And here is the next chapter. Hope everyone likes the revisions I'm doing... I might even get interested in my own story again... Hm? Oh right. That came out wrong. What I meant to say was I would update soon.. hehe

I don't own any part of Akame ga Kill

Chapter 2

When Tatsumi felt himself coming to he was lying in a bed. He felt much more comfortable than he would have expected. His mind was still slow as he lie there. "Ah… I kep forgetting how nice the beds are here. I wonder what Akame is making for breakfast this time.."

He tried to sit up but found himself entrapped. Tatsumi opened his eyes slowly and turned his head. His heart stopped. Esdeath...was...right...there. Her face was inches from his and one slender arm was around him. She was...asleep. A warm breath ghosted past his face. Her breath smelled like… cinnamon? That froze him for a moment as his lethargic mind tired to process this… situation.

"Holy crap...! She's...she's sleeping with me...What the fuck!?"

He forced himself to sit up and her arm fell away. Tatsumi heard a slight murmur. He turned back to Esdeath. She was talking in her sleep. He leaned over cautiously to listen, "Come...on...why won't you just lay still...it only takes a moment..." She rolled over on her back and Tatsumi felt a fatal nosebleed approaching. She was naked...completely naked, her pale breasts and the pink nipples completely exposed. Esdeath lips curled into a small smile as she rolled over again.

Tatsumi quickly and quietly got out of bed and realized that he himself was...well nearly naked too. All he had was underwear. He looked around in a rush, but there weren't any clothes anywhere that he saw...except for Esdeath's uniform which hung on a nearby wall.

He thought, "Ok ok...calm down. There is nothing to be worried about. Nothing at all. She doesn't know who I really am. All I need to do is play it safe...But what if she is going to try to recruit me into the empires army...?! I couldn't escape without being branded as a deserter, which is a serious crime. Damn! How do I get...!"

Two warm arms wrapped around his neck. Esdeath murmured in his ear as her fingers crawled up his torso, "What are you up to love?" His entire body went rigid at her touch and his mind instantly conjured a thousand horrid ways to die. Then she kissed him on the shoulder. She spoke softly, "Tatsumi...it's a nice name...a sweet name. You're my Tatsumi ok. Now come back to bed. I never get up this early."

Her perfume...or was it her natural scent seemed to grab hold of him. It was sweet and slightly... buttery. Like the pastries that the village baker made back home. Esdeath dragged him back to bed. Once she had him reinstalled under the heavy blankets she snuggled down close to him. Her eyes closed and her hand smoothed over his chest again. She was asleep in moments. Tatsumi forced himself...through an effort of sheer will, to breathe normally. It was hard...really hard. He was caught between hyperventilating and holding his breath. He hoped...prayed that someone from Night Raid would come rescue him. For one thing. Even if nothing else happened, he would never get any sleep under these circumstances.

Ooo

Oooooo

Ooo

-Night Raid hideout-

Leone, Mine, Lubbock, and Akame stood around the strategy table in the planning room. Akame felt like she was having a heart attack every time Lubbock or Leone said something about Esdeath. That...girl...woman...animal...demon...ice woman... She didn't even know what to call her and it was giving her chills to think that Tatsumi was trapped with her. And the fact that she most likely would find out who he was...didn't bear thinking about. "Tatsumi… please be safe…"

Leone said, "So that's the situation. Tatsumi is captured, though he is most likely still in good health, it doesn't change anything."

Mine asked irately, "Why didn't the idiot try to tell her he couldn't go. And even then he could have run. But now we have to risk our lives to save his dumb ass!"

An annoyed groan came from Lubbock, "There's no good solution at the moment. Until we can infiltrate her palace or get some other information we can't attempt anything."

"Leone and Lubbock you go into the city and try to dig up some information on Esdeath and her retinue. Leone especially. I want you to see if you can get Tatsumi in sight. See if they have a schedule their keeping to. Mine and I will move back to a more secluded base for now and until the boss returns." Akame croaked out the orders feeling as though her throat was too tight for the words.

Leone growled, "If I get the chance can I kill Esdeath?"

Akame nodded reluctantly, "But she holds the most powerful of all the imperial arms that the capital has. If she senses you you'll have no chance against her."

Leone shrugged, "Well what can I say I case the place and if I see an opportunity to sink my claws in...I will. Hey Lubbock! We better get going if we want to be in the capital before dark." They both left the room, leaving Mine and Akame to plan their own departure.

Mine said, "You know...I was just remembering something that Bulat told me a long time ago...when I first joined."

Akame looked up at her expectantly. Mine didn't often share her true feelings or memories. The pink haired girl said, "It was back when we were having all that trouble with our Imperial Arms. You know when that guy tried to infiltrate Night Raid and was tampering with Incursio and my Punkin. Bulat told me after all that was over that when he had first been given Incursio to try on, he thought it was pointless. That he was strong enough without it."

The dark haired assassin raised an eyebrow. She hadn't known Bulat long enough to know what he was like before he donned his armor. Mine explianed, "Bulat told me that his compatibility with Incursion was about ten percent."

Akame asked, "So...how does that..?"

Mine interjected, "I asked him if he thought that Tatsumi might match Incursio. This was just before they went out and...he died... Bulat told me...that Tatsumi had more like an eighty percent chance to bond with it."

That surprised Akame. She had known that Bulat held a high opinion of Tatsumi and it was true that he himself had struggled to master all of Incursio's abilities, but she had never known that they were that different in regards to their power.

Mine continued, "What I'm saying is that if Tatsumi ever becomes as strong as bulat...and I'm not saying he will!...but he might...MIGHT...be the strongest member of Night Raid and he might be the only one of us who could fight Esdeath head on."

With that Mine left as well. Akame sighed and turned, leaving the room by another door.

Ooo

Ooo

Tatsumi reflected that things could be worse. He sat on the bed while Esdeath showered. It was driving him slightly crazy though. He had fallen asleep again, basically in Esdeath's arms. It disturbed him greatly and that wasn't all. Tatsumi was fighting hard to see her as the cruel person everyone said she was. He hadn't really seen any of that...Well she had kidnapped him, but it was a far cry from what other people said about her. And it was obviously true that she loved him. There was no way she was faking...at least he didn't think it was possible. His hand moved to his lips where she had kissed him, waking him up for the second time that morning. He quickly banished the memory. It would not serve him well.

But… "Damn it… I can't see her like that. If I start looking at her like that then I won't be able to fight her when the time comes!"

As he thought to himself about his situation, he didn't hear the shower cut out. Neither did he hear her approach as she wrapped a towel around her graceful form. He did hear her comment, "A deep thinker Tatsumi? Another thing I think makes you perfect for me." Her arms were around him in a second and her head rested on his.

His body fought between the urge to relax… and to shudder. She coed, "Today I think I'll introduce you to your fellow Jaegers and then...I'll take you to see the Imperial armory. I want to see if you take a fancy to any of the imperial arms we have." She moved to where she could sit next to him saying, "We have around 12 unused Imperial arms. Fully a fourth of the ones in existence. And that doesn't count the ones already bonded to us."

Her face turned to his and she said, "But I'll tell you a little secret. I'm the only general who has been told. You see Imperial Arms are widely known to be the most powerful artifacts in the land, however they are by no means the only ones. I myself have several non Imperial artifacts in my collection. And they don't have the unfortunate 1 person, one weapon limit." Her hand raised to point at her long saber which hung on a rack near her door. That is a little artifact I picked up even before I was a general. It's called Voediken and it was made in the far north. It's forged from the teeth of a danger beast knows as the Ice dragon. They aren't actually dragons but they look similar."

Tatsumi nodded and hesitantly asked, "Um..where are my clothes? or my sword?"

She smiled, "Your sword is over there by mine. And your clothes...I sent for new ones. I want my chosen one to look the part."

Tatsumi shivered. He felt like the temperature had just dropped ten degrees. Esdeath apologized, "Sorry for that Tatsumi...I do control ice after all...I was just think about how you might look in uniform..." She seemed to become pensive.

"Now's my chance to as her something that will help me escape or at least get her to trust me more so I can start working on a plan." He asked, "Um...Esdeath?"

Hey eyes moved back to him and she reasserted her arms original positions around him. "Yes Tatsumi?"

He steeled himself to ask. He hoped she wasn't a paranoid person. "What is your Imperial arm?"

Her smile was warm and happy...unnervingly kind. She turned her body to face him and gestured to her bust, then took his hand and placed it over the strange black symbol on her skin. He asked, "It's that?"

She nodded, "This is the mark of my Imperial Arm. It is Majin Kengen Demonzu Ekisu. But it's common name is the Demon's Extract. I am the first being in history to successfully bond with it."

That was defiantly something to worry about. If she was strong enough to use that Imperial arm, how was anyone supposed to defeat her?

Esdeath whispered, "I think you're special too. That's why I want to try a few of the artifacts out on you...see if we can get a good reaction." The tips of her fingers continued to trace over him as she spoke. Her perfume was getting to him. It reminded him so much of his home and their little bakery. It almost made him forget himself as it dredged up more memories of home. A nibble at his neck snapped him back to reality. Esdeath was looking at him intensely. Her lips were pressed together and she looked...hesitant.

"Tatsumi...I want you to know that I love you...the moment I saw you smile after your fight at the arena. But I also am a general and I didn't get this position for being able to kill people better than others. I was made a commander because I could command."

He nodded, wondering where she was going with this. It seemed completely different from her usual talk. It was like she was preparing him...or her for something. Then he had a flash of something… Incursio almost spoke to him in his mind, warning of imminent danger.

Esdeath said, "I know that you're a member of Night Raid. I knew from the moment I touched your skin to mine. My blood told me that you had an Imperial Arm...and one I have seen before. In fact it is one that a former servant of mine knew about in great detail."

Tatsumi felt the breath escape him and his heart seized. He thought, "I am royally screwed... no... wait... I'm dead. Just dead..."

Esdeath put a hand on his chest, over his heart. "I took you here knowing who you are. Do you understand? I don't care..."

He thought he must have heard her wrong. Then she said, "I suspected that Night Raid might send someone to fight in the tournament. I knew they would want to scout me out in a public setting. I was originally planning on executing the first person I suspected, but no one showed any skill till you came along...and stole my heart..."

Tatsumi looked away, "So what will you do now? Are you going to tell me that I should stay here with you and abandon my friends in Night Raid. Or are you offering a place in the Capital for me? I don't want either of those. So that probably means that you will say that if you can't have me then no one can... right?"

Esdeath nodded, "That is how I would have looked at it two days ago...but I decided that I want you. I don't give a damn about the Capital...or Night Raid. I care about who is the strongest. Right now that is me." Esdeath's voice dropped to a low whisper, "And you. I won't kill you...That would be letting death take you...I won't let that happen. You are mine!"

That shocked him. He sat there slack jawed. It was...too much. It was almost like someone had just told him that he was going to be torn apart by a group of beautiful naked women. He didn't know whether to be pleased or horrified. He thought, "She doesn't care about the capital...she doesn't care about Night Raid...not the revolution. No one...but me and apparently herself. If she is telling the truth...I can tell her that I will stay with Night Raid. If...if she'd serious...then she would join them!"

Taking the gamble he said, "If...if that's is what you want. I guess I can't say no..."

Esdeath's face turned to what he could only describe as joy. She kissed him long on the lips. It lasted minutes and when she at last drew back she said, "That is all I wanted to hear. You will be mine from now on. I will make you into a great general and we will fight together...always..."

It seemed that in the course of a day she had planned out the rest of her life with him. He said, "But..."

She looked up at him, her smile fading, "But what?"

He tried to express it in a way she would understand, "You see...It's just that I can't join the capital. They are a plague that eats away at the people. It needs to be destroyed, especially the prime minister. He is the most corrupt man in this country! I can't serve in the capital if it means helping him! I joined Night Raid to help my home village which was being bled dry by tax collectors. Both my best friends form my childhood were tortured to death by nobles from the Capital..."

Tatsumi's eyes flashed as he growled, "I won't work for that monster."

She nodded, "Ok...so you refuse to serve the capital?"

He stared straight into her eyes and said, "Yes."

Her lips formed the next question. "And just who do you want to serve?"

Tatsumi said, "No one! I just want to help my friends and my village. I want to cleanse the Capital so that there can be peace!"

"But what about nature. The strong will always rule, feed on, and defeat the weak. Why should either you or I care if the Capital is corrupt? If they are the strong, then they deserve to do what they want."

Tatsumi snapped, "That isn't how people are. We only have the Capital and other cities because we can live together without doing each other harm! Don't you get it? It isn't strength when the minister uses the people till they starve to death. It's a form of weakness in its self. If he can't see past his own greed then he is weaker than them! I probably sacrificed my chance at peace by joining Night Raid. How does that make me weak. I'm stronger because I made a difficult choice!"

Esdeath asked, "So you believe that by taking a hard road, you have the chance to prove yourself stronger than those who use the weak as stepping stones?" He nodded. She smiled, "Do you want to know why I choose to fight for the Capital?"

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes, "Yes...very much."

She said, "Because they allow me to do what I want. And what I want is to find the greatest challenge and rise above it. I will be content ONLY when there are no more equals, no more betters. Do you understand what I desire?"

She leaned in close. "I want to be at the top of the food chain. I want fear and respect from all... and...I want you beside me." Her pupils seemed to widen and she said, "I will be..."

Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the door to the room banging open. A young man stepped in. He bowed quickly to Esdeath saying, "Uh sorry for barging in like this but that old man you were talking about is ready to open the vault."

Esdeath gave him a thin smile, laced with as much malice as she could muster, "That's good Wave. I'll speak with you later." Wave saw her expression and turned white with fear. He did a quick about face, shutting the door quickly behind him.

Tatsumi blinked, "Uh… wasn't that the announcer from the tournament?"

Her eyes flicked back to him. Esdeath shrugged minimally. "He is a member of the Jaegers that I have recruited. He also comes from out of the country like you… now, back to what we were discussing before.

Tatsumi nodded, thinking, "Ok...ok...this is more than I ever could have dreamed. Could it be that I could...no I won't jinx myself. I will just ask." He asked, "Esdeath...would you join Night Raid to be with me?"

Her head snapped to her right. Her eyes were cold, "No...I wouldn't. I myself refuse to serve under Najenda." She brought her face closer to him, her eyes two inches from his own, "However if you promise to stay with me, I will make your goals my own...under one condition."

Tatsumi couldn't speak...it was so close. Would she really devote herself to destroying the Capital for him?

She said, "I want to be Empress and I want you to be Emperor."

He choked, "What!" Why!?"

She said simply, "Because that is a goal that is worthy of my talent...and it is the only position that would truly make me..." Esdeath's cheeks turned slightly pink, "...perfect..."

Ooo

Ooo

Tatsumi could feel excitement building in him. He had convinced Esdeath to defect from the Empire. She wouldn't join Night Raid, but she agreed to help destroy the Capital's corrupt heart. And she was doing it for him. He couldn't believe it. It made him want to...well...actually want to...-gulp-...kiss her. It wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it was. She seemed to be an honorable person, who had been raised to believe that only the strong deserved to survive. He could understand that. It was something she was probably taught from the cradle.

It probably helped her case that she was gorgeous. He shuddered, remembering her body against his. Tatsumi shook his head as he looked out over the balcony that showed the view of the Capital. It was a stunning view.

He wished that the Capital was pure so that the image he saw could be a true representation of what lay beneath. White walls should house innocent people and clean streets should speak to diligence instead of fear. Tatsumi heard a sound behind him. It was the distinct sound of Esdeath's stride. He thought, "She's been gone for an hour...I wonder what she was up to." He turned and his eyes fell on her. His blood ran cold.

There was a jagged cut across her belly and it bled a deep crimson. He ran to her, "Esdeath what happened?!" He was panicking and he knew it.

She reached a hand out to him, using his shoulder to steady herself. Esdeath gasped out, "I...underestimated him..surprised me ... Go ... he hit me good...I won't make it more than a day like this and with guards on the way...I won't get medical treatment here. Leave me and I will take out as many of them as I can...Go!"

He shook his head, "NO no no noNONO!" Tatsumi drew his Incursio and activated it. The light from the blade wrapped around him and the feel of tight armor covering him gave him confidence. He said, "I made a promise an hour ago. I'm not breaking it yet!" He was so close. This couldn't be happening right now!

Tatsumi was on the edge of panicking. "What the hell did she go do?! Don't tell me she actually and tried to attack the minister!?"

He ducked and picked her up. Her protest was cut short by her gasp of pain. Tatsumi heard more footsteps now. "Guards...Royal guards. Every one of them a skilled fighter. I can't take too many of them and I have to get Esdeath somewhere safe..." He turned to the balcony. He looked down at Esdeath in his arms. She was paler that normal. A testament to blood loss he guessed. "I just promised to help her become the most powerful woman alive and she promised to make the Capital pure again. I can't let her die now." He leaned out over the sheer drop from the balcony. Tatsumi said, "He goes...!"

Esdeath's eyes widened, "Wait Tatsumi you couldn't survived from this heit...!" He jumped off just as the door burst open behind them.

It was a long fall and he had a surprising amount of time to watch the city rocket closer. It was beautiful... The second his feet touched the ground he was dashing though the streets. Too fast for most people to even see. Esdeath had pushed her head into him to protect her face from the cutting wind.

He was out of the Capital in minutes, blasting the main gates off their hinges. But he didn't slow down. He kept going, and now that he was out in the open country, he increased his speed even more. The scenery blurred past at the point where he couldn't even see details. He was heading on a straight course for home base.

There it is... ah well, not much to say on this one, but remember to review anyway!