Arch-Nemesis (SakuAtsu Dystopian/Meta-Human AU)

2

Kiyoomi and Tobio hit the ground right as a whip of blood cracked over their heads and wrapped around Velocity, ripping him free from his ice prison.

Kiyoomi hissed a string of curses. Of all the members of the Black Jackals, why they felt the need to send Bloodhound, Kiyoomi didn't know. Actually, he did – it was because he, Kiyoomi, was there.

He whipped his head around to look at the new assailant, an old foe – a slender man whose black hood couldn't hide his platinum blonde hair, cut in an undercut with the sides a rich brown. His pale arms were on full display – how they were not covered in scars due to the nature of his abilities, Kiyoomi wasn't at all sure.

Blood dripped from Bloodhound's right palm, and Velocity crouched behind him.

Bloodhound always wore a distinct black and gold kitsune mask and his fingers were tipped with mechanical razor-sharp gold-painted steel claws. His black gear was similar to Velocity's but sleeveless.

The reason for the sleeveless gear was obvious enough when Bloodhound crossed his arms and pierced the flesh on the inner sides of his own forearms with his gold claws. Kiyoomi winced where he was crouched, close to the ground in case Raptor was nearby, as Bloodhound dragged his claws down his arms, blood gushing from the wounds. He did it unflinching and without hesitation.

It had been a long time since Kiyoomi had last faced Bloodhound, nearly a year, but he still had that terrifying aura about him. He was a meta-human with the ability of blood manipulation, and he was damn good at using it.

"Call for back up," Kiyoomi directed.

Tobio was about to tell him to do it himself, but right as he opened his mouth, Bloodhound spread his arms wide and jets of blood rocketed towards them. There was a gunshot, and then Kiyoomi and Tobio were on the roof of a building overlooking a tidal wave of blood that crashed into where they had been standing.

The blood was drawn back and suddenly Bloodhound was holding two swords made from solid blood. Tobio cringed as Bloodhound reached back over his shoulders and slashed two long cuts up the length of his lean back.

Blood burst out from the cuts and formed a pair of feathered wings made from webbed blood. A powerful flap, lifted Bloodhound off of the ground and he landed in front of them on the roof. He looked down-right menacing, his wings and blood-swords dripping onto the roof. Blood trickled down his arms as he stalked towards Kiyoomi and Tobio.

"Two on one? Not very fair, I'd say," he chastised.

Kiyoomi had not missed that voice, no matter how pleasant it sounded. It was calm, deathly calm, and sweet like flowing honey with a thick accent, but, with it soft notes, it brought devastation in its wake.

"Long time no see, Bloodhound," Kiyoomi greeted, aiming his gun at the blonde's mask and causing him to pause.

"Aw, did'ja miss me?" Bloodhound tilted his head innocently.

"Not one bit," Kiyoomi replied.

Bloodhound chuckled, "That's a shame, 'cause I missed ya, Void."

'Void' – it's what Bloodhound had always called him even though Kiyoomi had been doubed 'Vortex' by the Jackals. It had been a while since Kiyoomi had heard that one.

Suddenly, a tendril of blood curled around Kiyoomi's ankle and he was thrown from the roof. With quick thinking, Kiyoomi wormholed to the ground. He looked around for Velocity, but the Jackal was gone, and when he wormholed back onto the roof, Bloodhound was gone as well.

Tobio stared at him with an uncharacteristic worry in his eyes. He was sitting on the floor, clutching at his thigh, which had a hole right through it.

Kiyoomi massaged his temples and sighed. He pulled a syringe from his pocket and retrieved some of the blood from the puddles on the roof. He knew for a fact that testing it wouldn't work. The disease had altered Bloodhound's blood-type to something completely unknown so they couldn't even use his blood to trace him.

"Where did he go?" Kiyoomi asked.

Tobio shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know, man. Maybe, he took off while I was occupied with the fucking hole in my leg??" He hissed.

Kiyoomi rolled his eyes, "You have regenerative abilities. Stop whining."

Tobio scoffed and looked away, to which Kiyoomi just continued, "And since you don't like wormholes, I'll see you at headquarters. Bye."

Not stopping to listen to Tobio's protests, Kiyoomi flicked a wrist and a gateway opened up ahead of him. He stepped through and found himself back in the Adlers building.

The Adlers building was a monstrosity of glass and concrete. It was just about the only thing in the city that looked like it hadn't been hit by the apocalypse. Kiyoomi stalked towards his apartment with his guns holstered and his hands in his pockets.

The only good thing that came from working with the Adlers was the fact that they offered a suitable living situation. That and the fact that they possessed something very dear to Kiyoomi were the only reasons he didn't wormhole out of the city already.

"Peaceful life, my ass," Kiyoomi muttered as he locked the door to his apartment and removed his shirt without a second thought.

He chucked it on the floor, vowing to pick it up as soon as he showered and washed away the stray droplets of Bloodhound's blood that landed on him. He tossed his guns on his bed and walked to the ensuite bathroom. He was pretty careless when it came to his guns – they were quite useless without his negative energy as their ammo anyway.

He had a lengthy, thorough shower, after which he stared in the mirror at his bare scarred torso and contemplated his life.

Slightly discolored strips of skin decorated his pale, sculpted torso – scars from countless battles against Bloodhound. He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that the blonde most likely had countless scars of his own. His, however, would be burns from Kiyoomi's negative energy. Kiyoomi knew that it wasn't true but he honestly felt like he'd lost more battles against Bloodhound than he'd won.

Kiyoomi couldn't count the amount of times that he'd been at Bloodhound's mercy, only for the blonde to merely incapacitate him and then escape. If Kiyoomi had a chance like Bloodhound's countless chances, the only thing the blonde's blood would be touching was the soil six-feet-deep underground.

The ringing of Kiyoomi's phone brought him out of his thoughts. The caller identification read 'Hirugami Fukuro'.

Kiyoomi sighed and answered, bringing the phone up to his ear, "What's up, boss?"

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Me proofreading this and realizing I forgot an author's note: 🫲😃🫱

Anygays! Bye!!
-CrackshotReaper

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