| “ | Fallen wolf, your cleansing has come.
— Nemuru Kushinada
|
” |
Nemuru Kushinada is a girl born in the town of Jouga-machi in 1968. Nemuru was the daughter of the town chairman. The town of Jouga, on the surface a normal town in the mountains, notable for growing hassaku fruit, and for tales of an endemic subspecies of wolves were said to inhabit the forests surrounding the town, the basis for a local goddess said to take the form of a white wolf.
In truth, however, the wolves were actually a metaphor for the behavior of the local inhabitants, who are referred to as kamibito, and are said to "both human and not human". It is implied that they may be a different subspecies of humans. The main features of kamibito are an enhanced sense of smell, superhuman strength and agility, and an innate attraction to certain humans, known as "Temptations" who emit a pheromone undetectable to normal humans, but irresistible to the kamibito. When exposed to the pheromone, and particularly, if they come into contact with bodily fluids of an individual who emits said pheromones, typically by kissing or sexual contact, as the kamibito will literally "fall in love" with the emitter, they become addicted and prone to insanity and violence.
This was the world that Nemuru Kushinada was born into. As the sole daughter of the Kushinada clan, she was given the role of 'hunter', charged with assassinating 'fallen wolves'- kamibito who made contact with the bodily fluids of a 'Temptation' and were driven insane- in accordance with ancient religious laws of the town, which are secretly enforced to present day. Nemuru commits her murders at night, wearing a ritual outfit, most notably a wolf's mask, accompanied by other high-ranking kamibito, and kills the Fallen with a large scythe. Nemuru is forced to accept this role, though she is severely psychologically affected by being forced to commit murder again and again.
Battle vs. Pyramid Head (by SPARTAN 119)[]
Nemuru Kushinada ran through an abandoned construction site at night, in her "Hunter costume", armed with her massive scythe. Suddenly, the scenery around her seemed to disintegrate, replaced with the a scenery still similar in structure to the construction site, but the appearance of everything had changed changed. The steel girders of the construction site now appeared old and rusted, several of the panels of drywall have been replaced with rusted iron bars. The exits to the construction site were all block off by iron gates topped with metal spikes. All around there were red stains, which looked like blood. The formerly orange harvest moon in the sky now glowed blood red.
Nemuru felt a chill go down her neck as she heard a scratching sound come from behind her. She turned to the spot, to find herself face to face with a terrifying figure: A large man, over six feet tall, armed with a sword so large he dragged behind him on the ground. The figure's face was covered with a metallic, pyramid-shaped helmet.
Pyramid Head raised his great knife and swung it down at Nemuru. The blade, however, struck only the ground- Nemuru had dodged the right, and retaliated with a diagonal slash with her scythe. Pyramid Head, however, turned his head towards the blow, meaning the scythe blade simply ground against this metal helmet, doing no damage.
Nemuru pressed her attack, slashing at Pyramid Head again, this time making a gash across his chest. However, when Nemuru prepared for her next attack, raising the scythe over her head, Pyramid Head used the opening to seize Nemuru by the throat.
Nemuru dropped her scythe as she coughed and spluttered, struggling to breathe. Pyramid Head, meanwhile, released a tentacle with a sharp point on the end from his helmet. Nemuru had to do something quickly to avoid being impaled.
She did just that, using the superhuman strength granted to her as a kamibito, and kicked Pyramid Head in the face, knocking him backwards and escaping his grip. Nemuru grabbed her scythe and slashed at Pyramid Head, the blade slicing off the tentacle protruding from his helmet.
Pyramid Head let out a grunt of pain, and dropped his great knife, instead picking up a blood stained spear stuck in the ground and charged forward, moving faster than before, before making a spear thrust that just barely grazed Nemuru's side.
Nemuru jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the attack and landing on a steel girder ten feet above the ground. Nemuru then jumped down, making a wide slash with her scythe, cutting a huge gash in Pyramid Head's chest, before coming around with a horizontal swing at the monster's neck. The scythe blade sliced through the unprotected neck, severing the monster's pyramidial head.
Pyramid Head's body fell to the ground, dead.
Nemuru Kushinada walked away as the scenery returned to normal, Pyramid Head's body disappearing completely, saying "I hate geometry!"
WINNER: Nemuru Kushinada
Expert's Opinion[]
This battle was decided by an author tiebreaker vote. Anyway, the expert's (and the author) believed that Nemuru's superhuman agility and normal intelligence would more than make up for her lower durability. The slow moving, less intelligent Pyramid Head simply couldn't keep up. And yes, that one liner is out of character for Nemuru, and was inserted for humor value.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Maebara (Bloody Maiden) (by SPARTAN 119)[]
Nemuru Kushinada got off a small boat, onto the dock on the island of Tooma-Rimiki-jima, armed with her scythe. It was late at night, and the island was deserted. She had been told that there had was a "fallen" kamibito loose on the island. She was there to cleanse the area of the threat. The last place the "fallen" was seen was on the
Maebara watched in the bushes as Nemuru walked up road leading up the side of the central mountain peak on the island. As he did so, he switched his Ipod to All Nightmare Long by Metallica. Maebara crept through the woods, Nemuru having no idea he was there, before he walked into a cave entrance hidden by the forest.
Luck... Runs... Out...
Crawl from the wreckage one more time
Horrific memory twists the mind
Dark, rugged, cold and hard to turn
Path of destruction, feel it burn
Still life
Incarnation
Still life
Infamy
Nemuru kept moving up the path, her scythe in hand, reaching the summit of the mountain within a few minutes. Nemuru walked across the road, through the wooden arch, or torii that marked the entrance to the shrine, and walked down the narrow path to the building of the shrine proper.
Hallucination
Heresy
Still you run, what's to come?
What's to be?
"There's not sign of a kamibito here", Nemuru though, the superhuman sense of smell the kamibito possessed usually allowed them to detect each other, as well as the "Temptations" that drove them to their "fall". Suddenly, she heard something move behind her.
Cause we hunt you down without mercy
Hunt you down all nightmare long
Feel us breathe upon your face
Feel us shift, every move we trace
Nemuru found herself lying on her back, face to face with a man in a leather mask armed with a odd sort of wrist-blade weapon made from a short wakizashi. Maebara thrust his blade forward, aiming for Nemuru's neck. Nemuru moved her head slightly to one side, enough to make the blade barely miss.
Nemuru struck back, punching Maebara in the side, before kicking him backwards, launching him several feet with her superhuman strength. Nemuru got up and, with her superhuman speed, ran back and grabbed her scythe. By the time she had gotten hold of the blade, however, Maebara was on her, having grabbed a naginata displayed in the shrine proper and made a wide downward slice at Nemuru. Nemuru dodged the the right, then jumped backwards, evading a thrust with the naginata.
Maebara stared in surprise as Nemuru jumped a good ten feet in the air, landing on top of the torii, before lunging down at Maebara. Maebara tried to black the attack, but the heavy blade of Nemuru's scythe cut about half way through the shaft, before the naginata handle snapped in two.
Maebara fled, into the shrine, opening a trap door in the floor. Nemuru gave chase, following him down the roughly hewn stone steps, through a tunnel lit only by a few torches, which must have been recently lit.
Suddenly, the tunnel opened up into a wide cavern with an underground lake inside. On the shore of the lake was a second, smaller shrine, with a statuette of a female figure in the middle.
The light that is not light is here
To flush you out with your own fear
You hide, you hide, but will be found
Release your grip without a sound
Suddenly, Nemuru heard an explosion ring out several feet in front of her, blinding and deafening her, and throwing bits of rock everywhere. Several rock fragments embedded themselves into Nemuru's legs and side, causing her to drop the ground, bleeding from her wounds. After the C-4 detonated, Maebara walked out from a shadowy corner of the cavern near the small shrine. He walked over to Nemuru, wakizashi wrist blades at the ready.
Hunt you down without mercy
Hunt you down all nightmare long
Feel us breathe upon your face
Feel us shift, every move we trace
Hunt you down without mercy
Hunt you down all nightmare long, yeah
Luck. Runs.
Nemuru pulled herself with her two hands, her vision becoming blurry, and she was beginning to lose feeling in her legs. She desperately tried to escape the man bent on killing her. Maebara step over Nemuru's bleeding body, wrist blade in hand, as the song on his Ipod neared its end.
You crawl back in
But your luck runs out
Your luck runs out!
Maebara raised his wrist blade and thrust it into Nemuru's neck, ending her life with a single strike.
WINNER: Maebara
Expert's Opinion[]
Maebara won this battle because of his superior weaponry and training. The most important factor that gave him the win, however, was his knowledge of the island, which allowed him to surprise and lay traps for Nemuru, overcoming her superhuman strength. Also, All Nightmare Long is property of Metallica and Warner Music Group. I am not making any profit from referencing the lyrics or linking to the video, so please don't sue me!
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Mai Kawasumi (by SPARTAN 119)[]
Nemuru Kushinada walked down a darkened street in search of the "fallen" that she was to eliminate that night, towards a closed-down school at the end of the road. Suddenly, the third floor front window shattered as a girl armed with a longsword lunged out, before making a rapid jumping slash. Mai's eyes, she had just cleaved through one of the amorphous demons, but to Nemuru, who could not seem the "demons" born of Mai's subconcious reality warping powers, she seemed to have lunged at nothing.
The girl did not bear the scent of a kamibito, and yet, with this superhuman display of strength, she had to be the "fallen". However reluctantly, Nemuru steeled herself to once again carry out the grim duty of the "Hunter", before she bent her knees and jumped across the road in a single bound, before making a second jump as soon as she landed, readying her scythe to strike as she did so.
Mai Kawasumi heard the sound of something flying through the air just in time, but instead of another "demon", she instead faced a girl in a wolf's mask and a white wig lunging at her with a massive scythe. Mai readied her sword just in time, parrying the blow and jumping backwards, onto a parked car.
"Fallen wolf, your cleansing had come", Nemuru said, as she lunged at Mai again. This time, Mai evaded the blow just in time, the blade of the scythe digging a few centimeters into a roof of the car as it landed.
"I don't want to hurt you", Mai replied in her usual soft-spoken voice, "But if you leave me no choice, I will not hold back."
As Nemuru launched another attack, Mai replied with a strike from her longsword, which ground against Nemuru's scythe. A second strike knocked Nemuru off balance, causing her to fall backwards of the car.
Mai made a downward thrust attack at Nemuru, who rolled out of the way. Mai's sword instead struck the pavement hard enough to crack it. This distracted Nemuru just enough to retrieve her scythe, and jump backwards about 10 meters in the air.
As soon as she landed with enough force to damage the roof of the car she landed on, Nemuru jumped again, making a jumping strike with her scythe. The blade met Mai's with a flash of steel and a shower of sparks. Nemuru retaliated with a sideways strike, which Mai evaded and countered with a forward thrust.
Nemuru ducked to the side and then made a diagonal slash with her scythe. Mai evaded this attack as well, and responded with a cut with her sword. The blade cut through the air in a vertical arc, before connecting with the shaft of her scythe. The blade of Mai's longsword cleaved about 2/3 of the way through the shaft, before the rest of it snapped off and splintered.
As Nemuru was momentarily stunned by the loss of her weapon, Mai pressed her advantage. Not wanting to kill the girl, Mai struck her with the pommel of her sword. The strike connected with the bottom of Nemuru's jaw. The blow immediately knocked her unconscious, causing her to collapse onto the concrete.
After checking a moment to make sure her adversary was down, Mai turned away and sheathed her sword.
WINNER: Mai Kawasumi
Expert's Opinion[]
The experts believed that Mai would score a narrow victory thanks to her slightly superior strength as demonstrated by her feats of destruction, as well as her more effective weapon. Her longsword was an actual weapon designed for combat, while Nemuru's scythe is an adapted farm implement.