Chapter 10: The next step
Watching as Tatsumi stood just beyond the line of Jaegers who had been holding Night Raid back, Svarthad was rubbing his chin stubble and grinning to himself when he felt a tug on his suit sleeve. Turning to his left to see who was doing this, he found himself looking at Kurome as she spoke to him, a bag of something in her hand and a katana in the other.
"So….what is that thing? It looks so much more advanced than anything I've ever seen before…..did it talk?"
Svarthad rubbed his chin some more before replying as he smoothed the creases out of his suit.
"Hrm? Ah, Jupiter! Yes, Yes…well you see, you remember how I created it from combining Pluto, Incursio, and Thanatos, right?"
As Kurome nodded her head, Svarthad continued.
"Yes, well…it has long been an established fact that no mortal being, no matter how strong in body or spirit, can ever be strong enough to wield two Teigu simultaneously. Tatsumi however, was an exception since his Teigu was only one to begin with, and got separated by the machinations of mankind. To wield the powers of multiple Teigu at once….such a thing cannot be done, yes?"
Once again, Kurome nodded and spoke.
"Yea….I heard one guy tried once a long time ago, and his mind broke."
Frowning as if recalling an unpleasant memory, Svarthad nodded absentmindedly as he continued.
"Ah, him…..actually, he simply burst into flames and died on the street, but that isn't the point. The point is, the mortal mind and body cannot handle the powers of two danger beasts of such power at once, much less three of them. The first emperor knew this when he was designing Jupiter, and he accounted for one crucial missing element that would provide the 'Glue' of Jupiter."
Raising her eyebrow, Kurome waited for Svarthad to continue.
"But first, let me ask you a question. What, in your opinion, would have come out if we simply had tossed those three Teigu into the forge without adding some sort of extra ingredient, knowing no human can handle two Teigu, let alone three?"
Her eyebrows furrowing, Kurome seemed to think for a while before giving her reply, a look of realization crossing her face.
"A suit of armor or the like, so powerful, so strong and so heavy no one could ever wear it…..not even Tatsumi…!"
Snapping his fingers, Svarthad grinned.
"And give the young lady a prize! Aha, yes…..you are correct. If we had simply tossed those three Teigu into the forge willy-nilly….we would have gotten the most powerful Teigu ever known to the world, yes…but no one could use it. So instead, the First emperor decided to use the one thing that could take some of the burden off of the wielder…."
Grabbing part of the now-damaged forge in his hand, Svarthad continued as he gestured to the golden sphere.
"….machinery, also known as the power of Technology! With the power contained within this hallowed forge which is still more advanced than any technology in the current time by roughly a hundred years, we add the element of machine support to Jupiter's design. Now that we have a system of pulleys, levers, cogs, gears, and the like to support the wielder and take some of the burden off of his or her mind and body so that they may wield it, Jupiter now becomes an attainable goal."
Pausing for a moment to see if Kurome had any questions, Svarthad continued when he saw she didn't.
"In his designs, the first emperor made detailed plans of how to forge Jupiter, and how it would be created. Taking the Invisibility, Adaptability and armor of Incursio to give it its' adaptability functionality and provide the base of its armor, taking Pluto's sheer defensive power, combined with the massive intelligence of the danger beast which still slumbered inside of it gave Jupiter the rest of its armor and the intelligence necessary to provide a rudimentary onboard intelligence of sorts, to control and maintain the complex machinery inside of Jupiter. Lastly, the addition of Thanatos, with its power over death included with its attack power and Intelligence, this allowed Jupiter to have an onboard healing function that utilized Thanatos' power to keep Tatsumi alive for so long, and used the attack power to give the suit some small amount of attack power while the intelligence Thanatos had went to bettering the onboard intelligence. But perhaps most importantly….we added part of the forge itself so as to give Jupiter an aspect of machine support, as I have detailed above."
Taking a deep breath after such a long explanation, Svarthad smiled as him and Kurome turned to Tatsumi's gargantuan form as Kurome spoke.
"Oh. Still…..it still seems like it doesn't belong here…it's so advanced."
Svarthad nodded as he spoke once more, his voice quiet.
"Few things make sense when it comes to the Teigu, my dear…..even my life, being an organic Teigu, is sadly shrouded in mystery. I highly doubt we will ever figure out how the first emperor ever made us, so the great mystery that is the Teigu will, most likely….remain a mystery forever. When it comes to Jupiter….perhaps we simply do not understand the nature of Teigu….who can say?"
Neither of them saw a need to speak as they watched Tatsumi get to work attacking night raid.
A few minutes before
As he stepped forward beyond the line made up of Run, Wave, and Bols who had been keeping Night Raid back, Tatsumi stopped walking just beyond them and looked through the inside of his helmet's HUD as he spoke inside of Jupiter.
"Jupiter…..does this armor have any weapons? Can I use Incursio's spear or Pluto's shields?"
The mechanical voice chirped back a response in his ear.
All components of the three Teigu used to make this unit were broken down and used for the building process…but Jupiter does have a minimal onboard weapons suite.
Grinning his pale, cracked lips as he glanced at the schematics that showed up on his HUD, Tatsumi listened as the machine spoke again.
Jupiter comes equipped with two 'Giga-buster' wrist mounted blades, both approximately three feet long by two feet wide, and both sharp enough to cut through iron.
Tatsumi licked his lips as he looked over the schematics for the seemingly massive wrist blades and replied.
"Good….let's try them out."
As Kurome watched from behind as giant wrist blades suddenly shot from Jupiter's wrists with a loud WHUMP, she wiped her eyes as she murmured to herself.
"Tatsumi….."
Striding forward slowly and deliberately, the ground rattling with every step he took, Tatsumi's mechanical voice boomed from Jupiter and out over the room as he ran his two wrist blades along each other, creating a shower of sparks that danced around him as he spoke.
"Now…..I'm going to make each and every one of you feel the pain you inflicted upon Bro a hundred, no, a thousand times over!"
As night raid began to collectively retreat as this new behemoth strode towards them, Susanoo gently handed a barely breathing Mine to Najenda and turned to her to speak as he readied his staff.
"I shall hold him here….everyone else, escape while you can."
Najenda shook her head hastily as Tatsumi's booming footsteps got closer and closer, his mechanical voice booming over the room once more as he neared them, never increasing or decreasing his walking speed as he spoke.
"You can't run from me…"
As the other members began to make for the door, Najenda hesitated a second before speaking.
"….Fine. I doubt anyone else would stand a chance against that damn giant….."
Nodding as the blades of his staff began to spin and whir, Susanoo patted Najenda's shoulder as he moved towards Tatsumi.
"Yes, I think you are right. However, me and this boy still have unfinished business…."
Clenching her metal fist, Najenda spoke once more before leaving through the golden door.
"Susanoo…..Magatama Manifestation! …..Give him hell!"
Grinning as his hair went white and armor plates sprang up all over his body, Susanoo moved quickly to block Tatsumi's overhead strike with his wrist blades directed towards a retreating Najenda, his feet digging into the dirt as he looked up at Tatsumi's metal helmet and spoke.
"Tatsumi, was it? Shall we continue where we left off? Or perhaps did you lose your honor when you got that metal suit?"
A snort escaping Jupiter's helmet, Tatsumi's metal voice was heard once more, tinged with annoyance as he spoke and readied his wrist blades.
"Move, Susanoo…..I have business with Night Raid!"
Once more blocking Tatsumi's forward movement as he attempted to attack Night Raid as they retreated, Susanoo looked strangely sad as he spoke.
"Sadly, I cannot allow this. I understand you wish to avenge your comrade…but right now, your fight is with me."
Seeming to finally understand as the last of Night Raid's assassins left the room, Tatsumi clicked his tongue in annoyance inside of his armor as he spoke.
"Fine…let's finish what we started then, shall we?"
Grinning ear to ear, Susanoo nodded.
"With Pleasure, Tatsumi. May the better warrior win!"
Letting out a mechanical roar, Tatsumi brought his gargantuan wrist blades down with all his might as Susanoo nimbly bolted out of the way, a loud BOOM sounding around the room as a huge plume of dirt shot into the air where Tatsumi had struck the ground. Retrieving his blades from the ground just in time to block another of Susanoo's attacks, the two seemed on equal footing for a while before Susanoo spoke, calling out to his power still slumbering within himself.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
As his movements got faster and faster, Tatsumi grunted in annoyance as Susanoo's strikes bounced harmlessly off his armor.
"Jupiter, if I had to guess, you aren't really oriented for combat, are you?"
Jupiter chirped back a reply inside of Tatsumi's helmet as he continued to try to match Susanoo blow for blow.
"Affirmative. Jupiter's main function is to keep its wielder safe and secure…attack power is secondary to this, according to the design laid out by the first emperor."
Sighing in frustration as his Susanoo continued to match his powerful strikes expertly, Tatsumi spoke once more to Jupiter inside of his helmet.
"Fine….then I guess I have a few ideas….Jupiter, how high can this you jump?"
Jupiter was silent for a moment as complex calculations scrolled across Tatsumi's screen before it spoke.
"Between Fifty and Seventy Five feet. The Height is dependent on the user."
Grinning under his helmet, Tatsumi nodded and spoke.
"Good."
Blocking yet another of Susanoo's expert strikes with the flat of his massive wrist blades, Tatsumi listened as Susanoo spoke.
"That armor seems to be beyond what my strength will allow me to damage…..but you are slower than before, Tatsumi!"
Grinning under his helmet as he crouched down and diverted all of the power remaining inside of his feeble, frail body and Jupiter's mechanics into his armored legs, Tatsumi spoke.
"That may be, Susanoo….but in exchange for a loss of speed…"
As he suddenly launched himself almost sixty feet into the air, his helmet banging against the ceiling, Tatsumi grinned as Jupiter began to fall to earth, A hundred-ton meteor that was approaching terminal velocity!
"…I GAINED OVERWHELMING POWER! NOW, DROP-STRIKE OF OLYMPUS!"
As he impacted with the ground, an ear-splitting sonic boom pealed over the room as even the Jaegars across the room were bowled, a gargantuan plume of dirt shooting over the room like an atomic bomb had gone off! As the dust swept over the room and clouded it, obscuring everyone's vision, Tatsumi's mechanical voice was heard from within the dust cloud, seemingly coming from everywhere at once as Susanoo attempted to find him.
"If Bro dies…I swear to you, Susanoo…I'll hunt down Night Raid and butcher them all….If I have to watch as Bro dies in front of my eyes….."Narrowing his eyes as he glanced around the dust cloud, Susanoo suddenly whirled around and lunged his staff to where he heard Tatsumi approaching from, only to watch as Tatsumi's huge wrist blade cut right through his staff, cutting it to shreds and entering his chest as Tatsumi lifted him up into the air!
"…..I'll mount their damned heads on my armor."
Grinning as he glanced down at the massive blade that was sticking out of his chest, Susanoo spoke as Tatsumi cocked back his other armored hand for a finishing blow.
"You missed my core."
Pausing for a moment, Tatsumi's fist shot forward and was about to obliterate Susanoo's core when a horrendous grinding sound was heard coming from Tatsumi's armor as his arm ground to a halt, thin trails of smoke coming from his armor! Inside of his armor, Tatsumi angrily spoke to Jupiter.
"Damn it Jupiter, what's going on?"
There was a pause before it replied.
"Unknown. Losin-….ntrol…."
As he felt the presence of the onboard intelligence of Jupiter recede, Tatsumi flinched as he heard a bestial roar come from all around him, as if a deadly beast had worked its way inside of the armor! As everyone watched from the outside as Jupiter continued to be frozen in place, they also flinched as a huge and bestial roar echoed out from Jupiter! As everyone listened, Stylish and Kurome turned to Bulat as he coughed and managed to speak, his voice full of confusion.
"Ty….rant?"
His eyes going wide, Stylish turned back to Jupiter and covered his mouth as he realized what might be going on.
"No….was that….?"
As if to answer his claims, a gargantuan danger beast seemed to materialize from Jupiter as it rose into the sky above it, its fangs bloody and its four eyes gleaming blood red as it looked down at Susanoo and bellowed in anger! Looking on as Tyrant continued to bellow in anger as it stared at Susanoo, Stylish tapped his chin as he spoke to himself.
"Tyrant….even when used to build Jupiter, its life force still allows it to live on….! Is it really possibly for Tyrant to adapt to Jupiter, of all things?"
Finally making a move, Tyrant slipped its massive claws around Jupiter as its form began to waver and billow, swirling into a tornado as Tyrant's entire body seemed to be wrapping around Jupiter's armored form. From across the room, Bro coughed up flecks of blood and grinned as he watched Tyrant swirl around Jupiter.
"Hah….guess…it took…to Tatsumi. I guess it…can even….adapt to that."
Stylish and the rest of the Jaegers could only watch on in amazement as Tyrant's form seemed to be merging with that of Jupiter's, Tyrant's armor and cape that made up its signature form beginning to morph to wrap around Jupiter's titanic form while simultaneously growing demonic black spikes all over that resembled Pluto, and somehow a skull mask that looked almost Thanatos' mask appeared over its face! Once again rubbing his chin, Stylish spoke in amazement, stunned beyond all belief.
"It's….absorbing the characteristics of the two other Teigu that make up Jupiter…? Is that…possible? Can Tyrant really adapt to anything, like the stories say?"
But suddenly, something strange no one had predicted began to happen. Just as it seemed it would merge flawlessly into Jupiter, Tyrant's now hybrid form seemed to pause for a moment before snatching a still-trapped Susanoo up in its claws and held it up before its mask as a low, rumbling sound came from its mask as Susanoo seemed to twist and struggle before speaking.
"Urgh….trying to…absorb me…..are you? I didn't think you could do that, Tyrant!"
Flinching as his form began to waver like he was made of mist, Susanoo seemed to be listening to something before replying with a pained face.
"So that's…..what's happening."
Strangely, as Susanoo's form began to waver, Tyrant's chest somehow swung open like a door to reveal a glowing, gold sphere that spun around as a strange Bestial-mechanical voice emanated from it, the voice sounding like it had just learned to speak, like that of a child.
"Must….keep….user…..alive."
And then, as Susanoo's form suddenly solidified back into his normal body, everyone paused for a full second, nothing happening, before Tyrant suddenly plunged its entire left hand into Susanoo's chest! His mouth going wide, Susanoo barely managed to speak a few pained words.
"What…? Stop….!"
As a geyser of blood erupted from Susanoo's chest as Tyrant suddenly retracted its hand, everyone realized Tyrant was holding Susanoo's core in its massive hands as it seemed to hold it up to its eyes and look at it! As it tossed Susanoo aside like yesterday's garbage, Tyrant bellowed a ferocious roar once more before its form swirled around and flawlessly re-merged with Jupiter, leaving no trace it had ever appeared for a few seconds until intricate designs began to appear on the outside of the armor. As a pair of crossed spear in front of a massive pair of shields design appeared on each of its shoulders, a design that resembled Tyrant's face enwreathed in wings appeared on that massive chest plate of Jupiter as it moved again, its arm falling to its side then falling to its knees as the mechanical voice once more came from the armor.
"Error. Error. Error. Catastrophic failure of all systems! User's vital signs erratic, with no signs of stabilizing! In order to preserve integrity of user and all systems, Initiating last resort protocol R-24, 'Ragnarok'."
Once more rising to its feet, steam suddenly shot from Jupiter's armor as its eyes suddenly stopped glowing and it stopped moving, the mechanical voice speaking once more.
"'Ragnarok' protocol in effect. Initiating full lockdown of all systems until user has stabilized….."
As the armor ceased all signs of life, it was a full second before anyone got the nerve to break the silence. In the end, it was Kurome who spoke.
"What….happened?"
Stylish rubbed his chin and seemed to be theorizing as he spoke up.
"I think something happened that the armor didn't expect….I don't think that little stunt Tyrant pulled was something Jupiter hadn't planned for…no, I think that was Tyrant's unconquerable desire to live that let it come back and adapt to its current conditions. Although….im not sure what it did to that organic Teigu over there….I think I saw it rip out its core, strangely."
Snapping his fingers, Stylish turned to Esdeath and spoke, his voice suddenly full of worry.
"Esdeath-sama…..if we are done appreciating that young boy's new power, we need to return to our base as fast as possible if we are to restore this spearman to life!"
Waving her hand, Esdeath began making her way to the door as she replied.
"Do what you wish, Stylish. If you wish to honor that agreement, then fine. But I see no reason to honor that agreement when Tatsumi there isn't coherent enough to realize it."
As the rest of the Jaegars began to follow Esdeath, Esdeath approached Jupiter's still form and ran her hand over the cool black metal before turning to Seiryuu and speaking.
"Seiryuu….can Koro get Tatsumi and Jupiter back to headquarters?"
Hopping off Koro and resting her metal hand on Jupiter's chest, Seiryuu frowned uneasily for a moment before saluting smartly.
"He can try!"
Esdeath nodded in satisfaction as she began to head for the door.
"Good….then please, get him to HQ as soon as you can….don't wait up for anyone. We can't afford to lose him now….we need that overwhelming power of his."
As Stylish and Kurome handed an injured Bro to Run, who took the body into his arms and shot off towards HQ, Seiryuu turned to Koro and barked an order.
"Okay, Koro! This thing is going to be heavy, so you'll probably need to go berserker for this!"
Barking as it morphed into its 'Berserker' form, Koro grew arms and began to attempt to lift up Jupiter. Thankfully, Koro was barely able to carry the behemoth that was Jupiter as all the Jaegars returned to HQ…but Kurome seemed to be unable to take her eyes off of Jupiter as she whispered to herself.
"Please…be okay, Tatsumi."
A few hours later, Jaegar HQ
As Koro set Jupiter down in the main Jaegar meeting hall, Esdeath nodded in satisfaction as she addressed everyone.
"Okay, we managed to fend off Night Raid this time thanks to Tatsumi here, but we can't afford to Relax! They're injured and on the run, so we need to use this opportunity to our advantage!"
Suddenly turning to Wave and Run, Esdeath spoke.
"You two…go ahead and try to follow Night Raid's trail. If you find their Hideout, DO NOT engage them alone, understand? You get back here ASAP and notify us!"
Nodding, Wave and Run bolted out of the room to carry out their mission as Esdeath continued.
"As to everyone else…..that's all. We've earned our rest, but we'll pick up the hunt tomorrow morning."
As everyone sauntered off to their rooms, Kurome took one more glance at the frozen form of Jupiter sighing and making her way to her room…..
Elsewhere in Jaegar HQ
As Doctor Stylish had one of his many, many servants lay the bloodied spearman's body on the operating table in his lab, he rubbed his hands together with glee as he spoke to himself.
"Such a fine specimen….! Were it anyone else, I might simply make them one my oh so stylish minions, but…."
Stylish frowned as he rubbed his hands together, now wearing his Teigu Perfector as one of his enhanced minions brought a cart filled with medical supplies over beside him. As he took the scalpel and twirled it in his hands, he continued to speak happily to himself.
"….but I'm afraid that Tatsumi might Stylishly pound me into paste if I were to alter his beloved friend here, so…..I suppose this time I can manage to hold myself back, just this once."
His words falling silent as he began to slide his scalpel along Bro's bloody chest, Stylish went to work all the precision of a practiced medical man, all the weirdness that seemed to make up his entire being, and of course, as stylishly as possible as his scalpel danced across the flesh as if his hands were guided by a higher power! Chuckling as if he had amused himself, Stylish continued his work on the body of the man before him effortlessly and gracefully as his many servants watched motionlessly from across the room, some of them blind and some of them deaf and missing limbs, but all of them watching nonetheless as Stylish got lost in his own thoughts as he worked.
Perhaps I should make note of this….I've always took such pride in my skills in enhancing, modifying and plain dissecting human bodies in an attempt to….what? Ah, after all these years of so stylishly dissecting so many people, I guess I may have lost track of what I was aiming for.
His hands momentarily stopping, Stylish shrugged effortlessly as he returned to his thoughts and work.
I suppose that point is moot now, anyway. If I end up remembering something about it then all the better, but…..what matters right now is the man before me! And what a man he is….
Stylish shook his head as he continued.
No, not the time for that. My hands are those of god himself, perfector! There is no ailment, no malady, no sickness I cannot cure short of death itself! Oh, but while I'm thinking of it…
Calling over one of his minions who had a massive nose, Stylish spoke as he continued to work.
"Follow Night Raid's scent. If you find their hideout, then report back to me, understand? Now go!"
As the hideous human scurried off, Stylish paused for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow as he went back to his work on Bulat's body.
Being so Stylish is so tiring.
Night Raid HQ
As everyone gathered in Night Raid's main hall, Najenda frowned as she sat in her chair, silent and unmoving as a rock until she spoke some time later, her voice serious.
"Mine is…hanging in there. We lost Sheele, but managed to recover Extase…..and not to mention it, we lost Susan-"
Before she could even finish, the door at the far end of the room opened up suddenly, drawing everyone's attention as a certain man with horns on his head walked into the room, blood stains on his chest and clothes! As everyone's eyes went wide and they rushed over to him, Susanoo glanced around, his face as emotionless and unmoving as a rock as he stared at Akame for a long time with the strangest look on his face before speaking suddenly.
"Your hair is uneven. Here, let me fix that."
As he silently fixed Akame's hair to be perfectly net and symmetrical, he nodded happily to himself as he straightened her shirt then turned to Lubbock and assessed him.
"Sloppy. Your coat is off by two degrees."
As he fixed Lubbock's coat and adjusted the buttons on it, Susanoo turned and stared at everyone, blinking twice as he saw tears streaming down their faces!
"Hrm? Your faces are leaking."
Suddenly grunting as he felt Lubbock slap him on the back, Susanoo turned to the boy in green as he grinned and spoke.
"You idiot! We thought you were dead!"
Glancing down at his blood-stained chest, Susanoo nodded as he spoke with a deadpan voice.
"My apologies. It seems that whatever that danger beast did to my chest…I thought it had ripped out my core, but somehow it seems I remain intact."
As Najenda grinned and rose from her chair at the far side of the room, she began to speak as she walked over to Susanoo.
"Are you up to fighting strength, Susanoo? Any significant damage?"
Susanoo shook his head and swung his staff around effortlessly, cracking a small grin as he spoke.
"Nothing of the sort. I am ready and willing to return to duty. More to the point….were there not two brothers we had recruited before we left?"
Najenda frowned as she nodded.
"Yes, there were…..and I told them they needed to come with us before we left, but the older one told me 'their time to fight had not yet come'. I'd originally chalked it up to their foreign origins, but I guess they tricked us….!"
Clearing her throat, Leone piped up and interrupted the silence that had descended upon the room like a blanket.
"Putting that aside…what about Mine? She's in bad shape after Bro- I mean…. Bulat, went and put his spear through her….."
Strangely, it was Chelsea who spoke up from across the room, a lollipop still in her mouth as she leaned out from the wall and stood up straight as she spoke.
"Unless Susanoo here is part doctor, we're going to need better help if we want to ever improve her condition."
Susanoo, his face still as readable as a stone wall, shook his head and interrupted.
"Sadly, I am not part doctor. I am one hundred percent Organic Teigu."
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Chelsea shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose as she continued.
"Aaaaanyway, I guess I'm saying if we really need to we're going to need some sort doctor from the city, or somewhere else, if Mine's ever going to get better."
Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, Najenda nodded slowly and spoke.
"Yes, I'm afraid you're right…..but I'm not sure if we should simply kidnap the first doctor we find in the capital….that's the reason Bulat left us in the first place."
As silence once more descended upon the room, Lubbock rubbed his matted green hair and spoke, his voice full of hesitation as he did so.
"Uh…..wouldn't the main camp of the revolution have some doctors or something? I guess it's a ways away from here, but…"
Najenda made no reply, she only seemed to fall deeper into thought as she returned to her seat at the far side of the room. After she seemed to think for the better part of five minutes, she seemed about to speak when the door crashed open once more as a man in ragged clothes fell inside! As everyone rushed over to him, Najenda knelt down beside him as the man extended a shaky, bloody hand clutching a piece of paper as he spoke through coughs.
"New….orders…..from HQ. Got attacked….on the way….."
As the man collapsed over dead, Najenda sighed and closed the man's eyes, opening the crinkled piece of paper and scanning it intently with her eyes for some time until she seemed to freeze. After a short while, Leone gently tapped her on the shoulder and knelt down beside her as she spoke.
"Uh, boss…? You okay?"
Suddenly standing up, Najenda once more closed her fist around the piece of paper and turned back to face everyone as she spoke with fire in her eyes.
"Saving Mine might be easier than we think…."
Looking mildly interesting, Chelsea spoke up from across the room.
"Oh? And how's that?"
Najenda grinned as she clenched her metal fist in the air and spoke, her face and body barely concealing her glee.
"This letter…..We have new orders, everyone!"
Later that night, Jaegar HQ
As the clock struck midnight, Kurome found herself sitting in the main meeting hall of the Jaegars, sitting on the cold marble floor with her arms wrapped around her legs as she stared at Jupiter's motionless form.
"What's happening to you in there, Tatsumi…?
Inside of Jupiter
Tatsumi was dreaming again…..but this time was much, much different than all the other times he had dreams. As he felt himself arriving at some sort of endless plain, grass blowing in some invisible breeze, Tatsumi scratched his head and sighed.
"What's this? The last thing I remember is lifting Susanoo up into the air on my wrist blade…"
As if appearing from nowhere, Tyrant swirled into Existence before Tatsumi, his form reminding him of Pluto and Thanatos as it held stared down at him with beady red eyes. Coughing, Tatsumi spoke.
"Is that Tyrant? From Bro's Incursio? Didn't you get used to make Jupiter?"
As he finished speaking, a keyblade manifested right before him, the blade stuck deep into the ground Incursio rumbled angrily. Hesitatingly picking up the keyblade, Tatsumi looked down at it before realizing what he was holding.
"This is….your keyblade, Incursio! Oh…..Oh! Since you don't have a physical armor form anymore, you need me to manifest you in my dreams…..right?"
Sadly, Incursio did not reply.
"Yeah, I guess you can't talk. I forgot normal Teigu can't do that."
His hand gripping the keyblade Tighter, he was about to attempt to summon Incursio when a strange Bestial-Mechanical voice boomed over the plains.
"Beware…..painful…beyond…imagination."
Glancing down at the Keyblade, Tatsumi grinned as he replied.
"Of course it will be! But if Bro could do this…."
Stabbing the blade into the ground, Tatsumi let out the roar he had Bro say countless times, a roar that made his bones rattle and shake with excitement and pain as he felt energy surging through them.
"I CAN TO! INCURSIOOOOOOOOOOO!"
As fire swirled into existence around him like a tornado from hell, Tatsumi saw Incursio vanish from in front of him and manifest behind him! Feeling the beast beginning to wrap around his body as Tatsumi felt his body creaking in pain, Tatsumi pushed on as he continued to pour his heart and soul into the blade in his hands, knowing Bro had done this before him, determined to live up to Bro's expectations.
"I WON'T FAIL YOU, BRO!"
As he felt blood erupt from his body in tiny geysers as Incursio finally forced its way onto his body, Tatsumi finally felt the armor wrap around him as he spoke, glancing down at his new-armored form.
"So….i'm using incursion now? But this is a dream, so…what?"
Feeling a strange sense of satisfaction radiating from his armor, Tatsumi frowned as he removed his helmet and rubbed his chin and tried to think of what was going on.
"Why are you doing this in my head, Incursio? It doesn't make any sense…."
As he continued to think, he suddenly felt his armor begin to contract around him tighter, and Tatsumi realized Tyrant wasn't done yet!
"Shit, that hurts! Is this….a part of using you too..?"
But as his armor suddenly vanished as it melted back into his skin, Tatsumi felt pain beyond anything he had ever felt before as he heard Jupiter's mechanical voice speaking from somewhere around him.
"User vitals spiking…..emergence of foreign object detected…."
Foreign object?
Before Tatsumi could even begin to wonder what that meant, he felt a sharp, fiery pain in his chest as he felt a round object emerging from his skin! Gripping his chest as the pain intensified, Tatsumi felt himself slipping into unconsciousness…..
Outside of Jupiter's armor, Main Jaegar Meeting hall
As Kurome sighed and continued to watch the motionless Jupiter, she rested her head on her knees as she thought about how she had confessed to Tatsumi as he had been dying. Her face suddenly going red, she buried her face even further into her knees as she mumbled to herself.
"So embarrassing…"
But strangely, Kurome felt a sense of contentment well up inside of her when she thought of how Tatsumi had returned her words, like no one had ever said to her before…and she felt happy. Happier than she had felt in a long time. Just as she was deep in her own thoughts of romance, she was startled out of her thoughts when she heard that same mechanical voice suddenly come from Jupiter, making her yelp as it spoke.
"Ragnarok Protocol disengaging…User returning to nominal levels…."
Unburying her head from her knees, Kurome glanced up just in time to see Jupiter's massive metal helmet turn slowly as it turned slowly to stare at her, its eyes once more glowing a gentle red color. As silence descended upon the room for a second, a confused voice came from the armor a half-minute later.
"Kurome…? Wha….?"
Barely able to contain her happiness, Kurome smiled as she replied, her eyes watery.
"You idiot…going and shutting down on us like that…."
Now turning to face her, Jupiter turned and stared at her as Tatsumi fell silent for a while before speaking.
"Shut down? Oh…..that thing Incursio did….."
Struggling to recall what had happened, Tatsumi glanced around the room before continuing to talk from inside Jupiter.
"How did I get back here? More importantly…..who was strong enough to carry me?"
Rising from where she had been sitting, Kurome walked over to Jupiter and glanced up into its metal helmet, desperately hoping to get a glimpse inside to see Tatsumi as she spoke.
"It was Koro….he and Seiryuu managed to carry your big metal suit there back to base."
As if they had been summoned, Koro and Seiryuu walked into the room a second later, her eyes going wide as she raced over to Jupiter and wrapped her arms around it as she spoke, her voice happy.
"Tatsumi! You survived!"
Clearly unsure how to handle the situation as Seiryuu tried to wrap her arms around his big metal chest plate, Tatsumi put his armored hand to his helmet as he spoke.
"Yeah….thanks for carrying me back, I guess."
Noticing Koro happily panting beside him, eyes as black as the night sky, Tatsumi happily patted him on the head with his giant metal hand and spoke, his voice childish and happy.
"Good boy! Who's a deadly, man eating Organic Teigu? You are!"
Happily panting as if he had just been given a treat, Koro continued to pant like this until Tatsumi rose up to a full standing position once more and glanced around the room as he spoke, the wings emblazoned on his armor gleaming in the moonlight from the nearby windows.
"What of Bro? Did Stylish save him?!"
Glancing at each other, Kurome and Seiryuu looked confused as Kurome spoke.
"We don't know…..he locked himself in his laboratory the second he got back to base, and as soon as I helped him put the body on a table he kicked me out…"
His metal hand closing slowly, Tatsumi fell silent for a few seconds before speaking once more.
"I just need to believe in Stylish, I guess. If he couldn't save him…..no one could."
As Tatsumi fell silent once more, his helmet turning to stare out the nearby window that looked out over the city, silence descended over the room until Kurome spoke up, her voice quiet as she ran her hand over Tatsumi's armor.
"Tatsumi…..are you in pain in there? Are you…..ok?"
Not making any visible moves for a few minutes, Tatsumi's voice came from Jupiter some time later, quiet and serious.
"I'm not fine, by any stretch of the word…the armor is constantly stabbing into me and slithering tubes into my body to keep me alive…..it sucks. If I could feel pain, I think I would be in constant agony…but this body of mine is so tattered that most of my sensed stopped working a long time ago. But I guess I can't complain…..I'm not dead. Technically."
Turning his helmet halfway back to her, Tatsumi spoke to Kurome once more.
"But I guess there's one thing I'm happy about."
As he fell silent once more and stared back out the window, the two women glanced at each other before Kurome spoke once more, curiosity creeping into her tone.
"What would that be?"
Remaining motionless for a second, Jupiter suddenly turned around and took a lumbering step forward, rattling the room as Tatsumi raised Jupiter's massive metal hand to brush Kurome's cheek as he spoke.
"Every time I see you, Kurome…..I feel…..happy. As stupid as it sounds, the dying heart of mine begins to race each time I see you. Cheesy, right?"
Falling silent for a second as Kurome closed her eyes as the cold metal of Jupiter's armored hand brushed along her cheek, she opened her eyes as Tatsumi drew his hand back and turned back to the window and continued.
"It's the one feeling I have left that hasn't died…even though I can't be there in person to see you with my own two eyes, I'm still happy that I can see you at all, y'know?"
Frowning sadly as she watched Tatsumi gaze out the window once more, Kurome nodded as she spoke, her voice quiet as she gently rested her hand on Tatsumi's armored back.
"No matter what you look like, even if I can't actually see you inside of that big metal suit…"
As Tatsumi turned around and looked down at Kurome's tiny hand on his metal chestplate, Kurome continued.
"It doesn't matter to me. You're still that same idiot you always are, you're just inside a metal suit now."
Holding back her tears with all her might, Kurome looked up into Tatsumi's helmet as he laughed and spoke.
"Haha….you never change, Kurome! No matter what's going, you'll just keep eating those snacks of yours and make some snarky comment, right? Honestly, that strength to keep that façade up no matter what's going on is one of your greatest strengths."
Gently resting his armored hand on her head, Kurome winced as he continued.
"But that's what I love about you, you know. Wow, never thought I would say that…if Sayo were here, she'd probably whack me upside the head and yell at me for something…..haha. Anyway Kurome….just know that no matter what comes after this, I swear that I'll always be right here at your side, ok? I might not be good for much else right now, but I swear I'll protect yo-"
Suddenly interrupted as Kurome whacked his helmet with her sword, She grinned as she spoke between bites of her snacks.
"What makes you think I need protecting, huh? I dare you to say that again!"
Awkwadly rubbing his head, Tatsumi laughed even louder than before as he spoke.
"Yeah, you're right….my bad. You're stronger than that…..well anyway, I'll be here at your side regardless, then!"
Her face going red, Kurome turned away and continued to eat her snacks as she mumbled a reply so quiet Tatsumi struggled to hear her.
"If it's you….I wouldn't mind."
Taking a step closer, Tatsumi spoke in a voice filled with confusion.
"What?"
Turning around suddenly and giving Tatsumi another whack on the helmet with her sword, Kurome grinned happily as she spoke.
"Nothing~!"
Rubbing his helmet once more, Tatsumi remained silent for a while until Seiryuu stretched and spoke.
"Well, I'm getting tired…..Koro and I are gonna head to bed. You coming, Kurome?"
Glancing between Tatsumi and Seiryuu, Kurome nodded and spoke.
"You go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."
Shrugging as she and Koro left the room and headed to bed, once the door had shut behind them Kurome walked over to Tatsumi and stared up into his helmet as she spoke in a firm voice.
"I'll only say this once….so listen up, okay?"
Nodding as he glanced down at her, Kurome's face turned red momentarily before she seemed shake it off and begin to speak.
"I….love you, Tatsumi. So don't go dying on me like that again, got it? I'll kill you if you die like that!"
Rubbing his helmet, Tatsumi smiled under his helmet as he gently rubbed Kurome's head and spoke.
"Don't worry. Come hell or high water, even if I had to face an army by myself….there's no way I'd die now that I've actually fallen in love with someone! And besides…..I don't think making you mad is a good idea."
Grinning as she whirled around and headed for the door, Kurome paused for a moment at the door as she spoke.
"Mm-hmm. Smart boy. See you tomorrow…Tatsumi."
Blushing for a moment before she left the room, once the door had shut behind her Tatsumi turned his massive metal body to face the window as he spoke out loud.
"I don't deserve a girl like that, I swear….."
After he had fallen silent for a while, Tatsumi was busy staring at the moon, deep in thought, when he heard the door open behind him followed by a voice he really hadn't been looking forward to hearing.
"Tatsumi. Are you in there?"
Sighing inside his armor, Tatsumi spoke without even turning around.
"Of course I am. This armor won't let me sleep with all the things it sticks into me to keep me alive….and I'm not even sure my body can sleep anymore. Anyway, what is it?"
Crossing her arms, Esdeath spoke as she sighed.
"About this relationship with Kurome you seem to have…."
Instantly whirling around and ejecting his wrist blades with a loud WHUMP, Tatsumi's mechanical voice was full of menace as he spoke.
"You touch her Esdeath, and I swear I'll fucking rip you in half."
Smirking, Esdeath shook her head as she replied.
"As much as I would love to tangle with you, Tatsumi….I intend on doing no such thing."
Hesitantly retracting his wrist blades, Tatsumi stared at her for a while, his helmet cold and expressionless as he spoke.
"Then, what…?"
Interrupting him with a wave of her hand, Esdeath continued nonchalantly.
"Why would I stop two of my subordinates from having relationships, hmm? As far as I can tell, this seems to have nothing but a positive effect on Kurome's attitude lately….she's much happier, it seems. No, I merely wanted to let you know I had no problems with it. In fact, I give you my best wishes in it…I am not so pointlessly cruel I would stop my soldiers from being happy, you know. Oh, and also I was simply wanting to tell you that I have decided to recall the soldiers I had placed around your village."
His armored form not budging an inch and not giving any visible reaction, Tatsumi was silent for a while before replying.
"Why would you recall them? I might decide to leave here, you know."
To Tatsumi's surprise, however, Esdeath laughed as she replied.
"I doubt you'll do that…Kurome's here."
Esdeath knew she had hit the nail on the head when Tatsumi fell silent for a while before replying.
"Damn it…but I guess I should thank you for that."
Again waving her hand dismissively, Esdeath spoke as she headed for the door to leave.
"Nonsense, do no such thing. I merely decided that keeping the threat of your village hanging over your head at this point was a moot point and only would serve to hinder your performance from here on out. From this moment, Tatsumi…."
Pausing for a moment, Esdeath spoke once more.
"…You're a full member of the Jaegers, if you so wish to join of your own free will."
Tatsumi paused only for a second before replying.
"I accept your offer…..there's no way I could leave Kurome like that."
Smirking as she turned away, Esdeath's voice came from the door as she left.
"Then welcome to the Jaegers, Tatsumi….perhaps a party is in order tomorrow…"
Hearing her debating it as the door shut behind her, Tatsumi turned back to the window and returned to his thoughts.
A full, proper member of the Jaegers…it doesn't feel special. I guess the only reason I did It was to be with Kurome….and I guess everyone else actually isn't that bad. They all have their quirks, but…nothing I can't get over. I think. Stylish might be too weird to get over.
Sighing inside of his armor, Tatsumi shook his helmeted head.
Let's not think about that. More importantly, if I'm a full-fledged member of the Jaegers….would Esdeath let me visit my village?
Pausing his thoughts for a moment, Tatsumi continued as he realized something.
Would they even want me back, when I look like a giant metal monster? Maybe the best thing I could do for them is save up money like I originally planned, and send it back when I have enough….
Jolted from his thoughts as he felt the morning Sunlight hit his helmet, Tatsumi realized he had been in his thoughts for almost two hours!
It's almost morning…maybe I should go on a walk….maybe buy something. Sounds nice.
Nodding to himself as he lumbered out of the room and headed for the exit, Tatsumi did his best not to wake anyone but was stopped as he passed through the main dining hall by Bols as he turned to Tatsumi and spoke.
"Oh, Tatsumi-kun! I'm glad you're okay!"
Smiling under his helmet, Tatsumi replied.
"Hey there, Bols. Yeah, I'm okay I guess….I'm not dead at least."
Trailing off as he smelled the most delicious food coming from the kitchen, Tatsumi felt his mouth water as he spoke once more.
"Whatcha makin', Bols?"
Humming happily as he flipped something in a pan, Bols spoke happily.
"Well, I got lots of requests for breakfast this morning, so I'm doing special requests this morning. For Wave-Kun, a giant seafood platter….for Kurome, an entire grilled boar. Seiryuu said she wanted a steak, Run wanted a salad, and Stylish said he didn't care, so I'm making him something special!"
Glancing over Bols' shoulder and seeing him making a kids meal, Tatsumi grinned under his helmet as he thought to himself.
A kids meal….? For Stylish? Right…
Suddenly thinking about something, Tatsumi spoke to Jupiter inside of his helmet.
"Jupiter, can I still eat things?"
It was only a second before his dreams were crushed.
"Negative. Your body is technically dead, so any food ingested would never get digested."
Sighing once more, Tatsumi patted Bols on the shoulder as he made his way to the door to leave.
"Anyway, I'm going to head out into the town for a walk. See ya, Bols."
Stopping as he heard Bols call out to him, Tatsumi looked back at Bols as he called out to him.
"Tatsumi-kun, you should visit me at home sometime! I'm sure my wife and kid would love to see you!"
Hesitating for a full five seconds, Tatsumi spoke.
"Even if I look like this?"
Bols suddenly stopped cooking and turned to stare at Tatsumi as he spoke, his voice serious as he did so.
"Tatsumi-kun…if my wife was like that, Judging people on how they looked….do you really think she would ever have given me the time of day?"
Falling silent for a second, Tatsumi looked down at the ground and replied.
"Yea, you're right. Sorry, Bols."
Bols waved his hand happily as he went back to cooking.
"Don't worry about it, Tatsumi-Kun…..sometimes, I still think I'm dreaming…that I'm going to wake up any minute now, and I'll be back in the incineration squad…"
Not knowing what to say, Tatsumi walked over to Bols and patted him on the shoulder as he spoke.
"I think I can understand how you feel. Sometimes I think I'm dreaming, and that I'm going to wake up and be back in my village, Sayo and Ieyasu standing at my side, my body back to normal. But this isn't a dream, Bols….I only have to think about Kurome and how she actually said she loves me to know that."
Pausing for a moment, Bols nodded for a second and gave a reply, his voice quieter than normal.
"Yeah."
Turning to head to the door, Tatsumi paused before he left and spoke.
"Take care, Bols. If anyone asks, I went out for fresh air."
Bidding farewell as he shut the door behind him and stepped out into the halls and headed for the exit, Tatsumi sighed with relief as he finally stepped outside and felt fresh air flow into his helmet. Briefly pausing to savor the smell of the air, Tatsumi headed out into the town itself with no real goal in particular as he walked, briefly taking note of the strange gazes he got from the people and town guard, but paying them no mind as he walked, his steps rattling the ground around him. Walking for a while until he realized he was at the entrance to the main shopping street, Tatsumi thought to himself as he watched countless people stare at him as they entered and left.
Maybe I'll buy something….oh, maybe something for Kurome? Nah, she doesn't seem the type for that kind of thing….but I guess if I bought some weapon or bag of roasted meat she'd like it.
Nodding happily to himself that he would try to find something nice for the girl he liked, no, loved, Tatsumi entered the crowds of the shopping district, people clearing a path for him as he walked and looked around him at the stalls to see what they were selling. Walking for a bit and seeing nothing he thought Kurome would like, Tatsumi thought he was going to have to leave empty handed when he saw a sign that piqued his interest.
Roy's smith shop
Special offer: Bring your own metal, and have it forged into something of your choosing!
Now half off!
Briefly thinking about this, Tatsumi spoke to Jupiter from inside of his helmet.
"Jupiter, you have any spare parts I could melt down? Anything you don't need to function?"
Hearing chirping for a bit, Jupiter spoke a minute later.
"Affirmative."
Smiling as a single golden gear the size of a child's head appeared from a slot in his armor, Tatsumi nodded happily as he addressed Jupiter once more.
"Thanks. Oh dammit, my money's inside of my coat pocket, here in the armor! Hey Jupiter, can you get my money from my pocket?"
Hearing no words as the coins appeared from the same slot in his armor seconds later, Tatsumi happily ducked into the smith shop and glanced around as he called out.
"Anyone hoooome? Hellooo?"
Hearing a loud rattling noise a few seconds later, Tatsumi heard a voice come from the back.
"Yeah, yeah! Keep yer pants on!"
As a rough looking man entered the main shop seconds later, his grizzled old face clearly surprised at seeing an armored behemoth in his shop, he spoke hesitantly as he sat down behind the counter.
"Uh…anything I can do for you?"
Slamming the gear and the coins down on the counter, Tatsumi spoke eagerly.
"What can you make with this?"
Clearly interested with the gear, the man whistled softly as he ran his hand over the smooth metal, picking it up and humming as he spoke a few seconds later.
"Hrm….this is nice metal, sir…..well, what do you want me to make? This is big enough, so I think I could make something up to, say…"
Rubbing his grizzled chin as he closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking, the man spoke a few seconds later.
"…a pair of bracers, maybe? If I used some leather for the straps, then maybe I could make a pair of good metal bracers. They could even block a sword, maybe…..I might even have enough left over to make a ring or something."
Thinking intently under his helmet, Tatsumi thought about Kurome for a second.
Bracers, huh? Those might actually be useful to her…she has some arm protection now, I guess…..Maybe if he could color them black and red to match her color palate, then…yeah…
Turning to the man and nodding, Tatsumi spoke.
"Yeah, Bracers and a ring sounds nice. Could you make the bracers black and red? The person I wanna make these for kinda has a certain color preference…."
Once again rubbing his chin and thinking, the man nodded a few seconds later.
"I don't see why not, I guess. Shame to ruin the nice golden sheen, but if you got a girlfriend who likes black and red, then mums the word."
His face going red under his helmet, Tatsumi was about to angrily dispute the man's words when the man turned to Tatsumi and spoke.
"Okay, wait there for an hour or two, and I'll be done in a bit. This won't take long."
Nodding, Tatsumi moved to the corner of the shop where he would be out of the way to wait for the man to be done and was glancing absentmindedly around the shop when he spied a sword so massive he had never seen anything like it on a mount on the wall. Spying a hastily scribbled note that was tacked onto a plaque with a name on it, Tatsumi read it out loud.
"The Steel Splitter…can anyone even use this thing? It's been sitting here for years after the king commissioned it but found no one could wield it."
Gently retrieving the almost Seven foot long behemoth from its mount on the wall, Tatsumi was surprised when even he, inside of Jupiter, had a bit of trouble wielding the solid-iron sword!
"Jesus….how big is this sword, Jupiter?"
The armor chirped a few seconds later.
"Seven feet three inches long…made of solid cast-iron…weighs approximately 450 pounds."
Tatsumi whistled appreciatively as lifted the gargantuan sword that was almost up to his chestplate into the air with one armored hand, speaking to himself as he did so.
"This could supplement my limited attack capacity…."
As he was intently looking at the massive sword before him, Tatsumi heard the smith's incredulous gasp as the man spoke from the entrance from the forge.
"Jeezus, man! You can lift that damn thing?!"
Glancing at the man as he gently returned the seven foot monstrosity of a sword to its mount on the wall, Tatsumi nodded hesitantly as he spoke.
"I guess. Who the hell in the world made that thing?"
Scratching his balding head, the man sat down behind the counter and seemed to be recalling something for a second as he replied.
"The last king. He wanted a sword that was strong enough to split steel with a single blow….god knows why. So I made it for him to the dimensions he wanted, but when he found not one damn man or woman could wield the thing, he sent it back. Fuckin' dick….things been sitting in my shop for thirty years. Oh, your bracers and ring are done. Sorry it took so long."
Blinking once under his helmet, Tatsumi spoke.
"What? How long has it been?"
The man replied in a bored tone.
"Four hours."
Blinking once more, Tatsumi hesitantly put the bracers and ring the man handed him in the pouch around his waist as he went to leave. He was stopped, however, when the man spoke up from behind him.
"Hey, man….take that damn sword if you want…I doubt anyone else can wield it, and if this goes on any longer I'm going to melt it down, so…."
Glancing back at the man, Tatsumi spoke incredulously.
"Wha….? Really?"
The man grinned and waved his hand dismissively.
"Sure…..might as well get some use out of it, yeah?"
As Tatsumi hesitantly picked the sword up from the wall mount and held it in his hand, he noticed it had a chain bolted to it! Swinging the chain over his shoulder and grinning as the sword stayed on his armored back, Tatsumi turned back to the smith and nodded respectfully.
"I appreciate it, sir."
The man grinned and nodded.
"Don't mention it. Just tell anyone who asks what shop you got it at, okay?"
Nodding as he left the shop, Tatsumi grinned happily as he examined the ring and bracers in his armored hand and thought to himself.
Kurome's gonna like this, I think. Can't wait to get back to give it to her.
Feeling someone tap on his armor as he was shook from his thoughts, Tatsumi turned to his side to see a frail old woman speak to him.
"You're strong, right? Someone's getting attacked over here!"
Bristling instantly, Tatsumi nodded and spoke.
"Where?"
Following the old woman as she led him down a side street and to a small trapdoor that was sitting in the burnt out remains of a house, the old lady swung open the door with some visible effort, then turned back to speak to Tatsumi.
"Down here! Please, go save my child!"
Hesitating as he stared at the darkness that seemed to beckoning to him, Tatsumi quickly cast aside his doubt and leapt down into the hole only to land a second later with a thunderous CRASH, his head barely below the ceiling in the tiny basement as he glanced around. Seeing nothing, Tatsumi turned around only to see the old lady jump nimbly down after him, shutting the trap door behind her as she suddenly morphed into the girl with the pink hair he had seen with night raid! His hand instantly going to his sword on his back, Tatsumi glanced around as he saw something that made him sigh heavily as he watched five more shadowy forms step from the darkness and into his field of view as the pink hair woman spoke.
"Sorry Tatsumi, But…..we need to take you out if we're going to ever have a hope of defeating the minister."
Drawing his massive sword, Tatsumi glanced around and sighed as he saw what was going on.
"Damn it all….I was excited to give these gift to Kurome…."
Here, in this tiny and dimly lit basement…..
Night Raid had him surrounded.
Hey guys, chapter ten is done, and boy was it long! At least compared to what I normally write, anyway. My main goal for this chapter was to ease off the non-stop intensity of the combat I had been writing about and focus more on the individuals of the Jaegers and how they interacted, not to mention more of Tatsumi and Kurome's relationship, and I'm satisfied with my job. Oh, and I'm excited I thought of giving Tatsumi a huge ass sword like guts has in Berserk...it's gonna be awesome. Anyway, I loved writing it, and like always reviews are appreciated, so keep 'em coming. I love writing this stuff even if I didn't post it anywhere, but it's always nice to know people like what you write. See you next week! (Hopefully)