Chapter 5...
Tatsumi just laid in a field of grass as he looked up in the sky with a bored expression. He was told that one of the members were going to be training him. He didn't really approve of it, but he thought that if he could excel at it, they would stop these damn tests and finally send him on more missions. At the rate he was going, it would be a pipe dream to kill Honest. He needed a layout of the palace, but he couldn't do any recon until he was in the capital. And when he was, it was just to kill some fools who've done petty shit. He was beginning to question whether these guys were really going to make a difference slaughtering the capital's garbage of humanity. Ah it didn't matter. As long as it got him to the minister, he had no complaints.
"I wonder what they'll have me do today?" Tatsumi wondered as he laid on the grass.
"Tatsumi?" He turned his head to a familiar air headed assassin that was making her towards him holding some sort of metal suit.
"...You've got to be kidding me." Tatsumi thought in disbelief.
"I will be teaching you for the day, so I hope we wi-AHh!" She tripped over a rock and Tatsumi was wide eyed when she fell right on top of him.
"Mmm..that was not fun." Sheele groaned. "Eh? Tatsumi?" She looked around but he was gone.
"MMFgh!"" Tatsumi muffled. He couldn't breathe due to being suffocated by the air heads large breasts.
"Ahh~! P-please, not so rough~!" Sheele moaned in slight pleasure as Tatsumi tried to push her off him by her chest.
"PAH! Damn it Sheele!" Tatsumi gasped for his life. It turns out that Sheele's chest was just as dangerous as a blade.
"I-i'm sorry." Sheele bowed while on her knees.
"..." Tatsumi looked at his hand and flexed it a little. "...They were pretty big.."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Are you alright?" He asked with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Yes, thank you for asking." She smiled. "Oh no, my glasses." She couldn't see that well, for she was on her knees scanning the ground for her spectacles.
"Hey, here." Tatsumi picked them up and held them in front of her. As she looked up, she seemed a bit more pretty than usual. She was like an innocent maiden...that would kill a man without hesitation.
"Thank you Tatsumi." She smiled. He simply blinked and looked away.
"So what am I doing today?" He asked.
"Today, you'll be under my special training regiment. Now if you could please put this on, we'll get started right away." She dropped a bulky set of armor in front of him which made him confused.
"Uh..what am I supposed to do with this?" He asked, drawing a blank.
"Put it on and start swimming up the river." She explained simply.
"..What?" Tatsumi asked blankly.
2 hours later...
"(Pant), (pant)...Shit.." Tatsumi gasped for air as he finally laid down on the nice firm earth.
"Very good Tatsumi. You swam perfectly without the armor slowing you down." Sheele said with a smile.
"I..(pant)..wouldn't say..(gasp)..that." He gasped for air desperately, while his cold eyes were staring up at Sheele.
"This is my training for increasing stamina and strength. If you keep this up, you'll be able to swim even if you're wearing armor, or carrying bulky weapons." Sheele explained.
"That actually makes sense. I guess she isn't completely useless." Tatsumi thought.
"Well, that should be good for now. Lets head ba..uh." Sheele then sweat dropped worriedly.
"What?" Tatsumi asked.
"Uh..Ehehe, you wouldn't happen to know the way back?" She asked while sheepishly smiling.
"..I take that back, she's UTTERLY useless." Tatsumi thought. "Can't we just follow the river back?" Tatsumi asked.
"Well, there were two forks in it, and I don't remember if we went right or left." Sheele explained as an image of a map appeared.
"Are you serious!?" Tatsumi shouted in annoyance.
"Sorry, I usually follow Mine or Akame back to the hide out." Sheele apologized.
"(Sigh), well, for now we'll just head back." Tatsumi said as he took off his armor. Sheele then made a sound of surprise.
"Oh wait, You should probably wait till your clothes dry." She came up to him as she grabbed his shirt and was attempting to pull it off.
"I can do this myself." Tatsumi refused as he tried to push her away, but he was so tired that the strength in his arms were completely shot.
"But you've been training hard for the last two hours." Sheele said as she tried getting his shirt off.
"I can handle this my se-YOU IDIOT!"
"AH!" The two then lost their balance and fell back into the river with a loud splash.
"Uwwahh~!" Sheele gasped for air as soon as she resurfaced. Tatsumi merely floated up with an annoyed look on his face.
"Why me?" Tatsumi wondered.
Tatsumi was sitting cross legged with his arms crossed. He was sporting an annoyed look as usual. A rope that was tied to a tree was serving as a clothesline for his clothes and Sheele's. He had got a fire going to assist with drying their clothes off. Sheele was sitting with her knees upward. She had wrapped her hands around her legs, for she was a bit cold. She was in her purple undergarments, making her feel a little exposed.
"I-it sure is chilly." She said, trying to break the silence.
".." Tatsumi remained silent, just lifelessly staring at the fire.
"Oh, I-I heard about your fight with Zank the Be-header. You must have had a hard time fighting a Teigu user. I-I think you did pretty well on your own, surviving a fight where your opponent uses a T-"
"Sheele." Tatsumi suddenly said which made her flinch.
"What is it..?" She asked him.
"Do you..think what Night Raid is doing will make a difference?" He asked.
"..Hmmm." She hummed, as if she were thinking. "What do you mean?"
"Well lets be honest, there is no guarantee that we're gonna live long enough to see this new country that the boss talks about." He talked on while she listened. "Going after these scumbags isn't wrong, but if nothing changes, then what would the point be?"
"You don't think we can change the capitol as it is?" She asked.
"I think if you wanna kill a weed, go for the roots." He said as he held his hand up and clenched it. "But then again.." His eyes softened a little. "..if you're doing this for the people, I guess there is no other way."
".." Sheele looked back and loosened her arms a little. "So...what do you fight for Tatsumi?"
"Huh?" Tatsumi snapped out of thought and looked back at her.
"Why do you kill? Why kill the Prime minister? Is it Revenge? Hatred?" She asked him. He looked down with a frown.
"I told you guys, I just feel like killing him."
"But why though?" She asked as she leaned toward him.
"..." Tatsumi just looked back to the fire.
"And why would you do something as bold as attacking him when he was most protected?" She continued asking.
"..."
"Tatsumi..were you hoping to die after killing him?" She asked. The wind slightly blew past the two. Tatsumi just remained silent until finally speaking up.
"I knew what I was getting into." Tatsumi replied.
"But why?" She asked once more.
"...What would be the point of going on living?" He asked as she made a worried look. "I kill. I kill. And I kill until I die, or until I feel I kill the one who made me want to live...until I kill him." He then looked up at the evening sky. "If I can do that, then I'd be fine with dying. Besides, just like my village, or others that the empire razed, i'd just be forgotten, erased from this life. I have nothing to go back to, and no one will ever remember me. But I guess that's one of the merits that come with an assassin." He scoffed as he thought about it. "People who live on will forget the dead. And they'll just move on until they die."
"That's not true." Sheele said as she smiled. "It's true that people will die..but they won't forget who someone was." She said as she sat next to him. "And..if it helps in anyway..I won't forget you." She said as he widened his eyes a she pulled his head into a gentle hug."I may be a bit of an airhead, and I know i'm not good with a lot of things..but I never forget my friends." She smiled as she stroked his brown hair.
"...You're weird." Tatsumi said as she continued her embrace of him.
"Really?" She asked.
"Can you really trust me even though I just met you?"
"Of course." She replied with a gentle smile.
"Why?" He had to ask.
"Because, Tatsumi is my friend." She said as Tatsumi blinked and was flashing back to something. Something precious, something that he cared for, someone...
"...A friend huh?" Tatsumi said under his breath.
"Hm?" Sheele thought she heard him say something.
"Never mind." Tatsumi said as the two remained in their position. He wasn't sure why she decided to hug him, but it wasn't all that bad. Despite how much of an airhead she acted most of the time, she actually had some good looks to her. An assassin wouldn't exactly be the first impression when you looked at her. A question then came to Tatsumi. "How did you get wrapped up in Night Raid? Seems kind of weird how you end up as an assassin when you're a total klutz."
"Well.." Sheele began.
Night Raid...
"Man, they should have been back now." Leone complained as she lied down on the couch with a sigh.
"It's probably taking longer than she thought." Akame reasoned.
"Hmph, I knew that guy was slow. If he can't handle Sheele's training, then he'd just slow us down." Mine huffed.
"Maybe..or.~" Leone then thought of something. "They're doing it out in the forest."
"Doing what?" Mine asked curiously.
"Isn't it obvious? An adolescent young man and girl alone in the forest.~ Anything could be happening~"
"Don't tell me..!" Akame said all of a sudden in shock.
"See? She gets it." Leone noted.
"They're eating those snacks Tatsumi made by themselves!" Akame deduced. Leone just fell off the couch in disbelief.
"No Akame, I meant sex." Leone corrected her.
"What!?" Mine stood up with a blush matching her hair. "No fucking way! I absolutely won't allow him to do that to Sheele!" She stated as she held her fist up in determination.
"Well, you never know. For all we know, Tatsumi could have pushed her down and-"
"Hellooo~" Sheele's voice said happily. Everyone looked and they saw Sheele and Tatsumi at the door. Their clothes were all ruffled and a bit damp.
"What happened to you two?" Leone asked.
"Ah well-" Sheele began to explain.
"YOU ANIMAL!" Mine shouted in anger as she was about to take a slash at Tatsumi. Tatsumi caught the sword before it cut him down.
"Speak for your self you psycho!" Tatsumi grunted in annoyance.
"Whoa, Mine! Take it easy!" Leone suddenly stood up.
"Sheele! I'm so sorry I left you with this perverted bumpkin!" She apologized.
"W-wait! Mine, I think you have the wrong idea!" Sheele waved her arms frantically.
"Tch!" Tatsumi scoffed. He then pushed the sword away from him and stepped back. Mine calmed down, but still held the sword at the ready. "Crazy little pipsqueak." Tatsumi snarled.
"Nani!?" Mine growled.
"Anything new?" Tatsumi asked Akame.
"Mm. We have a new mission." She said as she snacked on a piece of an apple. "But first, we must eat." She pointed out.
"But you're eating-" Tatsumi was about to say something, but was interrupted by a fiery aura from Akame as she said.
"We. Must. Eat." She emphasized.
"(Sigh).." Tatsumi gave up. The only way to make this girl satisfied was to feed her. "Excuse me." Tastsumi said as he took off his coat and threw it on the coat rack. He disappeared into the kitchen, while grumbling about how annoying Akame's appetite was.
"Hmm." Leone hummed.
"What is it?" Akame asked.
"Nothing." Leone said as she yawned. She smiled a little though and thought. "Hehe~! I think he'll fit in just fine."
A couple hours later...
Once again we find everyone sitting at the dinner table enjoying the meal Tatsumi had prepared.
"Ahhhh, I could get used to this!" Leone said as she slightly burped.
"Mm! This truly is the most manliest meal I've ever had Tatsumi!" Bulat complimented as Tatsumi nodded.
"Yeah, yeah." He said casually while pushing Akame away from his plate. "You're really annoying you know that?"
"But you haven't touched it for about ten minutes now." Akame reasoned.
"That's because you won't sto-Errrggg! Fine, take it." Tatsumi surrendered his dish as she took it with delight, even though her face never showed it.
"Akame, don't act so spoiled at the dinner table." Mine said.
"It's fine, i'm not really hungry anyway." Tatsumi said as he leaned on his arm.
"Something on your mind?" Sheele asked.
"No..nothing." He said simply. "Anyways, what's this mission we're going on?" Tatsumi asked.
"Right." Najenda said. She wiped her mouth and began explaining. "You have two targets this time. You have a drug dealer in the slums, and another one in the upper area. Expect resistance from the drug dealer though. Leone and Tatsumi will take him. Mine and Sheele will get the other target. "
"Fine with me. I've needed some idiots to kill." Tatsumi said with some relief in his voice.
"Also something else has happened." Najenda mentioned. "It turns out General Esdeath has returned to the capitol, along with her three demon generals."
"Damn, I knew she was campaigning in the north but.."
"It was a one-sided massacre. I expected Esdeath to plow right through with little resistance, but I didn't expect her to conquer them that fast." Najenda sounded like she had concern in her voice as the room was filled with a serious atmosphere. Tatsumi in particular was starting to remember his encounter with the ice woman. She was strong..not like any other person he faced.
"So we'll have to be more vigilant than before. If Esdeath is in the capitol, DO NOT approach her under any circumstances. She's the strongest general in the capitol, and we wouldn't stand a chance against her on our own." Najenda ordered while they nodded. After dinner, Tatsumi simply got up and headed outside.
"Tatsumi?" Akame asked.
"I just need some air." He said before leaving.
"You know, I just can't figure him out." Bulat said as he crossed his arms. "A young man like that...I've never seen such a dark demeanor in kids his age."
"He's been through a lot, but I see your point." Najenda mentioned.
"Well, I wouldn't worry about it! Tatsumi is one of us now, and he's really good at this sort of thing." Leone said as she leaned back.
Outside...
Tatsumi had been walking out in the forest, simply just thinking about the next mission he was going to go on. But what also was going through his mind was the fact that Esdeath was back in the capitol. It wasn't gonna be as easy now, now that the strongest in the empire was stationed there. He gritted his teeth out of frustration. He should have attempted to kill Honest when he didn't have that much protection. Maybe he would have been able to kill him if he wasn't wasting time with these assassins. His goal just got pushed further ahead, and he was frustrated and angered about it. He was having doubts about Night Raid and their way of doing things. He was just mad. Not at Night Raid, but himself. He didn't give a damn what they did, because it was basically what he was doing, but this was getting to be longer than he anticipated it to be.
"Tch, I feel like a kid who just got grounded. Why couldn't that sadistic bastard just stay out in the open where I needed him? (Sigh), well at this point it doesn't really matter. I'll need to do some scouting, and find out more about Esdeath." He thought as he tried to outweigh his needs with logic. Collecting information wasn't hard, but he hated the stakeouts.
"I'll just find some bum who keeps his ear to the ground. The slums would probably be a good place as a-!" He then stopped talking to himself and whipped his head around. He was staring at a cloaked figure who was standing there motionless.
"I didn't even hear him!" Tatsumi noticed as he eyed the figure. The figure then dropped two short blades out of his sleeves and caught them by the handles. The figure then smiled as he dashed towards Tatsumi. Tatsumi then pulled out a knife he kept on him as he blocked a strike. He sidestepped a thrust from the attacker and elbowed them back. The figured slid back across the ground a little, and then jumped towards Tatsumi. Tatsumi grabbed a throwing knife out of his belt and threw it out at the attacker who just ducked and got close to Tatsumi. He then went for his neck, but Tatsumi leaned back and fell down. He then kicked back with all his strength and the attacker grunted. Tatsumi quickly got to his feet and headed straight for the cloaked figure. He brought down his dagger and the figure blocked it, but it was a feint, for Tatsumi ducked and was going for their neck.
"Got you!" He thought. But the figure dropped their swords and blocked the strike with their hand, as the knife ran through their hand making a bloody drizzle down their arm. Tatsumi was surprised. They sacrificed their hand to protect their neck. The person then simply smiled which made Tatsumi confused.
"The hell are you smiling at?" Tatsumi asked. He then had wide eyes as he saw something. The person then grabbed Tatsumi's hand and pulled out the knife and roundhouse kicked him back as he rolled back. When he looked up again, the attacker was gone.
"Tatsumi!" Akame called out. He turned and saw the black haired assassin come running to his aid with her sword. "Are you alright?" She quickly asked.
"I'm fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me." He said as he panted.
"Who attacked you?"
"I don't know..but they were good." Tatsumi thought.
"How did they get past Lubbock's traps?" Akame wondered.
"I don't know Akame. But I think we got company." Tatsumi noted as the two looked to see several men charging toward them. They were capitol soldiers!
"Soldiers!? Here?!" Tatsumi said in surprise.
"We gotta warn the others!" Akame said as she helped him up. "You go tell the others, i'll take care of these men!" Akame told Tatsumi. Tatsumi nodded and dashed back to the hide out. On the way he saw more soldiers ahead, so he he dove into the brush and hid till they passed. It sounded clear, so he slowly got up and looked around. He then proceeded to the hideout. But he was stopped again as the attacker from before was falling towards him. He then felt like his arm was chopped clean off as arcs of his blood slowly whipped out through the air. He widened his eyes and shouted in pain as his severed limb hit the ground. "GAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Tatsumi cried out as the pain surged through the left side of his body. He bent down and gritted his teeth. He glared up at the one responsible and cursed them. "YOU..urk!..You'll pay for that!" Tatsumi said as he slowly stood up. The person then held the sword up with Tatsumi's blood and licked it with a mischievous grin.
"This ain't good. I can't see that well and the pain is terrible!..But this person's moves...I've definitely seen it before.." He thought as the person approached him. They then dashed towards Tatsumi, but was then blocked by a familiar large pair of scissors. Tatsumi's eyes widened when a familiar sheen of purple hair was in front of him.
"Sheele?!" Tatsumi said, surprised to see her. Sheele then pushed the attacker back as they grunted and clicked their tongue in annoyance.
"I won't let you kill Tatsumi." Sheele said in a firm tone. She then twirled her scissors above her and dashed towards the hooded figure. She slashed at them as they hopped in the air. She narrowed her eyes and opened her scissors. The person then barely twirled out of the way as the scissors clicked shut. The attacker then kicked at Sheele, she was blocking the strikes with her Teigu. Sheele then saw an opening and lounged her scissors forward. The opponent then blocked the stab with the broad ends of their two short swords.
"..." The figure then threw something on the ground and they vanished in a sudden flash of light. Sheele and Tatsumi looked up and their attacker was gone.
"Tatsumi!" Sheele shouted in worry. She quickly tore off a piece of her clothing and quickly wrapped Tatsumi's armless shoulder. "I'm sorry, if I had just come sooner.." Sheele frowned as she helped Tatsumi up.
"D-don't...worry about me...lets..Ergh!" Tatsumi bent down as he felt more pain from his shoulder. He was sweating like crazy. He looked up and saw a riflemen aiming at Sheele. "Get down!" Tatsumi tackled Sheele to the ground and they barely dodged a bullet as it wizzed past them and hit the ground.
"Damn!" The sniper cursed. He then suddenly saw a beam of light shooting towards his face, and it was the last thing he saw, for it went straight through his head.
"Are you okay?" Mine asked. Her Teigu was smoking at the end from the shot she took.
"I'm fine, but we need to help Tatsumi!" Sheele said as she quickly got up and noticed Tatsumi wasn't moving. The blood from his shoulder was dripping out of the wrap that Sheele had used. He passed out and wasn't moving.
"Mine, Sheele!" Bulat came running with his Incursio armor on. "We're compromised! The Boss said to meet up at the second location once we all got together! Is Tatsumi-!"
"I think he's passed out, but-"
"We'll help him later! Here, give him to me!" Bulat said as he took Tatsumi and slung him over his back.
"Guys!" Akame came dashing towards them. Her eyes widened when she saw Tatsumi's arm severed from his body. "Tatsumi.." She slowly said.
"Akame! We're leaving!" Bulat said. Akame nodded and the group headed out.
"Where's Lubbock and Leone?"
"They went with the boss! Come on lets get out of here!" Mine said as they dashed through the forest. Tatsumi was unconscious and was slowly bleeding out.
A cloaked figure, the same one that had attacked Tatsumi was standing in the middle of the meeting room where Night Raid used to occupy. The figure then looked over to a coat rack that had Tatsumi's coat on it. They then grabbed it and sniffed it. The person smiled as they looked up at the ceiling.
"Tatsumi.."
Well finally I got some time to write! Hope you enjoyed it, despite how little short this was. But meh. Alright, time to get to work on my other fics, I think I have kept you all waiting long enough! Read/Review/Rate!
Laters!