I know, you probably hate me for starting another story, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head. At this rate, I'll probably make another fic later on, though probably not in this universe.
Tatsumi sighed inside of his prison cell.
His exploits in Night Raid had finally gotten the best of him, and now he and Lubbock were in prison.
He hoped that, at the very least, Lubbock would get out of this ordeal alive back with the boss. It was not veiled that he was receiving far better treatment than his comrade.
Comrade...
Sighing, he knew what he had to do. It was time to be executed for getting caught.
Unless...
There was another option.
One that might even save Lubbock's life.
"Hey, Wave," he called out to the person who was guarding him. "Can you call for Esdeath, please?"
Wave was stunned. In the small amount of time he had known tatsumi, He had always attempted to avoid Esdeath. Had the pressure really overtaken him?
"Please, Wave, I want to get this over with before Lubbock dies."
Shaking his head, Wave made his way to get Esdeath.
As he made his way towards the temporary room she was staying in to stay with Tatsumi, he had only placed his knuckles on the door before it opened in a hurry.
"What is it?" Esdeath asked excitedly.
"Tatsumi wanted you, ma'am."
Before he even finished that sentence, Esdeath had ran towards where he was being held.
"Did I phrase that wrong?" mused Wave while running after her. "Maybe I should have said he wanted to see her."
Tatsumi looked at the wall anxiously. He knew that his message would get relayed and that Esdeath would come almost instantly.
But, still...
He heard his cell be unlocked and he was tackled into a joyous hug from Esdeath.
"So you will join us?" asked Esdeath excitedly.
Tatsumi nodded, and was promptly hugged again.
"But I have several conditions."
Esdeath pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Name them."
"Lubbock goes home alive and relatively safe."
"Hmm," she mused. "That's going to be pretty rough, with that old geezer around. But don't worry, I won't let him be harmed while he is here, at the very least."
Wave was stunned. Was she really going so far to keep Tatsumi by her side?
"We leave the Empire to itself."
Esdeath grew serious for a moment. "I'm afraid I cannot allow that to happen."
Tatsumi sighed. He figured she would be like this.
"You said that all you want is to have the thrill of fighting, not protecting the Capitol. You've both seen the horrors of the Capitol."
Wave looked away. It was true that he resented the corruption within the Empire, but he wanted o be able to change it from the inside.
Esdeath's moth quirked into a smirk. "Oh, and you are saying that you know a way to keep me satisfied?"
"I might if you granted my third condition."
"What is it?"
"I want to speak to the Lord later. Alone."
Esdeath blinked. She then had a perverted smile on her face.
"Oh, trying to get religious approval for marriage?"
Tatsumi blinked before flushing a crimson red.
Esdeath laughed. "Don't worry, I'll try to accommodate all of your requests. Wave, make sure that Lubbock is placed in here as well. It's easier looking after two people if they are in the same place."
She then moved in closer slightly. "Hurry," she whispered. 'i don't want to break it to Tatsumi that his friend may already be broken."
Wave nodded in agreement before running off to Lubbock's jail cell.
Hopefully, he wasn't too late.
"Now, Tatsumi," Esdeath said in a sultry voice. "I must punish you for running away from me before.
Tatsumi shivered and closed his eyes as she made her way in closer. She purred slightly as she nibbled his right earlobe.
"Your punishment?
"You are now my slave. You belong to me.
"And I will make sure that you never run away from me again."
Thankfully, Wave got to Lubbock before Syura got to him, so he was still safe. After explaining what had happened, Lubbock reluctantly allowed Wave to take him to his new cell.
"Captain, Lubbock is here."
Esdeath looked up. "Ah, excellent. You are very lucky, Lubbock. If it wasn't for Tatsumi's condition, who knows what might have happened to you?"
Lubbock blinked at that. Condition? What was she talking about? Tatsumi refused to look in his eyes.
Esdeath stood up. "Now, I'll give you two a moment to talk among yourselves. But don't plan to run away, otherwise that old geezer will probably try to kill you."
And with that, she left, leaving Wave to look after the two.
"Tatsumi," Lubbock hissed. 'What was she talking about."
Tatsumi sighed. "I gave Night Raid one of the greatest chances of taking down the empire."
Lubbock reeled back. "And what is that?"
"It's mostly theoretical, but it may lead the Jaegers and Esdeath away form the Capitol."
"And the price?"
"I must stay by her side. Forever."
Lubbock winced at that. "What about Mine?" He immediately regretted saying that when he saw Tatsumi's face.
"When I find a way to let you go back, tell her that she has to move on. I will love her, but Esdeath will never let me leave her side."
"How am I supposed to escape?"
"We both enter her service, though only i will be staying. Wave, get over here, you might as well know as well."
Wave, who had been trying his best not to eavesdrop sighed. "Yeah, yeah."
He looked at the two. "Although I agree with your intentions, I don't like the way that your methods work. However, at this point, it seems that there is no choice.
"Besides, it looks like the Captain is willing to follow your plan. I can punch Enshin and Syura in the face if you want me to. Suzuka and Dorothea would be stupid in opposing her, but the main problem will be Kurome. She won't detach from the Empire easily..."
"Who said we were regening?"
Wave looked at Tatsumi in surprise. "What were you planning?"
"We will have Esdeath tell them of a rumor about a reincarnation artifact there. However, it is supposedly guarded by deadly Danger Beasts, those that could match a Tyrant blow for blow."
"And you just thought of this now?"
"Actually, no. There are several logical reasons. First, this rumor was spread for years, since the death of the great king who made the Teigu. There is an entire part of the West that no one dares to settle in. The Empire, I've heard, has tried sending scouts there, before, but no one managed to get out alive, no matter how strong they were."
"And we're just going to go there?"
"They trust Esdeath. Besides, the thought of reincarnation would make some higher ups very happy."
"How are you sure that there is even a possibility of this artifact?"
"That's what I'm going to ask the Lord."
...
"Wave?"
"Your argument is soundly put, and flawless, but one thing worries me. What if, while we're going there, someone orders us back?"
Tatsumi smirked. "I'm sorry, isn't a commander allowed to ignore the order's of others while on the field?"
The three shared a laugh before Wave stood up. "Alright, I'll notify the Captain about your plan, but please."
He looked at the duo until then. "Don't do anything stupid until then There is only so much that the Captain can do before others try to plot against you."
Wave told Esdeath of the plan, who smirked at Tatsumi's cunning.
"Now the problem with the Wild Hunt," began Wave.
"Oh don't worry about those idiots," she said offhandedly. "They'd have to get past me before they could even do anything to those two."
"Now," she said, taking a more formal tone. "Bring them to me. I would like to inform the Empire of their defection."
Wave nodded, knowing the gravity of the situation before releasing them and putting chains on them.
They were marched into the conference room, where Budo noticed them.
"Esdeath," he growled. 'What are these two prisoners doing outside of their cell?"
"They have decided to join me, geezer."
"Bullshit! I'd know that boy, he's the one who left for Najenda. Why the hell would he leave her?"
"With all due respect sir," Lubbock said in deadly calmness. "Najenda and I had a falling out a few months ago. She wanted to purge everyone in the Capitol, whereas I wanted to merely stem out corruption. Our differences grew, and before you knew it, she snapped.
"She ranted about how I was bringing down the war effort due to my reluctance to get the job done, and gave me an ultimatum. I was to never see her face again and and had to follow all of her orders to the letter, or she would make an example out of me.
"Then, I got annoyed and yelled back at her. I tried to reason that pure destruction would not do anything for the Empire, but she wouldn't listen. We rarely interacted after that."
Budo inspected Lubbock for any sign of lying before sighing.
"And the other one? The inheritor of Incursio."
"Oh, he?" asked Esdeath. "He's my lover."
Silence.
"You fell in love with the enemy?" asked Budo quietly.
"Ah, shut it. I didn't know he was part of Night Raid at the time, but it doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, he would never betray me."
"What's your sob story?"
"My village was incredibly poor when the taxes began. To pay for them, me and my friends swore to work in the Capitol to make enough to save them. However, upon reaching the Capitol, I found that one of them was tortured to death, and the other one was injected with Rubola.
"I was furious, and when Night Raid came to kill the person who did this, I decided to join them. I wished to stop this cruelty. But..., it didn't work out. I had no real ties to Night Raid, using them simply to further my goal. I prefer not to kill, as it taints me rather than cleans others."
Budo felt a small twang of sympathy for the boy. He was aware of the corruption and cruelty inside the Empire, but the first thing to do was to unite it.
"Fine, I suppose that it is alright for you to join Esdeath. However, if I hear that you two are conspiring against the Empire, I will not hesitate to kill you, understand?"
The two nodded.
"Now, are you done here, Esdeath?"
"Actually," she smirked. "I'm not."
Budo raised his eyebrow. It wasn't like her to stay longer than a few minutes at a meeting.
"I have reason to suspect that the dreaded West Mire may be holding something very valuable.
"Oh, and what is it?" asked Honest, who had up until now held quiet.
"There is a possibility that there may be an artifact for reincarnation there."
"Bullshit."
Everyone looked at Budo. "I don't know how you got such a ridiculous notion in your head, but you have no grounds."
"Oh, but I actually do."
Budo frowned. Was she actually serious?
"Since the death of the king, rumors have spread about a mass conglomeration of Danger beasts in the West Mire. There have also been some stories about how some teens went inside as a dare and watched, on the outside of course, and saw a fellow of theirs get incinerated by a dragon. An entire part of the forest was obliterated. Then, they swore they saw a bright light encompass the area, and the forest suddenly regrew again. The boy was found unconscious, but not dead, despite there being no trace of him whatsoever before. Ironically, he later died after an infection happened in his chest when doctors tried to find out how he was alive."
Budo stayed silent. It was not like Esdeath to lie. After all, that was the reason she enjoyed insulting him so much. Besides, if this artifact existed, he could sue it to make sure that the Emperor would live a long and fruitful life.
"Can I have your word that as soon as you get the artifact, should it exist, that you will come back into the Empire?"
Esdeath's eyes twinkled. "But of course. I am not one who runs from battle.
Budo sighed. "Just go. If you want the confiscated Teigu, they are near the exit. Tell them I sent you and get out of my sight. I have more important things to discuss than rumors."
Esdeath laughed and led the three out of the room. They picked up the two Teigu, and Esdeath allowed Lubbock to write a brief letter, saying that she would allow him to send it to the spies in the Capitol should he find them.
Lubbock was surprised. "You knew about our spies?"
"Of course, I just didn't do anything because I love the carnage that follows."
They met up with Kurome, who was surprised at the mission and the two new members, but she didn't object.
While walking across the Capitol, Lubbock noticed the two spies. Making a subtle motion to Esdeath, who simply nodded once, he made his way over,
"Hey, guys"
The two looked at him in surprise. "Lubbock! We thought you were killed."
"No, tatsumi saved my life. Here is a message for Najenda." With that, he left.
The two were puzzled by his briefness but decided against speaking about it.
"I see."
Najenda was immensely relieved to know that Lubbock and Tatsumi were alright.
"Thank you for going this far for us."
The two shook their heads. "All for the war effort." With that, they left.
Najenda walked into the base, with everyone looking at her expectantly.
She read out the letter.
Hey guys, Lubbock here.
I know, some of you will probably make a joke on my expense about how my perverted nature brought this upon me.
But don't worry, we'll be fine. Tatsumi made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure a weakened Empire. He is leading Esdeath towards the West, which should allow you enough time to strike the Empire. Only Budo will be your problem.
Those Wild Hunt guys are jerks, but they're pretty strong. Still, I'm pretty sure that s glancing shot from Pumpkin is still strong enough to kill them.
Mine...I'm sorry to say this, but you might not be able to see Tatsumi again. Esdeath has practically claimed Tatsumi for her own. he told you that no matter what, he will still love you, but that you should probably find someone else.
With that being said, I might be able to run away and join you guys again soon, but I'm not counting on it.
From,
Lubbock
P.S. Miss Najenda, I'll probably be too chicken to say this later, but I wanted to say that I truly hope that you come out of this alive with the rest of Night Raid.
Mine broke down after hearing this, with Leone comforting her. Najenda blushed slightly, knowing the implications of the last message, but she shook it off quickly. They had a job to do.
"All right, Night Raid. We've been given te perfect opportunity to strike the Empire now. The two paid a heavy price, and I won't let that go in vain.
"It's time to go hunting."