Chapter 7: Unpleasant Surprises
One week. That's how long it had been since the battle with the Three Beasts. One week was not necessarily a lot of time, but much had happened since.
The Masters had taken a vote and elected Haythem to be the new Grandmaster. The explorer was not necessarily happy about this new change in status, since it would impair his ability to search for relics around the world, but he finally acquiesced and accepted the position.
Shay had gone off on a hunt for the Three Beast's contacts and some of Esdeath's benefactors. With the Beasts dead, their travel funds were ripe for the taking. Haythem already planned to finance their next expedition with that money, so a lot was riding on him.
Elise had returned to run the Holy Cross. With Esdeath finally back in the capital, more people would be feeling safe to go out and drink…and that usually meant people would brag about their secrets more frequently with a little wine and a pretty face to convince them.
Torres had gone back to Kyoroch to govern the city and monitor the Templar's spy network. He had informed them about a religious movement called the Path of Peace that had been gathering momentum in the East, claiming he would see if they could use this to their advantage.
Woodes had been ordered by the Emperor to hunt down a group of pirates, nothing really that would serve the Order, but it would allow them to distract the boy king and the fat bastard who controlled him.
As for him, he was now standing in the doorway of Spear's room, trying to work up the nerve to go inside. He wanted to make sure everything was kept as it was when she left, but worried about offending her spirit by intruding on her private area. He didn't want to be haunted…
"Oh heck with it," he said, turning the doorknob and walking inside.
Spear's room was uncharacteristically ladylike. The walls were a soft yellow color, a few pictures dotting the walls. There was a closet that was slightly ajar, showing off her clothes. He laughed softly as he saw all she had was multiple copies her trademark coat and hat. In the corner was a weapon's rack where she had a few blades for her lance as well as tools for servicing them. Her bed was made nicely, pillows placed on top of the comforter as if she was going to come home and crawl into bed for a nap.
He shook the thought from his mind before he began crying and turned to her desk. He paused and looked there to see a notebook laid there with a note left next to it. In the back of the book was a bookmark at a certain page.
"Read me," he cocked an eyebrow as he picked up the book and flipped it open.
This is the journal of Spear, Master Knight of the Templar Order, it read. Within are my thoughts and recollections of my work serving the Order. May the Father of Understanding guide us all.
He never knew Spear kept a notebook. But from the messiness of her handwriting she's started when she was at least ten. He ignored the main part of the journal and turned to the bookmarked page.
Today I've met a new person, it said. Shay and I were sent to clear some bandits in a swamp and while I was chasing the gang's pet Earth Dragon, I met a boy called Tatsumi. He'd been lost for a long time and had managed to survive for the entire time. He actually saved my life a few minutes later…so I've nominated him to be inducted into the Order. I think he could become a great Templar.
He smiled and turned the page.
Tatsumi has really made progress, the entry said. He's carried out a tricky assassination against the CDF captain and created so many opportunities for us! If he would only stop calling me "Lady Spear…" I'm taking him on a date to the capital later today before we try and kill Zank the Beheader. Maybe I can get him to loosen up.
He flipped to the last page in the book.
Tatsumi, it said. I've left this in case I don't come back from escorting Father. If I do come back, I'm going to destroy this note, so if you are reading this now, I am dead. I want you to know that I never planned for this to happen. You were probably my greatest friend and I will miss you dearly. I am sorry for leaving like I did on the tower…you just looked so cute!
But with me dead, I have to ask a favor of you. When I trained at the Koken Temple, I made another friend. Her name was Suzuka…and she was just as strong as I was in hand-to-hand combat. Despite her strange personality, we became good friends and I promised myself I would help her out. But before I could she was taken by the minister. Honest turned her into a Rakasha Demon, one of his personal executioners. I need you to save her. Kill the other three Demons and bring her to Torres. This is my only wish, Tatsumi. My only regret is not being able to help my friend, so please do so in my stead.
My time is up now. Father is calling me…we must leave soon. Goodbye, Tatsumi…be strong.
His hands were trembling as he closed the book, eyes burning as those words played themselves over and over in his head.
"I will," he said. "I promise, Spear."
He put the book back and left the room, making sure to lock it for good measure. He turned and walked to the Grandmaster's study, knocking softly to announce his presence.
"Enter," came Haythem's muffled reply.
He opened the door and walked inside. Haythem was sitting at the desk, looking over a stack of paperwork. He seemed very annoyed by it, judging from how his face was set in a scowl.
"What can I do for you, Tatsumi?" he asked.
"Grandmaster, I," he said, swallowing briefly, "I would like to request an assignment to the capital."
Haythem stopped and put down the paper. "Well, this is unexpected," he said. "I assumed you would want some time to mourn Spear's passing."
"Yes sir, I did," he said. "But…Spear told me to be strong for the Order…for her memory. So I need to get back in the field as fast as I can!"
The corner of Haythem's lips tugged upwards in a smile as he stood up. "I agree," he said. "And I, for one, am tired of this blasted paperwork. How Grandmaster Chouri kept his sanity all those years, I will never know."
"Grandmaster?" he asked as Haythem walked for the door.
"As it turns out, Tatsumi, I was meaning to make a journey to the capital as well," he said. "I will be requiring a bodyguard…so come with me."
He grinned and ran after the man as he left the compound and hopped into the carriage.
LATER.
IMPERIAL CAPITAL
"What will my task be?" he asked, following Haythem through the crowds towards the Imperial execution arena.
"Patience," Haythem said. "I'll tell you soon."
He nodded, but barely controlled his enthusiasm. To go on a mission with the Grandmaster, an accomplished explorer and fighter, was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe he would learn something from Haythem on this trip? Something that would allow him to become a better knight?
"Here," Haythem said, stopping outside a wooden doorway on the side of the arena. "This spot will suffice."
"Sir?" he cocked his head as Haythem pulled a parchment from his coat pocket.
"I've recently learned that a member of Night Raid was taken out by the CDF," he said. "Her name was Sheele, wielder of the scissor-Teigu Extase. Captain Davenport tried to take possession of it, but the Teigu was confiscated by Honest."
"Do you want me to retrieve it, Grandmaster?" he asked.
"We will see about claiming Teigu in the future, but not now," Haythem said, showing the parchment to him. "Read this."
He skimmed the text and blinked. General Esdeath was hosting a tournament with a large cash prize for the last man standing. All civilians were free to enter, but military personnel were strictly forbidden.
"Esdeath is hoping the winner of this tournament will be capable of using Extase," Haythem said. "She's been gathering Teigu-users from all over the Empire for a special police group to combat Night Raid. The masters and I could not possibly care less about the police group at the moment, but the money we do care about."
"So you want me to win the tournament and claim the prize?" he asked.
Haythem nodded. "Shay has told me of the skills you showed killing the Beasts," he said. "I believe a group of civilians will be child's play for you."
He smirked and bowed. "I'll do my best, Grandmaster," he said.
"Good," Haythem gave him a smile. "I will be in the stands watching you…but leave your pistols and poisons with me. The rules say no firearms."
He nodded and turned over his guns and the remaining poison bombs he had before registering for the fight. The man asked him for his name and occupation.
"Tatsumi," he said. "I'm…a bounty hunter."
"Ah, then you'll have a good advantage here," the man smirked. "Most other contestants are shopkeepers who've never even held a blade."
He kept that information in mind and walked to the staging area, watching as two other fighters did it out in a sloppy, uncoordinated manner. He scoffed as one of them landed a lucky hit, his sword nearly breaking as he cut the man at this weakest point.
"This should be easy," he sighed, sitting down on a bench and waiting.
The contest seemed to be a challenge of endurance. If a fighter one his match, he stayed in the ring until his next fight. If he won, he stayed in until he lost and then the winner of that fight would continue. Right now, it seemed that a man-bull hybrid named Karubi was the favorite.
He looked up at the stands, easily finding Haythem thanks to his elegant blue coat. He met the man's gaze and nodded before looking around even more. In the Emperor's box, sitting on a throne-like chair with a tub of popcorn was Esdeath, her vibrant blue hair standing out against the dark tan of the arena walls. She looked bored out of her mind…and he didn't blame her. The corniness of the fights was putting him to sleep as well. He turned his gaze further, noticing a young blonde man with a feather tucked behind his ear next to her. He didn't seem like a soldier or a guard, not that Esdeath needed protection, so he was either her attaché or a representative of the government. He seemed like he was trying to get the general interested in the fights, but was having minimal luck.
Finally, as Karubi had stomped his latest opponent into the dust, he got up. It looked like he was the last fighter.
"Our final match will now begin!" the announcer yelled into his microphone. "Current champion, Karubi the butcher will face Tatsumi the bounty hunter!"
He got up and walked into the arena, hearing a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd. He ignored them all, keeping his eyes on his opponent. Karubi sneered as he stood opposite him.
"You're going to lose, little boy!" he grunted in a rumbling voice. "Like I've told everyone else, I'm a ninth-level master of the Imperial Fist!"
"Talk is cheap," he said calmly. "Let's see if there's any truth to those words."
Karubi snorted in frustration as the announcer gave the signal to being. Right away, he charged like a bull, aiming to flatten him in one shot. He smirked and casually sidestepped the charge, spinning in time to deliver two shots to the man's liver. Karubi made a squealing sound and stumbled.
"Why you little!" he roared.
"Less talk," he said, cracking his knuckles. "More fighting."
Karubi obliged him, screaming like a barbarian as he charged him full-force. He responded by dashing at him, ducking his blow and sliding between his legs. As he moved, he slammed his knuckles into the man's ankles, right where the tendon connected to the bone. He heard a satisfying crack and another piggish squeal from his opponent.
"Both your ankles are broken," he said, standing up and casually dusting off his jacket. "Plus I think I damaged your liver pretty bad with my first attack…"
"So?" the man snorted, trying to stand up on shaky legs.
"So," he smirked. "You won't be able to react in time for this!"
He sprinted past the man and ran up the arena wall, twisting midair so he was facing Karubi. As he fell, he landed a vicious haymaker to the back of his head, sending him sprawling to the dirt with a thud.
"Down," he said, staying in a crouched position as Karubi lost consciousness.
The crowd suddenly erupted into raucous cheers as he pulled his hood down and looked at Haythem. The man's usually stony face was set in a soft, but approving smile. He looked down at him warmly and nodded once. The message was clear. He had done well.
He couldn't help himself as his face broke into a childish grin, beaming up at the audience. Not only had he done well for the Order, but he had proven himself to Spear's last wish.
I'll keep being strong, he promised, opening his eyes as he heard frantic murmuring from the crowd.
His heart nearly stopped. Esdeath was descending the stairs that led to the Emperor's box. She had a smile on her face and her hand was clutching something behind her back.
Now to get paid, he inwardly smirked, putting on a childish façade as she stopped in front of him.
"Tatsumi was your name?" she said, her voice a lot more melodious than he thought.
"Yes, ma'am," he said.
"That was an impressive fight," she said. "You showed a lot of skill."
"It comes with the job," he said, rubbing his head sheepishly.
"Nevertheless, I wish to reward you," she said, pulling her hand from behind her back.
Never in a billion years could he have predicted what happened next.
There was a click from his throat and he looked down to see Esdeath had just fastened a collar around his neck, a chain leading from the front into her hand.
"From now on," she said, a blush dusting her cheeks, "you belong to me."
"…what?" was all he could manage as she turned and yanked him back towards the exit. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second!"
"There's too many distractions out here," she said. "Let's talk in my room."
Oh, hell no! he thought, grabbing his knife and trying to break the collar. "URK!"
He felt a sharp chop to the back of his neck and fell forwards as his body went numb. The last thing he heard was Esdeath giggling like a schoolgirl, her hand catching him before he hit the ground.
LATER
UNKNOWN LOCATION
"Ugh," he muttered, blinking rapidly as he woke up. "Where…where am I?"
"Don't strain yourself," said a voice from behind him. "You were hit pretty hard."
He blinked some more, slowly watching as the outlines of his lower body came into focus. He growled a bit as his head throbbed, but slowly fought his way back to full consciousness. He was in a relatively small room with six other people…and he was tied to a chair with a collar around his neck.
Oh, right…, he thought glumly. The fight…Esdeath…putting a collar on me…in front of everyone…fuck.
"Ah, captain, he's awake!" said a bubbly voice.
He looked up and saw the auburn haired girl he'd seen in Davenport's office…Seryu. She was pointing and waving excitedly…with a pair of shiny silver arms. Her white dog/Teigu was sitting obediently at her feet, watching as its master made an idiot of herself.
"What's going on?" he mumbled, shaking his head to try and clear the cobwebs.
"Don't worry," said a young man's voice, a hand patting him on the shoulder. "You're among friends, Tatsumi."
He turned to face the voice, coming face-to-face with a young man about his age. He had short cropped dark blue hair and darker eyes. He was wearing what looked like a variation of an imperial navy sailor's uniform, an orange scarf tied around his neck. The boy was smiling at him like they were old friends. He in turn shrugged his hand off his shoulder and sent him a mild glare.
"Here, let me see," said another man, walking around in front of him.
This man was a giant…at least seven feet tall! He wore the uniform of the incineration corps; the standard flame-retardant gloves and respirator. However, where his jacket should have been was his bare chest, showing off a vicious-looking scar that looked like he was clawed by some animal. However, despite his intimidating appearance, the man was gently checking his body over like a field medic, shining a light in his eyes and testing his reflexes gingerly. His voice was also surprisingly gentle.
"He appears to be fine, captain," he said, standing up and looking at the back of the room. "A little dazed, but no permanent injuries as far as I can tell."
He looked at where the man was talking and swallowed. Standing against the back wall with a soft smile was Esdeath herself…and she was looking at him with that same creepy blush on her face.
"Wonderful," she said, standing up and walking in front of the group.
"Um, Captain," said the blonde boy from the stadium. "I must admit, I am confused as to why you've brought the boy here."
"Isn't it obvious, Run?" she said, like the answer was so simple even a child could understand. "Meet the newest addition to the Jaegers…Tatsumi."
"So you just dragged him out of the crowd just like that?" the navy boy said, scratching his head.
"Yes," she said, looking back at him with a strange grin. "Tatsumi is the one…to be my partner in love."
You could have heard a pin drop at that moment. The entire room went silent as everyone's jaws went slack.
"…I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I must be hearing things…you said I'm your partner in love!?"
Esdeath giggled and rubbed his head affectionately. "Yes," she said. "Don't act so surprised, Tatsumi..."
Exactly how surprised should I be right now!? he mentally shouted, but made sure to bite his tongue. Making an enemy of Esdeath while he was tied up was not a smart idea.
"Um, Captain, if I may be so bold," the blonde, Run, said as he raised his hand. "If you want Tatsumi to be your lover…why do you have a dog collar on him?"
"Because I want him to stand out," she said simply.
"Well, it's working," he muttered.
"But if you want him to be your lover and not your pet," Run continued, "shouldn't you take it off him?"
Esdeath actually paused and thought for a moment before taking the collar off.
"Well, now that that's done," she said, looking at the rest of the people there, "why don't you all introduce yourself to our new member?"
"A stylish idea!"
He blinked as a middle-aged man in a lab coat and glasses actually sashayed up to him and shook his hand.
"Doctor Stylish, at your service," he said, shooting him a smoldering look. "I'm the team medic. No matter how injured you get, I'll nurse you back to health!"
He just dumbly shook the man's hand, trying to ignore the blatant flirtation in his tone. Next was the sailor boy.
"I'm Wave," he said, giving him a hearty handshake and a salute. "I'm former Imperial Navy, a real man of the seas!"
So this is the kid Master Rodgers was talking about? he thought as he shook the boy's hand. Huh….thought he'd be taller.
A crunching sound to his right made him turn and look at a short black haired girl noisily eating cookies from a large sack marked "Kurome's Cookies." He met her eyes for a second and she immediately drew up on herself, closing the bag and hugging to her chest.
"You can't have any," she said, her voice reminding him of a kid who didn't want to share a toy.
"Don't mind Kurome," Wave laughed. "She's a good person…just likes her candy a little too much."
"It's…fine," he said, watching as Kurome start eating again.
Next came the giant man in the mask.
"My name's Bols," he said. "I hope we can be good friends."
He gave the man a nod and shook his hand. He seemed nice enough. After him was the blonde boy.
"Run," he said with a calm smile. "Although, you've heard the Captain say my name already."
"It's nice to meet you," he said, offering him a small smile as well as the final girl approached him.
"Seryu Ubiquitous and Koro at your service!" she said enthusiastically, snapping a crisp salute. "We look forwards to working with you, Tatsumi!"
"….right," he said, walking for the door. "Well, here's the thing…I'm not interested in working for the Empire with this…whatever this is. I've got my own career to worry about…but it was nice meeting you."
Before he was even two steps away, his feet froze and he turned to see Esdeath giggling.
"So it seems I'll have to train you a bit," she said. "That's just fine."
Before he could open his mouth to reply, the door opened and in stepped a solider.
"General Esdeath," he said, snapping to attention. "We've completed the survey of the bandit fortress as you requested!"
"Ah, perfect timing," she said, taking the papers from him as she walked to a nearby table, rolling out a large map. "Jaegers, this is your first assignment. We've received word about a group of bandits that has been occupying an abandoned fortress close to a nearby lake."
She turned and looked at him as the rest of them crowded around the table. "Tatsumi, aren't you coming?"
"Um, still frozen to the floor," he pointed out, jerking his head at the ice surrounding his feet.
She blushed and with a snap of her fingers the ice shattered.
"That's better," he said, shaking his legs free of ice dust. "Bye!"
He turned and sprinted at the door, throwing it open and closing it as fast as he could. Right as it shut, an icicle pierced the door next to his head, not a millimeter from his ear.
"Shit," he allowed himself before sprinting off as fast as he could down the corridor.
"Hey, stop!" yelled a guard, bringing a lance to bear.
He contemplated killing the man, but that would be hard to explain if he was caught. He kept his hands away from his sword as he kicked off the closest wall, bounding higher and higher back and forth down the corridor until his foot was level with the man's head.
"Sorry," he said, kicking the guard square in the face.
"Tatsumi, come back!"
He turned around and saw the Jaegers pouring out of the room he had just escaped, a few of them gasping as they saw the downed guard. Esdeath suddenly blurred from vision, reappearing to slam her knee into his gut so hard he flew twenty feet before crashing into the wall.
"GUAH!" he gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. He barely had enough sense to look up in time to see the next attack.
Esdeath flew at him, one hand on her cap with her other on a long steel rapier. His eyes widened in time for him to sprawl to the floor and go for his knife. She was obviously surprised at his reaction time, moving her leg back just in time for him to only graze the leather of her boots. Her left foot then twisted around, the toe of her shoe connecting squarely with his face. He crashed to the ground a few feet away, warm blood trailing down his nose. He coughed weakly and looked up in time to see the tip the rapier resting only a centimeter from his nose. He sighed and put his head down hard with a thud.
"Well, I tried," he coughed.
He heard a sadistic chuckle as a high-heeled boot found its way to a sensitive spot on his back. He grit his teeth in pain as the metal tip twisted back and forth along the pressure point, but he did not cry out.
"You certainly have potential," he heard her say. "I am going to enjoy our training…very much."