"Calm down, Shuri. The boy is not stupid and will return safely. Didn't you already calculate the date? Just wait for Friday."
Only five days remained. He really was curious of Igor's growth.
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|DxD|- Chapter 30- Compromise
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Night fell over the town and stars lit up the sky. The moon was hidden by clouds that promised rain before morning.
Shuri had just put Akeno to bed. Her lively daughter fell asleep with her giant stuffed bear. She wondered if she would still remember Igor once he came back.
"Sleep well, my child."
She gave Akeno a kiss and quietly left the room. Her steps were filled with heaviness. She was happy that Igor would return, but also felt apprehension.
She paused at the end of the hallway. The dim orange lighting cast a shadow over her face.
[Why…]
Her fists clenched in silent displeasure. She did not know whether to be angry at her husband or the world that forced these circumstances. Just minutes ago, her husband shared a grim truth with her, one that would affect Igor…potentially for life.
She walked down stairs. Each step was thrice slower than the ticking clock. Each thud made by her shoe was a gavel that disrupted her thoughts.
Shuri was not naive to the ways of the world. She grew up during the Skirmishes. She knew exactly how depraved the world could be. It's a rot that stayed in the mind.
She considered herself one of the more fortunate. Her hands were not stained with the blood of those who still wished to live. She had never taken away one's breath. She was not like her brethren who reveled in blood or her husband who—…she didn't want to know.
Shuri had barely got off the stairs when Baraquiel pulled her into his embrace. She felt a faint aversion to this. It wasn't his hold, but this feeling of being coddled.
"Do you have to?"
Her voice was low. Her husband had almost dedicated himself to raising Igor to protect this family and he would do so through harsh means. It only made her seem more…incompetent.
"Yes."
Baraquiel responded grimly.
"Igor has to see the depravity of this world."
Wisdom surpasses intelligence just as eyes surpass the imagination. A passage in the history books cannot begin to truly paint the times of the past.
The Ariyan massacre did not end with just the killings. Far more grievous and atrocious acts of violence took place during the last years of the Scramble
It was impossible to send Igor into the past. But taking him on a journey to see just how vile the world is would help him relate.
"Can't we wait until he's older? He's still a child, Baraquiel."
Shuri was against this. The threat of hers and Akeno's deaths lingered over this family like a beheading blade, but this gave absolutely no justification to destroy an innocent child. Igor, no matter how much of a prodigy and an anomaly might be, still deserved a proper childhood.
"Please think about it, Baraquiel. Please…"
"..."
Baraquiel remained quiet. Shuri felt warm in his hold and he wanted to keep her warm for as long as possible.
His decision could come off as rash. Rather, it was rash. There was some manipulation to it made out of desire to force Igor to get stronger. But facing his wife's honest request, he felt was indeed going too far.
"You're right, Shuri. This is my mistake."
Igor would be eleven this year. As much as the boy carried himself with composure, he was still too young. The filth of the world would destroy rather than build him. He would get a weapon, but not a person. Perhaps—no, it was better if he let the child have some semblance of a normal life.
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|DxD|
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Time Chamber, Six Days Later, Fifteen Months Since Entry
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"Ka…me…"
Under the white skies, Igor stood several metres from the cabin. His eyes shone with laser focus. His hands met at his side where he focused the energy between his palms.
"...ha…me…"
A steady high-pitched whine like steam from a boiling kettle rang. Clumps of golden energy swirled together to form a smooth sphere of golden energy.
"...haaaaaa!"
Igor pressed his arms forward and released the energy. It unleashed in a powerful blast like floodwaters bursting through a dam. The torrential golden beam barreled forward, steaming the air around it from its sheer heat alone.
It stretched far like an ever-growing pipe, fueled by determination and energy. After a few seconds, Igor stopped powering it. The beam soon dwindled in diameter and fizzled out, leaving faint golden motes of energy that hovered like mist.
Igor lowered his arms to his side and stood up straight in slight disappointment. His bootleg Kamehameha took a bit out of him. It sucked his energy like a straw through his palms.
"Man, I still can't get it to turn blue."
He scratched his head in thought. He still couldn't get it to be as powerful as Master Roshi's.
"Was it the stance? Or maybe I didn't compress it enough?"
In hindsight, these were rather stupid questions. Dragon Ball was a manga. Nothing more and nothing less. Imitating characters wasn't reliable. At least that's what an adult would say. With vitality, he could do anything!
"One day, I'll get it to turn blue."
Igor pumped his fist with determination. He'd definitely make a Kamehameha so strong he'd blast open mountains. Or maybe he'd make his own techniques and use them to destroy the moon. As long as he got super strong, it didn't matter.
But more importantly, today was the day. He was finally going back. He quickly zoomed to the hourglass. Only a very tiny amount of ashes remained. Grain after grain plopped into the small hole.
He was feeling a bit anxious. There was still some lingering apprehension at meeting his new family again, but most importantly, he knew his true journey would start.
The gods—he had not forgotten they were the ones who pushed for his people's extermination. They, the very forces who are worshipped and trusted by countless, both passively and actively fueled the war.
They were far beyond his current strength, but Baraquiel would forge him into a weapon. He just had to train as much as he could. Goku was weak too and he ended up fighting monsters that could destroy moons. If he trained, he'd get just as strong too.
*GONG!*
The bell suddenly rang. In the midst of his thoughts, the last grain of ash had fallen.
*GONG!*
Igor stepped back from the hourglass. His mind was disturbed by thoughts of the supernatural world. It always made him frown when he pictured the gap between him and those leading factions.
*GONG!*
He shook his head and began thinking of Shuri and Akeno. He shouldn't chase vengeance. He lived for them now. Getting strong was the goal. That's it.
*Tsiii…*
The sizzling began. The hourglass rotated on its axis, bringing the bottom to the top. The ashes inside burned like embers and slowly, escaped through the open hole on the lid. The ashes trailed in an arc towards the porch steps where they clumped together in a ball.
Igor watched with interest and slight impatience…until he remembered he wasn't properly dressed. He was only wearing torn black pants covered in white dust and debris. Shuri definitely wouldn't like that.
"Damnit."
He squeezed out a curse and rushed up the steps. He burst through the door and rushed towards his room with frantic steps. He took off his pants and began rummaging for a pair of clean clothes. There was no time for a bath. He just hoped Shuri wouldn't notice he smelled a bit.
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AN: I thrive off comments and reviews. After thirty chapters, I'd like to know what you think so far and if you have any recommendations I can improve on.
Just a reminder. I'm not uploading tomorrow. I got an exam.
Chapter 30
END