Work Text:
Naofumi, Rapthalia, and Filo were suddenly called to the castle by The King, though they went there hesitantly, only going for the 10 gold rewards that they probably weren't even going to get. Worth a try anyway.
When they got to the throne room, Motoyasu, Itsuki, Ren, and their parties were there too, the King sitting on his throne.
"Heroes." The King looked at Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu, "We have discovered a special orb that will let us see what you all did in your worlds before you were summoned here." He waved his hand and a magician came over and stood in front of the heroes, a small orb was laying on top of a small pillow which she held with both hands "One by one, you will come up and touch the orb and let us all see what you did before coming here." He explained
They started with Itsuki, the one furthest away from Naofumi, obviously intending for him to go last.
Itsuki's life was pretty normal for someone his age. He went to school, was a spoiled only child, sometimes fended off bullies. He was pretty good at video games and learned martial arts too.
Then, they went over to Ren
Ren was kind of a loner in his old world too. Though he still hung out with some people, he beat a lot of video games as that was one of the only things he did, wining many gaming tournaments
Then, it was Motoyasu's turn.
Motoyasu was flocked by girls. Always at least 2 girls hanging off of his arms and 'defending' any girl he could when they were wronged. He was a womanizer and played a lot of games too, but not letting it get in the way of his girlfriends.
Naofumi only then realized that it was his turn and some memories he didn't want to remember right now resurfaced. He tried to deny touching the orb, he tried walking out, but the King, knights, and 3 Heroes just wouldn't let him. The Nobles at the sides began gossiping about how he probably raped girls in his worlds too or that he was probably a criminal.
Naofumi had had enough. He touched the Orb before he could think it through. A mist came from the orb and formed some sort of screen, just like it had done with the other three.
The Mist showed Naofumi walking down a small road, family houses on rows beside each other, with a guitar case on his back and a suitcase in one hand, looking pretty positive, a small smile on his face. The moonlight and stars illuminated the street together with the streetlights and the few houses still having lights on.
The nobles gossiped again. "What kind of weapon does he have inside that strange box?" "Is he going to rob one of those houses?" And more were asked between the nobles
"Master Naofumi, what is that strange case on your back?" Raphtalia asked
"It's a guitar case. There's guitar inside." Naofumi explained shortly
"You can play the guitar?" Raphtalia asked
"Yep," Naofumi replied shortly
The Mist changed and now showed Naofumi going through a small wooden gate and into the front yard of a house a bit bigger than the others
The nobles kept gossiping "Is he going to rob that house?" and questions like that was asked
"Is that where Master lives?" Filo looked at Naofumi curiously
Naofumi took a shaky breath before answering her
"Yeah. I lived there before I was summoned." Naofumi answered
The Mist showed Naofumi walking up to the front door of the house. He took a key out of his pocket, unlocked the door, and put the key back in his jacket before opening the door and going inside, closing the door behind him. He took off his shoes and put down his guitar case beside his suitcase before yelling into the house
Naofumi: "I'm home!" As he said that, you could hear 3 fast small sets of footsteps and one louder one going down the hallway
As the smaller footsteps came around the corner, they showed three kids, two twin girls aged 10, with dirty blonde wavy hair, pale skin, one was slightly taller with blue eyes and the other had gray eyes. Beside them stood a slightly older boy aged 12 with reddish-brown curly hair and dark brown eyes, his skin slightly tan, and freckles on his cheeks
Naofumi: "Hey you three" He smiled at them
Motoyasu: "So you can smile."
"Dad!" The three kids shouted as they all raced over to hug him
Whispers and murmurs began getting louder as it was shown, no one would've thought Naofumi was a father.
"Master Naofumi? You're a father?" Raphtalia looked over at Naofumi only to see a sad and longing look on his face, eyes glazed over
"Can Filo call Master Dad too?" Filo tugged on his cape
"Sure," Naofumi mumbled, clearly not hearing her
Filo smiled widely.
Naofumi and the three kids hugged and smiled before the last louder set of steps came around the corner of the hallway. The figure leaned against the wall, smiling adoringly at the four hugging each other.
Naofumi and the three kids let go of each other, Naofumi standing up to walk over to the figure, showing a well-built red-haired man with matching eyes.
Naofumi walked up to the man and hugged him, the man returning the gesture
"I'm home, L'Arc" Naofumi whispered to the man, now named L'Arc
"Welcome home, Nao," L'Arc whispered back
Suddenly they got pulled away from each other, the kids tugging at Naofumi's clothing, being the ones to pull him away.
"Papa! You can't take dad all for yourself!" The boy shouted
Again, the whispers and gossip became louder.
"Dad! Come sing for us!" On of the girls demanded while her twin nodded
"You can sing too?" Raphtalia looked at him with stars in her eyes
"Yeah," Naofumi answered shortly while staring at the Mist Screen
"Can Master sing for Filo and Big Sister Raphthalia?" Filo asked
Naofumi: "Yeah, sure." He answered, not even processing the question, still staring at the Mist Screen
Naofumi: "Okay fine, but let me get my guitar first, it is almost you guys' bedtime." He said going over to get his guitar as the kids cheered and went to their room to get ready for bed
Many of the noblewoman who was mothers quietly and astonishedly said "I've never seen any child wanting to get to bed so badly"
The Mist changes to show Naofumi sitting on a stool in the middle of a room with a guitar, the three kids laying in each their bed, L'Arc sitting on a stool beside him.
Then, Naofumi began singing
As Naofumi finished singing, he was leaning against L'Arc, almost asleep himself. L'Arc carefully got up and carried Naofumi into their bedroom and laid him on the bed before joining him, the two cuddling each other
Naofumi: "I Love you..." He mumbled sleepily
L'Arc: "I Love you too," He said, kissing Naofumi's forehead before they both went to sleep
The mist disappeared. Everyone was shocked at what they saw. People began looking at Naofumi who had his hands covering his mouth, tears streaming down his face, and a sad look on his face.
"Naofumi-Sama, who were those people?" Raphtalia put a hand on Naofumi's arm, everyone keeping quiet to hear the answer
"My... My husband and kids..."Naofumi said sadly as more tears streamed down his cheeks. He tried drying his cheeks, but more just kept coming
Everyone was shocked. The Shield Hero was married and had kids?
"You would Cheat on your husband and rape someone—?!" Motoyasu accused angrily
"I didn't do it! And you even stole my Ring!" Naofumi yelled as the tears finally stopped and he pointed at Myne
Then, Myne began making up lies and talking bad about L'Arc and the kids. That Naofumi wouldn't stand for. He ran over and smacked her right in the face with his shield
"H-How dare you?!" Myne yelled at him as something suddenly fell from her pocket
A ring.
Naofumi's eyes widened as he picked up the ring, clutching it in his fist, before turning around
"Come on, Raphthalia, Filo. We're leaving" Naofumi told the two girls, walking out of the throne room, the two of them following before anyone could do anything
The next day, guards went around the city looking for Naofumi and his party, using the excuse of them attacking and stealing from the Princess to try and arrest him. Also dirtying his reputation more by saying he cheated on his husband and abused his children.
For the next few days, Naofumi, Filo, and Raphtalia camped beside a river in the forest while trying to raise their levels.
On the 4th night of camping there, Filo asked
"Dad, will you sing for Filo and Big Sister Raphthalia?" Filo tilted her head to the side
Naofumi kept quiet for a couple of seconds, surprised at her calling him dad, before letting it slide
"You know what, I think I will. Get ready for bed, I'll take the first watch." As Naofumi said that Filo, cheered and went over to Raphthalia to her, who looked over at him in surprise before going back to listening to Filo
As Filo and Raphtalia got into their sleeping bags, Nafumi sat down by the almost dead fire and began singing the same song as they heard him sing for his kids back in his world.
As he finished singing, Naofumi went over and sat by the shallow river they were camping beside, just staring into the water, remembering his family.
"Kiddo..." He suddenly heard a familiar voice
He lifted his head and looked over at the other side of the river...
And there he was, standing on the other side of the river, red hair, bangs swept onto one side of his face, matching red eyes and a well-built body. L'Arc was there. Standing in front of him. Just as surprised as Naofumi himself.
Before either of them could register what happened, they were standing in the middle of the shallow waters going to their ankles, hugging each other, tears flowing.
"Oh god, Kiddo, is it really you? Please tell me it's really you? Oh god, I missed you so much." L'Arc said as he clung to Naofumi like a lifeline
"It's me. I'm here L'Arc. I'm here. I'm sorry. I Love you. I love you. I missed you so much." Naofumi whispered back, as L'Arc pulled him into a loving kiss.
They shared a couple more kisses before Naofumi suddenly remembered something.
"L'Arc, where are the kids? Please tell me they're here with you!" Naofumi looked desperately at L'Arc as tears began glazing his eyes again
"They're here with me. Don't worry." L'Arc hugged Nafoumi, who let out a relieved sigh "And I'm sure they'll be glad to see you. They've been behaving like brats since they found out you weren't even in the same world as us." He chuckled sadly
"I... I can't... I can't see them right now..." Naofumi looked down at the shallow waters, soaking his as L'Arc's boots
"What? Why?" L'Arc looked at Naofumi worriedly
"If... If word got out that you were here... They would take you all away from me... They'd hurt you all..." Naofumi looked up at L'Arc, scared
"Who...?" L'Arc gently stroked Naofumi's cheek
"The Bitch first princess and Trash king of Melromarc and the Three Heroes Church," Naofumi grumbled
"Why... Why would they do that...?" L'Arc asked, angry at the people mentioned
"B-Because I'm the Shield Hero... Because I'm weak..." Naofumi looked down again, his bangs covering his eyes
"The Shield Hero..." L'Arc looked at Naofumi in surprise before it turned to love "You're not weak, Kiddo. You're one of the strongest people I know. I've heard about everything that you've done. How you saved a village in the first wave and another from evil plants, stopped an epidemic from happening, and how you saved refugees from starvation. You're fantastic, Naofumi. I Love you so much" He pulled Naofumi close
Naofumi's tears fell as L'Arc hugged him tightly, whispering reassuring words in his ears
After a couple of minutes, Naofumi leaned a bit back from L'Arc's embrace and dried his tears, eyes red and puffy and tear streaks running down his cheeks
"I have to go back soon. But I swear, when we see each other next time, I'm never leaving you guys ever again." Naofumi told
"Okay then, it's a promise." L'Arcsaid as he and Naofumi shared a long kiss, filled with passion and love
After that, they parted, looked back at each other one last time before going their own ways.
Naofumi strayed away from Rapthalia and the others who were still at the place Raphtalia had chosen as a grave for her parents and Rifana, walking around the village and stopping at the top of some stairs looking at an old and ruined building he assumed was the church.
While Naofumi was looking at the run-down church, someone called out.
"DAD!!" Three voice shouted loudly
"Gah!" Naofumi grunted as he was tackled around his middle, being pushed to the ground
When Naofumi looked back up, three kids were crying on him, two twin girls and an older boy sitting at his sides, letting him sit up before they hugged him closely.
"You guys..." Naofumi whispered tears beginning to roll down his cheeks before he hugged the three kids closely "Oh, how I missed you three so much"
"Dad! Don't ever leave us again!" The boy cried
"I'm never leaving you guys again, Umi," Naofumi told the boy, now named Umi
"Dad! We missed you!" One of the twins said, the one with Gray eyes
"I missed you too, Hana. I missed all of you" Naofumi said back
"Yeah! Why'd you leave!" The taller twin with Blue eyes asked with tears in her eyes
Naofumi: "Yuna, I'm never leaving again. Wait, who told you that I'd left you all?" NAofumi face darkened a bit
"A mean Lady with Pink hair!" Umi stated
"That Bit-Bish," Naofumi muttered angrily before hugging all of the kid close to himself
"Master Naofumi!"
"Master!"
Two voice came from the road Naofumi had taken before he was tackled, it showed Raphtalia and Filo running towards him and the kids
"We heard shouting! Is everything okay-?" Raphtalia asked before she saw three kids practically sitting on Naofumi's lap
"Master Naofumi, who's..." Raphtaila trailed off, motioning to the three kids
"Master—!" Filo was cut off by a loud yell
"Umi! Hana! Yuna!" A familiar male voice yelled worriedly
"Where are you guys?" Another voice yelled, this time female
"We're over here!" Umi called over in the direction of the two voices
Around a corner of a destroyed building came out two people, a red-headed male with a scythe on his back and a Blue-haired female wearing multiple pieces of jewelry. Umi and Yuna ran over to the red-head.
"Papa! Papa! Look who we found!" Umi exclaimed
"We found Dad! Look, Look! He's over there!" Yuna pointed over to where Naofumi was sitting on the ground, Hana sitting beside him and holding onto him
"Hey, L'Arc." NAofumi gave the red-head a small smile, stretching one arm out as an invitation
"Kiddo...!" L'Arc ran over and threw his arms around Naofumi's shoulders, hugging him "I missed you." He muttered in Naofumi's ear
"I missed you too" Naofumi whispered back, hugging L'Arc with his one free arm, the other holding Hana close
"Master Naofumi...?" Raphtalia asked in confusion
"Guys I have to get up," Naofumi said before L'Arc and Hana let go of him and they all stood up and Naofumi turned to look at Filo and Raphtalia
"Raphtalia, Filo, this is my family from my world. This is my Husband L'Arc" He gestured to L'Arc
"My eldest and only son Umi," He gestured to the boy with reddish-brown curls, dark brown eyes, slightly tan skin, and freckles
"My eldest daughter Yuna," He gestures to one of the twins, the slightly taller one with blue eyes
"And my youngest, Hana." He gestures to the other twin girl with grey eyes, both of the twin having dirty blonde wavy hair and pale skin
Naofumi then turned to the three kids.
"Kids, this is your older sister Raphtalia and your younger sister Filo, they're from this world but I still love them and I'm sure you will too," Naofumi told them, surprising the others
"Master Naofumi-... Dad..." Raphtalia said with a smile on her face
"Dad!" Filo ran over and hugged Naofumi
Naofumi held her as he turned around and looked at his family with a smile.
Later, when they're boarding the Ship to Cal Mira, Motoyasu, Itsuki, Ren, and their parties all see Naofumi and his party, boarding together with a red-headed man, a blue-haired woman a boy, and two twin girls. They notice how they look like Naofumi's family from the mist and they're too shocked to say anything.
When they're at sea, the Three Heroes are on deck, puking over the railing when Naofumi, his party, and the ones they're traveling with, come outside through a door leading to the rooms under the deck.
The kids and Filo begin playing around while Raphtalia talks with the blue-haired lady and the red-head and Naofumi talk by the railing, Naofumi sometimes interrupting himself or the red-head to shout something at the kids, like "Be careful!" or "Calm down!".
When they get off of the ships, the Three Heroes are carried away to an inn while Naofumi and his party are given a short tour before deciding to go grind levels.
Naofumi was pleasantly surprised when his kids showed remarkable fighting skills. His son was fighting with a rapier together with Raphtalia, the two working together to take down monsters easily. The twins were fighting together with Filo, each wielding a pair of long twin daggers with strings attached to the ends, holding each pair of daggers together as they fought with speed while Filo was using either her gloves or claws to attack the monsters.
When the other heroes saw what they were doing, Motoyasu got angry at Naofumi for making children fight
Naofumi: "I haven't seen you complaining over Raphtalia, who's 10, or Filo, who's a month, fighting." He said before they all left to go deeper into the forest
At the party that evening, Naofumi scolded L'Arc several times for letting the kids drink, while also holding a bowl of Berries over his head as he ate them so the kids wouldn't eat them after he saw what happened when Motoyasu ate one, to which Filo, Umi, and Yuna laughed at. Hana just stayed close to Naofumi the whole time, feeling more comfortable with her sober Dad than her Drunk Papa who was having fun playing with Filo, Umi, and Yuna.