Chapter 9...

Flashback...

It was peaceful sounding in the forest. It was an early autumn morning and all the trees were turning from lush green to golden brown. The soft wind blew any leaves that were staggering on a twig harmlessly on the forest floor. Suddenly the whistle of an arrow interrupted the calmness and struck a round target. It wasn't in the middle, but it was close. The shot came from Tatsumi, who was in the middle of target practice. He was about fifty yards away from the target and was readying another arrow. He squinted his eye slightly, the target down range was slowly becoming easier for him to hit. He let his arrow loose and it whistled through the air. It hit the target but he missed it by a foot. He scowled.

"Fuck." He uttered. He sighed and was about to go grab his arrows, but suddenly another one whizzed past him and hit the bulls eye, straight and true. He blinked a few moments and then quickly turned around. He saw Sayo waving at him with a smile. He looked back at the target and then her again. It was about about 50 yards from him, and she hit it 35 more yards away.

"You trying to prove something?" He called out with a bit of irritation.

"I could ask you the same thing." She called back and made her way to him. "I thought you were gonna go practice sword fighting with Ieyasu?" She asked.

"I did." He said, lowering his bow. "He fell into the river and he's getting his clothes dried off." He explained.

"How'd that happen?" She asked.

"He charged me and I tripped him." He said simply.

"Hahahaha! Only you could say that with a straight face." She laughed. "That must have been embarrassing."

"His foot work was easy to read after the first three times. He didn't feint, and he got left wide open." He said with a blank look. Sayo stopped laughing and looked at him curiously.

"..He noticed that too? He really is interesting." Sayo thought. "You really pay attention to detail don't you?" She said with a simple smile.

"...It just stuck out to me." He shrugged.

"You don't say?" She leaned forward. "So what are you doing all the way out here?" She asked.

"It..was easier to concentrate without people around me." He said. "I thought brushing up on the bow would be good practice."

"Well, that is commendable. But you're kinda doing it wrong." She told him.

"I know. I can't figure out how to do it." He turned back to the target as he complained. "I can get the second ring, but everytime the gust comes through, it blows all the leaves in my line of sight. I figured it would be a good spot-"

"Okay, okay." Sayo quickly said, silencing him. "I think you're trying to over achieve here." She explained to him. "You should try hitting it at like 25 yards first. The way you're going at it, it's like trying to shoot the wings off a fly." She pointed out.

"..." He lowered his head a little. "..Okay." He said and went to go retrieve his arrows.

"..Heeey~! Don't get all slumpy just because I told you to work your way up." She pouted and got in his way. She put her index finger on his chest and sported an annoyed look.

"I thought you said to try it this way?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Aren't you upset?" She widened her eyes a little in confusion.

"You're right. I need to start from 25 and work up." He blinked. "Is that a problem?"

"No-uh..it's just weird seeing you...so submissive all of a sudden. Normally you're first reaction to outside help is to give people the cold shoulder." She recalled on multiple occasions.

"...You are the better fighter." He said quietly said and looked away.

"Huh?" She was surprised to hear that from him.

"I can't beat you when it come to the bow. I acknowledge that at the most." He said and just walked away to grab his arrows.

"...(Laughs)..What is this? the great and mighty Tatsumi ackowledging another human being?!" She laughed.

"Oh Shut up." He called back. He retrieved his arrows and then walked to his original position. He pulled his bow back with ease and narrowed his eye.

"Straighten those shoulders." Sayo said behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"You're not my drill sergeant." He said annoyingly.

"Just do it Tatsumi."

"...(Sigh)." Tatsumi just complied and shook his head.

"Now touch your mouth." She said and leaned more on his back while redirecting his hands. "Keep the elbow up level." She said a her breathing got closer to him.

"Shall I draw you a bath as well, m'lady?" He said in a mocking fashion.

"Are we talking afterwards?" She teased.

"Get you're own damn bath."'

"Good grief Tatsumi. I lot of guys would be happy of this sort of scenario." She couldn't believe it.

"Oh that's what this was? I thought you were actually going to give me pointers." He said still maintaining his stance.

"You are such an asshole." She rolled her eyes. "But at least you pay attention." She smiled once again. She then slowly crept her arms around his neck.

"Release." She said and he let go and hit Sayo's arrow dead on. It pierced it and he hit his target over Sayo's arrow.

"I hit it." His eyes widened.

"I think you owe me a bath now, Tatsumi." She said with a mischievous smile.

"I didn't agree to such a thing. And I never will." He pointed out.

"Well then..." She got off him and took out her own bow. "..if you thought that was impressive, I think you'll fall for me if I do this." She said and aimed then fired in the direction of the target. She completely missed it though.

"...Yep, i'm going to rub your feet after that." He dead panned.

"Oh no, I hit my mark." She smiled. "And I think you're going to be wishing you never said that." She marched proudly over to where her arrow hit. They both went to go investigate and they found a doe that was dropped from her arrow that was about 90 yards out from where she fired.

"You gotta be.." Tatsumi's face turned to a look of astonishment and disbelief.

"I was following this deer then I came upon you. I gotta praise you though. You mask your presence well, otherwise it wouldn't have stopped." She turned to him. "So that's a bath AND a foot rub you owe me~!" She teased.

"Urk.." He recoiled from her words.

"I'll see you back at the village. Don't be late." She winked and proceeded to drag the deer off.

"S-Sayo.."

"Hmm?" She turned back curiously.

"W..would you...Mmgh.." He grunted while clenching his fist in embarrassment. "..sh..show me how to hit a target from 85 yards?"

"..." Sayo was blankly staring at him for a moment. "Sure. We're good friends after all, right?" She said happily. She dragged the deer off and continued smiling. Although her face looked a bit more dark and anonymous than before.

"...I think I might like this one after all." She licked her lips.

End of flashback...

An arrow suddenly hit a target dead on as a flock of crows flew away from the sudden impact of the arrow. It was fired from Tatsumi who lowered his bow with an emotionless look. He was about 100 yards away from the shot. He recalled the first time Sayo taught him how to use the bow, and eventually her tutoring had produced results that he couldn't argue with. He then quickly loaded his bow and released it in a simlar fashion to Sayo. He hit the target, but it was still in the second ring. He slung his bow over his back and retrieved his arrows.

"Not bad newbie." He turned to Mine who had appeared. He just turned his head back to yanking his arrows out of the cushion he set up. "Hundred yard shots aren't easy to make. Even for a seasoned archer." She praised. "So why you suddenly practicing bow shots? Your evil girlfriend still shaken you up?"

"Do you want something Mine?" He asked in a firm tone as he walked up to her with his arrows in hand.

"Boss wants to see you about something." She explained.

"On my way." He said and just continued on.

"Hey bumpkin." She said and he turned. "You gonna be okay?" She asked.

"...Well I guess we'll find out now, won't we?" He said and walked on. "But if i'm not, you can say I told you so!" He called back.

"Don't give me the satisfaction." She replied.

"Yeah, yeah." He scratched his head.

Night Raid...

Tatsumi walked on in and shut the door. Suddenly something came running at him. He looked down and it was the wolf pup he found in the forest. "Hey boy." He bent down and pet it's head. He noticed it was getting slightly bigger every week. "You been good I hope?"

"Arrr!" It wagged it's tail.

"Yeah, yeah. Sit." He commanded. It stopped and sat on it's hind legs.

"Signal."

"Owooooooo!" It howled.

"Annnnnd...prone!" He said. It then laid flat on the floor as if it were readying itself to pounce.

"Three for three, I think we're making progress." He rubbed it's head. "Here's your reward you submissive little furball." He pulled out jerky made out of a danger beast. It gnawed on it and Tatsumi left it at the door. He took the bow off and hung it on a rack along with his quiver. He then proceeded to Najenda's office. He then bumped into Akame along the way.

"Good morning Tatsumi." She greeted.

"Mornin'." He nodded.

"Going somewhere?" She asked.

"I don't know. Boss wanted to see me." He shrugged.

"I see." She nodded.

"Mm." He also nodded and walked past her.

"..Tatsumi?" She asked.

"What?" He turned.

"..." She stood there silent for a few moments. She then closed her eyes and shook her head. "No. It's nothing." She said and went into the kitchen.

"..." Tatsumi just looked up with a curious look and shook his head. He went down the hall way, and was now greeted by Leone.

"Yo~ Tatsumi~!" She greeted in her melancholy like tone.

"You're up early." He said with a straight face.

"Well looks like you, Sheele and I are going on a job!"

"So that's what it's about." He figured.

"So what are you doing?"

"Looking for the boss." He said "Pardon me." He brushed past her.

"I'll see you outside~!" She shouted and headed out the door. Tatsumi rolled his eyes. He finally arrived in Najenda's quarters and knocked.

"Boss! It's Tatsumi!"

"Come in." She responded from the other side. He opened the door and he covered his face from the amount of cigarette smoke that exited the room.

"Damn, boss! Open a window!" He waved as he nearly choked on her fumes..

"Sorry." She reached over and lifted one up slightly.

"(Cough). So what's up?" He asked after regaining some fresh air.

"I got a mission I need you, Leone and Sheele to take care of." She pointed out as she pulled out piece of paper. "We have a problem involving a supply route that we were using to smuggle weapons out of the capital." She handed it to Tatsumi and he looked over the list. "This is a shipment that currently was already snatched up, that we were going to receive." She crossed her legs and held her cigarette.

"Twelve artillery shells, thirty land mines, twenty long guns, eighteen full sets of armor...and a partridge in a pear tree." He ended while maintaining a stoic look.

"MMf!" She turned away and snorted.

"Really?" He said as if that was a stupid joke to laugh at.

"Ehehheh, sorry. Anyway, we were supposed to receive this shipment about a day ago. Some bandits in the area have been making off with small bits we leave behind, but now they're trying to get the whole shipment. If they manage to get a hold of enough ordnance, we'll have more to worry about than just the empire. So you three are going to go clear them out to prevent anymore thefts. And if you can find the items that were stolen on that list, i'll notify a small platoon to recover them." She concluded.

"So, find the bandits, clear them out, and then recover the gear that was snatched...got it." He nodded and took the list with him.

"One last thing Tatsumi.." She said right as she stood up. "If you run into that archer girl...your friend..."

"Runaway, right?" He said as if he had heard it a thousand times. No one in Night Raid said it, but that's what they clearly wanted him to do.

"No. Just do what you got to do, and come back in one piece." She said as she puffed out another cloud.

"..." He just left without saying another word. Najenda just sighed and put her cigarette out in her ash tray. Hundreds of things were going through her mind, but she was presently concerned with her fellow Night Raid subordinates. She didn't like sending them out, but in order to achieve what they all wanted, they had to fight.

Tatsumi was sharpening his throwing knives and making sure they were ready to stick anyone in their way. He could see his reflection as he sharpened them. He sheathed one and moved on to the next.

"Tatsumi." Akame asked as she peeked from the corner of the door.

"Come in." He said, not averting his gaze from his work.

"I heard you are going to go eliminate targets along the rebels supply route." She said.

"That's the plan." He nodded at his knife and sheathed it to move on to the next.

"Will you be alright?" She asked with a concerned tone.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" He rolled his eyes and groaned. "Look, I know my history with Sayo would be considered a danger to the mission. But i'm not going to be so shocked I won't be able to stick a blade through her." He said firmly as he looked at his knife.

"..." She frowned slightly and looked away.

"That moment in the church..." He began to say. "..that was just a moment of weakness. It won't happen again." He gripped his knife a bit harder. He then sighed and lowered it to his knees. "...I need to be sure...it won't happen again." He stared at the floor as her image just kept flashing in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he just wanted to smack his head on a wall and forget it. For as much as he prided himself on not caring for anything, he was having a hard time with this one. He put his knife in his belt and slowly fumbled with his hands. He lowered his head into his hands just covered his eyes.

"...Yep." He bluntly said

"Hm?" Akame was curious.

"Nothing. I just hate feeling this way...it's wrong." He said with a frown. He stood up and buckled his belt and then grabbed his Teigu and a short sword he kept by his bed. He slung them both behind him and then put his coat on. He headed toward the door and was making his way out. Akame just watched him leave and just frowned. She didn't know how to make him feel better. His mind set was just strange to her. It's like he had this big plan about what he was going to do with himself, or he was devoted entirely to one thing. But whenever an obstacle got in his way, he was entirely unpredictable. But the one thing she knew that she was sure about was this.

Despite saying that being human was a weakness, he was not entirely different than the rest of them. He just needed to be with other people to experience it. Then maybe he would grow to like it. Sayo was not the greatest example in his life, but he at the most would show that he cared about her a great deal. Be it on the battlefield or in the capital, if she ever came across Sayo as an enemy, she would treat her the same way as any other target.

And obliterate her.

Outside...

Tatsumi opened the door and proceeded out. He saw Leone and Sheele waiting for him.

"Ready to go?" Leone asked.

"Yeah." He responded.

"Then lets gooo~!" She declared and led them. Sheele waited for him with a warm smile.

"How are you this morning Tatsumi?" She asked.

"Same shit, different day." He responded. "How were the front lines?"

"Very long and brutal." She frowned a little. "We almost didn't evacuate everyone in time. Well, most of them."

"You don't say?" He said as they walked on.

"What about you?"

"Just training and picking off corrupt guards in the capital. Boss hasn't sent me out for almost two weeks." He pointed out. "She thinks i'm going to run into Sayo if I kept doing assassinations in the capital." He said with annoyance.

"I see." She nodded, thinking he had it rough.

"Well, aren't you gonna ask too?" He asked her.

"Ask what?"

"Whether i'm fit for the mission." He clarified. He awaited her anticipated response.

"Mmmm..well, if you weren't fit for the mission...wouldn't you be staying instead of going?" She shrugged.

"..." ...

... ... ... ... ...

"Well, I suppose." Tatsumi was completely taken aback by her comment.

"Well, what do you think about it?" She asked.

"Huh?" He turned her with a look of confusion.

"Do you think you're a hindrance?" She asked him as she looked him in the eyes.

"...I don't know." He looked away and made an emotionless expression.

"I think you've changed..but for the better." She smiled slightly.

"How do you figure?" He asked, not understanding.

"Before, you always moved ahead of everyone and did things on your own. You didn't particularly care who was left behind. But lately, you've taken your teammates into account, and you've worked with us rather than alone."

"..!" Tatsumi's eyes widened at this. She had a point. Lately he had been working closer with everyone despite the disposition he was in. And they acknowledged him.

"So don't worry if you feel like you're not back to 100%. I may be an airhead, but i'll do my best to cover whatever blind spots you have." She smiled warmly.

"..." Tatsumi looked at her and just faced the path ahead of him. He never thought about it that way. Then again, he never really cared to think like that because he viewed it as nothing more then a distraction from his goal.

"You also saved me from being shot that one time when you lost your arm. I've gotta do my best to watch your back like you did mine." She giggled.

"...I'm not sure if you'd be able too." He said suddenly.

"Huh, why not?" She asked curiously.

"Because I have to watch yours while you're watching mine." He smirked.

"Ohh..Wait, how does...wait if you're behind me...how can I be behind you...wait if we stand-" She was taking his comment a bit to literally.

"Ugh." Tatsumi just face palmed.

Valley...

Tatsumi and the other two were standing in a clear valley with little to no forest around them.

"This is the place." Leone looked at the map she brought. They looked all over. You could definitely tell some wagons had been pulled through due to the faint tracks they found on the ground. "Question is, how do we find the bandits?"

"This place is a nightmare for travelers. They'd be sitting ducks if they just came through here. No cover, easy approach, and perfect for laying traps." Tatsumi noted his surroundings. He took out his telescope and looked through it. His attention was at the cliffs above the valley. He hummed as he narrowed his eye. "That cliff up there." He pointed out to Leone and Sheele.

"You could spot anything entering the valley from there." Sheele noted.

"What are you thinking Tatsumi?" Leone asked.

"You're asking me?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Of course. How would you do this?" She asked as she puffed her chest out.

"..." He blinked and just looked from both sides of the valley. "Well, if it were me i'd set a trap for the horses to disable it from moving. Then wait till they got out, then hit em' from both sides with arrows or bullets. I'd have my men move in and take as much as they can then disperse over along the tree line over there." He pointed. "But if we're talking weapons filled with gun powder, i'd use arrows instead of guns. Which means if they are a decent shot, they'd fire from...there." He pointed to a large rock that was obstructing half the road.

"Or they could just hijack the wagon." Leone pointed out.

"That too." Tatsumi shrugged.

"How do we find em' though?" Leone wondered. "We'll lets think. They had to know when they were coming through. So that means that either they got intel from the same source the Revolutionary Army got..." She made a serious look. "..or we have a leak." She concluded.

"..How often does the army take this valley?" He asked her.

"I think boss said twice a week." She tried to recall.

"So they were bound to find out at some point." Tatsumi put a hand to his chin. "Lets look around. They might have left something around here." He suggested.

"Right, Hmmph!" Leone slammed her fists together and her Teigu transformed her. "I'll check the area around this side!" She said and rushed over to the forest.

"I'll check the forest on this side." He nodded. Sheele was just left standing there.

"Mmmm...I guess i'll keep watch?" She lifted her shoulders in confusion. They spent a good hour looking around and hadn't turned up anything. Leone came up to Sheele and sighed depressingly.

"Well whoever they are, they are really good at covering their tracks." Sheele nodded.

"Anything?" Tatsumi asked as he came up to them.

"Nope."

(Rustle!)

They all whipped around to a rustle in the bushes away from them and readied themselves for a fight. It jumped out and it was the wolf pup that had followed them.

"A wolf?"

"Oh, it's your dog." Leone realized.

"Geez, you're very persistent. " He bent down and let it lick his hand. "...Wait a minute." He then realized. "I should have took you from the start." He stood up in realization.

"What do you mean?" Sheele asked.

"We'll just have furball here track em'." He pointed out.

"Heh? Can he even do that?" Leone asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This little guy is a Splinter Wolf. He could track something like a dying animal thirty miles out in the RAIN." He emphasized. "If only we had something to give him, like a scent to follow." He sighed. "Hm?" He then noticed he was digging at something away behind them in the dirt. He looked closely and noticed he was clawing at something.

"You find something furball?" He bent to look. He brushed it gently to uncover what it was, but suddenly the wolf pup pressed it's paw on it, and suddenly it clicked.

"SHIT!" Tatsumi shouted in realization and tossed the pup away.

(EXPLOSION)

An explosion blew out of the ground and it sent Tatsumi flying back. His Teigu was drawn and he was only slightly scorched from the blast, thanks to his Teigu keeping the majority force of the blast nulled.

"Tatsumi! Are you alright?!" The two came over and helped him up.

"Just peachy." He grunted. He stood up and looked at the small crater. "They must have forgot a landmine." He said as they helped him up.

"Arf! Rawf!"

"Huh?" Tatsumi looked up[ and it seemed to be barking at something.

"What got him so irritated?" Leone wondered.

"Maybe the landmine made him freak...or there's someone in there." Tatsumi deduced. "Fall back!" He called out to the dog and it ran back. "Nice job furball, you just dug up a landmine." He roughed it's hair up. "But next time you set it off in my face, i'm going to chuck you off a cliff." He hissed.

"..Owooo.." It dropped from his comment.

"Oh don't belittle him. He's just-" Leone was about to pick it up and comfort it, but it tensed up and growled at her. "..a little demon! He looks like he wants to bite my head off!"

"Oh I trained him to do that. Only I can touch him and command him. It's some type of instinct that carries on in their genetics, or something like that." He tried to explain.

"Eeesh!" Leone made a face of disgust. "Wait, you trained this thing to ATTACK me!?" She suddenly shouted angrily.

"No!..." Tatsumi yelled in defense.

"..."

"I..don't think he'll bite you." He looked away.

"THAT WAS AN UNSURE RESPONSE, WASN'T IT?!" She shouted.

Hope it was good! Happy new year everybody! Read/Review/Rate!

Laters!