Wellowellowello. Seems I'm already getting asked for permission to make art on my work. Fellas, feel damn pleased to do with this whatever the heck it is you'd like.

I'm gonna be forthcoming and say it outright, I'm making this as a hobby. I don't plan on doing much with this outside of writing it and reading the comments. I dunno about collabing about this and that on Discord or some stuff. You all can do me a solid and just write your honest reviews. Help a brother out. This is a hobby but damned should I be if I put out slop online.

And there are some of you that are already scared I'd give up halfway through XD. Do I look like a scamp? I'm looking at you Neputola, HemingwayisBOSS, Marutectz552. Get your heads back in the game, ya dolts. Finish what you started. Anyhows, if I don't finish this, I'll dox myself and get myself canceled on Twitter. The stakes are high, innit?

Do enjoy the work if you all would please. P.S. I might redo the first chap cuz I felt it was too fast paced. If my dear audience wouldn't mind giving tips on what more I could add or lengthen, I'd be a dapper fellow.

A Second Start to an Adventure

The cart rumbled along the road that had been paved over the many years of being traveled upon. Leading it forward was a driver on a horse as another walked along the side. It was a peaceful journey for the most part. An always welcome refreshing therapeutic trip through the wilderness. In such a situation, these men could forget of the horrors they knew that lurked within the horizon in the large city of the Imperial Capital - if at least for a little while.

As the men were easing into their respective healing trances of becoming one with nature, a sudden rumbling broke them out of their stupor. The earth ahead of them cracked and erupted as a creature about the size of a house sprang out from the depths.

"Earth-Earth dragon...!?" One of the men shouted as he recognized the beast. "I didn't know they came out on highways like these...!"

"RUN!" The other man cried out as he abandoned his cart.

An Earth dragon was a risk class 1 danger beast. It required the joint effort of multiple soldiers or hunters to subjugate it. These two men, though they were trained in order to not lose their goods to bandits, were far below the necessary strength to take on such a threat.

The earth dragon's eyes squinted on the two men. It had wandered far out of its usual hunting territory. Here, in this area, there was little prey to consume. These tiny bipedal creatures were the first decently sized meal it had come across. It began to dive after them, giving chase.

As the men scramble back on the path they had just come from, from afar a lone figure comes into view. His brown hair flutters slightly as his green eyes fall upon the spectacle up ahead.

"A kid...!? Hey, kid...! Run!"

The boy doesn't seem to heed the words of the desperate men as they pass him. He simply walks forward. The danger beast lunges forward, its eyes redirecting its focus from the two men to the less mobile boy. It wasn't that picky for size. It would gladly enjoy eating the flesh of the boy first.

The boy looks up towards the charging danger beast. On his face was a smile of profound satisfaction.

"Earth dragon, huh? I remember this."

The boy springs up with considerable agility as the giant left appendage of the earth dragon slams onto the spot where he was standing moments ago. In a flash, he was running up the side of the arm the danger beast had just slammed down. The beast uses its other arm to try and swat the boy off but the boy simply responds by jumping into the coming hand and using it as a springboard to leap towards the face of the danger beast. His hand shifts effortlessly over his shoulder grabbing the hilt of the blade his village had given him.

The beast didn't even feel the slashes before it died.

Its carcass crashes onto the ground as the boy lands silently after.

"A-Amazing..." One of the men stammered. "T-That was amazing boy! You managed to defeat a risk species single-handedly...!"

The boy rises to his feet. He looks down on his hand and clenches it and unclenches it. A look of disappointment is on his face.

"Wow... I am so much weaker now..."

"What...?"

The boy looks up and a smile plastered on his face as he greets the men. "Oh... it's nothing! I... I'm just a passing traveler."

"How old are you, boy!? You can't be any older than 17, I'd say and you can already slay a class 1 danger beast with ease...!"

The boy ponders for a second. "I... I should be 16 now. I'll be 17 next month. I think."

The boy raises his sword and sheathes it behind his back. "I have to get to the Capital. I hope you both have a safe rest of your journey."

The men were a little taken aback. This young man was clearly not normal. Something about him seemed much older and more mature than his appearance or age suggested.

"Young man." One of the men called out. "What's your name?"

The boy had been walking away but he turned his head over his shoulder to look back at the man who called out to him. A determined smile rose onto his face.

"Tatsumi."

The arch of the capital didn't seem as grand as the first time Tatsumi came through. In fact, he barely even noticed it.

'The Capital... It looks so lively. So different from the destruction that will happen in just a few years.' Tatsumi thought to himself. 'But that's why I'm here now. To stop the coming ruin and annihilation.'

Turning his head, he gazed upon the vast and beautiful land of the Capital.

'Sheele, Bulat bro, Chelsea, Suu, Lubo, Mine, Akame, Boss, Big Sis Leone... you're all alive now. This time... this time I swear...!'

His fist clenches as a look of grim determination comes onto his face. Tatsumi reminisces about his friends in Night Raid.

'This time... I'll protect you guys!'

Now that he was back, he just had to find them. But how should he do that in a way that's most natural? He knew where their base was after all...

'Should I just go to their base and activate Lubo's sensors...? That would be the fastest but I'm not sure they'd be all too glad to see a guy just waltz up to them like that. Maybe I should meet them like I had the first time... at Aria's mans-'

Tatsumi's face whipped around as he remembered something critical of his past.

"Sayo... Ieyasu..."

His feet began to slowly take a step in the direction he recalled from so long ago. Internally, he began to beat himself up. How could he forget them!? His childhood friends!? The ones who he lost and had to bury with his own hands the same day he buried his innocent outlook on the world.

His slow walking turned into running as he desperately searched for the mansion. He would save them. At any cost. If Aria and her demon of a family came to stop him, he'd slaughter them all. Hell, he'd find them himself and slaughter them whether or not they came to him. He remembered that night so long ago when he saw the grimness and corruption of the Capital - the night he met Night Raid for the first time...

Tatsumi suddenly halted.

Was this right? If he went to rescue Sayo and Ieyasu now... maybe Night Raid wouldn't come to Aria's mansion. Would he be obstructing his own chances to join Night Raid...?

No. He'd never let Sayo or Ieyasu get hurt again. Never. He can't hesitate now. To save his friends... that's why he came back in the first place after all.

"I'm coming Sayo, Ieyasu...! Wait for me!"

He ran headlong into uncertainty.

Although it had been a long time since he cared to think about it, he easily found Aria's mansion before long. Its perimeter was surrounded by a rather tall wall, the only entrance being several iron gates with guards.

Getting in wasn't a problem. It could easily be scaled. The problem would be all the guards that were stationed on the property. Even if Tatsumi knew he was skilled enough to take on many, he wasn't sure if he would be able to take on everyone. It was also likely that soldiers would be called and if Captains began to arrive, he wouldn't stand much of a chance.

The best course of action would probably be to avoid the security altogether and leave with Sayo and Ieyasu... if they were still alive. No. He couldn't think like that. He had to hope.

Tatsumi walked around the perimeter of the wall. He found a remote part with a tree somewhat close to the wall. Tatsumi made sure to look around to confirm no one was watching him. He leapt off the tree onto the wall and back on the tree, hopping back and forth to zig zag his way up over the wall. He stealthily landed on the other side, quickly concealing himself. He was glad of his many years as an assassin. His experience would help out greatly now.

From his vantage point, Tatsumi spotted the mansion in the distance. He could see several guards patrolling the grounds, but they seemed to be following a predictable route.

Before long, he maneuvered his way around patrol to the far end of the property. Peeking around the tree that concealed him, he saw the brick structure that had held his friends. That shed.

No one was guarding it. No one was around at all. Tatsumi walked towards the two iron doors, his breathing heavy as he prepared to view what was within. He gripped his sword, and swung down at the lock of the doors. With a single strike, the padlock shattered and fell onto the ground.

The door creaked open. There were no windows in the building. There was only pitch black darkness inside. The darkness retreated from the light that spilled forth.

And the horrors of the dark came into view.

Tatsumi merely closed his eyes as he saw the gruesome sight. Bodies of what were once healthy men and women. Elongated, pierced, and chopped. Made grotesque by acts belonging to only demons. He could only hope that those two hadn't been so hurt yet...

"Sayo, Ieyasu...!"

He turned his gaze towards the wall... and his heart dropped to see the chained figure of a girl he knew, missing a leg.

"No..."

Defiled and whipped, the girl's eyes would surely have reflected an emptiness... if she still had them. Blood coated her once slender figure, which had cuts and scrapes all over. The worst part of it all, the part that made Tatsumi choke back a scream, was that the girl's chest was barely, just barely... still rising and falling.

"Sayo...!"

He rushed over to the chained girl. Tatsumi had no time to mourn or cry. He pushed aside the part of him that told him it was too late. The part of him that rationally knew that these wounds were way past fatal. That nothing could be done. He slashed at the chains holding her up. The girl fell right into Tatsumi's arms.

"Sayo...! It's me...!"

The girl turned her ugly once-pretty face towards him. Her empty eye-sockets seemed to be able to see Tatsumi.

"Tat... sumi...?" A labored voice seeped out of the girl's lips.

"Y-Yeah...! I-I'm here...!"

The girl's face contorted into a marred smile.

"Tatsumi... kill me..."

"W-Wha...?"

"Everything hurts... I'm begging you... make it stop..."

Tatsumi couldn't even answer. Tears began to stream down his face as he felt his throat begin to burn.

"Please, Tatsumi..."

"..."

Those words tore through him like a dagger, cutting deeper than any wound ever could. He heard the plea for mercy in her voice, the quiet dignity despite her agonizing state. Tatsumi didn't feel his fingers wrap around the hilt of his blade. Nothing registered in his senses as he lifted it. Only numbness.

He drove the heavy blade into the chest of his once beloved childhood friend. The merciful sword tore apart the heart, restricting the strained blood flow of the girl. Her chest tightened as her chest muscles condensed, contracting one last time before her consciousness faded apart like an exhale following a deeply held inhale.

"Thank you..." were the last words she whispered before entering the void.

"Thanks for that." A voice called out from the dark.

Tatsumi turned towards the voice coming from the opposing end of the wall where a cage ominously rested. Even though he knew what he would see, his heart still wrenched as his eyes focused on the sight of his other old friend.

"Sayo didn't deserve any of that. You put her out of her misery, man. If anyone could let her rest, I bet she'd be glad it was you." Ieyasu's voice rasped out.

"Ie... Ieyasu... you're alive...!" Tatsumi's voice trembled out. Ieyasu looked fine, save for a couple of scrapes and bruises. Tatsumi ran to him. At least Ieyasu... at least one friend of his past could-

"Sorry man." Ieyasu smiled at Tatsumi in just the annoying, non-serious way that he always had. But it clearly lacked any of his soul. "I'm gonna have to ask you to do the same thing for me too."

"...what?"

Ieyasu's gaze dropped to his thinned arm. Raising it slightly, Tatsumi could see on the fleshy side, four dark holes as though an injection was made recently.

"That bitch's mom called it 'Lubora disease'. Not that I know what it does. All I remember about it is that it's incurable and I'm slowly going to go insane as it kills me."

"T-The hell are you saying, man... do you even hear what you're saying...! There's gotta be a cure-!"

Ieyasu laughed. "Well fine, maybe it might have been curable. Who knows. But I bet it's already too late now."

Ieyasu raised his hands in mock surrender. A goofy smile plastered on his face. Even to the end, he was sticking to that damn unconcerned funny-man shtick of his.

"Don't hate us too much for this but you're gonna have to work three times as hard to save our village now. Heh."

Tatsumi returned a melancholic smile.

"You idiot..." Tatsumi choked out, his voice cracked with anguish. "Always joking, even at a time like this..." He gripped his sword tighter, knuckles turning white as he struggled with the weight of what he knew he must do. "You're fucking insane, man."

"What can I say? Insanity's a symptom of whatever that bitch gave me."

Tatsumi's smile didn't waver but he closed his eyes. Standing up, he slashed at the iron lock of the cage. He took the heavy step into the short enclosure of rotten death. Ieyasu stood up on his worn out legs. He gave his friend his most appreciative smile - one that held no fault or quandary.

"Make it quick for me, would ya?"

"...Goodbye, old pal."

Tatsumi's village sword tore into the heart of his second childhood friend. A slight cough escaped Ieyasu's throat followed by a trickle of darkened poisoned blood. Tatsumi felt Ieyasu's arm rise up and rest on his back.

"...see ya not-so-soon..."

The body of his friend finally slumped as it turned from what Tatsumi knew to be Ieyasu to a bag of flesh that contained no soul. It dropped to the floor unceremoniously with no one behind the wheel to give it orders to stand anymore. Not even that stupid grin was left. Ieyasu took it with him.

Tatsumi's empty gaze stared forward focusing on absolutely nothing at all. He went back in time to overcome his regrets. He was given the opportunity of a negative lifetime… but even then he had to witness his two close friends die. He was too late to save them but early enough to mercifully grant them their ends.

Tatsumi instinctively gazed up at the ceiling, willing his body with every effort to not shed a tear. A storm of insanity was brewing within his soul lashing out tremendous emotions. The boy's heart was cracking under its weight. Under the weight of having to witness his friend's death twice while being unable to stop it.

"T-This is fine. Now I just need to wait a day and a half and Night Raid will come here." The boy spoke in an emotionless voice, his face without a bit of care, his words directed at no one in particular.

'This is fine. Now I can just do everything like before. I got over their death's once before. I can do it again.'

Sounds interrupted his grieving session. Multiple footsteps were approaching the shed. "Huh?" A familiar feminine voice rang out from beyond the door. "Why's the door open?"

'This is fine. I just need to wait things out and meet up with Night Raid.'

Guards peeked into the room. There were four that Tatsumi could see but he could sense the presence of 5 other figures outside. "My lady. It looks like it was broken int- what the… there's an intruder here…!"

'This is fine. Let's just get out of here.'

"There is? Let me see." The face of a girl peeked from around the iron door. A pretty girl's face that quelled the storm within Tatsumi instantly as all the emotions died out. Save for one. Hate.

'This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fi-'

"Who the fuck am I trying to fool anymore."

Every guard instinctively took a step back as the boy's eyes finally focused on a target. Their hair raised as a flood of murderous intent on par with perhaps a general's slammed into them. The face of the boy betrayed no emotion as he turned his body towards them in an almost listless manner - yet the men knew within the deepest part of their soul, on an instinctual primal level, a predator was eyeing upon them like prey.

"My lady… please run…" The guards whispered as they drew their weapons. Tatsumi's eyes flicked over the group. Four had swords. One had a set of daggers. Another one was using a gun. Two didn't draw anything as they withdrew with the girl. He took a step towards the six who were targeting him.

"Stay back, boy. You're gonna die if you take one more step."

Without a second's hesitation, Tatsumi took a provoking step ahead.

Immediately he dove to the side as the one with a gun let loose a barrage of bullets from where he was standing. Making use of his small build, Tatsumi quickly concealed himself behind a bookshelf.

'On terms of skill alone, I'm definitely good enough to beat them all one-on-one. The problem is that my body is not nearly as trained as it has to be to prolong this fight. If I let them organize or get reinforcements too quickly, my stamina would give out first. The biggest pain in the ass right now…'

Tatsumi glanced around the side of the shelf. Immediately a shower of bullets whizzed past his head as he drew it back.

'...is that gunman. He's annoyingly efficient and limiting my movements. He's providing ranged support. AND he's far back so I can't get him without getting rid of his covering swordsmen. So…'

Tatsumi eyed a line of chain on the floor. He grasped at it and made two swift cuts.

The guards holding swords slowly drew upon the bookshelf. Two stopped just a few feet away, guarding from the back. Two quietly slinked up towards the other side of the bookshelf. The one with daggers began to quietly sneak around the side. In a moment, he was going to dive around the corner and confront the boy head on. Just after one more step-

A precise stab slashed apart his left achilles tendon before the dagger man could comprehend his injury. He tried to step onto his left foot and found that it couldn't support any weight or balance himself, tumbling onto the floor.

At that very instance, the two guards that were close to the bookshelf drew back their blades, using the dagger man's fall as a cue to attack. They were going to pierce through the bookshelf guessing where the boy would be-

Tatsumi crashed his whole weight, driving as much force as he could into the shelf to tumble it over onto the men, right as they thrust. The timing had to be precise. Too early was when the men were tense and waiting so the men would have simply jumped backwards in response to the falling bookshelf. Too late would be when the men had thrust their swords into the shelf and they would have let go of their swords and stepped away to avoid the collapse. Tatsumi waited until he could feel their intent of attack to crash the shelf down. Their bodies, already in forward motion, could not quickly withdraw fast enough to avoid the falling bookshelf.

Tatsumi was on top of the shelf as it fell down, giving two quick and precise stabs on the necks of the men under it. The other three men had a split second to process the sight before Tatsumi whipped his chain towards the closer swordsman. Instinctively, the man raised his blade and the chain wrapped around the metal.

Withdrawing the chain quickly, the sword slipped from the man's hand flying towards Tatsumi as he let go of the chain and grasped the sword. He was already running towards the now unarmed man. In each of Tatsumi's hands, he was holding a sword.

The gunman realizes too late that he missed his chance to shoot the exposed boy. By the time he regained his bearings, the boy was too close to his fellow guard so that shooting would have meant hitting both. He hesitated for just a second - just a second - before opening fire anyway as he prioritized the safety of his lady and the subjugation of the boy over the life of his compatriot. But that second was all that Tatsumi needed.

Tatsumi drove both blades into the chest of the unarmed guard and held him steady as his flesh blocked the bullets. Turning his body to minimize any unprotected area, Tatsumi used the guard's body as a shield. Blood dribbled onto the floor.

The gunman felt the click of his gun as it ran out of bullets. He immediately dropped the chamber, unloading the spent magazine while reaching for a new one- thunk. Tatsumi had pulled out his blades from the dead man's chest and threw the one that he had just acquired directly into the gunman's solar plexus. The lone surviving guard stood frozen, his mind unable to process the sheer speed and ruthless efficiency with which the boy had dispatched his comrades. Tatsumi, breathing heavily but otherwise unmoved by the carnage, slowly approached him.

"W-what the… what the hell are you…!?" He cried out loudly, trying to seem larger than he was, not to the boy but more for himself in order to draw out false bravado. He charged with his sword at the ready, completely willing to lose his life in exchange for taking a limb or causing any sort of great harm to the boy.

His will was indeed amazing as it surprised Tatsumi. Tatsumi was completely taken aback by the determination of the lone guard. He had expected to finish him in 2 sword exchanges but the guard managed to last 6 before getting slashed in the neck.

As the last guard fell to the floor, Tatsumi was already walking over to the gunman. He picked up the dropped gun and a magazine, loading it into the gun before holding it in a testing manner.

The dagger-holding guard quietly laid silently on the floor, playing dead even though he only hit his head. He was in no hurry to die at the hands of that beast of a boy. His left achilles tendon was cut but if that was the price he had to pay to never see that boy again, he would gladly take it. His heart calmed down a little as the sounds of fighting died out. Now, the boy could just leave and get out of here - BANG! BANG! BANG!

Tatsumi shot at the dagger-wielding guard, landing a fatal wound from afar. He nodded approvingly at the gun. It was nice.

Aria walked into her mansion, despite the incessant plea of her guards to run faster. She wasn't scared at all and she didn't like running. In her head, the boy was likely already dead. When she thought about that, she was a little disappointed. Perhaps if they captured him alive, she'd be able to play with him. For now, she wanted to inform her father and mother of what had transpired.

The guards that were escorting her weren't as lax. Sure, they believed the boy was likely dead just as Aria believed… but they were trained fighters. Aria was not so her fighting instinct was weak. She hadn't felt it but they did. The sheer murderous aura emanating from the boy.

"My lady, shall I call for soldiers to investigate the matters with that boy? Something about him doesn't seem right…"

Aria rolled her eyes, "Really? Are you all this paranoid? He's likely dead by now. If not, then having our soldiers waste their time on one little boy sounds pointless." Aria retorted. "Have I made a mistake to hire weasels that piss themselves when they see a child wielding a knife?"

"My lady, you don't understand. That boy was… is… dangerous…" The other guard stammered, struggling to explain the severity of the instinctual danger warnings they received.

"Ah, I see. You are cowards. Consider yourselves fired from today onwards. Oh, father, mother!"

"...!"

The head and mistress of the mansion were chatting in the great living room of their estate. They turned with a warm smile onto their daughter.

"Oh, Aria? What are you doing back here? I thought you went out to go play?"

"Father, mother! You wouldn't believe it! A stray boy had wandered into the warehouse!"

"...What? A stray boy? Isn't the warehouse locked?"

"I think he broke it to enter."

"Broke...?" Her father's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "My, my - either this boy possesses great physical strength or exceptional lock-picking skills."

Her mother chimed in, "Did you send the guards to get him?"

Aria nodded confidently. "Yes, mother. But you wouldn't believe this - these cowards were so afraid they insisted I run faster. Can you believe that? I had to fire them."

The father of the estate turned towards Aria's bodyguards, a little surprised. He had hired them on the knowledge that they were exceptionally strong.

"Cowardice was indeed unbecoming for guards serving this great household," the father said, his tone growing stern. He turned to the bodyguards. He had trust on the skills and senses of these men. That they were hesitant to face a lone intruder alarmed him. "Is it true, Gauri-kun?"

Gauri, the lead guard, gulped nervously before speaking up, his brow furrowed in concern. "My lord, I hesitate to displease you or doubt Lady Aria's judgment, but... something was profoundly amiss with that boy. A palpable aura of danger clung to him."

The lord stroked his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing. "An aura of danger, you say?" He glanced at his wife and daughter, noticing their confusion. "Sometimes, instinct proves more valuable than appearances suggest. Describe this boy, Gauri."

"A slim build, Lord. Not muscular, but moves with an... unnatural grace. He wore simple, worn clothes - nothing that would catch the eye. Yet, his eyes... his eyes glowed with an unsettling maturity beyond his years. When he moved, I could sense a lethal grace, like a predator stalking its prey. He may… he may be an assassin, my lord."

A silence resounded through the collective at the word 'assassin.' Everyone thought of the same thing. "Could he be... from Night Raid?"

The air grew thick with tension as the family and guards exchanged haunted glances. The mention of Night Raid sent shivers down their spines. The infamous group of assassins had not only resisted the Empire's oppressive rule but also claimed numerous high-ranking lives. If this mysterious boy was one of them… "Aria, Yenova. You two get your stuff and go to the private room."

"Father, but what about- " Aria started to protest but was silenced by the sudden sound of gunshots from afar. They froze as they all realized it - the boy was still alive.

The lord turned to Gauri, "Send word to the Imperial garrison immediately. I want at least Captain level ranks sent here."

Yenova, the mistress, was about to ascend the stairs when she realized she forgot something. She went back to the drawer where she left her diary. With her delicate hands, Yenova carefully lifted her intricately embroidered diary from the drawer. As she leaves, she walks by a window, a window pointed towards the west which should have let the light of the dusk enter. But the figure that was hurtling towards the glass blackened out the light.

In a swift, devastating motion, the window shattered inward as a dark figure smashed through, glass exploding everywhere. Time seemed to freeze as the intruder landed catlike amidst the stunned nobles, shards of glass raining down around him. Before Yenova could react, a slash ripped apart her throat. Blood sprayed from her severed windpipe, painting the nearby wall in a gruesome display of violence. Her eyes widened in horror as her lifeblood spilled from the fatal wound, staining her elegant robes. She attempts to scream but finds she is unable to do so, her voice silenced forever as she collapses to the floor, her diary falling from her grasp.

Tatsumi slowly rises to his feet, eyes coldly sweeping over each stunned noble. His gaze lingers momentarily on Aria, noting the terrified dilation of her pupils. He dropped the gun he had brought which he had spent all the bullets of. He had sensed the presence of people in the room and jumped in as he felt one straggler get too close to a nearby window. The assassin's lethal intuition had proven fortunately correct as Yenova's body lay crumpled.

The lord and Aria froze in shock but Gauri and his partner bodyguard left into action, drawing their blades immediately. "Guards! Intruder in the living quarters!" Gauri called out for reinforcements.

Tatsumi was breathing heavily, cursing his younger self's lack of stamina. He hunched low as he suddenly dashed for the lord of the manor.

Gauri's sword clashes against Tatsumi's simple weapon with a deafening metallic clang. The steel sings as their blades lock, Gauri's trained muscles overpowering the boy's thrust.

Tatsumi pivoted immediately on his foot before jumping back avoiding a downwards punch from Gauri's fist. Even though he dodged, the other guard had run up on him, landing a strong drop kick onto Tatsumi's barely formed guard. The guard's heavy boot connects with Tatsumi's arm, sending him crashing into a nearby vase stand which shatters under his weight. His vision blurs but he pushes through the pain, rolling away just in time to avoid Gauri's follow-up strike.

Tatsumi gets back on his feet as he reassesses the situation. These guards... were much more skilled than the rest. Tatsumi's stamina was on the brink as well. He cursed his own recklessness. Because of his hasty rush to end things quickly, he took a strong kick. He realizes he needs to change his approach. These guards are too skilled, and his stamina is dwindling. He can't afford to draw this out. More guards were surely on their way.

The heavy footsteps of reinforcements echoed through the halls, growing louder with each passing second. Tatsumi's heart sank as he realized the true extent of his miscalculation. Outnumbered, exhausted, and faced with elite guards, his chances of survival grew slimmer by the moment.

'Crap… I lost my momentum after running into these two bodyguards… and they're not even recklessly charging towards me… I can't capitalize on anything…! Then… I'll have to try something else.'

Desperate, Tatsumi hunkered low preparing for a charge. His whole body leaned forward to an unstable degree before kicking off in an uncoordinated, unpredictable footwork. It was something he had watched Akame perform in their short spars many times before. He had asked her to even teach him and she tried… but he never mastered it. Changing directions seamlessly and shifting his center of gravity while running at top speed not only was really difficult, but as Tatsumi started using Incursio, he thought it didn't really mesh well with his style of fighting.

'Can't be picky now… I'll have to pull this off no matter what. Focus…'

Tatsumi began to focus internally on his state of balance. He let his muscles go limp, leaning slightly as though he were a flimsy paper in a breeze that fluttered through him, guiding him.

'Focus… remember how she moved… like a leaf through the wind…'

With his imagination operating his movements, Tatsumi bet everything on his creative flair to guide his steps. While only applying bursts of strength to his trailing leg to drive him forwards, his muscles were otherwise absolutely slackened. After a few steps, he completely halted his momentum randomly to change his direction.

'I'm pretty sure… it went something like…'

Tatsumi's hobble suddenly shifted into a dash towards Gauri, who immediately put up a guarded stance. A little taken aback by the bizarre movements of the boy, but he was ready for the charge-

'...like this…'

Tatsumi threw an instep with his left foot, slamming it down between him and Gauri, immediately using it as a pivot while slanting backwards, spinning erratically before slamming his momentum all the way to the right where Gauri's partner bodyguard was. The man's eyes widened in complete surprise as the boy made a move unimaginably swift towards him. He was about to jump in to support Gauri but now, he had to cancel it to throw up his arm in defense. He raised his sword, instinctively protecting his chest and head.

Tatsumi slipped low, taking the guard's offer of his unguarded midsection, thrusting his blade through his stomach. The guard coughed as he felt the sharpness of the steel pierce into the very core of his being. He coughed again as his muscles instinctively tightened, which only served the sharp blade to cut further into his system. He felt blood seeping out internally as his life too seeped away. He dropped his sword in shock.

Tatsumi grinned. 'Finally… I did it-'

The guard grabbed the boy's back with his fleeting consciousness. "Gauri…! NOW…!" He choked out a scream.

Tatsumi was shocked by the guard's determined grip. Had he been at full strength, he would've broken out of the dying man's grasp easily but now, he was stalled for a moment… he felt the presence of the other guard approaching quickly from behind. Tatsumi withdrew his sword as fast as he could, dooming the guard to bleed out. He threw the guard off as quickly as he could, spinning to meet Gauri's charge as quickly as he could, jumping back to avoid a whirl of steel… but it was too late.

'SHIT!' was all he managed to think before a gash was torn along the side of his left arm. It was a deep slash that went from halfway up his upper arm to the side of his forearm.

"Grrgghhh… AGGGHHHHHHH…!"

Tatsumi cried out, his nerve endings searing, burning, screaming as they were exposed to the aggressive air of the world. Blood trickled down his wounded arm.

'FUCK! I lost my gambit…! I'm already running on fumes at this point… I can't take a wound like this now…! I need to rest… but if I take too long, I'd die from bloodloss first…' The doors burst open as more guards began to flood in.

'...'

"My lord! My lady! Please take this chance to run!" Gauri shouted. The head and the daughter of the house immediately began to bolt up the stairs.

Tatsumi watched helplessly as his target ran away, separated from him by a wall of around a dozen guards. Fifteen in total. "Shit…"

"Boy. That footwork earlier… were you trying to do that Night Raid girl's technique?"

Tatsumi glared up at Gauri, the man who spoke out.

"I have heard rumors of her unpredictable maneuverability. That her victims die before understanding when she ever reached them. It seemed like you were trying to emulate that… though not perfectly."

The guards surrounded Tatsumi, each holding a blade. He was cornered into a wall, away from the window or the stairs. There was no escape.

"Surrender and drop your weapon, brat. You have no chance of winning this anymore."

Tatsumi glared at the guards, the fire of a rebellious and murderous light burning strongly within. "... you… all of you… don't you know what it is your masters do…? What they commit on innocent people…?"

The guards held their distance, not approaching recklessly despite their overwhelming advantage. Gauri spoke up. "We do."

Tatsumi reeled back, not in surprise of the admission… but from the sheer shamelessness of the tone. "You know… and you still protect… those demons…!?"

Without so much of a flinch on their consciousness, the guards gazed down without care upon the boy. "There are many people like those country urchins, kid. No one cares if a few are slaughtered."

The mood of the room perceptively darkened. No change was seen in the boy's expression, posture, or breathing. But something had changed.

Tatsumi slowly raised his head to gaze up at the ceiling. His eyes were glassy as he thought to himself.

'Sayo… Ieyasu… when I was grieving in the future… I thought of my friends in Night Raid. I didn't even think about you guys. I… I guess I got over your deaths. That's probably why… why I'm too late now to save you. I came back, full of hope for a better future… where I can save everyone I loved… Why is it… that the first thing I experience… is to lose those I love…!?'

The guards saw that Tatsumi's grip on his handle tightened, his knuckles whitening and audibly cracking.

'Don't fucking kid yourself, Tatsumi. You know why… it's because… you're weak.'

'Boy, you've got some rather serious talent. I'll let you train under me. Show me how far you make it, kid.'

'Tatsumi… he's rough around the edges but he's a cluster of potential. If he keeps training, I'm sure he'll one day grow to surpass me.'

'I could tell the very instant I laid my eyes on you… you had the potential to grow into something amazing… maybe even my equal…'

'Teacher… Bulat bro… Esdeath… they all told me how much potential I had… when I first heard all that praise… man, was I giddy…'

Anger erupted out of Tatsumi's heart for his weakness. Every single fiber of his being raged against itself. His teeth grit as he glared up at the sky.

'I'm so FUCKING tired of just having potential…! My potential didn't save Bulat bro or Lubo or Mine…! It didn't save the countless lives from the devastation that followed the war…! It didn't even save… Sayo… Ieyasu…'

The guards raised their arms into a defensive stance as they sensed danger emanating from the child in front of them. Something was different now. Something about the boy felt like… staring at a predator. A beast higher on the natural chain of order. Tatsumi slowly lowered his head from the ceiling to look at the men. Sweat dripped on the backs of the adult men as they witnessed the boy do something that unsettled them far more than lashing out.

A single, lone tear trickled down from the boy's right eye which had turned red.

"I am done with being weak."

A single guard, whose nerves were on edge, dashed forward with sword at the ready. The boy was bleeding out, heavily injured and fatigued…! There was no way he'd be able to stop a fully healthy trained man's charge…!

Gauri saw the man charging in and cried out, "Stop!"

…

…

…

Tatsumi turned his head towards the man that was rushing at him and wondered what he was doing.

'Why… is he so slow…?'

It was as though he were moving at a comically lowered pace. Tatsumi could clearly saw the legs of the charging man moving as though it were in a very thick liquid. Tatsumi tried to raise his right arm to defend himself.

Tatsumi was hit with another surprise just then. He too was also slow. He was willing his body to move but it was like chains were obstructing his movements, forcing everything about him to move at an incredible snail's pace. Yet, by consistently ordering his limb to move, he got his arm to go between him and the guard, deflecting the thrust. The force he felt from the impact was strange, like a gradual recoil. That's when he understood.

'My perception of time has slowed.'

Unbeknownst to Tatsumi himself, his brain responded to the life and death scenario in a drastic way to survive. It unleashed a flood of dopamine and norepinephrine into his system, super-activating his neural processors to compute at incredible speeds. Tatsumi was experiencing tachypsychia.

With the most minimal amount of movement necessary, while avoiding any counter from the guard, Tatsumi quietly brought his sword up into the man's neck, executing him from within his slow, measured perspective.

The guard was dead before he dropped to the floor. The rest of the guards were taken aback by the unnatural efficiency at which their fellow hire was killed. The boy's movements were clearly different. It was, in one word, ideal. Like the most optimal solution to an answer, one without any waste or unnecessary additions, the knife found its way into the neck in the shortest possible route, using the most minimal resources to get there. An ideal. Something that shouldn't be possible in the chaotic environment of a real battle.

Tatsumi dashed to the guards. He was getting bored of waiting. His slow perception of time was drawing out every second. Besides, he didn't have time to waste either. He was bleeding from his arm.

He slid under the slash of the first guard he met, giving his quadriceps tendon a clean cut before rising up right in the middle of the crowd of guards. He shifted his knee just enough to avoid a slash and stepped back to avoid a vertical slash. He crouched low, shifting his eyes around to take account for everyone's positions before making his move, a guard was running up towards him. Tatsumi used his momentum to land a modern day oblique kick right on his left thigh, halting him prematurely. Ducking under another slash, he stepped into the personal space of the slasher, wedging his sword into the soft underbelly of the man before pulling out just as quick.

'Two down… Thirteen to go…'

Crouching low, he spun with his leg out to sweep another man's legs. The man fell as Tatsumi stood up, his sword effortlessly slashing his neck as they crossed, swiping the trachea and jugular.

An incoming thrust from two guards trying to capitalize on his uneven posture after just standing up came next. They expected him to move back to avoid their charge, but to their surprise, Tatsumi boldly stepped forward, into their attack, avoiding their dual blades by choosing the insane route of going between them. In a single slash, both of their necks were cut.

'Ten left.'

Tatsumi kicked off, jumping over a swing, surprising the guards that expected him to dodge under like usual. With a swift spinning kick, Tatsumi felt the skull of the guard crack as his heel met his temple. He instantly died.

He used the recoil of the kick to fly back into another guard. The guard's sword was up to try and slash Tatsumi but Tatsumi deflected with a well placed slash. As Tatsumi's momentum caused them both to fall to the floor, Tatsumi's blade had sank into his chest by the end.

Tatsumi quickly grabbed the sword of the fallen guard with his lamed left arm. Adrenaline pumping just enough to dull the pain, he threw it quickly, right between the eyes of another guard.

Sensing murderous intent from below, he lifted his right leg as a man tried to slash at it. Tatsumi countered with a hard slash, splitting his head. He wanted to get necks if possible in order to use the least amount of energy to kill them but he wouldn't complain about this skull slash. Using powerful swings would drain his dwindling stamina but Tatsumi reasoned it would be better to use it than waste more energy trying not to use it.

But if he had to use a powerful swing, Tatsumi wasn't going to let that power go to waste with just one kill. He turned with the momentum of the swing, letting it guide his body like a flowing river towards another man. The man tried to block but Tatsumi's overactive senses could easily guide the stab through the holes of the man's defensive posture.

'Five left.'

In not even a minute, the group of fifteen armed and trained men was reduced to a third of its size. Gauri stood in shock, trying to issue orders to the men who were losing their composure.

"Don't charge in recklessly! The boy is wounded! Get into a defensive formation!"

The guards tried to reorganize but one man looked back at Gauri as he listened to his superior's orders. That was an opening Tatsumi did not miss. By the time the man looked back, all he managed to think was, 'When did he get so clo-!' before his neck was ripped apart.

The group, who was originally standing in a line, was now divided into a group of three and one.

Tatsumi immediately dropped his stance into a low position and dashed for the singled-out guard. This was the guard he had slashed the quadriceps tendon of. The guard screamed as he tried to step away but fell backwards. As he clattered to the ground, Tatsumi gave a long slash up the fallen man's chest, cutting up several ribs in the process. Immediately after, Tatsumi gripped the fallen man's sword.

Gauri and another guard tried to use the opportunity of Tatsumi's turned back against them, rushing at him to use their fallen compatriot's sacrifice.

Tatsumi looked over his shoulder. He remembered the way all the guards reacted to his murderous intent back in the warehouse but not Aria. That was because Aria hadn't trained her senses to perceive them. Tatsumi reasoned that those who were more trained and seasoned were more sensitive to murderous auras. So Tatsumi tested it out on the approaching two guards. Of the two, Gauri was the one that Tatsumi judged to be much stronger.

Focusing, Tatsumi let out a thin wave of murderous aura, masking and hiding it just enough for it to have its intended effect. Gauri, being the more attuned and sensitive fighter, felt the wave and halted out of reflex. The other guard didn't notice the sensation and continued the charge. Gauri's eyes widened as he realized he had been tricked into stopping. "STOP!"

Tatsumi met the charge of the lone guard and quickly slashed around his advance. The man was dead on the floor, his last thought a wonder of why Gauri didn't charge with him.

The last guard other than Gauri let out a scream as he began to run. The boy was a monster…! He bolted for the door. He had to get away…

The sword that Tatsumi took from the fallen man flew through the air, striking the runner squarely in his sternum, killing him instantly.

"..." Tatsumi eyed the last guard. Gauri alone was left to stand against the vengeful boy. "...one left." Tatsumi's dark voice rasped out.

Gauri felt his heart pumping. He stared into the lifeless eyes of the boy that looked probably half his age…! And yet… that very child wiped out more than a dozen fully-armed men… with a damn wounded left arm…!

"Y-you…! You're from Night Raid, aren't you…!?"

Tatsumi tilted his head to that question. A moment of intrigue passed through him.

"... Night Raid, huh?"

Tatsumi made a sorrowful smile that Gauri was taken aback from. The monster that slew so many could make an expression like that? Tatsumi's eyes met the guard's.

"I'm the last one."

Gauri didn't get the luxury of processing the boy's words before the exchange started. Tatsumi slumped forward taking a set of bizarre steps with a rapidly changing momentum.

'That footwork…! Where's he going to come fr-'

Tatsumi passed Gauri and began running for the stairs. Gauri looked behind in shock. The boy was running from him? He tried to call out… but found that his voice wouldn't work.

Looking down, he saw blood seeping down his chest. He reached up and touched his neck. It was wet. He had been cut without even realizing it.

As Gauri fell to the floor, he gazed at the back of the boy who was already climbing the stairs. As the light faded from his dimming eyes, the last and final thought that resounded in his head was,

'Who the FUCK are you, boy…'

Aria and her father were quivering in the private room of the upper floor. They shivered for each scream they heard, terrified. But now that it was silent, they were in far more terror. They huddled away from the door of their private room, which they used as a storage room for the cleaning staff. It was the only room without windows which was why they chose it for hiding.

"Don't worry, Aria. I'm sure that the guards must've gotten him." The father whispered.

The eerie silence continued on for a while after that. Gathering his courage, the father crawled over to the door.

"Father! What are you doing!?" Aria rasped quietly.

"I'm going to listen for footsteps." The father whispered, picking up a mop. "If I hear a sound, I'll warn you."

The man, as incorrigible as he was, felt the instincts of a father to protect his child. He realized if a creature was to come through the door, he would be the only line of defense to protect his daughter. The man's mouth felt dry as he waddled awkwardly to the door. He leaned up close, putting his ear to the door to get a listen-

CRUNCH

Tatsumi's sword pierced through the wood, digging into the man's skull, instantly killing him. Aria screamed as the door was flung open and a bloodied terrible figure that could only be described as death marched into the enclosure.

Hugging the corner, Aria felt tears stream out as the boy who couldn't be much older than her marched up to her. Merciless eyes gazed down on her trembling figure.

"Hey." Came the hoarse voice of the boy. "Can you not do that?"

The girl choked as the boy spoke. It sounded to her like the grim reaper's orders.

"D-d-do what…?"

The eyes didn't move.

"Pretending like you're innocent."

"W-w-what…?"

The boy leaned down a little, his eyes shifting as his brows creased. Anger was bubbling up under the surface.

"Take off… that mask… show me your true face."

Aria shivers but her eyes never look away from the boy's. Her thoughts were a rambling mess.

"P-please don't kill me…"

Those words set an inferno inside Tatsumi's heart. Unfiltered rage leapt out of every pore of his soul as many creases folded on his brow.

"Those words… how many people have pleaded them to you before…!? Have you ever granted them mercy…!? Have you ever thought of those you killed felt this way!? Do you even feel the shame of saying those words!?"

Aria flinched at the outburst, her heart pounding in anxiety. Without anything left to defend her from the monster before her, her heart finally jumped out to confront it.

"T-they… they were just hicks from the country…!"

Tatsumi paused, his face going right back to neutral.

"...t-they're just uncivilized brutes who've come here to infest our land with their presence… greedy pigs that are attracted to the idea of wealth… wanting to leech off of people like us to survive…! What's so wrong with killing some of them…!"

Tatsumi showed absolutely no response to her words. Aria's face began to light up into a twisted, warped smile as she interpreted Tatsumi's silence as agreement.

"They're the same as cattle…! There's so many of them to begin with… I'm doing everyone a favor by getting rid of them…! Who cares if I kill a f- a… few…?"

Her speech halts as she sees something unsettling. Tatsumi was smiling.

"Heh. Same old."

In a moment, Tatsumi delivers two extremely fast slashes on Aria's chest, making an X-shaped gash deep into her body. With a choke of surprise, Aria spurts out blood from her lips. The last thing she sees is Tatsumi's eyes. The right red one dissolves into a green color.

"When you get to hell, you'll fit in just fine."

Tatsumi trudges through the streets of Imperial Capital. It was dark now. He felt faint as he breathed heavily. His left arm was covered and tied together quickly but it still needed attention from a professional.

And God knew he was tired. The time-dilation effect wore off shortly after he killed off the guards in the mansion and he almost passed out right there on the spot as a wave of exhaustion mauled his senses. He didn't even know how he managed to kill the last two nobles.

Even after all that, he had to get out of there. There was no doubt in his head that some guards had run off to inform the Imperial Police of an attack on a noble's family. Before soldiers arrived, he needed to run. Which was why he was stumbling through the random streets of the Capital. He really needed to sleep. Or eat. No, sleep. He needed sleep so he could forget about the pain that assailed his left arm. The bloodloss was making his eyes feel heavy now.

'Fuck… is this the end…? How fucking pathetic… I traveled to the past to change the future… and I'm gonna end up dying a nameless loser on this random street before anything even began… heh…'

Tatsumi took a wobbling step forward and collapsed on the ground. Trying to will himself up, he found that he had absolutely no strength anymore.

'Well, shit. Guess this is as far as I go. Damn. At least, Sayo… Ieyasu… I avenged you guys…'

Tatsumi's eyes saw a figure of someone approaching him. It was a woman. The woman looked vaguely familiar. That was all his brain would let him think before forcibly shutting down. His eyes closed to sleep the night away.