Whoa, we just hit 2000 reviews. That's pretty darn fantastic. Some great weapon suggestions by the way. One of my favorites is the Hunting Spear. I've got to make good use of Naofumi's 'butler' tendencies with that.
This chapter showcases a well-known ability Naofumi has. It also reveals something cool about Itsuki. It might make for a good one-shot idea down the road.
Chapter Thirteen: A Night Out With L'Arc
"Alright! Bottom's up!" L'Arc raised a mug of beer in the air, before leaning back and downing some of it.
Naofumi stared at his own drink which L'Arc had ordered for him. He hesitantly took a sip, frowned, and moved it away.
"Aw, come on Shield Kiddo, don't tell me a guy like you doesn't like drinking." The red-haired man laughed.
"I just don't like the taste," Naofumi muttered. He had his Mask Shield over the top part of his face. Ren and Itsuki were there as well, sitting next to him and L'Arc behind a large round table. Itsuki's mini-bow was hidden, and Ren's sword was sheathed. Both of them were looking down at their mugs with skepticism as well.
L'Arc himself was still dressed the same, though he had a different scythe on his back then Naofumi remembered. Perhaps he'd upgraded his weapon since last time?
"Ah, so all of you are high-class drinkers then, huh? Why didn't you say so!?" L'Arc chugged the rest of his beer down. "Hey, we need something better over here!" He began to wave down a waitress.
"No, I already told you, I don't like the taste of alcohol. Class has nothing to do with it." Naofumi said in annoyance. It was too bad that the top of his face was hidden, otherwise, he would have given L'Arc the mother of all glares. Unfortunately, the scythe wielder ignored him, and began ordering one of the restaurant's best wines from the waitress that he'd flagged down.
"Naofumi? Are we allowed to drink this?" Itsuki whispered to him.
"Yeah, I'm only 16. I don't know if it's legal or not." Ren said worriedly.
"Did you see the waiter trying to I.D. anyone?" Naofumi asked. Both of them shook their heads. "Then they probably don't have an age limit in this world. Or if they do, it's much lower than what we're used to. Either way, it's up to you if you want to drink or not."
Ren and Itsuki looked at their drinks again. They were still grimacing, but for the sake of blending in, they both took a sip.
Ren gagged, and Itsuki almost choked on it. It was kind of funny for Naofumi to watch, and he almost smiled in amusement. "Ugh, this tastes awful!" The sword hero exclaimed.
"It's so bitter! Who can drink this and enjoy it?" Itsuki gagged.
"Now you know why I don't drink," Naofumi deadpanned. Even if he could get drunk, the taste was terrible. These two would be better off if they learned this now instead of later.
"Yeesh. Talk about picky, eh?" L'Arc winked at them. "Hey waiter, how about that wine? We ain't planning on staying all night here!" He shouted over his shoulder.
"No, I'd rather just get some juice…" Ren tried to protest but just couldn't bring himself to do it loudly enough.
"Isn't ordering a whole bottle expensive?" Itsuki asked.
"Relax Kiddo. I'm sure Shield Kiddo won't mind paying for us." L'Arc said offhandedly, winking at Naofumi.
"Oi, if you're ordering it, then you can pay yourself!" Naofumi yelled.
L'Arc laughed it off and Naofumi was left fuming in his seat. If this brat thought he was going to pay for the entire meal, then he would be in for one hell of a surprise!
Naofumi wondered if he should try to get water or something non-alcoholic for the other two. Ren in particular was visibly shaking with fear in his seat. But in the end, laziness won out. If they weren't going to be brave enough to ask, then he wouldn't do it for them.
He wasn't their dad, after all.
After a moment, the waitress came back with a large wine bottle, as well as their food. L'Arc happily began to dig in as Itsuki and Ren hesitantly sipped on their newest drink.
"Oh, this isn't half bad, actually," Itsuki commented in surprise. The fruity taste was far better than the nasty beer from before at least. Though he didn't drink more than half his glass as he ate.
Ren... wasn't as cautious. The fruity taste reminded him of the strawberry oranges back in the village! Oh how he missed them!
By the time he was done with his appetizer, he'd had two full glasses and grabbed for the bottle to fill a third. Naofumi pulled the bottle away from him before that could happen.
"Hey, I was drinking that!" Ren whined.
"Too bad. You aren't the only person here." Naofumi said calmly before pouring a little for himself. Ren crossed his arms and pouted at him in response.
Naofumi didn't think much about it and instead decided to spend some time having a bit of small talk with Itsuki about some inconsequential things. The food that was brought to them was bland, greasy, and rather low in quality. It was also trying too hard to overcompensate for it with an overabundance of salt and spices. Typical bar food really.
Naofumi could have done a much better job.
At least the company was tolerable. They had to tiptoe around certain topics and talk in roundabout ways due to L'Arc's presence, but even with these restrictions in place Naofumi actually learned a handful of things about the Bow Hero, while the red-haired weirdo repeatedly tried and failed to flirt with the waitresses and other patrons.
"So I saw you play the violin at the last… party. I would have pegged you more of a piano kind of guy with those fingers of yours, but go figure." Naofumi mentioned absentmindedly.
"Oh, I can play that too." Itsuki perked up.
"Really? I guess I wasn't that far off the mark after all." Naofumi's eyebrows rose slightly. "Music school?"
"Ah, no. My family would have gone broke paying for it." The Bow Hero chuckled and waved him off. "No, I'm self-taught."
"Huh, not bad." Naofumi popped a piece of the mystery meat in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "Learning how to play two instruments on your own is something worth bragging about."
"Oh, it's not only those two. They're just the ones that I have the chance to play most often." Itsuki replied.
"... Ehhhh?" Naofumi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Was he fishing for compliments now that Naofumi had thrown him a bone? "That so? What else can you play?"
"Saxophone, drums, guitar, harmonica, accordion, cello, though to be honest, that one always felt like just a slightly bigger violin if you ask me." Itsuki briefly stopped as he pondered on that.
"You trying to become a one-man orchestra or something?" Naofumi asked.
"Hmm? Oh no, it's just because of my… err…" The Bow Hero glanced sideways at L'Arc and after confirming that the figurative red-haired stepchild was too busy flirting with another lady, he leaned forward and began to whisper. "Thing is, I can play pretty much all of them."
…
Naofumi blinked. "All of them, as in... every instrument?" He asked.
Itsuki nodded.
"Is this you trying to be boastful or something? Because if that's true-"
"No, I'm serious." Itsuki looked down at his hands. "Whenever I pick up a new instrument, I struggle a little at first. But after a little while, I just… play it naturally. I didn't think much about it back then since music was another escape I had from… you know..."
...
Naofumi was giving Itsuki a look that said he didn't believe it. Itsuki began to whisper again. "Look, I can tell you about it more in-depth later when he isn't around." Itsuki gestured at L'Arc. "But it isn't rare for people in my world to have more than one ability. Learning instruments just wasn't as practical as aim correction. So I don't talk about it since it was considered useless."
Naofumi still wasn't sure if he could believe that or not. But Itsuki didn't look like he was trying to joke around.
"So you mean like, literally anything?" He asked.
Itsuki nodded.
"What songs do you play on those instruments?" Naofumi pressed on.
Itsuki flushed a little bit. "You know, being otaku…"
Right, anime intros. He figured that was what he'd heard Itsuki playing before.
"You'll have to play more when we get back to the village. I'm pretty sure it'd help liven people's moods." Naofumi suggested. It might also help to win them back over to the Bow Hero's side.
"Oh, I don't know… Um, Ren?!" Itsuki suddenly stopped talking and turned to face the Sword Hero in shock.
Naofumi turned to look. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw that Ren was chugging his beer down.
"Hey, stop that!" Naofumi quickly tried to snatch it from him.
"No! It's mine!" Ren whined, hugging his mug close. Hadn't he been complaining about the taste earlier?! Then Naofumi noticed the rosy cheeks that the Sword Hero was sporting along with the cloudy dull look in his eyes.
Damn it, Ren must have a really low alcohol tolerance! The Sword Hero finished chugging his beer down and then began to drink Itsuki's as well.
"Wait, you shouldn't do that-" Itsuki tried to protest, but Ren immediately hissed at him, shutting the Bow Hero up.
Naofumi made a mental note to himself to never allow Ren near alcohol again. This was bound to cause them all sorts of trouble!
Though he had to admit that seeing the anxious boy like this was pretty amusing.
"Whoa there Kiddo! You better slow down, or there won't be anything left for us!" L'Arc said in an impressed tone.
Naofumi finally took a sip from his own cup and frowned. It didn't really taste bad, but it didn't taste good either. Had Ren really gotten drunk off this? "Here, you can have the rest." Naofumi handed the bottle over the table to L'Arc. Ren tried to grab at it, but Naofumi kept it out of the Sword Hero's reach.
"Wow, not even that's good enough for ya Shield Kiddo?" L'Arc asked in astonishment. Ren just sat back, pouting as he chugged more of Itsuki's beer.
Naofumi shrugged. "I've never really liked the taste of alcohol since I can't get drunk." He said. "Making it fancier isn't going to make it taste better."
L'Arc smirked. "Oh, is that a challenge I hear?"
"Not on your life." Naofumi waved him off. "There's nothing more to it. No matter how much I drink, I can't get drunk. Nothing you say will convince me otherwise."
"... Alrighty then," L'Arc said after thinking to himself for a moment. "If that's really true, then I dare you to eat…" He quickly got up, ran to the bar counter, and ran back with a… cherry? "... this!" L'Arc proudly showed it off.
"..." Naofumi stared at the red fruit. Up close, it didn't really look like a cherry. It didn't have the stem coming from it. Its surface also looked softer than a cherry. Now that he thought about it, it looked much more like a large, mushy grape.
By pulling up his HUD, he found out that it was called Ruculu Fruit. "... alright." Naofumi shrugged, taking it from L'Arc's hand. The redhead looked astonished at how nonchalantly Naofumi took it.
"Wait, Naofumi-" Itsuki tried to stop him, but Naofumi popped the fruit into his mouth like a popcorn kernel and began to chew.
"Hmmm…."
...
"Mmmm. This isn't half bad actually." He spoke after a moment. "It tastes like a really strong grape, but in a good way. It's soft and easy to chew. And the aftertaste." He swallowed, and his face lit up with a genuine smile. "It's like it's still in my mouth. It's strong, but it's so clean that… what?"
It wasn't just his friends and L'Arc staring at him. The entirety of the staff and every single person in the pub were looking at him with their mouths wide open in shock. One man was even frozen in place with his mug held sideways, completely ignoring it's contents that were spilling out on his table and pants.
"What is it?" Naofumi blinked in confusion.
"That… that's the fruit of the devil." The bar owner managed to speak. His face was pale, but it paled even further when Naofumi looked him in the eye. What was up with his reaction? Fruit of the devil? Wait, that sounded oddly familiar. Hadn't he heard that term used at other taverns in the past? He'd thought it'd been referring to him, but maybe...
"What's happening?"
"That man ate a ruculu fruit."
"Really? How is he still alive after eating that?"
"It must have been a trick! There's no way anyone could do that."
Naofumi looked confused at the burst of chatter around them. It was like everyone had forgotten about their food and was focusing on them. Was it really that big of a deal?
He saw where L'Arc had grabbed the fruit from originally. So he walked up to it, and after some contemplating, he popped another one into his mouth.
He smiled again. They really were good. Maybe that's why they were considered devil's fruit. He could get used to eating these…
"By the Gods, he actually is eating the devil's fruit!" One of the naysayers shrieked in terror.
"It has to be an illusion! No man could possibly do that!"
"To eat a ruculu fruit means death! There's no way he should be alive right now!"
"It's the devil! It has to be!"
"No, even the devil runs from it! He must be greater than a devil!"
Naofumi looked around at the sudden chaos, but then shrugged and ate another one. These things were on a fast track to becoming a favorite snack of his. Why couldn't he have these instead of the food he'd been served earlier? He needed to find whatever plant that grew this and put it in his own backyard.
"He ate ANOTHER one?!"
Naofumi popped another one into his mouth. "Mmmmm."
The patrons finally ran out of the restaurant, screaming in terror. The waiters hid in the corners. L'Arc and Itsuki were staring at him in dumbfounded amazement.
And Ren... was drinking Naofumi's beer. Completely oblivious to what was going on around him.
It wasn't long till, with the exception of the bartender and the waiters, the four of them were the only ones left in the restaurant.
"... hey, um, you doing okay there?" L'Arc asked Naofumi awkwardly after a moment.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Naofumi asked. He popped another ruculu into his mouth.
He hoped they weren't expensive. Maybe that's why everyone had run out? Was he about to go broke again? That'd be annoying.
"Eh-hem!" L'Arc coughed into his hand. He still looked shell-shocked at what he'd just witnessed but forced a smile. "Shield Kiddo. To say you can hold your drink is an understatement."
"Anutha one!" Ren roared, holding his empty mugs up high.
Yeah, he already knew he could hold his drink, unlike a certain someone. Why did that matter?
L'Arc quickly walked up to the bartender, apologizing for the ruckus they caused. He then paid for their meal, as well as the fruit Naofumi had eaten.
"Can I have the rest of this?" Naofumi asked, holding up the bowl of fruit.
The bartender gave him a look of sheer terror. "Take it! TAKE IT AND LEAVE!" He screamed.
What's his deal? They're just grapes. Really tasty grapes.
Weirdo.
L'Arc gave him a little extra money as an apology, unbeknownst to Naofumi, who popped another ruculu into his mouth. He was smiling widely now. This had definitely helped to improve his mood.
Though it was odd how everyone stared at him after they'd gone outside. He checked his mask. It was still hiding the top of his face, right? It was still light out, but they shouldn't have recognized who he was, right?
"Weyph, I hadnt huv enoph yet!" Ren complained drunkenly.
Or maybe they were staring at the wobbly Ren, who was being supported by Itsuki.
"You've had more than enough." Itsuki said dryly.
"Nuuuu." Ren moaned.
"Aw man, it's too early to be drunk now!" L'Arc said. "We're just getting started!"
Naofumi was still confused, but at least he hadn't had to pay for the meal in the end. He discreetly put the rest of the fruit into his shield so he could snack on it later.
Still, there were a lot of people around now talking about some demon who'd eaten the Ruculu fruit and survived. It took them several minutes before the evening conversations of those around them turned back to normal. It bugged Naofumi to no end.
"Can somebody please explain to me what's going on?" Naofumi finally asked. "I don't see the reason why all those people had to freak out."
"Naofumi… you really don't know?" Itsuki asked in disbelief.
"Does it look like I'm acting or something?" Naofumi narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
Itsuki stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. "You amaze me sometimes. Everyone was freaking out because you ate the equivalent of several barrels worth of alcohol." Itsuki finally revealed the truth.
"... … …" It took Naofumi's mind a long while to wrap itself around that.
"How are you even still breathing right now?" Itsuki then asked in disbelief. "Just one of those could kill a normal man."
"WHAT?!"
L'Arc, surprisingly enough, was the one who ended up explaining it. Apparently, Ruculu fruit was filled with highly concentrated alcohol. It took a whole barrel of water just to dilute one grape enough so it could be drunk by normal people.
The fact that Naofumi had eaten several of them, and didn't even bat an eye… no wonder everyone freaked out about it. He should have died ten times over.
"Haha, I thought you might have had balls of steel with the way you took that berry without a second thought. But no, you just have a gut of steel, as well as a brain with nothing in it!" L'Arc laughed. "At least I understand why someone like you doesn't like alcohol now."
Naofumi shuffled in place in embarrassment. He'd known that he couldn't get drunk before. But to think it was to this extent? "And how did you learn about this then!?" He angrily asked.
"I wish I could say it was because I used common sense from all the taverns I visited." L'Arc shrugged. "But I took up a dare and tried one myself. Boy, I didn't know what was going to kill me then. The fruit, or Therese when she learned about what I'd tried. Damn, she gets scary when she's mad."
"And you said you've always been like this?" Itsuki asked Naofumi curiously.
The young man shrugged. "I mean, as far as I can remember, yeah." Back in his world, he'd once won a drinking contest, and hadn't even felt buzzed when it was over. Then, after that whole deal with that bitch girl, no amount of cheap beer was enough to even dull his senses.
And the taste, ugh.
It was only a big waste of money in the end. A big waste of money that turned him off from alcohol forever.
"I'm starting to think that you might actually be immune to alcohol." Itsuki muttered. He looked at the Mask Shield on the Shield Hero's face but didn't say anything more.
Naofumi didn't have a shield that raised his resistance to alcohol. Now he knew why. It would be pretty much useless for someone like him.
Oh, and absorbing that fruit didn't unlock a new shield.
"Well, the night is still young, so how about we try a different place! And let's keep Shield Kiddo here away from the Ruculu fruit this time!" L'Arc said boisterously. "I don't want to go broke apologizing to every bar owner in Cal Mira!"
Naofumi scowled at him.
"Relax, I'm not planning on getting drunk. Goodness knows Therese would kill me if I did." He shrugged. "I just want to hang out with you Kiddos! You're entertaining, and you put up with me! It's a win-win!"
If he was this annoying now, Naofumi was far more likely to kill drunk L'Arc than regular L'Arc. Alcohol just had a way of making people stupid. He could only imagine how it'd make an already stupid person act.
"Yesh! Gib me more!" Ren yelled drunkenly.
Oh wait… he could.
"Let's keep this Kiddo away from the alcohol though." L'Arc suggested.
At least he was showing signs of having a brain in his head.
"Yes." Naofumi and Itsuki agreed.
Naofumi hoped Raphtalia was having a better time than he was.
"Wh-wh-why are we looking at bikinis!?" Wyndia screeched at the top of her lungs. The others in the shop looked at the dog girl in bewilderment.
"Now now, there's no better way to relax than looking good in swimwear." Therese was perusing a rack of differently designed swimsuits. "There's also no better way I can think of to grab a man's attention."
Wyndia blushed a deep scarlet color. Her tail wagged sporadically behind her. Th-This was, w-w-was!-
"F-F-F-FUEH!" Rishia whimpered, seeing a particularly skimpy white bikini on display. She tried to imagine wearing that in front of Itsuki.
The green-haired girl promptly collapsed in the middle of the shop. Blood spurting from her nose.
"Rishia, are you alright?!" Raphtalia asked worriedly.
"Fueh…" The girl quietly whimpered. "I-It's no use. I'll never get Itsuki's attention like this."
Wyndia scowled. Was she kidding herself?! That girl could go around in a parka and have men falling head over heels for her body! As for herself…
She scowled while looking over the bikini rack Therese had shown to be closest to her size. It was like they were all made for a freaking child! Looking over at Therese's rack, they were all D-Cup and higher!
Why didn't they have anything around the B-Cup range?! Did they expect all women to either have the biggest breasts ever or to be completely flat?!
Wyndia fumed for a moment more. She didn't even pay attention as the turquoise-haired girl moved to a different rack and found something very interesting.
"Hey, Wyndia, I think I found something that'll look good on you!" Therese said happily, appearing from the other side of the rack to show her.
"What is it-" Wyndia's face blanched, then became far, far more red than any of the red swimsuits in the store.
It was a two-piece. And just looking at it made Wyndia's cheeks flare up to even higher levels of red.
"Wh-Wh-HOW'S THAT EVEN A SWIMSUIT!?" Wyndia screamed. "IT'S JUST A PIECE OF STRING!"
Therese was holding what looked literally like two pieces of string! Not even the tiny squares on the top looked big enough to cover anything! There was no way in hell that something like that would be allowed to be worn on a public beach!
"Huh. I mean, if you really don't want to grab his attention-"
"I WANT TO! BUT NOT LIKE THAT!" Wyndia snatched a random swimsuit off a nearby shelf and bolted for the dressing room. This was too much! She needed time to calm down!
"Oh relax, I was just-" The door was slammed shut.
It'd probably be a little while before the dog girl would come back out. Therese sweatdropped.
Maybe her little prank had gone too far...
Raphtalia finished wiping the blood away from Rishia's nose and helped the green-haired girl to stand up. "Here, I found something you might like." She gave her a green one-piece with an opening in the middle of the bust. It also came with a little jacket made of white, thin cotton fabric as well as a straw hat.
"Fueh… thank you, Raphtalia." Rishia quietly thanked the Raccoon girl. Showing off her body wasn't something that she was comfortable with. This swimsuit looked far more modest than the white one she'd been looking at.
"Your welcome." The half-Tanuki smiled as she escorted the shy girl to the dressing room. "Let me know when you're ready to come out." Raphtalia said at the door.
"Fueh, um, you'll make sure no one tries to peek in on me, right?" Rishia meekly asked.
"Of course," Raphtalia replied confidently. "You have my word!"
The girl inside the dressing room smiled a little. "Th-Thank you, Raphtalia. You're… you're really nice. I hope I can be as nice as you someday." She looked really vulnerable as she said that.
"Oh, um…" Raphtalia wasn't able to respond in time when Rishia closed the door.
Raphtalia leaned against it tiredly. Did her friend not realize that she was likely even more helpful to her Hero than the half-raccoon girl was to the Shield Hero?
"See anything you like yet?" Therese asked curiously. She stood guard in front of Wyndia's door.
"Nothing so far…" Raphtalia admitted. She held her wrist to her chest, doing her best to try and not think about it. Her face betrayed how troubled she was though.
"Is something wrong?" Therese asked worriedly.
"Well…" Raphtalia looked around the store. Why did these swimsuits have to be so revealing? And if she got one and stood in front of Naofumi in it…
"Therese, have you ever been in love before?" Raphtalia finally asked.
"Yes, in fact, I'm in love with somebody right now." Therese said rather casually.
"Well, I was just wondering because-" ...
…
Raphtalia's brain caught up after a short pause. "Who are you in love with?" She asked.
The turquoise-haired girl smirked. "Isn't it obvious?"
"... no way." Raphtalia didn't believe it. "But, you're always making him behave, and not reacting at all when he flirts with you. And, and..." Not that she didn't do the same thing to Naofumi at times. But still!
"Oh, if I gave in that easily, he'd likely run off and get in even more trouble." Therese said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I know he loves me, so it makes playing hard to get even more fun."
Raphtalia sweatdropped. If she'd tried playing hard to get with Naofumi, they would have never gotten as close as they were now. "I feel kind of sorry for L'Arc." Raphtalia looked down with a wince.
"We've been friends since forever. He's so obvious and sincere with his emotions that I knew that he was crushing on me even before he did." Therese smiled warmly. "I just find it fun to tease him while I can. Plus, it's nice to see him putting forth so much effort to try and win me over."
"But, you're already in love with him. Aren't you worried that he'll move on to someone else if you keep ignoring him?" Raphtalia pressed.
"Not at all." Therese shrugged. Raphtalia was surprised at how sure she sounded when she said that. "I might love him, but, well… there are other reasons why I can't accept his feelings right now…" The turquoise-haired girl looked up at the ceiling.
…
Raphtalia sadly nodded. "The Waves…"
"Yes… Those damn waves." Therese agreed with a sigh.
"Still, the waves didn't stop me and Naofumi-" Raphtalia started to say.
"It's not the entire reason." Therese interrupted. "But I guess it's too personal to explain more than that. Besides, if he's anything, he's loyal to his friends, and to his own feelings. He might cause trouble now and then, but I've never worried that he'd leave me behind."
"Oh... okay…" Raphtalia murmured.
"So, you were saying you were wondering about something in regards to love?" It was Therese's turn to ask.
"Well, well um…" Raphtalia's tail began shaking behind her nervously.
"Don't tell me L'Arc was right before about Mr. Naofumi not being good in bed," Therese smirked in amusement.
"Oh, um…" Raphtalia began blushing at that. "I mean, um, he seemed very good to me last night." She admitted.
…
Therese's eyes widened. Before Raphtalia knew it, the girl was holding her hands in starstruck wonder. "Really, you two are actually that close to each other?!" The turquoise-haired girl was far too close for comfort. "I never would have guessed it! Tell me, what is he like?! Is he kind and caring, or fast and rough?! What was your first time like?! Was it exciting, breathtaking, gasp! The best moment of your life!?"
Raphtalia looked beyond bewildered. What the hell was Therese going on about?! They'd only made out! At least, that's all Raphtalia thought they did! Was Therese implying there was supposed to be something more to it?!
"Did he look you in the eyes as you did it?! Or were you trying a different position?" Therese put one of her hands to her chin in thought. "I don't know if the people here prefer doing it from behind, or missionary. But as for me, I'm still saving myself for when the Waves are over and L'Arc and I can finally get together. But still, I'm so happy for you Raphtalia! I'm really jealous you can experience something so wonderful!" The girl nearly shrieked in girlish excitement.
…
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…
"Um, Therese… what are you talking about?" Raphtalia asked nervously. She was far more nervous than she'd ever been before. And she didn't know why.
The turquoise-haired girl blinked in surprise. "You and Mr. Naofumi made love last night, right?" She asked.
"Umm, yes? We do love each other if that's what you mean?" Raphtalia answered unsurely.
"I'm inclined to believe that with how he watches you like a hawk when your back is turned to him and how you go all doe-eyed when you notice it while he quickly looks away in embarrassment. Or how you both are constantly repositioning yourselves in a way to cover each other's blind spots like you're expecting an assassin to pop out of the crowd and try to stab one of you at any given moment." Therese laughed. "Kind of weird if you ask me, but you know what they say, love comes in many forms and your brooch is- anyway, that's not what I meant. I was asking if you two had sex yesterday."
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"What's sex?" Raphtalia asked.
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Therese stood there for a very long time. Completely frozen in place and not saying anything. Raphtalia actually felt tempted to check to see if the girl in front of her was still breathing or not.
Had that been a bad question to ask?
"... Raphtalia." The half-Tanuki girl nearly jumped when Therese finally spoke in a calm voice. "Please tell me you didn't just ask me what sex is."
"Well…"
"ARE YOU &^%$ING KIDDING ME?!"
The door to Wyndia's changing room forcibly slammed open, revealing the livid looking dog girl who was only wearing a towel. "How the hell do you not know about sex?!" She continued to shout with a twitching eye. "I was raised in a god damn cave with a dragon for a dad and he still managed to teach me about it!"
Raphtalia blushed. "I mean, what is it exactly?" She repeated, unsure of why or how she should be embarrassed about it.
Wyndia exploded in anger. "YOU HAVE TITS THE SIZE OF MELONS AND AN ^%$ LIKE A HILL THAT'S WORTH DYING ON! YOUR HIPS FORCE YOU TO WALK THROUGH DOORS SIDEWAYS AND YOU HAVE LEGS THAT GO ON FOR MILES BUT YOU DON'T EVEN- ARRRRRRRGHHHHH!" She slammed the door to her stall shut again. She also threw the swimsuit she'd tried to put on over the overhang.
"Grab me another one Therese! This one's too damn tight on my butt!" Wyndia continued to murmur behind the door, though the words couldn't be made out. It was probably about the fact that the bottom was too tight but the top wasn't.
Both girls sweatdropped. Raphtalia didn't know whether to feel complimented or insulted about the dog girl's passionate rant.
"Alright, just a moment." Therese smiled awkwardly before facing Raphtalia. "Um, you know the process for how babies are made, right?"
"Well, my parents told me that kissing a boy was what made you pregnant. But they were killed during a Wave." She blushed deeply. "It was only over a month ago that I learned kissing isn't what makes you pregnant."
She then held one of her hands sadly. "It's just that, last night, we were making out, and… well, it's hard to explain. But I might have taken things too far with him." Raphtalia sighed.
…
Therese just stared. She was still flabbergasted that a grown woman didn't know about sex. She had flashbacks to a friend of hers from years ago who'd been more obsessed with fishing than boys. It almost made her groan remembering back then. A time before the Waves.
But based on what Raphtalia had said, there was another, more personal issue that Raphtalia wanted to talk about.
"Just a moment."
She went to a random rack, grabbed a yellow swimsuit from the teenager section that she'd hidden from Wyndia as a practical joke, and threw it over the door for her.
"Alright, Raphtalia, before we tackle whatever relationship problems you're having, you need to know what sex is. I'm shocked that nobody's told you about it before."
Raphtalia blushed. "Is… this "Sex" related to how babies are made?" She asked sheepishly. "I think that Naofumi meant to tell me about it at some point but he kind of… forgot about it, I guess?"
...
Wait, Naofumi had even known-?!
You know what, Therese could slap him for his stupidity later. Right now, there was something more important she had to do. Something far more important that Raphtalia needed to understand.
She proceeded to give Raphtalia The Talk.
...
Rishia stood against her dressing room door. She had the swimsuit, jacket, and hat on. And she looked really good in it!
However, she was very quiet, and her face was becoming as scarlet as a tomato as she listened through the door.
T-To think they were talking about something so scandalous!
She covered her face with her hands before she could let out a whimper. She wanted to step out so they could give their opinion on her swimsuit, but not while they were t-t-talking a-ab-about-!
She hoped it didn't take Therese too long to give Raphtalia the Talk.
Wham!
"Hahaha, yeah!" The raccoon girl raised a mighty fist in the air. "Who else wants to challenge me?!"
Bakta and Aksel sat nearby. Bakta was scowling, and Aksel looked dead inside.
"I shouldn't have let her drink," Aksel muttered while clutching his head.
"Yep, that's like the tenth time you've said it," Bakta noted while taking a sip of his drink.
Maya was in front of them, sitting behind another table. All the tables around her were filled with the adventurers that she'd defeated in the tavern's arm wrestling tournament. Each loser had to give money to the stranger in charge, who then rewarded her with a round of drinks. She had, at this point, ten empty mugs around her. And at seeing that no one was eager to come up to face her anymore, she pouted and began to drink from her latest eleventh win mug.
"Rachel's going to kill me." Aksel stared down with downcast eyes.
"I really don't see why you're being so dramatic here. Well, besides the fact that your girlfriend just beat half a dozen sailors who were three times her size at arm wrestling, making me lose a good chunk of my savings." Bakta said, continuing to scowl.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Aksel immediately denied it.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say bro." Bakta rolled his eyes.
"You don't need to be such a Payne you know," Aksel muttered to himself.
"That pun's getting old," Bakta said dryly.
"Puns never gets old."
"Yeah, they do."
They watched as another strong-looking fellow confidently sat across from Maya, getting her excited again. Then, only a minute later, the man walked away in shock, his hand hurting from how hard it'd been smashed into the table. "How is that Raccoon girl so strong?" He muttered.
Maya cheerily drank from her twelfth victory mug.
"You should try facing her," Bakta suggested.
"No," Aksel muttered.
"Are you afraid you'll lose?" Bakta asked seriously.
"Of course not. I just don't find beating a little girl…" He began to say, and then trailed off.
Bakta was giving him a very scrutinizing look. "You do realize she's not a little girl anymore, right? I don't get why you keep going on about that."
"Were you with me when I first met her?" Aksel asked angrily. "No, you weren't. I was, and she was a little girl. Worse, she was a beat up, chained-up, fragile little slave girl. There's no way-"
Wham!
Maya slammed the hand of her next opponent into the table again. She smiled happily in delight as she was given another mug from the mysterious sponsor hosting the improv tournament.
"And what about now?"
Aksel looked at Bakta. "What about now?"
"Is she still that same girl?"
"Well, not really... But, dude, she's ten!"
...
Bakta raised his drink to his lips again. "Listen, I can't say that I understand why you're acting like this. Whether she was a little kid before or not, she's a demi-human. And to be frank, you insisting that she's still a little girl because of her age is kind of racist dude."
"Hey!"
"And as funny as it is watching you make a fool of yourself, it's getting old, just like your puns." Bakta continued. His face was grim set and had a look of disgust underlying it. "It's obvious that she has feelings for you. It's honestly amazing that she still insists on trying to show you that every day. I certainly have no idea about what she sees in you. Especially when you keep stomping all over her feelings for no reason."
"But… I do have a reason..."
"You do?" Bakta skeptically asked. "You have a reason that can totally explain away the fact that you've been acting like an immature snotty little %$# to the kindest girl in your party? You can just explain away the way you've been treating her since I first met you?"
…
Aksel looked down at his mug sadly, before pushing it away.
...
"I had a girl waiting for me in Lurolona, you know." He finally admitted.
…
"Oh." Bakta looked away awkwardly. Aksel continued.
"She was a Dog demi-human my age. She had the kindest soul out of anyone I knew. We were good friends, and I… I really liked her. And she really liked me. But…"
He hung his head. "Her name was on the memorial stone in the village."
…
Bakta rested a hand on his back. "Damn it, this is why I hate drinking." Aksel clenched his fists. Tears appearing at the edges of his eyes. "I know I need to move on. But it just… it feels like I'd be betraying her if I did that man! Out of all my friends, she was the most important to me! And when I learned what the Church did to her and the others, I just... I lost it!"
His tears fell on the table. He gritted his teeth. "I thought there could have been a chance that she had survived... but seeing her name in that graveyard only made it hurt a little more."
"... if she was the kindest person you knew, do you think acting like a jerk to someone that clearly has feelings for you is what she'd want you to do?" Bakta asked.
"..."
"It's because of our bro code that I'm telling you this." Bakta turned to look at Aksel again. "I can't say I've fallen in love with anyone before. Girls are just too scary for me man. Especially the ones in my party." He shuddered upon saying that.
"But from what I've seen, Maya really, really likes you... Somehow."
Aksel crossly glared at him for the underhanded insult.
Bakta's hand pounded his back encouragingly. "So you really ought to stop it with the silly shenanigans and either bring your foot down and calmly tell her that you're not interested in her romantically, or man up and confess to her that you are.
"Option A will be messy and painful, but she'll be better off in the long run without uselessly trying to make you fall in love with her.
"And with Option B, she'll feel happy and secure and won't have to drown her desperate worries about being an unloved and unwanted orphan with nothing to her name; with cheap booze in a dinky bar while putting up an outward facade of joy and good humor until someone sees this opportunity for an easy lay and tries to take advantage of her in that state." Bakta shook his head in disapproval before taking another swig of his beer.
…
Aksel looked back at Maya. That one stranger who kept on giving the Raccoon girl drinks was acting awfully close with her now. And even though she'd been doing well, it seemed like after fifteen drinks that she was finally showing signs of all those drinks beginning to affect her.
"Come on! Who will challenge me next?!" Her voice sounded more boisterous, more full of anger at the lack of challengers. "Come at me! I'll kick all your %$#es into the ground!"
The adventurers all sweatdropped and moved away from the table around her. Maya pouted and held her empty mug close.
"Stop trying to guilt trip me. I'm not going to jump into a relationship, Bakta." Aksel muttered. "I don't feel ready for doing that yet."
"If no one else wants to challenge you here, perhaps we could move on to another tavern." The stranger with her suggested.
Maya put a hand to her chin. It looked like she was giving it some serious thought.
...
"Fine."
...
"I'll do it," Aksel muttered under his breath and stood up.
The stranger turned his head at him with a calculating smile. Maya's eyes lit up happily. "Axie-poo! Yoohoo!"
Aksel grimaced as he sat across from the hyperactive Raccoon girl.
He wasn't doing this because of peer pressure from his rival or because he wanted to get into this girl's pants, but he'll be damned to allow her to get hurt. His knightly pride wouldn't allow it. Love or not, he cared about her regardless of her weird quirks.
His role in Itsuki's group was to shield the others from harm. And he'll do exactly that. Even if the threat wasn't physical and would require him to shield his allies from the consequences of their own stupidity and insecurities. Even if they made fun of him… he still cared.
"Ready to lose, Maya?" He smirked with an air of confidence.
"Hehe." The raccoon girl's tail swished slightly from side to side behind her chair. "Bring it on, Axie!" She shouted boisterously while slamming her elbow on the table.
And bring it on he did.
Moments later, the trio left the bar. Aksel had a bag of coins in one hand, and a crying Maya gripping onto the other.
He'd won, but it didn't feel like it.
"Wahhhhhh! I can't believe you dethroned me!" Maya sniffled loudly.
"That was low of you man," Bakta smirked. "I almost didn't expect you'd actually do it." He said that, but he was also holding his own sack of money that he'd won by betting on Aksel.
Aksel glared at his rival. "You totally set me up, didn't you?"
"Maybe a little bit." The tank shrugged. "At least I walked away with my money's worth. Seeing the look of shock on that man's face when he lost all that money was priceless."
Maya was still sniffling and was gripping onto Aksel's arm now. "You have to make it up to me!" Maya suddenly yelled at him.
"Wha-" Aksel said in shock.
"Next time, you lose to me!" Maya pouted at him. "You made me look weak in front of all those people! That was so rude!"
"Well, um, there won't be a next time, because I don't plan on letting you drink again," Aksel said.
"That's not fair! Who do you think you are! My dad?!" Maya shouted.
"No, I don't think that…" Aksel looked away as he sighed. "I'm saying that as a friend, who really cares about your wellbeing. That man was only hoping to get you drunk so he could use you. I don't want to see that happen ever again."
…
He didn't get a response, and it took him a moment to turn his head and see Maya, looking more sober than before. She was giving him a very, very real smile, unlike the toothy grin she normally wore.
"I didn't plan on letting him get that far… but thank you." Her hand moved back down to grip his hand.
"... Huh?" Aksel looked surprised.
"Also... I heard what you were telling Bakta earlier. I, I didn't know." She admitted. "I'll... try to be more respectful to your feelings in the future."
She didn't say anything more.
Aksel looked ahead, his face as red as a tomato. He swore that this didn't mean anything. It was just a step further in an actual friendship with the Raccoon girl. They only understood each other a little better. Nothing more.
…
But he did have to admit that holding her hand in his felt… kind of nice.
"How about we tell each other a little about ourselves?" L'Arc suggested.
"What for?" Naofumi quirked an eyebrow at him in response.
"I'm just curious since I already know a bit about you, Shield Kiddo. But the other Kiddos aren't really being very talkative now." The young man shrugged. "Blonde Kiddo there has been more talkative with you than me."
It'd been a couple of hours. L'Arc now had a rosy tint to his cheeks like Ren. Though his eyes had as of yet to get that same dull look. Itsuki was sipping on some lemonade through a straw, and Ren swayed drunkenly in his seat.
"Sorry," Itsuki was the one that broke what had seemed like a tense silence. "I've never been good with introductions. And he's normally anxious around strangers."
"Yu din't have to pon that out…" Ren looked somber as he said that.
"My name's Itsuki, and that's Ren. We're both living in the same village as Naofumi." Itsuki said. "We're here to grow stronger so we can help save the world. It's that simple."
"You know, you keep on calling each other that...?" L'Arc asked curiously. "I could have sworn I heard those were the names of the Bow and Sword Heroes."
Naofumi wanted to berate Itsuki for being so blatantly stupid. Had the little bit of wine he'd drunk earlier actually affected his judgment?
... then again, he revealed his own name to L'Arc in exactly the same way a couple of days earlier. And while completely sober to boot. So what did that make him?
Itsuki shrugged. "I fight with a Bow, and he fights with a Sword. We'd be stupid not to try and do good things in their names while they're stuck at the Village." Naofumi almost thought it was a good save. But he noticed the surprised look on Itsuki's face beforehand. He sighed to himself.
Maybe they were all just bad at being undercover.
"Yesh, good things…" Ren smiled drunkenly.
Especially Ren.
"... huh. So it's the same story as Shield Kiddo then." L'Arc laughed. Naofumi couldn't believe he'd bought it! Maybe being stupid did have its perks! "You know, if you're going to use their names, is it alright if I call you guys Bow Kiddo and Sword Kiddo?"
Itsuki smiled in relief, though a twinge of annoyance was in it. "I'm only 17 you know."
"Wow, you're older than I thought! You look more like a Kiddo than anyone else in your group!"
A vein bulged slightly on the Bow Hero's forehead. Naofumi had to admit L'Arc definitely wasn't wrong. Even Ren looked older than Itsuki. "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself then, L'Arc?"
Surprisingly, he did.
He talked about being from a far-off country by the ocean. He'd grown up under many nice people. People who were now struggling under the weight of the Waves.
He left to get stronger so he could help protect them from the Waves of Catastrophe. He'd left with his childhood friend Therese, and they'd been traveling for a long while now. They'd met lots of interesting people and monsters along the way, and worked with others who helped them to grow stronger.
Cal Mira was just their latest stop on their path to their goal.
"You know, I actually met a couple of other fakers pretending to be the Shield Hero too." He suddenly changed the subject.
"Fakers?" Naofumi asked curiously. This was something new.
"Yeah, they had shields that changed forms. They were going out committing some nasty, nasty stuff." L'Arc shrugged. "They didn't turn out to be the real deal though. That's kind of why I assumed the Shield Hero was a big jerk."
Naofumi thought that was weird enough. But then the conversation took an even weirder turn.
"I don't know whath I'm doing wrong, but Therez just seems so dis- … disin-" He hiccuped. "She doesn't like me!" L'Arc sobbed into his hands.
"Why is he… oh." Itsuki sweatdropped.
"He's drunk now too. Isn't he?" Naofumi sighed. He'd feared this would happen.
"So yuh actually do like her?" Ren drawled while turning his mug upside down and looking into it with one eye closed.
"How can I noth?! She's been mai friend for as long as I cahn mumbur! I dunno what I'm duhin wrong to make her reject muh advances! Am I just not gud enough for her?!"
Naofumi and Itsuki realized that L'Arc might be more than just a little drunk. Then again…
"I get ya man, I t'tally do. I dunno what I'm doing-" Ren suddenly hiccuppled loudly. "S'cuze me. Doing wong maself." Ren hiccuped again at the end. If L'Arc was tipsy, then Ren looked downright hammered. "I juss, ah'm trying sooooooo hard to be her fwend, but ah'm 'fraid of taking it fuzher than that cause she'll snap at me, or slap me, or do sumthin."
"Sword Kiddo, you totally get me." L'Arc and Ren put arms over each other's shoulders and began to drunkenly bawl.
Naofumi and Itsuki both sweatdropped again. "I think that's enough for tonight." The Shield Hero stood up from his bar stool.
"I think so too." Itsuki followed suit. "Alright, how about we call it a night here," Itsuki suggested to the two drunk idiots.
"Kiddos, can't yuu see me and Sword Kiddo are having a bruh moment?" L'Arc bawled.
The two were starting to attract stares from the other patrons.
Naofumi gripped them both by the arms and began to drag them out behind him. "You are having a "bruh" moment alright. Now stop it. You're making a scene."
"You're no fun, Shield Kiddo!" L'Arc whined.
"He's nevah been fun!" Ren agreed. "I joost want to cry in peace bout muh dog gurl!"
Itsuki paid for their drinks and helped Naofumi with escorting the two to the inn.
It was pretty late too. And the two didn't make it easy on them, with Ren nearly blacking out several times. L'Arc also wanted to sneak off to get even more booze for some reason.
By the time they got back, they found the girls awake, waiting for them in the lobby.
"There you are. What took you so long?" Raphtalia asked. "We almost thought we'd have to go out and find... you…" She stopped speaking in surprise, seeing Ren and L'Arc's conditions.
"Therez. I didn't peep on your girl's night out, as promised!" L'Arc drunkenly raised a fist to the air.
"Yesh!" Ren raised his fist alongside him.
...
The girls were shocked. Rishia was silent. Wyndia stared in growing horror at the Sword Hero.
Therese looked at the weird redhead. With the shadows covering the top half of her face, it was hard to tell how she was feeling at that moment. Though her posture was enough to tell that she wasn't happy.
"Mr. Naofumi. Was he the one that suggested drinking out at taverns?" She asked with a faux sweet voice.
"Yes." Naofumi immediately affirmed. He felt absolutely no shame in throwing L'Arc under the metaphorical bus here. It was about time for that goofball to put that weird scythe of his to use and reap what he'd sown.
"I see…" She took one look at the intoxicated Ren and then gripped L'Arc by the ear. "I'll make sure this idiot doesn't cause any more trouble tonight. I'll see you regarding your request later, Wyndia."
"Ow! Therese!" L'Arc suddenly looked more sober than before. "I swear, I wasn't trying to make them drunk and- OW!"
"You're going to pay with the hangover tomorrow. No magic or potions to heal you either." She replied harshly.
"Come on, that's not fair! You know how much I hate hangovers- OW!"
Therese and L'Arc quickly disappeared from view. It sounded like she was chewing him out for getting a teenager drunk.
Huh. Maybe there was an age limit after all.
"Fueh, I-Itsuki, y-y-you're not-" Rishia stammered while trying to talk to her Hero.
"Of course not. I couldn't bring myself to drink more than half a glass of wine." Itsuki shrugged.
Rishia fuehed in relief. Thank goodness her Hero had escaped L'Arc's company unscathed.
"S-S-Sir Ren!" Wyndia stammered. She'd let him out of her sight for a few hours and THIS happened?!
"Oh, Wendy's... Huh, Wendy's." Ren hiccuped and started giggling to himself at some joke that only he seemed to understand.
Wyndia was appalled. She turned to glare harshly at Naofumi. "How could you let this happen to him?!"
"Huh? Why is it my fault? He's the one who wouldn't stop drinking no matter what we tried." Naofumi answered in a deadpan tone.
Wyndia fumed, and then, her tail went rigid when Ren suddenly leaned on her and began speaking in her ear.
"Yu're so purty. Did you know that, Wendy?"
…
Wyndia slowly turned her head to look up at him. His eyes were unfocused, and his breath smelled like alcohol. This wasn't… exactly the sort of romantic confession that she'd always secretly dreamed of. But her face became red all the same.
"Hehe, yu're so cute when yu're flustered. And yu're so cool. I… I guess that's why… I… fell in..." His eyes rolled upward, and all of his weight collapsed onto her.
Whatever shred of a moment there had been was instantly ruined.
"AH! REN!" Wyndia cried out in worry.
"Oh no. I guess all that alcohol finally did him in." Itsuki sighed.
The dog girl laid him on the ground and slapped his face lightly several times, and then once harshly. The Sword Hero didn't stir from any of them. He just continued to drunkenly doze.
"GAH!" Wyndia pulled at her head in worry. Was Ren dying now, and just when it'd looked like he was about to-
"Relax, he should be fine after a good night's sleep." Naofumi crouched down next to her to examine the Sword Hero with the confidence of an experienced physician. It quickly became apparent that Ren was still breathing, especially when he started to snore very loudly. "He's going to need plenty of water in the morning though. Otherwise, he's going to have one hell of a hangover to deal with."
Actually, could he use his healing magic to deal with hangovers? Theoretically, it wouldn't be that different from removing a poison status effect. Naofumi quietly contemplated on this revelation before coming to a decision.
Nah, if earlier had been any indication, Ren needed a harsh lesson on excessive alcohol consumption. Hopefully, this experience would be enough to keep him away from it in the future.
Despite the Shield Hero's earlier reassurance, Wyndia did actually whimper quietly at seeing the state that her Sword Hero was in. "Relax, it's not like he's going to die." Naofumi rolled his eyes.
"Naofumi…" Raphtalia looked like she wanted to say something and then started blushing furiously. "Never mind. We should probably help him get to b-b-b-b-b-bed!" She stammered out at the end.
He frowned. What was her deal with the stuttering? That was more Rishia's thing.
Oh well. He was feeling tired and besides, he could use an early start tomorrow.
Itsuki bid them good night and left with Rishia.
He helped the dog girl carry the Sword Hero to his room, and then after that, he got to sleep in the bed while Raphtalia slept on the floor.
He'd meant to ask her how her girl's night out had gone. But honestly, he was exhausted after dealing with L'Arc and his drunken shenanigans.
He could ask her about it tomorrow.
Author's Notes:
So some exciting things in this chapter. The number one being Raphtalia finally got The Talk! And I guess something that hopefully most of you probably knew about L'Arc and Therese. Oh, and we can't forget Bakta saying what was on most of our minds (including mine).
Now, I guess I should get to work on the next chapter. This continues to get interesting. But before that;
Hero Clips!
If He'd Been Left Behind: Part Two
"Sir Ren, we're back!"
Ren's party examined the beach they'd left Ren at before. There was no sign of him though…
"Where'd he go?" Welt asked.
"Maybe he tried to swim," Bakta suggested.
Farrie slapped the back of his head. "Can you at least try to say something smart?"
"Okay, fine, I guess it would be stupid if he tried to swim!" Bakta whined.
They were about to continue arguing when they heard rustling in the bushes. "Maybe that's Sir Ren," Tersia said.
They cautiously approached. Hands on their weapons just in case, and…
A weird, crouching, bearded figure dressed in rags, but with a very recognizable sword being used as a cane stumbled out from the brush. "Friends, greetings, I give."
...
"Sir Ren, is that you, what happened?" Tersia voiced their shock.
"This way, hut, I have built." Ren gestured for them to follow.
What was with his weird way of talking?
Following him, they came upon a clearing in the forest. A small hut with a dragon symbol engraved over the door was at the other end. Smoke came out from a chimney.
"Safe here, we shall be. Monsters, roam here, they do not." Ren said in satisfaction.
Ren's party was… taking this reasonably well.
"We were only gone for like, 2 hours, right?" Welt asked.
"I thought it was only for two hours," Bakta murmured.
"Did he grow a beard in two hours?" Farrie asked.
"Friends, sit, you must. Exhausted, you must be." Ren continued forward with that weird crouch/sword cane of his. Maybe he'd gotten that posture because he made the door only four feet tall? "Tea, I shall prepare. Good, it is!" He said excitedly.
The party all looked at each other. They'd only left him alone for a few hours, and THIS happened?!
If they ever got Ren snapped out of this weird craze, they'd make sure to never let him out of their sight again.
...
Oh, and they also had to tell him they found a ferry to bring him back.
They should probably do that too before he turned green and wrinkly.
Hero Clips!
I Can Play Anything
"Thing is, I can play pretty much all of them."
…
"All of them?" Naofumi asked.
Itsuki nodded.
"Can you play… the bagpipes?" Naofumi suggested.
Itsuki was suddenly dressed in a Scottish uniform, including the kilt, and began playing the bagpipes like the Scottish masters of old.
"Woo! Yea!" Jerry popped out from the side to cheer him on.
"Okay, how about… an organ."
It shifted to Itsuki dressed in professional attire, his hands and feet moving professionally over the top and bottom rows of keys as a choir sang in the background.
"A didgeridoo," Naofumi suggested.
Itsuki suddenly produced an Australian Aboriginal wind instrument in the form of a long wooden tube and began to produce a deep, resonant sound with that.
"Guzheng!" Naofumi tried.
Itsuki pulled out a Chinese instrument that looked like a xylophone, except it had strings instead of keys stretched out horizontally across it. His attire also changed to a set of white Chinese robes with a white circlet around his forehead. He played so beautifully that the undead that appeared around him were blown to pieces.
"Mayonnaise! Horseradish!" Naofumi yelled desperately.
Itsuki suddenly looked back to normal, holding a plastic jar of mayonnaise in one hand, and a jar of horseradish in the other. He looked at both for a moment, shrugged-
And began to play an anime intro using them both.
"How is that even possible?! They aren't instruments!" Naofumi yelled.
"YouTube says otherwise," Itsuki commented, not pausing from his playing.
It was impossible. Yet, Itsuki was playing the impossible with both the jars and the contents inside. It was almost like he was using magic while he did it!
"I can play on a leaf to make it more entertaining if you want," Itsuki said.
Naofumi shook his head. "No, I'm good."
Itsuki really hadn't been lying when he said he could play on anything.
He never had gotten this quirk of his analyzed, but if his Aim Correction was considered Rank E.
Then his Band Hero quirk was rank SSS without a doubt.
Till Next Time
Allen