I kinda feel like the white rabbit from Alice in wonderland. Always late.
A single crack in the line.
The atmosphere was tense in the room. The small training hall was almost completely empty. Without windows or furniture.
It was filled with young fighters and friends. All part of a small training group of about thirty people. They had no idea of why they had been summoned to this hall but they had been told to bring their weapons and be well-rested. The tension was a result of the fact that as soon as all of them had gathered, the doors had been locked behind them. Leaving them unable to escape.
Some of them could guess what was going on but they hoped that they were wrong. But what little hope they had was quickly smashed as the one who had summoned them entered the room.
Esdese pressed the double doors open as she entered the hall and walked into it. She swaggered towards the group of people in front of her. One hand on her hips and her long hair swaying behind her. Her smile was placid and her eyes lightly lidded. She was looking forward this.
The group in front of her shifted all it's focus to her as she approached them. They had met her some times before but this time they knew that things were diffrent. They no longer had their teacher to vouch for them.
Esdese looked at the group. Her eyes wandering from person to person. Constantly met with attentive and somewhat scared eyes. Her smile widened slightly. She could almost taste their fear. She took a couple more steps towards them. Stopping when she was just a couple of meters away from them.
"Good afternoon, special training group number eighty seven." she called out loudly to them. The group backed away from her when she started to speak. "Do you know who I am?"
Many heads in the group nodded but no one spoke up. Esdese watched in amusement as some of them already started grabbing their sheated weapons.
"We have met a couple of times before. When former admiral Wave presented your progress to me." she said and adjusted her cap with her fingers. "I am certain that you are aware of how he has betrayed the empire."
Once again the small group of people in front of her nodded.
"So.. I think you can guess where this is going. " Esdese said loudly and grabbed her sheated sword. "Let's have you show me what you got once more. If you manage to impress me, you migth even live to see tomorow."
No one in the group stepped forward. Everyone was silent. Their eyes moving back and forth among each other. Esdese looked around among the faces and started to tap her foot slowly.
"Come on. Step up." Esdese said in a still relatively soft voice. "I am not known for my patience."
A young man stepped forth.
"Ahh." Esdese exclaimed with a smile. "A brave young man steps forth. Are you confident in your skills, warrior?"
The warrior who stepped forth was still ni his teens and had long brown hair in a ponytail and a sword strapped along his back. He had a serious look on his face but tried to not act too challenging as he looked at Esdese. She herself was beaming at him with a friendly smile. Though everyone in the small training group could feel her true intentions. She made no effort to hide the excited and malicious aura she was emanating. Even if her face was friendly.
The younger man walked up to her until he was just a meter in front of her. He had a problem with where to direct his gaze. He didn't want to look her in the eyes since she might interpret that as a challenge. And he couldn't look down without seeming like he was staring at her ample cleavage. He was also a bit too close for him to look at her boots without looking silly. In the end he choose to met her blue, cold eyes. Trying to sound as humble as he could when he spoke.
"Great general... we had nothing to do with admiral Wave's betrayal. I promise you." he said silently. Some voices behind him mumbled in agreement.
Esdese tilted her head slightly to the side. "Did I ever say that you did?"
"No, great general." the boy answered. "Excuse me if I am being presumptuous, ma'am. But haven't you come here to punish us for just being his students."
"Ohh this has nothing to do with punishment." Esdese explained. Sounding like she was talking to a child. "I don't think you are more prone to defection just because your teacher left."
"Then why are we here?"
"Because your teacher betrayed me." Esdese said. Still smiling kindly at the boy.
"What? Sorry great general. I don't understand."
"I don't blame you for Wave's betrayal. Nor do I think that the risk that any of you will defect has increased notably because of that. You had nothing to do with his decision. But you were his students. And that is why you are going to die here. It's merely a consequence of his defection." Esdese said with the same kind smile as she started to draw her sword. '
Gasps could be heard from the group behind the boy. Even if most had guessed that the situation was dire they had still nurtured some hope. Now they were all reaching for their weapons and taking diffrent stances. Esdese looked over at the group as they hastily got ready to fight.
"There we go!" she called out to them in an encouraging tone. "That's the spirit. You can attack several at once. I don't really care." She returned her gaze to the man in front of her. "You should draw your sword as well, boy."
The boy looked at her. A bitter look at his face. "Great general, there is nothing just or fair about this." he said slowly.
"You should have left those words in kindergarten." Esdese said as she completely drew her sword from it's sheath. "They serve little purpose in the real world. Now, come on. Draw your weapon." The last part sounded like she was goading a dog on.
The young man in front of her looked at her for some moments. "Great general, I think I understand Wave a little bit better now." he finally said and looked her in the eyes. His expression serious.
Esdese could not stop her smile from growing. It seems like you made some good, brave warriors. My foolish little subordinate, she thought. I should have complimented you more when I had the chance.
She was going to enjoy breaking them.
"Come now. A warrior should die with his weapon in his hand." Esdese said and waved at him with a hand. "Who knows? You might even impress me enough to make me take you into my ranks as one of my own. Just stepping up in front of me when no one else dared earns you some points from me."
The boy in front of her took a deep breath and then drew his sword.
The wind was blowing strongly as Wave and Makeias walked across the deck of the anchored ship. The sky was just as grey as it had been during the last days. No rain had fallen since the grey clouds had started to occupy the sky but they hadn't been able to see the blue for almost a week.
Kurome was standing at the front of the ship. Directing the crew while she kept an eye on Wave and the pillager. She didn't like to leave Wave alone with the other man but understood that she had to. Unlike Wave, she still didn't trust Makeias.
"So... when are we going to strike against the empire?" Wave asked as they slowly walked together.
"When the right time comes. No need to rush." Makeias said. His eyes looking out over the sea.
"I strongly disagree. The longer we remain passive, the longer your forces will have to sustain themselves by terrorizing and pillaging the people. The same people who I want to save from conflicts like this, I might add."
"Easy, Wave. Our time is coming."
"You have to give me more than that, Makeias. The people we both swore to protect are suffering at our own hands. I did not betray the empire to join a faction that is just as cruel."
"The intention makes all the diffrence here, Wave. There is no way to deny that we are, at the moment, causing more harm than good to the people of the empire. But we do it in order to stop the conflicts. We do it in order to reach stability. The current imperial court does not."
"It is not the empire you need to justify yourself against, Makeias. That is rarely necessary. It is the revolutionary army that seem like the better option when compared to this. They sustain themselves by the support of the people. Not by inflicting further destruction on them."
"And where are they now, Wave?"
Wave looked at the other man for some moments before he spoke. "I need to know what our next step is. I am fine with not knowing every little detail of your schemes but I need to know that we are moving towards a solution to the situation."
Makeias slowly looked up at the sky. "I need to recover a bit more of my strength. Then I will deliver the first blow."
"With what?" Wave asked.
"Chaos will be the first strike. And in it's wake we will move." Makeias said. "The first strike will come from within. You might have heard that I worked closely with the imperial court after I returned to the capital. Acting as organizer of the security on many of their meetings."
Wave remembered how Makeias had talked about that during Budo's last meeting. "Did you manage to gain some valuable information during those meetings?"
"Not really. I mostly supervised their more inconsequential gatherings. And I did not even partake in them personally. That job mainly just consisted of a lot of late nights, guarding and... handshaking."
Wave gave Makeias a questioning look. Waiting for the general to go on but he never did. Wave was about to ask more about it when they were both interrupted by the arrival of Tom-Tom. The big man walked up on the deck from the walkway that connected it to the shore. He approached them both at a brisk pace.
"Sorry for the interruption, friends. But I carry urgent news."
"Don't worry, Tom-Tom." Makeias said with a gesture with his hand. "What news?"
"General, it seems like Liza's last mission has gone a bit awry." Tom-Tom said and shot a quick gaze at Wave. Makeias immediately understood why his subordinate was keeping the message vague. He nodded to Tom-Tom.
"Understood. I will come immediately."
"Need any help?" Wave asked.
"No." Makeias said immediately. "I will handle it. It's just a matter of keeping discipline. You have your on troops to lead, Wave. We will talk more later."
Wave nodded and followed them to the walkway. After some brief goodbyes, Makeias and Tom-Tom left Wave on the ship and walked off to the shore.
"You don't trust the boy with this?" Tom-Tom asked when they were out of earshot of Wave.
"Not yet. This alliance of ours is still a bit rocky. I don't want our partnership to fall through." Makeias was silent for some moments before he continued. "Morbus has infected Wave as well."
Tom-Tom seemed suprised by that. "Do you not trust him?"
"It wasn't my intention. Morbus acted on it's own." Makeias said and looked at his hands. The only part of his body not covered in bandages except from his feet. "We are sealing my hands as well. I will keep them covered until battle is joined. It's is getting harder to control the teigu."
Tom-Tom nodded. "Understood."
"Now, what problems has Liza ran into?" Makeias asked.
"I'm afraid that she hasn't run into any problems. She is the problem."
Tatsumi was standing beside the door into the training hall. His back against the wall. Alone in the long corridor. He could clearly hear the commotion from the other side of the closed doors. The loud sounds of steel hitting steel, agonized screams and begging. Only every now and then interrupted by the excited voice of his lover.
He sighed. He had hope to get some more time but he guessed he would have to go for it now. This was a good opportunity and he could hopefully save some of Wave's subordinates in the process. He had hoped to get a few more things ready but he knew that the longer he waited, the closer the prime minister would get to the truth.
He reached into his pocket and brought up a rather large vial that he had brought with him. He had known that it migth come to this. He took a deep breath and then drank all the contents of the bottle in a single chug. Forcing down the sticky liquid into himself. He wheezed slightly after he had done it and had to suppress his urge to start coughing. He walked over to a window in the corridor, opened it and threw the bottle away as far as he could. Afterwards he turned around and walked over to the doors of the training hall.
Ok. Let's start it, he thought before he pushed the doors open and walked into the training hall.
Esdese was standing in the other half of the training hall. Facing the group of students that had now fled towards the doors leading to the locker rooms. The doors were however locked so they were struggling with getting them open. Clawing and pounding at them in panick as Esdese picked them of one by one. Some chose to turn around and face her with their weapons when she got close. Others tried to sprint to the side in hopes to get to the doors behind her. The ones that Tatsumi had just passed through. And some just got down on their knees and begged her. It made little diffrence. They all met the same fate.
Tatsumi watched the cruel scene unfold for some seconds.
The boy that had stepped forward and talked to Esdese was lying dead on the floor behind her. It looked like he had been stabbed right through the neck. Esdese had rewarded his courage by giving him a warrior's death. Swift and merciless. Beside him lay a trail of bodies. Leading to Esdese's feet. There was a pile of five persons a couple of meters behind her. Consisting of people who were simply knocked unconscious. But Tatsumi knew that the fate that awaited those who had been knocked out was probably much worse then the cruel dignity of a warrior's end.
A young girl was on her knees in front of Esdese. Desperatly tugging at her dead friend's arm while her scared eyes were staring at Esdese. The friend she tried to help up was crushed under a huge block of ice. Tatsumi could immediately see that the ice had killed it's victim but the girl was apparently in denial. Pulling at her dead friend's arm in an attempt to get her out from under the ice. Esdese was standing less than two meters away from her. Looking down at the girl with an amused smile.
"Esdese!" Tatsumi called out.
"Yes, Tatsumi?" Esdese answered without turning around.
"We need to talk." he said.
"Wait for a little bit. I will be done soon." she said calmly. She tilted her head to the side slightly and gave the terrified girl a look of curiosity. Wondering what she was hoping to achieve.
"Stop this Esdese. This isn't necessary." Tatsumi said. His voice a little louder than normal. Earning him some hopeful gazes from the group of Wave's students.
"Necessity is often a relative concept. And I am the one who makes the calls here." Esdese said as she raised her sword. The girl in front of her froze as Esdese let the point of the long sword slowly trail down the side of her face. So lightly that it didn't even draw blood. "You are a pretty one." Esdese complimented with a smile.
The girl seemed to take that as a sign that she had a chance. She let go of her dead friend's hand and threw herself down at Esdese's feet. "Please don't! I don't want to die! I have a little sister who depends on me." she shouted loudly as she pressed her forehead to the ground in front of Esdese.
Esdese looked down at the girl for some moments. Then she raised her weapon and put it's point against her back. Then she slowly, almost gently, pushed the sword down into her.
The girl whimpered but that was basically the only reaction that could be noticed as Esdese pierced her body. Driving her sword through the girl's heart. When Esdese removed her sword the girl remained still. Killed in that position.
Esdese then turned her attention to the other students that were trying to escape to the locker rooms. Behing her Tatsumi had already reached the conclusion that he couldn't stop her with words alone. But he had known that before he entered. He knew how to get her attention.
Esdese started to walk towards the students when she heard the sound of steel being drawn behind her and immediately stopped. Tatsumi had drawn Incursio and pointed it at her back.
"Esdese! I challenge you to a sparring match. Here and now." he exclaimed loudly.
Esdese remained still for some moments. Not turning around "I am working, Tatsumi. Let's have our match as soon as I am done."
"Too bad." Tatsumi said. Feigning disappointment. "It is now or never."
Esdese was motionless for a while. After almost ten seconds, Tatsumi started to think that his plan might have failed after all. But then she turned around. Her smile radiant and her cheeks red.
"You're so hopeless, my sweet little Tatsumi." she called out in a giddy voice and started to walk towards him.
Oboy. here we go, Tatsumi thought.
Esdese walked up to him until she was only a meter or so away from him. When she did, most of the students behind her started to move along the wall. Heading for the other door now that Esdese was occupied.
Esdese's smile was wide and happy. She looked so little like the monstrous predator that she was when she smiled like that. She simply looked happy. Tatsumi gave her careful smile in return. To their side the students where starting to escape through the doors.
"Don't you think I realize what you are trying to do?" Esdese asked him. "They are not going to get far, Tatsumi. I will just send my hunters after them."
"Who said anything about the students." Tatsumi said. At ease now that he knew that she wasn't aware of his true motive. "I just decided to give you what you want."
"How kind of you." Esdese said as her smile grew a bit more sinister. Not believing him at all. "This is going to hurt a bit, you know?"
"You think?" Tatsumi asked sarcastically as the last of the students left the hall. Now it was only the two of them left.
She looked at him for a while before she spoke. Enjoying the anticipation and excitment that the coming fight gave her. Tatsumi on the other hand, was rather nervous. Hoping to not take too much damage in the match. He needed to still be able to move around efficiently after this.
"I love you." he said silently in an attempt at damage control.
"And I love you. Now get your cute little ass armoured up in Incursio. My patience is at it's end." Esdese said. Her smile growing more threatening with every passing moment.
Tatsumi took a deep breath and did as he was bid.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Makeias roared and slapped Liza so hard that he sent her flying to the side and falling over. Liza grabbed her already reddening chin when she had regained control over her body's movement. Sitting on the ground. Her frown was deep yet, despite that, she smiled when she looked at him. And it was not a friendly smile.
"I brought you the recources, didn't I?" Her tone was mocking.
They were standing in what had been the center of a small town. Now there was nothing left of it but ashes and rubble. Two great pyres were still smoldering thirty meters from them. Filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh. The ground they stood on was black with soot. Makeias was accompanied by Tom-Tom and Kai. A hundred meters behind them, troops were moving out into the wilderness again.
"I gave you eight hundred men and an important mission. I trusted you with real power and you repay me by throwing this in my face." he said and gestured towards the area around them.
"You sent me out to forage recources and that is what I did. Forage."
"You were not supposed to engage!" Makeias shouted at her. He took a couple of deep breaths. Trying to calm down. He had made a mistake. And it's prize had been steep. "Why did you attack? Did these people offer any threat?" he asked rhetorically.
Liza rose up slowly.
"Do you not undeerstand how this might hurt us. Gallus will use this to turn the people against us."
Liza just shrugged. "Safer to not have any witnesses."
"Sooner or later people will find out about this and then they will connect it to us." he sighed and grabbed his forehead with a hand. "How many civilians?" he asked and looked at her.
Liza just grinned at him and shrugged again.
Makeias held her eyes for some moments before he shifted his gaze to Kai who was standing beside him. The young man that acted as the main adminstrator of his forces was wearing a black armor and a long red coat.
"About a thousand, sir. This was a community of farmers and traders." the younger man said. Kai had always been a bit shorter than Makerias but way more muscular. But since Makeias recent changes, that diffrence had been amplified. Makeias now had to look down at the other man and Kai's chest was almost twice as wide as Makeias's.
"Farmers and traders." Makeias said slowly and glared at Liza but the young girl showed no remorse. She only smiled with satisfaction at him. Makeias knew that she had held no grudge against this now destroyed village. She had simply wanted to hurt him by destroying it. And he should have recognized that risk from the start. But he hadn't. And now a thousand more people were dead because of it. Just because he couldn't realize the risk.
The blood of the small village was on his hands and he knew it. That was the real reason for his anger.
"You were supposed to move in and steal about half of the village's recources. Leaving enough to make sure that they didn't starve. Instead you order a direct charge and slaughter the entire town in the span of an hour."
She just nodded at him. Makeias tried a diffrent route.
He walked up to her and then crouched down so that they were on the same height. "Did it not bother you?" he asked lowly. "Their screams. Their suffering and misery as you brought death to them and all they knew."
She met his gaze without hesitation. She shook her head at him. Still smiling. That bothered Makeias a lot. The more incompassionate she became towards the suffering around her, the closer she got to walking down the same road as Esdese. In the back of his head, a small voice screamed at him to grab her throat and let Morbus do it's thing. The voice telling him to not take any risks.
But his emotions were getting in the way. The little girl's father had left both her and her brother behind when he gave his life to rescue Makeias. A long time ago. And Makeias did not know if he was capable of killing his best friend's children.
"You are starting to become something quite unsightly, Liza. And quite dangerous."
"Says the one who is responsible for a hundred times more death than me." Liza said.
That shut Makeias up for some moments. He was reminded that she was older than her years. She knew how to hit him where it hurt.
"Morality aside." Makeias said and rose up. "You have gravely disobeyed a direct order and caused a frightful amount of unneccesary death. Execution would be the usual punishment."
Liza's smile bared it's teeth at him. "Come and try it, pillager. I would like few things more than a chance to smash your pale face in."
Makeias looked down at her coldly. "Or maybe it is your brother that should take the punishment in your stead. Since you won't show any remorse."
That killed Liza's smile immediately. "You wouldn't dare."
"Is that so?" Makeias asked. He turned around and started to walk away. "It would probably be more effective. He was always much easier to hurt than you. And always much quicker to cry."
Liza jumped at him immediately. "I'll kill you!" she screamed and jumped up on his back. Putting her naked feet into his back and wrapping her arm around his neck in hard hold. Makeias froze and the scene did so with him. Everyone halting themselves.
Tom-Tom was the quickest one in the group but he was also furthest away. His hand was hovering over Liza's shoulder when everyone stopped. Kai had drawn his sword and it's edge was pointing at Liza's throat. His armor rattling as his quick movement came to a halt.
"Not him. You cannot hurt Jack." she hissed at his neck. "You can take everything away from me but you will not destroy him." Makeias realized just how smart it had been to not let Liza see her brother before he had Tatsumi send him to the capital.
"Liza.." Tom-Tom said gently and slowly let his giant hand touch her shoulder. But he was interrupted as Makeias slowly turned his head around. And not in a natural way.
Makeias head slowly turned around until he could look at Liza with both his eyes. It didn't turn around completly but still far more than what was natural. Since his shoulders remained stationary. "Have nobody ever told you that you shouldn't touch the sick ones."
Liza hid her fear with fury but Makeias could still see it in her eyes. She was still just a kid. And that thought stung Makeias with bitterness and sadness. He turned his head back.
"Get off me, Liza. Your brother will not be punished for your actions." he said somberly.
Liza looked at his neck for some moments before she lightened her grip and fell down on her feet behind him. Tom-Tom patted her on the shoulder. And Kai took a step back. Even if he kept his sword drawn.
Makeias turned around and looked at her. "Liza, you are hereby stripped of your soldiers and your rank. From now on you will act as my personal bodyguard. You will stay close to me at all times so that I can keep an eye on you."
"Tchh." Liza said and spat to the side.
"And from now on you will stay in line." Makeias said. The threat against Jack didn't need to be said.
"I really hope that he is okay. For your sake." Liza growled at him.
"So do I, Liza." Makeias said and started walking away. "So do I."
Esdese's steps had an unusual spring in them as she walked down the corridor while carrying Tatsumi. Her hunger for battle and fighting momentarily satisfied. Her smile was joyful and her eyes wide, clear and attentive. She would probably had been bouncing forward if she wasn't tired from the match.
"Seriously, were you trying to spank me or something?" she asked happily and looked down at Tatsumi. He only grunted in response.
Esdese had a strong red mark forming at the back of her legs. Just under her butt. The clear red streak moving across both her legs. Visible just above her thigh high boots. Because of her short skirt. It stung but wasn't hurting that badly anymore. It was a sweet pain to Esdese, though. She was so, so proud of it. It was the one hit that Tatsumi had managed.
He had actually managed to kick her. She hadn't intended for it to happen, yet it had. And while she hadn't been going all out she had still not been going easy on him. Yet he had managed to get a kick to connect with the back of her legs. She couldn't remember the last time when someone had managed to hit her. She had since long forgotten how it felt.
The pain was a constant reminder of just how much Tatsumi had grown in power. A reminder of how beautiful his strength had grown. And how fantastic his potential was. It reminded her of how much she loved him. She moved her head down and snuggled her chin against his head that was resting on her shoulder. Smiling with closed eyes. Getting some of Tatsumi's blood on her as she did.
Tatsumi was in a much worse state than Esdese. This battle had been hard for him. Since he wanted to convince Esdese that he was fully spent when the fighting was done. His blood was dripping down as they walked through the corridors of the inner palace.
She was carrying Tatsumi with one arm under his legs and one supporting his back. His head was resting against her shoulder. Blood was pouring from his nose and he had a smashed lip. Courtesy of her fist. Tatsumi was suprised that he hadn't lost any teeth. One of his wrists was extremely swollen. It had been hit by a big block of ice as she had used it to disarm him. Esdese had checked it to see that nothing was broken and assured him that it was fine but he still couldn't move it around at the moment.
He was sure that some of his ribs were broken but Esdese said that it wasn't so. He had also sprained his leg quite violently as he had been forced to move around when his leg and foot was frozen in place. Apart from that, he just had a lot of bruises and small wounds. His eyes were closed and even if he had some energy reserves left he was hiding them the best he could. Genuinly resting against her as he did. Trying to regain some strength.
"You did really good." Esdese said for the sixth time and pecked him on the forehead. "I am so proud of you."
Tatsumi once again only grunted in response.
"Don't fall asleep yet. I want to put some healing balm on you when we get back to our rooms." Esdese said.
"I am trying to dream of a life where my relationship doesn't include my partner beating me half to death." Tatsumi mumbled and put his nose into her uniform. Coloring the white cloth with his blood.
"Things are perfect as they are, Tatsumi." Esdese said in a satisfied voice and looked up from him. "This is just how it should be."
Tatsumi only mumbled something inaudible in response.
Twenty minutes later he was lying down in their bed without his shirt as Esdese put some gooey liquid on his wrist and ribcage. Her hands moving swiftly and delicately over his skin as he lay on his stomach. Very tenderly massaging him as she did. She had already wiped and cleaned his wounds.
"You are magnificent." she said lowly. She had been praising him non-stop ever since the match ended. "You are more than a match for my most powerful subordinates now."
"I don't feel like much of a match for anyone right now." he complained as he winced from the pain, when Esdese touched his sprained foot. "I need to sleep. Could you get me something to help with that. I think the pain will make me unable to do so otherwise."
Esdese nodded. She finished covering his damaged parts with the sticky liquid and then walked away to the bathroom. After some moments she came back back with the bottle that Tatsumi knew that she would bring.
"Have you eaten much today?" she asked as she sat down on the bed beside him.
"Not more than normally."
She nodded and opened the small bottle. "Then two should be enough."
"Give me three for good measure."
Esdese reached over and gave him three small white pills. "These will knock you out until tomorrow."
He nodded. Tatsumi knew what they were. They were strong sedatives. Capable of even putting out people with their kind of extroardinary physique and bodies.
"It's growing late. Will you stay and rest with me." he asked as he put the pills in his mouth. Chewing them to powder but not swallowing.
"I'm afraid not, Tatsumi. I have two small meetings and a legion inspection to get done before the day is over." she said and closed the bottle.
Tatsumi had guessed something like that. She had a lot more duties now that she was great general. And she was always serious about her duties. Loyal as she was. But he had forseen this. When Esdese once again turned her face towards him, he was just a couple of centimeters from her.
Esdese welcomed Tatsumi's kiss by instinct. Opening her mouth to let his tongue in as they embraced for a little while. Too late did she realize what was happening. Only detecting the strange taste after some moments. Having been too focused on the kiss.
She grabbed his shoulder with a hand and pushed him down into the bed as she remained sitting on it's side. They looked at each other as Esdese wiped her lips with the back of her other hand. But she knew that it was too late. She had already swallowed his saliva. She frowned at him.
"Tatsumi."she said. Her voice a bit harder and colder.
"What?" Tatsumi said as he relaxed down into the bed. Loudly swallowing that which remained in his mouth. "You spent the entire afternoon beating me up. I think it is fair for me to demand that you stay with me as I recover. At least for one night."
"You don't make demands here, Tatsumi. I am the one who dictates your rights." Esdese said in the same tone and rose up from the bed. She grabbed her head with one of her hands as soon as she had straightened up. The sedatives were already starting to work on her. She could feel how her, otherwise, razor sharp instincts were slowly being dulled. She could no longer tell what the people on the floors under and over them were doing. She sighed.
"You shouldn't have done that." she said and turned her irritated eyes over to Tatsumi. "Do you think that..." she started but her voice trailed of as she noticed that Tatsumi was already fast asleep. Rendered unconscious by the drug. She looked at him for some moments and then shook her head. There was nothing more to it now. She had to just sleep it off. These sedatives were strong enough to easily affect her own physique. Which was why she kept them around.
Now she would have to wait for their effect to pass. She could not go around and perform her duties in such a half assed and sloppy state. She would have to do them tomorrow instead.
She walked out of the room and returned twenty minutes later. After she had postponed the evenings undertakings. She was not used to feeling so unsteady. Her perceptive instincts and extreme body control momentarily numbed. She felt really clumsy. She usually had such complete control over herself that her sudden ineptitude seemed comical. It almost made her giggle. As if she was drunk.
Even if it was impossible for any onlooker to the tell that she was in less control of herself.
She got undressed rather quickly and then climbed up on the bed. She sat on it for some moments and looked at Tatsumi with light irritation. She reached out and poked his chin.
"Bad boy." she mumbled silently and pushed his head around with her finger. "I ought to do something to you for this."
Though, due to her drugged down mind, she couldn't think of anything fun and appropriate to do to him while he was passed out. After some moments she sighed again and layed down beside him. She reached out with her arms and pulled his body close. Making him into the little spoon as she hugged him from behind. She snaked her hand in under his shirt and put it against his chest. So that she could feel his heartbeats. That was at least a little bit relaxing. Normally she could detect them just by being near him but not at the moment, due to the drug.
She put her nose in his hair and slowly fell asleep like that. Her heartbeats becoming slower and her breathing more regular.
They lay like that for almost forty minutes before Tatsumi opened his eyes. He remained absolutely still for a start. Listening to Esdese.
Then he tried to move slightly. Esdese did not react.
He started to move a little bit away from her.
Still no response from Esdese. The usual tightening of her grip when he moved away absent. He turned his head so that he could look at her from the corner of his eye.
"Hey." he whispered silently. Already expecting her eyes to open and look at him. But they didn't. He couldn't stop a small smile from spreading on his face. His lover was really asleep. And not in her usual, still-aware-of-everything-around-her sleep. For the moment she slept like a normal person. Her extreme instincts and senses numbed by the drug. Now she was truly unaware of her surroundings.
He very slowly moved his hand up to the arm that was coiled around his chest and then very slowly removed it. After ten minutes he was completely free. He carefully moved out of the bed. He stretched his limbs. It's seemed like things had worked out. It had been a gamble. He knew that Esdese kept these powerful pills in case she needed them so he had guessed what she would bring. Just one of those pills could probably have put him to sleep for six hours if not more. Esdese had maybe gotten one and a half pills in her and she was fast asleep. And her body had always been stronger than his.
It had been a race against time. He had known what kind of things she kept in her living quarters so he had been able to get some antidote to stop the sedatives from having any effect on him. The trouble had of course been that he couldn't drink it in Esdese's presence or she migh have been able to figure something out. So he had to drink it before their fight. He had feared that his body would have breaken down the antidote before he got the pills in him but it seemed like he was in the clear. His body still hurt like hell though. But he could move well enough. He didn't expect his task to require much in the terms of body strength.
He turned around and looked at Esdese. She was lying with her arms out in front of her on the bed. A blanket covering up parts of her. She looked really peaceful. Tatsumi sighed silently. She always seemed so innocent when she slept. Innocent and beautiful. In all her feminine glory.
In that moment a thought hit Tatsumi that he hadn't even considered yet.
He could probably kill her right now.
It was probably the first moment in a very long time that he would be able to do so with ease. Since she could usually detect danger even when she slept. And no suprise momentum was ever going to work on her as long as she had Mahapadma. But now he could probably shove a sword through her heart before she could react.
The heart that loved him more than anything else.
His smile grew bitter. A long time ago he would have killed for an opportunity like this. But now he needed her against the prime minister. He killed his hesitation with that reasoning. Ignoring the other reason why he couldn't drive his sword through her in that moment. He turned around and left the room.
He guessed that he had about two to three hours.
"Ahh Tatsumi of the jaegers. How can we aid you, sir?" The elite guards called out as he approached them. There were two of them. Guarding a massive wooden door.
It was a little bit past midnight and they would have been much more alarmed by his approach if Tatsumi hadn't acted so calmly. They knew that he would have had to pass through severeal inspections just to get to their level.
"Just a routine check, gentlemen." Tatsumi answered with a big smile. "The great general had a hunch and wanted me to take a look and see that everything was in order over here."
"Nothing to worry about, sir. We are ever vigilante." the soldier said and saluted.
"That is good to hear." Tatsumi said. He knew that he had to be fast. The system was built up so that if one single guard even shouted, the message would spread like wildfire in this part of the palace. He had passed by the other checkopints by using Incursio's invisibilty but these guards were competent. They would be able to detect that someone was coming even if they couldn't see them. And the first thing they would do would be to raise the alarm.
"What happened to your face, sir?" the other guard asked. "Is it anything serious?"
"Nah. Don't worry about it." Tatsumi said and put his hands in his pockets. "Just some rough loving."
"Ohh." the man said. "Was it a punishment?"
"Not really. You wouldn't believe what forms her love can take." Tatsumi said in a joking tone.
The guards smiled. "Do you mean that we should pity you or envy you?"
"A little bit of both, I guess." Tatsumi said and chuckled. The guards chuckled with him. "Actually this damage was a bit intimate." Tatsumi said an gestured for the guards to come closer. They lookeed at each other and then took a few steps towards him.
As soon as they both were within in his reach, he acted.
He grabbed his sword and did a single swing before they could react. Cutting of both their throats in the same swing. Using the small gap between their armor and their helmets. Both of them fell down without a sound. Tatsumi immediately moved on to the big room. He had nowhere to hide the bodies and there would be a patrol there to check up on the situation in three minutes.
He opened the giant doors and moved into the dark room. Closing them behind him.
"Who is there?" the voice of a young boy called out.
Tatsumi straightened up and answered as loudly as he dared. "Emperor Makoto, I am very sorry to disturb your rest. It is me, Tatsumi of the jaegers."
A single light was lit on the other side of the room. Revealing a giant bed with a young man climbing out of it in his pyjamas. A single light was glowing from the table by the bed.
"Tatsumi? Why have you come at this hour?" the boy said and tried to rub the sleep away from his eyes.
"Esdese sent me, my emperor. It is very urgent." he said and started to move across the room. Doing everything to seem unthreatening. He knew that Makoto had some way to summon more guards to him in just some moments. He just didn't know the exact method. So he could not risk scaring the boy. This was something that he couldn't have done shortly after coming into Esdese's "service". This was something that could only be done thanks to the trust he had garnered over time.
"Why didn't you just send a courier?" the boy said and got out from the bed.
"It is extremely confidential and extremely urgent. That is why Esdese even alerted you guards of my visit. Which is why they didn't alert you of my arrival. My visit must remain a secret." Tatsumi said. Giving the boy the answers before he started to ask the questions. All to stop him from worrying.
"A secret? Does the prime minister know about this?" the boy asked. He seemed more confused than afraid.
"He does, my emperor. It was his idea to keep this secret." Tatsumi said as he kept walking towards the younger boy.
That seemed to win over Makoto's trust. "If the prime minister thinks this is necessary then I will trust that it is." he said and walked over to Tatsumi. Tatsumi nodded and waved for the emperor to come closer.
"Tell me. What is it?" he asked when he got close.
Tatsumi bent forward slightly. "I will tell you when we meet again..." he whispered and shoved his sword through the heart of the emperor. "..in hell."
Then he swung Incursio upwards. Opening the young boys chest all the way up to his throat. Not a sound escaped the emperor's mouth. He slowly fell backwards. His eyes wide in shock. He looked like he didn't understand what had just happened. Tatsumi looked at the boy as he fell down.
With a silent "thump", the emperor fell down on marble floor.
Tatsumi felt like this had been way too easy. He was supposed to be the emperor. He ruled over the entire empire yet he had been brought down by a single silent swing. It was almost ironic. Tatsumi looked at the teigu in his hand. Now the emperor had been killed by one of the very weapons his ancestor had designed to protect his realm with.
His attention was brought back to the young boy as he slowly moved his hand up in Tatsumi's direction. He looked like he was begging for help as his lifeblood spread out over the beautiful marble floor. As Tatsumi looked at him he realized just how young this boy was. Now that all his big clothes and hats were of it was very easy to see that he was just a scared little child. Barely into his teens.
Tatsumi clenched his teeth. This victory had nothing sweet about it. In the end, the child in front of him had been nothing more than a tool for the prime minister. Used for his position. A role that he was born into. His only sin was his ignorance. Which had been forced upon him by adults ever since he was born. Tatsumi suddenly felt nothing but pity for the dying child in front of him.
Tatsumi raised his weapon and ended the boy's suffering.
Ninety minutes after Tatsumi had left their quarters, Esdese started to stir in the bed. Her perceptive instincts and senses had already returned. Even if she herself was still asleep. But now her subconscious once again started to notice things around her in her sleep. And the first thing she percieved was that there was no body in her arms anymore. She slowly started to rouse because of this absence.
Her arms reached out a little bit around her. Searching for him. When they didn't find him she groaned silently. Starting to wake up more and more. Her hands stretched out for as long as they could reach in front of her. Finally they landed on warm skin. Her nails immediately dug into it as she grabbed a hard hold on the body and pulled it towards her. Causing Tatsumi to very silently whimper. The sound making Esdese go back to rest as she returned his body to it's original place in her arms. Returning her nose to his hair.
"Don't go so far away." she mumbled drowsily. Half asleep.
Tatsumi grabbed one of the arms that had wrapped themselves around him. "Don't ever let me go." he whispered to her quietly.
He thought about the situation for some moments as Esdese went back to sleeping. Now things would be harder for the prime minister to control. He might very well suspect that Tatsumi was a traitor but Tatsumi felt confident that he didn't have any evidence against him. At least that is what he thought. His hand tightened slightly around Esdese's arm.
Don't ever let me go ,he thought. Because the end has begun.
Fifteen minutes after that a military courier banked loudly on the doors to their quarters. Bringing news of an emergency.
Author's note:
I don't even want to think about how late this one is. I feel like I have lost a lot of that speed that I was so adamant about earlier. Admittedly, I haven't been lazy, my real life has just been very hectic.
I really can't understand the variance of the influx of followers this story gathers. Somtimes it can go ten days without anything happening. And then, on the eleventh day, fifteen more people start to suddenly follow it. I sometimes wonder what causes these sudden bursts.
Anyway, this arc is slowly starting to ramp up. Beginning with the death of the emperor. As you can guess, things are going to escalate from here on. Rapidly. I am looking forward to writing it. If I can find the time.
On that note, the next one should go faster. I will have some more time on my hands the coming week. So hopefully in ten days.
Once again, thanks for all the reviews/comments and feedback. It's just as fun for me to read them as it is for you to read this story. If not more. I read them all so don't think that you are throwing a message nito the sea.
Take care of each other until next time.