold resentment...towards the prime minister, the nobles, towards anybody?"
"No...my clan was wiped out because our pride was too strong, and your opinions don't matter on a battlefield."
There was an awkward silence radiating from the room, everybody even Akame was staring at us arguing.
When I was younger I was born into a clan of a thousand, we were a proud people that were very war hungry. We were the only threat towards the empire and we believed that if we rallied up enough tribes to join us, then we would have enough to storm the capitol.
But our pride was our weakness...when we came in contact with imperial arms we lost many, even when we found imperial arms we casted them away. Believing how true honor comes from using a normal sword or shield.
Our city was destroyed...our clan was reduced to the hundreds...then it was just me and my father...then we were only a clan of two...now I was a clan of one.
"The Legion...the name of your clan" the one eyed woman said
"Yes."
"Do you wish to avenge your tribe...to bring the prime minister to his knees and pay for his crimes."
I stared at her, feeling my hands clenched into fist. I was mad, not mad at night raid but mad that I wasn't mad.
How I had the graves of two of my friends in the back of the hideout...but I couldn't even remember their names.
"I'm too much of a coward to fight…" I laughed off with a shit eating grin
Leone began chuckling. And before we knew it she was laughing like she was drunk, maybe she was drunk...or high.
"Coward...guys get a load of this." she said as she began telling the story
She was there jumping rooftops. She saw that little boy getting bullied by that knight, she was going to stop the fight because everybody in the crowd was just staring.
But she saw what I did...she saw me protect that boy, even though my sword was nearly destroyed, I still saved him.
Bro was so impressed that he looped his arm around me and gave me a bro hug, even Akame for a second had a little smile across her face.
That smile could warm up the whole world. Even the boss was impressed.
"Ben, we can get vengeance for them, we can help the village." Tatsumi pleaded as he still tried to convince me
"How much money do you pay?" I asked
"A hefty amount." the boss said without taking her eyes off of me
"So money is the only thing you care about." Bro scoffed
"I'm a mercenary, if you want me. Buy my loyalty...and I promise that I will be loyal to you until this war is over."
The boss stared at me, still with her hands clenched up as she wiped a strand of silver hair out of her eyes. "Okay...welcome to Night Raid" she said as I gripped her hand
I didn't say anything, after a few more formalities I was out of the hideout and was sniffing the cold air on top of that tree branch. The crazy thing was how I saw a bunch of wild flowers growing right next to the tree.
I brought the flowers to my face, they had a real pleasant smell to them.
Red...just like Akame's eyes. Maybe next time i'm at the market, I can pick up some more seeds and plant them around the tree.