(Dairoku's POV)

I sat in front of the desk in my room while looking through the book I had for the Zodiacs and Night Raid currently has three. We know Lauren has Rerumukattā with Bale and Absolute Zero was thankfully, still locked away. And... we... well specifically Me, Akame and Kuraime know where Himitsume is... That's one Zodiac I'm weary of one is another Scythe, which is... similar in a way to Yatsufusa, just... scarier... WAY scarier...... There was this other Zodiac... It was a Sword, but there was no name in the book for it and no info on its Zodiac-Armor either... It's not even known if it's locked away or not...

(A/N: "A teaser for the future")

A Knock on my door caught my attention.

Dairoku: "Come in."  It opened up to reveal Akame...

Akame: "Hello, Dairoku."  She waved at me with a small smile and a slight blush, though I think she's still thinking about that one night...  "What are you doing?"

Dairoku: "Hey Akame. I'm looking through the Zodiacs. We have three so that's good, but..."

Akame: "But?"

Dairoku: "Five of the remaining seven are missing, one of which is with someone from the Empire."

Akame: "Lauren..."

Dairoku: "That's right, and without the knowledge of how Rerumukattā's Trump Card works, she'll be more dangerous than ever... But strangely enough, that's not what I'm most worried about..."

Akame: "What do you mean?"

Dairoku: "This one... Devourer of Souls—Himitsume..."

She walked over to me and looked over my shoulder and at the scythe Zodiac, only for her eyes to widen.

Akame: "It's..."

Dairoku: "Yeah... Yatsufusa's Sister... And Kurome currently wields Yatsufusa... and we already know where Himitsume is..."

Akame: "Akaruime... And she stayed behind with Kurome..."

Dairoku: "With Yatsufusa and Himitsume on the side of the Empire, we're going to be at a major disadvantage... Oh, let's just hope that they don't get their hands on Absolute Zero..."

After a bit of that, Akame spoke up again.

Akame: "Are you... feeling better?"

Dairoku: "Huh?"  I turned around to face her, only to realize how close she was to me. I blushed slightly.  "Y-Yeah... I am... Though I still wish I did something..."

Akame: "We all do..."  she said softly  "But the sad reality is we can't save everyone... We both know this fact very well."

Dairoku: "Yeah... But that's what I'm most worried about... Everyone here is important to me... Especially you Akame... Losing you would be my worst nightmare becoming a reality..."

Akame: "Dairoku..."  She caressed my cheek with her hand and looked at me.  "I promise... I won't leave you... Just please promise me that you won't push yourself too much, okay?"

I smiled softly at her and caressed her cheek.

Dairoku: "I promise."  She smiled back with a bit of a blush, before we found each other closing the gap in between us though before anything could happen, a knock on the door caught our attention.

Lubbock: "Uhh, Dairoku! We got trouble!"  Akame and I immediately stopped ourselves and blushed a little before pulling away and looking to the door.

Dairoku: "It's open!"  I replied before the door swung open, revealing a panicked Lubbock...  "So, what's the trouble Lub?"  He took a deep breath before...

"Esdeath's got Tatsumi..."

CHAPTER 12: KILL THE BANDITS

(Dairoku's POV)

Akame: "Tatsumi was captured by Esdeath!?"

Currently, we were all in the dining room, trying to discuss the terrible and crazy matter in front of us... Esdeath apparently captured Tatsumi... Oh boy...

Dairoku: "Okay. Did we not make it clear to stay away from the crazy bitch with the blue hair?? How the hell did he even get captured?"

Lubbock: "Well... Esdeath was holding this tournament and I thought it was a good idea for him to enter. She had prize money listed but... Turns out it was all fake as she just straight up, took Tatsumi like a toy!"  He explained. I just sighed frustratingly... Kuraime on the other hand... Well...

Kuraime: "Why, the hell did you think THAT was a good idea!?"  She shouted, grabbing Lubbock by the collar, before glaring daggers into his soul.

Lubbock: "I-I'm sorry okay!? But how the hell was I supposed to know she'd do something like this!?"

Mira: "It is strange... for Esdeath-Sama to randomly take someone personally into the palace... I've never seen her act like that at all... You said she was smiling weirdly too right?"  she asked, pushing up her glasses as she looked at Leone who nodded.

Leone: "Yup. It wasn't your typical sadistic smile. It was... strange... almost as strange as Akame or Kuraime smiling."  That last line earned her death glares from both Akame and Kuraime, causing her to sweat drop and wave her hands defensively.  "*nervous laughs* Not that there's anything wrong with your smiles, ehehe!"

Mine: "Did she know he's a member of Night Raid??"

Lubbock: "We didn't really feel any Animosity or Blood thirst though... And like Leone said, the way she was smiling is definitely unusual for Esdeath..."

Kuraime: "Well... I guess that's somewhat a relief... If Esdeath won't harm him, then we can get him out... B-But at the same time, what if she... God Damnit...!"  she was legit stressing out over the fact that Tatsumi was captured... Can't really blame her though...

Mira: "Don't worry, Kuraime-Chan."  Mira put her hand on her shoulder.  "He'll be alright."  She smiled at her, causing her to smile back.

Kuraime: "Right."

Leone: "So, what should we do, acting-bosses?"  Leone asked us. Akame seemed to be thinking hard about this and I don't blame her... You're asking for death if you stay anywhere near Esdeath, undercover...

Dairoku: "First of all, we need to get him out pronto..."  I started off with

Mine: "Don't say something stupid like 'Let's go off and rescue him'. You realize the palace is filled with traps and soldiers right? Even breaking-"

Dairoku: "Let me finish, Pinky."  She crossed her arms in silence.  "I'm not dumb, I know that. I've been inside that place enough times. I wasn't going to suggest we go for him now, because there's a chance Esdeath doesn't know he's with Night Raid and if that's the case, then the Hideout's location is still safe... But just because of that fact, we cannot afford for Tatsumi to remain in her possession. He's skill enough to make an escape on his own, but he'll need back up. So we'll be there ready for him."

Akame: "That's right!"  she slammed her hand on the table before looking at us with a face filled with determination.  "Tatsumi is our important comrade! So we will do whatever we can for him!"  I smiled at her, causing her to look at me and smile back

(3rd Person POV)

The Jaegers, minus Esdeath and Tatsumi were walking up a path where the fortress of Bandits were.

Run: "We've memorized the layout and enemy positions, so what kind of strategy should we use?"  he asked. Seryu immediately gained a grin.

Seryu: "Justice demands that we fight fair and square, and attack from the front!"

Lauren: "Justice this, justice that, blah, blah, blah. Just calm your damn horses, Seryu"  Lauren groaned, causing Seryu to pout at her but for Run to chuckle.  "But... She does have a point. Let's just take them head on."

As they walked up the path, Esdeath and Tatsumi watched from a position above, the latter of which was sweating bullets.

Esdeath: "This will be the perfect place to observe their fighting abilities from."  She said, looking down on her team.

Tatsumi: "I wonder if it's really right for me to be the only one taking it easy..."  he mumbled nervously. Then, he began to think...

Tatsumi's thoughts: "Wait... Isn't this a perfect chance to escape??"  He thought, but unfortunately for him, there was a hand on his... Esdeath's and she was blushing fully...  "CRAP! IT'S NO USE!"

(A/N: "IT'S NO USE!! TAKE THIS!!! Fucking Silver...")

When the Jaegers arrived in front of the fortress, the inhabitants scrambled out with their weapons pointed at the squadron of eight.

Bandit 1: "Hey, did you guys even know where you were when coming to this place!?"

Bandit 2: "You guys have some nerve attacking from the front like this!"

Bandit 3: "You don't really think you're going to be getting out of here alive, do you!?"  They demanded to know before one of them took a look at Seryu, Lauren and the two girls who were eating the cookies, Kurome and Akaruime.  "Oh wow~ There are some real cuties with them, huh?"

Bandit 2: "We're really going to have some fun with them when we take them back to base, Hahaha."

Without a word, Seryu began walking towards them.

Seryu: "First, I'll clear a path with the combined power of the Doctor's Teigu and myself. Koro! Number Five!"  Suddenly, Koro grew to his enormous size before biting down on Seryu's right arm, taking everyone by surprise. 

Seryu: "In exchange for the loss of my arms, the doctor blessed me with a new power..."  Koro slid off of her arm, revealing it to be replaced with a massive drill.  "Judgment of the Ten Kings"  The thrust the spinning drill forwards, piercing right through a bunch of the bandits. "ENMA'S SPEAR OF JUSTICE!!!"

Bandit 1: "Wha!? What the hell is this thing!?"  one of the bandits exclaimed before his side was completely ripped apart by Koro.

Magical Beast Transformation—Hekatonkheires
Teigu Form: Biological Being
Wielder: Seryu

"Hekatonkheires or as Seryu has named it, Koro is a biological type Teigu that takes the form of a small white dog that stands on its hind legs. When ordered, it has the ability to grow to a much larger size, increasing its strength and durability. It attacks its enemies by devouring them. When given the order, Koro can grow massive muscular arms to perform high speed punches or crush its enemies. Like all Biological Teigu, it has a core which will continuously regenerate any damage it sustains, but only for so long as. With the help of Dr. Stylish and his Teigu, Koro was modified to create a series of highly advanced weapons for Seryu to use, called 'The Judgment of the Ten Kings'."

Bandit 4: "These guys are bad news! Report this to the boss! And close the gate, HURRY!"  another Bandit exclaimed as the others rushed to close the gate.

Seryu: "Next..."  Koro bit back down on Seryu's arm...  "Number Seven!"  When Koro slid off of her arm, it was replaced by a massive Bore Gun.  "TAIZAN'S CANNON OF JUSTICE!!!"  She aimed at the gate before firing it, completely ripping the gate to shreds.

Lauren: "What... the fuck..."

Run: "She certainly does have the ability to Annihilate them, doesn't she?"

Wave: "I wonder if we should just let her take them all out herself..."

Dr. Stylish: "Huhu."  They turned to see Dr. Stylish.  "Those are weapons created by me, you know."

Wave: "You made those, doctor?"

Glorious Hands of God—Perfector
Teigu Form: Gloves
Wielder: Dr. Stylish

"Perfector increases the speed and precision of the wielder's fingers by several hundredfold, allowing Dr. Stylish to perform his surgeries quickly and flawlessly. Because of this speed increase, they allow him to heal any injury short of death."

Dr. Stylish: "You see, it's already the most stylish of Teigu! Short of death, no matter what sort of would you receive, I'll be able to fix you back up to 100% and maybe even throw a few new weapons into your body while I'm at it."

Run: "I would ask that you do not insert any weapons into me, please..."  he sweat dropped as Lauren did the same.

Lauren: "Yeah... Same here..."

Wave: "I'm happy we have someone to patch us up... but if all you have is a Support Type Teigu Doctor, we'll be forced to protect you."

Dr. Stylish: "Ufufu. I hope to see that kindness from you in private, cuite~"  He got in Wave's face... But suddenly, he pointed upwards...  "Please reveal yourselves, my enhanced troops!"  Suddenly, multiple masked bodies appeared behind Dr. Stylish...

Wave and Lauren: "Woah!"

Bols: "In the blink of an eye..."

Dr. Stylish: "These fellows are my private army that, using my Teigu, I have performed enhancement surgeries on. It would be fitting to call them my 'Pawns' if this were chess."  He boasted.

Bols: "To be able to create things such as your own weapons... That's such a highly useful Teigu, isn't it?"

Dr. Stylish: "Creating Stylish weapons that can rival the strength of the Teigu and Zodiacs has always been my dream, you see."

Run: "Umm..."  he raised his hand.  "While you were talking, Kurome and Akaruime went on ahead through the gate..."

Lauren: "Well shit..."

Wave: "That was quick!"

Dr. Stylish: *annoyed* "Those girls should really listen when someone is speaking! Sheesh!"

On the other side of the Gate, Kurome and Akaruime struck down two of the Bandits with their weapons, before staring at the rest of the Bandits that surrounded them with fear.

Bandit 69: "Th... These girls... They got cute faces but their so deadly!!"  Suddenly, Akaruime began to laugh...

Akaruime: "W̸͏ơ̧̧u͘l̛ḑ͢n̶̵͟'̶͏t͏̧ ̷̴th̀e̴͟y̧̨̛ ͏m̛aḱ҉e͏̛ ͟͏good͜ ̷̧a̶͜d͟d͏i̢ti̕͏o͢n͞s ̸͠t҉̕o̸̢̕ ̸͠o͜u̶̶ŕ̕͟ c̢ó͡l̢̧l̡̕e̷c͞t̸i͘o̶n̵͘ş,̵̕͟ dear̸̕͝ ͢͞fr̸ie͏nd̴?̵͢"

Kurome: "Ò͝h̷ ͏y̴es̷͝͏.͟͞͡..̵҉ ̢De͘͝f҉̀͏i͘nìt́e̛l͜͝y̶ d̢e̶a̷̶͠r̶̢͢ f̵̢͡r͟i͡e͜͜nd̢͝."

She replied before dashing forwards, slicing through a bunch of the bandits easily with her Katana, Yatsufusa. Then Akaruime rushed to the other half, throwing her scythe, Himitsume at the Bandits, causing it to spin like a buzz saw slicing up a bunch before she caught it and made one wide swing, decapitating the rest of them.

Will all the bandits in a pile of corpses, Kurome and Akaruime, kneeled next to them with... scary smiles...

Akaruime: "How disappointing... We didn't need to use our abilities to kill them... That's not fun at all..."

Kurome: "But, if everyone is already dead, maybe we could play by switching their body parts... W̵͞ǫ̸͞ư͜͞l̶͠d͘n̵͢'҉̶t ̕th̸at̢͘͞ b̕e͡͏̛ ̷̕f̡u͏̸͡n?"

Akaruime: "Ò̕h͢͠ ̢͡ì͘t̶̢̀ ͢w͜o͠ul͏͠d͟͝ ͟͢͠b̴̢͝é,͟ ̵̡͘p͢͟l̷a̴yi͝҉ng͝ ̵͘͝wi̧̕t̀h̴̛̛ o̸̕͞ų́r͠ ̴̸͡l͝͏̢ìt̴t̛l̀͢e̸̸̡ ̶͘d̛o͘l͏l̛͢͝s̷̛.̴.̷.͏"

As they holstered their weapons, a Bandit, who was hiding behind a wall, aimed at them and attempted to shoot them, but Wave dropped down and kicked them in the face, knocking them out. Kurome and Akaruime turned to him with bored expressions.

Wave: "What? No need to thank me. We're a team, right?"  He said confidently.

Akaruime: "Sure, if you say so."  she replied bored before Kurome finished.

Kurome: "We already knew he was there."

Wave: "What!? For real!?"

Bols rushed towards a wall as archers fired off a storm of arrows at him, but then he got into stance before aiming his weapon at the storm and firing off a wave of flame at it, destroying all the arrows. This was his Teigu.

Purgatory's Invitation—Rubicante
Teigu Form: Flamethrower
Wielder: Bols

"Rubicante is an offensive Teigu that created a flamethrower when activated. The flames were so intense that they could not be extinguished even by submerging oneself in water, burning until the target was killed."

Bols: "This is also part of the job after all..." 

He said as Rubicante unleashed its flames upon the wall, burning all of the archers to literal ashes. The surviving Bandits that saw this, looked terrified before attempting to flee but unfortunately for them, sharp feathers shot right through their skulls, killing them. In the sky, Run, this time with massive Angel Wings on his back.

Thousand-Mile Flight—Mastema
Teigu Form: Wings
Wielder: Run

"Mastema allows its wielder to gain wings which give them the ability to fly for a limited amount of time. It also enables the user to shoot feathers or launch one of the wings towards enemies, both easily capable of piercing through flesh. However, Mastema is only effective at attacking at a long distance and is at a disadvantage at close range."

Run: "Not even one of you will be allowed to escape."  He said before he heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind him. When he turned around, there were five more survivors trying to flee.

"Spiteful Dragon; Balance Breaker"

He was about to shoot them with Mastema, before two bladed boomerangs swooped in and decapitated three of them. Then the golden armor of Bale swooped down and dropped kicked one of the bandits before it whipped its spiked tail around impaling the other one. 

Run: "You haven't lost your touch at all, Lauren."

The boomerangs returned to their wielder, Lauren who smirked underneath her helmet before stabbing the bandit beneath her heal.

Lauren: "Well of course. Besides, I can't have you doing all of the work, can I?"

Ripper of Realms—Rerumukattā
Zodiac Form: Bladed Boomerangs
Wielder: Lauren

"Rerumukattā's Bladed segments are extremely sharp, able to easily cut through Zodiac-Armors like Barbatos and Armor-Type Teigu like Incursio. When thrown and they either miss or hit their target, they'll immediately return to the wielder without any issue. If the enemy tries to prevent Rerumukattā from returning to their wielder, it will release a short burst of blue spiritual energy that can prove deadly. The Spiritual energy stored in the Boomerangs can enhance their cutting abilities and when thrown, will enhance the velocity at which their thrown."

Beast of Spite: Bale
Zodiac-Armor
Wearer: Lauren

"Bale is considered Barbatos' sister unit, as both have equal properties and were created to work in tandem with each other but both are equally as affective against each other."

Tatsumi: "Amazing..."  He said as he watched in amazement from his perch point with Esdeath.

Esdeath: "Tatsumi...."  He looked over to her.  "I'll be raising you myself. So you will be able to do things like this with ease."

Tatsumi: "You seem... very kind."

Esdeath: "You've heard of me. Is the image different from what you imagined?"  She began to blush.  "Truthfully, this is the first time I've had these sorts of feelings. But... it isn't so bad..."  Hearing that, surprised Tatsumi and he suddenly gained an idea.

Tatsumi's thoughts: "Is... could it be possible...? Could I somehow convince her to become our ally...? Her actions until now have been unforgivable but... If she could use her power for the sake of defeating the Empire as penance, the danger that our allies are in could drop considerably...!"  He thought, before looking back at her.

Tatsumi: "By the way, where will I be living from now on?"

Esdeath: "In my room with me, of course."

Tatsumi: "Geh!?" He gulped before becoming... somewhat confident.

Tatsumi's thoughts:"A-Alright! If that's the case, then I'll try persuading her tonight! Time for Tatsumi the Man to take center stage!!!"

END
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Okay so I think that's the final revamped chapter. The remaining two just need slight tweaks.