Hello, everyone! This is going to be our final chapter with Naofumi and Raphtalia. It's been a blast, and I appreciate the immense amount of support I've received. Nearly a hundred followers and nearly thirty reviews is an insane amount I never thought some rando on could ever gather unless he was an exceptionally good writer, which I'm not. But, without further ado, let's get into it. Let's say goodbye to this fic in the only way I know how: fluff.
Raphtalia stumbled as she missed a strike onto a large deerlike monster. They'd been fighting for hours, but it wasn't the exhaustion that caused her to stagger. Ever since Naofumi had expressed his like for curvier women, Raphtalia had started eating more in order to put on more weight in her chest. However, the added weight messed with her muscle memory and caused her to make more mistakes, which was something Naofumi took notice of immediately. After their grinding session ended, he pulled Raphtalia aside.
"Raphtalia, what's wrong? You're making mistakes you haven't made in ages. You're losing your balance, your aim is weak and you tire so easily. Are you sick?" he asked, putting his forehead on hers. Raphtalia blushed from his proximity, stepping back.
"Even after all this time, you still get flustered when I get near you?" Naofumi asked worriedly. Raphtalia held her reddened cheeks.
"J-Just goes to show you still have that kind of effect on me..." she mumbled, looking down. Naofumi, however, had pulled her aside to talk and wasn't having any of it. He grabbed hold on Raphtalia's shoulders and forced her to meet his eyes.
"What's going on, Raphtalia?" he asked seriously.
"W-Well, remember when you said you preferred curvy girls...?"
"Oh my god. You've been overeating, haven't you?" Naofumi said, facepalming. "Raphtalia, I specifically said 'as long as it doesn't interfere with combat', right? Do you understand that if we were in a serious battle right now, you would most likely be dead? I can't have that on my conscience. I couldn't bear your death, knowing it was because of something I asked for." He pressed her up against a tree. He was holding back a few tears. He thanked whatever being watched over him that they'd only gone grinding that day.
"But I couldn't just not do anything. What if you get... bored with me?" Raphtalia said with a glum look on her face. "Naofumi... I'd rather die than force you to be with someone you don't want to be wi-"
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?" he yelled. A few birds flew out of the nearby trees. "I will decide who I want to be with. You decide who you want to be with. And right now, until I die, it's you. Do I make myself one hundred percent clear, Raphtalia? It's you, and only you, exactly as you are." Words like this were what Raphtalia remembered wanting from him in the past. But now they stung deep. From her point of view, he was telling her he was settling in order to protect her. He didn't want her to risk herself trying to be better for him. And it stung, because she knew he was right. She couldn't do both. She couldn't be a warrior AND be his ideal woman. Raphtalia walked back to the town by herself.
The trip back was longer than she'd anticipated, and it had gotten dark. The town was in sight, but there was still a long way to go. And Raphtalia was tired. So tired, in fact, that she collapsed under a tree. Back in town, Naofumi was in panic. He was running around, asking every person there whether they'd seen her or not. No one had seen her since that morning, when they'd left as a group to grind. Naofumi returned to the inn they were staying at and put on his gear. Filo woke up from a deep sleep and rubbed her eyes.
"Master? Where are you going?" Naofumi downed a stamina drink and opened the door.
"To find Raphtalia!"
Under the tree, Raphtalia woke up to growls from surrounding monsters. She was completely surrounded. Balloons, usapirus and gengars made up the lot, but a few purcipines and other stronger monsters were also there. She quickly stood, drawing her sword. She cut down a few balloons, but the monsters didn't back down when they saw her retaliate. In fact, they seemed to advance.
"Why do I have to be so stubborn? If I just listened to Naofumi..." She cursed her nature and lunged at another monster. But soon enough, she felt her body waver. Not only had she fallen out of fitness, she was also exhausted and sleep deprived. She stumbled and the monsters crowded her, biting and scratching her flesh. Raphtalia screamed in panic...
A massive claw sent most of the monsters flying, followed by an ethereal green shield forming right on top of Raphtalia. The monsters flew every which way and Filo knocked them out one by one. Naofumi rushed to Raphtalia.
"Raphtalia! Are you alright?" he shouted in panic. He propped her head on his knee and gave her an elixir. He started patching up her wounds without receiving an answer. It hadn't even occured to him that she might already be dead. To him, it was impossible. Not because she was strong, but because it had to. Otherwise he would go insane. Slowly, Raphtalia came to and as soon as she made any noise, Naofumi hugged her desperately.
"Just don't die! Don't die! Please, don't die!" he cried, holding her tightly.
"I'm sorry-"
"Screw that! Just don't die! Don't speak, don't move, don't do anything for now. Just rest and let the medicine do its job." Naofumi rested Raphtalia's head on his lap, allowing her to see his face and the starry sky behind it. The area smelled awful due to the half-eaten monster guts everywhere. But Raphtalia didn't mind.
"Do you finally realize why I was so harsh to you earlier?" Naofumi asked. Raphtalia looked confused.
"When I scolded you for overeating. I was worried that this exact thing would happen. That the most important thing in my life would be taken away from me. Raphtalia, I understand you want to be more in this whole couple business. You want to be someone I'll never tire of. You want to always improve yourself and be better. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you can't do that. Do you know why?"
"Because I'll be a liability in battle-"
"Because you can't improve on perfection." Raphtalia's eyes grew wide and her mouth opened just that little bit.
"What I mean isn't that you're some perfect living being, no. But I don't want you to sacrifice a single side of you, because I can't imagine loving anything about you more than I already do. And I know I don't have to clarify how much I feel for you. So please, always work your hardest and always be improving. But above all, above everything, make sure you come back to me when I send you out there. Have you ever had a toy you loved playing with, but it broke while you were playing with it? Well, it's like that but with a person instead. I don't want to break you. I want to cherish you for as long as I'm alive."
"..." Raphtalia was speechless. But maybe that was a good thing. The medicine was still working. She closed her eyes and smiled. Even after all these days, he still knew just what she wanted to hear.
Well. That was that. All She'd Wanted To Hear is done. Once again, I appreciate everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed.
Now, with this one finished, what am I going to work on next? Well, I want to start another longer fanfiction like this one. However, I'm a little split between a few options for franchises. I've narrowed my options down to three, and I figured I could let you guys contribute.
So, my options right now are between Pokémon, Digimon and How Not To Summon a Demon Lord. Pokémon and Digimon are childhood classics that I've invested a lot of hours into. However, How Not To Summon a Demon Lord is a recent favorite of mine and I don't think I should decide based solely on nostalgia. So, what do you think I should choose? What would you like me to write about? Let me know, and maybe your choice might just be the subject of my next fanfiction.
Small notes on each franchise:
Pokémon – most likely going to have an original main character instead of an established one, because the franchise lends itself easily to this kind of writing.
Digimon – also most likely going to have an original main character. I'm more familiar with Pokémon, but Digimon's world intrigues me a bit more.
HNTSDL – Diablo is going to be the main character, of course. I love these characters, particularly Shera for obvious reasons, and feel they lend themselves well to fan-created scenarios.
