Blood: Chapter 1

SOME ERRORS MIGHT APPEAR - WILL BE FIXED IF FOUND

On a long dirt road in the outskirts of the Capital surrounded by trees, a small caravan was being pulled by two brown horses directed by two middle-aged men. The two men were off on a simple delivery job for their village. The two men were silent, as they both were just focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible. But unfortunately, they were struck with a large obstacle, an Earth Dragon Danger Beast.

The Danger Beast, burst from under the ground, startling the two men who were struck by fear, startling the horses and putting the caravan to a halt.

"A-A Earth Dragon!" The shorter man yelled as the Earth Dragon roared in rage.

As the Earth Dragon made a move to slay the two men, a boy suddenly appeared and sliced off the leading hand of the towering behemoth reaching for the two fear-stricken men.

The boy was around his teens, approximately 5 feet 5 in height. He had short brown hair which was slightly unkempt as it jutted in a couple of different direction and green eyes. The boy had a yellow sweatshirt over a white polo tee shirt along with dark blue pants. His equipment or armor consisted of a pair of leather boots and a pair of leather bracers adorning his forearms. He also had a sword sheath on his back, fastened with a strap which wrapped across his torso.

The boy then landed behind the beast with his blade raised behind his back. He stood up and to look at the beast, subtly admiring his own handy work.

"An Earth-Dragon… Certainly a worthy opponent." He said in a slightly cocky manner.

As the Earth Dragon turns around, it attempts to swipe at the boy who severed its arm. But unfortunately for the beast, it was too slow compared to the warrior in front of him.

The boy leaped into the air and was now currently above the beast. The beast was now in full range of the boy's next attack.

"It's over." The boy said as he swung his blade downward.

The beast was then sliced in multiple different areas, from the top of its body to its legs, effectively killing the beast. The boy lands on the ground after he made quick work of the beast, utterly impressing the two bystanders on the caravan.

The two men made their way over to the boy who was sheathing his blade, to congratulate the boy in his victory.

"I don't know who you are, kid, but you just saved us!" One of the men said in excitement.

"You took down a danger beast single-handedly!" The other man exclaimed in glee after seeing such a spectacular performance.

The boy then turns around with a slightly obnoxiously happy smile on his face, obviously reveling in his own victory.

"I know right. A danger beast like that is just child's play for someone like me." The boy bragged, as the two other men just looked at him with sweat drops.

"Anyways, my name is Tatsumi, you better remember my name cause' I'm going to be famous in the Capital one day."

One of the men just looked at Tatsumi with a tense look, when the words, the Capital was spoken by the boy.

"You said you're trying to… make it big in the Capital one day, right?" One of the men said in slight apprehension.

"Well of course. It's every country boy's dream of making it big in the Imperial Capital." Tatsumi said in a matter-of-factly tone.

The two men looked at each other with slightly anxious and worried looks on their faces and then turned to Tatsumi.

"The Imperial Capital… isn't exactly the fairy tale wonderland I think you're hoping for. It's a lively place, don't get me wrong, but they're monsters much stronger and evil than the Earth Dragon you just killed." One of the men said with a small sigh.

"What do you mean? Are there danger beast inside the city too?" Tatsumi responds in curiosity as he doesn't understand what the man was saying.

"He means the people."

The three men on the dirt road turned their head to the direction of the new voice, which slightly startled all of them with its sudden appearance.

A blonde man then walked out of the shadow of the trees, which covered the surroundings of the long dirt road. The man was around 5 feet 7 in height and had short and unkempt hair, which spiked in multiple different directions. The man had ocean blue eyes which gleamed under the sunlight and oddly enough, three lines on each side of his face, on his cheek, which sort of emulated the look of whiskers. He looked around his late teens or early twenties. He was wearing a black tank top which was presumably made from leather, along with black cargo pants. The man had a pair of black combat boots and black bracers to finish the outfit. He also had a dark orange belt which wrapped around his waist and fastened a long katana looking blade on the left side of his person. He also oddly adorned a strange tattoo on his arm which had the symbol for the number 9 etched on his bicep.

"Oi, who are you?" One of the men said with slight apprehension and fear, as he wasn't sure if this man was hostile or not.

"I'm just an innocent bystander who just so happened to cross paths with you fine gentlemen. Great work with the danger beast uh… Tatsumi-san, if I'm not mistaken?" The man responded with a slight chuckle.

"But besides that, the man is talking about people. People within the capital are rotten to their core kid. Murderers, corrupted officials, scammers, thieves… any sort of crime or criminal you can think of resides in that wretched place."

Tatsumi looked at the two civilian men and the blond man in thought before striking a smirk while turning around while loading his large travel pack on his back. He turned around and glanced at the two men and the blond.

"I appreciate your advice, but it's too late to turn back after I've come so far," Tatsumi said while looking at the men with a slightly satisfied look on his face.

The two men just sighed while the blond just idly stood on the side, staring at the boy in thought.

"Well it seems like we can't stop you, but please take this money as a reward for saving our lives. Hopefully, it would be useful to you with your time in the Capital." One of the men said as he grabs a large sack of gold coins and hands it to the boy.

"Oh thank you!"

"No problem kid. Just try to stay out of trouble." The man continued as he got on his caravan, along with the other man, and leaving the vicinity of the boy.

Tatsumi waved off the two civilians as their figures began to get smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Hey kid, you're going to the Capital correct?" The blond man asked as he grabbed the attention of the brown-haired boy.

"Yeah."

"You mind if I accompany you? I'm heading there too, and I don't exactly want to be alone on my way there… gets boring you know?" The man responded while leisurely putting both of his hands on the back of his head in a relaxed manner.

"Yeah no problem, I don't mind some company now and again."

The two then began their trek to the Empire's capital by foot. The two stood side by side and idly talked to each other to pass the time.

"So, I don't think I ever caught your name yet?" Tatsumi asked while taking a glance at the blond

"Oh, it seems like I didn't… names, Naruto Uzumaki." The man now identified as Naruto responded with a slightly uncaring tone in his voice.

"Naruto, huh? Sounds pretty foreign… doesn't Naruto mean fishcake?" Tatsumi said while striking a thinking pose.

"Tch… it means Maelstrom kid and don't forget it. You might lose your balls if you do." Naruto said in an aggravated manner while making a slight gesture to his blade on his waist. It was almost as if, multiple people have called him that before.

"Oi, no need to get aggressive Uzumaki-san."

"Eh, if you get defensive over that small threat than you'll have a rough time in the Capital kid." Naruto chuckled with a slightly dark undertone, which made the brown-haired teen a little uncomfortable.

"You can also drop the honorifics, I get that enough already, and I don't need more."

While many would simply gloss over that simple slip up, Tatsumi noticed something that Naruto let open.

"What do you mean by 'you get them enough already?'" Tatsumi questioned the mysterious man beside him, which merely took a glance at the boy with a disinterested look on his face.

"None of your business."

Tatsumi just let out a sigh at that response, knowing that he wasn't going to get a proper answer out of the man.

"So why are you heading to the Capital, Naruto?"

"Some important business that I need to attend to. Is that good enough for you?" Naruto grumbled in annoyance, obviously not enjoying the boy prying into his personal matters.

Tatsumi sighed once again, as his attempts of getting to know his companion was constantly getting shot down.

"You're kind of an asshole…" Tatsumi mumbled under his breath, as he was trying to not let the blond beside him hear him.

"I get that a lot."

The two then walked in silence as they slowly made their way to the Capital.

An hour and 32 Minutes Later

The two travel companions finally made their way to the Capital village square, as they found themselves standing in the middle of a bustling marketplace.

"Wow, this is the Capital! Look at all the stores and people!" Tatsumi exclaimed in excitement as he began to take in the atmosphere of the city.

"Oi, Tatsumi, it seems like this is where we're splitting up," Naruto said as he grabbed the excited boy's shoulder, which made the boy slightly jump in surprise.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Tatsumi responded while slightly cooling down from his little fit of happiness.

"Remember how I told you I got some important business to attend to today?"

"Oh… I see, well you take Naruto." Tatsumi said while shaking the blond's hand.

"You also better go head to barracks to go sign up. You wanted to become a super famous officer correct?" Naruto asked while walking away from the boy into another bustling street.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Tatsumi exclaimed while running in the direction of the barracks to try to get enlisted in the Imperial Army.

With Tatsumi

After making it into the barracks of the Imperial Capital, Tatsumi tried to get enlisted in to the army with the aid of an advisor, but unfortunately was kicked out due to some complications and… disagreements from both parties.

"I can't believe they kicked me out… Do I try to make a name for myself and come back? But that might get me arrested…" Tatsumi mumbled to himself while sitting dejectedly on the pavement in front of the barracks.

A large looming shadow then appeared over the unsuspecting Tatsumi, who was still in his thoughts about trying to make it big in the Imperial Capital.

"You're trying to make it big in the Capital right?"

"Huh?" Tatsumi said as he turned around to only be faced by two large feminine mountains in his field of vision.

'It seems like the 'Capital' was much bigger than I thought.' Tatsumi thought in perversion as he stared at the woman's assets.

"What are you looking at kid?" The woman asked as she looked at Tatsumi's blushing face.

The woman looked like she was in her early twenties. She was around 5 feet 7 inches tall, and she had short to shoulder-length blond hair. She had quite the voluptuous figure, as she sported a larger than average bust and a firm behind. She wore a white and black scarf around her neck along with white sleeves with golden rings around he bicep. She also wore a black piece of cloth around her bust, which offered little coverage and brown 'pants' which exposed her inner thighs, and 'underwear', which was black. She also had long brown boots that went up to her knees along with a peculiar belt fastened around her waist.

"How do you know that?" Tatsumi asked while the woman just chuckled.

"Well, you look like a country boy, and from what I've seen most of them tend to come here for that exact reason… Also, you're in front of the admission room for aspiring officers kid." She responded with a friendly smile.

"I guess that does give it away, huh?" Tatsumi chuckled while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Anyways, you want to know a secret in getting into the government quicker?" The woman said in a coy fashion.

"You know how to! Please tell me!" Tatsumi exclaimed with some hope.

"Do you really want to know?" She responded with a playful tone in her voice.

"Yes, please tell me!" Tatsumi begged.

"Then treat me for lunch!"

A Couple of Hours Later

Naruto walked into a bar late at night after a short excursion around the Capital looking for a certain group of individuals all day. He was pretty beat and decided to come in for a small drink to unwind for the night.

'Tch. They all hide pretty well, expected of them.' Naruto mused in his mind as he opened the door to the bar.

The first thing he noticed was a familiar person sitting at the back of the bar, with a depressed look on his face. It was Tatsumi.

"Oi, kid, fancy meeting you again." Naruto greeted while walking over to the depressed boy.

The boy bolted his head forward as he recognized the voice. He then had a huge smile on his face, and ran over to Naruto and latched on to the shorter male.

"Naruto! I'm so glad that I got to see you again!" Tatsumi exclaimed with comically teary eyes.

"Oi! Oi! You're causing a scene!" Naruto exclaimed in embarrassment as he noticed multiple pairs of eyes direct themselves to the two.

After the little fiasco, the two took a seat where Tatsumi was originally sitting at, and Naruto ordered a pint of beer. Tatsumi then began to tell his story of how he got into his predicament, while Naruto took some swigs from his glass.

"Didn't I just tell you that, that would be bound to happen to you when you got here." Naruto sighed while facepalming.

"I thought you were exaggerating…" Tatsumi said as his face was in his arms on the table.

"So you lost all your money and have nowhere to go because a hot busty blonde offered to get you into the army." Naruto sighed once more as he began to lean back in his chair.

"You don't need to make me sound like a pervert…" Tatsumi mumbled.

"So what are you going to do for the night, kid? You lost all your money and have nowhere to stay." Naruto asked as he took another swig at his pint.

"I was hoping that…"

"No, No, No, I'm not going to shelter you like some child, because you did an absolutely stupid mistake on your first day in the Capital," Naruto said as he completely rejected Tatsumi's plea.

"But!"

"No buts kid, you gotta learn from your mistakes and reap the consequences." Naruto sighed as he finished his pint and paid the bartender.

Naruto began to make his way out of the bar, ignoring the desperate calls and pleas of the gullible Tatsumi. Naruto merely sighed once again, while opening the doors and leaving the bar.

'I better keep an eye on that kid'

After the exit of Naruto, Tatsumi was left to his own endeavors. As time began to pass, more and more people began to leave the bar until it was only him that was left.

"Excuse me sir, but it's almost time for the bar to close." The bartender said in a polite tone, to the brown-haired boy.

"But, I got nowhere to stay!" Tatsumi exclaimed in sadness and frustration.

"That's partly your fault for being so easily scammed sir." The bartender responded as he cleaned the tables.

Tatsumi got more depressed after the bartender uttered those words.

The boy decided it was time to leave and look for a place to stay. The last time, bustling streets were now almost empty and vacant as the only light source outside were the multiple street lights illuminating the walkways. Tatsumi dejectedly walked around the place, looking for someone generous enough to let him stay, to no avail.

"I guess I'm sleeping outside tonight…" Tatsumi mumbled as he sat down on a small pillar on the side of a walkway.

Tatsumi sat down and looked to the ground closing his eyes, to get some sleep as he heard the movement of people passing by. Suddenly, he heard the odd sound of mumbling was heard in front of him, which made him curious.

He opened his eyes and was met with the face of an innocent young blonde girl staring down at him with a smile.

"Would you like to spend the night at my house?"

10 Minutes Later (At Aria's Mansion)

"Thank you for letting me stay at your home," Tatsumi said while bowing his head to two adults which were the parents of the blond girl who helped him.

"No need to thank us, as we said earlier, it's not the first time Aria-chan had brought over some guests over for the night." The blond woman smiled.

"Either way, thank you for allowing me to stay."

The older man merely smiled at the boy's mannerisms and gestured the boy to take a seat along with the family. Tatsumi complied and took a seat in front of the older man.

"While I can't speak for all of us, I would love to know why you're here in the Capital, Tatsumi-san." The older man smiled as he took a sip of his tea.

"I certainly am curious as well." The blond woman added along with a graceful smile.

Tatsumi then explained his situation and explained why he was going to the capital. He also explained his situation with his friends and how they were unfortunately separated from each other after a run-in with some bandits.

"I see… that's quite unfortunate." The blonde woman said while seemingly sympathizing with the boy.

"I trust them going off on their own, but… I just can't help being worried about them." Tatsumi mumbled to himself.

"Very well then, I'll put in a good word with a friend of mine in the military. Hopefully, this will help you find your friends, Tatsumi-san." The man smiled.

"Really?... Thank you!" Tatsumi exclaimed in glee while shaking the older man's hand.

After a few exchanges between the four of them, Tatsumi was directed to a room within the large mansion to sleep. Tatsumi began to slowly unwind and prepare for bed, tucking in for the night, expecting to get a good night's rest.

'In the end, I was luckily saved by good people. It seems like Naruto-san was wrong… there were good people in the Capital after all…' Tatsumi thought as he slowly drifted to sleep.

2 Hours Later

"AHHHHH!"

A deafening scream echoed in the halls of the mansion, forcing the sleeping Tatsumi to bolt up, awake due to the noise.

'What's going on?' Tatsumi thought to himself as began to gear up and grab all of his essentials, such as his blade.

He burst through his room door and was suddenly hit with fear and turbulence of emotion.

'Killing intent…'

Tatsumi rushed through the halls covered in windows as he was suddenly halted as he witnessed five people standing on some sort of string, in front of the moon.

"Is that the Night Raid… that the guard was talking about…" Tatsumi mumbled to himself as he looked up in shock.

The green-haired teen then suddenly mumbled to the black-haired girl, which seemed to trigger something in the girl. She looked down to the frantic three guards on the ground with a blank expression and jumped down to the ground to presumably fight them, along with the armored individual.

"Eliminate."

The girl sliced the throat of one of the charging guards, within the blink of an eye, effectively slowly killing him. Oddly, black markings began to creep up his face before he died. The armored man then launched his red spear looking weapon through another guard killing him instantly.

"M-Monsters!" Yelled the remaining guard as he began to run away in fear of his life.

Unfortunately, the pink-haired girl shot him through the head, ending his rather short-lived life in an instant.

Tatsumi just looked at the gruesome scene in horror as this was the first time he has ever witnessed a group of people make such quick work in killing their opponent, with such cold-hearted precision.

"They were killed before they could even swing back…" Tatsumi said in shock.

Suddenly, a wave of realization broke him from his stupor. He needed to get to the Aria girl and protect her from Night Raid. It was the least he could do for her, after everything she did for him.

'I need to get to her and fast!' Tatsumi thought as he began to bolt around the house.

After bolting down a few hallways, he saw Aria being led by one of the remaining guards outside. He began to bolt down to their location, fully intending to protect both of them from any harm.

"We need to take shelter in the warehouse, Aria-sama!" The guard exclaimed while running with the blonde girl holding his hand.

"Wait!"

The two stopped to turn around and saw a panting and tired Tatsumi.

"Tatsumi, what are you doing here?" Aria asked

"I'm...Here to protect you." Tatsumi panted as he wiped some sweat from his forehead.

"You came just at the right time. Tatsumi-san, you fend them off for a while, until the authorities come. Aria and I will take shelter in the warehouse." The guard said while he pointed at the brunette.

Before Tatsumi could respond, the dark-haired assassin jumped down in front of the three panicked individuals. Her blade is unsheathed and in her hand as she menacingly looked at the three individuals in front of her.

"It can't be asked then…" Tatsumi said in a faux brave tone, trying to convince himself to not be afraid.

Tatsumi got a good look at how the girl looked now. She was a girl around her teens, presumably around his own age, with long jet black hair which ended around her knees. She also wore a black mini dress with a white collar and red tie as well as a red belt and skirt cover. She wore black combat gloves along with red bracers and a pair of black shoes and socks which stopped around her calves. She had her sword sheath on her side attached to her skirt cover, and like everyone else, Tatsumi would have preferred the sword to be in that sheath as well.

The girl rushed at the three, sword in hand, ready to kill and eliminate her designated targets. Tatsumi tried to calm his nerves and held his sword in front of his person, ready to stand his ground and fight off the assassin.

"Not a target." The girl mumbled as she ran towards the scared boy and jumped over Tatsumi and used his head to vault over to the other two.

"Huh?!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he stumbled in shock.

The girl continued to speed towards the helpless guard and girl with a menacing and cold-hearted look. The guard was forced to take action, as he grabbed his automatic rifle and began to fire his gun at will, hoping that one bullet one land.

None of them even came close…

The girl danced around the bullets effortlessly, striking fear and anxiety in the guard. But the girl couldn't be stopped as the girl quickly made her way over to the guard, and swiftly bisected the guard in one slash. Aria could only look on in horror as she knew that this was going to be the end of her, as the black-haired girl turned her attention to her. Aria began to stumble and fall as she was walking backward trying to cover as much distance as possible from the assassin.

The girl looked down at the blond girl with a face that held no remorse or mercy and raised her blade.

"Eliminate," The girl said as she prepared to swing her blade down to effectively behead the blond girl.

"Wait!"

He mustered all the courage he could to try to protect the blond-haired girl. Tatsumi ran in, swinging his sword towards the black-haired girl effectively forcing her to dodge the strike. The girl leaped back and stared at the boy curiously.

"You are not a target. I do not need to kill you." The girl said as she stared at the boy.

"But you intend to kill her correct?" Tatsumi asked as he gestured to the young blond girl he was protecting behind him.

"Yes."

'It doesn't seem like she wants to let go of her target…' Tatsumi thought in worry as the girl responded in such a light-hearted manner.

"If you get in my way, I'll kill you too." The girl said as she held her blade in front of her, ready to resume battle.

Tatsumi rushed forward as quick as possible, trying to land the first strike, but unfortunately, she was faster and parried his blade. The two resumed their heated sword exchange where unbeknownst to them, a blonde-haired girl was watching their battle from a distance.

"What a mess." The blonde mumbled to herself as she walked over to the warehouse, to look for her other co-worker.

'Hm? Akame hasn't finished the job yet, how odd… Isn't that the boy I scammed earlier today? How unlucky can a kid be.' She thought as she saw the fierce exchange of blades happen in the distance.

As the two fought, and their blades clashed, Tatsumi began to get tired very quickly trying to keep up with the girl's blade. His movements began to get sluggish and slow, despite the battle only beginning. Unfortunately for him, in his next slash, see managed to dodge and go under the strike, striking a sense of fear and death into Tatsumi. It seemed like time slowed for the boy as all he could do is look on in horror.

'It's over.' Tatsumi thought in fear as he saw her blood-red eyes looking back at him. Tatsumi closed his eyes to brace for the slash that was almost inevitably to come.

*TING*

Tatsumi clenched his eyes in fear for the strike, but oddly enough no pain was felt. All he heard was the sound of metal clashing against each other.

"Hm?" He heard the voice of the girl said.

Tatsumi slowly opened his eyes to see the blond-haired man that was with him earlier today, Naruto Uzumaki. The man had his blade drawn and he managed to parry the strike that was aimed for his heart.

"Sorry, girly, but I can't let you kill this kid," Naruto said as he pushed back her blade, forcing her to jump back in apprehension

"Naruto-san!" Tatsumi exclaimed in shock as he looked at the taller man standing in front of him.

"Tch. What did I say about honorifics kid." Naruto grumbled as he glanced back at Tatsumi.

"Who are you?" The black-haired assassin asked as she wasn't prepared to meet so many obstacles in such a short amount of time.

"I guess you call me this kid's caretaker or something… travel companion… buddy?" Naruto said as he began to go off on a tangent, questioning his own reason for being in this situation.

"That's beside the point though, I can't let you kill this kid." Naruto continued as he gestured towards the brown-haired boy behind him.

"But you'll let me kill the other girl correct?"

"Yes." Naruto merely replied with a small shrug as he answered the girl's otherwise heavy question.

"Oi, Naruto, you can't just let her kill Aria!" Tatsumi yelled as he grabbed the older blond's shoulder in anger.

Naruto sheathed his blade by his waist and tilted his around slightly to talk to the boy behind him. His eyes displayed the same emotions as the previous black haired assassin, dark, unremorseful and cold.

"Maybe the cat woman in the trees can explain what's going to you," Naruto said as if he was implying that another person was watching the duel.

"Ah, blondie it seems like you caught me!" A female voice said as a figure began to make its appearance from the trees.

"You're blond too y' know…" Naruto mumbled as he looked at the blonde girl walk out from the shadows. Tatsumi could only look at her in shock and slight rage as he recognized the woman.

"You're that blonde girl that scammed me from all my money!" Tatsumi yelled out in rage as he pointed at her. The blonde girl merely shrugged and put a hand on the black-haired girl's shoulder.

"You can stop now, I'll deal with this Akame." The blonde girl said.

The girl now identified as Akame, simply sheathed her blade while not speaking. The blonde girl turned to face the two boys and little girl.

"You said something about saving the innocent earlier when we talked, right?" The blonde girl suddenly said in a serious face while walking past the trio in front of her towards the large warehouse.

"Will you be able to say the same thing after looking at this?"

Tatsumi looked at the blond woman, and back to Naruto who was also looking at the other blonde woman. Naruto's face seemed to harden a little and he had a very serious expression on his face. He redirected his attention to the woman as she busted down the warehouse doors with a kick.

Tatsumi walked forward only to be struck by horror. What he saw was something he would have never expected in his entire life.

He saw bodies hanging from the ceiling missing limbs with multiple cuts and bruises on them. Some were even slowly decaying, as he saw some maggots eating their flesh and skin falling from their corpses. He saw multiple tools stained in blood lying down on the ground and tables, all showing signs of use, due to the dried blood still on them. Tools such as saws, scalpels, and even drills all present before him.

What was even more horrifying was that he saw the countless screams of other living humans, as they were stuck in cages like cattle, showing signs that they haven't been eating for weeks. The smell of fecal matter and urine began to strike his nose, as it seems like the prisoners haven't been cleaned for years. He saw men, women and even… children.

"W-What is this…" Tatsumi gasped as he was almost in a loss for words, as the foul stench of rotting corpses and feces began to hit his face.

"This is the true darkness of the Capital… These people lured in foreigners with their honey-coated words and tortured them to death within their home, that's the true face of the family you call your saviors." The blonde woman said as she stared at the horrific scene before her.

Tatsumi was at a loss for words. But more horrifically he saw a familiar face amongst the hanging corpses in the ceiling. It was his friend…

"S-Sayo…" Tatsumi said as it seemed like something broke inside of him.

"Was it someone you knew?" The blonde-haired woman said as she took a glance at the younger blonde girl trying to quietly make her escape.

A blade suddenly was against the little girl's throat, stopping her from her attempt to leave, courtesy of the silent, Naruto.

"So, the people of the household did this?" Tatsumi mumbled while his bangs were shielding his eyes.

"Yes. And because the guards were keeping quiet, they are at fault as well." The blonde woman responded while looking at the broken boy.

"They're wrong! I didn't even know that this place existed!" Aria said in a frantic and desperate tone, trying to somehow get herself out of this situation.

"T-Tatsumi… Is that you Tatsumi?"

Tatsumi turned to see where the voice was coming from, and he witnessed a familiar face. It was Ieyasu, a friend of his, in a cage covered in red patches and cuts. He had a face of pain and anger as he stared at the horror-stricken boy on the other side of the cage.

"I-Ieyasu?"

"That girl… She lured Sayo and I into her home and invited us for dinner. We lost consciousness and ended up… ended up in this hell hole! She tortured Sayo to death, Tatsumi! She tortured her to death!" Ieyasu yelled in borderline hysteria while tears began to stream down his eyes.

"What's wrong with that!"

Tatsumi turned around to see the blonde girl, Aria go into hysterics and a fit of madness after taking a step away from the group.

"All of you are just useless country hicks! You might as well be cattle, waiting to be killed! I should be free to do as I please with the like of you! And that cow, how dare she have luscious hair that I dreamed of while I struggle with mine every day! That's why I made her suffer as much as possible!, the cow should be grateful that I showed as much attention to her!" Aria yelled in madness as she seemed to finally break her mask, showing her true colors.

"A family of sadists, disguised as good samaritans… Sorry for holding you up." The blonde-haired woman said as she crossed her arms and stared at the insane girl.

Naruto looked at the girl with a face of disgust, clearly conveying his emotions without the need for speech.

"Eliminate," Akame said with a flat tone as she unsheathed her blade.

"Wait."

"Don't tell me you still want to protect this girl after all you've just seen." The blonde woman said as she stared at the other boy in curiosity.

"No… I'll kill her myself."

He began to slowly walk to the girl who was now on the ground once again, as she tried to back away from the ever-looming danger of death that was slowly approaching her.

"Please, Tatsumi-san don't kill me!"

Tatsumi didn't answer as he continued to walk forward with a set of cold eyes, clearly showing no mercy.

"Please! Remember that my family sheltered you?! Remember the dinner we gave you?! Please, I don't want to die!"

Tatsumi's figure was now looming above the hysterical girl. He stared down at her with a cold expression on his face.

"How many people have told you the same thing?" Tatsumi muttered as he swung down his blade, slashing the girl from her shoulder to hip, ending her pitiful existence almost instantly.

"N-Nice one, Tatsumi…" Ieyasu smiled.

Ieyasu suddenly began to puke out blood which alarmed the brown-haired boy. Tatsumi ran over as quick as possible and the blonde cat woman opened the cage for Tatsumi to meet him in person.

"Ieyasu."

"It's the final stage of Lubora. The lady of the house loved to poison her victims. It was written in her diary." Akame said as she saw the painful look on Tatsumi's face as he looked down at his dying friend.

"Sayo never gave in to that bitch. She was so cool, even at the face of death. That is why, I, the Great Ieyasu would not settle for any less, than the sa-" Ieyasu said as he finally rested from the endless torture that he endured.

"I-Ieyasu…"

As Tatsumi held him, tears began to fall from his eyes and landed on the boy's corpse. It seemed like all of Tatsumi's pent up emotion was finally flowing out of him.

"What's wrong with this city…" Tatsumi muttered under his tears as he held Ieyasu close to him.

"Let's go," Akame said while looking at the blonde woman in front of her as she began to make her way out of the warehouse.

"Wait, why don't we bring this kid with us? We could always use some extra hands, right?" The blonde said cheerfully, almost as if the horror warehouse she was standing inside didn't exist.

"Hm?" Akame said curiously as she saw the blonde girl grabbed the boy by his collar and begin to drag him out with her.

"Wait, I need to give them a proper burial, let me go!" Tatsumi yelled as he was getting dragged away from the warehouse.

"Oh, I'll bring them back to hideout later for a proper burial, but for now, you're coming with us." The girl smiled as Akame began to walk beside her to leave the wretched household.

"Wasn't there another person with us, earlier?" Akame asked in confusion as she remembered there was another blonde with them earlier during the fiasco.

"Naruto-san?" Tatsumi questioned as he looked around to see that the man was gone.

"Eh, doesn't matter now, does it? We're behind schedule and we need to get to the hideout as quick as possible before the boss grills my ass." The blonde heartily laughed as they began to come closer to the other member of Night Raid that Tatsumi saw earlier.

"You're late!" A pink-haired girl exclaimed as she saw the two missing members of their group.

"We ran into some trouble getting here." Akame sighed as she saw the flailing boy in the blond's arms, begging them to let him go.

"What's that?" The pink-haired girl asked with a face of disgust while pointing at the flailing boy in her arms.

"It's our new friend?" The blonde responded with a smile as she dropped the boy to the ground.

"HUH!" Tatsumi exclaimed in confusion, as the blond leaned down to look at the boy.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? You're a member of Night Raid now!" She smiled while patting Tatsumi's head.

"HUH!"

While the group was finally leaving the premises with an unwilling Tatsumi, unbeknownst to them, they were being tailed by another familiar individual.

"It seems like I've finally found you Night Raid…"

Time Cut

After a proper burial in the morning of the next day. Tatsumi was thoughtful looking at the horizon, by the cliff he buried his two closest friends. He thought of the multiple adventures the three could have had and the precious memories they shared throughout the years. His eyes began to well up with tears a little, but his thoughts were cut short by the same blonde who helped make him end up in this situation.

With her breasts pressed up against his head, she asked him a question.

"So have you decided if you wanted to join us or not?"

"I told you I'm no-" Tatsumi said until he was cut off by the girl taking his head and pressing by the side of her breasts with her arm.

"What's wrong? You got the talent and skill to be an assassin so why wouldn't you join us." She playfully said while poking his cheek.

"It's… It's not the talent that's the problem. It's the killing." Tatsumi responded with a downcast look on his face while reminiscing of the things that happened a meager few hours ago.

"Eh, either way, let me introduce you to the team!" She smiled while dragging the boy into the large hideout under a rock.

They made their way inside, and the girl now named Leone, began to introduce and give a full tour for the newbie, as they made their way around the base of Night Raid. The few people he had met were, Sheele, an absolute airhead, Mine, a pink-haired bitch, Bulat, a gay super warrior, Lubbock a perverted string user, Akame the meat obsessed swordswoman, and the boss Najenda, a boss cyborg lady…

'This place really is a hangout for weirdos…' Tatsumi thought as comical tears began to rush down his face as he was dragged to the main room of the hideout along with the others.

Leone began to explain the entire situation to their boss, Najenda which sat on a small thrown in a meeting hall within the hideout. She held a quite understanding expression on her face as she heard the details of the mission, occasionally taking glances at the newcomer in the room, making him slightly uncomfortable.

"I think I understand the situation… So Tatsumi was it? Would you like to join Night Raid!" Najenda said in a confident and uplifting tone while reaching her mechanical arm out in a friendly manner.

"If I don't join, I get killed don't I?" Tatsumi said while looking at the boss, who smiled at him.

"No, that isn't the case. If you were not to join, we would just send you to one of the workshops back with the Revolutionary Army, to work in. We can't just let you go after knowing our identities, I believe you can understand that much…" She responded while leaning her head into the palm of her mechanical arm.

"So with this in mind, what will you do?"

Tatsumi stood there in a little thought as he began to weigh his options.

"I was supposed to go to the Imperial Capital to work and find money to help my poor village… but after what I saw… The Capital…" Tatsumi muttered as he looked down to the ground.

"Our job is to destroy the evil within the capital along with all of its corruption. We aim to destroy the root of the problem to restore the Capital to back it once was… that surely beats fighting with them, no?" A large burly man named Bulat said as he looked at the kid with a knowing smile.

"Bulat was an Imperial Officer working with the Capital. After he saw the evil and corruption of the Empire, he left and joined Night Raid." Najenda explained as she looked at the boy.

"But… It doesn't matter if you kill a few bad guys, it doesn't do anything in the grand scheme of things. You'll never help any of the smaller villages like mine with that sort of fighting." Tatsumi said as he looked up to the boss, give her absolute eye-contact.

"It seems like Night Raid might be the best fit for you after all." Najenda chuckled as she looked at Tatsumi's confused face.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's an Anti-Imperial force who lies in the south of the Capital aiming to overthrow the current government. They started out small at first but began to grow in size as time went on." Najenda explained as she looked at Tatsumi's thoughtful face.

"I'm assuming you guys are working with them?" Tatsumi asked.

"Quite perceptive. Indeed we do work with the Revolutionary Army. After a while, they realized that they needed a group of individuals to work in the shadows for them to carry out covert operations such as intelligence gathering, and high profile assassinations. Thus, Night Raid was created."

"When the Revolutionary Army moves, we will then use the confusion of the invasion to crush the Empire at its source, the Prime Minister, effectively ending the years of oppression this state has endured." Najenda continued as Tatsumi began to slowly understand what she was saying.

"At its core… Will, the new government treat its citizens well?" Tatsumi asked as he stared down the Night Raid boss.

"Of course."

"I see, that's amazing. So you guys kill the bad guys and take out the trash! So you guys are...are… assassins of justice!" Tatsumi yelled in realization in excitement.

The group began to all laugh at him and his statement, further confusing the boy. As he looked around Leone decided to give him a little piece of important advice.

"No matter how you spin it, Tatsumi, we're murderers." Leone said in a menacing tone.

"There's no justice in that." The assassin named Sheele continued as she looked at the confused boy in the middle of the room.

"If any of us were to be executed for our crimes, none would even lift a finger," Bulat said as he looked at the boy as well.

"What a naive child! He could never work with us like that" Mine said in an annoying tone, obviously trying to rile up the taller boy.

"Everyone here as a reason to fight. It's just a matter of if your resolve is as strong as ours." Najenda said as she looked at Tatsumi who was still in thought.

"Will I be compensated?"

"Of course, if you work hard enough then I'm sure you can save your village sometime in the future," Najenda responded, now having an inkling at the boy's response.

"Then I'll do it! Let me join Night Raid!" Tatsumi exclaimed in determination.

"You know you might never go back to your village do you?" Mine asked as she looked away from the boy with a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"Of course, but along as everyone is happy, it's fine by me," Tatsumi responded with steel in his voice.

"Then it's settled then…"

"Tatsumi, Welcome to the bloody life of the assassin." Najenda smiled as she raised her hand up for dramatic effect.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

"Dramatic as always, huh, Najenda-chan?"

"Who's there!" Najenda yelled as everyone in the meeting hall drew their weapons out. They all faced the corner of the room, which was shrouded by darkness. A figure than leaped down from the corner of the room and revealed himself to them.

"Yo," Naruto said while raising his hand in a slightly lame greeting manner.

"Naruto-san?!" Tatsumi exclaimed in shock.

"You again?" Leone said while looking at the familiar blond in the room.

Everyone still had all their weapons and Teigu activated as they didn't know if the other unfamiliar individual in the room was hostile or not. Oddly enough, Najenda sighed while facepalming at the man's antics.

"What are you doing here Naruto." Najenda sighed while looking at the man sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Mah, Najenda-chan, no need to be so cold." Naruto grinned as he scanned his eyes on each Night Raid member in the room.

"Boss, knows this guys?" Lubbock muttered up his breath, while still in a hostile position.

"Put down your weapons. He's with us." Najenda commanded. Everyone began to put away and deactivate their weapons slowly, while still staring down the man before them, not trusting him one bit.

"Who is this guy, Boss?" Mine asked while looking at the guys across the rooming picking his ear.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki, one of the high ranking members of the Revolutionary Army. He's known as the strongest Revolutionary Assassin active and is known in the Capital as the Reaper. He's also notoriously the man who killed 500 imperial soldiers on the grimly named Red Tuesday, an event that is still remembered by multiple high ranking officers in the Imperial Army." Najenda explained as the members in Night Raid looked at the man in shock.

"Ah, you're making me blush, Najenda-chan." Naruto bashful said as he blushed and made an awfully overexaggerated expression on his face.

"There's no way this guy is the Reaper! The Reaper was known to wear a mask at all times and had brown eyes, not blue eyes. He's clearly an imposter!" Mine exclaimed while pointing at the man.

"Tch. Unlike all of you lot, I enjoy my privacy and like my identity to be kept a secret while I'm on the job…" Naruto said with a slightly aggravated tone as he clearly didn't enjoy being accused of being a fraud.

"It's like he said, he likes to keep his identity a secret. He wears a mask to conceal his face and his prominent whisker marks and wears colored eye contacts while on the job." Najenda explained as Mine just huffed and looked away in slight embarrassment.

"It was quite a hassle to get here too, so I don't enjoy people accusing me of being someone I'm not. Tailing you guys were hard work I tell ya!" Naruto said as the group began to get even more confused.

"Ne, Boss, if he works for the Revolutionary Army, how come he doesn't know where the hideout is. It seems unnecessary to tail us." Leone asked while clearly confused as to why this guy went through all that trouble when he should have known where the hideout was himself.

"Despite his strength, his sense of direction is quite lacking." Najenda sighed once again. The members in the group all began to sweatdrop as they couldn't fathom how someone so strong could be beaten by such a small reason like that.

"I'm not that bad am I?" Naruto pouted as he saw all the reactions of the members of Night Raid.

"Alright, what are you doing here Naruto. You clearly aren't here for some idle chit chat." Najenda said seriously as she stared down the man who smiled up at her.

"Always business like always... " Naruto mumbled with a smile.

"They're here."

Najenda looked at the man in shock as she understood the underlying meaning of those two words. Najenda quickly gestured Naruto to come with her in which he complied, and followed her.

"Everyone is dismissed, Naruto and I will discuss some important information, you guys are free to do anything you wish as long as you don't cause trouble." Najenda hurriedly informed as both her and Naruto both headed to her quarters.

"Hai!" The group said in unison.

End of Chapter 1

Thanks for reading the first chapter of Blood. This is my first attempt at an Akame Ga Kill story and I hope you guys enjoy what I could offer to you guys. While I'm not too familiar with the main story, as I'm going off the anime only, events past this point will sometimes stray from the original source material. Such as the appearance of some characters being earlier than usual and some backstories will be altered to fit the plot.

Well, thanks for reading the first chapter of blood. Please favorite and follow and leave a comment for any suggestions you have for me!

In the Matter Of Pairings:

I plan to pair Naruto and Chelsea together, but I'm still deciding if I should do a small harem with ONE or TWO other girls. I'm thinking either Akame or Mine. Tatsumi will be paired with someone as well depending on if I choose the harem route or nah.