Kill the Corruption
Hey everyone! So this is my first story, centered on Tatsumi X Mine (Misumi). It's based on chapter 74 of the manga (the newest one at the time of writing this), so if you haven't read that, DO NOT READ THIS STORY! There will be spoilers. Anyway, I hope that…maybe not exactly this, but something similar actually happens in the manga, because I've watched the anime (there is actually a moment in the story, which was inspired by it) and whatever happens, I don't want the manga to end in the same way. And I know I'm not the only one. I will also add Dutch and Slovak versions of this story soon. But without further ado, I hope you enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill in any way, shape or form. This is solely a work of fiction.
Everyone's eyes were fixated on Tatsumi's figure floating in the air. So it had come to this, after all…
The Supreme Teigu was defeated, and the emperor along with it. The rebel army was pushing the defenders of the capital city, who were not going to last long in Esdeath's absence. Victory was within reach, but at a high price. Everyone's unspoken fears had been realized, Tatsumi had lost control. He had gone too far, drawn too much of Incursio's power and had become consumed by it. He was no longer human.
He let out a monstrous roar, making both Esdeath and Akame stop their duel and look up. That was the only thing that saved them. In a flash Tatsumi flew in their direction and hit the ground with full force, making them jump away to avoid it. The armor-clad figure rose up among the smoke and looked at the women on his opposite sides.
"Tatsumi!" yelled Akame, making him turn sharply towards her and fly with a punch, which she diverted with her sword. "It's me! You have to remember!" She rolled out of the way of another ground slam, which cracked the ground where she had been just a moment ago. "He can't recognize me, I will have to…" Akame thought while dodging another couple of attacks. "He expected it and he made me promise…" She knew what needed to be done and resolved herself. He was too far gone already…
Esdeath stood aside and watched Akame struggle to stay ahead of the evolved Incursio's rapid attacks. For the first time since the start of the fight she was not enjoying herself. She had accepted that she and Tatsumi were enemies and that she would strike him down if necessary. But that was not him, she knew well enough that the man she loved would never try to kill his friend. Even if she couldn't care less about said friend.
"It seems that he drew too much power from his Teigu and became consumed by it…" It was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done. She couldn't let her feelings interfere, he had to be put down. But he had grown very strong, Akame seemed to be barely defending herself. She could just stand aside and let him kill her to finally solve one of the empire's biggest problems, but then again…
As Tatsumi was preparing for yet another attack, he was struck by an ice shard, which sent him flying away. Akame looked surprised to Esdeath, who leapt next to her. "Don't flatter yourself, I would be happy to see you die. But right now he is a bigger problem than you and I need your help to put him down. As soon as we're done with that, you're next." Esdeath said with a hint of displeasure. She was confident in her abilities, but she wasn't stupid. As skilled as Akame was, Esdeath had no doubts she could handle her, but Tatsumi's powers had reached new levels. On top of that, he was immune to her trump card, so she was not going to take unnecessary risks. Akame was not pleased either, but as Tatsumi's figure rose up again, she nodded and took her stance. "Tatsumi, as your friend, the last thing I can do for you…IS TO BURY YOU!"
Wave watched the intense battle from skies. He had heard the emperor's Supreme Teigu crash, followed by a monstrous roar and had come back to see what had happened. The last thing he had expected to see was a new battle, where Akame and Esdeath seemed to be fighting together against Tatsumi. "My god, he's completely lost it" he stood frozen in his floating armor, watching the three fighters exchanging attacks among the burning ruins. They were going all out, not holding anything back and from the looks of it, either they were going to kill Tatsumi, or he was going to kill them. Should he help? Who is he supposed to help? Tatsumi could no longer recognize friend from foe and fighting him was absurd, he was not on Esdeath or Akame's level. "Damn it! What am I supposed to do? I`m not some cold-blooded assassin like them, I can`t kill my friend!"
Tatsumi flew in the air and let out another roar, drawing on more power from the dragon armor. "This is not good!" thought Akame as she saw more vapor coming from the armor and prepared to dash away. At the corner of her eye she saw Esdeath do the same. He was going to come crashing down any moment now.
"Tatsumi!" they heard Wave's yell from somewhere above. "I know you`re in there! You have to snap out of it! This not you!" The dragon-like figure didn't seem to pay any attention. "What about Mine?!" At that the figure stopped preparing its attack and slowly turned its head slightly in the direction of Wave. "You said she was the greatest catch, well what would she say if she woke up and saw you now?" The evolved Tatsumi stood in the air, unmoving. "Yeah, Mine would be damn mad and she`d tell you to be a man and get a grip of yourself, because she deserves better than that!" Wave was trying to make his voice sound confident, but the truth was that he was sweating under his own armor. If he got attacked now, he didn't know how long he would last. Tatsumi clasped his helmet with his hands, as if trying to clear his thoughts. Vapor started emitting from his armor again. Wave decided to play his last card "You said you wanted to marry her, didn't you? What if she heard you and is waiting for you to come back? She almost died saving you, because she loves you! And you love her too, so if you`re in there, Tatsumi, you need to come back! For Mine!" At that Tatsumi screamed again and Incursio's energy burst all around him. What was heard this time was not the roar of a berserk monster, but the desperate cry of a human in immense emotional pain, trying with all his being to push away the corruption from his body. Without warning, he launched himself towards the ground again…
Esdeath and Akame observed the events transpiring in the air in disbelief. Could Wave actually be getting through to him? He seemed to be, he had even made him stop attacking, which just seconds earlier had seemed impossible. Suddenly, Tatsumi flew down and forcefully struck the ground. Except this time he was not aiming at them, but at an empty area not far from their location. The two women briefly exchanged looks and simultaneously rushed to the place of the impact, followed by Wave descending from the sky in the opposite direction. Tatsumi stood there, in the place where he had chosen to let out his pain and rage, on his knees, clutching his head and crying uncontrollably, trying to push the dragon's influence out. The three encircled him, unsure of what to do, or if there was anything at all they could do. He yelled and cried in desperate, agonizing efforts to resist the control of the Teigu.
Akame couldn't bear it anymore. She had lost too many friends already and now she was forced to look at her last and closest one suffering in front of her. "I will make sure you never have to feel such pain again, I promise you I won`t die!" he had said with a smile. She felt tears gathering in her eyes and looked away. It wasn't fair…
Esdeath couldn't help but feel sympathy. She should probably kill him right there, while she had the chance. She loved Tatsumi dearly, but that was the only thing left for him now. He was with the enemy and he had gone too deeply into powers he could not control, he knew the consequences. She gripped the handle of her sword…why was she hesitating?
"Mine…love…" Tatsumi surprisingly let out in ragged breaths. He lifted his head up to show his face, which seemed to be reverting back to its human appearance. His still draconian eyes fell on the person directly in front of him. "Akame, please…" he pleaded to the last of his Night Raid friends still standing, "help me…I can't…"
Akame finally couldn't take it anymore. She rushed to him and fell on her knees, hugging him tightly. "I'm here, Tatsumi! Fight this, you can do it! Come back to us, I know you can!" She was not trying to hold back her tears anymore. Wave knelt down on Tatsumi's other side and put a hand on his shoulder "You can beat this, man, we are here for you. We believe in you." Tatsumi looked at him in an unspoken "thank you," before closing his eyes and putting all of his will in the effort to repel the power of Incursio. It felt like trying to tear off a piece of himself, but he had to. He remembered Sayo and Ieyasu, Sheele, Bulat, Chelsea, Susanoo, Lubbock and Leone – everyone, thanks to whose sacrifice he had made it this far. Most of all he thought about Mine – her beauty, her teasing and short-temper, her kisses and her hidden kindness, deep love and complete devotion, which were only for him. The way she had defied all odds to save him. She never stopped amazing him. He had to go back to her, there was no question. He had to see her wake up and kiss her again…and ask her to marry him…
Tatsumi let out one last cry, making Akame and Wave step away from him. Energy swirled around Incursio again, but this time instead of being released by the armor, it seemed to be spiraling closer to it. In a few moments the armor disappeared and Tatsumi fell to the ground unconscious, back to his human appearance. Wave quickly went back to his side and shook him lightly, "Tatsumi? Tatsumi, say something!" When there was no response, he frantically put a hand on his neck to check his pulse. After a few seconds he let out a sigh and looked up to the two women, "He`s alive, his heart is steady, he's just unconscious." Akame exhaled as well. So it was finally over. He had been consumed by the Teigu, but he had fought it and had returned to himself. She looked at Wave. He had managed to reach out to Tatsumi when no one else could. And he had also convinced her sister to abandon her vengeance and change. Even she, her own big sister and closest person to her had been unable to do that. But Wave had done it. There really was something special about him. She picked up Murasame from the ground. Now all that was left was…
Suddenly everything around them froze. Esdeath released her hands from the sign for her trump card and walked to the unconscious Tatsumi. This had turned out perfectly after all – she didn't have to kill him, which she was genuinely glad for. She was going to take him away with her and as soon as she was finished with the rebels, she was going to draw him to her side and make him hers. It was going to take a while, but in the end he would have no choice except to submit. First however…she was going to finish off Akame. She drew her sword. Tatsumi wasn't going anywhere for now…
Akame struggled to move. She saw Esdeath walking towards Tatsumi. She had caught them all unprepared. She never stopped plotting her next move, no matter how bad things got. Esdeath halted in front of the unconscious figure on the ground and glanced at Akame. Akame widened her eyes – that's right, she was going to kill her first, now was her perfect chance. But there was one hope – the sword was still in her hand, she tried desperately to touch the blade with her finger…
Esdeath raised her sword with a smile, she had waited for this for a while. She had to commend the girl for having single-handedly caused the empire so many problems, but that was the end of it. She was going to spare Wave and allow him to join her again, she knew he was no traitor, but simply wanted no part in the war. Sadly, that was not an option.
Suddenly, Akame's sword flew up and met hers in midair. "What?! She couldn't possibly move!" thought Esdeath frantically. Akame got up and took a fighting stance. Her body was covered in red markings and there were a few drops of blood dripping from one of her fingers. "I see, so you managed to move just enough to activate your own trump card, impressive" smiled Esdeath. This was going to be very fun, after all. The effect of her own trump card expired and Wave moved again. Akame glanced at him with her now black-colored eyes and he understood. She slashed at Esdeath with her enhanced speed, forcing her to block with her sword, to which Wave immediately picked up Tatsumi and flew off. "No! You won't!" yelled Esdeath and attempted to send ice at him, but was forced to block another few of Akame's accelerated attacks. "This…is not over, your rebellion will be crushed and Tatsumi will be mine, or nobody's."
"Not on your life, Esdeath…" Akame readied her blade and dashed forward, just narrowly missing her face.
"No matter what…" she dodged, leaped in the air and slashed downward, forcing Esdeath to fall on one knee to block her hit.
"I will…" she diverted Esdeath's strike and kicked her, sending her flying backwards.
"BURY YOU!"
Once Wave was safely high up, he looked down to the duel below. Akame seemed to be handling it, she was faster and stronger than ever, and that said something. So that was her trump card. He flew away again with Tatsumi in his arms. The rebel army was convincingly beating the rest of the city's defenders and was about to make its way inside. The two of them had done their part and he knew exactly where to go. He was going to leave Tatsumi at a safe place with the rebel army under Najenda's supervision. And then he was going back to Kurome, he had waited long enough already. He glanced down to Tatsumi. "And you have too, my friend…"
Author's Note: So that's it, hope you liked it. I may add another 1-2 chapters which will feature Mine, as I have some ideas, but I'm still considering it. Guess I'll decide from the feedback. :)