Thanks as always to Iamyandere4ever for being my beta.

Disclaimer: Akame Ga Kill is not mine, it belongs to its rightful owners. However, Tsu is mine. That spunky old man.


Najenda sat in her chair, looking at her four assassins, two guests, and their new recruit. Bulat, Sheele, Mien and Akame stood off to her left while the newest additions stood on the right in front of her. She felt some slight pull on the chain currently being held in her actual hand, and tugged it. Leone, whose hands and feet were bound by the chain, skidded across the floor closer to Najenda. The blonde was absolutely humiliated to be treated like this; she hadn't been doing her job because they needed to keep an eye on the new guy.

Akame and everyone else did their best to ignore the blonde's punishment, instead choosing to focus on Najenda's explanation.

"Okay, everyone. We've got some guests and a new member." Najenda started, "Tatsumi, since you're new, I'll have Akame train you." The declaration made Tatsumi pull a momentary victory pose that went unnoticed by everyone else. "And for the rest of you, the other one is Tsu and he is here to cure Kurome with the help of his assistant. Treat them well since they are going to our official medics for the foreseeable future." Tsu bowed, and his still hooded companion inclined her head, making sure not to reveal her face. Something that all the veterans in the room noticed.

"One question." Tsu raised his hand, showing deference to Najenda's position despite his age. Najenda nodded to show he could continue, to which he pointed to Mien with his thumb and stated, "Why are you letting a preteen wield Pumpkin?"

The silence that met his question was answered by the assorted faces everyone made. Akame, Bulat, and Sheele looked slightly disappointed at Tsu's tactless question. Najenda seemed surprised that he had identified the Teigu. Leone and Tatsumi looked like they were fighting to not laugh out loud. But Mien's look of pure rage by far showed how wrong Tsu was to ask that.

"I'm older than you, you dirty looking bum!" She shrilly cried, turning the gun on him with murderous intent. Only to find that he wasn't standing where Pumpkin's barrel was pointing.

"I sincerely doubt that. Between the flatness of your chest and my Tiegu's gift of youth, I'm definitely older than a shrimp like you." Tsu casually said, his mouth mere inches from her ear while he stooped to ensure the proximity of his words.

Mien froze, as did everyone else. No one had seen Tsu move, much less expect him to be able to cross the distance to Mien that quickly.

"Wait, you have a Teigu?" Bulat questioned, not sure if he should be relieved or terrified by the revelation.

"Yes, it's…" Tsu started to answer, only to be cut off by Mien's attempt to swing her gun at his head. He vanished the moment before it touched him, reappearing next to his companion in the same instant.

"Hold on, hold on. What's this all about Teigu? Are they some kind of skill or something?' Tatsumi requested, looking at his former guardian. Akame and the others fixed the two of them with a stare that implied a lot of questions as to Tatsumi's education. Akame thought it might have been her imagination, but it appeared that Tsu's hair had gotten slightly duller, no longer shimmering like it had before.

Tsu sighed and summarily chopped Tatsumi on the head in admonishment. "Did you ever pay attention when I tried to teach you about history?" Tatsumi rubbed his head, looking at him with defiant contempt. "Teigu were created by the First Emperor as part of his legacy. He wanted to ensure the Empire would thrive and continue long after he reigned." Tsu spoke the words with an unnatural amount of affection, getting everyone else to think of a schoolgirl talking about her crush. Making most of the room's occupants sweat-drop at the mental image.

His voice turned serious as he continued. "They're weapons, armor, and few other nasty things meant to give the Empire's loyal subjects the power to keep their Empire going. They all come with terrifying abilities that no ordinary person could ever hope to fight against." Tsu pointed at the gathered assassins. "They each wield one of these Teigu. As do I." Tsu grinned, "But the real danger is when two Teigu wielders clash. Because of how powerful these artifacts are, there's only ever one survivor from their fights."

"He summed it up pretty well." Najenda commented, looking to the others for any additional input. Everyone shook their heads, not seeing a need to expand on the explanation now.

"So when do I get one?" Tatsumi asked, looking over to Najenda excitedly only to receive another disciplinary chop to his head. Growling at the hit, but understanding its meaning, he rephrased his question. "Is there a possibility that I could get a Teigu also?"

Mien snorted at Tatsumi's submission to his guardian's blows, earning a glare from him. And a sigh from everyone else.

"No." Najenda told him, making him slump. "We don't have any right now. Not to mention we don't even know if you can bear the physical and mental burdens of wielding one."

Undaunted by Tatsumi's sudden depression, Najenda issued her next order. "That's all for now. Meeting adjourned."


As the sun set on the day, a familiar green-haired figure pushed a cart piled high with various supplies with a small black-themed girl sitting on top of the pile.

"Damnit! Wasn't Leone supposed to help us with all this?" Lubbock complained as he stopped the hand-cart he was pushing outside Night Raid's hideout. When he looked up the pile of supplies to the spot where his partner sat, Lubbock couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at the fact that Kurome was eating her way through a stash of cookies he could have sworn he had hidden at the bottom of the pile.

"Not that it matters, but I hope that she got punished for it while we weren't here so you can't use the memory of it to warm yourself tonight." Kurome replied, sliding down the pile of supplies to land near Lubbock. Lubbock started to formulate a retort when they heard a voice call out to them.

"Oh, you're finally back." The two of them turned to find Najenda standing at the entrance to the hideout, her Night Raid jacket draped over her shoulders to keep the chill of the mountain air away.

"Oh, hey Boss. Nice to see you're back."

"Evening, Miss Najenda. What, did my absence worry you that much?" Lubbock said, wondering why she would take the time to meet them here. Kurome used the opening to smack Lubbock on the back, believing that he had said it with perverted intentions. Which wasn't exactly wrong.

"Hardly," Najenda casually responded, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "Kurome, the specialist is here and he's setting up shop in the empty forge. Can you meet with him and his assistant as soon as possible? I can't imagine I need to tell you why."

"Of course." Kurome saluted half-seriously before dashing into the base, eager to meet the person who would finally free herself of the final shackle holding her back from being free of the Empire's evil.

After quickly checking to make sure she was gone, Najenda turned her focus back to Lubbock, clearly ready to task the information specialist with something.

"Lubbock, I need you to research some things that only the Empire will have information on." Ah, there was the catch that Lubbock had accurately guessed would appear.

"Sure. Looks like I might as well turn around and go right back to the Capitol after this."

Najenda playfully smirked at his smart-mouthed answer. "I need you to look into a Teigu that extends lifespans, large mark assassination contracts, and I need as much as you can get about a man by the name of Tsu."

When Lubbock heard the name, some warning bell in the back of his head told him that it was familiar. And very dangerous. "Just Tsu? No family name? An alias?"

"Possibly." Najenda huffed on her cigarette, unsure of what she was going to find out.

"Okay then."


"Who does that guy think he is?" Mien groused into the bowl of stew that was set before her. Bulat and Sheele looked her with sympathy, but knew she was in the wrong.

"Weren't you paying attention, it was pretty obvious that he's Tatsumi's dad. Or maybe something more." Bulat pointed out, blushing slightly at the thought of two handsome men living together like that.

"Hmph. I don't care. That bumpkin and his old hobo aren't in our league." She protested, still annoyed at them for making fun of her.

"But Tatsumi has already proven himself when he fought Akame, and Mister Tsu could have killed you in that instant when he was right next to you and we wouldn't have been able to stop him, were we in battle." Sheele mentioned, looking at her pink-obsessed friend.

Mien continued to grumble under her breath even though she knew Sheele was right about that. But that would mean acknowledging them and letting them bring their troubles into Akame's life.

When she tasted the stew, she couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face at its deliciousness. She eagerly began to dig into the dish, not even looking up when the mystery girl that followed Tsu around walked into the dining room, still wearing her cloak and hood. She ignored the three already present, grabbing two bowls and ladling stew into them. Once they were full, she grabbed two spoons and made to leave the room without giving them any clues as to who she was.

When she reached the door of the room, she paused, and turned back to face the eating assassin. "If you dislike Tatsumi so much, might I suggest you try not to smile while eating his cooking?"

Mien had barely begun to stammer out an excuse before the girl was gone.


Kurome stood outside the formerly empty forge, wondering what could be waiting for her. She threw open the door, ready to meet the specialist who was going to cure her addiction. Only to be let down at the sight of a boy in a tattered gray robe curled up on top of a red cloak.

Must be the assistant. She guessed, looking around the rest of the room. Tables had been set up around the empty and open forge, covered in all manner of scientific devices and brown bottles containing things Kurome couldn't name.

A snort and shuffle from the boy drew Kurome's attention, which let her notice that the boy's hair was an unusually clean shade of white. Memories of a certain person with similarly colored hair rose up in her, and made her step closer. The boy rolled over, revealing his face as his white-silver eyes met Kurome's.

"So that's what you look like now." Tsu mumbled, still half-asleep from his nap. Kurome couldn't believe that he was really standing right here. Or rather, getting up with a stretch.

"Did you come because of Tatsu-nii?" Kurome couldn't keep some slight venom out of her voice. She wasn't someone to forgive and forget.

"It's perfectly right of you to be mad about me leaving you two." Tsu responded to the hostility in her voice. "I was planning on finding and rescuing you girls, but clearly my old bones were too slow."

"After so long, that's your excuse?"

"Well I got slowed by dodging assassins for a few years after raising Tatsumi." Tsu admitted, standing up staright so he could get a proper measure of one of his former charges. "So the Empire got you hooked on some bad stuff."

"Your powers of observation are amazing," Kurome let her eyes roll, realizing she didn't need to respect Tsu. Not that she had, even as a child.

Tsu let a hand rise to a spot over his heart, faking a swoon. "Oh, dear. What ever happened to that darling little girl who barely came out from behind her sister's skirt? Where ever did she go?"

Kurome flushed at the embarrassing memory, and did her best not to respond to the patronizing comment.

"Anyways Kurome, let's be serious for a bit before we have a big family reunion." Tsu continued, stepping over to one of the tables. "Do you have any of the drugs with you?"

"Of course." She rummaged in her snack bag for one of her capsules, and after finding one, handed it over. He set the capsule down on one of his instruments, already reaching for some bottles.

"I'll have to determine all of its ingredients before I can come up with a proper antidote and cure. I should have one ready in a few days, but you're free to go give that brat a hug." Tsu shooed her off, turning his back to her so he could continue working.

Kurome turned to leave, and stopped at the sight of a girl in a red cloak and hood carrying two bowls of what appeared to be a stew.

"Great, now we have another pervert around here." Kurome couldn't help but mutter as she brushed past the mystery girl.


Tatsumi stood outside his new room, wondering how he was going to handle this new life. He closed his eyes, trying to match up his memories of his childhood friend with the beautiful and very deadly girl who had nearly killed him yesterday. God above, his life was getting too unpredictable.

"Tatsumi." He opened his eyes, and became uncomfortable at the closeness of Akame's red eyes. He felt his gaze start to drop towards her chest, and made the conscious effort to look up and try not to blush.

"Y-yes, Akame?" He stuttered, mentally cursing himself for not keeping his composure.

"I'm glad that you decided to join." The warmth in her voice made Tatsumi focus back on her. He was surprised to see a hint of a smile on her face.

"Well, we promised that we would meet again." Tatsumi reminded her, doing his best to squash an upwelling of sadness. "I'm just sorry that Ieyasu and Sayo never got to meet you."

Akame's expression became more neutral. "I'm sorry too. They must have been great friends."

"Yeah. They even promised to help me find you guys after the old man left." Tatsumi's face fell, his hair shadowing his eyes. "But I'm happy." Tatsumi's cheerful smile returned. "I get to train with you. Please teach me well Akame-sempai."

Akame blushed at the praise, breaking her stoic attempt to hide how his words were affecting her. She felt herself take a step closer to Tatsumi, closing the distance between them. Unfortunately, a certain black-themed assassin rounded the corner and saw them.

"Tatsu-nii!" Kurome shouted, running and throwing herself at Tatsumi, ignorant of what Akame had been considering. Tatsumi was dragged to the ground by the forceful tackle-hug, but managed to keep himself between the floor and Kurome. After grunting from the two-part impact, Tatsumi looked at the small girl currently wrapped around his midsection.

"Hey you." He smiled at Kurome, reaching up to pat her head. "Glad to see you made it back in one piece."

"Of course. I'm a professional after all." Kurome preened, stars in her eyes from the praise and the petting. Unconsciously, Akame's hand moved to the top of her head as she considered what it would feel like to get petted like that by Tatsumi.

"Did you see the old man?" Tatsumi questioned as they stood up, now that Kurome had let go.

"Yes. He's already working." Kurome quickly turned away from Tatsumi, "And he's got some girl with him. Old pervert."

"I've been wondering Tatsumi, do you know anything about her?" Akame wondered, reminding them that she was there.

"What Onee-chan said, Tatsu-nii."

Tatsumi thought about it, before replying, "I… honestly don't know. He must have met her sometime after he left, but we do know she's blonde and around our age." Tatsumi's eyes lost focus as he continued to muse, "Maybe she's like us. Someone he chose to save."


Tatsumi's next few days were focused on acclimating himself into the organization, working alongside Akame around the hideout. He met all the members of Night Raid properly; except for Lubbock, who was apparently out on a mission for Najenda. The only real highlight he had was when Tsu and he had a funeral for Ieyasu and Sayo, with full ceremonies and stone markers. If you could call that a highlight.

"Sayo… Ieyasu…. I'm sorry that you guys aren't here to see what happened." Tatsumi felt a sad smile cross his face as the sun rose on his fifth day at Night Raid's base. "But we met them. Akame and Kurome… they were in the capital the whole time. And the old man finally showed up too… but it's not going to be the same without you two."

Sensing a projectile aimed at him, Tatsumi turned and caught the thrown ladle that had been aimed at his head. He looked past the utensil to the one who threw, glaring at the intruder on his private grieving.

"Talking to the dead won't get you any responses." Tsu stated with no hint of sympathy. "Better to waste your words on the living."

Rather than dignify him with a response, Tatsumi walked past his guardian with his head straight forward.


As much as I like cooking… Tatsumi thought as he chopped carrots for dinner, I wish they would actually train me!

Another bout of laughter from the dining room made Tatsumi grimace, knowing exactly what they were laughing about. Bulat, Tsu's assistant, Kurome, and Leone were barely upright, holding their chests against the guffaws. Sheele continued to smile politely, letting out the occasional chuckle while trying to remain dignified. Mien didn't show any sign of restraint, her head on the table as she pounded the wood to the beat of her own laughs.

"…I swear, I chased him up and down that mountain at least three times." Tsu proclaimed, tears in his eyes from telling the story about Tatsumi's childhood. "And when I finally got my hands on him, he says to me, 'But you didn't say I couldn't.'" Everyone couldn't hold back as they howled with laughter, making Tatsumi blush with embarrassment. He couldn't believe the old man was humiliating him like that.

A quick turn of his head to look at Akame revealed that even she wasn't immune to it. A slight smile and flushed cheeks told him she was holding back her own laughter for his sake.

"Not to sound too judgmental, but when are we going to do some real training? It's obvious I can cook." Tatsumi questioned while he continued chopping more vegetables, hoping he could distract her from hearing any more embarrassing stories.

"It can't be helped since I'm in charge of food." Akame replied, popping small pieces of cold ham into her mouth. Tatsumi felt himself lose some respect for his childhood friend. Because you want to sample and eat everything, if I had to guess.

"And you don't really need training considering you almost got me." She continued, oblivious to Tatsumi's blush at her compliment. Akame quickly realized what she said and quickly rectified it. "Plus, until you complete your first contract, we can't get a measure of your actual skill levels."

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor signaled everyone's preparation for departure.

"Kurome, can you come to my clinic?" Tsu requested, almost out the door before Kurome followed him with a quick "Of course." Tsu's companion followed behind, barely more than his animated shadow.

The others gathered at the doorway between the kitchen and dining room, ready to leave.

"We'll be out on a mission you two, so don't frisky without me around!" Leone told them, winking at Akame while Tatsumi turned away to cut potatoes and hide his rampant blush. Akame managed to reign in her embarrassment from Leone's comment by focusing on the sound of Tatsumi's rapid chopping.

"Big assignment?" Akame guessed, noting that the four remaining members of Night Raid were clearly prepared to go out.

"Don't worry about it Akame, it should only take the four of us so you can focus on taking care of the rookie." Bulat reassured her, while Mien took up a haughty stance to deliver a line.

"Yeah, have fun, maid-in-training!" Mien insulted Tatsumi, causing his chopping to miss a barely perceptible beat. Everyone else turned as they heard the sound of something metal burying itself in the wood of the doorframe. Mien froze as a slight breeze tickled her cheek, followed by an unusual lightness in her left twintail.

Everyone's eyes bugged as they caught sight of what had happened: The kitchen knife Tatsumi had been chopping with was buried halfway to its handle, edge facing inward towards Mien. The blade had sheared off half of Mien's hair on that side, still quivering near her cheek while the cut strands fell to the floor. And all the while Tatsumi had never turned nor stopped his potato chopping. With a completely different knife.

Mien couldn't help but pale at the realization that Tatsumi might have killed her on accident. She felt words ready to burst forth and hammer the boy into submission before everyone else turned to face him, still not looking beyond the cutting board he was working on.

"Next time it won't be the hair." He told them when he felt their gazes on his back. This served to make everyone pale, realizing that as much as Tsu got away with making fun of Tatsumi they weren't going to get that leniency.

Akame considered the nearly impossible action before making a decision. Looks like we need to get him some throwing knives.


Lubbock let his back press against the stone wall of the ancient Imperial archives, letting its coolness soak up some of the heat from his overstimulated body.

"Four days and only a handful of clues without anything useful." He muttered, rubbing his eyes to make the texts in front of him stop dancing. "And I'm supposed to be our best information gatherer."

He pulled his gaze from the old pieces of paper, letting his thoughts drift to give himself an idea of what to look for next.

It's not an alias… maybe the name of his organization.

What if the Teigu isn't actually meant for combat?

They weren't unknown assassins, but sent by a specific group within the Empire.

These thoughts crossed his mind, and Lubbock found himself building a new plan of research to follow the trail his thoughts had led him to.

"Oh man, I hope Najenda gives me a sweet bonus for all of this." Lubbock exclaimed, his energy returning as the clues he had found earlier pulled him back into the stacks of knowledge.


Tsu stood behind one of his tables, fiddling with a clear half-gallon bottle full of a grey-blue concoction that was sealed in with wax.

"Okay, I've got good news, annoying news, and great news." He told Kurome, who was sitting on a nearby examination table with Tsu's companion standing near her.

With a roll of her eyes, Kurome said, "Well please, continue to keep me in suspense."

Tsu took the sarcastic comment with an unwavering expression. "Good news: I've got a cure made up and now we can administer it." He held up the bottle to indicate its importance.

"I don't think I can drink that much without needing to pee." Kurome deadpanned, eliciting a chuckle from her still unidentified female compatriot.

"Melody, not funny." Tsu mentioned to his assistant/companion. "That's the annoying thing… you don't drink it…"

"Then how am I…?" Kurome stopped her question as she realized what he meant. She started to make a move to flee, only to be grabbed in Melody's surprisingly strong grip. "No! Anything but shots! I hate needles." She squirmed, on the verge of a panic attack.

Tsu sensed it, and quickly came up with a strategy to divert her attention. "No one told me how you and Akame defected. I'm kind of amazed that it actually happened."

"Y-your words…" The black-haired girl stuttered, her eyes glazing over at the memories. "You told us to try and escape if we had the chance. Warned us that they would force us to accept the Empire's evil. They thought they had brainwashed us to obey without question but the thought of you and Tatsu-nii searching for us kept us strong against it." She barely registered the pinch of a needle slipping into her arm.

"When Onee-chan met Najenda, she realized it was our one chance, but they had me addicted so I couldn't properly defect. So we came up with a plan…" She hissed as the plunger pushed the cure into her system, spreading a strange coolness through her body. "Onee-chan would defect and I would pretend to not be a part of it while they tried to find someone to cure me. I made sure that they would assign me to hunt down both her and Night Raid so I could actually help with missions whenever I got the chance. Now I can finally leave them behind forever." She could feel Melody placing a small bandage over the injection site.

"You can't!" Tsu exclaimed, turning Kurome's head to him with a single hand. "The moment you do, you and Lubbock are going to be hunted down and we lose access to the Empire's information network. I know you'll hate for saying this, but you need to keep pretending to be loyal."

Kurome's expression hardened, as Tsu expected, before softening. She let her shoulders slump in defeat at the older man's logic. "You're right about that… but I just don't want to keep helping those corrupt devils."

"Poison is at its strongest when applied to the roots of weeds. They don't protect themselves from those that are closest to them. Consider this a long-term infiltration mission." Melody suggested, releasing Kurome and reaching for her hood.

Kurome heard the rustle of fabric as the hood that had hidden Melody's face slipped backwards, letting light grace it for the first time when someone else was around. The black-themed girl couldn't help but be shocked by who it revealed. Standing in front of her, paler than a corpse, was the noble girl Aria.


Tatsumi stood near the edge of the large pool of water, gazing up at the waterfall flowing into it. He hadn't expected them to just go fishing considering the way Akame had claimed they were going to "take some lives of their own." Or that he was going to be hiking to such a picturesque place.

When he heard the rustle of cloth behind him, he turned to see Akame undressing like it was nothing. Of course it wasn't nothing, as Akame became flustered internally. She knew this was going to be an important move for herself when it came to winning over Tatsumi.

"We'll be getting our fish from here today." She set aside her loosened tie and tugged her shirt up, making sure her bikini top wouldn't let anything slip.

Rather than panic and turn embarrassed like she had expected, Tatsumi watched with wide eyes as she removed her shirt and unzipped her skirt, revealing her frilly white bikini bottoms and matching top.

"Beautiful." He mumbled to himself, still trying to comprehend that not only was the incredibly pretty girl in front of him a trained assassin, but also his childhood friend.

Having heard him say something but not being certain of what she heard, Akame asked, "Come again?"

Realizing he had actually said the word instead of thinking it, Tatsumi flushed and stuttered, "S-s-s-so if we're fishing, why do you need a swimsuit?"

"Because we're going after Koga Tuna." Akame pointed to the pool, expecting Tatsumi to understand.

"You mean we're going to-" Tatsumi was cut off by a high-pitched scream from the direction of the base. When it abruptly cut out Akame didn't hesitate to start sprinting back the way they came, her current state of dress forgotten. Her dash spurred Tatsumi to act, following her after a few seconds of hesitation.

Tatsumi quickly realized that Akame had left her shirt, tie, and skirt behind in her haste. He skidded to a stop looking back at the pile of clothes before glancing back at Akame's retreating bikini-clad form.

Do I grab them and bring them along? But what if she thinks I'm creepy for doing that instead of nice? "Tatsumi the Pervert stole my clothes!" or something like that. Unless she expects me to grab them for her. No, that's-

"Tatsumi, hurry up!" Akame shouted back to him when she couldn't sense him nearby.

"Damnit." He cursed, chasing after Akame empty-handed. He knew this was going to be a screw up no matter what he did.


Kurome had barely let the shrill cry escape her lips before Tsu clamped a hand over her mouth. Leaving her to stare at the deathly pale face of Aria, a girl she had seen Tatsumi slay less than a week ago. And was smiling at her right now.

"If you promise not to bring down the Empire on our heads with your shrieking, I'll be happy to explain and-" Tsu's suggestion was cut off by Kurome biting his hand, forcing him to let go.

"Explain that." She pointed at Aria, who looked rather guilty. Tsu looked at his hand, making sure Kurome hadn't left any lasting damage before looking her right in the eyes.

"She was as much a victim of her parents as the ones in the storehouse. Her torture was aimed at making her like her parents." He told her, stone-faced as her expression turned angry. "Show her." He said to Aria, who hesitated before rolling up the sleeve of her tunic.

Kurome's eyes widened at the mass of scar tissue that elegantly twined around the vital points of her forearm, clearly from wounds meant to inflict pain without causing impairment. A classic torture technique for lengthy interrogations or forced submission, aka brainwashing.

"Thanks." Tsu told Aria as she rolled her sleeve back down. "Back 400 years ago, the Emperor of that time tried create new Teigu and only succeeded in making the Shingu, as I'm sure you are aware. I was part of the group trying to recreate the lost artifacts. In payment for my help, I had him create one for me."

Aria undid the clasp of her cloak, revealing a wide, spiked choker that had spikes on both the outside and the inside, where they could be clearly seen pressing into the bloodless flesh of her neck.

"Its name is Emparthos, Judgment of the Reformation." The supposedly dead girl explained. "By placing it on a dying person, they are given pseudo life during which they can choose to atone for what they've done or damn themselves. The only way to know if you're actually atoning is if the collar loosens. If it becomes loose enough, you can earn back your life."

"But you were dead. No one could have survived that attack from Tatsumi, much less lasted long enough for rescue to arrive." Kurome denied, remembering that they had lingered for some time after killing the former noble. One of the immutable laws of the Teigu was they couldn't bring life back to the dead.

"The brain doesn't die for minutes after the body does, and so the soul lingers near the body." Tsu pointed out. "Plus this Shingu didn't exactly stop her from dying while wearing it. It only traps her life force in her flesh. Something I imagine you might be familiar with, considering you wield the March of the Dead: Yatsufusa."

"So you brought her back for what reason? Some debt you owe to her family? Or are you just another pervert like Lubbock?" Kurome questioned, having a hard time digesting all the new information.

Tsu cast his gaze down to his feet, let his bangs shade his eyes. "I did something a long time ago that caused a lot of mistakes. Emparthos judges and atones to give people a second chance, something I've never had nor believed in. So I saw a chance to give something I've never had to someone else."

"But how did you know we were attacking their house?"

"I didn't. I visited several possible targets trying to make contact with Night Raid, only to find your handiwork when I came across their home."

Kurome shook her head at the sheer dumb luck, before deciding she was done with his insanity for the day. "I'm going to go lay down for a while."


Lubbock sprinted through the forest, the wealth of information he had found spurring him to reach the base.

Damnit! We had no idea! He mentally cursed, jumping the stream that led back to the hideout.

I only hope it's not too late.


Akame surveyed the hideout's exterior thoroughly, looking back for a moment to ensure that Tatsumi wasn't too far behind after his late start. As Tatsumi made it to her side, she made sure they were both hidden.

"Why are you still carrying the basket?" Akame felt the straps on his shoulders, turning to look at him directly.

"I…don't really know." He admitted. He knew he should have dropped it, but it had slipped his mind.

"Well drop it now. We don't know if we've been compromised." Akame shot a look at the base's main door, seemingly waiting to see something while Tatsumi followed her orders. "Let's move."

Akame made a dash across the empty space between their hiding spot and the door, leaving Tatsumi to struggle on focusing on something other than the way her body moved and how much skin she was showing. After biting the inside of his cheek to break the spell that it cast on him, he followed the bikini-clad assassin. Once they were both there, Akame breached the door with her usual grace and speed, immediately wary of any possible opponents.

"We need to get to Tsu's infirmary." She quickly told Tatsumi, who looked on from the doorway as she confirmed the nearby rooms were clear.

"Because…" He tried to answer intelligently, only half-succeeding.

"Because there are two noncombatants up there and it's Kurome's last known location." She replied and moved to the stairs before looking at him expectantly. He sighed before following her, pulling a knife from its hiding spot inside his belt. He felt he was going to need it.


Tsu didn't bother to turn when his door was kicked in, automatically assuming that it was an irate elder sister.

"Kurome screamed because the cure has to be injected, consider it a false alarm." Tsu tossed the words over his shoulder, not really sensing any actual killing intent that would make him worry if he was wrong about who he was speaking with.

"Oh." Akame replied, noticing that Melody was currently working with her hood down, her blonde hair hiding her face.. Forgetting her manners, Akame tried to get a look at the mystery girl's face behind the veil of hair. To which Melody fluidly drew up her hood to shield her face, making the attempt a failure.

"Akame, are they…?" Tatsumi half-shouted before looking in the door. Only to find nothing out of the ordinary. "What the hell kind of fake out was that?"

Tsu decided to turn around since it would give him a chance to look at his adopted son's face while berating him. Which was when he noticed how Akame was dressed.

"Tatsumi, I know I wasn't around during your sexual maturation time, but please refrain from tricking Akame into wearing next to nothing." He sighed, raising a hand to his temple.

Tatsumi had the decency to look embarrassed and blush about the situation he was currently in while Akame only now seemed to notice that she was only wearing her bikini.

"Please tell me you grabbed my clothes." Akame turned to Tatsumi, rather nervous as she thought about it. As much as she wanted him to be hers, she wasn't going to just hand herself over like some street woman.

"Ahhh….." Tatsumi fumbled for an explanation, reminded of the fact that he had pretty much abandoned that idea as bad. "Well…."

"That old soldier got you hooked on pin-up girls, didn't he?" Tsu cut off Tatsumi, instantly appearing at his side with a hand on his shoulder. He patted it, looking thoughtful before continuing. "I need to teach you what a real fetish is."

Before Tatsumi could process the perverted statement, much less become embarrassed by the open talk, Tsu's companion acted. In two short strides, she crossed the distance between herself and the males before winding up for a powerful kick. To Tsu's crotch.

As the old man collapsed with little more than whimper of pain, Tatsumi felt the need to cover his own groin and wince in sympathy. Not out of any particular affection for his apparently perverted former caretaker, but rather as a fellow male.

"When was it wrong to be sexually attracted to strong, kind women?" Tsu's prolific question lost some vigor as each word had to be panted out between painful gasps for air.

Tatsumi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, now stuck in a very uncomfortable situation. Melody seemed to be emitting an apologetic air, despite the lack of a visible expression. Akame merely shifted her focus from her situation and Tatsumi's humiliation to Tsu's current agony.

"Okay, everyone needs to leave while I recover from this undignified injury." Tsu ordered the three still standing as he crawled towards a pile of blankets topped with his cloak. "Akame, go change. Brat, check on Kurome to make sure she didn't have any kind of reaction to the cure. Melody, make sure he doesn't sneak off to watch her change."

The girls nodded their agreement while Tatsumi's shock was as clear as day. He decided to glare at Tsu's huddled back while Akame and Melody slipped out of the room. After quickly glancing to make sure they were out of earshot.

"I hope you lose both of them!" Tatsumi declared before slamming the door closed.

Tsu shot a withering look over his shoulder at the door before muttering, "You are really ungrateful."


Najenda held up Lubbock while he recovered, having run straight to her from the Capitol and giving his report before his knees gave out.

"Let me know when you're strong enough to move. We need to capture him right now." Najenda ordered her information specialist.

"What about the rest of them?" The green-haired assassin wheezed, feeling his strength returning after being so close to Najenda's chest.

"Tatsumi talks big, but I doubt he could kill the man who raised him. Akame and Kurome might have reservations but they're professionals. The major problem is his assistant, Melody."

"What about his speed? Do you really think we can catch him?"

"With Cross Tail and the element of surprise, we can."


Akame had changed into a spare set of clothes that she normally wore when her usual ones were too bloodstained to go without cleaning. It was a light blue version of her shirt and skirt, lacking only her tie. She made her way towards Kurome's room, wanting to check on both her and Tatsumi. Just thinking about the embarrassment of having to ask him for her clothes had been tough, but she could understand why he didn't take them. He was too focused on the job to think of a minor detail like that.

A flash of green further down the hallway caught her eye, and she realized it was Lubbock back from his mission.

"Lubbock, good to see you. How was-" She was cut off when Lubbock put his hands on her shoulders. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt before breaking his fingers, Akame listened as he spoke.

"You, Tatsumi, and Kurome are going to watch over Melody. Najenda's orders."

She nodded automatically, understanding that it meant Tsu had likely done something to anger Najenda and she was going to confront him. Not entirely implausible considering her last discussion with him.

"Do what you need to. We'll complete the mission."


Tsu rolled over at the sound of the door opening, mildly surprised by the appearance of Najenda and a green-themed boy that he assumed was Lubbock.

A glimmer of light reflected off of a razor-thin wire, making Tsu realize what had happened. "I guess you figured it out."

Najenda extended a pistol towards Tsu, her authoritative voice proclaiming, "For crimes against the citizens of this nation, I hereby place you under arrest… Will of the Empire."


And cliffhanger...

So yes, to anyone who had their suspicions that Melody was actually Aria, good job! I didn't make it too subtle but still.

Now its time for the drama to really kick up while Tatsumi bumbles his way into understanding his own feelings.

See you next chapter.