The Red Hand

*CLANG* *BANG* CLANK* SWISH*

"Good, I think having Hishya fighting you properly is doing wonders for your form." Shinlua said as she watched Kana and the Dragon clash blades in the arena. After their earlier match, she'd taken to having them spar more frequently, though rather than let the two idiots bash against one another like beasts, she'd tailored the lessons to better acquaint Kana with combat and her own power by focusing on the fundamentals and more grounded lessons.

*CLANK*

"But you still..." Shinlua paused as she watched Hishya flip Kana over the Dragon's shoulder and place her blade against Kana's forehead. "That's enough."

"Woooo!" Hishya laughed as she helped Kana to her feet. "You're really getting to be something else. I was actually afraid of losing them for a moment." She was shocked by just how fast Kana improved, figuring that she was in striking distance of the best players already. The Demon Princess was just as much of a prodigy as her Sister, and equally as adaptable. In less than a year she'd gone from a helpless high school girl to someone more than able to hold her own in a fight. It was remarkable, though not unexpected if one knew Kana well enough. "Is there anything you don't end up excelling at?" She asked sarcastically.

"Meh, I still lost." Kana clicked her tongue in frustration.

{I should've moved the left instead of the right. Stupid.} (Kana)

"Oh, don't pout." Hishya said as she lightly pinched her girlfriend's squishy cheek. "You'll ruin your adorable face with those wrinkles." She snickered as Kana rolled her eyes. "And besides, you've only been fighting like this for what? A few months? I know you were practicing since not long after FWO ended, but it's going to take a lot longer than that to get anywhere near our level. After all, we fought monsters basically every day for years."

{At the end of the day I've got real combat experience. Kana has fought a few monsters but that hardly compares to literal life or death fights every day.} (Hishya)

"It still agitates me." Kana grumbled. "I don't know why it does either. You're right, and on a completely logical level, what you're saying makes sense, but-"

"You know that you can do better." Shinlua interjected as she hopped onto the arena. “Its that simple. In your heart you can see where you went wrong and understand exactly what your flaws are. I know how that feels, and I can relate to how infuriating it can be.”

"Yeah." Kana nodded. "It's like... I don't know... Every time Hishya or you get the better of me, I find myself so angry." She ruffled her hair in frustration. "I start thinking that I'm some kind of incompetent and blah, blah, blah. Stupid brain. Ugh... What is this? Second puberty?"

"That would be hell!" Hishya laughed.

"It's because you're holding yourself back, and you know it." Shinlua explained. "I can see it in your movements when you spar with Hishya. It's as if your body is tense, and as you clash with her, you hesitate. There were more than a few instances where if you'd pushed an opening, Hishya may have been placed into an unfavorable position."

{And there are plenty of reasons why you're like this.} (Shinlua)

"Wait, you're telling me that Kana is sandbagging?!?" Hishya glared at her girlfriend in disapproval. “Not cool.”

"That's not what I said." Shinlua sighed, understanding what Hishya was saying but thinking the term sounded ridiculous. "Kana is not consciously holding herself back. I'd say it's more than her mind and body are out of sycn; each having its own ideas about what she can and should be able to do."

"I... That sounds right." Kana replied with a wry smile. "I'm never fully comfortable when I fight, and I do always have a bit of nerves. "

"Yeah, but being nervous is normal. Even I get that way during dangerous fights." Hishya replied.

"And that wouldn't explain the hesitation." Shinlua shook her head. "Kana, let me just ask you directly rather than beat round the bush... Are you afraid of your power?" She said, meeting the Demon Princess's eyes.

"I... Umm..." Kana looked away. "I am."

"Then that gets to the heart of the matter." Shinlua nodded. "If you fear your own power, you'll naturally be hesitant to use it. No wonder your body is screaming out at you to do more while your mind holds it back. It knows it can do better but its being restrained by your own will."

"I went through the same thing." Hishya said as she put her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder to comfort her. "I was terrified of the changes to my body, my mind... my... everything. I went from being a Human to a fucking Dragon, and I was really afraid of losing who I was." She continued. "It took your Sister, and a really convoluted situation, slapping some sense into me to get me to realize that I'm me no matter what species I might be or what power I had."

{I got so hung up on being Human that I'd forgotten that all that actually matters is that I'm myself. The person inside is all that matters, quirks and all.} (Hishya)

"It's only natural that she came to fear the power within her. Kana was little more than a normal girl until recently. The discovery that she inherited some of Akagi's power was a substantial change." Shinlua acknowledged that the situation, while similar to Hishya's, wasn't exactly the same. "I've seen similar things before, people awakening to power they never knew they had. Many have negative reactions, fearing what they might do with it. Some even... Choose to take drastic measures to ensure they don't become the villain of the story, so to speak."

{Fear can make people do awful things, sometimes to themselves too.} (Shinlua)

"Kana, no seppuku." Hishya glared at her. "That's banned."

"I'm not gonna..." Kana rolled her eyes as she removed Hishya's hand from her shoulder. "After all, someone has to keep an eye on you." She smirked as she poked Hishya in the chest. “My Dragon girlfriend had a bad habit of getting into trouble so someone has to keep you handled”

"Ah, there it is. The sexy Kana." Hishya snickered before being chopped on the head.

"Still no shame in that head of yours, huh?" Kana sighed at Hishya's stupid remark. "But Shinlua is right. I'm worried about this power. Well, less the power and more its effect on me... No, that's not quite right either." She paused as she thought about how to word things. "I think... I think it's more than I'm worried that I'll... That I'll change... No, that's still not right... It's more that... I think I might be like Onee-chan..."

{I mean, you are... And damn me for kinda liking it...} (Hishya)

"Do you mean that you fear that the person you are now isn't the real Kana?" Shinlua tried to clarify her concerns. "Are you afraid that just as Rishia was merely a facade for Akagi, and that you, Kana, are similar?" She guessed, her years of wisdom shining through. “Are you afraid that Kana is merely a mask?”

"I... Yes..." Kana nodded as she turned away from them. "We joke about Scary Kana, but I've started to wonder if that's actually the real me and that the person I am now is just a fake. I'm worried that I'll become someone entirely different if I fully use my power."

{I know it sounds stupid, but it scares me. Onee-chan told me that's exactly what happened after she was in FWO for a while. And once she fully embraced being a Demon Lord, she was certainly not the same person as she was in the past. I don't... I don't know how I should feel about that... What if deep inside...} (Kana)

"I don't think you have anything to worry about on that front." Hishya sighed as she spun Kana around and looked her in the eyes. "Because, spoiler alert, you're already you, Kana."

"I just said that I-" Kana was cut off by Hishya giving her a quick kiss, which flustered her.

"Cute." Hishya laughed as Kana glared at her. "I hear what you're saying, but I can assure you that using your power isn't going to turn you into a completely different person."

"And what makes you so certain?" Kana asked, still embarrassed, which made Shinlua chuckle. "Onee-chan did change after she came back from FWO, you know that as well as I do. She might be happier with said change, but it was still a change." She also noted that Hishya's change wasn't as drastic since for the Dragon, it was merely accepting a racial change rather than something more fundamental.

"Because that Scary Kana we all joke about, that is you, Kana." Hishya smiled. "We can all tell that you, either consciously or not, suppress that side of you. There's a reason we joke about it so much, about how she's come out." She chuckled. “I mean, some of it is a joke, but you can't deny that its a part of you.”

"I only act like that because of idiots like you and Mika!" Kana growled. "And besides, that's just because of the power I got from Onee-chan! I'm sure that without it I wouldn't have that darker side to me."

{…} (Kana)

"Are you sure it's that simple?" Hishya asked with a raised brow. "Didn't Mika, Naomi, Akagi, and your parents all note that said side of you peaked out occasionally even before the power you inherited from our annoying demon kitty surfaced?"

"It was still there, though." Kana replied. "If I didn't have this power, I doubt I'd ever act problematic like that. "

"And I don't believe that one bit." Hishya shook her head. "Your personality is definitely that type, and you know what I mean. You like to take control, and your mind is that of someone happier making decisions based on logic rather than emotions. You can't blame Akagi's influence on everything that you are today. Hence why I said that you're already you. That part of you, that Scary Kana, is just as much a valid part of you as the goofy part of you. Don't go calling it fake or artificial or problematic." She said as she lightly tapped the back of her hand against Kana's chest. "I don't tolerate anyone talking bad about the girl I love, and that includes you." She winked. "Not to mention, that it doesn't matter if that part of you did stem from Akagi's power. Just like she and I, I believe that you should embrace all that you are. In my eyes, it's no different than someone developing a personality based on how their parents raised them."

"I would agree wholeheartedly with Hishya's sentiments." Shinlua nodded with a smile. "You are you. It does not matter why you are the way you are, only that you are happy. Are you not? Do you dislike the woman you are today?"

"I... No, I am." Kana smiled meakly. "Ever since Onee-chan came back, I've honestly been happier than I've ever been before, and this power..." She said as she channeled a small amount of dark power into the palm of her hand to create a faint purple aura around it. "It's helped me to feel closer to her. Closer in a way that I never imagined possible. With how different we are and what we went through growing up I never thought we'd have such a good relationship. So my troubles aside... I think... I think that I am glad to have this power." She said, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

{Adorable.} (Hishya)

"Just don't go challenging your Sister for domination over the universe or something. My heart couldn't take it..." Hishya sighed. Her comment being only partially in jest. "And knowing what I know about you, I could actually see it happening..."

{And fuck knows who wins THAT whole mess.} (Hishya)

"Nah, that sounds like too much work, and I don't have patience for all the problems that would pop up. Blowing it all up sounds like the better idea." Kana laughed alongside the other two who were happy to see her in a better mood, though their laughter meant they missed out on the look on her face which gave away her true thoughts on the matter.

{And besides, if anything, I'd work alongside Onee-chan to conquer reality rather than fight her. That sounds far more fun, and we could probably make a good time out of it. Doing it with conventional forces rather than our own power would make for a supreme challenge, too, and I could see her going for it. Hmm... Perhaps I'll draw up a few plans. Just for laughs... Yeah... Just for laughs...} (Kana)

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<Camilla POV>

“Hmpf, the new bugs are annoying, but I've seen worse. Although...” Camilla said as she kicked over a dead monster that had the face of a beetle crossed with a spider.

She'd tore through the latest wave of attackers and helped lead the Dwarven Army deeper down the highway toward Edur'al. The ever changing tactics of the monsters as well as the appearance of new creatures had caused her and her allies a bit of consternation, though more than anything else she'd begun to suspect that there was more at play than a simple monster invasion. Things were too organized and structured, and she'd begin to think that everything going on in the tunnels was part of a larger script. “If there really is some kind of Queen of the Monsters lurking in their nest, I can't wait to meet her.”

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