Akame Ga Kill: Uprising

Chapter 16: Kill the Giant Danger Beast

3rd Person POV

Mountain

"Bloody Hell," James muttered, shaking his head as he, Fury, and the Wyvern stared at the sight of Tatsumi held against his will by Esdeath... again.

"It's so good to see you again, Tatsumi," Esdeath giggled, holding the brown-haired assassin against her chest, one arm clasped gently around his neck to keep him from escaping. "So, tell me, why did you run away? I've missed you so much."

"Tats got lost, and I had to go find him," James lied, leaning against a boulder with Fury sitting on the ground beside him as the Wyvern curled up. "What're you doing all the way out here, Sheila?"

"Hmm?" Esdeath glanced at him, as if finally noticing his presence. "Oh, it's you. Well, I'm here to capture the Danger Beasts attacking the Capital. But... this leads me to the question of why you two are here."

Tatsumi gulped. She's onto me, he thought fearfully.

We're dead if Tatsumi can't pull off something good, James thought, eyes narrowed. Could he nail her with a rocket right now? Maybe, but not without hitting Tatsumi. Besides, with her speed, she'd probably cut it in half before it even reached her.

"Oh yeah, about that, um, before I tell you, do you think maybe you could let go of me?" Tatsumi asked hopefully.

"I will not," Esdeath replied simply, prompting James and Fury to sweatdrop.

"Um, please, it makes me nervous when we're close together like this," Tatsumi pleaded.

Fury facepalmed, and James groaned, dragging one hand down his face. If running away got her interested, do you really think that is going to help?

Just as he thought, Esdeath shook her head once more, even more vehemently than last time. "I'm not letting you go."

"Um... we were testing ourselves!" Tatsumi blurted, somehow managing to wriggle his way out of Esdeath's grasp. Turning toward her, he held out Incursio, presenting it proudly. "I heard that there were some Danger Beasts on the mountain, so James and I came up here to practice!"

James sweatdropped. "Did he actually..."

"He really did," Fury muttered, staring at Tatsumi, awestruck. "Doesn't he know she'll recognize it?"

James glanced at him, surprised. "How did you hear that?" he asked. "That wasn't the Drift. And I didn't say anything, mate."

"Yeah, you did," Fury protested and tapped the side of his head. "I heard it in my... ear..." He trailed off, eyes widening. "Do you think...?"

James shrugged. "Maybe." "Can you hear me, Fury?" he asked silently. This time, it didn't feel like the Drift. It was the same feeling he got when he contacted the Marshal using the comms.

"Yeah," Fury replied. "What do you think this is? It's not the Hivemind, and I don't think it's the Drift either."

"It's gotta be our comms," James realized. "We're Jaegers, remember? We must be able to use our comms as a mind link of sorts."

"Huh... neat."

"—join the revolutionary army yet?" Esdeath was asking, causing both Jaegers to turn their attention to the conversation at hand.

Tatsumi blinked, Incursio falling back to rest at his side. "Uh... no, not yet," he admitted sheepishly. "But I'm still planning to enlist as soon as I ca—ow!" Wincing, he rubbed the back of his head where a rock had hit. He turned, only to find James and Fury both holding a boulder.