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While the world of chakra and shinobi was more dangerous, when it came to the depiction of horror, Takuma's original world was far ahead. The internet had allowed people to share their twisted imaginations with other equally twisted people who built upon it using everything from words to advanced computer graphics. The result was a constant stream of a vast variety of horror born from the collective imagination.
Takuma's special brand of horror was a derivation of that very result.
Genjutsu: The Banquet of Abyss
Genjutsu was a special tool. It wasn't as straightforward as taijutsu, nor was it as versatile as ninjutsu. Not everyone was capable of learning genjutsu, and even if they were, it had several restrictions. Any decently strong genjutsu required an inordinate amount of focus; most users couldn't move while they were casting. It was easy to break, and once it broke, the target was undamaged.
The last part, however, was a misconception. It was true that genjutsu left behind no physical damage, but what about mental? The target would still experience the genjutsu through all their senses during the time it takes to break it.
Takuma felt a dark delight at the sight of Kon's pale face, sweating in terror. His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing ragged. Takuma could feel Kon's fear as if the genjutsu had fed it back to him through every one of his senses.
He hoped Rikku was watching with just as much satisfaction before he opened his mouth the speak.
"How about you piss your pants and get this over with already? You're a terrified cripple. Your chances of not dying just plummeted… pathetic," Takuma said softly, but it was enough for Kon to hear over his thumping heart. "Not that I'd let you live. Even if I die here today, it'll be after your death, Kon."
"Kill him." Kon managed through his gritted teeth before yelling. "KILL HIM!"
The identical agent duo pulled their swords out on command. Takuma did the same. Their blades were broader and longer than his, but he raised his sword and pointed it right at Kon, whose face twisted with a touch of fear.
The duo slowly stepped forward. Takuma gazed at them with caution. Kon said they were his personal grim reapers, handpicked especially for him by Danzo. Ignoring the terrifying fact that Danzo was even aware of him, these two were selected by him, with his infinite experience in matters of assassinations and nefarious murders.
That alone made the pair in front of him dangerous. There was a second of silence where both parties simply watched, waiting to see if the other would take action, before they moved simultaneously. As Takuma rushed forward, the agents darted to either side of him.
He threw a kunai at the blue-masked one, backing it with chakra, but it was effortlessly dodged. The kunai's augmented speed made Blue slow down just enough that he was now running a second later than his counterpart. Takuma widened that gap by running straight towards Red, giving him enough time to handle one fair exchange at the least.
He and Red's swords sang on impact, only for Red's sword to spark with electricity. A jolt travelled through his body, leaving weakness in its wake. It was only a moment, but Takuma almost lost control of his sword, and his own body besides. He barely managed to throw himself out of harm's way, coming up halfway onto a knee.
Takuma looked up to see that Red and Blue had seamlessly switched positions. Blue's sword sparked with electricity as he swung it down. Takuma managed to put his sword up, but the moment they clashed, he again felt the current judder through the blade and weakened him.
Blue's sword easily overpowered him in his moment of weakness, leaving a shallow wound on the side of his thigh. Red switched right back in with a horizontal slash that aimed to take his head off. Already low enough to the ground, he let himself fall and allowed the sword to whistle over his head. Without a proper footing, his options for evasion were limited. Worse of all, he couldn't make any contact with either sword.
As Red made space for his partner to continue their merciless attack, Takuma braced on all fours and barrelled into Blue the moment he was within reach. Without the space, Blue couldn't swing his sword, but he could still shock Takuma, who felt the electric jolt weaken him. But his body's momentum carried over, and they tumbled to the ground.
Blue managed to come out on top, but Takuma kicked him in the stomach before he could straddle him. The ROOT agent folded around his heel and flew right into his partner, finally giving Takuma the chance to stand up.
Meanwhile, Red managed to catch Blue, and the two seemed ready to re-engage him. Takuma threw a smoke bomb at them, and while Blue instinctively cut it, the bomb exploded right in their faces.
The minute that he saw that broadsword twitch towards the bomb, he turned around and rushed straight towards Kon.
Takuma could tell that fighting these two would be difficult… but the same couldn't be said about Kon.
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Kon recoiled when he saw Takuma's expression as the latter sprinted towards him. There was a hunger and bloodlust in his eyes that saw him hesitate, dropping his kunai to reach for the sword at his back.
Takuma's grin widened, but it was too late to regret the choice, much less do anything else. Kon barely raised his sword to meet Takuma as he jumped to close the gap between them. Their swords snarled against each other, and a frothing layer of sparks scattered through their air. The sleeve around Kon's shoulder ripped apart, and he felt his joint almost pop out of its socket.
Fortunately, the lack of one arm had made the other much stronger, and he managed to hold his own. Takuma suddenly changed the angle of his sword as he touched down, redirecting Kon's sword and batting his arm away.. With his only arm out of commission, Kon had no way to retaliate.
'I need to get away,' Kon thought as panic gripped his heart.
From the very start, he knew he wasn't supposed to be involved in the fight. The Gemini Brothers were supposed to take care of Takuma on their own. His job was to ensure they got enough uninterrupted time with Takuma to get the job done without any external obstacles. He had already done that, but when he thought about Takuma far beyond his gaze, without knowing he was the architect of this death… well, the thought didn't sit well with him.
He wanted to talk with Takuma before he died, watch the moment of his death as the fires of life and any hope of survival slowly drained from his eyes.
Kon planned to provoke him into doing something stupid. Then, he'd fall back to let the brothers do their job before returning.
But then—!
"—Hey, you know what this means, right? That bitchface oldfuck Danzo didn't trust you with the job, so he sent someone else to do it for you—"
"—But you'll never be able to take your revenge. Even if I die here today, it won't be because of you. You're utterly useless...—"
"—How about you piss your pants and get this over with already? Pathetic—"
He couldn't let Takuma die just like that. He wanted to be the one to kill him, so Kon made a mistake by lingering. Granted, he tried to fall back, but before he could, Takuma slammed his foot over Kon's, locking it in place. He could no longer escape. Takuma's fist smashed into his throat. Kon barely managed to move his chin in the way. It absorbed some of the force, but the fist still struck its intended target. He felt the force hit his spine through his neck and nearly collapsed there and then. Silver flashed through his darkening vision. Kon staggered back, just not in time. Takuma's sword buried itself just above, barely missing the bones.
For a moment, everything slowed for Kon. He watched blood spurt out of his arm, then hang in the air as Takuma pulled his sword back.. The horrifying, blood-filled vision he had seen in the genjutsu was no longer the most terrifying thing he had seen today.
This—losing both his arms—was his nightmare.
He screamed from the top of his lungs and tried to escape, but Takuma punched him in the stomach, knocking the air out of his body, and cut off his screams. He grabbed him by his hair to stop him from falling. Their eyes met, and Takuma, his face covered in blood splatter, smiled.
"I already took one, I might as well hack off this arm, too. Don't worry, I'll still kill you afterwards."
In that moment, the version of Takuma in the genjutsu and reality overlapped in Kon's eyes as the bastard who had ruined his life raised the bloodied sword.
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Takuma was on cloud nine. Kon's miserable face twisted in dread brought him levels of joy he'd rarely felt in this life. But no matter how much he was enjoying this, he promised Grey that he would kill the bastard here, thus letting go of the opportunity to relish inflicting pain over a longer period.
So, in return, he was going to make Kon's last moments hellish.
But that would have to wait.
'They're quick,' he clicked his tongue when he saw the identical duo in his peripheral vision. It had only been a few seconds since he had charged at Kon. Grudgingly, Takuma released Kon's hair and jumped away to dodge a chain made of pure lightning. Just as he dodged the crackling chain, another flash of lightning in the form of a bolt zapped towards him.
Takuma held his breath before twisting in the air to face the incoming attack, positioning his sword in front of him. There was only a split-second where the lighting chakra gathered around the sword before jumping straight up. In that moment, before he could even place his soles on the ground, he let go of his sword.
The lightning chakra, stuck to the metal, but a small portion of it jumped through the air and zapped him. His body tensed for a couple of seconds as the lightning ran rampant through his body.
"Urgh, that's tingly," Takuma grunted as he managed to avoid tanking the entirety of a C-rank jutsu. The weakness wasn't as bad as with the kenjutsu, but it wasn't going away. He glared at the identical agents, who had both thrown a Lightning Release ninjutsu at him. They hadn't made any attempt to rescue Kon, and even now, they weren't looking at their peers.
It seems there was more going on here than Kon knew himself; the one-armed bastard's life wasn't a high priority of his teammates.
Lightning Release and kenjutsu that put him at extreme disadvantage at melee range. Takuma frowned with a bad feeling. Kon had called them his grim reapers. He now knew they had said this.
His two affinities were Water and Earth.
Water strengthened Lightning.
Earth was weak against Lightning.
Unless they had a second nature, he had no type advantage against the brothers, and even if they did, so long as they leveraged their advantage over him, it wouldn't matter.
There was also the numbers angle to consider; frankly, it was the only thing eliminating his strong suit in close-quarters combat.
He needed a different strategy.
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The link is in the synopsis!