Author Notes: I got some comments that my story is a bit rushed, so I going to add in-between chapters in order to explain why certain things happened in this fanfic. I'm going to tweak Esdeath's story a little bit by filling in some missing parts to make Esdeath seem more redeemable in this fanfic.
Chapter 3: Kill The Empathy
"I'm Tatsumi...," said the boy extremely nervous about what happened last night for him to end up in a woman's bed.
"What a wonderful name.," Esdeath replied as she got out of the bed.
Esdeath then put on her clothing as a startled Tatsumi was still in shock about last night.
"Come, you should get dressed as well. I need to accompany me now that we're a couple.," Esdeath requested Tatsumi.
"Aren't you being a little fast. I mean I haven't gotten to know you well enough-," Tatsumi tried to argue, but Esdeath reacted with a chilling glare.
"Is there a problem?," she asked.
"No, m'am.," Tatsumi replied nervously as he proceeded to put on the clothing on the chair near the bed.
Now that he got to look at the room, it was very extravagant and spacious. Like that of a very important person in the government.
"I'm a top ranking general in the Empire. As long as you're with me- nothing will happen to you. I guarantee it.," Esdeath replied as if reading his mind.
"A general?! Why take someone like me?," Tatsumi asked the woman once he was dressed.
"Because you have potential. Now come along.," Esdeath replied as she put on her cap. Tatsumi paused for a moment before realizing why he came to the
"...Wait, I wanted to join the military to pay for my village's safety. Can you do that?," Tatsumi requested Esdeath. This caused the blue haired woman to pause herself, place her finger to her chin and then turn around.
"As long as you work under me. Your village will be safe. But, you will need to join my group and be my lover.," Esdeath replied as she put her hand on Tatsumi's face.
If Sayo and Ieyasu are dead. Then I'm the only one that can save everyone., Tatsumi thought to himself.
"I will-," Tatsumi declared before Esdeath suddenly kissed him on the mouth her tongue. Tatsumi backed away in shock as Esdeath looked confused.
"Why did you do that?!," the brown haired boy asked the woman who titled her head in response.
"That's what lovers do. Now come along.," Esdeath politely requested.
"Fine.," Tatsumi grudgingly complied.
The two then left the room and into a corridor leading to a large door.
It opened up and led to a large throne room.
Throne Room
Esdeath and Tatsumi walked towards the center of the room. While Esdeath bowed, Tatsumi continued to stand.
Tatsumi was shocked to see such a small child sitting in the throne. The boy had green shoulder-length hair braids on the sides, a purple shirt with black cufflinks, purple shorts and white boots. He wore a blue mantle, a large headdress and wielded a golden scepter with a blue orb attached to it.
Is that kid the Emperor? No wonder the country's falling to ruin., thought Tatsumi as he observed the unsure expression on the boy.
"Is this the person that General Esdeath has chosen as her lover, Prime Minister Honest?," said the Emperor.
Then it became clear who was really in charge as a person emerged from behind the throne.
It was an obese, middle-aged man with light skin, gray hair, dark yellow iris eyes, and a long white beard that extends down to his abdomen. He wore a pair of brown dark boots, a dark green shirt, a belt below his belly and short pants which are also dark green, and a gray coat with some hair of an animal around his neck, resembling a bourgeois.
Though surprisingly, Honest then realized who that boy was and became oddly quiet for a person of his nature. Tatsumi recognized him as the man that tried to eat him last night, however...
It would cause too much a scene. But, I'll make sure that fat monster pays for this...and I bet he's responsible for the country being so bad. I swear, once I get higher in the ranks, I'll make sure to take him down., Tatsumi thought as he coldly glared at the Prime Minister.
"There's...a group of extremists with guns that are shooting down both members of the Empire for accusations of power abuse and the Revolutionary Army for being too passive. So you are needed to protect the next city they plan to strike next from them.." the Emperor declared as if rehearsing lines that were fed to him.
"Understood. Come Tatsumi.," Esdeath complied as she held his arm and pulled him away.
So that's who she chose as her lover? I can't do anything directly now or else she'll leave me to fend off the Revolutionary Army on my own- if she doesn't kill me first. Hopefully, one of these assignments can get him killed in the line of duty., Honest pondered mentally to himself.
"What a nice couple they make.," the Emperor said in blissful ignorance.
Outside the Emperor's Castle
Esdeath walked to a wyvern like Danger Beast and signaled for him to climb on.
Tatsumi noticed that his outfit was identical to the soldiers, making this a uniform- unofficially making him apart of the military he wanted to join in order to save his village. Reluctantly, he climbed on the back of the beast and inched to where Esdeath was sitting.
As the beast flew into the sky, Esdeath then asked Tatsumi a question.
"What is your past?," she asked with a blunt directness.
"W-well, I don't really know for sure. I was born and my parents were killed by this intelligent monster of a Danger Beast. The elder took me in and raised me as one of his own. I then got lessons from a retired Empire soldier that taught me how to black smith and fight with a sword.," Tatsumi answered as best as he could.
"I was born to the northern tribe of Partas, that hunt down Danger Beasts and sell them down to the South. My mother died trying to protect me from a Super Class Danger Beast because she was weaker than it. That's what my father told me. He taught me that the strong survive while weak survive.," Esdeath spoke before pausing.
Though I admit the experience of my mother's death caused me to hate weakness and take out my angered sorrow on living things by prolonging their pain. First on Danger Beasts and then on people..., she thought to herself with a slightly unhinged tone of voice. Tatsumi was slightly freaked out by this sight
"Where was I?...My father stated I was a skilled hunter from a young age as were the rest of my clan. One day, while I was away, they were all killed apparently by another tribe. But, my father said that it was because he was weak so I didn't hold a grudge against the attackers of my clan.,"
Though I do blame him for not being strong enough to protect mother. and perhaps I blame the world for it. But, I can't appear soft in front of him.., she thought to herself again.
"And eventually, I went on my own and got stronger with my father's beliefs. And my habits became more of a hobby as I switched from Danger Beasts to humans. And eventually I got into the Empire and acquired the blood Teigu- Demon's Extract. It was said to be a weapon that could drive most men mad. But, my will was enough to suppress it. Not it has some effects on my personality, but I still believe that the strong are the ones that ultimately win in the end. And that includes the people that are victims of the Empire's whims and the Revolutionary Army that protect them.," Esdeath concluded.
Tatsumi thought briefly to himself, She's not brainwashed or out for revenge- at least, not enough for me to tell. Whatever violent urges she had from the start weren't suppressed or scolded for. And in encouraging it, she's lacking in moral decency due to not having any conscience to guide her down the right path..., but maybe."
"You say that the Empire is strong. But, most of them including the Minister act tough when they use their influences to get what they hedonistically want, but turn to cowards when cornered. I thought being strong meant fighting head on, regardless of the consequences.," Tatsumi argued with a statement that shocked Esdeath.
Esdeath recalled her mother's actions when dying to protect her, facing the enemy head on. It was enough to consider her hypocrisy for supporting a decaying regime of cowards. It was enough to cause her to have a minot villainous breakdown.
And Honest has the Eraserstone Teigu, the one thing that could deactivate my Teigu and kill me off guard if I somehow manage to corner him. And I get off on torturing those weaker than me. And acting callously when those close to me die like them...Am I no better?, She thought to herself.
Celestial Ammo Base
While the Empire's regime has attracted the ire of the people, not all of them are considered to be conventionally good. One such group is the gun slinging extremist group, Celestial Ammo, aiming to gun down the government, but also the Revolutionary Army for not being efficient enough to fight them head on. All of them carried large machine guns
Their base was a canyon near the Empire with scouts stationed at every ledge to find an incoming attackers.
"There's one right now! Incoming!," said one scout as he positioned his gun to fire.
"Oh crap. They spotted us.," Tatsumi noted as the scout was about to fire.
"Don't worry. My Teigu is considered one of the strongest for a reason- Weissschnabel!," said Esdeath as she summoned icicles of thin air and fired them at the base, scouts included. By the time, the icicles had stopped, the canyon was completely skewered with several of the scouts impaled on icicles.
"That's a little extreme...," Tatsumi commented on the grisly sight as they landed on the ledge leading into the center of the base.
"It can't be helped. They were enemies of the Empire and they needed to be-," Esdeath explained by a rogue bullet hit Tatsumi' chest armor. For the first time in a long time, she was uncharacteristically legitimately shocked that one of the people she was connected to was attacked under her care.
"You killed my subordinates! Now I'll kill you Ice Queen for the sake of our revolution! I Long-Shot will fight you for their sake!," said the booming voice of a man barraging out of the base. It was a large man with massive shoulder pads with neon tubes adorning the entire attire and a high collar that covered his mouth while his cowboy hat covered his head.
"...You guys attack everyone I heard...why?," Tatsumi asked he recovered.
"It's simple boy. Even if you cut off the root of the infection, it doesn't change the fact that the remnants will remain even if this country changes. Its better to wipe it off the map so a new country without any of the old population can eventually migrate and create a better nation.,"
"Talk all you want, but you're still just an anarchist. You're going straight to jail when we catch you.," Tatsumi replied as he rushed in order to punch him. However, the man merely shot Tatumi through the chest armor, this time penetrating through the body.
Esdeath was in shock for what seemed like an eternity until Long-Shot lunged at her with his weapon as a bludgeon tool. She blocked it with her right hand and gave the man a deathly cold glare.
"You're too chaotic to let you live, but you hurt was mine. I won't let you live after that- even if it means losing the opportunity to torture you.- Mahapadma.," Esdeath declared as the entire area turned blue.
A little while later...
Esdeath had managed to defeat Long-Shot in what seemed like an instant with his body skewered in every single direction. She then turned to Tatsumi and was about to say, "You were weak, but you were the man I loved. The weak are the weak and nothing could change that."
But, suddenly, Tatsumi managed to get up with the hole in his chest somehow managing to repair itself. Esdeath looked wide eyed, blushed and nearly cried. However, she didn't want to show weakness in front of others.
"I...I'm alive...," Tatsumi said with astonishment.
Esdeath then hugged him and kissed him again to his surprise. After this, she tugged him back onto the Danger Beast and said with a smile,
"We accomplished our mission. Let's go home."
Tatsumi noticed that there was a slight difference in how she was initially and how she was now.
"By, the way...are you a virgin...?," Esdeath asked the boy.
Tatsumi gulped in shock and dread for what was to come for the night.
Next Chapter: Kill The Angel Blade
