The Red Hand

Chapter 43 – The School Festival.

September had come and gone in the blink of an eye, the leaves began to change color, and the weather had gotten slightly colder. Today was the date of Kana's long-awaited Cultural Festival, and she and her class pulled out all the stops. The theme was a period-style café, with an emphasis on traditional Japanese clothing and style, partially influenced by Akagi's own outfit. This was the first cultural festival of Kana's that Akagi would attend, and her little sister wasn't about to settle for anything less than perfection. The outfits and food were top quality for a school event, and Kana took great care to ensure that the décor was perfect. Normally, such things would be impossible on a limited school budget, but Akagi's infinite pocketbook made things easy.

Akagi and Yumi arrived at the gates of Kyoto Central High School and were surprised just how busy it was. The two were looking forward to seeing not just Kana's class, but the entire event. Yumi had only seen a few smallish festivals in the game, and Akagi was not one to attend such events during her time in school. As you can expect, the sight of the two women caused discomfort and unease among the other attendees. People gave them disapproving glares, while others swiftly moved to distance themselves out of fear.

"It would appear that we're not welcome," Yumi commented as they entered the campus.

"Oh well," Akagi shrugged. "I'm not here for them. All that matters to me is Kana, and if these idiots have a problem with that, too bad." Akagi didn't really care if people were afraid of her.

Yumi gave a smile. "Do you know when Hishya is supposed to be here? I know she was going to attend as she wanted to see Kana." Hishya and Kana had gotten close since she'd first come to Akagi's home. Akagi was interested in just what kind of relationship the two had developed, but chose to wait until Kana spoke to her about it.

"Who knows." Akagi laughed. "But I have a feeling she'll be here soon enough. After all, she wouldn't miss out on the main event." Akagi smirked.

The festival was quite lively. Students from the different classes put on many different displays and there were even a few playing music for the attendees. Akagi never attended one of her class's Cultural Festival, so the sight before her was quite something to behold.

"It reminds me of the Festival for the Goddess Hanyankomanyo in Karkul." Yumi commented as she looked around. "It's quite lively here, and it looks like people are having fun!" Yumi gave a big smile. As a priestess, she was in charge of her village's harvest festivals; and she always enjoyed the happiness that such celebrations brought.

"There are definitely a lot of people here that's for sure. Then again, this school is quite big, so it makes sense." Akagi replied. "If I recall Hanyankomanyo was the Goddess of Harvest that the Empire worshiped, right?" Akagi's knowledge of such things wasn't all-inclusive since she focused more on practical game knowledge than lore.

"Yes, she was." Yumi nodded. "The Harvest Festival was always meant to thank her for providing food and to pray for a mild winter." Yumi thought for a moment. "This festival doesn't really have any religious meanings to it, right? I think you said it's more of a tradition than anything else?"

"It used to once before. If I recall correctly, it was connected to Kyoto's Harvest Festival, and it had similar meanings to what yours did. Though, I think it also was used to celebrate unity between Yokai and Humans." Akagi didn't really care too much about the history behind this event.

"Pffff." Yumi let out a laugh. "I wonder what they would say if they knew one of those Yokai was attending right now?"

Akagi rolled her eyes in response.

"What say we stop around at some of the other classes' stands? Kana will be busy for a bit, so we've got time." Akagi looked at her friend.

"Sounds like fun!" Yumi gave a warm smile, which made Akagi glad she was here.

The two walked around the fairgrounds going between the many different student stalls. It was clear that their presence was unwelcome, but no one was brave/foolish enough to say anything to them. Seeing this, Akagi decided to have a little fun by beating each and every one of the student's skill games. From goldfish catching to shooting targets with a cork, there was nothing she didn't win at. You might think having her powers was a cheat, but in this case, Akagi could win without having to rely on them. That's just how good she was. Meanwhile, Yumi enjoyed the menagerie of food the students prepared. Her world had quite a poor variety of food, so things like Takoyaki, Yakisoba, Ramen, and Taiyaki were intriguing to her. These foods technically existed in FWO but were so incredibly rare that even Akagi struggled to get them consistently.

The two continued their tour of the campus for over two hours. When they went inside the main building, they came across some of the more elaborate class projects. Yumi was interested in the haunted house so the two went inside. After the initial excitement wore off, she was quite disappointed, remarking that some of her friends were scarier. Oddly enough, the Tea Ceremony Club caught Akagi's interest. While tea wasn't her favorite thing to drink, she was interested in seeing how the members handled the actual preparation and decor. Upon entering, she was met with a room full of uneasy people, but they tried their best to treat her as they would anyone else.

The tea itself was honestly quite bad. It seemed they spent more time on the decor and setup than the tea itself. Everything else was rather mediocre, it was clear that the girls put in effort into trying to showcase a proper tea ceremony, but they came up short. Akagi actually ended up pulling the club president aside, gave her pointers, and explained a better method for preparation and some advice for making the atmosphere more authentic. Her advice was well received by the girls, and she seemed to make quite a good impression on them. Akagi was generally considered an outlier for enjoying traditional Japanese styles and decor, but in this case, her tastes were actually quite a boon.

After some more walking around, Yumi and Akagi came to Kana's classroom. Her class went for a cafe, and named it Yokai House, though it wasn't exactly Yokai themed. Her classmates were very aware that Akagi was coming, so when she approached the doorway she was swiftly brought inside. Upon entering, Akagi was impressed. The classroom had been completely decorated in traditional style and resembled a cross between the Taisho and Edo periods with the choice of seating and decor. The girls wore Yukata's that resembled many of Akagi's own, while the men wore a Hakama. From what Akagi could tell, the class's cafe was quite popular and was so well received that many believed they would be declared the winner of the interclass competition for best class project.

Akagi and Yumi were seated at the back of the classroom on small cushions on the floor with a small square table between them.

"Onee-chan!" Kana came running over. She was wearing a beautiful blue and red Yukata and looked like she'd been run ragged. Hearing Kana call out to her sister, the other student's all turned their attention to Akagi. It would seem that the other guests had left once Akagi entered, and they weren't letting others in out of fear.

"Hey there." Akagi gave a smile.

"Hello Kana," Yumi greeted her.

"It looks like everything's going great.That Yukata looks amazing on you." Akagi had helped design her outfit. "I'm impressed with how well you put everything together; it's amazing. It reminds me of the Nation of Ocha's Embassy in FWO." The embassy was more of an easteregg/teaser for the full release and was the only Japanese-themed location in the game.

"I'm glad you're impressed."She gave a big smile. "Have you been enjoying yourself at the festival? Rumors were circulating that you were here, so I figured you were checking it out." Kana asked. Her classmates were clearly uncomfortable with Akagi in the room, but neither she nor Kana cared.

Akagi explained what she and Yumi had been up to since they arrived. When she was done, she asked Kana if she could order some tea, causing Mika to pop over and provide a menu. Naomi was currently wandering the festival with some of her other friends and was not in the room at the moment. Akagi and Yumi decided to order one of the more interestingly named tea called Umibōzu. Once it arrived, the two sat quietly and drank it. Akagi thought it was passable, but Yumi seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. Kana talked with the two of them for a bit. They chatted about what they'd been doing at the fesitval, their opinons on things and a few other tings. Apparently, Kana had tried to reach out to an old middle school friend of hers to invite her, but she couldn't get a hold of her. Once they were finished, one of the boys spoke up.

"Ok, you had your tea, so leave. No one else wants to come in here because of you." Hito complained.

"Hito, what are you doing?" Another student panicked.

"Listen, Kana got to show off to her sister, but that doesn't mean she gets to stay and drive everyone else away." His anger at losing his brother during Akagi's attack on Camp Katsura reignited the moment he saw her.

"It's not Onee-chan's fault that people won't come here." Kana retorted. "She isn't going to hurt anyone. If they're too afraid to be around her, that's their own fault." Kana was immediately put in a bad mood by his comments.

"Humpf." he scoffed. "Easy for you to say that; she would never harm her precious sister." He let out a dry laugh. "The rest of us are little more than insects to her; she couldn't care less if she killed all of us, including you Mika." He looked at the blue-haired girl.

Just as Kana was about to say something, Akagi spoke up.

"You're right. You are an insect." Akagi laughed. "You buzz and buzz and buzz, but all you can do is annoy me." Akagi looked at him. "Humans and their lives are of little consequence to me. The only thing I care about, is my own whims and desires, nothing more and nothing less." Akagi shrugged and chuckled.

"You really are a monster, aren't you?" Hito spat back. "You killed my brother and so many other people, and you don't even care one bit!" Hito walked closer to Akagi, he'd hidden a knife in his Hakama and intended to stab her. Akagi, of course, knew what he was doing. But she wasn't worried.

"Careful child." Her distorted voice stopped him in his tracks. "I am quite the tolerant Demon, but you would do well not to test me." She gave a demonic laugh. "Many have over these last few years, and fewer still have lived to tell the tale." Akagi's voice and tone scared the other students. "Allow me to explain something to you, child. Your brother is only dead because some fool decided to come for Kana. If that never happened, your brother would be alive right now. I am not one for mindless slaughter, but if killing others will keep what's important to me safe, then so be it." Akagi looked at the other students. "This is the real world, not some light novel or anime. Being kind to one's enemy and refusing to take the lives of those who seek to destroy you is a quick way to find everything you care about taken away." Akagi's voice reverted to normal, and she stood up.

"Come on Yumi. Let's leave," Akagi said. "We're only causing problems if we stay here." Akagi looked at Kana. "I'll see you at the main event. I think everyone's gonna like it." As she walked out the door she stopped. "Oh yeah, Hishya will be here shortly, so enjoy your time with her."

Kana was in such a state of confusion and anger that she didn't even say anything when Akagi left. Though Hito would later be given quite a stern lecture and made to repent, the sight of which caused Naomi and Mika to have chills.

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