#werewolf l'arc

[shieldherostuffs]

The Pumpkin Shield!

The Nightmare Before Christmas AU, I think? Shapeshifter1 Naofumi,

(This was, as you've probably seen by the AU-thing, inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas Movie.

So, early Halloween Special!)

THIS ENDED UP BEING VERY VERY LONG! Also, I wrote this at 2AM while running on nothing but cookies, fried chicken, and cola.

*★°*:.☆.:*°★*

Naofumi Skellington, the current Pumpkin King, and successor of Jack Skellington. Naofumi took over the title for his mentor once Jack decided to retire together with Sally.

Naofumi had always been a bright, frightening soul who loved to scare the lights out of humans, and did so with enthusiasm. Their scream was just so delightful!

He'd been but a child, unable to control his powers of terror, when Jack had found him. Jack had taken him back to Halloween. The citizens of Halloween had been kind to Naofumi, even if they likes to play pranks and scare him. They found his powers to shapeshift and create illusions interesting. Jack, Sally, and the rest of the citizens of Halloween had helped Naofumi learn to control his powers.

They'd even started calling him Little Pumpkin Sprout once they noticed how he followed Jack or Sally around like a lost werewolf pup.

Sally and Jack had raised Naofumi together as if he'd always been part of Halloween. While everyone else would teach Naofumi different ways to prank and scare people and humans, Sally would teach Naofumi how to be kind and considerate too, and notice if went too far.

Naofumi appreciated all of it.

The two witch sisters would teach Naofumi how to make potions and fly brooms. The four Vampires would teach Naofumi how to appear out of nowhere and fly with wings. The Ghosts would teach Naofumi how to do the most shrill screams, and appear within fog and smoke. Everyone else taught him their own things too!

Jack would make sure Naofumi perfected his scaring, and teach him the scariest tricks and treats of all, and how to perfect his shape-shifting powers.

Of course, Naofumi enjoyed spending time with everyone.

However, when Naofumi was a teen, the Werewolf brought his son to the town, and the Witch sisters brought their niece. Both were apparently Naofumi's age.

The werewolf's son was named L'Arc Berg, and the witches' niece was named Therese Alexandrite. Both looked more human than monsters, just like Naofumi, but could change their looks in different ways, if desired.

L'Arc had short spikey crimson hair, like blood, and red slitted eyes with yellowish sclera. He had a pair of bushy red wolf-ears on the sides of his head, and a matching red tail behind him.

Therese had long blue hair in a loose and messy braid over her shoulder under the classic black witch hat. Her braid was tied with what looked to be a skeleton hand holding it together. Her eyes were blue and deep like the cold and dark ocean. She held a broom in her hands, too.

When Naofumi had seen them for the first time, he's been shy, and hidden behind Sally, while the two smiled. L'Arc's grin showed off his sharp teeth.

Naofumi couldn't help but blush a little.

After meeting the two new citizens of Halloween, Naofumi decided he wanted to spend more time with the two. But, he also wanted to visit his mentor's study and look for something to explain the heat in his cheeks, and the weird beating of his dead heart.

As time went by, the three of them would become closer and closer. They would scare and prank others together and spend their free time together. Sometimes they'd even prank each other.

As they became closer and closer, they didn't even need to coordinate their pranks and scares, it started coming naturally.

The three became closer and closer, and Naofumi finally found a book on why his cheeks would heat up around L'Arc and Therese, and why his dead heart would start beating rapidly.

Something called 'Love'.

Naofumi had asked Sally about it since she seemed to know more about emotions than everyone else. After her explanation of what love was and what was between her and Jack, Naofumi had been amazed. Love sounded so fun, and it was interesting how people could show it in different ways!

Something Naofumi, L'Arc, and Therese had taken to doing together, was spend time either on the hill over the pumpkin patch, where Sally and Jack would sometimes watch the stars, or spend time playing around the graveyard.

After finding out about 'Love', Naofumi would start showing small signs of affection, which L'Arc and Therese would start showing too.

Naofumi would start with kisses on their cheeks and bumping their shoulders together. Therese would start holding their hands and leaning against their shoulders. L'Arc would start licking their cheeks and pulling them into hugs and nuzzling them, letting his scent stay on them.

Slowly, it became more. There were no big confessions or utters of feelings. They all just kind of knew it slowly as it happened.

Then, their pranks on each other started involving affection too.

Naofumi and Therese would get on their brooms sometimes, and hang upside down to give L'Arc and kiss him each before flying away, letting L'Arc follow them to the graveyard. In return, once they got to the graveyard, L'Arc would turn into his monstrous wolf form, missing skin and fur here and there, with glowing red eyes, and jump on them both. He would then lick both of their faces as a return to their kisses.

None of them minded.

----- (I'm placing the Keep Reading here because this is starting to get pretty long. Rest of Idea, Headcanons, and Tagging further down.)

After years, when Naofumi had become an adult by human years, Jack had announced his retirement from the title as 'Pumpkin King' and handed it over to Naofumi.

Naofumi took it with glee and had gone on a scare-spree in the human world on the Halloween it was announced.

However, one day, Naofumi, L'Arc, and Therese had snuck off to wander around the human world. He was thinking that maybe he could scare a few youngsters, and learn more.

They'd ended up disguised as humans at a library. Naofumi had gotten curious while wandering, and started looking at the books. Like a normal prank in Halloween, the books had suddenly fallen down on Naofumi.

Picking up one of the books, Naofumi could feel something weird from it. In a second, it'd started glowing, and the library disappeared. L'Arc and Therese had come running once hearing his shout but had only found a book with his scent on it, and nothing else.

They tried looking for him, and going back to Halloween, and waiting, with the book, thinking it was just another prank. But, after a few days, they got worried. Naofumi knew they didn't like it when he took a prank far enough to hide for days, so something must've happened.

They took the book to Jack and asked for help. Jack looked over the book and found that it was the story of Four Heroes, something classic for humans. Once the story of The Shield Hero came up, they found that the first page had been written, about the Shield Hero being a being of terror and fright, a King of the Night. Once he'd read the book, Jack had gotten the same feeling as when he'd gone to Christmas all those years ago.

Naofumi was not in the world of Halloween, nor the Human World.

-----

When Naofumi had found himself in one of those old castles in the Human World, he's quickly looked around while straightening his black and white suit, one of Jack's old ones, which Sally had re-sown to his size.

All around him were a bunch of humans, some in weird clothing, and some in normal clothing.

Naofumi quickly noticed the Shield stuck on his arm, and gave up trying to get it off after a few tries.

Then, he followed the humans through the castle they'd been 'summoned' in, to see the King of the place.

While walking there, Naofumi decided on a plan. He decided to pose as a human for now. That way, he could cause bigger terror and greater pranks to these people who dare kidnap the Pumpkin King himself.

-----

Naofumi already did not like this human king. He's ignored Naofumi and had only been talking towards the other three.

Only when the smallest of the four, the blonde with the bow, had mentioned it, did the King as for Naofumi's name.

"Naofumi Skellington, twenty years old." Naofumi had introduced himself, ignoring the looks he got for looking around 18 since he didn't will himself to age any longer, to match L'Arc and Therese

After the meeting with the King, the four Heroes were shown into a shared room.

They started a conversation. With Motoyasu, the spear hero, asking Naofumi about his 'fancy get-up'. Naofumi had just answered that it was his everyday clothes, and something he inherited from his mentor.

Then, the three started talking about different kinds of 'games', those things the humans liked to play for fun. Naofumi also ignored their abs at the Shield.

He could think of multiple ways to hurt or attack with a Shield.

All of them painful.

After the other three had gone to bed, Naofumi summoned his broom from the dust in the air and decided to take a flight over the city. He even put on a hat identical to Therese's, for the effect, should anyone see him.

Well, good thing he did, because as he started laughing at the excitement of flying on a broom again, he heard a few children and maybe some adults scream in the streets below.

-----

Naofumi really did not like this. He loved pranks and tricks, of course, even if he was the recipient sometimes, but this wasn't fun at all.

Myne, the lady who'd joined him the day before for his adventure as a Hero, was accusing him of sexually assaulting her.

Kind of amusing, actually.

Okay, hilarious.

"Hehe..." Naofumi chuckled to himself as he stood up, ignoring the spears pointed at his neck

"How dare you laugh, you scoundrel! Are you that happy about yourself, after what you did?!" Motoyasu exclaimed angrily

Did these people really think they were going to get away with this?

"Ahh, how amusing! How exciting! How humorous!" Naofumi exclaimed, a large grin on his face, and his eyes incredibly wide, showing off the toxic green color

Did these people really think they were going to get away with accusing the Pumpkin King himself?

"You think this is funny?!" Itsuki exclaimed, pointing right at Naofumi

"Ah, but of course! Now I have even more of a reason not to tell anyone anything!" Naofumi exclaimed

"Tell us what?!" Ren asked sternly

"Oh, but what would be the fun in that? If I tell you, it won't be as grand!" Naofumi then said

"Silence, Shield!" The King then demanded

"Oh, but not to worry! I will be leaving all of my own free wills! You won't have to worry about me at all!" Naofumi exclaimed, the grin still very present on his face as he gave a bow

"As if anyone would worry about you!" Motoyasu grumbled

"Then, I will be taking my leave now! Toodles!" Naofumi got up from his bow and turned on his heels to then take long strides towards the doors

No-one stopped him. They either just wanted him gone from their sights, or were too shocked by his display.

As he left, Naofumi hummed a familiar song.

"La, la, la, la-la-la, la la, la-la-la, la la, la-la-la, la, la, la, laaaa!"

-----

As Naofumi went around the Kingdom of Melromarc, he encountered a multitude of new Monsters around in the forest outside the capital. Though, most of them refused to converse with someone as human-looking as himself. But, he couldn't shapeshift now, there was someone keeping an eye on him constantly.

Maybe they wanted to make sure he didn't try to play any pranks?

While wandering the dark corners of the capital, Naofumi ended up in a slaver's tent. In caged all around, were people looking like L'Arc or his father, the Werewolf, but with different animals too.

Naofumi found three sick children in one of the cages, and he was reminded of how Jack had taken him in as a child. Naofumi ended up buying the three children and made a silent note to remember to get the rest of the ones in cages out sometime too.

Slowly, the three children, Raphtalia, Rifana, and Keel, warmed up to Naofumi. They were a bit uncomfortable around him at first, even after finding out he was the Shield Hero.

But, he kept being nice to them, even if he was a bit scary sometimes, or tried talking to monsters.

Whenever they camped out, he would make fog appear around them, hiding them from other people and monsters. He would scare away the humans who'd try to hurt them, and encourage them to get stronger and bigger.

He even made a weird, blue-glowing potion in a pot over the fire after a few days, which ended up curing their sicknesses and healing their wounds. It even tasted like candy!

Naofumi warmed up to the three too. They almost reminded up of Lock, Shock, and Barrel, though much less mischievous. Though, Naofumi didn't really have any other children to compare the three to.

Oh well, they were so cute anyways!

Maybe he could teach them how to effectively scare people at some point? Or get the best screams out of others?

No, he should probably start with getting them used to the dark, and reassuring them that any monsters that would be in their homes, were their friends.

-----

Once the re-trial with the Queen rolled around, Naofumi was getting a bit tired of humans.

Some of them were too easy to scary, and others just tried to fight him with magic or weapons instead. He'd already terrorized the other Heroes, the First Princess, and the King, with the help of Raphtalia, Keel, and Rifana.

But, now he could get even more back at the King and First Princess because the Queen had come back!

Still, he missed his home and family.

Everybody back in Halloween may be scary monsters to others, but they're still very kind. They all just love scaring people! Just like Naofumi does!

He especially misses L'Arc and Therese. They've been stuck to the hips almost ever since they met, and then they were so suddenly separated!

As the trial was underway, suddenly, the sound of Wolves could be heard in the distance, and as if by magic, dark clouds covered the sky, basking the capital in darkness akin to the night.

Suddenly, three black blurs flew by the windows.

"I found him, I found him!" A shrill voice cheered loudly outside

The three blurs came by again.

"You did, you did!" Another shrill voice exclaimed

Then, three voices began laughing creepily, the sounding going around and around above outside.

The wolves could still be heard, coming closer.

----- On the edge of the Capital -----

"I wonder where he could be in this funny little city," Jack asked to himself, standing beside Sally on the capital's outer wall

"Jack, I think they found him," Sally pointed to the castle, where Therese and the two Witch sisters were flying around, laughing

"The Castle! Yes! He is the Pumpkin King after all! Befitting!" Jack exclaimed cheerfully

-----

Naofumi smiled widely as he heard Therese and her aunts' cheerful laughter. Laughter that brought shivers down the human around him's spines.

After a few minutes of the Castle Knights trying to shoot down the three witches flying around, the doors to the throne room burst open.

"Hello, my frightful people! What a truly horrifying day we have today!" Jack exclaimed, arms wide as he strode into the throne room on long body legs, with Sally following beside him

As Sally noticed Naofumi, she gave him a small smile and a wave, which he gleefully returned.

"Naofumi, my boy! Has it been frightful in this new world! Oh, a cloak! Of course! Very horrendous! Perfectly black for hiding in the shadows!" Jack exclaimed once he noticed Naofumi, commenting on the black cloak Naofumi now were over his black and white striped suit

"Thank you, Jack!" Naofumi smiled widely, showing sharp teeth

The humans around them were all frozen in their places.

The skeleton who'd just waltzed into the throne room oozed the presence of death and fear, demanding terror from all around him.

But, who did Naofumi seem completely fine? And what kind of cheek-splitting smile was that?!

Though, at least his party still seemed affected, hiding behind him, and using his cloak as a cover.

"Who're these children, Naofumi?" Sally had come over, asking Naofumi softly about the three behind him

Naofumi looked down at the three.

"Don't be scared you guys, remember what I said? They're friends." Naofumi reassured them

Raphtalia, Keel, and Rifana seemed to calm a little with that.

-----

Naofumi knew why his family from Halloween had come to Melromarc. He wasn't sure how, but he knew why. He was sure.

They'd come to get him back. With how he'd been told they all worried back when Jack disappeared for a while, he knew they'd all set out to look for their dear Pumpkin King.

He felt reassured that they did.

—————

Tagging: @rosesinbloom7love, @zachy-akaya

—————

Personal Headcanons ⭐️:

L'Arc can transform into a werewolf and into a full wolf, while Therese can use potions to change into anything she wants.

L'Arc and Therese often describe Naofumi's eyes as 'Shining green and bright like a toxic potion'.

Naofumi is extremely pale, white as a sheet, and thin, with almost no meat on his bones. His hair is also as dark as the night sky.

The citizens often compare his pale complexion and bone-showing skinniness to Jack being a skeleton, and Naofumi being so much like him, even in looks.

While Naofumi, Therese, and L'Arc went about pranking and scaring people, Jack would sometimes watch, proud of his mentee, but not really understanding the feeling until he read about it, and Sally explained it.

Sally was very happy that Naofumi now had two friends his age to spend time with, who wanted to spend time with him too.

Sally was also very happy when she noticed how close Naofumi, L'Arc, and Therese had gotten.

Most citizens of Halloween don't know what 'Romantic Love' is, and therefore don't discriminate if they ever see it.

I hc that Therese's mother is The Scary Godmother, from the movie of that name, just because. She doesn't know her father, because what Witch actually knows both her parents?

You could also add Kizuna and Glass as people living in Halloween. Like, Glass could be a powerful Ghost/Spirit, while Kizuna could be, maybe, a Mimic, or shape-shifter like Naofumi?

Raphtalia would take after Naofumi in using her magic to create illusions since he'd be able to teach her more about that, and how to do it.

When Naofumi truly smiles, it literally splits his cheeks so widely he does it, making it all the more creepy to humans. L'Arc and Therese love it.

[rosesinbloom7love]

TheRuFumi Halloween Prompt!

Naofumi Iwatani is a witch that lives in a cottage.

One night, Naofumi finds an injured wolf with red fur in the woods while out looking for plants for a potion and decides to take the poor wolf home to treat 

While, nursing the wolf back to health, Naofumi grows quite fond of the canine. Even after, Naofumi frees it once it’s fully healed, the wolf would still visit the witch often.

One night while Naofumi is brewing a potion, he hears a scratching at his door. The witch already knows who it is as he walks to the door.

As soon as Naofumi opens the door, he’s greeted by the sight of the wolf sitting in front of the witch tail wagging excitedly.

Naofumi smiles at the wolf and crouches down petting his ears affectionately.

Just then, something flies pass Naofumi face and into his cottage. Naofumi jumped back a bit and quickly turned to see what had entered his house.

Naofumi scanned inside until he noticed something sitting on his window sill.

It was a bat.

Naofumi let out a sigh of relief. it was only a harmless bat. Naofumi raised his hand to the small creature to which it looked at it curious, before hanging itself on the witches index finger.

The bat looked fairly normal, expect for its big, blue eyes that seemed to resemble jewels.

After that, The bat would show up whenever, Naofumi’s wolf friend would visit.

Naofumi became so accustomed to their visits that he’d even prepare food for them and even let them sleep in his bed with him, though they were always gone before Naofumi woke up.

Then one day after falling asleep with both his animal companions at his sides. Naofumi wakes up the next morning feeling what felt like two pairs of arms wrapped around him.

When Naofumi opens his eyes the first thing he sees is a beautiful young woman with a blue braid and pale skin nuzzling his shoulder with her arms around his neck.

While Naofumi is wondering who this woman is and why she’s sleeping in his bed, he feels something or someone shift behind him.

When Naofumi glances behind him, he sees a handsome man with strangely familiar crimson red hair and a tan, muscular built spooning him with his strong arms firmly wrapped around the witch’s waist.

The man had his face nuzzled into Naofumi’s messy hair breathing in Naofumi scent as he slept peacefully. But, what really caught Naofumi’s attention were the wolf-like ears rested on top the man’s head.

The two strangers sleep happily, while Naofumi silently panics between them.