“Even if they did know, I don’t think they cared,” Aquila replied. “I got a look at their character descriptions. They’re both real pieces of work. Frankly, they’re not much more than unpleasant caricatures.” She sighed. “I hate to admit it, but I was really hoping one of them was going to take a swing at me, just so that I could have an excuse to crush them. That ‘puppy love’ comment was just a step too far.”

    Cap nodded. “Me too. I’ve never seen heroes so undeserving of the name.” He leaned forward. “So, we have a decision to make. Do we stay and help Daiki sort out this Devil King of his?”

    “I vote yes,” Aquila said.

    Kasumi shook her head. “It’s not our story. It’s Daiki’s. We got him back to Athena. We should just go home.”

    “Why are you so against this?” Aquila asked, turning to stare at her. “Didn’t you create me wanting me to have heroic adventures, before I became a villain?”

    Kasumi stared at the table. “Ever since we left, you’ve been reckless. I’m afraid that if we help, you’ll get yourself hurt or killed. I know that you want to make up for all the bad things you’ve done, I get that. And, I want to help you do it because I love you. But you’re trying to do it all at once, and you’ve already tried to throw your life away. We have our entire lives to make things right – you don’t have to take risks like this. Besides, as you said, this isn’t our story, which means we don’t have the right to interfere.”

    Aquila stared at her cup of coffee.

    “If I may,” Cap said. “Under most circumstances you’d be right – it’s not our story. It’s for the creator of the story to finish telling it. But, Daiki’s creator is dead. There is no author to lead this place to a happy ending. It’s up to Daiki to do it.”

    “Daiki hasn’t asked us for help,” Kasumi stated. “And we promised to get him home to Athena. He’s home.”

    “His home is Osaka,” Cap said. “This isn’t Osaka.”

    “He can get to Osaka on his own,” Kasumi said. “It’s just one portal with nothing in the way between there and here. He doesn’t need us to protect him anymore.”

    Cap opened his mouth to reply, but then chuckled. “Daiki said that the Devil King can overhear what he’s saying. Gotta wonder what he’s making of us right now.”

    “He doesn’t get a vote,” Aquila said, looking at Kasumi. “But Kasumi does. And, she’s right – I’ve put her through too much this trip already. I’ll change my vote. If we don’t get an actual request for help, then we leave and start heading home. You can stay here and help out if you want, Cap, but I need to put Kasumi first this time.”

    Kasumi took her hand, squeezed it, and said, “Thank you.”

    Footsteps sounded from the house. Cap looked up to see Athena, clad in a loose tunic and trousers, approach the table.

    “Mind if I sit?” Athena asked.

    “Go right ahead,” Cap said. “There’s plenty of space.”

    “Want some coffee?” Aquila asked as Athena sat down beside Cap.

    “What’s coffee?”

    Cap poured her a cup. “This is.”

    Athena picked up the cup and gave it a sniff. A puzzled look crossed her face. Then she took a sip and made a face. “You drink this?”

    “Whenever I can,” Aquila said. “We’ve never been able to get it right at home.”

    “Sweetening it sometimes helps,” Cap said. “Cream and sugar are traditional.”

    “Where’s Daiki?” Kasumi asked.

    “He’s still asleep,” Athena replied. “I’m usually the first of us to wake up.”

    “Well, he’s earned it,” Cap said. “It was quite the adventure getting here.”

    Athena put her cup down. “He told me all about it. And...he told me the truth.”

    “Ah,” Aquila said. “And how are you taking it?”

    “Not well,” Athena admitted. “Everything we’ve suffered, everything we’ve been through, it’s all been a story some Japanese woman created in the hopes of getting something called an ‘anime.’ And, she’s dead, so not only isn’t there a happy ending waiting for us, I can’t give her a piece of my mind about it. I just...I don’t know what to do.”

    “Well, you’re doing fine so far,” Aquila said, reaching into her coat and pulling out a signet ring. “You see this? This belonged to the last person I killed in my war. Her name was Atlantia, and she was the magical knight leading the other side into battle. When I went into the world of the gods of creation and discovered my creator was dead, I had nobody to help me through it. I went mad with rage and grief, and a lot of people suffered because of it.”

    Athena looked at Kasumi in confusion. “But aren’t you...?”

    Kasumi nodded. “I got better. It’s a long story.”

    “The point is that all I had was this anger that I was terrified to let go of,” Aquila continued. “And I did things that can never be forgiven. Finally, we had our miracle, and it saved her...it saved both of us. I took the ring as a trophy, but I carry it now as a reminder of what I became, and what I must never be again. So, I know what it’s like to discover that the god of creation who made you is dead. I know how alone and lost it can make you feel. But, having somebody who loves you helping you through it helps, and I know that you’ve got Daiki at your side. It will take a while, but you’ll be fine.”

    “Thank you,” Athena said. Aquila nodded and put the ring away.

    “Now, I’ve got to know,” Aquila said, leaning forward. “Has Daiki always been this quiet?”

    Cap nodded. “Yeah. He almost never talks, unless he’s got something important to tell us.”

    Athena gave them a sad nod. “He’s been this way since I met him, ever since he rescued me from those slavers. But, I don’t think he was always this way. By the time I met him, he had been betrayed by everybody he had ever met in this world. Even a village he saved right before finding me tried to capture and turn him in for the reward. Sometimes, he brightens up, and becomes happy and outgoing – it’s like the sun breaking through the clouds. But, it doesn’t happen often, and it never lasts long. He was that way the day he proposed to me...and the day he disappeared. I want him to feel safe enough to always be that way.”

    “These other heroes really don’t seem worthy of the title,” Cap said. “How could they possibly treat Daiki so badly?”

    “I don’t know,” Athena said. “But, I’ve got a theory. They’re braggarts, and arrogant, and entitled. And Daiki isn’t. I think when they first met him, they thought he was weak and somebody they could control. And then, it turned out that he wasn’t. And, the two of us together have accomplished more than either of their parties.”

    “Bullies,” Cap said. “Never liked them.”

    “They’ve never apologized, or taken any responsibility for everything they did to us,” Athena added. “They’re probably blaming him right now for not letting them get away with what they were trying to do yesterday.”

    “I repeat my question,” Aquila said. “Are we sure they’re heroes?”

    Athena took a deep breath. “Daiki won’t ask you for help. It’s not his way. But I will.”

    Cap raised an eyebrow. “You overheard us, then?”

    Athena nodded and pointed at her wolf ears. “These are much keener than yours. I heard everything.”

    Out of the corner of his eye, Cap saw Kasumi’s shoulder’s slump.

    Athena looked at Kasumi and bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I know how you feel. But I think you’re right, and the Devil King is coming here. We didn’t just choose this place because of the scenery – we like the people here too. We can’t just leave them to face the Devil King alone. And we can’t protect them against what’s coming on our own. The other heroes are as likely to let the village burn while they go glory hunting as they are to try to protect it.” She looked at Aquila. “They say the Devil King has the power of a god. You say you’ve got that too. Maybe that will balance the scales. Even if you don’t do it for Daiki and I, please help us protect these people.”

    “I’m in,” Cap said. “But I can only speak for myself.”

    Aquila turned to Kasumi. “I want to,” she said, taking Kasumi’s hand, “but I’m not going to unless you agree. I promise that if we do this I will be careful, and take no unnecessary risks. I also promise that if you decide you don’t want to do this, you and I will leave for home as soon as you’re ready.”

    A tear rolled down Kasumi’s cheek. “You’re not bulletproof.”

    “I know,” Aquila said. “And it’s up to you. Today, you come first.”

    “We’re going to need to put up proper defences, and fast,” Cap said. “We could really use that sketchbook of yours.”

    Kasumi nodded tearfully. “Please, just be very careful. No getting hurt.”

    “I promise,” Aquila said.

    Footsteps approached from the house. Cap turned to see Daiki Yamato, in his own loose tunic and trousers, and gave him a nod.

    “Is there still some of that coffee?” Daiki asked, sitting down.

    “Absolutely,” Cap said, pouring him a cup. “It’s still good.”

    “Wonderful,” Daiki said, taking a sip.

    “Aquila says that she’s going to drink the rest before it goes bad,” Cap stated. “I want to watch her vibrate through a wall afterwards.”

    “I’d watch that.”

    “I asked them for help,” Athena said. “They agreed.”

    Daiki frowned. “I wish you hadn’t done that. They’ve done so much already.”

    “Seems to me that we promised to get you home,” Cap said. “This doesn’t look like Osaka to me.” Something flickered in the distance. Cap turned to look. “Somebody’s coming. Looks like they’re in some sort of fancy livery.”

    Athena frowned. “A messenger?”

    Daiki sighed. “Something else we can blame the idiots for, I guess. They probably told the royal court that I had threatened to take away Denki’s harem or some nonsense like that.”

    Aquila shrugged. “In fairness, if a fight had started, I was probably going to de-power the lot of them.” Cap stared at her. “What? I told you, I really didn’t like that ‘puppy love’ comment.”

    A man on horseback galloped up to the deck. “I have a message for Daiki Yamato from the Royal Court!” he declared. “Wait, who are you people?”

    “They’re members of my party,” Daiki replied. “Anything you need to say to me you can say in front of them.”

    “Very well,” the messenger said. “The Royal Court informs you that an army of the Devil King numbering ten thousand men has crossed the border and is headed towards this place. They will arrive in two days. You are commanded by their Highnesses to work with the other heroes to defend this place. Their Highnesses have dispatched a force of five thousand men to join you, commanded by their Highnesses. They will arrive on the morrow.”

    “Question,” Cap said. “Is the Devil King’s army a vanguard or main force?”

    The messenger looked confused. “I don’t know. What’s the difference?”

    “Don’t worry,” Cap said. “We’ll figure it out ourselves.”

    “I need to inform the other heroes,” the messenger stated. “Do you know where they are?”

    “They should be in the inn,” Daiki replied.

    The messenger bowed and rode away.

    “So much for resting for a couple of days,” Daiki said.

    “It seems this story is coming to its climax after all,” Aquila stated. “You wanted to get the Devil King to sit down and talk. Well, he’s on his way here.”

    “He’s coming to kill us all, not talk to us,” Athena said.

    Daiki sighed. “So we have convince him to change his mind about that. We’re not doing this without fighting a battle first, are we?”

    Aquila shook her head. “We’re probably going to have to kill enough of his men that it becomes worth his time to try something else.”

    “One day to set fortifications,” Cap said, “one day to plan the battle, and then we’re at war. I think we have work to do.”

NEXT: “Fortification”