Finally, after all this time, I´m back with a new chapter.
HNY, even if it´s a bit late.
First things first: Why did it take me that long?
It´s pretty easy: I have to write important exams every half a year; being forced to prepare for them and dealing with their aftermath (absence from my part-time job), I had barely enough time to write anything. In addition to that, I had to deal with technical issues (otherwise I´d have released this chapter about 2 weeks earlier).
Nonethless, I´m sorry that it took me that long. To compensate you for that period of time, I thought of a small competition for you to take part in. I´ll give away the details AFTER the chapter.
Concerning your questions:
Eb-8: Thanks to him, I noticed, that I created some misunderstandings in the last chapters.
1. Tatsumi isn´t able to consume shadows to heal himself willingly. This ability works without him being able to control it.
2. He can only absorb shadows of objects that are weaker than him. Therefore it´s impossible to absorbe e.g. Esdeath´s shadow until she has been weakened enough.
Sup: Honestly, I don´t know at all, where you figured his story to be a crossover with "One Punch Man". Any similarities are coincidentially, for I have never watched that show. Either you mixed up two different stories, or you wanted to troll a bit. Nonetheless, thanks for the hearty laugh ;)
Then there´s one last thing:
I got quite some criticism that my last chapter took too long and was too short.
So for one last time: Real life is more important. I do this in my free time without any compensation except the fun and your own enjoyment. Therefore, I think that you´ll have to deal with that.
Furthermore, I have no problem with constructive criticism, but don´t just write: "This is shit!"
It´s your opinion and I can accept that; but it doesn´t help me in any way. If you don´t like the story, don´t read it.
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 8: Kill the way back
The cave was just big enough for the two of them to feel comfortable. Truth to be told, Esdeath would have liked it better if it was even narrower in there, so that her beloved one wouldn´t have a chance of avoiding her;but she knew that it would be best not to rush things.
"Aren´t you hungry?"
Tatsumi hadn't been able to eat for days; she was sure about that. Nonetheless, he didn´t show any signs of starvation at all, making her wary. He wasn´t a seasoned warrior such as herself; where should he have learned to control his body to the extent of suppressing its basic cravings?
"Not at all," answered the boy in a monotonous voice.
"Fine."
Esdeath wouldn´t press that matter any further. She had no intention of starting an argument about his state of health right now, since it didn´t seem to be that bad.
"Since I´m not tired myself, I´ll keep watch during the night. You should get some sleep."
Giving a small nod in response, Tatsumi made himself comfortable, leaning his back against the cave´s wall while sitting on the ground. The cold didn´t bother him in any way; he was used to worse than that. After he made sure that the general seemed to lack the intention to close the distance between the two of them, he slowly closed his eyes, drifting off into a deep slumber.
Esdeath
She could barely fight the desire to get closer to her mate. Seeing him sleeping so defenselessly like that made her want to cuddle with him, pressing her voluptous body against his young skin. The general desired nothing more but to start their relationship anew, but she knew that nothing good would come from that.
Surely, Tatsumi would sooner or later submit to her desires, but right now his inner wounds were too deep. Esdeath was aware of her lover´s lack of trust, even though she couldn´t comprehend the reason behind it. Nonetheless, it would be easy for her to get what she wanted, but she was aware that this could lead to her breaking the boy, once and for all. Therefore, she would just sit tight for now.
Fighting her innermost desires, Esdeath simply observed the sleeping youth from the other side of the cave. For the first time since she had found him earlier that day, his mind seemed to be completely at peace.
Seeing him like this, a warmth spread throughout the general´s body that she hadn´t known before, but on the same time, she felt her heart aching, causing her to panic somewhat. She wasn´t accustomed to experience such weakness herself, yet she couldn´t do anything about it, even though she knew the exact cause. Since she had met Tatsumi, all of her actions were driven by her longing for him. He was the cause that she wasn´t able to act as strong as before. Nonetheless, she wasn´t able to eradicate him. The simple thought of killing him made her feel uncomfortable.
It was by then she realized that her weakness wasn´t Tatsumi. Bothering with such irrelevant thoughts was her weakness. Why should she even think about killing the boy? There was no necissity to do so.
She would form him into her ideal partner. He was the only person in this world with enough potential to be her equal; she was sure of that. There was no reason to worry about breaking him. If he shouldn´t be able to fulfill her expectations in the future, it would only prove her intuition wrong and make the boy disposable, nothing more than an additional pet to her collection.
But her intuiton never had been wrong before; not even once.
She just had to make sure that he´d stop resisting her with such an amount of stubbornness, if she wanted him to take her advice. That way, he would get stronger in no time.
Shifting her focus back on the sleeping boy, Esdeath made herself more comfortable on her side of the cave. Aware of everything around her, the general closed her eyes, too. Nothing would dare to get close to the cave; her presence should be terrifying enough to prevent that. And even if someone or something would try, her senses were honed enough to alert her immediately.
The next morning
His eyes were still closed when a tempting fragrance ascended his nose. It was true that he hadn´t felt hungry at all the evening before, but after a good night´s sleep, his mind had calmed down and his urges had taken over.
The boy opened his eyes slowly. After he had accustomed to the morning sun, shining into the cave, he was surprised by a sight he hadn´t expected. Right in the middle of the cave, a small fire had been lit. Two big slices of meat were impaled on wooden branches, sticking in the frozen ground.
Under the spell of the grilled meat in front of him, Tatsumi had forgotten about his company completely. He only started to remember his circumstances when someone grabbed one of the branches and started to eat one of the slices.
"Finally awake?"
The general asked rhetorically while glancing at the boy for a split second, before shifting her attention back to her slice of meat.
"We´ll continue our way after I have finished eating, then."
"Where did you get the meat?"
The boy asked, not paying his full attention to her words. His urge for something to satisfy his hunger was just too big, and the meat smelled just too good, for him to ignore it.
"I went out on a hunt while you were soundly asleep. Don´t worry, I made sure that no danger lured within the woods beforehand," stated the general without spending a single glance at Tatsumi.
"But why would you even care about that? You did, after all, tell me that you weren´t hungry at all yesterday. Or could it be that this has changed?"
To that question, Tatsumi failed to find the words to answer. Her behavior could be said to have turned the opposite direction from her early interactions with him; namely, her sexual and mental obsession for him had been replaced by… ignorance? Normally, the general would pine for his attention and get on his good side.
Did his rebellion cause her to lose interest in him? But if so, why hadn´t she killed him off already, like she did to countless others?
"No; I´m still not hungry," he stubbornly stated.
Never before in his life had he tried this hard to deny his basic urges. Raised in a frontier village, he was taught since he was a baby to be efficient with his life, and that included eating whenever there would be a chance.
However, he didn´t intend to let the general have her way with him. Did she think she could bribe him with food, torturing him this way and forcing him to submit using subtler ways? No!
The woman on the opposite site of the tent just shrugged, accepting her proclaimed lover´s answer without feeling the need to ask for a second time. She turned her attention back to her breakfast, enjoying it to its fullest, deliberately making loud slurping noises and appreciative hums from time to time.
Tatsumi couldn´t determine any expression on the general´s face that could give him a clue about what she was trying to accomplish with that change in her attitude towards him. But before he was even able to ponder about that any more, a loud grumble broke the silence inside the cave.
Finally, his body had betrayed the boy´s mind. The temptations in front of the young male were just too big for his stomach to not show any reaction. The youth had tried to resist as much as possible, but he couldn´t deny the truth any longer. His body craved for nourishment, and the fragrant grilled meat within his reach made it simply impossible to hide that fact.
"Not hungry at all, huh?"
The female general asked mockingly, a sneer plastered on her face. Tatsumi could clearly see it, even though her eyes were still focused on her slice of grilled flesh.
At that point a realization hit the boy, finally. That woman had simply decided to try another kind of approach towards himself since he hadn´t shown much of a reaction towards her attempts to get closer to him the day earlier; and it had paid off.
Even though it bothered him, Tatsumi knew that he couldn´t deny her this small victory anymore. There was no point in hiding his urges any longer, since both of them already knew the whole truth.
"Just a bit… maybe," responded the boy in a lowered voice.
The young man couldn´t help but avert his gaze from the general sitting opposite to him, making her success even more obvious.
"I wouldn´t mind sharing."
The matter-of-factly voice made the boy looking towards her again, just to see that her grin had gotten even bigger than before, like a predator toying with its prey.
"But almost nothing in life is for free."
Her voice was an irresistible honey, and she started to expand her presence across the cave, causing Tatsumi to shiver, though not from the cold. Unbeknownst to the both of them, it was a bestial technique to spread mating pheromones to attract the opposite sex. Just how Esdeath managed to do so instinctively was a mystery.
That statement got the boy´s full attention. He couldn´t help but narrow his eyes in suspicion. What could that woman possibly ask for? There were so many possibilities, and most of them weren´t to the youth´s likeness. Wary about the consequences, the boy chose his next words wisely.
"And what exactly would be the price I´d have to pay?"
Tatsumi tried his best, yet he couldn´t manage to hide the uneasiness from his voice completely.
"Oh, my dear Tatsumi; you don´t have to be worried. The price isn´t much."
A small chuckle escaped Esdeath´s lips as her eyes locked with his own once more. The youth could tell that she enjoyed his uncertainty; but nonetheless, he wouldn´t have assumed what came next.
"Take off your shirt!"
The general´s demand was met by a gasp when the boy´s face lightened up, bright red, making her giggle on his flabbergasted expression. Every attempt of him trying to speak only made him bring forth stuttering sounds that couldn´t be identified as words at all. The observation that the woman seemed completely unfazed by such a bold demand didn´t help his condition at all either. On the contrary, it only increased his embarrassment even further.
"W-w-w-w-what?!"
Still blushing, Tatsumi finally managed to calm down somewhat. Nonetheless, he wasn´t able to hide his flustered state at all, making the general´s grin widen even more. The boy knew that she simply loved to see him in that state, making him wonder if she had just intended to create this embarrassing situation right from the start.
"W-why s-should I d-do this?"
"To check up on your wounds, of course. Why else?"
Given the general´s amused expression, Tatsumi berated himself for falling into the general´s verbal trap, unsettling him even more. Because of his lack of experience, he had no chance to put on a dignified face to cover his steadily-growing embarrassment in any way.
Unnoticed by the youth, signs of deep longing flashed in the eyes of the older woman as she toyed with her future mate to her heart´s content. They were simply too well hidden for the inexperienced boy. But knowing that the time still wasn´t ripe, she repressed any further thoughts before they could take control over her actions. She wouldn´t give in to her desires; at least, not for now.
"T-that´s not necessary."
The general was brought out of her senses when her beloved started to speak again. Seemingly, he had calmed down somewhat during her distraction of thoughts.
"And why wouldn´t it be, hmm…? After all, I made sure not to go too easy on you yesterday. And even if you´d be despising my actions, you should be wise enough to get your wounds checked as fast as possible."
Growing interested in the boy´s response, Esdeath narrowed her eyes. What other cause could he have to reject her offer of checking his wounds? The only answer imaginable was it had to do something with his new Teigu and she wouldn´t let slip a chance to learn about his new abilities. Thinking about his new gained strength, the general couldn´t help but grin in anticipation of his answer.
`Hell, there´s no point in trying to hide it. She´ll find out sooner or later.´
Tatsumi knew he stood no chance in deceiving the general. The only thing the youngster could do was to tell her the basic information about his new abilities.
`But it shouldn´t hurt to hide a fact or two. Some secrets could be very helpful later on.´
"It´s not necessary, because my wounds are already healed."
Looking at the general, the boy noticed that he had her full attention. Therefore, he took a deep breath before continuing his explanation.
"Somehow, I´ve ended up in the possession of a Teigu while being unconscious after my fight with Numa Seika. Since then, I was capable of controlling darkness in various ways. Apparently, my body is able to consume particles of darkness to heal itself. But it seems this ability isn´t controllable by the Teigu´s wielder; the only condition one has to meet so it starts working by itself is that one has to be in a dark surrounding."
"That explains how you were able to get out of the camp by yourself."
Putting one and one together, Esdeath couldn´t help but interrupt the boy in excitement.
She could see the boy shuddered as a predatory grin exposed her canines. That ability of his Teigu would serve her very well in the future. If it allowed him to deal even better with her harsh but necessary training sessions, then it could be one very special Teigu indeed. Yet, there were more pressing matters for her to question him about.
"But I´m more interested in the abilities you used in your fight against me. What about that claymore you used? And more importantly: who were you talking to back then?"
Ignoring the boy, whose face clearly showed his feelings of uneasiness, the general continued to try gathering information about their last fight which would grant her a better understanding of her mate´s new weapon.
`Damn!´
Tatsumi´s eyes widened in shock and disappointment when his hopes of Esdeath forgetting that particular detail of him talking to Kyūketsuki were shattered. Initially, he had planned to hide the fact his Teigu was intelligent, much less being able to freely converse with him.
"That claymore was created out of shadows I consumed beforehand," stated the boy matter-of-factly. He knew that he had to keep his composure if he didn´t want to lose every last possible advantage.
"When you found me, I was getting an advice from the Danger Beast, granting my weapon its powers."
`So he´s actually able to communicate with his Teigu, huh?´
That information surprised the general quite a lot, even though she didn´t show it to him. It wasn´t common for those weapons to communicate with their wielder. Truth to be told, there was only one known exception that had occurred quite some time before: with her own Teigu, Demon's Extract. Of course, particularly powerful ones from the first generations tended to 'imprint' their will onto their wielders, giving them pseudo-telepathy, but at most, they were only able to convey simple emotions, not giving a full-bore advice like an old master.
`What a fascinating Teigu. What power!´
A beaming smile, different from her previous predatory one, spread across her face, wide enough to be impossible to miss for Tatsumi. It was an expression last seen in her childhood, when she hunted and laughed and joked around with her father: a smile of pure, childish excitement.
The boy, truly, was her fated partner. No matter how much he denied it, both of them belonged together. The simple fact that fate gave him such an exceptional Teigu as a match for her own was the only proof she needed, and the only solid one she´d consider. Only someone truly strong could´ve achieved such a feat, not one who´s merely lucky.
Finally, her days of loneliness at the peak of martial prowess were coming to an end.
"That´s quite interesting. Given your Teigu is able to intelligently teach you its best tricks, I expect your strength will increase exponentially in a short time. Even I can´t imagine how strong you´ll get, if my teachings are added to its own."
The general´s smile didn´t lessen for even a second when she predicted her lover´s protruding future.
- Thump.
`J-Just now… w-what was that...?´Tatsumi wondered.
His heart just skipped a beat when Esdeath smiled. Yes, a person who slaughtered thousands of people in the most agonizing ways possible without batting an eyelid. Yes, a monster capable of obliterating whole armies by herself. Yes, a woman who´s shown no sympathy, nor any redeeming human qualities to those standing in her way, innocent or not.
Exactly this person, called `Ice Queen´, was sitting right in front of him, still smiling in a well known fashion.
That smile… had no relation whatsoever to his description of her 'career' earlier. It was the simple smile of a… a woman. Just that. Like how Sayo smiled in her childhood, expressing a happiness which captured his heart even until this day.
The feeling he buried throughout his childhood was now blooming… for Esdeath. With just a smile.
No, objectively thinking, this must´ve been just his bodily instincts acting up due to his current condition, like his stomach earlier. There was no way he could be attracted to her, now he had seen her true nature, right?
Right?
Normally, he would only feel hate and disdain towards such a person, but looking at her smiling face triggered uncomfortable feelings inside his heart, those he couldn´t explain. This woman was supposed to be his nemesis, the person he had to beat one day to achieve his goal. Yet, all those bad feelings were wiped out the moment he saw her genuine smile.
`Is she really a bad person?´
Tatsumi tried to remember every last one of their encounters. There was no doubt she had only treated him with care and didn´t even harm him once, except for the fight, resulting from his own antagonism towards her.
`I don´t know what to think of her! It´s true that she threatened me, but then again, she refused to kill me back then. Could it be that this sick world formed her into the person she is today? Could it be that there is a small possibility to change her, or pull out the buried good inside of her?´
A warm piece of meat brought him out of his thoughts. Fumbling to catch it, he looked towards the general once again, but he noticed she had returned her attention back onto her own breakfast, and not towards him.
Feeling the grease flowing down from the fat cap of the meat between his fingers, he carefully took a sniff out of the meat. There was a chance it could be a Danger Beast´s meat, and although proper preparation could make some species safe to eat, he doubted a normal human being could stomach Esdeath´s meals.
Yes, in his mind, she had inadvertently turned into a savage who regularly ate human meat.
"That´ll do, for now," the general stated in between bites, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Your explanation is satisfactory. We´ll talk more about it another time. You should eat to regain your strength for now. When you´re finished, we´ll head back to camp. Although I won´t tolerate further insubordination, understand?"
Seeing the glint in her eyes, Tatsumi knew that he´d better not ignore Esdeath´s warning.
"Thanks."
Tatsumi barely managed to mutter that word, as the hunger overcame him again.
The blue-haired woman shivered pleasurably at the casual response, smiling once again.
A few minutes later
Since Tatsumi had nothing to eat for a few days, he wasn´t able to apply what little table manners Sayo had drilled into him when they were preparing to go to the Capital. In just a short amount of time, he practically inhaled the meat and temporarily satisfied his hunger for the moment.
Leaving the cave, somehow, his steps were much lighter than before, a complete contrast to yesterday. The tension between him and Esdeath after the fight had dissipated, making it possible for him to actually start enjoying the scenery, instead of having to constantly scan it for an advantage.
It seemed it started snowing last night, as the white blanket covered the fig trees around them, reminding him of his home village. The snow beneath their feet crunched with every step they took, imprinting their prints on its surface.
Inhaling the cold air, Tatsumi started to stretch his arms under the enjoyable sunshine, when suddenly something cold hit him square in the back. Wincing from the cold trickling down his neck, the boy turned around, just in time for a second snowball to hit him right in his face.
Wiping the cold snow out of his face, the youth stared right at the blue haired woman in confusion. Humming a small merry tone, the general only gave him a questioning look while walking on with her hands clasped behind her back. Grunting, and slightly annoyed, the boy turned around again, trying to ignore the innocently-acting beauty and her little games.
`There´s no way I´ll-´
Tatsumi´s thoughts were instantly interrupted as another snowball hit his head from behind, making him stop in his tracks. Clenching both of his fists at his sides, the youth sighed loudly, waiting for another one of those cold balls to hit him. But when nothing happened, he simply continued his way once more.
`Maybe she´s got enough.´
He had barely finished his thoughts when he felt the impact of another snowball, ending his patience. He wouldn´t stand it any longer.
In a split second, Tatsumi darted to the right, staring back at Esdeath with a challenging smile. He was sure that she wouldn´t let slip a chance to compete with him. Running at full speed while looking back from time to time, he tried his best to avoid crushing into any trees, somehow managing it, although it was pretty close sometimes.
At first, he was able to keep her in his field of vision, leisurely following him along his escape path, but after only two minutes of flat-out sprinting, her presence had disappeared from behind him. Knowing he didn´t have much time to plan his little revenge, he launched his foot onto the bark of the largest and thickest fir tree he could recognize and climbed up out of sight from anyone heading this way.
He immediately ducked behind a particularly thick branch and its set of leaves as a silhouette of a person came into sight. Watching the form´s ample breasts and wide, swaying hips, he could instantly tell it must´ve been the blue-haired beauty, scanning each tree for her prey. Luckily, it seemed he had hidden well enough for her to miss him at this distance.
Ever so slowly, the general edged closer to his tree, smoothly craning her neck left and right to scan her surroundings. Tatsumi dared not to move, and instead lowered his breathing tempo to erase every possible noise and presence he could emit. Patiently waiting, he watched every single one of her steps in agony as she was still too far for him to pounce.
However, he couldn´t risk waiting any longer, either. If she got closer than this, her talent and experience would be more than enough to sniff him out, even though he tried his best to erase his presence. Not willing to take that risk, despite this chase´s playful nature, he created three sharp picks from the remaining shadow he had stored, and sent them flying into the tree the general had just passed.
The general noticed his projectiles too late to react in any way. She was barely able to look upwards when a rather big amount of snow, being detached from the branches above her by the impact of her lover´s shadows into the tree, fell upon her, forming a massive pile of snow.
"I got you!"
The youth couldn´t help but scream out loud out of his feeling of elation. He knew such a thing wouldn´t harm that woman in any possible way; nonetheless, he was proud of being able to achieve such a small victory.
"Are you sure about that?"
A rather amused sounding voice spoke up from right behind him.
Turning around in surprise, Tatsumi´s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked right into two familiar blue orbs glinting with joy. Before he could react, Esdeath´s delicate-looking right hand simply gave his shoulder a small tap, making him lose his precious balance on the tree.
The boy tried to get a hold of the branch he had been sitting on the whole time, but he failed. Still looking in disbelief at the person that had pushed him just a moment ago, he fell right into the snow beneath his hideout back-first, sinking a fair way into it.
He was still trying to comprehend what had happened as a petite hand grabbed him by his collar, pulled him out of the snow and made him stand on his own two feet.
"What… How… You… I..."
Trying to get to understand what was going on, Tatsumi couldn´t help but stutter in irritation, much to Esdeath´s amusement.
"Oh, it was a nice try."
The general interrupted him in an almost mocking tone, while brushing off the remaining snow from his uniform.
"But there were two major disadvantages for you right from the start. Firstly, I have been raised by a tribe of hunters from the northern lands, making me a superb hunter, especially among snowy plains. Secondly, I am experienced enough with my Teigu to have some aces up my sleeves."
"But I´m sure that the pile buried you. There shouldn´t have been a way to evade it, not even for you!" muttered the still confused boy.
"There is," replied the general playfully yet seriously.
"How about another game? I´ll give you time to guess the ways I used my abilities. The time you have will be until we reach the encampment."
She smiled seductively, knowing Tatsumi had no way to decline her offer.
"The reward is simple: one unconditional wish, within my capabilities, of course. But, if you fail…"
Pausing mid-sentence to observe her clearly uncomfortable lover, she licked her lips, showcasing their tempting moisture to the prepubescent boy.
"... you´ll have to fulfill one wish of mine."
Tatsumi gulped. Big.
He was practically given the chance to get one of the most influential people of the Empire, and most likely the strongest, into his debt. There wass an infinite amount of possibilities and circumstances where this very reward would be the difference between life and death, or simply to advance his dreams.
However, precisely because of the weight of such promise, his failure would doom him to a similar amount of pain. After all, his knowledge of her abilities´ details neared zero. All he knew was she could manipulate `ice´. The best thing he could do was guess, based on his experience with her and what he had seen and felt already.
Or would she even keep her promise? She could sulk and deny any responsibility, forcing her wishes upon him either way.
Once again, the fear of failing triggered a pessimistic thought.
`What would she demand from me?´
The thought alone sent a shiver up his spine. He wasn´t too sure whether it´d be morally acceptable for him or not. What if she demanded of him to torture those she didn´t deem worthy or to execute an innocent in cold blood?
But could he even afford to waste this opportunity? The boy´s mind swayed back and forth.
Finally taking in a deep breath, Tatsumi had made his decision. He simply had to take the risk, even if it meant playing against the odds.
"Deal!"
Accepting her offer, Tatsumi looked straight into Esdeath´s eyes, without showing any signs of uncertainty.
"Perfect!" replied the woman in a merry tone. She simply loved to play these kind of games.
…especially to savor the look of despair on her opponent´s face. Even normal folks´ faces looked delectable; how arousing would Tatsumi´s expression be?
"Let´s continue our way, then."
Some time later
`Damn it! I still don´t have a single clue!´
Tatsumi nearly became exasperated with the task Esdeath had given him.
The boy had been pondering about her Teigu´s abilities all the time since they started to head towards the camp again. Recalling the things he had seen her do in the past days, he still hadn´t made any progress further than `she can control ice´.
He still wasn´t able to comprehend the way she had been deceiving him. Every idea that came into his mind seemed impossible to be done, even for her. Right now, he was at a complete loss.
There was only one way he could think of to avoid it.
"You called me? I already got the gist of your situation by reading your thoughts. But how can I help you, Partner?"
An all-too-familiar deep voice crept into the boy´s mind, ready to answer any questions that would occur.
`I am pretty sure that she´s able to form and control ice with her Teigu. But I just don´t get it; how had she been able to appear right behind me? Do you have any ideas?´
Considering Kyūketsuki´s age, Tatsumi hoped that the former Danger Beast would have some more knowledge about other Teigus´ abilities. It was perfectly possible his partner could even propose a potential solution.
"Did you ever consider that it wasn´t her who was hit by the snow?"
The beast asked thoughtfully.
`Why would there be another person than us this far out in the Northern woods?´
His partner´s question just caused Tatsumi to feel even more irritated. He could already feel a slight headache rearing its ugly head.
"That´s not what I meant!"
His companion replied with a deep sigh, causing Tatsumi to frown.
"Recall your memories of earlier! I noticed that the only thing you were able to make out back then was her silhouette. You didn´t see any of her defining features, did you?"
`Yeah, that´s right. But what´s your point?´
Slowly, the boy´s headache grew stronger; he didn´t understand anything. Just what was his partner speaking of?!
"What if what you saw was a doppelganger? What if Esdeath knew where you were hiding all along, and simply bypassed you right from the start?"
Even though Kyūketsuki wasn´t completely sure, he assumed the one possibility Tatsumi didn´t consider, simply because of one thing: he had a similar ability himself.
"As I told you before, you´re able to materialize creatures you once consumed as shadows that will move on their own. As long as you´re powerful enough, they won´t disappear and act according to your commands. What if Esdeath is able to create such beings out of ice, too? She most likely wouldn´t even have to fulfill any restraining conditions, unlike you."
Was that the answer? Was that how Esdeath could appear right behind him back then? It didn´t seem too far-fetched. On the contrary, it seemed to be possible for a person of the general´s strengh to possess that kind of power.
It was at that moment, someone tapped him on his shoulder from behind, bringing him out of his thoughts. While was deep in discussion with his Teigu, he didn´t realize they had already arrived at the forest´s borders, with the encampment in clear sight and a mere a hundred meters in front.
"Time´s up. We´re back at the camp, Tat~su~mi. Have you decided on your answer?"
Expecting her lover to answer her, the general tenderly wrapped her arms around him from behind, leaning her chin on his right shoulder. An excited grin had spread all over her face, seemingly not noticing Tatsumi´s blush at the incredibly soft sensation he was feeling from his back.
"Yes, I did."
Despite his flustered state, he tried his best to answer steadily. This was the moment of truth, and he had no intention of playing any of her games right now.
"I don´t know what you did for sure, but I believe that you created a doppelganger of yourself out of ice which was able to move by itself. Was that how you tricked me?"
"Well done to figure it out."
The general´s voice sounded impressed, yet completely serious. The answer he had given was indeed the right one.
"You won our little bet. I´ll stay true to my word and fulfill any one wish of yours. You should consider it thoroughly. But let´s head back to the camp now."
With a small fake pout, the general loosened the embrace and stretched to her full height. After adjusting her uniform into its proper appearance, she passed by her still-motionless mate and motioned to him to follow her.
Walking towards the camp right behind the general, Tatsumi steeled himself for what was to come. He couldn´t tell anyone the truth about what had happened, after all...
That´s it.
Concerning the competition I mentioned:
I want you to create a Danger Beast for one of the upcoming chapters. I´d like to send Esdeath and Tatsumi on a little hunt.
There are no restrictions concerning name, abilities and appearance. The only thing you should mind is that the Beast shouldn´t be too OP.
Whether you want to use actual animals or mythological creatures as a foundation is up to you. You can also think of your own unice Beast.
The best proposal will be mentioned in my chapter (the proposer will be credited).
Deadline is the 30.04.2018.
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.
Until next time,
Marcel M.
P.S.: I´ll try to fix some minor errors in Chapter 1 to 7; no big issues, only grammar. You don´t have to worry about any changes in the story :)