Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

138 • Elizabetha Bloodbath #9

Something had changed. Reina hasn't figured out what yet, but something about Takemichi had changed. His stance and confidence told her that the way he blocked her just now wasn't a coincidence. But nothing about his physical ability should've changed, so the change must've lied elsewhere.

Despite one of them being useless, Reina kept both her eyes open as she pivoted on one foot just in front of Takemichi, spinning and leaping lightly to swing her foot to his side while making it look like she was aiming for his head.

Another vision swarmed his mind, and Takemichi saw himself ducking, only to get the breath knocked out of him by a kick to the side of his ribs. Snapping out of that vision, he hastily stepped back, nearly tripping over his own feet as he narrowly dodged the kick.

Again? Reina had learned not to underestimate her opponents a long time ago. After all, even a baby could kill if given the right weapon. But there was just no logical reason behind Takemichi's sudden ability to read her movements. Then again, this whole situation seemed like a farce, so was the impossible really impossible?

She guessed she should just find out.

"That guy..." Izana stared at the fight with wide eyes, his mouth hung slightly ajar. "How is he...no, even if he can see into the future, he shouldn't be in a good enough state to dodge her."

"He can what?" If Rindou thought being able to leap through time was bizarre as it was, then clearly, Hanagaki Takemichi hid more bizarreness. "Does Reina know this?"

"Does it even matter if she doesn't?" Mucho asked rhetorically, clicking his tongue as he found yet another tiny crystal shard embedded into his skin. He really needed to get to a hospital lest he wanted to die of sepsis. "Judging by how she's attacking with various feint methods, we can assume she already has an idea of what's going on."

True to his words, Reina was attacking Takemichi in exaggerated movements that would make people question her aim. A swing to his head could be a kick aimed at his leg while a punch to his chest could end up being a fist planted to his face.

Reina usually fought with patterns, and even if she had a lot of them, it didn't change the fact that her movements, while fast and strong, were quite predictable in the long run. Fighting without tempo or patterns wore her out faster, and while she wasn't short on stamina, it wasn't her preferred fighting style. That was also why she usually aimed to end a fight as quickly as possible.

But her movements right now were unpredictable even to Izana, someone who sparred with her almost daily. And yet, Takemichi was able to dodge them. Yes, he dodged them with only a fraction of a second to spare, but he still managed to dodge them.

"Should we tell Reina?"

"Loud noises will only make things worse." Plus, Izana doubted Reina would appreciate someone butting into her fight with a stray cogwheel who was so entangled with her fate, even if it was them. "Reina isn't stupid. She'll find out sooner or later, and it's not like Hanagaki has the upper hand."

A roundhouse kick aimed at his shoulder, immediately followed by Reina planting her palm on the floor and flipping herself forward to slam her knee down onto his head. Takemichi barely had enough time to duck before he was scrambling to the side, avoiding a blow to his head.

Another vision appeared, one of Reina pulling her arm back, fingers pressing together as she aimed to pierce his solar plexus, only for the blow to land right in the middle of his neck. Takemichi immediately flung himself to the side the second the vision ended, yet again narrowly dodging the blow that would've knocked him out.

Takemichi was reading her movements, that much Reina could tell. He wasn't fast, much less skilled, in his dodging, and Reina wasn't in her peak condition either with all the blood she had lost, but that didn't mean Takemichi's sudden ability to dodge her was normal. Though she had a feeling another, much stronger, hand was at play considering how stiff and sudden he was in his dodging.