The Red Hand

Chapter 198 – Another Family Member.

"Wh-what?" Miji dropped her cookie at Alice's declaration that the monster was her Mother.

"The one you've been calling a monster is my Mama." Alice smiled. Though behind the sweet smile was a very upset Alice. She didn't like people something calling Akagi that word to be mean, but she was keeping her cool since she was tasked with cajoling Miji.

"Your Mom... your mom is the Monster?" Miji asked quietly.

"Mama is a monster, but she's a nice monster." Alice said as she poured more tea. "She doesn't hurt people who don't deserve it"

{Usually...} (Alice)

"Then... then tell her to give me back my sister!" Miji yelled. "I just want her back... and then we can go home..." She said as she squeezed Floofy.

{I want to go home...} (Miji)

Alice thought for a moment before answering. "Mama isn't keeping Yumi here. She could leave if she wanted to."

"Then why won't Sister leave?!?" Miji was still having a hard time understanding why Yumi wouldn't prioritize her over Akagi. "Doesn't she love me?"

"Of course she does." Alice laughed, knowing just how happy the Priestess was to have her sister back. "Yumi loves you more than you could ever imagine."

"Then-" Miji tried to say more, but was cut off.

"But she loves Akagi just as much." Alice shook her head. "Miji, how much do you know about what happened to your village?" She asked.

"Sister told me a bad man attacked it, and that everyone was killed." Miji looked down at the table. "She said I got hurt and that I was asleep for a while."

"Yes, but did you know that it's been nearly four years since the attack on your village?" Alice asked. She knew she didn't but was trying to use that information gap to her advantage.

"Four years?!?" Miji was shocked. Yumi had only told her that she'd been asleep for a while.

{How could I sleep for so long? Was I really that sick?} (Alice)

"Yes, and during that time, your sister was worried about you every day." Alice smiled. "She always talked about you, and she made every attempt to find a way to wake you up." Alice was informed that Miji had been told she was asleep rather than dead and was playing into that explanation. She wasn't above misleading the young girl, since she knew that would make things easier.

"Sister..." Miji hugged the bear again.

"She was so worried about you, and she checked on you every day, but..." Alice stopped.

"But what?" Miji asked.

"We... we didn't think you would ever wake up..." Alice shook her head. "Nothing seemed to work, and no matter how much Yumi or the others tried, you stayed asleep."

"N-Never wake up?" Miji's eyes went wide at those words.

{Would I have died like Mom and Dad?} (Miji)

"Yumi was so sad, and she nearly lost hope of ever seeing you again. Even Mama thought that bringing you back was impossible, and seeing Yumi so upset really hurt her. She couldn't bear to see the one she loved in such pain." Alice was playing the story up to elicit an emotional reaction. Lying to a child wasn't really a good thing, but she figured that this was the best way to bring her around. "She was even worried about you too."

"The monster... was worried about me? About sister?" Miji asked.

"Yes, she was." Alice nodded. "Mama tried everything to wake you up, but there was nothing she could do, until..."

"Until?" Miji tilted her head.

"Until, a few days ago... Mama found a way to wake you up.." Alice's face went dark, as she was trying to sell this as hard as possible.

"Why do you look sad?" Miji asked.

"Mama... Mama needed to hurt herself to bring you back..." Alice answered, causing Miji's eyes to widen. "Yumi protested and told her that she didn't need to inflict such great pain on herself to bring you back, but she told Yumi that she didn't want to see her sad anymore. So, she used the power she found to wake you up, all while hurting herself in the process." Alice's story wasn't a lie per se, just a slightly more embellished retelling.

"The monster... the monster hurt itself? For me?" Miji asked quietly.

"She did it for Yumi, because... because she means the world to her, and if bringing you back would make her happy, Mama wasn't going to pass up that chance." Alice gave a wry smile. "Your sister was so happy to see you again, and she cried so many tears of joy. She never thought she'd hear your voice or see you awake ever again, so when Mama brought you back..."

"Sister..." Miji was starting to feel bad. She called her sister a fake and stormed off after acting so mean, something she was now regretting.

"Do you understand now, Miji?" Alice asked. "Yumi loves you more than almost anything in the world, and Mama did everything in her power to bring you back to her. So the reason she couldn't answer you... the reason she couldn't say she loved you more than Mama was because if she said yes... wouldn't that be betraying the person who did so much for her?" She got up and walked over next to her. "You don't have to like Mama, and it's okay to be afraid of her. But understand that both she and Yumi love you very much, and your sister loves Mama as much as she loves you. So please give her a chance. I promise you she's a nice person Miji. If she wasn't, then she wouldn't have so many friends." She smiled.

"Won't they be mad at me?" Miji said on the verge of tears. "I said mean things about them..."

Alice hugged her. "They won't be mad at you, but you need to apologize. Your words probably hurt Yumi more than they did Mama." She giggled. "She knew you were just scared, so it's alright."

After a bit more discussion, Miji agreed to return to the estate and speak to Akagi and Yumi again. Alice's mission had been a success, and she was able to calm Miji down and get her to see reason, albeit with a bit of lying, exaggeration, and misdirection.

Alice guided her back to the living room where, Akagi, Yumi, and Kana were sitting. The Priestess's face and eyes were red from crying and Akagi was doing her best to console her.

"Mama! I've brought someone who wants to talk with you!" Alice dragged Miji into the living room by the hand. "Come on, you promised you'd talk to them!"

Miji averted her eyes as she walked into the room, staying behind Alice the entire time.

"See, I told you she'd be fine." Akagi smiled.

"MIJI!" Yumi darted over to her sister and pulled her into a hug. "You're ok! I thought you'd disappeared on me again!"

"Sister..." Miji was on the verge of popping from how tight she was being hugged. "It hurts..."

"Ahh, sorry." Yumi let go a bit. "I was just so worried about you... I thought...I thought you would disappear again." She started crying. "Don't ever run off like that again! My heart can't take losing you a second time!"

{I saw you die before my eyes once, so please don't make me go through that pain again.} (Yumi)

"I'm sorry, Sister..." Miji started crying too, and the two sisters had a several minutes long cry session until they got it out of their system.

"Miji... I'm sorry for not explaining things better... and I'm sorry for making you scared. I just... I didn't know how to explain everything to you..." Yumi sat on the couch and pulled her sister into her lap.

"I'm sorry too." Miji hugged her. "I said mean things to you. You're not a fake... I'm sorry for saying that... I just didn't want someone to take you away from me again..." She'd always wanted Yumi to come home from her position as Priestess and was afraid that she might lose her to Akagi.

"I'm not going anywhere." Yumi giggled. "I've got everyone I need right here, so don't worry." She squeezed her. "I love you very much, and I'd never ever leave you! Not in a million years!"

{And if anyone tries to take you away from me, I've got the biggest, scariest, and most powerful person on speed dial.} (Yumi)

"Sister..." Miji looked up at her. "Do you really love the m-" She stopped herself. "Do you really love her?" She pointed at Akagi.

"I do." Yumi smiled. "Akagi is very important to me, and I don't know what I'd do without her. She is the woman I love, and I never want to be separated from her."

Kana started to giggle, but was whacked on the head by her sister.

Miji turned towards Akagi. "Do you love my Sister?"

"Yes, I do." Akagi's inability to feel love still applied, but she figured just saying yes was the best option. "She means the world to me, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for her." She smiled. "Your sister has helped me out so much over the years, and honestly, just being with her makes me happy." Of course, Yumi would disagree with the notion that she helped Akagi, but that was beside the point.

"Miji." Kana spoke to the girl. "My name is Kana, and I'm this idiot's sister." She pointed to Akagi.

{Was IDIOT necessary?} (Akagi)

{Pffff.} Miiji laughed internally.

"Onee-chan might be many things, but more than anything else, she cares about Yumi. These two are special to one another, and I'd say their lives are better together than apart." Kana smiled. "I know Onee-chan is a bit scary, even I was a bit afraid of her at first, but she's not a bad person. All she wants is a peaceful life with her family. So can you give her a chance?"

{Wow, for once Kana actually said nice things about me WITHOUT some kind of sarcasm at the end. I wonder if she's running a fever, because that's rare...} (Akagi)

"Alice said you're a good monster... one that only hurts bad people..." Miji quietly said to Akagi.

"I don't want to hurt people." Akagi shook her head. "But if people threaten my family, isn't it natural to stop them?"

"You won't hurt me? Or Sister?" Miji asked.

"Never." Akagi said firmly. "I would never do anything to harm Yumi, and I would most certainly never harm a member of my family." She smiled. "And naturally, that includes you."

Miji thought for a moment before answering. "Ok... But I'll be watching you! If you ever hurt Sister, I'll take her and run away!"

Akagi laughed. "You've got a deal!"