Takumi Kuruya

* Manga
* Anime

**Takumi Kuruya** (繰屋 匠 *Kuruya Takumi*) is the tritagonist of *Dead Mount Death Play*. He is an informant based in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward who uses illegal drones to collect data alongside other methods. Occasionally, he also helps contract killers conceal their victims' corpses. Per Lisa's instructions, he has become a companion to the Corpse God and assists his fortunetelling business by collecting information on clients during their sessions.

## Appearance

Takumi has short brown hair, several scars on his back, and always keeps his eyes covered with black-purple-and-white VR goggles. He often wears a one-shoulder black tee with four white vertical stripes on its front over a black tank top, shorts, and flip-flops. Occasionally he dons black headphones with green accents.

## Personality

From his illegal drones to his collaborations with criminals and killers, Takumi has a history of valuing his own life and lifestyle more than he does the lives and laws of others. He has even claimed he would 'sell out' his friends if he were in trouble as he has done in the past, though how much this remains the case has been called into question. Takumi was willing to 'take the rap' for his illegal flying for Misaki and Corpse God's sake, and his past 'betrayal' was committed out of terror rather than cold logic.

While Takumi is not necessarily a *coldly* logical person, he's—mostly—*logical* and practical. These qualities have made him the 'voice of reason' in the trio of himself, Corpse God, and Misaki—the 'most mature' one despite the Corpse God being at least a century old. Intelligent and cunning, he is often the first to 'see through' another person's intentions—and though he is usually content to operate behind the scenes and monitor his computer, this canniness has led him to more than once intervene when he can tell someone is trying to take advantage of the Corpse God.

On such occasions, Takumi is not only more than willing to be blunt. He's willing to blackmail, bluff, and bicker as needed, taking on the role of a negotiator cool-headed or on the offense should the Corpse God falter. His total disregard for notions of superiority based on social or economic class also aids him in this regard; where Kazuki expects a 'commoner' like him to respect her station, he remains unfazed and scorns her attitude even while knowing she possesses far more wealth and influence than him.

Although Takumi tends to play the straight man in the trio, and although he *is* usually the mature voice of reason with a sensible head on his shoulder. However, he has his own occasionally immature eccentricities and emotional buttons. His knee-jerk reaction to Misaki teasingly saying he ought to be happy from a girl's 'love bite' is to call her '3-D' and vehemently reject anyone who thinks their romantic advances are a 'gift' or 'all that'; he has sentimental affection for his drones; and the comparison of collecting identity information-via-technology to collecting-via-magic—in other words, the conceptualization of himself as an 'identification wizard'—pleases him more than what might be expected.

## Chronology

### Background

Considered a 'boy genius' in his youth, Takumi established his own software company at the tender age of fourteen but later witnessed his company taken over by adults. After surviving a forced double suicide, he enters criminal society. He uses his technological know-how to make a living, eventually joining the gang Sons of the Styx as an information broker and gofer.

The gang's eventual destruction comes at the hands of yakuza-turned-detective Kōzaburō, whom Takumi personally witnesses kill eight of his comrades in a 'bloodbath' of a scene; terrified, Takumi begs Arase not to kill him and offers to snitch on his friends through his tears. How he might have secured his freedom at the time (if at all) remains unclear; one way or another, he can resume life as an information broker.

At some point, Takumi begins working for Lisa's 'freelance agency', including gathering information and assisting her contract killers with target tracking and corpse disposal. He eventually becomes affiliated with her to some degree; if not exclusively, he is at least affiliated enough to report back to her and fear the consequences of divulging information about her organization.

### Present

Takumi after witnessing what appeared to be a still living Polka Shinoyama via the feed from one of his aerial drone, is left stunned. He initially panics and quickly call someone on the phone to inform them he canceled the request for body cleaners retrieve Polka's corpse in the alley. When asked if the target is still alive he confirms that he is but comments its irregular as Polka should be dead since his throat was slit.

To correct this, Takumi called Misaki Sakimiya, just as she was about to commit suicide, scolding her to do so when she did the job right. But after Misaki lured 'Polka' to a building where the Youtoukorou interogated their enemies to complete the assassination, he shadowed the prey and killer via his drone and hoped Misaki would make it quick or else he wouldn't get paid.

He later witnesses her death from impalement by a giant skeletal hand from his drone. Unable to comprehend what he just saw, the hacker thinks he is losing his mind. He receives a call from Clarissa asking a status update on the job, which he tells her is a complete system crash. To help explain Takumi sends her a recording of Misaki's death though even he questions it, on whether he lost his mind or the guy who killed Misaki is really real.

Takumi sends another drone to accompany Clariss, escorted by Koruto Ichinose, Izuna Ajishiro and several other men to the site to confront 'Polka' for Misaki's death. Clarissa notices that first drone Takumi's sent to observe the assassination is floating behind the boy, and when she inquires about it, Takumi states that he is no longer in control of it and is seemingly operating on its own. After witnessing 'Polka' repair the wound in Misaki's chest, Clarissa realized what Takumi sent her wasn't just special effects and the hacker admits that he could render images like that he would be making a living doing films.

When 'Polka' suggested that Clarissa and her men to forget what they seen, Clarissa refused and a confrontation seemed imminent. When asked for the boy to give her some time, Takumi told her from his computers that they did not have time as the situation as of now was totally one-sided and in favor of the entity posing a Polka. The two parties are distracted by police sirens, causing Takumi to report over his drone speaker that it was concerning a fire at the Shakuzawa Building. To show her Takumi provided her a live feed from a camera he hacked and sent it to her tablet.

The entity possessing Polka took an interest in the fire as it involved several children trapped there and wanted to save them. Clarissa agreed to let the boy save the children and had Takumi guide him to the fire with his drone and to keep an eye on him. Takumi was hesitant at the order but complied, and was shocked that the boy could keep up with his drone. Though at the fire and seen the conflagration, Takumi wondered if there was anything that the boy could do, but was stunned when the entity summoned a massive skeletal hand to throw himself at the building from behind the crowd of people watching the flames.

At the end of the day, the children were all saved, but Takumi was annoyed that the image of giant skeletal hands bringing the children hit the Internet. He was still confused on the boy's code of ethics as he killed Misaki without hesitation. He begged Clarissa to not get involved with the strange boy as he was an unknown. Though he received another shock when Clarissa told him Misaki was about to wake up.

*To be added.*

## Etymology

* The name **Takumi** means "artisan" (匠).
* Takumi's surname **Kuruya** means "repeat, winding, reel, spin, turn (pages), look up, refer to" (繰) (**kuru**) and "roof, house, shop, dealer, seller" (屋) (**ya**).

## Trivia

* His VR goggles can be charged via an electric outlet or the sun, meaning their battery never runs out.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 shint424. (2020, June). デッドマウント・デスプレイ キャラ表③ #DMDP 次にくるマンガ大賞にエントリーしているのでよろしければ投票よろしくお願いします！http://tsugimanga.jp [Tweet]. https://twitter.com/shint424/status/1275368776767160321 Accessed on June 23, 2020.
2. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Chapter 44.
3. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 5, Chapter 37.
4. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 7.
5. ↑ Dead Mount Death Play (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 1.
6. ↑ Dead Mount Death Play (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 2.
7. ↑ Dead Mount Death Play (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 3.