RE: Shield Chapter 1
*Okay, so I got this plot bunny from a comment chain from BlueWaterBlueSky in the story Sweet Dreams by SeliaHearts (which is a good story on Ao3). Basically, Naofumi has Subaru from RE: Zero's ability 'Return by Death' which allows him to return to 'save points' upon death. I have watched and read the anime and manga for RotSH, but I haven't watched RE: Zero, so any references to it are purely coincidental. *
Disclaimer: I don't own Rising of the Shield Hero or RE: Zero. They belong to Aneko Yusagi and Tappei Nagatsuki respectively.
Deep inside the forests near Melromarc
Drip…Drip…A single drop of blood slowly made its way through a lock of soft, caramel hair leaving it dyed a dark red.
No…Nearby was hand, tiny but calloused, lying limp half closed around the hilt of a broken knife. -It looked like a sword in her hands, she is-was so young. -
Crack…Crunch…It was sitting there out of the corner of his eye, mocking him. If he just reached out, he could hold it, clasp it like he was going to protect the owner of the little hand with everything he's got. Like I should've done in the first place.
Crack…Snap…I'm so weak…if I wasn't, if I wasn't so-! Then-!
Crack, POP!
Naofumi forced his heavy eyes up, breathing heavily, dragging them away from the barbs that had him pinned to the tree. He could feel his life fading from his body with every ragged breath he took; hell, he could see it the form of bright red seeping around the smooth surface of the one large spike firmly impaled through his stomach, dyeing the off-white red and turning his shirt dark. Crunch…Still the sight of the personal color job was better than looking at his status screen. It was blinking-the same color as! -red right in front of him, showing his health bar steadily going down. Soon it will hit zero; as he focused on it, it almost seemed to torment him, like that traitorous bitch had since he came to this hellhole, as it inched down by millimeter by painful millimeter. He focused on his status, -he couldn't bare looking at the name under his, he knows what he'll find but he doesn't want to see it-.
Munch…If I look then it'll just confirm what I already know.
Beyond the transparent screen, Naofumi could see the huge, hulking shape. It would've reminded Naofumi of a bear if it wasn't so monstrous. It was easily 5 meters tall, its fur black, stained dark from the blood of its prey and matted from the dried liquid. It's razor sharp teeth and claws glinted from the patches of the afternoon sunlight that managed to break through the foliage. And to add to the already deadly ensemble, as if it wasn't deadly enough, on its back was a bed of spines that resembled a porcupine's quill's, the same quill's that currently rested in the Shield Hero's body.
Right now, it was crouched over, a couple of feet away from the young man, ignoring him. Oh, how he wished it was crouched over in pain.
Chomp…It would've been fine. Crunch…He could leave this world behind satisfied if he had gave the monster something to remember him by…Crack…Hell maybe if that happened, he would've racked up enough Karma and be dropped into a better fantasy then this cruel world.
Drip…But he's not that lucky.
Hidden under the bear's impressive girth was a tiny figure, unmoving as the Porcubear tore into her body like it hadn't eaten in weeks. Though if you didn't know it was her, you wouldn't even think that the corpse was once a girl, let alone a living breathing person, it was so badly mauled.
Raphtalia…I'm so sorry.
They, or rather Naofumi decided that since Raphtalia had gained a few levels it would be alright to go deeper into the forest to gain some more precious Exp. What they didn't know was that this part of the forest was near the territory of a lv. 50 monster that prowled around. It was just bad luck that the bear caught the scent of the Rabbit blood they had killed earlier and found them instead.
They had tried to run but the Porcubear easily caught up to them. With little choice left, Naofumi tried to buy Raphtalia time to escape, but even with the Shield Hero's defense boost, the Porcubear easily smashed though his guard and the force of the blow sent him into a nearby tree. To add insult to injury, the bear launched its quills towards the young man, pinning him to the tree. The bear, satisfied that its larger prey was firmly in place, had lumbered over to the trapped man.
Raphtalia, after a moment of hesitation, launched herself at the Porcubear in a desperate attempt to save her master. However, it was in vain.
The knife shattered into pieces when she tried to drive it into the bear's skin. Even though it didn't even nick the Porcubear's thick hind, it was enough to cause the monster to turn its attention to the trembling Takuni girl.
Even though Naofumi screamed for her to run, even though she turned to run away, a single swipe of its paw was enough to kill the young girl. Though now it seemed like it was a mercy that she died almost painlessly compared to her master who was literally waiting for his life to runout. He watched with dead eyes as the Porcubear tore into his slave as he cursed at his own foolishness.
Goddamn it! GODDAMN IT! Why?! Why did this have to happen!? Naofumi screamed mentally; at who he didn't know, himself, his luck, whatever entity that brought him here or even at the Porcubear. Why was the equivalent of a mid-game boss so close to the castle!? Damn it! They must've known, that's why they let me out so close to here! I bet they wanted me to meet my end to this monster! The searing heat of his anger gave him a surge of energy and he reached, not for the barbs pinning him in place, but for the undamaged hand of his slave not even a foot away from him.
When the Porcubear swiped at Raphtalia, a stray claw was sharp enough to slice the child's hand off and send it next to the young man. Uncaring of the barbs widening his wounds causing more blood to escape his battered body, he grabbed the hand and cradled it gently against his chest.
Naofumi Iwatani Lv. 5 Shield Hero
HP 10/243
WARNING! DEATH IMMINETE!
He saw the words flash across the screen and almost smiled. In this situation, the quicker the death the better, it's better than waiting for this overgrown, rejected Wuzzle to eat me alive.
Naofumi Iwatani Lv.5 Shield Hero
HP 8/243
WARNING! DEATH IMMINETE!
This world…it looked so beautiful when I was first summoned here. He thought dimly as the energy brought by his anger left him and he rested his head against the bark of his tree. But this world, its reality…
7/243
Its not a game, this is real.
6/243
I wanted to live. I wanted to fight.
5/243
But in the end.
4/243
I was useless. I couldn't protect Raphtalia. I couldn't even protect myself. He clenched the hand tightly, as though he was a child seeking comfort from an adult rather than the opposite. I guess Motoyasu was right, the Shield is a worthless weapon that is doomed to failure.
3/243
I should've known, this world was stacked against me from the start. Why should now be any different? My only regret…
2/243
Was that I couldn't protect Raphtalia.
1/243
Maybe in the next life…maybe I'll be transported to another, better world. Maybe not as a hero, but as a peasant this time.
0/243
I'm sorry…
Everything went black.
Naofumi woke up with a choked off scream as he sat up, violently coughing. He had just enough time to dimly realize he was in the same inn he and Raphtalia stayed at last night? Yesterday? Before his stomach revolted and sent him running for the nearby bathroom.
When his stomach was finally empty, he rested against the wall, drained. What the hell was that? A nightmare? No, a premonition? It felt so real…His trembling hand rubbed his stomach where the larger barb was moments(?) before. When he prodded it, he could almost feel the phantom pain of his life leaking out.
"Master?"
Naofumi swung his head towards the doorway to stare at where the quiet voice originated from. There in the dim light of dawn, was Raphtalia, whole and most importantly alive. She sleepily rubbed her eyes as she stared at her master with both confusion and concern.
Naofumi, for his part, almost ran over to hug her or to check to see if she was real and not a hallucination. However, he firmly stamped down the impulse. It was just a dream, nothing happened. "It's nothing." He said, turning away from the girl and wiping his mouth of bile. "Just a nightmare. Go back to sleep."
The tanuki hesitated -like before she was! - then nodded. "Goodnight, master."
"Goodnight. And…sorry…for-waking you up."
The girl glanced over, still worried but smiled at her master before leaving to wait outside their room for the hero.
Naofumi stared out the window for a moment, still feeling the barbs, before he followed the girl to their room.