I love you.

"Huh?"

I love you Tatsumi.

"What?"

You will be mine.

Tatsumi shuffled to look behind him.

"Damn, she's… gorgeous."

The woman was beautiful. She possessed the savage allure that is contained in so few of the countless souls recycled between life and death. Tatsumi couldn't see very well, but he just knew from her presence, she was the most beautiful woman he will ever see. He hadn't even dreamed of someone like this in his wildest teenage fantasies. He could sense the volition emanating from her body, her power held in it the noble savagery that was uniquely hers and hers alone. He had no idea that he could be so aroused and so fearful at the same time. Words such as "ravage," "ravenous," and "fear" suddenly held new meaning; doors to brighter inner sexual understanding have now been unlocked and opened.

But then Tatsumi felt it fade away. His excitement dissipated to plain, but bold lust. Her discreet, yet imposing presence blurred into one that was more familiar, less mysterious. The air was now harsh, cold, and sharp. He could now feel the rough, hot fabric of his blankets encompassing him.

He was in bed.

Ieyasu was standing next to his recumbent form.

Tatsumi had been dreaming.

He could not remember why he felt this aching in his chest.

"Dang, dude, your bed breath smells awful" were the words that now hit his eardrums, instead of the dominant, yet gentle words of love he heard in his dream.

Tatsumi was suddenly alert, realizing the true nature of his ordeal. He quickly turned his back to Ieyasu to face the wall, and inhaled a little.

"It's okay dude, it's nothing to worry about, we all get that problem too" stated Ieyasu, his empathy giving an understanding weight to his words. "You know that trick my dad taught me right? You just breathe in a little, hold it, and hold it 'till you feel like you're close to suffocating."

Tatsumi's cheeks remained puffed, his face turning even redder.

"Then you breathe out and in again, and hold it. Just repeat the process till it- you know, it goes away."

Tatsumi's entire body was shaking now.

"It's better if you don't die from suffocating yourself though."

Tatsumi exhaled loudly and breathed in again, cheeks puffed to make his head look like a melon. He could now finally feel his body forget his dream, and his lust too began to melt away. He exhaled and when he was sure it was gone, he threw off the covers. He slowly turned towards Ieyasu, and stomped off the bed towards the water basin, not looking Ieyasu in the eye once.

Ieyasu scampered after him. "Don't worry my dude, I won't tell anybody. Not gonna lie though, you have some rather impressive morning wood!"

Tatsumi scowled at him over his shoulder, bent over the basin with a toothbrush in his mouth. Ieyasu's asymmetrical grin faltered and disappeared.

"Don't worry, I won't tell nobody just stop looking at me like that jeez."

…

Tatsumi and Ieyasu left their shack and headed out into the snow. Normally Tatsumi would enjoy the scenery, the snow falling ever so gently, if it weren't for his incident in the shack. The two young men crossed their neighbor's field, now void of crops due to the winter and headed to a stone house with smoke escaping the short chimney. Ieyasu knocked thrice and the door immediately opened.

"Thank you so much for coming before you two brave young men set out on your journey" The woman exclaimed as Ieyasu and Tatsumi shook their boots off. "I'm so happy you decided to be here for my baby!"

"It's nothing; really, we had to come for Sayo" Tatsumi assured. "We brought a little something for her."

Tatsumi gestured to Ieyasu as Ieyasu brought out a canvas bag from his knapsack.

"Cookies! I baked 'em myself so she better eat 'em" Ieyasu said excitedly.

"I bet it was actually Tatsumi who made them" croaked a voice from the next room.

"She isn't wrong…" Tatsumi muttered.

"Sayo, stop, these nice friends of yours came to say their goodbyes before they leave" Sayo's mother scolded.

The three gingerly stepped into Sayo's candle-lit room. Bed-ridden and groggy, Sayo and her usual healthy aura had devolved into one of decay and sickness. She had been sick for 3 weeks, with the village doctor having no cure or prognosis for her condition. Every villager feared the worst for Sayo, especially since her illness had left her unable to walk for long periods of time and digest her food properly.

"I am glad you came here Tatsumi" Sayo said, trying her best to healthy. Tatsumi thanked her and Ieyasu snorted. "Oh yeah, you're here too, Ieyasu."

The three childhood friends laughed, it had been a while since they had all shared a laugh. Ieyasu was too worried about Sayo to get her back; she was so thin and pale.

"Sayo, we promise you, while we are at the capitol, we will get the money to bring you a doctor" stated Ieyasu. "Like, one of those rich snobby ones who know everything, like in those comic books we would read."

Sayo looked at Ieyasu and made as strong a smile as she could muster.

"Thank you Ieyasu. And thank you Tatsumi, you both will be… cherished in my memory forever" she said softly, her face a struggle to show happiness.

…

Tatsumi and Ieyasu set out from the front village gate. Both their hearts felt tense, but their minds were confident. The Capitol was going to be theirs; no one could stop them at that moment. Tatsumi looked at the small figurine the village chief gave them. The wood felt rough, even in his gloved fingers.

"The path will be hard and rough Tatsumi" the chief told him. "Ieyasu, Tatsumi, look out for each other. Remember; learn as much as you can on this journey. You will take in new things, sharpen your instincts, and learn what it is like to be real men. This will be your moment."

Tatsumi already knew all this, but was doubtful he truly understood all of it. "I'm sure I'm already a real man. What could this trip possibly teach me about being a man?" He thought. He could tell that Ieyasu was thinking the same thing; his face was always like an open book with large, bold lettering to be read from a mile away.

The two agreed that after leaving the village, they would stop at an inn in the next village. The Pot-Bellied Hog, also known simply as The Hog, was famed for the succulent bacon dishes made by the head chef. Rumor had it that she trained in the culinary arts in the Capitol itself. It was definitely a place that Ieyasu wanted to stay in. Unfortunately, it was a two day trip on foot. Tatsumi and Ieyasu walked all day, and slept under trees in their tent at night, with jerky and dried leeks as their only source of food. This went on until they finally reached Fisher Village, the home of The Hog.

"Hark!"

Tatsumi and Ieyasu stood at the main gate of the village, waiting to be let in when they heard a gruff old voice.

"Th' hell yer think yer doin'?" the voice said.

Ieyasu saw him first- the voice came from a bearded old gatekeeper hunched over the edge of the wall.

"Who're you givin' that attitude to, baldy?" Ieyasu provoked. "We just want to come in!"

Tatsumi feared that Ieyasu's outburst cheated them out of living in civilization for the night, and expected the worst when, after a long silence, the gatekeeper opened his mouth.

"Damn, my apolagaysies- er, apologies. Thought ye were bandits, but ye don't looky hard enough teh be criminals."

Tatsumi didn't know whether to be thankful or just plain insulted. He looked over to Ieyasu, and noticed he was still red in the face, but calming down.

"Ye travelers r' lucky to come to Fisher's today" the gatekeeper stated. "We gots 'um visitors comin' in from th' shiniest asshole in the world, th' Capitol timorrow."

"Did he just call the Capitol a 'shiny asshole?'" Tatsumi thought. "He reminds so much of Ieyasu, no wonder Ieyasu is so mad right now."

The portcullis and main gate were opened and Tatsumi's jaw dropped. He knew Fisher was very prosperous for a village in the Northern Region, but he had no idea it could be this big. This was no village, this was a town. The duo bobbed and weaved through the many people in the cobblestone streets, conducting their own errands or taking advantage of the cool winter night to get drunk at the many bars and inns. They stopped occasionally to watch street performers that were always accompanied by small crowds surrounding them. Ieyasu particularly enjoyed the man giving out free samples of smoked danger beast meat. After asking around, getting lost, and asking for directions again, Tatsumi and Ieyasu found what they were looking for- The Pot- Bellied Hog. They immediately booked a room and waited to be seated for dinner. After a few moments of waiting, the two were seated and given steaming hot plates of bacon- wrapped quiche, bacon sandwiches, and to top it all off, two slices of bacon- crusted cheesecake. Tatsumi thought he was going to throw up, but Ieyasu was enjoying himself to the fullest. After getting slapped by their waitress for requesting to see her panties, Ieyasu finally decided to go to bed and Tatsumi happily obliged. As Ieyasu quickly drifted to sleep, Tatsumi ran to the outhouse in the back, regretting his sinful indulgence of bacon.

Tatsumi slowly awoke the chirp and scrawl of Fisher Village's people going about their morning business.

"This place is so big. How does this place even qualify as a village?" Tatsumi brushed his teeth and for the first time in days, took a bath. Afterwards he went down to the bottom floor to have breakfast. He found Ieyasu already sitting at a table near one of the windows, eating a bacon-weave inside a pancake. Refusing to eat bacon this time, he ate a bowl of oatmeal, ignoring Ieyasu's look of confusion.

"Eat some bacon man, you're in th' freakin' Hog for god's sake" pressured Ieyasu.

Suddenly, everyone in The Hog heard a loud rumble, and a large, brutish conception erupted from the ground outside the inn. Lamps shook and tables fell over, people began to scream and tumbled over each other towards the back door. The lamp above Tatsumi and Ieyasu's table fell and hit Ieyasu in the head, knocking him unconscious. Tatsumi watched the chaos, not even comprehending what was happening. Then he looked out the broken window to see what caused the disaster. It was long, worm-like. Its rotund mouth held multiple sharp fangs in each of its circular jaws. An earth dragon, a rarity during the winter season, and strong enough to break through the cobblestone ground that was specially designed to protect against attacks like these.

"Sweet. I've fought danger beasts like this before, no problem. If I take it out, maybe I'll get noticed and be able to join the Imperial Army" Tatsumi thought to himself.

Wasting no time, Tatsumi attacked first. Tatsumi vaulted through the broken window and threw a brick into the earth dragon's open mouth. As the danger beast struggled to spit the brick back out, Tatsumi ran up the monster's rough hide, using the many bumps and spikes as handholds. Reaching the head of the monster, he drew his sword and stabbed it into the danger beast's brain. The monster's roar was suddenly shortened and its entire body shuddered and convulsed, then began to fall onto the street below. The earth dragon's body fell with a heavy thwump and Tatsumi side-rolled onto the ground to recover from his fall. His recent victory brought a smile to his face, he knew he loved battle. The many bystanders left the shelter of their homes and looked on in awe. Some were angry that the ground wasn't hard enough to protect from an attack from this earth dragon. Others were excited to see someone kill a danger beast. But one person didn't feel angry or excited, only very impressed.

"Tell me, what is your name?" a voice from the crowd inquired.

"Uh, Tatsumi" Tatsumi automatically responded, not sure where the speaker was.

"Tatsumi… that's a nice name." the speaker said. Tatsumi thought she sounded like she was speaking more to herself than to him. Tatsumi turned to the speaker's general direction, finally regaining his composure after the fight. However, the speaker seemed to be behind the mass of people gawking at the recent destruction.

"Tell me Tatsumi, how old are you?" The voice asked.

"Oh, uh, I'll be seventeen tomorrow."

"Good… that's excellent."

The crowd suddenly parted, as if every bystander realized they had some urgency to attend to. All that was left was a young woman, her eyes burning with an intent that felt new to Tatsumi. Her presence felt so familiar, even though he knew there was no way he had met such a woman before. She emanated an aura that threatened to take what she wanted, to destroy anything she wanted, to ravage whomever she wanted. Such volition was unparalleled by anyone else in the region, perhaps even the country. However, Tatsumi could sense no threat from her, hurting him seemed the least of her intentions, unless he gave her reason to.

"Do you… feel fear Tatsumi?"

"…Uh, well, not while I was fighting that earth worm, I've fought plenty of bugs like him before… if that's what you mean."

She stepped closer to him, eyes never leaving his unsteady gaze.

"Would you like to come with me to the Capitol Tatsumi?" The woman asked. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Tatsumi's eyes lit up.

"Yes! My village needs money and my friend is sick and me and my other friend, you see, we want to go to the Capitol to make money in the army and…" Tatsumi's excitement faltered, misinterpreting the woman's expression of amusement for one of annoyance. "…uh… sorry, I uh… just say too much sometimes…"

The woman stepped closer, her strides more urgent.

"That's all I needed to hear Tatsumi. I think, you are… exactly what I've been… inquiring for…"

The woman continued striding to a now nervous Tatsumi. She stopped only when she could put her hand on his shoulder.

"Then come with me Tatsumi. I will show you many things you used to only dream of when you were in your village. You will have more than enough for your needs and the needs of your people. You will learn all that you need to become strong, and…" she leaned in to his ear. "So… much… more." she whispered.

Tatsumi was completely flustered. No one had ever talked to him with such intent like this before.

"U-u-uh, okay." Tatsumi stuttered softly.

"You will have all that you need. Everything you ask I will give. Everything I ask you will give. I will give you the experience to become strong, and you will teach me about all that I am unfamiliar with. I will satisfy you and you will satisfy me. We will help each other as the insect feeds on the aphid, and the aphid supplies nutrients to the insect." The woman whispered softly, still into Tatsumi's ear.

The woman then looked Tatsumi in the eye, her expression suddenly new, an alluring look on her face. Tatsumi's chest suddenly throbbed, a ball of new and confused emotions formed in his heart. His eyes no longer faltered in their gaze, they met the woman's now soft eyes, his sudden bravery surprising even himself.

"What should I call you ma'am?" Tatsumi asked softly.

The woman's hand left Tatsumi's shoulder so that her arms could cross below her breast. The determination in her presence returned. Her chilled warmth hypnotized Tatsumi in a way that he couldn't even describe, his emotions were so unfamiliar to him at this moment. Her stance assumed even more deadly confidence from the air around her. It seemed the world, the animals, the stars, even the very elements were created just to bend to this woman's will. Utilizing one hand to take off her cap, her starry- blue eyes met Tatsumi's icy green pupils.

"You can call me Esdeath" the woman stated.