The Legacy of Guardians - Kivvora Heroes: Guardians & Destines

EIGHT

THE SUN HAD ALREADY SET WHEN Akira arrived home. The breeze pick­ing up snow from the ground, swirling around her legs.

Uncle Jiang was closing the café when Akira opened the door. Her uncle's eyes met hers, and Akira could tell that he knew what hap­pened. He didn't look so happy to see her.

Akira gave a sheepish smile, playing it off as if nothing happened. "Hey. How was work?"

"Ira, what the hell?" He said, his voice sharp. "I saw the news. I called and texted you many times—" He inhaled through his nose then exhaled through his mouth. Faint lines creased his forehead. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

All Akira could say was, "Sorry."

There was an awkward pause. Uncle Jiang squeezed his eyes shut, pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a long sigh.

Akira look down, kicking a foot against the ground. She didn't mean to scare him. Her eyes widened when she processed what he said. "I saw the news."

The news? "Wait. The news? Don't tell me—"

Uncle Jiang grumbled and dragged out an annoyed: "Yes..."

Then that meant — he saw the attack. He saw her sudden burst of Elemental power. And not just him, all of Kivvora. Everyone saw her get hurt, saw her sudden outburst of power, and eventually saving Radiantville.

But was it really worth it?

She fainted and Four Claw got away. It wasn't a victory since she didn't catch any villains in her lame excuse for a heroic act. Uncle Jiang peered into Akira's eyes. He wasn't angry anymore. He was confused, and his voice was barely a whisper when he asked—

"How?"

Akira knew exactly what he meant by his 'how'. As much as she wanted to give a smart-ass response, she bit her tongue. Her uncle didn't seem like he was in the mood for her jokes. For the first time, she responded nor­mally.

"I— I don't know." She went silent. "It just— the Light just... ex­ploded out of me. I had no control when it came out. I couldn't stop it. It did its own thing."

It was the truth.

Uncle Jiang nodded once and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Akira fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the folded train ticket. She smiled a little to comfort him. "A man— err —, the Energy Guardian, Mas­ter Yuu-Yuu's gonna train me to control my Light." She bounced as she remembered. "Oh. And Yamiyo's going too."

Uncle Jiang chuckled and put a hand on his hip, shaking his head. "Master Yuuto and your parents were great friends. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from him as they did." He smiled. "And— I'm glad you saw your friend again. Been a long time, hmm?"

Akira nodded. Five years too long. She was happy Yamiyo didn't forget her since then. Why did it feel longer than that? Akira changed the subject back to Master Yuuto training her.

She didn't know how she was going to tell him this and tried to sound as calm as possible. "I'm going to Shizukana."

Her uncle's eyes went wide and her heart sank at his expression. He didn't need to say anything because Akira could clearly see: 'that's too far', 'how long will you be gone', 'you can't go, you're all I have left of my brother', 'if something happens to you out there—' and finally— 'I'll miss you...'

Uncle Jiang remained silent. Akira didn't know what reaction she'd expect from her uncle. She thought he would be angry or straight up tell her "no" without explaining why, like she was a toddler. Or tell her that it's too dangerous and that she shouldn't go. But he didn't say any of that. He looked worried, sad, and scared above all. He didn't want to let her go.