The Red Hand

Akagi, Imp, and Alice chatted for a bit more until the time for the little girl's departure came. She didn't want to leave, but had Libra work to do and couldn't stay any longer, lest she fall behind on her puppet production. Not to mention Kana would be home soon. Before she left, she gave Akagi a small stuffed bear she made, it was a get well present for Kana, and Akagi told her she'd give it to her later. After a big hug from Akagi, Alice hopped on an enlarged Floofy and began the trip back to her compound north of Nagoya.

Akagi watched her disappear into the distance before letting out a smile. "Well then." Akagi looked at Imp. "Shall we go check out the new weapons?” She'd been looking forward to this part.

Imp's eyes lit up. She'd been waiting for this too. "Yes-yes!"

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"Fire!" One of the ninjas yelled.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

On command, the six animal-eared marksmen's weapons exploded with power and sent a volley of six magical blasts down rage obliterating their targets.

"Excellent shots, all." Akagi praised their efforts as she and Imp walked over to the outdoor firing range.

Immediately upon seeing Akagi, the seven ninjas lowered themselves onto one knee.

"Lord." They said in unison.

"Please, continue as you were." Akagi smiled. "I wish to see how your new weapons fair, and Imp wants to know if you came across any issues."

"Yes, any problems-issues?" Imp took out a notepad to write on. She was quite interested in their feedback.

The seven nodded and stood back up, six of the ninjas got into firing positions while their instructor, a rabbit-kin named. Nemino walked over to Akagi.

"My Lord, the new weapons have proven to be exceptionally powerful and will be highly useful for the members of our clan." He said with a serious expression. The ninja actually had training in firearms, something most people would be confused by. In FWO, muskets and single-shot pistols did exist, but they were more or less a gimmick, and the player classes that used them were quite lacking. With the pirate themed swashbuckler being the only example of class that could use them well. Chloe's clan was able to use them, but only rarely did, as they were to slow, loud and unreliable.

Akagi was always interested in buffing up her clan's firepower and decided to push the boundaries of magic now that they were freed of the game's limitations. Knowing that Imp was working on something similar, she offered the mad scientist the chance to work together jointly on weapon development, something Imp leapt at, and the two decided to work on turning the lackluster firearms into powerhouse weapons. What Imp delivered was an interesting concept that blended magic with modern weapons. Essentially, the muskets were powered by a magical crystal within them. This enabled the user to channel their power into loading and firing large blasts of magical energy, even if they themselves were magically inept. As for why muskets and not more modern weapons? That mostly came down to the novelty of the weapons and the unpredictably of them. So for now Akagi and Imp decided to go with something familiar and simple first.

"Fire!" Nemino yelled.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

All six shot together and destroyed the newly rebuilt targets.

The weapons were surprisingly effective and ensured that even those that lacked magic could do major damage since the crystals could fire a limited number of shots on their own energy before needing to be recharged. This type of magitech was still in its early days, but Imp was excited by the possibilities, and the field test here proved to be quite insightful. Akagi was just as interested as Imp in fusing magic and tech, and she was planning on making it a founding principle of her nation.

Seeing the weapons in action, both Akagi and Imp seemed pleased with the results. When the ninja were finished, Imp barraged the poor rabbit-boy with questions while Akagi tried her best to hold in her laughter. Once Imp got into engineer mode, there was no stopping her and something like this had peaked her Impish curiosity. She needed to know how the output of the weapons was, any issues in channeling power, limitations on practical use, unintended side effects, and other important things that Akagi didn't understand. Luckily Nemino was able to answer her questions, and the two entered their own little world as they discussed things that Akagi couldn't comprehend. For all her new power, she was still no smarter than before. But that was ok, she'd get the dumbed-down report later.

After some time, Kana, Mika, and Naomi found their way to the firing range accompanied by Yumi.

"That sounded like gunshots," Naomi said as she shivered. "And why are you guys outside? This cold is awful."

"My Lord, Kana asked me to bring them so they can do some studying for term finals," Yumi said with a smile.

"I figured, and Kana doesn't have to ask to bring her friends here." Akagi looked at her sister. "You can just bring them whenever you like, and you don't need to run things past me. I consider them my friends too." She smiled.

"I know, but it's still just polite to do so. This is your home after all." Kana said with a smile.

"It's our home, Kana. And it always will be, even when you move out on your own." Akagi chuckled.

"Awww, ain't they cute." Mika laughed.

"Yeah, it's so sweet I can feel my blood clotting from the sugar." Naomi wasn't really happy to stand in the cold. "Can we please go inside? I'm freezing."

"It's not that cold out?" Mika tilted her head. "I barely feel anything."

"Yeah, it's not that bad," Kana added in.

"I'm quiet comfy." Akagi smirked.

"Kana, that's because you're a Yokai. You don't feel the cold." Naomi was referencing the topic she'd brought up at the mall. "Mika, you've been spending so much time with your girlfriends that I'm surprised you haven't turned into a Yuki-Onna! And Akagi you don't feel the damn cold unless you want to! So quiet you!" Her reaction made the girls laugh.

"Awww." Mika put her finger on her lip playfully. "Are you sure you're not just jealous?" Naomi had never had a boyfriend/girlfriend, so Mika figured she would poke fun.

"Argh..... It's too damn cold out here for me to want to deal with you. I'm going inside, with or without you two freaks!" She walked away, causing Kana and Mika to laugh hysterically.

"I guess us freaks have to stick together, huh?" Kana asked.

"Maybe we should try to find her someone from among Akagi's family. Someone here could warm her up, I bet." Mika's little innuendo didn't escape Kana or Akagi, who burst out laughing.

"Well, the way things are going, it wouldn't shock me," Akagi said trying to contain her laughter. "There are over 100 people here, so it's possible."

"Well, Naomi did slip up and call Akagi Mom at school that one time, so maybe....." Mika looked at Akagi with an absolutely mischievous look in her eye.

"I don't need two people who call me that, so please no." Akagi sighed. "And I'm not interested, I've already got Yumi, and that's good enough."

"Wait! Who else calls you Mom!" Kana asked. Akagi realized she slipped up.

"Dammit, why do I always do that to myself." She wasn't intending to tell Kana about Alice just yet, but it looked like that was happening now.

"More secrets!" Kana glared at her. "How many do you have?!?"

"Plenty more, and hopefully they stay that way." Akagi retorted. "Oh well, I already stepped in this, so let's head inside for a chat." She looked back at Imp. "Are you good? You can join us if you want."

Imp turned around. "No-No." She shook her head. "Will stay, do testing-research, need data-information." She was more interested in seeing her new weapons in action than chatting over tea.

"Ok, well, just let me know when you want to head back to Tokyo." Akagi fist bumped Imp, and she and the girls went inside.

Walking inside the house, they came across the amusing scene of Naomi sitting close to the fireplace. She really hated the cold and had gone right up to the warm fire to drive away the chill that plagued her.

"Ahhhh, this is so much better." Naomi's face showed she was in bliss. "I really hate the cold."

"I can tell," Akagi laughed as she walked into the room. "Here, this will probably work a bit better than sitting next to the fire." She snapped her fingers and a small orange magical energy engulfed Naomi.

"What did you..... ahhhhhhhhh." Naomi stopped speaking. "Ahhh, this is so nice....." She felt like her entire body had been wrapped in a heated blanket.

"What did you do?" Kana asked as she took off her jacket.

"I just cast a spell that regulates air temperature around someone to keep them warm." Akagi shrugged. "It was a basic spell that every player was given when they started in FWO. It was part of a spell called Prestidigitation and it could do a ton of useful little things."

"Ok, cool, so can we talk about that whole Mom thing." Kana on the sofa Her, words caused Naomi to jump and redden in embarrassment. "Not your Mom thing Naomi. Though, we can talk about that too if you want." Kana grinned. She was gonna get mileage out of that one.

Naomi lowered her eyelids and just glared at her.

"Yeah!" Mika sat down. "I didn't know Akagi had a kid. I wonder where she is!"

"What!" Naomi jumped up. "Akagi has a child?!?"

"And you idiots wonder why I keep some things from you..." Akagi sighed as she sat down next to Yumi, who leaned on her.

"First off, I do not have a biological child." Akagi looked at them, annoyed. "Second, I cannot have such a child. Third, I hate children and would never have one even if I could. The one your referring to is a unique exception."

"Wait, you can't?" Kana was surprised by this. "Why not?" She knew Akagi disliked children, but an inability to have children was not something Kana was aware of.

"Because, whatever my kind is, it is unable to have children." Akagi didn't really want to discuss this, but it was too late. "Can't tell you the exact mechanics about it. But no matter what form we take, it will fail each time. It's essentially hard coded not to work."

"That's kinda sad." Mika knew several people who were plagued with the inability to have children, and it was almost always a sad story.

"Yeah." Naomi nodded.

"Not really," Akagi shrugged. "I don't care about any of that. So the inability to have children born from me doesn't matter."

"Yeah, but how does Yumi feel?" Kana looked at her. "She might want children."

"I actually am of the same mindset as My Lord." Yumi gave a wry smile. "I do not dislike children, but the idea of having one of my own is..." Something about raising a child just did not sit well with her, even if it was Akagi's. Alice was a bit of an exception, though that was more because she was an adopted daughter and her situation was unique. It also helped that Akagi made it clear that Yumi was more of an older sister to the girl than a mother, and Alice was fine with that too. 

"Also, Kana." Akagi looked at her. "You realize that even if I could have children, that would require me to assume a male form, right?" Akagi sighed as it would seem Kana forgot something quite important. "I have zero interest in such a thing, and Yumi can't exactly transform into a guy, not that I would want that either. Even temporarily, such a transformation is undesirable." Akagi may have been a genderless being due to her changes, but she was unmistakably female in mind and a woman who only liked other women at that. It didn't help that the thought of a male version of herself touching Yumi in such a fashion actually disgusted her, though she suspected Yumi wouldn't actually mind that much.

"Wait, you can turn into a man?" Naomi asked. "I thought you're appearance changing was more limited than that." Akagi hadn't really explained her ability to transform the two of them, so her misunderstanding was expected.

"I can transform into anyone or anything. I can even transform into non-living objects." Akagi said. "So yeah, male Akagi is very possible." She shrugged.

"I kinda wanna see Akagi as a guy now." Mika smiled. "Maybe you would steal my heart." She winked, which caused Kana to bonk her on the head. "Owchi!"

"You've already got two girlfriends! You don't need anything more than that!" Kana did want to see an older brother Akagi but was hesitant to say anything more.

"I have transformed into a guy before, but it really didn't do anything for me. I do look different, my hair is much shorter, my body is a bit larger and I'm much less soft. It didn't feel wrong like my Rishia body, but it was little more than a curiosity and not something I'd really use long term." Akagi shrugged. "Technically, my kind do not have a concept of sex, meaning that currently, I am actually not even a female." Akagi waved her hand lazily.

The three girls tilted their heads, not understanding. "Uhhhh. I'm confused now." Kana said.

"Kana, you saw me changing several times." Akagi looked at her like she was dumb. "Did you really not notice that important things were missing?" She figured it should have been quiet obvious, and the two had even bathed together in the massive hot spring at the estate!

Kana thought back to those times and came to a realization. "Wait, then does that mean I can't call you Onee-chan!" Kana exclaimed. "Why didn't I notice any of that until now?!?"

"Probably because you just weren't exactly paying attention to my appearance. It would be strange if you were ogling your older sister in the changing room. As for what you call me? I don't care. Calling me sister isn't really wrong either, as regardless of my kind's lack of sex, I still view myself as female." Akagi sighed. "As for the missing body parts, I can add those missing things back, but why would I? It's not like I have any use for or an interest in them. Its the same reason this body here has no blood, nerves, organs or anything else. If you'd cut it open you'd just see black shadow with a very well done external skin placed over it." When Akagi said her human body was an illusion, she wasn't lying. "I'd rip an arm off and show you, but I doubt that would go over well." She gave a wry smile.

"Please don't..." Kana sighed.

"Wait, so you're not just flat?" Mika looked at Akagi's chest. "I thought you were just a sad case, but I guess that means Kana didn't steal all the assets from you." Compared to Akagi, Kana and Mika were much more developed in that department.

"My original body was flat as a board, even more so than Yumi." Akagi laughed. "But this one simply lacks that feature altogether. When I first woke up in the hospital, my shadow body had tried to mimic a human body as close as possible, and I left it that way for a while as to not raise suspicion. Once I left though, all those extra parts got deleted."

"Yeah, but isn't that kinda weird to remove that stuff? Even if you don't need it, it's part of what makes you human." Naomi asked, not convinced it was good to remove parts like that. "It kind of detaches you from who and what you are, doesn't it?"

"Naomi, I am not human." Akagi morphed her body into Rishia, allowing her voice to briefly distort. "This body. What you usually see. Or even this." She snapped her fingers and transformed into Hishya. "Are little more than an illusion, a vessel, a tool for me." She continued. "I never was human to begin with, so why should I continue to act like one?"

"Yeah, but I mean. You spent all those years thinking you were. So what's wrong with keeping hold of what you learned, what you were molded into?" Naomi asked. "Is there something wrong with being human?"

"No, there is nothing wrong with it." Akagi shook her head. "However that humanity is what's keeping me locked up, contained, and sealed. It's something enforced on me externally. It's false and does not represent who I really am. I have no interest in continuing to put on a mask and pretend I'm something I am not." Akagi laughed. "I am a Demon, and a proud one at that."

"You say that, but if your humanity is sealing you, then why haven't you gotten rid of it yet?" Naomi pressed, not convinced by Akagi's statements. "Isn't that because you still see yourself as human, despite what you might say?"

Hearing Naomi's words caused Akagi to laugh uncontrollably, almost maniacally. Seeing someone in the shape of Hishya laugh in such a bone-chilling way was unpleasant and the girls were once again reminded that Akagi was much different than them. She was not human and expecting her to act like one was foolish.