Summary: Some snippets into the life of the Iwatanis. Some serious, some fluff, some comedy. Post-Canon.
After a long, long day of making sure things were going okay back at the village, the Shield Hero laid in bed to rest next to his sleeping wife. He nestled his face into her long, auburn hair, taking a deep breath through his nose. Her nice, familiar aroma filled his nostrils.
As if instinctively, she pushed up against him, allowing him to wrap his arms around her while she snuggled her back against his chest.
The Waves were over. The villagers were becoming self-sufficient. He didn't need to be called on for any diplomatic missions or anything.
This was the life. He could live outside the village, unwind with nature, snuggle with his girl-
"Waah! Wahhhhh!"
… and still not get any sleep.
Raphtalia moved around in her sleep, but Naofumi kissed her forehead, causing her to settle down again. He got up, making sure not to disturb the sleeping bundle of adorableness at the foot of the bed as he left its warmth behind.
"Waah! Wahhhhh!"
He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he walked over to the IKEA-style crib that'd taken him forever to put together. In it, screaming her head off was their daughter.
Little, one-month-old Rifana.
"Shhh, it's okay." He gently picked her up, holding her to his shoulder while patting her back.
"Waah! Wahhhh!"
"You're okay. It's okay. Please don't wake mommy."
As the Shield Hero, his low attack stat made it near impossible to hurt other living things. Despite that, he was still gentle with his precious newborn daughter. She had a small tuft of black hair on her head alongside two rounded tanuki ears. Her small tail was puffed out in terror, and her eyes were squeezed shut as she continued to cry.
"It's okay… you're okay… it was only a nightmare. Everything will be alright now." Naofumi continued to rock her while patting her back. "Shhh…"
She was precious to him. A miracle.
Years before when he'd been summoned to this world, he hadn't imagined being able to have this kind of happiness in his life. He'd imagined that he'd meet 'the one', but he hadn't thought about what'd come after that.
It'd been a long, arduous struggle. Being married, having children, both had been unthinkable for someone like him. But here he was, living in peace, taking a break from the responsibilities of Lurolona to raise a family.
"Wah… waah…"
"It's ok. Daddy's here. Daddy's got you. You don't have to be afraid anymore."
Eventually, after walking around, rocking his daughter and patting her on the back, whispering gently to her, alongside a million other things, little Rifana finally quieted.
When he turned his head to look at the baby resting against his shoulder, he was met with bright green eyes like his. When she'd been born, they were blue, but they'd settled to green soon after.
"Better?" He smiled.
The little girl yawned, but her tail wasn't puffed out anymore. She closed her eyes and rested her head against daddy's warm shoulder. After a few more moments of pacing, Rifana was asleep once more. Drool dribbled from her mouth onto his shirt.
At least Raphtalia and Raph-Chan hadn't woken up this time. "That's daddy's girl."
As he set her gently down into her crib, his hand lingered on her small chubby face. She let out a small yawn and curled up on her side. Her little tail wagged happily in her sleep.
Despite how tired he felt, his smile became a little bigger. Little Rifana was too precious.
Actually, to him, she was the most precious thing in the world. No amount of money could ever compare to this little treasure he and Raphtalia had created.
He kissed her forehead, whispering "I love you." under his breath, before heading back to the bed.
He settled under the covers, snuggling up to Raphtalia once more. "Thanks for calming her down." She whispered.
Naofumi froze up. Crap. She had been woken up after all. "Go back to sleep. You need your rest."
His wife rolled her eyes. "And miss out on your cute father-daughter bonding?"
He settled his head into the crook of her neck and pouted. She quietly chuckled, turning around to snuggle up against him. "Sweet dreams, Naofumi."
"... Sweet dreams." He smiled, dropping the pout as he hugged her close.
Finally, thankfully, the two fell asleep together. The long, hard day was over.
...
"Wah! Waahhhh!"
Though it was only an hour later when Rifana woke up again.
"Ugh, Naofumi…" Raphtalia groaned tiredly.
"Urgh. It's your turn to deal with her." Naofumi groaned, turning over to go back to sleep.
Raphtalia made it hard to do that though when she literally kicked him out of the bed before getting up to feed the baby.
"Naofumi! Please keep an eye on her!" Raphtalia called from the porch. She was holding a broom in her hands, sweeping the dirt out of their home.
"Don't worry, Raph-Chan's helping me out." Naofumi laid on his belly on the grass.
"Rafu!" The adorable family pet raised a paw high in the air.
Raphtalia pouted but turned around to continue cleaning the house for the guests coming that night.
"You know, you could ask Filo to use her wind magic to clean out the dust," Naofumi said.
"You know she's busy helping Fitoria." Raphtalia rolled her eyes.
"Just saying, you could have someone else who knows wind magic come and help out." Naofumi shrugged. It wasn't like they didn't have any friends who knew all kinds of magic.
Yet Raphtalia continued with the household chore. Maybe she just found it relaxing, now that she didn't need to train to fight monsters anymore? The katana at her side definitely hadn't seen much use recently, besides the random monster that appeared in their backyard every once in a while.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan ran up to Rifana, bopping the six-month-old girl on the nose with a paw. The little girl shrieked, trying to grab at Raph-Chan, but the adorable familiar hopped back out of reach. "Rafu!"
Rifana looked back at her with wide, curious eyes. Then, she giggled and started to crawl after her. Raph-Chan bounded away from her eager hands, repeatedly shouting her signature "Rafu!" in a happy voice.
Naofumi watched the two interact, resting his cheek on his hand.
Raph-Chan continually bopped the little girl on the nose and danced out of reach again and again. Rifana shrieked in delight, tail, and ears flicking around happily. It was almost like watching two pets play with each other.
She'd really grown a lot in the last few months too. Or maybe all babies were like that? He still wasn't sure how different demi-human babies were from human babies. But Rifana was already crawling and trying to talk despite being only six months old.
Perhaps there was some truth in the saying that if a parent wasn't careful, their children would grow up before their eyes?
...
As he stared, pondering the significance this statement had made on him lately, Rifana giggled loudly in victory.
"RAFU!" Raph-Chan was caught in the little girl's trap. Both small, chubby arms had wrapped tightly around her furry neck. The little girl hugged tightly, making her eyes bulge out.
"RAFUUUUUUUU!"
"Ah! Rifana! No! Don't do that to Raph-Chan!" Naofumi immediately bolted up. The two had gotten a few dozen feet away from him while he was pondering; had he really not been paying attention for that long?! He needed to work on that!
"Rafu! Rafu! RAFU!" Rifana continued to giggle while Raph-Chan desperately tried to escape.
By the time Naofumi got over, Raph-Chan finally managed to get out of the little girl's chokehold. She glared back at Rifana, who only giggled and clapped her hands together in response. "Gah gah!"
"Raph!" With a huff, the family pet disappeared into an illusion.
"Great, now you made Raph-Chan angry." Naofumi looked down disapprovingly at the little girl.
"Bah?" Rifana tilted her head curiously, looking up with wide, curious eyes at her Father.
…
"Awww, I can't stay mad at you." Naofumi picked the little girl up.
"Gah bah bah bah!" She began giggling again, her tail wagging behind her excitedly.
Babies were already cute as a natural defense mechanism. It seemed demi-human babies took it a step further with their ears and tail.
"Rafu! Rafu Rafu Rafu!" Raph-Chan cried out nearby.
"I'm sure she didn't mean any harm, Raph-Chan. Like I always say, forgive and forget." Naofumi smiled.
"RAPH!" Naofumi was NEVER like this! What the hell!?
Even though he couldn't see her, Naofumi could picture the adorable little pet standing up straight and crossing her small arms while hmphing adorably.
Raph-Chan was certainly adorable. Even after several years, he would never get tired of her cute little "Rafu" voice.
But right now, little Rifana was in a category of her own. That is, until she becomes a brooding teenager who doesn't want to hang out with her dad. Then Raph-Chan will make a triumphant return to the spotlight.
Until then, Naofumi gave the little girl one of his fingers and stopped thinking about the family pet. She happily wrapped her little hand around it, continuing to babble happily as she did so. "Bah bah bah bah bah."
He swore he'd heard a dada from her the other day. Raphtalia didn't believe him though. Hmmm...
"Can you say 'dada' for me?" Naofumi asked.
"Bah bah bah bah bah." Her gaze was caught by a butterfly flying overhead. Rifana continued to babble, no discernible words coming out.
Naofumi sighed.
To think he'd gone from being a protector of the world to… being a retired parent, hoping his girl's first words would be dada.
He smirked to himself. He much preferred being a parent. It made all his efforts to protect this world for his wife much more worth it, especially now that they had a child to share that world with and-
"Dada!"
Naofumi jerked his head in shock. Had Rifana just-
"Dada dada dada dada!" Rifana repeatedly happily.
SHE HAD! HAHA! YES!
"Raphtalia, drop what you're doing!" Naofumi ran towards their home.
"What is it? Did Rifana hurt herself?! Is she hungry!? Does she need her-" Raphtalia raced out of the home, broom in hand.
"HAHAHA, I WON! I WON I SAY!" Naofumi ran up, holding the babbling girl in his arms.
"... huh?" Raphtalia tilted her head to the side curiously.
"Just listen for yourself!" Naofumi held their daughter out triumphantly.
Raphtalia moved from staring at him to staring at Rifana. The little girl put her hand in her mouth, staring up at mommy.
…
"Hmmm?" Raphtalia hummed to herself, waiting for something to happen.
"Huh? She was saying dada just a minute ago!" Naofumi said, setting his daughter on the floor in disbelief.
Raphtalia gave him a stare, but he continued to give her a look of sincerity. Eventually, she bent down to get at Rifana's level. "Is daddy telling the truth?" She asked in a mommy's tone of voice.
A happy look appeared over the baby's face, and she outstretched her tiny, chubby arms towards Raphtalia.
"Mama mama mama!"
...
Naofumi's face drained of blood as Raphtalia's own face beamed in joy. "Oh! She is saying her first words, Naofumi!"
"But… but she was…"
"Maybe you just misheard her dear." Raphtalia happily picked up and spun their daughter around. "You're saying your first words! You're such a big girl!"
Rifana continued to shout "Mama mama mama" while they spun. Naofumi slowly sulked to the ground.
She'd said dada though. He swore she had… was this her way of messing with him? But she was only six months old!
The adorable little traitor!
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan sounded like she was laughing nearby.
"Shut up!" He yelled.
He knew in his heart he'd won! He'd heard her say dada first! Nothing could change his mind on that!
Though it was almost another month before he got her to say dada again.
"Come here Rifana. Come here!" Raphtalia held her arms out wide.
"Mama!" Little Rifana waddled over, arms raised towards her mother.
"Hehehe, you're getting so big!" Raphtalia picked her daughter up off the sand and hugged her close. Rifana giggled happily as the two spun together.
Naofumi watched from where he laid on a blanket in the sand. They were spending today at the beach. It was Rifana's first time seeing the ocean, even though they lived pretty close to it. Both mom and daughter looked so adorable together in the sand.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan was also enjoying herself. The little familiar had put together a sandcastle and was posing proudly on the top like the centerpiece of a decoration.
Naofumi barely paid her a glance before looking at Raphtalia. "Do you think Rifana's getting too much sun?"
"Hmmm, I think so. Grab her straw hat for me please," Raphtalia said.
"Rafu! Rafu rafu rafu!" Raph-Chan started stomping her foot down, demanding attention.
"Later, Raph-Chan. I'm busy right now." Naofumi grabbed his daughter's straw hat from where he'd stored it in his shield. He then ran over to Raphtalia.
"RAPH!" Raph-Chan stomped down hard in righteous indignation.
Whoomp!
The sandcastle that she'd been standing on collapsed, burying her in the sand.
…
A few seconds later, the familiar's head reemerged from the giant pile. "Pbbth! Rafu?" After spitting some sand out, she looked around, seeing all her hard work gone to waste. "Rafu!" And Naofumi wasn't paying her any attention either! "Rafu Rafu Rafu!" This was no fair!
Naofumi, however, was currently busy focusing on his daughter, who looked absolutely adorable with the straw hat on her head, protecting her from the hot sun. "Dada?"
"It even has holes for her cute little ears to poke out!" Naofumi exclaimed joyfully, gently floofing the ears poking out of the hat.
"Naofumi, be careful about being too intense," Raphtalia warned. Rifana was snuggling into her arms away from dad.
Naofumi's face fell. "Oh… Sorry."
Seeing daddy sad, Rifana reached out towards him. "Dada!"
"Aw. Look, she's giving you pity." Raphtalia teased.
"I'll take it!" Naofumi happily took Rifana from Raphtalia, and ran out towards the ocean waves, carrying the happily screeching girl on his shoulders.
Raphtalia watched them go into the water, a smile on her face.
"Rafu!"
She looked down. Raph-Chan was sitting on the ground next to her, sulking with her arms crossed. Her fur was also filled with sand. It'd take forever to clean this stuff out!
"It must be so hard not having all his attention on you anymore, isn't it?" Raphtalia smiled wickedly.
"Raph!" Raph-Chan turned her head to the side.
But then, Raphtalia's hand started rubbing her head. "I've been meaning to say this. You go through a lot to watch Rifana when we can't. Thank you for doing that for us."
"... Rafu…" Raph-Chan moved in place, looking embarrassed. She eventually bounded onto Raphtalia's shoulder, bopping noses with her.
Raphtalia giggled. Enjoying the bonding time with their pet. It was also much easier not to be jealous of Raph-Chan, now that Naofumi didn't pay her an unhealthy amount of attention anymore.
That did make her wonder though if the Raph-Chan cult back in the village would ever die down...
"Whooooooo!" "Wheeeeeeee!"
The two voices made Raphtalia look at the ocean again. When she did so, her eyes bugged out of their sockets.
"NAOFUMI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"I'm surfing! What does it look like?!" Naofumi hollered back. He was using a float skill from his shield to ride the waves further out at sea. Rifana, still sitting on his shoulders, had her arms up and was screaming happily at the unexpected twist of fun daddy had come up with.
"GET BACK HERE! NOW!" Raphtalia demanded. Tail and ears puffed up in agitation. "YOU KNOW THERE'S STILL SEA MONSTERS TO WORRY ABOUT!"
"But-"
"NOW!"
...
Gosh, it wasn't like he couldn't just use Bubble Shield and Meteor Shield in case they fell underwater. Why did Raphtalia have to put such a drag on their fun?
"Please, stop…"
Naofumi held his arms over his head. Around him, the faces of those long dead flitted past. Flying into a massive grave at his side.
"Please, leave me alone!" Naofumi cried out.
So many dead… so many killed… all because he'd failed to protect them. Because he hadn't been strong enough.
They didn't disappear. They continued falling into the grave. Their ghostly apparitions turned into real bodies as they hit the bottom.
Naofumi cried. He tried to cover his eyes, but it was like his hands were see-through. He couldn't tear them away as familiar faces strutted past. Knights who'd died in battle. Soldiers who'd given their lives against the Guardian Beasts. Random civilians crushed by debris. Villagers who hadn't survived the harsh battle with the Waves or the Guardian Beasts.
"Just… just leave me alone…"
Naofumi continued to cry, unable to escape the nightmare, unable to escape this feeling of despair…
Why was he alive? Why had he survived when they were all dead...
"Dad."
Naofumi's eyes jerked open. He sat up in bed, eyes darting around to identify the dangerous monster in his room.
However, he found no monster. Instead, his eyes fell on his almost-two-year-old daughter, who stood at his bedside. Raph-Chan stood beside her, head tilted to the side in worry. "Rafu?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but sobs wrack at his throat. He curled in on himself, trying to force them down, but to no avail.
"Dad?!"
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan raced over to Raphtalia's side, poking her repeatedly in the face with a paw.
"Urgh, what is it now-" Raphtalia started to groan at the familiar, however, she stopped speaking as she registered Naofumi's sobbing.
"Naofumi?!" She sat up and turned to face him. Raph-Chan jumped out of the way.
"Dad..."
The Shield Hero continued sobbing into his hands. Raphtalia quickly helped Rifana onto the bed. Then, both of them hugged the crying man.
"It's ok. We're here for you, Naofumi." Raphtalia gently told him.
Rifana said nothing and buried her face in dad's chest. Her ears flicked the top of his chin.
"Rafu." Raph-Chan hopped onto his shoulder. Her paw rubbed the back of his head in comfort.
…
"I… I'm sorry." Naofumi finally managed to speak, his sobbing more under control. "It was just another nightmare."
"The same one?" Raphtalia asked.
After a moment, Naofumi shakily nodded his head.
…
"Mommy?" Rifana asked.
"Yes, sweetie," Raphtalia responded.
Rifana looked back up at her crying daddy, then back at her. "Sweep here?" She asked, pointing at the area between them.
Raphtalia stared. Tears of her own appeared in her eyes. "Yes, let's sleep together with daddy."
After a little while, when Naofumi had finally calmed down enough, the two laid back in bed. Little Rifana laid snuggled between them. Her tail rested on daddy's arm, and her ears occasionally flicked against either mommy or daddy.
"I'm… I'm sorry." Naofumi mumbled. "It's not like I want to still have these nightmares..."
"It's fine, right Rifana?" Raphtalia asked.
Rifana shifted, snuggling more between them. Her green eyes looked up at daddy's face, and she gave him a happy smile. "Raphy told me papa sad."
"... Raph-Chan?" Naofumi looked over at the familiar, sitting at the foot of the bed.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan proudly saluted. Rifana giggled at the sight.
Naofumi sniffled, wiping tears from his face.
"Thank you. Honestly, I hate feeling alone on nights like these." He admitted. "It's much easier when I'm not alone."
"You're never alone, Naofumi." Raphtalia's tail moved alongside her daughter's, resting itself against his arm.
Raph-Chan bounded over, settling in the groove in the pillows above Raphtalia and Naofumi. "Rafu!"
"Yes, I know you won't leave me alone either," Naofumi smirked and petted the familiar on the head.
"Rafu!" She curled her head into the nice, loving pets. Yes, it made all the crap she put up with so worth it!
The little family smiled as they cuddled together protectively.
No more nightmares would disturb them that night.
"And that concludes the tale of how the Shield Hero saved the world… the end." Naofumi closed the little picture book.
"Yay! It was a gweat stowy!" Rifana cheered happily.
Naofumi chuckled, rolling his eyes at his hyperactive daughter. At almost three, she was becoming more and more energetic. He was surprised she managed to sit through an entire story this time.
She'd be a brooding teenager before he knew it.
"Who's hungry?" Raphtalia called as she entered the room, carrying a tray with sandwiches on it.
"Fooooood!" Rifana cheered as she ran up, almost knocking Raphtalia over when she got in front of her legs.
"Rifana, careful!" Naofumi called after her.
Raphtalia, however, laughed at the little girl's energy. "I can already tell she takes after you."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Naofumi asked in an offended tone.
"Who was the one who said he almost drove his parents crazy as a child?" She asked.
…
Oof.
He couldn't refute it since it was true. Raphtalia had been a quiet shy child, while he'd been a little terror. His parents had hated him, and he'd given them a good reason to do so.
… Wait, did that mean Rifana was going to act the exact same way he had as a kid?!
It was almost like he could hear his parents from another world. Laughing as their grandkid unleashed the karmic retribution Naofumi so rightfully deserved.
As Rifana began eating, sharing some of her food with Raph-Chan, Raphtalia settled in the chair next to Naofumi. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be able to handle her."
"Huh?" Naofumi looked at her.
She smirked. "Your face is still easy to read dear. You need to work on that one of these days."
Naofumi groaned, then he smirked. "Yeah, well what am I thinking now?"
"Hmmm…" Raphtalia studied his face curiously. "You're thinking…" She smiled. "That you can't wait to have another child."
"No, actually, that wasn't it." He moved closer, his face just inches from hers. "I was just thinking about how lucky Rifana is to have you as her mother."
"If she'll really grow up like me, then she'll need the kindest, patient, most loving mother in the world to help her out."
"Hmmm, and the Father?" She teased.
"Oh, I'll definitely help her plot all sorts of trouble until she gets tired of me," Naofumi smirked widely, planting a kiss on her lips. "She'll be daddy's little girl until that happens."
When he sat back, he found Raphtalia was smirking at him as well. "Well, if you're going to get Rifana to side with you, I'll just have to hope this next child is a momma's boy." As she said that, she rested her hands on her stomach.
…
…
Naofumi's brain clunked in his head, trying to process what he'd just heard.
…
…
His eyes slowly widened in realization. Raphtalia's smirk turned into a loving smile. "Do you think we'll be able to handle a second child?"
Naofumi's face moved. He saw Rifana and Raph-Chan, the meal finished, rolling around together on the floor.
He looked around the room. Remembering the long nights spent caring for their growing daughter. And now…
He smiled at Raphtalia, leaning in close again. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be fair if the teams weren't even, huh."
"I could still win Rifana over to my side." Raphtalia teased.
"Not gonna happen."
The two leaned together and kissed.
"Ewwwww! Gwoss!" Rifana made a face on the floor.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan also made a disgusted face in agreement.
"Alright you two, take it outside!" Naofumi began shooing them out of the house to play. He was smiling like an idiot as Raphtalia relaxed in the chair.
Yep, here he was, a retired hero. The world was safe. The Waves of Catastrophe were over. The world was, at the current time, at peace with one another... Though who knew how long that would last?
Peace was a fickle thing. It could be any day when a country starts getting ideas of world domination. Anytime, a 'genius' could be born, and they'd want to claim what they thought to be rightfully 'theirs' when they grew up.
Naofumi and the other Heroes had prepared many failsafes and scrolls to be preserved in an effort to help guide future Heroes summoned to this world. To help future leaders to know what to watch for should the enemies of all worlds make a move on them again. But who knew how many of those would survive the centuries, the rise and fall of nations, the scheming of evil genius reincarnators, the plots of those people who 'claimed to be God.'
For all he knew, all his efforts now would be meaningless centuries down the road.
Yet, whatever happened, he would do his best to raise his family now. He would give his wife, his daughter, and however many children they had after this as well as their own kids; he'd give all of them all the love and protection they deserved while he was still alive.
He'd become the best Father that'd ever lived...
"Wait, Rifana, don't run down the stairs so quickly-"
Bonk! "WAHHHHHH!"
… he'd become the best Father after ten more years of experience, hopefully.
As he used healing magic to help his crying daughter, he really hoped the next child would be much easier.
The hairs on his head would greatly appreciate that.
Author's Note:
Just wanted to do something nice and cute. We don't have enough nice and cute in this fandom. Hope you all have a good week, and happy Fourth of July!
Till Next Time
Allen