Chapter 4

"Somebody spar with me!" Mine burst out of the base. She was faced with the sight of Lubbock and Tatsumi doing press-ups with the other two girls, Leone and Mine on their backs. Mine blushed slightly as she looked at the shirtless Tatsumi.

"Yo mine!" Tatsumi greeted her.

"Mine, you're all better" Akame said.

"What are you doing?" Mine asked.

"These guys are always training so we're helping them out." Leone said as he sat perfectly still on Lubbock's back.

"…I could tell the moment I put on Incursio… it packs so much power that it saps my strength too fast, at the moment… as I am… I can only use its trump card for a second maybe a few if I push myself to the limit." Tatsumi struggled to say as he did a few more push ups while talking. "I have to build up my body so that I can be more like bro, I can't wear it for long periods which makes it pretty much useless in a drawn-out fight right now."

The boss then came out with Ieyasu. She was holding a lot of bags. "Boss why're you carrying so many bags?" Leone asked.

"I'm taking the two Imperial arms we took from the three beasts to the Revolutionary Army, they might be able to find wielders for them there."

"Two? There were three?" Tatsumi asked a little surprised, then Ieyasu revealed that he was holding the axe. "No way!"

"Yep, this one is now mine. Looks like I have a Teigu now too" he swung the axe to show off his new weapon. Then he separated the two parts. "Want to spar?"

Tatsumi suddenly had a determined look in his eye. "Calm down you two." Najenda instructed.

"Hey boss, aren't those heavy? Can you carry them all the way?"

"Everything is pretty heavy and I might not be able to use them, but I can carry these the whole way pretty easily."

Tatsumi then turned to Lubbock and whispered, but not low enough for Najenda not to hear. "Is the boss a super-human?"

"Duh, she's an ex-general didn't you know?"

Najenda then gained a happy look. "Take care of things while I'm away Akame, the focus on your strategy is to work together. I don't want any of you dying while I'm away."

"Yeah, I think I've got it." Akame said with attitude.

"Hey! Be serious!" Tatsumi yelled.

"That's just her way of saying she'll get the job done." Lubbock assured him.

"While I'm at HQ I'm also hoping to pick up so new members, but considering the state of everything I doubt that they'll have anyone to spare. So, don't get your hopes up of me securing any battle-ready recruits."

"I'm sorry… I'm always so weak." Tatsumi hung his head in shame.

"The three beasts you battled were the core of Esdeath's fighting force, the strongest offensive power she had. You defeated all three of them and confiscated all three Teigus, now every member of our team has a Teigu and we took three away from the Empire. No matter how strong Esdeath is their defeat definitely weakened the Empire. Not only the people on the ship but also all of the thousands of soldiers who will be fighting in the Revolutionary Army will be saved as a result. You're strong. You're doing great." Najenda assured him, making him choke as he tried to keep his tears down.

"Be proud of yourself Tatsumi and survive, so that you can become the man that Bulat saw in you." Najenda then left.

Tatsumi walked with his hood up through the streets of the capital to a small shop that he and Ieyasu had been working on. Ieyasu was already there. "You're going to meet the other's later, right?" Ieyasu asked.

"Yeah. You?"

"No, I want to finish setting this place up. Make a little bit of extra money." He and Tatsumi went inside the shop, there were crates filled with materials locked away in a storage room, there was a workspace for crafting weapons and a living area too should they need to stay there. There were weapons they had already made hung up on display making the whole place seem more legit.

"It looks good" Tatsumi took one of the swords off the wall and swung it. Then he put the sword back.

"Yeah, because the boss is away we don't have any missions either so I'll stay here, gather info and operate this place to make some money."

"Sounds good."

They hung out for a while, but then Tatsumi went to meet with Lubbock and Leone, who were at a bookshop, one that Lubbock owned and built himself.

"Watch your step." Lubbock said as he opened a secret door that lead into a level below the shop.

"Wow, it's like a secret base" Tatsumi looked in awe as he walked down into the lower part of the shop.

"Right, it's like my pride and joy."

"I seriously doubt that you made this."

"Yahoo! Welcome to our capital hideout!" Leone yelled, she was clearly a little drunk.

"Thanks to the new wanted poster of Mine we three and Ieyasu are the only ones that can walk freely around the capital. The whole town is buzzing about this new security squad called the Jaegers." Tatsumi said.

"Yeah, that's because Esdeath is the one leading them." Lubbock reasoned. "That dangerous witch."

"Just how bad is she?" Tatsumi asked.

If you're curious about her you should check her out yourself. She's sponsoring a tournament, a civilian combat tournament with a cash prize which you can send to your hometown, right? So it'll be a win win situation."

"What do you make of these two General?" Run asked. He and Esdeath were sitting in a viewing area as two men fought, Esdeath not even trying to hide the fact that she was board out of her mind.

"Boring men make for a boring match." She sighed heavily. "As I thought, there are no Teigu wielders among them so far."

The match was settled while they were talking. "The winner, Nobunaga!" Wave announced from the side of the ring.

"The next match will be the last one. If no one here impresses then we'll need to look elsewhere." Esdeath was disappointed, but she knew a wielder would be rare.

"In the East corner! We have Kalbi the butcher!" Wave announced as a man-bull entered the arena looking very proud of himself. "And in the West Corner! We have Tatsumi the blacksmith!"

"One of them is very young" Run noted as Tatsumi entered the stage, wearing a long brown jacket, Incursio was on his back, but disguised as an ordinary sword.

"Aren't you a little squirt. That prize money's as good as mine!" his opponent laughed. "Before I was expelled I trained at the Imperial Fist Temple."

"Begin!" Wave started the match.

They both ran at each other, Tatsumi not using much of his true speed. "Here I come kid!"

"I won't even need Incursio for this" Tatsumi thought. He jumped just before the punch hit him, avoiding the attack and shocking his opponent. Then as he fell he flipped several times to confuse his enemy and kicked with his leg, using a decent level of strength which resulted in his opponent needing both arms to block.

"HAAAH!" he let out a flurry of attacks, sending several powerful punches, but Tatsumi dodged every one of them. And with quick reflexes he ducked down and punched his target in the stomach.

*WHAM*

He was knocked back, Tatsumi dropped and swept the large man off his feet before jumping up, spinning and kicking him in the face, finishing the fight. All of this happened in a matter of seconds, stunning the audience, Wave, Run and even Esdeath.

"That boy has considerable talent, General" Run informed her, but she already knew that.

"Yes…" she seemed to be in a trance fixed on the boy in front of her.

"That's enough! The winner is Tatsumi!" The crowd roared at Wave's words. They were all cheering for him.

"Everyone's… cheering for me?... cool" he then clenched his fist, raised his head, dropping the serious expression and giving a sweet and innocent smile. "I did it!"

*Throb*

Esdeath felt a strange feeling in her chest. Her cheeks became flushed and she realised why she was so fixated by him. "He's the one…"

"Our Teigu wielder?"

"No… well yes, that. But also… something else…" she left her seat and started walking down the steps, gaining a silence from the crowd as they noticed. Tatsumi gulped.

"Your name is Tatsumi correct? That's a good name."

"Uh… thanks." Tatsumi felt his body trying to flee, his instincts kicking in, but he knew he couldn't.

"Your match just now was brilliant. I will give you your reward."

"Thank you very much." He smiled again. "Doesn't matter where you get it, money is still money" Leone and Lubbock were watching from the crowd nervously.

*Ka-chunk*

Tatsumi felt something fasten around his neck. "From now on… you belong to me." He opened his eyes and saw the chain that was fastened to a collar on his neck. "What the fuck is this!" he screamed in his head.

"There're too many distractions here. You're coming with me to the palace." She pulled him forward and hit him on the back of her neck. Knocking him out instantly. The crowd was shocked having heard her declaration. "We'll talk in my room, just the two of us" she said sweetly, her cheeks flushed and her voice innocent, even though she was far from it.

Tatsumi was taken with her to the palace.

He was presented to the Jaegers as their backup member, all while begin tied to a chair. There was Jaeger named Bols that suggested Esdeath untie him, he was the only one who knew anything about relationships so she listened to him, noting down his advice in a small notebook. She also introduced him as her lover.

After that introduction he was given the tour of the area they were staying in and then taken to a room where Teigu were being held. He noted each one, a mask and wand type weapon although he had no idea what they did, if he could he would try to find out before he left. But that's when Esdeath brought out another Teigu. Extase. Sheele's weapon. He needed to get it back.

"Tatsumi, I'm going to test your skills, but I want you to use this Teigu when you come with us. They're powerful weapons and you'll need one if you're going to be a member of this team." Esdeath told him as she placed the giant pair of scissors on the table.

Tatsumi looked at the weapon. "If I can pass her tests she'll give it to me? That's the best way to get it back, then I just have to escape from here after."

Tatsumi was taken to an open area outside, not every Jaeger was there, but Wave, Run and Kurome were.

Esdeath wasn't going to use her Teigu or her weapon, but he was welcomed to use a sparring weapon which was blunt blade.

He took his stance and got ready to fight, but she didn't move. "I guess she's leaving it up to me then. At least I'll get to test out how strong she is." He decided that he would go to her, sprinting at her at full speed.

He swung for her, but she barely stepped back to dodge, missing the blade. She then kicked with her left leg, it seemed as though she was using very little effort, but her kicks were still incredibly powerful. Strong enough to knock him back several feet.

He dragged his foot through the dirt to stop. She followed him, striking again, this time with a sidekick. He raised both arms, with the blade resting on his forearms to block the attack. He moved, but most of the damage was blocked by his defence. "Very good. You have quick reflexes."

It seemed more like she was testing him than fighting, which was to be expected considering that's what she was doing, but he couldn't help but feeling weak.

He continued to try and attack, but he failed each time. She was too fast and too strong, she was impressed though. "I'm going to train you." She declared.

They went back to the base and he was given Extase without testing his compatibility first. She forbade him to use it so there was no need.

They were given a mission that they began at nightfall.

They had been sent to eradicate a bandit stronghold that had recently been erected. Lots of criminals from the capital had been flocking there, they had varied reason for going but the number was constantly rising.

The Jaegers were sent to eradicate them because they were all highly capable and because they needed to be tested as a team before they could be expected to go up against Night Raid.

There were two guards at the door to the stronghold, both wearing armour. "We memorised the lay of the land and the positioning of the troops, but what's our plan?" Run asked as they prepared to go to battle, all standing on the peak of a cliff looking at the stronghold before them.

"Justice must fight fair and square, so we'll fight them head on!" Seryu stated.

Tatsumi and Esdeath watched from above as the team walked toward the front gate. "We'll watch the battle from here." Esdeath instructed, with a softer tone than normal.

"I feel bad being the only one taking it easy." Tatsumi said.

Esdeath slid her hand over onto Tatsumi's and diverted her head, her cheeks flushed. Tatsumi knew already that he wasn't going to try and escape but he wasn't prepared for her to be so possessive.

"Intruders!" the bandits at the front yelled, more of them poured from the gate. "With the help of the Doctor's Teigu I will clear the path first!" Seryu walked forward of the group, Koro increased in size and bit her arm. When his mouth was removed there was a large spear on her arm. "Judgement of the ten kings! Justice: King of hell's spear!" she ran through all of them with one attack.

Koro ate another of the men as they ran from the dead crowd. "She's bad news! Alert the boss!"

"Next, number 7! Justice: Towering mountain cannon!" Koro switched out the weapon on her arm for a large gun. She fired at the gate and blew it apart.

"That's some destructive power" Run noted. He and Wave both seemed impressed.

"Heh Heh, I created those weapons of hers. The glorious God's hands: Perfector, it increases the user's dexterity by several hundred. It's the ultimate stylish Teigu." He then turned and pointed at Wave and Run. "No matter what injuries you sustain, with this Teigu I'll put you back together, good as new. I'll even throw in some cyborg weapons."

"No thanks." They both declined.

"I'm thrilled about the healing, but if you've got a support-type Teigu, you need to be protected, doctor." Wave said with a determined expression.

"Hee-Hee, save that talk for our private life." Stylish invaded his personal space. "Come on out my reinforcement soldiers!" he clicked his fingers and several masked men jumped out of the treeline near to them.

"Whoa…"

"Where did they…"

"These are my personal soldiers, strengthened by the surgeries I performed using my Teigu. They are my pawns. I can create weapons too. My dream is to make a stylish weapon on par with a Teigu."

While they had been talking Kurome went inside, following Seryu. Run pointed that out.

Kurome cut through numerous of them. She was much faster than them, dismembering limbs and moving too fast for them to keep up with her, striking with deadly accuracy.

"Once I'm done we can clean up and I'll play with all of you. My precious puppets" Kurome had demented look on her face. Behind her there was a bandit, holding a gun, raising it to fire. When suddenly a foot slammed into the side of his face, sending him flying.

"No need to thank me, we're teammates after all." Wave said arrogantly, trying to act cool.

"I already knew he was there."

"Seriously?!"

Archers fired and Bols spread fire along the walls, burning the arrows into nothing and killing the men that had fired them. "This is just another job."

"This isn't funny… I'm getting out of here!" a small group ran from the stronghold, when suddenly they were killed by a rain of what looked like feathers, but only in shape, they were in fact blades.

"Winged Teigu, Thousand-Mile flight: Mastema." Run was fly above them with white wings, he looked like he was an angel. "I cannot let anyone escape."

"Tatsumi. I'll train you and then you'll be able to do that too." Esdeath told him as they watched. Tatsumi was then standing, nearer to the edge as she watched him.

"I already can do that… most of it at least. But the way they fight… they're tough" Tatsumi then turned to Esdeath. "You know, you're actually kind of nice."

"Am I different from what you heard about me?" she asked with genuine curiosity. "To be honest I've never felt this way before… like someone as much as I do you. It's not bad… I actually like it." She blushed when she spoke. Tatsumi knew that what she was saying was true, although he wasn't sure how he knew.

"B…By the way. Where will I be living now?" He asked. "It's just, I kind of have a shop to look after in the city."

"You'll be staying with me of course, and as far as your shop goes, you won't ever need to work again. If you ever want to make something though I'll find what you need."

"I wonder if I could convince her to join us, or at least operate in a way that would benefit us. I'll test it tonight. When we're alone."