Back with another chapter. Prepare. For what, you may ask? Prepare for Naofumi to be immortalized in fame. Maybe. Enjoy. And those who may be wondering where I get these quotes from, go and hit up BrainyQuote. It's pretty good.

''We should learn to accept that change is truly the only thing that's going on always, and learn to ride with it and enjoy it.''

-Alice Walker.

Naofumi zoomed down the mountain, doing his best to keep his footing and body relatively in sync. For his first time snowboarding, Naofumi did rather good. At first, he had an initial doubt that riding his shield was something he could do without some form of injury. Even still, his Defense stat was maxed out, for the most part, so he doubted a fall would do a substantial amount of damage.

The snow-capped mountains seemed to swallow every part of his vision, the only thing that he was able to discern was Filo pulling the carriage along a trail that presented itself in front of the otaku. He told her to go on ahead versus trying to come back for him because he knew he could figure something out to get out of this situation. The cold of Yak Yakistan's borders certainly got to him quicker than he thought. From the looks of it, Filo would possibly just barely pass in front of him or pass after him as he would pass over the ridge.

''HNNNGH!'' Naofumi leaned over to the left, narrowly avoiding a tree as he fought to stay upright and not fall over. ''Just great!'' Naofumi yelled, fighting the ice forming on his eyebrows. How did things get this bad?

[hr]

[center]Earlier. . .[/center]

''Wow, so pretty,'' Melty commented on the scenery as the group traversed the terrain. The majority of the trip was relatively uneventful, though with the occasional stop to gather some items. The view of the wilderness and more rural areas on the way certainly gave a more rustic feel to the world than Melromarc. Melty had never seen snow, so the sight itself was something that captured her entire attention since the first few specks came into view. She always heard stories of the snow and how it looked, but actually see it and touch was something magical.

''Yea, you're still a kid,'' Naofumi commented, Raphtailia and Valiant snickering a bit as the princess blushed and puffed her cheeks out, the hood on her snow coat covering her eyes as she stared down the otaku. ''You've never seen snow in person?''

Melty ignored the teasing looks from Naofumi. She never had much of a chance to actually witness such a phenomenon since she was busy performing duties on behalf of the kingdom, and whenever snow was presented to, she never had much of a chance to be there whenever it was present. But the books did not do it justice. It was even more beautiful.

''Putting that aside-'' Valiant reached for the map in his saddlebag and looked over their current route. They would end up reaching the border in more than likely a few minutes. Filo certainly was better than even some of the better stallions that he knew could pull, and she seemed to have even more fun than he thought at doing it, too. She didn't even look tired after pulling for the few hours that they were on their journey. ''We should get there pretty soon.''

That sounded like heaven to Naofumi. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was not the biggest fan of the winter wonderland they were, but for the reason, most may think. Typically, this time of year in Japan or any part of the world that received snow would always magically produce, in his honest opinion; idiots that either could not drive or do anything with the semblance of safety that should have come with the weather taking a cautious turn for the worst.

Many drunk or distracted driver has led to accidents occurring, only a select few nearly involved him almost getting killed.

So he stressed being safe when conditions often got bad; either that or the mixture of becoming The Shield Hero.

The road ahead was paved rather well from what he could see, and set up with wooden barriers every few feet. His guess was that this road may be one where accidents may occur, and that statement provided itself more as the party had to go uphill at quite a steep incline before reaching the top, the cold wind blowing against the cover of the carriage as they slowly crawled to a stop to admire the scenery. For as far as the eye could see, white mountain peaks stood like buildings, the faint glow of the sun's rays blanketing the landscape as all sound stopped for the moment. The landscape appeared broken, and well put together as it took everyone's breath away.

''Remember, Filo; slow and steady,'' Raphtalia reminded Filo as she assured the demi-human she would be careful; she didn't want her friends and master to be hurt. But, Raphtalia still felt the need to tell her about what to do since she was known for being aloof at times. Truly, Raphtalia did love Filo with the love of a sister, even more so since she really possessed no family; Naofumi filled that role for the moment until she came along. Initially fighting with Filo over the affection of Naofumi was something that she did want to relent upon, but slowly she grew to deal with it.

Filo was now her little sister, and she would embrace the role by teaching her and keeping her safe the best that she was able to. She would be sure to let her know that once things were allowed to calm down.

''I got it, Raphtalia, don't worry. My claws are super strong! This silly snow won't be a problem!~'' Filo cheered, taking smaller steps and applying a bit more pressure as she stepped to ensure her metal claws dug into the ice and provided her with traction.

''So you mind sharing a little bit more? How'd the old fart get a hold of you guys? Can't imagine it was the best of circumstances.'' Valiant said, offering the group each a cup of hot cocoa as he heated the mixture up with his magic. He was not briefed on much before the group left, and while the sparring they did gave more insight into their skill, he had to admit he had never seen anything like Naofumi before.

''Man, where to start?'' Naofumi chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he blew the steam from his drink. Mmm, it even had tiny marshmallows; that was a point in his book. ''The last world was. . .challenging to say the least. I really rather not go too far into it, but let's just say I didn't expect to die and end up here,'' Naofumi stared at his reflection back in his drink, noting the somewhat tired look in his eyes as his mind throbbed with uncertainty. Knowing that he died did little to boost his confidence from being away from Melromarc; he just wanted to leave there and go back home, not die and end up somewhere else, as much of an upgrade it definitely was over the other.

''Ah. One of those. Say less, you don't have to explain everything to me,'' Valiant said, waving a hoof as he pulled his coat around his body closer and sipped away, sighing in contentment. ''I generally can get a good idea of who a pony is from the things they do; actions are more valuable to me than your word,'' Valiant used his magic to bring forth an amulet he had tucked under his armor. His mood shifted as he circled a hoof around the amber encased around the small silver ring. ''I just want to make sure I can trust you guys to do what we need to do if things come to blows, that's all.'' the locket was tucked back in as Raphtalia spoke.

''Of course, I am Master Naofumi's sword, and as such I will never be far from Master Naofumi. I am an extension of him and will defend against any threat, no matter who or what it is,'' Naofumi's heartstring was plucked a tad as she thumped her fist against her chest in determination. His mind flashed back to the moment where she staked her claim as his sword and vowed to be at his side, in even the darkest of times.

[hr]

[i]

''I am your sword!''[/i] Raphtalia announced loudly, causing the Shield Hero to turn around and stare at her. She put a hand to her chest and cleared her throat as she continued. [i]'' Wherever you go, I will go with you.''[/i]

Remembering those words in the arena when he was down and out during his battle against Motoyasu fueled him to push on and keep going. To see the small amount of good that existed in that world, to see the person who he thought would never abandon him.

And the person who loved him above all else and wanted nothing more to stand at his side.

And the person who needed him.

[hr]

''I can vouch for her; she's saved my butt on more than one occasion, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.'' Valiant looked at the hero as he spoke, looking to see the glint of power in his eyes. He stared for a bit longer, the beady-eyed look in Naofumi's eyes matching the guard's more critical stare as Raphtalia embraced the otaku in a one-handed hug.

''Hmm. . .'' Valiant said, tilting his head. ''Ok.''

''Ok?'' Melty asked.

''Ok, like I said. I judge pretty good, so I can take your word for it,'' Naofumi quirked a brow at what he said. To be so easily trusting and have a more positive track record of it working out certainly was a rarity.

''Filo!, How're things going out there?'' Naofumi asked, crawling to the front of the carriage, slipping past the supplies on the floor, and coming out on the bench to see the road ahead.

''Good, Master, I can see Yak-Yakistan from here!'' Filo pointed a wing to the far right, spying the kingdom in question becoming less and less of a spec as the snow crunched underneath her feet and the spiked wheels of the carriage. ''Can we eat when we get there? Filo's getting a little hungry.''

Patting her head and ruffling her feathers a bit, Naofumi agreed. Eating some grub did sound like the perfect thing to do. So of course that would be one of the few things that would be done after touching bases with Princess Rutherford. All in all, it seemed pretty-

''-Filo, watch out!'' Naofumi shouted, spying an object coming towards the carriage. Filo grunted as she made contact with the object, or rather it with her as she slipped for a moment, the momentum causing the cart to slide and contact a barrier, causing Naofumi to brace himself against the rein as he reached for it, or rather tried to as he missed the grip within an inch as he flew off the carriage, his body feeling weightless for a few moments.

''Master Naofumi!'' Raphtalia shouted, her hand reaching out but missing short.

''Craaapp!'' Naofumi cursed, contacting the snow with a semi-soft landing, tumbling and rolling down the mountainside, fighting to get his balance before sliding on his back.

Craning his head to see whatever it was that struck his carriage must have already retreated. But the more important thing here would be to make sure that he could survive this downhill slide. Grunting as small rocks assaulted his back, Naofumi began to growl and attempted to use his shield to slow down his speed only proved to do the opposite as he ended up flipping over onto his stomach and his upper body straddling the shield-like some kind of sled as he fought to get back up.

''What now?!'' Naofumi thought, a slanted rock sliding against his shield, sending him in the air once again as he felt a pop and his shield came off of his arm and his feet barely managed to land on it, his body swinging about wildly. The wind was fully in his face, causing him to shut his eyes for the moment. He figured he may as well only have one chance to save himself. ''Change Shield!'' Naofumi's man shield changed to the Chimera Viper Shield, the bigger surface area hopefully giving him more control.

This certainly was not the way he wanted to head to into Yak-Yakistan. The town quickly came into view as he passed by the carriage on the diagonal, zooming by and clutching the bottom on his shield as he dared to do something possibly stupid. Spying a patch of ice that looked to curve upwards just enough, Naofumu leaned to his left, crouching down and bracing himself for the jump. ''Hope this works!'' Naofumi zoomed off the ramp, the shield shredding parts of the ice as he soared over a few of the houses that were on the very outskirts of town and called for those walking about to clear out as he looked to have a very narrow window to land.

Once his shield hit the cobblestone, a loud scraping sound followed as sparks began to be created. Naofumi prayed his shield would not look too bad when he stopped. When it didn't appear that wouldn't happen as easily, Naofumi called upon an Air Strike Shield to stop his movements. He could at least say that he did good, to a degree.

[hr]

''And you thought that would be good idea?'' Prince Rutheford asked the Shield Hero as he and his party stood before the prince relatively unscathed. Naofumi began to say something before he was cut off by the prince. ''Because it was! Welcome to Yak-Yakistan!''