Rensa 29

Rensa #29 (恋査 #029) is a character introduced in Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index as the 29th designated operator of the Rensa cyborg.

Unlike Rensa #28, she is more aggressive and vicious. She is the second Rensa operator to be introduced in the series.

Appearance
Although her first appearance at her wear her camouflage like skin-tight body suit, she most likely wears the standard nurse clothing for the Rensa cyborg. Unlike Rensa #28, she lets her long dark hair down and allows it to be disheveled. She carries herself differently to Rensa #29 as well, making her look more boyish even though they have the same body.

Personality
She is more aggressive, vicious, and less subtle in her expressions than Rensa #28. Moreover, she has a strange high pitch laugh that can be written down as "Hee hee hee," and her sentences are often rendered in the text with a star symbol like Shokuhou Misaki, most likely indicating her eflish demeanor. In contrast to Rensa #28, she prefers fighting up close using powerful attacks, lacks a general strategy, and takes more risks.

Like Rensa #28 however, she has absolute loyalty to Yakumi Hisako, and indicates that it was because she saved her from a difficult situation, which allowed her to willingly give her body up just so her hypothalamus could become an operator for the Rensa cyborg. Due to her previous life before becoming a pilot of Rensa, Rensa #29 apparently came across an event that made her extremely disillusioned with heroes, believing they cannot save everyone, and are only effective in a world where they are ignorant of the darkness of the City, like the one she lives in. She laments utilitarianism and its happenstance necessity, and the bitter fact that someone might be sacrificed in order for other people to be saved and that people must choose. She herself states that in a situation where there has already been people sacrificed, there is no longer a point in even attempting to save everyone anymore as a flawless good ending is no longer available (referring to the Agitate Halation Project). This belief being the central pillar supporting her ideals.

Despite her disposition towards heroes and referring to herself as someone who is not by all means a hero but just a tool, she did not abandon its ideals altogether, as shown with her utter loyalty with Hisako, whom she is willing give her life to in order to save her life.

Background
Not much is known about her past, though the only thing that can be extrapolated from her speech with Touma and invoking the, is that she most likely came upon a difficult situation where she and others were in danger and that someone needed to be sacrificed in order for the others to live. According to her, Yakumi Hisako later saved her, to which Rensa would be forever grateful, showing her a possibility that no one needed to be used as a sacrifice in order to live. With this, she allowed for her hypothalamus to be removed in order to become the 29th operator of Rensa.

Her hypothalamus is meanwhile kept in storage when not in use.

Agitate Halation Arc
After Rensa #28's ordeal with Touma that resulted in the loss of her right hand, and later being asked the now-AIM thought being Yakumi Hisako if she is capable of contending against the 7,500 heroes that had gathered because of Fremea Seivelun's Agitate Halation, Rensa #28 switches with Rensa #29.

She first takes control of Kakine Teitoku, and forces him to convince Fremea in entering Learning Core, specifically the Lightning Rod building. She had somehow set-up some bombs in the facility, intending to kill Fremea once and for all and free Hisako from Academy City's AIM diffusion fields. Her mission was merely to observe what would happen after Fremea dies, and later takes a helicopter to get there.

After Kamijou Touma finally tracks down Fremea Seivelun at the behest of Hamazura Shiage and in his own desire, Rensa arrives at the same time in the Lightning Rod, jumping out of the helicopter. Touma once again confronts Rensa anew in the museum in the Lightning Rod, and notes the stark difference with Rensa #29 and the previous one. As they banter on, Rensa takes control of Kakine's beetle body once again and shows her deceit to Touma and Fremea, and speaking of its struggles to bring warning. Rensa warns of bombs that have filled the buildings and that there would no reason to fight him anymore for they have already won. Touma quickly tries to go towards Fremea to protect her from the explosion. However, as Rensa activates the switch, nothing occurred and no harm was done upon the building or its inhabitants that might derive from a violent explosion. Rensa #29 is just as surprise as Touma and Fremea, not knowing how this come to pass. Suddenly, the helicopter outside in which Rensa used to come to Learning Core was destroyed by a collision with the arrival of another body of Kakine Teitoku.

Rensa believing that she had control over his body is surprised by his arrival. Kakine points out that primary consciousness means nothing with Dark Matter, as so as the little Rhinoceros beetle keychain still trembles trying to regain control over Rensa as Kakine Teitoku, so too is the great white Rhinoceros beetle that appears before her. He speaks that he can split asunder and join together again into single consciousness, and with this advantage, he did split himself into 50 different insect-sized versions of himself when he noticed that Fremea was being led to the Learning Core, and there, independently came there to search for any danger, with this, the bombs that Rensa had set up which they have cut down. There, Kakine Teitoku, in a form of large Rhinoceros beetle, tell her not to underestimate a Level 5. Kakine falls down to face her, and breaks free from his shell and appeared before them with fair wings and a white form. Seeing this, Touma stands up once again to do battle against Rensa. The two boys stood on either side of Rensa. She just smirks at their appearance, apparently believing that Hisako has taken into account this unforeseen event. With this, she takes out the giant mechanical flower from her back, and rearranged the machinery within her. Thus, four wings made of whirling wind appeared from her back, showing off her using the power of Accelerator. Here, this version of Rensa shows that her battle style is much more different than the previous one.

Kakine and Rensa met in battle, clashing with their wings in supersonic speeds, and their strike made the museum tremble. Despite the power of Accelerator against him, Kakine must've taken measures with his Dark Matter as he did not hesitate his attack at Rensa. However, she keeps on laughing throughout all this, once again pointing out the difference between her and the previous Rensa, and mocks the teamwork between Kakine and Touma. Despite all the taunting and the obvious difference of power and speed, Touma presses forward, knowing that she would be wary of his right hand. And thus she did, her speed changed slightly and Kakine, seeing this change, tried to attack her as if trying to push her towards Touma. She forcefully took the attack as if sacrificing one of her arms, trapping Kakine. She grabs one of his wings and used the power of Accelerator to twist it unnaturally and launch it in a irregular and difficult to predict trajectory towards Touma. And he was slammed down by Kakine's power, falling near Fremea. Rensa began focusing her attention towards Touma, but Kakine cut in between them.

Thus, Kakine met once again in the heat of battle with Rensa wing to wing, where she taunted him ever of the doom that might befall on Touma and Fremea if he were not to properly meet her strikes. But Touma has yet to yield. He stands once more and demands Kakine to "Cut them loose!" and he understood his intentions. Kakine severed his wings from his main body as Touma charged forward, and swung his fist towards her from behind the wings floating in the air. She tried to protect her face, but Kakine made an opening and struck her belly with new Dark Matter wings he has formed. With a dull sound, Rensa is struck down. Kakine asks Touma if they have done it as Rensa lied unmoving in the rubble. Touma tells him that they need to get away from her just to be save advising to carry Fremea far away. However, Touma's counsel is interrupted as Rensa once again compares herself to the previous pilot of that cyborg body, telling Touma on how Accelerator had an ace up his sleeve that showed itself when his is truly cornered. Jet black wings come forth from Rensa, a thing that both Touma and Kakine had witnessed first hand before. Kakine is then struck and sent flying by those black wings of hers, and his crash made the building tremble. With Kakine down, Rensa praises Accelerator's power and mocks his power for being the reason why he is merely the second-ranked Level 5.

Touma is enraged, but Rensa merely swung her black wing towards him horizontally, and yet it did not hit him. Instead, he knocked it upwards. Confused, Rensa once again swung a black wing towards him, and the same such effect happened. At least five times she attacked but Touma would not fall against her wings. She laughs again, surprised that Touma is able to contend against her despite knocking down Kakine. Touma doesn't answer her straight. She asks again if the increased danger added to his effectiveness in battle, or that if he has a easier time reading situations when it's merely one against one, or that he has trouble in fights involving multiple people. But Touma once again does not answer her straight, to which she responds that she can do something about it. Rensa swung once again towards him, and if not for Kakine's timely usage of all his strength to knock Touma out of the way, then it would be the end his fight against her. Fremea screams, and Touma saw that Kakine had been slammed against the ground in his place.

Rensa #29 has sealed away Touma's precognition, through freezing her expressions, restricting the information Touma can take in and giving Rensa an expressionless look and emotionless voice. Rensa mocks Touma and states that there is no way he can save everyone now. Rensa brings out a tube containing the hypothalamus of Rensa #28, and tells him that she, Rensa #28, and others, are like the batteries for Rensa, the operators of a single cyborg body. She tells Touma on how expensive the cyborg body is, how they are used for it, and on what they are used for after they are unable to operate Rensa. Touma asks Rensa #29 if someone told her to do this, to which she says that he should not think of her as a poor victim. She states that if she didn't choose her current path, she would definitely meet a worse fate, as such volunteered to become an operator fore Rensa. She then says that it is understandable for Touma to not understand as he lived in a happy ignorant life away from the darkness, and says people who have actually been soaked in the darkness can't save anyone even if they win. Rensa, despite not knowing all the things that Touma has been through that includes having his limbs severed and his body injured several times, mocks on how Touma must've had it easy. Rensa says that Touma can't win this time, despite being able to save people, as their paths are just too different from each other. Rensa states the pillar of her character, stating that Touma cannot save everyone here and the ending where no one is sacrificed as the Agitate Halation Project had sacrificed many people before it even began. Touma is silent for a while, but then replies, as someone who knows exactly the feeling of not being able to save everyone. He rejects the very thought of even giving up of saving everyone even if people have already been sacrificed. He tells Rensa that if she stops trying just because she couldn't save someone then she'll lose any small possibilities that may remain. Touma acknowledges that there is no perfect hero, but if they don't all bring together what little power they have, they can never protect anyone. Rensa points out that Touma is contradicting himself, but he doesn't care, stating that it is for him to deal with. He says that he only needs to save people, and he will deal with any lies, contradictions, and mistakes himself, as he has done many times before, saying that he is not saving people to check whether he chose the right answer. Rensa laughs, saying that it was her attempt on saving him, but doesn't mind if he keeps going. There, she drew her black wings closer to Touma.

After Fremea Seivelun takes control of the Shading Computer, and in turn, Yakumi Hisako's AIM thought body, she sends her towards Rensa #29, which is immediately taken in by her. Her black wings disappear, and she immediately begins to swell due to tremendous and strange power that entered her, just like when Rensa #28 tried absorbing Imagine Breaker. As two voices come out of her body, Kakine Teitoku, still lying on the floor, slowly regained his human form told Touma to end the fight. And thus hearing it, Touma clenched right fist and walked towards her. Rensa #29 laughs, saying that Touma's ideals are full of contradictions and that there is nothing right about them. Touma asks Rensa #29 what she wants him to do, to which she says that this is what she wanted, as Hisako is her greatest savior for turning her into what she is now. She tells Touma that she will never hand her over to him as it is one of the few things in this world that she would rather have herself killed than do. She tells to Touma the lamentable reality of not everyone can be saved, and states that Hisako was the one who took her from that difficult situation where someone had to be sacrificed, and tells Touma that the other Rensas are the same, having their own reasons to obey Yakumi Hisako absolutely. Rensa says that she will not let someone like Touma, who showed up much too late to take her away from them, their greatest hero in the world. Touma understands the fact that he cannot save every single person in the world, and that there would be people who would save others but with a very different method to his. As Rensa's body continued to swell and being unable to speak properly, Touma asks Rensa why she didn't ask Hisako earlier before she became an AIM thought being, or before that. He asks him what would happen if she had done everything she could until a hero could arrive, fighting to save Hisako until the end. As her body begins to crack, Rensa denies that she can do something like that as she is not someone who can play the role of hero. But Touma says that she is already doing a wonderful job right now. Rensa still denies this, saying that she will never be a clichéd hero like her as she is a simple tool that is being used to repay her debt to Hisako.

But Touma does not listen, and calls her a hero. Touma says that he can no longer do anything but destroy as his hand can only destroy illusions, he tells Rensa that it is her that should make it in time. Promptly, Rensa tries to deny this very fact, and immediately after, white wings rise up from her back, the ultimate power of Accelerator. Unperturbed, Touma advanced towards her, knowing full well that he could kill Hisako just so to save Rensa. As Touma comes closer, Rensa walked unsteadily forward with those pure white wings still growing from her back. As their gazes meet, Touma says that she cannot stop him, for he will save her. Rensa tells him to stop as he will be saving the wrong person. And thus they clashed. Rensa used her cyborg body to charge up to Kamijou at supersonic speeds. She swung the white wings on her back to the right and left simultaneously. However, despite her speed and sealing his precognition, Touma predicted how she will attack, and arranged for how he will act before Rensa acted. Touma crouches, preparing to attack. A slight trembling returns despite her lack of expressions, and here she realizes that this is the end. Touma clenches his fist, and moves his upper body out of the way of the charging wings. With the use of his right fist, Touma strikes Rensa at the center of her face, believing that she can find a way to save Hisako herself from him. At that moment, a surpised look on Rensa's cyborg face appears, and there, she catapults Yakumi Hisako into a back alley in School District 13 before Touma's right hand can completely destroy her.

Touma later gathers her and the rest of the Rensa hypothalami for cold storage, waiting for the day that technology advances enough that they can truly be saved.

Abilities
As she operates the Rensa cyborg body, designed specifically as a countermeasure in case the Level 5 Espers would turn against Academy City, she is capable of using the abilities of any esper within a 200 meter radius, using a flower-like device that protrudes from her back with "knitting needle"-like device within the flower. These knitting needles would then proceed to calculate and imitate the values of different Esper powers allowing her to be capable of using the abilities of the #1 up to #6 Level 5 Espers, which is a default set part of her.

Unlike Rensa #28, she only uses Accelerator's abilities as it is the strongest. Moreover, she is more willing to take risk, not afraid to enter the realm where her senses can’t keep up. She’ll trust her life to an untested theory she built up. As a result of this, she has a sloppy strategy that is only backed up by Accelerator's ability. However, this is most likely deliberate, as she knows that Accelerator can produce black wings when he is put in a corner and desperate. Here, she has perfect control of the black wings and can easily contend with Kakine's Dark Matter wings. Finally, after being pushed too far by Touma on protecting Hisako, Accelerator's white wings also manifest upon her. Not much is known of how much control she has over it, but she is at least capable enough of controlling it when under tremendous pressure. It should be noted that unlike Accelerator, no halo is mentioned during her transformation, indicating that it is either imperfect for her or it only applies to Accelerator.

Character Art Designs
According to Haimura Kiyotaka, the design for Rensa #29 receives a distinction separate from Rensa #28. According to Haimura, he designed her with the basic image of Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist fame in mind. Despite having the same proportions, Rensa #29 is a lot more boyish.

Finally, continuing with the plant motif that is apparent in some of Haimura's art such as Aleister Crowley's Blasting Rod, he had designed Rensa's AIM reception design with the thought of combining a and a parabolic antenna.

Quotes

 * (To Touma, from NT 7): "Hey. Hey, hey, hey! Rensa-chan’s here now, so I think you need to give up. Anyone who gives up gets a quick death. Then again, your fate has already been decided either way. Hee hee hee☆"
 * (To Touma, ibid): "Go to sleep, hero. In fact, did you really think you were a hero? Did you think you were a hero who could save every single person you came across? If so, you were dead wrong. The path to a flawless victory has already closed."
 * (To Touma, ibid): "Ha ha! Ha ha ha!! Don’t make me laugh. Weren’t you listening? I wanted this. Yakumi Hisako of the board of directors is my savior for turning me into this! You want me to hand her over? You want me to let go of her? I’ll never do that. That is one of the few things in this world I would rather die than do!!"