Chapter 14 - The First Encounter
It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Tatsumi thought as he pushed his way through the usually crowded streets of the Empire. A small frown marred his toned face as the delicious aftertaste of the meat bun he had bought half an hour ago faded into nothing. He fiddled with his collar, feeling hot and stuffy, before taking off the hooded cloak he wore, revealing what he had on underneath.
He wore a dark blue hoodie with a light blue, collared, short sleeve button up shirt underneath. On top of that, he wore a grey jacket that reached his knees. He also sported a pair of black pants. He stared at the tan cloak that resembled a cape attached to a hood in his hands.
I bought this because I thought Akame looked cool and mysterious in it, but it's becoming a bit of a hassle… I wonder why she wore it? Tatsumi wondered with a question mark floating over his head. As he pondered the thought, he stuffed the cloak into his bag and resumed his walk towards the inner sect of the Capital, which was sandwiched between the inner wall and the central wall.
His destination was the hotel Arthur had brought them to during their first visit of the Capital, the same one that he had been staying in every single visit since. He had stayed their rather frequently in the recent years, more specifically, since he found out Sayo and Ieyasu had journeyed to the Capital for the sake of the village. The moment he heard of the news, he hurried to the Capital and began searching every inch of the over 200,000 square kilometer area the capital covered. Since then, he had revisited the Capital on occasion, hoping that fate would allow them to meet before it was too late.
The last time he visited was around 10 months ago, and this time would be his fifth visit. Tatsumi didn't expect to find his friends, but he had to try. As it has been over three years since Sayo and Ieyasu presumably joined the army, Tatsumi feared the worst for his friends.
He would do his best to save them from the Empire's influence. If he couldn't, then while cursing his own weakness, he would stop them by force, no matter what it takes. Having made that decision, Tatsumi continued his search oddly at peace.
Tatsumi was a few miles away from the hotel of his choice when his stomach growled. I guess that meat bun wasn't enough, huh? He thought and began searching his vicinity for a restaurant or a bar. After some of walking, he stopped in front of a small establishment labelled 'Azusa's Bar' and decided that it was good enough before stepping inside. He was seated and randomly ordered some food that wasn't overly expensive. He leaned back and sipped the water that the server had passed him when a small commotion occurred in the booth next to him.
The commotion was caused by a small family of 4, consisting of a couple along with their two daughters. They were rather normal and nothing really stood out about them or the small fight they were having. From the flow of the conversation, Tatsumi could infer that the daughters wanted to go somewhere, likely a party or a gathering, but the parents didn't allow it. Usually, Tatsumi would ignore the conversation since it had nothing to do with him, but the parents' oddly fierce resistance caught his attention.
"No means no! Don't you know it's dangerous for young ladies to be outside that late at night? Recently, there's been a serial killer on the run inside the city. Over a dozen victims have appeared and the perpetrator is still nowhere to be found. This decision is final, you girls will not…" The food Tatsumi ordered was set in front of him on his table and he tuned out the family's conversation. On his plate was a simple set of grilled fish, a bowl of soup, and a bowl of white rice. He took a bite and nodded. The quality of the food was pretty good, a bit better than Tatsumi had expected for a restaurant of this calibre. As he ate his meal, he absentmindedly thought about the news he had just heard from the family of 4.
A serial killer hmm? The Capital is quite the dangerous place. But to think that the Imperial Police has not dealt with the perpetrator despite having a dozen victims, either the quality of their forces has dropped quite a bit or the killer is no normal psychopath.
He gulped down his soup and sighed in content. He called over the waiter, paid for his meal, and stepped out of the establishment. Either way, I'll have to keep an eye out. I've never fought against someone with a few screws loose, but I doubt it'd be a fun time.
Light faded into darkness and day turned to night. Deep in the mountains 10 kilometers north of the Capital, a large building etched into the side of a cliff laid hidden under the shadows. Although the building was huge, its obscure location and geographical placement hid it from the sights of regular travellers and anyone who wasn't actively searching for the place. Those who do end up discovering the base, be it on purpose or by accident, would never be able to speak again.
The secret base of the rebel armies fearsome and deadly assassin's group - Night Raid. Each member of the association has over 250 000 gold coins attached to their severed head, the mere discovery of their base would earn a man enough money to sustain themselves for life. Inside this hidden base, a woman sat on her wooden throne before a group of 6. The room was well lit, betraying the expectation that such a mysterious and evil reputation of the group would hold meetings inside damp caves and candlelit underground rooms.
In fact, the atmosphere of the room was so casual that anyone who stumbled in would without a doubt would bow politely and apologize for intruding. Yet the content of their conversation was anything but normal.
"Tonight's target is the rumoured serial killer plaguing the Capital." The woman on the throne informed. Her appearance was befitting of the boss of a secret assassins group, with silver-grey hair and a black eyepatch covering her right eye. Her right arm was made of steel, creaking whenever she leaned her weight onto it. "Appearing only at night, beheading whoever is unfortunate enough to stumble upon him. It's unknown how many dozens of victims there have been. Three of which have been officers of the Imperial Police." Standing scattered around the room, the six other members of Night Raid listened attentively. The first person to speak was a young man in his late teens. His hair matched the colour of his grass green eyes. His bangs extended over his face and covered his left eye while a pair of red goggles sat on top of his head.
"Hmm…the identity of the killer is most likely Zank the Executioner." He said. Several of the other members nodded in agreement, save a purple-haired girl who tilted her head in confusion.
"Umm…who is that?" She asked with genuine confusion. To the side, a young girl with her pink hair tied in twin tails sighed in exasperation.
"Sheele…he's the executioner I told you about a while ago. The one working at the Empire's greatest prison. Ever since the current Emperor came into power, more and more people have been executed. After so many years of daily head chopping, it's not surprising at all that he's got a few screws loose." Twintails said tiredly. On the other side of the room, a large, buff man nodded, his heart-shaped pompadour bounced weirdly with his head movement.
"Starting about a month and a half ago, he became a serial killer, chopping off heads in the streets of the Capital. Days later, a detainment order for him was put out and they've been attempting to catch him since." The man added. Sheele tapped her chin while tilting her head, trying to remember if she had ever heard of this man before. While she was lost in thought, the meeting resumed. This time, a young lady in her early twenties spoke up.
"If I remember correctly, this man has a Teigu in his possession right?" Her messy, long blonde hair swayed as she asked the question. The leader nodded in affirmation.
"Yes. Although we know he is in possession of a Teigu, we are not sure which one it is. That's why. Starting from tonight, you will be searching the Capital in pairs during nighttime."
In the back of the room, standing behind the other five members, a young, black-haired girl raised her eyes. Her red eyes were cold and emotionless. The leader stood up.
"The pairs will be the following. Sheele will be protecting Mein. Lubbock will go with Bulat. Leone will work with Akame. Find and eliminate Zank the Executioner as soon as possible. You are dismissed."
"Hai." The voices of agreement of six assassins echoed in the room. Akame lightly gripped the cursed katana in her left hand and readied herself for yet another battle to come.
"Hmm? Isn't this Akame?" Tatsumi asked himself as he stared at a trio of wanted posters stuck on the side of a brick building. He squinted a bit in order to read the dark text under the dim lighting in the street.
"Dead or alive... Night Raid? Sounds dangerous." He mumbled to himself as he scrutinized the picture. It was a hand-drawn portrait of Akame from a side angle. Her bangs covered her eyes, making her look incredibly sketchy and dangerous. Though I can't deny the second part. Tatsumi chuckled to himself. He then checked out the posters next to Akame. One was for Bulat and the other for Najenda. "Well, since Najenda is also in this Night Raid thingy, it's definitely a part of the rebel army." Tatsumi muttered quietly. He looked up at the dark, night sky and immediately judged it to be just past midnight. After grabbing a room in the hotel, he had ventured off into the city without any particular destination. Before he knew it, he had wandered pretty far away and the sun had already set, so he began heading back towards the hotel.
Speaking of the rebel army, they are making pretty decent progress. At this rate, I think we'll be able to put our hopes in them. Tatsumi thought to himself as he continued his stroll back to his hotel. According to Yoshiro, the rebel army has expanded a few hundred kilometers already from Heliyx city. They already have a few dozen cities under their control and the Empire has already begun small battles against them. Hayami also reported that the Empire has been sending more troops to Archana in hopes of ending the war there quickly, that way they can start returning troops to the Empire to face the growing rebel threat.
But with Hayami and Arthur over there, Tatsumi wasn't worrying too much about that. The northern tribes have also been doing pretty well, although Yoshiro did mention the Empire sending Esdeath over there. That name rung a bell, an unpleasant one. Tatsumi's closest brush against death back during the battle in the tomb of the first emperor against a monster who was able to manipulate ice. A small shiver went down Tatsumi's spine and he unconsciously reached up and grasped the green jewel hanging from his neck.
Suddenly, Tatsumi felt a gaze land on him and he snapped his head in the direction, senses on full alert. But upon further inspection, Tatsumi didn't see nor hear anything suspicious. He still felt on edge, so he closed his eyes. A light breeze brushed past the Capital and information on his surroundings flowed into his mind the same as any other of his five senses. He opened his eyes and relaxed a bit. Not a single soul was within a 500-meter radius with Tatsumi in the center.
Nearly 2 kilometers away, standing on top of a clock tower around 200 meters tall, a large man in his late twenties stood with a crazed smile on his face. His hair was dark blonde, messily spiked backwards. A pair of noise blocking mufflers covered his ears and two long bangs hung out over his cheeks. At the center of his forehead, an eye looking object stared off into the distance.
"Very nice, very nice… to be able to detect my gaze from 2 kilometers away… he seems like a good talking partner."
He took a leap off the tower, a suicidal move for any normal man. His feet hit the ground and the brick pavement shattered under the impact, yet this man was perfectly ok. He patted some dust off his body and began a leisure saunter in the direction he spotted Tatsumi in, careful to avoid the other interesting characters he had spotted from the top of the tower.
He stopped for a moment inside an alleyway. In front of him, sitting with their legs wide and with white powder laying around them were a small group of delinquents in their mid teens. The delinquents spotted him and they narrowed their eyes dangerously. Pulling out knives, they sneered at him.
He grinned back.
Minutes later, the man appeared on the street at the other end of the alleyway. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the red liquid dripping off the blades attached to the back of his hands before discarding the cloth onto the floor. A trail of blood lead back to the corpses of the delinquents, none of which with their heads intact.
Tatsumi stopped in the middle of the street. He frowned as he realized that there hasn't been a single other person on the streets except him since quite some time ago.
I guess the serial killer is having quite the impact on the nightlife here… He thought while continuing on his way. He did not by any means condone the activities of the serial killer, but he wasn't about to go actively searching for him either. But if they ended up meeting, say, while Tatsumi was heading back to his hotel late at night, then Tatsumi wouldn't hesitate to take the headhunter's head off their shoulders.
Halfway through Tatsumi's walk, a cluster of policemen approached him with their spears and swords at the ready.
"You there! Stop right there and put your hands up!" Tatsumi followed the orders and raised his hands, the policemen surrounded him and he tilted his head.
"Umm… officers? What's the matter?" They inspected his face and build for a few moments before the leader lowered his guard.
"That's not him, be at ease. You there, what are you doing out here alone this late at night?" The leader asked stoically. Tatsumi rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile.
"One of my friends dragged me out for a drink tonight. He's new to the city so he didn't know the dangers that appear at night, but he was so insistent that I couldn't refuse. I'm sorry if I caused you trouble." Tatsumi replied. The leader raised an eyebrow but thankfully continued without minding it too much.
"Have you seen any suspicious men out here tonight?" Tatsumi tapped his chin with a thoughtful expression before shaking his head.
"No… If I have, I doubt I'd be standing here right now." The leader frowned at Tatsumi's nonchalant tone.
"You're quite the brave young man aren't you. I'd be careful if I were you, that naive self-confidence might get you killed some day." He then signalled for the rest of the group to move and they left Tatsumi in the middle of the streets.
Tatsumi smiled as he thought about the policeman's warning. He stretched out his right hand to the right, and his left hand to the left, opening his palms as if ready to grasp something. Without warning, a pair of shadows dropped out of the night sky and Tatsumi caught them in his outstretched hands. In his left hand, a regular steel blade. In his left, a sword wrapped in bandages with the handle and knuckle-guard peeking out from above. He swiftly strapped the bandaged sword onto the side of his waist and the steel blade on his back so that the handle stuck out from his right shoulder.
"I disagree sir, if anything, that self-confidence is what kept me alive for so long."
A pair of eyes landed on Tatsumi and he immediately sensed his. He turned his gaze to that direction and his eyes widened.
"S-Sayo?" He whispered weakly. Standing in the alleyway, a figure that looked perfectly like Sayo. Her black hair glistened under the streetlights, a cherry blossom ornament decorated her hair right above her right ear just like it had been years ago. Her face had matured slightly, but perfectly retained her mesmerizing beauty. She wore a long sleeved kimono skirt, simple and similar in design as the one she wore when Tatsumi last saw her.
She perfectly fit the image Tatsumi had of her, having not seen her in around 3 years.
It was without a doubt Sayo.
With a playful but gentle smile, Sayo turned around and disappeared into the shadows of the alleyway. Tatsumi closed his eyes for a moment. When they reopened, they were cold and deadly, not a shred of mercy nor warmth left in them.
"Where are you going?" Those words were a deathly whisper, left in the empty streets of the Empire.
Tatsumi's sword drew a crescent through the dark alleyway, carving a deep scratch into the brick walls nearby. It flew towards the neck of Sayo, who's eyes had widened in horror. She turned around and blocked with her arms, flesh against steel. But contrary to the scene, the familiar sound of steel against steel reached Tatsumi's ears.
Sayo slid back until the momentum of the impact ran out. The sneer present on her face was like dirt smeared on a world-class painting. Seeing that look, Tatsumi coldly said. "How about you drop that appearance? You're ruining the image of a precious friend, serial killer-san."
The sneer morphed into a wide, creepy smile and in an instant, Sayo disappeared. In her place, the large, bulky figure of the infamous executioner stood with his arms wide open.
"Very nice, very nice! To think you'd instantly see through Spectator's illusion sight, you are a much more interesting person than I initially imagined." He shouted while laughing maniacally. His tone shifted the moment after. "But being called a serial killer isn't very pleasant. Instead, why don't you call me this? Zank the Executioner!" Tatsumi narrowed his eyes.
"Spectator?" He mumbled to himself. An object with a name and an odd ability. It must be a Teigu. Zank grinned.
"Ding Ding Ding! Correct!" He announced loudly and brightly. He tapped the metal eye-shaped object stuck onto his forehead. "Teigu - Omnipotent Five Sights - Spectator. Isn't it lovely?" Tatsumi didn't react in any way, just continued to glare at Zank.
"Omnipotent Five Sights huh? Along with illusions, you have the ability to read minds. I'm also going to assume the gaze I felt a while ago was also yours? To be able to spy on me from more than 500 meters away, that's also an ability right?" Tatsumi analyzed out loud. Zank made an impressed noise and he nodded.
"Exactly! Insight, Farsight, Illusion sight. Those are all part of Spectators wonderful abilities!" Zank confirmed in the voice of an overhyped announcer. "And now! For the fourth! Clear sight!" His head lowered and what entered his vision drastically changed. Tatsumi's bare body was laid out before him and he quickly confirmed that Tatsumi was not hiding any weapons underneath his clothes.
But he only got an instant to do that. Tatsumi's sword approached his neck at speeds fast enough to create a whistling sound, Zank's eyes widened and it was only thanks to his honed reaction times that he was able to tilt his head back just enough, causing the neck-severing slash to only scratch the tip of his chin. But Tatsumi didn't stop with only one swing, a barrage of slashes and stabs assaulted Zank who quickly switched back to Insight. Zank's movements sharpened and Tatsumi's slashes that initially left scratches were blocked perfectly. Seeing his onslaught was no longer productive, Tatsumi backed off. Taking the opportunity, Zank caught his breath and for the first time, glared at Tatsumi with a hint of anger.
"It seems that you weren't lying about your abilities. Also, it seems you are unable to use multiple abilities at once." Tatsumi analyzed. Zank's glare became more harsh.
"Don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone who is talking?" Zank criticized. Tatsumi ignored the criticism and continued his analysis.
"Insight, the ability to read minds. Farsight, the ability to increase visual distance. Illusion sight - the ability to confuse enemies with illusions. Clearsight, if the name is any indication, it allows you to see through objects. Now, if you weren't lying about the name of your Teigu, then there is only one more left. What could it be?" Tatsumi asked in monotone. Zank forced a smile onto his face.
"I may be a man who loves to talk, but one sided conversations are not entertaining. If you want to know, then why don't you come and find out?"
Everything went to shit.
Tatsumi instantly approached Zank, each swing of his sword aimed at either a vital organ or a tendon that would severely hinder his opponent's ability to move. Each swing had enough power to send numbing shocks into the arms of the opponent. This was the sword style Arthur taught to Tatsumi. Lightning quick, full powered attacks that would knock the opponent's weapon away if they let their guard down for even a moment. One that wears the enemy down mentally, forced to react and perfectly parry each and every attack or face the threat of death. Tatsumi's defeated countless enemies with his Shishou's style.
But Zank was different from the rest. With two short and wide blades attached to the back of his hands and the ability to know where each strike will land two to three steps ahead, Zank had little trouble dealing with Tatsumi's attacks, even having enough room to retaliate.
Scratches and cuts appeared around Tatsumi's body as the fight dragged on while Zank's body remained untouched. As a result, his movements began to slow bit by bit. Seeing this, Zank's ego began growing.
"What's wrong? Where did all that initial vigor go? Where did your snarky attitude go?" Zank taunted. Tatsumi's leg shot out and connected with Zank's blade, pushing the two apart. Tatsumi straightened his posture and swung his sword through the air a few times. Zank's smile widened, seeing this as an act out of frustration. "Now, now, don't be disheartened. You were a fun opponent to fight against. It's been a long time since I've had such an interesting conversation with someone." Hearing that, Tatsumi opened his mouth to speak.
"Conversation? I've just been thinking out loud. Don't make it a conversation on your own." Tatsumi said. Zank's grin became cramped and a rare frustration filled his chest. Tatsumi swung his sword a few more times. "I'm done testing your abilities, let's get on with it."
A simple slash flew towards Zank, slipping past his guard and inflicting a wound on Zank's cheek. Zank, who didn't see it coming, forced to think on his feet again, only barely avoided further damage. All experienced fighters plan out their attack. Rushing into a fight without a plan was equivalent to suicide when both fighters are on the same level. Tatsumi was no exception, and it was this commonality that Zank's Insight exploits.
A plan and a counterplan. 100% of the time, without exception, the counter plan will succeed. So a solution is simple. If Tatsumi had no plan going into a fight, then Zank would have no counterplan. Thus placing both fighters on the same level.
Just like that, Zank's Insight was rendered useless.
"If you can defend against my attacks by reacting to my thoughts, then I can break through your defenses by reacting to your movements."
The sound of steel clashing traveled through the city. Tatsumi's renewed onslaught now forced Zank into a defensive. Tatsumi made a plan for the next attack and only the next attack and immediately acted upon it. This made it so that reacting to his thoughts was essentially the same as reacting to his movements. Now trapped in a situation where he had to focus all his mental capabilities on defending himself, Zank completely lost the ability to retaliate and could only retreat.
Tatsumi's momentum forced the two through the city. When they landed in front of a chapel, out of desperation, Zank once again activated illusion sight. Right before his eyes, Zank disappeared, replaced by the tattered figure of Ieyasu. His appearance aged, but otherwise stayed the same. In the place of his usual fluffy black and white coat, he wore the uniform of the Imperial Army. Without missing a single beat, Tatsumi split his throat open. The horrified eyes of his dying friend looked real. Very real. Zank growled as he slid back, having blocked the extremely powerful slash with both his weapons.
"You! You killed your precious friend without a hint of hesitation!" Tatsumi blankly looked at Zank and spat a glob of spit to the side.
"Even though I've already resolved myself to kill him, and I knew it was you, it still left quite a bad taste in my mouth. Zank the Executioner. You'll be paying dearly for that." For the first time, Tatsumi spoke his enemies name. This would also be the last time the serial killer himself would hear it.
Without any other options left, Zank activated the last ability of spectator. Precognition allowed him to read the muscle movements of his enemy, a counter to those who managed to find a way to bypass insight. Zank had avoided using this ability up until now because his intuition told him that using it meant his defeat, but defeat would be inevitable if he kept using insight.
Reading Tatsumi's moves became easier, and for the first time in nearly half an hour, he landed another hit on Tatsumi. Zank revealed a tired grin and taunted Tatsumi again.
"Heh, how do you like that? Your little tricks no longer work on me." Tatsumi smirked.
"Finally…you finally used your last ability." Tatsumi lowered his sword and raised his left hand. His index and middle finger were straight while the other fingers were curled. His outstretched fingers flicked towards him and Zank coughed up blood. He weakly looked down towards the six holes that opened up in his body, each one a vital organ. But he couldn't see any solid objects.
"Your mind reading ability is quite annoying. But luckily, you are only able to read thoughts that run through my mind and not memories. Because of that, you never realized that I was also a Teigu user."
Zank collapsed onto his knees and light faded from his eyes. Along with his life, the curses of those who died by his hands faded into nothing. Tatsumi released a breathe and sheathed his sword.
"Ahhh, that was exhausting. As expected, fighting against another Teigu user is really difficult." Tatsumi groaned to himself. Tatsumi had hoped that as soon as he enacted his strategy to counter insight, Zank would switch off of it. That way, Tatsumi would be able to safely use his Teigu's ability to create wind blades and send the psychopath to his grave. This was the plan Tatsumi formulated the moment he confirmed Zank could not use two abilities at the same time.
But for some reason, Zank refused to switch off, which dragged the fight on. Tatsumi was mentally ready to fight Zank until the sun rose, but finally, Zank's movements changed and Tatsumi was sure he had activated his last ability.
"Let's go back. It's been a long time since i wanted sleep this badly." He mumbled to himself as he bent down and flipped Zank onto his back, plucking Spectator off of his head. He stood back up and yawned, ready to head home.
He took one step forward and stopped. He felt a hint of killing intent and closed his eyes, extending his sixth sense to a 3 kilometer radius. On the clock tower 1 kilometer behind him, a teenage girl laid on her stomach with a snipe- Shit! His eyes widened and he lept to the side. A burning pain exploded in his right shoulder as a beam pierced right through his flesh.
He gritted his teeth and waited for his body to recover from the constant burning sensation in his right shoulder. Shit! I let my guard down! The beam was originally aimed at the base of his neck. Tatsumi moved as soon as the girl pulled the trigger and avoided certain death. But that shot rendered his right arm essentially useless, and that wasn't the end of it. Tatsumi drew his sword with his left arm and spun around. The air around his sword distorted and he swung it with all his might. A thin blade of wind flew towards the sniper, who pulled the trigger again.
The bright golden beam clashed with the invisible blade, the blade split the beam in half and deflected them away from Tatsumi. A kilometer away, high in the clocktower, Mein clicked her tongue and stood up.
"Tch, I've been spotted. Sheele, we're leaving." Sheele tilted her head.
"What should we do about the target?" Mein replied while packing away Pumpkin.
"The first shot should have alerted the others. They'll deal with it. We're getting out of here before the guards come and things become troublesome." Sheele nodded slowly and picked up Mein and the two vanished from the area.
Tatsumi watched as they left the area and returned his attention to the new threats approaching.
"Three? No, four. One of them is laying down traps and the other- ghh!" Tatsumi did his best to analyze his situation and plan a way out, but the hole in his right shoulder pulsed and his concentration broke. From the nearby rooftops, two figures dropped down.
"That's the one Mein shot at." Bulat pointed out. Tatsumi gritted his teeth.
"At least give me a break…" He mumbled under his breath. Leone, who's enhanced hearing picked that up, looked around and saw Zank's dead body on the ground. She looked at Tatsumi and then back at the corpse.
"Oi, he took care of our target for us. Why're we attacking him?" Leone asked. Bulat crossed his arms in thought.
"Not sure… But there has to be a reason Mein shot him. If he's strong enough to take down Zank with so few injuries and dodge Mein's bullet, then he's quite strong." Bulat responded. Leone punched her palm and grinned.
"Well whatever. For now, I'll just knock 'em unconscious. If he's not with the Empire, then we can even make him a new companion!" Tatsumi sighed and forced himself back into a combat stance. The pain in his right arm has eased somewhat, to the point where it won't damage his concentration, but he needs to treat it soon or else he'll faint from blood loss.
For now… Tatsumi jumped into the air and attempted to escape, but Leone appeared even higher than him.
"Not a chance!" She yelled before joining both hands and slammed Tatsumi back into the ground. Tatsumi landed on his knees and Bulat pulled out a spear before engaging him in close quarters combat.
Tatsumi blocked a flurry of jabs with his sword in reverse grip. Bulat's eyes widened under his helmet, surprised to see someone defend against him while wounded. Bulat swung his spear and it struck Tatsumi's sword. Tatsumi was unable to parry the blow properly, causing his guard to be blown away. Leone slipped in from the side the moment the opening showed itself and threw a straight at Tatsumi's midsection, yet it completely missed its mark. Tatsumi's body unnaturally flew upward, as if something lifted him from below and he managed to straighten himself in mid air before landing back on the ground.
"What was that?" Leone asked curiously. Bulat returned to Leone's side and pointed his spear at Tatsumi.
"It might be the same power that split Mein's second shot. He's probably a Teigu user, although I'm not sure which one it is. Either way keep your guard up." Tatsumi smiled bitterly. He wanted to keep it a secret so that he would be able to catch them off guard, but it seems that was no longer possible. He winced as his wound pulsed again and took a deep breathe. He couldn't afford to fall here.
A light wind picked up in the area around Tatsumi. Leone and Bulat noticed something had changed and they raised their guards and observed carefully. Leone's enhanced sense of danger screamed and she tilted her head to the left. A small cut appeared on her right cheek. She wiped the wound and grinned.
"Interesting. He's creating some sort of invisible blade and attacking us with it."
"Get behind me." Bulat said and stepped in front of Leone. Behind him, Leone crouched on all fours and then disappeared at speeds incomparable to before. Tatsumi lowered his center of gravity and swept his right hand, 5 wind blades formed around him and shot towards Leone who circled around and was heading straight for him. Leone weaved around the blades using nothing but her danger sense only to be met with the tip of Tatsumi's sword.
Facing certain death, Leone did the only thing she could. Punch death in the face. Her fist smashed against Tatsumi's sword, shattering it to pieces like it was made of glass. Tatsumi didn't even have time to be surprised as Bulat approached him from behind and swung the blunt side of his spear at the brown haired boy. Tatsumi dropped his broken sword and brought up both hands the block, yet the enormous strength sent him crashing into the wall of the chapel. As Bulat and Leone waited for the debris to clear, Akame landed next to them.
"Lubbock finished his setup. Where's the target?" She asked. Leone pointed at the corpse nearby and then at the cloud of debris.
"The man we just knocked into that wall took care of our target for us." Akame tilted her head.
"Then our mission is complete. Let's go."
"We have to take care of that guy first." Leone said, once again pointing at the collapsed wall. Akame stared at the debris, then at the corpse, then at Leone.
"Why?" Akame asked. A tick mark appeared on Leone forehead and she began grinding Akame's head, who let out monotone sounds of protest.
"As warm as this scene is, the dust is clearing." Bulat pointed out. Leone released Akame, who looked into the dust cloud. Tatsumi appeared behind the cloud, panting on one knee. Her eyes widened.
"Tatsumi!?" She yelled in surprise. Tatsumi weakly looked up and saw her.
"Akame…" Ah, so those guys are Night Raid? That was dangerous… His body relaxed and his eyes closed. Akame rushed up to Tatsumi's unconscious body and checked it for major wounds. Other than the hole in his shoulder, he suffered a cracked rib from Leone's punch, but was otherwise fine.
"Akame? You know him?" Leone asked in surprise. Akame nodded.
"Yeah, he's my benefactor. It wouldn't be wrong to say he was the one who saved me from the Empire's influence." Under his armor, Bulat's eyes widened to epic proportions and Leone's jaw was already down on the floor.
"Oi! The guards are approaching!" Lubbock's voice reached the three and Akame stood up.
"Bulat, please carry Tatsumi. I'll treat his wounds once we are out of danger." Bulat nodded and picked Tatsumi's unconscious body up, making sure to not further damage his body.
"Eh? We're taking him with us?" Akame nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sure Boss will be happy to see him again." Leaving them with that, Akame hopped onto the nearest roof and Bulat followed suit. Leone picked up her jaw and scratched her head through her messy blond hair.
"Boss knows that kid too? What kind of weird guy is he?" She mumbled to herself. "Ah! Wait for me!"
Tatsumi woke up feeling as if someone punched a hole in his right shoulder before getting rammed head on by a wild beast. Oh wait, that is exactly what happened. He thought to himself as he lightly touched the wound through the layers of bandages. "Ouch." He winced slightly as it stung under his touch. He sighed and began looking around the room.
The room was simple in design. The walls were light tan with wooden supports acting as decoration. The bed was as simple as you could get, fitting only one person and not that comfy. A window was on the opposite side of the room and the door was only a few steps away. From the brightness of the light peaking through the windows, it was late in the morning.
I hope I was only out for one night. Tatsumi thought to himself. He checked his bedside and found both his normal sword and bandage wrapped sword sitting in the corner. He touched his own chest and sighed in relief when he found Shinatsuhiko hanging from his neck. Now what should I do? I'm assuming this is Night Raid's base. Now that I'm here, I might as well greet Najenda. But should I wait for someone to come get me? Should I go out on my own? He contemplated his options for a moment, and then swung his legs off the bed.
He stood up and stretched, grabbing the clothes that were set by his bed and equipped his weapons as usual. He walked over to the window and opened it, his entire body relaxed as a gust of wind blew into his room.
"Phew… I feel alive again." He mumbled in content before heading out into the corridor. He looked around and randomly decided to walk down the corridor to the right. He ended up at the end of the corridor and stood there feeling stupid before turning around and heading in the opposite direction. He turned the corner and saw a familiar girl walking up the stairs. Their eyes met and Tatsumi smiled.
"Good morning." He greeted casually. Akame returned a smile.
"Good morning. How're your wounds?" Tatsumi rolled his right shoulder and patted it firmly.
"It still hurts like hell, but it'll get better. Thanks for saving me from your crazy buddies." Akame frowned a bit and shook her head.
"They are not bad people, they mistook you for an enemy." Tatsumi grinned.
"Tell that to the blonde haired onee-san that suggested they knock me out first and then think about what to do with me later." Akame sweatdropped and averted her gaze.
"... Leone is a bit special." Tatsumi chuckled.
"I could tell." He joked. A short period of silence reigned between then and then Tatsumi's stomach growled. He smiled sheepishly. " If you don't mind me asking, where can I find breakfast?"
Akame led Tatsumi down stairs and into the kitchen. Breakfast time has long passed and it was almost time for lunch, so Tatsumi had to make his food separately. Akame offered to cook breakfast for Tatsumi, but after hearing the menu that would definitely kill anyone with a recovering constitution, Tatsumi adamantly refused and began making his own breakfast.
As Tatsumi cooked his food, they talked about everything that had happened in the three years since their last meeting. It was mostly Akame who shared her side of the story, but Tatsumi did share the general gist of his random wanderings during those years. Tatsumi sat down in the dining room and began consuming his toast and eggs while listening to Akame speak.
"Night Raid was created as a division used for covert operations and intel gathering. Currently, there are two Night Raid groups. One working outside the Capital and our, Night Raid working inside the Capital under Najenda-san." Akame explained. Tatsumi swallowed the last bite of his meal and nodded.
"Speaking of Najenda-san, where is she? I'd like to at least greet her, but if she isn't around, that'll have to wait." Tatsumi asked.
"Boss should be in the living room right now. Outside of our missions, we have our assigned housekeeping duties. As long as we completed those, we are free to do as we please. Boss usually stays in the living room." Akame explained. Tatsumi chuckled and Akame tilted her head in confusion. Did she say something funny? Tatsumi noticed and answered her question.
"No, I just found the image of professional assassins doing laundry and house cleaning to be a bit humorous. Could you take me to Najenda-san?" Akame nodded in agreement. After cleaning his dishes, Akame led Tatsumi to the living room where several members of Night Raid were gathered.
Najenda sat at the living room table savouring the taste of her cup of coffee. Mein was doing maintenance on her Teigu Pumpkin, Sheele was reading a book with a questionable title. Bulat was doing weight lifting in a corner and Leone was messing around with Lubbock.
Najenda noticed Tatsumi and a smile appeared on her face.
"Tatsumi, welcome." She greeted while putting her coffee down. The others noticed Najenda's odd behavior and immediately directed their attention to the conversation between the two. Tatsumi ignored the looks he was getting and nodded with a small smile.
"It has been a while, Najenda-san. I'm glad that you are doing well." Leone raised her voice.
"Boss? What's the story behind you and this guy?" Leone asked curiously.
"I see, I've never told you guys about him have I?" Najenda said with a thoughtful face. She gestured for Akame and Tatsumi to take a seat around the table and the rest of the members of Night Raid followed suit. She took one sip of her coffee and began explaining. "Three years ago, I was assigned the mission to gather support and subjugate the city of Heliyx to act as the starting city for our army. One night, Tatsumi barged into our camp and destroyed our guards, claiming to be a representative of Heliyx city." A variety of different expressions appeared on the other members, ranging from 'hah?' to 'wow!'.
Tatsumi chuckled at the memory and Najenda smirked. "After he confirmed that our subjugation would not harm innocent civilians, he offered his help. A week later, we were welcomed into the city by its police force and took over the government with its leader already dead. That city was the perfect starting point for our army and here we are today." The others were silent after hearing Tatsumi's deeds.
"And what about Akame?" Lubbock asked. Akame nodded and began telling her story.
"A month after the Revolutionary army took over Heliyx city, I was sent in to kill their leader. There, the first person I met was Tatsumi. He helped me settle into the city and gave me information on Boss, the Revolutionary army's leader in Heliyx. To my suprise, on the night I planned to kill Boss, Tatsumi showed up and defeated me. The next morning, Tatsumi opened my eyes and I realized the evil of the Empire. Afterwards, I decided to join the Revolutionary army." Mein narrowed her eyes.
"In other words, this man used Boss as bait to catch Akame?" Tatsumi averted his gaze.
"Yeah, this man had the balls to tell me he was going to use me as bait to my face. Well, everything ended well so it's fine." Najenda said with a small chuckle. Leone laughed loudly at the news.
"HAHA! What an interesting guy! I like you kid!" On the contrary, Lubbock was seething.
"You did WHAT to Najenda-san?!" He yelled as he slammed the table. The commotion escalated as Bulat, Sheele and Mein contributed their two cents. Tatsumi watched the group with an impressed smile.
"This is a nice group." Was all he commented. Akame, who was sitting right next to him, nodded with a smile.
"Yeah." On the other hand, Najenda had a different response.
"What do you think about joining that nice group?" The ruckus stopped in an instant and silence filled the gaps left behind. Tatsumi's smile turned into a troubled one. Najenda continued. "In terms of strength, you defeated another Teigu user with nothing but a few scratches and managed to defend against both Bulat and Leone afterwards with a hole in your shoulder. I believe you more than qualify. You are the enemy of the Empire, and also our ally. I would love to have you join our group."
Tatsumi crossed his arms. This offer was not unexpected.
"I think I know the answer, but I'll ask anyways. What would happen if I refuse?" Tatsumi asked. Najenda shrugged simply.
"We won't take your life, but we'll have to have you work in our workshop as a laborer." Tatsumi closed his eyes and nodded.
At this point in time, the future of the rebel army is still uncertain. Although it seems like they are destined to overthrow the Empire in the eyes of their supporters, if the Empire focuses their entire military on them, they would be stamped out within weeks. But without a doubt, a rebel group of this size is unprecedented. If Tatsumi actively begins to work for the rebel army, his presence would soon be known. If the rebel army turns out to be a dud, then Tatsumi would be hunted down by the Empire.
Tatsumi did not fear death. But what he did fear is being unable to complete his mission. To him, that would be the same as betraying Shishou and his companions. It was something he won't allow.
But…he looked around at the group. Despite being professional killers, they gave him a nostalgic feel. The same feel as when he was with Sayo and Ieyasu. The same feel as when he was with Hayami, Yoshiro and Shishou. The feeling of a family.
Working with them wouldn't be bad at all…
"I'll have to refuse." Tatsumi replied firmly. Instantly, everyone save Akame and Najenda raised their guard; Tatsumi noticed that they had gone on alert, but paid them no mind. Najenda frowned at his answer.
"May I hear why?"
"I have my own duty to perform, my role to fill. As of currently, I can't afford to lose my freedom just yet." Tatsumi replied cryptically. A dangerous silence reigned in the room. Najenda released a small sigh.
"I see. It does not appear that your mind can be changed. In that case, we'll have to detain you." Najenda said. Tatsumi smiled and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand which was propped up on the arm of his chair.
"No, breaking out of your workshop will take some time and it sounds like a lot of work, so please save me the trouble." Bulat raised an eyebrow at his matter of fact statement.
"Do you believe it will be that easy to escape our detainment?" Tatsumi shook his head.
"No, it's precisely because I expect it to be difficult that I'm requesting you not to detain me." Tatsumi looked at each and every member sitting there. They could see the confidence in his eyes as he said his next words. "But I can say that, without a doubt, I'll definitely be able to get out."
Najenda sighed and ruffled her own hair with her normal hand.
"A special character as usual, you haven't changed at all." She said with a troubled smile. Tatsumi smirked and raised his finger.
"How about this instead? We can establish a method of communication. If you have any important missions and you think an extra pair of hands won't hurt, give me a call. I'll come and lend a hand. Think of me as an unofficial member or an ally." Najenda tapped her chin and shared a look with Akame. Akame nodded and Najenda followed suit.
"I guess this is the best we can get out of you. Very well, we'll accept." Mein and Lubbock quickly raised their voices of protest while Bulat and Leone stayed silent, accepting the decision of their Boss. Sheele, as usual, wasn't sure what was going on.
As Najenda assured Lubbock and Mein that her decision was correct, Tatsumi turned to Akame.
"I'll stay for about a week for my wounds to heal. Until then, I'd like to get to know your little group here. Mind helping?" He asked. Akame smiled.
"Gladly."
Since Tatsumi cooked breakfast just before noon, Leone who stormed into the kitchen complimented the lingering aroma of his breakfast. Out of courtesy, Tatsumi offered to cook lunch in place of Akame who was on cooking duty.
"Ohh! What's on the menu chef?!" Leone asked excitedly. Tatsumi tapped his chin and scrolled through some recipes he had in mind. Other than training and walking, along with the occasional fights and assassinations, Tatsumi really had nothing else to do during his many years of traveling the country. And so, he took on cooking as both a passtime and a hobby. Since he only had access to the ingredients he procured out in the wild, he never had much to work with so his recipe pool was rather shallow, but his skills were good enough to impress any professional chef.
"Hmm, I was thinking grilled Marg Panther steak and maybe some sauteed vegetables as a side? If you would like soup, then I can make soup." Leone cheered happily, but Akame gave Tatsumi a weird look.
"There's only one Marg Panther left." Tatsumi nodded.
"Yeah, I know. But one Marg Panther should be enough to make 7 servings of steak." Leone froze and Akame's look turned into a disappointed stare.
"Tatsumi… Are you trying to starve us?" Akame asked with a blank gaze. Tatsumi tilted his head. This was a regular meal for him and he was rather confident in how filling it was. He proposed this meal thinking about how this group was filled with warriors like him.
"Huh? Is that not enough? What do you usually have for lunch?"
"Pork bowl cutlets." Akame replied. Tatsumi tapped his chin.
"That sounds a bit heavy for lunch, but in terms of how much food, it's not too different from what I had planned."
"5 bowls each." Akame added. By the way, the bowls Akame was referring to were ramen bowls. Tatsumi slowly turned towards her and Leone who stood beside her. He scanned them from head to toe, inspecting their build. Both girls were under the height of 6 feet and had near perfect proportions. Especially since Leone was exposing her midriff, Tatsumi could clearly tell they had no excess body fat to speak of. Akame tilted her head and Leone grinned mischievously when they saw Tatsumi inspecting their bodies.
"Oya? See something you like?" Leone teased. Tatsumi shook his head.
"No, that's not it. I was just wondering where all the food you people eat go. 5 servings of pork bowl cutlets for lunch? That's enough to kill a grown man." Leone raised her fingers and shook it with a smug look.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. As professional assassins, we must always have enough energy to fight off a dozen grown men, so it is only natural we eat as much as a dozen grown men." She reasoned with her flawless logic. Beside her, Akame nodded while making noises of agreement. Tatsumi sweatdropped at the gluttonous pair. At this time, Lubbock popped his head into the kitchen.
"Oi sis! Najenda-san wants to see you!" Lubbock noticed Tatsumi with his apron on and his eyes widened.
"Ah, you're cooking lunch?" He asked. Tatsumi nodded. Lubbock made a face of relief.
"Thank goodness, my stomach is saved! Please make food that can be fed to normal people. Whenever those two right there are on cooking duty, they always create monstrosities that completely ignores the bottom half of the food pyramid! The three feet tall stack of oil dripping meat from last time still haunts me at night!" He complained. Tatsumi gave Akame a look and she averted her gaze. Leone pouted and approached Lubbock, dropping a fist onto his head.
"It's because you don't eat that you're this skinny and frail." Leone criticized before giving Akame a grin. "I leave the rest in your hands!" Akame gave her a thumbs up with a blank face and Leone left to go meet with Najenda. Akame turned her eyes to Tatsumi who crossed his arms.
"I'll change the menu so that I can make enough food for the two of you, but I'm not backing off on the balance part. Give it up." Akame stopped to consider the compromise.
"Alright."
That day would be remembered as the first time Lubbock shed tears while eating his meal.
The rest of the day went by without anything notable event. Tatsumi spent most of his time sharing some stories with Akame and Najenda with the others listening in. The next morning, Tatsumi requested Akame show him a place to train. Although a day wasn't nearly enough time for his shoulder to heal, he wanted to at least train the use of his Teigu. Akame, who was curious what Tatsumi's Teigu could do, showed him to the training area located right outside their hidden base.
When they arrived, Bulat was already there training. His upper body was bare and covered in sweat as he did one armed pushups with a cement block on his back. His muscles pulsed with power every time he exerted energy to push his body up, yet his movements were so smooth that Tatsumi wondered if the cement block was actually hollow. Bulat noticed them and pushed hard with his arm. The block of cement on his back flew off as the push forced his body into a standing position. The cement block struck the ground a few feet away with a thundering crash and kicked up a dust cloud.
Nope, that is definitely not hollow. Akame took a step forward.
"Did we interrupt?" She asked. Bulat laughed and shook his head.
"Of course not! I was just about done." He walked up to Tatsumi. He was nearly an entire head taller than Tatsumi and his smile was both confident and gave a reliable feel. "Let me introduce myself again. My name is Bulat, nice to meet you." He said while putting out his hand for a handshake.
"Bulat was a former officer in the Imperial Army known as the hundred-man slayer." Akame added. Tatsumi smiled and shook his hand. Bulat's grip was strong and his hand was slightly larger. Tatsumi could tell just from the handshake that Bulat was an experienced warrior. But… isn't this handshake lasting a little too long? Tatsumi tried to retract his hand, but Bulat's grip was a little too strong. "He's also gay."
Tatsumi felt a dangerous shiver run down his spine. Bulat laughed and released the handshake.
"Akame, if you put it that way, he'll misunderstand." He didn't deny it...Tatsumi thought with a sweatdrop. "Are you guys here to train too?" Bulat asked. Akame nodded.
"Yeah, Tatsumi wanted to train with the use of his Teigu." Bulat's eyes widened. He turned to Tatsumi.
"As expected, you are also a Teigu user?" Tatsumi nodded and pulled out the necklace from behind his clothes. The green jewel in the necklace glistened beautifully under the morning sun. "Hmm? A necklace shaped Teigu huh? Would you mind if I watched as well?" Tatsumi nodded.
"Yeah, since I agreed to be an ally, I have no reason to hide my powers." Tatsumi consented. He stepped out into the middle of the training field, a rather large area almost the size of a football field. He rolled his right shoulder a few times. Feeling no pain, he smiled and waved his arm.
In front of Tatsumi, around 10 feet away, wind swirled into a miniature tornado. The speed of rotation increased rapidly, sucking in leaves and dust from its surroundings giving the otherwise colorless unnatural phenomenon a visible form. Tatsumi flicked his hand upwards and the whirlwind transformed into a powerful rising current, blowing the dust and leaves high into the sky.
Tatsumi's eyes sharpened and a few beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Behind his back, the air distorted into a dozen spherical shapes, each about the size of a fist. The spheres flattened and their shape changed into arcs before launching towards the rain of leaves, traveling at speeds faster than the eye could follow. By the time the leaves hit the ground, not a single one retained its original shape.
Bulat clapped at the end of Tatsumi's small performance.
"I see. That necklace grants you the ability to control wind is it? And it's extremely powerful control too." Bulat analyzed. Tatsumi nodded.
"Yeah. Soul of the Tempest - Shinatsuhiko. I discovered this in a cave deep in the mountains west of the Capital almost 7 years ago. From then, I've been experimenting with its power. In addition to manipulating the direction of wind and increasing its force, it also grants me the ability to step on air as if it's solid." Tatsumi explained. He bent his knees and hopped into the air. At the peak of his jump, he straightened his posture and a light ripple expanded outward from the soles of his feet. A few moments later, the invisible force holding Tatsumi up was canceled and he dropped back down onto the ground.
"Najenda-san, you are welcome to join us you know?" Tatsumi said abruptly. From around the corner, Najenda appeared with a cigarette in her mouth and a surprised look on her face.
"What gave me away?" She was sure she had been completely silent and without any bad intentions, they shouldn't have been able to sense her. It wasn't that she had a reason to hide, it just fit her image better.
"Ah, that's right. There's one more power that this Teigu gave me." Tatsumi informed. "When I first obtained this Teigu, it gave me something like an additional sensory ability, something like sight and smell. I have knowledge on the shape of all objects within a certain area as long as the wind can reach it." Since he had been living with this sense for over 6 years now, he completely forgot that this was part of Shinatsuhiko's abilities.
Having heard the unprecedented ability granted by Tatsumi's mysterious Teigu, Najenda's jaw dropped to the floor and Akame's eyes widened in surprise. Bulat whistled, extremely impressed.
"Damn, that is the most versatile Teigu I've ever heard of. Up until now, I thought the Teigu of ice is the strongest, but I think we have a new competitor." Bulat commented with a smile. Tatsumi scratched his head with a troubled smile.
"Well, obtaining this Teigu almost killed me…" Tatsumi mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Akame asked with a hint of worry. Tatsumi paused for a moment, trying to think about how to explain that. He himself didn't fully understand what had happened when he first touched Shinatsuhiko, but over the years, he had a few theories.
"I'm not too sure myself, but I think that I was unable to handle the additional information from a sixth sense and my brain almost shut down trying." That's what Tatsumi theorized to have caused the head-splitting pain when he first touched Shinatsuhiko. "Ah, I'm fine now so don't worry." He added when he saw Akame's slightly anxious look.
"How did you survive?" Bulat asked. A brain can't just magically adapt to a large amount of new information. Tatsumi smiled and pulled out the wrapped blade he had behind his back.
"That sword… is that also a Teigu?" Akame asked. She was the one who patched up Tatsumi after bringing him back to their base, so naturally, she knew about that weapon. It was powerful, as a fellow Teigu user, Akame could sense that just by touching it. She didn't dare draw out the blade fearing what it could do, but she knew it wasn't just a normal sword. To Akame's question, Tatsumi hesitated.
"I'm… not sure. It's power rivals that of my necklace, Shinatsuhiko. But it doesn't feel like a seperate Teigu. This is just my opinion, but I believe it's the second part of Shinatsuhiko. For the time being, I gave it a seperate name." Tatsumi said as he unwrapped the sword.
Underneath the layers of bandages, a sword in its sheath was revealed to the three observers. A series of lines were carved into the sheath, giving is an ancient and mysterious look. The only visible portions of the sword was the handle. The hilt had a black outer layer that looked like clothe, but provided much more grip. A knuckle guard extended from the cross-guard down but never connecting with the hilt. One side of the sheath is straight, the other curves to meet the first at the very tip. This indicated that the blade was one-sided like a katana, but lacked the katana's typical overall curve. It had the length of a longsword, the handle of a rapier and the weight of a katana.
"I call it Lightning's Fang - Fenrir." What kind of sword is this? Was the thought shared between Bulat, Akame and Najenda. Tatsumi could tell they were at the limits of their curiosity, but he returned the sword to its original position behind his back. There was a shared look of confusion between the three. Tatsumi gave them an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, but I won't be drawing Fenrir here. There are a few… side effects that I would rather avoid." Tatsumi explained.
"A description would do." Najenda said.
"If Shinatsuhiko is a Teigu that grants me various abilities I don't have, then Fenrir is a Teigu that enhances the ability I already do have. Information processing, reaction times, strength and speed. When I hold this sword in my hands, the world slows down." Tatsumi described. The others listened in silence.
"... That is every swordsman's dream." Akame whispered. Bulat and Najenda nodded in understanding. A weapon that amplifies the physical and mental capabilities of a swordsman. If you spread the existence of such a weapon to the public, the result would be endless bloodshed as warriors fought to get their hands on such a wonder.
"Why didn't you use it when you fought Leone and I?" Bulat asked out of curiosity. Tatsumi frowned.
"... I'm too afraid to use it." He replied. The others waited for Tatsumi to elaborate, which he did.
"When I first drew this blade 7 years ago, it felt as if my body was being ripped apart inside out. The second time I drew this blade was 3 years later, during my accidental encounter with Esdeath, the user of the Teigu of ice." Their eyes widened at the news. Tatsumi quickly continued before they began asking questions. "Of course, i was no match for her at the age of 16. I drew Fenrir out of desperation and was able to escape. The pain was insignificant compared to when I first drew it. From then on, I would occasionally draw this blade. It was only since around 6 months ago that I could finally keep this sword out without feeling pain or discomfort. Even then, I still don't feel like I can handle its power."
Akame closed her eyes and Bulat nodded in understanding. Najenda too, understood what Tatsumi meant.
"Just like an amateur with the sharpest sword in the world. Dangerous to the enemy, but even more dangerous to himself." Najenda said. Tatsumi nodded.
"I promised myself to never draw Fenrir unless I faced three specific situations. One - when I need to save my own life. Two - when I need to protect something I must protect. Three - when I need to kill someone I must kill." Tatsumi declared. He then turned to the Bulat with a small smirk. "If Akame didn't show up when she had, then I would've drawn this blade in order to ensure my own survival." Bulat smiled and patted Akame on her shoulder with a thankful smile.
"But that's only in fights correct? Why won't you draw that sword here?" Najenda asked.
"This sheath acts as a sort of storage for Fenrir's energy. When the storage is full, excess energy leaks out and into my body. Since it's thanks to Fenrir's powers that I can safely use Shinatsuhiko additional sense, during the short period of a week when storage is not full and Fenrir is not drawn, my head hurts pretty bad. That's another reason I don't draw Fenrir often." Tatsumi finished.
There was a few moments of silence while the others processed all the information. Other than Shinatsuhiko's weaknesses, Tatsumi hid nothing from them. It was a sign of trust and a symbol of goodwill. Tatsumi knew that several members, including Bulat, were skeptical about Tatsumi being their 'ally'. Tatsumi was a stranger to them, and even if Akame and Najenda trusted him, the knowledge that a man was roaming free with information on them was unsettling for the members who had no history with him.
On the other hand, Tatsumi knew that neither Akame nor Najenda were the type of people who would betray him. That trust, he extended to Night Raid whom he saw acted as a family. Having understood this, Bulat grinned.
"I'm glad we have you as an ally, Tatsumi." Tatsumi nodded, an a small smile graced his lips.
"Yeah, same here."
And that's the end of the first chapter of the Canon Akame ga Kill!
I had been pretty excited to write this chapter for about 13 chapters now. I had a lot of ideas for how I wanted Tatsumi and Night Raid to meet and settled with a fight. It was my editor who suggested having Tatsumi not join Night Raid, and I agreed that this would be more fun.
I hope you all enjoyed!