Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Fifty Three: [Army Slayer]'s karma
Beta:
It was a regular Saturday in Academy City and Ruiko was lying inside a modified Testament pod working on some maintenance of the Level Upper Network when the stream of consciousness she'd assigned to passively observe the City's surveillance network noticed an explosion at Heaven Canceller's hospital.
In response, she immediately began disengaging from the Network and started the shutdown process for the pod.
Hurry up already, she cursed as the shutdown sequence took its own sweet time.
At the same time, she was also reviewing all the information her intelligence network had gathered lately. How had she completely failed to detect any indications of this attack?
Last Order and Accel were at the hospital for a checkup today! Were they the targets? Even if they weren't, were they caught up in the attack?
Worries such as this swirled in her mind in an endless loop, fueling her building anxiety to ever greater heights.
"Uh, Saten-sama, you're stopping already?" One of the technicians that assisted with the running of the Level Upper Network asked as the pod finally finished its shutdown and disconnected from her mind.
Ruiko ignored the man, instead choosing to try and get a grasp of the situation at the hospital from the City's surveillance systems and failing due to the chaos.
I'll have to go to the scene myself. She concluded, as she reordered her AIM field into the necessary pattern and teleported away.
Ruiko had just teleported into the lobby of Heaven Canceler's Hospital - she would've teleported directly to the site of the explosion but she needed to round up someone in charge to coordinate her investigation with and that meant approaching the reception staff as she did not have the hospital's organization breakdown memorized - and was just walking towards the reception counter when she received a phone call from Uiharu's number.
"Uiharu? What is it? I'm kinda busy right now," Ruiko replied hurriedly as she answered the call.
"I'm afraid this isn't your friend, [Army Slayer]." A man with a German accent said with an amused drawl. "You may refer to me as Simon Gruber."
"I don't care who you are," Ruiko hissed as she froze, giving her full attention to the call. "How did you get access to Uiharu's phone?"
"Why because I've kidnapped her of course."
"You're lying! There is no way I'd fail to notice something like th-"
"Saten-san! Don't do anything that he says! I'll be fine, don't worry about me!" Uiharu's distressed voice carried over the line.
"Satisfied that I am telling the tru-"
"If you hurt a hair on Uiharu's head, I will-"
"Do what you are famous for, [Army Slayer]?" Gruber retorted.
Ruiko was absolutely furious but she forced herself to calm down. She needed to keep her cool if she wanted to navigate through this situation.
"How did you manage all this without me noticing?" Ruiko asked, fishing for information.
"Ah-uh! Did you think it would be so easy, [Army Slayer]?"
"Fine," Ruiko replied through her gritted teeth in frustration but pressed ahead. She needed some information right now. "Could you tell me what you want instead then?"
"That I can tell you," the kidnapper said with an audible grin. "What I want is revenge for my brother, Hans."
"Hans Gruber?" Ruiko replied, blinking in confusion. "Who on Earth is that?"
The criminal scum just laughed even as he replied.
"Of course you don't know. After all, to you he was nothing more than a number added to your tally as the [Army Slayer]."
Ruiko paled at that revelation. She had long suspected that her time as [Army Slayer] would eventually come back to haunt her. It seemed that at long last that fear was coming to fruition.
"Taking your best friend is only the beginning [Army Slayer]. By the time that I am done, I will take away everything that is dear to you. Only then will my revenge be satisfied."
Ruiko opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say a word the man hung up.
Knowing what was coming next, Ruiko called up her emulated Electromastery and simultaneously made phone calls to all her loved ones - her mother, siblings, Shinobu for the twins, Accel and friends - to warn them of the threat.
The calls had barely rung once when suddenly the City was hit by an earthquake.
"No..." Ruiko gasped in shock as a quick dip into the City's information network told her the cause of the supposed earthquake.
They were the aftermath of a series of powerful explosions that had been the second wave of Gruber's attacks.
Edasaki Banri stood outside her dormitory apartment next to her best friend and roommate Haruue Erii as they faced a man dressed up like some kind of commando, complete with a very intimidating automatic rifle. It was that weapon and those the man's fellows were armed with that had forced the two Telepaths into complying with these very shady people's commands.
"Okay, we're both out here." Banri said with all the false bravado she could muster. "What do you want? And need I remind you that my sister is the Number 3?"
"No ma'am," the soldier said with a shake of her head. "That's why we're here. Someone is targeting your sister and her loved ones, we're here to evacuate you and your roommate."
"S-Someone is targeting Saten-san?" Erii gasped. "Why!?"
Banri winced. For all that Erii knew about Ruiko-chan's shady past, she didn't really understand it. Heck, Banri didn't really either. But she did know that Ruiko-chan had a laundry list of enemies. You didn't reach Level 5 without some people who didn't like you. At least that's what she heard from Namikaze-san.
"That's above my paygrade," the soldier said with a shake of his head. "But I'd imagine it's for any number of reasons."
"Hurry it up, corporal." The soldier's commander shouted up from the carpark below the girls' dormitory building where he stood next to an armored personnel carrier. "If intel is correct, we don't have any time to waste."
"Yes sir!" The soldier in front of Banri shouted back crisply before he turned back to face her and Erii. "You heard my superior. We need to go. Now!"
"You expect us to just go with you?" Banri asked incredulously. "What if you're the ones trying to hurt Ruiko-chan?"
"Then I wouldn't be wasting my time here trying to convince you two!" The corporal said in exasperation. "Now are you coming? Or do I have to physically drag you with me?"
Banri exchanged a look with Erii who nervously nodded, wordlessly expressing her agreement with the soldier's argument. Banri herself still wasn't totally convinced this wasn't a trick but if Erii thought it was safe then she'd go along with it. Besides, if it was a trick and something did happen to them… Well, she could only imagine the hell that the Trinity would unleash on these fools.
"Fine," Banri said with a resigned sigh. "Let's go."
"Thank Science," the corporal said rather unprofessionally before he began herding them towards the stairs, his squadmates that had been lingering nearby forming up around them.
"We're not taking the lift?" She asked, surprised.
"Too dangerous." He replied. "If something happens, it could very easily become a deathtrap."
"I-I've read about that." Erii said nervously. "Always use stairs in an em-"
Banri didn't know what was going on. One second they were going down the stairs and she was listening to her best friend explain why they were safer than the lifts, the next she was tackled by the corporal escorting them. Then they were flying? Floating? It was like time slowed to a crawl as her body felt like a big wave crashed down on her. It was hot, painfully so but the corporal covered as much of her body as he could, protecting her from the worst of it.
She landed on her arm. Hard. She didn't hear the snap, but Banri was sure it was broken. Her ears were ringing, it was hard to hear what was going on. She was sure she was screaming Erii's name though.
"Report!" Banri heard the corporal bark through her pain addled mind as he stood up, still covering her.
"Explosion. Looks like it was from a RPG." One of his men replied. "One of the other teams neutralized them but not before they got a shot off."
"Erii?" She croaked out.
"Eyes on the other girl?"
"Over here, corp!" Another of the soldiers shouted. "I tried to shield her, but a piece of shrapnel got through. And-"
Banri tried to look, but the corporal wouldn't let her move. Even as she weakly pawed at him trying to do so. "E-Erii!"
B-Ban-r-ri. Erii's voice reached out to her telepathically. She sounded hurt, very very hurt!
T-Tell S-Saten-s-san t-that this i-isn't h-her f-fault.
Ruiko-chan could heal her, right? S-She had so many powers, t-they just needed to call her! D-Don't worry, once I get her, y-you'll be fine! She's amazing and-!
"Call my sister!" Banri shouted at the corporal. "She can heal Erii! Call her!"
"Can't." The corporal said with a shake of his head. "The Superintendent forbids it. He also blocked her access to the surveillance net in the area. So she's blind to what's happening here too. And that's if she survived whatever attack the enemy made against her."
"Hang in there Erii." Banri shouted at her friend, even as she reached out telepathically for Ruiko-chan. The soldiers might not be able to reach her but she sure as hell could.
C-Can't. I-I'm sorry.
"Corp, we're losing her!"
"Shut up!" The corporal shouted back as he continued wrestling with Banri. "Can't you see her friend can bloody hear you!"
The words, both from Erii and the soldiers, just spurred Banri's efforts to contact her sister on even further. But despite her best efforts, she couldn't find her. She just wasn't in her range.
"No! No! I have to! I have to contact her!" Banri screamed both mentally and out loud. "Ruiko! Ruiko! Help! He-"
It was as she was screaming that she felt it. The telepathic link that she'd shared with Erii almost as soon as they had met. It had just disappeared. There was no dramatic snap like in an anime or manga. No, one second it was there as strong as ever and she could feel her best friend's pain and the next it was just gone.
The sudden, alien emptiness hit Banri like a blow she couldn't even fully comprehend. It was like her soul had been cut in twain.
In response, her scream transformed from one of desperation into one of utter agony as she lost a part of herself. She screamed for so long and hard, she could taste blood in her mouth.
The evening after the attacks Mikoto, Namikaze and Kuroko sat inside the 177th Judgement Branch, doing what they could to piece together what the hell was happening.
One thing was clear. The attacks were targeting the Number 3, both directly and indirectly.
Kiyama-sensei and several of Saten's siblings were in the hospital from the bombing spree. Thankfully, Shinobu-san and the twins were unharmed. Though it was more from chance than anything as the twins had left their daycare early that day due to Janie having an upset stomach - Eating two lunches could do that - and was picked up an hour before the bomb went off.
"So it's one of Saten's enemies." Mikoto concluded as she bit her lip, frustration leaking through her tone.
"At least none of her loved ones died." Naru sighed out, drinking an iced coffee. "The boss was quick to intervene on that end."
"Tell that to the people who did get caught up in it." Mikoto grunted in anger, sparks dancing along her forehead.
Many people had died, from people near the bombs to the preschoolers who attended today at the twins' daycare. The most impactful death to their group however had been Haruue Erii, Banri-san's roommate and their friend.
"The boss apparently doesn't want Rui-chan going completely crazy. He even mobilized his personal elite teams, MEMBER and Hound Dog, to make sure none of Saten's family died." Naru pinched her nose, looking tired.
"Like she hasn't gone crazy enough as is." Mikoto hissed with a shake of her head.
"Why didn't he save Haruue-san then?" Kuroko said as she shot a glare off in the direction of the Windowless Building.
Mikoto shared her anger. They might not have been all that close to Haruue-san, but she was still a friend. To hear she had been killed was devastating. To learn that she might've been saved and wasn't, filled her with unfathomable anger for the ones who had essentially condemned her. Anger enough that alongside everything else was enough to let her push aside her grief. At least for now. She could break down crying later. When this blasted Incident was over and done with and everyone was safe once more.
"Maybe he didn't consider her important enough to Rui-chan? Or his men just didn't manage it?" Naru said, looking frazzled. "How would I know!?"
"You didn't know about it?" Kuroko asked, shooting her an accusatory look.
Mikoto almost stepped in, but frankly she had been asking herself that question too and would very much like an answer.
"Do you think my boss runs everything he does by me!?" Naru shouted back, eyes turning scarlet. "And that if he told me that I wouldn't tell Rui-chan about the threat? That I would let my friends, my family, run the risk of getting hurt and do nothing!?"
Her voice turned more gravelly as she took a threatening step forward.
Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief at that. The Chibi was right. She wouldn't have stood by and let this happen if she'd known.
"Kuroko, calm down." Mikoto urged her roommate. "You know this isn't Naru's fault. And Namikaze, calm down."
Kuroko huffed in irritation while Naru growled and looked away, her threatening features receding.
"Look, why don't we just review what we know about this clusterfuck and figure out what we can do to fix things? That good?" Namikaze said after a tired sigh.
"That sounds good," Mikoto said encouragingly.
"What happened?" Konori-sempai said as she walked in from a neighboring room where she'd gone to take part in a conference call with Judgement HQ and Anti-Skill over the situation. "I heard shouting."
"It's fine Sempai," Mikoto assured the high-schooler. "Tempers flared for a moment. We've calmed down now."
The senior Judgement agent eyed them all with concern for a moment before nodding.
"Do try to keep a cool head," she advised. "I know it's tough, but we'll need it to get through this."
All three of them made some gesture that they understood and she retreated back to the other room to continue the conference.
"Okay, like the Chibi said," Mikoto said after Konori-sempai had gone. "Let's go over what we know."
Kuroko nodded and started the ball rolling.
"Saten-san is missing. Right?" The Teleporter said, shooting Namikaze a look.
"Pretty much," Naru said with a sigh. "She's been giving me updates about what she's doing by email but she's not giving details. Mainly it's just a list of who she's finished off on the Dark Side as she tries to hunt down whoever is behind this."
"You have no clues about where she is?" Mikoto pressed.
"No, but I already have our minion trying to track her down." Namikaze said, pulling out her phone and calling Kurozuma-san whilst on speaker.
"Kurozuma-san, any updates?" Naru asked the moment that the call connected.
"It's hard trying to keep up with her." The former Skill-Out replied with an equal lack of a polite greeting. "She's moving fast. But what I've been able to gather is that she's hunting for someone called Simon Gruber."
"He's the one behind the bombings?"
"Probably."
"Good work, keep an eye on her." Namikaze ordered before ending the call and pocketing her phone.
"How did this Gruber person manage to do all this without tipping Saten off anyways?" Mikoto asked in surprise.
Naru shrugged as if it was easy. Something Mikoto knew from personal experience it was not. Saten-san's surveillance was practically omnipresent.
"He's an outsider trying to muscle his way into the Dark Side. We get plenty of people like him all the time. Plus he probably built his network slowly and carefully and kept a low profile too. So she didn't see him as worth notice. She definitely didn't realize that he was targeting her. Besides, Rui-chan isn't perfect. She's missed plenty of stuff before now too."
"Is this related to that 'new player' you two were dismissing recently?"
"Possibly," Naru admitted hesitantly.
Mikoto pinched her nose, heaving a tired sigh. "Let me put it on record that the only reason I'm not saying I told you so is because people are dead and Saten has lost her mind."
Breathing heavily, Ruiko's enhanced sense of smell was almost overwhelmed by the aroma of blood filling her nostrils. She'd have filtered it away, but it made her feel sharper, more focused as she stood in the bloodied office surrounded by half a dozen bodies.
The only one still breathing besides herself was a man tethered to a chair, missing a leg and kept from bleeding out by a burn she'd created when she cauterized the stump. She'd also healed a myriad of his other injuries, but only just enough to allow him to talk of course.
Walking up to him, she grabbed his stubbled chin and whispered harshly, "I want to know where Gruber is. Tell me, and I promise you'll get a swift death. If not? I'll make it seem like eternity until you die."
The man offered her a bloodied smile. "Can't tell you what I don't know, devil girl. Gruber made sure of that much, you fucking cunt."
"That's fine." Ruiko said with a stoic tone. "I'll find him eventually."
"And I don't doubt that. Neither does Gruber." The bound man replied.
The Number 3 nodded, reached out with Telepathy and hacked into the man's perception of time. She slowed it down a thousand fold. Transforming a moment into an eternity.
Only when this was done did she call on a few abilities to enhance her strength and proceed to rip off his head and toss it to the side. For her this took only a few seconds but to the poor fool, the torment would have lasted for hours.
With the last of the men here dead, Ruiko took a moment to survey her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction before spinning on her heels as she proceeded to walk out of the room, but not before using her Pyrokinesis to set it all ablaze.
As she exited the room, she had already dismissed everything that was done there.
It was no longer important.
Ruiko had a man to kill after all.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
Well, some shit happened in this one. Many died, but mostly those without names… except Haruue. Poor, poor Haruue. Is it wrong that I really got into that death scene? Like I really wanted to capture the cut between mental bondmates and the utter anguish that followed.
Nameless: Originally we didn't have any named characters die but we felt that really lessened the impact of the arc. So we killed off Haruue since unlike some other characters she didn't really have any roles in future arcs. R.I.P. Haruue-san. Thank you for your sacrifice.
The ending scene was showing Saten may be falling back on old habits as her own past creeps up on her like this. It was fun to show.
Nameless: Yup. This whole arc is about her past coming back to bite her so her regressing a little is just fitting.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!