It wasn't the brightness of the sun that roused Tatsumi from sleep, nor was it the raging blizzard raging outside of the hut, pounding at the doors and windows. It was the absence of a body next to his own. Throughout the night, he remembered feeling Esdeath's skin against his own. Her arms and legs wrapped around his body, indicating that the woman would not let go of him. There was a sense of protection there, as if he were truly protected throughout the night from any of the night terrors that could emerge from anywhere. The land had still run rampant of Danger Beasts, thus there was a village watch on the lookout for them at all times.

The room itself was warm – though lacking of any particular features. But without Esdeath's body pressed against him, Tatsumi felt cold. Tossing off a blanket, he stood and gathered the few bits of clothes that he could actually find – pants and a t-shirt.

The rest had to be around here somewhere.

He dropped to his knees and practically crawled under the bed to reach for an item of clothing. From his position, he could see a pair of bare feet entering the room – he knew it to be Esdeath, even without the killing presence that used to surround her. "Hey, Es," he said, unsure of how to respond after last night.

"Tatsumi. What are you doing awake?"

Whatever was under the bed was too far out of reach, so he crawled further under the bed. She couldn't help but stare at Esdeath's legs – they seemed to glisten against the backdrop of the light. His eyes trailed upwards…

Oh god…

Blood rushed up to his cheeks as she felt the need to suddenly get away from under the bed. He moved too fast, smacking his head against the hard underside of the bed.

"Ow, damn it!"

Tatsumi pulled away from the bed, grabbing at the back of his head. He felt no blood, but it still hurt enough that he could swear that he was seeing static in front of his eyes. It throbbed, taking over all thoughts as though challenging his mind to think of something else. A warm body pressed against him, her arms enveloping his bare back. He felt the rush of blood in his cheek once more as he realized that Esdeath was not wearing anything at all.

The embarrassment faded only slightly when he felt something cool against the back of his head.

"Did you give me a nickname? Es, you said?"

"Uh…yeah…"

"Hm…I think I like it," she told him.

Little by little, the throbbing was fading away. He imagined that Es was using her ice ability to soothe the pain. "It…really just came to my thoughts."

Suddenly, her fingers cupped his face and he was staring up at her. "Tatsumi, was last night…was it a mistake?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You told me that you loved me. Did you mean all of that?"

Tatsumi remembered actions from last night, but not any of the words that were said. Did they even say anything coherent? He couldn't remember – in fact, all he could remember was what was said before he had called her 'My Esdeath'. Staring up at her, he could see the emotions playing across her face.

A blush.

Worried eyes.

Tightly pressed lips.

His silence must've given her an answer, for she pulled away. "I see…so this was just like at the beach. I exposed myself for little gain, it seems."

"W-Wait, Esdeath!"

She quickly pulled away and rose. "I don't blame you in the slightest, Tatsumi. It has been a long time. A lot has happened since then. But I don't intend to return to the Empire, nor do I intend to give you up that easily."

"Es, you know I can't stay here with you. Not even as your prisoner."

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "You aren't my prisoner. I…I don't…."

Her words trailed off, fists clenching.

Tatsumi rose. "It's not that I don't feel something for you. I do feel something…but it's been so long that I'm not sure if this is love or lust."

She snorted.

"Stop it, Esdeath. Ever since you came back, a lot has happened. One moment, you're declaring your love for me, and the next, you're willing to fight me to the death. The moment we get alone, we end up sleeping together. I just want something that lasts."

Esdeath was silent. She hadn't turned away, though her fists were now trembling.

"I know a part of this is my fault as well. But we have a daughter that you haven't even gotten to know yet. I want our daughter to know their mother."

"I should refrain…I will not peacefully step foot into the New Empire. They are the enemies I have dedicated myself to destroying."

"You prided yourself on being the strongest on the battlefield, of driving your enemies into terror. This village isn't terrified of you at all, though, are they?"

She glared at him. The scars that he could see were healing thanks to the aloe – she probably had left to apply more on her body. But standing there, he saw that she was moving on shaky knees. The tremors would've been unnoticed by the untrained eye, but Esdeath was still very weak.

"You haven't been roaming the battlefields as much as you used to. You remember what you said last night? That you would change for me?"

Esdeath chuckled and wiped at her face. "Like you, that was said in the heat of the moment. I change for no one."

"That's a lie."

Now she spun around. Tatsumi saw his chance. He leapt forward, closing the small distance between them in a flash. She was slowed, but she still made a move to react. As if drawn by instinct, her hand flung out, creating an ice sword in it. But it wouldn't have mattered – it was too late for her to do anything.

Before Esdeath could begin to swing, Tatsumi flung her arms around her body. She tensed, but not enough to be stiff. "What are you…" she started before Tatsumi kissed her forehead.

"Stop fighting change."

"Again," she said, "You ask for impossible things."

"I heard about how you've been from that Demon. It's okay to lay down your arms for loved ones."

"I can't…"

"There's nothing weak about being with your loved ones. Let me show you," he said, pulling back enough so that she could look up at him. "I'm not asking you to change your whole life around for me. But I do want you in my life – in our daughter's life. Is it so bad to give my way of life a chance? I accept you for who you are, Esdeath. But the world is changing. It's time to try something new."

"Hmph," she said. "You think that you're asking me for something small, but I can't comprehend your world. It's not for me. It never will be."

"It doesn't have to be. The strong will live, and the weak will perish. I get that. But I still want us to be able to live."

"Your Empire won't forgive you for letting me live."

"The Old Esdeath wouldn't forgive herself for allowing a Night Raid assassin to kiss her," he said, following up by kissing her on the lips. "All I'm asking is for you to trust me. That's it. You said you would change, so prove it. Show me that you're strong enough to adapt to the new world."

"I have nothing to prove, Tatsumi," she said, though her voice was light, almost teasing.

"Yes, you do. To put it in your terms, in your worldview, be strong enough to prove yourself worthy of an appropriate challenge, and the prize is yours."

Esdeath pushed up on her toes to kiss Tatsumi.

The Empire's Strongest would never admit it in her lifetime, but she failed to compel the person she loved to follow her will. Instead, she was the one that was starting to follow his. What was this magnetic pull that they had for each other? They were both uncompromising in their worldviews. And yet, Esdeath felt as if he were the one with the superior view. His world was so alien to her – the strong helping the weak, peace reigning across all of the lands. It would never work and she could only live on the battlefield, in war when she truly felt alive.

But the kiss she shared with Tatsumi and the night she shared with him…she felt even more alive here.

Could she feel this way with a daughter in the picture?

Was it wrong…to turn on everything she believed in her life, for Tatsumi and their daughter?

The journey wouldn't last quite the full week, but Akame knew she had to be prepared regardless. She still knew very little about Esdeath's fighting style, and she wasn't so sure that she would've been able to fight against her alone. Her mind called back to a time when Night Raid challenged Esdeath, and they were soundly defeated. Esdeath was weakened now, and at the very least, Akame was capable of taking care of Esdeath.

Tatsumi was the problem, though.

Her face scrunched into a scowl as she thought about how to deal with him if he was going to protect her. The possibility couldn't be ignored. She couldn't fathom dealing with another comrade dying. The wagon was moving at an incredible pace, but it was filled with such silence that Akame worried that the tension would be detected by their enemy as they approached the winter expanse.

She glanced to an understandably frustrated Mein.

The weapon poking out from underneath her seat was no Teigu – Akame remembered how Pumpkin was completely destroyed in the rebellion, but it still packed a lot of kinetic energy. The blasts fired from the thing could possibly destroy almost anything, and it was a testament to her sword that Mein's shots didn't destroy her blade. Perhaps Murasame had fed on so much blood that it could not be destroyed any longer.

It was an uncomforting thought.

Leone was looking at her, but Akame ignored it for the time being. She was concerned about the thoughts her allies might have had for her.

"Mein?"

The ambassador hardly responded. She blinked, but nothing more.

So that must've been how it was. Akame sat back, a frown creeping on her face. Of course Mein was upset at her. She couldn't blame her. But the lack of a real response hurt a little bit – years ago, it might have hurt a lot more, though she would keep on a façade. She hadn't been used to masking her emotions as much as she had recently. Not with the visits to her special person. Truth be told, she had come to the New Empire a lot – though it was without anyone's knowledge. It was easy, given the life she'd been living for quite a while.

In fact, it was while she was about to return to the village she had settled in when she picked up Esdeath's trail.

Oh, why didn't she end it when she had the chance?

It wasn't as if Esdeath was putting up a fight.

"I should have stopped her. I'm sorry that I failed twice."

"Would you stop apologizing," Mein fiercely shouted. "I'm not angry at you – I'm angry at the situation. I mean, she attacked everyone…so many people are dead because of her, not you."

Akame didn't relax her features. Esdeath still could have been stopped.

Lubbock's hand patted her knee. "Don't be upset. What's done is done, right?"

She looked up. It didn't feel appropriate to smile, but she felt gratitude all the same. She touched his hand and whispered her thanks. A feeling of worry still clouded her mind, however, and she wondered about her special person. It became more and more of a concern lately, thinking about things like that.

"Ugh!" Lubbock grumbled, throwing himself back into his seat. "I'm sounding more like Tatsumi! Damn it!"

Leone chuckled and slammed a gloved hand over her shoulder. "Well, you are the Tatsumi backup."

"That's not funny," Lubbock sank into his seat in further, pulling a string of wires from his Teigu's spool. "Not funny at all."

"Cheer up, Lubs! Not everybody can be Tatsumi."

"Apparently not…" he sighed. "I don't envy the guy. Two crazy women vying for his attention. I thin Chelsea had a thing for him too."

"Th-That's enough!" screamed Mein. "And I'm not crazy! I'm completely not crazy. That would be you. We're about to go fight against the crazy woman and you're over there fantasizing about Tatsumi's harem. That's creepy!"

"I'm not fantasizing," he said, and then added quietly under his breath, "It's the truth."

Akame could almost feel relieved. Seemed like nothing had changed with her comrades – no, she wanted to call them her friends. They were her friends. So was Tatsumi. But Esdeath was also in the equation – would Tatsumi forgive them if they killed Esdeath? Akame didn't know, but the deaths of so many innocents had to be avenged. If Esdeath had killed her special person…

No, regardless of Tatsumi, Esdeath had to die.

And once she was gone, everything would start to return to peaceful times. One more battle to fight, and that would truly be the end of the Old Empire.

Esdeath was weakened. This battle would still be tough, and there was her ability to control time, but with Night Raid working together, Esdeath would easily fall.

When the battle finally came, Akame would remember these words.

…and she would regret ever saying them.