This chapter is unbetaed as of the moment of its publishing.

Everybody in the room seemed to pause at the words that came out of the former general's mouth, "Little brother?" Sheele asked distractedly. All in all everybody was confused, Bulat eyes were wide with surprise before he quickly narrowed them and calmed down. Akame's eyes were wide, Leon was flabbergasted before she started to look at the sibling pair, Mine's mouth was hanging agape and Lubbock looked upon the former counter guardian with recognition as he realized who he was. As for Emiya...

His heart beat irregularly, Night Raids boss' words resonated through his mind, 'Little bro?' She had said it as if asking a question as if wondering if he was real or was just a figment of her imagination, he would rather it be the later so that he could just disappear and not deal with this situation. His eyes were wide with both surprise, and astonishement. However that tone of voice it had to be her's, and now that he looked at the hair, it was her's, the same silver hair still rested on her scalp, she still had the same presence and so he couldn't stop himself from saying what he said next, "Najenda?"

It was a question that asked another question, but it was an answer none the less, and so he moved his hand and the knife away from her throat and dismissed it, they wouldn't attack him now, that he was sure, the only one who would even want to put any hands on him was probably Najenda, and that was because he made her think he was dead.

"I'm... I'm sorry," the apologie came from the depth's of his heart, what little he had left of one at least.

He looked down at the ground, his eyes never leaving the floor.

"All of you get out," Najenda said, he could only presume she was speaking to the rest of Night Raid.

He could hear their feet hitting the ground as they left probably not arguing solely because of his sister's tone.

Once they all left it was just the two of them.

They didn't say anything for a while.

After all how could they?

They hadn't seen each other in years, and when they finally see each other again it's when he was pressing a knife to her throat to try and bargain to gain safe passage.

Safe to say they didn't have the most comforting of reunions, could have been worse.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"Why?" She asked it was a loaded question that was for sure there were multiple answers to multiple questions, for all he knew it could be why did you come back? Why didn't you kill her when you had the chance? Why aren't you dead?

And so he responded the best way he could, he would mask his pain and suffering as he always did, with snark, "Why what?"

She looked at him with an irritated look almost as if she was questioning his intelligence, questioning the reason why her father had taken in a boy with no purpose, no path, why she had probably asked herself those questions back then. How could he know? Back then he was an ageless being stuck in the body of a five year old, she was only seven. Looking at it that way she probably didn't ask herself that back then.

"Why, why did you not tell me you were alive?" Her voice contained a fury that he was rather familiar with, one from a woman scorned.

"Why didn't you contact me, why didn't you tell me you were alive?!"

Why didn't he? That was a good question, one that he wasn't even sure of the answer, he could play it off as a simple case of being forgetfulness and being a airhead. But she would see through that, she had known him for too long, all in all she was one of only two people who could tell he was lying no matter how small the lie was, she was the only one he was, mostly, comfortable with being able to do such a thing.

And so he did the only thing he could, he didn't give a response, it was better than saying the truth all things considered, that he viewed himself as a burden to her and that she would have done better without him, that he thought that she wouldn't care.

How wrong he was.

"What did you think I wouldn't care?!?! Of course I would care about you you asshole, you're my little brother!"

He looked at her, the only emotion on his face being one of deep melahcholy, "I'm... sorry."

She scoffed as she looked away, "You better."

They stopped talking for a bit it was quiet, it was nice, until it was broken once more as Najenda took a seat, "So... what brings you around here?" She asked looking away as she made to take a cigarette and smoke it.

Right when she was about to put the cancer stick in her mouth, however it was quickly snatched as he went to sit right in front of her.

She gave him a glare at his refusal to allow her to use the damn thing, "I was traversing your forest to kill a super class danger beast that was harrassing merchant's and travelers that pass through the mountainous like area it inhabits."

"A super class one!? Are you insane!?"

"How do you mean to define insanity?"

Najenda's mouth was agape at his words, "Fine," she said with a bit more finality, "Are you sure you know all of it's patterns?"

"Why do you think I waited until now to kill it? It's starting to wake up from hibernation, it should be awake and severely weakened because it hasn't eaten in forever. However that advantage will be gone in about three days."

Najenda paused at him words, "Three days?" she questioned as if his answer was paramount to something.

"Three to five, yes," he looked at his sister and her face, gone was the seriousness, the anger and pure exasperation she seemed to show before, instead now there seemed to be a sense of joviality in her expression, "Why are you smilling like that?"

At his words, Najenda's smile seemed to morph into more of a grin, "Well my dear little brother, don't you think you should recompanse little old me, for not seing you for two years and thinking you were dead, while instead you were alive and playing hero while killing danger beast?"

Guh, she was mad, there was only one solution to dealing with a Najenda who was like this, satisfy whatever the desire might be, "Y-yes.

Her grin grew at his words, "Good, good, well then for all of one mission you and I will be working together."

She said it with such finality that it threw him for a loop, "W-What!? What do you mean go on a mission with you! I agreed to no such thing!"

Her grin seemed to stretch to an even greater size, "You did say that you would recompense me did you not?" His face reddened as he realized what she did, 'T-this woman!' "Well it just so happens that this is the recompense I wish for, don't worry, don't worry, it'll be a one time thing, unless you want to do it more often?" She said that last part with a wink.

"Agh, f-fine..."

"So... Lubbock, do you know him?" Mine asked looking at him with a fire in her eyes. She probably was still angry that she was completely styled on by Najenda's little brother, it didn't help that it didn't seem as if he even used his left hand often in most situation's and was ambidextrous. It could only mean one thing to her pride, she was beat by a man who wasn't even using his bow in a way that he normally would have.

"I... I know him to a certain extent..."

"What do you mean by certain extent? Lubbock," Bulat questioned this time.

"Well... on that... day, you know where Najenda actually joined the revolutionnaries? Well there were two people that were protecting us on our way out, Najenda, and him, Emiya, her brother."

"I see... so is there a reason for why she was so surprised?" Bulat pressed.

"She... well the best way to say it was, that she thought he was dead, you see on that day, they faced general Esdeath, they were supposed to fight her together yet he somehow sent her to us to lead us away as he stayed and fighted..."

"He.." Mine started to speak after listening to their conversation, "He faced that monster in human skin, and lived to tell the tale?"

"He must have, there couldn't be another way he could be here otherwise," Lubbock said no expression visible on his face as he told the tale, "Though last I saw him, he had red hair, not white..."

Suddenly however the door to the cafeteria flew open revealing Najenda with her chest pumped out and a depressed looking Emiya, "Great news! I managed to get my little brother here to help me with an assignment, you all can stay here and enjoy a day off, I'll meanwhile go to the capital with him and have him investigate the area where the prospective new contract is said to take place."

The entierety of the groupe just went quiet to the extent where you could hear a pin drop.

But then Leone spoke again, "Hey boss, are we sure that this is the best option?"

Najenda's gaze became frigid as she looked at Leone, "You dare question my authority?"

"N-NO, I DON'T I SWEAR!"

"Good."

A pregnant pause encapsulated the room, "Either way I'll be on my way now with my little brother, see y'all later!" Najenda said as her face reverted to a happy go lucky grin.

They had arrived in the capital not too long ago, Najenda had said that she would go and meet the contact and the contract giver as he went to investigate the area, and so with that they separated.

And with that said, he started on his trek, to the manor, slinking through alleyway's and the like until he reached the entrance, it was fortified that was for sure but there was still a forest surrounding it, and it would be safer to go through there and infultrate it that way than from the front gate.

Treking through the forest he finally reached a point where he could see inside of the property.

The manor's lights were open and he could see faces within it, looking around some more he found an old cabin hidden by some foliage, and judging by the fact that his sister had told him to find reasons for why they should take the contract the cabin was a good as place as any to check first.

As he neared the place, he smelled a particular one.

One that he knew all too well.

It was the scent of death.

How could he not recognize it. It had covered him and followed everywhere he went when he was a counter guardian.

Of course, compared to when he was still under the 'employment' of alaya the smell was nothing, but it was noticeable enough that even if one wasn't as attuned to death and suffering as he was anybody within a 50 meters radius of the damn place could tell it smelled of a terrible stench and that something was wrong. He got closer and closer until he was right next to the entrance, he traced a knife and used it to break open the lock. Sneaking his way in he looked around an-

He stopped where he stood.

All he could see were bodies, corpse and mind broken people.

People were fighting each other just to eat rotten flesh.

He could see people with barely any meat on their bones fighting others to eat the carcass of a long dead rat.

The floor was covered in blood that was so old that it had became brown losing its deep red color. And at the far end of the room he could see it, torture weapons.

And that was when he truly, truly cursed who he was as he was forced to live through all of those experiences of causing pain and suffering as if it was his own damn fault, as if he was the one doing the acts. Though...

They did grant something useful to him, they told him something, there were people here who have been in this accursed place for only a day at most.

He could do it.

He could save some of these poor, poor souls, that were forced to go through this, even if only for a single day.

And so with that information acquired he sent the accursed tools that caused this to the farthest point of his world so that he may never gaze upon those acts again.

He moved with purpose through the cabin until he came in front of a cage that housed two people who were holding each other close for safety and a sense of comfort in this cruel environment.

He looked inside and saw a boy with dark brown hair, who obviously had been harmed, yet even then he was still holding another person close. It was a girl with black hair who had obviously suffered worse than the boy himself.

"Hey," he called out to them, they were after all looking at everything else but him, however he did manage to make them look at him for a single second before they tensed up.

"W-who are you? What do want with us!" The boy asked with a shell shocked expression holding the girl closer to him, she was trembling.

"I'm here to save you," his voice became soft as he ripped the door of its hinges and slowly approached them, they moved away in fear from his presence.

"G-get away! Don't get any closer!", the boy said.

"Hey calm down, I meant it," he looked at them again, and he could tell they had barely had any sleep, "It's fine you can rest, I'll get you out of here." A soft smile appeared on his lips when he said that.

And even if they knew that they shouldn't trust him and his words, they still let the embrace of morbeus take hold of them, they fell asleep holding each other.

He gingerly picked them up and brought them to the middle of the forest, it was a good thing that luck managed to be on their side, being there for only one day had managed to limit the number of injuries they had.

He gently put them down, he would have a job to do now, sure Najenda might be a bit upset but he had to do this, if anything they could play it off as them doing the mission early and they could demand for extra payment.

Yeah they could do that, that would work perfectly.

And so he walked to the mansion.

There were a multitude of ways he could this.

He could set it on fire and burn them alive.

He could take the children and fire a noble phantasm like caladbolg, and wipe the place of the map.

Or...

He could enter and kill them all.

It was the more tactically sound option if he didn't want the city to be put on high alert, it would be quieter, and it would take the authorities a couple of days to realize what actually happened to the residence if he manages to cut of any of their ways to call for support.

And so with a mind and body of steel, hardened by hardship he would enter the den of the lying and the snakes and kill them all.

"Hmm, so you're telling me that this noble family on top of supporting Honest without question and being one of his biggest backers not only politically but also economically, are also terrible people? Well colour me suprised." Najenda said with a straight face, sarcasm being exuded from every one of her words.

Her friend gave her a look that basically said what else did you expect before talking, "Yeah, it's crazy isn't it? Either way will you take the contract now or later? I heard a certain general was coming back, and I doubt you'd want to be here when she is here."

The overworked woman sighed at her friends words, "Yeah you're right, I wouldn't want to be here, hell I wouldn't want to be anywhere close to the capital when that battle junkie is here. But... yeah I'll take the contract, if what all you said was true then the person I sent to check it out while I spoke to you will probably be taking care of the situation."

"You... you sent somebody already?"

At the words all the former general could do was a shrug, "It was probably going to be the last time I saw him before he went on one of his hunts... you want to know the worst part?"

"No, not really..."

"I don't care I'm still going to tell you."

"Haaaah," her friend let out a deep sigh.

"I hadn't seen him for years and he was completely at ease with just leaving the moment it was suitable to him... like I was preparing to leave and I see him try to leave through the window. The only reason why he won't leave now is that he feels like he can't because he's already in too deep..." Najenda said before taking the bottle of alcohol that her friend had left lying around for whatever reason and just chugged it.

"Blegh, what is this weak stuff," she said as she looked at her friend with an annoyed look.

"I knew you were going to do that so I replaced it with something light, it doesn't really help that I'm not a heavy weight... and you shouldn't even be drinking, you remember what happened the last time you had too much to drink?"

"That was different, it was drugged."

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say..."

"Well... I'll get going, make sur to have the payment for the job deposited in that bank, in the specific account we use, you know the one..."

"That I do, well... be safe, I'll deposit it three days after I get the news."

"Understood, see you."

He fell back into the same cold brutal effiency he had as a counter guardien.

A fow came to strick him with a overhead strike, a slash to the neck would put them down just fine, they didn't have that much experience, he could tell, the blade was raised too high as if it was an axe instead of a sword.

It was more or less the same for every single one of them, sure he could avoid them, but they were involved, they all were, it was that simple.

He had seen them all in those torture tools history, loath as much as he could he had to admit it, they granted information and thus they were useful.

He felt sick to the stomach just thinking that.

But... nevertheless his crusade continued, they were threats to the common people, they had to be killed.

"THERE! THERE HE IS FOCUS FIRE ON MY MARK!!!!!" A groupe of men screamed, it seemed like word of his presence had made it to the commanding officers of the guard rather quickly. The men, where all pointing guns at him, they weren't too advanced, but they were firearms none the less.

"MARK!!!!!" The head of the guard screamed as every single man was about to pull the trigger however...

"Trace on, sword barrel, open." He said it at the same time as the head of the guard and so when the swords materialized to kill the guards some still managed to fire, he didn't even react however, they bounced off of his armour and clanged harmlessly on the ground.

They should have aimed for the head, it didn't matter though.

None survived.

And so he walked, the main perpetrator's were still alive, if he didn't kill them then the killings of the innocents would never end, he couldn't let that happen, he refused to.

The deeper he went the more guards there were.

The more dead bodies covered the ground.

Soon enough the floor of the entirety of the mansion became even more bloody than the shed were they did their atrocities.

He didn't care, he couldn't, he had already spilled so, so much more.

After all, what was a drop of blood in a ocean of agony, that's right, nothing.

But, these people, they deserved it.

Unlike the vast majority of the people he was forced to kill, those inside this mansion were complicit in the acts that this family did, they knew about it, and they didn't care.

It was odd to think that he may have done this even earlier had he accepted to join that young miss in the carriage, or maybe... he would be in that shed, being tortured until he went insane. But no, he didn't join them, and because of that they took other people, he knew almost intrinsicly they suffered more harm because of his actions, they may have been there for only a day, but they were there because he hadn't went with them. All of their pain and suffering could have been averted had he not been so impatient.

It was his fault.

And thus, it was his duty to make sure they could never do it again.

Eventually after breaching the most heavily garded part of the manor he came upon a door, it was lavishly decorated, but it was covered in blood.

He tried to open it normally only for it to be locked.

His foot made short work of it nonetheless.

Walking through the ruined door, he gazed upon the three inhabitants of the room with an impassive face.

There was an older man, he had grey hair and was pretty rotund, he had been the one to cut them apart..., he told himself as he got a good look at him and the sword he shakily held.

He looked at the woman, she had pale blond hair and was clutching a young girl into her bosom.

As he looked at the young girl, it was the same one who was in the carriage, she had been the one to take the most pleasure from the suffering of the ones being tortured.

"St-stay away! I'll give you anything! Anything! Money! Power! Women! Anything! Just, just stay away!" The old man screamed.

He ignored him and in the blink of an eye killed all three of them.

As he exited the building he saw Najenda waiting outside, "The jobs finished, let's go."

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? What if somebody survived?"

"You think I'm that sloppy?"

"No, no not at all! I just wanted you to be sure."

He looked at her and she looked at him, he scowled and she gave him a grin, "Haah, let's just go before the city guards arrive."

She looked at him after he said that and looked at his armour, she frowned, "You got hit."

"I knew that where they were aiming wouldn't be able to injure me so I didn't stop them." He told his sister factually.

She started to inspect his armour and noticed that a bullet had actually hit the side of his pants and made a hole in his pocket, but it hadn't hit anything important, "You should have been more careful."

"You think they actually posed a threat to me?"

"I was telling you to be more careful."

They stared each other in the eyes, their gazes both stern and stubborn, in the end neither won out as he deemed it necessary to tell her some more information, "There were two survivors, both were inside the shed-"

"Well what are we waiting for lets go kill them."

She started to walk towards the shed, his eye twitched as he saw her jump to conclusions, "They aren't guards."

At his words she paused, turned her head to look at him and gave him a confused stare, "What do you mean, they aren't guards?"

"I mean they were one of the people who were being tortured, before I intervened."

"They're... they're alive? Some of those people are still alive?"

"Surprisingly, yeah, they were there for only a day and only seemed to suffer minimal amounts of injuries."

She paused looking dumbfounded for a moment before she regained her composure, "Well... I guess we chose the best time to take this contract."

"You, chose the best time to take the contract, I had no part of choosing when to take the mission, if it was up to me I wouldn't even be here."

She looked at him with a dissapointed face as if those weren't the words she was looking for, "So... from what I understand... You would rather have just let them suffer?"

He sputtered, "W-What's up with that question! No! I would not have let them suffer!"

She tilted her head to the side before responding, "But you just said that if you had it your way you wouldn't even be here? Don't tell me! You don't like helping people anymore!" She said with fake surprise and a hand over her mouth.

"Ugh-gu-dn."

"You can't just say that you don't want to be here and that if you had it your way you wouldn't be here, and then say that you would have helped them! It's contradictory! You know that!"

"..." He couldn't respond, she was right. It was contradictory, he didn't want to be involved in this situation, he didn't want to go back to old habbits, to return to being a counter guardian.

To be forced to kill and kill!

All for what?

For the greater good?

She looked at him with dissapointement in her eyes before turning to leave, "Come on we should go before they realize we're here."

"..." he didn't move from his spot.

Consumed by his uncertainties as he was he couldn't respond, he couldn't move.

He had to make a choice, would he still run away from his problems and deal with other ones and ignore the root cause, or would he stop running and face the consequences of his actions?

"Najenda," He said his voice empty and lacking any and all emotion.

She turned at his words, "Yeah?"

He still kept looking downwards, he had to make his decision. It was as simple as that, he could keep running away from his past and what he faced on that day, or he could make a stand and try to help people, no matter the situation, no matter the consequences and what they might be for him personally.

"I'll consider joining night raid."

She looked at him in dumbfoudedness, "You... did... did you say what I think you said?"

He looked at her, his gaze reflecting nothing but steel, "Yes."

"..."

Did... did she short circuit?

Najenda was quiet the entire time they went back to night raid, it seems she still hadn't gotten over the shock of him saying that he'll maybe join her organization, and honestly?

He didn't blame her.

For the mere fact that he himself wasn't sure of his actions. In a way... he was returning back to that path once more, he was going to be a hero of justice once more.

Not the one that he had become, but the one he tried to be during his venture into the hell that was being a counter guardian.

The one he had recently remembered it wasn't wrong to be.

But... what if he went back to that same hell once more? What if he was not going to stop killing innocents? What if he messes it all up? What if the only way to insure the safety of somebody close to him he has to kill an innocent? There are only so few seats of happiness after all.

He paused both in his walk and in his thoughts.

His sudden stop made his sister pause as she turned to look at him, with a questionning glint in her eyes.

He didn't even realize.

What if?

No.

It didn't matter.

In the end, people will die.

It was and is an undeniable fact of life.

That life is short, so excrusingly short.

He never truly understood that.

Be it consequences from the fire that birthed him or all that he went through.

He never understood the true thoughts of people.

And because of that.

Because of his inhumanness.

He did things that were impossible.

It was as simple as that.

And if he had to keep doing impossible feats so he could save people?

Then so be it.

He would jump right back into the depths of hell itself so that nobody else would be hurt.

It was as simple as that.

He would make sure that those who were oppressed, killed and tortured would live another day.

If it meant that he had to become a counter guardian once more, then so be it.

Author's note.

Hello! Long time no see, for me at least and my distorted sens of time.

this chapter was supposed to be out much earlier, like two weeks ago actually, the only reason why it didn't happen was because I wasn't happy with what I was writing, I did a lot of edits, I wanted to try to write 6 thousand words, the most I have ever written, I wasn't able to write for two weeks because of activities that I did at school, I went to the mountains to try to sleep outside, I finalized a robot for a competition, but...

that has now, mostly ended as I have a week off, that's right, for me at least, it's spring break!

Yes spring break! An entire week off of school! Ignore the fact that I basically missed an entire week with the two school activities I did.

on another note, do any of you guys listen to epic? I heard some of their songs before and they were pretty good, I planned to listen to them I didn't, until now! And it's peak, go give it a listen if you haven't already ;)

fun fact! If the reason why the end of the chapter feels like a tangent, it was because I wasn't sure where to end it, and I changed a previous part of the story to make it make sense. So basically, the ligne break before the final part of the story proper originally had Emiya saying he would join night raid and then I looked at it again and basically said, "Nah, that's out of character." And I went back to change it and add a bit more character conflict within himself, Najenda being dumbstruck is bound to happen she's just surprised he even considered to join.

on another note onto the user reviews!

Archangel Xireon Chaos God: I can guarranty you that he thought that before he started to have a mental crisis.

Habidude: yes

Gizzit: I try to give the reason why he's so pressed and the reason why is that the threat is simply too large to ignore, it's a super class danger beast that lives close to civilasation, he aint risking it. And I understand what you're saying, writing is very hard and time consuming when you don't have a plan and even when you do have a plan, if you're like me, you'll get distracted, very, very quickly.

Akenou: Could you be... one of my people (there is no Artoria in this story, the ships can sail.).

Guest: thanks for the encouragement.

I'm going to release this chapter before it is betaed simply as an apology once it is betaed it shall be updated.