Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill or any of its characters
A/N: Hey everyone, sorry I know it has been a couple of months since the last update. I've been pretty busy with school and personal things but I'm trying to update this as much as possible. I just want to thank all of you for the support shown on this story so far and it really helps encourages me to write more.
Now, I have thought a lot about the 'two imperial arms' concept for Tatsumi and I think it will go like this – Tatsumi's teigu is sentient (which means it's alive). It will be sort of like Incursio in the anime where it has a consciousness and helps Tatsumi evolve by gaining new abilities after several battles. Regarding the 'two teigu' thing in the prophecy, I think I'll go with the idea that Tatsumi hasn't quite unlocked his full power now and until he does unlock the other half of his power, he won't be able to match Esdeath in combat.
I originally had a different idea in mind, but I decided to scrap it because this one would allow me to explore how Tatsumi gets stronger using his teigu in a way that makes more sense, and it wouldn't seem rushed or anything. So, let's get to it!
(Night Raid's base in the morning)
Sunlight was slowly beginning to spill through the window and into the room where Tatsumi was sleeping peacefully when suddenly…
BAM! Tatsumi's peaceful dream was interrupted when he got hit hard on the head.
"Ow" Tatsumi groaned. He rubbed his tired eyes and when he finally became of his surroundings, he saw Akame glaring at him.
"Good you're up, the Boss asked me to train you first so we don't have anything to lose."
Tatsumi checked the time. "It's 5:00 AM!" he said.
"So? This is the normal time that I wake up at" Akame exclaimed.
Seeing as there was no way for him to get more shut-eye, he complied with the assassin's demands "Alright, so what are we going to be doing today?" Tatsumi asked as he followed Akame down the hallway.
(Outside at the barracks)
Tatsumi was making his way outside when he spotted Akame doing some leg stretches.
"So, what are we going to be doing today?"
"We are going for a run. Your job is to…"
Tatsumi leaned closer to hear her properly.
"Catch me." Akame then took off the path ahead of him. Within a matter of seconds, the girl was already hundreds of yards away from her original position.
She looked back to see how Tatsumi was doing and was half-surprised when she saw he was only a couple of paces behind of her.
When he saw her expression, he grinned. "What's wrong Akame, you surprised? For your information, I had to run a lot when I was younger and I have done various exercises to increase my speed. So don't go easy on me!"
"Alright then, since you insisted" Akame replied and increased her pace so that it was about two-thirds of her full speed.
Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly when she was able to widen the gap between them in a short span of time but merely smiled. He bent down lower and put everything he had into his legs.
During the run, Tatsumi ended up chased Akame through the winding forest; racing past trees and fallen logs. Almost half an hour passed, and Akame finally stopped. A few seconds later, and a panting Tatsumi reached her. "Wow, you really are fast" Tatsumi panted in between gasps of air as he tried to rest his burning legs.
"Of course. I've trained for years to make sure I'm this fast." Akame stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "However, I'm impressed you were able to keep up with me for so long.
Tatsumi looked up and saw Akame displaying a caring and sincere smile, which for some reason evoked a sense of nostalgia from him. However, he pushed that warm feeling away for the moment.
"Alright, time to go inside and start prepping breakfast" said Akame, breaking Tatsumi out of his thoughts.
(Inside the base)
"Well, I am in charge of cooking so you will be helping me with making breakfast." Akame went to work on cutting a large portion of steak and put it into the oven to roast.
"What are you doing?" Tatsumi asked.
"Cooking the meat, by the way we are having steak today, as well as chicken and buffalo." Akame replied.
"You haven't even seasoned it yet. And where are the side vegetables?"
"Meat is good by itself." That was the only reply he got.
Tatsumi sighed in exasperation and got to work putting some salt and pepper on the steak before frying it in a pan and butter-basking it.
Akame simply watched in awe as he swiftly moved on to slicing a few cabbages, carrots and onions so that they would at least get some vitamins from vegetables and not just meat.
"How about I be the chef and you be the sous and help me out with whatever I need?" Tatsumi asked. He thought that it would be better for him to cook and at least provide a decent meal instead of having a headache at watching Akame only cook meat.
"Really? You'll be cooking from now on?" Akame already had sparkles in her eyes.
Tatsumi just sweat dropped.
(A few minutes later)
"Wow this is good!" Leone exclaimed after she had her breakfast. "I think I've found my future husband" she cheekily said and pushed Tatsumi up against her breasts. He managed to get out of it quickly, due to him being embarrassed at being in that position.
"I agree," Najenda spoke. "It is definitely better than eating plain meat everyday."
"Hmm, it's ok I guess" Mine said, seemingly not impressed, while denying that she thought the food tasted amazing as well.
Tatsumi just rolled an eye at her antics.
"Don't worry" Tatsumi turned his head to see that it was Sheele who spoke. "Mine is like that with everyone. You'll get used to it."
Tatsumi managed a small smile. "It's ok. I'm not bothered by it."
Seeing that Tatsumi was done eating, Akame said "Tatsumi, let's go, we need to do something else."
(A bit later)
"Hey Akame, where are we going? We are headed quite far from the hideout," Tatsumi said after they had been journeying for a few minutes.
"Don't worry, we are almost there." Akame replied. Soon they arrived at a clearing with a pristine-looking lake and a waterfall running down. "See, we are here."
"Oh nice, so what exactly are we going to be- WHAT are you doing?" Tatsumi cried in shock when he saw Akame taking off her shirt, revealing her to be in a small, red bikini.
"We are going to be jumping into the lake so it's best I shed any unnecessary clothing." She replied. "We'll be hunting Elegant Tuna."
She dived into the lake and after a couple of seconds, came up with a few Tunas splashing onto the ground. "It requires you to erase your presence to find them, so as well as getting more food for the base, it is also good training."
"That's not what I meant" Tatsumi muttered in embarrassment. From his position, he could clearly see Akame's curves. Honestly, he wasn't as flustered looking at Akame's body than he was flustered at the fact that Akame didn't seem to care about covering herself at all.
"Alright, let's do this" Tatsumi turned his attention to focus on the task at hand. He then tore off his shirt and jumped into the lake.
Soon after, up came Tatsumi and along with him was around the same number of fish that Akame had caught initially.
"So, how many should we get?"
(A few days later)
Tatsumi had been training for Akame for the past few days and he had to admit to himself that it was pretty fun. Being able to train against a strong opponent like Akame gave him an opportunity to get stronger and find out where his technique had been going wrong.
Right now, he was sparring with Akame. "Faster," the red-eyed assassin ordered as she swiftly blocked one of Tatsumi's moves and struck his leg with the speed of a viper, forcing Tatsumi to drop his weapon. "You are plenty strong by yourself already Tatsumi. However, when you face up against higher-level opponents like General Budo and Esdeath, it's essential that you learn to increase your speed and reflexes, else you will be easy prey."
"Thanks for that Akame" Tatsumi responded, grateful for her advice.
Not only had Tatsumi began getting stronger, he had also been getting to know more about all of the assassins. Of course, he was nowhere near to understanding all of them but he had come to respect their attitudes towards getting rid of the scum in the Empire. He was a bit confused by their quirky natures, such as Lubbock's tendency to spy on the girls while they were bathing and Sheele's airheadedness, but he had just come to accept that those were just a part of who they were.
"Alright, I say it's time we get started on breakfast."
"Hold on," that was from Mine, the pink-headed sniper from Night Raid. Honestly the person he didn't enjoy talking to the most because of her snarky attitude but he figured that the people who put up a brave face were just doing so to cover up for their more sensitive side.
"We are going to the capital, make sure to get ready, we are leaving in 15 minutes."
"Sure, sorry Akame but are you okay with making the food yourself?"
Akame made a sad face because she knew how great Tatsumi was at cooking but relented, seeing as he had to be somewhere.
(Four hours later; Imperial Capital)
Tatsumi arrived at the capital with Mine. "Woah its been a while since I've been here."
"Skills that assassins need is typically stealth and being able to gather information quickly" Mine started lecturing Tatsumi. "That's why I brought you here."
"I see."
For the next bit, Mine went shopping for new clothes and accessories. Tatsumi didn't really think much of it but he was actually getting flustered seeing Mine trying new outfits, she even would ask his opinion on some of them. If he didn't know any better, they looked like a normal couple.
Soon enough, he noticed there was a certain presence following them. After stopping at a café to rest for a bit, Tatsumi decided to mention it to Mine.
"Hey Mine, you notice that guy who has been following us?" Tatsumi discretely pointed to a man standing several yards away who was reading a newspaper.
"Him? Yes, I've noticed that he has been trailing us ever since we reached the capital. I'm surprised you noticed him," Mine expressed in mild shock.
"Well, I have become quite adept at noticing if anyone is following me" Tatsumi said thinking back on his past.
"I suppose you have cleared the test for today" Mine said, "and on the bright side, I even get some new clothing!"
"Hey Mine." Tatsumi decided to get some information on the sniper. "Out of curiosity, why did you become an assassin? I mean, I think I know somewhat why Bulat and Akame decided to join the revolutionary army. They were most likely soldiers fighting for the Empire but defected after seeing their horrible ways. Am I right?"
"What in the- you are right but how did you reach that…"
Tatsumi cut Mine off. "I have been observing you guys for a while after joining. Normally I wouldn't care about your ambitions and your past, but I would like to know some more information about you if we are to work together in the future."
"I see. Well since you are so curious, I joined the Revolutionary Army because as a kid, I was bullied for my half foreign blood. If the Revolutionary Army could overthrow the Empire, then we could fight for a new country where relations with the West would improve. Then no one would have to go through the same discrimination that I felt" Mine declared hotly with fire burning in her eyes.
He smiled. "These assassins have nice goals. Who knows, if I had met them sooner, I might have become friends with them. But no, I don't need friends, they are just acquaintances. All I need is to…" Tatsumi's monologue was broken off when Mine said, "All right, I think it's time to head back don't you?"
As Tatsumi moved to leave, Mine captured her hand in his.
"What are you doing?" Tatsumi asked in apparent confusion.
"Sh-shut up you idiot, we are just doing this to appear like a normal couple. Don't think this means anything." Mine said while focusing on trying to control her red blush.
As they walked away from the city, Tatsumi had a very uncharacteristic thought that her hands were very soft.
(The next morning)
Tatsumi found himself on a broken landscape, with red sky and thunder booming in the background. When he looked at himself, he saw he was equipped with his usual black cloak with his trusty Elucidator hanging from his hip. However, what caught his attention was the gaping cave that stood in front of him. As he ventured in, he heard a deep voice, "you have only begun to awaken your powers, partner."
Tatsumi found himself looking around for the source of that voice. But he could find nothing. "It's not yet time for us to meet, you are not strong enough. However, you will only unlock this power when you are worthy."
Tatsumi felt the ground beneath him began to shake tremendously. "Wait, who is this? When will I know if I'm worthy?" Tatsumi cried out desperately.
"You will know." The world began to break as the ground from underneath Tatsumi gave way and he fell into darkness.
"Tatsumi!" Tatsumi shot up from the bed, wide awake. Looking at himself, he was drenched in cold sweat. He looked up to see Sheele gazing at him with worried eyes.
"What happened?"
"Just had a weird dream. Don't worry I'm fine." Tatsumi said as he gave Sheele a reassuring smile to hopefully calm her.
"Anyways, why are you in my room? Usually it's Akame who comes and wakes me up for morning training." Tatsumi asked. During his time in Night Raid, Tatsumi spent most of his time with the red-eyed assassin in terms of training. Aside from work, he would spend his day during some personal training of his own and practicing with his teigu to made sure he stayed sharp. He actually enjoyed the presence of the red-eyed assassin, she wouldn't be loud like Leone or be a fool like Lubbock, but it was the fact that she had such a calm and serious aura about her that made her nice to be around. Of course, disregarding the fact that she eats like there's no tomorrow.
"Um" She then looked out of the window. "Why was I here again?" she asked in a confused tone.
Tatsumi just sweat-dropped at her airheadedness. He had come quickly to the realization that out of all the assassins in Night Raid, she was by far the weirdest. The fact that she seemingly forgot everything quickly and was absent-minded initially gave Tatsumi a concern for her abilities as an assassin. However, when he had confronted Najenda about this, she reassured him by saying that Sheele possessed deadly fighting skills and with her scissors that could cut anything, she was a staple in Night Raid's combat department.
"Um, probably because you were here to train me right?" Tatsumi half-asked, half-stated. That was the only logical conclusion he could come up with, since Najenda had stated previously that she had wanted him to train with all the members of Night Raid, even though it may not be necessary, given Tatsumi's previous experience of assassinating people.
Through his training with the members of Night Raid, Tatsumi didn't really think much of it other than a way to kill time and figure out more about the others but as time went on, he surprisingly came to enjoy the company of the assassins. Even though they were all a bit weird in their own way, they still tried to interact with him and make him feel like he was one of them, a feeling that Tatsumi wasn't really accustomed to after spending so much time alone.
"Could it be, that I was lonely before?" Tatsumi had never especially craved the idea for company in the past, but he couldn't say that being in the assassins' group was unpleasant at all. He would have to ponder these thoughts later.
"Ah yes that's right!" Sheele exclaimed with a bright expression. "I'm here to train you."
"Do you have anything planned? Because usually, Akame doesn't like me skipping out of her morning training sessions."
"Nope! But I'm sure I'll think of something along the way" Sheele said good-naturedly as she walked out the door.
Tatsumi gave an internal sigh. He could already tell this was going to be a long day.
(A few hours later; twenty yards away from Night Raid's base)
"Hah!" Tatsumi wheezed out tiredly as he collapsed on the riverbed in exhaustion. "I'm freaking exhausted."
"You did a great job swimming in that armour Tatsumi" Sheele congratulated him.
"It was pretty- hard to do that, the armour was really heavy" Tatsumi said. Thankfully he had put his body through rigorous training before otherwise he would have been completely dead. However, he still had some reserves of energy left.
"What was the point of this- never mind you probably forgot."
"Yeah, sorry about that" Sheele sheepishly said. "It's just that outside of activities that the Boss gives me, this was the only thing I could actually do."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Tatsumi quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Surely you must have some other duties at base such as taking care of food or investigating outside to make sure the traps are complete right?"
"Well, I'm not really any good at any of that. You see, when I went to the kitchen to cook, I forgot to turn the stove off and almost burnt down the kitchen. Akame got extremely mad at me after that and forbid me from going in there again. Once I went out shopping but accidentally mixed the sugar and salt, Leone wouldn't stop laughing at me for a week. I tried helping Lubbock with his traps, but I just ended up getting ensnared in them."
The first thing Tatsumi thought was exasperation and wonder at how Sheele could fail at the most basic of tasks but then it slowly transitioned to pity. Since Sheele wasn't really good at anything, that kind of left her jobs at the hideout to be limited. She probably thought it was a good thing to train him since it would allow her to occupy herself with something.
He decided to make the assassin feel better. "Hey don't stress it. Everyone has their own thing. I'm sure you'll find something you are good at eventually."
"Re-really? You really think that?" Her downward expression was replaced by a more excited one. Tears began to drip down her cheeks so she took off her glasses to wipe them off. "No-no one has ever told me that before" she cried out.
Tatsumi, having never seen the assassin in such a vulnerable state before, opted to just wait patiently and let her cry herself out.
"Thank you Tatsumi" she said with a much warmer tone than Tatsumi had ever heard and smiled at him. He had seen Sheele smile before but this one was different. Without her glasses to shield her natural look, and with her cheeks being dusted with red, for some reason, Tatsumi got a warm feeling that he couldn't describe bubbling in his stomach.
"Do-don't worry about it" Tatsumi uncharacteristically stammered. He cursed his stuttering and decided to ask Sheele what he had been wondering. "So, Sheele, why are you fighting for Night Raid?"
Her bright expression turned sullen. "Well, it's a long story." She said, seeming as though she was reluctant to explain, although I could tell from her face that she was fighting something that was going on within her.
"Hey, it's ok" Tatsumi said. "I'm not going to judge you, but if you don't feel comfortable sharing your story then I won't force you." Tatsumi was merely curious with why someone like Sheele who had a polarizing attitude that could switch from an innocent girl to a deadly killer, would join the Revolutionary Army. He could think up some guesses, but he could tell the problem was more of a personal nature when he looked at the heavy look on her face.
"Thanks for caring about my feelings but don't worry. I trust you Tatsumi." Sheele took a deep breath and began. "I guess I should start at the beginning…. I was born in the capital's downtown district…. I had always been a klutz so people kept making fun of me…everyone thought I was weird and didn't want to know me." Sheele stopped as tears once again welled in her eyes but she persevered. "But despite everything, someone I would soon call a friend would always have my back…she would never call me names or make fun of me…. I honestly thought I had found someone who I was comfortable being around."
Sheele smiled fondly at the memory. "But it would all come to an end. One day her ex-boyfriend came barging into the house because he was mad at her for dumping him…I was so scared, and I could do nothing but watch as he trashed the place in a mad fit of anger. Only when he had my best friend choking to death, did I finally move and I sliced through his jugular with a knife, killing him immediately." Sheele paused, as if to recollect that bloody moment. "For some reason, I showed no emotion even though I just killed someone, I showed no guilt, no remorse, no fear at what I had just done."
"What happened next?" Tatsumi gently prodded her.
"There was a court case. However, since my friend was in danger of dying and if I had not acted, she would have died, so the case was charted for self-defence and I wasn't punished…..but…" Sheele looked at Tatsumi desperately, "my friend said she didn't even want to see me. She saw me as a monster!" Tatsumi saw her fearful eyes and understood. She was insecure of herself and was afraid that a friend would eventually view her the same way, as a monster and leave her forever. He placed an arm around her and gently rubbed her back the way his mother had done to comfort him when he was a kid.
After calming down, Sheele continued, "After the case, I was approached by a few men who knew the man I had murdered and intended to enact revenge on me. But I wasn't worried at all. I was calm and collected just like before…..I used a knife to kill them. After I killed them, I realized that….. that I was just a murderer and if I was good at killing, then the Revolutionary Army would find me useful. So I joined them and worked under them as a freelance assassin with the aim of getting rid of the imperial scum in the Capital until I joined Night Raid." She then turned to face Tatsumi. "And that's pretty much the whole story" she finished.
"Woah you've been through a lot haven't you" said Tatsumi sympathetically. To think she had to carry such a dark past behind her and was able to constantly smile, how could she do it? It was something that led him to respect Sheele a lot more.
"Thanks for you listening but I promise I'm okay" Sheele said. "Sure, I had a rough time before joining the Revolutionary Army but I'm so grateful I was able to join Night Raid and find friends within them. I'm truly happy now." A smile graced her features. "I think of you like family as well. Truth be told, you're the only one I've told the complete story to, apart from Mine. The others just know snippets because I'm not yet comfortable with sharing the whole thing."
"Thanks for trusting me," Tatsumi realized the courage it had taken for Sheele to confess to her hidden past. "Everyone really does have their own demons and scars huh. In a way, they're kind of like me."
(At Night-time)
That night, Tatsumi was lying down on the slope of a grassy hill and gazing at the stars that littered the night sky. Whenever he was thinking deeply of something, he would often go out and clear his head. This time he was thinking about his interactions with Mine and Sheele, as well as his past.
"I wonder, will I ever have the courage to tell my past to the others like Sheele and Mine did to me? I'm new and yet they still trusted me enough to tell me this. Guess they truly think of me as a companion."
Tatsumi had always been a lone wolf, after what had happened to his village and his friends, he had sort of shut himself from the world. Shut himself from his heart, from the world that had wronged him so much. His only goal was revenge for a long time and it still was, but for some reason he couldn't shake off the thought that maybe, just maybe he needed partners. No, not partners, friends.
Wrapped in his thoughts, he didn't notice a certain purple-haired assassin approaching until a pair of arms wrapped around him.
"Sh-Sheele?" Tatsumi exclaimed, not expecting the contact.
"Don't worry I won't tell anyone," Sheele said as she ruffled her hands through his hair. "I can tell you are thinking about something, so I hope my company helps."
"Thanks." Tatsumi contemplated getting up as he wasn't used to being so close with someone but then he thought it would be rude to do so after what she said, so he decided to just lie down and enjoy himself.
Sooner or later, he found himself drifting off to sleep and the last thing he saw was the compassionate eyes of Sheele staring down at him.
Sheele smiled joyfully at his sleeping expression, calm and peaceful. It really was different from the usual, stern face that he put up. "Thank you Tatsumi. Because of you, I feel more confident in myself."
(Northern Tribe's Capital Fortress)
The scene in the Northern Tribe's Capital could only be described in one word, hell. The place was littered with dead bodies and ice that was covered in blood, was coming out of people's wounds. The place in destruction, everything all but destroyed. In the capital's fortress was Numa Seika, the once proud leader of the Northern Tribe was reduced to a humble dog. The man, mentally broken and stripped of his clothes and dignity kneeled before the strongest individual in the Empire and one of their generals, General Esdeath.
She wore light blue long hair and dark blue eyes filled with nothing but a thirst for blood and fighting. She wore a general's apparel with long sleeves, a blue scarf on her neck and high-heeled boots. However, perhaps the most striking feature of hers was the tattoo on her chest, it was the symbol of the ice teigu that she wielded, likely one of the strongest teigus in the world.
"Man, we beat the Northern resistance so quickly" a soldier commented. "Just what you'd expect from General Esdeath."
"The soldiers' and citizens' morale have been broken beyond repair" another soldier said, looking at the husk of the man who had been the Northern Tribe's symbol of hope.
"Tch, this was the man heralded as 'the Hero of the North?'" Esdeath grumbled in dissatisfaction. She presented her boot to Numa, who licked it immediately. After looking at his pathetic being for a bit, she grew annoyed and kicked him in the head, his blood splattering over her boot as his body fell to the floor. "What a load of shit," she then looked at the remains of the city she had just conquered. "Is there no one who can satisfy me as a worthy enemy?"
A/N: Well, that's another chapter done! Sorry it didn't really cover much other than Tatsumi's training and his interactions with Night Raid. I just really wanted to flush out Tatsumi's character and get him to grow a bit. As you can see, he has already begun to think about others, which shows some change in his mindset.
You may have noticed that I took great detail in writing Sheele's story and made it more dramatic. The reason I did this was because, since Sheele is the first person of Night Raid to die, I feel like she isn't really focused on as much in the canon story. So, the confession from Sheele acts as a way for her and Tatsumi to learn more from each other and grow closer.
For anyone wondering if Sheele and Tatsumi develop feelings for each other, I decided to leave it to your interpretation. I have left hints that perhaps they might like each other but in all honesty, this segment was more for them to establish a bond rather than a romantic moment.
Once again, sorry I didn't cover much but I promise that the next chapter will have things escalating. Of course, people who have already watched the anime or read the manga know that the next chapter will feature Sheele and Mine fighting Seryu. Please remember to leave a review of what you thought as I do enjoy reading them. Thanks, and bye for now!