Wassup folks? Here's Chapter 6 of my series!
Before I start answering your reviews I just want to ease some concerns some of you might be having.
While most of you may think I had Esdeath beaten up too easily, I just want to say that there is a very good reason behind that. Don't get me wrong: Esdeath is just one of my many favorite characters in Akame ga Kill. But she's not my favorite in terms of beauty or the sheer complexity of her character; it's her strength.
Esdeath is quite literally the strongest character in Akame ga Kill and it really shows. She just keeps on improving and strengthening her Teigu to the point where by the end of the manga, her power is now monstrously godlike.
But here is one important factor: Ultrabots aside, this takes place very early in the series. While she's still very strong in her own right, she does not have access to Mahapadma, her ice cavalry or that countrywide superstorm she does during the final battle in the manga.
Review time!
Pyromania101: Thank you very much for your comments, it really means a lot to me. I'm glad that I was able to connect with a Thing fan. In regards to your flashback comments, i will be keeping some elements a mystery or leave it up to interpretation. But I will make flashback chapters of the fall of the Empire and Esdeath's battle with the Ultrabots.
Speaking of Esdeath's your suggestion about her and Tatsumi is nothing short of genus! However, this will be a Tatsumi x Mine story. But you should totally add that part in if you ever make an Akame ga Kill fanfic. I have something very big planned for Esdeath…
SulliMike23: I'm not going to reveal that yet…
Guest #1: FINALLY someone agrees with me! Your description of Honest was friggin hilarious! And yes, I will be adding in villains from Samurai Jack but I'm trying to sort through the ones that could fit in the world of Akame ga Kill.
NRG: I would like to thank you immensely for the advice; it helped me out a lot while making this chapter.
Guest #2: Unfortunately, I have no plans to include Jack in this series at all. Aku on the other hand…
TheGreatMarquis: The Ultrabots are coming soon, I swear. The wait will be worth it.
Rad John: Thanks. A majority of this story is heavily inspired by the episode and it helped since it was my favorite. Honestly, I don't think anybody can replace Mako. He was and always will be Aku.
Dark Avenger: Im happy you asked that question! Seryu will not have the augments she received from Dr. Stylish and I will reveal that in a flashback chapter.
Samurai Jack and Akame ga Kill belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.
Chapter 6
Promise
NORTHERN TERRITORIES-SEVERAL HOURS LATER
Nightfall had descended upon the region with heavy clouds blotting out the moon. It was almost completely pitch black but Night Raid had lit up some torches to help light their way. They were currently heading towards the location of Prince Numa Seika's fortress, which also doubled as his castle. As their horses galloped though the thick snow, they noticed multiple hoof imprints covering the road they were trailing.
"Where did all these hoof prints come from?" Lubbock pointed out.
"They must have belonged to Esdeath's Army." Susanoo answered. As they kept riding, he noticed that the tracks suddenly stopped. "Wait!" He called out. Everyone stopped as Susanoo used his torch to illuminate the tracks that had stopped halfway into the road.
"They were getting close to Numa's fortress…but then they suddenly stopped and turned back around." Susanoo observed.
"But why? Esdeath must've had Numa on the ropes so I would only make sense to charge in and finish him off." Leone stated. Everyone turned to Leone, giving her incredulous looks.
"Not that I would want her to!" Leone corrected herself while holding up her hands.
"She probably saw the smoke coming from the Capital and headed back. The Empire takes first priority over everything else so it makes sense that she would order a general retreat back to the Capital." Najenda surmised.
Decided that they lingered long enough, they continued to travel along the road while keeping their eyes peeled. As the got closer to their destination they began to notice an orange hue illuminating the forest and they could see a small portion of the fortress peeking just above. After traveling the winding road they finally made it to the front gates-
Their hearts sank.
NORTHERN TERRITORIES-PRINCE NUMA'S VILLAGE
(Mulan soundtrack-Burnt-Out Village)
It was just like the Capital.
Smoke billowed into the air as fire consumed the village in front of them. Since they were all made of wood, the houses had gone up in flames like a tinderbox. The charred frames of the abodes reminded Night Raid of blackened skeletons. The corpses of numerous villagers and northern soldiers littered the snow covered ground. Nearly all of the snow in the village had been turned red.
The fortress did not fare much better as well. Sections of the walls were destroyed and the reinforced doors had been blown apart. One could only guess that the interior of the fortress was just as bad as the exterior. Another important detail that Night Raid noticed were the same odd, rectangular footprints they kept seeing all over the village.
They had been through here.
The team tied the horses to a nearby post and solemnly walked through the decimated village. While the body count probably wasn't as high as the Capital, it was still a soul wrenching sight to see. For as long as they could remember they thought that they were only good at killing the malicious scumbags that made the citizens in the Capital suffer. Trying to find any survivors and attempt to piece together what was going on was something completely new and alien to them. For the first time, they had been effectively knocked straight out of their "comfort zones".
Sheele spotted something on the ground. She knelt down and picked up a small ragdoll that had been stained with blood. Just like in the Capital, not even children were spared from this group's horrific onslaught. She gently cradled the doll against her chest. It was just…too much.
Night Raid had the exact same reaction as her. They were rendered utterly speechless. This wasn't just the result of a battle or some form of scare tactic to demoralize an enemy army. This was pure, unrestrained, unmerciful culling of the worst kind.
They continued to walk through the ruined village until they came upon a hillside. They walked up the hill to see the rest of the village was bathed in flames that stretched for miles and the very earth was a sea of dead bodies, all of them villagers and soldiers.
"This…is madness…" Bulat whispered, his expression one of shock and horror.
Najenda ran her fingers through her hair and shut her eye as hard as she could. It became obvious that there were no survivors. Her frustration was close to sending her over the edge. But now was not the time. If they could at least find some kind of lead or evidence that could lead them to whoever was responsible, and maybe they could figure out what to do next. "It's obvious that we're not going to find any survivors. Let's split up and see if can find some clues."
"Same song and dance, huh?" Leone quipped.
"You have any better ideas?" Najenda snapped, giving her a nasty look.
Leone held her tongue, not wanting to piss her boss off any further.
"Lubbock, Susanoo, Bulat, Leone and I will search the fortress. Akame, Mine, Chelsea, Sheele and Tatsumi will scour the village."
PRINCE NUMA'S VILLAGE-40 MINUETS LATER
Tatsumi and Mine were currently observing the footprints that belonged to the perpetrators of this atrocity while Sheele and Chelsea went off together to search for clues as well. Akame remained with Tatsumi and Mine but was mostly distant.
"Hmmmm…look at how sunken in these footprints are. These guys had to have been really heavy to make tracks go this deep." Mine observed as she placed her hand in the footprint.
"They also must be wearing some kind of strange footwear to make them so odd looking." Tatsumi added.
"Heh. Guess these guys aren't big on fashion." She said snidely.
"By the way, I found these bullet casing littered around here. Funny thing is, some of these look a little bit different than the others I found." Tatsumi said holding out a couple of spent casings. Mine took them and inspected them carefully. Some of them were regular sized ones for standard issue rifles but the rest was noticeably larger and heavier. They were almost as big as her hand!
Mine whistled. "I've never seen bullets like these before. These guys must've been packing some serious firepower." She continued to look it over when she noticed Tatsumi spacing out. Rolling her eyes, she flicked his ear. Tatsumi flinched and turned to Mine, giving her a confused look. "Are you still with us?" Mine asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's just…im just thinking about my village." Tatsumi admitted, his expression downcast.
Mine's annoyance instantly faded. She and everyone else knew how much his village meant to him and with this recent turn of events, it was only natural for him to be concerned.
"They live far away from here. Way deep into the north." Tatsumi continued. "It's safe. If it wasn't, I would've known by now. It's a rural, relatively small village so I don't think whoever did this would bother attacking it."
Mine could tell that there was something else behind his forlorn demeanor. She could see it in his eyes. "You're thinking about how to break the news to your people, right?"
Tatsumi's shoulders sagged and his face saddened. Mine couldn't help but feel a little sad for him as well. Which was very rare for her but lately she had grown accustomed to their newest member and they were friends after all. Night Raid was like a family to her (including a certain green haired perv) and that meant they all had to help each other.
"Look, you can't keep beating yourself up for that. You had no idea just how f***ed up the Empire was and neither did your friends. I'm sure that everyone will grieve just like you did but they won't blame you for it. They will understand and they will never abandon you" Mine assured him.
A smile began to form on Tatsumi's features. "Thanks." He said quietly. He had no idea that Mine had such a caring side to her. Maybe there was more to the pinkette than he originally thought.
"Well, I've already said my comforting words. Now it's time to say yours." She said bluntly while placing her hands on her hips.
"Uhh…what?"
Mine responded by flicking Tatsumi's forehead. "I want you to talk to Akame you dolt!"
"Akame? Why her-"
Mine flicked him again, this time on the nose.
"Stop doing that!" He yelled.
"Can't help it!" She retorted. "I heard Akame yelling about something back at the palace. Did you do something to her?"
"N-no! Of course not!" Tatsumi said defensively. He began to tell Mine the reason behind Akame's distant behavior ever since he, Leone and Susanoo investigated the palace a couple days before. Mine understandably took this to heart.
"Seeing as how Akame thinks highly of you, you should probably go find her and just ask her what's been bugging her. It's only fair that you go comfort her since you were there in the first , I already did my part by comforting you." She instructed.
"You're right. I mean, all of us are friends after all." Tatsumi said optimistically.
"Now that's what I like to hear. Now go to her before I decide to flick you again." Mine warned.
"Alright, alright." Tatsumi said as he went to go look for Akame. As he went on, he heard Mine call out to him. "Don't get too lovey dovey with her!"
Tatsumi barely suppressed a groan as he quickened his pace.
PRINCE NUMA'S VILLAGE- 3 MINUETS LATER
After several minutes of searching, Tatsumi found Akame investigating several dead soldiers. Tatsumi quietly walked over to her and was about to ask what she found-
"Have you and Mine discovered anything of importance?" She asked.
'Should've known I couldn't sneak up on her. She is an assassin after all…' Tatsumi thought as he sweatdropped. "Yup. We found some unusually large bullets. Mine thinks that this group might be using some kind of heavy weaponry."
"I see…it would seem that not only does this group possess multiple Teigu's but they also seem to be utilizing advanced equipment." Akame deduced. "Speaking of weapons, take a look at this."
Akame handed Tatsumi several bullets and a sword that had be broken in half. But upon closer inspection it seemed that the bullets had bounced off of something, turning them into crumpled, lead pebbles. The same could be said for the sword as there were multiple chips on it, making it look like someone had repeatedly hit it over a metal surface several times.
"What made them look like this?" Tatsumi wondered.
Akame wordlessly pointed to the snow. Tatsumi saw the iconic footprints of the perpetrators but what caught his attention were the dead bodies, deflected bullets and broken swords were in front of the footprints.
"I believe they were using some type of durable armor. Whether it was a conventional shield or a Teigu, I'm not exactly sure." Akame said, her eyes intensely focused.
It wasn't much to go on but it did give some insight as to what kind of offensive capabilities this unknown party wielded. But right now, Tatsumi figured that this was a good time to ask Akame what was eating at her since they left the Capital.
"So…you want to tell me what's wrong you lately? You've been pretty distant ever since we investigated the palace." Tatsumi started.
Akame visibly flinched. "Nothing is wrong. Im perfectly fine-"
Akame suddenly felt Tatsumi's hands grip her shoulders and he spun her around to face him. "Yes there is something wrong! I'm your friend and i want to help you Akame but I can't unless I know what it is!" He pleaded.
Akame stared wide-eyed at Tatsumi, realization spreading on her face. She looked hesitant to answer but she knew that she couldn't keep this from him forever. Akame lowered her head, her hair casting a shadow over her eyes. "Have the others told you about my past?" She asked.
"Yeah. Leone filled me in on most of the details." He answered.
(Super Mario Bros Z soundtrack-Daily Agony loop)
"She didn't tell you everything…" Akame said cryptically. "Yatsufusa belonged to my younger sister, Kurome. She was…not as strong as me. Where I excelled in combat, she didn't. To make up for her shortcomings, the Empire sent Kurome beneath the Imperial Capital and injected her with all kinds of drugs."
Tatsumi went rigid. Did she just say drugs?
"That crushed bag of cookies you saw back at the Capital? They were laced with the very same drugs she was administered." She grimly told him. Tatsumi did in fact remember seeing just that back at the palace but he never thought they were actually filled with harmful chemicals. "What kind of drugs are we talking about?" He gulped.
"She was prescribed a cocktail mix of several different drugs that strengthened and developed her muscles but they also substantially shortened her lifespan and they also placed a huge strain on her brain. Eventually she joined an assassination group separate from mine known as The Group of Terror and given Yatsufusa. However, it made her condition worse. It requires an immense amount of concentration to control just one corpse puppet. One can only image how much it takes to control multiple puppets. As time went by, I knew it was only a matter of time before her mind and her heart gradually became warped." Akame explained solemnly.
Tatsumi was at a loss for words. His palms were shaking and sweaty. He knew that the Empire had done some pretty atrocious acts but putting a sibling through something like this…it was pure evil.
"I tried to get her to stop taking those drugs but Kurome's body had become so addicted to them she reached the point of no return. Without those drugs, she would endure severe spasms and uncontrollable seizures." Akame continued.
"So is that why you left the Empire?" Tatsumi guessed.
"Yes. But there were multiple other reasons for my defection. The group that I used to work with, The Elite 7, was much like Night Raid. Its members were…my friends. I watched them die in front of my eyes one by one throughout my service in the Empire. Looking in on it from the outside…from an entirely different perspective…I began to have my doubts. I realized that the tyranny of the Empire just might be the actual cause of the suffering of its people. Soon, after witnessing several encounters and events firsthand, my inquisitive suspicions turned into unwavering convictions. I could no longer, in good conscious, follow the Empire so I withdrew." Akame revealed.
Tatsumi had listened to her explanation for defecting with rapt attention. At least he now had a good idea on why she left. But then there was still her sister. "Did you invite Kurome to come with you?"
"Yes. There a place known as God's Secret Hot Spring in the borderlands. To put it simply, it's a place of healing, made up of all different kinds of therapeutic and medicinal hot springs. I surmised that if I could care for her while she was going through her detox then there might be some hope in extending Kurome's lifespan."
"Wait a minute…I've heard of something like that! My village elder told me stories of how people with just a few years left to live due to a disease went to those springs and went on to live for just a few more years ,maybe even longer, afterwards! But he said that those were just rumors…"
"At first I thought the same thing as well. But I found documented reports that such a place did exist and it is capable of extending a person's lifespan. I figured as long as the possibility wasn't zero, then it was something worth trying." Akame concluded.
Tatsumi didn't know what he should be surprised at the most: The hot springs his elder told him were actually real or Akame showing this much care and affection for someone. But then again, she did show genuine concern for him after his successful assassination of Ogre and this was her sister they were talking about. But somewhere in the back of Tatsumi's mind, this story did not have good ending. "You must've asked her to come with you at some point in the past, right?"
Akame's face saddened considerably. If anything, she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I pleaded…no. I begged her to withdraw from the Imperial Army to free herself from those drugs and to search for some possibility to extend her life. But Kurome said that doing so would be a betrayal to our fallen comrades. The very thought of her current comrades becoming her enemies was more than she could bear. So she refused to leave the Empire. What I should've done was take her with me, even if it meant doing so by force. I should've shown more resolve and gone through with my plans but…it was impossible. I didn't have the strength or courage." She explained with a horribly pained face.
Tatsumi couldn't believe he was hearing this. Akame not strong or not having any courage!? She was probably the most courageous, fearless member of Night Raid and there were times that he thought that she was stronger than Bulat! At the same time he almost understood Kurome's reason for not leaving the Empire. It was a shame she couldn't see how insidious it really was.
"And then there was Natala. That was the name of the corpse you saw me looking at a few days earlier. He was inducted into the same program me and my sister went through. He was kind, cared for us deeply and he was our…best friend. But just like Kurome, he wasn't strong enough and was sent to the underground like her. Eventually he was placed in the same assassination group she was in. Somewhere during his service…he died. And Kurome brought him back as a puppet. I confronted her over this but she didn't seem the least bit bothered. Instead…she looked happy. She said that he was watching over and protecting her just like he did when we were kids. It was at that point when I realized that my little sister truly was gone."
Tatsumi felt all the color drain from his face and his blood ran cold.
"For Kurome, fighting for the sake of her comrades and completing the Empires missions…I believe those are her reasons for living. In her mind, all she's ever known is to keep fighting for the Empire…all while being broken down by the drugs with what little bit of life she has left. And if that was what she truly wanted…then I would fight her and end her suffering. As her sister, this was the only thing I could do for her. It was also my only condition for joining the Rebel Army: anything pertaining to my sister would be directly handled by me." She finished while turning her back to Tatsumi.
Tatsumi was left confused. He understood the fighting part but what did she mean by end her…no…oh God no!
"You mean…You mean to say that you would actually kill your own sister!?" Tatsumi shouted.
"There's no other choice." Was her only reply.
He was about to argue with her about her decisions when something finally clicked in his head. Something that had been slowly crawling up from the depths of his subconscious as Akame went into more detail about her sister. "Wait. Back when we were fighting Zanku, he showed you an illusion. That was your sister, wasn't it?!"
"The one I love the most in this world is the one I wish to kill the most."
Akame was completely silent.
"But-but you don't have to kill her now!" Tatsumi protested. "The Empire is gone and Yatsufusa has been destroyed!"
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?!" Akame spat. "Without those drugs she's slowly dying!"
Tatsumi began to notice her shoulders beginning to shake as she began to clutch her arms.
"I thought I could keep it together. Try to focus on the mission at hand…But I just can't." She said, her voice sorrowful and shaking. Tatsumi silently walked up to her and reached his hand out when Akame spoke again.
"Watching all of your comrades die…seeing your best friend turned into a mindless zombie…knowing that your sister is out there somewhere dying a slow and painful death…"
She turned to Tatsumi showing him that she was actually crying, tears streaming from her eyes and her face contorted into utter sadness.
"There's no way you can ever get used to this kind of pain!" she sobbed. She finally collapsed to the ground on her knees and began weeping into her hands.
Tatsumi was as still as a statue, his features of shock, realization and remorse. He had completely forgotten that this job came with both danger and heartbreak.
'To think that Akame was this concerned for her sister…and I used to think that she always remained composed towards anything!' He thought. 'What am I doing!? I'm such a fool!'
WHOK
Akame suddenly looked up just in time to see Tatsumi punch himself in the face and topple to the ground!
"Tatsumi! What are you-"
"Don't worry. I'm just punishing myself for being such a jackass." Tatsumi said as he picked himself up.
"…What?"
(Finding Nemo soundtrack-Nemo Egg)
"I'm sorry. When I first joined I always thought that nothing could faze you in the slightest, but I was proven wrong. I didn't mean to think any less of you. I was completely thoughtless." He admitted. "You're just like me. You fight for your sister and I fight to help my people but we both fight for a better future."
He walked over and gently helped Akame up.
"I never realized how much you care for your comrades and how much they mean to you…I guess I probably should've known that sooner after my fight with Ogre. I'll make you this promise: I will not die. I will stay alive and I'll make sure you never have to experience this kind of pain ever again!" He swore.
Slowly but surely Akame began to smile as her sadness was replaced with relief and hope. She wiped away the tears from her eyes and regarded Tatsumi with a lighthearted look on her face.
"We'll find your sister, stop these guys and we'll make a new country where we can see everyone's smiling faces." Tatsumi assured her.
"Yeah…thank you." Akame said softly. The two looked at look at other with proud, determined expressions when a voice suddenly call out-
"You may now kiss the bride!"
Tatsumi and Akame jolted like they were struck by lightning. They turned their heads to the right to see Chelsea leaning up against a tree grinning mischievously. "Seriously, you two are the perfect couple!"
"N-n-n-no! I-it's not what you think!" Tatsumi stammered.
"We were just…um…talking." Akame corrected, her face just as flushed as Tatsumi's.
"Really? Because that's not how I saw it~." Chelsea chimed.
They all heard a yelp of surprise and saw something fall from behind the tree. It was Sheele! The wielder of Extase was sprawled out on the ground and missing her glasses. "I wasn't listening in I swear!" She said frantically. Her face was beet red. "Can somebody help me find my glasses?" Sheele bashfully asked as she searched the ground.
"Only you can trip while hiding." Chelsea sighed as she picked up her glasses and gave it to her.
"You know that kind of thing was going to happen sooner or later." Another voice called out. It belonged to Mine who walking over to the group. "I came here to see if Tatsumi kept his word and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest."
"You heard everything?" Tatsumi asked, wide eyed.
"Yup." Mine nodded.
"Same here." Sheele said, raising her hand.
"Guilty~!" Chelsea sang.
Akame and Tatsumi looked at the ground, too embarrassed to say anything. That's when Tatsumi felt Mine patting him on the back. "Nice job on cheering up Akame though. As a team, it really means a lot to us."
"Very true. We all know that Akame has had it rough in the past and im glad you made her feel better." Sheele added. Akame smiled at that. While Sheele may be clumsy and airheaded sometimes, she excelled in providing emotional support.
"I knew there was another reason why Najenda hired you. I just didn't think you were such a motivational speaker!" Chelsea said.
"And then you ruined the moment." Mine huffed.
"And you think you can do better?" Chelsea retorted. "In fact, let me answer that for you!" Before Mine could say anything else, Chelsea instantly transformed into Mine! But something was very, very off.
"Im sorry I've been so mean to you, Tatsumi!" She said in a very cutesy voice. Mine never did that. Tatsumi barely had time to register what the hell was going on before Chelsea/Mine suddenly hugged him tightly and looked up at him with starry eyes. It made everyone increasingly uncomfortable.
"I just couldn't express my true feelings! Hold me…" She said, this time in a dreamy voice.
Tatsumi's brain stopped working.
Sheele's jaw was slightly agape.
Akame remained strangely calm during the whole thing, having gotten used to Chelsea and Mine's rivalry.
Mine's left eye began to twitch and an evil grin began to form on her face. "You know, I've always wondered if you're capable of transforming into something so miniscule you'd be able to dodge my shots." Maine said maliciously as she unslung Pumpkin from her back.
Chelsea changed back into her regular self and slowly unsheathed several kunai from Gaea Foundation. "You better put that back in your purse." She taunted.
Akame moved in between the two, diffusing the fight before it escalated. "Have you all forgotten that we have mission to do here?" Akame asked rhetorically. Knowing that she was right, Mine and Chelsea put their weapons away. Akame started off by telling Mine, Chelsea and Sheele what she had found, which was followed by Tatsumi and Mine telling them what they discovered as well.
"Huh. Guess these guys aren't playing around. Kind of makes me wonder what their goal is…" Chelsea mused.
"We have also found something of interest in our search as well. We found some tracks that came from the group that split up. The mostly go all over the village and maybe even the fortress but get this: we found evidence that after they were done, they went to go help the rest of their team fighting Esdeath." Sheele revealed.
"We saw tracks that lead away from the village and deeper into the forest. These guys are clever. Very clever." Chelsea added.
"We should probably go report our findings to the boss. These clues might be helpful." Akame suggested. Nodding in agreement, everyone began to make their way towards the remains of the fortress where the rest of Night Raid was investigating. As Tatsumi began walking he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Mine, who was smiling broadly. "Thanks for helping Akame. I guess there more to you than meets the eye, Tatsumi."
Tatsumi rubbed the back of head." I guess it just comes naturally to me." He replied.
'I guess you're not complete wimp after all.' Mine thought while lifting her coat collar upwards to hide her blushing face. The two after walked a little faster to catch up to the rest of the girls when a hand suddenly shot out of the snow and grabbed Mine's ankle!
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" She screamed.
To be continued.
Exposition, exposition, rush it out A-S-A-P!
Not going to lie folks, that was going through my head when I was making this chapter.
I began to realize that in order to continue this story; I needed to include important character development moments. Of course, it was hard since I had completely rearranged the timeline so I had to go back and read the manga several hundred times to get a good idea of what to do. I really hope i got most of it down right, let me know in the reviews.
I would like to thank NRG for helping me out with the Mine x Tatsumi pairing. Because of this major change of events, I wanted to explore alternate ways of Mine developing feelings for Tatsumi. But like I said before, I'm not good at romance.
I Think I nailed Mine and Chelsea's rivalry really good, along with a cameo from Night Raid theater.
With that being said, I'll leave you guys with a cliffhanger.
Don't forget to review but please don't flame!