The Red Hand

Chapter 192  – The Reunion.

At roughly the same time as Akagi's speech to Omara, Yumi sat next to her younger sister in Mimi's clinic. The young girl had passed out due to exhaustion, and the Yuki-Onna assured Yumi that she'd be fine once her body rested and recovered.

"You really should go for a walk or something." Mimi sighed. "Sitting here and staring at her isn't good for you, nor will it make her wake up faster."

{This girl is just as overprotective as our master...} (Mimi)

Yumi's eyes were still red from crying, and she had a small cloth she'd been using to blow her nose. "I know... I know..." Yumi gave a wry smile. "It's just that, I'm afraid that if I take my eyes off her, she'll disappear again..." Visions of Great Fox filled her mind as she recalled the horror of watching him drive his blade through the young girl's chest all those years ago.

{My Lord, you... you really did it... You gave her back to me...} Yumi wasn't angry with Akagi for ignoring her wishes. In fact, she was angry with herself. She knew how hard it was on the Demon to actively deny her wishes, and the Priestess was regretting her words. {I... I need to apologize to her...}

"Fine, just don't go neglecting your sleep." Mimi sighed. "I'll keep an eye on her throughout the night. So you don't need to-" As she spoke, a groan came from the supposedly unconscious girl.

"Miji!" Yumi sat up.

"Calm down!" Mimi forcefully sat Yumi back in her chair. "I know you're eager to talk to her, but don't overwhelm her. She's still weak. Yuzu! Suzu! Kaori! Bring me my equipment and prepare a herbal remedy for her to drink." She called into the other room before moving alongside Miji.

"S-Sister?" Miji slowly opened her eyes.

"I'm here, Miji!" Yumi was increasingly anxious, but a glare from Mimi stopped her from moving.

"Hello there." Mimi spoke to her softly. "Can you hear me?"

"W-Who are you?" Miji asked weakly.

"I'm a doctor." The Yuki-Onna smiled. "And I'm here to make sure you're all better. You were asleep for a long time, so we need to give you a check-up." Mimi knew how to deal with children, and figured taking it slow would be for the best.

"A doctor? I was sick?" Miji seemed confused. "I don't remember being sick..."

"That's fine." Mimi smiled.

{It's probably for the best that she not remember what happened to her...} (Mimi)

"Where is my sister?" Miji asked.

"She's right over here." Mimi pointed to Yumi, who waved at her sister.

"Sister!" Miji tried to get out of bed, but Mimi stopped her.

"I understand that you're excited to see her, but I need to make sure you're all better, ok? Yumi will be right here the entire time, so can you be a good girl for me and wait? I promise it won't take too much time." (Mimi)

"Ok..." Miji nodded.

With that, Mimi began a full check-up on Miji. Overall, she seemed perfectly healthy, if a bit tired. The Yuki-Onna surmised that the revival process gave her a brand new body, and thus she was likely in better shape than most people.

"All done." Mimi said as she pat the young girl on the head. "See, I told you it wouldn't take long." She had decided against giving her the herbal drink since she seemed to be fine without it.

"I am all better?" Miji asked.

"Yep!" Mimi replied with a smile. "You're all better now!"

These words made Miji giggle. She had no idea what happened, but being told that she was no longer 'sick' made her happy. "Did you hear that Sister? I'm not sick anymore!"

"Yeah... It's great to hear it. I was so worried about you." Yumi said that while holding back tears. She didn't have the heart to tell the girl that she'd died, but figured it would be necessary at some point in the future.

"We need to go tell Mom and Dad! They'll be so happy to hear I'm all better!" Miji smiled, but both Mimi and Yumi froze.

"What's wrong? We should go see Mom and Dad now!" Miji tried to get out of bed, but Yumi stopped her.

"Ummmm." Yumi didn't know how to put this, but lying wouldn't work here. "I'm sorry, Miji." She gripped the girl's hand. "But we can't see Mom and Dad again..." Saying those words killed Yumi on the inside.

"What?!? Why not?!?" Naturally, a six-year-old wouldn't take such words well. "Where are they?!? Why can't we see them?!?"

"I... its... its because... its because they..." Yumi struggled to speak. "They... they passed away, Miji..."

"Passed a-" Miji took a moment to process those words. "You're lying! They didn't! There's no way they could be dead! They wouldn't leave us behind like that!"

"I'm sorry, Miji." Yumi started crying. "But it's true. They're gone, and we can never see them again... I thought that I'd never see you either, but... but you managed to come back to me..." She hugged her sister. "I'm so sorry, Miji. I'm so sorry..."

"Mom and Dad... are they really..." She started to cry. "Are they really gone?"

"Yes..." Yumi said. "They are... a bad man came and took them away..."

"But why?!?" Miji shouted through her tears. "Why would someone do that?!? Mom and Dad never hurt anyone, and they were so nice!" She started crying more.

"It's ok... It's ok..." Yumi squeezed her sister tighter. "I'm still here, and I always will be. No one can ever take me away." That wasn't meant to be literal but her relationship with Akagi meant that it was.

The two sisters sat together on the bed and cried. Mimi decided to shuffle everyone out of the room to give them privacy, and it wasn't until nearly an hour later that the two had calmed down.

"Where are we, Sister?" Miji asked. Yumi had given her some tissues, but her face was still red.

"We're... we're at my new home." Yumi didn't really know how to explain everything to a child but figured that being as truthful as possible was for the best

"You're new home?" Miji didn't understand.

"The village we lived in... it no longer exists. You and I are the only ones still alive." Yumi shook her head.

"Are we in Karkul?" That was the only other town Miji knew of.

"No... we're... very far away from our old home. So far in fact, that we can never go back." Yumi pat her sister on the head. "But it's fine. Because this new home is even better than the old one, and there are so many good people here that I'm sure you'll get along with." She figured Alice would be a good friend for her, along with some of the other young teens that lived alongside their parents.

Miji looked around the room. She recognized some things from the village pharmacist, but many other things such as modern fixtures were a mystery to her. "How did we get here? The last thing I remember is everyone yelling about a fire in the village." That was the moment that Great Fox began his attack.

"That... is a long story." Yumi sighed. "But all you need to know now is that here, we are safe. my-" She stopped herself. Calling Akagi my Lord would only confuse the girl. "Akagi was nice enough to take me in and also to bring the man who attacked our village to justice. She even saved your life with her special power." Yumi smiled. "If not for her, I would never have seen you again either."

"Akagi?" Miji didn't know that name.

"She is many things, and I will explain more about who and what she is later. But for now..." Yumi needed a way to explain her relationship to the Demon in a way Miji would understand. "Do you remember how Mom and Dad were? They were happy and lovey-dovey." This wasn't exactly an accurate comparison, but it was the easiest to explain.

"Yeah!" Miji smiled. "They were always smiling and happy together. Mom said she married Dad because he was so funny!"

"Yes well... Akagi... Akagi and I are like that." Yumi gave a wry smile.

{Forgive me for using this explanation, but its the only thing she'll understand.} (Yumi)

"YOU GOT MARRIED?!?" Miji yelled loudly. She was old enough to understand marriage.

"Well no." Yumi waved her hands around frantically. "Akagi and I are not married, but we have a relationship like Mom and Dad. We love each other very much, and we're always together."

{She can't say it, but I know how much I mean to her. I think she's just fooling herself by saying she can't feel love.} (Yumi)

"But I thought you couldn't do something like that? Wasn't that what the villagers always said?" Miji was always told that Yumi was married to the gods.

"We're not in the village anymore, and I am no longer a Priestess of the Gods." Yumi gave a bitter smile. "So I don't have to worry about those kinds of limits anymore.”

Miji thought for a moment before something dawned on her. "D-Does that mean... does that mean you don't have to go away anymore? That you don't have to stay in that icky temple all day?"

"Nope!" Yumi smiled. "Which means we can play together as much as you want!" She started to tickle her sister on the bed. "We don't have to hide our fun anymore, and we can be a family again!"

The two sisters talked, giggled, and laughed together for the first time in years. Yumi never imagined that she'd get to experience such a sight again. Her parents might be gone, but she had regained her sister, and for her, that was good enough.

{My Lord... thank you... truly thank you... I... I was so afraid of the pain of the loss that I nearly let this chance slip by me. I was afraid to say yes when you offered to bring her back. Afraid that I would once again be consumed by sorrow and despair.} Yumi thought to herself as she wrestled her sister. {But I was wrong... I'm still sad that Mom and Dad are gone, but having Miji back... having my sister back... the only time I've been happier is when you asked me to stay with you forever. I'm sure that wherever they are, Mom and Dad... they're happy for us. I know that if they'd been given the choice, they'd rather see Miji and I live, even if that meant they stayed gone. So thank you... thank you for taking the pain on yourself, and I swear to never cause you such agony again. Once again... you've stolen my heart... I love you, Akagi.} (Yumi)