Summary:

Fate and Time; two fickle creatures forever locked in a pitched battle whose outcome shapes the ground we walk on. How can two warrior souls even begin to race against two cosmic forces as everything they know is perched upon a knife's edge, ready to split their realities in half?

Author's Notes:

As you can see we have the unexpected reunion with Tatsumi and Esdese, but with a few of my own twists. Personally, after finishing the anime, I was a little sad to see how it ended. Personally, I was hoping that Tatsumi and Esdese's complicated relationship would be fleshed out more, and I'm a total shipper of TatsumixEsdese, so I figured that I would put my own spin on the Akame ga Kill universe. This fic will be heavily AU as the story grows and progresses. However, key characters and events will still occur, and it will take a few chapters to set the pieces in motion to where things get really interesting. We'll just have to see how everything unfolds. Stories have a way of weaving themselves, so let's see how this goes, shall we?

Story: Juggernaut

Pairing: [Tatsumi, Esdese]

Chapter I

A Black Minute

From a distance, if one looked at the moonlit cliffside, one wouldn't find anything unusual about such a mountain. To the trained eye, however, a much different tale was unfolding.

An armored figure, rocketing up the side of cliff. His green-haired cohort, shaking his head and continuing along the rocky mountain path. And fast approaching, the Empire's Strongest absent-mindedly flew towards a meeting with her beloved on the back of her fearsome Danger Beast.

Yes, this was shaping up to be an interesting evening indeed.

The man beneath the hood smiled sadistically.

If everything goes according to plan, then at least two key players in the game would be down and out. He was shooting for all three, but apparently that was not to be tonight. Still, he would enjoy pitting the last of The Scientist's creations against formidable opponents.

That sadistic smile only grew wider as he shot through the forest towards the fabeld Mount Fake, eager to set his plan underway.

XXXXX

Lubbock sighed as his armor-encased partner shot up the cliff-side.

"Man, Miss Najenda doesn't pay me enough to keep up with him," muttered the boy, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he continued along the path.

His partner, on the other hand, traversed the rocky mountainside in leaps and bounds with ease. Tatsumi rocketed up the side of the mountain, lost in thought. While he should be focusing on the mission to eliminate Dr. Stylish's artificial Danger Beasts, it was nights just like these that made his mind race. As well as scouting the area, maybe a clear view of the night sky would set the restless young man at ease.

'It would be so much easier to focus if she would just get out of my head,' thought the teen as he heaved a sigh.

Yes, the blue-haired beauty in question had yet to leave his thoughts since returning back to his friends at Night-Raid. For lack of a better term, Tatsumi felt conflicted.

On one hand, Tatsumi was more than happy to get back to his friends at Night-Raid. Akame, Leone, Lubbock, Mine, Najenda, and even the new members, Chelsea and Susanoo, held a special place in his heart. The past month of intensive training done with his assassin brethren had improved his body and mind in leaps and bounds. Hell, Tatsumi had even learned to summon Incursio's auxiliary weapon, the Neuntote. And yet, he couldn't get thoughts of the blue-haired Ice Queen out of his head.

Esdese, General of the Imperial Army, Queen of the Ice, leader of the Jaegers, continued to invade Tatsumi's mind, for reasons that made his head hurt. She was evil. All she cared about was chaos and carnage and violence and death, and yet...

There was something about her that was good. Pure, innocent even, despite the caked-on layers of blood and violence that she so desperately hides behind. And for some reason, Tatsumi, for all he knew, was the only one who could bring that out of her. His failed attempt to turn her over to Night-Raid on the night they shared in her quarters only fueled his resolve to at least get her to consider reason.

'I can't just quit on her,' he reasoned, one footfall after another sending him rocketing up the side of the cliff.

'There is something inside of her that isn't bad. There has to be...'

With a final push, Tatsumi flew into the air, floating for a split second before slamming into the plateau on the mountain top. Disengaging his Incursio and placing the sword back into the scabbard strapped to his back, Tatsumi stared up at the moon, so reminded of the object of his current thoughts due to the pale hue exhibited by the floating orb illuminating the night sky.

'Esdese.'

He stared up at the moon, encapsulated by his thoughts.

'I'll get through to you. I can't give up on you yet.'

As he stared up at the moon, a loud roar startled the teen. He whipped around to see a giant, draconian Danger Beast circling the plateau he currently stood on. As he stared, awestruck, something dropped from the back of the great Beast, aiming straight for him.

'Oh, shit!'

XXXXX

Unbeknownst to Tatsumi as he scaled the mountain, Esdese flew across the sky on the back of her draconian Danger Beast in order to clear her head.

'Tatsumi...'

Sadness filled her blue orbs as she stared down at her feet. His bright green eyes, full of fire and conviction strong enough to make even the blood of the Ice Queen flow faster, were all that had been on her mind. This month without him had been hell, and losing one of her Jaegers had done nothing but sully her mood even further. It amazed her how much of an impact that one young man could have on her, no less on everyone around him, and that is exactly what drew her to him like a moth to a flame.

She sighed, lifting her gaze to stare at the moon. Esdese found that staring at such a sight helped to ease her troubled mind, something that she never though was possible.

'It seems that spending so much time around Tatsumi has softened me up a bit,' she thought as a soft smile spread across her pale face.

Shaking her head, Esdese decided to focus more on her patrol route. The whole reason she was out here in the first place was to survey the area for Night-Raid, and she would be damned if they got away from her icy clutches once more.

'I will prove that I am the strongest, and maybe then Tatsumi will return my love.'

As she looked below her, she saw a lone figure below her standing atop a plateau at the peak of Mount Fake. Her eyes gleamed with sadistic glee and a smile appeared on her face, large enough to show off her razor sharp canines.

'Tatsumi, I'm coming for you. You will be mine.'

Esdese plummeted off the back of her danger beast, unaware that the young man in question was exactly the one she was shooting towards.

XXXXX

Tatsumi threw his arms to steady himself as the strange figure slammed into the mountain peak in front of him hard enough to crack the very earth that he stood on. Tatsumi shook his head and rubbed his eyes in order to clear the dust so he could see. He looked up as the dust settled, and the sight in front of him sent his head spinning and his heart slamming into his chest in a mixture of fear and excitement.

Esdese stood, dust and wind whipping around her like a typhoon as her hair billowed in the wind caused by her violent impact. Blue eyes of hardened steel glared at the landscape around her, surveying the area for any sort of trap that may lay in wait. Finding none, she whipped her head around, drawing her rapier only to nearly drop it in shock as her eyes leveled onto the young man gazing at her.

"T-Tatsumi?"

Esdese's breath came in short, ragged gasps as her eyes fell on the boy who held her heart in his hands. Letting her rapier clatter to the ground, she dashed over to him, nearly knocking the young swordsman off his feet with the force of her embrace had he not been expecting something of the sort. Face pressed into her chest (which he took some small delight in), he gripped her waist with his hands, conflicting emotions whirling through him.

"It's you Tatsumi, it's really you! I thought you were gone from me for good!"

Esdese could practically burst from the amount of happiness radiating from her at this very moment. She had the one she loved back in her arms, and she would be damned if she let him go again.

"General Esdese, I-"

Tatsumi was cut off as she silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"You don't have to say anything, Tatsumi. All that matters is that you're here with me now, and you're safe."

Esdese pressed her cheek against Tatsumi's head, running her fingers through his thick brown hair in an attempt to make sure this all wasn't some horrible nightmare. Tatsumi just stood there in shock, even more conflicted than before.

'She's the Ice Queen, and she's acting like this? All because she's seen me again?'

He knew he should be loyal to the Revolution, to Night-Raid and to his friends, but seeing this woman, the Empire's Strongest and one of their top Generals practically in tears over this unexpected reunion, shook him to his very core.

"What are you doing up here," Tatsumi managed to choke out.

Esdese stepped back, hands still on Tatsumi's shoulders. "I've been tasked by the Empire to hunt down Danger Beasts harassing the Capital."

It was at this moment Esdese gasped slightly, becoming fully aware of the situation. While this certainly felt like a dream come true for the General, she couldn't help but wonder as to why Tatsumi was up here.

"Why are you here?"

Tatsumi gulped at the question, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

'She's suspicious. If I don't answer carefully, I'm doomed.'

Tatsumi gulped.

"U-um, do you mind if we do something about this position? I can't concentrate if-"

"No. I won't let you run again."

Panicking, Tatsumi leapt back, putting some small distance between himself and Esdese.

"I-it's to test my skill!"

He brandished Incursio's key above his head, smiling triumphantly. He might just get out of this after all.

"I heard there were several high-level Danger Beasts roaming around up here!"

Esdese smirked. "Then you're here to fight them too."

A slight frown then overtook her features as she stared downwards at her feet.

"So, have you decided to join the Revolutionary Army?"

Tatsumi cursed inwardly. He should have known that Esdese wouldn't forget about something that crucial. The young swordsman dropped his hands back to his sides, staring at his feet.

"Not yet. But I don't intend on changing my mind. That's why I'm up here. I'm training to be a warrior."

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, for now, Esdese strode up to Tatsumi, running her hands along his arms and shoulders seductively as Tatsumi gulped.

"You've certainly improved greatly over such a short time," Esdese breathed out huskily, admiring just how much progress her love had made in such a short month. "Your physique is much more pronounced and you seem much stronger. I wonder how much stronger you would be if you would have stayed with me, hmm?"

Tatsumi gulped again, staring up into Esdese's face as she returned his gaze hungrily, mouth split into a toothy grin and eyes hazy with desire.

'Shit, think Tatsumi, think! There has to be a way out of this!'

This unexpected reunion was cut short as a series of bellows assaulted their ears. Looking up, the two warriors saw four of the pale, humanoid Danger Beasts climbing over the far side of the cliff face. Esdese glared, placing herself between the Beasts and Tatsumi as she strode towards her abandoned rapier.

"Leave these Beasts to me," she growled to Tatsumi, making his spine shiver.

Esdese plucked the rapier from the ground as the first of the Danger Beasts charged her. Not batting an eye, she sidestepped the first, jabbing her pointed rapier downward through the side of the creature's knee. Tatsumi winced as the abomination's shrill cry broke the night, ligaments severing and bones shattering as Esdese twisted her blade. With a strength that made Tatsumi slack-jawed in amazement, Esdese swung her rapier, with Beast still attached, in a graceful arc above her head, sending the beast flying into the body of another.

Without hesitation, Esdese summoned three large icicles, nonchalantly sending them flying through the air to skewer the two Danger Beasts writhing on the ground. Their bodies went limp as the third beast vaulted over its comrades, fists raised to pummel Esdese into the dirt. The General smirked up at the rapidly approaching creature, coating the fingers on her free hand into icy talons. Just as the beast was about to slam into her, Esdese swung her clawed hand up to meet it, icy talons sinking into the face of the creature. It went limp almost instantly, and Esdese squeezed, popping the creatures head as one would a balloon. Taking sick satisfaction in how she dispatched the first three, she surveyed the field of battle for the fourth.

Her eyes fell on Tatsumi as she looked for the fourth Danger Beast, cheeks flushing as she realized that the young boy had been watching her perform her work with rapt attention. Whether it was fear or adoration in his eyes, Esdese could not be certain, especially from this distance. Unable to find the fourth beast immediately, she began to stride over towards her lover.

It was then that the fourth and final Beast leapt over a rock formation stationed behind Tatsumi, crying out and intending on crushing his skull. She cried his name, dashing forward as he wheeled around to face the creature. Before Esdese could reach him, Tatsumi had drawn his sword and slashed through the beast in one fluid, downward motion, splitting it neatly in two. The pieces of the beast flew off to either side of Tatsumi as he smirked, returning his sword to its original place as Esdese ground to a halt behind him. He turned, smirking at Esdese sheepishly.

"Looks like that last one almost got the drop on me, eh?" He scratched the back of his head and grinned up at her.

"I didn't expect you to be able to counter so quickly, Tatsumi," she said, smiling down at him. "You have definitely improved since last you were with me."

She pulled him close, purring into his ear now.

"Maybe when we get back to the Palace, you can show me how else you've improved, neh?"

Her icy breath tickled his ear as his face became a rather impressive shade of red.

Tatsumi jumped back, raising his hands in defense and shaking his head as sweat rolled down his face.

"No, that won't be necessary! You see, I-"

Esdese's eyes narrowed suddenly as she turned around to face the opposite side of the rocky clearing.

"There's a surprising amount of nuisances around here. The one that just hid.. I know you're there, come out!"

Esdese brandished her rapier, her speech icy and harsh like a blizzard.

"Show yourself, or I shall not hesitate in attacking."

A cloaked man, hood drawn to hide his face, stepped out from behind the rocks, hands stuffed deep into his pockets as he chuckled.

"Damn, and I thought that I hid pretty well."

He stopped opposite of Esdese and Tatsumi, shrugging.

"As to be expected from the Empire's strongest. Still, to find you up here..."

He smirked menacingly.

"It seems playtime is over."

Esdese just grimaced.

"So, you were the one controlling the danger beasts all along. I'll escort you to the torture room."

The hooded figure just chuckled once more.

"Sorry, but I'm not into that," he shrugged.

The hooded man hunched over, drawing a device from his pocket.

"And ultimately, I'll have you clean up a big toy!"

He brandished the device above his head, invoking the contraption's power.

"Now, witness the power of my Teigu. Have fun with my final toys! Shambhala!"

In a bright flash, the two warriors had disappeared, leaving the hooded figure as the sole living being atop Mount Fake.

"I can't have you ruining my fun before it has even begun."

With that, the hooded figure turned and began back down the mountain side.

XXXXX

Tatsumi screamed as he was ejected from the other side of the portal, rolling as he crashed to the ground. Groaning, he lay there trying to catch his breath, inhaling deeply. He didn't know how far he had been sent, and he obviously had no idea where he was as he gazed around him. He had never been to the beach before, and the tropical locale in which he had obviously been so unceremoniously dumped held absolutely no answers as to where he and Esdese had ended up.

Remembering that Esdese had been teleported too, he looked around to find her, eventually spying her shock of blue hair underneath a nearby palm tree, a little ways behind him. Tatsumi stood, shaking the sand from his clothes as he walked over towards Esdese.

The General had been shot from the portal in much the same way as Tatsumi was, landing somewhat more gracefully Tatsumi at the foot of a tall palm tree. She shook the stars from her eyes as she stood up, glancing around to see Tatsumi walking up to her.

"Where are we?"

Esdese looked at Tatsumi as he scratched his head, staring around at the white sandy beaches.

"It looks like we've been teleported to a remote location. My guess is that it is quite a distance from the Empire."

Tatsumi looked at Esdese in shock.

"How far?! Oh, this can't be real! It has to be an illusion!"

Tatsumi ran his fingers through his hair, pacing back and forth as Esdese began to survey the area. White sand, calm seas, and a large, crescent shaped beach? The General had a vague idea as to where they were, but would need a better vantage point to make sure.

"Esdese!"

She was brought from her musings as Tatsumi called her name. Esdese blushed, turning to see the boy standing in front of her.

"This can't be real! It has to be an illusion or a dream or something! Please, Esdese, hurt me, and maybe we'll go back to reality!"

Esdese blushed furiously, hands on her cheeks as she shook her head coyly.

"My, Tatsumi, I didn't know you had such a fetish. It's as though we WERE meant for each other."

Tatsumi sweatdropped. Hard.

"That isn't what I meant," he cried, shaking his fist at Esdese. "Because of that guy's ability, we may be hallucinating this. So, if we feel some sort of physical pain, we might wake up, right?"

Esdese turned to Tatsumi.

"Alright, here goes."

Tatsumi shut his eyes, squeezing them tight and furrowing his brow as he wait for what was to come. His mind raced, wondering what kind of pain she was about to inflict upon him.

It never came. Instead, Tatsumi's eyes shot open as he felt Esdese placing her hands on the sides of his head, pressing her smooth lips against his own. Shocked, he opened his mouth to say something, and Esdese took this opportunity to deepen the kiss, exploring his mouth with her tongue.

Tatsumi placed his hands on Esdese's waist, intent on breaking the kiss, but found that he couldn't. Tatsumi, despite his mind's protests, wanted to kiss her. Hell, it even felt good! Tatsumi decided to wrap his arms around Esdese's waist fully, fighting back with his tongue.

Now it was Esdese's turn to be surprised. Her love, her Tatsumi, was returning her kiss! Her cheeks flushed heavily and her chest heaved as Esdese ran her hands through Tatsumi's brown hair, his own hands trailing up and down her spine, leaving it tingling with electricity at his touch.

After several moments, the two broke the kiss, panting heavily. Esdese trailed her fingers down Tatsumi's cheek, smiling at him seductively.

"Does that prove that this isn't some illusion?"

Tatsumi backpedaled forcefully, blushing and shaking his head. "You can't just use me like that! It's not fair!"

Esdese giggled at his reaction before getting back to business.

"The smell, the temperature, the humidity..."

'Tatsumi's lips.' She blushed.

"This is all real. Most likely, it's that guy's ability. Some Teigu have the ability to manipulate space and time."

Tatsumi's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

'Space and Time?! How can that be?'

"Something like that can't be possible," he protested.

Esdese turned back to the young boy, sauntering up to Tatsumi and grabbing him around the waist. 'For now, let's check our surroundings.'

"Hold on tight," she whispered huskily into his ear, summoning an enormous pillar of ice to carry the duo high into the sky.

Tatsumi had his breath taken away at the view presented to him. They were several hundred feet in the air on top of a pillar of ice, looking out over the small island surrounded by ocean on all sides. Tatsumi had never seen such a sight. "This is amazing," he cried, smiling ear to ear as Esdese grinned.

"This is a beautiful view," she mused. "It's as though we're on a date!"

Tatsumi sulked, conflicted as to how to feel about the prospect of a date with the Empire's resident Ice Queen.

"You sure are calm," he muttered.

Esdese looked down at Tatsumi's sitting form as he stared across the ocean.

"The ability of the Teigu surpasses the imagination. If you want to go on, you have to keep an open mind."

Tatsumi hummed to himself, mulling over this new information.

"Back to the main subject..."

Tatsumi suddenly felt a weight on his back as Esdese squeezed him from behind.

"It's like we're on a date," she pronounced happily, smiling as Tatsumi began to protest.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar could be heard just off-shore. Tatsumi and Esdese started into the ocean as a giant abomination arose from the depths, towering just as high as the two on the pillar. Tatsumi thought that this Danger Beast was almost the same height as Dr. Stylish after his transformation.

'Now is my chance,' Esdese screamed internally. 'I can finally show Tatsumi what I can do, and he'll surely be mine!'

Tatsumi just stared at the abomination, gritting his teeth in frustration. 'If only I could use Incursio,'he thought wildly, 'I could get us out of this mess.' Tatsumi widened his eyes in shock, realizing what just crossed his mind. 'Us?! Since when was there an us?!'

"I have no time for nuisances," muttered Esdese, a sadistic smile splitting her visage. She drew her hands together in front of her, fingertips pressed together as giant spikes of ice formed in the air around her.

"Something like you deserves skewering! Weiss Schnabel!"

The spikes of ice raced forward, skewering the abomination and sending it toppling. Tatsumi stared on, awestruck.

"Amazing. In one instant-"

He was cut off as the beast began to rise again, pieces of shredded flesh dangling from its ruptured skin.

"How tenacious," muttered Esdese maniacally. "This is getting exciting."

Tatsumi pointed at the spot on it's forehead.

"What about there? That looks fragile, doesn't it?"

Esdese smirked.

"My thoughts exactly."

Placing a hand on the pillar of ice below her, she summoned another spike of ice, this one as large as the pillar they stood upon. "Grau Horn," she cried, sending it jetting towards the giant Danger Beast.

The abomination, not to be put down so easily, stopped the attack with one of its hands, preparing to counterattack. It was then that Tatsumi decided to strike. With a cry, he leapt onto the ice spike, using it as a bridge to close the distance between himself and the Danger Beast.

Esdese stared, mouth agape in shock. 'Tatsumi is playing off my abilities to deliver the killing blow. Seeing him in action, feeling his intent...'

With a roar, Tatsumi leapt, bringing his sword down to skewer the Beast's pilot as blood sprayed out from being the creature.

'To think, that I would use this opportunity to impress you, only to have you impress me more, my Tatsumi'.

The beast fell to the ground dead as Tatsumi leapt clear of the carcass, landing in the sand and rolling to his feet. He looked up at the figure of Esdese standing atop the pillar of ice, smirking.

'You're not the only one who can hold their own out here, Esdese.'

Tatsumi's eyes widened as another of the gigantic Danger Beasts rose from the ground behind Esdese, sending a fist flying at the icy pillar she was perched upon. As the pillar started to topple, Esdese just smirked, jumping high into the air as she snapped her fingers. Almost instantly, an enormous block of ice appeared above Esdese's head as she sent it barreling towards the second monstrosity. Tatsumi could only stare, mouth agape.

'So this is the true power of the Empire's Strongest. We don't stand a chance...'

Esdese laughed maniacally.

"Hagel Sprung," she cried, slamming the giant mass of ice into the Danger Beast, effectively crushing its pilot and killing it instantly.

Tatsumi could do nothing but stare in a mix of fear and excitement.

'Her fighting style, it's so impressive. I couldn't hope to match her at my level now. I don't even know how the rest of Night Raid would fare against the likes of her.'

Esdese leapt off the giant block of ice, landing next to Tatsumi gracefully.

"Well, Tatsumi? Did I impress you?"

Tatsumi was brought out of his thoughts abruptly and looked up to see Esdese blushing coyly as she clasped both hands in front of her. He couldn't help but blush as he turned his head away, running a hand through his hair as he ventured several yards away to plop down in the shade of a nearby palm tree.

"Well, it appears that was the last of them."

Esdese sat opposite him, drawing out a small pencil and notebook from one of the pockets on her uniform, appearing to draw something within its confines.

"So that's what that man meant by cleaning up toys."

Quirking his eyebrow at the blue-haired belle, Tatsumi just shrugged.

"So, what do we do now?"

Esdese looked over the edge of her notebook at Tatsumi before returning to her drawing.

"First, we'll scout the area. We need a definite understanding of our environment before we proceed any further," replied Esdese as she studied her drawing closely.

"Roger," Tatsumi shouted, pumping his fist in excitement. 'Wait,' he began to think as something crossed his mind. 'When did I get enthusiastic about working with her? She's the enemy,' Staring at Esdese as she continued her fervent sketching, he couldn't help but think that she looked somewhat... cute. Then he remembered what she had become famous for and threw his head back, running his fingers through his hair in confusion. 'What's gotten into me?'

'Hmm,' mused Esdese, as she compared the real-life Tatsumi to her drawing. 'It still doesn't look like him.'

XXXXX

Tatsumi and Esdese spent the majority of the day scouting out the dense tropical forests surrounding their immediate area. Their time spent foraging for food and hunting Danger Beasts, not to mention Esdese's almost constant advances on Tatsumi, almost made them forget that they were stranded on a remote island in the middle of the ocean with no signs of civilization to be found.

Almost.

Tatsumi sighed, plopping down onto the smooth sand as he stared up at the stars. "We spent the entire day exploring the island, and we haven't even covered half of it. It's already dark," he mused as he stared up at the tapestry of stars above him.

"While we didn't explore the whole island," Esdese replied, sitting next to him, "I do think I have a general idea of where we ended up."

Tatsumi sat up, eyes begging her to continue.

Esdese went on with her findings. "Judging by the climate, the fact that we're surrounded by ocean, and my own extensive knowledge of the Empire's maps, I would have to place us on a deserted island in the sea to the southeast of the Empire's borders."

"That far, huh?" Tatsumi looked back up at the stars, mind racing.

"Yes," continued Esdese. "The nearest island is miles away, much too far to swim. So our only options for finding a way back to the Capital are to find another portal like the one that dropped us here, or tame a Danger Beast strong enough to fly us home."

"Now, back to important matters," Esdese began again, placing her hand atop Tatsumi's. "This island is deserted. Meaning that we're the only two people on this island."

Tatsumi blanched, trying to backpedal away, but the sand was slowing him down. "Shouldn't we focus on trying to get out of here, instead of, you know, other things," asked Tatsumi feverishly as he tried to desperately change the subject.

Esdese bared her teeth in her infamous predatory grin, crawling seductively onto Tatsumi's now prone form. Tatsumi gulped, realizing that her blouse was still unbuttoned from the expedition across the island, revealing her impressive bust only covered by a thin white bra. "Oh come now, Tatsumi," she whispered huskily into his ear, "don't tell me that you wouldn't like to get to know each other better."

Tatsumi had to come up with a solution, fast. "I know how to get to know each other better," he blurted without thinking. "Tell me about yourself! Tell me about how you grew up."

Esdese smiled, almost sadly, aqua eyes shadowed by her blue bangs. "Fine, I'll tell you my story. I was born into a northern tribe of hunters who specialized in hunting high-level danger beasts. I never knew my mother, as she was killed when I was just an infant, so my father, the chief of the tribe, raised me single-handedly, teaching me the skills of the hunter as I grew."

Tatsumi gulped. 'No wonder she's so intimidating. Having to grow up like that, I can't even imagine what that must have been like.'

Esdese continued. "He taught me that the law of the world, was to kill or be killed, to eat or be eaten. That was how we survived. However, while I was out hunting one day, a neighboring tribe from across the northern border slaughtered what was left of my tribe. I came home to my village in flames, and I witnessed my father give his last breath as he passed. In the end, he wasn't strong enough. So he died."

Tatsumi stared up at her in shock. "Esdese, I-I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

The woman in question sighed, leaning away to lay next to Tatsumi in the sand. "It's okay, Tatsumi. In truth, no one has ever shown interest, much less concern over my past, so your reaction is... unexpected, but nice."

Tatsumi sat up, hugging his knees.

"I think you're wrong, though, Esdese," he muttered.

Esdese looked up at Tatsumi, perplexed. "Oh, and how is that? Please, enlighten me."

"The world isn't just kill or be killed anymore. Sure, a lot of those same principles still apply, but it's a big world. Everyone has hopes, dreams, and aspirations. They have goals to reach and people they care about. I think life is about making the world a better place, for yourself and those you care about." Tatsumi looked over at Esdese, a question perched upon his lips. "Why do you care about me, Esdese? Why do you really care about me?"

Esdese stared up at Tatsumi, surprise evident on her face. "Tatsumi, I've told you," she began. "I love you. You're everything I could have ever wanted, and-"

Tatsumi abruptly stood up, glaring out over the ocean. "If you can't tell me why you supposedly 'love' me, Esdese, then I have nothing to say to you." He began his trek down the beach, to clear his conflicted head.

Esdese just stared after him, a single tear trailing down her cheek that no living soul would ever see.

'Tatsumi...'

Tatsumi marched down the beach, his mind ablaze. 'Why did I just do that? I can't have feelings for her. She's the enemy, the Empire's strongest weapon! So why am I all of a sudden so conflicted?' The teen sighed, kicking up sand in an attempt to relieve his frustration. None of these feelings made sense to him, and the lack of distractions on this Emperor-forsaken island wasn't making things any easier on the young man.

Tatsumi stared up at the night sky, the sound of waves hitting the shore crashing around his ears as he sighed once more. 'Bulat, I don't know what to do. I need my Big Bro in a time like this.'

Suddenly, a bright purple light illuminated the beach around him, and Tatsumi whipped around to see a portal, not unlike the one that sent them to the island, materialize on the beach.

'A way home...'

XXXXX

Esdese, similarly, was staring up at the night sky, but hadn't moved from her position in the sand since Tatsumi had stormed off. 'Kill or be killed... that's all I've known my whole life. Survival has always been my number one priority, and yet, Tatsumi seems happy to throw his life on the line at a moment's notice. Why? I don't understand.'

Esdese huffed, standing up and brushing off her military uniform. It was obvious she had a lot of thinking to do, but being stranded alone on a deserted island all by her lonesome wasn't her cup of tea, even for the Empire's most sadistic general. 'Since when did I become so soft,' she scoffed internally, following after Tatsumi by use of his footprints left in the sand.

Suddenly, a bright purple light, much like the one that teleported the two to the island in the first place, lit up like a beacon in the direction that Tatsumi had walked. Esdese, panicking, shot towards the light, praying that she wasn't too late. 'I can't let Tatsumi get away from me, not again!'

Despite the speed at which Esdese rocketed down the beach, she didn't reach the portal in time, collapsing in the sand as the portal closed in front of her. Broken and in shock, she reached down, running her fingers through the sand.

'No... Tatsumi, he's gone again. He's gone and I couldn't stop him!' Tears welling up in her eyes, she squeezed them shut, pain and rage and agony building up inside her. Suddenly, a faint whisper reached her ears above the sound of the ocean waves.

"Esdese."

Her head shot up, eyes wide in surprise. There, on the opposite side of where the portal disappeared, was Tatsumi, with that big grin plastered on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.

Esdese could feel her heart practically burst in joy. She shot over towards him, knocking him over with the force of her embrace, the tears flowing freely now. "Tatsumi, oh Gods, I thought that I lost you for a third time," she whimpered, her icy facade beginning to crack as Tatsumi could do nothing but run his hands up and down her back.

"I couldn't very well leave you here on this island by yourself," Tatsumi replied, sighing inwardly. 'Your heart is just too big for its own good.' Shaking his head, he continued. "If you hadn't have been here with me, I would have never been able to take on those two creatures, or even begun to think of a way out of here, so I figured I'd repay the favor and help you find a way off this island."

To say that Tatsumi was surprised at Esdese's near-breakdown was to put it mildly. He was downright floored. 'Maybe there's actually some good in her after all,' he mused.

After several moments of lying on the beach, Esdese composed herself, pecking Tatsumi on the cheek as she stood up. "It would be best to find some shelter for the night, seeing as we're stuck here for the time being," she said, trying to sound nonchalant as she sauntered to the edge of the tropical forest.

"Oh no, you can't just play that off," shouted Tatsumi as he chased after her, shaking his fist in the air. "I saw you, you can't deny that you weren't crying!"

Sighing, Esdese turned and placed an icy hand on Tatsumi's shoulder as he caught up with her. "Speak one word of this," muttered Esdese darkly, "and you'll spend a fortnight in my own personal torture chamber when we get back. Understood?"

As Tatsumi gulped and nodded quickly, she smiled sickly, turning and continuing into the forest.

'I should have left her here, dammit.' Sighing, Tatsumi consigned himself to his fate, trudging after the Ice Mistress into the forest.

XXXXX

"Tatsumi's missing again?"

Lubbock stared up at Night Raid's leader, Najenda, through his green hair, sadness written all over his features after giving his official report of the scouting mission. "It appears that way, Miss Najenda," he replied, clenching his fists. He was lucky that it was only he and Najenda who were up at this time, or else the rest of the small band of assassins would be out for his blood for letting Tatsumi disappear after just getting him back from the clutches of Esdese and her lackeys.

It's not like it was necessarily Lubbock's fault though. He couldn't really stop Tatsumi from scouting the top of the mountain, since it was bound to happen anyway, and he wasn't a fighter, so taking on that hooded figure that followed Tatsumi up the mountainside was out of the question. Sure, all of Night Raid could hold their own in a fight, but Lubbock was more suited to intelligence gathering, and he was loathe to change that.

"This certainly complicates matters," Najenda spoke softly, lighting up another of her cigars as she inhaled deeply. "From what our reports from the Capital say, unrest is growing at a surprisingly alarming rate. Change is coming to the Empire, Lubbock; for better or worse I can't say."

Lubbock could only nod his head in agreement. Having followed Najenda since before she defected from the Imperial Army, he knew when to trust his leader's judgement, and her words helped to reaffirm what he had been hearing from his contacts in the Capital for days now. "Is there any words from the Army," questioned Lubbock.

Najenda nodded. "The Revolutionary Army is growing stronger by each passing day, and it won't be long before the army is ready to launch an assault on the Capital," she mused. "Which is why we need Night Raid at full strength right now. We've just been handed a new list of of high-ranking Imperial personnel to take out, including the Prime Minister and Esdese herself, not to mention Grand General Budo as well as other key sympathizers to the Empire's cause."

Lubbock sighed, running his fingers through his long hair. "We certainly have a lot of slack to pull these days."

"That's not all though."

Lubbock looked at Najenda questioningly as her artificial hand tapped a rhythm away against the table she was currently leaning on.

"We've received startling reports from our Army's scouts stationed along the southern border. The rise of traffic coming from the desert to the south has kicked up substantially, and none of the southerners are returning across the border back to their homeland. Our own scouts stationed in the southern region have yet to report back for weeks now, leading us to believe that something big is happening across the desert."

Lubbock could only sigh once more. 'If it's not one thing, it's another I suppose. All the more reason we need Tatsumi back so we can get this Revolution over with already.'

XXXXX

The next morning, Tatsumi awoke with a yawn, attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Feeling an additional weight on his side, he found Esdese with her head resting peacefully on his shoulder, an arm draped over his chest and her legs intertwined with his. Panicking slightly, Tatsumi tried to find a way to squeeze out of her grip, only to have her grumble and tighten her hold the minute he made any sort of movement.

Resigning himself to his fate, Tatsumi just stared at the canopy of leaves above him as the sun's rays began too peek through, illuminating the forest floor below. Before passing out from sheer exhaustion last night, he had help Esdese make an impromptu lean-to out of dried logs and palm tree leaves, and now lay on a bead of more palm tree leaves, using his shirts as a makeshift pillow.

This thought made him blush as he realized that he had slept next to Esdese shirtless the whole night. After several moments of careful deliberation, he decided to try and sit up and put his shirts back on. Such was not mean to be, for as Tatsumi tried to ease out of Esdese's grasp, she muttered once more in her sleep, turning onto her back and pulling Tatsumi with her, succeeding in planting his face between her breasts which were still exposed due to her unbuttoned blouse. In an attempt to get up, Tatsumi accidentally placed his hands on top of her breasts, squeezing them slightly as he pushed himself up, making Esdese elicit a small moan as his face turned an impressive shade of red.

"My my, Tatsumi, I didn't think you'd try and take advantage of me in my sleep," whispered Esdese as she opened her eyes to grin up at the blushing teen. "If you wanted me, all you had to do is ask." She leaned up, nipping at his neck as he shuddered. Tatsumi backed away quickly, throwing his hands up and shaking his head.

"It wasn't like that, I swear," he shouted, trying to defend himself as he backpedaled out of the makeshift shelter, hastily throwing his black undershirt on. "I'm going to the beach to see if I can catch us something to eat!" With that, he snatched up Incursio's key, sprinting like a madman back towards the beach.

Esdese smiled as she got up, stretching. Her attention was suddenly drawn to an odd rustling in the trees above. Face falling into that same icy scowl, she send several arm-sized icicles hurdling towards the trees as a black, animalistic figure darted from one tree to another in order to avoid being reduced to scraps. Esdese glared as she observed the creature leaping through the trees, heading towards the inner portion of the island. 'It seems we weren't as alone on this island as I had originally suspected.'

After scanning her immediate surroundings and sensing nothing, Esdese began her march towards the beach, unaware of the amber eyes following her from a distance.

–

"Oi, Esdese!"

Tatsumi waved at the approaching blue-haired woman, sweating but triumphant as he smiled goofily. His black undershirt lay in the sand several yards away and he was drenched in salty sea water, but Esdese Beside him lay a mound of fish, enough to keep the two fed for several days at least. Esdese blushed at the sight of his toned and shirtless form.

Before she could reach him, however, Esdese heard a familiar whistling sound from the tree line behind her. Narrowing her eyes as she pivoted on her heel, she created an icy wall, ensnaring the dozen or so arrows that flew mercilessly towards their targets.

Tatsumi was taken aback at this sudden display, but quickly recovered, snatching up Incursio's key from the sand next to him and running to take position next to Esdese in a battle stance. 'I can't use Incursio unless it's a last-resort type scenario,' Tatsumi's mind raced. 'Still, how could we have not seen any signs of anyone else on this island?'

Esdese smiled cruelly, shattering the ice wall with a flick of her wrist as several figures appeared on the sand in front of the two. 'And here I thought I would get rusty on my torture techniques.'

Tatsumi felt the killing intent spew from Esdese, looking over at her in concern.

It was then that the figure at the front of the pack of assailants spoke up.

"Calm yourself, Queen of the Ice," shouted the man, black hair blowing in the ocean breeze as his amber eyes met Esdese cold aqua orbs. "We are not here for you."

Said woman just scoffed, flicking her long mane behind her. "If you're not here for me," she cackled bemusedly, "then you must be here for the swordsman behind me. And that is something I will not allow you to take from me." Esdese began to draw her rapier from her side, but the leader of the jungle men spoke again.

"The Armored One has encroached upon our sacred fishing grounds," said the tribal man again, standing straight and planting the butt of his spear into the sand. His tanned skin, rippling with muscle and scars from apparent years spent living in the jungles of the island, cut an imposing figure of a young warrior with the experience of one much older and wiser than his years gave off. Tatsumi gulped. 'Shit, they saw me use Incursio to catch all these fish.'

Esdese shot her cold gaze towards Tatsumi, making the teen wither where he stood. "Explain."

Tatsumi swallowed again, resigning himself to his fate. Eyes hidden by his bangs, he stabbed Incursio's key into the sand at his feet, calling on the power of the Tyrant to engulf him once more.

Esdese stared at Tatsumi, mouth agape as his body was covered head-to-toe in gleaming silver armor, a full-body length spear/halberd type weapon appearing in his left hand. "You... You're the new wielder of the Teigu Incursio, aren't you Tatsumi? Does this mean you've joined Night Raid?"

Tatsumi's armored head swiveled towards Esdese, his eyes meeting hers through his helmet. What he saw shocked him. Esdese, one fist clenched tight to her chest, stared at him with her jaw hanging slightly open, eyes brimming with tears. It was her eyes, though, that broke Tatsumi. Her normal confident icy stare was replaced with watery aqua orbs, filled with fear, confusion, hurt and betrayal.

He couldn't bear to look at her anymore, hanging his head. "Yes. I am the wielder of Incursio now. Its previous owner, the Night Raid assassin Bulat, the Hundred Man Slayer, passed it on to me after he, and your own General Liver, fell in battle." Thinking back to that fateful day, Tatsumi clenched his fists in anger. "I can never forgive your subordinate for taking someone precious away from me. He wasn't the only one taken from me by the Empire. They also took my two best friends, Ieyasu and Sayo."

Tatsumi's eyes began to water as his rage grew. "I've lost so many friends to the greed and corruption of your precious Empire," he spat with contempt as Esdese took a step back. "Sayo, Ieyasu... they were killed by a family of nobles masquerading as a family of good Samaritans. They, along with countless others, were poisoned, tortured, violated and murdered, and for what?! The so called glory of the Empire? That's fucking bullshit."

Tatsumi was shaking now, the tribesmen watching the interaction between the two with passive stares. "Do you know what it's like to have your friends, people whom you considered family, be ripped away in the blink of an eye," asked Tatsumi, voice rising to a shout as he took a step towards Esdese. She took a step back as his words crashed over her, battering against her mind like a ram. Was she... feeling sorry for the loss of these people who were close to Tatsumi? "One of your own precious Jaegers killed my friend, Sheele, another member of Night Raid. She butchered Sheele without mercy, because her view of justice and righteousness was so fucked up by the corruption in your precious Capital that she became a monster."

Tatsumi had thrown down his spear now, clutching Esdese shoulders in a vice grip that made her wince. "And Bulat," he cried, shaking Esdese's shoulders slightly. "Your own subordinate, Liver, killed someone that he once considered a brother-in-arms without hardly batting an eye. It shouldn't have ended that way, but you twisted and warped his mind to where that old man didn't even give a single fuck about cutting down his own former student! Tell me, IS THAT JUST AND RIGHEOUS ENOUGH FOR YOUR FUCKING EMPIRE?!"

Tatsumi whirled away with a scream of unbridled rage and grief, collapsing to his knees as he released Incursio, letting it melt away from his exhausted body. "And let me tell you," he whispered so quietly that only Esdese could hear, "killing that little fuck Nyau? It was pure bliss. He deserved every second of it. It might not bring Bulat back, but he deserved it nonetheless." His tirade had left him drained, and he didn't even care that those tribesmen could end his life in a heartbeat. Anything was better than living like this.

He felt a hand land softly on his shoulder, flinching slightly at the touch. He turned his head, emerald eyes brimming with tears to meet Esdese's own melancholy orbs. "I'm sorry, Tatsumi," was all she muttered before the boy was upon her, clutching at her uniform and sobbing in pain and agony and rage and grief. All she could do was hold the youth, running her fingers softly through his hair to calm him down. He hated her. He hated Esdese and her Empire and her lackeys and that fucking Prime Minister who controlled the Emperor like some sick child-puppet. Yet he couldn't help but find some small, sick comfort in the fact that it was Esdese was comforting him, who let him cry and grieve for his lost comrades. After several tense moments, Tatsumi, sniffed, wiping his eyes and standing up as Esdese rose to her feet as well.

"We understand grief."

Tatsumi looked up, green eyes meeting amber as the leader of the jungle men spoke once more.

"This Empire, it has reached its bloody talons even to remote places as these." He sighed. "Several of our neighboring tribes in the island chain have been lost to the Empire. We are the only ones that remain free."

Taking a step towards the two, he spoke once more. "I am sorry, Armored One and Queen of Ice, but I must ask that you come with us. Our Elder would much like to speak with you." He nodded to several of his men, and they began stepping towards the two slowly.

Esdese drew her rapier now, eyes returning to their cold and calculating stare. "Touch either of us, and I promise your deaths will be slow and gruesome." The leader of the troupe sighed. With a whistle from his lips flew two darts from the edge of the forest, impacting into Tatsumi's chest and neck and sending him toppling to the ground in unconsciousness. Esdese, seeing this, screamed in rage, sprinted at the closest native, impaling him on her blade up to the hilt as blood began to spray, coating her arm and splashing over her uniform and face. "I'll skewer you all!"

She kicked the native unceremoniously off of her sword, turning as two more charged her, one leaping high and one sweeping low. She stepped to the side, thrusting and skewering the native in the air, slamming him on top of the third native. As the tribal man hurried to throw off his now deceased comrade and right himself, a shadow fell upon him. The man looked up to see Esdese's outstretched palm hovering over his face as she summoned a spike of ice from her hand, splitting the poor tribesman's skull.

"Enough!"

Esdese whirled, unbridled hate being replaced with a chilling fear as she saw the leader of the pack, flanked by even more natives now, holding a bound and unconscious Tatsumi up by the hair. A knife pressed into the boy's throat, drawing just a trickle of blood, made Esdese seethe with barely-contained rage.

"We have had enough of these games," he said gruffly. "Come with us and the boy lives. Resist, and he dies now. Choose."

Ignoring all rational thought, Esdese charged anyway, intent on removing this stain from the face of the earth. She suddenly gasped as she felt several projectiles hit her, entering her neck, abdomen and legs while knocking her back and throwing her vision for a loop. She pulled the one from her neck, casting it aside as she stumbled, attempting to conjure enough ice to skewer this man and his descendants ten times over. No such ice came as she sank to her knees, the ferocious roars from the Ice Demon she housed fading to nothing but a whisper.

"You must learn to control your Demon," said the leader, motioning for his subordinates to bind her thoroughly for the trip back to the village. "If you don't, you will surely not only kill yourself, but the man you so love as well."

Turning and slinging Tatsumi over his shoulder, he began the trek back to his village, his brothers in tow as they dragged an almost-unconscious Ice Witch behind them. "I can see it in your eyes," he called to Esdese behind him as she struggled to stay awake, the tranquilizer from the darts pumping through her system. "You house an incredibly powerful force inside of you. One that could topple regimes in a day if you so wished. Yet you have the eyes of a killer and bury yourself in needless violence for the sake of violence, if only to sate the thirst of the beast within. You must learn how to control this Demon, or risk losing your sanity entirely, and much more."

Looking up groggily, she could barely make out the limp figure of Tatsumi slung over the leader's shoulder. 'I swear,' she thought groggily, mind slipping into the void, 'once I get Tatsumi back. You'll pay. You'll all fucking pay like the swine you are.'

The Ice Demon held within her, muffled but not silent, roared in pure bloodlust as Esdese slipped into unconsciousness.

XXXXX

A/N: Well, this about wraps it up for chapter one of Juggernaut. Read, review, and let me know what you think.

To me, it makes sense to have Tatsumi conflicted about 80% of the time. He is, after all, only seventeen or so, so making tough adult decisions isn't something that he's used to. He, you could say, doesn't look before he leaps, and that's the beauty of who Tatsumi is as a character. He's not afraid to speak his mind and do whats right, yet as the series goes on, he begins to learn some sense of subtlety and tact that he was severely lacking due to his naivete of how things are supposed to work, which I plan on expanding on while eliminating some of his childish tendencies. Life isn't all sunshine and daisies. Oh that's so cruel, you can't take away his childhood from him like that! In truth, that was taken from him long ago. The deaths of Sayo, Ieyasu, Sheele and Bulat helped to reaffirm that Tatsumi is no stranger to loss; however, all these hit in such a short time and, while keeping himself busy with Night Raid and trying to elude Esdese and her advances, I don't think our young hero ever got a chance to properly grieve and move on. We'll see more of that later. Personally, his tirade towards Esdese ended up being one of my favorite parts of this chapter. I feel that was a crucial point of character development that is often overlooked.

As for Esdese, I have a feeling that most of you will think that what I've done here, for the most part, will cast her woefully out of character. For the most part, you'd be right. In episode 14 of the anime, titled "Kill The Giant Danger Beast," we see Esdese open up a little bit to Tatsumi, showing a much gentler side to him that no one else has ever seen. She obviously feels comfortable enough to begin to open up to Tatsumi, and if you ask me, she uses carnage and violence to bury aspects of her past and close herself off emotionally because she never learned how to process strong emotional feelings, being brought up in the type of environment that she was raised in. Also, I don't think that consuming the Teigu Demon Extract exactly helped her sanity. Similar to Naruto, the wielder of the Demon Extract begins to hear voices and feel waves of incredible bloodlust engulf themselves. While Esdese may have thought that she learned how to control her Teigu, she merely learned how to wield it in battle, but not master it, and I think it is all a ploy of the ultra-class Danger Beast that the Teigu is derived from. If it was already powerful enough to drive any ordinary user mad, why did it choose Esdese?

My theory is that since she is so used to bottlenecking her emotions to the point of only being able to express cruelty and violence, the Danger Beast, or rather the essence of the bloodthirsty creature that was trapped within its blood that Esdese consumed, is manifesting itself and magnifying her already unstable emotions, making her think that she controls her Teigu, when in reality the Danger Beast is only bending its power to her will in order to cause more death and chaos. I know, in the anime and manga, it is said that Esdese possesses a strong will that no one has been able to break, but part of my theory is that the essence of the Danger Beast contained within the Demon Extract also contains an incredibly strong will, and from what we know about Danger Beast as expanded on in the anime/manga, Ultra-Class Danger Beasts are nigh-impossible to tame. Esdese might think she has tamed "the beast within," but in reality, I think it's something entirely different.

As for the story itself, it was a HUGE stroke of luck that they even got teleported to the island together in the first place, and getting teleported back within the same day? The odds of that happening are, shall we say, astronomical. The introduction of the jungle men will be properly explained in the next chapter, as to their exact reason for wanting Tatsumi alive. I mean, "Hey, come with us, you stole our fish," seems like a pretty shitty excuse to kidnap someone. All will be revealed in good time. Maybe a play by this "Elder" at Tatsumi's sense of honor to do some sort of task? Who knows.

Also, while I'm at it, you might be thinking that it was relatively easy for these jungle men to take down Esdese and Tatsumi. Well, these people are trained warriors, and aside from previous small interactions with the Empire, had never heard of Esdese or Tatsumi, which is why their leader was able to meet Esdese's eyes head-on. Anyone else would have shrunk away in fear, as evidenced when she made Tatsumi wither like a dead flower. Since Esdese was already in a high state of emotional distress due to Tatsumi, it was child's play for the tribesmen to manipulate those feelings into making her lower her guard and acting rashly. Next thing you know it, bam, unconscious Esdese.

Finally, I think that Esdese is severely overpowered throughout the anime, and that Tatsumi doesn't get enough time to accurately develop his skills. He's always getting thrown into situations that force him to evolve, which given is the entire motif behind his Teigu and who he is as a person, but still. Don't go into this expecting GodMode! Esdese or GodMode! Tatsumi. They'll both be knocked into the dirt more than once.

Just some food for thought. We'll wait and see how it goes.

Again, thank you for checking out Chapter One: A Black Minute of the fanfic Juggernaut, and I look forward to hearing your critiques and reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame ga Kill, nor any of the characters that appear within save the OCs.