(Raymus' POV)

"Dear Emiko,

You and Thantom will be pleased to know that I have made contact with Night Raid and they have agreed to help me build my branch here in the Empire. Not only that, but I have my first recruit, a country boy named Tatsumi. He wanted to join the Imperial army, but as soon as he discovered how corrupt the system was, he agreed to join us and do what it takes to save the country. He has a lot to learn, but I assure you, he's got quite a lot of potential.

During my first conversation with Night Raid's leader however, a subject came up that has us baffled: the Pariah, the mysterious entity who told us of Night Raid's existence in the first place. Apparently, they also have been in contact with Night Raid leading them to where they told us they would be. We have no idea who the Pariah is or how they were able to make this all possible, but for now, they appear to be on our side, so we'll solve that mystery another day.

Another matter to discuss is the partnership between the Brotherhood and the rebels. The Night Raid leader, Najenda, made it clear that in return for us teaching them our ways, they must also teach us their ways. Tatsumi and I have spent the past few days training under a girl named Akame. She's quite interesting with a stoic personality, but there's no denying she's got the focus of a general assassin. There's a strong possibility she might be another recruit to our brotherhood, but I've yet to be certain.

To finalize this letter, I'll just leave with the feeling that we'll be getting our first job soon. When that day comes, I will leave it in the hands of our latest recruit. Tatsumi's a quick learner and needs experience, so the next kill will be his.

Sincerely, Raymus"

After sending the letter to my teacher via carrier pigeon, I made my way to the meeting room to join up with Tatsumi, Najenda, Akame, and Leone. As soon as I arrived, Najenda began the meeting.

"Thanks for coming, Raymus. All right, Leone, you said you found a job for us."

"Yes, ma'am." Leone nodded. "We have two targets. One is an oil dealer named Gamal, and the other is Ogre from the Capital's garrison. According to the client, Ogre has been taking bribes from Gamal to pin all of the latter's crimes on someone else. The client's fiancé was one such victim. She was happy to pay with this."

Leone reached the side of her belt and hold something that was worth a handful. She tossed it to the table showing it to be a burlap sack nearly overflowing with gold.

"That's a lot." Tatsumi commented.

"I could smell a veneral disease on her." Leone said looking at the ground. "She probably made that much money by selling her body." I could tell the sound of that made Tatsumi's stomach turn. Truth be told, it made me uneasy too.

"Have you confirmed the facts?" Najenda asked.

"Yes." Leone answered. "While scouting the targets, I overheard them from an attic room over Gamal's oil shop."

"Sounds like there's no question." Najenda said. "Night Raid will accept the job."

"Gamal will be easy to put down," Leone said, "But Ogre is a feared swordsman feared by criminals. Not only that, but I also learned that Ogre is an active Templar agent."

I widened my eyes at the sound of that. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. While I was eavesdropping, I overheard Gamal speaking to Ogre. His exact words were 'I'm sure your Templar masters will be pleased at how much work you've done'."

"Then it's settled. Ogre will not live to see the next sunrise." I assured. "Templars are Assassin business, so Tatsumi and I will handle him. And Night Raid can deal with Gamal."

"Can you handle that, Tatsumi?" Leone asked.

"Of course, I can." Tatsumi promised. "I'm more than ready."

I looked over at Akame and I could tell she was already judging. I then looked back at Tatsumi ready to see him make his first kill.

(Tatsumi's POV)

I met up with Raymus at the top of a building in the capital. He stood at the edge of a roof looking from one end of the street to the other. I made sure I checked my gear before I could approach him. Sure enough, my hood was covering my head, my bracer with the hidden blade was secure, and I had room in my belt for my sword.

"Are you ready?" Raymus asked as he locked his eyes on someone.

"Born ready." I answered.

"Okay. I'm going to cause a distraction and lead Ogre to the alleyway. When I give the word, deliver the final blow. Got it?"

I nodded before Raymus fled. After he did, I slowly went to the edge of the roof to get a good look at Ogre.

His appearance was exactly what I'd expect from a monstrous captain. Aside from his knightly armor, he had a hideous appearance from his large size, his smiling fangs, and the star shaped scar over his left eye. His other eye was red and back. His hair was black with graying temples.

Even from above, I could hear him talking to himself out loud. "Phew. Nothing beats a drink after a good, long interrogation." Hearing that made me sick to my stomach. The thought of him drinking as if he had done nothing wrong. If all Templars are like this, then I'm glad I joined the Assassins.

On the other side of the street, I saw Raymus make his move. He ran across flicking his hidden blade out. But instead of lunging it into Ogre's body, he swung it grazing at his chest. He kept running while Ogre checked out the cut.

"What?" He asked growing angry at his attacker. "Hey! Wait a minute!" He took the bait and headed into the dark alleyway.

Raymus kept running until he ran up to a wall. He turned to Ogre who approached him unsheathing his sword. Raymus drew his own sword out too.

"Ooh. So you're a fighter now?" Ogre asked not losing his confidence. "I gotta say, those are some nice robes you have on you. Let me guess… Assassin?" Raymus said nothing. "You know, I was warned about you, but I thought you all were chased out of the Empire. Guess this means I get to kill my very own Assassin." Raymus still didn't say anything. He didn't even move, which seemed to get on Ogre's nerves. "Hey, bastard, did you hear me? I said I was gonna kill you! What do you say to that?"

Finally, Raymus shrugged. "What's there to say? You're going to die anyway."

Ogre gritted his teeth before lunging himself forward and swinging his sword. Raymus blocked it with his own, but I could tell the blow knocked Raymus to the side a little. He countered with his own thrust with his blade which Ogre dodged. The two continued to trade sword strikes until Ogre knocked the sword out of Raymus' hands. I was worried for him when the Templar swung his sword again.

Suddenly, Raymus lifted his right arm to block the attack. Much to my surprised me to no end until I remembered that was Raymus' metal arm. It surprised Ogre too, enough so that Raymus made his declaration.

"NOW!"

Hearing my cue, I jumped off the roof and plummeted down onto Ogre. He looked up to see me, but it was too late. As soon as I landed on top of him, I flicked my hidden blade out and sent it down right into his chest. This time, I didn't hesitate.

"You… bastard."

"If anyone's a bastard, it's you, Ogre! Pinning someone else's crimes on the innocent. Do you have no shame at all?"

"Shame? Ha! Why should I be ashamed when I know I did the right thing?"

"What?"

"Poor naïve boy. Is this the first time you've been in the Capital? The world's not as black and white as you think it is. As the central figure for the Capital's law enforcement, it is my duty to keep the balance of good and evil."

"No! Your duty was to protect the innocent!"

"Still so naïve. There's no such thing as innocent. In this world, there are only necessitites. You think stopping my work helps the Empire? Grow up. Gamal is a key strategic stockholder for the Empire's trade system. If something happens to him, our finances will take a major blow."

"If that is true, then why pin his crimes on innocent people?"

"I told you, there is no innocent people, only necessities. Who was it that I put to death? A bartender? A prostitute? Liabilities, all of them. They served no purpose in the grand scheme of things."

"That's not your decision to make."

"Then who's is it? My eyes were opened when I met the Grand Master of the Templars. Mark my words, when you meet him, he'll open your eyes too."

"The Prime Minister will have his justice done and so will you."

"Hahaha. You make it sound like the Grand Master and the Prime Minister are one and the same."

"What? What does that mean?"

Ogre didn't say anymore. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

After removing my blade from Ogre's chest, I was helped up by Raymus.

"We need to go now. It won't be long before somebody finds the corpse, and we don't want to be here when they do."

I nodded in agreement and headed out of the alley with him. I hid my face in my hood the whole time.

(Raymus' POV)

After returning to Night Raid with news of our success, Akame and Leone returned with news of theirs as well. There was a moment after that when Akame stripped Tatsumi down to his underwear. It was hard for me to see, but it was even harder when Leone did the same to me. Akame said it was just to see if there were any wounds that we were hiding out of pride, but judging by the way Leone looked at me, I felt like she just wanted to see me half-naked.

After putting most of our clothes back on, Tatsumi looked at me with uncertain eyes. "Hey, Raymus. Can I talk to you about the Templars?"

"You're thinking about what Ogre said, are you?" I asked and he nodded.

"What about Ogre?" Leone asked.

"When I killed him, he seemed convinced that framing innocent people was the right thing to do."

"Do you think it was the right thing to do?" I asked.

"No. Of course not."

"Then pay it no mind. Look, admittedly, the Assassins and the Templars are just as similar as we are alike. Like us, the Templars desire peace, but in their eyes, it means they have to have absolute power. They wish to remove all thoughts of freedom and choice. Every agent we remove will try to convince you that the ends justify the means, but Assassins like us will decide the truth for ourselves."

"Nothing is true." Tatsumi recited as if his eyes were just opened.

"And everything is permitted." I finished. "Assassins fight for freedom, to allow the people to think and believe whatever they want. That's why we exist."

"Wow, you guys are dark." Leone commented. "Still, it does help that you're on our side."

"Indeed." Najenda said. "Now, is there anything else?"

"Actually, yes." Tatsumi said. "Before he died, Ogre told me that the Grand Master of the Templars and the Prime Minister weren't the same guy."

"Is that so?" Najenda asked.

"I figured, but didn't want to assume." I said.

"So if Honest isn't the Grand Master," Leone said, "Who is?"

"It doesn't matter who it is." Akame said. "If the Templars are responsible for manipulating our nation's hardships, then I will strike down their Grand Master, no matter who it is."

Author's Note: Ooh. The plot thickens and Tatsumi made his first kill as an Assassin.

So I'd like to take this moment to talk about some earlier comments. Before, I asked for ideas for Raymus' harem girls along with members of his Assassin branch, and so far, all I got are love interests. Sure, I love them, but I feel like his Assassin side isn't getting enough attention. If anyone can think of any other Akame Ga Kill character who can be a new member of Raymus' Assassins, let me know.

That's all. Enjoy this chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.