The Red Hand

Chapter 147 – The Demon Lord Meets The President.

After a long and, frankly, boring flight Akagi arrived at Andrews Airforce Base in D.C. Yumi and Mizumi were a little tired from jet lag but were mostly fine as Akagi had them sleep for the majority of the flight. Once they arrived, Mizumi assumed her adult form, and Yumi changed into her formal wear. Akagi decided against changing into Demon Lord mode just yet as she would save that for the UN.

"What? No massive procession and fanfare?" Akagi laughed as they descended the steps out of the plane." There were only a few vehicles in the motorcade, and the entire runway was empty.

"We figured it best to keep people away." Nariyuki sighed. "There's already enough unrest and unease about you coming here, and chancing any incidents or issues was determined not to be worth it."

Akagi shrugged. "Whatever, not like I care."

"It would be a very strange sight if there were adoring crowds waving to the Demon Lord as she entered their country." Mizumi laughed.

{Considering what she is, welcoming her with open arms like this is already strange enough.} (Mizumi)

The four of them entered the large black SUV motorcade and began the trip from the Air Force base to the White House. Along the route was a crowd of people, and there was a great deal of energy. Opinions on Akagi were divisive, to say the least. Sure, she'd avenged the Americans who died in Yokosuka, but the awesome power she'd displayed taking down Libra had terrified many.

"I don't need to understand English to understand what those people are saying out there." Akagi laughed as the crowed lining the road screamed.

Nariyuki sighed. "Public opinion is split, with many believing you to be some sort of monster. While others are either grateful for your actions or, at the very least, they see you as a curiosity."

"Well, I am a monster. So those who believe so are entirely correct." Akagi smirked. "As for the rest, I suppose that's fine. I enjoy being feared by these people. It tickles something deep within me." She chuckled.

{After all, this is just a game anyway. Visiting the President and playing politics. It's all quite amusing, though, in the end, it's nothing more than a way to entertain myself.} (Akagi)

As they drove through the suburbs and into D.C. proper, Mizumi became entranced by the sight of such a large urban area.

"I've never seen such a massive city. Even the Human and Elven Capitals in our old world pale in comparison to this." Mizumi watched out the window with a bit of childlike awe.

"Oh yeah, that's right, you've never really been down to Kyoto." Akagi had mostly kept Mizumi at the estate. "Well, as Yumi can attest, D.C. is small potatoes compared to Tokyo."

"Yeah, it was dizzyingly large at first. I think I read that around twenty million people live there." Yumi commented.

"Twenty million!" Mizumi exclaimed. "That's insane! I think that might be more than the entire population of the Western continent!"

"Well, considering this world's population hovers at around ten billion, even that massive number is quite small compared to the overall number of people on Earth." Akagi said.

"B-billion?!?" Mizumi was stunned. "Do you people have nothing better to do than make children?!?" She couldn't believe that massive number was real.

"Funny enough, that metric is falling rapidly." Akagi laughed. "In most nations, people don't have many children. Japan is especially notorious on that front."

"Even still!" Mizumi was still shocked. "I always joked that humans replicated too fast, but this is far beyond anything I ever imagined."

{Instead of the idiom breed like rats, we should probably say breed like humans!} (Mizumi)

"Yeah, and that massive number happened despite over 200 million people being killed during the 20th century to either war or ideological purging." Akagi laughed.

{Not to mention the countless other millions of people who died from civil wars, unrest and other things. Plus then you add on top of that the human death total from the first half of the 21^st century and you've got a crazy number of people who died.} (Akagi)

"What the hell is wrong with humans?!?" Mizumi was even more shocked. "So you must make more people only to kill even larger numbers?!?"

{That's crazy!} (Mizumi)

"Human history is covered in blood." Nariyuki sighed. "Warfare and conflict are what's kept humanity moving forward for its entire existence. We've gotten better since the two massive wars last century, but there's still conflict."

"Well, also, the fact remains that everyone knows the next massive war means the death of all humanity. So I'd say it's less a lack of desire for war and more of the realization that ruling over an empty planet is pointless." Akagi chuckled. "Trust me, without nukes, WWIII would have happened by now."

"You people are nuts..." Mizumi sighed. "No wonder the Demon Lord was spawned from your kind! You're already bloodthirsty enough anyway." Suddenly she had a realization. "Wait, Vikes was also human! So does that mean humans are more likely to be Demon Lords?"

"I doubt that. It was probably just a coincidence." Akagi shrugged. "Also, don't go assuming that it's only humans who kill each other like this. If you looked at your world's history, you'd definately find plenty of bloodshed that didn't involve them. So it's wrong to say that only humanity is predisposed to be bloodthirsty."

"I guess..." Mizumi shook her head. "Doesn't really matter now, does it? My people need to parley with humans if we're going to survive."

They continued various discussions on the drive to the White House, arriving a few dozen minutes later. The crowd directly outside was massive and held up signs and banners that Nariyuki translated. Some were positive, while others were... not so much. The motorcade went within the White House grounds and pulled up in front of the main entrance.

"Please wait here for a moment." Nariyuki said as she got out and started speaking with a member of the White House staff. A few minutes went by before President Rosewood came through the main entrance and Nariyuki opened the vehicle door. "Alright, we're ready." She motioned for the three of them to get out.

They'd actually arrived right on schedule, which ironically caused some issues since President Rosewood was in a meeting right before that ran longer than expected. Getting out of the vehicle, Akagi took a moment to look around. The White House was something commonly seen in media or on T.V. But she'd never imagined she'd get to see it in person, let alone be invited by a sitting President.

There wasn't much fanfare around her arrival, no music or bands or anything of the sort, though you could hear some screaming from the crowd beyond the White House perimeter. It was actually quite mundane when you think about it, but Akagi preferred that in this case. The three girls and Nariyuki walked up to President Roswood, who stood in front of the main entrance with a smile.

"It's good to finally meet you in person." President Rosewood extended her hand, which Akagi shook.

"Likewise." Akagi smiled. It was an interesting sight, as she stood over six feet tall Akagi was a bit taller than Rosewood. "I never thought you'd actually invite someone like me all the way over here."

"Yes, well, it's quite unprecedented. Even if you weren't to be a head of state in the near future, I'd still have wanted to speak with you in person." President Rosewood's expression briefly turned serious. "Our mutual friend has filled me in extensively on exactly who and what you are, hence why I wished to meet you in person." She was subtly referring to Hikari. "But enough standing out here." She motioned for Akagi to follow her inside. "We've got a bit of time before the press conference, so I'd like to go over a few things if you don't mind."

"Fine by me." Akagi looked back to Yumi and Mizumi, who nodded. With everything all set, the three of them followed President Rosewood into the White House and up into the Oval Office, where they had a small discussion about the schedule and a few other events that would take place during her week's stay. Akagi and the girls would be staying in Blair house across the street, though most of their time would be spent attending various events. Mizumi and Yumi were introduced, and it was amusing watching Rosewood attempt to understand exactly what the relationship between the Demon and her bonded soul was. Mizumi was a bit more acquainted with this type of formal political setting and took to it quickly. Once introductions were completed, President Rosewood assured her that she and the United States wanted to form a friendly and cooperative relationship with her people. Hikari also briefly showed up to greet Akagi before returning to her duties.

Around twentyish minutes later, the time for the joint press conference arrived. Heading into a packed briefing room with hundreds of reporters from the United States and around the world, Akagi and President Rosewood stood opposite each other as President Rosewood began to speak. The Demon had been given a small earpiece so that translation could be provided.

The press conference is contained within a spoiler box. It is not required reading, but I wanted to include it anyway as I had fun writing it.

The press questions continued for a while longer. There was a lot of confusion about Akagi, and while she answered many questions. She was purposefully dodging things so as to make her speech to humanity more interesting. After a while, President Rosewood closed down questions, and the two retreated away from the press pool.

"Well, that didn't go as bad as expected, though I guarantee I'm going to get blasted by the media." President Rosewood sighed. "A President going on national television and being truthful about a dire situation is generally not appreciated."

"Oh well." Akagi shrugged. "Better that than dancing around the issue and setting up future problems. Besides, once I speak on Monday, that's when the real fun will begin."

"I wish you'd let my team see what you've prepared first." President Rosewood pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation and exhaustion.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Akagi laughed. "It's more fun if you don't know what's gonna happen."

"Why do I have a feeling your fun is going to cause me a massive headache." President Rosewood groaned.

"Because that's just the kind of person I am." Akagi chuckled. "So what now?"

"We don't have anything else scheduled until dinner this evening. You should head over to Blair House until them. I imagine the other two girls with you would like some rest." President Rosewood looked at Yumi and Mizumi. "I don't envy the two of you. I've known her for a very short amount of time, and I can already tell she's a handful..."

"You get used to it." The two said with monotone voices and glazed-over eyes.

{Oh? I suppose I'll have to instill some discipline in these two. Looks like tickles are back on the menu!} (Akagi)

"I'd say the Secret Service will escort you while you're in D.C. but I have a feeling that would be both pointless and unwanted." President Rosewood said. "Just please don't cause too much trouble." She looked at Nariyuki who just arrived. "If you don't mind, please escort these two to Blair House and I'd like you to act as a translator while there here."

"Of course." Nariyuki nodded with a smile.

{Why me?!?} (Nariyuki)

"I can just grab Hikari instead." Akagi said.

{A way out!} (Nariyuki)

"I would feel better if one of my people were around you at all times." President Rosewood rolled her eyes. "At least that way, someone is around who can diffuse any situations that might emerge."

{Why Rosewood?!? Why?!?} (Nariyuki)

"What? Don't you trust me?" Akagi laughed.

"I've just learned that it's best to have one hand on the wheel at all times." President Rosewood turned to leave. "I've got a few other meetings to attend, and I'll see the three of you at dinner here at six. Enjoy your stay in D.C."

She walked off escorted by Secret Service and other staffers, and Akagi and the girls left the White House. Blair House was only across the street, so they reached it quickly and settled in. There was still a large crowd outside, so Akagi used her ability to make the four of them unseen when they crossed.

Blair House was quite high-end, which made sense as it was the primary location for White House guests to stay. Mizumi was given her own room, while Akagi and Yumi shared one. With nothing else to do in the meantime, they decided to watch the news to gauge the reaction to the press conference. Which was exactly as expected. Coverage was wall to wall about Akagi, who she was, what she wanted, and why she was brought to the White House as a guest. Outlets aired debate segments and other discussions about her, which ranged from neutral to negative.

"Ah yes, a raging dumpster fire. All according to plan." Akagi laughed.

"You're just..." Nariyuki shook her head. "You've got the entire country in an uproar, and you just think it's a joke?"

{This is not funny...} (Nariyuki)

"I mean. It is, isn't it?" Akagi glanced at her. "I mean, at the very least I find this very entertaining."

{This is the kind of fun that I enjoy anyway. Maybe that's just my Demon Lord nature or maybe that's just who I really am as a person. But I don't really care either way.} (Akagi)

"Can I ask you something?" Nariyuki asked with a serious expression.

"Speak freely." Akagi waved her on. "I won't get mad." She could tell by the look on her face that whatever she was going to say wouldn't be kind.

"Is this all just some kind of sick game to you?" Nariyuki asked. "Because I've seen some nasty people over my lifetime, but you... you really take the cake. Whether it was defeating Libra or the press conference, you seem not to take things seriously. Almost as if you either know the outcome or don't particularly care what happens."

{It's like you just want to see what happens and don't even care about the consequences for us normal people!} (Nariyuki)

"Let me answer your question, with a question of my own." Akagi looked at her, the Demon's eyes practically smiled. "How much do you know about me?"

"I know you're some kind of destructive being with power far beyond what we can deal with." Nariyuki sighed. "Though anything specific has been kept from me."

"I see." Akagi turned back towards the T.V. "I'll leave a proper explanation for Monday. But for now, I'll say this. Yes, this is all a game to me." She wrapped her arm around Yumi. "With the kind of power I possess, it would be easy to violently take over the world and impose my will by force. However, not only is that boring, but it is also not what I want to do. Thus, I've limited myself by deciding to play by the rules so to speak. That's why I consider this all a game, though it's one I've already won." Akagi smirked. "I am a being with the ability to flip the proverbial table at any point and shoot the other players. However, rather than do that, I've decided to stay in my seat and play within the rules. Not because I have to, but because I find doing so amusing." Akagi gave an eerie laugh. "And well, even with these self-imposed restrictions, I'm still the master of this game."

"The way you speak, it almost sounds like you're some aloof god..." Nariyuki commented.

{How could someone who was once human even think like this?} (Nariyuki)

"I mean, that's not exactly that far from the truth, honestly." Akagi smiled. "Combining a rational human mind and a Demon Lord's instincts is bound to have some crazy results." Akagi chuckled. "That's what I get for being an existence that shouldn't be possible. Oh well.” She shrugged.” Though, I will say that despite my alien viewpoint on matters, I do try to keep myself in check to a point. While I see this all as nothing more than a game. I am very aware that people's lives and futures are involved. Sometimes I can get a bit carried away with my fun, but I do try to limit myself from causing too much damage where possible." She continued. “I enjoy having fun, not ruining peoples lives and causing needless suffering. Though I will cause such things where necessary or beneficial to my plans.”

{It's hard to explain how I feel to anyone else. Even Yumi struggles to understand my mentality. Hell, it's still confusing and strange to me! Oh well, just another mental quirk to deal with. No sense in crying about it now.} (Akagi)