Predicament

Three hours passed and Tatsumi never felt more relaxed and refreshed when waking up. He dressed up with the clothes he previously took off and was headed out, though still feeling the remnants of his sleep. He lightly slapped himself on the cheeks with both of his hands to wake himself up a bit before heading to the front gate. He had two hours to kill before his patrol with Seryu.

Thoughts went across his mind regarding the young yet dedicated female. Since most of her limbs were replaced, he was curious whether or not moving an arm would elicit any form of actual sense or awareness and how she uses utilizes such technology. Comparing his own arm, he can tell whether it's hot, whether something hurts or when it is being twisted of his own accord. He wonders how without pain is she able to understand that her arm has been injured or completely removed. He would have to ask these kinds of barbaric questions once they are on their patrol, figuring it was a way to pass the time other than constantly looking for trouble makers.

He scratches his head. It may be a bad topic.

As he continued to think, he arrived at the front gate with two Imperial Guards armed with Imperial Standard Issue weapons in an arrow formation, guarding the sub-commander. His thinking dismissed them from his mind, with his conscious failing to realize their presence. He waved his hand dismissing them.

"No need for protection. It is appreciated."

"Sir," they responded, saluting at their higher up and returning to their original posts remarked by the sounds of their boots hitting the floor becoming less audible.

He tilted his head up to look at the sky. Other than the obvious tint of blue, it was a bit bright with the angled sun signifying that noon has passed. It was around three and the sun began showing signs of setting.

Progress developed in the capital since all members of Night Raid excluding Chelsea and an unknown person were fully drawn and distributed to the public. A book store called "Night" was torched and burned during midday. The owner of the bookstore matched all the physical features of Night Raid's Lubbock, with the most distinguishable feature that confirmed it was his green hair and his accessories. Tatsumi wondered that since Lubbock owned a bookstore within the districts, that how manny bases or safe points that Night Raid established in the capital

As far as he knew, the Revolutionary army's resources and personnel are vast, expanding into the capital and outside. The Imperial Military, while under indirect strict leadership from the Prime Minister have took multiple measures to counter current and developing methods from the Revolutionary Army. They took into account and see more of a large guerilla force than an established military. Guerilla tactics has made finding spies, stockpiles or anything that was of use to the Revolutionary Army difficult.

While walking around, Tatsumi noticed multiple armed guards from the outer districts running closer to the capital. He followed them, assuming it's going be a situation where it may require his presence.

Following the trail of Imperial Guards, they get on the main road and divert to the right. Straight ahead however is a large crowd moving towards the direction of the capital. Looking around and rotating his head, Tatsumi sees smoke rising in various locations around the districts. The crowd at his current position weren't reacting to the smoke and seemed to go about their day. It wasn't some kind of attack initiated by some outside force otherwise the citizens would be in disarray rather than a crowd, and the Imperial Police would be escorting the citizens or calling them out to leave.

Riot. Tatsumi confirmed in his mind, and he began running straight into the crowd to get to the capital. He safely assumed that the riot was contained near the capital center. Riots rarely happened due to the amount of force the Imperial Military and Police would use, and any form of rebellion can be met with death. This appeared to be a special case, as the riot has spiraled out of control and was drawn out to other districts. Normally, a congregation would be eliminated through the presence of the military or police, armed with their standard gear. It was enough to stop potential upheavals.

Pushing through his way through the crowd, the level of destruction increased as he got deeper. Every building, left or right was either destroyed or trashed to some extent. Some were looted and ransacked. One building was on fire evidenced by the smoke slowly rising into the air but that's not his concern. He continued moving through the crowd and the loud chants of the people entered his hearing.

The crowd was bigger than he thought. The streets became extremely dense with people on their way to the capital center, only blocked by presumed Imperial Police or Imperial Military. Looking to his right, he sees an empty alleyway. Tatsumi proceeded to maneuver his way out of the main street to the alleyway.

Out of the way, Tatsumi ran through the alleyway while making sure all his gear was intact and present. His sword remained in his holster, but he kept his hand on it, ensuring it remains in place. Exiting the alleyway, he encounters another road and looks to his left then right. A noticeable decrease in the amount of people calmed him, but kept him on his guard. The buildings within the area he was in were locked tight, but broken glass and random pieces of trash were littered all over the road.

Continuing his run, he runs left towards the smaller crowd, closing some of the distance between the capital center and him. Ahead of him, he is taken aback by a Seryu accompanied by other members of the Imperial Police only armed with swords. Looking at the Imperial Police, Tatsumi observed that those armed with swords or guns weren't using them, and were instead using vocal diplomacy. It alleviated his worries but he immediately ran to their aid.

With Coro behind her, Seryu along with the Imperial Police she was with were attempting to soothe the population they are dealing with. She understood that eliminating citizens who are in part of the capital would just drive them to maintain their level of unrest.

"Seryu!" Tatsumi yelled. Her attention diverted to him and they shared a look of delight. He pushed through the line of civilians, and made it through the man-made barricade.

"Tatsumi." She acknowledged his presence verbally, shooting him a smile. Upon inspection, Seryu's armor appeared to be lightly scratched and dusted with some kind of powder.

She must have been doing this for quite some time.

Tatsumi felt something hit him physically as he was forming his thought. He looked down and viewed an empty can, presuming it as the thrown object. It didn't seem to affect him at all but he simply shook his head, only slightly annoyed.

"Move back!" He yelled.

Reforming the defensive line to straighten it, the Imperial Police now felt confident and empowered. A total of 10 personnel occupied and blocked the street. Five including Tatsumi and Seryu were the main line, while the three other officers were behind the front echelon, waiting to step in whenever needed. Seryu gazed are Tatsumi. If one weren't so focused on the riot, they would have caught her perhaps adoring him.

"I need you guys to stick with me and move when I do!"

"Roger!" The entire squad of officers replied.

"Ready!?" Tatsumi asked. The effect of his loud voice echoed through the filled streets, scaring the citizens and forming the psychological barrier the police desperately needed.

"MOVE BACK!" The front echelon took one step forward, the officers using their shields to block the civilians and incoming objects. Continued metal clangs were heard as incoming objects collided with the shields. The push was effective, covering at least two meters and clearing the citizens a few meters ahead of them. The uniformity of the push was enough to get distance from them. Tatsumi looked back towards the rear guards. They acknowledged his stare and two of them moved to his place. Replacing him, Tatsumi grabbed Seryu's collar and dragged her lightly away from the line.

Continuing to drag her, an increasing number of footsteps became quickly audible from behind a building to their right. The origin of the footsteps came into view, and it was clear that they won't have to deal with such situation no longer. A squad of Imperial Military were in a column formation, armed with riot shields and swords, ready to reinforce the Imperial Police. Tatsumi let go of Seryu, and she was indeed ecstatic.

"Finally, some support for our fellow justice defenders!" She cheerfully stated. Tatsumi nodded in approval.

"Ah, however we are still needed. Let's move inward towards the inner districts." Seryu agrees, and they both ran to their next objective with Coro kewing with delight. Seryu glanced Coro.

"Sorry Coro, you'll have to wait to eat some evildoers a bit longer!"

The riots continued beyond both Tatsumi's and Seryu's sights. Multiple districts are now under control of the civilian population and a joint force of Imperial Military and Imperial Police have mobilized to contain and separate the districts. Excluding outer districts, the middle and inner districts within the southern and south-eastern portion of the capital have fallen to citizen control. Any form of authority that existed within those districts be it police or military have either been killed, are currently fighting or have left the district.

The Capital's defense can be observed in different numbers, but a total of three ground armies and a naval unit counts up to three hundred thousand to six hundred thousand troop strong. Including the Imperial Police and Imperial Guard stationed within the capital center is a one hundred thousand addition, with the Imperial Police taking 90% of the force.

Because of the relative large numbers, a strategy was devised by the three major generals of the Imperial Police. It was decided that two divisions would participate while one remained on active policing duty in the non-active districts. Two regiments of police were dispatched to set up checkpoints along the East and West districts, splitting the entire capital from North to South. Two brigades were dispatched for the active riots. The Imperial Military stationed within the capital which sized about one field army, reinforced positions outside of the wall which surrounded the entire capital as a result of the ongoing civil unrest. Within the capital center, the Prime Minister Honest and the Emperor enjoyed themselves albeit informed of the current situation. They left it to General Budo, whose idea was to send multiple regiments to assist with the ongoing riots while reinforcing the presence at the wall.

Near the border, activity intensified as some citizens have met with serious suspicion. Checkpoints that formed along the East-West axis of the circle were heavily limiting movement between the main streets, only letting officials and important military figures through with good enough intention and reason. Commanders of dispatched companies ignored alleyways, citing from their higher ups that crowds gather usually in open and large spaces and that it would be a waste of time. Checkpoints that were established mainly dealt with civilians wanting to view to view the ongoing riot or to check loved ones.

A view from the ground showed multiple smoke trails heavily rising from the south/south-east portions of the capital. With wind, the smoke dissipated vectoring east, effectively blocking the sun and choking the amount of daylight that remained.

While the Imperial Guard were stationed within the castle itself, the riot beforehand closed in dangerously close to the capital center, thus requiring a deployment of the skilled personnel to deter citizens. The chaos itself wasn't large, as most items thrown at the peacekeepers were soft. Some other items packed a larger punch such as bricks. Reports from the health administration of the Capital state that during the riots between three o'clock and seven o'clock, 532 Imperial Police were injured, and twenty died as a result of the riots. While the riots near the capital center remained strong with civilian passion, riots elsewhere dwindled as people returned to their homes. The joint task force of troops pushed inward but didn't arrest. As they continued to push, only three miles remained from the capital center to the incoming force. Rioting citizens were surrounded by both sides.

Tatsumi and Seryu held the front echelon while Wave and Bols held the rear guard, assisting in the arrests of violent protesters. Behind Wave and Bols are Imperial Guards armed with guns, originated from the capital center.

The citizens in the front were chanting, stomping in unison in attempt to break the mental barrier between the two sides, a usual occurrence with any kind of riot. While the Jaegers were not trained in and for riot situations, they all were hesitant but agreed that killing anyone will just spark the flame the continuing attempt of anarchy is aiming for.

Though the ranged Imperials Guards seem to think otherwise.

A bottle of water was thrown at Wave, making contact with his head evidenced by the sound plastic crushing. One of the armed guards left the formation, aiming his gun at the perpetrator.

"You think you can get away with that?" The guard yelled as his weapon raised, leaving the perpetrator running off in fear but an external force identified by a blue haired Jaeger pushed the gun straight down.

"Stop!" Wave commanded the guard. Leaving his gun aimed towards the ground, the guard complied realizing the flaw behind his logic. He nodded and returned back to the other guards in formation.

A loud banging of the metal shields echo behind the civilians as try to push and attack the barricade formed by Seryu and Tatsumi. The joint force closed in and proceeded to seperate the congregation, only arresting the most violent of the people. The riots were finally dying down. Tatsumi breathed, a sweat trailing down his

While relieved, most of the established task force were shook up— Given the circumstance that previous revolts and riots hosted within the capital are put down with force before they stir up, most police and military have never dealt their with riots before. Some were wearing their riot gear for the first time.

Unbeknownst to the Imperial Police Lieutenant General and General Budo, a large number of danger beasts were en-route to the capital, taking the form of a what used to be a human, now a distorted version that was problematic to take notice.

As ten o'clock approached, reports began to pile up about danger beast attacks outside of the perimeter and proceeded to keep coming. By the time the top generals including General Esdeath, General Budo, and the Imperial Police Lieutenant General were briefed about the new danger beast threat, the field army stationed outside suffered rough losses and had a mass amount of wounded.

A rough situation the capital is put in; dealing with a new danger beast threat that puts standard patrols, outposts and the security of the capital at risk.

There also remains the looming and heightened threat of a revolution, reinforced by mass deployment of troops and the largest riot that occurred within the capital to this date.

Twelve o'clock.

The results of the event were detrimental to the capital— a large number of injured Imperial Police and Military filled hospitals and clinics, and morgues were filled with dead citizens and military alike. Although the riots were finally dispersed and finally gone, recovery was slow and the deployment of the military remained active shown by large numbers of patrolling imperial police accompanied by the military. The checkpoints previously formed were now removed and the troops that occupied them aided in recovery efforts.

Because of the reduced amount of troops, Esdeath recalled all the Jaegers and set them in pairs. She sent them southbound to destroy the new danger beasts, as well as set them as first line of defense incase of any revolutionary activity.

The sweet smell of the night sky and nature fills Tatsumi's nose as he inhales. He exhales out of his mouth, walking forward and keeps rotating his head, eyeing for anything of interest. In front of him, Seryu walks at the same pace with her Imperial Arms following closely behind without a leash.

To his left, a trail leads away from the Imperial Capital with trees and more trees covering it's left and right. The trees leaves remain quiet, only moving ever so slightly but refusing to make noise. Tatsumi sighs, only satisfied with the rather quiet patrol. He was assigned to pair with Seryu much to his surprise, making up the missed patrol with her due to unforeseen circumstances. Though he was dissatisfied with the amount of time that they need to consume while the military and police get back on their feet.

The danger beasts the military force encountered weren't normal danger beasts. In his meeting with the Jaegers and Esdeath, it was described that the danger beasts resemble humans, and have random variations in armor. Armor embedded within the skin and significant pain tolerance, they would be more than a normal opponent. In any case he would be ready for it.

Seryu stops in her tracks and Coro kews in response. Tatsumi ceases moving and his right hand goes toward his sword, ready to draw. They both visibly move a little bit, as if they were trying to listen to a whisper. A small displacement of the air occurs slightly, rustling the trees around them. Another rustle confirmed his suspicions and he immediately took out his sword on instinct. Eyeing to his left, he looks for the threat that was nearby.

Seryu and Coro should be able to cover me. Just focus on keeping our back secure.

Tatsumi's eyebrow raised when he no longer felt an enemy presence. A large chink accompanied his action of holstering Incursio. He looked forward, met with a large, white and rather thick weaponized pillow; biological Imperial Arms Hekatonkheires in it's full form, but remaining still.

What's going on? She's not mov-

Tatsumi's question was answered when a large protrusion of skin taking the form of large sphere popped out of her Imperial Arms, before being sucked back in with a large gulp.

Tatsumi felt a sweat drop along his left temple.

Seryu walked beside Coro and gave it the biggest hug possible.

"Good job Coro! You took down the danger beast within a few seconds!" She let go of it and it returned to his normal size, walking calmly back behind it's master and assuming it's rightful place. Seryu turns her head and locates her partner with a somewhat startled look.

"Tatsumi, are you okay?" She runs to him face to face met with the same startled look he had. He nods in head.

"Y-yeah...Seryu, Coro ate the danger beast we were supposed to be looking out for, right?" He questioned to which she affirms with a nod and a salute.

"Yes sub-commander."

Tatsumi blinks. He expected an explanation, not just a confirmation. Sighing, he responded looking stern.

"Forget it. However next time Seryu,"

"Please bring one back alive."

[A/N] : This is part one of Chapter 6.

It was a long time that I haven't updated this story yet and I apologize. I somehow lost my motivation over the one-two weeks that I was working on this story. The amount of words I put into this story increased overtime then I just lost it in Antecedent Relations. Before that, I finished Chapter 4 and quickly moved on to it, writing one thousand words within ten minutes then I just stopped.

Some research took place in part of this chapter, as I wasn't too sure about the Imperial Capital's Military and Police capacity of people. This should clear the air with those unfamiliar with military units and sizes. According to the wiki it stated three ground armies and a naval unit for the Imperial Military. Ground armies consist of 100k-300k troops. To put that into perspective, we're talking three hundred thousand troops to almost a million. I also used some typical ranks associated with these and some unit sizes (ex. Battalion, Company, Regiment)

6.5 will be out within a day or two, which brings this story to more than half finished.