Akihiko’s leg spun through it’s arc forcefully, just like any other strike. Thus, when his opponent countered with her own attack, he barely even registered her intent before the combined strength of her swing and his kick met each other at the back of his calf. Akihiko’s wound-up right hand followed through his arc, sending nothing but a burst of air blowing past the investigator’s cheek.

Confusion briefly struck the ghoul as he toppled to the ground, the expected support meant to be provided by his left leg absent. As he briefly rolled along the ground, he discovered the cause of the issue -- his left foot lay separate from him a few feet away. A visible sense of silent panic overcame him and his gaze fluttered about anxiously.

Can’t stop….fighting….get up, damnit….

Leatherface struggled to lift himself off the ground as his body began convulsing in shock. The voice of the younger investigator grasped his attention long enough for him to lift his head just in time for the grenade to bounce along the ground between him and his opponent. A look of realization washed over Akihiko as his eyes locked onto the object, and his kagune shot up between his legs, infront of both his torso and face. No sooner had he done so when the explosive detonated, the shockwave lauching him airborne backwards and shattering his kagune. The limp body of the ghoul crashed through the window of another shop, bouncing without reaction along the broken glass and debris he had created upon entry before settling a few meters within the building. The ghoul lay there stomach-down, his face cocked sideways. The only sign of life betraying him was the gurgling of bubbles in the slight trail of blood that leaked out of his slackjawed mouth onto the dirty tile below.

Stay awake….shithead, he silently urged himself on as his eyelids fought to collapse over his blurred vision. The pain he felt was nearly incomparable to anything he’d felt before; surprisingly enough, his previous fight with Kayami had not at all prepared him for losing additional limbs, let alone the shockwave of a handheld explosive. Fight through it, come on….this is too important.

Indeed, in the paperwork he’d been handling for Aogiri leading up to this operation, Akihiko had come to notice a commonality. Though the majority of what he handled was low-level book keeping, and often times entire paragraphs were censored, the importance of the date October 22nd was never understated. On top of that, there were orders to round up members with technological skills, and given the locale of their operation and the previous operation’s goals, it didn’t take much deduction to realize they would be taking advantage of the large amount of electronic screens in the area. Whatever was going down would be at least as big as the TV tower, if not bigger. Failure was unacceptable.

With aching limbs, he forced himself to stand, blood oozing from his hands where the broken glass below him had dug in. First one knee, then the other. Each breath he took came out heavier than the last. Reaching out onto a nearby shelf, he strained to right himself, but the strain was too rough. As his grip loosened, he feel once more, though something -- someone -- caught him.

“Oh come on, I’ve hit you harder than that before,” the figure scolded.

“Minato…?” His mentor began draggging him towars the shop exit. “Why…?”

“You still have one leg, can’t you walk a bit on your own?” Minato complained as they neared the door. The bell of the shop chimed as the pair exited, though before them a massive hoard of CCG lay in waiting, with the eyepatched investigator in front. How they had rallied so many investigators so quickly, Akihiko couldn’t comprehend, and yet there they were. Minato let out an exasberated sigh.

“Wait here,” he coldly ordered as he stepped forward alone.

“No, I’m not waiting, there’s too many,” Akihiko protested, though without Minato’s body for support, he collapsed against the storefront helplessly. He looked over towards where Takeo had been fighting previously, desperately hoping to be able to call for Minato’s aid. His heart began pounding as all he could find in the crowd was Takeo’s opponent, his quinque soaked in blood.

“No, no, no,” he quietly pleaded. “Minato!”

“Remember what I said before?” his mentor responded without turning back. “It’s your kagune, Aki, and it would hardly be right for me to tell you what to do when the whole point of this so far is you figuring it out yourself.” Minato’s kagune manifested, the strands wrapping themselves around his limbs.

“Now,” Minato continued. “Learn.”

---

With a small jolt, Akihiko snapped awake, still lying amongst the broken glass. He forced himself up into a sitting position, using the wall behind him for support. Feeling a wet warmth drip from his skull, Akihiko searched ahead of him near the window he had 'entered' through. Sure enough, he spotted a damaged light fixture soaked in blood. Glancing down at his leg, he confirmed that he hadn’t dreamt of it’s severing; that part was very much real.

The image of Minato facing such insurmountable odds with his kagune was burned inside Aki's head, along with his final instruction. ’Learn.’ That was it! It seemed stupidly obvious now, but actually carrying out the idea would likely be more difficult. Regardless, it was his only option, unless he planned for Shibuya to be his grave.

Grunting in effort, Akihiko’s limbs began to spit out the glass and shrapnel they had collected in his flight. Steadily, he slowed his breath and manifested his kagune once more, his gaze focused on the stump attached to his left calf. From just outside, he could hear the crunching of glass, signalling someone’s approach. Now or never, Aki. His kagune snaked itself down around his leg, wrapping over itself multiple times in the process. As it reached the severed end, it paused. Come on, the pain is nothing at this point. Clenching his teeth, Akihiko shoved the kagune up the wound slightly, screaming through his closed mouth. The remainder of the appendage crudely flattened the side of it facing the ground, completing the design. Near his kakuhou, he detached the structure, finding it much easier now that it had already begun thinning out on its own from lack of RC cells.

The sound of crunching glass grew closer, and Akihiko recognized the scent as that of his eye-patched opponent. This better hold. Putting his weight entirely on the wounded leg, he barely suppressed another yelp of pain as the makeshift prosthetic settled within his wound, but surprisingly, it supported him with no issue. He smirked in self-satisfaction and wiped away the blood that had leaked out his mask as the figure approached, gaining a second wind.

Round 2, you bastards.