After explaining the situation to Akame and the others, Akame looks to the rest of Night Raid and slams her hands down on the kitchen table before shouting, "How could this happen!?"
Mine glances over at Lubbock and asks, "Did she realize he was a member of Night Raid?"
Minazuki shakes his head no and says, "I'm afraid it might be worse than that."
The rest of the assassins look to the boy and ask him, "Minazuki?", as their confused expressions meet his worried look.
"I might've been seeing things, but I could've swore I saw Esdeath say 'From now on, you'll be my lover' after putting the collar around Tatsumi's neck.", Minazuki explains with as he looks to them.
"I'm not sure what'd be worse, being tortured by Esdeath or being forced into being her lover.", Leone jokingly replies with a slight grin on her face.
"Are you certain?", Akame asks with a cold glare aimed at the boy.
Minazuki nods his head in response to the crimson girl and says, "That's what I saw, I'm certain."
"Then Tatsumi's not in any serious danger then, right? For the moment, he's just livin' it up in the palace with Esdeath.", Lubbock suggests with a slightly jealous look on his face.
"Actually, if Tatsumi is persistent enough, he might even be able to convince Esdeath to join our cause. That is, if she's that entranced by Tatsumi and willing to follow the advice I gave her about love.", Minazuki says as he starts to think about the possibility.
"Like that'll ever happen. In case you forgot, Esdeath is the most sadistic monster this Empire has ever produced. There's no way she'd ever join the Revolutionary Army!", Mine mockingly replies with her arms crossed.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Minazuki looks to the other members of his team and says, "Perhaps, but the possibility is there, though the chances of this actually happening are slim to none."
"So, what should we do, acting Boss?", Leone asks Akame as the blonde looks to her friend.
Akame, lost in thought, mutters Tatsumi's name to herself as she grits her teeth, trying to keep her composure.
Mine quickly brings her back to reality by bluntly saying, "Don't say something stupid like 'Let's go get him back' or something, Akame. You do realize that the palace is not only filled with soldiers, but all kinds of traps to keep assassins out, right? Breaking in there at the best of times would be basically impossible, even for us. Besides, Tatsumi's true identity may not 've been discovered in the first place."
For a moment, Akame is silent as she closes her eyes and thinks of what they should do next. "First, we should move our base further into the mountains.", Akame says as she looks down at the table.
"Good plan, this place may be discovered.", Leone replies with a nod.
"So...What about Tatsumi? I know rescuing him may be impossible, but still...", Lubbock asks with a slightly worried look before Akame lets out a sigh.
"I know that we lack the means and manpower to rush in head first after him, but still, Tatsumi is part of our family! So we will do whatever we can to bring him back alive!", Akame shouts inspirationally, trying to reach Najenda levels, but just barely missing her mark.
"You're crazy! We can't just go in and take him right from Esdeath's clutches!", Mine shouts, rejecting Akame's idea.
"Well, I might have an idea.", Minazuki says as sits down in one of the wooden chairs at the table.
"And what's that exactly?", Sheele asks as she looks to Minazuki for answers.
"Well, if Esdeath has actually taken Tatsumi as her lover, his life isn't in any real danger. Realistically speaking, he should be relatively safe as long as she doesn't know what he really does. But Esdeath now leads the newly formed task force, Jaeger. From my understanding of Esdeath's personality, she won't just abandon her responsibility to play love birds with Tatsumi. She'll likely take him along with her like a pet on their missions and training sessions.", Minazuki starts to explain as he places his hand on his chin.
"So if we just figure out where the Jaeger guys are going, we'll likely find Tatsumi there with them?", Lubbock asks with a hint of skepticism, to which Minazuki nods.
The cloaked boy looks to the rest of his team and says, "When they leave the palace, we'll have a possibility of an opening showing itself. And if Esdeath happens to leave Tatsumi alone with just one of the Jaeger members or if we're really luck just by himself, we could rescue him and bring him back to the base undetected."
"And who do you think would just be able to waltz in there and take Tatsumi exactly? It's not like he can just sneak out the window and escape or anything.", Mine refutes, but Minazuki already has an answer.
"Well, it's possible I could sneak in. Esdeath thinks she knows me and she'd likely accept another visit from me if she thought it meant she'd get a better understanding of her feelings.", Minazuki suggests as he looks to Shoryu's mask as it lays on the table in front of him.
"Are you sure? That sounds pretty dangerous.", Sheele notes with a worried look on her face.
"I'd be our best bet for infiltrating their ranks and getting Tatsumi out of there alive and undetected.", Minazuki says with a slight shrug.
"No way, that's way too dangerous! I say we follow them and wait for Tatsumi to find an opening and try to make a break for it. Tatsumi might still be a bit green, but he's smart enough to get himself out of this pinch, right Akame?", Leone says to her with a slight glare.
Akame looks up to Minazuki with a cold glance and asks him, "Do you truly think you can pull it off undetected?"
Putting on his mask, Minazuki replies with, "They won't even know what happened until it's too late and we're long gone."
"Fine, then that's our plan for getting Tatsumi back, but first we need to figure out their future movements. Leone, Minazuki, you two head back into the Capital and see what you can find out about Jaegers' upcoming missions and movements. While you're doing that, I'll watch the Northern exit from the Capital in case they leave through there. Lubbock, you'll handle the Eastern exit. Mine, the Southern exit. And Sheele the Western exit. Any questions?", Akame says before looking around the room.
"I'm still against this. Tatsumi will be fine. We just have to wait it out and he'll find some way back.", Mine says with her arms crossed.
"Let's just hope that in the meantime they don't somehow turn Tatsumi to their side and have him actually join the Empire. I'd rather not fight the Incursio armor he has, even if he's still inexperienced with it.", Minazuki says causing everyone to think about the possibility that Tatsumi might turn on them.
"Tatsumi wouldn't do that. He's a loyal member of our team. He'd never betray our trust.", Akame says as she looks back down at the table, avoiding eye contact with that said, everyone heads out on their missions, armed with their Imperial Arms and the desire to bring back their dear friend, Tatsumi.
Later that same day, a few streets down from the palace gates, Leone and Minazuki are hunting for clues as to what Jaeger might be doing on their next mission. The partners split up and look for anyone who might've heard anything that could help them and Minazuki stops when he sees a beggar. The man is sitting on tattered rug, wearing only a pair of pants, his ribs clearly visible from starvation.
Minazuki walks over to the beggar and when he looks up and sees Minazuki's mask, at first he's frightened, thinking that he's there to end his life. When Minazuki reaches out his hand to the man, the man flinches while shutting his eyes, waiting for the end. But when the end doesn't come, he opens his eyes to see Minazuki holding food out to the man.
"You seem hungry child. Would you like something to eat?", Minazuki asks the man in a kind voice.
"Y-you aren't here to kill me?", the man nervously asks as he looks at the bread that Minazuki is handing him.
"Of course not. I am but a simple monk trying to help the poor children of this world. Please, take this bread.", Minazuki replies as he places the whole loaf of bread in the mans hand and places the other on top of the loaf. "Now eat. You seem like you haven't eaten in a while child, correct?", Minazuki suggests as he sits next to the man.
The man happily starts eating the bread, small pieces at a time in order to savor every bite.
Once he's done, Minazuki hands him a jar of water and says, "Here, you could use a drink too. It's just water, but it's better than nothing."
"Who are you? A Saint?", the man asks with a slight smile aimed at the mysterious boy.
"I am but a humble monk, child. Now, go ahead and drink.", Minazuki replies kindly, touching the man's heart with his kindness. "How long do you usually sit here, child?", Minazuki asks him as he finishes the jar of water.
"Usually all day, but sometimes the guards kick me out. They say such harsh things to me. Little do they know I listen in on their conversations from the alleyways.", the man whispers with a slight snicker.
"I see, would you have happened upon any information about the Jaegers' next mission?", Minazuki whispers back to him.
"Only that they'd be leaving soon. The guards said that they wouldn't even have to throw me out today, because General Esdeath would be coming down this way and she'd just kill me without even a second thought. Some other guards also mentioned that the Jaegers were going to a fort near Gyogan Lake. They say there's a group of bandits there that need to be taken out, and General Esdeath and the rest of Jaegers are going to do it. They'll probably be moving out any minute now.", the man whispers with a smile.
"Ah, so that's how it is then? Very well, thank you for the information, child. I left you a little something in your cup.", Minazuki says as he gets up and walks away.
Confused by the monk's vague reply, the homeless man peers into his cup to see that it's half full of rare gems! His eyes widen and he thinks, "Thank you God! Thank you kind sir!"
Minazuki heads to Leone's and his meetup spot and finds her waiting there. "I hope you got something, because I got squat.", Leone says to her partner as he approaches her.
"I think I have something. Apparently, the Jaeger is supposed to head to a fort near Gyogan Lake to take out a group of bandits.", Minazuki explains to his partner as he looks around the dark alley.
"Good, then let's go tell Akame and-", Leone begins to say as she starts to walk to the Northern gate before Minazuki grabs her arm and says, "The catch is that they'll be leaving any second now."
"Huh? Any second? But, we need to go inform the others, right?", Leone says as she points to the Northern gate.
"That's the thing, I need you to do that while I try to get into the group.", Minazuki says as he lets go of her arm and pats her on the back.
"What? You're crazy! You've already walked straight up to Esdeath once, you don't need to do something that dangerous again just to prove you can!", Leone snaps at the boy with an irritated glare.
"I'll be fine, trust me. It's the safest way to get Tatsumi back without having to fight anyone.", Minazuki explains as he takes off his mask and looks to his partner with a slight smile.
"You really have a death wish, don't you?", Leone says somewhat mockingly as she lays off him for a moment.
"I don't plan to die quite yet. Now go tell Akame and the others I plan to infiltrate Jaeger and bring Tatsumi back by the end of the week.", Minazuki replies before returning his mask to his face and walking back out into the streets.
"That guy is really something else, isn't he?", Leone grumbles to herself before rushing to find Akame and the others.
Waiting in the shadows, Minazuki skulks around the front of the palace until he eventually sees Esdeath with Tatsumi and a group of people, who he guesses is the Jaegers, walking toward the Western exit. The monk starts making his way to the Western exit as well, following the group but on a different street and at a slightly faster pace than them to make sure they don't think they're being followed. Once he reaches the Western gate he heads into the forest and toward the nearby fort. "If it's such a large structure and I have a general idea where it might be, it shouldn't be too hard to find.", Minazuki thinks to himself as he adjusts his mask. "I need to hurry. Even the shortest of seconds could be vital to Tatsumi's rescue.", Minazuki thinks to himself as he rushes to Gyogan Lake.
Once at Gyogan Lake, Minazuki searches for the nearby fort that the beggar spoke of back at the Capital. Closing his eyes, Minazuki tries to sense any movement in the general area, and thanks to his hard training, his range has grown five times its original limit. The assassin senses off in the distance a large amount of footsteps, roughly forty to fifty steps a bit to the north east. With a couple of quick jumps, Minazuki makes his way to the top of a nearby tree to see that there is a fort in that direction. The boy also sees a cliff nearby, which would be the perfect place to give orders to a General's troops.
"If I was Esdeath, I'd either be there or in the heat of battle, and given that she has Tatsumi with her, up there is the most likely location.", Minazuki thinks to himself before rushing up to the top of that cliff.
As he approaches the top of the cliff, Minazuki senses two people sitting together. Continuing to get closer, the boy senses their heartbeats as they seem to get more sporadic to say the least. One is filled with fear while the other is filled with what he can only guess is love.
"That has to be them.", Minazuki thinks to himself as he continues to mask his presence and killing intent. He continues up the path he found to see Tatsumi and Esdeath sitting on the cliff's edge together, overlooking the fort. He notices that Esdeath is holding Tatsumi's hand and Tatsumi seems to be freaking out about it.
"Perhaps it's best if I allow my presence to be known.", Minazuki thinks to himself as he starts walking up to them.
As the monk approaches the two from behind, Esdeath doesn't even seem to notice his presence there over the warmth of Tatsumi's hand. "Are you sure it's alright if I stay up here, Miss Esdeath? I kind of feel bad that I'm the only one sitting this one out.", Tatsumi asks the woman nervously as he looks up at her.
"It's alright, and please, just call me Esdeath.", the General replies lovingly with a slightly flushed face. "You seem very kind Tatsumi. You've at least heard of me, I hope. Is the image different from what you imagined?", Esdeath asks as she turns to the young boy, but happens to see Minazuki out of the corner of her eye walking toward them. "Could it be?", she mutters to herself before standing up and shouting, "Monk! What are you doing here!?"
Tatsumi looks over to what she's looking at and sees Minazuki before thinking, "Minazuki!? What's he doing here!? Run!"
"Ah, General Esdeath, I thought I sensed your presence up here. I was out looking for medicinal herbs when I sensed you all the way up here. And who is this young boy?", Minazuki replies as his usually kind monk personality.
"This is Tatsumi, my lover~", the woman replies as she points to Tatsumi with a smile as she looks to the boy with her face still a tad bit pink.
"Ah, I see, and have you taken into account the vital information that I gave to you a while back?", Minazuki says with a more serious tone.
"I believe I have, though I might need more guidance. I am still quite new to this whole being in love thing.", Esdeath replies slightly embarrassed to admit it in front of Tatsumi.
There's a sudden explosion from the fort and everyone looks to see that the front door was blown clean off by Seryu's giant gun arm: 'Number Seven: Taizan's Cannon of Justice.'
"Ah, the battle has already begun! Come and watch with me Tatsumi!", Esdeath says happily as she pulls him close, not leaving an inch between the two. Tatsumi is visibly shaking in fear as the sadist wraps her arm around him and rests her head on his shoulder.
"Tatsumi, was it?", Minazuki asks as if it were the first time they were meeting.
Tatsumi looks over his shoulder and nervously says, "T-that's me..."
"You'll be alright, trust me.", Minazuki says as he walks to his side.
"How did he sneak up on me like that? Did I just not notice because Tatsumi was here or was he hiding his presence that well?", Esdeath thinks to herself as she and Tatsumi watch the other Jaeger members fighting the bandits.
"Ah, it seems like you've recruited your team of Imperial Arms users. It's a shame what happened to those fine soldiers of yours. They would've made this great team you have here even greater.", Minazuki says as he watches the Jaegers continue to slaughter the bandits below.
"Yes, they're all quite strong. Those three would've been excellent additions to the Jaegers. But they were weak, so they died.", Esdeath says without any visible emotion.
"Weak? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I had heard that they were considered to at one point to have had some of the most powerful offensive capabilities in your ranks. I'd say they were far from weak.", Minazuki replies with a confused glance at her.
"They died, that meant that they were weak. It's as simple as that.", Esdeath coldly replies, not seeming to care for her fallen comrades.
"That's an odd way of looking at it.", Tatsumi notes with a confused look.
"Do you have this opinion of all things that die, General?", Minazuki asks the woman, causing her to glance over at him.
"Of course, it's the natural order of the world, is it not?", Esdeath replies as if they should already have known this.
Minazuki lets out a slight chuckle and says, "If that's the way you want to view the world, I guess so. But the strong aren't born strong, they're born weak. Only because those stronger than them gave them the chance to live did they eventually become strong."
Esdeath seems to think about what he just said for a moment before saying, "If I wanted your advice, Monk, I would've asked for it. Now be gone, unless you plan to join Jaeger like Tatsumi has.", before releasing a wave of murderous intent to try to intimidate Minazuki. With a grin on her face, Esdeath thinks, "That'll show him. If he's smart he'll turn tail and run to leave me and Tatsumi alone."
With the one of the Empire's strongest bearing her fangs, Minazuki is left in complete terror at Esdeath's dark wave of murderous intent. "So this is the Ice General's power! This murderous intent... It's way beyond anything I've ever seen before..!" Before his fear can take hold, Minazuki steadies his mind, contemplating, "No... There's no way she'd kill me here. I'm too valuable of a resource for her to throw me away so easily. She needs me..." Now with his mind matching his cold exterior, Minazuki barely reacts to the murderous intent, only responding to the General with, "Are you done? I'm just here to assist with your love problem, but if you don't value your relationship, I guess I could take my leave."
This catches the General's attention and she thinks, "Damn it, now he's calling me out in front of Tatsumi! If I don't ask him to stay, Tatsumi's going to think I don't value him over my own pride! That damn Monk!" "Fine, you may stay, but please refrain from spewing nonsense like that at me.", Esdeath replies before he has the chance to turn and walk away.
"Good, she took the bait. Now if I can find an opening for Tatsumi and I to escape, we'll be set.", Minazuki thinks to himself as he turns back to face the cliff's edge.
"What's he thinking!? He's going to get himself killed!", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he continues to shake in fear as Esdeath continues to lay her head on his shoulder.
Soon, the bandit camp is wiped out completely and Esdeath says, "Well, it's about time to regroup with the others. How about you go on ahead and wait at the bottom of the hill, Tatsumi? I need to have a chat with this Monk."
Tatsumi nervously nods before looking to Minazuki who nods to him, showing that it'll be alright.
Tatsumi heads down the hill to do as the General says, and Esdeath glares at Minazuki and says, "You're a real piece of work, you know that? You didn't even flinch at my murderous intent."
"I'm just a simple monk.", Minazuki replies as he turns away from her and starts to go down the hill, but she grabs his shoulder, stopping him.
The General lets out a deep sigh and forces herself to say, "Monk, I'm...I'm sorry..for snapping at you back there. You were just trying to give advice that you thought would help and I took it personally. And for that, I am sorry."
Minazuki is more than surprised to have seen this side of Esdeath before saying, "It's quite alright. You don't have to accept my advice as fact, but know this, even though the way you see the world is your way of seeing it, just because it's your way doesn't mean that everyone should see it that way. There are millions of people on this planet of ours, not everyone will have the same point of view."
"I see, I'll try to be more...open minded about these things next time.", the sadist replies as she releases her grip on the monk's shoulder.
Minazuki goes to walk again, but is stopped when she says, "Monk, one more thing." Turning to see the woman holding her arm nervously, he raises an eyebrow as Esdeath says, "Tatsumi asked me about why I fight for the Empire, but when I told him that I do it out of the love of the fight, he didn't seem too pleased about it. He actually seemed...disgusted by it... Does that mean, somethings wrong with me? Can I change his way of thinking somehow?"
"Sounds like you might need to change. Love isn't like a river, it goes both ways. You might have to change the darker parts of yourself to help ease your lover's state of mind.", Minazuki replies happily.
"Change...myself? Originally, I intended on molding Tatsumi into becoming a great General like myself. I won't let him be the one changing me, it'll be I who changes him and that's that.", the General growls under her breath, refusing his suggestion.
Shrugging, Minazuki blows off her refusal and says, "That's entirely up to you, General. It's your love life. If you think you can truly change every part of this boy and think that you'll still love him in the end, go for it."
"So you think I shouldn't do that!? What should I do then!?", the woman asks in a slight panic.
"I didn't say you shouldn't, because ultimately that decision is going to fall upon your shoulders to make. But like I said, you have to give a little as well. You can't expect him to change every last thing about himself just for you, because the person you love most should always seem to deserve more than what you have to offer.", Minazuki replies as he starts to walk away from the General.
"Monk!", Esdeath shouts in a more furious tone, causing a slight chill to shoot up the boy's spine.
Minazuki turns to her, expecting to see her weapon drawn and it pointed to his neck, but instead he sees her standing there with a calm look on her face.
"You'll be coming with us to the palace. It seems that this love thing is more complicated than I first thought. So you will be my personal love adviser.", Esdeath says before walking past him to meet Tatsumi and the others.
"I'm guessing I have no say in the matter then?", Minazuki replies with a slight chuckle.
"Nope, unless you want to die that is. But, ultimately, that's your decision to make, isn't it?", the sadist answers with a sinister smile as she glances back at him.
The monk just chuckles at how she turned his own saying against him before saying, "Very well, I'll assist you as best I can, but I would prefer to not fight or kill if that's possible. And I am not joining your band of Imperial Arms users. I am still just a monk."
She lets out a single laugh at his request before saying, "Very well, let's get moving. We've kept them waiting long enough."
The two leave the cliff, Esdeath leading the way, and heading down the side of the cliff to see Tatsumi waiting with the rest of the Jaegers, who all seem confused by Minazuki's presence. "General Esdeath, there seems to be someone following you.", the blue haired boy notes with a confused look.
"Yes, this is a man I've known for a while now and he's decided to become my love adviser. He's a monk.", Esdeath explains as she introduces Minazuki.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you all.", Minazuki greets them with a bow.
"Ah, another mask wearer? How unstylish.", the glove wearing man with glasses says as he pushes up his glasses, covering his face as he does so.
"A monk? Then you must know many secrets about life and peace, correct?", the blonde haired boy from the tournament asks him.
Minazuki nods and says, "I've learned many things through my years, some from the earth itself and some from some of the great people who've inhabited it. I could teach you all many things, but for now, I would like to assist General Esdeath with her love life."
"Then does that mean you're also joining the Jaegers?", the masked man with the flame thrower Imperial Arm asks the monk.
Minazuki shakes his head no, which surprises every one of the Jaegers. "I'm just a simple monk. I'm not that adept at combat, as most of you are. Besides, I don't even wield an Imperial Arm. I'd only slow you down.", Minazuki kindly replies, trying not to offend them.
"So you won't be helping us slaughter the evil in this world?", the orange haired girl with the dog shaped Imperial Arm asks.
"I'm afraid not, child. I'm simply here to advise as best I can.", the monk replies, trying not to hurt her feelings too badly.
"Don't let his words fool you, he took down an Imperial Soldier of my own ranks without any effort whatsoever. And he did it all bare handed. Even though he doesn't wield an Imperial Arm, he's plenty strong enough for most of you to spar with, so if you ask nicely he might allow you a round or two.", Esdeath says as she continues to approach her group.
The black haired girl, who resembles Akame, just rolls her eyes and says, "Doesn't matter to me. Just don't get in our way and we won't have any problems."
The green haired girl from the tournament seems to be glaring at the monk before Esdeath snaps her fingers in front of her masked face asking, "Phi? Are you daydreaming again?"
"Phi!? So it is her!?", Minazuki thinks to himself, starting to slightly panic in his mind, but on the outside he's as cool and calm as always.
"Sorry, ma'am, he just, reminded me of something.", the young girl answers as she turns to Esdeath.
"Ah, so some of your memories are coming back, are they?", Esdeath asks with a smile.
"Memory loss?", Minazuki asks with a confused tone, to which the girl nods and says, "After an accident at my village, I found myself to be the only one left alive. I was badly banged up and most of my memories from that month were gone. I would've died if General Esdeath hadn't showed up when she did. She said that she could see the potential in me and that she had a horse for one more soldier if I was interested. So, I joined her and ever since she's been helping me try to recover my memories of that month."
"That sounds tragic. Was that the same night we met, General? When you were on your way to that village, what was its name again, Tapu Village?", Minazuki asks, trying to play slightly ignorant.
Esdeath nods and says, "She was the only survivor of that landslide. It seems like your guess that an Earth Dragon attacked was very true. Only such a beast could've altered the land so swiftly before anyone had the chance to flee."
"I guess you should all introduce yourselves then. That's an order.", Esdeath says as she turns to her Jaegers.
"I'm Wave, a man of the sea! I'm glad to have you aboard, Sir.", the blue haired boy says with a bow.
"My name is Ran. I'm pleased to meet such a humble soul.", the blonde haired boy says with a bow.
"I'm Bols. Don't let the mask fool you, I'm really not that scary.", the masked man says with a bow.
"I'm Kurome, don't touch my cookies.", the black haired girl adds before grabbing her bag of sweets and clutching them close to her chest.
"I'm Phi. It's nice to meet another martial artist. I'm looking forward to sparing with you sometime.", Phi says with a bow.
"I am the wonderful Doctor Stylish! I'm in search of the ultimate style in this world! If you ever need any fixing up, just give me a ring, okay? I might even give you a few more additions to help you take on those Imperial Arms users.", the gloved man says with a wink.
"And I'm Seryu and this is Koro, my Imperial Arm.", the orange haired girl says with a smile as she holds up her Imperial Arm.
"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you all.", Minazuki kindly replies before bowing to them all again.
"So, what's your name?", Wave asks, to which Kurome chops his back with her hand.
"Idiot, monks give up their names once they join the temple. He has no name, right?", Kurome scolds the boy before turning to Minazuki.
Minazuki nods in response and says, "I renounced my name years ago. I am now just a simple monk."
"H-how was I supposed to know that!?", Wave exclaims in a panic as he turns to Kurome in embarrassment.
"I knew that.", Bols notes as he raises his hand.
"I knew that as well.", Run adds as he raises his index finger and smiles to the defeated boy.
"Of course I knew. It'd be so unstylish for me not to.", the stylish doctor says as he places his chin in his gloved hand.
"Doctor Stylish taught me that once.", Seryu adds with a smile.
Phi sighs and says, "I don't know how I knew about it, but I at least remembered that he'd have no name."
"Looks like everyone but you knew, Wave. Right, Tatsumi?", Esdeath says before turning to Tatsumi.
Tatsumi raises his hand and says, "I actually didn't know that.", causing Esdeath to sigh.
"Well, our mission was accomplished. Let's return to the Capital! Everyone, move out!", Esdeath orders and everyone starts making their way back to the Capital.
"Um, Esdeath...", Tatsumi says sheepishly.
The woman turns to him with a blushed smile and says, "Yes, my love?"
Somewhat shaking, Tatsumi asks the General, "Well, where exactly am I going to be living from now on?"
Smiling at his question, Esdeath happily replies with, "Well, in my room with me, of course.", without a moment's hesitation.
Tatsumi seems to start panicking even further before Minazuki places a gentle hand on his shoulder and says, "Don't worry, everything will be alright, Tatsumi." His kind words sooth the young boy's worries away and Esdeath is surprised he was able to do so without any real effort.
"How did you do that?", Esdeath whispers in the monk's ear.
"Hm?", Minazuki replies as he looks over his shoulder to her.
Without drawing Tatsumi's attention, Esdeath motions how he put his hand on his shoulder and calmed Tatsumi.
"That? It's just a natural effect I have on people. One of the few things I'm able to do as a monk.", Minazuki whispers back. "Once you have a pure heart and your intentions are true, you'll be able to calm another's heart with just the slightest touch.", Minazuki adds as he looks to Tatsumi with a kind glance.
"Huh.", Esdeath says to herself as she looks at her hand. The General goes and touches Tatsumi's shoulder with a loving smile, but it causes him to nearly jump out of his skin in fear.
Tatsumi quickly turns around to see the General standing there and says, "Please don't do that so suddenly! I almost had a heart attack."
Esdeath apologizes before going silent, lost in thought as she stares at her hand.
"Is she alright?", Minazuki thinks to himself, actually a bit worried about Esdeath.
"Did I just, hurt Esdeath's feelings?", Tatsumi thinks to himself as they continue on their path back to the Capital. "Maybe I should apologize. She seems so, hurt.", Tatsumi thinks as he looks back at Esdeath staring at her own hand.
As the night starts to overtake the day, Minazuki, Tatsumi and the Jaegers all head into the palace to get some rest. Minazuki is given his own room, thanks to the General speaking with Prime Minister Honest about her new position she added to her ranks. Tatsumi however, is forced to sleep in the same room as Esdeath.