Disclaimer: I do not own Taimanin series.
The Vengeful Blade - 01
The sword fiercely swung against enemies' assaults. Sparks ignited at each stroke and were extinguished by the heavy downpour, Akiyama Rinko charged towards a group of terrorists as they opened fire on her.
Bullets deflected and cut shells spilled on the ground, their weapons couldn't stop her advancement. None of them could hit her, their aim was sloppy. She would take advantage of that in order to wrap things up.
"What the hell?! She's so fast!"
"Keep firing! Don't let her get closed!"
Click! Click! Click!
"W-Wait! Cover me, I need to reload!"
Rinko's eyes narrowed, vision gained peak focus at the opportunity. The terrorists weren't in sync when taking turns reloading their guns, that was her window. Putting more force into the steps, she leaped ahead and moved past the barricades. Her katana, which placed back inside the sheath, drew and unleashed a wide sweep, knocking out the group with the blade's spine.
Blue Guardians. An environmental terrorism organization that once attacked a UFS base in mainland Tokyo using a stolen Tempest tank. Fortunately, the Taimanin Task Force had successfully stopped them before the innocents were involved.
Now, they made a return, taking a much more extreme action to spread their twisted message. Their target was a renovating dam built upstream of a river, which passing through a village. They planned to set explosive charges around the dam to destroy it, so the forest's energy would be restored to its balance.
The village located deep in the wood and was poor. For years, the dam was makeshift, constantly under repaired to protect the village during flood seasons. Up to now, the villagers finally gathered enough budget to give the dam a new outlook and a firm foundation built for a better, sturdy structure.
However, this went against the extreme ideal of Blue Guardians. They wanted the dam gone even if it meant the village downstream would be wiped off the map.
For that, they must be stopped.
"This is Akiyama Rinko, enemies neutralized. Section B is cleared." Rinko spoke into the earpiece.
[Copy that. Good work! We also grounded up the terrorists in the village.] Su replied.
In this mission, the Task Force was under Su Jinglei's command. Due to Fuuma Kotaro still recuperating back in Gosha, she became his stand-in.
[Emily reporting! We successfully apprehended twenty members of Blue Guardians in the village. However, none of them carries the explosive charges. Their total number is twenty-five, that leaves out five more.]
Rinko looked at the unconscious terrorists she'd just knocked out and counted. Three...four...one is missing!
"There're four at my location! I repeat, there're only four! One of the Blue Guardians is still out there!"
[Roger! All units, be advised!] Su announced in urgent. [Another terrorist is still out there with the bombs! Check your surrounding!]
Their plan was to destroy the dam. If the explosive charges weren't with the rest, that would leave out a possibility.
"The dam is upstream, I should be able to make it in time!"
After notifying the team, Rinko teleported up high to the raining night sky. The rain was still heavy, she could hardly see the destination amidst the foggy air, which didn't help with the bad weather conditions.
It was the middle of the flood season, water in the river were rising. The remaining terrorist was heading to the dam while the rest stayed behind to delay the Task Force. Not good! Rinko didn't want her hunch to be right. If they managed to sabotage the dam, a flood would sweep through the village. No one would be able to escape in time.
No. Akiyama Rinko, stay focus. You have to keep moving. Don't think of the worst scenarios, there's no time to let unnecessary thoughts hinder your senses.
Rinko continued to leap through portals in the air. One of it happened to be inside a strong wind current.
"Uwah!"
The harsh gusts broke her momentum and pushed her off the sky. Rinko regained her balance mid-air and landed safely on the ground.
"I have to make it."
Holding her palms together, Rinko activated her Ninja Art. All five senses enhanced and a portal gate appeared in front of her, inside that gate, the rain didn't exist. This space filtering technique acted like a scan that could help her see clearly the surrounding. But the forest was too dense, she hardly viewed past the many bushes in the far off distance.
"This is the right direction...wait, or this one?"
For a moment, Rinko had doubts. Her sense of direction distorted by the weather. How far was her position to the dam? Which way?! Darn it, she saw the map during mission briefing and now this happened. She should have equipped a compass before chasing after the remaining terrorist. Her Taima energy pool was almost depleted as she had been teleporting nonstop on the way. All she could do now was to find the river and follow it upstream. But by that time, it would have been too late...
Kkksks!
"Eh?"
Suddenly, a new connection established in her comm device.
[Rinko-senpai, can you hear me?]
The familiar voice shook the dark thoughts away from her mind, Rinko instantly recognized it.
"Fuuma? Y-Yes, Fuuma. I can hear you!"
[I have your location through the GPS on your device. Emily filled me in what happened at the village. What's your situation?]
"I'm heading to the dam, a terrorist is about to blow up that place. But my vision can't see more than ten meters in front of me in this downpour!"
[Right. Compare and contrast your GPS with the map.]
The earpiece went silent for a few seconds.
"Fuuma?"
[Got it! The dam is five hundred meters east to your location! Can you make it?]
Her breath hitched at the actual distance. She already made it more than half-way to the destination, but to close that gap in a short time was not possible.
"I'm afraid not! I won't be able to make it in time to stop the explosion!"
[Teleportation?]
"I only have enough Particles for two more leaps to cover about three hundred meters. Unless we have the exact coordinate, I have to reach the place on foot."
[Understood. I'll give you the exact coordinate, ready your Art in five seconds.]
"?!"
Rinko was surprised to hear that, Kotaro had everything prepared for her technique. She clasped her hand together, Taima energy pool inside her emerged as particles gathering and forming a circle gate. Void Art Teleportation standing by until the earpiece rang his voice again. With the right coordinate, she could do this in one go.
Rinko listened carefully, her GPS coordinate came up first to determine the calculation. Once he read what she needed the most, Rinko jumped into the portal gate.
Soon, the destination came into her vision, a large wall stood tall in a green landscape, enduring the storm. She fixed her gaze on a figure carrying firearms and wearing bulletproof vest. The remaining terrorist had just climbed over the fence and ran ahead. Along the pathway on top the dam, he dropped some devices with glittering lights.
The bombs! He was already planting them to blow up the place!
"Not on my watch!"
Her Taima particles were enough for one more Void Art activation, Rinko decided to use it. She glitched in and out the portal that appeared next to the terrorist, who recoiled back in pure shock. Despite the rain pouring into her face, Ishikiri Kanemitsu left the scabbard to reach for the detonator in his hand.
Slice.
The stroke drew quickly, yet it contained a slight desperation. Rinko's accuracy strayed off the mark by inches. Instead of the detonator that was supposed to be split in two, the terrorist's hand came off while it still gripped the device tightly.
A painful scream overlapped by thunders. The Blue Guardians terrorist fell over, wiggled on the ground and held his dismembered wrist in distress.
"Ah..."
Sword guard hit the scabbard, concern filled Rinko as she rushed over to check the terrorist's wound. She won't apologize for what happened, the Blue Guardians were already asking for retributions because of what they did to the villagers. Regardless, she couldn't afford to leave him there bleeding in the middle of a storm.
As she turned him over, a cold barrel aimed directly at her face.
Bang!
The trigger pulled without hesitation. Rinko titled her head in time for the bullet to zip past the cheek. The terrorist had been reaching for his gun and hid it from her sight, he didn't give up even though one of his hands were cut off.
"Go to hell, you demons! You all have degraded the forest long enough!"
He fired more. Rinko backed away while she deflected the bullets with the scabbard.
"Demons?! Destroying the dam will flood the entire village! Don't you realize that?!"
"Sacrifice is part of the progress! We demand this forest to be cleansed!"
The unremorseful terrorist turned to the explosive charges, his gun raised up, aiming at the nearest device.
"No, don't!"
The gun echoed with a flash, the bullet shot its way towards the device. Rinko's katana, Ishikiri Kanemitsu, gleamed upon cutting into the bullet's trajectory. Friction sparks flared up in the rain, the blade sliced through the projectile.
He kept firing, she intercepted the shots using the sheer speed of her quick draws.
Click! Click!
The gun ran out of bullets. Rinko won't slip a relief sigh too early, she stamped her heel on the detonator, breaking it completely.
"You try to save the environment but your actions are no different from the criminals. You would risk human lives just for your own twisted belief. Your evil doings stop here."
The terrorist grunted. However, a grin soon formed underneath the face mask.
"Say whatever you want. We've won either way."
"?!"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion took over the stormy night. The dam shook as river flood invaded through a hole near the spillway.
"What?!"
The devices scattered above the dam didn't explode, it looked like a different charge had been set up and hidden. Rinko tightened her grip on the katana. The terrorist actually made it here sooner than she'd anticipated, he managed to set up a time bomb before she could reach the location.
"Fuuma, we have an emergency! A timed bomb just exploded! Most of the dam are intact but the water level is rising!"
[...]
"Fuuma? Fuuma, come in!" Rinko switched channel. "Emily-san! Su-san! The dam is sabotaged!"
Rinko heard silence from the other side of the connection.
"Kuh! Hahahahah! It's done! We're finally one step closer in fixing the broken balance of nature!"
The terrorist laughed, the pain on his dismembered wrist seemingly forgotten by an overwhelming sense of winning. Blue Guardians' goal had been accomplished, that was enough to him.
"You!" Rinko pointed her sword at the terrorist. "You brought a natural disaster to the village! How could you still be laughing at all this?!"
Anger raised in her voice.
In that moment, the storm around her faded into the background. Thunders rang in the distance, its loud echo disregarded to her hearing. All she could hear was the cruel laugh of a human wearing a demon face. All she could see was the terrorist who was beyond redemption.
Rinko's glare grew sharp.
The earpiece was making static noises, but she could hear a voice pushing her to reach for Ishikiri Kanemitsu.
To draw it.
To deliver the sharp edge though that terrorist's throat.
He deserved no mercy for his action.
Do it.
She wanted to shut down that laugh, to stop his voice right this instant.
Slash him. Cut him. Strike him.
Rinko placed her grip on the sword.
KILL hi-KKsssh!
[Rinko-senpai!]
Gasp!
Flinching, she blinked. The storm returned, waters splashed on her face and thunders resounded clearly above the sky. The blade stopped a mere inches before the terrorist's neck, a small cut began to bleed out.
But that alone did something. The strange voice from before was gone.
Retracting her blade, Rinko realized the change on the terrorist's face. He stared at her in awe, his whole body was shaking. The expression was full of fear.
[Senpai, come in.]
"Fuuma, I'm listening."
[I checked the geographical advantages of the area around the village. The dam was actually built on top of deep soil areas with lots of catch basins to absorb the water. Rest assure, the sudden release will only cause a small flash flood.]
Her eyes widened at the news, she felt relieved.
"The village is safe then?"
[Yes. There's a reason the village's occupying a small land and chose not to expand for its population. For generations, they've been growing trees when the area was still a plain.]
"You mean, the forest stretching all the way to the upstream wasn't made by nature?"
[No. All grew and took care by the villagers. It's their tradition. It's also thanked to this that the forest will block out most of the flooding. The village have respected nature since the beginning, now it provides them protection.]
True to his words, the river soon stopped overflowing and water level gradually sunk below the warning sign.
"I see. That's good to hear." Rinko turned to the terrorist, who was laying on the ground. "Thank you, Fuuma. I'm going to clean up here and regroup."
[Roger that.] Kotaro disconnected the comm link.
She stared down the Blue Guardians' member.
"Despite the bravado, you are able to make such a face after all. Consider that's how the villagers felt when you drove them away by force."
"T-T-This won't be the end of Blue Guardians, you hear me! We will come back-Eughh!"
Rinko smashed the butt cap of her katana into the terrorist's face, knocking him unconscious. Mission accomplished, the Task Force managed to stop the terrorists' attack and saved the village from harm.
The rain was still falling, albeit much gentle than the tension Blue Guardians caused to this forest. Rinko noticed a part of the sky became brighter, the stormy night was over.
To hear his voice while he was still back in Gosha was unexpected. Even so, his support had been the most helpful to shut down another evil scheme.
"Thank you, Fuuma." Rinko muttered.
She had a feeling such words wasn't enough. It was about time she thought of something to return that help with her gratitude.
...KILL...hi...m...
Shortly, she reminded herself of that ominous voice. What was that?
At the old training ground, he closed the laptop and stood up from the grass.
The left eye reopened to see the first rays of dawn filling the sky above Gosha, Kotaro stretched his body while he observed a shining light in-between the drifting clouds.
It was the Conquestor, an observation satellite operated by Clarissa Vanguard - a member of DSO.
While she stayed at Gosha to gather field data from the Task Force, Kotaro had asked for her permission to grant him access and establish a long distance communication channel to the main squad - who was on their way to stop the Blue Guardians' terrorism.
Still recovering from the Great Ashen Tree Incident, he took a break from Task Force's activities and passed his role to Su, his second-in-command.
Kotaro's jobs now consisted of handling paperwork, analyzing intel collected by field agents and summarizing document details for Igawa Asagi to help reducing the workload.
Throb.
"...again...?"
His closed right eye gave a light jolt, he touched the eyelid to see if there were more pulses coming.
Kotaro had planned to take a jog with Murasaki-sensei in the morning. However, he'd woke up early than expected. He had gotten nowhere closer to a six hours sleep today. He should have got enough rest if the right eye didn't jolt him up in the middle of the night.
It was an ominous feeling. It felt like a voiceless warning was hanging in the air. He wasn't sure what in the world happened for the right eye to react like that.
At the first pulse, his first thought was to contact the Task Force to support them as quick as possible. Hence, the request to use Conquestor. He would treat Clarissa to ice creams after this as thanks.
"Good work, team." Kotaro relaxed.
The news said a storm is approaching. Gosha hasn't rained, but the humid atmosphere seemed to forecast that possibility.
Now that the mission was done, Kotaro went back to his practice.
He breathed in deeply.
/
Author's Note: In case you didn't know, Blue Guardians is an actual in-game group appeared in Su's Days off Event.
Thank you for reading. Take Care!