Polaris

Disclaimer: I do not own The Rising of The Shield Hero Franchise or any of Aneko Yusagi's Works and Characters. This work is just a fanfiction.

Synopsis: This is actually a prequel from "This Life with You". It's an engagement story, so enjoy. (Spoiler Alert: a bit of content from the Light Novel)

Here's the story…

It was the dead of night. The village was emanating a peaceful silence that Naofumi appreciated for that moment. The villagers were asleep after a hard day's work. The world felt like it was moving ever so slow yet steady. Why was Naofumi awake at that night? What was bothering the Great Shield Hero?

He was sitting on a stone that was just near the cliffs of Lurolona, the place where Raphtalia's parents died during the First Wave…" How far have we both come on our journey…?" He wondered to himself.

"It seemed like everything felt like it only happened yesterday. My beginning. My middle. And my future."

Naofumi smiled as the cool ocean breeze gave him a bit of a chill, and felt a presence behind him as he felt a blanket being wrapped around his shoulders. He sighed happily as he knew who was the one behind him.

"What are you doing up Naofumi?"

Raphtalia asked him as she slowly sat down beside him.

"Raphtalia…" He thought to himself as he remembered the moment, he finally realized his feelings for her and it's already been about 6 months since they started courting each other.

Naofumi looked up to the stars, and he sighed in content as he kept his focus on one single bright star.

"Naofumi?" Raphtalia tried to get his attention. Naofumi smiles, and then finally looks at her. "How about you, Raphtalia?" He finally speaks to her. Raphtalia looks at him in confusion, "What about me?"

"What are you doing up as well?" Naofumi asked. Raphtalia sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, which Naofumi silently enjoyed the feeling of her warmth next to him.

"I couldn't feel you next to me, so I woke up and tried to find you. That's when I saw you near the cliffs." She answered.

Naofumi wrapped his arm around her with the blanket. It made Raphtalia squeak a bit and blush as she looked at him.

"Sorry. I was just doing a lot of thinking." Naofumi answered. Raphtalia just looked at him with a bit of worry.

"Did you have another nightmare or concern? You can always tell me. Remember that I told you to share your burdens with me, okay?" Raphtalia said to him with a hint of seriousness in her voice, which made Naofumi blush a bit while smiling.

"She really does care about me so much." He thought to himself. "I was just thinking about all of this. I never really tried to look at it this clearly. Everything that happened to us. My summoning, meeting you, our journey, this village, and everything in general." He told Raphtalia with a hint of happiness in his voice.

"Naofumi…" She quietly and endearingly told him as she felt relieved and happy. Her tail was slowly wagging at the moment, and then locked her arms with him as she also held his hand.

Naofumi responded in kind and just sat in the silence, along with the feeling of the night breeze and the warmth of Raphtalia.

"You don't know how much you changed my life and my world." He thought as he looked at the bright and shining star that is larger than the rest. He was actually looking at the North Star called Polaris.

What was special about this star? Naofumi then proceeded to stand up from the stone and told Raphtalia to head back inside the house. Raphtalia eventually started walking back to the village, and Naofumi then took out a little box from his pocket and proceeded to open it. The content revealed two handcrafted engagement rings that he made last week as a secret project. Naofumi did promise that he would give Raphtalia a proper engagement ring.

Naofumi knelt at the graves of Rifana and Raphtalia's parents, "Don't worry. I'll always protect her as I always have, and I'll stay by her side as she did with me." He whispered while looking at their graves and slowly forming a smile on his lips.

The next day, Naofumi asked Filo and Raphtalia to join him in pedaling a few accessories and medicines requested by the head of Riyute Village. After the job was done, Naofumi told Filo to take a break near the cart for a while, and then he proceeded to find Raphtalia.

Naofumi wandered around the fields and forests for a bit until he found Raphtalia heading to the Mines. He caught up to her before she did anything else.

"What's the matter, Raphtalia?" He then asked her as he also noticed her staring into the entrance of the Mines.

"I'm just…remembering this place." Raphtalia sighed softly before looking at Naofumi.

Naofumi smiles and holds Raphtalia by the shoulder and pulls her close to him.

Raphtalia smiles and blushes a bit, "He's being really affectionate lately. He even listened to my request to snuggle all day yesterday." She thought to herself, earning much flush to her already red face. Snuggling wasn't generally something new for the two, but they do it only when they have the time to relax and be affectionate with each other. "Hey Raphtalia. Do you want to do something later tonight?" He asked her while still holding her.

Raphtalia giggled at him, "What's the occasion?" She asked. Naofumi smiles while still holding her, "I just wanted to take a night stroll with you. Is it a 'Yes' or 'No'?" He asks her with a teasing voice. "Of course, I'd love to take a stroll with you!" She replies with a bit of ire while pouting at him, which made Naofumi laugh and made her feel even more embarrassed at his constant teasing.

After the three had finally finished the job for the day, Filo went to where Melty currently was since she was staying in the village for three days in order to help Eclair in training to be the governor in charge of the village. Naofumi looked over the children playing happily under the afternoon sun.

"Everything here. Every moment that I live this life. It was all because of her.".

Naofumi hadn't noticed the smile that slowly crept up his lips. Over the years, he hasn't really noticed how much he had changed and mellowed. Naofumi also didn't notice that Raphtalia had held his hand and looked at him confused.

"Naofumi. What's happening with you lately? You're becoming rather...carefree and peaceful. Almost as if...you're happy." She said to him.

He smiled and patted her hair between her ears, "I'm just happy to see you grown up into a fine woman~" he grinned while looking at her. She fumed and pouted at him.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you again and again that I am no longer a child?!" which made him laugh and made her even more angry at his constant teasing. She loved him so much, but she may or may not love his teasing from time to time.

Naofumi had agreed to cook lunch for the entire village since he was strangely feeling energetic today, which made Raphtalia secretly happy that he's finally warming up and that he's slowly becoming happy with his life. Raphtalia giggled and went alongside him to help him prepare the meals. Keel and Filo also agreed to help him, but both of them had made a lot of mess when prepping the desserts, which made Naofumi laugh his hardest, seeing them do something so clumsily.

As night falls, it was time for the village to slumber for the fun they had today. Everyone was fast asleep from the constant playing and work into the village. Raphtalia had finally finished taking a bath and wore her night dress.

"Where is he? Didn't he promise me a bit of a date?" She sat on the side of the bed, wondering where Naofumi is. As luck may have it, Naofumi was just outside the door, but he looked like he was preparing himself mentally and relaxing his breath.

"I can do this. I just need to ask her the 'question'." He thought to himself as he looked at the little black box he was holding. But what he didn't know was that the door suddenly flew open, which knocked him into the ground.

"Ow ow ow…" He said as he recuperated from the door pushing him down.

"N-Naofumi?! You surprised me! Oh! I'm sorry!"

She was surprised, but she helped him up immediately after seeing him on the ground.

"No. It was my fault. I forgot that you're sensitive to noise." He laughed a bit while rubbing his back. Raphtalia sighed and looked at him with worry written on her face.

"Where did you go this time?" She asked.

"I was just preparing for our late night walk." He said while brimming with confidence, which made Raphtalia giggle and look at him with a smile on her face.

"So where are we headed?" She asked as she held onto his hand, which made him smile and then slowly pulling her outside. "Just at the beach. I just wanted to walk close to the sea." He said with a grin on his face.

They had walked for a while on the beach while talking about anything they had on their minds while occasionally looking out into the ocean blue sparkling from the moonlight.

"So, why did you want to have this little rendezvous, Naofumi?" She asked him in a slight teasing manner while also out of curiosity. Even if she's a serious woman, she picked up a few things from her beloved Shield Hero. He laughed a bit and looked at her.

"Honestly, I was just looking for an excuse to spend time with you." He teased her with a smirk on his face, which made her blush madly while trying to fumble with her hair. Then he stopped walking, which also made her stop in her tracks.

"Naofumi?" She said. He faced her and held both of her hands.

"Hey Raphtalia. Do you know why I was happy all day and in deep thought yesterday?" He asked her with a serious look and tone. She was confused, but she also wanted to know why he acted that way since their talk last night.

"What's the reason?" She asked and then she saw it. One of the rare moments when a genuine and warm smile filled with emotion is plastered on his face. The night ocean breeze has softly blown into their direction.

"It was because of you." She blushed redly as her heart had begun beating a hundred times a minute.

"M-Me?! Why about me?" She reluctantly asked him while holding his hand tightly. She did not know what to expect at the moment because she didn't know what to do, even though she knows everything about Naofumi, but this became the first time she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"My mother..." He said, which made her even more confused. "My mother told me about the story of the North Star called 'Polaris'. Back in my world, the star was used in the old days to guide travelers to the True North, or the way forward, or the way home."

She was still confused about why he was talking about this 'Polaris'. He blushed for a moment and then smiled at her.

"Looking back into the first time I met you, it was very clear to me at that moment. You are My Polaris. My True North Star. Without you, I would've been lost without a purpose, without a choice, or without a life of my own to live…You became my purpose, my choice, and my life. You became my way home..."

Slowly but surely, Raphtalia did not notice the tears falling from her eyes, but then he knelt on one knee and opened a little black box. Inside the box are two silver and gold rings with gems encrusted in each one, but with the colors of emerald and garnet, which resembled both of the colors of their eyes. She covered her lips in an attempt to halt her tears, which grew more and more.

"Raphtalia. Will you be My Sword, My other half, and My Polaris?" He said to her while a few tears had escaped his eyes.

"OF COURSE, NAOFUMI! PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME FOREVER!" Raphtalia said as she tackled him into the ground and they happily held each other close and kissed under the stars that shined bright on that very night. A few minutes later, he slipped the ring on her ring finger and she admired it for a bit and then proceeded to tackle him again with happiness and started kissing him all over his face. He laughed happily while tears were still fresh on his face.

"My Sword. The one I trust the most. My Polaris. You have given me this life. This time, I'll give you the happiest life you deserve. The warmth that enveloped my cold and unforgiving heart. My Way Home…"

The End

Notes: The idea for this Raphumi Fic was from a song that I sometimes listened to titled "Polaris After Dark" and sang by Aimer. It's a very emotional and personal favorite of mine. Btw, thanks for reading the fic. Until next time.