Saten Ruiko

Saten Ruiko (佐天 涙子) is a character from the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun sidestories. She is voiced by Kanae Ito. She is a Level 0 Academy City student and is a classmate and close friend of Uiharu Kazari.

Appearance
Saten Ruiko is a girl with blue eyes and long black hair with a small, white flower on the left side of her hair. She also prefers wearing medium-sized skirts instead of short ones.

Personality
She has an outgoing and friendly personality but is a little shameless as she sometimes flips Kazari's (and only her) skirt in public. At first she displayed apathy towards being a Level 0 but then became envious of the abilities of her friends as she was unable to fulfill her dreams as an esper, as such she used the Level Upper.

Later on she grows to accept herself and becomes determined to develop her own abilities.

Like her friend Kazari, she also has a deep sense of friendship, she was instrumental in helping Kazari and Kuroko make amends and made Mikoto realize that she has friends who she can count on.

She's a huge fan of internet rumors and loves telling her friends about them.

Background
She was born outside Academy City and when she was younger she decided that she wanted to go to Academy City to become an esper, she even boasted to her brother that she is going to get powers, her mother although disproving of her decision as she is afraid of what the city will do to her head supported her regardless and said she can come back anytime, she also gave her a good luck charm which is shown to be always attached to her bag.

Sometime in Academy City she became close friends with Uiharu Kazari, she eventually enrolled into Sakugawa Middle School along with Uiharu and was classfied as Level 0. She also let down her hair and wore a white flower on the left side of her head. She is currently a 1st year student in class 1-D.

Toaru Majutsu no Index
Although she doesn't appear in the actual show, both she and Uiharu appear in the first and second Opening, PSI-Missing and Masterpiece. In first Opening, They can both be seen sitting on a café with Kuroko, with their backs facing the camera. And In Second Opening, They both walking pass in front of Mikoto before camera flash to her.

Toaru Majutsu no Index Movie: The Miracle of Endymion
She is also shown having more than a cameo part in the Toaru Majutsu no Index Movie: Miracle of Endymion trailer. From this we can assume that she shows up, even for a minor part, in the movie.

Level Upper Arc

 * Main article: Level Upper Arc

Unlike the manga, Ruiko has a much more prominent role in the anime series, she meets Mikoto earlier and on the first episode she does her best to aid Mikoto and the others despite having no abilities at all which impresses Mikoto, she also gains the affection of Jufuku Miho a Level Upper user after she said as a passing remark that she liked her eyebrows during her visit to the School Garden in which she was attacked by her for wearing a Tokiwadai uniform.

Later she becomes envious by the fact that everyone of her friends has some sort of ability and becomes curious about the Level Upper, after obtaining it she becomes alienated by Mikoto's words that levels and abilities are not important since to Ruiko having abilities is the reason why she went to Academy City, she finally uses the Level Upper after being caught helpless when trying to save Koujun Kikuhiko from Trick's gang and witnessing the battle between Kuroko and Trick where Kuroko obtained injuries. She invites Makochin, Akemi, and Muu-chan to use the Level Upper, and Ruiko seems to display powers over the wind, however they were all soon struck by the side-effect of using the Level Upper, becoming comatose, she later goes back to her dorm and calls Kazari that she has Level Upper and have used it along with her friends, blaming herself for what had happened, Kazari tearfully says to Ruiko that everything is going to be alright and that she will be there to wake Ruiko up, she goes on to say Ruiko will always be Ruiko to her regardless of her abilities. This makes Ruiko feel better but when Kazari arrived at her dormitory, Ruiko has already become unconscious. She is later taken to the hospital by Kazari.

After the defeat of Kiyama Harumi and AIM Burst creature, she wakes up from her coma and is greeted by Uiharu on the rooftop of the hospital. Ruiko apologizes to Kazari and realized that she almost lost something much more dear to her than abilities. She then proceeded to lift Kazari's skirt once more.

Since she was a user of the Level Upper, she has to take supplentary lessons at a certain school, there she meets their teacher, Tsukuyomi Komoe who teaches them the importance of having a Personal Reality for ability development, there she also once again meet with Jufuku Miho who shows a noticeable amount of affection for her. During running laps, Ruiko pushes herself to keep on running, there Elder Sister argues with Yomikawa Aiho stating that this is just simply punishment for using Level Upper. Aiho rebuffs her stating that this is training to surpass one's limits, citing Ruiko and another runner as examples. She says to them that the development of abilities is akin in surpassing one's own limits. After going inside because of rain, Ruiko confronts Elder Sister on her views on why this is like punishment and says that it is only natural for them to be punished because they were cheating (using Level Upper) in achieving abilities, which her friends agree on.

Later after taking in what Komoe says about achieving one's own Personal Reality and surpassing one's own limit, they are tested on how far their abilities have gone. After having witnessed Ruiko's confrontation with Elder Sister,  Jufuku Miho decides to follow her example and live strongly like her from now on. Although Ruiko remains a Level 0, she is determined to keep on trying.

Big Spider Arc

 * Main article: Big Spider Arc

She first appear in a cafe along with Mikoto, Kuroko and Kazari where they talk about the recent attacks on espers by Big Spider, Mikoto discusses how she does not like people who give up easily, which Ruiko tells them that she seems to be describing her. She later appears with Kazari eating together, talking about how she understands the feelings of Skill-Outs and reassures her that she will never give up again.

After hearing about Kurozuma Wataru's and Konori Mii's confrontation, she becomes curious of their past. She later visit Konori Mii's apartment along with Mikoto, Kuroko and Kazari, where Yanagisako Aomi who is Mii's roommate tells them that Mii was previously a member of Big Spider, much to her and everyone else's surprise. After leaving, she replies to Mikoto's statement about Mii, where Ruiko tells her that Mikoto should not look at people's past that simply as it what makes people who they are now. She later stops and explains that she is not trying to contradict her after seeing the reaction of Mikoto, Kuroko and Kazari.

Poltergeist Arc

 * Main article: Poltergeist Arc

During the Poltergeist Incidents that are occuring around the city she befriends Kazari's new friend Haruee Erii and helps both Uiharu and Haruee in fixing their yukata for an upcoming evening festival in the evening, during the festival Ruiko escapes unharmed during another Poltergeist-related earthquake.

Later when Kuroko and Kazari came to a disagreement on Haruee's involvement in the Poltergeist Incidents, Ruiko is often seen trying to calm down the situation.

After discovering Therestina's true identity, she forces both and Kazari and Kuroko to apologize to each other after treating each badly the past few days, Ruiko also chastises Mikoto for not telling anyone where she went off to and reminds her that she is not alone, during the preparations in confronting Therestina, Ruiko equips herself with a metal baseball bat.

She joins Uiharu in guiding Kiyama Harumi in finding the Child Errors that were kidnapped by Therestina, when they arrive at the location Therestina set-up a trap though she is unaffected by Therestina's Capacity Down because she is a Level 0, she later interprets Kazari's queries on Therestina about the location of the sound system that controlled the Capacity Down, and later tells Therestina over the sound system to not to hurt her friends and then proceeded to destroy it with her baseball bat allowing Mikoto to defeat Therestina. It is this heroic act that finally earns her Kuroko's respect, making her finally regard her as a close friend rather than a casual acquaintance.

She is last seen with Uiharu, Misaka and Kuroko being late for the special event held by Haruee Erii for Kiyama Harumi.

Sisters Arc

 * Main article: Sisters Arc

Having heard of rumors of someone dropping bank cards, Ruiko uses her "nose" to find them and invites Mikoto to join her. She later gives Mikoto her share of bank cards and leaves afterwards stating that she would like to bring Kazari next time.

In a later day Ruiko and Kazari meet up with Kuroko to discuss why Mikoto suddenly seemed preoccupied. Ruiko concludes that Mikoto has boy problems which shocks Kuroko and makes Kazari blush. Their conversation is cut-off when they hear a vending machine alarm, which Kuroko goes to investigate.

Near the end of the arc, Ruiko is asked by Mikoto to help her bake cookies for Touma (after he told Mikoto that he likes homemade cookies). Here, Ruiko is relieved that Mikoto is back to her normal self again and teases Mikoto about a certain boy, much to Mikoto's embarassment

Ability
Her ability while using level upper is Aero Hand (空力使い (エアロハンド) ), a power that should allow her to propel objects using ejection points of air, though, she can only move small leaves in the palm of her hands. Once level upper is reversed, her ability level returns to 0.

Other abilities
She also is very athletic, being capable of running for a noticeably longer time than most students during her extra classes after the Level Upper incident, and was capable of quickly reaching the top floor of the large building that housed the Child Errors from the very bottom floor.

During the Poltergeist arc, she was armed with a Baseball Bat, and although it is unknown how well she fares with it, she proved instrumental in Therestina's defeat by destroying the capacity down. As she is unaffected by capacity down, it is clear that her ability gained from the level upper is completely gone.

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Special 1: "MMR: More Complete Railgun"
Ruiko first appears in the beginning of the special, flipping Uiharu Kazari's skirt in a strange accent. The scene where Ruiko and Mikoto are purchasing crepes in the first episode is parodied, here Ruiko receives Alastor from Shakugan no Shana instead of a Gekota toy and offers it to Mikoto. Later both Ruiko and Kazari are horrified after they witness Kuroko's neck being broken multiple times by the Tokiwadai Dorm Mistress, afterwards they discuss rumors about her being a former soldier in the jungle snapping people's necks. In a later scene Ruiko is seen sighing in a classroom wanting to eat shibazuke. In a later scene Ruiko's teacher asks her what would happen to the cat in the box (the experiment is similar to what Komoe demonstrated in Toaru Majutsu no Index) which looks similar to Sphynx, Ruiko answers that the cat would be either dead or alive and is proven wrong when the box reveals the Palm Top Tiger from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toradora! Toradora!].

In the final scene Ruiko, Kazari, and Kuroko listen to Mikoto and her suspicions of the many wind turbines in the city even when they are inland. Both Ruiko and Kazari are both convinced by her that extraterrestrials are involved with this but is later told by Kuroko that in Academy City anything can happen.

Being a photoshoot model under the sun isn't easy, you know
Set during episode 13, Ruiko accidently takes a suntan lotion filled with aphrodisiacs, courtesy of Kuroko, that was meant for Mikoto. Aroused, she tries to see Kazari's panties, and is quickly told by her that since she is wearing a swimsuit, she doesn't have any on. However, this only makes Ruiko want to see even more, and soon chases Uiharu. She later comes to her senses and apologizes to a scared Uiharu, though is quickly told by Mikoto that she was a victim herself.

Extra Franchise Cameo
Saten appears quickly for a second in Ookami-san and her Seven Companions (also produced by JC Staff Animation Studios), looking unintressed at the screen, as a potential bride candidate for the boy millionaire Nezumi Chuutaro.

Design evolution
Haimura designed Ruiko for the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga. Originally, he thought that she was a victim-type of character that needed protecting, that is until Kamachi told him to make her more bright and carefree, which forced him to redesign her. Haimura gave Ruiko a flower hairclip to match Uiharu Kazari's flower headband.

Trivia

 * In the manga she states that her nose is sensitive to money, she backs this up by showing Mikoto four bank cards she already obtained. (she also teaches others how to learn how to use their noses to find objects).
 * She displays impressive skill in sewing.
 * She and Uiharu Kazari both have cameos in both openings of the first Toaru Majutsu no Index anime, although with shorter skirts.
 * It is speculated that Ruiko has a crush on Uiharu Kazari, although there is no solid evidence of this.
 * Saten is unusually lucky, having been saved by coincidental events or having become involved in events due to coincidences more than any other character in the entire franchise.

Quotes

 * (To Uiharu on the phone)"I didn't like being so powerless. But I couldn't give up on my hopes...Mama..."
 * (To Uiharu)"I'm sorry...I got you involved in something dumb...I kept secrets from you...and made you go through all of this...Only a bit more, and I might have lost something far more important than powers..."
 * "There's no way it'd go so well. But...Let's keep trying."
 * (To Uiharu)"I'm not going to give up anymore. Yep, never again."
 * (To Mikoto)"It's not trouble to us. But instead of worrying about you after you're gone, I'd rather go with you and help you. Because that's what friends are for."
 * (To Therestina)"Don't you dare lay a finger...on my friends!"