Dispute

Summer had come to Rock Valley, and with it, loads and loads of profit. Citizens from all over Melromarc would gather in order to tour the famous village town. Every year it grew and expanded, and every year the villagers would pull out all the stops in order to rake in what they could from tourism, putting out their best wares and products for people to sample, and even then there were many unique attractions to be seen without that; the best examples would be the small, fuzzy, raccoon-like monsters that populated the area. They were friendly and highly intelligent, an entirely new species said to have been created by the Shield Hero in his right hand's likeness. Said right hand didn't appreciate that comparison, so many were sure to avoid saying so in front of her.

There was much to be done during this time, so it came as no surprise to anyone that the workers needed a good deal of food to keep their energy up. While the Shield Hero—much to his chagrin—was the one to do most of the cooking (with help of course), the gathering of ingredients was a chore left to the more experienced villagers, and those who wished to learn from them. One such person was trying her luck at hunting by a river.

A young girl was standing in the shallows, arms wrapped around a large and struggling fish-like monster. She staggered and splashed about as the creature thrashed, nearly dropping it twice, and once actually falling into the water with it. The girl grit her teeth as the fish, more than half her height, nearly escaped for the third time. She blew her wet, ash grey hair out of her face. "As if I'd let you go that easily!" Heaving with all her might, she tossed the beast onto the bank and, as it flopped around furiously, drew a wicked-looking dagger from her belt loop and charged at it, yelling her best battlecry. "AAAAAHHH!"

She plunged the knife down to the hilt, and the monster gave an earsplitting screech. It thrashed again, once, twice, three times, before finally falling limp. Eighteen-year-old Saori Iwatani leaned back to sit on her heels, exhausted. She appeared human at first glance, no animal ears or tail to be seen. She blew away the wild strands of her hair that had whipped into her face during the skirmish, then looked over at her hunting companion for that day, jade eyes indignant. "We've been out slaying monsters in this heat all day, and I'm covered in mud and dirt. How come you're not even ruffled? Your hair isn't even out of line."

The person she was speaking to was a rather tall, rather scantily-clad woman in her thirties, whose dark hair fell in unbroken waves down her back. Her face was very beautiful, and her blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she replied. "That's the question, isn't it?" She strolled over, carrying an even larger aquatic monster on her shoulder. The bare skin of her arms and legs had were dark in places, and Saori knew that these patches were actually more rubber than skin, the kind one would find on a seal or dolphin.

Or a whale.

Saori watched as the woman hauled her catch over to add to the rest of the pile. "Yes, it is. And I'd like to know the answer, Sadeena. How do you do it?"

"Magic," Sadeena responded cryptically.

Saori flopped onto her back in defeat, covering her eyes with an arm. "I should've known you'd say something like that."

Sadeena chuckled, taking her place on the grass beside the girl and ruffling her hair. "You did well today," she said, surveying their catch. "This is quite the haul. You've become a fine fisherman. I'm sure your mother and father will be as proud of you as I am."

Saori couldn't resist a smile as she was showered with praise. "I did learn from the best."

The orca woman looked thoughtful at that. "You know," she began, "when I have a daughter, I think I would like her to be exactly like you."

Saori's smile wavered. She didn't quite know what to say to that, knowing of the older woman's attraction to her father. Sadeena was also someone she admired a great deal; she couldn't exactly shoot her down. So she decided to go with "Why wish for a daughter when you already have me? Aren't I enough?"

Thankfully, Sadeena was well aware of how her words would affect her charge, and was—for the moment—joking. She laughed outright at the question. "I suppose so. You're so much more fun to be around than your brother. He never likes my jokes," she pouted.

"You joke about all the wrong things, Sadeena," was Saori's reply. "I don't mind it, but Korro is a different story. Please try not to mess with him so much. You know he's sensitive about that kind of thing." She allowed herself to soak in the sun's rays for a few minutes, letting it dry out her damp clothes. Of course, the girl would still need a bath later, but for now, this was enough. Sadeena too, was quiet for a while. Eventually, she stood.

"We should get going," she said, breaking the peaceful silence. "Naofumi needs these if he's going to make enough food to satisfy a village as big as ours. Don't you agree, Saori?"

The girl sighed and nodded. "Yes. Papa wouldn't like it if he thought we were slacking. Besides, he and Mama are working hard for the sake of the village, and I want to help them out." Saori sat up and accepted Sadeena's offered hand, helping her scoop up the fish and slide them into a large net. It was too heavy for her to lift on her own, so Sadeena insisted on carrying it. As they walked along the path that would take them back to the village, Saori paused. She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder.

"Problem, Saori?" asked the orca.

"My brother," the girl said. "He's out there now, hunting with Katsuro. I'm hoping they don't run into Donza's party."

Sadeena patted her shoulder reassuringly. "There's no cause for concern. Katsuro is smart, and Korro can handle himself in a fight. They'll be fine."

"I hope so. My big brother can never keep his cool with those guys around." There was nothing else for it: Saori would simply have to have faith that her brother won't cause any undue conflict. She hurried to catch up to her friend and mentor, running a few steps ahead and calling over her shoulder. "Come on, Sadeena! These fish aren't going to cook themselves!"

Sadeena made to follow, watching the girl's retreating profile. She took in the cloak Saori was wearing, completely unnecessary in this heat. Any who saw her would wonder why Saori would have such a thing on. Sadeena, however, knew the reason. She sighed inwardly.

She's hiding her tail again.

As the two headed home, chatting amiably, a very different conversation was being held somewhere else, in the monster-hunting fields by the shore some distance away.

Five boys were standing in an open area, the wind blowing at the tall grasses that poked up from the sand. They had formed something of a circle around a large, limp creature that would've been indistinguishable from a deer if not for the curved fangs that protruded from its open mouth. Three of the boys were on one side of it, two on the other. The person leading the three-man group was wearing simple armor, made more for practicality than style. He was by far the brawniest of the three—of the five even. He towered over his two companions by a good head, and his messy blond hair fell down almost to his shoulders. The two on either side of him—a brunette and a redhead—were much leaner and meaner-looking, with dark scowls to match the sharp, jagged weapons strapped to their sides. Together, Donza and his party had a sort of barbarian air to them.

The two opposite them didn't seem phased by their formidable appearance. Instead, they waited impatiently as the trio made their grievances known.

"Who do you think you are, stealing our game like that? That was totally our kill!" spat the redhead.

His brown haired companion was of the same mind. "Think you can just do whatever you please because you're the sons of Heroes? You entitled bastards are all the same."

Korro rolled his eyes. At nineteen years old, he stood at his father's height, with a lean but well-muscled figure strengthened and hardened by years of training. He folded his arms. "How many times are we going to have this exact same conversation, Erik? Hasan? We do this every week! It's time you stopped blaming your incompetence on everyone but yourself. You claim that you chased the thing all the way out of the plains and to the shore, but we didn't see you anywhere near here when we went after it ourselves. You only kicked up a fuss after it was dead."

The redhead, Hasan, growled. "Liar! We know you saw us tracking it! We've been on its trail for hours, you can't just—"

"Hours? And you still hadn't caught it?" Korro whistled, incredulous. "Are you sure this is even the same monster? Maybe you were following a different one and lost it."

Donza's minions looked livid at that.

Eighteen-year-old Katsuro, who was even taller than Korro but not nearly as sturdy, nudged him with his foot. "Come on," he said, "we don't need this today. Let's just take our catch and go."

It was Erik's turn to speak. He sneered. "What, you just gonna let your boyfriend make the decisions for you?" he asked Korro, his voice full of mockery. Katsuro bristled. Korro, however, was calm. Amused, even.

"Nice try," he replied with a grin, "but I'm already seeing someone." He jerked his thumb at his best friend. "So is he." That was enough to surprise even the gang leader.

"Seriously?" Donza asked, incredulous.

"Well, no," Korro admitted, "but I'm sure he'll find someone eventually. There's gotta be at least one girlout there who'll take him." Katsuro's pale skin flushed red with embarrassment, and he glared at his supposed best friend with equal parts hurt and betrayal.

"What do you mean 'at least one'?" he hissed. "I'll have you know, I have plenty of options available to me!" It was true, technically. There were many women out there who would give an arm and a leg to partner with the Sword Hero's son. Katsuro simply needed…advice on how to properly talk to them.

Korro laughed. Katsuro was so easy to wind up sometimes. "Alright, alright, I get it. Let's go. I think we're done here." He bent low, making as if to grab the monster by the leg.

"Really? Well I don't." Donza stepped forward. He pointed at the creature, irritated. "That was our catch, Korro. I don't know how things work in Rock Valley, but out here we have to work for our food. And if you don't hand it over, things are going to get very ugly, very fast." The rest of his party watched eagerly, clearly waiting for their leader to make short works of their rivals.

Katsuro glanced cautiously about him, measuring their odds. He and Korro were outnumbered, but they could always use their magic. Korro in particular specialized in illusion magic, which made for adequate diversions for those who knew how to use it. Katsuro himself was honing his water magic. He'd rather the situation didn't break out into a fight, but if it did he was sure he and his friend could do a fair bit of damage before being forced to retreat. Before he could calculate any further, Katsuro felt a hand land on his shoulder.

He looked over at Korro. The other boy was smiling, though it didn't reach his eyes. "It's fine, Suro," he said. His other hand was balled into a fist. "This shouldn't take long." With that, Korro stepped forward, and so did Donza. They edged closer and closer, until there was nothing between them but the animal that had started the whole mess.

"Are you sure about this?" the demi-human asked. "This could get painful."

Donza raised his fists. "Go ahead," he taunted. "I'm not afraid of your magic."

"Very well," Korro sighed. Katsuro and the remaining members of Donza's team tensed, ready to lend a hand if need be. Korro gritted his teeth, raised his fisted hand, and—

Threw a handful of sand right into Donza's face. A piercing howl of pain erupted from the blonde as it made contact with his eyes. For several moments, Erik and Hasan were too shocked to move. But several moments was all Korro needed. Grabbing the deer monster and hoisting it over his shoulder, he ran, shoving Katsuro—who was also in a stupor—as he did. "What're you standing around for? Let's get out of here!"

Katsuro kicked his legs into gear, nearly tripping as he did. By the time Erik and Hasan snapped out of their surprise, the boys were long gone. Swallowing hard, they attempted to make up for their inaction by helping their leader instead, who was busy rubbing sand out of his eyes.

"Don," Erik said carefully, "let us hel—yeesh!" His gentle words ended in a cry. He couldn't help it; Donza had looked up at the sound of his voice, and gave them a glimpse of his eyes in the process. His bloodshot, watery, angry eyes. Donza growled. "Damn those guys…"

Meanwhile, "those guys" were making their escape. Katsuro nearly overtook Korro several times due to his legs being longer, so he and his friend decided to carry their catch between them as they ran. They didn't return to Rock Valley immediately, for fear Donza's party would follow them. Instead, they circled the long way around, stopping at a cluster of houses too small to be called a true settlement. It was there that they hid for the time being.

Setting the slain monster down, Korro leaned against a particularly run-down shack. "I'd say that could've been worse," he remarked.

Katsuro, bent over double and struggling to catch his breath, glared at him. "You picked a fight with those thugs, and after all that trouble you didn't even show us any illusion magic. I mean, sand? Where'd you get that idea?"

"I didn't pick any fights," Korro muttered, defensive. "That game was ours. Wecaught it fair and square. There was no reason to give it up. Besides, I thought the sand was a brilliant idea. Why use magic for everything when you have resources readily available?"

"You're hopeless."

"I guess so." Korro pushed himself from the wall and peered cautiously from around the corner. They were nowhere near Rock Valley, he realized with a sinking feeling. All around them were shacks and buildings in various states of disrepair. Some had crumbling walls, others had roofs suffering from decay. Weeds poked up from what could only have been gardens at one point. A scattering of people were moving around, drawing water from a nearby well, or else attempting to clear away the weeds in order to get the crops that were left. None seemed to notice their arrival.

Katsuro moved to stand beside his friend. "Where are we?"

"I have no idea," was Korro's subdued response. He had no idea places like this still went unnoticed by the general public. Why hadn't the people here moved out? This was desolate village no place to live out one's life, or to raise children. What kept them from leaving?

"We shouldn't stay here," Katsuro whispered. The sullen atmosphere seemed to have gotten to him, too. "Let's go find a higher vantage point. I bet I could determine our location from there."

"You go ahead," his friend replied. "Scout the area and come back here when you've found something. I'll stay here."

When Katsuro made to protest, Korro held up a hand. "My sense of direction is terrible. You know that. Besides, if I came I'd have to lug this thing around," he gave the monster a light kick, "to keep people from running off with it. It'll be fine. I'll cover you with illusion magic. It's not advanced enough to cover us both, but I'm getting better."

"If you say so." Katsuro could do little but agree. When the magic had been cast, he slipped through and out of the village unhindered.

Korro crossed his arms and counted to ten. When he finished, he spoke. "I know you're in there. There's no need to hide." The house was silent for a moment. Then the creaking of a door being opened drew Korro's attention. His sensitive ears had been picking up shuffling in the house for a while now. Katsuro's ears were human, and thus did not hear it.

He watched as a small figure appeared in the doorway. A little girl of about nine stepped out from its shadows. She was rather frail-looking, her hair falling in wisps all over her face. The clothing she wore was worn and simple. "Hello," she said quietly.

"Hello," Korro returned the greeting. "If you don't mind my asking, what were you doing in that hut?"

"This is where I live," the girl replied, as if it were obvious.

"Here?" Korro tried to keep the surprise out of his tone.

"Yes." The girl turned and looked at it. As if finally understanding how it must appear to an outsider's eye, she tensed defensively. "It's not much, I know that. But Mother and Father make sure we have everything we need here. The whole village does its best to take care of ourselves. We do well enough on our own. We don't need anyone's help!"

Korro blinked. What? Did she mean to tell him that the villagers were staying in this run-of-the-mill town completely out of a sense of pride?! What sort of excuse was that?! Before he could say so, the girl caught sight of the beast at his feet. She walked over and poked it. Korro uncrossed his arms. "Hey," he warned, "that's mi—"

"I wonder," she mused, "did Don-niisan ask you to bring this to us?"

Korro faltered. "Don…niisan? You mean Donza? Does he live here?" His eyes darted left and right. How ironic it would be for Donza to show up now.

But the girl shook her head, still eyeing the meat. "No, but he comes by often with loads of things for us. Food, mostly. We tell him not to bother, but he never listens. I suppose I'm glad he doesn't."

Korro didn't know what to say. Donza, brutish, aggressive Donza, stopping by and giving this village handouts? To the point where this kid addresses him as an older brother? There truly was more to him than meets the eye.

Korro's silence only seemed to confirm the girl's inquiry. Her eyes lit up, and she began talking about all the things her village could do with such a catch. Korro didn't have it in him to stop her. Instead, he devoted some thought into the matter. His father had sent him out with a job to do, and would be displeased to see it unfinished. At the same time, he was sure no one would begrudge him for being generous to this girl and her people. Rock Valley had more than enough already. And whether or not it was their own fault, these people barely had anything. With that, his mind was made up.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?"

The girl looked up. "Sonya."

"Well, Sonya, this kind of meat is only best when made into soup. I'll teach you the trick to making it, but I'm going to need some help. Go gather your village friends"

If possible, Sonya's face brightened even more. She threw her little arms around him. "Thank you, Mr…?

"Er, just call me…Shigaraki." He'd heard it once, years ago, in a conversation his parents were having. He didn't know what it meant, but figured it would make a cool alias. And thus the village ever after knew him only by one name: Shigaraki.

It was evening. As the sun continued to set, Katsuro found Korro at the village entrance—if one could call it that—and waved as he drew near. He had found the direction they needed to go. As he approached though, Katsuro saw that Korro was unburdened; the monster carcass was nowhere to be found. "Korro," he said slowly, "where's the meat?"

"I'll fill you in on the way," he promised. "More importantly, what took you so long? It's been hours. Are we that far from the village?"

"It is some distance from here," Katsuro admitted, "but that's not why I'm late. I actually ran into Lady Katana on the way."

Korro was shocked at that. "You saw my mom? What did she say? And would you quit calling her that already?" Katsuro held both Korro's parents in high regard, and for some reason always referred to them as "Lord Shield" and "Lady Katana". That only went for those two, though. Ren and Eclair were his parents so there was no need for such titles; Itsuki and Rishia didn't want to be addressed so formally on account of "a prior incident".

As for the Spear Hero Motoyasu…well, not much was said about him.

"She wants us to return to the village immediately," Katsuro said, ignoring the last question. "She told me to tell you that 'your father wishes to speak with you.'"

Korro's heart sank. He had no clue what he may have done wrong, but when the Shield Hero summons someone there was nothing else to do but answer the call.

He steeled himself, and started on the path that would take them back to Rock Valley. "Dad wants to see me, does he? Well then, we'd better not keep him waiting."