EnderBubs
Level 57
The Devil Who Escaped Hells Grasp - Darius Ikemori's Bio
♠ FULL NAME ♠
Darius Ikemori
♠ AGE ♠
36 Years Old
♠ GENDER/PRONOUNS ♠
Male - He/Him
♠ BIRTHDAY♠
January 5th, 1989
♠ PLACE OF BIRTH♠
Guam
♠ NATIONALITY♠
Guamanian
♠ HEIGHT♠
6’4
♠WEIGHT♠
246 LBS
♠ LOOKS ♠
Darius is a 6’4 Guamanian male with a very muscular and beefy build. That is comparable to a bodybuilder. His skin tone is a light shade of brown, one that looks like he tanned himself for a good amount of time. His eyes are a very dark brown, almost black in some cases under some lighting, His dirty blonde hair is always pushed over to the right side. it has a messy yet professional look to give off a professional and friendly vibe to him
His body is covered in scars from fighting the Mechanic two times. The scars have whitened themselves out slightly after healing properly with time. Besides the scarring, Darius has two tattoos on his body. One on his back which depicts 5 specific tarot cards, each with their meaning and relation to Darius, surrounded by a yin and yang symbol. Then he has a spider tattoo on his left hand, the webbing attached to his hand scar
♠CLOTHING♠
Darius wears one main outfit, everything else is just outfits he may wear during special events. His outfit consists of a simple white shirt with straps around his chest and a deep purple tie. His pants are brown. He also had gloves that covered his hands
However, because of his past and overall constant issue with keeping money and saving it, Darius doesn’t own many clothes besides his main attire. He grew up with little variety of clothes. He only got clothes every few years; when he did, they were always worn down and cheap. These clothes were often either too big on him or too small, so despite him wanting to live a luxurious lifestyle, he does it by showing off his expensive clothes. Nowadays he only buys clothes for special events though otherwise he would much rather spend his money on more fun and better things
♠VOICE♠
His voice is that of Karma Akabane’s voice from Assisnation classroom
LINK TO A VIDEO SHOWING OFF HIS VOICE
Though, this was his voice prior to the attack at the news station. His voice naturally deepened and lost a sense of emotional tone to it all, after all. All that trauma affected him deeply. Though he didn't become fearful, he instead became more dangerous. His voice naturally dropped as his emotions did to the same, creating a new voice. That voice is the voice actor of Kenjiro Tsuda
LINK TO HIS NEW VOICE
♠ PERSONALITY♠
Darius’s true personality is completely unknown. It's unknown if he even has a real one. His personality is forever shifting, shifting between nice, kind, welcoming, co-cky, rude, passive-aggressive, and more all based on who he talks to. He creates a new personality for whoever he talks to, using their body language, speech, and emotions to adjust and create the personality. Everyone has a personality that Darius has created just to suit them, He creates a web of lies and deception that is so well hidden that people willingly walk into these metaphorical webs. He does this to either gain the trust or gain a one-sided connection with the person, or to combat their personality. Either way, he always creates a personality that will get him an advantage of sorts against the person with the end goal of killing the person's old personality and replacing it or making them have a personality that is perfect for him
Darius creates personalities for everyone. Everyone has their specific personality with their own emotions, speech, body language, and more behind it. Darius though has one main underlying personality that can come out no matter the person. Which is his aggressive and combative side. This personality is made specifically for combat. He uses his manipulation against him to remove all emotional and physical attachments to the person. This way he can deal as much damage to the person as possible without feeling any remorse or having feelings holding him back. In this state, he has no care for anyone. He doesn't care who gets hurt, he doesn't care about the damage he does. He has one task in his mind and that's to deal as much damage or even kill the person he's going up against. In this form, he's more physiatric. Often laughing and showing joy when beating his opponent physically or going up against a challenge. This personality is one that people should avoid, as it was the personality that killed the Mechanic, and brought him back to life just to watch him suffer.
Of course, though, it's impossible to tell if he is truly using a personality to manipulate you, or if he has created a personality to truly bond with you. He doesn't manipulate everyone, only those who he feels will be useful in the future for personal gain. However, it's truly impossible to detect if he is manipulating you or not due to his constantly shifting personality. His personalities also shift with the people he ISN'T manipulating, Because he doesn't have an original personality, he has to create a new personality with someone whom he isn't manipulating. So no matter what he has to create a new personality with EVERYONE. Which makes it nearly impossible to detect manipulation.
Overall, he keeps a more pleasant personality than most of the world, of course, the level of kindness and other factors varies between whom he's speaking to, but he does have to keep a good reputation. In the end, how can you figure out a man's true meaning and actions if you don't even know who his personality is? How can you know if you’re being manipulated when he acts differently with everyone around him? You can’t. His personality always adjusting creates the perfect mask to hide who he is manipulating, and who he’s not. His personality is forever shifting, even with the people he's not manipulating
♠ PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE♠
Darius’s perspective in life is intertwined with his gambling mindset. Before Korea, he had a more “Go with the flow” type of mindset. He believed that you couldn't alter the future fully, that no matter what you would always be hit with hard times and good times, and that you just had to ‘go with the flow’ and see where it took you
After Korea, Darius’s mindset changed. His mindset adjusted to that of a manipulative gambler that he had become. He perceives every action, every conversation, everything is a mind game to him. A game that had interviewed with the webbing of his Arachnid personality that filled his mind after his coma. Despite seeing everything as a game he also sees life as a forever challenge. And that every new person is a challenge for him to learn and create the perfect personality for them. He still knows in life that no matter what he can't prevent good and bad stuff from happening in life. He can't make his life always perfect, he can't make it always bad. So he knows that when life DOES get hard to remember that no matter what life will get better at some point and he just has to push through it.
♠ COMBAT STATS ♠
As an ex-SGT for KPD, an ex-low-level Yakuza member, and an active reporter Darius knows how to fight and defend himself in cases of attacks properly. After all, living in such a crime-filled city is not easy, and knowing how to fight is a must.
STRENGTH ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius has a scary level of strength. His entire life he has had to use his muscles one way or another. Whether it be as a child carrying things for his mother, fishing, and fighting against the currents and the large fish that followed. Up until he was in KPD, to being a yakuza member and having to learn how to throw punches and physically fight, and more. The biggest thing that puts his strength ahead of others is the fact that after his coma he spent over a year doing physical workout training and weight training to improve his upper and lower body. Also, he did boxing training which improved how hard he can hit with his upper and lower body. Not just that but he went through fist endurance training making it so he can break cinderblocks in two hits without damage to his knuckles. This process practically to a lifetime to get to where he is, but it makes it so that with the right opening he can break bones with ease.
SPEED ✭✭✭
Darius' running speed is pretty good. After all in KPD, he had to learn how to run fast and how to run for long periods to catch up to evading criminals. Another thing is after his coma he did speed training as well as breath training to allow him to run faster and longer. Overall he is a strong and heavy male which puts weight on him as he runs. This naturally slows him down compared to someone of a lighter weight. To make up for this, often in combat instead of running and charging at the opponent, he will press his feet into the ground, leans forward ever so slightly, and launch himself toward them instead. This makes up for that speed as he becomes much quicker due to him getting ever so slightly airtime off the ground, though it's less than an inch. It allows him to move himself longer distances quicker and gain more momentum for attacks. Overall running normally is around ✭✭✭, if he is launching at someone in combat it goes up to ✭✭✭✭✭
SPEED OF ATTACKS (punches, kicks, etc)✭✭✭✭✭
After spending over a year doing boxing training which involved using restriction bands while he punches, holding weights while he punches, and more that overall made it harder and restricted his attacks, he has become VERY fast with his strikes. After all, spending a year doing that sort of training makes your body used to being able to deliver fast and powerful blows with weight and restriction preventing you. Remove that weight and restriction and the attacks only get faster and stronger
ENDURANCE ✭✭✭✭✭
As stated before, Darius is all muscle. He is a man who constantly works out and constantly improves his body. His body has a high endurance due to all the muscles protecting his weak spots such as organs or bones. He also as a child dealt with. a lot of physical damage from the wilderness such as trees bashing up against him, snake bites, and more. As well as an ex-SGT he knew how to take a punch, and when he was a Yakuza he was physically tortured and beaten, so his body eventually began to build up a resistance to this sort of pain. Another major factor is though that after his coma he spent over a year doing endurance training alongside physical muscle training. His endurance has improved since almost 2 years when he fought against the Mechanic, but sadly his Endurance is still not as good as the Mechanic's. The Mechanic has YEARS of fighting and physical brutality from being in the criminal underworld for so long, that's something Darius cannot reach
PAIN TOLERANCE ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius's pain tolerance is scary good. Besides his entire life having to push through the pain of the natural terrain in Gaum, being beaten up by the Yakuza, and being tortured by the Mechanic those things only raised his natural pain tolerance a bit. It wasn't until after his coma that he spent over a year mastering the ability to mentally manipulate himself to numb pain and discomfort raising his pain tolerance so high. Because of this, he doesn't need adrenaline to push through levels of pain. He can take cuts or beatings, even deadly slashes without budging or slowing down because of his ability to mentally distract himself and make pain and discomfort irrelevant to his mind.
STAMINA ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius' stamina is insane. He is someone who won't stop fighting until he is KOED or his opponent is killed. Even if he is bleeding out he will still fight back and push through the nausea and weakening of his body. He has mastered the ability to converse his breath and take proper breaths to ensure he doesn't run out of it. He also mastered the ability to conserve his energy and use it most when he has the opportunity. Darius also uses adrenaline to his advantage. Darius uses certain moves to raise the adrenaline in his body, as well as mental tactics to numb discomfort or pain. All of these factors combined make it so his stamina is insane and one that is hard to beat
AGILITY ✭✭✭
Though his agility is good, his large body prevents him from moving around swiftly and fast. He is capable of dodging attacks using his quick reaction time and speed to his advantage but in the end, Darius has a larger body size, making him a larger target. His size and weight make it so he can't dodge all attacks with ease
REACTION TIME ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius' reaction time is insane. At just the young age of 16, he had to master his reaction time when it came to fishing for his family. Fishing already takes a good reaction time, and knowing how to feel when it's the right time to reel in but in Darius's situation fishing either brought them home dinner or left them starving. So mastering his reaction time with fishing was more than a must. Another thing is when he was in KPD he had to learn to improve his reaction time in case he was ever attacked. He had to learn how to always be ready for attacks. He has great hearing too, so he uses the sounds around him to help him prepare for an attack. Overall, his reaction time is amazing and something that benefits him greatly in combat
ACCURACY ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius is a very accurate person when it comes to fighting. He knows where to aim and how to properly land a punch, and knows also how to use lightweight throwing objects such as throwing knives, throwing cards, and poison darts with extreme accuracy and speed. This level of accuracy comes from many things but mainly KPD. In KPD he had to learn accuracy and had to learn how to properly aim a taser and tranquilizer, as one wrong shot could potentially lead to a lawsuit or people getting injured. And as an officer, you couldn't afford either one of those things. He also practiced and learned how to throw cards and knives back in Korea for fun. However, he didn't ever use these skills for attacking due to the Yakuza mainly used guns, bats, or more blunt weapons instead of knives or other handheld weapons when it came to attacking their targets.
FIGHTING STYLE/UNIQUENESS ✭✭
His fighting style isn’t unique or special at all. His style is based around a MMA sort of style. He mainly focuses on using his upper body and fists because that's the strongest part of his body and the most trained though he does know how to kick and use his legs and feet in certain situations. His fighting style consists of mainly being on the offensive and using his strength to land large and destructive blows to his opponents and in the end weaken their endurance before knocking them out. He also pushes through the pain of his opponent's attacks. So if his opponent hits him with a bat to the leg he's not going o slow down to process the pain, he's going to instead continue to follow through with his attack like nothing happened. The reason he does this is because 99% of the time when the opponent goes in for an offensive attack, once the attack lands they don't have enough time or are too close to Darius to swap to a defensive position to block his blow. But if he slows down due to their attack, they may have time to swap into a defensive state. He does dodge some attacks if he knows taking the blow won't have any benefits to him, but otherwise, he's just overall a beast when it comes to fighting
FIGHTING SKILL ✭✭✭✭
Though his fighting style is more easy to learn and basic compared to martial arts, he still is very good at it. He knows how to land a punch and where to land it for certain situations/outcomes. He knows when to tank an attack and instantly counter or when to dodge. He knows how to control his breathing and pain levels and more. This fighting style works great for him due to his brute strength and skill towards it.
WEAPON USAGE/COUNTER ✭✭
Darius doesn’t know how to use weapons. All of his jobs and life have pushed him down a path where he relies on his fists, physical strength, agility, and mobility. His fighting style requires more mobility and physical strength to land proper attacks effectively and using a weapon would affect and weaken this sort of fighting style unless trained otherwise. And as of right now, he isn't properly trained in weaponry outside of smaller weapons like knives. Because of those factors, he tends to stay away from the usage of weapons because he feels they will be a liability for his combat style. Though bats he can easily use as they don’t require skill to use. He also doesn’t know how to counter weapons sometimes. He never learned how to use weapons, so he never learned how to counter properly. It’s why in the Mechanic fight he got so damaged. The only weapon he knows how to use is his poison darts
Darius has a scary level of strength. His entire life he has had to use his muscles one way or another. Whether it be as a child carrying things for his mother, fishing, and fighting against the currents and the large fish that followed. Up until he was in KPD, to being a yakuza member and having to learn how to throw punches and physically fight, and more. The biggest thing that puts his strength ahead of others is the fact that after his coma he spent over a year doing physical workout training and weight training to improve his upper and lower body. Also, he did boxing training which improved how hard he can hit with his upper and lower body. Not just that but he went through fist endurance training making it so he can break cinderblocks in two hits without damage to his knuckles. This process practically to a lifetime to get to where he is, but it makes it so that with the right opening he can break bones with ease.
SPEED ✭✭✭
Darius' running speed is pretty good. After all in KPD, he had to learn how to run fast and how to run for long periods to catch up to evading criminals. Another thing is after his coma he did speed training as well as breath training to allow him to run faster and longer. Overall he is a strong and heavy male which puts weight on him as he runs. This naturally slows him down compared to someone of a lighter weight. To make up for this, often in combat instead of running and charging at the opponent, he will press his feet into the ground, leans forward ever so slightly, and launch himself toward them instead. This makes up for that speed as he becomes much quicker due to him getting ever so slightly airtime off the ground, though it's less than an inch. It allows him to move himself longer distances quicker and gain more momentum for attacks. Overall running normally is around ✭✭✭, if he is launching at someone in combat it goes up to ✭✭✭✭✭
SPEED OF ATTACKS (punches, kicks, etc)✭✭✭✭✭
After spending over a year doing boxing training which involved using restriction bands while he punches, holding weights while he punches, and more that overall made it harder and restricted his attacks, he has become VERY fast with his strikes. After all, spending a year doing that sort of training makes your body used to being able to deliver fast and powerful blows with weight and restriction preventing you. Remove that weight and restriction and the attacks only get faster and stronger
ENDURANCE ✭✭✭✭✭
As stated before, Darius is all muscle. He is a man who constantly works out and constantly improves his body. His body has a high endurance due to all the muscles protecting his weak spots such as organs or bones. He also as a child dealt with. a lot of physical damage from the wilderness such as trees bashing up against him, snake bites, and more. As well as an ex-SGT he knew how to take a punch, and when he was a Yakuza he was physically tortured and beaten, so his body eventually began to build up a resistance to this sort of pain. Another major factor is though that after his coma he spent over a year doing endurance training alongside physical muscle training. His endurance has improved since almost 2 years when he fought against the Mechanic, but sadly his Endurance is still not as good as the Mechanic's. The Mechanic has YEARS of fighting and physical brutality from being in the criminal underworld for so long, that's something Darius cannot reach
PAIN TOLERANCE ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius's pain tolerance is scary good. Besides his entire life having to push through the pain of the natural terrain in Gaum, being beaten up by the Yakuza, and being tortured by the Mechanic those things only raised his natural pain tolerance a bit. It wasn't until after his coma that he spent over a year mastering the ability to mentally manipulate himself to numb pain and discomfort raising his pain tolerance so high. Because of this, he doesn't need adrenaline to push through levels of pain. He can take cuts or beatings, even deadly slashes without budging or slowing down because of his ability to mentally distract himself and make pain and discomfort irrelevant to his mind.
STAMINA ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius' stamina is insane. He is someone who won't stop fighting until he is KOED or his opponent is killed. Even if he is bleeding out he will still fight back and push through the nausea and weakening of his body. He has mastered the ability to converse his breath and take proper breaths to ensure he doesn't run out of it. He also mastered the ability to conserve his energy and use it most when he has the opportunity. Darius also uses adrenaline to his advantage. Darius uses certain moves to raise the adrenaline in his body, as well as mental tactics to numb discomfort or pain. All of these factors combined make it so his stamina is insane and one that is hard to beat
AGILITY ✭✭✭
Though his agility is good, his large body prevents him from moving around swiftly and fast. He is capable of dodging attacks using his quick reaction time and speed to his advantage but in the end, Darius has a larger body size, making him a larger target. His size and weight make it so he can't dodge all attacks with ease
REACTION TIME ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius' reaction time is insane. At just the young age of 16, he had to master his reaction time when it came to fishing for his family. Fishing already takes a good reaction time, and knowing how to feel when it's the right time to reel in but in Darius's situation fishing either brought them home dinner or left them starving. So mastering his reaction time with fishing was more than a must. Another thing is when he was in KPD he had to learn to improve his reaction time in case he was ever attacked. He had to learn how to always be ready for attacks. He has great hearing too, so he uses the sounds around him to help him prepare for an attack. Overall, his reaction time is amazing and something that benefits him greatly in combat
ACCURACY ✭✭✭✭✭
Darius is a very accurate person when it comes to fighting. He knows where to aim and how to properly land a punch, and knows also how to use lightweight throwing objects such as throwing knives, throwing cards, and poison darts with extreme accuracy and speed. This level of accuracy comes from many things but mainly KPD. In KPD he had to learn accuracy and had to learn how to properly aim a taser and tranquilizer, as one wrong shot could potentially lead to a lawsuit or people getting injured. And as an officer, you couldn't afford either one of those things. He also practiced and learned how to throw cards and knives back in Korea for fun. However, he didn't ever use these skills for attacking due to the Yakuza mainly used guns, bats, or more blunt weapons instead of knives or other handheld weapons when it came to attacking their targets.
FIGHTING STYLE/UNIQUENESS ✭✭
His fighting style isn’t unique or special at all. His style is based around a MMA sort of style. He mainly focuses on using his upper body and fists because that's the strongest part of his body and the most trained though he does know how to kick and use his legs and feet in certain situations. His fighting style consists of mainly being on the offensive and using his strength to land large and destructive blows to his opponents and in the end weaken their endurance before knocking them out. He also pushes through the pain of his opponent's attacks. So if his opponent hits him with a bat to the leg he's not going o slow down to process the pain, he's going to instead continue to follow through with his attack like nothing happened. The reason he does this is because 99% of the time when the opponent goes in for an offensive attack, once the attack lands they don't have enough time or are too close to Darius to swap to a defensive position to block his blow. But if he slows down due to their attack, they may have time to swap into a defensive state. He does dodge some attacks if he knows taking the blow won't have any benefits to him, but otherwise, he's just overall a beast when it comes to fighting
FIGHTING SKILL ✭✭✭✭
Though his fighting style is more easy to learn and basic compared to martial arts, he still is very good at it. He knows how to land a punch and where to land it for certain situations/outcomes. He knows when to tank an attack and instantly counter or when to dodge. He knows how to control his breathing and pain levels and more. This fighting style works great for him due to his brute strength and skill towards it.
WEAPON USAGE/COUNTER ✭✭
Darius doesn’t know how to use weapons. All of his jobs and life have pushed him down a path where he relies on his fists, physical strength, agility, and mobility. His fighting style requires more mobility and physical strength to land proper attacks effectively and using a weapon would affect and weaken this sort of fighting style unless trained otherwise. And as of right now, he isn't properly trained in weaponry outside of smaller weapons like knives. Because of those factors, he tends to stay away from the usage of weapons because he feels they will be a liability for his combat style. Though bats he can easily use as they don’t require skill to use. He also doesn’t know how to counter weapons sometimes. He never learned how to use weapons, so he never learned how to counter properly. It’s why in the Mechanic fight he got so damaged. The only weapon he knows how to use is his poison darts
♠SEXIUAL ORIENTATION♠
Straight. Though would lead a man to personal gain
♠ RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL BELIEFS♠
He is an atheist. He is someone who needs scientific proof that's backed up with actual research and valid sources before believing anything like that. It's why he doesn't believe tarot cards really can predict your future, instead, he symbolizes them and the beliefs behind the cards
Though he does believe in yokai and other related spirits of Karakura as he hasn't just witnessed their torment during October, he also sees them normally at the shrine and other events. Though he doesn't understand their power, he is interested in these beings and full-heartedly believes they are real
♠ LIVING ARRANGEMENTS♠
Darius currently lives in the Saiky Estate with Koizumi
♠ SOCIAL LIFE♠
Darius has a great social life. He has to after all. Being a reporter requires him to walk up to strangers and discuss topics with them that can go deep into conversation. As an officer, he had to interact with strangers constantly. He is a very social person who enjoys hanging out with friends and talking to them
However, manipulating so many people can be hard. After all, he has to keep a mental track of all of those people and their weaknesses, the personalities he has for them, and more. This can be exhausting, constantly swapping his personality and his emotions. He's also constantly plotting his next move when it comes to how he will manipulate people, and how he will use them to his advantage. It's exhausting for Darius and requires often breaks where he sits alone in his office or rests
♠SPECIAL ITEMS♠
Darius carries around a deck of 6 tarot cards. 5 out of the 6 tart cards at the cards which remain on his back. The other one just has the back of the other cards on its front, with a yin and yang symbol on the back to symbolize the yin and yang symbol on Darius’s tattoo
These cards represent what he calls, the gambler’s fate. Aka his past, present, and future. In certain situations, Darius will pull out this deck and fan it out in his hand. He then selects one card, which is supposed to represent the fate or emotions for the current situation he's in
he also likes to use the cards to show people that there are hidden meanings behind an overall meaning to something. For example, the three hearts overall mean heartache and going through an emotional situation based on love. Though of course, Darius sees the smaller, more hidden meanings in the card like how it also represents cutting away lies and revealing the truth. He often likes to reveal that to people, which better helps prove his two sides to the coin mindset
♠ PETS ♠
[!] WARNING: This section contains talk and images of Sydney funnel web spiders. PLEASE if you are afraid of spiders do not open this section. Thank you [!]
Darius has two pets, both of them being two female Sydney Funnel Web Spiders. He got the two females during his arachnid arc. He got them at a very young age and cared for them a lot more than the two males. This slowly created a bond between the spiders and him. The two females saw Darius as someone who cared for them and brought them food, therefor they wouldn't bite him or be as defensive around him. As well as Darius knew how to properly handle and act around these spiders. So only with sharp and sudden movements, they would react.
Darius also thought the two females would make much better pets compared to the males. Female Sydney funnel-web spiders can live up to 20 years in the right conditions. As well as their venom isn't as potent, they are much more docile and calm, and overall spend their time mainly hiding out in their tunnel-like webs.
SPIDER #1: FATASS:
Fatass is Darius's 1-year-old female Sydney Funnel Web Spider! She is 1.5 inches in height (body size not including legs) and .8 inches in length (not including legs). Including the legs, she is 4.3 inches in height and a width of 4.7
Fatass is Darius's most friendly spider. She mainly spends her time hiding in her webs in her enclosure and only comes out to hang out with Darius or be fed. Her diet consists of mealworms and crickets with a hint of spider-safe nutrient powder to better help her with nutrients!
If Fatass is not hiding in her enclosure, she is hanging out with Darius, either hanging out on his shoulder or hiding somewhere on him. Funnel-web spiders are created that like to burrow themselves underground, so she will often try to replicate that with Darius. Often hiding in his pockets. Darius isn't too worried about it, As long as he stays pretty still and calm while she's on him she won't react much. However, in some cases, she does attempt to build a web around Darius. Which results in Darius having to gently move her back and let her relax
She isn't that protective overall. She's a lot more easy-going than other funnel-web spiders and would much rather hide and eat. Hence the name fatass! Her name also comes from her large abdomen too
SPIDER #2: FANG:
Fang is also Darius's 1 year old female Sysndey funnel web spider. Though she is larger, slimmer, and more aggressive compared to Fatass. She is 2.3 inches in height (body size not including legs) and 1.2 inches in length (not including legs). Including the legs, she is 4.8 inches in height and a width of 5 inches
Fang isn't as friendly. She is treated and fed the same as Fstass but she is more active. She prefers to build webs all over her enclosure compared to just tunneling underground and building a web underground, though she does that too.
Fang is known for her larger fangs. Which are a total of 2 CM longer, or .8 inches.
Sydney Funnel-Webs spider's fangs are capable of puncturing through leather, flesh, and even muscle easily. So Darius handled her with extra care and caution. She is more defensive and active so Darius doesn't often take her out of her enclosure and when she is out she isn't allowed to leave his sight. She isn't as calm or relaxed as Fatass. She is a bit more aggressive and protective and will strike at any sudden movements that threaten her.
Overall he does love Fatass more due to her more calm and relaxed attitude, but in the end they are both equal to him in many other aspects
Darius also thought the two females would make much better pets compared to the males. Female Sydney funnel-web spiders can live up to 20 years in the right conditions. As well as their venom isn't as potent, they are much more docile and calm, and overall spend their time mainly hiding out in their tunnel-like webs.
SPIDER #1: FATASS:
Fatass is Darius's 1-year-old female Sydney Funnel Web Spider! She is 1.5 inches in height (body size not including legs) and .8 inches in length (not including legs). Including the legs, she is 4.3 inches in height and a width of 4.7
Fatass is Darius's most friendly spider. She mainly spends her time hiding in her webs in her enclosure and only comes out to hang out with Darius or be fed. Her diet consists of mealworms and crickets with a hint of spider-safe nutrient powder to better help her with nutrients!
If Fatass is not hiding in her enclosure, she is hanging out with Darius, either hanging out on his shoulder or hiding somewhere on him. Funnel-web spiders are created that like to burrow themselves underground, so she will often try to replicate that with Darius. Often hiding in his pockets. Darius isn't too worried about it, As long as he stays pretty still and calm while she's on him she won't react much. However, in some cases, she does attempt to build a web around Darius. Which results in Darius having to gently move her back and let her relax
She isn't that protective overall. She's a lot more easy-going than other funnel-web spiders and would much rather hide and eat. Hence the name fatass! Her name also comes from her large abdomen too
SPIDER #2: FANG:
Fang is also Darius's 1 year old female Sysndey funnel web spider. Though she is larger, slimmer, and more aggressive compared to Fatass. She is 2.3 inches in height (body size not including legs) and 1.2 inches in length (not including legs). Including the legs, she is 4.8 inches in height and a width of 5 inches
Fang isn't as friendly. She is treated and fed the same as Fstass but she is more active. She prefers to build webs all over her enclosure compared to just tunneling underground and building a web underground, though she does that too.
Fang is known for her larger fangs. Which are a total of 2 CM longer, or .8 inches.
Sydney Funnel-Webs spider's fangs are capable of puncturing through leather, flesh, and even muscle easily. So Darius handled her with extra care and caution. She is more defensive and active so Darius doesn't often take her out of her enclosure and when she is out she isn't allowed to leave his sight. She isn't as calm or relaxed as Fatass. She is a bit more aggressive and protective and will strike at any sudden movements that threaten her.
Overall he does love Fatass more due to her more calm and relaxed attitude, but in the end they are both equal to him in many other aspects
♦MENTAL DISORDERS♦
Darius doesn't have any diagnosed mental disorders and shows no signs of having any other sort of mental disorders either
♦MENTAL ISSUES♦
ADDICTION:
Darius is in a constant battle between his mind and what is right, alcohol, gambling, and money addiction. Despite gambling not being popular in Karakura, it's still such a big addiction it's taken over his entire mindset. His addiction to alcohol and gambling is best preserved in the devil tarot card
COMMITMENT ISSUES:
Darius struggles to stay in any relationship due to his feelings and views towards relationships and partners overall. He feels most if not all relationships are simply a liability to him, his manipulations, and his gain. Because of that, he doesn't build any real connections or bonds with his partner in case they do start to become a liability or they lose their use to him, he can just leave them without any feeling of remorse or guilt behind it. Though he could stay in a relationship for years, the moment it begins to get in his way of manipulation or he doesn't see any personal gain from the person he will just up and leave
TRUST ISSUES:
Being a gambling man for so long has resulted in him having major trust issues. He can't trust anyone, he learned that in poker and other related card games where you couldn't trust anyone or their cards or emotions. You just had to go based on your instinct and see if you could outsmart and out-manipulate your opponents. He considers everyone, to some degree, his opponent. He also knows that if he is capable of such forms of manipulation, others are too just to different extents. He doesn't trust anyone besides Moriko and Koizumi
PERSONAL EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION:
Darius feels his emotions often hold him back. He can't manipulate others if he feels guilty about it. In his eyes he quotes "The puppeteer. The puppeteer isn't the one with the strings attached, he's the one attaching them". Darius hates being attached to strings and he often refers to strings as a symbol for emotions and situations holding you down or back from doing something you truly want or must do. He also uses it as a symbol of manipulation and having his strings attached to his subject refers to him having control/the upper hand. Though overall he feels guilt, sadness, and remorse hold him back. He feels guilty about all the people he manipulates, he feels awful, and he knows he's selfish and not a good person but in a split second he cuts those 'strings' that he attaches to himself. He swaps his personality and erases those emotions making it so his own emotions can't hold him back
PERSONALITY SWAPPING:
Darius doesn't have a personality, because his main form of manipulation is matching the person's personality to either gain a connection or stronger bond or to counter theirs his personalities are forever swapping. Adjusting and alternating based on who he is speaking to. And depending on the person's emotions on a specific day the personality will swap and adjust to fit those emotions. His personalities are forever changing, and he controls the wheels, he creates these new personalities shifts them around, and swaps them willingly. But just because he swaps personalities with someone, doesn't mean he's always manipulating them. After all, he doesn't have a personality to call his own now
Though he does not have a personality disorder. He knows and controls all the personalities he creates, unlike a personality disorder in which you do not have control over the other personality in your mind
AUTO-TRAUMA BLOCKING:
What people don't realize is that with his personality-swapping capabilities, he is also capable of creating, destroying, suppressing, and altering his own emotions. He does this so that he can have the proper emotions for each personality he creates. If a personality is more caring and sympathetic towards others his emotions will also be based around that. If he's using a personality that is more mean and aggressive his emotions will be based around that too. However, with this ability comes a curse. Any sort of negative emotions or trauma he gains he is capable of 'trapping' them into a specific personality. Darius then can lock that personality away, only able to be accessed when it's triggered enough and forced to come out or he allows it to. He automatically does this to keep himself strong against threats and others. He hides his trauma and emotions that will be a liability to his manipulation and life so that others can't use them against him later on. And if they tried to threaten him with it, he would show no care unless that specific personality where the trauma is captured was active
♥PARENTAL FIGURES RELATIONSHIPS ♥
He has none, though due to his age, he doesn't ever plan on seeing someone in a parental role. He had good and loving parents his entire life, so he feels they did nothing but good for him and he doesn't want to replace them
♥CO-WORKER RELATIONSHIPS♥
Darius doesn't care for his co-workers. He shows respect to the boss but everyone below or equal to him he doesn't care for. They could die and he wouldn't bat an eye. He will put on a fake personality to prevent issues in the workplace or for personal gain, or until he gains a real friendship with said person, but otherwise, he doesn't care
♥PEOPLE HE WORKS WITH FOR REPORTS (INTERVIEWS, PHOTOS, ETC)♥
Darius believes that in a professional setting, you should act a certain way and he views his professional setting as whenever he is working on a report. He treats the people he works with with the utmost respect and care as he feels like that is the best way to handle those interactions while "on duty". He also understands that reporters' reputation is mostly hated, and he doesn't wish to tarnish or ruin that reputation. He will never manipulate his 'clients'. However, he doesn't create any personal connections or bonds too them unless they were friends prior. If he needs to speak to them again he will keep it professional and treat them with respect and kindness though for the most part that's all he will see them as, clients to his work
♥FRIEND RELATIONSHIPS♥
Darius acts like he cares about his friends, he acts like he will be there for them, he acts like someone they can completely trust, and more but in reality most if not 95% of friends he simply doesn't care for. As stated he doesn't make a real bond with others due to his commencement issues, so even with friends, he doesn't connect his emotions with them. He only makes it seem otherwise. If he had to, he wouldn't bat an eye fighting or hurting a friend for some cash
♥BEST-FRIEND RELATIONSHIPS♥
Only his close and best friends he form a somewhat bond with. Moriko for example is one of the only people in his life he doesn't manipulate. Though again, he never forms a true bond with them. However, if someone threatened this person he wouldn't hesitate to fight, even if it meant damaging his fate
♥RELATIONSHIPS (DATING)♥
He only really dates people who he sees won't get in his way. He lives a very ‘free’ lifestyle in a sense. With his job, friends, and more he can do whatever he wants. He's never gonna let someone get in that way, even in a relationship. He never really forms a true bond with his partner during the couple stage. He could be dating someone for years and never love them
He sees relationships as just a liability towards his work and manipulation of others. He uses seduction as one of his methods of manipulation and being in a relationship makes that harder for him. He also as stated never forms a bond with the person, this way in case someone tries to use the person to get to him or he needs to leave he has no guilt or remorse for it. He is a puppeteer, he's the one who attaches the strings, he doesn't like being the one attached to strings, and relationships in his eyes create those strings
♥MARRIAGE♥
He only ever marries someone to whom he does express love. That may never happen though. With his last marriage and him running from it, he feels he won't ever be able to be in a marriage due to how chained up he feels in one. He likes to be in control, he likes to have freedom and some control over his fate, and he sees marriage as shackles that pin him to the ground and prevent him from moving forward in the gamble
♥ENEMIES♥
Has no remorse for his enemies, he doesn't care what happens to them. If they were to die a horrible and painful death he would smile on the inside. He would hurt an enemy in an instant. Even without money on the line
♥ANIMALS♥
Daris has never been an animal lover. As explained in his Guam lore, he had to deal with the exotic life there and fight against it due to living in such a tropical environment while in poverty. He doesn't like raccoons, foxes, rats, snails, etc as he sees them as just creatures who steal and cause issues. It's what he grew up around after all. He enjoys bears, but only because he knows the bears are mistreated in Karakura so he tends to treat them with respect and care to make up for it. Cats, dogs, and birds don't tend to annoy him that much, but he doesn't understand the value of having a pet. As stated, he grew up fighting AGAINST the wildlife due to his environment and money/housing situation, so he grew up seeing most wild creatures as annoying
♥' VIPER '♥
'A viper can be so gorgeous and harmless when you remove its fangs and look at it for its beauty and grace, and not its fear and danger it brings. You never scared me though, when we first met I saw right through that wall you build around yourself. I saw the real you and could read you like a book with endless knowledge and emotions. At first, I just wanted a friendship, a friendship which benefited both of our manipulation and abilities. I was interested in learning more from you and working alongside you. I even opened up to you and admitted to my manipulation, But I never would have guessed I would fall in love once again after so long. Though my standpoint on relationships still stands and how they are a liability, in the end, I suppose exceptions can be made. Though, don't lie to me again. I've already defanged you and I love your defanged self, but don't make me use that against you.'
♥' HEALER '♥
'You were there for me when I first moved back to Karakura after Korea. Though, you don't know the real me. The manipulative puppeteer I hope you never do. You are my best friend, someone I won't ever manipulate or use for my selfish lifestyle.'
♥' HURTING SOUL '♥
'My poor girl. To watch you suffer through so much does truly hurt my soul. I still remember when you were younger and walked into that police station and came to annoy me every day. I still see you for who you truly are. A wonderful, smart, amazing, and proud girl who is strong. I'll forever protect you, and never hurt you.'
♥' THE MECHANIC'♥
'How does it feel to finally be defeated? To finally feel the cold embrace of death that you made me experience not once but TWICE. I controlled your fate that day Mechanic, remember that. I was the man who chose to bring you back to life. I only have my creation to thank you for. You made me who I am today, you put me in my prime. So thank you for that. But now, your personality is the last thing I want control over. I had control over your physical body, your mind is next. My venom sunk into your veins once before, you're mind isn't safe either.'
♠CHILDHOOD/TEENAGER LIFE LORE♠
Darius Guatapang was born into a poor family on the small island of Guam in 1989. His father was a fisherman who worked at the local docks, meanwhile, his mom was a stay-at-home parent who took care of Darius. His father would often spend all day working at the docks just to barely make ends meet, so Darius never had a real connection with his father despite him being a wonderful parent when he was there
Darius lived in an overall poor neighborhood. He grew up somewhat close to the docks so that his dad could easily get to and from work. Everyone in his area had the same job as his father, being a fisherman. Of course, there were hints of teachers and other jobs but when you’re on the poor side of the island, there are a lot fewer job opportunities for the locals. Fishing wasn't a high-paying job at all it was paid by the fish. Meaning you had to catch fish to make any sort of money. Darius’s family lived in an area where fishing was the main source of income, which made the job very competitive. Luckily due to the reefs nearby, there was a variety of small and large fish, but the fish had to be at least 4.5 inches to be sold, and those sorts of fish were only worth .10 cents each. With the larger fish ranging from 1 feet+ being worth .75 cents
Overall, his father brought home a monthly income of 732€ dollars, which for compassion the monthly average income in Guam nowadays is 1,488€
Darius was fine with this lifestyle, it's all he knew for his entire high school life as he was surrounded by it. He could barely afford good clothes and often used hand-me-downs so that their money could go towards necessities and rent. Darius wished he could live a more luxurious lifestyle, where his family didn't have to scrounge for money just to make enough money for food and water. He didn't get new books for high school, he had to use the school's books and supplies which were constantly worn down and abused.
He also often had to fight against exotic wildlife when it came to overall life. Due to their poor housing arrangments and conditions, that also meant the area was often filled with creatures such as rats, mice, lizards, snakes, etc. All of these animals could easily get into his home and take food, water, destroy supplies, etc. Darius often had to deal with food that had been eaten a bit by animals, or bedsheets and clothes that wildlife had torn up. And the occasional fighting a bird for the fish his father had caught. At one point one of the native creatures in Guam, the Inland Taipan, which is a highly venomous snake to the point where one bite can kill up to 100 humans, bit Darius. He had to seek Emergency care and was in the hospital for a week, he almost died from the bite for that matter
There was more wildlife that Dairus had to battle against daily. As stated, Darius lived along the shoreline so that it was easier for his Dad to go to and from work. That meant he had to deal with the creatures that lay on the shoreline. From dangerous coconut crabs, and box jellyfish that swim in the oceans and even get stuck on the shores, to the cone snail which is capable of killing a human with its venom. Then there is the wildlife Darius had to face on his path to school. The school was 3 miles away from his home, and the path to get there was a trek through harsh jungle terrain. He often encountered brown tree snakes, poison dart frogs, and exotic birds which he enjoyed, but then of course Monitor lizards and even water buffalo. Due to this, Darius didn't grow up enjoying wildlife, and instead of being able to experience it from a safe distance, he had to go against it.
Besides the wild animals that Darius had to face, the poor living conditions, and clothing, he also had to go against the illnesses that came with living in such conditions. Living in such a poor area, he often would get sick in the winter when it was cold and stormy. With tropical rains and storms that often broke down Darius's house, it was hard not to avoid getting sick. As he grew older, of course, his immune system grew stronger which is why he doesn't get sick as often. He also had to go against heatstrokes due to no AC and living by the ocean meant direct sunlight and heat from the sand too. Darius's childhood was filled with sicknesses, some of them coming from animal bites from rats or other creates that passed on diseases, some from eating expired food or food that had been partially eaten by animals prior, or due to the weather
At the age of 16, Darius chose to get a fishing license and a job at the docks to help his family with money. With the help of Darius helping make money, he was able to help pay the bills and supply food but due to his lack of experience in fishing, he wasn't able to catch anything. Resulting in his family’s monthly income only rising towards 1000€ per month.
It wasn't until at the age of 18, his father passed away on one of the fishing trips. During this trip, a storm suddenly hit and sunk his ship, and destroyed the harbor which made it so all the hundreds of citizens who lived in the poor area and who worked at the docs, could no longer work and make an income. This meant Darius’s family had no longer a way to make any sort of income.
In 2007, Darius and his mother chose to move to Japan. The exchange rate there was good, with 10$ USD dollars being worth 1,494¥. The lifestyle there is something they could afford, and it had a lot more job opportunities for his mom and himself. Using the money they had saved up, they took a flight to Karakura, an island in Tokyo known for its unbalanced income and crime rate
*EXAMPLE OF DARIUS’S LIVING CONDITIONS/NEIGHBORHOOD IN GUAM*
Darius Guatapang was born into a poor family on the small island of Guam in 1989. His father was a fisherman who worked at the local docks, meanwhile, his mom was a stay-at-home parent who took care of Darius. His father would often spend all day working at the docks just to barely make ends meet, so Darius never had a real connection with his father despite him being a wonderful parent when he was there
Darius lived in an overall poor neighborhood. He grew up somewhat close to the docks so that his dad could easily get to and from work. Everyone in his area had the same job as his father, being a fisherman. Of course, there were hints of teachers and other jobs but when you’re on the poor side of the island, there are a lot fewer job opportunities for the locals. Fishing wasn't a high-paying job at all it was paid by the fish. Meaning you had to catch fish to make any sort of money. Darius’s family lived in an area where fishing was the main source of income, which made the job very competitive. Luckily due to the reefs nearby, there was a variety of small and large fish, but the fish had to be at least 4.5 inches to be sold, and those sorts of fish were only worth .10 cents each. With the larger fish ranging from 1 feet+ being worth .75 cents
Overall, his father brought home a monthly income of 732€ dollars, which for compassion the monthly average income in Guam nowadays is 1,488€
Darius was fine with this lifestyle, it's all he knew for his entire high school life as he was surrounded by it. He could barely afford good clothes and often used hand-me-downs so that their money could go towards necessities and rent. Darius wished he could live a more luxurious lifestyle, where his family didn't have to scrounge for money just to make enough money for food and water. He didn't get new books for high school, he had to use the school's books and supplies which were constantly worn down and abused.
He also often had to fight against exotic wildlife when it came to overall life. Due to their poor housing arrangments and conditions, that also meant the area was often filled with creatures such as rats, mice, lizards, snakes, etc. All of these animals could easily get into his home and take food, water, destroy supplies, etc. Darius often had to deal with food that had been eaten a bit by animals, or bedsheets and clothes that wildlife had torn up. And the occasional fighting a bird for the fish his father had caught. At one point one of the native creatures in Guam, the Inland Taipan, which is a highly venomous snake to the point where one bite can kill up to 100 humans, bit Darius. He had to seek Emergency care and was in the hospital for a week, he almost died from the bite for that matter
There was more wildlife that Dairus had to battle against daily. As stated, Darius lived along the shoreline so that it was easier for his Dad to go to and from work. That meant he had to deal with the creatures that lay on the shoreline. From dangerous coconut crabs, and box jellyfish that swim in the oceans and even get stuck on the shores, to the cone snail which is capable of killing a human with its venom. Then there is the wildlife Darius had to face on his path to school. The school was 3 miles away from his home, and the path to get there was a trek through harsh jungle terrain. He often encountered brown tree snakes, poison dart frogs, and exotic birds which he enjoyed, but then of course Monitor lizards and even water buffalo. Due to this, Darius didn't grow up enjoying wildlife, and instead of being able to experience it from a safe distance, he had to go against it.
Besides the wild animals that Darius had to face, the poor living conditions, and clothing, he also had to go against the illnesses that came with living in such conditions. Living in such a poor area, he often would get sick in the winter when it was cold and stormy. With tropical rains and storms that often broke down Darius's house, it was hard not to avoid getting sick. As he grew older, of course, his immune system grew stronger which is why he doesn't get sick as often. He also had to go against heatstrokes due to no AC and living by the ocean meant direct sunlight and heat from the sand too. Darius's childhood was filled with sicknesses, some of them coming from animal bites from rats or other creates that passed on diseases, some from eating expired food or food that had been partially eaten by animals prior, or due to the weather
At the age of 16, Darius chose to get a fishing license and a job at the docks to help his family with money. With the help of Darius helping make money, he was able to help pay the bills and supply food but due to his lack of experience in fishing, he wasn't able to catch anything. Resulting in his family’s monthly income only rising towards 1000€ per month.
It wasn't until at the age of 18, his father passed away on one of the fishing trips. During this trip, a storm suddenly hit and sunk his ship, and destroyed the harbor which made it so all the hundreds of citizens who lived in the poor area and who worked at the docs, could no longer work and make an income. This meant Darius’s family had no longer a way to make any sort of income.
In 2007, Darius and his mother chose to move to Japan. The exchange rate there was good, with 10$ USD dollars being worth 1,494¥. The lifestyle there is something they could afford, and it had a lot more job opportunities for his mom and himself. Using the money they had saved up, they took a flight to Karakura, an island in Tokyo known for its unbalanced income and crime rate
*EXAMPLE OF DARIUS’S LIVING CONDITIONS/NEIGHBORHOOD IN GUAM*
♠KARAKURA LORE♠
After moving to Karakura with his mother, they both took up jobs at local citizen-owned shops where they helped sell items behind the cash register. It helped them both learn Japanese which they slowly and over time learned how to speak fluently. Though money-wise, it depends on the day, but sometimes they would make 30-300k per shift. Which was more than enough to provide them with proper nourishment, housing, comfort, and more. For once in Darius’s life he was living a comfortable lifestyle. Though he struggled to adjust to it. Growing up in poverty for 18 years he was so used to being so poor that he didn't know what to do with all of the money he was making. He would use his earnings towards paying rent in their small apartment, which was only 50k a month. He also used his earnings to get into college, where he studied and obtained a degree in Criminology Phycology due to the high crime rate in the city. He felt it would be useful to understand the inner workings of a criminal's mind and what makes a criminal a criminal in this city and overall. Even after paying for college though, he still had a bit of money left over which he used on food and supplies for his mom and himself
After 4 years of doing this, at the age of 22, Darius grew bored of his lifestyle. He grew bored of still living in somewhat poverty in this city. He didn't have any money left over for himself as he would spend it all on school and his mother. They grew too old to properly work so she retired at the age of 57. Darius needed a job that would be boring, something he could be more involved in all while making money for his family. That's when he learned about KPD. He learned that in KPD he could make up to 400k a year, as well as it gave him a chance to study the criminals of Karakura even better by witnessing and interrogating them firsthand. It also allowed him to learn how to interrogate people, and to get better at reading people which is something he felt he had to learn in such a criminalized city
So Darius paid for another semester in college despite him having a master's in Criminology psychology. He wanted to get a degree in Law Enforcement so that he could have a better chance of getting into KPD. While at college, he met a girl named Tsubasa Ikemori. He and her grew close together and would later end up becoming a couple. Darius and Tsubasa dated for over 3 years, and after Darius finished college and got his Law Enforcement degree, he proposed to her at the age of 25. Darius and Tsbusasa would get married only 2 months later, and they moved to their own home
Darius still spent his money on his mom, and the rest of it that he didn't need for college anymore he spent on Tsubasa and the rent for the home. This stressed him out even more. Despite money always being tight for him, he struggled to keep up with paying for everyone. Though, one day Tsubasa came home with an announcement. She was pregnant with a little girl named Ninomae.
Darius couldn't handle this, he couldn't handle taking care of his elderly mom, his wife, and a child. He was barely making enough to pay for Tsubasa and his mom. With Tsubasa not having a job and Darius being the breadwinner, he knew he wouldn't be able to afford a child unless he worked even more. So out of pure impulse, he fled back to Guam, taking some of his money with him so that he could live a life in Guam for a bit. He left behind and cut contact with Tsubasa and Ninomae though he still attempted to send money when he had it to his mom back in Karakura
After moving to Karakura with his mother, they both took up jobs at local citizen-owned shops where they helped sell items behind the cash register. It helped them both learn Japanese which they slowly and over time learned how to speak fluently. Though money-wise, it depends on the day, but sometimes they would make 30-300k per shift. Which was more than enough to provide them with proper nourishment, housing, comfort, and more. For once in Darius’s life he was living a comfortable lifestyle. Though he struggled to adjust to it. Growing up in poverty for 18 years he was so used to being so poor that he didn't know what to do with all of the money he was making. He would use his earnings towards paying rent in their small apartment, which was only 50k a month. He also used his earnings to get into college, where he studied and obtained a degree in Criminology Phycology due to the high crime rate in the city. He felt it would be useful to understand the inner workings of a criminal's mind and what makes a criminal a criminal in this city and overall. Even after paying for college though, he still had a bit of money left over which he used on food and supplies for his mom and himself
After 4 years of doing this, at the age of 22, Darius grew bored of his lifestyle. He grew bored of still living in somewhat poverty in this city. He didn't have any money left over for himself as he would spend it all on school and his mother. They grew too old to properly work so she retired at the age of 57. Darius needed a job that would be boring, something he could be more involved in all while making money for his family. That's when he learned about KPD. He learned that in KPD he could make up to 400k a year, as well as it gave him a chance to study the criminals of Karakura even better by witnessing and interrogating them firsthand. It also allowed him to learn how to interrogate people, and to get better at reading people which is something he felt he had to learn in such a criminalized city
So Darius paid for another semester in college despite him having a master's in Criminology psychology. He wanted to get a degree in Law Enforcement so that he could have a better chance of getting into KPD. While at college, he met a girl named Tsubasa Ikemori. He and her grew close together and would later end up becoming a couple. Darius and Tsubasa dated for over 3 years, and after Darius finished college and got his Law Enforcement degree, he proposed to her at the age of 25. Darius and Tsbusasa would get married only 2 months later, and they moved to their own home
Darius still spent his money on his mom, and the rest of it that he didn't need for college anymore he spent on Tsubasa and the rent for the home. This stressed him out even more. Despite money always being tight for him, he struggled to keep up with paying for everyone. Though, one day Tsubasa came home with an announcement. She was pregnant with a little girl named Ninomae.
Darius couldn't handle this, he couldn't handle taking care of his elderly mom, his wife, and a child. He was barely making enough to pay for Tsubasa and his mom. With Tsubasa not having a job and Darius being the breadwinner, he knew he wouldn't be able to afford a child unless he worked even more. So out of pure impulse, he fled back to Guam, taking some of his money with him so that he could live a life in Guam for a bit. He left behind and cut contact with Tsubasa and Ninomae though he still attempted to send money when he had it to his mom back in Karakura
♠KPD LORE♠
After 3 years he noticed his mom stopped accepting the money, he noticed that the bank account itself had been closed. Thinking the worst, he returned to Karakura in 2020 where he discovered his mom passed away from covid sadly. Darius chose to stay in Karakura for a bit for his mom and to sort stuff out with her belongings and other things left behind. Though he knew he needed a job, he began to look into KPD again. He didn't want to join KPD to protect and serve the city and keep it safe. No, his only motivations were the money that the job paid and being able to study criminals' minds directly from a secondary source. Being able to arrest and interrogate criminals allowed him to better himself with physiology, which was his main passion in life. He was able to apply and get an interview at KPD, and that's when he ran into a friend of Tsubasa who was carrying a 3-year-old Ninomae. Darius didn't recognize the two at all, but Tsubasa’s friend recognized him. She pulled Darius to the side and angrily explained that because Darius chose to be a ‘deadbeat father’ and leave Tsubasa and Ninomae, Tsubasa had to get a job and work constantly to the point where she didn't have any time for Ninomae anymore. She ended up passing Ninomae on to her friend, the same friend who was telling Darius off. Though Darius didn't care, he had already moved on from Tsubasa. He somewhat cared about the child, though during this time he began to slowly develop a selfish mindset. He realized in Guam that he spent his entire life spending money on everyone but himself, and even when he was in Guam for the second time he barely made ends meet meaning again he didn't spend any of his money on anything he wanted, just the necessities of life. He agreed though to take Ninomae, he felt somewhat selfish for him running away.
The 28-year-old Darius took care of Ninomae, being a stay-at-home father and working again at citizen-run shops until he officially got hired at KPD at the age of 28. Darius was hired as a replacement officer for an officer named Amaya Omori O’Sullivan. He went through cadet training, and slowly climbed his way up the ranks to SGT and took on the callsign K156, a callsign that would later become cursed.
Darius stayed in KPD for 4 years, working on and off as an SGT which allowed him to help support his daughter still. He grew more attached to her, but as he gained more money he became more greedy as well. For once in his life, he could spend money on himself and still have money for rent and necessities. He wasn't used to this, he wasn't used to being able to buy what he wanted, yet he loved it. He loved freedom, the ability to wear nicer clothes, the ability to afford the newest phone, etc. He grew addicted to this, and only grew more greedy as time went on. Greed slowly pierced and coursed through his mind like a venom, a venom that would end up coursing him down a path of life that would alter him forever.
In those 4 years in KPD, he met a young detective who went by the name Jiefang Moringa. She started as a co-worker, just another girl in the workforce that Darius worked alongside with. But because of his callsign being K156, and Jiefang being friends with Amaya, they got closer over time and eventually gained feelings for each other. However, what Darius didn't expect was for Jiefang to also have feelings for someone named Hugo Vedict, a local doctor at EMS who had been hanging out and gaining feelings for Jiefang long before Darius even came back to Karakura. But, that didn't stop Darius. He saw it more or less as a competition. With his knowledge of psychology and the brains, he was able to figure out what Jiefang craved from a lover quickly, which helped Darius make moves and interactions, catching up to Hugo despite Darius knowing Jiefang for much much less time. Though, he grew bored of this sort of competition. He grew bored of fighting for a girl, he didn't want to fight for someone's love. It was something that psychology showed that Jiefang was capable of falling for another man even if she was loyal to Darius. So he gave up on the path of love and his dedication to KPD, going down a NEW path instead
After 4 years of being an officer, he realized that a 400k paycheck wasn't enough anymore. He wanted more, and he knew he wouldn't be able to get it in Karakura, especially with his current lifestyle. He chose to once again leave Karakura and Ninomae behind. He quit his job as a KPD officer and moved to Korea this time with the intent of purely just making money and splurging it all on himself
After 3 years he noticed his mom stopped accepting the money, he noticed that the bank account itself had been closed. Thinking the worst, he returned to Karakura in 2020 where he discovered his mom passed away from covid sadly. Darius chose to stay in Karakura for a bit for his mom and to sort stuff out with her belongings and other things left behind. Though he knew he needed a job, he began to look into KPD again. He didn't want to join KPD to protect and serve the city and keep it safe. No, his only motivations were the money that the job paid and being able to study criminals' minds directly from a secondary source. Being able to arrest and interrogate criminals allowed him to better himself with physiology, which was his main passion in life. He was able to apply and get an interview at KPD, and that's when he ran into a friend of Tsubasa who was carrying a 3-year-old Ninomae. Darius didn't recognize the two at all, but Tsubasa’s friend recognized him. She pulled Darius to the side and angrily explained that because Darius chose to be a ‘deadbeat father’ and leave Tsubasa and Ninomae, Tsubasa had to get a job and work constantly to the point where she didn't have any time for Ninomae anymore. She ended up passing Ninomae on to her friend, the same friend who was telling Darius off. Though Darius didn't care, he had already moved on from Tsubasa. He somewhat cared about the child, though during this time he began to slowly develop a selfish mindset. He realized in Guam that he spent his entire life spending money on everyone but himself, and even when he was in Guam for the second time he barely made ends meet meaning again he didn't spend any of his money on anything he wanted, just the necessities of life. He agreed though to take Ninomae, he felt somewhat selfish for him running away.
The 28-year-old Darius took care of Ninomae, being a stay-at-home father and working again at citizen-run shops until he officially got hired at KPD at the age of 28. Darius was hired as a replacement officer for an officer named Amaya Omori O’Sullivan. He went through cadet training, and slowly climbed his way up the ranks to SGT and took on the callsign K156, a callsign that would later become cursed.
Darius stayed in KPD for 4 years, working on and off as an SGT which allowed him to help support his daughter still. He grew more attached to her, but as he gained more money he became more greedy as well. For once in his life, he could spend money on himself and still have money for rent and necessities. He wasn't used to this, he wasn't used to being able to buy what he wanted, yet he loved it. He loved freedom, the ability to wear nicer clothes, the ability to afford the newest phone, etc. He grew addicted to this, and only grew more greedy as time went on. Greed slowly pierced and coursed through his mind like a venom, a venom that would end up coursing him down a path of life that would alter him forever.
In those 4 years in KPD, he met a young detective who went by the name Jiefang Moringa. She started as a co-worker, just another girl in the workforce that Darius worked alongside with. But because of his callsign being K156, and Jiefang being friends with Amaya, they got closer over time and eventually gained feelings for each other. However, what Darius didn't expect was for Jiefang to also have feelings for someone named Hugo Vedict, a local doctor at EMS who had been hanging out and gaining feelings for Jiefang long before Darius even came back to Karakura. But, that didn't stop Darius. He saw it more or less as a competition. With his knowledge of psychology and the brains, he was able to figure out what Jiefang craved from a lover quickly, which helped Darius make moves and interactions, catching up to Hugo despite Darius knowing Jiefang for much much less time. Though, he grew bored of this sort of competition. He grew bored of fighting for a girl, he didn't want to fight for someone's love. It was something that psychology showed that Jiefang was capable of falling for another man even if she was loyal to Darius. So he gave up on the path of love and his dedication to KPD, going down a NEW path instead
After 4 years of being an officer, he realized that a 400k paycheck wasn't enough anymore. He wanted more, and he knew he wouldn't be able to get it in Karakura, especially with his current lifestyle. He chose to once again leave Karakura and Ninomae behind. He quit his job as a KPD officer and moved to Korea this time with the intent of purely just making money and splurging it all on himself
♠Funny Darius KPD Screenshots♠
Darius was always a much more laid-back cop who didn't take shit from kids or anything. Which is what made him funny, so I looked around and found funny screenshots from his cop days. Enjoy
Darius was always a much more laid-back cop who didn't take shit from kids or anything. Which is what made him funny, so I looked around and found funny screenshots from his cop days. Enjoy
♠KOREA LORE♠
Upon moving to Korea, he slowly started his downfall into addiction and corruption. Darius struggled to find a job in Korea due to the language barrier. So instead he ran towards the other and quicker option to make money, gambling. Darius got heavily into gambling in Korea. He was spending all of his money on card games mainly. He never played games regarding luck, all skill like poker. And Darius became good at it too. Due to the skills that he learned in KPD when it came to reading emotions and faces for interrogation purposes, as well as his criminology psychology degree, it made it easier for him to detect when someone was lying. As his addiction to gambling and wealth grew more, he became only more manipulative. He learned that he could manipulate these poker games to increase his chances of winning. And the more he used it, the more it sank deeper and deeper into his mind. He learned how to hide his emotions, and how to keep a straight and emotionless face so that no opponent could tell if he was lying in poker and other card games. He learned how to connect with strangers more easily by matching their personalities or creating a personality, tone of voice, smile, etc that made the person trust them more. Which allowed him to gain the trust of others. Then he took those strangers to gamble where he would use that trust he gained against them. He would make them believe he acted one way, when in reality he was faking it all. Over 3 years he mastered these manipulation tactics. He made millions from poker and other gambling card games. He spent it all on a luxury lifestyle. Luxury cars, luxury hotels, clubs, expensive restaurants, girls, whatever he wanted. Darius became obsessed with the wealthy lifestyle. He was poor his entire life, he never could spend money on himself, and now that he has he has become hooked
But yet none of it was enough. He needed more, more money. Darius turned to alcohol as well, gaining an addiction to alcohol and gambling in the process. He became purely manipulative. The old version of himself had been cast into the shadows of his mind, manipulating others' emotions for selfish gain, creating new personalities to gain their trust. Everything became natural to him, he became a master at it but with the sacrifice that he had lost his old self. However one night, everything would change.
Darius got banned from most casinos due to his manipulation tactics winning him so much, so he turned to illegal gambling where he ended up gambling against the Yakuza. Though, he lost. He lost all of his winnings and money and was forced into debt with the Yakuza.
Darius at first resisted and attempted to fight against the Yakuza not wanting to pay over 2 million to them. But they tortured him for days on end. Darius was hung upside down, his legs tied together and connected to the roof, and his hands handcuffed behind his back for hours on end. They beat him with metal pipes, bats, fists, and more. Waterboarded him, burned him, electrocuted him. Though even throughout all of that torture for days on end, he refused to break and refused to pay them back the 2 million that he now owed them. It wasn't until the last 3 days that the torture got to him. And he surrendered
The yakuza made a deal with Darius. They made it so Darius would be forced to do tasks for the Yakuza, these tasks involving collecting money for them. He took on the alias as, the gambler. The alias was created after his gambling addiction, which got him into this mess. Darius would complete these tasks and return the money he collected to the Yakuza, which would eventually pay off his debt. It's here where he got into fights. He did their dirty work, he fought and hunted people down and beat them up but refused to kill as it went against his morals. Darius remained a low-level Yakuza member, barely a member for that matter, more or less a pawn. However, greed still filled his mind and heart. Every time he collected money, he stashed a bit for himself and then gambled that away, giving most of it back to the Yakuza making it seem like he could barely pay them off when in reality he was getting richer and richer. He saw this as an opportunity to get more money to feed his gambling addiction, instead of a punishment.
Once the Yakuza found this out, they hunted him down. Darius left Korea as soon as he could and chose to return to Karakura, knowing he could put his newly learned skills to use in that city
Upon moving to Korea, he slowly started his downfall into addiction and corruption. Darius struggled to find a job in Korea due to the language barrier. So instead he ran towards the other and quicker option to make money, gambling. Darius got heavily into gambling in Korea. He was spending all of his money on card games mainly. He never played games regarding luck, all skill like poker. And Darius became good at it too. Due to the skills that he learned in KPD when it came to reading emotions and faces for interrogation purposes, as well as his criminology psychology degree, it made it easier for him to detect when someone was lying. As his addiction to gambling and wealth grew more, he became only more manipulative. He learned that he could manipulate these poker games to increase his chances of winning. And the more he used it, the more it sank deeper and deeper into his mind. He learned how to hide his emotions, and how to keep a straight and emotionless face so that no opponent could tell if he was lying in poker and other card games. He learned how to connect with strangers more easily by matching their personalities or creating a personality, tone of voice, smile, etc that made the person trust them more. Which allowed him to gain the trust of others. Then he took those strangers to gamble where he would use that trust he gained against them. He would make them believe he acted one way, when in reality he was faking it all. Over 3 years he mastered these manipulation tactics. He made millions from poker and other gambling card games. He spent it all on a luxury lifestyle. Luxury cars, luxury hotels, clubs, expensive restaurants, girls, whatever he wanted. Darius became obsessed with the wealthy lifestyle. He was poor his entire life, he never could spend money on himself, and now that he has he has become hooked
But yet none of it was enough. He needed more, more money. Darius turned to alcohol as well, gaining an addiction to alcohol and gambling in the process. He became purely manipulative. The old version of himself had been cast into the shadows of his mind, manipulating others' emotions for selfish gain, creating new personalities to gain their trust. Everything became natural to him, he became a master at it but with the sacrifice that he had lost his old self. However one night, everything would change.
Darius got banned from most casinos due to his manipulation tactics winning him so much, so he turned to illegal gambling where he ended up gambling against the Yakuza. Though, he lost. He lost all of his winnings and money and was forced into debt with the Yakuza.
Darius at first resisted and attempted to fight against the Yakuza not wanting to pay over 2 million to them. But they tortured him for days on end. Darius was hung upside down, his legs tied together and connected to the roof, and his hands handcuffed behind his back for hours on end. They beat him with metal pipes, bats, fists, and more. Waterboarded him, burned him, electrocuted him. Though even throughout all of that torture for days on end, he refused to break and refused to pay them back the 2 million that he now owed them. It wasn't until the last 3 days that the torture got to him. And he surrendered
The yakuza made a deal with Darius. They made it so Darius would be forced to do tasks for the Yakuza, these tasks involving collecting money for them. He took on the alias as, the gambler. The alias was created after his gambling addiction, which got him into this mess. Darius would complete these tasks and return the money he collected to the Yakuza, which would eventually pay off his debt. It's here where he got into fights. He did their dirty work, he fought and hunted people down and beat them up but refused to kill as it went against his morals. Darius remained a low-level Yakuza member, barely a member for that matter, more or less a pawn. However, greed still filled his mind and heart. Every time he collected money, he stashed a bit for himself and then gambled that away, giving most of it back to the Yakuza making it seem like he could barely pay them off when in reality he was getting richer and richer. He saw this as an opportunity to get more money to feed his gambling addiction, instead of a punishment.
Once the Yakuza found this out, they hunted him down. Darius left Korea as soon as he could and chose to return to Karakura, knowing he could put his newly learned skills to use in that city
♠ TATTOO LORE♠
Darius got his tattoo after his trip to Korea. He got into a large amount of physical altercations due to his gambling and alcohol addiction at the time. When he would lose he would LOSE. Losing all of his money, he ended up working for a Yakuza to remake some of the winnings he lost, just to spend it again. He chased the jackpot, the next big one, and sometimes he got it, but then other times he lost it all either way he never gave up on it until his own life was in danger
After he beat his addiction, he took on a new mindset, a mindset that took into consideration both sides of the story. He realized that despite his addiction bringing him down a harsh path of negativity and negative emotions and actions, he realized in the end he gained new skills. He learned how to better ****yze people's emotions and facial features from poker, in fact, it became an obsession to figure people out. He learned how to fight, how to hide his own emotions, and how to manipulate others to get his way, he learned a lot. Which helped him get the mindset that even dark situations can have a good outcome, all you have to do is look at the situation in another light. Look at the other side of the ‘card’.
Darius’s tattoo as stated depicts a Yin and Yang symbol surrounded by 5 specific tarot cards. The Yin and Yang symbol represents the balance between good and bad. It represents how he needs to have a balance between the good emotions and good sides of the tarot cards, and the negative emotions and negative sides of the tarot cards which surround the yin and yang symbol. He believes without this balance he will completely change, for either the worse or the better but either way he refuses to let that happen
As for the tarot cards, they each represent a different emotion or situation that he has gone through or may go through in his life. He uses these tarot cards to see the other side of the situation or ‘card’ in this sense. For example, ‘The Devil’ tarot card has both negative and positive emotions and situations connected to it. It can represent addiction, which is something he battled with. But it can also represent freedom, which is what he felt after he beat his addiction. In a sense, he beat the negative side of the card and was able to find the positive side of the tarot card
Though Darius also believes these 5 tarots represent his fate. And that they represent the past, present, and future of his emotions and life. That is why he chose THOSE cards. He sees those cards as the emotions he will go through and the situations he will go through in the future, the feelings and situations in the past, and his present emotions. As time changes, the card's meaning will change, but the cards themselves will never change
Darius though doesn't believe in the effects of Tarot cards itself. For example, he doesn't believe that if you pull death, something negative will happen to you relating to that card. He uses the cards as symbolism for emotions and situations
Darius got his tattoo after his trip to Korea. He got into a large amount of physical altercations due to his gambling and alcohol addiction at the time. When he would lose he would LOSE. Losing all of his money, he ended up working for a Yakuza to remake some of the winnings he lost, just to spend it again. He chased the jackpot, the next big one, and sometimes he got it, but then other times he lost it all either way he never gave up on it until his own life was in danger
After he beat his addiction, he took on a new mindset, a mindset that took into consideration both sides of the story. He realized that despite his addiction bringing him down a harsh path of negativity and negative emotions and actions, he realized in the end he gained new skills. He learned how to better ****yze people's emotions and facial features from poker, in fact, it became an obsession to figure people out. He learned how to fight, how to hide his own emotions, and how to manipulate others to get his way, he learned a lot. Which helped him get the mindset that even dark situations can have a good outcome, all you have to do is look at the situation in another light. Look at the other side of the ‘card’.
Darius’s tattoo as stated depicts a Yin and Yang symbol surrounded by 5 specific tarot cards. The Yin and Yang symbol represents the balance between good and bad. It represents how he needs to have a balance between the good emotions and good sides of the tarot cards, and the negative emotions and negative sides of the tarot cards which surround the yin and yang symbol. He believes without this balance he will completely change, for either the worse or the better but either way he refuses to let that happen
As for the tarot cards, they each represent a different emotion or situation that he has gone through or may go through in his life. He uses these tarot cards to see the other side of the situation or ‘card’ in this sense. For example, ‘The Devil’ tarot card has both negative and positive emotions and situations connected to it. It can represent addiction, which is something he battled with. But it can also represent freedom, which is what he felt after he beat his addiction. In a sense, he beat the negative side of the card and was able to find the positive side of the tarot card
Though Darius also believes these 5 tarots represent his fate. And that they represent the past, present, and future of his emotions and life. That is why he chose THOSE cards. He sees those cards as the emotions he will go through and the situations he will go through in the future, the feelings and situations in the past, and his present emotions. As time changes, the card's meaning will change, but the cards themselves will never change
Darius though doesn't believe in the effects of Tarot cards itself. For example, he doesn't believe that if you pull death, something negative will happen to you relating to that card. He uses the cards as symbolism for emotions and situations
THE CARDS:
CARD #1: DEATH
The first card seen on his tattoo is the tarot card of death. The card depicts the Grim Reaper with a scythe, with a clock by his head.
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Endings
Severe Illness
Profound Change
Failure
Mortality
An End to Something (Relationship or Interest)
POSITIVE MEANING:
A Crossing of a Threshold
The Beginning of a New Cycle
A Fresh Start
A Transformation
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative Meaning - Failure, death.
Darius sadly connects to the death card in a much more negative light than he had felt previously. He feels as if he failed against the Mechanic and failed KPD for reporting it being against his will. And then, of course, there is the fact he almost died while undergoing surgery
CARD #2: THE DEVIL
The second tarot card on his tattoo is the devil card. It depicts the ancient goat god Dionysius, with a male (on the left) and female (on the right) chained together, intertwined. Though of course, just because of its negative look, doesn't mean it is all negative
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Addiction
Enslavement
Unhealthy Relationships
Materialism
Living in Fear
Domination and Bondage in a Negative and Controlling Way
Feeling Trapped
POSITIVE MEANING:
Playfulness
Enjoyment
Rebellion
Pleasure
Challenging Authority
Freedom
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative - Domination and Bondage in a Negative and Controlling Way
Darius doesn't PERSONALLY relate to this, though his victims do. He controls them without them ever knowing, manipulating them secretly and using their emotions to mask his manipulation
CARD #3: THREE OF SWORDS
The third card on the tattoo is the three swords. The card depicts a heart being stabbed by 3 blades. It mainly represents heartbreak and other related emotions too the heart
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Grief
Suffering
Sadness, Emotional Pain
Heartbreak
Separation
Afraid of Getting Hurt
Finding it Hard to Trust
Betrayal by Someone in a Trusted Position
POSITIVE MEANING:
Cutting Away Lies, Discovering the Truth
Truth is Painful, but Good
Making Logical Decisions
Get to the Heart of the Situation
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative - Suffering
After Darius's horrific situation with the Mechanic, he has been left in an immense amount of physical pain, constantly suffering even under heavy medication. With all of his injuries, he is in constant discomfort. His head is always hurting and is so sensitive to really anything including his own emotions. Though he will recovery eventually, until then he is constantly trapped in a state of suffering and pain
CARD #4: THREE OF SWORDS
The fourth card depicts a woman with her head in her hands, with 9 blades above her. The card mainly focuses on mental aspects emotions and situations based on the brain
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Anxiety
Worry
Fear
Stress
Depression
Nightmares
POSITIVE MEANING:
Reality is Not as Dire as you Imagine
Suffering is all in Your Head
Suffering Might be Unfounded
Beware of Pushing Away Those Who Want To Help
The Difficulty Might Soon Be Over
Forgive Yourself and Others
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative - Fear and Stress
After the mechanic situation with the broadcast, he has been going under a large amount of physical and emotional stress. This stress was the issue that caused him to almost die to begin with. Not to mention, he is afraid of the Mechanic, though that is unknown due to how his mind already suppressed the trauma and emotional baggage that came with the situation
CARD #5: THE TOWER
The fifth and final card is the tower card. It depicts a tower in a dark thunderstorm, with fire raging out of the windows. The tower is the most destructive card, mainly focusing on destruction and chaos
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Disaster
Upheaval
Crisis
Unexpected Change
Catastrophe
Destruction
Damage
POSITIVE MEANING:
A breakthrough or Revelation
Challenging Outdated Beliefs
Destroying Illusions
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Destruction and Damage
Darius sadly has a connection to the card now. Despite his attempts to avoid being connected to this card either emotionally or by a situation that occurred to him, he never wanted to be connected to the card and the hell it brings. But, after the mechanic broadcast event, he was left secretly traumatized by the horrific and destructive attack. It destroyed his body, his mind, the news station, and more. It is the only event that connects to the card.
CARD #1: DEATH
The first card seen on his tattoo is the tarot card of death. The card depicts the Grim Reaper with a scythe, with a clock by his head.
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Endings
Severe Illness
Profound Change
Failure
Mortality
An End to Something (Relationship or Interest)
POSITIVE MEANING:
A Crossing of a Threshold
The Beginning of a New Cycle
A Fresh Start
A Transformation
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative Meaning - Failure, death.
Darius sadly connects to the death card in a much more negative light than he had felt previously. He feels as if he failed against the Mechanic and failed KPD for reporting it being against his will. And then, of course, there is the fact he almost died while undergoing surgery
CARD #2: THE DEVIL
The second tarot card on his tattoo is the devil card. It depicts the ancient goat god Dionysius, with a male (on the left) and female (on the right) chained together, intertwined. Though of course, just because of its negative look, doesn't mean it is all negative
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Addiction
Enslavement
Unhealthy Relationships
Materialism
Living in Fear
Domination and Bondage in a Negative and Controlling Way
Feeling Trapped
POSITIVE MEANING:
Playfulness
Enjoyment
Rebellion
Pleasure
Challenging Authority
Freedom
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative - Domination and Bondage in a Negative and Controlling Way
Darius doesn't PERSONALLY relate to this, though his victims do. He controls them without them ever knowing, manipulating them secretly and using their emotions to mask his manipulation
CARD #3: THREE OF SWORDS
The third card on the tattoo is the three swords. The card depicts a heart being stabbed by 3 blades. It mainly represents heartbreak and other related emotions too the heart
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Grief
Suffering
Sadness, Emotional Pain
Heartbreak
Separation
Afraid of Getting Hurt
Finding it Hard to Trust
Betrayal by Someone in a Trusted Position
POSITIVE MEANING:
Cutting Away Lies, Discovering the Truth
Truth is Painful, but Good
Making Logical Decisions
Get to the Heart of the Situation
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative - Suffering
After Darius's horrific situation with the Mechanic, he has been left in an immense amount of physical pain, constantly suffering even under heavy medication. With all of his injuries, he is in constant discomfort. His head is always hurting and is so sensitive to really anything including his own emotions. Though he will recovery eventually, until then he is constantly trapped in a state of suffering and pain
CARD #4: THREE OF SWORDS
The fourth card depicts a woman with her head in her hands, with 9 blades above her. The card mainly focuses on mental aspects emotions and situations based on the brain
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Anxiety
Worry
Fear
Stress
Depression
Nightmares
POSITIVE MEANING:
Reality is Not as Dire as you Imagine
Suffering is all in Your Head
Suffering Might be Unfounded
Beware of Pushing Away Those Who Want To Help
The Difficulty Might Soon Be Over
Forgive Yourself and Others
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Negative - Fear and Stress
After the mechanic situation with the broadcast, he has been going under a large amount of physical and emotional stress. This stress was the issue that caused him to almost die to begin with. Not to mention, he is afraid of the Mechanic, though that is unknown due to how his mind already suppressed the trauma and emotional baggage that came with the situation
CARD #5: THE TOWER
The fifth and final card is the tower card. It depicts a tower in a dark thunderstorm, with fire raging out of the windows. The tower is the most destructive card, mainly focusing on destruction and chaos
NEGATIVE MEANING:
Disaster
Upheaval
Crisis
Unexpected Change
Catastrophe
Destruction
Damage
POSITIVE MEANING:
A breakthrough or Revelation
Challenging Outdated Beliefs
Destroying Illusions
CURRENT EMOTION/SITUATION:
Destruction and Damage
Darius sadly has a connection to the card now. Despite his attempts to avoid being connected to this card either emotionally or by a situation that occurred to him, he never wanted to be connected to the card and the hell it brings. But, after the mechanic broadcast event, he was left secretly traumatized by the horrific and destructive attack. It destroyed his body, his mind, the news station, and more. It is the only event that connects to the card.
♠ REPORTER LORE♠
Darius returned to Karakura in 2024, at the age of 35 years old. Darius knew he couldn't go back to KPD, not with his current mindset. So he found a new job, a job which allowed him to use his manipulation in his favor and make some money. He applied to become a reporter and got accepted. Becoming a reporter gave him the ability to make up excuses to interact with people he may need later. It gave him the excuse to interact manipulate and lie to people. All he had to say was “Hi I'm sorry I'm reporting on blank and blank” and most people would gladly open up a bit. Darius’s ability to match personalities and make it seem like he could be someone you can trust, and his ability to read personalities, emotions, all of it would make getting information on anything he wanted so much easier for him
He was accepted in February, where he immediately began to reunite with KPD and EMS, as well as other people he met during his KPD time. He began to gain connections through his reports, meeting new people, figuring out new things, new perspectives, etc. At this point, Darius took on the alias as the puppeteer. The alias comes from the symbolism of a puppeteer, someone who controls the strings and actions of their puppets.
Within a month Darius became a reporter, he's already made big strives and leaps for himself. He was the first reporter in over 2 years to get 7 reports in one month. As well as his connections had only become stronger. He had connections to KPD, EMS, Town Hall, and even parts of the criminal underworld.
Darius chose to take on a risky report during this time, a report regarding the Mechanic. A man who was unknown by most, but to KPD and EMS a man who was very dangerous and powerful. Darius found out when his friend brought it to his attention that Callista and Naomi, two EMS workers, were kidnapped and tortured for a long period. This caught his attention as these events don't occur often. After interviewing Callista, he chose to hunt down the Mechanic himself and get HIS side of the story. Darius wanted to learn more about this criminal mastermind, how did he escape KPD? Why didn't KPD catch him yet? Why did he do this? All these questions raced through his manipulative mind. And he wanted answers. Darius was able to find the Mechanic in the sewers, and after some small chats, he convinced him to interview in an undisclosed location. Darius would record the interview and that interview would be publically posted to his news article, the Mechanic. However, one thing the Mechanic said stuck out to Darius, that one thing would alter their relationship. Darius asked him if he plans on quitting the major assaults, which he stated he would but only because Ernesto was somehow now involved
This led Darius to wonder, if the commissioner was involved, how come Callista said KPD hadn't done anything yet? Was he involved in another way? Darius wanted to find out for his report, but also for personal gain. Getting potential corruption blackmail against Ernesto would be a very large advantage for the puppeteer. However, before the interview could occur the Mechanic called Darius and told him to call off the interview immediately and demanded the mention of Ernesto to be removed from the report. Darius realized the Mechanic somehow did have a connection to Ernesto, as only Ernesto knew he was at KPD for an interview with him. Darius knew he had the upper hand against the Mechanic, he was the one with the recording of him stating Ernesto was involved. While leaving the station, the Mechanic ambushed Darius where they discussed the report and Ernesto, Darius tried to get the Mechanic to admit that Ernesto was corrupt but he refused to give any details that could help Darius. So instead, he manipulated the situation to his favor. He made a deal with the Mechanic, he would remove the audio recording and section from the report IF the Mechanic owed him one favor. A favor that could not involve money. Those are the only terms to the favor.
The Mechanic agreed to the deal, and Darius would leave the situation with a bruised head, and the Mechanic owing him a favor of any kind.
Darius had already gained multiple puppets who he still uses to this day for their information, knowledge, and more. Moriko is still his best friend, who is still one of the few people he doesn't manipulate or try to use for personal gain. However, someone else had come into the picture.
Darius returned to Karakura in 2024, at the age of 35 years old. Darius knew he couldn't go back to KPD, not with his current mindset. So he found a new job, a job which allowed him to use his manipulation in his favor and make some money. He applied to become a reporter and got accepted. Becoming a reporter gave him the ability to make up excuses to interact with people he may need later. It gave him the excuse to interact manipulate and lie to people. All he had to say was “Hi I'm sorry I'm reporting on blank and blank” and most people would gladly open up a bit. Darius’s ability to match personalities and make it seem like he could be someone you can trust, and his ability to read personalities, emotions, all of it would make getting information on anything he wanted so much easier for him
He was accepted in February, where he immediately began to reunite with KPD and EMS, as well as other people he met during his KPD time. He began to gain connections through his reports, meeting new people, figuring out new things, new perspectives, etc. At this point, Darius took on the alias as the puppeteer. The alias comes from the symbolism of a puppeteer, someone who controls the strings and actions of their puppets.
Within a month Darius became a reporter, he's already made big strives and leaps for himself. He was the first reporter in over 2 years to get 7 reports in one month. As well as his connections had only become stronger. He had connections to KPD, EMS, Town Hall, and even parts of the criminal underworld.
Darius chose to take on a risky report during this time, a report regarding the Mechanic. A man who was unknown by most, but to KPD and EMS a man who was very dangerous and powerful. Darius found out when his friend brought it to his attention that Callista and Naomi, two EMS workers, were kidnapped and tortured for a long period. This caught his attention as these events don't occur often. After interviewing Callista, he chose to hunt down the Mechanic himself and get HIS side of the story. Darius wanted to learn more about this criminal mastermind, how did he escape KPD? Why didn't KPD catch him yet? Why did he do this? All these questions raced through his manipulative mind. And he wanted answers. Darius was able to find the Mechanic in the sewers, and after some small chats, he convinced him to interview in an undisclosed location. Darius would record the interview and that interview would be publically posted to his news article, the Mechanic. However, one thing the Mechanic said stuck out to Darius, that one thing would alter their relationship. Darius asked him if he plans on quitting the major assaults, which he stated he would but only because Ernesto was somehow now involved
This led Darius to wonder, if the commissioner was involved, how come Callista said KPD hadn't done anything yet? Was he involved in another way? Darius wanted to find out for his report, but also for personal gain. Getting potential corruption blackmail against Ernesto would be a very large advantage for the puppeteer. However, before the interview could occur the Mechanic called Darius and told him to call off the interview immediately and demanded the mention of Ernesto to be removed from the report. Darius realized the Mechanic somehow did have a connection to Ernesto, as only Ernesto knew he was at KPD for an interview with him. Darius knew he had the upper hand against the Mechanic, he was the one with the recording of him stating Ernesto was involved. While leaving the station, the Mechanic ambushed Darius where they discussed the report and Ernesto, Darius tried to get the Mechanic to admit that Ernesto was corrupt but he refused to give any details that could help Darius. So instead, he manipulated the situation to his favor. He made a deal with the Mechanic, he would remove the audio recording and section from the report IF the Mechanic owed him one favor. A favor that could not involve money. Those are the only terms to the favor.
The Mechanic agreed to the deal, and Darius would leave the situation with a bruised head, and the Mechanic owing him a favor of any kind.
Darius had already gained multiple puppets who he still uses to this day for their information, knowledge, and more. Moriko is still his best friend, who is still one of the few people he doesn't manipulate or try to use for personal gain. However, someone else had come into the picture.
♠ 'Defanged and Destringed' LORE ♠
No one would have guessed that the cold-hearted puppeteer that was Darius would be able to love again. After all, he saw love as a liability. something that was going to hold him back. But, that changed ever so slightly when he met the viper of the Saiky family, Koizumi Saiky
The two met at the shrine, Koizumi and Darius hit it off but differently, they were both manipulative. One of them is a viper, who creates barricades upon barricades to protect her emotions from others. Creating a harsh persona, one that if someone fucked with her, they would get the fangs. The other one is a puppeteer who uses others' emotions too his advantage and so much more. Two manipulates, born from very different worlds colliding.
Over time, they would interact. Darius quickly saw through Koizumi. Seeing how she barricaded her emotions from the real world so he chose to manipulate her at first, using that against her. He wanted to make it feel like she was in control. He created a personality that made it obvious he was a manipulator, though the manipulation he showed her was something that all manipulators showed. It was so obvious that it hid his real form of manipulation from her and others around. As she began to feel she was figuring him out, she got more ****y with him. Less afraid to be herself a bit as she felt that she had the power of the situation. But little did she know at that time Darius had already wrapped his strings around her body and trapped her. She had already become a puppet to him.
However, that would all change after he learned about how knowledge in the spiritual world. He learned how much she knew about the spirits of Karakura, something he didn't know or could connect with. He wanted to learn more, wanted to figure her out. His interest grew as one time she threw a poison dart at another shrine worker. It was something that caught his attention. He grabbed the dart and wanted to make an anti-venom but later went against it. However, this fascinated him. He was learning quickly about the type of person she was. A woman who relied on tools instead of strength due to her size and stature.
Darius would approach her one day with a deal, a team. Both of them were manipulators, both powerful alone but even stronger together. They realized that he had already figured her out so well that she was not a threat besides her tools. So he offered her a deal, he would release her from his strings of manipulation if she worked with him and became friends. She would agree to these terms but threatened that if he tried anything she would quickly take him out.
This would be the start of something they both didn't expect. As they grew closer together they realized they had a lot more in common than they expected. And Darius revealed how well he had read the viper. It scared her, terrified her for that matter of how powerful the puppeteer was at ****yzing her emotions just after interacting with her a few times. Though, in the end, it made her feel safer. He was one of the few people who could read her so well, she didn't have to worry about opening up too him, cause he had already unlocked that door on his own terms.
As more time went on, they shared more intimate moments. Darius used his knowledge of reading emotions and hyper****yzing and remembering details to bring her comfort into her world. He gave her the love that she so craved, he made her feel safe and cared for. She opened up too him and as she did he began to fall for her. He began to create a personality just for her, one that was learning to love again. Everything was going well, they were beginning to kiss, cuddle, and relax together more. Darius even took a lie detector test and let Koizumi ask him anything just to gain her trust. Who truly would have guessed that a viper and a puppeteer would fall for each other?
It wasn't until he realized something, after an interaction with Sho he realized that Sho mistreated him. He caught onto the fact that Sho liked Koizumi, and Koizumi liked Sho. He remembered an interaction where Asami, a shrine worker, pressured the two into going on a date and none of them seemed opposed, the only thing that was stopping them was the fact she was married but now that she wasn't, the chance remained. He overthought this, thinking about if she was using him for affection while she was with her husband and after, or if she genuinely liked him and struggled to pick him between him and Sho. However, this would all be revealed one day.
One night, they were talking when Darius finally asked about Sho, and asked if she knew he liked her. And she made the mistake of lying to the puppeteer, twice. He grew angry and upset, after all, their relationship was built on trust and she had broken that. They ended up getting into a fight, Koizumi spiraling down into her mindset as she felt as if she was losing Darius, though, in the end, he comforted her through it. He chose to give the viper one last chance after seeing how afraid she was. How defanged she was around him. The next day, she came over and asked him to bring the lie detector test where she asked herself questions. She admitted to not liking Sho anymore and not liking Darius, she told him about her mom and father. She opened up to regain his trust and it worked. Their relationship was fixed.
As of right now, they are not dating but still acting lovey with each other. They both plan to date once she's healed from her ex-husband, and Darius is ok waiting that out. Who knows, maybe a viper can work well with the puppeteer
No one would have guessed that the cold-hearted puppeteer that was Darius would be able to love again. After all, he saw love as a liability. something that was going to hold him back. But, that changed ever so slightly when he met the viper of the Saiky family, Koizumi Saiky
The two met at the shrine, Koizumi and Darius hit it off but differently, they were both manipulative. One of them is a viper, who creates barricades upon barricades to protect her emotions from others. Creating a harsh persona, one that if someone fucked with her, they would get the fangs. The other one is a puppeteer who uses others' emotions too his advantage and so much more. Two manipulates, born from very different worlds colliding.
Over time, they would interact. Darius quickly saw through Koizumi. Seeing how she barricaded her emotions from the real world so he chose to manipulate her at first, using that against her. He wanted to make it feel like she was in control. He created a personality that made it obvious he was a manipulator, though the manipulation he showed her was something that all manipulators showed. It was so obvious that it hid his real form of manipulation from her and others around. As she began to feel she was figuring him out, she got more ****y with him. Less afraid to be herself a bit as she felt that she had the power of the situation. But little did she know at that time Darius had already wrapped his strings around her body and trapped her. She had already become a puppet to him.
However, that would all change after he learned about how knowledge in the spiritual world. He learned how much she knew about the spirits of Karakura, something he didn't know or could connect with. He wanted to learn more, wanted to figure her out. His interest grew as one time she threw a poison dart at another shrine worker. It was something that caught his attention. He grabbed the dart and wanted to make an anti-venom but later went against it. However, this fascinated him. He was learning quickly about the type of person she was. A woman who relied on tools instead of strength due to her size and stature.
Darius would approach her one day with a deal, a team. Both of them were manipulators, both powerful alone but even stronger together. They realized that he had already figured her out so well that she was not a threat besides her tools. So he offered her a deal, he would release her from his strings of manipulation if she worked with him and became friends. She would agree to these terms but threatened that if he tried anything she would quickly take him out.
This would be the start of something they both didn't expect. As they grew closer together they realized they had a lot more in common than they expected. And Darius revealed how well he had read the viper. It scared her, terrified her for that matter of how powerful the puppeteer was at ****yzing her emotions just after interacting with her a few times. Though, in the end, it made her feel safer. He was one of the few people who could read her so well, she didn't have to worry about opening up too him, cause he had already unlocked that door on his own terms.
As more time went on, they shared more intimate moments. Darius used his knowledge of reading emotions and hyper****yzing and remembering details to bring her comfort into her world. He gave her the love that she so craved, he made her feel safe and cared for. She opened up too him and as she did he began to fall for her. He began to create a personality just for her, one that was learning to love again. Everything was going well, they were beginning to kiss, cuddle, and relax together more. Darius even took a lie detector test and let Koizumi ask him anything just to gain her trust. Who truly would have guessed that a viper and a puppeteer would fall for each other?
It wasn't until he realized something, after an interaction with Sho he realized that Sho mistreated him. He caught onto the fact that Sho liked Koizumi, and Koizumi liked Sho. He remembered an interaction where Asami, a shrine worker, pressured the two into going on a date and none of them seemed opposed, the only thing that was stopping them was the fact she was married but now that she wasn't, the chance remained. He overthought this, thinking about if she was using him for affection while she was with her husband and after, or if she genuinely liked him and struggled to pick him between him and Sho. However, this would all be revealed one day.
One night, they were talking when Darius finally asked about Sho, and asked if she knew he liked her. And she made the mistake of lying to the puppeteer, twice. He grew angry and upset, after all, their relationship was built on trust and she had broken that. They ended up getting into a fight, Koizumi spiraling down into her mindset as she felt as if she was losing Darius, though, in the end, he comforted her through it. He chose to give the viper one last chance after seeing how afraid she was. How defanged she was around him. The next day, she came over and asked him to bring the lie detector test where she asked herself questions. She admitted to not liking Sho anymore and not liking Darius, she told him about her mom and father. She opened up to regain his trust and it worked. Their relationship was fixed.
As of right now, they are not dating but still acting lovey with each other. They both plan to date once she's healed from her ex-husband, and Darius is ok waiting that out. Who knows, maybe a viper can work well with the puppeteer
[!] WARNING [!]
This bio section contains imagery of injuries he obtained from the fight. If you are squeamish or uncomfortable and not ok with things like
- Visual guide to where his cuts were
- XRays of a fractured skull, ribs, fractured forearm
- Talk of physical torture and blood
than please avoid this section for your own sake. Thank you
♠ 'THE MECHANIC' LORE ♠]
No one would have suspected that the next interaction between the puppeteer and the mechanic would be so violent. No one ever saw the attack coming, or the broadcast that followed.
It all went to hell for the Mechanic after Yong-sun Seong discovered the Mechanic’s identity. She snitched his identity to Ezio, who is a reporter for Karakura News and a higher-up in a rival gang. But that's not all, Ernesto Martinez threatened to arrest the Mechanic and that it was better to simply turn himself into KPD, he couldn’t afford any of that. So he attacked Yaban Heddo, Ernesto’s girlfriend at the time. Right after the attack, he changed his legal name and his identity. Officially changing from Lucian Martinez to someone else. After all of that, he wanted to get revenge against Ernesto and KPD, he couldn’t just sit there and let KPD have the upper hand against him, so he created a plan. To expose Ernesto Martinez for his corruption with the Mechanic on live city-wide news. But to do that, he had to get his hands on his reporter, and he chose to go for Darius Ikemori.
Darius and the Mechanic had prior interactions with his older report, which was based on the Mechanic’s attacks. But the last time, Darius had the upper hand because of an audio file he had where the Mechanic mentioned Ernesto’s involvement, because of this upper hand he was able to take control of the situation and get out of it scott-free and with favor.
So now, the Mechanic wanted to have the upper hand against Darius. He wanted to control the report, and the broadcast, the Mechanic wanted full power and control over the situation and he knew the only way he could do that was to attack Ikemori. After all, to the Mechanic’s knowledge, Darius didn’t care for anyone in the city but himself. So, if that was the case, the Mechanic had to go straight for the source.
So on March 17th, 2024 he grabbed a bat and katana and his gear and broke into the news station through one of the many windows on the first floor. At the time, Darius was in his office working on his latest report, so he wasn’t paying attention or expecting anything to happen. At the most, he expected Ezio or Valentino to burst through his door, but he never would have predicted what would come next. The Mechanic crept up the stairs, the katana sheathed at that moment and the bat in his right hand. He approached the door and knocked gently, making it seem like it was nothing out of the ordinary
‘Come in’
Darius said, but no response. He repeated himself but again nothing. He sighed and annoyed walked towards the door and opened it up, where right when he did so the Mechanic unsheathed the katana and slashed it across his chest, the katana cutting into the wooden door frames. Darius stumbled back in confusion, surprise, and shock as blood started to begin to stain his white outfit. He quickly caught himself through and eyed down the Mechanic, who stood at the entrance to his office armed. As adrenaline began to pump through both of their veins and venom they both knew this could only end in two ways.
A fight broke out between the two. The Mechanic lunged towards Darius attempting to slash across his chest again though he leaned back and dodged it, quickly countering it with an uppercut directly towards his lower abdomen. While the Mechanic had the advantage of being armed, this meant both his hands were occupied which slowed his movements, especially with the size of the weapons he used. It made it harder for the Mechanic to maneuver around the already tight office. As Darius landed the uppercut the Mechanic leaned forward and let out a groan from the hit through it only stunned him for a moment. Just enough time for Darius to land a nasty right hook to the Mechanic's temple. His head slammed into the glass panels that were connected to Darius’s office. As soon as the Mechanic slammed against the glass, Darius attempted to go for another direct hit to his gut, but the Mechanic used his katana and aimed the blade directly at where Darius’s fist was going. He first made contact with the blade, the katana cutting into his knuckles as the Mechanic successfully countered the hit. Darius groaned in pain as he quickly pulled his fist out from the blade while he was distracted the Mechanic slammed the metal bat into his side. Due to how close they were, it didn't land a strong enough impact to break his ribs, but it landed a hit that caused Darius to stumble back against the back wall of his office.
As he slammed against the back wall the Mechanic lunged towards him with the katana, aiming it directly for his stomach. Darius slumped down and landed on his butt, his knees tucked in. He quickly leaned back and sprung his legs forward as soon as the Mechanic was close enough, his feet launching directly into the Mechanic’s gut. As the Mechanic held back the urge to vomit, he flung backward and landed on his back at the foot of the door’s entrance. Darius quickly stood up and while he was still on his back he lifted his foot and attempted to stomp directly down onto the Mechanic’s kneecap to disable him. But the Mechanic threw his weapons behind him and barrel rolled backward and out of the office before the stomp landed. His foot crashed into the floor with a thud as the Mechanic quickly retrieved his weapons and stood back up. He lifted his mask only to reveal his mouth, and spit out some flem, vomit, and saliva onto the floor as he stood there, facing Darius who stood at the entrance to his office.
‘You fight well Ikemori, it’s clear that whatever your past had in store for you taught you well. But, in the end, if I have to kill you to get this report out then so be it.'
‘Try your worst Mechanic.’
Darius stated as he lunged towards him, sending his right fist against directly his gut. The Mechanic swiftly jumped to the right as his fist slammed into the wooden desk, leaving an imprint behind. He groaned in pain as his fingers sprained upon impact from the thick wood. Both of Ikemori’s fists were wounded now. One slashed down the middle of his knuckles and the other had sprained knuckles. He couldn’t keep fighting like this for much longer.
ORANGE = SPRAINS/FRACTURES
The Mechanic tried to slam the bat into his head while he was distracted but he swiftly leaned back and dodged it again, the bat slamming into the table and breaking part of it. Darius lunged back and turned to face the Mechanic who now stood in the middle of the hallway, his breathing was heavy and so was the Mechanic’s though adrenaline was pumping through both of their veins. The pain numbed by it.
The Mechanic was first to dash towards Darius, aiming the bat for his skull. Now with a more open area, Darius began to bob and weave the bat swings as much as he could, leaning back and ducking down, jumping back then to the side. Whatever it took to dodge the hits. He dodged at least 7 swings before one of them swung directly towards his head. Darius lifted his arm and used his right forearm to block the hit. CRACK! His forearm broke upon the impact and pushed him into the wall.
PURPLE = BREAKING OF BONES
The Mechanic chuckled as he attempted to pierce his katana into his gut while he was against the wall, but Darius swiftly moved, the blade piercing through the wall instead. Using his cut-up knuckle he launched a nasty uppercut directly to the Mechanic’s chin. He stumbled as the hit landed and Darius took this time to land even more hits to his body. Darius groaned in pain as he slammed both of the sprained and cut-up fist into the Mechanic’s gut and temple. He landed at least 5 large blows before the Mechanic was able to swing the bat directly into his right kneecap. His knee sprained upon impact and he lost his balance and stumbled to the floor slightly.
Right at this moment the Mechanic took his opportunity to slam the bat against his temple, then his skull, then his gut. All three hits landed head-on and were harsh. Ikemori slammed against the back wall of the hallway, his vision blurry as his head rattled against his skull. His skull becoming bruised, the cut on his chest leaking across the floor and staining his shirt, and his knuckle bleeding now. The cut is much worse now too. The Mechanic chuckled as he slowly approached Ikemori, grabbing the katana out of the wall.
As soon as the Mechanic got close enough, Darius used his last remaining strength and adrenaline to push himself up towards his body. His head still rattled, his vision still recovering. He pulled his right arm back, the one with the sliced knuckle, and sent it directly to his solar plexus. A part of the body directly under the ribcage. This part of the body if hit hard enough will cause the user immense pain, and cause all the air to be forced out of the lungs. But also, make it impossible to catch their breath for a few seconds. As the hit landed he gasped for air and stumbled back, the katana dropped to the floor, and lost all of his balance. Darius took the opportunity to stand himself up and launched a nasty uppercut directly toward the Mechanic’s right arm, disarming him and causing him to drop the bat and lose even more balance. Darius dashed behind the Mechanic and swept his legs then quickly put him in a chokehold, his non-injured forearm wrapping around his neck like how a boa constrictor wraps around its prey. The Mechanic already didn’t have air in his lungs, and because of the hit, it made it hard to get air back into his system, and now. With the chokehold, he only had a few seconds till he would pass out. A total of 10 seconds.
As the Mechanic’s face turned blue, he squirmed and attempted to get out of the grasp. But he was in a lot of pain from the hit to his solar plexus, he didn’t have much air left. He didn’t have the strength to fight back. But, in the last 7 seconds of air, he kicked his bat towards himself, grabbed it, and slammed it directly into Ikemori’s skull with 5 seconds remaining. Darius’s brain retaliated against his skull as his body tensed up, then relaxed as Darius passed out onto the floor with a thud. The Mechanic gasped for air, taking a minute or two to recover himself. His body was aching now as the adrenaline slowed down. Using the bat as a cane, he stood himself up and looked down upon the injured and knocked-out reporter. He chuckled, poor poor Darius.
As the Mechanic recovered, he quickly barricaded the doors by the main entrance, but, in the rush to get back to Darius before he woke up, he forgot the backdoor. A mistake that would save Darius in the end.
As Darius woke up his head pounded like a fast and harsh pacing drum. He groaned as his eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry as the concussion began to slowly form itself in his brain. Darius looked around as he regained enough consciousness to know something was wrong. He was in his office, and before him stood the Mechanic. The moment Darius saw him he attempted to lunge towards him but… he was tied down. His upper body and ankles were tied to the couch. He squirmed attempting to get out of it, but it was too tight. He was trapped, his head pounding due to the concussion, his cuts stinging now, and the bruises and sprains that he had gained pulsated through his body. He was in a lot of pain, an uncomfortable amount of it. The concussion he had gained caused him to fade in and out of consciousness, he wasn’t able to swap any personalities. He didn’t have control over his brain like he had before
‘You fought very well Ikemori! I’m impressed truth be told. It was fun to have such a thrilling fight again with such a large reward at the end of it. It sucks that I have to do this to you, but I can’t have you fighting back anymore. You will. Do. The. Report.”
The Mechanic knew Darius wouldn’t go down without any sort of fight. Even with his injuries, he was still trying to free himself and attack the Mechanic. He knew that the only way he would be able to have full control over the situation was to beat fear into Darius’s mind and heart. He chuckled as he picked up the bat and katana. He gagged him up to prevent Darius from making noise, and without any more waiting he swung the bat into his gut, then his left rib cage shattering it upon impact. He dropped his bat and beat Darius with his fists and feet, kicking him in the gut, face, neck, skull, legs, everywhere he could. His skull fractured during the process. Darius groaned in pain, attempting to make some sort of loud noise but the gag stopped him. The Mechanic laughed as he beat the injured and tied-up reporter, he was helpless in the situation, unable to fight back or block the hits. The Mechanic then took the katana and slashed Ikemori with it. Slashing and cutting away at his chest, arms, legs, and more, cutting him shallow enough to where he wouldn’t bleed out, but deep enough to where the stinging pain would set in all over his body. He whined in pain, squirmed, and tried to free himself but alas he couldn’t. The puppeteer had lost, he was completely helpless.
INJURIES AFTER THE TORTURE:
Darius realized that if he wanted to live, he would have to surrender and do what the Mechanic wanted. He was too weak at this point to fight back, his entire body ached and stung, and his head’s pounding became even worse as it rattled against his skull forcing him in and out of consciousness. His vision faded from normal, to blurry to black then blurry than normal again. Blood pooled up from the cuts that were cut across his entire body, staining the couch and floors like a wine stain to a carpet. Darius knew, that if he didn’t do what the Mechanic wanted, he would die here and there. He couldn’t do that, he couldn’t die. He just started loving again, making money, and getting what he wanted lifestyle-wise, he wasn’t about to lose it all. He waved his arm, indicating for the Mechanic to stop and to let him speak. So the Mechanic did, he stopped stomping on him and removed the gag, allowing Darius to speak. Darius agreed to the terms and agreed to do the report. As he agreed the Mechanic smiled under his mask, he wrote down what he wanted Darius to say in a paper prior, his plan had worked. He had full control over the report and situation.
The Mechanic picked up Ikemori by his ropes and dragged him across the floor, leaving a trail of blood going from his office to the broadcast room.
[LINK TO THE BLOOD TRAIL DOWN TO THE BROADCAST ROOM]
The Mechanic took his reporter ID and used it to gain access to the broadcast system. He then forced Darius into the seat in the live broadcast room, tying him tightly down to it, making it so he couldn’t move or fight back. And with that, he typed out what he wanted to be said, and sent it as he started the live broadcast, handing the paper to Ikemori. The shakly stared at it, fear in his heart, mind, and body as he looked down and read the paper. He didn’t want to do the report, or the broadcast, but he didn’t have a choice anymore. He was beaten practically to death, he was too weak now, and his body was injured all over. He let out a shaky breath, as the live news report started.
[LINK TO THE FORUM POST OF THE BROADCAST]
As the broadcast was sent out, The Mechanic dipped through the broken window where he had entered.
Darius was injured, and he quickly lost consciousness as the concussion and bleeding out set in. The city witnessed Darius Ikemori being tortured, on live footage. KPD was fast though, but Kazou was quicker. Kaz, his boss, was close to the scene and rushed in and removed Darius from the chair. Just at that moment KPD surrounded the building and began to figure out ways to get in. Luckily, DSI Eros Devereux was able to find the backdoor, and using the help of Ezio, he got in.
[LINK TO KPD SNEAKING IN AND FINDING DARIUS]
Darius was rushed to EMS by Eros where he quickly went into intensive surgery in hopes of saving him before he died.
His list of injuries was insane, and KPD had little time to fix them all, so they focused on the worst ones. This is the list of all the injuries Darius gained from the attack
- HORRIBLE Concussion
- Fractured Skull
- Sprained knuckles (Right Hand)
- Sprained kneecap (Right Leg)
- Broken nose
- Broken Right Ribs
- Deep cut in the middle of his knuckles (Left Hand)
- Punctured Left Lung
- Slashed Left Eye (blade didn't go all the way through so his eye would still be intact and NOT need to be removed)
- Grazed Neck (Small Cut across his Adam's apple, equivalent to a cat's scratch)
- Shallow cuts and slices across his upper torso, and arms
- Slight rope burn from the ropes being too tight
- Bruises across his face, back of his head, ribs, arms, and chest
EMS performed emergency surgery in the trauma room, doing a lung transplant to prevent him from bleeding out. They then handled the small cuts around his body, hand, and neck making sure to prevent any form of bleeding that may occur. They then realized that the fracture to his skull may be causing a brain bleed, so they rushed him up to the MRI to ensure it wasn’t and luckily for them, there was no brain bleed. But, little did they know Darius was slowly dying.
As they rushed him up to the surgical room, preparing him for the brain fracture surgery, his heart rate dropped dramatically. What EMS forgot to consider was how much stress his body had been going through in the last 3 hours. He had gotten beaten practically to death, slashed everywhere, stabbed, his concussion altogether was already so much stress on his body. Not to consider the mental stress he was dealing with too. And now to add onto that, 3 EMS workers were poking and prodding at him, injecting fluids, checking dilation, transporting him to rooms, and even cutting him open for a lung transplant. All of these factors put so much stress on Ikemori's heart and brain. His heart was already stressing and overworking trying to pump blood back into the body as it bled out from the large amount of cuts he had gained. And his poor brain was concussed so badly he was constantly fading in and out of consciousness. So, finally, his heart began to give out. His heart rate began to drop, going from an already slow heartbeat of 87 BPM to a staggering 42 BPM in a mere few seconds. And it only got slower, and worse with time.
Paramedic Moth Sin and Surgon Masuyo rushed to Darius’s aid. Moth injected him with adrenaline 3 times over to help his body fight back and regain the strength it needed to last a bit longer, but that wasn’t enough. She yelled to get the defibrillator as his heart rate dropped even more. Going from 42 to 35 BPM in a matter of 15 seconds. At the rate he was going, Darius Ikemori would be dead in under 3 minutes. Moth began to do compressions on his chest which only made it worse. She was pressing against a newly transported lung, still injured ribs, and more.
Hope for the poor reporter began to run thin, his heart rate did not increase whatsoever. It was only dropping faster. After another 10 seconds and EMS getting the defibrillator in place, his heart rate dropped again from 35 to 29 BPM. Sweven turned on the defibrillator and charged them up before placing them against his chest. As the machine pushed a harsh and strong electrical current directly through his muscles, veins, organs, and more his chest lifted from the table for a second before crashing back down. As the electricity reached his heart, it gave it a small boost of energy. The boost that it needed, but it wasn't enough. His heart rate raised back to 36 BPM only to begin to drop right back down to 24 BPM at a much faster right. The defib gave his body a boost, but for right now, it was nothing more than a boost. His heart rate began to drop again
As soon as EMS noticed this change they charged up the second shot and hit Darius with the defibrillator again. The electrical current shocked through his body once more and into his heart. His heart rate spiked as the electrical current pierced into it. It rose back up to 29 BPM and stayed like that for a moment, before it began to drop once again, this time dropping faster. Darius's body was so heavily injured that while the defibrillator was helping jump-start his heart, it was harming his body in the process. It only put more stress on his already wounded and exhausted body. His body, even with the adrenaline was so drained physically, mentally, emotionally, and all of the above. He was dealing with external and internal damage, concussions so bad one more hit would have sent him into a comma, and more. His body was tired, his heart was tired, and his mind was tired. And it was showing. His heart rate dropped again, to 20 BPM. It was dropping by BPM every second now.
EMS noticed this and realized at this rate, he only had around 10 seconds before his heart would stop, and he would die. They quickly charged up the final defibrillator shot, this was their last hope. Right before Sweven pushed it against his chest Darius's heart rate was at a staggering 14 BPM, though before it could get any lower he sent the electrical current through his body for one, final, time.
With a miracle, it worked. The electrical current combined with the three shots of adrenaline was just enough to jump-start his heart. It stopped decreasing, stopping at 13 BPM. It slowly began to rise, very slowly though but it was going up. They had successfully stabilized him enough to keep him alive for now. The EMS workers rested for a second, allowing Darius's heart to stabilize and allowing themselves to catch a quick break
But, with his other injuries and exhaustion to his body, once that adrenaline wore down he may die. He still had the fractured skull issue, so EMS's break was quickly cut off their much-needed break
Once he was stabilized they got to work on his fractured skull, then the remaining injuries. Darius was later admitted to the ICU where he would spend the next 30 [OOCLY] days in recovery. His body was so exhausted, so worn down from all that had happened in 3 hours that even after a 24-hour timespan and being on a large number of painkillers and more, he could only stay conscious for less than a minute before passing back out due to the concussion. He had no sense of reality despite it being 24+ hours since his surgery. His brain was so worn down and exhausted after all the internal, external mental, AND emotional stress it had faced in such a short period that it could barely function plus the horrible concussion made it even worse. His vision would be impaired for a while, constantly in a blurry state and sensitive to any sort of bright light. Any loud sounds too would cause him immense amounts of pain, so much pain that he may pass out. His ability to manipulate was broken and destroyed for the time being, though he would make a full recovery. For the next 30 days, the abilities that he had mastered had become a mere memory to him. After all, that ability to calculate and adjust to his opponent's next moves and emotions took a lot of brain power to do so, and right now due to the concussion and overall damage done to his brain and body, he didn't even have the brain power to stay awake for more than 5 minutes.
Though, after all that, the Mechanic was able to get away from KPD and still roam the streets of Karakura, under a new identity. As for the news station, it was closed until further notice while the reporters and KPD figured out what to do with the blood and damage left behind by the fight
Emotionally though, Darius has been affected by the situation. The attack and torture he went through in such a short period made him afraid of the Mechanic ever so slightly. Darius isn't fully afraid of him, mainly because in his head the Mechanic was only able to do so much damage to him because he was able to knock Darius out. But, Darius almost won the fight. He has gained some trauma from the event, that trauma carrying the emotional baggage of being afraid to go against the Mechanic again. But, that part of him has been suppressed, hidden from the world. All the world will see instead of this baggage, is Darius wanting to find the Mechanic and get revenge against him in a proper, 1 v 1. No sneak attacks, no weapons, just, fists.
For once though, all 5 of his tarot cards that represent his fate, emotions, and situations he will/did feel in the past, present and future all are on the negative side. Including, the tower.
[OOCLY NOTE: I want to take this time to thank everyone who took part in the event for making it go so well! So here are a few shoutouts!! Shoutout to @Aania for playing Kazuo DeLucan and allowing me and Dark to do the event. Thank you to @Popo who played the Mechanic. I had a lot of fun writing the actions out and broadcasting with you (even though I did all the writing..) but you fixed my grammar so that's always a W. Then thank you to of course all the officers that took part being @Hirathex who rped out the DSI, @ceruleanrocket who rped out Osora Kosoru the detective, @will! who rped out Akisada Akihito and @Classicalist for rping Korkoro Asogi!
AS FOR OUR LOVELY EMS WORKERS WHO KICKED ASS AT SAVING DARIUS I want to thank @gothicb1h who played Masuyo Hashimoto. @lobsterrdog who rped Sweven R. Von. Moltek. @mistoreya who rped out Verena Asogi. @lamby :3 who rped out Moth Sin. And finally @svftbun who rped out Maemi Usui!!
Overall thank you to these people specifically for being directly involved and taking part in the event, I hope you all had fun!! LOVE YOU GUYS <3
No one would have suspected that the next interaction between the puppeteer and the mechanic would be so violent. No one ever saw the attack coming, or the broadcast that followed.
It all went to hell for the Mechanic after Yong-sun Seong discovered the Mechanic’s identity. She snitched his identity to Ezio, who is a reporter for Karakura News and a higher-up in a rival gang. But that's not all, Ernesto Martinez threatened to arrest the Mechanic and that it was better to simply turn himself into KPD, he couldn’t afford any of that. So he attacked Yaban Heddo, Ernesto’s girlfriend at the time. Right after the attack, he changed his legal name and his identity. Officially changing from Lucian Martinez to someone else. After all of that, he wanted to get revenge against Ernesto and KPD, he couldn’t just sit there and let KPD have the upper hand against him, so he created a plan. To expose Ernesto Martinez for his corruption with the Mechanic on live city-wide news. But to do that, he had to get his hands on his reporter, and he chose to go for Darius Ikemori.
Darius and the Mechanic had prior interactions with his older report, which was based on the Mechanic’s attacks. But the last time, Darius had the upper hand because of an audio file he had where the Mechanic mentioned Ernesto’s involvement, because of this upper hand he was able to take control of the situation and get out of it scott-free and with favor.
So now, the Mechanic wanted to have the upper hand against Darius. He wanted to control the report, and the broadcast, the Mechanic wanted full power and control over the situation and he knew the only way he could do that was to attack Ikemori. After all, to the Mechanic’s knowledge, Darius didn’t care for anyone in the city but himself. So, if that was the case, the Mechanic had to go straight for the source.
So on March 17th, 2024 he grabbed a bat and katana and his gear and broke into the news station through one of the many windows on the first floor. At the time, Darius was in his office working on his latest report, so he wasn’t paying attention or expecting anything to happen. At the most, he expected Ezio or Valentino to burst through his door, but he never would have predicted what would come next. The Mechanic crept up the stairs, the katana sheathed at that moment and the bat in his right hand. He approached the door and knocked gently, making it seem like it was nothing out of the ordinary
‘Come in’
Darius said, but no response. He repeated himself but again nothing. He sighed and annoyed walked towards the door and opened it up, where right when he did so the Mechanic unsheathed the katana and slashed it across his chest, the katana cutting into the wooden door frames. Darius stumbled back in confusion, surprise, and shock as blood started to begin to stain his white outfit. He quickly caught himself through and eyed down the Mechanic, who stood at the entrance to his office armed. As adrenaline began to pump through both of their veins and venom they both knew this could only end in two ways.
A fight broke out between the two. The Mechanic lunged towards Darius attempting to slash across his chest again though he leaned back and dodged it, quickly countering it with an uppercut directly towards his lower abdomen. While the Mechanic had the advantage of being armed, this meant both his hands were occupied which slowed his movements, especially with the size of the weapons he used. It made it harder for the Mechanic to maneuver around the already tight office. As Darius landed the uppercut the Mechanic leaned forward and let out a groan from the hit through it only stunned him for a moment. Just enough time for Darius to land a nasty right hook to the Mechanic's temple. His head slammed into the glass panels that were connected to Darius’s office. As soon as the Mechanic slammed against the glass, Darius attempted to go for another direct hit to his gut, but the Mechanic used his katana and aimed the blade directly at where Darius’s fist was going. He first made contact with the blade, the katana cutting into his knuckles as the Mechanic successfully countered the hit. Darius groaned in pain as he quickly pulled his fist out from the blade while he was distracted the Mechanic slammed the metal bat into his side. Due to how close they were, it didn't land a strong enough impact to break his ribs, but it landed a hit that caused Darius to stumble back against the back wall of his office.
As he slammed against the back wall the Mechanic lunged towards him with the katana, aiming it directly for his stomach. Darius slumped down and landed on his butt, his knees tucked in. He quickly leaned back and sprung his legs forward as soon as the Mechanic was close enough, his feet launching directly into the Mechanic’s gut. As the Mechanic held back the urge to vomit, he flung backward and landed on his back at the foot of the door’s entrance. Darius quickly stood up and while he was still on his back he lifted his foot and attempted to stomp directly down onto the Mechanic’s kneecap to disable him. But the Mechanic threw his weapons behind him and barrel rolled backward and out of the office before the stomp landed. His foot crashed into the floor with a thud as the Mechanic quickly retrieved his weapons and stood back up. He lifted his mask only to reveal his mouth, and spit out some flem, vomit, and saliva onto the floor as he stood there, facing Darius who stood at the entrance to his office.
‘You fight well Ikemori, it’s clear that whatever your past had in store for you taught you well. But, in the end, if I have to kill you to get this report out then so be it.'
‘Try your worst Mechanic.’
Darius stated as he lunged towards him, sending his right fist against directly his gut. The Mechanic swiftly jumped to the right as his fist slammed into the wooden desk, leaving an imprint behind. He groaned in pain as his fingers sprained upon impact from the thick wood. Both of Ikemori’s fists were wounded now. One slashed down the middle of his knuckles and the other had sprained knuckles. He couldn’t keep fighting like this for much longer.
ORANGE = SPRAINS/FRACTURES
The Mechanic tried to slam the bat into his head while he was distracted but he swiftly leaned back and dodged it again, the bat slamming into the table and breaking part of it. Darius lunged back and turned to face the Mechanic who now stood in the middle of the hallway, his breathing was heavy and so was the Mechanic’s though adrenaline was pumping through both of their veins. The pain numbed by it.
The Mechanic was first to dash towards Darius, aiming the bat for his skull. Now with a more open area, Darius began to bob and weave the bat swings as much as he could, leaning back and ducking down, jumping back then to the side. Whatever it took to dodge the hits. He dodged at least 7 swings before one of them swung directly towards his head. Darius lifted his arm and used his right forearm to block the hit. CRACK! His forearm broke upon the impact and pushed him into the wall.
PURPLE = BREAKING OF BONES
The Mechanic chuckled as he attempted to pierce his katana into his gut while he was against the wall, but Darius swiftly moved, the blade piercing through the wall instead. Using his cut-up knuckle he launched a nasty uppercut directly to the Mechanic’s chin. He stumbled as the hit landed and Darius took this time to land even more hits to his body. Darius groaned in pain as he slammed both of the sprained and cut-up fist into the Mechanic’s gut and temple. He landed at least 5 large blows before the Mechanic was able to swing the bat directly into his right kneecap. His knee sprained upon impact and he lost his balance and stumbled to the floor slightly.
Right at this moment the Mechanic took his opportunity to slam the bat against his temple, then his skull, then his gut. All three hits landed head-on and were harsh. Ikemori slammed against the back wall of the hallway, his vision blurry as his head rattled against his skull. His skull becoming bruised, the cut on his chest leaking across the floor and staining his shirt, and his knuckle bleeding now. The cut is much worse now too. The Mechanic chuckled as he slowly approached Ikemori, grabbing the katana out of the wall.
As soon as the Mechanic got close enough, Darius used his last remaining strength and adrenaline to push himself up towards his body. His head still rattled, his vision still recovering. He pulled his right arm back, the one with the sliced knuckle, and sent it directly to his solar plexus. A part of the body directly under the ribcage. This part of the body if hit hard enough will cause the user immense pain, and cause all the air to be forced out of the lungs. But also, make it impossible to catch their breath for a few seconds. As the hit landed he gasped for air and stumbled back, the katana dropped to the floor, and lost all of his balance. Darius took the opportunity to stand himself up and launched a nasty uppercut directly toward the Mechanic’s right arm, disarming him and causing him to drop the bat and lose even more balance. Darius dashed behind the Mechanic and swept his legs then quickly put him in a chokehold, his non-injured forearm wrapping around his neck like how a boa constrictor wraps around its prey. The Mechanic already didn’t have air in his lungs, and because of the hit, it made it hard to get air back into his system, and now. With the chokehold, he only had a few seconds till he would pass out. A total of 10 seconds.
As the Mechanic’s face turned blue, he squirmed and attempted to get out of the grasp. But he was in a lot of pain from the hit to his solar plexus, he didn’t have much air left. He didn’t have the strength to fight back. But, in the last 7 seconds of air, he kicked his bat towards himself, grabbed it, and slammed it directly into Ikemori’s skull with 5 seconds remaining. Darius’s brain retaliated against his skull as his body tensed up, then relaxed as Darius passed out onto the floor with a thud. The Mechanic gasped for air, taking a minute or two to recover himself. His body was aching now as the adrenaline slowed down. Using the bat as a cane, he stood himself up and looked down upon the injured and knocked-out reporter. He chuckled, poor poor Darius.
As the Mechanic recovered, he quickly barricaded the doors by the main entrance, but, in the rush to get back to Darius before he woke up, he forgot the backdoor. A mistake that would save Darius in the end.
As Darius woke up his head pounded like a fast and harsh pacing drum. He groaned as his eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry as the concussion began to slowly form itself in his brain. Darius looked around as he regained enough consciousness to know something was wrong. He was in his office, and before him stood the Mechanic. The moment Darius saw him he attempted to lunge towards him but… he was tied down. His upper body and ankles were tied to the couch. He squirmed attempting to get out of it, but it was too tight. He was trapped, his head pounding due to the concussion, his cuts stinging now, and the bruises and sprains that he had gained pulsated through his body. He was in a lot of pain, an uncomfortable amount of it. The concussion he had gained caused him to fade in and out of consciousness, he wasn’t able to swap any personalities. He didn’t have control over his brain like he had before
‘You fought very well Ikemori! I’m impressed truth be told. It was fun to have such a thrilling fight again with such a large reward at the end of it. It sucks that I have to do this to you, but I can’t have you fighting back anymore. You will. Do. The. Report.”
The Mechanic knew Darius wouldn’t go down without any sort of fight. Even with his injuries, he was still trying to free himself and attack the Mechanic. He knew that the only way he would be able to have full control over the situation was to beat fear into Darius’s mind and heart. He chuckled as he picked up the bat and katana. He gagged him up to prevent Darius from making noise, and without any more waiting he swung the bat into his gut, then his left rib cage shattering it upon impact. He dropped his bat and beat Darius with his fists and feet, kicking him in the gut, face, neck, skull, legs, everywhere he could. His skull fractured during the process. Darius groaned in pain, attempting to make some sort of loud noise but the gag stopped him. The Mechanic laughed as he beat the injured and tied-up reporter, he was helpless in the situation, unable to fight back or block the hits. The Mechanic then took the katana and slashed Ikemori with it. Slashing and cutting away at his chest, arms, legs, and more, cutting him shallow enough to where he wouldn’t bleed out, but deep enough to where the stinging pain would set in all over his body. He whined in pain, squirmed, and tried to free himself but alas he couldn’t. The puppeteer had lost, he was completely helpless.
INJURIES AFTER THE TORTURE:
Darius realized that if he wanted to live, he would have to surrender and do what the Mechanic wanted. He was too weak at this point to fight back, his entire body ached and stung, and his head’s pounding became even worse as it rattled against his skull forcing him in and out of consciousness. His vision faded from normal, to blurry to black then blurry than normal again. Blood pooled up from the cuts that were cut across his entire body, staining the couch and floors like a wine stain to a carpet. Darius knew, that if he didn’t do what the Mechanic wanted, he would die here and there. He couldn’t do that, he couldn’t die. He just started loving again, making money, and getting what he wanted lifestyle-wise, he wasn’t about to lose it all. He waved his arm, indicating for the Mechanic to stop and to let him speak. So the Mechanic did, he stopped stomping on him and removed the gag, allowing Darius to speak. Darius agreed to the terms and agreed to do the report. As he agreed the Mechanic smiled under his mask, he wrote down what he wanted Darius to say in a paper prior, his plan had worked. He had full control over the report and situation.
The Mechanic picked up Ikemori by his ropes and dragged him across the floor, leaving a trail of blood going from his office to the broadcast room.
[LINK TO THE BLOOD TRAIL DOWN TO THE BROADCAST ROOM]
The Mechanic took his reporter ID and used it to gain access to the broadcast system. He then forced Darius into the seat in the live broadcast room, tying him tightly down to it, making it so he couldn’t move or fight back. And with that, he typed out what he wanted to be said, and sent it as he started the live broadcast, handing the paper to Ikemori. The shakly stared at it, fear in his heart, mind, and body as he looked down and read the paper. He didn’t want to do the report, or the broadcast, but he didn’t have a choice anymore. He was beaten practically to death, he was too weak now, and his body was injured all over. He let out a shaky breath, as the live news report started.
[LINK TO THE FORUM POST OF THE BROADCAST]
As the broadcast was sent out, The Mechanic dipped through the broken window where he had entered.
Darius was injured, and he quickly lost consciousness as the concussion and bleeding out set in. The city witnessed Darius Ikemori being tortured, on live footage. KPD was fast though, but Kazou was quicker. Kaz, his boss, was close to the scene and rushed in and removed Darius from the chair. Just at that moment KPD surrounded the building and began to figure out ways to get in. Luckily, DSI Eros Devereux was able to find the backdoor, and using the help of Ezio, he got in.
[LINK TO KPD SNEAKING IN AND FINDING DARIUS]
Darius was rushed to EMS by Eros where he quickly went into intensive surgery in hopes of saving him before he died.
His list of injuries was insane, and KPD had little time to fix them all, so they focused on the worst ones. This is the list of all the injuries Darius gained from the attack
- HORRIBLE Concussion
- Fractured Skull
- Sprained knuckles (Right Hand)
- Sprained kneecap (Right Leg)
- Broken nose
- Broken Right Ribs
- Deep cut in the middle of his knuckles (Left Hand)
- Punctured Left Lung
- Slashed Left Eye (blade didn't go all the way through so his eye would still be intact and NOT need to be removed)
- Grazed Neck (Small Cut across his Adam's apple, equivalent to a cat's scratch)
- Shallow cuts and slices across his upper torso, and arms
- Slight rope burn from the ropes being too tight
- Bruises across his face, back of his head, ribs, arms, and chest
EMS performed emergency surgery in the trauma room, doing a lung transplant to prevent him from bleeding out. They then handled the small cuts around his body, hand, and neck making sure to prevent any form of bleeding that may occur. They then realized that the fracture to his skull may be causing a brain bleed, so they rushed him up to the MRI to ensure it wasn’t and luckily for them, there was no brain bleed. But, little did they know Darius was slowly dying.
As they rushed him up to the surgical room, preparing him for the brain fracture surgery, his heart rate dropped dramatically. What EMS forgot to consider was how much stress his body had been going through in the last 3 hours. He had gotten beaten practically to death, slashed everywhere, stabbed, his concussion altogether was already so much stress on his body. Not to consider the mental stress he was dealing with too. And now to add onto that, 3 EMS workers were poking and prodding at him, injecting fluids, checking dilation, transporting him to rooms, and even cutting him open for a lung transplant. All of these factors put so much stress on Ikemori's heart and brain. His heart was already stressing and overworking trying to pump blood back into the body as it bled out from the large amount of cuts he had gained. And his poor brain was concussed so badly he was constantly fading in and out of consciousness. So, finally, his heart began to give out. His heart rate began to drop, going from an already slow heartbeat of 87 BPM to a staggering 42 BPM in a mere few seconds. And it only got slower, and worse with time.
Paramedic Moth Sin and Surgon Masuyo rushed to Darius’s aid. Moth injected him with adrenaline 3 times over to help his body fight back and regain the strength it needed to last a bit longer, but that wasn’t enough. She yelled to get the defibrillator as his heart rate dropped even more. Going from 42 to 35 BPM in a matter of 15 seconds. At the rate he was going, Darius Ikemori would be dead in under 3 minutes. Moth began to do compressions on his chest which only made it worse. She was pressing against a newly transported lung, still injured ribs, and more.
Hope for the poor reporter began to run thin, his heart rate did not increase whatsoever. It was only dropping faster. After another 10 seconds and EMS getting the defibrillator in place, his heart rate dropped again from 35 to 29 BPM. Sweven turned on the defibrillator and charged them up before placing them against his chest. As the machine pushed a harsh and strong electrical current directly through his muscles, veins, organs, and more his chest lifted from the table for a second before crashing back down. As the electricity reached his heart, it gave it a small boost of energy. The boost that it needed, but it wasn't enough. His heart rate raised back to 36 BPM only to begin to drop right back down to 24 BPM at a much faster right. The defib gave his body a boost, but for right now, it was nothing more than a boost. His heart rate began to drop again
As soon as EMS noticed this change they charged up the second shot and hit Darius with the defibrillator again. The electrical current shocked through his body once more and into his heart. His heart rate spiked as the electrical current pierced into it. It rose back up to 29 BPM and stayed like that for a moment, before it began to drop once again, this time dropping faster. Darius's body was so heavily injured that while the defibrillator was helping jump-start his heart, it was harming his body in the process. It only put more stress on his already wounded and exhausted body. His body, even with the adrenaline was so drained physically, mentally, emotionally, and all of the above. He was dealing with external and internal damage, concussions so bad one more hit would have sent him into a comma, and more. His body was tired, his heart was tired, and his mind was tired. And it was showing. His heart rate dropped again, to 20 BPM. It was dropping by BPM every second now.
EMS noticed this and realized at this rate, he only had around 10 seconds before his heart would stop, and he would die. They quickly charged up the final defibrillator shot, this was their last hope. Right before Sweven pushed it against his chest Darius's heart rate was at a staggering 14 BPM, though before it could get any lower he sent the electrical current through his body for one, final, time.
With a miracle, it worked. The electrical current combined with the three shots of adrenaline was just enough to jump-start his heart. It stopped decreasing, stopping at 13 BPM. It slowly began to rise, very slowly though but it was going up. They had successfully stabilized him enough to keep him alive for now. The EMS workers rested for a second, allowing Darius's heart to stabilize and allowing themselves to catch a quick break
But, with his other injuries and exhaustion to his body, once that adrenaline wore down he may die. He still had the fractured skull issue, so EMS's break was quickly cut off their much-needed break
Once he was stabilized they got to work on his fractured skull, then the remaining injuries. Darius was later admitted to the ICU where he would spend the next 30 [OOCLY] days in recovery. His body was so exhausted, so worn down from all that had happened in 3 hours that even after a 24-hour timespan and being on a large number of painkillers and more, he could only stay conscious for less than a minute before passing back out due to the concussion. He had no sense of reality despite it being 24+ hours since his surgery. His brain was so worn down and exhausted after all the internal, external mental, AND emotional stress it had faced in such a short period that it could barely function plus the horrible concussion made it even worse. His vision would be impaired for a while, constantly in a blurry state and sensitive to any sort of bright light. Any loud sounds too would cause him immense amounts of pain, so much pain that he may pass out. His ability to manipulate was broken and destroyed for the time being, though he would make a full recovery. For the next 30 days, the abilities that he had mastered had become a mere memory to him. After all, that ability to calculate and adjust to his opponent's next moves and emotions took a lot of brain power to do so, and right now due to the concussion and overall damage done to his brain and body, he didn't even have the brain power to stay awake for more than 5 minutes.
Though, after all that, the Mechanic was able to get away from KPD and still roam the streets of Karakura, under a new identity. As for the news station, it was closed until further notice while the reporters and KPD figured out what to do with the blood and damage left behind by the fight
Emotionally though, Darius has been affected by the situation. The attack and torture he went through in such a short period made him afraid of the Mechanic ever so slightly. Darius isn't fully afraid of him, mainly because in his head the Mechanic was only able to do so much damage to him because he was able to knock Darius out. But, Darius almost won the fight. He has gained some trauma from the event, that trauma carrying the emotional baggage of being afraid to go against the Mechanic again. But, that part of him has been suppressed, hidden from the world. All the world will see instead of this baggage, is Darius wanting to find the Mechanic and get revenge against him in a proper, 1 v 1. No sneak attacks, no weapons, just, fists.
For once though, all 5 of his tarot cards that represent his fate, emotions, and situations he will/did feel in the past, present and future all are on the negative side. Including, the tower.
[OOCLY NOTE: I want to take this time to thank everyone who took part in the event for making it go so well! So here are a few shoutouts!! Shoutout to @Aania for playing Kazuo DeLucan and allowing me and Dark to do the event. Thank you to @Popo who played the Mechanic. I had a lot of fun writing the actions out and broadcasting with you (even though I did all the writing..) but you fixed my grammar so that's always a W. Then thank you to of course all the officers that took part being @Hirathex who rped out the DSI, @ceruleanrocket who rped out Osora Kosoru the detective, @will! who rped out Akisada Akihito and @Classicalist for rping Korkoro Asogi!
AS FOR OUR LOVELY EMS WORKERS WHO KICKED ASS AT SAVING DARIUS I want to thank @gothicb1h who played Masuyo Hashimoto. @lobsterrdog who rped Sweven R. Von. Moltek. @mistoreya who rped out Verena Asogi. @lamby :3 who rped out Moth Sin. And finally @svftbun who rped out Maemi Usui!!
Overall thank you to these people specifically for being directly involved and taking part in the event, I hope you all had fun!! LOVE YOU GUYS <3
♠ 'RECOVERY♠
[OOCLY NOTE: The days will be measured via OOCLY days to prevent confusion. 1 OOCLY day is equal to 3-4 IC days keep that in mind]
[OOCLY NOTE 2.0: There are a lot of screenshots in this section showing his interactions with the two people he saw during his recovery. It also shows how injured he actually was. Please read from left to right for the screenshots or you can skip through them]
After the surgery was complete, Darius was sent to the ICU where he would spend the next 4 months (30 OOCLY days) trapped in the room. Or so he thought.
Days 1-4 (OOCLY)
No one expected Darius's recovery process to be so slow and heartbreaking. The first few days were harsh. Because of all of Darius's injuries, it would take a lot of physical energy to recover fully. Due to his overall lack of physical energy DUE to said injuries, the recovery process was slow. Very slow. While the shallow cuts slowly began to scab then scar across his body, the deeper cuts remained there. His concussion was barely healing, and his bones slowly healing as well. It was going to be a slow and painful process for his body to gather the strength to heal him at the normal rate.
Darius's concussion was the worst of it all. Despite being on active painkillers to help with the pain from the broken bones, new lung, and cuts. His concussion still brought so much discomfort and pain into Darius's body. For the first 10 days (IC) Darius was only able to stay awake for 5-15 seconds before passing out for another 7-9 hours. And while he was awake, he was in an excruciating amount of pain. The lights from the ICU hurt him so badly that it felt as if his brain was being beaten with a metal bat over and over again. He had to constantly keep his eyes closed when awake just to weaken the pain, but even with his eyes closed some light still shined through and hurt his head like a horrific headache. Any loud sound such as just speaking in an above-average voice would hurt him horribly and cause him to pass out. Simply being awake but too much strain on his body to the point where it couldn't handle it, and he would just pass out.
Of course, he was also experiencing more pain than just that in his brain. It hurt Darius to even breathe, and he had to breathe out of his mouth due to the broken nose. With every breath his lungs expanded and pressed against his broken ribcage, causing him even more discomfort and pain. He couldn't move without feeling pain due to the immense amount of cuts spread across his damaged body. His right arm couldn't even be lifted due to his forearm breaking. He was like a mummy, trapped in a still position for who knows how long.
Besides the physical pain, the mental strain was bad too. Darius had temporarily lost his memory fully. He didn't know what happened, or who he was. He didn't remember Koizumi or Moriko, he didn't even know where he was city-wise. He was so disconnected from reality he was incapable of forming a proper sentence without it not making sense. And when he tried he stuttered with every word before passing out again in mere seconds. Darius had truly lost his grip on reality.
Around on the 16th day, things started to look up for Darius
No one expected Darius's recovery process to be so slow and heartbreaking. The first few days were harsh. Because of all of Darius's injuries, it would take a lot of physical energy to recover fully. Due to his overall lack of physical energy DUE to said injuries, the recovery process was slow. Very slow. While the shallow cuts slowly began to scab then scar across his body, the deeper cuts remained there. His concussion was barely healing, and his bones slowly healing as well. It was going to be a slow and painful process for his body to gather the strength to heal him at the normal rate.
Darius's concussion was the worst of it all. Despite being on active painkillers to help with the pain from the broken bones, new lung, and cuts. His concussion still brought so much discomfort and pain into Darius's body. For the first 10 days (IC) Darius was only able to stay awake for 5-15 seconds before passing out for another 7-9 hours. And while he was awake, he was in an excruciating amount of pain. The lights from the ICU hurt him so badly that it felt as if his brain was being beaten with a metal bat over and over again. He had to constantly keep his eyes closed when awake just to weaken the pain, but even with his eyes closed some light still shined through and hurt his head like a horrific headache. Any loud sound such as just speaking in an above-average voice would hurt him horribly and cause him to pass out. Simply being awake but too much strain on his body to the point where it couldn't handle it, and he would just pass out.
Of course, he was also experiencing more pain than just that in his brain. It hurt Darius to even breathe, and he had to breathe out of his mouth due to the broken nose. With every breath his lungs expanded and pressed against his broken ribcage, causing him even more discomfort and pain. He couldn't move without feeling pain due to the immense amount of cuts spread across his damaged body. His right arm couldn't even be lifted due to his forearm breaking. He was like a mummy, trapped in a still position for who knows how long.
Besides the physical pain, the mental strain was bad too. Darius had temporarily lost his memory fully. He didn't know what happened, or who he was. He didn't remember Koizumi or Moriko, he didn't even know where he was city-wise. He was so disconnected from reality he was incapable of forming a proper sentence without it not making sense. And when he tried he stuttered with every word before passing out again in mere seconds. Darius had truly lost his grip on reality.
Around on the 16th day, things started to look up for Darius
Days 5-9 (OOCLY)
As time went on his brain slowly was able to heal enough to gather his memories just enough to know who he was, his past, and where he was. But he still didn't remember people or the situation that sent him into this state. He was still in a large amount of discomfort, but the cuts were at least slowly healing and not as painful as they first were on those first few nights trapped in the ICU.
He was now capable of staying awake for a minimum of 30 seconds, and a maximum of 15 minutes without passing out. But only if no stress was experienced in his body during that time. Any loud sounds or bright lights would send him back into a resting state, where he would remain for hours on end. The lights had to be dimmed in his room, and even that caused him pain if he left his eyes open. So he had to sit there with his eyes shut just to decrease the pain into discomfort. Any loud sounds still caused him immense pain, EMS workers had to whisper around him just to make him feel at least comfortable in his current state. His vision was still very blurry, he couldn't make out figures and objects. As well as he didn't remember anyone.
He still had a stutter due to the pain caused by breathing, and his brain injury made it so he would often forget or stumble with his words midsentence. He couldn't remember sentences people told him unless they had a true meaning to him. So stuff like "Good morning!" he would forget they even said that in a matter of seconds
During this time, one of Darius's co-workers and friends, Valentino, wanted to visit him. Darius struggled to remember who he was, unable to picture Valentino's face or name. But he wanted answers. Darius wanted to know what happened to him, and why he was in the ICU. Why he was in so much pain.. he wanted to know even if knowing would be too much stress on his body. Darius was running out of time though. The interaction with the doctor was already putting strain on his body, he was teeter-tottering in and out of reality and consciousness from time to time. But even under this condition, he allowed Valentino to visit
Darius couldn't even remember the fact that he WAS a cop. During his time as an officer, he took on countless numbers of questions in the hospital when citizens got injured. And now, he couldn't even remember that protocol. He ended up passing out once again, resting for hours and hours on end again. And Sadly the next time he would wake up he would forget Valentino even visited
As time went on his brain slowly was able to heal enough to gather his memories just enough to know who he was, his past, and where he was. But he still didn't remember people or the situation that sent him into this state. He was still in a large amount of discomfort, but the cuts were at least slowly healing and not as painful as they first were on those first few nights trapped in the ICU.
He was now capable of staying awake for a minimum of 30 seconds, and a maximum of 15 minutes without passing out. But only if no stress was experienced in his body during that time. Any loud sounds or bright lights would send him back into a resting state, where he would remain for hours on end. The lights had to be dimmed in his room, and even that caused him pain if he left his eyes open. So he had to sit there with his eyes shut just to decrease the pain into discomfort. Any loud sounds still caused him immense pain, EMS workers had to whisper around him just to make him feel at least comfortable in his current state. His vision was still very blurry, he couldn't make out figures and objects. As well as he didn't remember anyone.
He still had a stutter due to the pain caused by breathing, and his brain injury made it so he would often forget or stumble with his words midsentence. He couldn't remember sentences people told him unless they had a true meaning to him. So stuff like "Good morning!" he would forget they even said that in a matter of seconds
During this time, one of Darius's co-workers and friends, Valentino, wanted to visit him. Darius struggled to remember who he was, unable to picture Valentino's face or name. But he wanted answers. Darius wanted to know what happened to him, and why he was in the ICU. Why he was in so much pain.. he wanted to know even if knowing would be too much stress on his body. Darius was running out of time though. The interaction with the doctor was already putting strain on his body, he was teeter-tottering in and out of reality and consciousness from time to time. But even under this condition, he allowed Valentino to visit
Darius couldn't even remember the fact that he WAS a cop. During his time as an officer, he took on countless numbers of questions in the hospital when citizens got injured. And now, he couldn't even remember that protocol. He ended up passing out once again, resting for hours and hours on end again. And Sadly the next time he would wake up he would forget Valentino even visited
Day 10-14 (OOCLY DAYS)
At this point, almost 2 months had passed in this time in recovery. Despite being in still a good amount of pain, his concussion was getting better. His memories had recovered to the point where he could remember people and names. His vision was still a bit blurry but he could finally make out figures and people, just not details in outfits and their bodies. He was able to stay awake for over an hour now, and even sit up for short periods. Though, despite making progress he was still in a good amount of discomfort. His body was still damaged and broken. His concussion still made it. so loud noises and bright lights hurt him, and too much of it would cause him to pass out. But he was finally able to hold a conversation and remember it.
Finally though, Koizumi would visit him
[
Darius begged Koizumi to tell him what happened to him. His memory was still foggy of the situation and what happened to him. He needed answers. Darius hated being bedridden, trapped in a state of weakness. He felt defeated, he felt weak as he felt his muscle mass wither away. So, after begging Koizumi, she caved in and told him. Luckily, his condition was stable enough to handle the news without passing out due to emotional stress. As soon as she told him, his memory returned like a tidal wave. He remembered everything officially.
Koizumi went after the mechanic the next day. Attempting to get revenge for what he did to Darius. Despite Darius's warnings, she ignored them. The fight would let to head losing, getting injured with a concussion. Her katana breaks, and her pet snake dies in the process. Though she held her ground, she was still no match for the Mechanic's endurance and skill.
At this point, almost 2 months had passed in this time in recovery. Despite being in still a good amount of pain, his concussion was getting better. His memories had recovered to the point where he could remember people and names. His vision was still a bit blurry but he could finally make out figures and people, just not details in outfits and their bodies. He was able to stay awake for over an hour now, and even sit up for short periods. Though, despite making progress he was still in a good amount of discomfort. His body was still damaged and broken. His concussion still made it. so loud noises and bright lights hurt him, and too much of it would cause him to pass out. But he was finally able to hold a conversation and remember it.
Finally though, Koizumi would visit him
Darius begged Koizumi to tell him what happened to him. His memory was still foggy of the situation and what happened to him. He needed answers. Darius hated being bedridden, trapped in a state of weakness. He felt defeated, he felt weak as he felt his muscle mass wither away. So, after begging Koizumi, she caved in and told him. Luckily, his condition was stable enough to handle the news without passing out due to emotional stress. As soon as she told him, his memory returned like a tidal wave. He remembered everything officially.
Koizumi went after the mechanic the next day. Attempting to get revenge for what he did to Darius. Despite Darius's warnings, she ignored them. The fight would let to head losing, getting injured with a concussion. Her katana breaks, and her pet snake dies in the process. Though she held her ground, she was still no match for the Mechanic's endurance and skill.
Days 15- Unkown..
Darius' recovery was going well. Now that he knew what happened to him, who people were again. It was just a matter of time allowing his body to make the full recovery. But.. no one would have expected what was to come next.
After the fight the Mechanic had with Koizumi, he realized something. He realized that Darius was in good enough condition to report the situation to the cops finally. The Mechanic thought for a bit, he knew Koizumi was in no shape to visit Darius due to her concussion, and her emotional stability after losing her favorite snake. Which meant she couldn't warn him about what happened. He also remembered the fact that CCTV around the news station would capture their fight. It was a risky situation, one that he would much rather leave forgotten in the past. But, with Darius's memory fully returning soon enough cops would come to question him, putting the Mechanic at risk of being caught
So, he came up with a plan. A plan that would result in the cops forgetting about the case, or more or less, giving up on it. He was going to put Darius into a comma, a comma that would make it so cops couldn't question him for a very long time. And eventually, the case would be forgotten, a case thrown away in the past. Darius's concussion was still bad enough that a single hit would do the trick. So, he grabbed the same bat he used in Darius's and his fight back at the station. And snuck into the hospital.
Using a lockpick, he picked the locks of the EMS's doors and snuck into the recovery rooms, where he peaked into the ICU recovery room, where there he saw Darius Ikemori. Sitting up, eating a lunch that was just brought to him. The Mechanic smiled under his mask, whispering to himself
"You're a good man Ikemori, you did so well for me.. In the end, I can't afford to get caught"
He waited till Darius finished his lunch, where he then laid down and closed his eyes. Resting his body and mind. As soon as he did so, the Mechanic picked the lock to the recovery room and snuck in. As soon as he was close enough he raised the bat and slammed it down onto Darius's skull. His body tensed up in an insane amount of pain, his brain rattling against his skull like a bell. His heart rate spiked and his brain activity did as well. Just for good measure, he slammed the bat against his skull again.. fracturing it in a whole new area this time.
Darius's body grew limp, his heart rate began to slowly die and so did his brain. The mechanic caused a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. Blood began to pool inside his skull, and alarms of the ICU blarred indicating Darius was dying. The Mechanic quickly hid and waited for EMS to rush in to check on Darius, and as soon as they did he ran out of the door before it closed and escaped.
Darius began to die for a second time, his heart rate began to drop dramatically as his brain interrelly bled out. His brain was losing blood and oxygen at an alarming rate. So he was put into immediate medical surgery for the injury. Luckily, they were able to save him again but this time.. it was to close to death and he had slipped into a coma. After the surgery, they noticed he wouldn't react or wake up with the use of certain drugs. As well as he had a minimal amount of brain activity. It was official, Darius had slipped into a coma due to the hit and now it was simply a waiting game. Doctors couldn't determine how long he would be asleep, only that he would be in the ICU for more than the originally intended time. Doctors didn't know when he woke up how he would be affected. They confirmed he would need physical therapy to get used to walking and moving again, but they couldn't confirm if he would remember anything or be himself. For all they knew, the Darius Koizumi loved would be gone forever.
They informed Koizumi about his injury, and she offered to continuously pay for him to remain in the ICU and under treatment so that he could stay alive. But sadly, Kazou, Darius's boss, had to remove him from the reporter faction for the time being. Due to doctors not knowing when he would be capable of writing reports again, they felt it was the best choice to let Darius focus on recovery, instead of the faction. So we were removed for the time being
Darius' recovery was going well. Now that he knew what happened to him, who people were again. It was just a matter of time allowing his body to make the full recovery. But.. no one would have expected what was to come next.
After the fight the Mechanic had with Koizumi, he realized something. He realized that Darius was in good enough condition to report the situation to the cops finally. The Mechanic thought for a bit, he knew Koizumi was in no shape to visit Darius due to her concussion, and her emotional stability after losing her favorite snake. Which meant she couldn't warn him about what happened. He also remembered the fact that CCTV around the news station would capture their fight. It was a risky situation, one that he would much rather leave forgotten in the past. But, with Darius's memory fully returning soon enough cops would come to question him, putting the Mechanic at risk of being caught
So, he came up with a plan. A plan that would result in the cops forgetting about the case, or more or less, giving up on it. He was going to put Darius into a comma, a comma that would make it so cops couldn't question him for a very long time. And eventually, the case would be forgotten, a case thrown away in the past. Darius's concussion was still bad enough that a single hit would do the trick. So, he grabbed the same bat he used in Darius's and his fight back at the station. And snuck into the hospital.
Using a lockpick, he picked the locks of the EMS's doors and snuck into the recovery rooms, where he peaked into the ICU recovery room, where there he saw Darius Ikemori. Sitting up, eating a lunch that was just brought to him. The Mechanic smiled under his mask, whispering to himself
"You're a good man Ikemori, you did so well for me.. In the end, I can't afford to get caught"
He waited till Darius finished his lunch, where he then laid down and closed his eyes. Resting his body and mind. As soon as he did so, the Mechanic picked the lock to the recovery room and snuck in. As soon as he was close enough he raised the bat and slammed it down onto Darius's skull. His body tensed up in an insane amount of pain, his brain rattling against his skull like a bell. His heart rate spiked and his brain activity did as well. Just for good measure, he slammed the bat against his skull again.. fracturing it in a whole new area this time.
Darius's body grew limp, his heart rate began to slowly die and so did his brain. The mechanic caused a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. Blood began to pool inside his skull, and alarms of the ICU blarred indicating Darius was dying. The Mechanic quickly hid and waited for EMS to rush in to check on Darius, and as soon as they did he ran out of the door before it closed and escaped.
Darius began to die for a second time, his heart rate began to drop dramatically as his brain interrelly bled out. His brain was losing blood and oxygen at an alarming rate. So he was put into immediate medical surgery for the injury. Luckily, they were able to save him again but this time.. it was to close to death and he had slipped into a coma. After the surgery, they noticed he wouldn't react or wake up with the use of certain drugs. As well as he had a minimal amount of brain activity. It was official, Darius had slipped into a coma due to the hit and now it was simply a waiting game. Doctors couldn't determine how long he would be asleep, only that he would be in the ICU for more than the originally intended time. Doctors didn't know when he woke up how he would be affected. They confirmed he would need physical therapy to get used to walking and moving again, but they couldn't confirm if he would remember anything or be himself. For all they knew, the Darius Koizumi loved would be gone forever.
They informed Koizumi about his injury, and she offered to continuously pay for him to remain in the ICU and under treatment so that he could stay alive. But sadly, Kazou, Darius's boss, had to remove him from the reporter faction for the time being. Due to doctors not knowing when he would be capable of writing reports again, they felt it was the best choice to let Darius focus on recovery, instead of the faction. So we were removed for the time being
[OOCLY NOTE]
At this point, I was permanently banned from SRP for reasons I won't discus. But, to prevent confusion regarding the timeline of all of this lore that was written during my ban, I created a timeline chart to better visualize it.
Everything with a RED LINE attached to it was written during my ban and was F2B IN-CHARACTERLY.
Everything with a GREEN LINE attached to it was done either prior to my ban or when I was unbanned
Thank you all and I hope this helps you understand the timeline of the lore better. LOVE YOU GUYS!!
[!] The image in the banner (the main giant red spider in the middle) is NOT the symbol Darius uses ICLY. The symbol ICLY/Tattoo ICLY is a real spider, so this spider was added to the banner to help those with arachnophobia! [!]
[!] WARNING: The section contains visuals of spiders and talk of spiders. If you are afraid of those ignore this section [!]
♠ 'PROJECT ARCHNID♠
After 5 months of remaining trapped inside a coma, hearing doctors check up on him but not being able to speak or move. He woke up. With one large inhale he shot awake, like how you would if you had just had a horrific nightmare. Darius took a moment to collect himself, his thoughts, his memories, everything. His mind raced as he looked around the ICU room, and then at the cords he was connected to. Then finally his body. His breath was fast and scared, after all, he was in a coma for months. Trapped like an immovable statue, forced to just hear the world around him pass by. He had lost his sense of time. For him, it felt like it was 3 days.
As he collected himself his breathing slowed down and so did his heart rate. His memories flooded back to him quickly too. Koizumi, the attack, his past, everything. In a panic, he ripped open his hospital gown and stared down at his chest, his chest which was still bandaged up. Ripping off the bandages he looked upon his scared chest. His chest was weakened and withered down. The scars had whitened up, and his body fully recovered. Darius's hands shook as he realized his body was healed, but he had become so weak in the process. Ripping the cords from his body he stood himself up and stumbled towards the door, struggling to move around again after being unconscious for so long. Opening it up he stumbled out of the recovery room, down the stairs, and out of the hospital
His body was weakened and withered away in a sense due to the lack of movement. He stumbled and struggled to move along, but after a while, he arrived at the Saiky estate, where he entered and hid out in Koizumi's part of the estate. Laying against her bed he took a second to collect himself again. He knew EMS would search for him, but he couldn't spend another moment in the ICU. He refused too. His body felt fine, he felt fine. He wanted his normal life back. The life he had worked so hard for, not a life where he was trapped among cables and doctors. Checking his phone his eyes shot wide open as he realized.. he was in EMS for 8 months. As that realization hit, it sent Darius more into a panic. What had he missed? Is Koizumi even still in love with him? Is he even still a reporter? Who knew, but he was going to find out.
Darius had changed since the coma. Something about his mind was, different. Every personality he had ever created, the emotions behind each one returned to him. His manipulative self and the power to control his emotions and personalities returned. But, this time it was different. As he slipped on a pair of his outfits that he kept in the Saiky estate he realized that his old methods of manipulation were no longer effective. His methods of luring people and then using them for information didn't work out. After all, he was attacked twice. He knew if he wanted to keep his manipulation up, he would need to make it stronger. Deadlier. Instead of stringing along his puppets, he wanted to capture them. Capture them in his web of lies and false emotions. He wanted to lure his 'prey' into his trap, willingly letting them trap themselves just like before, but this time. He wanted to ensure his victims couldn't fight back.
He thought it over, thinking of a new method to do this. Thinking of a new alias. And that's when it hit him. He remembered the symbolism that Koizumi used for her manipulation. Being a viper who waits to strike and inject her victim with the venom of manipulation and control. Darius learned from her, for from that day on instead of the puppeteer or gambler, he became the 'ARACHNID'
He felt it best suited his new mindset. His personalities are intertwined in webs, webs created and strung together by emotions, trauma, and more. The symbolism of a spider, a spider that hides in plain sight and waits for prey to willingly walk into its web before striking felt perfect for him. He wanted to willingly let his victims walk into his trap. He wanted to manipulate them into a false sense of security, trust, and kindness so that they would willingly enter his web of lies and deception. Then, before his victims start to realize they may be being manipulated, he strikes and injects his venom into their veins killing their old selves and creating a new version of them. One, he has control over. He wanted to make his victims trust him and become a new person just for him. A version of themselves that he could control and manipulate however he pleased. He wanted to kill their personalities with his venom, aka his manipulation, and create a new version of them. One that Darius could fully control.
Darius slipped on a mask and walked around the city, seeing if his reporter badge still worked, which sadly it didn't. After what felt like hours of walking, he realized he had become forgotten. He had lost his job as a reporter, and his belongings were moved into the Saiky estate. As he walked back to the estate and entered his part of the house, before him was Koizumi Saiky. As she stared up at Darius she froze. It was months of not seeing him, months of her paying his hospital bills, months of being afraid he was dead but alas, he stood tall and emotionless before her. With tears in her eyes, she ran towards him and hugged him, and for the first time since he got out of his coma, he smiled and hugged her back. Their bond reformed instantly.
Koizumi was just the first part of his return. After his fight with the Mechanic, he learned a lot about his fighting style and how it could be improved. How he could and needed to improve himself besides muscle and pure strength. He needed to better himself and other ways too. Darius had one goal in mind, and that was to become a man capable of outmatching the Mechanic in combat, and to do so he would need to focus his time on training.
Darius focussed on four sorts of training. Muscle, fighting, pain, and breath control. All things are highly useful for combat. He started by regaining the muscle he had lost. He worked out every day in the gym ranging from weight lifting, swimming, and more. He worked on ALL of his body. His upper, his legs, his arms, his neck, everything. This process wasn't easy, and frankly, it was exhausting but if he got to that point before, he could do it again.
After his workout he would begin his next sort of training, boxing. Darius' style has always been and always will be a sort of MMA sort of style, based on boxing and landing large blows with his fists to weaken the opponent down and/or knock them out. Either way, after last time he needed to improve this style. So he would attach rubber bands to his wrists and tie them up behind him so that the bands pulled back against his arms, creating tension. Darius then spent the next hour punching a punching back and wooden dummies, over, and over again. The band pulled against each punch, but with this method, he would be able to punch quicker and harder once the bands were removed. Every time it got easier, he amped up the band's strength, adding more restriction to his punches. Soon enough, he began punching while holding 5-pound weights so that he could get better at punching quicker and harder. This process was exhausting, especially doing it right after working out. But it taught Darius how to punch quicker and harder.
The next sort of training was fist endurance training. This was done right after a small break after boxing. First endurance training is based on the idea of building up the skin in your knuckles to make it stronger and harder, which allows you to punch harder objects without facing things like cuts or bruises as easily. It was a simple process. He started by punching slowly into a bag of rice, and then throughout the set, he would begin to punch harder and harder. He did this up until his arms couldn't do it anymore, even if it meant bleeding. once he could handle punching the rice bag, he moved onto the sand. A much denser punching surface, as well as one that is made up of tiny rocks. This level in the training was to increase the damage your knuckles could take, as well as strengthen your punches. Due to how dense sand can be when compacted into a tight space, punching a crater into it was no easy task. Though once again over a few weeks, his knuckles had grown stronger and adjusted to the density and 'sharpness' of the sand. From there he moved onto gravel, then slowly moved his way up to punching cinder blocks till they broke. This process was long and painful, but one that made his knuckles stronger and much more durable.
The next training he focussed on was pain training. After being cut up and beaten by the Mechanic his body had somewhat grown adjusted to that level of pain, but even so, it wasn't enough. Something he had learned about is being able to mentally weaken the pain without using natural adrenaline to help numb it out. Buddhist, used this technique when it came to stuff like laying on nails or standing on them. Or even touching hot surfaces. It was a technique where the person mentally trained themselves to think past the pain and focus on something else so that the pain becomes irrelevant to them.
So he started by laying on sharp rubble, which made it so rocks pierced into his back in uncomfortable and uneven spots. He forced himself to lay on it for a total of 10 minutes on his back, then 10 minutes standing, then 10 minutes on his stomach. He also took ice baths, which have proven to help the body and immune system. But he did it to help him mentally and be able to put yourself somewhere else so that pain and discomfort become numb and fade. Once he got used to that sort of level of pain, he had Koizumi slash at him with her katana once. His task was to at first remain focused on something else and mentally block out the pain. After weeks and weeks of this alone, she slowly moved up to slashing him while Darius was training his boxing. This way, Darius learned how to focus on something other than the pain, and to push through it WHILE in combat. It was something that took almost the entire year to truly master.
The final bit of working out he did was breath training. Having a good and steady breath in combat can help a lot. The ice baths alone helped him learn how to use his breath to cycle blood quickly throughout his body. As well as the swimming he did for his physical training he learned that hyperventilating prior opens up your lungs so that you can consume more air when holding your breath. But that wasn't his goal, his goal was to steady his breathing MID combat
All of this training, took place every day, for over 365 days.
At the end of the year plus training, he had become much more of a threat. Besides being physically stronger than before. He had learned how to mentally handle pain much better, and how to distract himself during combat to make him 'forget' about pain or discomfort. This sort of mental strategy made it so he didn't need adrenaline to numb the pain, he could do it all mentally, all while staying focused on the fight and the task at hand. His breathing was better and improved, being able to take more air in and handle it better which was good seeing how he had a lung transplant. His fists were a lot more durable, capable of breaking stuff like cinder blocks, thick pieces of wood, and even bending or denting 1-inch steel without any repercussions, he truly had reached a point where he could handle himself in combat. But, he wanted something special, some tattoo on his fist or hand that would represent his newfound spider-like mindset. So he got a tattoo of a black widow in a web, the web is attached to his scar caused by his first fight with the Mechanic.
During his training, he had learned from his past fight with the Mechanic that in some cases, no matter his physical strength, he wouldn't be able to win due to weapons or outside factors the opponents may possess. Though, he wasn't good with weapons. He was only good at throwing stuff like throwing knives, cards, or darts. But large-scale weapons like katanas, bats, naginatas, and more he barely knew how to properly use. As well as these larger weapons didn't work well with his fighting style. His fighting style was very much movement-based. He had to be able to freely move around to effectively dodge, counter, and attack and large-scale weapons were a liability to that style of fighting. It would slow him down, make it harder to fight in tight areas, require more balance, and more. It just wouldn't work. But he wanted a weapon, a weapon that would work with his fighting style, a weapon he could use to disable and weaken his opponent and make them beg for the fight to end. He wanted a weapon that would grant him, all of the control. And that's when he remembered Koizumi's poison dart, it was perfect for him. He could carry it and it wouldn't affect his movement, he could use it at long range and short range, and it would weaken his opponents down and grant him full control of the situation. It was the perfect weapon for him. Though, came the issue of what venom he would use. He wanted to use spider venom, not just because of its side effects, but because it fit his new mindset.
After researching deadly spiders he could own and take care of, he found the Sydney Funnel Web Spider. This spider is considered one of if not the most dangerous spiders, and due to its location in Australia antivenom for the creature isn't sold or common in Japan. This, combined with the side effects the deadly creature offered made it the perfect spider for Darius to use for its venom. So he spent all of his remaining KPD and Reporter paycheck he had saved on ordering a total of 4 baby Sydney funnel web spiders. 2 males, and 2 females. Darius spent the next 3 weeks ordering enclosures with stolen money, ordering the proper food for them, and designing the enclosures to ensure they would be comfortable and properly thrive, and overall be in a healthy and proper enjoyment for them. The Sydney funnel-web spiders were spiders that mainly hid out in their underground web system, building webs on top of their main tunnel as well. This made it so Darius didn't have to worry about them getting movement or needing a big enclosure or environment for the spiders to thrive. He set up a total of 5 tanks. The enclosures had a layer of dirt, dead leaves, and some grass at the bottom for the spiders to dig and create their tunnel, and then basic sticks and logs on top so that they could build their webs above the surface too. And as soon as he finished setting all of this up, the spiders arrived.
He cared for the spiders greatly, treating them as a pet. The female's venom was a lot weaker, so Darius didn't milk them for their venom. Meanwhile, the males were 6x stronger than the females. So, right before he would feed them he would take a pipet and gently course the male spider out of its webs. Once it was out he would lift the spider using tweezers, then gently rub the pipet against its fangs collecting drops of venom into it. Once he was done he would go about feeding the spider a mealworm or two then let it be. He collected the venom daily and as the males grew up they only became more deadly. As for the females, he grew a bond with them. Because of their weaker venom, they didn't pose as much of a threat. As well as they were a lot less aggressive compared to the males. Since he raised the two from babies, the two females also grew somewhat of a bond with Darius. He was able to openly hold and transport the two females without any issues. And as long as he didn't do any sudden movements while holding them, they wouldn't bite. These two females later became his official pets.
Darius would store the venom in reinforced glass seals to ensure it didn't leak or get out anywhere. He researched and spent hours studying how to properly milk and collect the spider's venom and luckily it was somewhat easy to figure out only requiring a pipet with a sort of vacuum at the end of it to properly collect the venom of the spider's fangs. Spiders don't reproduce this venom, once it's gone it's gone. So Darius often breeds his male spiders with fang, his female spider, then uses the male offspring to collect more of the venom.
Now that he had the venom, he needed the dart. Using his past knowledge of tranquilizers and their darts that he obtained from KPD he recreated a dart that would push out venom when it made contact with someone or something. However, a simple dart wasn't enough. He wanted to have full control over the situation, he wanted to make the dart as deadly as possible. So he made the tip of it serrated, with two other prongs that would push a bit of venom out of them as well. This made the dart even more deadly.
After spending the last year of his coma working out, obtaining and researching these spiders, making the darts, and more, his mind was officially tampered with. The old version of himself, the puppeteer, was murdered by the venom he created. He created a special personality, a personality that remains dormant in his mind until he needs it. This personality was made to fight others, it was a personality that destroyed all personal emotions and ties to everyone around him. This way, he wouldn't feel guilty about hurting anyone or causing damage. Darius would 'play' with his opponents. He would test them, test their strength, their mind. He would attack them and hurt them with the plan to knock them out or make them surrender. But this was just the first layer of this new dangerous personality. The true danger of it lay once the fight was coming to an end. If Darius was in danger of being potentially killed or majorly injured to where he would be put into recovery, he would allow his personality to go into overdrive. In his mind, the eight eyes of a funnel web spider open, and as soon as all eight eyes open and the toxic spider within his mind wakes up, he goes for the kill shot. In this state, Darius Ikemori has the full intention to murder his opponent.
After 5 months of remaining trapped inside a coma, hearing doctors check up on him but not being able to speak or move. He woke up. With one large inhale he shot awake, like how you would if you had just had a horrific nightmare. Darius took a moment to collect himself, his thoughts, his memories, everything. His mind raced as he looked around the ICU room, and then at the cords he was connected to. Then finally his body. His breath was fast and scared, after all, he was in a coma for months. Trapped like an immovable statue, forced to just hear the world around him pass by. He had lost his sense of time. For him, it felt like it was 3 days.
As he collected himself his breathing slowed down and so did his heart rate. His memories flooded back to him quickly too. Koizumi, the attack, his past, everything. In a panic, he ripped open his hospital gown and stared down at his chest, his chest which was still bandaged up. Ripping off the bandages he looked upon his scared chest. His chest was weakened and withered down. The scars had whitened up, and his body fully recovered. Darius's hands shook as he realized his body was healed, but he had become so weak in the process. Ripping the cords from his body he stood himself up and stumbled towards the door, struggling to move around again after being unconscious for so long. Opening it up he stumbled out of the recovery room, down the stairs, and out of the hospital
His body was weakened and withered away in a sense due to the lack of movement. He stumbled and struggled to move along, but after a while, he arrived at the Saiky estate, where he entered and hid out in Koizumi's part of the estate. Laying against her bed he took a second to collect himself again. He knew EMS would search for him, but he couldn't spend another moment in the ICU. He refused too. His body felt fine, he felt fine. He wanted his normal life back. The life he had worked so hard for, not a life where he was trapped among cables and doctors. Checking his phone his eyes shot wide open as he realized.. he was in EMS for 8 months. As that realization hit, it sent Darius more into a panic. What had he missed? Is Koizumi even still in love with him? Is he even still a reporter? Who knew, but he was going to find out.
Darius had changed since the coma. Something about his mind was, different. Every personality he had ever created, the emotions behind each one returned to him. His manipulative self and the power to control his emotions and personalities returned. But, this time it was different. As he slipped on a pair of his outfits that he kept in the Saiky estate he realized that his old methods of manipulation were no longer effective. His methods of luring people and then using them for information didn't work out. After all, he was attacked twice. He knew if he wanted to keep his manipulation up, he would need to make it stronger. Deadlier. Instead of stringing along his puppets, he wanted to capture them. Capture them in his web of lies and false emotions. He wanted to lure his 'prey' into his trap, willingly letting them trap themselves just like before, but this time. He wanted to ensure his victims couldn't fight back.
He thought it over, thinking of a new method to do this. Thinking of a new alias. And that's when it hit him. He remembered the symbolism that Koizumi used for her manipulation. Being a viper who waits to strike and inject her victim with the venom of manipulation and control. Darius learned from her, for from that day on instead of the puppeteer or gambler, he became the 'ARACHNID'
He felt it best suited his new mindset. His personalities are intertwined in webs, webs created and strung together by emotions, trauma, and more. The symbolism of a spider, a spider that hides in plain sight and waits for prey to willingly walk into its web before striking felt perfect for him. He wanted to willingly let his victims walk into his trap. He wanted to manipulate them into a false sense of security, trust, and kindness so that they would willingly enter his web of lies and deception. Then, before his victims start to realize they may be being manipulated, he strikes and injects his venom into their veins killing their old selves and creating a new version of them. One, he has control over. He wanted to make his victims trust him and become a new person just for him. A version of themselves that he could control and manipulate however he pleased. He wanted to kill their personalities with his venom, aka his manipulation, and create a new version of them. One that Darius could fully control.
Darius slipped on a mask and walked around the city, seeing if his reporter badge still worked, which sadly it didn't. After what felt like hours of walking, he realized he had become forgotten. He had lost his job as a reporter, and his belongings were moved into the Saiky estate. As he walked back to the estate and entered his part of the house, before him was Koizumi Saiky. As she stared up at Darius she froze. It was months of not seeing him, months of her paying his hospital bills, months of being afraid he was dead but alas, he stood tall and emotionless before her. With tears in her eyes, she ran towards him and hugged him, and for the first time since he got out of his coma, he smiled and hugged her back. Their bond reformed instantly.
Koizumi was just the first part of his return. After his fight with the Mechanic, he learned a lot about his fighting style and how it could be improved. How he could and needed to improve himself besides muscle and pure strength. He needed to better himself and other ways too. Darius had one goal in mind, and that was to become a man capable of outmatching the Mechanic in combat, and to do so he would need to focus his time on training.
Darius focussed on four sorts of training. Muscle, fighting, pain, and breath control. All things are highly useful for combat. He started by regaining the muscle he had lost. He worked out every day in the gym ranging from weight lifting, swimming, and more. He worked on ALL of his body. His upper, his legs, his arms, his neck, everything. This process wasn't easy, and frankly, it was exhausting but if he got to that point before, he could do it again.
After his workout he would begin his next sort of training, boxing. Darius' style has always been and always will be a sort of MMA sort of style, based on boxing and landing large blows with his fists to weaken the opponent down and/or knock them out. Either way, after last time he needed to improve this style. So he would attach rubber bands to his wrists and tie them up behind him so that the bands pulled back against his arms, creating tension. Darius then spent the next hour punching a punching back and wooden dummies, over, and over again. The band pulled against each punch, but with this method, he would be able to punch quicker and harder once the bands were removed. Every time it got easier, he amped up the band's strength, adding more restriction to his punches. Soon enough, he began punching while holding 5-pound weights so that he could get better at punching quicker and harder. This process was exhausting, especially doing it right after working out. But it taught Darius how to punch quicker and harder.
The next sort of training was fist endurance training. This was done right after a small break after boxing. First endurance training is based on the idea of building up the skin in your knuckles to make it stronger and harder, which allows you to punch harder objects without facing things like cuts or bruises as easily. It was a simple process. He started by punching slowly into a bag of rice, and then throughout the set, he would begin to punch harder and harder. He did this up until his arms couldn't do it anymore, even if it meant bleeding. once he could handle punching the rice bag, he moved onto the sand. A much denser punching surface, as well as one that is made up of tiny rocks. This level in the training was to increase the damage your knuckles could take, as well as strengthen your punches. Due to how dense sand can be when compacted into a tight space, punching a crater into it was no easy task. Though once again over a few weeks, his knuckles had grown stronger and adjusted to the density and 'sharpness' of the sand. From there he moved onto gravel, then slowly moved his way up to punching cinder blocks till they broke. This process was long and painful, but one that made his knuckles stronger and much more durable.
The next training he focussed on was pain training. After being cut up and beaten by the Mechanic his body had somewhat grown adjusted to that level of pain, but even so, it wasn't enough. Something he had learned about is being able to mentally weaken the pain without using natural adrenaline to help numb it out. Buddhist, used this technique when it came to stuff like laying on nails or standing on them. Or even touching hot surfaces. It was a technique where the person mentally trained themselves to think past the pain and focus on something else so that the pain becomes irrelevant to them.
So he started by laying on sharp rubble, which made it so rocks pierced into his back in uncomfortable and uneven spots. He forced himself to lay on it for a total of 10 minutes on his back, then 10 minutes standing, then 10 minutes on his stomach. He also took ice baths, which have proven to help the body and immune system. But he did it to help him mentally and be able to put yourself somewhere else so that pain and discomfort become numb and fade. Once he got used to that sort of level of pain, he had Koizumi slash at him with her katana once. His task was to at first remain focused on something else and mentally block out the pain. After weeks and weeks of this alone, she slowly moved up to slashing him while Darius was training his boxing. This way, Darius learned how to focus on something other than the pain, and to push through it WHILE in combat. It was something that took almost the entire year to truly master.
The final bit of working out he did was breath training. Having a good and steady breath in combat can help a lot. The ice baths alone helped him learn how to use his breath to cycle blood quickly throughout his body. As well as the swimming he did for his physical training he learned that hyperventilating prior opens up your lungs so that you can consume more air when holding your breath. But that wasn't his goal, his goal was to steady his breathing MID combat
All of this training, took place every day, for over 365 days.
At the end of the year plus training, he had become much more of a threat. Besides being physically stronger than before. He had learned how to mentally handle pain much better, and how to distract himself during combat to make him 'forget' about pain or discomfort. This sort of mental strategy made it so he didn't need adrenaline to numb the pain, he could do it all mentally, all while staying focused on the fight and the task at hand. His breathing was better and improved, being able to take more air in and handle it better which was good seeing how he had a lung transplant. His fists were a lot more durable, capable of breaking stuff like cinder blocks, thick pieces of wood, and even bending or denting 1-inch steel without any repercussions, he truly had reached a point where he could handle himself in combat. But, he wanted something special, some tattoo on his fist or hand that would represent his newfound spider-like mindset. So he got a tattoo of a black widow in a web, the web is attached to his scar caused by his first fight with the Mechanic.
During his training, he had learned from his past fight with the Mechanic that in some cases, no matter his physical strength, he wouldn't be able to win due to weapons or outside factors the opponents may possess. Though, he wasn't good with weapons. He was only good at throwing stuff like throwing knives, cards, or darts. But large-scale weapons like katanas, bats, naginatas, and more he barely knew how to properly use. As well as these larger weapons didn't work well with his fighting style. His fighting style was very much movement-based. He had to be able to freely move around to effectively dodge, counter, and attack and large-scale weapons were a liability to that style of fighting. It would slow him down, make it harder to fight in tight areas, require more balance, and more. It just wouldn't work. But he wanted a weapon, a weapon that would work with his fighting style, a weapon he could use to disable and weaken his opponent and make them beg for the fight to end. He wanted a weapon that would grant him, all of the control. And that's when he remembered Koizumi's poison dart, it was perfect for him. He could carry it and it wouldn't affect his movement, he could use it at long range and short range, and it would weaken his opponents down and grant him full control of the situation. It was the perfect weapon for him. Though, came the issue of what venom he would use. He wanted to use spider venom, not just because of its side effects, but because it fit his new mindset.
After researching deadly spiders he could own and take care of, he found the Sydney Funnel Web Spider. This spider is considered one of if not the most dangerous spiders, and due to its location in Australia antivenom for the creature isn't sold or common in Japan. This, combined with the side effects the deadly creature offered made it the perfect spider for Darius to use for its venom. So he spent all of his remaining KPD and Reporter paycheck he had saved on ordering a total of 4 baby Sydney funnel web spiders. 2 males, and 2 females. Darius spent the next 3 weeks ordering enclosures with stolen money, ordering the proper food for them, and designing the enclosures to ensure they would be comfortable and properly thrive, and overall be in a healthy and proper enjoyment for them. The Sydney funnel-web spiders were spiders that mainly hid out in their underground web system, building webs on top of their main tunnel as well. This made it so Darius didn't have to worry about them getting movement or needing a big enclosure or environment for the spiders to thrive. He set up a total of 5 tanks. The enclosures had a layer of dirt, dead leaves, and some grass at the bottom for the spiders to dig and create their tunnel, and then basic sticks and logs on top so that they could build their webs above the surface too. And as soon as he finished setting all of this up, the spiders arrived.
He cared for the spiders greatly, treating them as a pet. The female's venom was a lot weaker, so Darius didn't milk them for their venom. Meanwhile, the males were 6x stronger than the females. So, right before he would feed them he would take a pipet and gently course the male spider out of its webs. Once it was out he would lift the spider using tweezers, then gently rub the pipet against its fangs collecting drops of venom into it. Once he was done he would go about feeding the spider a mealworm or two then let it be. He collected the venom daily and as the males grew up they only became more deadly. As for the females, he grew a bond with them. Because of their weaker venom, they didn't pose as much of a threat. As well as they were a lot less aggressive compared to the males. Since he raised the two from babies, the two females also grew somewhat of a bond with Darius. He was able to openly hold and transport the two females without any issues. And as long as he didn't do any sudden movements while holding them, they wouldn't bite. These two females later became his official pets.
Darius would store the venom in reinforced glass seals to ensure it didn't leak or get out anywhere. He researched and spent hours studying how to properly milk and collect the spider's venom and luckily it was somewhat easy to figure out only requiring a pipet with a sort of vacuum at the end of it to properly collect the venom of the spider's fangs. Spiders don't reproduce this venom, once it's gone it's gone. So Darius often breeds his male spiders with fang, his female spider, then uses the male offspring to collect more of the venom.
Now that he had the venom, he needed the dart. Using his past knowledge of tranquilizers and their darts that he obtained from KPD he recreated a dart that would push out venom when it made contact with someone or something. However, a simple dart wasn't enough. He wanted to have full control over the situation, he wanted to make the dart as deadly as possible. So he made the tip of it serrated, with two other prongs that would push a bit of venom out of them as well. This made the dart even more deadly.
After spending the last year of his coma working out, obtaining and researching these spiders, making the darts, and more, his mind was officially tampered with. The old version of himself, the puppeteer, was murdered by the venom he created. He created a special personality, a personality that remains dormant in his mind until he needs it. This personality was made to fight others, it was a personality that destroyed all personal emotions and ties to everyone around him. This way, he wouldn't feel guilty about hurting anyone or causing damage. Darius would 'play' with his opponents. He would test them, test their strength, their mind. He would attack them and hurt them with the plan to knock them out or make them surrender. But this was just the first layer of this new dangerous personality. The true danger of it lay once the fight was coming to an end. If Darius was in danger of being potentially killed or majorly injured to where he would be put into recovery, he would allow his personality to go into overdrive. In his mind, the eight eyes of a funnel web spider open, and as soon as all eight eyes open and the toxic spider within his mind wakes up, he goes for the kill shot. In this state, Darius Ikemori has the full intention to murder his opponent.
[!] This section goes into detail about the poison dart Darius's uses. This item is ItemRPed and is only used in lore-related situations with OOCLY consent from the other person. It should be mentioned this section has no relation to the lore, it simply explains how the dart works, its side effects, and more! [!]
The dart was designed so that when it wasn't thrown or in use, it was airtight locking the venom in its place. Once when thrown and it made contact with something, the air-tight seal would break and a mechanized rubber stopper would slowly push the spider venom into whatever it landed on. The end of the dart two had parts where it was serrated, making it so the venom would be pushed out of three ends, and making it harder and more painful to remove. The main end, pushed around 4 drops of venom into the victim every 1 second, and the two serrated parts pushed 1.5 drops of venom into the victim every 1 seconds. This meant if the dart remained in the body for 1 second. The victim would have a total of 10 drops of venom in them, which is equivalent to 0.64 ML. For context, that's enough to kill an 75 pound human in a meir 15 minutes.
This much venom is capable of causing harsh side effects depending on where the dart landed. The closer it lands to the chest, neck, or brain, the worse and quicker the symptoms are. Some symptoms that people will experience upon injection are
- Extreme Agitation
- Confusion (memory loss, forgetting where you are, forgetting what is going on, etc)
- Coma (lack of responsiveness)
- Extreme Headache
- Numbness of mouth and lips
- Difficulty breathing
Rapid heart rate
- Spike in blood pressure (dangerous levels that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and more)
- Drooling
- Drooping eyelids
- Double vision
- Swallowing difficulty
- Tremors (shaking)
- Shivering (chills)
- Heavy sweating
- Redness around the site of the injection
- Extreme Nausea and vomiting
- Joint pain
Those are just the basic symptoms the victim will experience after just being injected with a few drops of the venom. The symptoms will get worse depending on how long the dart is in place. For context, for every 4 drops of venom = capable of killing a 30-pound human in 15 minutes. If the dart fully injects all 5 ML of venom, death is pretty much gaunteeded unless the antivenom is given. Symptopsm the victim will experience are:
- Severe muscle spasms, usually in the legs and belly area
- Tremors (shaking)
- Collapse (shock)
- Coma (lack of responsiveness)
- Death if untreated in 15 minutes (depending on weight).
The mechanism worked by detecting when the tip pierced through something. The venom is stored in a metal canister in the center of the dart. This prevents venom from leaking out on impact. The canister holds up to 5 ML of venom, which is a lethal amount and would require EMS care to live. The dart is a total of 6.5 inches in length.
The mechanism behind it is somewhat simple. The center of the dart has a glass trapdoor which opens and closes. To load the dart, you transfer the venom into the metal canister via a syringe. The metal canister has two parts, the front or exit where the venom will be pushed out, and the back or entrance where the venom is inserted, and where the rubber stopper will push. The empty back allows full access to the canister, and it's designed to perfectly allow the rubber stopper to go inside the canister and push the venom out. Once the venom is in the canister, you place it into the opening of the dart and make SURE the back of the canister is aligned with the rubber stopper. The rubber stopper will slide perfectly into the canister. Once it's in and aligned, the trapdoor is closed and a small lever on the side is pulled back. This level pulls the rubber seal back to the very end of the canister, pulling the venom up and creating an airtight seal. The lever has a safety mode where if you push down on it, it won't move. If you push down on it again, it will unlock and be ready for attack. From there, once the dart is thrown and it makes contact with something the force caused by the dart making an impact will push the lever forward, causing springs to push the rubber stopper down into the canister, pushing the venom out of the dart, and into the victim.
Weight is added to the front via metal syringe tips to equal it out. Overall, the dart only weighs a light 62 grams, just above the average playing dart.
[!]
This much venom is capable of causing harsh side effects depending on where the dart landed. The closer it lands to the chest, neck, or brain, the worse and quicker the symptoms are. Some symptoms that people will experience upon injection are
- Extreme Agitation
- Confusion (memory loss, forgetting where you are, forgetting what is going on, etc)
- Coma (lack of responsiveness)
- Extreme Headache
- Numbness of mouth and lips
- Difficulty breathing
Rapid heart rate
- Spike in blood pressure (dangerous levels that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and more)
- Drooling
- Drooping eyelids
- Double vision
- Swallowing difficulty
- Tremors (shaking)
- Shivering (chills)
- Heavy sweating
- Redness around the site of the injection
- Extreme Nausea and vomiting
- Joint pain
Those are just the basic symptoms the victim will experience after just being injected with a few drops of the venom. The symptoms will get worse depending on how long the dart is in place. For context, for every 4 drops of venom = capable of killing a 30-pound human in 15 minutes. If the dart fully injects all 5 ML of venom, death is pretty much gaunteeded unless the antivenom is given. Symptopsm the victim will experience are:
- Severe muscle spasms, usually in the legs and belly area
- Tremors (shaking)
- Collapse (shock)
- Coma (lack of responsiveness)
- Death if untreated in 15 minutes (depending on weight).
The mechanism worked by detecting when the tip pierced through something. The venom is stored in a metal canister in the center of the dart. This prevents venom from leaking out on impact. The canister holds up to 5 ML of venom, which is a lethal amount and would require EMS care to live. The dart is a total of 6.5 inches in length.
The mechanism behind it is somewhat simple. The center of the dart has a glass trapdoor which opens and closes. To load the dart, you transfer the venom into the metal canister via a syringe. The metal canister has two parts, the front or exit where the venom will be pushed out, and the back or entrance where the venom is inserted, and where the rubber stopper will push. The empty back allows full access to the canister, and it's designed to perfectly allow the rubber stopper to go inside the canister and push the venom out. Once the venom is in the canister, you place it into the opening of the dart and make SURE the back of the canister is aligned with the rubber stopper. The rubber stopper will slide perfectly into the canister. Once it's in and aligned, the trapdoor is closed and a small lever on the side is pulled back. This level pulls the rubber seal back to the very end of the canister, pulling the venom up and creating an airtight seal. The lever has a safety mode where if you push down on it, it won't move. If you push down on it again, it will unlock and be ready for attack. From there, once the dart is thrown and it makes contact with something the force caused by the dart making an impact will push the lever forward, causing springs to push the rubber stopper down into the canister, pushing the venom out of the dart, and into the victim.
Weight is added to the front via metal syringe tips to equal it out. Overall, the dart only weighs a light 62 grams, just above the average playing dart.
[!]
[!] WARNING: This section contains images of broken bones and talk of vomit, blood, etc. If you do not like these things avoid this section. THANK YOU [!]
♠ The Victim to the Spider's Venom ♠
A total of a year and a half had passed from when Darius woke up from his coma, the coma that forever altered him and his mind and made him the much more dangerous version of himself that he is today. After an entire year and a half’s work of endurance training, physical training, and work with the spiders he was prepared enough and confident enough to go up against the man who caused this all. Who caused his torment and mental shift, the man who shifts the gears of his victims, the Mechanic. He wasn't doing this to get revenge for all the victims whom the Mechanic had affected, no. He was doing this as a way to show the Mechanic that he won on a fluke. That he wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. He wanted revenge for him hurting Koizumi, he wanted revenge for what the Mechanic did to him. He wanted to piece his fangs and inject his venom into the Mechanic’s mind, just like how the Mechanic shifted the gears and inner workings of his mind.
Ikemori grabbed a total of five throwing darts, enough to kill the Mechanic and himself if all darts were used. And two vials of antivenom, which was a year's worth of supply. To even make antivenom, he had to gather over 170ml of venom then ship it off to Australia, and wait for weeks on end before getting the antivenom back. This process took months, and in the time he had spent working out and collecting the spider's venom, he was only able to obtain two 10ml tubes of antivenom, which would be enough to save them both of injected with over 20ml of venom
Before Darius left, he stared at his reflection in one of the test tubes he had set on his desk. The test tube filled with a yellow liquid, the funnel web spider’s venom. Ikemori stared upon his reflection, looking at his scars, looking at the man whom he had become. He used to be a law-abiding citizen, a man who worked for the law, not against it. He used to be a man who would never break the laws, a man who cared for everyone in a heartfelt and sweet way, but now. Because of the Mechanic shifting the gears and interworkings of Darius’s mind, he had changed him. A once gambler, to a puppeteer, to an arachnid, such a shift in emotions and mindsets. A shift that forever altered Darius. As he walked away from the test tube he knew this fight would end in two ways. Ikemori coming out on top and finally getting the revenge he oh so craved for an entire year, or the arachnid being squashed and destroyed by the gears of the Mechanic. Only time and damage would tell, but going into this. Darius Ikemori had the full intention of murdering The Mechanic.
Darius went into the sewers, he was lucky enough to have the Mechanic’s old phone number but alas it didn’t work. He got a new phone, and a new identity, so tracking him down was not easy. He was a man who knew the inner workings of Karakura, a man who worked hard to keep his identity hidden from Karakura despite his attacks. Finding him wasn’t going to be an easy task, but in the end, Darius was an EX SGT. He knew how to hunt down a criminal. After searching for what felt like hours he decided that he needed to gain a new approach to all of this. He knew Valentino was somehow in the criminal underworld, what position? That was unknown but he told Valentino he was looking for the Mechanic for ‘private reasons’. And just as Darius wanted, Valentino spread the information like wildfire. He was a man who was trained to keep his mouth shut when needed, but otherwise, he was someone who would gossip constantly. Spread information with those he trusts, and soon enough this information got directly to the man himself. The Mechanic. He called Darius from a burner phone so that Ikemori wouldn’t be able to track his number. Here is where they revealed his true intentions, he wanted a second chance, a second match. The Mechanic agreed, to do one final match under these conditions.
“If I win, You leave me and Koizumi alone forever. You don’t lay another finger on us, no matter the circumstance”
“'I literally want nothing to do with you or Koizumi anymore, just stay out of my way.”
“You don’t gotta be a bitch about it, but deal”
The fight was arranged, but they didn’t discuss details of the fight besides a few rules being no EMS, no KPD, and it has to be done in the sewers where no one can interrupt and stop them or potentially cause issues. Otherwise, it was a free-for-all. The plan was to meet up at the intersection in the sewers. A private location in the sewers, one that would determine the future of Ikemori.
As they arrived the two stared each other down for a moment. The Mechanic’s katana and glove sat amongst his utility belt, his mask covering his true expression. Ikemori stood there, staring down the Mechanic giving him a glare that pierced through him like daggers. But it lasted less than half a second. Before the Mechanic could even speak a word, Ikemori shifted his feet, his right in front of his left, and he launched himself forward with extreme force, moving quicker than before. Normally, Darius takes a second to stare down his opponent and speak to them. The mechanic was expecting that. After all, most criminals do it. But Darius wasn’t playing any games, No. Ikemori came here for blood, and he wasn’t wasting a second and by the time the Mechanic realized this, it was too late.
Their distance was somewhat far apart, a few feet from each other when Ikemori dashed towards him, but the mechanic hadn't expected Darius’s body to have improved so much. He was used to being the attacker, attacking his opponents with surprise not being the one being forced on the defensive right off the bat. Before he could unleash any of his weapons, or even block the unexpected speed-blitz, Darius sent his right fist directly upwards and towards the Mechanic’s jaw. As soon as he was close enough to land the blow, Darius twisted his body and pushed himself upward putting not just moment and strength into the punch, but his body weight as well. As the punch landed on his lower jaw a *CRACK* was echoed throughout the empty sewer room. His jaw broke upon impact, and the Mechanic’s head was forced to look up toward the ceiling. The punch was so strong it practically lifted him to the ground, it was here the mechanic realized, that he wasn’t fighting the Darius he first fought, no. He was fighting someone who came for blood.
Before the Mechanic could react to the heavy uppercut, Darius went in for another large blow. His position was perfect. The mechanic’s chest was wide open for the hit, and he was in a state of daze that slowed him down. Darius smirked as he pulled his left fist back this time and as the Mechanic stumbled and regained his balance, he stared Ikemori in the eyes as he landed a nasty and powerful left hook directly toward his ribs. *CRACK*. The Mechanic’s endurance was no longer protecting his bones. Darius had spent the last year and a half training his muscles, his fists, his strength all for this moment. The Mechanic’s right ribs snapped right down the middle as he got sent flying back onto his back, rolling on the dirty sewer floor as if someone tripped while rolling down a hill.
He quickly got up, steading his breathing, making sure his lungs didn’t expand too much to prevent his lungs from touching his ribcage. He was in pain, a lot of it. But the adrenaline started to kick in. As soon as he stood up though Darius was already speed-blitzing toward him again. Sense Darius knew he wasn’t as fast running, he used his strength to his advantage, He launched himself forward, pushing his body off the ground and towards the Mechanic to gain more speed and momentum.
As Darius grew too close for the Mechanic to counterattack, all he could do was quickly create an X with his arms to protect his torso from any more hits. But Darius saw it as a challenge to test his strength. He smiled devilishly as he pulled his right arm back and sent a powerful right hook directly toward the Mechanic’s block. As it hit another *CRACK* was heard. His left forearm, the one most exposed, had broken upon impact. The Mechanic’s eyes widened as his body shook from the pain, his teeth pressing together creating a hissing sound. It was at this moment he realized, the true strength of Darius Ikemori. For once, he felt fear in combat.
The Mechanic had to get his weapons out. Darius’s physical strength was much more powerful than the Mechanic’s. While his endurance remained on top, he knew at this rate Darius would wear him down quickly with such large blows. These first three had already weakened him down slightly, but before he could reach for any weapons, Darius used his left hand to grab the Mechanic’s kitsune mask by the ear and pull him in. While the Mechanic was still in a state of shock and still underprepared for the sudden attacks Ikemori was landing he lifted his knee and slammed it directly upwards into the Mechanic’s gut. The land slammed into the Mechanic’s stomach, pushing vomit up toward his mouth, but Darius wasn’t done. He twisted his body and shifted it so that his foot was now positioned where his knee was and quickly he sent the Mechanic flying back. As the kick landed he held back the vomit creeping up from his throat. He couldn’t keep fighting like this.
Quickly the injured Mechanic caught himself removed the gauntlet from his utility belt and attached it to his left arm. With a quick motion, the five blades swung out. The Mechanic stumbled as Darius dashed directly towards him again. He was pushing him more and more down the intersection, more and more into the tunnels of the sewers. The Mechanic started to sweat, the nauseous feeling from the knee and kick to his gut remained at the back of his throat. And if he breathed too deeply his lungs would press against his ribs and hurt. His forearm struggled to deal with the weight of the gauntlet as it pulled down on the broken bones and bruised muscles. He had started with the advantage of throwing the Mechanic off mentally, and because of this he had the perfect openings to land such powerful punches and blows.
Though the Mechanic couldn’t let this lead last long, he couldn’t let Ikemori have control over the situation. So he allowed the adrenaline to follow through his body and mask the pain caused by the broken bones and the uncomfortable feeling in his gut. As Darius grew closer to the Mechnic, Darius aimed his left fist directly at his solar plexus. The Mechanic smirked under his mask. Ikemori was predictable when it came to his fights, the main that he had going for him was his strength and speed of attacks.
Darius was beginning to become predictable to the Mechanic, his combat style was easily able to be recognized. It was simply a matter of handling the strength that followed with every hit.
“The gambler falls today, all I have to do is land a few slices, and it's over for him.”
The Mechanic thought
Darius leaned forward and down and prepared for another uppercut, this time aimed at his stomach again. The Mechanic smirked as he pulled his gauntlet back and twisted his body, he used his body’s weight and the momentum from the twist to help send his fist directly towards Ikemori’s fist attempting to puncture it like last time. He knew that if he weakened down Darius’s fists, he would weaken down Ikemori
However, what he didn’t expect was for Darius to make a sudden stop. Darius planted his foot into the ground and stopped his movement dead in his tracks. The Mechanic’s attack was already in motion, the gauntlet swung downwards and missed Darius by an inch, his eyes widened as Darius sent his uppercut directly for his chin instead of his gut. *CRACK*
Darius landed a large and powerful uppercut directly in the center of the chin. It cracked down the middle, and his jaw sent a pulsing pain throughout his face as his head whipped back. Because his body was already whipped back a bit, it allowed the Mechanic to jump back avoiding Darius’s follow-up left jab. Darius was clearly on the pure offensive, something the Mechanic could work around as soon as he was able to gather his balance and stance.
And just as the Mechanic expected, as soon as Darius missed his jab and positioned himself he dashed directly towards the Mechanic AGAIN. It was clear that unlike last time he wasn’t going to do any sort of standoff and talking moment. No, he was purely here for blood and the Mechanic realized this. He realized this wasn’t an ordinary fight anymore, this wasn’t a simple revenge fight. No, he realized that Darius was here to beat the Mechanic to death.
“Ikemori you’re stronger, I like that.”
The Mechanic said under the mask as he went on the offensive too, lunging himself toward Darius and aiming the gauntlet directly for his gut. Darius quickly shifted to the defensive and aimed his left fist for an anchor punch to the gauntlet. His fist collided with the metal gauntlet forcing the Mechanic’s fist to go downwards and towards his leg instead of his torso. The 5 blades sliced down Darius’s calf. The punch was strong enough to vibrate the metal of the gauntlet, replicating the sort of energy you get from slamming a metal bat into a rock. As the Mechanic’s body leaned down with the force of the punch, Darius wasted no time to pull his right arm back and land a quick jab to his stomach once again. Vomit filled his mouth as he stumbled back. Swallowing the vomit and hiding his disgusted look behind the mask. Darius repositioned his stance to a standing tall position instead of a leaned-down sort of stance. The Mechanic quickly put his gauntlet away and unsheathed his katana, this way he could gain some distance between him and Darius and still deal damage
The Mechanic realized his strength was no match for Darius’. And if it was a fist versus fist-based fight, he would most certainly lose. But he had chances with his weapons. He held out the katana, forcing a standoff with Ikemori which allowed the Mechanic to fully regain his balance, evening the playing field.
“What’s wrong Ikemori? Not in the speaking mood hm?”
“Shut up and stop talking, I came here to fight, not to talk”
Ikemori said as he stared the Mechnic down. His eyes were emotionless. His face was resting and he looked as if he was tired and depressed. He didn’t even acknowledge the fact his leg was bleeding from the five-bladed slash. He let the blood bleed down his leg and stain his pants. Cracking his knuckles and winding up his shoulder without wasting another second Darius lunged himself with high speed and strength directly towards the Mechanic, and the Mechanic dashed towards him, the katana raised over his shoulder, ready for a downwards sort of slash.
As they grew closer the Mechanic swung the katana downwards over his shoulder, the blade guiding down and going for Darius’s chest. Though Darius kept running towards him, he didn’t stop to dodge, he didn’t adjust his positioning to defend the attack, no. Instead, he lifted his right forearm above his head and blocked the swing from the katana. The katana cut deep into his flesh and muscle, but he didn't flinch. His facial expression and breathing remained the same. Due to the katana being stuck in his forearm he pushed and guided the blade away from his own and the Mechanic’s body, moving his forearm to the right and down, opening up the Mechanic’s chest and face. Darius quickly pulled his left arm back and sent a quick and powerful jab directly into the Mechanic’s upper ribcage. Another crack echoed through the room as the center bone in his ribcage cracked down the middle. It sent the Mechanic back, and Darius’s right forearm now had a large deep cut, followed by another cut down to his wrist which was caused by him guiding the blade away. Blood dripped onto the sewer floor and his outfit.
Darius took a second to unravel his tie, removing it from his outfit. He tightly wrapped it around his forearm cut, slowing down the bleeding. As soon as it was tightly wrapped and in place, he went straight back to fighting, dashing, and lunging head-on toward the Mechanic. Meanwhile, the Mechanic took out the gauntlet and put it on his right hand, and the katana in his left. He didn’t need much strength to use the katana, so it didn’t matter that he was using his injured arm for it. And at the same time as Ikemori, he dashed towards him as well. His mask hid his smile, for once, these two were going 100% in this fight, and the Mechanic was loving it.
Darius sent his right fist directly for the Mechanic’s neck and the mechanic aimed his gauntlet for his bad lung. And at the same time, both their hits collided. Darius’s fist slammed directly into the Mechanic’s jugular, and the Mechanic’s metal gauntlet slammed into his bad lung. They both stumbled back and fell to the floor from the impact. The Mechanic clenched his neck as his throat tightened, making it only harder to breathe. Darius clutched his chest as his weak lungs began to pump air through him at an irregular speed, throwing his breathing off. Darius began to slowly pick himself up, attempting to steady his breathing and the pain from the weakened lung but by the time he was on his feet the Mechanic had swiftly recovered using his endurance and adrenaline to push through the pain. He held the blade in a reverse grip, the katana held pridefully above his head as the point aimed downwards for Darius's heart. He slammed the blade downwards but before it could pierce into Darius’s heart he rolled back and out of range, the katana slamming into the floor instead
As he rolled he quickly rolled back onto his feet, his knees tucked into his chest. Pulling his shoulders back he quickly frog-jumped directly towards the Mechanic, a large and devilish smile spread across his face. Darius aimed his left fist somewhere toward his torso. The Mechanic quickly pulled his fist with the gauntlet back and slammed it directly into Ikemori’s fist. As he took the blow Darius twisted his body with the Mechanic’s punch, this way his fist wouldn’t break on impact, as well as it prepared him for his next punch. Darius quickly sent a quick left hook to the side of the Mechanic’s jaw. He stumbled back as his jaw dislocated from its position. The Mechanic groaned in pain and annoyance as he used his free hand to pop his jaw back into place. Dashing towards Darius he snatched the Katana from its place on his way, they both ran towards each other once again ready for another head-on set of attacks. For the first time, in the Mechanic’s mind, he thought to himself
‘Am I… going to lose?”
The Mechicic unsheathed the 5 blades of the gauntlet and swung it directly toward Ikemori’s neck. Leaning himself back he stopped in his place and dodged the attack, though doing so he lost all the momentum he gained. Before Darius could dodge anymore the Mechanic pulled the katana back and thrusted it forward directly towards his gut. Ikemori knew he wouldn’t be able to fully swerve the attack, so he had to make a sacrifice.
Moving to the side a little he instead let the blade slice fully through his hand. The blade goes in through his palm and out the back of his right hand. Darius pushed through the pain just like before, allowing the adrenaline to follow through his body and lower the pain. He focused on the task at hand, destroying the Mechanic. Setting his mind aside from the pain he pushed himself forward, his hand going down the blade until it was at the guard of the katana. The Mechanic stood there in shock as Darius gripped the guard with his injured hand. Now that he was only a few inches away from the Mechanic, Darius leaned his head back and slammed his head and body forward, delivering a powerful headbutt directly to the Mechanic’s mask. He let go of the katana as he stumbled and fell onto his back, the mask defending his skull and face from any potential damage
The mechanic rested there against the cold, sewer intersection. His hands were planted behind him to keep himself up. He watched as Darius slowly walked towards him, pulling the katana out of his hand. The Mechanic realized something was wrong with this Darius. Something had changed him in that coma. He wasn’t fighting the same Darius from before, no. He was going up against someone much more deadly and ruthless. Someone much more unforgiving
“What’s wrong? It hurts, doesn’t it? To have your bones broken and still being pushed against your limits”
The mechanic didn’t say anything back, he attempted to quickly move forward a bit and shift onto his knees so that he could stand up, but right before he could Darius lunged towards him and kicked him in the upper chest. The mechanic rolled back stopping on his side. He lay there, his breath shaky as the pain from all the hits settled in, pulsating throughout his body
“Go on, stand up.”
The Mechanic once again attempted to quickly stand despite being in agony. But Darius once again didn’t let him. He stomped directly onto the hand with the gauntlet with his left foot, then using his right he stomped onto the Mechanic’s neck pushing him onto his stomach and the floor and cutting off his airway. Removing his feet off the mechanic Darius grabbed the back of his blackout attire and threw him up onto his back before kicking him once again in the upper chest, sending him rolling back into the intersection once again.”
“I said, stand.”
The Mechanic laid there on his stomach. Looking up as he watched Darius slowly approach him again. His breathing was rapid, his body shaky. He eyed the katana, which was bloody and far behind Darius. He attempted to once again stand up. Using his hands to push himself into a crouched position but once again Darius kicked him right back down.
“You’re pathetic. Relying on your weapons and endurance instead of physical strength. You rely on using your weapons to weaken your opponents than play the time game with them? Look where it's gotten you. On the floor, like the sewer rat, you are. ”
The Mechanic is filled with rage. He was being out beaten by Darius, the Darius he once tortured and beaten almost to death in his office. This time, Darius stopped walking towards him, and as soon as he did the mechanic slowly stood himself up. His body swayed back and forth, stumbling forward and down a bit. His balance was so off-centered. His body still shook from the pain. It was clear, that the Mechanic was truly weak. But he didn’t give up.
“You think you’re all that huh Ikemori? Just because you’ve gotten stronger doesn’t mean you are suddenly better. I should have killed you in that hospital bed, and now.. I'll ensure I finish the job ”
The mechanic laughed, and his laugh spread throughout the sewer walls and tunnels like wildlife spreading throughout a forest. Darius stared him down, looking at his eyes through the peepholes of the mask. His expression remained neutral, at this moment in time it was impossible to tell what emotions Darius was truly feeling.
Adrenaline began to pump through the Mechanic again, numbing out the pain again as he hyped himself up. Never once had he gone up against someone like Darius mentally or physically. This was more than a fight to him now, both of them now had the intention to kill each other. And with that being said, Darius Ikemori and Laohu Zhuang dashed toward each other with everything, they had left
Darius pulled his right arm back, aiming directly for the Mechanic’s solar plexus. With the speed and momentum he had gained this sort of hit would finish him off. The Mechanic did the same, except aiming the gauntlet for Darius’s weak lung again, the blades sheathed this time. As soon as he was close enough, the Mechanic swung his fist directly toward Darius’s chest, and Darius swung his fist directly toward the Mechanic’s. But the Mechanic was able to get his attack in first due to being closer to Ikemori. As the hit landed Darius got knocked back, his right ribcage breaking upon impact as his breathing became irregular and unstable again. One lung flowing air at a normal pace, the other at an irregular. He stood there, a few feet away from the Mechanic attempting to catch his breath, struggling to stand. The Mechanic smiled from under the mask as he lunged towards Darius and took this moment of weakened to unsheath the blades and move his arm upwards. As soon as he got close enough to Darius, he swung his arm and fist downwards towards his face. Ikemori still weakened by the irregular breathing lifted his arms and blocked the hit just barely, though it was too late. The 5 blades cut ever so slightly into his eye and nose, cutting the skin but missing the nerves and vital spots. Darius lept back and caught his breathing finally. Blood dripped down his face as his right eye remained shut.
As Darius stood there, blood dripping down onto the floor from his cuts he just laughed. The Mechanic raised an eyebrow under the mask. Why was Darius laughing?
‘You think that hurts..? You think after everything you’re done I wouldn’t have learned a few tricks to counter your cuts and slashes??”
Darius open mouth laughed as he quickly got into another lunging stance, he was a few feet away from the Mechanic. As his laugh turned into a giggle he stared down the Mechanic, staring into his eyes through the peephole of the mask. Darius yelled out
“I’ll show you the definition of TRUE PAIN”
As the Mechanic stared down Darius Ikemori, he sensed something was wrong with him. Something had changed. For the first time in his life, he felt nervous and uneasy about this fight.
And with that, Darius lunged towards the Mechanic. And without wasting any time either the Mechanic lunged towards him. But.. Darius had enough of just beating the Mechanic and this back-and-forth banter. It was time that he took full control of the situation. He smiled devilishly at the Mechanic as he reached behind him and under his shirt with his left hand. And before the Mechanic could get close enough to even touch him, he pulled out the poison dart he had been saving and threw it directly into the Mechanic’s neck. Darius laughed as the Mechanic froze in his place as he felt the needle puncture his neck, feeling the venom be pushed into his veins. His eyes darted towards it. He didn’t expect Ikemori to possess any sort of weapon, he had no clue he even had this on him. He quickly pulled it out but it was too late. Enough venom had entered his bloodstream to allow the side effects to kick in shortly. While he was distracted, Darius took the opportunity to instead pull his left arm back and land the strongest punch of the entire fight directly to his liver. A shockwave of pain was sent throughout the Mechanic’s body. His eyes widened as his body completely shut down. He began to fall forward and toward the ground when Darius pulled his right arm back and landed a nasty uppercut directly to his solar plexus. Every bit of air inside the Mechanic’s lungs was forced out, and another large shockwave of pain spread throughout his body. The Mechanic’s body grew fully limp as it fully shut down from both the large impacts to such weak spots, and the entire time Darius was smiling and laughing.
Darius laughed as the Mechanic fell forward, his body unable to move even a centimeter. It completely shut down, he was completely defenseless. Darius grabbed him back the neck, choking him as he lifted his body back up and slammed him into the wall beside them. The Mechanic’s back slammed into the stone wall, causing even MORE air to leave his body. Darius laughed hysterically as he pulled his arm back and began to deliver right hooks, jabs, and more to the Mechanic’s limp and defenseless body. *CRACK, CRACK, CRACK*. The Mechanic’s bones began to fracture and break with every punch. His ribs, his jaw, his arms. Darius was sending full-blown, ruthless, and powerful punches repeatedly to the mechanic’s upper body and gut. His stomach lining and internal organs bruising as he beat his body over and over again. The Mechanic coughed up blood as Darius delivered more and more punches.
But Darius wasn’t done. He had done all of this damage in 15 seconds, he had another 30 before the venom’s side effects kicked in. He pulled his right arm back and delivered a strong blow directly to the Mechanic’s heart, but what they both didn’t expect was for the Mechanic’s heart to stop beating. The hit was so powerful that despite his ribs protecting it his punch still affected the heart and effectively made it stop beating. The Mechanic grew even more limp as his body began to shut down. He had officially started to die. Darius stepped away as the mechanic fell face-first onto the cold sewer floor, his eyes gently closed and as he let out his last breath he thought to himself
“So this is what death feels like… who would have guessed I would lose to a fucking reporter…”
And with that, Laohu Zhuang died on the sewer floor.
Though, not even 15 seconds later something started his heart up again. It began to beat quickly, his body began to function again. His lungs worked again as he slowly began to breathe oxygen into his body. His eyes shot open as he took a large gasp of air into his lungs. His body shook with pain and agony, and his vision was blurry. He kept his head down and remained lying there on the sewer floor, but that's when he heard Darius’s voice.
“Only I decide when you die.”
Turns out that when the Mechanic died Darius began to give CRP on him to restart his heart backup, Darius Ikemori had killed the Mechanic and brought him back to life just so that he could finish his task. The Mechanic lay there on his back, his body shaking in agony. At this point, he would rather be dead than alive due to the pain. He coughed up more blood onto the back of his mask before he spoke angrily to Darius
“W-Why would you bring me b-back.. Yo-you should have LET ME DIE YOU BA-”
Before he could finish his sentence, the venom kicked in. He tensed up his body as it felt like 1000 hot knives began to stab him in every nerve, vein, and organ. This level of pain outdid the pain of the broken bones and beating, it was something he never had experienced before. His vision grew blurry, and his head began to spin and get nauseous. His mouth and lips became numb, his body began to heavily sweat, and his breathing became shallow and hard as if something was blocking his lungs. The venom had kicked in, and it was doing its damage
“That’s why. I’m not going to let you die when the best part didn’t start yet.”
Darius laughed as he looked down at the suffering and trembling Mechanic. He lifted his foot and stomped on his stomach. With moments to spare the Mechanic rolled over and lifted his mask as he threw up a combination of his blood and vomit. He felt his heart rate rise to dramatic and dangerous rates. His blood pressure spiking as well. His vision began to double, and he struggled to swallow his saliva. His head pounded as if the concussion he had gained wasn't enough. He was in the most discomfort and pain he had ever been in in his entire life
“It hurts, doesn’t it? Feeling the venom coursing through your veins. Feeling the side effects tortures your body. That dart I threw? A little thing I made while I was gone for a year. I won’t say what's in it, but I’ll say you’re body consumed enough to be lethal. You have 3 hours.”
Darius circled the Mechanic, just like how a predator would circle its prey. He looked down as the Mechanic suffered, a smile across his face. As the Mechanic trembled and shook Darius grabbed the back of his uniform and kneed him in the neck causing him to throw up again as he fell back onto the floor.
“T-three hours till what..?”
The Mechanic said as the side effects only got worse and worse
“Death.”
As Darius said those words, the Mechanic’s eyes widened. He attempted to move his body but the pain from the venom and the broken bones was too much for him. The side effects from the venom rendered him immobile. It was all too much, too overwhelming for the Mechanic. He turned to the side as he threw up again.
“You want to live? You want the side effects to stop?”
The Mechanic nodded, unable to say anything at this point as his throat closed and cut his airways off
“You will leave me and Koizumi Saiky alone, and never lay a single hand on any of us again. No matter the circumstance. If you agree, I'll give you the antivenom. So, do we have a deal?”
Darius Ikemori had the Mechanic trapped in his webs, unable to escape or move, unable to fight back. There was only one way out of it, and that was to accept Darius’s deal. So, he nodded. And as the Mechanic nodded his head Darius leaned down and injected him with the antivenom. It flowed through his veins rapidly and instantly the side effects began to slow down and weaken. The Mechanic began to be able to breathe and see again. He let out a sigh of relief as the pain slowly went away
The Mechanic rolled onto his back, groaning in agony as he did so. His back was the least damaged spot, so laying on it was the most comfortable he could get. His breathing was still irregular, his body so worn down he couldn’t move. All he heard was the footsteps of Darius walking away from him, but he didn’t even have the strength to look
“You will live, painfully. But you will survive. Let’s hope someone can get you.”
The Mechanic tried to speak but he was too weak. All he could do was listen to Darius’s footsteps leave the area. His footsteps echoed through the sewers. Darius picked up the Mechanic's katana and placed it against the edge of the floor intersection. Most of the katana was handed off the side, while the handle remained on the floor. Darius pressed his foot against the handle of the katana with his right foot, then lifting his left he leaned forward and stomped downwards onto the center of the blade. A snap was heard, followed by the sounds of metal hitting the floor.
The Mechanic lay there. His body was so overwhelmed and overstimulated with the insane amount of pain that was pulsating through every bone, and every organ and every inch of his body felt as if his bones and body were being crushed and stabbed. He lay there, defeated, beaten, and broken. Removing his mask he coughed up a bit more blood and threw up before slowly closing his eyes and drifting off into a state of unconsciousness. Where he and his body could relax.
After two hours the Mechanic woke up. The venom was out of his system but his body was still in so much pain from the broken and shattered bones. Using his remaining strength he lifted himself to a standing position. Luckily, his legs remained ok and undamaged. He slowly and carefully walked to the crime clinic, where he knew he would be safe from KPD or his co-workers. Meanwhile, Darius had returned to the Saiky estate, where he had Koizumi tending to his cuts and wounds. Darius was also exhausted, but he didn’t want to let the Mechanic see that. They both began their healing process after the fight, ending the feud between Darius and the Mechanic.
A total of a year and a half had passed from when Darius woke up from his coma, the coma that forever altered him and his mind and made him the much more dangerous version of himself that he is today. After an entire year and a half’s work of endurance training, physical training, and work with the spiders he was prepared enough and confident enough to go up against the man who caused this all. Who caused his torment and mental shift, the man who shifts the gears of his victims, the Mechanic. He wasn't doing this to get revenge for all the victims whom the Mechanic had affected, no. He was doing this as a way to show the Mechanic that he won on a fluke. That he wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. He wanted revenge for him hurting Koizumi, he wanted revenge for what the Mechanic did to him. He wanted to piece his fangs and inject his venom into the Mechanic’s mind, just like how the Mechanic shifted the gears and inner workings of his mind.
Ikemori grabbed a total of five throwing darts, enough to kill the Mechanic and himself if all darts were used. And two vials of antivenom, which was a year's worth of supply. To even make antivenom, he had to gather over 170ml of venom then ship it off to Australia, and wait for weeks on end before getting the antivenom back. This process took months, and in the time he had spent working out and collecting the spider's venom, he was only able to obtain two 10ml tubes of antivenom, which would be enough to save them both of injected with over 20ml of venom
Before Darius left, he stared at his reflection in one of the test tubes he had set on his desk. The test tube filled with a yellow liquid, the funnel web spider’s venom. Ikemori stared upon his reflection, looking at his scars, looking at the man whom he had become. He used to be a law-abiding citizen, a man who worked for the law, not against it. He used to be a man who would never break the laws, a man who cared for everyone in a heartfelt and sweet way, but now. Because of the Mechanic shifting the gears and interworkings of Darius’s mind, he had changed him. A once gambler, to a puppeteer, to an arachnid, such a shift in emotions and mindsets. A shift that forever altered Darius. As he walked away from the test tube he knew this fight would end in two ways. Ikemori coming out on top and finally getting the revenge he oh so craved for an entire year, or the arachnid being squashed and destroyed by the gears of the Mechanic. Only time and damage would tell, but going into this. Darius Ikemori had the full intention of murdering The Mechanic.
Darius went into the sewers, he was lucky enough to have the Mechanic’s old phone number but alas it didn’t work. He got a new phone, and a new identity, so tracking him down was not easy. He was a man who knew the inner workings of Karakura, a man who worked hard to keep his identity hidden from Karakura despite his attacks. Finding him wasn’t going to be an easy task, but in the end, Darius was an EX SGT. He knew how to hunt down a criminal. After searching for what felt like hours he decided that he needed to gain a new approach to all of this. He knew Valentino was somehow in the criminal underworld, what position? That was unknown but he told Valentino he was looking for the Mechanic for ‘private reasons’. And just as Darius wanted, Valentino spread the information like wildfire. He was a man who was trained to keep his mouth shut when needed, but otherwise, he was someone who would gossip constantly. Spread information with those he trusts, and soon enough this information got directly to the man himself. The Mechanic. He called Darius from a burner phone so that Ikemori wouldn’t be able to track his number. Here is where they revealed his true intentions, he wanted a second chance, a second match. The Mechanic agreed, to do one final match under these conditions.
“If I win, You leave me and Koizumi alone forever. You don’t lay another finger on us, no matter the circumstance”
“'I literally want nothing to do with you or Koizumi anymore, just stay out of my way.”
“You don’t gotta be a bitch about it, but deal”
The fight was arranged, but they didn’t discuss details of the fight besides a few rules being no EMS, no KPD, and it has to be done in the sewers where no one can interrupt and stop them or potentially cause issues. Otherwise, it was a free-for-all. The plan was to meet up at the intersection in the sewers. A private location in the sewers, one that would determine the future of Ikemori.
As they arrived the two stared each other down for a moment. The Mechanic’s katana and glove sat amongst his utility belt, his mask covering his true expression. Ikemori stood there, staring down the Mechanic giving him a glare that pierced through him like daggers. But it lasted less than half a second. Before the Mechanic could even speak a word, Ikemori shifted his feet, his right in front of his left, and he launched himself forward with extreme force, moving quicker than before. Normally, Darius takes a second to stare down his opponent and speak to them. The mechanic was expecting that. After all, most criminals do it. But Darius wasn’t playing any games, No. Ikemori came here for blood, and he wasn’t wasting a second and by the time the Mechanic realized this, it was too late.
Their distance was somewhat far apart, a few feet from each other when Ikemori dashed towards him, but the mechanic hadn't expected Darius’s body to have improved so much. He was used to being the attacker, attacking his opponents with surprise not being the one being forced on the defensive right off the bat. Before he could unleash any of his weapons, or even block the unexpected speed-blitz, Darius sent his right fist directly upwards and towards the Mechanic’s jaw. As soon as he was close enough to land the blow, Darius twisted his body and pushed himself upward putting not just moment and strength into the punch, but his body weight as well. As the punch landed on his lower jaw a *CRACK* was echoed throughout the empty sewer room. His jaw broke upon impact, and the Mechanic’s head was forced to look up toward the ceiling. The punch was so strong it practically lifted him to the ground, it was here the mechanic realized, that he wasn’t fighting the Darius he first fought, no. He was fighting someone who came for blood.
Before the Mechanic could react to the heavy uppercut, Darius went in for another large blow. His position was perfect. The mechanic’s chest was wide open for the hit, and he was in a state of daze that slowed him down. Darius smirked as he pulled his left fist back this time and as the Mechanic stumbled and regained his balance, he stared Ikemori in the eyes as he landed a nasty and powerful left hook directly toward his ribs. *CRACK*. The Mechanic’s endurance was no longer protecting his bones. Darius had spent the last year and a half training his muscles, his fists, his strength all for this moment. The Mechanic’s right ribs snapped right down the middle as he got sent flying back onto his back, rolling on the dirty sewer floor as if someone tripped while rolling down a hill.
He quickly got up, steading his breathing, making sure his lungs didn’t expand too much to prevent his lungs from touching his ribcage. He was in pain, a lot of it. But the adrenaline started to kick in. As soon as he stood up though Darius was already speed-blitzing toward him again. Sense Darius knew he wasn’t as fast running, he used his strength to his advantage, He launched himself forward, pushing his body off the ground and towards the Mechanic to gain more speed and momentum.
As Darius grew too close for the Mechanic to counterattack, all he could do was quickly create an X with his arms to protect his torso from any more hits. But Darius saw it as a challenge to test his strength. He smiled devilishly as he pulled his right arm back and sent a powerful right hook directly toward the Mechanic’s block. As it hit another *CRACK* was heard. His left forearm, the one most exposed, had broken upon impact. The Mechanic’s eyes widened as his body shook from the pain, his teeth pressing together creating a hissing sound. It was at this moment he realized, the true strength of Darius Ikemori. For once, he felt fear in combat.
The Mechanic had to get his weapons out. Darius’s physical strength was much more powerful than the Mechanic’s. While his endurance remained on top, he knew at this rate Darius would wear him down quickly with such large blows. These first three had already weakened him down slightly, but before he could reach for any weapons, Darius used his left hand to grab the Mechanic’s kitsune mask by the ear and pull him in. While the Mechanic was still in a state of shock and still underprepared for the sudden attacks Ikemori was landing he lifted his knee and slammed it directly upwards into the Mechanic’s gut. The land slammed into the Mechanic’s stomach, pushing vomit up toward his mouth, but Darius wasn’t done. He twisted his body and shifted it so that his foot was now positioned where his knee was and quickly he sent the Mechanic flying back. As the kick landed he held back the vomit creeping up from his throat. He couldn’t keep fighting like this.
Quickly the injured Mechanic caught himself removed the gauntlet from his utility belt and attached it to his left arm. With a quick motion, the five blades swung out. The Mechanic stumbled as Darius dashed directly towards him again. He was pushing him more and more down the intersection, more and more into the tunnels of the sewers. The Mechanic started to sweat, the nauseous feeling from the knee and kick to his gut remained at the back of his throat. And if he breathed too deeply his lungs would press against his ribs and hurt. His forearm struggled to deal with the weight of the gauntlet as it pulled down on the broken bones and bruised muscles. He had started with the advantage of throwing the Mechanic off mentally, and because of this he had the perfect openings to land such powerful punches and blows.
Though the Mechanic couldn’t let this lead last long, he couldn’t let Ikemori have control over the situation. So he allowed the adrenaline to follow through his body and mask the pain caused by the broken bones and the uncomfortable feeling in his gut. As Darius grew closer to the Mechnic, Darius aimed his left fist directly at his solar plexus. The Mechanic smirked under his mask. Ikemori was predictable when it came to his fights, the main that he had going for him was his strength and speed of attacks.
Darius was beginning to become predictable to the Mechanic, his combat style was easily able to be recognized. It was simply a matter of handling the strength that followed with every hit.
“The gambler falls today, all I have to do is land a few slices, and it's over for him.”
The Mechanic thought
Darius leaned forward and down and prepared for another uppercut, this time aimed at his stomach again. The Mechanic smirked as he pulled his gauntlet back and twisted his body, he used his body’s weight and the momentum from the twist to help send his fist directly towards Ikemori’s fist attempting to puncture it like last time. He knew that if he weakened down Darius’s fists, he would weaken down Ikemori
However, what he didn’t expect was for Darius to make a sudden stop. Darius planted his foot into the ground and stopped his movement dead in his tracks. The Mechanic’s attack was already in motion, the gauntlet swung downwards and missed Darius by an inch, his eyes widened as Darius sent his uppercut directly for his chin instead of his gut. *CRACK*
Darius landed a large and powerful uppercut directly in the center of the chin. It cracked down the middle, and his jaw sent a pulsing pain throughout his face as his head whipped back. Because his body was already whipped back a bit, it allowed the Mechanic to jump back avoiding Darius’s follow-up left jab. Darius was clearly on the pure offensive, something the Mechanic could work around as soon as he was able to gather his balance and stance.
And just as the Mechanic expected, as soon as Darius missed his jab and positioned himself he dashed directly towards the Mechanic AGAIN. It was clear that unlike last time he wasn’t going to do any sort of standoff and talking moment. No, he was purely here for blood and the Mechanic realized this. He realized this wasn’t an ordinary fight anymore, this wasn’t a simple revenge fight. No, he realized that Darius was here to beat the Mechanic to death.
“Ikemori you’re stronger, I like that.”
The Mechanic said under the mask as he went on the offensive too, lunging himself toward Darius and aiming the gauntlet directly for his gut. Darius quickly shifted to the defensive and aimed his left fist for an anchor punch to the gauntlet. His fist collided with the metal gauntlet forcing the Mechanic’s fist to go downwards and towards his leg instead of his torso. The 5 blades sliced down Darius’s calf. The punch was strong enough to vibrate the metal of the gauntlet, replicating the sort of energy you get from slamming a metal bat into a rock. As the Mechanic’s body leaned down with the force of the punch, Darius wasted no time to pull his right arm back and land a quick jab to his stomach once again. Vomit filled his mouth as he stumbled back. Swallowing the vomit and hiding his disgusted look behind the mask. Darius repositioned his stance to a standing tall position instead of a leaned-down sort of stance. The Mechanic quickly put his gauntlet away and unsheathed his katana, this way he could gain some distance between him and Darius and still deal damage
The Mechanic realized his strength was no match for Darius’. And if it was a fist versus fist-based fight, he would most certainly lose. But he had chances with his weapons. He held out the katana, forcing a standoff with Ikemori which allowed the Mechanic to fully regain his balance, evening the playing field.
“What’s wrong Ikemori? Not in the speaking mood hm?”
“Shut up and stop talking, I came here to fight, not to talk”
Ikemori said as he stared the Mechnic down. His eyes were emotionless. His face was resting and he looked as if he was tired and depressed. He didn’t even acknowledge the fact his leg was bleeding from the five-bladed slash. He let the blood bleed down his leg and stain his pants. Cracking his knuckles and winding up his shoulder without wasting another second Darius lunged himself with high speed and strength directly towards the Mechanic, and the Mechanic dashed towards him, the katana raised over his shoulder, ready for a downwards sort of slash.
As they grew closer the Mechanic swung the katana downwards over his shoulder, the blade guiding down and going for Darius’s chest. Though Darius kept running towards him, he didn’t stop to dodge, he didn’t adjust his positioning to defend the attack, no. Instead, he lifted his right forearm above his head and blocked the swing from the katana. The katana cut deep into his flesh and muscle, but he didn't flinch. His facial expression and breathing remained the same. Due to the katana being stuck in his forearm he pushed and guided the blade away from his own and the Mechanic’s body, moving his forearm to the right and down, opening up the Mechanic’s chest and face. Darius quickly pulled his left arm back and sent a quick and powerful jab directly into the Mechanic’s upper ribcage. Another crack echoed through the room as the center bone in his ribcage cracked down the middle. It sent the Mechanic back, and Darius’s right forearm now had a large deep cut, followed by another cut down to his wrist which was caused by him guiding the blade away. Blood dripped onto the sewer floor and his outfit.
Darius took a second to unravel his tie, removing it from his outfit. He tightly wrapped it around his forearm cut, slowing down the bleeding. As soon as it was tightly wrapped and in place, he went straight back to fighting, dashing, and lunging head-on toward the Mechanic. Meanwhile, the Mechanic took out the gauntlet and put it on his right hand, and the katana in his left. He didn’t need much strength to use the katana, so it didn’t matter that he was using his injured arm for it. And at the same time as Ikemori, he dashed towards him as well. His mask hid his smile, for once, these two were going 100% in this fight, and the Mechanic was loving it.
Darius sent his right fist directly for the Mechanic’s neck and the mechanic aimed his gauntlet for his bad lung. And at the same time, both their hits collided. Darius’s fist slammed directly into the Mechanic’s jugular, and the Mechanic’s metal gauntlet slammed into his bad lung. They both stumbled back and fell to the floor from the impact. The Mechanic clenched his neck as his throat tightened, making it only harder to breathe. Darius clutched his chest as his weak lungs began to pump air through him at an irregular speed, throwing his breathing off. Darius began to slowly pick himself up, attempting to steady his breathing and the pain from the weakened lung but by the time he was on his feet the Mechanic had swiftly recovered using his endurance and adrenaline to push through the pain. He held the blade in a reverse grip, the katana held pridefully above his head as the point aimed downwards for Darius's heart. He slammed the blade downwards but before it could pierce into Darius’s heart he rolled back and out of range, the katana slamming into the floor instead
As he rolled he quickly rolled back onto his feet, his knees tucked into his chest. Pulling his shoulders back he quickly frog-jumped directly towards the Mechanic, a large and devilish smile spread across his face. Darius aimed his left fist somewhere toward his torso. The Mechanic quickly pulled his fist with the gauntlet back and slammed it directly into Ikemori’s fist. As he took the blow Darius twisted his body with the Mechanic’s punch, this way his fist wouldn’t break on impact, as well as it prepared him for his next punch. Darius quickly sent a quick left hook to the side of the Mechanic’s jaw. He stumbled back as his jaw dislocated from its position. The Mechanic groaned in pain and annoyance as he used his free hand to pop his jaw back into place. Dashing towards Darius he snatched the Katana from its place on his way, they both ran towards each other once again ready for another head-on set of attacks. For the first time, in the Mechanic’s mind, he thought to himself
‘Am I… going to lose?”
The Mechicic unsheathed the 5 blades of the gauntlet and swung it directly toward Ikemori’s neck. Leaning himself back he stopped in his place and dodged the attack, though doing so he lost all the momentum he gained. Before Darius could dodge anymore the Mechanic pulled the katana back and thrusted it forward directly towards his gut. Ikemori knew he wouldn’t be able to fully swerve the attack, so he had to make a sacrifice.
Moving to the side a little he instead let the blade slice fully through his hand. The blade goes in through his palm and out the back of his right hand. Darius pushed through the pain just like before, allowing the adrenaline to follow through his body and lower the pain. He focused on the task at hand, destroying the Mechanic. Setting his mind aside from the pain he pushed himself forward, his hand going down the blade until it was at the guard of the katana. The Mechanic stood there in shock as Darius gripped the guard with his injured hand. Now that he was only a few inches away from the Mechanic, Darius leaned his head back and slammed his head and body forward, delivering a powerful headbutt directly to the Mechanic’s mask. He let go of the katana as he stumbled and fell onto his back, the mask defending his skull and face from any potential damage
The mechanic rested there against the cold, sewer intersection. His hands were planted behind him to keep himself up. He watched as Darius slowly walked towards him, pulling the katana out of his hand. The Mechanic realized something was wrong with this Darius. Something had changed him in that coma. He wasn’t fighting the same Darius from before, no. He was going up against someone much more deadly and ruthless. Someone much more unforgiving
“What’s wrong? It hurts, doesn’t it? To have your bones broken and still being pushed against your limits”
The mechanic didn’t say anything back, he attempted to quickly move forward a bit and shift onto his knees so that he could stand up, but right before he could Darius lunged towards him and kicked him in the upper chest. The mechanic rolled back stopping on his side. He lay there, his breath shaky as the pain from all the hits settled in, pulsating throughout his body
“Go on, stand up.”
The Mechanic once again attempted to quickly stand despite being in agony. But Darius once again didn’t let him. He stomped directly onto the hand with the gauntlet with his left foot, then using his right he stomped onto the Mechanic’s neck pushing him onto his stomach and the floor and cutting off his airway. Removing his feet off the mechanic Darius grabbed the back of his blackout attire and threw him up onto his back before kicking him once again in the upper chest, sending him rolling back into the intersection once again.”
“I said, stand.”
The Mechanic laid there on his stomach. Looking up as he watched Darius slowly approach him again. His breathing was rapid, his body shaky. He eyed the katana, which was bloody and far behind Darius. He attempted to once again stand up. Using his hands to push himself into a crouched position but once again Darius kicked him right back down.
“You’re pathetic. Relying on your weapons and endurance instead of physical strength. You rely on using your weapons to weaken your opponents than play the time game with them? Look where it's gotten you. On the floor, like the sewer rat, you are. ”
The Mechanic is filled with rage. He was being out beaten by Darius, the Darius he once tortured and beaten almost to death in his office. This time, Darius stopped walking towards him, and as soon as he did the mechanic slowly stood himself up. His body swayed back and forth, stumbling forward and down a bit. His balance was so off-centered. His body still shook from the pain. It was clear, that the Mechanic was truly weak. But he didn’t give up.
“You think you’re all that huh Ikemori? Just because you’ve gotten stronger doesn’t mean you are suddenly better. I should have killed you in that hospital bed, and now.. I'll ensure I finish the job ”
The mechanic laughed, and his laugh spread throughout the sewer walls and tunnels like wildlife spreading throughout a forest. Darius stared him down, looking at his eyes through the peepholes of the mask. His expression remained neutral, at this moment in time it was impossible to tell what emotions Darius was truly feeling.
Adrenaline began to pump through the Mechanic again, numbing out the pain again as he hyped himself up. Never once had he gone up against someone like Darius mentally or physically. This was more than a fight to him now, both of them now had the intention to kill each other. And with that being said, Darius Ikemori and Laohu Zhuang dashed toward each other with everything, they had left
Darius pulled his right arm back, aiming directly for the Mechanic’s solar plexus. With the speed and momentum he had gained this sort of hit would finish him off. The Mechanic did the same, except aiming the gauntlet for Darius’s weak lung again, the blades sheathed this time. As soon as he was close enough, the Mechanic swung his fist directly toward Darius’s chest, and Darius swung his fist directly toward the Mechanic’s. But the Mechanic was able to get his attack in first due to being closer to Ikemori. As the hit landed Darius got knocked back, his right ribcage breaking upon impact as his breathing became irregular and unstable again. One lung flowing air at a normal pace, the other at an irregular. He stood there, a few feet away from the Mechanic attempting to catch his breath, struggling to stand. The Mechanic smiled from under the mask as he lunged towards Darius and took this moment of weakened to unsheath the blades and move his arm upwards. As soon as he got close enough to Darius, he swung his arm and fist downwards towards his face. Ikemori still weakened by the irregular breathing lifted his arms and blocked the hit just barely, though it was too late. The 5 blades cut ever so slightly into his eye and nose, cutting the skin but missing the nerves and vital spots. Darius lept back and caught his breathing finally. Blood dripped down his face as his right eye remained shut.
As Darius stood there, blood dripping down onto the floor from his cuts he just laughed. The Mechanic raised an eyebrow under the mask. Why was Darius laughing?
‘You think that hurts..? You think after everything you’re done I wouldn’t have learned a few tricks to counter your cuts and slashes??”
Darius open mouth laughed as he quickly got into another lunging stance, he was a few feet away from the Mechanic. As his laugh turned into a giggle he stared down the Mechanic, staring into his eyes through the peephole of the mask. Darius yelled out
“I’ll show you the definition of TRUE PAIN”
As the Mechanic stared down Darius Ikemori, he sensed something was wrong with him. Something had changed. For the first time in his life, he felt nervous and uneasy about this fight.
And with that, Darius lunged towards the Mechanic. And without wasting any time either the Mechanic lunged towards him. But.. Darius had enough of just beating the Mechanic and this back-and-forth banter. It was time that he took full control of the situation. He smiled devilishly at the Mechanic as he reached behind him and under his shirt with his left hand. And before the Mechanic could get close enough to even touch him, he pulled out the poison dart he had been saving and threw it directly into the Mechanic’s neck. Darius laughed as the Mechanic froze in his place as he felt the needle puncture his neck, feeling the venom be pushed into his veins. His eyes darted towards it. He didn’t expect Ikemori to possess any sort of weapon, he had no clue he even had this on him. He quickly pulled it out but it was too late. Enough venom had entered his bloodstream to allow the side effects to kick in shortly. While he was distracted, Darius took the opportunity to instead pull his left arm back and land the strongest punch of the entire fight directly to his liver. A shockwave of pain was sent throughout the Mechanic’s body. His eyes widened as his body completely shut down. He began to fall forward and toward the ground when Darius pulled his right arm back and landed a nasty uppercut directly to his solar plexus. Every bit of air inside the Mechanic’s lungs was forced out, and another large shockwave of pain spread throughout his body. The Mechanic’s body grew fully limp as it fully shut down from both the large impacts to such weak spots, and the entire time Darius was smiling and laughing.
Darius laughed as the Mechanic fell forward, his body unable to move even a centimeter. It completely shut down, he was completely defenseless. Darius grabbed him back the neck, choking him as he lifted his body back up and slammed him into the wall beside them. The Mechanic’s back slammed into the stone wall, causing even MORE air to leave his body. Darius laughed hysterically as he pulled his arm back and began to deliver right hooks, jabs, and more to the Mechanic’s limp and defenseless body. *CRACK, CRACK, CRACK*. The Mechanic’s bones began to fracture and break with every punch. His ribs, his jaw, his arms. Darius was sending full-blown, ruthless, and powerful punches repeatedly to the mechanic’s upper body and gut. His stomach lining and internal organs bruising as he beat his body over and over again. The Mechanic coughed up blood as Darius delivered more and more punches.
But Darius wasn’t done. He had done all of this damage in 15 seconds, he had another 30 before the venom’s side effects kicked in. He pulled his right arm back and delivered a strong blow directly to the Mechanic’s heart, but what they both didn’t expect was for the Mechanic’s heart to stop beating. The hit was so powerful that despite his ribs protecting it his punch still affected the heart and effectively made it stop beating. The Mechanic grew even more limp as his body began to shut down. He had officially started to die. Darius stepped away as the mechanic fell face-first onto the cold sewer floor, his eyes gently closed and as he let out his last breath he thought to himself
“So this is what death feels like… who would have guessed I would lose to a fucking reporter…”
And with that, Laohu Zhuang died on the sewer floor.
Though, not even 15 seconds later something started his heart up again. It began to beat quickly, his body began to function again. His lungs worked again as he slowly began to breathe oxygen into his body. His eyes shot open as he took a large gasp of air into his lungs. His body shook with pain and agony, and his vision was blurry. He kept his head down and remained lying there on the sewer floor, but that's when he heard Darius’s voice.
“Only I decide when you die.”
Turns out that when the Mechanic died Darius began to give CRP on him to restart his heart backup, Darius Ikemori had killed the Mechanic and brought him back to life just so that he could finish his task. The Mechanic lay there on his back, his body shaking in agony. At this point, he would rather be dead than alive due to the pain. He coughed up more blood onto the back of his mask before he spoke angrily to Darius
“W-Why would you bring me b-back.. Yo-you should have LET ME DIE YOU BA-”
Before he could finish his sentence, the venom kicked in. He tensed up his body as it felt like 1000 hot knives began to stab him in every nerve, vein, and organ. This level of pain outdid the pain of the broken bones and beating, it was something he never had experienced before. His vision grew blurry, and his head began to spin and get nauseous. His mouth and lips became numb, his body began to heavily sweat, and his breathing became shallow and hard as if something was blocking his lungs. The venom had kicked in, and it was doing its damage
“That’s why. I’m not going to let you die when the best part didn’t start yet.”
Darius laughed as he looked down at the suffering and trembling Mechanic. He lifted his foot and stomped on his stomach. With moments to spare the Mechanic rolled over and lifted his mask as he threw up a combination of his blood and vomit. He felt his heart rate rise to dramatic and dangerous rates. His blood pressure spiking as well. His vision began to double, and he struggled to swallow his saliva. His head pounded as if the concussion he had gained wasn't enough. He was in the most discomfort and pain he had ever been in in his entire life
“It hurts, doesn’t it? Feeling the venom coursing through your veins. Feeling the side effects tortures your body. That dart I threw? A little thing I made while I was gone for a year. I won’t say what's in it, but I’ll say you’re body consumed enough to be lethal. You have 3 hours.”
Darius circled the Mechanic, just like how a predator would circle its prey. He looked down as the Mechanic suffered, a smile across his face. As the Mechanic trembled and shook Darius grabbed the back of his uniform and kneed him in the neck causing him to throw up again as he fell back onto the floor.
“T-three hours till what..?”
The Mechanic said as the side effects only got worse and worse
“Death.”
As Darius said those words, the Mechanic’s eyes widened. He attempted to move his body but the pain from the venom and the broken bones was too much for him. The side effects from the venom rendered him immobile. It was all too much, too overwhelming for the Mechanic. He turned to the side as he threw up again.
“You want to live? You want the side effects to stop?”
The Mechanic nodded, unable to say anything at this point as his throat closed and cut his airways off
“You will leave me and Koizumi Saiky alone, and never lay a single hand on any of us again. No matter the circumstance. If you agree, I'll give you the antivenom. So, do we have a deal?”
Darius Ikemori had the Mechanic trapped in his webs, unable to escape or move, unable to fight back. There was only one way out of it, and that was to accept Darius’s deal. So, he nodded. And as the Mechanic nodded his head Darius leaned down and injected him with the antivenom. It flowed through his veins rapidly and instantly the side effects began to slow down and weaken. The Mechanic began to be able to breathe and see again. He let out a sigh of relief as the pain slowly went away
The Mechanic rolled onto his back, groaning in agony as he did so. His back was the least damaged spot, so laying on it was the most comfortable he could get. His breathing was still irregular, his body so worn down he couldn’t move. All he heard was the footsteps of Darius walking away from him, but he didn’t even have the strength to look
“You will live, painfully. But you will survive. Let’s hope someone can get you.”
The Mechanic tried to speak but he was too weak. All he could do was listen to Darius’s footsteps leave the area. His footsteps echoed through the sewers. Darius picked up the Mechanic's katana and placed it against the edge of the floor intersection. Most of the katana was handed off the side, while the handle remained on the floor. Darius pressed his foot against the handle of the katana with his right foot, then lifting his left he leaned forward and stomped downwards onto the center of the blade. A snap was heard, followed by the sounds of metal hitting the floor.
The Mechanic lay there. His body was so overwhelmed and overstimulated with the insane amount of pain that was pulsating through every bone, and every organ and every inch of his body felt as if his bones and body were being crushed and stabbed. He lay there, defeated, beaten, and broken. Removing his mask he coughed up a bit more blood and threw up before slowly closing his eyes and drifting off into a state of unconsciousness. Where he and his body could relax.
After two hours the Mechanic woke up. The venom was out of his system but his body was still in so much pain from the broken and shattered bones. Using his remaining strength he lifted himself to a standing position. Luckily, his legs remained ok and undamaged. He slowly and carefully walked to the crime clinic, where he knew he would be safe from KPD or his co-workers. Meanwhile, Darius had returned to the Saiky estate, where he had Koizumi tending to his cuts and wounds. Darius was also exhausted, but he didn’t want to let the Mechanic see that. They both began their healing process after the fight, ending the feud between Darius and the Mechanic.
OOCLY NOTE:
Credit and big thanks to @harubii, @deztinsy on discord, @wavestalker on discord, and @GuttedValentine for making the art of Darius! They did a wonderful job and I highly recommend ordering from them! And thank you to @6panda for making the custom tarot cards!!!
I will update this as time goes on. And no, no one will be added to the relationship section BESIDES important people who play a large impact too lore. Those who do play a large impact will be given a nickname and will either be kept anonymous for lore reasons (to prevent metagame) or will be named. Though normal friends or family will be left out of it.
PLEASE DO NOT ASK TO BE PUT INTO THE BIO. IF I FEEL YOU PLAY A LARGE ENOUGH PART IN DARIUS'S LIFE I'LL ADD YOU BUT IF YOU ASK WON'T.
Credit and big thanks to @harubii, @deztinsy on discord, @wavestalker on discord, and @GuttedValentine for making the art of Darius! They did a wonderful job and I highly recommend ordering from them! And thank you to @6panda for making the custom tarot cards!!!
I will update this as time goes on. And no, no one will be added to the relationship section BESIDES important people who play a large impact too lore. Those who do play a large impact will be given a nickname and will either be kept anonymous for lore reasons (to prevent metagame) or will be named. Though normal friends or family will be left out of it.
PLEASE DO NOT ASK TO BE PUT INTO THE BIO. IF I FEEL YOU PLAY A LARGE ENOUGH PART IN DARIUS'S LIFE I'LL ADD YOU BUT IF YOU ASK WON'T.
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