[color=#E34234][b]Takumi Miyamoto - Overgrow[/b][/color]
[i]Third Ward, Sakura Clinic, Fourth Floor[/i]
[hr]
Takumi’s eyes locked on his opponent, ensuring that even the slightest of her movements could not escape his vigilant gaze. Naturally, the fact that she had suddenly been sent reeling by the sixfold set of blades lodged into her back did not escape him either. Still, the surprisingly hurt - almost regretfully so - nature of her reaction captivated him for a few scant seconds. A look crossed his face, looking not too dissimilar to the confusion painted by his enemy's expression, before being erased by a mental shake of the head. Inwardly, he chided himself for failing to seize the opportunity and growing so dreadfully soft these days. He was all too aware of the impact that mere moments could have on the tide of battle. He quickly glanced to the knife thrower himself.

The look on Hana’s face and the preparatory sounds of her kagune gave Takumi an inkling as to what would come next. He quickly let go of the girl, and crossed his now-free arms protectively over his exposed body parts - the face and upper torso - as he dug a heel into the carpet - all to brace himself for the coming attack. 

[color=#E34234]“...Kuh...!”[/color]

He’d been expecting something big, but perhaps not quite as explosive as that. Of course, he was larger than the target, and inaccuracy was an unavoidable consequence of initiating such a high-yield offense, so he couldn’t fault Hana for the flechettes cutting into his arms, and leaving shallow incisions along the outline of his body. Fortunately, his opponent took the brunt of the blow for him.

Takumi let out a long, hiss-like exhalation before straightening back out, ready for another round. In that moment, it was as if he had exhaled pain rather than breath. And with crimson spatter across his face and arms dripping in sanguine, he was looking more and more like an implacable monster.

The irony was not lost on him.

[color=#E34234][i]‘Damn it,’[/i][/color] the half-ghoul thought, pulling shrapnel from his arms during the unspoken ceasefire between himself and the girl. He bore an expression of visible discomfort - not from pain, but from the increasing awareness of his own stomach churning. He took another breath to center himself. This pause wasn’t doing him much good; all these feelings and thoughts were throwing him off. Right now, the only things he needed to concern himself with were his opponent and the people he had to defend. Everything else could come later.

But first, there was something he had to do.

[color=#E34234]“Hey, Ukaku Girl,”[/color] Takumi called out to the wounded ghoul, [color=#E34234]“It’s fine if you wanna call it quits. I’m not particularly in the mood for murder tonight.”[/color] It was true enough, even if they had, based on any rational assessment, clearly already gone beyond the point of no return. There wasn’t even an inkling as to what the terms of such a surrender were; to everyone else it would seem like he was talking out of his ass - or maybe that he was just naive enough to not account for anyone else’s less scrupulous ideas.

But Article 13, subsection two of the Ghoul Countermeasures Law stated that an investigator wasn’t to cause a ghoul any more harm than necessary, and although he wasn’t operating in any official CCG capacity, not offering would’ve left a bad taste in the young man’s mouth.

[color=#E34234]“Alright.”[/color] The resulting sound of bone crunching into place, and the first glimpses of the crimson crystalline exoskeleton were the silent answer he needed, but wasn’t necessarily looking for.[color=#E34234] [i]‘Kakuja? Suits me just fine,’[/i][/color] he thought cockily. The more ghoulish an enemy became, the more well-suited to fighting them he’d be. At least in theory. 

[color=#E34234]“In-ter-es-ting,”[/color] Takumi half hummed, [color=#E34234]“And I thought the Tengu would be the only bird of prey here.”[/color] While Miyako was busy showboating her new form, the half-ghoul began assessing her kakuja for weaknesses.  If he could land a good strike on her core vitals before the ribcage fully extended, he’d be golden. With the armor up, she’d be faster and tougher than before. He’d have to adjust his timing to compensate for the speed deficiency. Subtly, he took a slight step forward and-

[color=6ecff6]“Bang.”[/color]

-was promptly assailed by the pain of a thousand needles. [color=#E34234][i]’Shit, kagune trap,’[/i][/color] he cursed, huffing and staring down at his punctured body.

...In the back of his head, he could hear [i]her[/i] voice scolding him, telling him that he was [i]doing it wrong[/i]. 

Fortunately, the nature of their positioning during Hana’s attack ensured that the RC cell spread was kept away from his core vitals and his brain. Instead, the brunt of the crystalline needles dug into his obliques, posterior forearms, and thighs. Perhaps not as directly crippling as his opponent had hoped, but sufficient to disrupt his mobility.

It was a shame; he’d really have preferred freedom of movement right now.

[color=#E34234]“Grrh…”[/color] Takumi threw his torso to the side inelegantly, causing spikes in one side to dig deeper and spikes on the other to be shorn short. But even if it hadn’t hit his head, it had still brought him to the floor. He brought a hand to his side, where once circular pinpoints were now torn flaps of flesh, slowly regenerating. [color=#E34234]“Neat... trick...”[/color] With every pause and breath, he grabbed a fistful of spikes and snapped them into stubs, allowing for freer movement. He still had the spikes embedded into him, but he could deal with pain easier than a mobility handicap. 

That decision certainly came in handy when he rolled out of the way of the talon aimed to crush his face. 

He caught the kakuja ghoul turning her attention to the children, and for the first time in this fight, he begun to fear. In a fraction of a second, he replayed the battle in his mind’s eye, and in doing so, he began to realize how he’d been brought so low by such a diminished opponent: he’d grown complacent. Although he was of superior condition, he had underestimated the strength of a cornered rat. And now the kids would pay.

Although it might have been too late, he [i]refused[/i] to allow others, let alone the children, to suffer in his stead

Takumi steeled his expression, and in these tumultuous seconds, found himself turning to comforting familiarity. He was unobtrusive in getting to his feet. His left eye went dark and a metallic slithering sound emanated from his shoulders. [color=#E34234][i]‘The target is ~SS-rate “Crazy Ukaku Bitch”. ‘[/i][/color] With her attention focused on the kids, her relatively unarmored back was laid bare to him. He broke out into the fastest sprint he could muster in his condition. The metal tentacle became a polearm in his hands, and his mouth uttered two words that would chill the blood of any ghoul:

[color=#E34234][i]”Begin extermination.”[/i] [/color]

From behind the charging she-ghoul came Takumi, aiming to levy a powerful koukaku slash across her exposed back before she could reach the kids, followed by a quick thrust to the heart. No, that was wrong. He would hesitate - but from which kind of weakness, he couldn’t tell - and the trajectory of his thrust would be altered to strike towards the right lung instead.