Chapter ahoy, chapter ahoy!

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Tatsumi received an unexpectedly warm welcome when he returned back to Night Raid's headquarters.

It took a caravan ride and two nights of agony being on the road with the irritating Mine, but when they finally reached the rest of Night Raid, it all seemed worth it.

They entered through the front doors and saw Najenda sitting on her throne-like chair at the end of the hall. She had a cigarette in her mouth and a pleased expression on her face when she spotted Mine and Tatsumi.

"Well?" She asked as she got slowly out of her chair. "Is Ogre dead?"

"Yeah, that walking pile of muscles won't be a bother anymore." Mine answered faster than Tatsumi could.

The sounds of quick footsteps echoed from Tatsumi's right and two people came striding down the stairs. Akame and Bulat came over and entered the Great Hall as well. The moment Bulat saw Tatsumi, he darted over to him and patted him incredibly hard on the back, to the point where Tatsumi almost yelped.

"Nice work! I knew you had it in you, little brother." Bulat chuckled while placing his hand on his hips. It was early morning but somehow his hair was still curled and brushed into the most flamboyant and flashy way possible.

"Little…brother…?" Tatsumi repeated back slowly, not expecting to be called by a name like that.

His confusion was left unanswered as Najenda walked over to Tatsumi and held out her hand for him to shake.

It still seemed strange for Tatsumi to have a handshake with a mechanical arm, but he attempted to act as natural about it as possible in the fear of seeming rude to the leader of Night Raid.

Najenda ended the handshake and took her cigarette out of her mouth and tossed it to the side.

"Bulat's right, you've done an incredible job, Tatsumi."

"Me? But he was just one guy."

"Doesn't matter." Akame interrupted. Tatsumi glanced towards her and saw that her emotionless expression hadn't change the least since he left for the mission. "Ogre was feared by many in the Capital for his raw strength, you did well for a non-Imperial Arm user."

That caused Tatsumi to remember just exactly why they were congratulating him the way they were, it was because they didn't expect a nobody like him to pull off such a feat. He had only a partial compatibility with an Imperial Arm and he wasn't even close to being a trained professional like the others. While being congratulated by them was nice, just the fact that he was still the weakest and most feeble out of the entire group ate away at him without any mercy.

"That's not important…" Tatsumi whispered to everyone, his head lowered and his voice cracked. "I'm still weak."

A hand landed on Tatsumi's shoulder. He looked up expecting it to be Bulat's hand, but instead it was Akame's.

And she finally had a smile on her face. It took Tatsumi by complete surprise. It was a calm and innocent smile, but it felt like he had never seen one exactly like it. Akame spoke softly to Tatsumi.

"You survived. That is what is important. If you survive, you're the strongest. None of the other facts matter."

As Mine gave a full report to Najenda in private, the rest of the group headed back to their bedrooms.

Those words said by Akame struck Tatsumi far stronger than he had thought. He entered his small bedroom and sat restlessly on his bed, repeating those words over and over in his head. No matter what the circumstances were, if he survived a mission given by Nigh Raid, he was strong in his own way. It frightened him to think that he could die at any moment, but at the same time it kept him constantly alert and motivated to do everything to the best of his ability. He wasn't strong right now, but if he kept surviving that fact would change.

And Tatsumi knew that to keep surviving like he had done with his battle against Ogre, he was going to need some training.

His first instinct was to ask Akame, as he had already seen how ridiculously skilled she was, but he felt anxious doing something like that. Seeing her smile made him feel more comfortable about her, but he still didn't feel as though it was right to ask her to train him.

Knowing that it was already morning and there wasn't much point in sleeping, Tatsumi got off the bed and left his bedroom, walking aimlessly down the hall.

Bulat was at the other end of the hallway, wearing a simple, white shirt instead of his bulky, green armour. It was distracting to Tatsumi, as the small shirt made Bulat's countless muscle pulsate clearly out for him to see. Bulat had a hairbrush in his hand, using it to constantly attend to his hair, but he put it away as his eyes landed on Tatsumi.

"Hey, little brother." He spoke, speaking to Tatsumi as though they were already close friends. It felt strange to Tatsumi. "What are you doing? You should rest after all you've done."

There was no doubt or hesitation within Tatsumi anymore. He needed someone to teach him how to be strong like the rest of Night Raid were. Tatsumi took in a deep breath before responding.

"Bulat…could you train me?"

Bulat showed signs of being surprised, but Tatsumi couldn't tell if the expression on his face was shock or pleased.

"You want me to train you?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, sure. I don't mind showing you the ropes. When do you want to start?"

"Can we start now?"

Bulat chuckled and patted Tatsumi on the head, his pleased grin now fully visible.

"Just raring to go, aren't you? That's great!" He cheered, placing his right arm around Tatsumi and unintentionally pressing his muscles incredibly forcefully against his friend. "We've got a training ground outside, let's go!"

Tatsumi almost found himself laughing in delight. Bulat was intimidating because of his sheer size, but he was extremely friendly towards Tatsumi and seemed like he was constantly filled to the brim with energy. They rushed downstairs and outside together and Bulat grinned as they stood on the soft sand of the outside and felt the sun's heat beam down on them.

"Alright, Tatsumi." Bulat started, somehow looking even more excited than Tatsumi was about the training session. "First, I'll teach you how to properly strike with a weapon."

That confused Tatsumi immensely. He had been trained by an old veteran back in his village since he was a young child, he knew exactly how to hold a weapon. Bulat saw Tatsumi's perplexed look and chuckled, then grabbed a long, wooden staff and handed it to Tatsumi while keeping one for himself. They stood opposite each other, but Bulat was planning on having a sparring session with Tatsumi just yet. Instead, he held out his wooden staff and swung it a few times as a demonstration to Tatsumi.

"See how I'm swinging it?" Bulat asked as he swung a couple more times in the air, the sheer force of his swings enough to push a heavy amount of wind to clash against Tatsumi, thought Tatsumi tried his best not to fall from the wind. "Try swinging like me."

Tatsumi nodded and watched as Bulat quickly stopped to watch what he would do. With a deep breath, Tatsumi lifted up the wooden staff and swung it as hard as he could, thinking that he was doing well. However, as he turned his head to look at the observing Bulat, he stopped as he saw Bulat shake his head.

"No, no. It's all wrong, Tatsumi."

"Wha-?" Tatsumi seemingly protested, having no idea what he was doing wrong with his swings. "What's wrong? I swung it pretty hard, didn't I?"

"The strength behind the swing of a weapon isn't the only essential, you know."

"Then what am I missing?"

"It's not about what you're missing, it's about what you're overdoing." Bulat explained, moving over to Tatsumi and holding his hands while they both held the wooden staff. Tatsumi looked down and watched as Bulat held onto the staff in a completely different way that he was. "The problem is that you move unnecessarily."

"I have unnecessary movement?"

"That's right. You move parts of your muscles that aren't even required."

"Is that bad?"

"Very bad. Because of that, you move much slower than usual and you're going to tire yourself out way faster."

Tatsumi nodded understandingly and watched as Bulat stepped back to watch him do it again. Mimicking the same way that Bulat had his hands positioned on the staff, Tatsumi swung it again and again, trying to limit his movements but still have force within them.

Bulat shook his head at Tatsumi's display and folded his arms.

"Again!" He roared and that's exactly what Tatsumi did.

Again and again, with sweat gradually started to drip down his face, Tatsumi swung the staff. It went on for a seemingly endless amount of time, but each time Bulat would seem slightly more happy with the way that Tatsumi was moving.

They continued for several hours, with Bulat constantly giving out more tips and suggestions for how Tatsumi should've moved. It was surprising to Tatsumi just how much time they were spending on just learning how to swing normally, but he didn't question Bulat even once about it. Bulat was a trained and experienced assassin, Tatsumi knew that this training would have to benefit him one way or another. As time went on, Bulat would switch out whatever Tatsumi would be swinging and give him something more difficult to work with. First a wooden staff, then a staff with a jagged rock at the end, and finally a massive, steel sword. The first two staffs were easy for Tatsumi and eventually Bulat told him that he was getting better at using them, but the steel sword was impossible for Tatsumi. It was simply too heavy and he couldn't swing it the way Bulat wanted him to.

By the end of it, Tatsumi was completely drenched in sweat to the point where his clothes felt wet and soggy, sticking unpleasantly to his skin. Bulat hadn't broken a sweat even though he had been exercising twice as much when demonstrating different movements. Finally, Tatsumi dropped the steel sword onto the ground and panted heavily, his arms feeling so worn out that they felt like rubber.

"Phew," Bulat laughed, putting down his training weapon too. He walked over to Tatsumi and they both put the training equipment from where they found it. Bulat smiled as he gave Tatsumi a pat on the head. "You did well, little brother."

"Thanks…" Tatsumi muttered back, still trying to catch his breath and stand up properly, they had been training for so long that it was almost afternoon already. "Can we take a break."

"Sure thing."

As they were going to leave the training ground and re-enter the building, the door slowly opened up and someone stepped outside. Green hair pointing in different directions, shaggy and scrappy clothes hanging off him, and red goggles practically taped to his forehead. It was Lubbock, and it looked like he had just woken up. He glanced at both Bulat and Tatsumi, looking as though they had run a marathon, and raised an eyebrow.

"You guys been training?" Lubbock asked, the silver Imperial Arm attached to his gloves glimmering and reflecting the sunlight.

Tatsumi noticed the Imperial Arm and frowned. It seemed strange to him that Lubbock always had his Imperial Arm right with him. None of the other Night Raid members constantly kept their weapons by their sides, so Tatsumi wondered why Lubbock was the odd one out in that regard.

"Yes, I thought it would be a good idea to train Tatsumi, he lacks experience and we need to toughen him up." Bulat chuckled as an answer, patting Tatsumi on the back a second time

"How long have you been going?"

"Since morning."

"You never trained with me, Bulat. You found a favourite or something?" Lubbock remarked, having a grin on his face to show that he was only joking around.

"Actually, I've offered to train with you a dozen times, you've always turned me down."

Lubbock widened his eyes and looked sceptical, causing Tatsumi to almost laugh. Not even Lubbock himself remembered that he never chose to train.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"Eh, it's not that important anyway." Lubbock dismissed casually, looking at his fingernails as though not caring at all. "I don't need training."

"Why not?" Tatsumi suddenly blurted out. He hadn't been a proper part of the conversation, but he had instinctively joined in anyway.

"Because," Lubbock cackled, grinning proudly as he pointed to the Imperial Arm latched onto his gloves. "My Imperial Arm doesn't require physical strength, all it needs is a creative mind."

Bulat turned to Tatsumi and rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Bulat said. "Why'd you come out here?"

"Najenda and everyone else is waiting in the hall, she wants to have a talk or something."

"Right."

Lubbock, Bulat, and Tatsumi entered the building together and moved quickly into the Great Hall. Najenda was no longer sitting like she usually was, and the rest of Night Raid were circled around her.

"Ah, there you three are." Najenda said. "Good. I need everyone here."

Bulat frowned. "What's going on? You don't usually gather everyone together like this unless something's off."

"Well, that's because something has come up that I need to tell you all."

Everyone listened silently and hung onto every word from Najenda. Both Tatsumi and Bulat looked concerned, but everyone else had an emotionless and unfazed expression on their face.

"I went for a stroll around these hilltops just an hour ago. "Najenda whispered, closing her eyes as she recalled a terrible memory. "I found a bleeding man lying on the riverside underneath our building."

"Part of the Revolutionary Army?" Sheele inquired, and Najenda nodded her head in response.

"Yes. I had sent a raven to one of their headquarters in the southern regions of the kingdom, asking if we have any new intel on the inside of the Capital. More than anything, we need to know what the Capital is doing to fight back against us. That bleeding man near our camp brought a file with information in it, but was attacked by a group of trained killers before he reached us. He died trying to bring us that file."

Simply hearing that made Tatsumi sick to his stomach. And as he looked around, he watched as both Leone and Sheele lowered their heads and whisper something together. Tatsumi hadn't heard the words properly, but from the tone it sounded remorseful.

"I just read through a few moments ago." Najenda continued. "Not only are they gathering up as many Imperial Arms as possible, but they've also seen the return of their most powerful General."

"You don't mean-" Mine gasped, looking pale and sickly.

Najenda nodded. "That's right. General Esdeath has returned to the Capital and has been tasked with eliminating the entire Revolutionary Army."

Tatsumi instinctively raised his hand as though a student who wanted a question answered. Najenda glanced at Tatsumi and seemed confused by his action, but paid attention none the less.

"Yes, Tatsumi?"

"I'm sorry," Tatsumi muttered timidly. "I just have two questions. First, how do we know this? And second, just who is 'Esdeath'?"

Najenda shook her head. "Not a problem. I suppose I should've explained more to you before telling all of this information."

"I'll explain." Akame said, turning to Tatsumi. "We have many allies inside of the Capital. We gain our information from what they can relay to us."

"If we have a lot of allies in the Capital, why not just ask them to eliminate our targets?" Tatsumi asked.

Mine sighed. "It's not like that, dimwit. When we say 'allies', we mean ordinary villagers who are willing to risk their safety in order to secretly tell us what goes on in the Capital. They're no fighters."

"Indeed." Akame continued. "Villagers are being killed and exploited every day, and some have become so sick of it that they're willing to put their lives on the line for someone to end it."

"And…who's Esdeath."

Bulat glared at Tatsumi. "If 'evil' could take a physical manifestation, it wouldn't be all that different from Esdeath."

"S-Seriously?"

"Now, now." Leone interrupted, waving her index finger in front of Bulat. "Let's not exaggerate. Tatsumi, she's just a really, really strong Imperial Arm user and someone we don't want to fight."

"Just how strong is she?"

"I doubt we would win even if we all attacked her at the same time." Najenda answered.

Just the thought of that was absurd to Tatsumi. Night Raid was a team of highly skilled assassins, but there was someone out there who could defeat them all? He couldn't begin to fathom what kind of person Esdeath was, but he wasn't exactly too keen on meeting her either. What Bulat said about her was enough to cause Tatsumi to shiver just from the name.

"Well," Najenda sighed. "There's one last thing I need to inform you all about."

"What is it?" asked Mine.

"Remember what I said about the messenger? He was attacked by formidable foes on his way here, he was the only survivor out of a dozen men who were traveling this way. The people who attacked him are two new subordinates of Esdeath."

"Esdeath has subordinates now?" asked Leone, sounding incredibly frustrated by the news.

"Yes. They're simply known as the Twins. While we know that the Capital has already been collected all the Imperial Arms they can to fight back, the Twins are Imperial Arm users that work and serve Esdeath personally. We don't know what their Imperial Arms are, but we mustn't underestimate them. According to the last page written in the file we received, the Twins are directed their next attack towards a Rebel camp located on Mountain Fake. We need to prevent that attack, losing more soldiers is not an option."

"Will Esdeath be there with the Twins…?" asked Tatsumi, desperately hoping that the answer would be a 'no'.

"There's no way of telling. Esdeath might've sent the Twins to accomplish this by themselves, or she might've chosen to be part of the attack too. I'll try to get more spies to look further into the matter before we act. I just thought that you should all know about this now."

Leone grinned. "Thanks, boss."

"For now," Najenda muttered, a calm smile finally finding a way onto her face. "Just train and prepare yourselves for your next mission. It may come at any time."

Tatsumi nodded his head and clenched his hands into fists, feeling pumped up and ready to train even more.

"Right!"

Wave woke up in cold sweat.

He must have had a bad dream. He couldn't remember it at all, but he was certain that it was a nightmare of sorts.

Being part of the Jaegers must have been putting him on edge, he'd been having unpleasant dreams consistently now. Wave checked the watch on the desk in his bedroom, it was almost afternoon and he knew that he needed to get out of bed before someone shouted at him.

He gazed at his bedroom as he stood up, he still couldn't believe just how glamorous it was. There were decorations made of silver on the table beside him, a gold-plated mirror, and marble flooring. It was far different from the life he had in the small rural area he lived in with his mother. At first, he felt like a king and it was a delight, but he didn't find at all that interesting anymore.

He left the bedroom and entered the conference room, which had now been completely occupied as the room for all the Jaegers. Only members could enter and it usually had everyone inside, but Wave didn't see anyone except for Run, who was sitting peacefully on a chair. He was holding a book as always, but this time he seemed more into it than usual.

"Morning," Run muttered, failing to break his gaze from his book. "You're up late."

Wave frowned. "Where is everyone?"

"Esdeath had them all go run some errands. I suspect she'll have plenty of them for you too later."

"What about you?"

"I already received mine, and I've finished it."

"Man," Wave chuckled. "You must have a really good Imperial Arm."

"Not really. I just know how to get stuff done quickly."

Wave raised an eyebrow at Run's response but said nothing. Instead, he grabbed a chair to sit down opposite of Run and glance at his book. The title is in a writing that Wave did not recognize, it must've been some from olden kind of dialect.

Wave sighed. "What are you reading?"

"History,"

"What kind of history?"

"The Era before the creation of Imperial Arms."

"Really?" asked Wave, holding out his hand for Run to hand over. "Can I see it?"

"Sure."

Wave grabbed hold of the book and skimmed through the first couple of pages, only to find each and every page filled with the same dialect that he hadn't seen before.

"Um, it's not in English."

Run laughed. "Of course not, it's a very old book."

"You can read it?"

"Yes. Did you think I've been spending all these hours reading a book I don't understand?"

"But…how do you know that old language?"

"Well, I used to be a teacher."

That was a surprise to Wave. They had been working together for about a month now, but this was the first time he was properly hearing more details about Run. In fact, now that he thought about it, he still didn't know much about any of the Jaegers. He gave the book back to Run and leant back in his chair.

"So, how old is that language?"

Run made a face. "That's…difficult to say. All we know is that it has to be at least two thousand years old. It was the language our entire country used before we adopted the common tongue."

"Damn," said Wave. "How'd a teacher like you turn up into the Capital's army?"

Run opened his mouth to answer, but they were both interrupted as Kurome entered the conference room. As always, she was eating one of her trademark snacks and her emotionless glare sent off the same quite of unsettling vibe that Wave had found himself gradually becoming used to. He wanted to greet her, but she talked first.

"You," Kurome said as she pointed at Wave. "Esdeath called for you, hurry."

Wave had no time to ask anything. He leapt out of his chair and immediately left the room. This was the first time he had been personally called by General Esdeath, all of the other Jaegers had talked privately with her except for him, and he wanted to do his best to make a good impression. As a new recruit in the Capital's army, gaining the favour of a General seemed like the best move any soldier could pull off.

He crossed through the long hallways and reached the door to Esdeath's quarters. There were no decorations on her door, it didn't stand out from any of the other countless doors within the palace, and unlike most other rooms for important people, there weren't any soldiers guarding it from the outside. Either Esdeath didn't believe that she could be attacked…or she was welcoming any kind of threats to her quarters.

Wave knocked on the door.

"No need for knocking," a faint voice from inside the room said. "Come in."

Wave obeyed and entered the room to see Esdeath sitting at her desk, with one foot on the table and another crossed over it. She hadn't changed out of her General's white attire even once, Wave had never seen her wearing anything else.

"Wave," she said. "I've been wanting to see you."

"I heard. What is it, ma'am?"

"Tell me, how much do you know about your Imperial Arm?"

"Me?" asked Wave, looking to the black sword held by his side. "I think I know all about it."

"Good." Esdeath smiled. "Then answer my questions. First, does your Imperial Arm possess a trump card?"

It had only been a few days ago since Wave actually found out what a trump card was. Apparently, it was a special ability that could be unlocked by those who were fully compatible with their Imperial Arm, but always had a hefty cost following it, usually the cost being the user's actual life.

"No," Wave shook his head. "Grand Chariot's key has nothing of the sort."

"Okay then. Next, do you know how your Imperial Arm was created?"

"I can't say I do."

Esdeath nodded, as though confirming something for herself. She reached into the built-in drawer of her desk and pulled out a large, black book with no title on the front. The pages of the book were slightly burnt and had taken an orange tint.

"Know what this is?" she asked.

"No, ma'am."

"Then allow me to explain." Esdeath said, and placed the book down onto the desk for both of them to read. "This book had collected in a hidden tomb by a group of our scribes."

"Hidden? Where?"

"Under a mountain, if you can believe it. I've been going through it all day…and one thing stood out to me more than anything else."

Esdeath opened the book for Wave and skimmed through it until she reached a certain page, then showed it. Wave couldn't read the tiny, strange looking writings in the book, but the drawings on the page was as clear as day. It was an armour-based Imperial Arm, just like the Grand Chariot's armour, but looked bulkier and had a spear in its possession that Wave had never seen before.

"I-Is this…?" Wave stuttered.

"That's right. Our translators have found out that this book was used many years ago to record the development of Imperial Arms, back when only half of them had been completed."

"And there's an Imperial Arm that also turns into armour?"

"You didn't know about this?"

"No, ma'am. This is the first time I'm hearing this."

Esdeath sighed and placed the book back where it came from. She stood up and they walked together out of the quarters and through the corridors. Wave noticed just how much taller she was than him, it bothered him.

"Either way," Esdeath continued, leading the way. "This is an important discovery. We don't know where this Imperial Arm is, but we know that it's similar to yours, so you must be vigilant, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." said Wave in the most polite way possible. "And if I may ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"Did the book contain any other information we didn't know about?"

Esdeath grinned. "Indeed it did. We discovered plenty more Imperial Arms that supposedly exist out there. We've sent our most experienced men to find them, but that could take several weeks."

"To think that there are so many Imperial Arms…" Wave grumbled. "It kind of makes your head spin."

"But it's just so exciting, isn't it?"

Wave glanced at Esdeath and remembered a question he had wanted to ask her since the first time he saw her. This seemed the most appropriate time to ask.

"By the way, what is your Imperial Arm, General Esdeath?"

Esdeath laughed. "You don't know? The entire Capital knows it. Oh…but you're not from the Capital are you?"

"No, ma'am."

Esdeath stopped walking and Wave did the same. There were plenty of things that Wave expected to see. Perhaps a massive axe, or a terrifying pair of swords, or the rapier that Esdeath always had by her side. Instead, what he saw, was completely different than all of those things.

Esdeath pointed at her chest and the black symbol tainted on it.

"This," She giggled, her piercing, blue eyes meeting Wave's. "is my Imperial Arm."

"The tattoo?"

"Yes. Are you surprised?"

"Well…I mean…I just assumed that it was a normal tattoo."

"No, it's a marking of my ability."

"Then…" Wave muttered as he pointed timidly at Esdeath's rapier. "What's that?"

"Oh, that?" she said. "That's just a normal sword. I've just grown quite attached to it."

"So, what ability do you have?"

Esdeath shook her head and laughed.

"I'll show you on our next mission."

That caused disappointment to Wave but he didn't dare speak against Esdeath. He wondered how such a marking found its way onto a woman's chest, and what it could actually give to those who possessed it. For once, Wave was looking forward to a mission given to the Jaegers.

"When is our next mission?" he asked.

"Right now, actually."

"S-Seriously?"

"Yes. The rest of the Jaegers shall be here in less than four minutes. I sent them on simple tasks for our preparation."

"Preparation for what?"

"An attack on the townsfolk, of course." Esdeath stated as casually as possible.

"The townsfolk are going to be attacked?!"

"We believe so. People intercepted a group of rebels around the Capital and 'extracted' information from them. Apparently, they want to launch an attack inside our walls to intimidate us."

Wave shook away his shock and fear. He would have to worry later, now he had to focus on fighting the criminals and murderers about to attack the innocent people of the Capital. He unsheathed the Grand Chariot's key and stabbed it into the ground, summoning the Grand Chariot's armour to cover his entire body. Esdeath simply stood there and watched him transform, then pointed at the exit with a grin.

"Shall we be on our way?" she asked.

"Yeah." Wave whispered from inside his armour, already feeling like a God with his Imperial Arm's power released.

"Good. Also, you'll be fighting alongside my two, new subordinates. Try to get along, will you?"

The door to the exit opened slowly and two people stepped out.

Wave had never seen the two people before, but their aura was enough to send chills up his spine. The Imperial Arm they possessed looked completely unearthly and Wave gasped at their presence. He was going to fight alongside the strange, new pair.

The Twins.