Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…

Thump. Thump.

"You promised me! You promised me you won't die!"

It was her voice. It was Akame's voice.

"What?"

The same Akame he had thought of as an enemy at first. The same girl he trained with, cooked food with, did missions with, and fought alongside with. Tatsumi spent the last few months with the assassin group Night Raid and if he had to be honest, it was most probably the saddest and happiest times of his life.

"Everyone…"

Tatsumi was inexperienced to losing the people he loved around him, but that all changed when he reached the capital, the time when he lost Sayo and Ieyasu and the time when he first encountered Night Raid.

His good-natured self was all over the place that time, as he stepped up against the said assassin group wielding nothing but a plain broadsword and backed up by the urn that the village leader had given him.

"I… I don't regret it…"

He fought against the infamous Akame of the Demon Sword Murasame, and he miraculously survived against her, but that was thanks to Leone's intervention at the last moment. At that point, the tide was changed as Tatsumi turned on Aria and killed her in front of their eyes. Afterwards, he didn't know what to do anymore since his friends were dead and he was all alone… completely alone…

Boy, he had no idea what life had in store for him.

"Night Raid… is my home…"

He ended up joining Night Raid as a member, fighting against the corrupted Empire along with his newfound friends. During his days as an assassin, he had experienced many losses along the way, the result of them being put in a dark path and Tatsumi was forced to live with it.

Sheele, his big sister who was a complete airhead, dying in the line of duty against Seryu and her biological teigu Koro.

Bulat, his big brother whom he looked up to as a mentor that helped him train to become stronger and the one whom he inherited Incursio from.

Chelsea, the girl who taught him to see through illusions and showed him the consequences of his optimistic personality.

Susanoo, the odd one in the group that he treated as a friend and a real person nonetheless, who was also the one that helped him train in preparation for this day.

Lubbock, the only other straight male in Night Raid, the one who taught him how to set up traps and had a strong brotherly bond with, asking him for love advice whenever he needed it.

Mine, the girl whom he had the most complex relationship with but turned out to be in love with him at the end of her life; she was also the one who taught him about firearms and guns, something that he'll remember until his death.

Thump. Thump.

His death. Was he dead, though?

"I feel so… cold…"

As he witnessed almost all of his friends die one-by-one around him, it didn't cause him to give up, no. It gave him enough strength and drive to finally come to this day, where they would make the final charge against the Empire with the whole Revolutionary Army. With the remaining members of Night Raid by his side, it was the day of reckoning.

And it came to this.

Thump. Thump.

In the climax of the battle, Tatsumi faced off against the Emperor's teigu, the Empire's last line of defense, the Shikoutazer and he ultimately prevailed through the use of a newly evolved Incursio. However, his work wouldn't be done there as he needed to make sure that the gigantic armor won't harm any civilians as it crashed to the ground.

Maybe he was too kind for his own good.

Thus, it led to this.

Leaning against the fallen Shikoutazer, Tatsumi was on the verge of life and death as he breathed heavily, his vision blurring and his blood flowing all over.

"Akame… will finish this for me…"

Ah yes, Akame.

The girl who was screaming through her tears earlier in front of him, while he was in her arms.

The girl whom he spent the longest time with in Night Raid.

The girl that he eventually came to have feelings for all this time.

Yes, although it was ironic that he fell for the girl whom he thought was mocking him and not even seeing him as a comrade, but after the night where Sheele died, his opinion on her had changed greatly. He had grown to like her company, as well as her weird but lovable attitude when it comes to food. Plus, she was also a great teacher in his training and everything he learned from her was one of the reasons that he had stayed alive until this point. Tatsumi didn't know when he first started to feel something for his red-eyed comrade, but he knew that his feelings were genuine.

Even though Mine had expressed her feelings for him before she died, Akame was the only girl he had thought of all this time.

Thump… Thump…

His heartbeat had begun to slow as he closed his eyes, feeling his life force weakening. Even so, he still had the strength to muster one last smile, an image of Akame appearing inside his mind.

"Akame… I never got… to say it… but… I —"

His eyes snapped open as that particular image of Akame led to one memory that happened not too long ago.

"Tatsumi! Y-You promised me! You can't die on me now! I still… have many things to say to you… please… come back to me… I need you by my side!"

Her crying face.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Crying. She was… crying.

"I-I know it's too late now, but… I love you, Tatsumi… I always did…"

His heart began to beat faster as he remembered Akame's words earlier, while the image of her teary face was locked inside his mind. Tatsumi immediately felt like he wasn't ready to die yet, as determination began to fill his whole self.

"No… this is not the end…"

(Tatsumi's Mindscape)

Tatsumi was in the same leaning position as he looked up and saw the Tyrant in front of him, trying to intimidate him with its ferocious look. He didn't waver at all as he stood up and felt his determination to survive return, unwilling to break the promise he made to Akame and make her cry again.

The Tyrant roared as it charged towards him, but Tatsumi stood his ground and glared at the incoming danger beast.

"THIS IS NOT THE END!" he roared back in defiance before he felt his arms starting to bear scales as he shook his head furiously, with Akame being the only one in his thoughts right now, his sole drive to survive and live through this.

"I… STILL HAVE SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR!" he screamed out loud once again, feeling the Tyrant starting to fuse with him, which was surprisingly giving him back his strength.

"I… I won't let her cry! Not anymore! I have a promise that I want to keep!" Tatsumi fell to his knees and clutched his head, feeling the massive danger beast taking over him and his consciousness. He roared in pain as he struggled to fight against the Tyrant's control, slamming his fists to the ground.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU CONTROL ME!" he yelled out as he punched his own self through the stomach.

(Back in the Real World)

Tatsumi's eyes snapped open once again as he felt a burst of energy flow through him, with smoke beginning to form around him. Although his body was totally shutting down earlier, he suddenly felt like he can take on an army of soldiers on his own right now. Once again, he could feel the Tyrant taking over his body, but he wouldn't let it.

Not this time.

"RRAAAAGGHHHH!" he screamed as Incursio was beginning to evolve yet again, but not before a human hand had burst out of the armor's body. "I told you… that…" His voice could be heard as the armor seemingly stopped evolving for a second.

"I'M NOT GOING TO DIE HERE!" From the human hand that just came out of the armor, Tatsumi sprang out of it and crashed to the ground, sweating as if he just came out of a furnace. Having no time to check on his well-being, the young man immediately crawled away from the armor and out of the smokescreen that it had created earlier.

Breathing heavily, Tatsumi glanced back to see if something was going to happen while he was finally out of the Tyrant's control, but he let out a huge sigh of relief when nothing occurred after a few moments.

He looked down and saw his wounds have already healed, yet if looked upon closely, there were scales on small areas of his body and he was still covered in blood. "Don't tell me…" Feeling that there was nothing wrong with him, Tatsumi slowly stood up and he shocked even himself when he felt that he was fine.

"Incursio must have fused with me a bit and evolved…" he told himself as he saw a clear shard of glass on the wreck that Shikoutazer had caused. Picking it up, Tatsumi looked at his own reflection and his eyes narrowed upon seeing streaks of white hair on his head, mixing with his brown locks and he noticed that one of his eyes had also turned red.

"Just as I thought…" he continued to breathe out, before he suddenly remembered something important. Flashing a look of determination, he started to scout the giant icicles in the area and followed the direction of where they were leading to.

"Anyway, I'll deal with this later! I have a promise to keep!" he exclaimed, sprinting back towards the battlefield to look for Akame.

(Same Time; In Another Part of the Capital)

"Tell me… how did you counter Mahapadma?" Esdeath asked as Murasame's poison started to spread throughout her body.

The battle was long and hard, but eventually, Akame ultimately came out as the victor after she had activated her Trump Card and outsmarted Esdeath by forcing her to stop time and taking advantage of it, that led to the red-eyed assassin slashing her across the chest to end the fight.

"That move was the same technique that ended Susanoo's life. I was waiting for you to use it." Akame replied, lowering her teigu. By now, the poison had already reached Esdeath's heart and only her willpower was managing to keep her alive.

"So it was all part of your plan…"

"You were blinded by your lust for blood, and I cut through your ideal of hunting." Akame continued, coldly staring at Esdeath. While the black marks on the general's body spread further, the ones on Akame slowly faded away, leaving her with faint red marks on her skin. "Target eliminated." Before she knew it, she had to support her balance using her teigu, as the red marks on her body began to pain her.

"You're an interesting one…" Esdeath said, who was somehow still standing. Akame ignored the pain she was feeling and held Murasame tightly, ready to continue fighting if the situation calls for it. "Tell me… where does such strength come from?"

She was quiet for the next few seconds, before finally speaking up once again. "All the lives for which I am responsible… they are what gave me strength."

"You plan to continue being dragged down by others' souls?" Esdeath asked calmly, as if the poison wasn't affecting her in any way at all.

Akame lowered her head as she got reminded of a grim memory just earlier. The image of Tatsumi dying in her arms made her want to tear up and sob again, but she recomposed herself this time, allowing her to answer Esdeath's question.

"No…" Akame muttered, as she remembered Tatsumi's smile in her mind. "I draw strength from another one… his smile is what keeps me moving forward… but he is gone now, and the only I can do now is to honor him by fulfilling what he wished for in the first place… to bring the Empire to its end."

Akame was formerly known as an emotionless killing machine up until now. When she first met Tatsumi, she didn't bother to think of him as a comrade, as she was convinced that he would die eventually. Losing someone close to you was painful, and Akame experienced this familiar feeling way too much starting from when she was a child.

She didn't want to grieve again.

But he survived… he survived and before she knew it, she became attached to him.

And then during that one night, after Sheele had died, Tatsumi promised her that he wouldn't die. That together with their friends, they would free the country from the Empire's corruption.

That was the first time that someone had spoken to her like that. Not only that, it was also the first time that one of her assassin comrades promised her not to die. None of them made such a promise before because there was uncertainty if they could keep it or not, the risk was too high.

But not Tatsumi.

He promised her with fire in his eyes, as he had faith in their actions. He believed in himself and in their cause, and he fought at his hardest so that he wouldn't die.

And from that moment onward, Akame trusted him. On top of that, she trusted him completely, relied on him, leaned on him for support… and started to love him. At first, she tried to deny what she felt, since feelings were only a bother in their assassin work.

And, she noticed that in the whole of Night Raid, she wasn't the only one to have feelings for Tatsumi. Mine apparently liked him although she didn't show it, and Chelsea also had somewhat of a small crush on him before her apparent death.

Akame told herself multiple times that Tatsumi would be better off with cheerful girls like them, or maybe even Leone because she was only a tool, a weapon made to kill people. She wasn't the kind of girl that Tatsumi would want by his side.

But Chelsea and Mine died, joining Sheele, Bulat, Lubbock, and Susanoo in the afterlife. Only Leone, Najenda, Tatsumi and herself remained.

Until now.

"I-I know it's too late now, but… I love you, Tatsumi… I always did…"

Remembering the words she said to him earlier, it was killing her on the inside on why she didn't confess sooner. Confessing and getting rejected was something that would hurt, yes…

But she never thought that the feeling of the one you love dying without even getting the chance to confess what she felt was something that hurt far greater than rejection.

It was emptiness.

"You wouldn't understand, Esdeath." Akame continued, tightly clenching her fists as she steeled herself not to cry, although the horrible image of the boy he loved dying in front of her was killing her on the inside.

"Yes, I don't really understand." Esdeath answered, suddenly starting to wriggle in pain, reaching the limit of how much she can resist Murasame's poison. "But a loss is still a loss…"

The sound of another voice then took both girl's attentions like a thief in the night.

"Akame."

Esdeath and Akame's eyes widened as they saw Tatsumi, in the flesh, just standing a few meters away from them. He looked completely fine, with only a few blood splatters on his clothes, although his hair was considerably different with the white streaks all over his head. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him, and he was just there, in front of the two.

"TATSUMI?!" both girls exclaimed in shock.

"I'm here, Akame." he said, turning his attention solely towards Akame, smiling as tears began to form in his eyes. "I'm alive."

"T-Tatsumi…" Their eyes met and in an instant, the raven-haired girl forgot about the pain she was supposed to be in right now. Akame could be quite certain that she was dreaming right now, because this was too good to be true. Tears had already formed in her eyes at the sight of his smile, as if it had been a thousand years ever since the last time she saw him like that.

"It's me… I'm here." Tatsumi reassured, nodding as he began to walk towards Akame. This was it. No more hiding, because he was going to finally tell her what he felt. Hell, it took him a lot to get away from the Tyrant for this, but it was worth it.

Until a certain general would decide to rain on the parade.

"Tatsumi… y-you're alive… you're really alive…" she called out, beginning to walk towards him. Happiness began to fill Esdeath's face as she felt a powerful urge to continue living. However, that particular happiness was shattered as soon as Tatsumi walked past her, completely ignoring her presence as if she wasn't there, and it could only mean one thing.

Rejection.

Esdeath quickly felt the pain getting to her once again as she glanced at Tatsumi heading towards Akame, and she could only smirk, even in defeat while she slowly got encased in ice.

"I get it now… she was talking about Tatsumi all along… I never expected her to love him as well, but it's a shame. I would've been honored to have fought her for Tatsumi's love… nevertheless, well done Akame. You have… truly beaten me." she thought, as the ice fully encased her body inside it.

The ice shattered into a million pieces, and the feared General Esdeath was no more.

"Tatsumi… TATSUMI!" Akame exclaimed through her tears, unable to take it anymore as she rushed towards the brunette, latching herself completely on him. "I thought you died!"

"I thought so too…" he replied, steeling himself so that they wouldn't fall due to being out of balance. "But I'm here now… it's a long story, but I'm here and that's what matters…"

"You idiot! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid idiot!" she cried, weakly slamming her fists into his chest as she sobbed, and Tatsumi started to openly weep for making Akame feel like this. She wasn't normally like this, but the fact that she saw him die before her eyes and then come back to life in front of her was a different story.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry for making you feel like this…" he muttered, resting his chin on top of her head as rubbed her back, doing his best to comfort her.

"I was… so worried…" her voice broke after her words, simply due to her tears as she continued to cry her sorrows out into his chest. Meanwhile, Tatsumi had to stop himself for a little while longer, because this wasn't the right time to confess. He'd wait until she had fully calmed down before he'll say anything.

The next few moments were spent by Tatsumi and Akame doing nothing but holding on to each other in comfort, before the girl finally pulled away with a weak smile on her face as she wiped her tears away. "I'm glad you're alive, Tatsumi… we did it."

"Yeah… we did… and I also kept my promise…" he said, sending her a thumbs-up as he grinned. "We finally beat the Empire and from now on, this country won't be ruled by a corrupt government…"

Unfortunately for him, Akame wasn't listening to anything that he just said because she just remembered something. Her head lowered to hide her embarrassment away from Tatsumi.

She still had to confess what she felt for him.

"But… w-what if —" she tried to reason out, her face blushing bright red, bringing up the fact that Tatsumi might not want to be with her.

"NO!" she mentally slapped herself.

Tatsumi already died without her confessing, and it broke her heart but she had to keep on going and finish Night Raid's mission. But now he was here, she had to confess right now, or else she might regret it for the rest of her life. She can't possibly take the pain of losing the one she loved again, and seeing him alive in front of her was already a goddamn miracle.

It's highly unlikely it would happen again.

Regaining her confidence, Akame held her fist close to her chest as she looked at the young man that she had feelings for. "Tatsumi… I… I want to tell you —" she was cut off from her words when the man in front of her suddenly leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, shocking Akame to the core with his action.

Tatsumi gently grabbed Akame's shoulders as he closed his eyes, savoring this moment while she was helpless under his control. He kissed her passionately as he poured in all of his love into one simple action, finding her taste of her lips to be sweet like strawberries, something that he liked very much. The whole kiss lasted for nothing more than five seconds as he pulled away just as Akame was about to give in and kiss him back. Fireworks exploded inside Tatsumi's head as his inner self did somersaults and backflips, finally being able to do what he wanted to do for so long.

Meanwhile, Akame had opened her eyes and looked at him in shock, unable to say anything as she was just staring at him as if she had been frozen by Esdeath's ice.

"I love you too, Akame…" he said, and Akame's eyes widened. "I… I heard you earlier when you were crying in front of me… w-when you thought I was dead… I'm sorry that I took so long… but I'm here now…" he continued, grabbing the sides of Akame's face with his hands.

"Tatsumi…" she breathed out, her mouth slowly falling open as she slowly felt happiness starting to fill her.

"C-Can you forgive me for —!" he was immediately cut off from his words when Akame tackled him to the ground and began to kiss him passionately, just as he did to her earlier. Tatsumi's eyes widened as he saw the red-eyed assassin on top of him, kissing him on the lips and never would he have thought that she'll do something like this.

He knew Akame was straightforward and direct with what she wanted to show, but he never expected her to do this kind of thing.

But, he wasn't going to complain about it.

Taking it as a good sign, Tatsumi closed his eyes and began to kiss her back, their tongues meeting and dancing to the rhythm as he wrapped his arms around her back to keep her close. Akame moaned into his mouth and her legs were on either side of the young man. The two assassins didn't even care that they were still in the ruin left by the chaotic battle that just happened, as they were too lost in their personal world.

Finally, after a few minutes, Akame pulled away with tears in her eyes, smiling at Tatsumi below her. This time, it wasn't tears of sorrow or anguish, but rather tears of joy. She was finally happy after all the sadness and grief she had felt when she thought that Tatsumi was dead.

As soon as he felt her separate from his lips, Tatsumi smiled back as he stared into her eyes, before Akame grabbed his face and pulled him close.

"I'm sorry as well… I'm a fool for not confessing my feelings to you sooner, Tatsumi…" she said through her tears, flashing the most genuine smile she could muster up, nothing but happiness and satisfaction in her heart right now as she temporarily forgot about everything around her at the moment except for the boy under her.

"I guess we're both idiots then…" he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her neck and pulling her down in a tight hug. "We've been blind to each other's feelings all along… I can't be any more grateful that I'm alive right now just so I could tell you that I love you too…"

Akame pulled away and pressed her forehead against his, sniffling slightly. "Don't ever leave me again, Tatsumi… please…" she pleaded through her tears.

"I won't… I promise." he replied simply, planting a kiss on her forehead as he sniffled as well.

"You better not break this one…" she giggled, leaning down to kiss him again.

"As long as I'm with you, I feel alive…" he replied, pulling Akame down for another kiss.

How bout that? Hahahahaha! Requirements for next chapter: 25 REVIEWS (Not kidding around)

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-Lance