Madness: ASSOCIATING (PART 2)

Days passed, he passed them by talking to everyone a bit, sometimes they would ask about his eyes or his halo, but he revealed neither of them.

Right now Billy was playing with a dice with Lubbock.

Billy: Which number?

Lubbock: ...2

Billy threw the dice, and a 1 came out.

Billy: You were near.

Lubbock: Tch...

Billy: So, Green, I heard you guys kidnapped a guy.

Lubbock: It was Leone, she said things about seeing potential on that guy, god knows what she is thinking…

*Knock* *Knock*

Someone knocked at the door, Billy called out.

Billy: You can enter.

The door opened, revealing Leone with a young man with green eyes and medium length brown hair. He was wearing a white, high collar jacket over a tan sweater vest, a pair of black pants, brown gloves and combat boots, on his hip, he carried a sword.

Billy: Hello Yellow, who is he?

Leone: He is our new recruit, like you. Tatsumi. Not only that, but he is also the man who invested on us the most.

Tatsumi stepped forward and waved at them.

Tatsumi: Hello, who are yo-Wait, did we see each other in the past?

Tatsumi asked while looking at Billy, he shrugged and said.

Billy: Maybe, I passed many villages before coming in the empire. My name is Billy, he is Lubbock.

Lubbock: Yo.

Tatsumi: Hey, what's with the halo?

Leone shook her head and said.

Leone: It's useless, we asked about it too, but the only thing we know is that he can summon portals.

Tatsumi: Portals?

Billy: I won't show it as if we are in a circus, did your Boss come?

Leone: I don't know. Well, we will go to visit Akame now, see ya later.

Billy: Ok. Number?

Lubbock: 5

Billy threw the dice, and a 2 came out.

Lubbock: Aw, c'mon! How can I not guess any single one!

Billy: It's your fault to challenge the God of Gambling, you dumbwit.

Lubbock: Wait, you cheated the entire time?!

Billy: Yes, and you are stupid enough to realize it just now.

[Later]

Apparently the Boss was there, and asked Akame to gather everyone in the meeting room, right now Billy and Tatsumi were at each other's side, with the rest of the Night Raid surrounding the, and the Boss was on an armchair.

She is a woman with short silver hair and purple eyes. She wears an eyepatch where her right eye should be. She wears a black suit that shows her cleavage and has a mechanical right arm.

Boss: Hello, Billy, I didn't expected you to decide to join us, but it's gratifying having someone like you in our group, still, thanks for the money, I was able to make a better mechanical arm than the lame one I had before. My name is Najenda.

Billy: Meh, thank the Empire for being stupid enough to burn their money in a casino, I am just drying them out, but I couldn't really wait that much until they get too poor and the empire falls.

Najenda: You were doing what?

Billy: What? The money comes from somewhere, no?

Lubbock: Hmm, that is actually a good idea…

Najenda: *Sigh* Whatever, I know that you will join, but you, Tatsumi?

Tatsumi: I'm dead if I decline, right?

Najenda: No, that's not going to happen… But we can't let you go back. We'll have you work as a laborer in our workshop. At any rate, you won't die even if you decline. Given that… What do you think?

Tatsumi: I… was planning to go out to the capital and become successful. To save my village, which is suffering from poverty… But even the imperial capital's rotting!

Billy: Congratulations for finding a hole in the water.

Tatsumi: But… Even if you just kill bad guys little by little, the world won't change greatly, will it? In the end, places in remote regions like my village won't be saved by that.

Najenda: I see, then Night Raid fits you even more perfectly.

Tatsumi: How come?

Najenda: Far south of the capital, there's the hideout of an anti-empirical force, the Revolutionary Army.

Tatsumi: Revolutionary Army?

Najenda: The Revolutionary Army, which started out small. Had grown into a large-scale organization by now. They. inevitably, made a unit to handle covert jobs such as assassination and information gathering. That's us, Night Raid.

Right now we're exterminating the capital's ticks, but in the event that the army takes action, we'll take advantage of the confusion, and the Prime Minister, who is the cause of the corruption… We will take him out ourselves!

Billy: ...You said that you took jobs to gain information, right?

Najenda: Yes, I heard that you are able to create portals to move around, so you might be useful in this sector.

Billy: I don't care about that, but… There is a person I am searching for, and I want to know if you all can find her.

Najenda: Hmm, I heard about it from the higher ups, but I don't know the details… Tell me about it.

Billy: I want to know if there was a child at Yowa Village.

Najenda: Yowa Village?

Billy: 12 years ago it was destroyed from the Empire, there was a child soldier who was there, she killed my parents. The only detail that I have is that it was a girl, and now she should be around 23 years old, her hair is black, and her weapon of choice should be a katana.

Najenda: I see, the information is really little, but I think we can manage something, do you know someone of your family was part of the Revolutionary Army?

Billy: I don't think, but my father or my mother could be one before I was born.

Najenda: Can you tell us their name?

Billy: My mother is named Amanda, while my father, who was the Chief of the village, is named Bora.

Najenda: Bora… Are you talking about Bora the Heavy Swordmaster?

Billy: Like I said, I don't have idea, but he indeed wielded a heavy sword made of carbon alloy as long as him. I don't mind paying to gain information.

Najenda: I understand, I will do my best to gather information then, since you are part of us, you don't need to pay. And you, Tatsumi, will you join us?

Tatsumi: ...Will I get rewarded?

Najenda: Yeah. If you work properly, you'll be able to save a hometown or thereabout.

Tatsumi: Then I'll do it! Let me into Night Raid!!

Najenda: Then it's decided, welcome to the path of carnage, Billy, Tatsumi.

Billy grinned as he clenched his fists.

Billy: 'Finally, I may have done a step forward…'

Lubbock ruined the atmosphere with a yell as his gloves shook a bit.

Lubbock: Intruders! Najenda!