Chapter 3 The Winter Shogun

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KONOSUBA OR KAMEN RIDER.

(Next few days, the arrival of winter.)

"I want money!" Kazuma groans, banging the table and looking very frustrated.

"Everyone wants money, Kazuma, that's obvious. Anyway, you're broke, with not a penny in your pocket, and on top of that you make a goddess like me sleep in a stable every night." Aqua said, sounding a little indignant.

"Honestly, your lives are a mess." Haruka mentions to Kazuma and Aqua.

"And what can we do?! Because of this useless girl's magic, most of all our rewards are going to debt!" Kazuma points at Aqua indignantly.

"Without me, we would never have beaten that demon king's general, so you should thank me!" Aqua demands looking annoyed.

"I can't stand sleeping in that disgusting cold snap until I die!" Kazuma puts his hands on his head looking very angry.

"I can't do anything to help you, in fact this city would have perished in the battle with Beldia if it hadn't been for me and my Skills, you should thank me more, you should all praise me and please me a lot!" Aqua waves his arms in Kazuma's direction.

Haruka frowns, trying to think of something to calm these two down, until Megumin and Darkness enter the Guild and approach them.

"What's all the fuss about so soon? Have you found a mission for us to do?" Megumin approaches the three, distracting them from Kazuma and Aqua's discussion.

"Not really. There aren't that many missions to do." Haruka mentions, making the whole group look at the guild, which is full of adventurers enjoying themselves.

The adventurers are eating, drinking and having a good time in the crowded guild.

"The reward for defeating a leader of the demon king's army has been divided among all the adventurers who took part in the battle, there's no point in hunting dangerous monsters in winter when you're flush with cash, but I'm all set to go out and fight." Megumin speaks with determination to Haruka and Kazuma.

"Me too, the bigger the monster the better for me." Darkness says, squirming with excitement, making the whole group look at her with confusion.

PAUSE

The group stands in front of the quest board trying to choose a good quest to earn money.

"The rewards are very good but none of them are decent." Kazuma says, still looking at the board.

"Kazuma, Kazuma!" Darkness said, catching Kazuma's eye. "How about that? A mission to catch a pack of white wolves, the reward is a million eris! Can you imagine these wolves attacking my whole body?" Darkness gives a slight groan, sounding very excited.

"No." Kazuma says dryly, denying Darkness' request.

"Kazuma, Kazuma!" Megumin catches Kazuma's eye. "How about that? A mission to deal a blow to a bear. Now it's time to show which of us has the strongest attack with my magic blast!" Megumin strikes a pose holding his staff.

"I'm out, I don't want to mess with a strong animal like that." Kazuma rejects the idea, leaving Meumin a little sad.

"Look, most of these missions, if we organize ourselves, can be solved quite easily." Haruka says, looking at Kazuma.

"The Destroier fortress is approaching, we're recruiting lookouts to predict its route. What is this Destroier?" Haruka asks, looking at the mission poster.

"The Destroier is the Destroier. It's a huge fortress that moves very fast." Darkness says.

"It's a fortress that destroys everything in its path, and it's very popular with children." Megumin says.

"You don't understand very well, but I'll keep that information." Haruka thinks, looking at Megumin.

"All right, let's see." Kazuma approaches the board, choosing a mission. "Uhm, what's that? A mission to kill a Snow Spirit, hey what's a Snow Spirit?" Kazuma asks looking at the group. "They don't seem strong by name, and the reward is 100,000 eris apiece."

"There are a lot of Spirits across the snowy plains, and spring will come half a day for every one you kill. They're pretty weak monsters so it's pretty easy to kill them, but..." Megumin explains to Kazuma but is interrupted by Aqua.

"If we're going to accept this mission, I need to get ready!" Aqua says as she leaves to get something.

"Hehe snow monsters." Darkness says quietly, looking away with a flushed face.

"Why does she seem so happy about this mission?" Haruka and Kazuma ask themselves mentally, as they look suspiciously at Darkness.

PAUSE

The whole group is dressed for the cold, except Haruka who is wearing her usual winter coat. The group arrives on the plains and observes the various snow spirits floating through the air.

"Are those snow spirits?" Kazuma asks, observing the cute little balls with eyes.

"They look like stuffed animals." Haruka says as she watches the spirits.

"Aqua, are you going to be okay like this? You didn't bring your staff." Haruka asks, looking at Aqua.

"Of course I did! I can even catch them with this." Aqua holds up a net to catch insects. "I thought I could catch some and keep them in my little bottles." Aqua opens a pouch at his waist showing three glass bottles. "I thought I'd catch some and mix them with our drinks, then we'd always have cold drinks!" Aqua smiles, holding up a bottle.

Kazuma looks incredulously at Aqua, but shifts his focus to Darkness.

"Darkness, come here, where's your armor? Are you going to be okay in just this outfit?" Kazuma looks at Darkness' clothes, embarrassing her.

"It's okay..." Darkness is breathing heavily. "I'm just a bit cold in the legs..." Darkness looks very excited.

"I guess a hot-thinking freak has a higher body temperature than normal." Kazuma thinks to himself.

(HUNTING MISSION)

(Kill the Snow Spirits.)

Kazuma runs after the Snow Spirits trying to kill them.

"Wait a minute, number three! Drugs are running everywhere." Kazuma runs from a Snow Spirit.

"I got another one, Kazuma look here!" Aqua shows a bottle with three Spirits. I'm killing it!" Aqua looks happy to have caught them.

"That makes three." Haruka picks up a Spirit and crushes it with her hands.

"Kazuma, can I use explosive magic?" Megumin asks Kazuma.

"But of course, finish them all off!" Kazuma nods, giving Megumin permission.

"Leave it to me!" Megumin begins to cast his spell, preparing his explosive magic.

"Well you think I'd better get ready." Haruka speaks as she takes the AMAZON DRIVER out of her backpack and fits it around her waist.

"EXPLOSION!" Megumin shouts as she casts her explosive magic at the Snow Spirits, burning several of them with the blast.

The explosion was so powerful that it lifted a lot of snow, causing the group to cover their eyes at the blast. As the snow fell, all they saw was a crater in front of them and Megumin lying in the snow.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Kazuma approaches and crouches down next to the girl.

"I think I got eight..." Megumin groans, looking very exhausted. "That leaves me with a total of nine destroyed Snow Spirits." Megumin raises her right arm and waves it in the air.

"You did very well, but it would have been much nicer if you hadn't fallen face-first into the snow." Kazuma smiles, imagining the money he'll make at the end of the mission.

"Really Megumin, that explosion was very..." Haruka senses a threatening presence approaching.

"Hey guys, look over there!" Darkness shouts making everyone turn towards a small fog that's approaching.

"That's not good..." Haruka goes on high alert for what's approaching.

"What's that?" Kazuma is startled.

"Impressive." Darkness cheers, drawing his sword.

Kazuma and Haruka worry about the approaching being, while Megumin plays dead.

Aqua looks at Kazuma and Haruka: "Kazuma, Haruka! I'll tell you why the adventurers won't accept the mission to kill Snow Spirits. You've come from Japan and you've probably heard this name on the news. He's the master of the Snow Spirits, and it's also said to be a winter tradition that the Winter Shogun has arrived."

"The Winter Shogun, one of the monsters created for you to get a nice reward." Darkness speaks excitedly, but Kazuma looks desperate and Haruka looks worried.

"I'm sure this monster plans to use his position with the Shogun to get to me." Darkness blushes, looking determinedly at Shogun. "I'll try to resist but it seems beyond my ability." Dakness breathes heavily looking very excited.

"YOU IDIOT!" Kazuma shouts. "Nothing in this world is any good, the people, the food, the monsters, they're all stupid!" Kazuma looks indignant.

"Kazuma, we need to get out of here." Haruka speaks as she watches the Shogun draw his sword and begin to prepare an attack. "NOW!"

The Shogun advances towards the group to unleash a powerful attack on Darkness.

Haruka quickly spins Driver's left lever making him speak "OMEGA-" Haruka shouts as he advances towards Darkness "AMAZON!" Driver's eyes glow red as he chants "EVO-E-E-EVOLUTION!" Haruka engulfs herself in green flames as she stands in front of Darkness defending her from Shogun's slash.

The impact of Haruka's arm and Shogun's sword causes the two to move apart.

"Everyone back!" Haruka shouts as she extends her right arm backwards to defend Dakness.

Kazuma shudders at the sight of Haruka advancing against the Shogun, while Aqua releases the Snow Spirits she captured from their bottles.

"The Winter Shogun is generous, if we're kind and apologize he'll overlook all this." Aqua releases the Spirits and bows.

The Shogun watches as the Spirits that Aqua released float into the air. Haruka realizes that what Aqua said worked and bows too, relaxing her body but still shaking from nervousness.

"Everyone bow down and throw your weapons away." Aqua warns Kazuma and Darkness.

Kazuma notices that Aqua and Haruka have bowed, except for Darkness who is still staring at the Shogun with his sword raised.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Kazuma runs and jumps towards Darkness.

"A knight like me would never bow down to a monster." Darkness says as Kazuma grabs her head and impales her against the snow, forcing her to bow to the Shogun.

"Don't give me that! You run away from monsters all the time, so don't be so proud." Kazuma scolds Darkness, but the knight seems to have enjoyed being pinned to the ground.

"Kazuma your weapon, throw it away quickly!" Aqua orders, afraid of what might happen.

Kazuma realizes that he is still holding his sword, but the Shogun is about to strike Kazuma.

"KAZUMA!" Haruka shouts as he steps forward to stop Shogun's attack, but it's too late.

Shogun strikes Kazuma, cutting his neck and sending his head flying. Haruka is shocked to see Kazuma's head fly off.

Haruka trembles with anxiety, anger, fear and hatred of the Shogun for eliminating his partner.

Haruka lowers his head mourning Kazuma's death, while the Shogun approaches Haruka and comes face to face with him.

"Haruka, don't do this!" Aqua shouts at Haruka as Haruka quickly advances against the Shogun.

Haruka lands several heavy blows on the Shogun, causing him to back away with the impact of Haruka's punches.

Haruka lands several right and left hooks on Shogun, Haruka seems to get wilder and rougher with each punch thrown at Shogun. Shogun steps back, preparing to throw a side cut at Haruka, but uses his right arm to defend and deflect the sword's trajectory, getting a gap to throw a powerful punch at Shogun's stomach.

Megumin stands up, picking up Kazuma's body and head along with Aqua and Darkness. Aqua begins to cast a spell to revive Kazuma.

Haruka punches Shogun in the stomach making him lose his balance for a few moments, Haruka turns the left lever making the cindo say "VIOLENT STRIKE!" Haruka jumps towards Shogun, directing his right leg backwards preparing a kick. Haruka slams his foot into Shogun's face, Haruka gives an extra thrust to his leg causing the blades of his calf to slice into Shogun's face, Haruka lands on the ground while Shogun walks a little dizzily backwards.

Haruka roars in the Shogun's direction, preparing to fight harder, but Haruka hears Aqua's voice.

"He's finally awake..." Aqua sighs in relief that Kazuma has come back to life.

"Kazuma!" Megumin and Darkness hug Kazuma as they cry on top of him.

Haruka looks at Kazuma, but as he turns to the Shogun Haruka realizes that he has disappeared. Haruka begins to walk slowly towards the group.

The group regroups and as Kazuma tries to get up, he sees Haruka standing in front of him.

"AH, Haruka! Just like it was while I was..." Haruka takes off the Driver making his armor start to fade as he crouches down and hugs Kazuma. "Ah... Haruka you're..." Kazuma hears Haruka making crying noises as he hugs him tightly.

The girls watch the two of them, feeling a little sad to see Haruka in this state.

(Kill the Snow Spirits.)

(Done.)

The group separates to shower and meet at the guild. The group sits down at a table and Aqua shows them that she has managed to capture a Spire in a bottle.

"A Snow Spirit!" Megumin is impressed by Aqua.

"That's right, at the time I pretended to release them all, but I hid one when I bent down. I don't think even the Shogun would have doubted my performance at that moment." Aqua says proudly.

"You did great, Aqua!" Kazuma says enthusiastically. "Now just let him go and I'll kill him."

"What? No, I'll take him home and use him as a refrigerator." Aqua moves away from Kazuma, taking the Spirit away from Kazuma, Aqua throws himself on the ground, protecting the Spirit with his body. "I even thought of a name. How can you think of killing him...

"She's resisting more than I expected." Kazuma nods, giving up on killing the Spirit.

"Stop it, Kazuma. The good thing is that we got a great reward, didn't we Haruka?" Darkness says asking Haruka, but he's looking at a window in the opposite direction from the group.

"Haruka, don't look like that, Kazuma's fine." Megumin tries to get Haruka's attention by speaking calmly.

"It's okay..." Haruka says in a tired tone.

"Don't be like that, man!" Kazuma nods as he puts his arm around Haruka. "Say, do you want something to eat?"

"Hamburger..." Haruka replies, looking at the group.

"All right, we'll take your order." Megumin, Darkness and Aqua get up to order their food. Kazuma and Haruka watch the three go up to the counter.

"I just thought, Aqua said at the time that we're both from Japan, so are you..." Kazuma looks at Haruka, pointing at him.

"Yes, I'm a reincarnate too." Haruka confirms Kazuma's question.

"So that belt of yours is..." Kazuma asks Haruka incredulously.

"Yeah, that's what I asked Goddess Eris for as a magical weapon." Haruka confirms, taking the Driver from her backpack.

"Ahhh I wish I'd chosen something like that." Kazuma clenches his fist, looking very annoyed.

Kazuma and Haruka look thoughtful, while the girls return with the food and sit down at the table with the boys. With the table full of food, they begin to eat without the boys noticing.

"Hey guys, aren't you going to eat?" Aqua asks as she eats with her mouth full.

"What have you done with all that food?" Kazuma asks incredulously.

"What, a mage can't work on an empty stomach." Megumin says as she eats.

"Stay calm, I brought you back to life today. We need a little reward." Aqua says as she stuffs her mouth with food.

"If we run out of money, just accept a mission." Darkness says as he eats.

"But that money was to get us through the winter." Kazuma says as he looks at the girls.

Haruka gives a little smile as he watches the group, Haruka seems a little more excited about the group.

"Well, let's enjoy it for a while." Haruka says as he picks up a burger and takes a bite.

"Ahh man." Kazuma sighs as he scratches his head. "All right then, let's eat!" Kazuma picks up a piece of meat and takes a bite.

NOTE: AS YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW, THIS FANFIC IS FROM HARUKA'S POINT OF VIEW, SO WHEN KAZUMA WAS BEHEADED I DIDN'T WRITE THE SCENE OF HER TALKING TO ERIS, BUT I DID WRITE WHAT HARUKA DID AFTER SEEING KAZUMA'S DEATH. EVEN THOUGH HARUKA HASN'T KNOWN KAZUMA FOR A LONG TIME (PRACTICALLY THREE DAYS) HE CONSIDERS HIM A FRIEND.

ANYWAY, I'M DONE HERE, GOOD MORNING, GOOD AFTERNOON, GOOD NIGHT AND... FUI!