《I Will Always Be With You》 Arc 1 Prologue Ikoma Shizue doesn''t like men. No, it not just a simple dislike, she despise them with a living passion. Born in a middle class family in a rural area of Kyoto. Shizue is an average hikikomori, which means socially withdrawn. She prefers to stay indoor and stay away from any public places that are crowded with people. It has not always been this way for Shizue. Once upon a time she was a very active and friendly young lady attending a prestigious middle school in Kyoto. She was popular with both boys and girls in her school. Athletic, smart, charismatic, and beautiful, Shizue was praised by not only the students but also the teachers themselves. That all changed during an eerie night after school during her eighth grade year. She was heading toward home with one of her friend, a boy in her literature club. The boy, whom we will not name, proposed that they take a shortcut he found the other day. Shizue agreed without a second thought due to her na?ve nature. That was the biggest mistake she made in her entire life time, which adds up to only fifteen years. In the alleyway, several boys and two older men were waiting. Before she can scream for help, the boy who led her to the alley took out of shiny object. The object he held in his hand was a shiny pocket knife. The boy commanded her to quiet down or he would cut her. Fearing the object, Shizue complied while trampling in fear. What has she done to deserve this? Why her? The group of men proceeded to pull down their pants, while the boy began peeling off Shizue¡¯s school uniform forcefully while panting like a dog in heat. It would have been great if a male protagonist comes to save the day like it does in a manga and light novels, but that is not what reality is about. Shizue was violated that night and the men did not stop until they were caught by the police. The men all were sentenced to jail and the incident ended with that. Shizue¡¯s parents were angry, their daughter was violated against her will but the only thing done by the law authority was to put those vulgar men in jail for six years. Shizue was sent to meet psychiatrists for therapy every week, in those time, instead of opening up, she shrunk even further away. No one was able to help her. She decided that not one single counselor, doctors, or psychiatrist ever went through what she went through, so she refused to be helped. Why should she listen to those who never experienced the pain and the shame she went through? The incident caused her to be reclusive and she turned her back toward everyone, including her parents. However there was a persistent boy, not the same one who assaulted her, trying his best to get her to attend school again. Why bother about someone like me? She thought this question over and over again. The boy, Takayama Yosai, was a very popular guy amongst her class. His foreign blond hair and blue eyes attracted all the girls in his class. While all of her friends from middle school gave up on her and left her side, Yosai-kun persisted. He visited her, at least tried to, every single day to coax her to come to school. Looking back, Shizue remembered a conversation she had once with him. It started when the other girls in her class pleaded her to ask the type of girl Yosai-kun liked. Without really giving a thought about it, she asked him about it. He answered, ¡°The type of girl I like? Hmm¡­ I guess a girl who is gentle like a flower, but strong willed and independent?¡± Satisfied with his answer, Yosai smiled brightly. ¡®Gentle like a flower¡­ But strong willed? That really isn''t me. I''m frail and broken. He must have a different reasons as to why he is trying to be nice to me¡­¡¯ Shizue thought it over and over again, but that was the only conclusion she could come up with. Like every other days, Shizue sat in a corner reading a manga while trying to stop a sudden flow of tears she could not control. She doesn''t notice her true feeling, but she felt depressed whenever she convinced herself that she couldn''t trust even the kind Yosai. Deep inside, she knew that Yosai was different from the other men, but she was afraid. Afraid that she might be wrong. Even though she doesn''t realize it, she want someone to reach her out of her own abyss. The door bell rings, without even looking, Shizue knows who it is. It''s early in the morning before school begins, and Yosai always come to visit everyday on the same time, even during the weekend. Her mother lets him in everyday, but Shizue has no idea why her mother would let him in. Shizue hears foot steps coming up to her room upstairs. *Knock, Knock* ¡°Ikoma-chan¡­ I''m here again. Please come out, I heard from Oka-San that you haven''t even eaten for three days now. Please just let me see you once¡­¡± Yosai asked in a faint voice. His voice felt distressed and weak. ¡°If you won''t come out then I guess it means you don''t want to see me. I understand, I won''t bother you again. If it is just some times you need, then just tell me or give me a sign so I''ll know.¡± The hallway Yosai was in was silent. ¡°I guess this is good bye then¡­¡± With a depressed tone he starts to walk away. One step, two step, three step¡­ ¡®This is the right thing for both of us¡¯ Shizue thought while counting the steps he was taking. Suddenly, her body began to move unconsciously and she headed toward the door. Hearing the footstep that is not his own, Yosai looks back at the door with a glimmer of a hope. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A crack appeared through the door and a pair of shy dark brown eyes came into view. Slowly, Shizue opened her door. She did not know what she was doing as she moved the door open even further. She was lying to her the whole time. She was extremely lonely. She wanted someone to be around. She wanted a friend who can comfort her. She slowly reach toward Yosai, small steps at a time. ¡°¡­p-please¡­ s-stay¡± Shizue said her first words in a year. Shizue had not spoken to anyone for a year and she felt as if it was not really her whom was speaking. ¡°Of course!¡± Yosai¡¯s radiant smile reached into Shizue¡¯s heart and she somehow knew he was being sincere toward her. This was not out of pity or sympathy, but from his heart. Motioning him to enter, Shizue took a seat in her favorite corner, gazing at him with a sense of awe at how accepting and kind he was. ¡°Oh! Okasan left awhile ago after I came saying she needs to go grocery shopping.¡± Remembering it late, Yosai palmed his face. ¡°It''s.. Okay¡­¡± Shizue shyly replied back. Even though they were alone in the house, she placed her faith on Yosai since this wasn''t the first time Okasan left Yosai alone while he was visiting. He would have already done something if he had planned on it. ¡°You must be hungry, right? Let me make you something to eat, let''s go to the kitchen¡± holding out his hand, Yosai coaxed her to get out of her room. Nodding her head, she timidly reaches out to his hand. His hand was a little rough but it was warm and she felt that it was nice how her small hand fit well into his. Going down the stairs together, they turn left toward the kitchen. Yosai rummages through the pantry for ingredients. ¡°I make a pretty mean miso soup, you know?¡± Shizue giggles at his remark and he pouts, ¡°It''s true! Try to find another guy who can cook non-instant food like me!¡± Sticking out his chest to show he was proud, he was actually trying to break the wall that she has placed around her. *Crash!* a man dressed in black with several cans of unidentified chemical strapped to his belt came in through the the window after breaking it. ¡°Crap! There are people in here. Whatever.¡± The man spoke with a low baritone. He walks toward Shizue who is trembling in fear. Before he could reach Shizue however, Yosai jumps in front and tackles him to the ground. ¡°Ikoma-chan! Run away from each here! Uff¡±, while telling Shizue to run, the man took out his pocket knife and stabbed Yosai in the stomach. With a thump, Yosai was pushed off the man. ¡°TAKAYAMA-KUN!¡±, Shizue ran toward him while screaming. She didn''t want to loose him, he was the only one she cared about at the moment. She forgot all her fears as she cried her heart out for her friend. The man took his knife and slashed at Shizue¡¯s tendons to make her immobile. The pain struck her hard but she did not care. She falls before reaching Yosai, but she crawls toward him slowly. The man took out the can he had strapped to his waist and sprayed the liquid inside it all over the house. Next, he took out a match and lighted up. He threw the match into the wet floor covered by the liquid which caught on fire. The man left the house quickly after his deeds were finished. ¡°*cough, cough* Ikoma-chan, why didn''t you run away?¡± Yosai coughed up blood while asking the question. Shizue crawled closer to Yosai and grabbed his hand with her own dainty hand. ¡°I rather die than see my only friend die¡­¡± Shizue answered gravely to his question. ¡°Even though we finally became friends, this happened, huh? Can you call me by my given name, if not for the last time?¡± While holding back her tears she spoke, ¡°Yosai-kun.¡± Smiling Yosai looked at Shizue with kind eyes. ¡°I wanted to tell you before but I couldn''t. Shizue¡­ I can call you by your given name right?¡± Shizue simply nodded and told him to continue. ¡°Shizue, I fell in love with you ever since I met you in middle school. I was too cowardly to say this before but I wanted it to tell you this before I die. I love you Shizue.¡± Shizue started to shed uncontrollable amount of tears at Yosai¡¯s confession. She was so happy even though they were near the death¡¯s door. ¡°I love you too, I¡­I was happy when you came everyday to visit me. It was the only part of the day I looked forward to in my miserable life!¡± Finally she told her true feeling she had bottled up inside of her. ¡°Hehehe, that makes me very happy. I''m so happy right now I don''t mind dying.¡± With a calm smile Yosai gazed toward Shizue lovingly. ¡°Me too¡± "I promise, no matter what, I''ll always be by your side, Shizue." The fire consumes the couple and their consciousness fades away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, Kuma! This is my second project I''ll be working on along with the Two Students. The first fiction I did seem too... OP, Kuma? I thought this would be a nice little project along with my current one. I''m still deciding which one I should do as a main project, Kuma! I''m pretty sure I''ll be putting up a ballot soon after some people read the next few chapters, Kuma! Arc 1 Chapter 1 Hi hi, Nanashikun here, Kuma! I already posted a chapter of Two students today and I promised to post the first chapter of IWABWY, Kuma. Here it is, Kuma... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yosai, Yosai where are you? The figure of Shizue is walking through a white space with no end nor sense of time. Nothing mattered to Shizue as she wandered looking for her love. Nothing bothered her, not the fact that her legs recovered from the injury nor the fact that she died already. All she wanted to do was find Yosai. Walking for indefinite time, she finally found a small figure far away. ¡®Yosai?¡¯ Shizue thought and she ran toward the figure. The figure was, as Shizue already guessed, Takayama Yosai. Yosai was still unconscious but Shizue was relieved to find that his chest was rising and falling in a regular beat. Without thinking things through, Shizue lied down next to Yosai and put her frail and small arms around him. After what appeared to be five minutes, which Shizue had no idea since there wasn''t any concept of time here, Yosai woke up with a sleepy face. Yosai muttered, ¡°It must have been a dream¡­ Huh?¡±, thinking that the event that occurred to them was a dream, Yosai was relived that Shizue had not died, but remorseful that he only had the courage to tell his true feelings to her in his dream. However, after rubbing his eyes for few minutes and opening his eyes, he felt a gentle pressure wrapping around his body. When he took a look, it was an arm of a girl. Pale white hand from the lack of sunlight gripped his shirt as he started to hear a soft breathing that wasn''t his own. After finding Yosai, Shizue fell asleep from the mental fatigue her anxiety caused her. Feeling relived after finding Yosai, she fell asleep. Even if the body is dead, the soul can still be strained enough to force the soul to fall asleep. Gazing at Shizue¡¯s sleeping face, he realized what happened back then wasn''t a dream. He deduced to this conclusion due to two different evidence. First, the pain of the stab from the knife was excruciatingly painful. Even though he pretended to be okay in front of Shizue before their death, he knew the knife was real. Second, the place they were in was a white empty space holding nothing but the him and Shizue. Even if he could deduce to that much, he still did not know if this was a waiting room for the judgement or some other fourth dimensional space. Yosai stared at Shizue and he started to blush furiously, remembering how he confessed to her thinking that was the only chance he got. Her sleeping face was extremely cute and Yosai didn''t know what to do. Deciding that the best thing he can do right at the moment was to wake Shizue up, otherwise, things might become dangerous. Shaking her shoulders gently, Yosai called her softly, ¡°Shizue, it''s time to get up.¡± After several more gentle shakes, Shizue stirred and mumbled, ¡°Just five more minutes.¡± With that she tried to go back to sleep. Upon realizing what she was doing while half asleep, Shizue quickly got up while fixing her messed up hair. Seeing this cute little act of hers, Yosai started to chuckle lightly. ¡°Shizue, you don''t have to fix yourself up when your with me. You look cute no matter what.¡± Shizue blushed silently while fixing her hair. Yes, Yosai is the type of man who would say those kinds of things without getting embarrassed. In other word, a totally dense protagonist in a manga. ¡®I hope he doesn''t say that to any other girls¡¯, Shizue thought, but she really did not need to worry since he is not just dense but also faithful to the one he loves. Shizue knew that but she still could not help thinking that. While Shizue and Yosai was staring at each other in a loving way creating a pink fussy atmosphere, three figures the couple hasn''t noticed before came toward them. Yosai gently placed Shizue behind him and waited to see if they were friends or enemies. ¡°Please calm down, we are not here to harm you.¡±, a beautiful woman in her twenties with humongous breast around the size of H-cup and long wavy blond hair walk toward them without any hostility. Looking at the woman in front of her, Shizue had a sense of defeat. She heard from other friends before she was a shut-in about how guys like bigger breasts. Compared to her A-cup breasts, the woman¡¯s two excess amount of fat was something she could not compared to. Shizue took a peak while worrying that Yosai might have fallen for the older woman only to find home staring at the woman with hostility, she never saw him angry before so it frightened her. Realizing that Shizue was looking, Yosai went back to his usual calm smile and told her, ¡°don''t worry, I won''t allow anyone to hurt you anymore.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The smile was reassuring, surely enough, and Shizue buried her face into Yosai¡¯s shoulder out of shame for worrying about such thing. ¡°Ahh~ such a lovey dovey couple. As the goddess of Love, Night, and Light, I approve fully. Now you two must be wondering where you are¡­ Where are my manners, I am Teyja the goddess of Love, Light, and Night in the world of Xadoya. The two men besides me are Sasaki Kasurou and Matsumoto Shiori. These two men also died recently, around the same time you two died. As for Shizue-chan, do not worry about them since they are kind men who died saving lives. Now the reason I called everyone of you here instead of sending you all to your world¡¯s reincarnation system is because I require your help. I would like to send the four of you as heroes championing me to fight against the demon lord. After the crisis, you may live your life freely in the world. I won''t be sending you unprepared however since I shall be granting you one gift you desire the most. So please name the ability you wish for.¡± Shizue was still confused, this sounded more like a light novel than a reality. (Author¡¯s note: Well, it is a light novel, Kuma¡­) ¡°Why ask four teenagers to save your world? Why not bring someone who is more experienced in fighting?¡± Yosai inquired suspiciously. Even though the ¡®goddess¡¯ called the other two as men, they were boys around Yosai and Shizue¡¯s age. ¡°The adult soul of Earth is too attached to their world so I can''t summon them. They reject my summon unconsciously. As for the reason I chose you four is simple. Kasurou-kun and Shiori-kun died while saving people, and as for the two of you, since I am the goddess of Love and it would have pained me if I didn''t choose such a devoted couple for their second chance of living together. As I mentioned, your world goes through reincarnation system and there is no such thing as heaven and hell. Of course, if you choose to not take my offer, I can send you back for a reincarnation in your world. However, you will loose all of your memories in Earth. So which do you choose? To stay together with your love in the new world or reincarnate and loose the memory of your love?¡± Shizue grasped Yosai¡¯s shirt firmly while trembling. Seeing this, Yosai pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. ¡°We will accept your offer. I am fine as long as I can stay by her side.¡± Yosai declared loud and clear in front of the trio. The two boys applauded him for his choice and the goddess joked, ¡°Now you may kiss the bride¡± and started to giggle like a little girl. Regaining her composure after several seconds, the goddess proceeded to name the gift she was giving to the each of them. ¡°To Kasurou-kun, I grant the gift of infinite magic potential and the title Grand Mage. For Shiori-kun, I present a flaming sword and the title Flame Knight. For Yosai-kun, I hereby bless him with the power to heal his companion and the title Saint.¡± After a pause to look at the girl hiding behind Yosai, the goddess spoke again, ¡°Lastly, I give my ultimate Night blessing to Shizue with the title Shadow Chaser. With this, you shall create history.¡± ¡°As the deity rule we imposed between Ycuna and I, this is as far as I can go to help you, my heroes. Beware of Ycuna, the Goddess of Evil and Death. She might not play by the rule as we agreed to.¡± Than with a frown, Kasurou frowned, ¡°um¡­ Goddess-sama, please don''t get me wrong, but¡­ Weren''t we supposed to choose our gifts. I''m not complaining or anything¡­¡± With a brilliant smile, the goddess explained, ¡°You are correct Kasurou-kun, actually I gave my gift according to your desires deep within, so everyone should have what they truly wanted.¡± ¡°W-what is the class Shadow Chaser?¡± Shizue asked not understanding what the goddess was referring to. ¡°It''s a special class made according to your desire. Also your ability might be the key to winning this war. Please take care child and stay strong no matter what. Your power will become much more obvious after you enter the world.¡± ¡°Now then, it''s time for our farewell my heroes. I wish you the best of luck. Believe in yourself and you will achieve any goal, no matter what the world throws at you.¡± With that, Teyja sent the four companion to the new world¡­ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading, Kuma~ See you all next time, Kuma! Arc 1 Chapter 2 Hello, Kuma! I had a short writer''s block, but I solved it by eating lots of ice cream, Kuma! Here''s the new chapter, Kuma! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The four heroes were transferred into what it appeared to be a temple. At least that is what Shizue deduced from all the sculptures and paintings of Teyja in the humongous building along with several women dressed in black nun clothing. As well as men wearing priest robes. It might have been similar to every other hero summoning from all other novel except¡­ ¡°Um¡­ Teyja-sama? You bid us farewell maybe a few second ago¡­ So why are you here?¡±(Sasaki). As the Grand Mage of the heroes, Kasurou Sasaki, inquired, the others jumped when they notice that the goddess they met several moments ago came along with them to the world of Xadoya in person. Everyone of the priest and priestess dropped down on their knees and cried out in joy at meeting their goddess. An old man, whom appears to be an important figure similar to a pope, came up to Teyja and bowed deeply before speaking with his raspy ancient voice. ¡°Teyja-sama, what bring our eternal goddess to this humble temple of Love?¡±(old man) Shizue focused all her attentions toward the old man and the goddess. ¡®It seems I can get more information about this place by just listening on their conversation.¡¯ She thought while learning the name of the temple. ¡°Rejoice head priest, for I, the great goddess of love, night, and light has brought forth her champions to fight the demon lords!¡±(Teyja) Speaking while brimming with pride, the goddess stuck out her already too large pair of mountains. This in turn made all the male priest, no no, the entire group of priest and priestess to blush at the majesty of her beauty. Of course, the only exception to this was Yosai, whom did not care a zit about the goddess¡¯ beauty. Looking troubled by Teyja¡¯s statement, the head priest spoke again. ¡°Benevolent Goddess-sama, if I remember correctly¡­ humans and demons are at peace right now¡­ Does goddess-sama not remember marrying Ycuna-sama and in turn destoryed the hostility between the two races?¡±(old man) ¡°¡­¡±(Teyja) ¡°¡­¡±(Heroes) ¡°¡­¡±(old man) The whole temple became silent and the atmosphere quickly became very awkward. In anime, this would have been a moment when the only sound in the room be dead silence from the characters and chirping from the cricket. Oddly enough, the cricket was singing rather loudly while no one in the temple had the nerves nor any sensible things to say¡­ ¡°Oh yeah~ I did marry Ycuna¡­ I always did like women better than men so that make sense¡­ Note to self, never take action after slumbering for several hundred years until I become fully awake.¡±(Teyja) Palming her forehead, the goddess gave an apologetic smile. ¡°Hahaha¡­ Well I guess you four can just enjoy your lives in Xadoya. I guess the head priest could take you to the king to be introduced as heroes summoned by me¡­ You won''t have to fight any demons, but maybe the Devils in this world¡­well bye!¡±(Teyja) Everyone in the room stared dumbfounded as the goddess disappeared with a ¡°poof¡± leaving behind small pink cloud. None of the heroes could think of what to say. After several minutes of painful silence, the hero assigned the job of Flame Knight, Shiori Matsumoto, asked a question that was in the mind of all four heroes. ¡°Hah~ that was really confusing and anticlimactic. I thought the divinity known as Ycuna was a goddess. Healer-San, I didn''t hear her wrong when she first summoned us, right? She did say Ycuna was the Goddess of Evil, no?¡±(Matsumoto) ¡°I think that is what she told us¡±(Yosai) ¡°Is the goddess a Yuri?¡±(Matsumoto) ¡°I really don''t wish to know Shiori-San(referring to Matsumoto¡¯s family name).¡±(Sasaki) ¡°Hahaha, just call me Matsumoto, after all we are comrades from the same world.¡±(Matsumoto). ¡°Then please call me Sasaki¡±(Sasaki) ¡°You can all call me Yosai, and this is Shizue.¡±(Yosai) While the self introduction was being properly made, Shizue hid behind Yosai and peeked out sneakily staring at the two other heroes. Unlike when she is alone with Yosai, her expression stayed emotionless but her eyes had a glint of doubt but also curiosity. She still did not trust others and locking herself in her room for a year did not help much either. She had no idea how to speak with others. One year of confining herself, it shouldn''t be so hard to speak again, but her distrust in men in general with exception of Yosai was still present in her damaged heart. After all, the longest conversation she had with even Yosai was pretty short. Only time she really spoke out was when they confessed their love for each other while dying. ¡®I guess I still have a wall between me and others.¡¯ Shizue smiled bitterly in the inside but stayed motionless on the surface. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Looking back, Shizue did not trust anyone except Yosai, who persisted no matter how long she stayed silent and ignored everyone. Her parents and friends gave up on her, but Yosai never gave up and visited her without a fail. She remembered that even when Yosai was sick enough to prevent him from going to school, he still came by in the morning. One time, he even fainted in front of her door due to being very feverish. Her parents went off to work that day as Yosai visited. -flashback- He sounded very sick while he put efforts to sound healthy and cheerful. Why does he come when he is so sick he could barely voice his words? Shizue did not understand why he would be so persistent. Usually Yosai left after staying around for around ten minutes but instead of foot steps taking the stairs back, a large thump resounded through the house. Her cold frozen heart began to stir when she heard a hard thump on the floor. Shizue panicked as she understood that Yosai had passed out because of his cold. What should she do, should she call the ambulance and let them take care of him while she stayed? Or is there another answer? She resolved herself and opened the door to find Yosai collapsed on the floor while his chest rose up and down frantically. His breath was rapid and irregular and his face was flushed. Placing one hand on her forehead and one on Yosai¡¯s, Shizue flinched in surprise. His forehead was burning up like fire. Shizue, using her thin weak arms that were once athletic, somehow managed to drag him inside her room and placed him on her bed. After placing him on the bed, she proceeded to take action. First she went down stairs to get a basin of cold water and put ice inside and brought it back to her room. Next she got a small towel and soaked it into the basin. After squeezing out the water by wringing out the towel, she placed it on Yosai¡¯s forehead. Next, she got another towel, this one was a dry one, and proceeded to dry the sweats covering Yosai¡¯s body. Her arms went inside his shirt as she wiped his upper body. Shizue flushed from embarrassment but proceeded to take care of him. ¡®He needs to eat when he wakes up.¡¯ With that thought in mind, Shizue went down stair and cooked rice porridge. It was around evening when Yosai woke up. He felt disoriented from the sickness, and did not recognize his surrounding. As if realizing what happened, he opened up his eyes wide from the surprise. Shizue was sitting in the corner of her room opposite side of the bed while staring at him. Next to him was a bowl of rice porridge and on his forehead was a wet cold towel. Shizue came up to him while shaking like a leaf while silently picking up the bowl of porridge and silently picked up the spoon. She slowly began to feed Yosai, who was still weak from the cold. Without resisting, Yosai ate the porridge, which made Shizue happy. However, Shizue still denied her feelings that was budding, convincing herself that she is just helping a sick boy and send him away as soon as he recovered enough. Shizue was still afraid of men, and still distrusted every single human being. But she just couldn''t stop herself from helping this boy who always come to visit her. After the meal, she went back in her corner while grasping her arms around her knees in a fetus position. Yosai thanked her and told her he will come back tomorrow. This was the first moment when Shizue''s thick inner wall started to crack. It would take several month for it to crumble. And it would not do so until that fateful day when they both die. Not knowing the death that will approached them in the next few months, Yosai smiled gently toward her and left the house. -flashback ends- Reminiscing the old memory, Shizue realized that she fell him love with him at that moment. Maybe she should have noticed earlier in a hindsight. ¡®Well, no need to regret about past actions.¡¯ Shizue dismissed it and listened in on the conversation. The three male heroes were still introducing each other and getting to know each other more. She listened enough to learn that the two boys Yosai was talking to died during a terrorist attack in Tokyo. Apparently, they were friends from the same school on a field trip and they recklessly attacked the terrorist group, grabbed their guns, and shoot them before they themselves were shot. It sounded traumatic but they came out to be heroes, unlike Shizue who has been a victim. After the introductions, which the old priest attentively listened in, he told the group that the king is ready for his audience with the heroes. Resulting themselves to meet the most influential person in this kingdom, the heroes followed the head priest out of the temple. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yay, Teyja is a yuri, Kuma! *Bear Nod* I approve, Kuma! See you all next time, Kuma! Arc 1 Chapter 3 Hi everyone, sorry for the super late chapter, Kuma.... I meant to post much earlier but I lost motivation for this fiction for a bit because I cut off one of the pathway of the story last chapter, Kuma... A-anyways! Here is the new chapter, Kuma! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¨C¨C-------------------------------- In the broad daylight in front of a pure marble temple known as the temple of Love, the four heroes and an old priest wait for their carriage to arrive. Without the conflict between the demons and humans, the heroes need a new purpose in this world. Of course, the king might decide to just let them travel this new world of Xadoya since there isn''t any war between the two races. The four heroes chatted idly while waiting. ¡°So which part of Japan did you two come from? The Goddess did say that the two of you were in the same place when you died.¡±(Yosai) Out of the four heroes, Yosai might be the only one who refer to the goddess without any honorifics. ¡°I actually lived in Hokkaido, but my school went to field trip to Kobe. We were in a mall when a group of extreme radicals invaded and trapped everyone in the mall and held them hostage.¡±(Kasurou) Kasurou, a boy around seventeen year old with decent looks and attractive glasses, distorted his face as he remembered what happened. ¡°That''s when I met Matsumoto-kun. We were able to cooperate and take one of the radical¡¯s gun and I was able to shoot a man with the gun. Matsumoto-kun took the gun from the dead man and we fired our weapons toward the other radicals. During the confusion, they managed to shoot toward us and we lost our lives¡­.¡±(Kasurou) Kasurou, remembering the bloody scene he had seen with his own two eyes, had tears forming on the side of his eyes. As the tear slowly flood down silently, Shizue took pity on him and took out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. ¡°You did the right thing¡­¡±(Shizue) As if all of the emotion he had trapped inside him since the incident, Kasurou started to cry out loudly. Even if he did it for the sake of keeping his classmates safe, he was still only seventeen year old boy. The traumatic event should have been too much to handle even for an adult, yet he had not only handle it till now but also took initiative in order to save others. Teyja might have been still sleepy, but she did not make a wrong choice when it comes to choosing the right people. Shizue hugged Kasurou similar to how a mother hugs her child. Patting the back of his head, Shizue let Kasurou cry till he is done. Her facial expression is still emotionless, but her eyes turned gentle as a lamb. ¡°Shizue-chan acts more adult like than any of us here, no?¡±(Matsumoto) ¡°Are you alright, Matsumoto-kun? You want through the same experience, haven''t you?¡±(Yosai) ¡°I''m fine. I feel no pity toward those bastards, they tried to rape my girlfriend before I killed them.¡±(Matsumoto) Instead of fear, Matsumoto only felt rage and flame in his heart as he assisted Kasurou with killing the radicals. He was able to save his girlfriend before dying. ¡°Oh¡­¡±(Yosai) ¡°However, I''m only asking this out of curiosity but are you okay? You been looking kinda angry and your knuckles are tightly balled up.¡±(Matsumoto) ¡°Eh? What are you talking about?¡±(Yosai) You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.Looking down at his hands, Yosai realized that his knuckles were pure white from clenching hard. He didn''t notice it but he had a feeling of irritation nagging at him. ¡°Perhaps your jealous?¡±(Matsumoto) ¡°Yosai is jealous? Why?¡±(Shizue) She was listening into the conversation between the two men and realized the source of Yosai¡¯s jealousy. She started to giggle, and her face lit up brilliantly like a dazzling sunlight. ¡°Why are you laughing Shizue?!¡±(Yosai) ¡°*giggle* Jealous Yosai is cute¡±(Shizue) By now Kasurou regained his composure and silently murmured his apology with a red face and got out of Shizue¡¯s embrace. Shizue hugged Yosai in a way different from how she hugged Kasurou. She buried her own face in Yosai¡¯s chest and snuggled into his arm. Not like the motherly hug she gave Kasurou, Shizue gave Yosai a passion filled hug. ¡°Wow, Shizue-San is like a mother to me¡­ Wait! Doesn''t that make Yosai my father?!¡±(Kasurou) ¡°What!? I''m too young to be a father! And you look older than me?!¡±(Yosai) With Shizue clinging to him, Yosai already lost the shred of composure he had left and became flustered at Kasurou¡¯s joke. "Come on Pops, don''t be so cold to your son!¡±(Kasurou) ¡°Yeah, you shouldn''t desert your son.¡±(Matsumoto) ¡°Who is your Pops?!¡±(Yosai) Kasurou and Matsumoto continued to tease Yosai until the carriage came and Shizue continued to stay in his arms while giggling, while the old priest, who has been left out of the conversation, stayed seated on the step of the temple feeling out of place. (Author¡¯s note: Ahh~ I''m sorry Ojichan, Kuma! Your just not that important, Kuma¡­) The carriage which had enough room to carry around ten passengers came up to the temple with fours horses pulling the carriage. Yosai helped Shizue climb up and then assisted the old priest before getting into the carriage as well. The other two heroes climbed up swiftly and the horse began to pull the carriage to their destination ¡°It will take us around three hours to get to the capital great heroes.¡±(old priest) ¡°What will we be doing after we meet the king?¡±(Kasurou) ¡°Honestly speaking, I do not know.¡±(old priest) ¡°We will just have to find out later, right?¡±(Matsumoto) "Hah~ I guess¡­¡±(Kasurou) While everyone sat on the hard uncomfortable floor of the carriage, Yosai started to doze off. Shizue, who was sitting right next to him, gently lowered Yosai¡¯s body and let him use her lap as a pillow. Yosai fell asleep while feeling comfortable while Shizue pat his hair and gave him a loving look. ¡°So how long have you two been going out for?¡±(Matsumoto) After pausing for a moment while the other two heroes stared with eyes full of curiosity, Shizue gave her answer. ¡°One day, I guess?¡±(Shizue) ¡°¡­¡±(Matsumoto) ¡°You guys act like a very good couple, I guess¡­¡±(Kasurou) The rest of the journey was spent silently with Shizue continually petting Yosai. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry about the short chapter, Kuma... I will make it longer next week, Kuma? So don''t kill me, Kuma?! Keep those torches and pitchforks to yourselves, Kuma! I said I was sorry, Kuma!