Hello again everyone!

I first want to thank you all for being able to stand my story and for some reason coming back to read the second chapter. As mentioned in the last chapter, I said that it was short. I was originally planning to end that chapter as Tatsumi and his friends headed toward the capital. Obviously that didn't happen (mostly because I wanted to end it in a badass way).

Think of this chapter as a part two of the last chapter. This will mean this chapter is a little be shorter as well, but don't fret there will actually be some fighting in this chapter (and maybe a preview of tatsumi's teigu).

Next I would like to answer a few questions from last chapter that I feel need to be answered:

WhiteDragon: Yes I do plan to add more characters such as the Jaegers (of course), wild hunt (those bastards), elite seven (probably), and maybe even characters I create myself.

He11sing: I wonder why people like that pairing as well. And chelsea is definitely in the running for the pairing.

Archangel: You have three pretty good guesses on which characters may live (I do have a fondness for one of them) or maybe they die like in both the manga and anime. Continue reading to find out. Also vote in the polls to (possibly) influence who lives and dies.

Omgitskirk: I apologize for not posting the poll by the time you read the story. There are currently several up if you feel like giving me your input. And yes chelsea is a very best girl. (I personally despise how she dies in the both the manga and anime, whoops spoilers). Lastly I have not completely read Akame ga Kill zero, but it seems that I will to be more versed in akame's past. (That might change as well in my story)

Check the polls everyone!

Keep in mind that the last chapter ended in a flashback. Now it will be back in present time.

This chapter has been edited, similar to the last chapter as most of the edits were purely grammatical.

Still caught up in the middle of this memory Tatsumi didn't notice the shadowy figure making its way through the village. It had a cloak on, which covered up its whole body including its face. There was a slight hump in the front of the cloak, but as what it was you couldn't guess. Only if one were up close could they see the smallest detail of the person's face. The observer would notice a odd scar across it. Before Tatsumi could even look at the village, it was gone. Oblivious to what had happened he went back into thought. "I still don't remember what happened after I passed out from pain, but I did wake up in the mercenary's house. He told me that he found me walking toward the village, but no way that's possible." The thought of having that thing in his arm do it didn't even cross his mind. In fact the "thing" in his arm hadn't even said a thing to him since it stabbed itself in his arm three years ago.

This was besides the time he tried to "fix" the blade. One day he thought he had saw a small crack in the sword, and being the amater blacksmith he was he tried to fix it. Immediately after trying to prepare the blade for forging it yelled at him, "What the fuck do you think your doing?!" Surprised by the blade's words he replied, "Fixing you, it seems that you have a crack in you." "There is no such crack in me boy, as I can fix myself. Now don't you dare try such a dumbass idea again." And with that it silenced before Tatsumi could even ask a follow up question. The sword simply caught fire for a few seconds and then it appeared as if it were fresh out of a smith. That was about a year and a half ago.

Besides being silent the blade did keep its word in granting him power. Over the last three years he was able to gain the basic skills to wield the blade. He had learned to send fire slashes at his command, and loved to do so. The ability to start a fire without doing any hard work was indeed a great perk. Also he had learned to control fire. This had its ups and downs. The pros of wielding fire were; that it was damn cool, second it could be used in a fight, third it made him completely immune to fire, and last it made him immune to the cold. He was often seen walking around in a t-shirt and shorts by other villagers, who thought of him to be insane. The cons however were; that it took an incredible toll on his stamina and that cost the sword mentioned. While he hadn't had any sort of repercussion yet using the thing, he was damn sure that he would soon. But boy did the use of the sword constantly take a toll on his stamina. When he first used the blade after he acquired it he could only do a few slashes with the blade on fire. He had learned that it took some of his energy to keep the blade itself on fire and even more when he used flying slash attacks. The last thing he was able to do was learn to summon a set of armor. He was able to activate the armor on accident when he was fighting a group of particularly stubborn danger beasts.

The fight had started when he was venturing along in the mountains hunting for a particular bird that's feather were that had "the only feathers worthy enough" according to Sayo, for her arrows. While there were things that she couldn't have since she was poor, the bar was not nearly as low for things that she could have. Anyway on his quest for the feathers he was ambushed by eight winter danger beasts. They were of a bear type species, but were much larger and weighed up to a few tons. They were known to hunt other danger beasts in packs. They were considered a second-class danger beast, this was however when they were alone. Tatsumi had the pleasure of coming across a pack of them. First he debated escape, but realized that even if he did escape he was almost certain the bears would track him down to his village and attack the village. With that option down he thought about fighting the beasts, but would require a ton of effort and there was a possibility that he would die in the fight. Before he could think of the third option the bears attacked. Unleashing a massive assault that was meant to wear him out. He was able to fend off most of the attacks only getting a few scratches and bruises at first. Eventually, he was fed up with being on the constant defensive so he decided to launch his own offencive. This however did not pan out as he was hit from behind before he could attack. While the attack to his back was not fatal, it did turn the tides in the danger beasts' favor. Cursing at himself for letting his guard down he began to get up until one of the bears swiped its paw at him sending him flying into a tree. The force was enough to break the tree causing the top half fall over. "Damn it! I think that last attack broke one of my arms." Slowing turning to the presumed broken arm he saw that it was indeed broken with it bending in a way no arm should bend. Being squeamish he jerked his head away so that he no longer had to look at his arm. In the time he had spent looking at his arm the bears closed in. "Shit I totally forgot about the fucking bears. I gotta think of something or…" he was in the middle of finishing his sentence when the biggest bear planted its paw on his chest, forcing him to the ground defenseless. He tried to reach for his sword, but he had set it down when he began to look at his arm. He looked into the bear's eyes and all he were eyes that craved a hunt and kill. "Damn, it looks like the end of the line. I guess I had a good run for an orphan. Being raised by generous people only to repay them back with death. That's pretty pathetic." He had accepted his fate, until it dawned that if he didn't stop the bears they would attack his village. Enraged by his own thoughts he begin to heat up without noticing it. The bear quickly retracted its paw from the boy as he started to glow. Frightened by the boy the bears started to backup slowly away from the boy. Then a bright white fire enveloped his whole body, the fire increased in size and brightness until the bears could no longer see the boy. After a few seconds the fire dispersed as Tatsumi swong his arm out to remove the fire from his sight. The person that emerged was decorated in a dark black armor with a crimson tent to it. It wasn't a thick armor, but it was enough to cover most of his body not including his head or feet. However the most notable change to the wielder was his eyes. This eyes had again turned into the orangish-red as they had been in the temple. This time he was in control, though Tatsumi had no idea that his eyes were different.

Confused by the spectacle before them, the bears ran. But before the first bear could make its way into deeper into the forest it was cut clean in half by Tatsumi's ranged fire attack. (Sorry to pop in but I need a name for this attack, so any suggestions are welcome). Seeing their companion killed the other bears picked up their pace. Noticing this he sighed and went after the rest. Within thirty seconds all but one of the bears had been slaughtered. The last one left was the one who had pinned him down. Still holding a grudge from being pinned down, and making him think he was going to meet his end, he charged the bear. The bear did not move when Tatsumi began his charge. This surprised him a little as he expected him to run, but shifting back into battle mindset, he drew his sword and prepared to strike down the bear. As if mirroring the boy the bear picked up a log and swong it at the boy. "Impressive for a danger beast," he thought, "but not enough to beat me ya dumb teddy bear." Just after he finished his thought the sword and log met. Unfortunately for the bear the log was no match for the mystery sword, which cut in the log in half while also catching the log on fire. Not even a second after the log was cut the sword met the flesh of the bear as it cut the bear in half. Seeing as there were no more enemies after the bear Tatsumi allowed his sword to vanish. He didn't however let the armor vanish as he was beyond elated to see that he had such a thing. "This is easily the coolest damn thing I have ever seen!" "If I knew this was part of the deal I made with that sword I wouldn't of hesitated for a second!" He cried jumping up and down. Then a familiar voice spoke, "Seems like you had fun, but it's gonna cost ya.'' That was the last thing Tatsumi heard before blacking out. Luckly he was found by Sayo after she became concerned that he hadn't returned. Upon waking up he decided against telling her what happened. Although convincing her was hard with all the dead danger beast bodies littered around.

This wasn't the first time he hid that thing in his arm from his friends. While it pained him to do so he didn't want to be seen as a monster by his fellow villagers. He was sure that if he came out one day and said "Oh hey everyone, I found a weird temple and somehow gained the power to control fire, but other than that how was lunch?" He wasn't however able to hid it from his two best friends, but he didn't tell them the complete truth about it. The time came when Sayo decided to confront Tatsumi about it.

"What's that on your arm?'' asked Sayo as she noticed the black tattoo.

"It's nothing just a weird scar I got the other day hunting danger beasts and stuff…" he tried to look away quickly and take the arm under question away too.

"You're a terrible liar and you've had it for a while. I noticed it first a few months ago and I thought it was a scar, but if it was you would have been more than excited to show it off." She smirked knowing that she had hit the nail on the head. While Tatsumi was a innocent and kind guy he sure loved to show off any scars he received in a fight.

Hanging his head in defeat, he conceided, "Fine, but you promise not to tell anyone. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a sort of freak." Nodding the girl allowed him to continue until a large crash was heard just out in the hallway. Rushing to catch the intruder Sayo ran into the hall. After a few seconds and a few grunts, she was dragging a pleading Ieyasu by the collar. "Please spare me merciful goddess Sayo! I was just walking down the hall went I hit the boxes I swear I wasn't listening." "Who said anything about listening?'' she cooed. Turning pale, Ieyasu realized that he signed his own death warrant. Not wanting to watch Ieyasu get skinned alive by Sayo, Tatsumi decided to spare the poor boy. "Besides I'll probably have to end up telling it to him as well. Might as well tell it to both of them, so that I don't give them different stories." thought Tatsumi.

"He's fine Sayo," sighed Tatsumi. Ok with the fact that Tatsumi approved, she dropped Ieyasu's collar. Silently thanking Tatsumi Ieyasu turned to face him, ready to hear his story. "Well a few months ago when I hunting, I was deep in the mountains when I ran into a small animal. From the brief look I got of it, it looked like a sort of snake. I didn't notice it at first, but when I did finally notice it. It had already started to bury itself in my arm." He stopped as he noted the cringes of his two friends, but continued on a few seconds later, "I tried to yank it out of my arm but by the time I reached for it, it was already in my arm. I tried to dig it out with a knife, but that didn't work. While pondering what to do it started to give off a small glow. Confused I just stared at it until I noticed a danger beast behind me. I drew my sword and killed it, only for the light to disappear. After that incident I decided against removing it as it would be my own little warning system. And that's everything there is to know." He stated, hoping they would believe him. They both stared at him skeptical, but after a minute both of their faces shifted to a more relaxed, trusting look. "Yeah, we believe you. As crazy as it sounds, it doesn't sound made up. There's more than enough weird stuff in this world so…" "Whoa, that was close. Thankfully they believed me. I do feel A bit bad for betraying your trust, but it's for your own good." He thought letting a wave of relief wash over him. After that day the two didn't ask about the 'scar' again. They did however notice that it glowed when they were in trouble, which made Tatsumi's story more credible. The only part he didn't explain was the fact that the 'scar' looked way too symmetrical to be done by a danger beast. Sayo noticed this, but she decided that it wasn't worth so she dropped it.

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Done with the flashback now, so back to the main story.

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After spending a good part of the night reminiscing old memories, Tatsumi headed for bed. In order to make his way back to his room, he had to constantly step over some drunk bastards. The party must have ended as there was not a single soul left standing, not that he had a problem with this. After making his way back to his room he flopped down onto his bed not even bothering to take off his clothes. At first he tried to sleep, but that didn't seem likely. He was way too excited about leaving to go to the capitol tomorrow. It would be the first time he went to another city. "I'm going to have a blast! I'll be with my two best friends in the capital and we'll be making tons of money to send back here!" He thought happily. "Plus when we return, we'll be seen as kings or saviors and I'm sure I'll be rewarded." Just as he finished that last thought a cold breeze made its way through Tatsumi's room. It was odd, this breeze was enough to make him cold. This was the first time he had felt cold since he had received his mystery sword. Simply confused he just decided to ignore it and try to get some sleep.

The very next morning

After springing out of bed Tatsumi quickly packed his bag full of everything he cared about. After only a few minutes of packing he realized something, "Shit I forgot I'm poor. I guess I better just pack what I have." After packing everything he had, he began to make his way down toward the village entrance. On his way out he began to admire the village. "The village is beautiful this time of year." A light snow coated the landscape, it must of resnowed last night as there were almost no tracks in the snow. The native birds were chirping and small smoke stacks came out of each house. Turning his attention back to the path ahead of him he saw three figures by the entrance. With a few more steps he identified the figures as Sayo, Ieyasu, and the chief. Spotting him they waved to him beckoning him to come over. Upon his arrival the chief began his speech, "I feel honored to have you three represent our village in the capital. You three are the most talented among all of us. Your skills are unparalleled in three different areas so let nothing stop you! However it does sadden me to know I'll be sending some of that I consider my own family away, but I wouldn't do such a thing if I did not think you three would succeed. So the three of you get out there and show-em what you're made of!" Rallying behind the chief's word the three shot their hands into the air. Each one of them with looks of pure joy on their faces. This was ended when the chief whispered, "oh and don't forget your doing this for the money ok?" "And here I was thinking that we were just being sent off to have fun," mocked Tatsumi. This earned Tatsumi a laugh from both of his friends and a glare from the chief. Before he could apologize the chief stook out his hand with a small grey statue in it.

Speaking the chief said, "Here my boy, consider this a present. You'll know what to do with it when the time comes."

Without even hesitating Tatsumi responded, "Sell it! Right?"

This earned him a smack on the head by the elder and a scolding, "You know it's very impolite to to say such things. Saying that your going to sell the thing we so generously gifted you. Youth these days," he complained.

After the lecture Tatsumi and his two friends started to make their way down the path. Turning around they waved. It was then Ieyasu produced a fake tear in his eye saying, "It's a real shame you know. We might not ever be back here again." "Oh shut up idiot," Sayo said as she hit him across the head, "we're all going to be back here soon enough. All we have to do is make a little money then we can head back home.'' Satisfied with Sayo's response Tatsumi began to hum as the three made their walk toward the capital. Little did they know they would not be seeing their village every again.

A few days later, only a few miles outside the Imperial Capital

It had been an exhausting trip to say the least. Just after leaving the village it started to rain. At first they thought it would be a good idea to turn back, but they realized if they went back then they might be seen as cowards. Sayo could take that hit to her pride, but the boys on the other hand…

"No way in hell does anyone call me a coward!" shouted Ieyasu.

"Yeah! I'd rather die than have someone question my honor!" agreed Tatsumi.

"In fact we'll hurry even faster through the storm so that there is no way anybody would call us cowards!"

"Yeah!"

"Shut up you two, I get it your pride is worth more important than anything else. so let's go," Sayo said clearly annoyed by the two idiots. After that little sharaid the three had to navigate their way to the capital. None of the three knew how to properly use a map, so they were often lead off course and had to be helped by a native. The three of them spent a few days slowly making their way to the capital. They ran into the occasional danger beast, but most of the beasts proved to be no match for the three. It was thanks to the danger beasts that the three were constantly fed as there weren't a ton of shops open on the way to the capital. After a long day the three travelers decided to rest. They knew they weren't too far outside the capital, but it was better for them to be well rested when they arrived. They found a spot just underneath a large oak tree that covered a big area. They would stay under here if it rained. As Sayo started the fire Tatsumi returned with a deer-like danger beast behind him. Ieyasu was being lazy and had found himself in a comfortable spot in the tree. Everything seemed to be normal until the three heard the sound of movement it the bushes behind them. All three of them were well aware that multiple things had entered the area. Then several figures emerged from the brush. Each figure had a weapon. "Bandits!" yelled Tatsumi. The bandits now aware that their element of surprise was gone charged the three. Faster than the bandits the three ran off into different directions. Not a single one of them looked back as they knew full well what to do.

Several hours earlier the three had agreed that if they happened to run into any sort of fight they couldn't win they would split up and head for the capital alone. It would allow them to confuse the enemy and increase the chances of then escaping alive. Darting into the woods Tatsumi didn't look back as it would slow him down. After fifteen minutes of running he stopped and found a place to rest in the tree. He made sure it was high enough not to be easily seen and yet was still stable. After finding a suitable branch he set up his hammock and laid to rest for the night. He was happy that he managed to grab his bag before he escaped. Sadly he didn't know if the other two had the time to grab theirs. "I hope Sayo and Ieyasu are ok. What am I thinking? Sayo can hold her own and Ieyasu can talk his way out of anything even if he was caught." He smirked at his own comment. With this he went to sleep.

When he woke the next morning it was early and he decided to get an early start so that Sayo or Ieyasu wouldn't beat him to the capital. Packing his bag he made his way down the tree to the ground. After wondering for a while he found the path that he and his friends had been following and set off on it. About an hour into the walk he came across a prime opportunity. A first class danger beast had attacked a merchant's cart. He decided to step in.

The merchants had just been minding their own business when the danger beast attacked. Surprised one of the shouted in terror while the other cried out, "There aren't supposed to be any danger beasts on this trail! And to make it worse an Earth Dragon!" They started to run when they felt a swift, warm wind shoot past them. Before they could blink a boy appeared in front of them. "Saving people and becoming well known at the same time. Sounds like a plan!" the boy yelled unsheathed his sword. "I don't need to use my other sword yet, that'll waste too much stamina plus it might freak out the merchants" Spotting a new prey the Earth Dragon charged Tatsumi, but he was ready for this. He too charged the beast, and before the beast could react Tatsumi had cut off its arm. Shrieking in pain the beast became furious at the boy for cutting of its ammendage. However, before the beast could even start a counter offensive it saw the boy appear before its face. In an instance the beast was cut into pieces. Falling to the ground Tatsumi sheathed his sword. It was then the merchants approached him. "Hey kid that was amazing! I haven't ever seen anyone do that before," he claimed. The other spoke, "You've got some serious talent boy. But anyways thank you for saving our asses. Is there anything we can do to reward you?" he asked. "No, nothing really but if you could…" He was interrupted by his own stomach as it growled. "Well at least let us at least give you some food," offered one of the merchants. Wanting to disagree, but his stomach overturning him, he accepted the food. "Whatever this is it's not that bad," he thought. "I see you like the food, kid. Well it's actually pretty common in the capital so you'll be able to find it there. Well assuming you're headed to the capital right?" Confused to how he knew, but wanting to be polite he quietly nodded his head. "We see that all the time around here, thousands of people head to the capital in search of a job. So it's not the first time we've seen someone like you before.'' He commented.

After finishing the meal Tatsumi prepared to head out towards the capital. Before he did though he asked the merchants, "Tell me and be honest with me. Is the capital really corrupt?" This caught the two men off guard as they fell back. Making their way back to their seats they looked at each other for a second and nodded. Then one spoke, "You want the truth boy?" Tatsumi nodded causing the man to sigh, "It depends on how you look at it boy. If you look at if from a rich person's perspective then no. However if you were to look at it from a normal person's perspective than probably yes. As for me and my business partner we would agree that it is corrupt, but that it is essential that it stays operating." "Why should a corrupt government be allowed to stay Tatsumi asked. "There needs to be some sort of government at all time or the world will be thrown into anarchy. While the laws now are terrible imagine if there was no laws?" answered the merchant. Tatsumi understood the merchants reasoning and decided not to counter it, but just nod. Seeing no reason to stick around Tatsumi started to continue his walk to the capital. He simply waved bye to the merchants and left.

After the boy was out of site the 'merchants' spoke, "He was rather impressive, it's a damn shame he hasn't joined the revolutionary army." The other responded, "Yeah he would've been helpful, but what can you do. Besides we need to deliver these supplies to the real difference makers in his revolution.'' The other merchant smiled and nodded as the headed towards the mountains.

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After his run in with the merchants Tatsumi managed to get the capital a few hours later. "So this is the capital," he thought having his mind blown. "I didn't know there were this many people in the whole empire," impressed by the sheer number of people walking in the streets. Partly through his walk he noticed that everyone around him was either avoiding him or looking down on him. "This isn't what I expected. I thought the people here would be more cheerful than this." Then he remembered what the merchant had said to him. Taking this into account it made since. "Well all these depressed looks make sense if the capital really is corrupt." Wondering what he could do he sat down on a bench. "I guess I could still join the army. If I were to rank up fast enough then maybe I could change a few things. Also I could just get a normal job, it would suck but it is a steady income."

Without out letting Tatsumi know he was being watched a figure moved slowly out of an alley. The figure was examining the boy, it had noticed the tattoo on his arm and it peaked the interest of the figure. The person hoped the boy was just in town buying something or looking for someone as the person had felt Tatsumi's power when he entered the gate. It would cost the revolution greatly if he were to do what the person thought he was going to do. Suddenly Tatsumi stood up and started to walk away. The person followed closely making sure to stay far enough behind to not draw his attention and yet be close enough to effectively follow him. The followers worst fears were realized when the boy started to make his way towards the recruiting office. The follower acted quickly trying to prevent him joining the army.

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Tatsumi had decided to join the army. He guessed that he would be able to rank up pretty fast and the fact that both of his best friends would be joining helped with his decision. He started to make his way toward the recruiting office unaware of the figure that had be following him. Just before he could step into the building he heard a voice, "Hey, listen kid I wouldn't join if I were you." Looking around until he found a hooded figure. "If you knew of the capital's corruption you wouldn't even be found within a mile of this place." Surprised by the hooded figure's comment he responded, "You're the second person to tell me that today, so I'll humor you for now but I need evidence of this 'corruption' before really consider not joining." The hooded figure stood still for a second before taking off her hood and smiling. "Ok kid I'll show you, but not now. First treat me to a drink." Clearly annoyed, but interested in what the person had to say he agreed, "Ok deal, but let's get one thing straight. Don't call me boy. My name is Tatsumi so use that name instead." The girl nodded, but before she could lead the way Tatsumi said, "I haven't gotten a name from you, and I don't think you want me calling you 'hooded figure' so. What's your name?"

The girl paused for a moment before saying one thing, "Call me… Chelsea."

Another chapter down! I wanted to install a sort of background for Tatsumi so this was my attempt to do so, so I hope you enjoyed. Based on how I feel this might be uploaded either two days after the first or three. I don't want to set the bar too high and have you all expect a chapter every two days so…

Besides this I HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO CHANGE THE STORY. Having Chelsea meet Tatsumi has been apart of my plan so. But don't worry you all will still see the big, busty, blonde soon enough.

Also thank you all for all your views! Currently I have viewers from five different continents which is insane!

Don't forget TO CHECK OUT THE POLLS. :)

Peace, CP260