Corruption, Murder and Redemption?

by Man of cartoons

Corruption is said to be a monster that eats the soul of a man. So what if a hero with a pure heart decides to come to a world where the monster has almost taken over? Will he survive? Will he break? And will he get this dumb blond to stop calling him a cattle? Please read to find out. BenXAriaXSheele (Love Triangle). It used to include Leone.

10. Tatsumi the cook, The Capital and Ogre?

Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter of Corruption, Murder and…Redemption?

Thank you once again for support towards this fanfiction. Keep it up! Also, congratulations to all those who guessed the character I was talking about. While I'm not certain I would make him redeemable, I'll see how things go before I make that decision. Now some shout-outs to those who got it right.

Drew Luczynski

Owldusk

BrRosaball22

Guest

Thank you four for getting the answer right!

I've noticed some reviewers have been mentioning about harems. However, on the subject entirely, please read what I have to say at the end of the chapter.

To the reviewer, Cyberbeasttitan, thank you for giving this fanfic more of a read. I can understand how the first few chapters were skeptical. I promise you things will get more interesting as the story goes on.

Now with all that had to be said, here's another chapter.

Chapter 10: Tatsumi the cook, The Capital (again) and…Ogre the Demon?

FLASHBACK!

A few days before Tatsumi, Ieyasu, Sayo and Ben were set to leave for the Capital, the four friends were in the kitchen cooking. Sayo stood next to Tatsumi, as he was peeling on a fruit, while Ieyasu was by the side of his best friend, steaming some food in a pot.

"If you want to have a high position in the military, we need to start by raising our own skills." Sayo said optimistically.

"Yeah." Ieyasu agreed with a wide grin. "By doing this, even if things get bad we'll be able to survive somehow."

"True that." Tatsumi smirked. But then a thought came to him, which made him to frown as he turned to Sayo. "By the way, how's Ben doing?"

Suddenly, a loud splat could be heard, followed by Ben falling to the ground behind Sayo with a splash of food on his food. The sight of him brought the three teens to look down on him, with Sayo letting out a disappointed sigh and Ieyasu eyeing her.

"And you have a crush on this guy, why?" He asked.

However, Sayo didn't take this so well despite a blush clearly on her cheeks. "Wh-What did you say!? Don't be an idiot!" She yelled.

"Sure, whatever." Ieyasu said with a roll of his eyes.

FLASHBACK END

Back at the present, Tatsumi was reliving the memory of that moment in the past. It made him smile and feel good of himself, as it reminded him of the good times before all the terrible things that came to be.

'Sayo…Ieyasu…Ben…' Tatsumi thought positively. 'I'm…happy that I learned to cook. But…'

"MORE!" cried out the group of assassins behind him. They were seated around a rectangle table behind him, as they looked anxious at their cook who had served them a great meal. Of course, this comprised of Bulat, Mine, Lubbock and…Ieyasu?

Tatsumi was comically annoyed by this. 'Thanks to that, I'm treated as nothing more than a cook. And worse of all Ieyasu is a part of them. Asshole!'

Unfortunately, nothing could be done about it. Tatsumi was the cook, with Akame by his side, as they were cooking in the kitchen as one would expect. Akame had her beautiful black hair tied in a ponytail, as she was a cook too and Tatsumi's instructor. However, that didn't mean Tatsumi was pleased with his current position.

"Damn it!" Tatsumi cursed angrily. Currently, he had a fruit in his hand, which he was peeling off with a knife, though in a frustrated manner. "I'm an assassin, yet all I do day after day is cook."

"It cannot be helped." Akame commented. She was standing next to Tatsumi, wearing an apron, as her attention was at him. "I am responsible for cooking the base's meals. And naturally that duty falls to you as well." This was then followed with her eating a ball sized ingredient instantly.

"Where exactly is the cooking?" Tatsumi asked. "All I see you doing is "sampling" the ingredients."

"That's not true." Akame lied. And in a way that proved it, she munched on the ingredient.

"You suck at lying, you know." Tatsumi commented.

Just then, something comically caused him to be stunned. It wasn't a knife or any dangerous weapon, but instead the voice of Mine.

"For a newcomer, a cook's apron is best. It suits you well." Mine remarked slyly.

And in doing so, Tatsumi felt his pride drop a bit. But now he also was attracted to turn to her direction. However, when he did, he noticed Bulat, Mine, Lubbock and…Ieyasu again, standing at the door.

"Huh…" Tatsumi blinked. Then he fixed his focus on all of them. "Are you all going somewhere?"

"Yep." Mine answered proudly.

"A request to kill someone in the Capital arrived." Bulat informed him.

"And I'm going with them." Ieyasu stated with a toothy grin.

'What the hell?!' Tatsumi thought in annoyance. He glared sharply at his friend, mostly in jealousy, and pointed at him. "Him too? He should be cooking too!"

"I agree." Mine said, surprising both Tatsumi and Ieyaus. But before it was taken the wrong way, she turned at the spiky haired teen with a glare and turned back to her front with her arms wrapped across her chest. "But it can't be helped. Since Bulat is his instructor, he can say what training Ieyasu can do. Besides, since Sheele is temporarily out of action, we have no choice."

"Geez…so much love." Ieyasu commented, sarcastically.

Tatsumi, on the other hand, recalled something. It had to do with his meeting with Najenda earlier, which went along like this.

'Speaking of…' Tatsumi thought.

FLASHBACK (AGAAAIN!)

A few hours ago, Tatsumi and Ieyasu was standing before Najenda, who sat at her usual sit in the meeting room. The reason for their appearance was due to a lack of knowledge about Night Raid, which she was glad to provide.

"We're an organization that accepts requests from the public." Najenda informed them. "… to carry out assassinations in the Capital. We'll come up with something for you two to do though. Anyway expect to be called upon."

FLASHBACK END

Back at the present, things were just as the flashback went off. Sheele was sitting on the dining table, when she turned to the assassins that'll be leaving with a small smile on her face.

"Please take care of yourselves. I'll be here." She said.

Mine turned and smiled at her best friend. "Sure thing, Sheele. Just know that you're a thousand times much better than the loser following us."

"Hey! I have ears!" Ieyasu yelled, offended.

However, Mine didn't seem to care about him. In fact, her attention went at Tatsumi, whom she then laughed at as she directed her finger at him. "Akame and the new guy are housemaids. Just stay here and chop cucumbers AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

'Why does she feel the need to be so overbearing…?' Tatsumi thought with annoyance.

But unfortunately nothing could be done about her. The group of small assassins was done, before turning their backs at the others and walking out.

"Lateerrrr!" Mine waved back.

Ieyasu smiled at Tatsumi. "Goodluck, Tatsumi. We're counting on you."

"Huh?" Tatsumi questioned, a bit taken off guard. He hadn't expected a complimentary bye due to glaring so much at Mine. But as he saw his friend wave at him, he couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah. Back at you."

And so with came other matters. Akame showed this as she untied her hair, before leading the way to another exit. "Okay. Now, shall we go take some lives?"

Tatsumi sighed. He wasn't bothered by her statement, hence he looked at her. "You're talking about hunting dinner, aren't you?"

"Oh good, you understand." Akame replied.

"Huh…" Tatsumi commented. He didn't know how to reply to that. But as he looked over to Sheele, who just waved at him with a smile, he couldn't help but wonder about a certain absent assassin. 'That reminds me, I wonder how Leone is doing scouting Ben and Aria. I bet she's having lots of fun.'

_(LINE BREAK)_

Leone sneezed with her hands at her mouth.

'I'm hungry enough, so who the hell mentioned me?!' The female assassin thought with an irritated tone.

The day was still young in the Capital as people could be seen walking to their various places. Leone had been at her current work since dawn as she followed from a few meters away, glaring at Ben and Aria as they walked along the street not knowing the assassin was following them. Her attitude, however, at that time was nothing better.

'I just had to wake up too early and follow them, didn't I?' Leone thought with an annoyed tone. 'Sure, finding them in the forest was easy, but who the hell turns into a fucking flying dinosaur and flies off?! Hasn't this lad heard of the ground? It's nice, easy to walk on and doesn't involve running after him for miles and miles with no end on an empty stomach. If I don't get a drink soon, I'll be pissed.'

Just then, the girl noticed something. It wasn't alarming, but it was interesting as it made her to move behind a bunch of standing boxes by the side of a store, where she peeked from behind it just to see Ben and Aria come to a stop.

'Huh…what could those two be up to?' Leone thought suspiciously.

Speaking of the duo, the both of them stopped due to constant whistling and the sound of something soft continuously being hit against the ground, heading straight for them. It wasn't long after for the source to reveal herself to be a young lady in her mid-twenties, with aurburn hair and amber eyes. She had her hair tied into a ponytail which almost reached the ground while she wore a military uniform which had upper-body armor and held a dog leash which was attached to a strange dog.

"My sense of justice is tingling!" The woman exclaimed.

Ben had a sense that she was talking about him and Aria. Why? It was because she was heading towards him with a straight focus on them. The reason they had stopped was because of her, though now that Ben could see her coming, he couldn't help but think about her.

'Wow, for someone with a bright attitude, she looks pretty cute.' Ben said with a smile. Then another thought came that made him grimace as she came closer. 'But why do I get the same psych- crazy aura Aria had coming from her…I mean it's not like she's….Oh who the fuck am I kidding? This world is filled with all kind of crazy! I really can't drop my guard like I did on the first time I met Aria.'

With that thought out, Ben felt a bit better when the woman came to a stop. He watched as she did a military salute, with her cheeks puffed up, and stood at an attention before introducing herself.

"Seryu Ubiquitous! A soldier for justice, reporting!"

'Yup, something's definitely off about her.' Ben concluded 'No way someone in this world can be this cute and not be crazy killer.'

Fortunately, none of his thoughts affected his physical expression. In fact, Seryu didn't seem to notice as she turned her attention to Aria, whom she smiled gleefully at her.

"I know you! You're Aria Goodricke of the House of Goodricke! You're actually alive!"

"Yes, indeed I am." Aria said with a nice tone. She had a complimentary smile on her face, which reminded Ben of the time he first met her, before she gestured to Ben with a grateful tone. "You can thank this young man here. He saved me from Night Raid before they could kill me, along with my family."

"Really?" Seryu asked, surprised. This was instantly followed with her attention at Ben, whom she saluted positively at. "Good work, citizen! The arms of justice were with you, I'm sure!"

"Uh, yeah. Thank you." Ben replied, though in discomfort. He didn't like being around the Imperial soldier any better than he would've in his fight with Night Raid. However, for the sake of Aria, he continued. "Anyway…I'm just here to drop off Aria with this guy called Ogre. She said she'll be better safe with him, so she should be fine."

"You can bet she'll be fine." Seryu stated. Her arm was back by her side as she continued. "Ogre is a great man. You should meet him. I'm sure he would love to hear how you escaped the evil clutches of Night Raid."

"Um…no thanks." Ben replied, hesitantly. "I got something else to do, so I'll just say my –"

"No, I insist!" Seryu pressured on.

Suddenly, before the teen hero knew it, the young woman took hold of him. She took a hold of him on his Omnitrix wrist, though the alien device just inches from her hand, before turning her attention to Aria, who she gave an assured smile to.

"Please come with me Aria-sama. I'll take you to Ogre." She said.

"Um…of course." Aria nodded.

"Wait, don't I have a say in this?!" Ben protested.

Unfortunately for him, his words were ignored. Seryu's grip on him was firm, before she walked off with Aria by her side, wondering if Ben would be okay.

Back at Leone, the female assassin walked out of her hiding place and stood sideways at her leaving targets. She could've followed them, but she deemed it best to stop for now as a serious look came on her face.

'I didn't expect this…but it would look like my second assignment would be tied up with the lad and his friend.' Leone thought in her mind.

_(LINE BREAK)_

The walk to the Garrison Headquarters usually shouldn't have taken too long. But due to a 'wardrobe malfunction' aka a part of Ben's shirt being noticeable ripped at the bottom due to a certain female assassin last night, the trio had to stop at a clothes store for Ben to wear a replacement. Apparently, according to Seryu, Ogre didn't take those in strange clothing or tattered clothes seriously, hence the need for Ben to change outfit.

Fortunately, the teen's wardrobe didn't change much. He still retained his brown pants and black and white shoes, though the same couldn't be said about his infamous black and green striped shirt with the number ten on it. Hence, the top of his shirt was replaced with white shirt underneath a green coat which had two pockets at the sides and the number ten on top of it (A/N: What are the odds of that being there?).

Now the trio could head over to Ogre's office. But while that was happening, Ben couldn't help but look at Seryu as he walked behind her. She no longer held his wrist; hence he was free to run away if he wanted to. But he chose not to do it. One reason was due to Aria, while the other was because of the young woman in particular.

'I don't know…Was I really wrong about her?' Ben thought to himself in observance. 'Sure she might be hiding some dark side of her, but she's been nice enough to change my style of clothes and buy me a satchel to keep my old one. Huh…maybe I was wrong. But then again, if I turn out to be right, maybe…just maybe I could turn her around to the good side. I got Aria to see the better of life, so she shouldn't be too hard, right?'

However, that question would remain unanswered until the time came. Ben, Seryu and Aria just continued their walk until they stood at the front door of the Garrison Headquarters, which was a two-storey building. It had two officers standing guard in front, to which they saluted the young woman before letting her walk opening the door and letting her walk inside with Ben and Aria behind.

"Everyone, I have returned!" Seryu announced.

And with that, she got everyone's attention. The place was a spacious room that had other Imperial soldiers dressed in military uniform like Seryu standing about. Ben noticed that they were about three of them, one of which was a girl, before the door at the right side of the room open, revealing a huge figure walking out with a wide grin on his face.

"Ah, Seryu! I see you brought guests!" exclaimed the man. His attention had been entirely at Seryu at that moment, until he looked at Aria and Ben. Once that happened, his remaining her eye, his right eye, widened in shock as it lady on Aria. "Oh my…Aria Goodricke, you're alive."

"Indeed I am, Sir Ogre." Aria said pleasantly. She took a few steps forward and did a lady's courtesy, before standing up straight facing him.

Ogre was a man many people in the Capital knew. He was a large muscular man with black hair that appeared to be graying near his temples. He also had an unusual hairstyle with four ponytails or braids at the back of his head wrapped in white cloth as he also had a large star-shaped scar over his missing left eye while his other eye was red in color with black sclera. And for some reason, his teeth were quite sharp.

"HAHA!" The large muscular man laughed. He seemed happy to see Aria as she stood before him. In fact, this expression was shown as her wrapped his arm around Aria's shoulder before letting out a proud face. "Your father and I were good friends, so when I heard he and your mother were killed at your home I was deeply saddened by this. But lo and behold, to think you would actually outlive the clutches of Night Raid is nothing short of a miracle. Hell, you're the only one I've ever heard survive an encounter with them."

"Thank you, Sir Ogre." Aria said, though a bit with discomfort. The Imperial officer was a bit too close for comfort. Fortunately, that didn't stop her from turning her head to Ben. "However, the one you should give thanks to is that young man over there."

"Hmm, is that so?" Ogre asked. He seemed intrigued, especially when he looked at Ben. It led him to let go of Aria before he walked over to the teen hero, whom he then towered over. "You did well bringing the young lady back. I had a missing person award on her just to find her. Would you like to collect it?"

"No, I'm good." Ben answered in modesty. "Saving Aria from Night Raid is all the reward I need."

"Oh no, I insist." Ogre insisted with a toothy grin.

Just then, before Ben knew it, the large man patted him on the back and gestured him to a door right in front. "You did well bringing Miss. Aria to us. This is the least I could do. The reward is just in that room."

"Uh…" Ben uttered, feeling hesitantly. He didn't like the way things were going, especially as it was coming from Ogre. But as he felt the man keep pushing him, he had no other choice. "Um…Okay. I guess a reward isn't bad."

"You have no idea." Ogre grinned.

If Ben was to think of an escape, it was already too late. He and Ogre entered the room, with the latter standing at the middle of it as his subordinates, Seryu and Aria included, walked into the room. The last person to enter closed the door behind it, sealing what was to happen to take place.

'Something isn't right here.' Aria thought, suspiciously.

And indeed, the blonde was right. Ogre seemed to have become quiet as he stood at the middle of the room with his hands behind his back. The room was quiet spacious, as it had a wide mat on the ground, and some fighting equipments such dummies and weapons hanging at the walls, to which the teen hero took notice of as he slowly reached brought his hand to the Omnitrix while keeping his hands down.

"So…Ogre, was it?" Ben asked, calmly. "Where's the reward? You brought me all this way for –"

"To see if you're what you are!" Ogre yelled loudly.

Just then, the large muscular man went into action. He swiftly drew out his sword and swung it at Ben, who immediately moved his upper body backwards to avoid it. But just as that came, the very experienced imperial officer came at him with an upward sword slash, to which Ben moved to the right to avoid. Then, as the man sent his sword in a piercing attack, the teen hero immediately jumped backwards and did a backflip that resulted in him making a gap between him and the imperial officer.

"Good reflexes, lad." Ogre complimented with his toothy grin. "Now then, fight me!"

"I'm not going to!" Ben retorted in disagreement. "I just came here to drop off Aria, not to play games with you."

"Games?" Ogre questioned sarcastically, his grin widening. "Young man, in a fight against me, it's either do it or die. So if you won't fight me then prepare to meet your maker!"

With that said, Ogre came charging at Ben. This time, however, he made a front leap at Ben, which then resulted to the young hero acting fast. He noticed the sword coming straight for her, as his mind quickly worked the possibility to escape it, before making a jump over the large man. Once that happened, Ogre sword came down on where the hero once stood, shattering it instantly.

However, the fight wasn't over yet. Ogre still had the teen hero in mind as he made a swift turn and closed the distance between him and the teen in seconds. But as he swung his sword to cut across Ben's abdomen, the teen ducked in time, missing the attack, before coming right back up at his feet with an uppercut to the muscular man's chin. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to affect Ogre, as he then grabbed Ben by the neck and turned to his back, where he then stoned the teen against the hard floor, cracking it.

"Ben!" Aria cried out in shock and pain. She wanted so much to run in an intervention, but soon found that impossible. One of Ogre's subordinates that stood behind her gripped her by the shoulders, preventing her from running to Ben. "Let me go! I have to stop this!" She protested.

Unfortunately, her protests fell into defeat ears. Aria could only watch as Ben let out a strained groan as he clutched his chest and struggled to get on his arms and knees. He hadn't expected his counterattack earlier to go so wrong, especially with the impact to the ground hurting so badly. But now that he asserted the situation, he reached his hand to the Omnitrix and touched the faceplate. At the same time, Ogre stood before him with his usual toothy grin and his sword held high.

"This is where you die, lad." Ogre said with no remorse.

"No!" Aria cried out. "Ben, get out of there!"

However, the situation seemed to be too late. Ogre had the upper hand, before sending his sword down on the Omnitrix user. But just as that happened, a flash of light engulfed the boy, causing him to shield his eye even though his sword struck down on the hero.

"Buzzshock!" cried out an unfamiliar voice.

"Huh?" Ogre questioned, confused. He unshielded his eye and looked down at the place Ben had been, only to then be surprise when he saw a strange humanoid battery standing in his place, facing him. But just as that expression left, it was replaced with a grin as he came into a conclusion. "So you're a Teigu user. I never would've expected."

Buzzshock didn't seem to care about his comment, though. He was another of Ben's aliens that was electrical based, though in the form of a humanoid battery. He had two bolts on each arm, with a green lightning bolt on his front as the top of his head is shaped like a battery. Along with this, the top was colored green and positive (+) symbol and negative (-) symbol on his back, as his chin seems to stick out rather than being a part of a long, one-piece body. Lastly, his voice sounded extremely high-pitched, similar to when a person has inhaled helium, with the Omnitrix symbol on the top of his head.

"Expected? Ha! You have no idea!" Buzzshock said with a hyper attitude.

However, his retort angered Ogre, who immediately raised his sword out of the floor and tried to swing at him. But before he could, Buzzshock ran off as static electricityand reappeared right behind him.

"Hey! Over here! You can't catch me!" Buzzshock stated, teasingly.

"Don't get cocky, kid!" Ogre yelled in anger.

For obvious reasons, the large muscular man couldn't stand Buzzshock's attitude. He turned to his back and swung his sword down on the alien hero, only for him to fly off away as static electricity. Then, before the Imperial officer knew it, Buzzshock came ramming into him from the right, before flying off again and ramming into him from the front. The alien hero continued at this, as he let out a high-pitched laughter, which just seemed to anger Ogre even more as he tried swinging his sword at the alien hero, only for him to avoid it and still ram into him.

"That's enough! Face me like a man!" Ogre stated with an angry voice.

Just then, Buzzshock responded to him by landing on the top of the muscular man's back. He didn't seem worried or at the very least moved by Ogre's words, as he had a crazy grin on his face.

"Sorry, not a man right now!" Buzzshock said with a remark. "But hey, I'm not the idiot swinging a metal sword at a guy who can do this."

Just then, before Ogre knew what he meant, it was too late. Buzzshock charged up his entire body with electricity, before he let it flow right out of his body, shocking Ogre. He did let it go at him in the most minimal way, as he allowed the man to scream from the pain, before then jumping him and landing on the ground. At the same time, Ogre fell on his hands and knees and panted heavily.

"So had enough?" Buzzshock asked. This was then followed with the Omnitrix timing out and changing him back to Ben.

"Hmph!" Ogre smirked. The shock he had received was Buzzshock was still there, though at a minimal, so rather than succumb to it, he slowly removed his upper armor until he stood before everyone, shirtless and staring at Ben with a grin. "Good job, lad. I guess you're not a poser."

"Huh?" Ben questioned, confused. "Wait, you thought I was a fake?"

"That's correct." Ogre said with a nod. He didn't seem bothered by Ben's question at all, especially as he snapped his fingers to one of his male subordinates, who then brought a white martial arts coat, to which he then wore over his upper body and tied around his waist. "You see, lad, in this Capital, there are frauds of all sizes. I've had to…deal with them when they came with false information or claims that were lies. But you proved me wrong today. Now I can see how you survived Night Raid's evil acts."

"Uh…Thanks?" Ben said, unsure.

But for some reason, the hero's reaction made Ogre laugh a bit.

"Now then…" Ogre said and turned his back at Ben. "Let's get that reward…for real this time."

Ben only nodded in response. He didn't know if he should trust the guy, mainly due to the trick he pulled just a few minutes ago. Hence, it didn't surprise him that he had his hand over the Omnitrix, just in case he was falling into another trap. But as he was about to proceed to the door, he was taken aback when he felt someone hug by the side. Fortunately, it took him a few seconds to look at who it was and smile, with his hand patting the head. The person holding him was none other than Aria, who seemed relieved and happy.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Aria said with a soft voice.

"Of course I'm okay. Have we met?" Ben joked with a cocky grin.

Unknown to the teen hero though, Ogre snarled a bit at the sight. He could choose to stop the 'love-making', but chose not to as he turned forward, while his subordinates stood next to him as Ben and Aria walked out the door, separate from one another.

"Tell me, lad, are you and lady Aria in any way in love?" Ogre asked, straightforwardly.

However, his question caught the pair by surprise as both felt flustered.

"What, no!" Ben retorted.

"We're just friends!" Aria added.

"Hmph, I see." Ogre said with a mellow voice. But unknown to the hero, he took into the consideration he might be lying before turning at the duo with a normal grin. "I'm glad to hear that…It would be a shame if something happened to a fine young man like you. Tell me…have you considered joining the garrison? You'll be able to work under me and be paid triple the amount of the reward. After all…it's not easy finding another Teigu user these days in the garrison."

"Another Teigu user?" Ben questioned, surprised. "Who's that?"

"That'll be me!" Seryu exclaimed with her hand up. Once that happened, she pulled her strange looking dog from earlier and pressed him against her chest. "This is Magical Beast Transformation: Hekatonkheires, but I call him Koro. He's an organic Teigu that helps me enforce justice."

'Why does that make me feel worried?' Ben thought in question. He had a comedic scared look on his face, when the thought of Ogre's offer came to mind. So not wanting to stall, he turned back at Ogre with a modest look and waved off the offer. "Thanks for your offer, but I'm gonna have to decline. I work independent."

"Aw poop." Seryu frowned with her cheeks puffed up.

However, Ben seemed relieved despite an anime sweat drop at the side of his head. 'Yup…I made the right decision.' He thought.

_(LINE BREAK)_

A few minutes passed in the Garrison Headquarters, before Ben, Aria and two of Ogre's subordinates stepped out. The purpose of the latter two were to escort Aria as she saw Ben off despite not having any means to talk. Fortunately, Ben and Aria didn't seem to mind as they faced each other one more with mixed feelings.

"So…I guess this is goodbye." Ben said, though a bit hesitantly.

"Yeah…It is." Aria replied with a frown. "So…what are you going to do now that…now that we won't be around each other?"

"Honestly…I'm not too sure." Ben said back, although a part of it was a lie. Ogre may seem like a good person, but he was still a servant of the empire, hence he had to be careful talking about things around his subordinates. "I guess I'll just buy a small room to stay for the night and figure things out from there on."

"I see." Aria muttered. For some season, she felt like something in her chest was tightening. Was it an attachment to the Omnitrix user? She didn't know for sure. She just had her right hand at her chest, closed to almost a fist, before sending a small smile at her hero." Well…I wish you the best of luck. Take good care of yourself, Ben Tennyson."

Ben smiled back. "You too…Aria Goodricke."

And so, with a last glance at each other, Ben parted ways from Aria. It was a heartfelt moment, as both waved each other until Aria turned back to the Garrison Headquarters' door with Ogre's subordinates escorting her inside.

"Well…That happened." Ben said with a sigh. Saying goodbye to the only girl he had gotten to know in this crazy world was a bit hard, but he was going to come to terms with it. He had the reward, which was a big sack of gold, in his jacket's inner coat, as he had his right hand holding the shoulder strap of his satchel. So far, his mind seemed to wonder as he took into what Aria asked in just a few minutes before he left. It made him wonder. "As much as I hate to admit it, I didn't think this whole thing through. Now that Aria's gone, I'm alone by myself with…well…no ally. And just to add to that, I have no idea how to deal with the enemy...Sure, I've faced intergalactic empires and kingdoms before, but usually I had Rook and the Plumbers to deal with the boring aftermath…I guess I'll just have to think through my actions for once…it was because of my careless thinking that I got into this world and it's mess."

"Oh, Ben!" sang a familiar voice.

'Oh shit! She actually followed me!' Ben thought with a frozen expression. He knew who that voice could be, even before slowly turning back to lay eyes on the young woman. 'Dammit, she's actually running towards me.'

True to his eyes, Seryu was running straight for him with an excited look on her face. She had her Teigu, Coro, still held in a leash in her hand, as the organic Teigu was sent up into the air and down on the ground continuously as his owner speed up to the Omnitrix user. Her attitude at that moment may seem innocent, but Ben got a shill down his spine and took a step back.

"He-Hey! You're coming too fast!" Ben shouted.

"I know!" Seryu shouted back.

At this point, the thought of running away came across Ben's mind. But he opposed it. He didn't like doing that though, but he stayed still nonetheless and tried to look composed as the young woman came to a stop before him.

"I finally caught up with you." Seryu said enthusiastically.

"Yeah…that-that's great." Ben replied back. "Is there a reason you ran after me? Is Aria doing okay?"

"Oh, she's fine." Seryu stated with a preppy smile. "Ogre-sama will guarantee is. But why I'm here is because of you."

"Me?"

"Yup!" Seryu nodded chirpily. "I want you…to join us! Pretty please! It would be so cool to have another I! We could be a duo-fighting team for justice!"

"Um…no thanks." Ben said back, feeling uneasy. He wasn't getting that killer vibe he got from her earlier, but a creepy one as he took a few steps back. "I-I'm good. Ogre already offered and –"

"I insist!" Seryu stated. Her eyes sparkled dazzlingly as her smile increased. This was followed with her fists at her chest as she leaned closer to Ben.

Unfortunately, her efforts to recruit Ben weren't working. In fact, if anything, it was doing the exact opposite as he took another step back while he failed to seem composed.

"I…uh…I like the…enthusiasm, but I gotta…RUN!"

With that said, the teen hero did as he said. He ran off with a comedic dust cloud behind him as he wanted nothing more than to be away from Seryu. Unfortunately, the young woman didn't seem to know when no means no, due to the fact that she was running after her, waving her hand at it frantically.

"Wait up! We're not done talking!" Seryu shouted.

"Yes, we are! Leave me alone!" Ben shouted back.

"But I'll be your best friend!" She insisted.

"I already have two! I don't need more!" He rejected.

However, the Imperial soldier didn't seem to deter. She chased after her with a gleeful smile on her face, while Ben ran with a stressed one. To make things worse, this attracted a lot of people's attention, as they watched both of them running off with comedic dust clouds behind them.

_(LINE BREAK)_

"Aw poop…looks like we lost him…"

Seryu felt sad upon saying that. She had followed Ben through the small section of the Capital until now she was in an alley, looking down at the ground. Her Teigu, Koro, was back on its feet, having gone through constant hits to the ground due to its owner running about in such a fast pace. But as it stood, it took a sniff in the alley and picked up something that caused it to stare at a wall at its right and begin barking at it.

"Huh, what is it, Koro?" Seryu asked, confused.

Koro kept on barking at the wall. It was weird, considering the Teigu was good at sniffing out odd things when it had to or when Seryu ordered it. But as she looked at the wall, she just smiled softly before carrying the Teigu into her hands and at her chest, halting his barking.

"It's okay, Koro. We'll meet him again. I just know it!"

And with that said, the Imperial officer ran out of the alley. But if she had stayed, she may have gotten to hear an odd whining sound, as Ben became visible as Big Chill before changing back to normal. He saw at this moment that the young woman was gone and so let out a big sigh of relief before sending his back on the wall and sliding downwards till he sat on the ground.

"Sure glad that's over…" He muttered.

Unknown to him, however, his presence was being watched from the edge of a roof at the alley. She had been watching Ben since he left the Garrison, until that moment she sat at the edge with a sly smile.

"Well that was fun to watch. Who would've expected the lad could run so fast." Leone said with mild interest. She then gave the teen one last glance, before standing on the rooftop with another thought in mind. "I better get going. That request from that woman earlier isn't going to be resolved by itself."

And so with said, the female assassin ran off.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Time went onwards as the day began to turn into night. Night Raid's headquarters still stood fortified as ever as some of its members were inside, particularly at the dining table, where food was placed on the table in big bowls. The bowls contained all sizes of fishes as Najenda was seated at the left side of the table while Akame and Leone were seated opposite of her. As for Tatsumi, he sat at the end of the table, seemingly down at his 'accomplishment' earlier in the day.

"In the end, Tatsumi caught only two…" Akame said.

Basically, Tatsumi didn't impress his trainer, Akame. The two of them had gone into the forest to kill Danger Beast type fishes, when Tatsumi jumped in excitedly to take them out. Unfortunately, while Akame killed a large majority, to which they were eating, Tatsumi caught only two.

Najenda didn't seem bothered by this though. She even took a piece of food with her chopsticks and ate it. "For his first time, he did well." She complimented.

However, Leone seemed to differ as she teased the young man.

"But didn't you say "bring it on" as you were undressing?" She asked rhetorically.

"Not good enough." Akame commented.

'Shit…' Tatsumi cursed lowly. He had his eyes on Akame as he continued. 'She doesn't think much of me at all…and I can never tell what's she's thinking either.'

Speaking of said female assassin, her mind was on a fish head she had in her hands. And for some reason, she imagined it saying. 'Stop staring and eat me already!'

'I'm still too weak.' Tatsumi thought depressingly.

Just then, Najenda placed her chopsticks on the table as she turned her attention to the blonde female assassin. She had something in mind, as it was important, to which she brought up as she called the assassin. "Leone…tell me how your scouting with Ben and the girl went."

"Oh that." Leone replied freely.

Now this got Tatsumi's attention, as well as Akame, especially as the fish head was 'mysteriously' gone. He knew their talk wasn't none of his business, but couldn't help but listen on it as the report from Leone continued.

"The lad's something." Leone stated with an observant look. "He turned into some flying dinosaur thing and flew off to the side, outside the Capital, before changing back and taking Aria into the place. At first I was wondering what he could be up to, so I followed him. That was when I saw him meet with an Imperial officer of the Garrison. She took him and the girl to their headquarters and stayed there for fifteen minutes before he came out with the officer chasing him. Apparently, she was to recruit him."

"Hmph, did she succeed?" Najenda asked.

"Nope." Leone answered and laughed a bit. "The lad's got guts, but he looked terrified of the woman. I guess something happened in that place."

"I see…" Najenda murmured. She paused for a few seconds after to think on the information as she looked down on her empty bowl. Something about it didn't fit about the information; hence she looked back at Leone. "What about the girl?" She asked.

"That…" Leone paused and leaned forward. Her attitude from then on became serious. "That's something that is tied with our recent request."

"I see. Then tell me." Najenda ordered.

"Our targets are Ogre of the Capital Guards and an oil merchant named Gamal." Leone told her straightly. "The former of them has Aria. Apparently, it would appear Ben passed her off to the guy. I don't know why, but it seems they've parted ways. As for the request, what the client told me was…'

FLASHBACK!

Somewhere at the graveyard, Leone was standing before a woman in a black robe in her Teigu form. There was no sign of anyone, as both were facing each other, while the woman narrated with a sad and forsaken voice.

"Ogre has been accepting bribes from Gamal." The woman reported.

'No signs of anyone hiding in the area.' Leone thought observantly. It made her feel safety was assured since that was important. Hence, she motioned her raised finger at the woman. "Continue."

And indeed the woman continued. She did, however, seemed to be deeply depressed as she clutched her hand at her chest like a huge burden was there.

"Every time Gamal commits a crime, Ogre will frame someone to take the fall for him." The woman reported further. "My fiancé was framed for one of his crimes and was sentenced to death. He heard them talking to each other while in his cell."

Finally, she couldn't bear the pain. The burden she felt at her chest just seemed to grow as it led her to bend forward at Leone, gripping her chest with one hand and gripping her leg with the other. "Please, somehow, help me clear this regret from my heart…." She wept.

"Understood." Leone said in acknowledgement. "We'll send them both screaming to hell."

"Thank you so much, Miss. I can't thank you enough!"

FLASHBACK END

And with that came the end of that part of the report. Leone dropped a big sag of gold coins on the table and continued. "This is the payment for the job."

Tatsumi was surprised. He stood up and looked down at the money, in awe at amount of what could be inside.

"That person saved up this much money?" He asked in assumption.

However, that thought would soon tear down in an instant. The reason was due to Leone, who seemed to be holding her emotions as she looked down at the money glaringly.

"I caught the scent of a venereal disease from her." She said subtly. "That means she have been selling her body to earn all of that."

Tatsumi was stunned upon hearing that. This was not comedic stunned; it was one that seemed to strike him right in the heart.

"That's…" Tatsumi could only utter to say.

Just then, Najenda took over as she went direct. "Did you check out her story?" She asked.

"They're guilty." Leone concluded. "Once I was done with my scout on the lad, I observed them from the attic of the merchant's shop."

"Okay."

With that said, Najenda removed her cigarette and blew out some smoke. She now understood the situation without a doubt as she crossed her right leg over her left leg with her decision already made.

"Night Raid will accept this request." She determined. "We will deliver divine punishment upon the heads of these heinous monsters and send them to the hereafter."

"Taking out Gamal will be simple…" Leone said, informing everyone present. "But Ogre will be a formidable foe. He is called "The Demon" because his skill with the sword makes him an object of terror to the criminals of the Capital. Usually, he spends his time out on patrols with his subordinates and other than that, he hangs out at the Garrison Headquarters. Gamal comes to his private room to give him the bribes. Due to his station, on his days off he leaves the Headquarters and spends the day drinking on the main street, close to the palace."

Tatsumi became thoughtful of this. He brought his chin upon to his chin as he recalled what Leone just said, before speaking. "It seems the only time to attack would be on his day off." He said thoughtfully.

"…However, the security around the palace will be tough." Najenda said, adding to Tatsumi. "For Akame who is on the Capital's most wanted list, this will be a dangerous mission."

"Shall we wait for the group to come back?" Akame asked.

However, Tatsumi seemed to be on something else.

"But we don't know when they'll finish their job, right?" He asked.

"Yes." Akame answered.

That's when it hit him. An adrenaline rush which he had felt in battle came over him before he could realize what it was. It led him to immediately slam his hand on the table without further thoughts before a determined voice came out.

"If that's the case, just send us. We can take care of it." Tatsumi spoke up.

However, his action at that moment, as well as his words, brought silence in the dining table. Najenda, Leone and Akame had their eyes on him as they looked at the determined young man, before cracking a small grin on their faces, minus Akame.

"Ohhh…?" Najenda said, intrigued. "Are you saying you can kill Ogre yourself?"

"Huh?" Tatsumi uttered. And that's when his eyes widened in realization. But it became worse when Leone added her own words.

"Not that I can't handle it…" Leone grinned teasingly. "But it almost sounded like you want to take him on yourself, huh? Well that rich girl is with him, and Ben's gone, so I can see why."

But Akame thought otherwise. She had a straight look at Tatsumi, to whom she knew about his skill as she had less faith in him. Hence, she said. "As you are now, you stand no chance…"

Tatsumi shot a glare at her. He wasn't surprised that Akame had less faith in him. But that didn't matter to him. A scowl soon enough formed on his face, as he had both of his hands on the table with a fed up attitude.

"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Tatsumi stated boldly. "While we stand here debating, there may be other innocent people getting framed for crimes they didn't commit. If that's the case, I'll handle him myself!" Then something got into him. It was a memory, a thought of Sayo which made him mellow a bit. "The feeling of your most cherished person being cruelly taken away…I don't want anyone to have to experience that loss."

Akame was silent. She understood what he meant, but said nothing about it as she kept her eyes on him. Najenda, on the other hand, grinned as a cigarette was in her mouth again.

"Understood." She said in agreement. "I can appreciate your decision. Go kill the demon."

Just then, Tatsumi let out a yelp as he almost fell forward. A pat on the back had cased that to happen, as it turned out to be Leone, who seemed overly excited for him.

"Well said, Tatsumi." She said with a positive smile.

"Leone, Akame…" Najenda called the two asssassins. "I leave the oil merchant to you."

"Got it, boss." Leone answered, petting Tatsumi on the head.

Tatsumi didn't like it, though. In fact, he had his shoulders slung with an annoyed look on his face. But all that changed when he turned to Akame with an excited look on his face.

"How about that, Akame?!" Tatsumi beamed brightly. "When it's time, I can step up!"

Akame said nothing in response. At first she was quiet, as her head was away from Tatsumi until she turned to him with a straightforward look.

"Where does this self confidence come from?" She asked rhetorically. "As you are now, so full of yourself, you'll just end up dead."

Tatsumi was stunned and taken aback by those words. He hadn't expected the female assassin to act that way despite knowing her for only a few days. But as much as he would like to retort, he said nothing and made a decision in his mind.

'Damn it…' He thought secluded. I'm definitely going to succeed and make you see me in a new light.'

_(LINE BREAK)_

Night time came, meaning it was the time to move. Leone and Tatsumi stood at the end of a bridge, which was beautifully made as it had to big statues of two bird type Danger Beasts on them. The end of bridge had a large structure, as it covered another side of the Capital where their target is. But just for Tatsumi to know, Leone pointed at the end.

"If you go straight that way, it'll lead you straight to Main Street." Leone instructed him.

"Got it!" Tatsumi said determined.

However, their conversation wasn't over. In fact, something came to Leone's mind as she turned Tatsumi. "Hey, I got to ask, what if that girl is there?"

"Huh?" Tatsumi questioned, confused.

"Aria." The blond assassin mentioned. "I can't guarantee she'll be with him. But if she is, will you kill her?"

"Of course." Tatsumi nodded affirmatively. "If Ben isn't there then it'll be a piece of cake. I'm not doing it just for revenge, but because it's the right thing to do."

Leone grinned in response. "Good to hear." She said. Then she frowned. "By the way…you wanna hear a story about Akame?"

Tatsumi was hesitant. He hadn't expected to be asked such a question, especially at a time like now. But now that he saw the chance, he nodded his head and listened to Leone.

"When Akame was young, her and her sister were both brought somewhere in the empire." Leone explained. She didn't seem chirpy like she had been though, nor was any trace of her positive vibe was in her as she continued. "Well you know…poor parents selling their kids are a pretty common story. Anyways, she and another girl in the same situation entered assassination training together. There, she learned how to kill people…She survived in that hellish situation and she worked under the orders of the empire. She was the perfect assassin. But each time she carried out her duty, she could feel more of the darkness within the empire. The boss, who was her target at the time, succeeded in persuading her to defect from the Empire and join the Revolutionary Army that cared only about the people."

That's when it then became sadder.

"By that time, it seems most of the comrades she had grown up and trained with were all dead…"

Tatsumi was silent. What Leone told him was admittedly sad to hear. But the reason for telling him this now wasn't known nor explained by Leone. Instead, the female assassin asked him a question.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" She had her attention at Tatsumi.

Speaking of him, he sighed and placed his arms on his waist sides. "I do." He answered. "As an amateur, I should shut up and listen to the professional killer, right?"

Leone smiled warmly. It wasn't the response she was expecting, but it was good enough.

"Well…you'll understand if you're successful."

And with said, Leone was done. Tatsumi seemed pumped up by her words as he began walking away. But before leaving entirely, he turned his head at her and exclaimed. "Yeah! I'm definitely gonna do this!"

"Good hunting!" Leone said and gave a thumbs up.

_(LINE BREAKS)_

Leone and Akame stood side by side as they now looked down on the dead body of Gamal the oil merchant. With him gone, many innocent lives had been saved, but it also brought something for Leone to wonder out loud.

"I wonder how Tatsumi is doing with the tougher opponent…"

Indeed, the female assassin was right to take that into consideration. But before any further thought could be brought about it, she remembered someone and began walking away.

"Hey, I'm heading off to grab some drinks. Don't wait up." Leone said with a wave of her hand.

Akame nodded in response. She had no reason to question her comrade, especially now that they were done with the mission. Hence, she left the place by walking the other way, leaving the dead body of Gamal to lie in place in a pool of his own blood.

_(LINE BREAK)_

"Aw men…this can't get any more frustrating." Ben sighed deeply. A frown was casted on his face as he looked down at the plate of food between his hands on the table. "Well it's nice getting some actual good food…No offense to me, but I really suck at cooking. But since the day, I haven't been able to figure out how I'm going to save this world."

'Okay…Maybe I should gather what I know so far.' Ben thought observantly. He was seated under an umbrella table outside a café as he continued. 'The Prime Minister is the cause of all the day things, meaning that he's the big bad. Then there's the Teigu users, some of whom are aligned with the empire like that Seryu lady, with the deadliest being General Esdeath. But with Esdeath fighting some war at the north that leaves General Budo…The only problem with that is the fact that I don't know what Teigu he uses, so I can't confront him…that is if I get the chance to. The palace security is pretty tight, and with the fact that I don't have the Plumbers to back me up, I'll be dead before I can even reach the Emperor and the Prime Minister.'

Ben felt frustrated at that last part. It had been ten minutes since he'd gotten his food and he had already taken a few bites of it, when he decided to think through his day. But now that he came to terms with it, he sighed in defeat and brought the Omnitrix to his face.

"As much as being a full-time hero is fun…I have to call in Plumbers HQ and ask for Rook and backup. They'll likely have a better thought about this once I explain the situation." He said to himself.

However, he didn't he didn't get to do that. The reason became obvious when someone with a feminine outline stood before him with her hands at her hips.

"Plumbers HQ? Well doesn't that sound interesting?"

'Shit! I know that voice!' Ben thought, comically froze. His first thoughts then were to reach his hand to the Omnitrix and slam on it. But there was a problem. Before he could, the person jammed his head against her busty chest, distracting him instantly.

"Yup, it is I, Leone, that lady you caused to scream till she fainted."

Everyone seated outside the café turned to Ben and Leone in response. Most of them were minding their business, when they heard something that sounded sexual. But now that Ben realized his position, with his still at Leone's chest, he panicked.

"Wai-Wait! It's not what you think!" Ben cried out frantically. "Don't look at me! She's a part of –"

"Oh you!" Leone sang with a wide grin. Then she slapped her mouth at his mouth with her other hand and looked back at everyone. "Sorry about that everyone. My friend here took too many drinks."

'What?! I didn't –'

And that's when it dawned on him. The teen looked down at his table just to find a couple of altholic bottles at the side of his plate, as well as a cup of half filled alcohol with them.

'She thought it all!' Ben thought in panic.

_(LINE BREAK)_

With all that had happened, Ben really thought he was done for. Fortunately, Leone didn't seem intended to kill him. But that wasn't to say the teen hero was happy to see her gulping down an entire glass of booze, before letting out a loud satisfied sigh and placed the cup down on the table with a wide grin.

"Ah! Booze are the best!" Leone cried out in satisfaction.

"Great…" Ben murmured, glaring at the young woman. "Can you leave now?"

"Nope!" Leone happily told him. "It would be rude of me if I didn't finish what you paid for."

"Wait, what?" Ben's eyes widened. Then he opened his coat, only to find his sack of gold gone. 'What?! How the hell did she do that?!" He thought.

Leone grinned teasingly. She knew what he was looking for; hence she dropped the sack of gold on the table and teased him. "I got to say, Tatsumi may have been oblivious when I first met him, but you're absentminded when it comes to your surroundings."

Ben sent an annoyed glare at her. He didn't like how she played it cool at his own humiliation. So without saying a word, he took the sack of gold and put it back in his coat. But that wasn't to say Leone was done speaking.

"And then there's the part you talk to yourself." She added.

"Huh?" Ben questioned, confused. But then he realized what she meant and panicked a bit. "Wait, you heard what I said."

"Yup!" Leone nodded. Now she had the teen hero where she wanted. But in order for no one to hear, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "My Teigu, The King of Beasts: Lionel, gives me the power of a beast, so I was able to hear from the distance before changing back and coming here."

Ben felt taken aback upon hearing this. He had kept his voice down when he was talking that time, but with this woman having heard everything, he was worried, especially with what she said next.

"So, Ben, I got to ask…" Leone said, furthering her intention. '…Who are these Plumbers? It's kind of suspicious for a young man with no home to be talking about a toilet problem."

"Lik-Like you would know." Ben said, trying to keep calm. "You don't even know me."

"You're right, I don't." Leone admitted. "So you understand why I had to follow you."

"Wait, you followed me?" Ben asked, surprised.

"Yes, I did." Leone answered. "The boss's curious about you just like everyone else. You show up one day at Tatsumi's homeland with no true back story and upon that you have no allegiance to the empire or to us, so you're a liability. But good news for you, the boss hasn't declared you an enemy. She does see you as a threat, though."

"Geez…I feel so much love." Ben said sarcastically. Being around this young woman was getting too much into his comfort zone. But as he thought about it, he relaxed when a thought came to him. "Hey…Leone, was it? Why are you here? I'm pretty sure you don't want to be friends with a guy who –"

"That fight was a draw and you cheated!" Leone yelled, interjecting. It surprised the teen hero though, as he was taken aback. Fortunately, Leone composed herself as she leaned back on her seat, while still looking at him. "And what if I am? We can always have that rematch when the time comes…"

"I didn't agree to a rematch." Ben said otherwise.

"Besides…" Leone said, ignoring his reply. "I've been curious about you and the girl. I know where she is now, but there's been something that has been bothering me."

"Oh…and what's that?" Ben asked.

"Aria Goodricke." Leone told him straightforwardly. "She was a monster who gave no regards to anyone that was socially lower than her family. But on that night, you did something to her. When I've transformed into Lionel, I can sense…the dark aura from them. But on that night, I noticed hers was becoming less and less until that moment you said those things to her."

"Wait…you heard all that?" Ben asked, surprised.

"Yes." Leone confirmed with a nod. "That…thing you turned into may have knocked out Bulat, Tatsumi and Ieyasu, but it only paralyzed me. I was able to hear those things you said, and upon that Sheele seems to trust you after hearing what you told her."

"Oh…I see." Ben said. He felt composed and a bit relieved at what he was told. "So that woman…Sheele is okay."

"That's right." Leone confirmed. "So you really do care for others, just like Tatsumi said."

"Yeah…" Ben replied and frowned. He felt uneasy upon hearing his former friend's name, considering what had happened.

However, none of that had any emotional effect on the female assassin. She let him quiet down a bit before a thought came to mind that made her a bit serious. Hence, she looked straight at the hero and said. "By the way, your friend is trouble."

"What?" Ben questioned, surprised. His eyes widened upon hearing this bit of info as it alerted his sense. "What do you mean? Are you guys about to –"

"Yes, but we're our main target is Ogre." Leone informed him. "You realize that man is a criminal no matter the uniform he wears, right? He takes bribes, kills innocent people and…rapes young girls."

'Oh no!'

That's when it just hit Ben as his eyes widened.

"Wa-Wait…what you're saying is that…"

"Your friend, Aria…" Leone added. "is about to experience something horrible. "

And with that, Ben was completely horrified.

_(LINE BREAK)_

On Main Street, the lifestyle of the area was at its normalcy. People attended to what they had to do, while others got what they needed. But even while it was all safe, Tatsumi couldn't help but feel something was wrong as he followed Ogre and Aria to an alley, away from the public's eyes.

'Something isn't right…' Tatsumi thought skeptically. 'I was planning to lure Ogre to the alley by pretending to that I wanted to be recruited into the army, but…he's already doing it. He even has that girl with him. But why is that? It doesn't make any sense…'

Fortunately, things seemed to well for the young man. He followed both Ogre and Aria and hid behind a trashcan, where he then crouched behind to hide as he peeked at the side to see what might unfold.

"Sir Ogre, are you sure this is the right way?" Aria asked.

Sometime ago, Ogre had offered to take Aria with him to do some shopping on his day off. However, now that she took notice of her surroundings, she couldn't help but feel worried. Hence she added. "This place doesn't look safe."

But none of that mattered to Ogre. In fact, he licked his lips maliciously before coming to a stop, which caught Aria by surprise as she did the same and turned to him.

"Is something wrong, Sir Ogre?" Aria asked, concerned.

"Yes…" Ogre answered. Then he let a malicious grin spread across his face. "Everything is just perfect."

"Huh?" Aria questioned, confused.

However, the blonde didn't get answer reply after that. Instead, she yelped in pain as Ogre grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground, into the air, grinning at her as she held his hands to escape. But unfortunately the latter wasn't successful; it only eager the muscular man more.

"After all this time, I finally have you in my clutches." Ogre stated with pride. "That boy was wise to give you to me; however, I can't shake the feeling that you two may have been too close."

"No…" Aria uttered. She tried continuously to break free of Ogre's hand, but failed. "Pl-Please…why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Ogre chuckled in response. "You're so naïve, just like the last time I saw you. Your father and I were acquaintance, but he stopped coming to see me when he realized my attraction to you. But now that he's dead and your entire family's fortune is in my possession, you will do nothing but please me for the rest of your life."

Aria was deeply scared of this, even more than before. Ogre was a man whom she believed would be a better suit to help her till she could recover her family's fortune and use it for better use. But now, all that she thought of in the past was gone. She was lonely, scared and losing hope fast. But if being held by the neck, off the ground, was not enough, Ogre laughter evilly as he slowly reached his hand for her chest.

Meanwhile, Tatsumi gnashed his teeth in frustration as he turned away. The mission was supposed to be simple: Just like Ogre the demon and the girl and report back to the hideout. However, what was happening meters from him was more than he would've expected. Aria was a monster to him, but what she was about to receive was rape, which Tatsumi despised greatly no matter who it was from. But he refused to act on it. He didn't want to save the girl.

'I can't like this get the better of me.' Tatsumi thought, his eyes glaring at the ground 'I have to kill Ogre and Aria. It's the only way. But the girl…would killing her at this moment not actually count as saving her? I don't want to relieve her of something bad…'

At this point, the whole thing was too conflicting for Tatsumi to take in. In one hand, he could use Ogre's lust for Aria as a distraction and kill him and the girl, but at the other hand he would actually be saving the blonde psychopath even though it was just a moment away before he kills her. He hated the thought of that, as he felt bitter about it. But yet he listened as Ogre continued rambling, his hand just inches from Aria's chest.

"Now then…scream as much as you can. If you're thinking about that young man earlier, try not to, I'll have that piece of shit arrested for fraud, confiscate that Teigu of his and kill him for being a secret agent of Night Raid."

And that was when something in Tatsumi snapped. He put aside any feeling he felt as he rushed at Ogre with a loud angry cry. It surprised the man, as well as Tatsumi, as both turned to his direction, only for Ogre to receive something he wouldn't have expected. Tatsumi drew out his sword, which was hidden under his jacket, slashed across Ogre with such speed that he came at a stop at his other side.

"What the…" Ogre stammered, his eyes widened in shock.

"You!" Tatsumi yelled angrily. The emotions he felt there and then had gotten the best of him. Hence, with an obvious expression on his face, he turned to Ogre. "Don't you dare talk shit about Ben, you hear me?!" He yelled aggressively.

Ogre couldn't say anything back. The slash across his middle body had done damage as it kept him somewhat paralyzed. But as blood spat out, the muscular man lost his grip on Aria's neck and fell to the ground without uttering around. His victim, on the other hand, fell on the ground on her butt with a loud cry, as she felt the impact. But as she had a few seconds to recover, the brown haired teen glared at her and walked towards her until he stood directly before her with an intimidating glare. It didn't escape the blonde girl's notice, as she shrieked and crawled back in frightened as the situation dawned on her. However, Tatsumi seemed to think otherwise.

"I can't believe I saved you again." Tatsumi said with a scowl on his face. "You tortured my best friends and took one of them away from me, so don't think I killed him for your sake. I will never forgive you for what you did. But I can't kill you now. It would look like I saved you from something you deserve a thousand times. So the next time we meet, just know that I –"

"Tatsumi, look out!" Aria shouted.

As much as Tatsumi's threat was going, the blonde couldn't resist warning him. Ogre had suddenly risen from the ground with a scowl on his face, before swinging his sword at Tatsumi. But fortunately he didn't succeed. Tatsumi was able to react upon Aria's warning and brought his sword at the muscular man's sword in defense. However, the older man's strength surpassed his and sent him flying back till he skidded his feet to a stop.

'What the hell? Did she just save me?' Tatsumi thought, his eyes widened. 'I dropped my guard down at that moment. If it weren't for her warning I would –"

"You'll die here, kid!" Ogre growled angrily. He stood back to his feet, his wounds not bothering him as he looked furious at the young man. "Did you think that I, Ogre the demon, would really be killed by the likes of a snot nosed little shit like you?!"

Tatsumi felt a bit tensed upon hearing this. He clearly hadn't expected Ogre to be standing, much less with so much energy as he began to look more like a beast than man.

"The weak don't matter, only the strong matter in this city!" Ogre yelled continuously. Then his voice increased. "I pass judgment on people! Do you think you can judge me!?"

Tatsumi gulped his spit down. It wasn't out of fear or any emotion related to that. No, it was out of reflex as he became a bit more composed of the situation. Hence, with his sword tightened by his hand, he leapt up into the air, did a spin and came down at Ogre with his weapon ready to strike.

"Don't just say whatever you want…!" Tatsumi yelled angrily.

_(LINE BREAK)_

CLIFFHANGEEEERRRRR!

I know, I'm a demon! HAHAHA! (Not Ogre the demon, but you get what I mean).

So what do you think? I tried to match this chapter with the humor and seriousness from Akame ga kill so it can give the same vibe as reading the manga or the anime. I also had two original thoughts of this chapter. One was to end the chapter by the part where Leone warns Ben about Ogre and the other was to give Ogre a bit more sexual action (not enough to make this fanfic rated M though) on Aria like ripping her clothes off, leaving her in her underwear. However, I decided against both because I wanted to give you guys a bit more for the first reason and because, for the second reason, I didn't want to make this chapter longer and disgust some readers who may have a problem with that.

Now about harems, I was surprised some of you brought that up. I actually thought I made my stance on it. But then again, I can't blame anyone since I wasn't certain about romantic interests until a few chapters ago. So to make it clear, there would NOT be a harem unless you count the love triangle I mentioned in the previous chapter as one. This love triangle would be AriaXBenXLeone, meaning both girls will have romantic interests for Ben and the teen having feelings for them until he has to choose one (although how that'll be is up to me). I will have other female characters have a crush or an extended liking to Ben, but it'll be one-sided or just result to a feeling of appreciation. I apologize if you wanted to see Ben become interested in more girls, but I don't want to give Ben that kind of luxury (or whatever you may call it). As for if Esdeath would have such feelings for Ben, I have to say no. She will have a fascinated feeling for Ben, but not something that'll extend than that unless I change my mind (which I seem to be doing sometimes).

So with said, thank you everyone for reading this chapter! It was great writing this for you because I know you'll enjoy it. Please keep it up!