The Red Hand

"Ugh." Kana slowly woke up, her head was pounding, and she felt like a car just ran her over. "My head..."

"Easy there." Mimi stood next to her. "You took a nasty hit, so you shouldn't move around too much just yet." She took a small cloth and wiped Kana's face.

"Huh?" Kana was still disoriented. "Mimi? Where-?" her eyes snapped open, and she sat up instantly as she recalled what happened. "Mika, Naomi!" She looked around the room and saw her two friends laying in the other beds with bandages wrapped around their heads.

Mimi sighed. "I just told you not to move around like that." the Yuki-Onna shook her head. "Those two are just fine, see." she pointed at the two girls who waved back.

"We're ok." Mika smiled.

"Yeah, if anything, we were more worried about you since you took that blast head-on." Naomi seemed relieved that Kana woke up. Their voices were a bit weak from the burns, but they were otherwise fine.

"How did we get here?" Kana was a bit disoriented and it took a moment to recall what happened. "Those two players began attacking people and..." Kana searched her fuzzy memories from the attack at the mall, before realizing something. "Wait, where's Onee-chan!" Kana figured that the three of them were alive because of Akagi's intervention. But she didn't see her sister in the room.

As she asked this, Yumi entered the room. "My Lord is.... busy." Yumi had a conflicted look on her face. "I suspect she's dealing with those two as we speak." She was worried.

"Alone!" Kana exclaimed. "You have to go and help her!" She was about to get out of bed, but Yumi and Mimi stopped her.

"She doesn't need nor want our help." Yumi shook her head. "Those two never stood a chance."

{And I don't even know if she would recognize us at the moment.} Yumi was worried Akagi would go on a rampage. When she last saw Akagi, her eyes told her everything she needed to know, her master had slipped into the darkness. The only question was how far? And would she return?

"But..." Kana was still worried. She knew Akagi was strong, but the thought of her sister being hurt because of her was gut-wrenching.

"To be honest, I don't think it's my Lord's safety that you need to be worried about." Yumi continued.

"What do you mean?" Kana thought about it for a moment before it clicked. "Wait, don't tell me that Onee-chan-" she stopped short as she recalled the vision she'd seen not too long ago.

Yumi shook her head. "I don't know, Kana. By the time I arrived, she was already quite emotional. She wouldn't listen to me, and I suspect once we left. She....." Yumi couldn't bring herself to finish. In the back of her mind, she knew exactly what Akagi was going to do to those two, but whether or not she was still herself afterwards was unknown.

"Onee-chan..." Kana put her head in her hands and began to cry. "Why do I always cause you pain... Why is it always because of me that you get hurt...." The thought that Akagi lost herself in her power because of what happened to Kana was too much to bear for the girl. Mika and Naomi had only caught a brief glimpse of Akagi's anger and what they saw shook them to the core. It was no longer Akagi, Kana's kind but eccentric older sister, but a Demon out for blood. The two stayed quiet as they were having trouble processing everything that just happened. But, they now understood just why Akagi refused to show them more about herself. As what little they did see caused them to experience a level of terror and fright that they never imagined possible. Thankfully, neither of them witnessed what Akagi had done to Sumeralia and Hijax.

A few minutes passed in complete silence until everyone was hit with a massive weight that crashed down on their bodies.

"Wha-what's going on?" Kana could barely move, and even Yumi and Mimi were affected. To the girls, it felt like a massive bolder had landed on them and it made it very hard to breath.

"Its-its my Lord's power." Yumi managed to speak, albeit with some difficulty.

{Its not just the power that's increased, it feels wrong. As if this power was made from evil and malice itself.} Yumi thought to herself.

"Indeed, but why is she letting it run loose like this?" Mimi had felt Akagi's power before, but it was never this intense. A moment later, the crushing weight disappeared, causing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.

"It would seem she restrained it." Yumi gave an exhausted smile. "She seems to be coming here, and I think we all have questions." She detect Akagi walking towards them from outside.

{I just hope my Lord is still herself when she arrives.} In the back of her head, Yumi was ready to take the girls and flee if Akagi had truly lost her mind.

*Click* *Clock*

*Click* *Clock*

*Click* *Clock*

The sound of Akagi's geta sandals echoed down the hallway and into the medical room, causing a great deal of anxiety among everyone. Mimi and Yumi had gotten tense, keenly aware that if their master had truly lost her mind, she likely wouldn't hesitate to kill the two of them. And they were fully aware that they couldn't stop her, even if they wanted to.

*gulp* Yumi was prepared for the worst when the door opened, and Akagi stepped through. Her face had an uncharacteristically warm smile, and her left eye was bright orange. A sight that caused Kana to panic internally as it looked the same as what she saw in her dream, minus the black sclera. To Yumi's eyes, Akagi seemed to be happy, almost as if she was at peace. 

Akagi silently closed the door and looked at Kana. "Oh, good. You're awake." Akagi walked over to her sister and put her hand on her head. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Kana." She pulled her sister into a tight embrace. "And I'm glad you're ok." Akagi clung tightly to her sister. Seeing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

{Well, that's a good sign...}

Yumi felt the knot in her chest release. She was still a bit nervous, but seeing Akagi hug her sister was a great relief. 

"Um, Onee-chan," Kana spoke up. "So, are you ok?" she was still worried. 

"I would ask the same question. You were in significant distress when I left. Are you sure everything's alright?" Yumi walked up beside her. "I've been worried that you'd lost yourself, please tell me you haven't given into the darkness inside of you."

"Honestly, I'd say I'm better than ok." She pulled away from Kana and gave a big smile. "I haven't felt this good in a long time. It's like... I can breathe just a bit easier." It was a comment that would need clarification. Akagi spun around in place for a moment allowing her sleeves to flutter. "Who knew the darkness could be so comforting!" Akagi laughed as she spun.

Kana and the girls weren't really sure what to make of Akagi's statement, but they could tell from her face that she was different. Whether or not this was a change for the better had yet to be seen. Mika and Naomi thought Akagi seemed calmer than she was before and her face was a bit more relaxed. Kana noticed the shadow behind her sister was less violent and while it was still scary, it seemed warmer and less turbulent than before.

Yumi was confused by this turn of events, she'd thought Akagi would be more violent and angry, so this new demeanor was unexpected. "My Lord, I just want to be sure." Yumi's face turned serious. "You are still you, correct? And you are in control of yourself?" Her question made the temperature in the room drop as Akagi grinned.

"Indeed, I am." Akagi turned to look at Yumi with her orange eye. "Though, I will admit that I might be just a little bit different now." She looked down at her hand and flexed it. "I tapped into a bit more of my power, and whatever restraints exist around my soul have weakened significantly." The smirk on her face gave everyone a bit of worry.

"This is truly amazing, you know? Even with just this much. I feel like I could do anything." She looked up at Yumi and gave another warm smile. "To think, all this time, I was missing out on all this..."

That comment gave Yumi another bad feeling.

"So, what does this mean?" Kana asked tentatively. 

"It doesn't really mean much for you." Akagi shook her head. "I have more of an idea of what I am and what I can do. But other than that, I see no reason why things would change." She pat Kana on the head, which caused her to blush a small amount.

"So... what are you then?" Kana was worried about the answer.

"I still don't have a specific name, but." Akagi put her finger up. "I can definitively say that I was never human to begin with, Kana. This power came with some knowledge, and I'm sure that I've always been some kind of Demon." Akagi's face turned into a fierce grin. “Hence the eye color.” She pointed at her left eye. It was bright orange and her iris was now slit like a snake. Kana thought it was a bit unsettling since it made her feel like she was looking at some kind of predator. “Isn't it beautiful?” She smiled, expecting everyone to agree.

"I see," Kana declined to answer. "But, you're still you, right? Even if you are some kind of Demon, you're still my sister, right?" She was worried this new Akagi would drift away from her.

"Absolutely," Akagi nodded. "Demon, human, whatever. That doesn't change the fact that you're my sister, and nothing ever will." Akagi looked over at Mika and Naomi.

"I guess you took a little bit of damage from seeing me slip like that." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry about that. I got so angry, that I may have hurt the two of you."

Akagi turned to Yumi.

“And I'm sorry I yelled like that Yumi.” Akagi looked at the priestess who shook her head. "Even if I was in that much pain, screaming at you was not acceptable."

“It was no problem at all.” Yumi smiled. "As long as your fine, I don't mind. Getting angry shows how much you care, so don't worry about it." She wasn't really bothered by it, what mattered more was that Akagi was fine.

Mika and Naomi were surprised by this display of regret from Akagi and quickly responded.

"Please don't bow your head like that!" Naomi exclaimed.

"Yeah, you don't have to apologize." Mika shook her head.

Akagi's apologetic attitude didn't sit well with either.

"It's understandable that you were upset. Kana was nearly killed, and so were we. Who wouldn't be furious?" Naomi continued. "All that happened was that we got a little scared anyway. It's not that big a deal, really." Their fear and anxiety had mostly faded by now, seeing Akagi back to normal helped a great deal.

"Yeah," Mika nodded. "So please don't worry. We're a little bit more resilient than that!" She stuck her hand out in a peace sign.

"I'm just glad Yumi got you out when she did." Akagi scratched her cheek. "If you saw what happened after that....." Akagi let out a nervous laugh. "Though that might have been fun in its own right..."

{Hmmmmm....} Yumi glared at her. {Suspicious...}

"Onee-chan." Kana looked at her with fierce eyes. "You did something to save us, didn't you? There's no way we should have survived that explosion with just some burns and singed hair." Kana wanted an answer. "We should be dead."

"Yeah, Mika and I saw some kind of purple glow around us that broke apart after the blast. What was that?" Naomi chimed in.

"That, is what we call paranoia and an insurance policy." Akagi shrugged. "It pays to be proactive."

"Insurance?" Kana tilted her head.

"Not long after I was discharged from the hospital, I attached a small shadow to the three of you." Akagi put out her hand, and a small black flame appeared in it. "It's partially a skill and an item. I can place it on people as a way to reduce the chance of injury or death" The small flame lept from Akagi's hand and jumped on Kana's head before disappearing. "Against non-players, it will stop most damage. For example, if the military would have shot you, it would have bounced off harmlessly."

"So you placed a protective shield on us?" Kana asked.

"More or less." Akagi nodded. "Against a player's attack, it will mitigate the damage as you saw. Luckily, the blast wasn't powerful enough to kill through the shield." Akagi continued. "I got an alert when they were broken, and part of the ability allowed me to transport to the location the protected person is at."

"Why didn't you ever say anything about this?" Kana sighed. "It would have been nice to know."

"Because I didn't want you to know, Kana." Akagi shook her head. "Ideally, you three would have never found out about the protective barrier, and something like this would never have happened. I'm a paranoid person, so I wasn't going to take chances, and I'm very glad I didn't." Akagi was quite happy with herself.

{Note to self, find out how the fuck those idiots slipped into Kyoto without me knowing. Someone's getting an ass beating for that one.} Akagi made a mental note to figure out what went wrong.

Kana and the girls couldn't argue with what Akagi said. Without Akagi's protection they would have died, so they couldn't exactly be upset with Akagi placing that barrier on them.

"You can't spy on us with those shadows right?" Mika asked, concerned about her privacy. "That would be..."

"No," Akagi shook her head. "Unless they are damaged or broken, I have no connection to them, and even then, all they do is give me an alert that something had happened. I do have things I can use to spy on people, but this ability isn't one of them." Akagi tried to reassure them that she couldn't see what they were doing or anything like that.

"Do you have something attached to us that can spy on us?" Kana puffed up her cheeks. "If you do..."

"No, I don't." Akagi waved her hands in denial. "I'm not stupid enough to do that since it would be a massive invasion of your privacy, and I didn't want to get yelled at if I was found out. The ass chewing you'd give is not worth whatever I'd get out of spying on you." Akagi continued. "My shadows can't even tell me your location, so don't worry about that either."

Kana let out a sigh. "I guess I'll believe you then, but please don't ever spy on us like that or I'll give you such a beating! Demon or otherwise, I will find a way to hurt you." Kana's gaze was fierce and Akagi figured that if anyone could find a way to do it, it would be Kana.

"Also, I can't exactly be mad about you placing protection on me, but please ask for permission next time, ok? Especially when you do it to other people." She wanted to make sure Akagi was a bit more forthcoming about this stuff in the future.

"I can't agree to that." Akagi shook her head. "Dislike it if you want, but I have no interest in taking chances with your lives. Even if you don't want it, I will be placing another protective shadow on you." Akagi's expression turned fierce as she looked at Kana. "I would rather you be mad at me than dead."

"It's fine, Kana," Naomi spoke up. "It's not really a problem, besides if it wasn't for that protection, we'd be dead. And I don't mind having something like that around."

"Yeah, if she can't spy on us or anything. I'm not really bothered." Mika nodded.

"I understand that, but it's the principle of the matter." Kana wasn't backing down. "If you want to do stuff like that, you should at least ask. Even if you know we'd be fine with it. It's just the right thing to do." 

"And I don't care about any of that, Kana." Akagi shook her head. "Principles, ethics, morals, none of that matters if you die. People can think of themselves as morally superior to others, but what good is that if everything you care about is taken away? It's why I don't typically allow people that cross me to live." Akagi had her own personal rules, but all bets were off if she need to protect herself or those she cared about. “If I could put it on Yumi and the others, I would. But sadly it doesn't work on them. For whatever reason those from FWO are incompatible with my ability.” Akagi had tried very hard to find a work around, but for whatever reason her ability didn't work on her followers.

"Fine," Kana gave up. "It's not worth the argument, and honestly it really doesn't matter." 

{I think Onee-chan might have gotten even more stubborn.} Kana decided to give up on the matter, but something Akagi said got the wheels turning in her head.

"Onee-chan." Kana got up out of the bed. "What happened to those two that attacked us? What did you do with them?"

Hearing this, Akagi's face contorted into a terrible grin as she recalled the fun she had with them. 

{Such a lovely time, I'll have to do it again!} (Akagi)