Haruki pressed his cigarette into the concrete railing of the second story of the parking garage. The embers on its end smothered as he exhaled the last bit of smoke. It was a bit chilly with the sub-sixty-degree weather but it didn't get in the way of his smoke break.
It was about the only normal thing he had left. After Halloween, everything was turned on its head. Haruki along with a few of his friends had gained superpowers and were thrust into a battle royal style tournament of some sort.
That was only about a week ago now. In that time, they'd been able to carve out a small piece of Kagoshima for themselves. Haruki wasn't the violent type and if it were up to him, he'd prefer to dig in and try to wait out whatever this was. But it wasn't up to him.
Ichiro was. His former best friend. He could barely recognize him after the change. He'd become power-hungry, and violent. Not that he didn't already have enough power. His power was much better than Haruki's and it was clear who would come out on top if Haruki tried to push back on his colony-conquering designs.
Haruki turned back toward the center of the parking garage and began walking to the metal door leading to the only way to the now heavily armed and brigaded top floor. He stopped when he fully turned toward it and got a good look. He raised a brow in confusion. He was sure he'd closed it when he came out.
Walking towards it with his guard up, even activating his superpower which involved the summoning of a small firebird that could slam into things with a good amount of force, he didn't see any movement. Until he saw a lot of movement all at once. He wasn't even able to fight back or even realize how he'd been defeated. All he saw was a flash of white before everything turned black.
——
Isamu took out another throwing knife tipped with a purple liquid before throwing it swiftly and effortlessly into the thigh of one of the handful of "sorcerers" calling the parking garage a fortress. The man stumbled before falling, completely unconscious. Shoko's sedative doing wonders.
Isamu walked quietly through the path between tents which seemed to make a small homeless shelter on the roof of the parking garage, not really caring if someone saw him but he still put in some effort to at least take them by surprise if they did. It took some getting used to. His newfound cursed energy reserves that it.
Isamu was far from unsatisfied with the turn of events, even if he despised how he'd gained the ability. A massive amount of cursed energy about 50% greater than Yuta's historic amounts could be quite convenient if Isamu wanted to downplay it. But it did have some done sides.
It reminded him of medieval armor. Having a good set of armor was good in most places but it made sneaking around a bitch. Any half-decent sorcerer would sniff him out in a heartbeat, especially if he was half-assing the stealth attempt like he was at that moment. But it didn't matter how load your armor was if you were raiding a fortress of the deft.
Isamu threw a knife to his side without looking, striking a man in the back of his hand which was reaching for a walky-talky of some kind. He blinked a single time before falling over, Isamu continuing his path towards the largest tent. His senses told him there was no one left outside.
With nothing to knock on, Isamu just split the tent flaps and walked in like he owned the place. His eyes scanned the room without much worry or expectation. He found a man sitting at a folding table, seated in a padded folding chair. A map of Kagoshima was laid out before him. To either side of him were two guards.
Isamu grabbed two knives from behind his back, gripping each between two fingers before flicking them at both subordinates. They each clutched at the knives sticking out of their biceps for a moment before falling forward, bringing the table down with them as they did.
The main man looked up startled by the encounter which only took a second to end. He was taller than average, around Isamu's height. He was scruffy and older by a fair bit though. He reached for a spear located at the wall of the tent. The spear was probably the only item in the entire base worth more than two hundred dollars if you didn't count the tents.
Isamu reached for a throwing knife, only to find he was out. He sighed in mild annoyance as he unsheathed Maya, his short blade. He spun it in his hand so the blunt edge of the blade was the one he'd be striking with as the man charged him, no questions asked.
Isamu flicked his hand, directing the tip of the spear away from him as he raised Maya. Only to be surprised when the man quickly recovered and got into his stance once more, too fast for Isamu to find an opening. Not that he was really trying to. They "exchanged" a few more blows before Isamu realized what he was facing.
The man said he'd give raises to two types of sorcerers. The first was the kind Isamu had been taking down until now. People with cursed techniques but without the brain to use them, are now transfigured into proper sorcerers. The second was the kind Isamu now faced. The reincarnation of past sorcerers which the man had turned into cursed objects, similar to the fingers of the king of curses.
The first hint was his skill with the spear. It was far superior to anything he would expect to see from a sorcerer not even a week into their power. The second was his ability to manipulate cursed energy. Like the first, it was at a much higher level than you'd think. The third and final hint was the look in his eyes. The murderous intent paired with power-hungry gluttony.
Isamu knew the look well. He'd seen it in a shattered piece of glass in Shibuya. Without much thought, Maya was turned around in his hand and the man's head was severed. Looking down at the shocked look on the severed head rolling across the floor, Isamu gritted his teeth, regretting his instinctual action. Turning away, he added the civilian who served as the reincarnation's base to the list of souls he would mourn when everything settled.
——
Kenjaku stepped into the large temple high in the mountains of Japan. The temple was Buddhist but old and worn. Still, the wood held strong and the stones were tough and solid. Everything was still intact, it was a miracle something like this could go undiscovered and undamaged for over one thousand years.
Not that it was much of a surprise to Kenjaku. It was his barrier that'd preserved it for so long. One of the many concessions he'd made with the only resident. He walked through the halls calmly but with a slightly annoyed expression.
After a while of walking through the overgrown temple, Kenjaku arrived at two massive wooden doors. About three times his height tall and two wing spans wide. He pushed the redwood doors open with relative ease, the hinges working as if they'd been installed the very same day.
Upon entering the room, his eyes met a giant golden Buddha statue, his legs crossed and his hand raised as usual. Kneed at his feet in prayer at the base of the statue sat the man he'd come all this way to speak to. The man he'd jumped through hoops to get to agree to transform himself into a cursed object and transverse the ages.
The Vanishing General, Akira Bushida. The 1st Void General. Not the first chronological as technically he was one of the newer members. No, he was the first among the generals when it came to the most important thing during the Heian era. What some would call the only important thing, power.
Kenjaku just stood, his arms folded into his large sleeves as he waited for him the finish, like he'd waited on him for what felt like forever. His armor was that of a Japanese military general of very high standing. Completely black with golden outlines and engravings. Atop his helm were two golden antlers and lying horizontally in front of him was a black Naginata.
It, too, was outlined in gold. A simple yet powerful sign of standing. Of office. Of power. It communicated clearly who was in charge among the Void Generals. Its blade was silver and appeared to be coming out of the mouth of a black dragon with golden eyes, or perhaps it was being consumed by it.
The shaft of the weapon was perhaps the most striking part. Or, rather, the part that stood out the most. For it betrayed the put-together, perfectly maintained look of his armor and Naginata. For there were 34 notches near the top of the shaft. Each one marking a victory over a powerful foe.
The man's form was large but not overly so. His strength came from dense, wiry muscles as opposed to the large, hulking frames of some men. If anything, he looked lanky, if only a little.
"You want me to abandon my men." The man said gruffly after a moment longer of prayer. Kenjaku's ever-present smirk quirked in annoyance at the bluntness of the man's statement.
"Put bluntly." Kenjaku agreed, knowing he wouldn't be able to outsmart this man with honey-slicked words and a silver tongue. "But are you not confident in your men's abilities?"
"No other man if more so. But what concerns me is your behavior. If you were worried about two of my men, perhaps I would see it as enough. If you tried to make me reconsider or only send one, perhaps. But no, you come to me, ask me for two men to rid you of "a torn in your side." The man continued, his words scathing.
"We both know you don't actually want him dead. But, the death would serve me well. So, I will fulfill your request. I'll go above and beyond in fact. I'll send three to take care of your "problem."
Kenjaku's smirk fell at that. He exhaled from his nose as his fingers fidgeted under his robes. He considered many things at that moment, including whether he should speak or not and what exactly he would say. But after a while, he decided against it. Nothing good would come from it, and it seemed the General was no longer listening. He was back to prayer.
Kenjaku turned and left, walking a little faster than he was when he was entering. His ever-present smirk was now gone entirely, replaced with an annoyed look. It seemed his plans of nurturing his precious son had hit a snag.
——
Isamu walked the streets of Kagoshima, his senses extended as far as possible to sense any potential sorcerers. He wasn't looking for allies as he knew he was the only one from jujutsu high in Kagoshima. No, he was looking for enemies.
It was only due to this heightened sense that he sensed the attack. The arrow. He only sensed it with enough time to dodge a few inches. The arrow was so jam-packed with cursed energy, Isamu wondered how he hadn't sensed it sooner. The glowing red arrow smashed through his body, sending blood everywhere as his entire left torso and arm were blown off.
The arrow continued, blowing through two entire buildings, even if they were only two stories tall, before the user seemed to release the arrow and its energy took a nose dive. It was only due to this collateral damage that Isamu had any idea of where the arrow came from.
Looking in that direction, Isamu saw a small dot in the sky. It looked like a tiny red star. Isamu realized a second too late to dodge completely. The second arrow blew off his leg right after he started to jump away. Isamu grabbed onto a light pole and flung himself through the window of a nearby building as his arm, torso, and leg began to heal rapidly. He crashed through the window, sending glass flying everywhere.
Isamu began to unsheath his swords before the glass even hit the ground. But in the corner of his eyes, some of the glass caught his notice. Because reflected in the glass was another man. Turning his head to the left, Maya came flying upwards to block a potentially fatal sword slash.
The wrinkle-covered old man in blue robes broke the clash and unleashed several more slashes. Isamu blocked every one of them, covering both of them in a shower of sparks. Isamu began to sweat as he was kept up by a hair. He was faster than the old man by a solid bit but he was horribly outmatched in skill.
Before the two swordsmen could get any more exchanges in, Isamu sensed another arrow just before it slammed into the building, collapsing it and sending Isamu flying. Isamu was knocked into the side of a parked car which skied within the impacted and bumped into the building it was parked in front of. Isamu's right ankle and foot were bent and twisted every which way, the bones twirling and cracking back together as Isamu pumped some positive energy into it.
Isamu now realized why he was sensing the arrows too late. It wasn't that they flew under the radar because they certainly had enough cursed energy to be picked up. It was their speed. They closed in on Isamu so fast, that he just didn't have time to sense it. No, rather, by the time his senses sent the message to the brain and the brain sent the message to his muscles to move, the arrow had already hit.
Before Isamu could get his bearings last these small thoughts, the car he was embedded in began to move into the air. Looking over his shoulder, he found a large giant of a man covered in a jade-looking stone smiling at him. He was lifting the car.
The man brought his hands together, folding the car sideways to try and crush Isamu between the hood and the trunk. Isamu just barely managed to escape upwards. Spinning in the air, Isamu landed a good stab downward into the top of the man's skull. Only for his blade tip to stop instantly, not even penetrating a half inch into his jade armor.
The man reached up, grabbed Isamu by the front of his shirt, and threw him off him. Rolling to his feet again, Isamu glanced behind him to find the swordsman in blue standing unharmed with his sword sheathed.
"Isamu Inumaki right?" The jade giant said, not waiting for an answer, he continued. "Nice to meet you, I'm glad there's at least one decent kill in this era."
Isamu narrowed his eyes as he considered his position. He was outclassed in durability as shown by the giant. The old man destroyed him technique-wise. And every time that archer launched an arrow, he lost a limb at best. Durability, Technique, and Attack Power. He was outclassed by everyone. But even still, Isamu couldn't see himself losing this one.