Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter of Corruption, Murder and…Redemption?
Thank you so much for your continuous support! They have been great! They were some things I wanted to add to say in the previous author's note, but due to all of it being long I couldn't. Now then, I can say them.
On regards to the timelines being made into stories by other authors, sure I can allow that. I wanted to mention this, but I totally forgot to add that. In fact, I'm considering doing some one-shots of said events if no author decides to take any of them as a story.
To one of the guest reviewers please don't use reviews to ask me to update one of my fanfictions. I'll get to it when the time feels right, so until then I ask that you patiently wait. I'm sorry if this was bit all of a sudden or harsh. That isn't my intention.
So about the love triangle; I'm glad to hear good feedback about it. I know it came as a surprise in the last chapter, but I actually intended it from the time after poll of Ben's pairings. I thought I had mentioned it until I went through the chapters just to find that I didn't. So I'm so sorry about that. As for the thought of a harem, I'm glad we're on the same page about it.
Also a brief shout out to the reviewer, New Universe Returns. Thanks for your suggestion. I truly appreciated it even though I never used it in the previous chapter.
Now then, here's yet another chapter. This one was originally meant to have a huge flashback narrated by Ben, Tatsumi and Ieyasu from their separate locations while connecting it. But as I was writing, the chapter became way to long, and while I know you guys want to read more, I find it tiring to add everything in one chapter. Hence, I split it up, just like I did with Chapter one and two. Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Disappointment, Some Truth and…Who is Ben Tennyson?
Night time was still on course as the twinkling stars and the moon could be seen above the face of the earth. The incident with Ben Tennyson and Aria had long since passed since both of them escaped due to one of Night Raid's very own assassin, Sheele, who currently was facing the consequence for disobeying Najenda's order to kill the duo.
So back at Night Raid's hidden hideout, every member of the group of elite assassins was present in the meeting room. Najenda was seated on her personal seat before everyone while Sheele stood before her with a depressed look on her face. As for the rest of Night Raid, they stood around, with Tatsumi and Ieyasu standing at both sides of Bulat, who was back to his human form as he had his arms crossed over his chest and his right foot on the wall.
The incident with Ben Tennyson was still fresh in everyone's mind as Sheele spoke in her defense of her action. The superhero's unexpected scare tactic earlier had worn off since the time he escaped with Aria. But that wasn't to say the rest of the assassins were pleased to hear that Sheele allowed the duo to escape after everything they went through.
So back at the present, Sheele concluded her explanation. It hadn't been too bad, although the young woman did seem worried as she explained her actions. But that was in the past now. It was now Najenda's turn to say on the outcome of it, which by the look of her serious face already said what she felt.
"I must say I'm disappointed, Sheele." The boss stated straightforwardly. "You were given a direct order with everyone else to eliminate the intruder. I expected much from you."
"I'm sorry…" Sheele muttered and tightened her grip on her hands.
Najenda sighed before resting her normal hand on the armrest. It allowed her to rub her forehead, in a way to suppress her disappointment, as she took in what she had been told. The report from Sheele didn't sound anyway good to her in the slightest, especially by the fact that it had been a surprised that Sheele, of all the members, intervened into something that she had given orders about. But it wasn't like that she could've been corrected. By the time everyone woke up, Ben and Aria were long gone.
"I just want to know one thing." Najenda said with her eye glaring at Sheele. "Why do it? Why did you risk the mission and a direct order for a young man you didn't know about? "
Sheele said nothing in response, at least not yet. She wasn't good at giving reports, especially ones about missions. But here she was, doing something she never thought would happen. But as the seconds passed with no answer, she finally looked up to Najenda with a depressed look before speaking.
"I…don't know…" She said softly. "Oh wait…yes, I do…It's just that he…Ben…reminded me of Juliet. He didn't want to harm any of us…at least that's what I think. He didn't even seem like he wanted to kill us…So when I saw Mine about to kill him, I saw how pure his heart was and so I…just went in the way. I know what I did is wrong…and I'm ready for the consequences…but the way he spoke to me, he looked so determined to takeout the empire. I guess…I didn't want his life to end before he could realize it."
Mine scoffed as she facepalmed. Sheele was her best friend, but she couldn't help but find that reasoning to be stupid. "If you're saying he could join us, I hate to break it to you but he declined twice." She said.
"Huh?" Sheele questioned and turned back.
"She's right." Akame said in agreement. "Bulat and Tatsumi tried. He may have a good heart, but he doesn't intend on joining us if we're to kill the girl."
"Oh…I see." Sheele muttered. But she didn't deter, especially as she turned sideways. "But does he have to be with us to help? We could…"
Najenda became a bit intrigued, just by her face expression changed. But she wasn't the one who stopped Sheele. No, it was Ieyasu, as he took a step forward with an annoyed look on his face.
"Just stop it, okay?! You messed up when you let him and that girl to run away!"
Sheele wince a bit as she turned away. The outburst from Ieyasu hurt a bit more than it should at that moment. It did made Mine to shoot a glare at Ieyasu, who didn't seem to notice as he continuously glared at the purple haired assassin. Tatsumi, on the other hand, was taken aback by his friend's attitude until his mood shifted and became a straight one. He didn't say anything though, but instead rested his hand on Ieyasu's shoulder, which caught the guy's attention.
"That's enough, Ieyasu." Tatsumi stated. "We were like that too with Ben. Have you forgotten?"
"Uh…" Ieyasu uttered as he stared at his friend. He took in what he had to say, before feeling his attitude a second ago instantly decrease. It made guilt to immediately rush in, as he then nodded at Tatsumi and turned to Sheele apologetically. "Hey…Sheele, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Sheele said back.
At the same time, Najenda decided the interactions were enough. She did let the apologies sink in a bit before leaning forward at Sheele's direction, who responded by looking back at her. Once that happened, everyone's attention was at the boss again.
"After a bit of thinking, I've made my decision." Najenda said affirmatively. "Sheele, you're here on temporarily relieved from duty. You can keep Extase with you, but you can't participate in any more missions for the next two weeks unless I say otherwise, understood?"
"Yes, boss." Sheele said softly.
"Good." The boss said and sat backwards on her seat. "You're a good assassin, Sheele. But you know just as much as everyone that you're actions can come with consequences. Fortunately, there is some good to it."
"There is?" Sheele asked, surprised.
She wasn't alone to feel this, though. In fact, everyone was surprised as they stared at Najenda, who seemed resolved as she lifted a cigarette to her mouth and lit it.
"Yes." The boss answered. "Partly the reason Night Raid failed was because we lacked potential knowledge of the young man, Ben. We didn't take into account his strengths, weaknesses or background; hence you were all unprepared for his transformations despite giving it your best. However, I believe this is a lesson that we've learned. We must not underestimate the enemy just by his looks."
Everyone nodded in response affirmatively. It made sense for Najenda to state this, seeing as the experience the assassins went through was difficult. It was why all attention was still on her as she dismissed Sheele, who stood right next to Mine, before crossing her right leg over her left.
"Now then…what did you all observe in the fight? I want to know every detail" Najenda stated.
-(LINE BREAK)-
Somewhere in the forest, far away from Night Raid's location, Ben Tennyson was at the bottom of a small hill, where he sat on a log by a stream as he washed his face. It had only been an hour since he faced Night Raid and escaped, only to find himself wondering about the event. He was glad he and Aria made it out alive, but couldn't help but feel worried for a certain purpled haired assassin that saved them.
However, before he could think further, he heard footsteps. It didn't alert him to any danger, but actually to look behind him just in time to see Aria standing behind him with a calm look on her face and her arms behind her back. But the moment they made eye contact, the girl smiled as she playfully skipped over to his front before doing a twirl that made the bottom of her dress to fly up a bit, as she then came to a stop before the Omnitrix user.
"Thank you so much, Ben!" Aria said with a sweet voice. "My leg feels as good as new."
"Oh…that's great." Ben muttered. He seemed to have his mind distant to the present as his eyes turned away from her and to the stream.
Unfortunately, this didn't sit well with Aria. The blond just about had it with Ben's attitude, when she suddenly raised her left hand and smacked the young man on top of his head.
"Ow!" Ben yelped. He reacted to the blond girl's action by placing both of his hands on his head. This was then followed by a glare by him to Aria. "What the hell, Aria?!"
"You!" Aria yelled and pointed accursedly at him. "You're doing it again! The second time I thank you and you don't even appreciate it!"But it didn't stop there for her. In fact, she placed both hands on her hips and bent forward at the young man's face, just inches from it. "So what is it? You've been quiet after you healed my ankle, so spill!"
Ben became quiet and moved his head back. As much as he hated Aria's attitude, he knew she was right. But rather than look at her in the eyes, his attitude calm down as he looked away.
"Sorry about that…" He said. "I was just thinking about that girl…you know, the girl that saved us…Sheele, was it?"
"Her?" Arai questioned. She seemed to understand the Omnitrix user as she stood fully back up. "Yeah, that was her name…But what about her?"
Ben sighed as he depressingly sat forward. "It's what happened then…I feel I was responsible. They may be murderers, but I can tell they're good people in their own way, that is. If I was just strong enough…or at least the Omnitrix was recharged, I could've prevented that."
"The Omnitrix?" Aria questioned.
At the same time, Ben realized his mistake. His eyes went wide as it dawned on him that he may have just slipped on something he should've been quiet on. But as he looked up at Aria, she didn't seem to ponder much on it as her face was at somewhere else.
"Huh…so that's the name of your Teigu?" She said. "I'm not good at comforting people…that was never my strong point. But I think you should keep faith that she's alright. If those…people are good then I guess she'll be fine."
"Hmm…Maybe you're right." Ben smiled. "Thanks , Aria."
Aria looked back at him and smiled. "Thanks."
However, their talk with each other didn't end there. There was something Ben found his mind bringing up now that the subject of it was made by Aria. The blond, obviously, didn't know of it until Ben brought up.
"By the way…what is a Teigu?" Ben asked.
"Huh?" Aria paused as she gave the hero a look. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're kidding, right? You're wearing a Teigu on your wrist."
Ben said nothing in response. He knew what Aria meant, before then lifting his Omnitrix arm to her view, with said device staring at her. "Actually, it isn't…It's kind of a long story. But just tell me what a Teigu is, I'll fill you in on my part, I promise."
"Um…fine." Aria said in acceptance. But she was also curious about the young hero. It was why she obliged so easily, even to the point of sitting next to him on the log, with him facing her as she did the same to him. "Well from what I heard a Teigu is this. They're these mysterious and powerful relics that exist all over the empire. They were created on the instruction of the first emperor, who feared that the empire he founded would eventually fall. So to prevent that from happening, he gathered many materials and hired many scientists throughout the world to make strong weapons and defenses…From what I heard, most of these materials were made from the remains of powerful and rare Danger Beasts that were S-Class, while a few was made from a rare metal I can't remember. I do know that they are forty-eight of these Teigus, but after a civil war that happened five centuries ago, almost half of them became lost."
"Woah, they sound so cool!" Ben exclaimed with a look of amazement.
"Uh…yeah." Aria said, a bit taken aback by his reaction. Fortunately, she was able to recover from it instantly and point at the Omnitrix. "And I thought that was one of them. If that isn't a Teigu then what is it? Those creatures you turned into look like Danger Beasts to me."
"Well they're not." Ben said and held the Omnitrix in his hand. "It's called the Omnitrix. Believe it or not, it's the most powerful device in the universe."
"The…Universe?" Aria questioned. But upon taking this in she sighed in disbelief and got ready to stand up. "I shouldn't have asked."
"No! Wait! Let me explain!" Ben shouted.
"Fine." Aria accepted and sat back facing him. "But you better be saying the truth."
"I will. Scout's honor." Ben replied and raised up his hand. But in doing so, he confused Aria, who he then responded by placing his arm down. "It's a thing we say from where I'm from."
"Um…okay."
"Anyway…" Ben continued. "My full name is Ben Kirby Tennyson and I'm not from this world. In fact…I'm from another world."
This caught Aria's attention.
Ben continued. "In that world, things are different. Technology is much superior and we have a democratic system of government in most parts with certain rights, a good justice system and…well, basically every good thing this world doesn't have. Now I know these sounds crazy, but let me finished…So in this world, my life was like any other person. I went to school, got picked on by bullies and so on and so on, until one night during a road trip with my grandfather and cousin, a strange device from the sky shot down to the ground. At first I thought it was a weird satellite…you wouldn't know what that is, until I went over to it and it got stuck on my wrist. That thing was the Omnitrix…the former version, that is. Ever since then I've been fighting bad guys from my world and from space to the point that I got the device you see here, the new Omnitrix. It basically has more features added than the old one, which I blew up to stop an intergalactic warlord from getting…So do you believe me?"
Aria was quiet when he concluded. She didn't seem intent to say a word to him as she already had her face away from him. But before he could utter another word, she stood up and began walking away.
"If you're going to tell me such nonsense, you could've just said so." She said.
"Wait, Aria!" Ben called out. He realized at that moment on what she thought as it was plainly obvious. But not wanting to seem like a liar, he ran over to her and grabbed her by the wrist, halting her. "Please stop. I've never lied to you before, so why would I now?"
"I…" Aria paused and turned to him. "I don't know…Do you know how crazy you sound right now?"
"Yeah…I had a feeling." Ben replied. "But you just have to believe me."
Aria said nothing back in response. She looked at Ben right in the eyes, like she was searching for anything odd, before coming to a conclusion. It made her to let out a soft sigh before she looked back at the hero with a calm look on her face. "Fine, I believe you." She said in admittance. "That does explain why you don't kill…even when our lives were on the line."
"Yeah." Ben said and let go of her hand.
"But…" Aria suddenly added. "You're not going to make it if you don't do it."
"What?" Ben questioned, confused.
"Taking a life." Aria answered. She didn't seem hostile at him though, but rather in concern. "Look…I heard what you said to that assassin, about taking down the Prime Minister and his lackeys, but do you really know how much that's going to take? You met me…you saw what my family and I did…but that's…that's a peek of the kind of people that lives in the Capital. And that's not all. Assuming you do face the palace, you'll have to deal with a large number of the best soldiers the Capital could provide, as well as the Empire's best generals Esdeath and Budo; those two are monsters in battle…from what I've heard."
"I don't see the problem." Ben replied. "Trust me, I've faced –"
"Have you ever taken a life?!" Aria shouted suddenly. "Have you ever seen the blood of the person you've killed, only to reflect on what you did and wonder what led to that?! I have, and trust me it's horrifying! But if you think you can take on the entire empire…you're a fool, Ben Kirby Tennyson! If you face Esdeath, she'll be out on you like an icy blizzard. She's all about the strongest survives, so don't expect her to go down easily in a fight, ever, unless she's killed! That's the kind of woman she is! As for General Budo, I've heard he's so terrifying that the Prime Minister has to be conscious about him! So if…if you underestimate them, it'll cost you your life!"
"Wow…you kind of make sense." Ben said. Now that he took in Aria's words, he couldn't help but feel that she's right. But if her words didn't seem to enter him, her teary eyes did as they stared at his green eyes. "To be honest, I actually regretted coming here when I saw those bodies in that shed…But not anymore...If I was disgusted by that, then I really don't know what this world has. But I'm not going to kill. I'm going to show this world that a life doesn't have to be taken to make a permanent change."
"Hmph, good with that." Aria said and smiled warningly. "I really want to believe you'll do that, so promise me something. Promise me…no matter what…you'll never take a life."
"I promise, Aria." Ben said with certainty.
Aria felt happy to hear this. She truly wanted to believe Ben could handle this world, hence the promise. But as she stared at him, the young man brought her out of her trance as he rubbed the back of his head just to feel comfortable in changing the topic.
"So about Esdeath…have you met her?" He asked.
"Huh?" Aria questioned. She had been so focused in thought that she was surprised by his question. "Um…yes. But it wasn't really a meeting. It was more of a glance."
"Oh, is that so?" Ben questioned. He placed his hand down by his side as curiosity and interest got the best of him.
"Yes." Aria answered. She immediately after wiped the tears off her eyes before continuing. "There was a party once which allowed the emperor and the Prime Minister to mingle with their guests. It was a way for the emperor to find a young lover to marry when he comes of age. I don't know who suggested it, but General Esdeath was there. But I remember so much about it…I remember touching the emperor's hand and looking Esdeath in the eyes…Back then I was fascinated by her…I heard so much about her torture techniques, just to the point that I tried some of them out…But I'm ashamed of that now."
"Right." Ben replied. "So what about the other guy?"
"General Budo?" Aria questioned. "He wasn't there, but I heard he's a powerful Teigu user…the same with Esdeath. He's known to have so much respect in the military that he surpasses Esdeath herself in that fact."
"Huh, you sure speak of Esdeath a lot. Is she really that dangerous?"
"She is." Aria stated. "I hear she could freeze half a country without batting a sweat. So if you face her, you'll need to take her very seriously."
"I see." Ben replied with a thoughtful look. "Thanks, Aria. At least now I know what to expect in this crazy world. I thought I should tell you about my back story since keeping it a secret from Tatsumi, Ieyasu and Sayo obviously made things bad."
"Yeah…" Aria muttered.
However, Ben didn't seem to take it into account. In fact, he let out a yawn before then stretching his arms out as an obvious display that he was feeling sleepy.
"Well I think it's about time we heard off to sleep." He said with a tired voice. "Let's go over the hill and…"
"Not yet." Aria suddenly said. She caught Ben by surprise, as he raised his eyebrow at her. But before he could say a word, she suddenly held his left wrist and looked at him with a sad look on her face. "If you don't mind…I want to know about them…Tatsumi, Ieyasu and…Sayo..Please, Ben."
Ben was silent in response to her request. The tiredness he felt seemed to have disappeared as all he felt was a bit of tension. He had a feeling why she would ask this, but thought not to say about it yet. However, as her grip on his wrist tightened, the young man finally succumbed to her request.
-(LINE BREAK-
Back at Night Raid's hideout, some progress was made in the meeting room. Each member had given their account of the battle with Ben Tennyson until now it was Najenda's time to speak to them. The smile on her face showed the information was good as every word said by the assassins went through her head.
"I must say, this information is good." Najenda said straightly. "Ben may be powerful, but he's flawed by his own Teigu. If we meet him again, and play our parts right, we may be able to beat him. Since he can't transform into the Teigu he wants always, we can exploit his confusion to our advantage. But if that doesn't work, we may be able to achieve something by striking the symbol the Teigu displays or wait till his Teigu changes him back to normal. However, we still lack the knowledge about his past" That was when she turned at Tatsumi and Ieyasu. "Tatsumi, Ieyasu, I understand you don't know much about him, but whatever you remember of him would be good. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, boss." Tatsumi said affirmative. Ieyasu agreed along with him.
_(LINE BREAK)_
Yeah, I'm so sorry the chapter isn't long. I wanted to get this out of the way so I can later post the other half. That half is about 9,000 to 10,000 words (although it might be more than that. I'm still writing at it by the time I'm typing this).
The next chapter would have a flashback as indicated by both scenes by Ben and Night Raid, so you'll get to see Tatsumi's life in the village, as well as how he met Ben and knew about a few of the aliens which I hinted in the previous chapters. Along with that, Sayo's closeness with Ben would be explored, as well as Ben's reasons for not using Alien X. I know I said I'll have that be in this chapter, but like I said, the chapter was too long. So you're going to have to wait until that chapter is completed.
So who wants to know who dies? I'm asking this because in one of the previous chapters, I revealed who would live, so it's only fair that I mention who dies.
Now on to some important things about this fanfiction. When I started this story, I honestly didn't have it all planned out like I do now. This was based on the idea of Ben saving Aria and basically seeing how that would alter the events of Akame ga Kill. But due to your support, I've been extending the idea to give certain bad characters some redemption due to reasons that will be revealed when the time comes. However, that isn't the important part. No, it's actually one of the characters of Akame ga Kill that I felt very sorry for because I felt bad for him since he was manipulated throughout his life (before getting axed. Haha. Hint!). I won't say who it is, but if I do make him redeemable, his action would change the course of Akame ga kill as a whole. That means I'll deviate from the manga, not as a whole, but in large areas. Can you guess who this character is? If so, please mention him and I'll give you a shout out in the next chapter if you got him right.
There is one other thing I wanted to mention, but I feel that would give away future plots. So with that said, I'll be getting to the next chapter. Thank you once again for your support. Please keep it up!