After the incident in the mines, the trio had fallen into a rather peaceful routine, well one that was peaceful by Yuya's standards. He was jumpy from the last time, a lot quicker to please as if to prove he was worth something.
Yuya took note of how fast Raphtalia was growing. Within a week she became a fully grown adult, she was disappointed that Yuya was still taller than her by 3 cm. He teased her about that, getting some of his more lively attitude back.
Raphtalia felt relieved when that happened, she had feared that her Master might have gone too far with Yuya. She did often complain to Yuya about their lord treating her like a kid when she no longer was one.
Yuya was baffled by that, did Naofumi not realize Raphtalia grew? Yuya didn't think too hard about it. He had tried to make more flavorful food for them too, but each dish was met with the same infuriating answer. 'I don't taste it.'
Yuya was just about ready to throw a bowl at him before he remembered he wasn't in control at all. One wrong move and his lord would use that cursed shield or throw him to the side. He had nowhere to go if he did. He didn't have a single thought on what he'd even do with himself to begin with.
Nowhere to rerun to. He was stuck in this foreign world. He rather take his chances with the Fatui than wander aimlessly again, but the Fatui wasn't going to look for him, Dottore deemed him a failure of a tool, it was clear as day with how that battle went. He clenched his fists in building rage.
A sound burst through the grass and a growl as a porcupine monster barreled into his lord's side. The quills appeared to have piercing properties as it got past his lord's defenses. Which led to them chasing it down while Naofumi took care of his wound.
It was caught in a ball of shields. "Shield Prison." His lord called it. Raphtalia then struck the final blow. Her pathetic little sword was worn down a lot.
"I think it's about time we upgrade our gear." Naofumi declared. Raphtalia smiled happily as she held up the dead monster, showing it off like some cat proud of its catch. Yuya snorted at the mental comparison. A racoon acting like a cat. How amusing.
They made their way to the weapon store, on the way people from all the stores and stalls were enamored by Raphtalia's newfound maturity. They had somewhat grown used to Yuya's pretty face, Yuya chuckled to himself at how flustered she got.
Being presented with extra snacks and discounts, she was enjoying the attention. Yuya didn't mind one bit as it took eyes off of him. Lord Naofumi on the order hand shot every last one of the humans who did so a weird look.
They arrived at Erhard's store. Naofumi insisted that Yuya learn the name of the only trustworthy human in the castle town. Turns out it wasn't a full blown city yet. Not that Yuya knew anything of this world to begin with. He just followed along with what the Shield Hero wanted.
Yuya's current staff was still usable, though he wouldn't mind refining it, until he could get a better one or switch to a proper catalyst. He had yet to see anymore sell the type he was after. Maybe he should bite the bullet and forge one.
Naofumi was talking to the shopkeeper about upgrades for Yuya and Raphtalia. Said racoon girl wasn't pleased with it at all. She grabbed a sword from one of the scabbards on display.
"Master Naofumi, you shouldn't play around like that or you will lose your life!" She boldly declared holding the blade up. It was a decent looking blade as far as Yuya could tell. Naofumi relented to getting new armor. They turned to Yuya.
"I'm fine with this, though if you'll allow me access to a forge I can upgrade it myself." He informed them.
"Wait, you know how to forge things?" Naofumi asked. Eyebrows raised at that. Yuya nodded.
"Yes, I was taught how to forge and enhance weapons." Yuya confirmed, letting his staff float next to him. "You seem so surprised everytime I display my many skills." He said with a shrug.
"You don't look like the type to do any of the things you can do." Naofumi said. Yuya felt annoyance rise in him again as he huffed.
"What do I look like to you then huh?"Yuya sneered, arms crossing over his chest.
"You look like a spoiled princess brat." Naofumi said. Yuya looked ready to murder at this point.
"Why you…! Ch you don't look all too impressive for a hero of legend!" Yuya snapped back, pride bruised. "And I'm a warrior not a royal brat…!" He huffed turning away. He heard Raphtalia stifle a giggle.
This caused his cheeks to turn red. He gripped air. "Ch… I miss my hat." He muttered. Erhard coughed in his hands to get their attention.
"You can use my forge for a small fee. I'm interested in what forging methods your friend knows." Erhard said. Yuya took that chance. He cleared his throat.
"If my young lord allows it I'll do it." He turned back to Naofumi, having reigned in his filthy emotions. Too much of it might get him punished. He wasn't sure how far he could push his lord yet.
"While that's going on we can wait for your new armor Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia happily added, breaking some of the awkward tension. Naofumi sighed.
"Very well, you can upgrade your weapon yourself Yuya. I'll pay for the forge fee and any material needed." The Shield Hero said. Yuya gave a fake yet dazzling smile.
"You spoil me so much." The sarcasm was palpable. Naofumi realized Yuya had a very nasty mean streak when he thought he could get away with it. It was entertaining enough that Naofumi didn't feel the need to call Yuya out on it. Those jerks usually deserved it. He even picked up a few tricks to appear and act more menacing from observing the puppet too.
Erhard took the silvers and showed Yuya the forge. The puppet tied his sleeves back and got to work. Increasing the weopon's potential. He worked swiftly and methodical, mechanically precise strikes.
By the end, the staff's base was now costed in Iron and the gemstone on top enchanted to handle more power than it previously could. He altered the shape a bit more to resemble his Inazuman attire. Might as well look good while slaughtering your enemies after all.
Erhard was very impressed with Yuya's craftwork. "You really know your stuff kid." He complimented the puppet. Yuya shrugged.
"I'm a bit rusty, haven't been at a forge for a very long time." Yuya kept it vague. Maybe around 300 years ago was the last time he touched one.
"That makes this all the more impressive! Say if you ever want a job as a Smith let me know. You'd make a killing with your talent." The bald human said, examining the staff more closely. It held similar properties to a spear now.
"You altered the grips too. Made the top sharper." Erhard noted. Yuya hummed.
"I am very intimate with spear work so this feels more natural." Yuya said, grabbing the staff. "Well i should be going old man, my lord is waiting. With that the shorter male bid the shop owner farewell, he headed to the inn they usually housed in when they were in town.
Yuya found them eating at the back. He joined the two silently. There was a third plate. Naofumi had ordered food for him.
"You honestly don't need to feed me when we're low on funds, i dont require food to function like you flesh bags do."The puppet sat down but took the food anyway.
"How'd your forging go?" Naofumi asked. Yuya showed off his newly improved staff.
"See for yourself. Of course I made some visual changes to it." Yuya was pretty proud of his work. Raphtalia looked at the staff.
"Oh! It looks so pretty! It even matches your clothes now!" She grabbed the base of the staff gently. It felt smooth to the touch.
"Do you think you can customize my sword too?" She asked, throwing her puppy dog eyes at Yuya. Yuya just laughed at her. Her cute charm no longer held any power over him!
"Hurumf! You're so mean to me now!"She complained, her tail puffing out. Yuya just laughed louder at her reaction.
"Ara…! Maybe you should have stayed a little brat instead of growing up!" Yuya stuck his tongue out with a bleh sound accompanying it.
Naofumi sighed louder, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shut up and eat your food and stop teasing her." He scolded.
Yuya huffed and calmed down."Very well but I'm not taking it back nor apologizing, she is an adult now." He busied himself with his food. Ignoring the confused look on Naofumi's face.
"Yeah I'm all grown up now!" Raphtalia agreed.
"You don't need to force yourself to act like an adult." Naofumi said after settling with his words. Raphtalia got defensive, slamming her hands down on the table.
"I'm not forcing it!" She shouted. Which got rewarded by some food being flicked at her, her head snapped to Yuya who oh so innocently was chewing on his food. She glared at him.
The next day they went to pick up Naofumi's new armor. The green and silver suited the taller man pretty well.
"You look like a real bandit now kid!" Erhard smiled with a thumbs up. Naofumi frowned.
"I'm supposed to the a hero remember!"He protested. Raphtalia thought he looked nice in the new outfit. Yuya didn't see any issue with it either.
"It suits you a lot more than the generic everyday wear you had before, Heroes and important figures should always stand out from the crowd in dress." Yuya said, flicking his sleeves forward. The fabric swished hypnotically. The frills of his purple undershirt moved too.
"Wait, are those frills on your sleeves?!" Naofumi came closer and touched the fabric. Now that it was clean he realized it was genuine silk. The material of his outfit was crazy expensive looking.
"Ara…?" Yuya blinked at the sudden closeness. Naofumi eyed him suspiciously.
"You sure you're not some runaway princess?" Naofumi asked with a straight face. Yuya's face turned bright red as he stammered, unable to think of a proper retort to that.
The best he could come up with was a shaky "No!"
Yuya buried his face in his hands. "Mother, strike me down now please…!" He mumbled into his hands. How humiliating!
"Alright, alright I was just kidding… wow… Such a dramatic reaction." Naofumi said with a sigh. He did find it rather adorable that even someone as mean and sharp tongued as Yuya could get embarrassed.
"We have to be prepared for the Wave, I have no idea when or where it will hit." Naofumi said.
"Wait, no one told you about the dragon hourglass?" Erhard butted in. The look on Naofumi's face told Yuya that no, no one informed him about it. So Erhard directed them to the gaudy looking church at the center of the town.
Yuya was beginning to pick up on a pattern. It was getting painfully obvious that the Shield Hero wasn't looked upon in the best of light. Not with the nasty rumors he caught wind of every now and again when they came into town after grinding sessions. Or when they were to sell monster drops to local merchants, a far cry from the hospitality they received within the village of Lute.
The church was as obnoxious on the inside as it was on the outside. He'd say Barbatos's church was more modest than this one. It felt oppressive compared to the Anemo Archon's church as well. The nun working there side eyed Raphtalia and then his young lord. The blatant disrespect was making Yuya's artificial blood boil on his lord's behalf.
A strange feeling to say the least. It was a similar feeling he got when the other Harbingers were being disrespected, it reflected poorly on Yuya as well as being associated with them. Though in his current position as a tool for the hero, he wouldn't stand for such treatment of the man who commanded him. It sat wrong with the puppet.
He glared at the rude nun as they were led to the hourglass. It was gaudy like the rest of the place. Though Yuya could feel some sort of power emanating from the hourglass. It was similar to the feeling Naofumi's shield gave off. The shield reacted to the hourglass. Shooting a beam at it.
Yuya felt the magic shift in the air. His hearing picked up multiple footsteps from behind them. His attention snapped to the blond in red that appeared.
"Is that Naofumi I see?" Oh the man's voice was grating on Yuya's ears already. The way a growl was slowly forming in his lord's throat was clue enough for Yuya that these humans were an unwelcome sight.
The woman with red hair and the purple accented armor looked overly smug as she almost clung to the loud blond's side. The red gemmed spear in the red wearing blond's hand felt the same as lord Naofumi's shield. So this was another 'Hero'.
Yuya wasn't all impressed. The blond stepped up towards them." Don't tell me your still running around with that flimsy equipment are you?" The tone of his voice made Yuya want to electrocute something.
Yuya glared harder as he got in between the two humans. "That's none of your concern worm." Yuya growled. His lord had gone quiet. Raphtalia went to Naofumi's side asking if he was alright.
The Spear user was taken aback by this. "How dare you speak to sir Motoyasu like that!" The red haired woman shrieked, pushing Motoyasu to the side slightly.
"You dare disrespect my lord first and expect me to be civil?" Yuya glared down at the woman in front of him. Which was impressive as they were almost the same height. The growl in his voice was barely contained. Yuya could practically taste the bitter feelings his lord was feeling at the very moment. Raw unfiltered hate.
"Hey now, no need for a pretty thing like you to follow someone like Naofumi." The Spear hero nudged the annoying woman to the side gently as he grabbed Yuya's hands. Yuya froze at the contact.
"Unhand me or lose a limb!" Yuya hissed, he short circuited when Motoyasu gave his dainty hand a kiss.
Can't compute.
Error.
Illogical.
The fool had no fear. "Why don't you join my team instead? A pretty girl like yourself shouldn't be fighting for a brute like that." Motoyasu tried to be smooth.
Naofumi felt the air turn electrical. He should probably stop Yuya from making things worse for him but he also wanted to see that bastard spear hero suffer.
" Excuse me…? "Yuya finally spoke again. *I am a man!" He hissed, tearing his hands from Motoyasu, he raised one, sparking with anger, slapping the taller man with unnecessary strength. The slap echoed in the empty room.
Yuya's sadistic side reared as he looked very pleased with himself." Unsightly worm, know your place, I should kill you for such disrespect!" Yuya switched to his Harbinger personality. The air felt suffocating. The other two heroes that came in a little later drew their weapons. Sword and bow pointed at the puppet.
"Naofumi, who is this?" The one in blue asked. He had the sword. Naofumi was tempted to not answer.
"Stand down Yuya," He finally spoke. The purple haired man looked to his lord.
"My lord, you can't seriously expect me to let this slight slide?" the puppet tried to make his lord see. Naofumi shook his head.
"That's an order Yuya don't make me repeat myself." Naofumi said, the glint of green made Yuya stiffen ever so slightly. The puppet sighed in defeat.
"Very well, I shall refrain from purging these vermin." Yuya growled. His eyes glowed with poorly contained anger. "You shouldn't let these lowly mortals walk over you." He spat, crossing his arms over his chest. The room went silent before the woman with the red hair stomped up to Yuya.
"Apologize to sir Motoyasu right this instant!" She barked out. Yuya scowled even more. His features turned sharp. A growl worked its way into his throat.
"I'll say this once, get out of my face before I lose my temper. I hate dealing with idiots who don't listen." He growled, turning away. Lord Naofumi ordered him to not escalate. So he shall refrain… it however was tempting to just slap the screaming banshee as well. Yuya gripped his arm.
The Shield Hero grit his teeth." We're leaving. Yuya, come. "Naofumi repeated with finality in his voice. He raised his hand with the shield to beacon the puppet, a final warning. Raphtalia stuck to Naofumi's side.
The doll snapped to attention." Right, it's not worth spending energy on morons."Yuya said, taking a deep breath to sooth his rage.
"You know you're not safe to be around Naofumi. Surely you've heard?" Motoyasu butt in. Naofumi's soured mood got even worse at those words. He snapped his attention to the Spear hero. An angry red hand shaped mark stood out against the spear hero's skin.
Yuya must have hit him very hard to even leave a mark." That's none of your business." Naofumi snapped. Raphtalia's tail bristled. She was slowly starting to understand why Yuya and her master became so hostile with these people.
"Master Naofumi has nothing to say. Good day!" She grabbed her master's hand and pulled him towards the exit. Yuya sent one final glare at them.
"See you suckers on the battlefield. I might have an excuse to maim you." Yuya mockingly stuck his tongue out. Making a rather childish bleh sound along with it before he fell in line. If the other heroes got caught in the crossfire, Yuya wouldn't be upset one bit.
The Sword and Bow blinked dumbfounded at the rather hostile interaction they just witnessed. The Spear rubbed his cheek, complaining on how his face tingled. As the pretty boy with the purple hair laced magic into his slap. The smaller male was deceptively strong too. If Motoyasu was lower level and not a hero, that slap might have sent him flying!
"That little brat won't get away with that…!" The redhead sneered, already formulating a plan to ruin the Shield Hero even more. He was running around with a demi-human as well! That little bitch would pay.
Yuya felt a shiver down his spine. Was someone talking shit behind his back? He focused back on his lord. They had last minute preparations to do before the wave hit.