Okay, so, this is a bad news, good news sort of thing. The bad news is, my previous attempt at a Rising of the Shield Hero story cacked out. And it was so promising too. But the chemistry between Harry and Raphtalia wasn't quite there, and Raphtalia basically seemed to have become Hermione with animal ears and a tail. Not that that's truly a bad thing, as unlike some people, I'm very much a Harmony fan, but I felt I was losing the essentials of Raphtalia. I'd written up to the point where Harry and Raphtalia are dragged with Naofumi to the world of The Rising of the Shield Hero, but my discontent had it grind to a halt.
But many of the essential elements of that story were good ones. They just needed another change of premise. And I thought of something pretty fucking audacious, something that would potentially help with a lot of interactions and smooth things over.
I decided to have Raphtalia adopted not by Croaker the Unspeakable...but by the Iwatani family.
This actually solves or smoothes over some problems in one go. Firstly, Raphtalia and Naofumi already have an established relationship by the time The Rising of the Shield Hero occurs. True, it's a sibling relationship, but honestly, it has less disturbing connotations than the canon relationship, especially in its initial stages. And when Naofumi is accused of rape by Malty, well, Raphtalia would almost instantly believe in his innocence. So Naofumi would be, psychologically, in a far better place than he would be in canon. He would have Raphtalia in his corner from the get-go, and Harry would potentially follow Raphtalia's lead, especially after what I have planned for him in this fic.
I also wanted to show a little bit of insight into Naofumi's life prior to being isekai'd. We know so little about his life and family, save for what was discussed in the first light novel, as well as, according to the wiki, a brief insight in the 14th light novel. So I thought I'd put more in.
BTW, this is actually a title I've been meaning to use for a fanfic for ages. It comes from the title of a song by Garbage, and I think it's particularly fitting for this one. Also, keep in mind, like always, that there's no guarantee of it becoming a full fic...
EDIT: Well, this version cacked out. But I'm working on a new version. Watch this space...
NOT YOUR KIND OF PEOPLE (ORIGINAL)
CHAPTER 1:
A BRITISH WIZARD IN THE IWATANI HOUSEHOLD
Wind tore at her clothes and body, unearthly wind that was visible, in sickly colours, like an eldritch oil spill. She couldn't help but scream in pain as she was torn from the last vestiges of what she knew. Then again, she knew she was about to die. She just didn't expect it to be this way.
That fat noble had gotten his kicks torturing her, but now, he had a use for her, he had told her. Mages under his employ were working on a ritual to reverse the ageing of a person using time magic, but he was cautious. The ritual was dangerous and experimental. He wanted to use her as a guinea pig. He taunted her, hoping she would regress to an infant or a foetus he could stomp to death.
But things had gone wrong. The only consolation from her death was that she saw that wicked man and his cronies ageing, withering, decaying and crumbling to dust before the energies consumed her completely. That, and perhaps she would be able to see her mother and father again. True, she was leaving behind her friends, Rifana and Keel, and of course Sadeena, her big sis, but perhaps the noble's demise would lead to their freedom. It was a probably vain hope, but she clung to it regardless.
After too long, her journey ended. It took her a moment to recover. She was in a dark, cramped space. Was this Hell or Purgatory? Was she trapped in a coffin for eternity?
She began to sob. She spent the best part of a minute weeping, her tears flowing down her face, before a door opened, and then, the cramped space was filled with light. A yelp of surprise jabbed at her ears, and she cringed away. There was talk in another language, harsh and staccato syllables unfamiliar to her, before a shadow fell across her. She risked a peek at the caster of the shadow.
It was a human, a boy in his teens, with a messy mop of black hair and green eyes. And to her surprise, she saw no anger, no hatred or disgust. Just curiosity, confusion…and a kindness that she hadn't seen in any human's eyes for a long time. This couldn't be Death. If Death had a kindly demeanour, it would take the form of someone she knew, for sure.
"Konnichi wa," the boy said in his own language. It had the air of a friendly greeting. "Nihongo ga dekimasu ka?"
She tried to speak in return, coughing slightly, before saying, "I'm sorry, sir, but…I don't speak your language."
He blinked. He muttered to himself for a moment, before seemingly coming to a decision. "Namae wa Iwatani Naofumi desu. Naofumi. Naofumi."
Was that his name? Eventually, she said, "My name is…Raphtalia. Raphtalia…"
Neither of them knew it, but a destined encounter had taken place long before it should. And soon, another new arrival would cause more upheaval, for better and for worse…
Naofumi Iwatani yawned as he left his bedroom early in the morning. He wasn't always an early riser, but the guild in the MMORPG he was currently playing had no major raids to go on or the like, and he needed to get some shut-eye. It took him a moment to register the smell of breakfast being cooked, and several more to grasp the significance. A smile touched his lips.
He walked downstairs, and saw a familiar figure, bushy tail wagging from their derriere, making toast. He noticed her ears twitching, a pair of round animal ears perched on a messy mop of light brown hair. "Good morning, big brother," said the familiar voice of his adoptive sister.
"Morning, Raphtalia. I didn't hear you come in. I mean, you sent that message saying you would be late, but still..."
"Yes, I thought it odd I didn't hear you playing your games," Raphtalia said, turning to face him, dark pink eyes meeting his own. "I got back late last night. It would've been sooner, but Mr Komakado stopped by the station to give me something a colleague in England found."
"Komakado did? That old spook?"
Raphtalia nodded eagerly, her tail swishing even more. "…Naofumi…they had a journal, only the first part, but it belonged to one of the Shield Heroes, an Ignotus Peverell, an English wizard from the 13th Century. I've been trying to resist reading it last night, I really needed the rest, but…it's another link to home."
Naofumi nodded. The girl in front of him had come a long way from the scared and scarred little thing he had discovered cowering in a linen cupboard. For all that he was a long-time connoisseur of fantasy manga, anime and light novels, having a real-like girl with animal ears and a tail turn up was far from the reality he had expected. And of course, that was only the beginning of his trip down a rabbit hole, something his family joined him in.
Magic existed in this world. Not only that, but Raphtalia had come from another world entirely. His mother turned out to be a 'Squib', someone born without magic to a family with magic, and thus expelled from said family. And a bunch of people in robes from Japan's Ministry of Magic turned up to investigate the 'slider', as they had initially dubbed Raphtalia.
Ugh, what a saga that was. Or yare yare daze, to quote Jotaro Kujo. They at least managed to deal with the language barrier, and they gradually taught Raphtalia Japanese. By now, she was bilingual in Japanese and English, aside from her native tongue. And they learned she was capable of learning magic, with illusion spells coming naturally to her.
Raphtalia's story before coming here was a sad one, though. Her parents died in a cataclysm known as a Wave of Catastrophe, when monsters from another dimension poured out of the sky. The survivors of her village, Lurolona, were enslaved by human nobles who thought her kind were only fit to be slaves. She put on a brave front, but in all likelihood, her friends were either dead, or wishing they were.
Supposedly, when the Waves of Catastrophe arrived, four people would be summoned from other worlds, to act as chosen bearers of the Cardinal Weapons. The Sword, the Bow, the Spear, and the Shield. Raphtalia admired the Shield Hero most of all, as apparently he was a champion of demi-humans.
"My guild didn't have any raids, and there wasn't any grinding needed," Naofumi said. "So I did some study before I went to bed. I'm sorry Mum and Dad aren't here to say hi, but they're still on that extended trip with some of their business partners. They probably won't be back for at least a few weeks."
Raphtalia frowned. It was something of a sad frown, and Naofumi knew why. His parents weren't exactly nasty, but while they meant well, they were negligent, expecting Naofumi and his siblings to be somewhat self-sufficient. They'd also placed too much pressure on his younger brother Akira to excel, and he nearly became a delinquent in reaction to it a couple of years back. It took Naofumi introducing Akira to the wonders of visual novels, particularly dating sims, for Akira to regain his equilibrium, and while he became a bit of an otaku, his grades and attitude improved.
His parents rewarded him by helping him with an allowance and a rent-free residence where he, Akira and Raphtalia could live. Naofumi supplemented his allowance with a part-time job, and he kept his grades at university up, where he was studying literature. But while not unloving, his parents at times didn't quite show it. They thought Naofumi wouldn't get anywhere in life, and they'd put too much pressure onto Akira. Even Raphtalia, the baby of the bunch (well, she was about Akira's age, but the demi-human was treated like that) felt the weight of his parents' expectations.
"And Akira?" Raphtalia asked.
"Staying at a friend's house. Apparently that friend has a few interesting dating sims."
She wrinkled her nose. "Hope they're not H-games. At least that one you were into a couple of years ago, Fate/Stay Night, was it? That was pretty good. Shirou Emiya or Saber would make fine Sword Heroes. And Archer…" She struck a pose. "I am the bone of my sword…"
"Well, you missed an anime they did of that. It wasn't bad," Naofumi said. "I've got the DVDs of part of the series."
"I'll make sure to watch them, but I have this to read." She indicated the bound printout on the table. "Mr Croaker had to translate it from Old English, though he was kind enough to do it in modern English and Japanese for me. I did read the preamble, though, about who Ignotus Peverell was. He lived in the 13th Century, and is considered by some scholars to be the youngest brother in The Tale of the Three Brothers."
Naofumi felt this rang a bell, and he snapped his fingers when he remembered. "Right, you bought that translated book of English wizarding tales. What was it again? The Tales of Beedle the Bard? And that one about the brothers…that was the one about Death? So, Ignotus was supposed to be the one with the Invisibility Cloak, huh?"
Raphtalia nodded. "Mr Croaker did note that Ignotus does refer to the Cloak in his writings, and the Peverells were master craftsmen of magical items, it's one of the few historical facts known about the Three Brothers. But this, Naofumi…this is another link I have with home. I mean, I doubt it'll get me any closer to heading back, but…"
"…Raphtalia, I know you want to see if your friends are all right…Keel, Rifana, and Sadeena, amongst others…but do you really want to go back for anything aside from them?"
It was a familiar question from Naofumi. Sometimes, they even argued bitterly over it. Melromarc sounded like a shithole masquerading as a shining kingdom out of a fantasy world. They thought demi-humans were fit only for enslavement, for fuck's sake! Not to mention how they treated the Shield Hero. And Siltvelt, from what Raphtalia learned, was as bad, but in reverse. They not only enslaved humans, but they were elitist towards different kinds of demi-humans.
"Naofumi…I want to try and change things, and for the better. I remember my parents telling me Queen Mirelia was trying to reform the system, get rid of slavery, and only the resistance of the nobles and the Three Heroes Church prevented it," Raphtalia said. It was the same answer to the old question. "Anyway, it's not like I want to leave you for good anyway. You've been very kind to me, you and your family. Even most of the students at Mahoutokoro are kind."
"Except for that spoilt brat Komurazaki and his cronies you complain about," Naofumi pointed out.
Raphtalia scowled. "Oh, him…he called me a trash panda youkai again just before we left. Kept boasting about how well he would do in the Tri-Wizard Tournament if Mahoutokoro participated. Called the Champions in that event wannabes, especially Harry Potter. I'm sure that if Harry Potter really was here, he'd kick his arse."
"Language, Raphtalia, and it's not like someone like him would appear out of thin air, would it?"
In one of those curious coincidences the universe delights in inflicting on people who tempt fate, there was a sudden crash as a pair of forms dropped onto the dining room table. Raphtalia leapt to her feet with a shriek of fright. However, once she got over her brief moment of fright, she quickly began checking them. Both seemed to be teenaged boys, one of them hanging onto what looked like a trophy. The older one, a bit of a pretty boy, was staring up at the ceiling with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Raphtalia shook her head as she checked his pulse. "…Dead," she muttered.
Naofumi grimaced, though he noted the crest on the corpse's clothing. "Hogwarts? Isn't that the British magical school?"
Raphtalia nodded, even as she checked the pulse of the other body. "He's okay, this one's still alive." But when she rolled him over, she stopped, and stared. At first, Naofumi didn't know why. It seemed to be a boy about her age, with glasses askew on his face, and dark hair even messier than Naofumi's.
And then, as the boy groaned, Naofumi saw the scar. Like a lightning bolt, snaking out from beneath his fringe. And having heard the tales from the wizarding world of its most famous and infamous figures, he knew who had just crashlanded in their dining room…
When the spell hit the Portkey, he knew something was wrong. Portkey transport was uncomfortable at the best of times, but this made being hauled along by a hook-like sensation digging into your navel feel desirable by comparison. Something like being trapped in an activated washing machine while it was on a roller coaster, or in a stalled plane.
He lost consciousness more than once, not knowing if it would ever end. The first notion that he had was when he seemed to crash into something. The shriek of a girl screaming in surprise made it through his fuzzy consciousness. But he still felt out of sorts, and wasn't able to move yet. He was half-unconscious anyway. He heard two people speaking in a language that he was sure was Japanese, a girl and a young man.
And then, he was rolled onto his back. He groaned in pain, the remnants of the Cruciatus he had been subjected to still lingering. He felt a cool wave of magic pass over him, some muttering in Japanese from the girl, and then, he felt a little better. His eyes flickered open…
…And he beheld a strange sight.
He seemed to be in someone's dining room, sprawled on their table. The young man, a few years older than him, did look Japanese, or at least Asian, albeit with green eyes not unlike his own. He was looking at him with suspicion and concern.
And the girl? Well, she was rather cute, with light brown hair framing her features. She seemed to be about his age. And dark pink eyes peered at him curiously.
But she clearly wasn't human. The round, animal-like ears and the large fluffy tail protruding from her rear told to that. And given how her ears twitched and her tail wagged gently, he doubted they were fakes either.
"Are you Harry Potter?" the girl asked in accented but good English.
"…Yes, I am," Harry said after a moment's hesitation. "Sorry, who are you? And where am I?"
"I am Raphtalia. This is my big brother…well, adoptive big brother Naofumi Iwatani," the girl said, indicating the young man. "And you're in Japan. Umm, look, what happened? Why are you here? And who's this with you?"
Harry looked at the corpse of Cedric Diggory, before sighing, knowing that he was in for a long explanation. After all, he turned up with a dead body in tow, landing in someone's house in Japan, amongst people who knew his name. Story of his life, with his luck screwing him over, as always…
CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:
Wait, what? Raphtalia was raised by the Iwatanis? Have I gone completely off my rocker? That assumes I was ever on it…
I did this for a number of reasons, but one of them was to give Raphtalia and Naofumi a more healthier relationship than in canon, even if it is one of siblings by adoption. Naofumi still has the same protective relationship he does towards Raphtalia, and Raphtalia shows the same loyalty and sass towards Naofumi, but they have a better relationship, not tainted by the slave crest, let alone Naofumi's misogynistic tendencies post-betrayal by Malty. Plus, with their bond established already, Raphtalia will never believe Malty's false rape accusation.
Also, some people may be believing that I may be bashing Naofumi's parents, but they're wrong. Even in the first volume, it's stated that they put too much pressure on Naofumi's brother (named Akira here as a fairly generic Japanese name), and according to the wiki, they apparently left Naofumi alone for long periods of time while they went on road-trips (this comes from the 14th light novel, for those curious about it). So while not truly bad parents, and they do love their children, there was much of them that was left to be desired.
Also, unlike my usual idiom when doing stories set in Japan, instead of using Nasuverse characters as OC stand-ins, I'm using characters from GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There. Komurazaki is a teenaged version of a rather nasty journalist, while Komakado, who is an Auror with ties to the Japanese Unspeakables, is a spook from Public Security in GATE.
No numbered annotations this time.
