Notes: 'Suguru waved a hand and Hokori's undead form emerged from a rip between dimensions. "Shut up and get on the dragon."
Satoru grinned. "I thought you'd never ask!"'
Chapter 10
12 Years Ago
"Gods, we are not having this argument again!" Suguru exclaimed sharply. He was riding his horse alongside Satoru's own as the two drew close to the location where the Star Plasma Vessel resided.
They had ridden hard all week just in case the location had been leaked. It happened more often than not despite the precautions taken by everyone involved in these escort missions. Still, the real danger lay right before reaching Tengen's barrier. The barrier's location was far from secret, so anyone trying to assassinate the Vessel could just hang around outside there, patrolling until the Vessel and her escort of mages approached.
"Fine," Satoru sighed. Ever since Suguru had added the undead dragon to his arsenal, the white-haired mage never ceased asking to fly around on it. He had had the good sense not to request to do so on the way to the location - tracking such a creature's flight would be easy for anyone on the lookout for strange disturbances. But he remained insistent on asking to fly it from the location to the barrier.
In Satoru's mind, his idea made sense. But Suguru always managed to poke holes in his arguments. Like, what if the Vessel fell off? Or what if they were under attack and had to land, and Suguru was already exhausted from using his powers all day? Scaring civilians also remained an issue. Eventually, he gave up and looked forward.
The region was hilly and lightly dotted with trees- easier to see through than the thick forests in the north of Nara where they had been previously assigned. Just as a moderately sized town was coming into view, a loud commotion could be heard even all the way down the road where the two friends were. They turned to each other.
"We can't be blamed if she's attacked before we get there, can we?" Satoru asked.
Suguru waved a hand and Hokori's undead form emerged from a rip between dimensions. "Shut up and get on the dragon."
Satoru grinned. "I thought you'd never ask!"
Gleefully leaving the two horses behind, Satoru used Limitless to push himself up onto the back of the dragon and reached a hand down to help Suguru up. The two mages flew posthaste toward the town and the source of the commotion.
Several lesser devils were milling about one building, a few humans standing amongst them. Satoru figured they must be rogue mages holding contracts with the devils. Suguru directed the dragon downward and landed heavily in the midst of the ensemble, crushing some of the devils to death. The humans had wisely fled, though Satoru began immediately chasing down the first he saw.
"Go get the girl!" he shouted to Suguru as he ran off.
The single man he had been chasing was now joined by two others. Satoru approached them arrogantly. Each of them drew a sword and charged him. Each sword was stopped just before it reached him, ground to a halt by Infinity. Smirking, Satoru punched the one in front of him in the chest, sending him flying through a nearby house. He might have felt bad about causing the damage if the house hadn't been half-destroyed already. Plus, worrying about infrastructure damage was more Suguru's domain. He punched first and asked questions later.
A quick jab to the throat sent the one to his left reeling as well, and he kicked the final one in the stomach. The man flew backward and slumped against a fencepost, coughing up blood.
Satoru motioned with a 'come hither' curl of his fingers toward the low-ranking devils who were growling and closing in. He had dispatched their contractors, but they would remain until said contract was fulfilled or they were destroyed. In this case, the contract was likely the death of the Star Plasma Vessel.
One devil bolder than the others leaped forward. It was almost dog-like in appearance, though with red gleaming eyes and patchy, coarse fur covering its body. Its jaws opened wide, spraying saliva and Satoru was glad once again of Infinity. A swift blow to the top of its head as it reached him brought it crashing to the cobbles at Satoru's feet with a whimper. A stomp finished it off.
Yelping, the rest of the pack retreated. Apparently they preferred not to fulfill their contract and remain in the human world. That wouldn't do. Satoru sent a blast of Blue their way, wiping out the pack and yet another building. Yep, Suguru wouldn't be happy.
A set of knives sought and failed to pierce his Infinity. Satoru turned to see a man, hooded and cloaked, approaching while clapping. "Amazing, so you're the famous Gojo Satoru. I've heard you're strong. Show me if the rumors are true."
"Ask and you shall receive," Satoru replied, brushing the knives to the side with one hand. They fell to the cobbles below with a plinking sound. "But if you cry and apologize at any time, then I won't kill you."
"Brat," the rogue mage spat.
Satoru didn't even use Blue, just Infinity and his close combat skills. The man lay dazed on the ground when he was done with him. In the end, he had wept, likely a combination of pain and fear. Giving him one last kick for good measure, the white-haired mage sauntered toward the building Suguru had gone to.
It was still mostly intact, a good initial sign at least. Climbing the stairs to the second story, he found a mage similarly dressed to the one he had fought struggling in the embrace of one of his best friend's demons. "I'll quit ARM, I'll withdraw from the mission, I swear!" The man was babbling frantically as the demon coiled around him slowly, tightening its grip. "I'll move back to the countryside and become a rice farmer!"
Suguru was reclining nearby, examining something in a book he must have found in the house. "I can't hear you," he drawled, feigning deafness. "A rogue mage rice farmer? I doubt it…"
"You can totally hear me!" The man's screams were grating and Satoru had only just entered the room. "What can brats like you do, we have Bayer, ARM's strongest mage!"
Satoru strode toward the shoji window and slid it open, looking down at the man below. "Any chance that's Bayer?" he asked.
The snake-like demon twisted its coils so the man could look down as well. Judging by his rapidly paling face, it was. Satoru's smirk reemerged, and the man quieted, accepting his fate. "Whatcha reading?" he pestered, leaning over Suguru's shoulder.
The necromancer slammed the book shut and stood suddenly. "The Star Plasma Vessel is in there." He gestured toward a closed door across the room.
"She's sleeping at this time of day?" Satoru scoffed. He went over to the door and slid it open. Sure enough, a dark-haired girl with her hair pulled back in a braid lay on a futon, white and blue kimono looking somewhat wrinkled. "Did she get in a fight?"
"She was unconscious when I found her. It must have been an ARM mage. I couldn't get her to wake up, so I left her there and got comfortable in the other room," Suguru said, leaning against the doorframe. "I wish Sho were here, she'd know what to do about this."
Satoru had no compunction about entering the sleeping girl's room and strode over to the futon, leaning over to poke her in the face. Of course the girl's eyelids chose that moment to flutter open and see him staring down at her.
"You jerk!" she declared, slapping him in the face before practically flying to the opposite corner of the room from him herself. "If you want to kill someone so badly, start with yourself!"
Satoru scowled and rubbed his stinging cheek. He hadn't had Infinity on. Suguru took it upon himself to respond. "Amanai, don't worry. We're not here to abduct or kill you."
"Liar!" the girl accused. "You look like a liar! And what's with those bangs?"
The necromancer's forehead ticked, and he joined Satoru by picking up the girl's arms as he grabbed her feet. As the two were swinging her back and forth between them as punishment for her insolence, a new voice entered the conversation. "Please stop!"
The newcomer was dressed in a plain servant's kimono with her hair tied up away from her face. "Kuroi!" Riko shouted in delight as she hung between the two mages who still held her off the ground.
"My lady, these men are our friends; Lord Gojo and Lord Geto, sent to escort you to Lady Tengen."
Ah, so this was the caretaker, Kuroi Misato. Satoru dropped Amanai's legs, unfortunately at the same time as Suguru let go of her arms. The girl landed with a slight 'oof' on the ground but stood up quickly, no worse for the wear.
"What are you riding?" she asked.
Kuroi was half-lying on top of a caterpillar-like demon with horns and multiple eyes. "Oh, it's the bangs guy's magic!" she replied happily.
"Could you not call me that?" Suguru protested half-heartedly. "It's necromancy. I can control slain enemies. Or friends."
"Is that a threat?" Amanai asked, rounding on him.
Satoru butted in with his own comment before Suguru could become even more offended by Amanai's audacity. "She's spunkier than I thought she'd be. Aren't you supposed to be all sad because of the assimilation?"
The girl huffed out a breath, as though she thought Satoru was a complete idiot. "A stupid comment from a simpleton. The truth is, I am Lady Tengen, and Lady Tengen is me! You think assimilation and death are the same, but I will live on and become Lady Tengen. At the same time, Lady Tengen will also become me! My will, my heart, my spirit! All of that will live on after the…" She trailed off, as Satoru had turned to speak to Suguru, clearly not paying her any attention.
"She probably has no friends with the way she speaks," the white-haired mage commented.
"Yeah, it won't be hard for any classmates to say goodbye."
"I talk fine at school!" The girl was downright shouting at this point. Then she remembered that she was late to school and flew into a panic.
"Ugh, this is stupid. We should be taking her straight to Tengen," Satoru complained as he and Suguru were forced to follow the two to a surprisingly large schoolhouse complex which must have been shared by several towns and villages in the area.
"We can't," Suguru reminded him. "Lady Tengen wants us to heed her reasonable requests. And as the sensible one on this mission, I deem school today as reasonable. Allowing her to enjoy herself until she reaches the barrier is also a part of our mission."
"Thank you both so much," Kuroi told the two of them, bowing formally. "Lady Riko doesn't have any relations, since her family died in a fire when she was young. I've been her caretaker since then, so I'm grateful you will at least let her spend time with friends."
"That makes you her family then," Suguru told her with a smile. Satoru tried not to gag. His best friend was way too nice. Suddenly, the necromancer straightened. "I lost one. We need to get to Riko now."
Satoru sprang into action. If one of Suguru's undead lookouts had been dispatched, more threats were on the way. He wondered if it was ARM again or some demons and devils. "Satoru, you and Kuroi go to Amanai. I'll head off the intruders." Suguru broke off from their group, headed toward wherever his undead minion had vanished from.
"Amanai!" Satoru just about charged through the shoji door instead of sliding it open.
An entire classroom of girls turned and stared at him. Riko looked horribly embarrassed as a number of them began exclaiming, asking if he was a prospective suitor for her. "N-no! He's my cousin!" she insisted.
"He's so tall!"
"Show us your face!"
Smirking, he obliged and removed his spectacles, flashing a grin at the class as his unusually blue eyes were revealed. It was mostly to annoy Riko, who was becoming increasingly red-faced - her classmates were too young for him to be interested in. Out in the country, it was unusual for girls to attend school much past Riko's own fourteen years. Helping their families and getting betrothed and then married were of higher importance.
"It's an emergency," he tried to explain to the scowling old woman who had been teaching the class. Sensing his stunning good looks would have no effect on the half-blind old hag, he snatched Riko up by the back of her kimono and ran out of the classroom with her.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. Her kimono was in no danger of ripping, as Satoru applied Limitless to carry her along easily.
"Another rogue mage attack," he explained hurriedly. "It's too dangerous for you to be sitting around in places you usually go. We should begin the trip to Tengen's barrier immediately. Any other last requests will have to be fulfilled on the trip."
Riko's face twisted. She likely worried her friends would get caught in the crossfire. They very nearly just had. Surely this would convince her to go along with himself and Suguru. "Okay," she said softly and sadly.
Damn. Even he felt like a bit of a jerk if she had been reduced to a response like that. Darting along the roof of the building, he searched for Suguru's familiar aura and soon found him.
Suguru turned to face his best friend. He was standing over a downed mage - likely the one who had destroyed one of his lookouts. "Ah good, you got to her in time. Where's Kuroi?"
"Huh?" She had been right behind Satoru when he'd entered the classroom. She hadn't stayed behind there, had she? Oh right, he had run across the rooftops and she probably wouldn't have been able to follow him directly, needing to go around the outside of the building. He explained as such to Suguru and after another minute of the woman not appearing, they went off to search, one around each side of the building complex. He remained carrying Riko with him - the girl seemed to be enjoying floating once she became accustomed to it.
"The thirty thousand," came a voice from above Satoru. He leaped up to a nearby rooftop and set Riko down on her own feet, keeping her close. The girl clutched at his haori sleeve to keep her balance.
"Thirty thousand?" the Six Eyes Bearer asked, completely calm as he noted the five identical men dressed in black garb for fighting. He aimed his first attack, twisting space around the one closest to him, crushing the man. But instead of disintegrating like a shikigami, it looked like a real human had been twisted to death right in front of him.
"How come the shikigami didn't disappear?" Riko apparently thought some of them had been shikigami as well.
"They aren't shikigami. They're clones. And all of them are real," Satoru said.
Two of the clones rushed in and he put a hand on Riko's head, protectively activating Infinity around them both.
"What's this?" one clone whose fist was just a hand's-breadth from his face asked.
"The Infinity," he stated matter-of-factly. He offered no further information before crushing both of them with blows from his free hand. "Looks like his cloning magic maxes out at five, including the original. He can probably change his real body at any time and switch if he's in danger."
The two remaining clones stood across from him, clearly hesitant now that he had defeated three already.
"Your innate magic is good. Why is it you're so weak?" he asked, taking his spectacles off. The guy couldn't even immediately summon a new body if one of the clones was destroyed. Talk about wasted potential. He ripped the last clone apart with half a thought, leaving only the real body to deal with now.
"How do you know what my magic is?" the final body asked nervously.
Was this guy trying to stall for time to build new clones? Satoru decided it didn't matter. "I've got good eyes. My magic involves the convergence and divergence of an infinite series. Things that approach me slow down and never reach their target. By amplifying this, the Limitless - things such as natural negative numbers and impossible situations like negative one apples - manifests. In doing that, I can create a magnetic effect like the one before. But it's quite difficult to use. I can't create a huge field of attraction close to myself. Manipulating mana to use it accurately is a real pain. In other words, I get really tired. But this is all standard for my magic."
Riko was gaping behind him as he formed a different hand seal and continued speaking. "This is the divergence of the Infinity: Red!"
A glowing red orb appeared at his fingertips and then dissipated in the blink of an eye. The man, who had been shuddering and flinching backward as Satoru pointed two fingers at him, haltingly opened one closed eye.
"Heh," Satoru half-sighed. "It didn't work!" He smiled and punched the main body in the face, knocking him out cold. "I really thought I could do it this time…"
Riko was looking at him as though he was a total weirdo. He didn't care.
"Satoru." Suguru arrived, using a boost from a flying demon to reach the roof beside them. "Kuroi isn't anywhere. It looked like she had defeated some rogue mage - there was an unconscious body on the ground and her staff next to it."
"Show me," Satoru told his friend. Perhaps he could trace the residual magic whatever had happened at the scene.
At the far end of the building, the caretaker's bo staff lay in two pieces, and next to it, an unconscious low-ranking mage. Satoru's eyes narrowed. There was something wedged under a small stone near the broken staff. Stooping, he picked it up and read:
Bring the Vessel to Osuna village if you want the woman to live.
Satoru sucked in a breath. Great, this was just great. He handed the note to Suguru, who held it down low enough that Riko could peer over and read it too. The girl's eyes widened. "Lord Gojo! Lord Geto! Please, we have to save her!"
Suguru looked frustrated. "It's my fault. I didn't take into consideration Kuroi's importance on this mission."
"I didn't either," Satoru told him. He had been the last one with her after all, and had abandoned her in order to get Riko out of the building she had been in quickly. "Whoever took her probably is going to demand Amanai in exchange for Kuroi, and if we don't go for it, they'll kill Kuroi." Riko gasped, clearly horrified. "Since we have Amanai, we have the upper hand. Where is Osuna village?"
Suguru pulled out the map he had tucked into his own haori and studied it, eyes narrowing. "It's almost halfway between here and Lady Tengen's barrier," he said slowly. "It would take a full two days to get there traveling at a moderate pace. There's no way whoever took her there could be there already. If we reach the place first, maybe we can get the jump on them."
Riko brightened, clearly liking the idea. "I still haven't even said goodbye to her. We have to do it, I don't care how fast or hard we have to travel!"
Satoru slammed one fist into his free palm. "If we fly-"
"We'll have no chance of ambushing whoever took Kuroi at Osuna village," Suguru cut in. "Flying there on a dragon would be the most high profile entrance in history."
The white-haired mage pouted, but his best friend was right. "Alright, then we'll go by horse and make it there in one day."
Suguru's expression remained apprehensive only a second before hardening into determination similar to what Satoru saw on Riko's own face. "Alright, let's get what we need and go. We'll travel through the night."
In the end, the group had stopped for a few quick hours of rest before the sun rose. Suguru left up a guard of undead, remaining awake to maintain the magic. Satoru bolstered their defenses by remaining awake as well. Nothing could slip by his Six Eyes after all, and there was a chance this whole kidnapping was part of a more elaborate plot to assassinate Riko along the way when her bodyguards would least expect an attack. Suguru's defenses handled the few demons and devils that attacked while Riko slept. Satoru himself must have half dozed, for he flinched awake when he heard movement. It was just his two companions preparing to continue their journey and he sighed. If he slipped up like that again without Suguru at watch as well, it could be game over for all of them.
The horses were tiring more quickly than the humans riding them, so the group switched them out at the next town they passed through, getting a good exchange and leftover coin for the good quality stock they needed to exchange for poorer mounts.
"It's a shame," Suguru said as they pushed the horses as fast as they dared with their inferior stamina.
"Yeah," Satoru agreed.
Riko didn't add anything. The Six Eyes bearer expected as much - this journey was tiring her far more than her older and stronger companions. Still, he had to admit she had not once complained about the pace or saddle sores she no doubt suffered if the way she walked when dismounted was any clue. She truly was determined to save her caretaker. Satoru wondered if he would show such dedication if his own parents were in danger. Maybe his mother, he decided.
As evening approached, the group slowed. They were approaching Osuna village according to Suguru's map. The black-haired mage halted his mount and glanced around before directing it into the sparse cover around the trail they had been cantering down. The group had suffered only a few demon and devil attacks along the route, but nothing they couldn't easily handle. The surprise had been the sheer number of mages attacking them as though they had a chance of assassinating their quarry while she was guarded by two S-ranks.
Tying their horses' reins to some low tree branches that would allow the beasts to graze while the mages investigated the village, their party set out. Riko had to come along - it was too dangerous to leave her on her own with the horses, so she would need to stick close to the two friends as they investigated.
The village was quiet, and most of the homes were filling up with their inhabitants at this point in the day. It was closer to a town than a village, complete with several inns and taverns. Those establishments did not seem to be doing great business today.
"That's not a good sign," Suguru said when Satoru mentioned it. Another good thing about his eyesight was they didn't have to go into town to do an initial investigation and blow their cover right away by walking in as three very noticeable strangers. "You don't see Kuroi anywhere, do you?"
"Negative," Satoru answered, pushing his spectacles back up to cover his eyes. Riko, squatting on the ground below the tree branch they stood on, remained silent and focused.
"We should be able to set up an ambush on the road then. I can take the main road in if you want to cover the road out. It's possible they may take the long way around and double back, but I doubt it."
Satoru shrugged. "Fine by me. Who's stuck with Amanai?"
"Hey!" the girl protested.
Suguru thought for a moment. "She should probably go with you since it's more likely I'll be doing the fighting."
"Hooray," the white-haired mage said in a voice that was anything but happy.
Riko did not look happy either, but surprised Satoru by keeping her protests to herself. She truly was dedicated to Kuroi. He felt a bit bad for his behavior but refused to apologize as a matter of principle.
He ended up having to carry her as he had before by applying Limitless. She was athletic for a girl who had not trained as a mage, but there was no way she could follow him on her own two feet through the trees as he patrolled. Once again, she said not a word of complaint, a worried expression seeming permanently etched on her face.
A commotion on the far side of town soon caught both of their attentions. It didn't last long, but Satoru did not dare abandon his post in case the altercation there was something unrelated to their trio.
"Mission accomplished," called a voice from below him which he would recognize anywhere.
Satoru hopped down from his treebranch and put Riko back on her own two feet. "Kuroi!" she squealed, running to embrace her caretaker.
"Riko! I'm so glad you are okay!"
As the two exchanged greetings and hugs, Suguru stepped toward Satoru. "I don't get it. The mages taking her in were about the same level as the one she knocked unconscious earlier. Taking them out wouldn't have made even Haibara break a sweat."
Satoru frowned. Though Kuroi was a relatively untrained mage, she had some small skill. "Kuroi," he cut into the reunion. "What happened to you back at the school?"
The caretaker, one arm still around her charge's shoulders, turned to face the two mages. "I'm not exactly sure," she said, expression looking as though she was straining to remember any details. "I had just fought off a low-rank mage and my guard was up. I didn't sense anyone attacking me."
"If it was a surprise attack, no worries. You can't always see everything coming," Suguru put in. "It was also our fault. We didn't think anyone would go after you since the target is Amanai."
"Was it really a surprise attack though? I know I was on guard for anything since you had just given the warning about danger, Lord Geto, not to mention the other man who attacked me. He jumped on me from the roof of the building but I was able to sense him and dodge at the last moment. And I can't quite remember being taken…" She appeared troubled.
"There weren't any strong residuals at the scene," Satoru assured them. "And none on the paper that was left behind either. Whoever did this is either really sneaky or really good at covering their tracks."
"Or both," Riko said morosely. "But you defeated them all, right Lord Geto?"
Suguru nodded, either not caring or not bothering to correct the two women in their formal addresses to him. "None of them got away, I made sure of it."
Satoru was satisfied. Some small skill did not mean strong, after all. Kuroi must be mistaken, perhaps covering up that she had failed in her own duty to Riko. "Well then, that's case closed," he said, brushing imaginary dirt from his hands. "How about we take a place at the inn? I don't feel like roughing it in the woods tonight."
"Being in town should at least ward off the weakest of the devils and demons," Suguru agreed. "We should be good to get a place."
"I agree too!" Riko declared enthusiastically.
The four of them walked across town to reach the inn, which was happy to have guests. Satoru was looking around for anything out of place, anywhere mages could be waiting in ambush, when he spotted it. A well-drawn image of Amanai Riko with a number beneath it. 30,000, the same number the clone guy had said when he saw the two of them at the school the other day. Someone had placed a bounty on the Star Plasma Vessel, and it was open season in both the magical and non-magical underworld on her.
Notes:
Fun facts about math I picked up while doing research for this story:
Series were discovered in the 14th century, so it is reasonable for Satoru to explain his magic mathematically.
Similarly, Chinese mathematicians began using negative numbers around 200 BC using red rods for positive numbers and black rods for negative numbers.
European mathematicians started using negative numbers in the 15th century.