NO. 44 - The 9th Shadow

"You! You dare attack the Shie Hassaikai!"

I grinned at the three Yakuza standing in my way. Those three were Yu, Setsuno Toya, and Tabe Soramitsu of the Eight Bullets.

Yu is a tall, muscular man with shadowed eyes with a shaved head. His choice of mask was a simple medical mask that covered his mouth, unlike the signature beak-like mask worn by the rest of the Eight Bullets.

Toya had chin-length golden blonde hair that was parted to his left to obscure his right eye. A beak-shaped plague mask rested over his mouth and nose.

Finally, Soramitsu wore a ragged burlap sack mask, unlike his fellow Bullets, which covered his entire head and was held by a rope knot around his neck. The mask has two openings from where Soramitsu's eyes are visible and a stitched smile.

It's the three that fought Tamaki.

"Huh?! Answer me, damnit!" Toya yelled, his eyes burning with anger.

"Let's see… a man who can snatch any one item he wants while another can sprout crystals from his body. And then there's you, ugly. All you do is eat." I said as I pointed to each one of them, causing their expressions to grow panicked after I announced their Quirks.

[+5 SP]

[+5 SP]

[+5 SP]

"How do you know this information?" Yu said carefully, his expression cautious. "Did one of our men talk?"

"That doesn't really matter at this point." I began walking towards them with a growing smile. Flames came to life all around me as miniature volcano heads grew all around the walls. "After all, you three are all dying today."

x x x

[General POV]

Running through the halls, Himiko swung open each door she came across with a bang. With another bang, she looked around the room full of surprised Yakuza thugs room with annoyance.

"Damn it." She said in the low voice of her current Yakuza disguise.

"Let's keep moving."

Himiko nodded at Twice-Clone Sukuna as the two continued running through the hallway. Leaving behind several confused thugs.

"What the hell? Was that Fujimoto? Since when does he wear glasses?" One of the thugs asked as they stepped out of the room to watch the disguised Himiko and TC Sukuna run away.

"Yeah, it was. But who the hell was that guy?"

"Hello!" Jin shouted from behind the group. Spinning around, the small group of thugs turned to see Jin and another Sukuna clone standing a few meters away. "Get ready to get your teeth kicked in! It'll only hurt for a second!"

The small group of thugs never stood a chance at the combined might of Jin and TC Sukuna as they dispatched them all with precision, speed, and skill.

Turning a corner, Himiko and her partner came to a halt as a small white rabbit waved its little arms at them. "Did you find her?!" Himiko asked with a smile. At the rabbit's quick nods, Himiko pumped her hands in victory as she released her disguise. Reaching behind her, she grabbed her cat mask and slipped it over her face. "Lead the way then!"

"You go on ahead, Himiko." TC Sukuna said as Himiko turned to see a man with a black plague mask and a furry vest. Behind him were several other Yakuza thugs holding various kinds of weapons. "I'll hold off these clowns."

"I can help-"

"Go." TC Sukuna said as he slid into a loose fighting stance. "Remember, I'm just a clone."

"You two punks really think I'd let you go!" Sakaki Deidoro yelled sluggishly. He raised a large green bottle of Soju and began chugging the drink. "Have a little taste of my quirk-"

Wham!

"I may not be as fast as the original." TC Sukuna said as he slammed his right fist into Deidoro's stomach, causing the lanky man to throw up all his alcohol. Momentarily stunning the man. "But this should be more than enough for you, sorry sacks."

Himiko didn't waste another second and sprinted after the rabbit.

"Good luck, Sukuna-kun!"

"Don't worry about me! Save Eri!"

x x x

[Shimizu Souta POV]

Deciding to pick up the pace, I rushed through the hallways, sending waves of sharp roots and balls of fire through the compound. Several of Overhaul's common thugs tried to get in my way, but they all ended up being nothing but a minor inconvenience.

Coming to a stop, I looked around the large open room I ended up in. My eyes came to a halt at the sight of two plaque mask-wearing individuals standing in the center.

Rappa Kendo and Tengai Hekiji.

Kendo is a huge, muscular man with long, light brown hair. He is wearing a tattered t-shirt and dark pants covered by a light blue tunic and is decorated with two belts. He also sported a pair of gloves with leather straps that covered his knuckles with metal.

Hekiji wore a traditional dark-colored yukata with a pair of geta on his feet, a long white piece of cloth acting as a belt around his waist. On his face was a plain brown plague mask strapped to his face with three belts, one down his forehead and one on each side of his face, that also covered his ears like mufflers.

"I've heard of you," Hekiji said with malice. "Sukuna. The underworld's boogeyman. Tell me, King of Curses. What have the Shie Hassaikai done to incur your wrath?"

[+5 SP]

"Who flipping cares?! Let's fight, King!" Kendo yelled in excitement as he punched the air in front of him. "Fight me like a real man! No weapons! Just our fists and fighting spirit!"

"What has your little loser group done?" I said, extenuating the word "loser." "How about torturing a child? That sufficient reason for you?"

[+5 SP]

[+5 SP]

"I see. So your goal is to take the girl."

"Yeah. That and to kill each and every one of you." I said as I raised my hands into a brand new hand sign. "You said you wanted a good fight? Well, let's see how you handle this, then… Funeral Tiger!"

Rising from the shadows behind me was a three-meter tall muscular tiger. It stood on two powerful hind legs covered in black and red fur. With its anthropomorphic physique, Funeral Tiger flexed its arms as it walked around me. Its long, sharp fangs shined in the light as it roared loudly. Shaking the very room in its fury.

[+5 SP]

[+5 SP]

"What was that?!" Hekiji yelled as he and Kendo looked around wildly for the source of the noise.

"That was one of the hardest Shikigami I have ever subdued," I said as I threw a pair of Maki's cursed tool glasses at them. "Here. To make things somewhat fair."

Confused but open for anything, Kendo ripped off his plaque mask goggles in favor of slipping in the glasses.

"Rappa! You fool! This could be some sort of trick!"

[+15 SP]

"Amazing!" Kendo muttered in awe as he laid his eyes on the large, muscular Shikigami. A large grin spread over Kendo's face as he punched his fists together. "Now, this will be a fight for the ages!"

Rushing in simultaneously, Kendo and Funeral Tiger met in the center of the room. Their massive fists collided together, sending out an enormous shockwave around them.

Confused as to why his partner was seemingly attacking the air in front of him, Hekiji tentatively placed the glasses over his eyes. Seeing the large Shikigami, the Yakuza member stepped back in shock.

"Pretty impressive, isn't it?" I said as I watched Kendo and Funeral Tiger enter a pure hand-to-hand battle. "It took me a month of careful planning to be able to subjugate that one. Now, he may not be Mahoraga, but Funeral Tiger isn't something to take lightly."

"Yes! Yes! This is it! This is the fight I've always dreamed of!" Kendo said as his face was punched violently to the side by a mean hook.

In retaliation, Kendo swung a powerful uppercut into Funeral Tiger's stomach. Sending the Shikigami back slightly. Growling in anger, Funeral Tiger roared and spun its massive left arm for a wild haymaker that Kendo took on like a champ. Blood exploded from the large gash on the top of his skull, but he paid it no mind. Instead, Kendo began to unleash a torrent of punches at Funeral Tiger's chest. 

"Grah!" Funeral Tiger roared as it swiped its five sharp claws through Kendo's chest. Having moved back in time, the large brawler was able to avoid a lethal blow.

"Claws?!" Kendo roared in anger before shrugging. "I suppose those are part of you. I'll allow it!"

This guy is the textbook definition of a battle maniac.

"Rappa! Watch out-"

"Don't you dare interfere with this fight!" Kendo spun back to glare at Hekiji. Stopping the man from activating his quirk. "If you do, I'll kill you myself!"

"How about I just do that now?"

Blurring in front of Hekiji, I swung my katana through the air and watched it bounce off a round, golden barrier. Stepping back, I lazily looked inside to see Hekiji looking at me unimpressed.

"Did you really think it was going to be-guh?" Hekiji stopped speaking as blood spewed out of his mouth. Looking down, his eyes widened when he saw a large wooden spike spear through his chest.

[+25 SP]

"Yes. Yes, I did think it was going to be easy." I said with a grin while pointing at the ground. "You see, you barrier types like to protect the area around you on the surface. But you never stop to think about what's beneath you."

The man said nothing as his body slumped over, causing his barrier to disappear. With another Bullet dead, I turned to watch Funeral Tiger and Kendo's fight finally reach its climax.

The floors were cracked and broken while large craters and holes littered the walls all around the room from the nonstop onslaughts of attacks from the two strong combatants. Bruised and bloodied, Kendo's large grin never wavered as he breathed heavily. Across from him stood a perfectly intact Funeral Tiger. Its green eyes narrowed sharply at its enemy.

Despite Kendo's relatively strong combat-based Quirk, which granted him the ability to rotate his shoulders at extreme speeds to attack his targets with a near-endless barrage of bullet punches. He ended up being no match for Funeral Tiger.

Funeral Tiger was an incredibly strong Shikigami. Being the second to last one of the Ten Shadows, just behind the Divine General himself. Funeral Tiger's abilities were relatively minimal but incredibly impressive.

Its large and powerful body already gave it the edge versus your run-of-the-mill fighters. Add on its expert level of close-quarters combat that involved quick, powerful strikes and slices from its claws, Funeral Tiger made for an opponent one could not get close to without a plan. To finish things off, similar to Mahorag, Funeral Tiger had a passive ability to learn and adapt to its opponent's fighting style. Making it so that the longer you fought it, the easier it would be to predict your moves and attacks.

It was a damn shame it never got shown off in the JJK canon because it ended up being one of the most badass-looking and dangerous Shikigami on the Ten Shadows roster.

Falling to his knees with both of his arms hanging uselessly beside him, Kendo looked up at Funeral Tiger and me with a satisfied expression.

"That's it… I'm spent. I've only lost to one other man. Safe to say, this fight takes the cake." Kendo turned to me before exposing his neck. "You've earned your kill. Go for it."

In a flash, Funeral Tiger swiped its massive right claws through Kendo's neck. Removing the man's head from his shoulders in a splatter of blood.

[+35 SP]

With its job done, Funeral Tiger sank away into my shadow, leaving me alone with two more dead Bullets. Without giving the corpses another glance, I continued onward through the compound.

-

AN:

Hopefully, you all enjoyed my interpretation of Funeral Tiger. The only Shikigami of the Ten Shadows that never fully appeared in JJK.

If you need help Imaging its appearance in my story, just look up the Tiger Vanguard from Black Myth Wukong. That's pretty much what I imagined it to be(minus the sword), just with a different coat of paint.

Like always, be sure to leave me plenty of comments!

Until next time!