Title: Inescapable Fate
Disclaimer: i own nothing and am writing this simply for fun :3
Summary: When Tatsumi escapes from Esdeath, he thinks that it's over and done with. However, the Gods have a different plan in store for him, and everytime he refuses Esdeath's offer, he is forced to relive that day over and over again until he becomes hers. EsdeathxTatsumi

Chapter 1

It wasn't hard to feel elated. He had escaped a situation that he thought was hopeless and had done so without any injuries marring his body.

Of course, mental scarring on the other hand…having to spend a night with the Ice Queen was bad enough, but when she was so obviously in "love" with him made the whole ordeal even scarier.

But overall, the escape was a success. He felt a bit bad about the situation he put Wave in; he had a feeling that Esdeath was not going to let his escape go over easily and possibly blame it on the poor boy. And besides, the information he got from the situation was pure gold. He knew most of their teigus now and even had their names and knowledge of their faces to boot.

And he escaped a person that was obviously stronger than him considering he had the upgraded version of Incursio. If that didn't speak of his wit and intelligence…

Still, his energy was slowly draining away. The last kick from the person who had attacked him was really getting to him, and after having such a sleepless night earlier, his energy was nearing dangerous levels. He couldn't even keep himself standing upright anymore.

He collapsed onto his stomach with a hard thud, his energy now completely gone and Incursio melting away from him. He was startled when he heard sounds coming from the underbrush, and when the dangerbeast revealed itself, he couldn't even summon up the energy to move and inch. He was going to die and Night Raid wasn't going to get the information that he had gone through so much to get.

Before the beast could pounce, it was sliced into half by a sharp blade.

When he saw Akame's face, Tatsumi knew he was going to be alright.

The air around them was tense to say the least. Hearing the information first hand was daunting at first, but Tatsumi knew they could surmount the Jaegers. They were strong, but they had just been newly formed. And Tatsumi knew that it would be a long time coming before they were able to get the bond that Night Raid possessed.

To hear Akame speak so confidently about taking down Esdeath warmed his heart. It was hard to pass up Esdeath's offer. She was offering security, love, and even more money than he could imagine for his village. He was going to be given the position he wanted in the Army since he had left the village and he was going to be a high ranking social position as well because of Esdeath's fondness for him.

But he knew now that he had made the right choice.

Night Raid was where he belonged, and it was where he was going to stay for the rest of his life.

When he awoke, it was to the bright, harsh rays of sunlight. It confused him, since there were no windows in Night Raid's hideout and in his confusion, he sleepily turned to stare at the window that was now the cause of his irritation.

Which was why he was completely shocked when long, slender arms wrapped themselves around him, bringing him back to the position he had been earlier. When he turned to look behind him, it was to see Esdeath's sleeping face.

He became wide awake in that instant. He was too wary to move, but he knew now that something must have happened. How had they found him? And dragged him back to the Capital without even waking him? And if he was here, did that mean the rest of the Night Raid was dead?

If Esdeath thought she could kill all his friends and kidnap him for the second time without any consequences, then she had a rude awakening coming for her.

But he couldn't just attack her; he knew she was stronger than him and she would defeat him in a manner of seconds. Common sense told him that he should destroy her now, when she was defenseless and asleep, but some part of him stayed his hand. He couldn't - not when she had been so honest with him. And besides, he wasn't one to be able to strike down an enemy in cold blood.

She had invited him into her bed and left herself vulnerable to him, and he couldn't even take advantage of it.

He sighed gustily, resigning himself to his fate. He was stuck here for the time being, and maybe when Esdeath awoke, he could ask her what had happened.

She awoke sooner than he thought she would. She must have felt his eyes on her, and being such an experienced warrior, must have awoken because of it. "Tatsumi?" she murmured sleepily, before she brought one hand up to rub at her eyes. "Why are you awake so early?"

Tatsumi felt guilty at the way his heart started beating faster at the sight. He couldn't deny that he thought Esdeath was overwhelmingly beautiful. With her luscious blue locks and her gorgeous body, he would be hard pressed to find any individual in the whole world that didn't think she was beautiful. But it was one thing to find someone beautiful, and another to find them truly admirable. Because although Esdeath was fighting for the wrong side, she had an indomitable spirit that truly was hard to detest.

It was one thing to think her beautiful and admire her, and another to think she was just absolutely adorable. He squashed down the feelings though, and instead tried to think up a diplomatic answer to her question. He didn't want to let his true feelings be known, and he didn't want to sound too hostile in case she took it as an invitation to attack.

"I'm just a little confused on how I got here, Esdeath. The last thing I remembered…"

The last thing he remembered was Akame's strong words as she promised to take down Esdeath with Murasame.

"Don't you remember, Tatsumi? I took you in after you excelled in the tournament." After sending him a puzzled expression, Esdeath suddenly moved quickly, sitting up and straddling Tatsumi. He couldn't help the bright flush that spread across his cheeks; he had never had a woman this close to him before and add to the fact that it was a woman as beautiful as Esdeath...it was no surprise that he was highly embarrassed. She looked amused at his expression, reaching down to trail slender fingers down his cheek. "Don't tell me you also forgot about my declaration of love?"

He didn't think it possible, but his face even burned brighter at her words. A predatory smile made her way onto her face, and before Tatsumi knew it, she was leaning downward to press her soft lips against his.

She was as insistent as she always was, and when she bit down hard on his lower lip, a gasp escaped his mouth, allowing her access to the insides of his mouth. She took the invitation immediately, her small, but forceful tongue exploring it thoroughly.

A minute later, when Tatsumi was finding it hard to breathe, she drew away, a line of saliva connecting them as she sat back upright. A smug smile was present on her face as she looked down on him, "Now that's a face, Tatsumi."

He flushed hard at her words; he could only imagine what he looked like. Bitten, swollen lips with flushed cheeks and lust-filled eyes. It was no wonder Esdeath was looking so smug. It wasn't hard to tell that he found her extremely attractive no matter the difference in their morals.

"As much as I want to continue to play this little game with you, duty calls." She stood up quicker than he thought possible, shrugging on her coat and buttoning up her shirt, causing Tatsumi to blush again when he realized she had her bare breasts on him throughout all of the night. She slipped her hat onto her head, threw him one last smug smirk, and departed.

She was a force of nature and Tatsumi couldn't help but be influenced by her.

It was with a start when he realized why he had been so angry in the first place. They had destroyed Night Raid without him doing a thing and he had just made out with his friends' murderer.

He knew he shouldn't put the sole blame on Esdeath. He, after all, had also killed under orders. It was nothing personal, and he shouldn't be so angry. But he couldn't help it. He was emotional and emotions were never rational. But if all his friends were dead, then he was the only one left to overtake the Empire. And he couldn't do that if he was dead. His mind made up, he resolved himself to taking up Esdeath's offer.

It wasn't hard for him to find the meeting room. The first time around he had trouble and had to resort to asking one of the many workers around the castle, but this time he found it with ease. When he walked in, Kurome and Wave looked up, a smile already forming on Wave's face.

"Yo!" called Wave. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Tatsumi couldn't believe the guy's nerve. Of course he hadn't slept well, and if he had it would have been under the drug's influence. All his friends had been murdered last night and the guy was asking if he slept well. "No, I didn't," he settled on answering. He didn't want to start a fight after all, and it wasn't Wave's fault he couldn't read the bigger picture.

Suddenly sounds of candy being eaten were heard, and the two of them turned to look at Akame's younger sister. "It's still early morning and you're eating candy, Kurome?" asked Wave, a slight tilt on his face and a teasing smile appearing.

"Mind your own business. It's better than eating your seafood. I wouldn't want to start smelling like a beach like you do."

"Eh, seriously!?" reacted Wave, reaching upward and grabbing his scarf and pressing it to his nose. "Do I smell?" he asked, wide eyes turning to look at Tatsumi.

Tatsumi couldn't help but feel as if he had seen this all before. "No, you don't."

They descended into an awkward silence, only punctuated by the loud crunch of Kurome's candy eating.

A few minutes later, the sounds of footsteps were heard in the hall, and suddenly Esdeath's gorgeous face appeared in the doorway. "Tatsumi!" she called joyfully, "For the next few days we'll be hunting. We're heading to Fake Mountain. Wave and Kurome will be coming as well. It'll be the perfect place for an ambush, so keep your eyes open for enemies while hunting. Until evening, we'll be hunting treeman calls. Once we get there, Kurome and I will search the east side while Wave and Tatsumi search the west side. One more thing, I didn't get to see much of Kurome yesterday. So as your captain, I need to make sure of your abilities."

Wave suddenly spoke up, his eyes shining, "Does that mean you've already confirmed mine?"

Esdeath's eyes softened as she stopped pacing to look Tatsumi on the eye. She nodded, "You happened upon a good teacher. Your strength is perfect. You should be proud."

Everytime he saw her treat someone with such care, it always threw him off guard. She wasn't as cold as he had expected her to be.

But disregarding that...were they playing around with him? He was almost certain that this was exactly what happened yesterday and the only reason they would act out this little role was to make fun of him. Sending him out to the same place he escaped from the last time?

Was it a trap? Were they testing him? What would they do if he attempted escape again? Would they drag him back and throw him in the dungeons this time?

His mind was swirling with so many unanswered questions, he wasn't able to make the outburst he wanted to. Before he knew it, they were being ushered off and they were making the long and arduous trek up the mountain.

"I know all the dangerous types of monsters that appear on the sea, but for mountain types, I'm completely useless," said Wave conversationally.

Tatsumi hmmed as a response, too caught up in his thoughts to give Wave any advice as he had done the last time. He was still on the fence if he should escape or not; he was highly expecting them to catch him this time around and actually punish him for it. And if he escaped, what was he going to do? All of Night Raid was dead and his only plan was to stay with Esdeath and somehow destroy the prime minister that way.

Wave continued on as if he had spoken, "But you know, I wonder why you didn't bring this up back at the palace. You've got some skills on your own, huh? If anything does show up, I guess I should ask you about it."

Last time, he had responded with a joke about himself and had actually bonded with Wave. But he was still smarting about Wave's callous question about his sleep, and as such, simply shrugged at Wave's friendly attempt of starting conversation.

Still, when the treeman's branch started heading toward Wave, he couldn't help drawing his sword and deflecting it. He knew he shouldn't have; Wave dying would only certainly help the cause.

But they were just so similar, and Wave was only trying to help his village just like him. So he did so, and got Wave's grateful smile in return. "You saved me. I totally owe you one!"

Tatsumi managed a smile for the country boy, before turning his attention back to the treeman, his eyes darting around as he looked for his opportunity to escape.

It wasn't long before he saw one, and since Wave, just like last time, was so engrossed in his chopping of firewood, he was able to don Incursio and get a safe distance away.

But this time, instead of stopping to rest, he hid in the shadows, using Incursio's ability to stay invisible. It took a lot of his energy, but it was a lot better than being caught by the armor-wearing warrior that had caught him out last time. It wasn't long before he saw the armor in the air, and when it completely by-passed him, he made his way toward the place he found the dangerbeast last time.

It was an outlandish theory, but since he had gotten away from Wave just like last time, it almost seemed as if he went back in time…

He thought that it had all been a trick. Dangling an opportunity right in front of his face to see what he would do with it and then punishing him if he had made the wrong choice. But Wave had seemed too unprepared, and had done just what he had done in the past.

And if it really was true…

If he really did go back in time, then if he just found the dangerbeast again, he would find Akame.

It wasn't long before he spotted the place. It was right next to the river after all, and it was hard to forget a place that he had been in when he was almost certain of his death. Before he could swoop down and destroy the beast, a slice decimated it.

And the person holding it turned and flashed a brilliant smile at Tatsumi.

"Tatsumi!" Akame cried out joyously, and although Tatsumi was full of joy to see her there, alive, he was more confused than ever before.

Because if she was there, then he really did go back in time.

When they were safely in the base, Tatsumi told the others of his situation. They puzzled hard over it; the Boss certainly didn't know of any teigu that had the power over time, but it was possible that one could have been created. It did sound like something extremely overpowered, and if there enemy had it, there was no way they could win.

After all, only an enemy would send Tatsumi back so he would be stuck in Esdeath's arms again.

In the end, they couldn't find any information on it. He was glad that they took his words at face value though; none of them doubted what he said was true. Night Raid was truly his family and he knew he belonged here.

Before he fell asleep, Akame worriedly approached him, her eyes sad as she placed a hand on his. "It'll be alright, Tatsumi," she reassured him, "we'll figure this out. Just get some sleep."

He shot her a grateful grin, and fell asleep with her hand in his.

When he awoke, he immediately knew something was wrong. The ground was much too soft and warm and the sunlight was hitting his eyes for the second day in a row.

And if he really wasn't dreaming, then the warmth enveloping him could only mean one thing.

He turned his head slowly, and when he caught a glimpse of Esdeath's sleeping face, he knew it had happened again.

He had gone back in time.

A/N: This is my second time travel story haha, and for some reason I like this one better so this one will probably be updated faster _. I was actually planning on writing one like this rather than my other one (Second Time Around) but I wrote their death scene and couldn't figure out a way to fit it into her so I ended up writing another story. But the reviews are overwhelming and thank you all ^_^. Let me know which one you like better and I'll focus my attention on that one!

Also, after Tatsumi goes into the meeting room, the dialogue each character speaks is from the actual manga itself (I take no credit for using their words). I used the translation on mangahere for it.

Thank you and please review/fav/alert! ^_^