In a small bedroom filled with all kinds of dolls and stuffed toys, a five-year-old girl with long black hair and violet eyes was looking at the calendar with avid anticipation. ‘August 7th ‘ was circled with a bright red marker while the preceding dates were crossed out.

“W-will he be there again?”

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|DxD|

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In the forests of Kuoh, Igor opened his eyes to witness himself on the forest floor. His gaze was especially dull since he could feel a dry leaf try its hardest to pierce into the back of his neck.

He sat up and set to immediately scratch that itch.

“Here we go again.”

He stood up and proceeded to stretch his body. Satisfying cracks ruptured his body before he finally put his hands down.

“Man, I didn’t eat anything last night. Let me see if I can find myself some food in town.”

A light aura of blue ki surrounded his body before he flew off. While Igor flew away, a slight rustle came from behind a tree before a girl walked out.

“He really came…”

Akeno was joyous to see that her guess had paid off. She had only managed to get a glance of Igor twice, with this time being the third. It was when she was three-years old that she first met him. She was depressed after the children she played with called her a monster after seeing her wings. Luckily, her father was nearby so he was able to erase the memories of the children and their parents. But she couldn’t bring herself to play with them after enduring their harsh words. So she had taken to playing by herself in the forest.

That was when on a particular day, she stumbled upon Igor who was meditating in a small clearing. While she would’ve walked away if that was all, she was shocked to discover that Igor was actually hovering above the ground. This defied all notions since she could clearly tell that he was human. And so for the next month, she would follow him around. With her inherent stealth* capabilities, she could evade his senses fairly easily. Knowing which patch of ground to step on and how much distance she should place between them came naturally to her.

When she saw him vanish in a column of white light, she ran home to her mother to tell her about everything she saw.

For the next year, Akeno would routinely fly through the forest. While playing with some of the animals there, she would keep an eye out for the ‘mysterious’ boy. While the passage of time did dampen her mood, she kept playing in the forest just for the sake of it.

But on the 7th of August, 1994, she was elated again. Because there he was again, meditating just like last time. Like before, she followed him around. With childish curiosity at its finest, she was able to keep hidden from him like before. Most of her day revolved around watching Igor practice. From him going through his katas, to playing around with his ki. It was only at sunset that Akeno would quietly retreat home while Igor would finally go into the city to buy himself a large, evening meal. This routine continued for another month, with Igor remaining ignorant of his stalker. And so after 35 days, he reentered the time chamber for another decade of training.

This time, Akeno had made sure to record the date that Igor had arrived, much to her mother’s amusement when she told her again.

Back to the present, Akeno walked over to where Igor was previously sleeping.

“Huh?”

She was surprised when she saw a wad of yen notes bound in rubber bands. She was about to reach down to pick it up when she heard a heavy thud and a pair of black boots coming into view.

“Waah!”

Two raven-black wings came out of her back as she instinctively flew back in fear. She looked up to see Igor staring at her with a confused, but wary gaze.

“And then?”

Her fear compounded when she saw an outline of blue energy surround him.

“What the hell is a little chick doing here?”

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|DxD|

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While flying in the air, Igor savoured the feel of the wind brushing upon his his face. His loose fitting blue gi allowed for the wind to slam into his chest, eliciting a satisfying feeling. But as he flew faster, the coins in the pockets of his pants started jingling. Annoyed by the sound, he put his hand inside to hold them in place.

But upon not feeling the thick roll of paper money, Igor immediately halted his flight.

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“Ah!”

He began turning out his pockets and patted himself down.

“Damnit! That was my hard-earned cash.”

Those were his savings that he ‘lawfully’ earned after working as a freelance tax-collector. So finding that his money wasn’t on him, he flew back to where he woke up, hoping that it fell out of his pocket there and god forbid, not during his flight.

As he got closer, he noticed a little girl stand over where he was. She was in a light purple dress and was barefoot. While her long hair looked pretty, he didn’t care about that. All he saw was that she was about to take his money.

[Oh hell no!]

That spurned him to fly faster. Eventually, he got there just as she bent over. Fortunately, his heavy landing scared the girl into flying back.

Bending down to get his stack, he stood straight up and looked at her.

“And then?”

It was then that he finally noticed her wings. They were those of a fallen angel and that was enough for him to be cautious. He knew full well about how there were existences that looked no older than a 5-year old and yet be older than entire dynasties.

As such, he primed his ki, readying himself for any sudden movements.

“What the hell is a little chick doing here?”

Akeno who was initially scared, forgot her fear after hearing the way she was addressed.

“I’m not a little chick! You’re a little chick!”

Looking at her pout, Igor couldn’t help but let out a laugh. His previous wariness was gone after witnessing her little outburst.

“Pfft. Sure…sure. But, I’m not the one with wings.”

Akeno gasped when she finally realised that her wings were out. She hastily retracted them and looked at Igor fearfully.

“Y-you didn’t see them…right?”

Igor looked at her with a confused smile. He then looked at the floor in contemplation before looking at her again. He looked at Akeno deeply, almost analytically. This caused her to shiver a bit, the levels of fear increasing.

Eventually Igor palmed his forehead.

“You had your wings out for a good ten seconds little chick. I doubt I can forget them. But besides that, what is a little chick like you doing so far out here?”

This time, she wasn’t as antagonistic to the term ‘little chick’. She was more surprised that this human boy in front of her wasn’t hostile after finding out her fallen angel heritage. Granted, Akeno knew he was part of the supernatural since no normal human could fly around or emit mystical energy. But previous experience told her that humans would either fear her, or show outright hostility. It was why she never tried to initiate contact since she still had that fear of rejection.

But upon seeing his nonchalance at her extra appendages, there was a sparkle of hope in her eyes.

“You-you’re not…scared?”

A normal person would get down on one knee, rub her head, and reassure her that they were not scared. But for Igor, it was different.

“Pfft…pfft…PFFT…Pwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

“I-”

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

“Hey-”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Tears of laughter were coming out of Igor’s eyes while angry loli noises were escaping Akeno.

“S-Stop it!!!”

Tears of indignation clouded her eyes, causing Igor to pause a bit. But upon looking at her tiny hands clenched into fists and her puffed up cheeks, he couldn’t help but wheeze before doubling over in laughter.

“Haaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!”

He couldn’t help himself. Everytime he looked at her, he found it hilarious that she thought he would be scared of her. Eventually, he laughed so hard that his stomach started cramping up, causing him to place both hands on it.

“Haaa…little chick. You’re very small, you know? How could I be afraid of a little chick like you?”

Akeno girl got so mad that steam might as well have been coming out of her.

“I’m not a little chick! I’m Akeno!”

Igor walked forward and ruffled her hair.

“Yeah yeah yeah. I hear you loud and clear…little chick~”

“Raagh!”

Akeno flung herself forward and tried to bite his arm. Igor gave off a condescending smile, nimbly dodging her with minimal movement. He repeatedly tapped her forehead with his fingers while Akeno waved her hands around in irritation.

Eventually, Igor jumped back slightly while Akeno lunged after him.

“Stand sti-waaa!”

She tripped over an exposed root, the same root Igor tripped over years ago. But while he had no one to catch him, Akeno did. Scooping up the little lass, he swung her over his head before seating her on his shoulders.

“Woah there! Watch your step, little chick.”

Akeno reflexively placed her hands underneath his chin for safety, even though his hands were interlocked behind her back.

“Hmph!”

She had enough of his teasing attitude. Igor simply smiled before he began floating. This caused Akeno to lean over and hold onto him like a ball., much to Igor’s chagrin.

“Oi little chick! Your hair is getting in my face.”

Akeno spotted her chance to get back at him. So she shook her head vigorously, making sure that the strands of her hair got everywhere.

[Hmph! How do you like that?]

But Igor already had a fix for the problem. Since he was already hovering above the ground, he simply tilted himself backwards while loosening the grip he had on her back.

Akeno immediately began crushing his neck with her legs while holding on for dear life. Her eyes were closed while her cheeks were pressed against his hair.

“Stop it you bully!”

With as monotone a voice as he could muster, Igor replied.

“I’m not a bully. I am big brother. Call me-pfft. C-call me big brother and I will let you go.”

In all honesty, it was quite fun teasing her like this. She was his first genuine social interaction in forty years. Talking to store clerks at the checkout and milking money from gang leaders didn’t count as genuine social interactions. Unfortunately, even the voice of Goku in his head didn’t count as well.

But regretfully, all good things must come to an end. There was a sudden tension in the air as Igor felt a monumental pressure press down on him.

“AKENO!!!!!”

Igor righted himself up instantly. He saw a middle-aged man with black hair, full beard, and a muscular body. Ten black wings were unfurled behind him as he rushed towards Igor.

“LET GO OF MY DAUGHTER!”

Golden lightning covered his right fist as he cocked it back while his left hand stretched out to retrieve Akeno.

Igor stood shocked at the sudden turn of events, his lack of combat experience shining bright like a diamond.

BOOOM

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AN

1. With her inherent stealth* capabilities, she could evade his senses fairly easily.

Explanation: Akeno is known to have an unprecedented ability in stealth. Proof of this is being able to evade the pursuit of the Himejima clan that wanted to kill her. She was ten at the time and was able to outsmart them for months. To rub salt in the wound, she also partook to exorcising ghosts and spirits whilst being pursued. That means she was able to hide her tracks relatively well. She definitely wasn’t trained to be stealthy growing up and when she was being pursued, there was no time to learn on the go since a complete newbie would’ve been caught within the first week. This leaves inherent talent. Either that or she read too many true crime novels.