Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!
A/N: Yosh! We've reached yet another chapter in the Down a Different Branch installment, and rather early at that! Probably would've been longer like last time, but I not only had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but decided to depart from my usual writing standards. Initially, I had intended for this and the next chapter to be one chapter. But as I was typing it, I realized that it was going to be yet another 20,000+ word chapter. Thus, I decided to split them up. I'm just about done with the next chapter, so hopefully that'll be out by next week, easily meeting my January fanfic quota! Before we get started, just a few housekeeping matters to address:
#1. As always, thanks for the follows, favorites and reviews folks! I could've easily made this a Tatsumi x Chelsea fic, but Esdeath is numero uno in my eyes, so that's not gonna happen! Nonetheless, I hope to give Chelsea more emphasis than she received in the original story.
#2. Speaking of the original story, I read the latest chapter of Akame Ga Kill. Seems Wave and Kurome have finally tied the knot so to speak. It was a cute moment in my opinion, but way too anticlimactic and too convenient of a solution (oh hey, we're just gonna defect from the Empire!). I expect the same for the final battle with Esdeath as well as this subplot with Tatsumi slowly turning into a dragon (oh hey there, looks like I don't have to become a dragon because I've suddenly figured out a way to stop that from happening that has in no way been alluded to up until this point, so say goodbye to any tension previously established with this subplot!).
Moreover, it cheapens Akame's personal arc with her sister significantly. I've never really understood the motivation behind the Akame and Kurome's conflict. In the latest chapter, Kurome more or less says that it's because she doesn't want the deaths of her previous comrades to be in vain, but it's just a weak motivation to want to go as far as killing her own sister, who she loves more than anyone else in the world. Same goes for Akame wanting to kill Kurome more than anyone else. I don't buy it and the author never gave us a solid reason for this desire.
Wave getting Run's imperial armor was an interesting twist, but ultimately pointless and didn't go anywhere. All he did was get like a 5 second skirmish with Tatsumi and then he was done.I also cringed a bit in a previous chapter when Esdeath was talking about the upcoming battles she was looking forward. I notice she mentions Akame's name before Tatsumi's. Wish the author knew who the main character was. *sigh*
Honestly, I think the author is just getting tired of this series and is going out of his way to tie up all loose ends. I'd probably do the same if I were him.
Anywho, enough ranting! On with the chapter!
Updated 1/18/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.
Episode 20: Kill the General
Four years ago, long before Tatsumi had ever stepped foot in the Grand Empire's capital, Budo had stood patiently on the grounds near Mt. Fake, as if he were waiting for someone. It was the crack of dawn and there was not a single other person in sight. That is until Esdeath stepped foot onto the scene.
"Good morning, old man", said the Ice Queen, the mock politeness in her voice ever clear.
Budo turned his attention to the woman, acknowledging her presence with a scowl. "Pity that our country has been reduced to such a low that someone would actually make you a general."
To which Esdeath smirked. "What can I say? The prime minister appears to have an eye for quality. Fortunately for you, so do I or else I'd never even consider wasting my time on something like this."
"For the most part, this is a waste of time. Right now, I could be teaching real soldiers. Soldiers actually dedicated to protecting our country. Not glory-seeking brats who are in desperate need of a comeuppance."
She laughed before unsheathing her rapier and pointing it at the burly general. "Teaching? Is that what you think you're about to do?"
He cracked his knuckles. "Challenging me to a duel was a foolish decision. One I'll make certain you learn the consequences of."
Hearing such a proclamation excited Esdeath to no end, the look on her face filled to the brim with a lust for battle.
[. . . Is that . . . Tatsumi? . . .]
In the present, Tatsumi stood firm at the center of the cavern hall, resolutely glaring at Budo with his luminescent crimson eyes. A sight which the great general was a bit taken aback by. The demeanor this assassin was displaying was what could only be described as . . . otherworldly. Just looking at him felt like looking at a ravenous ultra-class danger beast. "No, that last attack should've killed him. Perhaps I underestimated him, but it's too unlikely for him to have much fight left."
Without letting another moment pass, Budo ran towards his adversary yet again, his right fist clenched as tight as he could manage. "I'll finish you right here." He swarmed in on the Incursio weilder, preparing to deliver the coup de grace. But just before the great general got within striking range, his eyes widened upon realization of something, causing him to quickly leap back and away from his younger adversary.
Tatsumi remained still and composed, glaring at his opponent with his otherworldly eyes, not having yet made a single move. "What's wrong?", he asked, his voice ever so calm, direct and certain.
A slight bead of sweat rolled down the general's head as he stood back and observed his red eyed adversary standing there so boldly. "Had I attacked him just now, he would've surely run me through. In that case . . ." Without delay, he once again manifested his black rock like armor as well as a rock-like mace in both hands.
Tatsumi began to walk towards his opponent, still calm and still certain. The look he had in his eyes. It was almost as if he felt the outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion. Nothing like the way he was behaving before. Not remotely similar. Budo merely stood his ground, preferring that his adversary make the first move so that he could gain a better grasp of whatever new abilities the younger warrior had acquired. And as Tatsumi got closer, the great general clenched his maces ever tighter, preparing to counter-attack at any moment.
But that moment never came, much to the general's surprise. For rather than engage Budo, Tatsumi simply walked right past him, instead opting to walk towards Chelsea, who was still bound in the general's geokinetically controlled clay mound.
With but one quick one-handed swipe from his spear, the clay mound crumbled in half and Chelsea was free from its restraints without a scratch on her. She rose to her feet and dusted herself off. She then looked into her companion's eyes, somewhat startled by them. "What happened to you?"
A question the Incursio wielder didn't answer, instead back around to face Budo. "Stay back for now. This won't take long."
Chelsea immediately felt herself wanting to speak up. To express her skepticism towards her companion's sentiment and how it was unwise to take a general of the Grand Empire so lightly. But for some reason she couldn't explain, she found herself unable to mouth any words. This Tatsumi was so much different from the one she had come to know. She had not yet even witnessed him fight yet, but there was some small part of her that felt he could accomplish anything his heart desired. She thus instead merely stood there, watching her fellow assassin's back as he calmly treaded back towards Budo.
The burly general narrowed his eyes at his approaching adversary. "His aura . . . it's on a completely different level now."
As soon as Tatsumi was within a few yards of Budo, he stopped and slipped into an appropriate one-handed combat stance, twirling his spear around before holding it in a direction where the tip of blade faced its target. And Budo suit, adopting a stance appropriate for dual-wielding maces. They then stood there in silence, perhaps a full minute having passed as they both remained in their respective positions without budging an inch.
"It's unwise to be too hasty against an opponent you know nothing about, but the same can be said about hesitation, right?", Tatsumi said, referencing the comment Budo had made earlier.
"Hmph. Cheeky brat"
The two continued standing there for another thirty seconds. Then, just as a single drop of water dripped from one of the stalactites on ceiling, Tatsumi commenced a one-handed thrusted towards Budo's head. A move which the general responded to by parrying the thrust with the mace in his left hand and counter-attacking with a downward swipe from the mace in his right.
Tatsumi's response was swift; he deflected the general's attack with the bottom half of his spear's shaft. Then, in one fluid motion, he swiftly tumbled over the older warrior's head, slicing at his collarbone while in mid-air.
"Not good enough . . ." Budo yelled, interrupted by a burning whip-like sensation in his back. He immediately turned around, only to see Tatsumi standing there with a small trickle of blood on the tip of his spear. The Night Raid assassin had apparently slashed him across the back before landing on the ground behind him. A realization that made Budo leap backward several feet, only to then rub one of his hands around his back to get a sense of how deep the cut was.
"Just as I thought", Tatsumi noted, imperturbably observing his opponent. "It doesn't really make sense for the chink in your armor to be in one specific place when you have such control over earth. You were able to create your second mace on the fly, so why wouldn't you be able to strengthen your defenses around your collarbone? But then that raises a question. Why should you even need to strengthen your defenses in any particular area? Why must there be any weak points? That's when it hit me: Your Imperial Arm requires concentration; you aren't able to concentrate in a way where your defenses are absolute, so wherever you are really concentrating is where your defenses will be at their strongest. Or to put it another way, wherever you aren't really concentrating is where your chink is. That sound about, right?"
Were one able to see beneath Budo's rock-like helmet, they'd know the answer to his question; the great general was gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes as much as he could. Sure enough, as he rubbed one of his hands over his back, he felt a long crack in his supposedly impenetrable armor. The crack wasn't deep and only resulted in a flesh wound on the general's back, but it still aggravated him nonetheless.
Chelsea appeared to be perplexed. "What's going on here? He's not usually that perceptive."
Suddenly, additional black dust emerged from the ground, incrementally filling in the crack that Tatsumi had just created. Then, with a fierce wave of his hand, Budo manifested multiple boulders from the ground, each the size of a horse. Then, with great fury, he geokinetically hurled them all in the younger warrior's direction. With no difficulty expressed, however, Tatsumi sliced through each boulder one by one.
Budo, however, wasn't deterred by this. Rather, he increased the tempo, gradually firing more and more boulders at increasingly higher intervals. He also began to include sharp orichalchum concentrated jagged rocks into the mix. But the Incursio wielder continued to deflect the full assortment of projectiles being launched in his , with another fierce wave of his hand, four orichalchum enforced walls, each twenty feet in height and length, raised up out of the ground around Tatsumi and speedily began to close in on him. Clearly an effort to crush him. Tatsumi quickly leaped into the air, above the reach of the walls.
Just as Tatsumi rose above them, the walls stopped. The assassin then looked up above, only to see Budo in the air as well. He was no longer wielding two orichalchum-enforced rock-like maces. Rather, he was now wielding a sizable orichalchum enforced war hammer, holding its make-shift handle with both hands. With all of his might, he swung the hammer down towards his adversary. A move which Tatsumi responded to by holding out the shaft of his spear, blocking the attack in the process. Even so, there was so much force behind Budo's strike, that Tatsumi still ended up being slammed into the ground below.
Though the great general wasn't done yet. He dispersed his hammer, instead forming a massive orichalchum enforced boulder in his hands, at least the size of an elephant. He mustered up every ounce of his strength and hurled the boulder down into the ground below him as if it were a falling meteorite, so much so that it created a substantial crater as it crashed onto the cave floor.
Budo then landed next to the boulder lodged into the ground. Were it any other opponent, he would surely return to his normal state and consider his mission complete. But he wasn't just dealing with any opponent. This was an opponent who had kept getting back up, even when he otherwise ought to have died. Such an opponent was not one to underestimate. And with good reason.
Within a fraction of a second, the great general could hear the slight sound of a spear whiffing towards the back of his head. He instantly hardened his helmet with greater intensity, manifested his orichalchum enforced war hammer back into his hands and swung around in a 180 degree arc hoping to catch his adversary off guard. Though what he hit was nothing short of thin air, for Tatsumi had already ducked, simultaneously slashing at both of the general's legs with a quick horizontal swipe.
Budo felt another unexpected surge of pain, but did his best to ignore it, instead opting to swing his war hammer down towards his adversary. But to his own regret, his movements weren't quick enough, for Tatsumi had already leapt out of the way. Instead, he once again stood across from the great general, glaring at him with his otherworldly red eyes.
"He's gotten so much faster", Budo thought, glancing at the blood seeping down his rock-armor clad thighs.
With but a thought, the burly general dispersed his war hammer, manifesting his two rock-like maces once again. He then viciously rushed towards his adversary, launching another flurry of well-timed swipes with his two deadly weapons. Oddly enough though, Tatsumi did not even bother to block or parry any of his swipes this time, instead simply avoiding each and every blow with pure dexterous body movement. It was a series of repeatedly ducking, dodging and swaying to the side, all of which the young warrior appeared to perform effortlessly.
Budo snarled beneath his helmet. Just the thought of this child having so quickly gone from being nothing to seemingly making sport of the older and more experienced warrior was enough to make his blood boil. He followed up with a vicious thrust with the mace in his right hand, but Tatsumi leaped above the general's head and landed a few yards behind him while the attack was still in mid-motion, causing the general to again strike nothing but air.
The burly general speedily turned around, audibly snarling. "That brat intentionally severed some of the tendons in my legs to slow me down. At this rate . . ." With another fierce gesture of his hands, Budo fired off another set of boulders and jagged rocks. All of which Tatsumi evaded entirely with pure athleticism.
As Budo continued to fire, a thought occurred to him. "It's as if the more we fight, the more he adapts to everything, from my fighting style to the way I use my imperial arm. Is this the demon armor's true power?"
Tatsumi kept dodging, incrementally moving closer and closer as he evaded the numerous projectiles. He firmly held his spear in his right hand, the killing intent in his glowing red eyes beyond clear.
"That has to be it", the great general surmised. "There's no other explanation for how he can adapt to everything so readily. In that case . . ." At that moment, Budo ceased firing the numerous boulders and jagged rocks. Instead, he bent his knees and curled both of his arms into a posture similar to one people would use to curl weights or perform pullups. Then, without notice, the ground began violently shaking once more like it did near the beginning of the battle. Only this time, rather than create additional armor, all sorts of jagged orichalchum enforced rocks began flying throughout the room like snow in a harsh snow storm; the jagged rocks were all coming out the ground, the walls and the ceilings.
Tatsumi immediately ceased pressing forward, weaving his head to the side as one of the jagged orichalchum-enforced rocks unexpectedly came flying in his direction. Though he remained composed, Tatsumi nonetheless rubbed an index finger across his exposed cheek, only to notice a smidgen of blood.
Feeling that he once again had the upper hand, Budosmirked beneath his rock-like helmet at the sight of this. "That's right boy. You may have adapted to my fighting style, but let's see how well you adapt to objects randomly flying at you from angles even I have no knowledge of. And with my armor as malleable as it is, I don't have to worry about getting caught in the crossfire."
Projectiles were now raining throughout the room in every direction. Chelsea quickly moved herself to a safe distance within the cavern passage immediately outside the grand hall. She gazed back towards the battle to see what had become of her companion, but was astonished at what she saw. Despite the situation he was in, he appeared to be handling himself pretty well. Evasion no longer seemed to be an effortless process on his part as he was once again using his spear as a tool for deflection, but he was avoiding and deflecting every attack.
A fact which didn't seem to deter Budo. "An admirable effort, but you can't keep this up forever. No one can and there's nothing to adapt to."
Budo watched the boy's display attentively, waiting for the moment he'd slip up and make a mistake. But as he continued to watch his adversary's dexterous movements, for one reason or another, thoughts of Esdeath began flashing his mind. But why were such thoughts clouding his head at the moment? What did she have to do with anything?
In addition to dodging and deflecting the orichalchum enforced rocks hurling in his direction, Tatsumi started to do something else; amidst his display of superb athleticism, he began speedily circling around his opponent in a 360 degree arc.
"What is this boy up to?", Budo thought, narrowing his eyes.
For an entire minute, Tatsumi, leaped, ducked, dodged and deflected projectiles all while circling around Budo. The general observed him diligently, waiting on him to make a mistake or reveal what he was attempting to accomplish. But as he kept his eyes peeled, he started noticing something. Moving in the exact same fashion was a faint image of Esdeath. The image was enveloped around the young man and its movements were in complete sync with his, right down to where they held their weapons, Tatsumi's spear in his right hand and the Ice Queen's rapier in hers.
General Budo watched this sight, this seeming apparition with the utmost astonishment. "Am I going mad? What is the meaning of this?"
Within another minute of these rotation, the Incursio wielder made his move. Mid-movement, he hurled his spear straight towards Budo's back. Sensing the younger warrior behind him, the great general smirked beneath his helmet rather confidently. "So that was your plan? While I'm focused on keeping various parts of my armor hard enough to survive my own random attacks, you'll hit whatever area you suspect I'm not immediately guarding and finish me off. Fool. All I have to do is focus most of my concentration on my back only for a brief moment and then you'll have thrown your weapon away for nothing." And so he did just that.
The spear was just about to collide into Budo's back. However, a brief instant before it could do this, Budo noticed a multitude of jagged orichalchum enforced rocks hurling towards his chest and stomach. His eyes widened in shock; he realized he had focused too much concentration into improving the defenses on his back and was sure to be impaled in the front if he didn't act quickly.
Showcasing an amazing level of reaction speed, Budo turned around 180 degrees, causing the jagged rocks to hit and deflect off of his super-concentrated hardened back. Then, just in the nick of time, the great general simultaneously used his left hand to knock the spear away, up into the air, presumably in the hopes of lodging it in a cumbersome place to reach such as the cave's ceiling.
But at that precise moment, beneath his rock based helmet, a look of despair appeared on Budo's face. Despair born as the result of a startling realization. He instantly understood the reason he had been stirred with sudden thoughts of Esdeath. This last phase with this assassin was exactly how their battle played out four years ago. He immediately recalled the Ice Queen circling him in the exact same fashion after she had forced him to rely upon using projectiles that launched at random intervals. He recalled how she threw her ice-enhanced rapier at his back amidst circling him. He recalled how he was forced into a position to deflect the weapon into the air using his hands. And he recalled . . . how she had leaped into the air while he was too focused on the jagged rocks and deflecting her rapier, only for her to catch her rapier in midair, land on his shoulders in a crouched position, tap the tip of her rapier on an area that wasn't currently being concentrated on, his collarbone, and yell "Checkmate!"
Before Budo had even realized it, Tatsumi was in the exact same position. Only he didn't settle for tapping the tip of his spear on the general's collarbone. Rather, with every ounce of his might, he drove his weapon down, impaling the mighty general and making sure to puncture through his vital organs. At that very moment, the projectiles ceased flying through the room. Not just that, but Budo's rock-like armor lost form, reverting back into its mineral and soil like state.
Knowing that he was victorious, Tatsumi leapt off the great general, removing his spear as he did so. For it was readily apparent that Budo was in quite a sorry state. A large amount of blood was running out of his mouth and shoulder as he fell to his knees.
And yet despite his condition, the great general merely gazed upon his victorious adversary, dwelling upon him and the previous person to have defeated him. "In all of my years, to think that the only people to have ever bested me in combat were these two . . . wait, these two brats. That's right, THESE two brats."
The truth had finally occurred to Budo. He recalled the meeting he attended weeks ago. The one where Esdeath had revealed her intentions to defeat the Revolutionary Army once and for all. He recalled how she had been drawing a picture of some teenager and how she had showed that picture to him.
"Who is this?", Budo had asked her.
To which Esdeath had cheerfully and sincerely replied. "That is Tatsumi. The man I have decided to eventually share the rest of my life with."
"I see", Budo muttered, back in the present, amidst coughing up blood. "I see why she would choose someone like you."
Tatsumi merely continued to glare upon his defeated opponent with his glowing red eyes "What are you talking about?",
To which the great general continued coughing, clearly at the very end of his life. "It doesn't matter. I'd rather spend my final words on something important. Particularly, what you plan to do with my country."
"I plan to remove its corruption by any means necessary."
Budo looked upon Tatsumi for a few additional moments, gazing deep into his eyes, perhaps the very window's to his soul. Then, to the surprise of both Night Raid members present, he began to laugh aloud. He had been so stern and serious throughout the entire time they had been around him that they couldn't believe his reaction.
"I don't believe you", Budo said, uncharacteristically smiling with sincerity before falling down on his face. Those were his final words before he left this world.
Tatsumi merely stood there, pondering on what his deceased enemy meant. However, those thoughts were soon interrupted, for Chelsea came running up to him, throwing both arms around him and holding him tightly upon getting within reach. He reached out his left arm and wrapped it around her. As he looked down upon his companion, a light smiled appeared on his face. "We did it."
Feeling his arm wrapped around her, Chelsea found herself blushing all of the sudden, her face beet red. Overcome with a sudden sense of shyness, she averted her gaze to the ground. "Tatsumi, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a while now. What . . . what I want to say is that I . . ."
However, she paused, not saying another word. Sensing something strange, she immediately shifted her eyes back up to her companion's face, only to see that he was no longer awake. Despite standing upright in this position, he was completely unconscious. A few additional seconds went by and his Incursio armor vanished, reverting back to its short sword form and falling on the ground.
Chelsea sighed before smiling at the sight of this. "You're really clueless sometimes, aren't you Tatsumi?"
[. . . Chaperones . . .]
Two weeks had passed since the assassination of the late Bestimmung ambassador, Klaus Hartmann. Back within the Grand Empire's capital, whispers fluttered throughout the streets and even the castle halls regarding the circumstances of General Budo's sudden absence. Some suspected he had gone AWOL and joined the Revolutionary Army. Others suspected the Prime Minister had finally had enough of his veiled threats and had finally arranged for his execution But no one knew the truth. Not even General Esdeath.
Even still, she didn't appear to be concerned about such matters. In fact, she had been absent from the capital throughout much of the last two weeks, having returned early in the morning. The first thing she did upon returning was to head to the grave of her late subordinate, Bols, whose death she appeared to already be aware of.
Like with her previous subordinates, the three beasts, she knelled at his grave and placed a bouquet of flowers over it. "It's a pity. You offered me so much invaluable data on pursuing Tatsumi and your bravery was second to none. But in the end, your death makes you worthless. Your death proves you were weak. And I have no use for weak subordinates, Bols. Farewell."
As the Ice Queen stood back up, she could feel a familiar aura approaching her from behind. "What is it, Wave?"
The former navy man rested his hands outsides the pockets of his pants and reverently bowed his head. "Commander. I take full responsibility for Bols' death. Punish me as you see fit."
"Hmmph", she smirked. "You're as plain as day."
Wave rose up from his bowing posture, not sure what to make of this vague comment. "Commander?"
Not remotely upset about Wave's performance in Reispan, Esdeath instead rubbed Wave's head like an older sister comforting an upset younger brother. "You feel guilty because you survived the mission while Bols didn't, so now you want personal-retribution. But survival is not a sin. On the contrary, it is proof of your strength. Being strong is something I will never punish a subordinate for. No, I want you to embrace your strength. Embrace it and use it to avenge Bols' death. Can I count on you to do that?"
Wave felt a hint of uneasiness creeping on his heart as he heard that last two sentences. Was there really anything avenge? He nonetheless shrugged those feelings aside, instead putting on a false smile. "As you wish, commander Esdeath."
Nodding in approval, the Ice Queen removed her hand from his head and smiled. "That's what I like to hear. It won't be long until our final operation. If we are to pull it off without incident, I'll need you at your absolute best."
He boldly nodded his head in response. "You can count on me!"
"Today, however, I have a more pressing assignment for you. Gather the rest of the Jaegars and meet me in the conference room."
"At once", Wave bowed. "But if you don't mind me asking, what's this about?"
A question to which the Ice Queen smirked whimsically. "How would you like to be my chaperone?"
He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled. "Chaperone?"
[. . . Unexpected contingency . . .]
An hour later, elsewhere in the capital, Lubbock was sitting behind the cash register at his bookstore, his eyes attentively pouring over the pages of a manga magazine in his hand. Whatever he was reading, it appeared to cause him a great deal of irritation as soon as he flipped to the last page. "On break 'till summer of next year? After all of these years of waiting, they finally make it to the blasted elf island and the author decides to go on yet another hiatus! This is ridiculous!"
He heard the front door open, likely a customer coming to browse his books, but kept his eyes glued on his magazine. In a rehearsed and clearly disinterested voice, he muttered "Yeah yeah, welcome to Night's bookstore, where 'what goes into a mind comes out in a life. How can I help you?"
"Hello Lubbock", tenderly said a voice that made the green haired assassin nervously jump to his feet.
"Miss Najenda, what are you doing here?!"
Lubbock couldn't believe it, but his commander began to casually approach him with a tender smile on her lips. "What do you think I'm doing here? I'm here to see you of course."
"R-r-r-really?", he nervously stuttered. "You came all of the way up here just to see me?"
"Is that a problem?"
"No. It's not. Never in a million years would that be a problem."
She gently and affectionately caressed his cheek with her real hand, causing Lubbock to fiercely blush. "Then I assume this won't be a problem either."
Lubbock was readily caught off guard by this turn of events. The woman of his deepest affections was leaning in for a kiss. He paused to wonder whether he was dreaming, but quickly decided to make the most of the situation regardless, reciprocating by puckering his lips and closing his eyes.
However, what he felt immediately afterwards weren't the soft and tender lips that he craved, but rather something hard and shell like. He opened his eyes, immediately recognizing that he had just kissed a lobster's claw and that Chelsea had been holding the lobster out in front of him.
The crustacean didn't appear too pleased with Lubbock's face being so close to its claws. It retaliated against him, immediately pinching onto his nose and causing him to yell out in pain. "Get this thing off me!"
"As they say, you should look before you leap!", Chelsea said, giggling mischievously.
"This is so not funny!", he replied, finally prying the little beast off of his face and throwing it into the ground.
Chelsea continued to giggle. "Which part? The lobster or me pretending to be Najenda?"
"Both!", he growled.
"In fairness, you did tell Su you wanted lobster for lunch. All I did was bring it to you."
"How does that excuse the other part? For that matter, how did you even know I had a crush on Miss Najenda."
"You just confirmed it."
"Oh for pete's sake! Is there still anyone in Night Raid who doesn't know about that?"
To which Chelsea scratched her chin, pondering for a moment. "Hmm . . . other than Najenda and Su, if I had to guess, I'd say everyone at least suspects it."
"Wonderful", he said, his words tinted with obvious sarcasm. Not too thrilled with Chelsea's prank, he immediately sat back down with his eyes glued to the magazine he had been reading. "I take it you've got better things to do than mess around with little old me."
"True, I came here to tell you that Najenda wants you all present at the Revolutionary Army main base first thing tomorrow evening. There, the Lord will present you with instructions on the next phase of Night Raid's final operation."
"So there's a second phase", Lubbock said, rubbing his chin. "Interesting. Though you say 'you all present.' Don't you mean 'us'?"
"Najenda has given me a separate assignment. In order to complete it, I'll need to be here in the capital."
"A separate assignment, eh? And none of us have been assigned to assist you?"
She shook her head. "Just me. Besides, if all it takes is a girl batting her eyelashes at you to make you drop your guard, it's all the better you stay behind."
"Hey, there is no one else on the planet, besides Najenda herself, that could have done that!"
Chelsea simply shrugged her shoulders upon hearing this, still amused by her earlier prank. "It's amazing she has no idea that . . ."
But before she could say another word, Lubbock immediately jumped over the counter and swiftly placed his left hand on his fellow Night Raid member's mouth. He next pressed his right index finger against his lips in a perpendicular fashion, signifying the girl to be quiet. Given the urgency of his demeanor, there was clearly a serious matter afoot.
Serious indeed. Two men were approaching the bookstore, about to enter it. Their voices could be heard and they were in the middle of a conversation. The green haired assassin whispered into Chelsea's ear, as if giving her prompt instructions.
"But we're only going to be there until tomorrow. You're not even going to have time to read", one of the men said, turning the front door handle on Lubbock's shop…
"If Tatsumi really lives in some village in the mountains and we're simply going to be there for the sole purpose of reminding the commander when to leave, then there's really not much else for us to do. I may as well get caught up on my reading."
As they entered the shop, Lubbock appeared to be browsing through the bookshelves and Chelsea was standing behind the cash register, having changed her form into that of a bright and chipper brunette store clerk in her upper 40s. "Welcome to Night's bookstore where what goes into a mind comes out in a life. How can I help you?"
Lubbock turned his head, ever slightly, immediately recognizing both men, one he saw in the capital's coliseum nearly two months ago and one he briefly engaged in Ali Jinnah. "Wave and Run. Jaegars."
Run smiled with the utmost politeness. "I'd like to get a copy of 'The Thirsty Games: Baldswallow'. I hear it's a real page-turner."
"Oh yes" Chelsea replied, her demeanor ever so uncharacteristically bright and chipper. "You won't be able to put it down!"
Having heard Run's request, Lubbock grabbed a copy from the bookshelf and handed it to his disguised companion without saying a word. Chelsea then punched some buttons into the register and said "That'll be 3 gold pieces!"
"I'll have to come here more often", Run grinned while handing over 3 gold pieces "I was expecting to at least pay 6 gold pieces for a new hot selling book like that."
An observation which, though surprising, didn't appear to unnerve Chelsea in the slightest. "We're having a special today. All new books are half-off. Would you like a bag?"
"No, I should be good", Run said, grabbing the book of the counter and walking back towards the entrance. "Have a nice day!"
"You too!", Chelsea replied. "Come back again real soon!"
After the two Jaegar members exited the shop, Lubbock immediately resumed speaking, noticeably a bit annoyed. "3 gold pieces for 'The Thirsty Games: Baldswallow'? Are you kidding me?"
To which Chelsea replied, promptly reverting to her real body. "How was I to know how much your books cost?"
Recognizing that there was no point complaining about proverbial spilled milk, Lubbock merely sighed. "Well on the bright side, at least they weren't here for me. Especially that blonde one. He didn't actually see my face in Ali Jinnah, but he's so damn observant that he would've recognized my voice for sure."
"Then it's fortunate I stopped by when I did. By the way, did you hear what they said about Tatsumi's village?"
"Sounds like they plan on heading there today. I'm guessing Esdeath wants to check up on Tatsumi for some reason."
"But if she gets to the village and finds out Tatsumi didn't go back as he promised her he would, there's no telling what she'll do", Chelsea remarked, a concern look in her eyes.
"Yeah, no kidding", he replied while tossing her a pair of keys. "Lock up for me, will you? You continue on with your mission. I'll head back to the base and warn Tatsumi pronto."
[. . . Releasing tension . . .]
Things were quiet back at Night Raid's headquarters. Obviously, neither Lubbock nor Chelsea were present. But incidentally, nor were Akame, Mein, Najenda and Susanoo. It was just Leone and Tatsumi.
Within one of the various rooms within their facility, the Tatsumi had been lying face down on a massage table, draped in nothing but a single towel covering his rear end. His feral companion stood next to him, therapeutically rubbing the muscles in his back.
"Still soar?", she asked, curious to know the effects of her treatment.
"I'm actually doing a lot better."
She let out a soft laugh. "That's good. When Chelsea brought you back here, your body was pretty roughed up. I'm not even kidding. It looked like you had been trampled on by a horse. Especially your ribs and the right side of your head. Chelsea even tells me there was a point where blood was pouring out of your head. It's a miracle you're not dead."
"If not for Bro and Chelsea, I would've been."
"Bro?", she asked inquisitively. "You aren't talking about Bulat, are you?"
"I am. Just when it looked like Budo had won, I saw him in my head. He encouraged me to get back up and keep fighting."
"That sounds like him. Even in death, he's still watching your back."
"I still don't really understand what happened to me afterwards though."
"What do you mean?"
"Incursio . . . it felt different. I felt much stronger, much faster and was just more in tune with things even in the heat of battle. It was as if I was just . . . better."
"Well to tell you the truth, you'd have to be a lot better to beat General Budo all by yourself. If you can do that, we might just be able to beat Esdeath."
"That's the problem. I tried testing Incursio last night, but wielding it felt no different than usual."
"Don't sweat it!", Leone remarked before laughing out loud. "You still need to get some more rest before you've completely recovered. After that, I'm sure using these new abilities of yours will be a piece of cake. 'Till then, just leave everything to your big sis!"
He smiled for a moment, grateful that he had the support of what was more or less a loving family. But as the moment passed, a thought had begun to stir throughout his mind. Perhaps not so much a thought, but an event ingrained in his memory. It was the look on Klaus Hartmann's eyes after he ran his spear through the ambassador's back. The sight of having murdered this man was a sight that refused to leave his thoughts. And with that sight came a dreadful feeling that coursed throughout his entire body.
"Whoa", said a startled Leone, still rubbing her companion's shoulders. "You got tense all of the sudden. What's the deal?"
"Nothing", Tatsumi responded, attempting to sound as indifferent as possible.
"You sure?", she said in a tone laced with concern. "If you wanna talk about something, we can talk."
"No. I'm fine."
Sensing that her companion was not going to open up, Leone shrugged her shoulders. "Well all right. I guess we should instead focus on getting you back to tip top condition ASAP before we head to the main base."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Ever heard of a sacred spot massage?", the feral assassin asked before letting out a soft yet devious chuckle.
"No, what's that?"
"It's what the name implies. They say your sacred spot is the source of all of your energy. By massaging it in a certain way, you'll automatically release any and all negative energy and feel much much . . . . . . better."
Thoughts of what had occurred in Bestimmung quickly dispersed from his head. Instead, Tatsumi found himself increasingly curious about this special massage his companion had just described. "I didn't even know that was possible. Can you really do that?"
"Of course I can", she said with a playful wink. "Just take a deep breath, relax and leave everything to your big sis."
He nodded his head and sighed before closing his eyes.
Seeing and hearing a sign of approval, Leone immediately got to work; she began to transition her movements from her companion's shoulders, to his back, to his lower back and then . . . beneath his towel.
"Um . . . Leone?", Tatsumi said, confused by what was going on.
But she shushed him and whispered. "Relax. Just . . . relax."
He lied there for a moment, attempting to disregard what his companion was doing back there, but . . . "Um . . . what exactly are you . . . DOING?!"
Tatsumi swiftly hopped off the massage table, grabbed his towel, wrapped it around his waist and fearfully ran towards the room's exit. "THAT'S the sacred spot massage?!"
An amused Leone chased after him "Oh c'mon. Just give it a chance. It feels a lot better once you relax!"
"No way! Absolutely not!"
Tatsumi swiftly opened the door, preparing to make a hasty retreat, only to see Lubbock on the other side.
"Ah Tatsumi. Glad I found you. Listen, you need to . . .". It took the green haired assassin a couple of moments to even register the sight before him. Tatsumi draped in nothing but a towel, Leone nearby and a massage table. His gut reaction was to rub his face against the palm of his hand and shake his head simultaneously. "Why oh why must life be so unfair?"
Tatsumi simply looked at the other man with skepticism in his eyes. "Unfair? She was about to give me a sacred spot massage? A massage which is anything but!"
"She was going to give you a sacred spot massage? Excuse me for a moment" Lubbock said before turning around and pounding his head against the door several times.
"What are you doing back here so early anyway?", asked Leone.
"Right . . . let me start over", Lubbock said, taking a deep breath, exhaling and immediately composing himself. "I came here to warn Tatsumi that Esdeath plans on heading to his village today."
The Incursio wielder's eyes widened as he heard this. "What? But she said she wouldn't return until after dealing with the Revolutionary Army."
"Well that's apparently no longer the case", Lubbock responded. "If I were you, I'd head back to that village right now."
"Easier said than done. When I had first left my village to head to the capital, it took me more than a week to get there."
"That shouldn't be a problem", Leone interjected. "You didn't have access to an air manta back then."
Lubbock nodded his head. "We can fly to your village, drop you off and then head down to the Revolutionary Army base ourselves. The Jaegars said something about leaving tomorrow, so if we play our cards right, the only real problem will be how you get to the base by tomorrow evening."
"Where is the base?", Tatsumi asked.
To which Lubbock plainly answered. "Deep near the southern border. In other words, since your village is in the northern region, you'll practically have to cross the entire Empire to get there."
Tatsumi shook his head, believing that he was being tasked with doing the impossible. "There's no way."
But Leone appeared to disagree, rubbing her chin while pondering on the matter. "Unless . . . we were to send an air manta to the closest outpost we have near your village. It's been a while since I've been up there, but it should be about 30 miles away from there at an abandoned farm. You could meet our spies there. Just show them your Incursio armor and they'll know you're part of Night Raid. You should be able to get to the base if you go about it like that. Not first thing in the evening like the boss wants, but somewhere around that timeframe I think."
In a split instant, Tatsumi's demeanor went from troubled to bright and cheerful. "Wow, that's perfect! Thank you Leone!"
As always, the feral assassin wasn't shy about returning the favor, especially when it came to public displays of affection; she grabbed Tatsumi's head and shoved it up against her chest like usual. "See? What did I tell you? Just leave everything to your big sis!"
Lubbock stood there and watched Leone's vivacious display of affection, sighing at the sight. "If I ever got even half that close, she would squeeze my head clean off."
[. . . Return to Impertinens . . .]
A bit north to the capital, in the northern regions of the Grand Empire was a mountain range that had come to be known as Shiranami Mountains. The weather around the mountains was certainly cold, but not enough to main constant ice and snow. Rather, grass and spruce trees flourished. Up in the actual mountains, however, snow and ice appeared to be plentiful, though likely seasonal given the presence of trees, each in a dormant winter state.
It was early into the afternoon, no later than 1:30, and Tatsumi had just hopped off the air manta Leone and Lubbock were riding on. He was standing on grass at the base of the mountains. He was donned in his black winter coat with white fur around the collar. Evidently a sense of fashion common in his village, given that Sayo and Iiyesu had worn such coats when they had embarked on their trip to the Capital.
"Sorry we can't take you any further up", said Lubbock, clearly the one steering the tamed danger beast. "Chelsea might have explained it to you in Bestimmung, but air mantas don't do too well in cold temperatures. Even down here, it's getting pretty hard to navigate."
"It's fine", Tatsumi responded. "I should be able to make it up the rest of the way in no time."
Leone removed a map from her bra and handed it to Tatsumi. "Almost forgot. Take this. I've marked the location of the outpost you'll need to go to as well as the Revolutionary Army base."
"Yeah", Lubbock nodded. "And another thing, don't show that to anyone under ANY circumstances. We clear?"
Tatsumi gave his companion a thumbs up sign and nodded his head. "I'll see you both tomorrow!"
With that Leone and Lubbock waved their hands goodbye before the air manta rose higher into the air and soared off towards the south. Tatsumi, on the other hand immediately summoned his Incursio armor. He took a moment to look down at his hands, flexing them back and forth before making an intuitive conclusion. "It's no good. I'm still the same. Is Leone right? Do I simply need more rest? Or . . ." He shook his head though, doing his best not to give additional thoughts on the matter and immediately began dashing his way up the mountain. "No time to think about that. Have gotta get to the village as fast as I can."
And so the young assassin did just that, running up the nearest mountain with speed far beyond anything an ordinary human could accomplish. The snow and the heightened elevation were nothing to him. Obviously, the mountains had to have contained a navigable path of some sort that would make it easy for villagers to come and go as they pleased. Wherever such a path lied, however, Tatsumi didn't appear interested, instead making a b-line up the mountain in an effort to get to his destination as quickly as possible.
Thus, what would've taken a normal human at least two hours took the young assassin no more than 5 minutes of scaling through and passing trees, rocks, snow and steep inclines. In that small amount of time, upon making his way halfway up the mountain, he had finally arrived. There, no more than a few hundred yards away from him, was his village.
And to Tatsumi's great delight, the village was just as he left it. No, perhaps even better. Even though he stood from a distance, he could already see villagers in the middle of construction on new buildings, using industrial wood and masonry supplies from the capital no less. There also appeared to be a sweet pleasing aroma in the area, apple pies perhaps? Not just this, but as he squinted his eyes, he could see small children running around in the snow, playing with dolls and toy swords, all merrily laughing without a care in the world.
He fell to his knees, Incursio reverting back to its dormant shortsword state as he did so. There was a small and sudden stream of warm liquid in his eyes, a part of him having wondered whether he'd ever live long enough to see this day come to fruition. But there it was; his village was doing well. A sight that he could not help but cheerfully smile at.
Knowing that time was of the essence, Tatsumi readily stood back on his feet, making sure to rub the tears out of his eyes, before walking back into the place he hadn't been to for so long; to the very place that prompted him to head to the Capital all of those months ago in the first place.
As he approached the village gates, two of the village guards standing watch immediately recognized him. "Hey, it's Tatsumi! He's finally come back!"
Another guard spoke up, ringing a sizable bell as he did so. "Everyone! Tatsumi is finally here!"
Suddenly, just about everyone in the village stopped what they were doing. Instead, just about every villager, somewhere in the range of 100 people, rushed towards the front gates, as if they were desperately trying to meet a celebrity. By the time the Night Raid assassin had walked through the village gates, the villagers had already surrounded him, each calling out his name, thanking him for saving the village, asking him how he became a big shot in the Empire and a litany of other questions.
Tatsumi was a bit overwhelmed, unused to this sort of attention. Before it could continue, however, a loud whistle could be heard within the crowd, immediately prompting everyone to cease talking, as if they understood its significance. And significant it was, for through the crowd and with the whistle walked a bearded man the Tatsumi knew all too well: The village elder. The elder was dressed in the same attire he had worn as he saw Tatsumi, Sayo and Ieyesu off all those months ago; he wore a black coat much like Tatsumi's, a head band with a cross symbol in the center and a black hat to match his black coat.
Just as the elder walked up to him, Tatsumi politely bowed his head. "Elder Choro, I have returned."
"We knew you had set out to the Capital in the hopes of making a name for yourself in the army, but none of us ever would've dreamed that you'd be able to obtain enough influence to send us 1,000,000 gold pieces, 100 tons of grain and 10,000 tons of brick and lumber. They even built us a barn to house all of the cattle they sent us. To think that you accomplished all of this in mere months."
"To be honest, Elder Choro, I did have help."
To which the village elder promptly removed his hat and reverently held it against his chest. "Ah, Sayo and Ieyasu. I see. When I received that letter you sent us, we mourned their loss for weeks. What happened to them is my fault. If only I had forbidden them from going to the Capital, then . . ."
"That's right", Tatsumi thought, reflecting on events that occurred around the time he officially joined Night Raid. "I did send a letter, but Najenda forbade me from mentioning anything about Night Raid or how Sayo and Ieyasu died. It's just as well. No one in the village needs to know that."
"But now's not the time to relive our grieving. If they helped you accumulate all of this wealth for the village, then we will gladly celebrate their efforts as well for . . ."
But Tatsumi quickly cut him off, fearing the confusion that could arise later. "No, Elder Choro. With all due respect, that's not what I mean. Sayo and Ieyasu died bravely and I will always hold them close to my heart, but when I say I had help, I'm referring to someone else."
Upon hearing this, Elder Choro placed his hat back on his head. "Then tell us who it is that helped you so that we may honor them as well."
"Well, before I tell you, I'm going to make a request that may sound strange, but will make sense whenever I get the chance to explain it", Tatsumi remarked, the uncomfortable look on his face as plain as day. "I know this is asking a lot, but there will be some people coming to visit the village shortly and as long as they are here, I'd like for everyone in the town to act as if I've actually been here for the past month."
"You're right. That is a very strange request. Might I ask the reason for it?"
"It's . . . complicated", Tatsumi rereplied, scratching the back of his head somewhat nervously.
"Well, for the person who saved our village, who are we to deny such an accommodation?"
Happy to see Elder Choro's willingness to assist him, Tatsumi sighed in relief. "Thank you!"
Elder Choro then cleared his throat, as if preparing to make an announcement. "LISTEN HERE! HENCEFORTH, NO ONE IN THE VILLAGE IS TO INFORM ANY OUTSIDER ABOUT HOW LONG TATSUMI HAS BEEN HERE SINCE HE LEFT. AS LONG AS OUTSIDERS ARE HERE, YOU ARE ALL TO ACT IF TATSUMI HAS BEEN HERE FOR THE PAST MONTH! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
To which mostly everyone in the village responded affirmatively. Surely any outside observer would have been flabbergasted at how much respect this one person appeared to readily command. But in such a closely small and tight-net village as this, it was understandable.
"NOW WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, LETS GIVE TATSUMI SOME SPACE. HE'S SURE TO HAVE BEEN TRAVELING FOR SOME TIME AND DESERVES SOME REST. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME TO SEE TATSUMI LATER!"
Heeding their elders command, the villagers' dispersed and went back to their own affairs, but not without groans from a number of them, especially the children.
"I had no idea everyone held me in such high regard", Tatsumi said as he observed this.
"We've always held you in high regard, Tatsumi, but ever since those requisitions from the capital came, people have gone from holding you in high regard to thinking of you as a full blown savior. It's only natural that everyone would feel this way. The children especially. You should hear the stories they tell themselves about you: From fighting armies of bandits by yourself to saving damsels in distress."
"Damsels in distress?", Tatsumi asked before letting out a soft laugh. He could hardly believe that people were spouting such tales about someone like him.
To which the elder nodded his head before smirking whimsically. "Speaking of which, I don't suppose you've found yourself a nice girl in the Capital. There are plenty of nice girls here who would be relieved to find out you haven't."
"Well now that you mention it", Tatsumi said, his laughter now being laced with nervousness, "the truth is that . . ."
But he stopped speaking mid-sentence, his attention being caught by a familiar pet dragon flying a few hundred feet in the air above the village. He immediately recognized this dragon as being the same one he saw at Mt. Fake about a month ago.
At the very next moment, a tall and slender figure leaped off the tamed beast without having it descend any closer to the ground, effortlessly landing next to Tatsumi and the village elder like a child at the park leaping off a swing set.
Elder Choro stood and gaped at this figure, clearly never having seen someone perform such a superhuman feat, much less without effort. Tatsumi, however, cringed at the sight. "Was that really necessary?"
The figure immediately turned her attention to the lone Night Raid member present, cheerfully smiling as she did so. "We meet again, Tatsumi!"
"Esdeath!", Tatsumi said, doing his best to sound surprised. "What are you doing here? Is the rebellion over already?"
The Ice Queen shook her head. "Not quite yet, but it will be soon. I had planned on delaying our reunion until then, but four weeks away from you is just more than even I can bare. I just had to come see you."
"Where are the Jaegars? Don't they usually accompany you?"
She nodded. "They traveled by air manta. When it comes to cold weather, not as reliable as my pet obviously. They should be up here soon though. But don't worry. They won't get in our way. They're just here because I'd probably be too tempted to get carried away and stay here for who knows how long otherwise."
Feeling as if he were being ignored, Elder Choro made certain to clear his throat loud enough to remind the two of them that he was present. "Tatsumi, who is this woman if I might ask?"
To which Tatsumi apologetically bowed his head. "Oh sorry, Elder Choro. This is General Esdeath. She is the one who had the requisitions sent here."
"A general?!", the elderly man remarked, amazed that someone of such high rank would grace the village with her presence. "Then on behalf of Impertinens, you will eternally have our gratitude. But tell me: You talk so informally with our Tatsumi here. What is your relation to him?"
Her response was blunt and straight to the point. "He's my lover."
Elder Chorro eye's widened even further and his jaw dropped moreso than it already had. Tatsumi, meanwhile, turned his head away, desperately trying to hide his embarrassment. "Is she ever subtle?"
The old man swiftly grabbed Tatsumi by the head and whispered into his hear. "How in blazes did you get yourself an enticing fox like this?!"
"Lets just say my time in the capital is a long long story."
Hearing an additional group of people approach the village, the elder released Tatsumi from his grip and turned his attention to the gates. There, he saw four people, all dressed in appropriate cold weather clothing; none from the village; two young men and two young women. Esdeath looked in this direction as well, waving for them to come forward.
As the group approached the area, the Ice Queen turned her attention back to the old man. "Elder Choro, these are my Jaegars. They will be my chaperones for the remainder of my visit here. I trust that won't be a problem."
"But of course", the elder replied. "You helped save our village, so you and any friends you have are always welcome here!"
Tatsumi squirmed to himself, rather aware of the gravity of the situation he was in. "Gotta be careful. If any one of them suspects anything suspicious even for a moment, I'm screwed."
A/N:And there you have it! Another chapter out of the way! By my calculations, we've got 8 more chapters left in this series. Expect the next chapter by next week or the week after. Or who knows, maybe earlier!
Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this seventh chapter in this Down a different branch AKG installment. Till next time! :D