Najenda:"All right, I understood the situation."
We were all together in the main room, all Night Raid.
Tatsumi and I stood in the middle, under the eye of the boss, Najenda.
I can't say I wasn't nervous.
Najenda:"I must say, I'm very surprised about what I read in the raports. Specially in your case, Y/N."
I didn't react at her words. I wanted her to ask explanations by herself.
Najenda:"But even Tatsumi has some skill. Until now, Akame never failed to kill a target, and I'm currently looking at two people who survived. One by luck, an important skill for an assassin, and the other by...unknown reasons."
Mine:"I still can't believe that he survived at Murasame after taking a hit."
Leone:"And yet it's true. I saw it with my own eyes."
Akame:"Along with something else."
I gave a brief look at Akame. She still had that stare on me.
Najenda:"Right. That transformation and the way you killed that girl with a look."
Me:"It's not correct to say I killed her."
Everyone focused on me.
Mine:"What!? You're saying she's still alive!?"
Me:"She is, physically. But she won't wake up anymore."
Tatsumi:"W-Why, what did you do to her?"
Me:"...I burned her soul."
Everyone but Akame and Najenda gasped at my statement.
Akame:"How did you do it?"
Me:"The Penance Stare. I force those who are guilty to suffer all the sins and pain they made, all of it together."
Najenda:"Can you prove it?"
Me:"Not without a demostration."
Everyone but Akame stepped back. Najenda made a little smile at the scene.
Najenda:"Interesting, I must say. But how can you do it? Is it your teigu?"
Me:"I don't know what you're talking about. I have these powers after my blood was fused with the blood of a demon."
Lubbock:"W-Who do you think to trick!? There's no such things as demons, ghosts or zombies!"
I turned to him with a serious glare. He backed away a little.
Me:"Let me ask you something..."
I transformed in front of him. All the people who didn't see me the first time went on defensive. Najenda didn't react.
Me:"...does this seem a 'trick' for you? Because I'm not laughing. In fact, this is only a curse."
I kept staring at him with my 'eyes'. He fell down, shaking like a leaf, and I turned back to normal.
Najenda:"...Very impressive. Does this 'curse' have a name?"
Me:"Yes, it's called 'being special'. I'm Y/N L/N, the Ghost Rider."
We looked each other for a while, then she closed her eye.
Najenda:"...Very well."
She raised her metallic arm to Tatsumi and I.
Najenda:"Y/N, Tatsumi, do you want to join the Night Raid?"
Tatsumi:"If we refuse, you'll kill us, right?"
Me:"They can try."
Najenda:"No, that's not it. But it doesn't mean we'd let you go. We would keep you here. No matter what you say, none of you will be killed. Keeping this in mind, what's your answer?"
I looked at Tatsumi, curious of what he would have said.
Tatsumi:"I...I should had gone to the Capital, and made a reputation, so I could save my village from poverty."
Bulat:"This nation became poor and suffer for the greed of the Capital. Don't you want to get rid of the evil from its origins? A man tells you that!"
Najenda:"In the past, Bulat was a very promising soldier of the empire. But then he found out its corruption and became one of us."
I turned to him.
Me:"It's very noble by you."
Bulat:"Our duty is to eradicate the evil from the Capital. It's a lot better than working for it."
Tatsumi:"But...just killing bad people won't change the world, right? At this rate, places like my village will never be safe."
Najenda:"I see. Than in your case, you're fit to be a Night Raid."
I turned to her surprised.
Tatsumi:"W-Why so?"
Najenda:"A lot on South from the Capital, there is the territory of the Revolutionary Army, who fights the empire. It was created by a few people. In time, it became a big organization. It needed a group that could act undercover as assassins and to take informations. That's where we, Night Raid, came out."
I crossed my arms, thinking about it.
Najenda:"For now we're freeing the Capital from parasites. Once we'll act, we'll use the mess to reach the origin of the corruption, the Prime Minister, to kill him with our hands."
Tatsumi:"To kill him with our hands..."
Najenda:"When that time will come, this nation will change for sure."
The purpose was noble, but was it worthy enough to kill all those people?
Tatsumi:"...Will this new nation treat their citiziens properly?"
Najenda:"Of course."
Tatsumi:"I see...it's wonderful. So all the murdering you're doing now is just to clean this nation...in other words, you're assassins of justice!"
At those words everyone started to laugh beside Akame and Najenda.
I still couldn't believe he was that stupid.
Tatsumi:"W-What's wrong? Did I say something weird?"
Me:"Tatsumi...you're so naive..."
He turned to me confused.
Tatsumi:"Uh? What do you mean?"
Me:"It doesn't matter the reason, or the good it make. A murder is a murder. To kill is a sin. They are all killers. And so will you, if you'll go along their path."
He stared at me taken back from my words.
Mine:"This simpleton won't be ready even after thousands of years."
Najenda:"We have all a reason to fight. We're ready for it. Do you have one too?"
Tatsumi:"...I'll be payed, right?"
Najenda:"Of course. If you work hard, I'm sure you'll save your village."
Tatsumi:"Then I'll do it! Let me join the Night Raid!"
I stared at him.
Me:"Are you sure of this?"
Mine:"You know it, don't you? You might never return to your village."
Tatsumi:"I don't care until everyone of the village can live happily."
She just looked away.
Najenda:"And this is settled. Now, what about you, Y/N? Should I take, from your words of before, that you don't want to join?"
Me:"..."
I looked at my hands. For an instant, I saw blood on them.
Me:"...I'm not like Tatsumi. I don't have people to fight for, nor a home to defend. I fight only for myself, to find answers that I won't find here."
A picture of Vengeance flashed in my mind.
Najenda:"I see. In that case-"
Me:"But I saw the rotten of the society in the Capital. All those sinners, those innocents that suffer...I can't let it slide."
I stared at Najenda.
Me:"I won't lie: last night I was looking for you because I heard that you were mercyless killers and I wanted to judge you. And now that I'm here...I can see it. You are on the right side."
I raised my hand to her.
Me:"And I want to help you. For the innocents to have a brighter future. No matter what."
She grabbed it and we shook our hands.
Najenda:"Welcome to the house of massacre. This reunion is settled for now. Akame, you're in charge for Y/N and Tatsumi's training."
Tatsumi trembled a bit at those words.
Najenda:"Should they become a burden, get rid of them."
Akame:"Understood."
From behind, Leone took us close.
Leone:"Work hard you two, and you won't die."
Me:"Meh, like if it never happened to me..."
And from there on, my life as Night Raid member begun.