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.)

This chapter is more of a breath of fresh air than a action-packed one, so keep that in mind. It's merely a case of "Where are they now?" rather than one that advances the plot in any special way, anyway without further ado!

The Ice Queen arrived at the Capital and the palace by the evening's twilight. They had torn the campsite down and loaded everything into the waiting carriages. General Nouken's men were expected to pull their weight, too. Everyone that was left alive, helped out and worked together as a single unit. They were greatly excited to return to the Capital and celebrate their victory over the defeated Revolutionary Army.

Everyone, aside Esdeath.

She was silent, eerily silent. Staying alone inside the carriage she sat in, no longer having the adventurous spirit or the excitement to ride on horseback midst the journey back. Esdeath continued to formulate plans, it was the only thing that she could do that would work in relieving the pain that resided deep within' her heart. Especially now that she had limited patience and shakey composure. Esdeath felt no guilt or remorse for the lives that she took prior during her emotional breakdown, she had no reason too.

In regards to the lives of her men that had perished.

They knew the risks that came with the battle, and if they could not endure the power that they had vowed to serve, then being erased was something they should've expected to happen, somewhere down the line. Great General Esdeath wasn't entirely one-track-minded when it came to Tatsumi, that was only in regards to Makoto. She was willing to play the long game with Tatsumi if need be.

Night Raid had nowhere they could go, and no standing army that they could hide behind anymore. Nobody to inform them of threats, and a populace that would surely rat them out to save their own skin.

The supporters of the Revolutionary Army would begin dropping by the hundreds, as soon as the news of their downfall was public knowledge. Esdeath knew that she could rely on Honest to spread rumours about it, even before the Imperial papers began publishing articles about it.

She was a smart woman, incredibly smart. Soon, it'd only be a matter of time before Tatsumi himself would be brought before her in chains.

Until then, she figured that kicking around General Nouken would satiate some of the vengefulness she felt.

Not to mention the captive Revolutionary Leaders that were being held in one of the carriages, behind reinforced bars. She would torture them, not for information but out of pure simplistic malice. Parade them through the Capital's streets, break their bodies and then do away with them in ways, so horribly undignified that you'd be hard-pressed to find somebody that didn't feel sorry for the way they went out.

She would have Morgana keep tabs on Nouken's activities, to ensure that he did not tarnish the reputation of the Imperial Military to a degree that would be unacceptable. Esdeath also intended to have Morgana present, when she began Tatsumi's interrogation upon his return or capture.

Usually, she would have held back on his and used traditional means to attain what she sought from him, but since Tatsumi had run away in the company of Akame and Leone.

Esdeath did not want to take chances that they hadn't crossed lines that they were not meant to, with her mate.

Make no mistake, she'd intend to kill them regardless. So this was merely the deciding factor between how much they'd suffer and endure before the end finally came. Tatsumi, too.

She would not easily forgive him if he had placed a hand on another woman other than herself. Officially, they weren't together anymore but Esdeath had vehemently refused to consider their relationship as being anything but over.

Then again, Esdeath was confident that she had already twisted Tatsumi's mind to the point that he'd be afraid of entering relationships with women that were not herself. Esdeath knew that he knew that she would not tolerate competition, and she did not share. She would not share him, or the right to bare his children. Perfectly fine with cutting developing fetuses from the women that stood in her way, to keep herself as the sole owner of that privilege.

Esdeath walked through the corridors of the Imperial Palace, Nouken had already arrived at the Imperial Archives to restate his status of health, than to continue to be listed as deceased. She had purposefully neglected the matter of Fate, opting to reside of the woman's own predetermined fate when she was done with Honest. Esdeath intended to simply walk into Honest's office and inform him of the news but she suddenly found herself physically unable to do so.

A horrible sensation of uneasiness grew by the second and she soon felt instinctively pulled and drawn hypnotically to the living quarters, the bedroom in particular that she had once shared with Tatsumi before in lovely blissful happiness.

She didn't understand it, but she soon found her slow ragged steps, shifting into a hurried jog and then into a full-blown powerful sprint. Much like the time when she felt Tatsumi awaken from his coma, she ran and ran. An unperceivable blur of white that passed through the corridors like a whirlwind, Esdeath arrived at the double doors that marked her domain and she threw them open.

Esdeath relapsed, slowly but surely deteriorating back to the time that she fell into her delusionary world. She swore that she could smell Tatsumi's wonderful scent in the air and Makoto's calming one too, for good measure.

The annoying persistent pain lingering inside the Ice Queen's frozen heart paused, as she wandered the bedroom after leaving the entrance hall. It was empty of Tatsumi's presence, cleaned of the vomit puddle and Tatsumi's trousers that had been removed to slip into the Imperial Courier Uniform, given by Rogers. Esdeath sniffed about, trying to locate the illusionary scent that she had picked up, but she could not locate the trail. It didn't exist, that was why.

Makoto's room was as untidy as he had left it, she had demanded that she would be the only one to clean it, so it had not been tampered with.

"Because I don't love you." The false Tatsumi's words rang loudly, in the Ice Queen's head once more, as she clenched a fist tightly. Breaking free from the illusionary world that tried to desperately seep in through the cracks in Esdeath's sanity, she regained control of the world around herself. She would never be satisfied with delusion, she wanted the reality. She wanted Tatsumi.

The real Tatsumi.

And their real children, too. Esdeath laughed out loud, a burst of sad but slightly unhinged laughter. "So you think you can just get away from me when you've given me so much already? I won't let you give it to anyone else, Tatsumi."

"Everyone that tries to touch your heart will die, there are no exceptions to that rule."

She had been lenient towards him, gentle even. But not anymore, they were no kindness in the Ice Queen's heart anymore. It had been lost with Makoto, and would not return until he had been returned to his Mother. Everything that remained, was an insane possessive desire to break Tatsumi's mind apart and bind his very mind and soul forever to her side.

Esdeath was a monster. That was true, she herself knew that. But she was a Mother too.

A very good one, at that.

And she would be a Mother in the proper sense. She began to realize, that if Tatsumi had, indeed, played around during their separation. No promise that she had made prior would save him from what she would do to him, in retribution for his perceived unfaithfulness.

If Tatsumi's body had adapted to the pleasure that she gave it, then it could surely do the same about the agonizing pain that she would deliver too. His body was already strong enough to endure the rage-fueled punches that she had given him, with enough strength to stand up on his two legs afterwards.

A truly magnificent creature, that was Tatsumi. A beast without equal, but the thing about beasts.

Were that they could be broken down to be obedient to commands and a stronger authority, with a good nine-tailed whip and some cruel mistreatment for the finishing touches. And Esdeath had broken plenty of beasts in her time, Tatsumi would be no different. The walls of hesitance had already been torn down by his rejection, and even now, she felt the pain from it.

If he refused to be physically joined, at the waist in intimacy and love then he would be joined to the wood of a torture rack by rope and chains instead. She would not maim or disfigure him. Even now at her lowest point, she earnestly loved him deeply and wanted genuine love from him in return.

She would not conceive children that were bore from forceful acts, either.

Esdeath did not wish to look into her newborn child's innocent emerald eyes as she held them and know that they had been brought into the world by a forceful taking of Tatsumi's bodily rights. That she held him down aggressively and closed a hand over his mouth to prevent him from screaming in distress. Every child that they would make, would be formed a consensual but most importantly, loving moment between them in the darkness of night.

That is to say, she would not be obligated to tell Tatsumi of the pregnancy until she could not keep it hidden anymore.

He had no choice in that, if she wanted and when she wanted. That choice was hers alone, she only needed Tatsumi's initial acceptance for it to be decided and his seed in her womb, too. From that point onwards, she decided every step they'd take. Every path they'd walk together. Even if she had to drag him by the wrist, for them to walk it as one.

Sadly, Esdeath was completely unaware of Tatsumi's vow to start from the bottom of the rank and file in the Empire, to be fully independent of the Ice Queen's control. To stand beside the numbers of the faceless helmeted soldiers she controlled instead of at her side, in her arms. To live in a room that was hardly what you'd call spacious, that was Tatsumi's desire for the next three years that he had to wait for Akame's return.

To wait for the moment, the Ice Queen's heart fell silent.

He was aware that Esdeath would not easily agree to it, but Tatsumi had realized that she would not be able to turn down the concept of having him serve her completely without reluctance if she agreed to his ultimatum. Tatsumi held unto the hope that Esdeath would just come across somebody else that took her interest, like himself before so he could balance his new life as a free man and his parental life as Makoto's Father when he could.

Again, foolishly unaware that he was the only person she would ever love in the world romantically, having refused to believe it for his sanity's sake.

Tatsumi wrestled greatly with his own damned self over this choice, he couldn't deny that he felt pretty uncomfortable with the thought of somebody else being in an intimate relationship with Esdeath. He rationalized this by the fact, Makoto existed and that he had quite frankly, lost his virginity to the same woman. Not that he loved her as he did.

Regardless, he would only have to endure that for three years, and then it'd be over. Esdeath would be dead by Akame's blade, and he would be free to take Makoto away from the Empire to live in peace with him back at his village, with his significant other if he had one at the time.

That was Tatsumi's grand plan, as it were.

He no longer saw the Empire's destruction as something that he could achieve in his lifetime singlehandedly unless Honest died first that is. Even so, Tatsumi knew that Esdeath would not allow him to assassinate the diabolical schemer. She needed him to maintain a sense of stability, and stability would ensure that society ran normally like clockwork. She could not raise children in chaos, and she refused to do just that.

He would distance himself as far away from Honest's world as possible, and that of Esdeath's, too.

To hold unto himself. He intended to be the same person that Akame knew him as, when she returned to the Empire. Tatsumi did not wish to die, guilt and self-loathing aside. He wanted to live and improve himself further on. Very recently, upon opening his eyes in the cabin, Tatsumi found himself desiring to test his body and train. Unknowingly to him, Tyrant had instilled a sense of warrior-like bloodlust into its host's mind, slowly causing Tatsumi to lose the sense of reluctance that he felt with violence.

Soon, he'd relish it and bask in the glory that came with victory.

Tyrant was a creature of control and dominance, like Esdeath.

Sexually, it was dominant, too. Asserting control, whenever it could. Tatsumi was the same, he was a dominant minded individual that was forced into the role of submission by his stronger sexual partner. If he had been able to get that far with Mine, originally. It would've shown then. Of course, Tatsumi was a person of great love and care, too. He would not lose himself to his urges, so wildly as Esdeath usually did.

The mysteries of his body continued to haunt him, why he had grown so strong when broken into tiny pieces by the Death Tagool. Why he had adapted to Esdeath's lust to survive it. He had only known evolutions and adaptive tendencies, when it was strictly connected to the Demon Armor: Incursio. He was unaware, that he was giving Tyrant, a taste of its own medicine. Instead of Tatsumi becoming Tyrant, Tyrant was forced to become Tatsumi.

Tatsumi was slowly but surely, devouring the Dragon whole and becoming it in human form.

Soon, Tyrant would be powerless to Tatsumi's growing limitless strength and his drive to succeed. Currently, the vicious creature residing inside the Teigu weapon merely considered Tatsumi's increase of power from Esdeath's training from hell to be a commendable feat. A futile effort nonetheless, in the beast's plan to rebirth itself through the boy and his soul.

Whenever Tyrant's genes tried to fuse with Tatsumi's own, with each activation of Incursio, Tatsumi's fought back and they fought back hard. Overpowering the supposedly stronger cellular entity, and repurposing the acquired DNA gained for its own purposes. Facilitating Tatsumi's evolution at an increasingly fast exponential rate.

Assilimating it, entirely. Whilst Tatsumi was completely unaware of his body's actions.

Rewriting Tyrant's DNA structure and genome to fit Tatsumi's own, to prevent rejection of the tissue that tried to merge with him. It kept the durability of Tyrant's flesh, adding it to Tatsumi's own. So, effectively, Tatsumi's body did not risk itself with each activation of Incursio. Instead, it'd keep getting stronger and stronger. Tatsumi's bone density was already durable enough to be considered on par with tempered steel alloys.

An unprotected punch to his unguarded face would break at least two fingers of an untrained man's hand.

One of Tatsumi's white blood cells would equal twenty-five of a normal healthy fully grown male's own. His vision, when focused, able to perceive fired bullets in motion, as Esdeath could. His legs, able to lift him skyward and reach the tallest houses from a single bound, then propel himself away to the sky further. His hands, able to grip and hold onto ledges for minutes on end without succumbing to gravity's pull or the effects of friction burn.

To punch holes through adult men, and see his bloodied hand emerge from the other side. Before he was twenty, Tatsumi would be able to run at such high speeds, impossible by the greatest athlete in the Empire alive.

And by the time that Tyrant realized this, it'd be too late for the Dragon to act.

Soon, Tatsumi would be able to scale the walls of the tallest buildings of the Capital through sheer speed alone, without being aided by Incursio. In his very cells, lied the potential to evolve beyond humanity. To become greater than the average human, to excel through life without regret. To be reborn. Tatsumi's trials had done an excellent job at honing his skills, and thanks to Tyrant's foolishness in trying to consume Tatsumi at the beginning.

Tatsumi was now consuming it.

Makoto's existence was proof that Tatsumi won the war in the end, that he beat the dragon that fiercely stood in his way and became it. Consumed it. So, when Makoto said he was the son of a Dragon. He legitimately was, none of it was a lie.

Tatsumi Matsura was that Dragon. For all of Esdeath's insanity, she was completely right about desiring Tatsumi as a mate for the children she could receive from him. They'd be nobody like him on the entire planet because there could be nobody like him.

Tatsumi was born, through a certain set of circumstances that correctly lined up properly until we got what we have today.

The Ultimate Weapon, Tatsumi Matsura.

His son, the Ultimate Life Form.

Dr. Stylish had recognized this trait, too. To the point, he eventually decided to cancel the order on Tatsumi's life sometime after the boy's encounter with the giant by the corridor, removing it from Fortuna's list of directives entirely in a hurried attempt to avoid disaster. He was smart enough to realize that trying to antagonize a walking evolutionary ticking timebomb wasn't good for his health, life expectancy or his plans.

He would have to find a way to remove Tatsumi from the field, without violence. Or better yet, find a way to study him. He was a biological marvel, a truly perfect specimen. Stylish didn't fully understand Tatsumi, only Esdeath did in the larger sense of things, and the woman herself wasn't exactly easy to talk too.

Especially, when it was about Tatsumi.

For all of his milestones of evolution, Tatsumi's healing rate remained stagnant. Stuck in a roadblock, he struggled with the wait of his injuries recovery. Perhaps he could not heal beyond the rate that he was meant too, so that his other abilities could grow from the pain.

It'd be a perfectly plausible answer to the specific query, pain, even with its clear drawbacks was a needed aspect of every creature on the planet. To recognize harm, and locate its source to halt the cause. To execute it.

You'd likely die from a bleeding wound if you weren't able to feel the searing heat of the knife as it came into your body, at the end of the day.

So, perfect weapon or not. Tatsumi wasn't invincible, he had to be patient. Very patient. Take his time, and slowly but surely, grow. Like a flower trying to bloom, he could be crushed, killed, before reaching his peak, if he had one. Tatsumi had surpassed his limits at Fallhaven, and leapt ahead of his former level of power. Currently, as previously stated, nobody could match him in the Empire.

Only Esdeath could.

But she did not want to defeat him or kill him. Earnestly, she only wanted his love. The love of a boy that had melted the ice over her heart.

Before she knew it, Esdeath had fallen asleep from an unhealthy mixture of physical exhaustion and bitter aching sadness, she had just been able to crawl into bed. Uniform included, minus the cap she had lost to Tatsumi's punch, by the time she had done.

She did not dream, and the sleep wasn't something she had wanted to do. Esdeath had intended to simply survey the bedroom and leave it, find Honest and report as originally decided.

But instead, she had fallen to sleep's hold in a bed that felt so very empty and lonely now.

By the dawn of the next day, Honest had already received a report but not by Esdeath. Several in fact, eyewitness reports to the devastation that she and Makoto had caused and the schemer used them accordingly to draft a suitable reason to justify Fallhaven's destruction.

He eventually decided to say that Fallhaven had not been occupied with innocent bystanders as it had been, and instead was just a wretched hive used by the Revolution. Whether the local populace believed it or not, didn't matter whatsoever.

Soon it'd be on the front of every newspaper by the end of the next day.

In the Empire, history was written by the winners. The Empire won, so it was only fair that they should decide the depiction of the events that had transpired. The losers were completely wiped out, at their source.

The Revolutionary Army's leaders had already been thrown into the dungeons of the Palace, to rot until the Great General came to them. Seryu, Stylish and the recovered Fortuna were taking leave, as ordered by Esdeath earlier when they arrived. The victory celebrations were had, by everyone who knew of the Revolutionaries defeat, and soon the entire Empire would be celebrating it.

Or least, pretending to be.

The Ice Queen awoke, with a sudden violent jolt. She immediately sensed that something was not right, they'd be no Tatsumi in her arms and she was still wearing her uniform. Without delay, Esdeath, once again out of habit, threw her head fiercely into the spot on Tatsumi's side of the bed. Sniffing it, for a trail. They'd be no trail to be found, panic grew. Rage burned, then died as quickly as it came.

The realization dawned, she had fallen asleep alone. Esdeath had been so used to seeing Tatsumi resting in her arms, when she awoke, that being without him even when she already knew he was gone would be something she would not like getting used to.

Something she would refuse to grow used to.

Awake and wary, Esdeath practically tore the pieces of clothing she wore from herself and made strides for the bathroom, leaving the tatters of white behind herself. She needed a shower to calm down, to use its warmth as a way to clear mind and plan ahead.

Today would be the day that she dealt with Fate, and gave back control of the Empire to Honest. She had no more use for it, she had destroyed the Revolutionary Army, and as promised, when she did that. Esdeath would hand back ownership of the Empire's laws to him again.

Of course, Tatsumi's fate was hers to decide, Honest would have no more power over Tatsumi than she did herself.

He'd die if he tried to forcefully subvert the agreement they had made over Tatsumi's life.

The Ice Queen intended to have Tatsumi registered as M.I.A and to silence anyone that tried to spread rumours of his betrayal. That said, Esdeath knew that anyone that had seen them fight, was already dead, Esdeath and Tatsumi had been at the middle of the Fortress City when they fought. Near the Lord's Tower. So, unless they were extremely lucky, they could not have escaped the blizzards in time to spread the word.

Having Tatsumi listed as a traitor would be a drawback that Esdeath would not stand, she had removed and erased Tatsumi's criminal record once, to do it again would be just tiresome.

Very, very tiresome.

Not only that, Esdeath opted to suppress the level of information that Nouken could gain on Tatsumi in the boy's absence. Intending to keep the General in the dark, so that he could see Tatsumi properly for himself when he rightfully returned to her side. The sickening General was currently under the mistaken belief that with Budo's death, he was the strongest active warrior in the Empire of the male gender.

Unlike what she intended to keep hidden, details of his strengths and weaknesses, Incursio and the like.

Esdeath would not allow Nouken to dwell in his delusions of superiority, fully ready to break it and reveal Tatsumi's martial and sexual prowess when pushed to.

Even when they were not on the same side, nothing whatsoever would stop Esdeath from gloating over Tatsumi and the very special ways he made her feel so alive.

The whereabouts of Fate were unknown, but with their blood connection, as long as she stayed in the Capital. She would be found, within' the hour's time. Esdeath knew that Fate would not run away, she had been previously tasked with the job of finding the people that did. She was Esdeath's errand girl, and now it be her turn to be on the receiving end of her Mistress's lethal vengeance. The irony wasn't lost on Fate either.

Which is why she did not try and flee.

She knew that Esdeath would just send another assassin if she did not come herself. To give credit where it's due, Fate had immediately tried to find Tatsumi upon awakening, only to realize that she had been unconscious for hours and the moment in time, Tatsumi was exchanging blows with Esdeath anyway at Fallhaven.

The nightmare had already begun, and she was too late to warn Esdeath of Tatsumi's escape.

Too late to redeem herself of failure, and unknown to Fate. Esdeath intended to remove Fate from the picture, as to also cut away the last loose thread in the disappearance of Tatsumi's girlfriend, Mine of the assassin organization Night Raid.

Perfectly aware, that even if Tatsumi could not recall the girl anymore. That being revealed to the truth, could just as easily break whatever had stripped the memories from Tatsumi's place in the first place away and restore him.

Not only that, Esdeath would lose every last chance that she had to win him back, she knew that wholeheartedly. She could not risk Fate conversing with Tatsumi and Night Raid if she escaped punishment.

Esdeath was ultimately thankful for Fate, either way. She would not torture the woman to death, for her role in losing Tatsumi. Esdeath owed her entire relationship with Tatsumi to Fate, in a twisted way.

The Ice Queen also blamed herself partly for the loss, she had left Tatsumi in their room, out of love for him. When she should've logically put him away in a secure location, like the dungeons for instance, if she wanted him to be properly locked away. Esdeath had allowed him to stay comfortable because she loved him. She had lost him because she loved him.

So, to keep him from running away once more. She had to force herself to love him less than she did, it'd be tough but not impossible for the Ice Queen.

They'd be no more backwards and forwards.

Until everything was back to the way it previously had been, as it was supposed to be. Esdeath would be strict, stern and cold with Tatsumi, but not cruel. She had promised him love, affection and the complete absence of loneliness in his life, and even now, she held true to that promise.

But she expected the same in return, and if she did not receive it. That's when she would begin breaking fingers, you see.

With Stylish on hand, solving Tatsumi's inflicted injuries would be a breeze. She would not have to worry about him being stuck in casts or anything like that. If Stylish refused, then he had best hope that operating on himself with Perfector wasn't out of the question.

In the shower. Esdeath stood, head lowered down. Staring at the wall, as she pondered on. The shower nozzle kept pouring hot water over herself at the same rate, it had been since she turned it on. The Ice Queen's entire body was motionless, as if in hibernation. At Esdeath's face, however, lied a different story. Eyes twitching and darting everywhere, she placed a palm unto the wall in front of her.

The gentle palm soon clenched tightly, Esdeath's nails clawed into the wall's ceramic tiles. Sharp and powerful enough to leave a savage mark over them as she pulled the hand downwards in womanly frustration. Teeth bared, in rage.

To Esdeath, women were a breeding animal at heart. They might complain and refuse to accept it, but they'd be nothing more important to a mature woman than giving birth to a strong man's children, that is what she believed in.

Of course, this was because, if her and Tatsumi's genders were reversed.

She would not change in what she believed in, that is why she was fine with carrying the burden that children presented for Tatsumi. And now that she could not, they'd be no greater insult to endure. Loneliness ran rampant in Esdeath's mind, she had no friends to speak of. Everyone was either a co-worker or a subordinate. She allowed nobody close to her heart, aside Tatsumi. The same man who had broken it into pieces, and now she was trying to pick them up.

Turning the valve that stopped the water from flowing out, Esdeath walked out of the bathtub. Dragging a hand over the wall, to increase the claw marks unto it. Staring at nothing but the doorway that led to the bedroom midst this, eyes unfocused and glazed over like marble. Water dripped from the Ice Queen's beautiful unmarred porcelain skin.

She picked the towel up, that she had left on her side of the bed. Wiping her face with it, then drying the rest of herself up. Once again, she realized the irony of it all. When she lost Tatsumi back when they were simply on different sides of the war and not lovers, she felt an exciting urge to meet him again. But now. Just loneliness, and a deep sad yearning for him. It was ten times worse now since Makoto had left, too.

She had no visual evidence in front of herself that Tatsumi loved her by how whole and complete Makoto's body was formed.

Completely in the dark. No control over the situation, when she desperately needed it. Upon drying herself off completely then dressing in a clean set of her uniform, Esdeath marched out of her bedroom, through the entrance hall and into the corridor.

Closing her eyes, she discovered through their shared sense that Fate was inside one of the Training Halls of the Imperial Palace, a few floors below her current location.

"So, that's where you are. Now, stay put." Esdeath confidently walked a few meters down the corridor past to doorway to her quarters, so that she would not damage their stability. She intended to move out of her Imperial residence when it could no longer support her needs and the needs of her family. They'd be limited space and not enough room for the number of children that she wanted to have.

Every child of hers would have a room to themselves and an area they could play without reservation. She considered twins to be a special case, intending to put them into one room by themselves if they preferred it.

When she was in position, Esdeath placed a hand on her hip and gently tapped a heel to the ground below.

The ground immediately fell apart into pieces, in a perfect circle and she fell through it. Ice cut away at the ground she was primed to land on and broke it apart to so that she continued her descend. Esdeath kept falling down, keeping herself perfectly straight, relaxed, arms at her sides with an unchanging expression until she knew that she had reached the floor Fate would be.

A graceful landing later. Esdeath pushed the hair that had become untidy away and huffed with satisfaction, making strides to her destination. Walking fixed upright, Esdeath's body soon became very hunched and aggressively charged like a hunting animal. She would not let Fate escape, so she had to ensure that she did not lose track of her prey. Blocking every viable escape route with ice, aside from the path she took. Esdeath continued the hunt, reaching the Training Hall minutes later.

Kicking the doors through, blowing them from their enforced hinges while having her hands fixed to her hips, Esdeath found herself surprised when she saw Fate merely kneeling down in wait at the centre of the room itself. No attempt to run was made or attempted.

She seemed eerily accepting of the destiny that she had been given. Despite this, Esdeath summoned a wall of ice to cover the doorway she had entered through, to ensure they were not disturbed.

"You're awfully calm, Fate. And here I thought I would enjoy this, you disappoint me greatly." Esdeath materialized an ice copy of her preferred longsword and held it strongly. "Calm or not, you know what I have come here to do."

"I do, this is where I die." Fate replied with a sad yet cold tone let out.

"Rightly said, for your admirable service to me..."

"You will die quickly, just as long as you do not move. If you move, I cannot promise that your end will be swift or merciful." Esdeath now lifted the sword upward and pointed it directly at Fate.

"I owe you much, Fate. But what you originally gave me, has vanished away and left me burdensome pain, so your services are no longer required. You are responsible for this pain in my heart, too." At this, Fate slowly rose herself up and placed a respectful hand by her heart, leaning herself forward to bow. "I could get him, Mistress. You know I can. I found the girl he was with, just as easy."

"None shall stop me, I will make amends, I promise you."

"Tatsumi will be yours..." Fate finished, then, as soon as she did. Freezing chills blew across the room from Esdeath's location and filled the air around them, Fate would be slightly immune to this but she could feel them nonetheless.

"Do not say his name, I'm well aware of your well-regarded abilities, Fate." Esdeath hissed, growled and spat. She could not even manage simply hearing Tatsumi's name spoken by another person, now. "I will get him back, in due time, Fate. I don't need you anymore, now if you'd so kindly assume a low position near me..."

"I'd rather not get any blood on my uniform, as I decapitate that head of yours, you see." Esdeath swung away, practising her swipes as she made strides for Fate. Then, as she came close enough to land a killing blow to Fate, stopped short in her decapitating strike as the woman in front of herself materialized a longsword of her own. "So, you aim to die with a sword in your hands? Very well, let us begin."

"No, I could never raise a sword against you, Mistress." Fate nodded, it'd be true. The Ice Queen's level of indoctrination with Fate spanned countless hours of hard work and plenty of effort to bend the woman's mind to her own. Of course, Esdeath felt sad for having to rid herself of an important asset, but Fate had proven herself to be a liability.

That was all the reason that she needed to act.

Losing Tatsumi and the fact that she held very secretive information regarding the prolonged grisly death of Mine, Esdeath could not risk losing her mate forever. Even midst her delusionary thoughts regarding Tatsumi's love for her and his own hidden devotion, Esdeath was well aware that if he ever discovered the truth, she would not be able to get him back ever again and the battle that took place after that, would be to the death. "My life has always been yours to do with, as you please, I just never thought it'd end like this."

"I'm as sad as you are, Fate." Esdeath's smile, despite the words she said, didn't fade away but instead grew wider.

"I see, Mistress. So you are."

"But this is the only way, I will mourn you for as long as I can allow myself too." Fate would remain in Esdeath's thoughts, for a month or so, then she'd vanish entirely. Rarely making appearances in dreams and astray thoughts she had, when nothing else of greater importance presented itself. Realizing they'd be no way out of this, Fate prepared herself to die and took the sword strongly with each of her hands on the hilt.

"Loyal to the end, so what is it you intend to do with that sword, then?

"Go on, surprise me. These are your last moments alive, after all." Esdeath genuinely asked, out of curiosity. Eyebrows raised in muted interest, as she lowered the blade she held in a firm grasp.

Then, without any warning, although Esdeath had expected this action, Fate plunged the sword straight into her chest but by the look of the angle, it hadn't gone through the woman's now horribly bleeding torso. "...This, I intend to do this..."

"Well, that was my third guess, Fate. Here, let me help you, you silly thing." Esdeath casually pushed a part of her hair away and walked over towards Fate with a happy beaming expression present. Tossing the sword she held away, as it vanished into vapour in mid-air, Esdeath applied a strong hand to the end of the hilt and slowly began to push the blade through Fate, as the other hand took hold of her pet's shoulder to comfort her in the woman's last moments. "Shhh, clench your teeth together. This'll be over soon. Close your eyes, too."

Fate did just that, aside from the last part as soon she found herself looking into Esdeath's eyes. Bad mistake, she began to regret simply not allowing her Mistress to do the deed herself for she could see the absolutely ecstatic expression Esdeath wore. The raw feral insanity fixed into her cold blue orbs, ruined any of the hope that Fate had for an honourable death.

When Fate tried to talk, with the limited power that she could. Amidst the bleeding and gasps of pain, she drew. Esdeath hushed her again, once more. "...Just one last push, Fate. Be a big girl, and try not to scream!"

The final stab, tore through Fate's chest and the sword faded into vapour. But, what was most curious to the Ice Queen, was that Fate herself evaporated, exploded into vapour as well, when she was slain, at the same time as the sword cutting the metaphorical strings that held on to Fate's lifeforce. The splattered blood on the floor froze, too. Then melted into water and soon evaporated itself.

Wiping herself off a bit, Esdeath observed this phenomenon with an interesting look about herself. "So, it'd appear as if I didn't quite know you as well I figured I did, Fate."

The vapour escaped through one of the Training Hall's open windows, as Esdeath breathed out. It was quite sad, Fate had originally survived to see Makoto grow up in the original future, but thanks to Makoto's intervention, she had met her end way earlier than she was destined to. A temporary mild pain arose at the chest, that was not for Tatsumi but for Fate, which then vanished as quickly as it came.

Now Esdeath could focus on conferring with Honest, and then onto the job of Tatsumi. She had to gain leverage first, so she figured that stopping by his village, Matsura Village to look into their situation deeper herself would be best.

She'd take a small Military force, and speak with its Elder. She intended to visit Matsura village, so that she could observe the area where Tatsumi had grown up, too. Even now at this very moment in time, Esdeath yearned to learn more about Tatsumi and his upbringing so they could work together as parents for the upbringing of their own children.

She knew that Tatsumi would be an excellent Father as shown by his kind behaviour with Makoto, but she wanted to see what had humbled him into such a wonderful man.

If she could instil the same set of values into their sons and daughters, then Esdeath's happiness would not be surpassed by any other Mother alive in the world. Ironic, for a woman like Esdeath to desire children that were kind and gentle, least to members of their own.

"Oh well, it'll be a mystery that I will simply never learn. I am content with that, to waste your life in the pursuit of every answer is not something I shall do." Esdeath's voice was quiet, as but she spoke as if Fate was present and able to hear her words. Now the matter of Fate was done, Esdeath honed into Honest's presence, and whilst the man could not be called a fighter at any case, he had been trained in the Imperial Fist.

So this meant he had a presence large enough to sense from a distance, as long as she knew what she was after when she tried to find it.

"Now, you stay put. You round glutton of a man, you and I have much to discuss." With that said, and very little patience to simply walk or run to the floor where Honest usually held meetings, Esdeath cut another perfect circle directly above through the ceiling and leapt through it, then made usage of her skill with Teigu empowered flight to ascend until she reached the floor she was after.

Stepping out of a Politician's apartment, she had entered from, with a strong push of her left hand to knock away the door from its hinges.

The same day, back with Night Raid. And two weeks from today, until they left the Empire's borders. Tatsumi was currently in his room, trying on some of the clothes that Wave had brought him from the Capital. They mostly fit, but one or two pairs were either too small or simply too large for him to wear.

He didn't mind it, Wave was in a rush and he was thankful that Wave actually considered him during his trip over there.

Wave and Kurome were out, currently trying to locate a suitable finishing boat to purchase before the day was over. Wave had figured that if they brought it early, they could use the rest of the weeks to ensure that it was sea-worthy and add any modifications that they needed to make the trip as comfortable as possible for them.

Rogers had returned to the Cabin, earlier in the morning to hand Leone, Akame's new cybernetic replacement arm. He had originally opted to try and find one without taking it from Stylish, but he knew that if Akame wanted the most comfortable and flexibility then it had to come from the Mad Doctor since as crazy as he was, he wasn't a fool when it came to his workmanship.

He had learnt of Tatsumi's survival by Leone, who offered him a place on the fishing boat, but Rogers refused politely stating his desire to stay within' the Empire's borders until the destined moment came.

Akame was currently in her own room herself, trying to adjust to the new sensations that using the artificial arm provided.

Leone and Inori were currently training together, or more accurately, Leone was training Inori with Pumpkin. The training would be tough, and brutal. Since the Teigu required the user to be in legitimate danger for the Danger-Amplification ability to properly work.

If Leone stuck to feint attacks, they'd never get anywhere. So Inori becoming back with cuts and bruises was a very real possibility.

Tatsumi had tried to talk with Inori when he returned from outdoor fishing adventure with Wave, he hadn't had a chance during mealtime when she awoke as she had shut herself in, but soon as he saw the weapon by the girl's bedside. Tatsumi's head exploded with tremendous pain, and he ended up collapsing on the floor for the remainder of the day.

When asked by Leone and Akame, Tatsumi mentioned that he recognized the weapon but not who used it, causing Leone and Akame to realize that Esdeath must've psychologically tortured Tatsumi to the point, he had forgotten all about Mine.

They tried their best to help him recall, trying to make him remember but it was pointless. Any of what they said, didn't make any sense to Tatsumi's mind and his repressed memories. He knew that Mine existed and that she had a place in his life before.

Tatsumi felt horrible guilt for forgetting about her and tried to argue that with the two of them. When they realized that trying to forcefully get Tatsumi to recall Mine, would only end with more mental damage for the boy, Leone and Akame begrudgingly stopped their attempts.

Akame also knew that if Tatsumi returned to the Capital, and Esdeath was allowed to discover that Tatsumi could recall Mine and her importance to him, then she'd likely repeat whatever she had done to him, in ways much worse than the last.

Unaware that Tatsumi's mind itself had intentionally repressed the memories on their own accord, out of self-preservation to prevent Tatsumi from enduring any more guilt over his intimate sexual relationship with Esdeath.

"Tch... Still hurts, I knew it." Tatsumi groaned, lifting the shirt he had tried on, from his head. He had managed to lightly breeze past the bandages on his chest, causing him slight mild pain to arise. "I've gotta be patient if only I healed as quickly as Leone did."

"Incursio only migrates the pain, in the end. There's no healing factor to be had, just pure unrelenting adrenaline." Tatsumi continued. Putting the shirt down, as he sensed Akame moving about in her room across from him. Realizing what she was doing in there, Tatsumi felt a bout of guilt arise as he reflected on his stupidity for letting everything happen as it did.

"Goddamnit, if only I hadn't gotten in the way..."

Tatsumi paused, moving to sit on his bed then began again. "No, if I hadn't stopped Akame's blade, she'd be dead right now."

"Esdeath never lets herself be so open, it was a trap. Akame was walking into a trap, I didn't save Esdeath, I saved Akame." Tatsumi stopped talking at that moment, he'd rein himself in. He had already admitted that he had saved Esdeath back then, so it was pointless trying to convince himself otherwise. He also knew that Akame was resentful because of that, and his actions in the Empire. Their relationship would never be as close as it was again, he had to accept that.

Not to say that it wasn't easy to do, for it was agonizingly painful for Tatsumi to simply disregard that they had been friends, even in their combined venture to destroy the corruption plaguing the Empire.

Not only that, she was one of his only friends in the entire world left, everyone else was dead and soon she'd be leaving the Empire, too. He'd be completely alone and trapped with Esdeath for three long years.

Again, Tatsumi did not intend to serve Esdeath as a lover. Not even as an aide, but as an Assassin.

To put his best foot forward, his skills as a killer not as a partner. Tatsumi himself didn't really see what all of the fuss was about, in regards to why Esdeath desperately yearned for his love and affection.

Sure, Tatsumi had a pretty big ego about his abilities, but it was a healthy one. He could see when overemphasizing his traits became an annoyance to those around him, even when Esdeath had tried to pressure him into gloating about them to the weaker masses.

What he didn't have an ego about, was his forte as Esdeath's lover.

It wasn't that he was unconvinced of his worthiness, Tatsumi was pretty damn sure that no shmuck in the Empire aside himself had a chance with Esdeath, romantically. Which is why it'd be such a surprise if somebody did prove worthy, in the span of the three years.

Tatsumi just didn't feel like he could keep up with Esdeath for the length that she wanted, that and he was slowly becoming very distressed at the notion of spending his entire life constantly held hostage to the insane way she viewed the world, along with the possessive feelings she had over him.

The people she associated herself with, were the kind of scum that Tatsumi had been killing nightly for Night Raid since he was sixteen, too.

It was scary, actually.

To think he'd be twenty-one years old by the time he saw Akame, Leone, Inori, Wave and finally, Kurome again.

And hopefully, not a Father to any more kids with Esdeath.

Thanks to the fact, Makoto was already ten-years-old and able to fight properly as he had seen and the son of his future counterpart from a time beyond that which he knew. Tatsumi's mind was still able to justify supporting the efforts of his friends in Night Raid, and saw remaining as the boy's parental as something that was possible. What wasn't possible, would be to do the same with a child that Esdeath, the current Esdeath, carried inside herself.

His child.

So Tatsumi knew full well, that as soon as that came about. It'd be all over.

His desire to see Esdeath dead, outweighed by the instinctual love for his newborn child. His desire to hurt Esdeath for what she had done to him, and his friends. Destroyed by his body's desire to see his child protected, looked after and kept from harm's way.

Tatsumi was frustrated at how victimized he could be by his own sense of values, and it didn't stop there. For as soon as he heard the news of the start of it all, he'd be trapped forever by the Ice Queen.

That was why he had decided to distance himself as far away as possible, hiding in plain sight away from the monster that wanted him for herself.

For if he had gotten that distracted away from his original goal by Makoto, then what would come about when met with a child that he had, himself, created and not one that was the result of his future counterpart's affairs with his Esdeath?

Tatsumi clenched his fist tightly, tight enough to cause his chest to explode with agonizing pain. He knew that distressing himself over would do no good, and his body's condition would only be ruined further by the stress that he was fussing himself over. Tatsumi took the smart choice and threw the covers from his bed to the end then stripped off to sleep soundly.

Realizing that sleeping would be the best action to take, he usually felt better when he had a good amount of sleep anyway. He'd be able to think clearer then anyhow.

That night, when everyone slept themselves. Wave had successfully acquired the boat, Inori and Leone had finished up. In deep sleep, Tatsumi was strung out on the bed when Inori opened the door to his room. She walked silently over to him, fully aware that Tatsumi's senses would not wake him up as she was no threat. This was true, even as she held a pair of cutting scissors in her left hand.

Looming over him, Inori took a lock of Tatsumi's brown hair and cut pieces from it. Putting what she had cut away into a pocket-sized plastic container securely. Tatsumi's hair was long enough for her to do this, without him realizing any difference in his hair's general shape when he woke up later. When she had taken enough away to be satisfied, Inori silently fled away from Tatsumi's room, having acquired what she sought.

But the hair wasn't for herself.

When Esdeath made it to Honest's office, earlier that day after destroying Fate for her weakness. She noticed upon stepping inside, that Honest was in the middle of a tea break with the Emperor. They were jovially laughing amongst themselves, holding their cups. Honest was the first person to notice Esdeath, as she stood a distance away from their position.

"Ah, the Empire's saviour has returned...! Let us cheer to the strongest General in the Empire's long bountiful history!" Honest's voice was, as expected, very praising to the Ice Queen for her service to the government they ruled together as partners.

He lifted his cup upward and instructed the Emperor to do the same with a kind nod of his head. When the Emperor took the cue, Honest continued laying the praise on thick. "Come, Lady Esdeath. Grace us with the report of your success, first hand."

At that, Esdeath merely began walking over to the Prime Minister without ever replying to his words.

The Imperial Guardsmen in the room were beginning to grow nervous, as shown by their stances as the attendants did the same. They immediately ran off and fetched a bottle of the expensive aged red wine that Esdeath usually drank while attending to meetings with Honest, when they returned. They carefully placed it down at her place at the table, to which Esdeath sat down shortly afterwards.

By how quickly they were able to prepare for her arrival, Esdeath figured she was expected by Honest to arrive today.

"...As you already know. The Revolutionary Army has been completely annihilated, aside from the Western Tribes." Esdeath began, with a cold tone of voice. She did not have the required mood or the effort to try and come across as polite with either him or the Emperor.

"We now govern unopposed, Prime Minister. I reduced the city of Fallhaven to a barren wasteland," Esdeath stated, apathetically. Arms locked tightly around her chest, as she leaned against the chair she was sat upon. "A deeply tragic loss of life, I'm sure."

Honest sipped his cup of tea, finishing it off before continuing with his words.

"But I have already fashioned a suitable cover-story that will quell any notions of hatred the Capital's populace may harbour for it's... Sad, inevitable destruction." Honest announced, proud and firm. Surprisingly, the Emperor joined in and added his own thoughts. "Indeed, it is most unfortunate but we must throw the illusion that Prime Minister Honest has created over my subject's eyes. Just this once, for the greater good of the Empire that I rule."

The Emperor's official tone did not improve the Ice Queen's mood, in fact she grew somewhat annoyed with it. Very tempted to show him, what real power looked like in that instant and why he only ruled the Empire, because of the mercy and pity she had for his situation with Honest. Not because of his bloodline, or his sway with the public.

"Now, now, let us move unto the next important set of matters we need to agree upon." Honest had been able to notice the slight twitch in Esdeath's eye as it came when the Emperor spoke his words and began hastily trying to quickly change the subject to less dangerous matters that were sure to tick the Ice Queen off.

He succeeded, when she became notably less tense, it was a surprise that the Emperor had not noticed any of the hostility in the Great General's body language when it came suddenly.

"The Empire is yours to control, I have no use for it anymore. The Revolutionary Army is gone, destroyed by my own hand and there is nothing to stop me from killing off the remnants of Night Raid." Esdeath stated, without any build-up to the words she had just said.

Blunt, and strictly to the point. Surprising Honest as he was forced to pause in pouring himself another cup of tea, overflowing the cup before finally noticing it as it began to scald his legs, making him yell in pain mildly.

"Ah-Ah...! ...I see! Ack, that's very good...! As you promised, I always knew I could rely on your word, Lady Esdeath." An attendant gave the Prime Minister a cloth to wipe himself off with, as the Emperor quietly sipped his lukewarm tea. "Thankfully, I brought the papers that we need to do just that! Let us end the curfew and martial law so that our subjects may celebrate far into the night...!"

Revealing the aforementioned documentation from a folder on the table, Honest slid it carefully across to the Ice Queen in hopes that she would sign it, and give back control of the Empire's laws and doctrines to the Emperor and in extension, himself. Esdeath immediately took a quill from her side, dipping it into ink lightly and then signed away with her own elegant signature.

When done, she slid it back towards Honest, who instantly took it into his large hands and gazed at it lovingly, as if holding an adorably cute baby.

"There you go, Prime Minister. Don't make me regret this, our original agreement in regards to Tatsumi stands firm." Esdeath, now glaring intensely at the politician, formed a floating ball of ice in the palm of her hands. Perfectly spherical and beautifully made, Esdeath clicked her fingers and the orb soon became riddled with spikes and sharp protrusions, like a mace. "Ah, is that to say the circumstances of your... Relationship have changed, since my last observation?"

"Correct. Tatsumi, unfortunately, escaped his confines and fled to Fallhaven. I was unable to recapture him despite my best attempts to, I will not make the mistakes that led to this, again." Esdeath explained coldly, to which Honest could only huff in surprise whilst the Emperor looked on in confusion.

His confusion with this situation led him to voice his thoughts to Honest without consideration for the Ice Queen's feelings, naive like the child he was.

He knew not of the world of adults, in the larger sense. He took his eyes off Esdeath and looked up at Honest for answers. "Prime Minister... Why does Tatsumi want to run away from our Great General, won't that upset Makoto? Aren't they together like my parents were?"

The Emperor was greatly envious of the Ice Prince's lifestyle, especially as he had two parents that loved him greatly, while he only had Honest as a parental figure. From what he had seen, Esdeath was a woman who doted excessively on her boy without any reservation to the others of the thoughts around her.

The Great General's current bodily motions were unknown, but the worried expression on Honest's face along with the sweat droplets falling down the side of his face implied she wasn't happy, with what had just been said. "Well, you see, my Emperor. Our lovely Great General is a woman of... Great talents, Tatsumi likely just felt a bit overwhelmed with the tremendous pressure of having such a brilliant woman at his beck and call..."

"He's the envy of the Empire, you know!"

"He'll be back where he belongs, in no time, won't he?" Honest, stared into the empty blue voids that were now Esdeath's eyes, trying to show his confidence in Esdeath's chances of success, and hoped she would withdraw the field of floating ice spears she had summoned behind herself.

Pointed at every single individual in the room that she deemed, a threat. The guards were stood still, holding their halberds in vain whilst they stood on shaking feet.

"Of that, there is no question. Tatsumi will be mine, once again."

"And when he is, there will be nothing to stand in my way of creating the family that I want." The ice spears soon vanished at the conclusion of the determined woman's chilling words, and the sounds of clanging metal were heard in the background as the guards dropped their weapons from sheer nerves. A few fainting at that very moment, straight to the floor. "A family, you say? ...I thought you already have what you say you seek, Lady Esdeath?"

"Makoto is my child, that will not change but I desire more, so much more."

"As of now, Tatsumi is the strongest person aside from myself in the Empire alive, there is no greater man to give me children. Of course, I have come to realize in my time with him, I truly cannot experience any allure, sexual or otherwise, to others around me, that aren't my Tatsumi. Any other man, will not do, he is my one and only until the day I die." Knocking over his cup in distress, Honest shook himself off and tried to take in, what he had just heard. Esdeath was only twenty-three years old, and yet she was now saying she wanted to become a mother at such an early age when she was in charge of the Empire's entire Military operations, and not only that but with Tatsumi too.

"C-Children, Lady Esdeath? What's the rush, you have years ahead of you...! Let us not lose our heads so soon with celebration, aha!" Honest nervously chuckled, with the Emperor yawned to himself. "Consider your options first, you have a military to run and lead, today is only just the beginning of a new age for us!"

"There is no other option but Tatsumi, I have told you this, a thousand times before." Esdeath strongly stated as she continued without any interruption from the two that looked on. "By the time he is back in my hold, we shall be wed in harmonious union together as one. I will not wait for this happiness, I know the consequences of waiting to get what I want."

Subtly referencing the fate of her grim future self and their life together to a clueless Honest, her alternative self that had been surprisingly patient enough to wait until she thirty-two to get married to Tatsumi, who had been twenty-seven himself, by the time Makoto was born. Not only that, the Esdeath of the future had been twenty-five by the time she had opted to put down Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army down like dogs.

"But, think of the danger that you'll face, in such a vulnerable condition!" Honest strongly urged and, pleaded even. As he then nodded towards the Guards who were still able to stand, to escort the Emperor away from the scene as he was clearly confused, as shown by his silence. They did just that, stepping forward and taking the young child Emperor away from the scene to his lavish bedroom quarters.

"Oh, that is where you are mistaken, Prime Minister. Very mistaken." Esdeath's voice was thick with prideful undertones, she stood up and stretched her hands outwards to welcome him into her world of madness, two Ice Kings joined their Queen at her sides. Standing loyally.

The Tatsumi's bodies, broken and distorted yet holding together through the sheer obsessive love that they were formed from. "It is the expected behaviour for a woman like myself to be especially vicious to perceived threats, during the carrying of children. I will not be soft to ill-minded pests when I am in term, Prime Minister."

"Anyone, if they stand in my way, will be erased without question."

"Tch... Of course, of course!" Honest spluttered, trying to play the devil's advocate at both sides.

They had been a very special reason, why she had summoned the Ice Kings at this instant. Their entire existence was one built from devotion, and the love she felt for Tatsumi. But also, for the love, she felt that he held for her himself. And they'd be no greater love to receive in the Ice Queen's insane mind than to be holding his child safe inside her womb.

So, naturally, Esdeath's Ice King trump card would become a brand-new superpower of its own in accordance with that.

Almost as invincible as the man they resembled to an utmost perfection.

What Esdeath was putting across, were that she would not suddenly become extraordinarily weak or frail when she at term but instead, one thousand times deadlier in every single regard. They'd be no question that Esdeath was perfectly prepared to deal with any threat to Tatsumi's child as it grew safely, as shown by her instinctive violent protectiveness over Makoto.

"Rid yourself of any misguided belief that I will lose control, just because I am pregnant." At that, Esdeath allowed the Ice Kings at her side to fade away into a beautiful vapour cloud. As usual, she did not appreciate anyone trying to argue her out of what she wanted, especially individuals like Honest.

He, who had squandered the son that he had brought into the world, using him as little more than a pawn while making use of Syura's need for his approval to point him at Night Raid and the world at large. Esdeath found it downright insulting that he would stand in her way when her aims were so much more good-natured than his own in regards to children, least at her own mind.

"Yes, I understand now... I do, I do!"

"But, aren't you not taking what Tatsumi would feel into consideration, he's just an unreliable child at heart! The boy could just as easily abandon you at your moment of utmost need, Lady Esdeath!" Even if she'd usually strike out at Honest for his words, she had to agree that he was right in some way. But that before she saw the scene at Mt. Fake with Makoto and Tatsumi. And even before that, she had a firm belief that Tatsumi would not abandon his own child, an unborn child at that.

His antics currently, were only because Makoto was a pre-teen. Fully able to defend himself against harm, but if the situation were slightly different, in that Makoto could not defend himself then she knew that Tatsumi's sense of heroic self-righteousness would not allow him to simply run away from his responsibilities.

In layman terms, if Tatsumi was suddenly given the shared responsibility of caring for a child that had no idea of the danger in the world around them, he'd be trapped forever by his need to protect the weak and said weak, being his own blood, meant Tatsumi's bond with Akame and the rest of his soon-to-be-dead friends would be overridden entirely.

To make matters worse, Esdeath was completely right about this assumption.

For as soon as she said the words, "I'm pregnant.", to Tatsumi. It'd be game over. No more backwards and forwards, to be had. The game of Cat and Mouse would end, simple seconds later. His loyalty, hers. His life, hers. Everything would be hers, and hers alone.

"Fear not, Prime Minister. Tatsumi's sense of morals will be his very undoing, for you see, as soon as he realizes what joy I hold in my body. He will be powerless against me, and powerless to stop me." Esdeath cheerfully stated, ignoring the horrifying undertones that came with what she had just said, but this only caused Honest's interest to peak and he soon became way more relaxed with his business partner's intended goals. "Ah, now that is something I can hold respect for. I never thought you for a schemer, Lady Esdeath!"

"But you do fit the part well, I wish you all of the best in your endeavours! Here's to the future, and it's spoils." Honest jovially beckoned, and lifted his cup once more in victory. Esdeath, however, simply took the top of the bottle of wine by the neck and tossed carelessly it upward for it to smash against the carpet upon landing on it. An unorthodox victory celebration, but Honest would not mind it either way.

For General Nouken had met him in the late hours of yesterday about his plan to claim the Ice Queen for his own, they privately spoke about this, one-on-one. Honest wasn't overly convinced that Nouken could accomplish it, as he knew of the Great General's violent obsession with the boy she had won over. For it to have a sheer chance of success, Tatsumi had to die.

Something that Honest was already planning ahead for through the creation of Syura's clone, but to have Nouken on board with that too, whilst limiting his involvement wouldn't be something he could simply pass up.

Honest had made it clear to General Nouken, he could only assist him through the ways of information by telling him of their mutual foe's weakness. At the eclipse of their meeting together in his office. Honest brought the delusional man over to the Teigu Gallery so that he may obtain an Imperial Arm for himself to stand at equal footing with the eighteen-year-old prodigy, but despite Honest's best efforts, Nouken could not find a Teigu to his liking at all.

The man was so stupid, Honest lamented in secret. For instance, he immediately asked, and demanded a Teigu that could melt the ice away from the Ice Queen with scorching flames or boiling hot lava when they reached the Gallery's doors.

The Prime Minister couldn't help but laugh, verbally slapping the General for his simple-mindedness by announcing that if such a Teigu existed, then why hadn't it been used already for the Empire's goals or well, destroyed by the Ice Queen in a battle, if used against her.

Even so, if Ice was cold enough then no flame would be able to stop it.

Leaving empty-handed, Nouken instead decided to take one of the Teigu Weapons that were already in use. Foolishly believing that if ordered, they'd simply hand them over to him, thanks to his rank. But like, Tatsumi and Esdeath knew. To be bonded with a Teigu would be to live with it for life. Esdeath's Teigu was absorbed into her blood, and biology and Tatsumi himself was slowly becoming his own Teigu.

Soon, Tyrant's ability to live in a dormant state of being while surviving as Incursio would be the boy's own, too.

Eventually, even if Tatsumi's entire body was blown away. As long as Incursio existed in the world, so would he.

To say the least, provided Tatsumi's regenerative abilities improved and kept improving as the rest of him did. Regrowing himself back, from a single cell of biomass wouldn't be so far fetched anymore. Or surviving past his biological life, to attain a form of immortality. To live forever and avoid natural death, to achieve what the First Emperor could not do despite his best efforts.

Thanks to the Teigu that he, himself, created.

Tatsumi had every reason to be afraid of himself. Of what he could, what he would become. Yet, Esdeath had promised him, unconditional love, without reservation. Promised to carry his children, and to spread his legacy. And while he did not fully appreciate the love she had for him, at this very moment in time, he might end up being forced to when his body becomes that which cannot be called human.

Just looking like a human.

To say the least, Esdeath's reaction to Tatsumi's potential immortality would not be currently known. She herself did not wish for immortality, but if the concept of Tatsumi outliving her by thousands of years came to mind, you would see how that could change a girl's mind when everything was considered in full.

As Makoto shared his Father's genes, his Incursio Gene, then he could too live past his biological death if the circumstances were right. But his mother could not, for Esdeath was another creature entirely than the one Tatsumi was slowly growing into.

The reason why Makoto's Incursio could not evolve, were because the Tatsumi of his time, his departed Father had already devoured the evolutions that Tyrant had provided and then devoured the Dragon itself as a reward for its assistance.

His fated death had come, only because he had neglected to use Incursio in the fight for the Capital, as it had been carefully hidden away at their family home.

A mistake, this Tatsumi would not repeat so easily.

Makoto's arrival in the past had changed a number of things. Along with the life of his Father and his development, originally, he did not experience the adaptive changes until the age of twenty-four but now he was growing at a rate unprecedented. This was because of Tatsumi's awakened parental instincts, driving a need for power in the boy's mind, to protect and defend his son.

Tyrant stepped in, to provide and Tatsumi took what he could get, without looking back. Combined with the intense combat training he had begun, his natural fortitude and his mental trauma. Tatsumi was the Alpha and the Omega of evolution, Nouken had already reached his peak. He would not progress, evolve or adapt. He was a man that preferred things to stay as they were, as he preferred them to be.

Whilst Tatsumi was constantly moving forwards, without pause.

Tatsumi adapted to change, able to fit himself into any tight space that he was put into. Having indomitable willpower and a good heart, to boot. It was a goddamn miracle that Tatsumi had been able to acquire this mind-blowing ability, and not Nouken himself.

The writer, however, doubts that General Nouken would've been able to recognize or put these abilities to good use either way, so there's always that to be had.

Tatsumi himself had only begun to realize these sudden changes when he began his life with Esdeath. From something as crazy as his dick becoming a weapon of mass destruction, quite hilariously. Or to something so important as his body's durability increasing drastically from a near-total collapse of his skeleton's frame.

Tatsumi knew one thing in the madness of it all, and that was even with all of this power in his hands.

He would always be at the mercy of the Ice Queen, and her designs for him.

As free as his body could make him, he would not be able to break himself forcefully loose from the hold she had put him under. A sense of suffocation surrounded him, a feeling he had been temporarily freed of. An experience he did not want to relive, as shown by his ultimatum. To be enslaved, controlled and drowned in a sea of twisted love, that was Tatsumi's fate that she intended for him.

It wasn't all bad, in the logical sense, history was written by the winners. Despite Esdeath's and his own war crimes, they'd be seen officially, at least, as heroes of the Empire when they were no longer in the world, and their children would be seen as members of a proud brave lineage of warriors, hunters and Military Leaders.

Gifted with powers beyond humanity, bodies that would not succumb to the frailties of humans and an unstoppable innate drive to succeed.

And while Esdeath's Demon Extract may no linger across the generations, as the blood purity died out. Tatsumi's adaptive biology, gifted to his descendants would do.

Ensuring that every last one of their children and their children's own children would be born with power absolute, woven in their very veins and flesh.

Until the end of time itself.

As unlikely as it was, the bloodline of Tatsumi and Esdeath could easily fade out like any other. But with such abilities at their disposal, it'd be far fetched to say that this was the only fate that awaited them.

And by the dawn of the next day, the Capital's streets were filled with celebration by the Imperial supporters of the Empire. Parties in the streets and local communities, shopkeepers took this moment to put on special offers for their various wares and Imperial Nobles invited their distant relatives to banquets. Honest had tried to convince Esdeath to join in with the celebrations, but she had refused.

She even refused to partake in the ball that had been long-planned and stalled, and since she was the guest of honour for her role in finally putting the rebellion down, it could not go ahead without her taking part in it.

It would seem like for Honest to put the ball on, Tatsumi and Makoto would need to be found by the Ice Queen first.

In his short observations of the woman, it'd seem like she had been disconnected from reality when she was not conducting business. As shown when she left the meeting hall when they were finished. Esdeath's facial expression became a blank sheet of emptiness, she even stopped breathing openly, and the way she walked was borderline robotic in its nature.

Devoid of emotion, and as much as he hated to admit it. Keeping Tatsumi around, also provided a good set of benefits, too.

Just as soon as the boy didn't overstep himself when it came to his lot in life, Honest would not allow him to become a problem for his rule.

Thanks to the speedy delivery of the Imperial Postal service, Esdeath's day was plenty busy. Wave's letter of resignation was on her desk, by noon. She had read it thoroughly, and it, as predicted, informed her that Kurome was living with Wave at the moment in time.

It contained no information on the whereabouts of Tatsumi, but she already correctly assumed that he had left with Wave and Night Raid.

The letter was all of the proof that she needed, and now she could happily hop to ensuring that everyone Wave had originally wanted to keep safe as apart of his deal with the Ice Queen in exchange for his service in her Jaegers, would meet only the very gruesomest of deaths at her hands. So, in a way, she was celebrating herself. And by the afternoon, Esdeath had sent a few of her Death Squads to the homes and houses of those very people, intending to drag them away from their precious lives and to the Imperial Palace to be tortured.

She would deal with the leaders of the Revolutionary Army when she had a proper mind to do it. Esdeath was perfectly fine with performing at a subpar rate, with Wave's friends but she would not tolerate being a sloppy mess with the very people that she also blamed for the fact, at this moment in time, she was not carrying Tatsumi's baby inside herself.

They'd feel a vengeance like no other could, for they had callously ruined her plans and destroyed the clear open path to her one true desire.

A Mother's Vengeance.

Usual Author's note, ahead. I decide to base Tatsumi's adaptive ability on Alex Mercer's from the 2009 Video Game [PROTOTYPE] since I quite like the irony that Tatsumi's body had become so powerful, that not even Tyrant could subvert him anymore. I also wanted to play with power a bit, with Tatsumi having the potential to surpass Esdeath.

(Which he won't, in the fic's time, at least.) Aside from always having Esdeath being portrayed as she was, I intend to keep her on the top of the Pecking Order for the entire fic.

Anyway, I came up with the idea that Tatsumi's body is now a weapon of its own, when I realized that Tatsumi can't always have Incursio with him and therefore is prone to harm without it. It's no fun for the reader if they have to sit through chapters upon chapters of Tatsumi's ass getting handed to him, is it?

(Unless it's by Esdeath, that shit is always fun to write.)

Anyhow, expect the next chapter soon. I'll try at least to at least release it within' ten days or five days of this one's release, so you don't have to wait that long whilst keeping them at 13K words, each for length and enjoyment.

Thanks! And please rate and review, at your leisure! (I'll be editing the chapter for at least a few days after it's release, to improve on it.)