A/N- So, I took the advice you guys left in the reviews and decided to revamp the first chapter. It is shorter now as a result, but hopefully it's better.
You can expect a change in Tatsumi's personality, but it won't be too major. Part of Archer's personality will bleed into his, but he WON'T be Archer. Also, Archer will be acting as a sort of 'guide' if you will. He will be giving Tatsumi advice and instructions among other things.
As for Tatsumi, he will have access to all of Archer's abilities.
You can expect this story to diverge from canon, but it won't happen immediately.
One last thing. I'm tossing around the idea of giving Tatsumi a harem. If I do, it will consist of the following; Akame, Leone, Mine, Chelsea, and maybe Sheele. I will NOT, under any circumstances, even consider including Esdeath. So give me your best shot!
Other then that, be sure to leave a review. And thanks for reading!
Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!
EDIT- Seeing as how I am getting so many complaints about how Avalon wouldn't work, I have decided to create my own sword for the purpose of saving Sayo and Ieyasu. Don't worry, it won't be OP.
(-)
"Thou art clad in steel and born of fire."
(-)
Things were starting to look up for Tatsumi. Despite getting swindled out of all his money by a big breasted blonde, he was fortunate enough to be taken in by Aria and her family. After hearing of his story of how he came to the capital in order to earn money to save his village, the family assured him that they would be able to help him out with their connections. What's more, they were also eager to help Tatsumi in locating his two missing friends. Tatsumi could hardly believe his luck! And to think, none of this would have happened if he wasn't swindled by those enormous boobs. Err... woman.
A bit of blood dripped from Tatsumi's nose as he recalled just how amazing that woman's chest was.
Sure, he had been put to work for Aria's family, performing menial labor and the like, but he was happy to be able to pay back the people that were kind enough to aid him.
As Tatsumi lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, he let a smile creep across his face. "Soon. Soon we'll be together again and then we'll save our village."
Shortly after, Tatsumi had fallen asleep. However he was in for a restless night. For upon falling asleep, he experienced some wierd and unsettling dreams.
It started out with a bang. His vision was awash with flames, the blazing heat and scorching fire threatening to burn him to a crisp.
'What the hell is going on?!'
Tatsumi tried to call out for help, but found that simply breathing in to talk caused him to inhale smoke and cough violently.
'I need to get out of here!'
He tried to move forward, but his body wouldn't budge.
'Come on, MOVE damn it!'
Finally, his body started to walk forward, albeit slowly. Tatsumi quickly came to a startling realization. He wasn't in control of his body. Sure, he tried to move and everything, but what he was telling his body to do didn't match up with its movements. It was almost as if he were a puppet. For now, all he could do was watch and endure as the blaze continued to burn. As his body continued forward, he could hear the sounds of the dying. People crying out for help, begging for a savior, praying to god for a miracle. However none of their pleas were answered. One by one the voices were snuffed out, either drowned out by the roar of the fire, or as a result of the person expiring.
It seemed like he was walking for ages, being forced to suffer through such a horrific event that seemed to drag on forever. Tatsumi would never forget this. The cries of agony, the smell of burning flesh, the sight of those unfortunate enough to meet their end. It was burned into his mind, just like the fire.
Eventually Tatsumi's body gave out and he collapsed to the ground. He could walk no longer. As he stared up at the sky, waiting for the end, he saw him. A man approaching. The man looked like he had been through the wringer, but it was still a welcome sight to Tatsumi. He was gonna be saved!
The man knelt down to look at Tatsumi, confirming that he was still alive.
"Thank god... Someone survived... Thank god..."
The look on the mans face was unlike anything Tatsumi had ever seen. The man, despite being surrounded by so much death and destruction, looked so relieved. So... happy... to see that he was alive.
Soon after Tatsumi's vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was in the middle of a battle with a man in a blue outfit of some sort. His blue hair was spiked upwards and in his hands was a menacing looking spear.
"So, we got an Archer who fancies himself a swordsman. What a joke." the man said before rushing Tatsumi.
Tatsumi's body moved on its own, blocking and parrying the spear wielder's strike with a pair of curved swords. The blue man moved with speed the likes of which Tatsumi had never seen before, but he was just as fast. Him and his opponent appeared as blurs, hands and blades moving about in a dance of death.
The battle continued for a while before Tatsumi and the blue man turned at the sound of a noise. What they saw was a red haired teen beyond a metal fence. The teen quickly ran off once he was spotted.
"Looks like we got ourselves a witness." stated the spear man. "And we all know what happens to witnesses." he said before taking off after the teen.
Tatsumi's vision went black again. What followed was a series of battles, each one more outrageous then the last. A battle against a giant man made of muscle, an encounter with ungodly creatures, a skirmish against robed assailants who were shooting beams of energy at him. It was all so unreal. The battles went on for what seemed like forever, Tatsumi simply watching as his body moved on its own.
Eventually the darkness encroached on his vision once more. But this time when he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of a man. Tatsumi couldn't make out his features as he was wreathed in shadows. But what he did see, were the mans steel grey eyes staring right at him.
"Wake up."
Tasumi shot up out of bed, drenched in a cold sweat. He grabbed at his chest, checking to see if his heart was still beating. Thankfully it was.
"What the fuck was that?" he asked between ragged breaths. The dream felt so real, but at the same time it was so unreal. He saw things, things that were so unbelievable that it had to be just a dream. Yet for some reason he felt as if that wasn't the case. That everything he saw had actually happened. But why did he see it? What was the reason behind this strange dream?
Unfortunately Tatsumi wouldn't have time to think on it as he sensed some major killing intent radiating nearby.
Jumping out of bed and throwing on his gear, Tatsumi ran down the halls in search of the source of the bloodlust. It didn't take him long. Stopping at a window, he looked outside to see five figures seemingly standing in midair with the moon to their backs.
"That's... Night Raid!" shouted Tatsumi. "They're targeting this place as well?! Just because they're wealthy?!"
He couldn't fathom why a group of assassins would target such kind people, but then again, they were assassins. They didn't need to justify their actions. They just killed for whatever reason they could come up with. Money, a grudge, or just for fun. It didn't matter. They were all scum.
"Damn it!" Tatsumi cursed as he looked back out the window to see several of the guards going out to fight.
'Shit! Do I help them, or go protect Aria?!' Tatsumi thought as he watched in silent horror as the guards were quickly dispatched by the assassins. 'In one moment... Annihilated?! At the very least I have to protect Aria-san!' he thought as he grit his teeth and took off down the hall.
After a short search he found Aria along with the last guard who were heading towards a warehouse out back. "Aria! I finally found you!"
"Tatsumi!" shouted Aria.
"You came at just the right moment!" shouted the guard. "We'll run to the warehouse and wait for the guards to come! You hold them off in the meantime!"
"WHAAA?! That's crazy!" Tatsumi shouted, but turned around when he suddenly heard someone land behind him. It was one of the assassins he recognized from the wanted posters, Akame. "Argh! Damn it! I won't let you pass!" he said as he drew his sword.
The girl however, had no interest in him. "Not a target." she said monotonously as she jumped over Tatsumi and stepped on his shoulder to propel herself forward. She landed behind him and ran towards the guard.
"Fuck! She's coming this way!" The guard said as he raised his gun and fired.
However Akame was faster. She dodged out of the way of the bullets as she bore down on the guard. She slashed at him horizontally, cutting him cleanly in half.
Akame then approached the fallen Aria with her blade pointed at her. "Target, eliminate."
"Wait Damn it!" Tatsumi shouted as he lunged at Akame and slashed at her with his sword. She easily back stepped to avoid he strike and now Tatsumi stood in between her and Aria.
"You are not a target. There's no need to kill you." said Akame.
"But you're planning to kill this girl, right?!" shouted Tatsumi.
"Uh huh." Akame nodded.
"Uh huh?!" Tatsumi was somewhat caught off guard by her bluntness.
"I'll kill you if you get in the way, you know." she said stoically.
"Like I'd run because of that!" shouted Tatsumi as he leveled his sword at Akame.
"I see..." Akame said as she began to emit bloodlust. "Then I'll eliminate."
'At the very least she's not someone who I can currently beat, but... I can't be worrying about that! Besides, there's no way a guy who can't save a single girl, could possibly save an entire village in the first place!' And with that thought Tatsumi rushed at Akame who in turn charged him as well.
The duo clashed swords before breaking apart from their stance. Akame was stronger then she looked and it showed with how far back Tatsumi was pushed. Tatsumi attempted to sweep at Akame's legs, but she jumped up instead and delivered a powerful kick to Tatsumi's shoulder. He recoiled in pain as she drove her blade forward in an attempt to skewer him.
As the sword grew ever closer to Tatsumi, aimed straight at his heart, time seemed to slow down. 'This can't be it! This is where I die?! I still haven't found my friends! I haven't saved my village! I can't die here!'
"Then use it."
In the back of Tatsumi's mind, something came to the surface. He didn't know what it was or what it meant, but before he knew it he was already saying the words with his hand outstretched.
"Rho Aias!"
Suddenly, a pink, translucent shield shaped like a seven petaled flower appeared in front of Tatsumi and blocked Akame's attack. Her sword bounced harmlessly off the shield and she jumped back in alarm.
Tatsumi was just as alarmed as she was. How did he do that? Moments later the shield disappeared and there was a palpable silence between the two.
"So uh, don't try anything stupid unless you want more of that!" Tatsumi shouted, trying to sound intimidating.
"So you have a teigu. Interesting. But it changes nothing. You both will die here." Akame said as she readied herself for another lunge.
"Wait!" Tatsumi shouted. "If it's money you want we'll give it to you! Just let us go! We won't tell anyone we saw you."
"Declined. What I want is her dead." Akame stated as she pointed her sword at Aria.
"Over my dead body you assassin scum!" Tatsumi bit back in rage, his grip on his sword tightening. "There is no way in hell I'm gonna stand by and let you kill an innocent girl! Not while I still draw breath!"
"Very well. Rest in peace."
However much to Tatsumi's surprise, a familiar busty blonde had appeared and grabbed Akame by the collar. "Whoah there Akame. Cool your jets."
"What are you doing Leone?" asked Akame as she leaned back to look at Leone.
"We still have some spare time, right?" Leone asked as she looked up to Tatsumi and shot him a grin. "Besides, I kinda owe this kid. Let me pay him back."
Although her hair was now longer, there was no way in hell Tatsumi wasn't gonna recognize the pair of jiggling mounds that were attached to the womans chest.
"HEY! You're the big boobed-!" Tatsumi yelled when he recognized the woman.
"Yep! I'm the friendly onee-san from the other day." Leone said with a sickly sweet smile. She let go of Akame and walked towards the storage shed. "Listen kid, you were worried about us hurting an innocent girl right? Well then, allow me to show you just how 'innocent' this girl is." Leone said as she kicked the doors open. "Take a look kid. This is the darkness of the capital."
Tatsumi made his way over to the open doors and what he saw made his stomach turn. Dead and dying people everywhere. Instruments of torture lined the walls and tables covered in dry blood. The scent of death and decay hung heavy in the air. It was enough to make him sick.
"Wha... What is this?!" he shouted in horror.
"They lure unidentified people from the country here with their sweet words and then subject them to their hobby of torture and toy with them until they die." explained the blonde. "That is the true nature of those of this household."
As Tatsumi scanned the bodies that were hanging from the ceiling, his eyes stopped on one in particular. "Sayo... hey... Sayo..." he called out weakly.
"Tat... su... mi..." she responded weakly.
"So there was someone you knew."
"SAYO!" he shouted as he ran over and cut her down before cradling her in his arms.
Meanwhile Aria decided to try and sneak off.
"Nuh uh." The blonde said as she grabbed Aria by the shirt. "You're not getting off the hook by running away, little lady."
"The people of the house did this?" asked Tatsumi.
"That's right." answered the blonde. "The guards were keeping quiet about it so they were similarly guilty."
"It... It's a lie! I didn't know there was a place like this! Are you going to believe me, the one who saved you, or these guys Tatsumi!" Aria pleaded.
"Tatsumi... Tatsumi. That's you right? It's me..." came a voice from one of the cages.
"I... Ieyasu?!" shouted Tatsumi as he recognized his other friend.
"Tatsumi! That girl invited me and Sayo here! And after we ate dinner, we fell unconscious and when we woke up we found ourselves here! Th-that girl... She tortured Sayo! Arghh!" he then shouted as he grasped his chest in pain and fell to his knees.
"What's so wrong?" asked Aria as she struggled free from the blondes grasp. "You're just worthless hicks from the country right?! That's the same as cattle! I should be free to treat them however I want!" Aria said hysterically. "Besides, that girl was so impertinent for having such straight hair despite being a farm animal! Even though I'm troubled with such unruly hair! That's why I agonized her so meticulously! In fact, she should be grateful for how thorough I was with her!"
"They were just demons disguised as humans." snarled Leone. "Sorry for stopping you Akame."
"Eliminate." Akame said as she drew her sword.
"Wait." called Tatsumi.
"Don't tell me... are you trying to defend her again?" asked Leone.
"No." Tatsumi said as he approached Aria. "I'll kill her myself." he said coldly as he drew his sword and slashed across her chest, cutting her in half in the process.
"... Heh heh... That's my Tatsumi." Ieyasu said with a toothy grin before falling over. "I'm glad that in my final moments... I got to see that bitch die..."
Tatsumi ran over to Ieyasu who was coughing violently and vomiting blood. "What's wrong?!"
"He's in the final stages of Rubola disease. The lady of the house liked to inject her victims with drugs and then record the results for enjoyment." explained Akame. "I'm sorry, but there is no saving him."
"No... saving...?"
"No. It's to late for either of them."
"No..."
In that moment, something inside of Tatsumi's mind snapped. His vision went dark and he felt himself falling. He fell for what seemed like ages before he finally hit the ground, hard.
"Arghh..." he groaned as he slowly got up. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find that he was no longer in the torture shed, but rather on a hill. The sun was setting in the distance and painted the world with beautiful hues. However the hill he was on was nothing but beautiful. For it was a hill of swords.
Swords of all different types were scattered about either lying on the ground or stabbed into it and standing upright. What's more, they seemed to be converging on a single point towards the top of the hill. Tatsumi could faintly make out a figure at the top but didn't know who it was.
"Hello?" Tatsumi called out to the person as he stood and started walking towards them. However as he got closer something became apparent. The individual atop this hill of swords was dead. He had been impaled repeatedly by all manner of blade but still stood upright as if in defiance of death.
As Tatsumi neared he began to make out the features of the man. He had an angular face, tanned skin, and white hair despite his somewhat youthful appearance. He wore black armor of some sort with a red shroud covering him.
"Where the hell am I?" asked Tatsumi as he gazed at the dead man. "And who are you?"
Suddenly the dead mans eyes snapped open and stared at Tatsumi. "The better question is, who are you?"
"Gah! You're alive?!" screamed Tatsumi.
"Heh." the person gave a wry laugh. "No. I am long dead. You on the other hand are still alive."
"That doesn't really make me feel any more comfortable about this..." Tatsumi waved his arms about. "... Whatever this is."
"Ah yes. You must be wondering where you are right now." mused the man. "You are currently in your mindscape. And this is the deepest recess' of it. I have been waiting a long time for a traumatic enough event to weaken your mind so I could pull you in hear. It seems that your friends dying did the trick."
"Shut up!" roared Tatsumi. "They aren't dead!"
"No. But they will be soon." spoke the man coldly. "Tell me, who are you?"
"I'm Tatsumi."
I$# %^am$#$ #$&^*t$#e^&$b&$#n*%sw$#! #%d
Something tickled at the back of Tatumi's mind. Something familiar.
"Wrong." responded the man.
"What do you mean wrong?!" That's my name!"
"Yes. But it is not who you are. Do you want to save your friends?"
"What? Of course I want to save them!" shouted Tatsumi.
"Then tell me, who are you?"
"I'm Tatsumi!"
I #$%%am$^#% the%#$%$%ne&^$#$& ord%#
"Wrong."
"Grr! What are you on about?! My name IS Tatsumi!"
"Yet it is not who you are. I would have thought my reincarnation would be more in tune with his true identity."
"Wait, your reincarnation?"
"Yes. You are my soul reborn. I won't go into the details just yet, but know that you have inherited a great power. Who are you?"
"Tatsumi!"
I !%#^ m$%^t#e #%$^&%ne #!$word
"And yet you aren't."
"Forget this! I have to save my friends!"
"And I'm trying to help you!" shouted the man. "But in order to do that you must remember who you are. Think back. Remember the feeling you get when you hold a sword. You have always been proficient with a blade even when you were young. There is a reason for that. Now take a deep breath and think."
Tatsumi did as instructed and focused his mind. He could feel it. Something calling out to him. A phrase?
"I will ask you one last time. Who are you?"
Tatsumi's eyes flashed open. However instead of emerald green, they were now steel grey.
"I am the bone of my sword."
(-)
Tatsumi's eyes flashed open and he was back in the torture shed.
"Hey kid, we gotta go. And you're coming with us." spoke Leone as she shook Tatsumi's shoulder.
"Wait." he said. "I can save them."
"I already told you, it's too late for them."
Tatsumi then held his hand out in front of him.
"Trace on."
At the utterance of those two words a blue light began to gather in front of him. It formed into a short angular shape before the light receded which revealed a dagger. It was a beautiful mix of gold and silver coloring with indecipherable runes scrawled on it. The blade itself was made of gold, which made for a poor blade given how malleable it is.
"What the...?" breathed Leone. Akame too had widened her eyes in surprise at what Tatsumi had done.
Tatsumi then took the blade and nicked Ieyasu's chest and, much to the onlookers surprise, the boys wounds began to heal.
"What the hell is that? A teigu?"
"I don't know." answered Akame.
"Dividet Vulnera Curantis." answered Tatsumi. "It was a blade fashioned by a doctor during an age where plague ran rampant and caused the death of countless people. The dagger itself is not meant to be used as a weapon. Rather by cutting the body of someone, it has the ability to heal any wound, cure any disease, and purge any poison. However the blade will only work once per person."
"Impressive. So you had a teigu all along." said Leone.
"Something like that." Tatsumi spoke as he finished healing Ieyasu and moved on to Sayo.
Akame and Leone watched on in curiosity as all of Sayo's wounds were healed. Even her leg grew back. She along with Ieyasu were still unconscious, but they were no longer going to die.
Tatsumi then stood up and faced the assassins as the blade disappeared. "I need your help. My friends and I need a place to stay and recover. And seeing as how you're assassins and I've seen your faces, I'm willing to bet you won't let me just walk away from this."
"Hmm, kids smarter than I gave him credit for." mused Leone. "Akame, grab the girl. I'll take the boy." Leone said as she picked up Ieyasu. "Think you can keep up?" she asked Tatsumi.
Prana flowed into his legs as he reinforced them. "I think I can manage."
After a short run they happened upon the rest of the assassin group.
"So, you're finally back." said a walking suit of armor.
"It'd be bad if we didn't retreat soon." said the green haired teen as he held up a pocket watch.
"You're late! What were you doing?!" shouted a petite pink haired girl. "Wait, who are those three?" she asked, noticing the newcomers.
"A potential recruit and his friends." answered Leone.
"What?!" shouted pinky.
"Alright everyone. Mission complete! Let's return!" shouted Akame as the group disappeared into the night.