The Rising of the Shield Hero

The Shadow of the Shield

Chapter 33

The Knight

"Hey, Raphtalia? Would you know where Naofumi is right now?"

Raphtalia turned to look at Kioka, she sheathed her sword and walked over to her, having been training with a person who wore a penguin suit under the direction of Elrasla. "I believe Master Naofumi is walking around the village with Mel, they are making a list of things that need to be done. Why? Wait, are you doing okay? Do you need me to go and find him for you?" Worry showed on her face.

Kioka gasped, shaking her head frantically, holding her gloved hands in front of her, "No!" Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat, laughing nervously, "I mean, no. You don't need to go get him. I am alright. I was just wondering if you knew where I shouldn't go..." She wore her green and black dresses, black thigh-high socks, black boots and long gloves, but she didn't wear her cape or armour pieces. Her shield sat on her back.

Raphtalia frowned, but after a moment she raised her eyebrow slightly, "Okay... Did you and Master Naofumi get into a fight again?"

The person in the penguin outfit lowered the sword in their hands and pulled the hood back, revealing a concerned Rishia.

"What!? No, we are not fighting. Hang on, you heard about the fight we had a few days ago?" She sighed, placing her hand on her face.

Raphtalia nodded, "Well, yeah. I think the whole village heard the fight, it was rather intense and loud. I thought we would have had to call Fitoria to stop the both of you from fighting."

Kioka bowed her head in defeat, "It's not like anything would have happened. We did talk about it the next day, he understands where I am coming from and I see where he is coming from." She looked away, "Kinda..."

Raphtalia let out a chuckle, "Anyway, if this isn't to do with a fight, then why would you be trying to stay away from Master Naofumi?"

Kioka exhaled in frustration, leaning against the wall next to her, "When Naofumi is working, I am mostly on my own and able to do more or less what I want. But when Naofumi isn't being a Lord, he is by my side every second of the day. I-" She rubbed her face, "He is suffocating me and I kinda need it to go back to the way it used to be. Yes, we have always spent a lot of time together, but I at least had some time on my own and I need that again."

Raphtalia nodded, "I do understand where you are coming from, but in some ways, you did just die. I am not surprised that he has been very protective of you recently. I don't think he is trying to smother you, he is just worried about you. We are all worried about you, what if it happens again?"

Kioka took a deep breath, "Like I tried to tell Naofumi, it won't happen again because we now know what not to do. And besides, he doesn't have to be by my side to know that I am doing okay, he can check his status. He can see that I am still in the party and he can also see how far I am away from him by the distance counter."

"Maybe he just needs a little time to get used to everything? It has only been a week since it happened." Rishia spoke quietly.

"Young Rishia here is right. It will take some time for him to adjust. But in the meantime, how about you blow off some of that steam and show me what you've got?" Elrasla walked over to her, smiling.

Rishia looked at Kioka, "Are you up to fighting?"

Raphtalia frowned, "Wouldn't Master Naofumi like you to not push yourself right now?"

Kioka looked at them both, "I won't be pushing myself, it would probably do me some good. Also, what Naofumi doesn't know won't kill him." She looked at Elrasla, "You sure about this, Granny?"

She smiled, putting her hands to her waist, "I need to see how the whole team works so I can see how to train you." She turned to walk over to the field near them, where there was a lot more space.

Kioka frowned, following her, "I don't doubt your abilities or training, but I am not exactly a normal team member. I am not even sure if there is much you can teach me." As she walked, she moved her shield to her right arm.

Elrasla laughed, "You might be right, but it will be good to gauge what you can do."

Raphtalia stepped forward, "Kioka, shouldn't you put your full gear on first?"

Kioka shook her head, "No, I will be fine, not been feeling like wearing my armour lately..."

Elrasla stopped, "This should be a good spot."

Kioka nodded, stepping back from Elrasla so that she was a decent distance from her. She lifted her shield up, "So, how do you want me to do this?"

"I want you to come at me, let me see how much damage you can do."

Raphtalia watched with concern.

She looked at her, frowning, "I doubt I can do the same amount of damage as Naofumi could, I have more defence than hi-"

"Don't think, just do it!" Elrasla brought her hands up, readying herself.

Kioka nodded, bowing her head slightly, "Okay..." She took a step forward and broke out into a run towards her, bringing her shield arm across her body as she got close, she swung her arm hard and fast at Elrasla, who blocked it with her fists. Her eyes widened at her speed.

Elrasla nodded, seemingly content with Kioka's actions, "Nice form, very quick on your feet and not a bad amount of damage considering you are built for defence. Now, seeing as you are quick, let's see how you are at dodging." She shifted her foot slightly.

Kioka's eyes darted to her feet, jumping out of the way, narrowly dodging a quick punch. Her eyes widened slightly, "Okay, I see what is going on."

Elrasla stood up straight and smiled, "You catch on quickly."

Raphtalia and Rishia both looked at each other, frowning. "What just happened?" Rishia spoke up.

Elrasla nodded to Kioka, "You can explain."

Kioka nodded, turning to Rishia and Raphtalia, "She deliberately shifted her foot in a way that could only mean that she was about to use an attack with her legs. But it was a little too exaggerated for it to be what she was about to do. If she was going to kick, I would have side-stepped, but because she shifted her hand at the same time as her foot, I decided the best cause of action was to jump back as I wouldn't know where her attack would come from."

Raphtalia's eyes widened, "You realised all of that in such a short time?"

Elrasla nodded, "I am impressed. But now I want to see how you do with a multitude of attacks. Dodge and block where you need to. Don't rely on abilities to protect yourself. If you get hit or land on the floor, you have lost."

Kioka looked at her, bowing her head slightly, "I am ready." She raised her head and lifted her shield, bending her knees slightly.

Elrasla took a step forward, then darted forward a lot as Kioka had before, but a flurry of attacks was launched at Kioka.

Kioka dodged most of them with ease, only using her shield when she needed to. Her feet were on the move at all times, moving almost as if she was dancing.

"Are you sure she is alright to do this?" Melty looked up at Naofumi.

He continued to watch Kioka from a distance, "Only one way to find out. She hasn't been telling me everything since she woke up. This might be the only way to find out if anything has changed." He sighed softly as he started walking toward them.

Kioka blocked a heavy attack, her feet digging into the ground slightly. She panted, looking at Elrasla, "Is that all you've got, Granny?"

Elrasla smiled a little bigger, "You've asked for it now." She stepped back and then started attacking even faster and harder.

Kioka gasped and blocked and dodged as fast as she could. Starting to tire, Kioka breathed deeply, "I can do this!" She moved fast and continued to keep her feet moving, her expression turned to deep concentration.

Raphtalia watched in concern, "Kioka..." She gasped as she saw Naofumi walk over, she showed him a worried expression, "She is pushing herself too much."

Naofumi nodded, "Yeah, she is."

Kioka gasped, hearing his voice, her mind went blank and she froze for a split second, "Oh crap-" She felt Elrasla take hold of her and she saw the world spin. She flinched when she landed on the ground hard. She opened her eyes, seeing Naofumi standing above her, "Ah... Hey, Naofumi..." She sat up and her eyes widened in agony, holding her right arm.

Naofumi knelt and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Kioka?" He looked at her arm, he moved her shield and pulled the glove off, revealing the pitch-black scar, he narrowed his eyes. "Is it me or has the scar grown?"

Kioka's eyes went to the scar and shook her head, "No, it hasn't." She went to move her arm away from him.

He took hold of her hand and pulled her arm closer to him, placing his hand over the scar, spreading his fingers as if measuring the scar with his hand. He looked at her, "You have been hiding things from me ever since you woke up. But you can't hide this from me any longer. My hand used to cover the scar, but now the scar is bigger. See how it overlaps my fingers?" He sighed, pulling a vial of clear liquid out of his pouch, opening it up and pouring it over her scar, watching her flinch, "Now tell me, how long have you known that your scar has been growing?"

Kioka took a deep breath and looked at him, "Only since I woke up, I don't know what happened but it has been aching a lot more lately. It kinda feels like someone has been gripping it tightly lately..." She scowled and pulled her arm away from him, "I am fine, Naofumi. Just stop." She looked into his eyes, then looked away.

Naofumi sighed and stood up, "Fine. But if it feels worse, let me know. If something were to happen to you-"

"Just stop it!" She stood up, scowling as she looked at him, "Nothing is going to happen. Please stop thinking about it and it will stop bothering you! I can't express enough how tired I am of hearing you say things like that." She sighed, "Sorry. I know you are only trying to look out for me. Forget I said anything..." She turned and started walking away, but stopped when she saw a knight in blue and gold armour walk up to them.

Naofumi went to say something, but then stopped when he saw the knight as well.

The knight walked up to them, pulling her helmet off to reveal strawberry-blonde hair which flowed down past her waist. She held her helmet next to her side, holding a scroll out towards them, "You two must be Naofumi Iwatani and Kioka Tadashi, the Shield Heroes. Am I correct?" Her eyes were deep blue.

Kioka narrowed her eyes, "Not many people outside of the village know that I am a Shield Hero, how would you know that?"

Naofumi stepped forward, taking hold of the scroll, "And you might be?"

She nodded, "My name is Eclair Seyaette, I was sent here by Queen Mirellia Q Melromarc to assist with the training efforts of the soldiers for the waves." She looked at Kioka, "And to answer your question, her majesty told me, she thought it was important enough for me to know."

Raphtalia frowned, "Seyaette? As in Lord Seyaette?"

Eclair nodded, "Yes, he was my father."

Hey guys! It has been a while since I have updated this fanfic but here is the new chapter! It is a little shorter than normal but things will be picking up very soon!

So sorry for the wait, but things will be getting back into the swing of things now!