Daiki’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at his house. Athena stood at the front door, her tail high and stiff. Both of the other Legendary Heroes and their parties stood in front of her.

    “You promised us an answer!” Denki, the Legendary Hero of the Axe, declared, raising his weapon high and then pointing it at her. “You told us to wait another week, and we waited! No more delays!” The women standing around him all yelled their agreement.

    “I told you, Daiki will be back!” Athena declared. “I am his shield, and nobody else’s!”

    “Daiki Yamato is dead!” shouted Daisuke, the Legendary Hero of the Crossbow. “He disappeared from the world weeks ago! The seers confirm it - he is not anywhere on this world. If he was alive, he would be back by now. It is time for you to pick a new party!”

    Athena shook her head, her eyes blazing.

    “The Devil King’s forces are at the borders of the kingdom,” Denki announced. “This is a time of war – not a time to be pining after your lost puppy love!”

    Daiki glanced at Cap, Aquila, and Kasumi with alarm.

    “We’ve got your back,” Cap said. “Do whatever you need to, and we’ll cover you.”

    Daiki took a deep breath, and started walking forward. The Legendary Heroes and their parties ignored him.

    “We’ve been in communication with the royal court,” Daisuke stated. “They are in agreement with us. If you do not pick one of us to join, we are to place you under arrest for desertion. You are as powerful as any of the Legendary Heroes – your place is on the front line, whether you like it or not!”

    “Choose one of us to join, or be dragged back to the capital in chains,” Denki said. “Do it now. We’re done waiting.”

    Daiki strode forward, looking at Athena, trying to make eye contact. Athena looked like she was on the verge of tears. Then her eyes met his. He smiled. She smiled back.

    “Very well,” Athena said. “I choose Daiki Yamato.”

    “What nonsense is this?” Denki roared, brandishing his axe. “Daiki Yamato is–”

    “Dead?” Daiki said. Denki turned, staring at him in shock.

    “What trickery is this?” Daisuke demanded. “Is this some illusion? And who are these people?”

    “These people are my friends and travelling companions,” Daiki said. “I owe them my life, and they are welcome in my home. You, however, are all trespassing on my property, and are not welcome here.”

    “You disappeared,” Denki said. “The kingdom was in jeopardy without you. We only did what was necessary to keep Athena in the fight.”

    “The kingdom is always in jeopardy and your harem has enough girls,” Daiki retorted. “It’s time you stopped harassing my fiancee.”

    “The security of the kingdom takes priority over your pride,” Daisuke declared. “If you’re gone and Athena won’t fight, we have the right to come here and collect her. She’s too valuable an asset on the battlefield!”

    “Funny,” Daiki said. “How many times have you told us that you could handle everything yourself, and not to get in your way? When you weren’t trying to hunt us down. Get off my property, all of you.”

    Denki brandished his axe. “If you think we’re going to put up with your insolence–”

    “Hello!” Cap said with a grin, suddenly standing between them. Daiki blinked. He hadn’t even seen Cap move. “I’m Captain Infinite. I’m a superhero from America. I’ve got super-strength, I’m bulletproof, and axe-proof, and...” he looked at Daisuke’s crossbow. “...whatever that shoots-proof. And I can shoot lasers from my eyes. Isn’t that interesting? Laser eyes.” His smile faded. “I can demonstrate, if you’d like.”

    “You were right, Daiki,” Aquila said, stepping forward. “They really are quite annoying. They look really easy to kill, though. Are you sure they’re heroes?”

    Denki looked at Aquila and Kasumi. “And you criticize me for having a harem?” he sneered. “What will your precious ‘fiancee’ think of this? Maybe she’d be better off with us after all.”

    Aquila chuckled and started doing up her coat. “We’re not his harem. We’re just his friends, making sure he gets home to the woman he loves. And right now, you’re standing in the way of that.”

    Daisuke glanced at Denki. “Let’s get back to the inn. We’re wasting our time here.”

    Denki glared at Daiki. “This isn’t over. You may not like me, but you will treat me with respect, and I will have my due. Let’s go, girls.”

    Daiki watched them leave and breathed a sigh of relief.

    “Well, that got tense,” Cap said. He turned to Daiki. “What the hell are you doing? Go kiss your fiancee!” He looked at Kasumi and shook his head. “You Japanese people really are too reserved, you know that?”

    Athena wrapped her arms around Daiki and gave him a deep kiss, her tail wagging.

    “See,” Cap said. “She gets it.”

    “Thank the gods,” Athena said, kissing him again. “I thought I’d lost you, and then they showed up and...”

    Daiki kissed her. “I’m back now. And I’m never leaving you again.” He held her to him. “I missed you so much.”

    Athena began to cry. “The seers told me you had left the world. I thought your world had reclaimed you, and I would never see you again, and–”

    Daiki held her close. “I fell into another world, but it wasn’t mine. And everything I did was to get back to you. It’s only because of my friends that I made it.”

    She buried her face in his chest, and then turned to face Cap, Aquila, and Kasumi. “Thank you for bringing him back to me, all of you.”

    Cap bowed his head. “It was our pleasure, ma’am.”

    “This is Captain Infinite,” Daiki said. “He’s what’s called a superhero.” Cap nodded. “He’s American, so he can be a bit loud and boisterous, but don’t worry about it – it’s part of his charm.” Daiki turned to Aquila and Kasumi. “This is Aquila and Kasumi. Don’t worry...the only people they’re in love with is each other.”

    Athena looked at him and frowned. “Really? Should women really feel that way about other women?”

    Daiki nodded. “Where I come from, it’s a thing that happens. It’s okay. Aquila is...um...”

    “Allow me,” Aquila said. “I’m a former villain with the powers of a god. Kasumi is the god of creation who created me.”

    Athena blinked. “That’s a lot to take in.”

    Aquila smiled. “Around us, you’ll get used to it.”

    “I wish we could offer you a place to stay,” Athena said. “But, the house only has room for the two of us, and the inn is full of the idiots and their parties.”

    Cap shrugged. “We have tents. We’re prepared to camp out.”

    Aquila grinned at Cap. “No need for that. Athena, as I told you, Kasumi is a god of creation and I have the powers of a god. How would you like a bigger house?”

Cap reclined in his chair on the new deck Kasumi had drawn, sipped his coffee, and enjoyed the morning sun. The deck and deck furniture was Cap’s idea – Aquila had originally suggested just adding a wing with additional bedrooms and a larger dining room table. The barbeque with a never-ending supply of propane was also his idea.

    Across from him at the table sat Aquila and Kasumi, Aquila enjoying her coffee while Kasumi sipped on a cup of tea. The massive thermos of coffee sat in the middle of the table. A couple of unused mugs, freshly drawn, sat beside it. Aquila’s face took on a distant expression.

    “What is it?” Kasumi asked her.

    “I was just thinking about Ragnar,” Aquila said. “Where he is now, and whether he got spend time with his daughter. What happened to him when the information stream updated.”

    “You know, once we’re done here, you could go to his world and see him,” Cap said. “Find out for certain.”

    Aquila shook her head. “If I did that, and he recognized me, it would be a wonderful thing. He’d embrace me and introduce me to this daughter he spent all his time gushing about during the war. But if he didn’t recognize me, then my best friend from the war would be dead, and I’d be the one who sent him to die. I couldn’t bear that. I know my limits – I’d rather live in hope that he’s still alive than risk discovering that he’s not.”

    They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Then Cap spoke. “The coffee’s still good,” he said. “Not quite as good as it was yesterday, but still pretty good.”

    “And we have lots of it,” Aquila stated, turning to Kasumi. “See? I told you a thermos this big was worth it.”

    “We are never going to be able to drink four litres of coffee before it goes bad,” Kasumi said.

    Aquila smirked. “Watch me.”

    Cap grinned. “Aquila, if you start vibrating through walls because of a caffeine high, I want to be able to watch.”

    They sat for a moment in silence.

    “So, last night, did you hear Daiki and...” Kasumi began quietly.

    Cap nodded. “Oh yes. It was hard not to.”

    Kasumi blushed. “It was very...well, very...”

    “There is that saying about absence making the heart grow fonder,” Cap said.

    “They were definitely feeling fonder,” Kasumi muttered. “They were very...how should I put this...”

    “They were definitely very...um...” Cap added.

    “Loud,” Aquila said. “They were very loud.”

    Cap chuckled.

    Aquila stared at him. “What?”

    “Nothing,” Cap replied. He looked around at the rolling hills. “This really is a nice peaceful place. It’s a pity it won’t stay that way.”

    “What do you mean?” Kasumi asked.

    “Remember what Daiki said at the inn?” Cap said. “If all three of the Legendary Heroes are in the same place outside of the capital, the Devil King won’t be able to resist.”

    Aquila sipped her coffee and sighed. “Right. Two of them were here for at least a week while Daiki was with us, and now Daiki’s back. All three heroes in a small, undefended farming village.”

    “And the others didn’t seem too inclined to leave,” Cap added. “This place has a target painted on it.”