Chapter Text
Takumi pulled his cowl tighter around him. In the sandy wasteland to the south and east, the thin, tattered fabric he wore was perfect for keeping dust out of his eyes, ears, and gas mask filters, but as he ascended the mountain under the cool shade of trees, the paltry protection it offered left him shivering. Very little old growth remained after the relentless firebombing during those early days of the post-V'ehxness war, but brambles and ivy had made a hasty return, and the ten years since was long enough for trees to form a loose canopy over large swathes of the mountainside.
Or it would have been, if the remnants of humanity and futurans both hadn't kept tearing it all down quicker than it could grow back, desperate for resources in this dying world.
And yet somehow, this mountain thrived, a lush green despite the dusty browns and grays of the regions downhill.
The desire for a natural relief from the war torn landscape wasn't what drove Takumi's ascent into the wooded hills however. Call it curiosity, or boredom, or a shriveled, dried up, but still beating hope... whatever it was, it had taken root inside him after hearing rumors of a mountain spirit. A terrifying monster that lurked in the woods, slaughtering any who dared trespass in those lands and leaving their bodies to rot on the border as a warning to others. Other stories described the mountain protector as a ghost, a grim reaper, a pack of wolves. Others still insisted it was all made up and passed around to scare people off of hunting along the mountainside and any deaths could be attributed to perfectly mundane causes like landslides or animal attacks or people trying to keep plentiful resources to themselves.
Takumi ignored the warnings from the small group of weary travelers he'd met along the way and walked past a bloated corpse dangling from a tree without batting an eye. Sights like that were common enough in the wastes and served as quite effective warnings for most people.
It only served to encourage Takumi.
It meant there really was something to deal with up in the mountains. If he took care of it, brought its head back to the local gangs, that could feed him for at least a month. Maybe more, if the territory they expanded into was worth as much as they thought it was. He'd be sure to leverage every bit of what it was worth to them before moving on.
One of the more credible rumors about the mountain's monster kept circling back to the forefront of his mind. The first and only person to have supposedly survived an encounter with it described it as a humanoid figure draped in heavy cloth and wielding an enormous bloody scythe. Obviously where the grim reaper moniker had come from. That and its sheer body count. Even entire squads of armed soldiers had failed to return from the mountain, vanishing entirely if they were lucky. The unlucky ones didn't return so much as were returned, often in pieces.
More than any of the gruesome stories, it was the weapon of choice that plagued Takumi most.
A scythe.
He tried to push those thoughts away. Unless the monster really was a ghost haunting these hills, there wasn't any chance of it being him.
The traitor, the Godslayer, the Hunter of Humans, Eito Aotsuki had died alone and outnumbered on the battlefield eight years ago.
Eito parted ways with the SDU shortly after killing and absorbing Shion during their final battle with V'ehxness. He'd arguably saved their lives, his newfound power giving him the strength to take out V'ehxness before she could kill and absorb any more of their team.
At the time, Takumi was livid, grief stricken, and afraid, unwilling to hear Eito out, not that he tried to explain.
He still remembered the way Eito laughed as he walked away, purple flames trailing behind him as his black cloak billowed in the wind.
That was the last Takumi had seen of him, but far from the last he'd heard. After V'ehxness's death and the SDU's betrayal, the Artificial Satellite made a messy landing on Futurum and all hell broke loose. The satellite and whatever powers remained on Futurum both deployed every last tactic and technology they had at their disposal in a truly horrific display of mutually assured destruction.
For two years, Eito stood alone on the front lines against humanity, reveling in the destruction and death he wrought with his godlike powers.
What remained of the Special Defense Unit tried to stick together at first, but piece by piece it fell apart. His friends left or died and eventually Takumi stopped trying to stay up on things so he could pretend at least that they'd managed to find somewhere to hole up safely and make a new life.
It hurt too much to know for certain that all his friends were dead.
Eito though... unlike everyone else, Eito's death was highly publicized by both sides, and unless Takumi hid out in the remotest of remote areas, news of it couldn't be avoided for months following. The humans crowed about it as a pyrrhic victory, having firebombed a number of their own in an effort to finally eradicate their fearsome enemy; the Futurans lamented, mostly for the loss of a powerful weapon. Eito had been the one to leave them leaderless in the first place, after all.
Takumi wondered if anyone had truly mourned him.
In a way, that would make the two of them the same, if Takumi ever kicked it...
He felt more than heard the rapid approach of another, their bloodlust ringing like a siren in the air. He ducked the powerful blow that would have cleaved his head right off and summoned his sword in one swift motion.
The figure sailed past him, skidding in the underbrush a couple feet before launching a second attack with no hesitation.
Takumi deflected the blow before he even consciously registered what the weapon was, and their blades clashed in red and blue sparks... So it was a scythe user after all. Why did he want to shout at the stranger, 'That's not your weapon to use!' as if that sentiment made any sense?
Their weapons clashed again, and for some reason, the enemy's grip on theirs slipped. Without missing a beat, Takumi pressed the unexpected advantage, twirling his blade and sending the scythe spinning away. Hesitation meant death, and his opponent had made that one fatal mistake.
Takumi would not.
The attacker stumbled back out of the way of Takumi's first deadly swing but their heel caught on the uneven terrain, sending them crashing to the ground. Takumi pounced on the enemy, years upon years of battle experience honing his reactions sharper than the edge of his sword.
Hesitation meant death.
He brought his sword up and plunged it—
Recognition of the man he'd pinned to the ground flashed in Takumi's eyes not even a second before it was too late. He redirected the attack a few inches to the right and it drove a foot into the ground next to his attackers throat. "You!" he hissed, eyes wide.
Laughter. Familiar laughter. Even after all this time. "Looking ugly as ever, Takumi," Eito greeted him with a smile as if they were still children and Eito was locked up in that damn cage, not nearly skewered to the forest floor.
Takumi wrenched his sword free and held it to Eito's throat, though the man made no move to attack, or even wrestle Takumi off of him. He just closed his eyes lay there, awaiting judgement.
He knew he shouldn't bog himself down with doubts and questions. It's a one way ticket to death. The only reason he's still alive now because he made decisions and stuck with them. Didn't look back, didn't shoulder remorse. And still, he couldn't move. Not without knowing.
How?
One swift cut and it would be over. He had no doubt Eito was the one causing problems for the locals down the mountain. He carry the head down and collect the bounty and move on as he'd always intended to.
But then what?
What if Eito was the last of the SDU? Even if he was, why should that matter? Eito was a traitor. He'd attacked him again just now. He'd.... let his guard down for long enough for Takumi to overpower him with ease.
One purple eye peeps open, gazing up at him with curiosity and amusement.
"Why did you attack me?" Takumi demanded. His voice was rough and scratchy from disuse, and Eito flinched at it. Takumi realized belatedly it probably sounded even worse to his ears, assuming he still had that glitch of his.
A smile cracked Eito's face. "I wanted to see if you still had some fight left in you after all this time."
It was not the answer Takumi expected, but he isn't sure it's the truth either. Instead of pressing further, he changed the subject. "I thought you died."
"I almost did!" Eito replied brightly. "And again just now, but it seems like you missed your mark." Eito kept talking as if Takumi hadn't fixed him with his most dangerous glare. "I knew you weren't dead though. I still hear rumors of your exploits, you know."
Takumi stared down at him.
Eito had changed a lot since Takumi last saw him. He'd visibly aged out of the softness youth had given his cheeks. One of his eyes was a milky white, the skin around it as pale as it used to be when they had never known the sun. The rest of him had tanned somewhat, though not nearly as much as Takumi had. It looked like an old injury... a burn scar, perhaps? Evidence he had been caught up in that cruel trap the humans laid for him? He'd grown his hair out too—with more apparent intent than Takumi, who mostly just couldn't be assed to trim it or his sparse facial hair—and had it tied it up in a high ponytail to keep it out of the way.
After several seconds of deliberation, Takumi asked, "If I let you up, will you try to kill me again?"
A look crossed Eito's face. Something caught between surprise and awe before hid behind a cheeky grin. "Maybe."
Ugh. Takumi had forgotten how infuriating Eito could be. He debated trying to intimidate the guy more, but he could feel Eito's pounding heartbeat through the blade of his weapon, hungry as it was to spill blood. The smarmy attitude was nothing but a cover for his fear. Trying to shake him up more wouldn't make a difference.
Takumi pulled his weapon back and stood up, freeing Eito. For a moment longer, he glared down at the traitor, wondering if sparing him for the third time was even more idiotic than the last two times he'd done it. He couldn't even really say why he held back, but Eito didn't move, just lay there staring up at him with a dazed expression.
Takumi turned on his heel to storm off. Whatever. Those trying to make a living at the base of the mountain would just have to deal with this freak themselves.
A frantic rustling behind him alerts him to Eito making a move, 'Don't make me regret this,' Takumi thought, gripping his sword tighter. But when he half turned to look, Eito was only sitting up, no move made to re-summon his weapon.
"I have food."