The Red Hand

Chapter 197 – An Expected Reaction.

The next morning, Akagi and Kana gathered in the living room so that Miji could be introduced to the rest of the family. Yumi was a bit nervous about how her sister would react to everything, but Akagi told her it would be fine. Though she suspected the young girl might notice that the Demon was a bit more than meets the eye.

"Here we come!" Yumi called out from the hallway as she popped into the room. Miji was right behind her, hiding behind her leg as the two sisters entered into the room.

"Sorry it took me so long. Miji was being a bit of a sleepy head and didn't want to get out of bed." Yumi smiled as she pat her sister on the head.

"Kids that age always love to sleep." Kana smiled. "Hello there, Miji." She bent down to eye level in front of Yumi and Miji. "My name is Kana. Its nice to meet you."

Miji was a bit shy and continued to hide behind her sister.

"She's always been like this around new people, come on Miji. Be nice and greet everyone like you were taught." Yumi smiled.

"H-Hello..." Miji poked her head around her sister. "M-My name is Miji... N-Nice to meet you."

"Aint she cute? Unlike a certain somebody." Kana laughed.

"Hey, I'm cute!" Akagi walked up next to her sister and put her knuckle on her head. "You just don't see it."

"Nope, Miji is cute. You're just... you." Kana sighed.

"Such a rude child." Akagi huffed before bending down to greet Miji. "Hello, my name is Akagi." She smiled. "I know there's a lot going on right now, and things are a bit strange, but I want you to know just how important your sister is to me. So I'd like to for us to get along as a family."

Miji shrunk behind her sister.

"It's ok Miji, Akagi has always been good to me. She's very kind, so you don't have to be afraid of her." Yumi rubbed the girl's head.

"M...." Miji muttered something.

"Hmm?" Yumi looked down at her. "What was that?"

"M-Monster..." Miji squeaked out a single word, causing the entire room to go silent.

"Miji!" Yumi scolded her. "You apologize right now! Akagi isn't a monster!"

{Well...} (Akagi)

"Sister! We need to get away from her! She's a monster!" Miji tugged on her sister's clothing, trying to get her to flee.

{That's not exactly an unexpected reaction.} (Akagi)

"I'm telling you that she is not a-" Yumi was cut off by Akagi.

"You're right, kid." Akagi smiled as she stood up. "I am a monster and a very scary one at that." She laughed.

"Please let my Sister go..." Miji was on the verge of tears as she glared at the Demon.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Akagi gave a dry laugh. "She's too important to me, and I don't think she wants to leave either."

"I'm not leaving her, Miji!" Yumi's gaze turned fierce. Even her sister was not exempt from her displeasure. "And you need to apologize for being so mean to her!"

"Did you do something to Sister?!?" Miji asked. "You did! Didn't you? Otherwise, Sister would never want to stay with a monster like you!"

"Miji!" Yumi was going to say more, but Akagi's glare silenced her.

"If making your Sister fall in love with me counts as doing something." Akagi laughed. "Then I guess I did. I suppose becoming enraptured by a Demon isn't the strangest thing in the world, as we're quite the seductive kind of existence."

"I knew you were a monster! Give me back my Sister!" Miji hung off of Yumi. "Give her back!"

"She is free to do as she pleases." Akagi shrugged. "I can't make her stay or leave, so you're going to have to talk to her."

"Sister! Let's leave! This monster is obviously going to do something bad to you!" Miji pulled on her. "Let's go right now!"

"I will not!" Yumi exclaimed. "I will not leave Akagi!"

"The monster is controlling you! Please, Sister! We need to get out of here!" Miji started to cry. "Please..."

"Miji... Akagi isn't doing anything to control me." Yumi bent down to her sister's level and hugged her. "She's a good person. Just because she's a Demon doesn't mean you get to act so rude to her! Especially when she's the reason both you and I are alive!" She wiped her sister's tears.

"Wha?" Miji didn't know what Yumi was talking about.

"After the village was attacked, I stayed in Karkul for months looking for help. Akagi was the only one who would listen to me, and she hunted down the evil man who attacked everyone and brought him to justice." Yumi gave a bitter smile. "I've been at her side for nearly four years now, and she's been nothing but good to me, and she never even asked for anything in return for all the help she's given."

"But... I can tell... she's... she's a..." Miji was still crying and shaking.

"I understand, Miji." Yumi hugged her. "I get what your saying. Children can always see deeper into who someone is, but Akagi is more than just the... monster you feel." She hated referring to Akagi with that term but had no choice. "She's a kind person who would do anything for me and those she cares about. In fact, if it wasn't for her... I never would have gotten to see you again. She caused herself great pain to bring you back to me. So I won't allow you to return her kindness with such mean words!"

"Sister... do you really love her?" Miji asked quietly.

"I do." Yumi looked her in the eyes. "I love her more than anything else in the world. Akagi has done so much for me, and I've vowed to stay by her side forever."

"Do you love her more than me?" Miji asked the question everyone was dreading.

{What a fucking loaded question. There isn't really a good answer...} (Kana)

"I..." Yumi bit her lip. "I love you so much, Miji. You're my sister, but Akagi... Akagi is also important to me. So please, don't make me choose. I... I can't do that... it's not fair."

"So you do love her more than me!" Miji got angry and pushed Yumi off her. "You're not my Sister! My sister would never act like you!" She backed away from everyone. "My Sister is gone! YOU TOOK HER AWAY!" She yelled at Akagi before bolting.

"Miji!" Yumi tried to chase after her but was stopped by Akagi, who grabbed her arm.

"Why are you stopping me?!? I need to go get her!" Yumi tried to pull away, but that wasn't happening.

"Calm down. I figured that something like this might happen." Akagi sighed. "The family is already keeping an eye on her, and she can't leave the confines of the estate. Just give her some space, and trust my special agent to handle things." She gave a wry smile.

"Special agent? Who do you have that can handle kids well?" Kana didn't think she had someone with those qualities.

"It will probably take a child to handle a child." Akagi shrugged. "So just leave this to Alice. She's got the best handle on how a kid sees things, since well... she's a child herself.”

"I'm so sorry she acted like that..." Yumi started crying as she slumped onto the floor "Miji...." Being called a fake by her own sister had hit hard, and Yumi started bawling. Akagi swiftly took the Priestess into her arms and put her on the couch before pulling her into a tight embrace.

{It will be alright, Yumi. Everything will be fine. Just have faith in the girl I call my own daughter.} (Akagi)

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Miji POV>

{Sister... Don't worry! I'll free you from the monster!} Miji panicked as she fled out of the estate. She had no idea where she was, and with so many of Akagi's family members around, there were few places she could hide.

The young girl began to run around in circles, unsure where to go or how to escape, and the other people she ran into usually left her alone, and after some time she fled into the greenhouse.

"Haaa... Haaa...." Miji was tired from running so much and was out of breath. Seeing a small container of water in the corner of the room, she bent down and took a big gulp. "Phaaaa!" She smiled as she came up from her drink, having satisfied her thirst.

Looking around, she didn't see anyone else and began to talk out loud. "Sister..." She began to walk around inside the greenhouse. The strange tools, the bright lights, and the unknown plants caused her more stress. "I wanna go home..." As she began to cry, a voice called out to her from behind.

"Hello there." Alice called out to her, and Miji turned around. "Are you lost?"

"W-Who are you? Are you another monster?" Miji backed away.

"Monster?" Alice inspected her body. "I don't think I'm a monster. I don't have any horns or big scary teeth. Did you see one somewhere around here?"

"The lady in the house, the one who took my sister. She's a big scary monster..." Miji said meekly. "I just want to go home with my sister... but the monster won't let her go."

"I see." Alice tried to get closer. "Do you want to hold my friend? He'll calm you down." She extended her arm out to offer Floofy."

"A bear?" Miji eyed up the toy.

"Yeah, his name is Floofy, and he's a dear friend of mine. Mama made him and his brother for me to celebrate my birthday!" Alice smiled as she recalled that day.

"Your Mom made him?!?" Miji thought that was cool. "Can I really hold him?" She slowly got closer to Alice.

"Just be careful, and make sure you're nice to him." Alice held out her friend, and Miji took him.

"He's so soft!" Miji squeezed the bear. "Your Mom must be amazing if she made something like this."

"Mama is amazing!" Alice smiled.

*Grrrrrr* Miji's stomach growled, she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

"Ummm..." The young girl's face got red from embarrassment.

"Do you want to have tea with me?" Alice asked. "I can even bring some snacks."

The promise of food was too tempting for the young girl to pass up, and she nodded.

"Then wait right here! I'll go get my snacks from the kitchen!" Alice took off, and a few minutes later she was back with a plate of tea and cookies. "Let's go sit over at the table." She motioned for Miji to follow her, which the girl did.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMM" Miji bit into the cookie and was amazed by how good it tasted. "Dis is an amazing cookie!" She'd never eaten something this sweet before in her life.

"I'm glad you like it! Mama and I make cookies all the time! She even taught me some of her special ways to make them extra fluffy." Alice said as she sipped her tea.

"Your Mom can even make such tasty cookies?!?" Miji was shocked. "That's amazing!" She smiled as she ate another one.

"Right?!? Mama is good at everything!" Alice smiled as she began telling Miji all kinds of stories about Akagi and the time she'd spent with her over the years, though she specifically avoided any names or descriptions of what she looked like.

"Wow! You're Mom is so strong! She sounds amazing! And how she beat those bad guys who attacked you... that was so cool!" Her eyes sparkled at Alice's story.

Alice smiled. She enjoyed seeing someone else appreciate Akagi. "She takes such good care of me and has always been nice to me, ever since we first met."

"Met?" Miji tilted her head at that word.

"Mama... Mama is not my 'real' Mom." Alice shook her head. "She saved me from some bad monsters a long time ago, and after some mean people tried to hurt me, she took me in when I had nowhere else to go." Alice gave a bitter smile, as those memories were still fresh for her.

"But... but where was your real Mom?" Miji asked. "Why didn't she protect you?"

"My... my 'real' Mom... she's gone." Alice bit her lip. "She passed away when I was five years old."

Miji stopped munching on her cookie. That was basically the same as her.

"I'm sorry..." She felt bad for bringing it up.

"It's fine." Alice smiled. "I have Mama! So I'm not sad about it. I don't really even remember my real Mom and Dad."

{I can't even remember their faces...} (Alice)

"Sister... sister said my Mom and Dad were gone too..." Miji looked down at her tea. "She said a bad man took them away..."

"But you have her still, right?" Alice was trying to direct the conversation toward Yumi and reconciliation.

Miji shook her head. "The monster took her away, and now sister isn't sister anymore..."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"She said she loved the monster, and even after I told her to run away, she wouldn't..." Miji started to tear up. "And... and when I asked her if she loved me or the monster more.... she wouldn't answer!" She yelled as she started crying. "Sister is gone! The monster took her away from me. WAAAAAA" Miji started crying, and Alice moved over to her side, giving her a hug.

"It's fine." Alice said. "Go ahead and cry. There's no monster in here."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Miji cried and cried and cried for at least a half hour until Alice got her to calm down.

"Thank you..." Miji said as she wiped her nose with a handkerchief given to her by Alice.

"It's fine. Crying it good!" Alice smiled as she sat back down.

"What should I do?" Miji asked. "I need to save sister from the monster... but I can't do anything!"

"Hmmmm." Alice thought for a moment. "Do you really need to save her?" She asked.

"Of course I do!" Miji yelled. "The monster captured her and brainwashed her or something! I need to save her so we can run away!"

"But are you sure she's being controlled?" Alice asked.

"Of course she is! Sister would never fall in love with a monster!" Miji denied that possibility. She was a Priestess of the Gods, she could never love a Demon.

"But maybe she did? Didn't she tell you herself that she loved her?" Alice asked.

"That's not possible." Miji shook her head. "That monster was a bad monster... a really bad monster... I saw its eyes... they were..." She shivered.

"But did the monster do anything bad to you?" Alice said.

"N-No, it didn't, but I know it will!" Miji said with certainty.

{That monster will eat me, and probably sister too. I don't wanna be turned into soup...} (Miji)

"I don't think the monster will ever hurt you or you're sister." Alice smiled. "She's not that kind of person."

"How do you know?!?" Miji yelled.

"Because that monster is my Mama." Alice's smile turned into a glare.