Chapter 6: Reika Shiranui
"I don't suppose you and I can talk this out?" Takumi asked idly, only a meter of distance standing between him and the cattish yakuza boss. "I merely returned a pet to its rightful owner, surely that's not an offense worth making a fuss over?"
"That's for me to decide, sweetheart. Not you." Reika smiled, flaring her razor-sharp canines. "For starters, why don't you explain to me how you managed to take that cat in the first place? My subordinates aren't exactly the cream of the crop, but they aren't dullards either."
"I snuck in. None of your subordinates were injured, if you aren't already aware of that." Takumi decided it'd be best to humor whatever questions she threw at him, her posture didn't indicate that she was particularly offended nor enraged. She was merely probing him to get a better idea of who the 'thief' was.
"Oh, I'm aware. If you had killed any of them you'd already be dead." She scoffed. "Who's the girl to you? Is she your lover or something?"
"No, she's a homeless girl I helped out of pity." He looked down the street, Power's back no longer in view, and his quirk calculating that it'd take another 12 minutes for her to reach his apartment, accounting for the girl's poor directional skills.
"So you are the vigilante type, tryna be like that 'Stendhal' fella I've been hearing about?"
Stendhal. A name that slowly, but surely makes its rounds throughout Naruhata. The fully-armored vigilante cutting down those he deemed evil with his blade, a man who was beginning to inspire fear into the ward's underworld.
Takumi had mixed feelings about the figure.
On the one hand, no one should have the right to name themselves judge, jury, and executioner.
On the other hand, maybe someone like Stendhal was exactly what Naruhata needed at the moment. The majority of the police force were either contributing to or ignoring the ward's downward trend, and the efforts of professional heroes in the area had proven to be utterly ineffective on any meaningful level.
"No, this is the first, and hopefully the only time I've involved myself in such a situation. And unlike the Stendhal, I've never taken a life, nor do I have any interest in doing so." Takumi's every word was eerily calm. His quirk warned him that if Reika sensed his emotions flare up, hers' would do the exact same.
"No? You seem like you have it in you. You give off a rather young scent, but I can tell your composure's ice-cold. Like a robot." Her eyes narrowed, clearly doubtful of Takumi's outward impression.
Takumi exhaled. Going back and forth with Reika like this wasn't going to amount to anything, he needed to be more direct with his intentions.
"If possible, I'd like to leave in peace. The fact that I didn't harm any of your subordinates backs my sincerity, does it not?" His tone and every word was carefully calculated. It was fine for him to be forward as long as he didn't try to come off as commanding or arrogant, Reika expected to hold dominance in the conversation, so he'd let her do just that.
"Mm, true. But you did take one of my babies away from me, didn't you?" A coy smile tugged at her lips, almost as if she was egging him on.
"Returned. Not taken."
"Tomato, tomahto." Reika waved him off. "To be honest, beating the both of you senseless and taking her back was all I cared about at first… but now? I feel like something else has caught my attention." Her pupils dilated, a classic reaction the sensory organ demonstrated when someone was interested in something.
"And what would that be?" Takumi asked despite knowing the answer.
"You." She started to walk towards him, clearly intent on breaking their invisible boundaries. "Clearly you know who I am, but I've yet to sense even a modicum of fear from you. It's like you're somehow convinced I'm incapable of harming you."
Eventually, there was only a centimeter or two of distance between their faces. The tigress' hot breath reflected off Takumi's face as she eyed him up and down, her 180 cm tall frame looming slightly over him.
"Who are you?" Haphazardly, she flipped his hoodie over, her nailed-finger lifting his chin and forcing his steel-gray eyes to lock with hers. "A vigilante? Maybe a hero-in-training? The young master of one of my rivals?"
"No to all three. I'm a student, a part-time cashier, and someone who doesn't wish to incite any trouble with you. My only wish is for that girl to keep that cat, if you'll allow it." Takumi could feel the 'talk-it-out' route starting to falter, but still wanted to try to make it work through a last ditch effort by appealing to the woman's superiority complex.
"If I'll allow it, huh?" The corners of her eyes tightened, the predatory air around the woman intensifying. "Well, it's not like I dislike it when boys are obedient… How about this? I'll let you go on one condition, the girl will also be let off the hook if you abide by it."
Takumi's fingers tensed, the preparatory clicking of his knuckles audible.
"Yes?"
In a blink, the temperature around Reika seemed to drop by a hundred degrees.
"Survive."
Reika retracted her hand from his chin, her nails extending and hardening like claws as she swiped towards his head.
And in the same instant, Battle Algorithm went into overdrive, almost ecstatic that it was able to carry out its true purpose.
'Threat detected: cranial slash. Strike type: horizontal claw swipe. Target zone: temple/upper cheek. Estimated velocity: 9.8 m/s. Claw reach: 36 cm. Time to impact: 0.31 seconds.'
'Movement solution: Step 14 cm diagonal-left. Lower head 6 cm. Rotate torso 18°. Redirect wrist on pass-through.'
Takumi's motion began before Reika's claws could fully accelerate. He didn't step away, instead, he stepped into her attack, his head lowering just enough for her claws to slice through the empty air above his ear.
Briefly, his hand touched her wrist as her arm completed its movement, not to stop the tigress as he wasn't stupid enough to believe he could overpower her, but to create an alteration in the trajectory of her strike by a few degrees and force her to overshoot.
'Opponent speed updated: +12%. Claw durability: reinforced keratin mutation. Engagement classification: predator-type melee. Strategy adjustment: avoid linear retreats. Exploit momentum windows of 0.22-0.35 seconds. Monitor shoulder tension for pre-strike indicators.'
Reika's amber-gold eyes widened, to her, it looked less like he dodged her slash and more like he already knew where it'd go in advance.
A theory she felt enticed to put to the test.
Reika shifted her weight towards her lower body, putting one hand on the floor to balance herself and rotating her hips in order to allow her leg to scythe towards his heel in an attempt to sweep him off his feet.
'Threat detected: low rotational sweep. Target: rear heel/ankle joint. Strike vector: 210° counterclockwise arc. Velocity estimate: 7.3 m/s. Time to contact: 0.24 sec.'
'Predicted combo: 1. Sweep 2. Opponent falls 3. Descending claw strike.'
Well-aware of her intent, Takumi decided to take his foot out of the equation entirely. His heel lifting a split-second before the sweep connected and leaving Reika's foot to cut through absolute nothingness.
Executing a pre-calculated window of opportunity, he pivoted to his other foot, tilting his body to make it easier for him to press his palm down on her calf as it passed in order to extend the length of her sweep.
'My turn.'
The extra rotation carried her leg farther than intended, and for a moment, resulting in a complete loss of balance.
She was vulnerable.
'Opponent balance compromised. Center of gravity displacement: 19 cm outside stance. Recovery window: 0.22 seconds. Threat level: reduced.'
'Target selection: solar plexus. Justification: breath disruption. Recovery delay predicted: 1.6 seconds.'
Takumi moved to capitalize immediately, his body prioritizing precision over speed. Before she could catch herself, he stepped inwards and pressed one hand on Reika's shoulder, guiding her momentum further forward and using his free hand to drive a short, controlled strike into her solar plexus.
It wasn't a wild, brutish punch by any stretch of the imagination. It was a compact blow assisted by a carefully executed twist of the hips, producing the exact amount of force needed to knock the breath out of her.
But Takumi made no attempt to press his advantage, calmly taking a step back and resetting his stance.
"Like I said, I have no interest in violence. I simply wish for a peaceful resolution."
Across from him, Reika let out a sharp, pained exhale as her lungs staggered to gather air back into them.
Then, slowly, sound started to leave her mouth. Not that of anger, frustration, or bitterness.
Laughter.
Laughter was what came out of her orifice.
Takumi let out an inquisitive hum. "Strange, my attack just now appears to have excited you in some manner?"
"Fuck yeah it did!" She looked up at him, cackling with an ear-to-ear grin. "Do you have any idea how long it's been since someone actually hit me? Shit! That was a good punch! A real fucking good punch four-eyes!"
Reika hauled herself to her feet, a thrilled flush spreading across her face like wildfire.
"Does this mean I've satisfied your condition?" He was the polar opposite of her, the 'rush of battle' was a feeling completely alien to him thanks to the nature of his quirk. A battle was an inconvenience, and every movement an equation. In a sense, fighting Reika was no different from doing his math homework.
"Satisfied?!" She spread her arms wide, her facial expression manic. "Not even close! We're only just getting started!"
Takumi could feel the shifts in Reika's posture, like she had just been kicked up a gear.
'Opponent aggression level: increased. Movement speed: +21%. Attack frequency: increasing.'
Reika's claw came swinging downwards. Like he had been doing thus far, Takumi continued to rely on his counter-focused strategy. Predicting the blow, evading, and nudging the tigress' elbow just enough to alter the direction of the strike. Her claws zooming past his shoulder instead of digging into its flesh.
But this time, there was no window to counter or disrupt her balance. With her heightened speed, she could launch her follow-up attack without leaving Takumi any openings, her knee rocketing upward towards his ribs.
He twisted his torso, resulting in her knee grazing his windbreaker instead of his body. His quirk performing an immediate recalculation to adjust for Reika's increasing momentum.
'Opponent reaction time: extremely fast. Momentum retention: high. Risk of sustained exchange: rising.'
With cat-like grace, she landed on her feet and lunged at him, not a single pause between her attacks which began to resemble that of a true hunting pattern. Slash. Step. Feint. Pounce. Claw. She chased Takumi down like a proper tiger would.
From an outside perspective, it looked like he was on the backfoot, unable to keep up with Reika's surge of explosive strength. But within? His quirk was keeping track of everything. Every claw strike. Every microshift in her shoulders. Every slight alteration in her breathing pattern.
The more she fought, the more comprehensive Battle Algorithm's profile on her fighting style became.
'Pattern detected: Reika accelerates after successful pressure. Weakness: brief balance reset after lunging attacks. Window: 0.17 seconds.'
She went low, aiming for his ribcage to which Takumi responded by pivoting to his left. Her claws sliced the air beside him, his quirk highlighting the exact moment her weight shifted towards her front.
'Counter window detected: 0.16 seconds.'
Takumi stepped in, and instead of striking, all he did was push her shoulder off line, completely ruining the angle of her next attack and sending her skidding across the pavement.
Reika licked her lips. "I thought you were using some kind of future-sight quirk to predict my movements, but it's not that simple, is it? You're not just reacting, you're adapting."
"You're free to think what you like," he adjusted his spectacles. "I'll ask you once more, Reika Shiranui, have I satisfied your condition?"
"Nope, I'm still not satisfied, not even close." She said with a toothy grin. "That said, I did say my condition was for you to 'survive', didn't I? I'd be a fool not to admit that you've fulfilled that with flying colors."
"Does that mean I'm free to go?"
She tapped her lip. "I have a new condition."
"Which is?" Takumi asked with a stark lack of enthusiasm.
"Tell me your name!" She snapped her fingers. "You know mine, so it's only fair that I know yours, don't you think?"
He narrowed his eyes. "If I do, do I have your word that you'll leave both me and the girl alone?"
"Mhm." She nodded.
'It seems she's telling the truth.'
Listening to his quirk's conclusion, Takumi released his stance and let out a deeply relieved sigh.
"Takumi Kisaragi."
///
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