Chapter 32

The blonde watched these moments with a smile on his face. It made him reminisce about the times when he was still with his family.

[Father, mother, little brother. Despite all these years, I still miss you.]

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|DxD|

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The minutes trickled by and the traffic of people on the streets gradually decreased. The sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon, allowing for a lovely orange glow that slipped past through the trees lining the streets.

But while some would stop to appreciate such a sight, Akeno was the complete opposite.

"Mama! The sun is going down!"

"I know, dear. Why don't we pass by the park and enjoy it?"

Shuri continued to tease Akeno to oblivion. Taking advantage of her love for Detective Conan, she continued to agitate Akeno by walking slowly. As for the blonde he quietly walked behind them. Even though he was carrying the plastic bags, he never once slacked off with his training.

At all times, Igor was maintaining the Kaioken at 50% efficiency. This was the current maximum limit that he could maintain without leaking ki. Any further and a faint red outline would start to surround him.

The three of them trudged on further. Under the subtle cries of Akeno, Igor decided to offer an olive branch.

"Hey, aunty. Why don't I teleport us back home?"

"O-"

Before Shuri could even complete the first syllable, Akeno ran towards the blonde and enthusiastically grabbed his coat.

"Really? Can you? Can you? Pleaaaaase, big brother!"

Her eyes were practically shining like stars. The concept of instantly reaching home lit up a spark in her. While she would've wanted to fly, she was explicitly forbidden.

Putting both bags down, Igor chuckled as he picked up Akeno and held her in his arms.

"I can, little chick. But you're gonna have to ask aunty if she's okay with that. After all…"

He turned towards Shuri with a knowing smirk.

"...she did say she wanted to enjoy the sunset."

Akeno turned her neck so quickly that her hair slapped the blonde in the face. But she was far too concerned about convincing her mother to use Igor's proposed method of transport.

"Mama please! You…you can drop me home first before coming back to the park!"

Shuri put on a thoughtful expression. She really seemed to ponder the matter, causing Akeno to have no choice but to look on in trepidation.

After an excruciating 30 seconds, Shuri seemed to have come to a decision.

"Alright. Lead the way, Dimori-kun."

Akeno was so happy that a smile bloomed on her face.

"Yayyyy-kyaa!"

But in the midst of her celebration, she nearly fell from the blonde's arms and had to grab onto his shoulders for dear life.

Igor simply chuckled at this as he walked over to join hands with Shuri while her other hand was holding the groceries.

"Okay, aunty. Don't let go of my hand unless you want to get left behind."

Having received a nod of confirmation, Igor closed his eyes and spread out his senses towards Baraquiel's home.

[Oh…]

But upon expanding his senses there, he found that there was no one there, meaning there was no energy signature for him to lock onto.

Noticing his frown, Shuri asked.

"What's wrong, Dimori-kun?"

I can't sense the old man or anyone back home, meaning I don't have a high enough energy signature to lock on to."

Akeno was confused by all these talks about energy signatures and whatnot.

"Energy…signatures?"

She cutely tilted her head, trying to ponder what exactly those words meant. She would've continued to think further had Igor not flicked her forehead.

"Ouch!"

She furiously rubbed her forehead before punching him in the chest.

"You big meanie!"

"Haha. Don't think too much about these things, little chick. We'll talk about them once you get a bit older."

He then turned towards Shuri.

"Although I can teleport, I need a strong enough energy signature to pull myself towards to, aunty. It would've been easier if there were a whole bunch of people where the house is, aunty. But since we're a bit outside of town, I can't even collectively treat the smaller energy signatures of ordinary people as one giant signature to lock on to."

"Oh."

She could understand what he was saying to some extent.

"Why don't you move us closer to home then? We'll walk the rest of the way."

With his signature grin, Igor replied.

"That's what I was gonna do anyway, aunty."

Preparing to use the Instant Transmission again, the blonde was about to close his eyes when he suddenly caught sight of a store that sold manga.

It wasn't the store itself but a particular manga that had the blonde widen his eyes in shock.

"No way…"

He immediately let go of Shuri's hand and ran across the street to take a closer look at the book.

"Dimori-kun!"

Shuri was right behind as well. While the both of them were moving quickly, it wasn't outside the realm of a normal human's means. While they both ran, Akeno held on to Igor for dear life and she did rightfully so. The reason was that the blonde most likely would not have stopped to pick her up should she have fallen from his arms.

There was only one reason that could make the blonde lose himself like this other than a fight.

"This…THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE GODS!"

Right on the pedestal behind the shop window, was the manga of Dragon Ball.

Igor's heart began beating wildly.

"How much I've sinned. All these years have passed and yet not once have I journeyed to seek the warrior's holy bible."

He looked at the book with such a zealous gaze that Shuri couldn't decide between worrying or laughing at such a scene.

"Fufufu~. You're going to frighten all these nice workers if you continue to act like this, Dimori-kun."

It was then that Igor raised his head. Two women and one male entered his line of sight. While one woman was apparently afraid, the other two looked more amused than anything.

But Igor didn't have time to care about his public image at the moment.

Reeling his free hand back, he was about to punch through the window when Shuri hurriedly grabbed his arm.

"Dimori-kun?!"

Holding back his arm, Shuri looked him directly in the eye.

"What are you doing?"

It was only at Shuri's questioning that Igor regained a brief sense of clarity. He rubbed the back of his head while chuckling in the process.

"Haha! Thanks for stopping me, aunty. Stealing such a holy object would be sacrilegious."

Looking towards the now nervous workers, the blonde bellowed.

"You there! How much for this?!"

Even though there was a window and some distance between them, Igor's voice could be clearly heard from even across the street. Luckily, it was evening and this street was relatively desolate so there were not more than three people who witnessed Igor's spectacle.

As for Akeno, the little hybrid sat snugly on Igor's arm and didn't create a fuss. She was rather both in shock and awe at how much love Igor had for the Dragon Ball series.

[I wonder what he'll do if I show him Dragon Ball GT.]

Knowing that the show periodically aired around late evening as well, she could already imagine the kinds of spectacles she'd see with the blonde.

"Pfft-"

But Igor wouldn't let her laugh.

"Come on, little chick. Let big brother here show you some REAL manga."

Trudging with her in his arms, Igor walked over towards the shop entrance and entered. Turning right, he walked over to the copy of the manga and took it in his hand.

He showed the manga to Akeno with an enthusiastic expression.

"Look here, little chick. If you want to be strong like your super-strong big brother, you have to read this first. You have to study it sincerely."

Shuri couldn't take it anymore. Looking at how bewildered her daughter seemed, she couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"Fufu~. Look at how confused my little Akeno is~"

Stretching out her hands, she took Akeno from Igor's grasp and carried her in her arms.

"Don't worry my sweet princess. Mama will protect you from big brother Igor."

Akeno buried her head in Shuri's shoulder. Her face was completely flushed with embarrassment at being treated like a three-year old.

"Mama…"

"Fufufu~"

Turning towards the store employees, she directly asked for the price of the book.

"Ara? Since this brave warrior here wants to buy this manga, may I ask how much it will cost?"

The male went up and pointed at the price tag behind the book.

"It will be 42,000-yen, ma'am."

While he did hold his composure, he averted his eyes from the blonde. With Igor's significantly higher physique, the store clerk had no confidence in beating the blonde in a fight.

Putting Akeno down, Shuri then fished out a few yen notes from her handbag and prepared to pay. Akeno who was standing on the sides couldn't help but worry about the time.

[Detective Conan is about to start. Hurry mama! Please please PLEASE!]

She was subconsciously tapping her foot on the ground. But before she could get further agitated, she suddenly had an idea. Turning towards the blonde, she walked towards him before grabbing his coat. Before Igor could say anything, Akeno gestured for him to bend over so that she could whisper in his ear.

Knowing her plan hinged on the blonde acquiescing, she put on her best fawning voice.

"Um…big brother? Did you know that Dragon Ball will be on television today?"

Igor's eyes narrowed to the size of pinholes.

"W-when?"

Akeno secretly smiled. She knew she got the blonde hooked.

"Just before my show-"

That was as far as she got before the blonde interrupted her with a deadly serious expression on his face.

"Say no more."

Igor the strode up to Shuri and tapped her on the back of the shoulder. When she turned around, she nearly dropped her handbag when she was confronted with his stone-faced expression.

"Aunty. A grave situation has arose that requires my presence."

Akeno was briefly afraid that Igor had seen through her plan and would tell on her. But upon hearing those words of his, her heart relaxed.

As for Shuri, she was surprised by the blonde's serious expression.

"Ara? What happened, Dimori-kun?"

Holding on tightly to the copy of Dragon Ball, he continued.

"It has come to my attention that Dragon Ball will soon air on the television. As a warrior, it would be complete blasphemy if I missed the holy sermon. As such, I shall apologise for leaving first."

Before anyone could react, Igor leaped over the shopping bags before exiting the store and sprinting away. Akeno was left momentarily dazed before she finally reacted.

Running through the door, she shouted with tears in her eyes.

"Big brother! Big brother! Don't leave! Don't leave me, please!!! TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

And yet, the blonde was already far gone. Akeno couldn't even see him down the street. With melancholy on her face, Akeno stood rooted to the concrete outside, her mouth wide open

After paying for Igor's manga, Shuri walked outside the shop with an amused smile on her face.

"Ara~. Dimori-kun forgot the keys to the house."

She could already picture the blonde's distraught appearance upon getting home. But she only had that thought for a few seconds before the event that happened a few minutes prior played through her mind.

Her smile slowly disappeared when she just remembered that Igor was willing to punch through glass for a book.

[My door… MY DOOR!]

If the blonde was determined to punch through glass for a manga, then there is no way a few locks would stop him from watching the anime.

In an instant, her expression became uglier than crying.

"My…door…"

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AN

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