The Red Hand

Chapter 204 – The Future.

Shima knew those words were coming, they were the same words she'd flung at Akagi, but they cut through her heart like a read hot knife, and Kana's lack of outward anger and self-restraint did not lessen the impact of her words. Kana might not hate her mother, but she was probably about as close as one could come. Looking at Shima caused Kana revulsion and it was taking all her self-restraint not to punch her in the face.

"I...I..." Shima went into shock. Hearing Kana say that her mother was nothing more than a monster was too much to handle, even if she knew it was warranted.

"Well, that's a lot nicer than I would have put it." Nana commented. "You tortured your own child, her sister, for nearly twenty years. The fact that Kana even bothered coming here in the first place and gave you a chance to explain yourself is shocking." She shook her head.

{I walked away from my parents for doing much less. Kana is either naive as hell or is far too good for this idiot sister of mine.} (Nana)

"Considering I asked Onee-chan to kill her. You're not wrong." Kana said.

"Y-you asked her to..." Shima's eyes went wide. Hearing that Kana had wanted her dead was a genuine shock.

"For the record, I said no, and I told Kana that it was a stupid idea for many reasons." Akagi interjected. "Though you would've deserved it, and it not like I'm going to lose any sleep over mounting your head over my fireplace."

{Real nice comment there, Onee-chan...} (Kana)

Deciding to ignore the casual claim that Akagi would turn her mother's head into a wall decoration, Kana continued. "After Onee-chan told me the truth about what you and Dad did to her... yeah, I did. I asked Onee-chan to kill you." Kana gave a wry smile. "She was right to stop me since I would've regretted it, but in that moment, I was so angry with the two of you that I genuinely wanted you gone." She clenched her fist.

Shima was frozen on the couch. She'd never expected to hear that Kana of all people would want her and Taichi dead. Her heart nearly stopped when she heard those words, and while she understood why her daughter would hate her enough to want them dead, that did nothing to lessen the impact.

"Even if you've come to regret everything you did, and even if your actions were the result of some kind of external influence." Kana shook her head. "That won't change my mind about you, Mom." Akagi could tell her sister was holding back the urge to cry, as this was not an easy conversation. "I was there, and I watched everything you did to Onee-chan over the years. To this day... I... I still can't get my eighth birthday out of my mind." That event had burned itself into her mind, especially as it was the primary reason Akagi nearly killed her.

Nana was well aware of what transpired that day, and while she might not have been at the Tomogawa household to witness it, she was similarly disgusted by her sister's actions.

{I still remember when she told me what happened. I don't think I've ever been as angry as I was that day, and I nearly cut the family off right there if not for fearing what they might do to Rishia if I did...} (Nana)

"That... that was..." Shima shook her head, stopping herself from making any excuses. "That was my fault. Even though it was your grandfather's idea, and he put pressure on me to try and break your sister... and I am still responsible." Kenji and the other family members were pushing her to be rid of Akagi in whatever way she could. They'd hoped the girl would take her own life, so they could quietly sweep things under the rug.

"Oh?" Akagi perked up. "I wasn't aware the old man was involved in that one. I figured that you and Taichi were the ones behind it."

"My father wanted to break you down and was becoming impatient with your... well, quite frankly, continued existence, as he put it." Shima sighed. "He put immense pressure on me to find some way to handle you without bringing attention to the family."

"So you wanted to make me go mental and then kill myself or run away?" Akagi guessed the reasoning.

"Basically." Shima nodded. “Father needed you gone in a way that was easy to bury, and suicide could be chalked up to your mental health issues.”

"That's disgusting!" Kana slammed her arm into the edge of her chair, startling her mother and aunt with how much force she used.

{Don't break the couch, Kana.} (Akagi)

"Well, rather than kill myself, I tried to kill Kana." Akagi laughed. “So that nearly backfired spectacularly.” Not to mention, Akagi was sure that if she did kill Kana that day, the world would be dealing with a much less nice Demon Lord.

"Yes, I am very well aware of that..." Shima said. "That incident caused us to back off you for a while, since keeping Kana alive was so important to Father."

"Because he wanted me to take over as head of the family." Kana already knew why.

"Yes... I never understood his reasoning at the time, and I just thought it was because of your intelligence that he was so protective of you." Shima gave a dry laugh. "Come to find out that you were also nothing more than a pawn to him... just like the rest of us..."

{Father kept everything from me... I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He saw me as a failure just like I saw Rishia as useless...} (Shima)

"I'd still like to know what caused all this." Nana sighed. "I've heard of parents taking out problems on their children, and I've known a few who were real pieces of work, but I've never seen the level of vitriol that was spewed at you." She looked at Akagi.

"You said something before about them being influenced by your power, so maybe being the Demon Lord caused the family to hate you?" Kana commented. "We have Onmiyoji blood in our veins, and we're attuned to spiritual power, so perhaps that had something to do with it?" It wasn't the strangest idea.

"I thought so too, but the remains that we have two people in this room with Tomogawa blood who didn't succumb to that same issue." Akagi pointed to Kana and Nana. "You both have Onmiyoji blood and while Kana's is highly potent, Nana's is not. Meaning that just like Shima both of you are spiritually inert." Meaning that if it was their bloodline, then both Kana and Nana should have acted similarly to the rest of the family.

"I sure as hell can't cast magic." Nana shrugged. "I guess that's part of why Dad ignored me."

"Yeah, we were worthless to his grand plans." Shima agreed.

"But seeing as how one of you came to hate me and the other did not. That goes a long way in disproving the theory that your blood is what caused this." Akagi let out a puff. "Kana can be excused due to imprinting, but even Airi came to her senses and walked away from the family."She hadn't spoken to her since that day on the school rooftop, and Akagi didn't really care what she did or where she went.

"That girl had more brains than most of the grandchildren." Nana laughed. "She cried at the funeral, but I don't know how much of that was truly because of grief." She had many issues with her father, but she likely still cared for him. Even after splitting from the family.

"That whole event was a mess..." Shima sighed as she recalled the whole ordeal. The funeral for the ten members of the family killed caused a huge amount of drama, and the aftermath was even more of a headache.

{There weren't many members of the family there, since Rishia killed most of us, but those who attended largely blamed me...} (Shima)

"I was honestly tempted to show up and be like. Who wants to go into the box next?" Akagi laughed. "But I decided to have a bit of decency."

"I'm so glad you didn't..." (Kana x Shima x Nana)

"Oh look, they're all on the same page." Akagi rolled her eyes.

"Because you're an idiot..." Kana lightly punched her sister in the side.

"Well, I think I'm funny." Akagi shrugged. "And isn't that all that matters?"

"No..." Kana groaned. "I never thought I'd say this, but how about you go into cat mode for a while? I'll pet you if you stay quiet, and maybe I'll treat you to some ice cream." She wanted Akagi to stop derailing things, though she knew that was likely a losing battle.

{Cat mode?} (Nana x Shima)

"While tempting, nah." Akagi shook her head with a smirk. "It's much more fun doing this."

"Yeah, I figured..." Kana looked at both her Aunt and mother. "Do you see what I have to deal with? Onee-chan has become even more of a pain since she woke up..."

"I think this is just part of having a sibling." Nana laughed. "It's kind of her job to make you miserable and pick on you." She did the same thing to Shima when they were kids.

"It's nice to see that at least something didn't change." Shima agreed.

"Messing with Kana is one of my top ten favorite activities." Akagi smiled.

"And let me guess, the other 9 are snuggling with Yumi?" Kana deadpanned.

"Hey, how did you know?" Akagi acted shocked. "I've tried to keep that a secret!"

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Nana asked her sister.

"No, and I probably don't want to know." Shima shook her head. She was unaware of Akagi's connection to Yumi, though she did recall that she was important.

"Getting back on track, Kana." Akagi blew smoke at her sister. "What are you going to do with her?" She pointed to Shima.

"That's..." Kana thought for a moment. "I honestly came here expecting to tell Mom off and walk out of here, not expecting to see her again..." She hesitated for a moment. "But after hearing her apologize, and seeing her truly repentant for what she did... I can't do it... I'm sorry Onee-chan."

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Akagi rolled her eyes. "I've told you a million times that I don't care if you continue your relationship with those two." She took a hit from her pipe. "I have no right to intrude there, and I won't tell you to choose them or me."

"I know, but it still feels like a betrayal!" Kana exclaimed. "You've been nothing but kind to me, and hell you've spoiled me rotten over this last year." Akagi may or may not have done so. "So it just feels wrong to keep acting normal with them, especially after everything they did to you."

"Kana..." Shima didn't know what to say.

"But while I can't go as far as cutting you out of my life, there must be some consequences for your actions, Mom." Kana locked eyes with her mother. "Dad aside, you need to be punished for what you did to my sister. So I think limiting contact with you for a while will be for the best. As for Dad..." She thought for a moment. "We can try a bit longer to convince him, but if he won't change, then I'll give him an ultimatum. Either he changes, or I never speak to him again."

"Taichi's not going to like that..." Nana said quietly.

"I don't know if that will be enough, Kana." Shima shook her head. "Your father is still acting as he was before, and barring something to shock him out of it, I doubt he'll change."

{Even for you...} (Shima)

"Are you sure you can't break whatever influence is on him?" Kana asked her sister, hoping she could pull something out of her sleeve.

"It's not that I can't break influence, it's that I don't detect any." Akagi shook her head. "Just like with Shima, I've seen nothing wrong with Taichi. I mean, I could brainwash him into repenting, but I've got a feeling that's not what you want."

"Getting past the part where I really don't like you doing that kind of stuff, Dad needs to realize himself that what he did was wrong. Having you mess with him would defeat the purpose." Kana gave a wry smile. She really didn't like Akagi's brainwashing.

"I mean, I can always get Silfana to go scare the fuck out of him like she did to Shima!" Akagi laughed. "That seemed to work once, so maybe it will happen again?"

{That monster woman was horrifying...} (Shima)

"Please don't..." Kana sighed. "In fact, you should just stay out of this and just leave it to me... please..."

"Do whatever you want." Akagi shrugged. "I'm just throwing out options." She said as she stood up. "I'm going to head out now, you're free to stay here as long as you need to handle everything with these two."

"Yeah, we still have many things to discuss." Kana glanced at her mother, who got a chill. The interrogation would truly begin once Akagi had left.

"Just wait a moment, please." Shima stood up. "I know you can never forgive me, nor should you, but... thank you." She bowed again. "You saved Kana numerous times now and even gave me the chance to repair my relationship with her when you could have easily turned her against me. So... thank you, and know that I will do everything in my power to atone for what I've done to you."

Akagi stopped for a moment. "Well... in that case. Do you mind if I repay you for something you did last year?" She walked in front of her mother.

"Yes, do whatever you want." Just as Shima said this, Akagi cracked her across the face causing her to fall backward onto the floor.

{Oof, that was one heck of a crack across the face.} (Nana)

{Was that really necessary?} (Kana)

"That was payback for the slap in the face when I brought Kana home after the military took her, and for calling Yumi a monster." Akagi allowed her aura to flare up around her covering her body in black fire before she disappeared.

"She really is over dramatic..." Kana helped her mother up. "You're lucky all she did was smack you."

"God, that niece of mine is terrifying." Nana was sweating a little bit from her nerves. "I'm just glad it's not me that all her hatred is directed at."

"She's a very scary person, even I'll admit that, but she's also someone who is deeply troubled." Kana sat back down on the couch. "When she's not being bothered, she's actually pretty fun to be around. Not to mention she's got her eccentricities, something both Mika and Naomi have wholeheartedly endorsed." She laughed. "Heck at this point, I'm certain that if she could just take Yumi and hide in the house all day that's what she'd want to do."

{I just hope that Onee-chan can finally get the peace she so desperately desires. But with the potential threat of that other world, I have a feeling that it will be some time before she gets her wish and the world leaves her alone.} (Kana)

“Now then.” Kana gave her mother a terrifying smile. “Now that Onee-chan has left, I think its time we got to discussing your terrible habit of lying to me over the years.” Scary Kana had arrived, and the temperature of the room dropped by a few degrees.

“Um... Kana...” Shima felt a chill run down her spine. She knew Kana could get like this, and sensed danger. “Nans, a little-” She turned to where her sister was a moment prior, but she'd vanished.

{YOU BITCH!} (Shima)

“Don't worry about Aunt Nana.” Kana continued to smile. “We're going to talk long and hard about you, and I've got a lot I want us to go over.” She leaned on the armrest as she glared at her mother. “So what's this I heard about a doghouse?”

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that evening.

Nagoya had suffered extensive damage in the sectors where Alice's puppets and Libra members unleashed their attacks. Even several months later, sections of the city bore the scars left by the carnage.

Akagi was walking down one of the many side streets in that had been reduced to ruins, and while there were a few people around, it was eerily quiet. A few of the passerbys gave her fearful looks, while others turned in the other direction, an understandable reaction.

After a few minutes, the Demon came upon a multi story building which had been utterly devastated, much more than the other buildings on the block. The build's exterior stuck out among the mostly modern and sleek designs around it, being made of stone. Its front facade was covered in scorch marks, sections of the exterior walls had collapsed, and its windows were blown out. On a small section of door that survived you could see a small name, Kimeguchi Children's Orphanage.

“It looks like she really let this place have it.” Akagi sighed as she moved a caution tape out of the way and entered into the wrecked building. “I just hope that something survived this mess, otherwise I'm out of options.” She ventured into the ruined building, the front office was mostly destroyed, desks were overturned or demolished and the computers were unrecognizable. Akagi began searching through the office, looking through drawers and rifling through whatever paperwork she could find. Luckily for her, this place had only gone partially digital, and there was a few filing cabinets which contained some documents and other important paperwork.

“Ichinose, Ichikawa, Ichimura, Ichimonji, Ide, Ifukube, Iga, Igarashi. Ah there it is! Sara Ikebuki. It seems like her file is wasn't destroyed, lucky me.” Akagi pulled the folder out of the cabinet and sat on one of the intact desks as she read through it. Inside was a picture of a small girl, around five years old with short brown hair. “Yup that's Alice alright.” Akagi said she looked through the other papers. “Information on living relatives, medical file, which is useless now, and... oh?” She stopped on one section of paperwork which had been heavily redacted. “And why oh why would a large section of some poor orphan's file be covered in more black marker than C.I.A. Documents?” She thought for a moment before an idea came to mind. “I wonder if I can remove it?” She attempted to manipulate the ink itself and remove the added layer over the text, but unfortunately it was a printed document rather than one covered over later. “Well dang, I thought I had an amazingly cool idea. Oh well...” She closed the file. “I've already got all the information on the corruption that allowed this stupid situation to occur, so I doubt what's covered over there is really important.” She got off the table and started looking around the room again. “Alice did tell me that she had a box with a bunch of personal affects, but that it was left behind when she was adopted. I wonder if I can find it somewhere? That was nearly a decade ago, so they might have thrown it away.” Akagi then began to scourer the ruins, looking for a safe or other deposit box, but found nothing.

“I guess it won't be that easy.” Akagi laughed as she flipped over a desk which revealed a hole in the floor. “ Or will it?” Looking down into the gap beneath the desk revealed a dark basement with a number of different boxes, files and papers. Figuring that this might be where important information was stored long-term, Akagi hopped down. She was able to see perfectly in this darkness, but put out a bright light to aide her.

“There has to be like a million boxes down here...” Akagi sighed as she looked at the room filled with metal and cardboard boxes, it was clear from the level of dust on most of them, and the lack of footprints on the floor, that no one had been down here in some time. “Well, good thing I can move fast.” She began to zip around the room at high speed as she examined each container until eventually she found one with a small tag on it that read Sara Ikebuki. “All right, lets see what's in box number 5,785!” The small container was locked, but Akagi used her power to open it. Looking inside, her face slowly turned from a happy smile, to an angry scowl as she examined its contents. There were a number of different papers, including what appeared to be a sealed pack of letters, a photograph of two relatively young adults with what Akagi assumed was a three year old Alice, and with a small stuffed bear. Using her power, she read the contents of the letters without opening them, and her eyes went wide as she bit her lip in irritation. After a few moments, she slowly and carefully closed the box and placed it and its contents within her inventory, before exiting the building quietly.

Once she'd left, Akagi turned towards the ruined structure, and after checking to ensure that the nearby buildings were empty, she snapped her fingers causing a massive blast to erupt from the building and igniting a massive fire that engulfed the structure. Standing in front of the crumbling building, Akagi did not laugh, nor did she smile. In fact, her face showed no emotion at all as her eyes reflected the burning building which further collapsed in on itself. After a few minutes, sirens began to go off, as it seems emergency services were rushing to the scene of the fire, and seeing no further reason to stick around, Akagi snapped her fingers again and vanished, her body burning away in black fire.