The Red Hand

Chapter 10 – A Weight Lifted and Marin’s thoughts.

"Pfffffffffffffffffffffff."

Naomi let out a deep breath as she collapsed onto her couch. Akagi had left only minutes beforehand, and it was clear that her meeting with the assassin had taken everything out of her.

"My lady are you alright?" Marin asked concerned. "You look pale."

"Yes, I'm fine. I just feel strangely tired, as if my entire body has suddenly gone limp." Naomi shook her head. "No, not tired, it was as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders and my entire body could truly relax for the first time in so long. (Naomi)

"My lady, I'm sorry that I never understood just how much pain you were in. I always knew the death of your parents was hard on you, but I never understood just how much you were dealing with. You always put on such a brave face and a tough outer exterior that I thought you would be fine. I am a complete and utter failure as your assistant." Marin said with a regretful look on her face.

"It's not your fault Marin. I went out of my way to hide it from you all these years and I never even attempted to confide in you. I thought that if I showed my pain to you or anyone else, you would believe I was nothing more than a helpless little girl. It's not your fault that I was hiding it." Naomi replied.

"I would never think any less of you my Lady, and I can assure you that goes for everyone else too. Crying and feeling sadness, are all natural things. We don't work for you because we believe you to be some unflinching girl with a heart of stone. We work for you because we believe in you." Marin continued. "So please, you don't need to hold it in anymore, at least not around me."

"Thank you, Marin. I really can always count on you, can't I?" Naomi replied with a laugh. "I should have known that all this time, but I doubted you like a fool."

The two exchanged warm smiles.

Marin had been at Naomi's side since she was a child and while she was a decade older, she had always seen herself as Naomi's friend first and foremost. That she had survived the events of that night was down to nothing more than luck as she was in Osaka visiting family. When she heard the news, she flew back to Kyoto in a blind panic believing that Naomi had perished as well. She was overjoyed that Naomi was still alive, but she could tell that the events of that night haunted her.

For months Naomi would wake in the night screaming in terror reliving the death of her family. Over time, Marin had watched her friend grow colder and more distant and she began to feel that she might lose her forever.

It was six months later that Naomi told her what really happened that night. Marin was shocked to hear that it wasn't a burglary gone wrong, but rather an orchestrated hit from Japan's most important political family. Such an assertion seemed outlandish, but Marin never doubted her words. From that day forth, Marin swore to do anything to help the young girl achieve closure.

Over the next several years, she helped Naomi to rebuild what her family had left her. Luckily, her father had been preparing her to take over the family business since she was a young girl so she wasn't completely out of her depth. Naomi expanded her family's business and worked towards building a stable power base that she could use in the future.

Marin had assumed that Naomi merely wanted to continue her father and grandfather's legacy and prove herself to both them and the Mitsuhide family. However, that impression quickly proved to be wrong. Naomi used her family's connections and wealth to get in touch with the underworld. She involved herself in criminal dealings and more than one illegal trade, the things she was doing would not make her parents proud. Marin thought Naomi had gone crazy and tried to talk her out of such a path fearing for her friend's safety.

When confronted, Naomi told her that she didn't care about the family business, her legacy, or what her parents would think about her. No, she was only interested in one thing; revenge. She told Marin that she wanted the entire Mitsuhide family to pay for what they did to her and that she would achieve this goal by any means necessary. Naturally, hearing a thirteen-year-old tell her that she wanted to commit murder set off alarm bells in her head.

At first, she thought about reporting this, but the question was where? She couldn't go to the police, she didn't want Naomi to be arrested and she had no one who she trusted enough to confide in. She was also afraid of what Naomi would do if she learned that her trust in her was betrayed. In the end, she chose to do nothing and decided that she would help Naomi as much as she could while trying to keep her from going completely off the deep end.

When Naomi returned from school on Friday, she told Marin that she had finally found the one who could fulfill her dream. She began to describe a girl called Akagi and her exploits during her time in FWO. Marin had thought that Naomi had finally lost it, as no matter how realistic FWO was, it was a game, not reality. However, when Naomi told her that Akagi had kept all her power and abilities from the game, she became concerned. Not about whether this person existed or whether they had these abilities. No, her concern stemmed from what might happen to Naomi if she achieved her goal.

What would she do next? Would she truly be able to live with her decision? All these questions, and more, flooded her mind as Naomi told her about this girl Akagi.

When the day finally came and Akagi arrived. Marin could instantly feel that the woman was dangerous, so much so that she dared not to speak. It was clear that this woman was a professional, easily on par with the others who had come before. However, what Marin could not understand was how a supposedly normal seventeen-year-old girl could turn into something so frightening in less than four years.

Naomi had told her before the meeting that she intended to feel out Akagi and test her to see if she was here with the mindset of an assassin. However, it became apparent immediately to Marin that such tests would be seen as an insult to this person. She wanted to interject but found herself frozen in fear when Akagi locked eyes with her. At that moment, it felt like she was being stared at by a predator rather than a person.

She was shocked to see Akagi embrace Naomi and even more so when Naomi allowed herself to cry in her arms. She had never been that intimate with anyone since her mother died and this made Marin feel like a failure as a friend.

Unexpectedly Akagi agreed to Naomi's request, much to Marin's surprise. When the girl called Yumi explained how much it would cost, she feared what Akagi would ask of her master in return. However, when she told her that she wanted a family property and assistance converting her currency, Marin felt a great deal of relief.

"arin....Marin!" Suddenly, Naomi's voice brought Marin out of her thoughts.

"Yes!" Marin yelped.

"I've been calling out to you for a while, what on earth were you thinking about so hard? You had a strange look on your face." Naomi asked.

Marin flushed red with embarrassment.

"My apologies, I was thinking about everything that has happened. It's been a lot to process." She said with a slight stutter. "Um.. might I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," Naomi replied.

"What will you do, afterward? I'm scared that once you lose your purpose you'll....." Marin couldn't finish her sentence.

Naomi took a moment to think before responding.

"I honestly, don't know. I didn't think I would get this far. I've lived my life since that day in pursuit of revenge. Honestly, I didn't really care what happened to me afterward, so I didn't plan for the future. I suppose I will try to continue my family legacy as much as I can out of respect. If nothing else, I will dedicate my life to paying back Akagi for this debt." Naomi explained. " I have a few ideas that might work."

{At the very least, I'm sure Akagi will get good use out of my connections, and having a house back her will undoubtedly be useful even if it is just me. Hell, I would even marry her if she wanted; though I can't imagine she would go for that.} (Naomi)

Whatever the future held for Naomi, one thing was certain it would certainly involve Akagi.

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