The Red Hand

Chapter 113 – The Pecking Order and Mika’s Home.

"May I ask what a being like you is doing here?" Kukurihime asked. Her eyes showed that Akagi was quite the unwelcome guest to her shrine.

"Not much, just hanging with my sister and our friends. Figured I'd stop by the shrine and have a chat with the local god." Akagi shrugged. "Normal stuff."

{Only Onee-chan can be so casual and flippant with a god.} Kana sighed.

"Yes well, I'd very much rather not speak with a creature like you." Kukurihime said. "So if you have nothing of substance to discuss, please leave."

"No." Akagi smiled. "I don't take orders from an overgrown spirit, and I'll leave when I damn well please." Coping an attitude was not the best way to start a relationship with Akagi.

"You may be-" Kukurihime tried to speak, but Akagi cut her off.

"Let me put this another way." Akagi allowed her eyes to return to their demonic form. "Drop the attitude, or you're going to quickly get on my nerves." She allowed some of her energy to crash onto Kukurihime, who was stunned by the power. "And people who do, don't tend to exist for very long."

Kana and the girls watched as the guardian deity was overwhelmed by Akagi's power.

{She really is even more powerful than a god!} (Kana, Mika and Naomi)

"I am the one of higher status. You are little more than a spirit with some extra bells and whistles. Count yourself lucky I did not demand you prostrate yourself before me." Akagi returned her eyes back and retracted her aura. "Now, let's try this again.'

Kukurihime struggled to stay on her feet. "I-I... My apologize for acting so rude. How may I help you?"

{Just like that, she got all nice?!?} (Kana, Naomi and Mika)

"Why are you the only local guardian I've come across?" Akagi asked. "There was supposed to be one of you at many of the shrines I've investigated, but I've seen none. Nor have I found any Yokai, despite my best attempts to locate them." She'd been hunting for them on her own time, but never found anything.

Kukurihime was a bit reluctant to answer, but did. "The reason you cannot find any of them, is because they have all fled this world, and I am the only one of my kind remaining."

{Oh?} (Akagi)

"So wait, does that mean my family's story about the Yokai leaving was actually real?!?" Naomi asked. "My parents told me stories about our ancestors striking a deal with the Emperor to let the Yokai go to a place safer for them. Does that mean all those stories were true?!?"

{That's unreal!} (Naomi)

"Your family?" Kukurihime tilted her head. "Ahh, you are a member of the Tokugawa family. That makes sense, and yes, you are correct. The rest of our kind agreed to relocate to a world more hospitable to us. With the country's modernization and the lack of a proper home for most of us, we were left with no choice but to flee." The darkness that allowed Yokai to thrive had been steadily driven back until there was so little left, that a confrontation with humans was inevitable. Fearing annihilation, they chose to flee rather than fight.

"And yet, you stayed." Akagi continued. "It's because you have family, isn't it?"

"Yes." Kukurihime nodded. "The Hitsubane family are descendants of mine."

"Wait! Miyako is the descendant of a god!" Kana exclaimed.

"If you want to call this Oni a 'god', then sure." Akagi shrugged. She wouldn't consider Kukurihime a god since she knew what actual gods were. "So you stayed behind because you didn't want to leave them?"

"Yes, I couldn't bring myself to abandon my flesh and blood. Even if it meant that I was destined to one day fade away." Kukurihime gave a bitter smile.

"That's right. Your kind require prayer and offerings to survive." Akagi snapped her fingers in realization. "I'm surprised you've survived two-hundred years with how few people actually come here." Religion in Japan had been on the decline for around a century by this point and very few people took it very seriously.

"It has been tough, but my descendants have tried their hardest to keep me from fading." She smiled. "But it's not enough, sadly. I fear I don't have too many years left until I dissipate."

{T-that's awful...} (Mika x Naomi)

"Does Miyako know about you?" Kana asked.

"Yes, I interact with my family quite often. Miyako is a good girl and ever since her mother passed on, I've taken to raising her like my own. I even gave her a charm hoping to ward off negative energy, which I see did not affect you." The Oni looked at Akagi. "I cannot even fathom the depths of the evil that lies within you."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Akagi laughed. Her natural aura, when released, was quite unpleasant for most beings to feel or see.

Kukurihime sighed. "Even at the height of my power, I doubt I could ever hope to harm you, let alone defeat you. You'd likely overpower all the other guardians if they were still around."

{Well that cements it. Congratulations Onee-chan, you are even more powerful than the gods...} (Kana)

"That's the point." Akagi shrugged. "Things should have been. I show up, world burns, everyone's sad. But we flipped the script and changed things up a bit, and now I enjoy snuggles with Yumi."

{Yeah, you're always with her. I swear I don't understand how you idiots get work done when you're always cuddled together.} (Kana)

"I can see that." Kukurihime groaned. "Well, if you've come to kill me, then just do it. But please leave my family alone. They have nothing to do with any conflict between us." She was prepared for death.

"I've had way too many people say lines like that. Do I really look like the bad guy?" Akagi looked at the girls, who just glared at her. Naturally, that was a rhetorical question, and they had to resist the urge to retort. "But don't go killing yourself off just yet, little Oni." Akagi sighed. "I came here to talk not kill. If I wanted the title of god slayer, you'd already be my snack." She winked.

{Gotta admit, eating a guardian deity sounds nice. Wonder how she'd taste?} (Akagi)

Kukurihime's eyes widened. "You truly are not going to kill me?" She hadn't expected that.

Akagi rolled her eyes. "Not unless you keep annoying me."

"It's just that, beings made of such evil and malice shouldn't be capable of having a reasonable discussion, let alone exist peacefully. You are truly a curious creature." Kukurihime looked at her in shock.

"Trust me. I had to overcome that inner nature so that destroying the world wasn't mandatory." Akagi laughed. “Now its optional.”

Suddenly the older man from earlier came from around the corner.

"Lady Kukurihime!" He was surprised to see her and ran over. "Is something the matter?"

"No Junichiro, there is no problem. I'm just having a discussion with our guests." Kukurihime answered.

"I've never seen you show yourself to anyone but the family. May I ask just what occurred to cause this?" Junichiro asked.

"I forced her out." Akagi chuckled. "I told her to come out and face me or get blown up, and she came out a few seconds later."

Junichiro was flabbergasted and looked at Kukurihime, who nodded. "This being is the same one we saw on the news the other day, the one who killed that group of terrorists. She has taken another form, but this is the Demon Lord, Akagi." Kukurihime explained. "Please take great caution when dealing with her."

"The Demon Lord?" Junichiro looked at Akagi, who flashed her demonic eyes briefly, causing the old man to step back a bit. "I see."

Akagi thought for a moment. "Would you come with me back to my estate briefly?" She asked Kukurihime.

"What for?" She was apprehensive about traveling with Akagi.

"I want your opinion on something, and you'd be the perfect person to confirm a theory I've got going in my head right now." Akagi answered. "I'll make it worth your while. If you agree, then I think I can solve your energy problem."

"What!" Kukurihime exclaimed. "How could you possibly do something like that? I've been searching for a substitute for nearly a century and a half! How could you have found one so easily?!?"

"I have quite a bit of knowledge now that I've embraced being the Demon Lord." Akagi continued. "Combine that with a certain Imp's talent, and I think we can make you an energy source that will act as a substitute for the normal energy that sustains you."

Kukurihime looked at Akagi. "You're serious?"

Akagi nodded. "I don't expect people to work for free, since I don't. Come with me for a bit and answer some other questions. If you do that, I'll see what I can do about removing that energy issue."

{Shouldn't be too hard. I've already got an idea about what to do.} (Akagi)

Kukurihime closed her eyes and thought for a bit before answering. "I never thought I'd take a deal from a Demon, but if it saves me from vanishing into nothing, I'll take it." She was afraid to disappear since she knew there was no afterlife for her kind.

"Good." Akagi nodded. "If my first idea doesn't work, I'll put my team on finding a solution ASAP. Shouldn't be too hard."

"That's fine." Kukurihime nodded. "Though if the method requires the use of evil power or the deaths of others, I will decline." She gave a wry smile. Those things were not acceptable to the Oni god.

"Well, lucky for you none of my ideas require either." Akagi laughed. "Magic is quite a flexible tool. I think we can figure things out and I've got a few people who know even more than I about magic and devices."

{Imp and that nutty fox could probably figure it out.} (Akagi)

Akagi chatted a bit more with Kukurihime before telling her she'd return tomorrow to collect her. The god was a bit annoyed at being placed below the three girls in importance, but didn't say anything for obvious reasons.

Once they were done, the four of them walked down from the shrine and headed to Mika's house to watch a movie. This was the original plan for the day, and the shine and café had gotten them sidetracked a bit.

As they walked down the street, Akagi made a comment. "Now that I think about it. This will be the first time I meet Mika's parents." She'd never met them before today.

"Yeah, you're right." Kana thought back and realized that Yumi or another clan member had always been the ones to take Mika home. "They're about as you would expect."

"Totally laid back and easygoing?" Akagi looked over at her.

"Yea." Kana nodded. "They don't really seem to be affected by anything, it's where Mika gets her personality from."

{If only she'd gotten their brains...} (Kana)

"My parents are great!" Mika smiled. "And I think you'll get along with them."

{Yeah, just forget the fact that I killed their son.} Akagi thought to herself. That whole issue hadn't reached a head just yet, and while many speculated she was responsible for Black Gauntlet's death, there was no way to 100% prove it.

"You never told them about your brother, right?" Akagi wanted to double-check.

"No." Mika gave a wry smile. "I'd break their heart, and I don't want to see that." The revelation had impacted her hard enough, and she was only his sister. His parents would be devastated if they ever found out the truth about him.

"Then I will keep that in mind and refrain from saying anything." Akagi said.

About fifteen minutes later, the four of them arrived in front of Mika's house. She lived in an apartment that was built as a set of row-homes. They headed up the stairs to the second floor and headed inside the small but cozy home.

"We're here!" Mika yelled as she went inside.

"There she is." A male voice came from the kitchen. "Your mother and I are in the kitchen. Bring your friends in here once you take off your shoes!"

Heading inside, the girls kicked off their shoes, while Akagi just made them disappear.

"That clothing thing is super convenient," Mika commented. “I wish I could change outfits with a thought.

"Yup! It super nice!" Akagi smiled.

"Also." Mika turned to Akagi. "While we're here, you don't need to disguise yourself."

"Uhhh." Akagi was surprised. "I don't think your parents are going to take well to that."

{Do you want them to freak?!?} (Akagi)

"Trust me. It will be fine, so just switch to how you looked yesterday when we were having lunch. I know that body makes you uncomfortable, and I want you to feel at home here." Mika smiled, and Akagi was touched. She'd never had friends before and never gone to someone's house to hang out. Mika was trying to be considerate since she knew Akagi's true feelings and was trying to better navigate the difficult waters that were Akagi's emotions.

{I want to show her that there are other people out here that can accept her. I know deep down she just wants to be herself. I just hope mom and dad are ready to play their parts.} (Mika)

"Don't get mad at me if they scream and freak out." Akagi told her.

{Why don't I want them to scream? I should want people to be afraid of me! So why does the idea of Mika's parents freaking out bother me so much? Its not like Mika actually cares about me as a friend anyway! She's probably just afraid of me...} Akagi, once again, allowed her anxiety to get the better of her.

"If they do, I'll smack them upside the head." Mika's eyes told her she was serious.

"Fine." Akagi snapped her fingers, and she changed into the same appearance from yesterday, sporting a green t-shirt and black shorts in her usual body with her black and orange eyes.

{Let's see how this goes. Maybe they won't freak out? But why wouldn't they? I'm a monster...} Akagi prepared for the worst, but decided to trust Mika's faith in her parents. She liked Mika, and while she was mostly indifferent to most people's opinions of her. She'd rather Mika's parents not scream from just the sight of her.

{Onee-chan, it's time for your intervention!} (Kana)