"Alright, now breath in... and out." Akame did as she was instructed. The cold metal surface of a stethoscope tingled the skin on her back as the doctor listened to her heartbeat. At her side sat Tatsumi, holding his hand over hers. She... appreciated that gesture. Probably more then he was aware of. It's been three days since she woke up, hardly enough for her to fully deal with what she felt before that. The pain was... too much. She was trained to endure torture, to shrug off mortal wounds and fight on no matter what but... it was too much. It was simply too much. Nothing could have possibly prepare her for what the curse did to her. The cold, the terror, the pain... It was as if all of the low points of her life, all of the suffering she went through were brought back to her tenfold each second.

Before she knew it, all she really wanted was for it to end, not matter by what means. Well... all means but one. She didn't want to die.

This isn't to say she never thought about it, but whenever the thought even crossed her mind, she could feel Tatsumi's hand on hers, like she does now. She could hear his voice calling for her to not give up, to believe in him... saying that he loves her. The last ones she now considered nothing more then her own delusions brought forth by the pain, but at the time these three words were what kept her holding onto hope; 'I love you'. Every time she heard those words, she thought back to the moment right before this started. The kiss she forced onto him, the illusion of love she submerged herself into… It's what kept her going through all this… Without him being there for her, she would end up being the one to not keep their promise.

She really wanted to take hold of his hand as he held hers, showing it with a light blush on her face, but she didn't. It was not her place to do so. It was not her right… And she already took more then she should have when she kissed him. Tatsumi seemed to have felt what she was thinking about though and before she knew it, he entangled his fingers with hers, tightly clinging to her hand. The blush that adored her face increased tenfold as she slightly tilted her head towards him. W-Why is he… Before she got to finish her thought, it was completely silenced by the boy's gentle smile. He was looking right into her eyes, almost as if trying to hypnotize her… and if that's what he was going for, he succeeded. The fusion with Incursio might have changed nearly every part of his body, but… He was still undoubtedly the very same Tatsumi she fell in love with. The very same boy who stood in front of her, a tool crafted solely to deal pain and death, and said he will not die. That he will live and survive with her no matter what…

For a long while she couldn't tear her eyes away from him, not even realizing how much she wished to lean in and kiss him again… until she felt her shirt thrown on her face. "Could you two kindly refrain from flirting while I'm listening to my patient's heartbeat? Makes my job difficult." Tatsumi immedtately joined her in blushing in embarrassment as she herself tore her eyes from his and turned away. Their hands were still intertwined though. "Guess it doesn't really matter though. This is the fastest post-transplant recovery I've seen in my career. Discounting Tatsumi naturally." The doctor sat down on a chair he brought from his office as Akame put the shirt back on, stopping for a moment as her hand touched a small device stabbed into her chest.

"Your new heart has completely adopted into your body with no problems. Incredible really. The tissue from Tatsumi's body was able to fully integrate itself with yours in the matter of few days, with no reaction from your immune system whatsoever. It's almost like that heart was meant for you… Sounds romantic, doesn't it?" He nudged the boy with his elbow, earning a nervous chuckle from him. "Regardless, I thought you'd have to be carried during the journey, but it looks like I'll only keep you restrained to a wheelchair for two more days. Not even going to bother keeping you here all the time, just make sure to come here every 12 hours to get an injection." He pointed a finger at the device in her chest. It was connected directly into the heart Tatsumi gave her specifically to inject the medicine the doctor created to counter the curse.

"So in short… you can leave now if you want. Just don't strain yourselves too much. I'll see you tomorrow morning" He was just about to get up and leave through the door, however… just as he reached his hand for the door, Leone burst through them with a loud 'hello there'. The doctor's reaction was… quick. He grew pale as he jumped away from the woman, holding his hands out in front of him in defensive manner. "D-Don't touch me you-" Leone passed by him without a word, simply throwing him a grin as her tail rubbed against his groin. He all but run out of the room after that.

"Leone..." Akame smiled at the woman. She tried to get up but her body, weakened by the curse and her time on the operating table, gave up under her. Tatsumi was quick to lend her a shoulder before she hit the ground, smiling at her slightly as he led her to Leone. The two gently embraced for a long while, with Akame resting her head on the older woman's chest. "I'm glad you came..." She felt her furry hand brushing through her hair for a moment right before she was sat down on the wheelchair Tatsumi brought over.

"Glad to see you doing fine too. Last I saw you you were still almost like a vegetable..." Only Tatsumi was able to stay with Akame at all times since the operation concluded. He was technically recovering too, even if his actual capabilities remained entirely unaffected. Both Leone and Najenda had much to do in their own right. Najenda in particular had a lot to sort out along with the rest of the revolution leaders and was unable to come see the recovering girl yet. Creating a functioning government while at the same time waging a war on the remainer of the Empire was definitely a tough task to undertake, especially since they want to do things the right way. Leone on the other hand was only able to visit once since Akame woke up, but at the time the girl was still unable to move or even speak up. She was tasked with seeking out the numerous nobles that still hid all over the Capital in hope of making a getaway once things calm down, as well as taking down the small pockets of Imperial army that still tried to fight however they could.

Leone ruffled her hair, smiling wildly. "Missed your big sis, didn't ya?" They both chuckled with Tatsumi smiling on the sidelines. "How are you feeling? Anything hurts?"

"I'm fine, thanks. Nothing bad happened since I woke up and..." She placed a hand against her chest, smiling lightly as she glanced over to Tatsumi. "I've actually been feeling great..." The blush didn't escape Leone's attention.

She smiled. "Yeah… 'bout that..." She pulled two objects from underneath her cloak and passed them over to Akame. One was a small, white box and the other… a wig. A set of long, white hair, made very professionally, from actual human hair if her senses didn't deceive her. If she wasn't holding it in her hand but looking at it on someone's head, she wouldn't be able to tell it actually was a wig in the first place. "I've heard from the doc that he's not going to be holding you on a leash for much longer, so I thought I'll organize a little something for you guys." She said, wrapping her arm around Tatsumi and Akame, bringing the boy lower.

"And by something, you mean?" He tried to free himself from the catwoman's grip, only for her to remove herself from between him and Akame. She pushed their heads together, forcefully pressing their cheeks against each other. Cheeks that were instantly painted red.

"You guys are going on a date!"


A date... Akame felt her body growing more and more stiff each time she thought about it. Not for just a single reason. For once, this was the first time she showed her face in public since she left the Empire. Almost five years… She may be wearing a wig to hide her hair and a pair of blue eye contacts that were in the white box Leone gave her, but that just meant any random person won't recognize her as the assassin who terrorized the streets for years on end. She still felt like a fish out of water; utterly out of her element. Before, she had a top of 10 people around her at any time and it was not unheard of for her to spend most of the day completely in solitude. Now she was surrounded by dozens of people from each side. People she didn't know that she couldn't just flip a switch on and treat it all like part of the job as she would before the revolution. These were not servants of the Empire. Those were not corrupt guards protecting their equally corrupt employers. Those were just normal people. People she fought for…

The amount of looks she was getting was astounding too. Her sharp ears were able to clearly make out numerous comments made about her too. 'What a cutee', 'never seen her around here before', 'who is she' and such. She couldn't tell she really cared about what they were saying about her, even if she herself didn't agree, but just the fact that she was in any way an object of interest was enough to make her nervous. Tatsumi too didn't seem to appreciate either the amount nor the subject of the comments. She noticed him shooting angry glares at people more then once, mostly those being more vulgar.

Her being pushed on a wheelchair was a strong contributor to her anxiety as well. Not only did it serve to bring even more attention to her, it made her feel… weak. She never deliberately thought of herself as strong as to not fall a victim to pride and overconfidence like Esdeath ultimately did, but she also never considered herself a weak person. Not physically at least. Now though, she was barely able to stand straight, let alone hold a blade. She was vulnerable, more so then she ever was. The wheelchair was like an insult on top of an injury. She couldn't even make it move herself, someone else had to push it for her. The fact that the 'someone' pushing it at the moment was a person she loved did provide some comfort in that regard, but still…

And on the subject of that 'someone'…

A date...A blush painted her face a cute shade of red. She was on a date. The first date of her life. With Tatsumi… A date… She never even thought about going on one, let alone bothered to actually doing it. There wasn't even a faintest clue in her mind as to what she's suppose to be doing. A date… She knew what a date is technically suppose to be, that much was not hard to figure out, but that just left a question of why was Tatsumi even okay with going on one with her… A date… This wasn't her place to be in. It shouldn't be her to accept that privilege. She wasn't the one he loved… At most, she was just a replacement.

"Are you alright?" His voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned her face back to look at him, meeting his eyes for just a second before shying away.

"I-I'm fine, it's just that... I'm not used to it..." She tightly grabbed the edges of the wheelchair's armrests. A drop of cold sweat run down her back. The heart in her chest pounded widely as her anxiety continued to slowly rise, by now already past the point when she would be able to get it under control on her own. Luckily, Tatsumi was there for her. He stopped the wheelchair in place and before she got a chance to question him about that, she felt his hand resting atop hers. Her grip on the wheelchair almost instantly loosened as his warmth hit her. The claws and armor that covered his body before were gone, along with virtually any sign of his fusion with Incursio save for his eyes, were gone. They disappeared off his body in a puff of smoke, just like Incursio itself used to just before they headed out onto the streets.

His hand was warm... reassuringly soft to touch, yet with undeniable strength coursing right beneath the surface. "It's alright..." He quietly whispered into her ear as his other hand gently laid on her shoulder. "I'm here with you, so stay calm, okay? If you don't want to do this we can just go back. Or maybe just go somewhere else." She wasn't quite sure if the hint of disappointment she felt in his voice was directed at her or the situation as a whole, but one thing was certain for her. She didn't want to stop this. And not just for him. Whether she thought she deserved it or not, she really did want this date to continue. It's just that... she didn't really know how to communicate it to him. For a long while she just sat there in silence with Tatsumi's hands lightly massaging both her hand and shoulder. It was only when she felt those hands slowly moving away that she decided to act.

She grabbed his hand just as it was moving away from hers, gripping it tightly. "I..." She swallowed deeply, feeling her cheeks heating up again. "I don't want to stop... You shouldn't stop yourself from having fun just because of me..."

He smiled a bit. "It doesn't mean we have to go where Leone set us up though. There are many places around the Capital with far fewer people."

"It... Would be pretty rude to just ignore her efforts though... I can handle it, really..." Without her noticing, her hand started to tighten around his. "Just... please, stay with me..." Before she had a chance to beat herself over letting these words slipping out of her mouth, she felt him suddenly planting a kiss on her cheek, just slightly touching the corner of her lip. For a long second her body froze in place, utterly paralyzed by the simple gesture of affection. Just as she realized they are moving again her hand reached for the spot he just kissed. It was just a bit wet and warm to touch, though that one might be because of her own blush. Her finger brushed along the place where their lips just barely brushed, for a good while wandering what would have happened if her head was turned just a little bit further to the side...

Soon enough she found her nervousness and anxiety melting away, leaving a mere shadow behind them as their time together became filled with light conversations and joyful moments while they made their way across the Capital. They moved from place to place on the route Leone left them with, visiting everything from a restaurant to a bar, from a zoo to old relic, from museum to marketplace...

Through all this, their hands remained wrapped together at nearly all times... and in her mind, she could only ask herself 'why?'


"We can't waste any more time!" A man shouted as his hand smashed against the table. "It's just a matter of time before people run out of patience and start demanding real changes from us, and so far we have yet to establish an official government! Attacking the Capital now was a mistake, we lost nearly half of our forces because we failed to account for that giant Teigu! How did we not know about this Najenda!? You're in charge of gathering intel!"

She clicked her tongue. This again. "The thing was never mentioned in any materials we managed to uncover. I doubt anyone besides Honest and the Emperor actually knew about it." She reached her hand towards her pack of cigarettes, only to find it empty. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she crushed the box in her hand and threw it aside. "And we've been over the timing of the attack already, this was the best opportunity we were going to get!"

"Maybe so, but where did it leave us? We have a huge territory to maintain with not enough people to cover all our flanks, the Empire still has legions outside of the Capital and in neighboring countries and it's only a matter of time before the word reaches them and they attempt to counterattack, and to top it all off, we had no time to prepare for actually setting up the government! People are growing impatient and executing these fat bureaucrats isn't going to keep them distracted for long! This revolution was from the beginning meant to serve the people and no one else, and we're failing at giving them the one thing they want – stability."

"Please, stay calm down both of you." Another man spoke up before Najenda could retort. "Spending another meeting on barking at each other like dogs will achieve nothing. I get it, we are all frustrated here on this council... there were far more of us when this all started... twice as many in fact. The loss of our friends and comrades has left us weakened and without a clear direction to head towards in many places, but cannot lat this divide us! Through all of this, our goals never changed and would rather die then let our dream fade away when we are so close already."

"Well said..." An elderly woman standing next to Najenda spoke up. "The remnants of the Empire will not hear of our success for some time, longer if we are careful with the spread of the information outside of the Capital. Many may also abandon the Empire and switch to our side when the news do eventually reach them."

"Perhaps, but that's only one of our problems..."

"And we will address them all in due time. But I believe we all should rest for now. The upcoming execution of Honest will give us enough time to clear our minds and rest from all of this. I'm addressing this specifically to you Najenda. Out of all of us, the war has cost you the most, and you still take on more responsibilities then any of us."

"If you're talking about Night Raid, don't worry about me. All of us knew what we were signing up for and what we were putting on the line..." She thought she hid it well, but the woman beside her still noticed the twitching of her arm.

Soon enough, the meeting was wrapped up, with all of the Rebel Council members going their separate ways. All but Najenda and her elderly friend. The woman placed her hand on General's back, lightly patting it. "Here." She handed her a new pack of cigarettes. Najenda thanked for the gift and immediately took one out and lit it up. "You really do need to rest dear. You'll work yourself to death like that.

"It's not like I have much time anyways. Might as well make it count." She puffed out a small cloud of smoke as her eyes fell over a map of the Empire. All of the known Imperial Legions were marked on it, with all the intel they have on each gathered into files that lied next to the map. The foreign legions they could more or less ignore for now, especially ones oversees. With how far away they were, it would be months before they as much as hear a rumor about the fall of the Capital and if by then the Revolution fails to make substantial progress towards its goals than a potential attack from them will be the least of their problems.

The closest pocket of Imperial forces was the 40th national legion, posted two weeks away from the Capital, but they were most likely called back as soon as the Empire realized that the Revolution Army is on the move. They likely are already on the way and will need to be intercepted before they get here. Luckily the commander of the legion is not exactly known for being an inspiring presence for his troops, so if she plays this right, the problem may pretty much solve itself...


As time went on for Akame and Tatsumi, a critical flaw of Leone's date plan became apparent to both of them. It was too short. There were only so many favors she could call upon after all. They've spent hours exploring the city, or at least the small fraction of it they would feasibly be able to cover by foot and with one of them bound to a wheelchair. It was not enough though. As they were approaching the end of the plan, they simply found themselves getting... liberal with the time. They would purposefully drag themselves through the streets at a snail's pace, take longer routes, stop to rest even if they didn't need to... And by the time it was suppose to be over, they simply... kept going.

It wasn't exactly hard to find things to do, the whole Capital was filled to the brim with places to visit and food to eat, it's just that most were hard to access with the Empire's iron grip over the economy. With the roots of corruption pulled out, businesses that were closed or wrecked by the city guard were reopening again, hoping this time will be different. It was late evening when they were suppose to be wrapping things up, but with the abundance of things to keep them busy they continued on well into the night, joining the small celebrations they stumbled into.

Akame found herself quickly adapting to the new situation and the attention she was getting. This was what she wanted after all. What she fought for as long as she could remember. Even back when she was serving the Empire the main reason why she would fight, was making the people happy... To see that dream finally fulfilled was almost like a dream in and of itself. She slowly started becoming more and more active part of the celebrations they were joining. Talking with people, laughing with them... It was all still so foreign go her, but she couldn't deny how right it felt.

The celebrations were not where they decided to put a stop to their date though. As the moon rose over the Capital, they both climbed the city's outer walls and sat down on their very edge. She got off the wheelchair and rested right next to Tatsumi, who immediately pressed their sides together, taking her hand in his again. For a long time they sat there, listening to the ambient of the night and admiring the beauty of the moon hanging over them in it's full glory. The excitement of their day together slowly cooled off, replaced by the reassuring warmth brought by their closeness... And soon enough, Akame drifted away into thought.

This was great.

The date, the conversations, the closeness... She didn't even realize when she completely forgot about everything else and simply allowed herself to become submerged in the experience. It made her feel happy, fulfilled and... loved...

"Why?" At first she didn't realize she had actually said that and merely continued to ponder over the question. It was... wrong of her. She shouldn't be feeling that... not her... What she felt wasn't returned. He loved someone else... Someone who's already gone...

"I could ask you the same thing." He spoke up, finally making her realize what she allowed to slip. "Back when we first started to actually get to know each other we weren't exactly getting along all that well. You always seemed so cold and distant... A far cry from how we are now, but even I could feel that you are always keeping me and pretty much anyone else at a distance. You've never shown that you want to change that, or that you feel differently about anyone... So, you tell me why. Why do you love me?" He turned his head towards her, smiling lightly as his hand tightened around hers.

She could almost feel as if her tongue tied itself into a knot when she wasn't paying attention. Not a word managed to leave her mouth as panic set in and the heart in her chest almost burst out of it. "Because I honestly struggle to understand it. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever known. You're caring, strong and smart. You've saved my life more then once and helped me become stronger myself. You took care of all of us and asked for nothing in return. You went through hell and back for countless people you never knew... And you chose to fall in love with some dumb, naive, careless, dense, bland looking village kid who came to a big city and bit more then he could chew... Why?"

Her hand squeezed his hard in a single second as she snapped her head towards him, staring right into his eyes. "Y-You're not like that!" She yelled. "You may have been at first but you've grown so much since then! Each day since you came to Night Raid you've been growing stronger. Faster then any of us could have expected! You matured in front of us all and became who you are now and... and I've been watching... Ever since you're first mission I couldn't turn my eyes away. You've brought so much life into Night Raid... into my life when you arrived, so much joy and happiness... I was afraid that if you were gone then... All of that would be gone too. Every time you were not in my sight I was so afraid... And then you made that promise... It was so stupid, so irresponsible... To make a promise like that... To someone like me... But... I was never so happy in my life! You gave me hope for something more! Something beyond the never ending death and loss!" She felt a tear rolling out of her eye. First of many that followed. "How could I not love you!? You gave me more then I ever wanted, more then I ever deserved! You made me feel like I am more then a killer!

Tatsumi reached his free hand out to wipe some of them, but that gesture only made things worse. He kept his hand the re though, gently pressed against her cheek. "But I never said anything... Because... I knew you would never feel like that about me. Not when there is so much blood on my hands. Not when everyone I ever held close to me died. Not when you deserve so much better then me..." Her eyes closed as tears continued to pour down. She started to unconsciously press herself against Tatsumi's hand, seeking comfort in his touch. He was more then happy to provide, though he had no desire to leave her in that state for any longer.

"I don't know what I deserve or not..." He let go of her hand, instead placing it against the other side of her face. Having both hands holding her tear covered face between them, he wiped the tears with his thumbs, prompting her to open her eyes again. "But I do know what I want..." His gentle smile grew a bit wider as he stared into her deep, crimson eyes. She could see it again. The love that was in his eyes back when she kissed him... only this time she could no longer tell herself it wasn't really there. "And what I want... is you, Akame. I love you." Just as the full weight of these words was starting to dawn on her... he kissed her.

It was just for a short moment, but it was enough. She couldn't deny it any more. She didn't want to deny it any more. What she saw before was truth. Not her delusions. Not a lie. Just a simple, honest truth. He loved her. She couldn't comprehend why, but he did.

His smile only continued to grow sweeter the more that realization started to show on her face and soon, he slowly leaned in to kiss her again. She met him half way through, still slightly hesitant to make a move. That much has changed as soon as the contact was made though. Upon their lips making contact again, her eyes closed and she fully leaned in against him. Her arms shyly reached around his chest, pulling her a bit closer to him. Tatsumi meanwhile, moved his hands away from the sides of her face, sliding one down to her waist while the other rested on the back of her head, sinking into her black hair.

For a short moment they separated, though they still kept their lips close. They stared into each other's eyes, smiling slightly before joining their lips again. This time, Akame was the one to make the first move, slightly parting her lips to deepen the kiss as Tatsumi started to tun his hand through her hair and massaged her neck. She moaned lightly, soon prompting to deepen the kiss further with her tongue pressing against his lips.

Tatsumi gladly accepted the offer, not expecting what fallowed. As soon as Akame gained access to his mouth, she immediately pushed her tongue inside as deep as she could possibly reach, pressing herself hard against the boy and pushing him down towards the ground. She didn't exactly have strength to push him over on her own, but Tatsumi decided to simply lie down on his own and allow her to do as she pleased. And she did just that, almost as if someone flipped a switch in her head.

She was pressing down against him, exploring every inch of his mouth, biting on his lips, roughly running her hands through his hair... And he did his best to return the favor, returning every bit of passion she sent his way and then some. His draconic features started to appear on his body again. His sharp teeth would start to bite on her lips and tongue as the claws on his fingers brushed against her soft skin. She could feel his tail rubbing against her legs, occasionally wrapping around them while his tongue did the same, slowly extending in length far beyond what what should be a limit for a human.

It wasn't long before he flipped her over on her back earning a long, heated moan from her. She continued to push back as much as she could, but Tatsumi easily took over the dominating position in the exchange, leaving no space for her to argue. Not that she would even if she could.

Before long her legs wrapped themselves around him and pulled as close to her as possible, pressing his crotch against hers. They both gasped in surprise, both quite clearly feeling something they weren't expecting. It took them only a short moment to realize what it is they really want right now. They smiled before returning to the kiss, excited for whatever the night would bring them...


Well, that took a while... again...

Sorry if the rare updates annoy you, but unfortunately I don't plan on doing much about it.

I only write when I actually feel like it so often I can take a long time before updating while on other times, if the right mood strikes me I can end up pumping these out weekly. I don't like the idea of forcing myself to sit down and write when I don't actually want to since... you know. I hope to make this as good as I can.

Recently I've been feeling like writing a lot more then usually, so I might end up updating somewhere in the near future, but I'm not making any promises. So again, sorry if you hope for more frequent updates.

Oh, and yes. the next chapter's gonna be dedicated to a lemon. Skip it if you don't like those. The chapter after that is gonna pick up directly after it.


Song of the day: Manowar – Die For Metal