Akame Ga Kill - Split The Earth In Two, Quake

Chapter Thirty Eight: Doctor's Orders

At a Revolutionary Camp hidden far to the south east of the Capital, a Doctor is standing outside one of the tents smoking a cigarette. He has short black hair combed back all the way, silver eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, a slight five o'clock shadow and is wearing a white dress shirt and dress pants with a stripped tie around his neck and a white Doctor's coat overtop. He hears something in the sky and looks up to see a Wyvern approaching at an alarming rate along with two smaller things floating next to it, one on each side. "A Wyvern? Is there a message from the Revolutionary Army?", the Doctor asks himself as the beast starts to land in the middle of camp. He rushes over to hear Najenda shouting, "I'm General Najenda, I'm with the Revolutionary Army! We need a Doctor!! NOW!!!" He rushes over to her and sees there are multiple people injured, and General Esdeath is one of them! "G-General Esdeath!?!", the Doctor shouts as he takes a step back in fear. Budo picks up Esdeath, who's still resting after using her Trump Card twice and ascending in just a short amount of time, and puts her over his shoulder. "And General Budo!?!", the Doctor shouts as he notices Budo is there as well. Budo turns to the Doctor and says, "You're a Doctor, are you not? We have wounded members of Night Raid. They need medical attention." The Doctor nervously nods and says, "I'll see what I can do.", before rushing over to see what the status of the patients are. He sees Tatsumi and Mine and quickly reaches into his pockets while asking Najenda, "What happened? I heard your team was going to interupt the execution, but to bring General Esdeath back with you... That's madness." As the Doctor throws on his Perfector gloves, Minazuki just walks over to Budo and says, "General Esdeath has defected from the Empire and is joining our side. You should be thanking us." He then looks around and sees a bed sitting off to the side before asking one of the soldiers, "What is this being used for at the moment?" The soldier jumps at his questioning as he notices Minazuki's odd aura. "W-well...nothing really right now, but-", the soldier begins to say before Minazuki picks up the whole bed and says, "I'll be using this then." "H-Hey! You can't just-", the soldier begins to shout before seeing General Budo and Esdeath. "T-two of the-", he begins to mutter before Minazuki turns to him and says, "I'm just borrowing it. I'll bring it back when we're done. Mortals are so greedy with their things." He sets the bed off to the side and Budo gently lays Esdeath down in it, trying not to disturb her. "Hey, do you need a tent or anything?", another soldier asks before Minazuki makes his own tent out of stone and says, "That won't be necessary." "A-another Imperial Arm user!? Night Raid is just full of impressive people!", the soldier shouts in amazement. Budo and Minazuki stand outside of the tent and Minazuki says, "You stand guard, Budo. I'll go check on the others." Budo simply nods before focusing on guarding the tent, not letting even a single person peek inside.

Minazuki senses that Tatsumi is being checked on in a tent off to his left with Najenda overseeing it all and enters the tent without a word. Tatsumi seems to be conscious now, but his right eye is different, it's a dark red color with his pupil now being in the shape of a cross like Tyrant's eyes. "It seems like you're recovering all on your own, but I'd like to take a closer look.", the Doctor says to Tatsumi, who's laying on his back on the bed. The Doctor hovers his hand over Tatsumi's body for a moment and Perfector starts to glow, as if it were retrieving data. "Interesting... I haven't seen this sort of behavior from an Imperial Arm before...", the Doctor says as he looks at Tatsumi with a mystified look. He starts to take off Perfector while saying, "It seems that it's started to bond with you. Young man, whether you were consumed by the armor or it has started to fuse with your body, it seems you're becoming Incursio's new body." Najenda and Tatsumi are shocked by this sudden suggestion, but Minazuki already knew that was happening. "It truly is fascinating, isn't it Doctor? The extent that these beasts inside Imperial Arms will go to in order to stay alive?", Minazuki says with a slight grin. The Doctor turns to Minazuki and sees through his tattered sleeves that the scales from Quake have fused with his arms. "So you've went through this process then?", the Doctor asks with a slight glare. "This process is called Melding. The mind of the user and that of the soul within the living Imperial Arm become one and the beast's true power is released.", Minazuki explains. The Doctor takes the cigarette out of his mouth and turns to Tatsumi before saying, "Whatever this is, it saved your life this time, but the consequences could be more dangerous than any of you realize." "What do you mean? Minazuki and Budo have all went through this process and came out unharmed.", Najenda says with a concerned look in her eye. "It's possible that Incursio might completely overpower Tatsumi when he transforms and take over his body. His body might not be able to endure it and then he'll be taken over by Incursio and destroyed.", the Doctor says as he walks over to a small table and pours himself a cup of coffee. Tatsumi's and Najenda's eyes widen, but this isn't new to Minazuki, so he isn't phased. Tatsumi sits up and says, "I don't care what happens to me, as long as I make it out of this alive to see Mine again." "I think you're not understanding the full implications here, Young Man. After just a few more uses, that armor will warp your mind into who knows what. Not to mention the changes to your body. Your right eye has already changed to that of a danger beast.", the Doctor says in a somewhat scolding tone. "This is the cost of Melding. You give up your body to the beast and become one with it so that both of you can obtain your ultimate power. In the end, since you become one with the beast, your body is still yours, but you aren't alone in your own skin anymore.", Minazuki explains in a stern tone as he glances over at Tatsumi. "I'd say he has three or four more uses out of that armor before it can take over his body and mind.", the Doctor says before taking a sip of his coffee. "That or he becomes one with it, making him the ultimate soldier.", Minazuki replies in a slight joking tone. "But... Tyrant isn't like the rest of the beasts that have gone through the Melding process. The rest were more developed and could communicate with their users and other beasts, but I haven't been able to communicate with Tyrant at all.", Minazuki says in a more curious tone. "That just gives even more reasons as to why he should be cautious with this situation. You really shouldn't push your luck, Young Man. Incursio might have saved you from the poison, but it won't hesitate to take your life if it means it can better itself.", the Doctor says as he points his finger at Tatsumi. The doctor goes to leave, but before exiting the tent, he says, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to tend to." He leaves and Najenda turns to Tatsumi and asks, "After hearing all that, are you still willing to go on with this, Tatsumi?" Tatsumi simply nods and says, "This corrupt kingdom needs people like us, so if I have to bear this burden for just a while longer, I'll do it." He stands up from his bed and asks, "Minazuki, you can sense where Mine is, right? Where is she?" Minazuki glances at the exit and says, "It seems like they have a lot of doctors looking at her right now. Perhaps now isn't the right time to-", but before he can finish his sentence, Tatsumi sternly asks, "Where?" Minazuki seems to only smile at his response and simply points toward the door while saying, "When you exit the tent, turn left and head straight. The third tent you come across will have her in there." Tatsumi quickly throws his shirt back on before leaving and following Minazuki's directions to the T. With Tatsumi gone, Najenda looks over to Minazuki and notices a concerned look on his face. She asks him, "What's wrong Minazuki? Is it Mine? Tatsumi?" He glances at the exit before responding with, "Revolutionary troops have surrounded Esdeath and Budo. On top of that, they're sending a squad this way as we speak."