Esdeath

Stretching her arms and her bones popping with satisfaction, Esdeath stood in an open field near Fake Mountain. A region near the west side of the capitol Tatsumi was sitting on a knocked log while her new Jeagers surrounded her. Esdeath took in a deep forest scented breath and exhaled it her Tiegu enhancing the breath a cool trail with distinct snowflakes emitting from her mouth. "Ah all that paperwork has put me in a really restless mood, so to knock two birds with one stone, as it where I need you to show me what you can do and it helps me get a workout." Esdeath spread her arms as Tatsumi watched that predatory smirk on her face.

"Now make no Mistake this show of skill will determine if you are worthy to be under my command" Esdeath said, and Seryu raised her hand meekly.

"Uhm General, what about Tatsumi?" she asked. Esdeath looked to her lover to see him shrug with a lopsided smirk. Esdeath waved off the question as she reached for her rapier sheathed on her lower back.

"Tatsumi has proven his skills time and time again, he has no need for a trial you on the other hand I have no idea beyond what your records show. So prove to me those words wheren't a lie…oh by the way come at me with killing intent, don't and I WILL kill you" Esdeath unsheathed her long rapier with a grin. On Tatsumis end she could feel him sigh shaking his head no doubt thinking her taking this too far. Sweet Tatsumi this is how you create warriors. Esdeath stood her stance looked casual, but she felt the instant Killing intent. It was high and sharp oh so very deliciously sharp with quick stepping Kurome unsheathed her sword. Esdeath blocked the first strike stepping back Kurome stepped into her personal space and grabbed her sword underhand to slide across Esdeath belly. If she where a lesser warrior she would have been disenbowled but no a sheet of ice over her uniform stopped the dangerous red blade of her Tiegu. Kurome turned about to step from her range when Esdeath's hand clamped over her face and with a mighty shove slammed it into the ground kicking up a dust cloud. She could practically hear the cringe of her other subordinates.

"Two moves, thoug very good ones, so…who wants to try for three" Esdeath smirked.

"GRAND CHARIOT!" Wave yelled swinging his short cutlass down. Chains emerged in criss, cross from the ground arms crossed a black armored Danger Beast emerged from behind him. Uncrossing his arms the big hands engulfed Wave covering him in a black armor with glowing blue eyes. Dust kicked up as he dashed for her fist pulled back. Brash, direct and Wave crashed his fist before Esdeath kicking up a dust storm. Suprisngly clever like another armor wearing brash young man. The dust cleared and Esdeath stepped back with a quick jump.

"GRAND FALL!" Wave crashed down cracking the ground sending debris flying everywhere. Feeling a tingle to her neck she raised an ice wall before there as high speed feathers stabbed themselves before it. jumping back she twised in the air as Wave smashed through the wall with the added strength of his armor going for a strong leg sweep that Esdeath blocked with the flat end of her rapier. The impact slew her across the field some fair distance Run flew overhead firing more of his deadly feathers palm to the ground she erected an ice pillar the feathers stabbing on it as she rose at break neck speeds catching Run by surprise and whacking him with the flat end of her rapier with enough force to send him ground way to be caught by Wave mid fall. Landing he laid Run down and rushed Esdeath hummed as her pillar buckled. She walked over the edge as the pillar tiled and it fell looking at her attacker it was the biological Tiegu Koro. The Tiegu's master Seryu ran up the pillar throwing her arm back the arm opened at the forearm and a blade procured from it. The other arm opened in similar fashion procuring another arm blade. Esdeath raised her rapier and parried the first downward slash followed by another right cut from her other arm. Esdeath calmly walked back for a few seconds before interlocking both her blades with hers and bringing a powerful leg to seryu's side sending her flying from the pillar.

"Run!" yelled Wave who jumped up and crashed into the pillar with his fist shattering it sending Esdeath flying away from it. Sliding her rapier into its sheath Esdeath watched as Run flew down and caught Seryu, grinning she found her three targets in her line of sight. Spreading her arms she collected the shattred pillar pieces and added more of her own to create hundreds of sharp projectiles.

"WEISSSCHNABLE!" she brought her arms together and fired the sharp projectiles crossing his arms Wave tried to take the full burnt off the attack. Before the projectiles hit a wall of fire erupted melting the projectiles before reaching their target. Ah yes Bols joined in finally landing Esdeath raised atleast three five full walls of ice as a huge curtain of fire coated her. Waiting for the fire to go away as the attack died down she stood trhusting her hand out sending the walls flying at her targets. The walls shattered as Wave got before the others punching them into pieces. They stood together for a while after a few minutes Esdeath clapped. She clapped before chuckling with a mirth the others didn't see, Tatsumi however seemed to share the sentiment as he laughed and walked to meet them.

"Yes, you truly are a team worthy to be commanded by me, your team work for strangers was impeccable. Night Raid will surely fall before us if we act as we have today" Esdeath said.

"Now set up camp and after you have rested and recuperated, we will go out hunting for tonight's dinner." Esdeath said as she walked by her new subordinates.

Tatsumi

Camp was set up some logs chopped down and Wave's fish was put to good use and being cooked over a roaring fire. Tatsumi and Wave had been chosen to go out hunting into the forest while Seryu and Bols climbed the mountain and hunt there. Esdeath would remain in camp with Dr. Stylish looking over a still unconscious Kurome. Esdeath had done a number on her that Tatsumi said she got a little too intense, but Esdeath waved him off as saying he shouldn't be a worrying hen. Thus Tatsumi led the hunt into the forest with Wave as the two got to know each other better.

"So what are the chances we both are armor type Tiegu users huh?" Wave said walking just slightly behind Tatsumi.

"Yeah I guess you're right these Tiegus are few and between. This one is a hand me down from my father" Tatsumi tapped Incursios handle.

"Well my dad was a sailor, but he didn't make it back from a pirate raid. I didn't knew him all that well" Wave said.

"Sorry" Tatsumi mumbled.

"Nah because of him I wanted nothing more than being a sailor so when I served I was put under the command of Captain Newman Seaworth." Wave went on, the two walked further into the woods searching for good prey. Though Wave specialized more on sea Danger Beast Tatsumi's well-honed hunting skills allowed him a constant alert status even as he spoke with Wave. He wonder if it was all part of all the live combat experience he had been having recently. His father always said training can only prepare one so far.

"So you looked up to him as your role model?" Tatsumi asked as he heard keenly for anything.

"You could say that, though more of a father than anything else. Besides that old bastard taught me me more about cursing than anything else" Tatsumi laughed at that. His mother would have skinned Tatsumi and Bulat alive for 'sailor talk' in the house.

"Man, your mom must have broken a lot of spoons on you with that talk" Tatsumi chuckled.

"Oh man she hit you with wooden spoons too?" Wave laughed together with him.

"Guess doesn't matter what part of the country side you're on mothers are all the same huh?" Wave laughed waving his hand.

"Hah tell me about it, my dad and I couldn't even start the word around her" Tatsumi shook his head as he imagined a rather ominous image of his mother tapping a wooden spoon on her open palm. Wave grinned as he saw him shiver.

"Bad memories of the spoons?" he asked.

"The worst, anyway let's try sticking close to the mountain side of the forest, Danger Beast usually stick close to areas where prey can be cornered" Tatsumi said and they made for the mountain.

"Whatever you say I'm more of a fisherman than anything" Wave shrugged and walked on following him.

Ieyasu

A blush on his face Ieyasu tried to keep from staring to his ever present partner in crime. Leone was walking next to him hands behind her head chest puffed out and her ample breast bouncing up and down. They had walked in silence for the better part of an hour now with all of them back to a hundred percent The Boss sent them to scout around the base so as to have Lubbock expand the base perimeter again. Lubbock had west Mine south and Him and Leone North, the reason being suspected presence of a lot of Danger Beast. Though confident that with Alastor Ieyasu could fend them off the boss left specific orders to make the north a two man route. Swallowing Ieyasu blinked twice glancing to the side briefly. Don't say anything, don't say anything, don't say anything. Ieyasu practically knew she was teasing him, Leone made it her personal game to tease him like that. Today he decided he would not crack he would win this little game of theirs.

"Aren't you afraid of getting wet if it rains without a shirt on?" That's not losing right? Ieyasu thought hands pocketed on in his pants.

"Ho? Worried about little old me?" grinned Leone.

"Well it's only natural we are partners, or seems like it these days sense were always in double assignments" Ieyasu replied casually.

"Ah if I didn't know better you might be staring at your big sis in a perverted way" grinned Leone. Ieyasu blushed sputtering and he knew he had lost.

"Another one for me you're too easy you know that" Leone chuckled before the two walked on in silence again.

Tatsumi

Tatsumi scrunched his nose as he heard foots steps just rounding the mountain side they were walking by. The steps where light too light for a danger beast on the four foot falls where bisedes each other. Either it was a strange side walking danger beast or it was. Wave and Tatsumi rounded the corner Tatsumi's lips thinned as they met face to face. Ieyasu with that one blond woman from when he first met Night Raid. Wave blinked not sure what was happening and who these people where.

"Hey there" Wave said innocently enough with a smile. Ieyasu snapped out of it first responding.

"Hey uhm so Tatsumi who is your friend" Ieyasu said with a fake plastered grin. The blond woman played a long giving them a friendly wave.

"Hey there fellas nice walk?" she grinned.

"Uh yeah Wave this is my friend Ieyasu and uhm" Tatsumi from practice with Esdeath avoided staring at her chest. Seeing as his lover General enjoyed showing off her exposed cleavage he found looking at her was easy to look at her eyes.

"Leone! Ieyasu here is my little boy toy nyah~" Tatsumi blinked blushing while Wave looked away. Leone leaned in on a surprised Ieyasu giving him a lick on the cheek like a cat. Tatsumi felt an odd sense of Deja vu only with less blue hair. Shaking his head Tatsumi chuckled awkwardly as Leone kept hugging Ieyasu and nudging his head with hers.

"Ah well s-sorry to interrupt this uhm lovers walk, but me and Wave should really keep up our hunt" the mood change suddenly as Leone and Ieyasu seemed to freeze and tense with Leone giving off a slight rise on killing intent. Wave himself had his arm twitch slightly to his Tiegu's handle.

"Hunting huh?" Ieyasu said suddenly with a melancholy tone.

"Yeah just like our days in the village hunting for Danger Beast" Tatsumi cleared it up and the killing intent evaporated and the mood was almost jovial again. Tatsumi looked to Wave and nodded and they stepped around them about to move. He didn't know why but facing Ieyasu was really making his skin crawl in the wrong way as if he couldn't face him because an innate sense of self-loathing erupted in his chest. As they stepped around Ieyasu spoke up making Tatsumi freeze on the spot.

"Hey Tatsumi, did you see the execution of those Revolutionary Army guys the other day?" he instantly felt the mood drop cold and the Leone woman was now with clench fist at her side. Tatsumi looked to Wave who looked now a bit more suspicious of the whole situation and seemed stiff with trepidation. Tatsumi wondered if this was a challenge or if Ieyasu was trying to say something.

"Yeah…" Tatsumi responded.

"Yeah…huh?" Ieyasu said Tatsumi looked over his back to see a shaking fist.

"I was the one to execute the traitors to them empire" Tatsumi said now his own killing intent now as he suddenly felt his entire being engulf in flames. His mind was raging like a storm and that self-loathing was replaced by a sense of belief hardened by blood fire and steel of seeing comrades die and so called freedom fighters loot and pillage villages.

"So you made it as a soldier finally, I think Bulat would be proud" a low blow by Ieyasu as the image of that dying girl Spear came to his mind after he pierced her heart with Incursio.

"Yeah I finally made it, I can help the village out and clean out the mess in the empire…even the ones within" Tatsumi noticed Ieyasu's head bob up and his fist stopped shaking his hands uncurled and his shoulders slacked. Ieyasu turned and Tatsumi felt a sudden shame at feeling as he did when he noticed the genuine grin on his friedns face.

"What you want to be some kind of hero?" Ieyasu said. Tatsumi at that moment understood the exchange between them. Ieyasu wanted to see if the boy he grew up with was still there and to Tatsumi's surprise and a bit of anger. He was, that idealistic fool with wide eyes when he first came to the capitol was still there in him just covered by the reality of the empire and the way the world worked when ruled by the corrupt powerful.

"Well we'll see each other again soon later" Ieyasu walked off and Leone followed closed by. She glanced at them over her shoulder for a second before turning and taking Ieyau's hand in hers. Tatsumi turned and walked briskly away from the scene unable to bare being around his closest friend any longer.

Ieyasu

"We have a problem" Leone said as they all met around the meeting room back in their headquarters. Ieyasu hadn't set a word the entire trip no response to her teasing or even to any questions. So Tatsumi was not only with the empire but pretty much the right hand man for Esdeath. Yet he said he didn't abandon his moral code from that response Ieyasu received. Just what was Tatsumi thinking when he executed those soldiers from the Revolutionary army? Ieyasu would sure like to be privy of killing good men doing good work. In the end he supposed Tatsumi really was a soldier, meaning he did things the way he believes.

"Esdeath is near our base, she doesn't know our location of that I'm sure but her snooping around here doesn't bode well for us" Akame said as she acted the defacto leader while the Boss was still away.

"What should we do?" asked Mine.

"I already re sent out Lubbock to close up the expanded perimeter again. Someone like Esdeath would detect the perimeter before running into it. A battle wouldn't work well for us with Esdeath right now" Akame said as she pointed at a map on the table before them.

"Judging on where you encountered them and the route they took they were hunting for Danger Beast. This means the enemy camp can't be too far off from where they were and because of our preset presence Danger Beast scarce." Akame commented. Wow Akame sure is amazing, she thought ahead of all these situations? Well she is special. Ieyasu could not help how impressed he was. She deducted everything to such a degree.

"So were abandoning this place?" asked Leone.

"I think it might be our only option but…the Boss she is due any day now and I'm wondering if we can hide out we should. But we should be prepared to instantly leave for a quit extraction" Askame explained and tapped the base represented on the map.

"Purge the base burn anything we can't carry and have this place ready to be set to flames" Akame swept her arm out as she ordered them.

"Man she's like the boss in miniature huh?" Lubbock said walking into the room.

"She told me all of this right up to this point well perimeter is set so now we wait it out I guess" Lubbock sighed and took a seat on the table.

"Man even the boss didn't work me this hard Akame, you're a slave driver" Lubbock mumbled and they all laughed a little despite the sudden tense situation. The reality that facing Esdeath was hanging over them like noose. Thought for Ieyasu he felt he was in that platform and the cold eyes of his best friend staring over him. If we get caught will you kill me too Tatsumi? Ieyasu thought darkly if Sayo was still alive and she was with them would he have killed her too? His mind tried to imagine Tatsumi putting Sayon on the executioners block but he couldn't Tatsumi would have never hurt the girl that loved him.

"Alright everyone get to your post and do your work" akame said. "Leone please stay behind for a little something extra" everyone looked a little surprised but left all the same.

Leone

"So…how is he doing?" asked Akame with concern. Leone cringed she was dreading this and every second she was doing it was killing her.

"He hasn't talked to it in a while he has been so focused on that whole thing with his friend he seems to revert back into himself" Leone said looking down with a rather nasty feeling close to her heart.

"I know this isn't a plesant task Leone especially if we fear the worst happening" Akame said with a tight face. Leone recalled the last talk with her boss.

Leone I know you don't like this and neither do I but, as it stands that Tiegu could be eating away at Ieyasu right now as we speak. Hes far too compatible with it for that thing to not want to consume him. Keep an eye on him if it looks like he's worsening.

Worsening how?

Worsening…like he begins to whispter to it he seems overly attached to the Tiegu or if his behavior becomes aggressive. If he starts to become volatile, kill him that beast can't be happy being trapped in there and if it consumes Ieyasu it will have a body to manifest its will on. I'm sorry I have to ask this of you but he seems to be really close to you and.

He will let his guard down around me.

Leone sighed she felt her skin crawl just thinking what she might have to do to Ieyasu. Please don't let that thing control you, I believe in you Ieyasu thought Leone.

"Okay you go after Ieyasu make sure he doesn't miss anything vital okay?" Leone sighed.

"Yeah" she couldn't say anything else her mind was thinking over the worst case scenario.

Hooohooo! Some light action and a dialogue heavy chapter but I felt I needed to update this as soon as I was able. Also whoa that's some dark task Leone has on her shoulders from Najenda!

Now then with the poll closed Leone won out just barely from Chaelsa! Man it was a close race with those two but by a 2 vote lead Leone won out! Which is why she and him will be constant partners and this little side plot with the Tigu and Ieyasu will go on with to hopefully a belivable Romance.

Now for a ball buster…you guys practically CHOSE Leone to stay alive and left the other characters up in the air xD. I know, I know I'm a bad person now but now like in my Game of Thrones fic everyone is up in the air on weather they make it to the end of this ride! Its gonna be a crazy one and no one can get off it now!

Also to clear up some in world stuff, some of you may be asking why I go from Tiegu to Imperial Arm. To answer that possible question think of it as Tiegu is the military term the one soldiers come up with on the go. Things like SNAFU and FUBAR. While Imperial arm is the official name that the higher class officers and blue bloods call them. So you know trying to draw that line to differ the more articulate from the pragmatic and everyday Joe in the army.

Esdeath has used both which is when she's with Tatsumi she usally uses when speaking Imperial Arm but around her men she will use Tiegu. Just a little something for world building, same goes for Najenda she will use both depending on the situation but for Tatsumi and company Tiegu will be the norm.

Iron Rose: Glad you like my interpretation of her :D!

Wht3: Sorry this one is betaless lolz

T.E: Don't worry about impassioned writing Ieyasu pairing is inconsequential to me. As for Akame she will get the same attention she had planned weather she is with Ieyasu or not. I just love Akame shes too damn cute for all the ways she could kill you with her bare hands lol.

Well enjoy this relatively short update! I will return with another chapter soon enough! Also I have made up my mind sort off if my Game of Thrones readers drifted here lol. I am ready to begin preparations for that stories final phase and end of part one.

Now Review and tell me what you think impressions, opinioins critics etc.

Love this guy :D.