This world is a cruel, dark, and unforgiving place. Corruption and greed took my family, and my home away from me when i was but a child. Corruption and greed in the form of a single man-no, a demon in the form of a man, Prime Minister Honest.

"Little Brother!"

I was torn from everything I've known and loved, left to wander the western border of the empire on my own. I faced discrimination because of my foreign blood and was shamed and spat on. I was alone.

"Nii-san!"

Sighing, I let out a slight shudder as I idly fiddled with the black ring worn on a chain around my neck. The ring was rather simple in design, small and thin with a loop of black metal (steel perhaps?) with a round black gem as it's center piece. The ring was a family heirloom, passed down from father to son, but in truth was rumored to be an ancient and powerful weapon, one of the fourty eight lost Teigu from a thousand years ago. Whether the rumors where true or not, didn't matter. To me, this ring was the only thing I had left of my village and I'll be damned if that coniving bastard of a minister gets his fithy hands on it.

"MALIK!"

I was then shaken by my shoulder, disturbing me from my thoughts and memories. Blinking, a bit dazed, my vision was fillled with two large amber orbs, peering at me with concern.

"Wah!" Realizing how close her face was to mine, I lept backwards, trying to get some distance away from the face.

"Seryu! Don't get so close to me!" I yelpped in flustered suprise.

Seryu's father found me back when I was a child of six, four months after the destruction of my village, and being the man with a strong sense of justice he was, took me in without a second thought. He didn't care that I was a stranger who simply crossed paths, or that blood from the western borders ran through my veins. Instead, Marcoh Ubiquitious and his daughter accepted a poor foreign orphan boy, who was little more than street scum, as one of their own.

Over time, I began to accept Marcoh and Seryu as my own family, even calling Seryu my older sister and Marcoh my father. As I lived with the two, the powerful sense of justice that Marcoh and Seryu shared began to rub off on me. Marcoh was a good man, in fact, he was one of the few truely good men in the Imperial Army. The moment Seryu and I entered the age where we could pick up a sword, Marcoh annouced he was going to teach us how to fight in the name of justice and honor.

Four years later, Marcoh Ubiquitious died in battle, fighting rebels in the south. Seryu and I didn't grieve, or mourn his death, instead Marcoh's death awakened a determination, a drive to carry out justice and eradicate evil. Seryu was naive, seeing the world in only blacks and whites, but was also devoutly dedicated to our father's beliefs. I, however, was a realist. I knew the world didn't work in the way Seryu views it. My thirst for justice was also a cry for retribution against the hell Prime Minister Honest put me through for the sake of a single ring. No, I saw the way the world truely was: sick, twisted, and rotten.

I fought for justice, but I didn't fight for the same reasons Seryu did. Things like kindness, loyalty, and mercy were all but dead in this world. I took a look at the disgusting state this nation of mine was in, and I wept. I was watching the death of an empire that once was the pinnicle of power and strenght and I knew the sad state of this nation couldn't last long. Honing our thirst for justice, Seryu and I made a pact to join the Imperial Guard and carry out our father's wishes.

-xXx-

Seryu tilted her head, blinking at me and simply grinned her signature stupid wide grin. "What's the matter, fellow warrior of justice? Surely my dear little brother couldn't get all embarassed by his big sister." She teased while attempting to smirk slyly, only to break into a giggling fit, her face returning to that same dumb grin.

I sighed and picked up my pace along the dirt path, threatening to leave Seryu behind. "We may have lived together for over eight years but in case you've forgotten, we aren't actually related. Secondly, you only surprised me, that's all." I replied with a hint of annoyance.

Instead of responding, I heard Seryu letting out a mischivious chuckle from behind me, unable to keep herself from being overheard, as usual.

"Hey bro, think fast!" Was her only warning as Seryu, my "wonderful" (I say through clinched teeth) sister launched a roundhouse kick aimed at my head from behind me.

I only managed out a startled yelp of alarm as her metal leggings made contact with the side of my head, flinging me sideways into a tree.

The impact of her kick left me stunned as I slammed into the tree trunk, kicking up a decently sized dust cloud, knocking the breath from my lungs.

"THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" I shouted at my assalant once the earth-shattering pain in my head subsided into a dull ache. I rose, still a bit wobbly in the knees, and glared at Seryu.

There was no look of remorse or guilt even after her beloved little brother, only that big stupid grin. Seryu hopped her way over to me and helped me up and wrapped an arm around my shoulder once I was on my feet.

"Warriors of Justice must always be prepared for any and all surprises, yanno?! If we're gonna be partners and fight evil alongside each other as a team, then we gotta put Father's training into good use!" While I thought it wasn't possible, Seryu's grin only grew wider as the two of us marched along the forest path towards the Imperial Captial, and hopefully towards our dreams.

-xXx-

A/N: Hello to you all. This was an idea that had been kicking around in my head for a few weeks now. Seryu doesn't really get much love, and frankly, I can see why. Personally, I find Seryu someone I love to hate. I find her as a character fastinating and simply love her concept. At the same time, I also hate her role in the story of Akame ga Kill.

Now, there will be shipping in this fan fiction. (TatsumixSeryu/OCxMine/and TatsumixEsdeath later (to be exact)) However, it won't be the main focus of this story.

Another thing, this is an AU story where Tatsumi doesn't join Night Raid, but instead joins the Imperial Guard along with Seryu and later, the Jaegers. But this story will mainly focus on Malik's POV and the beginning chapters (including this one) takes place four years prior to the events in Akame ga Kill.

Thank you for reading and please leave reviews. I can only grow as an author through you.