The Red Hand

Chapter 129 – A Warm Night.

A few days later, Hishya arrived at the estate to spend some time with Kana. The two were going to head into Kyoto to see a movie and have a kind of first proper date. The movie was in the evening so it was almost dark out when the dragon arrived.

Hishya entered the main house, finding Kana sitting in the living room with Yumi, Alice and Akagi. "Hey." She smiled.

"Hishya! You've got some nerve showing up all causal after what you've done!" Kana put her prank into motion.

{This is going to be good.} (Akagi)

Hearing Kana get angry caused the dragon girl to freeze. "What! What did I do?!?" She panicked.

{Did I do something bad?!? Is Akagi going to eat me now?!?} (Hishya)

"You know darn what you did! How could you ignore all my messages!" Kana smirked.

{Messages?!? Did I miss something?!?} (Hishya)

Before Hishya got a chance to ask any questions, Kana called for Himari. "Himari, come in here!" A few seconds later, Himari arrived and she ran over to Kana.

{Who is that?!?} Hishya started to sweat.

"I'm here!" She looked at Hishya. "Is that her, the one you told me about?" She was in on the prank and acted the part.

"Yep." Kana nodded. "That's her!"

Hishya was completely lost. "Uhhhhh."

"Yippie" Himari ran up and hugged the dragon girl. "Mommy! It's so nice to meet you!"

"Mom-my?" Hishya looked down at the girl. "Eh? EHHHH? What?!? Kana, what's going on?!?" She looked at her girlfriend for answers.

{MOMMY?!?} (Hishya)

"She's your child, Hishya. The one you forced upon me." Kana pretended to cry. "You need to take responsibility for your actions and raise her with me."

Hishya.exe has stopped working.

Hishya couldn't handle this turn of events and fell over, unconscious.

"Well, she took that about as well as expected." Akagi finally let out the laugh she'd been holding in. "Damn Kana, and you call me evil."

"Pfffff." Yumi started laughing too. "I'd say that was a cruel joke, but it was just too funny!"

“Hishya actually fell over!” Alice started laughing. “That was perfect, you could literally pinpoint the exact moment her brain turned off!”

"Oops." Himari poked the unconscious Hishya in the cheek a few times. "She went sloop."

"What can I say." Kana shrugged. "I am the Demon Princess. Things like this are in my DNA." As she spoke, a wicked smile formed on her lips.

{Oh this just amazing. 10/10 would see Hishya break again.} (Akagi)

“Wait! I've got an even better idea!” Akagi whispered into Alice's ear, which caused the little girl to begin cackling.

“Mama really is evil.” Alice's face contorted into a nasty smile as she pulled a marker out of her inventory.

{She wouldn't!} Kana watched as Alice walked over to the sleeping Hishya and scribbled marker on her face, drawing a mustache and even a monocle on her eye.

Once she was done, she turned to Kana and did a Tee-hee pero, before returning to Akagi's lap.

{SHE FUCKING DID! AND SHE DID THE ANIME THING TOO!!!!} Kana was dying on the inside from both laughter and cuteness, since that gag was one of her favorites in anime.

“Good job, my child. “ Akagi high-fived her daughter. “You have learned well in the ways of the dark-side.”

“Ku-Ku-Ku!” Alice's laughed evilly. “I've learned from the best!”

A bit later, Hishya woke up on the couch, and Kana explained that it was all a prank. This time she gave a proper explanation and informed her that Himari was not her bastard child, and that she was actually a spirit weapon from her family.

"YOU ABSOLUTE ASS!" Hishya bonked Kana on the head a few times. "You have no idea how much my heart sank!"

"If you'd thought about it for a second, you'd have quickly figured out it was a lie." Kana rubbed her head.

{We're both girls after all.} (Kana)

"Kana, with all the magical BS around us, a magical child of ours isn't exactly that insane of a concept!" Hishya groaned in frustration. "Akagi rubbed off on you so hard..."

"Fair point." Kana thought about it for a second. "I still thought it was funny though."

"Yeah, it was great." Akagi chimed in.

“Yeah, Hishya falling over was great!” Alice agreed.

"Quiet you! And don't go dragging the kid in on your shenanigans." Hishya pointed at Akagi. "This between me and Kana!" She then looked at Himari. "And you.... you're just as guilty!"

"I was only doing what I was told." Himari puffed out her cheeks.

"Don't you lie! You were the one who egged me on, Himari." Kana poked the sword girl in the cheek as she giggled.

"Argh!" Hishya flopped on the couch. "You're lucky I love you..."

"I love you too." Kana patted the dragon girl on the head.

"It's like their are two Akagi now." Hishya sighed. "I'm not going to survive this..."

{Why did I fall in love with the Demon Princess...} (Hishya)

"Now, now stop the melodrama." Akagi lazily waved her hand. "You'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say." Hishya looked over at her and sighed. "So this girl is now tied to you?" She asked Kana

"Yup." Kana nodded. "I can summon her at will. She's actually a sword."

{She also may or may not be quite immature, but that's a different issue.} (Kana)

Hishya sat up and looked at Akagi. "I'm shocked you didn't destroy her when you first met. I know how much you hate talking weapons."

"I nearly did." Akagi shrugged.

"And so, the ancient blade meant to slay the Demon Lord is now working for her younger sister." Hishya gave a dry laugh. "What kind of joke is that?"

"I mean, you're the Hero Hishya, and you're dating the Demon Princess." Kana laughed. "Things are all sorts of topsy-turvy."

{My earlier joke about a light novel title is quite apt.} (Akagi)

"Trust me. The irony of that is not lost on me." Hishya leaned on Kana. "As long as I don't think about it though, it's not an issue." She figured denial was the best method to protect herself.

"Could always be worse." Akagi took a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, I could be Elna..." Hishya thought back to what she'd seen become of the girl. "You really went overboard with that one, Akagi."

"I'd say she got off lightly." Akagi shrugged. “I mean, she still exists. Unlike the rest of her teammates.”

{Yeah, ok. Existing as a broken person isn't really much of a life, Akagi. She was probably better off getting eaten than living like this. Hell they can't even try her since she's been declared legally insane.} (Hishya)

"Elna? That was the Elf from Libra, right?" Kana asked. "I saw something about her on the news. They were talking about her being put on trial or something." Kana didn't really keep up such things anymore.

"No trial, not after what our resident being of supreme darkness did to her.” Hishya sighed.

Seeing that Hishya didn't elaborate, Kana asked her sister for clarification. “What did you do to her?” 

“The same thing I did to our pet dragon.” Akagi and Alice giggled in sync.

{I'll 'pet' you!} Hishya grumbled in her head before explaining.

“To elaborate, Akagi here went and did an overtuned version of what she did to me to that idiot." Hishya shivered as she thought about it. "I got trauma. Elna got mind broken."

"Hey don't act all sad! There was a sliver lining to all that nightmare!" Akagi called her out. "Said trauma fixed your head and rectified your personality issues, so it was a net win for everyone."

Hishya was about to tell her she was wrong but couldn't. "The ends don't justify the means dammit!"

{I hate that I can't say she's wrong!} (Hishya)

"Well, I say they do." Akagi laughed. "So that's that!"

*Tsk* Hishya clicked her tongue.

"Now, now, children." Yumi intervened. "No fighting."

{I swear these two act like siblings sometimes with how they argue.} (Yumi)

"It's not fighting." Akagi shook her head. "Just a philosophical disagreement."

“Besides Mama is right! Whatever she says is law!” Alice stuck her tongue out at Hishya and blew a raspberry.

"It's not worth arguing with you two idiots." Hishya pinched the bridge of her nose in defeat. "It's like banging my head against a brick wall."

"In fairness, the brick wall wouldn't survive." Kana giggled. To which Hishya responded by pinching her cheeks.

"What is with you sisters and needing to have the last word!" Hishya exclaimed.

"Its fun!" (Akagi x Kana)

"And now they're in stereo!" Hishya groaned. "Can go we go now? Please, before my sanity drops further..."

"Yeah Kana, take your pet for a walk. " Akagi chuckled at her own joke, and Yumi followed suit.

"Can I throw you through some buildings? Just to make myself feel better? Please..." Hishya glared at her.

"Angry pet! Bad!" Himari laughed while doing a spray bottle motion directed at Hishya.

Not amused, and deciding that Himari was an easy target for her frustrations, Hishya stood up and went after the girl, and chasing her around the room.

"Wait till I get my hands on you!" She eventually grabbed Himari and pinned her down, ready to start tickling her.

"How do you like that! Unlike the other people in this room, I can punish you without fear!” Hishya cackled.

"No please, anything but the tickles! Kana, save me!" Himari called out for help, but none came. "Nooooo."

{I've been forsaken!} (Himari)

Hishya then proceeded to tickle Himari senselessly until she was left limp on the ground.

“Eeeeeeeee.” Himari cried meekly.

"I think Himari might be a good addition to our little group. I can bully her risk-free!" Hishya smiled and looked refreshed. "Now, let's go! The movie won't wait for us, and the longer we stay here the more I wanna bang my head against a wall."

With that, the tormenting of the dragon concluded, for now. Kana went and got dressed, which took a bit longer than Hishya liked, and the two flew off toward Kyoto.

"Those two are funny." Akagi sat on a bench in the garden with Yumi after Alice went with Sakura for story time.

"They get along very well, yes." Yumi agreed. "It's nice to see them happy together like that. The way they play with each other reminds me of how my sister would try to cheer me up when I was the village priestess."

"I wish I could have met her." Akagi's face went dark. She'd always wanted to give Yumi back her family, and the Demon even searched for a way within the game to do so, but always came up with nothing.

"Miji would have loved you." Yumi gave a bitter smile. "She was a bright young girl with more energy than even you could contain. She was much younger than me, and if I have it right, she would have turned ten this year. I really wish I could have shown her this world."

{I imagine she would have treated you like another big sister.} (Yumi)

"I'm sorry, Yumi." Akagi leaned on her. "I have all this power as the Demon Lord, but bringing back those who died in FWO is beyond my power. Especially since..."

{Especially since the NPCs like your sister were technically lines of code.} Was what Akagi wanted to finish with, but she couldn't say that to her.

"You avenged them and brought that disgusting man to justice, and you have no reason to apologize. I know you would bring them all back in a heartbeat if you could." Yumi put her hand over Akagi's. "It's fine, I miss them every day, but I have a new family here in this world. So don't worry about it. As long as I have you, I'll never be alone again."

Akagi gripped Yumi's hand. "And as long as I have you, I'll never be alone either." She continued. "Are you sure it's ok if I just go alone with Kana?" She was referring to the trip this weekend.

"Yes, I'm sure." Yumi giggled. "Go spend time with Kana as her sister. It's not often you get to do that. We can always spend more time together later, but you need to treasure every little moment you can with her. You missed four years of her life, so go make and it up, even just a little."

"Yeah." Akagi laughed as she stared at the moon. "You know. I got a message from the U.S. earlier today. The President wants me to come to the White House for an official meeting."

"That sounds nice." Yumi smiled. "When is it?"

"April 14th. They want me to come and have dinner with the President, and the message said something about addressing the U.N." Akagi sighed and sat up straight. "Never imagined I'd be doing something like that."

{In fact, these past few months have been nothing BUT me doing things I never imagined. Though I don't exactly mind it.} (Akagi)

"If I recall correctly, it won't be much longer after that when you'll officially be made ruler of these lands." Yumi had been in communication with the Japanese government regarding the land transfer. It would be done over the summer and would be a significant international event.

"Yeah. Hopefully, we can focus on turning this sleepy piece of wilderness into a nice home for us and everyone. I know we can handle that, and it might get a bit more lively with some new people moving in." Akagi smiled. "It'll be like my own little city builder, and I want this place to turn into somewhere fun where everyone can be happy." She chuckled at her own comment. "Look at me." She shook her head. "I'm the Demon Lord building the Demon Kingdom, and here I am going on about making people happy. This timeline is quite messed up. But you know what? I don't think I care."

{Living a quiet life with everyone here, that's what I really want.} (Akagi)

"The Demon Kingdom. It's funny, back in my village, hearing that term would have evoked feelings of fear and dread. But now it sounds homey and warm." Yumi leaned on Akagi's shoulder as the two stayed together silently in the garden, enjoying the clear night sky.