It was sunset near the pier at Los Angeles. A young boy at the age of twelve was at the beach watching the sunset and the sea.

"Come to watch the sunset again?" A female voice asked.

He turned and saw a girl with black short hair close to his age standing next him. She sat down next to him.

"I knew you'd be here, Alan. It's been our favorite spot since we met." She smiled.

"It's the best view to watch from here and we get it to ourselves." Alan answered as he smiled. She giggled in response.

"Listen, there's something I got to tell you." She said.

"What is it?" Alan asked.

"Tomorrow, I'm moving to Florida because of my mom's job." She told him.

"What? You're leaving?" Alan asked, shocked.

"I'm sorry, I was going to tell you earlier but I never got the chance." She apologized. "But don't worry it's not permanent"

"How long will you be gone?" Alan asked sadly.

"Six months from what I heard." She answered sadly.

"That's a long time. It won't be the same without you." He said as he looked down.

"Don't worry, as long as we remember each other, it's like we're not really separated." She assured attempting to cheer her friend up.

"Yeah, but that doesn't feel the same." Alan said. The girl started to stand back on her feet.

"How about this then, let's promise that we'll meet each other again in this spot when I get back." She suggested.

"Alright, it may be a long six months but I can wait." Alan nodded as he smiled. She quickly hugged him.

"Thank you, Alan." She replied. The girl began to leave for her home.

"I'll see you in half a year." She called.

"I look forward to it, ******" Alan called back.

The sun soon goes down and it becomes night.

Alan wakes up after that dream he saw. He was breathing tensely as it made him feel uneasy. He then sighed moments later.

"It was that dream again and about that girl too." Alan muttered.

He was having dreams about his past life with the girl after their battle with Zank. He was wanting to find out more about her. He also felt terrible about forgetting about her. Alan got back to bed and tried to get some more sleep.

"Who are you?" He thought as he drifted back to sleep.

In the morning, some of the Night Raid members were enjoying breakfast. Lubbock, Najenda, Alan and Akira were currently having fruit for today.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to have Sheele in charge of Tatsumi? I mean she's still training Julie." Lubbock said as he was eating a piece of fruit.

"They'll be fine. Sheele will most likely take a liking to him just like Julie." Najenda replied.

"What makes you say that?" He asked.

"Tatsumi is popular with older women." She answered as Leone sets a cup full of fruit on the table.

"Which is why I'll be training him next!" Leone said happily.

"Kind of reminds me of Tor being popular with women." Alan pointed out.

"You know you were quite popular with girls too." Akira teased.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." He replied shyly.

"She's right you know. I have a hard time trying to choose between you or Tatsumi." Leone teased. Alan was starting to get flustered while Akira was feeling envious by her comment.

"DAMMIT! THAT IS SUCH BULLCRAP!" Lubbock shouted.

"I guess you could say that you're a 'lady killer'." Najenda implied as a pun. None of them were laughing except for Alan who laughed a little.

"I get it!" Alan said.

"Lady Killer as he's an assassin." Najenda said as she smirked. The three simply stared at her.

"Oh well." She said.

"No one seems to likes puns anymore." Alan sighed.

"We'll get them to laugh at one, one day." Najenda assured.

"So for lunch, I was thinking about making mabo beef over rice." Akame suggested as she entered the room.

"Well I was thinking about having between…" Lubbock said.

"Sounds good!" Leone, Alan and Najenda replied. Akira was not agreeable to this.

"Plus I was thinking of topping it off with fried chicken." Akame added.

"Akame, we shouldn't add that much meat it's very unhealthy…" Akira said.

"Sounds good!" Leone, Alan and Najenda interrupted.

"Why does everyone here enjoy meat so much?" Akira asked in an annoyed pout.

"Where do they put it all?" Lubbock groaned.

Outside of the base, Sheele was watching Tatsumi and Julie swim across the river in armor. Tor was there to watch his partner in case she was going to sink into the water like last time.

Surprisingly, Julie was the first to make it across. Tor walked up to her. She was winded after the swimming she did.

"I did it, Tor. I'm swimming better this time." Julie said as smiled.

"Good job, Julie. I'm proud of you." He congratulated.

"I knew you could do it." Sheele said happily.

Soon after, Tatsumi got out of the water next as he struggled to get out.

"You did well too Tatsumi." She smiled.

"Damn, this is heavy. Why isn't she tired?" Tatsumi asked.

"Julie's been using it longer than you have. She's had a lot of trouble with swimming but now she's improving really well." Sheele answered.

"By the way, Sheele. There's something I noticed about you." Tor mentioned.

"Hmm?"

"Well when we're doing work around the hideout, I haven't seen you do any chores." He explained.

"That's because I don't do any work besides train the recruits." Sheele stated.

"Why do you not work?" Julie asked as Tatsumi and Tor were curious.

"First, I tried to cook but I burnt the meat. Akame wasn't really happy about it. Then I tried cleaning but I made a bigger mess for Bulat to clean. Next I did shopping to look for salt but I mistook it for sugar. Leone couldn't stop laughing about it. I also did laundry but I put Mine in it along with the clothes." Sheele explained.

"Wait, how did you mistake Mine as clothes?" Tor asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." She answered as she thought about it.

"It's not your fault, Sheele." Julie said.

"That's right don't feel bad." Tatsumi agreed. But in his mind he was proud of it.

"Nice work, Sheele." He thought.

"So that's why you don't work." Julie said.

"I know. I'm such an airhead and I'm sorry." Sheele said as she looked down. Her glasses fell and she was trying to look for them.

Tor picked them up and gave it to her.

"Thank you." She replied as she put them back on.

"You don't have to apologize. We all have our weaknesses. I mean there are some things that Julie, Alan and I are not good at." Tor assured.

"Ja, I couldn't swim and they are some things that I don't understand." Julie agreed. Sheele started to smile as she was feeling better.

"So how did you get into this line of work?" Tatsumi asked curiously.

"It's a long story, I grew up in one of the lower areas in the Capital. I wasn't good at any jobs back then and I was really clumsy. I couldn't be proud of anything I did. People always said mean things to me like I had some screw loose somewhere." Sheele explained.

"But luckily, I had one person who wanted to be friends with me. She was very kind to me. She never once made fun of me no matter how much clumsy I got. The time spent with her was the only thing I was really happy about back then." She said as she smiled sweetly at the memory.

"But one day, while I was visiting, a man came to the door. It was her ex-boyfriend. He was furious and was getting violent then he tried to strangle her. I think the man was high on drugs. My thought was I must save her. So I grabbed the knife and killed him in the throat. I was so calm about it. The man died quickly. My friend was so terrified that she was shaking. My head however was clear. When it was all done, the incident was written off as self-defense. My friend never wanted to see me after that." Sheele continued. They were feeling sympathy for her about her past.

"And then, days later, the man's friends came to kill me for revenge. They told me they killed my parents and now they were going to kill me. Despite what they said to me, my head was still so calm. I killed all of them one by one. When I finished the last one, I realized I was good at killing. It may be because I do have a screw loose in my head. If I kill bad people I could make the world a better place. I was later scouted by the Revolutionary Army to carry out assassinations." She finished.

"Seems like everyone here has a rough past and I'm no different." Tor muttered.

"If you don't mind, can you explain yours?" Sheele asked.

"Tor, if you don't tell them it's…" Julie was cut off.

"Its fine, I already told you three once." He said. He faced Tatsumi and Sheele.

"Me and my sister were raised in a dojo. Some kids there didn't have any parents and we treated each other like family. I even had some close friends there. Until that day, when I came back from my friend's place, I found that the dojo was burning. I went inside and I found everyone there was dead including my sister except for one man. He told me that she was weak. I swore that I would kill him one day. I wanted to get stronger so I enrolled in Koryo Academy. That's where I met Julie, Alan and Akira. I later joined Alan to help him and to get stronger." Tor explained.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. You must of have really loved your sister." Sheele said in sympathy.

"Yes I did. But I made some great friends and I want to protect them. That's another reason why I came with." He said.

"Ja, I too wanted to help Alan and Akira and to be with Tor." Julie nodded.

"You two seem like a great couple." Sheele smiled.

"What? No! It's not like that!" Tor exclaimed as he was starting to blush.

"Really? I always thought that was it since you two always seem to be together." Tatsumi said.

"We're partners. We must always look after each other that includes sleeping with each other." Julie said. Tatsumi sweat dropped.

"No! Don't tell them that! And that's not what partners do!" Tor exclaimed, flustered.

"Anyway, I'm happy to have met you two." Sheele smiled.

"You as well, Sheele." Julie smiled back. Tor enjoyed the moment though he still thought about that man he wants to kill.

"I don't know where you are but I will find you then kill you." Tor thought as he plans to return to his world one day to search for him.

Later in the evening, everyone was gathered in the meeting room as Najenda prepared a gift for Tatsumi.

"It seems you have fully healed, Tatsumi. We obtained Zank's teigu and I want you to try it." Najenda said as she handed the mechanical closed eye to him.

"Really?! I can have it?!" He asked eagerly.

"Of course, Tatsumi." Bulat nodded.

"You've earned it." Alan agreed.

"Careful, these things take a lot of mental and physical strength." Lubbock advised.

"Sweet!" Tatsumi replied. He took the teigu and put it on his head.

"We don't know much about what this teigu can do from the book so try see what it does." Najenda stated.

"Try reading my mind." Akame told him as she volunteered.

Tatsumi focused at Akame seriously as he tries to read her mind.

"You're thinking…" There was silence for a moment. "That you want to eat meat tonight!"

"That's amazing!" Akame gasped.

"No, he's hasn't turned the thing on yet." Leone stated.

"It's pretty easy to tell what Akame's thinking mostly." Alan said, amused.

"I don't want him reading my mind." Mine said.

"Why, is there some secret you don't want him to know?" Alan teased.

"No! It's just my mind is not his business!" She exclaimed. Akira and Leone giggled.

"It said it had five different sights, right? So try some other ability it has." Tor suggested.

"Okay." Tatsumi replied. He sat down and focused.

"Unknown ability I know nothing about, Activate!" Tatsumi said. The eye opened and he looked up.

He saw that Akame, Sheele and Mine were in their underclothes.

"So what do you see?" Mine asked.

"Ahh!" He yelled as he was flustered.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Mine said as she stepped closer to him.

"Are you feeling alright? Does it work?" Akira asked. He turned and saw Akira and Julie through their outside clothes. It made Tatsumi blush heavily.

"I'm feeling tired." Tatsumi groaned as he put his hand on his head.

"Crap! It's rejecting him!" Lubbock exclaimed.

"I'll get it off." Akame said as she quickly took the teigu off him.

"You okay?" Alan asked, concerned.

"Yeah, but what happened?" Tatsumi asked.

"It appears this teigu isn't suited for you. The compatibility is off." Najenda stated.

"It might be because you were thinking about how bad it looked on you. The user's first impression is pretty important." Mine told him.

"What?" Tatsumi said.

"Well since you can't use it. We'll have others who might." Najenda said. She glanced at Alan. "How about you Alan? Would you care to try it?"

"Yes, why not give it a try?" Akira suggested.

"Alright, let's see if it works on me." Alan said as he stepped forward. She gave the teigu to him and he put it on. He closed his eyes.

"Okay… Activate!" Alan said. He opened his eyes and saw what Tatsumi witnessed.

"What?! Why?!" Alan exclaimed as he blushed heavily.

"Now I know why Tatsumi freaked out!" He thought loudly in his head.

"What's your problem?" Mine asked.

"What do you see?" Akame asked.

Alan decided to take off the teigu as he couldn't take it anymore.

"No! I can't use it! It's just doesn't feel like the right one for me." Alan said.

"You're might be right. I bet you didn't like wearing it either." Mine replied.

"It might not work well for me or Julie either." Tor said.

"In that case, we'll send this to the Revolutionary Army. It will be better use there once we know more." Najenda stated.

"Sometimes in our missions, we find teigu to collect like Zank had. We either take them or destroy them." Akame stated.

"If you don't mind. May I try this teigu?" Akira requested as she's mostly curious to what Alan and Tatsumi saw.

"Sure, go ahead. If it fits you can have it." Najenda answered as she gave it to her.

Akira put the teigu on her head and closed her eyes.

"Activate!" Akira said. She opened her eyes and saw through everyone's outside clothing.

"Do you see anything different?" Akame asked.

"Oh no. now she knows." Alan thought as he was flustered.

"Oh, I'm so teasing Alan with this." She thought as she grinned a little.

"Oh, my head." Akira groaned.

"Quick! Take it off!" Leone exclaimed.

"Right!" Alan replied as he took the teigu off her. He gave it to Najenda.

"So it doesn't work on you either. Very well, I'll send this to the Revolutionary Army then." Najenda said.

"Are you alright, Akira?" Alan asked.

She groaned then started laughing. Everyone simply stared at her except for Alan and Tatsumi who were both embarrassed.

"What? What's so funny?" Mine asked.

"What did you see?" Leone asked.

"Because this thing has an ability to see through clothes." Akira said as she laughed. They realized what she meant and were shocked.

"Ahh!" Mine screamed as she covered her chest. Akame and Sheele blushed while Julie wasn't fazed.

"Seriously?!" Lubbock asked excited as he found the best teigu.

Mine, Sheele and Akame deathly glared at Tatsumi and Alan.

"Please don't kill me!" Tatsumi panicked.

"It's not my fault! I didn't mean to do that!" Alan defended himself.

"What? Did you not like what you saw? You sound disappointed." Akira teased.

"I am not!" He exclaimed.

"Let me try it! Let me try it!" Lubbock said excited as he tried to run towards the teigu but Najenda punched him with her mechanical arm. It sent him flying to the wall.

"You've already got a teigu. You just want it to peep on girls!" Leone told him.

"No! I'm just using it for research." Lubbock lied. Leone started giving him a beating.

"And I bet its research I'm going to dislike." She said.

"Let's get back to the subject. Tatsumi, Alan, You five read through this. It's a book about teigu." Najenda said as she gave them a book. Tatsumi looked at it first.

"So many of them. Each one of them is different." Tatsumi said.

"Be sure to memorize every weapon in there." Najenda told him.

"I wonder, which one is the most strongest?" He asked.

"Depends on the user but If I had to decide then it's one that can manipulate ice. Its user is very strong. Luckily for us, she's busy with conquering the northern tribes so she's not in the Capital.

"What's going on in the north?" Alan asked.

"There's a prince in the tribe called Numa Seika. He's a hero who fights with a spear and never lost a battle. He's a brilliant strategist and his people have absolute faith in him which is why he's a threat to the Empire. He's taken the northern fortress in the Capital and he made it as a base of operations. They've become strong enough to invade the Empire. So they sent a special force to eliminate them." Najenda explained.

"We don't have to worry about it yet. It'll take at least year to stop the northern tribes even for her." Lubbock assured.

"I hope your right." She replied.

"Whoever she is must sound real terrifying." Alan commented.

"You have no idea." Lubbock said.

"Who is she?" He asked.

"Her name is Esdeath. A high ranked general. She's a sadist that enjoys battle and she's tortured many people, even her own subordinates. She's the empire's strongest general." Najenda explained in horror.

Tatsumi started to chuckle. "Well, I say bring it on. The stronger the better. We'll gather as many of these teigu as we can."

"You seem to be getting cheerful. What's got you interested?" Leone asked.

"There's many teigu that have powers we don't know about so what if… maybe there's one that could bring someone to life?" Tatsumi said.

The Night Raid members looked down as they were silent. The Protectors saw that look and knew that there wasn't. Tor and Julie also were silent.

"So maybe I can bring Sayo and Ieyasu back. We just need to keep…" Tatsumi was interrupted.

"Tatsumi, there isn't a teigu that can bring back the dead. You only get one chance at life." Bulat told him in a serious tone.

"What? But you don't know that for sure." He protested.

"What about the first emperor? If he could have done that then he would still be alive." Akame said.

"He must have found it impossible and that's why he made teigu in the first place." Bulat said.

"But…" Tatsumi was stunned until he turned to Alan.

"You said you go to other worlds right? Maybe you can find some power that could bring people back." He said as he tried to get his hopes up.

"You have no idea how many worlds there are. I don't know where it would be much less if it even exists. And I can't bother looking for something like that. I'm sure I'm not supposed to pursue that either." Alan explained, seriously but also felt bad for him.

"I hate to admit it, but he's right." Akira said sadly.

"The best thing we can do is let the dead rest." Julie said.

"Just forget it, if you keep that thought, the enemy will see it as a weakness and you'll be killed." Akame said.

Tatsumi was silent and he clenched his fists. Sheele watched him sadly as she felt his grief.

Meanwhile in the north where the northern tribes were, many bodies of Numa's army were encased in ice or stuck on spears.

The prince was naked and had a chain on him. He was currently licking the blue haired general's boot.

"You conquered the northern tribe really fast. Very impressive. General Esdeath." Her subordinate complimented.

"Hard to believe that this was their supposed hero. How disappointing." Esdeath said. She kicked the prince's head and killed him. Blood splattered around. She got back on her feet and stood in front of her men.

"Is there an enemy that can ever satisfy me?" Esdeath grinned.

Alan, Akira, Tatsumi and Leone were in the Capital for another mission. They were walking in the streets as they saw people crowded in the markets.

"Wow, I didn't think it'd be so lively here." Tatsumi commented.

"Yep. When you're born poor, you've got to keep yourself busy." Leone said.

"So Tatsumi, you feeling alright for today?" Alan asked him.

"Yeah, I'm good." He replied.

"Okay." Alan nodded as he wanted to make sure he was better after yesterday's events. He saw Sheele comforting Tatsumi at night. He simply smiled as he watched.

Some of the town's citizens were greeting Leone as they passed by.

"I forget how popular you are here." Akira said happily.

"Well I did grow up here and I did a lot of things for them." Leone said.

"Like what?" She asked curiously.

"Well…"

"There she is! Get her!" Someone shouted.

The four looked forward and saw a group of men charging toward Leone.

"Crap!" Leone exclaimed as she started running away from them. The three followed her.

"Right! We had to run away from these when we were here once!" Akira exclaimed.

"So what do you two think?" Leone asked as she smiled.

"It's great! I hope they don't end up getting our heads!" Tatsumi shouted sarcastically.

"Well, I think this is where we part ways! Good luck on your mission you two! Come on, Akira!" Alan exclaimed as he took a different direction.

"Coming!" Akira replied as she followed him quickly.

"See you back at the base!" Leone said as she waved.

"Don't just leave us here! Damn you!" Tatsumi shouted.

At the imperial throne room, a messenger came to deliver the emperor news.

"Report, general Nakakido and general Hemi have defected. They left their posts and joined the rebel army." The messenger stated.

"Nakakido was a military genius. So that means…" One of the officers said.

"The rebel army is increasing dangerously." Another officer said.

"If we do nothing, they may destroy the Empire." The third officer pointed out.

"We can't lose faith! They're so far south that we can deal with them any time! If we want to get rid of this rebellion, then we should let them gather all together to destroy them!" The emperor exclaimed. He turned to the Prime Minister.

"That is the right choice isn't it, Prime Minister?" He asked.

"Of course your highness. You keep your composure well. However, our real problem…" Honest said as he chewed on a piece of meat.

"Is the group of assassins! That is our threat. They killed captain Ogre and my relative, Iowkaru. As well as Zank the Executioner and they took his teigu. Damn that Night Raid! They're causing so much trouble in the Capital, I'm gaining weight because of it!" He said angrily as he stretched his meat.

"I must call back general Esdeath." Honest said. Almost everyone in the room gasped. One of them stepped up.

"But Prime Minister, isn't general Budo here?" The officer asked.

"General Budo has better things to do than hunt down a few rebels." Honest stated.

"Esdeath hmm?" The emperor said as he was in thought about her skill.

"In that case, why not let my force handle it?" A male voice said as the man with short green hair with glasses stepped up.

"General Kasake?!" Honest said surprised.

"General Kasake? Who's he?" One of the officer's whispered.

"He's the general in charge of the reconnaissance and surveillance division. They scout out for enemies and locate interests in the empire. I also hear he's an advisor for the Prime Minister." The other officer answered.

"An advisor? I didn't think he would have one of those." He said.

"It must mean he trusts him." The officer said.

"It will take some time before general Esdeath returns to the Capital. I can spare the time to hunt for Night Raid until then." Kasake stated.

"I do not mean to trouble you. I would not want to waste your time hunting down some lowly assassins." Honest told him.

"I can assure you, it's no trouble at all. These assassins are becoming quite the problem lately and it is best to deal with it as soon as possible." He said.

"Right, of course. You make a good point." Honest replied.

"Can he get it done, Prime Minister?" The emperor asked.

"Yes, your highness. You'll find him as one of the most reliable generals in the empire besides general Esdeath." Honest answered. He nodded

"Very well then. General Kasake is it? I leave the hunt of these assassins to you until Esdeath returns." The emperor spoke. He bowed down on one knee in response.

"Thank you, your highness. I'll begin the hunt for Night Raid immediately." Kasake said as he smirked mischievously. He headed out of the throne room.

As soon as he exited the throne room and the doors closed. He stopped.

"Have you heard everything?" Kasake asked.

"Yes, so you want me to go after these Night Raid fools, right?" someone replied as he stepped out of the shadows.

He was a young late teen who had short black hair. He wore a black school uniform and had a katana equipped on him.

"Correct. Then you know what I want you to do." Kasake said.

"Let's see if they're as strong as they say they are. I hope they can entertain me in this play." He smirked as he leaves for the city streets.

"Show them your power, Sakaki."

Omake

Plan of Infiltration

After Alan and Akira separated from Tatsumi and Leone and got away from Leone's angry victims, the two were getting close to a well-guarded mansion. They were given a job to take out a corrupted nobleman who has often invited women to his mansion only for him to do whatever he pleases to them.

He also supplied drugs to a business gang in the slums which were Tatsumi and Leone targets.

Alan and Akira were currently examining looking for a way to get in.

"So, have you found an opening yet?" Akira asked as she looked at the mansion walls.

"Not yet, seems like this guy really doesn't want anyone sneaking in." Alan responded.

"What if we jump over the walls? We can reach that." She suggested.

"Too many guards outside plus we don't know what's inside it." He said.

"What about the front gate?" Akira suggested as she pointed at it.

Alan looked at it and there were only two guards there. However the gate was locked tight and couldn't be opened easily without too much attention.

"We could try the front gate but they might suspect something if we just try to walk in and say we're expected." Alan said.

"What if it was just me? I'm sure they would let me in by my looks." Akira suggested.

"That's too dangerous, Akira. Something might happen to you if you went in alone." He refused.

"So what should we do?" She asked as she's out of ideas.

Alan hummed as he thought for a moment until he smiled at a plan.

"I know how to get in." Alan smirked as he looked at her.

"What is it?" Akira asked curiously until she realized what that smirk was about.

"No… no. I'm not doing it." She refused as she shook her head

"Come on, you like it." He insisted.

"No I don't. It's embarrassing!" Akira said.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"Do you have any better ideas?" Alan asked as he knew she was stuck at a position.

Akira sighed as she was not going to like this.

A bit later at the mansion, two guards started to spot two figures approaching the gate.

It was Alan who put Akira's arm around him to help her walk to make it look like she was hurt. She was not pleased with this plan at all.

"Help! Please we need help! My best friend is dying! She needs help!" Alan begged.

The guards suddenly panicked and opened the gate without thinking to help them.

"Get our lord immediately!" one of the guards ordered. The other one nodded as he was about to run inside.

"No! She needs help now!" Alan shouted. The two turn their attention back to the duo.

"Calm down, we're about to… what the?" The guard said then got suddenly surprised.

"Help her!" Alan shouted as he threw Akira at them like rag doll.

It knocked both the guards down. Akira started to get up while Alan was amused.

"See. Fun right?" Alan chuckled as help her on her feet.

"For you. It's so embarrassing. Do you know how it feels to be tossed around like that?" Akira said annoyed.

"At least it works. Come on, let's get inside." Alan said as he was approaching the mansion quietly. She sighed.

"Yeah, all right. Just don't tell anyone about this." Akira replied as she wanted to get this off her mind.

The two continue their way into the mansion to eliminate their target.