The Red Hand

Chapter 158 – A Deep Hatred.

Akagi finished her story about her first kill and how she started down the road to becoming an assassin. Kana stayed quiet throughout, as she was both entranced by the tale, and curious to hear her sister out. Alice hadn't heard this story either, and was similarly interested.

“And that about raps it up.” Akagi smiled as she recalled that day. “After that, I went I started taking on other jobs that brought me into conflict with players until eventually I decided to become a dedicated assassin.”

"That was a neat story, Mama!" Alice said. "You should tell us more stories, like the time you dueled those mean guys from the Assault Team on top of the airship! Kana would love to hear that one."

{Oh that was a good time, and Mika would probably love that one.} (Akagi)

Akagi laughed. "Maybe later." That was always one of her favorites.

"That whole series of events with the dwarf man was only a few months after you got trapped, and you were already like that?" Kana broke her silence. "Didn't killing him bother you?"

{They way you spoke about it makes it seem like you never had any hesitation.} (Kana)

"Nope." Akagi shook her head. "I never really thought about it before, but I guess it makes sense that I didn't care. I'm a Demon Lord, it would be strange for me to care about taking people's lives. Looking back, I was always good with morbid things, even as a kid, so I guess that part of my personality bled through the seals from the start." She shrugged.

{It probably explains a few other things, like my ASPD. Demon Lords are aggressive and violent by nature, so it makes sense that kid me would be like that.} (Akagi)

"From there, my career as an assassin would take off, and I'd slowly make a living killing players and NPCs. A few months after this, my infamy reached the point that my first bounty-hunting party of players came for me." Akagi smiled. "That was a fun battle."

{Watching that one girl plummet to her death will never NOT be funny.} (Akagi)

"Hard to believe that one chance encounter sent you down that path." Kana said. "I wonder what would have happened if you'd never met Antenobrech?"

"Who knows, but that single event changed my life for the better. It let me meet so many amazing people and gave me purpose. Before that, I was just wandering aimlessly and doing whatever." Akagi waved her hand lazily. "It took a while, but eventually, it got to the point that I fully engrossed myself in my identity as Akagi." She smiled. "Hell, by the time Hishya finished the game, I'd forgotten my fake name." She laughed.

"You forgot your name?" Kana went wide-eyed. "You never mentioned that!"

{And... fake? I know why you think that way, but I don't really like hearing you say that.} (Kana)

"It wasn't really important, Kana. Besides, Akagi is my real name, not Rishia." Akagi shrugged. "I forgot what I was called on Earth since I'd distanced myself from that life completely." She'd explained the Demon Lord name thing to Kana before.

"Yeah, but still. That's some pretty bad disassociation to actually forget your name." Kana sighed. "Don't tell me you forgot me?"

"No." Akagi shook her head. "I forgot a lot of things, but you were one of the few things that stuck. My pain in the ass little sister isn't something I'd ever forget!" She laughed.

Kana rolled her eyes. "I'm glad I gave you something to remember me by." As she said this, another question came to mind.

"If you were given the choice between staying in the game forever or returning back without all those powers. Say you weren't the Demon Lord, and nobody kept abilities after logging out. Would you have wanted to return?" Kana asked.

"No." Akagi shook her head. "I wouldn't have lasted much longer in this world as Rishia, Kana. I told you earlier, that I killed myself in that dream where I woke up without my powers. It might not have happened quickly, but after a while, I most likely would have ended my life after returning." Akagi sighed. "That life was simply so much better, and returning back to being...” She shook off that thought. “I love you kid. But well, I hate to say this, but you're not enough to keep me around in that situation." It was harsh, but not unexpected. "For all my power and strength, I'm actually pretty weak-minded. I can't handle going back to that loneliness again, and I'm afraid of losing everything that's made me happy. It's why I'm so protective of you and my new family."

{After finally getting the loving family that I've always craved, there's no way in hell that I'd go back.} (Akagi)

"You really were hurting so much more than I realized, huh?" Kana got sad. "I never knew just how bad it was for you. I was aware that you had it rough, but I guess I was too young to understand completely."

{I... I really was blind wasn't I? I knew mom and dad were doing bad things, but I never really understood it, did I?} (Kana)

"Considering Shima and Taichi made most days miserable at best. Yeah..." Akagi gave a dry laugh. "Kana, do you understand why I hate them so much?"

"I know they abused you and treated you like trash, so yeah." Kana nodded. "I understand what they did to you, and it's why I've never tried to get you to reconcile because they don't deserve that."

"Yeah, well. I've been keeping things from you for years." Akagi sighed. "What you saw and heard was only the tip of the iceberg."

{Naomi did tell me to be a bit more honest with Kana about these things, so now's as good a time as ever.} (Akagi)

"What do you mean?" Kana instantly got tense. "What else did they do to you?!?"

Akagi's face went dark. "Well for starters, on more than one occasion, Shima tried to kill me."

"WHAT?!?" Kana stood up, and her yell caused Alice to flinch. "I thought they only beat you that one time?!?"

"What I said was true, your eighth birthday was the first and last time they ever touched me. But they didn't need to beat me, Kana." Akagi sighed. "After your birthday, they never again physically assaulted me, but Shima tried poisoning me at least three times after that day."

"What?!?" Kana was stunned. "When?!?”

{What...} (Kana)

"You remember when I got really sick freshman year? Over that summer?" Akagi was referring to a really bad stomach illness that kept her down for weeks.

"Wasn't that just food poisoning?!?" Kana remembered that incident. Akagi was never taken to the hospital, and it was strange that only she got sick from the food. "Don't tell me..."

{Did Mom...} (Kana)

"Shima and Taichi laced my meal with a type of poison that Miyabi gave them. I got lucky and survived, but it was a close call." Akagi gave a dry laugh.

{Lucky for me, it seems that being the Demon Lord probably gave me a bit tougher of a constitution and helped me survive some of their antics.} (Akagi)

"That's... that's..." Kana couldn't believe it. Well, she could, but hearing that her mother tried to kill Akagi back then was not something that sat well. "Mom..." She slunk back down to her seat.

"Besides attempts on my life, I was routinely abused in other ways. My things were hidden or even destroyed , and one time I was even kicked out of the house during a blizzard." Akagi sighed. "That almost killed me, luckily the neighbor's dog house was heated, and it was conveniently empty and powered on."

"What the fuck?!? When was that?!?" Kana was getting increasingly angry.

{You were made to stay in a DOG HOUSE?!?} (Kana)

"If I recall correctly, you were staying at Aunt Nana's that weekend, Shima got angry at me for something, and Miyabi's egging her on didn't help. Once she threw me out in the literal cold, she locked me out for like two days." Akagi thought back to that time. "I think that was when you were like eleven."

{That wasn't the first time she threw me out of the house in a storm, its a wonder I never developed a fear of thunder and lightning after being locked out during that Typhoon.} (Akagi)

"Is that why you were so sick when I got home?!?" Kana asked. "Mom just told me you caught the flu!"

{She LIED to me?!? About trying to KILL you!} (Kana)

"Nope no flu, it was a combination of hypothermia and frostbite." Akagi laughed. "The flu doesn't make your fingers and toes turn blue. At least, not unless they invented a new strain I've never heard of."

"So that's why she wouldn't let me see you when I got home!" Kana exclaimed. "She told me I'd get sick and kept me away!"

Akagi rolled her eyes. "Kind of hard to catch frostbite. No, Shima just didn't want you seeing me all blue and messed up, since you'd probably freak out and call EMS."

{I sure as hell would have!} (Kana)

"Just to ask. You're not joking, right?" Kana asked. She knew Akagi would tell dark jokes, and this was something right up her alley.

"Not this time, Kana." Akagi shook her head. "Trust me, if you knew half the shit those two did to me, you'd take Himari and cut their heads off right now. There is a reason I hate those two, and it's not as simple as them being garbage parents."

{If they'd just limited themselves to ignoring me or just being general pricks, I could get past it. But this... what they did to me over those years, what they TOOK from me... that's not something that's going to be easy to put out of my mind.} (Akagi)

Kana's knuckles turned white as she tightened her fist. "And yet they had the gall to act like that on Friday!" She slammed down on the table, shaking it. "They acted all sweet and kind to me, yet they did such awful things to you! I thought what I knew was bad, but you're telling me there's more!"

{Just what ELSE is she not telling me?!?} (Kana)

"I'm just grateful that Shima never tried selling me to some human trafficker something." Akagi sighed. "I was honestly expecting them to just ship me to some family's house to be a toy. Since Shima was forced to marry Taichi for his family's influence, I envisioned such an awful future was in store for me."

{That... that was honestly something that kept me up at nights. I'm just glad it never happened, otherwise well... there wouldn't be an Earth right now...} (Akagi)

"Don't tell me they were going to do that?!?" Kana said, barely holding back her urge to scream. The thought of something so disgusting both sickened and angered her.

{If I find out that EITHER of them was going to do something like that...} (Kana)

"I don't think so, since they never did anything that indicated it. Probably because my disappearance would tip you off that something was wrong, and I wouldn't have held my tongue if they tried that. Well, rather than not holding my tongue, the world might have ended in such a situation." Akagi said. "But who knows what they had planned, and the rest of the family was no better, as they were either complicit in Shima's actions or gave their approval. I didn't just hate Miyabi and Junichiro because they attacked Naomi, those two were part and parcel to my abuse."

{And its why I had so much fun taking my sweet time making them suffer like I did.} (Akagi)

"No wonder you hate them..." Kana sighed. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?!?"

{Did she not trust me? Or did she just think it was too much for me?} (Kana)

"Because I wanted you to live a better life, Kana. My original goal was to hit eighteen and then run away." Akagi shrugged. "To be honest with you, I was going to disappear the day of my eighteenth birthday. I had a lot of money saved up from my part-time job, and I was going to take that and flee somewhere else."

"You were going to leave?" Kana looked at her with sadness in her eyes.

"Yeah, I was at my wit's end, Kana. The only reason I didn't leave before that was because of my age, as I couldn't legally run away yet." Akagi sighed. "I knew it would be hard on you, but I hoped that you'd forget me and be happy. Maybe in the future, we would have met again. But that wasn't in my plan." It was a stunning admission. "I'm sorry, but it was too much, Kana. Does that explain why I killed myself in the dream?"

"Now that you've explained all that, yeah..." Kana sighed. "I'm still not happy with it, but I understand now." She looked at her sister. "Those two need to pay for what they did to you." Her eyes were fierce.

"Just leave it alone." Akagi waved the thought away. "It's not worth it, and I have no interest in going after them."

{Trust me... I want to... I want to so bad...} (Akagi)

"Even if I asked you to kill them?" Kana's words caught Akagi off guard.