It was official. None of her team liked dogs.
Hibari made short work of the two headed beast with a distinctly annoyed look on his face at the interruption.
Raphtalia looked positively terrified and Nozomi had always disliked them after she was bitten by that rather mean chihuahua when she was four.
Shirayuki looked very much like he wanted to join Hibari in killing the beast...then again he was a rabbit. Dogs chased rabbits all the time.
"Talia. Talia, can you hear me?" said Nozomi gently.
Raphtalia came back to her senses, but it was clear that seeing the dog had rattled her badly. Nozomi pulled her into a hug and didn't let go. Raphtalia broke down in sobs.
"It's okay, imouto. I'm right here," said Nozomi gently. Raphtalia had to look up a bit, when she felt the gentle hand on her head.
It was Hibari. Almost as if he was silently including his own support.
A strange warmth filled her body, almost as if she finally found the place she belonged. A place where she would always be accepted and given warm hugs when she needed them.
Raphtalia just cried, letting out every bit of pain she felt from losing her parents, and the happiness she felt when she first met Nozomi.
She never would have expected the shield hero to be this nice or so warm.
"I don't know about you, but I'm tired of this dungeon. Why don't we clear it out tomorrow?" asked Nozomi.
Hibari said nothing...though Raphtalia squeaked a bit when (with a little help from Hibari) she was put on Nozomi's back and given a piggy-back ride. Shirayuki even settled on her head and took a nap.
That rabbit got along far too well with Hibari, that was for sure. It was really weird.
It took them three days to get through the dungeon. Hibari was rather happy about it all considered...while the girls (and the rabbit) took out the trash monsters he got to play with the strongest ones all he liked without them even remotely trying to stop him or get in his way.
They even got a monster egg out of cleaning out the mines.
"I've never had a pet before... I wonder what will hatch from it," said Nozomi.
Hibari silently held up a less than amused Shirayuki.
"Yuki's not a pet...he's one of our companions!" said Nozomi giggling.
The rabbit's annoyed look turned to pride that she didn't consider him some mere pet.
He also tried to kick Hibari in the face. He was not successful and it set off another 'play fight'.
In Namimori...
He had been tracking down that troublesome book for some time and recently got a solid lead on where it was. With any luck he would be able to deal with the blasted thing once and for all.
What he found had him rather furious and fully prepared to castrate that idiot for sending it to his civilian family.
Fon took out his phone and dialed Lal Mirch.
"Did you find the book?"
"Oh I found it alright. The Mist territory has been activated."
"Shit. Any idea who got caught?" asked Lal in frustration.
She had been the one to mention seeing a book that fit Fon's description of a rather troublesome "Mist-Trap" that had been eluding his clan for centuries. Only to find out too late Iemitsu had apparently used it as a belated birthday present for his kid.
Fon looked to Kusakabe, who was hoping he had an idea of what happened to Kyouya. He had disappeared over a week ago along with another student, and they had no idea what happened outside of a foreign book being turned into lost and found that same day.
Kusakabe hadn't been with Kyouya for nothing all these years, because he immediately confiscated the book once it was brought up.
"Kyouya and I'm assuming Sawada's child as well. Anyone near the book when the trap is triggered will be sucked in, and I'm betting Kyouya recognized it and tried to confiscate it before that happened."
Even Kyouya knew that book was dangerous. He would have removed it from the hands of anyone who didn't know what it was.
And now his son was trapped in the damn book. This was a complete mess.
"Is there any way to get the kids out?"
"Getting people out before the book has run out is impossible. However it is possible to send people inside, but they'll be trapped there with the one who activated it. I'll need Mammon's help though," said Fon tiredly.
It would take a lot of Mist flames to enter that book when it was active. Fon just hoped the miser didn't empty his bank account for it.
It took a few days, but once Fon had everything he needed he was sent into the innocent looking book.
What he found there fit all the descriptions that he had heard about the place.
Medieval scenery, a strong dislike of those with animal features, and the belief that the Shield hero was a rapist.
All of which fit into the basic 'plot' written by the Mist who created the book in the first place. The only way out was to survive to the end.
Fon hid behind his usual serene smile, though something seemed different this time.
It took him a few hours to place what it was.
Apparently not everyone hated the Shield hero, and there was quite a bit of doubt by those who had actually met him as to whether he had in fact raped the princess.
Fon kept an eye out for Kyouya. His son was his immediate priority at the moment.
"Did you hear? That demon child Hibari was at it again!" said one woman. Fon immediately perked up at the name.
"I know! I guess we shouldn't have expected much out of that awful Shield Hero's companions. I heard he even has a rabbit as one of his party, and a massive bird that likes to kick the unwary!"
"How dreadful!"
Fon walked up to the gossiping women.
"Pardon me, young ladies (which got the middle aged women to titter a bit at being called such) but I couldn't help overhearing about the Shield hero and his companions. Would you be so kind as to describe them for me? I would rather not associate with such dreadful people like that by accident," said Fon pleasantly, lying through his teeth.
If he was right, then Kyouya had somehow become part of the Shield hero's team. And considering what he knew of the book, that meant he was keeping a close eye on Sawada's child.
Fon patiently listened to the slightly conflicting descriptions, but a few things stood out.
Apparently everyone was under the believe Kyouya was some sort of bird demi-human. That and the Shield hero was a rather tiny thing who had somehow gained the favor of a rather vicious breed of rabbit, one that had been seen fighting with Kyouya more than once in the mornings and evenings.
Fon had to chuckle when he heard that, because it sounded like his son had found a rather amusing sparring partner. There was also a raccoon Demi-human that he dismissed...more often than not, "Raphtalia" was chosen as the first true companion to the Shield hero either through an event or simply because she was one of the cheapest slaves available.
There was one thing that he found out, while in the 'starting point'. The next wave was due to start in three days. Fortunately he was well aware of "where" it would happen so he could reach the town in time to do something about it and hopefully find his son.
The wave of calamity was terrible, and the fact Hibari had to keep protecting her from "friendly" fire made things even worse.
On the plus side, Firo was almost full grown and she almost had enough to afford a cart.
Nozomi, rather than rest when it was over, decided to start sharing the healing potions she had made. She had gotten really, really good at those.
It only took one brave soul before they actually accepted the bottles, but the fact she was able to help triage the wounded soldiers allowed the priests to focus on the more heavily wounded and conserve their strength.
That seemed to at least earn some of their grudging respect. She'd take what she could get.
However the second she heard that all the heroes were being recalled to the castle, she felt her blood run cold.
She really didn't want to go back there.
Nozomi squeaked when she felt the comforting grip of Hibari on her shoulder. The two had come to an understanding in regards to the team.
While Nozomi dealt with public relations, Hibari was in charge of training them to fight since he had the most experience. Unfortunately this was of little use to Raphtalia, who had to make do with trial and error since she used a sword, not a pair of tonfa.
For Nozomi, however, his experience was nothing short of necessary. Thanks to him she had become increasingly competent at fighting hand to hand, which was a good thing considering she had a "shield" as a weapon. The fact she seemed to have an actual knack for learning how to fight without any weapons only made Hibari rather pleased. It meant his effort wasn't wasted.
"I really don't want to go there."
Unfortunately the guard had made it clear that attendance was mandatory. She could only hope nothing else happened, after what Mein had tried to pull.
In the castle...
Nozomi did her best to keep her head down and away from the other heroes. While she got along well enough with the Bow and Sword heroes, the same could not be said of the Spear. Besides, Mein kept giving her such foul looks that it reminded her of the worst girls in her class.
Ren and Itsuki finally wandered over to her little corner.
"You okay, Usagi-chan?"
"I don't like this place. I just know the king is going to try something to go after me again," said Nozomi miserably.
Shirayuki bounded up her arm to sit on her head and give the two other Heroes a dark look. He lightly tapped his foot and gave them a Look that said volumes of how badly he'd kick their ass if they made her cry.
The two looked at him, then at Nozomi.
"Is this your pet?"
"He's my friend. This is Shirayuki, and he's the strongest ninja rabbit in the lands," said Nozomi with a light smile.
"Ninja," started Ren, his mouth quivering.
"Rabbit?" said Itsuki, openly grinning.
"Don't look at me like that! It was in his description when he joined our party! At least he keeps Hibari from being bored."
"Yeah...where did you find that tengu anyway?" said Ren nervously.
Hibari had done more damage during the wave than anyone in their party, and if he had been able to reach them in time the two had no doubts he would have taken on the Chimera simply for the thrill of fighting it. He was very firmly a battle junkie, and the thought of him around Usagi made them rather nervous for her safety.
"Slave market. I spent most of the coins freeing him and the rest on Talia and her medicine. I wasn't going to force someone as proud as him to act as my weapon...besides he joined of his own free will anyway when I promised him I wouldn't ask him to fight anything less than a strong opponent. He's mostly been teaching me to fight."
"Now that's a laugh," said Moyotama loudly. "The shield hero actually being able to fight! There's no way you'd be able to handle a real battle! I bet you hid behind those slaves of yours during the wave!"
Nozomi clutched her chopsticks tightly.
"I had heard that one of the heroes was relying on slaves to fight. I should have known it was the Shield Hero," said the king derisively.
Nozomi felt a pit of dread in her stomach, one that panned out as the Spear challenged her to a fight.
It was clear the King was going to take the fact she had been forced to use slaves as her companions out on her, though why he hated her so much she had no idea.
At least she wasn't entirely helpless like before. She had some training in how to fight back, and she refused to let that arrogant bastard win.
It was time to earn some of her self-respect back...even if it was unlikely she'd be able to do the same when... if she was able to return home.
It all reeked of a set up, in her opinion. She did get some measure of amusement seeing Hibari and Shirayuki put down any guards who attempted to hold Raphtalia or themselves back so they didn't try to 'interfere' with the fight.
They had no idea that there was a hidden watcher, observing the entire thing with open interest.
Up in the audience...
Fon felt a great deal of interest watching the shield hero...or heroine, as he suspected from her chi signature alone... fight back with only her hands and a rather limited amount of what was clearly martial arts training. Considering the time frame, someone must have trained her.
He had a good idea whom, considering he sensed Kyouya's presence nearby and he recognized the 'soft' style of jujitsu that the girl was using as one of many taught by the clan.
He mostly observed her skill level, which wasn't very high, but still fairly good for a beginner as he suspected she was. At least she seemed to have the bare basics of the style down and kept instinctively correcting her footing without any help.
But it was the power he felt coming off her that held his interest the most.
The girl was a Sky...a rather powerful one of unusual purity at that, and he detected the distinct traces of a quickly developing Guardian bond that felt like it lead straight to Kyouya.
How interesting! His son had accidentally found his Sky, even if he was playing at being a tengu at the moment. All it would take was a bit of a nudge and there would be a full blown bond between them.
Best of all, the girl clearly had a natural aptitude for hand to hand combat from what he could tell. He couldn't wait to see what she could do with real training from an expert teacher.
To say Fon was positively giddy at this development was an understatement.
Then something happened that brought his attention fully back on the fight.
And that was the sound of ripping cloth, followed by a very feminine outcry of "PERVERT!" and the clear sound of a nasty slap to the face.
Apparently Moyotama had managed to land a brief blow on the girl, and when he went to pull his spear up had caused her shirt to rip open revealing a breast band and still developing bust.
Dead silence.
"What is the meaning of this?!" demanded the king, furious.
"I should ask you the same thing! It's not enough you convinced your daughter to make such a horrible accusation against me, but now you have the Spear hero trying to assualt an underage girl and pretend it's justified!" she snapped back. "Not a single one you besides Ren or Itsuki bothered to confirm whether or not I was a boy!"
Raphtalia, using a judicious amount of elbowing the people in her way, was able to throw a jacket to cover up the fact her 'sister' was exposed in front of so many strangers.
Kyouya went to stand in front of his Sky with a particularly bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.
"If you attempt to harass the little rabbit, I'll bite you to death."
"With what, that stupid beak of yours?" sneered Moyotama.
As if the revelation of the Shield Hero's gender wasn't shocking enough, the 'tengu' reached back around his head and did something.
The stunned silence when he pulled off the beak, revealing handsome and definitely human features was rather amusing.
"I never said I was a tengu. I just prefer to wear the filter since it deters the female herbivores from trying to get into my pants," he deadpanned.
Nozomi's face went pale as she squeaked...
"Hibari-sempai?!"
Kyouya's smirk was decidedly bloodthirsty. Fon had to hold back a laugh.