The Red Hand

Akagi, Yumi, and Chloe took the newly conscripted Mizumi into the servant housing to get acquainted with her new role as Akagi's personal maid. Hishya decided not to follow them as she was in no mood to be around the girl any longer than she had to. Fundamentally, she hated Mizumi, and even though her actions cured Hishya of her disease, she still couldn't forgive her for killing so many innocent people, some of which she had become good friends with.

Seeing Hishya's frustration, Kana took the opportunity to speak to her; in private. She was curious about her sister's rival and was interested in knowing just what kind of person she was. Hishya was similarly interested in Akagi's little sister, so the two returned to the living room, and Kana made some fresh tea.

"It's a little late for introductions, my name is Nina Hoshinomi, but..... you can call me Hishya." She hesitated slightly. Being called Nina didn't bother her, but she preferred Hishya.

"Are you sure?" Kana asked. "Onee-chan is one thing, but are you sure it's fine to call you by your avatar's name?" Kana saw a sense of disconnect in Hishya's eyes.

"Yeah, it's a tricky subject," Hishya smiled while scratching her cheek. "Maybe's it's because I spent so long in FWO, or maybe it's because I want a fresh start, but being called Hishya just feels.... right, I guess?

Kana let out a giggle. "Onee-chan said the same thing. She said that being called Rishia felt wrong to her." The two women were quite similar in that regard.

"Ah, hehehehe." Hishya let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I've only ever known her as Akagi, so calling her something else would be weird for me, especially now." she looked down at her tea in exasperation.

"You and Onee-chan knew each other for a while, huh?" Kana took a sip of her tea. "She mentioned you every once and a while, and she told me you were her rival." she chuckled. "I never imagined Onee-chan would ever call someone that."

"Yeah, that sister of yours sure is something else." Hishya shook her head. "In all the years I've known her, I can count on one hand the number of times I've beaten her." The two had competed in every game imaginable, and Akagi rarely lost to anyone, even her.

"Well," Kana gave a sidelong glance. "She really didn't have anything but gaming; it was all she did besides go to school." Akagi was only one or two steps above a hikikomori at times.

"Um... Kana." Hishya looked her in the eye. "I um.... this is really awkward to say, but... I'm sorry I almost killed your sister." Hishya bowed in apology, which shocked Kana. "I got so caught up in my status as the hero that I no longer saw Akagi as my friend. At that point, I was more interested in beating her to satisfy my own ego. After all, everyone loves the hero who defeats the big bad evil guy." Hishya looked at her with sadness in her eyes.

"It's fine; I've never been angry with you," Kana reassured her. "Things were quite crazy in FWO, and honestly, Onee-chan was basically the villain of the story." She gave a wry smile. "I mostly just try to put it out of my mind, but tell me.... was she really that bad in-game? I've heard stories but..." Kana may have accepted her sister's nature, but that didn't mean she was entirely comfortable with it.

"Honestly, no, not really." Hishya thought about it for a moment. "She is responsible for 104, now 105, player deaths; but she could have easily killed much more." Monsters had killed far more players than Akagi, so in terms of kill count, she was quite low. "It was more the fear factor than anything else." She put her cup down. "We all expected monsters to be after us; that was the point of the game, but the idea that another person was willingly killing other people knowing full well that they would die. That... that was just too much for people." There were a few Pkers in FWO, but all but Akagi were dealt with quite quickly, and most never killed more than one or two people. But, Akagi's skill and game knowledge made her a force to be reckoned with.

"Four times..... four times members of the assault team went out to defeat her. And four times, she wiped them out." Hishya shook her head. "By the eve of Hassan, she had already killed over eighty players, some of our best and brightest were sent to their deaths by her blade." she looked at Kana. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming Akagi; she had every right to defend herself, it's just that...." she stopped for a moment. "If I hadn't been so blinded by my own ego, those people wouldn't have died."

"But I mean," Kana interjected. "You were just trying to stop someone who was killing other players. Even if it was Onee-chan, I don't think it was wrong to fight her." Kana's response was quite shocking to Hishya.

"You.... you... I'm surprised you can say that; I know how much Akagi means to you." Hishya was momentarily stunned.

"Just because she's my older sister; doesn't mean I have to wear rose-tinted glasses. As I said before, I accept what she is; I do not endorse it." Kana gave a determined look.

"If Onee-chan's own actions got her killed, I would be sad, but I couldn't fault the person who struck her down." Kana poured a new cup of tea. "Onee-chan is... Onee-chan is a person who walks a dangerous path, and she teeters on a fine line. I can't change who she is, so my only choice is to make sure she never truly goes off the deep end." Hishya understood exactly what she was talking about. Akagi's mind craved death and murder but, for whatever reason, had limited itself to a narrow scope in which to practice those things. For now, she was content with assassination to satisfy her inner cravings, but there was no guarantee that she wouldn't seek more in the future.

{Th-this girl! How can she be younger than me but so much more mature?} Hishya couldn't believe that Kana was able to so quickly assess her sister's condition and make such objective statements. {Now I see why Akagi always bragged about her; not only is she smart, she can use that intelligence effectively. And here it took me nearly two and half years to understand just what Akagi was.} she cursed herself for her failure.

"Just what do you plan on doing?" Hishya asked. "Being by her side is good, but if Akagi really goes off the rails, I doubt you can stop her." the power of sisterly love was strong but was it strong enough to stop a rampaging Demon? That was what Hishya was getting at.

"You're right," Kana nodded. "As I am now, I could never hope to stop Onee-chan. But that's not my goal." she took a deep breath. "I'm partially responsible for making Onee-chan the way she is, so my goal isn't to stop her; it's to make sure her actions are her own." Kana continued. "At the very least, if she decides to destroy the world, I want that to have been because she wanted to, not because she went mad." She gave a smile that betrayed the seriousness of the words she just said.

Hearing Kana's statement, Hishya was left momentarily speechless.

{She... this girl... I can see it in her eye... she's.... she's serious.} Hishya's mind raced. {In a way, she might be just as scary as Akagi.}

Kana meant what she said, her devotion to her sister was so great, and her feelings of guilt ran so deep that as long as Akagi was making a rational conscious decision of her own free will. Kana would likely go along with it, no matter how terrible it was. She might not approve of Akagi's actions, but she wouldn't stand in her way.

"I see..." Hishya didn't really have a response to Kana's declaration.

"It's fine if you think me crazy." Kana chuckled. "Trust me, I'm well aware of just how bad that sounds, but it's how I truly feel. Though I'm going to try my best to ensure it never comes to that point." Kana would prefer if Akagi lived a relatively quiet life if possible.

"I shouldn't be judging others." Hishya sighed. "After all, I'm a massive hypocrite who was more than happy to ask Akagi to dirty her hands for my sake." Even though Hishya had contracted Akagi to kill the Black Gauntlet, she still denounced her and her actions as an assassin. While she still didn't like what she did, she now understood that she had no right to criticize her actions.

"I figured it was you who made that request." Kana interrupted Hishya's thoughts. "She wouldn't tell me who it was, but based on circumstances you were one of the most likely client." Kana's detective skills were impressive.

"It's honestly not my proudest moment." Hishya gave a wry smile. "I was more than happy to use your sister to get rid of people rather than take responsibility and do it myself. It was one of the times my ego caused me to make a big mistake." Hishya was slightly embarrassed. "I was so worried that people would turn away from me if I got blood on my hands. In desperation, I went to the one person I knew could help me, but doing so was little different than selling my soul to a Demon." The price for Akagi's help was the loss of her moral high ground, something Hishya could never get back.

"Good thing Onee-chan didn't actually ask for your soul, huh?" Kana joked.

"Don't give her any ideas. Now that she is an honest to god Demon, I wouldn't be shocked if she did." Hishya shuddered at the thought.

{Good thing I asked her for help before she merged with that thing.} Of course, whether Akagi could actually take souls was unknown, but she didn't want to find out.

"Eh." Kana shrugged. "There's probably worse Demons to sell one's soul to." she gave a cheeky smile.

"Let's not and say we did." Hishya's statement caused both girls to bust out laughing.

"OH!" Kana exclaimed. "Ummm... I have a question for you..."

"What is it?" Hishya tilted her head.

"Umm... can... can I touch your tail?" Kana blushed as she asked a very embarrassing question.

The unexpected request caused Hishya to howl in laughter.

"Yeah..... sure why not?"