Chapter Text
Episode 14 Continued: Kill the Uncertainty
The young wielder of Incursio couldn't believe what he had just heard. To think that this gorgeous woman with radiant blue hair was not being corrupted by the blood of the Danger Beasts used to forge her Imperial Arm. To think that in spite of the kindness she had constantly shown him throughout the day, she had taken great pleasure in torturing others. How could he possibly expect to change the core of the being of someone like this? It was unthinkable.
Esdeath looked upon the object of her affections with curiosity. It was abundantly clear that he was lost in thought. "Tatsumi, is there something wrong?"
He gazed upon his villainous companion, reminding himself not to lose his composure. "Nothing. Nothings wrong. It's just . . .what's the other way to get back to the capital?"
"I guess I should tell you now. We need to acquire some kind of ride. For travel, you can ride on some Danger Beasts' backs. Taming one is quite difficult, but it isn't an issue for me."
At that moment, the boy's eyes shifted from the Ice Queen as something had caught his attention. "Wait a second, like that one?"
She turned around, fully observant of the sting ray like Danger Beast maneuvering throughout the sky. "Speak of the devil . . . what bad timing."
Without thinking, she dashed away from Tatsumi, rushing ever closer towards her new prey. The thought of taming something, be it man or beast, always excited her. What's more, this was another chance to show off in front of her newly claimed lover. Certainly not an opportunity she would even considering passing up on.
"What are you going to do? It's incredibly high in the sky?"
"I'll train it after I shoot it down. I won't let it get away!"
Tatsumi looked on with awe and amazement. Evil or not, he couldn't help but be impressed at how quick his enemy was in taking on any challenge. As if she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. What a shame it was that the two were on competing sides.
Just as it looked like Esdeath was about to engage the beast, the young man noticed a flash of light emanating from behind him. "Whoa! This is the way back! If I sneak out right now . . ."
Before Tatsumi could ease himself any closer to the portal though, he found himself conflicted. Thoughts of how he spent the entire day with this woman, this murderous torturous woman, flooded his mind. Despite what he had just found out about her, he couldn't shake away the fact that she had taken care of him and treated him kindly with the utmost sincerity. Was sneaking away really the right thing to do?
"Maybe if I just let her know the portal is open and then get in, I'll have repaid her kindness. Then I can . . .", he thought, trying to figure out how to ease his conflicted heart. "No, that kindness . . . if she were purely evil, would she really act that way?"
Seconds passed and he continued to hesitate, gazing at the portal and gazing at a preoccupied Esdeath. So much conflict. So much uncertainty. Whatever decision he was going to make, he was certain it was going to drastically influence the events to come. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he turned away from his one means of escape.
Using a barrage of ice projectiles, the general knocked the flying beast out of the sky and onto the ground several hundred feet north of where she was standing. She licked her lips, smirking to herself at what appeared to be another victory as well as another instance or proving that she was strong and her enemies were weak. Confident thoughts which were quickly interrupted by the sound of clapping.
"Wow Esdeath! You're amazing!"
To hear her newly claimed love praise her for the first time put such a vibrant smile on her face that made her as giddy as a school girl. She turned around, believing she had earned herself a victory kiss, only to notice the quickly fading portal behind her companion. She had begun to say something, but the portal faded away before she could speak.
Tatsumi walked ever closer to her, pondering on the decision he just made. "I can't be too hasty about this. Killing is all she's ever known, but it's not all there is to her core being. Maybe she can change. If I stay on this island a little longer, maybe I'll figure out a different way to approach this"
Esdeath ran over to embrace him, inadvertently smothering him with her chest and making him blush uncontrollably like always. "Did you see how quickly I took out that Danger Beast? Pretty impressive, right?"
Tatsumi nodded his head, still blushing over how intimately close he was. There was a small part of him outraged at his own insanity in not taking advantage of the many opportunities this beautiful woman threw his way, but he did his best to block out this carnal nagging voice and focus on the task at hand. "So how long will it take you to tame this Danger Beast?"
She pondered on the matter for a moment, making various considerations such as the size of the beast, the aggressiveness it had shown and her experience with this of beast in the past. Taking into account all the data she was aware, the answer came naturally. "Two hours."
"Say, Esdeath, can I ask you something?"
"Anything", she flirtatiously whispered into his ears.
"Would you mind staying here for rest of the night?"
The very instant these words left Tatsumi's mouth, his lips were seized by a pair of competing lips, amorous welcoming lips filled to the brim with urges.
She broke the kiss, gazed adoringly into his eyes and ran her fingers through his hair. "Did watching me handle that beast excite you this much? We can stay here as long as you like."
Nervous beads of sweat poured down the boy's face. "What did I just agree to?!"
[. . . An esoteric soak in the hot spring . . .]
Esdeath had decided to put off taming the flying Danger Beast until the morning, cryogenically freezing it in place She couldn't wait to spend the remainder of the evening with her companion. All the while, Tatsumi continued to dwell on his decision to avoid escape, wondering whether he made the right choice and what consequences he'd face. Eventually, he was going to have to get back to the other members of Night Raid, a task which would no doubt be difficult with his tall and slender accomplice watching his every move.
The two strolled around the island holding hands, much to Esdeath's delight and Tatsumi's dismay. It wasn't long until she spotted a hot spring nearby. "Such magnificent serendipity, eh Tatsumi?"
Now more panicky than ever, he noted the sudden expression on her face. "Uh . . .Esdeath, I'm not sure if this is a good idea."
She rubbed her chin. "Hmm . . . you're right."
Tatsumi sighed in relief before seeing the Ice Queen use her imperial arm to form a large igloo around themselves and the entire hot spring.
"There. Now we don't have to worry about a lack of insulation or being ambushed by Danger Beasts."
"That . . . wasn't . . . what I . . ." He was unable to finish the sentence though. For by the time he had uttered those words, she had already removed all of her clothes. A geyser of blood fired out from within his left nostril.
Esdeath innocently looked upon her claimed lover while stepping into the heated water. "You say something Tatsumi?"
He sighed once more, reluctantly removing his clothes and entering the heated pool of water. "I guess there isn't any harm in just getting in the water. Besides, if I play my cards, this might work to my advantage."
The two sat in the shallow area of the spring, Esdeath intimately wrapping an arm around her companion. "Ah, this is nice. Just the two of us here. I don't think I've ever had a more splendid day."
"Esdeath, about that conversation we had earlier . . ."
"Which one?"
"Earlier, you told me you went to join the imperial army after your father died. But why did you join the Empire?"
"There are two things I truly love in this world. Battle is one of them. I figured that by joining the Grand Empire , I could fight and inflict as much mayhem as I wanted to. As a result, I've had the pleasure of slaughtering thousands all in the name of the Empire."
Tatsumi felt the sense of outrage he had experienced earlier resurfacing, but was better prepared to control himself this time. "If battle is all you care about, then what difference does it make whether you serve the Empire or not?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're the strongest person I've ever met. Maybe the strongest person in the entire world. If you wanted to, you could serve the Revolutionary Army and no one would be able to stop you. You could get just as much battle fighting the Empire as you can serving it, maybe even more."
The Ice Queen found herself giggling in delight. "Oh Tatsumi. You're right. I could abandon the Empire right now if I wanted to and no one would be able to do anything about it. I could get just as much battle as I'm getting now"
"So why don't you?"
"If a baker stands to earn just as much money moving his bakery to the other part of town as he earns currently, should the baker move?"
"I guess it depends on what he gains out of moving."
"Precisely. Whether I fight for the Empire or Revolutionary Army, nothing changes."
"That's not true. Under the Prime Minister's corrupt influence, scores of villages have become impoverished and over-taxed, hundreds of officers have been executed for speaking out against-"
"We have developed the strongest military throughout all imperial history", she interrupted, suddenly taking on a more serious demeanor. "Invasions from foreign nations are non-existent. The threat of danger beasts are at an all time low."
"That doesn't excuse the Prime Minister's corruption."
"I wasn't trying to offer an excuse. My point is that nothing is going to change. Imagine if the weak Revolutionary Army were to defeat the Empire. Do you suppose the foreign nations the resistance has no doubt been conspiring with would keep their end of the bargain? Or would they immediately seize the opportunity to take our land and all of its imperial arms for themselves?"
"What foreign nations?"
"Tatsumi Tatsumi Tatsumi. You're so naïve, but it just makes me want you all the more. Your precious Revolutionary Army gets its funding from bordering nations all surrounding this country. Nations that you'd consider every bit as corrupt as ours, some moreso than others. The only reason these nations don't invade us is because they're simply too weak to do so. If the Grand Empire is defeated, then you'll just be exchanging your current problems with a set of new ones. Your enemy isn't so much this country as it is the human condition. The corruption you like to talk about isn't going to disappear regardless of what you do. It'll simply take on a different form. Even this Night Raid group which I've heard so much about. They themselves are a beacon of corruption"
"You're wrong! Night Raid has done plenty of good by giving corrupt politicians and officials exactly what they deserve."
"By taking the law into their own hands and murdering them, right? Is that what you're hoping to fight for? An empire where justice and murder are one in the same? How can you claim to fight against corruption by using corrupt methods? Either way, corruption remains."
Tatsumi searched for a response, but nothing came to mind. Up until this point, everything seemed clear. He had come to accept that he himself was ultimately a murderer fighting for the greater good, but he couldn't help but detect a hint of truth in Esdeath's words. For a moment, he found himself speechless.
"None of which matters to me of course. Night Raid can murder all it wants. It makes pursuing them all the more thrilling, but they're fooling themselves to do so under the guise of traditional morality."
"Traditional morality?"
"If you go by traditional morality, the only difference between Night Raid and I is our point of view. Any civilization where traditional morality rules would consider us both criminals and worthy of imprisonment and execution. My morality is much much simpler. The strong live and the weak die. Survival of the fittest. The Revolutionary Army is weak. They send assassins to do what they are too weak to do themselves. They want to kill the Prime Minister for not living up to morals they themselves don't live up to. I'll side with the strong."
To this, Tatsumi frowned, wondering if perhaps remaining on the island was a bad idea after all. He hadn't taken into account just how far she had thought out her beliefs. With every word she uttered, the thought of getting her to change her mind seemed even further out of reach. Moreover, something about her comments regarding Night Raid gave him pause.
Tatsumi's look of disappoint didn't escape the the Ice Queen's notice however. She quickly realized she had spoken too much. She began to experience an uneasy feeling she didn't recognize. A feeling she was deeply unfamiliar with. Regret. She didn't regret believing what she said. Not remotely. But she certainly regretted saying it. Suddenly, she found herself considerate for the feelings of someone besides herself, but not for tactical or conventional reasons such as improving troop morale or manipulating her subjects. Rather, the more this feeling surged throughout her, the more she wanted it to go away. Desperate she was to eviscerate it as quickly and efficiently as she hadlcut down so many of her enemies in the past.
Dozens of ideas poured through her head. Sorting each idea out one by one, she promptly recalled a conversation she had with one of the Jaegar members: Bols. People in love go out of their way to make the person they care about happy. So he said. It seemed like sheer foolishness when she had heard the advice, but it was something she was willing to try. Anything to get rid of the look on Tatsumi's face.
"Lets change the subject", she said in an overtly casual fashion, trying her hardest not to sound desperate. "Tell me: What made you come to the capital? Was it always to join the revolution?"
"The village I grew up in is going through hard times; it's poor and struggling. I figured that by coming to the capital, I could make a name for myself and earn enough gold to help out."
"Then it's settled!"
He looked at her with the utmost curiosity. "What's settled?"
"As soon as I get back to the capital, I'll have the Emperor supply your village with more gold than it can handle."
"You . . . you could do that?!"
"Technically, I found you without the Emperor's help, thus the Emperor still owes me a request for my job well done up north. Your village will have enough gold to live comfortably for a lifetime and if tax collectors are foolhardy enough to go there, they'll have to answer to me."
And just like, every bad thing about this villainous woman was forgotten. Her service to the Empire. Her unrepentant torturous and murderous acts. In that one moment, nothing else seemed to matter. Although the fight against the Empire wasn't over, the very reason he even came to the capital in the first place had just been resolved with but a few words. It was enough to almost bring tears to his eyes. With a bright smile on his face, Tatsumi wrapped both of his arms around her with all of his might. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Her cheeks flushed as Tatsumi held her close, unused to being on the receiving end of affection in their relationship thus far. Not a hint of embarrassment or nervousness on his part despite the setting they were in. What's more, there was that smile of his, the same smile he had shown on the day she had fallen in love with him. Esdeath returned the embrace, wrapping both of her arms around Tatsumi and pressing him firmly against her bosom.
[ . . . Under the Stars . . . ]
The remainder of the evening was surprisingly pleasant. Tatsumi had caught a massive fish from the nearby lake, using the fishing skills he had learned from Akame months ago. He also used his cooking talents to make it a tasty dish both him and Esdeath could enjoy. The two spent the rest of their time watching the stars near a campfire before lying down together, the Ice Queen l cuddled up intimately close to the man she loved. Not a hint of embarrassment or nervousness on the part of the latter.
As she dozed off, Tatsumi remained wide awake, eyes gazing upon the sky. Something didn't quite sit right with him as her words regarding Night Raid continued to echo throughout his mind.
"Is that what you're hoping to fight for? An empire where justice and murder are one in the same? How can you claim to fight against corruption by using corrupt methods? Either way, corruption remains."