On the bridge in the Capital, a young man no older than seventeen with brown hair, and green eyes filled with rage was shouting angrily while shaking his empty sack. Why? Because he just realized that the woman he gave a Crap load of money to just scammed him.
"This sucks! That was every penny I had! DAMN THAT BIMBO! I GUESS THAT WAS MY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE!" He then sighs sadly and sulks while walking across the bridge.
"Well, since all my money has been stolen, I have no choice but to sleep outside." He whined as he sat down on the concrete floor. He puts his hands on his face. Today was NOT his lucky day.
"Well…this day can't get any worse right?" At that moment he heard the sound of rolling wheels. Following the source of the noise, he saw a horse drawn carriage coming to a stop in front of him. The door opened, and the brunette teen could hear a man talking to a little girl inside.
"Again Lady Aria?" The man asked.
"I can't help it, it's just part of who I am." The girl answered as she walked out of the carriage. She had short blonde hair that reaches the bottom of her neck, ocean blue eyes, and a blue and white dress that ends below her knees.
"Hello there. My name is Aria." She greeted politely. "Umm…Tatsumi." Tatsumi greeted back shyly.
"Do you have a place to rest your head tonight?" Aria asks with a sweet and innocent smile. Tatsumi was a little turned on by it.
"No I don't actually…"
"Then you're welcome to sleep at my place!" She said happily with that innocent smile of hers. Tatsumi gives her the look pf suspicion, but sadly, he was still too naïve.
"Uh…thanks, but I'm broke." Tatsumi deadpanned, making Aria giggle.
"If you weren't you wouldn't be sleeping outside here would you?" She giggled.
"Lady Aria has a weakness for people who have nowhere to go." One of the guards said as they walked behind Aria."You should really accept her offer."
"Pretty please?" Aria pleaded with an innocent look in her eyes, making Tatsumi blush.
"Well, I guess it's better than sleeping on the streets." He mumbled while scratching his head. "Great! Let's go home!" She exclaimed happily.
On the road to Aria's mansion…
While on the road to Aria's mansion, the carriage abruptly came to a hard stop. Then a guard ran in to tell Aria the news. "Lady Aria!" We found another one. He appears to be pretty beat up!" Tatsumi perks up at this.
"Maybe it's Leyasu!" He thought with shining hope in his eyes. Yet upon rushing out, he noticed a boy no older than fifteen lying on a tree branch with his leg dangling down, his head resting against the trunk, and with his arms crossed. Despite his young age, his legs were rather long. Then there was his hair, it was a thick mane of frosty white hair with spikes that tousled 360 degrees around and utterly defied gravity. His skin was also noticeably pale. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a turtleneck, blue jeans, and tan colored shoes. For some strange reason Aria and Tatsumi felt hesitant to approach him. His eyes were closed but something about him wasn't overly inviting. He radiated this sense of superiority ad power that made it clear that he wasn't to be disturbed.
Aria shook her head."I'm getting a little ahead of myself." She told herself, feeling foolish for her nerves. Taking a deep breath, she slowly approached the boy.
"Umm, excuse me sir." She said, making her voice as sweet as honey. She accompanied her words with a warm smile that can even melt the coldest of hearts. It was a technique that worked flawlessly several times before.
The boy tilted his head a few degrees so that he can glance at her out of the corner of his slanted eyes. Aria gasped when they made contact. Piercing Icy blue. As she saw those frigid orbs of ice, a chill ran down her spine. Even Tatsumi and the guards felt uneasy.
"What do you want?" He asked in a bland tone. Aria gulped.
"M-My name's Aria, I would like to offer you some shelter." Tatsumi was a bit surprised by the sudden invitation. Aria waited for him to respond, but didn't as he turns his head away from them and closed his eyes.
He was ignoring her!
"Please don't' ignore Lady Aria's offer, she has the habit of giving homeless people a place to sleep. A habit that she picked up from her parents." The man said to the white-haired boy, who was still ignoring them!
"Aww! Please?!~" Aria begged with puppy dog eyes and the cutest face she could make. The boy glanced at her one last time before sighing and saying.
"Fine." Aria jumped up and down with joy that slightly annoyed the white-haired teen. The boy jumped from the branch and gracefully lands on his feet with his hands in his pockets. He looked at Tatsumi dead in the eyes, which made him tense up. Even though he had long legs, he was slightly shorter than Tatsumi.
"Uhhh…I'm Tatsumi. What's your name?" He greeted nervously as he held out his hand. The boy continued to stare at him with those shocking sapphire orbs before saying.
"Killua." He answered plainly as he walked passed Tatsumi, who awkwardly retracted his hand and looked back at him. "Man, that kid's kind of intimidating." He thought with a shudder as he walked into the carriage.
Inside Aria's Mansion…
Both Killua and Tatsumi head to Aria's mansion as they arrived in the living room. Aria's father was a middle-aged man with gray hair that he had combed down and wore a brown business suit. Aria's mother was a woman with the same blonde hair that her daughter had, only longer, and wore a white dress. They both sat down in the couch.
"It would appear to be that Aria has brought two guests!"
"Oh my! So it would seem. I wonder how many would this make!" Aria's mother said happily, earning an annoyed glare from her daughter. "Mother!" Aria complained.
"T-Thank you for so much for having us here." Tatsumi thanked with a small bow.
"I have a question." Aria glances at Killua. "What would it be sir?"
"I've heard some stories about the capital being corrupted, is that true?" He asked while crossing his arms. Aria's heart started beating a few extra times per minute eyes she stared into those frigid orbs of ice. They were so intense, so calculating that she felt like he was looking straight at her soul. It made Aria uncomfortable and caused goosebumps to form on her skin.
"Those two guys told me the same thing." Tatsumi said to himself with a thoughtful expression. Aria's parents began to laugh at the question, but not in a mocking way.
"Nonsense my boy! Those are just rumors, the Capital is the safest place in the world!" Aria's father said with a hearty laugh. Killua narrowed his eyes, disappointed in that answer. Tatsumi however, sighs in relief.
"Rumors, oh thank god. I thought the capital was filled with nothing but heartless scumbags!" He happily thought with a halo over his head. "I really appreciate this."
"So you're plan is to make a name for yourself in the Imperial Capital, and what are yours my boy?" Aria's father asked, looking at Killua.
"I'm just a traveler." He answered plainly with a lazy shrug.
"As you may know, the Capital is a wonderful place. However, it is boarded by squadling tribes on three sides, if you are enlisted you will be expected to join the fight," Aria's father explained.
"I'm well prepared for that." Tatsumi said with determination in his eyes. "Seems that you got spirit! Nice to see that in a young man!" Aria's mother giggled.
"Did you travel here all by yourself Killua?" Aria asked with a sweet smile, which of course made Killua sick to his stomach, but didn't show it.
"Yeah, I began traveling on my own when I was twelve." He replied emotionlessly.
"Wow! Really?" She asked in awe, earning a curt nod from Killua. Tatsumi then described his back story on going to the Capital with his two best friends Leyasu and Sayo.
"So they got separated while going to the Capital?" Killua thought.
"Everything was going pretty smoothly, but then we got attacked by bandits and well, we lost each other." He explained. Aria's places her hand over her mouth.
"Oh my…" She muttered.
"They're decent fighters at least, so I'm not too concerned. It's just that Leyasu can't navigate himself out of a paper bag, so we planned to meet each other at the Capital, but I don't' think he's gonna make it." Tatsumi finished.
"Then it's settled. I think I have a friend in the military that can help you. I'll give him your name and ask him to look for your two friends." Tatumi's eyes widened in excitement as he heard this.
"That'd be great! Thank you so much!" He exclaimed in joy.
Later at night...
As night fell, Tatsumi went to sleep and Killua was nowhere in sight. The guards outside were standing outside, being on watch for any intruders that trespassed, even the guards inside were alert. One of the guards were pacing around, and when he walked towards the bush, he was suddenly pulled in their. The two guards heard a small yelp and ran over to investigate.
"Hey! Who's out..." He couldn't finish that sentence as everything went completely upside down. The first collapsed to the ground with his neck snapped. The second had his head cut clean off. In the hallway, Aria's mother was wearing a nightgown and hummed to herself as she read a book with notes written in them. "Now then, I'll write down another entry in my diary." She said to herself.
"I just can't seem to stop this habit of mine…" Out of the blue, she heard screams of agony through the hall. She ran to follow the source of the screams, and when she arrived, she saw something completely horrifying. There were eight dead bodies of the guards, three of them were decapitated, four of them had knives in their heads, and one had a hole through his chest. There was also some blood that stained the carpet and words written on the wall in blood. It spelled "You'll burn in the pits hell with your daughter." She fell to her knees and raised her hands over her mouth. Her shoulders trembled violently and began to cry.
"W-Who could've…d-d-one t-t-this." She sobbed, not noticing the danger. Aria's mother then noticed a shadowy blur from the corner of her eye. Her started shaking in fear.
"W-W-Who's there?" She stammered fearfully. All of a sudden, something grabbed her throat and lifted her up in the air. She looked down to see a hooded figure with the most terrifying blue eyes she ever saw. Terror began racing through body as she slowly started losing oxygen.
"I-I don't know who you are, b-but p-please spare my life..." She managed to croak out. The figure answered by slowly raising its hand and pierced through her chest like butter. Her eyes became bloodshot before dying in its hand. The figure dropped her corpse to the ground and disappeared into the shadows, leaving even more blood on the carpet.
Meanwhile with Night-Raid...
"Damn, looks like somebody already beaten us." Lubbock muttered as he looked at the guard's lifeless bodies lying on the grass.
"No matter, we still have our target to eliminate" Akame said calmly as she jumped from the tree top, aiming for the guard with the gattling gun. He shot repeatedly at the red-eyed assassin, but she evaded the bullets as if it was the simplest thing to do in the world.
"Damn it!" The guard growled. Akame slits the man's throat in very fast succession. Blood began o spurt out wildly from his wound as the cursed poison began to spread throughout his body. Aria lets out a terrified shriek as she fell to the ground. Akame suddenly appears right on front of her, ready to strike her with her Murasame blade.
"You deserve this…Eliminate." Akame mutters darkly, but hears a battle cry and jumps out f the way to avoid the strike. She noticed Tatsumi standing right in front of her with his sword in his hands and had the look of pure rage on his face. "You are not a target, there is no need for you to die." She said emotionlessly.
"But you plan to kill this girl, don't you?!" He demanded.
"Yup." She said bluntly.
"Yup?!" He squeaked with a sweat drop. "So you won't stand aside?"
"Hell yeah! There's no way I'm giving up now!" He shouted with determination in his voice.
"Then you've sealed your fate." She said in a low, dangerous voice, making Tatsumi pale. Then a figure jumps in between them, Tatsumi recognized the figure right away.
"Wait! Killua?!" Tatsumi exclaimed. Meanwhile, a blonde woman with golden eyes and blonde hair came in.
"Well, that was easy." Leone yawned while stretching her arms. She walking as she saw Akame. "Weird, it's not like Akame to take this long. Wait, aw geez! Can't the poor guy take a break? Plus that kid has similar features as Akame, except that he has white hair instead of black and blue eyes instead of red."
Akame and Killua were staring each other down. Akame decides to break the silence. "Why do you wish to get in my way?" She demanded. Killua glances at Tatsumi through the corner of his eye. "I simply don't want this idiot to die on me."
"HEY!" Tatsumi yelled angrily, clearly offended. "So you won't step aside?"
Killua's lips curl into a deadly smirk. "Nope." He replied coolly. With that, Akame narrowed her eyes and lunges forward, aiming for his heart. But before it reached, Killua caught the blade with his hand, leaving a cut on it.
"Target Eliminated, you should've dodged." Akame said as she withdrew her sword to watch the white-haired teen fall to his knees and clutched his hand. She was preparing to finish off Tatsumi when Killua managed to block her with his forearm. Akame was shocked at this, no one has ever been able to survive her Murasame.
"How are you still alive? That poison should've killed you in an instant." She said in disbelief.
"My body is immune to all types of poisons. Though I have to admit, that really hurt for a cut." Killua replied.
"Now time to end this, I'm done playing games with you." He said as he lets his bloodlust ooze out. Akame lets out a small gasp as she looked in to his eyes. They were harder than steel, colder than ice, darker than black, and emptier than voids. Those eyes were the eyes of a true killer, and those made her blood freeze. But that didn't stop Akame from trying to eliminate him. However, before she could react, he disappears out of her sight, and instantly appears right in front of her.
"He's fast." Akame thought with awe. In the blink of an eye, his nails turn into claws and aimed right for her head. She managed to dodge, but got a small cut on her left cheek. Akame then unleashes a series of slashes moving at hypersonic speeds, but Killua was gracefully dodging them like it was no big deal, but the last one grazed the right side of his cheek, leaving a small cut.
"She's pretty fast, and her sword form doesn't leave any openings." Killua thought amused. Killua leaps back away from her and begins to walk in a circle around her, creating after-images of himself. "Let's see how strong you really are."
"How is he doing this? I can't tell which one is him, there's too many!" She thought. One of the after-images dashed forward and she prepared to slash her opponent, only for it to fade like a ghost. "What?! Behind me?!" Akame thought In shock. She turned to see one of Killua's after-images lunging towards her, slashed once again, only to end with the same result.
"Where are you?" She turned to look behind her as the real Killua thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get her fom the side as she would most likely turn around once again, leaving her wide open. Everything went exactly as he planned it and was ready to knock the sword out of her hand only for her to fade away as well.
"Shit! It's similar to my technique, albeit on a smaller level, who is she?!" Killua thought in shock. He then felt her presence behind him, and just as she was just to swipe down on him he managed to spin and duck while slashing one of her legs with his claws, forming a deep gash on her thigh. Akame hesitated to counter due to the pain in her leg.
"Now's my chance." Killua dashed forward, and with a flick of his wrist, he knocks the sword out of her hand. He rapidly strikes her vital points, and kicks her in the gut, sending her flying several feet away. Akame now had several bruises on her body as she was lying on the ground, coughing up blood and looked up at her opponent. He pointed his claws towards her head.
"Just land the finishing blow already, you've already proven to be a much deadlier opponent than me." Akame said surrendering. Killua retracts his hand and his nails turn back to normal, much to her surprise.
"I'm on your side. If I wasn't then I wouldn't have killed the guards." Killua turns to glare daggers at Aria. "Or the mother of that wench." He said coldly, making Aria take tremble in fear and take tentative steps back.
"Akame!" Leone shouted as she ran towards her partner and friend.
"Wait! You're the one who killed them?!" Tatsumi asked angrily.
"Yeah, well except for the old geezer, blondie already got to him before I did." Killua replied.
"WHY WOULD YOU KILL THEM?! THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG!" Tatumi roared with rage.
"Believe me when i say this, you're not gonna like what you see." Killua walks to the hut and opens the storage room. Tatsumi was at loss for words
"W-What the hell is this?" He asked in horror. He walked inside and nearly puked from the sight and smell of the bloodied and rotting corpses.
"Take a look. This is the Capital's darkness." Leone stated with Akame on her shoulder. She cats a glance at Killua. "To be able to wound Akame this much, and without so much a scratch on him. This kid's on another level." Meanwhile, Aria was tip-toeing, trying to silently sneak away.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Killua demanded as he instantly appears behind her, twists her arm, and points his claws towards her throat. "If you think you're getting out of here alive, you're sadly mistaken." At that moment, Tatsumi took notice of the dead corpse of his friend and his crush Sayo.
"Sayo? I-Is that you?"
"Someone you know?" Asked Leone. "L-Leyasu?" Tatsumi asked in fear for his friend.
"T-T-That girl invited us to stay in her house and she gave us something to eat...Then everything went black and we woke up her...AND THEN THAT GIRL TORTURED SAYO TO DEATH!" Leyasu explained as sobs racked his lungs.
"That's a lie!" Aria screamed. "I didn't know this place existed! Are you going to believe me?! The one who saved you, Tatsumi?!"
"Liar." Killua snarled in a dark voice as he adds pressure to her throat, causing blood to trickle down. "I watched you walked into that shed with your parents yesterday. You were so giddy with joy, asking them if you could play with more people, like they were your fucking toys. I heard a girl's blood curdling scream coming from inside, and i bet that Tatsumi's friend here was the same girl that you tortured to death!"
"SO WHAT?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?! YOU'RE ALL WORTHLESS HICKS FROM THIS COUNTRY! THE SAME AS CATTLE! I'M FREE TO DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT AREN'T I?! AND THAT BITCH! EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS CATTLE, HER HAIR WAS SMOOTH! WHO THE FUCK DOES SHE THINK SHE-!
Aria coughed up blood as she felt the white-haired teens hand bury into her back. She fell to her knees and her body suddenly felt cold. Looking down, Aria noticed a large hole in her chest.
"W-What?" She gasped while clutching her chest. Slowly turning her head, she saw Killua holding her beating that was ripped right out of her chest, with blood dripping from it.
"You talk too fucking much." He said darkly with a sickening smirk. Aria can feel her vision getting blurry, but was able to see Killua looking down on her with those terrifying blue eyes. They were colder than ice and completely devoid of emotion. As soon as he crushed her heart, Aria fell face first to the ground, a bloody smear formed under her chest as she laid lifelessly in the bloodstained grass.
"What is he?" Akame thought with awe.
"That was fast, he didn't even hesitate." Leone muttered with the look of amusement on her face.
"I-I really needed to see that ACK!" Leyasu coughed blood. Tatsumi came running towards Leyasu and held his nearly lifeless body.
"It's a virus, the mother took pleasure in poisoning people with different medicine's and puts it in the food. She even kept a diary detailing the victims reactions, you can't save him." Killua explained, walking towards Tatsumi with his hands in his pockets.
"Tatsumi..."
"L-Leyasu." He whispered as tears were forming in his eyes. "Sayo never gave in, she never gave up, she was incredible so i wanted out as a hero..." Those were Leyasu's last words before dying in Tatsumi's arms. He cried into his chest.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?!" Tatsumi screamed as he cried even harder, completely devastated by the death of his childhood beast friend. "Looks like this place is corrupted," He thought solemnly to himself as his hair shadowed his eyes. He began walking away.
"Wait!" Akame called out. "Hmm?" Killua hummed, looking over his shoulder. "You should join us."
Killua raises a brow. "Why should i? You just met me, plus i injured you." He pointed out.
"Well you are pretty damn strong, plus you need a place to sleep and don't worry about Akame, she's been through worse." Leone said with a toothy grin. Killua sighed. "Alright, but take the the idiot with you." He replied.
Tatsumi perked up when he heard this. "Wait wha-AAAH!" He exclaimed as Leone swung him over her shoulder. "Alright! We got two new recruits!" She said happily as she left with Akame, Killua, and Tatsumi. This was the beginning of a new adventure...for Killua.
To be continued…