The Red Hand

Chapter 152 – A State of Shock.

Kana heaved up everything in her stomach as the full weight of what she just did crashed down on her. Among everyone else present, there was a general sense of shock over these sudden events. Mika was mortified by what just happened and she felt guilty that Kana had to kill Hito to protect her, and Naomi was, while shocked, less impacted than most of the others. The other students were left speechless and there were many who thought this was some kind of sick prank, as they never expected Hito to just start attacking people, let alone witness Kana kill him.

The gym teacher freaked out as she watched helplessly from the sidelines, and it took her a solid few minutes to process things before she leapt into action.

Unfortunately for Kana, Akagi was just a moment too late in her arrival, and the Demon was angry at herself for not being faster in teleporting back from the U.S. As soon as she arrived and witnessed Kana drive her blade through Hito's chest, she rushed to her side and comforted her. Akagi understood what her sister was going through. After all, killing someone for the first time was not a pleasant experience for most, even if done for a good reason.

After she grabbed onto Kana, Akagi yelled to the teacher, telling her to call the police while she called Kana's parents. This was going to be a not-so-fun day and while she hated Shima and Taichi, she figured they were going to be needed to comfort the shocked girl.

Seeing Kana like this made Himari felt guilty since, while she was created to kill, she didn't like seeing her friend this upset. Figuring it would be for the best, she disappeared back inside Kana so the blood-stained blade wouldn't stick around.

"It's alright, Kana. It's alright." Akagi squeezed her. "Breathe. You did the right thing. You did the right thing." She rocked her sister in her arms. "It's gonna be ok." She looked at Mika and Naomi. "What the fuck happened?!?" She was pissed.

Naomi, nervously, spoke up. "W-we were outside for gym, and H-Hito he... he showed up like that." She couldn't bare to look at the body. "He bit one of the girls from our class, and then attacked Kana. When he went for Mika, Kana killed him to save her."

Akagi looked down at the body.

{What the fuck? He's a thrall? Why is he a thrall?!?} Akagi knew there was only one way to make someone into a thrall like this. {I swear to god vampy, if this was you you're gonna wish you'd kept your fangs to yourself.}

Saving the blame game for later, Akagi turned back to Naomi. "Naomi, take my phone and call her parents. and... I'll talk to them... Kana's gonna need them here for this." Akagi sighed as she threw Naomi her phone.

{Well Shima, you were right. Being around me did cause Kana to kill someone. Great...} (Akagi)

The other students either fell over in shock, started puking or ran away screaming as Akagi held onto the sobbing Kana. The Demon might not care about taking people's lives, but she never wanted Kana to experience something like this.

{Whoever is responsible for this, I'm going to find you and when I do... You're gonna wish I hadn't!} (Akagi)

The teacher quickly called for emergency services, and Akagi spoke to Shima and Taichi, who were naturally furious at what just happened. Though they each swiftly left their jobs, as expected. Minutes later, police arrived on scene and tried to understand what just happened. Akagi was still in protective mode and wouldn't let them harass her sister, who was still in shock. This left Naomi and Mika to explain what happened. At first, the police didn't believe them and their story about being attacked, but an examination of the body and some footage taken by another student quickly dispelled their doubts. They wanted to take Kana down to the station house along with the girls for questioning, something Akagi resisted, but Kana overruled her by agreeing to go. Shima and Taichi were on their way, rushing over from work, but were subsequently redirected to the police station. At first, the police didn't want the Demon coming with, but Akagi told the officers in no uncertain terms that if they refused to bring her along, she would add their bodies to the pile.

Not wanting to die, they agreed, and Kana and the girls were taken to the police station. Before leaving, Akagi took a few pictures of Hito's body before the EMS team came to collect it. Once she was finished, she and the girls got in the police car and headed off. The drive itself was quiet and no one spoke, not even Akagi, as she held onto Kana, who was still shaking. Upon their arrival at the station, Tachi and Shima were already waiting in the lobby, and as one can expect, the look they gave Akagi was nasty. Mika's parents were also there and gave her a big hug. This would mark the third time she'd nearly died in one year, and they complained to her that she needed to stop scaring them like this. Once things settled down, Kana was taken in the back for a statement. She wouldn't be in trouble since this was self-defense, but the police still had procedures to follow. Though, even if the police tried to charge her with anything, Akagi would never permit such a thing and they knew that.

Akagi, surprisingly, did not go back with her sister, as she figured that her presence would be little more than a distraction and hindrance. Thus, the Demon told Shima and Taichi that they as Kana's parents they should be with her in this stressful moment, a statement that shocked them, but they swiftly agreed and went back with her, something that pleased Kana greatly. Though despite Kana's outward sturdiness, Akagi could tell her sister's mind was still spinning from the ordeal.

Once they were taken into the back, Akagi stood in front of one of the large windows in the waiting area and let out a massive sigh.

"What a fucking mess." Akagi pulled out her phone and dialed Mixu.

*RING* *RING*

"I have a bad feeling about this phone call... You don't exactly do social calls with me." Mixu groaned.

"Well yeah, that's because if you're responsible for this, you're joining Armalthy in the happy farm." Akagi growled.

"Woah! Woah! Hold on!" Mixu exclaimed. "I haven't done anything!"

"Oh really? So you wanna explain why the fuck a vampire thrall just killed one of my sister's classmates and nearly killed her and her friends?!?" Akagi yelled. "Someone turned the kid into a thrall, and you are the only vampire I know of Mixu!"

{I will be in Tokyo faster than you can blink if you did this vampy! Even if it was unintentional there will be punishment!} (Akagi)

"I never did that! I've never done anything like your describing!" Mixu denied changing someone into a thrall. "I've been banned from pulling that shit by the government! And I sure as hell wouldn't loose someone anywhere near you or your sister. I'm not stupid, nor do I want to get eaten or worse."

{I've explicitly stated my desire NOT to be made into Demon food. I sure as hell wouldn't go doing something reckless like setting a thrall loose in Kyoto!} (Mixu)

"Well, either way. Get your ass to Kyoto. Now!" Akagi said. "You're going to help me figure this out because either you fucked up, or we've got a bigger problem."

{If it wasn't Mixu, then that means we've got another vampire on the loose. A not-so-fun prospect.} (Akagi)

"Ok, I'll come after wo-" Akagi cut her off.

"I said NOW!" Akagi screamed, her voice rattling the windows. "I don't give a fuck about the RRT or your job. What's worse, Mixu, pissing me off? Or leaving your job for the day?"

"I'll take the fastest train, but it will still be a few hours..." Mixu said weakly.

"Move it." Akagi said as she hung up. Granted Akagi could send Yumi to pick her up, but she wanted some time before Mixu arrived to settle things.

Akagi took a deep breath to calm down. A few minutes later, she turned to Mika and Naomi who'd come back from giving separate statements. "Are you two ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Naomi said.

"Yeah." Mika nodded. "But this is my fault..."

"No, it's not." Akagi shook her head. "Kana killed him to protect you. If anyone is at fault, it's whoever turned him into a thrall and set him loose."

"But still..." Mika had tears in her eyes. "Kana had to kill someone to protect me!"

{I-I...} (Mika)

"If you really feel bad, Mika. Then get strong enough to make sure that if there is a next time, that you can protect yourself." Akagi sighed. "Look, I'm not the best for emotional support on this issue, since I see nothing wrong with what Kana did, so my advice might not be the best."

Mika nodded. "I just can't believe that happened! What happened to Hito?!?" Why did he do something like that?!?”

{Whatever happened, he definitely didn't look human anymore.} (Naomi)

"Well I can at least answer part of that question. First of all, he was turned into a vampire thrall." Akagi said. "What Kana killed wasn't even a person, and is technically more like a husk with some vague memories of his time as a human. So calling him Hito isn't really accurate."

"A vampire thrall?!?" (Mika x Naomi)

"Yes, and since I know of only one vampire. I've called her here to figure this out." Akagi said.

"That lady from the RRT? I think her name was Mixu, right?" Naomi asked. "Did she do it?"

"She told me no,  and frankly, I know Mixu well enough to say she wouldn't be stupid enough to pull something like this." Akagi shook her head. "Which then leads to a bigger problem. If it wasn't Mixu, who was it?"

{No other returnee was a vampire, and there were no similar abilities in other classes. Unless a native vampire just showed up out of the blue, I've got no idea what's going on.} (Akagi)

Akagi decided to ring up Chloe and told her to have her team drop nonessential tasks and start hunting for a vampire or something similar in Kyoto. Whoever did this, she'd find them and figure out what was going on. The Demon also instructed them not to engage said creature/person if they found it/them and were to alert Akagi immediately of any new information.

“Were either of you bitten?” Akagi asked the two girls. Thrall bites came with risks of turning into a thrall, so she wanted to make sure. If they were, she could easily administer medicine to counteract the process.

“No he didn't get close enough to me. Kana stopped him before he ever got a chance to touch me.” Mika said weakly.

“Same, no bites. Though the girl, Misha, that he first bit is probably already dead.” Naomi sighed. She didn't know the girl too well, but still felt bad.

“Ok well, that's still a problem. Even if she died, she could still turn and that's its own problem.” Akagi groaned.

“Wait really?” Naomi was surprised.

“Yeah, though don't get your hopes up of her coming back as a vampire.” Akagi shook her head. “Thrall bites can only turn you into another thrall. So if she came back, it would just be as a mindless slave.”

“Can you revive her?!?” Mika asked. “You've got all that power! Surely raising the dead is possible!”

{If anyone can do that, Akagi could! Right?} (Mika)

“It is possible to resurrect someone if they've only recently died by healing their body and reattaching their soul.” Akagi replied.

“Then please do that!” Mika cried out. “She didn't deserve to die!”

“I mean. I can try, but since I've never done it before I can't guarantee anything.” Akagi shrugged.

{Though it would make a great way to test my power. Her soul should still be lingering near the spot she died earlier, and her body has likely been taken to the morgue. Kana will probably be in the back for a bit, so I'll go grab that girl's soul and do the work later to put her back together.} (Akagi)

“You two wait here, I'm going to grab that girl's soul and I'll be back.” Akagi snapped her fingers and teleported back to the school yard. There was caution tape around the area where the attack happened, and neither body was still in the field.

“There it is.” Akagi walked over, ducking under the crossing tape and slipping past the police officers who couldn't see her. “Looks like its still here, good.” Akagi grabbed the girl's soul and held in in front of her. “I wonder how long it takes until they disappear back into the cycle? Questions for later.”

{I wonder if I can communicate with the girl while she's like this?} Akagi thought for a moment, and channeled some power into her telepathy ability.

{Hello! Can you hear me?} Akagi tried reaching out. {Yo! Anyone home?}

{Who's there?!?} A frightened voice replied. {What's going on?!? Where am I?!? Why is it so dark and cold?}

{Ah good, I can talk to you while you're like this.} (Akagi)

{What do you mean?!? Where am I? Who are you?!?} (Misha)

{Me? I'm just your friendly neighborhood Demon Lord.} Akagi laughed.

{Demon Lord?!? Wait you mean Kana's sister?!?} (Misha)

{The one and only!} (Akagi)

{Ok, but what happened? The last thing I remember is... is... Hito...} (Misha)

{So the bad news is. You died.} (Akagi)

{I DIED?!?} Misha was shocked.

{Yup, dead.} (Akagi)

{…} Misha went silent.

{Now, now. Don't get all pouty. See the good news is that Mika asked me to go and bring you back, so that's why I'm here.} Akagi tried to comfort her.

{You can bring me back? I... Mika asked for that?} (Misha)

{Yeah, or at least I should be able to.} Akagi explained her plan.

{I-I see. Well, not like I have much a choice, I don't exactly want to stay dead. I can't just leave mom and dad like that, and its really scary in here...} (Misha)

{We'll go to your body later, I'm sure your parents are already at the morgue to claim it.} (Akagi)

{Can't we go now?} (Misha)

{I need to deal with Kana first. She's not taking things very well.} Akagi explained what happened.

{K-Kana did that? She killed him?} (Misha)

{Yeah, not exactly what I wanted her to have to do, but it was to protect Mika, so it was the right thing to do.} (Akagi)

{I just can't believe all this is happening... Its so cold in here, and it feels awful... please hurry.} (Misha)

{I'll give you a bit of warmth then.} Akagi channeled at bit of power into Misha's soul to calm her down.

{W-what is this? I feel warm? And its like... its like I'm being hugged.} (Misha)

“Don't worry kid, everything will be fine.” Akagi sighed as she tucked away Misha's soul into her shadow. It wouldn't exactly be a fun place for her to stay, but it was probably a better idea than placing her in inventory.

Once she'd finished collecting Misha's soul, Akagi returned back to the police station where she explained that she'd recovered Misha and would attempt to revive her later. Both girls were thrilled to hear that she'd be saved, though Akagi cautioned them not to get their hopes up, as she'd never done something like this before. After around thirty minutes of waiting, Kana, Shima, and Taichi emerged from the back room.

"Are you alright?" Akagi asked her sister.

"Y-yeah." Kana was still shaken. "I-I just need time to process everything."

"You should come home with us." Taichi said as he placed his arms on Kana's shoulder. "This is all that monster's fault!" He pointed at Akagi.

"Really?" Akagi sighed. "You're going to just jump to pointing fingers in the middle of all this? Talk about tacky."

"It's your fault all this happened!" Taichi said. "You forced these strange powers on Kana. You made her a killer!"

"It was those powers that kept her alive, Taichi." Akagi growled. "And in case you forgot, that idiot Hito was the one who started all this. Thrall or not, he went for Mika, and Kana was forced to make a decision. She could either stand and watch her friend get torn apart or stop him!" She got in Taichi's face. "If your so displeased with what Kana did, then please go over there and tell Mika's parents that you wish their daughter was dead just so Kana could keep blood off her hands. I'm sure that will go real fucking well!" Akagi couldn't be sure the shadow barrier would have completely protected the girls against Hito in his thrall form. They probably would have been ok, but it was still risky. "I wish I would have been faster so that it could have been me who killed him. Sorry that I was on the other side of the planet sleeping when the phone rang!"

"Please stop!" Kana yelled, causing the room to go silent. "Just stop... No more yelling. Please"

“Kana, understand that your father and I-” Shima tried to speak, but was cut off.

"Be quiet for a minute mom.” Kana took a deep breath. “This is not Onee-chan's fault." She looked at her Dad. "So don't go blaming her and starting a fight with her over this!" She paused for a moment before continuing. "I made the decision to kill Hito using Himari. I knew what might happen when I drew the blade and I chose to save Mika rather than let Hito harm her." She turned to look at Akagi. "And you don't need to take everything on yourself! I know you would have preferred to have been the one who killed him, but you weren't. I had to. I wanted to be able to protect myself and those I care about. It's why I had the ninja train me and why Himari practiced with me."

{I'd hoped that I wouldn't have to actually use any of those things though...} (Kana)

"Kana..." Shima put her hand on her shoulder. "We just want what's best for you."

"I don't want to argue with you, and I don't want to fight. Right now, I just don't want to think of anything." She shook her head. "Mika, can I stay at your place tonight, please?"

"Uhhh." Mika was a bit nervous.

"Sure she can." Shinobu said. "Your welcome to stay as long as you want."

"I just need some space." Kana looked at Akagi. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah..." Akagi was a bit sad, but agreed.

{She wants to make sure Mika is ok. That's definitely a part of it, so I understand. I just hope she isn't really upset with me over this, after all. I did give her these powers, and knowing how things go. Whoever did this might have been connected to me in some way.} (Akagi)

"Can I come over too?" Naomi said. She was worried about her two friends.

"That would be great." Shinobu smiled.

Akagi hugged her sister and told her she'd have Yumi drop off her things at Mika's house later that evening. She figured letting the girls have a bit of time together would help them to heal. Though she suspected that Kana was putting on a front so that Mika wouldn't feel worse about what happened.

{Your strong Kana, but don't hold it all in forever. That's not good for you. I can attest to that myself.} (Akagi)

Shima and Taichi tried to protest and insisted that Kana come with them, but Kana's glare caused them to back off. After a bit, the three girls left, with Mika's parents leaving Akagi, Shima, and Taichi standing in the police station's lobby.

"I knew you'd make Kana kill." Shima said.

"And here it is." Akagi sighed. "I knew you'd say that."

{I didn't need my processing ability to see this one coming.} (Akagi)

"Being around you has been nothing but trouble for her! You must know that!" Shima exclaimed. "From school issues and harassment to now this! She's had her life targeted twice! All because of you and your powers and your attitude! Please tell her to go home! That way she won't be involved with your nonsense anymore. If you really cared for Kana, you'd keep her away from you!"

{Why are you so insistent on keeping her by your side and pretending to be her sister? Do you really intend to keep her from us? Is this your attempt at payback? Is it because you wish to do something to Kana later? I can't understand what you want Rishia!} (Shima)

"That's a bunch of bullshit, and you know it," Akagi growled. "Send her away? Keep her at a distance? What would that do besides trample on her feelings and place her at more risk?" Akagi continued. "I will not deny that my actions and attitude have caused her some trouble, but she's no better with you than staying with me! Besides, she can leave whenever she wants! I've told her that countless times, so don't act like I'm holding her hostage for my own needs!"

{Sure, if Kana went back to them. I'd be sad, but I wouldn't force her to stay with me against her will!} (Akagi)

"She's just confused." Taichi said. "Kana doesn't understand what needs to be done or what is truly best for her. For whatever reason, she's been obsessed with you since you were both children. She's blinded by her feelings for you and her belief that you're her sister means that she can't make an objective decision on what's best for her."

"So we should just impose our will on her?!? Take away all her agency?!?" Akagi got mad. "FUCK THAT!" she screamed. "Even if she's got rose-tinted glasses for me. IT'S. STILL. HER. CHOICE!" Akagi continued. "It might be the wrong choice, it might not be the best decision, but it's hers to make! Don't you dare try taking that away from her! I'll kill you both where you stand before I allow you to dictate her life!"

The two took a step back, as Akagi began giving off heavy pressure. "You have no right to act like parents or tell anyone what to do. Not after everything you've done." Akagi grabbed Shima by the collar. "Let me spell this out for you two since you're apparently too dense to understand." She took a deep breath. "I WANT TO KILL YOU. I WANT TO MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID TO ME. BUT I'VE HELD BACK SOLELY BECAUSE OF KANA. BUT GO AHEAD, KEEP PUSHING ME! MY LOVE FOR MY SISTER IS VAST, BUT IT WILL EVENTUALLY REACH A POINT WHERE I'D RATHER BEG FOR HER FORGIVENESS THAN LET YOU TWO LIVE A MOMENT LONGER!" Akagi let go of Shima, causing her to stumble backward and fall on the floor.

"Now then. I've got better things to do than deal with you two and if I stick around any longer, the cops are gonna have two more bodies to clean up." She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a puff of smoke.