Late. Once again.
Before the plunge.
Esdese and Tatsumi were alone in the damp and cold prison cell. Between them stood the untouched tray of food that Esdese had made for Tatsumi in hope of charming him. But he refused to both eat and talk. Not willing to give her anything. Shutting her out completly.
Esdese had been shocked to learn that he was a part of night raid. But now that she had gotten some time to think about it, it wasn't that strange. It wasn't unreasonable to think that others would be able to see his potential. So she should have expected that if he eventually went through with his stupid little idea, then he would be moved to the top of the revolutionary army. Sooner or later.
She looked at him. Studying his face as he doggedly stared down at his knees.
It had been a harder pill to swallow that some other girl had already laid her hands upon him. She didn't know why but she had never even considered the possibility that Tatsumi might get claimed by someone else. It hadn't even entered her mind. The concept seemed so otherworldly to her.
But it didn't matter. He was hers. She would take back what belonged to her and then she would find out who this weasel was. And then she would find her.
But first she needed to get Tatsumi back on her side. At almost any cost.
Neither of them had said anything in a long while. Tatsumi was sitting on his knees in a humble pose. Esdese was a bit more relaxed in her posture. Leaning on one of her hands. She reached out with a leg and slowly stroked her boot against the side of his knee. But he gave her no response. Stubbornly staring at his knees.
Esdese had spent many hours thinking about this situation. Her usual ways of dealing with problems would not work here. This challenge was unique. She was going to make Tatsumi hers again one way or another. The problem was that she needed to do so without making him dislike her. She needed him to admit that he was hers. Otherwise she would be unable to save him from the execution.
She could probably break him with torture and make him say whatever she told him to. But she strongly disliked that idea. She wanted his affection and love. Not his fear and detest. And should she travel down that rode, she would probably have to ruin his beautiful potential. Damaging the bud before it had gotten a chance to bloom.
But it didn't matter. Tatsumi's execution was scheduled for the next day. Esdese knew that he was very tenacious. She would need more than a couple of days to break his will and mind. She could tell with just a glance.
That strength of will and body only made her aching for him stronger. Her heart wanted him so badly. It needed him.
She sighed in a sad way and stroked his thigh with her foot again.
Esdese was a proud creature but she was not afraid to learn. She had asked around among the people around her for advice or tips on how to solve this situation and charm Tatsumi. But it had not helped her much.
Her advisors from the army utterly failed her in this regard. Not really understanding why their leader was so adamant about getting this vigilante. Even more baffled by the fact that said criminal had refused an offer that half of them would have killed for. And they were not even in death row. Most of them concluded that this man must be an fanatic and that their admired general probably was better off without him.
She had talked to some of her aquiantances amongst the torturemasters about the issue as well. But they had not been much better themselves. Not understanding why the best torturer in the land suddenly didn't want to make use of her amazing talent in the area. A few of them had suggested that she should just get it over with and overpower Tatsumi and rape him. But she didn't like that idea either. Not that she didn't want to explore those kind of things with Tatsumi but she wanted his love more than anything. And she had never heard of rape leading into a loving relationship.
She had even visited some of the pleasure districts, trying to learn what kind of tricks the whores used to gather in their customers. But in the end she had learned nothing new there either. She was already aware of her own beauty and seductive body. She already knew that her goods and looks were not enough to win over Tatsumi by themselves. She had hoped that these people had some other tricks. Yet the whoremongers and their lackeys had been just as useless as everyone else.
The problem was that Tatsumi was completely shutting her out. He didn't give her anything. She could very easily break down that door with force, abuse and torture but she knew that wouldn't get her the relationship she craved. He needed to open the door for her. He needed to let her in.
Now she regretted that she hadn't bartered for his friend. Then she could have used him as a bartering chip here. But when the deal was struck she hadn't thought much about the other member of night raid. Not caring anything about Tatsumi's accomplice. Now the man was dead. Killed in his attempt to escape. Not that Tatsumi knew about that yet.
Things had turned out rather nicely for her in that regard. Najenda's lackey had died and he had taken down the prime minister's son while escaping. A man who Esdese had had a grudge with. Ever since he and his annoying group had went after some of the people that she had offered her patronage to, in the form of Bols's family. They had even attacked her underlings. She had wished to make the boy suffer for that but had been unable to do so because of his position. But that problem had solved itself for her.
But it didn't help her situation with Tatsumi.
She reached down and took up the spoon that was lying in the bowl between them. Feeding herself some of the stew that she had made for him. Still keeping her eyes at him as she did. This one had turned out especially good. She had payed a lot of attention when making it for him. Hoping that it would help her woo him. But the effort had been in vain since he wouldn't even touch it.
He wouldn't even look at her.
"I love you." she said silently. Almost a whisper. Hoping for a response. And this time she got one.
"Then leave the empire and join the revolutionary army. This war would be over the moment you did that." he answered in a blank voice.
"Don't think about that right now. All you need to do is to become mine. After that we can hash out all these other issues." she said a bit louder. Trying to lead the discussion in a diffrent direction. But Tatsumi was stubborn.
"Then will you stop fighting and killing at least? The moment you resign from the military and leave your fighting days behind you, I am yours." Tatsumi said. He reasoned that his life was forfeit any way. If he could trade it to Esdese in order to get her to stop fighting then that would be a better trade for his life than he ever could have hoped for.
He looked up at her for the first time in a long while. She was looking at him. Her face empty.
"No." she said. Her voice a bit colder. She could see that there had been some hope in his eyes but this was not an area that she would bend in. "Tatsumi, I have a responsibility to those around me. I have subordinates and subjects that I have promised protection and leadership. I am a general of the empire. I have duties to uphold."
Tatsumi's eyes returned down to his knees. To Esdese's dismay.
He will never like that. He will always hate the empire, Esdese thought. But it doesn't matter. He will be mine!
Even if it came to the execution, she had an idea. This was Tatsumi she was thinking about. She would consider every little possibility she had.
And she still had one more thing she hadn't tested. One more strategy to try out.
...
Esdese opened her eyes in the small glade she was sitting in. Brought back from her reminiscing by a presence that was approaching her.
It was in the middle of the night and the only thing that lit up the opening in the forest she was sitting ni was the campfire she herself had made. Two long and very sharp sticks of wood were stuck into the ground beside the fire. But apart from that and a small backpack that lay beside her, the glade was empty.
She had been sitting with her back against a tree and thought about the old days while she waited. But now her waiting was done. Her instincts told her that he was returning.
She rose up and dusted off her clothes. Then she turned to the direction he was coming from and put her hands on her hips. Her smile full of expectations.
Tatsumi emerged from the darkness ni front of her. Walking into the light of the fire, carrying a giant black beast over his back. Four times as big as him. He looked slightly tired but not too much so. Esdese gave him an approving nod as he walked up to her.
"I knew you could do it but this was way faster than expected." she said in a happy tone.
Tatsumi dumped the creature down on their side. Next to the fire. "It was much easier than I thought it would be."
Esdese had given him the task of hunting down the alpha male of a very dangerous and very fast pack of beasts that lived in this region. Another test of his newfound strength and abilities.
Esdese glanced down at the beast and raisd an eyebrow as it's chest slowly rose and fell. "You didn't kill it."
"Didn't have to. You only told me to catch it."
"To be honest, I thought you would be forced to kill it." she said and looked him up and down. "Did you get hurt?"
"Nope. Knocked it out before it could react." Tatsumi said and massaged his neck with a hand. "But it was just as stealthy as you said. It was hard to detect even when I knew that it was there."
He looked up from the beast and met her gaze. Ever since they had left Garu, her eyes had looked at him diffrently. There was something else in her gaze and he wasn't sure that he liked it. Now she looked at him less like he was her cute little possesion. Now she looked at him like he was closer to being her equal. Or a little bit closer at least. But the more she regarded him as an equal, the more her competitive sides came forth. Tatsumi had realized this early on. The stronger he got, the stronger her urge to dominate him became. The more she needed to demonstrate that she was stronger. The more she wanted to push him around.
Not that the affection wasn't still there. In some ways it had only grown stronger. It was just that it was now expressed in other, less tender forms as well. Tatsumi feared what would happen if he ever started to get real close to her level of battle proficiency.
Esdese looked at him with pleased eyes. As if he was a prize that she was proud of. "I always knew you could reach these levels Tatsumi." she said. She almost sounded like she was boasting. "I always knew that you were special."
"Thanks, I guess." Tatsumi said silently and let go off his neck. Letting his hand fall down to his side as he met her gaze.
"And do you know what the best part of it is?" she asked as she reached out and grabbed his jaw with her hand. She janked him closer to her face. Making him stumble forward. "I still can't see your limit. One day you might actually be able to match me." She said and stared him in the eyes. It sounded more like a challenge than praise.
He smiled tiredly and gently grabbed the hand that was holding his face. Trying to gently pull it away in an attempt to make the whole situation a bit more sensual. If he tried to pull roughly, her grip would probably just harden. But nonetheless, Esdese's hand did not budge. She was still looking him straight in the eyes.
"I really like how your eyes look now." she stated. "Now they look more fierce, more dangerous, more... defiant." The way she said the last word sounded like a challenge in and of itself.
"You could have just said that I look cool. "
Esdese only smiled at him in response. After some moments she let go of his head. "We should have another sparring match. Soon."
"Spare me." Tatsumi said tiredly.
"Ohh don't worry. I will. But first I will beat you." Esdese said. Her grin was growing a little bit more ravenous and her eyes were smiling at him.
"Don't you remember that last time we fought, you beat me up so badly that I was shedding tears." Tatsumi said. Putting the blame on her in an attempt to avoid another match. The real reasons for his instability during that moment had never translated to Esdese.
"You are stronger now." she reassured him.
"Still not as strong as you, though."
"You are getting closer at an impressive pace."
"What is the point of a match when we both already know how it will end?"
"It will make you stronger, Tatsumi. Your skills adapt and you learn when you fight."
"I think that you just want to beat the crap out of me." Tatsumi said and shot her an accusing look.
Esdese giggled in a dangerous way. "If I only wanted to hurt you then I could just do it right now. Couldn't I?"
Tatsumi looked her straight in the eyes. "Yeah. You could."
Esdese nodded at him. "That is my privilege. I am the only one that can touch you. If anyone else tries to hurt you they will face my wrath."
As if to demonstrate her point, Esdese's right hand came up and cupped the side of his face. Slowly stroking it. "I want to see you fight, Tatsumi. I want to push you to the limit. I want to see your beautiful growth in all it's glory."
Tatsumi looked at her for some moments. "I will not fight you, Esdese."
They both stood still and looked at each other. There was a small power struggle in the moment. It was an open act of defiance from Tatsumi. And Esdese's urge to dominate him was at an all time high. But this specific situation was a bit difficult for her.
Esdese had no way to force Tatsumi to fight her. She could hurt him all she wanted but she couldn't make him summon Incursio and give her all he got if he was determined not to do so. She could probably blackmail him to do it but she wasn't willing to go that far.
"Who do you belong to, Tatsumi?" Esdese asked. Her voice a bit harder even if the smile stayed.
"I belong to you." Tatsumi answered without hesitation.
"Correct. All you have and are belongs to me. So I should be able to have a good fight with you if I so desire."
"I am not just your punching bag, Esdese. You have admitted so yourself."
"I will have what I desire , Tatsumi. Sooner or later."
"Yeah... probably. But in this case it will be later." Tatsumi said and gave her a small smile.
Esdese looked at him for some moments. Then she closed her eyes and shook her head with a sigh. Still smiling. She let go of him. "Go and rest a bit while I make the food." she said and turned towards the fire.
Tatsumi walked over towards the tree where the small backpack was. He jumped a little bit into the air as the beast behind him started screaming. Loud and shrill. He turned around.
Esdese was in the process of cutting into the beast's big hind legs. Working with a piece of ice. She hadn't been bothered with killing the animal before she started to cut out the parts she wanted. The beast screamed and clawed at the grass but didn't get anywhere. Since Esdese had her knee pressed down on the lower part of it's body. Just out of reach for it forearms.
Tatsumi listened to it's screams and whimpers for some moments before his compassion got the upper hand. "You should kill it before you start to butcher it."
"Why?" Esdese asked without turning around.
"It is suffering in vain." Tatsumi said silently. Already knowing her answer.
"And you think that I am not aware?" Esdese asked nonchalantly as she went on with her business.
Tatsumi was well aware that she was enjoying the creature's last moments. "This was a proud and strong hunter. Won't you let it die with some dignity, just out of respect?"
"Animals don't have any dignity, Tatsumi. And I thoroughly enjoy breaking the pride and confidence of the strongest warriors and hunters." Esdese said and pushed down her knee even harder into the beast under her. Making it howl in pain.
Tatsumi tried a harder route. "This was my hunt and my prey. I should have say in how it ends. Kill it. Just listening to those screams is painful."
Esdese turned her head so that she could look at him over her shoulder. Her expression was partly mocking and partly caring.
"Even after all this time and all your growth, you are still such a soft little thing, Tatsumi." She turned her head back and continued to cut into the beast. "We will have to do something about that. Sooner rather than later."
Tatsumi looked at her back for some moments. I can handle more pain than you think, he thought. Doesn't mean that I condone it when it is unecessary.
Esdese was cutting out the flesh that she wanted when Incursio came swirling through the air. The sword hitting the creature in the side of the head. Piercing it. Instantly killing the beast.
Esdese turned her head around and looked at him. But Tatsumi was walking back to the tree with the backpack resting against it. Not facing her. Esdese's eyes narrowed slightly. This was another act of defiance. She felt a strange mix of pride, adoration and irritation well up inside of her as she watched his back. Tatsumi could feel her gaze drilling into his neck but then Esdese simply shook her head again and went back to cutting through the now dead creature.
After she had cut out the pieces she wanted she then rubbed them in some leafs and herbs that she had gathered beside the fire. After that she scewered them on the sticks and put them close to the fire. Cooking the meat.
She walked up to Tatsumi as she wiped the blood from her hands with a piece of clothing. "The meat in the legs of this particular beast is amazing. You're going to love i..."
Esdese halted herself as she noticed that Tatsumi had already dozed off. Resting with his back against the tree. She smiled at him and silently sat down beside him. With her back against the tree as well. She looked at him for some moments before one of her hands came up and grabbed the collar of his shirt. She pulled his shoulders and head down into her lap.
He opened his eyes and looked up at her. A tired expression on his face.
"You have been sleepy ever since we left Garu." Esdese observed as she slowly stroked his head.
"Well, your training has been anything but lax these last days." Tatsumi said with a yawn.
"It has been necessary. As you well know." Esdese said as she continued to look at his eyes.
Directly after the battle of Garu, Esdese had Tatsumi examined by the best doctors and experts her army could offer. They had quickly established that Tatsumi's body now had started to fuse with Incursio. And that offered both pros and cons.
The positive side of things was that Tatsumi was now able to tap into much more of Incursio's capacity. Allowing him to make a huge jump in power. Making him into one of the most powerful warriors in the empire with a single transformation. And he was still growing. It had also made the infection of Morbus almost completly disappear.
But only almost. The downside to the situation had been clear to those that examined Tatsumi pretty quickly. Incursio was tearing at him. Everytime he used the teigu it fused to him more and everytime it did so it damaged him more. However, Tatsumi's own body was pretty strong and resistant to the damages, due to the grueling training Esdese had forced him through during the last two years. So the damage was reduced. But it did still hurt him. And the doctors and experts all agreed that sooner or later it would kill him if nothing changed. Even if it might take a while.
Esdese's solution to this had been simple. She herself had been forced to fight and subdue her own teigu in order to not lose control of herself. Tatsumi simply had to do the same. He simply needed to get strong enough to withstand the damage the teigu gave him. She simply needed to train his endurance. Since the experts told them that Tatsumi's strength helped him handle Incursio.
So when the army had moved away from the ruins of Garu and the military leaders traveled back towards the capital. Esdese had chosen to take a detour together with Tatsumi. Moving through the wilderness. Wishing to both train him and test his new abilities and strength. They had been traveling for three days. Hunting and tracking as they did. They would probably reach the capital the coming day.
Esdese's fingers played around with Tatsumi's hair as she studied his sleepy eyes. Her other hand moved down and grabbed his right hand. She lifted it up and looked at it. It felt warm and soft in her hand. She looked at his palm. Where the black mark under his skin was still visible. Morbus was still in him.
The experts had said that the infection Makeias had given him had basically been rendered impotent. But it was still there. It had not been completely eradicated. But as long as Tatsumi had Incursio near him, Morbus wasn't going to keep growing inside of him. So Tatsumi had to always keep Incursio somewhere near. Otherwise the infection might awaken again.
They had kept that information confidential. Only the two of them new of this. Apart from the doctors. And maybe one more. It was possible that the one that had planted the infection could tell that it was still there.
"Did the previous owner of Incursio ever master it to this level?" Esdese asked him silently.
"No." Tatsumi said and looked up at her. "He was a good warrior, though."
"I would expect so. He was known as the hundred-man slayer after all." Esdese answered.
"He pales in your presence though. You must be up in the hundreds of thousands now." Tatsumi said in an exhausted voice.
"Numbers means little when you reach certain levels. His hundred kills could be much more worthy of praise than the thousands that I buried in the north. Maybe his hundred opponents were more competent than mine. Depends on the people."
Tatsumi looked at her for a little while. "You really are a monster, Esdese."
"Do I scare you that much?" Esdese said with a certain satisfaction.
"Yeah. You do." Tatsumi said truthfully. He feared where their road together would end.
She reached down and snuggled her chin against the top of his head. "No need to be afraid."
They stayed like that for a little while before Esdese spoke again. "What kind of man was he?"
"Well, he was very passionate. Yet he often kept a cool head. He teached me what was what." Tatsumi said and closed his eyes.
"Seems like I have him to thank for you still being alive then." Esdese said with a smile.
"You might have liked him if you met him." Tatsumi said as a bit of sadness creeped into his voice. "If you talked to him a little."
"Maybe." Esdese said. "Though I would probably still kill him."
Tatsumi sighed and looked her in the eyes. "You did kill him. Not with your hands but with your orders."
"And he took down two strong warriors as he died. It was a good death." Esdese said indiffrently. "I would not hold any regrets if I died in the same way."
"Esdese.." Tatsumi said. Clenching his teeth in a pained expression. He rose up a little bit in her lap. So that their faces were closer to each other.
"These days has been fun haven't they?" Tatsumi asked in sad voice.
"Yeah. I have really enjoyed our little trip." Esdese said with big smile.
"Then why can't we just keep on doing this then?" Tatsumi asked. Starting the argument they had had a hundred times before. "These days have been fun, right? Why can't we just keep on traveling. Let's explore the wilderness outside of the empire. We can travel the lands and hunt the most dangerous animals in the world. Doesn't that sound fun to you?"
"It does." Esdese admitted. "But it is not going to happen, Tatsumi."
"It can. You can make it happen." Tatsumi said and grabbed one of her hands. If she left the empire it would eventually collapse. Tatsumi was sure of this. Especially now that she was the great general. "You don't owe the empire a thing."
"I don't really believe in the concept of people or nations "deserving" some certain fate or treatment because of their history." Esdese said. "But I am a loyal creature, Tatsumi. And I have promised the empire my services until all it's battles and wars are won."
Which will never happen with the current imperial court, Tatsumi thought.
"If you continue like this you will die, Esdese. I know better than most of how ridiculously powerful you are. But if you only live your life fighting then you will die. Some random chance or unlucky suprise will occur. Or you will meet an opponent whose abilities are specialized at fighting yours. If you can only define yourself by fighting, then you will die way sooner than necessary."
"And that is just how it should be." Esdese said in a content voice. "What is the point of living for a few more years if I can't spend that time doing what I want?"
"But you just said that you have enjoyed these last days?"
"I have. But I don't want to live as someone that goes back on her promises. I am loyal."
Tatsumi sighed. He let go off her hand and fell back down into her lap. Giving up the argument. For the moment.
Esdese studied his face for some moments. "I love you." she said tentatively. "I love you a lot."
"Not enough to change your convictions apparently." Tatsumi said sullenly. He looked up at her. "Things would have been so diffrent if you just hadn't joined the imperial military."
"Not between us, it wouldn't." Esdese said and started to stroke his head again. "The military didn't change me into what I am today, Tatsumi. You and I are just very diffrent."
"Yeah. We are."
"I would not love you if you were just the same as me, Tatsumi. That would feel kind of narcisstic."
"If I had been the same as you then you would probably have fought and killed me." Tatsumi said.
Esdese giggled lightly. Then she looked at him. "We will be partners until one of us dies, Tatsumi. And it will be a fulfilling life."
"Ohh I imagine that it will be. For you."
"Don't be like that." Esdese said in a tender voice. "I know that you want to be with me as well."
"I never said that I didn't. You have almost destroyed everything else that I love. When you are gone, I will have nothing left."
Good. You only need to love me. All your love belongs to me, Esdese thought. But she didn't say it. This kind of restraint was something her relationship with Tatsumi had taught her. And she only practiced it when she was with him.
"Are you saying that you will be able to survive me?" Esdese said in a more playful voice. "You are far too weak for that. You will have to train a lot more than this."
"I can promise you that I will not survive you, Esdese." Tatsumi said with a smile. Hiding what he he knew was the truth as a joke."Nor do I really want to. You will probably be the one that has to live on alone."
"I can live with that." Esdese said. "Then you will have lived your entire life with me. Your entire existence in this world will have been mine. I prefer that to dying and leaving you alone so that someone else can come and take you."
"And you will just go on with your life. Not letting my death affect you." Tatsumi said. It was partly a question.
"Make no mistake, Tatsumi. When I hold your dead body in my hands, I will know that the best days of my life has passed. All my love will die with you. But I will keep on searching for worthy opponents. Someone capable of matching and defeating me. Leading the empire as I do. And sooner or later I will die. Hoping that there will be an afterlife so that I can find you again."
Tatsumi slowly shook his head with a sad smile. They looked at each other for a long while.
"You are way too strong, Esdese." he said silently.
Esdese smiled down at him. "Yes I am." she said and bent down and kissed him.
The next day offered a single unexpected event on their journey back to the capital. They were still in the forest. Wandering towards their destination. Having used the stars to decide the correct direction during the night. They were talking to each other when Esdese suddenly halted. Signaling to Tatsumi to stop talking with a gesture with her hand.
"We are being followed." she said lowly and turned around.
Tatsumi looked in the same direction as her. Into the vegetation. After a little while he could feel it as well. There were two people moving in their direction. And they didn't try to hide themselves. Esdese put her arms across each other over her chest. She could already tell who their followers were. She was actually a bit suprised.
After about a minute, their followers moved out from the bushes in front of them. Tatsumi felt his jaw drop slightly as Wave and Kurome appeared before them. Wave was walking first with a grim look on his face. He was still wearing the black long coat that marked him as an admiral. Kurome was wakling a few steps behind him. Her eyes glued to Esdese.
Tatsumi felt panick rise inside of him as Wave walked up to Esdese. He was the only person that Tatsumi knew regarded him as a friend. And this situation did not look good for Wave. When Esdese had learned of Wave's open betrayal she hadn't given much of a reaction. She had actually been pretty calm about it. Almost seeming a bit sorry. Which was not the usual respons insubordination got from her. But Tatsumi still knew that Esdese didn't forgive that kind of behaviour from one of her subordninates. Wave had just walked into his death.
Wave walked up until he and Esdese were just a few meters apart. Both looked at each other. Wave's expression dark and sad and Esdese's indiffrent. After some moments a smile started to spread across her face. And it was not a friendly one.
"So.. my admiral comes walking back to me in the middle of the forest. How did you find us?"
"The fact that you took a diffrent road back to the capital was well known among your troops. Some of the officers even knew the direction. And some of those officers are still unaware of what the fleet did at Garu. After that it was easy. You have not really bothered with covering up your tracks."
Esdese nodded to him. Her arms still crossed over her chest. "I see you are still wearing the long coat I gave you. Even after you have betrayed the duty it signifies."
"To me this coat does not symbolises my duty but the greatest honor that you have ever given me." Wave said as his expression got a bit more melancholic.
Esdese's own face grew a little bit more ridiculing. "You were always a bit of a hothead Wave but I never thought that you were stupid. You know what fate awaits you now. What on earth made you come back to me?"
Wave met her gaze. Unflinching and steady. "Loyalty."
Esdese eyebrows rose a bit as Wave kneeled down in front of her. "You raised me up to a powerful position in the empire. First as a jaeger and then as an admiral. I have survived many fights because of tricks that you have thaught me. There have been many battles in which I would have been killed if you had not been around. I owe you so much, great general. And while I will no longer follow you, I still have my loyalty. I have come to recieve my punishment. That is what I owe you. My life."
"And what about my fleet?" Esdese asked. Her voice foreboding.
"Sorry, great general. The fleet you gave me control over will no longer follow the empire or you. They have their own agenda. My agenda."
"And you are prepared to take full responsibility for that?" Esdese asked.
"Yes, great general!" Wave exclaimed. His gaze directed at his own boots.
"You know who I am Wave. You know what that means."
"I do." Wave answered determintely. "I have accepted the consequences."
"Well then." Esdese said and lowered her arms from her chest. She noted how Kurome reached for her sword. She gave Wave a quick glance but the boy wasn't giving off any hostile intent. Unlike Kurome.
It's seems like she is still taking her duty as a bodyguard seriously, Esdese thought. Even when Wave himself is willing to give up his life.
A part of Esdese wanted to show Kurome what it meant to show hostility to her superior but she supressed the urge for the moment.
Behind her Tatsumi, was panicking internally. Desperately trying to come up with a way to save his friend. The last one he had. But then Esdese suprised everyone in the small gathering.
She knelt down on one knee so that she was on the same level as Wave. "When I first heard about your defection, I guessed that you would try to contact me. One way or another. But I am still suprised that you actually came to bow before me yourself."
She reached down with a hand and grabbed his hair in an iron grip. Turning his face in her direction. "You grew up to be a fine man, Wave. Loyal, strong and brave enough to accept a death by torture. I kind of want to take some credit for you becoming so admirable."
Wave looked at her with somber but resolute eyes. Esdese smiled at his resolve. "But you still haven't reached your limit yet. You still have a little bit more to go."
Wave's face got a shade of confusion. Unsure of where she was going with this.
"And I don't really want to kill you until you have reached that peak."
"So what then?" Wave asked carefully.
Esdese looked at him for some moments. Enjoying the fear in his eyes. "I won't kill you today, Wave."
"You won't?" Wave said with uncertainty.
"No. I won't." she said and let go of his head. "I will give you one more chance to become all that you have the potential for."
Esdese rose up and looked down at him. "Go Wave. Go and get as strong as you can. Keep fighting for your beliefs and we will sooner or later meet again. And when we do, I will kill you."
Everyone was silent after Esdese had finished. Wave slowly rose up and looked at her. He had been sure that today was his last day. "You are letting me go?"
"For the time being. Yeah." Esdese said and moved some of her long hair to the side.
"And you are telling me to go and pursuit my goals. Even if they oppose your rule over the imperial military?" Wave said. His voice full of disbelief.
"Are you going to keep making me repeat myself." Esdese said in a slightly more threatening voice.
"You are telling me to go and get stronger. Even if I am going to be your enemy?"
"I am giving you this chance because you now are my enemy. Believe me Wave, if you can manage to survive being the enemy of the empire, then we will meet again. And then you will die."
Wave rose up slowly. Looking at Esdese as he did. "Thank you" he said after some moments.
"Don't misunderstand the situation here, Wave." Esdese said calmly. Putting her arms across her chest again. "This is not mercy. I only want your ending to be a bit more... gratifying. I will personally see to it that all your subordinates will know that you betrayed them. Those people that I offered patronage to on your behalf will be executed. And I will be taking a look at your group of students. I was unimpressed by them when you showed them up to me, four months ago. I will give them another chance to impress me. And if they fail... well, you know what I can accomplish with the right tools. "
Wave's expression had gotten harder but he did not back off. "If it weren't for you I would have never had any subordinates in the first place. And those students of mine are more capable than you think."
"Maybe. But I doubt that they will be competent enought to impress me."
"Even so. Thank you, Esdese." Wave said and bowed to her. "For everything."
Esdese looked at him for a moment. Her smile wide. "Go."
Wave straightened up and looked at her for some seconds. Then he turned around and started to walk back from where they had came. Moving back to his fleet. Kurome following closely behind him. He was almost about to disappear out from the small clearing that they were standing in when Esdese called out to him again.
"Ohh and one more thing, Wave." she called out.
Wave hadn't expected an attack. He couldn't detect it. So when he turned around to face her he was caught completly off guard.
The single, short and thin ice needle hit him straight in the left eye. Maiming it way beyond recovery.
"HIIHHHAAAAAAAAAA!" Wave screamed out and grabbed his face with his hands as blood gushed out from his eyesocket. Falling down on his knees. Kurome immediately jumped in between him and Esdese. Her sword drawn at her.
Esdese looked at Kurome for some seconds. "Next time, you sharp little girl. Next time." she said in a threatening voice. She looked down at Wave with a satisfied smile. "I don't want you to forget who you belong to. Ever. Everytime you look in a mirror or she looks at you face, it will remind both of you that I am waiting for you. At the end of your road."
Esdese stood there and listened to Wave's whimpers for some moments. Then she turned around and started to walk away in the opposite direction.
She passed Tatsumi and started to leave. Tatsumi himself was looking at Wave and Kurome. His expression filled with pain. When Esdese noticed that he wasn't following him she called out for him without turning around or stopping.
"Tatsumi."
He looked over at her back. "Yeah yeah." he said and turned back to Wave and Kurome. He tried to get some contact with Wave but the other boy was sitting hunched over on his knees. His hands clutched over his face.
"Cover up the eye quickly. You need to stop the blood loss." He said lowly to them. Wave didn't react to his words and Kurome didn't move an inch. Her sword raised in his direction. Tatsumi realized that she was not going to lower her guard until they were gone. He looked at her for some moments. Her own gaze hard.
"Take good care of him." Tatsumi finally said and then turned around and walked after Esdese. Leaving Wave and Kurome behind them.
They walked in silence for almost twenty minutes. Both thinking about the situation. Esdese content with this outcome and Tatsumi once again reminded of how she destroyed everything around her just by existing.
"So... you just decided that you wanted a new Najenda?" Tatsumi asked after a little while. Keeping his voice empty of emotions.
"This was about me wanting to see Wave reach his best before I kill him." Esdese said matter-of-factly. "Anything else would be a waste. I never had any such affection towards Najenda."
"But you just gave him a handicap." Tatsumi said.
"If you are referring to his eye, then yes. I did just give him a disadvantage. I usually kill traitors. I let Najenda get away with just losing an eye and an arm. It would be negligent of me to not hurt Wave in some way for betraying the empire."
"But you still allowed him to get away." Tatsumi said. Happy that she had done so but confused about her reasoning.
"I will meet Wave again. He will oppose the empire and he is strong enough to survive doing so for a while. But this new little faction that he has created poses no real threat to the empire. The revolutionary army is in shambles. All our foreign neighbours have been subdued. Wave could pose a threat if he would be able to ally with the remains of the revolutionary army but they will never trust him. He has destroyed too much of what their movement is about."
Tatsumi looked at her back as she went on. "If I had thought that he would be able to pose a real threat to the empire then I would have ended him here in this forest. But in our current situation I can afford myself some entertainment."
"The imperial court will not like it." Tatsumi said. Thinking about the prime minister.
"The imperial court should consider themselves lucky that I suffer their complaints in the first place." Esdese said. "Besides, don't think that I couldn't tell how relieved you were back then. You didn't want me to kill them either."
"And you feel no regrets about this at all?" Tatsumi asked silently.
"This is how things should be, Tatsumi. I respect and cherish both Wave and Kurome a lot. It is regrettable that the group that I gathered now have been completly dissolved. Just like so many others of those who have followed me. But we simply choose diffrent paths. They couldn't keep following me. They aren't the first ones to give up on that. So they chose the path which they felt that they could live out to the fullest. They announced it loudly and proudly. And they even came back to me to accept their punishments. I will give them a glorious end the next time I see them."
"And you don't think that is sad at all?" Tatsumi questioned.
"I never said that I didn't. I just lost two of my best subordinates. And two of my closest followers. But you can't let regret dictate your life, Tatsumi." Esdese answered.
Tatsumi closed his fists behind her. She was simply too strong. She mourned just like everyone else. She was just too strong to let it affect her in any meaningful way.
Esdese halted herself as Tatsumi's arms closed around her lower chest from behind. His nails digging into her sides. Making her draw a sharp breath.
"Tatsumi?" she asked gently.
"If Makeias is decay, then you are certainly destruction." he whispered into the back of her uniform. "You destroy everything around you."
She put a hand over one of the ones holding her. "Not you. I will do my best to keep you alive."
And yet you will fail ,he thought.
"I will endure." Tatsumi swore. "As you destroy everything else, I will endure."
At least long enough to aim you in the right direction.
They stood like that for some time before they started moving again. They had reached the capital before nightfall.
Author's note:
A bit late but the delays are growing shorter.
I can understand that after the onslaught of fighting and violence that the "between" chapters were, this might seem like a very slow one. But I realized that I needed a chapter between the Garu arc and the prime minister arc. Some things needed to be established. Partly Wave's new stance but mainly Tatsumi and Esdese's diffrent views on life and death. The next arc will start in earnest with the next chapter and it will bring the biggest change to their relation so far.
Things will start to ramp up after this. The next chapter will be released in ten days. Hopefully.
Thanks A LOT for reading and sticking with this story even during these longer interwalls.
Until next time, take care of each other.