Chapter 143.5 – Venting Session

Chapter 143.5 – Venting Session

A bit after the mom discussion, Akagi and Naomi moved into one of the side rooms, alone. Since she was already here, and was planning on sticking around to monitor her new magical power, Naomi figured that now would be a good time for her first session with Akagi. The Demon was reluctant to do something like this, mostly because she didn't want to bother her friend, but Naomi insisted.

"Here, I got something for you to drink." Akagi handed Naomi a cup of juice while she sat down with her coffee.

"Thanks." Naomi took a sip.

"How are you feeling?" Akagi wanted to check in on her condition before they began.

"I still ache a bit, but it's definitely gotten better than the other day." She laughed. "Though the increased food consumption has really spooked my staff."

{They were a bit concerned with my sudden increase in intake, and explaining that I could now use magic was a fun conversation.} (Naomi)

"I can imagine. Suddenly needing a good bit extra food daily is sure to cause some concern and confusion among those around you. There aren't many reasons for such a change normally." Akagi chuckled. "Mika has apparently just been sleeping a ton and eating even more, much to her parent's chagrin."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "As if she needed an excuse to sleep or eat."

"Fair point." Akagi smiled.

"So then, how about we get started." Naomi put her cup down. "Is there any place you wanted to begin? Or should we start from the beginning?"

"To be honest, I have no idea what to even say or do here." Akagi gave a dry laugh. "I've never really talked about things to anyone, even Yumi, so I'm a bit at a loss. And I don't exactly want to burden you with my problems."

{She shouldn't have to do this. It's not right to rely on her for something so heavy, so maybe I shouldn't go too in-depth.} (Akagi)

"Stop right there." Naomi put her hands up to signal a time-out. "I might not be able to read minds like you, but I can tell what you're thinking." She scolded Akagi. "Don't you go thinking this is a burden on me, and don't go holding back because you think I shouldn't be doing this."

{You're such a pain...} (Naomi)

"I brought this up to Kana, and it was my idea to give you someone to talk to. After the nightmare the other day, it only strengthens my resolve to give you help." Naomi's eyes told how serious she is. "I can't do much for you in this friendship, so at a bare minimum allow me to lend you an ear. Trust me, I'm not going to get upset or anything from just listening to your story or problems. Lord knows I've gone to enough therapy myself after my family was killed, so I understand how strange it can be to talk to someone about how you feel."

{And it didn't help that said therapist was garbage at her job...} (Naomi)

"Are you really ok with this?" Akagi asked. "Isn't hearing what I have to say going to stress you out? I mean, it can't be easy to listen to someone else's-" She was cut off by Naomi tapping her fingers on the table between them.

"Do you really think me so weak that I couldn't handle listening to my friend's issues?" Naomi glared at her.

"N-no, that wasn't what I was trying to say..." Akagi averted her eyes.

"Listen... Friends listen to other friends problems, it's one of the perks of being friends." Naomi sighed. "I'm not going to pretend to be a therapist, but I can listen and that is probably just what you need since you've never really articulated your feelings to anyone else. So I'll be ok."

"Fine, but if it gets to be too much, then please tell me to stop." Akagi sighed.

"I will, but I don't think that will happen. Besides, we're going to do this a bit at a time rather than all at once." Naomi shrugged. "So, since you've got no idea where to start, let me kick things off." She straightened up and picked up her juice cup. "Kana has told me many things about your childhood and how things were at the house. But I'd like to hear about it from you since you were the one affected by everything." Naomi wanted to get the entire story and was hoping for more detail than what Kana could give.

"Mostly, yeah." Akagi laughed. "Kana would always ask why I wasn't going, and they always said that I was going to stay with Aunt Nana for whatever reason." She shrugged.

"And in reality, you were left at home by yourself?" Naomi said while sipping her drink.

"Yeah, at least most of the time. There were plenty of times where they did dump me at her house, but it really doesn't matter. Do you know how stupid and dangerous it is for a ten-year-old kid to be left at home alone?" Akagi sighed. "I'll never forget the time I burned my hand on the stove trying to cook popcorn and nearly burned down the house. The best part was that I got scolded for wasting food, and then went without dinner the day they got back as punishment."

{T-that's...} (Naomi)

"And if you think that's bad. Ohhhh boy do I have stories for you." Akagi laughed. "I've been put out in a blizzard, poisoned, left at school and forced to walk in the rain, nearly ran over by them, and so much more."

{Not to mention the time Shima locked me in the shed for an entire day...} (Akagi)

"I hate to ask, but was there really no one who could have done anything for you?" Naomi asked. "Or couldn't you have reported them?"

{Where the hell were child protective services?!?} (Naomi)

"Pffff." Akagi laughed. "You don't think I tried?!? Kenji had a fuck ton of influence, and the one time I told a teacher about what those two did to me when he asked about a comment I made, not only did I get punished for spreading 'lies', but the teacher in question 'committed suicide.'" Akagi put up air quotes around that phrase.

"Did the Tomogawa family really have that much power?!?" Naomi's eyes went wide in shock.

{The Mitsuhides had lots of influence, but that was because of their political connections. I don't recall the Tomogawa's having something similar.} (Naomi)

"The Tomogawa clan had sunk its teeth into so many different businesses, NGOs, political parties, and the like that we'd be here all day if I tried to tell you each one." Akagi shrugged. "I found all the info in their archives, the family had apparently used its spiritual powers and shikigami to get dirt on people so they could exploit them later."

{They even had dirt on the Mitsuhide and Tokugawa clans.} (Akagi)

"Quite ironic then that they were supposed to be the defenders of good." Naomi gave a dry laugh.

"Yeah, they bought into their own hype hard." Akagi said. "Everything was for the greater good, and blah, blah, blah. Thus they couldn't do anything wrong since they were the force for good and defenders of the world." She mocked them.

"They were nothing but a bunch of fucking hypocritical blow-hards, and I'm so glad I tortured those fucks before eating them!" Akagi accidentally spoke aloud.

"Hmmmmm. I'll just ignore that one." Naomi sighed.

"Oops." Akagi let out a wry laugh. "Yeah, I might have gone a bit overboard in how I went about that..."

{But god was it fun.} (Akagi)

"Yeah, I can only imagine what you did, and honestly, I don't want to know." Naomi shook her head.

{Venting about your issues does not mean telling me the gory details of how you tortured your relatives before consuming their souls.} (Naomi)

"Yeah, no." Akagi shook her head quickly. "Let me just tell you this, that night.... that night, I dropped the human disguise for a bit." She bit her lip but cracked a smile. "And it felt good." Her voice distorted briefly. "I got to sink my teeth into those who I've wanted revenge on for so long, and in that moment, I wasn't Akagi, the nice older sister of Kana and your friend." Akagi looked into Naomi's eyes. "I was Akagi, the Demon Lord, and nothing else."