The Red Hand

Chapter 151 – What the Training Was For.

Rewinding time to a bit earlier that same day.

Akagi's trip to the United States caused some buzz and gossip among the girls' classmates. Most were wondering what would happen, and there were even some who thought the Demon would announce her takeover of the world during the UN address. Something Naomi and Mika found hilarious, while Kana just groaned in exasperation.

Besides a bit of idle gossip, things had mostly returned to normal, owing largely to Akagi's polite request for civility. Most students were still standoffish towards, and Hito was still a problem once he returned from his suspension, but things were otherwise fine. The week blew by quickly, and it was soon Friday. Akagi's speech to humanity would be on Monday and it was already decided that the students would tune in to watch, which again gave Naomi and Mika ample opportunity to poke fun at Kana.

"So, hows does it feels knowing you will soon be the Princess of all humanity?" Mika laughed as they chatted in the classroom during break.

"Yeah? Will you still associate with us, peons?" Naomi smirked.

"You both do remember I can bend steel now, right?" Kana glared at them. "And I think bones are a bit easier to snap than that."

{Don't tempt me!} (Kana)

"The Princess is violent!" Mika cried as gave an overly dramatic recoil. "Please don't eat me!"

"It's in her blood, Mika." Naomi shrugged. "She can't help but wish to harm us lowly mortals."

"I swear to god, the moment I figure it out, you two are both going on an island in the Pacific!" Kana growled. "Why must you two aggravate me like this? Isn't Onee-chan's teasing enough?!?"

"What are friends for if they don't pick on each other?" (Mika x Naomi)

*Whimper Noises* (Kana)

{Why must people pick on me...} (Kana)

"Now, Now." Naomi pat Kana on the head. "No need to get all sulky. The Demon Princess shouldn't show such a sad sight to her subjects."

"I wouldn't need to be if you two would just..." Kana sighed. "Never mind. At this point, I should just accept my fate."

"She's learning." Mika grinned.

"Yeah, and I guess in order to be fair I should start picking on you two in return." Kana switched to an evil smile. "Perhaps Scary Kana should be my new default? I think that sounds like fun."

Mika and Naomi felt a chill run down their spins. "Wait, hold on! There's no need for something that drastic!" Mika exclaimed, waving her hands around in protest.

"Yeah! Just think about all the good times we had together!" Naomi gave a dry laugh.

"Oh?" Kana grinned. "But won't it be much more fun this way?" She was genuinely contemplating going full Scary Kana.

"I want to live!" Mika cried out.

"I take it all back! Just don't let the sadistic Kana out of the box!" Naomi started sweating. "Once that happens we're all doomed."

"Pfffff." Kana started laughing. "Man, the look on your faces was priceless! Good to know that all it takes is a few words and you turn tail real quick!"

{Onee-chan was right, seeing people freak out like that really is fun!} (Kana)

"Because it's a very real and scary threat!" Mika said. "You might not be as bad as Akagi, but you can get close enough!"

{We don't call it SCARY KANA for nothing!} (Mika)

"Yeah, I remember the story about the monkey bars." Naomi sighed.

"Hey! He deserved that for picking on Kaori." Kana puffed out her cheeks.

"But did you really have to break his arm?" Mika squinted her eyes in disapproval. "Sounds like overkill."

"It made him stop, didn't it?" Kana smiled.

"The world's doomed if Kana starts seeing violence as the solution to every problem..." Naomi put her head in her hands.

"Our only hope will be the clown army." Mika laughed.

"I will exterminate them all!" Kana's eyes became sharp. "They will suffer my righteous fury!"

"And at that moment, every poor clown across the world got a chill down their spine as they felt danger." Naomi said sarcastically.

"They'd better!" Kana said. "If they wish to live, they should give up on being one of those horrible creatures."

"We really need to get Akagi to transform into one for a bit. That will be the only way to save the world from the Princess's wrath!" Mika said.

"And if she does, I will find a way to destroy her! Demon Lord, or not!" Kana crossed her arms confidently.

"Just imagine the alternate timeline where Akagi chose the clown class in FWO, and Kana had to handle that." Naomi chuckled. "I wonder what she'd do?"

"It would be tough, but I'd make sure her death was swift and painless." Kana nodded. "I'm sure she'd understand."

Mika and Naomi just rolled their eyes.

"Moving away from the clown topic, have either of you noticed that Hito hasn't been in class since Monday?" Mika said.

"Now that you mention it." Naomi looked at his empty seat. "Kana, what did you do?" She said with a smirk.

Kana flicked her friend on the forehead. "I didn't do anything. Nor has Onee-chan. So, no, we did not bump him off."

{Though I can't blame them for being suspicious.} (Kana)

"I think I saw him walking somewhere the other day." Mika thought for a moment. "He was super pale."

"Maybe he's sick?" Kana said. "There has been a flu going around." She enjoyed a boosted immune system from her new Demon power and thus didn't get sick often.

"Maybe." Naomi shrugged. "But he was never one to miss, even if he got sick." Hito was generally one of the better-performing students in the class.

{Maybe he'll just never come back.} Kana thought to herself.

*BZZZT*

"Time for gym." Kana said. "I think we're outside for track today, right? Since it's warm out."

"Yeah, it's actually quite nice today." Mika smiled as she got up.

"Still too cold for me, and Momo is refusing to teach me that warming spell yet..." Naomi growled.

"Of course, that is the first thing you want magic for." Kana rolled her eyes.

"Unlike you two idiots, I actually feel the cold!" Naomi bit back as she grabbed her bag.

"Hey! I still feel cold!" Mika said.

"You spend time cuddled with two Yuki-Onna. By this point, your idea of cold is skewed completely!" Naomi exclaimed.

The three continued their conversation as they made their way to the changing rooms. Kana's magic could be easily toggled now, so she was allowed back into some of the competitive activities during gym. Though, the teachers were still wary of her hurting another student and reminded her to tone things down where possible.

As Kana mentioned, Gym was outside today, and the cool spring air was perfect for running laps around the track. Thanks to her training, and a bit of magic, Kana was easily able to beat out everyone else. While Mika and Naomi found themselves second and third behind her. Even this early in their development, their magical ability meant their bodies were much stronger than their peers.

Once they'd finished, they moved off to the side, waiting for the next activity.

"Man, that was so easy!" Mika cheered.

"Yeah, you were always dead last in sports stuff." Naomi laughed. She was usually pretty fit due to her place on the basketball team. "Nice to see the couch potato has gotten in shape."

"I wouldn't say in shape, more like using magic power to make things easier." Kana said. "But to be honest, we're no better." Though technically, Mika and Naomi were experiencing body improvement due to the magic flowing in them, rather than actively using it.

"We should enter the Olympics," Mika said. "We'd get all the gold medals!"

"I think magic might be a banned substance, Mika." Naomi sighed.

"Not yet!" Mika smiled. "We just have to get in before they realize we have it, win, then retire with our fame!"

"Sad part is, that would probably work." Kana laughed.

The three kept talking for a bit more before a scream interrupted them.

"What was that?" Kana went on alert and saw what looked like one student biting another. "What the hell?!?"

The three girls and the teacher rushed over to the grisly sight of one of the girls in the class having her neck chomped by a young man.

"What's going on?!?" The teacher cried out. She tried to pull them apart but was thrown back by the boy. In that brief moment, the girls caught a glimpse of the young man's face.

"I-is that? H-Hito?" Kana stammered.

"Why is he attacking her?!?" Mika cried out.

"We need to do something!" Naomi said as the girl cried out for help.

"P-please, someone..." The girl went limp as Hito dropped her to the ground, her blood pooling around her.

"Ka-na!" Hito was stark white, even more so than Akagi, and his veins were visible on his face. His eyes had become red, and you could see two fangs protruding from his mouth.

{W-wha?} (Kana)

"Ka-na!" He yelled out, sticking out his hand and causing his nails to length into sharp blades. "Ka-na!"

He leapt at the girls, barely missing Kana, who jumped out of the way.

"Stop this, Hito!" Kana yelled. "What the hell are you doing?!?"

"Ka-na!" He didn't respond, only speaking her name as he tried to slash her.

"Naomi! You need to call Akagi!" Mika said. "We need her to get here and handle this!" She started to panic.

"A-ka-gi..." Hito stopped attacking Kana and turned towards Mika. Something about her name set him off.

"A-ka-gi!" He screamed as he ran towards her, going down on all fours, like an animal.

Mika screamed as Hito leaped towards her.

{Damnit, no!} Kana activated her magic, she still needed training, but it would have to do. She moved as fast as she could, summoning Himari and getting between Hito and Mika, blocking his claws with her blade.

"Get back! Call Onee-chan. I'll hold him off!" Kana said to her friends.

"Ka-na! A-ka-gi!" Hito put more power into his arms, causing Kana to be pushed back a bit.

Mika and Naomi moved back, trying not to panic. Naomi opened her AR device and called Akagi, but it would take a bit before she arrived.

{This isn't good. Himari, can we deal with him?} (Kana)

{Probably, but its risky to just try delay rather than destroy him.  Holding back against him will be hard, and it might get you hurt.} (Himari)

"Ka-na!" Hito screamed as he put more power into his attack, causing Kana to fall backward onto the ground "Ka-na!" He went in to slash her but was hit with a rock thrown by Mika.

"Leave her alone!" Mika yelled.

"Rawrhg!" Hito growled as he lunged forwards at Mika. There was no room to get in between the two, and Kana made a snap decision.

{Himari, full power!} She cried out in her mind asking her partner for everything, to which Himari obliged.

{I'm sorry, Hito.} Kana apologized in her mind as she rocketed forward, faster than she'd ever moved, and dove Himari straight into Hito's back. Sending the blade straight through his heart as the two tumbled onto the asphalt

"Ka-na!" Hito cried out as his blood ran across the ground, he squirmed and twitched, reaching out towards Mika. But before her could do anything, he died.

Kana slowly stood up, her gym cloths were covered in dark red blood, and Himari was similarly stained red. The entire world seemed to go silent as she stared into the distance as she contemplated what she just did. What seemed like an eternity in her mind was only interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.

"na... Kana!" She was shaken by Akagi, who just arrived.

"Onee-chan." Kana turned to look at her sister. "I- I killed him. I-" she heaved forward as she puked on the ground.