The Red Hand

Chapter 22 – Game Theory and Kana’s Confrontation

After some negotiations with the Prime Minister, Akagi and her subordinates returned to her mountain home.

Almost immediately after arriving in front of the main house, she was assaulted by a hug from Kana.

"Onee-chan!~~~~~~," Kana said burying her head in Akagi's chest.

Akagi responded with a laugh and some head pats.

"It's good to see you're safe. The same goes for you two," she said looking at Mika and Naomi. "Sorry for dragging you into this. You never should've been involved," Akagi gave a wry smile.

"Kana apologized to us too, but it's neither of your fault," Naomi said with a smile. "It's the military's for thinking it was ok to kidnap students to use as hostages. "Naomi shook her head.

"Yeah, what Naomi said." Mika smiled. "I mean, it was scary being taken like that, but blaming Kana or you would be wrong." Nothing seemed to keep Mika down, her resilience was impressive.

Kana let go of her sister. "Is it over?" she asked "Or are they going to try something like that again?" It was a reasonable question; Kana knew that the government likely wouldn't ignore an attack on a JSDF base.

"I don't think we need to worry about the government anymore." She smiled. "I had a nice long conversation with the Prime Minister. One that I think was very productive," she said as her smile turned into a grin.

"Onee-chan, I don't like that look in your eye," Kana said worried about what her sister did. Her eyes contained a little bit of fear when she looked at Akagi. “And when did you talk to the Prime Minister!”

"About five minutes ago.” Akagi retorted.

Kana gave her sister a glare.

“What? All I said was that continued hostilities would result in some unfortunate circumstances for Japan." Akagi said sticking her tongue out. “We came to an understanding, the government would leave me alone and I wouldn't pursue things further.”

"Yeah, it's those unfortunate circumstances that have me worried." Kana looked at her sister. "I saw the news reports. You really destroyed Camp Katsura, didn't you? Was that really necessary?"

{Is that really the kind of person you are?} Kana held back from saying anything further. With the destruction of Camp Katsura and Akagi's threats to go further, she couldn't be sure if the woman before her really was her sister or something else.

"I did and it was," Akagi responded without a hint of hesitation. "I would do it again in a heartbeat Kana. Why? Because the only way to beat people like that is to show them that you can escalate to a far greater degree than them." Akagi's actions seemed like overkill to Kana.

Akagi continued. "They kidnapped my sister and her two friends to use them as hostages against me." she patted Kana on the head. "And so, I decided to show them just how foolish such an action was." While Kana understood her anger, she was still conflicted.

"They kidnapped three people, so I took the lives of hundreds." Akagi looked at Yumi. "It's an old doctrine, but one I find works quite well. It's called escalate to de-escalate. Essentially when one party takes a hostile action, you hit back with a disproportionate response to scare them into backing down." Akagi continued. “We used similar strategies against the Empire, it took a few times but eventually they got the message isn't that right?” she smiled at Yumi.

Yumi returned a nod. “Yes, its unfortunate that they were so slow to understand the foolishness of their actions, but they eventually relented.” The amount of times the two of them had battled Imperial forces was too high to count.

"So what I did might seem needlessly violent, but my goal is to prevent further incidents from happening by demonstrating just how far I can and will go if push comes to shove." Akagi began to walk towards the house. “Think of it this way, if killing 600 people today, saves millions in the future, isn't that worth it?”

{A very utilitarian esq argument.} Kana retorted in her mind.

"Now then, let's head inside and relax a bit." Akagi stretched her arms. "You three should stay here for the weekend, at least until everything blows over, just to be safe."

{Now that this little side excursion is finished I should focus on my main task. If we're going to take out the Mitsuhide family, we should do it tonight. At the very least, this should make Hishya's interview tomorrow more interesting.} (Akagi)

Once Akagi and the girls entered the main house, Akagi gave Yumi a signal to start a telepathic conversation.

{I assume this isn't something you want the girls to hear?} Yumi asked.

{Yeah. Are we good for the assassination of the Mitsuhide family tonight? I want to get this taken care of immediately. It will only add to the confusion and likely create more chaos, much to our advantage.} (Akagi)

{Indeed, Marshal has finished his preparations, and team two is ready to go when you give the order.} (Yumi)

{Excellent, inform him that we strike tonight. We'll aim for midnight and tell him to be prepared for increased security.} (Yumi)

Yumi replied with a nod and then headed off into the large kitchen; she was going to prepare tea and snacks for the girls. After everything that happened today, Akagi decided to spend the rest of the evening relaxing with them, watching a few movies, and generally having fun. She made sure to keep them away from any news feeds and tried to keep the events of the day out of their minds as much as possible. Akagi noticed that Kana seemed to be uneasy around her, but chalked it up to today's events being stressful.

Eventually, the sun went down and both Naomi and Mika fell asleep. The stress of the day's events had been too much for them to handle and they were both physically and mentally exhausted. Not wanting them to get hurt sleeping on the couches, Akagi had Chloe and Yumi take them to one of the guest rooms. This left Akagi and Kana alone in the main hall together. Kana was not quite tired enough to sleep and told Akagi that she wanted to speak with her a little bit more. Seeing the look in Kana's eye, she could only oblige and told her to follow her into the garden. Kana seemed serious about something and Akagi had a bad feeling in her chest.

The two sisters sat under a small pavilion surrounded by flowers that sat in the middle of the pond. Whatever Kana wanted to talk about was clearly causing her stress, Akagi could tell by the look on her face that she was conflicted.

Kana smacked her cheeks and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Rishia." hearing her original name caused Akagi to flinch.

"You are Rishia aren't you?" Kana had a serious look on her face.

Akagi was confused. "What? What are you talking about?”

"Just answer the question, please." Kana's eyes felt like they were drilling right through her.

Akagi could only sigh. "I was Rishia at one point. But now, no I'm not. Why are you asking me this? Is changing my name that big of an issue?"

{Is she upset with how I acted in rescuing her? Did my methods bother her that much?} Akagi wasn't sure what brought this on.

“Kana, whats going on? If something is bothering you please tell me, you don't need to hold anything back.” Akagi pleaded.

Kana looked at her for a moment before responding. "Ever.....Ever since you woke up, I've seen a shadow around you." Kana continued. "At first, I didn't think anything of it. I thought that it was my imagination or that it had something to do with your powers so I ignored it. But, each day, it's gotten harder and harder to do that. Sometimes that shadow would disappear and reappear at random. Other times its shape would change, like a kind of reflection of you and your emotions.” She paused for a moment. “And today. When you returned after rescuing us, that shadow, it changed again." Kana said with a slight tinge of fear in her voice.

Akagi knew what she was referring to, "How did it change?"

"It smiled," Kana said trembling as she remembered it. "It smiled with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and it stared right at me with two deep orange eyes. It was like something out of a horror movie!" Whatever it was had spooked the girl.

"Please tell me, what is that shadow? Whenever I look at it, I feel afraid. Its always watching me, even now that shadow is looking at me with those eyes. I feel like it wants to eat me!" Kana was terrified of this shadow she saw around her sister. “That's why I asked if you really were Rishia. Because lately, I've been wondering if maybe....... maybe Onee-chan was gone and you were just that shadow pretending to be her!” Kana finally said what had been on her mind for weeks. “So please... please tell me. Are you really Onee-chan? Or did you kill her and take her place?”

"Of course, I'm your sister Kana.” Akagi answered. “But I understand why you've felt this sense of disconnect. I do act differently from before my time in FWO and I wouldn't say you're completely wrong to say I'm a different person in a sense.” Akagi explained. “However, my changes were nothing so dramatic that it would constitute someone taking my place. Its just that, what you saw at home for all those years was a fake personality, it was so convincing that it even fooled me. My time in FWO helped me to see that, and once it took off that mask, I decided never to put it back on.” Akagi was clearly uncomfortable having to explain this.

“Then what is that shadow! It looks like you're possessed by a demon! How can I be sure that you really are Onee-chan if you don't explain that?” Kana pressed for answers. “Even now that shadow looks like its angry at me.”

Akagi looked over her shoulder. “I guess I do look a little bit scary don't I? But you don't have to worry about that, I'm mad at myself, not you. So you don't have to worry about that shadow Kana; I can promise that I would never hurt you." Akagi looked toward the pond. "That shadow, that darkness you've seen around me. That's me Kana, the real me."

"Wha-what does that even mean? What do you mean that's the real you?" Kana became confused. "Then who or what is sitting in front of me right now?!?" Kana yelled out in agitation.

Akagi looked directly at her sister. "On that day in the hospital. I told you that I was a Nurarihyon right? That I was no longer human?"

Kana nodded. “Yes, you did.”

"Well, that is only partially true. I was a Nurarihyon." Akagi lifted her hand and pulled a small empty cube out of her inventory. "Until I found this."

Akagi placed the small cube in the middle of the table. It was only around half a foot in diameter, and it was devoid of any markings. To Kana, it looked like some type of clear plastic decoration.

Kana asked. "And what is that? Something from the game, I assume?" her eyes were focused on the object.

"This Kana, was a cube that contained something the game called the Shadow Lord." Just hearing that name sent chills through Kana's spine. "I don't know everything about it; however, according to the game, it was the decayed remains of some kind of Shadow Demon."

Akagi continued as she placed the cube back into her inventory.

"I found it randomly while on a quest. Apparently, it was supposed to be an item used to trigger a boss fight with said Shadow Lord. You were supposed to take the cube to an altar and then release and kill him for a unique item." Akagi said.

"But that's not what happened, is it?" Kana asked, still afraid.

"No, no, it wasn't." Akagi continued. "From what other players told me, the quest should have brought up a prompt with a yes or no question asking you to release him. However, when I placed it on the altar, it asked me if I wanted make its power my own." Akagi gave a small smile.

"T-take its power? You took it?" Kana stuttered.

"And you know me; I can't help but check out rare things in games. So naturally, I clicked yes." Akagi's eyes began to glow. "I'll spare you the details, but after fighting and defeating him; I was able to consume him and doing this caused me to change."

{C-Change?} (Kana)

"The power it granted me was unbelievable. My control over my shadow powers skyrocketed. It felt like I merged with the very darkness itself." Akagi said grinning. "Of course, it wasn't just some stat increase; it also changed my race. Instead of being a Nurarihyon, I was now a "Shadow-Nurarihyon" Akagi snapped her fingers causing her form to dissolve into a black mist which sat where Akagi just was. To Kana, it looked like she was peering into the very void itself, the shadow writhed in place and for a brief moment, she thought she was about to die.

Suddenly, the black mist began to swirl and grew to encompass the entire pavilion until everything became pitch black. Kana began to panic, unable to see in complete darkness, until she heard Akagi's voice pierce through the darkness around her.

"Calm down Kana. Everything's alright. You've nothing to fear; I would never hurt you." Suddenly, Akagi's form appeared behind Kana and pulled her into a tight hug. "This darkness you see, that's me Kana, that's what I really am." She spun Kana around and wiped the tears from her eyes. "When I became a Shadow-Nurarihyon, my real body became a living shadow. I can shape it to whatever appearance I like, so normally I take this appearance since it's much less conspicuous." Akagi pulled all the darkness back into her body. "Besides, staying as nothing but a mass of darkness is much less enjoyable."

Kana just stared at her sister in complete silence. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. That terrifying shadow that thing that looked so evil and so wrong was actually her sister all along. Kana wasn't sure how to react to this sudden revelation, but her body did.

"Are you afraid of me?" Akagi asked. "Of course you are, but I understand. Even in FWO, most players couldn't stand the sight of my real form, even Hishya passed out the first time she saw it.” Akagi chuckled thinking about Hishya's reaction. “Though I must admit, it's strange that you could even see it, usually, people can't unless I allow it." Akagi released Kana.

Akagi could tell that Kana was shaken by this revelation. Her body was twitching and her eyes darted. Fearing that this was all too much for the girl she said.

"I'm sorry Kana, if you want me to disappear, all you have to do is-" Akagi was interrupted when Kana smacked her across the face.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Kana yelled with tears in her eyes. "I would never ask you to disappear, not after everything we've been through! Don't assume that I'm so weak that I would be afraid of my own sister." Kana said.

"But, I saw you. You were trembling in fear; you are afraid of me, Kana!" Akagi replied, raising her voice slightly.

"I was afraid that I had lost you!" Kana screamed back. "I was afraid that whatever that shadow was had taken you and that the person in front of me was a fake!" Kana's face was flushed red from screaming.

"I was afraid... I was afraid that you were really gone." her voice grew weak. "When you woke up, I could tell you were different. You changed; you seemed so full of life, so happy so.... so much unlike the Onee-chan I had come to know." Kana continued. "At first, I was happy; I thought that finally, you had come out of your shell, that finally, some good had come to you; that you had gotten better. But when I saw that shadow, I thought that you had changed because you actually were a different person."

Kana looked into Akagi's eyes.

"Tell me. Look me in the eyes and tell me you're the same Onee-chan who used to play with me when I was little. The same Onee-chan that saved me from those bullies in fourth grade. The same Onee-chan I waited four years for." Kana's stare felt like it was burning Akagi alive.

Akagi pulled her sister into a hug. "Kana, I am. I'm the same sister that's always been here for you. I might be a little different than I was in the past, but I'm still me. That I can tell you for certain." Akagi chuckled. "I'm also the same sister that helped you clean off your mattress because you were too embarrassed to ask dad."

"WHY DID YOU BRING THAT UP!" Kana began hitting Akagi on the chest.

"Ow. Ow, that hurts so much Kana, stop it your killing me." Akagi feigned pain.

"Onee-chan." Kana looked up at her sister. "I don't care what you look like or what your race is; as long are you're my Onee-chan, that's all I care about. So don't ever think about leaving me again!" Kana gave a smile. “As long as you're you, I don't care about the rest.”

Akagi's eyes began to water as she heard this. "Yeah. Yeah kiddo, I'm sorry. Please forgive your idiot of a sister; she says the dumbest things sometimes." Akagi pulled her sister into another hug as they stood under the pavilion in the moonlight.

{Now that I think about it, I wonder if this has anything to do with the system calling me a “Limit Breaker.”} Akagi thought to herself. {I haven't even taken a look at the special item it gave me, I should do that when I get back.}

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