The battle lasted only a few minutes, but the damage was substantial. On edge and waiting for a follow-up attack, Tatsumi tried many times to slide out of his bed, only for Akame to push him back down. The pain lingered long after the fight, and even as it faded away, he could still feel something rippling through his veins. Morning had long passed, and the sun sat high in the sky, pouring hot sunrays through the window of his room.

Shirtless, Tatsumi sat up once more.

Akame did not try to stop him this time, only fidgeting with the red tie around her neck. "I…" she opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and turned her gaze away from him.

"That was pretty…intense," he tried to joke, though even his voice was weak.

"I should've sensed her earlier. If I had, I might've been able to stop her from doing that to you."

There were signs of stress on her face. Not because of the bandage that had covered where Suzuka cut her cheek, but because of the tired gaze of her eyes. Or were those signs that she'd been crying?

"I don't think that she was here to kill me."

Slowly, her downtrodden eyes looked up to him. "You're still hurt."

"Ah…" was all he could say.

The days when he first began his assignment in Night Raid might have had a different ending if he fought Suzuka back then. The thought of his first time completing an assignment, and the way Akame stripped off his shirt after it was finished, threw him headlong into memories that he hadn't given much thought to.

He grabbed her hand and said to her, "Well, I guess this time, I really was poisoned, huh?"

It was an honest attempt at another joke. These days, too much tragedy had fallen on the Night Raid. Being prepared to die for the right thing didn't make it any easier on the living. Akame looked as though she would burst into tears at any moment. But she was strong – strong enough to flip off her emotions as she exhaled.

"That wasn't General Ogre this time. But if we've been found out, we'll have to leave this place soon."

"Yea…"

Tatsumi wasn't sure what to say at the moment. Mine was still in the clutches of the Empire. The thought alone worried him, and that worry started turning into that strong desire to go into the Capital. His legs felt like jelly and his sword was tossed haphazardly across the room – likely as his comrades tried to get him into the bed.

"Sleep," Akame said, pressing him back to the bed.

"I'd feel bad if I had to have you watch over me like this."

"I don't mind at all," she replied. "The poison doesn't seem to be causing you any more pain. And it's best if you rest right now."

"I guess I don't have a choice."

Even Tatsumi, inexperienced as he was, could see the brief blush that she gave as he turned away from her and closed his eyes. But beneath that, he could sense something else. Akame was good at many things, certainly better than he was at certain tasks. But even he could tell when she was lying about the poison in his body.

'What's going to happen to me?'

She was glad that Kitsune retreated back into her subconscious when it did, but it didn't make Mine no less worried when all she heard were footsteps around her. The presence of Akame's sister was good, but she heard nothing else. Her body had involuntarily moved, and she suspected that something was going on – she could not figure out what, however.

Kitsune had fallen completely silent.

'Are you there?'

Where had the Relic gone? It wasn't as if there were a whole lot of places that she could disappear to in her mind.

'Please…don't leave me alone right now.'

The darkness was terrifying. Unable to see anything, unable to move her legs, unable to even move because of the bindings on her wrists, Mine felt so much more helpless with the absence of the Relic. Where was Tatsumi? Where was the Night Raid?

'Please come back.'

A sniff.

Tatsumi ran through her thoughts.

'Don't leave me…'

"Oh…this one does cry," said a gruff voice, one she was wholly unfamiliar with. A male…she could smell the faint musk of his cologne. "She's too old for my standards, though. This one is already tainted with adulthood. Flat chest, nice skin…I'm not interested in taking this one."

"You're so weird, Champ," came another voice, this one belonging to a female, and one that almost sounded as though it were singing. "You wouldn't do anything to her, then?"

"Not interested. Too old. You can have her."

"What, here? It's too…bloody here," the female said. "It wouldn't be appropriate. I can't perform in a place like this. What about that Wave guy? Maybe he could lead us to some interesting areas. We haven't been in the Capital for a while."

"We're leaving in the few hours. General's orders."

"Hmph. To think I have to waste my time killing other assassins."

"This one is coming with us, right? Why don't we…soften her up?"

Another voice entered into the conversation. "You will not touch her," said Run. "My apologies, but the General said that she wanted no harm to come to this girl."

There were more words that came after that, but Mine no longer listened to them – was her fate really being decided between Run and the two other individuals? Could she not do anything?

'You took over my body once before, so why don't you do it again?!'

The silence in her thoughts was almost deafening.

'Why did you even bother coming out before? Huh?! What good are you?!'

The presence returned – but it was like a door that opened only slightly. The half-hidden head of a white fox flashed in her mind. 'I have tried to leave your body, Mine. I cannot. You must release the contract, since it was made on your behalf.'

'I…' her thoughts trailed off.

Blind and crippled…was that the life that awaited her? Would it have been better to just simply die?

'My ability is not simply to move into a host's body. Have you not noticed? I restore what once was. However, I feed off your memories in order to do that. To learn what it means to be human, I must feed. I must gain knowledge. Release the contract now, and I can move on to another host. That other woman…that Esdeath…she may accept my contract, or I may disappear once more. But it is up to you at this point, Mine.'

The grave of Bols was sitting out in the open on the hill – a fittingly somber area considering whose body was laid underneath the ground. Wave had smiled softly as he laid a hand on the gravestone, closing his eyes.

"We will make the Empire a better place. Rest easy in the afterlife. Esdeath will find a way to stop this revolution."

Short and to the point.

Wave was never good with overly long words. But Bols would surely be happy if he heard Wave now. The one guy that he judged upon seeing him for the first time turned out to be one of his favorite comrades. The man deserved better, and his family deserved him to be back in their lives.

"Oh, you came to visit my husband today?"

Wave turned and saw the beautiful face of Bols' wife. She smiled gently as she nodded to the bouquet of flowers in her arms. Standing by her side was her daughter, who was not smiling as much as her mother. Nobody should have to lose a loving father, and seeing the girl trying to hold back many tears had hit his heart hard.

"I did…Bols was a really good friend."

The wife nodded and passed by Wave, gently tapping him on the shoulder.

"He liked you…considered you to be a good friend as well. I'm sure my husband would be pleased to know that even now, he has good people that care a lot for him."

All Wave could manage was a simple smile.

In truth, he really wanted to break down in tears. They were already threatening to come out of the corner of his eyes. But the wife wasn't crying – she was smiling, perhaps very genuinely, and the daughter was also holding back her tears. They were strong enough to accept that Bols was gone.

Wave had to be strong enough, too.

"If you ever need anything, you can let me know. I'll do whatever it is you need me to do."

The wife, still smiling, shook her head. "It's alright. Esdeath provided us a lot of money. But if you could, please visit here tomorrow? We could pray for my husband together."

"I would be honored," Wave said, and then he kneeled on the ground to face her daughter. "Are there any sweets you would like me to bring?"

Her eyes instantly perked up. "Chocolate!"

"That was quick," he chuckled. "I'll make sure to bring you some chocolate tomorrow, then."

"Thank you, Wave," she cheered and then launched herself into Wave, throwing her tiny arms around him. "Thank you for being my daddy's friend. Thank you for watching over him. Thank you…thank…you…"

She sniffed.

He sniffed.

She bawled.

Wave cried.

Bols' wife kneeled close to the ground, and the three of them fell into a long embrace…long enough that the sun had already begun to change its position when they finally were able to separate.

It took a few minutes longer for the individuals to compose themselves, but when they had, it was Wave who broke the silence. "I've gotten pretty good at making things. What do you say we have a chocolate truffle tomorrow."

"I don't know what that is," the little girl admitted. "But it sounds yummy!"

"Tomorrow at noon, then," Wave shot her a thumbs-up, and then walked away from the gravesite.

Run was leaning nearby against a tree. Wave approached him, but the former teacher made no move or indication that he was aware of the fisherman. "Yo…"

Snapped from his trance, the blonde smiled and looked at the young man. "Oh, sorry…I was caught up in my thoughts.

"That's not like you, Run. Did you meet the new members yet?"

"Yeah…I did…"

The gentle enthusiasm that had come to define Run faded at the mention of the Wild Hunt members. "What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing. We're actually pretty late…Esdeath is ready to move out."

"Oh. I hope she doesn't punish me again."

"I'm sure she'd understand that you were with Bols' family. It's time to move, though. I'm sure she wants you to make a judgment call on whether Kurome will be ready to join us when her healing is done."

"Ah…yea."

Wave walked along the path leading away from the gravesite. As he did so, following behind Run, he saw three members of Wild Hunt moving about. "Hey, you guys, you need to come along. Esdeath is probably waiting for all of us for our final briefing."

The tall one, Champ, ignored him, as did the other male, though he did get a look from him.

"Where's Izou," Wave asked out loud.

"He's already with Esdeath," Cosmina sang out loud. "Don't worry, we're just making our rounds and paying our respects to the former Jaegers. We'll join you soon."

"Okay…"

There was something unsettling in his heart – something about these Wild Hunt members that spelled nothing but trouble. But he couldn't pinpoint what the feelings were. One look at Run suggested that his comrade was feeling the same way.

No…

Run wasn't just looking at them.

He could almost feel a strong desire coming from the man…a strong desire to shed blood. Run kept moving forward, however. But even could not hide the blood dripping from his clenched fist.