My oh my, I swear it was just July like 2 weeks ago and here we are at the end of the year.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter it was indeed fun and a challenge for me to write, so PLEASE do review :)

Happy Holidays everyone 3 and stay safe out there!

Kill the Secrets

"God that tournament did not turn out the way I thought it would and who is that boy that the general took away." A young woman with red hair tied into a high pony tail said watching a small dog chase its tail around barking at a younger girl with black hair and a bag of treats in the crook of her arm.

The large room that was used for the Jaegers meetings was an elegant room. The walls were white washed with hints of gold patterns skittering across in elegant designs. The floor was made of marble that was shined until it reflected the light in the room giving off a feel of comfort and hominess. Centered in the middle of the room was an overly large table made from the best materials surrounded by chairs and bowls of fruit.

Leaning back in one those chairs and propping a foot on the expensive furniture, Wave looked over at Seryu Ubiquitous wielder of Hecatoncheir the biological teigu weapon called Coro.

"That (boys) name is Tatsumi, I met him yesterday while picking up a package. I didn't honestly think he would win let alone interest the general enough to take him with her, he showed amazing skill, so I'm not entirely surprised this is what happened." Wave said grinning.

To him Tatsumi winning the tournament and gaining Esdeath's attention was a welcoming surprise as he felt he could finally form a friendship with someone his own age that seemed normal.

Sitting across from him was Run who watched the interaction between the two with a shielded expression. Watching the tournament and how Tatsumi performed peeked his curiosity. There was something interesting about the young man, he showed a set of skills someone his age should still be trying to accomplish, and he made the fight look like a cake walk, and the fact that he caught the attention of Esdeath was nothing short of luck or bad luck depending on who you ask.

He hadn't spent enough time in her company since becoming a Jaeger yet, but he knew her instincts were second to none and if she saw something in him then it was in his best interest to keep a closer eye on the boy.

Opening the door Esdeath stepped through to a chorus of greetings from those in the meeting hall and followed behind her was Tatsumi.

"I have an announcement, from this day forward we will be adding one more person to our ranks." Esdeath gestured to Tatsumi standing slightly behind her. "This is Tatsumi, he will be the new recruit as well as my lover." Saying this last part with a small blush dancing across her face but determined to make it known that he is someone special to her.

Shocked expressions could be seen from everyone at the last part.

"Hey Wave." Tatsumi said with a small smile on his face, embarrassed more then he wanted to admit but tried to keep it from showing.

"Heya Tetsumi." Wave said leaning forward again so all four post of the chair were touching the ground.

A sharp look was being directed at him from Esdeath. "Wave, how do you know my Tatsumi?"

Gulping audibly Wave stood to attention "I met him yesterday general while going to pick up a package from a blacksmith, he said he wanted to join the tournament but didn't know where to sign up, so I showed him where to sign up."

Nodding her ahead in acceptance she addressed the group, "Where is the doctor and Bols?"

"Bols is in the kitchen making snack and the good doctor is down in his labs I believe." Run said putting the book he was writing in down on the table.

"Seryu, go get the doctor and tell him we are having a meeting in 10 minutes."

Snapping to attention she nodded her head and gave a salute. "Let's go Coro." She said to the dog panting on the ground from its energetic antics a few minutes ago.

Walking over to the head of the table, Esdeath sat down and pointed to her lap and looked pointedly at Tatsumi.

Tatsumi's entire being screamed at him and he flew his eyes to the corner of the room taking a great interest in the corner trying to pretend he didn't see what Esdeath was wanting him to do.

"Tatsumi, come here." Esdeath said quietly but with a sternness that allowed no argument.

Sighing Tatsumi looked back over at Esdeath and walked over to where she was sitting.

"Sit." She said.

Taking this opportunity, he quickly went to pull a chair out to take a seat, but the sudden ice that spread over the chair prevented him from pulling it out.

"Tatsumi, it will do you no good to resist me, come here and sit with me. I would like to have you close." Esdeath said doing her best to sound patient when all she wanted to do was have him in her arms again and to feel the complex emotions she felt before when she was touching him.

Swallowing his embarrassment, he walked over to her chair and let her pull him onto her lap and pushed him to relax against her chest while resting her head on top of his.

Tatsumi couldn't stop a part of himself from relaxing into her embrace. It confused him greatly because he knew he should loath her touch, but when she touched him the same feelings he felt after his fight came rushing back and it scared him. He knew she was his enemy, and should she ever find out he was apart of Night Raid she would kill him.

Feeling him relax into her embrace when just moments ago he was stiff was bliss to Esdeath, she couldn't stop from resting her head on top of his and she definitely couldn't stop her self from resting her hand on his strong thigh, feeling his muscles tighten underneath her hand under the table.

Brushing her hand off his lap he felt her lean forward until her lips were resting against his ear, he felt her smile when she whispered, "Struggle all you want my love, it only excites me more." And brought her hand back up to his leg a little higher on his thigh this time and quizzed.

Breathing in sharply through his nose he pushed her hand off a couple more times and she got increasingly more dominate with her hand until he relaxed his posture against her realizing pushing her only resulted in her getting more aggressive, and he didn't know if his embarrassment could hold out in a room full of enemies.

Tatsumi watched as the rest of the occupants in the room tried to not look at him and Esdeath. The only one who stared openly was the girl with black hair munching on her snacks.

Laughing lightly "Your no fun." She said still next to his ear but relaxed her grip and brought her hand back to where it originally was on his leg.

To the side of the room a door opened, and a shirtless muscled man walked through carrying an assortment of snacks in one arm and a tray of drinks in the other.

Looking around the room behind his mask he took everything in quietly and blushed when he saw the general with a stranger on her lap.

"Oh, we have a guest!"

"Bols, meet Tatsumi he is going to be joining us from now on." Esdeath said

"Its nice to meet you young man." Bols said setting the tray and snack down on the table handing them out to everyone.

The main door to room opened and Seryu stepped through with an older man who Tatsumi figured was the doctor.

"Alright everyone's here, first off I want to congratulate you all for passing your training, as it shows your resolve and strength to not give up under extreme odds, but what this meeting is really going to be about is we have received reports that Night Raid may be here in the capital. It's just rumors right now, and we have our spies looking into it, but until we have confirmation, we will be performing extra patrols around the capital. If you suspect anything suspicious I want you to capture and bring them to me for questioning. Night Raid is known to have teigus too, so caution is to be used at all times."

It took everything in Tatsumi to stay relaxed against Esdeath and to keep his face calm, but inside his mind the wheels were spinning. "How could they know we are here? It's just Leone and me. What could they have done to give their presence away?" Tatsumi didn't feel he did anything to give himself away but couldn't help but wonder about Leone and what she had been doing. He didn't have enough information and he needed to figure out how they were found out.

While Tatsumi was thinking he didn't notice a pair of eyes were watching him, analyzing him.

"You all have today off, so I won't make any of you go on patrol but tomorrow we will be splitting up into groups of two and do rotating schedules around the capital. The day is still young, and I do expect to see you guys training or reading up on the structures of the military or its history. Meet here at 630 tomorrow and I will assign groups, until then everyone but Wave is dismissed. Wave I want you to head over to the training grounds. You will be running the track for a while as your stamina is quiet low to be wielding Grand Chariot effectively."

Dropping his head with a dejected look on his face he nodded. "Yes general." And was then echoed by the rest as they got up and walked out.

Bringing her face forward she sniffed Tatsumi's hair and sighed, something about the way he smelled so delicious was intoxicating to her and she didn't think she would ever get enough of it.

Heart hammering in his chest from what she said about Night Raid and the spies he just sat there almost not noticing her nuzzling his neck until he felt a gentle bite on his left earlobe.

Yelping he jumped up from her lap before she could pin him back against her he grabbed his ear to rub the sting out.

"I am not a chew toy general Esdeath you can't just go around nibbling on me whenever you want." Tatsumi said with a frown as a blush creeped its way across his face.

Leaning back in her chair with a content smile on her face, she crossed her legs and said "Tatsumi, like I said before the more you struggle the more enjoyment I get, and eventually I will have what I want, but I do understand this is all new for you." Esdeath thought for a moment before a more predatory smile lit her face up. "I'll make you a deal Tatsumi, if you land a hit on me in a sparring match, I won't show my affections out in public, but if you do not manage to land a hit on me, I want a kiss and for you to stop struggling every time I want you near me."

Tatsumi didn't like these odds, she wasn't called the empires strongest for no reason and as far as he knew she had won every single battle she had ever been in, but that didn't mean she has never been touched before in combat. He felt confident in his skills of close-range combat since Incursio was mainly a melee combat teigu.

"Deal"

Standing up to make her way over to the training grounds she motioned for him to follow her. "Oh, and Tatsumi do stop calling me general."

They walked in silence until they reached in outdoor training field. It was a large area that had various sorts of equipment set up around it for different training exercises and a weapons rack that had most of your basic weapons on it. There was a large track that circled around the entire field and Tatsumi noticed a few people running.

"I want to see your skills with a weapon Tatsumi, I already have a basic understanding of your melee combat skills and we will touch up on them eventually." Esdeath said walking up to a rack that had various swords on it. "I don't really see you as the long-range types." She picked up a basic short sword and handed it to him.

"This will do for now, but we will eventually work on becoming proficient with all martial weapons. It is good to have a basic knowledge of how to use everything and anything around you to defend or attack with." Esdeath walked over to a part of the field that was free of obstructions, she didn't want anything to interfere with Tatsumi and her fight.

Holding the new weapon in his hands, he felt that the blades balance was passable enough, but he couldn't help but wish for Incursio's blade. Ever since becoming its owner he hadn't used any other weapon and now found that he missed its comforting grip in his hand.

Walking up over to where she stood waiting, Tatsumi mentally prepared him self for what was about to happen not even sure if she was going to hit back or not.

"One hit and that's it?"

"One hit and that is it, but I do expect you to give it your all Tatsumi. I will not be going easy on you so if you don't want to get seriously injured, I suggest you pay attention to defense and avoiding unnecessary movements and openings. This is going to be a bit more than just about our bet, I want to try to show you how to close those openings you showed at the tournament."

Well that confirmed one thing, she was going to hit back.

Standing before her he tried to determine the best way to attack her. She had no openings he could take advantage of and she just stood there and looked at him. He felt nervous for some reason, like she some how knew what he was going to do before he knew it himself and he hadn't even made a move yet.

Feeling the sweat drip down his back he decided to charge forward and see where it went from there. Tatsumi wasn't much of tactical fighter as he was a reactive one and he saw his mistake as soon as he came in range of her.

Running forward he brought his sword up and swung it down intending to cut her across her midsection only to have his sword swatted away by her hand and punched in the face sending him back a few steps. He never even saw her lift her hand to punch him, but he definitely had gotten punched thanks to the throbbing in his jaw.

"Charging into a fight without an idea of how it's going to go will lead you to a quick death Tatsumi, especially against those who are leagues ahead in skill, pay more attention to my body's movement and try to predict the possible outcomes before they happen without thinking to hard on it. Your number one goal when fighting is to take control of the situation. The moment you lose it your chances of winning drop drastically."

Nodding his head, Tatsumi decided to stop thinking this time and let the rest of him take over. Loosening his grip slightly to allow for a more fluid movement he ran forward once again.

This went on for awhile with her swatting his sword away and punching, slapping or kicking him away across the training field and it was becoming increasingly more frustrating for Tatsumi, but what infuriated him even more was she seemed like she was playing with a child. She hadn't even pulled out her own weapon and had a bored look on her face.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he assessed the situation and figured no matter how he went about this fight he would always be the underdog, his only chance of landing a hit on her was going to be because some stroke of luck not skill.

Running forward Tatsumi lunged forward with his sword and just as before she swatted it away but this time, he was ready for her back hand, he still couldn't see her movements, but he knew he was getting better at seeing it when he caught the glimpse of her fist coming at him. This time he dodged it and smiled in satisfaction of not being punched in the face again.

Still following the movement of his sword, he brought it back at her only for her to block with an icy sword creation of her own.

Her eyebrow twitched this time giving him the only out word sign of her acknowledging him. Still caught up in the moment and not willing to get hit again Tatsumi hoped back and then dashed forward bringing his sword up in fast movement.

Esdeath knew she wasn't fighting seriously, she just wanted to see what he could do and understand where his abilities where. She had no openings in her defense and this made it hard for Tatsumi but if he was going survive in the world next to her, he would have to learn to overcome this obstacle and force her to defend.

She was however impressed with his ability to adapt and learn as each time he attacked, and she retaliated he slowly became quicker at avoiding a direct hit and when he dodged her back hand, she was pleasantly surprised that he made her create a sword to block his second attack. Bringing up her leg to kick at him, he stopped her own movement by mimicking her.

The moment his knee collided with hers he wanted to scream out in pain, it felt like he smashed his knee into a brick wall, but he couldn't let this momentum stop. He swung his sword again and continued his assault and doing his absolute best to avoid hers. All he could do was keep pressing his advance and use all the training that was drilled into him from his time spent with Night Raid.

Eventually he had Esdeath more engaged then just swatting his sword away with her hand or the ice sword she created, she started to push back now understanding how far could push without harming him, now she would start to show him the openings he didn't seem to notice he had.

After a long awhile Tatsumi collapsed on the ground panting and covered in sweat, his arms and legs having gone numb from blocking Esdeath's attacks and taking direct hits. The power level between them was such a wide gap that he doubted he'd ever be able to cross it to meet her at the top like she wanted, and the worse part was Esdeath didn't look like she even broke a sweat as she defended against him not once using her teigu, strictly doing this old school.

"I believe I won Tetsumi." Esdeath said walking up to him and watched with amusement as he panted on the ground.

Squatting down next to him she reached out and lightly touched his neck.

A sharp in take of breath was all he could muster as he felt her cold touch against his heated skin, but god did it feel good.

Tatsumi stayed like that enjoying the unexpected kindness of the woman next to him, once again wondering how someone who could be so cruel to her enemies treat him with kindness.

Who would have thought that the ice queen would be using her powers for something other than murder, but instead used them to cool down the young man in front of her after a spar with her.

"Tatsumi, I am collecting my reward now." She leaned forward this time and brought her lips to the corner of his mouth, giving him a kiss that surprised him with its consideration. It wasn't the kiss he thought he was going to receive and if he was truly honest with himself, he felt a little disappointed and once again his mind and heart fell into a confused state at his reaction to her.

"You did well, and watching you struggle and learn as the fight went on proved to me once again that you are the perfect one for me. Your potential only needs to be directed in the right direction and I will make sure that happens." Esdeath said raising up to stand and offered him her hand.

"I'll get stronger, and I will land a hit on you." Tatsumi said with conviction, he had to get stronger, he had to be able to protect his friends and those around him and if he had to learn from this woman on how to do it, he would do it. He beamed a goofy grin at her this time causing a deep flush to spread across her cheeks.

"I-I have some things I need to attend to Tatsumi, you may do as you please for a while, ill come find you when I am done. Remember my warning from earlier about getting into trouble and not doing anything stupid." Esdeath said walking off and with a final look over her shoulder she walked off the training field.

"I remember Esdeath, I won't do anything I shouldn't." Tatsumi said to himself and truly he had no plans as of right now to do anything but send a letter explaining his current situation to Najenda and find Grrom to get his prized cloak.

"God, I hope everyone understands why I am doing what I am doing." Tatsumi thought as he headed out towards what he hoped was the direction to the market place.