Coward.

It was the only word that came to Tatsumi's mind as he slowly bled out, lost in the middle of nowhere. His wounds were shallow, but numerous. Thousands of incisions made by razor sharp wires. He thought he was saved when Lubbock found him, and ran straight towards the green haired boy.

He only had a moment to think before the pain hit him. In a second, Lubbock had pulled every string taught, and left Tatsumi a wreck of torn flesh. Tatsumi had sat there, near Fake Mountain, the place Esdeath had taken him hunting, and felt his blood slowly drain from his body for hours. He couldn't move; he couldn't scream. Lubbock had gagged him after he slit his ankles and spine. All the boy could do was wallow in his slowly accumulating hatred of Lubbock and Night Raid.

Was it logical to hate Night Raid for this? No. But try explaining that to someone wallowing in his own blood and liquids because of one of the group's members.

'I don't want to die here.' Tatsumi thought, 'I can't die here. My friends... my village... they need me. I'm their only hope. I can't die because some coward thought I was "trying to steal his girls" and "needed to be put in my place"'

Tatsumi began to rage harder. If only Incursio hadn't shattered...

'I can't die here... I can't die here... I can't. DIE. HERE!' Tatsumi raged in his mind, his eyes reddening and his pupils turning to cross hairs, 'I'll string Night Raid's entrails throughout the capital like banners, and use their hollowed heads as lanterns. I'll slaughter them... slowly and painfully for what they did. No one does something as monstrous as they have. Attacking me... betraying me... was disgusting.'

The boy's wounds began to close, and with tremendous rage and strength, he pushed himself up onto his hands. The blood stopped pooling under him, and slowly the lacerations began to scar over.

'I am evolution.' Tatsumi said like a mantra to his mind, 'I am stronger than this. I can adapt, and live on. That is my way, and has always been my way. Save the village without your friends... adapt your plans to include becoming a captain instead of just a soldier. The government is corrupt and evil... adapt by joining the revolution to kill the government. The revolution is also evil...'

Tatsumi's muscles swelled, and he pushed himself onto his knees. His muscles and bones seemed to stretch and warp as the last of the wounds Lubbock inflicted healed. Tatsumi's eyes had become fully red, and his pupils were in the shape of crosshairs. Just like Incursio's gem.

'If the revolution is evil, then there is no moral side. I adapt then by joining the optimal and my least hated side. The revolution has betrayed me far more than the government... so I shall adapt to kill the revolution.' Tatsumi continued, his thoughts growing darker, 'Adapt and kill. Adapt and kill. Adapt and kill. Over and over. A cycle of death, of evolution, where I am, and always will be, king. A cycle of superiority... where I am always the Tyrant above all.'

Tatsumi finally stood to his full, and now much more impressive, height. He wobbled at first, but soon gained security in his footing. And then he leaned back, breathed in, and punched the ground with all his strength as he let out an angered grunt.

BASHHH!

The ground underneath him cratered. Cracks formed out from the point of impact like a thousand, tiny, shadow-like trees. The crater he left was at least two meters deep, just shy of putting his full height below the unaffected surface. He slowly regained his breath, before the dark cloud that had covered his mind for the past hours slowly broke apart, and allowed him some clarity.

'Those fools, those traitors in Night Raid will pay. I'll give them a painful end after I join the army. Afterall, no one knows I was a part of Night Raid. And maybe Esdeath is still wanting that new member for her team... Or maybe she's up for a second date...' Tatsumi began to ponder as he picked up the remnants of Incursio, smiling wickedly, 'Whatever the case, I can turn this and Bulat's dog-tags in to collect his bounty. That should get me some cash for tonight. I wonder how long I've been out, anyway. I know I was out for at least an hour, but the sun is in the same position it was when I ran into the worm.'

Tatsumi then began the, what should have been, long trek back to the capital. 'Should have' being the key part. He launched himself rapidly towards his destination, blasting off of the ground on his still slightly broken legs, and heaving air through his injured ribs and lungs. They broke and healed every time he pushed off the ground, and the feeling was a pain most could not even imagine. But that was good, as every time he healed, that part of him grew stronger. He didn't know why he had these abilities now, or why he felt as if he always had them, but he could guess that it was because of Incursio. He thought of himself as a tyrant a number of times in his inner monologue, and even though that felt natural to him now, he knew he never thought of himself as such before. It was fine though, as he could use this strength for vengeance, and for securing his village's paychecks. Assassin jobs payed good, but that cushy position and pay that Esdeath had offered were the two things he found tempting about her proposition. That is, before his little green-haired reality check came about.

The Capitol was fast approaching, and his legs were in an even worse shape. He launched faster through the pain, desperate to just cash in the now destroyed sword husk and dog-tags for that sweet bounty. He knew his bro wouldn't approve of what he was doing, but then again, he would probably wretch at what Lubbock did, so he'd understand. Both the revolution and the government were evil. If the revolution succeeded then, more likely than not as history showed, nothing would change but the names of the abusers. He should have known the revolution was a scam just like every other one. He shook his head and focused on the sole task of running to the Capitol. It was only a few hundred meters away. One hundred meters away. Fifty meters. Ten Meters.

He slammed his feet into the ground, halting his velocity instantly, and cratering the ground below him and breaking his legs, which instantly began healing again. The guards at the entrance pissed their pants as he awkwardly walked through the entrance on his slowly healing appendages, like a zombie out of one of the weaselly Lubbock's comics. Tatsumi hobbled towards the police headquarters, and limped through the entrance towards a horrified woman behind a desk.

"Huf, huf, huf. I want...huf...to cash in the bounty for Bulat of Night Raid. Here's his Teigu and dog-tags as evidence." Tatsumi puffed out, still catching his breath, with a soft, sharp-toothed grin plastered on his face.

"O-oh. Sir, that w-w-would be the jurisdiction of Esdeath and her 'Jaegers', so you'd have to take that up with her." The girl responded, absolutely intimidated by Tatsumi's presence, shaking violently before the goliath of a man.

Tatsumi grinned at that. It gave him a reason to visit her right away. Now he could push that confrontation forward a day, or really, as it was nearing midnight, a few hours.

"Good by me. By the way, what day is it?" Tatsumi asked as he turned to leave.

"The 6th, sir." The woman answered.

"Oh, very good. Thank you"

Tatsumi exited the building, whistling and striding along, as his legs had fully healed at this point, and headed towards the home of Esdeath's Special Forces Unit, the Jaegers. He really hoped she wasn't pissed at him running off, and that she would at least offer a higher position in her army. He could work with captain, and quickly cut and beat his way up the ranks. No one could stop a man with the power of a Demon-Tier danger beast. Well, Demon-Tier wasn't really an official classification, but it was still used to describe the strongest of the Super-Tier. You see, Super-Tier only meant a beast was the ruler of it's environment. Tyrant ruled every environment along with a few other beasts, so they got the unofficial title to describe them. It didn't truly matter to Tatsumi, however, as no matter the title, power was power. And in this world where adaption and evolution rules all, he was now the fucking tyrant of it.

The Jaeger's headquarters was fast approaching, and Tatsumi realized he was still wearing bloody and ripped clothes. That didn't make the best impression. However, as it stood he only had a few gold pieces, so all he ended up getting a decent full body cloak. He wrapped the cloak around him and walked into an alley before attempting to summon an altered form of the Incursio Armour. It worked, and a much more bestial armour covered all but his head. It felt like a second layer of skin. In fact, it felt better than his own skin as it warmed him and reinforced his still-healing frame.

He walked out of the alley, and began to make the final approach towards the headquarters. He whistled a tune, something old and archaic, a native hymn from his homeland in the North. The words were long forgotten, even to his people, but the tune was hummed from time to time around campfires and hunting trips. Tatsumi figured that a hunting tune would be a good fit when applying to the 'Jaegers.' He thought it was a perfect-

"HALT! No one except for Esdeath's personal-" A guard began, breaking Tatsumi's concentration and ending the tune.

Tatsumi looked at the guard. The man had a self-important attitude, and a pose that screamed out 'Wimp in a Soldier's Costume.' The man was the dictionary definition of a 'Paper Tiger.'

"Don't worry, I'm only here..." Tatsumi said as he pulled out the dog-tags and broken teigu, "To claim the reward for taking down Bulat of Night Raid."

The guards were shocked. They had heard the legends of that sword, and the horror stories of what Bulat had done with it. To see it shattered, and the proof of the Night Raid member's death made them shiver in fear of the man before them, who already had an impressive presence. If he could not only kill, but decimate, a man called the 'Hundred Man Slayer', then they wanted to stay well onto his good side.

"Alright go ahead!" The guard blurted out as he rapidly opened the gate for Tatsumi.

Tatsumi walked through the gate towards the entrance of the grand building, wondering how the Jaegers would react. He was gone a total of five days, afterall, and he didn't know if Wave had figured out what really happened. He hoped not. He knocked on the door, and straightened himself out. If the boy thought he was a traitor, any of the Jaegers could still easily be suppressed. A servant answered the door. She was a timid maid, who only partially peeked her head out.

"What business do have here, please? If you- If you wish to speak about taking a position within the Jaegers you need to take it up with the military special applications office in the upper district, off of two-hundredth." The maid said, clearly startled by the cloaked man's sudden appearance.

'You mean there's a place for that? Fuck! I could've gone there immediately... though, actually, they most likely would of rejected me. They only suggest it now because I'm strong, and they fear me.' Tatsumi thought before replying to the maid.

"No, no. I am technically a member of the Jaegers already. Name's Tatsumi. Ring a bell? No? Well, I was wondering-"

Just then a mess of blue slammed the large door fully open, huffing and puffing as if he was drowning a moment ago.

"Tatsumi?" Wave gasped out, panting, "You- you're alive? Ohhhh thank goodness! Oh thank goodness! I was so worried for yo- IS THAT INCURSIO!?"

The navy-blue haired former Navy officer's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls as he noticed the wrecked teigu in Tatsumi's hand.

"Yeah, it is. Or, rather, what's left of it. I kinda fused with it in order to live, so..." Tatsumi replied, surprised by the boy's sudden reaction.

'At least he doesn't want to kill me. Unless this is a facade... NAH! He is nowhere near bright enough to pull that on me.' Tatsumi thought as Wave held the broken weapon like it was his newborn child.

"This- this is-... Did you kill him?" Wave asked, staring at his friend.

"Who? Bulat? Yeah, I did. I have his dog-tags." Tatsumi replied, digging in a pocket on his coat for a few moments, before bringing out the dog-tags again.

Wave stared at them in awe, before looking at Tatsumi, fear now swirled into his mix of emotions, whispering in a low but harsh tone.

"How? How did you kill a man with a teigu... a man known to be a master spear wielder!?"

Tatsumi laughed hardily, his armour shaking, some blood spilling from the cracks, before his voice took on an aggressively happy tone.

"Oh you wouldn't believe what I had to do! I thought I was gonna die; I thought I was gonna die in a cave in the middle of nowhere to some stupid fucking weak coward. But then, oh then, I fused with the teigu. Through raw strength of will, I forged myself again. There's only a crater left, you know. Only a crater left behind, blood splattered all over it. Oh, it was great. And killing the rest of them will be even better!"

Tatsumi smiled, his red eyes piercing Wave's very soul. The blue-haired Jaeger just chuckled in a disturbed way as he turned in to walk towards the Jaeger meeting hall.

"O-oh! Well, anyways... why don't you come in? Esdeath misses you. Like, a lot." Wave said, Tatsumi following behind him as they made their way inside. The maid from before was following just behind them, cleaning the blood and dirt that Tatsumi left in a trail behind him, muttering about how annoying it was that he didn't wipe his boots off outside.

Eventually they made it to the meeting hall, Seryu and Kurome sitting at it already, the former half asleep until they entered the room; though, she perked up immediately after she noticed Tatsumi.

"Tatsu?" She said, jumping up suddenly, and running over to hug him, "I thought those evil-doers over at Night Raid had killed you! But, here you are, alive and well! I am soooooo glad!"

"Well, they tried, oh yes, they tried, but instead, it was I that made it out alive. Fused with a teigu, sure, but that's just a boon in my oppinion!" The green-eyed boy said, waving Bulat's dog-tags in her face. She beamed in response.

"Oh my. JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE!" She cried, tears falling down her cheeks, "He killed my old friend, Captain Ogre. Murdered him in an alleyway..."

"No, he didn't. I did that." Tatsumi deadpanned.

"Huh?" Seryu responded, her face going blank at the statement, "You-you huh?

Tatsumi nodded.

"I wanted to ask him for a position in the guard, he brought me into an alley. I asked, he didn't like it for some reason, then he made a grab for his sword to 'make sure I don't ask again.' It was a short conversation after that." The teigu-fused man said, as if discussing the weather, plopping down in a chair.

"You-you killed him... but it was because he tried to kill you." Seryu said, before her face set in a harsh scowl, "Well, he must've been bad all that time. I know you would only kill those who deserve justice. And murderers deserve justice. Deserve death."

The resolute tone and look she had made Tatsumi feel a tiny bit impressed. Most couldn't handle a situation like that without losing their temper. Nice job on her part.

Tatsumi then began to hum another hunting tune, the soft sound drawing the attention of everyone in the room, including the newly arrived Ran.

"Tatsumi? Oh, how nice to see you! By the way, what tune is that? I've never heard it." The blonde man softly spoke.

"It's a hunting tune. I barely remember the words. My village elder barely remembers the words. He speaks the language they're from more fluently than I, though, I am quite fluent." Tatsumi said, humming some more, the words unrecognized by the other occupants of the room.

"So, it's a dying language? What is it?" Ran asked, genuinely curious.

Tatsumi abruptly stopped his singing, staring at Ran.

"A dying language, huh?" The teen muttered, "No. Not really. A murdered language more like. From a slaughtered people."

"How so?" Ran asked, now even more intrigued than before.

Tatsumi chuckled humourlessly, shaking his head.

"You know the 'Tribe of the North?' You know, the one Esdeath fought recently? Yeah, it's because of them. It's why a nearly celebrated the news that they lost over 700,000 people. They deserved it." The boy said bitterly.

Ran just shook his head in demur.

"No. Just because they committed some crimes doesn't mean they deserved something like they got. It's one thing I don't think the general should have done. It is just too cruel. There were kids, and women. She killed everyone in the capital. Everyone of them." Ran said, clearly upset.

Tatsumi stared at him, passion burning in his eyes.

"Children, Ran? You think they didn't deserve it because Esdeath killed the women and children? Ran, did you know that over a century ago, there were nearly 230 native tribes scattered across the north. On average, each of those tribes had around 4500 people in them; excluding, of course, those such as the Partas and Azin, who had less than 100, as well as those such as the Gaelti, who had nearly 7,500. There was over a million natives. Today, though, Ran, there are 18 tribes, and just under 30,000 people. All because of the Nortfolk tribe, who numbered well over 700,000 strong. The 'Tribe of the North.' They killed everyone." Tatsumi explained to Ran, distaste marring his features.

"But- but that was decades ago, surely-"

"No, Ran. It ended a decade ago. A decade ago, Ran, they wiped out the Partas tribe, signalling the end of a brutal campaign by Numa Sotta, the leader of the Nortfolk. They raged for nearly 70 years, Ran. Killing people after people. All of them gone, Ran. They raped the women, they murdered the children. They destroyed them all. In that instant, all of their cultures, all of their languages, all of their history was wiped out and tossed to the wind. I won't lie and say I am not a believer in survival of the fittest, but this was not it, Ran. They came baring gifts, and then stabbed everyone in the back." Tatsumi said, his anger rising as he continued on, where he was and what he was doing before completely forgotten now, "I'm half Nortfolk, you know. Because my 'father' raped my mother, killing her three children and lover in front of her face. My village elder was one of three to survive. He told me, once, when I asked. He never held back anything, always wanting me to know the truth of the world. It hurt, but it was view changing. He taught me their language and some customs, my language, my customs. But I never experienced them for myself. When he dies, so do the Lati. Their language will never reach the ears of smiling children, their culture shall not be known and loved, their history will be tossed to the winds of time. Gone. Same with Esdeath. I know the word Jaeger. I know her looks. They're distinctly Partas. And I know what happened to that tribe. One of the survivers of the massacre fled to my village, and told the tale before dying. I still remember his face: the blood tear-stained cheeks, the bloodshot eyes, the soft blue hair dyed crimson... his desperation as he spoke to my elder. I know from her looks that she came from the same tribe as him. I know from her speaking she truly knows their language, and their culture. But when she dies, so shall they. All of an entire people, who existed for a thousand years, if not thousands, gone when she dies. All because a people believed themselves better. That we were the 'lesser men', mud beneath their boots. They came like a storm. They killed mercilessly..."

"And all for nothing. Nothing but pain." A feminine voice called from the doorway, "Pain and death."

Tatsumi chuckled again, smiling at the woman before him.

"Hello again, Esdeath." Tatsumi said.

"Hello and welcome back, my love." Esdeath replied, grinning hollowly, a truly odd expression for her face, in return.