Bonds of Fate
By Nevyn Slash
Chapter 1 – The Arrival
Japan, Earth
Wintertime
Naofumi shrugged into a green and white sweatshirt, the strange dream he had woken up from still on his mind. 'Who was the strange-looking girl with the ball? Who was the young knight? Where were we? Why was I dressed in fantasy-looking clothes? Perhaps I have been playing too many fantasy games.' He grabbed his wallet from off his desk and took a moment to log out of the game he had been too tired to close down the night before. "I really need to stop doing that," he muttered aloud as he grabbed his keys.
He left his room and started down the hall. On the way, he paused and glanced over at his younger brother's room. His two computer monitors were brightly lit in the otherwise dim room. 'Did he fall asleep very late last night too?' Naofumi wondered with a small smile and shake of his head. He started to walk off but stopped when his brother called out to him.
"Is that you, Naofumi?"
"Yes," Naofumi answered, stepping forward to peer into the darkened room. His brother, Daichi, was sitting upon his bed, dark hair mussed. It was obvious he had just woken up. The teen covered a large yawn with his hand then grinned at Naofumi, his dark green eyes excited.
"Guess what!"
Naofumi shook his head. "I have no idea. What?"
"Aww! You aren't even going to try to guess?" his brother asked with feigned disappointment.
"No."
"You are no fun at all. All right, I'll just tell you." He threw his arms wide and smiled even wider. "I meet my soulmate yesterday!"
Naofumi blinked, stunned. "I never would have guessed that. Where? When? Who is it?" Naofumi asked, starting to feel excited on his younger brother's behalf.
Daichi laughed. "Slow down. Her name is Yuriko. She's two years older than me. Our paths finally crossed on the train. She flew in from Hokkaido with her parents for the weekend." He touched his chest, and his eyes shone bright with happiness. "She loves lilies and the colour purple. She wants to be a veterinarian."
Naofumi stepped into the room and sat in the empty desk chair and turned to face his brother. "I'm seriously happy for you! Does she know you are a useless drifter without a plan?" Naofumi could not help but tease.
His brother laughed and threw a pillow at him. Naofumi deftly caught it and placed it in his lap. "I told her I want to be an engineer. I am going to study very hard to get into a great school. I am going to work very hard to be someone she can be proud of." The teen's voice was confident and heavy with promise.
Naofumi smiled softly. "She will certainly be proud of you if you manage all that."
They sat in silence for a moment, just looking at each other. Then Daichi spoke up. "It's true what they say. About soul bonds. For most of my life I could feel it there, a very faint lukewarmth in my chest. She was close enough that I could feel something from it, not so far though that it didn't provide any warmth at all. Like had she lived on the opposite side of the world. Then as soon as she arrived in town the heat grew warmer. When we met on the train, it flooded me with such heat and joy." Daichi stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, a soft smile lighting up his face at the memory. "I can still feel that joy even though we are not close together." He opened his eyes and looked at Naofumi. His expression turned slightly sad. "I'm sorry you don't have one, big brother."
"Yeah…" Naofumi said softly. "Me too."
BREAK
For the most part, Naofumi did not think about his lack of a soulmate. It was something he had long grown accustomed to. The lack of a bond was unheard of but it was something that could not be changed and wishing for things to be different would only bring him heartache. Despite that, he could not help but wish things were different as he thought of his brother on the way to the library. Naofumi would have loved to have a soulmate. Even though he was happy for Daichi, he couldn't help but feel jealous too. What would it be like to know there was someone out there that was perfect for him? Someone that would bring him joy and happiness his entire life via an unbreakable bond? He would never know.
The concept of soulmates was something that had long baffled scientists. There was magic to the bond when there was no magic elsewhere in the world. Why people had them was not known. Neither was exactly how they worked. People knew that distance was a factor. Individuals on the opposite side of the world from each other could feel that there was a bond but could feel nothing else from it. As the distance decreased, welcoming warmth began to emit from the bond. It was said that when two people finally met, the warmth bloomed into a painless heat and then settled into a feeling of joy and happiness instead, the warmth still there but not overwhelming. Great for those people that lived in warm or hot climates. Feeling a constant heat from the bond on top of the heat from the sun in the middle of summer would have been highly uncomfortable.
Naofumi sighed wistfully as he waited for his chance to cross at a street corner. When he was a lot younger he used to daydream about having a soul bond. As he grew up though, he had grown more realistic. He had turned to fantasy novels and games instead and had learned to feel joy for others when hearing or reading of their happy unions with their destined partners. Based on the feeling of jealousy Daichi's happiness was causing, Naofumi supposed the desire for a bond of his own had not gone away as completely as he had thought.
Naofumi crossed the street with a group of others when the light changed. It was a very pleasant day - bright and sunny - without being too hot. Perfect for walking around in. As he passed a shop window, he looked over and caught a reflection of himself in the window. A lean young man in a green and white hoodie started back at him with bright, shamrock green eyes, his face framed by dark, spiky hair. Altogether, a not unattractive figure. Sometimes he wondered why he wasn't in a relationship and then would remember that he needed to get out and actually meet people to have a chance at a relationship. Merely being attractive was not good enough. Plus, most people tended not to take relationships with anyone that was not their soulmate seriously. At best, Naofumi would be a curiosity until the other person either got bored or found their soulmate and left.
Naofumi turned away from the window and continued on his way. His destination was just ahead. He was going to spend the day reading in the library. He smiled as he thought of the shelves of books just waiting to be explored. He knew there would be plenty of interesting books he had yet to read.
Ten minutes later he opened an old, red, leather-bound book titled The Records of the Four Cardinal Heroes and was teleported to a whole new world.
BREAK
Capital Town, Melromarc, Raphtalia's World
25 Cypi, Wintertime
Naofumi opened his eyes after the blinding white light emanating from the book faded. The sight that met his eyes was most certainly not the library bookshelf he had been standing before a very short time ago. Instead, he found himself on the floor in the middle of a large circle with a glowing blue glyph while a group of men and women in robes stood before him. Naofumi stood up and turned around in a circle to get a look at his surroundings and determined that yes, he definitely was no longer in the library. With him were three other young men, all dressed similarly to himself and also looking around as if confused as to where they were.
One of the robbed men in the group spoke up. "Fantastic! On this day, the twenty-fifth of Cypi, the summoning was a success. Brave heroes, won't you please save our world from pure evil?"
"What?" Naofumi asked and heard his question echoed by the other three men in the circle with him. He blinked in surprise, noticing the weapons they were each holding. 'Who are they?' he wondered. 'And where am I?' He raised his arms and realized he was not holding a weapon like the others. Instead, he spotted a shield attached to his arm. 'A shield?' It was small, no larger than a buckler, silver in colour, with a bright green stone in the center.
"Please, brave heroes, our world is in dire need of saving," the man before them implored again.
Naofumi looked up, started. There was that word again. "Heroes?" he asked.
One of the other men with him, the one with a bow, spoke up but whatever he said was lost on Naofumi. Just then, a feeling he had only ever heard described, one he had despaired of ever feeling, blossomed and bloomed in his chest. A soulmate bond.
His eyes widened and his hand went to clutch at his chest. 'How is this possible?' he mentally asked in wonder. 'A bond? I really have a bond?' He looked up to study the rest of the robbed figures in the room. None of them or the other three men standing alongside Naofumi noticed his sudden reaction. None of them seemed to react to him at all, in fact. 'No, the feeling is not warm enough for my soul partner to be in this room with me.' He focused on the bond. It was warm and he felt a feeling of wonder swell up in his chest alongside the warmth. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed by joy, he felt like crying. He blinked his eyes and looked down at his chest and smiled a small but genuine smile. One that was full of happiness. He never would have guessed that all along he had a soulmate and that he just had to, what? Travel to another world to get one? Where was this anyway?
He blinked and looked up again. The robbed figures and the other three men were still talking. Slowly, sound began to filter back in.
"You brought the four of us here without our consent," the man with dark hair and a sword was saying. "Don't you feel the least bit guilty about that?"
'What did I miss?' Naafumi wondered. 'What is going on?' He mentally shook himself and pushed the discovery of the soulbond to the back of his mind. He would have time to explore it more later. Right now, he had to figure out what was going on, and to do that he needed to focus.
'Later,' he promised himself and turned his full attention to the conversation.
BREAK
Naofumi couldn't help but smile a bright smile as he exited the gates of the palace with Mein at his side. The other heroes and their party members all stopped as one as the castle's portcullis came down behind them. The four groups faced each other one last time and with hearty waves from many of the members in the various parties, they all set off down the road and away from the castle.
Naofumi walked leisurely with the crimson-haired Mein at his side. He couldn't help but feel light-hearted and hopeful. Sure, the world seemed to be biased towards him but he would show them. He would show them exactly what a true hero looked like!
"What first?" Naofumi asked as he looked down at the bag of money in his hands. "We have 800 silver coins…"
"With that much, we will be able to buy decent equipment," Mein said enthusiastically.
"That's right! Where can we find what we need?"
"Just follow me. I know of a great place," Mein answered with a smile.
"Wonderful! Lead the way." Naofumi grinned in return. 'Watch me, Everyone! I will show you all what I can do!'
BREAK
Naofumi opened the door to the blacksmith's shop and stepped inside. His eyes were immediately drawn to the walls decorated with various weapons. Mannequins showcasing various sets of armour were displayed throughout the store while various displays showcased various other weapons. The shop looked just like he would imagine a medieval blacksmith shop to look.
"Welcome! Is this your first time here?"
Naofumi looked in the direction of the speaker. There, standing behind a counter on the other side of the store was a tall man with a bald head and a dark-colored short beard. His head and face contained scars that had long since healed and his arms contained thick bands of muscle. He was wearing a heavy, brown apron over a beige tunic. If Naofumi were to guess, that man was the blacksmith and no doubt the owner of the store.
Naofumi and Mein approached the back of the store and stopped in front of the counter. The blacksmith smiled cheerfully at them. "What are you looking for?"
"We need equipment," Naofmi answered with a smile of his own. "What do you suggest?"
"Our budget is about 240 silver," Mein stated. "We have other things we need to buy, after all."
"240 silver, huh? All right, let's start with some weapons. How about one of these?" the blacksmith asked, laying down a selection of swords, axes, maces, and other weapons on the counter. "The prices vary based on the materials used, but they will all perform well."
"Wow!" Naofumi said as he looked at them. "These all look great." He took a look at the selection and reached out for a basic-looking longsword. "I'll start with this one then," he said enthusiastically as he picked it up. "Whoa, it's really heavy." As soon as he held it up it sparked and shot pain through his hand making him drop it. "Wh- What just happened?" Naofumi reached out and picked up another weapon, only to receive the same result. "What is going on?"
The icon in the lower right corner of his vision flashed and a notice popped up. !Legendary Weapon Breach of Agreement! "…What?! I can't equip anything as a weapon aside from this shield?! How am I going to fight like this?"
"Who did you say you were?" the scared, blacksmith asked.
Naofumi looked up at him and grinned. "I didn't. Iwatani Naofumi. I was just summoned to this world. I'm the Shield Hero."
"Is that right? Well then, welcome to this world." He looked Naofumi over. "Being the Legendary Shield Hero, it is possible you may only be allowed to equip shields," the blacksmith said. "You still need armour, however. That should pose no problem. Let's find something your level."
BREAK
Naofumi and Mein exited the shop sometime later and ended up back on the main market street running through the center of town. The sun was still high in the sky and the street was crowded with shoppers. He stepped to the side and took a moment to do a few stretches to get a feel for the chainmail he was wearing. "For weighting just over fifty pounds, it's surprisingly easy to move in. The inner lining is comfortable."
"It will help protect you and I will fight plenty for both of us," Mein assured. "Shall we be off to raise our levels?"
"Yes! Let's go," 'I'm glad I ignored that strange feeling not to trust her when she first offered to join my party,' Naofumi thought as he answered Mein with a smile. 'I'm really lucky a nice lady like her is with me.'
BREAK
Naofumi collapsed back on the grass and looked up at a bright blue sky painted through with pink and orange as the sun slowly sank towards the horizon. High above, clouds drifted leisurely along, pushed by invisible air currents. "Killing demon balloons took a long time. The sun is already setting."
"You did well. Don't worry. You'll get stronger and I'll be here to help you."
"Thank you, Mein." Naofumi watched the clouds drift by for a few minutes. Mein sat beside him and picked at the grass. "Hey, Mein?"
"Yes?"
"Do people have soulmates here?"
"Soulmates?" Mein asked, sounding confused. "What are those?"
"Guess not then," Naofumi replied reaching up to lay his hand over his heart. Lying down like this, relaxing for a short time as he looked up at the sky, he could distinctly feel the presence of a bond he had never felt in all his years back home. Now though, there was a warmth that felt like a promise, guiding him towards someone in the city. Now that he was focusing on it and could feel it so clearly, he wondered how he had managed to ignore it for most of the day.
"What are soulmates?" Mein asked again.
"How to describe it?" Naomi replied, still distracted by the new sensation in his chest. He opened his mouth to reply truthfully but that uneasy feeling from the morning regarding Mein stopped him, and this time he listened. He decided to go with a half-truth. "Where I come from, some people believe there is someone else out there that was made just for them. Someone that is the other half of their soul."
"Why this question all of a sudden?" Mein asked, her crimson hair falling across one shoulder as she turned her head to look at him.
"Don't know," Naofumi replied. He closed his eyes and focused on the pulsing, welcoming warmth of the incomplete bond. He smiled softly, overcome with joy. "Being here, I can't help but think of various stories from back home. Perhaps I'm homesick."
"Will sharing some of the other stories with me help?"
Noafumi shook his head and opened his eyes. He sat up and turned to look at Mein, his shamrock green eyes meeting her own green-toned ones. "Perhaps another time. For now, let's go back to that blacksmith. We haven't gotten anything for you yet."
Mein stood, her movements graceful. "All right. Let's call it a day then and get to the shop before it closes."
BREAK
Once again, Naofumi found himself standing in front of the counter in the blacksmith shop with the scarred, muscled smith standing behind it. "Welcome back. What can I help you find?" he asked.
"We need to get some gear for my companion," Naofumi said as Mein separated from his side to begin looking at some of the displayed armour. "What can we get for under 240?"
"A nice set of chainmail similar to your own, and a weapon depending on the type and material composition, would be a fine start for the young lady," the man replied while watching Mein's movements around the shop.
"All right, that sounds good. Let's see –"
"I've found what I need," Mein interrupted cheerfully, coming up the counter with her arms full. She set the pile on the table and spread the items out to reveal a set of very nice-looking armour with a cape and a longsword with a jewelled sword belt. Naofumi did not need the smith's total to know the selected gear was well over 240 silver.
"Great eye you have there, miss. That fine assortment of gear will be 620 silver."
Naofumi's eyes widened and he did a quick calculation in his head. "That'll leave us with 60 silver. Mein, you need to downgrade."
She turned to him and smiled brightly. "With these, I will be much stronger and I'll be able to kill things faster. In turn, I will be able to level faster. We will earn all that money back and more in no time."
Naofumi frowned. That seemed very one-sided. He looked the gear over. It was a very nice selection. However, they were nowhere close to fighting the types of monsters such gear would be required for. "Mein –"
She came closer and pressed up against his side. He could feel the softness of her chest as she pressed her supple, leather-clad breasts against his arm. This close, he could smell the rosemary and lavender of the shampoo in her hair. He could also smell the slight sweat of the day, beneath what was likely a perfume of some sort. She did not smell as strongly as himself, having had an easier time with the balloon monsters in the afternoon.
Naofumi's stomach clenched and he had to swallow down a sudden taste of bile. He was never able to figure out why being near most women made him feel physically ill. In his search for answers, he had come across similar cases to his own. Some of which were the opposite of his reaction, with the woman feeling sick around men. All of the cases he found had no answers, just theories. Many of which had to do with the soulmate bond or, in his own case, the lack thereof.
Some could argue his lack of a soul bond was the reason Naofumi was not attracted to the opposite sex. Others would argue that Naofumi was just born that way. In the end, it all resulted in uncomfortable situations when interacting with most women and he did his best to not get into anything resembling his current situation with any of them.
Naofumi swallowed again and had to force himself to calmly step away and not flinch back like he wanted to. He hid his discomfort as best he could and held a hand up to ward Mein back in case she tried to latch onto him again. "No, Mein. You were the one to set the initial limit of 240 silver. As you said, we have plenty of other things to buy. Such as gear for our other party members when they eventually join. You need to downgrade. We can come back later when we need better gear."
Something dark appeared in Mein's green eyes. He would have thought he had imagined it if it had disappeared quickly. However, it lingered for several seconds and her eyes were cold as she forced herself to smile. "My apologies. You are correct. I did say that. I will put all this back and choose something else." By the time she had finished speaking the dark look had disappeared but the damage was done. Though Naofumi smiled and thanked her, he made a mental note to keep an eye on her just in case.
BREAK
Things felt tense between them on the walk to an inn where they could stay for the night. Perhaps it was simply Naofumi's imagination though? Mein did not seem to be reacting any differently. She was still smiling and chatting as they walked through town. She was being as cheerful and helpful as she had been all day. 'I'm being ridiculous,' Noafumi finally thought as an inn came into sight. 'Unless she is an incredibly talented actress, she certainly doesn't seem angry with me.' Still, he decided to bring it up over dinner. He didn't want there to be any bad feelings between the two of them. They were going to be working closely together after all.
The two of them entered the inn and ordered a meal and a room for the night. While they waited, Mein pulled out a map and spread it out on the table. "The plains we were at today are right here," she said, indicating a spot on the map. She moved her finger a bit. "Further past this forest here is a village that is not listed on the map. Beyond the village, there is a dungeon where most beginner adventures go." She looked up and smiled brightly at him. "I do not expect for us to harvest anything of value but we will be able to raise our levels. Our equipment is brand new so we should have an easy time there."
A server came by and dropped the meal off along with a bottle of red wine and a couple of tankards before quickly retreating. Naofumi immediately took a bite and was pleased with the taste. It was very good. He tore off a bite of bread and swallowed that and some water before speaking.
"Sounds like we have a plan," Naofumi said.
"We will head off tomorrow then for that location. For tonight, would some wine be to your liking?"
"No, thank you. I don't really like the stuff," Naofumi declined. When Naofumi had reached twenty and thereof the legal age to drink in Japan, he had tried some alcohol and discovered it was not his thing. Honestly, he had no idea why some people liked the stuff so much.
"I see…" Mein said, sounding confused as to why he would decline the red wine sitting on the table. She poured herself a sizable amount and the two of them ate in companionable silence for a while.
Finally, Naofumi looked over at Mein. "Earlier in the blacksmith's shop, when I asked you to get something else, thank you for your understanding, Mein. I hope you are not upset about that?"
Mein smiled. "Of course not. I completely understand. I was just caught up in the moment and the pieces of equipment were stunning. It won't be long before we can afford all those items and more for all of our party."
"Mein, thank you. I am the Shield Hero and I can't fight at all." Naofumi looked down to gather his thoughts. "Thank you for coming with me. I have no idea what is going on in this world." He looked back up into her large peridot-hued eyes. "You have helped me so much."
Mein cocked her head to the side and placed her chin on her hands while she smiled brightly. "Of course. You are welcome."
Naofumi could not help but smile in return. "Then, please help me out again tomorrow too."
Naofumi did not stay up much longer. He finished his meal and then bid good night to Mein before heading up to his room. Once there, he stripped out of his chainmail and laid the warm fur cloak the blacksmith had insisted he buy down on the bed. "You are going to need a cloak for the cold nights on the road, Lad. Your companion chose one. You should too." Naofumi smiled slightly as he recalled the blacksmith's words. He smoothed the cloak out and then looked around the room. His first day was just about over. It had certainly been eventful. He took several minutes to stretch out his arms, relishing in feeling lighter now that the chainmail had been removed. The weight was going to take getting used to. He just knew he was going to feel sore tomorrow from wearing the unaccustomed weight for several hours. Naofumi took out his coin pouch and counted out the remaining silver coin. His chain armour had cost 100, the cloak 60, Mein's weapon and armour had added up to 220. With the price of their rooms and meals for two, that left just over 420 silver to outfit any future party members.
He began to put the coins back into the pouch and then paused as the memory of the dark look in Mein's eyes came to mind. He frowned as he looked down at the small pile of money. Surely he was being paranoid. She had told him she was not mad. Then what had the look he had seen meant? Naofumi stood for a moment longer, looking at the money in his hand before he finished putting it back into the pouch. Then, instead of putting the pouch on the small table in the room, he fed it to his shield. 'Just in case,' he thought. 'No safer place than here.' That done, he turned to the bed and climbed atop his cloak, opting to use the fur and wool cloak as an added layer of padding between himself and the mattress. He pulled up the quilt at the foot of the bed and rolled onto his side.
Beneath him, the cloak's white fur felt amazingly soft. He shut his eyes and took deep breaths as he relaxed towards sleep. The warm feeling of the bond caressed his chest and caused him to smile with happiness. 'A bond,' he thought with wonder. 'After twenty years, I finally have one.' It had only taken travelling to another world to get. Not only that, but his soulmate was within the same town. If the feeling of warmth indicating the relative distance between him and his soulmate was anything to go by. 'Tomorrow,' he thought as he drifted off to sleep, 'maybe we can take the time to look around town for a bit. Maybe we will cross paths with him. I wonder what he is like…'
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26 Cypi, Wintertime
Naofumi woke the next morning to a loud commotion outside. He rose from the bed and took a look out the window to peer down at the street below. Three carriages containing armoured knights were pulling up in front of the inn. Naofumi frowned and turned away to gather his stuff. He could get Mein and possibly find out what was going on. At the very least they should eat breakfast before heading out onto the road.
His relatively good mood soon vanished and morphed into panic as he realized his chainmail was gone from the foot of the bed. As was the pack containing the supplies they had picked up in town yesterday. He could swear he had left the pack on the small room table. He spun to the bed and quickly donned his cloak over his small clothes. All the clothes he had left. At least he still had the cloak. That would provide some protection while he figured out what was going on. He started for the door, intent on getting to Mein's room when there was a sudden pounding on the surface and a voice bellowed out, "Open up!" right before the wooden door was kicked in. The doorframe splintered as the door was knocked backward on its hinges and crashed into the wall.
"Shield Hero!" that same voice bellowed as its owner and two other soldiers entered the room. "You are under arrest! The king has issued a summons for you!"
"What? No! I didn't do anything! What's more, all of my stuff has been stolen!" Naofumi tried to protest as the two other guards grabbed him below his armpits and dragged him from the room. "Please, listen to me! I was robbed last night!"
"Silence, criminal scum!" the apparent leader ordered. "You are coming with us. You can explain yourself to the king."
Realizing there was nothing he could do for now, Naofumi choked back the questions and words he wanted to voice and tried his best to keep his feet as the guards dragged him down the stairs and through the main level of the inn. Once outside, he was then thrown into one of the waiting wagons and the door was slammed shut, locking him inside with four different guards. They all glared at him, their grips tight on their weapons, and did not speak to him as the carriage moved through town towards the castle.
Naofumi kept his eyes trained on the floor of the carriage while internally the same question kept screaming through his mind: 'What is going on?'
BREAK
Once the carriage stopped, he was pulled from the carriage by two new guards and marched into the castle and into the throne room where he was thrown onto the maroon carpet running the length of the room and up the steps to the king's dais. "Ow," he protested as his hands and knees hit the floor. "That hurt!" He looked up and saw several other people gathered in the throne room with him. He looked at the faces of the other heroes, their expressions angry and disgusted. At the guards, their expressions cold and hard. At Mein, her expression terrified and hurt as she gazed back at him, her eyes alight with unshed tears.
The king was standing before his throne in regal-looking robes and wearing a gold crown upon his white-haired head. His expression was alight with fury. "You fiend!" he thundered, looking down at Naofumi sprawled on the ground at the foot of the dais steps. "I wondered when you would show your true colours! From the first moment I saw you, I knew you would cause nothing but trouble."
"What are you talking about," Naofumi asked as he rose to his knees. "I was robbed last night while I was sleeping. Please, you must find the thief –"
"Quiet, scumbag!" the king ordered, violet eyes furious.
Naofumi's eyes widened and he looked around the room again and those gathered to watch whatever was going on. "What is this about? There must be some kind of mistake."
The king turned to Mein. "Please, young lady, testify for us once more about what happened last night."
Mein covered his face with her hands and her shoulders shook. Her voice was shaky and choked with tears as she spoke. "The Shield Hero came into my room last night. He was drunk and his breath reeked of alcohol. He forced me down on the bed and tore at my clothes. He, he –" She gasped and let out a sob. Motoyasu, the Spear Hero, stepped close to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders as he pulled her close to his chest and stroked her back. Mein took a few shuddery breaths while Motoyasu glared hatefully at Naofumi. "He claimed I was his soulmate as he fondled my breasts. That he was going to claim what was his. He hitched up my gown and I screamed and lashed out. I caught him off guard enough to escape from the room and ran to Sir Motoyasu, who happened to be staying at the same inn, for help."
Naofumi could not believe what he was hearing. That did not happen. What was going on?
"If she had not asked that I wait until morning, I would have called the guards last night," Motoyasu spat, his orange gaze furious.
"What are you talking about, Mein?" Naofumi cried out. "I went straight to bed after dinner last night."
"I knew there was something off about you," the Bow Hero, Itsuki, said, his gold eyes cold.
"I don't even drink!" Naofumi continued to protest.
"Same here. To think you would do something like this," Ren, the Sword Hero, put in, his blue eyes narrowed.
"How low are you willing to go? To think you would commit such an act. You truly are scum," Motoyasu growled, his jaw tight.
Naofumi shook his head in denial at what he was hearing. He looked at Motoyasu in disbelief as his brain tried to catch up to what he was hearing. His eyes widened as he took in Motoyasu's appearance. "That chainmail is mine!"
"What are you talking about? Mein gave this to me as a gift when she met me at the pub last night." Motoyasu stated.
'Last night?' Naofumi's mind raced. Did Mein sneak into his room last night and take the chainmail then go back to the pub and give it to Motoyasu? The idea fit. Why would she do such a thing though? Further, why would she accuse Naofumi of such a thing as assault and attempted rape? This entire situation did not make any sense.
"To think that the Shield Hero would commit this country's gravest sin," the king said. "In Melromarc, even attempting to sexually assault a woman is punishable by death! If you weren't a hero, you would be executed immediately! Someone like you has no right to be a hero!"
"Executed? I'm telling you, I didn't do it! I would never do such a thing. I am not even attracted to women!" Naofumi protested, his green eyes wide and desperate as his heart thudded in his chest.
"You really are low," Ren sneered. "Claiming such a thing to get away with your crime."
"I'm not though! Women don't interest me!" Naofumi tried again even as the last bit of hope he felt that he could get out of this situation began to disappear. Why was no one listening to him?
"Bring out the proof," the king ordered.
One of the soldiers came forward and kneeled before the king. "When we searched the Shield Hero's room," he said. "We found this on his bed." He ducked his head in embarrassment as he held up a scant piece of lacy purple fabric Naofumi would never see on anyone, let alone on his bed. If he took a lover, it certainly wouldn't be a woman, after all.
Mein gasped and let out another sob as Motoyasu cried out, "You animal!"
"Undeniable proof," the king said, his voice disgusted.
"That wasn't there when I woke up!" Naofumi tried to protest, but his voice fell on deaf ears.
"You think a hero can just do whatever he wants and get away with it," Ren stated, as it if were fact.
"That's not true!" Naomi answered. "If you want proof I didn't do this act then I'll provide it! I'll kiss any of the men in this room!"
"Silence!" Motoyasu ordered, brandishing his spear. "Now you would force yourself on men too? Is there any length you won't go to?"
Naofumi clenched his teeth together and shook his head again as he looked back into Motoyasu's enraged face.
"You would even bring the sanctity of a soulbond into this with your actions, tarnishing that too. How could you commit such an act towards the person you claim as your soulmate?" Motoyasu asked.
Everyone gathered in the throne room hissed and muttered while they looked at Naofumi with damming expressions. The other hero's expressions, as well as the king's, contained only hate. Mein's smirk was tiny as she looked at him, her eyes still wet with her very convincing tears.
"Mein said the people here didn't have soulmates!" Naofumi glared at the woman. She was still standing close to Motoyasu as she expertly played everyone in the room. "You lied about that?"
"Is there any end to your lies?" The king asked. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Of course she did not tell you such a thing. Everyone in this world hopes to meet their soulmate. Lady Mein is no different." He swiped the air with an arm. "I pity the woman who turns out to be yours."
"My soulmate is not female!"
The muttering of the audience to this torture increased. Naofumi could feel the weight of their hateful gazes like a solid thing. His shoulders and hands clenched and he shook slightly with fury. 'All of you are filth!' He mentally screamed as he eyed everyone in the room. 'None of you believed in me from the start. You're the ones that brought me here to this world in the first place. Why do I have to protect these people?' Naofumi looked down at the ground. Inside his chest the soothing, reassuring warmth of the bond pulsed, teasing him. Was this the sort of behaviour he could expect from everyone in this accursed world? Would his own soulmate treat him like this? He did not deserve all this. He did not ask to be summoned to this world to fight a war that was not his own.
He looked up and caught sight of Mein again. She looked at him and slyly stuck out her tongue. Realization struck as all the pieces suddenly came together.
"You liar! You tricked me!" Naofumi yelled at her. "You pretended to help me and then you stole my gear. You gave my chainmail to Motoyasu. You no doubt gave him all of my supplies." 'The smiles she gave me, and her acts of kindness, were all fake!' "Was there anything you told me or the way you acted that wasn't a lie?"
"Sir Motoyasu, I'm scared," Mein cried out in pretend fright.
"Silence, you criminal!" Motoyasu ordered.
"You're an eyesore," Ren stated. "Motoyasu was given enough money to cover all of his companion's gear and supplies.
"You probably did stuff like this to your friends even before you came here," Itsuki said.
Naofumi's chest filled with dark, rising anger, strong enough to overshadow the comforting warmth of the soulbond. He was not going to listen to this any longer. "All the people gathered here are scum! All of you can just die for all I care! I don't have to take this from all of you! You can fight the Waves without me. Send me back to my own world. I don't want anything to do with any of you!"
"You're going to flee instead of admitting your guilt and facing your punishment? Can you stoop any lower?" Ren asked.
"After all you have done, how can you even think of not doing your job?" demanded Itsuki.
"Shut up!" Naofumi shouted. "Just send me back to my world already if you hate me so much!"
"Believe me, if we could send you back and be done with you, we would. Sadly, we are stuck with you. Legend states that unless all of the Four Cardinal Heroes are killed or the Waves are defeated, there is no way to get new heroes summoned," the kind explained.
"What?!" the three other heroes asked as one, turning to look at the king in alarm.
"So I can't even go home?" Naofumi asked in disbelief. 'Of course I cannot go home! That would have been too easy.'
"Not until you fight off all of the incoming Waves," the king said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
"Are you saying we have to fight alongside someone like him?" asked Motoyasu.
"I refuse!" Itsuki insisted.
"Don't force yourselves!" Naofumi said, fury lacing his voice. "I'll fight the Waves on my own and do it my way!" He glared at the king from within the half-ring of guards. "What are you going to do with me then? Lock me up until the next Wave hits?"
"You will not be imprisoned," the king stated as if he were doing Naofumi a favour. "There is hardly any time until the next Wave hits. Criminal or not, you are still a Hero. One of the only beings who can fight off the Waves. So long as you serve to counterattack the waves of demons, I will not impose punishment on you. However, news of your crime is already being spread amongst the people. That is your punishment for what you have done. You will never be able to lead a decent life in this country."
"I already guessed as much," Naofumi answered, his voice and expression dark. Inside, the anger he felt was a boiling mass of hate. He wanted nothing more just then than to hurt everyone in the room. Instead, he turned and began to walk away. "I don't have any more time to waste on you all." No one called out as he walked off and the guards did not reach out to stop him.
'I really am on my own.'
~*~End of Chapter 01~*~