Episode 7: Kill the Legacy
"Is this true, Tatsumi?"
Esdeath's expression wasn't necessarily disapproving, but since she wasn't showing him her cute smile, Tatsumi figured it wasn't unreasonable to feel a bit nervous. With her elbows on the table and her face pressed against her interlocked fingers, the general looked a bit ominous.
"Yeah," he replied after a moment of hesitation, clenching his fists beneath the table. "All of it. I fought against Wave and protected the members of Night Raid, I'm the one who ended the mission. And I returned after I realized something."
"And what might that be?"
Tatsumi smiled in spite of his fear, the Two-In-One bestowing upon him an uncanny level of confidence. "That I'm not going to change a damn thing if I don't put myself close to the enemy. That all of us, Night Raid and the Jaegers together, are fighting for the good of the Empire but in different ways. Because of that, I'm able to stay here with you without sacrificing my values."
"And what are those values?" Esdeath was smiling now, but Wave was still looking a bit nervous. Tatsumi figured he'd back his friend up in explaining the night's events, but the two of them were still utterly alone in the room with their commander. It was enough to make any battle-hardened warrior nervous.
"I fight for the right reasons," Tatsumi replied, flashing the same determined smile that made her heart flutter. "In the end, the methods don't really mean much. All that matters is the result, and if we leave Night Raid alone, we will get those results. We're here to protect the Capital and the Empire as a whole, aren't we?"
Tatsumi leaned forward as he continued, eyes narrowing. "If that is the case, then we should think long and hard about the ones who are hurting that Empire, right?"
"Perhaps," Esdeath chuckled, resting her chin on one hand and looking rather amused. "Still, I don't think the Prime Minister will be pleased to hear that a direct assault on Night Raid's headquarters was thwarted by one of our own."
"It wasn't thwarted," Tatsumi countered, leaning back in his chair. "We encountered a significant amount of resistance and overestimated Night Raid's combat potential. That's all there is to it."
Esdeath chuckled again, almost swelling with pride. He was learning to play the game, and this was good. One day at a time, he was getting closer to her expectations…
"I think that will do for now," she finally said, turning around in her chair to look at the light of dawn that was streaming through one of the windows. "The sun is rising and you two have been up all night, so return to your quarters and rest as needed. Be prepared to return to the field at a moment's notice, however, as our job is never truly finished until the Capital is cleansed of its enemies. Dismissed."
"Ma'am!" Tatsumi and Wave leapt to their feat in perfect synchronization, saluting their commander and walking out of the dining room.
Esdeath watched them go, her smile widening even further. "So that is your decision, Tatsumi? Rather than bringing Night Raid and my Jaegers together, you would remain with us and twist them to suit your own ends? How very shrewd!"
Esdeath rose from her seat and left the room as well, following the green-eyed assassin back to their room. It had been too long since she'd held him close, and it was about time for her to fix that.
"Hah! Hyah! Huyah!" Tatsumi cried, swinging the Incursio's blade with all the strength he could muster. He'd gotten about five or six hours of sleep after the previous night's affairs, and waking up after such a strenuous encounter had left him with crusty eyes and an aching body. Even so, the hardest part had been prying himself from Esdeath's loving embrace, and not simply due to her sheer strength. He was beginning to enjoy the sensation, and he knew that was dangerous.
This was for the good of the Empire, he told himself. Attachment would weaken him and hamper his judgment. He had to remain focused on the ultimate goal, which consisted of the following: unifying Night Raid and the Jaegers, mastering his use of both Incursio and the Two-In-One, and destroying those who had virtually enslaved the Capital. These conditions would be met at any cost, and he couldn't afford to hold back anymore. His reservations had to die.
And so did the Prime Minister. This single thought was enough to make something snap within him, and his next overhead strike proceeded to devastate the training dummy before him. Wood and straw burst into the air as the shortsword came falling mercilessly upon them, all while Esdeath watched with sleepy eyes.
"That's all well and good," she spoke, rubbing one eye, "but how will you fare with your new Teigu? I want you to show me its power, again."
Tatsumi turned around to face her, his mouth set in a rigid frown. "I'm not using that weapon unless I absolutely have to," he insisted, staring down at his feet in shame. The memories of carnage and bloodlust were all too vivid in his mind, and it made summoning that weapon even harder than usual. "Incursio feels more comfortable than that sword."
"And yet," Esdeath replied, stepping into the courtyard, "that very sword is closer to your soul than the Incursio can ever be. Why do you think it chose you? How could it have possibly awakened in your hands, and yours alone?"
Tatsumi blinked, and in a flash, her hands had found his shoulders.
"I pursued all the information I could find," she spoke with passion, tightening her grip, "and what little I found was more than enough. That weapon has had only two masters before you. The first was Emperor Kogen, and the second, a direct descendant of him. A renowned master of weaponry whose only home was the battlefield, and whose efforts in the Great Civil War resulted in the loss of nearly half of the Imperial Teigu."
"What are you talking about?" Tatsumi began to sweat, his breaths labored and his pupils dilating as she leaned even closer. "I don't understand any of this!"
"Compatibility," Esdeath continued, bringing her forehead to rest against his own. She closed her eyes and sighed, enjoying the warmth of his skin. "Just as the master chooses the Teigu, the Teigu chooses its master. And this particular Teigu has only had two masters before you, separated by hundreds of years. The fact that you can unleash it, especially from a sealed form, is evidence of your potential."
Tatsumi closed his eyes as well, overwhelmed by everything he was being told. All he'd wanted to do was swing the Incursio around and believe that it brought him closer to Bulat's spirit, that it would give him that man's strength.
"Incursio is powerful," Esdeath conceded, bringing her lips to rest upon his forehead. "It is powerful, but it is nothing compared to that Teigu. The final Teigu may be unknown, but its predecessor carries the weight of this Empire's history. The Masamune casts away all darkness, and the Muramasa held within can sever any opponent from their mortal flesh. The fact that it has chosen you tells me that you are special, more so than I had initially thought."
"You thought I was special?" Tatsumi asked, staring up at her with glowing eyes. Esdeath smiled and blushed like always, stroking his cheek with unusual tenderness.
"I always have, ever since I first laid eyes on you," she confessed. "I recently decided to fall in love, and when I finally came to terms with my own standards, you showed up out of nowhere and smashed them all into ruins. You are beyond perfection," she cooed, bending down to capture his lips.
And yet Tatsumi pulled away, wisely exercising caution as this unassuming woman continued to advance upon him. "There's no such thing as perfection," he narrowed his eyes, "and I'm about as far from 'perfect' as one can be. I'm a murderer, and on top of that, I'm just a kid."
Esdeath ignored his self-defeating words and wrapped the boy in a hug, still smiling. "I was a skilled fighter as a child, and I hunted beasts far beyond your level of strength. You'll overtake me one day, I just know it. And when you do, I will grow even stronger. I will be the one who chases after your strength instead of the other way around."
"You sure are putting me on a pedestal," Tatsumi laughed nervously, tugging himself out of her embrace and looking up at the beautiful general. "Hopefully I can meet your expectations and avoid getting thrown away or executed."
"Tatsumi…" Esdeath reached for her heart, deeply troubled by the boy's pessimism. While his assessment of the Capital's politics wasn't necessarily wrong, he still didn't seem to understand the depths of her feelings for him.
She didn't care about anything as much as she did him, regardless of how foreign that sensation might be. She would freeze the entire planet if necessary, all to ensure that he never left her side. He made her weak, and she accepted it. This alone was enough to frighten her, enough to make her feel desperate. And she loved it precisely because it was something new, because everything else was now boring in comparison.
It felt like destiny, that the two of them should meet.
"I won't push you," Esdeath said with finality, lowering her arms and taking his hands in her own. "Trust your instincts and rise to a new plateau of strength, chase after my own power. If you commit yourself to this pursuit and to the Jaegers as a whole, I have no doubts that you will become a true wielder of the 47th. When you do, I look forward to watching you slaughter entire armies with a single swing of that blade."
It was horrible. Her perspective was poison and those gentle eyes concealed an unfathomable cruelty...and yet, her words were encouraging. His mind was wrapped in so much chaos that it was a miracle he could even remember his own name.
"Esdeath," he finally replied, unable to look at her anymore. "What am I to you?"
The general could not formulate a response. Even she did not know the answer to his question, and after an acknowledging nod, Tatsumi turned and walked away.
Away from her.
Several hours prior…
"What was that all about, boss?!" Leone cried, taking a single step forward as the bestial Teigu around her waist fed her animal instincts. "You let Tatsumi run away with the Jaegers, just like that? Su-san could've stopped them!"
Ignoring the young woman's outburst, Najenda lit yet another cigar and placed it in her mouth with a sigh. "I did what I believed was right," she replied, biting down on the foul stick of tobacco. "Just as he did. Tatsumi is a naive boy, to be sure, but his spirit is beyond compare. His sense of right and wrong is quite inspirational, and even Bulat acknowledged his potential. If he believes that remaining with the Jaegers will end the Prime Minister's reign of terror, then I too will choose to believe in that path."
"Boss…" Leone's eyes went wide as she realized the impact behind her change in attitude, and she quickly fell to one knee. "Sorry. Please don't be angry, I'm just-"
"I know," Najenda smiled, looking down upon the blonde assassin with an approving gaze. "It's only right that young lovers be drawn to one another, ne?"
This was one of the few times Lubbock had ever seen Leone blush, and he made sure to cherish every second of it before that lovely crimson disappeared. He'd have to be sure and tease her about it later. Even Akame smiled, amused by the sudden accusation.
Though it was a complete misunderstanding on her boss's part, there was more than enough truth in her statement to make Leone go crazy with need. The thought was too enticing, and her imagination began to run wild. Her and Tatsumi, together...her playful claim upon him becoming legitimate when she finally told him how she felt…
Leone was incapable of forming one of her usual, witty retorts, and she remained silent as Najenda continued.
"This was not a defeat on either side," their boss said with confidence, removing the cigar from her mouth. "We've seen what their combat potential is like, and we're already aware of Tatsumi's own power. Even if he should stand against us in any future encounter, we will be more than ready to face the Jaegers next time! Remain vigilant during your assignments, and if the situation permits, grab hold of Tatsumi and find out what he's planning! We must be prepared to help him if we can."
"Yes ma'am!" The assassins cried out. With that, their meeting was adjourned, and each of them returned to their usual hobbies as the night waned.
Seated upon her throne, Najenda squished her cigar against the tray beside her and stared thoughtfully at the main entrance. Surely, Tatsumi would burst through those doors at any moment, and laugh at how he'd fooled them all.
"Is Chelsea right?" She thought, eyes closed as she pondered the current situation. "Are you simply too innocent, too naive? Or…"
Tatsumi continued to walk through the silent halls of the Palace, trapped in his own little world as he pondered everything that had recently transpired. He had saved Seryu, despite the fact that she had killed Sheele. He had saved Dr. Stylish, even if the man had planned to kill him. He continued to welcome Esdeath's advances, but he knew he couldn't reciprocate.
Could he do it? Could he really sew destruction from within the Capital and bring change to it from the inside? Would the Jaegers support him? Could he support them? They were his friends, now. He had chosen to fight for that, to believe in it and make it true.
At this point, only Stylish and Seryu were obstacles to that end. Even Kurome seemed like his friend and smiled at him the way Akame used to. Bols was the nicest person he'd ever met, and even his rival, Wave, joked around with him and was stuck to his side like Lubbock was.
"We're all the same," he thought as he walked forward, drawing closer to the dining room where the Jaegers held every meeting. "I'm the one who can do this. I can inspire them to do this!"
As he stepped into the room to his right, Tatsumi blinked in surprise and stopped right in the doorway. He found only Seryu in the room, sitting in one of the chairs and playing with Koro. She teased him half-heartedly with the usual toy, a little green stick with a fuzzy end that her Teigu found absolutely enthralling. After a moment, she noticed him in the doorway, and her sad expression turned to one of light anger as she narrowed her eyes.
"I've been waiting to see you again," she said. Tatsumi scratched the back of his neck, not at all liking the fire in her eyes.
"Would you be angrier if I asked why?"
"I think you know why," she growled, rising out of her chair. "I want to talk with you, Tatsumi. Somewhere private."
"That's fine," he sighed, resigned to his fate. "I'm not needed anywhere and Esdeath was still napping when I crawled out of the room, so I guess I'm all yours for a while. Lead the way?"
"Gladly," she spat, lifting Koro into her arms and walking right past him without another word. Tatsumi turned on his heels and followed Seryu out of the room, down the hallway he'd been walking in moments ago and finally turning into a familiar doorway. Opening a set of double doors, Seryu lead him into the Royal Garden. The sun was shining high above as a gentle wind tickled their skin, causing the flowers to dance. It was an alluring sight, and for a moment, Tatsumi stopped mid-stride in order to watch.
Unfortunately, Seryu did not seem to share in that sentiment, causing him to fall far behind her and subsequently feel awkward as he tried to catch up. Finally finding a suitable place for them to hold their conversation, Seryu Ubiquitous sat down in the grass and released Koro from her arms, watching emotionlessly as the playful Teigu ran off to chase a squirrel.
Tatsumi approached her side and remained standing, shuffling his feet as he stared awkwardly down at the girl. Not once did she look up at him or even in his general direction, and even without Esdeath, the temperature around them seemed to take a nosedive as he stood there.
"Hurry up and sit down," Seryu mumbled, suddenly a bit more apprehensive. "I won't be able to do this unless you are."
Not wanting to cause her any more discomfort than they'd already experienced, Tatsumi did as he was bid and plopped down at her side. He crossed his legs in an attempt to get more comfortable and folded his hands in his lap, staring at her expectantly. When at last she turned her head to look at him, he saw that she was once again shedding tears because of him.
"Why?"
He blinked, completely caught off-guard.
"Why, why did you do it?" Seryu moaned, gripping her knees and bending forward, now staring at the grass beneath her. "Why did you kill my teacher? Why did you turn against us one moment and then change your mind? Why did you pick me up," she choked out, "even though you're an enemy of justice? I want to kill you, more than anything else in the whole world! So why," Seryu wailed, looked up at him with reddened eyes, "can you suddenly turn your back on the assassins and carry me? Why can you turn your back on me every time I have the chance to hurt you? I want to hurt you, more than anything!"
Tatsumi took a deep breath, forcing himself to analyze the situation and consider his words carefully. More than strategy, it was his desire to maintain a relationship with them all that caused him to suddenly move to sit in front of her. He placed his hands on her shoulders as she continued to cry, her face once again showing disbelief as he opened his mouth to reply.
"If it was so easy to lay our thoughts on the table," he began, "then I'm sure the world would never see another war. Everyone would understand each other, conflicts would disappear, and we'd all be part of a golden age that never ended. But that's not the way things are, so I have to ask you to do me a favor." Tatsumi lowered his head, looking ashamed. "I want you to forgive me, not for the things I've done, but for how stupid I'm probably going to sound when I try to explain myself to you."
He took a deep breath, lifted his head again, and stared directly into her eyes with all the confidence that he could muster.
"I had a mission," he continued, "to find and kill Captain Ogre. A request came to Night Raid from one of his many victims, a woman whose husband had been wrongfully punished for a crime he didn't commit. Your teacher, Ogre, abused the system that he was a part of to suit his own interests, and he was even amused when he found out that I'd been sent to kill him on that woman's behalf."
Seryu blinked, unable to fully comprehend what she was hearing. But the boy continued, losing none of his momentum as he confessed everything.
"Under the guise of a boy who wanted to join the Imperial Army, I drew him away from the bar that he loved the most and away from any crowds, and I faced him in a short battle." Tatsumi pulled his hands away from her shoulders and returned them to his lap as he sat down. "I killed him before he could kill me, and that was that. I returned to Night Raid and bragged about what I did, because I knew it was right. It was justice."
"Justice…" Seryu blinked again, slowly catching up as she processed everything he was telling her.
"Real justice," Tatsumi insisted. "Even if I did a terrible thing, I did it for the right reasons. Not because it was personally satisfying or because I agreed with it, but because it brought peace to a woman whose life he had damaged and because it prevented him from hurting anymore people. Killing him meant stopping him from abusing the Capital's system, so I had to do it. Proving myself to Night Raid was part of it," Tatsumi admitted, looking away from her, "but that wasn't the whole picture. I did what I believed in and set aside my respect for him, because he had to die in order for things to change."
"You respected him? Then, why…?" Seryu began to tear up again, unable to understand the boy sitting in front of her.
"I respected him because I wanted to join the Imperial Army a while ago, and because I'd heard about his strength and charisma. I looked forward to working under him or maybe even next to him one day, and when I pretended to be an eager recruit to catch him off guard, I even caught myself enjoying the thought of gaining his approval. Even having his attention," Tatsumi continued with a small grin, "was really humbling to me. Swinging my blade hurt me just as much as it hurt him, in the end, because it felt like I was killing a good man even if what he'd done was evil. And not just evil as I'd seen it, but evil as the world had decided. Hurting others for no good reason other than personal entertainment or money, that's not right. That's not justice, not at all."
Finished with his rant, Tatsumi let out a sigh and fell onto his back, staring up at the clouds as they slowly inched across the blue above.
"Also," he added, cutting Seryu off before she could reply, "I respected him during our fight, too. He was insanely strong, so much that one swing from him felt like an entire building was crashing down on me. I was lucky that my old sword was so durable."
"...he was the strongest," Seryu finally said, wiping the tears from her eyes and wincing from the irritated skin beneath them. "It's over, now, and there's no changing what happened...but I'll just have to be part of his legacy, a reminder of the good things. He wasn't just a good fighter, he was super strong, too."
"So was Sheele," Tatsumi mumbled, though Seryu caught it.
"Sheele?"
"The girl with glasses and purple hair," Tatsumi added, bitterness creeping into his tone of voice. "The one who was ripped in half and eaten by your pet. A friend of mine in Night Raid, the one you didn't kill, came back and told us everything that had happened."
Silence passed between them as the wind continued to spare them from the sun's heat. After another deep breath, Tatsumi pressed on.
"She held me once, you know. I was mourning for two of my friends who'd been murdered by a rich family," he hissed, "tortured and brutally murdered for nothing but sport. As I was visiting their graves, she came up behind me and sat down, wrapping me in her arms. It was almost like I was with my mom, even though I never knew her."
"Your mom?" Seryu whispered, feeling a pang in her heart as she thought of her own mother.
"I never knew my parents," Tatsumi replied. "They died sometime after I was born and an old soldier looked after me, instead. He's the one who taught me how to be a good smithy and how to wield a sword. He was the closest thing to a father I'd ever had, but I haven't seen him in a long time. Actually," Tatsumi strayed, suddenly thinking of the man's arrogant smile, "I hope he's okay. He's the type of reckless guy that'd go charging into a Danger Beast den with only his bare hands and a bottle of rum."
Tatsumi started to laugh, loudly and joyously, so much that the noise carried across the entire Garden and caught the attention of a few servants passing through.
"So, do you hate me?" Tatsumi finally asked, picking himself up to stare at Seryu. No matter how much she wanted to affirm his suspicion, the boy's bright smile made her hesitate.
He may have thought that she hated him, and maybe he was right. But she could see that he didn't hate her, even after she'd paid him back somewhat for what he'd done to her teacher.
"You asked me what justice was," Seryu replied, briefly ignoring his question. "You told me your justice was stronger than Captain Ogre's, stronger than mine. You said yours was the right justice."
"Did I really say all of that?" Tatsumi blinked, not quite remembering all of what he'd told her over the past couple of days.
"Sort of," Seryu waved a hand, dismissing the details. "But you said my justice was wrong, and last night, I understood a little of what your justice really was. It's…"
She looked away, blushing slightly. She hated what he had done with a passion, but still, she felt flattered by his previous actions. His arms had certainly been strong enough to hold her, and being held by him hadn't been entirely unpleasant.
"It's not bad," she finally added. "I want to see more of what you believe to be the 'right' justice, and maybe then I can decide if I hate you or not. Maybe I'll challenge you to a duel someday."
"I'd like that," Tatsumi smiled again, brightening the redness upon her face. "It'd be a good chance for us to throw everything on the table and finally move past it."
"He's not like anyone else," Seryu thought, managing to turn her head back and face him with her embarrassing expression. "There's no one I can compare him to, probably because he's insane. Or maybe…"
"A-anyway," Seryu grumbled, turning her head away to watch as Koro finally returned with a butchered squirrel in his mouth. "We can settle everything some other time. Don't think I'm going to let you off easy just because you have a sense of justice, too! We'll see which one is stronger, and when I win, I'll make you come with me to Captain Ogre's grave to apologize!"
"Deal," Tatsumi suddenly replied, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin in shock. "And if I win, you have to come with me to Sheele's."
Seryu stared at him, and found herself leaning forward…
"Am I interrupting?"
"D-D-Dr. Stylish!" Seryu stammered, leaping to her feet as Tatsumi did. Both of them were frozen in place as the mad scientist approached them, pausing briefly to pluck a flower from its stem and enjoy its scent.
"If I might borrow the two of you for a second," Stylish continued, "I have some information that I feel compelled to share with you. Also, there's a mission available that I believe might be of great importance. I'll be informing General Esdeath of this as well, so you needn't worry about performing 'Dereliction of Duty.'"
Dr. Stylish then dropped the dying flower and spun around, promptly walking back the way he had come.
"Let's go, I g-guess," Seryu mumbled, scratching her neck. Tatsumi mirrored her gesture and looked away, suddenly quite nervous.
"You can go first," he offered, "just in case there are deadly traps waiting."
"You're the worst!" Seryu wailed. "Dr. Stylish would never do anything like that!"
She stormed away from him in a huff, and Tatsumi grinned a bit.
"You're still going first."
"This," Stylish wailed, eyes like dinner plates as the two teenagers stepped forward into the massive chamber, "is my laboratory!"
"Looks like an unfinished basement," Tatsumi quipped, eliciting a pout from Seryu and another maddening cry from the doctor.
"LABORATORY!" He repeated, staring directly at Tatsumi this time. The boy sighed and waved his hand, conceding for the sake of his own sanity.
"Laboratory," he repeated, much to the older man's satisfaction.
"Now then," Stylish continued, moving over to a nearby table and leaning against it, "let me begin by saying that I am indebted to you, little assassin."
"Now hold on," Tatsumi raised his hands, not quite liking where this was going.
"No no," Stylish insisted, waving one of his own hands with eyes closed for a couple seconds, "permit me this one act of gratitude, my new colleague. You preserved my life at great cost to your own, and so it is only right that I open my lab to you and offer you the blessings of my Perfector!"
"Perfector?" Tatsumi blinked, leaping back as the man suddenly withdrew a pair of shiny blue gloves out of the pockets in his labcoat.
"INDEED!" Stylish cried, spreading his arms with excitement. "The perfect Teigu for a man of science, for a scholar of the universe, for-"
"A man of style?" Tatsumi winced, nearly overwhelmed by the man's unbearable enthusiasm. "Just tell me what the deal is. Please?"
"The short version, then," Stylish snickered, snapping his fingers. "These gloves allow me to manipulate the composition of nearly any object, or even create new objects entirely...and here's the part that you may find quite interesting!"
Stylish moved away from the table and approached his fellow Jaegers, eyes shining dangerously. "They are also capable of altering the composition of other Teigu!"
The other two gasped as Stylish pointed a finger to Tatsumi, grinning like a maniac.
"Your Incursio," he cried, "is built around the still-living flesh of the fabled Tyrant! As it was the only one of its kind, at least according to certain information I am privy to, enhancement of your Teigu will be difficult. Not impossible, not by any means...but quite difficult."
He threw his arm further to the left and now pointed to Seryu, causing the young woman to jump a little.
"Your Hekatonkheires is on a different level, entirely! Though it may lack the adaptability and raw potential of Incursio," Stylish said, moving forward to place a hand on her shoulder, "it more than makes up for this difference in strength by being far easier for me to upgrade! A biological Teigu will accept alterations with much less resistance, and will also be more versatile with the upgrades that I can bestow upon it. While some items such as Incursio and Grand Chariot will require components from its main donor," Stylish continued, "biological Teigu need only devour a portion of another Teigu in order to grow in power. Of course, the victim in question must also be a biological-type."
"But Doctor," Seryu lifted an inquisitive finger, "I thought you already upgraded Koro!"
Stylish wagged his finger at her with a wider smile, not unlike a parent who'd caught their child misbehaving. "Not quite, little lady! I made a series of imperfect alterations to allow for the Judgment of the Ten Kings to be stored inside of him. A true upgrade will require materials, materials and time. But we will reach that point, I swear it. And then all of us will LEVEL UP!"
"So," Tatsumi inquired, tilting his head a little, "you're my one-stop upgrade shop?"
"Now, now," Dr. Stylish chided playfully, "there's no need to be greedy! I am offering these services to all of the Jaegers, but for you two, perhaps a discount is in order! If you do me some favors here and there, of course."
"What about the others?" Seryu raised her hand, causing Tatsumi to sweatdrop.
"Since when was this a classroom?!" He thought.
"We may be a team," Stylish responding with a twinkle in his eye, "but I still reserve the right to charge the others full-price. This is hard work, after all, and warrants nothing less than a substantial amount of gold or a personal favor that is worth just as much. Now then…"
Dr. Stylish crossed his arms, then, eliciting a small chuckle as three familiar assistants stepped out of the shadows behind him.
"How do you feel about hunting some old experiments of mine?"
