Cold Blooded Lightning
Chapter 12: A Kamui shredded and a disturbing development
[Honnouji Academy]
From the high precipice of the tower, Suzaku was overlooking the preparations for the Tri-City Raids Trip, now clad in a black specially modified on-star uniform made for this trip, this one reminiscent to a gym uniform with the added jacket.
"Well, now that that bitch Harime has decided to show her face things are getting interesting. But if anything, she's just setting things in motion for each of us. Hmm hmm, even better however, Raiden was capable of fighting her on even terms, something I only thought Sastuki was capable of." Suzaku was watching footage from he'd recorded while Raiden was fighting Harime since he'd retreated to his surveillance area after having lost.
"Suzaku!"
When Satsuki yelled from above, Suzaku finally snapped back, the sound of the helicopter reaching his ears.
"Ah Satsuki! Sorry I didn't hear you coming I got lost in thought! How'd the meeting with the Elite's go hmm?"
"I'll tell you once you get on! We're heading out!"
As the helicopter drew closer to the platform, it's entrance platform open, Suzaku simply jumped on when it was close enough, moving and taking the seat opposite Sastuki and looking out the window.
"Heh, if it weren't for the fact this was a high school I would compare this to a large scale military operation. But then again, it kind of is." Suzaku was snickering quietly.
"Have your assigned lieutenants received their orders?"
"Yes. My moles in Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka have already been informed. By the time we arrive they should have already sabotaged the enemies' method of defense if they aren't stupid enough to get caught by the time the operation begins."
"That's good. Inumuta has cut off their communications so they should have no problems."
"That just makes their job easier. One school can't want the other. But, I'm still trying to add in the possible variable of Raiden and Ryuko. Those two are like persistent flies. Or even worse, cockroaches. You can beat them, you can break them, but they just get back up and act like it didn't happen while coming back with a vengeance."
"Well, I doubt Matoi will come, but that should be considered. And I believe your brother's attachment to her will prevent him from going to this trip to sabotage it if she remains in a broken state. It's interesting. At the start of this Matoi hated him, and now they're close friends. It's baffling."
"We weren't much different Satsuki, except I was the one who hated you. Now look, I'm your right hand man and you're calling all the shots. My how far we've come."
"Yes. I do agree."
[Mankanshoku Houshold]
"She still hasn't budged. Great… this is just great!" Raiden growled as he leaned back on the roof, looking up at the sky.
"And I feel sorry for Senketsu. He's been out this whole time."
"And Ryuko won't even talk to me. How am I supposed to help when I don't even know what the problem is? Gagh this is so frustrating!"
"More like you're so worried it's making you angry. We could still go and stop this dumb raid trip before it even starts."
"Me against the entire school? Not happening. Sure they're all in one star uniforms but it'd still be tough."
"You're only saying that because you're more concerned about Ryuko than the trip.
"S-shut up! So what if I'm worried? I just, don't want to go."
"There's still the fact the Nudist Beach base is located in Osaka. If things get hairy they may just find it."
"Ggh… you're making it really hard to stay on the subject at hand you know that?"
"Raiden! We have company can you come in?" Mako shouted from below, poking her head out the window.
"Huh?"
"He's here to!? That's great!?" a male student suddenly shoved his head out the window, and his voice was rather loud.
"Who the hell are you? Woah!" Raiden leaned over a bit too far and wound up face planting onto the ground. "Ow…"
Inside, the four teens were gathered around a small table which had a large bowl of croquettes on it, Ryuko, Mako, and Raiden reading a heavily censored school newspaper.
"What have we here? It says 'We are not blanket-blank's blanks!' Wow, there's all sorts of incomprehensible stuff written here!" Mako declared.
"No kidding." Raiden nodded.
"Read the Kanji too! Satsuki Kiryuin and the Kiryuin Conglomerate are trying to turn the academy's students into soldiers. I couldn't let that happen." Nagita yelled, downing his tea and slamming the cup back down on the tray, and Raiden observed him with a curious glance. Something was just… off about this guy but he couldn't tell what it was. "But the school paper was objected to by the Disciplinary Committee censor, and I was unable distribute it to the students! It drove home just how powerless I truly am!"
"Nagita says he's gotten on the Student Council's bas side and has been banned from school grounds ever since!" Mako stated.
"I can kinda see why." Raiden muttered. Ryuko was just staring at the paper with that same solemn look, one Raiden knew a bit since it was the same one she'd had when the Mankanshoku's had become rich jerks a while back.
"There's no freedom of speech in this school." Nagita yelled, slamming his fist onto the floor.
"Well this isn't the United States of America dude. It's Japan ruled by high school student." Raiden stated flatly, a leaning on a hand.
"There isn't a single person that stands up to Kiryuin." Nagit continued, seemingly ignoring Raiden's snarking.
"Because they're all sacred shitless of her." Raiden yawned.
"Or so I thought. But Ryuko, you and Raiden are different! Ryuko, you defeated the Elite Four by yourself, and Raiden, you beat the head of the Special Ops division, and struck fear into even Satsuki Kiryuin!" Nagita now slammed his foot down hard.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say we struck fear in Satsuki dude." Raiden mumbled, now looking out the window.
"You two are the revolutionaries of Honnouji Academy! I can fight to, if only you'll lead the way!" Nagita proclaimed, and things were silent for a second.
"Then you'll have to fight by yourself then." Ryuko mumbled, and Raiden looked back over his shoulder slightly. "I'm not fighting because I want to. Go home! Beat it!"
"Don't say anything Raiden. It will just make things worse." Reiketsu advised as Raiden opened his mouth.
"What are you fighting for then!?" Nagita yelled as he rose up.
"How the hell should I know?" Ryuko muttered.
"Raiden! What about you! Can't you…"
"Take Ryuko's advice kid and beat it. I'm not offering any help right now. Besides, what could a cumb newspaper do in a school like this huh?" Raiden muttered.
"At the very least, there was one! There was one mane who saw what you've both done and took back his life! So put on that sailor uniform and fight one more time!" Nagita yelled, pointing to Senketsu.
"Want me to punt him out the window?" Raiden mumbled after a second.
"No… I'll handle it." Ryuko muttered as she stood up. "I'm not fighting for other people!" she yelled as she shoved Nagita to the front door, the boy holding on so he wouldn't get shoved out. "Go on, beat it! Give up and go home!"
"I won't give up Matoi! You are my-no, all of Honnouji Academy's-vituous star of hope!" Nagita yelled as he pushed back.
"Just beat it kid!" Raiden yelled as he round house kicked Nagita in the face, sending the boy flying.
"Give it a rest!" Ryuko yelled as she slammed the door.
"I won't let the courage you gave me…" Nagita started, now at the window, and he shot back when Ryuko tried to smack him, "Go to waste! Farewell!" he yelled as he ran off.
"Okay, there is something seriously wrong with that guy. There's no way some random kid in this school would suddenly get so fired up about this."
"Yes… I was getting an odd vibe from him."
"Maybe I'm just being paranoid… but I'd much rather be safe than sorry." Raiden stated as Ryuko went back to just lying down on her futon. "Ryuko could you please tell me what the problem is so I can help?"
"I don't want to talk. Just leave me alone Raiden." Ryuko mumbled, not looking him in the eye.
"Hagh… I'll be upon the roof if you need me." Raiden muttered, flipping out the window and up to his previous perch. "Yeesh, when it was with the Mankanshoku's Ryuko was willing to talk, and now she won't even open her mouth. I want to help, really, I do."
"I know you do Raiden. I can tell by the way your blood tastes right now." Reiketsu muttered.
"Yeah… still… I haven't been able to find anything new about me… but that Harime person seems to know about my father, and then there's still Sastuki and Suzaku who are linked to this… But… strongly… now a part of me doesn't want to know." Raiden muttered.
"Hmm?"
"As in… a part of me just wants things to stay the way they are… well… the good things anyway." Raiden explained.
"Hmm… I know what you mean. I still want to know why I was made, but, maybe it would be better off if I didn't find out. Who knows? Perhaps the truth was meant to stay hidden from us." Reiketsu muttered/
"Maybe…" Raiden yawned, and he fell asleep as the sun went down.
[The Next Evening]
Raiden's eyes snapped open when he heard the multiple crashes and a ton of yelling. When he stood up, the first thing he saw was Nagita getting dragged off by two large students who may have been from the Disciplinary Committee.
"This seems way too convenient. Somebody getting pounded and dragged off right in front of Ryuko…" Raiden muttered.
"Yes… Like you said, something's off here." Reiketsu muttered as Ryuko ran out.
"Let's follow her and see what happens." Raiden muttered as he started jumping from roof to roof.
"No need to explain your plan to me." Reiketsu chuckled. When the two finally reached where Nagita was, Raiden observed everything, surprise crossing his face when it turned out the large students weren't even human.
"I knew there was a good reason I had a bad feeling about you Nagita." Raiden growled as he jumped down, landing next to Ryuko.
"Ah good, both of you are here. That makes things easier on me." Nagita stated, and his seen eye was creepily blank. "As you can see, these are my puppets. Then again, you both are as well I suppose."
"What?" both Kamui users had snarls on their faces with blads at the ready, though Raiden still hadn't transformed.
"Fear resulting from the runaway incident. Rejection of your Kamui. However, you conquer that fear in order to save the helpless. And Ryuken. Worry born from petty little feelings about someone, willing to help all because of that. Both of your reactions are so predictable it's practically adorable!" Nagita chuckled with that same disturbing stare.
"Maybe you should just shut up Nagita!" Raiden yelled as he transformed himself. Nagita started laughing, and the breeze blew his hair to the side to reveal a purple eye patch that Raiden recognized.
"No, you can't be!?" Ryuko gasped.
"Who else could it be!?" Raiden snapped as Nagita changed into Nui after a quick flurry of red threads, and the Grand Courtier was standing in front of the two with that annoying smile plastered to her face.
"Ta-dah!"
"Nui Harime! It was you all along!" Ryuko yelled.
"Looks like I was paranoid for a good reason this time around." Raiden growled as he raised his sword.
[Nui Harime]
"What are you talking about? This was a good rehab wasn't it Ryuko?" Nui asked, completely ignoring Raiden out of disinterest.
"Why this elaborate setup just to get me to put Senketsu back on!?" Ryuko demanded.
"Probably for some completely twisted reason." Raiden muttered.
"You're not welcome here! Leave will you?" Nui stated as she pulled out her scissor blade and attacked Raiden, who blocked and stood firm.
"What did I tell you a few days ago!? I said that I'd keep you away from Ryuko no matter what!" Raiden yelled as he forced Nui back.
"That just won't do at all! I can't have a troublesome boy like you getting in my way! Nope!" Nui giggled as she attacked again. The exchange kept at a stalemate for a bit, until Nui pulled a trick, wraaping Raiden's leg with a thread and tripping him, swinging her blade down straight down his left arm, pretty much splitting it down to the elbow.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Raiden howled as he slammed into the ground, blood pooling.
"RAIDEN!" Ryuko and the two Kamui screamed.
"Now just stay down like a good boy and don't interfere alright Ryuken? Or else you'll wind up like your annoying little parents!" Nui giggled.
"What did you just say? You know why they're dead!?" Raiden growled as he glared at Nui.
"Ooh! I can feel the pressure from your anger! Hahaha! You're more powerful than I thought! Oh well, not like it matters now!" Nui turned away and back to Ryuko.
"Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit!" Raiden growled. He started feeling something odd in his split arm, and when he looked at it he saw the blood moving back in, and his arm seemed to stitch itself back together. "Reiketsu… was that… you?"
"No… I can only heal small external injuries, there'd have been no way for that to heal!" Reiketsu gasped.
"Then what… what was that?" Raiden mumbled as he stood up. "Harime, turn back around and face me…"
"Hmm? What's this? How is your arm back in one piece?" Nui hummed.
"How the hell would I know?!" Raiden snapped as he flaxed his left hand. "But, I guess this has something to do with Life Fibers. I don't know what. But I'd suggest you back away."
"Ohhh… now I have to fight both of you? I only wanted to fight Ryuko." Nui said this in a pouty tone, "But, it's interesting, you're like me Raiden! That's definitely very interesting!"
"You bitch!" both Kamui users yelled as they charged, tearing down the street as they relentlessly assaulted Nui at the same time.
"My you two work well together! You would think you were meant to fight with each other like that! But Ryuko, you're still afraid of yourself aren't you?" Nui giggled as they three blades continually clased.
"I am not!" Ryuko snapped.
"I go through all this trouble and still you're holding back!" Nui stated as she knocked Ryuko's blade out of her hand and kicked Raiden into the nearest building, sending him through quite a few of them in the process. "You're both weaker than I thought. I'm bored!" Nui then proceeded to pound Ryuko as Raiden managed to get back to where they were, panting a bit.
"Ryuko!" Raiden yelled.
"It's all over." Nui stated, and she moved over to Raiden quickly, pinning him down, "Now watch this Ryuken!" she giggled as she forced Raiden to watch Senketsu burst into square pieces as Ryuko screamed.
"SENKETSU!" Reiketsu gasped.
"No… Ryuko… Senketsu…" Raiden muttered.
"Now you're both going to die! Hahahaha!" Nui giggled as she used her threads to keep Raiden in place as she lifted her blade over Ryuko. Raiden flinched a bit when a light hit his eyes, and low and behold, Satsuki was standing there, Suzaku right next to her.
"Oopsie. I guess you figured it already." Nui giggled.
"You're rather predictable Harime. I think you should know that." Suzaku stated flatly. "But my my Raiden. You beat me and then this little girl comes along and whoops your ass. Shameful."
"You shut your tap!" Raiden yelled.
"Why are you here?" Satsuki demanded.
"Are you mad?" Nui asked innocently.
"There is only one way to deal with those who do not obey my orders."
"Oh gosh she really means it…" Nui mumbled, her expression not changing.
"Would you like to undergo the blood purge?" Stasuki threatened as she drew Bakuzan.
"Fine, fine, I'll leave." Nui stated. "I'm bored with them anyway."
"Heh, cocky little bitch." Suzaku huffed as he stepped over to Raiden, planting a foot on his head, "Nrext time I see you Raiden, don't have your face in the dirt because of something like this. I want to see you standing tall and ready to fight me all out once more. Got that? Do that, and maybe I'll tell you everything I know about you."
"How can I trust you?" Raiden growled as Reiketsu shifted back to normal.
"Brothers honor. See you during the Raid Trip." Suzaku chuckled as he and Satsuki left, taking the pieces of Senketsu with them. All except the scarf clutched tightly in Ryuko's left hand. Raiden stood up, pulling back his left sleeve. The skin on his arm was unmarked and smooth as always, like it hadn't even been cut apart.
"Just what the hell was that?" Raiden muttered as he pulled the sleeve back down. He looked at Ryuko, doing his best to avoid getting flustered by the fact she was only down to her underwear as he picked her up. "Senketsu, you still there?"
"Barely… but only because Ryuko held on tightly." Senketsu muttered weakly.
"That's good to hear Shorty. We're gonna have to do something to get the rest of you back though." Reiketsu stated.
"I agree. But we need to worry about Ryuko first." Senketsu stated.
"Yeah. Let's get her to Mikisugi's place. Senketsu, I'm not gonna let something like this happen again. I promise." Raiden stated.
"I know you will. After all, I can tell you care about Ryuko as much as she does you. I'm glad a person like you is looking out for her." Senketsu stated.
"Don't make this situation any more awkward than it is goddammit Senketsu. Sometimes your bluntness isn't appreciated." Raiden muttered, his face flushing.
"Well it is the truth." Senketsu stated.
"Let's just go." Raiden grumbled setting off at a jog. See you at the Raid Trip? Is Suzaku anticipating me to show up? But… just why? And what the hell did Nui mean by "You're just like me?" when she saw my arm heal? Gagh… I try to solve one mystery and more just keep coming up. The universe hates me doesn't it?
A/N
Things are getting tense aren't they? And I also found a second theme song for Raiden.
watch?v=jQU8jUyX5q4
