The Red Hand

After about an hour of discussion, Hishya and Akagi had come to an understanding. Akagi agreed not to harm her or her family, and in return, Hishya would remain neutral in any conflicts between Akagi and the government or other players. With this deal, the biggest threat to Akagi was removed and she could continue her work unimpeded and with Hishya out of the way; any attempt by other players to destroy her was all but doomed. The two then shifted to less pressing discussion topics as they reminisced about the past and discussed plans for the future.

"I can't imagine you just sitting in some office typing away at a computer," Akagi asked Hishya what she wanted to do with her life, to which the dragon girl had no answer.

"Yeah, I don't want to be stuck in some room day in and day out; I think I've done enough of that." Hishya gave a wry smile.

She had little in the way of schooling, and with her new powers, it was difficult to imagine she could reintegrate into society and act like a normal person. It's quite ironic, her powers gave her the ultimate freedom of choice, but also meant that they shackled her with the responsibility of using them. Unlike Akagi, Hishya's conscious and personal morality would never allow her to impose her will on others through force. The thought of using her powers purely for personal gain at the expense of others was a complete anathema to her.

"Then why don't you use those powers to help people?" Akagi asked her. "You could travel the world, and I'm sure there would be many organizations that would love to have you. You don't have to act like a superhero, but I think you could do a lot of good for the world." The number of things a person with super strength and flight could do is too high to count. From disaster relief to helping with construction, Hishya would be a valuable asset no matter where she went.

"Yeah, that's what Kirika said too." Hishya smiled. "It's been so hectic over these last two months that I really haven't sat down and given it thought. But, I won't deny that flying around acting like a superhero doesn't sound nice." Her face changed to a slightly perverted grin.

Seeing this Akagi commented. "Oh? And here I thought that vain side of you was gone? Does the idea of being loved by people all over the world tickle your fancy?" Akagi poked fun at her. "I can imagine it now. Hishya flies to the rescue and afterward is swarmed by her many adoring fans all telling you just how cool you are!" Akagi was struggling to hold back her laughter as a shoe flew past her head.

"Shut up! As long as I'm helping people, does it matter if I enjoy myself?" Hishya's was bright red from embarrassment.

Akagi shrugged. "No, not really. Just, whatever you end up doing, make sure you're doing it because you want to, don't let others make that decision for you." Akagi was worried that Hishya might get dragged along by the expectation of those around her.

"You never change do you?" Hishya sighed in exasperation. "Even now you still like to pick on me and get under my skin! What did I do to deserve this?" she hung her head.

"If you want, I can get out the list." Akagi stuck her tongue out.

"You know, for some reason, I actually think you might have one." Hishya was completely defeated.

"Moving on," Hishya tried to redirect the conversation away from her. "We should go speak with that Mika girl." Akagi had asked Hishya for help in explaining the situation. While she wouldn't disclose that she had been the one to order the hit, she was more than happy to corroborate the claims about Mika's brother.

"Well, those three should be wrapping up their review in a little bit, and we've discussed all we need to, so now's as good a time as ever." Akagi stood up and offered Hishya her hand.

"Even all these years later, Silver Wolf is still causing me headaches." She took Akagi's hand and stood up. "Even with me here, I don't think this conversation is going to be pleasant, especially if you tell her that you were the one that struck him down." Hishya predicted that Mika would come to hate Akagi for what she did, even if the girl understood that her brother deserved his fate.

"If I cared about what others thought of me, I would never have gone down this path in life." Akagi started walking toward the house. "If she hates me, so be it."

Hishya followed her into the house. The girls were sitting around the kitchen table in the middle of their study session, and it looked like Yumi was trying, and failing, to help them.

{A for effort Yumi, but I would guess what these girls are reviewing is more advanced than what even the nobles in your world would see in school.} Even as a priestess, Yumi's education was basic, to put it nicely; FWO was a world with Nobles and Peasants after all.

"Hey, girls," Akagi's voice broke them out of their concentration. "How's the studying going?"

"Great!" (Kana)

"Miserable" (Mika and Naomi)

Hearing these very different reactions, Akagi let out a laugh. "Kana, can you guys take a break here? We need to have a discussion." Kana knew what her sister meant causing her face to darken slightly.

"Mika, this involves you too." Akagi looked at the blue-haired girl. "As for Naomi, this is something personal, so I'll leave that to your discretion, Mika."

"Personal?" Mika was confused. "Can you tell me what it's about first?"

Akagi paused for a moment as she figured out the best way to answer her. "Your brother."

Hearing Akagi says she wanted to talk about her brother, Mika's expression turned serious. "Then it's fine, Naomi can hear about it; I don't mind." Akagi could tell that the girl's stress levels had already increased.

"Then the three of you come with me to the living room; Hishya is waiting there." Akagi turned around. "Yumi, you already know what's going on, so you can sit this out if you want." Yumi was informed about Akagi's assassination of the Black Gauntlet and the identity of its leader and chose to sit out this conversation.

“I have some other work to do, so I'll get started on that.” She gave a smile.

The girls followed Akagi into the living room and saw Hishya sitting on one of the sofas. After greeting her and having a quick discussion, the five of them took their seats as Kana opted to explain what was going on.

"So Mika," Kana opened. "I'm going to need you to remain calm and listen to us as we explain this. If you have comments, please hold them until the end."

"Ok?" the blue-haired girl was confused but agreed.

Kana took a moment to compose herself before she relayed what Akagi had told her about her brother. That he and his guild, the Black Gauntlet, were responsible for the deaths of dozens of players and countless NPCs, and that they took pleasure in the act of killing others doing it just for the rush. Kana explained that they were wiped out in retaliation for their actions and that her brother was the one in charge of the guild. To her credit, Mika didn't interrupt Kana while she was explaining. However, the look on her face conveyed that she was anything but calm.

"And that's everything." Kana finished her explanation. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner; it's just that I wanted to find the right moment."

"How long have you known?" Mika asked, her voice laced with anger.

"Onee-chan told me the day she was discharged from the hospital." Kana apologized. "Please believe me that I wasn't trying to hide this, I just didn't know how to tell you."

Mika's eyes moved to Akagi's. "So then that means you lied to me when I asked if you knew anything!" she was angry with her. "Why the hell would you do that?!?"

Akagi shrugged. "Yeah, I did. And drop the attitude, Mika, and think about why I didn't just tell a girl I met five minutes prior about how her brother was a murderer." Akagi didn't really appreciate her tone of voice, friend or not Akagi didn't take well to disrespect. "Even if I told you right then and there, would you have believed me? I doubt it."

"You still should have told me!" she spat back. "Even if I didn't, at least you wouldn't have lied to me!" She looked at Kana.

"And you." she took a breath. "I understand the tough position you were in, so I'm not mad at you, but I really wish you had told me sooner!" she put her head in her hands. "Kai's birthday was just the other week; I would have liked to know about this before then."

"Then does that mean you believe me? About your brother?" Kana asked carefully.

"I... I don't think you're lying at the very least." She looked up at Hishya. "You're here to confirm what she told me, right?" Hishya responded with a nod.

"What Kana told you is 100% true. I had run-ins with your brother during the year we shared in FWO." Hishya continued. "He preyed on the weaker players and ones who weren't part of or connected with the assault team." Hishya's eyes turned serious. She had known some of the people her brother had killed and she honestly hated him from the bottom of her heart.

"Then why didn't you stop him!" Mika exclaimed. "Couldn't you have just put him in jail or something! Was killing him really necessary!" It was a reasonable question from the perspective of someone who wasn't trapped in the game.

"What jail would we put him in? How would we restrain him?" Hishya asked back. "The game was not designed with the long-term imprisonment of players in mind, and we couldn't risk him killing anyone we put as his guards." FWO was intentionally devoid of such mechanics as the devs wanted to allow more rouge play styles. As such, the only permanent restraints in the game were limited to use by system admins, which were not available. At best they could have restrained him for a few days, but even that was dicey and that would have also required members of the assault team, strong enough to fight him should he break free, to act as guards. That was not something they could afford with the limited roster they had.

"On top of that," Hishya continued. "As we've seen with Akagi, there were no real-life consequences for taking people's lives in the game, even if done intentionally." She gestured towards FWO's most decorated Pker. "So, even if we did jail him for the duration of the game, then what?" Her brother wouldn't have been punished and would have been allowed to roam free after everything he did. "Would that have been fair to the people he killed?"

"So what!" Mika exclaimed. "You all just decided that he needed to die? Who were you to make that call? What right did you have to make that decision!"

"What right did your brother have to kill all those people, Mika?" Akagi interrupted. "He didn't care about the lives of others, so why should others care about his?"

"Of course, you would say that!" Mika's eyes began to water. "You're just a murderer who takes people's lives for money! So where do you get off talking about caring for the lives of others when you are no better than he was, you monster!" Mika's denunciation of Akagi came as a shock to everyone.

"You're right," Akagi replied, her words tinged with anger. "I do take people's lives for money. But Mika," she continued. "If doing that makes me such a bad person." her sclera turned black. "Then what does that make your brother? Unlike me, that man killed for pleasure; and he enjoyed the power he held over others' lives." The air in the room began to grow cold as she stood up." If I'm a monster, as you put it, doesn't that make your brother something even worse?" Akagi looked at Mika with complete disgust. "I limit my killings to those who I'm paid to or those who try to harm me. But your brother had no such restrictions, Mika. He would kill someone for no other reason than he could and because he thought it was fun!" Akagi's anger began to boil over, which caused her to, partially, lose concentration on her illusory body. "DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO HIM!" Akagi's voice distorted as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.