Three years ago

The snow was often frozen up North. If she tried, Esdeath could easily make it crack underneath her sharp, white boots. Sometimes as she walked on it, she observed how long she could go before she placed a little too much pressure on her heel to make it break. It became a game for herself, something to play while she waited for a signal to move ahead or as a deserter pleaded for their life.

"General. We've confirmed they have artillery" said a flat voice. "Luckily, they're only model tens; we're out of range for them while they aren't for us."

She looked to her right, arms crossed, the snow finally crunching beneath her heel. The Capitol had assigned an apprentice to her, and the girl was fine enough. However, she never lost the level of discipline they struck into recruits during parades. If she continued acting this boring, she would need a talking-to soon enough.

"Just Esdeath is fine, Najenda" she proclaimed, smiling. "A little informality between us is okay."

"Yes, of course. The soldiers are ready to attack."

"Excellent" she praised, getting onto her horse. Najenda followed suit.

They had been pursuing a rebel General and teigu-user for a month. They'd clashed with his forces twice before, capturing his teigu during the second battle through sheer luck. Now that Garu and his soldiers had holed up in a hotel, she was sure they would crush them. She would make their final stand a final bloodbath.

Half a mile ahead was the hotel, called the Double Swan. The snow reflected the moonlight, making the night even brighter than it should have been. The Swan's dark brick walls looked like chocolate against the blue vanilla mountains behind it. Thick oak doors barricaded the entrance, with a large window set above like the eye of a Cyclops. To Najenda the window and double doors looked like a face fixed in a silent scream. The Swan's roof was flat and grey, angling hard as it reached the top edges of the walls. Below the roof and next to the doors were many small, narrow windows, presumably for the hotel's rooms.

"And the Swan's guests?" asked Esdeath.

"They said they refuse to let the hostages go. They won't give in to our demands until we leave."

The General grinned, fingering the pommel of her rapier with her left thumb.

"Oh? I thought the rebels were for the people..."

Drawing the sword, she continued, "Now we can tell Honest that we at least tried to save them. Oh well..."

The cannons were ordered to fire. In front of Esdeath and the army behind her the guns exploded, sending large balls of lead across the white plain toward the hotel. Through small binoculars, Najenda relayed the damage as it happened.

"We've taken out one of their guns. Another one down. The front doors have shattered open."

She put down the binoculars and looked to Esdeath.

"I don't think they expected us to attack while they still held hostages."

"They don't seem to know yet that it's me their dealing with" she proclaimed, savagely grinning. "I love it when they get taken by surprise; makes me feel like a...jack-in-the-box."

After a few more volleys, Esdeath gave the order to stop. A booming protest, then the cannons became silent. She raised the sword above her head, turning the horse to face her army.

"Kill them!" she ordered. "Violate them! This is their last night alive!"

The soldiers roared in response, clashing their weapons against their armor. It made a sound like thunder. Rejoining Najenda, she let out a joyful laugh.

"I do love riling them up like that" she confided. "Do it."

Using the whistle around her neck, Najenda gave the signal to charge. They both yelled to start the horses and sped toward the hotel, which was shattered and broken from the bombardment. Behind them the soldiers ran, bellowing and screaming. The many different voices shouting and yelling produced a shrill wind-like wail that exploded through the tundra plain. It was the trademark imperial battle cry-the Wind Scream.

"Watch this!" Esdeath shouted to Najenda. Reaching her hand back, she made a ball of ice the size of a watermelon. Throwing her hand forward, the ball flung itself toward the hotel. Reaching back again, she made an even bigger shape form; a boulder-sized ball was soon shot toward the makeshift fortress, creating a large hole in the large ornate window above the shattered double-doors. She knew seeing her use her new teigu like this would boost the soldier's morale even more. Looking to her right, she was pleased to see Najenda was wide-eyed; almost horrified by Esdeath's power. Najenda shuddered to think what would happen if the General became an expert with this teigu. Looking back toward the hotel, she noticed the eye now had a large, jagged, black pupil in it.

They had gotten close enough for the enemies' few cannons to start firing. A puff of grey smoke erupted from a sixth-floor window. Following the low arcing whine, a loud thud exploded behind them, sending snow and dirt all around the impact. A clod of frozen dirt shattered on a soldier's black helmet. A few more shots followed, before the rebel cannons went silent again. Esdeath wondered if they had run out of ammo already.

In seconds what was left of the doors was in front of them. Esdeath rode through, Najenda right behind. They stopped their horses, expecting enemy resistance, but found the lobby was empty.

Hopping off, Esdeath looked around. Najenda followed, glancing to some barrels next to the stairs ahead and sniffling.

"Esdeath-"

The General smelled it too-gunpowder. However, grabbing Esdeath by the arm and heading toward the exit, Najenda was the first to react.

They made it out just in time; the barrels exploding as they dropped prone into the snow outside. The eruptions were small and flameless, but they sent wooden splinters from the floor and stairs everywhere. If the two of them remained in the lobby, they would have been dead.

"You should stop riding horses" Najenda shouted. "Every time you do they end up dead."

"Who knows?" replied Esdeath, getting to her feet. "Maybe I should tame myself a danger beast."

Esdeath's force was briefed to flank the hotel, going around to break in through the south entrance, which was just as grandiose as this one. She briefly watched them move, then turned and followed Najenda back into the hotel. Dust was still settling, but they both sensed that no enemies were nearby.

"Where are they?" asked Najenda, cutlass drawn. Her left hand strayed to the flintlock pistol strapped next to her chest, but it slowly fell back to her side.

Fading into their hearing was a horrible dry, groaning sound. It fluctuated between moaning and whinnying. Najenda looked to the right of the door and realized one of the horses was still alive. Striding to the corner of the room she authoritatively drew the pistol. The horse's back legs were ripped off, letting steaming entrails loose like octopus arms. Suddenly the whole room smelled like blood.

"Save the ammo, Najenda" called the General.

Nodding her head once, she stabbed its thick black head. There were only three more lead balls in her pouch, she remembered.

Straight ahead was what was left of the stairs. A huge hole gaped in the middle of it, before the rest of the wreckage collapsed, adding to the dust in the air. Esdeath coughed.

"Any way you can get us up there?" asked Najenda, pointing to where the stairs formerly led. Above was the second floor, which branched into two hallways on either side.

"I can try" Esdeath answered gravely. "I was foolish...I used too much energy on those ice balls during the charge."

Esdeath approached the oak wall next to the wreck. For some moments she seemed to enter a trance, staring at the wall with her sword out. Soon the air around her felt heavier, and frost formed near her feet. With a roar Esdeath was able to create a white pillar below her, lifting her high enough to climb onto the second floor. Najenda stuck her finger into it. This time Esdeath hadn't made ice, instead she made snow. Her teigu must have been really out of energy.

"When we get back home let's make a shaved ice stand" she remarked.

"If I make another pillar for you I don't know how much energy I'll have left before it affects my fighting ability" replied Esdeath, ignoring the joke.

"I understand. There may be a ladder in the basement; I'll find a way up somehow."

"Good. Meet you upstairs."

They parted, Najenda kicking the basement door down and Esdeath running through the left second floor hall.

When the rebels saw Esdeath's army going around, they abandoned their posts at the front to defend the south side. They weren't successful; the rebels were worn out and low on supplies. Some even tried to surrender, only to get killed. Eventually, the battle devolved into a cluster of blood, rape, and murder.

When Najenda found a ladder like she thought she would she climbed from the lobby toward the second floor. Tiny white dots spotted the navy blue carpet, making her think about walking on the night sky outside. There was the occasional large bloodstain, sometimes spotlighted by an even rarer lit lantern mounted to the wall.

She held her sword in her right hand and pistol in the left. Room doors were set in either side of the corridor, the even room numbers on the left and odd ones on the right. As she slowly paced the carpet, she couldn't help but read the numbers on the walls.

203...205...206 and 208...

A frightened murmur came from further ahead. As she got closer, it suddenly stopped. Moving more silently, the sound slowly occurred again. Carefully putting her ear against the last door in the hall, she heard grunting. A rising cry sounded, before being muffled as a voice scolded harshly.

The door wasn't locked; opening it forcefully she aimed the pistol at the first red bandanna she saw. In less than a second the gun erupted and the far wall was splattered with red and flecks of white. After a quick glance she noticed the left side of the room was clear, than with a slash down she eliminated the remaining assailant. She looked down and realized he had tried to attack her with a broomstick. He was pants less. Ahead was the bloodstain, with the rebel's body on top of a woman. She blankly stared at the ceiling, her mouth still and dark hair dangling from the table they lay on. Leaving the room, Najenda headed toward the top third floor, clearing rooms in a similar fashion.

Upstairs most of the rebels seemed to be dead. Imperial soldiers had cleared all the rooms, and were either raping the female rebels or slaughtering the hostages. The hostages could actually be rebels in disguise, their General had said, so they killed them. Esdeath stood over Garu's wounded body, her heel on his testicles. Gazing down from her nose she twisted her left foot. He groaned like an animal.

"You look like an old man like that" she chuckled, gesturing to her face. "You shouldn't scowl too often; causes wrinkles."

He reached a shaking hand toward the dead boy beside him.

"Still trying to use the human shield?" she continued. "Aren't you people all about...justice and all that? See, it doesn't matter what ideal you dream about. Because at the end of the day everyone's fucking weak."

A stomp from her left boot punctuated her sentence. Across the hall a woman broke free from an imperial's hold and charged into the room, eyes bloodshot. She dropped to her knees next to Garu's armored body, patting his cheek. His soulless gaze told her he was dead; he'd bled out from his amputated legs.

The way her body shuffled about the stomach told Esdeath she was pregnant. The woman set her forehead on his iron chest plate, wailing. Esdeath's eye twitched, but her grin remained.

"Can you shut up?" she sighed, her foot slamming into the woman's head with a kick. The way people's mouths gaped when kicked in the jaw irked her, so she did it again.

"You've been bad to momma" she proclaimed, "You go and get yourself knocked up with the Empire's enemy and for what? A boy! For Garu!"

Somewhere outside she thought she heard a laugh. It may have been because of her but she knew her soldiers were too busy reaping their spoils.

The woman was on her side, completely defeated. Licking her lips, Esdeath crouched and stroked the woman's cheek.

"But I see you feel guilt, so momma forgives you" she crooned before leaning in to lick her ear.

Then she whispered "Momma always has you're back."

The General stood, her face smug. Something about the red bruise on the woman's face and the salty taste of her ear revitalized her.

Suddenly the woman convulsed. Quickly her moan became a scream as she turned over on her back, limbs flailing madly. There was a sound like an orange being squeezed in a vice and then something splurged from her pregnant stomach. Esdeath bent over, plucking something from the floor. Thick, violet blood dripped from her chin and breasts.

Raising herself again, she turned toward the door. There stood her second-in-command, wide-eyed and clutching her stomach.

"Hi, Najenda" she greeted, holding up the large, bullet-shaped object in a fist. "Ha-ha, get it? It's supposed to be a cock. Because she's a whore."

Najenda backed away. With a glance to the door she noticed they were in room 303. It was the first of many moments that caused her to defect.

Present day

Stylish leaned against a tree, shuffled away from it, than leaned back. He repeated this several times; moving the body kept it from getting cold. There was a corncob pipe in his hand. Next to him stood Mimi, one of his subordinates.

"I don't hear nothin'" she proclaimed frustratedly, crouching on all fours with a giant ear to the ground.

Stylish inhaled from the pipe, holding it in a little, than exhaled.

"Want some?" he offered, holding the pipe out. "It'll calm you."

Mimi closed her eyes to listen harder while Stylish continued speaking.

"I know you want to get them, but if you don't relax a little, you'll never find them-"

"Shut up! I hear something right now!"

Eyelids tightening, she followed the sound as best she could.

Plump...plump...plump

It must've been the footsteps of something heavy. She had heard the sound many times before, and recognized it to be a danger beast, perhaps fifty yards away from the other end of camp. As long as no one treaded into its territory, they would be fine.

"It's nothing" she pouted, getting up.

"Money isn't everything, you know."

Mimi was obsessed with catching Night Raid. It wasn't because they killed important Imperial assets, but because they were worth money, dead or alive. They had the highest bounty in the entire empire at two million dollars, and that was for each individual member.

"Cash gets me food" she retorted, arms crossing.

"And what gave you those ears?" he questioned knowingly, smoke coming out of his mouth with every word.

"Um...you?"

"No, it was my kindness."

"Oh, fuck that" Mimi snorted, tapping her artificial ears. "If you didn't have tax money you wouldn't be able to make these."

The doctor raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine, believe what you want..."

They were silent for a moment, watching the trees, gray in the moonlight, sway in the tundra wind. Somehow it felt colder than the previous night.

"How's the rest of Team Stylish?" the doctor inquired.

She scratched the back of her head. When she looked at her nails, they came back bloody. Whenever she hadn't washed herself in a while she scratched her head until it bled.

"Everyone's good. Trooma and I hate traveling, but so far it's been...pleasant."

"That's excellent, Mimi."

She watched him take a long draw from his pipe, but the orange glow from its bowl was gone. He exhaled cold vapor, a disappointed look on his face. Taking a match out his pocket, he struck one on the box and relit the pipe.

"Damn thing" he cursed.

"Where's Toby?"

Stylish took a successful draw and glanced to her.

"Hmm?"

"Toby. I haven't seen him at all during the trip. Was he with one of the Jaeger's wagons?"

Stylish shook his head; Toby, another member of Team Stylish, was actually entrusted to stay in the Capitol to care for Mine. He hadn't told him about Mine's previous occupation, only that no one else was to see her.

"Toby caught a cold" stated the doctor.

She stared down the base of a tree. They had made camp in a forest again, the road visible through the trees so they could continue moving tomorrow.

"You might not want to sleep with your ears on tonight if you're pitching a tent near the general's" Stylish warned.

"Why's that?"

"Well, just had a feeling."

...

"You know who they are, Tatsumi?"

He didn't. He had no idea who the armored men were. All he knew was that they had scary faces, and large, authoritative black boots.

"They're from the Capitol" continued Sayo. "They're here to protect us from the monsters and bandits."

He understood that their presence was a good thing. A few days ago he saw an old woman stare at him, fidgeting in the red snow with multiple stab wounds in her back. The robbers had asked her where the little boys were. She refused to answer, so they knocked her down and thrusted their spears into her. He saw the whole thing while hiding in a barrel.

Inside the village hall the soldiers spoke with the man behind the counter.

"We don't have enough yet" the man stated. "I'm sorry."

"No worries, as long as we get it eventually. The company's mostly new recruits, so this is more for their exercise than anything. As of now just room and board is enough."

Something was different about the voices of the soldiers. They were mostly young, a little older than Ieyasu's older brother, Ray. There weren't many people Ray's age in the village.

"I can't thank you enough" said the man.

"No problem village chief."

After the three soldiers passed by him Tatsumi caught the eye of the man behind the table.

"Tatsumi! Sayo! What're you doing here? None of you are supposed to be here!"

He felt Sayo grip his hand and quickly followed her out the hall, her laughter nibbling at the air around them.

The next day two men approached him and Sayo as they played. They wore the same armor as the three in town hall.

"You two look like you're good at finding things" the tall one began, "we lost a dagger in the woods, can ya'll help us find it?"

Sayo pointed to the knife on his belt.

"But you both have them on you" she said.

The shorter one smiled.

"It's for a friend, see..."

"Oh, hokay."

As they moved toward the woods Tatsumi noticed other soldiers looking on. Some looked confused, others annoyed. He recognized one to be the man who spoke to the village chief earlier.

The forest was across the clearing behind the village. The snow covered everything, but was still only a few inches thick. The heavy snowfall wouldn't occur for another month. As they trekked through the marshmallow plain, some buzzards circled near the edge of the woods. Their dark figures against the gray sky made Tatsumi think of black pepper on rice gruel. His stomach rumbled.

Upon reaching the forest they hopped a fallen log. The tall soldier explained he had an idea of where the dagger was, and would lead them to it.

"Sayo" Tatsumi mumbled, "I'm hungry."

"Let's find their thing first, okay?"

"Sure."

After a few minutes' walk the tall one stopped. He turned around, a gleam in his eye.

"This part looks the most familiar" he proclaimed, nodding to the short one.

Suddenly Tatsumi was grabbed; both the tall man's arms were looped around his shoulders and he was lifted from the ground. He kicked and screeched, but nothing seemed to work. Even calling for Sayo did nothing.

When he looked ahead of him, he realized why. The short one was upon Sayo, hand holding both her arms down, her back to the snow. When Sayo came close to escaping, he held her neck instead, choking her.

"Wanna make me work for it? Fine, I'm used to that! I can do that!"

"Don't beat her up too much, dumbass" the voice behind Tatsumi warned.

Tatsumi needed to do something. Tears flowing from his shut eyes, he wished for a way to escape this. He called for Sayo's momma.

"Shut the fuck up, willya?"

"It's okay, no one's gonna hear a thing. Hurry up so I get my turn."

He had never heard anyone sound so defeated as when Sayo cried, her jet-black hair dirtied by muddy snow. The hands had left her throat by now, and were now ripping apart her shirt. Tatsumi tried to shout, but the words only came out as an anguished cry.

"I wish I could do something" he thought.

"I wish I could do something I wish I could do something I wish I could do something-"

"NO GET THE F-"

He was in bed, his bare body raised and sticky with sweat. Esdeath was sitting up too, staring at him.

"Bad dream?"

He rubbed his eyes.

"...shit. Yeah."

"Need some water?"

"Yeah."

There was a moment of stillness before her sudden embrace shattered his restlessness.

"Thanks, Esdeath."

"Mhmm."

After a moment she let go, sliding off the bed.

"I'll see if Bols has heated any water" she proclaimed.

"Thanks."

She left the tent in baggy pants and combat boots. As she brought the flap back down from outside he thought about his dream.

Why did I have to remember that now?

He realized why shortly after that thought. He had spent most of his life in inactivity; avoiding confrontation and when confronted, choosing to stand passively by. Sure, he had killed danger beasts before, such as when he saved Fisher Village, but that was different. He wasn't thinking about the townspeople when he killed the danger beast, just himself and the opportunity to show off that it presented. He was saving his own skin. When Sayo's life was in danger, he did nothing. When Wave died, he did nothing until Akame came after him. The dream must have been to show him that.

Akame took you both by surprise; don't be so hard on yourself-

No. If he was more prepared, if he took more action, Wave would be alive. Hell, he could've gotten a lucky shot into her face.

Wave was weak.

He remembered what he told himself on that frozen lake the night before. Wave was weak, so he suffered. Wave was weak, so he died. That was all there was to it.

Still, it didn't feel right anymore to say that, now that he was in his right mind. It felt more natural to take responsibility for his death. He also remembered taking Wave's boots and sword. They were in a box with the rest of the convoy. He cringed a little.

"I'm back" Esdeath sang. She held a steaming tin cup. "Drink."

He took it from her and sipped. The warm water eased its way through his body.

"Is it okay if you tell me about your dream?" she asked, taking off her boots and sitting back onto the bed.

He sipped more of the water as he nodded. He left the cup on an ice nightstand and sighed.

"It was more like a memory than anything."

He looked to her before she gestured for him to keep going.

"...when I was eight...or nine my village had a problem with bandits. We didn't have much of a force to drive them off, so an imperial company passing by decided to lend a hand. The soldiers quartered in our village for a week until they took care of the bandits, but on the first day..."

He studied her hands, reminding himself how lovely they were, even when constant warfare and action had made them scarred and the nails stubby.

"...on the first day two of them; the soldiers I mean, violated my friend, Sayo. I was alone with her at the time. One of them held me down, but..."

There was half a minute of silence as he watched her hands. Her index finger twitched.

"I didn't do anything...I struggled a little, but not as much as I could."

His voice grew weak.

"...I just watched...let it all happen..."

More warm water entered his throat before he spoke again.

"It wasn't until the soldier's leader arrived that it ended. He beat the one who was in top...on top of Sayo. He beat him bloody. There was a little knife fight between him and the one who had me down. The captain won."

Esdeath nodded, her face blank. Tatsumi assumed his story had disturbed her. However, it didn't.

"That's a shame" she commented.

"It was...awful...and wrong."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Sayo was just too weak."

He gaped at her.

"Are you serious?"

"...when you're weak, you're powerless. When you're powerless, you get hurt. That's the way of things."

Tatsumi had heard her speak like this before. However, back when he heard this for the first time, he convinced himself it was just a front.

She's downplaying the pain of others to make herself feel better.

"So when Wave died..." Tatsumi began, eyes wide, "when he died, would you say that was 'cause he was too weak?"

"Yes."

His eyes shut tight and he pinched his nose, letting out a long, exasperated sigh. He could see where she was coming from; it was easy to see the comfort such words could bring to the person who said them. It wasn't his responsibility, it was the victim's. It was Sayo and Wave's fault that they suffered, not his. Still, he hated that way of thinking. Denying responsibility was a cowardly thing to do, he remembered. That was what he learned in his village.

"You're just making yourself feel above them" he stated, volition seeping into his voice. "You don't really believe in what you're saying; just shielding yourself from the pain that comes with the death of another human being, from the death of one of your soldiers!"

Her eyes widened and brows furrowed in anger.

"No...shut up...shut the hell up..."

"Take responsibility! I'm not saying it was you're fault that he's gone, but can't you at least acknowledge he was a good warrior, instead of just saying he was weak? Do you have any idea how much it hurts his memory when you do that-?"

Her hand gripped his throat and pushed him to the bed.

"You remember Kurome last night?" she seethed. "You remember?"

He scowled, acknowledging her.

"She acts like that every time someone dies. Every time! Do you have any idea how much that behavior gets in the way of our operations? Do you have any idea? And not to mention, every time that happens, she tries to make them her puppet! She tries to find their bodies so she can make them one of her death puppets! You think I disrespect the memory of the dead? You've never seen those puppets, you've never seen them, their former selves reduced to blank-staring, soundlessly moving slaves just because someone couldn't learn to fucking let go!"

"Let go of me."

Her hand released him before he pushed his knee between her legs, flipping her over so he was on top.

"I've never heard of that" he claimed, tone lightening.

"It's true; her teigu, Yatsufusa, can reanimate the bodies of the dead" she replied, her tone also lightening.

He gazed down to her shirt. It was her white-button up, the top four buttons undone to make room for her cleavage.

"I didn't know...you felt that way..."

"I love my comrades. My soldiers are my livelihood. But this is war, Tatsumi. I can't let my emotions get in the way of my job."

Despite their position, she was still acting serious. He suddenly felt a dominance that was rare when he was with her, and he wasn't going to pass it up. He had a sudden impulse to grab her breast until she squealed, and he took it.

"Tatsumi!"

A feral grin stretched across his face. A bystander would have found it similar to Esdeath's.

"You're really fucking hot, you know that?" he said.

She realized what was happening.

"I know" she replied with a smile.

Esdeath shoved her head into his chest, knocking him aside. After a small, playful struggle, she was atop of him, leaning toward his face.

"Don't get cocky, handsome slave."

His hands slid up her body as she sighed in pleasure, her breath getting in his face. He lifted his head to swirl his tongue around her left nipple, even though it was still clothed.

"Are you acting on your offer from before?" she crooned.

In response he squeezed her right breast hard. She let out a small scream.

"Tatsumi, the other one."

He did as ordered, moving his attention to the right one, and squeezing the left breast, the drying saliva sliding between her skin and his fingers. She frowned when he took his mouth off her.

"We were so mad at each other before..." he chuckled.

"Not mad, just understanding each other" she replied. "Now shut up and keep going; I didn't hire you to talk, slave."

"Yes, mistress."

He unbuttoned enough of her shirt to allow full access to her chest. After a few minutes of him stimulating her she stood up. She took off her pants and threw them to the side of the tent.

"We're trying something new" she proclaimed.

With barely any warning she pushed herself onto his face. He grabbed her waist, breathing hard through his nose. Not knowing what to do, he stuck his tongue out and licked. Than he patted her to tell her get off. When she did he gasped for air as if he was surfacing at a lake.

"Give me more warning next time!"

"You look good with your face all red like that."

Catching his breath, he rested his head back into the pillow, grumbling from her little game.

"Well, I'm ready now."

With less force this time, she placed herself atop his mouth. Every time he did something she liked, she praised him. Eventually he found a good rhythm and placement and he ate her, her waist bouncing slightly on his head.

"Mmmn, damn baby...right on my clit..."

Her back arched, a soft lightness squirmed through her stomach. The lightness quickly grew dense and burning, before it exploded into an orgasm. At first she groaned, before her voice rose in pitch as if singing.

"Uuggghh! Araah...hmmmmn!"

Tatsumi hadn't breathed through his mouth in ten minutes. As a result, his breath was incredibly labored when she got off. When he finally caught his breath and opened his eyes, she sat in front of him, watching with a smug expression. He wondered what she was planning.

As if she read his mind, she spoke.

"Just...enjoying the view. You look really good with my...fluid all over you."

"You made the mess."

"A beautiful mess" she replied, leaning in. "Let's clean it up."

Her tongue swirled over his face, licking up her own juices. He felt her soft thigh rub against his cock and exhaled.

"We're not done yet!" she exclaimed, mistaking it for a sigh.

The blankets were already moved to the sides of the bed, some of them on the floor. The heat of her crotch pressed onto his, squeezing his member between herself and his abdomen. She smirked as he exhaled sharply.

"I'm ready" she said. "Are you?"

Tatsumi had always imagined losing his virginity to be a daunting task. However, he had discovered it was like hosting a party; go with the flow and everything will come right to you.

"What d'you think?" he growled harshly, ripping through what remained of her buttons. He leaned his head back to admire his handiwork: a beautiful smirking succubus straddling his waist, her sizable breasts exposed and white cloth flanking her curvaceous body. He had never thought his journey to the Capitol would bring him to something like this.

Then he remembered.

Mine.

Guiltily he realized he hadn't thought about Mine in days. She was left under Stylish's assistant's care and that was that; he forgot about her. When he first met her, Mine hadn't eaten in days, was dehydrated, and had broken limbs. She was even impaled to a rock. Now the woman who did that to her was in front of him, almost naked and staring curiously, head tilted cutely.

"What's wrong?" Esdeath asked.

Tatsumi shook his head. He would think about it later.

"Nothing. Damn, you're wet."

"Damn straight, baby."

She positioned herself above his member, hesitated, and then sunk herself slowly onto him. He inhaled and held it in, watching his member disappear into her mass of fluid and hair until only half an inch remained. He couldn't help but buck a little. Then he finally exhaled.

"I'm just as inexperienced as you, so bear with me here" admitted Esdeath.

A part of Tatsumi was shocked. However, he was too distracted to think about it too long. Feeling like he had to do something too, he clasped her waist underneath her shirt with both hands.

"Yes baby, don't be shy" she praised.

Slowly and carefully she began to grind on him. After a moment of this they both sighed in pleasure at the same time. They smirked at each other.

She felt amazing; he wanted to feel more of her. Gliding his hands through her skin until they reached her chest, his crotch tensed. Suddenly, as he squeezed her, a finalizing series of pulses of pleasure ran through his member. He realized he had finished.

"Esdeath..."

A finger pressing to his lips silenced him. She looked at the side of the tent, flinching. Her crotch squeezed him for a moment, and then lightened. Her face was red.

"Is someone there?" he whispered through her finger.

She shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"-nothing" she replied. Something was submissive about her voice, and it pleased him.

"C'mon girl, tell me. If it's about me cumming, I can get it up again. I'm still hard-"

"I almost farted, okay!?"

He looked at her for some moments, and then laughed aloud. The great General Esdeath, embarrassed about almost farting during sex amused him.

"You're cute as hell" he teased.

"Shut the hell up."

She winced some more before grinding a little, more confident in her movements. A little bored with her on top, he offered to give riding her a try. Suddenly she stopped and slapped his shoulder.

"No" she answered.

"What?"

"I'm to dominate you, understand?"

Her face was stern as she spoke.

"Is it important to you?" he questioned.

"Yes."

Her eyes never left his.

"Okay."

She leaned in, kissing him. Her tempo became faster. Seeing nothing but her sexy blue eyes as she rode him made his breath heavy with desire.

"I love you" he sighed, meaning it.

"I love you too" she reciprocated, "and I love fuckin' you."

Relishing her carnal touch below his waist, he reached behind her head to kiss her. Their tongues fighting for dominance, they paused their movement and focused on kissing. After a minute she broke away and continued riding him, leaving him wondering who won their little fight. He wondered if he had, though he was sure she did. It didn't matter anyway; he just wanted to feel as much of her as he could.

Soon she had sped up a lot. Still leaning in, she showed no signs of tiring. His hands had returned to her hips, following their fast, circular movements.

"Mmnn, Tatsumi..."

He exhaled with a throaty sound. Stimulating herself with her right hand as she moved atop of him, she stared at the symbol on his left pectoral. It was jagged and sharp, like an ancient image of the sun.

"Tatsu...fuck."

She came twice, the combination of rubbing herself and the cock she had waited for so long unleashing the mother of orgasms. Her voice almost wailed, and she had to suppress it so that no one outside would hear. Luckily Tatsumi held his hands over her mouth, giving her a kinky feeling in her chest. Then she orgasmed a third time. Her wail muddled through his hands, letting out a sound that aroused both of them. Like a toboggan at the end of a hill, she slowed, an epilogue of pleasure pulsing through her crotch.

"Oh my god" she said, laughing. "Oh my...just oh my god."

Tatsumi's chest rose with pride. It was his first time pleasuring a woman like this and she liked it. However, there was one thing missing, and Esdeath realized it too.

"Did you come yet?" she asked, both of them breathing heavily.

"No" he replied, smiling. "But I'm glad you did."

She raised herself so that she could slide up and down directly on his cock. Smirking, she thought to herself that he would enjoy the view.

"This'll make you go" she proclaimed smugly.

Her hips bounced onto him, as opposed to the rocking motion from before. She still stirred slightly; she wanted some pleasure too, but this was mainly to please him. Her right hand pressed to his chest for support, her juices from before still lingering on her middle fingers.

"Cum inside me!" she exclaimed. "Shoot your hot Northern cum inside my hungry pussy!"

Her words drove him wild; he had never heard anyone speak like that before. His grip on her hips tightening, he gave a small moan. He wanted to hold out some more, so he could hear more of those words.

"C'mon slave. Do it! Cum in me! I order you, you little fuck!"

That was the last straw. Against his will, something rose from deepest parts of his body. After four short moans, he finished into her velvety insides with a final groan. She encouraged him with a moan of her own. She began to slow again, her hips taking on the same rocking motion as before. Both her hands now used his chest for support as he lay on the bed, satisfied with his first sex.

"God...damn!" he praised, breathing heavily with his eyes closed. He opened them and raised himself, licking her erect nipples some more. As he gently grazed his teeth on her left one, she brought his face up to kiss her. Again they assaulted each other's mouth with their tongues. For two minutes they did this, kissing as she slowly grinded against him. Occasionally her nipples would briefly rub against his chest. Then she stopped all movement and got off him, stepping off the bed to gather the blankets on the ground.

"Holy shit...you've got a talent for this" he proclaimed. "Especially near the end, when you talked like that...wow!"

"Thank you" she replied, smiling.

As she bent over to pick up the last of the sheets, Tatsumi slapped her buttocks.

"Tatsumi!"

He wore a mischievous grin she hadn't seen before.

"Come to bed" he told her.

Not caring about whether the bed was made or not, she jumped in next to him, smiling and climbing over him again, kissing him as he fondled her chest. Silently thanking herself for the golden artifact under the bed, she bit his ear.

...

Kurome stared at her hands. The tent was small, white moonlight filtering through the fabric in small patches.

They had moved camp the morning Wave...left. They escorted the convoy for twenty-five more miles, keeping watch for Night Raid and other rebel forces. Since Run had a flying teigu, he kept watch from above, hovering slightly ahead of the group. Esdeath gave the command to stop to make camp, then the convoy's lead driver blew a horn. Made to sound like a danger beast's roar, it didn't draw any unwanted attention. Run returned at the sound to keep watch as they made camp.

Inside her tent she mindlessly ate her cookies. The snow underneath was three inches deep, but if she tried, she could feel the branches and roots that lay on the ground. In the spring there must have been many things on the forest floor. Twigs, grasses, ants, perhaps even apples. Apple trees grew in this area, didn't they?

Apples.

Apples are red.

Akame's gauntlets were red; hell, red was her dear sister's favorite color.

Kurome remembered the training camp they went through years ago; the instructors told them they were going to be elite assassins and warriors. Only the strongest would survive this program, they said. It wasn't a program, however, just a no-holds-barred battle royale.

In those days Kurome relied solely on Akame's guidance. No, guidance was the wrong word. Guidance implied Akame was teaching her something. Akame didn't teach her anything, instead she spoiled her. Spoiled her rotten. Akame did everything for Kurome while she struggled to deal with their new reality like a baby. Akame fought and bled while Kurome just stood behind something and watched, looking all scared and helpless like a kitten. It was a wonder they survived at all; they were so different from each other.

No teamwork ever came into the equation until Edwin showed up.

Edwin was dark-skinned, and as much an outcast as them, though she knew that wasn't why he helped them. She never figured out the reason why he did so. Still, he was very useful until he took a cannonball to the stomach. They had tried to desert the battle, and he paid the price for it.

Kurome remembered Akame's reaction to Edwin's death very well.

"Eddie, get up!" she had wailed. "I know you're alive; you're looking at me like you are! Stop looking at me like that! Stop it!"

In a fit of rage, or sadness, or at least something, Akame had slashed his eyes with a dagger until they didn't stare anymore. Ever since then, they stayed far away from that area of the forest. Akame avoided the corpses of her allies like the plague.

Kurome traced her finger along the scabbard of Yatsufusa, almost sensually. Kurome and her sister both had their unique ways of dealing with loss. Akame kept her distance, as if to forget they even existed. Kurome, however...

She held up the sheathed sword, gripping it above the hilt.

...she kept them close. She even did so to her enemies if they were strong enough. Unfortunately, the dear general wouldn't let her keep Wave. Esdeath had a horribly firm disapproval in her eye when she had told her

"No one leaves until our minds are settled."

What the hell was her problem? Kurome had the feeling Esdeath didn't like her habit one bit, especially when she used it on allies. She briefly pondered asking Esdeath for permission to go back to the last campsite. If she hitched a ride on Run's back, she could easily make it back by morning. She could follow Tatsumi's directions from before and head to Wave's grave. Upon reanimating him she'd make him do a little dance; she always did that when she had a new conscript for her dead army. Then Yatsufusa would swallow him up to be deployed later. All she had to do was go outside, stride toward Esdeath and Tatsumi's grandiose tent, than say "hey, my mind's settled now, can I leave camp for a bit? A teensy-weensy bit?"

A grin stretched across her face before she laughed to herself, her hand over her eyes. It was a genuine heartfelt laugh.

That's one thing that'll never change between you and me, big sister. We both get a little too upset over the people we lose.

"Kurome?"

Suddenly stone-faced, she noticed Bol's hulking shadow at the front of the tent. The voice that came from her mouth was as steadily dead-panned as it usually was.

"Yep."

"You okay in there?"

"I'm good."

The shadow left, moving back toward the bright glow of the campfire in the middle of the gray mass of tents.

...

In order to get to the City of Pain, they had to pass through the Shuang Mountains, Esdeath knew that. What she didn't know until now was that contradicting the Empire's weather forecasts would be a blizzard to make the mountain trek even worse.

The convoy had finally made it out of the forest, a large white plain stretching out in front of them, the whiteness broken only by a cobblestone village. Beyond it were the mountains they had to cross. An ash-gray mass hung ominously over the mountain range, juxtaposing with the white sheet that covered the rest of the sky. There was no way the convoy would move an inch in the blizzard, even if they traded their horses for oxen at the village. The only solution she could think of was to quarter in the village.

"The villagers would get mad; it looks too small for us" Tatsumi warned her when she relayed her plan to him. "Plus, we have surplus teigus. What if there's a spy or two in there? We should set up camp somewhere and wait out the blizzard."

She agreed, but noticed that her soldiers were wary of camping. The whole trip they had been hoping to have a warm bed and home-cooked food at the village, even though no one told them they would have any. Plus, she didn't know what to do when the blizzard finally came. None of their tents were outfitted to deal with the strong winds of a blizzard.

"I can go to the village myself" Tatsumi volunteered. "I could ask around; see if there's anywhere we could go."

She made River go with him, River giving a cursory nod. She knew they both had differences to sort out and saw this as the perfect chance to fix that.

"Now go" she ordered, the three of them standing in front of the convoy, "both of you."

She watched them ride off on a single horse, since Tatsumi never learned how to ride one.

...

The village reminded him of his home; as Tatsumi strode past the houses with River, he felt like he knew exactly where to go.

"We'll need to get to the town hall" he told River, giving a furtive glance.

"Mhmm."

"Once we get there, we ask the highest authority in the village for some tips and then we go back."

"Hmm."

Briefly Tatsumi scowled. He didn't understand why the man had to act so distant with him. They strolled through the path, Tatsumi noting that there weren't many people outside. He wondered if this was a village where they didn't welcome outsiders.

"Tatsumi."

"Huh? Yeah?"

"What do you think of Stylish, the doctor?"

He thought a moment.

"Well, he's quirky...but he doesn't seem to mean any real harm."

"Hmm. I see."

The town hall was only slightly larger than the other houses; the only thing distinguishing it from the rest of the buildings was its triangular roof. Piles of snow rested below the roof's edges where the snow had slipped off before. The entire roof was still covered, so Tatsumi realized it must have snowed here recently. Using the handle in the center of the thick oak door, Tatsumi knocked twice.

A round man opened it, his hair gray and dark skin spotted with moles. His narrow eyes studied them as Tatsumi introduced himself and River.

"Hi! I'm Tatsumi, and this is-"

"River" he interjected, "I'm River."

"Uh, yeah, that's River. We're some...tourists who came to ski and we wanna know if you folks know of a good place to stay at before the storm."

The man at the door's voice was rough, like sandpaper.

"Thanks for not tryin' to room up here" he said, before looking River dead in the eyes. "We don't like...outsiders 'round here."

Tatsumi could see a large keg resting against the wall behind the man. An empty wooden mug lay toppled near it.

"You'll just have to make camp somewhere" he said. "Dig a hole or something to live in."

The door shut in their faces, making Tatsumi jump. He flipped the bird at the man's rudeness.

"The hell's your problem, asshole!"

The pair turned back only to see a hunched old woman stare at them, smirking. Her eyes were wide and her whole body shook as she tried to stand on her walking stick.

"There's a place that taught me many things!" she exclaimed. She raised her free hand and gently stuck a long-nailed pinkie into her ear. Unflinching, she laughed as the finger suddenly moved with the abandon of a healthy person's, twisting, turning, digging inside her ear canal. She laughed and laughed as both Tatsumi and River cringed. When she took her finger out, a glop of reddened earwax stuck to the tip. She flicked it at Tatsumi, laughing even harder when he urgently slapped it off. Blood slowly trickled from her ear. She gasped horribly for air as she pointed at them jeeringly, her mouth curled in a grotesque, almost toothless grin.

"Fan! Get back to church with everyone else!" barked a voice behind them. The man from before pushed past them and put her in a chicken-hold, lifting her and carrying her toward a tall gray building. Neither Tatsumi nor River remembered hearing the door behind them open.

"The ole bitch has gone senile" he claimed, giving them a cursory glance.

"They taught me everythin'!" the woman yelled after them. "Maybe they'll teach ya'll too!"

...

Esdeath frowned at the bad news.

River and Tatsumi stood at attention in front of the lead carriage of the convoy. They looked to Esdeath, her boots crunching in the snow as she moved toward them.

"It's unfortunate. Feel free to use me for warmth in the coming storm" added River.

Tatsumi glared at him.

"No thanks" she responded politely. "My teigu keeps me warm enough."

"But general-"

Pain exploded in his right cheek, sliding the flesh against his molars. He staggered, but didn't fall. Grimacing, he looked up to see Tatsumi's face, the brows bent.

"Don't..." began the boy's voice before another hand grabbed his collar. "Don't do that again, motherfucker!"

"Tatsumi! Let him go!"

River raised a hand in the general's direction, eyes never leaving Tatsumi's.

"So it's like that between you two now, huh" he observed, spitting a hunk of blood onto the snow. "Fine."

Slapping Tatsumi's hand away, he trudged toward the convoy.

...

With no other alternative, they made camp in the open, Esdeath forming a large blue dome around them. While it would prevent the blizzard's winds from reaching them, the extra ice made things much colder. Fires were made, but the firewood supply was dwindling. Morale among the soldiers was getting low. The screeching blizzard outside didn't help, either.

"Why don't we just kill everybody in the village and take it for ourselves?" one had said, shivering next to a dying fire.

"Bad for pr" replied Tatsumi. "Plus, villagers up here are hard to deal with, a lot of you would be dead."

The woman scowled at him. Tatsumi scowled back, though he didn't mean to sound as rude as he did.

Using the information from some books Stylish had, Seyru attempted construction on an igloo. It kept collapsing, and Koro kept taking bites from it. Kurome had run out of cookies and was becoming increasingly grumpy, though it only showed the few times she spoke. Run kept himself busy reading a novel and conversing with fawning female soldiers. Stylish and his subordinates had brought alcohol, and used it to cheer up the camp every night. Bols maintained the fires as best he could, but a few had completely died out by the fourth night. Even sleeping beside each other, which was standard protocol for the soldiers in the winter, didn't help with the chill. Tatsumi and Esdeath weren't affected, and it was hard for them to sympathize with the rest.

"I've had enough of their whining" Tatsumi proclaimed in their tent.

Esdeath nodded in agreement. It was the sixth night, and she had grown anxious for the soldier's morale.

"I'm gonna cut a way out" he continued, "and find somewhere we could move camp. This is getting ridiculous."

"I'll go with you; we're both immune to the cold, though maybe I am more than you."

"Good. I'll borrow an ice cutter from Stylish's wagon and we'll head out. Sound like a plan?"

She raised herself from the bed.

"Yes."

They followed through, telling Stylish what they were doing and borrowing some traveling gear. They cut a door-shaped hole in the dome and trudged through the white wind and knee-deep snow. Their hands clenched together to keep from getting separated, Tatsumi in front. Esdeath smirked behind him; it was cute how he was trying to lead.

"You ever thought about having sex in the snow?" she asked lecherously.

Pushing on, he answered.

"...well I am now."

"Imagine me riding you out here. We'll call it snowboarding. Interested?"

The wind picked up, its whistle evolving into a howl.

"Yes, very" he admitted. "But let's wait until another time."

"C'mon, Tatsu-bunny. You have the chance to copulate in a blizzard and you refuse?"

As they moved, he glanced to her.

"I have a feeling there'll be plenty of time for that. We have a job to do."

While they felt almost no chill, the depth of the snow and the screaming wind slowed them greatly. They had been traveling for an hour when Esdeath spoke again.

"You know, it makes a lot of sense."

"What does?"

"Intercourse in the snow."

"You're still talking about that?"

"Think about it! While it would be cold for normal people, it makes much more sense than in a field during summer. You won't have to worry about bugs getting inside-"

"Okay okay! Let's talk about something else! Like, um...how our days went!"

"I can't hear you! Wind's too loud!"

Another hour passed when a dark shape, barely visible through the falling snow loomed ahead. Tatsumi couldn't tell what it was, but it must have been huge.

"What do you think that is?!"

Esdeath didn't answer; the wind was still too loud. After what felt like eternity they reached the shape; it wasn't until it was a few feet away that they realized it was made of brick. The building's entrance was open, the doors long gone. Snow had piled inside through the opening, making Tatsumi think their search was in vain. Luckily, a ladder sticking out the snow leaned against the far wall. They climbed it and found themselves on another floor, overlooking the snow-covered entrance. In here it was quieter, and they didn't have to shout to each other.

"Tatsumi" said Esdeath.

"Mhmm?"

"There's no way we could bring camp here; it's too far away."

He had been thinking the same thing. However, it would have been a waste of a trek if the camp stayed.

"If I brought my own soldiers, we wouldn't have this problem" she continued.

"You mean...the people at camp aren't yours?"

She shook her head, an annoyed look on her face.

"Honest put me in charge of those brats. He didn't understand that there's a difference between my troops and the regulars."

Tatsumi had seen Esdeath's soldiers before; they wore black armor, the mark of her teigu on their breastplates painted in white. He had seen them train before; unlike most soldiers they trained out of their own volition. Using sheer willpower and extreme training exercises they were the fiercest in the Empire. They were like a platoon of leopards among a force of squirrels.

"Why don't we stay here awhile anyway" he offered, "we might find something interesting."

She looked around, and nodded.

"Of course..." she noticed there were two hallways, one behind Tatsumi and one behind her. "We seem to be in a hotel, Tatsumi."

"We should split up; I'll take the left hall and you take the other."

"Good idea."

...

The building was smaller than the hotels in the Capital, yet the hall seemed finite in the dark. Tatsumi had handed her a lantern before they split, and she almost forgot about it. The sound of it unclipping from her belt felt louder than it should have, like sneezing in a library. Something rattled in her mind, and she realized she had to light the lantern for it to work.

There was a matchbox in her sack; pulling it out it felt like sandpaper. Then she remembered the part that felt like sandpaper was where you struck the match.

Pull yourself together, Esdeath.

She didn't know why she felt so airheaded. It was like a gorilla had gripped her head, the pressure slowly squeezing out her wits. With a sharp slap she ripped herself from the gorilla's vice. Sliding the box from its cover, she picked a match, feeling for the phosphorus end so she knew which end to not hold. Then she slid the box back in the cover, slowly. If she did it too fast it would have gotten stuck. Holding the match in her teeth she opened a tiny hatch on the lantern's side. She plucked the match and struck it against the side of the box. Light erupted and green-purple spots grew in her vision.

"How you doin' over there?" called Tatsumi's voice. The closeness of it told her he had just started searching too.

"Feeling excellent" she shouted. "Which room should we fool around in?"

He shouted back; something about the top floor. He had started moving away, and she knew she had to do the same. After she lit the lantern she tossed the match aside, closing the hatch.

The light crept around the walls, but died five doors down. She began searching rooms, finding nothing but empty, freezing furniture and trash. Outside the storm groaned, and suddenly she was reminded of the previous night.

Ever since her sex with Tatsumi everything around seemed more vivid; colors had a vibrancy she hadn't noticed before and the complaints of the soldiers had become less irritable. She had become more thoughtful and calm, and found she hadn't had an impulse to grab Tatsumi by the throat once today. It was odd, she thought, he looked so charming when he was in her grip, or squealing from a pinch.

He seemed to have changed, too. Something about him became more aggressive; like when he punched River. Her heart swelled when he did it, but she also felt wary. The angry recklessness in his eyes made her wonder if males had an instinct to protect anyone they mated with recently; Run had told her of such a thing. However, if he was becoming quick tempered there no doubt he might do something foolish later.

Her thoughts returned to the task at hand, opening the door of 211. Again the room was empty, but an urge told her to give this one a chance and rummage through it.

In the flickering yellow light everything seemed to move, as if the room's objects had souls of their own. The empty bed frame, pockmarked dresser, and shattered dirty mirror's shadows danced. It was almost as if they were in mockery, like a crude victory dance. Upon closer inspection she noticed a small hole in the dresser's side, and a few slashes in the front. Someone seemed to have used an axe on it. The hole reminded her of ice fishing, where fishermen cut holes in thick lake ice to catch fish.

Wave did that a lot where he came from...

She shook her head. There was no time to think about anything irrelevant. She had to get this over with so she could get back to Tatsumi.

Something white peeked over the top of the dresser. Plucking it with her fingers, she noticed it was an old piece of paper, kept together by the cold temperature. It was horribly yellow and the font was faded, but even in the dim light she could still read it.

LIFE IS A DREAM

WELCOME TO THE DOUBLE SWAN

ENJOY YOUR STAY.

A grin etched across her snow-white face. She remembered this place.

"Life is a dream" she remarked. "It can be a really good dream."