Hello dear readers! Thank you for taking your time of the day to read this crossover fanfiction. Now you may be wondering even with the summary on what's behind this particular fanfic. Well if you've read my other crossover fanfiction, Corruption, Murder and…Redemption, there was a poll I made about doing this fanfiction, which would serve as an alternate timeline to said fanfic.

So without any delay, please enjoy the fanfiction. Just know that it isn't going to be a continued series like the other fanfic (It's a one-shot). So if you want to know the fate of certain characters, you'll have to keep up with Corruption, Murder and…Redemption? since they've been (and still be) hinted in the fanfic.

Now with that out of the way, enjoy this one-shot!

CHAPTER ZERO: AKAME GA KILL RETOLD!

"Earth-Earth Dragon!" shouted a man in fear.

A big creature roared in all its full might. It was the Earth Dragon, which the man, a merchant, had shouted about, as now he and his companion began running for their lives. Their cart had been turned aside by the terrifying beast, so they had no other choice.

Fortunately, they weren't alone. A girl with black hair was watching from the woods with her bow and arrow equipped to face the danger. However, she didn't strike her target, the creature yet. Instead, she waited until it was in view before firing at its eyes, causing it to scream in loud pain.

"I got him! Now, Ben!" shouted the girl.

The male teen she mentioned grinned. His fingers were already on a strange square watch on his wrist, when suddenly he jumped out from the woods and revealed himself. But before his appearance could be fully taken, he immediately slammed the strange device on his wrist and became engulfed in a flash of light that then transformed him into an entirely different person.

So instead of a human being, the teen was a humanoid being with a black and green color scheme. He had a Cyclops green eye, as well as two antennas and a tail which had a gold colored plug at the end of each. In addition, he was muscular and taller in size and had a strange hexagon symbol at the middle of his chest.

"LET'S DO THIS!" The humanoid creature exclaimed.

And with that, the unknown creature landed between the merchants and the Earth Dragon. In his opinion, the Earth Dragon (also known in a race of creatures known as Danger Beasts) didn't look like the typical dragon. But then again, the Danger Beast was still a threat that had to be dealt with. Hence, he leaped forward.

"FEEDBACK GOT THIS!" Exclaimed the creature.

The Danger Beast roared in response. It was still blind, as it eyes were nothing but blood that kept leaking. So in a blink of an eye, the creature known as Feedback latched its finger-like plugs on the head of the Danger Beast to hold on, before then letting out a fierce electric shock that coursed through the body of the beast. Hence, with a loud scream, the Earth Dragon felt so much pain that it then died and fell on its side on the ground. As for Feedback, he landed on the ground on his feet safely.

"Men…That was too easy." Feedback remarked. He easily could see the dead state of the Danger Beast, before then turning to the terrified merchants. "Hey, you guys okay?" He asked.

"AHH! STAY AWAY!" shouted one of the men.

That was when realty seemed to hit Feedback. He looked at his chest and arms for a moment before realizing how his current form scared them. But just as he stretched his hand out to reassure them of the situation, a familiar female voice was then heard.

"Stop, Ben, you're scaring them." said the voice.

Feedback turned to the direction of the voice. He knew very well who it was and as such silently agreed by putting his arm down. At the same time, the merchants turned to the direction of the voice and found the person to be surprisingly a young girl. It was obvious right there that she was in her teens, as she had long black hair and black eyes, as well as a butterfly hairclip and plain cream-colored robes.

"My name is Sayo. It's good to meet you." The girl said pleasantly. Her action was then followed by her doing a small generous blow and her hand gestured at Feedback. "And that is Ben. We're here to help you."

"Hello." Feedback awkwardly said.

"Ben."

"What?"

"Change back."

Feedback's one eye extended in realization and then touched the hexagon symbol on his chest. "Oh right. Sorry." He said.

And with that, he was engulfed in a flash of green light. Now he was in his normal form, which was a sixteen year old teen with brown hair. For some reason, he wore strange clothes that comprised of a black and green shirt with the number 10 at the middle, brown cargo pants and black and white shoes. However, one thing the merchants didn't notice was the strange watch device on his left wrist.

"Ben." Sayo called him.

"Yeah?" Ben turned to her.

"Bow."

Ben opened his mouth to speak back. However, he immediately shut his mouth when he saw the girl's glare at him, which surprisingly was scary to him. So immediately the teen did as he was told and bowed like his friend did.

'Dammit. Where are Tatsumi and Ieyasu when you need them?' Ben thought to himself.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Following the incident with the Earth Dragon, Ben and Sayo were dropped off at the front gates of the Imperial Capital by the merchants by their cart. So in those short minutes, both teens turned to them and expressed their thanks, which the merchants humbly accepted. However, there was something that bothered them both now that their short journey together was over.

"Are you sure about this?" asked one of the merchants. "You two are good kids, and my friend and I would hate it if something bad happens to you both."

"Thanks, but we'll be fine." Sayo said assuredly. "Our friends and the both of us made it our goal to come to the Capital to save our village. There's no stopping us now. A lot of people are counting on us."

The two merchants sighed disappointedly. Fortunately, the both of them also understood their goal even though it seemed troubling.

"Hey, Ben." called one of the merchants.

"Yeah, what?" Ben answered.

"Take care of that girl. You two should be careful out there." said the other merchant.

"Sure thing." Ben replied.

With that, the conversation between them ended. Sayo and Ben said their goodbyes to the merchants and waved at them until they saw them in the distance. Then, with a single thought in mind, the both of them turned to the main gates of the Capital and made their way into new territory.

"Woah! So this is the Capital!" Sayo exclaimed with astonishment. Her eyes were surprisingly sparkling like a star, She also had her hands held together to her chest level as she stared at the building and the people passing by.

'I've seen bigger.' Ben thought with a smirk. He was right to think such a thing considering his secret identity and his experiences. But rather than hint at it, he just looked around with that same face expression on his face. "Yeah, this place is wonderful." He finally said.

"Yes!" Sayo exclaimed and pumped her arms out. "Let's go, Ben! The village is counting us!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Ben joked.

And with that, the duo got moving. They made their way through the number of people on the streets until finally getting into the barracks, where they saw a man at the front desk standing there.

"There he is, the recruitment officer likely." Sayo said with enthusiasm.

However, Ben had a different thought in mind. "I don't know about this, Sayo." He said honestly. "Shouldn't we be looking for Tatsumi and Ieyasu right now?"

"We are." Sayo said. Then she turned at the teen and glared at him lightly. "Knowing Tatsumi, he got Ieyasu and himself here before we did. He possibly has a head start in the Imperial army by now. Don't think I'm an idiot."

"Right…" Ben replied awkwardly. 'Too late…I already thought of that.'

Sayo huffed and smirked determinedly. She was certain of herself, and as such walked over to the front desk with Ben behind her.

"Hello, sir, I would like to ask you something?" Sayo asked.

"Hm? What is it?" The man asked with a rude tone. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I...I guess so." Sayo was taken aback. She hadn't expected the man's attitude to be so negative. Fortunately, she was able to recover and become direct. "Anyway, I was wondering if two boys have come here asking to join the Imperial army? They're my friends."

The man didn't seem pleased to hear that. In fact, if anything, he become more annoyed as a memory did come to his mind.

"So you're friends with those idiots?!" The man shouted angrily. "The both of them came here acting like they're entitled to be in the army! Well let me tell you something missy, if you're going to be the same then you should get out of here before I throw you!"

"That's enough!" Ben shouted angrily. He didn't like the tone of the man, especially as it was directed at Sayo. Hence, the teen stood forward and glared at the man. "Don't talk to her like that!"

The man's eye twitched angrily. "Is…Is that so?"

A minute later both Ben and Sayo were thrown out of the building by the front door. They screamed, of course, and rolled forward until coming to a stop on their front side and their butts up in the air.

"AND DON'T EVER COME BACK!" shouted the recruitment officer from the door. And with that, he slammed the door shut.

Both Ben and Sayo groaned and stood up. They had felt the brute of the officer's throw and were trying to recover from the entire ordeal.

"Well…that could've gone better." Ben said sarcastically. A thought then came to the teen, which led him to turn to Sayo. "Hey, sorry that happened. I was only –"

"It's fine." Sayo said assuredly. She didn't seem to hold a grudge in anyway, especially as she dusted herself. "Right now let's focus on finding those two. They likely blew up our chance now, but I'm sure we can still make it somehow."

"Sure."

Ben was then about to suggest something. However, someone tapped his shoulder which made him to turn back and be a bit surprised to see who it was. It was a blonde woman with a busty chest and in revealing clothes. But due to turning in haste, the teen's eyes had landed on the huge breasts the woman possessed.

'Are those things real?' Ben thought in shock.

"Hey. You okay, lad?" questioned the woman.

Ben shook his head and came back to his senses. At the same time, Sayo turned to see who had spoken.

"Ben, what's –"

Sayo stopped and stared at the blonde woman. The reason wasn't due to her unfamiliarity, but because of her revealing clothes and huge chest. It then dawned on Sayo that the measurement in chest size between her and the woman was unfair.

'What the –" Sayo thought in shock. "Are all the girls in the Capital with such big breasts?! This is so unfair!"

"Uh…hey…are you guys okay?" The blonde woman asked.

"We-we're fine!" Both Ben and Sayo NERVOUSLY said in unison.

Unknown to them though, the blonde woman didn't believe them. She knew why the two had acted strange, but decided not to say anything about it. So before any of them could say a word, she spoke up again.

"I noticed you two ran into some trouble. So would you like this Onee-san to help you out?"

Both Ben and Sayo grew quiet and glanced at each other. They weren't suspicious of her or hated her, but they didn't seem certain of her either. Fortunately, the woman noticed this and continued.

"I'm guessing you two must have come to the Capital from the country, seeking adventure. Am I right?"

Sayo and Ben were surprised.

"Wait, how you knew that?!" Sayo asked.

The blonde woman answered. "If you've stayed in the Capital long enough, you can tell apart outsiders in an instant. And judging by the fact that you just got rejected from the army, I know how you can be commissioned."

"Seriously?!" Sayo smiled.

Ben didn't express happiness, though. For some reason, there was something about the blonde woman that he didn't like. However, he didn't say anything, hence the woman continued.

"Yup." The woman smiled back. "Then how about a drink first?"

Sayo felt a bit troubled. She knew they had enough money for that, but her conscious clearly had doubts on spending it.

"Uh…I don't know." Sayo said nervously. "I was able to take the money the chief granted us, but it was only meant for…"

"Yeah…I think that's enough." Ben interjected straightly. He now had a glare at the blonde woman. "Nice try, but I've seen enough scammers to know where this is going. You can drop the act."

The blonde woman was surprised, with Sayo being surprised and confused. The young girl couldn't believe what she was hearing from her close friend. But if that wasn't enough, Ben then turned to her and said. "Look…Sayo, you're a good person but you'll be Ieyasu-stupid if you fall for her game."

"Hmph. You shouldn't speak about people like that." The blonde woman said calmly.

"True." Ben said and turned to her. "But tell me…what do you gain from helping us? The smile you have is welcoming but also deceiving. And let's not forget that you're not…properly dressed. I may not know how the Capital works, but it's obvious to me that you're just taking an opportunity to rob us."

The blonde woman was surprised. She had scammed a bunch of people before due to it being a great skill of hers. But there she stood, in front of a young man who had easily deduced her goal in less than a minute. But before she could say anything, Ben already grabbed Sayo by the wrist and began walking away with her.

"Come on, Sayo. We have to find Tatsumi and Ieyasu." He said.

"Uh…sure." Sayo said.

Back at the blonde woman, she couldn't help but smirk. It was true that her effort had failed and her 'prey' was gone. But at the same time, she couldn't help but like the outcome , especially because of the teenage boy.

Leone was intrigued now.

"Not bad, lad. Maybe we'll meet again in the future." She said.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Almost a minute had passed since Ben had led Sayo away from the scam she almost went for. Since then his face had remained straight and firm as he continued leading Sayo forward with no other thought in mind. But that changed when Sayo suddenly yanked her hand from Ben, which then alerted the teen to turn to her.

"Sayo, what are you –"

"Thank you." Sayo interjected. Her mind had reflected on what happened recently. So as she stood there, her head was at the ground as she continued to speak with a sad tone. "All of my life…up until now has been in the village. I never saw anyone as a bad person there because we were all one big family. But coming here…and almost falling for that woman's words…it made me realize just how lucky I…No, we are to have you around. If Tatsumi or Ieyasu were in our place, we would've fallen easily to her deception."

Ben huffed a bit and smiled. He understood her gratefulness to him at that moment before doing something that would slightly surprise her. He patted her softly on the head. "Don't sweat, Sayo. We're friends and we always have each other's back, right?" He said.

Sayo blushed madly and nodded. "Yes."

"Great." Ben nodded. He was glad to hear her response even though he was oblivious to her affections. So with that, he removed his hand from her head and continued. "Now then…let's go look for Tatsumi and Ieyasu."

Sayo raised her head at him and smiled. Her embarrassment earlier had only lasted a few seconds until she heard those encouraging words from Ben. Now she was determined.

"Right." Sayo nodded.

With that, the two of them began to walk away. The incident that happened a minute ago seemed to become a thing of the past now that the two teenagers had a goal in mind. But if there was one thing in mind it was by Sayo, who stared at Ben by her side and looked away with a small blush at both her cheeks.

'Ben…you're such an amazing person. I don't know where you came from or what's your life was before we met. But I do know this…I love you and I…and I'll always be there for you. Please…rely on me too.' Sayo thought.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Time seemed to fly by fast for Ben and Sayo when they made their way through some areas of the Capital. Earlier, they had been determined to find their friends in any possible way. However, they later found that the Capital was bigger and wider than they thought, thus making their search difficult. So by the time they stopped their search, it was already nighttime and them walking on a bridge with disappointment.

"Damn…this sucks." Ben sighed lightly. "We asked a bunch of people and followed any lead we could get. I really don't like how things are going."

"Yeah…" Sayo agreed sadly. She was with Ben in the same way he felt. But then a thought came to mind that made her smile a bit and turn to Ben. "It wasn't so bad…I got to spend more time with you."

"Huh? You said something?" Ben glanced at her.

"No, nothing important." Sayo turned away in embarrassment. She was unaware, though, that her cheeks her heating up a bit.

Ben didn't seem to notice either, apparently. The teen was slightly confused by Sayo's reaction until just shrugging it off. Then a thought came to him which made him speak up.

"So where do we go now?" He asked. "I don't recall any inn close by and it's already getting late."

Sayo looked up to the nightly sky and silently agreed. A part of her was pleased that she was able to walk with Ben, but it didn't change the fact that they hadn't rested much since coming to the Capital. However, before she could say anything, both she and Ben heard the sounds of horses neighing followed by wheels coming to a stop and a door opening.

"My lady at this time of the night?" asked a male voice. He sounded like a man in his thirties, as he seemed to be speaking with someone.

"Of course. It can't be helped." answered a female voice.

Ben and Sayo turned to the direction of the voices. They didn't find any of the people familiar, but the way the two had spoken in the moment of the night was just something that grabbed their attention.

So there they were, standing by the side of the bridge and looking at some faces they've never seen. The man who had spoken seemed to be some kind of guard, as indicated by his small armor. However, the same couldn't be said about the girl, who now they could see getting out of her ride. She seemed to be a girl at Sayo's age, as she had blonde hair and wore a beautiful dress of good fabric. And from the looks of things, she was heading their way.

"Good evening. I must ask are you two lost?" asked the blonde girl. "My name is Aria. It's nice to meet new people like yourselves."

Ben and Sayo glanced at each other with uncertainty. One moment they were on their own and the next they had a likely rich girl attending to them out of the blue. It wasn't suspicious to them, but it wasn't assuring at the same time. Fortunately, Sayo was the one to reply.

"Ah…yes we are…kind of." She said honestly. "To be honest, we were searching for our friends and we ended up losing track of time. But if you can point us to the nearest inn that would be –"

"I won't advise that." said the male voice. It came from the man who was close to the ride as he then continued. "My apologies for intruding, but I think it would be unwise to keep going at this late at night. The Capital may not seem like it, but bandits walk the streets if one isn't properly protected."

"You have a point there…" Sayo said in acknowledgement. Then she turned to Ben. "What do you think?"

"Well…I think we should take his word for now. We can't risk running into any trouble." Ben replied sincerely. "But at the same time, I don't want us to be a bother to Aria and her family."

"Don't feel that way." Aria said with an honest smile. "Helping people especially in their time of need are something I value very much. So please come with me. I won't forgive myself if I let two lovers walk by themselves at such a time."

Both Sayo and Ben flushed and turned away from one another.

"We-we're not…that." Sayo said embarrassingly.

"Y-Yeah…Totally not like that." Ben said as well

Aria frowned. "Oh…I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding. I did not mean to –"

"No, it's fine!" Ben interjected. He was now facing Aria, with the same for Sayo as the two of them felt sorry for their reaction.

"Yeah, Ben's right. Don't feel that way." Sayo said assuredly.

Aria smiled in response. "Wonderful. I can tell certainly that the both of you are very good people. So would you like to come with me? It can be for just one night and you'll be off to find your friends."

Both Sayo and Ben paused and looked at each other. It was true that they were lost since they didn't know the nearest inn. But to take an offer from a good person like Aria seemed a bit uncertain. Fortunately, the two of them were able to make up their minds with a smile at each other, before facing Aria.

"We accept." Sayo said. "Thank you very much, Aria-san."

"No need to thank me. It's the least I can do." Aria said back at her.

Unknown to the teenage duo, however, not all was how it would seem. A trap had been set and they had fallen for it without even knowing it. So even as Aria stared at them with much innocence, a dark secret was coming and it would soon change their lives forever.

_(LINE BREAK)_

About thirty minutes passed before the teenage duo and Aria and her company arrived at her home, which was a mansion. There, Sayo was astonished at the sight of the expensive building, as well as the inside when they got inside. The same would've been for Ben if not that he had seen 'better' places through the events he had experienced. But then they had to meet Aria's parents, which was something the teen hero wasn't new to.

So there they were, sitting at the living room of the mansion. Both Ben and Sayo sat at the long touch while Aria sat with her mother at the other long couch and her father at a lone couch facing the teenage duo from the front. Some small pleasantries had been exchanged before now where the talks continued.

"I must say, this is a wonderful turn of events." Aria's father said happily. "I'm glad my daughter is such a generous and kind girl."

"Dad!" Aria flustered.

Aria's mother giggled. "Aria, you know your father is joking." She then turned to Ben and Sayo. "So can we know your names? We don't want to be strangers."

Sayo said nothing as she stood up. She felt happy and grateful for the attitude of the Goodricke family at that moment. As such, she bow at them out of respect and said. "My name is Sayo. Thank you for welcoming us!"

"Yeah…Thank you." Ben said. He too then stood up and did a bow similar to Sayo.

Aria's dad laughed joyfully and waved at them. "Oh please no. It's fine. We're happy to provide comfort to anyone in need. So please take a seat. We would like to hear more from you."

"Thank you." Sayo said.

A thought was already in the girl's mind when she and Ben stood up straight. So upon Aria's father offer, she decided then to bring up what she had in mind.

"If you don't mind, there's something I wish to ask of you…"

Everyone paid attention as all eyes were now on her. But Sayo didn't get straight to it, not until she and Ben were back on their seat. It was a good thing then to the duo that the family was listening to them, even to the point of showing facial expression as she continued.

"I see." Aria's father said. Sayo's explanation had come to an end, and now it was his turn to talk. "You want to be successful in the army to save your village. I must say that's quite an admirable dream."

"Thank you." Sayo said gratefully.

"You're welcome." Aria's dad replied. "But are you truly prepared for such? It may be peaceful in the Imperial Capital, but this country is surrounded on three sides by different races. You could be brought over the borders to fight against them."

"I'm well prepared for that." Sayo stated determinedly. "My friends and I came to the Capital with that dream in mind…We can't turn back because of the danger."

"Admirable." Sayo's dad complimented. "Such a commendable spirit in you is how the young should be. But you said friends…I only see one here?"

Sayo frowned. She didn't want to be reminded of what happened a while back with her, Ben and her friends. Fortunately, Ben noticed her mood shift and spoke up.

"They got…separated from us. If you don't mind, I would like to explain what happened."

"Go ahead." Aria's mum said. "If that isn't too much trouble, of course."

With that said, Ben went into the details. He recounted how the day when he, Sayo and the other two were getting ready to travel to the Capital with the goal of helping the village in their minds. It was a supportive and nice memory, as it not only showed the friendship between them all but the determination in their eyes to get going. But then as that explanation was reaching its end that was when it became said as Ben recalled it.

"And so that happened…" Ben said, continuing. "Everyone left with determination that day. But one night when I went to the lake to checkout something, the others were attacked by bandits. I was only able to meet up with Sayo…Since then we haven't seen the others."

"Oh dear." Aria's mother gasped.

"It was my fault." Ben added with a sad tone. "If I had been there then maybe –"

"Ben, stop." Sayo interjected. She had a calm look on her face, as she then placed her hand softly on Ben's wrist, just an inch away from the Omnitrix. "Don't blame yourself. Tatsumi and Ieyasu have each other. Those two will have each other's backs no matter what."

Ben felt relieved and smiled. "You're right. But let's hope that Ieyasu isn't on his own…who knows what'll happen to him.'

Sayo giggled. Though it had just been a minute, she was already feeling some relief just by talking with the teen hero. But before anything else could be said, Aria's father stood up with an decision in mind.

"Then it is decided." Aria's father announced. "I'll recommend the both of you to an acquaintance by the military and investigate the whereabouts of those two as well."

"Thank you so much!" Sayo exclaimed happily.

"I'm with her. Thank you." Ben said as well. "But I'm not one for the military. So if it's alright with you, just recommend Sayo, Tatsumi and Ieyasu. The three of them are pretty skilled."

"Ben…" Sayo muttered and blushed a bit.

Sayo's dad chuckled and nodded. "Understood."

Just then, Aria spoke up.

"I'm so glad." She said. "Don't worry about your friends. My intuition's good, you know. I think you'll see your friends soon enough."

Both Sayo and Ben acknowledged those kind words with silent response. Before, they wouldn't have imagined falling into such luck in the situation they were in. But since things seemed to be going well for them, they were both grateful. Sayo even offered to help the family out in any way she could, with Ben agreeing with her out of kindness. Fortunately, the family seemed fine with, as the smiles on their faces showed it.

So following that scene, the two of them were offered to eat with the family. This was then followed with a fun conversation that felt entertaining and interesting. But like all things in life, it couldn't last, and as a result the two of them were given guest rooms to sleep in before saying their goodnights to the family. Now Ben was accompanying Sayo through the hallway to her room, which they eventually got to its door.

"Well this is where I can stop." Ben said calmly.

"I know." Sayo replied. She had her eyes staring at the charming smile of the teen hero, before holding her hands together. "Before you go, Ben there's something I wish to tell you."

"Oh, what's that?"

"Don't blame yourself." Sayo stated. She knew right at that moment that she had gotten the teen's assuring attention, and thus continued. "You've been a big help to me, Tatsumi and Ieyasu ever since we left the village. That will never change. Besides, like Aria-san said, we'll meet Tatsumi and Ieyasu soon."

"Yeah…I guess you're right." Ben smiled. "Goodnight, Sayo."

"Goodnight, Ben."

And with that, the talk between the two ended. Sayo went into her room with her small belongings while Ben headed down the hall and got into the guest room given to him as well. But upon closing the door, he sighed and got to the lone bed there, where he sat at the edge and began to think.

'Sayo's very sweet…I wonder if I should tell her and the others about my past. I don't want there to be secrets between us…But then there's the issue of Tatsumi and Ieyasu…who knows where those two are…I know Aria's father was assuring but…I feel I could do more…Wait, of course I can. I still have the Omnitrix.'

For a second Ben wanted to facepalm. His eyes were already on the alien device on his wrist, which he then continued to think about.

'Well it's not like I forgot about it…It's just that Sayo and I weren't sure that moving about as an alien would be a good idea in broad daylight…But it isn't daylight right now.'

An idea immediately hit Ben. He knew he should've thought of it soon, but didn't delve on it much. Hence, with the thought, he pressed his two fingers on the faceplate of the alien device and watched the cycle hologram form. He then began selecting through the number of aliens presented to him until he found the right one, to which he then removed his fingers from the faceplate for the device to reveal its core.

"Alright! It's hero time!" Ben exclaimed.

And so, he slammed his hand down on the core. The transformation then happened as he was covered in a flash of light. Hence, when the light died down, Ben stood as a humanoid creature that was different from his human form. The creature was very hairy as it had two green eyes, wolf-like ears and a tail, all while wearing a green suit, a collar and wristbands. Basically, he was a werewolf dressed in a green suit. Also, the Omnitrix symbol was on his collar.

"Yes, Blitzwolfer!" Ben exclaimed with a grin.

With that, the teen hero stood up from his bed. He then headed to the window and pulled them apart it and looked into the night, particularly the full moon.

"Well this is something. The moon is –"

Blitzwolfer stopped and sniffed the air. He knew his reaction there was due to instinct, as his incredible nose had picked up something. But then the smell became somewhat recognizable and made him feel irritated and suspicious.

"Odd…The smell is coming is close." Blitzwolfer said at the moment. "It smells…strange and rotten and it…kind of makes me want to puke. Should I wake up Sayo? Yeah, I totally should. Sayo would be pissed if I left her out of something that might be important."

So it was decided by Blitzwolfer; He was going for Sayo first. He didn't have trouble finding the room since all he had to do was scale the outside walls and get to the windows, which was open. But to ensure not to freak the girl out, he changed back to normal and got into her room and saw her sleeping soundly on the guest bed.

'She looks so peaceful…Should I really wake her up?' Ben asked himself.

A part of the teen hero didn't want to disturb the young girl. But seeing as the situation might be important, he put the feeling aside and shook her lightly while calling her name. It was a good thing then that Sayo woke up with a moan and a sleepy look at Ben.

"B-Ben?" Sayo questioned. "What are you doing here…It's late."

"I know. I'm sorry." Ben said. "It's just that…I think this is important."

Sayo sighed and quietly sat at the edge of her bed. She wasn't in the mood to listen to light matters, but seeing as Ben was there she knew it was important.

"Explain what happened." She said.

And so Ben did as he was told. He narrated to her what he had intended to do with Blitzwolfer and the foul smell he got upon opening the windows. So when he was finished, Sayo had made up her mind by getting off from bed and getting her weapons in order to go with him.

"Let's go." She said.

Ben nodded in response. He then used that chance to activate the Omnitrix and go through a number of his aliens displayed on the Omnitrix, before finding the right one and changing into an alien.

_(LINE BREAK)_

By the time Ben and Sayo arrived to the source of the foul smell, Ben put her down on the outside ground as Blitzwolfer. He had to use the form again to be accurate with the place he had sensed. And now he and Sayo stood before a normal looking shed, with Ben changing back to himself.

"This is the place." Ben said.

Sayo noted and eyed the shed. The place didn't seem like anything suspicious at all to her. But then a thought came to her that led her to walk towards its wooden doors.

"We should get in. Maybe the thing you smelled is inside." She said.

"Right." Ben nodded.

Unknown to the duo, however, this moment was one they would probably regret. The shed that stood before them was not just an ordinary one, but one that held the biggest secret of Aria's family. So upon Sayo pushing the doors open, she became horrified at what she saw, particularly at a familiar person that was hung by chains, naked and missing a leg.

"TA-TA-TASUMIIIIIIIII!" Sayo screamed.

Ben was clueless at what just happened. He could tell by Sayo's scream that something wasn't right. Hence, within that moment, the teen ran to her side expecting some minor thing. But then, all that changed when he looked into the shed and saw what was before them in full view.

The shed was indeed no ordinary shed. There were bodies of dead people covered by their own blood with bruises and large cuts. But if that wasn't horrifying enough, the scary expression most of them had was sickening as some of them were already missing of a body part or two. And then there was Tatsumi's dead body, which was hung in the air by chains.

"What-What is this?!" Ben shouted.

Sayo couldn't utter a word. She was too horrified at what she was seeing. But even if she did, another voice responded and sounded very familiar.

"This is where cattle like you belong…" said the voice.

Both Ben and Sayo turned back to see who said it. They knew the voice sounded familiar, but weren't sure on it due to the horrifying moment. So imagine their shock when they saw Aria and four of her guards standing right before them, with said girl sending a psychotic grin at them.

Now before any of the two could react properly, it was too late. An unforeseen guard suddenly appeared at Ben's side and backhanded him at the face with such force that it sent flying a few feet in the air and hitting the ground hard.

"BEN!" Sayo shouted.

However, the moment for the girl to do something was also too late. Aria suddenly brought out a whip and swung it against Sayo's turned face, striking her directly at the cheek.

"AAAHHH!" Sayo screamed.

Unfortunately, the pain didn't stop there. Sayo did turn to face the girl, but only to then get struck by the whip, this time at her other cheek. Hence, with both visible cuts on her cheeks, the force and shock of the attacks sent Sayo falling to the ground on her side.

Ben was immediately urgent to get up. He was still hurting from the attack earlier, but not enough to keep him down. However, the same guard that had struck him had a different thought in mind as he then marched on his chest, sending Ben back to the ground with a loud cry. He was the same guard that had persuaded him and Sayo to come with Aria earlier that night.

"Why…Why are you doing this?" Ben questioned. However, the guard said nothing but looked at him with cold eyes. So then the teen hero turned to Aria with glaring eyes. "What's the meaning of this, Aria?! We trusted you!"

Aria grinned and walked over to Sayo. The young girl was about to stand up, only to then fail. The reason was because Aria then stomped down on her stomach so hard that the girl was knocked to the ground with a loud pained cry.

"Sayo!" Ben shouted in shock.

"You cattle never learn." Aria said proudly. She then marched her foot down on Sayo's stomach again, causing more pain to the girl.

"LET HER GO!" Ben yelled angrily.

"Silence!" Aria yelled at Ben. "Listen to your mistress when she speaks! You two were meant to stay the night quietly and await your turn, but you got fucking stupid!" Then she turned her attention at Sayo. "And you! How dare you, a country bitch, have a better hair! That pisses me off!"

Sayo cried out in pain. The reason for it was because Aria stomped her hard on the stomach again. But if that wasn't enough, she did it again and again and again, to the point that Sayo coughed out blood and began to slowly lose consciousness.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ben yelled angrily.

However, his cry was ignored. Aria didn't seem to care the slightest bit on what Ben was saying. At that moment, Ben tried to get up and lift his arms up so he could use the Omnitrix. But then, the teen hero was marched down on the ground with a stronger force than before by the same guard.

"Stay down, kid!" The guard yelled. "This is just the beginning!"

Back at Sayo, the girl was feeling really bad at her stomach. Her weapons were out of her reach since the time she had fallen to the ground. But then, despite the pain she surprisingly grabbed Aria's ankle and looked at the girl with angry killer eyes.

"Yo-You lied to us! We trusted you! You had Tatsumi and Ieyasu here all along!" she shouted.

Aria scoffed at her and removed her foot from the girl's grip. Then she said. "And so what if I did?! The two of them enjoyed the same hospitality despite being filthy cattle! So if you know what's good for you, thank me for it!"

"I'll rather die than to do that!" Sayo yelled angrily.

"Hmph…You'll get your wish soon." Aria said.

And with that, another shot of pain came. Aria used her whip once again to strike at Sayo, this time hitting her at her neck. But then as that happened, the rage in Ben pushed its limit and led the teen rising from the ground despite the guard holding him back.

"I SAID…LEAVE HER ALONEEEEEEE!" Ben cried out.

The guard had no way of stopping the teen hero now. This was very obvious when the teen got back on his feet and immediately slammed his hand on the Omnitrix's exposed core, changing him into an alien in a flash of green light.

"RAAATTTHHH!" Ben roared.

As the name he called indicated, he was the alien known as Rath. In this form, he was a humanoid nine foot tall bipedal tiger with orange and white fur and wearing a green and black suit. Along with that, the Omnitrix symbol was on his belt.

"What the hell?" The guard shouted in shock. "You're a Teigu user?!"

Rath backhanded him without a single thought. He could care little to nothing on what the man had just said. But now that he was out of the way, the alien hero charged at Aria on all four legs.

"Mistress, look out!" shouted another guard.

However, there was little time for Aria to react as she was now scared. Rath was coming towards her fast and didn't seem intent on slowing down. But then, before he could get her, that exact guard that had shouted to her ran between the two and swung his sword at Rath with terrifying result.

Rath wasn't harmed, but the same couldn't be said about the guy's sword. The reason for that was because he bit down on the blade of the metal sword and shattered it in seconds. Then, before the guy knew it, Rath used his head to ram into the stomach of the guy, sending him flying away to the ground.

"Get the mistress out of here and get reinforcement!" shouted the third guard.

There were now two guards left, with one of them being the one that had instructed the other. So before Rath could strike again, the guard grabbed Aria by the arm and ran off with her as fast as the two could.

However, that didn't mean Rath was compliant with that.

"GET BACK HERE!" He yelled.

Rath was already dead set on dealing with the blonde girl. His eyes were already on her when he saw her run off with the fourth guard. But before he could move, the third guard began shooting at him with a handgun in his hand. Unfortunately for him, none of them had any effect on the alien hero except for the fact that the bullets bouncing off his body got his attention.

"You…" Rath said with a deadly glare.

At the same time, the guard kept on firing. He didn't know what else to do considering what he had just witnessed Rath do. But even if he did, it would've been futile. Rath was already in front of him when he suddenly yanked the gun out of the guard's hand, followed by a backhanded attack at his chest. Hence, the guy was sent flying away and hitting a tree.

Rath panted heavily and pounded his chest. He wasn't feeling like his usual angry self because what he felt now was rage. But then, upon hearing a soft but strained voice calling his name, his attitude dropped and he turned to the person, who was revealed to be Sayo trying to get up.

"Sayo!" Rath shouted.

The moment his eyes landed on the wounded girl, his mind reacted to the best way he could. By that, he immediately slammed the symbol on his chest and became another form known as Clockwork. He then used his present form to shoot a straight green beam at the girl, which instantly healed her of most of his injuries. But before he could complete it, the Omnitrix timed out, changing him back to Ben.

"Sayo!"

Ben immediately ran for the girl. He knew to an extent that Sayo was fine physically, but at the same time he was still worried for her. Fortunately, the girl seemed to show some good result as she then stood up but almost lost her footing.

Good thing Ben was there for her. The teen was able to catch Sayo and let her fall on chest and held her close.

"Wh…What just happened?" Sayo asked.

"A lot of things." Ben said with a sad voice. "You're fine…right?"

Sayo said nothing back. She could still remember everything that had happened just a few minutes ago. So upon touching her right cheeks, she found that a scar was at each one and almost cried. Her tears wasn't due to the physical harm, though, they were because of the memories of Tatsumi's body in the shed.

Just then, a weak male voice got their attention. It was very familiar, as it sounded like it was pleading to them.

"Ben…Sayo…Is that you guys?"

Both Sayo and Ben had their eyes widened in shock. They could tell easily who it was, as their attention immediately went back to the shed.

"Ieyasu!" shouted Sayo.

A part of Sayo was relieved to hear her friend's voice. However, there was also the other part that felt worried and scared for him. So before anything else could be said, she and Ben ran into the shed and turned to their left where they then saw something horrific. It was Ieyasu, but he was in a cage, half-naked, covered in scars and his own blood.

"Y-You guys…You made it." Ieyasu said.

Sayo immediately ran to her friend urgently and held the bars. She could tell easily from Ieyasu's state that the teen was slowly dying. So immediately the girl turned to Ben and shouted. "Ben, quick. Get him out."

"On it." Ben said.

And with that, he slammed his hand on the Omnitrix core. The usual flash of green light happened, as the transformation began and came to an end. Hence, instead of his human self, Ben was a tall and muscular alien with red skin, four green eyes, and red arms and dressed in a black and green suit which had the Omnitrix at its belt.

As Fourarms, there was much that Ben could do. Therefore, rather than stand idly, the alien hero went over to Ieyasu's cell and bent the bars sideways. Then, with all four arms, he lifted the weakened teen out of the cage and laid him softly on the ground. Now Sayo was kneeling at Ieyasu's right side with Fourarms doing the same at his right.

"Hang in there, Ieyasu. Ben will have you fixed." Sayo said softly.

Fourarms nodded and reached his lower hand to touch the Omnitrix symbol. He already had the idea of using Clockwork, when suddenly he felt a soft bloody hand touch his wrist. It wasn't of Sayo's doing, but actually Ieyasu who was now staring at him.

"No…don't, Ben. This is fine…" Ieyasu said.

Tears slowly began to leak out of Sayo's eyes.

"Don't be stupid, Ieyasu." She said tearfully. "Just…Just be quiet. Ben will save you."

"I know, but…what about Tatsumi?" Ieyasu questioned. He could see from his position that he was making the both of them deeply sad. But he continued anyway. "You two should've seen him. Despite what that bitch did…Tatsumi never gave in. He fought back despite the torture and died knowing you guys were all right…I'm glad you guys are fine too. But now…Tatsumi is all alone. I don't know about you guys, but…I can't let him remain like that. So to be honest with you, dying right here with you guys by my sides…it's kind of comforting. Please don't be sad."

"Idiot!" Sayo cried out. Every word Ieyasu had said had impacted her heavily to the point that she was crying heavily. "What are you talking about?! You've done some stupid stuff before so don't do this! We're your friends and we love you! We don't want to lose you, so of course we're sad! How can we not beeeee?!"

"I'm sorry, Sayo" Ieyasu said. "That is why…you two will have to carry the dream we shared together. If there's a heaven out there, Tatsumi and I will be watching over you two…I promise."

"No! Don't go!" Sayo shouted loudly. Then she turned to Fourarms. "What are you waiting for?! Save him please! Ben…please I'm begging you! Save him!"

"Ben…don't." Ieyasu said softly. He looked over to Ben and said straightly. "If you do…I'll never forgive you. We may have had our differences, but I'm glad I got to know you. Please…take care of Sayo. Tatsumi and I…we'll be counting on you."

"Ieyasu…" Fourarms said. He was sad and shocked at the turn of events. But unlike Sayo, he could see how things were becoming, hence he nodded. "Don't worry. You can count on us."

"Oh and Sayo?" Ieyasu said and turned to Sayo. "Watch over Ben…Don't blame him for this. If I stick around, I might just hold you two back…Aria has done a lot to me…I don't want to be a burden to you guys. All I want now is for you guys to be happy."

Ieyasu's time was now up. He could feel his heartbeat slowly coming to an end as all blood related function is his body began to cease. So with his eyes slowly closing he said. "Please guys…protect each other…save the village."

And just like that, Ieyasu died right before them. The impact left a cold atmosphere as both Fourarms and Sayo remained in silence while staring at his dead body. But it wasn't long after that Sayo reached her hands to her face and began to cry sorrowfully for the death of her other best friend. She could already remember the times she had with Tatsumi and Ieyasu, except now they were just memories that she would share alone.

Ben could understand easily and sympathize. He felt a heavy burden on his chest as the Omnitrix timed out and changed him back to normal. But rather than stay in one place, he went over to Sayo's side and wrapped his arms around her. Then, before the girl knew it, he pulled her close to his chest and let her softly cry on his chest.

"Ben…" Sayo sorrowfully called out. She was still crying, but now with a thought in mind. Hence, she looked up at the teen and looked at him in the eyes. "Promise me this…Promise you'll never leave me."

"I won't, Sayo. I won't." Ben said assuredly.

"T-Thank you." Sayo said back.

_(LINE BREAK)_

A minute went by before Ben and Sayo could move from each other. Ben was now as Snare-Oh, a Mummy-like alien, while Sayo stood outside watching what he was doing. He was using the alien's bandage-like hands to cover the dead bodies of Tatsumi and Ieyasu in order to preserve them.

"We should pray and bury them." Sayo suggested with a sad tone. "That is what they would've wanted."

"Right." Snare-oh said.

Just then, fast footsteps were heard. They sounded like they belonged to a number of people, as each step they took seemed to get louder. So upon hearing them, Snare-Oh told Sayo to stay put before walking to the open entrance and seeing the source of the small ruckus. They were the Aria family's guards and from the looks of it they numbered up to ten.

"That's the Teigu user!" shouted one guard. He was the guard who had run off with Aria earlier. "We shouldn't hold back. Kill him!"

Snare-Oh didn't seem intimidated by their numbers, though. He could hear what they said, even though he had no sign of having an ear. So upon them raising their guns at him, he simply wrapped his arms across his chest and let them do what they want. By that, he basically let them fire as many bullets as they wanted at him with each shot doing a lot of harm to him. But then when they stopped, his bandages regenerated easily, much to their shock.

"Surprised? Good." Snare-Oh said angrily. His eyes were shining neon green as he was glaring at them. "Usually, this is the part I would talk you guys out of this or beat a few of you to get my point across. But you guys killed my friends. That's something I can't treat lightly."

And with that, Snare-Oh went into action. He simply stretched his bandages hands out to both sides of the guards to huge walls. Then, before they knew it, he slammed the walls at them, knocking them to the ground unconscious. After that he retracted his arms and touched the Omnitrix symbol on his belt, changing back to normal.

"Well that's over." Ben said calmly.

"No…It's not." Aria said in disagreement

Ben was confused. He turned over to Sayo and saw her walking over to him with an odd look on her face.

"Did you kill them?" She asked.

"No." Ben said. "I know they did terrible things, but…I'm not one to kill people."

Sayo was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected a response from that considering she had thought Ben would be fine with killing at the moment. But then her expression changed and she became calm.

"I understand." Sayo said. Now she was by his side. "Let's go after Aria and her parents. We need to get out things and whatever that Tatsumi and Ieyasu had with them…before all this happened."

Ben nodded with certainty. But unknown to the teen hero, Sayo had a different idea in mind. She couldn't reveal it to Ben, at least not yet. So with that in mind, she and Ben set off to the rich family's mansion, ready for another confrontation.

_(LINE BREAK)_

"Quickly! We must get the master and his family out of here!"

After all that has happened, the rich family was planning on fleeing. Right now their guards that numbered seven were escorting them towards the front door. But before any of them could draw close, the doors were opened to reveal Ben and Sayo standing there.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Sayo yelled angrily.

Ben added nothing to say. He had his fingers on the Omnitrix and selecting the right alien to use. But upon seeing them, the guards were on the offense as the commander turned to two of the guards close to the Goodricke family, and said. "Take the master and his family to safety! The rest of us will deal them! Kill the threats!"

The guards immediately obeyed without a hint of refusal. The ones who had guns revealed them at that moment, while the ones with sword unsheathe them. At the same time, the two guards that were ordered recently did as told by escorting Aria and her parents up stairs, though that wasn't taken likely by Sayo.

Sayo could see from her position that she was going to lose her chance. So with her bow in hand, she brought out an arrow from her arrow pack and shot the arrow at a single target. It was a guy with a gun, as he soon cried out in pain when the arrow struck right through his arm.

"AAAAHHHH!" The man screamed.

Sayo went forward and did a similar attack. This time, with the usual accuracy, she hit the commander at the knee, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Ben, cover me!" Sayo shouted.

"Wait, what?"

Ben was confused by what she meant. But then it made sense when she ran forward to the guards, who were now firing her way.

"Oh shit! We're doing that now!" Ben shouted in realization.

Now upon seeing the situation, the teen went into action. He immediately slammed the Omnitrix core and became engulfed in a flash of green light. Hence, with a bird-like scream, Ben became Kickin Hawk and ran towards Sayo to get her away from the bullets. But then, to his surprise, the girl was able to dodge them with quick maneuvering and then use one of her arrows to strike into the arm of a guard nearby.

"Wow…Sayo's so fierce." Kickin Hawk commented.

Just then, the alien hero moved out of the way. He also got shot by a mansion guard, which was obviously a bad thing. But with his mind back in the game, Kickin Hawk stepped into the fight, indirectly giving Sayo the cover she wanted. However, the reason she wanted that was deeper than that.

Kickin Hawk didn't know it yet, but Sayo was out for revenge. She was successful to get through the mansion guards since their attention was at Kickin Hawk. But as one noticed her, Kickin Hawk immediately got him, hence giving the girl a chance to keep moving up the stairs.

However, the situation didn't mean it was getting light. The two mansion guards that were protecting Aria and her parents stood above the stairs with the rich family behind them. And seeing as Sayo was approaching, they immediately began shooting at her as much as they could. But to their shock Sayo dodged all of them.

The teenage girl knew the danger she was in and was willing to go every mile to accomplish her goal. Hence, after she dodged the bullets, she took the opportunity of an opening and shot two arrows directly at the head of one guard, killing him instantly.

"DAMN BITCH! YOU KILLED HIM!" shouted the other guard.

However, Sayo could careless of what he thought. She was getting close with each passing second, when the guard decided to use his sword. But as he then came down the stairs for her, the girl immediately shot an arrow at each of his knees, which in turn caused him to lose his footing and beginning falling down the stairs.

Now at this point, the man's misfortune was in Sayo's way. He was out of control of his body as all he could do was surrender to gravity, with death coming for him. But then before he could reach her, the girl jumped forward into the air, thereby avoiding him. Then, while in the air, her eyes landed on her first target, which was Aria's father. Hence, she had an arrow and a bow targeted for the man.

"This is for lies!" Sayo shouted angrily.

With that, she shot the single arrow. She was accurate enough to hit Aria's father right in the forehead, killing him instantly. But then there was still the issue of his wife and daughter, both of whom screamed in shock and fear. However, Sayo could careless of their loss; she landed on the top of the stairs and shot two arrows at Aria's mother's chest, killing her as well.

"That is for deceiving us." Sayo said angrily.

And then there was Aria. The blonde girl was in shock as she stared at her dead parents lying in a rising pool of their own blood. But then as she stepped backwards, she could see she was now Sayo's final target just by seeing her bow and arrow pointed for her as well.

"And this…" Sayo said and chocked a bit. The memories of her best friends were flashing before her eyes as tears slowly began to form at her eyes. "and this is for destroying the dreams of many…especially the ones Tatsumi, Ieyasu and I shared."

"That's enough, Sayo!"

Kickin Hawk suddenly landed between the two girls. He had witnessed the killings his friend had just done and was disgusted by it. So as he stood there, he had his green eyes glaring angrily at her, which had no effect. Sayo was clearly on a revenge path, as obvious by her glaring at the alien hero.

"Get out of the way, Ben! We have to get our revenge!" Sayo shouted angrily.

"And then what?!" Kickin Hawk asked. "Sure, killing her and her family may seem comforting with all that has happened, but it will change you as a person permanently! You've never been a murderer Sayo! Don't be one now!"

"That's not your choice, Ben!" Sayo stated firmly. "Move or I'll what –"

"Or you'll what?!" Kickin Hawk questioned strictly. "Are you so hell bent on doing this?! Look at yourself Sayo; you're becoming the very thing she is! Sure, you're just killing a few people, but where's the line after that! You'll lose yourself if you keep this up! Besides…" Kickin Hawk stopped and calmed down. "we have each other's back, right?"

Sayo was silent. Deep in her mind, she was very intent on killing Aria and fulfilling her revenge. But at the same time, she could sense that what Kickin Hawk just said was affecting her as a person. It contradicted everything her feelings held in and in a way slowly began to make her to cry. Hence, with a look of defeat, the girl tossed her bow and arrows to the ground and ran over to Kickin Hawk, who she then hugged tightly.

"Yes, I have your back." Sayo said tearfully.

Kickin Hawk smiled and patted her on the head softly. He was deeply relieved to find that he still had this friend with him. He didn't admit it though, but he would've felt alone if he had to fight against the girl just to uphold his morals. So if there was one thing he was glad for, it was Sayo's right decision.

However, that didn't mean the situation was over. Aria was still devious as ever, and with both Kickin Hawk and Sayo's guards down, she had the chance.

'She…That bitch killed my parents!' Aria thought angrily. "I'll make her pay dearly!'

And so, the blonde went into action. She pulled out a knife she kept with her and charged at Kickin Hawk while his back was turned at her. But before she could strike, Kickin Hawk heard her coming and quickly moved out of the way with Sayo in his arms.

"NO!" Aria shouted as she missed.

Sayo became angry in response. She understood from her position that Aria had tried to take away another person that she held there. So even though she didn't want to, her anger got the better of her. Hence, with a swift kick, Sayo hit Aria by the side with so much force that the blonde girl stumbled and lost her footing.

Now nothing could be done to save the rich girl. Ben couldn't do anything, with the same for Sayo as they witnessed what happened. Aria was sent down the stairs screaming as her body hit the stairs hard. But if that wasn't enough her screams became worse until she suddenly stopped and hit the bottom of the stairs dead and covered in her own blood.

"SAYO!" Kickin Hawk glared down at the girl.

"Um…Oops?" Sayo smiled sheepishly.

_(LINE BREAK)_

With all that had happened in the night, daytime finally came. However, when the morning started, it started with the news of the recent deaths of certain nobles. According to Imperial officials, Aria and her family had been assassinated and most of their guards badly beaten with little memory of the incident. Now at this point, many were speculating that the infamous assassin group known as Night Raid had something to do with it, and so they did. But unknown to them, even the assassins were shocked by it.

"What?! The mission is cancelled?!" shouted a teenage girl. The girl's name was Mine, and she didn't look happy from hearing the recent news.

Presently, all Night Raid members were at the conference room. Their leader wasn't around due to something she had to do, so it was just her subordinates and the one in charge of them. So currently all eyes were on Akame, who then answered Mine.

"Yes. But not exactly." Akame said. "According to Leone, the noble family that we were requested to kill has been eliminated. The people of the Capital believe it's of our doing, but…"

"But it wasn't us." Lubbock interjected calmly. "Whoever killed them must have had some kind of grudge against them. They were killing innocent people from the country, so should we be surprised that someone wanted them dead?"

"That is true." Bulat said with acknowledgement. "But whoever that did it must have been very skilled to take out the mansion guards. Leone had scouted the place a day ago and noted the number of guards to be high...But even then is it possible the person was highly skilled or…a Teigu user?"

Everyone took that suggestion mentally. Though it may not seem odd, it did bring up a possible answer and a number of other questions. However, before anything could be said, Leone had some things to say as she then stepped forward.

"Well I guess this is as good time as any to tell you guys what I found." She said.

"You found something?" Akame asked.

"Yup. Sorry I didn't tell you." Leone smirked teasingly. Then she turned to everyone else. "I did some digging by snooping around the Capital earlier today and found something interesting. The mansion guards don't have much of a memory, but they were able to remember two major things. One is that the person who attacked them was a powerful Teigu user that can transform into Danger Beasts."

"Transform into Danger Beasts?" Sheele questioned. She was slightly shocked by the information, with the same for her comrades. "I didn't know a Teigu like that exists."

"It doesn't, Sheele." Mine said. But then she seemed uncertainty. "At least…that's what we thought before."

Leone nodded chirpily. "But I'm not done yet. There's the other person that the mansion guards barely could remember. There weren't certain but they said it was a country girl with a butterfly hairclip and a bow and arrow."

"So it was a Teigu user and a country girl?" Lubbock said in his own conclusion. "That makes sense. But why are you smirking about this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Leone questioned rhetorically. "Those two have talent. They can join us as Night Raid members. And best of all…I think I know who those two are."

"You do?" Akame asked.

"Yup." Leone replied. "But for now we should concentrate on killing the mansion guards that survived. We don't want them to leak any precious information to the empire that we can use, now can we? And once that's done we should find those two and recruit them."

Mine huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like the last part. We don't need some lousy newbies."

"Then it's a good thing the boss didn't put you in charge." Leone remarked. In return she received a scowl from Mine, but ignored it. "Then it's decided." She stated boldly. "Tonight we finish what they started."

_(LINE BREAK)_

Being in the open sometimes was a blessing. Today the weather felt nice as not a single sign of trouble was seen for miles away. So it was at that particular moment that Sayo was kneeling before two graves in a beautiful field with tears slowly running down her scarred cheeks. She didn't mean it though, as the moment felt nice, especially as the peaceful wind blew against her face and hair lightly.

"You guys were the best friends a girl could ever have…" Sayo said softly. "We laughed together…We played together…We always talked about our dreams together. But now…those moments won't continue…Those moments will never be retold by us like we always did…But you know what? I'm not going to stay sad about it…I know you guys won't want me to be like that. So if you're really watching from heaven…please take good care of each other. Ieyasu, don't be a pain to Tatsumi, and Tatsumi make sure he doesn't get lost up there…I miss you both so much."

Ben sighed depressingly. He was a few feet behind her and watching all that the girl was saying. So seeing how things were, he went over to the girl's side and patted her softly on the head, which surprised Sayo. But Ben didn't turn to her to say anything. He instead had his head at the graves as he too had some things to say.

"Tatsumi…Ieyasu…You better be doing okay. I'll be watching Sayo in your place, so rest easy. I won't fail you both. I promise." Ben said calmly.

"Ben…" Sayo said softly. She was surprised and astonished by Ben's calm manner at that moment. She didn't know why, but it made her feel relieved enough to smile and nod at their graves. "Right…I'm in Ben's care now."

Ben smiled in response. He didn't forsake the words he said there, not even by a second. So it was in that moment that the two felt a resolve with each other as well as a stronger bond and dependency.

Eventually, the time to leave their deceased friends came to an end. But before leaving, both Ben and Sayo placed some flowers on the graves and began to walk away.

"So Ben…where should we go next?" Sayo asked.

"I don't know." Ben said and smirked at her. "Let's see what the future holds for us, okay?"

Sayo smirked back and nodded. "Right."

And so, with the past being the past, the present seemed to lead to a different future. The duo didn't know what was waiting for them nor could they predict it in anyway. But they did know one thing and that was the fact that they will be with each other no matter the trials and pain that they may go through.

THE END!

And that was the end of this alternate timeline fanfiction. I hope you guys enjoyed this fanfiction just as much as I enjoyed writing this one-short. This version of Sayo makes an appearance in my other fanfiction, Corruption, Murder and…Redemption? as an alternate timeline of the deceased Sayo. So if you want to see her fate you can keep up with that fanfic.

By now some of you may have been expecting Ben and Sayo to meet Night Raid like the manga and my other fanfic did with Tatsumi. However, there is a reason I didn't do that. I originally planned for it, with an interesting fight scene and all that. But I decided not to do that. I wanted this fanfiction to show some differences from the manga and my other crossover fanfiction to prove how small changes in other timelines can be huge. Besides, if you recall, Tatsumi stayed overnight with Aria's family and met Night Raid the next night. But considering Ben decided to go outside on the first night, both Sayo and him never got to experience what Tatsumi experienced. You understand that? I hope so.

Now about Aria, I bet some of you may have been surprised that she died in this fanfic considering she's alive in the other crossover fanfiction. Well I had her die because some readers didn't seem pleased that Ben saved her in the other fanfic (even though he would've saved her since it's his character).

Well that's all I have to say. Thank you very much for taking your time to read this long one-shot. Let me know what you think of it in the reviews and please keep up with my other crossover fanfic, Corruption, Murder and…Redemption? Bye!