Welcome back everyone, BzS here.
Sorry for the delay. School started and things are happening, but I'll try to have a chapter out every 2-3 weeks.
Thank you for your patience, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 9 - Tomb Raiders I
Yoshiro mentally went through the small amount of information he had as he crossed referenced the map laid out before his eyes. He was standing in a large meeting tent surrounded by his fellow assassins. Najasho was standing to the side with his arms crossed. Poney was looking at the map with a clear question mark over her head. Green was trying to work up the courage to speak to the distressed Akame. Guy was out scouting the enemy base.
Yoshiro turned back to the map and let out a silent sigh. This mission is borderline suicidal. Their mission was simple. Infiltrate the tomb of the first emperor, kill the guardians and take back the treasures they've stolen from the Empire. But there are a few problems. they have no information on the enemies other than that they called themselves 'the Gravekeepers'. Their strength, overall numbers, positions, the interior structure of the tomb, the trap layout and basically everything else is a mystery. Not to mention we only have seven people on this mission.
To top it all off, they have three hostages. One of which is Akame's sister, Kurome.
Yoshiro glanced at Akame who was staring intensely at the map. Her usual serious and quiet front has crumbled away, leaving behind an anxious girl who's only objective is to save her beloved little sister. Her eyes lit up and she pointed to a spot on the map. A cave nearby which was also an entrance to the tomb of the first emperor.
"We could reveal ourselves and lure out the enemy! Yes, right here. We lure them out, strike them down quickly and head into the tombs!" She proposed, her voice borderline hysterical. Yoshiro shook his head sadly.
"We can't just do that. The enemy outnumbers us greatly, the tombs will be filled with traps, and we don't know the layout. If we just charge in there, the chance of success decreases greatly." Akame's desperate plan was a silent plea, but Yoshiro had to be the one shoot it down. It hurt him internally, seeing his good friend and sister in such distress. But it was his duty to act as the voice of reason.
"Akame, I know you're anxious, but you have to calm down. Once Guy comes back with the internal layout of the tombs, we can plan out the quickest and most efficient way to save Kurome and the others." Yoshiro explained, doing his best to sound hopeful. Akame stopped and grimaced. She clenched her fists and nodded slowly. Poney walked up to her and gave her a big hug, she finally began to settle down thanks to the embrace.
"But remember, that's not the mission." Najasho reminded. "Though I'm fine with taking a detour to obtain some more manpower." Yoshiro gave Najasho a small glare and a sigh. Why couldn't he just comfort her normally? Then again, the day Najasho says something with honesty and warmth in his voice is the day the world explodes.
Shaking those thoughts out of his head, Yoshiro headed to the entrance of the tent. He opened the flaps and a wave of unbearable heat struck him in the face, almost forcing him to step back.
"Where are you going?" Green asked.
"I need to go ask father about his plans." Yoshiro promptly responded.
Yoshiro found Gozuki in the edge of a cliff, overlooking the enormous canyon where multiple caves marked the entrances to the tomb of the first emperor. The complex internal structure of this massive tomb was filled to the brim with traps and Gravekeepers, a group of guardians with the ability to transform their body into other organisms, gaining new abilities and boosts in the process.
"What's wrong?" Gozuki asked without turning around, his scarf waved around in the wind. His backside was a common sight for Yoshiro. In fact, Yoshiro has developed an ability to read Gozuki's mood just by looking at his stance. And today, Gozuki's mood was clearer than the cloudless sky overhead. After a few moments of silence, Yoshiro spoke.
"This mission… some of us are going to die."
Gozuki turned around and stared Yoshiro in the eye. Yoshiro continued without hesitation.
"We are greatly outnumbered, we have no backup and no intelligence on the enemy. They have hostages and we are all still anxious from Cornelia's death. We aren't physically, numerically, mentally, or emotionally ready for this." Mentioning Cornelia's name renewed the ache in Yoshiro's heart.
A few days ago, Cornelia died by the hands of an enemy assassin. If that wasn't enough, the assassin almost killed Akame too. An older sister figure to everyone in the Elite Seven, the news of Cornelia's death struck the group of teenage assassins hard. Even though Yoshiro had prepared himself for situations like this, it didn't ease the pain even by a little.
"Are you defying my orders?" Gozuki asked with a glare. The heat from the blazing sun couldn't even compare with the searing heat that exploded inside Yoshiro at that moment. Who gives a shit about his orders?!
"I'm trying to protect my family!" Yoshiro yelled. They glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Gozuki let out a small sigh. Gozuki turned back towards the barren canyon.
"These are the orders from the Empire. It's a mission and we will complete it no matter the cost. That's what it means to be assassins. To be tools." He stated, his voice quiet and full of dread. But that wasn't what Yoshiro wanted to hear. The empire ordered this, the empire ordered that, he was sick of it.
"And your thoughts? Not the empire's, not a tool's, but the thoughts of our father. The one who raised us and taught us." Yoshiro inquired.
Gozuki stared silently down the canyon. Every gust of wind covered the bottom of the canyon with clouds of dust. Even so, small creatures still crawled around in this seemingly desolate wasteland. They struggled to survive and only the strongest persevere. They reminded him of his life as an assassin, and the life waiting for his children.
"I would refuse if we could. But now we are doomed to lose precious assets because one stupid old man doesn't know when to cut his losses." Gozuki grunted angrily. Yoshiro shook his head, denying his claim.
"Regardless, Akame would never leave her sister, and we would never leave Akame." They just lost Cornelia, there is no way they would abandon Akame nor would they let her fall into despair. Gozuki turned back towards Yoshiro and stared at him for a few moments.
"Then what's the point of asking me?" Yoshiro shrugged with a mischievous smile.
"Is it wrong to get our father to say he cares about us? May I have permission to scout out the area?"
"Go ahead." Gozuki consented after a few moments of thought. Yoshiro mock saluted before turning around. As Yoshiro took his first step in the opposite direction, Gozuki said one last thing.
"Among the seven of you, only you would dare to do something like this." A smirk appeared on Yoshiro's face.
"I'm trying to protect my family, that includes you, father." With that, he ran off into the distance. Following the edge of the canyon and searching for enemies.
Gozuki closed his eyes, the image of his students drifted across his mind.
"Cheeky little brat."
Yoshiro was running along the edge of the cliff when a familiar screech instantly caught Yoshiro's attention. The large shadow flew down and landed on Yoshiro's outstretched arm, heeding to his call. He quickly popped open the capsule and read the message scribbled messily onto the strip of paper.
"I'll arrive at the tomb by mid-day. What's my mission?"
Yoshiro quickly pulled out a pen and on the back of the same sheet of paper, he wrote:
"Come and find me when you get here. The enemies are decorated with skulls and have the ability to transform their body into animals and copy their attributes."
He stuffed the note into the capsule and sent the bird to find Tatsumi. His eyes followed the large bird as it until it disappeared from his vision.
If the empire isn't willing to send us back up, I'll just find my own.
"I'm back." Guy said as he entered the meeting tent. The tent itself was quite large, enough to fit a dozen people with extra room to spare. A large table was placed at the center with no other decorations. The other members of the Elite Seven had already gathered there.
"Took you long enough." Najasho commented. He was standing by the door, leaning against the pole that supported the tent's structure with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Guy wiped a few beads of sweat off his forehead and slowed his panting breathe.
"Well, I ran into some enemies." Guy replied with a sheepish smile. The enemies weren't overly powerful, but they were still relatively skilled. The large amounts of traps and complicated interior of the tomb made mapping it out a huge hassle. Green, knowing Akame's impatience, decided to speed up the conversation.
"What do you have for us?" He asked. Guy pulled out a large scrolled up piece of paper and laid it on the table. A map was roughly sketched onto the large piece of paper. The map was extremely messy with several paths crossing over each other on different levels, but to the trained Elite Seven, simply memorizing the layout wasn't too difficult a task.
"This is the general map of the tomb's interior that I made. Be careful, the tomb is not one dimensional. As for where the hostages are… I couldn't pinpoint their exact position." Guy warned. Akame frowned worriedly at the last part, but she showed a small smile to Guy.
"That's fine, we'll just have to search every nook and cranny of the tomb." Akame reassured. Najasho narrowed his eyes at the map and glanced at. Yoshiro saw the look that said "are you sure about this?" and sighed in response.
"I can't say this is the best plan I've seen, but I can't think of anything else." Yoshiro said while rubbing his neck. Finally, he looked at Gozuki for confirmation. Their eyes met and Gozuki nodded.
"Alright, you know what to do. Gear up and in half an hour, meet me on the eastern cliffside by the nearest cave. We get in, complete our mission and get out." Gozuki said.
"Yes Father!"
Deep in the tomb, three teenagers, two girls and a boy, were being held captive by the Gravekeepers. Their hands were cuffed and linked by a chain to the ceiling, forced into a stance between kneeling and standing. Kurome, one of the girls, desperately fought against the fear and anxiety. She began flashing back through her life after separating from her dear sister.
After that fateful day when she was separated from Akame, she was forcefully transported to the Capital of the Empire. Day after day, they were forced through horrific training. But no matter how hard they tried, they could not reach the expectations laid before them. In response, the Capital's scientists tested their new booster drug on them. The drug temporarily boosted their physical abilities, but in the end, it wasn't nearly enough to compensate for the difference in skill.
In less than a dozen missions, the entire Group of Terror was left with only five surviving members. Those five were sent on a mission to raid the Tomb of the First Emperor. During their battles, two members died and the rest captured. Kurome, being one of the remaining three members, could only curse the cruel fate that forced her to live this excruciating life.
"Hey Jamo, there's been an emergency, let's go." One of the Gravekeepers ordered. His head was bald save his short mohawk that sliced through the middle of his head. Around his neck hung 5 skulls; a symbol of his strength and high status among the gravekeepers
"Hm? What happened, Kimatsu?" Jamo asked. Jamo was a buff man with a similarly ridiculous hairstyle. His hair was puffy and spherical, a classical afro. On his long chin was a thin strip of hair, a short beard.
"A Gravekeeper's body was found in the crypt." Kimitsu said simply. Although the news wouldn't sound that surprising to outsiders, any Gravekeeper who heard the news would be shocked. That included Jamo, who's eyes widened to epic proportions.
"Wha- someone managed to get in that far?! How…" Their conversation faded into the background as Kurome trembled. Someone had managed to infiltrate the tomb?!
Could it be? Onee-chan!
Akame snapped her head towards the entrance of the cave. Kurome? She thought to herself. Yoshiro noticed the change and spoke to her.
"What's wrong?" Yoshiro inquired. Akame shook her head and gripped her shingu tightly.
"I… I can feel Kurome calling for me." Yoshiro patted her shoulder. He knew, from firsthand experience, how close the siblings were. But acting under the pressure of anxiety will only lead to mistakes, mistakes that they couldn't afford to make.
"Don't panic, don't rush. We will save your sister, I promise." Akame smiled thankfully. The Elite Seven and Gozuki were standing in a loose formation, fully equipped and ready to begin their mission. They were standing on a ledge in front of a cave entrance, carved right into the side of the canyon. Gozuki turned to his kids and gave his last orders.
"Alright. Keep an eye out for traps and ambushes, especially you, Poney." The short and blockheaded girl pouted angrily.
"Hey! That's not fair!" The complaint from Poney was promptly ignored.
"As long as you perform like normal, you should have no problems dispatching our enemies. Always keep your guard up." Gozuki ordered. He scanned his eyes over his students and stopped when they met Najasho's questioning gaze.
"You will be coming with us, correct?" Najasho asked. Gozuki rolled his head and stretched.
"Yeah, the risks are too high otherwise…" Gozuki's eyes drifted off to the side and narrowed.
"... But before that, I have something to take care of." He said. Najasho raised an eyebrow but didn't raise any further inquiries. He knew better than to dig too deeply when it comes to their father.
"Guy, head into the tomb and distract them. Everyone else, head in through the nearest entrance. As usual, failure is not an option." Gozuki ordered. "Any questions?" A confident silence conveyed their response better than a thousand words.
"Go show 'em hell."
"Yes sir!" The teens responded. Guy immediately equipped his shingu and disappeared underground. The other's shot towards the nearest entrance, disappearing into enemy territory. But Gozuki didn't follow, instead, he turned to his right and glared at the shadow that sat suspiciously at the edge of the cliff a few hundred feet above.
A cloaked figure sat at the edge of a ledge, overlooking the canyon.
"Damn, there are a lot of enemies…" The figure said. A gust of wind blew by, ruffling the hood that covered the figure's head. Brown, unruly hair peaked out from below the cloak and a pair of light green eyes opened to observe the entire canyon.
"This mission isn't going to be easy, and you aren't making it any better, sir." A blade took its place on his shoulder. Gozuki glared at the figure. From his body size and young-sounding male voice, he managed to surmise that the cloaked figure was under the age of twenty. If he had to throw out a wild guess, he would put it around the age of Yoshiro and Akame - sixteen or seventeen. But Gozuki knew better than anyone that age doesn't equal strength.
"Who are you?" Gozuki asked with a threatening voice. The figure slowly raised his hands in surrender. Yet for some reason, the action put Gozuki on full alert. A single suspicious movement and One-cut killer - Murasame will take the boy's life.
"Who am I? Well….at the very least, I would say I'm not an enemy." The figure replied. Gozuki's glare sharpened at the cryptic response.
"Why are you here?" Murasame inched closer to the figure's throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The figure's right index and middle finger twitch forward. In an instant, Gozuki's danger perception kicked in. Three distortions in the air appeared next to Gozuki's thigh, brain stem, and heart. Gozuki didn't know what they were exactly, but he assumed they were dangerous weapons. And right now, every one of those blades of wind was positioned to take his life.
Gozuki knew only one set of items that could create such a dangerous phenomenon.
Teigu?! A rebel?! Gozuki thought, cursing himself for underestimating his target. Thankfully, the cloaked figure wasn't planning on taking Gozuki's life.
"Calm down. Like I said, I'm not an enemy. As for why I'm here… I have some people to save, so our interests coincide." The figure explained in an amused tone.
"You know who I am?" Gozuki questioned in hopes of gaining some sort of information from the mysterious figure.
"At the very least, you don't match the description of an enemy. Now, are you done with your interrogation? Your kids are fighting as we speak and I'd like to get going."
Gozuki gave one last glare before slowly withdrawing his sword. The air blades dissipated one at a time until the last one vanished into the air. In that instant, Gozuki swung Murasame, aiming to take the figure's head off. From the sky, an air blade sliced the ground between the figure and Gozuki.
"Tch." Gozuki grunted and jumped back. The blade kicked up a large dust cloud that clouded Gozuki's vision. A loud crack could be heard as the section of the cliff broke and slid down the side of the canyon before crashing into the canyon floor, sending a tremor throughout the entire area.
The cloaked figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Whew, that was close." Tatsumi whispered to himself as he landed lightly on the ground. He had gotten so caught up in searching for Yoshiro that he nearly missed Gozuki who had stealthily approached him. If Gozuki had approached, not with the intention of interrogation, but with the intention to kill, Tatsumi would probably be rotting at the bottom of the canyon right now.
"I have a general idea of the insides of the tomb and enemy positions. Let's go see what Yoshiro wants from me." He mumbled before bending his knees and blasting off towards the nearest entrance. He slowed down as he entered the Tomb of the First Emperor, entering a natural walking pace. The cave-like entrance transformed into a smooth corridor about one hundred feet in.
Tatsumi cautiously walked down the empty and spacious square corridors of the Tomb. Without warning, the roof began racing towards his head, aiming to crush him. He noticed the danger the instant it appeared and his right hand flew to the handle that stuck out from his right shoulder. In a swift motion, he drew his trusty sword and a wind blade shot out from the arc his sword drew. The stone ceiling split in half, completely missing its target.
Tatsumi sword glistened under the pale light. The design was extremely simple. The blade was symmetrical and double-edged. It expanded from the tip of the sword until about an inch and a half from the hilt, where it narrowed in a curve, stopping at the hilt. It was heavy and faithful to the proportions of a true two-handed sword. Beautifully crafted and with durability far beyond regular steel swords, it was created by a blacksmith of incredible talent for Tatsumi's personal use.
The light afterglow of Shinatsuhiko shimmered and faded from the sword. The glow quickly renewed as a boulder swung down from the walls. The wind-encased steel sword sliced through stone with ease without leaving so much as a scratch on the blade.
I have a decent idea of what these traps are capable of, let's pick up the pace. Tatsumi analyzed before bending his knees and leaning forward. He shot through the corridors, destroying any and all traps that stood in his way. His sword drew one continuous swerving arc through the air, never breaking pace nor slowing down.
As he finally stepped into the first room, the corridor behind him was filled to the brim with debris. His eyes scanned the cubic room, finally stopping on the pair that stood on the opposite end of the room. His eyes immediately darted to the four skulls that hung from their waists.
"Are the traps malfunctioning or something? How the hell did it let a brat like you get in here?" The woman said. Her hair was shaggy and short, giving her a tomboyish vibe. Her partner, a completely bald middle-aged person, had the completely opposite look.
"Are you a man or a woman?" Tatsumi asked, trying his best to hold in his lunch. The figure had so much makeup on that you couldn't even tell their original skin color. She, or he, looked anorexic and stood in the stereotypical 'girl' pose with their knees pointing inward.
"R-rude! I'm obviously a man." The man, apparently, replied in a forced high-pitched voice.
"This little brat is pissing me off, let's kill him." The woman spat. She held out both her hands and they extended in length. Bones extended from both arms down and a layer of skin formed distinct wings out of her arms. Her partner, the male with fashion issues, also transformed. His… ass inflated, and insect-like wings sprouted from his back….
Tatsumi sweatdropped. His palm found its way to his face as he contemplated how the hell this man managed to get four skulls. "A bat and a firefly?" Tatsumi whispered to himself. Could they have picked a less threatening animal? A hamster and a squirrel maybe?
"Grrr… you outsiders are all the same, judging people based on appearances. I WILL TEAR YOU APART." The woman threatened. She shot up to the ceiling, disappearing from view. The man spun and pointed his backside towards Tatsumi, a blinding light emitted from his butt. Tatsumi happily slammed his eyes shut. The woman opened her mouth. and an extremely high pitched screech rang through the square room.
I see… The man uses his light to disrupt vision while the other uses echolocation to spot and attack the blinded enemy. An impressive strategy. The woman appeared behind Tatsumi with her mouth opened wide, her fangs closed in on Tatsumi's neck.
"But that would make me your worst enemy."
Tatsumi spun on his heel, his sword encased in wind sliced through the woman's neck. Her shocked eyes remained on her severed head from when she realized that she had died. The man realized something went wrong, but he couldn't confirm it because he was turned around. "What happened?!" The man yelled in alarm.
Tatsumi hopped into the air and swiped his sword, a wind blade shot out and sliced off the man's inflated bulb. He screamed in pain and clutched his bleeding butt. With the bright light out of the way, Tatsumi opened his eyes.
"Together, you guys are definitely worthy of four skulls. But individually, you are below average at best." Tatsumi critiqued. Those were the last words the man heard as he slowly died of blood loss. After Tatsumi had wiped the blood off his sword, he continued deeper into the tomb.
"Damn it, we've been separated already?" Yoshiro mumbled to himself. But after a bit of thought, it probably makes things easier. Sensing a presence from behind, he quickly ducked. A devastating kick narrowly missed its target. Yoshiro leapt forward and turned to face his opponent only to do a double take.
It was an incredibly cute teenage girl. Her hair was tied in twin-tails, a rare hairstyle among the Gravekeepers. What really caught his attention was the rabbit ears that flopped about on the top of her head. Her legs were those of rabbits and three skulls hung from her waist.
"Aww, why did you dodge?" She complained with a small pout.
"Sorry, I don't plan on dying today." Yoshiro apologized.
"We'll see about that." She vanished from sight and appeared with her feet firmly planted on the left wall of the room. She pushed off with enough force to form a crater in the wall. Yoshiro leaned back and barely dodged the dropkick that completely destroyed the floor. Dust and debris filled the room as the girl slowly stood up. Her eyes scanned the dust-filled room, searching for her enemy when her instincts screamed and she leaned back in reaction. Something struck her in the face and sent her flying across the room.
"Guh. Invisibility?" She mumbled to herself. "Sorry, but that won't work on me." She closed her eyes and her ears twitched. She leaned her head to the side and opened her eyes which met Yoshiro's light brown eyes. Yoshiro's fist glided by her neck, barely missing its target. She smirked in triumph, but then and her throat erupted with blood.
"H-how?" Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed to the ground, dead. A few inches from Yoshiro's clenched fists, blood dripped from seemingly thin air. After a few seconds, a knife shimmered into existence
"Shingu - Veiled Hunter. I can select what I want to be invisible, but that still doesn't make up for the 30-second limit." Yoshiro explained to the dead body.
"You sure you want to mumble your weapons abilities and weaknesses out loud?" A voice commented. Yoshiro shrugged.
"It's not like any of these people are skilled enough to do anything with that knowledge." Yoshiro explained. He then deadpanned in the direction the voice originated. "You're heartless you know that? Forcing me to deal with a girl like this." A cloaked figure walked out from the veil of dust. He brought his hand up to the hood, revealing his brown hair and green eyes.
"Hey, I didn't force you to kill her. I just didn't help you with it. Also, I don't want to hear that from you! We haven't seen each other in years and the first thing you do is call me heartless! That's what you call heartless!" Tatsumi shot back. Yoshiro smiled mischievously.
"What? Miss me? Was little Tatsumi feeling lonely all these years?" He teased his best friend. A blush emerged on Tatsumi's face and he growled.
"If you weren't my good friend and brother, I'd have killed your ass by now." Yoshiro laughed while brushing off the threat.
"Heh, it's good to see you again Tatsumi." Tatsumi sighed and smiled.
"Yeah, glad to see you haven't changed that much. So? What do you want from me?" Yoshiro pulled out pictures from his shirt and began explaining.
"We are fighting the Gravekeepers, as you've noticed by now. They're similar to that guy we fought on our first mission." Tatsumi nodded. He could never forget that mission. The mission where Yoshiro almost died. It was also after the mission that Tatsumi began feeling the connection with Shinatsuhiko. Yoshiro crouched down and laid down the pictures. The pictures were of his new brothers and sisters, the Elite Seven's pictures.
"Our squad has a total of seven members in this labyrinth. Our mission is to kill all the Gravekeepers and take back the treasures these people have stolen from the Empire. But that's our mission, not yours." Yoshiro explained. Tatsumi nodded, he wasn't about to help the Empire with anything.
"Then my mission?"
"There are three hostages. Free them and we'll deal with the rest..." Yoshiro stated. But Tatsumi could tell that wasn't all, he sensed a hint of hesitation in his friend's voice.
"... Is that all?" Yoshiro hesitated for a moment. His request was one that went against their final goal, yet at the same time, he had to ask.
"If possible, can you please make sure none of my squad members die?" Tatsumi stared at Yoshiro with an incredulous expression and Yoshiro looked away. Tatsumi sighed, knowing that Yoshiro was ashamed of asking. He scratched the back of his head with his eyes closed.
"... Your squad is an elite assassins squad brought up by the Empire to deal with rebels and those who oppose the empire right?" Yoshiro nodded. "And if I save your comrades, one day they might come back to bite us in the ass. You know this right?" Tatsumi looked at Yoshiro with a hint of skepticism. He knew Yoshiro wouldn't betray their cause, but he needed something more in order to agree with the request.
"I-I know… but none of them are bad people. They remind me of us… Over the years, I kept wondering... What if Arthur was loyal to the Empire? I came to the conclusion that we would've ended up like them... tools." Yoshiro whispered. Tatsumi looked at Yoshiro with sad eyes. Among the three of them, Tatsumi had no doubts that Yoshiro was the one with the heaviest burden.
"Yoshiro…" Yoshiro lowered his head and clutched the area over his chest with a pained expression.
"Tatsumi… I've lived with them for nearly six years now. They've become my second family. Recently, one of my squadmates died. It was painful…" Tatsumi silently looked at the despairing form of his brother in everything but blood. He hoped he wouldn't one day regret his decision.
"Sigh… alright. I'm not one to think much about consequences anyways. When this decision comes to bite me in the ass later, I'll just slap it away or something." Tatsumi said with a smirk. Yoshiro looked up and smiled.
"Sounds like something you would do."
"In return, promise me you'll take good care of them. Do your best to make them see the darkness of the Empire." If even one of them ends up realizing the truth of the Empire, then Tatsumi would say it's worth it to save them all.
"Yeah. I promised." Tatsumi walked past Yoshiro and patted him on the shoulders before heading to the corridor. He stopped just short of the dark tunnel.
"Second family?" Tatsumi asked with an amused voice. Yoshiro tilted his head in confusion before he realized what Tatsumi was asking and smiled.
"Of course. After all, you guys were my first family." Tatsumi grinned with a warm feeling in his chest.
"Take care of yourself, Yoshiro." With that, Tatsumi bent down low and shot off into the tunnel, leaving Yoshiro with a new determination to save his family. His second family.
Tatsumi was on the verge of panicking. He had left Yoshiro with a promise barely half an hour ago and he's already in a pinch. Damn! Please make it!
He had located the room that held the hostages almost immediately. But about halfway there, he noticed a man had popped up into the room from underground. Tatsumi immediately identified the man as one of Yoshiro's comrades: Guy. Guy began fighting the Gravekeeper in the room and was putting up a very good fight. In fact, at this rate, Guy will be the victor.
So why was Tatsumi panicking?
He has no idea why he's panicking, which is why he's panicking. A terrible feeling of dread was enough to make Tatsumi anxious. If he didn't hurry, something might happen to Yoshiro's family. The heart-wrenching sight of Yoshiro as he basically begged Tatsumi to help his new family flashed across Tatsumi's mind. He narrowed his eyes in concentration and his left hand unconsciously drifted to the blade sheathed behind his waist.
His hand brushed against the hilt and an electric shock bolted through his body. He shuddered and his muscles pulsed. His foot landed on the ground and he shot off with nearly double his usual speed. But Tatsumi was too busy praying to notice the huge change in his pace. Please! Make it!
Guy didn't want to admit it, but he was having a rough time.
He had a lot of things on his list of things to do today. Map out the Tomb, kill some Gravekeepers, save some hostages, kill some more Gravekeepers, and have some fun with pretty girls in town just to name a few. But fighting the Gravekeeper's last boss was not on that list.
He grunted as another punch struck the arm he used to block. The numbing sensation that shot up his arms was definitely not comfortable. What's worse, another fist shot out from a completely different angle before he could recover. This dude is absurdly fast for a man old enough to be my grandpa! And that condescending smirk is really irritating!
Guy stomped his right foot and an arm made out of stone emerged from the floor. The stonehand grabbed onto Weneg, the leader of the gravekeepers, stopping his onslaught for a moment.
"Tch, you sure have a lot of tricked up your sleeve huh!" Weneg grunted. He opened his mouth and a stream of flames shot towards Guys head. Guy grunted and leaned backward, the flame blowing right past his face. His foot shot towards Weneg's face, who grabbed onto it and lifted Guy up with little effort before slamming him into the ground. Just before Guy hit the ground, his hands touched the ground and stone spikes short towards Weneg. Weneg slammed his cane into the stone hand that held onto him, freeing himself from the bonds and lept out of the way.
Guy clicked his tongue after seeing Weneg's quick reaction and accurate judgment. Tch, if tricks won't work, we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way. With determination and brute strength!
"Hah!" Guy shouted and slammed his foot into the ground. A boulder shot up to his eye level and he punched it with all his might. The boulder was transformed into a deadly projectile with enough force to crush steel. Yet to Weneg, it wasn't much of a threat.
"Heh, surprise! I can turn my cane into a spear too!" Weneg exclaimed. He threw his cane like a javelin and upon impact, shattered the boulder. The debris fell to the ground, and Weneg narrowed his eyes, searching for the young man. Suddenly, the ground beneath him cracked, and he found himself in a chokehold.
"Heh, using tremors caused by debris hitting the ground as cover. That's clever." Weneg complimented. He had a confident smile despite having a hand wrapped around his throat. A smile that I will wipe off his ugly face!
"This ends now!" Guy yelled. He spun and slammed Weneg into the nearby wall. What he didn't notice was the black marking that covered Weneg's body from head to toe. The wall essentially exploded when Weneg's body hit it, creating a large indent and sending debris everywhere. The hostages were beyond shocked at the results.
"H-he actually did it…" Gin whispered in disbelief. She didn't know who this guy was, but he defeated their captor! They were free! Guy panted heavily. His body felt heavy and his head was spinning, but he still turned towards the hostages and smirked.
"Alright, let's get you guys out… of… here…" He dropped to his knees, blood spurting from his head. His head struck the ground, and spots of black began clouding his vision.
"What do you know? You were right about the whole 'this is the end' part." Weneg said as he stepped out from the debris. He popped his neck and stretched. He had similar wounds to Guy, but they sizzled and closed before their very eyes. He crouched down next to Guy's still body with an amused smirk on his face.
"I have to admit, to have pushed me this far, I must be getting old. Now, time to take care of-" A stone wall erupted from the floor, completely sealing Weneg from the hostages. Weneg's eyes widened and he took a step back, an angry look finally appearing on his face. "He's still alive?!"
On the other side of the wall, Guy slowly pushed himself off the ground and stumbled to the hostages. He crushed the chains around Kurome's hands.
"Heh, if I'm going to die here, I have to at least accomplish part of the mission." Guy chuckled in the face of death. As soon as Kurome was free of her bonds, rushed to pick up her katana that laid a few yards away. She quickly swung her sword, freeing her comrades from their chains. As soon as they could move, they ran to support Guy who was about to collapse again. He grunted in pain and pointed shakily at a large hole in the ground next to the wall.
"Go! Escape down the hole I came from!" He said as loudly and urgently as he could. It came out softy, but it got the message across.
"What about you?" Kurome asked worriedly. If she guessed correctly, this man was her sister's comrade. That made him her comrade. She wanted to save him no matter what, but Guy wasn't having any of that.
"I'm not going to make it… I'll stall the boss so leave! Now!" Before Kurome could retort, a voice interrupted them.
"That's quite honourable of you. Sorry, but you're going with them." A voice said. Kurome, Gin, and Natala spun towards the voice. A cloaked figure with piercing green eyes walked towards Guy's body. They felt chills shoot down their spines and dropped into a combat stance, but were too afraid to move.
"Who are you?!" They shouted in alarm. Tatsumi ignored them and knelt down, inspecting Guy's head. The three didn't dare approach him, the aura he gave off was more than enough of a detergent.
This guy… he's too strong for us to handle without the drugs! Kurome screamed inside her head. After a few seconds, Tatsumi nodded. "This guy is one tough cookie. He'll live." Tatsumi pulled out a roll of bandages from his pouch and threw it to Kurome. The stone wall Guy erected trembled and cracked.
"If you want to live, leave now!" Tatsumi ordered. The three were still wrapped in confusion, but Kurome was the first to snap out of it.
"... Got it!" Kurome exclaimed. She signalled for Natala and Gin to pick Guy up and they hopped into the hole Guy had dug. Kurome was about to follow, but stopped and turned to Tatsumi. "Who are you?" Kurome asked. Tatsumi tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"... An ally of... an ally… I guess?" He replied with an audible question mark at the end. Kurome tilted her head confusedly but decided not to waste any more time and hopped into the hole. Moments later, the wall collapsed and Weneg stepped through the debris.
"Oh? And who might you be?" Weneg asked curiously. Tatsumi shrugged.
"I'm not an enemy unless you force my hand." Weneg roared with laughter. Who does this kid think he is?
"Interesting child, you think I fear you? I am the leader of the Gravekeepers for a reason." Tatsumi narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his sword. He pointed the tip at Weneg and growled.
"You should, I may not fully understand what you did to Guy, but I can promise one thing - I will kill you before you can even activate that ability." Tatsumi threatened. Weneg glared back.
"What is your purpose?" Weneg interrogated.
"My job is to get those hostages out of here safely. I don't plan on killing you unless you force my hand." They stood still, glaring at each other. Weneg seethed. Something about the boy sent shivers down his spine and it angered him. He wanted nothing more than to crush this insolent brat. But…
After a few more moments, Weneg let out a breath and stood up straight.
"My future wife is in that group, so I can't just let them go without a fight, yet something tells me I don't want to fight you. How about this? I'll give them a five-minute head start. If I catch them, you will let me do as I wish." Weneg proposed. Tatsumi narrowed his eyes before sheathing his blade.
The Gravekeepers were enemies of the Empire. As the old saying goes, an enemy of an enemy is an ally. So Tatsumi didn't really want to fight and kill unless he's forced to. Given five minutes, the hostages should be able to meet up with Yoshiro and he could take care of it from there.
"Alright, I'll agree to your condition." Tatsumi said before destroying the entrance of the hole, causing the tunnel to collapse on itself. He had confirmed that the hostages had already climbed out the other end. Finished with the cover-up, Tatsumi bolted out of the room.
He rushed down a series of corridors, taking sharp turns without hesitation, as if he knew the interior like the back of his hands. That was partially true. He does, in fact, know the interior structure of the entire tomb, as well as the location of everyone, yet it was not from prior research. His sixth sense told him everything he needed to know.
Yoshiro heard rapidly approaching footsteps from behind him and turned around, on guard, only to lower it when he saw that it was Tatsumi. "Tatsumi? What's wrong?" Yoshiro asked.
"Your friend Guy was heavily injured in a fight against the leader of the grave keepers." Yoshiro felt his heart skip a beat, but released a relieved sigh.
"Heavily injured means he's still alive, right?" Tatsumi nodded. "Guy is probably the toughest one out of all of us, he'll live." Yoshiro reassured. His eyes narrowed."Tell me more about the boss." He continued. Tatsumi quickly began to summarize what he had discovered about the boss.
"He's fast for a man his age and strong too, not to mention his ability to breathe fire. He's also very experienced and his reactions are not worse than ours. But his most fearsome ability is the one he used at the end. Guy slammed his head into a wall, but Guy was the one who suffered skull fractures." Yoshiro tapped his chin. There was definitely a correlation, but what could've caused that?
"High-speed movement? High speed regeneration followed by counterattack?" Yoshiro suggested. There were many possibilities.
"Damage reflection." Tatsumi said. That was the conclusion he came to. He had never heard of such an ability, and to be honest, it sounded absurd. But in the end, it makes the most sense.
"Damage reflection… makes sense. But how?" Yoshiro asked. Tatsumi shook his head. That was what he couldn't figure out. The sixth sense he obtained from Shinatsuhiko was something similar to echolocation, where he could tell the position and shape of everything within a certain area, but it can't identify colors or objects without form. It was very possible that Tatsumi had missed some important indicators.
"I don't know, but if that's the case, then there's only one way to defeat him. Kill him in a single strike to the brain stem. This will kill him instantly without any risks unless his ability is automatic. In which case, there is no way to defeat him." Tatsumi theorized. Yoshiro bit his lips as he thought about a sure-fire way to counter the ability. He smiled when he remembered a certain Teigu.
"No, there's a way. My squad leader has a teigu called One-cut killer - Murasame. It's a cursed blade that kills with a single scratch." Tatsumi's eyes widened.
"Um… would your squad leader happen to be a man in his early forties with a long scarf and a katana?" Tatsumi asked nervously. Yoshiro raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Why?" Yoshiro asked suspiciously Tatsumi laughed sheepishly.
"N-nothing." Holy shit that katana is capable of killing with a single scratch? And it was pointed at my neck! I almost died! He screamed as a bead of cold sweat rolled down the back of his neck. He coughed and brought their conversation back on topic. "That would work. Go warn your friends and find your squad leader. I'll position myself to assist anyone that's in danger."
"Got it! Thank you." Yoshiro thanked before running in the direction Tatsumi pointed him to. Tatsumi released a sigh. I really need to be more careful from now on. He closed his eyes and his sixth sense, which he named 'the eye of the storm', sharpened. He quickly identified the members of the Elite Seven and the three hostages and began to carefully track their movements. None of them are going to die today.
Not on his watch.