AN: Just a quick warning to you anime-only bastards. If you've not read the manga, elements of this chapter will be confusing to you.
XXXXX
The smell was horrible as fuck, but Ieyasu ignored it, pressing his hands into the slain danger beast's abdomen to the elbows.
"Good," Akame said as she peered over his shoulder, apparently not affected by the foul odor in the slightest. "Be careful as you work your way up into the thorax. The heart is the most valuable part."
"Relax, I know what I'm doing," the dark-haired youth grinned. "Carving up a mountain bear can take days sometimes. I've had my share of practice."
"If you say so," Akame said, before darting up the nearest tree trunk with the swiftness of a spider, leaving Ieyasu to the stench that was doing its very best to choke him. Drawing a long breath, he shifted his trusty knife around in his hand, before crawling into the dire wolf.
When he had finally harvested all of the valuable organs and crawled back out, he was greasier than those wrestlers he'd seen going at each other outside the city walls the day he and Sayo arrived at the Capital. Grimacing in disgust, he washed himself thoroughly in a nearby rivulet, before retrieving his cloths.
Leaving the huge carcass to the scavengers that would undoubtedly arrive at nightfall; he left to look for Akame. He found her sitting on a large stone not far away, her belt full of dead squirrels.
"You were quick," she said, rewarding him with a nod of appreciation.
"Told ya," he grinned, before smelling his armpit. "I'm not still smelly, am I?"
She pushed herself off the rock and stepped so close their noses nearly touched. He held back a yelp of surprise, still not used to how this girl had no mind for the intimate space of others.
"You're fine," she said, taking a step back. "Come, let's return to camp."
"Lead the way," he said, his heart still pumping. Dammit, this girl was hot. He was starting to regret not having the balls to take Lubbock up on his offer of letting him join his weekly quest to peek at the girls as they bathed. To him, it seemed that just a small glimpse of Akame's naked form would've been worth getting beaten, tied to a pole and spend a whole night out in the cold, as the green-haired youth had apparently done more than once.
Bulat was busy with his training routine when they came back, shadow fencing on a cliff that overlooked the southeastern part of the Capital.
Amazing as always, Ieasyu noted as he watched his senpai perform several complex combos in succession, the stick in his large hands moving too fast to even follow. Still… did he have to do it with his shirt off?
"Ah, you're back," Bulat exclaimed as he turned around, his pecs and abs shinning like newly polished steel. "Got anything good?"
"Dire wolf," Ieyasu answered, holding up the meat sack so that he wouldn't get blinded by the most sparkly nipples in the Capital.
"Great," Bulat grinned approvingly as he inspected their gains. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to sell that for a small fortune. If we keep this up, we won't even require funding from the HQ in the near future."
"Whatever you say, Bro," Ieyasu said. "So are we done here or what?"
"Almost. We just need to find a rare species of herb that Sheele needs for her medicine. It should grow somewhere near the top of this mountain." He pointed at the peak with his pompadour.
Hiking up the mountainside after having hunted since daybreak took a lot out of Ieyasu, even with Bulat carrying most of their supplies on his broad back. Twice they had to drop everything and defend themselves as they were ambushed by tree beasts. If not for Akame and Bulat's refined senses, they would've all been devoured. As he wrenched his knife from the eye of a particularly malicious-looking specimen, Ieyasu made a mental note of working to improve his. Finally, something interesting appeared.
"Look," Akame said, pointing at the unmistakable shape of a building above them. "A temple."
"Strange," Bulat said, frowning. "It shouldn't be possible for monks to live this far out in the wilderness with so many danger beasts prowling around. Has to be abandoned."
No sooner had he finished the sentence, than a long-haired, robed figure appeared in the entrance of the main hall. After studying the group for a moment, the figure, still partly shrouded by the weakening light, walked down the wooden steps and past the komainu, the stone guardians of the sanctuary. Someone gasped, and Ieyasu looked up to see his bro's jaw fall.
"No way," Bulat muttered. "Master Gensei…?"
"Oh," the robed figure said, stepping into the light cast from a Tōrō, a stone lantern. "There's still people who remember a geezer like me?"
He stared at Bulat.
Bulat stared back.
He continued to stare at Bulat.
Bulat continued to stare back.
"Wait…" the old man said hesitantly, pointing at Bulat's unusual hairstyle with a wrinkled finger. "Bulat?"
"Master," Bulat answered, bowing forward as he pressed the knuckles of his left hand against the palm of his right.
"My, how you've changed" the old man said as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. Somehow, his face reminded Ieyasu of the eagles that nested in the mountains around his village during summer. "And furthermore, it appears my instincts regarding you were correct too. Well, at least you strike me as a swordsman and not a sheath."
Laughing nervously, Bulat glanced down at a bewildered Ieyasu. "To be quite honest, I'm surprised to see that you're still alive and well. Last I heard, you'd gone off to some foreign land and disappeared."
The old master nodded. "Indeed, I've seen and done many things since retiring from the imperial army." He looked down at his calloused hands, a fleeting look of wistfulness passing across his face. "Some of which even you would find hard to believe, my old pupil." Chuckling, he stepped to the side and gestured at the temple entrance. "But this is not the time for nostalgic nonsense. Please come in and rest your weary limbs a bit. I assure you that no danger beast will dare trespass on these grounds."
XXXXX
Peering up from under the brim of her hood, Sayo watched as the hangman pulled the lever and thus sealed the fate of half a dozen malnourished convicts, one of which couldn't have been more than halfway through his teens. Fortunately, the bags that had been pulled over their heads and tightened with hemp kept her from seeing their expressions as they fell, but at the same time, they could do nothing to contain the awful sound of six necks breaking like pretzels. Gritting her teeth, she visualized herself tearing Pumpkin from the metal container on her back and splitting the hangman's empty face in half.
"Calm down," a sultry voice said as she felt the weight of Leone's hand on her shoulder. "This happens every day now. We have bigger fish to catch."
Sending one last look at the empty-eyed hangman, she did her best to burn his face into her memory, before following Leone through the crowd. When she'd witnessed another execution once before, in one of the inner districts, the crowd had been jeering like cruel children, but here in the outer wards, no one lifted a handful of rotten fruit to desecrate the corpses that were now oscillating in the wind like ragged laundry on a clothesline. After all, they never knew when they might be the ones to take the leap. Oftentimes, all it took was a single accusation of being involved with the rebellion, and then…
"Where are we going?" Sayo asked as they turned the corner, leaving the square and its ghastly spectacle behind.
"To investigate a potential mission," Leone answered. "We can't go after any high-priority targets until the boss gets back, but that doesn't mean there isn't still pond scum around that needs extinction."
Najenda had left two days earlier. Apparently, that one survivor from Raiko's team was being transferred their way, so the boss had decided to use the opportunity to confer with the leadership while picking her up. Her absence left Sayo uneasy, especially considering that last look the boss had given her before stepping onto her air manta. If she hadn't known better, she would've said the older woman looked guilty.
"Here we are," Leone said as they stopped outside what it took Sayo a few seconds to recognize as a graveyard, mainly because most of the gravestones seemed to have been either broken, tipped over or removed. Some of the graves had been dug open, yellow skeletons sticking out of the earth like broken teeth, plundered of anything valuable.
So, not even the dead get to rest easy in this city, huh?
"Looks like we're a little early," Leone said as he studied the sun.
"Why here?" Sayo asked, nudging a bone away with the tip of her boot.
"Why not here?" Leone replied. "It's desolate and people won't come near this place because they're afraid of ghosts."
"I wonder why."
They stood in silence for a while, waiting. After a while, Sayo began to think about her experiences since killing the Kobore brothers. Only two days after that, she'd killed three more men when a tribe of hunters had breached Lubbock's barrier and almost discovered their hideout. Using Pumpkin's rapid-fire mode for the first time, she'd simply mowed them down as they passed her hiding spot. Three days later, she had shot another one of the Prime Minister's proxies as he oversaw his so-called workers (slaves would be a more accurate description) constructing his new villa. After that, her hands had stopped trembling whenever she lifted her teigu and took aim.
"We've got company," Leone said, tearing her from her thoughts and causing her to move her hand up the clasp on the side of the metal box. Should it be necessary, she could have her teigu ready in five seconds.
A small, hooded figure appeared around the corner of a crumbling mausoleum. Squinting at it, Sayo ascertained that the newcomer was too minute to be an adult, and let her hand sink.
"A child?" she said softly.
"Guess so," Leone said as she got up from the gravestone she'd been resting her sizeable butt on. "Hey, kid! Get over here!"
The newcomer seemed to shrink back for a moment, and Sayo prepared to give chase, but then the youngster found some courage and began to walk towards them with long, firm steps.
Girl, Sayo decided as she noticed a short skirt stick out from under the child's dirty coat.
The girl halted a few meters away, lifting her head until the hood no longer shrouded her face. As Sayo's grey eyes met the girl's pink, she drew in a sharp breath. Aside from the fact that the girl couldn't have been more than twelve, she was almost a dead ringer for Mine.
"Night Raid?" she asked timidly.
Leone nodded, making sure her face was well hidden beneath her own hood. Anyone could be a government spy. This girl was no exception.
"I'm begging you," the girl said, pulling out a clinking pouch. Sinking down on her knees, she held it up like a sacrifice to the gods. "This is all I have left in this world. Please accept it, and my request."
Leone reached out to take the pouch, but Sayo held out her hand, eyeing the girl suspiciously.
"Who do you want dead?"
"There's a house in the inner district run by a man named Bach," the girl said, her hands trembling as she spoke the name. "He is evil, and he needs to die before he can hurt anyone else."
"What has he done?" Leone asked, but her tone implied she already had a very good idea.
The girl said nothing for a moment, probably collecting her thoughts. When she found her voice again, she told them a story of three young girls who had been sold by parents who could not afford to feed them. Then, she told them of how they'd arrived in the capital full of hopes and dreams, of the things that had happened next, and how the three had become one. By the time she was finished, Sayo's hand was clamped around her mouth, clean and white nails digging into her cheeks.
"Alright," Leone said, and Sayo could not comprehend how she could sound so calm after that. "We'll do some quick investigating on our own – just to confirm that you're telling the truth – and then we'll get to work."
"Thank you," the girl nearly sobbed as she was relieved of her pouch.
"Wait!" Sayo said, grabbing Leone by the arm as she turned to leave. "We can't just leave her like this," she hissed into the older woman's ear. "Think of all that she's been through!"
"We can't take her back to the hideout, if that's what you're implying," Leone whispered back. "Even if she's almost certainly telling the truth, it's too risky."
"So we'll just send her back to those monsters while you 'investigate?'" Sayo demanded.
"Excuse me," the girl said, and they both turned their heads. "I've lived this for months now," she said, putting on a smile that nearly broke Sayo's heart clean in half. "A few more days is nothing."
Stepping forward, Sayo grabbed the girl's frail shoulders. "We'll be there tonight," she said fiercely. "Just stay away from that place for a few more hours, and I promise you, everything will be alright."
Even as that second sentence left her mouth, it struck her how ridiculous it sounded. How could things ever be alright for this girl again?
"Okay, Onee-chan" the girl said, still sporting that horrible smile. "I got something I need to do anyway."
XXXXX
The inside of the temple struck Ieyasu as terribly austere, even for a… well, temple. Besides a dojo and a tiny kitchen, there were pretty much nothing else there to speak of. The main room was utterly devoid of anything except a fireplace and some mats to sleep on.
"Don't you get lonely, living all the way up here by yourself?" Bulat inquired as the old master poured them some tea.
"Actually, I have a few companions," Gensei said as he sat down in the lotus position. "Three useless geezers like myself. They're out on a little expedition right now, but they ought to be back by tomorrow morning."
"Even so, why remove yourself from society completely?" Bulat pressed. "Don't you miss the capital?"
Gensei shrugged. "Sadly, I don't think I fit in with normal people anymore. Years and years of fighting will do that to you…but enough about me. What have you been up to these last few years, Bulat? I imagine you must have been quite the wicked little bastard to amass such an impressive bounty?"
Bulat's hand froze as it moved to grab his cup, Ieyasu nearly choked, and Akame's hand jerked toward Murasame.
Fuck, Ieyasu thought. He knows!
Gensei chuckled, completely unmoved by their alarm. "Oh, don't be like that. I'm retired, remember? What happens to the empire is no longer my concern. If you want to be a rebel, Bulat, it's completely fine with me."
"So…you're not angry?" Bulat asked, his tone implying he had a hard time believing the words coming out of his old master's mouth.
"It's not what I would have done, but Incursio is in your hands now," Gensei said, a layer of melancholy creeping into his voice. "You do what you think is best."
"I will."
Feeling more or less calm again, Ieyasu picked up his steaming cup. Beside him, Akame remained vigilant. As the blue of day gave way to the orange of evening, Bulat and Gensei talked of days gone by. It was rather fascinating for the headband-wearing teenager to listen to stories of his invincible bro getting pounded and beaten to the ground over and over again. Until now, he could never have imagined Bulat as a novice.
"Enough reminiscing," Gensei finally said. "Talking about the past just makes me depressed. Tell me of the present, Bulat. Why did you decide to join the rebellion? If you had remained within the army, you might have even succeeded me one day."
"Forgive me, Master, but this country is no longer what it was when you were still serving," Bulat said, his eyes narrowing. "The empire have been decaying for decades now, but ever since that bastard Honest got into power, it's worse than ever. When even the best of men are being corrupted, how can I stand idly by?"
"Let me guess… you're talking about your old commander, and another one of my novices?" Gensei said, rubbing his chin.
"River," Bulat said, his hands clenching into fists. "He has become such a broken creature I could barely stand to look at him when our paths finally crossed again."
"A pity," Gensei sighed. "Like you, he was one of my favorite students, always stubborn to a fault. Last I heard, he'd become one of the ice woman's playthings. I assume your reunion was less than merry?"
"Your intuition is infallible as always," Bulat smiled. "The next time I see him, I will not let him worm his way out… for the sake of the man he once was."
Sipping his tea, Ieysau wondered how anyone could have a hairstyle like that and still exceed such ultimate badassery.
"It's getting late," Akame said. Behind her, the last light of the day slowly receded across a darkening sky.
"Tch," Bulat said. "Time sure flies when you're talking to old friends. Guess we'll be camping tonight." Looking down at Ieyasu, a very strange smile spread across his lips. "Looks like it might get pretty cold too. We'll have to snuggle really close to keep warm."
Ieyasu gulped. Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means…
"But what on earth would you need a tent for when you have a perfectly good temple?" Gensei asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, we wouldn't want to intrude-" Bulat began, but his old master waved his words away like a fly.
"Nonsense. I may live all the way out here, but I'm not a hermit. Your company would be greatly appreciated."
"Thank you," Bulat said, his pompadour hanging like a wet sock.
Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means…
XXXXX
"Another day, another batch of assholes to kill," Lubbock muttered as he watched another carriage pull up in front of the house of interest. An older man clad in expensive attire stepped out, followed by some suited muscle. "They definitely look suspicious," he said to Sheele, who was lying flat on her stomach beside him. "And the story the girl provided seemed a bit too… detailed to have been made up."
"Even so, we can't make a move until we have evidence," Sheele answered. "It's a slippery slope, assassinating someone based on an accusation alone."
"I guess," he shrugged. Still, if these guys had indeed done all the horrible things their contractor had said they'd done, every second they were still breathing was a second too many. Damn, this job could be frustrating sometimes.
"Sayo's gotten really competent," he said to keep the silence at bay.
"She has," Sheele agreed. "I suppose that missing friend of hers is a powerful motivation."
"And it doesn't bother you that Mine's spot was filled so quickly and easily?"
"Mine's spot can never be filled. Sayo is her own person… even if she's strikingly similar in a lot of ways."
"I guess," he said while doing his best to envision Sayo and Mine side by side in his mind, before imagining their clothes melting away. "Yeah, they're both good in their own ways," he grinned.
She gave him a light slap across the back of his head.
"I didn't mean it like that," he lied, doing his best to sound indignant. "Oh, wait… something's happening."
A pair of carriages had swung into the back alley behind the large house. Creeping across the roof tiles, he moved to a better spot just in time to see several girls step out from the two vehicles. The distance between them were too great for Lubbock to make out their expressions, but their movements struck him as nervous, perhaps even frightened.
"Shit." He crept back to Sheele. "They're bringing girls in through the backdoor."
Sheele tightened her grip on Ecstasy, but her voice was as calm as ever when she said: "We have to wait."
"Shit!" Falling down on his ass, he pulled out Cross Tail's spool to check that everything was in order. Once it had been as thick as a pig ready for slaughter, but after the Ryuusen, less than half of the original thread remained. If he didn't take care in the future, he might even run out completely.
Hello kitchen.
He had hoped killing his first teigu-user would score him some points with Miss Najenda, but she still treated him the same as the rest. He realized the simple fact that he'd been with her longer than any of the others did not make him entitled to special treatment, but at this rate, their relationship would never evolve. Until now, he'd thought it was okay to postpone further advances until the revolution was won.
If they won the revolution.
If he survived to see them win the revolution.
If Najenda survived to see them win the revolution.
A soft noise behind him tore him from his thoughts, and he whirled around, ready to whip out some thread if necessary.
"Whoa, settle down there, Lubbo," Leone grinned as Sayo slid off her back. Obviously, she'd been riding the Leone express to save time. "We both know I'd take you ninety-nine out of ten times."
"More like one out of ten times," he snorted.
"Oh yeah?" Leone said, raising a golden eyebrow. She took two strides forward, and next thing he knew, his neck was locked inside her right arm.
Yes! He roared internally as he felt her delicious sideboob press against his cheek. Mission success, baby!
"Oh for the love of…" Sayo sighed, before stepping forward and planting her foot on Lubbock's ass, booting him out of his heavenly prison.
"Oh c'mon!" he yelled as he rubbed his nose, not sure whether the blood flowing from it was a result of him face planting on the roof, or another cause entirely. "Why me and not her?"
"Because you were enjoying yourself too much," she deadpanned. "And because I felt like it."
Giggling, Leone nodded at the house of interest. "Anything to report?"
"They brought in several girls through the backdoor not long ago," Sheele said as she got to her feet. She then slid on a loose tile, and Lubbock had to grab her by the arm to keep her from falling off the roof.
"I'm sorry," she blushed.
"No sweat," Lubbock grinned, before turning back to the other two. "People have been arriving all evening, so something's definitely going on down there. What about you guys?"
"We found a guy who confessed to having bought several bodies from these guys after they were 'finished with them,'" Leone said, her tone turning serious.
"Bought bodies?" Sheele said, sounding confused, but then realization dawned on her face, her eyes widening. "You don't mean…"
"…that he was fucking them? Probably. We made him show us the whole collection, just be to be safe. He kept them in his attic and dressed them up, like dolls. Worst I've seen since we rescued Sayo and Ieyasu."
Sayo said nothing. Instead, she gazed silently at the house of interest, her expression hidden beneath her hood.
"What did you do with the guy?" Lubbock asked, his throat dry.
"Broke his neck and burned the whole building down," Leone said. "Best funeral we could provide for the girls, since digging graves for all of them was out of the question. Anyway, I'd say we've gathered more than enough intel. All in favor of striking now, without waiting for the others to return?"
All four raised their hands in quiet unison.
"Alright then," Leone grinned, smashing her knuckles together as a pair of feline ears rose out of her yellow bangs. "Let's go and kill these guys!"
XXXXX
Sitting on the temple steps, Ieyasu watched as the horizon absorbed the sun and evening turned to night. It was a beautiful sight, one that he could never have enjoyed back in his village. The cold had begun to settle, but it didn't bother him much. He might not be as thick-skinned as people from the Northern Tribes (may they rest in peace, poor bastards), but this chill was nothing compared to what it had to be like back home. He hoped the advanced payment he and Sayo had received from Najenda had reached them without any trouble along the way. With all the destruction that general lady had caused, they would need it more than ever.
"A bronze coin for your thoughts?" Akame asked as she came up from behind. Before, this would have startled him, but he'd grown used to how the assassin could walk on broken glass without making a single sound.
"Just thinking about home," he said as she sat down beside him. "I'm just hoping they managed to last through the winter."
"If your fellow villagers are anywhere near as tough as you, I'm sure they're doing fine," she said, pulling Murasame from its sheath, before laying it across her lap.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye, watching as she inspected the blade for any filth or uncleanliness. "It's not only them I'm worried about."
"Your missing friend?"
He nodded. He would never say where Sayo could hear it, but at this point, it just seemed too unlikely that Tatsumi could still be alive and well. What he feared most was that his friend had been sent to the Imperial prison outside of the capital. The horror stories he'd heard from Leone made the air seem colder even now.
"Tell me about him."
"Tatsumi?"
"Yes."
"I'm not sure where to begin," he said slowly as he brushed the dust from old memories. "We lived in the same house when we were little kids, since his parents died when he was a toddler. That was before he moved in with a retired mercenary turned blacksmith."
"What was he like?" Akame asked as she turned Murasame around to inspect the other side.
"What he was like, huh? Well, let me see…"
XXXXX
"Get down from there!" Sayo called, her breath crystalizing in a tiny cloud that disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. "You'll get in trouble!"
"Y'know, maybe she's right," Tatsumi said nervously as the two them made their way across the snow-clad roof of the village's only forge. "They say the old man went crazy from all the battles. What if he actually tries to kill us?"
"Don't go chickening out now," Ieyasu grinned as he reached the chimney, which was spewing out a ton of black smoke. "We'll be gone way before he realizes it was us!"
"You morons!" Sayo shouted, her face flushing pink. "Don't come saying I didn't warn you afterwards!"
"Shut your trap and go scream at someone who cares, would you?" Ieyasu yelled back. "Girls," he muttered, rolling his eyes as he turned his head away. That turned out to be a big mistake, as Sayo responded by bowing down and forming a snowball between her mittens. The throw was quick and deadly accurate. Exploding against the back of his head, the projectile sent Ieyasu stumbling into the black smoke face-first. When he finally pushed himself away from the chimney, he was coughing like an old man and cursing like a young one.
"I'll get you for that!" he roared as Sayo stomped away, already out of firing range.
"Pfft," Tatsumi snickered.
"Shut up and help me with this pelt, would you?"
The piece of fur had been "borrowed" from the chief's house, just a faded, old deerskin that nobody would miss. Tightening it around the chimney was a simple task, as they had access to plenty of snow to weigh it down. As soon as they were positive it wasn't leaking anywhere, they scurried off the roof, waded through the thick, white blanket that covered the ground and took up position behind a nearby outhouse.
They did not have to wait long.
"MOTHERFUCKING COCKSUCKERS!" the retired mercenary announced as he kicked the door open and staggered out into fresh air, followed by a wall of black smoke. Coughing much like Ieyasu had been just a minute ago, he directed his gaze at the blocked chimney.
"FUCK!" He declared as he realized his current condition was no result of an accident. "I'LL RIP YOUR GODDAMN GUTS OUT, DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU BASTARD!"
"Look at his beard," Ieyasu giggled, tears running from his eyes. "I think we actually did him a favor! He looks way younger now!"
"Uh… Ieyasu?" Tatsumi whispered, his face turning as pale as the powdery substance beneath their feet.
"Yeah?"
"We forgot to cover our tracks."
Looking over the small stretch of empty land between them, the forgery, and a very angry ex-mercenary, Ieyasu realized this his friend was right. They had literally forgot to cover their tracks, which were readily apparent all the way from the forge's stone walls to their hiding spot a dozen meters away.
"Ha!" the old man yelled as he too became aware of this. "I GOT YOU NOW, YOU LITTLE FUCKERS!"
"Run!" Tatsumi hissed, and they dashed for the safety of the houses behind them. When only a few paces remained, their pursuer reached their original hiding spot.
"I SEE YOU, GODDAMN RASCALS!"
"Shit!" Ieyasu moaned, and then his foot got caught by a rock. Next thing he knew, he had snow inside his boots and shirt.
"Don't you move, you little shit," the old man growled, swinging one of those crude iron rods he employed as the basis for his swords. "Don't try prolonging the inevitable!"
Ieyasu tried to get up, but one of his feet had penetrated the snow so deeply it had gotten stuck.
"I got you now!" the old man yelled again, grinning like a demon as he advanced on the helpless youth with his rod held high.
Shit, he thought, covering his head.
The old man lifted the rod even higher, preparing the first blow. Ieysau cringed, but before his beating could begin, Tatsumi jumped between them.
"Hyyeeaahh!" he yelled, swinging at the old man with wooden stick. The iron rod slapped it away with ease.
"Runt," the ex-mercenary grunted as he kicked the boy in the stomach, sending him tumbling. "You wanna go first? Fine with me!"
Realizing he was not about to pull his leg loose by force, Ieysau began to dig himself free. Meanwhile, Tatsumi got up again just in time to face the ex-mercenary head-on.
"AAAHH!" the boy shouted, jabbing straight forward this time. Reading him like an open book, the old man sidestepped it with ease and slammed his hand flat against Tatsumi's cheek. Blood flew from the boy's mouth as he went down again.
"That shut you up," the old man said, before turning on Ieysau, who was not yet free.
SMACK!
The ex-mercenary stumbled forward, his face stunned. Whirling around, he barely had the time to block Tatsumi's next strike. His mouth falling, Ieysau could barely believe his eyes when his friend threw himself against the opponent for the third time.
"You little-" the old man snarled, grabbing hold of Tatsumi's stick as the boy directed a second blow at his head. Bringing his rod down like a hammer, he snapped it in half. Not disheartened in the slightest, Tatsumi raised his fist, an almost rabid gleam in his eyes.
"Shit," Ieyasu muttered, before remembering he was supposed to be digging himself free.
BAM!
Tatsumi went down again, the ex-mercenary having straight up punched him in the face this time. As the old man picked him up by the collar of his shirt, Ieyasu was finally able to pull his leg loose.
"Hey, over here!" he yelled as he charged the old man, which proved to be a supremely foolish decision. Now alerted, the ex-mercenary had no trouble turning around in time.
CHONK!
The whole world spinning, Ieysau clutched his bleeding nose as he the snow rose up to embrace him yet again.
"Fuckin' bratty bastards," the old man said. "Never in my life…AH!" A gasp of pain left his lips as Tatsumi's boot found his abdomen. "Fuck…" He threw the boy to the ground and put his foot on his chest. Ieyasu wanted to help, but the agony pulsating in his face still had him paralyzed. Through his tears, he saw his friend struggle wildly to free himself. He only stopped when the old man placed the tip of the metal rod against his throat, pressing down until the boy could barely breathe. He held it like that for a while, panting hoarsely. Moving a hand filled with scars inflicted by metal and fire to his neck, the ex-mercenary touched the shallow wound Tatsumi's stick had left behind.
"Ha," he breathed, the blaze in his eyes replaced by a warm glow. "AHAHAHA!" He stepped away and let the rod fall down, still laughing.
"What's… so… funny?" Tatsumi managed, massaging his throat.
"Aw…man, it's been years since I felt this alive," the old man chuckled, still rubbing his neck. "You got spunk, runt, I'll give you that." He nudged Tatsumi's ribs with boot. "Heh, raw metal is the best kind. You can shape it into anything you want. Looking at you, I'd say you lack the finesse of the katana, and yet you're too light on your feet to be a claymore. Broadsword, that's what you are. Simple, but reliable in every situation, heh."
"So, you're not mad anymore?" Ieyasu asked, red droplets falling from his chin.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," the old man grinned. Quick as a viper, he held each of them by the ear in front of him, twisting until they were both squirming like babes.
"But if I were to kick the shit completely out of you urchins, who the hell would clean every last inch of my forge until it's clean as a virgin's pussy?"
XXXXX
"And that's the kind of guy Tatsumi was," Ieysau finished proudly.
"I see," Akame said as she sheathed Murasame. "Like you, he was rather prone to rash and asinine ventures."
"That's not the point," Ieyasu protested. "The moral of the story is that Tatsumi would always get back up, no matter how many times you knocked him down! Once, we got into a fight with a whole bunch of kids from a family of merchants passing through the village, and even though we were two against five, they had to back away in the end because he just wouldn't stop!"
"I see," Akame repeated regretfully. "I apologize for my misinterpretation."
"Don't sweat it," he said, shuddering as a particularly cold blast of wind washed over them. "Man, I miss that guy."
"Why do you think he is dead?"
He frowned. "I didn't say that."
"You didn't need to," she said. "I've lost people too."
"I don't know what to believe anymore," he sighed. "I mean, it's not like I want him to be dead… but part of me still thinks that might be the best-case scenario. That Esdeath… what if she took him prisoner, tortured him and then threw him into some hole where we may never find him? Wouldn't it have been better then, if he just died that day?"
"I agree," Akame said.
He looked at her, surprised. "Really?"
"There are things far worse than death in this life. You're aware that I have a sister, right?"
"I guess Leone might have mentioned it once," he said. "She's still working for the empire as an assassin, isn't she?"
She nodded.
"And if you were to see her again, what would you do?" he asked, hoping she would not give him the answer he was expecting.
"My sister became what she is now because Ifailed to protect her – because I didn't recognize what our superiors were until it was too late." Gazing at something far away, she put her hand on the hilt of her teigu. "When I see her again, I will put things right… the only way I know how."
"But… she's your sister! Wouldn't you want to try to convince her to join our side or something…?"
Akame shook her head. "She's too far gone. She won't ever leave the empire. She can't."
"What do you mean?"
Akame opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted as Bulat's thick arms suddenly snaked their way around their necks. "Bedtime," he grinned, before picking them both up by the waist and carrying them back into the temple. "Gensei told me it can get pretty cold here, so we still have to snuggle close tonight to keep warm."
"Can't we just use the fireplace?" Ieyasu interjected halfheartedly.
"And mooch off master Gensei's ration of firewood?" Bulat asked, lifting a thick, black eyebrow. "No, man – I don't think so."
Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means… Doesn't have to mean what you think it means…
XXXXX
"Stay back," Leone whispered as she leaned past the corner, placing a furry hand on Sayo's chest. "Lubbock, you and I will handle these two jokers. Ready?"
"Ready," Lubbock said, a web of thread already prepared between his hands.
The two of them dashed past the corner, heading straight for the two men guarding the backdoor. Before the pair of bald-headed suits could even think of opening their mouths to yell out, Leone rammed her fist into the right one's face and Lubbock had his threads around the other one's neck. Their executions were quick, precise and brutal, both dead before they even hit the floor.
Her finger poised around Pumpkin's trigger, Sayo moved up, Sheele covering her back without a word. Meanwhile, Leone had already inched the door open and slid inside. Once, the sight of the human corpse would've disgusted Sayo, but knowing what these men had been protecting, all she felt was satisfaction as she stepped over the fallen bodyguards.
Inside, Leone already had a third guard disarmed and in a chokehold. "Shh…" she murmured as the man's eyes rolled back in their sockets. "There's a good boy…"
Walking slowly as to notice a creaky spot in time, Sayo followed Lubbock to the door at the end of the hall, which was slightly ajar. As he peered through it, a soft snarl left the lean youth's lips. Looking over his shoulder, Sayo had a pretty clear view of the hall within.
"Welcome, my fellow enthusiasts, to yet another grandiose feast," a voice boomed through the building. It came from a young man seated at the end of a long table spanning almost the entire room. Somewhere in his mid-twenties, the man's hair was pale blond and his coat and matching necktie similarly pale brown.
"Bach," Sayo whispered, feeling Pumpkin heat up until the metal almost burned beneath her shaking fingers. A hand found its way to her shoulder – so she turned her head. Sheele's eyes were only centimeters from her own, big, purple and sad, but also completely calm. As she looked into them, Pumpkin cooled down and her hand became still. She gave the older assassin a quick nod, then refocused her attention on the spectacle before them.
"Tonight, you will be partaking of a more diverse menu than ever before," Bach continued, snapping his fingers. In response, a whole row of girls stepped into Sayo's view. They were all clad in expensive clothing, and none of them looked younger than fifteen. He had even acquired one with the chocolate skin of the islands of the south.
"I think it's high time we crashed this party," Leone whispered behind them. The guard she's been dealing with was lying on his back, but his face was pressed against the floor. "On three… one… two… THREE!"
As one, they smashed through the door. The men seated closest to them never even realized what hit them, their eyes still shining with confusion as their heads sailed through the air – victims of Ecstasy's uncanny sharpness. Half the bodyguards lining the walls were preyed upon by Leone and Lubbock before they could draw their weapons. One or two managed to fire a couple shots before they went down, but only one found its way into Leone's stomach, and it didn't even slow her down.
Her eyes fixed on Bach, Sayo lifted her teigu, but before she could take the shot, the blonde man ducked under the table. Cursing inwardly, she turned the crosshairs on a man with hair shaped like devil horns and pulled the trigger.
"GUARDS!" a man holding a black dog in a chain screamed. "GET IN HERE!" As he released the beast, the front door flew upon and half a dozen more suits made their way into the hall.
They can handle it, Sayo thought as Sheele chopped off another head beside her. I need to get Bach. She jumped over a cowering "enthusiast" and slid beneath the table, Pumpkin warm and ready to fire.
The blond man was nowhere to be seen.
Dammit, where did he go!?
She was positive she'd not seen him reemerge from beneath the table, so if he had not gone up or to the side, the only possibility that remained was…down.
A hatch, she thought, spotting a metal ring bolted to the floor. Screaming and gunfire all around her, she made her way towards it as fast as she could on all fours. She reached it without any trouble, but the second she put her hand on the handle, a primitive killing-intent made itself known behind her. Whirling around, she had just enough time to put her hands up before the dog jumped her, slobber dripping from its jaw.
Pumpkin was hanging across her back, out of reach. Putting her elbow against the beast's muscular neck, she managed to keep it away from her face, barely. The stink of raw meat made her want to vomit, and pain flared all over her stomach and chest as the dog put its claws to work.
Something poked her thigh.
She looked down and saw the dog's member, erect and pink, flailing about like a sword. Even as her eyes widened with horror, it poked her again, this time almost right on her groin.
Screaming, she ripped her hunting knife from her belt and plunged it into the dog's ribs, once – twice – thrice. She kept going even after the beast had stopped moving, stabbing and cutting, until she was so drenched with blood it felt like she'd wet herself. Pushing the carcass away with trembling hands, she took a moment to collect herself.
Breathe. Keep calm. Have to kill Bach.
She grabbed the handle and pulled it open. A staircase led down into an underground passageway, but she didn't bother using it, choosing instead to drop down. The corridor led in two directions, and for a moment, she didn't know which to choose. Fortunately, blood was dripping from the wooden roof like melted snow from a tree in late winter, and a series of red footprints gave her target's path away. Bringing Pumpkin back into her hands, she began to run.
The noise from above receded quickly, leaving only the sloppy sound of her own boots slapping against the stone floor. How much of a head start did he have on her? Two minutes? Three? Dammit, if it hadn't been for the dog…
Breathe. Keep calm. Have to kill Bach.
After a small eternity, the dim light began to grow stronger, and not long after she spotted the end of the tunnel in the distance. Her lunges burning, she finished the homestretch sprinting, before emerging from a small door to find herself standing in a stable lighted by a series of oil lamps hanging from the ceiling. Outside, she heard the bang of a whip against flesh, and then the upset neigh of a horse. Bursting out into fresh air, she saw a carriage driven by another baldheaded suit take off into the still buzzing streets of the Capital.
"BAAAACH!" she roared, lifting Pumpkin to her shoulder. Her vision growing as red as the blood staining her coat, she prepared to unleash a volley of energy that would have obliterated the entire street and all the innocent people in it, if not for the timely attack of the ambusher her target had left behind. Seeing the blade coming from the corner of her eye, she twisted herself around and released the spirit energy on him instead. The blast was so strong it took both the ambusher and the stable behind him, not to mention that it knocked Sayo on her back. Lifting her head, she realized she'd just killed all the animals within.
Breathe. Keep calm. Have to kill Bach.
Running her hand across the metal of her teigu, she decided she had maybe one good discharge left. Struggling to her feet, she aimed for the fleeing carriage for a second time, which had nearly gotten to the end of the street. A few seconds more now, and it would have rounded the corner and be out of her reach.
BANG!
It was by no means a perfect shoot – off by several degrees even, but it did the job. Carving through the carriage two left wheels like a sword through flesh, sending the vehicle tumbling over on its side. The poor horses pulling it were pulled down with it, their legs snapped. The driver crashed into a streetlight before he hit the ground. He did not get up.
Before long, a crowd of the curious, worried and horrified civilians had gathered around the overturned carriage, but when they saw the bloodied, armed and hooded figure that was Sayo come, their faces took on the color of milk.
"Scram!" she shouted, pointing her teigu at the crowd. They obeyed without protest, turning their backs and darting away. One woman even threw her shopping bags into the dirt, fashionable furs and other clothing spilling out.
Stopping in front of the ruined vehicle, Sayo was just thinking the blond bastard couldn't possibly have survived when the door facing the sky was thrown open. Blood running from his nose, Bach crawled out and pretty much fell down onto the ground. Besides some additional cuts here and there, he appeared uninjured, amazingly enough. Coughing, he looked up and right into Pumpkin's barrel.
"Hello Bach," she said, something akin to a smile forming on her face.
"Wait," he said, folding his coat and the shirt beneath open, revealing his bare chest. A strange mark had been carved into the center of his torso, the work of a branding iron by the looks of it.
"See this?" he said, his body a wheeze of desperation. "I didn't choose this life! My mother sold me when I was only a child! Being as ruthless as my master was the only way to-"
She kneed him in the face.
"Shut up," she said, tapping her forehead. "I'm trying to think here."
Bach obeyed – maybe because he had detected the murderous seriousness in her voice, or maybe because the agony in his face had rendered him unable to do anything but sobbing.
"Fal," Sayo decided, remembering the story their contractor had told them. "That was the one who had her legs broken." Wasting no time, she drew her knife and thrust it into the blond man's kneecap. Unlike the sounds the horses had let out when their bones broke, his scream didn't make her feel anything.
"Stop!" he begged, as he tried to slither away, but she grabbed a handful of his pale bangs and kept him in place. Turning his face around by force, she ripped the knife from his leg and let the red tip rest against his cheekbone.
"Luna," she said. "If I'm not mistaken, that was the one who lost her eyes."
"What's wrong with you!?" her terrified victim demanded, a river of tears flowing from both of his eyes. "I'm begging you here!"
"And how many girls have begged you over the years, before you watched them get mutilated while sipping your wine?" she demanded back, shifting the knife in her hand until the blade was pointing down and the shaft up. "Fifty? A hundred? A hundred and fifty? As far as I'm concerned, you wouldn't have much of a right to complain if I were to make you feel all the same things they did… right?"
She thrust down.
XXXXX
Afterwards, she left the remains behind and walked around the side of the carriage. Regret overcame her as she saw the flanks of the two horses still moving up and down. Without a word, she lifted Pumpkin to her shoulder and ended their suffering.
The CDF can't be faraway… I need to get out of sight and meet up with the others.
Choosing the first alley she saw, she moved into the darkness with heavy steps. Without the intoxication of her earlier rage, her feet felt like stone.
"Hello, Onee-chan."
She stopped. "You?"
Her contractor was sitting on the ground beside an overflowing trashcan, which was why she hadn't seen her before now.
"Air," Sayo said. "You said your name was Air."
The little girl closed her eyes for a moment. "Air," she mimicked, an almost tranquil look on her face. "Heh, it's been so long since anyone called me that."
A horrifying thought struck Sayo. "You… you didn't watch, did you?"
"Don't worry, Onee-chan," the little girl said, still smiling. "Compared to everything else, seeing that was nothing." She pulled out a small bottle from a pocket. "I heard you say their names. I'm glad that someone will be remembering us after all." She pulled the lid from the bottle and turned it upside-down. Two white pills fell into her hand, each the size of a nail.
"W-what is that?" Sayo said, feeling her limbs go cold.
"My peace," the girl said. "Thank you for everything, Onee-chan." Lifting her head back, she dropped the two pills into her mouth and swallowed.
Feeling like the air around her had solidified, Sayo lunged forward. The girl's eyes, so calm up until now, widened in alarm and she turned her head away. Sayo didn't care, grabbing the girl's chin with one hand while letting the other clamp down on her pale cheeks. Shaking her head, Air resisted like a madman as Sayo tried to force her jaw down. Seeing no other option, she slammed her knee into the girl's midriff. That did the trick.
"Ah," the girl whimpered involuntarily. At once, Sayo forced a hand inside her throat, ignoring it as Air bit her, hard. Even so, she could not stop the older girl's fingers from reaching her uvula. Pulling her hand back, Sayo didn't even bother to move away as the girl threw up. Instead, she stuck her hand into the vomit and roamed around until she had both pills in her hand.
And crushed them.
"Why?" Air gasped. "I wanted to do this for so long, but I had to stay alive avenge Fal and Luna. It's over." She reached for the knife in Sayo's belt, but the older girl caught her hands and forced them to the ground. "Let me go… please… Onee-chan. Haven't I seen enough?"
"You can't," Sayo whispered. "Something good has to come out of this story, don't you see?"
"At night," the girl began, tears running down her cheeks, "at night, all I hear are their cries. All I see are their faces, twisted in pain. I have nothing left, not my friends, not my pride, nothing. How can I go on, after all that's happened? How do you forget being violated over and over until it seems as normal as breathing?"
"You have me," Sayo said, leaning forward until their foreheads touched. "I'm your Onee-chan, remember? Even if it takes a hundred years, I'll never stop trying until you feel happy again. Please, Air… for your friends and for me… live!"
The little, pink-haired girl was no longer crying, she was sobbing like a baby. Still, that alone seemed to hold a faint promise of healing. What was it the chief used to say? Accepting was the first step on the path to recovery?
Knowing anyone who came within a dozen meters of the alley would hear the girl's crying; Sayo put her arm beneath Air's buttocks and lifted her up. She did not resist. Instead, she pressed her face into Sayo's bloodied, dirty chest and continued her outpour.
"There's a good girl," Sayo said soothingly as she moved into the shadows.
"There's a brave, good girl."
XXXXX
The next morning, Ieyasu woke up to find that, even though Akame had been lying between them as they went to sleep, Bulat had somehow ended up right beside him. Currently, one of his long arms was draped across the boy's back, a childish smile of contentment on his Bro's face. Grimacing, Ieyasu wiggled his way free.
"Good morning," Akame said, sitting on her knees beside the fireplace as she skinned a squirrel.
"Where's Gensei?" Ieyasu inquired, taking a seat beside her.
"Outside practicing," she said, offering him some meat. "Hungry?"
After they had finished eating and packed their stuff, including the herb they'd been looking for (as luck would have it, Gensei had a garden full of them), they made their way out into the temple courtyard. As Akame had said, Gensei was training, without a shirt no less. Ieyasu's jaw dropped when he saw that the old man had a musculature that could have given Bulat a run for his money.
Damn…should I ask him what kind of vegetables he eats?
"Ah, awake at last," Gensei grunted as he put down the wooden staff he'd been twirling around. "You've gotten lazy, Bulat."
"Hey now, everyone needs to take it easy once in a while," the former student laughed. "You should try it yourself sometime, being retired and all."
It went by so quickly Ieyasu later dismissed it as nothing, just his eyes playing games with him. Still, when Bulat said that, for just a tiny moment, he could've sworn the old man's eyes had that look, the one he'd seen just once before.
On the day that Tatsumi disappeared.
In the eyes of a woman that was like cruelty incarnate.
"Well, take care," Bulat said as he bowed his former master goodbye. "I hope we'll see each other again."
"I do not doubt it for a moment," Gensei said as he bowed back.
XXXXX
"Air," Sayo said softly to the girl whose chin was resting on her shoulder. "Wake up, we're almost there."
Usually, travelling from the capital to the hideout took only six hours, but with Air on her back, the hike had claimed the whole night. At this point, the only thing keeping her from falling over was the thought of the warm, soft bed waiting for them.
"You stink, Onee-chan," the girl muttered.
"Well, a lot happened since I last bathed," Sayo chuckled. "We'll take one together when we get there."
"Hmm. Aren't you tired, Onee-chan? You've been carrying me since we exited the southern gate."
"Kind of," Sayo admitted. "But I have a friend who carried me through a whole night when I was even bigger than you are now, so I can do at least this much."
"Wow," the girl giggled. "Your friend is really strong, isn't he?"
Sayo turned her head so she could look the younger girl in the eye. "Who said it was a guy?"
"You didn't need to," Air smiled, the first one not to make Sayo feel like crying her eyes out. "Why did he have to carry you so far?"
"Well, let me think about it for a moment…"
XXXXX
"Hey, Sayo, look at this!"
Dropping the rabbit into her meat sack, she looked over at Tatsumi, who was squatting a dozen meters away.
"What?" she yelled back.
"You gotta see this!" he shouted, pointing at something in the snow. "It's amazing!"
She trudged her way over to him and peered over his shoulder. "Oh wow," she whispered. "Is that what I think it is?"
The footprint was so large and deep both of them would have had no trouble fitting inside it if they sat back-to-back.
"Mountain bear," Tatsumi said, his voice laced with a mixture of awe and excitement. "First tracks I've seen in years. Wanna see where this leads?"
"Are you crazy? We'd need at least ten more hunters to bring a beast like that down, assuming there's only one of them!"
"Relax, I'm kidding… mostly."
They continued following the same trail from yesterday, checking all the traps, some of which were weeks old. They got a few more rabbits, but overall it was a meagre result at the end of the day.
"This isn't nearly enough," Tatsumi said with frustration as they prepped the last trap. "If this continues, we'll have nothing to sell to the merchants come spring."
"We'll make due," Sayo shrugged.
"Last time Taruk visited, he told me they eat meat every day and sleep on mattresses stuffed with swan feathers in the Capital."
"You'd believe anything that fat liar tells you," she snorted. "How's the training coming along?"
"Better than ever!" Tatsumi said proudly. "Master says I'm one of the most natural swordsmen he's ever seen!"
"Really? Cause' whenever I come to see, it just looks like he's slapping you around like a dolt with a stick. Which is what you are, when I think about it. A dolt with a stick."
"Haha," he said gruffly. "Wanna head back? It's getting late."
"Sure," she said as she tested that the snare was still tight. "Wait… did you hear that?"
"What?" he asked, reaching for his knife.
Pulling her bow from her shoulder, Sayo hunched down as she moved forward. It might've been nothing, but she could've sworn she heard something move in the bushes behind them. A deer? She drew an arrow from her quiver.
It happened too fast for her to react in time. Without a hint of warning, a massive elk sprung out from hiding with its antlers lowered. With the snow reaching her to her knees, she couldn't move quickly enough. One of the bony outgrowths caught her thigh and penetrated her cloths, drawing blood. She screamed.
"HEY!" Tatsumi roared, jabbing at the large deer with his knife. "GET AWAY!"
The elk reared, looking for a moment as if it wanted to accept the challenge, but then it thought better of it and turned around, before fleeing back into the bushes.
"You okay!?" Tatsumi asked as he dropped down beside her.
"I… think my ankle got twisted," she breathed. She reached down, touching it. "OW! Shit, it's definitely twisted!"
"Can you walk?"
She tried to put pressure on it. "OW! No, no way."
"Fuck," Tatsumi groaned, dragging his hands over his face. It literally could not have happened at a worse time. "We're so far out from the village, and the chief was going to teach us how to make a sled from branches in just a few days!"
"We have food," she said, nodding at their meat bags. "If we make camp, the others will come looking for us in the morning."
"Not an option," Tatsumi said, his hands still in front of his face.
"What're you talking about?"
"The mountain bear, remember? If we light a fire and it's still in the area, it'll almost certainly come to check it out."
"Well if we don't, we'll freeze to death!"
"Not if we keep moving."
With a grunt of effort, she pulled her injured foot from the snow and held it up in front of his face. "Twisted ankle, remember."
Tatsumi didn't say anything. Instead, he turned his back on her and went down on his knees.
"What are you doing?"
"Hop on," he said.
She slapped him across the back. "Tatsumi, you can't carry me back to the village! I'd take all day and night! You wouldn't last even half the way!"
"Which is why I'd be very grateful if you'd stopping wasting more time. Besides, contrary to your beliefs, 'getting slapped around' actually does help one grow some muscle."
"What about the meat?" she said, gesturing at their meagre but vital gain of the day.
"Can't be helped," he shrugged. "Now get on, before I decide to leave you behind."
"Asshole," she muttered, but she put her arms around his neck nonetheless.
"Upsy daisy," Tatsumi said as he put his arms around her legs.
"Don't make me smack you again."
In the beginning, Tatsumi plowed onward like it was nothing, but all too soon, he had to slow down in order to conserve energy. Not long after, the darkness fell, but since no new snow had come, finding the way back was not hard. Getting there though…
"Tatsumi, let's stop," Sayo said as they reached the Old Oak, which meant two thirds of the way home remained. "You need to rest."
He shook his head slowly. "It's too cold. I'll freeze."
"Then take your coat back!" He had given her his earlier so that she would not get cold, being still and all.
"I can keep going," he said stubbornly. "It's begun to snow, see? If we wait, we won't be able to find our way back."
She gave up, even though she could hear how strained his breathing sounded. Well, it wasn't like he could last much longer anyway… or at least, so she thought until she saw the Elder Stone emerge from the darkness, which signaled that they were way over halfway back.
Shit, did I fall asleep? She wondered, and then she felt Tatsumi's arms trembling for the first time.
"Tatsumi, stop," she said, tapping him on the head. "You'll kill yourself if you don't rest!"
"This is nothing," he said, his voice barely audible. "I can do this…"
"Tatsumi, I'll jump off!"
"If you do that… I'll collapse," he said. "Just stay like that…a bit longer."
She grew silent and resumed her waiting. It got to a point where she was amazed anew each time he took a new step forward, until they could see the lights of the village glimmer in the distance at last.
"Tatsumi, look!" she said, pointing ahead. "We're nearly there! You made it! You actually made it!"
Tatsumi did not respond. Doing so would probably have broken his focus. That last hour it took him to cross the snowy fields that surrounded their home must have been the most agonizing experience he'd ever gone through. The tracks they'd made almost a day earlier when they first left were long gone, eradicated by the snowfall. If not for the lights, they never would've found their way back.
When Tatsumi collapsed at last, maybe two dozen more steps remained between them and the closest house, a fact that would drive him crazy in the weeks and months to come. It took Sayo completely by surprise, as she'd come to believe he'd make it all the way. As they lay there, in the dark, she couldn't muster the will to move for nearly a minute. He was just so warm.
Her throat had grown incredibly sore because of the cold, but she still managed to raise her voice high enough to summon help. The first to arrive was the crazy old mercenary Tatsumi now called "Master", and sometimes, in his sleep, "father".
"What the hell happened, girl?" he demanded as he crouched down beside Tatsumi. "Don't tell me he carried you all the way here?"
She laughed, almost euphoric by the prospect of getting out of this damn cold. "He's as crazy as you, old man."
The ex-mercenary studied her for a moment, before looking down at Tatsumi with something he never would have let slip if the boy had been conscious.
Fatherly love.
"He sure is," the old man chuckled as he lifted the boy off the ground.
How strange, she thought as two other villagers threw her arms over their shoulders and lifted her up. Tatsumi looked like a babe in the old man's thick arms, his hair ruffled and his mouth hanging open… and yet in her eyes – he had never, ever looked cooler…