I do not own Ni No Kuni or it's characters. There are a few minor OC's, but I'll list them out at the bottom.

Ch1. Old Friends

The roar of the wind rushed past as a purple dragon with majestic wings soared through the twilight sky of Autumnia. On its back was its master; a young woman with long blonde hair fluttering behind her face. Gliding along with the clouds, the cape-like cloth attached to the back of her skirt also floated freely in the breeze. The dragon made a gentle landing to the ground and the lady slid off the back of her scaled friend.

"Good boy, Tengri! That's a good boy!" She scratched the dragon behind its curled horns affectionately as it purred with joy. "Just hang around here a bit while I'm in Hamelin. I'll call you with the horn, okay, boy?"

"Kyah!" Tengri cried out and took off to the sky once again. The blonde walked towards a fortress structure resembling a pig. She was on her way to Hamelin, known as the Palace of the Porcine Prince.

As she entered the kingdom, her blue eyes were greeted by the sight of steampunk buildings and rust colored machinery. The air was filled with the sounds of industry and steam along with the smell of smoke and smog. She walked along the yellowed brick road, her heeled ankle boots softly clunking along-they were cute and dainty with golden bands around the ankles yet practical and comfy, made of durable leather.

Briskly walking, she eventually reached her destination of the Hamelin hospital. She entered the building and approached the reception desk. A brunette with a purple headband was attending to papers at the desk.

"Excuse me," The traveler asked the receptionist, "I'm here to visit Mr and Mrs. Ologyo. Do you know which room they're in?"

"Oh, the Ologyo's? Hold on a moment, please…"The brunette looked through some records, "Ah, room C208. It's on the second floor in the C wing to your left." She pointed a ruby ringed finger in the direction of the C wing. The blonde woman thanked her and left to the Ologyo's.

As she ascended the stairs, her golden bracelets clinked along the metal stair rail. After climbing the stairs and waking a few paces, she reached the room of C208. A man in a green shirt and a brown hat glanced up with thick glasses as the blonde entered the room. A lady with straight black hair was lying in bed with her right foot in a cast of white bandages. Her hazel eyes also saw the traveler.

"Hey, Derwin! Hi, Athana! How are you feeling?" The raven lady raised her head slightly to respond to the blonde, "A bit better, thank you." Derwin pushed his glasses up. "So did you bring the specimens we needed?"

"Mm-hmm! Here, everyone!" The blue eyed woman called out to her heart and out popped a Sprog Cog, a Bougie, and a Clinketyclank. The three familiars stared curiously at their observer with weird eyes-they have never seen a creature with pieces of glass over its eyes!

"Hmm, yes, these specimens will do nicely. Could we bring them closer to Athana so she can see, too, please?" The blonde nodded and carried the Clinketyclank over to the bed as Derwin had the Sprog Cog while the Bougie floated over by itself.

The lady's hazel eyes widened in fascination of these charming creatures. "My, how interesting…Derwin, my notebook and glasses, please?" The man rummaged in an oversized back pack and pulled out a glasses case, a worn out pencil, and an even more worn down notebook.

As Athana jotted down observations briskly, Derwin used a brand new Hamelin camera to photograph the organisms. The blonde calmed the familiars as all this commotion was going on-after all, she was a familiar tamer.

"Yes…interesting…brilliant! These notes and pictures will be extremely beneficial to the world of familiarology!" Derwin pulled out a few jumbo sundrops and 4000 guilders and handed it to the familiar tamer. "Thank you very much for your assistance. Both me and my wife will be able to advance the field of this science!" The man's enthusiasm was reflected in his wife-and-partner's eyes.

"You're welcome. I hope you get better soon!" The blonde exited the room and made her way outside of the hospital. She remembered when she had helped that man in the past during her adventures with a certain wizard. "That man just loves his field of study to death. I still remember the first time we helped him with those familiars from the desert…and from Yule…and those evolved familiars." She smiled at the memories, of taming every single one of those creatures. "His passion for familiarology hasn't changed a bit. And being married Athana, that other scientist, only seems to amplify their love of science. Well, I'm glad they're hap-"

"Whoa!"

The lady had not been watching where she was going and tripped. She fell down the hard metal stairs. Tumbling to the bottom of the stairs with pained yelps, she was now bruised and skinned, but not seriously hurt.

"Ow…"She held her head in her hand to steady her vision; falling down a flight of stairs makes one very dizzy. So dizzy, that she didn't hear the announcement over the Hamelin speakers yelling, "Make way for the Royal Procession! Everybody, clear the way, I say!" The blonde didn't comprehend what the speakers barked, but did become more aware as she felt the ground beneath her shake. This was not an earthquake, but the heaving of machinery as the houses were pushed and steered away on the iron rails on the main street road to make way.

She remembered when she had first experienced this with her wizard friend a long time ago; the shaking of the ground, the moving of two ton buildings, the rumble of machinery…

"Hey, you need to get out of the road!"

"H-huh?" The woman was literally yanked back to reality; a calloused hand pulled her swiftly to the side of the road to the nearby houses, now with booths extended from them and full of proud, shouting Hamelin citizens. She was now standing at the front of one of those booths, getting a fantastic view of the parade like event.

Huge engines and tanks rolled through the road, now polished and shone in the lights of the streetlamps. Engines on wheels proudly hissed with steam with their loads of Hamelin machinery and army weapons. One float even had a screen on it, projecting a black and white moving image of a pig-man comically chasing another as they threw pies at each other-the children of Hamelin laughed and shouted with joy at this float.

The last member of this parade was a large moving stage surrounded with Hamelin guards. On the top and center of this stage was a grand throne of polished metal with red velvet cushions, although they were not in use at the moment. Their previous occupant was standing up and waving at the crowds as they cheered with vigor; it was their ruler, Emperor Marcassin…although many still called him a prince because of his looks; even though he was now in his mid-twenties, he still had a handsome face and long, luxurious black hair, giving one the impression he was much younger than he really was, like a prince.

"Hey! It's Prince Marcassin!" The blonde waved as his float rolled by.

"Actually, it's Emperor Marcassin, but some people still call pretty boy there a prince because of that face of his." The gruff voice that had pulled her away from the street from before was behind her. She turned to come face to face with a lanky man with curly brown hair. He had a slight stoop to his posture and a bit of stubble on his angular chin. What she didn't notice was his brown eyes staring at her.

"O-oh? Emperor? Has it really been that long…?" She turned back around to stare at the ending procession as the shouts were beginning to quiet. She couldn't see the man raise an eyebrow at her statement.

"Hm? You mean you've been here before or somethin'?" He came to her side and rested his arms on the railing.

"You could say that, yes. A long time ago…" She turned to face him, seeing his worn green trench coat and pale orange shirt underneath. He looked familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on it, so she ignored it.

"I first came here on a bit of an adventure about three years ago. Back then, the ruler was still a prince. I came back here to do an errand at Swift Solutions."

The man nodded. "I see. Well, things aren't that much different from back then besides pretty boy."

The blonde chuckled at this nickname. "Does the prince mind that nickname?" The man laughed along with her, "Haha, well, I don't know, he certainly hasn't made a law against it yet, at least."

The woman stood up, meeting the man's eyes again. "Well, that's good to hear. Thank you for helping me up before."

However, the man didn't answer her; he was staring at her again, but this time she noticed. Her eyebrows scrunched in a confused manner. "Um, is there something on my face? Something wrong?"

"Oh, sorry," he blinked out of his trance, "It's just that…you look really familiar." He scratched the back of his hair as he continued to think.

The blonde stepped back from the rail to see the man fully. Along with a wide belt, he wore old blue pants that were tattered at the edges, showing off long red socks with black shoes that had seen years of use. Now she took everything in about him; his face, his clothes…her brain was trying to remember where and when she had seen this man before.

"I know I've seen him before…but who is he? C'mon, girl, think. His stubble, his coat, his gun, his-

Wait, gun? But he doesn't have one…does he?"

She shook her head, sending her golden hair all over the place. "Wait…Do…Do you have a gun?" The man looked surprised at this. "…Actually, yes." He looked over his shoulder before carefully reaching into his coat to reveal a complex contraption resembling a pistol. A familiar pistol…

"Wait a minute…" He scanned the woman before him, his brain starting to recognize her. Her short top, her blonde hair, her harp-wait, harp?

The lady pulled out a colorfully painted harp. She held it and plucked a few strings, a little tune. And those notes sounded so familiar…

"…Esther…?"

She gasped as the man before her said her name, and then her brain clicked as well.

"…Swaine?"

"Well, if it isn't little miss familiar tamer!" Swaine smirked as he realized who he was talking to.

Esther placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward in frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? For Pete's sake, you haven't changed a bit!"

Swaine merely rolled his eyes. "Hmph, neither have you, babana girl. Except for all those bruises and scratches, of course." Esther took a proper look at herself; her elbows were sore, both knees skinned, and a few bruises on her legs.

"That was quite a fall. Did you become a stunt woman during these three years?" Swaine chuckled as Esther shaped her mouth into an annoyed pout. "…but joking aside, are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so. Nothing broken or anything…" She gazed at her knees, now bleeding.

"Well, I think we should patch you up before you go. C'mon, my home's not far from here and I don't have all day." Swaine walked away and gestured for Esther to follow him.

"You're going to patch me up?" Esther jogged up to Swaine's pace. "Back when we were traveling, it was usually the other way around, remember?"

"Yeah, you played that stupid Healing Hymn so much it got stuck in my head."

The two continued to walk towards the eastern edge of the city as Swaine led the way. Esther's mind was curious and full of questions; what had her friend been doing for the past three years? Did he have any new friends or life? And where did he live? Well, the only way for her to find out was to go with Swaine as they ventured deeper into the quieter streets of Hamelin.

AN: Derwin's last name is not Ologyo, I made that up for the sake of the story. I mean, when you're trying to find someone in a building like a hospital you usually tell them the last name, not the first name, so don't quote me on that. And his wife was a minor OC I made for the story as well.