(A/N)
Sorry for a weird and long update again. I had been sick, dealing with prom, dealing with entrance exams, and dealing with projects this entire week. At this point, I don't even know what I could be writing anymore. I'm just hoping that it's not random crap that I had been already doing before. Because of stress, it kind of led me to a state of uncertainty now. No, sorry, I went off topic. It's best if I just started writing now. I don't know when I'll upload this, but I hope you all enjoy it. Oh, before I forget, as vague and stupid I was before, yes, Raphtalia had been brainwashed by soldiers that works under the king. Their objective was to just get rid of Raphtalia's memory of her hometown so they wouldn't have to worry about her leaving them when she grows older. Vague, and I'm sorry.
It was raining…
When had the rain start feeling so heavy…?
For Raphtalia and Naofumi, they only stared at the sky, only wondering how their life had became so chaotic. Both of them, hoping to find the hope that they needed to help themselves from a world of darkness.
Raphtalia's traumatic experience of watching her own village, along with her parents die…
Naofumi had already escaped from a world of darkness. The world that he had came from was built on stress. For him, the only way to relieve himself from the stress, was to focus on studying. Study. Study. Study. Study. Study. Study. There's no break from the stress that he had endured ever starting college. Welcomed to another world, he hoped that would be relieved of the stress.
Yet, there he was, the Shield Hero: a criminal in everyone's eyes…
There's no end to his stress. Home, people had expectations from him…
Here, everyone wanted his head…
…
…
Let's focus on Raphtalia for now.
Raphtalia stared at the window as she sighed to herself once again. It had been raining for the past… how long was it? She couldn't remember. All that she could remember is trying to run after the Shield Hero. However, to her high expectations, she couldn't find him or his Filolial that he had brought with him. All that was left was trees from where she once thought he had continued to run to.
If she had realized her mistake earlier, she would've been trying to find tracks that could've been left behind from his Filolial as he ran away. Because of the rain, it had been wasted into mud. The Shield Hero was tough for what she could remember of him. His rude behavior, his stance, his eyes, everything about him had told her that he was strong.
Yet, he had painful eyes before leaving away in a hurry. It was her fault, wasn't it? She had acted out of line for when he had disrespected Motoyasu. She was blind enough to not even know that it was in fact the Shield Hero, who wanted the best for her. But even still, Motoyasu had saved her life from poverty. She had been grateful ever since she was allowed to stay inside the castle. From out on the streets, to royal beds. It was the best thing she could've hoped for.
It was all a lie…
"Raphtalia-chan, are you all right?" A woman's voice had interrupted Raphtalia's train of thoughts. Staring outside the window as it rained seemed to force her to think a little. This wasn't the first time she had done this.
"Yes, I'm fine, Fu-chan. I was just...thinking to myself. Is something the matter?" Fu-chan was a 20-year old woman who had helped Raphtalia with her housing problem. After looking countless of hours for any kind of traces of the Shield Hero, she had been found by Fu-chan. Seeing Raphtalia run away from the Motoyasu and the soldiers, she had decided to run after her. After finding her, she had been nice enough to give her a home for the time being after explaining her situation. She had to reside in Lute Village for the time being. At least Motoyasu was gone.
"Are you sure? We can talk some more if you want." Raphtalia smiled sadly at her.
"I'm fine, Fu-chan, I just need some time to myself." Fu-chan had walked up to Raphtalia's sitting form and embraced her.
"If there's something bothering you, it's best if you could speak to someone. No one should allow themselves to live with turmoil," Raphtalia's eyes widened as she heard those words. She had been right. If she had simply listened to the Shield Hero, would he had been willing to speak his mind to her? Would she as well?
"Plus, I did give you a home and a spare of clothes, so you better tell me." Raphtalia giggled a bit before smiling sadly. Her formal clothes that was given to her from Motoyasu was soaked and dirtied up. Because of Fu-chan, she was able to wear a different change of clothes. According to Fu-chan, her sundress looked very good on Raphtalia.
"..." Raphtalia didn't decide to speak. Everything that had happened to her had made her feel a bit insecure about people. Don't berate Raphtalia, she has nothing against Fu-chan, but it's just a matter of trust that's a problem to her.
"Raphtalia-chan, it's about the Shield Hero, isn't it?" Raphtalia nodded silently. It must've been really easy to read her, wasn't it?
"Raphtalia-chan, do you want to know how I felt when the Shield Hero came to our rescue?" Raphtalia's ears twitched in curiosity.
"That's right, I remember seeing the Shield Hero here trying to protect the villagers when I arrived here. Did you talk to him?"
"No, of course not. Back then, I didn't trust the Shield Hero. Why would I? He's said to be a rapist and a criminal!" Fu-chan was already sitting as she rested her head on her hand.
"So what about now?" Raphtalia was curious to know how she felt of the Shield Hero.
"I still don't trust him. Whether he saved my life or not, I still don't trust him."
"H-huh? T-then what is the point of telling me this?"
"I'm telling you because I want to. Even if I don't trust him, somehow, I get the feeling that there's more that meets the eye on him."
"Then….what does this have to do with me?"
"I'm saying this because you too have this feeling, right, Raphtalia?" Raphtalia's eyes widened as she knew that it was true.
"Raphtalia-chan, if you want to chase constantly for hours, would you do it? Even if we was a criminal, even if he was a rapist, even if he was something even worse than he already is, would you still chase him?" Raphtalia pondered for a couple of seconds before answering. Raphtalia thought of the recent encounters that they shared.
From him saving her life…
From them arguing….
From him saving her life…
From them arguing…
From him saving her life...
"I...don't know. When I was young, I heard the stories of how great the Shield Hero was. He…was a hero to the Demi-Humans but...is that really true? Maybe...they had the wrong person? Was he actually a hero? He was...so rude, Fu-chan. I never knew that there was someone that held so much hatred for everyone." Fu-chan held Raphtalia's hand as she tried to comfort her.
"Raphtalia-chan, it's okay. Let me ask you something: what do you think that makes a hero?"
"They...save everyone they can with their power. Even with the odds are against that person, they will still press on and fight to save everyone." Fu-chan held a finger on her cheek as she started to wonder a bit.
"Hm, you're right, but you're also wrong."
"I'm...wrong?" Raphtalia used her other hand to overlap Fu-chan's hand. With that, she clenched her hand.
"Yes, being a hero requires that you have the guts to save everyone they can with their power, but that's not all to it. Raphtalia-chan, do you want to know what else there is to it?" Fu-chan asked, feeling her hand being clenched. Raphtalia silently nodded as she looked at her in the eyes.
"No hero had ever come from a tragic past. A past that makes them want to protect, a past that drives them to save everyone, a drive that makes that person want to be seen by others, telling that he, yes, is a hero. But did that person make the best decisions? How tragic was that past of that person? What drive would want them to be seen as a hero? For that, Raphtalia-chan, you already know the answer to." Fu-chan smiled widely.
"I...do?" Raphtalia was confused.
"Of course you do. Had you ever experience something that makes you want to protect?" Fu-chan's words had made Raphtalia think to herself once again.
The village…
The parents that were slayed trying to protect their children…
Motoyasu bringing in a child that he knew nothing of…
"Yes, I've...had my fair share of experiences."
"Then what is it that makes you want to fight? Why do you hold the blade that's attached to your hip?" Again, those experiences played back into her mind like an recorder. As a child, she hadn't hope of becoming anything else other than 'Raphtalia'. She heard the screams, she heard the soldiers laughing in glee, she saw her friend be taken away…
She misses Rifana-chan…
They were too young to experience such trauma. They were children, all they needed was inspiration so they could grow up and become something that they wanted...
"To...save people. I...want to save children, and I want to save parents. I want to protect everyone! Protect them from anything like what happened to me when I was younger! I...want to-"
"Then that's your drive, Raphtalia-chan. Now, what is your first decision with this drive? Will you do this by yourself? Would you need help, would you need the crowd cheering you on as you fight to your last breath? What will you do, Raphtalia-chan?"
To save, to protect, to save, and to protect. Who was she if she fought herself? Will the waves come, would she fight by herself? What will Raphtalia do to save everyone from trauma? But before Raphtalia could speak, Fu-chan had already beat her to it.
"Heroes never fight alone, Raphtalia-chan. They need help if they want to survive. After all, everyone is a living being. Human or Demi-Human, they want to survive if they could ever dream of something in their grasp."
"I'll...get help, Fu-chan. I won't fight alone. I will fight til my last breath with my comrades by my side." Fu-chan had finally taken her hand off of Raphtalia's, and stood up. With that, she walked towards the door.
"That's good, Raphtalia-chan. Take that drive, and take it to the stars where everyone will be able to see how shiny you are." She stood at the door, waiting for Raphtalia's next words.
"I will, Fu-chan, thank you for everything that you've done for me." Raphtalia stood up and bowed respectively.
"Raphtalia-chan...you can never fight on your own. Someone is bound to be there for you as life starts to make them grovel on their knees." As Raphtalia looked up, she saw Fu-chan looking at a sword that was displayed on the wall. However, Raphtalia's eyes widened as she saw something that caught her eye. It wasn't the wall, it was Fu-chan's arm as she pulled up the sleeve of her dress.
It was burned…
Not only that, she could also see a ring that lied on her ring finger in all its glory…
Was her husband…-
"Honey, I'm home!" Raphtalia heard a manly voice from downstairs after it was opened. Hearing it, Fu-chan giggled.
"Who knows? Maybe the partner that you seek will always be by your side. And maybe...you could be there for their side." As Raphtalia continued to look at her burned armed with a sad look.
"Oh yeah, Raphtalia-chan?" Before Fu-chan left, she looked back at Raphtalia with a mischievous smile.
"Make sure you thank the Shield Hero after you meet up with him. Because of him, me and my husband are still living. It was all thanks to him." Raphtalia's eyes widened as she quickly realized what she said.
"B-but I didn't say that-"
"Like I said before, Raphtalia-chan, a hero hasn't been created without experiencing something traumatic. This goes to the Shield Hero as well. Do you think someone like him was born with all that hatred? What could possibly be under his personal bubble? Maybe you can figure out why he's so pent up in anger." The door was almost shut as she showed one last smile.
"W-wait, what if he-" The door closed.
Raphtalia sighed to herself as she looked at the sword displayed on the wall. She was curious to know what kind of man, Fu-chan's husband is. With the sound of his voice, she could tell that he was energetic.
The Shield Hero's smile had played back into her mind…
'Would he be able to smile once again like that…? Shield Hero, what had you experienced that makes you carry such hatred…?' Raphtalia thought to herself as she looked outside.
Raphtalia smiled as she was able to see the beautiful clear sky…
It had stopped raining…
In the middle of the sky, was a beautiful rainbow that bloomed across the sky…
If she wanted to know, she was going to have to figure out herself. Sitting and contemplating wasn't going to help.
'I'll save everyone, Shield Hero. Even you, Shield-no, Naofumi. I'll save the you that hates the world. I have to…so I could finally rest…' Raphtalia stood up from her chair and opened the door…
A hero shall be born today…
