Our heroes had just left the weapon shop, except for Raphtalia, who was still inside paying for a newly forged sword from the weapon smith, when a portly man who was wider than he was tall stepped out of the shadows to greet them.

  “Ahhh, so you must be the ‘Shield Hero?’ Yessir, I do think that you’ll do quite well with this item that I have to give you.” The rotund man spat as he handed the party an egg. After the egg was clasped within Naofumi’s hands, the egg-shaped man just disappeared back into the shadows.

  “That was weird…” Sora, whose body caught the chill of the wind, or perhaps the chill of another kind, said through bated breath. He was not sure what to make of the recent transaction, but it seemed off.

  Who just gives someone an egg? What could this mean? And why Naofumi of all people? I know he’s the Shield Hero, but still.

  Sora’s internal monologue went on for quite a while before Naofumi told them to pay attention to their H.U.D. Naofumi’s alert shield was vibrating, trying to let Naofumi know of an upcoming danger. After a few seconds, Naofumi saw a ‘warning’ appear in front of him.

  Warning: Hero in proximity. Experience for levelling will cease to be accumulated until separation.

  Naofumi was switching between his shield’s forms, contemplating which one would be the best suited for the upcoming encounter.

  Sora couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but, sure enough, he saw coming right toward them one of the heroes.

  “There you are, you crook!” A blonde-haired young man came charging at them, and Naofumi barely had time to bring up his legendary shield in defence against the onslaught. The man in question was none other than Motoyasu Kitamura, one of the three primary sources of all Naofumi’s trouble.

  “Hey, back off!” Sora said, unsheathing his keyblade, a light white glow appeared for a brief second before the blade itself appeared in Sora’s hand, but Motoyasu kept the pressure on. There were jabs and swipes, feints and sweeps, but none of them got by Naofumi’s defence.

  “What the hell is going on!?” Naofumi shouted. He knew that Motoyasu thought he had done something to hurt Raphtalia.

  Crash, Ting, Bang!

  “Don’t you get it? The Princess has been deceiving you from the start!”

  Naofumi started to push back against the Spear Hero’s offensive power. After keeping him to a specific distance, he summoned three green shields in front of him to keep Motoyasu at bay.

  “ Air Strike Shield: First Shield! Second Shield! Third Shield!” Three shields were all summoned in a straight line in front of Naofumi. He followed them up by using one last attack to keep his assailant at bay.

  “Shield Prison!”

  Seeing that his attacker was locked in a dome of shields, Naofumi took the time to interrogate his attacker.

  “Why won’t you listen to me!?”

  “Because you’re the liar here! Why would I believe you when I’d been shown reasons why I shouldn’t trust you!?” Motoyasu yelled, his power barely enough to break the prison he was encased in.

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  “Let’s see you handle this, Naofumi! Lightning Spear!” Motoyasu declared, his spear glowing a faint but bright blue. He pointed it directly toward Naofumi, who was standing behind his shields. What happened next shocked The Shield Hero. Out of the blue came a lightning bolt, faster than anything that Naofumi was accustomed to as of yet.

  After finally seeing Motoyasu as a threat to his life, Naofumi got up, shot Motoyasu a glare, and switched his shield to the Hydra Shield.

  Motoyasu charged forward, spear at the ready to impale his fellow hero, but Naofumi was ready. He brought the Hydra Shield to a defensive position, and just when Motoyasu got close enough, Naofumi let him feel the sting of his Shield.

  “Hook Shield! Snake Venom Fang!”

  The snake portion of Naofumi’s shield shot forward, clutching onto Motoyasu, and one of the snakes went to bite the Spear Hero.

  “You cheating bastard!” Motoyasu shouted, his words ringing through Naofumi’s ears.

  Naofumi felt a pop in the back of his head.

  Could he get any denser? I swear, he gets even dumber the more I get to know him. I had to work my ass off for this country, and he’s calling me the ‘cheating bastard?’

  What does that make him? In fact, what was he even good for!? All he ever did was look down on me, yet now I have the upper hand. I’ll show him, then after that, I’ll show all of them that I mean business. I’m going to survive, to succeed whether this world wants me to, or not.

  Sora looked at the carnage that was going on

  “Maybe it has to do with the world he’s from? I’m not sure. However, you can’t back down from this. Motoyasu had to be stopped, or the Spear Hero’s recklessness would hurt the people of this village.”

  It was a few moments after the beginning of the fight that broke out when Raphtalia came out from the shop, new blade in hand.

  “Mister Naofumi?”

  Naofumi, who was embarrassed about the whole situation, looked back at his ally, and as if on cue, Motoyasu did a sweep. Naofumi got taken down, and Motoyasu pointed his spear right at his chest, ready to turn him into a shish kebab.

  Sora was not having any of it. He, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other, nodded, and leapt forward.

  “Get real! We’re not going to let you hurt him!” Sora declared, his arms spread out, acting like a shield to protect his friend.

  Goofy followed, his shield up because he was ready to take on the world.

  “Right, Ah-Hyuk. You may think you’re doing right by hurting our pal Naofumi here…”

  “You’re nothing but a bully!” Donald exclaimed, doing his typical thrashing, which caused the Spear Hero to lose his balance and fall on his ass.

  “B–but, he’s the bad guy here. He’s hurt multiple people!” Motoyasu looked over to Raphtalia; the concern in her eyes showed her true feelings about the situation.

  “No, no. You’re all wrong. Why are you three defending Naofumi? He’s the bad g–” But just as it seemed like the Spear Hero was starting to understand. He got up, dusted off his pants and declared.

  “I, Motoyasu, have sworn an oath to protect all damsels at all costs! You have not seen the last of me, Naofumi Iwatani. Be prepared, for the next time we meet, I will bring you down!” Then, as Motoyasu ran off, he looked back toward the party one last time, possibly with defiance, possibly with regret, but unmistakably Motoyasu.

  “Phew… That guy is a loon.” Donald quacked; his temperament returned to normal. He knew that Naofumi had enemies, but his own allies? The ones who were supposed to be on his side? He looked wistfully back toward Naofumi, who was still sitting on the ground in embarrassment, his glare switching between a bunch of potential status ailments.

  Hero is no longer in proximity. Experience accumulation has resumed.

  Sora walked over to the green-cloaked warrior and offered him a hand. Naofumi, who was still reeling from the sweep attack that set him back, took Sora’s hand and was hoisted up to his usual stance.

  “I-I’m sorry you all had to see that.” Naofumi held his eyes firmly shut, hoping that when he opened them, he wouldn’t see disdain on their faces. What he got was an altogether unexpected reaction. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sora looking away from him.

  “Look, I know we’re a party.” Sora lectured,

  “But if we’re going to be a party, then you can’t go around looking so mopey all of the time.” The Keyblade Wielder spun around.

  Donald walked up to Naofumi, put his hand on the shield and said,

  “No frowning, no sad face. Okay?”

  Goofy then walked up to him, his silly expression never leaving.

  “Ya, you gotta look goofy, like us!”

  The three caballeros were each sporting a wide range of ridiculous expressions, which made Naofumi start laughing.

  Raphtalia’s heart started to warm when she saw the scene. She had never heard him laugh with such heart. Most of the time, it was just a chuckle, but this? This laugh was contagious, so she followed along.

  The weapon smith came running out, wondering what all the commotion was about, until he saw the five of them laughing hysterically. With a weight lifted from his shoulders, he stood there, smiling at such a heartwarming friendship.

  “See, kid? I knew you’d find others who believe in you.” The smithy, whose relief was escalating the more he saw his customers laughing, decided that he wasn’t needed here. He went back inside to figure out more about the Moogle whose shop was finally ready to open.

  After laughing for what felt like hours, the party got up, dusted themselves off, and set out.

  “I still don’t understand why that guy gave you the egg.”

  “Maybe it makes for a good breakfast?”