This Life with You
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: Naofumi and Raphtalia wondering how far their lives together had come on their ten-year-anniversary. From having a child, to being known as "The Sword and Shield of Legend", getting married and still loving each other like their love had just blossomed.
Now onto the story…
As Raphtalia was staring out into the ocean of the village, she sighs in a disappointed mood,
"Did…Did he really forget...?"
She said to herself as Naofumi was absorbing material to his shield after carefully taking down and disassembling the parts of a large Skull Hermit Crab, that got close to the shores, with her help. What was the reason she was upset? Her thoughts were concluding one thing: "Did Naofumi forgot about our anniversary?"
Naofumi looked at Raphtalia, and could tell that she was worried about something.
"Is something wrong honey?"
She started hearing Naofumi call her "honey", which honestly made her heart race every time she hears it. Even though she was upset, she still had a healthy amount of blush on her face as she pouted at him.
"No, Naofumi. Everything is absolutely fine."
As her tail was swinging slowly. "Did she already guess what I had planned for our anniversary?" Naofumi wondered and felt a bit worried that she might find out.
As soon as they had finished up on the grinding and material gathering, Raphtalia and Naofumi walked back to the village, but something wasn't right. Naofumi noticed that Raphtalia was deep in thought and that she was feeling rather despondent, which made Naofumi worry.
"What was she thinking about?" he said to himself as he was observing Raphtalia's mood.
"Is he…so busy that he forgot...?" were the words that are stirring in Raphtalia's mind at that moment. Raphtalia noticed Naofumi's gaze at her and she was feeling confused.
"What's wrong Dear?" she asked. Naofumi never got used to Raphtalia calling him "Dear" or saying his first name. Not that it was unpleasant, but it actually made his heart skip a beat whenever he hears it from her very lips.
Naofumi gave her a warm smile and softly said, "No. Nothing's wrong. I'm just admiring my beautiful wife."
Raphtalia looked away with a healthy blush on her face, felt nervous and embarrassed, like it was the first time she ever heard the words coming from her husband.
Raphtalia tried to shuffle and calm herself, then she asked "Uhmmm..Naofumi? D-Do you have any plans later?"
Naofumi looked at her and said, "Uh…yeah Raphtalia. I'm gonna be a bit busy later with a few errands." Raphtalia was disheartened, but didn't show it 'S-So he really did forget…' was what she thought at that moment.
"O-oh…I see…" Raphtalia said. 'Damn it. I'm hating myself for lying to her…' is what went on Naofumi's mind as he saw her face riddled with sadness.
What she didn't know is that Naofumi was trying to throw her a surprise anniversary, but it was just a simple dinner date with a bit of an unexpected surprise in the evening, and he wanted the villagers to help him set up a place for them to have their dinner date. Sadeena suggested 5that they'd do it at the shores of the beach before the sun sets. Keel was adamant on helping him cook their meal, but so was their daughter named Rifana. When Rifana woke up this early morning, she overheard her father, Melty, and Sadeena having a secret meeting in the kitchen.
Rifana was curious as to what her daddy was talking about, so she walked to his side and tugged his shirt, and asked, "Daddy…What are you talking about with Auntie Melty and Sadeena...?"
Naofumi was surprised at his daughter and smiled before he lifted her up, and replied,
"Rifana. Why are you up so early?"
Rifana wiped her eyes while yawning before she hugged her daddy, and then said "I wanted to ask Daddy for water, but you weren't in your bed with Mommy, so I went and looked for you."
Naofumi laughed a bit and Sadeena spoke, "Little Rifana~ We were talking about your Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary~." Then Melty also entered the conversation "Your Papa was trying to get back at your Mama's anniversary gift after she gave birth to you, Rifana."
Then Rifana looked at her papa with wide and sparkly eyes, and then her tail started wagging happily before saying with a giant smile on her face.
"Can I help Daddy? I wanna help make Mommy happy today, too!" Then Naofumi agreed to her wishes before they continued their discussion throughout the morning about his plan before Raphtalia woke up.
After Naofumi and Raphtalia had separated and waved goodbye at each other, Raphtalia wandered around the village, and looked at the villagers and children of Lurolona. 'This village…My…Our Village, that he helped restore…I was always grateful for him when he did that.'
She gave a warm yet sad smile as she looked over the children playing with Filo and Keel. Even though Fohl and Keel had gotten married, she still acted like an outgoing child. Raphtalia felt happy and nostalgic. She was always happy for the life that Naofumi had given her along their journey together. As she sighed with content, she noticed someone taking a seat next to her on a bench under a shady tree. It was Sadeena.
Sadeena waved at Raphtalia, and sat down next to her. Then with a carefree and warm smile, she spoke,
"So Little Raphtalia, how's your day?" Raphtalia smiled at her and said, "It's been rather hectic, Big Sis Sadeena, but it's been a nice day so far."
'She's really changed so much. It seemed like yesterday that she was just a frail and innocent child who had lost everything… Her village…Her parents…Her friends… But now, I see a strong and caring woman in front of me.' Sadeena thought to herself as she remembers the times of the old Raphtalia with Naofumi. She felt proud of her, like her parents are.
Raphtalia looked at Sadeena who was in deep thought and said "Is there something wrong, Big Sis Sadeena?" Sadeena just smiles and looks at her, and then remembers what Naofumi told her this morning,
"I need you to distract Raphtalia for the whole day so we can get to setting up for the surprise. Think you can do that, Sadeena?"
"Of course, Great Shield Hero~" Sadeena replied to Naofumi.
"Hey Little Raphtalia. Do you wanna go to Melromarc on a day out~?" Sadeena replied to her.
"What's the occasion?" Raphtalia responded while also wondering what she had in mind or what she was planning to do.
"Oh nothing. Can't I enjoy a day with my little Raphtalia~?" Sadeena teased.
Raphtalia sighs and just agrees to the invitation. She was still sad that Naofumi had forgotten about their anniversary, but she wasn't about to let that bother her. 'I'm sure he's probably busy dealing with other domains or maybe domestic problems. Yeah! That's probably why!' She was now trying to deny her sadness, to avoid ruining Sadeena's kind gesture.
"But first, you need to change clothes, Raphtalia. Wear something much more comfortable." Sadeena suggested. Raphtalia sighed and nodded as she went to her house to change her clothes.
Raphtalia had entered their home, but she always felt happy whenever she returned to their house, 'This is our home…Mine and His…And our Daughter's Home…' She thought to herself. She went and opened their cabinet full of their clothes, and it is also where Naofumi's old Barbarian Armor and her old dress and armor were kept. 'It still felt like everything that happened just yesterday…From our adventure, to our courtship, until we got married…and then lived happily with our child…' She felt a few tears escape from her eyes as she remembered everything that led to this moment in their lives.
She was happy, and content. Then something had caught her eye inside a cabinet. Raphtalia saw a one-piece dress and boots that had the same design of her old ones, and only this time, it also has a pairing design to Naofumi's Old Barbarian Armor. She also found a paper on top of a dress, and unfolded it. Raphtalia found that it was a beautiful handwriting, and thought it was from Melty.
"Dear Raphtalia, for the entire day, please wear these clothes and don't ask why you need to do so."
-Melty
Raphtalia just sighed and thought to herself, 'What is going on today? This day just keeps getting stranger and stranger…'
She finally went outside and was ready for the day with Sadeena. She was wearing a one-piece hazel and green tea dress and the brown boots and headed to where Sadeena had been waiting.
As Raphtalia sees Sadeena, she also saw her also talking with Sildeena, and their daughter Rifana talking to her. As she walks towards them, Rifana sees her mother and rushes to hug her.
"Mommy!" Rifana said happily as she hugged her mother before she returned the hug.
"Hey honey. What are you doing here with your Auntie Sadeena and Sildeena?" Raphtalia asked as she gave Rifana a gentle headpat.
Rifana giggles while smiling "Nothing Mommy. We were just talking about Daddy."
Raphtalia smiles softly and says, "I see."
After Rifana finally gave her one last hug, she runs off to their village. "Ready to go, Little Raphtalia? Sildeena is also joining us, but she just needs to run a few errands before going back here." Sadeena explained and Raphtalia nodded.
For the entire day, Sadeena, Raphtalia, and Sildeena explored the districts and marketplaces of Melromarc where they had just looked around and enjoyed talking to each other before having lunch. Sildeena took her leave after she bought ingredients, which Raphtalia was being skeptical with, "Does she know how to cook, or was it for something else?" She wondered as she saw Sildeena walking away, which left Sadeena and Raphtalia to enjoy the rest of their day.
Back in Lurolona, in the dining hall kitchen, Naofumi was prepping for their dinner date, along with a very excited Rifana and Keel. Filo, Fohl, Melty, and a few villagers were helping him on the setup place of their dinner date, which was right at the beach. Sildeena then enters the kitchen and hands Naofumi the other missing ingredients for their meal.
'I wonder if she'll like this surprise,' Naofumi thought to himself as he smiled.
During midday, Raphtalia and Sadeena head back to the village.
"Thanks for the walk, Big Sis Sadeena. I had a great time," Raphtalia smiled at Sadeena. 'Now onto Phase Two,' Sadeena thought to herself.
"Hey little Raphtalia. Wanna go fishing with your Big Sis Sadeena?" Sadeena suggested to Raphtalia.
"Seriously, Big Sis Sadeena. What has gotten into you today?" Raphtalia asked her, while wondering why she suggested fishing.
"Oh, nothing again~. I just wanted to spend even more time with you, Little Raphtalia. Can't you grant your Big Sis' requests?" Sadeena told her while looking at her with puppy eyes. Raphtalia sighed and just reluctantly agreed.
Raphtalia goes to the beach and sees an unused row boat, which coincidentally, had fishing rods, nets, and bait.
"Seriously. What is going on with everyone in the village today?" She asked herself as she saw Sadeena already in the water while waving at her. She gave her smile and proceeded to join her in fishing.
As Sadeena was casting out the fishing rod, she looked over at Raphtalia and smiled.
"So how's your married life with your Little Naofumi~?" She asks her with a teasing tone.
Raphtalia blushed and was caught off guard at that moment.
"Eh?! Uhmmm…I mean…It's amazing." She shyly responds while Sadeena was slowly giving her a smirk.
"Geez! I feel like you're thinking about something indecent!" She glared with a bit of ire.
"Whaaat~? I was just wondering about how Naofumi is in bed~." Sadeena further teased her. Raphtalia didn't know how to reply because she was feeling embarrassed from the question, and because she knew the answer to it.
"Fine..."
Raphtalia and Sadeena talked all afternoon until the sun nearly settled down on the horizon.
"By the way," Sadeena spoke as they were heading back to the shore. "Why don't you go to the other side of the beach? Just to get some alone time~?"
Raphtalia was skeptical, so she asked, "Why?"
"Maybeeee a surprise is waiting for you there~." Sadeena said before Raphtalia just agreed to it, and slowly walked to the other side of the beach.
Raphtalia kept walking along the beach and just sighs which depicts the loneliness she feels at the moment, but then breaks from her stupor as she sees in the distance, something peculiar.
She tries to take a closer look and then finally sees a table for two, a meal on the table, a bouquet of flowers, and to her surprise, the man she married, Iwatani Naofumi, sitting on the other side of the table.
She was wearing her boots and a one-piece sundress, so it wasn't difficult to run towards where Naofumi is. She took a moment to catch her breath when she's closer to the table, and then she saw Naofumi's extended hand towards her as she looked up.
"Hey Raphtalia. Care to join me for dinner?" He says in a gentle tone as he gives her a soft smile. Raphtalia blushed redder than a tomato while looking at Naofumi, she thought to herself.
'I-Is this My Naofumi?!'
She shyly took his hand as he guided her to the table, but before he could make her sit, he first gave Raphtalia a bouquet of flowers. She felt all sorts of emotions in one go as she looked at her husband's kind eyes and warm smile. She felt nervous, happy, excited, and loved in one moment. She took the bouquet, and then gave Naofumi a smile as she said, "Thank you. I love it!"
"Happy Anniversary, honey. Did you think I'd forget~?" He spoke in a teasing tone as he gave her a wink. He read her mind and she couldn't speak at that moment because she was too busy admiring the sweet and romantic gesture from her Shield Hero.
"Eh?! Ah! Uhmmm..." was all she could say as he laughed a bit and proceeded to offer her a seat on the other end of the table.
"B-But I thought that you were busy today, Naofumi?!" Raphtalia surprisingly questioned him. Naofumi laughed a bit and held her shoulder.
"Truth is, I wanted to surprise you for this day." He happily replied. "I had some help from the others in helping me set everything up. It was worth it."
He grinned after he finally answered her. Raphtalia had her head down, and leaned her head on his chest and gave him a soft headbutt and punch.
"You're the worst, Naofumi…" She pretended to be mad, but her wagging tail was betraying her as Naofumi gave her a smile and a kiss on her forehead. Then they proceeded to go on with their dinner date.
As they took a seat, they ate their meal, talked about their day, and just got lost in each other's words and eyes.
"I still can't believe you actually managed to lie to me, Naofumi," Raphtalia teasingly said to him. Naofumi felt a bit nervous and laughed a bit, "Good thing it was worth it to surprise you."
As they didn't notice that it was already dark. The moon is full and the stars shone brightly.
"Oh yeah. Do you want to go somewhere else, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked.
Raphtalia giggled in response, and held his hand as she spoke, "What did you have in mind, Dear~?"
Naofumi smiled and held her hand in return. "Let's just say that it's a surprise, so just wait."
As they were heading to the cliff of Lurolona, holding hands, her eyes couldn't peel away from him for being so romantic. She wanted to hold back from squealing like a little girl who had just seen her Prince Charming.
"Raphtalia? Is something wrong?" Naofumi asked after seeing Raphtalia trying to hide her happiness and blushing face.
All of the sudden, Naofumi stopped and faced Raphtalia as he held her other hand. Raphtalia was surprised but felt extremely happy, and noticed that Naofumi had another warm smile on his face.
"Look up." He said, and then Raphtalia looked up. She saw a lot of shooting stars. They were falling and the sight was breathtaking. Raphtalia couldn't help but feel the amazement and wonder at what she was witnessing.
What she didn't know was that it was the Summer Solstice. Naofumi had prepared for this moment a month ago, to the final piece of their 10 years of marriage. Raphtalia then looked at Naofumi's eyes, and then Naofumi looked back at her eyes.
'He's so perfect.'
'She's so perfect.'
Both of them simultaneously thought at the moment, and as the stars were falling, Naofumi and Raphtalia felt their distance closing.
Their breaths were getting heavier. Their hearts beating harder and harder. Their lips were poised and ready to strike. They are lost in each other's eyes. Naofumi whispered into her face. Raphtalia whispered into his face.
"I love you so much...My Beloved Sword/Shield..."
As the stars were getting brighter, and the moon shone as bright as the heavens. The beam of the moonlight had set a spotlight for the two hearts, beating as one. Sealing their love with a kiss of indescribable passion. At that moment, Raphtalia and Naofumi became lost in their moment. Everything was silent, and yet it was perfect and beautiful.
"This life with you by my side...I wouldn't trade this for anything else in the world." These words echoed in their thoughts. Now, and for many more years to come.
Epilogue
As they headed back to the village, holding hands, and feeling their euphoria of the moment after, they didn't expect another surprise. Everyone in the village appeared and shouted in glee.
"Happy 10th Anniversary, you two!" Everyone shouted in celebration for them. Naofumi and Raphtalia just blushed like crazy at the moment.
'D-D-Did they just saw everything?!'
They both thought to themselves in unison.
Rifana happily ran towards them, and wearing a big smile on her face. "Happy Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy!" and hugged the two of them. They kept their blush while smiling nervously at Rifana while holding her close.
Rifana giggled as she looked up at them with sparkly eyes.
"Daddy gave Mommy a kiss! Daddy loves Mommy veeeery much~!"
Naofumi blushed much more than Raphtalia and tried to look away while hiding her face from him. Just then, Melty and Sadeena walked towards them with a teasing smirk to go along with the mood.
"Awwww, who knew that little Naofumi is such a romantic and loving hubby~!" Sadeena remarked at him.
"And who knew that the cold, rude, and dense Shield Hero can 'actually' become a certain person's 'Prince Charming'~" Melty looked at Naofumi, and then to Raphtalia with a teasing smirk.
"He must reaaaally love His 'Princess' soooo much~!"
Rifana smiled and looked at Melty while her tail was wagging happily.
"Yeah! Daddy even calls Mommy a 'Queen'!" She happily told Melty.
A few hours after Naofumi had finished setting up their date, Melty planned to do a little surprise of her own for them, so she had a little help from Sadeena, who also agreed with her idea. They planned to surprise them after their little date by using Invisibility Magic (with help from Raph-chan and Daph-chan) to make it seem like no one was at the village.
She explained it to them, and each of them had something to say.
"Damn it! You guys said you would follow with the plan!" exclaimed by Naofumi.
"Why do that to us?!" exclaimed by Raphtalia
Melty grinned at the two.
"I just wanted to tease you two for being too lovey-dovey all the time."
Her reply made Naofumi and Raphtalia want to hide in shame and embarrassment, as their faces had been redder than a tomato.
Everyone just laughed at the moment.
-The End
(Bonus: a special shoutout to E2Moto for encouraging me to make my very first fanfic about Raphumi.)