-Naofumi-

Sleep was a wonderful thing to have. It allowed one to let down their guard and rest. Especially when one enters the realm of dreams and looks upon a better place. Naofumi was no different. Even if his body kept on, the mind needed rest. And so Naofumi dreamed.

He felt softness and comfort as if he was being hugged by a fair maiden. When he looked up all he saw was a heart shaped womanly face covered in shade. He looked down and blushed, noticing that she wasn't wearing anything, though her bare body was covered in the darkness of the room they(?) were in. He couldn't remember exactly what he did last night only that it was slightly embarrassing and fluffy for some reason unknown to him.

"Master Naofumi…" The mystery woman called out as she grazed his cheek with her fingers, Naofumi flinching but doing nothing as he was so entranced by this faceless woman's voice, "Master Naofumi… up…"

"Wh-what?" He asked curiously as an unimaginably soft tail began to loop around his leg.

"Master Naofumi… wake… up…" The woman said with a bit more clarity, "Find… me…" The woman leaned into him and gave him a kiss on his cheek as he immediately gasped… and found himself surrounded by animals.

"Oh… that's what I did last night…" He muttered to himself as he slowly looked around. Dogs, cats, wolves, foxes… there was even a bear of all things off to the side of the room. Gulping, he looked down and sighed in relief that he was still fully clothed and not naked like he felt in his dreams. He did realize now where the fluffy feeling came from looking at all the animals surrounding and snuggling with him.

Taking a deep breath, he gently started moving his arms and legs out from under the various bodies of fur as he did his best to get off the bed. Tiptoe by tip toe, Naofumi managed his way to the door and looked back. Sighing in relief and wiping his brow at the sight of the still sleeping animals, Naofumi happily opened the door to find Ren, the young boy with a tooth brush in his mouth and staring at him… rather incredulously.

"Really misjudged you there, Naofumi…" Ren muttered as he looked past Naofumi's arm.

Curious, Naofumi slowly turned to look back as everyone had returned to their human forms, the many girls waving and blowing kisses as some even said in unison, "Good morning, Master Naofumi~"

"I-I can explain!" Naofumi blurted out as Ren only shook his head and walked away, presumably to finish brushing his teeth. Groaning, Naofumi looked back and gave a tired glare as all the girls had turned back and all had their eyes shut as if sleeping again, though some did snicker audibly.

Grumbling, the college student turned hero left the group of half humans to their devices, though one in particular did run up behind him.

"Good Morning, Master~" Diona whispered into his ear, giggling as he flinched backwards into her awaiting arms, "Did you enjoy our company?~"

"Diona! Ren thinks I'm some kind of pervert now!" Naofumi shouted in embarrassment as he struggled, yelping as Diona let him go and gave him a firm but playful strike on the rear.

"Is that so bad?" The cat girl asked as she led him down, "Plus, from what I heard, he's one to talk~"

Naofumi blinked in confusion as his walk became a bit more gentle, "What do you mean?" As he asked this, a door to his side opened to reveal a yawning girl with strange green hair and wearing a two piece night wear.

"Mm~ You must be the other Shield Idiot," The girl commented as her 'hair' twitched, "I'm Sucrose by the way, Master Ren will tell you allll about me and the time we spent together."

Naofumi could only gulp at the implications before nodding and walking away.

Ren had been waiting patiently within the main section of the still empty bar, maids slowly walking in and out as they cleaned and prepared.

"Ren!" Naofumi called out as he caught the boy's attention, "Any word from the others?" He asked before sitting next to Ren.

"Not a thing," Ren replied tiredly, "We really didn't think this through, did we?" He asked as he stared at nothing… before flinching at the sound of a huff.

"Really, you dimwits can't seem to do a single thing right," Sucrose, now fully dressed, called out as she and Diona joined the pair.

Naofumi looked to Ren quizzically, "Did she-"

"You get used to it," Ren groaned, "Kind of endearing if I'm being honest…"

"Don't get sentimental on me now, lame brain," Sucrose commented before prodding Ren's cheek with an index finger, "We'll have plenty of time to grow annoyed with one another as we travel."

"Speaking of traveling!~" Diona said excitedly, "Once we locate the other two Shield Heroes, preparations will be made to get you four to Siltvelt."

"Siltvelt?" Ren inquired as three maids came by to drop off four plates of varied meats and vegetables as well as sweet smelling drinks for the group.

"It's where we're from," Sucrose replied, "I can't fault you for not knowing at least that. You curiously incapable nincompoops are from other worlds after all."

"Wow, you kissed Ren with that mouth?" Naofumi teased, the boy in question sputtering nonsense as he looked to a currently aloof Sucrose.

"And what's that supposed to mean!?" Ren questioned as he pointed a fork accusedly at his fellow Hero, "I mean that's rich coming from the guy who slept with a harem last night!"

"Hey! They all turned into tiny animals and helped me go to sleep!" Naofumi argued in his defense, Diona doing nothing to help him as she laid her head on Naofumi's shoulder, "Plus! When they changed back, they were all dressed! Sucrose walked out of your room half nude!"

Scandalized, Ren looked to the green haired girl who gave him a bored smile with half closed eyes, "It's true, I did leave his room half naked."

"Woah woah woah! We didn't do anything though!" Ren shouted as he started to wave his arms about frantically, the girls at their sides erupting in laughter as the Heroes only looked confused.

Sighing, Naofumi only hung his head in defeat at the mischievous half humans, "A-anyway… we really should try and find Motoyasu today."

"Don't bother," The bar's cloaked guardian said as he walked by and placed a scroll on the table, "He's been found."

Diona looked to Sucrose, the girl looking down at the rolled parchment before unfurling it… and glaring daggers, "Well. This does not bode well for you two."

"What? Why? What happened to that idiot," Ren asked with barely constrained worry.

"Motoyasu, he's… being tried for rape!" Diona shouted as she looked over the parchment, both heroes shouting 'WHAT!?'

Ren groaned before angrily stabbing a piece of steak, "Okay, I know I expected him to be a womanizer, the jury's still out on Naofumi-"

"Hey!"

"But rape?" Ren continued, "Unless…"

"Unless his hatred for you four has caused Aultcray to fabricate a trial so as to dispose of one if not all of you," The guard offered.

"Would explain the open invitation on this note," Sucrose added, "Hmph, fine then. Let's see to this little trial then."

Naofumi looked at a worried Ren, both heroes sharing the same thought: 'Please be safe, Itsuki.'

/- - -/

-Itsuki-

"You won't get away with AAAAAAA!" Lighting erupted along the youngest Hero's body, his words immediately caught in his screams before he gasped for air, "I'll get out… I swear it on AAAAAAA!"

"You, have been the single most enjoyable play thing I've had in ages," Beidou, the pirate woman who captured him said sweetly, "Twenty shocks by my blade in under ten minutes and you are as stubborn as the first time you decided to defy me, Shield Hero of Justice~"

"Must be my ludicrously high defense," Itsuki growled as he caught his breath, "I'm not even losing any health over this."

"All this discomfort can't be good for your health," Beidou taunted, "Physical or otherwise. Just swear yourself to me willingly and I can make all this pain stop~"

The boy only smiled, a progress bar in the corner of his vision slowly filling, "Bite. My shiny. Metal. ShiiiiiAAAAA!"

The smirk on Beidou's face fell after hearing small foot falls she recognized, "Well my little hero of justice. I have more slave ships to relieve of their merchandise. So long cutey," She then walked out of the special room she kept Itsuki in to meet her cabin boy.

She opened the door and found her cabin boy that she rescued from a particularly scummy ship towards an area of Melromarc that Beidou knew no demi-human slaves came back alive from.

"Keel, what do you have to report after questioning the rest of our newly acquired recruits?"

"I talked to some of the other slaves and they sang like canaries when I offered them a free trip home to their loved ones. Apparently the Shield Hero is looking for my childhood friend Raphtalia for some reason!" Keel, a wolf demi-human replied while he tried to act like a proper sailor but couldn't stop the wagging of his tail in excitement of living out his DREAM!

Beidou just pat Keel's head, causing harder tail wagging, "No problem, any friend of yours that is wanted by a legendary hero is worth looking into. I have some contacts in Melromarc who can help me locate her. You have a description right? I think I know some nobles in Faubley who need an assistant or are in need to make a show of force."

Keel could only look up to his captain with sparkles in his eyes, "Yeah! She's a natural redhead tanuki demihuman with matching red eyes."

Giggling, Beidou turned away and reclaimed her normally harsh demeanor as she addressed her crew, "Now enough loligagging! We have people to free and whales to hunt! We aren't getting paid for nothing!"

/- - -/

-Motoyasu-

For the life of him, he just couldn't understand it. Who was the princess these knights kept pestering him about? Why was she accusing him of rape? And why did the knights stop hitting him? He was getting a surprisingly nice massage from getting his face pummeled and it even cleared his head a little. Now if only the mana poisoning would go away.

After practically being dragged through the streets in nothing but his underwear, Motoyasu was thrown before a podium within the castle's throne room just as the king spoke.

"Loyal subjects and honored guests. We are gathered here today to bring this mad dog of a demon to heel!"

The murmurs of the crowd made Motoyasu hum in discomfort as he looked around the packed castle… until his eyes widened and brightened at the sight of Myne, the woman wearing a brilliant red dress lightly decorated with small green gemstones and gold.

"Myne!" Motoyasu shouted, "Myne, oh thank God you're-" A wack from a mustachioed giant of a knight silenced him as he blinked away the bubbles of light clouding his vision.

"How dare you speak to the princess in such a manner!?" The knight questioned as he took note of Myne's now mischievously glinting eyes as she hid behind the king.

"Thank you, Mald," Aultcray said calmly as he smiled at the knight, "We can always count on warriors such as yourself," The knight, Mald, bowed before Aultcray glared once more at the Shield Hero before him, "For your crimes against my family, my daughter… by the laws of my kingdom, I sentence you to death for the reprehensible crime of rape against a woman!"

Cheers and jeers echoed, angry voices all yelling for Motoyasu's head on a pike, and yet…

"Okay… but there's no actual way I could have done anything like that," Motoyasu offered as the jeers grew in intensity.

"You would dare argue against your clear guilt!?" Aultcray questioned.

"Don't believe a word he says, father," Myne whined, "That… that brute stripped in front of me before tearing off my clothing!"

"Hey! That's not true in the slightest!" Motoyasu shouted as he wondered where this was coming from, "You had to spoon feed me after the third potion, remember?"

The king only scoffed as he raised his arm, the noise in the room slowly silencing, "Your words hold no power here, demon. The time of your repentance is now upon us. Should any here wish to speak for this lowly mongrel, may you speak now or forever-"

"Objection!" Naofumi and Ren shouted as they, followed by Diona and Sucrose, rushed into the room… only for eight knights to point their spears at the group.

"Hmph, it would seem your demon companions have arrived, dog…" Aultcray growled at Motoyasu, the blonde looking back at his fellow heroes.

"Guys, I don't know what's going on!" Motoyasu shouted, "They're saying I raped a princess!"

"We heard," The group of four said in unamused unison.

"What say you then in your companion's defense, demons!?" Aultcray shouted, "Would you plead for his pitiful life!?"

"We don't have to," The green haired girl in their group said unemotionally, "Because you know exactly what will happen to you should you kill any of the Heroes you summoned behind the backs of the other kingdoms."

Aultcray growled at this as the heroes looked to her in confusion, "It is true, the act alone would seal my kingdom's fate. However this miscreant's deed shall not go unpunished!"

"I already told you I didn't do anything!" Motoyasu shouted, "I can't even say the word 'titmouse' without giggling like a little schoolgirl," To prove this point, Motoyasu actually did break out into a giggling fit before recomposing himself.

"SILENCE!" Aultcray shouted before Myne whispered into his ear, "Ah… yes, yes that is a suitable punishment…"

"Wait, what is he going to do?" The cat girl next to Naofumi asked worriedly before flinching as the king shouted at her.

"No one gave you permission to speak in my presence, demi-human filth! Guards! Bring me the brand…"

"Wait, brand?" Motoyasu asked as his eyes widened, "Guys? Guys help? Guys!?"

"No, please," Aultcray threatened, "Give me a reason. Even if we are forced to go to war with the rest of the world, it would be worth it just to kill you three blights upon my kingdom… right after I torture your disgusting demi-human into a braindead heap."

Both Ren and Naofumi growled as the moved to guard the cat girl as Motoyasu tsked, "Fine…" He growled, "If it's between a little pain and an innocent life… I'll be the hero this world chose me to be. Right?" He asked his fellow Heroes more than anyone else.

Smiling in victory, Aultcray rose as a knight presented him a rod of iron with the image of a wicked shield before presenting it to Myne, "Here, Malty, why don't you do the honors?"

"It would be my pleasure, father~" The princess, Malty, replied as she lit a ball of fire in her hand before heating the rod until the Shield insignia turned white.

"Wait… wait no," Motoyasu whispered, "I-I-I reconsider! M-Myne! Myne, that dress! I made you that dress! Myne! Please don't do thi-" The butt of a spear impacted his jaw before he was shuffled around, his face now intimate with the floor.

"Thank you, Mald," Malty cooed, "And as for you my pitiful little hero… I am Malty S. Melromarc! First daughter of King Aultcray Melromarc the Thirty Second! You however, are just a penniless dog without so much as a saving grace~," Then she plunged the branding iron into Motoyasu's back.

It was said Motoyasu's cries were heard round the world for days to come.

/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/

And that… that was heavy. I hope for your continued support as it does keep me going. (Should probably get to my other stories about now…) ((I use a lot of pop culture references in my work, see if you can spot them all))

Icy here and yeah this story got dark. Things may turn for the worse or better. Just remember