This is a Tate no Yuusa no Nariagari/HP crossover. It's also called Rise of the Shield Hero, I think.

Sometimes it didn't pay to be him.

He had woken up that morning feeling like crap, and now he was in another world where he was expected to save people because (and he really loathed this word) he was a hero.

Heroes, in his opinion, were only for people to idolize. There was nothing the public loved more than to watch a good man fall from grace.

He had even found a book that had nothing to do with learning something.

And that's when it all went sour. With that damn book.

He had been prepared for another attempt at leaving. All his money in his expanding bag, in one of the smaller pockets where no one would think to look. In the main bag were several useful notebooks in his own handwriting filled with spells and the 'intended' effects. He also had a myriad of various nicknacks, pranks from before the death of Fred and George (as the unspoken third owner, he had the entire lot of their products dumped on him because none of the others had been inclined to keep the store open), and roughly a year's worth of food he could quickly make without actually having to cook.

There was also three magical tents and outdoor items like ward stones, so if he had to he could survive in the wild on his own.

He had one thing not even Hermione had, for all her brilliance.

Survival skills for less than civilized places. And she had wondered why he had never complained once while on the mess of a hunt for the fragments. Ron had never stopped whining.

So the idea of ending up in a new world with everything he would have taken with him had never actually occurred to him until it happened.

"Heroes! Please save our world!"

What.

He looked at his wrist, where the holster once was and found a shield. Good thing that was just his spare wand, and not anything of any real consequence.

He looked behind to see three others. Each with a different weapon. A spear, a bow, and a sword. The spear gave him a bad feeling, and the way he was smirking at him spoke volumes.

Just because he stopped aging when he took those up didn't mean he cared. A few glamour spells to make him look older (and nothing like himself) and he could do anything he wanted.

Except leave. That was one thing he could never do, because someone always forced him to come back and clean up after whatever mess was made. After the second time he demanded coin up-front so he could enjoy his brief vacation.

He barely paid any real attention, at least until he noticed they were all given companions...except for him. Something about how shields weren't much a weapon.

He shrugged, and just started walking out the first door he could find that lead to the castle's support shops.

"Wait! Shield Hero-sama!"

"If you're trying to join my team, forget it. I work better alone and I certainly don't trust people," he said bluntly. The girl had this look in her eyes he was far too familiar with. She was planning something.

"Please wait, Shield Hero-sama. It's such a shame that someone as young as yourself is the only one that no one wanted as your partner," she said with a bright smile that looked fake from the start.

The king had pitied him before he left, giving him a nice heavy bag of silver coins. He had dumped them into his bag, then summoned a bunch of fakes that wouldn't fool the goblins for a minute. It was standard practice for him to replace any coin he received with almost perfect doubles in the event they tried to steal it back later.

The fakes would revert to their base form of wooden coins withing a couple hours outside his hands. He did pride himself on never having used fakes to pay for anything.

He eventually found the magic shop, and after a minor test walked out with several new books...and for some reason, the ability to read them. Probably his magic correcting his inability to read their language. After a certain point it just started doing things to benefit him in the long run, like learning how to speak a new language overnight without any previous knowledge.

The woman from earlier kept following him, trying to draw him into conversation. He just kept ignoring her, despite several discreet attempts to show off her bust.

Finally he had enough and ditched her entirely. He had seen an odd alley on the way out that gave him the same vibe as Knockturn, which meant it was something most decent folk wouldn't go into.

Silent apparition. What a useful skill, especially when someone was getting on your nerves. Idiot was probably still looking for him.

"Well, well. I never expected one of the Heroes to grace my tent so quickly after being summoned..."

One look at the tent said all he needed to know about the wares.

"You sell people, don't you."

"Indeed my Lord, I sell demi-humans as slaves. What would interest you?" he asked with a smile. It wasn't a pleasant one, but it was perfect to keep people at ease.

"Let me be the judge of that. If I must be forced to deal with a companion, then I would prefer one that isn't a back-stabbing bitch like the idiot who keeps trying to follow me around," he said completely flat.

He looked around, but it wasn't until he heard a pained cough that he found what he was looking for. All the others had given up hope.

"I'll take this little one. Now, about those pets you mentioned?"

"This way, Hero-sama," said the shady dealer. He was seriously considering giving this kid a discount, because unlike the other naïve fools he felt like he understood how the world actually worked.

So long as his coin was good, he could care less who this kid was.

He picked up a monster incubator, but when the dealer went to apply the markings, he was stopped.

"No markings. If there are this many varieties of demi-humans, then there must also be a place that they live away from the king, correct?"

"Indeed my Lord, you are very wise."

"Then having her marked would only bring me a headache if her kind found out, no matter how well I treated her. Better to earn loyalty first than to deal with that mess."

"As you wish, Hero-sama. Now, about the price..."

"Will this be sufficient? You may keep any coins left over if you like," he asked, dropping five gold coins into the man's hand.

"Indeed, Hero-sama. And may I say it's refreshing for someone so blunt to grace my tent?"

He smirked. Now he had a loyal companion. One he might actually trust because she wasn't fully human.

Once they were heading to the shop that sold armor and weapons, he asked "What's your name little one?"

"R...Raphtalia, my lord."

"Talia, then. So long as you never betray me, I will always keep you. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir."

"That being said, we are going to get you properly fitted so that you can stand on your own while we hunt for monsters."

"Y...yes sir..." she said nervously.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You clearly have something in your past that's traumatized you about hunting, but you can tell me about it once you've gotten more used to me. Fair warning though, I'm not a morning person. If I seem scary after waking up, that's why."

"Yes sir," she said in a dead tone.

He paused and put his hand on her head.

"Don't misunderstand little one. I didn't pay for you because I desire a slave. I just wanted someone that didn't already have motives against me. If anyone gives you trouble, just leave them to me, alright?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good girl. Now let's get some proper clothes for you."

The owner looked at him oddly.

"I want the girl properly outfitted, and please, make sure the clothes are useful and not some flashy piece of junk. I would rather look like a vagabond but have plenty of defensive power than look like a noble with no sense of taste and even less ability to survive attack."

The man snorted.

"I like you kid. You have a better head on your shoulders than the other three idiots, especially that spear one."

"He did look like a moron, didn't he?" he agreed. "Anyway since I highly doubt these 'Legendary' weapons will allow their owners to use others, just get her outfitted for now."

"If I may, why did you get a slave so soon after being summoned?"

"That idiot following me around trying to get my attention clearly has ulterior motives. If I have to have a companion, then I want a blank slate that isn't out to get me just because I'm supposedly the 'weakest' of the heroes. And if the looks the king was giving me were any indication, the least liked as well," he stated simply.

"Can't blame you for that logic kid."

"That's it Talia! You've gotten the hang of it now!"

The tiny raccoon girl was fighting her very hardest. After the first slip-up from old memories, they had taken to a small field filled with weak monsters for her to practice on. Thanks to the party system, they both got experience.

By the time night fell, Talia was level 12.

"Master, are we going to sleep out in the open?" asked Talia.

"No. We're heading straight to the next town, because I have the feeling if we go anywhere near the town something troublesome will happen."

"Troublesome?"

"That annoying woman who refused to leave me alone. I have the feeling she'll try something if I'm seen publicly as part of her party. So we're going to avoid her until she's found someone else to hook her claws into," he stated.

"But Master, the next town is a day's ride away," said Talia.

"Either way we need to put as much distance between us and that woman."

He bent down so Raphtalia could climb on his back.

"Master?"

"If you ride on my shoulders then we can cover more ground."

Talia had a strange expression on her face. Still, she clammered onto his back.

"Hold on tight, okay?"

She nodded and held on firmly.

"Here we go then. Speed Boost!"

Without much warning at all, they were gone, missing the girl who wanted to try and ruin the Shield Hero's reputation with false claims and rob him. He didn't know her name, and frankly he felt she wasn't worthy of him knowing her name.

He certainly hadn't deigned to share his.

He awoke one morning two days after reaching the next town first and when he went to breakfast he knew his day was about to turn shitty. Good thing he made it look like they had hitched a ride to the next town, because it made things easier.

That stupid woman was claiming the 'Shield Hero' had raped her, despite the fact he clearly kept trying to ditch her the day before. There was also the fact that he had ditched her and gone to the first town he could find away from the castle.

Good thing he had disguised the shield on his arm and his features.

"How dreadful," said the innkeeper. She was a nice woman, but it was pretty clear that people had a bad opinion of the Shield Hero.

"From the way I saw it, it's more likely the girl is getting back at the Shield Hero dumped her the first chance he got. She kept trying to entice the guy by pushing up her bust, but he ditched her for a demi-human instead."

"Really?" said the innkeeper. She was always up for good gossip and this sounded like gold.

Just then Raphtalia came down the stairs, still sleepy eyed. She pouted at him, which got him to grin back.

"You didn't wake me up."

"Well you were so adorable I thought I'd let you sleep in. Sleeping will help that cough of yours go away faster, since it conserves energy," he said amused. He ruffled her hair gently.

"Your sister?" she asked.

"My ward. I found her when some jerk was trying to sell her as a fake demi-human slave because she likes to wear animal ears, and now she follows me until we find her family," he lied smoothly.

He reached into his bag to pull out a headband, while discreetly removing the spell over her ears and making it look like he had just put a fake pair on her.

"So cute! I can see why they mistook her for a demi-human," said the innkeeper gushing. Raphtalia looked at him oddly and he whispered what was really going on while the innkeeper wasn't looking. She nodded and played along...for now.

Raphtalia quickly saw the advantages of people thinking she was just wearing an unusual headband. They treated her like a normal human.

While her Master was around town, he spread the word that the rape charge was the woman's way of getting back for being dumped for a demi-human so openly. Because the other heros hadn't made it out this far yet, it meant he could do irreperable damage before they properly got started.

The Spear Hero, for one, was going to get a rather unfriendly reception when he got here. Thanks to her master, the entire village knew that he had cheated on his two girlfriends and he was more interested in sleeping around than fighting.

The Sword Hero was nice, but inexperienced in fighting, and the Bow Hero was sneaky, but still a good person.

Counter rumors were a devious way of dealing with false charges. And since they didn't know he wasn't in the capital, they would never know what he had done until they finally got off their bums and walked.

And since he had no intention of going back to the capital until Talia had gotten stronger, the two left the village a few days later.

Though not before she finally learned her "brother's" name.

Crow was such a nice person! And so powerful, to cast spells like it was nothing and with only a few words instead of the full incantation.

For the next week Talia learned how to fight properly, before the guards finally caught up to her master.

By that time the girl who claimed he had raped her was already paired up with the Spear hero's group. The thing was that no one could say where the new rumors that she had done it because he dumped her for a demi-human started.

Needless to say she was pissed because it was technically true, seeing as how he had been openly traveling with a raccoon demi-human and had openly spurned her while she tried to seduce him. It was like a slap to the face the way he almost openly said that she wasn't good enough for him. The fact he reached town in a reasonable time frame without her in his party didn't help her case either.

Either way he was to return to the capital to face charges.

Too bad for the girl, he actually had an alibi. He wasn't anywhere near her the night she claimed he assaulted her, which meant that two of the three other Heroes were rather skeptical about her claim. The Sword hero in particular was wondering what if she had tried the same thing with him and not the Shield Hero.

"Shield Hero, you stand accused of heinously assaulting your companion," said the king darkly.

"Small problem with that charge. I ditched her the first chance I had and got a better one for a small fee that didn't come out of the silver your clerk handed to me, not to mention I was nowhere near her that night," said Crow bored. The Sword and Bow hero believed him, considering the reception they got the next town over.

"Just because you slept outside the city gates does not mean you couldn't have snuck over the walls and into her room!" he roared.

"Even if I have eye witnesses that vouch I was in another town the night she claimed I attacked her? Or the fact that she very clearly is pissed off that I chose a demi-human as my companion instead of her despite the fact she kept trying to seduce me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

He could find several store owners like the one that ran the magic shop and the blacksmith who could vouch for the fact the red-haired idiot kept pushing up her bust while trying to get his attention.

He had lost interest in all red heads thanks to his bitch of an ex-fiancee Ginny and her harpy mother.

The girl looked really ticked off now.

"You. You're the one who started spreading that awful rumor that I'm uglier than some pathetic demi-human slave!"

He cast a long look at the girl, clearly eying her up and down before declaring flatly in a manner of utter seriousness "I've seen better on a seventy year old woman with a cat fetish."

And by that he meant Professor McGonagall. She was more impressive than this twit.

Oh and there was the twitching vein now. She really hated they way he easily insinuated she was ugly and that he was more interested in an old woman than her. If it weren't for the fact that she had claimed he raped her (despite some very big holes in her story), she would have started yelling about how he wished someone like her would deign to sleep with someone like him.

From the look on the faces of the other two (with Spear boy obviously taking the girl's side in hopes of sleeping with her) they had noticed it too, because they were starting to think the entire thing was because she wanted revenge for him dumping her so publicly for someone with animal features.

Basically a lover's quarrel (though Crow made it very clear he had zero interest in her) gone way too far.

Crow eyed the king. It was pretty damn clear the man had a grudge against the 'Shield' Hero for some reason, and therefor him. And that was a headache he could care less for.

So he picked Raphtalia up, put her on his shoulders, and just left without a word. Obviously the king wouldn't see reason, so he didn't need to waste his time trying to defend himself.

Two of the three heros watched this, silently impressed at how 'cool' he was acting.