The Red Hand

Chapter 117 – The Connection.

The three girls sat around the living room table chatting a bit more about the Tomogawa situation before Akagi made an interesting comment.

"Hey, so." She looked at the two girls. "I'm the Demon Lord? The being meant to destroy the world and exterminate mankind, right?"

"Yeah?" (Naomi x Mika)

"And the Tomogawa clan was created explicitly to defend mankind from evil beings and drive back the darkness?" Akagi continued.

"Yeah?" (Naomi x Mika)

"And they want to kill me because I'm a threat to mankind and the world?" Akagi smirked.

"I see where you're going with this." Kana sighed.

"???" Naomi tilted her head, not understanding.

"Doesn't that mean they're actually the good guys!" Akagi got excited. "Awww, man. That's so awesome! I was messing around with Herlex and the others, but I'm going to actually get to be the villain this time!" She was right. The Tomogawa family was the force fighting for good against the evil darkness that was Akagi.

"Gotta prep my evil speech and make sure the laugh is on point!" Akagi busted out laughing. She was going to enjoy herself.

Normally, Kana would retort. But deep down, she actually thought her sister was cool when she did the whole villain routine. Though in Akagi's case, it was less of a routine and more genuine evil.

{I wanna see it!} Kana thought to herself.

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Miyabi POV>

After fleeing from Akagi, Miyabi returned to the Tomogawa family compound where she reported her failure to capture Naomi to her father.

"I see, so the Demon was more powerful than we expected." Kenji had a bit of sweat on his forehead. "No matter, we shall prepare to meet her at our home as she wishes. The lack of the sacred implements will prove an issue, but we can still defeat her without them. Our ancestors have handled monsters such as her, and we will prevail. This is the way."

Juichiro spoke up. "I will gather up all able-bodied members of the clan. We shall meet this Demon and destroy her on our home turf. I swear on the honor of our family that we shall defeat this darkness and defend the world from her evil. This is the way."

"Father." Miyabi looked at the old man. "I fear we will not be able to win against this Demon." She was still visibly shaken by her easy defeat. "That monster and her minions are far more powerful than anything I've ever faced. The cat treated my most powerful attacks like nothing, and defeated tsuchinoko with ease."

"You were just taken by surprise, Miyabi." Juichiro said. "With preparations and our numbers, that Demon will be no match for us. Besides, we have developed specific countermeasures for handling Demons. Once we draw her in, we can trap and exorcise her."

"Indeed, while the level of power she exhibited was high than expected, I assure you that we will come out victorious. This is what we've trained for and the reason our family was created, Miyabi. We have nothing to fear but fear itself, as we shall reign victorious against evil, just as our ancestors did." Kenji agreed. "Our clan has been fighting the darkness for three centuries, and we have always overcome even the mightiest foes in our defense of humanity. This time will be no different, and as long as we do not lose hope and believe in ourselves, we will win."

Miyabi was still concerned, but agreed with her father and brother. They had a duty to save humanity from the darkness that was the Demon Lord. Perhaps it would be a tough fight, but they had no choice but to win, for if they lost, the world would be at Akagi's mercy.

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Akagi POV>

The next day, Akagi returned to Kukurihime's shrine and brought the Oni back to her estate for her planned discussion. She wanted her to speak with Mizumi, as Akagi had begun to theorize that a connection between the two beings existed.

"This is a lovely place." Kukurihime commented on Akagi's home as the two entered the garden. "It feels as if I've stepped back in time, sights like this were common until a few centuries ago."

"It's part of the reason I acquired this place." Akagi laughed. "I've always preferred traditional Japanese clothing and such, so an entire feudal estate was right up my alley." Her clothing was a high-quality Kimono and Hanten, not exactly normal dress anymore.

"I can see that." The Oni looked at Akagi's outfit. "Your choice in clothing is quite peculiar indeed, at least for this era. Though I must say, it looks lovely on you." She smiled.

The two chatted for a bit more until Yumi brought out Mizumi and Alice.

"Mama!" Alice ran up and hugged her.

"Hello little one, were you lonely?" Akagi laughed as she pet the girl's head. She tried to see her every day, but made sure to keep her separated from Kana and the girls. Not because she feared Alice doing something to harm them, but rather because Alice's history would make them uncomfortable. She did kill a substantial number of people, and unlike Akagi's killings, Alice's actions were done for less-than-desirable reasons. Akagi didn't care, but knew the girls were not necessarily comfortable around her. She hoped that would change in the future. But for now, keeping her at arm's length from them was best.

"No, but I wanted to see you." Alice shook her head. “I had fun with Kana, she was dressing me up in all sorts of fun clothes.”

{Good to see Kana is taking to her, and also its good to see that Alice is more than happy to act as a dress-up-doll.} Akagi laughed internally.

"It's so weird seeing the Demon Lord act like that." Mizumi sighed. “One might almost forget what kind of creature you really are.”

"What's wrong? Do you want to be coddled too, Mizumi?" Akagi laughed. "You're small enough, so if you ask nicely, I might just."

"I will decline." Mizumi groaned.

"Oh well, more snuggling for Yumi." Akagi said. "Now, then." Akagi turned to the Oni, whose eyes went wide as she stared at Mizumi. "That tells me I was right."

"How is this possible!" Kukurihime got close to Mizumi, and began to touch and move her as she inspected the spirit.

"Uhhhh." Mizumi was confused.

{Why is this lady squishing my face?} (Mizumi)

"Just endure it." Akagi laughed.

After thoroughly inspecting the water spirit, Kukurihime turned to Akagi. "Where did you find her?!?" She demanded to know.

{I kinda wanna say she was in a cardboard box with a: Take Me Home Sign. But I'll hold off on the joking, for now anyway.} (Akagi)

Seeing her reaction, Akagi told the Oni about the events of FWO, Mizumi's involvement, and her people's fate. The Oni's face turned more serious as the story continued, and when Akagi was finished she turned to Mizumi and asked a question.

"Does the name Dokorimon mean anything to you?" (Kukurihime)

"Of course, he was the great founder of our nation. He and the other great elders brought our people together over four thousand years ago after the great migration of spirits." Mizumi recounted the basic history, of her people. "But how do you know him? He was from an entirely different world."

{I bet I know the answer.} Akagi held her tongue, deciding to let things play out and focus on feeding Alice snacks.

"Because I've met him. Many times as a matter of fact." Kukurihime answered.

"What?!?" Mizumi was taken aback. "That's not possible. You're from this world! How could you have met our founding ancestor from nearly four millennia ago?!?"

"Because, like me, Dokorimon was a guardian deity who was enshrined in Kyoto." Kukurihime explained. "He was a good friend of mine, and was the chief architect of the plan to have the rest of Japan's Yokai leave this world to survive."

"Hold on! Our people are not from this world!" Mizumi denied her claim. "We were native to that dimension. We didn't flee! Nothing in our records shows anything like that!"

"Most likely the Yokai intentionally concealed this information from their descendants. It was easier for them to believe they were simply from that world rather than refugees, and it probably helped to restart in that world, free from their past." Kukurihime continued. "You said your elders sacrificed themselves to create the spell that allowed you to travel to this world, right?"

"Yes, we lacked the necessary raw magical power, and with time running out and the human armies pushing closer, they gave their own life force to power the ritual." Mizumi nodded. It was clearly a painful memory. "I am not an elder per se, but I am the last high-ranking spirit left, and I was heavily involved with the elders and the ritual. I was never told anything about a secret history of our people!"

{Probably because they either didn't want you to know, or just couldn't find the time.} (Akagi)

"What happened to Dokorimon and the other founders?" Kukurihime asked.

"We don't know." Mizumi shook her head. "Records say they just vanished one day. Other than that, we have no clue what happened to them, or if they are even alive. "

"I suspect their sudden disappearance was probably because, like me, they required faith from non-Yokai to sustain themselves. After some time, they probably just ran out of power and disappeared." Kukurihime had a pained look as she explained that, since it would also happen to her without Akagi's help.

"Ahh...." Mizumi didn't know what to say.

{T-that would explain things...} (Mizumi)

"Also, how did you choose this world to escape to?" Kukurihime asked.

"Huh? That's easy, it was in our records. Something about-" Mizumi froze. "Wait! Why did we know of this world?" She had no answer. Her library and the Spirit's records did talk about this world and that was how they were able to lock on to it. But there was no logical reason they should know about it in such detail.

"Also." Akagi chimed in. "Why do you speak Japanese?" A very good question, one Akagi chose to put off until now.

"I-uhh." Mizumi broke. "That's-that's because..."

{I-I never thought about that...} (Mizumi)

"It's because you are the descendants of those Yokai who fled from this world." Kukurihime answered for her, bending down to hug the spirit. "It seems that the world they went to was no more welcoming than this one. I'm sorry."

"This... this is really..." Mizumi was still in a state of shock. "I need to tell everyone!"

"If possible, could I come with you?" Kukurihime asked. "You said you have over thirty thousand others. I would like to see them for myself, and it's been so long since I've seen another member of my kind."

{I hope they've been doing well.} (Kukurihime)

"I'd like to come too." Akagi declared her intention to see the other spirits in their little world, which surprised Mizumi.

"You want to come to the pocket dimension?!?" (Mizumi)

{That's going to be a problem...} (Mizumi)

"Now that I've got my Demon Lord power, even if you try to lock me in there, I can just kick open a door between the worlds and come back. That was my biggest worry before, and why I never went inside." Akagi shrugged.

{That would be the literal version of I'm not trapped in here with you, YOU'RE trapped in her with me!} (Mizumi)

Mizumi sighed. "I would never have done that. If I did, you would have just massacred my people. Not exactly what I want. Besides, you've given me no reason to do something like that. Demon Lord or not, you've been kind to me and even helped with some of the issues in our new home with your knowledge and resources. I can't betray you after everything you've done for me, nor would I." Mizumi groaned. "Your paranoid is ridiculous. You know that?"

Akagi had been sending a few of her people into the spirits' home as advisors and was working with them to provide construction equipment and other things for infrastructure. As it was now, the spirits' village was a sight to behold. It looked like something between a traditional Japanese village and a large town.

"It's that paranoia that keeps me alive and my enemies dead, Mizumi." Akagi laughed, but she was serious. People always said she was too paranoid and always thought the worst of anyone and everyone. But as far as she was concerned, one wrong move and she could lose everything. A risk she was unwilling to take.