883I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero
Once again, biggest thanks for Ace-Triad helping me with SPAG edit! Also special thanks to Angel Wraith for reading my rough draft and provide important feedbacks.
Apologies for this Interlude chapter being shorter than usual. But I feel like any more word for this chapter is just padding for word count and undermining the emotions.
More author note at the end for people who are interested to see me blabber some more.
The cold floor turned scorching, white walls were painted red by the light of fire, and breathing became harder and harder as his room was filled with smoke.
The fire was too intense to run through. He can't do anything but lying on the floor, waiting for the rescue that'll never come in time, or when everything turns dark.
The wall in front of his eyes came crashing down. The boy in his addled mind briefly wonders if the building is coming down when a figure charges through the hole. A golden cape bellows behind his back, with ivory gloves, boots and vest over a red bodysuit and helmet with an S on the forehead.
It was Shining Man, the first Esper hero. The hero picks him up, embracing him tight as he jumps through the window, gliding through the evening air like a giant bird before landing on the adjacent building. The hero gently places him onto the roof. "You are safe now."
Cold, clean air fills the boy's lung once again, but he still struggles for words. Shining Man's hand ruffles through his hair. He can feel warmth coming from the hero even through his glove. He finally calls out to the hero as he turns to leave. "Shining Man! I - I want to be a hero!"
Shining Man turns around. The hero walks in front of the boy, squatting down on the roof to look at him at eye level, hands resting on his shoulders. "Listen, child. You do not become a hero because you want to, but because you need to. On the day when you must protect someone, you will become a hero."
His young mind can't comprehend the meaning behind those words. But he takes it as a promise he made with the Esper hero. "Just like you?"
"You'll be stronger than me." The masked hero turns around and jumps down the roof. The boy runs to the edge. His eyes follow Shining Man until he disappears in the glass and steel jungle.
The promise he made with the first Esper hero was buried deep in his heart.
Interlude 6: The Melancholy of Itsuki Kawasumi
He sees a blimp flying outside the school window. A giant picture can be clearly seen on the blimp. In the picture is a big muscular man in a full cloth mask with cutouts around his eyes and mouth, and a pair of horns above his ears. The man is winking in the drawing, while holding a big burger near his laughing mouth. The flamboyant slogan in fiery red color on the side: 'Bison Burger! Makes you healthy and strong!'
He scoffs at the picture and leans down into his arms, not wanting to see the so-called 'heroes' selling their name. The fact this 'Hero' uses the same color as Shining Man's regalia is just salt on the wound.
It's been many years since that fateful day when his life was saved by the world's first Esper super hero Shining Man, to the point most people don't even remember his name. Unfortunately, his successors didn't help people simply because it's the right thing.
"Oh my," The voice causes him to look to the source. One of the girls with short puffy hair flips open her phone, likely browsing the internet. "The Pegaso brand store in Shibu department store blew up this morning."
"AIIIE~! Really?" The girl with twin long ponytails jumps off her desk and screams loud enough for the hallway to hear. "Momo wanted to check it out on the weekend."
"Pegaso is the luxury brand, Momo. It doesn't go with your style at all." The girl playing her phone smirks at her energetic friend. "Stay with the cutesy brands, like Sheep Heavenly."
"That's mean, Maki! Momo can dress upscale too!" The girl waves her fist in the air, obviously not happy at being treated like a child.
"Damnit, villains blowing up an upscale department store in broad daylight, in the middle of Shibuya? Shouldn't the heroes do something?" A tall girl with short hair scoffs at the news. "We don't want the other countries to look down on us."
"If only." A boy with messy hair lets out a yawn as he leans even further on his chair's back, feet rested on his desk. Two of the buttons on his school shirt are undone, the rest in the wrong holes.
"You know something we don't, Koga?" The girl with long, straight black hair turns around elegantly in her chair to look at the delinquent. "Your stepfather sits on the board of the Heroes' Association."
"The Bejewelled Rangers had a dispute." This is the only thing Koga said before he drifts back into his nap once again.
"What's that supposed to mean!? Wake up, Kanzaki!" Momo runs to the delinquent's side and starts to furiously shake the boy. "Don't treat Momo like an idiot!"
"It means, the heroes had an argument among themselves and things got out of hand. Those idiots must have blown up the store themselves." The girl with long hair closes her eyes and pinches her bridge. "There's probably a lot of cover up from the Heroes' Association, and Daddy probably also got involved. How bothersome."
"It can't be helped, Tsubaki-chan." A girl with shoulder length curly hair stands up, she walks to Tsubaki's back and starts to gently message the other girl's shoulder. "Investors will lose faith in our country, if they learn the heroes committed crimes. It'll hurt our economy if we let the truth out."
"I know, I know."
"That's not right!" He stands up from his desk, not able to stay quiet and endure this conversation in silence any longer. "Heroes should do the right thing for justice, not sell themselves out for fame and money!"
The girls all turned their heads to look at him, the way their eyelids slowly droop down to communicate their contempt. This is not the first argument he got into regarding the heroes.
"Really? Heroes should do the right thing for justice? What year, no, what era are you living in, annoying orange?" Maki puts her phone away and giggles at him, her smirk and eyes both look crooked in his eyes. "There's a reason they stopped making those corny Tokusatsu shows like Kamen Riders, you know. Because they are obsolete. Why get the fake thing when there are real Espers running around after all?"
"Yuck!" Momo makes a faked belching noise while tangling her tongue out, she drops herself back into her seat and crosses her arms with a huge pout. "Those Espers. They are more annoying than creepy teachers! Someone cute as Momo could have been an idol, if there weren't any of those 'Magical Girl' Espers around."
"There, there." Maki pets the hyperactive girl on the head. "Want to do a home video impersonating a Magical Girl, Momo? I can put your video on my blog for you."
"Really!?"
"It doesn't matter what year it is! True heroes should fight for justice and protect people! Not sell themselves out for endorsement deals and cause problems to the innocent!" He's about to argue some more with the girls when a bag slams into the side of his head, knocking him off his foot and crashes him into the wall.
"If there's one thing I hate more than someone interrupting my sleep, it's blind hero worshipping fools." Koga slowly puts his feet on the floor and stands up. The delinquent walks to him and picks him up by the collar. The bully sneers into his face. "Let me spell it out for you, idiot Kawasumi. Espers are menaces to society. It doesn't matter if those freaks call themselves hero, or villain. All they ever do is cause problems for those of us who don't have superpowers, because they think they can walk all over the honest normal folks."
"You are wrong. Real heroes exist." He looks right back into Koga's eyes with defiance.
"Oh, really?" The delinquent smirks back at him. "Name one Esper freak, who never took an endorsement deal and didn't do more harm than good."
"Shining Man. He's the first Esper Hero, he never sold himself for fame or money and he died protecting people."
Koga stares blankly back into his face, the bully bursts out in laughter with the girls on the back as he opens his hand. "Really? You are going to bring up that loser?"
"Don't be too hard on Annoying Orange, Kanzaki. He lives in his own fantasy world." Maki's voice makes him look up in confusion at the jeering students.
"Oh, OH! Momo knows about that guy. He's the idiot who got run over by a truck, when he tried to chase after a purse snatcher. Right?" His head snaps around to look at the petite girl with a twin ponytail.
"What?"
"You heard what Kanzaki and Momo said, Kawasumi." Tsubaki waves her hand at him, indicating their little argument is now over. "The one you called Shining Man. He was an idiot dressed up like a hero and wanders around the city every day, chasing after small crimes like an idiot. I think Father once complained the property damage he caused was way more than if he left those crimes alone. Now, start acting like your name, be like the tree and plant yourself in the corner. Don't interrupt grownups in their conversation."
No, it can't be. The hero who saved his life those many years ago, the one he made a promise to can't be some kind of... some kind of clown. Laughed at by everyone.
He wants to run away, not want to face what those bullies just told him. Instead, he slowly stands up and pats down his dirty clothes. Walks to his desk and picks up his bag like he's in a trance. The other students ignore him even as he exits the room and closes the door behind him. Nobody bothers to stop him even as he walks out of the hallway, stairs, the door of the school building or the gate.
High in the sky above his head, the advertised blimp of Bison Burger casts the shadow over his head, as if mocking him for his belief in old school heroism.
Shining Man may be nothing more than a clown to be mocked by other people. But the first Esper is still a hero who saved his life, someone to whom he made a promise.
Shining Man once said a person becomes a hero because they must, because they have someone to protect. He decided the one he'll have to protect is Shining Man, for his legacy. The Esper hero did not waste his life, if the one who he saved grows up into a worthy hero.
That's when the loud noise of a car horn brings him back to reality. All he sees is a truck rushing down the street at him, when his body is sent flying and crashing onto the sidewalk. The last thing he sees aside from the people closing in around him, is the billboard featuring various brand heroes towering above everyone and the blasted blimp.
His sight slowly becomes blurry, shapes and colors begin to blend in together as they slowly turn dark. He briefly wonders if he wasted the life Shining Man gave him, when the scene suddenly takes a strange shape. He is inside some kind of old stone building, with torches on the walls instead of electric lights. Not unlike certain scenes from Dimension Wave.
Men dressed in hooded robes are chanting around them, at them. As if trying to conduct some mysterious ritual, or put a curse on them. One of the hooded figures calls out to them. "Oh, heroes. Please save our world from the Wave of Catastrophe."
"What?"
This world, Medea was made for him. He became more and more sure of it as the days became weeks.
In this world, he isn't some nobody where he gets ignored, or looked down at by the jaded, or stepped on by bullies. He is already a hero others look up to, and depend on.
The legendary bow that seems attached to him was the perfect weapon. He can easily rain down punishment he sees fit from the distance, and he never misses with it even if he never practiced archery in his life. He noticed in the second week he can't even hit enemies with his eyes closed, after a monster manages to cause a [blind] effect on him.
This world isn't a fair place. The nobility gets to decide what happens to everyone else. The world clearly needs a hero who can fight for the right of the common people.
"Master Itsuki." His attention is brought back to the present by his companion Mald. The man can be rather brutish, despite being a knight. But he is very knowledgeable about the world and the country's customs, likely thanks to his private education. "The emissaries from the church are waving at you."
"Oh, I see." He looks up at the emissaries pointed out by Mald and waves back to them. The priests, and knights in their white regalia or shining armor, with a golden cross on their chest that is reminiscent of the clergymen from his world, not the golden and red triangle he's been seeing in Melromarc. "Why do they have crosses, and not triangles on their chest?"
"Slight religious difference. They belong to a different sect." Mald leans closer to whisper into his ear as the emissary draws closer. "They should be okay, as long as they don't try to attack us. Only worry if it's a circle on their chest."
"Why?" He gives Mald a sideways glance, not understanding the difference between the symbols. "What did those people with circles do?"
"They sold their souls to the devil, and are enemies of all men." Mald's face scrunches up, making his beard and high cheekbones look even more intimidating than usual. "Might as well be heathens, those no good circles."
He doesn't like Mald much when he starts to use those words, or acts dismissive. It reminds him of Koga Kanzaki back home. The Bow Hero wants to ask Mald more on those supposed 'no good circles', when the leader of the emissaries in a stone mask speaks to him.
It almost reminded him of those 'heroes' who took brand endorsement deals back in his world.
"Greetings, travelling adventurers." An old, but powerful voice carries forward from the priest.
"Show some respect, priest. This is no common rabble you are speaking to." Mald straightens his back and takes a step forward. He points his hand back towards the Bow Hero before stepping back. "This is the legendary Bow Hero you are talking to."
"I see. It's an honor to finally meet you, Sir Bow Hero. Our blessings upon you. Please excuse my prior ignorance." The head priest bows his head halfway down at him. "We are Emissaries of the Faith of Four Heroes coming from Noble Faubley, and I am High Inquisitor Emon. On behalf of His Eminence Pope Lutasha, I bid you well."
He decides the question can be asked later. It's more important to be polite to this newcomer. Mald did drill into his head about the acts of courtesy in this world, and he doesn't want to offend someone in a high position from another country.
He may not agree with a lot of these weird rules, like the 'order of feeding' where servants must eat after their masters. But he decides those are small compromises compared to the good he can bring to the world by killing monsters, and punishing tyrants and corrupted nobles. "And my greetings to you, Inquisitor Emon. I met Lord Malfoy before, are you with him?"
"Not exactly, Duke Malfoy is acting on behalf of his Majesty King Egbert. I am on behalf of my faith." The masked inquisitor rises his head back up again. "It's been less than a month, sadly there are already very bad rumors floating around regarding a certain hero of this cycle."
He briefly wonders what might cause such 'very bad rumors'. Ren can be a bit rude, but it's more out of social awkwardness rather than deliberate malice like Kanzaki, so it can't be about him. Kitamura is a complete idiot who is more suited to chase after skirts than chasing after monsters, but the emphasis being he's an idiot. He can't do many bad things to start some 'very bad rumors' even if he tries. As for Iwatani...
Wait, he was almost convicted for sexual assault back on the third day. The king's spymaster did comment about those bad rumors being spread by malicious foreign spies. It certainly fit, if those spies would also spread such rumors in other countries as well. "If this is about the rape accusation on the Shield Hero, I can safely say it's nothing but malicious false rumors. The supposed 'victim' already admitted Iwatani never acted rude towards her, let alone trying to force himself on her."
The priests and knights behind the inquisitor look at each other. It seems like they are completely baffled at his words.
"While it's good that Sir Bow Hero helped to clarify this particular rumor, it is not what I am currently investigating." Emon slowly shakes his head. "Also ironically, we are talking about the same hero. I am currently investigating the accusation of the Shield Hero using the Imperius Slave Seal."
"EEK!" Rishia makes a squeaky sound not unlike a mouse. Granted, slavery is an abhorrent act used by evil people, but he thought slavery is common and well accepted in this world judging by the possible tyrant's words shortly before, and after the duel Iwatani had with Kitamura.
Then again, Rishia is from the small kingdom of Stormwind, rather than Melromarc. Maybe her country doesn't condone slavery, even if the king was also a tyrant who abuses his own people. "Well, Iwatani did use slavery at the start. But he probably didn't know better, and..."
"Wait, Master Itsuki! They aren't talking about- EEK!" Rishia makes another squeak, this time from Mald rudely grabbing her hand.
"DO NOT interrupt your betters when they are engaged in a conversation, servant!" Mald howls at the poor girl - she looks scared as she squeezes her eyes shut and turns silent. Rishia looks all but accepted on any punishment as the big knight raises his empty hand up.
"We talked about this, Mald!" He quickly turns around and grips Mald's wrist before he can slap Rishia. Rule of courtesy is one thing, but he's not about to allow physical abuse in his party. "Do NOT hit Rishia, even if she can't help us fight and acts like a servant in our party. She's not a servant you brought from home, and don't let me catch you mistreating a servant you brought yourself in my party."
"Yes, I'm sorry for stepping out of the line. Master Itsuki." Mald turns his head to look at Itsuki. He let go of Rishia's wrist and stepped back, the man's face looking dark and disgruntled even if he no longer tried to start any trouble.
"I see. Thank you very much for the evidence you provided, Sir Bow Hero." The Inquisitor nods his head, as he's about to leave with his followers. "Now I will leave, and go find the Shield Hero."
Well, he didn't get to say everything he wanted, no thanks to Mald's sudden outburst towards Rishia. Then again, with how widely accepted slavery is in this world, Iwatani should be fine. That's something he needs to correct later, maybe after the four of them end this Wave of Catastrophe. Working towards the prohibition of slavery in this world seems like a worthy goal for him to live up to Shining Man's legacy.
"Very well, I should probably go myself." He nods his head and points his finger towards the village Iwatani has been staying at. "If you want to go find Iwatani, go to Lute Village in that direction. He's been staying there for a few weeks now."
"Is that so? I thank you again, with the information you provided." The Inquisitor bows towards him once again, which he returns the gesture. "Sir Bow Hero. Your predecessor was wildly considered one of, if not the greatest Bow Hero throughout the ages. He spent his whole life fighting for justice and the innocent, and he was the last heroes left alive to challenge the last Shield Hero after he had lost his mind and became known as the King of Rape. I hope you will continue his legacy."
He can't help but find some irony in how Iwatani was almost accused of rape on the third day, and his predecessor had such an infamous title. Perhaps this is the reason why the King believed in the rumor and tried to convict him without any evidence.
"That's what I intended. To fight for justice, instead of fame and fortune. And protect the innocents, instead of myself." He nods his head, remembering Shining Man's words after the Esper hero saved his life. He briefly wonders if this was what Shining Man was referring to about being stronger than him.
"Then go with our blessing, Sir Bow Hero. Never compromise your principles." The old man nods his head as they part ways. He looks back at his party, and notices Rishia keeps on glancing back at the disappearing emissaries, Mald and himself.
The girl he rescued from Stormwind is acting even more skittish than her usual. Maybe he should spend some time later tonight to make sure she's fitting into the party. It must have been hard to leave her home and join a hero's party when her body isn't used to adventuring.
Welst's spells blow monsters up from afar, Mald's great sword cleaves them in half when they get too close, and Lesty cuts any strays down with her longsword. His party was strong to begin with, and they only became stronger after the Wave. It's getting to the point where he doesn't even need to draw his bow when they are still near the Capital in the Crownland, where adventurers and the army ensure there are no high level monsters that can threaten the lives of the Royal House.
On the other hand, Rishia is struggling to walk straight on her own without having to fight any monster. The girl was lethargic to begin with when they first met in the dungeon of Stormwind after he overthrew their tyrannical king. The time they were traveling on the road wasn't exactly kind on her body either.
Especially considering the big backpack she's carrying that towers over her. The bag was Mald's idea, even if they can put everything they need into his bow's storage. It'll help her develop strength and stamina being the knight's reasoning.
He draws his bow out, and shoots down a bonedog who tried to sneak up on the skittish girl, making her yelp out again. "Put the bag down, if it's too heavy for you, Rishia."
"I - I'm fine, Master Itsuki." The girl wipes some sweat off her forehead, she looks back at him with determination shining in her green eyes. That's something he can appreciate. "Helping organize the inventory is something I can do for you."
"And you are a big help. Thank you." He nods his head and speaks without a shred of irony. Granted, organizing the inventory was easy with his menu magic interface. But how to properly use money is very challenging.
Unlike a video game like Dimension Wave, slaying monsters doesn't give money in addition to EXP. He either needs to painstakingly cut every monster down to harvest the parts that can be sold in a market, or complete a quest from Adventure Guild to exchange coins to buy different consumable items. That's not even thinking about supplies like food and drink. This is the kind of micromanagement that gives him a headache at the beginning of his hero career.
But Rishia seems to have a head for those things, as she carefully keeps track of their funds, item consumption and what needs to be replenished every night. While she may be all but useless when fighting monsters, her planning every night has helped his party run at their peak every day.
"Shouldn't we worry about those Faubley white robes?" Lesty is wiping the blood off her hardened steel sword with a piece of the rag. The bonedogs all lie dead at their feet. "I don't think they want to discuss anything with the Shield Hero over a cup of hot tea."
"Whatever, it's the Shield Hero's problem now." Mald rolls his eyes while wiping his great sword down on a dead bonedog's pelt. " Those crosses from Faubley are fat bellied fools. They'll stay behind the safety of their conscripts' firing lines, but they can't compare to fire forged Melromarc flesh."
"Still, I don't trust the Fau-pigs." Lesty quickly throws a look at him, he wonders what is the big deal she is making. "No offense to you, Master Itsuki. But you probably shouldn't tell the Inquisitor about where the Shield Hero has been staying."
"Why? What's wrong?" He turns to look between the spellblade girl and the big muscular knight, remembering he never got a full answer on his questions about the different sects of their religion. "You mentioned something about different sects of your church, Mald. Care to explain them now?"
"You shouldn't worry about those, unless you want to get into a theology career, Master Itsuki." The eyes of the knight look away. "It's just pointless religious debates. As long as you don't see anyone wearing a golden or red circle, we'll be fine."
He narrows his eyes at his most trusted source of information. The knight is clearly hiding something if he hesitates to provide a clear answer, unlike how he explained how the act of courtesy works. "I would still like to understand them."
"They represent what hero someone in the heroic faiths worships." Mald all but snarls at the answer Welst provided. "A circle is for the Shield Hero faith, mostly from beastmen and demi-human nations like Siltvelt and Shiltfreeden. A triangle is the Three Heroes' Church faith, who don't consider Shield Hero a part of their pantheon due to him historically sided with beastmen. And the cross is the original faith who worship all four heroes."
"Yeah, Iwatani mentioned something about this back in the celebration. So, this country's religion really is against the Shield Hero, no wonder people keep thinking the worst of him. I thought he was just throwing a temper tantrum, or speaking in hyperbole after he got mistreated." He shakes his head at the revelation, "Still, he should be fine now. This Emon guy comes from a country who worships all four heroes, right?"
Mald rolls his eyes again as he turns away. The other two except a quick look at each other.
"What aren't you guys telling me?"
"Well... on paper the Four Heroes' Church should treat every hero equally. But there's also a lot of resentment towards the Shield Hero after the last Wave. Since the King of Rape, well... he's most well remembered for being a slaver king who enslaved the entire population of Siltvelt..."
"Are you okay, Master Itsuki? You don't look very good." He vaguely feels Rishia shaking his arm, without a word he turns on his heel and walks back towards the direction he comes from. "Where are you going, Master Itsuki!?"
"To Lute Village."
He has a feeling he just made a terrible mistake.
His eyes are getting blurry once again, his fingers can't even hold onto the legendary bow as he falls down on his knees. The situation ended up worse than he imagined, much worse.
When he arrives at Lute village, there is already a man lifelessly slumped in a pool of his own blood. And a knight is about to bring his sword down on the neck of a boy younger than he himself. Thankfully, he never misses his target and he manages to injure the knight's hand, making the man drop his weapon before he can kill the boy.
He unknowingly accused Iwatani for a foul crime the older hero never committed. He caused the death of an innocent man.
But even worse, he is forced to kill Inquisitor Emon. When the stone mask falls off the old man's face, eyes still open as the inquisitor stares blindly into the sky, almost as if he's asking why.
'Why did the Bow Hero betray justice?' was what the old man asked in the last moment of his life.
The man was by all means, a fanatic. But he really did fight for justice, considering the harsh stance he's taking towards the evil of slavery. Something most people of his world choose to turn a blind eye towards, because it doesn't affect them, or worse - if they benefit from the corrupted system.
However, he shouldn't have lost his life over a small dispute, just like how the man from Lute shouldn't have lost his life over a misunderstanding.
"I'm sorry." He mumbles to himself in a hushed whisper, one not even Rishia seems to hear while she continues to run her hand through his shoulder and back. "I'm sorry. I had no choice."
Emon was trying to kill a group of villagers even as Iwatani was giving his all to stop the Inquisitor. The only thing left to do, was to kill him before he has the chance to kill all the innocent people.
Mein is still walking with a limp in her heel, obviously not yet recovered from being electrocuted near the end of the battle. But she is walking with purpose in her steps, as she strides towards him. "Are you happy now, Bow Hero!? Thanks to you running your mouth, someone innocent from this village is dead. And we just created an international incident with Faubley, the strongest nation in the world because that old ass didn't back down! Do you even bother to make sure you get your facts straight, before you open your mouth and cause trouble for others!?"
"Mein, Mein!" Iwatani runs up behind his first companion, the little raccoon girl and a pudgy bird follows after him. "Please, stop."
"And what about your handy work back in Stormwind, huh? Did you bother to spare a single moment in your life, thinking over the consequences of your actions!?" Mein isn't paying the Shield Hero any attention, as she continues to tear into him with her words.
"Please stop blaming Master Itsuki, Miss Mein! Master Itsuki was only trying to rescue me back in Stormwind!" Rishia closes her arms around his shoulder, traces of sobbing in her pleas.
"Well, he didn't have to kill their king, and their general to do that, and he shouldn't have! What do you think happens to the country after you pat yourself on the back and leave them, hero? Without their leader and their general, do you think that small country can survive on their own through the Wave of Catastrophe!? Congratulations on saving a girl, and dooming everyone else in her country!"
Mein's words are sharp like a well sharpened knife, every syllable a hammer on his skull. He feels dizzy, and likely will fall down on the cobblestone if Rishia isn't here to hold him up. He thought he's living up to Shining Man's legacy, but it seems like he has more in common with those brand heroes, even if he didn't sell himself for the glory and riches.
And now that he has time to think over all his actions, can he even claim his intention to be true? He's allowed Mald to bully Rishia over, under the guise of respecting this world's customs.
Because aside from getting a fancy bow that shoots laser arrows, he is still a nobody in this world. He's afraid to go against those who provide him money and support, or else be left with nothing.
"Mein! It's alright, please calm down and stop." Iwatani crosses his arm across Mein's waist, doing his best to pull her away. "It's alright. It's okay."
"But it's not okay, Master Naofumi! I saw your face, and heard your words when you looked at that man who died." Mein's eyes wanders away to the dead man still lying in his blood. "You knew him personally, didn't you?"
"I wouldn't say personal... but I know his name is Hob. He had a wife and a new born kid. He was going to fit a hook for the hand he lost in the Wave, and tell his son Jack he used to be a pirate. I made a promise to him I'll share with him some good pirate stories." Iwatani's voice and eyes both grow distant, he slowly loosens his grip on Mein.
"Then why did you stop me? The Bow Hero..." Mein looks at him through the corner of her eyes. He knows the look well. It's the look someone uses to look at unspeakable things they scrape off their shoes, it's the same look he got time and time again back home whenever he talks about how a hero should act. "He needs to know he messed up, big time."
Iwatani also looks at him, but it's not an unpleasant one. His fellow hero looks more than a little tired, and defeated with his slack eyes and jaws, but there's also a sense of acceptance. "I think Kawasumi already knows."
Mein closes her eyes and lets out a sigh, the same look of tired acceptance appears on her face as well. "You are too forgiving for your own good, Master Naofumi."
"Maybe. But what good does screaming at Kawasumi do now?" The Shield Hero asked as he let go of his female companion. Iwatani walks in front of him, slowly sits down on the cobblestone floor. "How are you holding up?"
"I messed up." His voice is low and cracking, like he hasn't been drinking any water and been screaming for a while. Come to think of it... he really hasn't drank anything at all since he started to run for Lute village, and he probably did scream after he's forced to kill Emon.
"You did." Iwatani nods his head along, confirming his fear with honesty rather than dressing it up with honeyed words.
"Is this how you felt, after the celebration?" He looks at Iwatani in the eyes, wondering if the old hero felt the same sense of loss after realizing he's been tricked to commit a heinous act.
"I can't tell. I don't know how you are feeling now." Iwatani shakes his head at the question, he turns his head around at the bloodbath they caused in this small village. "I guess you feel worse than I did. I was suspicious of using slavery to keep my companions safe at the start. Probably shouldn't have gone along with it, if I knew it would cause... all this. So yeah, I messed up just like you. You should have gotten your facts straight before you opened your mouth, and I should have acted on my suspicion, instead of doing nothing."
"You know, our world had people with real superpowers. Espers."
"Yeah, you told us back in Deidric's Inn." Iwatani nods his head, he can't help but realize how Iwatani is going out of his way to use people's name.
"I was saved by an Esper hero, Shining Man. When I was young and there was a fire in the building I lived. I made a promise with him to become a hero, even if I'm not even an Esper." He looks down on his hand, still holding the legendary bow. "I didn't live up to my promise."
"Can't have been easy, if you are trying to live up to a promise with a Super Hero." He looks away from Iwatani's eyes, feeling ashamed to not admit those so called 'heroes' of his world are a bunch of celebrities who sell themselves out for fame and fortune, or considered more harmful to society than helpful. "I never lived with any expectations. My parents wrote me off as failure compared to my little brother. My only friend went to Hokkaido to become a farmer when I stayed in Tokyo."
Mein seems to suddenly stay very still at that revelation. She slowly reaches her hand towards Iwatani's back, freezes her hand for a moment, before she finally reaches over and runs her arm around Iwatani's shoulders. "Your parents shouldn't have done that, Master Naofumi."
"I thought I could finally become a hero like Shining Man in this world. I thought all I have to do is to live for justice." He turns his eyes to look at Emon again for a short second. "But that guy, Emon... he was ready to kill innocents for justice."
"Honestly, I have no good answer for you." Iwatani closes his eyes, he shifts his body to lean back into Mein. "Someone once said the end justifies the means, but only if the end is worth it. On the other side ... it doesn't matter even when you mean well, if you don't do any good in return. And who can tell what consequences our actions would have? The only thing I can do is try to protect as many innocent people as I can, because I'm the Shield Hero."
Iwatani's words reminded him of the words Shining Man gave him back on that day. Something he did not pay attention to, and never understood the meaning until now.
You do not become a hero because you want to, but because you need to. On the day when you must protect someone, you will become a hero.
Justice isn't about passing judgment, it's about protecting people.
End Note:
I feel like I should also apologize for implying a FATE connection with Itsuki's backstory but didn't follow through, since Comrade Broseph was the FATE fan while I have no knowledge about the series, aside from the main character's future self want to kill his younger self?
So yeah, if Comrade Broseph was still co-writing the story with me I'd likely defer to his judgement on Itsuki's backstory, but since I'm helming the story along now I went with something I'm more familiar with, mostly inspired from Ratman (brand endorsed super heroes) and a little sprinkle of Zetman (Itsuki's bully Koga Kanzaki is a mix between Zetman's two main character, Jin Kanzaki and Koga Amagi, and I finally remember why I keep mistaken Ren's last name for Amagi now), rather than do a half-ass job on trying to put something I know next to nothing about into this story.
That being said... what happened in this chapter has always been my own head canon on Itsuki's past, before Comrade Broseph slip in the actual FATE reference in chapter 3.
Guest review time.
To Guest:
You know, it's kind of self defeating to ask if someone else is racist, when you use a term that's usually used for derogatory to describe the people with beast features. Unless you are intentionally making a smartass remark, in which case well played.
To Night:
Once again, I don't want to give away the answer for what Mikage did in his time. But later in this story, the main characters will meet characters that actually lived in the same time as Mikage and would give a much more reliable (even if still biased) recount of the event. Hopefully what I planned will be satisfying.
The idea to have a hero summoning happen not too long ago in the past, and have the previous Shield Hero committed atrocities to further people's prejudice actually comes from a Chinese Reprisal of the Spear Hero fanfiction. In that story, Naofumi asked Motoyasu if the previous Shield Hero someone with a bad reputation, to which Motoyasu quickly denied and pinned all the blame on the country of Melromarc.
It made me realize it would made much more in story sense, if what Naofumi suggested in that fanfiction was actually what happened in the past.
