The Legacy of Guardians - Kivvora Heroes: Guardians & Destines

ONE: defeated

SHE RACED THROUGH LIGHTYARD VILLAGE, snow crunching under her boots. Her legs blazed as she zipped past and around people, almost knock­ing them over.

The sky was a soft, icy blue with rays of sunlight shimmering through the harsh misty air. Winter would be over in a month, but the weather be­came more frigid in Kivvora.

Akira Hiromitsu made a problem her own (again), poking her nose where it shouldn't be.

It was that no-good hooligan she's been after for days now. He was going around, threatening people to give him their valuables... for the fif­teenth time this week.

Fifteen!

She was never able to match his speed. After that, her uncle would scold her again for: "stepping out of place," and "doing someone else's job."

But Akira wouldn't let a few little failures or scoldings stop her.

Not a chance.

The thief was getting further away, and Akira charged after him at full speed. (Or what she considered fast anyway.)

The wind fought her long black hair, as she picked up the pace. And the frosty air set her lungs on fire. She inhaled deep to avoid passing out (or die from frostbite in her chest). Her breath created a mist as she exhaled, and she wished she'd bundled up more before leaving home.

Almost there...

Akira couldn't go any faster, but she tried to anyway. Her breaths now coming in brief gasps.

I failed fourteen times already... I'm not gonna fail today. You won't get away. Not this time.

Don't heroes do that? Capture the bad guys? It's what her parents would've done. And she wanted to be just like them — especially her dad. He never gave up on anything.

And neither would Akira.

After five painful minutes, she slowed at the center of Lightyard Village, where a bustling crowd surrounded her. She growled under her breath as she scanned the area, finally spotting him at the opposite end.

He locked eyes with hers, and Akira's gaze narrowed, her teeth showing. With a mocking grin, the man bolted, leaving behind a trail of laughter.

Was he...? Did he wait for her to do that? Akira shouted in frus­tration, balling her hands into fists. She looked for the closest thing — a steel pipe. For self-defense, because this chase just got personal.

She tightened her almost frozen grip on the icy metal rod and dashed after the hooligan, chasing him into an alley neighborhood. There was a dead end in this area and the man stopped.

He didn't turn around.

Akira grinned as she slowly approached.

I caught you, you jerk...

The rebellious teenager hunched over with a palm on her torso as she gasped for breath, then repositioned her hand on the pipe and forced it onto the dude's chest, trapping him against a random house. With her back turned, she felt many stares as loud whispering filled the alley.

Good. These people can watch the defeat of the culprit who's been stealing their things at long last. They would all thank her and be proud of her. They would finally consider her a hero.

"Now..." Akira began, staring deep into the man's furious, light brown eyes. "That stuff doesn't belong to you, does it?"

The man remained silent and continued to glare at her. However, he couldn't intimidate Akira Hiromitsu.

"Not much of a talker, hm?" She squinted and her smile widened. "Fine. Looks like I'll do the talking." She pushed the rod harder against the man's chest and he coughed out a grunt. "Give back what you stole, and I'll leave you alone. Refuse, then I'll fight you right here, have you thrown in jail, and return the stolen merch myself. So, what's it going to be? Dumb thief..."

An awkward silence filled the air. The man lifted an eyebrow, his face twisting into a mocking smile as he burst into laughter. He shoved Akira away and she gasped, flailing her hands for balance. The pipe slipped from her grasp and clanked to the ground.

Why was he laughing? She wasn't joking.

"You've got guts to be saying that kid," he sneered. "Who do you think you are? Huang Hiromitsu?"

Akira folded her arms and gave a side smile. "That's my dad," she said. "I'm Akira Hiromitsu and I'll be taking his place to deal with low life thugs like you."

He stopped and observed her from head to toe. Seconds later he burst into laughter again, and the neighborhood joined him. Everyone laughed at her. This wasn't the reaction she hoped for. She glanced around, her eye­brows lifted in confusion.

"You're too funny, little lady." The man said, wiping a single tear of amusement from an eye. "If you really are a high and mighty Hiromitsu, then where's your fancy powers?" He shook his head, grinning. "You could've easily stopped me back there."

Akira snorted. "Oh, I've got powers... I just didn't want to waste them on a forth class thug." She leaned closer to him with a vicious smile. The crowd giggling.

With a snarl, the guy bumped shoulders with Akira and walked away, leaving her in a mix of anger and more confusion.

Stopping in his tracks, he half-turned with a grin. "Even if you are a Hiromitsu, you're just a kid. You're not worthy of taking your old man's place."

Akira let out a silent grunt, those last words striking her hard. She found herself at a loss for words as she witnessed the man flee with the stolen items.

She failed to capture him...

Again.

"If you are a Hiromitsu..."

"Not worthy..."

She focused heavily on the "not worthy" part. But he was telling the truth. She wasn't worthy of taking her dad's place because—

She lied.

Akira didn't inherit powers from either of her parents.