84 Chapter 84

"I see. So I'm not a failure?"

Shuri smiled lightly before kissing him on the forehead.

Chuu~

She then brought him into her embrace.

"No, Dimori-kun. You're not a failure at all."

"..."

Igor closed his eyes, as he laid his head on her chest.

[I feel…warm.]

.

|DxD|

.

Soon after receiving that line of encouragement, Igor was finally a bit more receptive to waiting. Sitting on the windowsill outside, he was pondering as to why Baraquiel didn't arrive. He couldn't understand why the fallen hadn't arrived despite nearly an hour having passed since everything ended.

Not wanting to just sit and ponder, he clasped his hands together and gradually began sensing all over Kuoh.

[There's Sister Cleria. There's Akeno. But there's no other energy signature I can recognise.]

The minutes passed as his senses extended several kilometres outward. Unlike before where he was blatant in his sensing, this time he allowed himself to sense the energy in the air. Like a powerful receiver, he submersed himself in the different signatures that travelled throughout the air.

For him, sensing Baraquiel's energy signature would be fairly easy. He had fought the man enough times to know what his aura felt like.

If he was around Kuoh, he would find him.

[There's no way he wouldn't come, right?]

His hopes were dashed when he couldn't find a single lick of his aura in the area. Despite holding on for another minute, Igor became sure that the old fallen was definitely not in Kuoh.

Opening his eyes, he cupped his cheeks in a frown.

[Should I spread my ki over Japan?]

He was considering the idea when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

"Hm?"

Turning his head, his eyes widened slightly to find Shuri dressed in the same blue dress he had tried to hand-over to her earlier. At the time, the blonde had arbitrarily taken it out of annoyance at waiting, but he never imagined that it would suit her this well.

The dress gently hugged her figure all the way down to her knees, giving way to a slim, white pair of smooth legs that ended with unblemished toes slipped into a modest pair of brown, strapped sandals. Her hair flowed down like a waterfall that disappeared behind her shoulders, the strands tucked together so neatly that her hair appeared like one smooth black curtain, a dark abyss one would get lost in.

Even someone as uncaring about beauty as Igor found himself lost for words. Her modest appearance made one focus on her eyes, eyes that were brown as moonstone. There was an appeal to them that the blonde never noticed before.

"Whoa…"

That was all he could muster in his entranced state, something that made Shuri smile.

"Ara~. How do I look, Dimori-kun?"

Her words managed to bring him back to reality.

"Hehehe…"

Feeling embarrassed by being lost so easily in her gaze, the blonde sheepishly rubbed his head.

"I have to admit, aunty. You look really, really beautiful."

"Fufufu~. Thank you Dimori-kun. Your words flatter me."

With her now being dressed, Igor wasted no further time and grabbed her hand before placing two fingers on his forehead.

"Well? Ready to go, aunty?"

Shuri was silent for a bit. A part of her was worried about what Akeno might think. She had already accepted her as her daughter, however she was concerned if she would be accepted as a mother. Without her memories, Shuri was unsure how her former self acted around Akeno. She wasn't even sure if she could act as a proper mother to her.

It was why she looked to the blonde with a slightly pleading look.

"Can we…walk first? Just to prepare myself."

"Hmmm…"

Igor focused on Akeno's signature. Having already locked onto it, he began analysing it for a bit. Although he was a bit far from her, he could vaguely feel the current state of her body by gauging her aura fluctuations.

Upon having sensed her state, he turned to Shuri with a light smile.

"Alright. Akeno seems to be asleep so we can walk."

Shuri sighed in relief.

"Thank you."

Although she wanted to meet her, Shuri couldn't do it so abruptly. First impressions mattered and she didn't want to fumble it by freezing up in front of Akeno.

With their decision to walk resolved, Igor stood up on the windowsill.

"Well, I'll wait for you downstairs, aunty."

Flashing a thumbs up, he began falling backwards.

"?!"

Watching his form fall towards a three-metre drop, Shuri felt her heart stop.

"Dimori-kun!!!"

She hastily grabbed the ledge and leaned over just in time so see him backflip and land on his feet. It was then that her mind finally caught up.

Palming her forehead, she sighed.

[Of course he can survive, Shuri. What am I thinking?]

Despite knowing so, her remaining hand on the ledge still trembled a bit.

"Hey, aunty!"

Brought out of her dazed state by the blonde, she looked down to find him looking at her with concern.

"What's wrong, aunty? I heard you call me!"

She shook her head lightly.

"No need to worry, Dimori-kun."

"..."

The blonde looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging.

"Okay, aunty."

.

|DxD|

.

The two began walking along the dusty road bordered by trees on both sides. The path was just barely wide enough for a car to drive through and the both of them walked in the centre. With the repetitive sound of their footsteps against gravel, Shuri calmed down.

When she glanced towards the blonde, she found him to be walking with a carefree smile on his face. With his hands behind his head, he appeared to be as relaxed as can be. Shuri found herself drawn to his face. Despite having witnessed his power, she still couldn't picture that this boy who walking with such a carefree expression on his face was the very same boy who annihilated a clan just over an hour ago.

But Shuri could never understand how her simple presence brought peace to Igor's mind. Grief? Apprehension? Anxiety? All of that disappeared the moment he locked eyes with her. Even now, he was listening to the rhythmatic beating of her heart. Simple things satisfied Igor in life and hearing someone he considered kin breathe was one of them.

With the silent and relaxed atmosphere between them, everything seemed peaceful despite it being chaotic a few moments ago. So much had happened in a single day that few would believe the story. The soft whispers of the wind ruffling the trees and was proof that the world continued to rotate.

And having such a peaceful opportunity to talk, Shuri decided to spark a conversation.

"Dimori-kun. Can you tell me about yourself?"

Having some of his memories were one thing, but she was genuinely interested in hearing more about the blonde from his mouth.

"Hm? Alright."

Pointing at himself with his thumb, Igor confidently grinned at her.

"My name is Igor von Dimori, number one fighter in the universe. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. The things I love are meat, training, and fighting strong people. I hate vegetables, scum, and cowards with all my heart. But I will tolerate vegetables because I need them to grow stronger. But the vegetable I hate with every fibre of my being is broccoli. That thing is tasteless and disgusting at the same time!"

Shuri giggled at the clear look of disgust on his face.

"Fufufufu~. Then if I decide to cook, what would Dimori-kun like to eat."

As if a switch had been flipped, Igor's stomach proceeded to growl at that moment…loudly.

"..."

"..."

It had truly been too long since the blonde last ate and with how much energy he had consumed in the last few hours, it took a lot of energy from him. He had been hungry ever since he trained with Sun Wukong on passive sensing, having to go for hours without food.

With his stomach having been quite evident in its desire for sustenance, Shuri walked over and touched his stomach with her hand.

"Ara, Dimori-kun. Your stomach really is…flat. I'll cook for you when we get back home with Akeno-"

Igor grabbed her shoulders with eyes filled with wonder.

"Really???"

The allure of food was too great for him. Furthermore, it was food cooked by Shuri. Igor truly had missed her cooking after three years of 'enduring' the cafeteria food in Svargaloka or Flower-Fruit Mountain. In Flower-Fruit Mountain, the food he got had so little meat that he had to hunt for his own food in the Himalayan Mountain range. As for the Heavenly realm, he relied on the meat his time chamber generated to satisfy himself and Atid when his fellow brother came to the lower barracks.

But nothing, absolutely nothing could trump Shuri's food.

"Do you know how much I missed your food?! Nothing beats your cooking, aunty!"

His enthusiasm was so much that Shuri couldn't restrain a blush from spreading on her face.

"Ara? I'm…really flattered Dimori-kun. Then just for tonight, I'll cook you a nice stew. What do you think?"

Without hesitation, he closed the distance between them and looked her in the eye.

"Aunty. I think I love you."

"..."

It took a second for Shuri to process the words.

"E-eh?"

However, the blonde had already let go of her. With his head facing sideways, he seemed to be lost in his world.

"No, wait. I already did…"

He then looked at her again.

"Aunty! I think I love you even more!"

It was then that Shuri understood he was just expressing his thanks.

"Oh..."

For some a reason, a very tiny twinge of disappointment flashed in her heart before it vanished.

"Fufufu~ Then I'll make sure Dimori-kun loves me more and more from now on."

"Eh? But that's impossible…I think."

"Why?"

"Because aunty is family and us Dimoris love our family!"

.

|DxD|

.

"…this is a lot of damage, Dimori-kun."

"...yeah."

The duo had just exited the forest when they chanced upon numerous construction workers and machinery patrolling the streets. Some workers were cleaning the numerous shards of glass on the roads and pavements while contractors were fitting in new windows into the homes of some people. Many houses already had cardboard or plastic bags covering the empty window frames and there were still many pot-bellied fathers covering the empty windows or negotiating with contractors. People in suits and clipboards could be seen patrolling the streets with calculators in their pockets and cold sweat on their faces.

It was clear just from this scene that many deep pockets were about to be turned inside out due to every single house in Kuoh suffering not only from every single window being shattered to pieces, but lightbulbs and numerous other electronics being destroyed.

Boys all over Kuoh had woken up to find their precious computers had short-circuited and their hard drives destroyed. It was truly a tragedy that even had the blonde smile awkwardly at the destruction he unintentionally-intentionally wrought.

Glancing to Shuri who was looking at him funnily, Igor proposed a question.

"How about we…"

He gestured by placing to fingers on his forehead.

"Fufufu~. Yes, Dimori-kun. Let's go see Akeno."

.

AN

.

If you're interested in reading ahead, here's the link: patreon.com/HolyGambler