Chapter 8: Meetings and Preparations.

Shirou checked over his party. Whilst he was confident that they could handle most things, he wasn't sure what a wave would entail. He had heard of the first wave from his party of course, but he made sure to take them with a bit of distrust.

It's not that he didn't trust his party, on the contrary. He trusted them a lot more than most would think, given the circumstances. They had done nothing but be helpful, even if some of their ways were a bit… forceful. He wouldn't be forgetting the lessons that Bakta and Tersia had drilled into him about this world's language. Even if it did mean he could understand basic words from books, they didn't have to be so rough whenever he got it wrong…

He shook his head. He was getting off track. His point was, because of the mass destruction of the first wave, stories had spread. Stories became more twisted over time, simple facts being twisted into something much worse. He'd have to look at the wave of his own accord, and see how dangerous they truly were. If they were stronger, he'd dedicate his and his parties time to levelling as much as they could for the next wave.

Shaking his head, he led the party to the blacksmiths. Everyone needed to be in top condition for the waves, even if they didn't want to burden him with using any more cash. He'd make sure they got everything sorted, one way or another.

Shirou let out a small groan as Tersia shook his head.

"I've already told you Shirou, I'm not going to be buying any more knives. I'm content with my current knives."

"I understand that, I truly do, but what will you do if you don't have any knives left to throw? At the very least, buy a sword to defend yourself, please." Shirou spoke, looking to Erhard for help, only to see the blacksmith smile in amusement at the scene before him. It wasn't every day that you had people begging others to buy your wares.

With a reluctant nod, Tersia gave in, picking up a short sword. "I'll buy this then. Is that alright?"

Erhard nodded. "Feel free to put it with the other stuff."

The other stuff in question consisted of several things. Some leather gloves for Tersia so that she wouldn't get as injured during fighting, as fighting balloons and eggs was different from punching things such as zombies and the likes.

For Welt, he was simply getting his axe sharpened. Whilst he had tried his best to keep up on maintaining his axe, it was always best to have a professional look over it.

Bakta had nothing. Shirou couldn't convince him to even get a dagger, with Baktas reply being that he didn't even know how to use a knife properly, let alone stab anything with it. And with his abysmal attack stat, Shirou reluctantly agreed.

Shirou let out a sigh of relief as the sword was put with everything else. "How much will it all be?" Shirou asked warily.

"Well, sword lad, Altogether, I'd say it's about… 160 silver." He said, nodding his head.

Shirou opened his coin bag again, putting the silver on the table without any resistance. The bag was feeling extremely light now. Even with selling all the materials from the monsters they had found, Shirou estimated that they only had about 100 silver left, which had him worried. He'd have to start taking quests soon.

The door would open and Shirou would turn to face it. The first thing he saw was a Demi-human, not that he would have been able to tell if she had worn a cloak, with her only defining features being her racoon ears and the tail. It was what she said next that caught his attention

"Come on Mr Naofumi. You aren't getting out of it! You need armour!"

A groan could be heard outside the door, everyone in the shop falling silent except for Erhard, who held a small smile on his face at the antics of the Demi human and Shield hero.

Eventually, Naofumi stepped into the shop, staring at the group, only for his eyes to land on Shirou.

For Naofumi, the world seemed to freeze at that moment. That first week of sleepless nights had imagined a moment like this multiple times.

With him meeting the Sword hero, an attempt to explain the story only for him to scoff in disgust, and blame him for everything that had happened.

Naofumi could feel himself shaking, Raphtalia's words nearly not reaching him.

"-umi! Mr Naofumi!"

"I-im fine, Raphtalia. C-can you stand outside for a moment?"

Raphtalia would look at him, confused, but she'd step outside the shop. He vaguely heard Shirou requesting his party go outside as well. His group filed out silently.

The room was deathly quiet as Sword and Shield stared at each other.

Shirou took the first step forward.

"Naofumi. It's… been a while." He said, a small smile on his face.

That one simple action, that simple gesture gave Naofumi hope. Hope that Shirou might listen to him. That he didn't only have enemies in this world. That he might have an ally.

"I… I have heard the rumours. I wanted to check for myself, to see if you did it." Shirou continued.

Naofumi simply nodded at that. If Naofumi was in his position, he would want to check for himself. It made sense.

"Like I said before, Infront of the king, Infront of the other two heroes, I didn't do it." Naofumi stated, staring at Shirou.

"I understand why you are saying it, but there's no way I can trust you on just your word alone. Not absolutely until I do something. Hold up your shield. Please."

Naofumi hesitated for a moment. Why did he want him to raise his shield? What was he going to do? Naofumi shook his head. He'd believe in his luck for once.

The small sliver of a chance that Shirou would believe him. He'd hold onto it with all his strength, because if even Shirou gave up on him? He wasn't sure if he'd be able to remain whole.

Making his decision, Naofumi raised his shield. Shirou moved forwards, his eyes shut as his hand touched the Shield.

The gem glinted

The Shield didn't want its wielder to fall any more, but it also didn't want the swords wielder to see its users history.

The Shield was stuck. It could either close itself off, and in turn have its wielder shut himself off from the others, or it could trust the Sword, and hope to repair the bonds with the other weapons.

It chose the latter, and the shield met the sword. It would need an equivalent exchange of information for its wielder.

Shirou stumbled as he was chucked into the memory. He could tell immediately that it was the Shield showing the memories.

It showed Naofumi asleep, dead to the world around him, even as someone snuck around his room. He saw as they picked up chainmail armour, only to skip over to the desk and pick up the sack of coins.

As they skipped out of the room, The Shield glowed lightly, the intruder stopping as the light filled the room. Whilst it wasn't a bright light, it allowed Shirou to see one detail of the intruder. Red hair.

As the light died down, the intruder began moving again, slowly this time. The door creaked open, and they let out a sigh of relief, their footsteps echoing along the hallway.

From what Shirou understood so far, Naofumi had been robbed. Unfortunate, but it had nothing to do with the accusation, right?

Taking another look through the room, finding nothing of interest whatsoever, Shirou waited.

He didn't know how long he had waited, he only knew that the next event had come when a pounding on the door awoke the Shield hero.

"H-huh? I'm coming! Just give me a moment…" Naofumi spoke sleepily, wandering over to the door.

Another round of pounding on the door as Naofumi moved to open it, and the guards levelled their blades at him.

"Shield hero! The King has demanded you go to the castle now!"

Naofumi nodded confused. "Would you mind if I get my stuff first?"

The guard nodded impatiently. "Be quick. The King demands it!"

Naofumi would nod, looking around the room for the already missing chainmail and coin pouch.

"What? I've been robbed!" Naofumi turned to face the Knights, still looking at him in disgust.

"You've got to help me!" Naofumi pleaded.

With a frustrated sigh, the lead knight spoke.

"Just grab him. We'll take him to the King ourselves."

"W-what?"

The memory shifted and Shirou found himself inside the throne room, Naofumi being dumped on the floor as swords and spears were pointed at him.

"You fiend!" The King shouted. "I knew there was something horrible about you from the moment I saw you!"

Naofumi looked around, panic in his eyes until he finally laid his eyes on Myne.

"Myne! Thank God you're okay! Someone robbed us!"

Myne hid behind Motoyasu, shaking as Motoyasu shouted. "You monster! Was this your plan from the start?"

Naofumi looked at him confused. "W-what? What do you mean by that?"

The king shouted again. "Silence! You know what you've done, scum!"

"Your majesty, please! I don't know what you're talking about!" Naofumi pleaded, but his pleading fell on deaf ears.

"Don't act as if you didn't attempt to rape her!"

Naofumis head shot towards Motoyasu.

"What? Why would I ever do anything like that?" Naofumi demanded.

"Myne told us about how you had a few drinks, and you tried to force her into your room! Don't act stupid with us!"

Naofumi shook his head. "Come on, you have to believe me! I didn't do it!"

Shirou shook his head, looking around the room. No-one reacted upon the exclamation of Naofumi's crime. Shirou would have expected a reaction at least.

The King shook his head. "Whilst normally, a crime such as this would lead to execution, it is not possible due to you being a cardinal hero."

Naofumi looked at him, anger in his eyes. "Then send me back! Summon another goddamn hero!"

"I wish we could, but unless all of you die, then it is impossible." The King spoke, still staring angrily at Naofumi.

Motoyasu and Itsuki looked at the King in shock.

"So what? Are you going to lock me up? What are you going to do, your majesty." He spoke the last part with anger.

"No. I can't do that, as much as i would wish to. For now, tales of your crimes shall be spread throughout the land, for everyone to hear! Go do your job, and you will return home. That will be your reward, scum!"

On the other side of the exchange, Naofumi himself was witnessing a memory.

Naofumi was witnessing destruction. Plain and simple.

Naofumi stood beside Shirou, invisible to everyone, but able to see the fight happening from the rock Shirou was standing on.

He watched as the pale, amber eyed woman swung her sword, the blade rippling with unfamiliar energy. Every swing that was made with the blade was followed up by a beam of energy, her opponent barely dodging each strike.

The other combatant, a purple haired woman, wasn't letting up. Her speed just barely outpacing the swordsman's blade each time, allowing her to escape from the clutches of death.

Naofumi found himself enthralled In the battle, somehow able to comprehend how fast the duo was clashing. It wasn't until he felt Shirou shift beside him that he saw what was going to happen. The chains appeared around the room, the purple haired woman pulling them together, the black swordsman stuck in the centre.

A beam of energy tore through it, the chains and chunks of earth that had bound her simply disappearing. The purple-haired woman fell back, breathing heavily. A red circle appeared before her as time seemed to freeze, and Shirou jumped into action, much to the shielder's dismay.

The red cloth around Shirous arm fluttered, barely hanging onto him as Shirou began to speak.

"Rho…"

Even as Shirou spoke, the swordsman didn't relent, instead letting the energy build around her blade.

"EX…"

Naofumi shifted slightly, the weapon glowing with with the dark energy. Even as the purple haired woman spoke, he was focused on Shirou, his eye bleeding slightly as he spoke the last word.

"Aias!"

Shirou shouted the words, violet petals blooming before him in the formation of a shield. Naofumi looked at it in surprise, Shirous words coming back to him.

"Is this the shield he was speaking about?" Naofumi questioned, even as the swordsman shouted.

"CALIBUR!"

Naofumi watched in awe and horror as the beam crashed into the shield Shirou had made. He watched as the shield held strong, the woman behind him shouting, even as the petals began to either and fade into dust, leaving Shirou struggling as more and more of his shield faded.

"-ROPHON!"

A burst of light, and Naofumi couldn't see anything else. It wasn't until a moment later that he could see the swordsman laying on the floor, breathing heavily. Naofumi watched as something moved in the smoke, Shirou jumping out of it, a knife in his hand. He landed on the swordsman's chest, and the swordsman spoke quietly.

"Sh…irou…"

Shirou let out a wordless shout, the knife plunging into the swordsman's throat, and the memory faded

In the world of blades, beside Avalon and the Legendary sword, A shield made its place between them.

Naofumi moved back, breathing heavily as Shirou nodded towards Naofumi.

"I see. You're telling the truth…" Shirou spoke slowly, even as Naofumi looked at him in shock.

"Naofumi? What's the matter?"

Naofumi shook his head.

"I… saw you. A memory, or something."

Naofumi didn't miss the way Shirou tensed up slightly. Just what had that been?

"I saw you in a cave. A purple haired woman was fighting someone. You were watching over it." He shook his head. "It seems like some stuff you might find in an anime. Just what was that Shirou?" Naofumi spoke, a bit of curiosity slipping into his voice.

"There are… a few things that I haven't told anyone. Here isn't the right place exactly." Shirou spoke. "I'd much rather discuss it with the other two heroes present."

At the mention of the other two heroes, Naofumi had a look of annoyance on his face.

"Do we really have to meet up with them?"

"I understand, but we need to work together with Naofumi. I've had to work with some people I disliked before." His thoughts drifted over to Kotomine.

Whilst he hadn't disliked him, he hadn't exactly liked him either. He understood him, and that's what had terrified him.

"I guarantee the second we meet up with them, they will dismiss me. From what I've seen, no one in the Kingdom likes me!"

"I know," Shirou spoke reassuringly. "But like I said. If we want to survive the waves, we have to meet up with them and plan."

Whilst the two heroes spoke inside the shop, Shirou's party and Raphtalia stood in silence. Farrie broke the silence first.

"So… you're the shield hero's companion?"

Raphtalia nodded. "Um, yes. I'm Mr Naofumi's sword."

"That's great! I'm happy the Shield hero has such a loyal companion." She spoke with a smile.

Raphtalia nodded again. "Yeah, Mr Naofumi is a great person. He saved my life."

Before anyone could ask how he had saved her life, the two heroes opened the door. Shirous group turned to face him, and Shirou spoke.

"Naofumi is innocent."

The group nodded, seemingly happy as Raphtalia looked at them confused.

"We are going to meet the other heroes. It's a day until the wave." Shirou continued.

Naofumi simply stared at Shirou. "The waves that soon? Do you know where it is going to be based?"

It was Shirou's turn to look at Naofumi in confusion. "What? Didn't you register to the hourglass?"

Naofumi shook his head.

"No? I never got told anything about an hourglass. What is it?"

Shirou began to quickly explain.

"Alright, from what I understand, the dragon hourglass is meant to teleport the heroes and their parties to the waves location. It also allows for you to see how long it is until the next wave."

Naofumi sighed. "You see what I mean by the country being against me?"

Shirou nodded. "Come on, change of plans. We are heading to the hour glass."

Yet again, Shirous group stood outside the church, leaving only Shirou, Naofumi and Raphtalia to go into the church.

Shirou remembered his way to the hourglass, easily guiding the Shield hero and his companion to it, even as Naofumi spoke quietly.

"I'm getting shivers just being here. It feels wrong." Naofumi spoke, looking around to see a pair of nuns staring at him with disgust.

"All we need to do is link you to the hour glass, then we can head out. It shouldn't take long, although there is one other thing…" Shirou shook his head. He'd have to sort it out later, when everything else was done.

With Shirou directing him, Naofumi walked up the stairs, the gem on his shield shooting a beam of light towards the hour glass. Immediately, a timer showed up on his hud.

"Man, only one day? At least we have our stuff prepared…" Naofumi spoke quietly, Shirou nodding beside him.

"Yo, Shirou. I saw your party outside. Are you in here?"

The voice revealed itself, Motoyasu walking into the room with a small smile, the spear in his hand.

"Hey Shirou, how have you been?" Motoyasu looked at Naofumi and huffed. "Naofumi…"

Shirou looked at Motoyasu, a small smile on his face. "Motoyasu, it's been a while."

Motoyasu nodded. "Yeah, it has. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you didn't link up to the hour glass before you left?"

"No, I did. My party told me about it before we left, so I sorted it out myself. I'm here helping Naofumi. Noone told him about the hourglass, so I took it upon myself." Motoyasu nodded, looking at Naofumi with disgust.

"Say, Shirou, have you heard what Naofumi has done?" Motoyasu asks curiously, waiting to see Naofumi's reaction.

"I have. Naofumi told me himself and I have heard rumours already. I've already determined that he's innocent of all crimes."

Motoyasu shook his head. "I assume there is nothing I can do to change your mind?" Shirou shook his head. Motoyasu smiled sadly.

"He may have fooled you, but I will show you the truth Shirou, no matter what. I'm meeting up with Itsuki at the Mestilo Inn. I'll happily see you there, but please do not bring Naofumi. I can't promise I won't attack him." With that, Motoyasu walked out as quickly as he came in, his party following behind him without looking back.

Shirou could only shake his head sadly.

Looking at Naofumi, Naofumi waved his hand at him.

"Go meet up with them. Just tell me if they think of any strategies for the wave. I need to know where to cover so no innocent people get hurt."

With a nod, Shirou moved. "Thank you. I'll speak to you in the morning, in front of Erhards, right?" Naofumi nodded.

"Yeah, I need to go back there and talk about armour." With a nod, the group split off, Raphtalia and Naofumi leaving, whilst Shirou stood there, thinking things over.

—

Motoyasu smiled as Itsuki walked in. Even if he was disguised, his bow was still recognizable if you had seen it before. He quickly waved his fellow hero over.

"So, what have you been up to?" Motoyasu asked curiously.

"Not much." Itsuki spoke, quickly ordering a drink as he sat down. "I've just been travelling, upgrading my bow and clearing out some monster infestations."

Motoyasu nodded. "It's pretty much the same here. I'm level 44. My party members have all classed up, but we did it a bit earlier. What about you?"

Itsuki smiled. "Well, I'm level 40, with my party being level 37. I actually went the first couple of days forgetting about the party feature, so we lost a bit of experience then, especially as I kept taking the kills for myself." Itsuki spoke sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Motoyasu only smiled. "Ah, don't worry about it. The wave boss is only supposed to be level thirty. We're ten levels above it! It should be a cake walk!"

Itsuki nodded. "Yeah, you're right." Looking up, itsuki would speak again. "Hey, isn't that Shirou?"

Motoyasu looked up, and saw Shirou strolling towards them, a red spear strapped to his back. He waved his hand, and Shirou waved back, albeit looking drained. Just what had Shirou done in the time they had met up?

Shirou sat down Infront of the two. "Hey. Nice to see the both of you again. I hope you've been keeping well Itsuki."

Itsuki nodded, a small smile on his face. "I have been Shirou. I hope you've been relaxing like we said?"

A nod from Shirou. "Yeah, I have. I've been cooking a bit more. Helps relax after a day of training." The duo nodded, and Itsuki spoke again.

"What have you been up to, Shirou?"

"Just exploring you know? I haven't got many skills yet from the area, but I'm close to something, I can feel it." Motoyasu nodded, continuing on.

"What level are you and your party? I'm curious."

"Well, I'm level thirty eight, and my party is level thirty nine. We've just been relaxing and training. Recently got everyone new gear, but they were a bit stubborn."

Itsuki nodded, and Motoyasu spoke up, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Hey Shirou? What's that on your back?"

Shirou pulled the spear off his back, putting it on the table. "This is a spear. I'm going to give it to you, Motoyasu, on one condition." Motoyasu nodded almost immediately, barely able to hold himself back from snatching it. "I want you and Itsuki to meet up with me after the wave tommorow. Naofumi will be there and there is stuff I need to explain to you all. Do you understand."

As much as Motoyasu detested Naofumi he wouldn't turn down Shirou. He hadn't done anything wrong. And so, he accepted, Itsuki agreed easily as well, and Shirou let go of the spear.

Motoyasu moved towards it immediately, copying it as he touched it and looking at the stats.

Gáe Bolg (degraded)

Attack 15

Agility 5

Skill: Gae Bolg

When the skill is activated, the user must thrust the spear forward. The spear will always aim towards the opponents heart, regardless of obstacles in the way. The ability is useless if the opponent has enough defense and Luck

You wish for the cursed crimson spear?

I'll have your heart!

Gáe Bolg!

Motoyasu whistled. "Man, this is a pretty good spear! Where'd you find it?"

Shirou smiled. "You'll find that out tomorrow, at the meeting." Motoyasu nodded, and Itsuki spoke.

"What's the spear called?"

Before motoyasu could say anything, Shirou spoke up. "Its name is Gáe Bolg."

Itsuki looked at Shirou for a moment. "Isn't that the spear from Irish mythology?" Shirou shook his head.

"It's not a myth. It's a real spear, trust me. The evidence is right there." He spoke, pointing at Motoyasu. Motoyasu simply nodded.

Itsuki sighed, and the trio devolved into conversation about other things, from how they had spent days relaxing, to any quests they had taken on.

Before the trio knew it, it was time for them to part for the night.

"I'll see you at the wave then I suppose." Shirou spoke.

Itsuki and Motoyasu nodded.

"Yeah. It'll be fine! We'll crush this wave!" Motoyasu declared, Itsuki nodding beside him.

"I'm sure we will. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, The three heroes parted, the wave ticking ever closer.

Small edit: Thanks for those who told me i wrote Gae Bolg wrong, I was reading the wrong attack for it. I appreciate it!