The day after the confrontation in the church, we first went to Erhard's shop. He presented our Master with a set of armour he proudly called "The Barbarian's set."
"You know I'm supposed to be a hero, right?" He complained. Raphtalia's eyes were positively sparkling. Her tail wagged in tune with the twitching of her ears. I couldn't help but melt at the adorable sight.
I stepped behind her and wrapped her in a hug. "You're too cute for your own good." I cooed.
"What do you think about Naofumi's armour, Ariete?" she asked.
It took every ounce within me not to scowl. "It's fine, I guess."
She pouted. As master and Erhard got distracted in discussing the wave, Raphtalia pulled me out of earshot.
"What is it that you have against Naofumi-sama?"
I scoffed. "Everything. He obviously can't be good. Look at the other heroes. As flawed as they may be, they regard him with the same disgust as the public. He cannot fight for himself because he is weak, so he gets us two children to do it. What exactly is good about him?"
"He's misunderstood." She said,
"Raphtalia, you can't keep acting foolish like this and thinking that-"
"You cannot call me a fool, Ariete!" She yelled. "I'm sick and tired of you treating me as if I know nothing! We are twins. We have experienced the same things, have seen the same things and gone through the same pains. We are here together." She paused.
"He helped me heal. Let him help you."
I shook my head. "Don't let him blind you with-"
"You have to understand, Ariete." She said as she turned away from me.
"I thought you did."
She left me there to bathe in her words. It was a moment before they registered in my mind.
"Raphtalia, wait!"
I rounded the corner. She was walking with our Master.
For the first time, I felt her pulling away from me.
-xXx-
According to Master, the countdown to the wave was 10 minutes. He checked all of our equipment, and told us to make any preparations we needed to. I ensured my dagger was in its sheath, and prodded my mana reserves. They seemed full, so I let them be. Master was fixing his harmor, making sure it was fastened in all the right places.
Raphtalia was taking practice swings with her sword. When I tried to come near her to talk, she moved away.
"Raphtalia, I'm sorry but-"
In the corner of my vision, status magic sprung to life, a big 00:00 appearing next to Nao- Master's name. A great light enveloped me, and I felt myself being lifted. A moment later, my feet hit solid dirt and a warping sound. I looked up as the light dissipated and saw the sky being enveloped in a half crimson, half orange color. Bluish-purple rifts opened in the sky, and beings started to pour from the cracks in reality.
I didn't realise it, but my heart was pounding itself out of my ribcage. After a shout, I saw the other three heroes' parties rushing towards a large rift near a plateau, a gigantic chimera struggling to fit itself through the already big hole.
"Naofumi! Look!" Raphtalia yelled. She pointed towards a familiar village. Riyuute.
We rushed there, Raphtalia leading the charge. We entered the town, residents throwing up furniture and random things to attempt to barricade the streets. I heard the screams of the unlucky few stuck in the hordes.
I froze, memories rushing by me.
Hordes of monsters enveloping a family…
A single man struggling to protect his wife and daughter from a group of goblins…
My parents being eaten alive.
Through the visions of my past, I saw Raphtalia. Without fear or hesitation, she jumped into the fray, slicing at monsters, barreling towards the villagers.
I looked in awe. Master joined up behind her, covering her behind.
It took a skeleton stumbling over to me, raising their sword to break me out of my trance. I dodged, it's sword hitting earth. I used the outstretched arm as a footstep and kicked the rest of the body away, the arm coming off it's shoulder. I then summoned a small fireball and tossed it towards the skeleton, charring the rest of it.
The rest of the horde was mostly lizardmen. I began a chant, focusing on the area away from Raphtalia and Master. "I am the mage of Rurorona Village! Summon forth a ball of flames to engulf these foes! Tsuvait Fire!" A jet of fire sprung forth from my finger, and I doused the area in it. The lizardmen fell, their bodies turned black.
Master's voice boomed, commanding the attention of everyone. "Evacuate to the hills! Don't let the monsters follow you!"
The few militiamen and town guards decided to follow his orders and started to guide the citizenry away from the town.
Master ran into the town, bashing away monsters that got close to him. Raphtalia nearly laid chase, but I caught her by the arm.
"Raphtalia!" I yelled. "C'mon let's get out of here!"
"What?" she asked.
"We don't have time! You know he won't survive being in that infested town. We have to go now, or they'll take us too."
"That's why I have to save him. We have to."
"We can escape now in the chaos! I've been planning this for a while." I moved my arm, opening up my cloak. "3 days worth of food, packed and ready to go. We can make our way to Siltvelt and live free, Raphtalia."
"Naofumi is a good man. Our society ends when we abandon good men like him, when we toss out good men like him. We can't betray him like this!"
I clenched a fist. "He cannot be good, Raphtalia. He is our oppressor, our owner and our abuser. Sure, he may don sheep's clothing now, but that only masks the wolf underneath. The other heroes don't trust him, the people don't, and neither does the church. It's only a matter of time bef-"
The resounding sound of a slap filled the air, and a sharp pain went through my cheek. My head swung to the side, shock filling me.
Raphtalia's quiet voice, always gentle, yet this time poisoned with seething anger came out.
"I support Naofumi. If you don't, join the rest of them."
At that moment, reality shattered.
My vision blurred, as well as my mind. My brain swelled trying to process the information, then shrank, rejecting it all.
No.
Raphtalia…
Raphtalia can't have chosen…
But…
That would mean she'd chosen Master over…
Over…
Over me…
She chose a stranger. No, an enemy, over me. Is she the enemy?
Impossible, Raphtalia is never the enemy.
Then… is Master my ally?
Never. Masters are always the enemy.
Then what is this Master?
What is Naofumi… to me?
-xXx-
A/N: This section is in Raphtalia's POV.
As I stomped away from Ariete, a part of me felt utterly melancholic. I gave her a final look before running off to follow Naofumi. She was still physically standing, yet I felt like she'd collapsed.
I steeled myself. "Raphtalia, you're doing the right thing." I muttered under my breath as I turned a corner.
It was probably a lie, but one or two never hurt anyone.
I continued running, searching for Naofumi.
I found him as I ran into a plaza, being chased by a horde of monsters, stumbling over each other.
He saw me, and nodded. I nodded back.
He spun around, deploying his shield between him and the hordes. I slid beside him and swung my sword, striking 3 lizardmen across the chest and sending them back against other warm bodies. I thrust into another, before parrying a blow and kicking the attacker away.
The sound of wind came from behind me as a translucent green shield blocked a blow I'd missed. Naofumi bashed some enemies towards me, and I struck at them with ease.
I turned back to face the horde. Despite felling a full household of them, the mass of monsters hadn't shrunk one bit.
Naofumi pointed towards a small town square and we ran.
A bunch of wasps occupied our escape route.
Suddenly, large orbs of light shot up into the sky. They coalesced into a single ball and then burst, a rain of flames fell from the sky.
"RAPHTALIA! GET DOWN!"
I ducked, and felt Naofumi's warm embrace.
Peeking out from behind his cloak, I saw the flames hit the homes of the people we'd defend, and set them alight.
As I saw them burn, something hit me.
Ariete was still out there.
I'll be honest, the delay of this chapter was thanks in no small part to osu. Blame ppy for this.
Additionally, it's the one year anniversary of Twinning (the Original) being released! I hope to finish the rewrite before Autumn, and take a break from SH fics until S2 is out (I hear that a fall 2020 - winter 2021 release date is planned, so it won't be too long) and thus the series can have a long-awaited sequel then.
For now, the rewrite goes on!
Also, after a rewatch of Shield Hero, I realized that I've left out way, way too much.
This time for an Omake, I decided to also give a nod to the Series being added to Isekai Quartet!
(Non-Canon) Crossover Omake: Slightly Similar.
Set during the Valentine's day episode.
I stared at the blonde, blue eyed girl standing, glaring at me from the height of my waist. I looked down at her, a box of chocolate in hand.
"Say, Tanya, shouldn't you be sharing these?" I said, a mad grin taking over my face.
She gave me a look filled with the most wrathful, unrestrained and raw anger ever displayed on a child's face. I blinked.
She looked over to her brown headed friend, Viktorya.
Visha, for god's sake help me out! She gestured.
Visha shook her head, a very firm smile on her lips. Your chocolate, Major.
I took the opportunity to slip out of the classroom.
-xXx-
Curse you, Being X!
Not only had he convinced that girl to take my chocolate, but it was the chocolate for Colonel Lerhgen.
The damn deity is hell-bent on obstructing every plan I have.
That chocolate is necessary.
Absolutely necessary.
-xXx-
I snuck into the unused classroom. Sitting down at one of the desks, and blowing the dust off, I set down my spoils of war.
One box of premium chocolates.
The aroma itself tickled my senses. It was better than the exorbitantly expensive square I'd had years ago in the Village.
Dad had gone to Faubley and gotten two squares for the same price as a Filolial. It had been the most rich experience I'd ever felt in my mouth.
I gingerly lifted a piece to my mouth, then took a bite.
-xXx-
I panted as I spun up the third orbless agility spell I'd needed to cast all day. Only a single hour was left until the end of the day, and if I didn't get Lerghen that chocolate, I'd imply I'd only given them to him as an afterthought.
I have to get those in today.
I checked what felt like the 100th classroom that day (Why is this school so large?!) and found Ariete.
I looked at her chocolate stained face, to the empty box, then at last to the final chocolate in her hand.
She stared at me.
With a crisp sound, the final piece landed in her mouth and went down her throat.
A lick made her face nearly clean.
At that moment, my list of hated things was updated.
Being X, followed by murderers, followed by Ariete, then communists.
Girl, I am going to end you.
Well, have a good February, and I'll see you in spring!