Glad you all thought I struck a balance last chapter. That's what I was going for. I'll gladly take your response as a sign of improvement on my end.
Just want to say as well. I do not believe I have ever stated that Naofumi needed to be in a certain state of mind to equip his Blessed Series. That would be utterly ridiculous. The beginning of my Spirit Tortoise arc would make no sense, as Naofumi DEFINITELY wasn't feeling hope or anything positive when he had that shield equipped for the first round of that fight.
So no, it does not signify his anger was righteous. It does not mean he has to be filled with hope or righteous anger or positivity of any kind beforehand to equip it. He just brought it out to use Hope Asunder and then later brought it out to heal Filo. That was it.
When I feel like it, I will expand more on the Blessed Series lore in the story. For now, just let me sigh in silence as I think about how the anime took away a core thing that allowed Raphtalia to grow as a character in the Otherworld Arc.
Chapter Sixty: Reprieve, Katana's Enemy
You'd think that after everything she'd gone through, Filo would be forever traumatized by what'd happened. That she'd need months and possibly years to return to even a semblance of her old self.
Nope. By the next afternoon, Filo's physical wounds had been completely healed thanks to her Father caring for her through the night. And now, she was happily snacking on some fresh fish that Kizuna had caught at a nearby stream. And Filo's daddy had cooked it for her, applying the taste of heaven that only the Shield Hero was capable of with his god-tier cooking skills, inherited from his homeworld.
"So good. Mmmm." Filo hummed happily as she ate. It was like yesterday was just a distant memory.
Her clothes had fixed themselves, now that the angel girl had the magic power to do so. They would grow stronger with her as her levels increased since the cloth was made from her magic power. Meaning her clothes' stats were tied to her magic and not by a set of static stats assigned by the status magic of the world they were in.
Thank goodness they worked on Filo's personal magic. It would be troublesome if Naofumi had to get an entirely new set of transformation clothes made for his daughter.
… not that he would have particularly minded it. Not after what Filo had gone through.
He'd do anything to ensure his daughter's happiness and wellbeing after what'd happened.
"Mmmm. This tastes so good Daddy! Filo loves it!" Filo hummed happily again. Her stomach growled loudly even though she'd been eating for a while.
Naofumi, despite cooking at breakneck speeds to make more food for her, was smiling in relief, and he openly laughed at her appetite. "There's plenty more where that came from."
"Yayyyy~!"
"Hey, Naofumi, maybe you could cook this up while you're at it!" Itsuki reappeared in the camp alongside Aksel. The two were dragging a large deer-like monster between them.
It looked like a deer, but instead of horns, it had branches with fruit dangling from its head. The fruit itself smelled sweet and fragrant and was likely used by the deer to attract weaker monsters to itself as a means to hunt them.
Too bad it'd led Aksel and Itsuki straight to it.
"Sure, go skin and clean it, and I'll see what I can do," Naofumi replied dismissively.
"Can't you help us with that too?" Itsuki pleaded tiredly. "This thing is heavy."
"Nah. Got my hands full with the fish here still. It'll burn if I leave it unattended." Naofumi explained before going back to cooking for his daughter.
"Um, Kizuna, maybe you could possibly-" Itsuki turned to the Hunting Tools Hero.
"No can do! Me and the girls are fishing right now!" Kizuna replied by the stream where, indeed, the Hunting Tools Hero was still fishing alongside Rishia and Maya. Kizuna was using her weapon while the other two girls used regular fishing rods that the Hunting Hero had pulled out of her weapon's gemstone.
Maya was back in her kimono. Much to the knight's relief.
"C-Can't you fish for them?" Aksel asked Kizuna.
"Heroes can only use their own weapons." Kizuna shrugged. "If I try to fish with a different fishing rod, my weapon will shock me. Sorry."
"How is a fishing rod considered a weapon?!" Aksel asked incredulously.
Itsuki kept his mouth shut. One of the most popular games in his world had had fishing rods as weapons. As ridiculous as that sounded.
There'd been some pretty popular videos that involved exploiting their mechanics, actually.
"Give us like… another fifteen minutes, after that, I think we'll need to stop fishing from here or else we'll exhaust the river." Kizuna then added to her previous statement.
Aksel and Itsuki's stomachs both growled simultaneously. "Maybe we could have fish instead?" Itsuki suggested.
"Can't you just use your weapon to butcher the monster for us?" Aksel countered.
"Then the meat would come out as average quality. It's much better to butcher it by hand." Itsuki looked tiredly at the monster. "Yeah, fish might be better. At least I won't have to deal with all this blood then and-"
"No... I'll just butcher it myself." Aksel made a nauseous face and proceeded to start skinning the large monster.
"What? We already had to drag this back to camp. Don't you want to eat first before we do something like this?" Itsuki asked.
…
"Itsuki. I don't know if I've told you this before or not. But I'm allergic to fish." Aksel stated clearly. "If I eat it or anything that comes from the sea, I'll lose at least twenty pounds, if not more. Do you know how annoying it is when you eat the equivalent of an all-day laxative for your entire digestive tract?"
…
Itsuki's face paled.
That explained why the knight hadn't eaten Naofumi's cooking last night.
No one had ever rejected the Shield Hero's cooking after having a taste of it.
No one.
"I'd rather have something I can eat. And not something that'll make me miserable for a few days." Aksel sighed tiredly, before focusing on the monster again.
The Bow Hero gave in and removed the horns/branches from the creature before helping Aksel out by butchering the main body. He felt very tempted to just use his weapon to automatically butcher it. But, as he'd said earlier, the meat would come out average. And as good as Naofumi's cooking skills were, it'd taste even better if he used the best quality ingredients for his dishes.
"Fueh…" However, salvation came when Rishia walked up to them. Her fishing rod was propped against some rocks next to Maya. "I-I can help, if you need it."
"Yeah, Kizuna might not be able to watch two rods at the same time! But I definitely can!" Maya held up a peace sign and she and Kizuna shared a laugh.
Oh, thank the gods. Itsuki sagged with relief as the green-haired girl got next to him and helped him out with the task.
"Say, do you think these fruits are edible?" Aksel asked curiously as he picked up one of the purple, veiny, berry-like things that grew on the deer's 'horns'.
Itsuki looked one over as well with his HUD. "Looks like it. It's not poisonous at least."
"Perhaps we should let Naofumi cook it first. Just in case." Rishia suggested. "It might come out better that way."
Despite their growling stomachs, they agreed.
Naofumi continued to smile as he laid another plate on Filo's lap. His hand rubbed her head as she smiled brightly. 'Wow. We were really lucky that Ethnobalt dropped us off where he did. Had he listened to me and flown us the rest of the way, we would have never gone through that town.
'We would have passed by Filo… … and she would have… continued to be tortured by that guy for other's entertainment… and…'
…
…
It was like the weight of yesterday had finally slammed into the Shield Hero at full force.
Naofumi's body trembled, and Filo looked up. "Daddy?"
Itsuki, Aksel, and Rishia looked up in surprise as well when Naofumi sniffled loudly. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Filo."
He was sorry for a lot of things. Sorry for not finding her sooner. Sorry for almost passing her by when she was in trouble. Sorry for bringing her along to this world and getting separated from everyone.
He felt especially guilty for that.
He should have remembered how she'd fallen into the world by herself. He should have thought about how scary it must have been for her on her own. He shouldn't have brought her along to endure such torment and sadness. He should have-
"No! Don't cry! It wasn't Daddy's fault!" Filo suddenly jumped up, throwing her dish of fish to the side before hugging Naofumi tightly around the waist. "Filo's really happy to be reunited with Daddy! And Filo's happy that Daddy's okay! Filo doesn't want to see Daddy cry now!"
The Shield Hero choked on his words. "Rafu!" Raph-Chan bounded onto Filo's head and raised a paw at him. Filo smiled and giggled at the action, and the combination of their collective happiness and adorableness helped pull Naofumi back from the brink.
"I… I'm really sorry, honey. It's been a rough week for Daddy." Naofumi admitted, tears still shining in his eyes. "Daddy's really missed you and Mommy. More than Daddy can put into words."
"Don't worry! Filo will help to blow all of Daddy's sadness away!" Filo exclaimed joyfully before puffing up her cheeks and gently blowing some air in Naofumi's face.
"Rafu!"
Naofumi chuckled as he gently held the girl in his embrace.
He'd missed this. He missed Filo's upbeat personality. Her quick forgiveness and selfless love for him as a parent.
Combined with Raph-Chan, it almost made everything feel right in the world.
But then, much to Naofumi's surprise, Filo let him go and pushed back, spreading her wings behind her…
Before taking off into the sky.
…
Naofumi looked up in shock. His daughter wasn't gliding. She was flying! Her wings, which he noticed, at last, to be much larger than before, supported her as she rose higher and higher in the air in her human form.
"Ahahahaha!" Filo let out a cheerful laugh.
"RAFUUUUU!" Raph-Chan looked especially surprised and was gripping Filo's head for dear life.
Filo ignored the shikigami on her head though as she flew over the large river. Naofumi's eyes didn't leave his daughter for even a moment.
"H-How is that possible?" Naofumi asked in shock. It was impossible for Filolials to fly. Not even Fitoria was capable of it.
His daughter continued to laugh though. And the sight of her looking so carefree caused Naofumi's heart to expand in his chest and a smile to spread across his face.
It truly did look like she'd shaken the previous days off. And now, she was truly an angel. For she was free.
"I did tell you she was a humming fairy, right?" Kizuna pointed out as Filo flew past.
"Yeah, what are those by the way?" Naofumi asked.
Kizuna looked away from her rod to give him a quick explanation.
"In our world, they're a breed of monster that that can fly high in the sky. It's well known for its nice singing voice too. They have several stages of growth. What we saw in the cage was her chick form. There are various names for its forms as it grows. Pretty cool monster overall."
"Do they love pulling carriages?" Naofumi asked curiously.
"No. I don't think they're strong enough to do that." Kizuna chuckled. "Though when they grow big enough, they can carry an adult on their back as they fly."
"So one could fly with three of you, easy," Naofumi smirked.
"I'M NOT THAT SMALL!" Kizuna flared up at him.
"Filo has no desire to pull carriages anymore! Filo just wants to fly whenever Filo wants to!" The blonde girl flew by overhead.
"Rafuuuuuuuuuuu!" Raph-Chan screamed again. It sounded like she wanted to be back on the ground now.
"What's with this weird creature on Filo's shoulder Daddy!?" Filo loudly complained as she finally took notice of the shikigami riding her.
"That's Raph-Chan! She's your new sister!" Naofumi said happily.
"Boo! Filo doesn't want a new sister! Filo already has Mel!" Filo complained.
"RAFU!" Raph-Chan looked very offended at that.
"Oi, no complaining about Raph-Chan! She's a part of the family too!" Naofumi yelled.
Daughter or not, nobody talked crap about Raph-Chan.
Nobody.
After all, she was the definition of walking and breathing perfection.
...
He felt oddly tempted to start a cult of worship for her. But then had the thought that Raphtalia probably wouldn't approve of it.
He'd have to at least ask for permission first. After he was done introducing her to their new daughter that is. He wondered how Raphtalia would feel about being the mother of their actual flesh and blood child now.
Filo landed next to Daddy, smiling widely as she did so. Raph-Chan hastily jumped off onto Naofumi's shoulder, shivering from the experience and turning to glare at the angel girl.
Filo tilted her head curiously, but didn't address the shikigami and focused on her daddy again as she smiled widely. "Those cruel men forced Filo to do things against her will in that place, but just now, flying because Filo wanted to and not because those bad men were forcing Filo to… Filo felt really happy!"
Naofumi couldn't help but smile despite knowing they'd no longer be able to rely on her speed and size to travel while in this world. But… that didn't seem important anymore. Since she seemed to be happy with the change.
Hopefully, when the time for Kyo came, Ethnobalt would be able to take them in his boat instead.
"So, do you have any idea why Filo changed species from crossing between worlds?" Naofumi asked Kizuna.
"If I were to guess, it's probably because Filolials… whatever they are, don't exist in my world." Kizuna shrugged but then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh wait! We could ask Ethnobalt! He'd definitely know!" The girl hastily pulled out a communication ofuda from her weapon along with a small brush and inkpot. She then quickly wrote a message on the slip of paper and soon after, the ink faded away as if absorbed into it.
A moment later, the bunny man gave her a response. "Ah, I was right! Since Filolials don't exist in our world, it appears that our world's status magic translated her into a monster that does exist in our world! He finds that fascinating and can't wait to meet up with Filo!"
"Kind of odd though. You'd think Maya would get changed too, no?" The hunting tools hero cocked her head to the side curiously.
"That's probably because Maya's race didn't come from monsters." Naofumi rubbed Filo on the head. The girl smiled happily in response. "Glass and Therese didn't have their races changed either when they crossed over into my world. Perhaps this is something that only affects monsters."
"What about the Wave monsters though? They don't change when they cross over." Itsuki pointed out.
"That's probably something to do with the nature of the Waves themselves." Naofumi guessed. Kizuna shrugged helplessly. It wasn't like she'd know anything.
Based on that theory, if they'd traveled normally via a Wave, Filo wouldn't have had her transformation. Or perhaps it was something else and they wouldn't understand it until they learned some other things?
Oh well. Either way, his daughter was happy and she was fine just the way she was. Naofumi could be just fine with that…
…
He did have a weird thought, however.
If Fitoria visited this world, would she be turned into a humming fairy too?
It seemed ridiculous. She wasn't just all-powerful. She was the Carriage Hero of their world…
But… if that did happen… she'd be able to fly like Filo. And if humming fairies loved to sing, they could be a pair of angels singing duets and…
Oh Gods. Motoyasu would kill to see something like that…
…
Anyway, there was one other member of the family still missing. Filo seemed to realize it as Naofumi did.
"We'll find Mommy together, right?" The Shield Hero asked Filo.
"Mmhmm!" Filo nodded happily.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan added her support.
Her stomach then growled loudly, and she smiled innocently. Naofumi simply stared down at her for a moment and then laughed.
Right, selfless, forgiving, loving, slightly hard to understand at times, and a bottomless stomach all in one.
What more could you ask for?
You know, besides Raph-Chan.
"Rafu!"
He got back to grilling some more fish on the fire as Filo picked up her plate and got back to eating. Raph-Chan hesitantly joined in, and Filo began to share fish with her, helping to ease the earlier tension between the two.
Yep, his two daughters smiling and happy while eating together was absolute perfection. All that was needed was for their mother to join in and Naofumi would be able to rest peacefully at night.
"Daddy, can Filo help cook too!?" Suddenly, Filo and Raph-Chan were next to the Shield Hero. Her plate was clear of fish.
"You want to help?" Naofumi asked in surprise. "This isn't you trying to sneak some food away while I'm cooking, right?"
Filo shook her head and pumped her fists up determinedly. "Daddy always cooks Filo all sorts of yummy food, but no one ever cooks for Daddy! That's unfair, so Filo wants to learn to cook great food just like Daddy!"
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan made the same pose.
"I… I see." Naofumi was unsure at first. Filo wasn't really known for her patience. Yet, she looked like she actually wanted to try it at least. He smiled after a few seconds. "Fine, but you have to do what I say, you got me?"
"Mmhmm!" "Rafu!" Filo nodded happily, and Raph-Chan cheered.
Wow. If this stuck, it'd be quite the shake-up for down the road. How surprised would Raphtalia be if Filo was the chef and not Naofumi?
Eventually, as Itsuki, Rishia, and Aksel were done cleaning the monster and had its meat gathered, Kizuna and Maya finished fishing and brought the last of their catch over as well. "This is the last of what we'll catch from this stream," Kizuna said as she set her haul down.
"And here's our lunch, as promised." Itsuki and his friends set their food down too.
"That's… quite a lot." Naofumi frowned at the massive pile of fish and meat presented to him. "I might need some extra hands here."
"Naofumi, I'm tired, can't I at least take a short nap first? I've been fighting all night. I had to go hunting afterward and then I had to drag this thing back to camp and butcher it." Itsuki moaned tiredly.
"No 'tired', you can sleep later," Naofumi smirked at his own terrible dad joke. "Besides, Kizuna has been up all night too and I don't hear her complaining."
"Eh, that's because my siblings and I were used to staying up all night." Kizuna smiled happily. "Plus, with some prey, it really takes a long while to track them down. I got really used to long nights in the Infinite Labyrinth to entertain myself because of that."
"Why didn't Bow Uncle just put the monster in his bow instead of carrying it here?" Filo cocked her head curiously.
...
Itsuki inhaled sharply and closed his eyes.
"Oooh. You forgot you could do that, huh?" Kizuna winced in sympathy. "It's cool, it's happened to me a few times too."
The bow hero just groaned in response and got to doing what Naofumi asked him to do. Kizuna didn't complain either and happily began to help out with the remaining fish. Aksel helped with seasoning the deer meat, wanting nothing more than to eat it and sleep for a day if not two.
The knight felt beyond exhausted, between the events of yesterday as well as their hike which lasted through the night. His mind could use a rest. Maya had teased him far too much.
Seriously. Did she HAVE to use that bodysuit? He still couldn't get it out of his mind. How it hugged her figure perfectly, and-
A finger tapped on Aksel's shoulder.
"What do you want?" Speak of the devil. Aksel turned around to find Maya smiling brightly at him. Was she not the least bit tired after everything?
"Can't you tell?" She asked curiously.
…
The knight looked confused, most likely because of how tired his brain was. Maya eventually had to roll her eyes and gesture to her body.
"What, you're dressed in a kimono now. Are you going to tease me with that too?" Aksel grumpily asked. "Make it so I can't even look at you innocently with your whole body covered?"
Maya began to pout. "Can't you tell?" She repeated.
"Tell what? All I see is-"
The tank's eyes boggled from their sockets.
Wait, Maya… was back to her original height!
His eyes scanned over her more closely. Even with her kimono on, he could tell that her body had filled out to her original proportions. Her raccoon tail poked from her kimono, not looking like it was too big for her body anymore.
Had she finished growing during their trek in the night?! He hadn't even thought about that after what'd happened in that room and-
Maya started to smile sincerely. Aksel sputtered in disbelief. It'd only been yesterday that she looked like a teenager. And… and now…
Oh, gods, he was crying. From happiness, from relief, it was hard to tell. But it was definitely a good cry. And she began to tear up a little bit too. "I, I'm sorry for all the teasing yesterday, but, can I… is it alright?-"
Aksel never gave her an answer, for he immediately hugged the raccoon girl close and kissed her square on the lips. Maya let out a yelp in surprise, but after she recovered, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the knight back heatedly.
Rishia looked up from the fish she was gutting and blushed up a storm at the sight. Kizuna set her tuna knife on her side and began to whoop up on the surprise make-out between the two lovers. And Naofumi looked up from his cooking in confusion.
"Why are they suddenly doing this?" He asked Itsuki. "They look like they haven't seen each other in years."
"Who's doing what?" The Bow Hero tiredly replied. He was too busy looking down to look up and see what was happening.
Naofumi pointed to the pair, and Itsuki looked at them.
Huh… oh. Aksel and Maya were kissing.
…
Could Itsuki go to bed now? Or at least have something to eat?
The two lovers disengaged, breathing heavily. There was a look in Maya's eyes though. One that said she was nowhere close to done with Aksel.
It would be a lie to say that Aksel didn't have that same look in his eyes too. Had he really been tired and hungry only a second ago? Weird how those two things didn't feel as important as the girl in front of him anymore. It was like they'd broken a dam between them, and now they wanted nothing more than to let it flow.
"Hey, um, Itsuki, could you pull mine and Maya's tent out of your weapon?" Aksel asked almost breathlessly.
"What? Are you volunteering to help set up the camp already?" Itsuki asked tiredly. He'd gone back to focusing on his cooking task as best he could.
"Um, it's not really that. Maya and I are going to need a place for privacy." Aksel tried to explain without blushing too hard.
Naofumi slowly paused in what he was doing.
No way, they weren't actually going to…
"Fine. Could you set up my tent for me as well?" Itsuki nodded weakly.
"Um, I'm only going to have time to set up our tent. And I'm going to set it up quite a distance from here so we don't bother you, and all." Aksel continued nervously.
By this point, even Rishia and Kizuna had stopped. They were both staring at the tank and the raccoon girl. One in growing horror, and the other with a wide crap-eating grin.
"Why would you do that? Aren't you afraid of monsters attacking your tent if you place it too far from us? And why can't you set up my tent too? I want to take a nap after this." Itsuki tiredly complained.
"Um, Itsuki, you see…" Oh crap, Aksel was blushing like crazy now. And Maya was twitching antsily next to him. She began tapping her feet impatiently against the ground, gesturing for Aksel to hurry up. "Look! Could you please just give us our tent man?! We really need it right now! Like, RIGHT now!"
"Again, why should I if you're not going to set mine up while I'm helping with lunch?!" Itsuki complained.
"Itsuki, I swear, stop being stubborn and just give me the damn tent! It's very important!" Aksel pled. "Possibly life and death important!"
"What could be so important that-" Itsuki began to reply.
"Okay, that's it." Maya suddenly snapped as she stepped forward, getting right into the Bow Hero's face and surprising him with the look on her face and the harshness of her words.
The raccoon girl had just finished going through puberty.
Again.
And she and Aksel had had to hold their feelings for each other back despite their constant teasing until this moment. The two of them were so full of sexual tension right now that it would be no exaggeration to say that they were on the verge of exploding. Maya in particular was especially done with this second-rate comedy routine.
She wanted it.
She needed it.
And she would have it.
Now.
"Itsuki." The pupils in Maya's eyes widened akin to a predator that was about to pounce. She harshly drove her hand forward and effortlessly picked the short young man by the hem of his new shirt. His feet dangled below him as Maya easily raised him above the ground, causing Itsuki to sputter.
"I am going to say this as slowly and clearly as I can so you will understand it. I will not repeat myself so pay attention and read my lips.
"Me and Aksel want to &^%$."
…
Itsuki sputtered, at first astounded, and then when his tired brain finally woke up, he went red in the face from embarrassment.
"And when I say $%^&, I mean the literal definition of that word. We are going to have sex. We are going to mate with one another. We are going to form the beast with two backs. We are going to go at each other like a pair of wild animals in the most depraved and degenerate way possible and are going to enjoy every single moment of it.
"So unless you want us to do it here and now while you watch it happen, you are going to give Aksel his goddamn tent. Right. NOW!"
Itsuki began to sweat in fear. He could tell that Maya had never been more dead serious before in her entire life. She very likely would jump the knight at any moment and have sex in front of them if he didn't act, consequences be damned.
"WELL!?" Maya all but screamed loud enough for the entire universe to hear.
"FUEH!" Rishia loudly whimpered.
"Woooooo! You tell him, girl!" Kizuna cheered happily.
Naofumi stared at the Hunting Tools Hero. She definitely had to be friends with L'Arc and Therese.
Their bad influence had clearly rubbed off on her during her childhood.
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that again?!" Kizuna angrily asked the Shield Hero but he just rolled his eyes in response.
Itsuki scrambled, pulling Aksel and Maya's tent from his weapon, and practically threw it at the pair. He almost offered to help them set it up as an apology for his stupidity, but then realized that it'd probably be better to not know where they'd be at. So instead, he allowed them to go as far away from them as possible as Itsuki did not want to feel any more embarrassment than what he already felt at that moment of time.
Almost immediately, without even thanking him, the pair ran off, away from the group, downstream. FAR downstream. And the speed at which they set up their tent in the distance must have set a new record somewhere.
You literally would have thought they'd disappeared into a dust cloud in their haste to set the thing up.
Within moments, they'd disappeared inside the tent, and no one would go down to disturb them.
…
"So," Kizuna elbowed Rishia in the side mischievously. "Wanna sneak up on them and watch? Maybe we'll learn a thing or two."
Well, no one besides Kizuna.
"FUEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
At least they'd gone far enough away that they didn't hear any of what was going on. Though the sound of the flowing river nearby probably helped to mask the noises they were making about now.
"Itsuki." Naofumi sighed loudly. "You really are an idiot."
"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!" Itsuki screeched. He was still blushing wildly from earlier. He couldn't even deny it.
"I'm pretty sure almost all of us had it figured out before Maya had to put it to you so… eloquently," Naofumi said in a dry tone.
"Don't. Please." Itsuki looked to be begging for mercy from whatever deity was watching over them right now.
"You were the one that dug your grave," Naofumi smirked as he drank some water out of a canteen. "You might as well lie in it."
"Daddy, what does %$&^ mean?" Filo asked innocently.
Naofumi promptly spat his drink out. "What?!"
"Does it mean mating? The act of reproduction that allows for the making of offspring between a Mommy and a Daddy that love each other very very much?" Filo supplied in the same tone of voice as before in case Daddy hadn't understood what Filo meant. "If that's the case, why does Daddy say the word so often? Does that mean that Daddy wants to reproduce with lots of bad people?"
"That better not be the case. Filo would be very angry with Daddy if Daddy wants to mate with somebody besides Mommy! Especially if they're bad people!" Filo pouted up at him.
"Rafu!"
…
Naofumi, once again, felt a part of him die. And he couldn't even blame Melty for it.
So much for his young daughter being innocent. "In this context… yes, it means that…" Naofumi felt another part of himself die as he then had to explain the multiple meanings of what the word meant to Filo so she'd understand.
He also had to make it clear that she was never to use it. Ever.
Especially in front of Mommy.
Mommy would definitely banish Daddy to the couch forever if that happened.
Filo eventually nodded in understanding. And Naofumi was able to sigh and hope this never came up again in the future.
"Okay. Let me correct my earlier statement. All of us, even Filo, realized what was happening before you." Naofumi said out loud to the Bow Hero.
"That's just sad."
Itsuki could only whimper in response.
Fortunately, to Itsuki's relief, the subject was dropped and they were all able to focus on lunch.
It wasn't for another half hour that Naofumi was done with cooking everything. Doing his best to try and teach Raph-Chan and Filo during that time. They sat down to eat a bountiful meal of fish and venison. The fruits from the deer made for a nice dessert, as he'd been able to combine them with some yogurt Kizuna had stored in her weapon to make something truly amazing.
It was sometime during this that Maya and Aksel reappeared. They were both sweaty, hair spiked and messy, and dressed haphazardly in thrown-on clothes. Not even they could resist the call of hunger forever.
However, the pair shoveled the food down like a pack of hungry animals. And though they sat around to chat out of politeness afterward, they clearly wanted to go back to their tent.
"Oh, by the way, there was something I forgot to mention about that type of deer monster." Kizuna suddenly spoke out. "You guys know that it's an endangered species in my world, right?"
"Huh- OH! I'm terribly sorry! We didn't know-" Aksel began to quickly apologize.
"It's fine. You didn't know." Kizuna smiled. "But anyway, the reason why they're endangered is that people hunt them for the fruits that grow from their 'horns'."
"W-What's so special about them?" Rishia asked curiously.
"Besides tasting really good… it's also a potent aphrodisiac when consumed by humans." Kizuna added with a smirk.
Oh… OH!
Aksel and Maya looked at each other at the same time. Then at the half-eaten desserts in their cups.
With a burst of speed, they bolted back to their tent to resume where they'd left off.
"Wow, it's great to be young, isn't it?" Kizuna laughed at Itsuki, who was staring in fear at the brown-haired hero.
He hadn't had much of an appetite thanks to what'd happened earlier. But he'd still had some of the fruit yogurts for dessert. And, as blood rushed to his cheeks, he realized Rishia had eaten it too!
"F-F-F-F-!" Rishia looked to be in the same boat. They kept on looking between each other and everyone else. They both looked so afraid and-
"Calm down you two, Kizuna's just pranking you." Naofumi rolled his eyes again.
"Awwww, how could you tell?!" Kizuna pouted at him.
"Because you wouldn't have let Raph-Chan and Filo eat it if that was the case," Naofumi smirked.
"Rafu!" "Yummy!" The two girls cheered happily.
"Hah! I said it only affects humans, didn't I?" Kizuna laughed. "But fine, yea I made it up. The monsters aren't even endangered. They're more pests in our world than anything. Sorry."
Rishia and Itsuki were still blushing wildly though. To think, to think they'd almost had a fright like that, and-
"Why the hell did you say that anyway?!" Itsuki asked angrily.
"Huh? Well, those two lovebirds obviously wanted to get back to it. I gotta be a good wing woman, ya know?" Kizuna winked.
Itsuki achieved the impossible of going from a full red blush to a pale white color within the span of a few seconds.
"I wonder how long they'll go for? Do you think they brought protection along with them? Or do you think they're just going at it like raw rabbits in heat? Oooh, how scandalous! Therese would be so jealous!" Kizuna continued excitedly.
…
The Bow Hero didn't say a word and promptly got up to get his own tent set up by himself. And after he'd haphazardly thrown it together until it was at least standing on its own, he went inside and didn't come back out to finish his lunch.
"... think I teased him too much?" Kizuna asked Naofumi curiously.
Rishia's ofuda shook. She checked it and found Itsuki had just sent her a message.
"Yes."
"You could just open the tent to say that yourself you know," Naofumi said towards the tent.
It was another moment, but then Rishia's ofuda shook again. She looked at it, and then she paled before showing it to Naofumi.
"&^%$ you." Naofumi read out loud.
Yep, it sounded like the Bow Hero was at the end of his rope. Naofumi couldn't help but chuckle. "Eh, whatever… Though if he doesn't confess to Rishia soon, we'll have to lay it on him a bit harder." Naofumi whispered to Kizuna.
"Fueh?!" Rishia looked at the Shield Hero frantically. Kizuna grinned, however, and nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Or maybe we should tease Rishia more. She might actually grow the confidence necessary to confess to that boy before he does." Naofumi then added with a smirk.
"So many options," Kizuna said to herself. "But which would be the most entertaining for my precious Squishy?"
"FUEH! DON'T TALK AS IF I'M NOT HERE! AND MY NAME IS RISHIA! RISHIA!" Rishia demanded with a pout and a full blush on her face.
"Squishy! Squishy!" Naofumi teased, causing Kizuna to laugh.
Before Rishia could protest again, the Shield Hero spoke up. "Anyway, why don't you go pretend that the fruit was actually an aphrodisiac and go into Itsuki's tent so we don't have to deal with your unresolved sexual tension anymore."
It was Rishia's turn to go from full-on blush to utterly pale within a short time span.
Kizuna mimicked her older brother figure's grin. "Great idea! Come on Squishy, I know you can do it! We believe in you!"
"FUEHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It was too bad the Bow Hero was already entering dreamland. Perhaps he would have overheard the conversation and done something about it?
"Rafu!"
"More food please!" Both daughters looked up at Naofumi hungrily.
"Heh, alright, but this is the last course. Daddy needs his rest too." Naofumi told the pair of hungry monsters.
"Okay! Thanks, Daddy!" Filo smiled as Naofumi patted her on the head.
"If you want more, I'm sure Kizuna will help you cook. Right Kizuna?" Naofumi asked.
"Of course! Just leave it to Big Sis Kizuna to help you out!" Kizuna stood proudly as she smiled down at Filo.
"Eh, but isn't Fishing Auntie Daddy's little sister?" Filo cocked her head to the side curiously.
So she could already tell, huh? Damn, Filo could be really sharp while being innocent at the same time.
"NO! I meant that I'm your BIG SIS!" Kizuna released a pout so adorable that Naofumi laughed.
"Ehhhhh?~" Filo tilted her head to the side.
"Rafu!" "Pen!" Both shikigami pointed a paw/flipper at the older Hero.
"B-But I've always wanted to be a big sis!" Kizuna looked like she was going to cry. Wasn't she making too big of a deal out of this?
"I thought you were already a big sister back home? Didn't you have a younger sister?" Naofumi asked.
"Yeah, but I was only bigger than her in age!" Kizuna pouted.
What did she- oh. OH!
"Ha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Stop laughing at me! Just because I'm short doesn't mean I won't grow someday!" Kizuna berated the Shield Hero.
"Too bad lolibaba. You have already become my sister. It'd be weird if you became my daughter too." Naofumi rolled his eyes with a playful smirk on his face.
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT CALLING ME THAT?!"
It wasn't long until they were all laughing. Kizuna eventually had to settle on the fact that she'd have to be the Auntie of Naofumi's kids. Which was probably better in the long run. "Alright, fine, I'll just be the cool older sis when L'Arc and Therese have kids!"
"You're going to have to wait a long time for that." Naofumi dryly remarked.
"Poor L'Arc." Rishia sighed quietly.
Eventually, they got to set up their own tents, and Raph-Chan took first watch with Filo so the others could rest. After hiking through most of the night, and specifically in Naofumi, Kizuna, and Rishia's case, after the long journey they'd had since escaping the Mirror Country, they were all exhausted and it was a miracle they hadn't keeled over to sleep before now.
They weren't sure how far away from Central City they were, but what they did know was that they really needed to rest. Or, in Maya and Aksel's case, catch up on lost time before they proceeded.
Hopefully, they caught up with the others by tomorrow…
Knowing Naofumi's luck, they'd probably find them in deep trouble. But he was too tired to worry about it after the success with Filo.
And honestly, part of him felt optimistic that they'd catch up to them before anything bad happened.
Raphtalia slowly walked with the crowd of people through the large front gates.
"Is it just me, or does it look like there are more people entering the city today than normal?" Therese pointed out.
"Better for us. They can't check everyone that way." L'Arc replied.
Guards stood in the crowd, stopping random passersby to check for weapons, identification papers, etc. So the group separated, with Dou-Lon walking with Glass and L'Arc walking with Raphtalia. Therese walked by herself.
In the two days that'd passed, Raphtalia had grown back to her adulthood. She was completely unrecognizable from the wanted poster of her as a child. Because of this, she'd been able to enter another town on the way here to get some fresh holy water at a Shinto temple for Glass, as well as a pair of new katanas for herself and Dou-Lon. Their old ones were already breaking and bending due to the demi-humans' higher levels. Their current weapons were currently concealed under their kimonos, and their ears were hidden under hoods that matched their kimono's colors.
Raphtalia had also thought about gathering info at the message board as well. But she couldn't read the papers on them. If it wasn't for Therese's gem magic, she wouldn't have even been able to talk to the people of this world, much less, understand them. And though she was unrecognizable, she still had to go to great lengths to hide her demi-human status from others.
In the end, it was better she hadn't stuck around in town longer than necessary.
Soon after they were past the gates, having squeezed into large groups of people to avoid the Katana guards monitoring the crowd, the group met up together again down the main street.
"Did you run into any problems?" L'Arc asked Therese when she rejoined the group last.
"I almost thought a guard was going to stop my group. But then two guys began to have an argument nearby and he ran off to break it up. Besides that, nothing happened to me." Therese replied.
"Good, me and kiddo here didn't have any issues either." L'Arc nodded to himself.
"Neither did we." Dou-Lon supplied for him and Glass.
Therese looked at the spirit woman worriedly. Even with the new and stronger holy water to treat her cursed burns, she still looked tired. "Are you sure you'd rather not have another day to rest?"
"I took the rest I needed the day before when we reached the outskirts of the city. And you saw the guards patrolling the forest this morning. I would rather we get home as soon as possible. Then, I will take my time to rest." Glass explained.
"I don't know. It really looks like something important is going on today." L'Arc looked around nervously. He really wished that they had more Soul Healing Water on hand.
If only they hadn't used it all in their battle against Kyo.
There were a lot of people in the Capital. Far more than just the soldiers he'd been preparing for when they decided to use the Hourglass to escape.
Something about it didn't feel right to the Scythe Hero.
"Come, it would be unwise to loiter here," Glass spoke, gesturing to more soldiers who were standing guard nearby.
L'Arc grimaced. "Alright. Guess it's better to dive into the beast instead of having it swallow us against our will."
"That was oddly poetic of you, L'Arc." Dou-Lon complimented.
"Thanks, man, I try."
The group began to move through the city.
Dou-Lon asked about the architecture as they walked. The gem girl answered, verifying that It was yet another ripoff of Japanese culture.
The hakuko bit his tongue, but otherwise, he didn't openly complain as he had before.
He still hadn't accepted it. But he'd at least chosen to be respectful about the differences between how their worlds treated things from the Heroes.
It had helped when Therese said that their country had less Hero influence than other countries. Though, when he finally made the connection that even the kimono he was wearing to blend in was heavily based on Japanese heroes, he nearly had a stroke.
To think he'd spent all this time wearing such clothing without permission! Blasphemy!
It was only because Therese had promised that a past Jewel Hero had gifted the designs of the outfit to the people that the hakuko hadn't torn it off to walk around in only his undergarments.
Therese might have lied about it though to prevent that scenario from occurring.
"Man, there really are a lot of people here today," L'Arc muttered in annoyance. He saw a lot of civilians from farmers to merchants. But he also saw a lot of soldiers.
Like, a lot a lot.
"That's good for us, though, isn't it?" Raphtalia asked.
"It should be, but… something about this just doesn't sit right with me." L' Arc narrowed his eyes deeply before addressing the Fan Hero. "Glassy, your gut sense is usually better attuned to this kind of stuff. Surely you feel it too?"
"I do, but it doesn't matter. We must reach the Hourglass and get out of here." Glass said seriously. "The longer we spend in this country, the more time Kyo has to prepare. And for all we know, Hero Naofumi and Hero Itsuki could be in worse trouble than we are. It will do us no good to stand around and do nothing."
"I'm just getting a bad vibe," L'Arc said seriously. "I know we're expecting to get ambushed near the Dragon Hourglass since the Katana country knows it's our only way to escape besides the border. But it's almost like they have their whole damn army here." L'Arc said after looking around. "They wouldn't risk leaving their borders to other countries open just to grab us, right?"
"Yes, they do have quite a bit of their forces here." Therese looked around nervously. "Glass, maybe-"
However, as the gem girl began to speak, Glass shifted her vision again.
"You're right. There are a lot of soldiers here so let's not dally and draw any unwanted attention to ourselves." The spirit woman continued forward at a faster pace.
Raphtalia lengthened her stride to keep up with her. L'Arc and Therese sighed as they and Dou-Lon followed behind.
"Is there a reason why you aren't listening to their concerns?" Raphtalia asked the spirit woman. "You know they're only doing this because you're still weakened from your curse."
"Weakened, yes, but not weak," Glass replied sternly.
"Yes, you're not weak. Our practice bouts the last few days have convinced me of that." Raphtalia said genuinely, getting a small smile from the spirit woman.
"It is not that I don't share their worries," Glass spoke. "Perhaps we could have sent you in ahead of us to scout things out for us. Maybe figure out why so many people are entering the city. But those guards were also checking for illusion magic. It would have been dangerous to send you in alone. And besides, Sickle must be warned about Kyo's betrayal as soon as possible, and you and Dou-Lon need to be reunited with Hero Naofumi.
"You both miss him, do you not?" Glass finished seriously.
"... every day since we got here." Raphtalia nodded her head.
"Then know this, Raphtalia. I am willing to take on an entire country to reunite you with your lover. And so that my friends can rest without fear of being hunted." Glass said determinedly.
…
Raphtalia didn't stop but she rested a hand on the spirit woman's shoulder. They'd gotten far ahead of the others by this point, so the two slowed in their pace. "I'm grateful you'd do that for all of us Glass... Just know, me and Dou-Lon care a lot for you too. Just like L'Arc and Therese.
"As much as it hurt in the beginning, and even though it hurts a bit now, I haven't minded traveling with you guys. You've helped Dou-Lon and me to grow in ways we hadn't been able to before… quite literally, in my case." Raphtalia chuckled.
"I admit. I never believed I would one day meet a race that aged and grew as fast as yours," Glass said genuinely with a touch of mirth in her tone. "And even with that, your mind is as sharp as mine."
"Really?" Raphtalia asked happily.
"Well, mentally, you're certainly far more mature than L'Arc." Glass rolled her eyes. "Though it doesn't take much effort to achieve that."
L'Arc and the others were still a bit behind, but L'Arc once again felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Was this going to become a regular occurrence to the Scythe Hero?!
"Well, Glass… as much as I miss Naofumi, I would hate for something bad to happen to you or the others because we rushed things. You got me?" Raphtalia smiled sincerely.
Glass couldn't help but smile in return. "Yes. Thank you, Raphtalia."
"So know, while you might be willing to fight to the Hourglass for my sake, I'll be just as willing to fight to keep you safe. After all, you, L'Arc, and Therese are my friends too." Raphtalia said with a genuine smile. "It's the least I could do after all you've done for me."
…
Glass didn't speak. Looking deep in thought from the half-tanuki's words.
It was while she was deep in thought that a figure suddenly appeared in front of the spirit woman.
Glass automatically stopped so she wouldn't walk into them. But Raphtalia continued on ahead, not noticing anything as she walked through the stranger's left side.
"Raphtalia, wait-" Glass looked up as she began to move around the figure.
She paused in surprise.
His ghostly visage stood there. His stern face turned at her. A gasp escaped the Fan Hero's lips.
"It… it can't be…"
The figure was that of a tall man. Slightly taller than L'Arc. His black hair was tied in a top-knot that leaned backward. A pale-white haori was loosely wrapped over his shoulders like a cloak. Its sleeves gently moved with some unknown breeze. The word for 'Sword' was sewn on it close to where one's heart would be if the haori had been worn properly.
The stranger was on the younger side but was well weathered and wiry. The most striking thing about him, however, was his face. It was covered in a multitude of scars, the most prominent one being a burn scar that covered almost the entirety of the right side of his face. It extended further down beyond the collar of the black shirt that he wore under his haori.
The stranger's singular good eye looked down at Glass as if challenging her. Its green sheen reflected the spirit woman's stunned expression.
It… it wasn't possible…
"K… Kenshiro?" Glass muttered quietly.
The former Katana Hero said nothing. He merely looked from Glass to Raphtalia, who'd paused up ahead when she'd noticed the spirit woman had stopped. "Glass?"
The ghost's gaze fell on her, and Glass wasn't sure if she imagined it or not. But a corner of his mouth lifted up ever so slightly.
And as suddenly as he appeared, he vanished in a misty haze from the street before her eyes.
"Hey, Glass, is everything alright?" Dou-Lon asked as he, L'Arc, and Therese caught up.
"H-Huh? Didn't you-" She turned to look at the others.
"Weird. You're the one who said not to loiter around." L'Arc smirked widely at her. "Second thoughts?"
…
Glass didn't answer for a moment. Then she shook her head. "Of course not. I just want to make sure I'm close by when you inevitably get us in trouble."
"Hardy har har." L'Arc rolled his eyes with a genuine chuckle at the end. Surprisingly enough, nobody pressed Glass any further. Instead, they continued on with Dou-Lon. Having Glass and Raphtalia follow right behind them at a brisk pace. "We already chose to dive into this beast anyway. Might as well see how far we can go."
Glass briefly thought about what'd happened. Kenshiro… that had to be the ghostly figure Glass had noticed following them the past few days. She'd never gotten a good look before, but he fit the figure following them almost perfectly.
But then, if that was the case… why?
…
The crowds kept on growing, and eventually, the group had to make an active effort to make their way past people. The conversation was kept at a minimum with so many others around. They could only speak in whispers next to each other when possible. So Glass was unable to talk to anyone about the things she was pondering in her mind.
The spirits of the dead lingering around were nothing new to her. It was a rare occurrence, but a documented and proven one, in no small part thanks to her race's innate ability to see and communicate with spirits. But as a general rule, the dead, at least those that weren't vengeful spirits, only showed themselves with a purpose and only before the people to whom they held a strong connection in their life.
Kenshiro had fought together with Glass in the past, but they were never close. He preferred to keep everyone at an arm's reach and had only been concerned about the state of his country and its people above all else.
So why did he appear then? Why here? Why now?
...
Eventually, the group came upon a large area near the Dragon Hourglass building. L'Arc frowned as he saw not only the thick crowds that'd be impossible to wade through, but a large stone in a circular outdoor gazebo. Embedded in the stone was a single plain-looking Katana.
"&^%$." L'Arc cursed under his breath.
"What is it?" Dou-Lon asked worriedly. It wasn't often the Scythe Hero dropped an expletive.
"I think I've figured out why there's so many people." L'Arc grimaced as he pointed.
The two demi-humans looked at the sword in the stone that L'Arc was glaring at. It was Dou-Lon, however, who noticed the gemstone in the blade's hilt, and his eyes widened. "A hero weapon."
"Yeah. It seems they're going to see if it'll select someone today." L'Arc sighed audibly. "&^%$. I knew we should have gathered more info. Or at least asked someone what the heck was going on."
"We couldn't risk anyone recognizing us. And we can't risk illusion magic with so many magic users around." Therese said placatively. "But maybe, we could have eavesdropped on people's conversations to realize this sooner."
"Does this mean we won't be able to make it to the Dragon Hourglass?" Dou-Lon asked with concern.
"Make it? No way. The hourglass is temporarily sealed now for sure." L'Arc shook his head. "Damn it, I knew this was a bad idea. Now I'm going to have to watch as Kenshiro's legacy is possibly handed off to some chump that'll support Katana's hate for us."
In front of them, members of the crowd walked up the steps to the sword in the stone. And it was a wide variety. Soldiers. Farmers. Merchants. Craftsmen. It was open to all.
As each person walked up, the crowd would hold their breath. But after they failed to pull it out, the crowd would groan. And the person would dejectedly walk down the steps as the next one in line walked up to try.
"You've told us a bit about him before. But you never sounded like you were close to the past Hero." Dou-Lon said.
"They were at one point," Therese spoke sadly. "They were childhood friends growing up but grew apart as the Demon Dragon began to move against the world. Kenshiro's older brother had been the Katana Hero back then, and when the Demon Dragon's forces attacked this country, it was to kill him and the rest of his family.
"Yea… when I heard the news, I rushed to help as soon as possible, but…" L'Arc looked sad. "Kenshiro's older bro and most of the rest of his family were killed in the initial surprise attack. The Demon Dragon's forces thought they'd be able to steamroll through the rest of the country's defenses after that and get all the way to the Capital here... But what they hadn't counted on was Kenshiro being chosen by the Katana to be its next wielder right after his older brother's death."
"By himself, he fought off an entire monster army, took on one of the Demon Dragon's generals and forced him to retreat, as well as protected the surviving members of his family and his town, all over the course of an hour… by the time I finally arrived with reinforcements from both our countries, he was barely alive. And I had to drag him from the battlefield so he could get treated while our soldiers fought off the rest of the monsters."
"He got a lot of his scars from that battle…" L'Arc's face darkened. "And after going through what he did, he wasn't the same guy I knew growing up anymore."
"How did he change?" The hakuko asked.
"He became more distant and serious." The Gem Girl spoke up again. "He often butted heads with L'Arc after that. Finding L'Arc's laidback attitude annoying and childish. He also openly disrespected our Cardinal Hero after her summoning because of how inexperienced and carefree she was about her task."
Glass tightened her grip on her sleeves. But besides that, she said nothing.
"Not that I can really blame him in hindsight." L'Arc sighed. "He could have been a little more lenient in his opinion on Kizuna… but honestly, she probably wouldn't have grown enough to face the Demon Dragon if it wasn't for him always pushing her."
"I see… so it was a pretty complicated relationship." Dou-Lon nodded in understanding.
"Yes. After the war, and after Kizuna defeated the Demon Dragon, the two of them tried to mend up the old relationships that they'd burned." Therese continued. "They still weren't the close friends that they were before. But they were making progress and no longer tried to go at each other's throats over every little thing.
"But then the Waves came." L'Arc interrupted grimly. "And we tried to fight them on our own at first until we realized that they were happening more frequently and were growing more powerful.
"The legends said that having Cardinal Heroes would help with suppressing the Waves. So the other three Holy Heroes were eventually summoned, and Kenshiro was selected to train them because of his strength. Things were looking up, and the day finally came when he felt confident to bring them to their first wave…
"But Kenshiro died in that Wave… … and I couldn't save him." L'Arc's fists tightened.
Glass's grip relaxed and she spoke to her friend in concern. "L'Arc, it wasn't just you-"
"That's not the thing Glassy." He snapped quietly at her. After all, he didn't want to draw attention to them. "I just don't understand. How? Kenshiro was just as strong as me and you back then. And yet he died to that stupid monster. After everything else he'd lived through before that point!"
"Me and you dealt with the boss easily enough. So why… why? I just… I don't understand how. When it looked like things would finally look up for our world… how did he of all people die to that stupid wave monster?"
…
"Maybe we should backtrack and exit the city." Raphtalia finally suggested when it became apparent that they would not be leaving today. And because L'Arc didn't look very happy being forced to relive his old memories.
"That sounds like a good idea to me," Dou-Lon said with a nod of his head. "We can leave the city a different way to avoid suspicion. Perhaps-"
However, before the hakuko could say more, a murmur passed over the crowd. It appeared that someone important was walking up the stairs towards the stone this time.
The person had a cocky smirk on his face. And he was dressed in samurai armor over a school uniform.
"Ugh, that guy." L'Arc made a noise of disgust.
"Who is he?" Dou-Lon asked.
"That boy is a genius inventor and… Kenshiro's nephew." Therese said uneasily. "He never held any respect for his uncle, however, even though he was amongst the few people that Kenshiro saved the day he was chosen as the Katana Hero…"
"I can't believe he's trying to be selected by the Katana again. As if the fifth time would be the charm. He should get a hint already." L'Arc grumbled in disgust.
Raphtalia watched as the cocky-looking man reached the top steps and stood behind the rock. He still had a smug grin on his face. And he had a squad of girls cheering for him at the bottom of the steps.
Raphtalia felt her skin burn. The guy looked like Naofumi, but… it was all so wrong. He was acting just like Kyo.
The thought of Naofumi being Kyo in her mind made Raphtalia want to vomit.
The crowd began to whisper excitedly. The guy, whatever his name was, looked down at the weapon with the widest crap-eating smirk on his face.
It didn't sit well with those watching to see what'd happen.
"Hmmm?" Glass looked down at her fans with a frown. "My weapon is telling me that something's about to happen."
"Yeah, mine too." L'Arc was frowning as well. "Why are our weapons acting up now?"
The guy, after smirking confidently at the crowd, began to reach out for the weapon with both hands.
Glass and L'Arc's weapons felt like they were screaming at the pair at the action. The two fell to their knees, eyes wide in surprise. "L'Arc, Glass?" Therese said in worry.
"What… that guy is about to enslave that weapon to his will?" L'Arc said in confusion.
"My weapon is saying the same thing. I do not understand." Glass frowned in worry.
The two Heroes looked unsure of what to do. How could someone enslave a Hero's weapon? What the hell did that mean?
L'Arc felt himself pulling his scythe out from his sleeve and preparing to change it to a larger weapon form. But then, what could he do? If he attacked, they put the entire country's focus on them. But if he didn't, Kenshiro's legacy would be stolen by this brat.
It didn't make any sense how someone could steal a hero weapon. But he'd never been known for thinking things through all the way. His scythe flashed as it changed to a different weapon form and-
Boom!
Before he could attack, a bright flash of light erupted from the rock. "Ack!" Trash fell backward as part of the gazebo collapsed. The soldiers around him hastily backed up and raised their weapons to look around for whoever had attacked them. It wasn't until a moment later that the answer to their question became apparent.
The boy wasn't holding the katana in his hands. Yet, it had disappeared from the stone.
"Wh-What happened?"
"Did the weapon choose a wielder?"
"Why isn't our country's favored genius holding it though?"
"What happened to the Vassal Katana?!"
As these questions and more began to pour from the crowd, others stared in shock at L'Arc's group.
Or, rather, specifically, they were staring at Raphtalia. Whose hood had been blasted off by a rush of wind, and whose eyes were staring in shock at the blade floating in front of her. Or, at least, to the eyes of everyone else besides Raphtalia and her group, that was what it looked like.
But that wasn't the case.
A ghostly apparition, Kenshiro, held the weapon by the tip of its pommel. The blade was angled towards the ghost, while the handle, with the brilliantly shining jewel in its pommel, was held out towards Raphtalia.
"What… what is…" The half-tanuki was at a complete loss for words.
"K-Kenshiro?" L'Arc and Therese muttered in surprise.
Glass's eyes widened. It appeared she wasn't the only one that could see him anymore.
"What's going on? W-Who's that person? What's he doing?" Dou-Lon asked in an astounded voice.
The ghost of the past Katana Hero said nothing. Neither did he address his old allies. Instead, he moved the weapon forward a little towards Raphtalia and gave her a nod of approval.
"Raphtalia." L'Arc breathed out in shock. "I think… I think he's telling you to take it. The Katana has chosen you to be its next wielder."
Raphtalia was hopelessly confused and bewildered by what was going on. Was this scarred person in front of her really the previous Katana Hero? And, if so, why was he offering his weapon to her? Did he want her to take his place?
But why?! She was just a girl from a country village that was the Shield Hero's sword and companion! And, and she'd made so many mistakes before now! She, there… there was no way she could be worthy of being a Hero! It just wasn't-
"THIEVES!"
Everyone jerked their heads at the gazebo. Trash was standing up again and was pointing in their direction with fury in his eyes. "THEY'VE STOLEN MY KATANA FROM ME! THIEVES!"
Kenshiro finally turned his head to glare at his nephew. He still said nothing but looked back at Raphtalia with determination as he pushed the blade towards her.
"&^%$! WE GOTTA GO!" L'Arc yelled as he brandished his scythe while Dou-Lon pulled out his weapon right after. Glass and Therese also readied their fans and gem magic. The civilians around them began to quickly disperse with surprised shouting.
"SICKLE HAS SENT ITS HEROES TO STEAL MY WEAPON! STOP THEM!" Trash demanded.
Raphtalia was still uncertain though. She… she couldn't…
"Miss Raphtalia! We've gotta go!" Dou-Lon grabbed Raphtalia by the wrist and pulled her back.
Raphtalia jerked after Dou-Lon. But as she did so, Kenshiro finally stepped forward and placed the handle of the Vassal weapon in Raphtalia's outstretched hand.
She instinctively gripped it in response.
At the contact, a single thought, not hers, entered her mind. From the touch of Kenshiro's hand against hers.
'Become the sword you always strove to be. The one that will save everyone in our worlds.'
Raphtalia
Job class change! Katana Hero!
The tanuki's job class changed on her HUD to reflect her new hero status. Her stats all shot way up as she was put under the Katana Hero's stat build.
But with that, something very worrying happened.
The seal on her chest. The one she'd worn ever since she'd vowed to never leave Naofumi's side.
It flared a bright purple under her kimono. And disappeared entirely as they ran away from Trash and the raging mob of soldiers behind him.
Her connection to Naofumi had been lost.
Raphtalia was, in full, a Hero in her own right now.
Author's Notes:
Ok, I have to say it here at least. I did say I would save my thoughts on the anime till the end. But I can't hold back on this latest episode for one main reason.
Putting Raphtalia with Naofumi and Rishia.
I find the intelligence of the creative team behind the show very low right now. It made absolutely zero sense to make this change. Even the manga got this right.
You guys might be frustrated with it in my fic. But separating Naofumi and Raphtalia gives them both, especially Raphtalia, the opportunity to grow as characters. It makes their reunion and path together after this part all the better. It also gives L'Arc, Glass, and Therese a valid way to escape their prison. And a chance for Raphtalia to get to know people besides Naofumi and to grow enough that she becomes worthy of becoming a Hero herself.
The fact that the anime has essentially taken this bit of development away from them and changed up so many things in the Otherworld Arc because of it has me questioning the amount of brain cells shared by the entire creative team behind the anime. It is something I see absolutely NO REASON WHATSOEVER to do besides giving more screentime to Kidtalia. As cute as she is, it is no excuse to butcher an entire arc, her future relationship with Naofumi, as well as her entire future character growth for just an episode or two of cuteness.
Unless there is actually a reason behind this besides kidtalia moments and somehow hamfisting the vassal katana and Raph-Chan into the plot later on, I will be severely pissed with this season overall and will demand that a different creative team or a different animation studio entirely should be put in charge of adapting the anime going forward. The idiots in charge of it now obviously have no idea what they're doing.
At least they got Kizuna right. Her VA killed it with her role. Rishia too. Hell, they've done a good job with the side characters in general and even Kyo. Makes me wish they'd put that same level of effort into not ruining the main cast and their plotlines.
Anyway, sorry for the rant. Last week's episode just pissed me off with this. I honestly do hope they prove me wrong and make me eat my words. For now, here's an omake to lift your spirits.
Hero Clips!
Idol Angels
"Daddy, listen!"
Filo opened her mouth and began to sing a glorious melody. She'd already been a good singer back in her world. But because of her monster transformation, caused by her traveling between worlds outside of a wave, her humming fairy form improved her singing to a degree that she was on Naofumi's level in terms of cooking.
Heavenly tier, in other words.
"Wow, you really sound amazing!" Naofumi commented.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan cheered.
Awww, she was too adorable. Naofumi lifted his daughter up to nuzzle her cheek with his and-
"MY GLORIOUS FILO-TAN!"
"Ack!" Naofumi and Raph-Chan fell backward.
"Eh?" Filo looked up.
A portal had formed overhead. And from it, the Spear Hero fell, hearts over his eyes. "TO THINK SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SONG COULD CARRY ACROSS TIME AND SPACE TO MY HEART!"
"Ack, it's Spear Guy!" Filo just managed to avoid being tackled and hid behind Naofumi as he got back up.
"Motoyasu… it's great to see you again, and I'm glad you look well, but WHAT THE &%$# ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Naofumi yelled at the end.
"What am I doing here? Isn't it obvious?!" Motoyasu grinned widely. "After hearing what that beautiful refrain, there was no way we could stay on the sidelines any longer! We had to see this for ourselves!"
"We?" Naofumi asked.
"Yes, we. How do you think he got here in the first place?"
Naofumi blinked.
Fitoria was there too.
And she was FLYING UP ABOVE THEM WITH FILO!
She looked down at him with a bored expression. "My weapon is capable of traveling between worlds without the use of waves, you know."
"B-B-But then why don't you do that in canon?!" Naofumi yelled incredulously.
Fitoria raised an eyebrow. "And start with my level at one and my race changed to a different monster form every time Fitoria goes somewhere new? Sorry, but Fitoria prefers living and being a Filolial." Because yes, even all-powerful beings like Fitoria aren't immune to the rule that starting out in a new world puts you at level one. And yes, despite being a hero, her monster race would change too depending on the world she visited.
Though she'd at least retain the equip bonuses from all the weapon forms she'd unlocked, making her stronger at level one just like Naofumi and other Heroes that visited other worlds. Though with how high priority of a target she was by the antagonists behind the waves, her doing this and putting herself in such a vulnerable position was a very, very, very, very, very, very, very… a thousand very's terrible idea. Which is why you never see Fitoria do this in canon.
But here, we rely on crack to make our stupid dreams a reality. So that's what we're going to do!
"Though, Fitoria has to admit. Fitoria has never been able to fly before." She said as she looked at her wings curiously.
"That's because Filo and Fitoria are humming fairies now!" Filo said happily.
"Strange, even Heroes that are a monster race are affected by travel between worlds." Ethnobalt appeared with a sheet of paper that he was furiously taking notes on. "I'll have to remember that if I ever travel between worlds."
"Oi, what's even going on?!" Naofumi yelled angrily.
"Fitoria, sing with Filo!" Filo said excitedly.
"I'm level one right now since I've never been in this world, but Fitoria will give it her best." Fitoria smiled.
The two angel girls began to sing. And you could see as the heavens parted for their voices to transcend space and time.
"Idol angels! Idol angels! IDOL ANGELS!" Motoyasu shrieked in excitement.
He ripped his armor off and underneath was a manager's outfit. "I have to show them off to everyone! Their talents and beauty will touch countless lives just as it has touched my own!"
"I shall travel as well! I'd love to see the effects their symphony would have on spirits and monsters!" Ethnobalt said excitedly.
Naofumi… just blinked. He finally realized where he was at.
"Come on, Raph-Chan, we're going back to the omake where we worship you above all else," Naofumi said grumpily.
"Rafu!"
And so, Motoyasu became the tour manager for Filo and Fitoria. The singing duo sang so beautifully that they were able to quell the hatred of the world. As well as drag a certain somebody out from his secret lab because of how annoying he found their singing to be.
"Will you shut up with the racket! I'm trying to fix my missing arm problem so I can come back to clobber everyone and-" Kyo promptly tripped over a rock and died.
"Wha- HOW DID I DIE FROM TRIPPING OVER A ROCK!?" Kyo's soul appeared to scream at the sky. "BETTER YET, HOW DID THAT ROCK EVEN APPEAR THERE?! THERE WAS NOTHING THERE WHEN I TOOK THAT LAST STEP!"
Wish I could say I did that. But somebody else has that ability as their cheat so I'll blame them instead.
"Wait, really, who-" Kyo began to ask.
Anyway, as to how you died, that's because anything is possible when there's enough crack to justify it. Now go back to being a whiny bitch for me.
Kyo screamed and, somehow, his soul tripped over the same rock, and his soul died because of that. Because of crack.
Nobody even realized he was dead until after the autograph session was over.
Till Next Time
Allen