Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill or any of its characters.
A/N: Thanks James03037997 for your continuous reviews and feedback on my story. It really means a lot and I will remember to take my time so that I can keep these chapters at the best quality that they can be. Moving on to today's chapter, hope you guys enjoy!
(Night Raid's Base)
"So, you failed to convince Tatsumi to join Night Raid, Akame?" Najenda questioned the raven-haired assassin.
"Yes Boss, he outright refused the offer and his reasoning was that he doesn't work well with others." Akame responded in a monotone voice. "I was unfortunately unable to discuss this further with him due to an imperial soldier seeing us in the alley, so we had to flee quickly."
Najenda sighed in exasperation. "Well, on the bright side we managed to eliminate our targets but now we have the issue of dealing with this shadow assassin. We can't keep having him roam the streets of the Capital independently and keep on killing our targets like this."
Mine piped up. "What's wrong with him working alone? If he wants to do things on his own, that's fine with me. He will probably drag us down anyways if he were to join."
Bulat shook his head. "You're missing the full picture here, Mine. We've firsthand seen his skills with a sword and you should know better than anyone that having him on our team would be very helpful for the Revolutionary Army. However, since he works alone, his movements can clash with ours since we sometimes have the same targets, and this could lead to the Empire finding us."
"What Bulat says is right. We can't keep having a dangerous teigu user killing our targets independently without anyone watching over his movements. Since it is apparent that he does not wish to work with us, we'll have no choice but to eliminate him the next time we see him." Najenda ordered.
Akame didn't know why, but the mention of having to kill the brown-haired boy sent a feeling of regret through her heart.
"Woah, hold on a moment boss!" Leone held up her hands to appease their leader. "We can still work this out, trust me. I bet the kid has a hard time of trusting people but I'm sure he has good intentions and we can get through to him if you give us another chance."
Najenda pondered on Leone's suggestion for a minute. "Alright then I will follow Leone's advice and change your orders. The next time any of you meet with Tatsumi, tell him that he either decides to join us or become our target. This will make him understand where he stands and if he still refuses to join us, we will have to take him down with our own hands. Is that understood?" Najenda questioned the whole team of Night Raid.
All of the Night Raid members nodded their assent. They were dismissed out of the room; most of their thoughts on the brown-haired boy and when their next encounter with him would be.
(A few hours later)
Night Raid had been informed by Najenda of their next target and were now setting up their positions outside of his home. Their target was a distant relative to the minister who went by the name Iokal; he was a noble who used the minister's name to kidnap young girls and beat them to death after he had his 'fun'.
Night Raid had been warned that this was an extremely important mission that could not be screwed up, so most of the assassins were a bit tense. They were split up into teams of two: Mine was with Sheele, Leone was partnered with Akame, and Lubbock was in a team with Bulat. Unbeknownst to them, there was another figure watching the mansion that they were targeting.
(Mine and Sheele's position)
"I've got eyes on the target." Mine said to Sheele.
"Alright, I'll take a look as well." Sheele replied before raising her binoculars. She immediately spotted Iokal leaving his home. It was clear he was not alone and was surrounded by many women, all of which did not look like they were targets. However, Sheele wasn't worried. She knew that Mine was the best shot there was and that there was no chance she would mess up a shot like this. Sheele simply readied her scissors, in order to protect her from any potential attackers.
"Mine, you got this," she wished her comrade good luck.
Mine smirked. "Of course, I do… wait who is that?"
(Tatsumi's situation)
After the death of Ogre and his confrontation with Akame, he had decided to lay low for a couple of days to avoid any attention and drama that would stir up from an officer being murdered. However, he couldn't stay undercover when he learnt that there was a relative to the prime minister who was doing 'things' to girls with the help of the fat man's power and influence. "So, this guy's related to that pig, huh." Tatsumi's eyes flashed angrily at the thought of the bearded man. "I'll make sure he goes down, no matter what."
At the present time, Tatsumi was currently hiding in the bushes outside of Iokal's home and observing appearance. It was definitely quite amazing, with its large architecture and pretty decorations. However, he knew the magnificent features of this place was merely just disguising the dark truth that was present within it.
Just then, he noticed Iokal leaving his home, but it was clear that he was accompanied by several attractive women. "Damn. If only he was by himself, I could have fired a Getsuga Tensho at him and annihilated him in an instant." Suddenly, Tatsumi's attention was drawn to a bit of pink hair sticking out of the bushes that were higher up. "Is that…"
Tatsumi then remembered that pink hair belonged to a sniper called Mine from his first encounter with Night Raid. "Oh, I see their plan, Mine's probably going to shoot this guy down and the rest of Night Raid are her backup in case there are any pursuers."
Tatsumi sighed, then pondered about what to do next. "I should probably let Mine deal with him, since I'm better for close combat and that is definitely not useful in this scenario." He looked up at Mine's location and then prepared to formulate how he would communicate with the pink-haired sniper.
(Back to Mine and Sheele)
Mine recognised the brown hair and the pair of familiar green eyes staring at Iokal and his party instantly. "That's Tatsumi, the boy we met a few days ago, Sheele! He's here!"
"Tatsumi?" Sheele asked in confusion as she cocked her head to one side. "Who's that again?"
Mine sweat-dropped at Sheele's question but decided to ignore it. "Never mind Sheele, don't worry about it." She said before returning her focus to the brown-haired boy. "What to do, he's obviously here to kill Iokal like we are. However, I don't know what his plan is, should I let the rest of Night Raid know he's here or should I just kill Iokal now?" Mine wracked her brain over the numerous options that were available to her.
Then she saw Tatsumi rise up slightly from his hiding place and mimic a few gestures at her. She saw him point towards her and then towards Iokal. He pointed to himself lastly and did a dismissive shake of his head. From what she could understand, it seemed like he wanted her to kill Iokal and he's letting her know that he wouldn't interfere. "That's pretty smart of him; I guess he knew that he couldn't kill Iokal without at least injuring some of the civilians. Well, I guess it's my turn now."
She turned her attention to Iokal and raised her sniper slightly to get a better aim of Iokal, her finger gently resting on the trigger. She took a deep breath and fired. Sheele raised her binoculars to the bullet and saw Mine's shot pass safely between the woman's heads before entering the spot between Iokal's eyes. His head snapped back instantly and his eyes turned blank just as his body hit the ground.
"See I told you I could do it, I'm a genius sniper after all" She bragged, looking to Sheele. Sheele simply replied with a gentle smile and a thumbs up. Mine turned her head back, just in time to see Tatsumi disappear into the greenery behind him. She sighed, wishing they had the opportunity to meet Tatsumi, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, they had to head to the rendezvous point and meet the other members of Night Raid.
(After Iokal's death)
Below the location where the two assassins had left earlier, several of Iokal's guards, accompanied by a few more, sprinted through the woods in a desperate attempt to find the assassin that had killed their master.
"We've to find them quickly, or they will get away!"
"Yeah no kidding, if we don't find them, the ministers will have our heads on a pike!"
"They couldn't have gotten far, keep looking."
However, the guards came to a skidding stop when they encountered four people waiting for them. A busty blonde was at the head of the group, a feral grin on her face as she cracked her knuckles in excitement. "Nice of you boys to drop by. Hope you guys are ready for a one-way trip to hell!"
(A few minutes later)
With a loud snap, Leone cracked the neck of the last guard and kicked his bloodied body away, which ended up getting smashed into a tree trunk.
"Whew! That felt good!" Leone exclaimed in relief as she stretched her arms, popping her stiff joints.
"What? I didn't get to see a single one." Lubbock whined depressingly.
"That's because you weren't quick enough," Leone shrugged in a dismissive gesture. "Or you're just not a good assassin, pervert."
"What?!" Lubbock glared at Leone for her accusation, causing her to laugh out loud.
"Something's up. I could have sworn there were supposed to be five elite bodyguards." Akame noted that they had only fought four of the supposed five bodyguards.
She was about to tell everyone that they should head back to the rendezvous point in case the last bodyguard had slipped past them and was heading to Mine and Sheele's location.
However, before she could, a blurry figure raced past her and she only caught a glimpse of him before he disappeared past them and further into the woods.
"Did you guys see that?" She questioned her fellow assassins.
"See what?" Leone asked, as she had been busy cleaning the blood off her claws.
Akame sighed. "Let's just head back to the rendezvous point. We should make sure that Mine and Sheele are okay."
Leone noticed the faraway look in her eyes and grinned. "Could the reason her thoughts are elsewhere because she just saw that brown-haired boy? This could be interesting." She finished in her thoughts before she and the others followed Akame into the woods.
(Mine and Sheele)
"Hey, I can see the rendezvous point now." Sheele happily said as she pushed through a few bushes.
"Of course you can, it's because I was leading us the whole way." Mine sighed in exhaustion.
"Honestly Sheele, you're going to have to learn your directions sometime if- "
Suddenly, Mine was pushed to the side by Sheele who raised her scissors just in time to block an incoming punch before getting kicked away by the intruder.
"Sheele!" She said in panic as she hurried to her friend's side to see if she was okay. Seeing that Sheele had minor bruises, her eyes narrowed in anger and she turned to face Sheele's attacker. Her gaze was met with one of Iokal's guards staring her down. "Hello there, little girl. I'm surprised your friend managed to detect me but no matter." He formed a stance and raised his fists. "I was the Temple of the Imperial Fist's instructor ten years ago. You two have no chance against me."
Mine readied her gun. "So that's how you were able to sneak past everyone else. Well too bad for you, but you're the one who's going to die!" She shouted before firing a rapid number of shots at the instructor.
However, to her horror and disbelief, he managed to dodge all of the bullets she fired.
"I got expelled for bad behaviour!" The guard shouted before charging at Mine. "I will make sure to hand you to the Minister so he can toy with…"
Out of nowhere, a figure draped in black, leapt from the side and swung his sword at the guard. The guard exclaimed in surprise and narrowly dodged the deadly edge, jumping back to readjust his position.
"Who the hell are you?"
The mysterious figure pulled down his scarf with one hand, his other hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. Both Mine and Sheele recognised the boy at the same time. "It's Tatsumi!" (A/N: Mine reminded Sheele who Tatsumi was on their way to the rendezvous point)
It seemed the guard had also discovered Tatsumi's identity because he laughed. "Hahaha! I can't believe that the Empire's feared Shadow Assassin, is some mere boy!" He laughed manically to himself. "So, the rumours are true, you are in league with Night Raid." He readied his fists, "you'll be a bonus to bring to the prime minister along with the other two!"
The guard charged at Tatsumi before delivering a strong right jab at Tatsumi's face. Or at least, he attempted to. Instead, before his blow connected, his fist was met with thin air. "What the…" Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his back. He looked back and saw Tatsumi gazing at him with his sword dripping with blood. The guard staggered away from him; his gaze full of pure shock.
"Is that it?" Tatsumi wondered out aloud. "For an instructor of the Temple of Imperial Fist, you're pretty weak."
The guard gritted his teeth. "You'll pay for that you brat! For that wound, I'm going to make your death- " he was cut off when Tatsumi leapt at him using his full speed, his sword already drawn back and ready to lop his head off.
"Heh. So he is planning on decapitating me. No matter, I will simply duck under his blade and deliver a piercing fist using all of my strength to his abdomen, the force of it will probably shatter his ribcages." The bodyguard chuckled as he bent his knees to duck under Tatsumi's incoming blow. However, what he didn't expect was the instant he moved his right hand forward to punch him, felt the pain erupt from all over his body. His bulging eyes rolled to the side and his body fell back. Tatsumi landed on the ground above the guard's head, smiling slightly to himself.
Mine gasped in shock at what had occurred. Since she was on the sidelines and had a clear view of the battle, she knew exactly what had just happened. When the guard ducked and believed he was safe from Tatsumi's sword, in mid-swing Tatsumi had changed the trajectory of his sword downwards which led him to cleaving the guard from his shoulder to his hip. "Such speed and power. I knew he was strong when he was holding his own against Akame, but the others were right about his strength. He will surely be an invaluable asset to Night Raid with his skills."
Mine shook out of her stupor just as Tatsumi sheathed his sword.
"Are you two all right?" Tatsumi asked the two female assassins. "I owe you one for taking out that Iokal guy so I'm just paying back the favour," Tatsumi explained to Mine.
"Uh, we are fine thanks." Sheele said and Mine confirmed her statement with a few nods.
"Alright, that's good to hear, I will be off now." Tatsumi waved the two of them goodbye before he promptly left the area.
"Oh crap!" The thought suddenly struck Mine. "We forgot to ask him to join Night Raid!" Mine stood up in an attempt to follow the boy but decided against it; speed wasn't exactly her expertise and since he was about as fast as Akame or Leone, there would be no chance of her catching up to him.
"What happened here guys?" Mine's thoughts were drawn out when the other members of Night Raid showed up.
"We didn't suffer major injuries or anything too serious." Sheele replied. "We were ambushed by Iokal's fifth bodyguard who happened to be the strongest, but thankfully Tatsumi came in and killed him."
"Oh, he helped you guys?" Bulat asked. "Where is he then?"
"He left just before you guys arrived. And before you ask, no, I forgot to ask him about joining Night Raid and I also didn't have the time." Mine answered.
"I see, well we certainly have a lot to think about. Good thing you guys are safe. Let's head back to base." Bulat suggested, and Night Raid swiftly left the area.
(Tatsumi)
Tatsumi was currently travelling through the forest at a fast speed after finishing off the imperial instructor. He was now contemplating about a few problems in his mind.
"Things will continue to get complicated if I keep going on like this. I keep clashing with Night Raid because we have similar targets and goals, it would honestly be more sensible to join up with them at this point. They seem reasonably strong, but I don't know how much I can trust them. There's also the problem regarding if they will even accept me into their team. I mean, I did just help out two of their members so they might consider it."
Tatsumi sighed, with these thoughts and doubts plaguing his mind, he was sure to be getting little sleep today.
(A few hours later; the Capital)
"Just like me…they're assassins with teigus…" a tall man said in a chilling voice as he stared at the posters of Akame and Tatsumi with a twisted grin on his face.
"Hey, you there!" a guard shouted out. "You're looking awfully suspicious, come this way!"
"Yeah!" the other guard supported his companion. "Don't make a fuss or we'll make sure you come with us; all beat up." He said as his hand reached to unsheathe this sword.
In the blink of an eye, the suspicious man had taken out his own blade and decapitated both of the guards. Their heads landing on the concrete ground with solid thud, their blood splattered across the barren soil.
"The Capital seems incredibly easy to navigate," the man said with a sadistic and evil smile. "So many heads for me to chop off, oh how delightful!"
(Same time; Night Raid's Base)
Night Raid had just reported back to Najenda about what had gone down at the mission. It included details about Iokal's death and his bodyguards and more importantly, information regarding Tatsumi.
"So, he was willing to help you guys out?" Najenda asked Mine and Sheele.
Sheele nodded in confirmation but Mine was still a bit skeptical about Tatsumi and of the purpose behind his actions.
"Yes, he did indeed help us, but he said that it was because I took down Iokal for him, so he decided to repay the favour. I'm not sure if he did it out of kindness or if it was a one-time thing and he just felt like it was necessary." Mine replied.
Najenda tapped the armrest of her chair with her finger. "Yes, you raise a good point Mine. He may not have done this because he wanted to help you guys as an ally, but because he felt like he owed it to you two."
She then looked up towards everyone else in the meeting room. "Regardless of what happened, our objective stays the same. Locate and eliminate corrupt individuals in the Capital and also continue to keep an eye out for any sign of Tatsumi. We may have failed to recruit him this time but don't forget that the next chance you get will be the last. So, make it count."
While Akame was listening to Najenda's instructions, she thought about her interactions with Tatsumi. How he was so distant and aloof, so emotionless and unwavering, he was so much… like her in a way. At the mention that the next time would be the last time to recruit Tatsumi to Night Raid, she clenched her fists. No matter what the outcome may be, and for whatever reason, Akame decided that she wanted to be the one to meet Tatsumi so that they could talk about his decision about joining Night Raid.
A/N: And… it's done! It took longer than I thought to get it out, which I apologise for, but it was not easy to twist the event of Iokal's assassination to fit this fanfic's storyline, but nevertheless here it is. As usual, any review left is appreciated, thanks once again to James03037997 for always leaving a review for each chapter. See you guys in the next one!