Akame ga Kill! - Rebound

4. Reunited

A/N: If you haven't noticed, all of the chapter titles start with "re". There's not really a reason for that but it's intentional. >.>

For a moment there, I was speechless. We stood there awhile, gazing in each other's eyes. Tatsumi was wearing a navy sweater over a white shirt, a pair of black pants and hair a bit messy and ruffled. But other than that, he was the sweet old Tatsumi. The Tatsumi I knew, hadn't seen in two years and the one I thought was dead. Wait... what?

He gave me a relieved smile. I raised my arm in front of him, touching his hair briefly, before pulling him into a tight embrace which lasted several seconds. I expected him to be cold or something, like a corpse, because I knew this was too good to be true... But it felt so real. His torso felt warm against mine. It really was as if any of the past events never happened. The scent of him was so nostalgic, it took me back to when every member of Night Raid was together as a whole. Oh, how I miss the sweet sweet memories of my friends. I could just imagine them, imagine Leone making a silly joke and patting me on the shoulder, Sheele being as clumsy as always and probably breaking something, the silly Lubbock pulling one of his pranks once again. I would never experience that feeling again, that feeling of belonging somewhere so much. Knowing that, I held onto Tatsumi for dear life, as he was the closest source of home I had at that moment.

Memories came streaming through my mind as Tatsumi hugged back. At that moment, I didn't even care how or what had happened. Surely, he would explain later, but the only thing that mattered now was that he was here. And nobody could steal this moment from me.

The moment got interrupted by Najenda, who sighed happily, chuckling a bit and grinning satisfied at both of us. I backed out of the hug and blinked a few times.

"So, Akame, I bet you're dying to hear the whole story. Sit down and we'll explain... Uh, and it may take a while." the eye patched woman said. To this, I nodded and all three proceeded to take a seat each around the dining table.

"So you may know the reason why everyone assumed he was gone." she began. 

"I do, because I witnessed his death and there is no way he would be able to survive, that's why I require a fulfilling explanation." I demanded.

"You see, there was a certain promise that had to be keepen. Does it ring a bell?" she began.

[ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S NOTES 1 : In the series, Tatsumi made Akame a promise not to die in the battle. When Tatsumi supposedly 'dies', Akame yells at him saying he couldn't keep the promise. Tatsumi acknowledges this, apologizing for not doing so. The pact could not be broken, hence why Tatsumi is now alive during this]