Akame ga Kill: A different destiny

by Marcel M

What would have happened if Tatsumi never got the chance to encounter Night Raid on his first visit in the Capital? What if he did not find out about its evil nature back then and became part of the army as planned? Would he have met the Empires Strongest earlier that way? And if he did, would they have had another kind of relationship? Lets find out, what could have happened!

3. Chapter 3: Kill the loneliness

Welcome back to `A different destiny´. Hope you didn´t have to wait for too long :)

Like last time, I´d like to answer a few questions and comments:
1) orca3553: Tatsumi won´t get Incursio but another Taigu (still a secret)
2) BluChili: I´m glad you liked the side characters. I intend to make them as well as the places described in the story as genuinely as possible. Besides, the Betas appreciated your thanks ;)
3) ThisGuyAgain: Thanks for your time. I tried to work based on your review. I hope I was able to make less grammar mistakes this time. I hope I was able to improve the flow of the story, too ;)
4) TheCarlosInferno: Thanks for your OC. As promised he ´ll be used ;)

That being said, enjoy the story.

DISCLAIMER:
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

Chapter 3: Kill the loneliness

``We have to help him, Steve!´´
Shin knelt in the snow next to an unconscious Tatsumi. He checked the youth´s body carefully, looking for any dangerous wounds. Finding only minor cuts, he turned his head towards Steve, who still stood in the same position as before the fight.
Since then, nobody except Shin had moved an inch. Everyone still watched the scenery; the decapitated officer, the red colored snow and the unconscious boy who had achieved this.

``Steve!´´
Shin became impatient. He wanted to bring Tatsumi to the camp as fast as possible.
He didn´t know how the other soldiers, or much worse the general, would react to this incident. But he knew it´d be better to bring Tatsumi to a safer place than this, and right now any place was safer than their position. But after the exhausting fight, he was too weak to carry the boy himself.
He wasn´t sure whether somebody would fight to help Tatsumi, or if the soldiers would decide to avenge their lieutenant. But he thought it was unlikely that someone would help. Most of the good people in the reinforcements had died, the other recruits feared penalties, and he couldn´t find a reason for any soldier to help Tatsumi if necessary. In the worst case scenario, only he and Steve would be inclined to protect Tatsumi.

``Yes! You´re right!´´
Hearing Shin shouting at him, Steve snapped out of his daze and stood right next to them now.
He bent down and lifted the unconscious boy up in his arms. Then they both turned around and headed towards the camp as quickly as they could. But they could only make a few steps before three soldiers blocked their way with swords drawn. They were the dead officer´s men.

``Where do you think you´re going?´´
One of the men glared at the two recruits and the unconscious boy with an expression of anger and hatred.
``Do you really think we´d let you get away with that?!´´
He pointed at the dead lieutenant with the tip of his sword.
``You´re dead wrong!´´

``If they attack, I´ll delay them as long as possible. You take Tatsumi and run! I owe him one.´´
Shin had placed himself between the soldiers and Steve and Tatsumi, sword drawn. He felt that it was the least he could do for his saviour and friend.

``We´ll kill all of you!´´
The soldiers pushed forward, ready to kill the friends. Shin knew instantly that they had no chance.

``STOP!´´
A female voice could be heard right behind the soldiers, making everyone´s blood freeze instantly.
The soldiers slowly turned their heads and recognized their general right behind them. Esdeath glared right at them with cold predatory eyes, causing them to shiver with their whole body. She knew they wouldn´t dare to make a move now. Without giving them another look she walked past them, heading towards the friends.

`From bad to worse. I don´t stand a chance against her.´
Shin knew that every last spark of hope had died, but he wouldn´t abandon his friends.
He´d fight even the general herself if necessary. Despite his fear, he didn´t lower his sword towards her. If he was going to die, at least he´d die fighting.
Esdeath stopped right in front of them, her rapier still sheathed on her side.

``You!´´
She´d turned her head in Steve´s direction, ignoring the old soldier right in front of her. She knew he was no threat at all.
``Follow me! We´ll take that boy to my tent and get the medic afterwards. When we´re finished with that you´re to head back to the other recruits.´´
She turned around looking at the rest of her soldiers with a slight smile.
``The rest of you go and grab something to eat; I´m in a rather good mood today.´´
Finishing her sentence, she turned around, indicating Steve to follow her. While they were heading away from the battleground, she turned her head one last time.
``Oh, and before I forget it: The lieutenant was weak. He deserved his fate. If anyone lays a hand on the boy or any other recruit without my direct order, he´ll have the honor of facing me in person!´´

Even if she said those words in a casual tone, the men were frightened to death. Even the strongest soldiers beneath them felt a cold sweat on their necks. Nobody was eager to face her and her punishment.
Without a sound of discontent, the lieutenant´s men sheathed their swords again and walked away as quickly as they could, leaving an irritated Shin behind.
He didn´t know what in the world had happened, but he decided it´d be the best not to think about it and grab something to eat with the rest, leaving Tatsumi in the hands of Steve, the medic and the general.
At that thought he swallowed nervously; but he knew, that if she´d wanted to harm Tatsumi, Steve or himself, she´d have done it by now!

In the meantime

Steve didn´t feel safe at all. He followed behind the general by a few steps. He didn´t know why this woman was helping Tatsumi. When she walked towards them earlier, he´d thought that she was going to punish them for creating a commotion. He shivered at this thought.

``You´re nervous. You think I´ll do somthing to you.´´
The general talked to him without looking back. She didn´t even try to hide her amusement.

``I´m sorry for the commotion earlier, Ma´am!´´
Answering the general used up all of Steve´s courage.
``But if you want to punish somebody, punish me and our other comrade. Tatsumi was just trying to calm the lieutenant down earlier and got drawn into a fight he didn´t want. We´ll take on all of his punishment!´´
His blood froze at this thought. But he couldn´t stand seeing such a young boy being punished.

``Rest assured, nobody will be punished. The lieutenant was at fault; he was too weak without noticing it. He got what he deserved. Furthermore, if I´d wanted to punish you, I´d have done it in front of the other soldiers earlier. You have my word, that nobody will touch you or that boy without my permission.´´
The general´s voice still sounded slightly amused. But Steve knew instantly that she meant her words.
He continued to follow her until they reached a tent standing in the center of the camp.

With its green camouflage it looked like the other military tents and was only slightly bigger. No guards were positioned next to the entry like they would have been at any other general´s tent. When they entered, Steve noticed that the difference towards other tents was the interior. The general´s tent was provided with a desk and a slightly comfortable chair as well as a bed bigger and cosier than the soldiers´ folding cots. Besides that, there was no difference between this and any other tent.

``Place him on my bed. You´ll find the medic in the field hospital a few tents to the right. Tell him that I sent you to get him.´´
The general turned towards Steve.
``I´ll wait here. I have to look into an urgent matter.´´
Steve did as he was told and placed the still unconscious Tatsumi on the bed, giving a quick salute and heading out of the tent.

Esdeath wasn´t concerned with Tatsumi dirtying her bed at all. Most of the blood was already frozen anyway. The thing she did want to know was whether she had made a mistake while looking through the files or not. She went to her desk, taking the pile of sheets in her one hand and her chair in the other, placing herself next to her bed; next to the boy. She blushed slightly, watching his rather cute sleeping-face. She went to the files again, checking if she missed something, but she couldn´t find anything concerning him. She let out a sigh, turning her attention back to the boy.

`Who are you? It seems like I´ll have to wait a bit longer to get some answers out of you.´
Just as she finished her thought, Steve and the medic entered the tent, giving her the formal salute with their right hand forming a fist over their heart and their left arm bent in an angle of ninety degree behind their back. She quickly dismissed them and ordered the medic to check on Tatsumi and sent Steve back to the others.

``There are no deeper wounds, only a few small cuts. Those will heal completely within a few days. There won´t even be scars.´´
The medic had checked Tatsumi for about ten minutes. He now turned to the general, briefing her on his diagnosis.
``He must have used quite a large amount of his power. But one or two days of rest should do the job. There shouldn´t be any effects left after he wakes up.´´

The general nodded; just as she had thought. She accompanied the medic out of her tent, sending him back to his own, before she sat down next to the sleeping boy with a smile. She didn´t exactly know why, but she liked the idea of being alone with him now.

She looked at him for another minute before she decided it would be best to get some rest herself. After taking off her white military boots, that reached up to her thighs, and her white commander´s cap, she laid down next to the boy, letting her head rest on his shoulder while spooning him. She liked the scent of sweat and frozen blood the boy emitted right now. Somehow, it remembered her of her childhood days and the feeling she had after a thrilling fight. With a genuine smile and a slight blush, she dozed off in that position.

Sometime later

Everything around him was black. He had walked around for some time now, but he didn´t know how long it was. He didn´t know why, but he felt that someone was watching him. No matter how far he would go, the feeling wouldn´t fade away. But every time he turned around, he couldn´t see anything in the darkness.

``Show yourself!´´
Tatsumi couldn´t stand the feeling any longer. He had to find out who was watching him.

Right after he had roared into the darkness, he could hear a snicker from behind. He slowly turned his head. What he saw made him shiver in fear. A few steps away from him stood the `Ice-Queen´ with her skin as white as snow, wearing her uniform.
In her white thigh-high boots and her white buttoned up general´s apparel with long black sleeves held in place by a black belt, decorated with a black cross, as well as her blue fur scarf reaching to her knees and the white commander´s cap, decorated with the same black cross as the belt, the blue-haired woman looked quite impressive.
Only the uppermost button of her uniform was opened up, revealing a black glowing mark right above her quite big cleavage, looking like a `Y´ with two slightly curved dashes; one on the left side and one on the right. Her long massy hair, reaching to her knees, looked neat and clean. Two of her blue bangs encircled her eyes, while a third one ended between them.

She stared at Tatsumi with her cold blue eyes that seemed like those of a predator. They reminded him of deadly arctic frost.
A long rapier attached to her side gave her a hint of danger even if she smiled.
If he hadn´t heard those terrible stories about her, Tatsumi wouldn´t have believed that this stunning beauty could be capable of gruesome torture and spreading despair.

With a sadistic grin, she walked towards him, pulling a black collar and a metal leash out of a hidden pocket of her jacket. Tatsumi tried to step back but his feet were frozen to the ground. He panicked as she came closer step by step, halting only two steps away from him.

``You´re mine!´´
With those words she suddenly jumped at the boy, causing him to close his eyes in horror, waiting for the impact.

Tatsumi opened his eyes, cold sweat running down his forehead. He didn´t know why he´d dreamt such a dream, but he knew that he wouldn´t want to have it again. His right hand wandered towards his neck slowly. He knew he´d feel better if he ensured that it was only a dream.

His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. It couldn´t be! Right there around his neck was a collar held by a thin chain. His dream wasn´t just a dream.
He realized only now that it was odd to wake up in a military tent after all that had happened. He´d have been less surprised to find himself in a cell or even a torture-chamber.
His eyes wandered around in panic. It wasn´t even his tent, but a slightly larger one with a slightly bigger cot as well as a desk and a chair. He didn´t know what this place was and he had no intention to find it out.

Pulling at the chain, he slowly tried to get up, but to his surprise something or someone pulled back at the chain. He didn´t know why he hadn´t noticed her sooner, but next to him slept a slender woman taller than him, with skin as white as snow and hair, reminding him of cold winter days. He recognized her instantly. Cold sweat started running down again; his heart beat faster and he started to pant heavily. It was the Empire´s strongest and most sadistic general, holding the chain to his collar.

Tatsumi figured he had to get away as quickly as possible if he didn´t want her to notice his awakening. His only chance would be to pull the chain out of her hand without waking her.
He slowly moved his hand towards her end of the chain, ready to take it for himself. But he had underestimated her senses. He had barely touched the chain, when a pair of cold blue eyes shot wide open, staring right into his own emerald-green eyes before analysing the situation.

The big smile forming on the general´s lips wasn´t to Tatsumi´s liking. He had to take his last chance to get away. He jumped out of the cot and ran towards the entrance of the tent, using as much of his speed and strength as possible. But he was no match for her physical strength. The general simply pulled him back towards her cot with a jerk, strangling Tatsumi with the collar through the massive force of the pull.

`Shit! I´m done for!´
Trying to breathe again, Tatsumi recognized the gravity of the situation. He knew that he had missed his last chance to get away just now and was now dependent on the `Ice-Queen´s´ mercy. Everybody was aware of her lack of mercy.
He was sure he´d have to endure lots of torture and pain for killing an officer. He´d have preferred the devil to punish him.
After all the things his friends had told him about her on their journey, hell could be nothing more than a slightly rough training session compared to her torture. Tatsumi was sure that even the devil himself would tremble in fear before her and her methods.

``Where do you think you´re going?´´
Tatsumi heard the cold and stern sounding voice of the blue-haired general lying on the cot next to him. Even though it was bursting with authority, he could swear he heard a hidden soft and gentle undertone. Was it just his imagination? Or much worse; was she trying to give him a false sense of safety before utterly breaking him? He hoped it was former.

He turned his head towards her, encountering her gaze with his own. He instantly noticed the aura of domination resonating in her glare. But again something was off. The more he glared into her sapphire-blue eyes, he could swear he recognized slight signs of curiosity and even joy in them.
He couldn´t avert his gaze from her eyes, bathing in their depths. That was until she spoke again.

``One last chance to answer me. Where do you think you´re going, Tat~su~mi?´´
Being used to getting an answer instantly, Esdeath had lost some of her patience with the boy, leading to her hissing the question a bit more harshly than she had originally planned. But she had waited long enough for her prey to wake up and thus was driven by the desire to know more about her future mate.

``I-´´
Tatsumi stopped. He didn´t know how to answer; should he try to lie his way out of this situation or would it be better to tell the truth? He figured it´d be best to go with the latter since he was sure she´d find it out anyway. And right now he didn´t want to provoke her in any way. He continued after a short sigh.
``-tried to g-get out and sneak a-away as f-fast and silently as p-possible.´´
Tatsumi started to shiver before he could continue; he knew he had to choose his words carefully, if he didn´t want to push his luck too far.
``I thought I c-could avoid p-punishment.´´

``I won´t allow you to leave without my permission. Besides, if I wanted to punish you, I´d have already done it. The officer you killed didn´t deserve anything better. I believe in the survival of the fittest: The weak die and the strong live. The strong are the ones who decide everything. And he was simply too weak, while you were strong.´´
Esdeath still glared at the boy with her stern expression. But in comparison to before, it already had softened a bit.

Tatsumi took a deep breath. Hearing that he wouldn´t be punished, he felt delighted now. Nonetheless, he´d apologize for his actions and ask for his permission to leave. If he had interpreted her statements correctly, in the worst case he´d have to endure her reprimand before being allowed to leave. At least that would explain the collar in some twisted way; he couldn´t get away without her clarifying the former events.

``Soooo, am I allowed to leave then?´´
Tatsumi asked with newly found confidence, but still a bit cautious. He already knew he´d need to search for Shin and Steve and talk about what had happened since he´d fallen unconscious. He hoped that this threatening encounter would end now.

``No, Tatsumi!´´
Tatsumi´s hopes and plans were shattered when the general´s answer came without hesitation. He knew it wouldn´t be wise to let her notice and so he tried to pull himself together again.
Thinking about his current situation, his eyes suddenly shot wide open. Since he feared what would happen at the beginning of their conversation, he hadn´t paid attention to it. But thinking back now, he noticed that something was off when she addressed him before. Tatsumi stood there, unable to move in his shock.

``How do you know my name?!´´
He muttered the question only loud enough for Esdeath to hear. His entire body shivered, while panic rose in Tatsumi again. His breaths became shorter and deeper, causing him to hyperventilate. He felt like he couldn´t get enough oxygen with the collar around his neck anymore. He desperately tried to get it off, but he wasn´t strong enough. His vision fainted; he was sure he´d pass out again.

Noticing Tatsumi´s sudden struggle for oxygen, Esdeath´s expression turned into one riddled with fear. An emotion she had only felt once, many years ago. She leapt to his position, fearing for the younger boy´s life, grabbed the collar with her hands and broke it in half.
Being freed from the collar, Tatsumi finally managed to take deep breaths again without the feeling of density around his throat. Nonetheless, he had no time to calm down, as his counterpart embraced him in a tight hug, causing the young boy to blush heavily and increasing his breathing rhythm some more.

``Everything´s ok. No need to panic.´´
Esdeath figured she had to calm down the boy. She had already waited for him to wake up for about two days. She couldn´t stand to see him pass out again; at least not before he answered her questions. She stroked his back slightly until she sensed that he had calmed down after some minutes.

Tatsumi was still shocked by the turn of events. The beautiful looking general, said to be a devil in human form, held him in an embrace for some time now, just to help him cool down. Even if he had accomplished that in the meanwhile, he still couldn´t think straight; everything the others had told him about this woman seemed like it couldn´t be true right now. Nonetheless, he knew that every rumor had a bit of truth in it. He had to know more about what was going on, that he knew for sure.

``How do you know my name?´´
Tatsumi still hadn´t gotten an answer to his question before. He just prayed that she hadn´t done anything to his friends.

``The friend of yours who carried you while you were unconscious mentioned it, when he begged me to spare you from any form of punishment,´´ answered Esdeath while loosening the embrace slowly until she stood an arm-length in front of him, only touching his shoulders.
She couldn´t avoid sounding slightly amused.

``What happened to them?´´
Tatsumi didn´t know how he was supposed to judge her slight amusement. Had she tortured his friends for their insubordination?

`I hope you two are safe!´
Waiting for her answer he looked directly into her eyes.

``They should both be fine. Nobody with some brains left would dare touch them, since they´re under my protection.´´
Hearing Esdeath´s answer, Tatsumi sighed in relief, causing most of remaining tension to disappear.

``Thank you, ma´am.´´
At least Tatsumi hadn´t to worry about them for now. Her protection meant they were save for sure.
``But I´d still like to know why I can´t leave. I´d like to find my friends and say my thanks and ease their worries.´´

``You won´t go alone.´´
Esdeath´s voice hardened for a few seconds before her soft tone returned.
``You were out for quite some time and there are things I want to know from you. Also, the two of us have a few things to discuss. One of my officers will accompany you to your tent; you should reassure your friends. You´re to come back in an hour from now.´´
Even if her voice sounded soft again, Tatsumi knew that the last part was an order he´d better not ignore.

``Yes, ma´am.´´
Tatsumi gave a quick salute to the general before turning around and heading towards the exit of her tent.

``Oh, and Tatsumi-´´
Her sweet sounding voice stopped him right before he could leave. He turned his head in her direction to look at her.
``-you don´t have to address me so formally. Esdeath is sufficient.´´

``Yes... Esdeath.´´
He couldn´t hide the confusion in his voice. It was a strange way to address a superior. But if that was her wish, he wouldn´t mind.
He turned his head back towards the exit and left, missing the blush forming on Esdeath´s cheeks.

`Better hurry, darling. I can´t wait to learn more about you.´
With a sigh, Esdeath turned around and went towards her desk to finish some of the paperwork being part of her duty as general.
But the only thing she could think about was Tatsumi.

Luke - Esdeath´s vice-commander

`I can´t believe it. So this boy was the one to capture the general´s heart and I´m ordered to play his babysitter.´
He couldn´t help but chuckle at that thought.
Before the events of the last days, Luke was sure that there wasn´t a single person that could possibly fit Esdeath´s criteria. And if he was true to himself, he didn´t think that the boy met all of them either.

It was true that he had beaten a lieutenant in a duel, but in Luke´s eyes that was the result of the boy´s luck and the lieutenant´s incapability to take an enemy who was pushed into a corner seriously.
He spoke about this with some of the soldiers in secret, since he didn´t want to upset the general with his doubts. Most of them thought the same.
But he had to admit that there was a possibility that the general noticed something about the boy that nobody else did.

`Ahh, damn. Screw it! It shouldn´t be of my concern. No matter what I think about this, the general has already decided. Can´t change anything about it. Let´s just see, how far the boy will get. Eventually-´
His thoughts were disrupted when he noticed the boy snapping his fingers near to Luke´s face.
``What the-?!´´

``Sorry `bout that. But when I tried speaking to you, you wouldn´t react.´´
The boy looked at Luke with an unsure expression. He seemed to think that he might have gone too far.

``No problem. I sometimes tend to digress, if I´m thinking too much.´´
Luke hadn´t noticed the boy speaking before.
``What did you want to know?´´

``I´d like to know what´s going on. I still can´t get a grip of the situation I´m in. You seem to be one of the commanding officers, so I thought you could tell me something. By the way, I´m Tatsumi.´´
Reaching out for a short shake hands, the boy looked right at Luke with a grin.

`No other soldier would have dared to speak that informally to me! I think I´m starting to like this boy; he sure has some guts.´
Luke couldn´t hide his amusement. Returning the boy´s grin grin he took the hand.
``I´m Luke. Nice to get to know you Tatsumi. You´re right with your assumption; I´m General Esdeath´s vice-commander. But concerning your situation, I´ll have to disappoint you. I´m not quite sure about that myself.´´

``Damn. And I thought I could get some answers.´´
Luke could see Tatsumi´s disappointment.

``Your friends probably know something. If I´m not wrong this should be their tent.´´
He pointed to a tent a few meters in front of Tatsumi.
``I´ll wait here for you. We´ll head back to the general´s tent in about ten minutes.´´

``Understood. Then I should better hurry. Wouldn´t want to anger the `Ice-Queen´ by disobeying her orders. Can´t afford myself to die now.´´
With those words the boy started heading towards his friends, leaving a grinning Luke behind.

Inside the tent

``Hey there! Missed me?´´
Shin and Steve winced visibly as they heard the voice of a well-known friend of theirs.
The moment Tatsumi entered their tent, they were both focused on maintaining their swords. Neither of the two had noticed the youth as he entered. Thus, they got a slight shock when he called out to them.

``Tatsumi! Are you feeling better now?´´
Steve was the first one to regain his composure. He gave Tatsumi a big smile, visibly happy that the boy was fine.

``You didn´t have to worry ´bout me,´´ responded Tatsumi with a grin.
``But since you had time to worry about me that means you had no reason to worry about yourselves at least.´´

``True.´´
Finally, it was Shin´s turn to speak.
``And that we´re fine is your accomplishment. I couldn´t thank you properly back then. Therefore, I want to apologize.´´
Shin turned his head and looked right into Tatsumi´s eyes, tears forming in the corners of his own. Slowly, the old soldier rose from his cot and knelt right in front of Tatsumi, his forehead touching the ground.
``Thank you, Tatsumi! Not only did you save my life, but also the future of my daughter and her child. Without you, I´d have died a meaningless death and my family wouldn´t have anyone left to care for them. God knows what my daughter would have been forced to do.´´
Shin couldn´t help but sob. He couldn´t remember ever feeling more grateful to a single person.

Tatsumi was moved. Back then, he had just wanted to keep his own promise. He hadn´t thought about the circumstances of his friend. But recalling the situation now, he was even more glad that he stepped in right in time.

``You don´t have to thank me.´´
Tatsumi bent down, took Shin´s right hand and pulled him up.
``And you don´t have to kneel in front of me. If I´d have been in your stead, you´d have done the same for me, I guess.´´
He smiled at Shin who started to calm down again.
``So what happened while I was out cold?´´
Tatsumi turned his head toward Steve and looked at him with curious eyes.

``Nothing. I don´t know why, but after your fight with the lieutenant the general ordered us to be ready for heading out anytime. But until now, we didn´t get the order.´´
Steve´s answer surprised Tatsumi visibly. He thought that the matter concerning the Northerners would have been solved already.

``That´s str-´´
Tatsumi couldn´t finish his sentence as Luke entered the tent.

``Sorry to disturb you, but time´s up and you´d better not make the general angry.´´
Luke looked right at Tatsumi.

``You´re right.´´
Tatsumi let out a sigh. He quickly went to his stuff and changed into a spare uniform. He had to get out of the old one since it still was covered with frozen blood and cuts all over. He couldn´t stand looking like this any longer.

``Sorry guys, but the General still has some questions for me and I´d better not make her wait for me. I´d like to avoid enraging her,´´ said Tatsumi while finishing changing.
The three men looked at Tatsumi, sweating like crazy. They definitley could understand the boy´s worry.
``What´s going on? Are you feeling bad?´´

``Your statement just now! It´s right on the spot!´´
Luke had to restrain himself from stuttering in order to answer in a tone that didn´t seem too frightened.

``What statement?´´
Tatsumi felt pretty irritated. Had he said something wrong?

``It doesn´t matter. We should go.´´
Luke answered still shivering a bit.

``Alright.´´
Tatsumi and Luke turned around.

``I think I´ll be back in about an hour or so.´´
With that they left the tent, leaving his still frightened friends behind.

15 minutes later

During their walk towards the general´s tent Tatsumi was told that the army would move towards the Northerners´ capital Winterberg the next morning. The general had decided that it´d be best to wait until the commotion of the events that occurred after the enemy´s ambush died down.

``At least, that´s what she told us,´´ Luke finished, shooting a look of amusement towards Tatsumi.

``What´s with that smirk?´´
Tatsumi didn´t quite understand Luke. The officer seemed to know something about Tatsumi that he didn´t know himself.

``Beats me. This is the face I was born with.´´
Luke instantly averted his gaze. He couldn´t afford to let Tatsumi know about the rumors concerning him and Esdeath. God knew how the general would react to them. He suppressed a shiver.
Tatsumi wanted to press the matter further, but they had already arrived at their destination.
So he bid farewell for now and entered Esdeath´s tent.

Esdeath was sitting at her desk, a small notebook in front of her. Noticing Tatsumi´s entrance, she closed it quickly and turned towards him.

``Recruit Tatsumi is reporting in, Gen-´´
Noticing her cold and frightening look towards him he instantly stopped the formal greeting, suddenly remembering her parting words.
``I´m back Esdeath?´´
This time the greeting sounded more like a question than anything else.

``Better´´
Her look softened instantly.
``And remember: You won´t act formal around me anymore. That´s an order! Otherwise I´ll have to punish you.´´
A wide grin showed on her face, exposing her flawless white teeth.

``Ok.´´
Tatsumi startled.
The grin didn´t seem threatening at all but he couldn´t quite determine its nature. He imagined it to look somehow perverted, but tossed that idea as fast as it came to his mind. It simply couldn´t be.
``So what did you want to ask ?´´

``I checked all of the recruits´ files twice but couldn´t find anything about you. Who are you Tatsumi? How did you get into this group of recruits?´´
She curiously stared at him. That was what she had wanted to ask him since she´d layed her eyes on him.

``Ahh. Ok. Since I signed up right before the convoy left, I assume they didn´t get the chance to send my file the proper way. I´m from a small village in the North...´´
He told the general everything she needed to know, while she paid full attention to his story. He told her that he had never gotten to know his parents and was instead raised by the chief and his family; he explained the circumstances of his village and how a former soldier taught him to fight; about his friends and their journey, as well as their encounter with the bandits; he told her about his first time in the Capital and his recruitment and finished with his way to the Northern border.
``... And that´s how I ended up here.´´

``That explains everything.´´
Satisfied, Esdeath leaned back in her chair.

``If that was everything, I´d like to return to my tent now.´´
Tatsumi yawned.
``The day was quite exhausting and I still need some sleep.´´

Esdeath´s eyes hardened for less than a second before she burst into laughter.
``But you´re already in your tent!´´

``Ahhmmmm...´´
Tatsumi was completely confused. What was that supposed to mean?

``I already ordered some of my men to go and grab your stuff. After all, I´ve decided to make you my lover!´´
While stating this, Esdeath´s pale cheeks took a rosy touch. Finally, she had stated her feelings.

Tatsumi´s mind went blank. He didn´t know what to think. Was this a huge prank that she was playing on him or was she actually serious?

``You´re strong Tatsumi,´´ continued Esdeath.
``You hold the potential to become as strong as me one day. You´ll be able to fight with me on equal ground. Until then, I´ll train you myself. You´ll be part of my `Three beasts´ when they return from their actual mission. I´ll be yours and you´ll be mine; my equal, my lover, my mate.´´
The further she spoke, the more she blushed. Just thinking about their future made her heart beat faster than ever before.

Tatsumi on the other hand stood completely still. He couldn´t comprehend what she had just said to him.
She wanted him to be her lover? A beautiful and strong woman as her was interested in him? How could that possibly be true? He just couldn´t manage to think straight.
He snapped out of it when Esdeath grabbed his left hand and pulled him towards the cot, putting him on his back.

``Since you´re tired, let´s just sleep for today. Tomorrow we´ll crush the Northerners. I put the attack on hold until you´d wake up after all!´´
With those words Esdeath turned Tatsumi on his right side, lying down on the cot behind him and spooning the smaller boy, holding him in a tight grip with their legs intertwined. Her left hand was stroking his chest, her right caressing the top of his head that was placed right under her chin.

Tatsumi still wanted to clarify this situation, but he suddenly felt so tired; and this position felt so … comfortable. He yawned again, nesting the back of his head closer to her bosom, while resting the side of his face on her right arm. Her steady heart-beat and her warm breath on his head helped him calm down completely.

`Those things will … have to … wait un … til to … mor … row.´
Tatsumi was barely able to finish his thought before his eyes closed and he paid a visit to the land of dreams.

Sadly, that concludes chapter 3.

Thanks again for reading the story and posting your reviews, opinions and questions. I took my time and reacted to all of them as always.

My biggest gratitude is with my friends and Betas who tried to help me find mistakes and improve the story line. Keep up your good work and be patient with me ;)

As I mentioned last time, chapter 3 was important for the storyline. I hope it wasn´t too boring.
Chapter 4 is already with my Beta. I think I´ll upload it within 2 weeks.
It will be the peak of my first arc (`The cold North´). It´s the longest and most exciting chapter so far with about 7.000 words, so look forward to it ;)
I started chapter 5 today. But since my exams draw near, I´ll have less time for writing. I´ll try publishing it until mid of August (in worst case).

Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.
Like I said above, I got my first OC-request. We worked together, creating an interesting character with some interesting and new Taigu. Thanks to TheCarlosInferno for that.
Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests, too.

Enjoy the site and spread the feelings :)
I´m out for this time.

Marcel M.

P.S.: I´m male xD (didn´t feel offended by that review, just couldn´t stop laughing ;))