Struggling, and can't come up.

Searching for our reason to live.

That bright light doesn't lie among yesterday.

We're stray dogs, running without a destination.

~Bungou Stray Dogs Season 2 Opening - Reason Living

Volume 2: Chapter 5: Hunter or Hunted V

{Tatsumi's Perspective}

People has always said that a lot of things can happen in one's life. I always wondered what kind of things would happen in my life. Of course, I won't deny that I had fantasised about the possible and maybe impossible things that could befall upon me. Of course, most of these fantasies were positive, like how I could be fighting to become the strongest one day, Or how I would be leaving the village to explore untouched lands to hopefully find treasure my parent left behind and hid, or how I could share the bloodline of the Emperor, making me part of the royal family.

Surprisingly, I seem to be the one who was able to come up with better fantasies than my other two friends. Sayo never reveals her fantasies, which was weird but neither Ieyasu nor I were too bothered by it. Ieyasu's fantasy revolved around the female gender most of the times. I'll not go in depth about what is in his fantasies.

Of course, these were just fantasies, something my mind created to ease my feelings of uncertainty, and possibly provide me hope towards the uncertain future.

Of course, just having only positive changes in your life is impossible, and I'll eventually learn that these positive changes are not always bearing good fortune.

…

Before I knew it, I was now walking towards some place in the Empire with a oversized backpack that threatens to eject all of its contents at any moment. Of course, I had ensure that this would never happen. It's troublesome just to fit everything into this bag. The last thing I want was for me to have to arrange it again. Once is more than enough.

Three hours ago, I was still resting in the comfort of the bed, which was just simply a bench with some cloth laid over it. However, no matter how uncomfortable it may sound, it was actually had the opposite effect on me. It was comfortable, even more than the bed in the Capital. Maybe because I was tired, considering how I had been helping out around the base, helping to arrange whatever furniture there was.

Of course, the time came for me to leave. My belongings were already packed for me. Since most of my worldly possessions are in the Capital and since going into the Capital is going to increase the chances of me being captured, someone helped me pack. Whoever had helped me pack did a pretty good job ensuring the bag wouldn't explode.

"Hey, are we there yet?" I whined for the third time in the first hour since we left.

"Ahh, just shut up already. I'll tell you when we are close." Blade retorted.

He had been grumpy since the start of the trip, obviously showing his ire of having to travel to somewhere else in the Capital. Though it had subsided during the process of getting ready, he would still display some signs of his displeasure occasionally during the journey.

Our mission is basically to assist some of our allies who had requested for help. We were not briefed on what we were made to do, and Hikari explained that they would fill us in on more details when we arrive.

And so with an oversized bag, a short sword slung to my waist and a companion, I set off towards….

"Where are we going again?" I asked. I did not manage to listen to everything regarding the mission during the briefing. I only managed to capture some of the important points, before my mind zoned out, luring me back to the deep dark abyss in my mind.

I could hear Blade's sigh. "We are heading towards a city within the Empire called 'Thiriom'." he replied, albeit annoyed.

Our journey took about two days for us to reach the city. It was boring. The only thing interesting along the way was the different sound our boots makes when we step on different types of surfaces. Other than that, nothing interesting happened.

At the end of the first day, we had managed to find somewhere spacious to set up camp, allowing us to get some rest for the journey the next day. Of course, one of us was always awake and kept watch. When the sun rose, we continued our journey. Another day of endless walking, with me occasionally asking questions to dispel the awkward atmosphere between the two of us.

We eventually arrived at the city. Waiting in the line of people so that we could have the guard's approval for going into the city. We were allowed entry into the city without much hassle. Blade lead me towards the maze of buildings. We took a left, then another left. We then walked forward for some distance before we took a right. We continued walking for some time, before arriving at a pub. By now, I had forgotten the route we took just to arrive here. We entered the pub. It had a pretty lazy and homey atmosphere. There is a faint smell of alcohol lingering in the air. It was devoid of people, something I won't be surprised by knowing how hard it was to just find this place. The walls are a variety of brown hues that glows golden from the yellow lights hanging from the rafters. There are several tables placed throughout the room. There was also a counter with a bartender behind it. There was a shelf behind the bartender containing all sorts of alcohol. Wine, beer, liquor, spirit… you name it, they have it. There are also a couple of bar stools placed in front of the bar counter. The bartender was busy cleaning the glass cups with a piece of cloth.

Blade headed into the pub, and headed towards the counter. The bartender looked towards us as we approached. The bartender looked to be around the age of 25 to 30. Dressed in a formal attire of black slacks and a white long-sleeved collared shirt with a gray vest and bowtie. He also had a bowtie His black hair is messy, and was combed to his left.

Blade took out some piece of paper and handed it towards the bartender. After scanning the piece of paper for some moments, he gestured for us to follow him. We were lead towards a door behind the counter. He then proceed to guide us to a staircase which leads to the wine cellar. We walked towards one of the doors at the back of the cellar. He opened it only to reveal a small room containing various equipments for cleaning up a mess. Isn't this a janitor closet?

He walked into the small room, towards one of the walls. He pushed on one of the brick, and a section of the walls opened to reveal a passageway moments later. Saying our thanks, Blade and I walk towards the other side of the wall. The "door" closed moments later, and the bartender returned to his duties, having already led us to our destination.

We were greeted by some people on the other side of the wall. The atmosphere in the bar seem to have been carried over into this secret room, as some people were lazing around on the sofas, while others were either seated at one of the tables doing something or simply passed out, trying their best to catch some snooze.

The people who were still awake had averted their gazes towards Blade and I, before turning back to what they had their eyes on previously. One of the guy sitting at a table stood up and came over to us.

He stood at around my height, maybe he was slightly taller than me. He has black hair that reaches his hazel eyes. It won't be surprising if his eyes would be completely covered if he grew out his hair.

(A/N: Tatsumi's height is 165cm)

"Welcome, welcome! May I know where you came from?" he enquired with a smile. Based on my first impression, he seems friendly. Like the kind of person that just doesn't take anything seriously and just wants to do something else rather than something troublesome.

"The Capital." Blade replied. I could see his eyes widen slightly as he heard the reply.

"I see. We have been expecting you. Well, we still have allies that are still heading to this place as we speak, so you are free to do anything until they arrive tonight. The drinks here are on the house. We will brief you on the situation later tonight." Blade and I gave him a small nod before went into one of the rooms on the second floor of the pub which he guided us to and unpacked our luggage.

When we had everything prepared, I headed out of the room. I want to explore the city we had arrived in. After expressing my wishes, Blade proceed to hand me a map, labelling certain places on the map, one of it being our current residence.

Blade has absolutely no intention of going outside, and wanted to spend his time in the room. I could only wonder if he is actually a shut-in.

I walked out of the back door of the pub. Referring to the map every now and then, I manage to find my way to the main roads in the city. I would occasionally peer into the windows of the shops that are commonly found along the roads. It seems I have found myself in the business district of the city.

Most of the shops here specialise in items that adventurers would often buy. Potions, Weapons, Armor. This place has all kinds of shop. It was no mystery why these shops are the most popular here. Most of the people here work as adventurers. Located in the north of the city is a massive gate. It doesn't lead outside, but rather it leads underground. The entrance to a massive cavity below the ground which houses tons of danger beasts as one gets lower and lower underground.. Apparently it was rumored that the Danger Beasts below the ground is much harder to beat than the ones commonly found above ground. It was a common practice in these parts to form guilds, where experienced adventurers would guide newbie adventurers around the dungeon to teach them skills and the know-hows. After some time, these adventurers would form parties with members from other guilds. Some guilds specialised in certain types of adventurers. For example, through the rumors I have heard while exploring the city, there is a high-ranked guild which specialise in training adventurers to become tanks. By tanks I meant the person who wields heavy armor and takes most of the damage for their party.

There seems to be many different kind of guilds in this city. Guilds contributes to a large percentage of this city's income. It's kind of expected. The adventurers which adventure into the dungeon underneath the city would bring drops, which they would sell to shops located in the city. These shops would then use these drops as materials to create equipments, which they would sell to the people. Sometimes travelers which come into the city would buy these products either for their personal use or for sale elsewhere. These shops would then have to pay taxes to the government in the city using a part of the money they receive from the total sale in a month. So indirectly, adventurers would be the largest contributor of the city's income.

There is also the fact that compared to the Capital, there are very little people here who are poor or homeless, probably because they are already dead, serving as food for the danger beasts in the dungeon belowground.

I stopped myself in my tracks and peered into a window. There was something on display that caught my eye. Pushing open the door, I walked in and began to look around. I walked over to the counter and inquired about the thing which i had seen in the window. The shopkeeper, a gruff man in his 40s with muscles that seems to be able to put almost every man in the world to shame. He pointed to one of the shelves in the back of the room. I walked over to my destination. The only a few rays of light that shines through the window into the shop managed to make its way to the back of the room. It was hard to see things properly, and I had to squint my eyes just so I could focus on what I wanted to see.

Vials of poison was placed neatly on shelf. It was priced at an astonishing price of 20 gold coins for 1 vial. However, knowing how hard it was just to come across a shop that sells this, it was pretty much worth every single gold coin I would be spending.

Lesser Hydra's poison. Lesser hydras are commonly found in the dungeon underneath the city on a certain floor. Even though it's poison pales in comparison to the poison of the Greater Hydras, it was said to be better and more effective than any poison in the market. If I was not mistaken, the original Hydra, which was the forefather of all the hydras in the dungeons and was classified as a Legend-class maybe even Mythical-class, has it's poison so deadly that it could melt anything it touches. Of course, the Hydra was already slain by the armies of the Empire lead by the First Emperor to created the mass weapons of destruction called Imperial Arms.

The Lesser Hydra's poison would still be able to inflict massive pain to the enemy even if it can't compare to it's predecessor. It takes about 15 minutes for the poison to act, and once it does it would send the user into an extreme amount of pain. The user would feel as though they are being pressed against hot iron. The antidote to the poison is said to be hard to make. It requires only two ingredients, the poison itself and a certain herb that can be found in forests. The herb is found commonly growing beside water sources. There are a lot of steps, which include smashing, boiling, a lot of shaking and waiting before it is done. Of course, shops selling this poison would also be selling the antidote to it, tho it would cost a lot more than the poison.

I grabbed a few vials of poison and antidote off the shelf and headed for the counter. I left the shop having my wallet almost depleted. However, it was worth every coin spent, considering how rare it is in other parts of the Empire.

Tucking my purchase into my bag, I headed into the city to explore once again.

…

Going back to my current residence takes quite some time. I had to traverse through a maze before being able to find familiar landmarks that could guide me to where I needed to go. And this was done with the help of a map.

I pushed open the door. The familiar ring of the bell caused by me opening the door sounded, signalling to everyone in the mostly empty room my arrival. This time, there were some people in front of the counter chatting amongst themselves. Particularly, the person who greeted me when I had arrived. I wonder where the money needed to run this establishment comes from if there are only this amount of customers that frequent this place. The bartender is still standing behind the counter, doing some menial chores to help him pass time. He nodded in my direction upon noticing my arrival, and I returned in kind. I walked back to the janitor closet inside of the pub. It should be okay for us to use this entrance, right? Pushing on the brick that I had seen the bartender who led us here previously pushed allowed a section of the wall to open, giving me passage to the other side. The passage closed on its own after I had passed through.

There seems to have been more people now. I could see some people holding a conversation at the tables in the room, while others were preoccupied with whatever had caught their eye. I walked back into the room which was assigned to us.

It was already evening when I had arrived at the pub. I pushed open the door to our room and walked in. I could see Blade at the only table in the room. A lamp was brightly lit, allowing us to see the room relatively better than in total darkness.

I walked over to my bag and stored my purchase. Several vials of Lesser Hydra's poison and it's antidote, a bag of medicinal herbs which acts as painkillers and accelerate the healing of wounds, a book that details everything about danger beasts known in the dungeon below and in the outskirts of the city and some food. This city has a lot of food that I can't find in the Capital, so why not try some of them? Though it depleted quite a bit of my funds, I don't think I regret spending it.

I peeked over to see what Blade has been doing. It seems he was busy assembling something. I feel like he has been in this room ever since we arrived. True, he is good at making things but shouldn't he take a break once in awhile? I went out of the room, not wanting to disturb him form his work.

I closed the door to the room behind me and walked towards the bar outside. This time, I pushed on a brick on the wall and again the passageway revealed itself. I went outside to the counter and got myself some drinks. Of course, I was not served anything alcoholic, for obvious reasons. Although there are no laws set for alcohol to be banned for minors, I was still not served alcoholic drinks. Perhaps the bartender was being mindful of my health?

There seems to be a bit more people in the pub, probably because the allies we were waiting for had arrived. I had took out the book I had bought earlier and started flipping through the book. I had wanted to find a book detailing Imperial Arms too but was unable to. It make sense, since any information gathered on these weapons would have been held by people in the Imperial Court.

Though I had struck gold by buying this book. This book has tons of information on danger beasts. What kind of material can be acquired from the danger beasts, their anatomy, where they can be found and how to slay them should one find themselves face-to-face with one.

I began to scour through the book to find new information, effectively losing track of time as I immersed myself with the contents of the book. When I had looked up from the book in my hands, I could see that there had been people sitting on the bar stools at the counter beside me. I had no idea when they had sat down. They already had their drink in their hands.

How long have I been reading this book?

I hurriedly empty the contents of the glass into my stomach before getting off the stool I had been sitting on and headed back into my room.

Blade was still working on his things when I opened the door. I assumed that he had not taken any breaks. I wonder what he could be doing that he would be giving it so much of his attention. I kept the book safely into my bag and walked over to the table, hoping to see what he is doing. I peeked over his shoulders, only to see what looked like a sword with a lot of things attached to it.

"It's just a sword I made to suit my way of fighting." he said in his usual tone of disinterest, shocking me at how he was able to tell that I was approaching even when he was concentrated on his work.

"I see." I replied. To be honest I was still unconvinced how a sword with something jutting out of the side of the hilt would help him out in combat.

It seems like I would not be able to help him out in any way, so I left him to his work.

Someone knocked on our door. I opened it, only to reveal the person who had greeted us earlier. He had come to notify us of the meeting he mentioned earlier, since everyone had now arrived. We nodded and headed towards the cellar.

The passageway has already been opened, allowing everyone who had arrived to pass through without the hassle of having to open it every single time.

Several people were already gathered around a table within the room. Some were seated around the back, waiting for this meeting to start. Everyone stood around the table, waiting for the last few who had yet to arrive in the room.

I could hear some people conversing in small talk as a way to kill time.

The sound of coughing took our attention away from whatever everyone in the room had been doing. Everyone looked towards the front of the table, where the source of the coughing came from.

"I assume that everyone is here already." someone at the front said.

"Well then, without any further ado let's begin the meeting."

Hi Guys!

Okay, so let's talk about this story. This part of the story is not found in canon, and it is a pretty important part of the story, somewhat. A few things would happen here that would cause a large deviation from canon. Then again this is a fanfiction and what I decide to do with it is entirely up to me. Also this would be where Tatsumi learns about his Imperial Arm as well as set off some of the events that would happen later on. From this point it would mostly be in Tatsumi's perspective.

Here is the threat level of Danger Beasts from most dangerous to least dangerous:

Mythical-Class

Legend-Class

Ultra-Class

SSS-Class

SS-Class

S-Class

A-Class

B-Class

C-Class

D-Class

Well, just to put that out there so you won't be too confused when I mention threat levels. Do keep in mind that any danger beast I may conjure at this point above the threat level of SSS-Class would have a certain amount of sentience and possess the capability to think and be self-aware. It won't be surprising for them to be capable of speech. I think I should stop reading fantasy novels.

Well, my schedule had picked up significantly so I would do my best to churn out chapters in my free time. I won't guarantee it's quality, so please bear with us until we rewrite it again.

Also, that sentence at the start of the story… it has something to do with what is to come.

With that, Thanks for reading this chapter and hope to see you on the next chapter. Have a nice day!