The Red Hand

Akagi finished recounting Alice's story to the girls.

"Hishya has changed in these two years," Akagi said. "So I would advise you not to be too harsh on her over her past mistakes. She's aware that she acted like an asshole and is trying to fix things. However, her actions and that of the Assault Team single handily broke what was left of Alice's sanity."

"Yeah but. Still....." Kana looked sad. "I get being upset with her, but did the Assault Team really have to declare her an enemy? That just seems like something very unnecessary."

People were already angry with Alice's flight to Akagi, so Hishya's tale of her siding with the assassin and her subsequent disappearance only served to make people even angrier. Upon the conclusion of the Battle, Alice was declared a traitor and enemy, and some members of the Assault Team even placed a bounty on her head. This was in large part due to the disastrous Assault Team performance at Hassan, which cost the lives of dozens of players. With Alice's puppets, they would have done much better, so they combined her relationship with Akagi and her disappearance into a casus belli against her.

"To Hishya's credit." Akagi continued. "She did try to stop people from going after Alice. And once those idiots figured out that I wasn't the reason Silfana had left her castle, things died down considerable. But the damage was already done." She shook her head. "Alice's mind was already damaged and she was left unable to trust anyone." She looked back at Yumi. "It was a similar situation to you, and Alice started calling me Mom after we got back to base. It was a shock to everyone, but not exactly surprising. At least for me."

"I remember that moment well, it took all of us by surprise. We'd known Alice for quiet some time, but to hear her call you Mom so confidently was very strange." Yumi gave a dry laugh, since she had her own history with Akagi. 

"Now I want to talk to Hishya about it. I know she's different now, but I think it would be best to hear things from her." Kana looked dejected. She cared for Hishya greatly and was aware that the dragon girl hadn't always been the greatest person. Hishya had changed for the better but that didn't just wipe away her past. Kana knew that, but felt that Hishya had become a better person because of her mistakes and she was willing to judge her based on who she was now, rather than how she was in the past.

"People make mistakes." Akagi shrugged. "Far be it from me to come to her defense, but if their whole theory about me being the one behind things was correct, her reaction to Alice fleeing and spilling the beans is understandable. Besides, all she did was knock her out and yell at her a bit. She didn't do anything that bad. So like I said, if you want to talk to her about it, you should. And while your at it, have her explain the Battle of Hassan itself. That was the greatest shitshow and goes to show just how dumb those so-called pros were." She smirked.

"You've mentioned Hassan before. But what happened there?" Naomi asked. "From what little you've said, I've gathered that it was a massive battle of great importance." It was a well known event among the players but not necessarily to the outside world.

"I don't really want to get into the whole story., its long arduous and honestly farcical. Ask Hishya if you want more details, but I can give you just a bit of info to satiate your curiosity." Akagi took a deep breath.

"So, here's the long and short of it." Akagi looked at them. "The Assault Team was informed that one of the World Bosses had taken her army and was marching outside her castle to attack the nearby fortress city of Hassan. Their intel caused them to believe that I was responsible for this change in NPC attitude since world bosses shouldn't have been able to move outside their arena."

"Why would they believe you were involved?" Mika asked.

"Because I'd gone to speak with Silfana the day before her armies started moving," Akagi answered.

"You spoke with a boss?" Naomi was surprised. "How was that even possible? Weren't they just enemies to fight?"

"No, they were not. Just like how Yumi here was a living person, so was she." Akagi explained as she wrapped her arms around the priestess. "Silfana was the only humanoid World Boss, and so communication with her was possible if you weren't dumb enough to go in looking to fight. Though she was still bound by her scripting and game rules, thus she wasn't as free and autonomous as Yumi."

"Why did you go to speak with her then? And why did she suddenly start acting differently?" Naomi asked.

"She started acting strangely because unbeknownst to any of us, she was scripted to attack the city as an event battle." Akagi sighed. She got that info later and passed it on to Hishya, but by then it was far too late. "I went to her to ask some questions and gain some information on an unrelated matter, and next thing I knew, I was being blamed as some kind of instigator of the World Boss."

"So she attacked the city? What happened next?" Kana asked.

"We deployed to fight the monsters after leaving a garrison in the fortress and the city." It was not Akagi who answered, but an older man who wore a suit and some pieces of armor. "My apologizes for interrupting, my Lady." He bowed his head. "I just returned from my mission and was reporting back when I heard you speaking about the Battle of Hassan, forgive me for the interruption."

 

"Actually, this is perfect." Akagi thought for a second. "Marshal, you know what went down best, so if you wouldn't mind, could you explain things to the girls? They were interested in hearing the story." He was the commander of Imperial forces at Hassan, so naturally he would have the most insight in to the battle.

"I would be glad too." The old man smiled. "If you young ladies don't mind dealing with a washed-up old man like me that is?"

"Ah, no, that's fine." Kana smiled.

"Yeah, we've never really gotten to talk to you before, so I would love to hear your story." Mika nodded.

"Same." Naomi smiled.

"Well then, where to begin." Marshal began recounting the events of Hassan. Surprisingly the girls maintained interest throughout the entire tale and were quite invested in it. Akagi didn't stick around, not only had she watched the battle itself but it wasn't really something she cared to speak about.

 

After about thirty minutes, Marshal wrapped up the story.

"And that's it." Marshal smiled. "I hope that wasn't too boring for you three."

"Boring? That was amazing!" (Kana, Mika and Naomi.)

"The part with the giant Demon and how you dueled the World Boss had me on the edge of my seat!" Naomi said.

"Yeah, it was amazing how you led your men in the defense of the civilians and managed to get so many people out despite the players being stupid!" Mika agreed.

"I can't believe the Empire would throw you away after you acted so heroically! What were they thinking? You single handled won that battle, even if it cost so many lives! It wasn't your fault the other players wouldn't listen and acted like idiots!" Kana was going to ask Hishya for more details later. She had to know the other side of the story.

"I appreciate the praise ladies," Marshal gave a smile like an old man looking at his grand kids. "But I'm no hero, and if it wasn't for Lady Akagi's intelligence gathering, we wouldn't have been able to do as well as we had." He didn't like being given credit for the Battle, especially as he viewed Akagi as having done the majority of the important work.

"But still, it takes a great general to use the information he's got, right? I mean, having information and being able to do something with it are two different things. Even in our world, plenty of people had all the information but lacked the skill to use it!." Kana disagreed. "From where I'm sitting you should have been praised for your work! And it's unthinkable that any serious leader would find fault in your actions. I would ask anyone else to do better in your position and I doubt they could. So don't discount yourself like that!" Kana descended into analysis mode, which Mika and Naomi were used to.

{Oh, there she goes.} (Mika and Naomi)

"Hahaha." He laughed, breaking Kana out of her thoughts. "I never thought a young girl would say something like that to me. You really are Lady Akagi's sister, aren't you!" He found Kana's mix of immaturity and intellect quite fascinating. "She once told me that if you had command of my forces at the battle, you'd have done even better, and she's probably right!" He could tell right away that Kana was a genius. He'd only met her briefly before today, and had never spoken to her at length, but Akagi had heaped praise on her all these years. He was skeptical about her claims, but he could tell with just one look in her eyes that, if anything, Akagi may have been underselling just how intelligent Kana was.

{Lady Kana would have made an amazing Empress, I know it.} He thought internally.

"What!" Kana turned red. "She always talks me up like that, but I'm nothing special really!" Kana tried to deny his claim, which caused her two friends to glare at her.

"Ms. Perfect Scores." Mika scowled.

"Ms. 180 IQ." Naomi stuck out her tongue. "Don't go trying to say you're normal. If you're normal, what does that make us!"

"I take it the old man told you what you wanted to know." Akagi walked into the room with two drinks in her hands.

"Onee-chan, I had no idea you had someone so amazing working for you!" Kana exclaimed. "If anything, why isn't he the one leading things instead of you?!?"

"I don't know." Akagi looked at Marshal. "Old man, you want to try running things and have me as a subordinate?" She grinned.

"No, thank you." Marshal shook his head while laughing. "First of all, I'm not meant for such a position, so no thank you. Second of all, the idea of having you as a subordinate is just...." He sighed. "I would much rather let you handle things and just tell me where to be and what to do."

"Yeah, I don't exactly do very well with the whole taking orders thing." Akagi laughed and handed Marshal a cup of sake.

"Not only that, but I think Lady Kana is under the misunderstanding that I am a more capable military commander than you." Marshal took his sake and sipped it. "I can't even come close to defeating you in chess or shogi, let alone on the battlefield." The two had played countless games of skill against one another and Marshal had never even come close to defeating her. Not because he wasn't good, but because Akagi was simply that much better.

"Wait, what?" Kana tilted her head. "Since when were you good at commanding armies?" Kana knew her sister played military games and RTS but that shouldn't mean she was good at actual military tactics and strategy.

"War is an art and a game if you break it down to its most basic parts, Kana." Akagi sat down on the sofa opposite Kana. "And you should know, if it's a game, no one can beat me." It was a big part of the reason she got so good at sword play, since it too could be broken down into a type of game.

"Yeah, but we're talking about war with real troops and real-world conditions. You can't compare the two!" Kana still didn't believe it. "Being good at shogi or chess does not translate into being a good general!"

"You know the military does training via war games, both in the field and on a tabletop/in VR right?" Akagi sipped her drink. "While simulations are not perfect, they give great insight into a real battle and how to actually wage war. Look at the Prussians/Germans. Their dedicated officer core in the 19th century helped to push the idea of War Games, and Kriegsspiel proved so successful at training officers that other countries adopted it in some form. And even to this day, similar things still take place in military academies around the world."

"Ah yes, I recall you introducing me to such games. I've been having my officers training on them consistently, as they've been excellent ways to learn." Marshal nodded.

"When did you even get a chance to command an army anyway?" Kana decided to just accept her sister's explanation. "You only have 122 people here. That's not an army."

"You do realize that I come up with and plan every major operation we do, right?" Akagi sighed. "When we hit Camp Katsura, that was all me. I drafted plans, established an order of battle, and set engagement rules. Everything we did that day was done in accordance with my plans." Akagi continued. "It was the same for the take-down of the Mitsuhide family. Marshal might have personally handled the on-the-ground stuff, but I planned everything. I've never commanded a proper army in real life, but I see no reason why I couldn't."

"Lady Akagi is correct." Marshal nodded. "When it comes to planning and operations, I've never met a more competent person in my life. Her foresight is incredible, its almost as if she can see the future." He laughed causing Akagi to roll her eyes.

"Less divination and more analysis. "She waved her hand lazily. "There are only a finite number of plays you can make with the cards you have, meaning that all I need to do is determine which is the most likely and plan for it. It's nothing that complex." Though many would find planning for and prepping for hundreds or thousands of different possibilities to be beyond normal human intellect. Even Kana for all her brainpower couldn't complete with Akagi in such a mental contest.

 

Mika, Naomi, and Kana were taken aback by this revelation as they never expected Akagi to be so involved with her clan's operations and planning. Kana knew her sister was a gaming genius, but underestimated just how much was covered under the game label.

 

"Onee-chan, I always thought you were just lazy and let everyone else handle things for you." Kana looked away guiltily.

"Yeah, I figured you just let others do that stuff." Mika coughed.

"I guess it makes sense. They wouldn't follow her if she was useless." Naomi wouldn't look Akagi in the eyes.

"Really, guys?" Akagi was annoyed. "Do I really seem that useless and stupid to you? Thanks."