Saikō no Chitsujo

Chapter 17: Aftermath

Her boots clicked against the wet tiles, her black trenchcoat fluttering behind her as a strong breeze moved past her. She tilted her frost umbrella up and stared at the gravel gray clouds, observing the stormy weather that the empire was not meant to see for another three months. Inhaling deeply, she shut her eyes and took it all in: the cool breeze and little droplets that brushed past her face, the loud whirring sound that seemed to slow down one moment only to pick up soon after, and the pleasant earthy smell that accompanied it.
"General," she ceased her daydreaming, turning around, her gloved palm clasping the glossy handle of her umbrella tightly.
"What is it?"
"I’ve found him, ma’am."
"Let’s go then."
 
He picked up another large piece of rock, the muscles in his arm protesting with every move he made. Dropping it by a pile of rubble, he exhaled audibly, wiping the mixture of sweat and rainwater that had gathered at his jaw. He stared at his hands, the bandages tightly woven around his eyes emphasizing the sheer ridiculousness of his actions. Slowly closing and opening his palms, his lips twitched at the sharp throb he felt, the sensation amplified by the multiple blisters on them.
"We appreciate the help, Arata-sama, but you should get some rest, y’know," a middle-aged man called out, placing a white towel in the blue-haired man’s hands while shielding his head with an umbrella from the persisting shower.
"You should listen to him, Arata-sama." The clicking of boots, which was partly drowned out by the rain, came to a halt as a familiar voice stated, the construction worker stepping away from Arata and bowing hurriedly.
"I see you came for me."
"...again." While her tone came off as annoyed, Arata chuckled lightly, an action he had found difficult to do since the attack on the capital. "You’ve made it a routine for the past three weeks."
"At the very least, I will not collapse once I return to the palace as I used to." Arata shrugged with a smile, Esdeath’s stare remaining impassive.
"The memorial will be held in four days. If I had my way, you’d stay in the palace and wouldn’t leave till you recovered completely."
"General." Her brows perked up at his call: "What is it?"
"It has been three weeks since then, and while I am still unable to see a thing, I can vividly recall the sea of dead bodies that I could do nothing to prevent." Esdeath’s eyes narrowed as she studied him, and a sigh escaped her lips afterward. "You overestimate yourself, Arata Arashi." He turned to her, surprised by her statement and tone: "You’re still a human at the end; your current state highlights that."
"General Esdeath’s right, Arata-sama," Wave stated, hopping over rubble with a sledgehammer held tightly in his gloved hands. Picking up the towel that hung on his neck, he wiped the sweat and rain from his face and exposed arms, pulling his damp black tank top away from his body and letting go a moment later, the wet fabric clinging tightly to his muscular frame.
"I could say the same about you, Wave; you have been overworking yourself. From training to aiding in the reconstruction, would you not say so?" Arata commented, wiping his face and hair with the towel handed to him. Nervously chuckling, Wave stiffened at Esdeath’s gaze, willfully avoiding her cold stare.
"Wave," he jerked slightly at her tone, "you were given orders to not partake in any activities till the memorial, were you not?"
"Yes ma’am."
"Should an incident like this occur again, you will be placed on probation."
"My apologies, general," Wave blurted out, bowing respectfully.
"While you are a strong ally, I have no use for a subordinate that refuses to follow orders. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes ma’am!" Arata observed the interaction between the two, exhaling quietly and walking past Esdeath. "General, she spared him a glance as he paused mid-stride, "I will be having breakfast and my well-deserved rest in a moment. We will see during the memorial."
"Very well."
 
                              …
He rose from the bed, his obsidian gauntlet running through his silver hair. Sunlight peeked through a crack in the curtains, glinting off his silver lashes and crimson irises in a manner that presented him as more attractive than he was at the time. "Pretty Boy Moment" was the term Lubbock had referred to it as, and much to his dismay, the nickname stuck. He yawned while walking out of the room; the excruciating pain and aches that plagued him for three weeks had been replaced with a persistent grogginess upon waking up. It didn’t matter if he got enough rest; it bothered him at the beginning of every waking moment.
Upon entering the common room, he raised a brow at its absence of members, especially since he recalled that Night Raid had not participated in any major mission for a while due to their encounter with Haruma. His fists clenched tightly at the thought of his name, images of the battle with Haruma and their state afterward resurfacing in his mind. Usually, he’d hear a taunt from the dangerous beast that inhabited his body, but after the sealing, it was too quiet.
The sound of metals clashing caught his attention, and he strode briskly to the source, meeting what seemed to be a duel between Akame and Tatsumi.
"Hijiri-san, you’re awake?" He scanned the blue-haired humanoid beside him; from his hard-to-miss bison horns to his apricot skin and the trimmed goatee that laced his chin, before him stood Night Raid’s human imperial arms, Susanoo.
"Yeah, what’s happening?"
Susanoo’s gaze lingered on Hijiri’s messy hair, sighing quietly before he explained, "Tatsumi wished to see what he was capable of with Incursio’s new transformation, so he asked Akame to a duel."
Hijiri noted the katana in Akame’s grip, and just as he’d thought, it wasn’t her imperial arm, Murasame, but a regular blade. "But why Akame, though?"
Susanoo presumed his reason for asking was because she was naturally meant to be at a disadvantage since she wielded a blade while he wore an armor-type imperial arm. "I haven’t a single clue as to why he chose her or why she agreed and continued for this long," he shrugged while he recalled that he was yet to see Tatsumi’s new transformation in action. Aside from the different appearance, it looked faster, sturdier, and far more powerful.
"How long have they been going at this?"
Susanoo turned to Hijiri, silently pondering before giving his reply, "About an hour or so."
"That so?"
Quite some time passed while Hijiri observed that a sensation that he hadn’t felt in weeks—a feeling that, back in his debut, he had blamed on his inhuman companion—had begun to arise. "Akame’s getting pushed back, y’know," Hijiri stated with a wolfish grin and a wild look in his crimson irises.
 
Taking his statement as merely an observation, Susanoo remained unresponsive, the sound of gems grinding together startling the humanoid imperial arm, the crystalline battle axe in Hijiri’s hand, and the beast-like gaze shocking him even more. "Wai-"
"Let’s balance a bit, eh?" Hijiri lunged and leaped, the wooden floorboard cracking beneath his bare feet.
Instinctively raising his halberd, Tatsumi’s weapon guarded against Hijiri’s strike, the ground shattering beneath them as a thunderous boom echoed from the clash.
"Nii-san?!"
"Ho? So you're strong enough to block, huh?" Hijiri hopped back, twirling the axe in his right hand.
"Hijiri-san, what the hell are you doing?" Akame yelled, striding angrily toward the nonchalant Hijiri.
"Sorry about that, but I needed to test my little brother for a sec."
"As eager as you are to fight Tatsumi, I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Hijiri." Najenda approached the three, scanning the surroundings impassively.
"Pssh, you’re no fun," Hijiri turned to Kanae, who had been quietly observing, waving his fading weapon at her, "at least the summoning works."
"Hijiri."
"Hm?" he paused, sparing Najenda a sidelong glance. "You need to head to the empire soon. My sources informed me that a memorial will be taking place in four days."
"Memorial?" Hijiri’s silver brow arched at her statement. "Apparently there was a terror attack on the capital."
"What?" Tatsumi deactivated Incursio; his surprise was written on all his features.
"Boss, it couldn’t be the resistance, right?" Akame asked, her gaze darkening as her mind wandered.
"No," Najenda pulled out a cigar, pausing as her gaze met Hijiri’s before she placed it back in its pack and shoved it into the pockets of her trousers.
"Y'know, I don’t mind you smoking."
Shutting her only visible eye, Najenda replied, "I won’t be slowing down your recovery in any way, got it?" He stared at her quietly, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly when she continued speaking, "Mine."
"Yes, boss?"
"Hijiri has a meeting with his informant, so you’ll be accompanying him to the empire in an hour. You’ll be disguised as a young lady and her bodyguard due to both your faces being known by the Yeagers, but you will be the one watching his back, understood?"
"Yes, boss!" Mine replied, her newfound vigor startling the ones present, with Najenda as the only exception.
"If I may, boss."
"What is it, Tatsumi?"
"Won’t Leone or I serve as a better guard for Hijiri Nii-san?"
"It seems you’ve already forgotten that Esdeath and the rest of the Yeagers know you personally."
"What?" Hijiri’s brows shot up as he turned from the stoic Najenda to the flustered Tatsumi. "How did that happen?"
Lubbock chuckled at the question, walking to stand beside the curious Hijiri. "I’ll keep it as short as Tatsumi here. The dude got into a competition and unfortunately caught the eye of Esdeath. She was so mesmerized by our young master here that she placed a collar on him and dragged him off to her quarters." Lubbock burst into laughter at the sight of the beet-red Tatsumi.
"I didn’t know Tatsumi was into that."
"I-I’m not!" Tatsumi blurted it out, earning a snicker from Leone.
"It’s always the quiet ones."
"Nii-san! You guys should put yourself in my shoes; there’s nothing I could have done," he continued in a vain attempt to defend himself.
"It’s alright, Tatsumi. You need a certain level of chemistry to get along with someone, you know," Hijiri joked, earning a glance from Lubbock.
"I bet you’ve got the most chemistry with Esdeath, with all the sparks I saw flying as you maniacs fought." Lubbock snickered, bursting into laughter at Hijiri’s disgusted expression.
Najenda clapped, gaining the attention of the Night Raiders as she stated, "Alright, that’s enough. Leone, you will be going with Lubbock to check on the state of the capital and our base there, if you’re ready for a mission.
"Don’t sweat it, boss. I’m fit and ready to move," the muscles in Leone’s arms rippled while she flexed with a bright grin, Hijiri simpering at her upbeat attitude.
"Good, go get ready, you four. I’ll prepare the air manta to ensure you all get there ASAP. Good luck."
"Yo Najenda, come with me for a bit." Hijiri held onto her hand just as she turned to leave, leading her away from the base.
"So?" she raised a brow at her fellow silver head. "How are you feeling now?" Hijiri asked solemnly, his tone hinting at concern.
She peeked at him, a smile playing on her lips. "It’s charming when you try to mask your concern, though you care a lot."
"Heh," the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement, "when’d you get this smooth?"
"I learned from the best."
The two remained silent for a brief moment, Hijiri's inquisition breaking the silence: "And Tatsumi? You never told me what was up with him and why he’s got two different eye colors."
Najenda gave him a sidelong glance, her lips parting to speak, but her words failed her. "For some reason, his appearance reminds me of a certain lizard bastard that I know, so I’ll take a long guess and say Incursio’s fusing with him, turning him part dragon."
She stared ahead, sighing tiredly. "I’ve called in a doctor from the resistance army’s camp; he’ll be here in a day to check on Tatsumi, so we know what exactly is happening to him."
Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Hijiri’s fists tightened, his next words barely above a whisper: "I’m sorry."
"Don’t sweat it. Things happen, Hijiri," Najenda replied, gently punching his right arm with an encouraging smile. "After I get the answers I need to get from Arata, there’s a place I’d like us to go, somewhere that’ll make sure we don’t take losses this big anymore."
Najenda pursed her lips, quirking a brow at Hijiri’s declaration. "What place is that?"
With a toothy grin, he winked cheekily, "It’s a surprise."
 
                                                          …
Four days had passed since the last time Roland had spotted Arata aiding in the reconstruction, but that was to be expected. With his wounded body, Esdeath’s annoyance at his partaking in strenuous activities, and his obligatory appearance in the memorial that was to take place on that day, Arata needed to recover as swiftly as possible, and according to the doctor, strict bed rest was necessary.
Roland peered at the ashen clouds, closing his eyes while he embraced the cool breeze that accompanied the early morning shower. By his far-right stood two soldiers who bickered amongst themselves, their actions going unnoticed by the Order of Terra.
"You go report."
"Hah? Why me?" The uniformed soldier shoved his colleague back in annoyance. Sighing and peeking at the armored titan, who remained still while staring at the skies, the soldier clenched his fists and gulped audibly, marching forward.
"T-Terra-sama."
"Hm?" Roland turned to the lone saluting soldier beside him, ignoring his stutter when he asked, "What is it?"
"We’ve rounded up our inspection in this area. There was no trace of the colossal danger beast that attacked the capital."
As I expected...
"...but we found this." Roland’s eyes widened behind his helmet at the black, twisted material in the soldier’s gloved palm. Picking it gently, he nodded to dismiss the officer, raising the piece to catch the rays of the sun that seemed to conveniently peek through the clouds at his need.
"Sir," Roland turned to his caller, "the memorial program will be starting soon."
Oh, already? It seems I was so caught up in carrying Arata-sama’s orders. "...ah! Let’s be on our way then."