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The Demon's Fate

Everyone, including Najenda, turns to Zero to face him. His complete appearance shows no form of regret or anything similar.

Lubbock again cannot restrain himself and storms against the iron bars to furiously strike at them. "You are one of her pets and sold yourself to us as a friend?! When I-..." he shouts hatefully into the cell. His voice continues to resound muffled in the corridors of the dungeon.

Leone pulls him jerkily back with one hand on his shoulder. "If you are her slave, why did you come to us?!" she calls into the cell next. Zero doesn't seem very impressed in any sense.

Susanoo steps forward and this time he pulls the angry Leone away from the cell. "Why are you leading an attack against your own hometown?" he asks in a serious voice and with stern eyes.

"As revenge." Zero replies short while staring at the floor. Many different and also contradictory emotions can be heard in his voice, but they cannot check his face.

"Zero works for Esdeath... Our worst enemy..." thinks Tatsumi. His body seems to be frozen and immobile by the shock.

"You work for that whore?! You should-..." Mine says as upset as her friends at the bars.

"Be killed!" Lubbock ends her sentence. He came back to shout at him from the bars with Leone and Mine. Meanwhile Susanoo makes sure that they don't go too far and maybe storm into the cell.

"No, he shouldn't." Najenda disagrees, causing the three of them to turn to her with a look over their shoulder. Clearly overwhelmed by their inflamed rage.

"Why not?! A traitor deserves nothing else!" Lubbock clarifies energetically. The ladies next to him definitely agree with him by their teeth grinding and nodding.

Najenda turns her attention back to Zero and tries to read his current state. "Because he acts as the perfect hostage. As long as he is in our hands, Esdeath cannot do anything thoughtless." she calmly explains, causing her listeners to let go of the bars and take a loud step back.

Akame and Chelsea, because of their past experiences, are best at restraining themselves and stand by together with Tatsumi, who, unlike the others, is completely depressed and down. Akame puts one hand on his back and caresses him gently and Chelsea puts her hand on Tatsumi's left shoulder.

"And what will you do? Think Esdeath couldn't do without me?" Zero asks suddenly out of nowhere as the entire situation relaxes. He continues to turn his face toward the cold, stone floor, because a small trace of sadness has escaped his voice.

Najenda summons Akame, Tatsumi and Chelsea with a short nod of her head towards them, so that now everyone is standing directly in front of the cell. "You will stay here and be guarded until Esdeath starts to negotiate." she answers him. This answer is also a statement for the others.

"Esdeath should enter into negotiations..." Zero repeats quietly, yet understandably. "Kill..." His already dark aura is intensified by an unexpected eerie laugh. "Murder..." The painful and yet gloomy laughter is repeated several times by the echo and burns into the ears of the Night Raid members.

After a short look at him, they turn around and leave the prisoner's room through the narrow corridor one after the other. Meanwhile the laughter changes more and more into a dark giggle. As the last one with a clear distance between them, Tatsumi enters the corridor sadly, but can't help looking back. He notices a single tear falling to the ground and bursting before he finally pulls himself together and leaves the dungeon.

Esdeath walks with Run at her side through the center of the capital. "All tasks are done, General Esdeath. What do we do now?" asks Run, who walks two steps behind her.

Meanwhile, she looks around attentively as if she hadn't heard him or at least is ignoring him right now.

"Are you still looking for him, General?" he suddenly asks. The fear that he might upset her exists, but he dares to ask this question nevertheless.

Esdeath now gazes blankly at the ground, her cap hanging low over her face again. "I have this feeling that we will see each other again soon." she replies with an equally empty tone and a coldness that matches her reputation as the Ice Queen.

"General, may I ask why you treated Wave so hard?"

Esdeath allows a few seconds of silence. "He deserved it, I also held back." she answers. Furthermore, she doesn't even glance back to look directly at Run.

Run sighs briefly because of her answer and also starts to look around. He notices a quick shadow as he looks to one of the higher houses. "General..."

"Any noticeable activities lately?" she asks and interrupts him on purpose."For example through Night Raid?" she adds to let Run know that she knows about the spies.

Run understands her secret answer immediately. "No, it is still quiet around Night Raid. But the unrest caused by Wild Hunt is increasing." he answers with a sigh, because Wild Hunt has caused an enormous nervous strain among the Jaegers' members in the last few days.

At the same moment, an adult, bearded man suddenly runs towards them panting. The man does not pay any attention to Esdeath and Run and tries to disappear as fast as he can. He bumps into Run, who just manages not to fall over.

"What's going on now?" Run asks and looks at the unknown man in surprise. Esdeath, on the other hand, looks attentively in the other direction, where he came from, to see possible causes.

Suddenly, she pulls Run quickly towards her and an x-shaped cut flies past them at high speed. It hits the runner right in the middle of his body and cuts him in four parts. After a big splash of blood, which it quickly spreads on the court, the body parts fall simultaneously into the red puddle.

All inhabitants in the surrounding area run away immediately after the first drop of blood and therefore cause a big chaos. A short time later, only Esdeath and Run stand alone on the big street. "Speak of the devil..." Esdeath says in a somewhat annoyed voice.

Shortly after, all six members of Wild Hunt come from the direction of the attack. "Oh, General Esdeath, you are here too?" Syura asks, walking ahead as leader of his troop.

"The teigu Shamshir, which can cut the wind. That was you, wasn't it?" Esdeath asks, completely uninterested by Syura. The sword in Enshin's hand caught her eye immediately. Her cold gaze, which perfectly presents her temper and presence, is directed at all members of the newly formed group.

Enshin nods briefly, causing his long tongue to swing in the wind as he bows. "Correct, General. Apparently I hit well, too." he replies with a disparaging and at the same time proud look at the blood-soaked body parts.

Run remains quietly behind Esdeath and stays out of the conversation. "How can they still walk around carefree?" he thinks to himself, but shows no sign of his resentment.

Without further talk, Esdeath turns around and distances herself from the troop at a moderate speed. Run also doesn't stay a second longer than he has to and joins her after a few steps.

Syura looks after them with a confident grin, but his gaze is mainly focused on Esdeath. "She really is as stunning as they say." says Izou, realizing that his leader is looking behind her. He himself remains quietly behind with a short twig in his mouth.

"Soon she will also lie at my feet." Syura answers still confidently. "We leave." he announces and disappears with his group from the scene. The dead body of the adult together with his blood is left behind.

"When I get him back, I'll leave you to him." Esdeath promises herself. The wish that Zero will return soon would be fulfilled by force if necessary.

Akame waits silently at the opposite wall and looks into the barely lit cell. Zero continues not to look for eye contact and she has accepted it as well. The others have already removed him from their life and see him now only as an enemy.

Next to his cell door stands a half-full bottle of water, which is for the present guard. "Have you been successful yet?" Zero asks from nowhere. He risks a short glance to Akame, who stares attentively in his direction.

Akame can recognize only one half of his face in the darkness. Because of his pale skin color and his shimmering, blood-red eyes he looks very scary, almost demon-like. She does not answer his question and shows no reaction that this will change in the near future.

Several days have already passed since the imprisonment. During this time Zero has paid attention to the smallest details and information and knows for example the order of the guards by heart. His former allies have agreed on a fixed plan, which only changes slightly in exceptional cases.

Akame puts her katana back into its place and slowly leaves the cell room. "Here comes Leone again..." Zero thinks as he looks after Akame. He hears an unintelligible whisper, which he can easily identify as Akame and unexpectedly Tatsumi enters the narrow corridor. In his hand is Incursios silver sword with its black contours.

He steps forward to the cell room and looks silently through the gray bars. Zero also looks back without comment, creating a tense atmosphere in the room where only the breath of the two can be heard.

"He never came this close." says Zero. He has no intention of starting a forced conversation with Tatsumi.

Tatsumi's head leans down so that he looks down at the cold and dusty floor. "Why...?" he says in a low voice. He raises his head slightly, hoping that Zero will answer him.

"What do you want, Tatsumi?"

Zero's answer creates hope in Tatsumi that he can finally talk to him. With renewed courage, he steps right up to the bars and holds a steel rod in each hand. "Why did you... work with her?" the owner of the Demon Armor Incursio asks with a few pauses for breath in between.

Zero's first reaction is a short laugh, which disappears just as quickly as it appeared. "That's nobody's business..." he replies. His stubborn tone creates the impression that Zero will not reveal anything.

"It is my business!" Tatsumi shouts surprisingly loud. His echo thunders several times through the corridors of the dungeon.

His loud rage surprises Zero very much, because he knows Tatsumi as a rather restrained person. Such an offensive leaves him speechless at first, so he doesn't answer.

"Please..." he adds after a few seconds. His impulsiveness has completely disappeared again.

"Why?" asks Zero. He is currently trying not to show any emotions towards him, with success.

Tatsumi looks at him with tears at the edge of his eyes. "I want to hear your side... I saw the tear." he answers him.

The last part causes a little shock on Zero. "It's better this way, Tatsumi." he says with complete neutrality. His lack of sleep because of the tight chains can be seen in his eyes and his posture. "For all of you."

Tatsumi can't be satisfied with this answer. He unlocks the heavy steel door with his keys and steps inside. The door is locked again by the current guard and he comes forward until he stops right in front of Zero's eyes. "I-... I don't want to lose another friend." he says. His honesty is evident in his appearance.

"You still see me as a friend?" questions Zero. He is aware that Tatsumi would be the only one who wouldn't give him up and could show it clearly.

"I think you also accepted us as friends. So, yes." Tatsumi answers and looks into Zero's red eyes with a determined look. A faint sparkle can be seen in his green pair of eyes.

Zero gives himself defeat and lets his head hang down, which interrupts the eye contact. "If you are my friend, then you of all people should find out, Tatsumi." he says, now with a disappointed tone. His fake emotionlessness has vanished.

This leaves Tatsumi speechless this time. He is overstrained as he tries to remember all the conversations with Zero. Nothing seems plausible for him.

"Remember when I said I never lied?" he says and refers to his answer several days ago. "That's not true... I lied to Leone once." Zero says to give him a little hint.

Tatsumi thinks "Leone and Zero... When did they talk to each other?" and tries to recognize any signs of Zero's body posture. "And why should I find out?" He concludes that Zero must have some trust at least in him, so he doesn't want to blow it.

Zero slowly counts down the time in his head. "So don't!" he thinks impatiently. Tatsumi's reflection time and his obvious helplessness disturbs him enormously after the loud announcements. Since he can't move his arms, he takes a swing and gives Tatsumi a powerful head butt right into his face.

The recoil immediately throws Tatsumi to the ground, so that he falls quite hard on his butt. Tatsumi quickly checks his nose and notices that he is bleeding moderately. "What was that for?! Why always my n-..." Tatsumi shouts angrily after he quickly gets back on his feet. However, he breaks his question abruptly, because suddenly a memory shoots through his head. His blood drips undisturbed onto the cracked stone floor and fills the small crevices.

Zero's rage can be seen in his eyes, which look like blood-soaked rubies with a hateful glow. Some traces of blood can be seen through the collision on his forehead.

"Leone had asked you for a girlfriend..." Tatsumi whispers in a low voice. With eyes wide open, he waits anxiously for an answer. "Don't tell me, you... and Esdeath-..." he adds, but can hardly finish his own sentence because of fear.

Zero only now notices that he has involuntarily given Tatsumi another hint with the headbutt. Tatsumi's correct conclusion makes his inner hatred disappear and he now looks into Tatsumi's eyes with his pride and self-confidence. "Yes, it is true. I love Esdeath." he replies and clearly stands behind his honest feelings.

Tatsumi almost falls into a state of shock. "W-Why? H-how long?" he stutters heavily with a motionless body. His words are hard to understand.

"Since the first time I met her."

Tatsumi remains in complete paralysis. His face shows several emotions at the same time, some of them contradicting each other. "How?! How can you love someone like her?!" he cries with flowing tears. "You know exactly what she destroyed!" Both of his hands are clenched to firm fists, but he wants to hold back.

"And you don't know what she did for me!" shouts Zero to Tatsumi. It's the first time that he puts off his facade so much. "She's the only one who ever loved me!" Small traces of tears are forming in Zero's eyes as well.

Tatsumi is frozen by Zero's outburst of emotion. His tears don't seem to want to stop. "She is our enemy!" he cries again and finally hits Zero in the stomach with a fist. "Why her?!"

The punch causes more pain than expected because Zero is in a bad physical condition due to the imprisonment. But with heavy breathing he is able to rattle together again. "She took me in... Offered me her protection... And looked for me for months..." he answers. He has to take several breaks, so that he can catch his breath. "Not even... my parents... did... that..." he continues. The first tear flows down his face.

A calm forms in the cell. Tatsumi recognizes the clear heartache in Zero's voice and face. "What do you mean by that?" Tatsumi can't help but ask.

"My parents... No, my village hated me..." Zero begins his story. He looks at the ground to hide his emotions as best he can. "I was never a part of them... They also took me prisoner, banished me-..." he continues with a tearful voice. Sometimes he sobs or breathes heavily in the middle of it.

The tears increase in the meantime and burst in a constant rhythm on the grey, bare and dusty stone surface of the cell floor. Tatsumi equals him with the number of tears. His nice character forces him to cut Zero's handcuffs with Incursio's sword to hug him tightly afterwards. "I never knew about this..." Tatsumi whispers. His own head on the shoulder of the other. "Is there no other way...?"

Zero also actively participates in the brotherly embrace. "I don't think so." he replies quietly. He recognizes his chance with his freed arms and quickly strikes Tatsuki's side with a violent elbow, which he cannot avoid under any circumstances. While Tatsumi writhes in pain on the floor, Zero heats the chains on his ankle cuffs and manages to bend them apart with his hands. This causes burn marks of varying intensity on his palms. With the cuffs and half chains on his legs he takes Tatsumi's key from his belt, steps out of the cell and locks it from the outside.

"W-W-Why-...?"

The now free carrier of the demon blood drops the keychain. It hits the floor with a metal jingling sound. "I have three things to pursue... Whether with or without you." he says and disappears with surprising speed in the dark corridor. "See you soon." it sounds barely audible to Tatsumi, even though Zero is long gone.

Tatsumi remains huddled on the floor. During the fall he also hit his head and therefore bleeds slightly from the side. He crawls to the heavy door and notices when pressing it that it was not closed properly in the hurry. Tatsumi can still push it open and, breathing heavily, get up to sit. He repeats "Three things..." several times in his mind. "What do you mean...?" Tatsumi thinks and rests on the cold wall to let oxygen flow through his lungs.

He gets up with difficulty by helping himself up the wall. " We will meet, hopefully..." Tatsumi gasps and walks shakily the way out of the now finally abandoned dungeon.

Author's Note:

This time a week earlier. You can think of it as the second part of chapter eight. It takes part directly after it.

I hope you all enjoy reading and a little announcement: I want chapter ten to be something special.