Ch. 41 Greatest Cruelty
Akane and Tohka are destroying the black robots they saw on the screen in a district of the city that is currently under construction. The robots are plain looking and don't have any real weapons aside from brute strength. Tohka's Sandalphon is a powerful weapon, but Akane's plain katana is cutting through these machines without any real effort. The only thing these robots have is their numbers which are plenty. Akane even exits her spirit form and fights as her human self and it still more than enough to fight these things. She even leaps into the air and shouts.
"Rising Phoenix!"
She then soars diagonally and creates a streak of fire as she descends and the sounds of a bird crying is heard. They keep up the fight as they have energy to spare. It is also a good distraction, but not for them.
Aboard the Bifrost, Shido is walking towards Shiori's room with the intent to talk with her and comfort through the whole fiasco that happened. However, as he is about to enter Shiori's room, he grabbed from behind with a hand over his mouth as he is dragged away.
In the city below, Aki is following the twins to a small little shack that they claim is the ramen place they mentioned. Sora explains.
"Our mom found this place when she was pregnant with m..US, and she smelled the broth then had about five bowls."
Despite the shabby look, the smell coming from the little eatery is great. Aki is the first to enter the shack and is then immediately struck by something upon opening the door.
Elsewhere, the three girls are looking for Miya still, but they seem to have lost track of her for the moment. They attempt to contact the bridge, but Hiro doesn't respond. Without any more leads, Mana suggests.
"I know we said we wouldn't out of caution, but I think we should split up for now."
Kotori and Ellen are iffy about splitting up due to enemy movements, but they agree since it is an optimal move for the moment. They then go their separate ways for the moment. They can't return to the ship yet since Miya is at risk of possibly attacking if she is indeed the enemy and they can't even reach the bridge at the moment.
Back aboard the ship, Shido is thrown into an empty room as a light is immediately switched on. It is a rather empty room that is simply coated with a white tile finish. He turns and sees a Kurumi in her spirit form, but she falls over revealing Saori standing right behind her. It was just another dead one, something Shido simply can't get used to. She looks at him with a smile as she says.
"Welcome to my special saved room, Shido."
Shido looks around the room and then notices the real Kurumi in her human form as she looks irritated as the corpse of Artemisia is standing right in front of her. He asks in a very uneasy tone.
"What are you up to, Saori?"
Saori doesn't have her usual demeanor, rather, he can sense some desperation from her as she states.
"I'm not here to make small talk. I'm here to get what I need from the both of you."
Confused, Shido looks at Kurumi and then asks.
"What is it that you need from us?"
Saori quickly answers.
"I need you both to make a child right here and now."
Shido becomes flustered as he immediately retorts.
"You're kidding right!? I mean, I'm trying to help the spirits, but that's…"
Saori then pulls out a musket and points it at Kurumi and says.
"Do I look like I'm fucking kidding!?"
Kurumi is ready to transform, but she is immediately shocked by a territory from simply moving a muscle as Saori threatens.
"You don't need your arms and legs for what I have planned; keep that in mind, both of you."
Shido is now just beside himself as he asks.
"Saori, what are planning that need us to do something that intimate?"
Saori humors him as she explains.
"I guess it won't hurt to tell you both. I need 100% of my mother's mana, but I can't steal it unless it is a perfect genetic match to myself. Otherwise, I would have taken it sooner, but I have needs for the last two bullets."
Kurumi doesn't say anything as Saori has a close eye on her making any moves. She then grabs Shido by the collar of his clothes as she drags him closer to Kurumi. They both can tell that she's serious. Nobody else can help them since Shiori doesn't know, Hiro and Miyuki are out cold, and the rest aren't even on the ship. Shido is then thrown on top of Kurumi as Saori watches them. Neither of them wants this, but they can't do anything at the moment. Kurumi was caught off guard by Ashcroft's corpse and couldn't move in time. Saori smiles as she tells him.
"Come on, this way, you can save her, seal her powers, and start a family. Hope it isn't a girl who acts like me."
The two sit up as Kurumi says in her usual demeanor.
"I do believe you need to make the mood appropriate. How about some music?"
Saori isn't in the mood, but smiles and asks.
"You wish to hear music?"
Kurumi simply smiles and Saori pulls the trigger and shoots Kurumi in the left shoulder causing her to fall backwards. Shido turns around with an angry look as he tells her.
"Stop it! Saori, this isn't right. If you're mad, then just shoot me and leave her out of this!"
Kurumi has a very angry look as she holds her shoulder. She can't undo the injury without entering her spirit form and the pain in her shoulder is a bit much. Saori points the barrel of the gun at Shido's face, but he just looks at her and has a serious expression. He then says.
"I won't do it. It isn't right. Saori, I want to help you, I just need you to let me. That's what this is about, you're afraid aren't you? Afraid of him."
Saori is tempted to pull the trigger, but she pulls the barrel back and starts laughing as she utters.
"Help me? You think I'm helpable…..yeah, I am afraid of my boss. He said he'd kill me if I do what I did again."
Saori lowers her head and says.
"Fine, I'll let you help me."
Shido smiles and Kurumi feels more uneasy. She then grabs herself, Shido, and Kurumi as they fall through her shadow. They are then brought to the park where Aki was slamming his head into the tree. Shido wonders about why she brought them there. She explains with a smile.
"If you want to help me, you're going to have to do one simple tiny thing to keep Shinra from hurting me."
Shido looks a bit enthusiastic as he asks.
"Sure, what is it?"
Saori smiles at Kurumi and lips out.
"This is how you break someone."
Saori throws a gun at Shido and he grabs with a confused look. Saori then explains.
"Shinra is powerful and merciless. So surely he'll tear me limb from limb the moment I return to him. I'd rather avoid that. So, to help me, all you have to do it kill me."
Shido's eyes widen as he asks.
"What?"
Saori grabs the barrel of the gun and says.
"Pull the trigger, and blow my brains out."
Shido throws the gun in a panic and shouts.
"I'm not doing that!"
Kurumi just stays on the ground and watches as she notices something and silently says.
"No, don't do it."
Saori then summons a bunch of her puppets and they each throw a gun at Shido with a smile. Shido doesn't pick any of them up. Saori then casually says.
"Oh, and I'm the one who killed that little whore Miku in that previous timeline."
Shido's eyes widen further as he simply can't believe what he just heard, and how she said it so casually. Shido wonders why, and Saori mentions.
"Because I hate her, that's all."
Shido is mad, but he still refuses to take a gun and point it at her. Saori then mentions.
"God, he's stubborn. Guess I'll up the ante."
Saori snaps her finger and then a group of her puppets walk closer to the area they're in and each hold onto to something. Each one is holding onto a person, random person they are taking as hostage. The gather into a circle and toss their hostages at their feet, people of varying age, men and women alike. Shido wonders what she's up to and she explains.
"For every three seconds you don't shoot me, I'll kill a hostage."
Shido starts hearing the beg and cries of the people in the circle as Saori closes her hand and extends three fingers, closes them one at a time, and then sound of a gunshot and the screaming intensifying. Shido gets angry and shouts.
"Stop it now!"
Saori's eyes shoot open as she demands.
"Then shoot me!"
Shido then grabs a gun and he shakes worse than he ever has before. Shido then looks at the last two in the group who look a lot like Kaguya and Yuzuru as they struggle to try to run away. He notices them and hears them screaming for help. The sounds of the gunshots keeping echoing as the circle are getting closer to the twins. He then points the barrel at Saori and, with tears streaming down his face, he looks down and pulls the trigger as Saori falls over. Shido drops the gun and his eyes go blank from the shock. Kurumi looks at the scene and is compelled to say.
"That was….the cruelest thing I've ever seen."
The sound of laughing is heard and starts intensifying. Out of the shadows, Saori walks towards the scene and is laughing harder than she ever has before. She looks at Shido and says.
"Oh look, I broke him."
She then looks at Kurumi and tells her.
"That's how you get someone to give up one you. You were way too soft, and easy."
Kurumi is beyond anything as she wonders how it was pulled off. It wasn't a puppet, and Saori claims to not have the ability to summon a past self. Shido isn't moving, isn't talking, and isn't showing any emotion. Kurumi sees an opportunity as she enters her spirit form, grabs Shido, and uses her bracelet from the woman in bandages, and leaves with Shido to another timeline without figuring anything out. She had to get him away from Saori. Saori smiles as she stops laughing and hears the sound of footsteps getting closer as she thinks.
"Now for the real prize."
She turns and sees Aki, who she attacked and brought here with the twins, standing across the way as he has a look of absolute shock as he says.
"How could you do that to him. He just wanted to help you, and you….you"
Aki has a look of pure hatred as the dark aura emits from his body. He then remembers something that Shinra said to him about merging with his dark sword. He summons it and thinks.
"I don't care anymore. If I kill someone...like her I can't be evil. Killing her is far from evil, and if I have to do something crazy, so be it! I won't let her get away from me!"
The twins, confused, look at the scene as Aki takes his dark sword Azael, and then he turns the blade on himself as Saori watches with a smile as negative energy seeps into Aki's body and the entire area becomes enveloped in a cloak of shadow.
Aboard the ship, Hiro wakes up and notices the readout from the mainframe as he is shocked from it. Where Tohka and Akane are, Tohka looks towards the direction where it is happening as she can sense it. She sees the negative energy rising as she calls out.
"Aki!"
In the area, Aki is in the middle of a completely dark area without anyone near as he hears footsteps and now a person appears to him, Inverse Tohka without her sword. She smiles at him and holds out her arms as she doesn't need to say anything. Aki just walks to her she embraces him from the front as coddles him like a mother to a child.
Saori smiles as she simply stands as she witnesses something that Shinra has been wanting. She isn't fazed by the power, doesn't show fear, and is still smiling. She simply says.
"All according to my plan, everything is going like clockwork. Now I wait..."
Saori then chuckles a little.