Hello everybody, BzS here.

Welcome to Soul of the Tempest – Shinatsuhiko (Originally Called Blade of Tempest – Shinatsuhiko).

Thank you all so much for your patience, but it is finally here.

This rewrite has changed a lot of things about this story, in fact, it barely resembles the original.

I include a lot of characters from the original manga Akame Ga Kill and Akame Ga Kill – Zero. If you have not yet read either, highly recommended, especially Zero.

Thank you for your continued support. I am very glad I was able to rewrite this fanfiction. I hope you guys enjoy.

**Big thanks to An Exile for editing my chapters for me. If he weren't here, this fanfic would be a grammatical mess with 9:1 speech:description ratio.

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill, any references to other series, or anything that's not my own original creation.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

"Father! Mother! Hurry!" My little feet sunk into the soft soil. The green grass spanned as far as my eyes could see. There was nothing else. Just the sky, the grass, and my family.

"Hehe, slow down Tatsumi." My father's comforting voice echoed I spun around and ran backwards, waving my arms and motioning for my parents to hurry. His brown hair swayed in the crisp breeze and his soft brown eyes blended perfectly with his mature face.

"Watch where you are going, it'd be shameful if you fell." My mother said in a cold tone, yet concern was evident in her voice. She and my father slowly walked after me, strolling through the lush, green plains. Her silky black hair and forest green eyes melded perfectly with the world.

I giggled and jumped high into the air, doing a 360-Degree spin. The sky and the earth spun.

My left foot hit the ground. The world burst into flames.

I stared down at the bloody bodies of my parents. Their eyes slowly turned towards me.

I opened my eyes, unable to register what had just happened. I slowly sat up, sweat covering my forehead. My head was muddled and my memories were fuzzy. A light breeze swept by and the fog inside my head slowly cleared.

That's right… My name… Tatsumi…7 years old. The night a few days ago…

I lost everything.

I sat on a log by the fire that had been put out last night. It was early in the morning, and I'm in the middle of a forest, a few miles from where my savior found me. He found my unconscious body hidden under a broken piece of wood on the side of the road along with the bodies of my parents.

The night a few days ago, some mean looking people stopped our carriage. Mother and father seemed worried and one of the guys dragged us out. They hit my parents and I tried to stop them, but they hit me too. I blacked out and when I woke up, it was to my savior's face.

"Good morning, Tatsumi." I looked up at the man who saved me.

He was tall, probably average height by a regular adult standard, but he towered over me. His hair was golden yellow, slick and smooth like golden silk. It was messy and long enough covered his ears, making him seem no older than twenty. But his eyes told me otherwise. Looking into those deep green eyes was like staring at an grand elder tree, a symbol of wisdom. If I had to guess the man's age based on my intuition, it would be over forty. His body was sturdy and muscular but not overly buff, making him the type that probably looks slim and elegant in proper business clothing. I felt just a bit of anxiety when he spoke to me, he was a stranger after all.

"Where are your manners?" He continued after a few moments of silence. His tone was joking, but I immediately felt a rush of fear. He had this aura of authority, similar if not stronger than my mother's. My mother was very scary when she was angry.

"U-um, sorry! Good morning… Mr - I mean, Arthur." He nodded.

"Good, you remembered." I let out a sigh of relief.

I returned to staring at the pile of ashes before me, my hands slightly trembling. That made me more nervous than that one time when mother made me do a speech in front of several other families at a party.

"Good morning!" A young voice said from the tree line. A child emerged from the bushes, in his hand, a basket filled with various berries and fruits. There were several different kinds, many I have never seen before. I wonder what they taste like?

"Good work, Yoshiro." I looked up at the young boy for a second, taking in his appearance.

He was around my age, 7 years old or so. His hair was dark brown and spiked backward. His eyes, light brown. His body was leaning towards the bulky side, yet his muscles weren't overly apparent. He was definitely physically strong for his age. He glanced at me before returning his attention to Arthur.

"Shishou*, what's the plan today?" The boy, Yoshiro, asked. Is he ignoring me? That makes me a little sad.

"As usual, we continue your training." Arthur replied.

Yoshiro smiled and nodded. He passed the basket to Arthur, took out a few fruits and berries and began eating. Arthur turned to me and tossed me an apple. I tried to catch it, but failed, and it dropped to the ground. I picked it up, dusted it off and hesitantly bit into it, doing my best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that someone was glaring at me.

Arthur and Yoshiro cleaned up the campsite and began walking. I followed behind them. They stopped at a river half a mile from the campsite. I fell to the ground panting as soon as I confirmed they stopped. Yoshiro, however, was only a little short on breath. I sat down at the roots of a tree and watched as Arthur guided Yoshiro through punches and kicks.

Was this… what did my father call it? Mar.. Martian arts? Marching arts? My mother was always against it. She gave him a good lecture when he suggested teaching me. Lost in thoughts and memories, the day quickly passed and night came.

For the past few days, I found my mind wandering, disconnected from the world. As I thought that, I bit into the slightly charred meat of whatever animal this was. Arthur brought it, so I ate it without question. It was a new taste. My family was quite rich, and so I've never tried meat like this before. If my mother saw me, she'd yell at me for sure.

Arthur suggested we go to sleep, and so I went to a nearby patch of grass, laid my head down, and fell asleep.

Another night passed. Another day passed.

Night, Day, Night, Day.

Before I knew it, a week has gone by. An empty week. Meaningless week.

That's when I got my wakeup call.

I woke up when someone slapped me right across the face. I opened my eyes and looked at the person who attacked me, making no move to cover my face nor to defend myself. I stared at the familiar light brown eyes.

"Get up." He said… now that I think about it, this was the first time he spoke to me…

I picked myself up from the ground and felt the left side of my face, which was stinging slightly. My expression didn't change at all, which was odd. I scraped my knee a few months ago and cried until my mother told me to tough it out as she carefully treated my wound.

This was much more painful than a scraped knee, yet I felt nothing more than wonder. What does Yoshiro want from me? Why did he wake me up like that? He began walking away from the campsite. I looked back and saw Arthur sleeping, leaned against the trunk of a tree. His arms were crossed, giving off the feeling that he's ready to jump up at any time.

I turned back to Yoshiro and followed him through the forest. A few hundred meters away, he finally stopped. He turned around, and for the first time, glared at me. His eyes were piercing, filled with an unfriendly light.

"I'm going to come out and say it. What's the deal with you?" He said in a low, threatening tone. I tilted my head in response. What is he referring to? What did I do?

"What do you mean?" I asked. He gritted his teeth. That's not healthy you know? Your teeth will wear down if you do that too often.

"You piss me off, you know that?" Piss me off? Isn't that a bad saying? I should warn him.

"You shouldn't say that. My mother said that's bad." I think something broke in him and he punched me right in the face. I landed on my backside with an "oof". I wiped my left cheek and mouth and felt something wet. I looked at my left hand and saw blood smeared on the back. Flashbacks of the night my parent's night sent my body trembling.

"You… how can you act like you don't care? Your parents are dead!" He yelled out in anger.

"My… parents?"

Dead? Does that mean they died?

"Father, what does it mean to die?" I asked while grasping onto my father's thigh. He closed the book he was reading and look down at me, clearly surprised.

"That's a tough question… what brought it up?" He inquired. I held up a large picture book and showed it to him.

"In the story mother told me today, the little piggy 'died'. I don't know what that means." I explained sadly. I hope he isn't disappointed in me.

"I see… Tatsumi, to die means the person or creature goes away." He said hesitantly. I scratched my head.

"Goes... Away? Will they come back?"

"…No, to die means to go away forever."

Forever?

"My parents… died?" I felt my heart beat faster and faster. My eyes widened. They aren't coming back?

"Yeah… they died." Yoshiro confirmed, calmer this time.

"Will you and mother die one day?" I asked, a little fearful. I don't want my parents to go away!

"… Yeah, one day… your mother and I will also go away forever…"

"Ah…" A small sound came out from my throat. Reality struck mercilessly and I felt something break open inside me. The floodgates opened and tears rolled down my cheeks. A piercing scream burst out from my throat and I collapsed to my knees.

Arthur quickly rushed over to the sound, but he stopped himself from saying anything when he realized what was going on. I felt the entire world collapse on me. I felt so heavy, everything felt dark. I let that darkness engulf me, screaming the entire time.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I sat on the log by the fire. My eyes couldn't move away from the fire. It crackled and popped, burning brightly. Slowly but surely, it grew smaller and smaller. The bright orange flame slowly reverted to a pile of white ash and black dust. I felt empty on the inside. If I had to describe it, something was missing from me. Something was stolen from me along with my parents.

The bright orange flame burning within me had burned out, turning into a pile of white ash and black dust.

"You know, there are a lot of people in this world that believe fire symbolizes life." A soft voice reached my ears. Arthur stepped over the log I was sitting on and sat down beside me. I didn't move, my eyes never leaving the pile of ashes.

"A fire starts small, slowly grows and grows until it burns bright and fierce, before slowly burning out." Arthur continued. What is he trying to get at?

"The flame within you... It was lit by your parents when they gave birth to you. That fire, without a doubt, brought light and warmth to them." I looked up at him. He knelt before me, face to face, and stared into my eyes.

"That flame, are you going to let some stranger, some random degenerate, smother it? That flame your parents spent years nurturing and burning, is it going to burn out just like that?" I looked down at the ground. Words flowed out of my mouth without my brains consent.

"My parents… They are gone forever… Who stole them away from me? What gave them the right to do that?!" I started soft, but I couldn't keep it in anymore. The pent up anger, frustration, sadness. I released them all.

"Why did it have to happen to me?! Why did this happen to them?!" I yelled and cried, tears renewed and flowing. My parents were great people. They were kind and loving and charitable. I was obedient and I worked hard to live up to their expectations. My parents don't deserve this! I don't deserve this!

I covered my eyes, trying fruitlessly to stop the tears.

"I loved them, my father was so kind and gentle, my mother was strict, but she really cared, she really did. So why did this have to happen?" Arthur patiently waited for me to finish.

"No one has the right to take a life. Yet there are people who ignore that and do it anyways." I clenched my fists. I wanted to scream about how unfair that is.

"But Tatsumi, this isn't about them, this is about you." What? I turned my eyes back to Arthur.

He bent down and gently, but firmly blew on the pile of ashes and dust. But nothing happened. I stared at him, unable to understand what he was doing. But soon enough, a few small red and orange dots began to appear from under the pile of ashes. Those dots burst and sparks flew from them.

Right before my eyes, the smothered flame reignited and burned.

"The fire within you, it's been trampled on, smothered, the fuel stolen away. No one has the right to do that, not even you." My eyes widened. He stood back up.

"Your parents started that flame within you and kept it burning for years. Now, it's your duty to continue their legacy." I was speechless. He smiled gently.

"Your parents, you loved them, didn't you?"

"…Yeah… I loved them so much."

"I'm sure they love you just as much, maybe even more. That's why you can't give up. Live, grow stronger, find another reason to live, a different fuel to keep that flame burning. But never forget about them, remember this feeling inside you now." I placed my right hand on my chest. My heart is beating steadily. It reminded me of the times I woke up with a nightmare and slept with my father. His heartbeat, I can hear it even now.

"This feeling in you, it was despair. But now… now it is hope, now it is determination."

I see… A flame smothered, that is despair. But a flame re-ignited, that is hope.

"Now Tatsumi, tell me what I want to hear." I looked up at him a little confused, but seeing his smile, I smiled back for the first time in weeks. I knew what he wanted to hear, and it was exactly what I wanted to say.

"Thank you. I will live even if it kills me." He patted my head. I relished the familiar feeling.

"That's right. Live, even if it kills you." With that, he gave a satisfied nod and walked away. But I didn't have much time to myself, as someone else sat down on the log beside me.

"Tatsumi." I heard Yoshiro say my name for the first time. It makes me feel special somehow. "I'm sorry." I shook my head. If he hadn't forced me to face reality, who knows what would have happened. Maybe I would've ended up wallowing in despair without knowing it for the rest of my life. Maybe Arthur would've done something about it. But for all I care, he saved me.

"It's okay." I said quickly and softly. He rubbed his head. Is he embarrassed?

"Um… here." He brought out his hand as if to give me something. I reached out and he handed it to me. My eyes widened. It was a ring. A golden ring with a bright red ruby in the center, with an insignia carved into it.

The insignia was the symbol of my lineage. This was my mother's ring.

"Where did you get this?"

"When we saved you a week ago, your mother was clenching onto it tightly. I knew it was something important and decided to give it to you when you woke up. But I couldn't find the right time." He confessed nervously.

I stared down at the ring. My mother's wedding ring.

"Mother, what's that ring?"

"Oh, this thing? This is a ring symbolizing your father's lineage, a ring that is passed down from mother to son, and son to wife. It also represents an oath your father and I took."

"Is it important?"

"…Yes. Very. One day, you will have to give this to another girl."

Tears streamed down my face. I turned to Yoshiro and I hugged him.

"Thank you so much…" He smiled and nodded. After I separated from him, he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Tatsumi… can you… tell me about your family?" I wiped my tears, confused. He seemed to understand my confusion. He looked up at the sky. We were sitting in the clearing so the night sky was clearly visible.

"I… grew up without knowing my parents. I always felt something was wrong, living in an orphanage. Last year, the day after I turned 7 years old, I ran away from home. Shishou… Arthur found me wandering in the forest and took me in. I've… always wanted a family, and Shishou is the closest thing I have." I was shocked, but quickly recovered. I smiled brightly and nodded.

"Of course! I will tell you everything I remember." He smiled happily.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you."

"No, thank you."

We both stared at each other and burst into giggles and I began to recount my memories.

That night marked the beginning of my story.

Morning came quickly. I groaned and picked myself off the ground. I looked around and saw Yoshiro a feet away. He was sprawled out onto the ground, his limbs pointing in different directions with his head turned away from me. I held in a laugh. He looked ridiculous.

Last night, we talked and talked until eventually, we both fell asleep. My neck ached because of my sleeping posture. I groaned in discomfort as I twisted my neck and laid back down. I stared at the sky, the bright blue sky. White puffs floated up there in the sky. The surrounding forest rustled and a light breeze blew across my face as if caressing it; a comfortable feeling.

Wind… what a wonderful thing.

I thought back to last night. If fire symbolized life, then the wind that revives the fire would be the breath that breathes life into everything.

This dull ache on my neck. The comfort from the wind. These memories of my parents. This is what it means to feel alive.

"Thank you, Father, Mother…"

"Arthur, please teach me how to fight." I asked him later that morning. We had just reached the river once again, Arthur was preparing to teach Yoshiro again when I popped the request. He didn't look surprised at all.

"Are you sure?" Was all he asked. I nodded without a hint of hesitation.

"I… I want to be able to fight. I want to find a reason to live and I want to be able to protect that reason. So please, teach me how to fight!" I said as I bowed. He nodded.

"Very good response, I will agree to teach you, but there I something you must understand right now." I looked back at him seriously. His sky blue eyes stared deep into mine.

"Killing someone. It is evil. It is unjust. It is wrong."

"I understand." I know firsthand how much it hurts to lose someone important to you. I would never force that feeling upon someone else.

"But sometimes, in order to protect someone, you must kill another. In other words, I will be teaching you guys how to kill." My eyes widened. What is he saying?

"If you wish to fight, you mustn't be afraid to take another's life." I opened my mouth to protest, but he stopped me.

"But hear me, and hear me well. You must never, ever enjoy killing. When you take a life for the first time, etch into your heart that sickening feeling. Bear that guilt for the rest of your life. Should you stop feeling that guilt, stop fighting."

"We save innocents with blood covered hands. We save lives by taking them. We are the evil that fights against the evil. This is not a hero's path, nor the path of justice. We can't save people. There's only one thing we can do: pray that the victims goes to heaven and send the bastards to hell. Tatsumi, are you prepared to bear the sin, the burden of staining your hands with blood?" I clenched my fists. If this is what it takes to prevent another tragedy. I will do it.

"Yes." He stared deep into my eyes. I did not flinch nor look away, staring right back at him. Soon, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Alright then. My name is Arthur Pendragon, former General of the Empire and leader of the Empire's Elite Assassination Unit. Welcome to the family."

"Thank you! Shishou!" He stopped for a second and laughed. What is he laughing about? Was I not suppose to call him Shishou?

"Hehe, Yoshiro has been calling me that for a year now, I told him to stop but long since given up, guess that makes two." I released a sigh of relief and Yoshiro grinned.

He patted the both of our heads.

"I promise, I will make you guys the best you can be."

We both nodded.

"Now, let's get started."

*Shishou: Master or Teacher