Hello, everyone!
For those that are wondering, Reeleffendeel decided to cancel Wrath of the Ultrabots due to being so heavily focused on Unchained Predator. But he came to me if I wanted to adopt it and I decided; why not?
However, like Reel, I have several problems with Akame Ga Kill. For one, while I love the setting, the characters are kinda lacking for me. Sure, there are exceptions like Run, Esdeath, and maybe Tatsumi, but the heroes feel more like heroic sociopaths than morally grey people. And don't even get me started on the villains, they're just psychopaths and depraved nobles. I get that this was the intended point, but a story is only as good as its villains and Akame Ga Kill's villains aren't that good.
Takahiro said that we would get grey and grey morality, but all we got was black and grey.
But, enough of me ranting.
This story will diverge from the original quite a bit, but I talked with Reel and he approved. And we are going to see moment from both the heroes and villains' perspective, showing moments that reveal them as actual people and not one-dimensional characters. However, the first two chapters will be the same but with some touch ups.
Anyway, enough talking.
Let's a go!
Chapter 1
Calm Before The Storm
NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-TRAINING GROUNDS
It was a day like any other. The sun shone across the hideout of Night Raid as a sparring match between its members broke the serene silence.
"Come on, Tatsumi! Show me what you learned!"
"Alright, but you better watch yourself bro!"
Tatsumi launched into a flurry of kicks and punches against Bulat, attempting to aim for any weak points the former soldier of The Empire might have. He was actually doing surprisingly well for a boy of his height. Bulat was easily defending himself, but he noticed that Tatsumi's blows were getting stronger, and he was also getting quicker.
"Not bad! You're actually managing to keep up!" Bulat complimented as he parried Tatsumi's attacks.
"What can I say? I learned from the best." Tatsumi replied as he rushed forward in an attempt to grapple him.
"Will you two just kiss already?" Someone said from out of nowhere.
"WHAT!?"
Distracted by that, Tatsumi tripped over a little giving Bulat just enough time to tackle him to the ground, pin his arms behind his back and put him into a headlock. He managed to look up little to see who distracted him. It was Leone, the wisecracker of Night Raid.
"Do you always need to make fun of my sexuality? It's really getting insensitive." Bulat scolded her as he kept the brown-haired boy in his grip while she approached them.
"Hey, it's not my fault you're a walking punchline!" Leone joked, grinning broadly.
"I would have won if you hadn't distracted me, you know!" Tatsumi grunted as he struggled to get himself free from Bulat's iron grip.
"You may have, but a man never lets anything distract him in the middle of a fight!" Bulat lectured.
"That and you're just too easy to tease!" Leone added as she knelt down and playfully poked Tatsumi's cheek.
"Anyway, that should be enough for today. You did a nice job bro!" Bulat said as he released Tatsumi, who collapsed coughing and helped him up. "We'll start advanced weapons training tomorrow. Hope you're ready!" He said as he walked out of the training grounds.
"You can count on it! "Tatsumi eagerly called after him.
"Looks like you're getting better at combat lately. Maybe you should try going a couple rounds with your big sister!" Leone suggested.
"I'm not so sure, I heard that you tend to fight dirty." Tatsumi said, slowly inching away from her.
"What!? Who the hell told you that load of crap!?" Leone demanded, wheeling around so fast he was surprised she didn't suffer whiplash.
"Mine." Tatsumi answered innocently.
"That flat-chested little ankle biter…" Leone muttered under her breath. She made a mental note to lock her teammate in closet later. "Look, that kid's just pulling your leg. You know you can trust me, right?"
"Remember how our first meeting went?" Tatsumi reminded her.
Leone sweatdropped. That's when an idea came to her head.
"Alright, I guess I'll train by my lonesome." She said sadly. "All alone. No one to talk to or laugh with, just poor lonely old me."
She started sulking away with her head hung low but that's when she felt Tatsumi put his hand on her shoulder.
"You know…maybe after my training with Bulat tomorrow, you and I could spar together. Maybe you can teach me some new moves!" Tatsumi said, trying to cheer Leone up. Luckily for him, it did just that.
"Awwww! I knew my little Tatsumi would believe in her big sister!" Leone said happily as she pulled him into a big hug, unaware that she mashed his head into her bosom.
"Can't…breathe…." Tatsumi croaked out as he tried in vain to free himself.
NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-RIVERBED
BA-KOW
"And that's 12 in a row!" Mine said victoriously as she slung Pumpkin over her shoulder.
"I'm not really sure that's the proper way to catch fish Mine." Sheele said as she looked up from her book.
"Says the airhead who mistakes a donkey for a horse." Mine teased as she hauled another super-sized trout out of the stream and onto the ever-growing pile of its comrades. Sheele sighed and closed her book. She looked upwards toward the clear blue sky and smiled. Today truly was beautiful afternoon. It was nice to have break after numerous missions in the Capital.
"Wassup guys!" A cheerful voice called. Sheele and Mine turned around to see Leone and Tatsumi trudging up the hill.
"Well, well, well. Look who came back from training! How'd it go with Bulat?" Mine asked with an ear-to-ear smile on her face.
"Tatsumi did great job! You guys should have seen him!" Leone cheerfully informed them, unaware that Tatsumi was giving her a nasty look. He really didn't want her telling them how she distracted him.
"Uh...yeah! I have advanced training with him tomorrow!" Tatsumi said before Leone could tell them the rest, much to her disappointment as she pouted.
"Don't forget that you have training tomorrow with me as well, Tatsumi." Sheele reminded him.
"Oh! Of course! How could I forget?" Tatsumi said as he rubbed the back of his head. Sheele simply giggled. It was strange how he could be so forgetful like her.
'I swear these two are long lost siblings.' Mine thought. That's when a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Leone standing over her, a shadow cast over her eyes as she grinned maliciously.
"So… I hear that a certain someone has been spreading some slanderous rumors about me. Now why would you go around telling everyone such blatant lies, hmmm?" She asked innocently, but her tone of voice made her sound rather thuggish.
"Hey…uh…is that the boss over there?" Mine nervously replied while pointing a finger behind Leone.
"Where?" Leone looked over her shoulder to see no one there. She turned back around just in time to see Mine stuff all 12 trout in a bag and run for her life down the hill back to their hideout. Leone's only response was activating Lionelle and chasing after her like a hungry predator.
"You think Mine will get far?" Sheele asked as they watched the blond chase after the pinkette vanished over the hill.
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!" They heard Mine's cry of terror.
"Nope." Tatsumi answered. "Say, do you know where Akame is? I haven't seen her anywhere." He asked.
"Well… I did hear she was going to check the woods for any Danger Beasts near our perimeter. She should be back-"
THROOOOM
"…soon." She finished.
As if on que, a massive Danger Beast erupted out of the woods next to Sheele and Tatsumi. The creature was as big as a house and looked like a combination of a rhino, a mantis and a monitor lizard. "A Forest Dragon!? All the way out here!?" Tatsumi panicked as he instinctively pulled out his sword. That's when Sheele stepped in front of him.
"Calm yourself Tatsumi. I will handle…uh-oh." She said, first starting out sternly and then innocently.
"What's wrong?"
Sheele turned around, showing Tatsumi her tear-stained face and look of embarrassment. "I left Extase back in my room…"
'YOU REALLY ARE AN AIRHEAD!' Tatsumi mentally screeched with a pale face and a sweat drop.
The Forest Dragon's eyes suddenly rolled into the back of its head and keeled over right in front of them.
THWUMP
Tatsumi and Sheele were left wondering what happened, but they looked at the dragon's side and noticed it had a long gash trailing from its neck to its tail. They saw numerous markings snaking around the wound and it became clear that it was Akame's Murasame that finished it off.
Speaking of which, the said Teigu user walked out of the woods, seemingly satisfied with her kill. "I found it digging up some trees near our base. It was probably trying to build a nest out here and lay eggs. Luckily I found it before it could compromise our location." Akame explained to her comrades.
"It's a good thing you did; I don't think I want to have its babies all over the place." Tatsumi added.
"Awwww…I hear Forest Dragon babies are cute." Sheele bemoaned, earning strange looks from Tatsumi and Akame.
"Wow…I've never seen a Forest Dragon up close before. It almost looks like an Earth Dragon." Tatsumi mused as he examined the podd
"You've seen an Earth Dragon? Those are incredibly rare!" Sheele gasped. Akame took an interest as well.
"Yeah! In fact, I killed one before I came to the Capital!" Tatsumi said, reflecting on the memory.
"Really? I hear their armor is as hard as steel." Akame said, remembering an entry in a Danger Beast encyclopedia.
"Actually, Earth Dragons are pretty easy to take down once you aim for the places on their bodies that are unarmored." Tatsumi informed.
"Interesting… you should probably tell that to the others at dinner tonight." Akame suggested as she, Tatsumi and Sheele walked back their hideout.
"Good idea. I'm sure the others will get a kick out of it." Tatsumi said as he watched Sheele try to calm down Leone who was attempting to rip off Mine's pigtails while the latter was begging and pleading.
"Speaking of which, I could use a helping hand preparing dinner. Would you like to help?" Tatsumi asked.
"Sure. I'd be glad to." Akame smiled.
"Just promise me that you won't eat all the ingredients."
"...I'll try."
NIGHT RAID CONFERENCE ROOM-SEVERAL HOURS LATER
It had been a very eventful dinner for Night Raid. Most of the team was solely focused on Tatsumi's recount on slaying an Earth Dragon. Sheele explained that Earth Dragons live out their entire lives underground and they only come up to the surface if their territory is disturbed. This led to Leone reminding the others that it was her idea to have him join Night Raid and how much help he's been since then. The other members began talking about how they could handle an Earth Dragon with their Teigus, but Akame reminded them that Tatsumi slayed it without one.
After dinner was over, the team's leader, Najenda, called the others to the conference room for an important meeting. Once everyone was settled down, Najenda took a long drag of her cigar and put in out in her tray.
"Okay guys, I going to need your undivided attention. So far we've been doing great in our missions but the higher ups at The Capital are starting to take notice and they're not happy."
"They should be." Leone joked.
"In response to our actions, Prime Minister Honest has created two different police forces to stop us: Wild Hunt and The Jaegers."
"Two different teams? That's gonna put us in a vice..." Lubbock said, worried.
"That's not the half of it. Two of these teams are led by different people. Wild Hunt is led by the Prime Minister's son, Syura."
"He has a son!?" Mine exclaimed, completely flabbergasted.
"What kind of woman would want to have children with someone like him?" Tatsumi questioned.
"I think the less we know the better." Akame suggested.
"Ugh…the mental image alone..." Bulat shuddered.
"What about the Jaegers? Who's their leader?" Sheele asked.
"Esdeath." Najenda grimly confirmed.
A cold silence fell over the room and Tatsumi could understand why. Mine had told him all sorts of horror stories about Esdeath's cruelty and sadism as well as the numerous forms of gruesome torture she inflicted upon her prisoners. If she was leader of this secondary police force, then it meant that its members were most likely very powerful like her.
"Speaking of Esdeath, I do have a bit of good news." Najenda said, hoping to clear the tension filled air. "It turns out that her campaign in the north is taking longer than anticipated. Looks like Prince Numa is giving her more trouble than we thought so it will be a while if she ever comes back to the Capital."
That made most of the team feel a little bit better but some of them feared that it would only be a matter of time before the prince of the northern tribes would be outmatched and eventually overwhelmed.
"Unfortunately, I have even worse news." Najenda reluctantly crushed that as she needed to have them well informed, "General Gift is on his way back from putting down a rebellion in the Southern Tribes."
A cold silence again came down but this time, Tatsumi was confused by the shocked expression on the others, but the fear he felt was almost palpable.
"Um, who's General Gift?" The swordsman asked, confused at their fearful expressions.
"Sorry you had to find out like this." Najenda sighed, "General Gift is the leader of the Black Legion, a large regiment of former criminals turned conscripts to the Imperial Army, but they also include a lot of experimental super soldiers and tamed Danger Beasts of various classes. They're feared all over the Empire due to their immense brutality. A number of rebellions quickly surrendered when they heard the Black Legion was coming."
"And sometimes, Gift would slaughter them regardless of if they surrendered or not." Bulat shivered, having very painful memories of Gift and his war crimes.
"Gift is a goddamn sadist. The Empire only keeps him around because he's too good at his job." Leone shuddered, "Even other Imperial officials want him gone but Honest reluctantly convinced them that he's still useful."
Tatsumi gulped fearfully. That sounds like someone he never wanted to meet.
"Anyway, I'm getting off track. Our spies have managed to gather some useful but troubling information on them: they're all Teigu users."
Everybody was stunned when they heard that. It would sometimes be rare for them to encounter a Teigu user, but two teams filled to the brim with them, including the Black Legion? That spelled trouble for all of them.
"In response to this, we are going to train as hard as we possibly can. No slacking off, no goofing around, it's time to get dead serious. We need to be prepared if we ever go up against one of them so I'm going to have you all start a very strict training regimen tomorrow."
Everyone nodded in agreement. It was going to be tough, but it was necessary if they were ever going to free The Empire from Honest's hedonistic influence and abuse of power.
"Do we know who they are or what kind of Teigus they use?" Bulat inquired.
"Unfortunately, no. The best we can do is be prepared if we ever face off against them."
"Oh, we'll be prepared alright! Once we're done with training, they won't know what hit 'em!" Leone boasted while cracking her knuckles.
"You may count me in as well. I wish to train myself beyond my limitations." Akame said sternly.
"Me too." Tatsumi said, joining in. "Even though I've been with you all for several days, I don't feel like I'm getting any stronger. I don't want to be nuisance to you guys, so I hope that I'll be able to-"
Before he could finish the whole team started laughing uproariously, catching Tatsumi off guard.
"A nuisance? After spending all this time with us, you seriously think you're a nuisance?" Lubbock chuckled.
"If you were completely useless, we would've kicked you out a long time ago." Mine scoffed.
"You've been amazingly helpful to us Tatsumi. More than you know." Sheele reassured him.
"Just because you don't have a Teigu doesn't mean your weak, bro. I know plenty of people who are incredibly skilled without one." Bulat said proudly.
"Besides, did you forget that you took down a corrupt Imperial captain all by yourself and help bag us a Teigu?" Leone reminded him.
"You're not a nuisance Tatsumi. You're an excellent fighter, you've helped us complete several missions that we probably couldn't have done without you, and we'd be more than happy to help train you. You're one of us now; we always look out for each other." Akame said, smiling brightly.
Tatsumi could feel his heart melt. Ever since the deaths of Sayo and Ieyasu, he feared that nobody could replace them and that he would be unable to move on without them. But he was wrong. Despite his loss, he found Night Raid who shared their sympathy towards him and willingly let them into their group.
In the days that followed, they had quickly repaired the hole in his heart, and he found the will to move on. He was fighting for a better future for the Empire and to help save his village from poverty. It was what Sayo and Ieyasu would want, and he had comrades that would support him and encourage him till the end.
He was happy to call them his friends. It almost brought a tear to his eye.
"Thanks guys." Tatsumi said, his voice wavering a bit.
Najenda smiled. She admittedly had her doubts before, but Tatsumi proved himself to a very capable assassin and he did help them complete multiple assignments. Not only that, but the kid was starting to grow on her a little. He reminded her of how she was once a young teen with big dreams. Seeing the rest of Night Raid give their encouragement towards Tatsumi made Najenda happy that she assembled such an incredible team.
"Glad to see you're all giving your support to our newest member. Anyway, this meeting is adjourned. Go get plenty of sleep guys, you've all got a long day tomorrow."
NIGHTRAID HEDQUARTERS- BEDROOMS
After taking a bath and brushing his teeth, Tatsumi made his way to his bedroom but not before bumping into Lubbock in the hallways.
"Hiya Tatsumi! I take it you're hitting the hay tonight?" He greeted.
"Got that right. I have to get up early tomorrow so I'm going to bed as early as I can."
"Same here. G'night man."
"Good night…wait a minute; don't you have guard duty tonight?"
Lubbock held up his gloved hand, which was actually his Teigu. "Cross Tail. Remember?"
"Oh." Tatsumi said plainly. He should have known: Lubbock would always have the whole perimeter of their base booby-trapped with Cross Tail's wires so if anyone tried to stealthily enter, they would unknowingly touch the wires that would alert Lubbock of any intruders. Then Night Raid would descend upon any Imperial sap who tried to get the drop on them.
Simple, but very effective.
"Well, don't let me stop you from getting some shut-eye." Tatsumi smirked as he went to his room.
"Hey, hold up a sec." He heard Lubbock say. Tatsumi turned around to see that Lubbock now had a lecherous grin on his face. "You know…the girls are gonna be exhausted after training tomorrow and there gonna want to unwind in the hot springs…maybe you and I could do little…'reconnaissance' on them?"
"And risk getting my face clawed off by Leone? No thanks."
"Oh please! I've seen how she attaches herself to you! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two have been dating!" Lubbock accused as he pointed his finger at Tatsumi.
"WHAT!? NO! Were just friends! She only does that to tease me!" Tatsumi desperately protested.
Lubbock rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Suuuuuuure." He drawled sarcastically.
"Whatever. I'm going to bed." Tatsumi huffed as walked away.
"You sure you don't want to take up my offer? You don't know what you're missing~." Lubbock chimed.
"Oh, grow up!"
NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-TATSUMI'S ROOM
Tatsumi laid on his bed, deep in thought. So much had happened in just a few weeks. His mind drifted back to when he first arrived at The Capital. He had never seen such an impressive city before in his life and he cursed his past self for being so naïve and oblivious to the terrible truth hiding behind its shining exterior. He never should've trusted Aria. He knew that there was something suspicious about that girl, but he was so desperate to earn money for his village that he didn't realize something was amiss until it was too late.
A twinge of guilt ran through his body. If he hadn't been attacked by those bandits, he would've kept Sayo and Ieyasu safe. They could have arrived at The Capital together and maybe, by some stroke of luck, learn about the corruption plaguing it and join Night Raid. Instead, they got separated and he ended up in the care of a sadistic little bitch who murdered two of his closest friends and he didn't even know it. It was the biggest regret of his entire life.
But then…there was that strange dream he had a couple days ago.
"You already found new friends, haven't you?"
"You can't rely on us forever you know!"
Tatsumi slowly gripped his chest. His heart ached.
"Later Tatsumi…"
"If there's a heaven, we'll see you there someday."
'Why? Why did they have to die? They didn't do anything wrong!' Tatsumi thought. His eyes drifted over to his drawer and he looked at the wood carved idol the village elder gave him before he left. How on earth was he going to break the news of Sayo and Ieyasu's deaths to his village? Would they all sympathize and comfort him for his loss or would they blame him for not protecting them? But he knew that his people would never do the latter and would understand the risks that came with leaving the village. But they would nonetheless be devastated and heartbroken.
He took his idol and looked at the small hole that Akame had made when they first met. He thought back to Ieyasu's previous words. He did find new friends that meant as much to him as Sayo and Ieyasu. He felt relieved that even though he didn't have a Teigu his teammates still cared for him. It made him feel at home.
Maybe the Teigu known as Spectator he got from Zanku was just a fluke. There were dozens of them out there and maybe he'd find one that would actually work. Then he'd would be able to hold his own against stronger opponents, protect his friends and-
"There may be a Teigu that has the ability to bring dead people back to life! Right!?"
Tatsumi smacked his forehead. Why did he have to remember that? It was one of the stupidest things he had ever said. He would never forget the stone cold looks on everyone's faces or their harsh words.
"A Teigu that can resurrect the dead doesn't exist. In this world, you only get one life."
"Don't hang your hopes on that. If you do, an enemy will use that weakness of mind against you and you will be killed."
He didn't mean to insult them. He just wanted his friends back so badly that he wasn't even thinking straight. He had to accept the facts: Sayo and Ieyasu were dead, and they were never coming back.
"I was happy. I thought that I could possibly bring them back. As long as there was even a small possibility, I still had hope…but…I knew it. I'll never see them again."
Tatsumi let a small tear roll down his cheek and onto the idol. He felt himself about to cry again, but that's when another memory popped up in his head. One that instantly washed away all of the sadness he was feeling.
"We'll keep this a secret from everyone else. It's okay to cry as much as you need."
Sheele. If it weren't for her, he would've been a sad sack all week. The way she held him in her arms and comforted him…it was everything he needed to help him feel better. He could feel himself blush a little. He and Sheele had been close ever since that day with the two of them always maintaining a cheery air around each other, even during training. It wasn't love per say, just a very close friendship.
Tatsumi smiled and wiped the tears away from his eyes. This wasn't the time to be sad. This was the time to honor his fallen friend's memory by freeing the Empire from the corruption plaguing it and it was going to start with him training vigorously tomorrow.
"I won't let your deaths be in vain. I will save the Empire and I will get enough money for our village. That's a promise." Tatsumi swore, his voice rife with determination. With that in mind, he put his wooden carving back on the dresser, got under his covers and went to bed. That thing he thought about before blissfully falling asleep was eagerly looking forward to tomorrow.
But what Tatsumi, Night Raid or rest of The Empire didn't know, was that the winds of change were going to blow a colossal storm their way.
One that would change the course of history…forever.
To be continued…
Done!
Again, the first two chapters are gonna be the same but with some touch ups.
For those that are wondering, yes, General Gift is an OC. There will be some OCs in this rewrite, mostly because I felt like adding to the Empire unlike how it was handled in canon. However, they aren't just gonna be there for the sake of being there. They will be fleshed out characters with actual thoughts and feelings of their own, forcing you to see things from their perspective. Things between the Empire and the Revolutionary Army aren't going to be cut and dry.
As for Gift himself, he and the Black Legion are inspired by Oskar Dirlewanger and the Dirlewanger Brigade, an Einsatzgruppe formed during Nazi Germany, solely created to commit war crimes instead of fighting the Allies. Apparently, they were so heinous that even the Waffen SS were disgusted by them. Let that sink in.
Also, Gift roughly translates to 'Venom' in German. Fill in the blanks.
Review, and please don't flame.