The Red Hand

Chapter 133.5 – The Hero Meets Her Rival.

While Akagi and Kana were enjoying their trip to Omara, a certain dragon was just waking up and starting her day.

*YAWWWWN* Hishya's head popped out of a massive pile of pillows in her room, each with different designs, patterns, and shapes. This was Hishya's hoard, specifically a pillow hoard. Dragons tended to become obsessed with something and form an inescapable desire to collect endless amounts of that something. As Akagi said, normally that desire is gold or magical objects. But for whatever reason, Hishya's hoard was made of pillows.

"Oh man, what time is it?" She looked opened her AR clock and checked the time. "2 pm?!?" Hishya never slept this late and was surprised.

{It must have been because the pillows were so warm... That new one with the fur was just so fluffy...} (Hishya)

"Oh well, its not like the mall is going to close anytime soon." She pulled herself out of the pillows and slid down them like a slide.

{Note to self, pillow hoard is dangerous. Sleep within at my peril.} Hishya giggled as she sucked the pillows into her inventory. She actually had even more than what was on display, but her bedroom was too small for the true pillow hoard to come out.

"Hrrrgh!" Hishya let out a grunt as she stretched, and her tail wagged around. "Oh? Did I let you out again during my sleep?" She grabbed her scaly tail. This wasn't the first time her dragon features had appeared during the night. "Do you wanna get a bath? Do you?" She began speaking to her tail as if it were a pet.

*FWIP* *FWIP* *FWIP* *FWIP*

The tail moved back and forth, showing its excitement at being cleaned.

"Alright then! Let's go scrub you nice and good!" Hishya laughed at her joke and drew a bath. She cleaned up her tail and made sure to use extra nice soak on it, before flopping back down on her bed in some light clothes.

"Ahh I'm so glad being a fire dragon didn't make it so I don't feel warm baths anymore..." Hishya laid on her bed in bliss.

{Kana went with her sister to check out that Spirit World place. Sounds kinda fun actually, especially since those guys are actually real Yokai.} Hishya thought to herself while she dried off. {I have to admit, I'd like to see it for myself. That Mizumi girl aside, the other Spirits seem like they'd be fun to hang around with.} She still had mixed feelings about the Water Spirit, even after everything she'd been told about her circumstances. While she understood why Mizumi and the other Spirits did what they did, that didn't make Hishya feel any  better. Not to mention that Mizumi's attitude could be a bit grating. 

"Kana's birthday will be soon! So when I'm at the mall today, I should try and find her something she'd like." Hishya sat up.

{But what to get the Demon Princess? Akagi could literally give her anything, so that's going to make things hard.} Hishya thought for a moment. {Perhaps, me? I think she'd enjoy a bit more of our fun.} She laughed at that thought. {Then again, that wouldn't exactly be a birthday-specific present!}

"Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure it out." Hishya leaped off the bed and got dressed. Lewd jokes aside, she wanted to get Kana something that the girl would appreciate.

Not really needing to care about the still chilly weather, Hishya opted for something lighter and more comfortable. Once she was ready to go, she unfurled her wings and took off towards the Tokyo Mall, which had just recently reopened after the events of last fall. Once she arrived, she went inside and began her shopping. She'd originally came to grab a few household items she wanted, as well as a game she wanted to play. Unlike Akagi, she could and did dive into VR, though less than she used to.

{There are a lot more people here than I expected.} Hishya thought as she looked around the mall. Most people seemed to ignore her, but a few could be heard whispering about her.

"Isn't that the monster girl" (Citizen A)

"Yeah, I saw her on the news, apparently she was the one that made that big explosion in Nagoya." (Citizen B)

"She's a dragon, right? Is she gonna eat us?" (Citizen C)

{Just ignore them, Hishya. It's not worth it...} Hishya figured ignoring them was for the best.

Whispers aside, things were mostly normal and uneventful as Hishya proceeded to grab the things she needed. The dragon went to a couple of different places, and bought a variety of household goods before heading toward the final shop she wanted to visit.

"Ok, that was that. Mom needed that... I got dad's medication..." Hishya said to herself as she checked things off a virtual list. "Now to just go to..." Hishya stopped midsentence as she saw three familiar faces sitting in the food court at one of the tables.

{Oh fuck, why is Eris here?!?} Hishya tried to back away, but before she could make any progress, Eris caught sight of her and waved her over.

{Please don't let this turn into a fight...} She knew the former guild leader disliked her, to put it mildly. Hishya may or may not have had a hand in getting her ejected from the Assault Team, and was potentially responsible for some embarrassment the red-headed girl was forced to endure.

Seeing little choice, and not wanting to make a scene, Hishya slowly approached the three girls.

"Funny running into you here, Eris." Hishya said with a wry smile. She hadn't spoken to the girl since they'd gotten back from FWO. "I thought you lived in Sendai, what brings you to Tokyo?"

{Ayame and Ema are here too? That's must mean something is happening, unless they decided to take a family trip together.} Hishya greeted the other two girls.

"Nothing much, we're taking an extended trip to Kyoto and we're laying over in Tokyo for about a week, so we decided to check out the sights." Eris said while sipping her drink. "What about you?"

"J-just some shopping." Hishya replied.

Eris sighed. "Why are you acting like a child who got caught doing something bad? You don't need to act like that, Hishya."

"It's not like we hate you... anymore." Aymae chimed in. "We don't exactly like you, but we're not going to bite your head off. So chill out, as hard as that might be for a fire dragon." She laughed.

"I... ummm.... yeah..." Hishya had apologized to these two and many other members of Shining Blade for her actions years ago, but many didn't accept her apology.

"Though I will say that it's nice to see you act all meek." Eris laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day when the mighty Hero starts acting like an embarrassed child!"

"Yeah, our little dragon here was always a bitch, so it is kinda nice to see her being a bit more down to Earth." Ayame chuckled.

"Did you call me over here just to abuse me?" Hishya sighed. "Because I don't need it, I've got plenty of people who already do that. Thank you very much."

{I've already got two sisters who like to torment me, I don't need more trouble!} (Hishya)

"Ah yes, I imagine Akagi gives you quite a bit of headaches. She always loved pushing people's buttons." Eris said.

"Yeah, and dating her sister only made things worse, not better. I've got her and her sister in stereo..." Hishya groaned. "They both love messing with me! Kana even pulled a stupid joke by passing off a girl I'd never met as our child!"

"Hey, that's what relationships are." Ayame laughed. "You marry the whole family, as they say. Akagi's basically the wicked step-mother in this situation, and trust me, I know a lot about those kinds of people."

"Oh? Is that a dig at my family, Ayame?" Eris flicked her on the head.

"Owchi!" Ayame recoiled in pain. "And yes, it was! Your mother is an Oni! Don't try and deny it! You two have given me enough grief over the years!"

"Now, now!" Ema spoke up. "No fighting!"

"Yeah, listen to your daughter!" Hishya laughed. "She doesn't want to see her mommies fight." The family dynamic here was a bit more concrete than what Akagi, Yumi, and Alice shared. Ayame and Eris were actually married and had been long before FWO. While Ema was a curious case of a slave from FWO that the two had adopted as their child.

"As if she doesn't pour fuel on the fire when she gets the chance!" Eris rolled her eyes. "Our daughter here loves to cause fights, and she even gets her sick kicks when we exchange blows."

"I will neither confirm nor deny my enjoyment such things." Ema turned her nose up.

"Oh? Then I guess we'll just have to punish you!" Eris nodded to Ayame, who nodded back.

Ema got a shiver down her spine. "Wait no..."

{They're gonna tickle me...} (Ema)

"Too late!" (Eris x Ayame)

{I'm getting a feeling of deja vu...} Hishya sighed. This exchange reminded her of Akagi and Kana.

"But anyway, why are you guys heading to Kyoto? It's rare for you to leave Sendai. Are you visiting family?" Hishya asked.

{These two have basically started living in the mountains with Ema. I've heard they even made a base for their guild to train at!} (Hishya)

"No not family. We're actually going to visit your best buddy." Ayame giggled.

"Best... Akagi?!?" Hishya was confused. "What are you going to her for? Please don't tell me you want someone... umm... deleted." Hishya was wary of their intentions.

{I don't exactly think I'm next on the hit list, but we can't be too careful.} (Hishya)

"Yup, we're going to get her to deal with you!" Eris glared at her, causing Hishya to momentarily panic until Eris started laughing.

"Oh, man! The look on your face was priceless!" Eris couldn't control her laughing.

"Yeah it was a oh fuck I'm gonna die face!" Ayame cackled.

"Eris... I swear to god! I will eat you!" Hishya growled. "Don't make jokes like that because we both know it's possible! Akagi is more than capable of killing me!"

{WHY DO PEOPLE ENJOY PICKING ON ME?!?} (Hishya)

"If Hishya ate you, would that be cannibalism? I mean, she used to be human, but is now a dragon. Hmmmm, these are the important questions of our time." Ayame began thinking hard about this.

"Let's not find out, please..." Hishya groaned.

{I don't wanna have to find out what people taste like...} (Hishya)

"As for the real reason. That's a secret." Eris put her finger over her lips. "Can't spoil the fun."

"Well, whatever it is won't be very fun for me." Hishya groaned. "Usually when people go to Akagi, it ends in something crazy happening."

{And if it's these two, it must be combat related. I just hope Akagi doesn't start supeing people's powers up even more than they already are. This world doesn't need the returnees to get even stronger.} (Hishya)

"We're meeting Zephiria in Kyoto, and she'll be joining us too." Ayame said.

"Wait, really?!?" Hishya was shocked to hear that name. "Zeffy dropped off the face of the earth after we got out, and I haven't heard anything about her over these past months." Zephiria was a high-ranking player, and the single best support caster in the entire Assault Team. Hishya and the RRT did try to find her during the Libra crisis, but there was no sign of her anywhere in Japan. Not even her family knew where she went after leaving the hospital.

"Yeah it was a bit surprising to us too when showed up in Sendai. We told her about something Akagi mentioned to us previously, and she was insistent on joining us." Eris answered. "I'm not sure how, but she's gotten even more powerful than before. I could feel the massive increase in mana, and whatever she's been up to these last months has made her a force to be reckoned with."

{As if she wasn't bad enough before, Zeff's now got the mana to back up those crazy spells. I can only imagine what she'd be like as an opponent and how powerful of a teammate she'd be.} (Eris)

"I just hope she won't be causing problems for us..." Hishya was worried about players causing more problems than they already had.

"I don't think you have to worry." Ayame waved off her concern. "Zeff's a good kid, and she seemed more interested in getting stronger for her own curiosity rather than some crazy plans like taking over the world."

{Now that I think about it, Akagi did say something about her once in passing. But I can't recall what it was that she said.} (Hishya)

"I'd like to meet her at least once. It's been a while since we talked." Hishya said.

"I'll let her know when we see her." Eris said.

The girls continued talking for a bit more before Hishya departed, as she wanted to finish up her shopping and head home to make dinner.

"Alright, that's everything on the list. Now just to..." Hishya stopped dead as her eyes became glued to a window display. She zoomed over to it and pressed her face against the glass, behind which was a white pillow sitting in furniture display.

"The Supreme Pillow!" Hishya was practically drooling as she looked at it.

{It. Looks. So. FLUFFY!} She bolted inside the store and politely told the shopkeep that she wanted to purchase the display pillow. She was initially told no since it was a store decoration. But with a bit of persuasion, the dragon was given another pillow for her hoard.

After walking out of the store, Hishya squeezed the pillow tightly.

{I will add this to my collection!} She began to giggle uncontrollably as a few passersby looked at her like she was crazy, with a few parents even shielding their children's eyes.