My CO Stash #97 - The Shield's Dragon by Mugiwara N0 Luffy (Yakuza/RisingoftheShield Hero)

-Most underrated video game character Kiryu becomes the best isekai protagonist in the world of Shield Hero the story~ Comeuppance after comeuppance!

Synopsis: ???

Rated: ???

Words: 63K

Posted on: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-shields-dragon-yakuza-rising-of-the-shield-hero-xover.721291/page-28 (Mugiwara N0 Luffy)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1-2 (exceptional)

WARNING: Some spoilers for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Proceed at own risk.

A Legend Begins​

Julius Harken was a man with little pride.

He was a disgraced warlock of the Melromarc kingdom. Banished by a supposedly wise king for crimes of 'thievery'. Bqut Julius Harken knew it was because of a difference in opinions. Julius only tried to push for preparation of the Four Legendary Heroes. But when it came to the Shield Hero, King Aultcray was dismissive. Julius knew that the religion of the state did speak of a legend that painted the Shield Hero in a poor light, but thought it was no more than misinterpretation. Surely a Legendary Hero would be here to help the kingdom, not be its downfall.

But the King was adamant. And when Julius pushed too far, the king pushed back. A quick charge of thievery was placed upon his head and he was duly banished from the castle and his station. A false crime that made the former royal warlock jaded. And so, in a moment of anger and poor judgement, he stole a single artifact from the vault of royal warlocks.

A pair of bracers believed to belong to some unknown warrior. He wasn't sure just how much value they had as the bracers had been locked away since before his own tenure at the castle. Apparently they would summon a warrior much like the Legendary Four Heroes. But despite every effort afforded to it, according to the other royal warlocks, they had yielded no results.

Some assumed that they were fake or just a false legend. But regardless, the Queen deemed them worth preserving. With that, the bracers were kept inside the vault.

Despite the possible consequences of getting caught, Julius took a chance and stole them. He had picked them specifically because they had been pushed to the back of the vault, with no one having spared a glance at them for a long time. He figured that he could find some foreigner or a fool maybe and make some money off of them.

But as his fortunes seemed turned sour, a light shined through the darkness for Julius Harken.

After returning to his old village, he found his childhood flame there, as vibrant as ever. Melonie Birchum took him in when most others shunned him and his reputation. He'd only been staying with her a couple months, but she had breathed life back into him and kept him from falling low. The relic sat in a storage shed, and similarly gathered dust as it had in the royal vault. He once considered returning them to the king for Melonie's sake, but was afraid that would only lead to his execution.

So what does Julius's pride have to do with anything? Well, a man lacking pride but not something to protect means he wasn't afraid to beg when needed.

And right now he was praying to the gods by everything holy in the land of Melromarc that they would help him and his village.

"Please… please work…" Julius mumbled, drawing a pentagram on the ground of the shack. The bracers sat at the center.

"Julius, we should go! You said yourself that you don't know if they'll do anything!" Melonie pleaded, standing watch by the door. The cries of desperation and fear filled the air. Bandits had come to their modest village in the night, raiding the houses and beating on the villagers. But of course, the knights and guards that were supposed to protect this village were nowhere to be found. Though in their defense, they were fresh out of the first wave. A good number of them had to leave and recover from the battle.

"I-I don't have a choice, Melonie! I don't know any offensive spells! Even if we run into the forest, I don't know that I can protect you!" Julius admitted, finishing the edge of the pentagram and sighing. "I'm going to imitate the same ritual taught to the royal warlocks to summon the Legendary Heroes. If that won't bring us anyone, then nothing will. But even so, perhaps I can spark enough magic in them to use myself..."

"Julius, please-please hurry, then!" Melonie begged, deciding to trust him as she propped the door with a chair to keep it blocked. She held a dagger in her hand, though it trembled in her grip.

"Oh, great warrior from beyond… please heed my call…" Julius muttered, putting his hands together. They ignited with the faint light of magic, the drawn pentagram beginning to glow with them. "No king or knight will protect us… so please… please be the protector we truly need…"

"Hey, what's that lightshow back there?!" They heard a muffled shout, causing Melonie and Julius to inhale a breath.

"Please, hurry!"

Julius bit his bottom lip until it was bleeding, his hands gripping together painfully. Please… please just… give us something… anything! I can't lose Melonie. I won't…

Another faint light began to rise, causing Julius to open his eyes and see that the bracers were now glowing. Blue flame and sparks began to burst around them and they soon started hovering in the air. Julius and Melonie's jaws fell in awe, watching as an ethereal body began to take shape. The bracers moved to the body's arms, forming around its hands. As the body became more and more solid, the details of the man became clear.

He was a young adult, as far as they could tell. A man with a solid stature. He was well built and tall, though the extent of his muscle was hidden behind his strange but nice clothing. Light gray garbs with a dark red undershirt. He had short black hair and a handsome, high boned face.

As his body became completely whole, the man fell to one knee and started to heave for air, sweat trailing down his face.

"What just… happened..?"

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXX​Kazuma Kiryu was confused and shaken, to say the least. It had been a month since he left Haruka and Sunflower Orphanage after his 'death'. He was just settling back into his former persona of Suzuki, and even started working at his old taxi agency again. Life had been rough since leaving his family behind, the thought of never seeing them again still raw.

But at this very moment, that was the furthest concern from his mind.

Kiryu heaved for air, sweat trailing down his scalp as he looked around. A man and a woman, foreign as far as he could tell and dressed in strange rags, stood before him in a small space.

"What just… happened..?" Kiryu mumbled, leaning on one knee as he tried to gain his bearings.

"I-It worked, Melonie… we summoned the warrior…" The man said, staring at Kiryu in awe.

"I… I didn't think that…" the woman mumbled, a hand going to her mouth.

"W-Who are you?" Kiryu asked, slowly pushing off his knee and leaning a hand against the back wall. "Where am I?!" Were these people speaking Japanese? Kiryu wasn't sure, but he understood their language. And when he spoke, he seemed to match it. "What the hell is going on?!"

"P-Please, Gauntlet Warrior. We mean you no harm!" The man said, stepping in front of the woman and bowing his head. "I wish I had more time to explain, but right now there's-"

The door behind them suddenly swung open, causing the man and woman to turn around in fear. Three men shuffled inside, each one burly and muscular, wearing animal fur vests and ragged pants.

"Well, well~! What do we have here?" One of the thugs laughed, grinning at the man and woman devilishly. "Such a pretty thing we've got here. And what's this, a warlock? How fancy."

"We got some other fool here too, boss," one of the other goons pointed at Kiryu, the former gangster narrowing his eyes at them in confusion.

"Not like it matters. Kill the men and take the woman. We'll have some fun with her."

Kiryu's eyes widened in alert, watching as the thug in front of him cackled and brandished axe.

"What the hell? What's going on here?!" Kiryu demanded, balling his fists as he looked at the approaching thug. He blinked suddenly realizing that he could feel something over his hands. He looked down, blinking at the gauntlets now adorning his arms. "What are these..?"

"N-No! Stay away!" Julius cried, holding up his hand and casting some magic. But the thug quickly grabbed his wrist, pushing his aim away before grabbing his throat with his free hand.

"Julius!" The woman cried in fear, watching as the thug slammed the warlock against the shack wall.

"Like magic like that means anything at this close of range, fool! Now watch as we take your woman!" The leader laughed before turning back to the thug approaching Kiryu. "Hurry up and kill him already!"

"Aye aye!" Kiryu drew his attention back to the thug in front of him, watching as he raised his axe in the air.

Kiryu didn't give him a chance to bring it down, smashing his fist square into his jaw and sending him flying back.

"Gagh!" The bandit cried, falling flat on his back as a red mark formed on his other present company blinked, looking down at the bandit before looking up at Kiryu.

"I've got no idea what's happening right now… but if you're planning to go through with what you said, I don't have to think too hard about what I'll do with you," Kiryu said, rolling his neck and cracking it before taking his usual fighting stance.

"T-That bastard…" The bandit grumbled, slowly sitting up and rubbing his cheek.

"Hmph! You can act tough as you want! You can't take the three of us out alone!" The leader growled, releasing Julius as he and the other two focused solely on the former gangster.

"If you really believe that, then come at me," Kiryu narrowed his eyes before letting his gaze drift to Julius. "Hey. When I'm done with these three, I want an explanation."

"I-I'll tell you whatever you want…" The warlock promised, rubbing his neck while Melonie leant down at his side.

"Good," Kiryu side stepped an axe swing he was expecting from the first bandit, immediately bringing his fist around and punching straight into the man's gut and making him buckle over.

"Die!" Another shouted, swinging a dagger at Kiryu's neck. The former gangster lowered his head and avoided the blow, pushing the first breathless goon into him with a forward kick and knocking them over.

"Son of a bitch!" The leader snarled, lunging at Kiryu with a sword overhead. Kiryu closed the distance though, swinging his arm around and landing a powerful counter hook to his sternum and sending him flying back into the wall.

Blue sparks and flames started to surround Kiryu's gauntlets, causing him to hesitate for a single moment to look down at them. What's going on..? Why are they-

Kiryu remembered what he was doing and quickly spun on his heel, looking at the one thug that had yet to receive any real damage as he tried to clamber to his feet. He took his snake skin dress shoe and kicked it hard into the bandit's face. From the way it cracked, Kiryu had no doubt that it was broken. Not that he was going to sympathize.

His attention quickly shifted to the man who had attacked him first, watching as he stumbled to his feet. "I'll kill you, you son of a-"

Kiryu simply grabbed him by the collar, smashing his fist twice into his face and likely breaking his nose as blood spurted out of it. As if that wasn't enough, Kiryu swung his head back before delivering a devastating headbutt square between his eyes. If his nose had somehow not broken from the first punches, it was certainly shattered to pieces now.

Kiryu watched him fall back irst into the ground, his eyes rolled up in his head as he blacked out. He spared a look back at the leader, eyes narrowed dangerously as he took slow steps toward him.

"Wh-What the hell are you, man?! What the shit?!" He cried, the grip on his sword shaky as he pointed it at Kiryu. Kiryu didn't answer, stalking toward him slowly and tightening his fists. Swallowing a lump in his throat, the bandit summoned his courage and charged at Kiryu, sword aimed to stab through his gut. "Just die!"

Kiryu sidestepped the sword, bringing a wide hook-straight combo into the bandit, making him drop the sword. The bandit choked on his breath, but thought he would try his hand at a brawl with Kiryu. Obviously his dumbest move so far, as Kiryu quickly followed up with an upper cut into his jaw before a back handed club, knock his opponent flat on his back. For good measure, as the bandit groggily attempted to climb to his feet, Kiryu did a small running jump with his fist reared back, bringing it down in a full body motion punch. The bandit was out like a light as Kiryu followed through and landed on his back. Not wanting to drop his guard, Kiryu quickly climbed to his feet, getting into a stance as he looked around at each bandit. Seeing that each one was out cold, Kiryu relaxed, straightening out.

Kiryu blinked when he thought he saw 1500 XP pop up at the corner of his eye. What… was that?

"By the gods…" Julius mumbled, he and Melonie huddled together in the shifted his attention to them, stepping over the bodies and walking over to the two. They cowered back at first, intimidated after the display of power he just put on.

"Are you two alright?" Kiryu asked, causing them to blink. He waited for an answer, watching as the two slowly stood up and cautiously nodded.

"Y-Yes… thank you for saving us," Julius finally answered, wiping some sweat off his brow.

"It's nothing. But now that they're out of the way, I need answers. Where the hell am I?" Kiryu asked, his voice remaining even despite his words.

"Y-Yes, I-"

"Wait!" Melonie said, causing the two to look at her. "Pl-Please, I know this is so much to ask you, but those bandits weren't the only ones! There are bandits attacking the entire village! The knights won't be here soon enough and more people will be hurt! C-Can you please… please help the rest of the village?"

"Melonie…" Julius mumbled before looking at Kiryu. He got on his knees and bowed, causing Kiryu to raise a brow. "Yes, please. I promise… I promise to answer any questions you have and give you whatever is within my power to do… but please save this village!"

Kiryu looked between them, feeling his resolve for getting answers at this immediate moment crumble. He released a small sigh, turning his back toward them.

"Alright. I'll do it," Kiryu said, walking to the broken door. "Just be sure to keep your promise when all this is done."

"Thank you! We will!" The two cried out, their voices sincere. Kiryu felt a small smirk play on his lips,taking his leave of them.

Geez. I let myself get talked into another mess. Well, too late to back out, now.

"All of you! Gather the rest of the loot you can and get ready to go!" A bandit shouted from the main road of the village, riding a horse as he marched around town. "We've got time, but let's make sure to put some distance between us and this village long before the knights arrive!"

"Come on, boss! We don't gotta worry about them!" Another bandit laughed behind him, carrying a bag of loot over his shoulder. "They're still lickin' their wounds from the Wave!"

"Heh, maybe, but I'd rather we don't overstay our welcome," The leader laughed, raising his bent blade. "Come on, you lot! Don't have too much fun, now! We can celebrate once we're home free!"

"Celebrate on your own dimes, not other's."

The bandit leader and several around him hesitated, looking up the path to see Kiryu walk out from behind one of the buildings. His glare was fierce, eyes leering directly into the bandit leader's eyes.

"Ho~, what do we have here? Some wannabe hero?" A bandit laughed, grinning as he walked toward Kiryu with a club in hand. "You shoulda stayed in hidin' instead, dumbass! Now you get to-"

The bandit didn't get to finish his sentence as the Dragon of Dojima smashed his fist into his gut, knocking the breath out of him before bringing up his fist in a swift and powerful uppercut, sending him flying back. The bandit leader and his men's eyes widened, each one drawing their weapons as their comrade landed flat on his back.

"Hm. These aren't bad," Kiryu hummed, looking at the bracers on his arms. "I can barely feel them, but they certainly help add some weight to my hits."

"Tch! You'll pay for that! You wanna play hero?! Fine!" The bandit leader growled, raising his blade. "Everyone! To the center of town! We've got an idiot here who thinks he's gonna save this town! Let's give him the full experience, huh?!"

Kiryu's eyes drifted to the side, watching as burly men started to empty from the houses of the village, numbering at around thirty from what he could see, each one brandishing some club, sword or daggers. They all laughed as they started to surround him in a large circle, the leader moving ahead on his horse and grinning darkly.

"Heh. Wanna rethink your little hero stunt? Not that it'll save you, but maybe we'll just beat the shit outta you without killing you if you get on your knees," The bandit leader laughed, pointing his sword at Kiryu. "Just get down on the ground and accept your beating!"

Kiryu was silent, his eyes still gazing around at the crowd now garnered. He could see Melonie and Julius peeking out from the side of their house, both looking on in terror at the numbers.

"Th-There are so many… why did he go out in the open and challenge them like this?!" Melonie asked in fear.

"I-I don't know… I-I have to help somehow, but… with so many…" Julius muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Kiryu finally answered the bandit finally, causing silence to fall as he turned his steely gaze to the leader. "I was just about to tell you that I hope you have more men."

That caused each bandit to actually hesitate, Kiryu's confident words and charismatic aura taking hold for a moment. But the bandit leader grit his teeth, raising his sword. "Don't get spineless on me now, you rats! It's only one man! Take him down!"

Their leader's words roused the bandits, bringing back their resolve as they found courage in their numbers and started to approach Kiryu.

"If we're doing this, then fine," Kiryu cracked his neck side to side before rolling his shoulders and balling his fists. The same blue flame and sparks returned to his gauntlets as before.

"Then come on already!"

(Yakuza 0 OST: Tusk)

The bandits rushed all around Kiryu, their weapons raised above them as they all aimed to end him swiftly. Of course, the Dragon of Dojima was more than used to seeing the sight of armed men numbering this high try to take him on. It never ended well for them.

Kiryu did a quick step to the closest bandit, doing a quick straight punch to his gut and making him buckle over. The former gangster then grabbed his poor cloth shirt tight, watching his surrounding enemies closely. For some reason, his bracer's aura changed from blue to orange.

He didn't give it much thought though, quickly raising the man into the air and swinging him around like a ragdoll into the other bandits that tried to close the distance. Kiryu felt a strange amount of new strength as he swung him though, as if he had suddenly been boosted. He could always fling men like this around, but this seemed so effortless even by comparison to when he was at his strongest.

Kiryu swung the man around several times, creating a decent amount of space around him before finally tossing him into several men and knocking them all over. The remaining bandits now had a taste of his strength, each one recoiling as they now erred on the side of caution when it came to approaching the Dragon of Dojima. The bandit leader saw their fear and grit his teeth, no less intimidated by Kiryu but remaining in control.

"Tch! Let's see how you handle arrows! Archers!"

Kiryu saw several men move out in front of the crowd, numbering at least five men wielding bows and arrows. Though in Kiryu's honest opinion, he wasn't impressed. Arrows don't move nearly as fast as bullets.

Kiryu dashed forward, heading for the closest archer. Each bandit quickly nocked an arrow, taking aim as they tried to remain calm. But as their arrows flew, they watched as Kiryu simply dodged and sidestepped each arrow that got close. The bandit he was charging gawked, fumbling for another arrow in his quiver. Kiryu obviously didn't give him the chance to even load it.

His gauntlets changed color again, this time shifting to a pinkish hue. Kiryu wasn't sure why that was happening, but again tossed the thought aside. He slammed his fist into the bandit's gut, this time with enough force to send him flying straight back and into a crowd of others behind him.

Kiryu didn't linger, quickly shifting his gaze to the next archers as they took aim. He easily dodged several arrows again, but he noted how while his strength seemed to level back out, his speed was tremendous. He could always dodge things like arrows or throwing knives without problem, but the effortlessness he felt in doing it now was almost unreal.

Using the newly found speed, Kiryu quickstepped forward and closed the gap between him and the archers, positioning himself evenly between them with a single action in mind. The aura changed again, shifting from pink to a fierce red hue.

"D-Die, damn it!" The first archer he approached cried out, taking one more shot with his arrow only to have it evaded. Kiryu curled his shoulder back to dodge it, dashing in front of the bandit as he did so before bringing a fist up for an uppercut straight to his jaw. He didn't stop there though, eyes trailing to the next archer before dashing at blinding speeds to the next one. The bandit didn't even have a chance to put his guard up, receiving a quick one-two punch to the face that dazed him before Kiryu brought the back of his fist up into his temple, causing him to flip in the air and face plant. The Dragon of Dojima didn't stop, dashing to the next archer and bringing the forearm of his bracer straight into his nose and breaking it. He looked to the last shaking archer and dashed at him, grabbing his wrist just as he was about to grab another arrow. Kiryu brought his arm back and chopped the man's wrist hard enough to bring him to one knee, crushing the bones in his arm in the process. If that wasn't enough, Kiryu brought back his right hand and hit him with the back of his fist hard enough to make the bandit flip in the air.

Kiryu hadn't counted how many he had taken out in his wake, but a quick look around revealed it to be quite a few already. Around ten men were left, but the last ten men were already cowering back in fear, the fight gone from them in a matter of moments. Even their boss was sweating in fear, swallowing a large lump in his throat as he gripped his sword tensely.

"I'll give you this chance to surrender and answer for hurting the people here. But if you don't drop your weapons now, I'll tear the rest of you apart," Kiryu declared, raising his hand in front of him and balling it into a crackling, red flamed fist.

"D-Don't fuck with me!" The bandit leader cried out, dismounting from his horse and pointing his sword forward. "W-We're not gonna let one man throw us all away! I'll kill you myself! Let's finish this, boys!"

His men decided to stand their ground, starting to crowd Kiryu again with weapons raised cautiously. Kiryu simply gave a quick glance around before letting out a small breath.

"Have it your way."

Kiryu didn't give them an edge, quickly spinning around and slamming his armored fist into a bandit that attempted to blindside him. He gave two powerful punches across each side of his jaw before bringing up his fist into a powerful uppercut, causing the bandit to fly into the air with his legs up. Kiryu immediately took advantage, grabbing his legs under both arms and literally swinging him in a wide circle, smashing him into the rest of his comrades before tossing him aside. Before one of the bandits could recover, Kiryu immediately stomped his foot on his face, knocking him out.

"Die!"

Kiryu evaded a sword swipe from the leader, the last man to be standing. Unlike the rest of his men, Kriyu saw a bit more skill in the way he held his blade out. Not that it mattered to the Dragon of Dojima. Kiryu put his hands up in front of his face, doing a small bounce step as he decided upon rush style. As if mirroring his thoughts, a pinkish hue returned to his gauntlets.

"Come!"

The bandit leader grit his teeth, hesitating a moment before snarling as he swung his blade. Kiryu swiftly deflected it with a quick punch, causing the boss to flinch and hold his sword tight. He let out another grunt, swinging the sword back around for another swipe, only to have Kiryu deflect it with a straight punch that threw the bandit off balance. Kiryu quickly followed up with four devastating straight punches to his sternum, taking the breath out of him. Taking a single step back for momentum, Kiryu finished off the bandit leader with a double fisted tiger punch, sending the bandit sailing back with a broken collar bone.

Kiryu stood at full length, taking a deep breath as everything seemed to wind down. Opening his eyes, he raised a brow when he saw 15,000 XP pop up at the corner of his eye gain. So that wasn't my imagination. What the hell is that?

"G-Gods…" Kiryu slowly turned around, looking to see not only Julius and Melonie, but the entire village coming out of hiding. Men, women and children slowly approached from all sides, some looking battered and bruised or injured. But despite that, all eyes were on Kiryu, staring in complete awe.

"Hey," Kiryu said, his eyes directed at Julius. "You should all tie these guys up in case they try to get back up. They should be alive… probably."

"Y-Yeah, okay then," Julius nodded, looking back at the rest of the village, waving his arm. "Come on, everyone! Let's not waste anytime! We'll tie them all up and have them ready for the knights!"

It took a moment for the rest of the villagers to move, but ultimately a good number gave a resounding 'yeah!'. Kiryu stepped over the bandits at his feet, moving to join Julius and Melonie. But before he could, he found himself crowded by people, causing him to recoil slightly.

"Th-That was amazing, mister!"

"Thank you!"

"You're very brave! Are you one of the heroes?!"

"H-Hey, wait…" Kiryu mumbled, the amount of people crowding him and talking causing him to fluster up a bit. Julius and Melonie watched him for a moment, small smiles spreading across their faces.

"I wasn't sure what to expect from the summoning ritual, but this… this seems good," Julius admitted, looking at his childhood friend.

"I agree. Though, we still have quite a bit to answer for him, don't we?" Melonie giggled, earning a tired sigh from Julius.

"Yes… yes we do."

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXX​"... Another world?"

After the bandits had been handled and locked up, Julius and Melonie took Kiryu to their home once they were able to get him away from the crowd of curious villagers. From there, they made him dinner with what had survived the raid, sitting by the fire as Julius went on to explain everything to Kiryu. Though it was taking the Dragon of Dojima some time to process exactly what was being given to him.

"Yes… using the gauntlets on your arms, I was able to conjure a ritual that brought you here. I'm sorry to have done that so suddenly and without your permission, but… I was desperate, as you saw," Julius sighed, awkwardly rubbing his hands together. "But know that every single person in this village appreciates what you did. Thank you, honestly."

Kiryu remained silent, taking a moment to think on his current situation. He would have thought it were a dream had things not felt so real fighting out there. Part of him did. But his instincts were telling him that it was the truth. Everything he saw out there was real. The old houses, the bandits and their outdated weapons.

It's all real. But that also means…

Kiryu's eyelids tightened as he felt his heart ache. "Is there… any way I can go back?"

"P-Possibly. I don't have the spell to do so, but I can do some deeper study to find one…" Julius said, bringing Kiryu's attention up to him. "Again, I'm so sorry. If you give me time, I can try to find a way back for you."

"We didn't mean to put you in such a desperate spot. Whatever we can do for you, we will," Melonie added, giving a sympathetic smile.

Kiryu's eyes drifted to the small fire under the chimney. Haruka, Haruto, Sunflower orphanage. They were all so far away from him now. Much farther than he ever meant to put between him and the children when he 'died'. But despite a lingering want to be close to them, Kiryu knew that he had already cut off all chances of seeing them again. With that in mind, even if Kiryu returned to his world, he had nothing to go back to.

"Forget it. I… don't need to go back."

Julius and Melonie blinked, looking at one another before back at him. "What?"

"I've got nothing waiting for me in my world. In fact… it's probably better that I stay here, anyway," Kiryu admitted, his voice sullen.

Silence fell upon them, questions now building up between Melonie and Julius about the curious man in front of them. But not wanting to leave things with that, Julius spoke again.

"Well… if it helps, we were planning to let you stay with us until I was able to find the spell, but…" Julius looked at Melonie, the kind woman giving a small nod in approval. "But if you need a place to stay for the time being, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to. It's the least we can do."

"... Normally I wouldn't want to impose, but… I really don't know anything about where I'm at or where I would go otherwise. I'll take you up on that," Kiryu nodded in acceptance.

"Good to hear. Well, with that out of the way, is there anything else you'd like to know?" Julius asked, causing Kiryu to hum. He looked down at his arms and raised a brow.

"A few things still, but… Let's start with these. What are they?" Kiryu asked, holding up his forearm.

"Oh, those are your personal weapon," Julius started, holding his chin. "They're what brought you to this world as you were their chosen wielder. I don't know many details to be honest as I had um… appropriated them from my previous job." Melonie gave him a disappointed look while the warlock could only laugh sheepishly. "I wasn't sure I could even summon you to be honest. Rituals performed on the gauntlets up until now have never been successful."

"Chosen wielder? Chosen by who?"

"The weapon itself, maybe? Perhaps the gods?" Julius shrugged with a frown. "No one knows exactly how heroes are elected. Though from what we all saw, I doubt it's done at random."

"I see…" Kiryu mumbled, not sure he would get anymore answers in regards to the bracers. He soon gave a thought about taking them off. In response, the gauntlets began to glow before reducing in size. Kiryu blinked as his hands and forearms were reduced to small forearm pads, feeling light as a feather on his arms. He pulled at the sleeves of his jacket and shirt and found it easy to pull out from under it, but it remained attached to his body. "I'm guessing… these don't come off easy."

"N-No. If it's anything like the weapons that the other Heroes have, it'll remain attached to your body. But at least you should be able to move it around your body without problem and reduce its size as you wish!" Julius offered in an attempt to be positive.

"That sounds pretty inconvenient, still…" Kiryu sighed in defeat, shaking his head. "But what's this about other heroes?"

"Oh, well, as I said you wouldn't be the first to be summoned from another world. It has happened before with other legendary weapons."

"I see… I doubt it, but it makes me wonder if I know anyone that was summoned before…" Kiryu said, holding his chin curiously.

"Perhaps you'll meet some throughout your stay here," Melonie said this time with some interest. "The Legendary Heroes will soon be summoned to deal with the waves of catastrophe."

"Waves of catastrophe?" Kiryu raised a brow at the ominous name.

"Perhaps we should save that discussion for tomorrow. The waves are something of their own beast," Julius sighed, wiping his forehead of sweat. "We've handled one problem with bandits today. I don't want to pressure our guest with more dark tidings."

"O-Oh, you're right. My apologies…"

Kiryu remained silent, deciding to let it go for now. He could just hear them out about the wave come tomorrow, even if it grabbed his curiosity. But he still had more questions that related to himself.

"Is there anything else we can clear up for you?" Julius asked.

"... One thing, I suppose." Kiryu said, looking up in thought. "After I beat those bandits in the shed and beat the bandits in the street, these numbers popped up next to the letters 'XP'. What's that about?"

"Oh? You don't know? Usually that kind of knowledge is known by the heroes, even though it's not something part of their lives beforehand," Julius mused, rubbing his chin. "Do you see the symbol at the bottom right corner of your vision?"

"Symbol?" Kiryu raised a brow before blinking. It was faint, but there was a small icon at the corner of his eyes that moved with his sight. "What is that..?"

"Try pressing it with your finger."

Kiryu felt awkward reaching for something that was only in his eye but obeyed. The moment he pressed the symbol, a strange set of images popped up like a menu floating in air. "Wh-What the hell?! What is…"

"That's where you can check your progress and strength from your actions! XP is gained from defeating opponents and monsters in battle, which build up your all around power," said Julius, causing Kiryu to stare in complete befuddlement.

… What the hell. It's like a… video game? Though this looks way more complicated than anything I've ever played… The closest thing Kiryu could recall to ever seeing a menu this complicated was when Taishi had invited him to watch him play a video game. Games were far more complicated than when he was a kid, so he was easily lost even when Taichi was there to try and explain it for him.

Kiryu messed around with the menu, scrolling through his options where he saw his supposed 'level' next to his name. He was already at level 6, from what it was saying. Though how good that was, he didn't know. This… this is weird. I thought I was in some sort of fantasy world, but… it's a video game world? Why? Is that even a thing?

"Is everything alright, Mr. Kiryu?" Melonie asked, seeing the frown on Kiryu's confused face.

"Y-Yeah, I just… I don't know what to say about what I'm seeing right now…" Kiryu admitted, this 'menu' thing throwing him off more than anything else so far. It was like getting blindsided.

"Perhaps we can make that something else we go over tomorrow? I can explain the fundamentals to you if you like so that it's easier to understand," Julius offered.

"Y-Yeah, that'd be good… I have no idea what I'm doing with this…" Kiryu mumbled, trying but failing to make the menu leave his sight. "Uh… how do I turn this off?"

"Oh, just press the icon again or swipe it away from the top left corner."

Kiryu kept trying to swipe from the top corner, letting out a frustrated groan as he failed to do so. With a sigh, he touched the icon at the bottom corner, watching it disappear. "This is going to be more complicated than I thought…"

"Don't worry, Mr. Kiryu. I'll do my best to tutor you about anything you wish to know," Julius laughed sheepishly, feeling bad for Kiryu's plight. "How about we head to bed now and work on whatever else you want to know tomorrow?"

"Y-Yeah, I think that's a good idea…" Kiryu conceded, not sure if he was ready to deal with the amount of information that was about to be piled on him.

"Oh, here, Mr. Kiryu. I brought you this to wash your face off. You uh… did get some blood on you from the fighting," Melonie giggled, offering a wooden bowl of water.

"Thanks. I thought my face felt a bit weird," Kiryu nodded, taking the bowl and immediately splashing his face and scrubbing it with an offered rag. Once he felt that his skin had been cleaned, he removed the rag and picked up the bowl to hand back. "Thank…" Kiryu caught eye of his reflection, eyes going wide as he realized that what he saw… was a younger version of himself. Having a small freak out, Kiryu stood up suddenly and dropped the bowl, splashing water across the ground.

"Ah!" Melonie yelped in surprise.

"M-Mr. Kiryu! Is everything alright?!" Julius asked, standing from his seat in alert.

Kiryu stared down at the water, his eyes moving left to right. "S-Sorry, I… do you have a mirror?"

"A mirror? Why, yes, but… why?"

"I need to see it. Quick."

Melonie and Julius shared a glance before the former walked around the puddle and grabbed a hand mirror from the nightstand, handing it to Kiryu. Kiryu snatched it, quickly raising it to his face. Just as he thought, he wasn't seeing things. He looked literally twenty years young. Twenty seven to be precise. Even his hair was styled the same way as when he was a twenty year old.

"Is… something wrong?"

"... I guess not, but… I think that I was… made younger," Kiryu explained, his hand lightly brushing over his cheeks. "Before I got here, I was forty seven years old, but… I look like how I was almost three decades ago…"

"Y-You were deaged by the travel? That's… incredible," Julius said, eyes wide in disbelief. "I have heard that summons are generally around their teens to twenties, but I've never heard of someone being reversed in age by it."

"W-Well, that's a good thing, right?" Melonie offered hopefully.

Kiryu wasn't sure what to say. All he knew was that this was another thing on the list of crazy things he learned that night. So much had happened to him and changed, that he wasn't sure if he could even react anymore than he had.

"... I think I'm ready to sleep, now."

"Yes, I'm sure," Julius laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Let me lead you to your room, Mr. Kiryu. Thankfully we had one guest room left for use," Melonie said, waving for him to follow.

Kiryu stared at his face for a moment longer, unsure if he should feel happy about this change or not. He wasn't sure how to feel about any of this. But rather than dwell on it, he'd rather sleep on it.

"Okay. Thanks."

"Of course. And tomorrow, after you've gone over everything with Julius, we'll show you around our modest little village, Lute."

Chapter 2

Getting Adjusted​

Kiryu sat silently and soaked in all the information that Julius had to offer the following morning. Which was a lot. Quite a lot. First of all, this kingdom was a matriarchy, but the queen was away in another country currently, leaving a king who Julius obviously loathed to govern the land; the queen was a great ruler, but her husband seemed to be lost in his head. There were two crown princesses, the older one being a conniving snake and the other a wiser, somewhat naive but good hearted girl. Julius seemed thankful that the youngest had been chosen as heir apparent to the throne instead.

Then there was talk about these Waves of Calamity. Apparently, monsters appeared from the sky every few months that would threaten to destroy the land, though it had only really started to occur recently. Kiryu had the benefit of missing the first one to appear, though that was in part why the bandits had attacked; both the village and the knights had been weakened from the first Wave, leaving many isolated villages and towns vulnerable to things like bandit raids. Kiryu didn't understand why the Waves occurred, but Julius didn't seem to have an answer for that either. In a way, they were treated more like natural disasters. Personally Kiryu wasn't sure exactly how true that idea was, but it would do for now.

Then there was the discussion about his gauntlets. Julius had a theory that they were one of what he called Seven Star Weapons, some sort of legendary weapon for heroes just below the 4 Legendary Heroes themselves. Kiryu didn't understand that part so much. It didn't help that the warlock rambled on about several different theories that Kiryu merely sat through and listened to the best of his abilities. Once that was over, they talked about the 'menu' that Kiryu still barely understood the mapping of.

"Do you see the branches for your gauntlets? I imagine with the number of colors that they took on during your fight, there should be about four," Julius said.

"Y-Yeah, I think so… wait, I accidentally closed it…" Kiryu mumbled, feeling a bit impatient as he tried to navigate through the menu in thin air. "O-Okay, I think I've got it… yeah."

"Alright, just trace your fingers over each branch. It should show a name for the branches available to you."

"Got it…" Kiryu slowly did as the warlock suggested. As he traced his finger across the top section, he raised a brow when he saw the word Brawler Style appear in blue. He traced to the next one, the words Rush Style appearing in pink. The last two were Beast Style and Dragon Style appearing in yellow and red respectively.

"These are all the fighting styles I took on over the years. I guess that for a 'game' world like this, they were divided in separate categories…" Kiryu mumbled to himself, holding his chin.

"'Game' world? What do you mean?" Julius tilted his head to the side.

"A-Ah, nothing to worry about. Just thinking out loud…" Kiryu said, clearing his throat. Things are already complicated as is. I don't need to add to that. "I sort of get how these work, but… I could change fighting styles before coming here. I don't know how this is supposed to be special."

"Well, if you have four branches, each branch should provide you with a different boost in some way. Try looking into each branch specifically," Julius recommended. Kiryu sighed, growing tired of operating the 'menu', but doing as he was asked. He touched Brawler Style and raised a brow, watching as it enlarged across his vision.

Brawler Style: Provides a large boost in Power and a minor boost in Defense.

That's interesting. So the styles now operate with different 'boosts'? Well, I did feel different each time I switched styles. Kiryu thought to himself, going to the other styles and looking at their benefits.

Rush Style: Provides a large boost in Speed and Evasion, but at a minor loss in Power.

Beast Style: Provides a large boost in Defense and a minor boost in Power, but a mild loss in Speed and Evasion.

Dragon Style: Provides a minor boost in All Stats.

I see. It looks like it took each of my style's strengths and weaknesses and made them more apparent. Even Dragon Style matches up, considering it's a combination of all the fighting styles in one. Kiryu dismissed the menu, leaning forward on his elbows. "It matches up with what you said. I get a benefit but also a deduction from each style except my first and last one."

"I see. Your gauntlets certainly do seem to be full of mystery. There wasn't even much to know about them beforehand. But still… to stem from your own prowess seems… strange," Julius mumbled, causing Kiryu to raise a brow.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… typically, Vassal Weapons and the Four Legendary Weapons provide their own set of abilities and original branches. But from what you've said, it's merely taken what was already there and just provided some extra pros and cons to each of your fighting styles," Julius pointed out, humming in thought. "Well… perhaps as you level up and add materials to your gauntlets, that will change."

"Wait, so these things can do more?" Kiryu asked, looking down at his arms.

"They should, at least. Their variety should go up with the materials and bonuses you gain. At least, that's what would be the norm," Julius continued. "Well, your bracers are unorthodox and might not be what I think it is… I'll try to dig deeper into study and find out more for you."

"Thanks. Still, even after everything you've said, I'm not sure if I'm more informed or more lost at this point…" Kiryu sighed, standing from his seat.

"Sorry… I'm sure it's a lot to take in but feel free to ask me if there's anything else you need help understanding," Julius offered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"I will, thanks. But we've been at this for a while, so I think I'll take a break. Mind if I walk around town?" Kiryu asked, rolling his neck and cracking it.

"Be my guest! In fact, I'm sure the villagers have plenty they want to say in thanks," Julius chuckled. "Besides, considering you'll be staying, it might be best for the others to get to know you. Melonie is still working at the local tavern, so feel free to pop in there for a meal. Which reminds me: here," Julius pulled a small pouch off his belt, handing it over to Kiryu. "There's about two silvers worth in there. Feel free to get what you like from town."

"Thanks, I will," Kiryu nodded, stuffing the pouch into his pocket. "By the way, if I was to get a drink at the pub, how much would it be?"

"Ah, about five coppers. Remember that a hundred coppers equal one silver, and a hundred silvers would equal one gold," Julius said, guessing Kiryu's intent.

"I see. I'll pay you back when I can," Kiryu nodded, heading for the door to leave.

"Don't worry about it! It's the least I could give you, really. If you'd like, I can guide you around."

"No, that's alright. I need some time to myself to clear my head. I appreciate it, though," Kiryu shook his head. "I'll be back soon."

"Of course. I'll do my best to look for anymore information I can dig up!" Julius smiled before alarm stretched across his face. "O-Oh, one last thing, Kiryu! Um… regarding your bracers… if anyone asks where you got them, could you… not mention me?"

"Hm? Why?" Kiryu asked, raising a brow in question.

"W-Well, as I told you, I… appropriated those bracers from the castle after I was banished. So, if I could avoid people knowing about where they came from, I'd appreciate it…" Julius mumbled out, looking at the ground nervously as he spoke.

"I see. I won't mention any names if people ask, don't worry," Kiryu reassured, drawing a breath of relief from the former royal warlock.

"T-Thank you… again. Have a good walk, then."

Kiryu nodded in acceptance before opening the front door and leaving. His eyes strained at first against the bright sun hanging overhead. He had spent much of his morning sitting and talking with Julius inside, so this was the breath of fresh air he needed. A breeze gently brushed against him, the wind cool but not chilling, making the day all the more beautiful.

Kiryu spared a glance around, seeing the villagers moving about and making some repairs to their homes or running their businesses. Children played through the road, all laughing happily as they ran around.

"I am the weaponless hero! I can beat up lots of people with just some gauntlets!" A child proclaimed, punching the air at the other kids. They all made overly dramatic cries as they pretended to fall, each one carrying a wooden sword.

Kiryu raised a brow, a small smirk playing on his lips. I guess that's supposed to be me. Just how many people saw what happened? Though Kiryu did recall the large crowd that had garnered shortly after he beat the final bandit. Now that he thought about it, he wouldn't be surprised if half the village had seen what happened. He was sure that they all knew by now, though.

"Hey, look! It's the Weaponless Hero!" One of the children called, pulling Kiryu from his thoughts. Before he knew it, a crowd of children surrounded him, causing him to take a step back in surprise. "Thank you, Weaponless Hero! You're so cool!"

"I can't believe you beat so many people without a sword!"

"Can you teach us how to fight like that?!"

"Hey, calm down. I can't answer everything at once…" Kiryu said, scratching the back of his head as he suddenly felt trapped.

"Ah, there's our savior!" A man said as he approached, a large piece of lumber over his shoulder. "We were wondering where you disappeared to! Hey, kids! Go play and leave the man alone!"

"Aw, but we wanted to talk to him!" The kids bemoaned in protest.

"No buts! I'm sure you'll get a chance later!" The man said, causing the children to grumble as they shuffled away from Kiryu. He let out a sigh of relief, still wanting his much needed breather.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Everything only happened last night, and those kids are already out an' about like nothin' happened. Well, it's probably for the best. It's thanks to you that they can relax, you know?" The man smiled, turning back around. "Everyone wants to show their appreciation, but we've all gotta make some repairs of our own. We'll be sure to show it soon!"

"You don't have to, but… I won't turn away any thanks," Kiryu smirked, watching as the man left him to head back down the road. Well, I guess I should have expected to be stopped like that. Maybe I should walk around the edge of town to avoid anymore attention.

Kiryu held up the coin bag he'd been given, narrowing his eyes. So, if three coppers are worth a beer here, then I'm guessing that a single copper would be around the same value of 100 yen. Though certain things might have less value here than back in my world… Man, I still have so much to learn.

Kiryu stuffed the bag away again before beginning to walk around. Considering his tenure in this village was going to be for some unknown amount of time, he wanted to familiarize himself with the area. He started by heading to the forefront of the village, giving a nod of greeting to those he passed along the way. It was a bit strange to be recognized by pretty much everyone in town, not to mention in a friendly sort of way.

As he reached the edge of Lute Village, Kiryu was greeted with a breathtaking view of a vast greenland, his eyes drifting across the sunlit country. A small forest laid just ahead of it, and a mountain stood close by on the village's left side. It was a sight Kiryu had only seen in movies or pictures, so he couldn't help but appreciate the spectacle now given to him. Beautiful…

"Hurry up and get on, you animals!"

Kiryu was pulled from his stupor when a voice echoed close by, his eyes trailing to the right. He raised a brow, seeing a company of fifteen to twenty armored soldiers at the edge of town. From what he could see, they were arresting the bandits that Kiryu had beaten the previous night, loading them onto several horse pulled carriages.

Kiryu decided to take a close look, interested in what the knights of the kingdom were like. Julius seemed to have mixed feelings when it came to them, saying that they weren't all bad but he had met a few that were obnoxious or were plain dicks.

As he approached, he noticed an elderly man standing with some of the knights, overlooking the process. One of the knights was a young man with blond hair hidden behind some chainmail and a helmet. Though what somewhat threw Kiryu off was what looked like a young woman with a wizard hat standing close to him, her facial features looking much like that of an animals. One of the things Julius mentioned was what people called Demi-Humans, a race of people with animal traits that could grow up incredibly fast by leveling up.

I guess I should have expected it, but… it is pretty surprising to see for myself. That was the extent of Kiryu's opinion on the matter. Julius had mentioned that there was also a stigma against demi-humans scattered throughout the kingdom, though Lute Village wasn't one of those places. Thus, Kiryu decided that it was likely best to treat them like everyone else.

"Ah, there he is! The savior of the village!" The elderly man pointed out, causing Kiryu to become the center of attention again as the knights next to him looked to him in wonder.

"C-Crap! He's back!" One of the bandits yelped in fear, those not yet on the carriage beginning to freak out and recoil away from Kiryu as he approached.

"Settle down you whelps!" A knight shouted, he and a good number trying to contain the crowd.

"So it was you, huh? The hero that defeated all these bandits without a weapon?" The young knight asked eagerly as he and the demi-human girl approached with the elderly gentleman who had pointed Kiryu out.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself a hero, but… yeah," Kiryu nodded, deciding not to mention his bracers as he recalled Julius's words.

"That's so amazing! I can't believe you were able to do that bare handed and at a low level!" The knight said, his eyes shining with awe. "I truly appreciate your help in saving Lute Village from being raided by these men, truly!"

"You do?" Kiryu asked, surprised by his enthusiasm.

"Don't be too surprised. Our up-and-coming young knight here is actually from this modest village of ours," the elderly man said, patting the boy on the shoulder and making him blush bashfully. "By the way, it's a pleasure to meet you officially. I'm the lord of this town, and am thankful for everything you did."

"I wish we could have been here. But after the first Wave, a good number of our forces were needed back at the capital city," the young knight sighed before smiling. "But thankfully our town was blessed enough to have you come."

"I see. Well, I'm glad I helped out, then," Kiryu gave a small smile before his eyes trailed to the bandits, a frown forming now. It seemed that they were all watching him tensely as they slowly made their way onto the carriage. "Have they been giving you any trouble?"

"No, not much. Some are being a bit rowdy, but they're behaving themselves. I don't think they want another beating like what you gave them," the young knight laughed, his gazing moving to the bandits.

"Good." Kiryu's eyes narrowed at the bandits, filling those still getting loaded up with dread. "Because if they weren't, I'd be quick to remind them of last night."

The bandits trembled under his gaze, now beginning to scramble a bit as each one tried to hurry onto the cart.

"Hey, get back in order! Stop freaking out, you wimps!" A knight shouted as he and others tried to contain the crowd.

"You've really instilled them all with a fear of a beating, huh?" The demi-human mage giggled, looking at Kiryu innocently.

"I suppose," Kiryu smirked, watching the bandits struggle among themselves. That smirk fell when he watched one break off from the others, jumping at one of the knights and stealing his sword.

"H-Hey, stop!" a knight cried. The young knight and mage gasped, quickly moving to join the others and surround the lone bandit. Kiryu was quick to walk over as well while the elderly lord hung back, the Dragon of Dojima clenching his fists as he approached.

"S-Stay back or I'll kill him!" The bandit growled, putting the sword to the knight's neck. The other knights kept a certain distance, their spears and swords drawn but unable to move forward.

"Hey." Kiryu called out, looking at the bandits who had stopped from getting on. He could see their eyes, all of them assessing whether to take a chance at the sudden situation. "If I see any of you try to run or attack the knights, I'll bury you right now."

The bandits immediately shrunk back, quickly jumping into the cart.

"You cowards! We have the advantage here!" The lone bandit growled. Kiryu eventually identified him as the leader he had beaten at the end. "You! I'm gonna kill you the first chance I get!"

"If you couldn't do it last night, you're never going to get that chance," Kiryu scoffed, slowly tightening his stance as he prepared to make a move.

"Surrender now! You've got nowhere to go!" The young knight from Lute ordered, his voice more confident as he stepped closer to the bandit.

"If any of you gets too close, he's a dead man!" the bandit warned, pressing the blade closer to his hostage's throat.

Kiryu clicked his tongue, trying to think of the fastest solution to this problem. I could go into Rush Style to try and close the distance before he does, but I don't know if I'll be fast enough.

Kiryu never had to make an attempt, though. As the bandit immediately found his head whipping back as a brick smashed into his face, forcing him to let go of the knight. Though Kiryu couldn't stop from widening his eyes as he watched the bandit sail several meters back like he'd been hit with a whole brick wall rather than a single brick.

"Such a rowdy brat, wasn't he?"

Kiryu whipped his head back, raising a brow when he saw an old woman standing there, giving him a gentle smile as she leaned on a cane. Kiryu noted that unlike the other villagers, the granny wore a chinese style dougi. She hunched over where she stood and her face was covered in wrinkles.

"Quick! Apprehend him!" One of the knights called, the others quickly obeying and tying up the still unconscious bandit. Kiryu spared a glance around, looking for anyone else who might have thrown the brick. When he saw no one, he looked back down at the old lady.

"Was that... you who threw the brick?" Kiryu asked in wonder.

"Hehe, maybe. I might look old, but I've still got a bit of strength in these old arms of mine," The granny giggled, giving him a kind smile.

"I-I see… thanks, then," Kiryu nodded, relaxing his stance as he walked up to the granny.

"Of course, young man. After last night's little fight, I thought it wouldn't be right to make you handle these brats again," the granny giggled into her hand, though she started to go into a small coughing fit. "E-Excuse me, I'm still a bit under the weather…"

"Are you alright?" Kiryu asked in concern.

"Yes, yes. Don't mind me. When you get to this age, everything seems severe…" the granny waved him off, turning around. "Well, I must be going. I'm actually not from around here. I just happened to be in town because I was trying to pick up some medicine. Doesn't look like they had what I was searching for, anyway..."

"Okay. Well, thanks again for the help, old lady," Kiryu said, bowing his head in appreciation before looking back to check on the knights.

"By the way…" Kiryu looked back at the granny, her back still to him. "I get the feeling you're not from… around here either. We've had quite a few 'travelers' to our country before, after all."

Kiryu raised a brow. He hadn't figured that someone would have pegged him so quickly as an 'otherworldly' human. Then again, he was still wearing his usual suit. He was sure that might have looked a bit suspicious on its own.

"You might be right... Why?"

"First, I'd like to commend your fighting skills. What you showed last night made it clear you're more than just a novice or even a seasoned hand-to-hand fighter. You're a master, no doubt. But tell me… how many beasts have you fought before?" The old lady asked, turning her head to look back at Kiryu.

The Dragon of Dojima's eyes trailed to the side, his thoughts immediately going to the two tigers he'd punched out some years ago and the bear he fought in Purgatory. "... a few, I suppose."

"Heh. It sounds like you've seen some fair amount of action, hm? Well, even so, I think you would do well to train yourself for fighting beasts more often and level up," The old lady said, beginning to walk toward the center of the village. "That mountain just to the side of the village would be a good place for that. Plenty of strong monsters in there that will help you level up and train for the Waves."

Kiryu's gaze floated to the mountain, not sure what to say to that. He looked back at the old woman, who was still walking away from him. "Wait. Why would you tell me that?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're planning to defend this village during the next Wave, aren't you?" The granny asked, stopping for a moment.

Kiryu remained silent. He honestly hadn't thought that far ahead, as Julius had said it was months away. Though, thinking about it and considering the fact that he was going to be staying in Lute for a while, he supposed that was the obvious choice.

"Of course, the Wave may not even come so hard against this place. It all depends on where it will hit hardest," The granny continued, beginning to walk forward again. "Still, better to be prepared, right?"

"... Who are you?" Kiryu asked, curious about the strangely strong old woman.

"Oh, no one. Just a washed out granny who's barely hanging on," she answered before going into another small coughing fit. "Well, it was nice to meet you, sonny. I've no doubt we'll meet again."

Kiryu watched her for a moment before shifting his gaze back to the knights, seeing the elderly lord and the young knight begin to approach him, the latter of which expressing apologies over their mistake, though Kiryu immediately dismissed it. He stood by and listened to the knight and lord prattle, but his thoughts returned to the old woman's words.

I guess she has a point about that. I still don't have a full grasp on this 'level' thing, but if I'm gonna be here, it'll probably be a good idea to train.

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxXXXX​Kiryu spent some time talking with the lord and knight before finally parting ways. The knight had to leave with the rest of his company and the lord had to return to the village to deal with repairs. Kiryu found himself wandering around town again, getting to know where the markets and taverns were located throughout. It was a decent sized village, bigger than he realized. Still, it was a drastic change of pace compared to the bustling streets of Kamurocho or even the less busy areas of Okinawa.

This is a pretty comfy place. I bet Haruka and the kids would like it here, Kiryu mused to himself, eyes drifting around as he walked through the more a cigarette hung loosely at the edge of his mouth. A familiar loneliness crept up on him, again reminded of the otherworldly distance between him and Sunshine Orphanage. And again, he beat those feelings back, not allowing himself to be consumed by that sorrow. For in the end, he knew it was best this way.

Their lives will be better without me around. No more getting dragged into the underworld of the Yakuza.

"A-Ah, watch out, hero!"

Kiryu blinked, his head raising as he saw what looked like a large bird running toward him. He quickly stepped back, avoiding being barreled through by the strangely large bird. It had a full body of black feathers and an orange beak with a neck long enough to remind him somewhat of an ostrich. Kiryu could only raise a brow in wonder, watching as the black feathered bird turned a corner at a close building.

"What was that..?" Kiryu mumbled, his head turning back as he heard panting from behind. He looked to see a man hunched over and leaning on his knees, gasping for air.

"H-Hey, Weaponless Hero. That black filolial didn't run you over, did he?" The villager asked.

"No, I avoided it. What was that?" Kiryu asked, raising a brow.

"You don't know? That's what's called a filolial. They're big birds that people often use for riding or pulling carriages," the villager explained, pushing off his knees to stand up straight. "That one's a particularly rare one, though that's not always a great thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the way filolials work is that you hatch them from eggs. Depending on your luck, you can get a filolial worth a lot more and some traders will even give you the chance to hatch a dragon. That particular filolial is quite rare and worth a lot because it's stronger than the average filolial, but are known to have really bad temperaments and are hard to train," the villager said, causing Kiryu to raise a brow.

"You can get a dragon? That seems pretty far off from the bird I just saw," Kiryu pointed out, holding his chin.

"It is strange, but it's how it works. The dragons you get from those eggs only grow to the size of a filolial though, they don't get bigger than that."

"I see… so what's the deal with that filolial that you're chasing?" Kiryu asked curiously.

"Well, it is technically mine, but it's been a pain in the ass to have around. I tried to train it because I thought it really was a lucky pull, but it's becoming way too much of a hassle," the villager explained, shaking his head. "I'm likely going to sell it off soon. Though I guess it somehow picked up on that and bolted the first chance it got."

"I see. Well, sorry to hear about your trouble. Good luck catching it," Kiryu said before turning around to leave.

"W-Wait, before you go, hero…" The villager stopped him.

I could almost feel this coming. "What is it?"

"Catching that thing is going to be a real pain in the ass. Not to mention that thing is actually strong as hell. Do you think you'd be able to help me hunt it down?" The villager asked, putting his hands together to plead.

"How do you know it didn't just bolt out of the village? I doubt I could catch it in the forest," Kiryu asked, rubbing his neck as he felt a migraine coming on. I just knew he was going to ask for help.

"No, that filolial is picky about the food it eats! I know because the simple greens I've tried to give it haven't worked at all," the villager explained. "I know a couple places it might go for a meal. I'll go to one and you go to the other! Please, can you help me? I-I'll give you half of the profit I turn if I can sell it!"

Kiryu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well… I guess having some money would be nice…. Alright, I'll help you."

"Thank you! The first place I think the filolial might go is the butcher's shop just down the road. I'm gonna go to it and you can go to the vegetation field not far from there." the villager said, beginning to run without another word.

"Hey, wait! I…" Kiryu watched the man turn a corner, letting out a small breath and shaking his head. "How'd I get roped into hunting down a giant bird? He didn't even tell me how to catch it… Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. Better start looking…"

Kiryu rounded the corner to head toward the vegetation field, only to stop dead in his tracks. Just off to the side next to one of the houses, the black filolial popped its head out. It seemed to have hidden away from its owner and let him pass by, its eyes watching the road opposite of Kiryu as if making sure it wasn't spotted. It let out a sound like a laugh, almost, causing Kiryu to blink.

That thing… actually hid from its owner. Like it knew where he would go. How smart is this bird? Kiryu couldn't help but think, impressed by the quick wit of the filolial. He shook his head though, quickly reminding himself that he had a job to do. Kiryu still wasn't sure how to catch it but decided to wing it, walking up to the black filolial and crossing his arms.

"Hey, bird." the filolial's head snapped to Kiryu in alarm. Now that he got a closer look at its face, it was surprisingly cute. Though it was sending what clearly looked like a glare at Kiryu. "I'm not sure if you understand me or not, but I'm gonna need you to come with me."

The black filolial gave him what he thought was a hiss, fluffing up the feathers around its neck and spreading its somewhat small wings out like a threatened animal trying to make itself look bigger. Kiryu took a fighting stance, unsure what the filolial was planning to do. The two started to circle around one another slowly, the Dragon of Dojima narrowing his eyes.

But Kiryu suddenly realized his mistake as they kept circling. The black filolial suddenly spun on its heel and bolted down the dirt road.

"Damn it! Get back here!" Kiryu called out, immediately giving chase. He couldn't stop from widening his eyes when the bird looked back at him and stuck its tongue out at him. "Why you-wait!"

The filolial was obviously much faster than him. Kiryu could only curse at that, but thought of an idea. He made the bracers on his arms expand, a pink aura sparking to life around them. Let's hope that speed boost actually helps.

The action had surprising results, making Kiryu pick up even greater speed as he pursued the filolial. He was even beginning to close the distance at first. I actually might be able to catch him!

But this sudden change in speed didn't go unnoticed by the large bird, its head looking back at Kiryu in shock.

"Wait!"

But seeing his newfound speed, the filolial suddenly seemed to change gears, immediately doubling its own speed to run ahead of him.

Shit, it was just playing with me at first. I won't be able to catch it at this rate! Kiryu cursed, eyes narrowing as he continued his pursuit despite the building gap between them. His eyes shifted around quickly, looking for some way to keep the filolial from escaping. Just off to the side, leaning against one of the nearby houses, Kiryu saw a wooden pot lid, his eyes lighting up once he did.

It's my best shot. I won't catch it otherwise! Kiryu quickly snagged the pot lid as he passed, switching the color of his gauntlets to blue for the boost in power. He came to a sudden stop, slamming his foot into the dirt and rearing back the pot lid.

"Let's… go!" With an overly dramatic spin, Kiryu sent the pot lid flying through the air like a frisbee. It sailed at shocking speeds, causing all the villagers to gawk as it passed by. And before it could react, the pot lid smacked into the back of the filolial's head, causing it to squawk before tumbling forward on the ground.

Seeing the result of his quick thinking, Kiryu couldn't stop a smile from forming on his lips. "Alright. It worked!" He cheered to himself with a fist pump.

A moment later, his smile suddenly fell as he realized what he had just done. "Hm… now that I think about it… that was a bit harsh…" Kiryu scratched his head awkwardly, looking around at the villagers who watched him with mixed emotions.

Coughing into his hand, Kiryu decided that the damage had been done and that it would just be better to collect the bird and go. He ran over to one of the villagers, asking for a rope that one gave him without question.

"Alright, bird. Sorry that things turned out this way, but your owner wants you back," Kiryu said, approaching the slowly recovering filolial with a rope in hand. But as he got closer, he saw the bird turn its head toward him, a strangely fierce glare in its gaze. It threw a kick Kiryu's way, the Dragon of Dojima just barely bringing his arms up and blocking the blow. He skidded against the ground, gritting his teeth as he held strong.

"What the hell… this thing's fast and strong!" Kiryu muttered, taking a fighting stance again as he prepared for a fight this time. The black filolial climbed to its feet, letting out a low growl as it began to circle with Kiryu slowly. This time though, Kiryu could see the fight in its eyes. It wasn't going to run for it. It was planning to beat him before escaping.

"Look, I didn't mean to… well, I guess I did, but I uh… I'm sorry about throwing the pot lid at your head… But I need you to come with me," Kiryu said, still feeling guilty about hitting it and hoping to keep from having to fight the bird. The filolial seemed to understand his words, shaking its head furiously before stomping its foot down on the pot lid.

"Careful, hero! Filolials are stronger than you realize!" A concerned villager called out, a crowd having formed around the two.

Kiryu sighed, tightening his stance and digging his feet into the ground. "Alright… if that's how it has to be, then I guess I don't have a choice…" He dismissed the gauntlets on his arm, reducing them to arm bands. It doesn't have any weapons, so I'll fight fair.

"If you're going to try and force your way through, then I'll take you on. Now come!"

The black filolial let out a small screech before charging at Kiryu with terrifying speed. But Kiryu anticipated its move, narrowly dodging under a kick and bringing a fist around to punch into its gut. But it was Kiryu's turn to be surprised, the bird flapping its right wing and causing a small gust of wind that launched it over Kiryu's head, dodging the punch without a worry.

Gritting his teeth, Kiryu quickly spun around, running at the filolial with his arm raised. All the while, the bird returned the action by bringing its leg around, attempting to land a kick on Kiryu.

Rowdy Monster:

Black Filolial​Kiryu and the black filolial's attacks both went through, knocking each other back with great force. Kiryu felt his ribs bruise up from the kick, realizing that the power of this bird was no joke. Part of him wondered if it was a good idea to dismiss his bracers, but ultimately still kept from using them. The damage he would do would likely hurt the bird more than he intended and end up breaking some bones in it.

I'll just have to beat it into submission.

The bird charged him again, this time with its beak pointed forward, likely aiming to stab him with it. Kiryu quickly evaded with a sidestep, bringing his fist around for a quick hook to its head. The bird croaked in annoyance as Kiryu landed a square hit on its head, causing it to stagger back somewhat. Kiryu quick-stepped forward, looking to capitalize on the chance.

But the filolial seemed to anticipate this, quickly hopping back and out of his range. It then returned the favor by stretching its leg forward, using its greater range to its advantage and kicking Kiryu in the chest.

"Shit…" Kiryu coughed as he was pushed back by the kick, again feeling the surprising power of the filolial. He quickly took a fighting stance after regaining his balance, not wanting to be taken off guard. This was well timed, as it was the filolial who tried to charge him now.

Kiryu dodged an overhead kick, anticipating its attack as he threw a punch. It used the same move as before that it had first dodged him with, flapping its wing and causing a small gust.

Not this time.

Kiryu had been prepared for this, his punch nothing but a faint. Just as the filolial prepared to land on the other side, Kiryu brought his leg up, delivering a straight kick to the center of its body. The filolial let out a surprised squawk, bouncing back and landing on the ground. Kiryu didn't pursue, this time being patient as he waited for his opponent to get to its feet.

The black filolial flapped its wings, creating a gust that helped it roll back onto its feet. It lowered its entire body close to the ground, like a lion getting ready to pounce. It seemed to be far more cautious this time around, not pouncing at Kiryu straight away. The bird instead did a short hop to one side then back, trying to throw Kiryu off with its sudden movement.

But Kiryu didn't take the bait, keeping his eyes fixed on the filolial and waiting for it to attack. His patience paid off, as the bird finally dived at him for a peck. Kiryu weaved his shoulder back, both dodging the hit and bringing down his fists together with his knee coming up from the bottom, delivering a crushing blow to both the chest and back of the filolial, knocking the air out of it before backing up again.

The filolial staggered where it stood, struggling to remain on its feet after the heavy blow it took. Kiryu narrowed his eyes, assessing whether or not the bird might try and attack him again. He didn't want to keep hurting the filolial if he could avoid it, but it seemed unwilling to stop.

Kiryu let the filolial catch its breath, hardening his brow as he watched it spread its wings and let out a high pitched snarl before finally charging at him again. Kiryu could see the desperation in its actions, now coming at him with all its might. And so, Kiryu would return the favor in hopes of settling this once and for all.

Just as the bird jumped through the air, Kiryu bent his knees slowly. As the filolial lashed out with a kick, the Dragon of Dojima countered immediately with a Tiger Drop punch. The black filolial choked out in pain as it felt the great force of his fist, being sent flying back before it could try anything else. It fell on its back, letting out a weak groan, unable to get back on its feet.

Kiryu relaxed his stance, letting out tired breath. "You're pretty strong, bird. You'd have given those bandits a run for their money."

The small crowd that had gathered started to applaud Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima blinking as he realized they were still there. Most of the fights he had on the street were spectated, but the crowd normally dispersed the moment it was over. Surprisingly, he was receiving praise and admiration for his display.

"Ah, good job hero!" He heard a familiar voice, looking back to see the filolial's owner approach him with a big smile. "I knew counting on you was the right thing to do!"

"Yeah, well… he certainly didn't make it easy," Kiryu's eyes trailed back to the filolial, which slowly sat back on the ground with its head lowered in defeat. A view that Kiryu couldn't help but pity.

"Yeah, I saw. Sorry to have caused you so much trouble after everything you've done for us," The villager sighed, walking over to the filolial and putting a collar on it. "I'm gonna have this monster sold soon as possible. Once I get the profits for it, I'll be sure to give you your half."

"... Where are you going to sell it?" Kiryu asked, his gaze still leveled at the filolial.

"Probably a slave trader. This guy's too much trouble for any regular joe," the villager said, though the bird visibly winced at the word.

"Slave trader?" Kiryu asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah. Monsters like this who are too much trouble for manual labor usually become slave monsters for combat or other types of work. It's usually much harder than what it would be doing like pulling carts or being used for riding, but it's not giving me much choice, is it?" The owner said, shooting the bird a glare.

I don't know the extent of that, but it doesn't sound good either way… Kiryu thought to himself, moving to stand in front of the bird. The filolial looked up at him, its large, beady eyes staring back at him sadly. A moment passed, and then another moment. And then, Kiryu finally decided to take a chance.

"Hey… do you think I could buy this guy off you?"

The filolial and the villager both blinked, looking at Kiryu in confusion.

"Y-You… want to buy this guy?! After all that trouble?!" The villager asked in shock.

"Yeah. I feel like it would be a waste to just sell him off. He's strong, surprisingly so. I feel like it'd be better to have him around in town than send him off to god knows where," Kiryu explained, kneeling in front of the filolial. "Of course, that's only if it's willing to behave. I want you to help me fight in the future. But if all you're going to do is cause trouble, then I won't take you. Understand?"

The filolial stared at Kiryu, its eyes hiding little of its awe. It seemed to understand every word, slowly giving him a nod of acceptance. Kiryu smirked, looking at the villager.

"Well, looks like he agrees. So, would you be willing to sell it to me?" Kiryu askeed, standing back up.

The villager rubbed the back of his head, looking down at the filolial before looking back up at Kiryu. "I have to admit, hero, you're quite the strange one," he laughed. "Well, how can I say no? In fact, consider it a gift from me for saving the town. Go ahead, take him."

"Are you sure? You did say they're pretty valuable," Kiryu asked, raising a brow at the villager.

"It's completely fine. It's not like I paid a lot for an egg, they're quite cheap," he said, giving a laugh as he handed the leash of the filolial over to Kiryu. "He's all yours."

"I appreciate it. Well, bird. Looks like you're mine now. Don't think it'll be easy though, because I've got a job in mind for you," Kiryu said, looking down at the filolial. It didn't seem to mind though, slowly standing up and giving him a nod in understanding. "By the way, does it have a name?"

"Hm? Oh, no. I hadn't yet given it a name. I wanted to train it up, first," the former owner explained.

"I see. I guess I'll name you, then…" Kiryu held his chin in thought, his eyes focused on the filolial for a moment. "Hm… I used to own a chicken a long time ago… I think I'll name you in his memory. From now on, your name is… Nugget."

The black filolial tilted its head to the side in disbelief, its brow raising in a way that said 'seriously?'

"N-Nugget? Th-That's a little…"

"What? What's wrong with that name?" Kiryu asked, looking between the two in confusion. The filolial and the former owner looked at one another and let out defeated sighs, unsure how to answer that. The black filolial just gave a small nod in acceptance.

"Well, looks like he doesn't mind at least." the villager said before turning around. "I wish you luck, hero! This guy might be more trouble than you think!"

"We'll see," Kiryu chuckled before looking back at the villager. "Oh, but you and the others can stop calling me 'hero'. Feel free to call me Kiryu. Kazuma Kiryu."

"Heh, I'll be sure to let the others know."

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXX​Julius was hunched over an old arcane book, looking through its script for any sort of information that might help in identifying the bracers that Kiryu possessed. My source of information is severely limited without access to the royal library. Though even with that, others had given up on its origin themselves.

He let out a short breath, closing the book and massaging his eyes tiredly as he leaned back in his chair. "It might be hopeless to help him find out more, but… I suppose I can help him learn about it in other ways…"

Julius then heard the sound of the front door creaking open, pulling his hand away from his face to see Kiryu opening the door. "Ah, Kiryu! I've been wondering where you were. Did you have a good walk?"

"Yeah, I suppose… though a lot kind of happened today…" Kiryu said slowly, massaging his neck awkwardly.

"Is something wrong? You look a bit stressed," Julius asked, raising a brow as he stood up.

"Well, you see… do you think you've got room in the back for a… filolial?" Kiryu asked.

"Huh? A filolial? Why do you-" Julius blinked when he saw a black feathered filolial head pop in the door, staring at him curiously. "Uh…"

"Yeah, I sort of… ended up with one a while ago," Kiryu cleared his throat, looking at the filolial. "Nugget, this is Julius Harken. He's letting me stay here with him and Melonie, so treat them well. Got it?"

The bird gave a small nod of acceptance.

"I… well…" Julius mumbled, walking over to meet with Kiryu and the filolial. "It really does seem that you had a lot happen to you today."

"Yeah. Sorry about this…"

Off to Spacebattles~!