#᛭ — [VERSE: SURVIVAL] crawl from the grave cause the dead don't die [IZANA KUROKAWA]

[deathfavor]

᛭ — [VERSE: SURVIVAL] crawl from the grave cause the dead don't die [IZANA KUROKAWA]

   Izana should have been dead. Everyone had thought it, even the medical experts had doubted he’d survive when they discovered he still had the weakest trace of a pulse. He expected to be dead as he laid on the cold ground, seeing the world go dark and hearing Kakucho talk. He’d heard hearing was the last sense to go when you died. At least Kakucho’s voice was the last thing to send him off. He didn’t expect to wake up later in an intensive care unit, surrounded by machines keeping him alive against all odds. It’s a miracle no one had expected. But when he finally regains his voice, when they ask if there’s anyone to contact…Izana says no.  

  Instead, he recovers alone. Izana still has connections, influence that he utilizes to keep the truth of his survival buried. For all intents and purposes, Izana Kurokawa is dead to the world. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Izana has no plans to limp into obscurity in the long run, only rest in the shadows of death. It takes ages for Izana to recover enough to be allowed to be released from the hospital, but he still has the funds at least to afford it from the ashes of Tenjiku and his own accounts. 

  The time spent cradled by death is enough to snap him back to his full senses. Izana travels away to recover and to learn a few new tricks. It takes longer than he’d like to regain his full strength – and then push past it to get even stronger.  As infuriating as the recovery pace is though, as much as he aches to reach out, Izana forces himself to be patient and thorough for a greater purpose. He’s heard someone’s taken those who are his, and Izana’s never liked things being taken.  

   And then the day comes where a ghost comes back to familiar stomping grounds. Yet even so, he return is not announced with the trumpets fit for a king, but with the fall of smaller gangs that have gone unnoticed by the other three prominent games. It comes in the form of territory being lost before the gangs have even noticed. And when Izana does come back? He comes back with a vengeance. 

NOTES:

I am torn between him reviving the name Tenjiku or a renaming it Fushichou ( aka help me decide, what do you guys like? )

The idea behind it being Fushichou meaning phoenix ( well technically The Immortal Bird but native speakers said it conveys the idea ) for - symbolixing rebirth, triumph over life's hardships, and a new start (among other things) which both ties to Tenjiku's origin + Izana's more focused / stable goals  

Izana is out of the picture for around a year and a half, give or take a bit. So everything still happens the same up to the Three Deities arc we see. 

Izana calls dibs on killing South 

[deathfavor]

Concern spikes when he sees Kakucho's volatile reaction to his reveal, and Izana isn't sure that Kakucho isn't about to collapse and crack his head open. Which is the exact opposite of what he wants to have happening, though even Izana's not entirely sure if he'll be able to stop Kakucho from that fate if it happens. Thankfully, it doesn't.

" It's me, Kakucho. " Izana confirms, offering reassurance in his voice when he speaks again, striding closer just as he sees Kakucho sink down to his knees with tears spilling down his cheeks.

He allows for Kakucho to grasp onto his leg, his heart aching when Kakucho drags himself closer as he clings to his legs like he might fade away any second. Izana reaches down, his hands cupping Kakucho's face as he tries to swipe away the tears that fall. But his own chest hurts to much, emotion threatening to bring down the king too.

" I know. " And where once he would hesitate, this time he does not. " I'm sorry, Kakucho. " He voice curls around the name each time, as if to emphasize that this was real, that Izana was real. How many of these tears are unsaid grief and how many are joy or relief? " I lost you too. " He lost everything. His lips tremble slightly, and a hot tear slides down his cheek to fall and hit Kakucho's before he can stop it.

How? A good question. " I don't know. " He admits, bending down so he can be closer to Kakucho. " They really thought I would die. I...thought I was. Even when I was recovering. " He admits, trailing one hand over the side of Kakucho's face. " But this is real. I promise you. I'm real, I'm really alive. You can check for a pulse if you want. " He hesitates, searching for everything he wants to say but it comes out easiest in a few words. " I missed you. "

A meet. Someone specifically asking for him. He was no one now, some lackey to South after being beaten and put in his place. So why would anyone ask for him? Kakucho went alone as requested. Doubting anyone cared enough to have him taken out, or if anyone besides South even could.

Fushichou, the phoenix. Who had the gall to call themselves that?

Waiting patiently, various scenarios played out in his head. Yet the moment he hears that voice, how it curls around his name... all thoughts are gone. Heart stops and he has enough agency to whirl around and steady himself with a foot back.

"Iz-zana?" Whether he spoke out loud or not was unclear. Everything was unclear. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. He could feel his body trembling, disconnected from it. Then his name came again and tears welled up in dual-toned eyes.

The world fell, eyes blurry but fixed on Izana as Kakucho landed on his knees. "Izana?? How?" He struggled with his words. "I lost you."

Hands reached out as if to test what he was seeing was real. Grabbing hold of his king's legs and clinging to fabric. Pulling his own body closer to him. He looked up, tears now streaming down the face of the fearsome brawler. "I lost you." He repeats. "We lost you."

"How??"

[deathfavor]

survival starter call | @redue

Izana hadn't been expecting for one of his captains to report that one of Toman's former members was in his territory. As far as he was aware, most of them had seemed fine with letting things be and fading into retirement. So why the hell was someone snooping? It wasn't his main priority but...It could be trouble. With that in mind, the king decides to pay a little visit to where this observer has been spotted.

He approached from behind, ready to crush whatever old member has been poking around like a bug under foot. But he doesn't expect it to be that person, crouched behind a wall in some poor attempt to be stealthy.

" I'm beginning to see why Kisaki viewed you as such a problem, Takemichi. You're stubborn and nosy. " Izana speaks, looming over him with a cold expression. Something old gnashes its teeth in his chest, a dormant volcano that quietly rumbles again, but he pushes it down.

He steps closer, wisteria eyes peering down on him with evident distaste. " What do you think you're doing? " His lips curve up, like he's thought of something funny. " You're not trying to start a fight all by yourself, are you? Or are you trying to get back into the gang lifestyle? "

[deathfavor]

@kyukicho said: "You keep can’t doing this yourself, let me intervene I’m sure we can resolve this." -KakuIza

confrontation starters

Maybe he shouldn't have revealed to Kakucho that he was still alive yet. Maybe it should have waited until the moment Izana slaughtered South and took back what was already rightfully HIS. He once would have done exactly that; before Tenjiku's fall, before the king was believed to be dead to all, even himself. But that incident had changed Izana. Maybe not much, but a little. He's already made Kakucho wait two years, and in this violent life, there was no guarantee he would be able to tell or show Kakucho these things.

Izana isn't terribly surprised that Kakucho would find him again of his own accord. He crouches over some unconscious fool's body and wipes his bloodied hands off on their shirt with a disdainful glare at the body. It'd been a long time since he'd had to do grunt work like this, and even then, it had been by CHOICE. He'd made his authority and power known in juvie and emerged with a group already formed. This was a bit new. Bit boring, really. But it was better - let the dogs maul each other and he'd swoop down with razor sharp talons and flaming wings to burn all the gangs to ashes.

" You're not questioning my abilities, are you, Kakucho? " Izana asks as he stands up, calmly glancing over his shoulder before he properly turns to face his servant. " No intervening. " He strides closer until he's only a couple feet from Kakucho, and finally exhales with a ghost of a smile and a hint of warmth in his eyes. " You really are as reckless as ever. " They probably could brunt force it now to resolves this all, especially with the other members of Tenjiku. But... " There's a plan in place. One where you won't be caught in the crossfire. Patience is important though. "

Still... He tilts his head back, staring up at the cloudy sky with a faint frown. " It is rather exhausting though. I'm tired. " He admits quietly. At least that had been his last move planned for the day, more territory snapped up by his gang. The colder weather too had added to it ; for a bit had been warming up but now it had cooled again and his scars today felt stiff.

[deathfavor]

survival starter call | @kyukicho

It's been so long....too long. Familiar grounds hold a vague sense of unfamiliarity to them now, but he knows where he is going. He's heard the whispers, the rumors. South, Kakucho, all of Tenjiku really, it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. But this....this isn't about that matter yet. This isn't about the gangs. This is a moment that has been long overdue for far too long for someone who he held so dear. For someone who who has been left to think he was DEAD for so long. Something he had fueld when Izana's signature earrings had been given to Kakucho by the police at his request.

Izana stops at the edge of the backroad, peering from the shadows as he spots Kakucho. His heart jumps into his throat - Kakucho's back is to him but he knows. He knows, just as he always has.

You're the only one I have.

Kakucho looks worse for wear - undoubtedly due to South. It makes his chest ache to know he couldn't stop that. ( Nor can he take away the time of Kakucho's grief or their time apart. Maybe Kakucho has healed and moved on, taken to heart the lesson Izana had once told him. But he doubts it. ) But he's relieved that Kakucho is here. He's relieved that the anonymous letter requesting a meet up that Izana had some errand boy deliver personally to Kakucho had been accepted.

" You're still so reckless, Kakucho. You accepted Fushichou's invitation and came without any backup. " Izana finds his voice, stepping forward from the shadows with the same grace that had always befitted the king. He wonders - will Kakucho think he's a hallucination? A ghost? But ghosts don't make sounds when they walk or leave footprints. Izana smiles slightly - he knows Kakucho is plenty strong all on his own, backup would only be a hindrance. " Kakucho. " He repeats, soft and fond as he stops a few feet from his once loyal servant, wisteria eyes watching for his reaction.

[deathfavor]

survival starter call | @ashrifts

Fushichou. It's a name like a ghost - whispered in hushed tones from those who've heard of the gang from the shadows. Gangs and territories fell beneath the inferno of its blazing wings, reduced to ashes before anyone has a chance to realize what has happened. That is how it has worked, taking land from defeated gangs and nipping away small chunks of territory from the other three major gangs. It was too small to seem relevant in the face of the imminent threat of the other two major gangs, yet a step back would reveal the fact more had been stolen than initially thought. ( He wonders if any of the Tenjiku might take secret satisfaction in it - if they've noticed. )

It's a scene that has unfolded once again tonight, with the unconscious forms of Rokuhara Tandai members sprawled across the dimly lit street while a lone hooded figure stands above the scene with an air of arrogant confidence. But this time is different because there's been a very intentional push towards Roppongi, as Fushichou's flames burn dangerously close. Enough to warrant a warning if not a downright fight. Izana's lips curve up ever so slightly when he hears a faint but familiar pattern of footsteps that most others would miss. It's meant to be a stealth attack - but he knows that move.

It brings an ache to his chest, but it brings greater relief. Relief that Ran has come out either under orders ( a sickening thought ) or his own pride with ruling Roppongi. . . . It is relief that he will finally get to see Ran again in a long overdue reunion. Even if he was the only one who knew for the moment.

" Don't even try, Ran. " Izana elegantly sidesteps before the baton can hit him, a motion that seems almost like a dance while he pushes down his hood to reveal the shock of white hair. " Have you learned bad things while following someone else? "

He turns around fully, a small smile on his lips. Izana's pondered over a thousand different scenarios, plots, conversations. Yet he feels woefully, frustratingly, underprepared in the moment. Imagining can't compare to the real experience of seeing Ran again with his own eyes, with all the regret that lurks but the relief from the ache of absence over the past year and a half. " . . . Ran. " This time the name is spoken softer, carefully but threaded in rarely heard warmth.

[deathfavor]

@ashrifts said: ‘Help…’ for izana :^)

send 'Help...' for my muse's reaction to finding yours injured

   Ran Haitani is not someone who is easily taken down. The brothers are stronger as a team, but Ran is perfectly capable on his own. There are very few who could land strikes on him, much less beat him to a point of significant injury, and even fewer to the point where Ran seems to simply be taking a break to recover from it. It’s wrong.  

   Izana stares down at the injured form of Ran without any visible reaction for a few seconds. The reborn king takes in the injuries and bruises with a calculating stare. ( A stare that is the first warning sign of something bad. Izana usually brute forced matters – calculating meant the worst sides of him were coming out to play. ) He finally crouches down in front of Ran so he can look at him eye to eye, but still does not speak. It’s an eerie, ominous silence. 

   He lifts his hand, and the touch is gentle when he wipes away a drop of crimson from Ran’s face. It’s a gentleness that sharply contrasts the visible rage in his eyes. Ran is his and he doesn’t like when people mess with his things. Even if Ran isn’t technically part of his gang yet, even if he’s part of a rival’s gang, it makes no difference. Not really. Not to Izana. There are those who are his, and then there is everyone else. Ran is one of his despite the years. And to know someone did this to Ran makes white hot fury surge in his veins, and revenge make his teeth ache to draw blood.  

   “  Who did it, Ran? “ 

   A simple question that carries the weight of life and death behind it. Kakucho once said he doesn’t know when to stop. That might be true, at least when his ugliest side came to play. Izana thinks its more of a mix of not knowing and not caring. Murderous rage sits brewing in his mind the same way it had right before he was sent to juvie after his attacks. It is not the kind of rage that makes him blindly rampage, it’s the kind of rage that wants to see the one responsible break and hurt in the worst way before he sends them off to a permanent demise. 

  But for all that rage and murderous intent, Izana’s touch is still surprisingly gentle as he brushes his fingers over Ran’s uninjured cheek. Sorry. I promised you this wouldn’t happen again. Ran had been right when Izana had proposed that naïve promise made in a jail cell. Not even Izana could control every aspect of fate. Ran doesn’t need his pity and Izana has no intentions of giving it.  

   “ Was it South ? “ But Ran was smart and wanted to survive, even Izana can’t particularly fathom what could make Ran do something to provoke South unless it had to do with Rindou. Then again, maybe South doesn’t need a reason. 

   He needs to focus not on what he might do in an hour, but the right now.  “ Can you stand up? “ He asks instead, assessing the damage from what he can see. Either way, being out here wasn’t going to help. “ Let’s get you cleaned up. “ It was a statement, not an offer or question. Ran wasn't getting out of Izana's help and watchful eye.  

[deathfavor]

Merciless is the amethyst gaze that focuses on Takemichi with all the intensity of someone pinning insects to a cork board for a display case. Except, this analogy might be too kind. Such experts working to display insects do so with care. Izana stares with the intensity of a sniper peering through the scope at an enemy, or a wolf tearing into a helpless elk brought down. There is nothing delicate, only a razor sharp, ruthless brand of intensity as he witnesses Takemichi fall on his ass. Not an unfamiliar sight given how often he'd been knocked around before.

" I'd have been very insulted if you forgot my name. " Izana remarks, his blunt way of acknowledging the accuracy of Takemichi's remark. He also would have probably decided to beat it into Takemichi's skull. Fortunately, it seems that the blonde isn't quite THAT stupid regardless of appearance or history.

Kisaki killed you. It's a funny way to put it ; not UNTRUE but also not entirely ACCURATE either. Kisaki had been aiming to kill Kakucho on the mad ravings of a broken mind. In truth, it shows how LITTLE Kisaki understood Tenjiku. The others had known it was Izana slipping off the edge - disobeyed his words because they knew better. Izana would never really want that. Not for Kakucho. Not with them, despite how cruel he can be. Sometimes disobedience was real loyalty.

" I thought so. And the rest of the world thinks so. But evidently not, as I assure you I'm quite alive. " Izana finally answers, tilting his head up when a gust of wind rushes through the alleyway. He had been certain Death had come to ferry him away. But while Death had cradled his bleeding soul, it had not cut the teether to this world. He lowers his gaze back to Takemichi's face with a stoic expression. " You didn't answer my question, Takemichi. You trying to start a fight? "

There's something hellish in the flash in his eyes at the mention of where his former members have ended up. But he smothers it, reining it for another time. Instead he squints down at Takemichi with disappointment for a moment before giving a deep sigh. " You're not different in the slightest. Do you need me to beat the answer into your skull for why I'm here? " His lips press together, a painful ache in his chest at the mention of Kakucho. " He does. But I need him to stay where he is for now. " Until he can kill the fool playing king in front of the people and remind them whose really King.

𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧,  takemichi traverses this past with the unfamiliarity of a foreigner in a new land and the unsure first steps of a newborn lambㅤ ───ㅤand without naoto's brains guiding his path or chifuyu's hands pushing his back, he finds that the only coherent plan he can make is: 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛.

it's already hard enough to keep tabs on the top dogs of the three deities era by himself, though; the surfacing of yet another gang dangerously nipping at their heels has had him scrambling for information all around tokyo, resulting in bruised limbs and clumsy annotations in a little notepad he was furiously writing on in his little espionage mission. so busy in his self-appointed task, he doesn't notice the presence behind him until a chillingly familiar voice speaks up. there's a second of confusion, then the cold shiver of panic running down his spine, and in his hurry to turn around, he ends up falling on his ass, blinking up at a man he thought long dead.

ㅤㅤㅤ‘ㅤwha... ?!ㅤ’ㅤㅤa yell that catches in his throat, eyes that widen in doubt and disbelief both when the pain fades to a numb throb. pinching himself is useless when the time that has flowed away tells him there is no such thing as the impossible, yet, yetㅤ ───ㅤㅤ‘ㅤizana kurokawa !ㅤ’

(ㅤbut for a moment, he does not look like izana. standing over him like this, he looks likeㅤ ───ㅤthe abyss staring at him, the puncture point of a heart broken by a bullet, 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, a plea of help choked back for twenty eight years. takemichi's right hand shakes as he hurriedly pushes himself back up.ㅤ)

ㅤㅤㅤ‘ㅤbut how... ? kisaki killed you, didn't he ?ㅤ’ㅤㅤhis memory of that dreadful day was as sharp as the moment itself had been. a thousand questions swarm in his mind, and his lips cannot keep up with their pace.ㅤㅤ‘ㅤwhat happened? why are you here, i thought... i thought tenjiku got assimilated into rokuhara tandai, why are you hangin' around fushichou's place ── wait, what about kakuchan !? does kakuchan know ?ㅤ’ㅤㅤ

[deathfavor]

" It's me. " Izana confirms though he doubts that Ran has any further need of his truth. Wisteria eyes observe one of his former heavenly kings. The signs are subtle of Ran's shock but they are present all the same. Perhaps this wasn't the best way, but Izana knows little other way to achieve his desired meeting. Especially without raising suspicion or having another catch wind before he desires it.

His tongue clicks in a gentle scolding at Ran's words, as if he's given the wrong answer to a homework assignment. " No, you should be surprised. I'm supposed to be dead. " It's a rather blunt remark, but Izana has never been one to shy away from heavyhanded comments. ( Except for when it becomes personal, when something threatens his stability and he recoiled from the truth of his emotions, when despair rewrote the narrative. The truth was this. Izana Kurokawa was terrified of broken trust and it was easier to pretend that others had never genuinely cared for him in the slightest. He is no fool - S-62 and Tenjiku had always been made for everyone to benefit off each other. But there had been more to it - he'd just been too afraid. )

" Evidently, I am not. Which was quite the shock. " Izana remarks , allowing a faint lift of the corner of his lips. " But you are correct on the rest. I am Fushichou's leader. " Perhaps the new name was a little on the nose with the identity of the leader revealed, but there is far more to it than that. A phoenix reborn, not just in a second chance at life, but in priorities that despair and rage had made him too blind to see at the time.

A conversation with Death is quite the enlightening experience . Izana does not speak of those minutes that death had him as its audience. But he had come from it a new person. Who does not come back from Death changed? Near death is enough for many, but to stand in its great halls offers a more radical change - things are not as they were before.

Still, to hear South's name sparks a flash of god-like wrath. He has heard the stories and he dislikes them. To hurt and snare what is his will be met with nothing short of violence.

But that is not his goal in this encounter.

" I am. It took me far longer to recover than I would have liked. " Izana confesses without prompting, the sigh that leaves though his lips carrying notes of frustration in it. " And in the mean time I've discovered the mess that has been born. " Who would have predicted such a situation occurring? " But I'm rather keen on getting rid of South first and foremost. " His gaze shifts just slightly when he falls quiet, studying Ran and the changes of two years.

𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛. he'd still been fairly new, then, a little thing seemingly eager to prove himself, all charming smiles and sly eyes, taking whatever task they'd give him. for money, for power, he doesn't remember it now, but he remembers this: an outraged yell, a large hand bruising its shape around his thin wrist, and a loose metal pipe on the ground. he'd learned, then, that the human skull was as breakable as arms and legs were, and that he'd do anything to survive.

it's the strategy that has worked all these years, the strategy that has kept him alive. ran had never had the time or the luxury for a fair fight, and south has encouraged that violence with great vigor, as if it was by his command alone that ran now roams through his home's streets with nothing but that violence in his mind.

when the intruder easily sidesteps his attack, wisps of moonlight hair slipping past the obscuring hood, ran thinks, for a single moment, that at last his ghosts have finally caught up to him. that years upon years of spilling blood decided it was finally time for his to be spilled, a karmic retribution long overdueㅤ───ㅤand perhaps it is, but not in the way he'd expected. not this cruel.

ㅤㅤㅤ‘ㅤ...izana?ㅤ’ㅤㅤa name he doesn't speak out loud often, not to himself, not to the makeshift memorial at tenjiku's old base he'd made as his first act of freedom. the words that often come easily to him do not do so now ㅤ───ㅤ his lips move, parting, waiting for them to catch the words that evade him right from the air, where he'd once left all the things between them unsaid, and they do not come.

he keeps his distance, instead. the grip on his baton falters, and his eyes are wide, heart heavy in his chest, fluttering and drumming harshly both against his ribcage. it's only when his own name is spoken once more that he feels like he's twelve years old again, someone violently gripping his wrist and dragging him back to the surface from the deafening ocean of his thoughts.

ran knows his ghosts. this is not one of them.

ㅤㅤㅤ‘ㅤit's you.ㅤ’ㅤㅤthere's no room for doubt: ran would know his man in hell, when he'd so nearly followed him there before it had supposedly taken him away from them first. he spares a single look at his underlings at izana's feet and exhales lightly, almost a sigh, almost a chuckle, had he the emotional capacity to express either when all he wants to ask is: how did you survive? why didn't you come to us earlier?ㅤㅤ‘ㅤ...ah. you've been behind these incidents, haven't you? fushichou's captain. i shouldn't be surprised you're the current pain in south's ass.ㅤ’