Chapter 352 - My CO Stash #52 - Killing Strangers by Talon C (RisingOfTheShieldHeroXMyHeroAcademia)

-An interesting AU fic with Naofumi getting Overhaul's quirk~ The SCP-049 like writing just makes the fic pretty cool to read!

Synopsis: Naofumi Iwatani, the most accomplished doctor and surgeon in a post-apocalyptic society, is summoned to a new world as one of four legendary heroes. Naofumi hopes that, with the advent of the Waves of Calamity, he'll be able to put his medical prowess to the test. Though that'll be hard to do when you have almost an entire kingdom hunting you down for a crime you never committed.

Rated: M

Words: 31K

Posted on: fanfiction.net/s/13525813/1/Killing-Strangers (Talon C)

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

Thirty-one-years-old, Doctor Iwatani Naofumi hated a lot of things in this God-forsaken world.

Incompetence and rashness, mostly.

But this?

Naofumi sighed in pure irritation.

It was night-time, Naofumi was currently standing in the middle of an empty street, amongst decrepit and run-down city blocks, the only light from the area seemed to originate from a massive fire crackling in front of him. What used to be the Municipal Library of Tokyo was now little more than a massive source of heat and cinders.

He knew some people loved to remain ignorant of the world around them, but burning a library? One of the last bastions of knowledge in the world? Just because they could?

Willful ignorance was probably another thing he could add to the top of his shit list.

Just because the entire world went to shit, did not mean people had to make it worse.

It had started approximately twelve years ago, tensions had begun to rise dramatically between the twin superpowers of the world, locked in a constant rivalry.

The United States of America and the People's Republic of China.

Following several events over the next four years, from attacks by Chinese-supported terrorist groups to imposing sanctions and various military interventions by the US into Chinese-allied territory; The situation had devolved from skirmishes in Asia and the Pacific, to an all-out war.

Naofumi was still a first year medical school student (having finished his four years of undergraduate studies) at the time and still had three more years before he could start working as a resident in the St Luke's hospital in Tokyo. It would have taken him at least five more years after that before he'd be able to call himself an accomplished Doctor.

China declaring war on Japan (alongside many other US allies), had thrown a monkey wrench into these plans. The Japanese government had initiated a draft, pulling millions from their homes onto the battlefield. Naofumi himself had opted to choose an intensive and compacted Medical course that was initiated in an attempt to increase the number of Doctors and Paramedics on the field. What would have taken him at least eight more years was shortened to a single year of intense studying under bombardment. Practicals had been all but scrapped in favor of theoretical work and Naofumi was all but thrown to the wolves the second he completed his final exam and received his Doctorate.

He'll be the first to admit that his initial work was pretty amateurish, having mostly gone through theoreticals, he had botched up quite a few surgeries and interventions. The mistakes he had made had cost quite a few their lives, forcing him to rapidly improve. Even then his failures took a toll on him, slowly desensitizing him to the concept of Death and enabling a more cynical and pessimistic attitude to take the reins of his mind. The subsequent death of his younger brother in a chemical attack had further destabilized his mental state and had created an obsession with self-improvement, if not for the sake of others, then for his own survival.

The situation had only gotten worse, the war had quickly swallowed up the entire world. The casualties had surpassed the combined number of the previous two World Wars and were approaching the decuple digits, before the two Superpowers decided to throw any remaining ethics out of the window, and step up from conventional/chemical warfare, all the way up to nuclear. It wasn't even a series of strategic bombings either, entire cities, regardless of the number of civilians, had been wiped off the map.

That had pretty much killed whatever hope for humanity Naofumi had left, the warmongers hated each other to the point they were willing to burn the entire world in an effort to destroy their opponents, and the men under their command just went along with whatever they said.

The consequences were, as expected, catastrophic. Although the direct ones were obvious with the killing of hundreds of millions, it was the indirect effects of the nukes that had sealed the fate of the planet. From drastic climate changes to an increase in atmospheric radioactivity, the last one had aided in the emergence of various new diseases, mutated from previous ones and with no available cure.

The death toll had multiplied, and soon enough there weren't enough people to form a military anymore. The nations' leaders, cowards as they were, had escaped into underground vaults and left the world to burn and humanity to die out.

Civilization had pretty much been destroyed and all that remained were pockets of survivors, scrounging around to stay alive. Surprisingly enough however, a fraction of the survivors had started to show both visible and invisible changes in their own bodies, most of them bad but a few of them advantageous, Naofumi had been one of the latter.

He knew that radioactivity could cause mutations, but it had been long since established that most of these were negative and detrimental in nature, oftentimes causing various types of cancer. But then again, the changes in the environment, the spread of chemical pollutants and maladies might have had something to do with this development.

The very, very, few humans who had "useful" mutations, or 'quirks' as some had taken to calling them, had developed inane abilities, like a minor immunity to toxins or pollutants, an accelerated healing factor, a denser muscle structure, control over an increased volume of bio-electricity, etc.

If you think about it, it's like the aftermath of antibiotic treatment on an infection, it usually eradicates all the bacteria it targets, but there are rare cases when a few survive and adapt, developing resistance or even newer means of defending themselves. A mutation pushed by the process of Natural Selection if you will.

The lone Doctor, for his part, had pretty much won nature's lottery. His 'quirk' wasn't anything inherently dangerous at first, it had taken him months to figure out it was even there, but it was perfect to aid in his work and improve the outcomes of his operations.

It had initially been nigh unnoticeable, only making an appearance when he touched powder or sand, it had taken him a while to figure out he was lacking control over it and that it was improving with each use. The defining moment had been during a preparation in his lab, when the beaker containing a compound he had spent days working on had abruptly broken apart into grains. If destroyed equipment and materials wouldn't motivate him to rein in that power nothing would. It took him a few months to get to a level where he could activate or deactivate the quirk consciously without much risk to his surroundings. The discovery of the true potential of the quirk, the power to disassemble and reassemble anything he touched with his hands on a molecular level, had motivated even harder to improve, to research and experiment with it and master it. He had pushed his body and mind to their limits, spending countless hours learning and memorizing everything he could about the human body, even experimenting on himself. From disassembling and reassembling his own body parts, to using animal flesh to "restock" his own body in case of a significant injury, to repairing damaged materials by "reforming" them.

He had debated on many names to call it, from "Reconstruction" to "Operation," before settling on "Overhaul," something he thought expressed it's supremacy over the physical world.

That and it was an awesome name, sue him.

Overhaul had truly been the best thing he could have asked for, a blessing in this accursed world and a sign that things might, just might, be going his way at last. It offered him both a method of self-preservation and a gateway to a nigh-infinite potential in the medical field. His work became a way to test himself, he'd use Overhaul on patients with severe injuries or even deformities to "put them back together," craft compounds and tools from base materials with it and even absorb organic mass into his body to keep himself from starving. It had its limits; not being able to affect anything on an atomic level, and thus preventing him from accelerating chemical reactions or working with isotopes to hopefully lower the amount of atmospheric radiation and putting a strain on his body the bigger his area of effect went, his maximum right now was an area equivalent of a small house. He hoped he could increase it to the point where he could rebuild entire city blocks.

His work forced him to travel constantly, always looking for patients to test himself on. He ended up garnering a reputation as a "wandering saint" or a savior of some sort, a hero who came to the help of the needy and never took anything in return. He didn't really agree with any of it. Sure his work might seem benevolent, but his patients were simply a means to improve his own knowledge, and "never taking anything in return?" What would he even take? Money? In this world without civilization? No, what he was interested in was food (anything organic worked), equipment and base materials. The first could be found anywhere, his abilities had allowed him to digest anything organic with little to fear from poisons, and equipment as well as materials were things he could raid from most abandoned hospitals and military bases. He chose to ignore the fact that he could just coerce the people into working for him and thus make his own tasks easier, but maybe he was still soft, despite everything...

His look had changed over the years, from a simple lab coat to something similar to the attire of a Plague Doctor from the Middle Ages combined with modern body armor. It had been necessary due to the radioactivity and unpleasant elements as well as other obstacles he came across.

Like that gang that tried to force me to work for them last week, wonder if the head woke up from his coma yet.

A thick mask reminiscent of a crow's beak covered the lower half of the man's face while goggles with red lenses protected his eyes from the irritating pollutants in the air, the rest of his attire could only be described as a modified grey HAZMAT suit ending in a pair of steel toed boots and over which he wore military grade Kevlar body armor. A bandolier filled with shotgun shells was slung over his shoulder with said shotgun being strapped to his back. The final item would be a duffel bag in which he carried his equipment and any books and materials he collected.

While the man's eyes were hidden, one could assume he was gazing into the flames crackling in the distance. He wanted to be mad at whoever did this, the place being a favored spot of his to relax and read. It was frustrating that anyone would desecrate a monument of knowledge in such a manner but he should have expected this outcome. He really should.

After all, science and knowledge gave the opportunity for anyone with enough willpower to progress into roles of leadership and guide people into a better future. Something that defied the barbaric "Law of the Jungle" that had dominated the streets now that the civilized world had ceased to exist.

He could understand the strong's desire to rule. After all, he was possibly one of the strongest people on Earth right now. But he wouldn't sink to their level, he wasn't looking for needless trouble or a fight, he just wanted to perform his own research and assist as many as he could along the way, if only to increase his own knowledge.

As he looked around for anything to salvage, something caught his eye away from the burning building, there laid a small red book on the ground. A novel perhaps? He walked over to it, grabbed it and skimmed through it.

"'The Tale of the Four Cardinal Heroes,' huh? Sounds like something a child would love to read through," Naofumi mused as he flipped through another few pages. "A sociopathic princess disguised as an adventurer? Sounds pretty bitchy..."

He soon came upon an empty set of pages, the novel seemingly only being half completed. Naofumi shrugged, going to pocket the book to stash it in his temporary hideout, only for a strange glow to emanate from it.

He attempted to destroy it, but even with the book reduced to particles, the glow remained and enveloped him. He felt himself falling down a tunnel walled by light.

...

"Oh brave heroes! Please save our world!"

...

What the hell?

Naofumi was understandably confused for the first time in years. What exactly was this? Did he get attacked by another mutant and was this some sort of fever dream? He noted a weight on his right arm, looking down to find a small shield with a green gem embedded into it. Looking around, he noted the presence of three other young men, two of them teenagers no doubt and the other one either in his late teens or early twenties. Facing the front of the room again, he came upon a very peculiar sight. A bunch of men in robes clasping their hands in prayer, what were they? Cosplayers? Cultists? It didn't matter much to him. He grabbed his shotgun off his back but a strong electric shock came through him forcing him to abandon that course of action and drop the weapon to the ground with an audible clatter, some sort of red text filling his vision.

[ALERT!]

[Violation of Sacred Agreement! A hero may only use their Legendary equipment to fight. Holding another weapon with the intent to fight breaches the Holy Agreement.]

The text disappeared as soon as he read through it but left him with thousands of questions, all of which he summed up easily enough.

"What. The. F.u.c.k?" Naofumi made his surprise known, although at a volume no one really heard.

The men, ignoring the noise before them, seemed to have finished their prayers (incantations?) and raised their heads to meet them. Some of them were understandably taken aback by Naofumi's appearance and the weapon he had dropped.

Regaining their composure, the man at the front, seemingly the leader spoke up, "O' Great Heroes! Please use the power within your legendary weapons to defend this world!"

What. The. F.u.c.k?

"Aren't you people guilty over summoning us without our consent?" the black haired youth commented, the kid looked like a stereotypical edgy teenager.

"For instance, we won't just fight for world peace and then return to our old world empty-handed, right?" the blond, baby-faced one added.

"You guys don't seem to take much consideration into our plans, do you? Depending on what you have to offer, we might end up becoming this world's enemy instead, got it?" the oldest blond, a pretty-boy, finished looking pretty smug.

Naofumi didn't say anything further, simply narrowing his eyes behind his goggles.

I need to get out of here.

"Noble Heroes, we understand your apprehension but please we ask you to have an audience with the King, we can discuss your reward then," the robed man leading the group spoke up, almost begging them to give this, whatever it is, a chance.

"Fine, lead the way," Naofumi finally spoke up, the sooner they understood what the hell was happening, the sooner he could get out and return to his temporary base to restock.

His gruff voice startling the others, who hadn't even noticed his presence until now. It was obvious the youngest blond was intimidated, the black haired one was guarded while the oldest of the bunch seemed surprised but brushed it off.

"Woah there man, is that cosplay? I can't tell what character it is but it's pretty cool," the older blond commented, he was seriously freaked out by the man, the guy looked pretty intense, even his weapons looked pretty real, and the long beak-like mask he wore alongside the red lenses hiding his eyes gave him the appearance of a demon of some sort.

"Yeah... sure... cosplay," Naofumi deadpanned at the blonde's statement, but his inquiry did raise some alarms in his head.

While the Doctor's attire was intimidating, it wasn't uncommon for the rare few people he saw to be dressed similarly, whether to protect themselves from the environment, or to project an image of strength to any possible enemies. Perhaps these kids were from other areas of the globe? Places that were rebuilt and put under governmental control?

But they looked and sounded distinctly Japanese, their facial structures and the language they were speaking were evidence of that. They could be residents of a secret apocalyptic vault and thus wouldn't have contact with the outside world, or be from different worlds altogether.

Considering the way he arrived here, it could be safe to say that the second option seemed more likely.

Stewing in his thoughts, he grabbed his shotgun again, this time not feeling any sort of shock.

Maybe because I don't intend to use it?

Naofumi shelved that in his mind for later as he unconsciously followed the group as they exited the room and made their way up the stairs, his mind deep in thought at everything that had just transpired. Finally paying attention, he looked to his left and saw an unbelievable sight.

What might have seemed like a simple, albeit attractive view of the city, was a sight that Naofumi hadn't seen for the last five years and believed that he wouldn't be able to see for the next decade. He felt himself overcome with emotion, shakily removing his goggles and revealing his emerald green eyes to the world. Even if just for a moment, he wanted to commit the beauty of the blue sky, peppered with white clouds and the red-tiled roofs of many buildings.

"Beautiful... it's like looking into a travel brochure..." Naofumi whispered, unaware of the curious gazes he was receiving from the other three heroes.

"Going by the breeze outside, this place probably has your standard Mediterranean climate, but it's not really something to get that hung up about..." Edgy Boy commented.

"Sounds to me like you never traveled out of Japan, huh?" Baby Face inquired, trying to put up an air of superiority.

Naofumi decided to ignore them, opting to look back and continue thinking.

This shouldn't be possible, with all the destruction and climate change brought by the war, I don't think such a sight would have been possible; The sky is too blue, the air is too fresh, it's like the war never even took place here. Could it really be another world? If so, how do I get back? And do I even want to go back? If this world has a sight like that, it's already better off than Earth.

He continued to follow the rest silently, as they made their way to a set of large, ornate doors. The guards standing at either side of the door wordlessly pushed it open, revealing an expansive throne room, in the middle of which the King sat on a golden throne.

The bearded royal, dressed in a purple gown with golden accents smiled as they entered. He didn't visibly react to Naofumi's appearance but that might have been a facade he put up.

The nobles and advisers in the room did murmur and whisper about Naofumi's choice of attire, but they tried to be discreet about it.

Clapping his hands to silence the room, the king took to the stage, "So," the king began. "These men are the four Cardinal Heroes of ancient legend?"

Naofumi raised an eyebrow at this, just now noticing the different weapons the other three were wielding as he berated himself for not making that critical observation earlier.

A bow, a spear, a sword...

Naofumi looked at his arm.

And a shield? And that title he gave us...

This situation was looking more and more similar to the main plot of the small novel he read before arriving here.

Could it be that I'm inside the book?

"I am the king of Melromarc, Aultcray Melromarc the Thirty-Second," Aultcray said. "Heroes, name yourselves."

The king's purple eyes swept over them once again but seemed to avoid looking at the Doctor. Either due to his appearance or something else, Naofumi didn't know.

The sound of fast, displaced air rang out and the black haired youth took a pose, "Amaki Ren, sixteen years old, high school student."

Naofumi almost chuckled at the introduction. This kid was a chuunibyou.

Pretty Boy stepped forward and smirked, "I'm Kitamura Motoyasu. Twenty-one, and a college student," Motoyasu said as he twirled his spear and flipped his hair, looking like one of those K-Pop idols from before the war.

Baby Face clenched his bow eagerly, "I suppose I'm up next, Kawasumi Itsuki, seventeen years old, and a high school student," Itsuki said as he smiled cheerfully while puffing out his chest, trying to seem bigger than he was.

Naofumi once again had to suppress a chuckle at the cute display, it was amusing to see the boy try and act tough. As he stepped forward to present himself, as is common courtesy, he was spoken over by the King.

"I see," The king cut Naofumi off. "Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki, huh?"

Naofumi stayed silent, if the royal didn't wish to learn his name, then fine, he'd keep it to himself, rude people were a dime-a-dozen, people of high standing being among the most pertinent cases.

"Shield Hero," the king suddenly addressed him. "Didn't I ask you to name yourself?" he asked, making it seem as if Naofumi was the one at fault for being inattentive.

Naofumi narrowed his eyes on him.

Oh, you old f.u.c.k. Fine, I'll play along.

"Naofumi Iwatani, thirty-one years old, I'm a doctor," Naofumi spoke up gruffly.

"Woah, a doctor? But what's up with the outfit? Looks like something from Out-Fall," Pretty Boy commented. The young man either did not care about the shotgun Naofumi carried, or he convinced himself it was some sort of prop.

The Doctor once again ignored him, as the King nodded and continued speaking. Naofumi idly took out a small notebook he kept on him to write down the main points in the King's explanation.

- Problem: Waves of Calamity.

- Solution according to Legend: 4 Cardinal Heroes.

- First wave already happened, military barely won. Civilian and/or soldier casualties? Most likely.

- Wave power consistent or increasing?

- Nature of enemies: Unknown

- Time between each wave: Unknown

- Inquire as to which additional measures are taken against the-

"Shield Hero! Are you paying attention? This is no time for frivolities!" the King, mistaking his note-taking for a distraction, or he knew what it was and just wanted to call him out. That earned some chuckles and jeers from the Nobles standing on both sides of the room. The other heroes seemed to look amused at that, similarly to how students reacted to a teacher reprimanding one of their own.

"..." Naofumi looked at the man, his gaze under his goggles unnerving many, before nodding and continuing his notes undeterred.

- The King is also an asshole.

The action of ignoring the king had left many gaping at the man, how rude could one person be? Aultcray himself clenched his fists in anger but chose to continue on, explaining how they would need to party up with different groups since their weapons would prevent any experience gain when close to one another.

Experience? What the f.u.c.k?

"Now then, I want you all to review your current statuses," Aultcray interrupted Naofumi's thoughts and made him look at the man in confusion.

Status? Does he mean like our equipment?

He was about to ask about it but Ren, the kid with black hair, spoke up, "You mean you haven't seen it yet? Check the lower corner of your vision. Do you see the little icon there?" Ren asked.

Naofumi focused his thoughts on the small icon and immediately a screen popped up in his vision, surprising him. It showed all kinds of information, from HP and MP, to levels and statistics. It even showed the equipment he had currently on him: Legendary Shield, World Traveler's clothes, World Traveler's bag, Shotgun, Shotgun Shells.

Seeing a bunch of his stats, most of which were terms he remembered from some games he used to play a dozen years ago, the Doctor's eyes naturally roamed to the highest and lowest numbers to identify his strengths and weaknesses.

[Doctor Naofumi Iwatani, Hero of the Shield, Level 1.]

[Titles: Hero of the Shield, Master Physician, Master Apothecary, Intermediate Craftsman, Tsundere.]

Oh, well f.u.c.k you too, Shield.

While initially accurate, Naofumi took exception at the last title.

[Skills: Medical Practice Level 80/100, Medicine Crafting Level 60/100]

[Special Ability - Overhaul, Level 40/100: Disassemble and reassemble any physical matter with but a touch. When someone lays a finger on me, I can't help but feel the need to cleanse myself.]

Naofumi narrowed his eyes at some of the values listed, clearly he needed to conduct more research, but it was nice to see his progress in numbers. Also, forty out of one hundred for Overhaul?

You mean my already crazy power isn't even at half of its potential? And what's with the quote at the end?

[HP: 300]

[MP: 120]

[DEF: 40]

Again, seems self-explanatory, seeing as I'm the Shield.

[ATK: 1]

That... could be a problem.

"Heroes! Let us celebrate your successful summoning! A banquet worthy of this occasion is being prepared, so please, rest for now!" the King announced, snapping Naofumi out of his thoughts. "We shall have our maids summon you when it's time for the feast."

"Very well," Motoyasu nodded in excitement and followed his statement by hitting the butt end of his spear on the ground.

Ren simply scoffed and crossed his arms, resolving to wait quietly.

"..." Itsuki stayed silent, a weird smile (unnerving even) fixed on his face.

Naofumi had once again, tuned everything out and decided to go through his status, see if he could find a manual of some kind. The entire thing was pretty frustrating, from being summoned unceremoniously to the King singling him out, questions were starting to pile up in the Doctor's head. SHould he even bother? This wasn't his world after all, but if these "waves" really were such a danger to the entire world, then it'd be within his best interest to prioritize overcoming them, if only to survive and continue his research as soon as he could. It also wouldn't hurt to see what this world had to offer, it seemed vastly different from his own and he couldn't help being curious. He took out his notebook and added a checklist.

- Gather information on the world's religious, societal, and political status.

- Gather tools and materials to aid in the new quest.

- Strategize with other Three Heroes.

- Find out if the ATK stat interferes with Overhaul.

"Please, Heroes, follow me," a young maid greeted them and motioned for them to follow, which they promptly did. As they all walked through the decorated halls, Motoyasu opted to turn on his charm and approach the maid, striking conversation rather easily and making the woman respond in earnest, giggling every so often. The other two walked at an even pace and both tried to pay little attention to the Shield Hero. The guy was honestly creeping them out.

The room they arrived at was rather large, nothing close to the throne room, but still spacier than Naofumi was used to, containing expensive furniture, four queen-sized beds with silk sheets, a beautiful tapestry and a veranda connected to it. Naofumi whistled to himself, that was some fancy shit right there. As the maid exited the room and closed the doors, the heroes sat on their respective beds and relaxed somewhat.

"I guess that's royalty for you, huh?" Ren said as he examined the various decorations in the room, his eyes roving over the tapestry and the chandelier.

"It looks like any other medieval castle I've been too, but I guess it has its charm," Itsuki added as he checked over his bow.

"Right? The plot is somewhat similar to Emerald Online," Motoyasu mused, eyeing his spear and doing a few basic thrusts to test the weapon.

"What are you talking about? This is just like Brave Star Online, it's the most famous VRMMO on the market." Ren also did some experimental swings with his sword, making sure to add a flair to each one.

Definitely a chunnibyou.

His answer received protests from the others who claimed VRMMOs weren't even available to the public yet, something he'd agree on. The farthest the game industry had gone before everything had gone to shit was CGI, Virtual Reality was still in the realm of sci-fi.

"You all must be confusing this with something totally different. This is one of those A.I. based games that came out recently," Itsuki added his two cents and caused the three to bicker again. It was pretty childish and immature, something that Naofumi couldn't help but gaze a little fondly at.

They're so carefree, Naofumi thought, but then schooled his features (or whatever features could be expressed with his get up). Their statements were adding up to the questions in his mind, but at the same time helping him from the same theory had thought of earlier, he just needed to confirm it though.

"Quick question," Naofumi started, cutting off the other three. "What year was it when you came here? For me, it was 2019."

Ren was about to ask about the reason for such an inane question when the last statement hit him, "Huh? What do you mean, last I checked it was 2094," Ren answered and received surprised looks from the other two.

Both Itsuki and Motoyasu gave different dates as well, Itsuki being 2035 and 2012 for Motoyasu. This prompted Naofumi to tap his cheek over his mask, "So that either means that we're from different times, or..." the other three were listening attentively and Naofumi continued.

"Another question, this time for Ren and Itsuki since you both are from years in the future," Naofumi started. "Do you remember any mention of a third world war in your history books?"

The two heroes were taken aback but shook their heads, then the three young men's eyes widened as they realized the implications.

"So we're from different worlds? That's insane!" Motoyasu voiced the group's thoughts and Itsuki chimed in.

"Wait! Naofumi, if you asked that question, does that mean World War III happened in your world?" the Bow Hero deduced.

"Yes." was the curt answer.

Once again the other three were taken aback, this time by Naofumi's almost nonchalant answer but Ren narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"How do we know you're not just pulling our legs?" the Sword Hero inquired.

"What reason would I have to lie?" the Doctor's stare bore into Ren, unnerving him.

Itsuki came to his rescue, albeit shuffling nervously, "Well... um, how should I put this... maybe because you're the Shield?"

Naofumi gave him a blank stare, "Explain," he ordered with finality prompting the younger blond to back off, intimidated and stammering.

"It's because in every game I've ever played, the Shield class is trash!" Motoyasu cut in to save the Bow Hero from Naofumi's glare. "Only losers play it, so it makes sense that you'd try to act cool to make up for that fact. Plus you acted pretty rude earlier, ignoring the King and all that!"

Naofumi raised an eyebrow and pushed down his anger, but voting to confirm the Spear Hero's statement with the other two, who both nodded, although Itsuki seemed to get some back bone and retook an air of condescension, trying to look down on Naofumi now that his own superiority has been established in his mind.

Their ignorance was warranted.

Naofumi nodded in understanding and looked at the three for a moment, "Well then... that's a pretty stupid argument." Naofumi replied simply.

Naofumi had, of course, received shouts of protest but he continued undeterred, "You're saying I'd make up such a story just to seem 'cool?' How f.u.c.k.i.n.g childish can you get?" Naofumi asked with such barely hidden fury that Motoyasu had the decency to look down in shame. "Fine! Believe what you want, but in regards to your view on the Shield, your reasoning is flawed! There is no guarantee that this world functions the same way your games do, even then, a game that favors a class over another is simply one that isn't well made," Naofumi continued. "In that case, there wouldn't be a reason for different choices to exist if one of them was clearly more or less favorable than the rest, that's just an indicator of incompetence on the developers' part."

The three fell silent, digesting the older man's words. Motoyasu had the decency to feel ashamed, even if the man was lying, just calling him out of the blue wasn't cool.

"L-look man, I'm sorry... I didn't realize-" started Motoyasu but Naofumi raised a hand and spoke to him, more softly this time.

"Save it, it's okay, I understand this whole situation might be difficult for anyone to accept but please, think before you speak, I know it can sound hard to believe but what I said is the truth" Naofumi said. Motoyasu just nodded, the other two opting to stay silent.

"I was in an accident," Itsuki started, as a way to make some sort of amendment to his earlier behavior. "I was running from some people and crossed the road without looking. Next thing I know, I feel something hitting me and I can't feel much after that. I don't know if I'm still alive and this is just some type of dream or I'm dead and really got some sort of second chance."

"I was involved in a hostage situation, some guy came to our high school and threatened one of my friends and I just ran at him," Ren said as he rubbed his side which caught Naofumi's eyes, making the Doctor realize what might have happened. "Then I found myself here."

Motoyasu took the stage, chuckling to himself nervously while scratching his cheek, "Well... um... heheh... I uh... kinda got stabbed by my girlfriends."

Both of Naofumi's eyebrows shot up at that. That was not what he expected, the other two's reactions were similar, "Er, so yeah, I was dating these two chicks in college, they were both pretty hot, you know?" Motoyasu continued. "So one day I come to my dorm and see them both fighting over me, I kinda tried to defuse the situation but they had knives and..."

The Spear Hero trailed off, it was pretty obvious what happened.

'Two minors and a guy that barely left his teen years...and dying so young?' As hard as he tried, Naofumi couldn't suppress the feeling of pity. Distant as he'd become, seeing young men and women die needlessly still displeased him.

He came out of his thoughts when he felt a nudge, Motoyasu had tapped his shoulder with the butt of his spear like one would poke a bear. The Doctor looked at the three's expectant faces and sighed, choosing to trust the three young men and extend them the same courtesy that they did to him, even if he was wary.

"I guess it's only fair for me to do the same... it might be hard to believe, but since we've already established that the Multiverse exists, it's not that far-fetched to see a world where shit hit the fan, right?" Naofumi asked them. "I was a medical student in Tokyo when war broke out between the US and China, it didn't take long before Japan and the rest of the world was dragged into it. I was 23 at the time and was drafted by the Japanese government into the war effort, but since I was already on my way to becoming a Doctor I was allowed to continue my studies in a new more compact program in an effort to get more health professionals on the field. I got my doctorate and was dragged into the fighting."

The other three were aptly listening, choosing not to comment and let the man reminisce, he truly sounded honest which made Motoyasu all the more ashamed of his brashness.

"Didn't matter what I did, the idiots at the top just kept ramping up the stakes, and soon...the war went nuclear," That statement shocked the younger men to the core, Motoyasu and Itsuki losing all color in their faces.

"A-and then..." Itsuki said, cursing himself for stuttering.

"From there... well... everything went to shit... the total Earth population was soon reduced to a fraction, of a fraction, of a f.u.c.k.i.n.g fraction of what it used to be! All because some morons didn't know have enough brain cells to figure out the consequences of their actions!" At this point, Naofumi's voice couldn't hide the rage he felt. It's been years since then... but the feeling of frustration had never truly left him. He had once debated on hunting down the vaults these politicians were hauling themselves up in, wishing he could enact some form of revenge on them for destroying the entire world in their d.i.c.k measuring contest. But it was all meaningless now, he was in a new world, one that saw fit to thrust a gigantic weight on the shoulders of four men and trust them with it's fate.

The three felt for the man, even with his mask, they could feel the rage and sadness he exuded. It was truly jarring to imagine a world where everything went wrong. Motoyasu especially, was really feeling shitty for his earlier words, he had gone and disrespected the billions dead in such a time of crisis.

Naofumi continued, albeit reluctantly, "I... didn't really know what to do after that, I only knew my profession, so I guess I just continued doing that," Naofumi said. "One day I found a red book on the ground, when I touched it, I was brought here."

The other heroes were silent as if to digest what the older man had said, it was really unsettling and seemed unrealistic, like something out of a game just like this world was.

"I think... no, I want to make one thing clear," Naofumi was the one to speak and shook the others out of their funk as they looked at him questionably and he continued. "This world might look like a game but it is real, the people here are as real as you and me….what I saw today, it simply felt too real to be fake, even with the bullshit console mechanics."

The other three had doubt about this, it all just seemed so game-like but they didn't interrupt the doctor.

"We need to work together, as much as I hate bringing minors into this," Naofumi said, but that statement garnered a frown from both Itsuki and Ren, while Motoyasu simply nodded. "We don't really have a choice anymore, I'd like to end this entire thing as soon as I can and to do this I'll need your cooperation."

When it came down to it, as much as he hated the idea of working with teenagers and a wannabe playboy, if they really were the only solution to this problem and the only hope for this world to survive, then he'd swallow down his irritation and uneasiness and prioritize the mission.

Naofumi held out his hand, face down. The others seemed to realize what he was implying and their frowns disappeared and three determined smiles greeted him, (even from Ren) they nodded and put their hands on top of each other, agreeing to cooperate for now.

It honestly felt like a second chance for Naofumi and it was no doubt the same for the others. If they truly had died then he could understand their eagerness, it could be simple denial of their situation, or they could genuinely be happy to just be alive again. Even in his case, he did not know how to feel. On the one hand, he had to risk his life for a world that isn't even his, but on another hand, this world wasn't devastated, something that he kept reminding himself of, ever since he'd seen that beautiful view earlier today. He wanted to see more views like that, even if it required saving the world to do so. Maybe after everything was said and done, he'd relax somewhere in the wilderness and spend his days either reading, researching or just relaxing.

Just as they were about to move to another topic, the same maid that guided them here, knocked on the door and poked her head inside, informing them that the feast was ready.

The younger three shuffled to exit eagerly while Naofumi chuckled and opted to follow at a slower pace. He came into the dining room to find the other three had already begun scarfing down on what looked like an assortment of very, very, high-end culinary pieces.

They really went all out with their hospitality huh? Fancy food, fancy beds, probably some powerful companions tomorrow.

Naofumi sat down between Ren and Itsuki and chose something one may consider a balanced meal, if not on the fattier side. It was an old habit from his world, he'd always favor prey or food with a higher fat content alongside scouring through vegetation for the necessary vitamins. It wouldn't have done him any good to get scurvy after all.

The other three seemed to pause a little in their eating when he stabbed his own meal with the fork and brought it up to his mask, their curiosity was eating at them much faster than they did at their own food. It might have seemed silly, but there had to be a reason to hide behind such a ridiculous get-up right? He must have been disfigured by radiation or something so they decided to indulge in their curiosity and watch him carefully.

Actually, maybe that's why he wore a HAZMAT suit in the first place? Was his outfit more for the sake of necessity? The fact he has a shotgun still unsettles me.

A similar thought rang through their heads.

The fork approached Naofumi's mask slowly, as if to add an air of suspense. Ren narrowed his eyes, Itsuki gulped and Motoyasu watched the piece of meat on the fork like a hawk.

...

Only for that same piece to disappear in the shadow under the man's beak-like mask.

Motoyasu almost choked on his own spit and practically bounded over the table to the Doctor, scanning every inch of the man's head. He needed answers!

Naofumi didn't so much as flinch at the closeness, his expression not giving away what he was thinking as he continued to cut up food and have to seemingly disappear into his chin. In short, he'd make the fork hollow on the inside with Overhaul and simply disassemble the meat slowly, have it go through the fork and finally into his hands and body. One might wonder why someone would go to such lengths to eat when the mouth was God's given passageway for consumption. It wasn't as much out of necessity as it was because of the current situation and maybe also the fact that Naofumi's sense of taste had been pretty much non-existent for a few years now. He couldn't medically explain it, it could have been an effect of the environment he was in or just his own mental problems manifesting in physical symptoms. Spending years alone, only ever meeting with other humans to either heal or fight them might have had something to do with his mental state.

He was inwardly cackling, as childish as it was, the others' attitudes were slowly affecting him, their optimism was contagious and their youthful antics reminded him of simpler times, times back when his brother was alive and they'd play harmless pranks on each other, before everything went sideways. He'd indulge himself in such silliness, if only for tonight, he'd let his worries go momentarily and just think about the future possibilities.

After a few more minutes of trying to spot the mysterious non-existent opening in the Doctor's mask, or anywhere the food might have been hidden, the others gave up on trying to understand something that seemed physically impossible and just continued their meals.

The entire affair ended quietly, they made some conversation, mostly frivolous chatter and discussion, before going on their way back to sleep, mentally exhausted from the events of the day. The beds were inhumanly soft and Naofumi, for the first time in years, slept without worries.

Maybe tomorrow will bring something interesting.