Dobe of Zero

By Midnak

Author's Notes: Well, here we are. Chapter 3. I actually went back and revised this one a few times. Come of the scenes didn't seem quite clocks out at about 4700 words, so a health chunk. It was originally gonna be a big 10k'er, but looking back I decided to split it into to halves and refine them one at a time. Expect chapter 4 out by Friday, Sunday tops depending on how finals go.

I actually got called out for my large A/N's. So I'll explain here that the A/N's are my way of explaining what I am going for, so you can tell me where I failed. I am not a writer, I am actually an economics student. I write as a hobby. I used write fantasy novels, but decided to try my hand at fanfiction after a long dry spell. So if I ever mention what I'm going for in the A/N and you didn't "feel" it in the story, please tell me how, I would really appreciate it. From now on, I'll be leaving most my notes as ending notes. It seems like a better idea. Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter 3: Your Ninja

Water lapped at my ankles. It was neither warm nor cold, just a wet sensation on the edge of my consciousness. I wanted to look down and inspect it. However, all I could do was look into the void before me. A black emptiness that pulled me in, I could not fathom what lied inside. It was something important. Something I should see. Something…

Red eyes opened.

I awoke with a start, flinging blankets off of me as I sat upright stiff as a board. Where was I? A strange room, not my own surrounded me. Right, this was Louise's room. Right, summoning, fighting Guiche, sleeping. It all came rushing back to me. My breathing slowed and I calmed down. I must have had a nightmare or something.

A soft hand touched my forehead. My heart nearly leaped out of my chest at the surprise. My head snapped right to see the blue haired girl I had seen around the school. "No fever." Was all she said. Ah, so she was taking care of me, then where was Louise? And who was this? The girl was small of frame, much like my summoner, and wore glasses over a neutral expression. She was currently occupied reading some book and made no effort to talk.

Well, I was never one to wait, "Neh, I guess I got beat up pretty bad, eh? How long was I out?"

The girl simply replied, "One night; surprising."

I smiled at that, proud of my durability, "It never takes me long to get back on my feet. I guess you took care of me neh? Uh…."

"Tabitha" the girl replied, again not extending the conversation. I guess she was just a quiet type; she didn't seem to be shy. "So, uh, where is Louise anyways?" I questioned the girl.

"Medicine." Oh, so Louise had gone to get medicine.

I tried to get any info out of the blue haired girl. "How long has she been gone?"

Man I hoped I wasn't too annoying. "All night."

Oh, so Louise must have had to travel somewhere. Wait; did that mean Tabitha had been here all night? Suddenly, a thought entered my head. "Neh, Tabitha? Did Louise just grab you out of the hall to watch me while she ran off?" A nod of the head was all I needed. Man, that summoner of mine was really bossy. Oh well, Tabitha didn't seem to mind. "Well thanks for looking after me Tabitha. I'll help you out sometime okay?" I said with one of my big smiles, this girl seemed good. A solid person.

Any reply I might have gotten was cut off by a loud voice coming from outside the room. "Darling!" A sweet voice called out as the door opened. Entering the room was the tan skinned, red-haired girl I had seen, one of Louise's more vocal tormentors. I almost thought she had come in here for me, talking in such a sweet voice, but as soon as she entered, she locked eyes with me, and then looked at Tabitha. Surprise and I'm not sure what else flashed across her face. My danger instincts kicked in as a knowing smile crept across the fire haired woman's face. "Tabitha darling! There you are!" Ah, so she was looking for Tabitha. Yeah, why would she be looking for me? WE didn't even know each other.

"Kirche." The blue haired girl answered, getting up as she did so, eyes never leaving her book.

"Tabitha, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" Kirche, apparently, said to Tabitha in a sing song voice. T

hen she leaned in and whispered something to the bookish girl. "Mistaken." Was all that the blue haired girl said in reply to the whisper. Man, I hated being kept out of the loop.

I was about to ask what was going on when the entire tower shuddered from a shrill scream, "Zerbst! What are you doing in my room!" Louise had apparently chosen now to return.

In the doorway stood Louise. The usual prim and proper pink haired noble was a bit of a mess. Hair frizzled out every which way and clothes a mess of wrinkles. The reed head's reply was to hold her hand in front of her face and let out a condescending laugh. "Oh ho ho! I was just looking for Tabitha here! Really Zero, don't think so highly of yourself that I would want to be here!" Wow, ouch.

"Get out!" Louise screamed in response, only to be snatched out of her rage as Tabitha walked by and out the door, still reading. "Tabitha darling! Please wait up!" Kirche ran after her and by Louise, not sparing her another glance.

If the resounding slam of the door was anything to go by, Louise might be in a bad mood. I could hear her mumbling to herself before she turned around. She must have just noticed I was awake because she nearly jumped with a start. "You are awake!" She exclaimed. Embarrassed, I rubbed my neck and laughed out. "Heh heh, I recover pretty fast. Never needed more than a day to recover from anything." That declaration deflated her. She clutched something to her chest and mumbled. "And I rode all the way to the capital and back to get this healing Elixir, all because the healer said you might not wake up…"

Well that surprised me. This girl had been ordering me around like an animal yesterday, and I had gone and blown up at her. Yet, she still rode all night to get me some medicine. Honestly, I was pretty moved, no one had ever stuck their neck out like that for me before. Not sure what to say, I just let my mouth ramble, "Hey thanks, that was pretty nice of you to do that for me."

I must really be bad with people, because that seemed to make her angry. "Don't get full of yourself!" She said with a start. "You are still my familiar and I am your master. I'd be a failure as a mage if I let my familiar die." I felt a bead of sweat roll down my face. Yup, still Louise.

Still, I owed her some gratitude. "Well thanks anyways, no one has ever gotten me a present before." I said, realizing it to be true myself as I spoke it. I was alone before Louise summoned me, no family to remember my birthday. It was kinda nice really, getting a gift.

I felt something get shoved into my chest. "D-don't read too much into it. I got the potion for you, so keep it." The pink haired summoner refrained from eye contact as she waited for me to take the gift. Taking the vial, I looked at its contents. There, a light blue liquid was held within a tiny, clear vial with a cork stopper; all no bigger than my pinky finger. I sat there, back propped against the backboard of the bed as Louise stood awkwardly at my bedside. Now, without all her bluster, she looked… vulnerable.

I don't know why, maybe it was because I saw myself in her, maybe it was getting a gift for the first time, hell, maybe it was just because I like talking, but I just started talking. "Back where I come from, I was training to be a ninja." Louise looked at me, surprised I had broken the awkward silence. "I trained really hard. I practiced until I bled. I ran until my legs gave out. But it was never enough." Louise kept silent when I stopped, clenching my fist at the painful memory. "I was always last, always one step behind everyone else. Everyone in class called me Dobe. Dead last Naruto." I didn't look at Louise, afraid that I wouldn't be able to continue if I did. "I would have given anything to get out from that crushing feeling of failure. I wanted so desperately to be the best, to be respected." I turned to Louise, finally confident in myself, "Even now, I want to find a way back. I want to prove to everyone that I am someone." My eyes must have been a bit intense, because she looked away.

We stayed like that, in dead silence, for nearly a quarter hour. She kept biting her lips. I could tell she was thinking, trying to word something, so I waited. Eventually, she began speaking, still not looking at me. "I understand, I won't stop you if you want to leave." The deflated voice was almost too much to bear.

"When did I say anything about leaving?" I asked her. Louise's head nearly spun around she looked back at me so fast. "I plan on returning to my home someday, but as far as I know, no one here even knows what Konoha is, let alone where. I figure the best place to find out a way home would be a magical academy." I scratched my nose, looking up and away from her, "And until that time, I guess I can act as your familiar." The girl smiled, obviously relieved that she wouldn't be shamed. "But no more of this animal crap and chores! I'm not a maid; I'm a ninja, okay?" She nodded after a moment, obviously a bit miffed. I sighed, being worn down by her depressed look. "But I guess I'm your familiar for now, so I'll be your ninja for the time being."

That was when she asked me the strangest question I had ever heard. "So what exactly is a ninja?"

*scene break*

Later that day Louise had gone off to class and I had proceeded to throw myself back into training. We hadn't gotten much into the discussion of ninja's before she realized she was late for class. Her understanding of ninja's as of now, was that they were 'awesome fighters who use cool ninja techniques' needless to say, I really needed to work on my explanations. I would see her during her lunch though, so no major loss. The hours of classes rolled by while I went through my physical exercises, once again I did not bother with ninjutsu. It just didn't seem like a good idea right now…

So there I was, finishing up my exercises with kunai target practice. I had managed to get a spell target meant for the mage students from one of the staff after a bit of persuasion. The target was a simple circle with a bull's-eye, nothing fancy. I drew a kunai from my pouch and immediately felt good and light, despite my rigorous workout. Odd, but I threw the knife anyways, only to hit the exact bull's-eye! "Alright!" I screamed to no one in particular; glad to be improving my old dismal accuracy. Drawing another kunai in my euphoria, I chucked it as well, only to hear a ding of metal hitting metal before the kunai fell in front of the target. Odd… Trying another throw, the same thing happened again, I was hitting the kunai stuck in the target. A dead on throw every time! Wow, how did I get so good so fast?

I decided to investigate further. Walking up to the target, I retrieved the fallen kunai, checked them for damage, and replaced them in my pouch, satisfied with their condition. Looking to the sole kunai in the target, I realized the other knives had pushed it in good and far. I was about to grab it when I heard the bells toll, signaling the end of the first half of classes. Turning to my right to see the students leave the towers, I focused on the brown topped tower, remembering Louise was studying earth this morning. Reaching out with my left hand, I grabbed the kunai absentmindedly, only to notice a shine. There, on my left hands, the scarred in runes were shining. In my surprise, I let go of the blade, only for them to stop. Now I'm not the sharpest tack in the box, but it didn't take much for me to connect the dots. Hand grabs lethal weapon, I feel good and markings shine, hand lets go, I feel normal and runes fade away. Wow, well, that's cool. I'd need to ask Louise about this, she was the one who put the runes on me, why didn't she tell me about them?

I was deep in my thoughts when I heard the familiar voice of Louise, "Having trouble with your knife?" Turning, I found my summoner standing there with one hand on her hip, looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Not exactly," I replied, "Just wondering about these runes." I gestured with my free hand to the runes.

She leaned in, inspecting them, "Your familiar runes are glowing?" She asked more than stated.

I tilted my hand around, looking at the glowing lettering. "Yeah, and see what happens when I let go." As expected, I let go and the runes faded. "It only happens when I'm holding the kunai. I feel stronger, better."

"Well, familiars are supposed to get special powers when their contract is made, like a cat gaining the ability to talk. Maybe you got that?" Made sense to me. Still, it was pretty cool, runes giving him better accuracy and making him stronger. Before I could continue on with my investigation, I was derailed, "But besides that," Louise launched into her bossy voice, "you still need to tell me what a ninja is. Come on, you can tell me while we eat."

I half walked, half was dragged by the sleeve to the outdoor eating area. "Be grateful. I had to ask a lot of favors for you to be fed with the nobles, even if we can only eat in the outdoor area." Huh, I guess she wasn't kidding when she said I wasn't supposed to be eating with the nobles. Then again, most nobles I've met have been pretty pompous, present company included.

"Well thanks…" I sighed out, unsure of the proper response.

Louise didn't stand on ceremony, obviously wanting information. "Now tell me, what's a ninja?"

She seemed rather intent on the ninja explanation, well, better tell her then. "Well… how do I put it, a ninja is like a warrior, or soldier."

That got an odd look from Louise. "That's it? I was hoping you were some kind of holy knight from a faraway land."

I felt my forehead sweat at the notion. "Well, I am from far away… but the holy thing is a bit…off." That got a questioning look from her. Well, I should just tell her what my instructor said to the class on the first day of the academy. Putting one finger up to emphasize my point, I explained, "Ninja use stealth, trickery, ninja techniques, illusions, and martial force to complete any task given to them." Huh, the translations seemed a bit off, but oh well. Louise gave me an odd, incredulous look, "If you put it like that, you sound like some sort of assassin."

"Well, that's not all I trained to do, but ninja's do assassinations."

The resounding "WHAAAAT?" drew the looks of everyone else sitting outside. It took a few moments of silence from gob smacked Louise before they returned to their own conversations. "You mean to tell me you are an assassin? I summoned an assassin?" She whispered in hushed but urgent tone. The whole scenario was odd to me. "Well, yeah, every ninja is trained for stealth and fighting, but ninja were originally mainly assassins." Louise leaned back fanning her forehead, "You're kidding right? A noble so closely associated with an assassin.-"

"Ninja" I corrected. "-Ninja. I'd never hear the end of it. I mean, you don't even look like an assassin! You wear bright orange and have green goggles!" I was a bit annoyed; she insisted on calling me an assassin, I was a ninja! "Hey, I have confidence in my stealth skills. I used to pranks fully fledged ninja back in my village. While wearing this suit. Besides, if I look like this, no one thinks I'm a ninja. If I wore all black that would be even less stealthy. Everyone would know I was a ninja."

That made her think a little. "That makes some sense." Then an idea seemed to strike her, "So if you are my ninja, as you put it, then if I told you to assassinate someone…" She trailed off, waiting for me.

"Are they bad guys?" I asked. The fact that I left the notion open for a target sent her into another hot headed minor freak out. Pressing my luck I continued, "I've never been given an assassination mission," or any mission really, I mumbled, "but from what I've seen, it wouldn't be too hard."

She seemed to make up her mind, "No," she said in a hushed tone, "I don't need anyone assassinated, just stay and guard me as my familiar."

I gave her a smile, "got it, bodyguard duty." It was kinda fun stressing her out like that.

Before we could continue our discussion, I sensed someone approaching. Turning to meet the figure, I found it was none other than Guiche. Was the annoying playboy coming for another duel. If he thought the last one was luck, I'd lay him flat this time.

"Hit me."

Of all the things I expected him to say, that was not one of them. "Excuse me?" I heard Louise say, surprised as I was. I looked at Guiche, paying closer attention to him now. His eyes were not the careless eyes of yesterday.

No, they ignited a fire inside me. "You were right yesterday. I wasn't being a noble or a warrior, I was playing around. I was done in by my own foolish actions and blamed you. The Gramont blood flows through my veins. The blood of warriors. So hit me now, I'm a warrior." Standing up, I faced him with a feral smile; I think I could like this guy.

"I won't hold back." I warned.

"I know." Was all he said.

My fist met his face before anyone realized I had thrown a punch. In moments, his feet left the ground as his toppled backwards from the force of my blow. He remained so still on the ground; I almost thought I had knocked him unconscious from one blow. "Guiche!" I heard a cry from somewhere near the tower. From the sound of the voice, it was that freckled blond girl who dumped him yesterday. I did not look though; instead I offered a hand to the slowly stirring Guiche. The left side of his face was already swelling, but he gave me a grin as he accepted my hand.

Pulling the boy to his feet, I couldn't help but smile. "Who are you and what did you do with Guiche?" I heard Louise ask the blonde boy. Though with his head throbbing, Guiche might not have heard it, or he just didn't answer. Instead, he said to me, "I cannot beat you as I am now, but I'll want a rematch in the future."

My smile nearly split my face, "I'll count on it."

That was when the freckled girl, Montmorency, if I remember correctly, arrived with tearing eyes. "Are you okay Guiche?" She nearly cried.

The boy draped himself over her shoulder dramatically, "Oh, I am fine Monmon, just weak. I had to settle things with this fellow warrior-manly man, but now that you are here I will be fine." The boy gave a twinge and slumped his weight onto the girl. "It seems I am more wounded than I thought, If only there were a water mage to heal me." He called out wistfully.

Montmorency seemed fooled enough by his act. "Lean on me Guichey, I'll help you to some shade." Slowly, the two walked away, one supporting the other. As they retreated, Guiche looked over his shoulder with a grin and gave me a thumbs up. I swear sparkles formed around the smile.

"Yup, still Guiche." I heard Louise say.

"Yup." I concurred.

*Scene break*

The next day was the day of the founder, apparently the first of the weekend here. Tomorrow was the day of void and then the week would start again. Louise had taken me to the city for some shopping. Apparently if I was going to be a proper bodyguard, I needed a sword. I couldn't really disagree. A larger chopping weapon would have made the fight with Guiche a lot easier. Kunai weren't too great in melee when you were fighting things without vital organs.

The city itself was pretty cool actually. Cobblestone roads led around old look buildings, each one unique. It wasn't the size of Konoha, but it was still interesting in its own way. I would probably be having a lot more fun if I wasn't so sore from riding the horse. "That's the last time I ride a horse."

My summoner gave me an odd look, "And just how will you get back then? Run alongside?"

I returned the odd look, "Well, yeah."

She waved me off, "Ridiculous. We are here anyways." She gestured to an old building with a sword shaped sign hanging above the door. At least it is direct. I heard a bell chime as we entered the store. It was pretty clean, racks of swords lined the walls and a barrel of old blades sat in the corner.

The man at the counter greeted us with a big smile. Though his massive buck teeth made it a bit creepy. "How can I help you today?"

Louise took command of the situation. "My bodyguard here needs a sword!" She said with an air of command; truly a talent of hers. I was glad she had stopped calling me familiar or servant. Those titles made me feel kinda low.

"Ah! More and more nobles arming guards now; some thieve calling himself Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt is after the castle's treasures."

That drew Louise's attention. "A thief targeting the palace?" She exclaimed incredulously.

The man continued on, "Rather bold, I know!"

My browsing his wares must have brought him back to the sale, because he asked me, "What kind of sword did you say are you looking for?" The shop owner replied, appraising me.

I already had one in mind. I always liked the tales of the samurai of old. "A katana!" The look I got from the both of them worried me.

"And just what is a katana?" The owner asked.

Oh dear. "It's a sword that uh… Is curved and has one edge… Well, katanas are just better!" I explained, realizing I had little experience with swords.

The shop owner looked at me like I was talking nonsense. How can these people not know about katanas? They were obviously the best swords ever. katanas are just better. "Right, so I do have some single edged blades, here how about this one?" The man retrieved what looked to be a large cleaver, about half again as long as my arm. It had a strange carving looking like some sort of dragon running up the blade. Dark jewels were inset on its hilt and pommel. All in all, it looked rather ominous. "Oh!" Louise exclaimed, "How much?"

"This was crafted by the finniest smith Tristain has to offer! A sword fit for a king! Only 2000 new gold!"

That must be a lot, considering Louise's surprise, "You could by a summer cottage for that much!"

The man simply shrugged and said, "A good sword is worth as much as a castle."

I however, wasn't impressed, "Don't want it." I said simply, drawing attention to me. "It's too bulky, carrying that around on my back… it'd get in the way to easily. How much money do we have anyways?"

Louise replied in a subdued tone, "I only have 100 new gold."

That response seemed to lose the interest of sword merchant. "With that kind of money, you can get something from the discount barrel." Well at least the decision would be easier. I went to rummage around through the barrel; most of the blades were rust or just plain broken. "If you are a noble, why do you only have 100 new gold?" I asked innocently, though I really need more social graces.

"I spent all my allowance on your potion! If you want more so badly, why don't you go sell that?" Louse shushed out at me.

That gave me pause. I had tied the little vial around my neck with a piece of twine. I could sell it. "No way," I decided, "This is my first present; no way will I let it go." I said to myself more than Louise.

There was a beat. "Ah- ahh." Was all I heard her say in reply. Huh, I guess she didn't have anything else to say.

"Hey, boy! Watch where you're rummaging!" I heard a deep, male voice yell from the barrel. I was so surprised I nearly had a heart attack, jumping back from the barrel.

"Derf! Don't bother the customers!" The shop owner yelled at the barrel.

"I'll bother whoever tries to ding me up! Rummaging around like that." Wow. Was that barrel talking? No, on closer inspection, one of the swords was talking. C-cool. Walking up to the barrel, I could see the sword in question, a single edged rusty blade locked into a modest guard and grip.

I reached in and grabbed the sword. "Be my sword." I half asked, half stated.

The quillion moved like a makeshift mouth. "Well, you have good taste kiddo. And a user too. All right, I'll be your partner, buy me!"

I turned and smiled, "I'll take him."

*Scene break*

It had taken only a few minutes to buy Derf, apparently short for Derflinger. I was so happy with my cool new sword, I almost ran straight into someone leaving the store. Louise, however, was not so lucky. The girl found her face buried between two large, tan breasts. Shoving herself out, Louise was confronted with her nemesis. "Zerbst." She spoke the name like a curse.

"Valliere." Was replied in kind.

Meanwhile, I raised my hand and said, "Hi Tabitha." To the girl I had almost run into. I don't know how she managed to stop herself from bumping into me while reading a book, skilled I guess. I got a nod in return. Really quiet, that Tabitha.

I could feel the killing intent my summoner was giving off, and decided it would be a good time to derail the rage that might hit me. "So what are you two doing here?"

Kirche seemed to take that as an opportunity to speak up. Arms draped over her blue haired friend, she proclaimed in a sing song bardic voice, "Ah! It's so wonderful to be young! Tabitha was all flustered up and wanted to chase after her love!"

I raised an eyebrow at that and looked at Tabitha. "False." Was all she said; with a completely neutral expression.

Before I could question the red haired girl more, Louise grabbed my arm and thundered past, dragging me along. "Ow! Hey! What was that all about!" I exclaimed, yanking my arm free now that we were finally out of sight.

Louise's face was red with rage. "That Zerbst, Kirche. She must have been spying on me. Trying to cover it up with such lies."

Wow, there must be a history there. "So, what's with Kirche?"

Louise looked at me, eyes still full of anger. "Her family and mine are old enemies. We are right across from each other along the Tristain Germania border, so we have fought many times. And her ancestor stole my ancestor's lover's heart away."

I nearly sighed at this. "That's kinda dumb." The look of rage I got had me rapidly explaining. "I mean, hating someone for something an ancestor did? She didn't do it did she?" Maybe it was just because I had no family or ancestry to know of, but I couldn't understand the feeling. "I mean, she is mean to you in class, so I can get that, but at least don't fight over old stuff, seems pointless." I was worried Louise was going to hit me; there was so much rage in her eyes. Instead, she surprised me by turning and walking away, not saying a word.

Ending Notes:

So, My biggest worry is how hard hitting the emotional scene at the beginning was. I really tried to show Louise's tsun tsun and dere dere sides. (look up tsundere for those confused) and I am not sure how ell it came out. I revised it too many times and now its... blegh. My least favorite part was the kunai training scene. I almost removed it, but it speeds the plot progression along so well...

So the big note here is the departure from canon, both of Naruto and Foz. FoZ for the obvious reason of having someone like Naruto around. Naruto's #1 ability is his inspiration. I try to emulate that and show the repercussions.I.E. Louise becoming less self centered, Guiche wanting his respect. As for Naruto, to be frank, I made him slightly smarter and he will be more knowledgeable. This is one part because he is a more believable character this way. He lives by himself, raising himself. The responsibility that takes would make for a smart person, by necessity. I'll be showing that more so later. The other part is because he is brought to dumb extremes in canon Naruto so the book smart Sakura can fill in Naruto, and by proxy, the reader about different things. Naruto: "Chakra?" Sakura: "Physical and Spiritual energies explanation." In this I have no Sakura, so I have to rely on Naruto knowing basics.

As a final note: I get alot of inspiration from Hill of Swords by Gabriell Blessing. Quite possibly the best fanfic on this site. It's a Fate/Stay night and FoZ crossover. If you don't know either, don't worry, he does a magnificent job with the story. If you haven't read it, stop reading my stuff and read his. Seriously.

Anyways, thanks to all you reviewers. The nice reviews give me energy to write, and the critical ones help me write better. Thanks guys!