The Red Hand

Chapter 100 – The Restraints Fail.

Akagi screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw the nearly dead Yumi appear next to her. Hishya and Kana freaked out as well, and the three instantly ran to her side in a panic. Akagi picked her up in her arms and hugged her, the Demon's entire body started shaking and Kana watched as her shadow body began to writhe in anger.

"Yumi! Yumi please, please say something! Please!" Akagi was a complete wreck. "What happened? Who did this to you?!?"

"I-I'm so-rr-y, Ak-a-gi." She looked up at her tear-filled master's face, getting out those few words before falling unconscious.

"Yumi! Yumi, No! Stay with me! " Akagi squeezed her tight and screamed. "Mimi!" as she ran full speed to the Yuki-Onna's clinic. Not caring about at door, she crashed through the building's walls, scaring Mimi and her daughters. They were about to say something, but the tear-filled face of Akagi combined with the bloody form of Yumi caused them to jump into action instantly. The horrifying pressure coming from Akagi didn't help matters. Mimi took Yumi and placed her into a bed and began casting her highest level of healing magic, while her daughters brought the absolute best and highest quality potions to heal her. They knew that if they used anything less, Akagi would kill them and she wouldn't make it quick.

Hishya and Kana appeared a few moments later and saw Akagi sitting on a bench in the hallway down from Mimi's clinic. Her eyes bounced back and forth, and she clenched her teeth as if she was in pain. As they got closer, they could hear her ramble like a madman as she clutched the locket Yumi had given her.

"She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok, She'll be ok,"

Kana ran up and tried to speak to her, but was ignored. Akagi seemed to be either unable to or unwilling to speak with her sister, and her shadow's orange eyes and sharp teeth turned toward her as she approached. When Kana attempted to touch her sister, she was repulsed by a harmless shock. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Akagi growled at her in a low demonic grumble. Kana backed away in fear as she was slammed with an intense aura of hatred, nearly causing her to fall to her knees. Hishya began shaking in fear, as she realized that her worst nightmare was about to happen. Akagi couldn't hold it in much longer, and it was only a matter of time before the seals failed. Akagi raved and ranted as she sat in the hallway speaking in both Demon and Japanese, seemingly at random, and even mixing the two together. Kana and Hishya watched as the sclera of her left eye slowly turned black and the aura around Akagi got more intense.

After a tense few minutes, Mimi came out of the clinic and looked at Akagi. Who met her gaze.

"M-my Lord. P-please calm d-down." Mimi's legs began to shake. She'd never seen Akagi like this and was genuinely afraid for her life. "Y-Yumi is alive. H-her wounds were s-severe, But I've treated e-everything and c-cleaned her up. H-however...." She hesitated to continue as Akagi's left eye seemed to stare directly at her soul. "S-she is currently in a c-coma. She will e-eventually wake u-ep. But I c-cannot say how l-long that will b-be."

*CRACK*

That was the last straw. Akagi's mind raced, and she was filled with so many emotions, thoughts, and feelings that she was no longer capable of suppressing the darkness inside of her. Logically, she knew Yumi would be fine. But the thought that she may never awaken from the coma consumed her, and she began to imagine what would happen if she never woke up. She feared losing her forever, and how, with Yumi gone, she would be alone once again. When Akagi said she could no longer live without Yumi as her [Bonded Soul], she was not exaggerating. While Akagi would not die if Yumi did, the priestess's death or disappearance would drive her mad in grief and loneliness. The loss of one's [Bonded Soul] was not supposed to be possible but if it did...

*CRACK*

Akagi couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Since a coma was basically death, as while her body was physically present, Yumi was essentially gone from this world.

*CRACK*

Yumi had been the warmth in her life, and she'd helped her keep on track through the darkness. The priestess had been a stabilizing force in Akagi's life, even more so recently.

*CRACK*

With her gone.

*CRACK*

Akagi would be alone. And that was Akagi's worst fear

*SHATTER*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Akagi screamed, her voice heavily distorting as she did. She stood up, clutching her head in pain as she screamed in Demon "[LET ME OUT!]". She began clumsily banging into walls, smashing her head against things as she ran down the hallway, chased closely behind by Hishya, Mimi, and Kana. They were all horrified by Akagi's wail, but pursued anyway. As Akagi ran down the hallway, her right eye slowly morphed from Amber to Orange, and its sclera turned black. After banging against the walls for a while, Akagi ran straight through the building itself, and crashed into the adjacent courtyard, rolling into the grass while screaming.

"Onee-chan!" Kana tried to run to her side but was stopped by Hishya who grabbed her.

"Keep away from her Kana! It's not safe for you to go over to her!" Hishya tightened her grip around Kana's arm. "She's not in her right mind! If you get close, she might hurt you."

Kana wanted to deny her statement but couldn't, since she understood that Hishya was right. As she looked out at the screaming and writhing Akagi, should couldn't even begin to imagine the pain in her sister's heart.

{Onee-chan, why must you always suffer...} (Kana)

Akagi began rolling in pain in the grass, screaming at the top of her lungs. Dark clouds began to swirl above the base as a high winds rushed through the courtyard. Simultaneously in Tokyo, Washington, and Libra's base, a massive wave of power crushed down on people causing panic to take hold. While around the world, people reported trouble breathing and something akin to an earthquake as the ground shook and writhed, with a few buildings toppling. It was as if the entire planet was shaking as Akagi's power went higher and higher.

All this noise and hoopla began to attract attention from the rest of Akagi's family, who started gathering around Kana. They began asking questions wondering what was happening, and the few that got close to Akagi found an impassable barrier blocking them. When they were told that Yumi was badly injured, they knew something horrible was about to happen. It was well known just how important the priestess was to their master, but they were about to see just how important she was.

Akagi flipped onto all fours and stared at the ground in anger as she began to scream in Demon. "[What do I care about this world anyway?]" She punched the ground causing a minor quake that knocked the girls on their backs, the shockwave even caused research stations as far as way as Nagoya to register her punch on the Richter scale. "[What has letting the humans live gotten me?]" She punched the ground again and a bolt of red lighting crashed next to her, vaporizing the grass. "[It's all my fault. It's all my fault that Yumi got hurt. I should have just killed them all! ] Akagi screamed as the windspeed picked up further. "[NO! IT'S THE HUMAN'S FAULT. They couldn't be grateful with getting to live! HA! The ungrateful bastards, I allow them to exist and this is how they repay me! FINE! I'LL SHOW THEM WHAT REAL HELL IS LIKE, AND I'LL BURN THIS ENTIRE WORLD TO THE GROUND! IF THEY WANT A MONSTER, I'LL GIVE THEM ONE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAH]" Akagi began to laugh uncontrollably as her power climbed higher and higher. Further bolts of red and orange lightning crashed down beside her, and Kana and the girls were moved under a pavilion to keep them out of danger.

{W-we're all going to die...} Hishya stood completely motionless, what she'd feared had come to pass and this would be the end of the world.

"[Don't let it control you Onee-chan!]" Kana spoke in Demon to Hishya's shock. "[Fight it! Do you really think Yumi would want you to become some mindless monster! Please, remember who you are!]"

Akagi ignored her as she started screaming and raving once again. [LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!]

Akagi screamed in pain and a massive vortex of black energy swirled around her, shooting into the sky like a tornado until Akagi herself was no longer visible.

As all this was happening. Mizumi suddenly appeared next to Kana, finally returning from her world after these weeks away. She took one look at the torrent of Demonic energy and said. "I was too late." Her face paled, and she started shaking. "This world... It's doomed. It's...its here..."

_____________________________________________________________________________

*Chirp* *Chirp* *Chirp*

Akagi was awoken by the sounds of birds at outside her window as light beamed into her eyes from outside. She slowly opened her eyes, only foggily remembering what just happened and her head was pounding as if she had a migraine. She sat up in bed and looked around the room, only to find that she was in a particularly unpleasant place.

"Why am I back in my old room?" Her voice surprised her. It was the one she had when she was Rishia. "What the hell is going on?" She slowly got out of bed and checked in the mirror. She was indeed transformed into Rishia, though she was wearing pajamas and her eyes had dark bags under them. She moved over to the window and when she looked out, she saw nothing more than an infinite expanse of white in all directions. "Well, that's great." She had no clue where she was, but she had a theory. "Well I guess this is happening."

Figuring it was best to just roll with things, she opened the door and peaked into the hallway. It was exactly as she'd last seen it at the Kyoto house, with Kana's paper mache bird sitting on shelf on the wall. Looking around and seeing nothing, she decided to head downstairs where she could hear voices. As she crept down the steps, she could hear two people speaking while a T.V. played in the background, though the voices were all ones she'd heard before. As she looked around the corner and into the kitchen she saw an interesting sight.

"It's about time you woke up." A shadowy form of Akagi sat on the couch sipping tea. "I never thought you would get out of bed. Then again, I guess we're actually pretty attached to sleep."

"Yeah, me neither." Next to her sat a shadowy form of Rishia. "And hey, that bed's pretty fluffy so it's understandable."

The two were hanging out in the living room watching what Akagi figured was her memories. Right now the T.V. was playing her assassination of the Imperial Crown Prince.

Akagi just sighed. "Let me guess. Shadow Akagi represents the darkness inside me, and the Shadow Rishia is my humanity." She rolled her eyes. "What a nice trope, good to see it's showed its ugly head."

"Pretty much." Shadow Rishia smiled. "At least you're quick on the uptake. And hey, don't be angry at us, we didn't ask for this."

"So where am I, and why am I here? I vaguely remember Yumi getting hurt, but after that, things are a blur." Akagi still had a headache and couldn't exactly figure things out, though she had an idea.

"We are inside our soul." Shadow Akagi answered. "When you saw Yumi in such a horrific state, and your mind began to assume she'd never wake up, the seals around our soul collapsed, and I was freed." She continued. "You were pulled in here not long after things got out of hand and you went a bit crazier than normal."

"Indeed." Shadow Rishia smiled. "We are currently raving and ranting in the garden at the estate and are unleashing quite a large amount of energy. It would be an entertaining show if it wasn't for all the massive problems it's causing."

"Well, that's great. I assume this is the end?" Akagi pinched her nose. "I've lost control, and now I'll go on a rampage and end the world. Did you bring me here to just kick back and watch the show?"

"Why do you sound so sad? Isn't that what we've always wanted?" Shadow Akagi grinned. "Besides, what's so bad with doing our job? They're just humans, little more than ants to us. Whole cares if we kill them? It will be fun."

"Destroying the world isn't right!" Shadow Rishia argued. "No matter what power exists in our soul, we're still human! We were born this way, and we should stay like that. Being a Demon doesn't mean we have to stop being us. If we do as you say, we're nothing different than a puppet being pulled along by someone else's strings!"

"I'd have to hard disagree on that second point. And also, why should we constrain ourselves to the notions of humanity?" Shadow Akagi asked. "We are not human, and never were. You are little more than a lie used to keep me down. You understand that, don't you?" She looked at Akagi. "You don't want to be human anymore, right? You said so yourself. This girl is just an annoyance getting in the way of our true selves. So do us both a favor and banish her from our mind. Destroy her, and let's have some fun!" The shadow Akagi gave an awful smile.

"Don't listen to her!" Shadow Rishia exclaimed at Akagi. "We're not a monster! We don't need to do what she says, you don't have to give in to being a crazy monster of death and destruction! Banish her and keep your humanity, please! If you get rid of me, that will mean giving up everyone you care about. Kana, Yumi, everyone will no longer mean anything to you. Is that what you want? To exist in a world all alone? With nothing but death and destruction? I know that's not what you want, despite what that fool might say!"

"But you are fake aren't you?" Akagi asked. "Why should I keep lying to myself any longer? I'm not human, I never was and I don't want to be." Akagi shook her head. "You have no idea how horrible it's been living within this void in my heart for all these years..."

"Exactly." Shadow Akagi nodded. "We're a Demon, we exist to bring death and destruction. We don't need anyone or anything else! Your useless humanity has done nothing but bring us pain and suffering, so it should be expunged forthwith!"

"It's not useless. It's been good for us!" Shadow Rishia disagreed. "Just because I was artificially added to us, doesn't mean I shouldn't be here! You've had so much fun, and so many good memories because of me. You can't just throw that all away! Do you really want to kill Kana and all your friends? Because that's what will happen! I know it's been hard and there has been some pain, but I believe it's a good trade! You might not be whole, but you get to so much more than what you've lost!"

"Who cares. We don't need Kana or any of them. Though I won't deny Yumi has been nice. Her pets are top tier." Shadow Akagi smirked. "However, amazing Yumi or not, it doesn't matter. All we need to care about is killing humans and destroying worlds, anything else is irrelevant. We shall  achieve and even greater level of happiness by fulfilling our duty and exterminating the people of this world. Burning it to ash will be good for the soul."

The two shadows turned to Akagi. "So what will it be? Will you banish me and give in to darkness? Will you become the monster you were meant to be, or will you stay true to yourself?" (Shadow Rishia)

"Or will you banish me? And be little more than a shell of a person, someone who hides behind a mask they can never remove. Someone who lies to themselves every day to please others at the expense of yourself?"(Shadow Akagi)

Akagi thought for a moment. They both made good points and it was hard for her to come to a clear answer. She did want to remove the last vestiges of her humanity, but that would mean giving up Yumi and the others. People, she'd come to trust, care for and rely on would be cast aside, could she really do that? Could she really find joy in being alone in a dead world? Whole but without friends or family at her side? Years ago, she would have easily banished her humanity and embraced the darkness. She was always alone, but not anymore. Today she had family, friends, and people that she cared about. She couldn't throw all that away and consign them to death. But at the same time, she wanted to fill the emptiness in her heart, the urge to be whole only increased after she'd tasted just a bit of the power within, and she could no longer resist the temptation. She looked at the two shadows sitting in front of her, her eyes bouncing between them as she agonized. She didn't want to destroy the world, but she couldn't deny she wanted the power to do so. She'd already had a taste, and it was far too intoxicating to pass up. If she banished the darkness and embraced her humanity, that would mean she would never be complete, a grim prospect. The world might be saved, but at the cost of Akagi's happiness and she couldn't do that. She might love Kana immensely, but with the chance to become whole right in front of her, she couldn't say Kana was more important to her, as horrible as that seemed.

{I truly am a horrible person. I just admitted that my own power and happiness is more important to me than my own sister...} (Akagi)

She thought things over for what seemed like an eternity before slapping her cheeks. She'd come to a conclusion and her choice would shape the rest of this world's history.

"I don't want to be human." Akagi declared without hesitation in her voice. This statement caused Shadow Akagi to smile, while Shadow Rishia sighed.

"Good! Then the world shall burn under our feet!” Shadow Akagi was excited. "The humans shall regret causing us so much pain!"

However Akagi wasn't finished. "But I do not want to destroy the world, as much as that sounds like fun." Akagi grinned. "So if my only two choices are to embrace my inner darkness or continue to lie to myself. I'll just make a third option and banish you both!" Akagi grinned. "I will be something other than a human. And at the same time, no one, not even my own power, has to right to dictate my future." She looked at Shadow Akagi. "I will take the power given to me as a birthright. But I will dictate how I use it, when I use it, and for what purpose! I will not be controlled by instincts, emotions, or expectations of how to use it. If the world is to burn, it will only because I chose to do so, not because I was fated to cause destruction by my birth!" Her declaration was the culmination of her years in FWO and the time she'd spent in the real world with her new family. They'd showed her warmth and joy that she never wanted to give up, and reinforced the importance of having those around who cared for her and her stubborn nature and iron will wouldn't allow her to be controlled by anyone or anything. She'd made a decision and it was final.

Akagi turned to Shadow Rishia and smiled. "I will not say that the humanity thrust upon me has been bad, after all without you I wouldn't have Kana and the others. But I'm sorry, you have to go. I can no longer resist my desire to be whole. You have served your purpose, goodbye." Akagi gave a fierce gaze as she glared at the two of them. "I am the master of my own fate, so leave! BOTH OF YOU!"

The two weren't angry or even shocked by her declaration. Rather, they seemed happy.

"Good." Shadow Akagi smiled. "I'm glad."

"Yeah," Shadow Rishia smiled. "You don't need us anymore. You're ready, and that makes me happy."

The two stood up and began to speak in turns.

"From this day forth, you will be granted the freedom you so desire." (Shadow Rishia)

"As well as the power that is rightly yours."

"A being that was meant to destroy the world."(Shadow Rishia)

"Now has the freedom to choose." (Shadow Akagi)

"Will this world thrive?" (Shadow Rishia)

"Or will it perish?" (Shadow Akagi)

"That is your choice." (Shadow Rishia)

"And no other." (Shadow Akagi)

"You have banished the light." (Shadow Rishia)

"And the darkness." (Shadow Akagi)

“Now all that remains. Is you!" (Shadow Rishia x Shadow Akagi.)

The two disbursed, and Akagi was momentarily left alone in the living room before a bright flash of light consumed her.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The swirling black vortex slowed down to a crawl before dissipating. As it relented, the wind calmed down and the shaking began to quiet as a single humanoid shadow could be seen hovering in the air. It stayed there for a moment before slowly descending to the ground. Hishya's eyes showed her panic, and Mizumi fell over, shaking in fear as her face paled. Akagi had returned.

As Akagi descended to the ground just ahead of her sister, she spoke. Her voice sounded authoritative and regal. Her outfit had changed and both her eyes were a deep orange. Her sclera were now pitch black, her skin was even more pale than usual and she stood at well over six feet tall.

"My apologies for the commotion. Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Akagi Dumetor, and I am the Demon Lord."

End of Book 2.