Disclaimer: I don't own Akame Ga Kill, certainty not. Aside from that, I believe we can all agree that Tatsumi belongs exclusively to Esdeath. (Yes, I was ordered to write that.)
The last part of the Fallhaven Arc is out, and way quicker than you expected, too! Heh, I intend to release chapters more regularly, mainly so we can get to the "Good scenes." Enjoy!
The Imperial survivors of Esdeath's legion were currently being sorted into organized lines, each with a Captain at the end holding a clipboard. Names were called, and the called were then requested to respond with a loud voice, either "Here." or "Alive and present." would do. This wasn't a roll call, but a death-toll registry. The city of Fallhaven had been rendered inhospitable, fairly quickly by their General's power. So, the recovery of bodies and the like were off the table, so they had to make do with what they could.
Surprisingly enough, they were just below half of what they had stormed the city with, in terms of leftover survivors.
A considerable victory, in comparison to the Revolutionary Army's complete annihilation. The ice storms continued to blow across Fallhaven, even now. When they were done, and names of the suspected dead were crossed over in pencil, the Ice Queen's Military rested up and drank to their victory. Patiently waiting for their General to be done with whatever she was doing at the moment, which was destroying the very foundations of Fallhaven in bitter rage.
"Hm, that should be all." A Captain said in a satisfied tone as he crossed the last name of his board.
"...Hey, you. Where's the lady in charge here?" An overly deep voice beckoned, the Captain turned over to see a towering giant of a man standing over him. "...General Nouken?!"
"Ah, so you've got working eyes... Good, where is she?" The General in question, was a darkly tanned tall man, imposing and intimidating with a stern look about him. In his prime, at his late twenties, Nouken prided himself on his accomplishments, no matter how big or small. White trousers, tall black boots. Gelled back shoulder-length hair. Nouken had an Imperial General's white cape draped over him, his muscular chest exposed and tied with latex belts. Clearly showing no shame in his appearance, whatsoever.
The man's shoulder pauldrons only added to his otherwise, scary appearance.
His black latex belts connected together at a commonly used symbol, for masculinity and the male gender altogether made from metal.
The iconic circle and arrow.
"She's... At the city, over there, the one covered in ice." The Captain slowly explained, clearly confused with the situation as the recently arrived General's remnant forces began to merge with the Ice Queen's own remnant, they were happy to see each other as fellow Imperials. Nouken's forces were wrapped in the same tight-fitting latex belts, complete with Nouken's chest centrepiece. They'd talk in the background, as Nouken huffed in disappointment.
"A real shame then, I was hoping to explain my absence from the Empire... I've heard things have changed, I was only gone for five months."
"You're supposed to be dead, General Nouken! How're you still alive, why're you still alive?" The Captain stammered out, only to receive an answer that he wished he hadn't. "I was posted on the Eastern Border for a while, on Budo's request, the women are quite a sight there. You know, if you choke them hard enough, they stop screaming entirely."
"I delayed my return to the Empire, to properly relish the rare chance to have a taste of some real fine whores. And let my men have some fun, too."
Sure, the Captain speaking with Nouken, served Esdeath.
But not everyone that served the infamous Ice Queen was a certified bastard, they were a few good individuals serving the beautiful monster in white, but Nouken's Military was truly composed of the worst degenerate individuals in the entire Empire alone. Completely heartless, and devoid of remorse.
He enjoyed the power that being a General of the Empire gave him, constantly abusing that same power to do what he wanted for pure hedonism. Esdeath wasn't the only Imperial General that regularly held secret meetings with the Prime Minister of the Empire, Nouken did so aswell.
But Nouken's were more focused on keeping the deeply rooted corruption of the Empire rampant, rather than dealing with the matters of the Revolutionary Army and discussing their personal affairs.
Now that General Nouken had returned to the fold, it was his intention to restart his longtime reign of debauchery on the Imperial Capital's unfortunate brothels and whorehouses. The Captain could only watch in horror as he, too, realized this. Military Carriages belonging to the General could be seen being pulled by tired, worn-out horses by shirtless men, that held captured women and stolen loot from the East. He intended to use the money acquired, as a peace-offering to the newly crowned Great General and use the sobbing frightened women for himself.
To replace the concubines, he had killed during his sexual rampage.
"I...I see, very good, sir." The Captain nodded, trying to hide his disgust and then moved to leave. "Oy. I didn't tell you to leave, did I, huh?"
"Ah, of course not. Is there anything else you need?"
General Nouken pondered for a while, then shook his head. "No, you can leave."
The Captain looked dumbstruck, but then took his cue and ran off.
"Hm, I wonder if that Ice Queen over there still has a hymen to break." General Nouken continued in his thoughts, looking over at the ruined remains of Fallhaven. Observing the destruction that she had caused, admiring it deeply. The General had known of the Ice Queen's forceful claim of Budo's title, but he had not known that she had acquired and soon, lost her mate. Largely uninformed of the intimate details of Esdeath's personal life, as expected, but mainly because he had no interest in it.
He just saw her as she was, a beautiful yet deadly woman.
One that he desired to break, and have as his own. He owned plenty of women, he loved none of them, just seeing them as tools to satisfy and satiate his lust. In Nouken's mind, that was what it meant to be a true man, a man of quality. In many ways, he was the opposite of Tatsumi when it came to how they saw women.
Notably older, too.
And older than Esdeath, Nouken knew of Esdeath's vow of celibacy since he had originally first seen the woman when she was just a young girl, fighting in the Imperial Arenas to survive. Honest had told him himself that Esdeath did not intend to take a lover when he had questioned her about it, that is, until two years ago when she decided to change that, and then came Tatsumi.
Nouken had seen Tatsumi through the Wanted Posters that were made, at the late-stages of the struggle against the Empire. To the General, he seemed like a wimp, looked like a wimp.
And would surely die like one, in fact, General Nouken already assumed Tatsumi to be dead by now.
Assuming Esdeath's quest to obtain the boy's love, had failed miserably in its persistent attempts.
To give the General credit, he was only half correct. The Ice Queen had already sunk her fangs into Tatsumi, joyously freeing them both of their virginities within' a single night of passion they shared together. But, currently, they were ex-lovers. Which was perfectly fine for Nouken, even so, he did not respect the boundaries that relationships created. He had raped plenty of unmarried and married women, in front of their partners for the added sadistic pleasure then cut each of them away from the threads of life.
He had no desire to create a family, or raise children.
Any of his concubines that fell pregnant, when contraception failed in its duty to prevent such, were beaten until they weren't anymore by the man himself.
Deaths were just an unfortunate possibility when it came to that.
General Nouken lacked any of the responsibility that was expected of him, as a General of the Empire or as a potential parent. He had willfully neglected to report his whereabouts to Budo, to satiate his lust and carnal desires and then expected Esdeath to simply allow him back into the Imperial Military, with the same work ethic. He was about to find out, that she was a very different creature to the one that Budo was.
Very, very different.
Not to mention, General Nouken's desire to have Esdeath, came from a desire to attain the resources she had at her disposal. He had heard of the martial law being in place, which effectively allowed Esdeath access to whatever resource she needed from the Empire's vast pools, she had allowed Honest to make suggestions to assist in allocating them properly but that was all she did. She did not squander resources that needed to be put to proper use, elsewhere in the Empire, reconstruction works for instance.
I don't believe you need any more idea of what he'd do with such resources, provided he had the chance to attain them, my dearest reader.
Tatsumi shifted through the cold blizzard, like an invisible ghost, desperately seeking Akame out.
He needed to find her quickly if anyone had a proper escape plan, then it'd Akame herself. Tatsumi also hoped that Leone would be present, too. He had to see another friendly face, the guilt in his mind wasn't letting him go anytime soon, he had to make it up to Akame for failing so badly at the critical moment. That, and it'd be mighty useful for Leone to be around if he eventually collapsed from his lingering injuries since the hole in his chest hadn't stopped leaking blood since he got impaled in the first place.
Incursio was without a doubt, the only reason he could endure so much blood loss at this point.
Even so, the strain of the Teigu was slowly wearing him down. Soon, he was forced out of the invisibility, Incursio's trump card flatlined and shorted out. Panic immediately made itself known inside Tatsumi's mind, had he been spotted by Esdeath's senses because of his invisibility wearing off?
He didn't know for certain, but he couldn't nor wouldn't stick around to find out, he had to hurry and make it to somewhere he could recover and lick his wounds.
Evolving Incursio to its second form, was a complete surprise to Tatsumi, but it had been a welcome one.
He had been previously warned against pushing the limits of the Teigu, but he knew that he remained human on the inside and out. He was thankful for that, not desiring to lose his humanity in his quest to rid the Empire of its corruption, he had seen the futility of making suicidal tactics like that against his lover.
His former lover, Esdeath.
The ice around him, spreading everywhere as an infection told him of that, told him that everything was over for the Revolutionary Army. Over for Night Raid, too. They had no choice but to flee across the continent, and in Night Raid's case, leave it entirely. It was the only way, the only way now that Akame had sustained a grievous injury that could not be overcome without intense training that required focus, time and dedication. Everything she had been forced to abandon in the name of survival against the Empire's relentless search for them.
Whereas Tatsumi had been training almost every day that he was allowed, when with Esdeath.
It was the only reason why he had been able to push Incursio that far without suffering the drawbacks, he had years of training under him and Akame had lost that in merely keeping herself safe.
A very vocal part of Tatsumi felt as if he had been unfair in pushing all of his hopes on Akame to relieve him of Esdeath's insane obsession with him, but he had realized something that made him feel even more guilt.
He had intentionally saved Esdeath back then.
He knew it, they'd be no point in denying it anymore. He had held the blade that Akame had brought to Esdeath's face and stood in the way of a killing strike. Nobody else, but himself alone. He had protected the one woman he should have happily allowed to die, she had murdered plenty of his departed friends by herself or by proxy, she had used the original Three Beasts to kill Bulat, through General Liver.
Destroyed Susanoo's core, erasing him from the "life" that he had lived in Najenda's service.
The list went on, and on.
But Tatsumi hadn't been able to stop himself from rushing to Esdeath's side, and he wondered why. Then it hit him once more, that was because he sympathized with Esdeath's greatest wish, to have a family of her own. He knew the loneliness she felt, Tatsumi had been an orphan in his village, at the end of the day. Raised and passed around by the village's inhabitants, weirdly watched by his Village Elder at every turn.
To subject Makoto, his own son to that same fate, Tatsumi almost threw up in disgust just thinking of that.
Heading to the Lord's tower as he figured, it'd be a good place to start a search and if he failed in that, he could always just lay down and die by the frozen body littered streets as repentance for his various misdeeds.
He powered on regardless, eventually reaching the base of the tower in his strides, he noticed the front entrance had been forcefully broken through by what seemed like a punch. Nobody had the power to break Esdeath's ice, aside from a select few.
"Tatsumi...?" A voice rang out, it was Wave's. He emerged from the Lord's tower's entrance.
Closely followed by the appearance of Leone, Akame being held by that same lioness and Kurome clinging protectively unto Wave's arm.
Tatsumi's helmet had become horribly broken up, one of the horns had been completely broken off. His eyes, red and crimson, blinked in shock. The sight of Akame's missing arm never ceased to cause agonizing guilt to emerge in his chest.
Without making idle chatter or small talk, Tatsumi immediately cut to the chase and asked what he needed to know. If he didn't receive the answer he needed to hear then Tatsumi figured he'd be better off just finding Esdeath and trying to end things quickly.
"Do you have an escape plan, just tell me straight. Don't even try to bullshit me." Tatsumi urged, standing on shaky feet as hinted by his stance.
"We do, we can escape through an underground passageway, it'll take us to the outside," Leone responded, as Wave and Kurome nodded in turn.
"Good, I wasn't followed... I don't think so, but we best hurry before we discover that." Tatsumi adjusted himself and breathed out, finally, letting Incursio from his body. Taking it into his hands, sheathing the sealed sword on his back in its scabbard. Tatsumi's eyes, particularly, his right one was currently red and baring the cross of Tyrant. That soon faded away, and his two eyes were both emerald once more.
He hadn't suffered any drastic changes that were spoken of by the Teigu Doctor in his warnings, staying completely human as he had not pushed Incursio beyond its limits, untrained and inexperienced.
Suddenly, and without any build-up whatsoever. The hole in Tatsumi's chest spewed blood across the floor from his front, and he soon threw up blood from a ruptured damaged lung that came from one of Esdeath's punches earlier. A puddle was soon formed, and Tatsumi fell to the floor into it, quicker than anyone could react to stop him. Completely out of it, and unconscious.
His battle with Esdeath had been a cruel painful bout, but Tatsumi had endured until the very end of it. He had not fallen to the Ice Queen's blade, but to the injuries she had caused him during the fight, a fight he had narrowly escaped, thanks to his Trump Card.
"Tatsumi...!" Leone cried, unable to help him as she carried Akame and could not let go. Instead, Wave rushed forward and broke away from Kurome's hold, lifting Tatsumi over his shoulder and keeping him steady with his spare hand. "Don't worry, I got him. I got you, buddy."
"Are you sure we should take him?" Akame asked quietly as she wasn't fully recovered, a hint of doubt arose inside the woman's heart. "No way, we can't just leave him behind."
"Yeah, you aren't seriously suggesting we just leave him here to die, look at him," Wave agreed with Leone and immediately made for the Lord's Tower interior without another word to say. Kurome loyally followed, but not before sharing a knowing glance with Akame, as she understood what had forced her to say such words.
It was Esdeath, if they took Tatsumi, then it'd be likely that they would not know peace for long enough to recover from their wounds.
They all walked into the entrance hall and located the secret passageway buried under the Feudal Lord's statue, it had a sliding feature that could be moved away to reveal it. It required the strength of least, seven men to push, but a simple shove by somebody like Wave. Before they ventured inside, Leone stopped and questioned Akame before they went ahead. "Are you sure you just wanna leave the Revolutionary Army's leaders to their fate, Akame?"
"I am, they choose this... We tried to stop this, they didn't listen to us. We could've avoided this." Akame, for once, acted out of spite. It was clear that she was bitter over losing her arm, but now she wanted to leave the last hopes of a Revolution to the fury of Esdeath, as in Akame's own mind they had brought it on themselves.
So they should not intervene in something they had no business with. That, and Akame knew that Esdeath would likely be heading to the Lord's Tower next, as he had preserved it with the intention of saving it for last.
If they were to linger about, they would be caught. Herself and Leone would be captured, tortured or simply killed outright. Tatsumi would be in the arms of the Ice Queen, once more and any chance that Wave and Kurome had of a happy life together would be lost, lost forever.
Akame was perfectly fine, with putting the needs of her immediate friends over a Revolution that she no longer truly believed in anymore. The Revolution was over anyway, and the Empire would now be free to oppress and abuse the populace for years to come.
"Whatever you say, you're the boss. Come on, let's haul ass." Leone led the group, carrying Akame tightly. Wave followed, and Kurome lifted a torch from the side of the passageway and held it to guide them with a light source. The tunnel had no natural light, completely dark and barren. So, everyone was thankful for Kurome's helpfulness. When they were all inside, Wave closed it behind them with another powerful shove.
By now, Wave's back had been drenched quite thickly in Tatsumi's blood, having thrown him across the shoulder to support him. It'd be clear that if Tatsumi and Akame didn't receive medical attention fast, then they'd be both dead within' three or so hours.
Wave simply couldn't stomach seeing any more death today, he had seen enough for one lifetime. So Tatsumi had to survive. "How long will this take to reach the surface, Leone? We haven't got a lot of time."
"Hey, we'll make it. It shouldn't take an hour as long as we keep a quick pace if you wanna run ahead... You're welcome, too." Leone clarified, and Wave weighed his options. He had no clue where Leone and Akame had set up base, and Wave knew that he simply couldn't check Tatsumi into the nearest Imperial hospital, without word reaching Esdeath eventually. For now, at least. He had to place trust in the two that he allied himself with, but as long as he had Kurome by him, he'd be fine.
Tatsumi would be fine.
"I'll pass, but if Tatsumi starts throwing up any more blood, I just might run ahead." Wave replied as Kurome began quietly chuckling at his words. Fully intending to sprint after Wave, if he did so. Then Kurome had an idea, she had servants bound forever to the blade she used as her own.
The March of the Dead hadn't been used today, so it was still viable to activate. She would use one friend, to save another. Indeed, she considered Tatsumi as one of her friends, greatly appreciating his role in allowing Wave to be open with is feelings and bolstering his courage to confess. "Akame, how far is your base from the exit point?"
"...It's several clicks to the west, but not that far. An abandoned log cabin..." Akame responded a slight degree of hesitancy in her voice. Kurome had just a while ago, been serving as apart of the Jaegers, as one of the Ice Queen's pawns. But the sisterly bond they shared, overcame any distrust between them and allowed them to cooperate effectively as sisters. They worked extremely well as a team, as they knew that. "...Good, I can use Ran to fly us over. When we're done, we can come back for you two."
"That sounds good, we'll be counting on you."
"We keep our medical supplies in the bottom cupboards of the dining room, we should have enough for the job." Akame continued, relieved to know they had a plan in action, and using their strengths to support each other.
"Enough chatter. Let's pick the pace up, Tatsumi's bleedin' out here!" Leone interrupted without reservation for the volume of her voice and moved ahead of the group with haste.
Using their combined desire to succeed, the plan worked miraculously. Tatsumi was successfully moved to the secure location in Night Raid's cabin, and the corpse puppet of Ran was able to ferry Akame and Leone together back to the cabin in record time, thanks to his Teigu. Applying first aid, Tatsumi and Akame's injuries were mended as best they could, with what they had. They had no cybernetics on hand, so Akame had to make do with a wooden limb for now to adjust. Tatsumi stayed asleep for two days, with his bandages changed in the evening to avoid any bad implications of wearing unclean ones.
Wave and Kurome made themselves useful, working together to clean the cabin up and fletch firewood. To Akame, it'd be as if Night Raid was back in business, seeing more than one face other than Leone. Soon, the cabin looked less abandoned and more renovated.
Thankfully, they had enough rooms for each person, Wave and Kurome sharing one, mind you. Inori herself included, she had a room, but she had been in a persistent comatose state since Rogers had recovered her from the damp streets of the capital Saving her from bleeding out to die a horrid undignified death at Esdeath's hands.
Fed by a feeding tube, she didn't seem as if she was bound to wake up anytime soon, Pumpkin rested by the girl's bedside.
Akame and Leone had been in serious heated discussions to see if Inori should inherit Mine's treasured Teigu but eventually, they realized that letting the weapon gather dust in an attic was a bigger insult to the genius sniper's legacy. So, they allowed it. Proper training would be given, as it was a weapon that was very situational and required peak concentration to master entirely.
But, as if subconsciously sensing Tatsumi's body in the room across, Inori began to stir awake.
In contrast to Tatsumi's habit of sleeping excessively, Esdeath did not spend the day of their separation in sleep's embrace. In fact, she had not slept at all. She had spent the night of Fallhaven's end, searching and locating the sources of heat that she felt in the remnants of the city, obsessively trying to locate Tatsumi and Makoto in vain. When she found, shivering civilians or near-frozen Imperial Soldiers that begged, pleaded for her to save them from the cold.
She cut them down without mercy.
At this very moment, she did not care for the lives of anyone but the two she loved. She needed to find them, and she would do just that even if she had to tear the city apart, even more than she already had done. Earlier in the day, she had been accosted by none other than Seryu Ubiquitous, who demanded to know why she had reduced the city to a barren frozen wasteland.
It was ironic, really. Seryu, who constantly spouted words of justice and Imperial loyalty, to suddenly side with the ones she had previously denounced as traitors to the Empire.
Such insubordination was not to be tolerated nor could Esdeath tolerate anymore insubordinate today.
Esdeath easily dispatched Seryu, with a backhand as the smaller woman came close. Knocking her away, and powerfully into a house that lied nearby. "Feelings, Ubiquitous?"
"Your feelings are artificial, you were grown in a vat, not a womb. They do not matter." Esdeath clarified with spite in her words, holding a hand to her hip as she had reconnected back to reality through immense effort. "To me, you are just that. A second class citizen, an expendable pawn, you are half of what the original Seryu Ubiquitous was."
"Whereas my feelings, they are everything to me and I will not rest until I can express them without reservation."
"So, understand your sad little place in the world." Esdeath glared at Seryu, as she brought herself up. Surprisingly, the clone of Seryu glared back. "Hoho, is that defiance, I sense in you? Come here, let me correct that nasty little trait."
"...Commander! Please, I'm sorry!"
"Sorry doesn't measure up, Seryu. Either measure up yourself or, face the consequences for disobedience and insubordination...!"
Esdeath walked closer with a horribly twisted look in her eyes, as she prepared to bring the full force of her expertise with capital punishments down on Seryu's dazed head, she didn't intend to kill the woman, clearly. But, a lesson was needed to be learnt. Seryu had allowed herself to be emotionally compromised, ironic, as Esdeath was the same herself but she held the mantle of leadership and decided on the rules.
To teach Seryu a lesson, Esdeath began slowly freezing each and every limb of the clone's body, applying enough cold to cause pain and disrupt the modifications that Stylish had put into place.
Only stopping when the cold began to seep into the Jaeger's chest, that was when she stopped. A hard boot to the head and a slap to the right side of the face was all it took for Esdeath to be satisfied with the punishment she had given. Seryu's screams had been enough for that, to satiate the emptiness inside her achy heart. "Now that I've knocked some sense into you, perhaps you'll listen to what I have to say, hm?"
"...O-Of course, Commander." A submissive, quiet tone was heard from Seryu. Greatly pleasing Esdeath, as she continued. "There's one last mission I have for you, proceed to the Lord's tower and capture the Revolutionary Army's leaders, take them alive at all costs. I can settle for one or two mistakes, but I won't be very happy if I don't have any waiting bodies to take my ample vengeance out on."
Acknowledging the mission she had been given, and putting aside morality for now. Seryu stood upright and fixed her head back into place. It had been twisted to an unnatural angle, by the kick and slap. "Oh, and be sure to take that Iron Giant with you, he'll sure to be useful."
"Just don't kill everyone, take whoever looks important. Guards are expendable, kill them as you would any other. I care not for names, I just need flesh and blood bodies."
With that, Esdeath walked away from the scene. To search for the important piece of her life that she had lost, opting to find Makoto first and then Tatsumi. With luck, she'd find them both in the same place like before but she would not receive such luck as she did before.
Esdeath wandered the cold streets, dragging her longsword behind herself to scape across the ground. Now that Seryu had left, she did not need to put a facade on, thus allowed her body to fall back into it's slouched depressed form.
Walking unevenly, Esdeath hadn't stopped trying to make sense of what had gone on. To the Empire, this battle would be seen as a crushing victory against the Revolutionary Army. An all-out decapitating strike, but to the Great General, she couldn't even call it a victory. It was a loss, a horrible painful loss. She paused, placing a hand across her navel near the skirt she wore, hoping to find a heartbeat that was not her own, so she had a measure of hope to cling onto.
Silence, just emptiness.
The Ice Queen was completely serious about raising children when Night Raid was dealt with, so to experience this hollow emptiness, drove Esdeath's mind further into the depths of insanity and broke the metaphorical mask she wore to keep herself in check away. Alas, even as Seryu had finished up arresting and detaining the leaders of the Revolutionary Army. Who were mostly surprisingly cooperative, although one had opted to kill himself by blowing his brains out with a side-arm revolver to avoid being taken alive, Esdeath continued to wander the battlefield to search for Tatsumi and Makoto.
The two people she loved in the whole wide world when the dawn came to Fallhaven's glacier ruins, Esdeath leapt away from the city and proceeded to destroy it outright mid-flight by crushing the foundations of the fortress city apart, with the power of the Demon's Extract to ensure that everything was erased.
In the end, Fallhaven's tragic end was to be expected.
The real tragedy was that none of the remnant civilians had known enough about the horror of the Teigu Weapons to realize the danger and flee, seeing as everyone who had stayed behind in the city, including the City's own Guards had perished away in the battle for the Civil War. With Makoto and Tatsumi nowhere to be found, she erased the fortress as easily as she did with human lives, just like breathing.
Even dead bodies had a partial lingering heat signature, so she knew that Makoto wasn't amongst the dead, as he had not found him during her aggressively charged search.
The Ice Queen, upon discovering that she had unwittingly spared the Imperial Camp from the violent snowstorm she had created, landed with grace at its centre. Directly by the tent, she had constructed for herself and Makoto to reside in, before and after the battle. Watching Imperial Soldiers looked dumbstruck, as they saw the return of their General.
But even then, Esdeath's mind was completely in its own world, not even acknowledging the presence of General Nouken, who looked on in the crowd too. When she had attained privacy, Esdeath immediately froze the entranceway of the tent, and it's surroundings for good measure to ensure that she was not disturbed.
Right on the money, General Nouken was denied access by this, as he had intended to simply waltz into the Ice Queen's domain to get an audience. Not bothering to deal with the official channels that usually required a meeting with the scary woman herself.
When she was alone, Esdeath looked at the sword she had stabbed through Tatsumi and licked some of the dried blood from it, but it was not enough. She angrily threw it away, with its clanging heard upon reaching the floor.
"Why can't you just do as I say, Tatsumi..." Esdeath lamented to herself, a quiet sad tone made itself known. "I just want your love, yet you continue to throw me away."
Now as she was alone, Esdeath allowed tears to form and fall but she continued to aggressively rant and futilely try to restore some of the womanly pride she had lost, in Tatsumi's ill-timed rejection. "But you will love me, you don't have a choice in that. Every time that you try and leave me just unravels a strand of the hesitance I have in simply taking what I want from you."
"But not anymore." Esdeath, teeth bared and fiercely on display, clenched the two of her fists together until they began to hurt. "I've tried to be a good girl for you, Tatsumi."
"I've been fair and just, as much as I could for you."
"But you're very slowly turning me into a bad girl instead, that won't do you any good, my love."
"If you don't like the good sweet me, then I can't wait until you see just how bad I can really be." The Ice Queen slowly rebuild herself back from the brink, she was not a weak woman by any means. Powerful, motivated and strong-willed. She would not falter that easily if she wanted something then she'd get it. Be it Tatsumi or his children. She would not stop until she had everything she wanted, but first, she had to make him pay dearly.
Make him fully regret, ever wanting to leave her side in the first place, completely bind to him to the insane love she felt for him. "I will train you, teach you to behave and so many other wonderful things, my darling Tatsumi."
"Soon, you too will believe that good and evil are just words in the end. Soon, you will scoff and laugh at the weak as I do, soon you will feel the pain that I endure at this very moment when we are cut away from each other." Esdeath placed a gentle hand to the bruise on her chest she had received from Tatsumi's sudden punch, it'd hurt even now but it was a good kind of pain.
She was proud of it. Proud of him for surpassing his limits and proving once again, why she would only love him romantically in the whole world. Regardless, the fact that Tatsumi could land a blow on her body, and inflict so much damage simply drove the realization that she could not play games with him anymore, for if she loosened up in her grip around his arm, then before she knew it, he'd be gone again. Esdeath would have to work hard, to further the gap between their power so that she could always remain in control.
"Haa... If only I had you in my arms, Makoto." Esdeath sighed quietly and sat down against the drawer on the other end of the tent. Head in hands, she lamented on the horrible loneliness she felt. If only Makoto were here, then she could whittle away the sadness she felt by doting on him or simply staring into his eyes as she had done so before. She had searched, and searched for him.
Literally tearing apart houses, debris and rubble that stood in her way but she had not found him. Just the destroyed pieces of the Ice Wynern that he had previously ridden in a desperate attempt to destroy Wave and Leone, she knew that Wave would have the answers she sought.
And unlike Makoto, she knew he was alive.
Kurome, too. She had not returned to the camp or even succeeded in her mission to prevent Akame's escape. They had likely left together in open defiance of her strict orders and commandments, unforgivable. Completely unforgivable, then it'd strike the Ice Queen right on the head. Kurome and Wave were an item, she wasn't stupid. She could see the signs clear as day, the way Kurome instinctively held unto Wave's arm whenever they were together.
Immediate jealously burned through the streams of Esdeath's sanity, once more.
Right now, Wave and Kurome were surely together in each other's arms, and she was alone.
It was enough to make her sick, Esdeath was perfectly fine with Wave and Kurome being together as long as they stayed quiet about it, but that was only when she had Tatsumi to herself and now that she was without him, without their child.
She could not stand the thought of somebody else having such blissful happiness, the same kind she wanted for herself. Self-centred to her core, Esdeath refused to tolerate romance in the workplace when she could not have it herself.
But, she was fair. She would wait until proper evidence of Wave's betrayal came to light, and only then, would she begin work on torturing the people that he had held under her protection in exchange for his service in the Jaegers. They would be put to death, stuck on the crosses that led into the Capital's gates to bleed dry.
She could hardly wait.
Two days after Fallhaven, a calmer scene was underway.
"Hey, Kurome. Could you pass the salt, please?" Tatsumi asked, from the other side of the table. Kurome slowly passed it over but accidentally tipped and knocked it over. Causing Akame and Wave to hold a chuckle back in unison, Leone was currently out hunting for more food. So they were sat at the table, eating lunch together. Tatsumi and Akame had made it together in the cabin's kitchen. Tatsumi was currently dressed up in bandages, wrapped across his chest to keep his body in good shape and to prevent the reopening of wounds.
Him spending the days, shirtless and bandaged had caused mixed feelings to arise in Akame and Leone equally.
For Tatsumi, he was oddly fine in being shirtless. A side of effect of constantly being forced to wear little clothes when with Esdeath, Tatsumi's injuries were largely internal, aside from the stab wound that had narrowly missed him at the heart. Even so, Tatsumi tried his best to be a help to Akame and Leone, as he knew that he'd be still forced to return to the Empire and find Makoto.
He wouldn't leave his son behind, if he was able too, he would try and convince him to leave the Palace behind him.
Akame and Leone, nor Wave or Kurome hadn't told him of the fate of his son, least not yet. They had secretly agreed to wait until Tatsumi's condition was stable until they revealed what they knew. Wave had explained Makoto's backstory, what he knew anyway, to the others in detail. Giving even more reason to wait, as they knew that Makoto was Tatsumi's legitimate son and heir.
Least, Akame did. Leone refused to believe it, even now.
But they knew he wasn't just some orphan boy Esdeath had kidnapped to fill the void she felt inside.
"She isn't usually that clumsy, Tatsumi." Wave laughed and recoiled when Kurome harshly nudged him against the arm since she was sitting beside him. "...I'm not clumsy."
"It's fine, we can clean that up later." Tatsumi kindly took the salt and poured it lightly on his cooked meat, Akame stayed quiet during this, trying to adjust to using her right hand to rely on everything else. Tatsumi had cut the meat up in individual pieces, prior as he knew that she'd face difficulty in doing it herself. Thoughtful and kind, just as she knew him as.
He hadn't changed that much, she could still recognize him as Tatsumi.
"You can't stay here." Akame spouted out, suddenly but Tatsumi merely nodded in firm agreement. "I know that I didn't intend to."
"I just want a chance to recover and rest, help out as much as I can and say my goodbyes then leave. I'll need two weeks, at most." Tatsumi did the math in his head, and by the rate of his body's natural healing, Tatsumi assumed that he'd be mostly well by then. "Understood, that's fine by me."
"Thank you, Akame."
"I know that it's hard for you to look at me, but know that I've tried to make amends. I never sided with Esdeath out of choice, but to destroy the Empire from within' itself." At this moment, Wave felt a sudden pang of betrayal in his heart but let it cease, as he knew that even if Tatsumi's motivations hadn't always been in the Empire's interests, he was not currently apart of the Empire anymore.
In fact, he had just delivered his letter of resignation to the Imperial Post office at the Capital, earlier in the morning's sun and withdrew as much as he could from his savings bank account that'd be allowed without drawing suspicion.
Thanks to Esdeath's generosity in regards to wages, it'd be enough to last them for about a year at best.
"You certainly took your time, Tatsumi," Akame added, in which Tatsumi could only agree with that. "Yeah... I was caught up with everything that happened, I'd tell you, but you'd never believe me."
"Perhaps I would, but it doesn't matter anymore." They both nodded and went back to their leftover food as they resumed eating in silence. A few minutes passed until Wave had quite enough of the passive-aggressive hostility that was going on between two people that previously meant the world to each other. He'd drop his fork and sigh heavily before speaking as Kurome looked on in concern for him. "Can you listen to yourself? Why are you trying to tear each other apart, can't you see that's what she wants?"
They'd look on silence, Tatsumi and Akame. Letting Wave speak. "She wants to isolate you, Tatsumi. She won't stop until she's got you completely to herself."
"...I know." Tatsumi quietly replied, with a look of sadness but Wave cut him off. "I'm not finished, because that didn't just extend to Night Raid and women in general, but to me as well."
"She wants to keep you away from everyone." Tatsumi already knew the reality of it, but hearing it from Wave didn't make it any easier to accept as the truth. Regardless, Tatsumi nodded in confirmation to what Wave was trying to say, and suddenly stabbed his fork into the final piece of meat that he hadn't eaten yet. "...I know, I've always known that. But she's become worse, ever since Makoto arrived, she's become so much more aggressive than before."
"Constant talk of a family, of married life together between us, it's crazy just how dedicated she is to this," Tatsumi confessed, visibly breaking down as he lessened his grip on the folk and let it go. Sighing heavily as Akame shared her own thoughts between them. "She was like that when we fought, Tatsumi. It's all that she would talk about, like a broken record."
"The Commander..." Wave himself was one of the few that could hold sympathy for such an awful person as Esdeath, Tatsumi included. They were both in agreement that Esdeath's aims were sympathetic, but the way that she tried to attain them wasn't something they could justify themselves with their sense of values. Wave was entirely willing to murder in the name of Kurome, but he would not mass murder in the purpose of love, always trying to find ways around such horrible acts.
Whereas Esdeath found murder to be the best and most viable solution to her problems, namely Night Raid.
"You guys can't stay here, you need to leave yourselves..." Tatsumi switched the topic, for his own comfort and addressed another issue. "If you stay here, Esdeath will come and even if you run, she'll find you. I won't be here to save you, and neither can we let Wave and Kurome be captured either."
"They deserve a shot at a life together... Too many have been denied that."
"Are you suggesting that we flee the country, Tatsumi?" Akame asked, curious, especially as he had spun their previous conversation on its head. "No, I'm telling you that you need to leave the continent."
"The Empire won't find you if you aren't in its borders. If you flee, then least you'll be able to train and ready yourselves, you won't be forced to forgo it in your attempts to survive."
"The East, Wakoku. The birthplace of the Murasame." Akame firmly stated. She had desired to travel there in the future, but now it was unavoidable. If she was able to unlock the secrets of Murasame and it's trump card, she could overcome the weakness she had been forced to join with and finally, kill the Ice Queen by herself. She knew the beautiful sadistic monster was a learning creature, she would not fall as easily as she almost did, this time.
But, she was the same.
The female war between them, only just beginning.
"If I can discover the secret to Murasame, then I can kill Esdeath, she won't stand a chance in hell." The fire in Akame's eyes reignited, as Wave added to the conversation with an equally confident tone. He wasn't happy to leave his homeland behind him, but Kurome's safety was far more important than patriotism to him. "I can use the money I got from the Imperial Bank today, we can buy a fishing boat from the fishing village near the lake, large enough for all of us. We'll be able to make the journey that way, so worry about food going bad."
Tatsumi nodded and then gave a stern look over to Akame, who returned it. "You can't come back unprepared, take three years... Four even, as long as you're ready, you need to make sure that you can take Esdeath when you come back."
"Three years, that's all that I can stand to leave the Empire and the Empire's people in her grasp, Tatsumi."
"Agreed then, but, promise me... Since as I can't come with you, considering Esdeath likely wouldn't let an ocean separate her from me..." Tatsumi's immediate tone was grim, sorrowful but also serious. He wouldn't play games with promises, he had promised Akame that he would live on and now that he'd be asking her to break that promise for his own selfish ends. "If you return to the Empire, and find that I am not... Myself."
"Kill me."
"...Fine, if that's what you want. I won't deny you of your wish, Tatsumi." Akame's facial expressions betrayed the sadness that she felt, saying those words, she had only just got Tatsumi back. They had only just got Tatsumi back, and now he was saying that he wanted her to kill him. She had prepared herself to do it before, but whenever they came in contact, Akame's strength faltered and failed her.
This was because, she had expected Tatsumi to be already unrecognizable, but the boy that was sitting across from her way, was the same Tatsumi that she loved so much.
"Thank you, I won't ask any more from you... I've relied on you, way too much already. It's about time I begin pulling my own weight." Tatsumi stood up, having finished his plate and prepared to wash his dishes in the sink, with water gathered from the local lake. Wave watched him, and Kurome stood up aswell. She had been mainly quiet, because she preferred to listen and eat, in silence. Taking her plate, she helped Tatsumi with his own dishes and worked with him together.
Akame then turned over to Wave and stared at him. A cold, hard stare that was devoid of any warmth. She knew he was a good man, for Kurome would not pick a man she knew was a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Look after my sister. Right now, she's all that I've got, aside Leone."
"And thank you, Wave." A smile arose, and Wave smiled back. He'd pound his hand to his chest, and salute Akame fiercely. They were allies now. Plain and simple, Akame didn't even loathe Wave for his earlier service in the Jaegers, as he had looked after Kurome and put his life on the line for her several times over. "You'll never have to thank me when it comes to Kurome, I won't let her out of my sight. We'll spend every day together if that's what it takes."
"Thank you, I mean it," Akame repeated as she heard Leone return from her trip through the doorway. Footsteps were heard from the upstairs bedrooms, too. But only Inori was up there, which meant, she was awake and aware.
The Great General had not left the Imperial Camp, until two days had passed, as well.
Locking herself away from the world, she needed time to lick her wounds and regain a semblance of composure. To become the powerful, indomitable Ice Queen once more. She wasn't even bothered by the fact, she sensed General Nouken behind the thick sheet of ice that she had surrounded her tent with.
Esdeath did not eat, or sleep during these days, simply sitting in the centre of her double bed to formulate plans and the ways she could execute those plans.
Revolutionary Army was defeated, but that would only mean that Night Raid would be harder to find. If she did not act fast, she would effectively lose the trail that Tatsumi had left, and that meant losing Makoto, too. Esdeath was convinced that Makoto, in some way, shape or form had survived the battle against the Revolution.
Tragically, unaware that he had been erased from time itself with his defeat, at Leone and Wave's hands.
Thanks to the boy's numerous changes across time, he had to rely on his willpower and focus to remain in the present and when Leone broke that with a punch. It broke him and shattered the dream he had of a family at the same time.
Although Leone didn't consider such, as she did not truly believe Makoto had perished, she effectively murdered him in cold blood by destroying his grasp on his existence.
But she still remembered him.
If Makoto was truly erased, then everything that he had changed, would have been fixed and restored. So then, why did she recall her baby's warm smile clear as day? She could not make sense of it, she had spent the two days trying to do exactly that.
Trying to find a way that could bring Tatsumi and Makoto back in her arms, at the same time to restore the normality that she was used too.
Even more tragic, was the fact that Esdeath had practically built and remade her entire life and existence, around Tatsumi's own. When he left, so did the life that she had come to love and cherish. Gone, vanished, within' an instant. It was unhealthy, even a piece of the Ice Queen knew that, to dedicate one's existence to the life of another that could just as easily fade away. But even so, she could not help it. She had no control over it.
As soon as she saw the beauty that was Makoto, the splendour that she could create with Tatsumi. That was it, she was trapped.
Enslaved by the man she loved. Happily tied in bondage, if Tatsumi was a drug then she was hopelessly addicted. If he was a disease, then she was the original patient zero. And she only wanted to deepen their connection, through children so that they'd never have to be apart.
Their fight had proven what she already knew, that Tatsumi was the ideal man for her and that he was worth, all of the struggle, agony and pain that she had to endure to have him as her own.
Just seeing Makoto, tear apart Fallhaven, with his wondrous transformation was the undeniable proof that he was the peak of every warrior she had ever fought. Even, Esdeath, at the age of ten years was not as powerful as Makoto currently was, currently had been. With a renewed sense of hope, Esdeath stood up and straightened herself off. Tidying herself up, and walking through the tent's entrance as the ice broke away into pieces.
Esdeath breathed in the fresh air and looked to the cloudy sky, even if she could not admire the beauty of the world without Tatsumi, she would not let that stop her relentless stride for him.
But, first. She had to return to the Palace, report her success and go from there onwards.
As soon as she was done with the responsibilities that she held, then she would begin the search for Tatsumi. She knew that chasing him, way too early wouldn't solve anything but provide disappointment. She had to be smart if she had any chance of getting him back. Midst Esdeath's idle thoughts, a voice called out.
"Finally come out of hidin' have you, Great General Esdeath? I figured you'd be least two more days." It was General Nouken, wearing a snide grin of pride that she could not stand.
A weapon was immediately drawn, Esdeath held a pointed ice spear directly at Nouken's face, raising it so fast that Nouken was forced to drop his grin and widen his eyes. "I have no hid myself away, Nouken. Besides, wasn't it you doing the hiding..."
"You're listed as deceased in the Imperial archives, and you did not attend my induction ceremonies to pledge your allegiance to me, so, tell me." The Ice Queen released the spear and allowed it to fade into vapour but she did not release the taller man from her hard stern gaze.
"Why should I permit you to speak so rudely in my presence, when I could just as easily decapitate you and throw your head to a pyre?" At this, General Nouken raised the two of his hands defensively and tried to argue his case. Of course, he had no been in the Capital, since Budo's reign as Great General and thus, wasn't used to seeing a woman in large, even if he knew a lot about the Ice Queen herself. "Please, please! Don't act so hastily, Esdeath."
"Great General Esdeath." Ominously clarifying that she would not accept Nouken's blatant acts of disrespect, she'd verbally scold him with a scary look in her eyes. "Budo may have let you skimp on traditional when addressing your superiors, but I will not. You will address me by the title that I have earnt, are we clear?"
"O-Of course, Great General." Even so, it'd be obvious even to the Ice Queen, that Nouken had not one ounce of respect for her by his aloofness. When they had attended meetings in the past, she often caught him trying to ogle and leer at her body. Paying more attention at catching glimpses, than listening to the words Honest had to say. Even Najenda, as General, felt disgusted with Nouken's ways.
Esdeath had thought nothing of this at the time, as she was naturally proud of the way she looked and the allure of her body, but now she was officially "Off the market." perse. It would not be tolerated anymore.
"Good, if you fail to act appropriately when in the presence of your betters, I'll have you castrated... Then perhaps you'll be able to behave yourself around members of the opposite sex."
Gulping notably, Nouken dedicated himself to the pursuit of lust desire. Hence why, Esdeath, the Capital's undisputed most beautiful woman was currently in his debased sights. To have Esdeath for his own, would be the ultimate power move to show his superiority off to the weaker masses of the Empire. To prove himself, a true alpha male and all of that bullshit.
Even so, Nouken's ego refused to believe the very true fact that, Esdeath would never lay in the same bed as somebody as disgusting as he was. Esdeath was completely monogamous, whereas Nouken refused to be tied down by any one woman, it'd be true even if he somehow managed to achieve his goal. He would not stop at the Ice Queen, she was merely a conquest in the long line of women that had been ruined by him.
"Now, inform me why you've decided to return. Make it quick, I want to back at the Capital within' the hour." Folding her arms, expressing very clear disinterest, Esdeath herself was pretty confused why she was giving Nouken, the time of day to explain himself when it'd be so much easier to simply tear the poor fool's head from his shoulders.
Esdeath just assumed that it was her logical taking control, she knew that with the more Generals that she had in place, the easier it would be to keep order in the Empire and at the same time, provide a safer environment to raise children.
"Well, you see. I was stationed by the Eastern Border by-" Nouken began to explain, Esdeath cut him off swiftly. "Just cut to the chase, Nouken. I already know that part."
Nouken's facial expression recoiled, and he was forced to wrestle with his anger over being accosted by a woman, a much stronger woman at that. "I overstayed my welcome, thanks to the plentiful abundance of lovely women. That is all there is to it, Budo and the Prime Minister merely jumped the gun in declaring me dead, without any evidence."
"By the way you've just answered, you may as well be dead." Esdeath clicked her fingers, and two ice golems, way more imposing than Nouken himself approached him at his sides and held him down. Nouken had no Teigu to his name, thus was powerless against them. Even through brute strength, he could not best them. "Tch...! What're you doing this for?! ...What's the meaning of this!"
"For a man that likens himself to the apex of masculinity... You certainly aren't the apex of intelligence, are you?" Esdeath loved this. And in a way, she needed this. To release the pent up aggression that had been boiling inside herself on a valid target, somebody truly deserving of the malice she bore. Creating a thick lengthy baton from ice, Esdeath gently tapped it against her palm as she looked down on Nouken.
A malicious, evil grin in full bloom. "You seem to be very mistaken, Nouken. It's as if you simply think I'll let your clear act of insubordinate slide, merely because it was during Budo's tenure."
"You can't possibly, what does this accomplish?!"
"Don't fret, I'm not punishing you for your advances towards hapless defenceless women. Frankly, I don't care what you do in your spare time." Esdeath lightly tapped the baton against Nouken's head, mockingly and with a certain smugness about herself. Intentionally trying to provoke him into trying an attack, even when she knew he could not. "But if you neglect duty, over your perversion then I will have to rein that in..."
"I hold a certain responsibility for the actions of my subordinates, you included." Esdeath was fully aware of the hypocrisy of the words she said, she herself had partially neglected duty over the lust she felt over Tatsumi and his body. Constantly taking him, in private and public places to satiate the carnal hunger she felt. Either out of a need to relieve stress, or simply for fun and kicks.
It was either that, or she tortured people for kicks instead.
The major difference was, the Ice Queen saw herself above Nouken's sick perversion and deemed the passionate sex that she and Tatsumi partook in as "Pure" and "Innocent", not like the ways Nouken abused his partners to death and beyond. Make no mistake, Esdeath's roughness with Tatsumi was clearly a result of instability, overwhelming desire and a need for dominance but, even so, she had never risked Tatsumi's life once in their mating sessions despite how wild she got.
Nouken had developed an awful reputation for being liable to kill the women that he had grown tired of. During or after sex, that is.
So, as crazy as it was. Esdeath's view of love and sex was healthier than that of Nouken's, but not by much, at least.
"So, when I tell you to turn the other cheek, you'll do just say." On cue, Esdeath knocked Nouken's head to the side with the baton. Hulimating him massively, in front of the crowd of her own soldiers closely accompanied by the man's own soldiers, too. They had arrived to see the appearance of the Great General, somewhat concerned for their leader's wellbeing, Esdeath's men, as she had completely isolated herself from human contact and they had seen what damage she had inflicted unto Fallhaven.
"And turn to the side," Esdeath commanded as Nouken didn't immediately do so. Rewarding his insubordination with another violent bash to the side of the face, that directed his head to it's desired spot, lowered to the floor in which Esdeath stuck him there by digging her left foot's heel into his large forehead. She felt so much better now. Now that she had found a suitable sap to slap around. "Tch... Hmph."
"See? It's so much better if you do as your told, Nouken." Esdeath scoffed in victory and kicked his head to the ground with his body following later by a few seconds. The ice golems had released him at this moment, to not break the momentum. They vanished seconds later too, no longer needed as a show of power from the Ice Queen, she had all that she needed by herself.
Nouken took a few moments to pull himself up, taking a knee and staying down as if to not invoke anymore of the fearsome woman's infamous rage, he couldn't help but feel aggravated at the way this woman was treating him when she was supposed to be on the opposite end of it herself.
He loathed this, to be under the thumb of a woman, a woman who did not subscribe to the fantasy of a male-oriented society that he dreamed of.
"...I see your point, Esdeath." He coughed, accidentally forgetting to address Esdeath by the title, as per request. They had been coworkers when they last met, you see, so he hadn't had time to adjust to the new changes in the Empire's ruling structure.
"How easily you forget, it's Great General, Nouken. Something that you will never be, in your sad pathetic little life." Openly gloating over him, Esdeath stepped away from him and swept a part of her hair away to the back with a graceful motion of the hand.
Little did she know that Nouken had ambitions to become such, to supplant her as Great General and restore the "Ideal" male leadership to the Empire's Military that had been previously in place with Budo. Even so, Nouken wasn't stupid, or a fool.
But he wasn't cunning either. That was Honest, he intended to converse with Honest himself about his nascent plan and try to strike a deal with him. That in exchange for providing him assistance in taking Esdeath for his own, they would be free of the Ice Queen's control and thus allowed to spread corruption through the Empire without care or reservation of Esdeath's stance on it.
They were like-minded individuals, so Nouken was pretty confident that Honest would agree to him.
"Now, I expect you to sort the formalities regarding your demise out when we reach the Capital."
"I understand, you have my word on that." Nouken arose from his place, only to be fixed to the floor by ice once more as it weighed him down heavily. "I don't happen to recall saying that you could stand up, Nouken. Stay where you were, on the ground below your feet, it's a fitting look for you."
"From today, you serve me. Budo is dead and buried. Anyone that pledged loyalty to him, in writing or word is dead. If you have reservations about my leadership, voice them now so that you can join their ranks." Hands on curvaceous hips, terrifyingly seductive to boot, Esdeath overlooked Nouken with a cruel gaze. Fully serious when she said about killing him if he did not openly wish to be ruled by her.
The only man alive that could refuse to be ruled by the Ice Queen and live, was and always would be Tatsumi. That would soon change, but for now, she had to endure being unable to have him at her side.
"I-I do not, I will serve you." Nouken swallowed his overwhelming pride, biting his tongue to endure the humiliation that she put him through. It wouldn't matter regardless, that was why Nouken bowed down to the Ice Queen, as long as he could acquire Honest's support in his plan, then soon enough she would be forced to undergo the same torment he'd be going through right now. "Very good, very good indeed. Inform your latex belt-wearing rabble that we're setting off within' one hour's time. We need to be at the Capital before dark, and I have plans to act on and people to meet later on."
"Ta-ta, for now."
With that, she left Nouken be. His ice binds, fading away as the sight that Nouken was left with. Were that of Esdeath's swaying hips leaving his focused sight as she confidently walked away from him without a glance back or a look of consideration to add insult. When she was out of ear-shot, Nouken clenched his fist tightly and stood up.
Teeth bared in frustration, General Nouken quietly whispered words of vengeance to relieve the lingering sense of bitter defeat in his heart. "Laugh all you want, because soon, very soon, I'll be using that pretty little mouth of yours for such dirty deeds..."
Of course, had Esdeath heard the words Nouken had said. His decapitated head would be flying across the expanse of frozen glaciers she had left in her wake at this moment in time, upon being violently booted from its body with a kick. Let's not go into detail, what would happen to the body he'd leave behind, for our own sanity's sake.
It was the late afternoon for Night Raid, of the same day, Tatsumi was currently watching Wave hunt for fish in the lake. Sitting on a chopped log they had cut down earlier. Wave had alternated between pulling his trousers up at the ankles and trying to catch fish with his bare hands and using a rod with bait. It was so amusing that Tatsumi felt he could watch Wave do this for hours, in fact, he'd willingly do so but it was getting a bit dark.
Kurome would be worried about Wave, and Leone surely would forcefully pull Tatsumi back to the Cabin if he lingered in the dark in his current state.
Thing is, Tatsumi hadn't felt so free in months. Aside from when he and Makoto went for their trip to Mt. Fake, he hadn't been outside for so long without Esdeath arriving to take him back to the Palace. The fresh air was soothing on his skin, seeing Wave scour the lake for fish, gave Tatsumi an idea. He had successfully amused his son greatly by playing board games with him. But now, he figured that fishing side by side and hunting together in a peaceful environment, devoid of Danger-Beasts that wanted to tear you apart, would be another great way to let him open up.
If Wave wasn't forced to leave the Empire's turf entirely, then he'd likely beg and plead Wave to teach him some techniques in advance before their trip. He wanted to impress Makoto and become a suitable role model for his son. He didn't know that Makoto already greatly considered him such, but Tatsumi's dedication in acting as a guiding hand to him was unstoppable at this point.
In regards to Makoto, Tatsumi's mind was already made up. Even as the temptation of leaving for Wakoku with the others, was already strong enough as it was, he could not abandon his son. Makoto was a prisoner to his Mother as much as Tatsumi was, he knew that from the start when he saw how she had removed the windows of his room to ensure they'd be no escape for him when he first arrived.
If it wasn't for the evolution that he had undergone with Incursio, during the fight against a very pissed off Esdeath, he wouldn't be as confident as he was.
The evolution had taught him, that living with Esdeath, had its benefits even when that didn't seem so clear at the start of their insane relationship. When Akame and the others left for Wakoku, Tatsumi would make the journey back to the Capital to face off against Esdeath's wrath and pledge himself before her once more. But it'd be different this time around, he was a man of his word.
Tatsumi did not like going back on the promises that he had made, it'd be a grievous violation of his personal moral code.
What he said, he usually stuck to and that included his breakup with Esdeath. When he returned, he did not intend to spend the next three years as the Great General's lover but just as a simple member of her Miltary force. Be it Jaegers, or infantry units. He did not care, for he knew that it'd be pointless to try and spend those three years in isolation elsewhere in the Empire, he'd eventually be caught.
With the Revolutionary Army gone, Tatsumi did not have to worry about crossing blades with the members of his old faction as they were already erased by his ex-lover's vengeance. So, be it bandits and the like. Tatsumi was fine with the path that lied before him, as he knew that if he changed or if he fell under the Ice Queen's seductive sway, come three years of torment.
He'd be set free by Murasame's poisoned metal.
Tatsumi couldn't help but laugh at himself for his original intended plan, to destroy the Empire from within' and now that was completely off the table. If he destroyed the Empire, chaos untold would reign freely. Without the Revolutionary Army to pick the pieces up, anyone could just as easily take Esdeath's place as it's tyrant in charge and start the madness over again.
The saving grace was that Tatsumi could limit the damage that Esdeath caused through reasoning but provided somebody else took that place, he would be powerless to effect change.
He had gone over this himself, several dozen times in his head whilst lying in bed upon waking up from his sleep, trying to justify himself and explain his actions. Thankfully, Akame already agreed to this, when he explained why she needed to leave the Empire outright. When Leone heard the news, she understandably refused to even consider it. Especially as the hatred, she bore the Ice Queen burned thickly in her blood, even now.
Leone had been responsible for looking after Tatsumi in two-day recovery, Kurome doing the same for Akame, ensuring the wounds did not get infected. They took turns attending to Inori's needs. Just seeing Tatsumi in that awful battered state, caused indescribable agony to the lioness's heart. Leone currently wanted nothing more than to claw Esdeath's eyes out, for the way she had brutalized somebody she supposedly "loved" but to Leone, that just a bullshit justification for abuse.
Bullshit, it had to be.
Leone knew she loved Tatsumi as much as the Ice-Bitch allegedly did, and she would never lay a hand on him in the way that twisted monster had done. Or run him through with a goddamn sword, for that matter. There wasn't much time to act, Leone had to convince Tatsumi to leave the Empire behind him and to travel to the East with them.
Even if she knew that Esdeath would follow them, across the oceans to the East, Leone refused to simply let her have Tatsumi.
She had already caused irreparable damage to his psyche, and it was beginning to show steadily. He had become cold, quiet and distant. So much less expressive as he was before, he didn't even react to any of the things that he used to. She was breaking him into pieces, pieces that would soon become so tiny that they'd invisible all but the Ice Queen herself.
As intended.
Leone, like Akame, had stopped seeing Esdeath as human anymore. Even when Wave revealed the rest, that Makoto was indeed, Tatsumi's legitimate son. She persistently refused to believe it. Affirming that she had not seen his face, beyond the helmet that he wore thus, could not see any resemblance to Tatsumi in the boy's appearance aside Incursio.
Wave's words fell on deaf ears, Leone refused to believe him. She believed the boy was the Ice Queen's child, but that was it.
There was another reason, why Leone did not heed Wave's words as the truth, and that was because whenever she looked at Tatsumi's hurt body as he slept in the days she had cared for him. She felt a strange irresistible sensation of allure when she looked his way, Leone had previously marked Tatsumi as her mate, in the same way, that Esdeath had done, through an intimate lick.
But now. Leone felt instinctively drawn towards Tatsumi, more accurately, Tatsumi's body.
The effects of Incursio's modifications were not limited to just Esdeath, but Leone, too. And possibly, countless other women. Like Esdeath, Leone had a good grasp of the primal side that most humans ignored, so she could not resist the way that she felt for Tatsumi anymore. It was now or never. She had to confess, and save Tatsumi before it was too late.
To maximize her chances, Leone intended to confess to Tatsumi on the day prior to their fated departure from the Empire's soil and to the East. Hoping the guilt in his mind would aid her in winning him over. She hated playing dirty like this, but it was the only way. Leone could repent for the crimes she had done, by mending Tatsumi's mental damage with love and care.
Besides, Leone's crimes did not outweigh the awful ones committed by sadistic Tatsumi's ex-lover. You couldn't really compare manipulation practices for the greater good, to brutal acts of torture anyway.
Leone was also spurned into this action, by observing Wave and Kurome's closeness, too.
She wanted the same, Leone was a lonely woman at heart. And even though Tatsumi had been in a relationship with Mine, Leone knew full well that Mine would be more ok with herself having Tatsumi than Esdeath, who was a likely candidate as the real perpetrator behind Mine's disappearance. Even if Tatsumi had been fooled by the planted evidence that originally led them to believe that Wild Hunt had taken Mine away, Akame and Leone eventually came to the conclusion that Wild Hunt's involvement was just too convenient for it to be the truth.
Before they could convince of the same, he had already been captured by Wave and Kurome, when they were retreating from the canyon then taken to the confines of the Ice Queen. The rest is history, but now Leone had been given a second chance to do things right.
To set the record straight, and prevent tragedy. She was perfectly aware that Akame had discarded the feelings of love she felt for Tatsumi, but Leone knew that love was a strength, not a weakness like Akame believed it to be.
Leone refused to stay away from Tatsumi for three years, the lioness could not stomach that thought, she had hardly coped being away from him for the months that had passed by. Having to endure listening to the words of hatred for Tatsumi that spouted from the mouths of those around her in the Revolutionary Army. Tatsumi's fame turned into infamy for his choice at becoming the Ice Queen's lover.
But now that Tatsumi had officially cut ties with Esdeath, Leone had only one thing on her mind.
Taking him for herself.
Oh, before I start the Author's note. General Nouken is a Canon character in AGK, seriously, look him up on the wiki. He only had a few lines, before gettin' killed off. So what I'm doing is just expanding his lifespan and role, by writing him based on what was already established in his characterization. As you've probably guessed, he's Tatsumi's foil. His counterpart, least when it comes to the way that he treats women and the way that each other see the way relationships work.
So, yes. I've designed him to be an asshole, completely unsympathetic with absolutely everything you would need to hate him. (Trust me, I hated writing his scenes, and I'm the goddamn writer.)
Anyhow. You now know the direction that I'm aiming to take, Esdeath has three years, in which she has to make a family! Night Raid's importance won't vanish entirely when they depart for Wakoku, but let's just say that the plot will begin to focus on Esdeath and Tatsumi's budding relationship slightly more, without jumping backwards and forwards constantly.
Anyhow, I've written enough. ^^ Please rate and review, and lemme know what you think! (Special props to go, Shanks from the Discord Server for reminding me that General Nouken exists. So you can blame him, for the pain you'll be enduring from here on out, ha!)