The Lawless Coliseum
Hello everyone, Merry (belated) Christmas and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! Now a couple things before we get started. First, as you might imagine, the holidays have got us all busy and due to that the latest chapter of I'm Too Sober For This will be delayed by a week or two. Second, for those wanting regular updates about my stories and how they're progressing, check out my Pat reon and see about becoming a patron! And one last little tidbit before we get started. The first scene was inspired by Victor John Foxfire's review because I thought it was hilarious, so just keep reading through it and you'll understand what's going on fairly quickly. Now then, I believe that's everything so let's dive on in!
Morning: Rurorona Village
It was an absolutely beautiful day in the fishing village Raphtalia called home. So beautiful, in fact, that the moment she awoke her feet hit the floor and she was running to the beach. Her friends waved at her from their newly rebuilt homes, their smiling faces having long forgotten the torment they'd endured as slaves. They all knew who they had to thank for all of this and Raphtalia was going to see him right now. The raccoon girl didn't even know how she knew he was there, only that when she arrived, there he stood, gazing out at the ocean.
"Master Naofumi," Raphtalia waved, and he turned to her with a dazzling smile.
"Hey," he greeted, "do you like what I've done with the place?"
"I love it," the raccoon girl fumbled for words, "it's all so wonderful and great and I, I just, I can't even-." Her excited rant was cut short as Naofumi raised a hand with a knowing smile on his face.
"It's okay," he assured as his voice suddenly took on an odd quality, "I know what's happenin' here. You're face to shield with greatness, and you're scared."
"No, I'm fine," Raphtalia assured before noticing something odd, "do you hear music?"
"You don't even know how to feel, it's adorable," Naofumi continued as if he didn't hear her, instead patting her on the head, "guess it's nice to see that demi-humans haven't changed. Open your eyes, let's begin, yes it's me, it's Naofumi. I know it's a lot, the shield, the cape, when you're staring at a great hero!"
"What's happening? Why are you singing, and since when can you sing?!" Raphtalia exclaimed with her hands on her head.
"What can I say except you're welcome, for the sword, the stats and the sky," he continued to sing, "hey it's okay, it's okay, you're welcome, I'm just an ordinary hero guy!"
"And now he's starting to rhyme," the beyond confused raccoon girl commented.
"Hey, who has two thumbs and decided to buy when you were only yea high?" The Shield Hero continued, "this guy. When the nights got cold who made a fire and got you warm clothes, you're lookin' at 'em yo. Oh, also I kicked the Spear Hero's buns, you're welcome, gave you days filled with joy and fun."
"Also I cured disease, you're welcome, filled some stalls and made awesome trees! So what can I say except you're welcome, for the monster I killed at sea! There's no need for you to say, it's okay, you're welcome. Ha, I guess it's just my way of being me! You're welcome! You're Welcome!"
"What in the world's going on?!" Raphtalia yelled with her arms in the air.
Actual Location: An Inn at Zeltoble
The bewildered girl sat bolt upright, looking around every which way and straining her ears for any signs of random music. "Oh right," she finally remembered, "we're in Zeltoble right now." Which meant that last bit had, thankfully, been a dream. A very odd, very random dream.
"Oh right, we're in Zeltoble," the raccoon girl also remembered the not so pleasant errand she'd be needing to run today: attending another slave auction. Rifana and Figneria had gotten back from another auction just yesterday, unfortunately turning up empty this time. Since her team's match wasn't until later in the day and this particular auction was taking place near the afternoon, it was her turn. Thankfully, Rishia would be there to help with emotional support.
Raphtalia sometimes forgot that the now princess of Koteraan had been forcibly traded like merchandise herself at one point. Though her musings about that were cut short by a knock on the door. "Raphtalia," Naofumi's voice sounded on the other side, "are you and Rishia awake yet?"
"I'm up," the raccoon girl called back as she slipped out of bed, "I'll get Rishia up and we'll be out soon."
"Tell her to be quick," the shield hero instructed, "I got breakfast ready but it's gonna get cold fast if she doesn't hurry."
"I will, and thank you," Raphtalia called back, immediately regretting it as Naofumi replied with 'you're welcome', causing her to stiffen a bit before he walked off. "That's it, no more snacks from the coliseum concession stands before bed."
A Little While Later: The Underground Auction House
'No, that one's a fake too,' the swordmaiden felt her grip on the auction catalogue tighten momentarily before relaxing, 'get a hold of yourself. You and Rifana are the only ones who can do this. The discomfort you're feeling now is nothing compared to what the ones being sold are going through.' With that thought in mind, she crossed out the name on the list, forcibly putting any thought about what might happen to the false villager out of her mind.
"Are you alright, Raphtalia," Rishia asked, noticing her party member's subtle twitch of anxiety.
"No," she answered truthfully, "but I'll make it through, don't worry." Rishia thought about arguing but decided against it. Instead, she chose to keep an eye on her friend, having faith that one of the strongest people she knew would be able to endure for the time being. It came as a relief when the auction finally did end, and they were able to leave.
"No one today either," Raphtalia sighed, "I'm starting to wonder how many of them are actually here."
"We still have time before the current tournament ends," Rishia reminded, "since the villagers sell for such a high price, it probably means they won't be changing hands very quickly."
"I hope you're right," the raccoon girl hummed before noticing something was off. There were several pairs of footsteps behind them. But that in and of itself wasn't odd, until said footsteps continued to follow them into one of the more slum-like areas of the city. Rishia also felt a slight chill down her spine, like someone was watching them.
"Raphtalia," the green-haired girl spoke up, the rest of her message already clear.
"Keep walking Rishia," she ordered simply before turning into an alley. Expectedly, it was a dead end and the two women turned to face their stalkers: three men and a woman whose outfits and faces just screamed vagrants. "We're going to need to apologize if this makes us late," the raccoon girl sighed as they drew their weapons, "at the same time I'm a little glad. Ready to blow off some steam, Rishia?"
"As it turns out, yes, I am," she confirmed before the duo took a fighting stance. An instant later, the fight was over.
A Short Time Later: Zeltoble Local Inn
"We're back," Raphtalia announced, entering the room with Rishia, "we're not late, are we?"
"Only a little," Naofumi informed, "did something happen?"
"Just some thugs," the sword maiden assured, "we tried cutting through one of the slums."
"Well you're here now so go ahead and eat," the shield hero handed her a bowl of food, "I hear we're going up against monsters similar to that Toros Darius's party faced yesterday, so you'll need your strength."
"Right," she nodded before accepting the meal.
"Any luck at the auction," Rifana dared to ask, already suspecting the answer.
"No," Raphtalia's ears drooped slightly, "there wasn't anyone from the village there this time."
"Damn," the weasel girl grit her teeth slightly before relaxing, "we'll just have to pray that we're successful at the next one."
"Zeltoble is the business capital of the whole continent," Izumi reminded, "so long as we're persistent, I've no doubt we'll find your friends."
"Guess I can't say I don't appreciate having you along on this one," Rifana commented with a soft smile.
"It makes me feel slightly terrible," Figneria chimed in. She'd donned a purple dress which left her arms, shoulders, and a bit below her neck exposed, "I'll be one of the few having fun while all this is going on."
"You can always go with Izumi and Rifana if you want," Darius offered, "I should be able to behave like a shady stuck-up noble easily enough. Unless Rishia wants to try being one this time and I can be the poor servant constantly being berated."
"I think I'll pass," Rishia sweat dropped, "I'll just keep being the poor noble girl you drug along with you to witness some odd underground sport."
"And Figneria should stay near Rishia anyway," Rifana pointed out, "we did tell her parents that's why she was here. Izumi and I will be alright, so just make sure Raphtalia and her party don't get hurt while you're there."
"Don't worry," Filo assured with her hand in the air, "we'll knock 'em all flat!"
"Yeah, until you meet our team," Johann pointed out, "we'll wipe the floor with you!"
"Nuh uh, we'll win! In your dreams!" The Filolial and the Dragon boy were face to face now, growling while practical electricity was crackling between them.
"Knock it off," Naofumi grunted before realizing something, "but they bring up a good point. We need to figure out who's going to be the winner overall. We've been lucky so far and haven't been matched against each other, but that's going to change eventually."
"The easiest thing to do is have the team with worse odds win," Darius pointed out, "the whole strategy so far has been betting on the dark horse. If we're lucky we won't have to employ this until the very end of the tournament and our cash flow will still have two sources."
"If we're lucky," the shield hero brought up the obvious issue, "more than likely we'll be pitted against each other before the final match, but we might be able to make that work to our advantage, too. Rishia, what were you able to uncover about the top fighters at the library?"
"Not as much as I'd hoped," the green-haired girl informed, pulling out a notebook, "I did manage to find out that there's only one competing this time. She's a powerful woman who fights solo, using a harpoon and lightning as her main forms of attack."
"Harpoon and lightning," Raphtalia and Rifana repeated at the same time.
"Something wrong," Darius asked, noting the distracted looks on their companion's faces.
"It's nothing," Raphtalia assured, "please, what else did you find out?"
"Only that she's won or at least come in the top ranks every time," Rishia concluded, "and that her name is Nadia."
"Outstanding," the two cardinal heroes groaned.
"You sound like you're familiar with this one," Figneria noted with amusement, "do tell."
"We met her when we were checking out the coliseum the first time," Darius explained, "she probably intended to just milk us for drinking money in exchange for information. But then Naofumi kept pace with her in alcohol consumption and now she seems more than a little interested in him."
"Wait, has this woman been trying to seduce you?!" Raphtalia would've shot up from her spot if not for having to keep her bowl of food from clattering to the floor.
"She's definitely been hitting on me," Naofumi admitted, "the only reason I've put up with it so far is because the information she's given us has proven useful. Also, I've been going to make sure she doesn't sell us out before the tournament's over. Drunk or not, that woman's intuition is on point. She figured us out on day one and has chosen not to say anything, at least so far."
"So she appreciates having a drinking buddy," Rifana sighed, "I can't wait to get out of this city so that we can stop putting up with all of this bullshit."
"Don't worry," Darius assured, "we just need to tough it out for a couple more days. Then we can all go home and make the village whole again." A murmur of agreements came in answer to that declaration. The group steered away from topics involving the tournament from that point on, preferring idle chatter for the time being. There'd be plenty of trouble to keep them occupied soon enough.
That Afternoon: The Underground Coliseum
"CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING!" A chunk of the audience cheered at the arrival of Naofumi and his party.
"I cannot believe that actually caught on to some degree," the Armory Hero shook his head in amusement from his table on the midlevel of the stands. "I know I'm the one who started it, but I figured the crowd would get sick of it pretty quickly."
"Some people just know a fun time when they hear it," Figneria hummed while taking a sip of her drink, "I'm certainly enjoying myself." She'd added a feathered mask to her wardrobe to reinforce the image of a scheming noblewoman. Of course, it was her mannerisms which really sold the look.
"When was the last time you even went to something like this?" Darius asked out of curiosity.
"I was here shortly before coming into Reichnott's employ," the former mercenary recalled, "as you've no doubt guessed I once frequented this city quite often, given my previous profession. It was an exciting place when I was younger."
"You say that like you're already old," the cardinal hero chided, "where I come from twenty-six is still considered young and people don't start calling you old until your forties at the earliest. No, what you have is experience and a wonderful air of maturity which makes you all the more alluring. I've no doubt that even when you officially get old, you'll still be considered a very fine woman."
"You're only saying that because you want me to take you to bed later," Figneria smirked.
"Guilty," Darius felt no need to deny it, "is it working?"
"We'll just have to find out when we get back," she cooed while putting her hand over his from across the table.
"Should I leave for a minute?" Rishia asked, feeling like a definite third wheel. Johann was preoccupied with his food, as usual, and wasn't paying attention.
"Ah, sorry Rishia," Figneria almost laughed, "this is the closest I've come to getting an actual date with Darius in a while, so I got a little carried away."
"I understand that," the Koteraan princess acknowledged, "but we're also here to keep an eye on our friends. The fight's started so we need to make sure nothing happens to them."
"I'll admit, those griffons do look nasty," Darius commented after turning his attention to the match. Apparently, the tournament organizers had it out for one of their teams. Unlike the time when Darius's party fought, Naofumi's party was facing not one but three monsters. And they were griffons.
'This might be another match beginners aren't expected to win,' the cardinal hero mused as he noted the illusion hadn't lifted yet. So far, their strategy had been to fight without casting an illusion at the start, choosing to make the battle look harder than it actually was. Once the magic was cast, however, the gloves were off and the beatdown would commence, usually lasting only a couple minutes at most. But this time was different.
Raphtalia had cast her illusion magic right away which meant they were taking the fight seriously. The fact that it was still up meant they were struggling a bit. On the upside, the continued presence of illusion magic meant they were still alive and hopefully doing well enough that the raccoon girl could afford to divide her focus between fighting and maintaining her spell. But just in case, Darius decided to materialize a coin purse from his inventory and wait to see if Naofumi contacted him on his HUD.
One of the few rules of the underground coliseum was that he couldn't drop into a match that wasn't his without risking disqualification of either his or Naofumi's team. So he'd follow another rule and pay one or more of the support magic users to help out. Naturally the shield hero would be a little perturbed at having to use their funds, but he'd at least be alive to complain about it. The call, however, never came.
Instead, the illusion finally broke, revealing a somewhat exhausted looking Naofumi and his party. Thankfully, they looked better than their griffon opponents who'd all been decapitated. "Oh thank goodness," Rishia breathed a sigh of relief, "I really was starting to worry."
"We still may need too," Figneria pointed out. They all noticed it then, the lack of noise from the crowd. 'Ah great,' Darius sighed, 'it's the same thing as us. No one expected their team to win against those griffons.'
"The," the announcer finally found his voice, "the winner is team Rock Valley!" The crowd cheered then with the occasional bit about what the Rock was cooking. The Shield Hero and his party merely waved lazily on their way out of the arena, too tired to even be annoyed at the cheer this time.
"Time to go collect," Darius announced, letting some of his relief show as he and everyone else stood up. It was also time for another discussion.
Contestant Waiting Room
"I'm sorry," Raphtalia apologized, "I know we've been trying not to stand out and I may have just ruined it even if I was using illusion magic."
"No, I'm the one who told you not to hold back," Naofumi reminded, "at this stage in the game it's hard not to stand out a little, so don't worry about it."
"Good news is we aren't scheduled to fight any more monsters for the rest of the matches," Darius noted, "so that should make things easier. Our main concerns now are Nadia and what we do when we face each other."
"Pretty much do as agreed," the shield hero responded, "the winner will be the bigger dark horse. As for Nadia, we're going to have to use the switch."
"You seem to believe she's a powerful opponent," Figneria noted.
"She's got the intuition of a warrior," the Armory Hero reminded, "despite being a drunk she can still spot minor details about stance and form and her harpoon is a top-notch weapon, the kind you'd need more than a little coin to afford. Despite all our training, Naofumi and I still aren't at the level where we've developed those instincts, so it's best to just hit her with everything we've got."
"What if we don't have to fight her at all," Rifana spoke up, prompting a couple of quizzical looks directed her way. She'd just gotten back from the auction with Izumi and no doubt needed a good distraction.
"How would we do that?" Raphtalia asked, "we can't pay her off, we need all the money we can get right now."
"We make a bet," the weasel girl smirked slightly, "you said she likes to drink, right? Does she do drinking contests?"
"Oh yeah," Darius confirmed, "Nadia was in the middle of winning one the first time we walked in. Are you suggesting….?"
"Naofumi challenges her to a drinking contest," Rifana explained her idea, "loser has to drop out of the tournament. The winner, obviously, has one less problem to deal with."
"I'll make her pay for some of the drinks, too," the Shield Hero added, "no doubt they'll bring out the big stuff for something like this."
"Are you sure that's a good idea," Raphtalia asked, "I'm not doubting that you'll win, I just wonder if you'll be alright to fight the next day?"
"I've never been hung over before," Naofumi pointed out, "but in the event I am I can just pretend to go down during the fight. It'll be worth it if we can speed this up by avoiding an opponent who poses a threat."
"And in the unlikely event you lose the contest, you'll still have our team," the Armory Hero reminded.
"Filo has a question," the winged girl raised her hand, "can I go back to the village for a bit? It sounds like everyone's going to be busy and I want to show them this cool thing I've been using!" She held up the Morningstar flail she'd acquired in an earlier match and had taken to wielding it surprisingly well. And what made it even better was the weapon was capable of exploding on contact, greatly increasing its effectiveness.
"Sure, you can go back," Naofumi granted, "do you want to go too, Johann?"
"I haven't seen Melty in a few days, so yeah," the dragon boy nodded, "I want to check on my room too, make sure everything's still there."
"Yeah, you go make sure your caves in order," Darius quipped while rubbing his mount's head who pretended to grumble about it, "and everyone else?"
"I'll accompany Rishia on another research errand," Figneria offered, "I think I've had enough noise for one day."
"Rifana and I will head back to the Inn," Raphtalia informed, "it's been a full day and we both need time to process things."
"I do have some good news," the blond-haired girl announced, "I managed to find another one of our friends. I've already tracked down where they're at, too."
"Fantastic work," Darius praised, "you and Raphtalia have both definitely earned some time off."
"Speaking of off time," Rifana shifted her gaze to their other party member, "what are you planning on doing, Izumi?"
"Oh, I was hoping to spend time with Darius this evening," she revealed, "but I haven't heard what his plans are."
"You'll probably be bored," the cardinal hero informed, "I plan on heading to the bar with Naofumi to make sure the drinking contest goes off without a hitch. I've got no idea whether or not that woman's a sore loser, so it'd be best if I'm on standby. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to be on standby outside so Nadia doesn't feel like there's a third wheel hanging about."
"Right, she still wants to hit on master Naofumi," Raphtalia pouted, "maybe I should go with you after all."
"You don't have anything to worry about," the shield hero assured, "she may be attractive but she's the type that can be trouble. I'm not into that kind of woman."
"But you also stated she is strong," Izumi reminded, "so I shall go to back you both up if things get out of hand. It's been a little bit since I matched my water magic against a worthy opponent's."
"You might be disappointed but since you're insisting, I won't stop you," Darius relented, "so if everyone else is good with the plan, we can head out." A series of affirmatives answered this question and the group split up shortly afterwards to head to their next destinations.
That Night: Bar In Dark Coliseum
'The place seems more crowded than usual tonight,' Darius noted while glancing through the door. "Alright," Naofumi spoke up, breaking him from his thoughts, "I'll be keeping my communication tab open so I can call at a moment's notice. But even with that precaution, you and/or Izumi should check in every few minutes."
"And I'll use the 'hiding' ability when I do," the Armory Hero repeated his part in the plan, "got to make sure she thinks you're alone for as long as possible."
"Yep," the Shield Hero sighed, "with luck this won't take long."
"Either one of you will pass out or the bar will run out of booze," Darius quipped, "hopefully the former or they might not let us back next time."
"With luck, this'll be the last time," Naofumi stated before heading in. Darius and Izumi moved to the nearby alley and started the always exciting waiting game.
"I did not think to ask during the discussion," Izumi spoke up after a minute once they sat down on a couple of crates, "but how much alcohol is the Shield Hero capable of consuming?"
"Not actually sure," Darius admitted, "be it a natural immunity or a resistance built up over time thanks to his shield, his alcohol tolerance is insane. Are you familiar with cohol fruit?"
"I know it's highly alcoholic," the horned girl recalled, "I was advised never to consume any during my training for fear it would impair my ability as a guard. Though I am allowed to share drinks with you, darling, if it enhances our ability to make love." She naturally inched closer while saying the last part.
"I won't stop you if you want to drink," the cardinal hero began, "but you'll recall I'm not a drinker myself, so you'll have to find someone else if you want a drinking buddy. And besides, your lovemaking ability doesn't need any enhancement as far as I'm concerned."
"You're too kind, darling," Izumi cooed while moving to straddle his lap, "but I'm happy to hear that my performance has been satisfactory thus far."
"Didn't know I gave you a reason to think otherwise," Darius smirked slightly, "guess I better fix that." He pulled her closer and locked his lips with hers, prompting the horned girl to put her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Time became less of a concern then as they proceeded to make out for what was likely several minutes. Darius noted his self-proclaimed fiancé's style of kissing had changed a bit since they'd first met.
Izumi had initially been pretty docile, knowing more theory than actual practice. Now, however, she kissed back with a bit of passion, boldness, and maybe even a little hunger. The University Student was glad, in a way. It's not that he didn't enjoy his time with her, quite the opposite, but rather he wanted this to be something she wanted and not just an obligation set on her by someone else.
The Armory Hero made a note to remind Izumi not to force herself, but that would have to wait. For more reasons than one. "Darius," she pulled away, glancing at the other end of the alley with an annoyed look on her face, "it seems we're being interrupted." The Armory Hero looked to the left and then the right, for good measure. Sure enough, about a half dozen people, three on either side, were approaching them.
The intruders wore somewhat incomplete sets of armor, sported a scar here and there, with one guy even possessing an eyepatch. In short, their appearances screamed mercenaries or at least thugs. "Do you guys' mind," Darius commented, "we're kind of in the middle of something and there are plenty more alleys around this city for you to screw off in."
"Sure, we'll go," the leader of the group on the left side stepped forward, "just send your resignation to the dark coliseum and we'll let you walk out of here."
"Oh, so that's what this is about," Izumi slid off Darius's lap as he spoke, easily grabbing her weapon as the pair stood up, "you guys were supposed to be some of our next opponents. Guess you aren't feeling too confident about your chances and hired some extra help."
"Just keeping our bases covered," the contestant revealed, "I don't know who you're supposed to be but you two aren't beginner fighters. And before you go mouthing off about the rules concerning fights outside the coliseum, don't bother. This kind of thing happens all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if we're not the only team gunning for you."
"Oh, so this is a common thing that happens," the Armory Hero mused, "guess that means it works the other way around, too. Well, saves time for us, Izumi."
"As source of thy power I order thee," she chanted quickly with her naginata held up, "decipher the laws of nature and disrupt my foe's vision: Zweit Shroud!" Before their enemies could reach them a blast of mist filled up the alley, forcing them to slow their advance or risk running into or hitting each other. "River Basin." The contestants on one side were sent screaming out of the alleyway by a large current of water, smashing into a trash heap on the other side of the street.
The hired help wasn't faring any better on their end as a miniature tornado was produced and sent them all flying into the air. It would take a little bit for the thugs to get off the rooftops when they regained consciousness later. "That takes care of that," Darius commented, quickly closing his portals containing wind staffs just before the mist dissipated while keeping a hold of the one he summoned to his hand, "but now we have another problem."
"Gladiators targeting other gladiators outside of the arena," Izumi huffed, "I'd heard rumors about this but never experienced it myself. I suppose that's another difference between the dark coliseum and the main coliseum."
"And we might not be the only targets," the Armory Hero pointed out. Just as he was about to contact Naofumi, however, the cardinal hero went racing by. Or to be more precise, Nadia went racing by while pulling Naofumi along with her. "Guess we're telling him in person, let's go!"
They raced after their friend, fairly certain the drinking contest had gone south, before finding them next to one of the city's canals, surrounded by four other coliseum contestants. A situation which didn't last long due to a sudden surge of lightning emanating from Nadia's body. "Dreifach Chain Lightning!" The harpoon wielder declared, channeling the mystical bolts out of the end of her weapon.
All four attackers were hit simultaneously, crying out in pain as their bodies were electrocuted. In the next instant it was over as they collapsed to the ground, smoking, unconscious, but alive. "It's no wonder you've managed to win multiple tournaments," Naofumi observed, "you're a powerful warrior and you wield magic. You also have a few underhanded tricks, like that cohol fruit."
"Your enemies will do whatever it takes to win," Nadia pointed out while resting her harpoon on her shoulder, "but in my case, I simply don't want to fight you."
"And why's that?" The Shield Hero narrowed his eyes, "it can't be because you think you'll lose."
"No, it's because you can't win," the gladiator smiled, "and worst of all, I might have to kill you if we meet in the coliseum."
"Maybe," Naofumi admitted, "but we won't know for sure unless we actually fight. And I can't just drop out, I've got my own reasons for competing which have nothing to do with money."
"Oh, you must mean," she quickly moved to whisper in his ear, "the villagers of Rurorona."
"Gah!" The Shield Hero swung his arm but missed due to the woman leaping away, "how do you know about that?!"
"I have my own sources of information," she smiled from atop the roof she'd landed on, "and I'd advise you give up on them. If we do meet in the coliseum, I can't afford to lose, either." Nadia leapt away across the rooftops then and disappeared into the night. Naofumi stared after her with his brows furrowed in annoyance, not acknowledging his friend's presence until they spoke.
"So," Darius walked up, "I'm guessing the drinking contest didn't work out?"
"Never even got started," Naofumi sighed, "she tried to knock me out with a cohol fruit in my drink almost as soon as I got in there. And I doubt she'd agree to one now."
"We did manage to accomplish one thing," Izumi pointed out, "we knocked off some of our competition tonight."
"That'll save us time," the Shield Hero admitted, "but we're going to need a good combination to beat her. Here's what we're going to do."
The Next Day: The Dark Coliseum
Things started to move quickly then, as if fate sensed their reluctance. Several of their matches were wins by default due to other teams forfeiting or simply not showing up. It was also quickly discovered that Nadia was no longer showing up at her usual watering hole, so any hope of negotiating a compromise was nonexistent. Now they found themselves dealing with the first of a couple tricky situations: facing each other.
"So you're the Rock," Darius smirked beneath his mask while undoing the clip holding his weapons, "I'd say it's a pleasure but, we kinda have to kick your asses." He planted the weapons in the ground then, selecting a hooked pole as his primary.
"Just try it," Naofumi barked back, "we'll overcome you just like all the others!" 'Thank God, his acting's getting better,' the Armory Hero thought as the two teams took fighting positions.
"Here it is! One of the premiere matches you've all been waiting for!" The announcer declared, "Team Rock Valley Vs Team Kon! BEGIN!" The trios shot towards each other just as the signal was given, sparks flying as their weapons clashed. 'Shigaraki' and 'Philia' quickly engaged in a game of hit and run with the raccoon girl dodging or parrying her friend's attacks while going in with the occasional strike which was usually blocked or batted away.
'Rock' and 'Mistogen's' fight was a little less exciting as the shield bearer stayed on the defensive most of the time, jumping and rolling occasionally to change things up while the hook wielder twirled his own weapon in a number of overly fancy attacks, pretending he was trying to grab and yank his opponent's shield away from him. 'Humming' and 'Scale's' fight was the fiercest. The Filolial was going wild with her exploding flail, causing one blast after another while the dragon boy countered with his limbs that alternated between fire and lightning. This lasted for a couple of minutes before Naofumi decided to call it.
"We're not done yet," he declared loudly, the agreed upon signal for Raphtalia to cast her illusion as he pretended to draw a sword once again. The 'battle' intensified then as Rifana slammed her mace on the ground, using earth magic to help sell the illusion by kicking up a cloud of dust and making them all look a bit more beat up for when the spell was lifted.
"Whew," the weasel girl breathed out while wiping her forehead, "that takes care of the hard part. How are you doing, Raphtalia? I didn't hit you on accident or anything, did I?"
"I should be asking you that," her friend responded, "I tried my best not to hit your arms or anything, but I was afraid I missed and actually got you at one point."
"Nah, see, not a scratch," she assured while showing her undamaged limbs. Meanwhile, Darius and Naofumi were similarly taking it easy.
"So," Darius began while using his weapon as a support to lean on, "night ambushes are a common thing. Guess that means we'll be sleeping in the village tonight."
"I doubt anyone would be dumb enough to attack us at this point, but we can't afford to be too careful," the Shield Hero confirmed, "this whole city has become a potential ambush point."
"Last night's attack is probably the reason you guys are more of a dark horse right now," the Armory Hero mused, "rumors probably spread that you needed Nadia's help while Izumi and I cleaned house with nearly twice the number of contestants."
"Whatever the reason it'll work out fine this way," Naofumi dismissed, "we need the strongest combination we can and I'm a better strategist."
"I won't deny that," Darius acknowledged, "I'm better at managing weapons than people. Anyway, we should probably-will you two knock it off!" Be it intentional or not, Johann and Filo were still fighting.
"No, I'm gonna prove who's the strongest today!" The dragon boy declared as his fist clashed with Filo's foot.
"No, Filo's the strongest!" The winged girl countered before they separated and charged again. The two heroes simply rolled their eyes.
"Stop now or no dinner," they both said at the same time. The two mounts let out annoyed groans but obeyed, returning to their sides.
"Anyway, ya think that's long enough?" Darius asked, knowing his friend was more aware of Raphtalia's abilities than he was.
"It'll do," Naofumi decided, "get into position."
"And don't forget to breath heavily," the Armory Hero quipped before backing up a bit, hitting himself on the head with the pole and dramatically falling over. Rifana and Johann were quick to join him on the ground. Raphtalia raised the illusion then, again faking exhaustion.
"And the winner of this match in a stunning upset is TEAM ROCK VALLEY!" The announcer declared as the crowd went wild. 'That takes care of that little bit,' Darius mused while staring at the ceiling, 'guess the real challenge starts tomorrow.'
That Night: Rurorona Village
Filo and Johann forgot their little rivalry, as they often did, the moment they got some of Naofumi's cooking. Naturally the inhabitants were happy to see them back sooner than expected and the two parties were definitely happy to be in a place where they were far less likely to get stabbed in the back or attacked in their sleep. Despite this, the shield hero was having something of a difficult time sleeping. It had to do with the fact that he was slightly unsure of their chances tomorrow even with the lineup they were bringing. And him just plain not understanding what Nadia's deal was.
'She knows our goal but doesn't want us to win,' he mused while staring up at the ceiling of his room, 'that tells me she doesn't know the full story. I wonder if she'd change her mind if we told her why we were trying to find the villagers. Then again, she might not believe us and assume we're just following a trend like the rest of the people at the auctions.' Any further thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Master Naofumi," Raphtalia called from the other side, "are you awake?"
"Yeah," the shield hero responded, "is something wrong?"
"Not exactly," the raccoon girl explained, "could I come in?"
"Sure," Naofumi grunted slightly, getting up and unlocking the door before moving back over to his bed, "come in." She walked in slightly reluctantly then, dressed in her night clothes.
"How are you feeling," she asked, "are you having trouble sleeping, too?"
"A bit," he admitted, "got more on my mind than I thought. What about you, what's keeping you up?"
"Just sorting a couple of things out," she admitted, sitting down next to the one she admired, "but I also realized this is the first night we've had in the village where we don't have to wake up too early in the morning. The Yama Clan girls have been working with the other villagers to help everyone who's interested learn how to cook and Melty and Éclair are taking care of the paperwork. Our match isn't until midday, so we can sleep in."
"Does that mean you came here to stay up," Naofumi raised a questioning eyebrow.
"No," she smiled in slight amusement, "I was just thinking of how everyone is trying to show their appreciation for what you're doing right now."
"Don't sell yourself short," the shield hero chided, "we wouldn't be able to do any of this as well as we have without your illusions."
"This was all still your idea," Raphtalia reminded while leaning her head against his shoulder. Naofumi did his best not to flinch in surprise. "And I realized, I haven't told you enough how much I appreciate you doing this. So I was wondering…..could I spend the night with you, like we used too?"
"Uh, well," he rubbed his head nervously, "sure, I don't think that'll be a problem."
"Thanks," she pecked him on the cheek, "and thank you, for finding my friends and rebuilding my home."
"Don't thank me yet," Naofumi reminded while putting his arm around her waist, "we still need to win this thing."
"We will," Raphtalia assured, "we're too close to lose now." Of course, such sentiments didn't mean it was going to be easy.
Despite the coliseum's best efforts our heroes have persevered and now only one stands in the way of their goal. Will she fall as the others before her have or will she prove to be far stronger than even our heroes anticipate. Also, hope you enjoyed the first bit with a singing Naofumi. It was just one of those ideas that when presented got into my head and wouldn't leave me alone until I did something with it. Let me know if you enjoyed it in your comments and reviews along with what you liked/disliked and if you've got any other neat ideas for future chapters. And don't forget to check out my Pat reon and see about becoming a patron! Last thing, tune in next time as the final matches of the Dark Coliseum commences! 'Til then.