A/N Hello my people and welcome to possibly another fanfic that I'm going to enjoy writing, since I recently got into AKame ga Kill and my god it is fucking awesome. This is also going to be new uncharted territory for me considering this is something out of my range, but I hope that I'll be able to craft a good fanfiction that'll bring enjoyment to my readers. And before I get any statements stating this or that, there will probably be some similarities to the Akame ga Kill fanfiction written by NaruHinadorable, and I'm going to say this right now this is going to be something I write entirely on my own and that I'm coming up with all of this one my own, which will become evident later on once I get deeper into the story. If I do end up having some portions that are similar, I'll play it safe and give credit to him. I really wanted to clear that up so as to not cause turmoil in the near future. By the way, I'm altering Tatsumi's age a little and making him a 19 year old, just putting that out there now.

Also, another thing I wanted to say is that later on in the future as more of this story is established, I will adding story information to the Wiki several other fanfiction authors and I created to showcase our information, known as FanFicCollective. I will announce of course when that information will be up and such.

Okay, that's it for my soapbox session, it's time to get on with the story. Leave a review telling me what you all think.

A Different Path

- Part 1: A New Direction -

Prologue

It was as if one bad thing had come after another. Tatsumi's two friends had been brutally tortured and killed by a family who lived in the capital, but thankfully after the entire ordeal he had managed to find new friends in the form of Night Raid, a division of assassins wielding Teigu that were a part of the Revolutionary Army devoted to toppling the Empire's current regime. However, being assassins that were regarded as enemies to the Empire, it was bound to come with dire consequences.

Sheele, the wielder of Extase, was killed by a member of the Imperial Police. Bulat, the wielder of Incursio and Tatsumi's mentor, ended up dying after his former comrade and superior, Liver, poisoned him. These actions, meant to demoralize them, only strengthened their resolve to bring about change to the Empire and kill Prime Minister Honest for everything he has done.

They all just didn't see that this would be accomplished in an entirely different way then they expected.

- Temporary Night Raid HQ -

Team Stylish's attack on the base had at first come at a surprise, but when Najenda had arrived on an air manta with reinforcements from the Revolutionary Army's HQ, namely the human Teigu Susanoo and Chelsea, the battle ended fairly quickly thanks to Susanoo's overwhelming combat prowess.

The only reason that happened though was because the mad scientist had managed to follow Tatsumi there after he had fled from the Jaegers, which was a feat in its own since he had Incursio active. He wouldn't have been able to do so if he hadn't had the Teigu's Trump Card, or the Jaeger named Wave would've surely caught him and exposed his identity.

"That would've been really, really bad." thought Tatsumi with a grimace.

Since their base had been trashed by the attack, and since the Revolutionary Army had to make a new one for them in a different location, the organization mobilized and travelled for a few days far into Danger Beast infested territory to not only train but to lay low. To make it more comfortable, Susanoo had built a house for them in a matter of minutes, which was astonishing by itself. But, what caught him off guard after a certain level of normalcy had been achieved once again was that after explaining what had occurred while he was a temporary member of the Jaegers, it was decided to send him back into the Capital so that he could gather more intelligence on them to better prepare for the eventual engagement between the two organizations.

"Uh, what?" asked Tatsumi with a slightly baffled look.

"Considering these recent events, I need you to sneak back into the capital and gather more information on the Jaegers. It would be essential for us to know more about our enemies so that we can exploit their weaknesses." said Najenda again, the order causing him to blink several times and delve deep into his subconscious.

"Go...back…?" he thought, an image of the Jaeger members coming back.

They were their enemies, the organization created to hunt down and kill them. But, to be honest, being around them hadn't actually been that bad. In fact, it had felt almost normal, comfortable even.

Najenda could see the doubt and worry from the expression he had, and she couldn't blame him. The Jaegers were especially powerful and on his own he wouldn't be able to last long.

"We know it's dangerous, but you're Incursio's invisibility will allow you to penetrate deep into the capital without being noticed. And we're not asking you to meet with them personally, just observe them from afar. You'll be fine." she said with a small wink, Tatsumi glancing up and smiling at the reassurance.

Leone suddenly came up behind him, wrapped her arm around his neck and hugged him tightly, her usual casual grin plastered across her face.

"Just be sure to come back in one piece!" she exclaimed with a laugh, Tatsumi coughing when she squeezed a little too hard and started to cut off air to his lungs.

"Sis, can't...breath…!" he said through labored breaths, Leone giggling as she freed him from her death grip.

After coughing a couple more times and regaining his breath and composure, he stood up to his full height and clenched his fists tightly with a determined look on his face, "Yeah, I know. I'll be back."

With that, he briskly turned around and departed from the meeting hall, the doors closing behind him with a heavy thud and leaving the rest of Night Raid to their thoughts.

When silence returned to the large room, Leone crossed her arms and fixated her gaze on Najenda whilst her expression morphed from happiness to concern.

"Are you really sure about this Boss? Do you think he'll be alright?" she asked, doubtful of Tatsumi would be able to handle such an arduous task.

"I'm sure that he'll be able to do it with Incursio's Trump card, and Bulat believed him as well, so I will too. But...in the event that he does get caught and should perish…" she said, the members of Night Raid present minus Chelsea lowering their gaze. "I will take full responsibility for this mission and make it our goal to recover his body. It would be the right thing to do."

In Tatsumi's room, which had somehow been left untouched during the attack of Team Stylish, the young man himself was sitting down on his bed with Incursio's key resting idle in his lap, one had on the holt and the other on the blade.

He couldn't stop thinking about the idea of going back to the Jaegers, when he at first had considered them as his arch-enemies and the toughest obstacle standing in their way of assassinating the Prime Minister and changing the Empire for the better. After being among them, even if it was for just a short time, however, he had found out that they weren't monsters like some of the other residents of the Empire he's seen. Wave was one such person, the wielder of the Teigu Grand Chariot, Incursio's successor. That scary guy, Bols, he was actually a huge softie too, and that he actually regretted all of the actions that he had committed.

They had their faults, and to him he still considered them human.

"Well, except that scientist and her. There's nothing sane about that girl." though Tatsumi with a heavy scowl when the face of Seryu Ubiquitous entered his mind like a virus., infecting his soul and causing him to feel sick to his stomach.

She had been the one to kill Sheele with her Teigu, that hellish dog she affectionately calls "Koro". Both he and Mine hated her with a passion since that demon of a quote-unquote dog had eaten their beloved friend. Deep down he already made a commitment to himself that if he saw the opportunity he would kill her and that dog in the most brutal way possible as retribution for their fallen comrade.

"Well, I guess this is a good time to head out. It'll be easier to enter the capital undetected under the cover of darkness." he told himself as he slid Incursio into the strap over his back and walked over to the door.

Before he could grasp the knob it was pushed open towards him and he stepped back when Akame appeared in the doorway with her usual stoic expression. Without a word she embraced him and burrowed her face into his shoulder, Tatsumi taking a few seconds to overcome his surprise before reciprocating the hug.

"Promise me."

"What?" he asked, Akame looking up at him with eyes on the verge of tears.

"Promise me that you won't be caught. I don't want someone else close to me to die." she said, Tatsumi smiling as he placed both hands on her shoulders and looked her directly in the eye.

"Akame, I'm not planning on dying any time soon. I'm not gonna let myself perish until I see Prime Minister Honest dead. I promise you that."

She stared at him in silence before she too smiled and nodded, Tatsumi now relieved to see her in a better mood. They walked out of his room together, Tatsumi closing the door behind them before they navigated the branching hallways of the secret base so as to reach the entrance leading to the outside world.

The sun had just started its ascent into the sky and he had a long way to go to reach the capital, so Tatsumi turned to face Akame one last time and gave her a wink. "See you later."

He ran off towards the tree line of the forest surrounding the base and Akame watched him go, doubt still in her gaze. When he vanished into the foliage, the small smile she had dropped away and she worriedly tapped her foot against the dirt a few times.

"Please, be safe."