Okay so this is my first Akame Ga Kiru fanfic so please go easy on me! Also Tatsumi will be getting a new Teigu but at the same time won't be losing Incursio. You'll have to see what I mean so read, enjoy and review. Also if you have any advice to give that would be appreciative, except for flaming. Mostly I could use some hints for the parts between Tatsumi and Esdeath since romances are not my area of strength. Anyway on with the story!

(Unknown Location and Time)

Darkness and silence, that's all that could be seen.

That is all that he could remember upon being created.

How much longer will he have to see this darkness and hear this silence?

Awaken

What?

The time has come. Fulfill you're duty.

Time? Duty?

Yes, his duty, his purpose of living.

Everything comes back to him now.

His reason for living

The oath he swore to the person whom he admired.

"You…they were created to protect my kingdom, my people. But if should they fall into evil hands. Should they be corrupted and turned into tools that harm those I swore to protect, I entrust you, my dear friend and companion, to purge those whom would harm my legacy and people."

The last time he heard those words from that man.

More noises began to vibrate throughout the darkness.

And slowly the darkness turns to light.

Hands could be seen reaching forward and feet could be heard moving.

It was time to begin his mission.

(Present Time, Mt. Fake, Tatsumi and Wave)

"You know I didn't want to say it back at the capital…" The young man Wave said to Tatsumi. The two were currently patrolling the valley that day. "But you sure have it rough. Being the Commander's eye candy and all."

Tatsumi could only agree silently, though he wasn't full focus on the conversation. His mind was planning a strategy or two of how to escape now that he had the chance. Yesterday and last night had been a blur for the young man. One moment he had been competing in a tournament to earn money for his village and the next he was "claimed" by Esdeath, the most sadistic and strongest General of the Empire, as her lover. It didn't help the fact that she was very beautiful and her words of comfort and love she gave to him last night tempted him to stay. It was only thanks to Lady Luck that she had decided to take him on patrol, along with two members of the Jaegers, one being Wave and the other named Kurome, a young girl who was actually the younger sister of fellow Night Raid member Akame.

'It's still so hard to believe how similar they are.' Tatsumi thought to himself, remembering how much Kurome looked like her sister, along with her gluttonous behavior concerning food, another trait the sisters shared. He was just glad he was paired with Wave. Losing him should be much easier then under the watchful eye of Esdeath, whom Tatsumi was to pair with in the evening. He had to escape now before that happened.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you know." Wave offered friendly.

Tatsumi paused in mid-step as he took a glance at the naval man. Partially because he had been so wrapped around his thoughts that hadn't been paying attention to Wave and the other was that Tatsumi didn't expect the man's openness. In fact now that Tatsumi thought about it, the majority of the members in the Jaegers were actually kind, subtracting their own unique quirks. He and Wave were a lot similar in some ways that it made Tatsumi wonder if the two could've been allies if the current state of the Empire wasn't so bad and was in need of change from corruption.

However such a thing was impossible now, were Tatsumi's thoughts as he shook his head, much to Wave's confusion. Not to make the man suspicious, Tatsumi offered Wave a thankful smile. "Thanks for the offer… but I'm okay really. In fact I'm use to this kind of stuff." Tatsumi said politely as the two resumed their walk.

Wave chuckled, scratching his cheek nervously. "Yeah so I can tell. In fact I feel like you and I are quite similar!" He commented. Seeing Tatsumi's confusion he elaborated. "Well…how should I put this? It's like we have the same kind of problems…"

Suddenly Wave bowed his head, images of several troublesome individuals appearing. As if seeing it, Tatsumi also bowed his head, the more overly affectionate female members of Night Raid coming into mind. It was clear as day that the two men shared the exact same problems.

"Er, yeah I think I understand what you mean," Tatsumi said as he raised his hand to stop Wave. "In fact you don't even have to say it since I probably have it worse then you."

"No way!" Wave said dramatically. "I have it ten times worse!"

Before either knew it both boys were laughing easily. However that ended when Tatsumi's eyes widened and he began drawing Incusrio's blade. Wave noticed this and sported a confused look on his face. "Eh, Tatsumi what are…?"

Wave's sentence was cut off when Tatsumi dashed past him with incredible speed, cutting down the danger beast that was ready to pounce on the naval soldier. Wave could only watch with a look in his eyes that was a combination of awe and shock. But that was short lived as more danger beasts, all of them looking similar to trees, popped up and surrounded the two young men.

"Man that was a close one." Wave said as he stood back to back with Tatsumi. Still the dark blue hair young man had a smile on his face. "Thanks! I owe you one!"

"Don't mention it." Tatsumi said with a smile before realization of what he did hit him. 'Huh? Why did I save him even though we're enemies? It was on pure instinct…'

"Well you're no sea beasts." Wave said, snapping Tatsumi out of his thoughts. The young man already pulled out his own sword, a customized cutlass that looked similar to Incursio's sealed form. "Guess that means you aren't edible!"

The two remarkably made quick work of the group of danger beasts. Despite having just met, Tatsumi had to admit that he and Wave worked well together. Even though they fought against through the danger beast-tree lookalikes, the lowest group of danger beast that worked in groups, the two men taking them down with ease. Still this was no time to get distracted, as Tatsumi knew that this was the perfect chance to escape and return to Night Raid.

But any attempts of doing so were thwarted as just after killing the last danger beast, a large shadow fell over Tatsumi. The young man hadn't noticed until the last second as a large hand came down upon him. Shocked, Tatsumi turned around and managed to dodge a hand but felt a change in the atmosphere. On instinct, he barely had enough time to raise Incursio to block an oncoming blow. In that brief moment of impact Tatsumi bared witness, to his shock and horror, as Incursio's blade snapped in two by the unknown force. He had little time to stay shock as he was soon sent flying sideways down the mountainside.

"Tatsumi!" Wave yelled as he saw his companion being smacked aside with ease. Wave then turned to glare at the newcomer. Said person was a male and around the same size as Bols with a muscular build hidden underneath a dark green mandarin robes with extremely long sleeves that reached his ankles. Underneath that he wore purple baggy pants and black boots. But what caught Wave's attention was that the man, who had spiky black hair, wore large green goggles over his eyes, complete with a forest green mask covering the lower portion of his face with two small protrusions sticking out.

"Who the hell are you?" Wave demanded as he raised his weapon and got into a fighting stance. He wasn't taking any chances with this guy.

The person did not respond. Instead he waved his arms outwards and suddenly Wave's instincts went up. He immediately jumped out of the way just as an unseen force pulverized the spot he was in. 'To do something like that…he must have a Teigu!' Wave thought as he landed a bit away from his opponent. He took a glance towards the mountainside, wondering about Tatsumi. 'I should go and save Tatsumi but this guy will most definitely take that opportunity to attack me. The Commander and Kurome are nowhere nearby so I guess dealing with this bastard comes first.'

With that in mind Wave put his sword forward before slamming the blade into the ground in front of him. "I'll make this quick! Grand Chariot!" Wave yelled as a large black creature manifested behind him. The creature leaned forward towards the young man and soon engulfed him in a black, full-body armor with a black-winged shape cape behind it.

Without even waiting Wave lunged forward towards the mask man with inhuman speed. He then aimed a punch at his opponent's face. However the man easily avoid the attack before delivering one of his own. Once more he released an unseen force that struck Wave in the chest, sending the young man skidding backwards. Fortunately Wave's armor protected him from taking serious damage. Wave had little time to recover as his opponent released a barrage of invisible attacks, waving his left arm wildly while doing so. Wave managed to dodge them thanks to his quick eye and the increase in speed given to him by Grand Chariot.

During his evasions Wave's eyes caught something. It was brief but for a single moment, he saw something long and bendable snap through the air. 'So he's not firing some kind of projectile. More like a whip of some sort.' Wave thought as he continued dodging. 'In that case all I have to do is grab it and with his weapon useless, I can finish him off.'

With that in mind Wave kept his eyes open for a chance. After dodging several times he finally found one. With amazing speed and reflexes Wave reached out and snatched the fast-moving object. Doing so caused his attacker's left arm to stop abruptly. Wave looked and saw that in his hand was dark purple chain with a spear-tip blade in the shape of a serpentine-dragon at the end. 'So this is how he was able to break the ground! His arms move so fast when firing the chains that it looks like the air itself explodes.' Wave concluded as he tightened his grip on the chain he held. 'Anyway I got him where I want him, so I'll finish him off and-'

Wave's thoughts were cut off when something struck him in the chest. The impact made him lose his grip on the chain and sent him backwards. Wave fell on the ground butt first. "The hell was that?" Wave muttered as he looked up. When he did his eyes widened.

His opponent had both arms up now. Slithering out of his sleeves was a total of ten spear-tipped chains, five from each sleeve. All of them were hovering in the air, menacingly over Wave. His opponent was making a growling sound, though it was hard to tell if he was angry or not with the mask on. Either way Wave could only summarize the current situation with one word.

"Shit"

XXX

(With Tatsumi)

If he had been who he was before joining Night Raid, Tatsumi was one hundred percent sure he would be dead right now. It was thanks to his quick reflexes and vigorous training under Bulat that Tatsumi's body managed to endure and survive the fall down the mountainside. If he had raised Incrusio just a second too late-

Incursio! Tatsumi's eyes widened as he recalled what happened to the blade. Ignoring the pain through his body but letting out a groan, Tatsumi got up from his spot and frantically looked around for the Teigu. After a few seconds he spotted it just a few feet in front of him and what he saw broke Tatsumi's heart. For lying before him was Incursio's sealed form; a short sword with the blade currently split in two.

"Damn it all…" Tatsumi cursed as he gently held the two fragments in his hands. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he stared at the broken Teigu. The fact that a powerful weapon had been destroyed wasn't the cause for his anguish; no Tatsumi's pain was deeper. "Aniki…I'm sorry" Tatsumi muttered. He felt like he failed Bulat, the man whom entrusted him with Incursio, a man Tatsumi looked up to as an older brother. He felt like he failed his friends Ieyasu, Sayo and Sheele, all of them dead because of this corrupted Empire. Now Tatsumi felt absolutely powerless as his head fell in despair.

'Power'

Tatsumi's head snapped up, eyes wide at the sudden voice speaking. But as he scanned the area he found no one else but himself there.

'Need Power'

The voice was louder now and Tatsumi realized the voice was in his head. Then as if a beacon had become active, Tatsumi looked to his left and eyes widened when he spotted the wooden idol. The same idol the village elder had given him when he first began his journey with Ieyasu and Sayo. Putting down Incursio, Tatsumi picked it up and saw that it had cracked severely, most likely from the fall just now. And he saw that, as pieces of the idol fell apart, that it was hollow on the inside, despite never feeling like it was before.

Tatsumi's musings were cut short when he noticed a faint glow within the idol. Sticking his fingers in tentatively, Tatsumi pulled out the source of the glow. It was a golden-color bronze, octagon-shape gem, no bigger then his palm. The glow was now brighter as Tatsumi held it, marveling over its beauty. However no sooner as he took it out of the idol, the voice increased inside his head.

'Need More Power!'

Tatsumi actually winced this time at the now loud voice. Doing so caused him to drop the gem beside Incursio. When it touched the Teigu the two items began to glow as one, releasing a bright light that could be mistaken as a star almost. Tatsumi stared at the now glowing ball of light before him as the voice spoke once more. But this time the voice had gone down again but lost its firm tone and was now more lax and full of…realization.

"Power…" Tatsumi murmured to himself. Subconsciously his hands slowly made their way towards the small sphere of light, as if trying to grasp it. Yes he needed power. The very word brought back a sensation he felt several times over the past few weeks. It came first when he killed Aria. And then again when he fought and slew Ogre. Or when he fought Zank the Executioner, the sensation was there during that time too. It was only when he fought against the Three Beasts and was entrusted by Bulat to wield Incursio did Tatsumi begun to notice this sensation.

It was a desire, a will of his very soul crying out for power!

"Power to stop deaths of innocent." Tatsumi said, as he seemed to grip something within the light. "Power to protect my friends, power to slay the evil men who oppress the people, the power to bring down this corrupted Empire!"

As he said these words like a chant, the light glow brighter and brighter that one would have become blinded by such brightness. But for Tatsumi it was like he could see for the very first time. And then the voice returned once more, but no longer spoke one or two words this time.

'Yes and power is what you shall have warrior!' The voice said louder then ever, coming from not just Tatsumi's head, but from the sphere of light and even from his own soul. 'That power is me! The power to slay the darkness with a mighty blade! Now say it! Say the name of my, your, our power! Say my name WARRIOR!"

Heeding the voice's command Tatsumi, with a burning fire in his emerald eyes and a strength he had never felt before, raised his head high as he uttered a single word.

"IMPERATOR!"

XXX

(Elsewhere)

"I would not eat that Kurome." Esdeath said.

Said girl had a hungry look in her eyes as she stared at the frozen carcass of a large lizard-like creature with three rows of spikes on its back and what looked like a make-shift flail at the end of its tail. "The Beta-Class Danger Beast, Rattle-Lizard, is extremely poisonous and not suitable for eating." The General added.

Kurome pouted and gave her leader a blank look, much to Esdeath's amusement. Nevertheless she backed away and began searching through the other Danger Beast corpses around them. Esdeath meanwhile sat down on a nearby rock surveying their work while her thoughts wandered back towards a certain brown-haired young man with green eyes.

Unlike Wave and Tatsumi's patrol route, Esdeath and Kurome found themselves against a great variety of Danger Beasts, though they were all below Alpha-Class. Still it was a good hunt for Esdeath and allowed her to see Kurome's Teigu in action. The sword, Yatsufusa, was just as powerful as she had heard. Already Kurome had an assortment of puppets under her control, many she had gain from her assassination missions. Esdeath was greatly impressed by the fact that Kurome had managed to require an Ultra Class Danger Beast, a Desta-Ghoul. It was rare to find one let alone kill.

However Esdeath's thoughts quickly shifted from that and back to anxiously awaiting for nightfall to come. That was when her plan would be put into action, to win Tatsumi's heart. It was at night when the more stronger and dangerous Danger Beasts appeared, Alpha-Class to be exact, the second most strongest under Ultra-class. When Tatsumi sees her slaying creatures of such strength then Esdeath will surely claim his heart. The mere image of his face, those beautiful greens eyes and that bright smile made an unfamiliar heat her rise throughout Esdeath's body.

Her thoughts were cut off when Kurome said her name. "Commander Esdeath, up there!" The usually stoic girl shouted. She was pointing towards something behind the blue haired woman.

Turning around Esdeath's eyes widened in surprise at the scene before her. Rising up from somewhere in the mountains was a beam of light, going so high that it went through the clouds in the sky. Even from where she was, the General could sense incredible power from the pillar. 'That's near where Tatsumi and Wave were patrolling!' Esdeath thought as irrational fear began to build up in her. "Kurome, we're going to check it out." Esdeath said as she already began moving towards the light at an incredible speed, Kurome right behind her.

XXX

(With Wave)

"Ugh!" Wave cried as his armored covered body crashed into another wall of rock. He managed to recover quickly and dodge another barrage of chains that impaled the rock behind him.

His opponent was proving to be far more formidable then he had originally thought. Wave had managed to land a couple of good hits on the mask man, but said person didn't even seem to notice them, or just merely regenerated his wounds. Wave knew that in a situation like this it would be best to retreat. But he couldn't leave while Tatsumi was still down below, alive or dead Wave didn't know. So his only option was to incapacitate his enemy.

'I can already tell the trajectory of those chains by now.' Wave thought as he got back into a stance. 'If I can get up close and deliver a strong blow, it will be long enough for me to bind him.'

With that in mind Wave charged towards his opponent, who launched another wave of chains from his hands. Thanks to his armor's enhancements, Wave was able to dodge the chains hurdling his way as he got closer and closer. After getting close enough Wave suddenly disappeared, much to his opponent's surprise. However in truth Wave had merely used his increased speed to get behind the larger man, intending of landing a devastating dropkick from the rear. 'I got him!' Wave exclaimed as his opponent did not turn around yet.

But just as he neared him, the mask man swung his arms out wide and hundreds of chains shot out of his clothing in all directions. The surprise attack came to fast and Wave was forced to take a barrage of spear-tipped chains hitting him. His armor took much damage and as he was sent back it dissipated, returning to its sealed form beside Wave's feet. Said man was slightly bruised. While Grand Chariot had taken the damage for him, Wave was too exhausted now to keep the armor materialized any longer.

"Damn it all… to think he had a Trump Card." Wave cursed as he struggled to get up. He looked forward and saw his opponent turned towards him. The chains already receded and the holes in his suit having already been mended somehow. With wave down, the mask man charged towards him quickly, hand raised and prepared to deal the final blow.

But before it could even be delivered a voice from nearby shouted, "IMPERATOR!" And a pillar of light shot out from the mountainside until it reached the sky. Wave and his enemy looked at in a state of shock and awe, clearly feeling the power coming from whatever created the pillar. Anyone currently walking in Mt. Fake would be able to see this magnificent sight.

A minute later the pillar vanished and all became silent. Then as if intentionally breaking that silence a blur shot upwards in front of Wave and the mask man. Before either could react, the latter received a large gash across his chest. Unlike Wave's attacks, this one apparently hurt as the mask man screeched in pain, holding the wound with his hands as if he would split in two because of it. Wave was again left in shock before looking over at the one responsible.

Said person was around his height and wore a dark, skin-tight full body suit, that could be seen a little bit under the armor that covered his entire body and had the appearance of dark grey scales that only enhanced its reptilian and savage look, dragon-like almost. Between each scale were silver color lines that also went around the edges of the armor. What looked a pair of talons were over the feet with a large single talon protruding from the back of the heel. Both retracted with the formers on the top of the feet while the latter leaned against the back of the legs, looking like normal feet now. The gauntlets on the arms also had claws on the fingers.

The pauldrons had small dragon horn-like protrusions of the same grey but with a metallic purple tip sticking out from them The chest plate that originally only covered the chest was now attached to another plate that covered the torso. It sported ten silver lines that converged onto an octagon-shape emblem at the center of the chest. Wrapped around the neck while also draped over the shoulders and chest was a dark blue cloak while the inside was red. It had jagged edges and went down to his ankles. It also possessed a white fur collar.

The helm, while still bearing some resemblance to Incursio's, now had more of a dragon-like look to it. It sported a pair of silver horns that protruded from the sides of the head. The horns had metallic purple tips at the end and looked like they could skewer whatever they pierced too. On the top of the helmet was a single row of spikes going across the center of the helm. There were also three spikes coming out from both cheeks too. Over the mouthpart were dragon-like teeth shut together. And finally from the eyeholes, which were at first pitch black, now glowed bright yellow eyes where, if you looked carefully, could see plus-shaped pupils. Thus it looked like the face of a real dragon.

As he looked at the armored man and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Tatsumi?"

The person did not reply. Instead he shot back towards the mask man, said person still moaning in pain. Raising his right hand, a shortsword with a silver blade materialized in it and gripping the blade, the armored man delivered another lightning-fast slash on the mask man's chest, forming an X in the process. The mask man screams again but this times tries to counter by launching his chains from his right hand. However the armored man easily dodged them by performing a leap into the air. In the air, with a wave of his hand, he summoned five more swords from nothing. With another wave he launched the swords at the mask man, each blade striking somewhere on his body, mainly the shoulders, left knee and right arm.

Letting out a roar of defiance, the mask man used his Trump Card that he had used on Wave. Hundreds of spiked chains shot out of his body everywhere with a few heading towards the armored being. But the person merely raised his right hand and suddenly the five swords impaled in the mask man flew out back towards their master, with an additional five swords appearing. A total of ten now, the short swords were hovering in the air between the armored man and the oncoming chains. Then the blades began spinning in the air as they easily deflected the chains away from the armored being, cutting them into pieces doing so. Both Wave and the Mask Man could only look on in stun silence as the ten swords disappeared before being replaced by a single long sword that the armored man grabbed.

And finally with another demonstration of incredible speed, the armored man appeared behind the mask man, sword pointing straight and away from him. Wave was confused at first before the mask man let out one more loud screech as a third large gash appeared on him, going vertically. A bit of his mask was chipped off along with a decent amount of blood following it as he fell to his knees. The young naval man was surprised the mask man hadn't died of blood loss yet.

Wave watched as the armored man stood where he stopped, not saying a word. Suddenly the sword in his hand dispersed into light followed shortly by the armor as it retracted towards the chest area. Once done all that were left was a sword that fell to the ground and Tatsumi. Said person had an exhausted look on his face, like he was about to collapse any second now. And to prove it the green eyed, brown hair young man began leaning forward and would have hit the ground if Wave hadn't suddenly appeared, grabbing his companion.

"Hey, hey! Tatsumi! Are you alright?" Wave asked, concerned for his comrade who remained unresponsive. Fortunately, after checking his pulse, Wave concluded that Tatsumi was alive but unconscious; clearly the strain of the armor was too much for him. Wave also took notice of what looked like yellow markings over Tatsumi's body that glowed briefly before disappearing. But his musings were cut short when the young naval man heard a hissing sound from behind. Turning around Wave looked on in shock as the mask man got up again, a bit clumsy but still appeared to be alright.

'Are you telling me that after taking all that damage he still isn't dead?!' Wave thought in shock as he placed Tatsumi's unconscious form on his back, holding him with one hand while the other held his sword.

The person, his mask partially shattered and revealing a right eye that was completely white, glared at the two young men with pure hatred. "IMPERATOR!" The mask man roared as he lunged at Wave and Tatsumi…

…Only to be stopped by a pillar of ice that popped out of the ground in between him and his prey. The ice knocked the mask man back, the man surprised by its appearance.

But Wave instantly recognized this power and who it belonged too. Sure enough said person appeared, landing gracefully before him followed by another. "Commander!" Wave said in relief.

Esdeath gave no verbal response of acknowledgment. But she did turned her head to look at him and Tatsumi, though her eyes were more focus on the latter, who was still unconscious and was being supported by Wave. The sight of the man who captured her heart wounded summoned a primal rage inside the Empire's Strongest. She turned her head back to the mask man who had just gotten back up.

"I have to admit that you are quite bold for laying a hand on my subordinates." Esdeath began as she casually made her way forward while Kurome stayed back with Wave. The blue haired beauty drew her rapier as her killing intent leaked out, dark intentions going through her of what she had planned for the person who attacked her lover. "We'll have to see if you have the same resolve back in the torture chamber."

The lone revealing eye of the mask man widened as he saw the most dangerous person in the Empire. Combined with the angry look on her face that could scare a Danger Beast, he knew that his chances of winning were zero. What was a simple capture mission involving the knocked out brunette young man ended up with him facing the infamous Esdeath. In his current state retreat was his only option now. With that in mind the mask man flung his right arm backwards, firing a chain that extended a great distance before it impaled itself into a part of the valley away from his position.

Seeing this, Esdeath attempted to trap him by freezing his legs but the mask man moved faster. The chain began to retract but this time pull the mask man to it, making him fly backwards and away from the blue haired general. As Esdeath watched him fly off she made a "tch" sound before sheathing her rapier. Still with the man gone she could focus on more pressing matters.

Before either Kurome or Wave react, Esdeath had snatched Tatsumi from the latter. She laid his unconscious form down with unnatural caring, placing his back against a rock for support. She checked him over quickly and was relieved to see no serious wounds and that he was merely exhausted.

After a few seconds Esdeath got up, back straight, and turned her gaze towards Wave. This time they had a look of concentration and seriousness, all signs of an officer of her stature. "Wave, tell me what happened here." She ordered, voice full of authority.

"Yes Ma'am!" Wave replied, getting stiff. The next few minutes Esdeath and Kurome listened in as Wave described about what had transpired, from him and Tatsumi fighting a group of Danger Beast, the mysterious mask man attacking, Tatsumi appearing wearing armor in what was obviously a Teigu, him easily dispatching the mask man and when the general and the assassin appeared. "The mask guy also said something just before you arrived too. I think it was 'Imperator' or something." Wave added at the end.

Imperator. The word sounded familiar to Esdeath as she began to ponder where she heard it. She pieced together what Wave had just told her to help her remember. Then it began to click and her eyes widened slightly as she recalled the origin of that name. It couldn't be possible could it? That Teigu had been loss since the ending of the civil war 500 years ago. The chances of it being here of all places were slim to impossible. And yet if what Wave said was true…

"And where is this armor now?" Esdeath asked the former naval soldier.

"Eh…" Wave thought for a moment before remembering the sword that had appeared right after the armor vanished. "Actually it's right there." He said as he pointed towards the ground.

In said spot was indeed the sword Wave had seen before. As Esdeath walked towards it, Kurome and Wave behind her, got on one knee, she was able to inspect it better. The sword was a fine piece of work, befitting of a Teigu. It had the form of a claymore, having a bronze broad blade that was half the size of her rapier. It also had a metallic purple cruciform handle, with the handle being long enough for two hands. At the end of the handle, the pommel was a golden bronze color, contrast to the handle itself. The center of the guard was round with a silver pearl-shaped object in it. The blade itself was of the same color as the pommel, a bronze gold, emitting a glow of some sort as it reflected the sunlight. What caught Esdeath's interest however, were inscriptions printed on the blade. They were runes of some kind, most likely from an ancient culture over a thousand years ago, and she could not decipher them.

Extending her arm, Esdeath made to grab the handle. Then all of a sudden, as her fingers just brushed against it she recoiled as she experienced a brief pain, a shock almost, go through her hand. It was as if the sword rejected her or something. She and the two other onlookers then looked in surprise and as the blade glowed briefly before dispersing into light particles. They watched as the cloud of dust flew towards Tatsumi before merging with him, revealing the same yellow lines that Wave had seen before and then vanished again.

"What the hell was that?" Wave asked with a confused look on his face. Kurome also appeared puzzled by it but still maintained her stoic expression.

"I'm not sure" Esdeath replied, briefly looking at her right hand. There were a few burn marks from the contact with the handle, but none too serious that it would leave scars. "We will have to look into this later. For now let us return back to the capital, I believe we've done enough hunting for today." Esdeath said as she carefully picked up Tatsumi into her arms. She placed him against her back, secretly enjoying the warmth from the contact of their bodies.

"Yes Ma'am" Kurome and Wave replied before following after their beloved leader. Neither of them took noticed that they were being observed

A safe distance away, hiding carefully behind several rocks, Leone and Akame came into the light. Both had troubled and frustrated looks on their faces as they watched the three Jaegers carry their friend away. Leone, in her half-beast mode, gritted her teeth as her animal claws grinded against the stone. She then looked at the red-eyed girl. "So what now Akame?" Leone asked.

Said girl was conflicted. Thanks to Leone, they had easily acquired the information that Esdeath was going on a hunting trip this morning with two members of her group and her "lover". Leone had easily managed to acquire it, as if Esdeath's business wasn't all that important if common soldiers knew about it. With the boss away and so short of people in Nigh Raid, Akame had decided that she and Leone, two of their best trackers, would go to Mount Fake in hopes of finding Tatsumi. The good news was that they did but the bad news was that they had found him just a split second before Esdeath and Kurome arrived. The two assassins hid their presence as they watched Esdeath effortlessly chase off the mask man before the General checked on Tatsumi with unusual affection. Soon after she along with Akame's sister and the blue haired young man began their trek back to the capital, with Tatsumi resting against Esdeath's back.

Akame wanted to save Tatsumi, but the chances of her and Leone defeating both Esdeath and two other Teigu users were slim. Plus seeing her sister, Kurome, again after so long also rattled her nerves. As much as Akame hated it, they could not risk it, no matter how much the decision upset her.

"Let's return to base." Akame said with a tired sigh. "There's nothing we can do now. All we can hope for is another chance." She finished as she turned around and began heading back to base. Leone let out a silent curse as she reluctantly followed orders and joined Akame.

XXX

(Later, Imperial Palace, Esdeath's Personal Room)

He looked so peaceful, Esdeath thought to herself as she stared down at Tatsumi's sleeping form, lying on her bed.

She, Wave and Kurome had returned to the palace at a quick pace. She ignored the looks sent her way as she carried her sleeping lover over her back. Of course no one dared speak openly, even whisper, with fear of earning her wrath.

After confirming that Tatsumi had merely lost consciousness due to exhaustion of using his new Teigu, Esdeath had set him down in her room to sleep and recover. She made it clear to everyone, from her Jaegers to the Imperial Guards and any other occupants within the palace, that no one was to enter her room while Tatsumi was sleeping or else they would be seeing her in the torture chamber. Knowing her reputation, everyone wisely followed her instructions.

The reason was that she had something that she desperately needed to look up. For as much as she wanted to lie beside Tatsumi in their bed, the words that Wave had said caught her attention. One was finding the mask man who attacked Tatsumi and Wave but the first task was more related to the word Wave said. Esdeath was certain that she had heard the word 'Imperator' somewhere before and it was now that she recalled hearing it during her time when researching about the Teigu, back when she first became an officer, before even becoming a general.

So currently she was in the Imperial Library, scanning through all available material on the Teigu, anything with the name Imperator in it. In the beginning Esdeath found nothing, but after going through the fifth book did she finally find some information on her target. It was a small amount but enough to catch her interest as she began looking for more information. As she continued scrolling through every piece of history the more information she found out on the Teigu Imperator.

At the end of her search Esdeath closed the last book, her face full of what could only be a combination of shock, awe and excitement. For the Imperator was indeed a Teigu worth knowing, for it was the most powerful and famous Teigu in history, even greater then her Demon's Extract. And it only solidified her belief that Tatsumi was indeed destined for great things and the only man fit for her.

"The 47th Teigu" She murmured to herself in a tone of what one could say was reverence. "The Great Heavenly Dragon King: Imperator"

And so there's my first chapter! Hope you all like that. If you have any advice, questions or suggestions then feel free to put them on a review or PM them. As I said before, this is my first fanfic with this series so any of you veterans with Akame Ga Kill fanfics are free to give some words of wisdom. This story was partially inspired by "Akame Ga Kill: The Alliance" and "Akame Ga Kill: Plan B" in certain areas. Also I like to thank Digitic520 for giving me his/her opinion of the making of this story.

Wacko12