"Tatsumi! Where are you!"
Wave broke into a cold sweat, shouting as he searched, but there was no voice to answer him.
"Don't tell me you actually escaped!!"
Wave clutched his head, thinking of his terrifying commander, Esdeath. He certainly didn't want to face her punishment.
"I'm dead!!!"
"I understand how you feel, but why did you do this to me!!! I don't want to die either!!"
He calmed himself, drew his sword, and thrust it into the ground.
"I guess there's no other way..."
"Grand Chariot!"
Unlike the fiery aura of Tatsumi's Incursio, Grand Chariot emitted a deep blue radiance, like the color of the ocean. The armor emerged from the void, encasing Wave's body.
Tatsumi was flying through the branches. He had already equipped Incursio, which allowed him to move continuously across such a vast distance.
"In normal circumstances, escaping from Teigu users would be difficult. However, if I seize the right moment and possess a Teigu myself, it's a different story."
He emerged from the forest into a relatively open area near a waterfall.
"This should be far enough; he won't be able to find me here."
Suddenly, he looked up at the sky, sensing something. Indeed, an object was plummeting from above, aiming directly at him with extreme speed.
Boom!
Without hesitation, Tatsumi dodged. The object crashed into the cliffside, causing a large section to collapse. As it drew closer, he caught a glimpse—it was a suit of armor.
"The same type as mine?"
"Hey, hey, looks like I've caught a big fish."
A voice echoed from the dust cloud as the form of the armor became clearer. It was Wave, equipped with Grand Chariot.
"I know that Teigu, Incursio. It was the prototype for my Grand Chariot. And above all, the one wearing it is a member of Night Raid!"
Finding a Night Raid member was a higher priority than finding Tatsumi. Without further words, Wave entered a combat stance, and Tatsumi followed suit.
A silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of the rushing waterfall.
"Grand Chariot is an upgraded version of Incursio. This guy is no slouch; I have to be careful."
"Is this guy Wave? Or someone else? Regardless of who it is..."
Whoosh!
Tatsumi propelled himself away. Whether it was Wave or not, he had no time to waste. If he got bogged down until Esdeath arrived, he wouldn't be able to escape even if he wanted to.
"Don't even think about running! Face me!"
Wave quickly pursued. Tatsumi found it troublesome; he hadn't accounted for the opponent having an armored-type Teigu just like his.
Wave lunged to attack, and Tatsumi continuously evaded.
"Move aside, I don't want to fight you!"
"But I do! Because you people are Night Raid!"
Bang!
With a punch as powerful as a cannonball, Wave knocked Tatsumi back. Tatsumi's gauntlet was smoking from the impact.
"I've heard all about you. Assassins who kill indiscriminately, spreading terror among the people of the capital, not to mention your ties to the Revolutionary Army. That is why I'm doing this!"
"You're wrong! We kill! Yes, we kill many! But those people are all demons in human skin!"
Anger flared in Tatsumi's heart. Though he had been told that becoming part of Night Raid meant enduring scorn, he couldn't stand it when someone insulted the people he cared about.
Akame, Leone, Mine, Bulat, Lubbock, Sheele, Najenda, and himself. They were not evil!
"Ha, finally ready to fight?"
Wave took a stance, but to his surprise, the Incursio user chose to flee instead. Tatsumi was furious, but as Bulat had taught him, he couldn't let emotions cloud his objective. He had to return to Night Raid.
He followed the river along the waterfall. Wave jumped above him, declaring fiercely:
"If you won't fight, then this will be a one-sided battle! Grand Fall!"
Wave dove down with a powerful kick. Tatsumi crossed his arms to block again, but the force was extraordinary. Tatsumi was slammed down into the river's surface.
"A perfect kick! A bit of a shame he fell into the river, but no matter, I won't lose his trail..."
"Wait, why hasn't he surfaced?"
Wave landed by the riverbank, scanning the surroundings. There was no sign of him. Finally, he reached a conclusion.
"Could he have escaped downstream with the current? Too bad for him; that's useless against a man of the sea like me!"
He moved off along the river. But shortly after Wave left, Tatsumi emerged from the water in his invisible state. He had never left; from the moment he moved, he had calculated how to escape Wave's pursuit.
Using speed to lose him was impossible since they were evenly matched. Grand Chariot and Incursio were also similar—neither significantly outperformed the other. So, Tatsumi used the force of Wave's attack to dive into the river and immediately hid himself. He waited for Wave to make a false assumption and leave before surfacing.
By the time Wave realized the anomaly, it would be too late; Tatsumi would be long gone.
The armor sparked slightly with electricity as Tatsumi deactivated Incursio. Wave's previous kick had used full strength; even with Tatsumi mitigating the force, Incursio had sustained some damage.
"It's okay, I can still make it."
Tatsumi was about to vanish into the forest when a growl startled him. A dangerous beast emerged, baring two sharp fangs at Tatsumi.
"Why now of all times?"
He cursed his luck. He could easily defeat it with Incursio, but in his unarmored state, it would take time. He feared Wave might return in the meantime.
"Damn it, in that case..."
Slash!
A sword stroke cut cleanly through the beast from behind, splitting it in two. It was a black-haired girl with those familiar red eyes.
"Akame!"
"Are you alright, Tatsumi?"
Akame sheathed her sword and was suddenly caught in a tight hug by Tatsumi. Her calm face flushed slightly. He released her shortly after.
"I'm so glad you're here. But how did you know I was here?"
"Brother Asahi informed us of your direction. We've been watching you from a distance," she replied, quickly regaining her composure.
Tatsumi understood and said with a hint of self-deprecation:
"Really... just for someone like me, everyone..."
Bonk!
"Ow!"
Akame chopped the top of Tatsumi's head. She spoke in a slightly pouting tone.
"I will always save you, so stop saying such stupid things."
"We made a promise, didn't we? You don't have to shoulder it alone; we will shoulder it together."
Tatsumi looked at Akame, dazed for a moment, before breaking into a bright smile. This was Night Raid—his home, where there were people he was willing to protect with his life.
"Yeah! It's a relief to see you, Akame."
"Welcome back, Tatsumi. But remember to report every detail of your evening with Esdeath accurately. Unless Brother Asahi intentionally helps you hide it."
"Wait! Why would he... She only held me while I slept! I swear!"
"Bam!!! Let's go!"
Lubbock suddenly appeared and pulled them both along, leaving Tatsumi and Akame with nothing left to say.
"You already have Incursio, and since that belongs to Night Raid, you belong to Night Raid too. We only came to save you because we saw a good opportunity, don't think anything weird..."
Lubbock rambled on ahead, while behind him, Akame whispered into Tatsumi's ear:
"He was very worried about you, too."
"I know."
Night Raid—that was where Tatsumi belonged!
...
"Bols, you really are a good person."
"Staff member... I... am not... a good person as you think..."
"Just call me Asahi. I think you have a lot on your mind. Why do you always wear a mask?"
Bols looked at the man before him who was wearing a friendly smile. He bowed his head in shame. Not out of shyness, but out of guilt. Finally, he looked up, as if recalling a memory.
"It is a... very long story..."