Disclaimer: I own neither the Yakuza series or Rising of the Shield Hero
The Shield Hero
(Yakuza 6 OST: With Impatience)
"Faster, Nugget! We're almost home!"
"SQUAAA~!"
Kiryu grit his teeth, looking down at his watch for the umpteenth time in one hour. He and Nugget had accomplished their mission. After some grueling time spent climbing the mountain, fighting their way through dozens of wild beasts and creatures, Kiryu and Nugget were able to obtain the herb. But much of their time had been spent scaling the mountain and fighting, forcing the two to take short rests to eat and gain their strength back. Judging from what the HUD had told him, Kiryu and Nugget were above the monsters in strength, but their numbers and the height of the mountain had played much into their slowed progress.
Three days had passed since then. And Kiryu and Nugget were nearly 20 minutes away from Lute. Kiryu knew better than anyone that 20 minutes is an eternity in a fight. And the Wave was just around the corner. The most grueling part for Kiryu was that he didn't know the exact time it would start or how he would know.
Nugget skidded to a stop, causing Kiryu to raise a brow. "What are you doing? We have to…" Kiryu noticed its gaze directed skyward, following Nugget's line of sight and looking up. His eyes widened in horror as the once morning sunlit sky suddenly turned a dark shade of red. He could see what looked like portals opening up high above, indiscernible creatures pouring out and raining down. The patterns were sporadic, opening at random across the sky.
It did little to make Kiryu feel better. Seeing how many monsters were pouring out, he could only fear the worst.
"Hurry, Nugget! Let's go!" Kiryu said, tugging on the filolial's reins. Nugget squaked in answer before finally speeding forward. Kiryu watched several monsters flow into the surrounding forest, some of which he had no doubt noticed their presence. But he could only hope to rely on Nugget's speed. They didn't have time to waste on any distractions and needed to reach Lute before it was too late.
The people of Lute Village were kind, good people. Kiryu had suggested some preparations for the Wave, but with little funds and manpower, there was only so much they could prepare. The Dragon of Dojima just hoped that Lute was lucky enough not to be heavily focused on by monsters, or that the knights would arrive and protect the citizens.
"SQUAA~!" Nugget drew Kiryu's attention up, the former yakuza widening his eyes as he saw several monsters crawling out from between the trees, several large skeletal soldiers staggering onto the road ahead.
"Don't slow down. I'll handle anything in our way." Kiryu said, his gauntlets illuminating before shifting in shape. Kiryu pushed off Nugget's back, catapulting himself forward at a large skeleton soldier directly ahead of them.
"Out of the way!" Kiryu growled,the gauntlets refracting some light as he formed the Crystal Gauntlets. He slammed his fist with great force down on the exposed skull, knocking it over without issue and slamming its head hard enough into the ground to shatter it.
"PEWA~!"
Kiryu extended his arm, his hand grabbing hold of Nugget's saddle just as he passed. He quickly tossed himself back onto the seat and held the reins.
"Good job, Nugget. Keep it up, we're almost there," said Kiryu as he patted the filolial's neck. From there, they ran into very little trouble, Nugget being fast enough to avoid any further monsters that might try to block their way. It wasn't long until they reached the end of the forest, getting to a higher point that would give them a view of the village from a distance.
And much to their dread, Kiryu and Nugget could see Lute. Surrounded by fell beasts and monsters. Some fires had broken out across the village, though somewhat positively, it didn't look like one had spread across the whole town. Houses were still intact. But Kiryu had no idea if that meant the villagers were okay.
"Faster, Nugget!"
The filolial sped forward, closing the distance between them and the village at breakneck speeds. Kiryu gripped the reins tightly, praying to whoever was out there that he wasn't too late.
"You're always too late. That's why these things happen."
Arai Hiroaki's words burned into Kiryu's core. This wouldn't be the first time he failed someone because he was too late. And in this case, Kiryu would fail the whole village. Not to mention Harken and Melonie. He couldn't take it. Even in this new world, with this second chance, would he just keep losing what's important to him?
No. I'm not too late. Not yet.
Kiryu forced the ocean of fear to stand still. Fretting over it now would do him no good. All he had to think about was the task at hand. And thanks to Nugget's speed, they soon came upon the village.
What looked like zombie soldiers filled the dirt road leading to the town, and the sky was filled with monstrous hornets hovering above. Their attention didn't turn to Kiryu and Nugget upon arrival, each one seemingly moving with a purpose deeper into town.
"Shit, there's a lot of them. Nugget, go and help any villagers you find. I'm going to try and draw them-"
"Come this way, you damned zombies!"
Kiryu and Nugget raised their heads, an unfamiliar voice crying out above the moans of the undead monsters.
"Someone's fighting them…? we've got to hurry!"
"PEWA~!"
Shit, what the hell's wrong with me? Why am I risking my life for a bunch of strangers?
That was the prominent thought going through Naofumi's mind. The Shield Hero had thought he would fight the Waves 'his way', after all. And what he thought he meant by that was to just fight monsters and let the rest of the world rot until he could go home. So he couldn't help but question why he was currently sprinting through Lute Village, drawing away the horde from the townspeople. And without Raphtalia to fight for him, no less, having sent the demi-human off to guide the people out.
I'm such a fool.
Naofumi wasn't sure why, but a small chuckle escaped his mouth, swinging a torch around and batting away several monstrous hornets from touching him. He ran out into the open, waving the torch back and forth to draw more attention to himself. But further down the road, he could see several villagers still surrounded, each feebly defending themselves against the monsters. Even with the noise Naofumi had made so far, he wasn't drawing all of them.
"It won't work, there's too many of them… I have to figure out a way to minimize damage to the village," Naofumi muttered to himself, eyes scanning around for an option. His eyes landed on the wooden watch tower at the center of the village, an idea springing to life.
Guess I have no choice. Here goes-
What sounded like a small explosion erupted from the front of the village, causing Naofumi to hesitate. His head snapped up, looking just in time to see several zombie bodies fly across the air. What?
"PEWA~!"
Naofumi felt his eyes widened when he saw a vaguely familiar black filolial hop over the horde of zombies. It ran straight for the surrounded villagers, lunging forward with a kick and smacking the zombies away.
"N-Nugget! You're back!" A villager cried with joy as the bird stood defensively in front of them. "Th-Then that means he's-"
"Sorry I'm late."
Naofumi felt another wave of familiarity hit him. Looking back at the horde, their attention was drawn to the new arrival. Naofumi was soon greeted by the sight of Kiryu, the man he not long ago hitched a ride with. Naofumi felt a brow raise in disbelief, watching as the man stalked forward, directly at the mob of zombies. Finding his wits again, Naofumi was about to call out to him to be careful, but stopped when he saw the thuggish looking man smash his fist into the head of a zombie soldier. Its head was knocked clean off and sailed through the air like a baseball.
"Holy shit…" he muttered, watching the onslaught that soon followed Kiryu's first punch. He noted that Kiryu was now wearing some strange, glowing gauntlets illuminated orange from a jewel, and that Kiryu had no weapons to speak of. Not that he needed one, apparently, as he soon picked up one zombie and swung it around like a ragdoll, batting away the horde closest to him before throwing the body away. The color changed from orange to blue, as did the form of the gauntlets, as Kiryu slammed his fist into another zombie.
This guy is… something else… Naofumi thought for a moment before shaking his head, narrowing his eyes before dashing forward. Despite the obvious prowess that Kiryu was showing, the man was still surrounded. The Shield Hero somewhat doubted that the man needed his help, but thought there was no harm in giving a helping hand to the one person making his life much easier at the moment.
"Air Shield!" Naofumi created a green energy shield, having it hover above Kiryu and blocking several of the hornets that attempted to sting him. Kiryu's eyes darted over to Naofumi, recognition and surprise crossing his eyes at first before he swung and smashed down another zombie. Naofumi smashed his shield into the face of another zombie, though disappointingly didn't have near the same effect that Kiryu had on it, though it did stagger back.
"Thanks," Kiryu said, his gauntlets having changed again, now covered in ashen metal, and swinging his arm and burning away the hornets above as the Air Shield dissipated.
"I doubt you needed the help," Naofumi huffed, feeling the need to be somewhat snippity considering the guy was making short work of the mob while he himself was forced to run and defend.
Kiryu followed Naofumi's statement by dashing past him, punching the top half of another zombie close behind the Shield Hero. "Not just for that."
Naofumi raised a brow at him, but drew his attention back up to the horde, deciding to keep his attention forward. He backed up, and found that Kiryu did the same. "What else for, then?"
"For being here to help the village." Kiryu answered, causing Naofumi to raise a brow. "I had to leave before the Wave hit… and I don't know how things would have been if you weren't here."
Naofumi felt his guard drop a bit, hearing sincerity in Kiryu's voice. But he immediately put his guard back up, his lips turning into a thin line. "Well, until those idiots end the Wave, I'd save your thanks for later."
"Right. So, you're the Shield Hero?" Kiryu asked before lashing out with a quick as lightning roundhouse to an approaching zombie. It folded in half upon impact. "I guess you were hiding more than I realized."
Naofumi felt his typical fear when being addressed as the Shield Hero. It was the same response no matter where he went. Judgement and disgust. But he steeled himself, not letting whatever Kiryu might say get to him.
Before he could speak freely, several zombies attempted to rush Naofumi. Not wanting to look vulnerable or weak, he made sure to lash back before Kiryu could step in. "Air Shield!" The magical shield materialized in front of him, pushing back against his foes and knocking them into some others.
"Is that a problem?" Naofumi finally asked, his brow hardening despite keeping his gaze forward.
That's why he was genuinely surprised when he heard a chuckle from Kiryu.
"Not particularly. If anything, I'd say this makes a lot of sense." Naofumi raised a brow, turning his head to look back at Kiryu.
What does he mean by that..?
Naofumi quickly remembered where he was and turned back around, just in time to block a blade from slashing him. Before he could push back, he felt a hand grip his shoulder, his eyes trailing to the right to see Kiryu vaulting over him and slamming his foot into the zombie attempting to skewer the Shield Hero. He soon followed up with a powerful uppercut, sending the closest zombie flying backward over the others.
Naofumi looked at the gauntlets again before smirking at Kiryu. "Looks like I wasn't the only one hiding something."
"Maybe." Kiryu replied casually, the two going back to back once more. "But we can talk about that after. I'll buy you a drink when this is over."
Naofumi felt his body stiffen at the friendly gesture, but decided against answering. Instead, his focus shifted to a much larger of the zombie horde approaching, the monster armored across its body with black rusted metal.
"Think you can take this one?" Naofumi asked with Kiryu sparing a glance back. The zombie moved, swinging a mace down and attempting to smash Naofumi. If he could be thankful for anything, it was his high defense, blocking the attack without much problem as the mace grinded against his shield.
"Yeah."
Kiryu spun around Naofumi, going under the zombie's arm and slamming a fist directly into its chest plate. It was almost like the armor wasn't there, as Kiryu's fist punched a hole in it without issue. The zombie was sent sailing back, crashing heavily into the rest of the mob surrounding it.
This guy's a friggin' monster… Naofumi thought in astonishment. Raphtalia was getting stronger, he saw that, but this was something else.
"Master Naofumi!"
The Shield Hero blinked, looking up when he saw his slave flying through the air. She slashed through several zombies in one fell swoop, her blade lined with blood. Just behind her, a crowd of villagers were gathered, causing him to widen his eyes.
"Raphtalia! What are you and the villagers doing here?!" Naofumi asked, gritting his teeth anxiously.
"We saw you fighting with Kiryu and had to come back, Shield Hero! We'll help you!" A villager shouted, leading the others with pitchforks and makeshift weapons.
"You've all got families of your own to worry about! Get out of here!" Naofumi answered without thought, turning and blocking a sword before it could hurt him. Raphtalia rushed forward, cutting the zombie down like a knife through butter.
"He's right. It's nice of you all, but you'll just get in the way," He heard Kiryu behind him. "Get back and keep the people who can't fight safe!"
"B-But Kiryu-"
"Go!" Kiryu didn't give them room to argue, something Naofumi found himself grateful for. The people seemed to listen to him, slowly backing off. "Nugget! Go with them!"
"Pree~!" The bird crowed, trotting off to the villagers and standing by their side.
That's one smart bird. I need one of those. Naofumi thought absently.
"Kiryu!" Naofumi heard another villager, a young man in a worn cloak.
"Julius! Is Melonie alright?!" Kiryu asked, turning his head slightly to look back at the man. Naofumi raised a brow, quickly dashing in front of him and putting his shield up to block some incoming attacks.
"Hey, is now really the time?!" Naofumi asked, gritting his teeth.
"She's fine, but… her condition…" Naofumi spared a glance at the villager, his voice sounding crestfallen. "S-She's not doing well…"
"The herbs are in Nugget's saddle! Get them and get the doctor! Now go!" Kiryu said before turning back toward Naofumi. He quickly lunged forward, smashing his fist into a zombie's head and knocking it clean off, almost in sync with Rapthalia as she cut down another just to Naofumi's left. "I'm sorry for the distraction. There was a reason I wasn't here from the start."
"Don't worry about it. You've made things easier for me so far," Naofumi dismissed, keeping his shield up as the three prepared to engage the horde again.
"I didn't think we'd meet like this again, Mister Kiryu. But it's nice to have you fight alongside us," Raphtalia said, smiling back at the man.
"Yeah…" Kiryu started before Naofumi noticed him do a double take. "Wait… You've… gotten bigger."
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're into lolis too," Naofumi sighed, his eyes trailing lazily to Kiryu.
"Lolis? What are you talking about, she's-"
"They're getting closer!" Raphtalia warned them, bringing their attention back forward. Naofumi immediately tossed the thought aside, quickly rushing forward to meet them head on. He met the largest of them, another bulking armored zombie, and blocked its left swing.
"Raphtalia!"
"Yes!" The demi-human jumped overhead, slashing down and splitting the zombie's head in half. Kiryu soon followed after, throwing a thunderous knee into a zombie on her left and barreling down some of the horde in his wake. Naofumi stayed close to his slave, covering her right and keeping her safe as she hacked away at more approaching monsters.
"Master!" Raphtalia called, ducking past his right and stabbing through another zombie like butter.
"On your left!" He heard Kiryu, the town defender lashing out with flaming gauntlets and burning several beasts with a crashing fist. Naofumi noticed several trying to crowd Kiryu, dashing forward and blocking any attempts to blindside him. Though he noticed the man spin around, likely as a reaction to their multiple foes.
"I'll defend you." Naofumi said without thought, biting his lip as he found himself putting a bit of trust in the man.
"Thanks." Kiryu returned that trust by sweeping the foes away from Naofumi with a roundhouse kick, knocking them away like ragdolls. "We'll keep the offense up."
Naofumi wondered if Kiryu might question why he wasn't technically fighting, but the man seemed to understand without being told. He swept away Naofumi's enemies opponents without hesitation, striking when most others might expect him to. But instead, much like Raphtalia, the two seemed to be in sync.
It was almost… refreshing to have someone else put so much trust between them.
Damn it. What deluded thoughts am I getting now?
"Master Naofumi! Look above!" Naofumi broke his line of thoughts, following the girl's instruction. Far above their heads, a ball of red flame formed together. Naofumi narrowed his eyes for a moment before it suddenly started to shower down. Toward them.
"Raphtalia!" Naofumi called out, following his instinct and rushing to her side, raising his shield to protect them both. He spared a glance at Kiryu, his eyes widening in worry. "Kiryu! Get over-"
The magical arrows started to fall on top of them. Kiryu had raised his arms and blocked some of the barrage with his gauntlets as well as dancing around a good portion of it. Feeling some anxiety at watching him, Naofumi shifted the shape of his shield. "Shield Prison!"
The protective ball materialized around Kiryu, protecting him from harm as the arrows beat against it. Naofumi let out a small sigh of relief. Sure, Kiryu seemed tough enough to take it, but forcing him to weather the attack alone was cruel.
The attack soon stopped, the fire arrows beginning to halt after some time. Naofumi kept his guard up though, just in case, holding Raphtalia close.
"Looks like we burned them all away at once," Naofumi heard a haughty voice, his eyes trailing forward past his cape to see a band of knights enter the village. The captain he guessed, a knight with a handlebar mustache, spared a glance at him. "As expected, you're quite tough, Shield Hero. Looks like you're just fine."
Naofumi clicked his tongue, immediately understanding what happened. "So they didn't care that we were here, huh?"
Before he realized it, Raphtalia had burst out from under his cloak, rushing forward at the band of knights. Naofumi reached out toward her, widening his eyes. "Raphtalia!"
She had made to stab some mustached knight with her sword, only to be blocked by another knight before she could land the blow. Though to her credit, she had obviously scared the knight, Naofumi watching him recoil in fear.
"Did you do that knowing that Master Naofumi was here?!" Raphtalia demanded, glaring death past the knight who had defended against her attack. "Depending on your answer, I'll have your head!"
The knight blocking her attack narrowed his eyes back before looking at his fellow knights. "Draw your-"
But what happened next was a blur. None of them realized he had moved. Naofumi barely remembered that he had dropped the Shield Prison around him as well. Kiryu had dashed past the knights, and soon dug his bare fist into the face of the mustached knight with a thunderous crack. Naofumi felt his jaw drop, as did all those around.
None were able to react fast enough as Kiryu sent the knight tumbling back, landing with a thud on the ground. Though as Naofumi found his wits again, he noted that Kiryu was obviously holding back, and had taken the edge off his gauntlets. After all, the man had clearly knocked the head off of monsters up to this point.
Still, he immediately put the other knights on edge, the band quickly surrounding him and drawing their blades while a couple had stooped to their captain's side.
"Y-You bastard! How dare you..?!" The knight whimpered, holding his face in pain.
"S-Sir Kiryu!" A younger one of the knights called out, sounding distressed.
"You have the balls to ask that after raining fire down on us like that?" Kiryu said, his fist tightening at his side, barely even acknowledging the knights surrounding him. "We were doing fine without your help. And instead of coming into the village, you just try and shower us with fire like that? Either you're a coward, or a bastard."
"You son of a… You think you can strike and insult a royal knight like that?!" The man cried out in anger, having his men help him to his feet. "I'll have your head!"
"How can you call yourself a knight if you neglect the lives you're supposed to defend?!" Raphtalia snapped, stepping up next to Kiryu and gritting her teeth.
Naofumi had to bite his tongue. If he were being honest, watching Kiryu punch the smug knight brought him more satisfaction than he realized. But they had another problem to worry about. "Kiryu, Raphtalia. Drop it. And if I were you, I'd forget that little 'assault', 'royal knight'. We have much bigger problems to worry about after all."
"You think you have any right to speak against me as well?!" The mustached knight snarled, his hand still on his face.
"I mean, if you want to attack us that badly, then go ahead. Though I doubt you'd have much time to do that with those monsters feeding on you," Naofumi declared, a dark grin splitting across his face. The knights soon followed his gaze, giving a satisfying reaction as they noticed the newly gathered monsters approaching them from behind.
"D-Don't falter! Get into for-" the leader called to the others, hesitating as the largest zombie at the front raised its axe to strike him down. Naofumi decided to be 'charitable', quickly dashing forward and blocking the attack before it could cut the knight in half.
"If you don't want to die an 'honorable death', I'd suggest you get your shit together," Naofumi said. "Raphtalia!"
"Yes!" The demi-human hopped on the monster's arm, cutting it from chest to head and killing it cleanly. "Mister Kiryu!"
"On it," Kiryu hopped overhead, delivering a devastating drop kick to another large beast and sending it flying. He rolled back to his feet, falling in line with Raphtalia and Naofumi.
"We'll give you guys time. Get into formation while we handle this front." Naofumi suggested, holding his shield up. "Let's go!"
"Yes!" Raphtalia answered, though he didn't need Kiryu's word to know he was rushing forward with them. Naofumi took the brunt of several swords with his shield, watching as Raphtalia took the chance to swing her blade past him and cut the opposing monsters down. Kiryu followed up with a swift uppercut to another at Raphtalia's side, while Naofumi repositioned himself and shielded them from the back.
"Tch! Let's move out! We're going to where the other Heroes are fighting!" The mustached knight ordered, waving his sword for the others to follow.
What a surprise. Naofumi thought, having not put much stock in them in the first place. He simply continued to move forward with Raphtalia and Kiryu, the three moving as a unit.
"Knights! Form up! Phalanx position around the Shield Hero!"
Naofumi hesitated for a moment, looking back out of the corner of his eye. The knight with the scar along his face seemed to have given that order, and was soon followed by a majority of knights surrounding him. They moved forward together, striking down some of the zombies and giving the three their support.
"Master Naofumi… the knights…" Raphtalia muttered, a smile spreading across her face.
"Heh." He heard Kiryu give a short chuckle, the thuggish looking man smirking. "I figured it was mostly that asshole."
Naofumi looked back at the knights again, watching them move forward while their former leader looked on with disdain before taking his leave. What made them stay behind? He wondered, looking at each of them with a small sense of apprehension and distrust. Still, he decided to not dwell on it and accept their help. Even if it was in the name of their duty more than anything else.
And after close to half an hour of more fighting, the sky lost its dark hue and the sun illuminated the sky again. The Wave had finally ended.
Kiryu was tired. Had this day been spent only fighting the monsters of the Wave, it might not have been so bad. But ever since his and Nugget's journey began, they had seen little rest aside from what they forced themselves to get. They had ridden tirelessly back home and were only met with more action once they returned. It was appropriate to say that Kiryu had quite a long day.
He took a seat against a broken stone wall, his eyes scanning across the village. The damages done to Lute were substantial, but not beyond repair. The people were alive and for the most part, the houses had held. It wasn't going to be an immediate fix, but it was nothing that the village couldn't come back from. And Kiryu knew the people of Lute well enough that they would not waste a moment once the people were back on their feet.
He watched the people congregate back into the village, with the knights helping people guide those who needed it back to their homes. The remaining monsters were easy enough to wipe out, so there was no longer any worry to be had.
Kiryu's eyes then drifted up to the saviors of the village, Naofumi and Raphtalia. The Shield Hero stood off by himself, seemingly uninterested in what else was going on in the village. Raphtalia had done some rounds to make sure no monster was left, but now she stood by his side, looking somewhat crestfallen. At one point, Kiryu thought she was even shaking a bit. He understood, of course. She had killed many monsters that day. And remembering the words of Julius, he recalled that demi-human bodies matured rapidly with their level. So right now, Kiryu could be looking at a child in a young woman's body.
She fought hard… but that was still a lot for her to handle.
Kiryu pulled a cigarette out of his breast pocket, getting ready to light it before hesitating. He remembered that it was something only Naofumi would recognize and give Kiryu away. He quickly stuffed it away, not wanting to expose himself. Kiryu's initial opinion of Naofumi had changed, but it was still better safe than sorry.
"Hey." Kiryu's eyes trailed up to see Naofumi standing there, the Shield Hero watching him with a neutral frown. Raphtalia stood close by, a gentle smile on her lips.
"Hey." Kiryu greeted back, sitting up straighter to meet his eyes. "Is there something you needed?"
"The villagers here already gave their thanks, but… I feel like they didn't need to," Naofumi said, looking over his shoulder. "But since they gave it… I guess I owe you some thanks, too."
"Don't." Kiryu said, cutting him off. "It's because of you that so few were lost today. I was just late to the party."
"But you fought so hard, Mr. Kiryu! You-"
"If people had died because I was late, I wouldn't have forgiven myself," Kiryu admitted, shaking his head. "Even though I set out of town to save someone, it was still part of my job to make it back on time. So to both of you… for being here when I wasn't… I-"
"Kiryu! Kiryu!"
The three looked up, the young blond knight from before running up to the three of them.
"Hey, kid. What's wrong?" said Kiryu, pushing off the broken wall to stand up.
"I-It's Miss Melonie, sir! S-She's not looking good!"
Kiryu's eyes lit up in alarm, sparing a look at Naofumi from the side before dashing forward, running toward Julius and Melonie's home. The doctor had brought her back there once the fighting was over and told Kiryu they would be treating her for a while with the medicine they brought.
No. No! We couldn't have been too late! We made it back in time!
Kiryu threw the door open as he entered the house, quickly rushing to her room. When he pushed the door open, he felt a pit begin to dig into his stomach.
Julius was weeping by Melonie's bedside. The doctor stood by quietly, hunched over next to Julius and rubbing his shoulder. And Melonie lay there, her face pale as a corpse. Sweat poured down her face, and her breathing was slow.
"Melonie…" Kiryu mumbled, his throat drying out as he slowly stepped forward.
"I… I'm sorry…" The doctor mumbled, his head bowed low. "The herbs… the medicine isn't working fast enough. If I had time to concoct something stronger, it might work, but… she doesn't have that kind of time…"
"Melonie… Melonie…" Julius whispered out, his tears staining the fabric of her bed.
"No… Damn it…" Kiryu fell to one knee, tears threatening at the edge of his eyes. "Damn it!" Kiryu slammed his fist into the ground, causing a crater to form under it. "I… I really was…"
"Hey. You're going to ruin the floor doing stuff like that."
Kiryu felt his shoulders tense up, looking back as a brow raised in disbelief. Naofumi stood there with Raphtalia close behind him.
"Naofumi..? What are you…"
"Where's the medicine you have, doctor? Do I need to make more?" Naofumi asked, walking past Kiryu. The doctor raised his head, staring at him in wonder.
"N-No, I… I have it right here…" The doctor said, holding it out to him. "B-But it won't work fast enough-"
"We'll see about that," Naofumi took the bottle, holding it up to the light. A sudden glow of magic surrounded it, causing Kiryu to widen his eyes. He watched as Naofumi went to Melonie's bedside opposite to Julius, the disgraced magician slowly looking up at him.
"Th-The Shield Hero..?"
"That's me. Hope you don't have a problem with that," Naofumi said, putting the flask to Melonie's lips and pouring it inside her mouth. As she ingested the whole bottle, her body illuminated with a sheen of light, causing the others to step back in shock. Slowly, or perhaps quickly, the color returned to Melonie's face. Her breathing evened out, and her eyes slowly began to open.
"Wh-What..?"
"Melonie! Oh, Melonie!" Julius cried out in relief, leaning down and hugging his bride to be's shoulders.
"Julius..? Wh-What happened?"
"I-It was… It was Kiryu and the Shield Hero! T-They saved you!" Julius cried out, his body trembling as he held her tight. "They saved you…"
"What… was that?" Kiryu mumbled, slowly standing up from the ground.
"Master Naofumi has an affinity for support and healing magic!" Raphtalia exclaimed, smiling ear to ear.
"I was able to bolster the strength of the potion and the speed that it works at," Naofumi explained, turning to Kiryu fully and crossing his arms. "She still needs rest, but whatever was wrong with her should be gone."
"You… You really…" Kiryu looked at Melonie and Julius, inhaling a shaky breath. "Thank you…"
"It's fine. Just… consider it payback for helping me out," Naofumi said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"No." Kiryu shook his head, causing Naofumi to raise a brow. He turned to Naofumi and straightened out before bowing low. "I owe you. I owe you so much after this. Thank you… from the bottom of my heart."
Kiryu lifted his head up, now seeing a stunned look on the Shield Hero's face. "I promise. I will pay you back for this debt one day. I swear."
Naofumi stared back at him, stunned speechless by Kiryu's genuine promise. Raphtalia beamed, smiling up at her master. Kiryu didn't wait for his response though, moving over to Melonie and Julius and leaning over them. Even Nugget made himself seen, chirping happily from the window outside their room after sticking his head through.
All the meanwhile, Naofumi stood by, watching them with a softened expression. Seeing their genuine happiness, the hardened hero could only sigh, feeling a gentle smile grace his lips once again that day.
Naofumi and Raphtalia sat outside of the house, Kiryu having told them to wait a moment before going. While the Shield Hero would like to pretend his good deed was nothing, the beaming eyes of Raphtalia were making it hard to ignore.
"It wasn't that big of a deal, Raphtalia…"
"It was, Master Naofumi! That meant a lot to them," Raphtalia encouraged him for the umpteenth time, causing him to sigh.
"Whatever… well, I guess having a guy like that in my debt isn't so bad," Naofumi stroked his chin in thought.
"Mr. Kiryu was very helpful today. Maybe he'll help us again if we ask," Raphtalia put a finger to her chin in thought.
"Maybe…" Naofumi mumbled, his eyes cast to the ground. He didn't seem to mind that I'm the Shield Hero, but… still…
His heart cautioned him against trust. Kiryu might have seemed genuine in his word, but so did she.
"Thanks for waiting." The two looked back to see Kiryu walk out of the house, a smile ever present on his face.
"I'm guessing she's all good now?" Naofumi asked, standing from his seat.
"Yeah. Thanks to what you did, the worst thing for her right now is her hunger." Kiryu said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I won't forget that."
"I hope not. I'll be sure to put a favor to use," Naofumi smirked, feeling the need to act somewhat snide.
"Master Naofumi…" Raphtalia tugged on his cloak.
"Heh. Don't worry about it, Raphtalia," Kiryu reassured her, giving a smirk. "I'll be ready for whatever you ask."
Shit. At least give me a little something to hate you for. Naofumi thought with some humor, his smirk morphing into a resting smile. But their moment was cut short as they heard the clanking of steel boots approach, the three looking down the road to see several knights approaching. Much to their chagrin, the mustached knight was among them, though Naofumi noted with some amusement the bandage on his nose.
"Well, looks like you didn't become monster feed. Make it out alright?" Naofumi asked, walking up to the knights with Raphtalia at his side, the demi-human glaring daggers at the royal knight.
"I didn't suffer any real damage," The knight huffed defiantly. That was until Kiryu walked up next to Naofumi, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I'd say you came out lucky. It probably could have been worse."
The knight ground his teeth in frustration, but it was obvious his skin had begun to perspire from anxiety. Clearing his throat, the knight tried to act unfazed.
"Regardless of my battle wounds… Shield Hero. The king recognizes your… efforts during the Wave and summons you to the castle. A party is being held for the successful mission, and you will be rewarded for your aid." He said, causing a frown to form on Naofumi's lips.
Normally I'd just avoid some bullshit party like this from that piece of shit King, but… I still need money. I can't ignore that. Naofumi tightened his fist at his side, giving a stiff nod.
"Fine. I'll come."
"Good," the knight groused before his eyes trailed to Kiryu and glared. "As for you, Kazuma Kiryu… you have also been… invited to join in the festivities."
"What?" Kiryu said, raising a brow in wonder. "All I did was defend my village."
"The King wishes to recognize your strength despite the… scope of your efforts. This is a command from the King though, so do not think it is a request you can simply ignore." The mustached knight haughtily declared, trying to hold his chin up in the face of the man who had punched him.
I guess I get it, but… this seems suspicious. Naofumi thought, sharing a glance with Kiryu. If his eyes were any indicator, he seemed to be of the same mind.
What does that trashy King want?
To be continued…
Thanks as always to chidoriprime for the help as beta!
Alright, and that's where we'll call this chapter!
Honestly, I was tempted to push this out and make it close to twice as long, the second half obviously being about the big dinner and fight that followed. But my beta will soon be going out of town, and so we decided that this was enough for one chapter. Sorry if it's a bit short, but I think we got everything we wanted across for this one. Naofumi and Kiryu make their meeting more official this time around, and they both are starting to understand each other quite a bit. I'm excited for things to kick off in the coming chapter!
Well that aside, not much else to say but I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please leave a follow, a favorite and a review if you'd be so kind! Thank you and have a good one! :)