Denied Shadow

Chapter 4: Counter Counter Culture

By: Super Oahu

Disclaimer: I own nothing relating to The Boondocks or The Familiar of Zero.

Huey and Louise made their way back to the girl's room after their heart to heart inside the empty classroom which stretched for a longer time than the two of them had anticipated. While it was time for supper, the girl had not wanted to go into the dining hall with the other students, a decision that Huey didn't try to dissuade since he had only just learned the full extent of the treatment his master received while he was unconscious and imprisoned. Although the thought of going into the dining hall and making his presence known was an alluring prospect he didn't go through with it. Mostly because he didn't feel like dealing with the multitude of problems antagonizing a group of, in his mind, narrow minded idiots would create.

Louise could only shake her head in amusement as she noticed that the size of the meal increased most likely due to the one in charge of delivering her dinner being Siesta.

"It looks like we will both have to give our thanks to your maid friend." Louise said as she sat a plate laden with a few rolls, roasted potatoes, stewed cabbage and several thick slices of roast pork before Huey.

"Apparently so. Also I'm not eating that."

"You're a young man and you need to have a balanced meal or else you'll grow up scrawny."

"I'm not eating pork."

"Yes you will."

"No, I won't."

"You'll eat it and you'll like it."

"Like hell," His complaints were muffled when his master tore off a piece of pork and stuffed it in his mouth.

He was taken aback as the meat he detested the most in the world had made its way into into his mouth. The boy was about to spit the morsel out until he fully allowed the flavor to dance across his tongue. A confused expression formed on his face before his mind settled on swallowing the bit of roast pork whole, his palate finding the meat to be more satisfying than he would've expected. Huey looked over at Louise as she smugly slice another bit, speared it with a fork and waved it in front of his face.

Amusement danced in the girl's eyes as the boy took the fork from her and ate another piece of meat. "Tastes good, doesn't it?"

"Normally I'd throw this mess away for the certain fact that it's a leading killer of Black people."

"How is a piece of meat going to kill you?"

"Hypertension."

"Hyper-what?"

"Never mind, let's just eat."

They ate in their meal in silence. Dusting the crumbs off his hands and shirt, Huey stood and stretched before he let out a small yawn, the days events having served to make him more exhausted than he would've cared to admit. Judging by how Louise looked halfway ready to fall out made him come to the conclusion that the same could be said about her.

Still not caring one bit for modesty, the older girl went about disrobing herself. Manners and shame made for Huey finding anything else to look at in the room aside from the nearly naked girl when his eyes settled on the empty spot where the pile of hay was supposed to be.

"Guess it's back to sleeping with Siesta."

"You're not sleeping with her." Louise said a bit more curtly than Huey expected while she put on a thin pink nightgown.

"What was that?"

"I said you're not sleeping with that maid. You can sleep here with me."

"Seriously?"

"You can be insufferable but," Louise poked the boy in his forehead . "You do deserve better accommodations. So from now on my bed is your bed as well."

"Did this come about from the out of character consoling I did?"

"What? No...you're not making any sense again."

"I'm not the type of person that would typically go out of their way to make somebody feel better after they slapped me for sarcasm."

"It wasn't that, maybe it was what you said but still you're a little boy and it isn't right to treat you like,"

"A dog?"

"Right, a dog."

The following morning Huey and Louise had seperated from one another for the few hours that classes were in session. The girl's familiar had wanted to come along but she stopped him from doing so having told the boy that she could handle being away from him for a few scant hours after not seeing hide nor hair of him for the better part of a week. Huey on the other hand didn't feel right leaving Louise by herself for her day of classes after they had managed to be reunited, a feeling he attributed to the number of dirty looks and hushed whispers from people they had passed on their way to the dining hall for breakfast. It wasn't lost on him how he'd been allowing her to do as she wished and how he's was slightly more accepting of her suggestions ever since they were reunited. The boy pushed those thoughts aside since he felt that they would just bring up more questions than he had wanted to deal with. Casually he tossed the apple core into a line of shrubbery while he looked about to find a place to do the one thing he had usually turned to whenever he needed to calm his mind and get this thoughts in order.

Meditation.

He sat at the base of a tree with his legs crossed and his fist clenched and touching one another on his lap. His mind slowly but surely began to clear as he used the technique to effortlessly sort through the multitude of thoughts and emotions that had besieged him since he brought to Tristain. While on the outside it seemed like no more than twenty minutes had passed but for the Huey's perception in his mind, it had been hours.

Once he became clear of all unnecessary thought, Huey had felt something stirring within him. He had no idea what exactly it was but from what he could discern it was faintly familiar but alien and extremely old at the same time. As his mind became filled with questions, his grasp at the feeling began to wane ever so slightly until it became nothing more than a memory to him. Not wanting to allow such a sensation to elude him once more attempted the same process which brought the feeling to the forefront of his mind, but Huey found that that his attempt at trying to recapture that odd sensation was curtailed by the one thing he didn't want to deal with at that moment.

"Why haven't they killed you?" Said a rather haughty voice directly in front of the closed eye child.

Students who still harbored a hatred born of fear towards him.

Eyes slowly opened into a unamused glare which was in turn answered with several filled with spite and terror. "Because I'm needed to help your mother become a whore for the world's benefit."

While he wouldn't typically stoop to his brother's level of insulting people's mothers, the past few days had left him feeling as though a bit of unbound retorts were in order for anyone that dared to irritate him.

"Shut your filthy mouth you damn black devil!" One of the boys, a youth with brown hair which reached past his ears and blue eyes, shouted.

"Black devil, that's so old I'm actually surprised that's being used as an insult towards people like me. Also while my race may be known as Black, my skin as you can see is just a shade of brown."

"You shouldn't even be here! You and that stupid , flat-chested girl you call a master." It was a red-head with his hair cut close to his scalp, green eyes and freckles. He was also the prime instigator that broke him from his meditative trance.

"They should probably kill her like they should do to you. Who knows if she can bring another monster like you into the world."

"Would you care to repeat that last statement?" Huey asked slowly with a slight edge to his voice.

"We said that your little talentless whore of a master should die a dog's death like you. Wouldn't be like anyone would miss her, that little failure."

"Probably do everyone a favor if we did the job ourselves." A shaggy haired blonde added snidely .

The boy regretted that particular statement as Huey's irises had changed from brown to a dark purple with red flecks . "I promised her that I wouldn't do anything but I really don't mind breaking my promise if it would result in having your mouths remain shut permanently."

Before the confrontation could escalate any further, a loud roar caused all four boys to stop and look up. The mages backed away fast as Sylphid landed between them and Huey, her mouth curled back in a angry snarl. While the boys had thought that they had strength in numbers against Huey, they all didn't have the same amount of confidence when dealing with the other most well-known familiar in the school and turned tail. Insults were hurled which only caused the young familiar to further deepen his frown before he stumbled back due to his draconic companion nudging him in the chest with her snout.

"And I can honestly say that I'm pleased to see you." Huey said with a small smile.

A slobbery lick of unadulterated affection made it's way up the front of Huey's face and his afro, leaving the boy with a rather ridiculous looking cowlick. Sighing, the boy was at least comfortable in the fact that the blue dragon was the same as the first day he met her .

Completely and utterly taken with him.

"This is almost making me wish those idiots actually started a..."

He didn't even get a chance to complete his sentence before Sylphid gave him a rather admonishing expression. Huey rose an eyebrow in surprise as the dragon snorted and stomped her front left leg as she gave him a lecture on why it was bad for him to fight people outside of duels, especially if they were much, much weaker than him.

Well he didn't truly know what she was saying with the hissing and low growls but he was pretty certain that would be the subject matter the other familiar was talking about.

"Okay, okay calm down. I won't fight anyone, is that okay with you?"

Sylphid cocked her head back as she regarded the boy for a few seconds before she moved in to nuzzle the boy's face, pleased she was with that answer. Huey just let out a tired sigh as he began to rub the dragon's crest which served to make the great beast let out a noise akin to a purr. Continuing the act which pleased the great beast the human familiar could only shake his head in a rare show of amusement.

He would never admit it but he was fond of the overly friendly familiar.

Evening had come once more and the pariah master and familiar pair were once again in the girl's room. Dinner having been eaten the both of them had set about to their studies, magical theory for Louise and the basic runic alphabet for the Huey. Although studying was the last thing that the girl had wanted to do, it was the boy's instance that her knowing more about the theoretical components towards magic might help her in gaining a handle on the practical. Because there was only so many times he could take being blown up through a backlash she created and he wasn't sure if his clothing could hold up against another blast. Huey drummed his fingers along the floor before he looked up towards the bed where Louise was sitting with a bored expression on her face.

"Huey, I've been meaning to ask you something." Louise asked as she closed her books.

"If it's about me getting a haircut you can just forget about it." The boy drawled as he looked up from a pile of books he had splayed open.

"While that is something I've been wanting for you to do, I actually have something more important to ask."

"Go ahead and make it quick could you, I want to get back to learning this ridiculous runic alphabet that your world seems to love."

"Your fighting style...before you became 'that'," They had no true term for it but it wasn't lost on the boy just what the girl had meant. "I want to know about your fighting style and how you came to learn it."

"It was kung-fu intermixed with standard kenjutsu."

Louise tilted her head to the side as she tried to sound out the strange terms her familiar had used. "Kang-foo? Kenjitsu?"

Despite Louise's cute tilting of her head, he would NEVER openly admit to it being cute, the mangling of the words made Huey flinch slightly.

"...close enough." The boy said with a tired sigh as he closed the book he had in his hands.

"What are they?"

"Unarmed combat and sword-fighting from two different countries in my world."

"So all people in your world are as strong as you?"

"I'm a kid, being as strong as I am is seen as an anomaly. Also, there are people whom are leagues stronger than myself, granted a number of them should have remained in a retirement home." Memories of the Hateocracy managing to murder Bushido Brown on his front lawn caused him to flinch.

"How strong are you exactly? Before you became my familiar I mean."

"Ever seen somebody beat up a group of people with a toy ball? By that I mean bludgeoning them with enough force to break bones, rupture organs and just generally make somebody rue the day they were born."

"No."

"That should give you a starting point as to how strong I was before you summoned me."

"And now?"

"I have no clue. I'm not even sure I can use that same monstrous strength that you said I did on will."

"And beating people with a toy doesn't equate with monstrous strength?"

"Meh, it's pretty much being above average." The familiar said with a shrug.

Silence permeated the room as the girl went deep in thought. Clapping her hands together she spoke up with conviction. "Well since tomorrow is Void Day and a recognized day of rest for students we shall go into the nearby town and find you a weapon to defend yourself with."

"Are you sure about that? I did do well with just a metal bar that I found."

"No familiar of mine is going to be using scrap metal to fight."

"It's economical."

"Even if it's economical. A proper weapon at your side will also serve as a symbol of status."

"Better than chains on my ankles."

"Huey."

"I know you don't see me as a slave, doesn't mean that your fellow nobles will think the same unless my reputation here somehow spread all over the world by now and they started forming village militias to hunt monsters down."

Void Day for Tabitha was spent the same way it always had been. Awaken, brush teeth, get dressed in proper clothing and read until the afternoon. Although there was the small exception of her spending most of her time thinking about Louise Vallière's familiar. Unlike most of her peers, she originally didn't think that the boy summoned by Louise was common by any means. The mere fact that he was summoned at all gave her mind grounds for multiple theories on why he was such an uncommon occurrence. Though she had some reservations on his need for woodchucks in the nature of combat but he had proved that he was quite capable despite his age. A feat she herself was able to relate to. Though there were several other things which had caused her interest in the Familiar of Zero to be as high as they were. His maturity, sharp mind, and combat prowess being what had her to be so focused on Huey.

That and his hair was really, really soft and springy and he was adorable. The combination of which had made her want to just hold onto the boy and cuddle him for as long as she could.

After she listened in on the conversations between many students in the halls she decided that she would take steps necessary to allowing both Huey and his master some measure of peace before the inevitable fallout of the duel would come to them. A decision she would have to inform both her familiar and Kirche about the moment she saw them both later on that day. Though such plans weren't needed to be done as she heard the familiar footsteps of somebody running down the halls towards her room. Raising her staff into the air, Tabitha softly spoke a few words and activated a magic spell before the door to her room was thrown open suddenly and in stormed Kirche. Due to the sorcery she cast she couldn't hear just what the voluptuous girl was saying or shouting due to how animated her body language was.

Once she noted that the other girl had calmed down somewhat, the stoic rose her staff into the air once again and canceled her spell.

"Tabitha let me use your familiar for moment. I have a urgent matter to take care of!" The red-head bombshell wailed.

The blue-haired mage only gave the taller girl a blank stare which caused her friend to sigh in exasperation.

"Right you won't do anything at all if I don't tell what's going on," Kirche placed her hands on her hips. "I need to go and follow Zero and the cutie familiar of hers. I saw the both of them leaving just now on horseback and I want to know what they're doing."

"Why?" Tabitha inquired.

"Because I haven't seen that cute little boy ever since that horrible duel and Zero has been treated worse than she normally has been. What if they're both running away so they won't have to deal with all this hatred everyone seems to have for them."

The thought of Huey leaving caused a small degree of shock to show on Tabitha's face and it surprisingly all the motivation she needed.

"Let's go."

"Alright, Tabitha! Let's go and see if we can't catch up to them before we lose any trace of them!"

It would be easy. Sylphid could spot them without any problem from the air. The fact that the person they would be looking for also happened to be her familiar's most liked person after herself would actually be all the motivation that the dragon would need other than the promise of a large amount of meat.

She had wanted to leave immediately after breakfast but upon waking up, Louise had spent a better part of her morning looking for Huey, the boy having left their room to do something. When found the girl was rather cross with him and interrogated him about what it was that he was doing. The only answer the unskilled mage received was that he was preparing for the trip. How he had prepared wasn't told but any further questions were ended as the Huey gave her a look which basically told her that the less she knew the better.

It didn't do much to inspire her flagging confidence.

Master and familiar procured a horse from the school's stables and rode out without attracting the attention of any other student or faculty member. Well at least as far as they knew. Their ride towards the town near the school was rather uneventful until they reached civilization with the minor exception of Huey taking a bit longer than necessary to get ready for their trip away from the school. While luckily the stories of Huey's and Guiche's duel didn't reach that far, the twelve-year-old's clothing, skin color, and bushy hair caused many a head to turn and stare at him. A quick glare from the boy whom looked constantly displeased with the world stopped the inquisitive looks from being sent his way, well as long as he wasn't paying attention to people. As the pair moved further into the town to find a blacksmith or a weapon shop, Huey had begun to feel a bit jittery. To him it was almost as if he and his reluctantly accepted master were being tailed by somebody. Whom he didn't know but he had placed his hands Louise had to stop a few times to get the younger boy to focus on the task at hand. Despite the stops and the investigation of the surrounding area, both master and familiar were able to find a weapon shop.

Reaching the door first, Huey opened it and allowed Louise to enter first before he followed her inside and closed the door after himself. The boy looked around with an appraising eye at all of the wares which were on display when he caught sight of a man who looked like a mash-up of a emaciated store clerk and one of Doranjo's henchmen from Yatter-Man.

"What are you looking for, little girl?" The man behind the counter asked.

"I'm looking for a weapon for my familiar. One that's of good quality and show off his status as my familiar."

"Status you say? Why don't you buy this? It's from the finest Gallian craftsmanship and its all the rage amongst nobles these days." The man suggested as he pulled out a large golden broadsword with an odd shaped blade and a emerald embedded within the middle of the crossguard.

"Maybe if they want to commit suicide." Huey said derisively.

"What was that?"

"That's unfit to use as a weapon at all. It's too big for practical use not to mention that it's gaudy as all hell, probably more for decoration than anything else. There's no way a serious swordsman would ever deign to use this if they had any sense of pride or self-preservation."

"And just what do you know? You're just a punk kid for all I can see."

Huey quirked an eyebrow before he reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a knife which was wrapped in cloth.

"W-what the..." The proprietor and Louise stared in disbelief when they watched the knife pierce the overpriced blade and pin it to the wall.

Even Huey was shocked as he had only thought he used enough strength to simply crack the gaudy sword, though he kept up his non-amused expression up lest he give away his true thoughts.

"Huey, why in the world did you have a knife on you?" Louise asked in an even tone of voice.

The boy just shrugged his shoulders before tucking his hands into his pockets. "I asked the castle cooks to loan me this in case we ran into any trouble."

"Do you honestly expect us to be attacked at anytime?"

"And your reaction if I say yes?"

"You're paranoid."

"Better that than kidnapped and placed into some human trafficking operation or robbed and murdered." The boy retorted as he turned around began to make his exit.

"Hey, you gotta pay for that!" The shop owner complained.

"Pay for a piece of junk that can't handle a ordinary kitchen knife?"

"As loathe as I am to his actions, I do agree with him. If you'll excuse us."

After their misadventure with the weapons shop, Louise had suggested that they try their luck in visiting the stalls which were utilized by all manner of traveling salesmen. When the pair passed a small cart near the end a hand reaching out and grasping the pink-haired girl by her wrist caused a chain of almost lethal events to play out. Upon hearing his master scream for an unknown assailent to release her, Huey had reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a cleaver and tossed it towards the hooded figure he had seen holding onto his master.

While normally such a throw wouldn't have missed but it miss it did as the figure released their hold on the student.

"Nice reflexes and judgment young one, you must have seen some battles if your battle sense is already this high."

"What do you want?" Huey asked wairly, while the voice sounded old he remained on edge due to past experience teaching him that the older somebody was than him, the more likely they were going to kill him if they ever got the chance.

"Calm down, I want to sell you something." A black lacquered box was set out in front of the pair.

"What in the world is this?" Louise asked, her shock at seeing her familiar once more utilize another hidden weapon with brutal efficiency had begun to wear off.

"This my young friend is a one-in-a-kind set you will not find anywhere else in Tristain or any of her neighboring countries. Inside here is the gear used by what many people have only come to know as the deadliest of those that walk in the shadows."

"Those that walk in the shadows?"

"Yes. This person was a part of a group which were masters at theft, assassination, reconnaissance and protection. Whatever task that was presented for them they were able to complete without fail."

"And just what happened to these people?"

"Nobody knows, some say were wiped out by an alliance comprised of the enemies they made over the years, others talk of how they decided to give everything up for good and just fade into history."

"If they faded then why in the world would you have this then?" Huey asked as his eyes locked onto the hooded figure.

"That my young shadow, is a tale for another day. But before I continue to ramble on, would you care to buy this. I assure you that its contents will be to your liking."

"What's in it?" Louise looked at the box wondering if it contained weapons or a bunch of rocks.

"Payment first."

"Buy it." Huey said.

"What?"

"Just buy it."

"And why should we?"

"I don't know, call it a gut feeling. I seriously don't think this guy is trying to get over on us."

"Fine. How much would you want for this box?"

"Hmm, one-thousand gold." The shopkeeper said after a moment of deliberation.

"For a mystery box you won't let us inspect we're...well she won't to pay that much for this." Huey pointed towards Louise.

The world was still new but if there was one thing he was certain would work it'd be his negotiation skills. If not he'd probably have to ask to the kitchen staff for more knives if they were good enough pierce through a thick slab of metal like the decorative sword from the weapons seller.

Doing nothing but healing was far from what Guiche du Gramont had expected himself to do but ever since he was manhandled and nearly killed by a commoner child it was all he was capable of. While he had put forth the public image that he was a powerful young man of a noble lineage despite being the youngest and least talented of his father's sons, the dull purple eyes of the Familiar of the Zero shattered that belief. As he recovered he had wished there was a method to travel through time so he could go back and just beat himself silly for pushing his luck with the uncommon familiar.

"Guiche, what's the matter?" Montmorency asked as she entwined her hands with the injured boy's.

"It's nothing Mon-Mon." He said softly, the pet name he had reserved for the girl at his bedside doing nothing to dissuade her inquisitive mind.

"Liar, you're thinking of that...that demon. I can see it in your eyes."

Demon, it wasn't the first time he had heard people refer to the familiar of Zero by that particular term instead of commoner.

"Mon-Mon, that isn't..."

"I know you might still be scared, especially because the school didn't put down that monster after it nearly killed you! That damned black demon!"

"Stop it!"

"G-Guiche?"

"Montmorency, do not ever call that boy that ever again." He said tiredly as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"B-but he..."

"Fought me in a duel and did no worse than what I had in store for him," The boy said as he sat his sat up straighter. "That so-called monster awoke in an effort to protect his master when I should've stayed my hand but instead decided to take out my frustration on her as well as her familiar."

"But he hurt you so much. How can you forgive somebody that could do this to you?"

"I will heal...and in fact I owe him greatly for placing me in this state."

"You owe him?"

"He opened my eyes a bit more forcibly than I would have liked but he opened them all the same."

"Guiche you're not making any sense."

"Don't worry too much, Mon-Mon. When I'm able to move from this bed then you'll see that Guiche du Gramont will be a better man than he was."

A complete and utter defeat and a near brush with death could help put a person's priorities in order faster than a maturity born through aging could accomplish.

It was the early evening where back on the floor of their room, Huey had the purchase splayed out before him and the only thought that went through his mind was that the old stall keeper was right in telling him that what he bought wouldn't be found within Tristain or any of its neighboring countries. The only thing that the boy could easily identify with was the fact that everything that was inside the lacquered box was more from Japan or a McDojo in his hometown. The latter he quickly discounted due to how the items inside looked as though they needed quite some time to properly craft.

All in all, he was pleased immensely with what he had instead of the overpriced and utterly worthless in battle he turned into a wall decoration. As he placed the last content from the box on the ground the boy nodded to himself and stretched while Louise stood behind him with a curious expression on her face due to her having never seen anything that was inside the box. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, Huey addressed the pink-haired girl.

"A ridiculous amount of steel wire, caltrops, a long weighted chain, a lock pick, and amazingly enough a washizaki and shuriken. Looks like you bought me the Ninja Starter Kit from Final Fantasy." Huey rolled his eyes as one of his references went right over Louise's head once more due to the owlish expression which formed on her face. "I'll tell you about that one later."

Louise squatted next to the boy and gave him a small smile. "I hope you're pleased with them, I honestly didn't expect this much when that man sold us the entire box for much less than what that shop owner was going to for his sword."

"It was all in the negotiation."

"Or just the fact they found you so adorable."

"Never say that I'm 'adorable' again."

"Why not?"

"Do I look adorable?" Huey asked with a deep scowl.

"Yes." Louise said with finality.

Even though he was blunt, highly intelligent and talented for his age, strong and had a mean look plastered on his face; he was still four years younger than herself and thus able to be called out on how he could be taken as being adorable trying to act older than he was. Louise was unable to keep her thoughts of a younger Huey trying to act as a grown adult focused as a loud, excited and familiar voice was heard by them and their neighbors.

"Darling, I've been waiting to see you ever since you were freed!"

Kirche had barged into the room flamboyantly along with a ever stoic Tabitha behind her. Almost on reflex, Huey sprang to his feet, flipped through the air gracefully and landed in a three point stance on the top of the desk. The boy narrowed his eyes at the dusky-skinned beauty as there was no way he had wanted to experience Marshmallow Hell after having a good string of days where he wasn't subjected to its odd thought inducing softness. Seemingly finding amusement in his action, the girl strode forward, pushing past Louise and stopped in front of the cagey youth whom looked as if he was contemplating the merits of making his escape through the window that was near him.

"Aren't you jumpy, Darling?" Kirche asked happily as she reached out and pinched Huey's cheeks.

"What do you want? And stop calling me Darling." Huey back further to against the wall.

"Why?"

"Because that insinuates that we're close. We're not."

"Even after I went through the trouble to get you this?" Kirche had held out the hand she was hiding behind her back to place a tightly wrapped and bulky soft package for the boy to take.

"A cloak...and more clothes?"

"You looked like you needed something new to wear considering what you've been through lately."

"Here I was expecting you to get a weapon or something less functional."

"I was going to get you an amazing sword but the weapon shop I went into had one of their wares pinned to their wall with a kitchen knife." Both of the intruding girls shared confused expressions as the noticed Louise gave her familiar a pointed glare.

"Poor craftsmanship," Tabitha said softly as her gaze drifted down to Huey's weapon kit. "Strange weapons but they suit you, Huey."

Huey couldn't help but smirk smugly as the blue-haired girl had the exact same thought he did when it came to the contents of the lacquered box. Louise having caught one of the boy's rare crinkling of his lips rolled her eyes and sat on her bed, crossed her arms.

"You didn't have to do all of this for my familiar, Zerbst. Anyways why are you doing this anyways? From what we've all noticed, Huey and myself are seen as the most evil and unwelcomed pair in the academy."

"I don't care what the others think. To me you'll always be the flat-chested twerp that can't do any magic and Huey is just so cute that I want to eat him right up."

Huey jumped over the girl's head at that statement, landed next to Tabitha and moved the girl in front of him to use as a barrier between himself and Kirche. That particular action didn't go over so well as the stoic girl easily maneuvered behind Huey, hugged him and started to nuzzle her face into his afro.

Louise's eye twitched slightly at how openly affectionate the intruders were towards her familiar. "Is that so, Ardent?"

"Of course," Kirche turned around to address Louise before she walked up to the girl and surprised her and her familiar by hugging the shorter and more volatile girl. "Also because despite our spats I do value you. So don't worry, you have more than Darling giving you some amount of support."

Hearing that Kirche had considered her a friend was a shock to Louise. At first she thought it was a joke but upon seeing the sincerity in the Gallian's eyes caused her to bite back any biting comment she could think.

"Though when Darling comes of age I will take him from you."

Scratch that she was going to blow the hussy up if only to protect the purity of her familiar from the lascivious mage. Tabitha...well she wasn't a threat if all she wanted to do was hold onto her morose looking familiar if he was the most cuddliest person in the world.

EXTRA: Sleepy Time with a Maid

When she went out to do her's and some other servants laundry without drawing the attention of some of the more handsy and brazen nobles she didn't expect to meet the child whom everyone in the school had started to gossip about. At first he didn't look like much to her with his strange clothing, seemingly permanent expression bored disdain and that he looked Gallian with the exception that his hair looked like a large amount of wool that was dyed black. But despite everything she saw initially, Siesta decided that she would extend a helping hand towards the child due to how even though he didn't show it, she could tell that he was more than vexed and a bit sad at being taken from his home.

And thus she took him to the one place she knew he would be able to get some semblance of rest that night, her room. Once there she had Huey quickly change out of his clothing and gave him a pair of pajamas which fit his frame poorly. The sight of which gave the older girl no short amount of amusement before she left to go and give the boy's clothes a quick scrub before she put them on the line along with everything else she had washed earlier.

Upon her return to the room, the young familiar fired a barrage of questions at his host which she tried her best to answer. As they talked Siesta became more impressed with the surly looking boy. In a stark contrast to his age, he was amazingly mature and intelligent. The boy asking pointed questions about the nobility and the countries which neighbored Tristain as well as anything which could tie into the economy. And that's what they spent the better part of an hour talking about except for the short break Huey had taken to eat some bread and fruit she hadn't touched from her dinner earlier that evening. But it seemed as though everything that he had experienced that day was catching up to him as he let out a loud yawn which got his host to adopt a look of concern.

"Huey, are you feeling okay?" Siesta asked.

"I'm okay. It's been a long damn day." The boy answered as he rubbed his left eye with the back of his right hand.

"One can only imagine. Would you like to sleep now?"

"No, I'd rather learn more about this place some more."

"We can talk more tomorrow when you're more alert." A giggle escaped her mouth as she heard her guest's speech slip into the nonsensical.

"I'm always...alert."

"Really?"

"Really..."

Huey's had fallen asleep against her chest. The boy softly mumbled a question about the state of the union or tea, the maid wasn't really sure on that point, before he began to snuggle his head deeper against the softness of Siesta's chest. With a light giggle Siesta gently patted the boy's head before stopping and then running her fingers deeper into Huey's head. While his hair looked like a wild mess, the older girl was rightfully amazed at how soft and springy his hair felt. Finding enough control to stop the girl removed her hands from Huey's scalp.

Carefully she carried the sleeping youth towards her bed and placed him in before she crawled in next to him and pulled the blankets over the both of them.

"Sleep well, Huey."

He was an interesting boy, Siesta thought to herself as she moved closer to the boy and held him closer to her body. It would be interesting to see how he would grow and what he could accomplish not just as a familiar but as a boy one his way to becoming a man, she thought while closing her eyes. Even though she didn't realize it, the maid had begun to synchronize her breathing with that of the afro-headed youth and within a span of a few minutes did she fall into the most comfortable sleep she would ever experience.

At least it would be for the point in time she was currently in.

A.N. - Yes, Tabitha has a love at first sight kind of situation when it comes to Huey. With Irukuwu/Sylphid's infatuation with the boy will be built upon as the story continues, as well as Kirche's rather gung-ho attitude when it comes to her efforts to ensnare/seduce the boy. And yes this took longer than expected because in the past few months since the last update have hit a block then a massive wave of inspiration which made me actually correctly plot out what I expect to be a rather large epic. Then the computer died so I had to wait for it to be fixed. Yay.

Still dropping hints as to what Huey's powers of. Those that guessed that Sir Afro turns into a berserker while incapacitated are correct. Everything else will be fully revealed as I close this opening arc down within the next several chapters which will round out Huey's interactions with the other initial four (Kirche, Tabitha, and Siesta) before moving onto to the next which will start to get everything rolling.

As for my other stories – They're coming along. Finally started working on the QB/Boondocks Cross as well as the Soul Eater/Strike Witches cross. Though through inspiration from one particular author I've started a fic that I thought I'd never do - a Naruto/Boondocks cross. And one more which I thought would be nice to see...though that one will remain secret cause I'm still in the process of researching everything for it.