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.

12. Aftermath, A stroll and Mine's goal?

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

Thank you once again for your continuous support on this fanfiction. The previous chapter sure was something since I brought in Alien X. And while I'm glad a lot of you were fine with it, I'll be keeping Alien X back for the time being. I don't have a plan for his next appearance, so I guess we'll just have to see how things will go.

Now on to the chapter!

Chapter 12: The Aftermath, A stroll and…Mine's determination?

Aria slept soundly on a bed as she had a small peaceful smile on her face. It had been hours since the incident involving Ben as Alien X happened, since that had been hectic at the time.

So with the current peace in the air, Aria began to wake up. She let out a small sleepy moan from her mouth while her eyes slowly opened just for her to see what was before her. But when she did, she had to rub her eyes with her hands to clear her vision before then moving to sit at the edge of the bed. Once that happened, she covered her mouth with her hand and let out a small yawn before looking around her.

"I'm in a room?" Aria questioned.

True to her eyes, the blonde was in indeed in a room. The place looked normal, as looked easy to accommodate people unlike her stay in the forest in the past few days. But before she could give a proper look of the room, she heard a sleepy groan from her front that then led her to look forward. It was then at that moment that she saw Ben sleeping peacefully on another bed and recalled what happened.

"Oh right…I remember." Aria thought. "We rented a room to sleep for the night…I haven't slept in a room with a bed for a while…It's really nice."

Just then, the blonde stood up from the bed and stretched her arms apart. She felt relieved that she had a roof over her head compared to her time in a forest. But now that she looked around, she began to see what the room was made up of. It was a small room with a sided closet by the side of the door while a coat rack stood by its side. It also had two beds which were at both ends of room while a window was at the middle, currently closed.

"I should open that…I need some fresh air." Aria thought to herself.

And so she did. The young woman went over to the window and opened it without hesitation, just in time to let in the sun's rays to pass fully into the room. It gave her the chance to take in the fresh air like she wanted, while giving her the opportunity to look at the streets below since they were at the high floor of the inn. The people below her seemed to be doing normal, so she didn't focus on them. Instead, she smiled a bit and turned over to the sleepy hero whom she then noticed something.

The position Ben was in was an ordinary one. The side of his body was pressed against the wall while his brown hair seemed ruffled a bit from likely moving about on his bed at night. But that wasn't what Aria took notice of. No, it was the absence of his green coat and the fact that his white shirt was pushed up, giving her to see a bottom portion of his skin.

"Oh my…He actually has abs?" Aria questioned, looking surprised.

However, there was no changing it. Ben Tennyson was actually muscular despite seeming so scrawny for the past days the blonde had known it. In fact, as she stared at it, she could recall never seeing the teen shirtless until now. It was memorizing.

"Hmm…Would it be bad if I felt it a bit?" Aria thought. She was still staring at the teen's body as he laid there sleeping. "He looks so asleep…maybe I can just feel a bit. After all, I was never allowed to get close to a man due to my family's rules."

So from the looks of it, the blonde would go forward with her thoughts. Fortunately, she didn't rush it. She first called Ben's name twice, before then sitting by the edge of his bed while still facing him. From there, she reached her right hand to the teen's exposed skin and made contact with it.

"Oh my…" Aria gasped a bit. "This feels so unreal…"

Aria's hand could feel the very skin of the teen hero as it lay there. She did pause for a bit to see the teen would respond though, as she felt he might react. But when nothing happened, she moved her hand slowly and took in mentally on how his abs felt as well as the detail of its hardness.

Unknown to the girl though, she was beginning to feel flustered. She could feel her heart beating a bit faster than usual while her mind seemed to be getting more memorized over Ben's skin. In fact, her mind was getting so dazed she pushed her hand up to his chest and felt the teen's heartbeat.

"What's this?" Aria thought, a bit startled. Apparently, she hadn't expected to feel his heartbeat throughout her moment. So when she did, she took the moment to look at his face and found the teen still sleeping. "I know this is wrong but…is it okay if I just listen to it closely? It looks like he's a heavy sleeper, so it should be okay, right?"

No response came. The blonde's intuition on Ben seemed to be working so far as he never reacted to her hand's movement. So without any other thought, Aria carefully lay next to the teen and laid her hand softly on his chest. It was only then that she could feel the beating of his heartbeat.

"It's so comforting…" Aria thought with a memorized tone. "I don't know why but…this feels so nice. It makes me just want to stay here for a while…I never knew being close to a boy could feel this nice."

"Ugh...A-Aria?"

And that was when Aria realized she fucked up. Her eyes flew wide as she instantly recognized that voice to be the voice of Ben awakened, before letting out a shriek and rolling back. Unfortunately, her careless action caused her to fall off the bed, with her letting out yet another shriek when it happened.

"Aria!" Ben called out, surprised.

Fortunately, the teen didn't have to worry about her. The blonde instantly was back on her feet, with a cheeky fake smile on her face, as she looked down at him like nothing happened.

"O-Oh hey, Ben!" Aria said, slightly nervous. "H-How are you doing?"

"I'm…good." Ben answered. He was suspicious of her though. In fact, he had a feeling he knew what she did, but chose not to say it. Instead, he moved to the edge of his bed and sat there. "I'll let that…whatever she was doing to slide. I'm not just feeling it to ask." He thought.

Speaking of the girl, she was still standing before him when he then decided to get up. Fortunately, he didn't have to tell her to move as she already did that by stepping back. So without a word, he stood up and stretched his hands apart as a yawn escaped his mouth while he was looking up at the ceiling.

"Aw men! That felt so good!" Ben exclaimed in relief. "Sleeping is a bed beats way better than sleeping in a forest."

Aria nodded in response and put up a normal smile. She was relieved that Ben didn't bring up what she did a few seconds ago. So with that, the subject seemed to then change entirely from that moment on especially when Ben turned to the blonde with his arms by his side.

"Oh hey, Aria. Good morning." Ben greeted. He had a small smile on his face as he looked at the blonde before then continuing."Last night sure was hectic huh?"

"Uh…yeah, it was." Aria replied softly.

"Yup." Ben replied, continuing. "Well if you excuse me, I'm gonna take a shower…unless you want to go first. I'm thinking about exploring the Capital a bit more."

"I see…Go ahead. I'll wait" Aria said back, though uneasy. Something about Ben mentioning last night seemed to have her mind on something else. But she said nothing else yet. Instead, she had her eyes diverted away from the teen and heard him turn away, before calling to him. "Ben…wait."

"Huh?" Ben questioned, turning back at her. "What's up, Aria?"

"I…I have a request." Aria answered.

"Oh…" Ben said with uncertainty. For some reason he felt uneasy with that. "Aria, the last time you requested something it led to Ogre doing those terrible things to you and…"

"I know!" Aria yelled straightforwardly. It didn't seem she was offended by him though, as she now had a straightforward look on her face. Apparently, whatever she had in mind, it was something else; hence she continued, though, with a low tone. "This is different…" She said. "I…Ever since that night, there has been a burden I've felt in my heart. I want it gone…so please…can you just accept it? We're not going to meet anyone or go anyplace dangerous…This is something I must to do to move on."

"I see…" Ben muttered. He paused a bit to then acknowledged what she said. "But you know…if you're doing the request…whatever it is, I'm going to have to be there with you all throughout."

"You will." Aria told him. "This request would need your help. But it'll be tonight…is that okay with you?"

"Sure…it is." Ben answered. He didn't have a clue what the request would be. But he had a feeling that, whatever it was, it would be impact the former psychotic girl in a way.

_(LINE BREAK)_

The Imperial Palace stood strong once more as normalcy had returned. The barriers that once held the guards were long gone while the state of things was on the aftermath of the night before. A show of this was when the Emperor was seated on his throne seat with Prime Minister Honest by his side while General Budo could be seen walking into the throne room, before the imperial ruler.

The place they were in was the Imperial throne room. Here, the Emperor could always be seen sitting on his throne chair, which was above a flight of stairs, while staring down at whoever was before him. But the Emperor and the Prime Minister weren't the only ones there, THOUGH. There were about eight guards; all whom stood by both sides of the large room as General Budo could be seen walking to the flight of stairs the Emperor and the Prime Minister stood on top of until he came to a stop and knelt before the ruler.

"Your Highness, as you have requested, we began investigation of the matter concerning last night." The General reported honestly. "However, we've currently have no lead on the perpetrator of the menacing act. Upon that, reports from different regions of the empire, as well as Esdeath's camp, has reached us and concluded that the phenomenon occurred within their reach. So it goes without saying that the incident affected them too." General Budo reported.

"Huh…This is troubling." The Emperor muttered. He paused for a moment to take the information in as he could still recall the moment he felt that night. "As the emperor, I'm have to make peace within the empire as much as possible…But this phenomenon, I hate to admit but…I was scared. I was eventually caught in one of those barriers, but for some reason they disappeared...But worse of all, whoever the person is, he held my people in a frightful state…It's scary, but we have to find whoever it is and do what's right."

However, there was a problem the young emperor faced. He had no idea on what to do. It worried him a bit, but not enough for him to show it. Hence, he turned to Honest and asked. "Prime Minister, what do you think we should do? If we caught the culprit, what do you think we should do?"

"Oh, I have an idea." Honest said with a slyly grin. He also had with him a large piece of steak that he had been chewing on. "Whoever that did this culprit is, must be a Teigu user. So it's only natural that capturing be our top priority. We must confiscate his Teigu and have him dealt with accordingly to ensure peace and security to your empire."

"I like it." The Emperor said and nodded with an assured smile. He didn't have a single doubt on Honest, not in the slightest bit. So without saying a word back at him again, he turned back at General Budo and said. "I know you'll do a fine work, General. Please do your best. I'll be counting on you."

"Yes, Your Highness." General Budo replied and nodded.

"Now then…" The Emperor said. "Bring in Internal Affairs Officer Shoui. He must pay for his crimes."

_(LINE BREAK)_

FLASHBACK

A few weeks before Tatsumi and his friend would make it to the Capital, the four of them were standing around a table. Tatsumi stood at the left, Ieyasu stood at the right, while Sayo and Ben stood at the front, with the girl pointing her index finger at a part of a map on the table.

"This is where the Capital is." Sayo said determinedly. "It covers two hundred thousand square kilometers! Surrounding the Capital is an enormous wall that goes for thousands of kilometers. And they use huge trading ships to cross the canals."

Tatsumi smirked determinedly in response. "Sounds like there are lots of sights to see huh?"

"It sure looks like it." Ben said with a grin on his face. "Finally, we'll be going to the Capital."

However, unlike the teen, Ieyasu seemed to have something else in mind. It was obvious when he grinned sneakily as he looked over to Tatsumi with his hand at his chin.

"And of course, there'll be many "refined" ladies to meet too." He said.

"Hehe yeah." Tatsumi grinned.

"I can't wait." Ben agreed.

Unfortunately, this didn't go well for him and Ieyasu. The reason for that was Sayo, who immediately smacked both boys at the back of their heads, much to their surprise.

"How vulgar!" Sayo yelled.

"Ow!" Both Ben and Ieyasu cried out. The both of them felt the girl's hand hit them before looking at her, clearly annoyed. "Why did you only hit me!?" They asked in unison.

Tatsumi laughed in response to this. It was good moments like then that he enjoyed the most. Too bad it didn't last like he would've hoped.

"As a boy from the countryside, there was a time when all I wanted to do was to see the Capital…" Tatsumi narrated.

FLASHBACK END

Back to the streets of the Capital, the activities in the large portion of land continued. People could be seen walking about to their various places while the unlucky ones could be seen moving about in whatever poor state they were. It was a good the latter didn't apply to Tatsumi and Main, as both of them were walking through the streets, with the former now seeing the true reality of the Capital.

"Finally in the Capital…" Tatsumi muttered. "But now that I take a good look…there are a lot of people with sour looks on their faces, huh?"

True to his eyes, there really was. Despite how they were walking about, the evidence of their miserable lives was on their faces and the way they moved.

"That's to expect." Main commented, looking back at Tatsumi. "They are under a reign and terror. It's a recession."

"Yeah…" Tatsumi muttered. But his thoughts didn't stop there. Something had been on his mind since then that he couldn't help but not to think about it. "Ieyasu…is it really true? Could you actually be…?" He wondered.

"Hey, newbie!" Mine called to Tatsumi. She unknowingly had interrupted his train of thoughts as she now stood before him, facing him. "You've gone quiet."

"Oh, sorry…" Tatsumi said with a low tone. "It's just that…What do you think about last night?"

"Oh…" Mine muttered. She too remembered that night.

FLASHBACK!

Sometime in the night, the members of Night Raid were gathered at the conference room again. Najenda sat at her usual place before everyone while she explained Tatsumi and Leone's experience at the time of the other members absence. It was shocking to say the least soon after, as the other members were surprised by it, mainly because of an coincidence experience. So it came as no surprise that there would be doubt.

"No way! That's impossible!" Mine rebuked with a strict look. "There's no Teigu user that's that powerful!"

"Well...It seemed Ben just proved you wrong." Tatsumi admitted. He stood at the right side of Bulat while facing the pink haired girl with a soft sincere look on his face. "I don't know what a Teigu is, but Leone and I were there when Ben used Alien X."

"He's right." Leone agreed with the brown haired teen. "While I wasn't too close like Tatsumi, I got a clear sight of it. Whatever the lad did, affected every part of the Capital. Even standing by him made my instincts go off like crazy."

"Hmph!" Main huffed and looked away. "Then if that's the case…" She then turned to Ieyasu and pointed at him. "What about him? He was caught in one of those barriers, right?"

"What?!" Leone and Tatsumi expressed in shock.

However, Ieyasu said nothing in response. He had a saddened look on his face on his face as he looked away from the eyes of Leone and Tatsumi. Before, when he had arrived from his mission with the others, he had been inspected by Lubbock and Bulat (much to his discomfort) similar to how Tatsumi was treated by Akame, Leone and Sheele, so while Najenda was explaining what happened to Leone and Tatsumi, he was putting on his clothes at the time, with his coat being the last thing when Mine pointed at him. So to say things were easy for him would be a lie as he couldn't bear to say anything back.

"Hmm…is that so?" Najenda questioned observantly. She had her one revealed eye at Ieyasu as she questioned this. But seeing as the teen won't answer, she looked over to Lubbock and asked. "Is this true, Lubbock?"

"Yes, Najenda-san." Lubbock answered without haste. Unlike the other two assassins, he was calm as he shrugged his shoulders. "I hate to say it, but the young man was caught in one of those barriers. We were heading back to the hideout when we noticed his Teigu's symbol in the sky. Next thing we know, Ieyasu was caught in one of them."

"I see…" Najenda said in acknowledgement. "Then that means…"

"I'm sorry, but it means nothing!" Tatsumi rebuked strongly. He had a feeling on what the boss was going to say, hence he continued. "Ieyasu is fine! He isn't going to turn out like those kind of people! Maybe Ben mistaken him and…"

"Then why were we excluded?" Bulat asked with a somewhat calm voice. He had interrupted Tatsumi right on the spot since he felt it was best for him to speak. "I'm not saying Ieyasu is guilty of having a "dark heart", but if Ben was going to eliminate every one with that, why would he pick him and not the rest of us?"

Tatsumi was silently to respond. He was a bit surprised that Bulat would make such a stance considering he thought he would've stand by him. But if that didn't seem enough, Leone expressed her own doubts.

"I'm with Bulat." Leone said in agreement. "One of the things that triggered him to use that form was because he regretted what happened to you and Ieyasu…so won't it seem hypocritical if he decided to kill someone he clearly still cares about?"

Tatsumi again said nothing back. He gritted his teeth in a sense of denial as he couldn't help but tightened his fists as well. He couldn't believe that his friend, Ieyasu, could actually have the characteristic to be like people Ogre and other evils that were made up of in the Capital.

So while he was at that, Najenda sat back on her seat with her leg over the other leg. She could see from her position on how the report was affecting Tatsumi and Ieyasu despite showing no concern of it. In fact, it made her think as she eyed Ieyasu mainly.

"Now that I think about it, I never did exam the young man…" Najenda thought observantly. "While it's too early to determine if he could turn on us, I should've tested his mental state. Unlike Tatsumi, he experienced the torture first hand…It can be very traumatic…After all, I've seen good men turn bad just because of an experience they never would've thought about experiencing."

So with that, the boss made her decision. From there, she then made it clear before everyone as she spoke up.

"For now we can't determine if Ben made an error in picking the young man or if he was correct. So everyone, you're dismissed. But, Ieyasu…" She paused and turned to the teen. "Report to me first thing in the morning, understood?"

"Yes...understood." Ieyasu nodded.

FLASHBACK END

"Hmph! I still don't believe it." Mine admitted in the end. She also didn't seem to be bothered about Tatsumi's mood as she continued. "I don't know about your friend, but for that guy to be able to do all that, it'll be impossible. Now come on, we've got a mission to do."

"Yeah…we do." Tatsumi replied. He was still bothered about last night though, as he chose instead to say nothing about it. Hence, he followed Mine from behind as she began to walk. "By the way…" He said almost immediately. "Is it okay for us to walk around in broad daylight so openly?"

"Hmph…" Mine said in response. She then turned back at Tatsumi and placed her hands on her hips. "You sure ask a lot of questions, newbie, but I'll let you pass on this one." She said.

Unknown to the teenage boy though, they were close to a wall with a few wanted posters. They've would've even passed it if not that Tatsumi had brought up that question. So without much to say, Main pointed to the wall and said. "The only ones with wanted posters are those four."

True to her words, it was. Tatsumi could see the faces of Akame, Sheele, Najenda and some other person he couldn't recognize. It was confusing, so he drew close to it curious.

"Eh?" He said curiously and pointed. "Who's that in the middle?"

"That's Bulat." Mine answered.

"Say what?!" Tatsumi questioned, shocked to hear. The person on the wanted poster looked younger than the Bulat he knew as his hair was styled like the Teigu user.

However, whether this expression affected Mine was unknown as she continued.

"He's since changed his image since joining Night Raid." She revealed.

"Isn't that too much of a change?!" Tatsumi questioned. Clearly, he wasn't taking the revelation very well. But if that wasn't enough, he looked up to the sky and imaged an image of present day Bulat winking at him with his fingers at a genuine salute. "This has got to be the worst before-after history ever."He thought dejectedly.

Just then, Mine interrupted him, composedly with her arms at her back.

"Now that that's cleared up, we have a mission to complete." She said

Tatsumi grinned excitedly. "Bring it on."

And so with that, both teens excitedly sent their fist up in the air.

"Alright! Let's start with the inspection of the city's condition!" Mine exclaimed.

"I don't know what that is about, but yeah!" Tatsumi exclaimed as well.

Unfortunately, the teen soon found out what she meant. They went to a café where they ate, with Tatsumi skeptical about it, then a woman's clothing store where Tatsumi felt taken aback about, and went off to more stores where Mine enjoyed going through various clothes, with Tatsumi carrying the packages.

Sometime later, Tatsumi and Mine were almost with their 'mission' and were seated outside of some café, precisely at an umbrella table. Mine seemed satisfied of how the shopping went while Tatsumi just degradedly agreed with her. But once Mine concluded that the 'mission' was complete, Tatsumi was quick to retort that it wasn't a mission. Unfortunately, It wasn't long after that he got smacked at the face, knocked down and (for an odd humor) threatened by the pink haired assassin to be teleported to some other worlds (basically different worlds of mangas).

Soon enough, Tatsumi groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. Mine was hard to understand with the uptight attitude that she has. So as Tatsumi was getting over it, his attention was soon diverted to a crowd not far from them as their numbers were noticeable. Not surprising it got his attention as he turned fully at it with Mine standing next to him.

"What's all the commotion?" Tatsumi asked.

"It's probably the public execution of someone who defied the Empire." Mine answered plainly.

True to her words, it really was. However, it was more horrific than an outsider like Tatsumi would think. The people being executed had a huge nail impaled through their body as they were stuck to a cross where they suffered in agony. Along with that, each of them had one of their limbs gone while their blood was splattered all over their bodies despite the people below them seeing it.

"This is a usual thing in the Capital." Mine informed Tatsumi.

Now the teen was completely shocked at what he was seeing. He could see plainly that the people were in pain, hence he was very startled by it.

"H-How...cruel.' He commented, horrified.

"It's because the minister says it's okay…" Mine said back. Her attitude from then on changed to something deep and serious as she continued. "It was thanks to the shrewdness of the Minister that the current young emperor won the battle for succession. But I…I won't be like them. I'll definitely live and see this fight to the end!"

"The Minister huh…" Tatsumi calmly wondered. "What kind of monster could he be?"

_(LINE BREAK)_

While Tatsumi and Mine were at one side of the crowd, Ben and Aria were at the other side of the crowd. They had seen the crowd from a mile away, though only Aria objected for Ben to go there. Unfortunately, the teen wasn't always one to listen; hence he went over there only to stand shocked at what he was seeing.

"Wh-What is this?" Ben questioned, horrified at the scene. His eyes were shaking at the time while he gulped down a bit of spit due to his throat suddenly feeling dry. The people he saw being 'punished' was showing great signs of pain as one part of their limb was gone while blood continued to ooze out of their bodies.

"I told you to stay away." Aria said from behind. She didn't need to look at the teen's face to know how he was feeling. Hence, as she got to stand at his side, she looked at the suffering individuals like it was nothing and continued. "This is the work of the Prime Minister. He does this just because he can and because no one can stop him. That is to expect when he manipulates the emperor ever since he helped him to win the race to the throne. Now do you understand how things are?"

"I…I do." Ben answered hesitantly.

However, Aria wasn't convinced. She showed this when she turned her eyes suspiciously at Ben just in time to see him turn away. But before he could leave, she grabbed him by the arm and held him firmly while facing his back. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked strictly.

"What does it look like…" Ben muttered and turned back. "I'm going to help those people."

"That's stupid…" Aria said suddenly, surprisingly Ben. She clearly saw that her comment on the teen affected him the moment she said it. However, she didn't show concern on it as she continued. "Have you thought this thing through? In this world, letting your emotion get the better of you will get you killed. That is what probably happened to those people, and the same could happen to you. You may not have your face on a wanted poster, but your Omnitrix's symbol is about everywhere with Imperial guards looking for anyone is connected to it. Just be glad you have that coat covering the device...who knows what would've happened if you didn't."

"So what should I do?!" Ben questioned with a shout. For the first time in a long time, the teen was facing the blonde angrily as he continued. "Those people are suffering up there! I may not be able to stop the empire for now, but the least I can do is save them."

"And then what?!" Aria yelled back, though her tone was hush. "Those people's faces will be everywhere in the Empire. Nowhere will be safe for them, and that's only if they're able to adjust to life just from the trauma they experienced! I should know, I've had to be the unfortunate monster to cause good people that!"

"Oh…" Ben paused. He began to realize the implication of Aria's words as he stood there facing now. So as he was quiet, his mood changed to a softer one of mild regret before he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Aria. It's just that...this whole thing, it's out of my area of work."

"Well…" Aria said and smiled at him. "Good thing you have me…Just know that for now, we can't afford to be on the run from the Empire…I believe that one day you'll redeem the state this world has been, so take it easy for now. We'll get there…together."

"Sure." Ben smiled back.

And so with that, both teens walked away. Their conversation had luckily not gotten caught by any spying ears as most people tended to pay attention to their on things. So with that, they both continued their walk through the Capital to explore it.

(LINE BREAK)_

Night time arrived on time as its familiarity was casted over the skies. And since that was the case, the assassin group known as Night Raid were once again on another mission as five of their members, Lubbock, Akame, Leone, Bulat and Sheele could be seen speeding through the forest, heading to the location of their new target. During that time, each of them could recall Najenda's words as it was the last they heard of her before heading off to their mission.

"Everyone, there's a new request." Najenda had announced. "The target this the time is a blood relative of the Prime Minister. A man named Iwokaru. Using the Minister's name, he abducts girls from the Capital and beats them to death. His five bodyguards also share his guilt in this. Now this is an important mission, so everyone will attack. That means Sheele is reinstated to participate in missions again. However, Ieyasu will have to stay back for reasons I'll make clear when the time comes."

And so with that, the mission was being carried out. The five Night Raid members previously mentioned were set to the location of the target while Tatsumi and Mine sat at two branches, with the former holding a one eyed scope to look at the mansion before him,

"That's the mansion Iwokaru live in…" Tatsumi said observantly. "Such a shame Ieyasu couldn't be here. He would like to see this."

"It can't be helped." Mine commented plainly. "The boss obviously wants to examine your friend, so it's best he stays out of it." So with that said, the female assassin readied her Pumpkin and looked at the mansion directly. "I won't be able to hit him at this distance. I'll have to wait until he comes out of the compound to strike."

"And then it's my turn after the shot, right?" Tatsumi asked with an excited grin. "Leave it to me!"

"Hmph. Don't get your hopes up." Mine smug a bit in response.

Just then, Tatsumi noticed something about the female assassin. He could see how her expression suddenly changed as she seemed focused on the mission at hand. It was surprising to see this, considering this was someone he didn't like very well. But that didn't stop him from turning to her, amazed at her attitude.

"Awesome concentration…" He thought admirably. "I can even feel her willpower over here."

"He's coming out." Mine announced.

"Huh…What, where?" Tatsumi asked. He had been a bit taken aback by her, but was able to compose himself enough to use the eye scope to look through it. Once that happened, he saw what she meant.

The relative of the Prime Minister, Iwokaru, was out, but along with a lot of women marching at both of his sides. He was short in height, while having black hair with a purple streak on the left side of his bangs. He also seemed to wear small, round glasses, as well as his outfit consisting a military-like green uniform with a white fur collar, a red sash and an epaulets. Along with this, his taste in his riches was showed as he wore expensive black boots and gloves, while holding two women close to him at both sides as he seemed to be flirting with them.

"You can't attack now; a lot of people came with him." Tatsumi informed Mine urgently.

"So what?" Mine plainly asked.

In response, Tatsumi was a bit taken aback by her attitude and turned to her in doubt.

"What do you mean…" He asked skeptically. "How are you doing to snipe him?"

"It doesn't matter." Mine answered him plainly.

Now this was become a bit serious for Tatsumi to take likely. It made Tatsumi feel concerned at the moment as he could see Mine not backing down from her goal. Hence, he continued.

"No way." The teen said back. "Tell me you aren't intending to kill innocent bystanders!"

However, Mine said nothing back at him. She already had her finger at the trigger of her Pumpkin, when she suddenly took the shot. The shot could then be heard letting out a boom sound as a single energy bullet flew right out of the Teigu and headed straight for Iwokaru. The man from there on could only see the shot for a second before it went right through his forehead, killing him alone instantly as his body fell right to the ground dead.

So it goes without saying that Tatsumi was baffled at the shot. His mouth and eyes were widened, while his hand still clutched on to the eye scope as he took in the amazing shot sent by the female assassin.

Speaking of said assassin, she smirked as she turned away with her Teigu still in hand.

"You know, I'm a genius sniper." She said in compliment to herself.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Back at the mansion, about five guards with various swords ran through the forest in pursuit.

"Catch the assassins no matter what it takes!" One of them instructed. "If we allow them to escape, the Prime Minister will kill us himself!"

"They shouldn't have gotten far…" said another of them.

Unfortunately, they didn't get to go that far. The reason for that was Night Raid, which had five of its members standing in their way, facing them in readiness for a battle. Sheele stood with Extase in hand while Akame stood next to her with Murasame ready. The same could be said for Leone, who was in her beast form, as Bulat stood as Incursio next to her, with Lubbock standing next to him by his left.

"Well, well…" Leone said before the guards. It wasn't long after that a grin formed on her face as she then mashed both of her fists against each other. "Now then. Let's go wild!"

_(LINE BREAK)_

With their own part of the mission done, both Tatsumi and Mine made their way through the forest. The place was quiet as both went through the various trees, marching on the roots despite how troubling it was. But as they continued, complaining about the roots couldn't be prevented anymore.

"Aw Geez…" Mine said while placing a hand on a tree for balance. "These roots are hard to walk on."

Tatsumi kind of agreed with her. He was finding it a bit troubling to walk properly on the roots that were in their path. However, his mind was on something else as he was following Mine from behind.

"Do you think our pursuers have all been taken out already?" He asked.

"Those enemies were trained at Koukenji." Mine informed him as an answer. "They may not be taken out so easily. It's the best martial arts temple in the empire. If you're a relative of the minister, the grade of your bodyguards goes up."

From there, Mine went a bit off from the explanation. Tatsumi noticed this as her voice displayed a form of annoyance as she continued.

"Doing whatever he wants, using his relative name for cover is the type of thing I hate the most." The female assassin said.

Now that got Tatsumi thinking. He couldn't help but wonder about the female assassin before him. Hence, it got him thinking.

"Has something like that happened in her past…?" The teen wondered.

Just then, Mine came to a stop and looked sideways at him. It hadn't passed a minute since he had asked that question in mind, and already Mine was giving him a look. So in what seemed like mindreading, Mine sighed and said casually. "Okay, Okay. As a special service, I'll tell you a story from my past."

"I hadn't even asked!" Tatsumi thought in shock.

However, none of that mattered then. Mine still seemed open to explain a part of her past as a serious look came down on her face. So when she began, Tatsumi paid good attention as she spoke.

"I was born and raised at the western border of the empire. And half of my blood is foreign." She said explanatorily. "I was mercilessly ridiculed. Nobody accepted me…that was except one man. If it weren't for him, I could say my entire childhood was made of misery."

FLASHBACK (FIVE YEARS AGO, PROBABLY)_

A young version of Mine was standing at a wall which was drawn with a bullseye on it. At that time, she was the current target of a group of people, mostly male, as they were throwing whatever fruit they had with them while laughing and calling Mine numerous names. It also didn't help Mine's situation that she wore dirty rag clothes, with her pink hair badly uncombed as it reached till the back of her legs.

"Take this, pink shit!" shouted one man.

Like the others, he too was enjoying the ridicule he was giving her. He already had a fruit in hand when he called out to her, before then throwing it for her head. But as he did that, he missed her by a few meters.

"Well shit I missed." The man cursed. He was disappointed by his near miss as he saw Mine left untouched. But rather than back down, he brought his hand out to a person and said. "Hey, hand me another one. I'll get her this time."

"Sure thing." replied a woman. Like the others, she too had given her throw at the pink haired child before her. Hence, she had a crooked smile on her face as she handed the man another apple before saying. "Be sure to give her a good hit. That'll teach that wench for being born!"

"Haha! You know it!" The man grinned.

And so with that, the man clutched the apple and drew his hand back. Mine was still in perfect spot as he had his sight on her, ready to throw the fruit at her for sure. But before he could, a hand held his throwing wrist firmly, thereby halting his throw and getting his attention.

"Who the…Who are you?" The man asked, startled. Before, when he had felt his arm been caught, he had expected it to be a small fry. However, whom he saw that it was a muscular man who was looking down at him with his green eyes, he was scared.

"My name isn't important." The muscular man said. "Now I'm going to ask you to hand me the apple, got it?"

"Of…Of course." The man stammered in return. Apparently, seeing the man's size over him was enough to get him scared. Hence, he complied as the muscular man let him go, before then handing the apple directly at his hand. "H-Here you go. You can have the next shot of the girl."

"Huh…" The man paused and looked at the apple. He showed no expression as the eyed the fruit, for a reason which wasn't known. But when he looked back at the man, he did something totally unexpected.

A loud cry, followed by a crash, was heard as everyone present were shocked at what they saw. The man whom the muscular man had been talking to had been sent flying backwards until he hit a wall by the side with his body hitting the ground unconscious.

"Now then…" The muscular man said. He turned his attention from the unconscious man before looking at the remaining group with a calm look on his face. "Do any of you want to give me the first throw or are you going to apologize and run off like the scared assholes I know you are?"

The other people were quiet as they exchanged looks. Though the man didn't show it, he was threatening to do the same thing he did to the other man earlier. So rather than answer him, they instantly let out screams of fear and ran off without turning back.

"Huh…that was rude." The muscular man commented plainly. He could see the people running off right before him, but couldn't be bothered about it. Instead, he noticed the apple still in his hand, before biting on a part of it and chewing on it. "Hmm, pretty good...Can't believe they were gonna waste this." He said.

Just then, the man paused and noticed something. He had been in his own mind for a while there since he was taken in by the apple's taste. But now that he saw Mine, he couldn't help but face her entirely and casually talk to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

Mine didn't answer. She had seen the swift beating her oppressor had received before, just to the point that she was very scared. So upon making eye contact with the man, she lowered her head down and shut her eyes closed while her body shook as she dared not look the man in the face.

"Ple-Please…don't hurt me." Mine whimpered softly.

"Huh…" The man muttered. He seemed a bit taken aback, as well as disappointed as he heard her. "I'm not going to."

"Huh?" Mine questioned, confused.

Ever since she could remember, she had always been ridiculed. She had been hit, cursed at and even made fun of like she was a lesser human being. But here she was, surprised at what the muscular man said as it led her to snap her eyes open. But if that wasn't enough, she saw an apple right before her face, with the man's hand holding it in place.

"Here…Take it." The man said causally. "Seeing you like this, I get the feeling you would need this more than I do."

Mine paused a bit with mixed feelings. In one hand, she wanted to collect the apple and in the other she wanted to run away. She didn't feel like she could trust the man, seeing as there has never been a person she could've trusted. But when she looked at his face, she noticed a small warming smile on his face which was devoid of any mischief as he stared down at her.

So without saying anything, Mine took her chance. She took the apple slowly from the muscular man's hand, before looking down at the ground, hugging the fruit to her chest.

"Th-Thank you." She said gratefully.

"You're welcome." The muscular man said.

From the looks of it, the man didn't have any ulterior motive either. He simply drew back his hand and put up a calm look on his face as he continued standing before her. So while that was the case, Mine noticed his appearance, as well as his body's features.

The man was clearly tall as he stood over Mine's small body by far. He was muscular, as mentioned before, as he had noticeable tousled brown hair which had grey hair at both sides, The clothes he wore were also visible, as Mine saw it consist of a white-striped black shirt with short sleeves, black fingerless gloves, green pants, black boots and a green trench coat which he wore at his shoulders. In fact, as she stared at him, she noticed two green gauntlets at his wrists that was clearly not a normal accessory.

"Well…I guess I'll be going." The man said with a sigh. "Take good care of yourself…You're going to need it."

Mine said nothing in return. Her eyes shook constantly as she turned her head away from the man who rescued her. For some reason, she felt bad that he said that to her. She was no longer shaking in fear like she was before; instead she was now feeling hesitant to do anything else while clutching the apple.

However, whether the man noticed her behavior was left unknown. He turned his back at Mine without saying a word after and not long was gone before her eyes.

…

…well it would've been if not that she actually followed him. She was still wary about him though, but with a bit of curiosity as she followed the strange man from before. Unfortunately, doing that was easier said than done. Mine had to ignore the despising glares different people were giving her as she passed them without looking back. It was a normal occurrence for her to experience, so she tried not to pay any attention to them. Besides, she also had the trouble of avoiding any physical contact with people since she didn't want to draw out any trouble.

Unfortunately, that was again easier said than done. The street was a marketplace as people could be seen going about in their numbers, just to the amount that avoiding the people was nearly impossible.

So it goes without saying that Mine was finding it difficult to keep walking. The sight of her rescuer was getting smaller and smaller while she tried to keep up, though failing. Unfortunately, that led her to barge into someone who then backhanded her so hard that she hit the ground on her side.

"Stupid mixed-ass bitch!" cursed the person angrily. "Look where you're going!"

Mine whimpered in response to this. She was back to feeling scared for her safety as it was apparent that she would get hurt. This was obvious when everyone passing by came to a stop as all eyes were immediately at the angry man and her as he stood before her frail body, glaring down at her like she was a menace.

"Pl-Please I'm sorry." Mine begged in a low voice.

"Sorry?" The man asked rhetorically. "You should've stayed quiet, you wench!"

Mine continued to whimper in response to the man. She knew by now that there was no way the man was going to back down from becoming physical. So as she saw him raise his leg up at her, she shut her eyes closed and shielded her face with her arms, knowing full well on what would come next.

However, the physical pain didn't come to her. Instead, the people standing were surprised at what really happened. The man was about to stomp his foot down on Mine, when suddenly another man came right at him and side kick him at his side with so much force that he was sent flying a few feet away.

"AHHH!" The guy cried out.

The attack came as a surprise to everyone who watched. They watched as the attacked man hit the ground hard on his side, before diverting their attention at the attacker who was now standing on both feet. From the scowling look on his face, it was clear he didn't like the other guy at all.

"You know, guys like you make me sick." The muscular man yelled angrily. "Just because she's of different blood doesn't mean she's any different than you! Now if you know what's good for you, you'll stay far away from her or else you and anyone else would be answering to my fists!"

In short, the message was clear to everyone. The muscular man was no pushover, as observed by his action and emotion. But whether the man intended for them to be fearful of him was unknown as he turned to Mine who was now staring at him, with both of them then making eye contact.

"Hey, you okay?" The man asked.

"Y-Yes." Mine nodded, though her body was still shaking.

The muscular man seemed to take notice of this though, as it brought a feeling of sympathy on him. But he made no focus on it or the people still looking at them. Instead, he cracked a small smile on his face and knelt down at Mine with one knee before petting her softly on the head, much to her small surprise.

"You know, it's dangerous to be walking about on your own." The man said softly. "But it's also brave of you, so don't feel bad about it, okay?"

"Um…yes." Mine said and nodded.

"Good." The man commented.

Just then, the man did something else unexpected. He removed his hand from Mine's head and wrapped his arm around her back. Hence, before the little girl knew it, he lifted her off the ground and drew her close to his chest, much to her surprise as she looked at him. But when they made eye contact again, she felt at ease and at awe at his facial expression.

"You don't mind, do you?" The man asked.

"N-No." Mine shook her head.

And so with that, the man had no problem. He smiled coolly at Mine who just stared at him in awe before she felt him walk away with her still in his arm. The people in his way gave way for him while those behind him said nothing to catch his attention. But when Mine looked over his shoulder, she noticed the people glaring at them, with some of them murmuring at each other in such a way that she felt guilt about it and frowned.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Huh?" The man questioned, confused.

"I said…I'm sorry." Mine said again, though a bit louder. She still felt guilt as the seconds continued. Hence, as she was still being carried, she turned to face the man's face with that guilt still showing. "This is my fault…I-I didn't want them to hate you…I'm sorry."

"You worry too much." The man replied causally.

His response surprised to Mine. She looked at him, expecting verbal words at him, but instead got to see his casual smile as he continued walking.

"Listen…kid. If I was worried about the negative things people thought of me, I wouldn't be the hero I became. Sometimes in life, you're going to do things that people won't like and in other times you might be something that they despise. But in the end it doesn't matter. They don't define who you are or who you're going to be…That decision is up to you. Remember that, okay?" The man told her boldly.

Mine nodded in response. She didn't feel scared anymore, not in the slightest bit. The only thing she did feel was safety and amazement at the man she was staring at.

"By the way…" The man said suddenly. "The name's Ken…Ken Tennyson. What about you?"

"I'm…I'm Main." Main answered.

"Main, huh?" The man smirked. "I knew someone with that name."

"You did?" Main asked.

"Yup." Ken said with a nod. "She's alive but…I haven't seen her in a long time now."

"Wow…She must have been so cool." Mine commented. But then she frowned. "Unlike me…I'm just…"

"Actually, she was just like you." Ken corrected her. His reply seemed to surprise the little girl as she clearly hadn't expected it. But he continued. "She was an assassin and a genius sniper…or so she claimed. We didn't get on a good start. She was annoying, loud and uptight…But as I got to know her and her friends, I realized that she wasn't all bad. She was born and raised in a bad side of the empire, so one would expect she wouldn't turn out well. But she proved them wrong. She survived through that miserable part of her life, became one of the greatest assassins the world has ever seen and settled down in time to have a fulfilling life."

Mine was amazed to hear this. The way Ken explained about his friend sounded inspiring and true as it touched her at heart. So as she continued staring at him, she felt less insecure of herself as a thought came to mind.

"Do-Do you think I can be like her?" Mine asked.

Ken chuckled in response. 'Kid…I think you're on your way there."

Mine smiled back in response. She no longer felt afraid, scared or insecure about herself. If anything, she felt an unexpected feeling in her heart, the feeling of hope.

FLASHBACK END

"He was a great guy." Mine said, looking off to the distance. Her narration of her past was coming to an end at this point in time. "I always look back at that time…that time I had no one. It was nice."

"Mine…" Tatsumi muttered. For obvious reasons, he felt sympathy to the pink haired assassin as he stood behind her. "So what happened to him? You never brought him up until now."

"I don't know." Mine replied with a soft tone. "We spent some days together, but we weren't meant to stay together forever I guess. He told me he was involved in some kind of war, so when the Revolutionary Army formed an alliance with the people of the west, I joined so I could help make people's lives better one day, but also…I wanted to find out if he was there…"

"But he wasn't there…huh." Tatsumi said, sadly guessing it. "His last name was Tennyson…I wonder if he has something to do with Ben." He thought.

However, Mine said nothing back. The silence from her seemed to answer that very well as the night breeze flew her hair slightly as she stood still.

"Anyway…" Mine continued saying. "If we made a new country, diplomatic relations would grow. Many races would mingle and there will be no more kids who will suffer like me."

Right up to this point, Mine's tone had been down. She had done it intentionally since she was talking about her past. But with each word she said, a sense of straight determination came over her that led her to continue.

"Never again will I let there be any form of discrimination." She said strongly. "I'll make it through the revolution and then…I'll find Ken and make him answer for leaving me behind."

"Main…" Tatsumi muttered, amazed at her.

From the teen's perspective, this was something entirely new. Main had seemed uptight, loud and an annoyance to him ever since he met her. However, there she was, showing a different side of him that he never would've expected. Too bad for him that it didn't last for long.

Apparently, as much as Main seemed determined, she was also prideful. She showed this once she turned to Tatsumi, smiling big as she continued from where she stopped.

"Besides, as someone who had so much to do with the revolution, I'll get a giant reward and live like a celebrity!"

And with that, Tatsumi couldn't help but feel dejected towards her.

_(LINE BREAK)_

AAANNND I'M STOPPING HERE FOR NOW.

WOW! THAT WAS A LOT TO WRITE!

I've actually written longer, but this one was really tasking since I had to plan out the scenes carefully and see how they can correspond with each other. In fact, this chapter would've covered all of chapter 4 of the manga until I realize they are still other scenes that would make this chapter too long. So I'm saving them, and the remaining parts of chapter 4 of the manga, to the next chapter.

So what did you guys think of Ben 10,000 showing up?

HAHA! Yep, Ken Tennyson is actually Ben Tennyson of the future. If you actually thought he was Gwen's older brother, then I hate to tell you but he's not. Anyway, I dropped hints about present Ben's future in Akame ga kill world, so if you didn't get it then go read it again. I'm not going to explain it here. However, I will say that when he told Mine about being in a part of a war, he was talking about "The Second Time War", the same thing he and Paradox mentioned in his last appearance.

Anyway, for appreciation, as well as just to reply, here are some replies to certain reviewers below.

Ah Puch – I agree that Aria should pay for her crimes. But whether on if that will happen is a mystery.

Owldusk – Yup. That was the idea. I'm glad you noticed it.

Shadeblade10 – Sorry about that. I put those things up just for those who may want to listen to certain music in order to get a feel of the moment. I'll try to make it less disturbing now.

Kleyon – I understand. As much as I hate Seryu, I agree that she had a wrong belief in justice. But you're gonna have to see if she'll be redeemed or not. Fortunately, the next chapter may interest you more than you would expect.

Shadowprove97 – Funny review, dude. It got me laughing when I read it. However, as much as Alien X would be doing a big favor for everyone, it'll have disastrous consequences as hinted in this chapter (he would've killed Ieyasu) and in an alternate timeline that Ben did do it. Trust me, it's pretty dark.

BrRosabal22 – I'm glad you enjoyed the fanfic. Also, why shouldn't Ben be a prude when it comes to women? He comes from a kid's show where women have small breasts, so he's gonna act like a prude when someone pushes his head to a busty chest twice. Tatsumi was like that, so why not Ben? Besides, in the cases where he does act like a prude, it's mostly when he didn't expect it or was forced into it.

Cybrbeastitan – I've written Alien X in other crossover fanfics on when the world or universe is in danger. But in the last chapter, I decided to bring him up early for reasons that I explained in the previous chapter. It was something new to try out, which I'm glad you enjoyed reading anyway. Also, while it is true Ben is full control of Alien X, Selena and Bellicus are still in Alien X. They were just to pay a small amount of universal money. I just decided to exclude them in the last chapter since their involvement wouldn't move the plot in an already long chapter. By the way, thanks for your vote. The results are below. I'll see about that fanfic you mentioned to see what you mean. It sounds interesting.

And with that, I end my replies. Thank you so much for your constructive reviews. They were really great reading and sorry if I didn't reply to your review.

So about the votes on a certain poll, I was hesitant on posting the results now. But seeing as the numbers is much, I've gone ahead and released it. So by adding the votes from the reviews with the ones in the poll, here's the result on "Should Esdeath have affectionate feelings for Ben like she does with Tatsumi?"

Yes! – 10

No! – 3

()

Yup! The votes were much, but in the end the majority won by far. This means Esdeath will have affectionate feelings for Ben, though he won't return it back to her. However, I feel I should tell you that when she does fall for Ben, it won't be in the same circumstance as she did with Tatsumi. It would be something entirely different, but very enjoyable.

Thank you all for your votes on my poll. Your votes were very much appreciated. Also, thank you again for reviewing, favorite and following. Please keep it up. I have another poll out and it will be based on a one-shot/two-shot story of different timelines I want to write. The poll is up, so go vote on that. I can assure you, the options are very intriguing.