Later that night, Night Raid base
Akame: "(Y/N) took Tatsumi away?!"
Hours after Tatsumi had been abducted, Leone and Lubbock returned to base to report. They now stood with Akame and Mine(Sheele was once again absent) and needless to say, the mood was grim.
Mine: "Did he find out he's with Night Raid?"
Lubbock: "Can't say for sure. It's probably a fifty-fifty chance."
Leone: "The last thing we saw was (Y/N) dragging him into the palace. What should we do now, Akame?"
Akame: ...
Akame had a short flashback. Specifically, to the night Sheele and Mine came back battered and bruised from their encounter with (Y/N) which was nearly three months ago.
Mine: "Don't say something stupid like 'We're going to save him,' Akame."
Akame: "The first thing we should do is move our base farther away from town."
Leone: "Good idea. We're too easy to spot here."
Lubbock: "Okay but what are we going to do about Tatsumi? Not saying you would but-"
Akame: "I know, but we can't just rush in without a plan. But Tatsumi is still a member of our team! Do whatever it takes!"
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Three days later
Three days had passed Tatsumi was still stuck with Esdeath and the Jaegers. Thanks to Esdeath's interest in him, his treatment has been far from terrible(As a matter of fact it had been great) but the two big problems for him were Esdeath's fatal attraction towards him and (Y/N). In the last three days, he had absorbed more physical punishment from (Y/N) than he had from anyone else. Don't misunderstand however, he isn't torturing Tatsumi(Although he would say otherwise) but he's simply testing the Night Raid assassin.
Well, that's what he told everyone. Truthfully, his beating on Tatsumi was a way for him to let out sudden frustration that had quickly boiled in his being. (Y/N) couldn't explain it, but seeing Esdeath's reaction towards Tatsumi's victory at the Martial Arts tournament that was hosted days ago had unexplainably upset him. While it did annoy him that he didn't know the source of his frustrations, he wouldn't make it a priority of his to figure it out yet. After all, another chance to let out pent up anger had presented itself.
Currently, (Y/N) and the rest of the Jaegers were walking through a thicket of forest in an undisclosed location.
???1: "Is this the um... Bandit fort we've been looking for?"
???2: "Uh-huh. Our first mission as Jaegers is to tear this place down."
Run: "How should we go about it?"
(Y/N): "We're attacking head-on."
Wave: "Head on?! Are you sure that's a good idea?"
(Y/N): "These are low-class thugs we're talking about not warriors that have trained their entire lives fighting. Even with them outnumbering us, I doubt we'll have much trouble."
Wave was a bit hesitant for a second but quickly trusted (Y/N). This was the same for the rest of the Jaegers, all of them airing confidence behind their leader.
A few miles south watching from a cliff, Tatsumi and Esdeath sat aside each other. The levels of discomfort and awkwardness Tatsumi felt around Esdeath could not be measured yet somehow, she seemed oblivious to this as she watched the Jaegers march towards the bandit fort.
Tatsumi: "So uh... Why did you bring me here?"
Esdeath: "You're a part of the Jaeger reserves. I recommend you watch and learn for future reference."
Tatsumi silently watched the Jaegers march up a flight of stairs. His eyes lingered on the leader of the group for a minute, before his eyes lit up in realization.
Tatsumi: <That's the bastard that nearly killed Sheele and Mine!>
He would've ridiculed himself for not recognizing (Y/N) earlier, but he was too busy being angry at the moment, having bared teeth and clenched fists and all.
Tatsumi: <No! I can't lose my cool here. Remember what Bro says, 'It takes more than passion to survive.' I have to get back to base, I have to get back and report everything.>
He took a moment to look at Esdeath, who seemed to be paying him no mind.
Tatsumi: <Maybe this is... My chance to make a run for it.>
Tatsumi would learn not to speak too soon as Esdeath put a hand on Tatsumi's, a light blush painting her cheeks.
Tatsumi: <Ah shit, not anymore!>
Back to the Jaegers, they had made their way to the front of the enemy base. A hammer beating on a pan signaled that the enemies were aware of the Jaegers' presence. Well, it's not like they were trying to be sneaky in the first place.
Wave: "Um, (Y/N)? What exactly is your plan?"
A swarm of bandits, all covered in armor and holding various weapons from guns to knives faced the Jagers.
(Y/N): "Simple. Let me ask you a question, do you know what my Imperial Arms is?"
Wave: "I don't remember you ever speaking about it. Is it that giant sword you have?"
(Y/N): "Ha. Hardly."
(Y/N) rolled the right sleeve on his uniform, revealing more of his deathly pale skin. His veins suddenly turned black, confusing all of the Jaegers.
(Y/N): "What you're about to witness is something only a handful of people alive have ever seen."
Bandit: "You're pretty stupid to attack us head-on!"
(Y/N took a knee while placing his right hand on the ground. Black energy suddenly began to form around (Y/N) and swirled violently, causing the wind to pick up around him.
(Y/N): "Anyone that dares to defy me will Fade. To. BLACK."
The energy around (Y/N) sprouted from around his body and shot forward towards the group of bandits currently in his and the Jaegers' way. The energy took various forms from spiked lances to circular beams that either shredded the poor souls unfortunate enough to be caught in the wake or were engulfed by it completely.
Watching from behind (Y/N), the Jaegers were horrified by this display of power. What they didn't know was that this was just a small fraction of what he could do with his Imperial Arms.
Tatsumi looked confused and scared, watching the scene from his spot high on the cliff south of the Jaegers location. As if Esdeath could read his mind, she spoke.
Esdeath: "That Tatsumi, is (Y/N)'s Imperial Arms."
Tatsumi: "I guessed that much but what exactly is it?"
Esdeath: "... That is something you will have to ask him. Only those he wishes to know or those he kills know about it. And the ones that are dead obviously are not here to tell the tale."
Tatsumi kept a mental note to ask (Y/N) about his Imperial Arms later. Knowing he was a Jaeger reserve, he was confident he could get (Y/N) to cough up that information to him. But that was something he would have to do at a later date obviously.
Back a few miles north, the raging storm of darkness had just ended and the results from it were frightening to the Jaegers and Tatsumi, to say the least. Mangled bodies, blood, and body parts were placed everywhere. The few bodies that weren't either mangled or completely disassembled were swallowed by the darkness. Seeing as no more enemies were in front of them at the moment, (Y/N) took a moment to turn around and what had just happened.
(Y/N): "My Imperial Arms is a blood-type, Just like Esdeath's. The two main differences however between mine and hers is that she controls ice... I control darkness. And the second part of that... Well, that's something I like to keep to myself."
The Jaegers still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing (Y/N)'s Imperial Arms come into play. They were snapped out of their stupified funk as (Y/N) began to direct.
(Y/N): "Anyways. Wave, Kurome, you two go together. Run, patrol the skies with your Imperial Arms. Bols, use your own to weed out the groups trying to escape. Dr. Stylish, I want you to stay behind given your super soldiers aren't here."
Run: "Understood."
Wave/Kurome: "Right!"
Bols: *Nods*
Dr. Stylish: "You've got it~!"
(Y/N): "Oh. And do me a favor, leave at least one of them alive."
The Jaegers were confused by this order, yet nodded regardless.
(Y/N): "Good. Now move out."
With their marching orders given to them, the Jaegers minus Dr. Stylish took off in different directions.
It didn't take long for that to happen as a group of six bandits appeared from the hell being created by the Jaegers. (Y/N) grinned evilly as his eyes changed color, black surrounding him once more.
(Y/N): "I had a feeling a few of you had no backbone and would run."
Darkness engulfed his sword as a single slash dissected all six of the men in half. (Y/N) continued to march forward at a slow pace as anger and intent to kill continue built up within him.
Further into the base, Kurome found herself surrounded by a horde of at least a dozen enemies. Despite being largely outnumbered they stood no chance against her as she easily sliced through all of the bandits in front of her. Kurome kneeled and resheathed Yatsufusa.
Kurome: "After we're done here, I'll get to play with your body parts. My precious little dolls."
A man with a gun appeared behind a corner aiming for Kurome. While she seemed oblivious to this, the case was the complete opposite as she was aware of him.
What the man with the gun wasn't aware of was a wild Wave appearing and using Mega Kick on his bitch ass. It was super effective by the way as Wave drove the man's head into the concrete with his foot.
Wave looked quite proud of himself as he then skidded behind Kurome.
Wave: "You don't have to thank me for watching your back. We're a team, y'know."
Kurome: "No, I knew he was there."
Wave: "For real?!"
Behind another corner, another enemy was seemingly attempting to sneak up on Wave and Kurome to lodge an ax in their backs. The would-be attacker's head was completely blown off his shoulders by a dark sphere, courtesy of (Y/N) as he did his best Randy Orton impression and struck from out of nowhere. (Y/N) appeared from the shadows the 'hiding spot' provided the now headless axman.
(Y/N): "And neither of you need to thank me for that."
Kurome couldn't say she knew the man was there as he was killed before she could even sense him. It was the same deal for Wave. (Y/N) left shortly after this, continuing his rage-fueled slaughter.
In another part of the fort, Bols was spraying down bandits with a flamethrower.
Bols: "This is the flamethrower Imperial Arms Invitation to Purgatory, Rubicante! Nothing personal guys, ok?"
As Bols said this, a single man managed to crawl away from the flames, albeit charred and burned up. He would quickly meet his end by means of a black boot going straight through his skull and turning it to mush. The foot kicked the remaining parts away before a scoff from the owner of the boot was heard.
(Y/N): "But they should take it seriously. They decided to oppose the Empire. Which means they decided to oppose ME. And I take that very seriously..."
(Y/N) walked past the blazing inferno cause by Rubicante and resumed searching for other people to kill.
Let's say that it didn't take long for him to find more victims. Another horde of fleeing bandits appeared in (Y/N)'s peripheral vision. Before he could take action however, a line of speeding white objects, feathers to be exact, pierced through all of the bandits' skulls. One of the poor souls who somehow managed to survive for long enough looked skyward to find Run hovering in the air with a pair of angel wings on his back.
???: "An angel..."
Run: "Wing-type Imperial Arms, Soaring for Miles, Mastema. I'm afraid I can't let any of one you escape."
(Y/N) growled lowly as run failed to follow his orders. Thankfully for Run, (Y/N) found another runner trying to escape through the forest. This didn't work as the poor soul stepped on a twig, making (Y/N) snap his head towards him. The man froze in his tracks and before his fight or flight instincts kicked in, (Y/N) rushed him and knocked him out cold. He then lugged the bandit on his shoulders.
By the time (Y/N) had done all of this, Run had descended to the ground, no longer using his Imperial Arms. He looked back to the carnage created by him and the other Jaegers. Satisfied, (Y/N) nodded to Run as Wave, Bols, Kurome, and Dr. Stylish all met up. They walked out of the inferno leaving destruction, death, and despair behind them.
From above their spot on the cliff, Tatsumi watched the scene in awe and horror. His attention shifted to (Y/N) as he spotted the bandit on his shoulder. An uneasy feeling settled in Tatsumi's stomach.
Tatsumi: <I have a feeling I know what's gonna happen to that guy...>
Later that night, Imperial Palace...
Tatsumi was currently stuck in a position he very much so wished to get out of. That being in the death grip of Esdeath, who was currently asleep and spooning him, a peaceful expression that Tatsumi was unable to see due to his current position(not that it really mattered).
But to top it all off...
???: *Pained Screaming*
The shrieks of pain and pleads of a man being tortured reverberated throughout the entire palace. Tatsumi shuddered, accidentally loosening Esdeath's grip on him.
Tatsumi: <I had a feeling something bad was going to happen to that dude...>
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The next day, Imperial Capital
The following morning, a third of the Jaegers sat in the same room in which they met each other, (Y/N), and Esdeath. Kurome sat at the far end of a table munching away at her cookies while Wave stood awkwardly, not quite sure how to strike up a conversation with her.
Thankfully for Wave, this didn't last long as a person that would be much easier for him to communicate with walked in. That person being Tatsumi. And he looked dead tired.
Wave: "Hey! How did you sleep last night?"
Wave took a good look at Tatsumi's dead tired expression and quickly was able to deduct he got little, if any rest.
Wave: "Wow, it doesn't look like you rested any."
Tatsumi: "I was so nervous, I stayed up till the sun rose. She said she wouldn't do anything, the next thing I know she's spooning me..."
Wave: "You shouldn't start snacking so early in the day, Kurome."
Kurome: "Mind your own business."
Wave: "You know you should really eat more seafood, it's good for you."
Kurome: "I wouldn't want to smell like fish the way you do though."
Wave: "What?! Really?!" *To Tatsumi* "Do you think I smell like fish?!"
Tatsumi: "Ah, not really..."
The door to the room opened again. This time, the leader of the Jaegers stepped through, casting a wave of dread over Tatsumi. Wave was the first to greet his superior.
Wave: "Morning!"
(Y/N) was back to his stoic expression that he normally wore, relieving Wave.
(Y/N): "Morning."
(Y/N) took a look at Tatsumi and stifled a chuckle.
(Y/N): "It's odd not seeing you either beat or chained up for once, Tatsumi."
Tatsumi: ...
Kurome: "Where were you yesterday?"
(Y/N): "I was taking care of other affairs. Aside from being a Jaeger, I have other duties to tend to around the capital."
Wave: "That makes sense. I mean you do serve under the minister."
Tatsumi's focus shifted towards Kurome, who was busy munching on her cookies after her question had been answered by (Y/N).
Tatsumi: <What's with her appearance? And her name Kurome... It just seems familiar somehow.>
Kurome sensed Tatsumi's stare and looked at him. She protectively hid her bag of cookies under her mistakenly thinking that Tatsumi was looking at them rather than her.
Kurome: "Keep your eyes off my cookies."
Tatsumi: <She's so protective of her food! She has to be related to Akame somehow!>
Kurome: "Got a problem?"
Tatsumi: Um... Please don't be offended, but you really look like that Akame girl from the wanted posters."
Wave: "I noticed that earlier too!"
(Y/N) stayed silent at the mention of Akame's name. His eyes narrowed as well as he went into deep thought.
(Y/N): <Akame of the Demon Sword Murasame...>
Kurome: "Yeah. I'm related to that goodie two-shoes. But she betrayed the Empire. I can't wait to see her again. You know why? So I can be reunited with my big sister and kill her with my bare hands!"
Wave/Tatsumi/(Y/N): 0_0
All three men were silent by this statement. (Y/N) recovered quickly and began thinking. This was far from the first time he's dealt with someone like Kurome. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Kurome.
(Y/N): <For a moment she had me fooled. I thought she was a somewhat decent human being. Even though I don't have a family, I know wanting to kill them is just wrong.>
Before anyone else could say anything, the door burst open again, this time Esdeath making her appearance.
Esdeath: "Tatsumi, we're headed to Fake Mount. We'll spend the next few days hunting."
Tatsumi: "Where's Fake Mount?"
Esdeath: "You've never been there? It's in the range by the outskirts of the capital."
Tatsumi fist-pumped, something (Y/N) took notice of.
(Y/N): <Why does he look excited to be with Esdeath? Alone to top it off?>
Tatsumi: <We're going to the country! This could be my chance to escape!>
Esdeath: *To Kurome/Wave* "You two will be going as well."
(Y/N): "Who decided that?"
Esdeath: "I did."
(Y/N): "What makes you think you can just announce that you'll be taking two of my subordinates with you on a hunting mission? Do you forget who's in charge here?"
Esdeath: "Do you forget who's the superior here?"
(Y/N): "Answer that question yourself. Did you forget my position, plus the power and influence I hold?"
Esdeath: ...
(Y/N): "That's what I thought. Since I'm in a rather good mood, I'll do you another favor and allow you to have Wave and Kurome."
Esdeath nodded in response, turning her attention back to Wave and Kurome.
Esdeath: "Kurome and I will take the east through the day. Wave and Tatsumi you'll take the west. We'll exchange partners at nighttime so Tatsumi you'll be with me."
Tatsumi: <Shit!>
Esdeath: <The Danger Beasts that appear at night are especially vicious. It'll be my chance to impress him.>
(Y/N): "Right... Wave, Kurome."
Kurome: "Hm?"
Wave: "Yes?"
(Y/N): "Come back safe, you two."
Wave: "We'll be just fine!"
Kurome only nodded as she continued to eat her cookies. Relieved that he had their word, (Y/N) sighed.
(Y/N): "That's good to hear. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the Minister and Emperor to attend."
(Y/N) hurriedly exited the room shortly after, leaving Esdeath, Tatsumi, Wave, and Kurome with each other.
Esdeath: "We'll be leaving in two hours. I suggest preparing now."
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The next day, Imperial Capital
Following Esdeath and co's departure for Fake Mount, (Y/N) spent majority of his time to himself in his abode. As usual, he used his alone time to do the one thing he enjoyed outside of his job which was writing.
You may be wondering what exactly does (Y/N) write about and to that, I answer with a quote.
'I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes.'
(Y/N) smiled as he sat his pen down. He then broke into a minor coughing fit which left him slightly winded. But then he began to cough more, and the coughs themselves became increasingly violent. This coughing fit took a while to cease, but it eventually did. At the end of it (Y/N) coughed up blood into his palms. What was weird about the blood was the color of it. It wasn't red or crimson as some people see it.
It was black.
(Y/N) sighed as he prepared himself, dressing into his uniform and heading for the Imperial Palace.
Today, he and the Jaegers minus Wave and Kurome were to meet with some prominent political figures within the Empire. So imagine (Y/N)'s a surprise when the first person he sees as he walks into the Imperial Palace be none other than Esdeath herself.
(Y/N): "Esdese?"
Esdeath: "We have a problem."
(Y/N): "Well clearly if you're here. You weren't supposed to be back for another two days. What happened?"
Five minutes later
(Y/N): "Okay. Seriously, explain to me what's going on here."
(Y/N) followed Esdeath into another room in the Imperial Palace. The first thing he saw was Wave tied up in nothing but a pair of shorts with cinderblocks weighing down on his legs. The other Jaegers were also present and stood to the side.
Esdeath: "To put it simply, Tatsumi escaped and let a member of Night Raid slip through his fingers."
(Y/N): <So that's why he was so eager to go. He knew he could escape along the countryside back to wherever he came from.> "I see... So you decided to punish Wave before me."
Esdeath: "That's not the p-"
(Y/N): "So Wave, which one did you let escape?"
Wave: "The one with Incursio..."
(Y/N): <The one with Incursio... Ah. Him.>
(Y/N) looked to the side and saw more cinderblocks.
(Y/N): "Kurome. Add more weight."
Kurome responded by dropping another block of cinder on top of Wave's legs. (Y/N) knelt to the ground and looked Wave in the eye with his own changing in color.
(Y/N): "You think Esdeath is twisted and sadistic? Do something like this again and I'll change your mind real quick. Am I understood?"
Wave: "Y-Yes sir..."
(Y/N): "Good..."
(Y/N) stood back to a vertical base.
(Y/N): "More weight."
Another cinderblock was stacked on Wave.
(Y/N): "So what's the plan now, Esdese? You wanna search for him?"
Esdeath: "That's a silly question, of course I do."
(Y/N): "Alright then we'll send a search party... Starting tomorrow. I know as much as you want him back, gathering people and resources to find Tatsumi should be prioritized at the moment."
Esdeath: "As much as I dislike agreeing with you at the moment, you're right."
(Y/N): "Then it's settled. For the rest of the day, let's prepare for the search tomorrow." *To The Jaegers* "You five will be pitching in as well."
(Y/N): "Let's begin the preparation now."
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A/N:
Chapter five, complete.
For those who celebrate it, happy Valentines Day to all. I am personally not a fan of the holiday(part of that being because I'm single... Maybe) but I don't judge those who do. Overall I'm just not a guy that celibrates holidays much.
I will be back to full time school at five days a week. I'm personally not a fan of this decision by my school granted that we just had a few cases of COVID amongst the staff. And with all the students being in the same school as well? Yeah... You can see my concern.
I will be trying to think of a consistent uploading schedule that I can follow rather easily. If I come up with one, I'll edit my profile and put in there so you'll all know when I update.
With all of that out of the way, I'm gonna catch some shuteye. It's been a long day. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out rather soon. But until then, I'll see y'all later.
----------TO BE CONTINUED----------