I do not own Infinite Stratos nor do I own Rurouni Kenshin. All rights respectively go to Izuru Yumizuru, the author who created Infinite Stratos, and Nobuhiro Watsuki, the author of Rurouni Kenshin.
Taking a Gatotsu stance with her sword, Akari braces herself to charge forth at Raiden. But the Kingslayer does not respond back, almost as if conflicted with his choice. But slowly but surely, Akari could tell that even behind that blindfold of his, he was starting to remember events.
"What's wrong?" She asked. "Will you involve that girl in the Gatotsu as well?"
By that girl, Akari was referring to Houki. And Raiden knew it as well. This was now his fight and he does not intend to let anyone interfere, not even the other students or Chifuyu. Akari came to settle scores and Raiden must answer, regardless of what others say. He takes a few steps forward towards a duel that was to be reignited.
However, he feels himself stopped upon feeling the back of his uniform grabbed on by depressed Houki, silently begging him not to go. Her hands shake a little as she grips onto his uniform.
"Houki-dono…" Raiden calmly called out to his girlfriend. "I will be all right, that I will…"
Houki leans her head into Raiden's back, knowing that despite trusting those words, she was scared.
"But…" She said.
"She is after my life," Raiden justified. "I cannot avoid this fight, that I cannot…"
"But…" Houki tries to speak. "You know… I can't…"
Houki could only remember a few days ago when she and Raiden spoke to one another by the river on their way to lunch.
Unbeknownst to her, Raiden frees himself from her grip as he trots forward. Too late did she realize and see that Raiden was now facing Akari in his IS, Battousai. Having dropped her Gatotsu stance to change positions in the arena, Akari keeps an eye on her old foe.
Soon, Akari takes her Gatotsu stance.
And when the clock strikes the hour mark just as the sun disappears behind the clouds…
"Let's do this!" Akari yells as she charges in with Gatotsu.
*BOOM*
Akari's Gatotsu destroys the wall of an arena, having missed Raiden as he jumps up and draws out the Sakabatō halfway.
Ichika, recognizing that stance, yells, "Hiten-Mitsurugi-ryū – Ryū Tsui Sen!"
'Raiden is the strongest after all!'
Akari however had other ideas.
"Did you think you dodged my attack? Kingslayer!" She cried as she jumps up with Gatotsu in hand, ready to thrust upwards.
Raiden recognized what this next stance was.
'The overhead Gatotsu!'
*GLIISH*
With him in the air and in no way to dodge it, Raiden took a rather heavy hit as Akari's sword goes through his IS armor and pierces right through his right side, blood spraying everywhere.
"Guh!" He grunts, having taken such a massive hit at the start of the battle.
Just as everyone was shocked though, Akari took in satisfaction, the wolf claiming first blood and making the first bite onto the lion.
"Raiden!" Houki screamed, seeing massive blood pour out of his wound like a pipe had burst.
OP song: Suara – Hikari (For reference, look up on YouTube Utawarerumono Futari no Hakuoro trailer)
Kimi e no omoi wasurenai you ni (The first scene begins with a pair of hands grasping a red and black ribbon divided by a white line adorned with a pair of gold and silver bells. The camera soon pans out to show the said person grasping that ribbon)
mune fukaku kizamikomu kara (The person holding the ribbon is revealed to be Houki, underwater and in her IS suit as she closes her eyes, keeping the ribbon, revealed to be Akatsubaki in its standby form, close to her heart before the bubbles cover the screen)
(Opening title is introduced as Infinite Stratos 2)
Arifureta hibi wo tobikoete yukeru (Chifuyu watches from the balcony of the IS Academy the sunrise before a gentle wind blows her hair.)
habataku yuuki wo motteru (The sun's ray hits her eyes before she adjusts her sight)
Mada minu sekai ni tobidashite yukeba (Tabane Shinonono travels via a carrot-shaped airplane, colored in orange with a green tip, as it travels across the skies and she heads towards the moon)
nanika ga kitto matteiru (The camera pans over to the moon before it shifts down to Houki in her IS Akatsubaki, facing forward as her hair is blown by the wind)
Tamerau hodo no kizu wo oottemo (A blue meteor-like object falls to the arena of the IS Academy, creating an explosion of water, before revealing Tatenashi Sarashiki in her IS, Mysterious Lady, as she twirls her spear as the lake water falls like rain)
akiramenaide subete ukeireyou (Kanzashi Sarashiki appears in a holographic world in her IS, Uchigane Nishiki, while holographic data surrounds her)
Kimi e no omoi wasurenai you ni (Camera zooms down to a battlefield just beginning between IS Golems and the gang. Laura is the first to attack as she descends and slices a Golem with her wrist blades before using her cables followed by her rail gun. Rin parries a Golem with her Souten Gagetsu before taking off its head in a spin)
mune no naka fukaku kizamitsukeru(Ichika appears to take out one Golem before he dodges an incoming attack and dismantles another. The next scene cuts to Charlotte and Cecilia prepping their sniper rifles to fire.)
mezasu mirai wo yasashiku terashite (Raiden and Madoka, without their IS, engage in a close quarters weapon combat, Raiden using the Sakabatō and Madoka using the Mugenjin. After a couple of hits, Raiden is thrown high into the air from another hit from Madoka before he backflips and deploys his IS and fires his ion blasters at Madoka. Madoka, in turn, dodges while activating her IS, Black Knight, and flies up to Raiden to engage him again with her fusion cannon on her right arm deployed)
hikari hanatsu hoshi no you ni (Madoka and Raiden clash, creating a violent explosion before the next scene switches over to Luxembourg ten years ago, where Hitokiri Kingslayer stands by the steps to the destroyed Royal Palace, his back to the camera as Luxembourg is enshrouded in flames by Phantom Task, with a massive warship looming overhead as its IS pilots are deployed like a squad of fighters)
(Miriam Walker is shown in front of the CIA headquarters building in Washington DC as the camera moves upwards. Akane Fujimoto is shown on Omega, overlooking one of the poor districts from her apartment, with a cigarette in her mouth. Squall Meusel is shown in her bath robe sitting on the edge of her bed smirking at the camera, with Autumn sleeping naked in the background. Edea Crownsworth, the Archon of Phantom Task, sits upon her throne overlooking the world within a spaceship. Chifuyu is then shown in the deep recesses of the Academy, looking at the White Knight IS kept in storage and locked down, her hand on the glass)
(Raiden is shown next as he turns around with his Sakabatō before sheathing it before he is replaced with the title of Infinite Stratos 2.)
*GLIISH*
With him in the air and in no way to dodge it, Raiden took a rather heavy hit as Akari's sword goes through his IS armor and pierces right through his right side, blood spraying everywhere.
"Guh!" He grunts, having taken such a massive hit at the start of the battle.
Just as everyone was shocked though, Akari took in satisfaction, the wolf claiming first blood and making the first bite onto the lion.
"Raiden!" Houki screamed, seeing massive blood pour out of his wound like a pipe had burst.
Akari though knew one thing: her strike was not enough to end Raiden's life.
'You avoided being impaled, but…'
Twisting her blade, she spins to take the blade out and in one fast motion, kicks Raiden over with a spin back kick.
*BAM*
Raiden tumbles but recovers quickly. But the injury to his side was bad, and his shields just took a massive hit of losing their energy.
"Even if my thrust misses, I can move into a wide slash attack with no pause," Akari explains as Raiden pants, clutching his side. "Hirazuki has no blind spot. It was developed long ago by the assistant leader of the Shinsengumi, a military genius named Toshizo Hijikata. Especially if the Gatotsu is mine."
*WHISSH*
Akari wipes the blood off her blade in one swift motion like any samurai after a strike, then gets into another Gatotsu stance.
"That stance," Houki observed. "Another Gatotsu?"
Raiden, through his third sight, begins to see images of Akari from long ago. From their first encounter to be exact. The memories of Toba-Fushimi were starting to appear in his mind.
Akari charges in again with her Gatotsu, as does Raiden who deflects the strike.
*DING*
It was however not enough.
"Weak!" Akari cried as she pushes Raiden's blade away and then rams him with her shoulder into his chest.
*POW*
*BAM*
And makes him crash into a wall of the arena behind him.
"My cherished sword, although unnamed, saved me any times, before and after Toba-Fushimi. And my technique, passed down in my family for generations…" Akari proudly states. "As you stand now, you can't scratch either of them."
Everyone in the arena was stunned. Even Tatenashi herself was surprised.
'This pilot… Her strength is a class above.'
"Raiden! Rai-" Houki cried out as she comes to his side but stops midway.
And for good reason. Raiden's blindfold was falling off from behind his helmet, the colors of his IS starting to change from blue and white to red and black, signifying the activating of his One-Off Ability slowly.
The one that Raiden used against Udō Hina last semester. And one that left Houki scared of that other thing that Raiden was becoming.
Hitokiri Kingslayer.
"Get up!" Akari demanded to her foe.
Houki however gets in front of Raiden and activates Akatsubaki. But Akari was not impressed by her bravado.
"Out of the way, little girl!" She called out.
Houki refused as she brandishes her two swords in her hands, ready to take Akari on. But before she could make a move, she felt a hand on her right shoulder, making her turn to see Raiden, now bearing a dark expression behind his helmet, gently push Houki aside and walk forward to Akari.
The Wolf of Mibu pilot takes notice of his iron will and resolve.
'Although he has a deep wound in his chest area, he responded faster to the second strike than to the first. Just as I had suspected… Each time he swings his sword, he gradually; unconsciously, but surely; is returning to his old self, Hitokiri Kingslayer. The fact that his IS is changing color is proof that his One-Off Ability is activating slowly.'
"Let's do it," Raiden sharply says as she sprints forward.
But the speed he flew surprises Akari as she dons her Gatotsu.
'He's gotten even faster.'
*THRUST*
With one thrust, Akari thought she had him but to her surprise, she saw only a mirror image. Raiden had ducked quickly and vanished at the same time. But Akari deduced easily where he would appear.
"Eyah!" Akari cried as she kicks Raiden from behind.
*POW*
Raiden takes a powerful kick to the face that throws him back, but he instantly recovers. Despite catching his move though, Akari was left somewhat stunned.
'What was that? That move far surpassed my expectations.'
Houki notices just how much Raiden was struggling to keep himself afloat, still clutching to his side wound that, while not lethal, it was slowing him down.
'His breathing… He's using more strength than he really has, and his body can't keep up…'
That mattered little though as the IS Battousai began to change its colors. From its white and blue to its black and red respectively, a dark and menacing aura emanates from the IS as Raiden rises to his feet. A piece of cloth falls off of Raiden's face from behind the helmet, which was none other than his blindfold. The eyes soon open up and everyone is left paralyzed of what they had now seen.
The One-Off Ability of Battousai was activated again.
Hitokiri Kingslayer had awoken.
The sight of it left Houki with dread, her entire body shaken up as she now sees her boyfriend reverting back to who he was before. A cold blooded killer bent only on one purpose: to end Akari's life. This was the second time Houki had seen Raiden's One-Off Ability activate but this was everyone else's first. Though they probably don't know the significance of it.
But for the Wolf of Mibu, Akari was glad to see that her rival reverted back to who he once was.
'By fighting me, you turn back into the Kingslayer. Then…'
"I will show you the true Gatotsu!" Akari said as she takes her stance. "No holding back!"
"Sh-She was holding back before?" asked Charlotte.
She was given no answer as Raiden, now embracing the darkness within of Hitokiri Kingslayer, approaches Akari. Now this duel was going to get really bloody, with both fighters not caring for the rules of engagement. They seek now to end each other's life by the sword, even if no one else can plead with them to stop. To interfere now would be too risky.
Like a proper wolf, Akari growls and charges in, bearing her fangs like a true predator. She thrusts over to Raiden who simply dodges to the left easily. Akari swipes to follow his direction to decapitate but is deflected.
*DING*
And in one swift motion…
"HAAAH!" Raiden growls like a lion.
*POW*
With the Sakabatō, Raiden executes a Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū called Ryū Kan Sen right onto the back of Akari's neck.
While most effective when surrounded by enemies as this technique has the user spin to attack in all directions. It can also be used as a counterattack against a thrust or charge, one sidesteps a forward-moving opponent and moves past them. In doing so, one spins in a full circle, adding momentum and centrifugal force to the strength of the sword swing, which is then aimed at either the opponent's back or the back of the neck.
"AGH!" Akari screams as she is flung forwards and into an arena wall, destroying it.
*BOOM*
"Amazing…" Cecilia cheered. "He did away with the Gatotsu so easily…"
Raiden then speaks, but not in his normal tone as usual, but one befitting of the legendary hitokiri from ten years ago.
"Back then…" He called to Akari with a cold gaze as he turns around. "In Kyoto, everyone needed an attack which could defeat any foe in one strike. Saitō, Gatotsu is your attack which does this, a technique passed down from your ancestors. But even with the Gatotsu, if you're going to show it to me four times, I'll easily think of five ways to fight back. Now get up! This would be a pathetic ending for our first duel in eight years!"
Akari, having heard his declaration, could only smile as she struggles to stand back up from the destroyed wall.
"An ending?" She asked with blood pouring down her head. "I wasn't planning on that, but now I change my mind. I will kill you now."
"You will kill me?" asked a rather insulted Raiden. "That's my line."
Houki was left stunned of hearing the conversation. Weak at the legs, her knees shake before she falls to the ground, her hand clutching her chest like she was suffering a heartache. Her tears were beginning to form behind her eyelids now closed.
"Houki?" asked Ichika to her friend as he rallies to her.
But Houki's thoughts would not let her hear her childhood friend's call.
'It's the same… It's exactly the same as the time with Hina…'
Raiden takes a Battōjutsu after sheathing his sword, ready to face off against the wolf who takes a Gatotsu stance.
'Stop him! Somebody please, stop him!'
Both lion and wolf charge at one another, and soon a flurry dance of swords plays out. Two predators, wounded yet alive, trying to cut each other down with their swords. It was beautiful yet very dangerous. In the wild, a single wolf would not be enough to take down a large alpha lion. But Akari was not just some ordinary wolf, but a fighter. One bred for hunting and killing and by no means does she have the potential to kill her prey.
Raiden flies up before moving to a wall of the arena and, like a proper cat, pushes off of it with his feet, charging at the wolf. Akari takes a wide as their swords make contact, passing each other.
Houki, now tear ridden and silent, could only watch helplessly as the Raiden was starting to slowly drift away.
'If this keeps up... Raiden… Raiden will… disappear…'
Raiden flips and pushes off the wall again to dash at Akari, but the wolf gets into a blade lock with him, holding her ground despite her wounds. Soon, the wolf makes her push as she pushes her blade against his, his back hitting the arena wall as she intends to keep pushing to cut his neck by the blade side of his Sakabatō. However…
*POW*
With one frontal kick to the jaw, Raiden breaks free of the blade lock and jumps up and over Akari who turns around while wrangling something in her mouth.
*PTOO*
Akari soon spits out to the side a molar tooth, bloody and out of socket. But it didn't matter to her as the adrenaline helped block out the pain in her mouth.
Both wolf and lion charge in again, with Akari using Gatotsu and Raiden a Battōjutsu strike. Their swords meet in the middle as they pass one another...
*DING*
*CLANG*
And a piece of a broken sword embeds itself into a wall, revealing that Akari's sword from that last strike snapped in two.
"Next strike…" Raiden says as he flips his sword over to the sharp side. "Your head flies!"
Houki just had enough, seeing that somebody was going to die. And if Raiden kills again, he will break his vow.
"Stop them!" She screamed. "Somebody, please stop the two of them!"
"It's no use, Houki," A new voice popped up, revealing Liu being held up by Rin as they approach the arena stands.
"Liu? Rin?"
"What do you mean it's no use?" asked Ichika.
"We can't stop them," Liu revealed. "Those two aren't fighting in front of us, in the Academy or even in the Reiwa era. They're fighting in Kyoto at Toba-Fushimi. Our voices can no longer reach them!"
Laura then turned over to Chifuyu and asked, "Instructor, surely you can't let this fight go on?"
Chifuyu though concurred with the Triad much to her frustration of her powerlessness. "Liu is right. Only someone who lived through the chaos of that day eight years ago could stop this. Someone who tasted the events in Kyoto!"
MEANWHILE…
Three black vehicles were on route to the IS Academy in a convoy formation, the middle one being a Mercedes S580 while the other two outside the Mercedes were comprised of one Subaru Legacy and one Toyota Land Cruiser. The latter two cars were used by the Public Security Intelligence Agency, who are assigned to protect members of the Diet, including the Prime Minister. Inside the Mercedes was Lieutenant-General Haruto Yamagata, sitting in the passenger seat in front of another man in the back wearing a formal suit.
"Yamagata…" The man behind the lieutenant-general called out.
"Yes, sir?" asked the lieutenant-general without turning around.
"How long has it been since Detective Saitō entered the Academy?"
Yamagata looks at his watch on his wrist and reveals, "Four and a half hours."
"I see. Tell the drivers to double-time it. The fate of this nations rides on the two of them. We should hurry, before it becomes too late."
"Yes sir."
BACK AT THE ACADEMY…
The fight was getting more and more brutal as many students stopped watching and left. The fight was just too bloody to watch and even the teachers were forced to get some fresh air. But even with a broken sword, Akari resumes her Gatotsu stance.
"Damn, her sword is already broken," Liu said.
"Another Gatotsu," Rin exclaimed.
"Those of the Shinsengumi don't know when to retreat," Raiden noted.
"First rule of the Shinsengumi, shun that which opposes the way of the samurai," Akari replied as she then charges in. "Fleeing from an enemy before you is such a thing!"
Akari then throws her broken sword over at Raiden. But the hitokiri was able to spot it.
*GLISH*
And deflects the sword away with his left hand, scarring it in the process.
"Bare handed?" asked Rin.
"If he used his sword, he'd be left wide open," Liu justified the tactic.
"You choose pride over your life," Raiden said to Akari as the wolf kept charging in. "A noble sentiment."
Both the wolf and lion prepare their final strikes, with Akari readying a left punch and Raiden ready to swing his sword downwards. Liu takes notice of the final blow.
'The match is over! Even she can't defend against Raiden's sword with her fist…'
*BANG*
But suddenly, his sword is swiped out of Raiden's hand from a new weapon Akari pulled out. A small whip. The sudden move shocked everyone.
"Her IS…" Tatenashi saw.
"A whip?" Charlotte noticed.
With Raiden now momentarily disarmed and with Akari up close, she now had the advantage over him as she lays down a barrage of punches right up to his body to her satisfaction.
*BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM*
"Guwagh!" Raiden coughs up a pint of blood of being pommelled.
"Raiden!" cried Ichika.
"Not good," Rin realized. "Without his sword, Raiden has no chance of winning!"
Taking this opportunity, Akari gets behind Raiden with her whip and wraps it around his neck and lifting him up. With both ends pulling as hard as she can, she intends to choke the life out of her rival.
"This is…" She said. "The end!"
"A strangle hold," Charlotte saw. "She's trying to suffocate him!"
Raiden could feel how tight the hold was around his neck, down to the point he can barely breath. His legs spasm out of control as he feels the constriction.
Even Liu could see that the strangle hold was real. "It's not that merciful. She's trying to snap the bones in his neck."
Raiden struggles against the tight grip was squeezing his neck more and more. Liu was right in that he could feel the bones like they were ready to snap. Any more damage and he will end up with a broken neck and instant death.
However, Raiden had an idea as he pushes down on his scabbard…
*POW*
And the end of it hits Akari on the chin, making her let go. Now free of the hold, Raiden gets some huge distance between him and the wolf, taking the whip off his neck and throwing it away. But both fighters were now exhausted as they stop for a moment to catch their breath, with Raiden holding his neck and Akari her now bleeding chin.
"This is how they fought eight years ago," Laura said.
"Neither of them has any strength," Chifuyu said. "The next attack will be their last. Life, death, or will they kill each other?"
They would soon find out as both combatants stand up and draw out their last weapons, ready to kill each other. Both predators, with them wounded, are now at the level of danger no one would dare to approach. After all, injured fighters are the most frightening of animals.
"Shall we… end this?" asked a smirking yet bloody Akari as she whips out her claws.
Raiden agreed for once with his rival as both of his hands turn into an arm blades, like he was a lion protracting out his claws. "Yes. One last strike."
Houki could no longer stand the sight of what she was seeing. Her eyes now red with tears as her vision blurs. Raiden was now on his last legs and the next moment could mean he is gone forever, replaced by Hitokiri Kingslayer. She reaches out her hand to call him, but it was weak and falls to the ground. She screams for everything to stop, wanting it to end for the lion and wolf who charge at one another.
Her voice though ran on deaf ears to them as the combatants drew ever closer, ready to take each other out. It was unreachable and silent to them at this point.
But it seems fate was in her favor.
"ENOUGH!" The voice of Lieutenant General Yamagata Haruto stops both Akari and Raiden in their tracks. The high-ranking JSDF officer stood in the arena by the two, his voice loud enough for him to gain their attention. "Stand down, Saitō-san! Your mission was to test the Kingslayer's strength, not to kill him!"
Akari however, still feeling the blood rush and adrenaline in her body, refuses. "We were in the middle of something good. I won't let you interrupt, even if you are the lieutenant-general of the JSDF."
"Yamagata-san?" asked a stunned Rin.
"Test his strength… What did he mean?" asked Liu.
The answer to Liu's question would be in the form of another voice showing himself behind Yamagata and out into the light. The same person Yamagata was being driven with in the back passenger seat, the one who asked of the time.
"Saitō Akari…" The voice said, which sounded like that of a 50's year old man. "I am well aware of your pride as a descendant of the Shinsengumi. However, I don't want you, or Hataru, to waste your lives here in front of these students."
Raiden then realized who it was. "I see. The true mastermind behind all this was you. A descendant from an old Imperialist from Satsuma. Minister of Defense, Ōkubo Ichiro, descendant of Ōkubo Toshimichi."
The man in question, Ōkubo Ichiro, a tall man with long brown hair that is brushed to the sides and a strand hanging in the front, thin eyebrows, a large mustache and a spiky beard. He wore a suit, with a brown jacket and brown pants, a button down white shirt, a black bow tie, and a brown cloak.
"Ōkubo… Ichiro…?" asked Tatenashi like she knew the name.
"I don't understand…" Ichika said. "He just came out of nowhere and Raiden said he's the Minister of Defense? Who is he?"
"In the Meiji Era, there were three men who did the most during the Meiji Restoration called the Three Great Imperialists…" Chifuyu said, giving out a small history lesson. "Saigō Takamori, Katsura Kogorō, and Ōkubo Toshimichi. They all died within the first year of the Meiji Era, with Saigō dying at the Battle of Shiroyama during the Satsuma Rebellion, Katsura passing away from an unknown illness, and Ōkubo Toshimichi assassinated by former samurai from Satsuma."
"Then this old man, Ōkubo Ichiro, is a descendant of Ōkubo Toshimichi?" asked Cecilia.
"He's the Minister of Defense, who is basically the top war advisor for the Prime Minister," Laura stated. "The minister who is in charge of the JSDF."
The Minister turns his attention over to Raiden, unthreatened by his persona as the legendary hitokiri. Raiden however keeps his cold glare on the minister.
"I'm sorry to have been rough on you," Ōkubo apologizes to Raiden despite seeing Hitokiri Kingslayer before him. "But, we desperately needed to know just how strong you were. You will listen to us, right?"
Raiden agreed coldly, "Yes. I will listen, for now."
Akari, knowing her mission was complete but left bitter of the interruption, powers down her IS as well and grabs her coat, throwing it over her shoulder. Despite her wounds, she looked perfectly fine, still able to walk.
"Tch…" She clicked her teeth. "The great duel we had going has been ruined. The score will be settled some other day."
Raiden replied, "Be grateful your life has been spared."
But Akari retorts back as she turns her head with a remote expression, "No, yours has."
Akari soon takes her leave, but Yamagata calls her out.
"Wait, Saitō!" Yamagata called out.
Akari however only stopped to say this. "Mission report. Hataru Raiden is no good whatsoever. But, Hitokiri Kingslayer will do relatively well. That is all."
Akari soon walks out of the Academy, with everyone giving her a wide berth for how ruthless of a woman she is.
"That woman…" Yamagata cursed to himself a bit. "The most skilled undercover agent in the police. But I never have any idea what she's thinking. She really does take pride in her lineage, does she not?"
Ōkubo however had greater concerns other than the descendant of Saitō Hajime. "Hataru, I have a car waiting outside. Come with me."
Raiden though, still trapped in his state as Hitokiri Kingslayer replies, "You will tell your story right here. Do you think I am the only one involved?"
When he said that however, something triggered in Raiden. Like he detected that what he said was not himself. Not entirely. The minister was unmoved by his threat. But that's when Raiden's left hand twitches before he grasps it into a fist.
*BAM*
And with one swift left punch to his forehead to the shock of all as blood pours down his arm, Raiden forces himself out of his hitokiri state. The red and black glow from his IS fades away back to its regular colors of blue and white. His helmet though was cracked but not enough to destroy it.
"I'm not the only one involved in this incident, that I am not," Raiden stated as he lets his fist down, his voice returning to normal.
"That tone…" Houki realized.
"All of us here will listen, that we will."
An excited Houki soon jumps down to the arena floor and runs over behind to hug Raiden.
"You're back, Raiden!" She cried as she hugs Raiden. "You're back!"
But with such a surprise on Raiden, he only said one thing.
"Oro…"
Houki, realizing her mistake, cries, "Aaah! Tatenashi-san!"
"What are you doing, you dumb fox?" Tatenashi asked. "Ichika, help me carry him! Rin, take care of Liu. Laura, see if you can bring the bandages! Charlotte and Cecilia, find a chair to make him sit on! Hurry!"
"Right away!" All of them replied.
"Raiden, don't die!" Houki cried.
Yamagata looks at the ministers and asks, "Sir?"
"We will do as he says," Ōkubo said. "We need Hataru's strength more than anything right now."
Chifuyu though, leaving her students to take care of Raiden, confronts the minister in question.
"Minister, you better have a good reason for all of this," Chifuyu said rather sternly. "I don't like to be played around like a fiddle."
"I understand your reservations, Brunhilde," Ōkubo said. "But this is a matter that concerns both Hataru and the Academy as a whole. And since you and your students have been most affected in recent events, it is only fair I will tell you all what I know."
Chifuyu though felt uncertain, fearing that what she will be told tonight will ddrasticlaly affect the lives of her and her students. Especially if it is something concerning of her most hated for, Edea Crownsworth.
After Raiden's wounds were addressed and healed up, along with his blindfold returned and wrapped around his eyes, everyone met in the cafeteria of the IS Academy, with Raiden facing front and center towards Ōkubo and Yamagata, with Chifuyu and Houki by his sides and everyone else standing up and watching.
"I'll get straight to the point," Ōkubo began. "Raiden… Squall Meusel is stirring up activity in the underworld of Kyoto."
To everyone, they were confused of the name, except Raiden, who somewhat flinched.
"I'm sorry, but who?" asked Cecilia. "Who is this Squall Meusel?"
"Squall Meusel is one of the senior members of Phantom Task and an IS pilot," Raiden revealed. "During my time with Phantom Task, it was she who was my handler for my hitokiri missions. She was once an US Special Forces pilot long thought to be dead and you might say that she is the creator of Hitokiri Kingslayer."
This news stuns everyone in the room.
"Creator of…" Charlotte said.
Laura then finished. "Hitokiri Kingslayer?"
"There was such a thing?" asked Liu.
"Almost no one knows of her existence since officially she was to have died 12 years ago. But I knew her for a long time, even before Phantom Task when she and my mother were best friends. After my mother's death, she took me in and raised me, turning me into the hitokiri I am with my first mission being to Luxembourg. I had suspected though that her death 12 years ago was ruled as tragic."
Ōkubo keeps a straight face but it was more than enough for Raiden to confirm something he thought long ago.
"So, the truth has been snuffed out of everyone."
Now comes a bomb drop by Ōkubo regarding Squall Meusel, as he begins to reveal a piece of history that only very few know of.
"Officially, the death of Meusel was ruled as tragic in that her fighter was shot down by terrorist forces, but the truth was she was supposedly murdered by her own superiors who allowed the Iranian government to kill her. They saw how efficient and ruthless she was as a Special Forces pilot and came to believe that with such brutality, she would try to sell out US and Japan secrets to the North Koreans. By secretly killing her off in the shadows and labeling it as a tragedy, we hoped to stay safe. Back then, that was the only thing we could do. Squall Meusel is powerful, as an IS pilot and former Air Force Special Forces, with swordsmanship and charisma. She is also a very dangerous individual, longing to advance the goals of Phantom Task."
"How high in the chain is she?" asked Chifuyu.
"According to our intel, we believe she is the second-in-command to the Archon. The reason she accepted her position with the terrorist organization was to obtain revenge against the US government for betraying her. Of the missions she had done in special forces, some are so important that if they get out, it would compromise the US' standing with world allies, Japan included. If she played upon that weakness, Squall by herself could be able to play with the entire country of the United States, going so far as to influence Japan."
"And so, in the chaos of Pakistan in 2011, when Operation Neptune Spear, the SEAL mission to take down bin Laden, was taking place …" Raiden said.
"Iranian forces shot down her fighter in the Zagros Mountains," Ōkubo revealed. "Indeed. Even her own fighter's fuel, according to the Iranians, caught fire after it crashed, exploding and supposedly taking her out before she had the chance to leave her cockpit. However, with recent activity from Phantom Task and multiple sightings of a woman bearing the same physical description, the US had to admit that Squall Meusel was alive. Since then, she joined with Phantom Task as its second-in-command, and has begun to spread her spies across the city, trying to create a base of operations from which they can strike. All of the troops sent out to defeat her have perished. The only hope we have left is you."
Ōkubo soon leans forward and pleads, "Raiden… For the people of this country, will you go to Kyoto once again?"
Raiden gives no answer, but his expression was one of conflict. Become the hitokiri again just to face off against his former handler who is now causing havoc in Kyoto? It was a difficult decision for him to make. He never hated Squall and he was not afraid of facing her. The question is, can he do it though?
"That means…" Houki deduced. "You want Raiden to… assassinate Squall Meusel?"
The bomb drop that was the truth was now revealed to all.
"It turns out this way," Ōkubo confirmed.
"Of course, we will pay more than enough in bounties," Yamagata said. "And, we will specially pardon all illegal acts that we have left unpunished. That includes various individuals throughout Japan that Raiden had murdered as Hitokiri Kingslayer."
"That's rather dirty," Ichika said. "In other words, the vile stuff you did in the past is the problem. And you want Raiden to wipe up the mess for you? Raiden chose to live as a wanderer who doesn't kill. And yet, you want…"
"Our entire nation is in danger of being overthrown by terrorists," Yamagata justified. "Our forces against Phantom Task are not enough and nobody wants to start a war with the IS."
"Which is exactly the advantage Phantom Task has over you," Liu replied. "You're trying to cover up everything and play the good guy under the pretense of peace! You guys are all egotistical!"
"Enough, all of you!" Chifuyu sternly said. "If things were different years ago, Raiden would've already been killed by Squall for no longer being useful. And the government would not have to go this far as to cover up his identity as the Kingslayer in order to keep the peace."
Chifuyu then turns her attention over to the minister of defense. "Minister Ōkubo, I know that you need Hitokiri Kingslayer right now. However, Raiden is not a hitokiri anymore. We won't allow Raiden to go to Kyoto, not while he is a student here at the IS Academy."
"That's right!" Ichika exclaimed.
"We won't let him go!" Cecilia concurred.
"Raiden is a student here!" Charlotte said.
"We will protect him to the end," Rin said with resolve. "No matter what happens."
Yamagata then asks, "You kids are strong, but you're not old enough to understand the—"
"Enough, Yamagata," Ōkubo tells the lieutenant-general to stand down.
"Sir?"
"I didn't ask for an answer to come to me right away. But please think about it carefully. To bring a close your own Reiwa Era as well."
Powerful and wise words Raiden heard as he took them to heart. Maybe the minister was right. If closing his past meant facing his old mistress and handler from his Phantom Task days, then perhaps it is the right call to face her. But ultimately, the decision was of his choice and no one else's. While students are normally protected from corporations and governments in their three years at the Academy, Raiden was a special case since he belonged to no corporation or government. And his reputation was already well known to them.
Only time though will tell of what his final answer would be to the Minister of Defense.
LATER THAT NIGHT …
Raiden personally was seeing off Ōkubo Ichiro as he returns to his vehicle with Yamagata. Houki was by his side as was Chifuyu, to ensure that the Minister of Defense had left the school grounds.
"One week from today, I will come again for the answer," Ōkubo said. "On May 14th."
Ōkubo's door to his Mercedes is then opened for him by Yamagata but just as he was about to step in, he hears his name called out.
"Ōkubo," Raiden called out, making the Minister of Defense stop. "You look rather worn out, old friend, compared to eight years ago. You should spend time with your wife and child more often, that I would suggest."
The Minister of Defense, not feeling offended by Raiden's suggestion, looks back with a rather tired smile. "It is far more difficult to raise a new era than to break an old one, especially an era of the Infinite Stratos created by Tabane Shinonono. That is what it means to be a Minister of Defense. I am hoping for a good answer from you, Raiden."
And with that, the door to Ōkubo's car closes as the trio of vehicles take off in a convoy formation and leave the Academy. Raiden could only look in the direction the cars were going, like he was saying goodbye to an old friend.
Nobody knew of it then, Raiden included, but that would be the last time they saw Ōkubo Ichiro, the Minister of Defense of Japan's government. The promised day, May 14th of the 4th year of Reiwa…
It would be a fateful day. It would be a day when everyone's lives would change course.
But they did not know that yet.
And so the duel ends between the wolf and the lion. A duel that is considered left unfinished. Two strong IS pilots, two very powerful fighters, and very nearly do they kill each other. And no one could interfere in that fight because to do so would be a bad move since both Raiden and Akari were hell bent on killing one another. Now though with the duel ended and Raiden going back to his normal personality, all seems well that ends well. For now at least.
Ōkubo Ichiro. He is basically the Ōkubo Toshimichi of the story and is inspired from the anime. Ōkubo Toshimichi was indeed an actual person in real life, as was his death via assassination. That's the one thing I like of the Kyoto Arc in Rurouni Kenshin; it gets its historical facts right.
And now let's talk about Squall Meusel, perhaps the most mysterious antagonist of the Infinite Stratos series. I wanted to do more than just have her be the team leader and Autumn's lover but also explore some history with her. History as I see it with her. According to the wiki, she was pronounced KIA twelve years ago but we don't know the cause of it. And we know she is formerly Special Forces and as a result of her supposed death, she got cybernetics on her right arm and right eye. I wanted to expand on that part as to how she supposedly died and I figured, why not have her employers turn on her? And if she's "dead", then there are a lot of advantages to her like joining a terrorist organization and becoming second in command to the Archon herself.
Next chapter will begin, according to the story, one week after the event of this chapter. It will follow the Rurouni Kenshin anime like before, which will be episode 31, but we are slowly starting to get to the point where episode 11 of IS season 2 gets incorporated into the story. Though that won't happen for the next two chapters or so.
Credit for the creation of OC Liu King-sang and his IS Zy-54 Alastor goes to PearlTapioca. Check out his story called Dead Machines and his current work Dead Machines: Reload. Yes I did gain permission from him using his OC for this story, and not just for this chapter but also for subsequent future chapters to come.
Like, favorite, follow, and review at your leisure. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.