The King of Heroes: Null/Virtue

Aftermath

"Alright! Lay it on me!" Izuku said, comically pulling up a chair and sitting in it backwards so he could lean on the back of the chair as he listened to Himiko.

The two of them were camped out in a tent, waiting for the remainder of the Onyx army to rest and recover. The two of them were the only ones who didn't require any rest, or at least required very little. Which meant they had time to catch up on Himiko's battle with Setsuna, and what came of it.

"I... dunno how to respond to that," Himiko shyly responded.

"Two most important things," Izuku began. "First of all, you're hurting."

Himiko pouted and averted her gaze. "I'm not hurt."

"I sometimes forget you're still just 20 years old. By Onyx years, you're still practically a baby... and so am I, but humans have different maturing cycles and- I'm rambling, let me reset." Izuku clasped his hands and focused. "You're upset about losing. It's okay to not be okay. I wouldn't be okay if I lost. You know that."

Himiko huffed. "I didn't wanna not be okay around you, cause you won fair and square. And my mom's not helping."

"Well I'm very sorry you're having to deal with that," Izuku replied, just taking a moment to look into Himiko's eyes.

Her shoulders slumped a bit, and she finally just threw herself back onto the cot they had in their tents. "Ugh! Thank you! I'm losing it!"

Izuku chuckled, but Himiko didn't take it poorly. She knew it was just her friend laughing because he knew she wanted to talk, and she pretended like she didn't.

"How am I meant to ever be more than just the Lord who lost to Izuku Oric Serax?!"

"You know I can see the future, right? You're a lot more than that in the history books."

Himiko propped herself up using her tail. "What am I then?"

Izuku threw his hands up. "I don't think it's right for me to tell you that. This is your future. If you let me dictate it to you, then you'll only be the Lord who followed my instructions. I told you that you were more than my shadow merely as reassurance, but I'm not here to steal your life away from you."

"Then... ugh, time stuff is so frustrating!"

"Tell me about it..."

"It's even worse cause I know you're probably making a good point with that past life, oh sorry, past hell, you lived through. You've got that thing Toshinori has... like... 'wiser than his years?' No that can't be it."

"'Wise beyond your years.' But that doesn't really fit Toshi, because he's old enough to be 'beyond his years.'"

Himiko laughed at the joke, a little tension going out of her body. "Yeah! That! It sucks because you're that! How can I not take your advice or want it? It's so hard to argue with you! At least with my mother I know she's a jerk, so I can brush her off! I just wanna know what I should do!"

Izuku pondered for a moment, thinking of the best thing to say. "Bakery."

"Huh?"

"Open a bakery in Uraraka's home village and make that place the best bakery in the world."

"Huh?" Himiko repeated, staring at him with a look that said, "Have you been replaced by some alien imposter?" Not that Himiko knew what an alien was.

"What?" Izuku replied. "Talk to me."

"Where do I start?" Himiko asked. "You want me... the Virtue Lord... the first to awaken a Virtue Factor in recorded history... to become a baker?"

"I don't want anything when it comes to how you live your life. Why do you have to be just the Virtue Lord." Izuku smiled. "Himiko, this is good news. You are so rich and powerful in so many ways that being rich and powerful is all you can think of being important. But that also means you have everything you need to pursue whatever passion takes your fancy.