Hi guys I'm back. Sorry for the long delay I had exams so I couldn't write for a bit. Anyways here is another chapter of Kill the torment. I know some of you were wondering what happened in the final battle between the Empire and Night Raid that occurs before this story, so here is part of the story told in Kurome's side of things. Anyways hope you enjoy, remember reviews and likes are welcome anytime. Oh and I've basically ignored everything from the manga past the point Lubbock and Tatsumi get captured so it doesn't happen.
P.S I was so pissed they screwed up the anime but chapter 54…...
Kill the Past
Several months ago-Imperial Palace.
A rush of noise.
A growing noise.
A surprising noise.
All these could describe the initial chaos during that night. Kurome knew it to be the noise of a battle.
"Tch. Night Raid!" she cursed.
She was guarding the throne room at the time. She had no idea why she was guarding something empty. Using her initiative she headed towards the sound. The sound was leading her to the main courtyard of the palace; know ironically as the 'courtyard of glory'. Kurome briefly snickered at the irony of the situation. Things where dire.
Judging by the growing amount of noise occurring this wasn't just Night Raid, Kurome was sure they'd be involved if she knew them at least that much.
"Onee-chan! This must be the end correct? You and your friends are in the lion's den with the last lion! I'll have to introduce you to my puppets soon okay. Please don't be killed till I get there." She exclaimed perhaps to her sister or even fate.
With a wicked smile she head closer to the courtyard. But then the noise suddenly stopped. Instead a soothing sound pervaded the courtyard.
"Gh! That music it's making me drowsy! It must be the teigu scream!" She caught on.
But she was lucky. As she approached the courtyard she spotted the user on the roofs near the courtyard. Or perhaps she wasn't because only one person was unaffected by Scream's power; Wave. Obviously he was surrounded by the invading army.
"That idiot. Isn't he supposed to be the older of the two of us?" She questioned.
Luckily she still had an amazing friend with her. One that could deal with the flute user on the rooftops. Gripping Yatafusa by the hilt she continued to pull out the demonic blade and stroked the ground with it.
"Come out Ran!" She shouted as if summoning a demon.
A surge of dark energy pulsated out of the ground. A dark figure rose from the Palace's floor. It was Ran, with corrupted black wings.
"Ran deal with that flute user on the roof." She ordered as she pointed to the user.
He nodded without a word and left her on her own.
"Surely you'll be there Onee-chan! Come our last battle is at hand!" She thought.
It wasn't so long before she arrived at the courtyard. Wave was still surrounded by enemy forces but holding his own. She was lucky that the drugs prevented her from sleeping although the chances of her being able to control her puppets was limited.
"I have Ran dealing with that flute user. All I need to do is route this enemy attack."
Or so she thought as Ran met with obstacles. Primarily the form of Leone and Lubbock.
"Oi Corpse Puppet user! You didn't expect us not to protect the Scream user?" They provoked.
The fight between the three of them left the direct area but the effect of the flute still remained
"Tch. Ran deal with the three of them quickly!" she exclaimed.
She had no choice but to aid Wave in the defence of the courtyard. It was a good thing that the entrance to the courtyard was narrow so the army couldn't get through so easily. But they where easily outnumbered and the more Wave killed the more took their places. Furthermore his Teigu wasn't suited to dealing with large numbers of enemies. She rushed towards Wave in and propelled up to the courtyard's arched entrance.
Grinning like a mad man she leapt off the arch and rocketed down towards her enemies, her sword pointing downwards to the ground.
"Meatcleaver!" She shouted as her sword made impact with the ground.
The dark energy exuded pushed Kurome and her sword back to the arch, she landed on her knees. The enemy around her at the time was pushed back. This created an opening for the corpse doll.
"Now deal with my meat cleaver! Just so you all know he is a Teigu user you know. See that sword….." She pointed at massive beast.
A highly muscular man appeared from the smoke. His hair was wild and straggly. He looked more like a cave man. Dressed in nothing more than simple leather armour and towering amongst the invading army, he looked like rage incarnate.
But the sword he wielded was looked far less threatening. It was a thin blade with a sharp end only at one end of the sword, it had no guard and was simply wielded with one hand. However it only 'looked' less threatening, the truth was far from the ideal.
He swung the thin blade around him. The weight of the blow was unimaginable heavy. So heavy that the three men on contact was blasted to meat pieces. But the corpse didn't feel the strain equivalent to the strength of the blow, he swung the blade to the weight of the thin sword. He raised the sword above his head and swung down.
The ground crumbled. The ground underneath the feet of the enemy gave way and trapped them in a massive hole. He proceeded to slash at the heads quickly.
"Well I'll keep that Teigu's power a secret. Well goodbye. Good Luck? Nah!" She farewelled."
The men behind the beast was easily cut down by Wave.
She regrouped with Wave quickly.
"Tch, Wave you idiot, think before charging in dammit!"
"I had no choice those guys where gonna over run the place!" He retorted.
"Whatever! My meat cleaver is gonna by us sometime for the imperial guard to come here. Until then be prepare Night Raid could attack at any time soon."
"You don't have to tell me that! Hey wait a minute! How many dolls are you using!?" Wave asked.
"Doesn't that matter"-
A rain of energy bullets rained on them. A pink haired girl arose from the arch way.
"That meat cleaver of yours isn't gonna stop me!" Mine declared as she fired more bullets.
"Oh the girl that was nearly digested by my frog! Right right! You've ditched your team mates? How merciless." She remarked while dodging from the hail of bullets.
"I didn't leave them! I had a very reliable person handle that meat cleaver of yours."
"We'll see, we'll see." Kurome muttered as she continued to dodge.
Wave had disappeared from the fight. At the very least from Kurome's sight anyway. She didn't take Wave to be a coward and that still stood. But she was getting tired, slowly. She needed something to happen and happen quickly.
That 'something' had happened in the form of Wave. From the palace Wave had rushed out flying towards Mine. His speed barely allowed Mine to see him let allow her to react properly. He landed briefly on the archway and proceeded to roundhouse kick her down towards Kurome.
It was at that moment that Tatsumi rushed in to the courtyard. Kurome had already drawn her blade again and leapt towards the helpless Mine. She had an evil glint in her face. She proceeded to aim her blade at Mine heart. It pierced her like a doll that had been pierced by scissors.
"Goodbye at least for now…"
She landed safely with Mine's lifeless body in tow. She removed her sword and laughed as the blood from her body rushed out. Her body slumped to the ground. Her body expel her blood like a fountain. The blood rain fell to Kurome and Tatsumi who stood agape.
"Oh is that…rain? How nice..." she mentioned silently.
"That isn't rain you…..bitch!" Tatsumi screamed as he stepped over Mine's body.
"KUROME!"
"Oh the Incursio user huh? Look I know you're mad but don't you have bigger problems? Namely what my sword really did to her body?" She questioned, happily.
She stuck her sword in the ground and then she rose. The wound hadn't closed but she rose, she was still bleeding but see rose, not saying her last words but she rose, not regard the one that was once her lover she took her place as a puppet would, by her maker's side.
"No….You've got to be…kidding me….NO! NO! NOT LIKE THIS! KUROOOOOMEEEEEEEE!" Tatsumi screamed.
Mine aimed at Tatsumi's head.
"No Mine! It's me!"
"Useless. Useless." She told him as she shook her head.
He sliced off her hands. More blood came out…
"AGH!"
"Why? Why can't I!?"
He continued to miss his mark. Kurome knew she shouldn't be enjoying this so she left.
"No please!"
"Not this!" Tatsumi screamed.
And only after her body lay their mutilated did she stop, it was only after his mind had broken did she stop.
"AGH AGH! ARGHRGH ARGH!" Tatsumi snarled.
"Die…Die…Die….Die….Die…..Rent…..Rip…..Mutilate…Eliminate…DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!" Tatsumi snarled.
His armour turned black and he began to charge at Kurome. Wave intervened with a punch, Tatsumi evaded and countered with a punch of his own that sent him flying far away from the Palace grounds.
Tatsumi summoned his spear and continued his charge. With a speed that was increasing every second.
"No I can't! I can't let him Break Yatafusa!" Kurome screamed as Tatsumi hurtled at Kurome.
Tatsumi swung once…once that was all that was needed to kill. And Kurome's body lay there in two.
But his mind was broken, there was no helping him back. Incursio released.
A lone figure approached the bloody mess. She trembled, her comrade was dead, mutilated by the looks of things. Her sister was beyond saving and her friend broken."
"Tatsumi! Wake up. Wake up!" She implored.
End of Flashback
The carriage continued on its way.
"Well that's basically my side of things." Kurome explained calmly.
"So you know your sins correct? Then die right here!" Tatsumi demanded.
Tatsumi bought out his sword and stood up. Wave retaliated with his own sword.
"Sit down. If you lay a hand on her this mutual understanding ends." Wave threated.
"Shut up. Who needs a mutual understanding with a murder!?"
"Calm down. Your emotions aren't going to help." Akame rebuked.
Tatsumi calmed down and took a deep breath. Mad as he was Akame was right. They did save them no matter what she did in the past. He was still angry but Akame was right his emotion no matter how fierce needed to be tamed. He decided it was probably better for him if he didn't see Kurome's face so he closed his eyes and sat down again.
"Anyways. You hadn't finished Kurome. How did you survive? Everyone at the time confirmed that was your body."
"It was a convenient little Teigu that one of my puppet's had. You see it had the ability to shift its target and itself around but on top of that it takes the very form and presence of the target as well. It is therefore natural to see that my puppet's body was seen as my own." Kurome explained without looking back on the occupants.
"So if you took 'Yatafusa' then that would be another Teigu." She continued calmly.
A brief silence came over the occupants of the carriage. Sitting side by side by former hated enemies was nerve racking.
"So where are we going?" Tatsumi asked despondently.
"Capital. You guys are going to have to tell Najenda or someone in the council about what happened just then." Wave remarked with the same enthusiasm as his counterpart.
"We've been tracking these guys for the past week or so. Don't ask me why your people haven't responded though I suspect those old geriatrics didn't move as soon as they heard. I heard they even took a general's head a few days ago but judging by your looks of surprise those old guys never told anyone." Kurome told them.
They were surprised. Mainly because no one had told them. On the other hand they were angry. How the hell could the new Capital let this go out of hand to the point that Teigu prisoners were now loose together with a mad leader?
The carriage grinded to a halt.
"Right we're staying here. We can't get to the Capital in one trip. Tiring ourselves isn't going to help at all. We've got two tents and food. Help yourself" Wave mentioned as he pointed to the two tents.
Tatsumi grudgingly accepted the tent and food.
8:30
Tatsumi closed his eyes.
It didn't help.
"RENT"
"MURDER"
"THAT'S ALL YOU MUST DO…"
"SHUT UP!" Tatsumi screamed
But he was losing.
His own voice was being drowned out.
That made him scared.
Akame rushed in at that point. She had a saddened look on her face
He wasn't surprised to see her here. Akame was always on his side no matter what had happened.
"I'm sleeping with you. It'll be too awkward with my sister…"
And in a hesitant whisper she told Tatsumi of her real reason.
"And I'm worried about you…"
Tatsumi simply sighed. He knew for a fact that if he told her he was okay she'd tell him that he was lying. She was perceptive and he wasn't going to try to deceive her in a fruitless attempt.
"Kurome reappearing again….It made me lose myself….No it's making me lose myself."
"I thought that was the case…..." She whispered.
She grabbed his head and stared into his eyes.
"Are you scared?" She asked
"Are you scared that you'll kill my sister in rage?"
He struggled to nod twice.
"Then don't worry. I'm here for you. I'll stop you like I stopped you before." She declared.
"How….How could you possibly be sure that you can stop me!?" Tatsumi screamed
"I'm not sure. I may well die."
"Then you should leave me…I'm hopeless!" Tatsumi screamed.
She slapped him.
"Shut it. You're being melodramatic."
"I'm not….."
"You are. You're acting like you've lost everything important in your life. Like you have nothing to live for."
"But I don't…."
"You do. If you can still get mad at Kurome, be willing to stop whoever torched that village down, then you must have a will to live."
"Hopeless is only a word that can be only be applied to dead people. To people who truly have no will or life left in them. Nothing can be done to help the dead, save them or change their deaths."
"People who call themselves hopeless or in a dark pit in which they can't get out are merely suicidal and melodramatic. Even if they can't do it themselves they can still be saved by others. They can be saved by luck if not by their own hands." She shouted angrily
"Look Tatsumi, I'm not willing to bring a suicidal idiot into the battlefield. If you're fighting then enough with this melodramatic crap. All you need to find something worth living for. Your world isn't over Tatsumi. I'll guide and help to find what you want to live for but you have to make that step first. And if I find that you're still being melodramatic I'll slap you to no end."
She trailed off at the end. As she looked up he could see a trail of tears on one eye. It was only one tear but it was enough to send a clear message. At that point he realised how much he truly hurt others with his behaviour.
Tatsumi was not an asshole, he wasn't a bad person and he knew that he had Akame with his actions. So he rose solemnly from his sleeping bag and then dropped to his knees in front of Akame. He bowed his head as low as his head could go.
"I'm sorry. I truly am. I hurt you. I hurt the person who looked after me. I looked only after my own feelings disregarding how hurt you must have felt every time I failed. I once claimed to fight for the people but if I can't even make sure that I won't hurt my dearest friends I can't say crap. I'm disgusted with myself, I'm feeling even weaker than before I joined Night Raid. From this point on I won't every try think the way I just did. Sure I don't know why I'm here but with you here Akame I've got this feeling that I can find it." Tatsumi apologised.
Akame smiled slightly and shook her head
"Oi don't do this. Lift your head already. It's making me uncomfortable. We're friends. That's what I'm here for." Akame assured.
Tatsumi raised his head and smiled, it was the closest thing to his once bright smiling face. This cause Akame to blush unnaturally and hide her face
Feeling awkward Akame opted to hide quickly underneath her sleeping bag. Tatsumi followed suit and went bad to sleep.
At that night his nightmare did not trouble him.
Outside the tent.
"Kurome, I never considered you to be a stalker." Wave chuckled.
"Shut it Wave. You may be older than me by a bit but still… You can't tell me what to do." Kurome countered coldly.
"Whoa jeez, just a joke." He defended as he raised his hands.
"Well whatever. All I care about is what is going on in that tent." She continued as she observed the tent.
"We're friends? Onee-chan it not good to keep your feelings hidden." Kurome snickered.
"You unhappy about that?" Wave causally questioned.
"No in fact I'm very happy. My big sister is getting romantically attached. Admittedly I always what to see a girl in love."
Wave raised his eyebrows.
"You have weird hobbies."
"Says the guy who collected soft toys well into his young life." She teased quietly.
"Hey! How'd ya find out bout dat?" Wave exclaimed in his dialect
"Wave your original dialect is showing."
"Ah crap! Ah leave it. I'm gonna go to bed." Mumbled an irate and pissed Wave.
Kurome laughed. It wasn't psychotic, it was gentle.
She looked at the sky and wondered when the next time she would ever have moment like this again.
That night his nightmares did not trouble him.
But Nightmares did not necessarily come at night nor at sleep.
Nightmares would come….
Yeah so that the end. Hope you guys review as you have been before!