Hey, everyone! Welcome to another chapter of Corruption, murder and…Redemption?
There's something I noticed in a few reviews from the last chapter. Now don't get me wrong; I don't have anything against the reviews I'm about to speak about. But I thought I should bring up some things about Aria so we can all enjoy what I'm going to do with the character. So if you're fine with Aria or just want to read the chapter then please go right ahead. If not, please read certain things about her presented below.
Back story - We only know Aria belongs to a rich family who I presume are nobles and that she's a murderous psychotic bitch who sees herself above the poor people. But other than that, we aren't even informed about how she came up to be such a person or even see if she had any other likings besides shopping and torturing people. Her only purpose for the anime and manga was just to trigger the event for Tatsumi to join Night Raid cause think about it, would Tatsumi have joined the group of assassins if she and her family didn't exist? I doubt it.
Similarities with other evil characters – If you're very familiar with a wide range of anime characters, you would know they're good characters who became bad or just the villain becoming a good guy. Like for instance Jellal from Fairy Tail, Vegeta from Dragonball Z, Sasuke from Naruto, Crona from Soul Eater, Gin Ichimaru from Bleach and many more. I could go on and list them, but you get the point. So while Aria was dark and murderous, that isn't to say she couldn't have been redeemed in some way like some of the characters I mentioned. Akame got that chance when she was still killing for the empire.
She was still a kid – What was she? Sixteen or Fifteen? Yeah, she was no adult. I'm bringing this up because she was brought up by her evil parents to be that way. We even see in the anime that the parents were into luring their victims, which I doubt Aria is the one who started it. Heck, even the mother had a diary on what they did to them. She wasn't born evil (no one is); she was just made into who she was by her parents.
So in closing, about Ben saving her, if you know the teen hero then it shouldn't surprise you that he intervened. Maybe other stories have Aria die, which I have read and understand why they let it be so. Also, please take this Aria as an alternate version. I'll do my best to make her a redeeming character while not rushing it so you can enjoy the story.
So with nothing else to say, on with the chapter.
Chapter 3: Sorrow, spoilt brat and…a Danger Beast?
FLASHBACK!
A feeling of excitement and determination was in the air, aimed to help the village. Tatsumi knew this, with the same going for his friends, Sayo, Ieyasu and Ben as they stood next to each other.
"We three swear that when we die, we die together!" Sayo exclaimed with her fist up in the air.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Ieyasu. He also had his fist up in the air. "We're gonna get successful in the Capital and earn money!"
"We're gonna save our poor hometown!" Tatsumi exclaimed as well.
"Yeah…what they said." Ben murmured. He wasn't so keened on the 'we die together' thing by Sayo.
FLASHBACK END
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LINEEEEEEEEEEEE BRREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKK
But it wasn't the same now, not with how things had turned out. Tatsumi, Sayo, Ieyasu and Ben may have left the village with full hearts of ambition and determination, but now they were incomplete and void of that. Sayo was tortured and murdered while Ieyasu had survived the same fate due to Ben's intervention. However in the cost of doing so, the friendship shared with the superhero was gone once he took the one responsible for Sayo's death and Ieyasu's torture to safety for unknown reasons.
So presently, both Tatsumi and Ieyasu were sitting before the grave of Sayo. It had two big rocks on top of each other with a bunch of flowers wrapped in cloth laid by it.
"…and we even said stuff like that." Tatsumi stated with a sad tone.
"Yeah…" Ieyasu muttered. "It's just us now."
Both of them knew this was true. They weren't friends with Ben anymore despite he was able to save Ieyasu, who in return felt mixed about it.
'I almost joined her…' Ieyasu thought. He had his eyes, like Tatsumi, staring depressingly at Sayo's grave as the past came to mind, followed by a new thought. 'Ben saved me…but Sayo is alone now.'
Just then, he gritted his teeth and tightened his fist. 'Dammit, Ben, why did you have to save her?! You idiot!' He thought angrily. 'I won't let this down…I'll find that girl and I will avenge Sayo!'
So with that, Ieyasu had made up his mind there and then. He didn't think for a second to let it be known to Tatsumi as he felt his friend had suffered enough from what had happened. But just because he didn't, it didn't mean he wasn't taken aback when he turned to Tatsumi just to see something surprising.
Good thing it wasn't too alarming. It just turned out that Leone placed her breasts on top of his head.
"Whoooa?!" Tatsumi screamed from shock.
Leone's action came as a surprise as it ruined the mood. It caused him to get right back on his feet, before then backing away with his arms up in a comedic defense.
"What're you doing all of a sudden?!" Tatsumi shouted.
However, Leone was surprisingly calm about his outburst. She just stood back up straight before turning to him with something to say.
"Don't keep sulking forever." She stated. "It's been three days already. Have you made your decision to become a part of Night Raid? Your friend has."
"That's because of th-those things!" Tatsumi yelled. By 'those things', he was talking about Leone's breasts, which he was now pointing at.
"No, it wasn't!" Ieyasu rebuked. He had an offended look on his face upon looking at Tatsumi, before then standing up. "Besides, you can't blame me for liking boobs!"
"So you are a pervert!" Tatsumi pointed accursedly at his friend.
"Don't jump into conclusions!" Ieyasu yelled back.
Things from here onwards seemed it would be about the two teenage boys arguing at each other. Tatsumi was against Ieyasu, while the latter was the same towards his friend. But before they could argue any further, Leone grabbed both boys with both of her hands and pressed a part of their faces against her breasts.
"Now that's enough, you two."Leone stated lightheartedly. "I think you both have talent for killing. Onee-san guarantees it."
Now both teens felt like calming down from their argument. Tatsumi took into mind what the blond assassin said, while Ieyasu covered his nose so he wouldn't have a nose bleed for obvious reasons.
"I'm not wavering because of talent and such…" Tatsumi muttered. 'Something like murder.'
But that didn't seem to deter the chirpy blond from her goal. She just smirked at him like in response before then wrapping her arms around both boys' necks, causing both to cough as their heads touch more of her breasts.
"At any rate, I'll show you around the hideout today." The blond stated.
However, Tatsumi and Ieyasu weren't in the best position to causally reply. The two of them could feel the strong grip the lady had on them as she immediately went to the direction of their hideout, which surprisingly was so open.
"My neck!" Tatsumi yelped.
"Mine too!" Ieyasu shouted. "I don't wanna die!"
But Leone didn't really respond to them as they expected. She just continued walking to the direction of the hideout as she gestured to the area. "By the way, this is in the mountains ten kilometers north of the Capital." She informed them.
"Is that okay leaving it so open?!" Tatsumi shouted. "Aren't you assassins for hire?!"
Meanwhile, Ieyasu kept silent as a huge grin was on his face, followed by a small stream of blood coming out of one of his nostrils.
_0000000000000000000000000000_
LINE BREAK
'Where am I now?' Ben thought to himself.
The teen wasn't sure how long he has been walking. He was in some kind of swamp with large trees and weird creatures that seemed to pop out of nowhere once in a while. They weren't threatening or something for the teenager to worry about, but it didn't help that the bottom parts of his pants was wet while trying to activate the Omnitrix, which was failing to respond at all.
"Ah dumb watch!" Ben yelled with an annoyed expression. He had the Omnitrix a few meters from his face as he constantly tinkled with it in one of many attempts to make it work."Come on, just give me anything. I'll take even Grey Matter right now."
Right at that moment, Ben was feeling desperate to get the alien watch to work. He tried activating the randomizer function or anything almost dangerous to do to the Omnitrix. But then again, after so many attempts, he just threw his arms up with his face at the skies and screamed in frustration.
"Where the heck am I?"
The teen was also feeling hopeless. He hadn't spotted a human being or any sign of a person other than him. In fact, he didn't even know how he got to this predicament or how it led to this. But just before the teen could let out another frustration, he noticed something strange. The dark gloomy clouds departed at an area, letting a ray of bright light at somewhere very close.
"That's weird." Ben murmured.
Indeed, the sight was weird to see. The light did not only seem so bright and heading straight down to the ground, but also at a place that got Ben to turn to it. Hence, when he did, his eyes were a bit widened as he stared at a familiar girl wearing a white robe.
"Sayo…" Ben murmured. "No, it can't be…You're dead."
However, Sayo said nothing back at him. Her entire front body was before him as the light from the sky continuously brightened her place while a small wind blew her hair majestically. But even as this happened, she turned from Ben and ran off.
"Sayo, wait!" Ben shouted. He reached his out in an attempt to stop her, but immediately found that to be futile.
For an unknown reason, Sayo refused to listen to him. She just kept running with her back at the teen hero while he grasped what was going on. It didn't make any sense to him then about the girl seemingly being alive nor did he consider the possibility about it. But a few seconds after was all he needed to run after her.
But that wasn't to say it was any easier than it should be. Sayo was quick and able to keep the distance between Ben and her while the latter person found it hard to run as his legs constantly ran through the swampy water.
'This…this doesn't make any sense.' Ben thought skeptically. 'Sayo is dead…so can someone tell me why I see her?'
The mystery in the whole scene felt crazy to the young Tennyson. He just ran and ran as fast as he could as he tried keeping up with Sayo so he wouldn't lose sight of her. But when she made a turn, and he followed, he came to a sudden stop before a huge tree.
'Great…this is officially beginning to creep me out.' Ben thought. He looked around at his front for any sign of the black haired girl before realizing she had completely vanished. It didn't make sense, but it was enough for Ben to walk backwards while keeping his guard up."Okay…time to find a way out of this creep-fest." He said to himself.
However, the creepiness was only just beginning for him. In fact, when he turned back, he came face to face with a floating Sayo, whose face was directly at his own.
"AAAHH!" Ben screamed. He hadn't expected such an appearance from the girl. Hence, when it happened he took a step back with his arms up at guard."Not cool, Sayo. Not cool!" He stated.
However, Sayo still said nothing in response. She just stared at the teen hero while having no expression on her face before walking towards him quietly. But now that she did, Ben noticed something very creepy about her. Her eyes were just white.
"H-Hey, what are you doing?" Ben asked. He felt some form of fear as he watched the blank faced look of his friend proceeding over to him like something out of a creepy ghost.
But she still didn't respond to him anyway. She just kept walking towards him, even to the point that when he took a cautious step back she still went closer. Then, before the hero knew it, she noticed his forehead, causing a bit of nausea to overcome him.
"Urgh…I…I don't feel good." Ben murmured.
The feeling of nausea came crashing down on him more than what he would've expected. He did try to stay on his feet despite his feet feeling weakened though, until finally succumbing to it as he fell to the ground. But rather fall into the swampy waters, he found his body hitting the hard earthly floor.
"Ugh!" He coughed.
The impact to the fresh ground wasn't just unexpected, but it was a bit painful. It led Ben to slowly get back on his feet as the nausea from earlier disappeared mostly like it was never there.
"That's weird." Ben commented. He touched his forehead as he rose to the ground before putting it down. "That feeling is gone…But where am I?"
Indeed, where was the teen hero? He knew for certain that upon looking around that he certainly wasn't in the swamp. In fact, he was in a clearing in a forest that seemed surprisingly familiar to him.
'Okay…this isn't making any sense either.' Ben thought uncertain. 'One moment I was in a swamp and now I'm in some clearing in a really familiar forest….And here I thought I've experienced enough weirdness…"
Unfortunately, the mystery just didn't seem to be answered anytime soon. The teen hero was able to take a look around his front for anything worth getting his attention before letting out a sigh. The reason was because of the small strain on his face which displayed how troubled he was until he turned to his back and was taken aback by what he saw.
The expression of the hero no longer held any strain. His eyes were widened while his mouth was a bit open as yet another feeling of nausea crept over him. This time, it was out of dread as his eyes stared horrifically at a certain big shed and Sayo standing before it.
"No…it can't be…" Ben gasped.
However, again, Sayo said nothing to him. She just stared blankly at him while her hair blew blissfully in air until the doors of the shed tore themselves open and she walked inside.
"No! Sayo, get away from that!" Ben shouted. He sent his hand forward in an attempt to reach her as his mind immediately kicked into his fear and horror. But as he tried to move, he felt some things grab his legs. "Huh?" Ben expressed, confused.
But when he looked down, he gasped in shock and fear at what he saw. The hands of unknown people were shooting out of the ground, grabbing his legs and pants as their groans could be heard so loud. The teen hero didn't know what to make of this; it just seemed impossible to escape.
The zombie hands were firmly tightened around him as they pulled on him in such a way that he couldn't free himself. It also didn't help that as he tried touching the Omnitrix's faceplate, which still refused to do anything.
Just then, the zombies' grips became more than just to keep him from moving. They began to pull so hard on him that the teen found his legs sinking into the ground, all the while slapping the Omnitrix's faceplate. But it didn't change a single thing for the hero. The hero's body was pulled down to his chest level, where at that moment the entire bodies of the zombies came out, grabbed his arms, before pulling him all the way into the earth.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Ben screamed.
The teen feared the worse as he was consumed by the earth. The zombies covered his entire view of the earth before his eyes opened once again to yet a new scene. This time, he was suspended in the air with hands held up upwards by chains at each wrists and ankles.
"Wh-where am I?" Ben questioned.
"You're here." answered a familiar female voice.
"Huh?"
Ben was confused by the response he heard. He knew he heard somewhere before, but couldn't be sure about it until he looked up at the source. Hence, the person he saw was floating down at him in a somewhat angelic manner as the light around her dissipated to reveal Sayo, this time with her black pupil eyes.
"Sayo?" Ben questioned.
"Hello, Ben." Sayo greeted pleasantly. She had a warming smile on her face as she floated directly before him despite his confused expression. Then, without a warning, she wrapped her arms around his neck as a gasp came out of her lips, followed by tears slowing leaking out of her then closed eyes. "I'm so happy you're here." She said.
"Here?" Ben questioned. "I…I don't understand."
"I know…" She replied. But something didn't feel right. She opened her eyes as a frown came over her face, which led to a depressed and sad tone. "But why…why didn't you save me?"
Ben was taken aback by this question. He became quiet as the girl's words sunk into him, unsure of what to say. But even as he said nothing, she still continued.
"Remember that time the Danger Beast attacked…" She said. "Tatsumi, Ieyasu and I were able to take care of some Danger Beasts, when the last of them caused by an avalanche as it fled. I was so scared…Tatsumi and Ieyasu were out of the way when it happened. But you…you jumped right in when we didn't know each other, and saved me as that tiger, Rath…You were so awesome."
"Yeah…" Ben murmured. He didn't know why, but he chose to speak there. "I wanted to use Ghostfreak but the Omnitrix chose otherwise."
However, the girl said nothing in response to this. She instead released her arms from the teen hero before then floating before him with her arms on her chest. "So why…why didn't you save me again?" She asked with a depressed voice. "You were there for me…for Tatsumi…forIeyasu…but you didn't save me…But you saved her…that girl…the one who did this to me."
Suddenly, Sayo's entire body changed drastically. Her beautiful white robes and graceful body were gone in an instance as they were replaced with a gore of the past. She wasn't even clothed at her. She floated there with dried blood all over her body, one limb (leg) gone, hair displaced with a few strands of it covering a part of her breasts and chains at her arms.
"Why, Ben?!" She screamed suddenly. "Why did you save her?! Tell me!"
"I…I…" Ben stammered. "I couldn't bring you back."
"No…You're lying!" Sayo shouted. Her voice was in a mix of grief and anger as she did this. "You saved her! You left me alone! You abandoned Tatsumi…"
"No…" Ben muttered.
"and Ieyasu…"
"No…"
"our friendship…."
"Stop it!"
"AND THE VILLAGE!"
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Ben scowled angrily.
The teen finally felt he was at a breaking point. He breathed heavily as he glared momentarily at her until he realized what he was doing. He was angry and frustrated at Sayo, for what? The truth? Well most of it anyway. But since that realization dawned on him, he looked down in regret and said nothing.
As for Sayo, her body went back to how it was, in bright robes and fine skin. She didn't say anything to him though, as the entire scene changed to just pitch black and the chains holding Ben disappearing. But rather than scream, Ben let his knees hit the ground with his head still down.
Just then, Sayo landed on the ground in front of him. She looked at him with no expression before then squatting down and lifting his chin at her by her hand for him to see her face. She could now see the sadness displayed on his face.
"If you couldn't save me in time…" Sayo said. "…then you will never be able to save the empire. Now wake up, she's about to kill you."
"Huh?" Ben was confused.
However, the teen didn't get to understand what she meant by the last part. His eyes suddenly wiped open to an entire environment, a forest, this time though with Aria on top of him with a knife held by both hands above her head and a frustrated look on her head.
"DIE!" She shouted.
"Again…" Ben said.
The time, however, wasn't right to joke about it. The reason for this was Aria, who immediately sent her knife down on Ben's head only for the teen hero to grab both wrists with his own hands.
"Well…good morning to you too." Ben joked.
"Just die!" Aria shouted.
"Uh…no."
Ben was certainly not going to let her have her way. He made her arms to strike the knife down at the ground next to his head before then wrapping his left arm around her side and pushing her to the ground next to him. As such, he was on top of her while she was on the ground glaring at him.
"Get off me, pervert!" Aria yelled angrily. "I will not have a cattle molest me!"
"Molest?" Ben questioned. He was taken aback by this claim. "First off, you were the one on top of me. And second, you're too crazy for my liking."
"Crazy?!" Aria yelled. "How dare you?! Do you know who you're speaking with, cattle?!"
"Yeah, you mentioned that like a billion times for the past three days."
"Shut it!"
"Whatever." Ben said and rolled his eyes. He didn't feel bothered with the girl's character since in a thing he has gotten used to it. After all, this isn't the first time she tried to kill him.
So with no other reason to hold her down, the teen hero stood up and walked over to the knife to pick it up. Meanwhile, Aria sat up and continued to yell at him.
"How long are you going to keep me prisoner?!" Aria demanded. "I'll have you know I can have you beheaded for kidnap."
"Well first off…again…" Ben said as he picked the knife. "I didn't kidnap you. I saved you from being killed by Tatsumi. And second…"He paused and held his other arm out just in time to halt an approaching Aria by the head. "you would be dead in this forest without me."
"Let me go!" Aria protested. While at that, she waved her hand constantly at Ben to the knife."Give that back, it's not yours!"
"Yeah, I figured that out, genius." Ben said sarcastically. He had his other hand holding the knife away from her. "I'm not good at analyzing certain objects, but even I can tell it's no ordinary object. So I wonder if I can sell this."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Well I'm tired of being broke."
"I don't care!"
Ben sighed in response. "Would it hurt if you went back to that sweetheart version of yourself? That was cuter than this."
"Burn in hell!"
"I had a feeling you'll say that." Ben murmured.
It was obvious to the teen hero that Aria hadn't changed a little bit since he rescued her from getting killed. She has insulted him constantly, tried to kill him on numerous occasions and in one case tried to trick him to let his guard so she can again try to kill him.
So since Ben was used to Aria's attitude, he walked to his left side, causing Aria to fall face-first into the ground. But the girl didn't let that go so easily. In fact, she soon stood back up after wiping sand off her face before pointing accursedly at him. "I'll have you at the glutton for that!"
"The guillotine…" Ben muttered. A thought had come to mind. "That's what Sayo said about Ieyasu once." He stated in a whisper. 'And now that I think about her…I've been having dreams of her and that incident since then. Every night she always appeared –'
"Hey, are you listening to me?!" Aria suddenly interrupted.
"Hm?" Ben turned to her.
"Hmph! Of course you weren't! Idiot Cattle!" Aria insulted. She had her usual look of anger, before a malicious grin then took over her face as a look of evil was in her eyes. "Ieyasu's that pig, am I right?"
Ben winced at the name she called him. He tightened his right fist as his eyes immediately shot a warning glare at her. Unfortunately, this only seemed to fuel the girl's mood.
"HAHAHA! I'M RIGHT!" She shouted. "I REMEMBER THE LOOK OF TERROR ON HIS FACE WHEN HE REALIZED WHAT WE DID TO HIM AND THAT DAMN BITCH WITH THAT ACCURSED LONG HAIR! THAT WE LOCKED THEM AND TOYED WITH THEM LIKE THE CATTLES THEY WERE! I ENJOYED SEEING HIM SUFFER, ALMOST AS MUCH AS THAT GIRL! TELL ME, IS HE DEAD? DID HE COUGH OUT BLOOD AS MY MOTHER'S DRUG WENT INTO ITS FINAL STAGE! TELL ME! TELL –"
Suddenly, Aria came to a stop when Ben slapped her at the face. He had a look of anger on his face as he stared into her eyes in such a way that it scared her. In fact, no sooner did he do this did he bring the back of his hand up to strike her again. But for an unknown reason to her, he dropped his hand as a serious look took over.
"You people are monsters." Ben stated boldly. "You kill those from the country just because they weren't lucky to be nobles or wealthy. I can see why Tatsumi wanted to kill you back then. But you know what…I won't step into that line, not ever. I'm going to save you from those thoughts your parents fed you and I will end the corruption going on in this empire no matter what. As for Ieyasu, he's alive and safe with Tatsumi. You and your parents failed."
Aria, however, didn't like hearing this. The fear she had for Ben was instantly gone as rage came over and led her to grab the knife out of the hero's hand.
"Shut up!" She shouted angrily.
The rage she was feeling was unlike what Ben had seen through her before. Clearly, he had triggered something within her to act this way. But just because that was the case, it didn't mean he let he stab him when she swung her knife at him. So he grabbed her wrist.
"You won't last long." Ben stated with a stern voice. "You don't understand people. I may not know this world all too well, but by what I've gotten from people I think I get it long enough. The world is filled with savage villains, some of which are like you."
"Let go of me!" Aria yelled angrily. "Cattle like you need to know your place!"
"No." Ben said immediately. "I get it; you're a noble. You had mummy and daddy's love and wealth to make you treat others differently. That is why you tortured and murdered those you felt lower than you. But one day you'll get a reality check that even your parents' money won't be able to save you."
"I said let go!" Aria yelled angrily.
The words said by Ben were getting to her too much. She couldn't stand the 'insults' he was giving her deceased family or the fact that he was 'belittling' her despite her status in life. So it came as no surprise to Ben that she tried to slap him, only for that wrist to be grabbed by Ben as well.
"Noble?! Wealth?! Treating those lower to make yourself better?!" Ben shouted back. "None of that matters! Don't dis people like that!"
"Fuck off!" Aria barked at him. "You're all cattle! Cattle!"
It would appear that Aria wouldn't take in Ben's words as he wanted. She just looked at him with anger and regret until he surprisingly let go of her and turned away, walking to another direction.
"Hey, where are you going?!" Aria shouted in demand.
"Going to clear my head! Don't wait up!" Ben answered with an angry tone.
"Like hell I will!" Aria shouted back.
The blond psychopath finally felt she had enough of the teen hero. She watched him with a growling look as he headed to a stream of water down the area before turning her back at him and walking away to a different direction.
'How dare he treats me like that?!" Aria thought furious to herself. 'I'll have him killed. No! Tortured in prison for this! I'll make sure he has little to no food just to see how much he'll break! Then I'll have him beg for mercy and forgiveness as I have my way with him! But first I have to get back to the Capital!'
However, the last part was easier said than done. The reason was because Aria had no idea where the Capital could be. She had been unconscious when Ben took her away from Tatsumi and Night Raid before being led about by Ben throughout the days since then. Apparently, Ben wanted to take her to a village he knew close by that could accommodate them. But it seems now that wouldn't be the case now.
'I have to get back…' Aria continuously thought. 'The Capital…I'll make that cattle pay for his words. I just need to find a road.'
But again, the last part was easier said than done. The seconds she left Ben turned to minutes as she went through the forest in daytime in search of any sign of civilization. She almost tripped on a tree root and some rocks as she made her way through a single direction that she just decided to follow. But even with that, she began to realize something. She was hungry.
'Damn, that cattle!' Aria cursed in her thought. 'I swear I'll have him-'
Just then, something huge landed a few feet away from her. It shook the ground upon impact before letting out an ape-like roar that sent shills down Aria's spine. The girl almost didn't want to look, but her curiosity got the better of her as she indeed turned back just in time to see a big gorilla-like Danger Beast.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Aria screamed.
Throughout Aria's life, the girl had never encountered a Danger Beast. She had heard of them through the news and her parents, but never to the point of seeing one. So once her eyes were at the creature, she immediately ran as fast as she could, which wasn't much. The Danger Beast gave chase after letting out a roar with its eyes at her.
'I don't wanna die!" Aria screamed in her head. She had a look of pure fear and horror as she continued running. 'I can't die here! Not like this! Not by –'
Unfortunately for her, her thoughts were soon interrupted. The shadow of the Danger Beast was already upon her before the creature itself sent its hand at her to backhand her with full force. However, it didn't get that chance as a big orange blur ran past it, taking the girl away.
"AAAHHH! SOMEONE SAVE ME!" Aria screamed. She was so afraid of what had become of her now that she had her eyes closed. Hence, with nothing else to do, she hit her fists comically against the head of the creature holding her.
"Hey! Quit it!" shouted the one receiving her hits.
"Huh?"
Aria was confused to hear an actual human voice. But when she opened her eyes, she shrieked and hit her fists down on the creature's head again.
"Let me down! I don't want to be eaten!"
"Like hell I'll want to eat you!" The creature shouted back. "And stop that! It's me, Ben Tennsyon!"
"Huh? Ben?" Aria paused.
Now that she heard that name, she was puzzled about the creature when she looked at itagain. She also noticed she was in the arms of a nine feet tall muscular creature that resembled an orange and white bipedal tiger with green eyes. Along with this, it had stripes on its shoulders, head, legs and upper body as well as a black claw on each wrist while possessing no tail. But what made it even weirder and human-like is the green and luchador outfit it wore as well as the familiar symbol on its belt.
(A/N: I excluded the mask. Also, Rath can speak English in this fanfic)
"Ben?" Aria questioned. She looked at the alien in wonder before hitting her fist down on his face again.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Ben asked, looking irritated in his current form.
"No reason." Aria answered.
Ben aka Rath shot an annoyed glare at her in response. "Now you listen here, you –"
"AHHH! It's coming!" Aria suddenly shouted. The look of fear was once again on her face as she pointed behind Rath.
It was a good thing Rath decided to listen, as it led him to turn back. He was able to jump out of the way just in time to avoid the avoid the gorilla-like Danger Beast's fists from crashing down on them before landing some feet away.
"Looks like you made a friend." Rath remarked with a mild scowling look.
"Shut up." Aria said back. "Just get me out of here."
However, Rath growled at her in response, shocking the girl. He placed her on the ground without a word before then pointing at her with an accused-like finger. "Lemme tell you something, Aria the spoilt, psychotic and murderous brat that killed Rath's friend and tried killing Rath on numerous times, Rath does not and will never take orders from you!"
"Brat?!" Aria yelled back. "Now you listen here –"
"No! You listen!" Rath shot back at her. He had his green eyes glaring at her as his feline teeth were so menacing looking that it made Aria to almost squeal in fear. But whether the alien hero knew this was left unknown as he continued. "Rath can't be everywhere at once! Rath got other things to do too! So sit your butt there so Rath can do his thing, you got that?!"
"Uh…uh." Aria stammered with scared eyes.
"I said you got that?!"
Aria nodded in response, though it was slow. She has seen a few of Ben's aliens in the past few days and in a way knew they still possessed the teenage boy's character from his human form. However, Rath was entirely different. He seemed to be harsher and mentally angry for reasons she wasn't sure was because of her or if it was just its nature.
But even with that thought in mind, she knew not to test it. Instead, she watched as Rath turned back just to see the Danger Beast standing boldly at him with a growling looking face.
"Hey, you!" Rath shouted as he pointed at the creature. "Yeah, I'm taking to you, you big hairy monkey! Rath's not in a good mood…or something like that! But that's beside the point! Right now, Rath wants to let out his frustrations on you, so be honored you're gonna get a can of butt whooping!"
'He can't be serious…' Aria thought. 'That thing is huge.'
Indeed, the difference in size was far apart and very noticeable. The Danger Beast was about twenty feet, while Rath was just nine feet just by standing fully. So when looked by appearance, the victor was clearly the Danger Beast. And though Aria would like to run away, she found her body unable to respond due to the fear going off all over her body.
But she wasn't the only one who was affected by Rath's words. The only difference though, was that the one, the Danger Beast, was so angry that it let out a roar and threw down its fists down on Rath, who in response jumped out of the way and ran towards him.
"Here comes Rath!" shouted the alien hero.
At the same time, the Danger Beast roared at him. The distance between it and Rath weren't much, especially as the alien hero did something unexpected. He jumped on the arm of the Danger Beast before making yet another jump, this time for its face.
"Take a Rath-Knuckle Sandwich!" Rath shouted out loud.
Then, before the Danger Beast could react, Rath punched him hard right at the forehead. The result immediately after was a loud pained roar, followed by the creature trying to catch Rath with both hands only for the teen hero to land safely on the ground. But when that didn't work, it roared angrily and sent both hands down on Rath again.
"Too slow!" Rath shouted.
It didn't come as a surprise to the alien hero that the Danger Beast would try the same attack as before. After all, he may currently have anger issues, but he wasn't dumb enough to fall victim to a cheap attack. So upon seeing it, he ran to another direction close to the Danger Beast, who ended up hitting the ground he once stood on.
However, that didn't deter the monster in the slightest. The Danger Beast had seen where Rath had gone off to; hence he tried to backhand him as another attempt. However, unlike before, Rath ducked just in time to avoid it before getting on all four legs and running away behind the Danger Beast, who in turn did the same as it then gave chase.
The chase wasn't much to brag about though, at least to Rath. He ran through the woods as the Danger Beast gave chase, punching any tree in its way while trying to keep up with the alien hero. At the same time, the alien hero went from running to jumping from tree to tree just before they were knocked down by the monster. But when he landed on the ground again, he went directly for a tree, climbed it quickly to almost the top before then making a jump backwards followed by a flip. At the same time, the Danger Beast punched the tree into half.
"Time to make you hurt bad!" Rath shouted.
With the Dander Beast momentarily distracted, the teen hero had an opening. His flip allowed him to go over the Danger Beast and land on the ground, where he then made a leap for his butt.
"Literal Serious Butt Kicking!" He shouted.
And so with that, he delivered what he said. He kicked the monster directly at the butt with much force that the weight of the Danger Beast came down on it, causing it to fall on its front. However, Rath still wasn't done yet. He climbed the highest part of a tree nearby and stood on a branch, where he then shot his arm forward.
"From the top tree, does a body slam!"
The alien hero had a great attack in mind as he said that. He made sure to not waste a single second as he immediately leapt into the air, grabbed his knee to his chest to do a downwards spin, before releasing himself and coming down on the Danger Beast in a nosedive with his arms across each other. So before the Danger Beast could do something, he came right down on its spinal cord.
And so with that came a loud cry of pain. The Danger Beast had been hit heavily by Rath's attack, though not enough to keep it down. In fact, rather than staying down, it became mad as it tried to get back on his feet.
"Not so fast, Apeman!" Rath yelled.
Presently, he was running to the top of its head for yet another attack.
"You don't stand when Rath stands! Why? Because of this!"
Just then, the alien hero made a huge jump from the top back. He saw as the monster continued to get up before throwing his hands down perfectly at the top of its head.
"Cosmic drop!" He yelled out.
The impact of the attack came as a surprise, as well as painful for the Danger Beast. It made the monster to feel unease as it stepped back just in time for Rath to land on the ground and then climb right on top of it from the legs. The alien hero did this by quickly climbing all the way past its leg and the arm, before then making a leap for its chin this time.
"Unexpected Uppercut Swing!"
Just then, the Danger Beast received another attack to the chin. A part of it came from Rath's fist making contact with its chin, with the other fist doing the same immediately after as he went past it up into the air. Then, as it stumbled back, he came right back down with a kick to its forehead.
"Not-So-Literal Serious Butt Kickin!"
With that blow, the monster couldn't take much more of it. The reason was due to the kick, and the correct timing, adding so much on its body that it fell right on its butt. But before it could consider standing up, Rath came directly down for it with his arms reared back.
"Now finishing move!" He cried out. "Atomic Hammer Hit!"
The distance between Rath and the Danger Beast was immediately closed. The monster had little to no time to react as Rath came down on it, sending a shockwave all over the head. It was followed by the monster's loud cry of pain as it instantly slumped to the ground with Rath standing on top of its head triumphantly.
"Rath is victorious!" He bellowed.
That moment made Rath feel powerful as he took a triumphant pose. He had his right leg forward and his arms sideways apart while looking forward with a menacing look for some reason. But all that changed when he heard a sound that caught his immediate attention with a growl.
"Alright! Who's next?!" Rath cried out.
The alien hero felt a rush of adrenaline as he said that due to his fight. He didn't know who would dare fight him, and frankly couldn't care to hesitate to think on it. But when his eyes landed at the sight of Aria, quivering scared at him as she took a step back, he frowned.
"Oh, it's just you." He said.
Aria said nothing in response. She just stared at Rath with her hands at her chest while her eyes stared in fear at what was before her. The twenty foot Danger Beast from earlier was beaten completely by Rath, who she thought would've been dead by now. But here it was, lying on the ground, with Rath standing on top of it in an expression that she could only describe as terrifying.
So upon seeing the alien hero jumped down from the Danger Beast, Aria took scared steps back. She didn't know what to do other than stare at the hero until something unexpected happen. She lost her footing upon taking another step back, leading to a scream and her sitting on the ground as she clutched her right leg's ankle.
"OW! My ankle!" Aria cried out in pain.
The pain from the ankle was surprising, as well as hurtful. She didn't know if it was broken or something along the line of that. But it did take her attention from Rath until his shadow over her made her look up, followed by a shriek from her.
Rath was looking down at her with his piercing looking green eyes and a scowl that was terrifying to look at. But surprisingly, his attitude then changed to a look of concern before a strange ringing was heard from the hexagon symbol on his chest, which at the same time was flashing. Then, after a flash of green light, Ben Tennyson stood in Rath's place with a concerned look on his face.
"Hey, you okay?" Ben asked.
This surprised Aria a little bit. She hadn't expected anything much from Ben, especially with the sincerity in his voice as he got on one knee. But since she was in pain and angry, she swat his hand when it went for her.
"Does it look like I am?!" Aria retorted. "Just leave me alone, freak!"
The blond had one hand on the pained ankle as she glared angrily at Ben. She didn't like the position she was in nor did she want to offer the other teen a chance of her being weak. It was insulting to her.
However, while Ben would normally help her despite her attitude, he surprisingly stood up and turned his back at her before walking away. "Okay, bye!" He said casually with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and take care of big ol' Chewie. I hear he bites."
At the last part, he gestured to the unconscious Danger Beast.
"You're joking!" Aria shouted back at him. "You wouldn't dare leave me with that thing."
Unfortunately for her, Ben didn't respond back to her. He just dug his hands into his pocket and continued his walk while the girl stared at him and the unconscious Danger Beast with a constant turn of her head. She knew she wouldn't last a second once it wakes up, but at the same time felt she should keep her pride. But after seeing Ben distancing himself further, she finally submitted.
"Wait! Come back!" Aria shouted with a mix of fear and worry."Don't you dare let me die like this…I don't want to die!"
Aria's honesty was probably the best thing Ben had heard from her. He came to a stop before then walking over to her until he stood in front of her. Then, without saying a word, he squat right there with his back at her.
"Alright, let's go." Ben said.
"Huh?" Aria questioned, confused. "You want me to climb on your back?"
"Yup." Ben nodded. "Unless you want Chewie to get you, then I –"
"Fine, I'll get on!" Aria retorted.
For some unknown reason, this made her blush. It wasn't known if it was out of embarrassment or something mixed with that as she looked away from him and forced herself to climb on his back. At the same time, Ben made sure to keep her still as she wrapped her arms around his neck while he held her legs to his sides and stood back up.
"See. No problem." Ben commented with a smirk.
"Yeah…whatever" Aria mumbled. Then she said a bit louder. "Just… don't get any perverted ideas, cattle."
Ben sighed in response. "You know, that name is really going to get old."
"Too bad." Aria said sarcastically. She was still blushing due to her position, now confirmed to her to be out of embarrassment. "Now shut up…and let's leave this place."
"Yes, ma'am." Ben joked with a warming smile.
For some reason, he didn't feel annoyed or irritated by Aria. He just secured her legs tighter with his hands before then walking forward without saying a word. However, for the blond, there was something she wanted to say.
'This is humiliating…' Aria thought with an embarrassed look on her face. 'But…I guess I have to say it…'
"Ben…" She suddenly murmured.
"Hmm?" Ben hummed. He didn't turn his head to her though, since he was still walking.
Aria paused for a bit as she then let out a sigh. She has never been the type to be straightforward unless it was as an order or towards her parents. But since those weren't applied here, she felt a heaviness in her chest before placing her head softly on Ben's back which was still embarrassing to her.
"Don't get used to this…" She said, though rudely. "but thank you…for coming back for me."
"Okay." Ben answered.
"Okay?" Aria questioned. She suddenly felt offended. "I just thanked you. Be grateful."
"Oh, I am." Ben replied sincerely. "I know these days haven't been…the best. We're incompatible in obvious ways. So if you don't mind, I think you should take it easy until we can get help to fix that ankle of yours. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Liar…" Aria muttered. "You left me to go off on my own."
"I guess so…" Ben murmured. But even though Aria was at most fault, he couldn't help but share the blame for it. So, even as he continued walking he didn't deter from his manner then. In fact, he turned to her and smirked."But you're safe now. I'll help you see the truth."
"Truth?" Aria questioned. She thought for a second on what he meant before rebuffing it."Stop sprouting nonsense, cattle."
Ben sighed in response, though a bit rougher. He felt the urge to speak back at her but changed the thought and turned his head forward. They had a long way to go to the village Ben knew of, so he might as well keep going. He could've used Clockwork to fix Aria's ankle, but thought best that the girl could learn something from it even though he was unsure how. As for using any of his fast aliens, there was the problem that she could get nausea from the experience.
So in short, he was stuck with her for the meantime. It didn't mean he mind it too much; he just accepted how things were like this. And though he wasn't sure how this will help him liberate the empire, he knew he'll get to it eventually at one step at a time.
Unbeknownst to him though, his position was being watched by a hidden figure. It hid within the trees, not far from the Danger Beast Rath had beaten, as it watched them Ben walk away with Aria. It had seen everything that transpired in the fight and the transformation that occurred at the end, which in itself was something to be mindful. A teenager with a Teigu to transform was unheard of. But since the teenager and Aria weren't its target, it didn't bother to leave its position until they were completely out of sight.
So once they were gone, the figure revealed itself when it jumped down, revealing herself. She looked similar to Akame from Night Raid but with short hair in a twintail and black eyes. She also wore a black sailor uniform and wears a red belt that has a red side skirt like her sister, as well as red gauntlets like said person. Along with this, she has a katana by her side while wearing black socks and black shoes.
The girl's name was Kurome, the sister of Akame. She looked to her left, precisely the direction Ben and Aria left, before then proceeding to the Danger Beast with her katana radiating a dark aura.
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Here we have it, the end of yet another chapter. What did you think? Please let me know in your review. But before that please read what I have to say till the end.
Now you may be wondering (for those who know Akame Ga Kill anyway) why Kurome made a cameo appearance so soon. Well the reason is because as I was looking up Danger Beasts for Ben to fight, I came across the Apeman and the history behind him which connects with Akame. So I thought to add how she acquired it since it was a 'never before seen' scene for continuity.
So about Rath, I hope you enjoyed his scene. I tried adding him to be as close to his animated version as possible while adding a few things to it. I also didn't like that he speaks Spanish really, so let's say in this fanfiction he speaks English and Spanish even though I'm not sure I'll get him tospeak the latter language. As for his costume, I thought best to exclude the mask, but you can still add it in your head. It doesn't change anything.
Also, it seems my line breaks disappear when I upload a chapter. What the heck is with that? I sure hope it gets fixed soon.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it. I originally had Night Raid appear from a scene in the manga, but decided to put that in the next chapter you will enjoy for sure. It will have Ben fighting Night Raid!
So I've been thinking heavily on the pairing ever since the last chapter, and I decided to open a poll in my profile based on numerous pairings requested for Ben and others I just decided to add. I decided to do this so I can avoid a harem situation, so please go and have your vote on your pairing. Keep in mind that it is a pairing with Ben and not with Tatsumi or any other male character. So go vote!
So that's about it for now. Thank you so much for your support. Please keep it up by reviewing, favorite and following this fanfiction.