The Red Hand

Chapter 71 –  Akagi’s Changes and a Declaration

"Oh, those two?" Akagi smirked. "You don't have to worry about them ever again. I made sure they paid for their insolence."

{I.... probably don't want to know what she did to them... do I?} Kana decided to drop the subject.

"Speaking of fun things!" Akagi put out her hand and summoned her phone. "I need to update Hishya. I wonder how confused she'll be if I just sent her a message that says 107." Akagi laughed as she messaged the dragon girl. "Too bad she missed the show earlier, would have been great to see her reactions.

Kana and the others figured that Akagi killed those two players at the mall. Which wasn't exactly surprising, seeing as they'd nearly been killed by them. Though, while Kana understood her sister's actions, she was still saddened by the fact that Akagi need to take more lives.

"Please don't harass Hishya too much." Kana knew how Hishya felt about Akagi, so she wanted to spare the girl from too much of her sister's antics. "She's already afraid of you, so don't go giving her a heart attack."

"I'll keep it to a minimum. This time." Akagi chuckled "But, I do need to speak with her. We've got some business to attend to."

"Are you going to go after Libra?" Kana asked. She figured Akagi might since two of their members just attacked her. "Will this mean all out war between you?"

"No. At least not yet." Akagi shook her head. "Hijax and Sumeralia acted independent of Herlex and his orders. They were suppose to hit Nara not Kyoto and they had no idea you were at the mall. Since it wasn't a coordinated or deliberate effort on behalf of Libra as an organization I have no intention of holding them responsible for this." Akagi held fast to the idea of punishing those who perpetrated an act. Even if Libra as an organization was causing chaos, unless it as a group decided to pick a fight, she would limit her retaliation to the members who directly caused her issues.

"But," Akagi said as she put away her phone. "I will be making some changes, and I need Hishya to help me spread the message. After I speak with her, I'll go pay a visit to the angel and speak to him personally. He needs to keep his toys under control, lest I take them away. Permanently."

"Changes?" Kana tilted her head." I don't like the sound of that."

_____________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later.

Hishya had received an ominous text from Akagi that simply read 107. This got her mind racing, and she decided to call her and find out what was going on. She saw on the news that there was an attack in Kyoto, which caused her to worry about her would-be girlfriend's safety. She knew Kana would be at the Kyoto mall today and she had a minor panic when she heard that was the location of the attack. Akagi told her that Kana and the others were fine; but that they'd been injured in the attack. Hearing this, Hishya flew double time over to Kyoto. Not only did Akagi want to speak with her, but Hishya was worried about Kana. The two girls had still not made anything official, but it was clear that they were drifting closer together as time moved on.

{Kana, I'm sorry you had to get involved in this mess.} Hishya thought to herself as she flew across the country at record speed. She'd gotten faster as of late, and her training with Kira allowed her to access more of her power without rampaging. Landing at Akagi's estate, Hishya was greeted by the Demon sitting outside in the garden just in front of the pond. She was sitting silently on small blanket, the snow around her had melted and she was calmly smoking her Kiseru. Akagi wasn't affected by the cold weather, and so could enjoy the outdoors no matter what time of the year it was, much to Naomi's jealousy. Landing next to her, Hishya could instantly tell something was off with Akagi, as her aura had changed.

{What the hell is going on?!?} Hishya worked up the courage to speak to her.

"So, is everything alright?" Hishya asked.

Akagi let out a puff of smoke from her pipe before answering. "Yes and no. Depends on what specifically you're asking about." Akagi chuckled.

"Kana and the girls are alright. Mimi got to them quickly, and their burns and other injuries have been dealt with. So they should completely recover in the next few days as their bodies handle the rest." Hishya walked around to the front of Akagi and looked her in the eyes, immediately noticing that her left eye was bright orange. "They should have no lingering issues."

Hishya gulped. "But... what about you? Even I can tell you're different. Your eye it's..." Akagi's changes were dramatic from Hishya's perspective. She might have acted the same as always, but that belied the incredible increase in power within her. On top of that, Hishya could tell that Akagi carried herself differently, even if it was slight. She was more relaxed, more fluid, and generally more carefree. It was as if she had gained some kind of inner peace.

{Please don't tell me it got out...} Hishya held her breath.

"I am different." Akagi took a hit of her pipe. "That whole incident at the mall caused the restraints around my soul to weaken considerably. As a result, more of the power within is at my disposal." She smiled warmly.

"So, what does that mean? You're becoming a different person?" Hishya asked tentatively. She was worried about what these changes might mean for the future.

Akagi shook her head. "Less a different person, and more the real me is being released." She let out a puff of smoke. "Whatever I am has been sealed behind some kind of barrier around my soul. Part of it seems to be natural barriers put up to limit me, while others seem to be placed there by my subconscious. It's truly fascinating and annoying. As a result, the current me is some strange blend of both my true personality and the persona I've developed over the years." She shrugged. 

"So, it's just like I'd always said. You never were human, were you?" Hishya stated.

{What I saw on that night, that really was the true Akagi.} (Hishya)

"Nope." Akagi laughed. "I still don't know the specifics, but I can tell you that I've always been some kind of Demon and that this power of mine did not come from FWO. Unlike yours."

"But why?" Hishya blurted out. "Why were you born as a Demon? How is that even possible? This world doesn't have magic or monsters, Mizumi said it herself!"

"A good question, and one that I cannot answer just yet." Akagi shrugged. "I can tell you this. The knowledge that I do have tells me that further delving into my power will be problematic and that there is an increased risk of me going on a rampage if I do." Akagi continued. "I've probably hit the limit of what I can use if I want to maintain control over myself. I was able to stave off the desire to go further this time, but now that I've tasted this power..." Akagi's lips curved into a smile. "I don't think I can so easily turn down more, Hishya."

Akagi's eyes were scary, and Hishya felt a chill run down her spine. "Please, remember that if you do go crazy, you might hurt the people you care about."

"I know." Akagi sighed. "Why do you think I've held back from delving deeper now that I've seen this?" Akagi looked at her. "I don't trust myself not to get lost in the power, and I would rather take this slow."

{Only problem is, if something sets me off like today, I doubt I can hold myself together again. This power is wayyyyy too intoxicating.} Akagi sighed internally. {If I didn't know any better, I would say that I was supposed to lose control and that I was intended to destroy this world.} Akagi laughed at the absurdity of that thought.

The two chatted for a bit longer before Hishya brought up Kana.

"Can I go see her?" Hishya asked. "I want to make sure she and the others are ok." She'd become friends with the three girls and was worried about their condition. Though she'd be lying if she said Kana wasn't 90% of the reason she was worried.

{If there is so much as a scratch on her...} Her internal thoughts turned scary.

"Sure, I imagine they'd be glad to see you." Akagi stood up and put her pipe away. "You can even say hi to Kaori. She's helping out right now in the medical room." The two walked over to Mimi's infirmary and went inside. Kana, Mika, and Naomi were still resting in bed. While Kaori was busy making some medicinal drinks for them to help them recover.

"Hello there, Kaori." Hishya hadn't seen Kaori since she'd gotten back from FWO. Akagi had told her the basic backstory of the girl's history with Hoshino, which infuriated the dragon girl. Hishya had half a mind to race over and tear Hoshino's head off, but Akagi talked her down. A strange role reversal.

"Good afternoon." Kaori gave a polite smile. "It's been quite some time since we've seen one another. I'm surprised you recognized me." She finished mixing up the ingredients and poured them into a blender.

*BZZZ* The blender whirred.

"Well, I heard you were here, so it wasn't that hard." Hishya chuckled. "You don't exactly have the same aura as Akagi's followers."

Kaori wasn't the only human at the estate, but her aura was effectively zero. Something Hishya could easily pick up on.

"Well, she is one of the few normal people at the estate." Akagi shrugged. "Even the humans in my family have abilities."

"And let me guess. I'm not normal." Kana groaned.

"Nope!" Akagi laughed. "You're weird."

"I mean, Kana is a Yokai so..." Naomi held in a laugh.

"Now we know where Scary Kana comes from at least." Mika pointed to Akagi's eye.

"Keep it up, and I'll give you Scary Kana." Kana glared at them causing Akagi to laugh.

{Good to see they're all right.} Hishya was glad to see the three of them acting normally.

The blender only took a moment to finish, and Kaori poured a thick green drink into some cups. "Now, I know this looks unpleasant, but I promise you it will help your body to recover faster." As Akagi suspected, even without the game abilities, Kaori could make potions and elixirs with the proper ingredients and some training. As a result, she'd been made into Mimi's official apprentice and was training in the art of herbalism, alchemy, and medicine. 

The three girls were uncooperative and tried to avoid drinking the concoction, but some sad puppy eyes from Kaori broke through their resolve, and they drank it. The taste wasn't actually all too bad, though the density of the liquid was not very enjoyable, since it was basically like chugging a thick milkshake. The drink in question was an herbal mixture that would stimulate the body's natural recovery mechanisms. Akagi and Mimi were wary about using potions on people who weren't from FWO or transformed by it, since the effects on the human body were unknown. Mizumi told them there shouldn't be an issues, but they still chose to be wary. There would be further testing, especially as Naomi wanted to publish any lifesaving medicines in the future, but for now, this was as far as the two would go.

"Ugh." Kana shivered as she drank the medicine. "I really don't like drinking this stuff."

"Yeah, it tastes like grass." Mika pushed the cup away after she was done. "Ick, I'm gonna taste that all day now..."

"It's still better than some of the other stuff I've had to drink though." Naomi wasn't really bothered by the taste.

"Just be glad your injuries were little more than superficial." Akagi shrugged. "I can't really do anything about the singed hair, but with that medicine, plus Mimi's healing magic, your burns should be gone by tomorrow morning." Mimi's healing magic was quite potent, but Akagi knew that magical healing wasn't perfect. Even the thousand-year-old doctor saw it as a tool to aid the body's natural recovery; rather than replace it.

In-game, it would simply restore HP, but since this was the real world, its effect on the body was far more complex. It could still be used to heal wounds and cure illness, but it was no longer the perfect fix that it was in the game. After the attack on Camp Katsura, when healing magic was used on the wounds suffered by Chloe's subordinates, they were left exhausted. Mimi determined that healing injuries of large scale takes a great deal of bodily energy. A property of healing magic that was recorded in in-game flavor text but didn't actually affect in-game healing.

"I'm glad to see you're all ok." Hishya gave a bitter smile. She'd turned down the government's request for help and felt that her inaction might have led to this. "You shouldn't have to deal with something like this." She personally trained most of Libra's players so she felt partially responsible. 

"Yeah, it was quite scary. I never imagined we'd be attacked while out shopping like that." Kana gave a bitter smile of her own. "So many people were killed..."

"Did those idiots really think they could just attack you and get away with it?" Hishya was referring to Akagi, but in her mind, she thought that if Akagi hadn't killed them, she probably would have done so herself. Her draconic blood had caused her to become slightly possessive of Kana, so the thought of someone attacking her really pissed Hishya off.

"Well they didn't know they were at the mall." Akagi said. "Besides, I already dealt with them. Before they expired, they very much regretted their life choices." 

After a bit of chatting, Hishya moved the conversation to the original reason she was called out there.

"You said on the phone that you had something important to discuss with me? Can we talk about that now?" Hishya had a bad feeling about what Akagi was to tell her.

"Yeah, I need you to take a message to the Rapid Response Team for me." Akagi's face turned serious. "Effective immediately, all non-authorized 'returnees' that I find are in the Kansai region will be considered hostile and may be subject to termination. That includes both RRT and Libra members."

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