The Wrong Hero

Chapter 22 - The Wave

Dante yawned as he awoke. He felt well rested. Much more than he had for a while. He'd been feeling better these past few mornings.

A slight movement caught his eye and he looked to his chest. A pair of weasel ears twitched. The owner of those ears stretched herself out before turning to look at him. A pair of golden eyes gazed at him from a furry face.

"Good morning, Mister Dante." Rifana said with a smile.

"Good morning." Dante brought his hand over, scratching around her ears. It earned him a pleased hum.

"Oh my~. Aren't we looking happy this morning~." Sadeena said as she lay next to him, her arm used as a pillow for the Shield Hero.

Both women were in their therianthrope forms. Rifana had gained hers just a couple days ago. Dante's reaction to that was...

~Two days earlier~

Rifana stood there, the puff of smoke quickly dissipating. The clothes she got from the tailor had shrunk a little to fit her new size. The shirt and skirt actually came together now and the skirt reached past her knees, appearing more like a short witch's robe.

Rifana looked over her new form. Her hands and feet became paws, and her face had grown a bit longer into a snout. Slick, golden fur lined her back and sides while her front appeared a brilliant white. She was a few inches taller than Keel, but much more lithe than the dog boy.

Excited, she immediately bounded over to Dante. "Mister Dante! How do I look?"

"Ah, yeah..." Dante turned to the side. "You look nice..."

Smiling, Rifana grabbed his hand and placed it on her head. Dante jolted at the notion.

"Don't I look cute~?" She asked, mimicking Sadeena.

"...Yes." Dante could barely contain himself.

"Is that all you have to say?" Rifana tilted her head side to side playfully, causing Dante's hand to rub against her head.

"Rifana...If you move like that..." Dante barely got out.

"It's okay." She said, still smiling up at him. "I don't mine. Please."

She held her arms out to him, waiting. With that, the last remnants of his restraint shattered.

"Ah!" He yelled out, swiftly scooping her up and spinning her around. "You look so cute!"

Rifana laughed as her hero continued to hold her.

~The present~

Dante was handling himself much better now.

As they got up, Sadeena held Dante's head in her hands. She looked over his face, turning it from side to side.

"Your eyes look normal now." She said, letting him go.

"Seriously?" Dante felt around his eyes, trying to find a difference.

"Yeah." Sadeena transformed back to her demi-human form. "I really don't understand your condition."

"You're telling me."

Yesterday morning, they had found that Dante's eyes were in much better condition than they had been. Really, closer to how they were before they rescued Raphtalia and Rifana. They had a few ideas as to what it was.

The day before, Rifana had slept with Dante and Sadeena like she had been before, except she stayed in her therianthrope form. That's when his eyes improved. With Sadeena transformed too and his eyes even better, there was no denying the treatment. Sleeping next to therianthropes helped.