The street was fairly quiet with only a few cars passing by. Igor lifted Akeno from his shoulders and then addressed the situation.
"Issei. Akeno. What's going on? You weren't like this before I left."
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|UMG|- Chapter 125- Admittance
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Sacred gears were natural limit breakers, gifting the humans who possessed them an edge over the supernatural world. Just possessing one meant elevation above standard human limitations.
Beyond that existed another threshold that broke the sacred gear's limitations. It was the Balance Breaker state, and regardless of the sacred gear, it gave the user access to a new level of power.
Igor could never, ever have expected that Issei had unlocked his Balance Breaker before he turned twelve. It was simply unprecedented as far as he was aware.
Irina was in the midst of explaining how everything came to be. Two months ago, Akeno and Issei were sparring as usual. During their spar, Akeno began taunting Issei and flaunted her strength and superiority.
Issei became extremely angry and fought fiercely in retaliation for the insults. As Akeno piled on more and more taunts, Issei snapped and triggered his Balance Breaker.
Igor was almost overwhelmed by the underwhelming awakening. It wasn't a matter of life or death, but a quarrel that triggered it.
Through Irina's narration, Igor had a theory. Issei had the gear for half a decade, and awakened it very early. His body grew to adapt to it, and that heightened his affinity and synergy to it.
From an outsider's perspective, it was shocking—stupifying even. Issei has a good childhood. His parents are alive and well. He's not poor, and his support structure is not lacking He grew up normally and faced no trauma or bullying. By all logic, only those who missed any of these things could realistically trigger their balance breaker at such an early age.
[I don't know whether to be proud or concerned.]
Akeno and Issei sat on the curb with an air of estrangement between them. Issei had a heavy frown, and Akeno had folded her arms.
Igor's reliance was Irina. The little girl was surprisingly smart and had narrated everything without bias. Igor really wanted to know why none of the adults stepped in to mediate this. Discontent now could easily fester into future resentment
"Issei. Akeno. I'm still not clear about what's happening between you. So I won't make any decisions before I understand the root."
Igor walked over and placed his hand on Akeno's hair.
"You three will meet in my library tomorrow. Don't go to school. You will sort out this matter and do it peacefully."
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|UMG|
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Akeno was a growing girl. She was thirteen, no longer the dormant child. She was a budding seed slowly pushing through the ground. Rain, wind, birds, and bees would finally see her.
Igor always knew that day would come. From the moment Akeno entered the junior high division, she would be exposed to the matters between men and women. Part of him had always considered lowering her a grade, or even the same grade as Issei and Irina.
The other girls and boys in her division were older than her, with the oldest being fifteen and sixteen. And Akeno, unfortunately, was an early bloomer. Her being courted had caused endless worry for him, but time and time again, Akeno had shown she was decisive in rejecting them. It had calmed him somewhat, and now, he regretted not paying more attention.
He had taken Akeno to the river just outside of town. It was full of life with bright green grass rising tall and little flowers blooming in between.
For the past half hour, Igor and Akeno had sat by the river in silence. He lay down with his hands behind his head, while Akeno sat upright with her knees tucked in.
Every once in a while, she glanced at Igor. His eyes were closed in complete relaxation, but she knew he was patiently waiting for her to speak.
It was a little ritual between them where he'd wait until she spoke. She contemplated lying or deflecting, but she didn't have the heart to do that to her brother.
"I'm...I'm sorry."
No response.
"I was the one who was wrong. When Issei..."
She clenched her fists and started afresh.
"I'm stupid, big brother. I'm stupid."
She sighed and stared at the flowing river.
"You warned me about junior high. I didn't listen to you. I got caught up...and...I started s-seeing myself as...better."
Her big brother was the King of Kuoh. She was praised as the princess. Everybody liked her. Girls envied her. Boys wanted her. Even teachers cosied up to her, because everyone knew her big brother owned a big villa.
"I became pig-headed. I stopped training and started hanging out with them after school. I thought it was fine, but ever since Issei beat me in the spar, I..."
Igor listened quietly. He didn't interrupt or open his eyes.
"I'm sorry, big brother. You told us to get along, but I was mean to Issei after I lost to him. I was jealous because I was always the strongest. So..."
Akeno straightened up with determination.
"This is my fault, big brother. I'll go and apologise to Issei."
"Don't go yet. We still need to talk more."
Igor opened his eyes. From the beginning, a question had been plaguing him. Where were the parents in all of this? Where were Touji, Miki, and Shuri? It's impossible they didn't notice the children weren't getting along.
Igor looked at her seriously. Part of his neglect in school matters was his disregard for them. All those people in Kuoh Academy were part of the mundane, and Akeno was countless times stronger than them.
But often times, physical might didn't translate spiritually.
Chapter 125
END