The Red Hand

Chapter 282 –  A Family Connection.

"I hate being caught off guard." Akagi grumbled as she walked back to the living room. "Now what stupid shit has happened?"

{I've already got Gods to kill and a whole other world to deal with, so I don't have the desire to add MORE bullshit to my plate!} {Akagi)

"Alright Kana, what situation do we have." Akagi looked at her sister, who had a worried look on her face. Halifax was standing nearby and shrugged as Akagi tried to garner what was going on from her.

{This kind of thing is out of my wheelhouse, and I'm not even going to try and get involved.} (Halifax)

"So... Do me a favor and please don't fly off the handle... Alright?" Kana looked up at her sister with pleading eyes.

{Please...} (Kana)

"I promise nothing." Akagi couldn't guarantee anything, and certainly couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't get angry.

"Yeah... I thought so..." Kana sighed before continuing. "So... The situation is... Okay...I got a phone call from Mom. Well, technically multiple and a flurry of texts." Her phone had exploded with messages and calls not long after Akagi took Mizumi into her office, and she honestly found it annoying.

"Oh great..." Akagi started rubbing her forehead, figuring that anything involving Shima wasn't going to be fun. "I've got a headache just thinking about what you're about to say. So, what did she want?"

{I swear if its her trying to 'fix' our relationship, then I'm going to scream.} (Akagi)

"If you don't mind, let me put the three of us on a conference call. That way she can just tell you herself." Kana figured that her sister wouldn't like that idea, but figured that it was the best way to explain things. “Just please don't get all mad at her immediately.”

"Fine. I promise not to open my mouth so long as she keeps things topical." Akagi waved her off as she grabbed her phone out of her pocket. "Let's just get this over with."

{If this is something stupid, I'm going to hit that woman again, and this time it won't be a light slap!.} (Akagi)

After Kana took a moment to get everything set up, Akagi's phone rang and connected Kana, Shima, and her on a three way video call.

"Hey Mom, I got Onee-chan to join in, but I wouldn't count on her patience with you lasting very long." Kana gave a wry smile. She could see her mother via the AR video call, and Akagi used her phone's camera to allow video.

"Just know that if you did this to waste my time, know that I'm in no mood for your shit today." Akagi practically growled at her mother, who seemed tired.

"I don't think this is a waste of time, and I'm sorry, but I needed to speak with you." Shima seemed a bit exhausted, but pressed on undeterred.

"So, what did you want to tell me? Kana just said it was a situation and didn't elaborate further." Akagi wanted to get through this quickly and motioned for her to speak.

"I'll get straight to the point. That girl, the one you captured with the red Kimono, I know her." Shima's words gave Akagi pause.

"How?" Akagi asked, her mind racing as she tried to find such a connection in her memories.

{What the fuck...} (Akagi)

"Shiroe Amakusa is the daughter of Leena Nakamura, a girl that I went to High School with." Shima continued. "Your father and I used to be good friends with her and her family, and I kept in contact with them even after she married Toji Amakusa and moved to Nagasaki." Her use of the term 'father' to describe Taichi made the Demon curse internally, but she decided to let it go for now.

"I don't remember hearing those names, and used to? As in you don't speak to them anymore?" Akagi couldn't remember ever meeting with that family in the past.

{I know those names from my background check on Shiroe, but I have no personal memory of those people nor do I recall Shima or Taichi mentioning them.} (Akagi)

"Leena died in 2039 along with her youngest child in a car accident. You were only a toddler at that point, so it's understandable that you don't remember them." Shima sighed as she recalled the tragic and sudden death of her friend. "Leena visited the house only once between the time of your birth and her death, and after that, I lost contact with the family." She shook her head. "I haven't spoken to Toji or any of her relatives since her death, and I honestly never thought I would."

{Toji was shaken by the death of his wife and child, and he basically just retreated into his Dojo to keep his mind off things. I still regret not reaching out to him more, but we had so much going on at that time and I wasn't in the best mental state, especially with my hatred for Rishia clouding my judgment.} (Shima)

"So why are you telling me this?" Akagi didn't know why Shima was bothering telling her since it was irrelevant. "If you intend to use some distant connection with that girl to sway me, then you're running a fool's errand."

"I'm telling you this... I'm telling you this because her father reached out to me unexpectedly." Shima's words peaked Akagi's curiosity and the Demon motioned for her to continue. "I knew from social media that Shiroe had gone missing about five years ago and that she was presumed dead. The girl had apparently vanished from her father's Dojo one after noon without a trace, and no matter how hard police looked they couldn't find anything. It was as if she'd simply disappeared into thin air."

{Well, in all fairness, she kinda did.} (Halifax)

"And then she just magically showed up at my tournament ready to fight." Akagi nodded, following along. "I suppose that would cause her father to panic." She figured that some of the family of the missing Heroes would try and contact her, but never imagined that Amakusa of all people had a connection to her family, even if it was a long time ago.

"Yes, and trust me, he's freaking out right now." Shima had only just gotten off the phone with him a bit earlier and was exhausted from that conversation. "He was tipped off that a girl resembling his daughter appeared during your event, and once he watched a recording, he scrambled to find my contact information."

"Well, considering his presumed dead child just showed up, I can understand why he would be in such a panic." Halifax gave a wry smile.

"I'd like to say that any parent would be, but well..." Shima knew that she had no right to say such things.

{Yeah...} (Akagi x Kana)

"So I'm assuming that he wants her back, right?" Akagi motioned for her to get on with it.

"He begged me to speak with you. Toji doesn't really know what's going on, but all he cares about is his daughter. He's flying to Kyoto tonight, and I suspect that thick-headed idiot is going to drive straight to your home." Shima figured that wouldn't go well.

"Damn fool." Akagi clicked her tongue. "If he'd done that without my knowledge, there's a halfway decent chance that he'd been killed on his way up the mountain by the Ninja."

{And I don't need some idiot going and dying on my doorstep... Kaori already complained about having to clean up the last mess I made.} (Akagi)

"Onee-chan, please don't go killing people just because they come close to the house..." Kana said, recalling the last time somebody got too close to the compound without authorization.

"Well, it is technically illegal for him to do so. But I guess cutting him to ribbons might be a bit unfair." Akagi winked before getting back to the conversation. "I hate to break it to him, but Shiroe isn't going back with him. I won't allow it. That girl has too much to answer for and her life is no longer something that belongs to her."

"I must admit that I'm not entirely knowledgeable about what's happening around you at the moment. Your statement to the media said something about another world declaring war on you and that Shiroe was part of that war, but I still don't understand." Shima wasn't really one to understand interdimensional travel or video game terms.

"Put bluntly, Shiroe is in the same camp as many of the war criminals of the 20th century." Akagi's answer had no delicacy, and Kana facepalmed as she spoke.

{Really?!? That's how you describe things?!?} (Kana)

"War... criminal..." Shima didn't really know what to say and internally she understood that asking further questions wasn't worth it.

"It's not important for you to understand anyway." Akagi shrugged. "But I suppose thanks for the heads up. I'll figure out how to deal with her father in some-"

"Onee-chan." Kana interrupted her. "I think you should talk to him."

"You do realize that he's not gonna just happily take the fact that I made his genocidal daughter into my pet well, right?" Akagi's eyes moved over to her sister. “Do you really think that old man is going to just happily accept such a thing?”

{Genocide? Pet?} (Shima)

"I'm aware of that, but I still think you should speak to him... No, even better, you need to let Shiroe talk to him." Kana continued, but paused as she readied herself for the next part. "And... You should let Mom come here too."

"WHAT?!?" (Shima x Akagi)

"Why in the hell would I invite that bitch into my home?!?" Akagi growled.

{DO YOU WANT YOUR SISTER TO KILL ME?!?} (Shima)

"Because, like it or not, Mom is the only person who knows him from our family. Having her here will make things easier, and it will probably go a long way to keeping things civil with Shiroe's father." Kana wasn't backing down.

"Yeah it could have such an effect... Well, either that or make me want to fucking blow up a few cities." Akagi scoffed at such a request. "Shima is also very wanted by the clan. If she comes here, there's a nonzero chance that somebody kills her, Kana! Even if I tell them not to, you should know by now that the clan can and WILL go against me if they get agitated enough." She figured that they'd just beg for forgiveness afterward.

{Yumi of all people wants Shima's head the most! If I'm not careful that idiot Priestess will do to Shima what the Italians did to Mussolini!} (Akagi)

"Then that's on you to keep them under control." Kana glared at her, not flinching one bit. "You're their master, so act like it and put your foot down!" She figured that Akagi could easily quash their nonsense if she used a bit of pressure.

"I agree with Kana on this one." Halifax interjected, surprising both sisters. "You might not like your mother, but having her here might make things easier."

{Trust me, I know a lot about hating Moms, and its going to kill me inside to be in the same room with Elariel when we go to Enoris, but I'll tolerate it if it benefits us.} (Halifax)

"Why do I need to speak with him anyway? I can just kick him out!" Akagi figured that she could dispose of him if needed as well.

{I can literally eat the man and/or atomize him! Why should I do something like this when I of all people don't want to?!?} (Akagi)

"Because while you may have brought Shiroe under control by force, I think it would be best for her to comply with your orders of her own free will." Halifax answered. "Not to mention that answering to her father for what she did would be a good punishment, no?"

{I guess I also want to see her reunite with her father, even after everything that she did...} (Halifax)

"Onee-chan, please. For me?" Kana asked nicely, breaking out the ultimate weapon that she had against the Demon, asking nicely and with puppy eyes. "It doesn't have to be for long, but I'd like you to do this." She laid it on thick, even copying Miji with sparkling eyes.

{DON'T TRY AND FUCKING KIRA KIRA SPARKLE ME!} (Akagi)

After an intense back and forth inside her mind, Akagi finally caved to her sister's pleading. "God fucking dammit, Kana!" The Demon hissed at her sister. "Fine! Get a hold of that moron and bring him here tomorrow morning." She spoke directly to Shima. "But fair warning, if either you or he steps out of line, then I'm going to let my family do whatever the fuck it wants to you two!" She hung up her phone before walking away in a huff. "Also, don't you dare bring fucking Taichi!" She yelled so that Shima could hear her even though she was far away, before leaving the room.

"Um..." Shima was at a loss.

{Well... That went... Well?} (Shima)

"I got Onee-chan to agree to it, so you will come, right?" Kana's smile told her mother that no wasn't an answer.

{Why must Kana take after her sister like that...} (Shima)

"Kana, why do I get the feeling that your sister would do some very bad things for you if you just asked nicely?" Shima was beginning to think that Kana could easily get Akagi to do as she pleased with just a smile and puppy eyes.

"It's just your imagination." Kana continued to smile as Halifax watched on.

{I swear, Akagi and her sister have each other wrapped around their respective fingers, and I think they both know that.} (Halifax)

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