Chapter 16...

"A...and...aaaaNND that wraps it up! We just witnessed something unbelievable! Your new champion, Phantooooom!" The announcer grabbed Tatsumi's hand and raised it high, indicating he won the match. The crowd slowly clapped, but then erupted into cheer, the entire city echoed with their cries of praise. Lubbock was slack-jawed for a second.

"..he just...crushed his wind pipe..right?" Lubbock asked Leone. He'd seen some crazy fighting styles before, but that...was lethal, to say the least.

"Ehhh? Is that what happened? I almost feel sorry for that Kolby guy." Leone leaned over the bars, and was eyeing Tatsumi carefully.

"Like, I've never seen someone do that to someone before. He really is a weapon." Lubbock shook his head slowly. Down in the arena, Tatsumi was staring beyond the crowd and around them. It would be a lie, if he said he didn't feel a little giddy after being praised for something he excelled at. He turned back to the annoncer.

"When do I get paid?" He simply asked.

"The reward will be presented to you." The announcer covered the microphone as they talked.

"Presented? By who?" Tatsumi was confused a little here. Normally at these types of events, you just swung by the nearest bank, or fighter guild to pick up the money. Being presented, was normally a high honor for the ones receiving it. Which meant, whoever was presenting the prize, was someone of great influence.

"Turn around, and find out." The announcer pointed behind him happily. Tatsumi turned and his green eyes widened in shock. It was his turn have his jaw drop, because, slowly coming down the steps, was the very general that commanded fear in the hearts of the four corners of the earth. Esdeath had descended the stairs with a proud smile on her lips. "The one presenting the prize money, to the champion, is our very own, prided defender of the capital! General Esdeath!" He announced, making the crowd go wild. Her snowy eyes were fixed on Tatsumi, and she was really looking forward to seeing him again.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Tatsumi slowly took a step back. "Oh crap, that's right. She sponsored this tournament. But SHE was gonna present the prize?! That smug, jolly, dumbass! I knew this was a stupid idea!" Tatsumi's mind raced to who was to blame for the reason he was out here, and his brain thought of Lubbock a hundred times. He wasn't prepared to face her again! And the worse part about this, is that they were out in public, so they couldn't really duke it out, without stirring up trouble. "That's it! I'm gonna kill em'! He is SO dead when I get back! I'm gonna kill him with the biggest fucking, rock i can get my hands on!"

"Just gotta keep it together, just take the money, then walk away. Take the money and walk away." Lubbock had a nervous drop of sweat, as he fidgeted his fingers. Esdeath arrived where Tatsumi was, and stopped in front of him and just smiled down at him. Tatsumi stared her dead on, with a very annoyed look in his eyes.

"That was a very splendid fight there, "Phantom". But entering with your real name wouldn't have been an issue. So why all the secrecy?" She asked politely.

"Well what can I say? I'm a very secretive individual." Tatsumi swiftly answered. "Look, just give me my reward, and we'll leave it at that." Tatsumi knew it was useless trying, but he knew this was gonna end in one of two ways. A, he was gonna fight his way out, and give himself a bad rep. B, he was gonna get captured, and become this sadist's plaything. Either one was bad, but he would take option A, any day of the week. Being made the bitch of this bitch, would have been the ultimate insult to his pride.

"Why such a hurry? You have somewhere you need to go?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm. Her hand rested on her hip, while the two stood at each other.

"Yeah, anywhere that's not here." Tatsumi deadpanned.

"Then why not accompany me inside the royal palace?"

"I'm sorry, let me be specific, away from YOU." Tatsumi clarified while slowly walking backwards. He was getting ready to bolt.

"I must insist." She snapped her fingers, and suddenly the edges of the stage were completely walled off in a mere second, by her ice. "There is nowhere for you to run now, Tatsumi." She had a grim look, as her target of desire was scanning for an opening. Everyone outside the arena was bewildered by what the heck was going on.

"May I?" She asked the announcer for the mic. He handed it to her with a nervous drop of sweat rolling down his neck.

"This...is getting a little out of hand." He was wondering if he should be sticking around.

"Greetings, gentlemen, ladies, and children alike. The champion has requested that I become his opponent." She called out to them all. "Therefor, as a fellow warrior, allow me to demonstrate how a soldier of the Empire fights!" She called out to them, and they shouted in approval. They egged on the match, in anticipation.

"What?! No! Fuck this shit, I'm out!" Tatsumi thought he misheard her. "What are you playing at?! I'm not here to put on a show." He coldly put, as he glared at her.

"Don't let the people's expectations go to waste now, Tatsumi. I'm going to take you back with me, and this time..." She drew her sword slowly, and then pointed up at him. "..you're not getting away."

"..." Tatsumi slowly tapped his shoulder, signaling Leone and Lubbock to get out of there. The two had looks of worry, but they knew that this was a situation not in their favor.

"This isn't good...something must have tipped her off. Lets get out of here before they start closing everything off." Lubbock whispered.

"Yeah...lets get to a better vantage point. It would be stupid to try anything with this crowd." Leone agreed. "Good luck Tatsumi." Leone walked off with Lubbock, and the two were heading to a different location. Tatsumi figured it was enough time, and then spoke up.

"You are really starting to get on my nerves, lady." Tatsumi reached behind him, to grab his short sword.

"If it really irritates you, come at me with your entire being. I'll take it, bones, flesh, blood, and all. And make you into my own." She just smiled arrogantly. Like someone who had won, before the fight even started. These types of people are what made Tatsumi tick. He was slowly weighing his options. At the moment, escape would not be a wise idea. Second he turned his back, she'd be on him faster than he could start running. No, this wasn't a question of escape, it was how he was gonna last against her.

"O-oi! Can I get out of here first?!" The announcer voiced his well being. He was trying to get out, but the ice was too high.

"Ah, yes, Wave. I completely forgot you were there. Here." She raised her hand, and suddenly a pillar of ice shot up from the ground, and sent him flying out of the arena.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHhHHHHH-OOF!" He landed roughly in the dirt, and he was slowly picking himself up. "She's the devil..." He muttered while trying to comprehend what just happened. Now that he was out of the arena, Esdeath could focus on Tatsumi. He raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"I can't tell if that was helping, or booting." Tatsumi could only guess. But found some humor in it.

"Come to me, Tatsumi. Show me your mettle once more!" She taunted him while remaining still. "I have been itching for another fun time, since we last crossed blades."

"...I'm not sure if I can beat you yet, but I guess crazier things have happened. Lets give this another shot." He suddenly swiped his arm upwards, and a throwing knife was soaring through the air at break neck speed, toward Esdeath's face. She swiped it away quickly, and suddenly Tatsumi was near her. Her smile maintained while watching him. He slashed with his short sword, and the two were blocking and cutting at each other at speed faster than the spectators could keep up with. It looked inhuman. Tatsumi was knocked back and he threw another knife at her, and she sidestepped it, and then charged forward. Tatsumi slid back and brushed her stab aside. She held her arm out toward him, and nearly touched him. He fell back, landed on his back, and then sprung forth with a mule-like kick to her stomach, which she took, and slid back. Tatsumi got back on his feet and when he thought he landed a kick on her, she had a patch of ice, crack off her stomach.

"Are you kidd-? Damn it." Tatsumi scowled.

"That was a splendid strike Tatsumi. Have you been training more?" She calmly said. The crowd was eating up the match, cheering on Esdeath. Her light blue hair fluttered in the wind, as she looked at him with a proud face.

"Not enough." Tatsumi said as he rocketed forward and the two were in a clash again. Tatsumi was getting faster with his strikes, but she was keeping up with him, as her heart raced with excitement. Tatsumi brought his blade down on her, and was in the air. She smirked, as her sword began freezing his blade, which surprised him. He immediately, kicked off and back flipped away from her, as he watched his blade get shattered in ice. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Your weapon is gone. What now, Tatsumi?" She asked smugly.

"..." Tatsumi narrowed his eyes at her. His mind calculating his next move. "That ice Teigu...it isn't on her person. I don't think it's the sword. It's just like that old bastard said, right out of thin air! I thought maybe the moisture in the air was it, but it's just appearing out of nowhere! Does she even get tired out?! This woman is not even breaking a sweat!" Tatsumi just couldn't see how this person could wield their Teigu with deadly efficiency. He knew she was trying to immobilize him, but he didn't really see any flaws with her Teigu. Everything thrown at her was just turned to ice, and/or was rendered useless. Her range was unknown. It was like a hunter, throwing a predator in a pit it couldn't climb out of, and then the hunter, toying with it until they lost the will to fight. This was what made Esdeath feared. Except, she took the hunter, and toyed with him instead. "You are getting annoying!" Tatsumi had two throwing knives in his hands, and he charged her again. Esdeath raised her sword, and a ray of ice, shot out at him. He weaved past it, and got closer to her. He was met with an ice wall that blocked him off, and he stopped, and skidded towards it. Suddenly Esdeath was above him, and she sent a curved, restraining type of ice bar at him, intending to pin him to the ground, like a giant staple.

Tatsumi glared coldly at her, and jumped toward her, surprising her. He missed the ice object, and then threw one of his knives toward her with deadly accuracy. Her smile faltered for a second, and she summoned a thin screen to take the attack. They passed each other, and Esdeath was now on the ground. Tatsumi twisted his body, constantly throwing knives at her, which she gracefully hopped out of the way from, until he landed on the ground, safely. He was panting, and was holding on to his last throwing knife. He looked at all his blades lying all over the ground. Esdeath still had the gentle expression since they started the match. The crowed was fired up from the display they witnessed, that they began taking bets on who was going to win.

"I have to admit...(pant)...I've never run out of throwing knives." Tatsumi voiced.

"Praise at last. You are one step closer to me, then you were at the beginning." The ice general giggled. "Come now, you have spirit, and your skills are topnotch, but this is not a fight you can possibly think you can win. I am the strongest. Regardless of whatever you throw at me, I will freeze it in an instant."

"You think I care? I'll tell you this, even if it's playful fun, underestimating me is all I need to win." Tatsumi fired back.

"You say that like you think you can win. Are you sure it is not you, who is not underestimating ME?" Esdeath played along.

"Drop dead, snowflake!" Tatsumi threw his last knife at Esdeath, and she swatted it away, but at the moment it touched her blade...

(EXPLOSION)

The spot she was at was enveloped in an explosion. It shocked everyone, to say the least. Tatsumi however, scrambled to grab two throwing knives on the ground, toward her direction. That was only to buy some time; it was not going to last long. He threw them both at the center of the smoke cloud, hoping at least one of them would cut her. The second he heard that familiar clang of impact, he instantly knew that she had blocked it. He distanced himself from the black cloud, and awaited to see the result. Even if she blocked the two knifes in the smoke, that explosive knife should have caught her off bala-

"Good...very nice, Tatsumi." Esdeath's voice sounded while the smoke revealed her, unharmed.

"Yur' shittin' me..." Tatsumi shook his head with disbelief. She had both his knives, frozen on the broad end of her sword. She blocked it perfectly. Not even residue from the explosive knife he threw, was seen anywhere on her body. "..." Tatsumi had a blank look while thinking about his next move.

"To think you had a nasty little tool like that. Deceptive tactics, mixed in with a stringed combination of ranged to close ranged combat...it might have worked on someone weaker than me, but unfortunately for you.." She adjusted her hat "..your opponent is me." She grinned grimly.

"This is infuriating...I can't beat a Teigu user without a damned Teigu?!...the balance of this fucked up world...it's just not fair!" Tatsumi gritted his teeth. He wanted to prove to people that his skills were what he only needed to win. Not some magical, weapon. He hammered everything about fighting into his head to the point, he was convinced he could take on anyone, as long as his skills were top class. But this is different. In the world of Teigu users, if you didn't have one, to fight an opponent with one as well, it was a pre-determined outcome. Frustration is all Tatsumi could feel, when adjusting to how different the world worked.

"Your determination to fight...don't tell me you've lost it?" Esdeath slowly frowned.

"...tch." Tatsumi spit, and reached behind him. "Determination, huh? Is that what's required to win? Cause I'm sure, that's what ends good people. If you think I'm just some punk, who keeps fighting till he falls, you're gonna find I have a bit more pride than that. You're overconfidence will be your downfall." He then unsheathed the blade of Sky Ripper from under his coat, and the long slender blade revealed itself. "So, bring it on. Cause I'm ready for you this time, you war-crazed bitch.." He growled, and whipped it in several directions, and shallow, green covered, wavy, lines of wind lashed out violently toward her. "Whistling Lash!"

"So this is his Teigu." Esdeath formed a barrier dome of ice around her. The green blades of wind, sliced through while a high pitched whistle pierced the air, but missed her my a mere inch, causing it to shatter. She swiped her sword upward, and fired a ray of ice at him. He responded in kind, and let loose a curved blade of wind from a slash. The two attacks collided, the air blade slicing through the middle of the ice, and splitting it in half, passing Tatsumi. Esdeath side stepped the air blade, and it missed her. But Tatsumi then pointed his blade at her.

"Tornado." In an instant, a blast of swirling wind shot out, towards Esdeath, and she smiled and hopped into the air, thanks to an ice pillar she created below her. She laughed with amusement.

"More, Tatsumi! Show me more!" She continued to ask.

"Idiot." Tatsumi scoffed. Esdeath gasped. He held his sword with both hands, and then suddenly chopped downward toward the ground, and suddenly, Esdeath looked up, and a condensed pillar of air, struck her down to the stage, with great force, causing a dust cloud to kick up. The crowd gasped. When the smoke cleared, Esdeath exhaled and stood up, as ice shards rained around her. She was able to summon a thick block of ice to soften the blow. She held her hands up and then diamond shaped ice shards appeared behind her. She brought them forth, at Tasumi, then let them loose in a constant barrage. Tatsumi began swinging his sword in a circle, and a vortex of wind was in front of him, catching and spinning the ice in a wheel of wind. Tatsumi then slashed outward, and the ice went back towards Esdeath.

"This guy...is he a Teigu user as well?!" Wave was shocked to find the random contestant to wield one as well.

"Hoo~? Tatsumi, you're really getting the hang of this." Esdeath shifted her body out of the way of the deflected ice shards. She kicked upward, and a spiked wave of ice was heading to Tatsumi. He scoffed and ran towards Esdeath. He got out of the way, and the trail stopped, and he hopped above her. He was twirling his body, and putting more power into his next swing. A green glint flashed in his eye, and he stared Esdeath right in the eyes, the two with looks of determination.

"HRG! " Tatsumi swiped his sword at a slanted angle as his body twisted, and a quarter of the arena was sliced off, completely. Esdeath just barely dodged it. She was on the part that was falling off, and raised her hand, and a pillar of ice fired up, out of the ground, and at Tatsumi at high speed. Tatsumi blocked with his fake arm, and the edge of his blade. It pushed him away from her, and suddenly Esdeath was above him. He just barely blocked a strike to his shoulder, and the two were very close to each other.

"I acknowledge it. Your strength has gotten better." She said smugly. "But still.." She said as his blade starting to get encased in ice. Tatsumi, wasn't gonna let that happen again.

"Screw you." He grunted, and then spun his body, and landed a strike, from his pommel, across her face, and when he twisted around again, he let loose a shock wave of wind that blasted her away from him. She felt the strike across her face, and her eyes were little more focused, and had a entertained glint in them.

"This...only you can give me this..feeling. I'm having so much fun, Tatsumi, are you not as well?" She had a slight blush while falling toward him.

"I think you and I have a difference of opinion, on what's fun." They both landed away from each other. Esdeath was a little more amused, but Tatsumi was panting. Throwing off this many attacks was a bit tiring. He trained with each technique he came up with, but using attacks in succession was a burden on the body, so he preferred to use normal means until he had to fall back on his Teigu. But even if it came to that, He was not as well versed in utilizing his Teigu as efficiently, as Akame, Esdeath, Lubbock, or even Mine.

"That Imperial Arm's you possess...it controls wind, and can unleash blasts of it, no?" Esdeath politely asked while lowering her sword. "It's as if every breath I take could be used against me."

"Certainly would appear that way.." Tatsumi scoffed, recomposing himself.

"I'll be blunt, Tatsumi. I don't quite know that much about you, but the more I do, I can't help but become more, and more interested." She smiled. "Just end this prolonged, inevitable conflict you have with me. You cannot best me. So there is only one choice for you now. Become mine." She offered.

"I thought I told you, I bow to no man, or woman. Maybe I'm in over my head, but I've lived a lot longer than most. The life of every person I've stamped out, helps me climb higher. And I'll keep climbing till I reach the top." Tatsumi stated firmly.

"I am at the top, Tatsumi. And if you want a hand at seeing what it's like, I'll offer you one." Esdeath chuckled.

"How about I kick your arrogant ass off, instead? " Tatsumi narrowed his jade eyes.

"Hmph. You're welcome to try." Esdeath taunted. "But I do not wish for you to see me as an enemy. You're going to be mine, after all."

"Riiiight. I got a better idea." Tatsumi then swung with all his might around him, and a long circular blade of wind, blasted away from him, and simultaneously, the walls of ice came crashing off the stage. Wave was doing his best to run for it, the two combatants, not caring for his well being. Tatsumi then dashed. Off the stage and ran for it. He had a chance to book it, and no sooner he landed on the ground, he was heading for the gate, when suddenly an arrow pierced his shoulder. "ACK!" He stopped and he quickly yanked it out. It was small, but the end look like a needle rather than a usual arrow head. He suddenly felt wobbly and fell to his knees. His sight got fuzzy, and he looked up at the gate, and there was Sayo with a smile on her face. She blew a kiss out toward him, and winked.

"A drug coated arro- oh, you fucking bitch." Tatsumi cursed Sayo's name, moments before slowly losing his ability to stay up, and then hitting the ground face first. She hopped down and slowly walked over to him. She stopped, and bent down. She slowly turned him over, and was making sure he was getting the drug's full effect. Two guards approached, awaiting orders.

"He'll be asleep for a few hours. Bring him to the Royal palace. And have the doctor get started when he gets there." Sayo ordered. She then bent down closer as his eyes slowly were rolling back and forth. "Just sleep Tatsumi. When you wake up, it'll all just be one bad, blurry, dream." She smiled softly while waiting for him to fall asleep. Esdeath made her way to the edge of the arena. She glared coldly, down at Sayo. But her expression softened when her eyes returned to Tatsumi.

"You're now mine. Even if you deny it." Esdeath thought as she walked over to the center, and raised her arms. The crowd erupted in cheer, and the day of the tournament ended. Lubbock and Leone were watching from a distance. They were surprised at what they saw. Lubbock was the first to speak.

"That archer chick. She's good. I didn't even feel any animosity, or intent to kill. She was able to hit the right arm to. I wouldn't have seen that one coming, but then again, how can you, when that monster is on the field?" He sweated nervously.

"This is bad Lubbock...but something's weird." Leone narrowed her eyes. "Have they met before?"

"Well i'd ask him, but I doubt he'd say anything to me. Probably break all my fingers, but other than that, probably not." He sighed heavily. "Well, regardless, this is a problem."

"Lets head back." Leone suggested. Nothing they could do to help their companion.

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