The Red Hand

Chapter 199 – The Angry Aunt.

"I just... I don't understand it, Nana..." Shima sat across the kitchen table from a short black-haired woman. The wrinkles on her face gave the impression that she was a good bit older than Shima, and the scowl on her face only served to extenuate other similar features. "How could I do that to my own daughter?!?" She took a sip of her drink, her fourth one, and her flushed face showed that she was partially drunk.

{What kind of monster am I?} (Shima)

"Well, con-grad-u-fucking-lations." Nana started clapping slowly to mock her. "I've been telling you that you were a piece of garbage for twenty years! Good to see you finally figured it out, Shima. But alas, its too fucking late." She rolled her eyes. Nana was the oldest child of Kenji, and was the only one of Shima's siblings to abandon the Tomogawa family. "You tried to kill your own daughter, tormented her daily for going on twenty years, and it took you until NOW to figure out that perhaps... just MAYBE something was fucking wrong with your behavior?!?" She hadn't spoken to Shima in several years, as she cut off all ties with the family, but when her sister called her crying hysterically, she couldn't ignore her.

{Why can't things be simple? First the family is wiped out by Rishia, and now Shima is in my house blubbering like a drunken mess!} (Nana)

"I know... I just don't understand any of it!" Shima yelled. "Why did I do it all?!? Why did I think it was ok?!?" She looked down at her glass. "What the hell was wrong with me?!?"

"Who knows? I suspect it's something in our blood. Our old man was a prick, and Miyabi and Junichiro were just as bad as him!" Nana clicked her tongue. She'd found both the now erased siblings to be distasteful people. "At least now I understand why they were like that, fucking Onmiyoji..." She shook her head. "Not like I'm happy most of our family got killed, but..."

{They fucking deserved it. You push that girl for so long, abuse her, do all those horrible things to her, and then you go and kidnap her friend in order to kill her.} She sighed internally. {What the fuck did they think was going to happen?} She'd been given the rundown on what happened at the family compound, and was exasperated and disgusted.

"Rishia had every reason to hate them, and me." Shima shook her head. " And Taichi won't listen to me. I tried telling him that something was wrong, but I guess whatever had a hold on my mind is still affecting him, because he's the same as always."

"Either that or he's just an asshole." Nana laughed. "I never liked that prick of a husband Dad forced on you."

{Just because he came from money, he always acted so arrogant.} (Nana)

"He's not that bad." Shima gave a dry laugh. "He's a lot to handle at times, but his rough edges are just part of his charm."

"Sure, whatever you say." Nana rolled her eyes, not wanting to get into that conversation. "So what are you going to do now?" She asked. "I hope you don't intend to go crawling to Rishia for forgiveness. I know that girl well enough to tell her that you have no chance in hell of being forgiven, and from what you told me that you did to her over the years, that's understandable." She shook her head. Shima and the family had hidden exactly what they'd done to Akagi from Nana for all these years, and while she knew something was wrong, as well as that her niece was being abused, she had no idea just how bad it was. "Seriously Shima, what kind of mother tries to kill their own child?!?"

"I know!" Shima yelled back. "I don't understand why I did what I did either! It's just that whenever I looked at her, or even heard Rishia speak, all I wanted to do was be rid of her!"

{Her very existence in the house made me angry. That's why I was happy when she went into VR since she left me alone.} (Shima)

"Yeah, and now the child that you treated like dirt has the power to do whatever she wants." Nana sighed. "God only knows what kind of hell she could inflict upon the world if she wanted."

{She has her own country, and killed such powerful people like they were children. I imagine if she wanted us all dead, we'd already be so.} (Nana)

"Kana... Kana told me something a few weeks ago... something that I don't think I fully appreciated until now." Shima took a sip from her glass, which emptied. "She told me that... that one night she had a vision, one where she was never born. In... In that world, Rishia went mad and she killed not just me, but everyone. Kana said that the world was destroyed... and that... and that I was responsible for that future being possible."

{Without Kana, without her...} (Shima)

"I'd believe it." Nana gave a depreciating laugh. "You literally created a monster, Shima. Whatever kind of power that girl was born with doesn't matter, because you and this stupid family of ours made her what she is today." She tightened her fist in anger. "I've only seen just a tiny portion of the anger within her heart, Shima. I've seen her break things, scream, and hell, one night, I swear her eyes turned into nothing but pure fucking darkness! That girl... she has some serious inner Demons, and I'm not just talking about what you put her through." She took a deep breath before slamming her fist on the table. "Why the fuck did you NOT get her medical treatment for her illness? I knew Rishia had ASPD, but you always told me she was on medication, but come to find out that not only did you lie to me, but apparently she has MORE issues? And you never got her any help?!? You're lucky she didn't fucking kill you in your sleep before she became a literal living nightmare!"

{I know she tried to kill Kana once, and with how you idiots treated her, that's not exactly surprising!} (Nana)

"I just... I have no idea. All I remember is that I thought that it didn't matter if she had problems." Shima shook her head. "I think I was hoping she'd kill herself like those people with depression do..."

{Every morning, I found myself hoping to find her hung from the ceiling in her room. What kind of Mother am I for thinking that about my own child? A child that never did anything to me? A child that I... abandoned...} (Shima)

"Yeah well, guess what. Now we have a fucking Demon from hell with anger issues, depression, anxiety, and other problems. All because you couldn't be fucked to get her on meds or even take her to a fucking therapist." Nana was getting increasingly frustrated with her sister, and this issue hit close to home because her own son suffered from his own mental issues. She'd sought out treatment for him immediately when he was young, and as a result he lived a normal life with his own family. The fact that Shima not only ignored Akagi's issues, but actively hoped to find her dead made Nana far more angry than anything else. "Do you know how terrifying it is to wonder if today she's just gonna show up at my door and kill me and my family just because we're related to you?!? Because it's fucking awful, Shima."

{She might too! I don't know exactly what she thinks of me, but I know for a fact we don't have some happy close relationship as Niece and Aunt!} (Nana)

"She wouldn't do that..." Shima said. "Rishia... she only kills people who deserve it, at least, that's what Kana told me..."

"I sure as hell hope so! I cut you idiots out of my life nearly five years ago, and I sure as hell don't want to be put on the same list as such awful dirt bags as you people!" Nana clicked her tongue. "You said you're meeting with her this week right?"

"Yes, her and Kana." Shima nodded. "Kana messaged me and her father, it was... quite an angry message." She pulled out her phone and showed the message to her sister.

Nana took a minute to read it and shook her head. "Yeah, that's not surprising. Considering how much that girl loves her sister, finding out that you tried to kill her, left her out in a blizzard, and much more, probably didn't endear you to her at all." She put the phone down on the table. "If I was her, I'd cut contact with you two and never look back." That's what she'd done to her own parents.

"That's... that's what I'm afraid of." Shima's face darkened. "Rishia... she already has... But Kana... I don't want to lose her too."

{I can't lose both my daughters...} (Shima)

"You might not have much of a choice in the matter." Nana laughed mockingly. "Kana knows what kind of person you were, and even if something was influencing your mind, that doesn't undo the damage, Shima." She didn't believe that was the case, but couldn't completely dismiss the possibility.

"I know that." Shima didn't look at her. "That's exactly what Rishia told me... she said it was too late."

"Being completely honest with you, Shima." Nana thought for a moment. "I hope she leaves you, I really do. You deserve to be hurt, and losing the one child you actually cared about... I can't think of a better punishment." It was a harsh but understandable position.

"But I don't want to lose Kana!" Shima exclaimed. "There... there has to be something I can do! I can't lose both my children!"

"Let's be real, Shima. You only had one child, so don't go calling Rishia your daughter now." Nana said. “You never treated her like one a day in her life, so trying to act like her mother is not only disgusting, but completely selfish.”

"I...." Shima didn't know what to say to that comment.

{I know that... I know that, but still! I want my daughters... I don't want to lose either of them... There has to be something I can do...} (Shima)

"The best thing I can say... is to be honest with Kana. Hell, get on your hands and knees and beg the girl not to leave you in the cold." Nana took a sip of her drink. "I can't guarantee that will work, but at the very least, the fact that she wants to speak with you two at all leads me to believe that she doesn't want things to end between you. At least, just yet."

"I... Taichi is never going to repent. Not unless he somehow realizes how fucked things have been like I did." Shima gave a dry laugh.

{And there's no sign of that happening, even with my pleas.} (Shima)

"If it comes down to it, ditch him." Nana said. "In a contest between husband and child, the child comes first, no question."

"..." Shima had no response, since she knew Nana was right.

"Have you decided where you're going to have this 'family meeting'?" Nana asked.

"N-No." Shima shook her head. "We haven't. I figured the house would be easiest."

"No that's a bad idea, you should just have it here." Nana sighed. "That house will only serve to remind those two of everything you did, and I'd like to see my nieces. Lord knows it's been a while, and this place is usually a pretty neutral zone." She'd taken care of Akagi here many times when she was younger, and she always tried to make her time at the house less hectic then being at home.

"Yeah, you're right... thanks, Nans." Shima smiled calling her sister the nickname she used for her since they were kids.

"It's been nearly thirty years since you called me that." Nana rolled her eyes. "But you're welcome, I might be angry with you, but I am happy to see my sister trying to clean up her mistakes. Who knows, if things work out, perhaps we can try to salvage what's left of this family together."

"I-I'd like that..." Shima smiled as she poured another glass.