So its been a while, but here I am again! This chapter took me a while, because I wanted to make it extra long to make up for my absence. Sadly, not as many people gave suggestions as I would have liked. I have only received two of the desired five, and so, in no particular order, here they are:
1) The Frozen North- What A great idea! Thank you, Animecrazy180! I'm really excited to work this into the story, and I assure you it will happen within the next few chapters!
2) The west- now this is going to be good. I don't want to spoil anything, but Tatsumi might not enjoy this trip as much as Esdeath will. Thank you T.E. Bbz!
I Myself have a few places for them to go before ultimately setting the scene for a large portion of the story.
I noticed that I made it look as if the new empire was taking a back seat while Tatsumi was priority, while this is a nice thought, no. Najenda was meant to bring it up in the passing, but because I rushed the chapter, we saw none of that. Anyway, enough of me rambling on is enough. On with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Akame Ga Kill, any of its characters or its respective content.
He was fast, she gave him that. Akame's mind rushed to figure out his next move as the cloaked man threw his chained knife at her. She deflected it up with Murasame, then had a thought. She quickly twirled her deadly katana, and wrapped the blade around the chain. The man laughed. "Have you forgotten, Akame? I wield the power of spectator! That move simply leaves you defenceless while I have planned ahead! Take this!"
He flicked his wrist and Murasame was ripped from Akame's grasp. The other teigu users stood to assist the now weaponless assassin, but Najenda motioned for them to be seated with a flick of her wrist. She knew Akame could handle this guy. It would be some good practice. Akame simply observed him. The man was right, she had forgotten he wielded Spectator. With a sigh, she lowered her head, clearing her mind. A snarl found its way onto his lips. Akame ignored it as he drew her blade away, letting herself sink into something more... primal. Less thought, more instinct. And much, much more vicious.
He couldn't read her thoughts for some reason. The man shook his head, trying to gain a better connection somehow, but it was no use. He decided to change tactics. "Nice try! I can still use spectator to read your movements-oof!" He was knocked back as Akame suddenly appeared before him, lashing out with a vicious kick to the stomach.
He spat a mouthful of blood and tried to read where she would strike next, only to find her missing. He whirled round, only for a fist to smash into his nose, effectively breaking it, then felt himself fall as his legs were swept out from underneath. Desperately, he tried to launch a knife, only for it to miss. Akame caught the chain, and yanked up. At the same time her foot came crashing down.
With a loud crunch, the man's arm snapped at an awkward angle. A scream ripped from his mouth and his pupils dilated from the pain. It was no use being able to sense Akame's movement, she was way too fast. It took all of his strength to pull himself up on the chain and launch a punch at the girl. She dodged away, but at least he had some breathing room.
Everyone else was silent with astonishment. Akame was not well known for her brute force, but here was a display worthy of Leone. She stood, tall and proud, a few feet from her victim. His arm twisted, radius sticking out of his elbow in a bloodied, gruesome fashion. He was panting raggedly, eyes wide with pain. For the first time since the fight started, Akame spoke. "When in too much pain, you cant use spectator, can you? You can't focus properly." He trembled in fear.
"Please... I had to do this! I need the money to-" He was silenced with a rapid flurry of kicks, before flying away. "Screw you, bitch!" Blood spattered from his arm and mouth, but it didn't stop him from launching both knives at Akame. She stopped moving with a frown.
"Sloppy." She caught them, and pulled, launching forward in the same movement. The man haggardly was yanked forward, and some of those seated actually turned away as both of Akame's feet planted themselves onto the assassin's face. When they turned back, he was lying on the floor, not moving. Whether he was dead or unconscious, nobody knew.
Najenda had a disapproving frown on her face as Akame left the body where it was, gently sheathed her katana, then sat back down, but not before wiping her bloody knuckles on a tissue. "Continue." Was the only word she said. Najenda cleared her throat, then began to speak.
"Moving on, we have much to discuss about the development of the new empire. I had some plans for..."
"Tat~su~mi..." A voice cooed gently, penetrating the peace of his slumber. Tatsumi felt a hand run through his hair, and grunted, turning his head to bury his face into his pillow. He didn't want to wake up yet. Oh wait, he didn't have a pillow. "Ooh. Feeling a little frisky this morning?" He bolted upright, bright red. Esdeath was smirking at him. "If you wanted to get closer, all you had to do was ask..." She touched her hand to her breast/the place Tatsumi had buried his face.
"No nonono! It wasn't like that at all-mmpph!" He was silenced by a hand pushing him back down onto the 'pillow' Esdeath giggled as his arms flailed round, panicking.
"Shhh... it looks as though youre a lot better now. You can move, which is a start. Here, have something to eat." She released him, a little hesitantly, only to giggle again at his tomato red face. She turned to the now dwindling fire, and Tatsumi finally saw what he had smelled last night. A large evil bird sat skewered and roasted. "I might have to get another. Ive already eaten two myself." Tatsumi turned in disbelief. To his astonishment, there were two completely bare skeletons to the right of them. Then he realised something that made him very uncomfortable. He was actually... on her. As in, on her lap. She smiled.
"Have some." She gestured once more to the evil bird. He tried to remove himself from her lap, only to find her hands keeping him in place. A wide smile reached her lips. "Have some." She was obviously not going to let him move.
He awkwardly reached out for the meat, and brought it to him. He pulled off a wing, and bit into it. Eyes widened. It tasted amazing! He quickly wolfed it down, tossed the bone then grabbed the other. Suddenly he slowed down. Blushing slightly.
Esdeath was watching him eat, eyes not moving away as he looked down, embarrassed.
"What?" The brown haired assassin asked.
"Nothing, just carry on." When he didn't, she snatched the meat away. "If you don't, I'll just have to feed you." At this Tatsumi hurriedly took it back and bit onto the wing hungrily.
Tatsumi steadily demolished the evil bird, not realising how hungry he had actually been. It was only at the last wing that he felt full. Esdeath was still watching intently. Without warning, the ice controllers stomach growled. His head turned to hers, and in spite of himself, he grinned. "Hungry?" He offered her the leg.
Blink.
His hand was in her mouth. A single blink and all of that meat was gone. She stared at him. He stared back, pale. Without warning, her tongue ran up his palm and Tatsumi pulled his hand away so fast he nearly toppled over. "Jeez! What is it with girls in the capital eating meat so quickly! You're almost as bad as Akame!" His voice cut off as soon as he said her name.
Akame. A friend he thought he would have for life. One of the only living members of night raid... Tears sprang to his eyes. If they were all there, would he be here with her? Esdeath pulled him in close, only to feel resistance. Droplets fell from Tatsumi's eyes. What was he doing? This woman had caused the death of his friends, and his first girlfriend! Just because Akame had betrayed him didn't mean they would have!
Yet here he was spitting on their memory like they were nothing to him. "Tatsumi... don't worry... you won't be alone. I'll be here... shhh." Esdeath tried to comfort him, yet only finding the boy more immovable. She put more force into the tug. Nothing. His fists were balled up, eyes squeezed shut. Esdeath was getting desperate now.
She ran her palm down his cheek and tried to kiss him, only for him to flinch away, eyes finally open. "Don't you dare! You don't... you don't get to do that! You killed them! All of my friends! I can't be here with you!" He began to try and climb away, and Esdeath was forced to pull him off of her lap and onto the floor, if only to pin him down.
"Your friends betrayed you! Akame betrayed you! I didn't! I'm here when nobody else is!" She said. It worked last night, why not now?
"Maybe if you hadn't killed the others, she wouldn't have! If I hadn't failed, then maybe I might have meant more to her than that!" He screamed. Esdeath tightened her grip.
"Tatsumi-" she was cut off by a kick, and Tatsumi scrambled out from under her, panting hard.
"Leave me alone!" He threatened, ignoring the shooting pain he felt as he tensed his muscles. "You made her not want me!" Tears flowed steadily down his face. He wasn't in any kind of fighting stance, he just looked miserable and broken. Esdeath was eyeing him warily, hands out in front of her, approaching him slowly, as if trying to calm a rampaging animal.
"Tatsumi..." She lunged at him, trying to wrap her arms round him and tackle him down. The boy struggled against her iron grip, flailing his limbs wildly. Try as she might, Esdeath could not pin him down. Suddenly, his knee connected with her stomach and forced the air from her lungs. The Ice wielder gasped and her grip loosened. Another solid hit sent her reeling back.
"It's your fault! It's your fault they didn't want me! I just wanted to be with my friends... But now I can't! Because of you!" He screamed, and punched out. If Esdeath didn't have the reflexes that she did, that would have certainly hit her throat and crushed her windpipe. Instead the punch just cracked into her shoulder.
What could she do? Tatsumi was in so much pain because of her lie. But surely if she told him the truth he would leave? But maybe... maybe that was for the best. Maybe it was better for him to be happy than with her? "Tatsumi..." She relaxed, her eyes tempered with pain. With bowed head and hunched shoulders, she spoke the truth. Tatsumi was stunned.
Then his fist curled with rage. Seconds later it connected with her face. "You BITCH! How dare you!?"
Esdeath couldn't help herself. She began to cry. Tatsumi hated her now. He was right, the little voice in her head that always told her she didn't deserve him was right. "I'm sorry..."
THUD. A right hook.
"I thought that if I told you, you wouldn't hate yourself..."
THUD
"And hate me instead..."
THUD
"Which you have every right to do, because..."
THUd
"Even now, I still hope you'll forgive me..."
THUd
"So carry on hurting me, let it all out..."
THud
"Just know that I'll always love you."
Thud
"Thank you for this..."
Thud
"It lets me know..."
thud
"That you'll never be able to love me..."
thud.
"Or know how much I love you."
No more punches came.
"You can go now." She said quietly.
Tatsumi's knuckle had broken the skin at her cheekbone, and a single droplet of scarlet rolled down her cheek, before mingling with her tears, emotional pain meeting physical, before dripping down from her chin. Tatsumi didn't move. She looked up, to see Tatsumi frozen in place, his fist raised and a look of immense guilt on his face.
"That's not fair. You can't say that and make me feel bad."
Esdeath shuffled away from him slowly. "Just go Tatsumi. Don't make this any harder for me, please."
"Why aren't you trying to catch me or imprison me? Why are you making this difficult?"
A bitter laugh escaped her mouth. "Don't get the wrong idea. Leave before I change my mind and try it." Honestly, she wanted to. She wanted to pin him down and never let go. But she couldn't. Since falling in love, she had decided to try reading romance novels, and knew from them that if you really loved someone, you wanted them to be happy more than yourself. "Go, Tatsumi. go on and be happy."
She curled up in a ball, fighting with herself. "You... you would do that?" No response.
Silence pierced the room. The only sound was a small shuffle as Esdeath turned to look at Tatsumi. His head was bowed down so you couldn't see his eyes. His teeth were clenched and hands balled into fists. "Tatsu-"
CRACK! His fist connected with his own face, and the assassin went down, hard. Esdeath panicked and grabbed him. "What are you doing?" She cried, pinning down his wrists so he couldn't do it again.
His eyes met hers, and Esdeath gasped. His green orbs were fiery and full of regret. "That was me teaching myself a lesson. I just realised something. All this time, whenever I've looked at you, I thought 'monster' or 'demon'. I didn't give myself the chance to see this-" He nodded at her as a gesture "- A girl. An actual person who needs attention and care as much as the next person." Esdeath blushed fiercely.
"Right now, you are the type of person I swore to protect. So I can't just up and leave you alone. Akame has Najenda, she'll be fine. I'm staying here." He watched the girl before him try and stutter out some words. He chuckled a little. "You okay?"
Without warning, Esdeath collapsed into a hug, locking every limb tightly around Tatsumi. He gasped for air as she rolled over and squeezed him, bright blue eyes brimming with happiness. "You will? You mean it?" He managed a nod, before coughing as she pulled him to her even tighter. "Tatsumi... is...mine!" She sang out joyfully.
"Cant... breathe..." She winced and let go. "There is one condition though. You have to stop killing people."
Esdeath frowned. "Not going to happen. It's their fault for being weak." Tatsumi looked annoyed
"It's our duty as those with power to protect the weak!"
"Tatsumi, don't be unreasonable. This is how the world works. I will make you see that."
"I'm not changing for anyone. Don't underestimate me."
"You wont change willingly, but I will make you change, just as I will make you love me." There was a glint in her eyes as they sparked with competition. Esdeath was back to normal. Tatsumi shook his head.
"You are so stubborn. Im going outside to look for water."
Esdeath observed Tatsumi's motions. "No you aren't. Sit back down."
He looked back, frowning. "I already said I wasn't going to leave."
The ice wielder shook her head. "Tatsumi. You are shaking, unsteady and obviously in pain. Just because you can move doesn't mean you should. How you managed to punch me so many times completely astounds me. Sit, I will search for water."
He shrugged her off. "Just because you tell me to, doesn't mean I wont." Annoyance flared up in her eyes. The air went a few degrees colder, and finally Tatsumi realised that Esdeath was back to normal. Still he pushed it. "I'll be back later-" His boots froze to the ground. Ice wrapped itself around his limbs and slowly dragged him back into the cave, against the wall.
"Tatsumi... I will not let you go. I will not lose you again. Stay here." Tatsumi slumped, defeated. The ice around his limbs dissipated. A small sphere of ice appeared above his face. "Open your mouth." He recoiled away from it.
"I said open, Tatsumi. Drink." Tatsumi sighed in relief as he figured out what the ice was for, and gently unclenched his jaw. As he sucked it, the ball warmed up. Cool water ran down his throat and Tatsumi sighed in relief as his dry mouth finally was finally wetted. Esdeath watched with, eyes dark with worry. When the assassin was done, he cleared his throat, his voice much less raspy.
"Okay, that was a pretty good idea, you win."
Esdeath smirked. "How do you think I survive going through deserts?"
Tatsumi suddenly frowns. "Speaking of going places, where are we going Esdeath?"
A fearsome grin lit up her face.
"Wherever I want to. We have no place to be anymore. Finally free again!"
She grabbed Tatsumi to her closely. "You and I can go wherever I choose."
Tatsumi looked awkward at the closeness, and Esdeath smirked and pressed her face into his neck, hot breath tickling his ear.
"But... where?"
Her grin widened and Tatsumi felt teeth graze his ear. "Somewhere I can show you my work, where nobody can disturb us..."
She placed a light kiss on his neck.
"... The North."
Opinions change but people never will. Facades crack under the endless sands of time, and reveal what we truly are. We have no set path or future, but we do know... There was always another way.
And done! WOHOO, I actually managed to finish it! This chapter was intense to write, and getting Esdeath's personality was really freaking difficult. Let me know if I did it right! As always, let me know if you have any ideas, and obviously we're going north, so thanks for that idea! Also,how was the fight scene? I'm unsure of whether its good or not. Sorry for taking so long, I had to get that oneshot done, and a LOT of my time is being sucked away right now, so it might be a few weeks before I update again.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this, and see you soon!
21/08/15 update: I realised thst I completely forgot to write one of my chapter finishers! I've added one in now.