Hey there; welcome back to `A different destiny´. Finally, I am able to release the sixth chapter of my story after all that time.

I´m pretty sorry that I couldn´t keep my promise and release more frequently. Instead, I even had to slow down.
As much as I want to apologize for that, I hope you can understand it, since I had some personal matters concerning my workplace as well as my education that I had to prioritize.
Additionally, I had to find myself a new Beta, since `Love reading 3.14´ got busy with his own matters, too (If you read that: Good luck!).
Therefore, I officially introduce `ekaterina016´ as my new Beta (so don´t wonder about the small changes in my writing style).

By the way, thanks a lot for those encouraging comments that kept me going.
And just that you know: I´ll NEVER ABANDON this story; that´s a promise I´ll keep!

But enough of this for now. Finally, I´m able to write the words that you all wanted to read so badly:
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 6: Kill the naivety

Tatsumi was exhausted, having ran through the forest for the whole night without resting. The darkness helped him somewhat, refilling his energy fluently, but since the sun had rose about half an hour ago, he couldn´t recharge his power anymore, resulting in each step becoming heavier than the last one. The boy needed a rest badly, now.

His eyes were red and swollen, but the tears had stopped hours ago. The streaks of dried tears had become icicles hanging down the boy's cheeks.
The blood dirting his hands was similarly frozen, but with his conditions now, he paid it no heed.

He slowly stumbled to the nearest tree, where he sat down, leaning his back onto the trunk.

`All of them were killed. Everyone, including elders, women and children.´
Tatsumi stared at his bloody hands.
`What in this world justifys such an action? How cruel must this world be for such things to happen?´

The boy´s expression was empty. Not a hint of sorrow could be seen in it. He had accepted that he couldn´t change what had happened. He even had accepted that he was to blame too.

The only thing he couldn´t accept was that he didn´t notice what kind of monster that woman was. How could he even think of her as a kind person? It was true that she had treated him good, but after all the things his friends had told him about her, he should have known better. How could he let himself be deceived this easily?

Anger and resolve began growing inside the boy.

He had decided. He would extinguish all the unrighteousness sullying this world. He would train until he had the means to beat all those supressing the weak and innocent. He would not only save his friends and his village, but every other person in need too.

Slowly, Tatsumi pulled himself up against the trunk. He had no time to rest; he had to get stronger. He turned around and started walking deeper into the forest in order to test his new abilities without being noticed by anybody.

The sooner he started, the sooner he´d be ready.

Esdeath

A new day had begun. The morning was clouded, casting the world in tones of grey and white. According to her experience, heavy snow would soon fall all over the place. Normally, the cold and stallid climate was to Esdeath's liking, reminding her of her childhood. Under these conditions, only strong people could survive longer than a few weeks on their own.

But she couldn´t enjoy it this time. Since she had woken up and stepped out of her tent, the only thing she could think about was Tatsumi. She just couldn´t stop worrying. She hoped that he´d get better fast. She loved to see him being uncomfortable around her. The thought of playing with her lover made the general blush for a second. She couldn´t help but grin in anticipation.

After letting out some of her stress and anger the day before and getting some rest, she felt much better. She was optimistic that Tatsumi would soon be better too.

She had just reached the closed entrance to the medical tent when she saw the night guard captain stepping towards her to give his usual report in the morning.

"General! Nothing out of the ordinary last night."
The captain stopped right in front of her, greeting the general with the appropriate salute.

"I´ll take it into consideration. Good work," answered Esdeath in a slightly annoyed way.
She just wanted to get rid of the soldier to look after Tatsumi. She gave a short nod that signaled the captain that he had fulfilled his duty and could go to rest now.

Soldier

The night guard captain, having being relieved of his duty, followed his superior to turn his body around. Right now, he wished for nothing more than some well-deserved rest. His watch during the night was a long and boring one, after all.

He had just made a few steps in his tent´s direction, however, when a feeling of dread stopped him cold in his tracks. Even under General Esdeath, he had never felt such a thick anger and killing intent before in his life. Deciding it´d be best if he didn´t meddle in whatever caused it, he walked faster without a second thought, away from the aura pounding his back.

Another two or three steps further, and a sudden, sharp pain erupted through his right leg. Looking down in horror, he saw a sharp piece of ice having pierced through from the back of his knee to the front, causing him to fall over into the snow, crying out in pain.

He had no clue, why the general was upset with him, but in his pain-riddled mind, one thought came through loud and clear:
His chance of survival had become impossibly small right now.

Esdeath

Never before had she felt that amount of anger and sorrow at the same time in her life, not even when Tatsumi was nearly killed or when she let out her rage on the Northerners.

She stared right into the darkness inside the tent, right at the cot of her injured beloved.

But the cot was empty. There was no sign at all of Tatsumi being inside the tent; he had vanished into thin air. It seemed as if he hadn´t even been there in the first place.

Esdeath didn´t know what to think. How could an injured person, nearing death, just vanish without anyone noticing it?! Was he abducted? But who in this world would be insane enough to mess with the things that belonged her? Even that fat prime minister wouldn´t dare to do that. Did he run away? Even though this possibility seemed unlikely with his wounds, she had to consider it.

`Nothing out of the ordinary last night.´
The words of her captain echoed inside her mind. How couldn´t he notice how her claimed lover disappeared out of the tent - or much worse, the camp?! It was his duty to get a grip of everything that was going on inside the camp at night, and he had proven himself too weak even for such a simple task!

She turned around, emitting waves of anger into the cold air around her. She watched every last one of the captain´s steps like a predator watching its prey.

She noticed how terrified he was, seeing drops of cold sweat running down his neck as he stood completely still.

The man started to walk away from her, getting faster with each step, trying to escape his hunter. But she wouldn´t let that happen.

"Weissschnabel (engl.: White Mouth)!"
It was nothing more than a hiss, but nontheless, a small ice spike shot towards the captain, drilling through his right leg, causing him to fall over.

When the soldier let out a cry of pain, she knew he wouldn´t be able to get back up on his own anymore. Despite her rage, she had hit her target exact the way she had planned. That single icicle had torn apart some of the muscles of her target´s right leg, making it incredibly painful to put even a little weight on it.

The other soldiers stopped their morning routine, all of them scrambling around to see what's going on. Esdeath noticed their analyzing gaze washing over her and the now-screaming captain, and the realization that dawned in their eyes. Silently, they knew he'd messed up, and was only now waiting his punishment. Their stares were full of pity and fear, since none of them dared getting in her way when she was serious, no matter how strong they were.

In her mind, she wondered why should a predator care whether those weaker than it feared it or not? In fact, she loved those terrified expressions of people. They satisfied her.

She slowly stepped over to the now-kneeling captain, still leaking off her anger to the air. She would make sure to make him into another example for those who were watching.

After a few more steps, she stood right in front of the shivering captain. Her eyes were narrowed to slits when she looked right into the shivering man´s eyes.

"Didn´t you say that nothing was out of the ordinary last night?!"
Normally, she wouldn´t express her emotions that notably, but this time, she couldn´t help but shout at the captain. Even her cold blue eyes seemed to express madness.

"I-I´m s-sorry. B-but e-every-t-thing w-was a-al-r-right," whimpered the captain, fearing for his live without any clue about the source of her fury.

"HOW COULD MY MATE DISAPPEAR THEN?!"
Esdeath didn´t even wait for her subordinate´s answer when she started to squeeze his head from both sides with her hands. She exerted more and more pressure, maximising the pain for the soldier in front of her, whose cries of agony filled the by now utterly silent surrounding.

She pressed and pressed until a loud crack, followed by a splashing sound, ended those cries. The disgusting-looking body fell over, pieces of brain and skull spilling over her hands.
She cared not for the splatters on her normally completely clean uniform, nor did she care for the pale soldiers looking at the scene, some of the newer ones even vomitting.

"I will go after him personally. You will ready yourselves for our return. We will head for the Capital when I´m back. And know this: the next of you who is to dissappoint or anger me..."
Esdeath paused mid sentence, letting her cold gaze wander over the gathered soldiers.
"…will have to endure a fate far worse than what you´ve seen just now."
Even though she had returned to her usual calm voice, the general knew that her men had understood her warning.

"With his injuries, he can´t be too far. Even if someone abducted him, they won´t be able to move that fast considering his state. Shall I get you a horse, General?" asked Luke as he stepped out from the crowd.

He had only joined the crowd when she was about to liquidate the soldier. The vice commander initially didn´t know what all of this was even about, until he had seen the empty tent and heard her angry yells. He knew that there was nothing he could do to make her change her mind. There was no way the general would instruct her soldiers with the boy´s search. Being an excellent hunter herself, she would make sure to track down her prey as soon as possible.

"No, I´ll be able to move faster without a horse," replied the woman without even considering taking one.

Without another glance towards her soldiers, Esdeath leapt forward towards the outer part of the camp, leaving her men and the bloody mess behind.

She still had no idea how her beloved one was able to disappear from inside the camp without being detected, but the fastest way to hide oneself from the patrolling guards was to enter the nearby forest. It´s true that one must pass the large plain of snow she created when dealing with those damned Northerners, but since its altitude was slightly lower than the camp ground itself, it's not impossible to cross it at night, especially if the guards were being lazy and incapable like their captain.

Hopefully, she could find a hint, any hints at all before the snow fell.

Tatsumi

After an hour or so, Tatsumi finally reached a spot he deemed perfect to test his new abilities. It was a small clearing deep in the forest amidst big trees, serving as his impromptu test subjects. Plus, it was far enough from camp that nobody would notice the commotion.

Even if they did notice his disppearance and begun searching for him, Tatsumi was sure they wouldn't venture deep enough into the forest to notice anything. After all, considering his injuries before Kyuuketsuki healed him, nobody would assume anyone could get that far away from camp in such a short amount of time. Even Esdeath should think that way, but little did he know about her searching abilities and determination to find him, especially since he felt important to her. Eventually, after a certain period of time, the search should slide off.

`I´d better start by questioning Kyuuketsuki about my abilities.´
Tatsumi knew that it would be wise to get to know more about his Teigu before he actually used it for the first time. And since he could ask its source directly, he was sure to make use of that advantage.
"Are you awake, Kyuuketsuki?"

"I´m awake," answered the booming voice inside Tatsumi´s mind.
"What do you want to know?"

"I´d like to get to know more about the powers you can grant me right now and how to use them. Right now, I don´t know enough about them."
Ready to receive more information about his new abilities, Tatsumi sat down. He had to find out what Kyuuketsuki meant by `control darkness in many different ways´ last time they spoke.

"All right. But pay attention. It´s a bit complicated."
The voice in Tatsumi´s head sounded calm and factual, forcing the boy to focus his mind on the following explanation.
"Various forms of darkness exist in this world. The first that comes to mind is the darkness that´s visible to the eye. It occurs in the form of shadows, as the period of time humans call night, or as a description for a surrounding where it´s harder to see something – in caves, for example.
But there are other forms of darkness in this world that are not visible. Those kinds of darkness occur in the form of thoughts or feelings. They are part of your daily life and are fed by negative emotions such as anger, worry, jealousy, sadness and greed. Even though you can´t see them, you should be able to recognize them by questioning a person´s actions and motives.
Last is a form of darkness that is connected to the previously mentioned. On one hand, it´s associated with dark places, on the other hand, most people only feel negative about it; this form of darkness is what you´d call `death´.
Additionally, there are creatures that are in some way bound to darkness: spiders, wolves, rats, bats or owls, for example.
My powers grant you control over all those things to a certain degree. But the stronger the power, the bigger the requirement they call upon. Do you understand that, boy?"

Tatsumi nodded. He had already assumed that the powers Kyuuketsuki once possessed were quite impressive. If his Teigu was made from a once-feared Danger Beast, it had to be equipped with strong powers. But there were still some questions left lingering in his mind, and he was not going to let this opportunity to get some more answers go to waste.
"What are those `requirements´?"

"That depends on the kind of power you want to use."
Kyuuketsuki knew that some of those techniques required preparations that were rather cruel, especially after knowing the boy's strong sense of justice, but darkness's very nature demanded them. Someone who wants to control darkness must confront it, withstand it, be one with it, and finally conquer it. He would do his best to give the youth all the information he needed, but the rest would be up to him.
"A basic requirement that's urgently needed now is to increase your strength and stamina... by a lot. A Teigu burdens one's body greatly, especially, if it´s connected directly to its owner´s body. Only if the vessel is strong enough, it´ll be able to use the Teigu's full power.
However, that's just the start. The only powers that you can use right now are `Unsterblich´ and Schattengefängnis´ (A.N.: `Shadow Prison´).The latter gives you the possibility to attack with your shadow.You can meld it with the shadows of your enemies in order to bind their movement.
Continuing on where I left off with physical requirement, Schattengefängniswill consume a good amount of energy, but it seems your own amount right now is strong enough to use it. To me, it feels like... as if there's another being's power, a strong one, besides mine in your blood."
Hearing that, Tatsumi was slightly alarmed, but he let his Teigu continue with its explanation.
"Each of the more powerful moves requires a special kind of... preparation, if you will, depending on its form.
The first move, called `Erschaffer´ (A.N.: `Creator´), allows you to create any kinds of shadow according to your imagination. It requires, however, the consumation of shadows from as many objects you like, resulting in the objects´ disappearance. The number and strength of the shadows you create will depend on the amount of strength and energy you have left while using it.
The second one is called `Manipulator´. This move allows you to control living creatures that are bound to darkness in some way. But the stronger the creatures are, the more likely they´ll attack you first if they deem you too weak. Physical strength won´t be enough. You´ll have to be strong-minded too, since those creatures will be able to sense even the smallest sign of doubt or fear from you.
Lastly, there is my trump card. It´s name is `Totenmesse´ (A.N.: `Requiem´). As I told you before, you have to consume the power of living things in order to use it. You can accomplish that by consuming their flesh and blood. Even a small amount would be enough to increase your powers slightly. But you´ll only be able to use this technique to its full extent if you consume them completely. After that, you´ll be able to mimic some of their powers, but you´ll also be able to recreate and conrol the bodies of those creatures according to your will. They will still be able to use their original powers, but you must know that the number of creatures you can create at one time differs depending on your own strength. Additionally, you won´t be able to use your own body´s strength to its full extent at the same time. At the time you don´t have enough energy left anymore, they´ll disappear. You should also know that there are some ways for your enemies to kill those creatures once and for all.
In addition to those techniques, your senses have adjusted themselves to darkness. Therefore, you´ll be able to perceive dark surroundings better than most living things.
That´s the gist of the powers I can grant you."

Those are... indeed very powerful.´
Tatsumi honestly didn't know what to say. Kyuuketsuki was powerful beyond his imagination, but only when he sacrificed his principles would he be able to use the Teigu´s full strength. To reach his goal, he needed its power, but to do so meant staining his hands in blood – most likely the blood of innocents. He was not sure whether he could actually go through or not if the time came to it, but he was determined to find out. But for now, there was only one more question concerning his powers he wanted Kyuuketsuki to answer.
"What exactly do you mean by `living beings´?"

"Humans, animals, plants. Any existence that is considered alive."
Tatsumi couldn´t hide his delight at Kyuuketsuki´s words. There actually seemed to be a way to avoid sacrificing other humans for the greater good! However, there was no time to waste with giddiness; he needed to practice.

Esdeath

The general was glad that her intuition had been right.

While crossing the mass snow-graves she had created, a small hole caught her eyes. It dug into the mass of ice and snow, with droplets of blood coloring spots around it. Those discolorations led her straight into the adjacent forest.

Any normal person would have lost the track of their prey here, but she wasn´t just an ordinary woman. She was a product of the infamous Partas clan – a northern clan consisting solely of exceptional hunters and skilled warriors; as the last remaining survivor and the most talented member, broken small clues like this were similar to a large shining billboard. Never before had she lost her prey during a hunt, and she didn´t intent for this one to be her first.

`But still... something´s odd.´
At first, she had assumed the blood was from someone strong enough to survive her rage-fuelled snow avalance. But the signs showed contradictory results, since a survivor from back then would've had to take their opportunity to sneak into the camp. The blood, on the other hand, lead to the forest, with none splashing in the direction of the military base. The captain reported nobody was caught or even seen entering the camp at night, too. But if someone had taken her mate away, that couldn´t be the case. What confused her even more was that the blood had a familiar smell to it. But if it was her mate´s blood, the splashing should have begun inside the camp, too. Either way, something was off.

`How was it possible for him to simply disappear? With those injuries, he shouldn´t be able to move an inch, let alone get that far by himself. There´s only one explanation: someone must have helped him. The only people that would dare to do such a thing would be his friends. I´ll make sure to let them regret it!´
Focusing on her hunt again, Esdeath leapt forward, trying to catch up to her lover.

Clearing in the forest

"Good! You´re doing better than I expected, boy."
Kyuuketsuki had to admit that Tatsumi was learning very fast. He hadn´t expected the boy to get the grip of melding his shadow with those of objects around him that quickly. Sure, the youth needed a few tries to focus his mind to form a strong image and meld with a tree's shadow at the edge of the clearing, but now he's gotten the gist of it.
"Right now, your shadow is connected to the tree´s. By melding your shadow with that of a human, for example, you´ll be able to bind him in place as long as your mind is stronger than his."

"You mentioned I´ll be able to attack with the created shadows. How can I prepare this technique and could I combine it with `Schattengefängnis´?" asked Tatsumi, eager to control the full powers of his Teigu as soon as possible.

"Indeed, you could combine the techniques if your stamina is strong enough. But first of all you should learn to use `Erschaffer´."
Kyuuketsuki was quite impressed about the boy´s will to master his new powers as fast as he could. Nonetheless, he worried about the pace the youth set; he didn´t want his partner to pass out from exhaustion. But as long as the boy seemed fine, he wouldn´t object.
"To use this technique, you need some preperation. First of all, you need to consume shadows. You can take them from any objects you want. But remember that the object whose shadow you have consumed will disappear into nothingness.
For now, let´s try to consume this tree´s shadow. To do so, you must touch it with any part of your body and imagine its consumation as strong as possible."
The voice in Tatsumi´s head stopped until he had followed the instructions and consumed the shadow of the tree in front of him. As Kyuuketsuki had told him, the tree simply disappeared.
"Good. Now that you have consumed the shadow, it will be stored inside your body. You can use it anytime to form weapons, armor or any other object you can think of. The only thing you have to pay attention to is that those shadows won´t move on their own unless you load them with energy. Therefore, you´d have to consume power from living creatures or sacrifice some of your own power. But the second option would put quite the strain on you and could end in your death."

After Kyuuketsuki´s voice had ended, Tatsumi closed his eyes, focusing all his thoughts on the shape of a claymore. He felt a powerful wave rush through his veins, making its way towards his right hand. The boy opened his eyes to see shadows emitting from his hands, building the handle of his chosen weapon. Slowly, the form in Tatsumi´s hand grew bigger, until he held a deep black sword in his hands. He couldn´t feel any difference to holding an actual claymore. The size and weight seemed to be normal and the handling felt normal too; but would a sword made of shadows be able to cut through real objects? Tatsumi doubted it.

He stepped over to a group of trees at the edge of the clearing and stopped right in front of them. The youth encompassed the sword´s handle with both of his hands and dealt a quick slash from the right at the trees. His eyes grew wide when his sword cut through all the trees like a knife through butter.

"Surprised, boy?" asked the clearly amused sounding voice in Tatsumi´s head.
"The shadows are capable of more than you thought, aren´t they? But that´s only a small amount of their true power. Imagine what they are capable of if you have stored more than just one and use them for more than just a normal sword. There are nearly endless possibilities for you to use them."

"Let´s try some ranged attacks-"
Before Tatsumi could finish his sentence, a well-known aura made the youth's blood freeze inside his veins. Even without turning around, he knew he wasn´t alone anymore, and he could feel the icy blue eyes fixed on his back. But how could that be? How was she able to find him? Enough time should have passed by now and the distance between this clearing and the camp should have been big enough, too. Nonetheless, she was here.

"Your injuries seem to be gone in some miraculous way. Didn´t you plan to stop by my tent and inform me about this?"
Even though the woman´s voice seemed calm and sober, Tatsumi couldn´t help but notice a hint of sarcasm and venom in it.

"Why are you here, Esdeath?" asked the young boy while turning around to the blue haired woman, hiding his fear.

"Didn´t I tell you that you are mine?" responded the general, feigning obliviousness.
"I thought that I had mentioned that fact before. But if not, I sincerely apologize."
She didn´t even bother to hide the disappointment and anger in her voice anymore.
"I saw some trees being felled and followed the direction in hope to find the person who I was looking for. But let´s return to the camp; now that you seem fine, we should make it within three hours. There we can talk about your healing, the cause for your absence this morning – I think you have a good one – about the person you were talking to right now and about the thing you´re holding in your hands right now. I don´t think you were talking to yourself, were you?"

"Like hell I would accompany a monster like you that killed thousands of innocent people out of anger."
Tatsumi wouldn´t give in to this threatening woman. He knew he hadn´t even the slightest of chances to beat her; but nonetheless, he wouldn´t back down.

"So, once more, the cause for your displeasing behaviour are some weak creatures, not able to fight for their own life. I think I should change that attitude of yours when we´re back. I tried to be nice to you, but I think that isn´t working; eventually, I should try some methods I´d normally use. How about eliminating those you´d give your life for? I mean, the Northerners are eliminated already; that would only leave those friends of yours and your village."
Tatsumi knew that she meant what she had said. Her voice sounded cold and threatening. She was ready to destroy anyone and anything in her way to get what she desired.

"I won´t let that happen!" answered Tatsumi, gripping the handle of his shadow claymore tightly.

"Try to hinder me!" replied Esdeath with a predatory grin and a cold and challenging expression in her eyes while drawing her rapier.
"I´d really like to see how you´ll manage to stop me."

Sadly, that´s it for this time. I hope you liked it.

Thanks for the support of my friends and ll of my readers.

As always:
Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.
Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.

That being said, I´m out.
Greetings,

Marcel M.