"Do you know why this has happened?"
Tatsumi sat, beat in his chair. Esdeath's commanding voice echoed through the empty white space, his attention perking at every word, though he refused to show it.
"Your actions over the past few days have showed utter weakness. Scar does not tolerate weakness. And neither should you" she proclaimed.
The room stayed silent, other than Esdeath's discreet sigh.
Than Tatsumi spoke.
"You're wrong. I am not weak. Everything is just... new to me... that's all."
She closed her eyes and turned her head.
"I know" she replied. "You haven't been here long, and you have only just gained a powerful, formerly classified teigu. I understand accustoming to such things takes time.
She faced him, eyes pouring into his.
"But I will repeat myself. Do you know why the events in the training grounds happened?"
He shifted his gaze to the white tile floor.
"No" he lied.
"Scar attempted to coerce you to utilize him again. He seems to have failed only from your sheer willpower. Scar understands the potential you have as his master, Tatsumi, the mark on your chest proves so. So why do you refuse him? If only you accepted him, this would not have happened-"
"He makes me do things, Esdeath" he interjected; the fear in his voice making her heart sank. "He groans and growls in my ears and makes me want to hurt people-"
She refused to listen to him further. Her hand slapped his cheek, finding something in her stir when his eyes dampened.
"Then dominate him. He's your weapon. If the weapon needs to learn to submit to the master, then so be it. I've seen you do so before, back in the armory. I know you can do it again."
After studying his darkening face, she continued.
"In fact, only three hours ago you forced the teigu to crawl back to its residence inside of you, using only your will" she encouraged. "This shows me you still have it in you to keep the Extract."
"And what if I don't want to keep it" he tested.
She softly stroked where she had slapped him before.
"Then sooner or later, it kills you and returns to the vase you drank from."
"You can't possibly know that."
"Oh, I do" she replied matter-of-factly. "According what is left of the ancient texts, the vase is full again when Scar loses a master."
Her free hand reached behind his head and gripped a handful of his brown hair.
"That reminds me... according to a scripture in the archives River found, there was once a teigu user like you, two years after the first emperor's death. He was the first man to use Scar's Extract and succeed in dominating it."
His eyes met hers briefly, than jumped to the floor below, unsure of where to look.
"He was given the pseudonym of Dago" she continued. "Dago fought and won many battles using Scar. In the course of his career, he frequently complained about and demeaned the teigu, saying some of the same things you tell me now. 'Oh, Emperor;' he whined one day. 'The weapon wants me to kill my family.' Of course, the Emperor at the time refused to listen at first, he didn't want to lose the weapon of his best warrior. But Dago was persistent, so the Royal Court attempted an exorcism. Scar made no appearance, so Dago was simply labeled as a lunatic. He was begrudgingly forced to fight more wars, his reputation going downhill with every appeal he made to the Emperor about Scar's Extract."
She chuckled at his widening eyes, she enjoyed his attention and she knew it.
"Eventually;" concluded Esdeath. "Dago's eviscerated family was found in his estate outside the Capitol. All were impaled through their genitalia with icicles, only the wife was still alive, though on the brink of death. In the garden splatters of frozen blood, ice, and chunks of gore were strewn all over the white flowers. These were presumed to be Dago's remains. The incident was ruled as a murder-suicide, and that was the end of it. Interestingly, later that same day Scar's vase was full again, emanating a dim red throughout the armory for days."
Tatsumi had gagged occasionally as Esdeath spoke, but pushed himself to listen. While he was no stranger to gore due to his many encounters with danger beasts, hearing about humans meeting such a grisly fate revolted him.
But he refused to admit it.
It was not morbid curiosity, it was subtle arousal he felt, too.
"So" she began; "I dragged you to the indoor training hall for a reason. I have theorized that there is only one way to make you accept your teigu again."
She drew her cold gray rapier from her waist.
"...by putting heavy risk on your life."
Tatsumi barely managed to throw himself from his stool as her blade shot toward him. Their swords met as she swung downward for her second blow.
"I won't hold back until you come to your senses, Tatsu-bunny" she warned with a smirk.
He thought about escaping, but his boyish sense of honor would not allow for that.
Her knee slammed into his gut, a leaf-sized puddle of his saliva splattering onto her uniform. He fell to his stomach but, ignoring the pain, rolled sideways to find her heel plant itself on his stomach, the same spot where she kneed him.
"Please understand that I don't take any pleasure in this" she asked. "But this is for your own survival Tatsu-bunny."
The pain enveloped his abdomen, he gagged and coughed under her boot but refused to vomit. He desperately swung his blade, only for her to parry it lazily. His middle seemed paralyzed to the floor, only his limbs seemed capable of movement. Unsure of what else to do, he continued to swing his sword at her leg until she finally knocked it out of his hand.
"I cannot believe this Tatsumi" she scolded. "I thought you were strong. Is this all you have? I haven't even used my teigu yet."
Tatsumi's mind raced, first out of desperation, but then out of anger. His fingertips began to feel electrified, his fury grew.
"Are you ashamed Tatsumi? Are you ashamed?"
"Shut up" he growled.
He started punching her boot, refusing to acknowledge the damage to his knuckles.
Fear
The corners of his vision darkened, everything was tinted blue.
"NO" screamed Tatsumi.
The devilish moans rose from the depths of his hearing.
"WHY ARE YOU HERE, STOP THIS!"
The noise grew.
The frost burned him, it felt like his body was slammed against a hot iron wall. But he continued his resistance.
"God, it burns..." he groaned, slow tears painfully growing in his eyes, freezing as they dropped to the ground.
Esdeath grinned. He was growing stronger. Tatsumi was growing stronger. Her Tatsumi was growing stronger.
His groans turned to screams, causing her chest to stir. Lover's instinct made his screams pain her heart, she fought to ignore it. Her foot must stay planted on Tatsumi's stomach. If he was to stop playing the weak fool, she knew he must understand the pain, and summon the teigu.
"MAKE HIM STOP, PLEASE" his cry ruptured her ears, her grin faltered.
"PLEASE!"
"ESDEATH!"
The skin on his arms visibly squirmed, as if a worm was digging its way out. He let out a dry gasp from the new sensation, than his pleading increased in volume. As if to briefly relieve her ears from his screaming, a loud banging on the locked metal double-doors erupted at the far end of the hall. She could not make out the words shouted from outside, but could guess their meaning.
Red splotches stirred in his arms. He was bleeding internally, she had to put a stop to this before his body took any more damage.
"But how?" she questioned silently.
The doors banged again, almost drowned out by Tatsumi's screams. She needed to think. Thankfully, making quick decisions in chaotic moments was something she was skilled in. Her boot lifted from his stomach and she quickly placed her hands on his chest, ignoring all the noise filling the room.
Scream
His pain seemed to leave to another world. He could still feel it, but he didn't have to continue screaming. He was floating, all his senses were being left on the ground below him. His eyes still had sight, but his mind refused to process what he was seeing. He was a blank space in a white universe. Nothing could reach him now.
Until the whispers took him.
Those same whispers that wanted him, body, mind, and soul.
The damp warmth cloaked his naked frail body, a copper smell enveloped his nostrils.
That smell.
He was able to find a small crack in the dark. Outside was dim flickering orange, he decided to look. A heavy pressure set itself on his back, he struggled to push it off, and it fell away.
It was still dark, but fire and moonlight had joined the fray. He was in a river. The blood river of his dreams. The cruel baptism that started it all.
His limbs quivered. He knew this river. He knew the rocks, he remembered the trees and the pebbled island before the tributary. A tingle sneaked across his shoulders, and he slowly glanced down, though he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life, somewhere hidden in his mind. A woman, his guardian, stared at him, her blank eyes wide with regret. Faceless bodies piled atop her, the body on top slowly letting out a dry groan, like a balloon gradually deflating. To his right was a man. His recumbent back leaned onto the side of the boat, his familiar toned arms reaching for Tatsumi. The pile on his mother lay in front of the man's face, saving him from his father's cold, dead stare.
He could feel nothing. His mind wouldn't comprehend it. A scream sounded from the bridge above, he watched as a shadow pulled another. They struggled briefly, then he heard a wet slash and warmth splattered his cheek.
The dead boat floated down under the bridge, scraping a rock. The boat slowed, he leaned to the left and noticed a dense, dark conception against the bow. A passing torchlight revealed a bloated corpse on the water slowing the boat.
"Get off" was all he could think. "You're slowing the boat down."
The carcass stayed.
"GET OFF" he yelled. "THE BOATS GOING TO STOP!"
The body swayed to the left, bringing the small boat grating towards the shore.
"NO!" cried Tatsumi. "We need to go..."
Pressure took hold underneath his shoulders, he was lifted from the blood boat.
"We need... to leave... mom..."
Shouts and jeers surrounded him, but did not reach him.
"...dad... we have to go... home."
...
Tatsumi's eyes opened to find a wooden ceiling above him. The deep brown had never relaxed him as much as it did now, it reminded him of the huts in his village.
"You are a lucky little Tatsu-bunny" said a voice.
He turned his head to the right and to his chagrin, stood Wave.
"Say that again" dared Tatsumi.
"Relax," Wave stated. "I'm not here to make you angry-"
"You're doing a good job of it."
"...if I made you mad you're injuries would get only worse. You've got internal bleeding, Tat- Tatsumi. Serious stuff. So the Captain decided to postpone anymore of your teigu training for now."
"Where's Esdeath."
"The Captain had some business with the Minister or something. That's all."
"When can I leave the hospital."
"Uh, when you heal, duh."
"You know how long that'll take?"
"No, I'm just a fisherman. If you were a fish, I would probably know. Not that I'm a fish doctor or anything, I just catch and eat 'em."
Tatsumi finally noticed his arms were in casts, strung to the ceiling. He wanted to scratch them so badly.
"Hehehe, they itch don't they?" Wave remarked.
"Stop."
"Scratch them, try and scratch 'em."
"Stop."
"Scratchy scratchy, Tatsu-bunny..."
"GET OUT!"
...
The three torturous days Tatsumi waited in bed to heal were spent angrily enduring torment from Wave, thinking about Ieyasu and Sayo, and sleeping. To his surprise Esdeath only checked on him once a day, in contrast to the ever imposing presence she laid upon him most of the time. Every 5 hours during the day a nurse entered to detach his casts from the ceiling and brought him outside. He was not allowed anything strenuous, only a walk and some stretches, but he always attempted to sneak in a run around the courtyard.
On the third day Esdeath entered the room with a curious blush on her face and a paper box in her hands.
"It's strange seeing you act so shy, what's going on?" inquired Tatsumi.
"Well..." she stalled, her eyes on the wall. "I..."
Her commanding face returned, comforting familiarity washing over him.
"I must apologize, Tatsumi."
"Wh- what for?"
"We have both been very busy ever since we met, I was so excited by the prospect of having you, that we never had the time to..."
She held the box out in front of her, lifting the lid to reveal a white frosted cake.
"...celebrate your 17th birthday."
He stared wide-eyed at the dessert, unsure of what to say.
After a short silence, he spoke.
"Where did you get it?"
"I asked you how old you were at Fisher Village and you said 'I'll be 17 tomorrow.'"
"No, uh... I mean the cake."
"Oh, I baked it myself."
He scanned over the delicate piped red flowers and the carefully decorated edges.
"It looks so... professional..." he observed.
Her blush returned and she let out a short, girlish giggle.
"I was the one who made it, after all."
"You shouldn't giggle like that, it doesn't suit you."
"Those restraints on your arms don't suit you, either. They're too... assuring. Perhaps some of my chains would do?"
He gulped.
"What are you getting at, ice queen."
The cake was placed on a nightstand and her sultry mouth zeroed to his ear.
"Two nights, Tatsumi" she whispered. "Two nights I had to lie in my bed, no Tatsu-bunny to warm and pleasure me. No good boy to come suck my fingers and give me a goodnight kiss. No handsome slave to subject my pent-up sexual frustrations and-"
"Alright, alright! I get it now. And it's your fault I'm stuck in here, anyway, so don't go punishing me or anything..."
His voice faltered at her grin.
"Oh, don't act like you don't enjoy your punishments, slave."
It was his turn to blush.
"Well... I..."
"I spoke to the head nurse. She claims you will be ready to leave by tomorrow."
"Oh, uh good."
"So I want us to devour this genoiśe together, in the same way I will devour you when you come back to my bed."
"Could you leave that detail out when we're celebrating my birthday, please?"
"You know you like it. Don't be bashful, it's rude."
"Shu- just cut the goddamn cake."
She carefully cut the cake with a knife on the nightstand. Seyru entered the room with a small plate in her hands.
"Here it is, General!"
"Thank you, Seyru. I would invite you to eat with us, but I want this to be between me and Tatsu-bunny."
"Of course General!" Giggled Seyru.
After he watched her leave, he turned to Esdeath.
"Can you please not call me that in front of people?" He asked.
"I don't understand. When I call you Tatsu-bunny it's like my own personal name for you, and it shows that you are mine. That way no one will dare try and take you from me."
"Wh-what the hell...?"
"What?"
She was so strange to him. Her entire being was a large juxtaposition of brutish dominance, savage elegance, and bold sensuality. It would take a long time for him to fully understand her.
"I-it's nothing. The cake looks really good, by the way."
"Thank you, Tatsumiiii..."
"Wh-uh... Your welcome."
He watched her blush fade back into her face in wonder. The moments when she acted like a smitten schoolgirl amazed him. How could such a bloodthirsty warrior be so vulnerable to such a basic emotion such as infatuation? Or was it love? He quickly killed that thought. Love seemed much too extreme at the moment, he would decide on that later.
"So... I was wondering what you and the Minister are so busy with..."
Her face slowly faded into her old snow-white self again as she answered.
"Oh, me and Onest are finished with that for now. We are planning to exterminate a group that has become a pain for the Empire, Tatsumi. I'm sure have heard of them, they call themselves Night Raid."
He gulped.
"I remember. I...killed one of them."
"Yes, the Cross Tail user. Kurome told me about how you quickly overpowered him-"
She noticed his lower jaw quiver and remembered this was a sensitive subject for him.
"Tatsumi, you need to let go of your guilt." she sighed.
"I know. I don't feel bad. I just need to get used to it, is all. He was part of Night Raid. He was evil, I know about how they kill innocents. And destroying evil is good, right?"
She smiled.
"I am so proud of your growth, Tatsumi. In less than a week I watched you destroy a dangerous variant of earth dragon, gain a secret teigu, and eliminate a Night Raid member. Now, if only you would just accept Scar's-"
"We are not talking about that now."
His shoulders tensed, and his teeth were gritted. She decided not to push him, it was his birthday, after all. She stared at him for a moment, then began to cut a slice of cake with a knife.
"Fine, I understand. I assume Wave has already told you that any further teigu training is postponed?"
A cake piece eased into the plate.
"Yeah."
"Good. I have scheduled for you to patrol with him to Mt. Fake in two days, by the way."
Her free hand held a fork.
"What!?"
"I want you to get along with all your comrades. The reason the Jaegers were formed was to destroy Night Raid, and that purpose cannot be achieved if any petty feuds continue. So, think of this as an... opportunity to know a comrade."
Tatsumi knew she was right.
"Wave isn't so bad" he reflected. "He's annoying, but I'm sure he just teases me for fun, not out of spite."
"Hmph. Fine then."
"You are so cute" she chuckled.
Her fork slowly slid through the front of the slice, and hovered to his face.
"Say 'aaah,' baby."
"Er-fine" he relented, knowing that it was impossible to defeat Esdeath in her little games. "Aaaahh."
The cool buttercream filled his tongue, gentle starch caressing his gums.
"Mmm... I like it."
He watched her gently place the piece of cake on the nightstand, and swallowed quickly. He could sense she was about to do something drastic.
Her arms suddenly embraced him, her chest smothering his face.
"Ohhhhh, thank you Tatsumiiii, you are the cutest thing to me, Tatsu-bunnyyy!"
Moving his head to the side so he could breathe, he gasped;
"What the hell's gotten into you? Don't you want some cake?"
She straddled his waist, leaning to his ear, her hand firmly pressed to his chest.
"It's not cake that I want in my mouth right now..."
"Ahem."
Tatsumi's legs convulsed in embarrassment as he noticed River's stern face gingerly scan the room.
"Yes, River?" acknowledged Esdeath, not moving from Tatsumi's waist as if it were completely normal for her.
"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am. An urgent finding has occurred , an entire family was found slaughtered in their estate. They seem to have been dead for two weeks."
"If they were weak enough to die from some petty robbers, it is nothing of my concern" she scoffed.
Tatsumi found himself again surprised at how quickly her commanding presence returned. It seemed impossible to refuse an order from her, even while she was sitting on top of her lover.
"Ordinarily, yes, Lady Esdeath. But the perpetrators..."
Tatsumi felt himself predict what River was going to say, and found his suspicions confirmed.
"...the perpetrators were Night Raid, Lady Esdeath."
