Yuki stared up at the ceiling, contemplating about the two pieces of news she has heard from her father yesterday. The first piece helped exacerbate into another issue entirely and the other...was more disturbing.
It seems that word has gotten out that her father has apologized to her friend, Naruto. It wasn't exactly a state secret, he did ask her to apologize to the blond in an area that wasn't sound-proof or entirely secure.
It didn't change the fact that someone was eavesdropping though.
When there was already much unrest among many heroes about the current leadership of the Hero Tribe...this information only exacerbated the situation.
The 'Great Hero' didn't show weakness to an outsider. They represent the will and strength of the Hero Tribe as a whole.
At least that's what many irate heroes claim, whether they were just looking for a reason to agitate or whether they were being honest was something that Yuki couldn't help but wonder.
Her father was relieved that Naruto had forgiven him, but due to the unrest, he gave her a warning...
'Stay vigilant Yuki-kun. I'm sure I don't have to tell you...but during these uncertain times...not all heroes are going to be your friends. Choose your friends wisely and stay safe...my daughter.'
"...Don't worry otou-sama...I will." Yuki mumbled out loud, she knew that there was one person that wouldn't betray her trust...
...Unlike him...
She shook her head, unwilling to get caught up in bad memories of times past. She had to focus.
Focus on the illness that was seemingly taking hold of her faction...the Hero Tribe.
...
From what she understood, many among the Hero Tribe have become...aggressive against the supernatural factions in general. Forgetting that fighting against the supernatural was their secondary objective when compared to fulfilling their true mandate.
Protecting humanity.
Yet some heroes were acting out, arguing that since the devils have invented the Evil Piece System, they have been growing in strength and should be taken down before they are allowed to grow any further. Not to mention that many saw the system as inhumane, since many high-class devils take their new 'servants' by force rather than through mutual agreement. Something which rankled even the most peace-loving heroes...
Such as herself. She knew damn well that the Gremory were among the exceptions rather than than the rule of how devils got Peerage members.
Nevertheless, many heroes have been arguing that instead of remaining on the defensive against these issues, that they should aim at the ultimate solution...
Genocide.
A solution that a...disturbing amount of heroes began to see as the ultimate answer to their problem with the supernatural factions in general and the devils in particular.
Yuki shook her head, where were these ideas and beliefs coming from? Why were they spreading around like wildfire among the rank and file?
More importantly...what could be done about it?
The young hero sighed, mentally exhausted from the strife that was going on in her head. No matter how she thought about it, there was only one thing she could possibly do about the issue at hand.
Prove the detractors wrong.
Show that not only it is possible for devils to be good people, but that they can coexist alongside humans.
In short, she had to keep doing what she was doing. Leaving those who knew more about what was going on inside the Hero Tribe to those who were currently leading it. Worrying unnecessarily about what was going on would do nothing except stress her out.
...But there was another problem, besides the internal strife inside the Hero Tribe. The second piece of news from her father, something that she wasn't aware of until now.
The Hero Tribe was losing contact with some of their long-standing agents across the planet.
According to her father, several heroes that have either retired from active service or were undercover heroes such as herself, have seemingly lost contact with the main tribe. All attempts at finding most of them have failed.
...That meant that whatever was happening, she could become a possible victim of these recent strings of disappearances.
As she said...disturbing information. It was obvious why her father was so cautious about who she should trust.
Yuki combed her hair back in her frustration, she had no idea what was going on.
Too little information, too many questions, practically no answers.
She placed her head down on the comfy bed that she was laying on, she's been thinking about the issues all night. Her fatigue was beginning to get to her now.
Maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt, this was a safe area under Rias-san's control after all, right?
So she closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep and rid herself of the accumulating stress of the past day.
When Rias woke up today, she expected that she would have a humorous morning filled with the funny antics of the occupants of this mansion.
What she didn't expect was to see the thoroughly stoic woman that was her brother's queen.
"...Ojou-sama. Where have you been? Why aren't you at Kuoh Academy like usual? More than that, who are these people?" the stoic woman asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
She wasn't happy.
Mio looked between her older friend and the maid warily, unsure what to do in this situation. Were they not supposed to be here?
"On-...Grayfia! What are you doing here!?" Rias exclaimed, she was so shocked to see her sister-in-law here that she almost referred to her in an inappropriate fashion while she was on-duty as a maid.
Grayfia gave the Gremory heiress a stern stare. "I've come to inform you about the planned engagement."
Rias' eyes widened. "What!? But I thought that the engagement was supposed to be held off until I graduated university!"
The maid would have responded, but she noticed that they had a bit of an audience by this point. Whether they were trustworthy or not, they were not allowed to listen in on personal business of the Gremory family.
"...Ojou-sama. From what I understand, most of your Peerage members aren't aware of your engagement. So perhaps we should take your Peerage and continue these talks elsewhere."
The red-headed teenager glanced at the uncomfortable Mio and the practically unconscious Naruto. She didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for either of them...so perhaps it was best that they continued their talks somewhere else.
"...Fine. But I'd like to leave my newest pawn here for now. He's unconscious from the training he has done yesterday and I would prefer that he gets some rest." Rias stated. The rest of the Peerage had no such excuse, so they would be going with her.
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