The King of Heroes: Null/Virtue

Mortal Vision

A/N: Meryl is the American news reporter from the end of the series. The sexy tanned lady XD. Random choice, but I have plans for other characters so I figured a random background character was good to fill space rather than an OC. I really am running out of canon characters here!

*******

Kendo took a slow, deep breath as she stood on the edge of a mountain, the NULL mountain. The air was frigid and her dress was not nearly warm enough, but through sheer willpower, she kept herself from shivering as she knocked on the door.

Izuku had offered to merely teleport her, but she insisted on making the journey herself. Well... herself and her attendant Meryl.

Meryl was a knight that fought at Kendo's side for the entirety of the civil war, and was her closest confidant. She had helped Kendo make the journey from Enterion, supplies and all, before making the climb up the mountain. Once there, Kendo had changed from her travel clothes to a more appealing dress that didn't seek to hide her scarred body. The slit in the white dress revealed her long, but rough legs. And the neck of the dress fell away to show off her upper body and cleavage, even the scar where an arrow had struck, narrowly missing her heart.

Meryl, meanwhile, refused to change out of her travel clothes before entering the NULL Estate. From what she heard of Izuku from her queen, she didn't need to worry about her own appearance.

For that matter, she didn't think Kendo needed to worry about her own appearance, but she was stunned to see just how seriously Kendo took the courtship of the NULL Lord.

Suddenly, the door swung open, held by a servant to reveal a kindly woman with green scales. "Welcome to- Oh my goodness! You must be freezing, my dear! Please come in! Come in!" The woman hurriedly ushered Kendo and Meryl inside without any introductions.

After some time spent worrying over Kendo, the woman finally introduced herself... as Izuku's mother.

Kendo stiffened up, before curtseying and giving her own name. "My lady, it is an honor to meet you!" She had assumed the woman was another servant or government official, not her potential mother-in-law.

"Oh we don't need such formalities!" Inko said lackadaisically. "I know my son can be a little strange at times, but there's no need to worry about royal manners! I grew up in a much less formal environment myself," She said, happily leading Kendo along like she was already her daughter-in-law.

"Speaking of my son, I hope he offered to teleport you here himself," Inko added.

Kendo laughed nervously. "Yes, he did. But... at the moment, we currently are little more than fellow royals. I am just as capable of traveling as anyone else."

"Ah," Inko said with a curious smile on her face. "Izuku can be pretty daunting at times, huh? Makes you feel like you need to summit a mountain to stand alongside him?"

Kendo's hands, clasped behind her back, nervously fiddled with her fingers. Izuku's mother had figured her out right away.

"Izuku told me you value honesty above all else... If you don't mind me saying, you don't seem to be entirely honest with yourself."

Kendo pursed her lips. "I am honest, and I can see through deception very reliably. But that does not mean honesty is the only thing I accept. I wouldn't be standing here today if I didn't know how to lie."

"Oh no, that wasn't what I meant!" Inko thought for a time. "Izuku is just Izuku. Don't try to go to the ends of the Earth just to measure up to him. If he respects you now, it's because you're already worthy of that respect. You don't need to convince him."