Be a Father

Heat was everywhere, as they approach where the tent Akihiro was in before, it now looked like the crater of a volcano. Akihiro was standing in the middle mumbling to himself.

"Damn it, Akihiro get a grip!!" Yukimura shouted and tried to approach but to no avail as it was too hot even for him.

Raven tried as well but still to no avail.

"All water ability and land ability users, control the magma, don't let it flow out any farther," Shigure commanded.

"Is this what you mean by making him realize?" Yukimura couldn't help but to sarcastically say to Eureka who is currently standing there, facing Akihiro.

She didn't reply to Yukimura but instead started walking around Akihiro. The others watched her as she took a step in the magma. One step at a time, she moves from place to place.

"What the hell is she doing?" Shigure couldn't help but blurt out.

"That girl has high sensitivity towards abilities, she's walking through it by finding a place where the magma is at it's weakest, your majesty," Yukimura replied.

His sarcasm fell into deaf ear together with his anger but seeing as she was making a move, all he could do was to wait.

His heart pounding in his chest. If Akihiro truly loses control then they wouldn't get an alliance but instead another war, if he wreck havoc now it would be bad. At the same time he is nervous of what Eureka is going to do.

"Why do I always hurt them? Why can't I protect anyone?" this is what Eureka could hear as she moved closer to Akihiro.

"That's right, you can't do anything right. You keep failing on protecting them," Eureka said once she's closer to Akihiro.

Yukimura and the others were shock. Why would she be provoking him even more?

"Then I should just disappear right?" Akihiro looked at her, his eyes has no life.

"You should just disappear indeed, you can't do anything right. Just what kind of ruler are you?" Eureka replied.

Akihiro's tears started flowing, "Yes that's right. I should just disappear."

He moved his hand and the magma moved closer to him, as if wanting to engulf him.

"AKIHIRO!!" Yukimura shouted just as Eureka moved closer to Akihiro and...

*BLAG*

"Wha-"

With her forehead being red, Eureka faced Akihiro, "That's right you can't do anything right as a ruler. You keep hurting those around you as a ruler. You keep making decisions as a ruler. If you are a ruler you have to think of the welfare of the whole kingdom."

Akihiro looked at her, his mind cleared up and is currently lost for words as he listens to her.

"Then stop being a ruler. If you keep hurting others as a ruler then stop. You decided to let her go 20 years ago, because you are a ruler. You decided to stop looking for cure, because you're a ruler. Everything you do is what a ruler would do. But the people of a kingdom doesn't need that."

All the magma were gone, everyone just quietly listens.

"They don't need it?" he asked baffled and at a loss.

"They don't need a ruler who couldn't even make himself happy, what they need is a father, but how can you be a father if even you can't fight for your family? You will be needing the support of a mother to stay level headed, but you let that go. You need the relaxing feeling of the laughs of the children in order to lessen the burden in your mind and keep your mind clear, but you still chose to stop," the just redened forehead had blood trickled down as she spoke.

"If you can't even take care of your family then how can you say that you really are taking care of your people. The stress that keeps piling up, the pressure that is pushed to you, if you just bottle everything up then what you will have are deaths."

She then pointed at him, "Stop being a ruler and start being a father. I will have no reserve to anyone who couldn't even protect his own family. What more can people ask than to see their king happy? Stop being stupid and start doing things for yourself, being selfless is fine but being selfish is not bad either."

"The war is close, do please rest your majesty," she suddenly returned to her respective tone and said before turning around and went back to where she and the other two was before the commotion.

It was a sudden 180 degree change that left everyone in shock.

"Are you okay?" Yukimura returned to reality first and went close to Akihiro.

"In the end I was once again reminded of how to be a king with a headbutt," Akihiro replied as he touch his forehead he then had Yukimura support him to stand up.

He faced the knights from the Archic Kingdom and Shigure, "I'm sorry for such display, I'm sorry for causing trouble for all of you."

"You don't have to bow," Shigure stopped him.

"Everyone, go back and rest now," he then commanded the knights.

The knights followed as they murmur with each other.

As they settle down on another tent, "You really have a wonderful knight."

Akihiro looked at Shigure. Yukimura, Raven and Azusa are with them.

"A ruler is a Father," Shigure copied.

"What she said is true, if you can't handle your family well, you won't be able to handle your whole kingdom at all," he added as if he just had an enlightenment.

"Her decisions all this time, was still for all of us," Akihiro couldn't help but shake his head.

"She decided to ask you before me in order not to delay the matter and cause me more loss. She told me that we have to be here now and get her because she knows that even your kingdom has no more time."

"She heartlessly told us that a ruler must kill those close to him if he had to. But what she said is a ruler, not you. She was pertaining to the fact that all this time you had been deciding as a ruler and you had forgotten about your own welfare," Yukimura added.

"A ruler should only think about the kingdom, she was referring to the kingdom and not the people within. Other rulers only want their kingdom to prosper not even considering the wellness of their people," Azusa added as well.

"I really don't understand her at times. It came from us that she do things on her own but in reality, she was actually doing or saying it for all of us. Yet we still end up getting mad and being infuriated of her," Akihiro couldn't help but sigh.

"I think we forgot something," Raven butt in.

The others looked at him.

"She went close to you by walking, is she not burnt?" he asked as he stood up.

Realization hit them and all of them, even Shigure, went out to look for her.

"What kind of chaos are we in now?" Eureka asked as she felt them.

"You've changed your shoes," Akihiro said.

"It melted, there's nothing I could do about it, your majesty," Eureka replied.

"Seriously, are you stupid or what?" Azusa couldn't help but reprimand as she sat down and pulled Eureka's shoes before she could react.

"Get us medicine for burn this instant," Shigure commanded upon seeing her feet.

The burn was obviously grave.

"How can you just leave it be?" Raven reprimanded as well.

"Why are all of you suddenly concerned right now?" Eureka asked as she just sat there.

"Sire we brought a doctor," one knight came with another.

"Go on and treat her," Shigure replied.

Eureka let them be, she is tired.

Of course, walking through that magma wasn't easy but she just have no more strength to go and ask someone to treat her, she just want to rest. In the end her rest was short lived as all of them suddenly came running here.

"Could you create another tent here?" Shigure asked another knight who was watching close by.

"Yes, your majesty," after witnessing Raven's strength, they have decided that Yukimura is stronger than him, then they witness Azusa's strength, then Eureka's monstrous strength.

They know that king Akihiro is strong, they just didn't expect that he is too powerful, it took a lot of them just to stop his magma from spreading.

After witnessing all of this, they all silently agreed that they will respect the five of them, and seeing how Shigure didn't have reserves for them, their respect doubled.

Despite the trouble that Akihiro caused, in the end, no one was hurt that they could just forget about it.

Just like that another tent was build to where Eureka had always been. The treatment and creation of another tent was done just like that.

"Are we going to just stare at each other for the whole night?" Eureka said afterwards, she no longer have any strength to argue with them regarding the tent.

"Thank you," Akihiro started.

"Why would you be thanking me, your majesty. When all I did was to disrespect you," Eureka replied.

"Did you realize that you just got mad awhile ago?" Akihiro replied in return.

"Mad? Was I? All I did was speak my mind," she once again said, this time she closed her eyes.

"You should rest now," Akihiro seeing her complexion decided to let her be, leaving behind Raven and Azusa to stay with her.

*****

"Is she alright?" Shigure couldn't help but ask.

"It must be her mind that is tired," Akihiro replied.

"Is she someone who don't get mad?" he once again asked.

"No, it's just she decided to let everything go, all her emotions. You must be tired already as well, I really apologize for what had happened. We should really rest," Akihiro then replied.

They might have become closer but the alliance wasn't final yet. Telling him more about Eureka is not right.

Shigure understanding this, wished them good night before going back to his tent.