The Red Hand

Chapter 209 – The Birth of The Demon Kingdom.

The next morning, Akagi was ready for her departure to Tokyo. She, together with Yumi, would take part in a ceremony at the Japanese Diet where the formal creation of her nation would take place. Technically, as of midnight last night, the Kingdom of Dumetor already existed, but the signing of documents and other pomp was a necessary part of any such event.

Due to the divisive nature of the transfer of land and the creation of a new nation on the Japanese home islands, things would be kept to a more modest level than one would expect. There were already rumblings of mass protest throughout Japan, and there were expectations of a large crowd of protesters in front of the Diet building.

Emperor Naruhito was not to be involved with this ceremony, and Akagi insisted that the elderly man not be bothered. For some strange reason, she did not wish to disrespect him and his family by making them part of, what was really a shameful display, and thus rejected any notion of him or any member of the Imperial family attending. Though, despite this, the Emperor did go on record asking for calm and peace, a rare occurrence that surprised Japanese media as he was not known for public statements.

"It's time to make our dramatic entrance." Akagi snickered as she, Yumi, and Kukurihime floated above Tokyo. They'd arrived slightly ahead of schedule, and Akagi was intending to make her entrance entertaining, at least to her, by flying in from above.

"I still don't want to be here..." Kukurihime sighed. She'd been dragged along by Akagi, mostly because her status as the only Kami in Japan might make things easier. Though the Demon also figured it would be fun to show Japanese people one of their 'gods.'

"Come on! It will be fun!" Akagi smiled. "We get to show you off to the world, and I guarantee many more people will come to your shine as a result!" She figured that might pique her interest.

{Don't you want some of your power back?} (Akagi)

"At this point, I don't really want more people to come..." The Oni was only here because she didn't really have a choice, and Akagi's vanity required that the only proper Kami in Japan oversaw this whole event. However, she neglected to tell the Japanese government about the resident guardian deity up until now, so she was looking forward to their reaction.

"There's a crazy big crowd down there." Yumi's eyes scanned across a sea of people that had gathered around the Diet Building. There was a lot of people, even more than she'd expected.

"I just hope this stays peaceful. Luckily Japanese people don't tend to be that aggressive, at least not nowadays anyway..." Kukurhime was worried that some crazy people might attack the event.

"I think it will be fine." Akagi replied. "But let's head down now, we've got lots of fun to look forward to." She waved her hand, and the three of them floated down towards the Diet building's main entrance.

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<Kirika POV>

"Are we ready to go live?" Kirika looked at the cameraman who was with her. "Things are supposed to get started soon, and I don't want to miss anything." She and her cameraman stood within a press area separated from the massive crowds. It was hard to hear each other, even this close together, as the crowd was noisy and there was a constant cacophony of horns and other noisemakers.

"Yes, we can start recording whenever you're ready." The cameraman nodded.

Ordinarily, Kirika wouldn't come to Tokyo to cover news like this. Kyoto and Kansai was her main area of operation, and she was content as a local reporter, rather than one that covered national events. However, as the Kingdom of Dumetor being created within the Kansai region and right next to one of Japan's major cities, it was unthinkable for her to miss such an event.

"Good, then let's-" Just as she was about to suggest speaking to members of the public, she heard several screams and other cries as people pointed into the air.

Turning her head, Kirika caught sight of Akagi and Co descending into the fenced-off perimeter of the Diet building and people started shouting and making all kinds of noise.

"Quick! Start broadcasting now!" Kirika yelled out to her cameraman, who hurriedly obliged.

"Hello everyone at home, I apologize for the slight delay in the start of our program, but let's get straight to things." She pointed behind her. "As you can see, Demon Lord Akagi has just arrived with two other people in tow." The three figures descended from the sky and landed on the front driveway, where several figures started speaking with them.

"There is a massive crowd out here, and with the sudden arrival of the Demon Lord, the intensity has only increased." Kirika allowed the cheers, boos, and general roar of the crowd to sound off for a moment before continuing. "Demon Lord Akagi Dumetor will be speaking with Prime Minister Nodoka shortly, and security has informed us that we along with other members of the press will be escorted within the Diet building to cover the ceremony. Many are decrying this as a failure of Japanese domestic policy, and some are questioning the Prime Minster's decision, but regardless of one's thoughts on giving away territory on Honshu, it cannot be understated just how pivotal this moment is." She bit her lip. "This world is changing... and for the first time in our history, man is no longer on top of the food chain." She continued to address her audience, one that broke all her previous records as Akagi and the girls entered the Diet building.

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<Akagi POV>

"That is one heck of a racket outside." Akagi laughed as security escorted them.

"Considering everything that's happened... I'd say it's both warranted and understandable." Kukurihime gave a wry smile and a nervous laugh.

{And don't act like you're not enjoying it.} (Kukurihime)

"Lady Akagi, you are slightly early, and preparations are not yet complete, so if you don't mind, we will take you to a dedicated waiting room. The Prime Minister will greet you shortly." One of the Prime Minster's aides, a man named Nagura, informed them of the delay.

"That's fine." Akagi nodded. "I'm the one at fault for being here before the scheduled time, so tell him not to rush." With that, the three girls were escorted to a rather lavish room within the Diet Building where they waited for around thirty minutes until the Prime Minster appeared with several other members of the Japanese Diet including the speaker.

"Lady Akagi, it is good to meet you in person." Prime Minister Nodoka greeted her with a smile and an outstretched hand. The Demon could tell that the man was stressed and was likely at his limits from all the pressure on him. She imagined that he'd been through hell these past months and didn't envy him one bit.

"It's good to meet you too, Mr. Prime Minster." Akagi shook his hand, returning a smile of her own. "You've met Yumi before, but please allow me to introduce you to a second guest I've brought." She pointed towards Kukurihime. "This is Kukurihime. I'm sure if you've been to Kyoto you might have heard of her before." The name caused Speaker to react for a moment as she was a native to the region.

"I apologize, but I do not recognize the name." Nodoka replied. "But it is nice to meet you as well." He nodded.

"That's understandable. I haven't spoken with many outsiders over the last few centuries." Kukurhime's words caused confusion amongst everyone else in the room as Nodoka looked to Akagi for clarification.

"Kukurhime here is the Guardian Deity enshrined in the Hitsubane family shrine in Kyoto." Akagi smiled as everyone's eyes went wide. "She's a genuine, Kami. I figured it might be interesting to bring her along and introduce you."

"I apologize, Lady Kukurhime." The Prime Minister and the other government officials all bowed. "Forgive me for not recognizing you." Meeting an actually guardian deity wasn't something any of them ever expected, and most people just assumed they were little more than legend by this point.

Startled by this sudden display, the Oni fumbled over her words. "Y-You there is no reason for such a display!" She frantically waved her arms, she was not really used to being treated in such a manner anymore and it caught her off guard. "I am not really that important! I am merely a humble Kami that you could find anywhere, and I truly have no real power to speak of. So please raise your head!"

{This was about the reaction I expected.} Akagi laughed internally. {Most Japanese people would suddenly get all meek if you plop an honest-to-goodness Kami in front of them, even the Prime Minister.}

"If you say so, Lady Kukurhime." The Prime Minster along with the others raised their heads. "But I suppose that you purposefully did not share this information until today." He turned to Akagi with a look of exhaustion on his face.

"I figured it would be funny." Akagi laughed. "Not to mention, having a Kami here will hopefully help things proceed a bit more smoothly." She shrugged. "I think if she endorses the matter, that might take some heat off you."

The Prime Minister thought for a moment before answering. "That would probably quell some of the anger throughout the country, and if Lady Kukurihime would be so kind to aide us in such a manner, I would be honored."

{I wasn't really given a choice...} (Kukurihime)

"I would be delighted to help calm the situation." The Oni put on a fake smile as she told the Prime Minister what he wanted to hear, and after a bit of discussion, it was decided that the Prime Minster would take a bit of time to explain who Kukurihime was and her role as a 'mediator' in the process. He hoped this would assuage some fears within Japan, and even give some legitimacy to the whole situation.

Once things were hashed out, Akagi followed the Prime Minister into the central Diet Chamber, where the rest of the Japanese Government was waiting. Most members of the Legislature showed up to show their respect and/or support. Though, there were some who'd refused to attend in protest, including the representatives from the nearby districts being given away.

Yumi and Kukurihime were taken separately into the gallery above, while the Demon sat next to the Prime Minster at the center of the room at a small table which had a set of binders on it. After a brief introduction, and statement from Akagi. The Prime Minster gave his prepared speech where he emphasized the need for unity in these trying times, and he stressed that calm was necessary. Akagi rated his speech positively overall, though she noted that his words were likely to ring hollow to most of the hardened opposition members. Many were against working with her, and even more, resented her taking of sacred Japanese land. The level of anger and distrust of returnees and FWO survivors had only increased as of late, despite Japanese and American attempts at calming the populace.

Once he was finished, Akagi was given the floor for a brief statement in which she repeated many of her prior declarations at the UN. She stressed that her primary desire was peace and that she had no interest in coming to blows with Japan. The Demon even noted that she had originally been born here and largely identified with Japanese culture, even if she wasn't actually human.

After a standing ovation, she and the Prime Minster signed several documents for the waiting cameras, which formally created the Kingdom of Dumetor. To celebrate this historic moment, Akagi unveiled the nation's official flag. Contrary to expectations it was a rather simple and sensible design. The flag in question was two colors, black and white, each ran horizontally with black being on top, and the center point where they met was filled with jagged lines. An outsider would note that the two were in perfect balance and that darkness and light were constantly fighting an equal struggle. However, this equality was merely an illusion.

While it is true that the light could drive away the darkness for a time, realistically it can never win in the eternal struggle. For light requires fuel and energy to continue to keep the darkness at bay, while darkness is the natural state of things. As Akagi said before, one day the last star will burn out, and all that will be left is a complete... and utter... DARKNESS.

Hence her family motto:

'The Darkness Swallows the Light.'