The King of Heroes: Null/Virtue

Family Matters

A/N: If you remember last chapter, I made Fuwa's mother's name Mia Muwata. Mia was Momo's past life name, so I changed it ever so slightly to Kia, just to try and ease the confusion. Sorry about that.

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"Young man..." Toshinori said, staring at the influx of slaves in the safehouse. "Are you insane?"

"That's not an illogical question to ask," Izuku thought.

"You sneak out in the middle of the night, don't tell anyone what you're doing, and you infiltrate three separate nations without any sort of approval! Do you have any idea how many things could've gone wrong?!"

Izuku sighed. "Yes... I was aware of the potential consequences."

"And yet you still did it?" Ryuko asked. "You have more to think about than some slaves hidden away in a castle. If your kingdom starts to destabilize because you're galavanting and saving every slave you come across, you won't be able to get anything done. You've got to think about the lives of your own people first! That's what it means to be a king!"

"I understand that, but I can't accept it. Not completely. Not when my own sisters have to suffer for it."

Toshinori took a breath. "Young man, your actions are noble, your motives are pure... but you are playing with fire. Your sense of right and wrong cannot overshadow your role in this country. Even assuming you lose to the young Virtue Lord, you are a symbol of Draxia. People will look at you and forge opinions about us all."

"Good," Izuku replied. "They should know we don't stand for this sort of behavior."

"But we do," Ryuko pointed out. "We have slave auction houses and the average resident in Draxia owns at least one. They'll see your actions as hypocritical, inciting further aggression towards us, regardless of your intentions. We raised you to avoid war."

"And I will continue to do so, but I won't let my fear of conflict blind my morality."

Kaina, Rumi, Toshi, and Ryuko all exchanged worried glances.

"Kid," Rumi started. "You're getting too aggressive about fixing these things. At the very least... just wait until the battle with Himiko is over, then we can talk more about this."

"Rumi we can't just put this off, he needs to know-"

"He's a teenager," She responded, knowing that it wasn't the entire truth. She was perhaps the only one who knew he was a Shifter. "And he's smart. If we don't work with him, he's gonna keep doing this shit." She glared at Izuku. "Are we clear? No more until after the monarchy is decided?"

Izuku nodded. "I can accept that."

"But-" Toshinori was cut off by Rumi, who was unusually mature today.

"We leave it for now. Okay? The girls got their parents back. What sort of example do we set for them if we punish Izuku for that. Yes, we need to talk. Yes, it was risky and stupid. But we're also trying to raise children. Do you think Saiko and the others did a better job than we did with Himiko? Do you want to get the girls on your bad side? Do you want to restrict Izuku and force him to do more behind our backs?"

Toshinori balked. "That is... a fair point." He looked back to Izuku. "Young man, please understand... I'm not... I can't... I understand what you did and why. I said as much. It is a good deed. I just... worry for you... and for our people. This comes from a place of love and care, I promise."

Izuku nodded. "I understand. I just..." He suddenly felt tears welling up. "I can't stand to see them hurt like that..." It wasn't an act, he couldn't stop the waterworks from starting. "And I have the power to do something about it..."