VOTING CHALLENGE: I haven't been completely honest with it. As many fans of Monster Hunter have surely noticed, half of the choices consisted of the race of monsters known as Elder Dragons while the rest are "normal" ones. The reason for this is because there is not one but two winners to the voting challenge! One regular and one elder but the overall winner would be written first and foremost while the second at a later date. So now, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the winner of the voting challenge!

Winning by a landslide... THE SILVER RATHALOS!

"I beg of you… My slave who lives somewhere in the universe! Oh sacred, beautiful and strong familiar spirit! I desire and here I plead from my heart! Answer to my guidance!"

For such powerful magic words they are quite vague are they not? The universe has long since been proven to be far more massive than can be measured and the reflections even more infinite. Beautiful and strong can be defined in numerous ways and differ by one's own views of strength and beauty. However, a plea that comes straight from the heart fueled by a desire created from years of emotional torment by one's peers? That is a voice heard by any who are willing to listen.

Familiars of Zero is a series of one-shots featuring a plethora of what-if's consisting of a large cast of characters ranging from the unique to the downright bizarre. However, while the cast of familiars will be diverse a few key little details will remain in effect. All familiars will be sentient and will, at the very least, be chaotic neutral. I may include an "evil" familiar or two but I'm not really into writing horror all that much…

All one-shots shall be followed by an explanatory note regarding the new familiar (the who's, the why's, and the what's), a brief summary of what could continue, and finally explanations towards an "OCness" on the pre-established characters. With that said, I hope you enjoy reading:

The Familiars of Zero

By Corvus no Genmu

"Dawn of the Midnight"

The sky above is red as freshly spilled blood, the clouds black as smoke on the horizon where a dark sun began to set. The forests that once reached an age forgotten by all but the trees is a barren wasteland of ash and rotting corpses, the trees serving more as grave markers for the dead. The nearby city, once a utopia unmatched in the entire world where towers of steel and glass rose unchallenged to the sky and entire troves of people littered the ever-busy streets was now nothing but ruins as far as the eye could see with great crystalline structures tore through the ground like weeds. There were no people in this city, at least, not the kind that populated it what was nearly a whole lifetime ago…

A lone figure walked the empty streets with a firm resolve obvious in the way he walked though it could not be denied that he is as exhausted as he appears his clothes quite well-worn and the backpack he carried was better on the back of some beast of burden than an ordinary man for the load it carried. His hair is gray from the ash carried on the winds and matted down to his head from the weight of it. He isn't overly muscular despite how easily he carries the heavy weight on his back.

His name is Jinrui Hanshou…

"I beg of you…"

He is the last of his kind… and thus has no purpose to serve…

"My slave who lives somewhere in the universe!"

No life left to live on this desolate and empty world…

"Oh sacred, beautiful and strong familiar spirit!"

This ethereal ovaloid of green was the source of an innocent voice …

"I desire and here I plead from my heart!"

Someone, somewhere, was calling for him… asking for him…

"Answer to my guidance!"

He reached out to touch the void and he was gone…

It was sad to even consider the idea but Louise had almost grown used to the explosions her spell casting could make to the point that if she somehow managed to cast a spell without something blowing up she'd be torn between elation and concern. Still, it didn't matter for somewhere in the smoke stood her familiar, a proud and regal creature as befitting the daughter of the duke surely. She hoped—no, she prayed that it would be a creature of prestige.

When the smoke cleared and she saw that it was far from her ideal fantasy of dragons and griffins but instead a human being, her heart clenched painfully tight and nearly shattered with the realization that this human was nothing more than a commoner. His clothes were in a terrible state and he looked as though he had walked for miles in the same shoes, his hair was wild and unkempt, like the concept of brushing it was a forgotten concept but when she saw his eyes, she let out a startled gasp.

In the stories that she enjoyed as a child, she had read that the eyes are often perceived as the window of the soul and looking into this boy's eyes, she found a bit of truth in romantic fiction. Eyes colored like blood, they were as beautiful as they were frightening, but it was his gaze upon her that made her heart suddenly start to beat just a bit faster. Finding all he could in her, the commoner slowly gazed around the courtyard, his crimson eyes quelling the whispers of the students and holding fast the eyes of their familiars, particularly those of a hardier breed than a mere animal. He seemed surprised by the sight of the familiars but otherwise did not seem to care too much about them, turning his eyes back to Louise.

Getting over her surprise at the strangeness of the Louise's new familiar, Kirche began to laugh. "This makes all you said worth it! I never would have guessed you'd summon a commoner."

"It was just a little screw-up!" snapped Louise, an embarrassed flush on her face.

"That's our Louise the Zero. She never fails to meet our expectations!" That remark from another student had the whole of them laughing again. It was cut short when the commoner suddenly set his pack down on the ground with heavy thud, startling them with its weight. He didn't seem to notice their shock or surprise as he rose from his crouch to stand taller than any of the students present, Louise herself coming to just beneath his collar bone. She winced as her strange familiar cracked some stiffness out of his back, heaving a pleased sigh with the noise.

"Mr. Colbert!" Louise shouted desperately to the middle-aged man who stood on the far-side of the crowd.

"Yes, Miss Vallière?"

"Please! Let me try the summoning once more!"

Mr. Colbert shook his head, refusing the idea. "I cannot allow that, Miss Vallière."

"Why not?" asked the girl.

"It is strictly forbidden. When you are promoted to a second year student, you must summon a familiar which is precisely what you just did." He allowed a small pause as he stared at the strange commoner.

"But I've never heard of taking a plebian as a familiar!"

"No matter how unorthodox it might be, you cannot simply change the familiar once you have summoned it. Whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to accept him as yours, so please just continue with the ritual."

Louise stared back at the commoner in question who looked down at her without any clear emotion on his face. The pinkette titled her head imperiously, gesturing at him. "You should count yourself lucky. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for a commoner." He didn't appear to understand her words, only aware that she was speaking to him. With a sigh of resignation, Louise waved her wand. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; grant your blessings upon this humble being, and make him my familiar."

Finished with the chant, she seemed satisfied that the magic was working with any explosions involved but noticed a small problem. "On your knees familiar." She gestured roughly at the ground and bit back a growl at the amused smile on the commoner's face as he went down on one knee. She tapped his forehead with her wand and, blushing, leaned forward with pursed lips.

He flinched back at the attempt, starting to rise to his feet but she grabbed him roughly by the head and kissed him and though it was but a light touch of the lips, she still blushed as she stepped back. A blush of embarrassment turned to anger at the apparent lack of reaction from her new familiar who suddenly choked back a grimace, raising his left hand which had alit itself with magic.

But something was wrong.

The magic seemed to be struggling, fighting against something within her familiar and causing him great amounts of pain as his body served as the battleground between two opposing forces. Steam began to rise from his body as heat coursed through it at levels that should have driven him to his knees in pain but no, her familiar refused to succumb to the agony and remained firmly on his feet. His right arm alit itself with sudden brilliant intensity to rival the sun while the left became ensnared in dark shadows. He reached up with his right hand reached up and grasped something hidden beneath his jacket and he spoke in a language she could not comprehend but whatever he said seemed to help for whatever was combating the magic of the contract. Skin burned as runic letters wrote themselves upon the back of his left hand.

He stared at the runes for a moment before clenching his aching fist with the loud cracking of finger bones aligning themselves back to their proper place. He turned his gaze back to Louise, who appeared just as disturbed as the rest of the students over the whole process.

"So… anyone mind telling me just where I am exactly?" Jinrui spoke aloud as he followed along after the pink-haired girl. He had no idea what language she was speaking but it was clear that, whatever spell she had cast upon him, it tied the two of them together in some fashion. His language made no sense to her and the way he spoke his words, it was hard to tell just what exactly he was trying to say, but that was fine.

He wasn't talking to her.

'A whole new world, a different place outside of the normal space time. There is so much mana here, it's as though the very air itself is flooding with it.' A voice like a rising dawn, the sun warming the earth with its rays whispered to his ear.

He glanced at the runes once more. "And this?"

'You've been branded, you fool! Human magic bound you to the witch!' A harsh voice, like the moonless midnight where nightmares came alive, overpowering the other voices that tried to speak. 'All your power and you let yourself be chained like a slave!'

"Shut up." The voices go silent, cut off from his hearing by his spoken words unless called upon again. Unfortunately, while the words were not meant for her, nor could she really comprehend their meaning, it was not hard for the girl to figure out the gist and she responded back in kind with another incantation, which reacted rather explosively on his person.

Three months ago, he'd have killed her in an instant.

Amazing what peace can do to one's sensibilities…

"Was there a particular reason you felt for trying to kill me?" He ground out, crimson eyes flashing dangerously.

The girl blinked in surprise. "I understood that!"

Now it was Jinrui's turn to blink though he was more amused than shocked. "Rather violent for a translation spell wasn't it?"

The girl sagged, staring morosely at the floor. "I was trying to shut you up…"

Jinrui's left fist clenched painfully tight but he ignored it as he always did. "Well in either case, now that we understand each other I suppose introductions are in order. I am Jinrui Hanshou."

"Jinrui…? What an odd name… Never mind!" She shook her head and assumed a proud stance with her back arched and both hands on her hips, raising her chin up with an air of pure authority. "I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, and you are my familiar." With that said, she began to undress, muttering to herself as she did so. "I can't believe that I got a commoner as a familiar! A griffin or a dragon might have been too over the top to ask for but even a bugbear would have been better than such a simple looking thing!" Finished with lamentations, she tossed Jinrui her discarded clothes and began to rummage for her nightgown. "Take those and wash them."

"Do I look like the kind of person who knows anything about washing clothes?" He asked, not unkindly but with genuine confusion that made Louise turn to regard him once more. His pants were caked with layers of dried mud and his jacket was dusty and torn in several places, never mind that his hair was an absolute mess and his face looked rugged enough to grate cheese on. Jinrui blinked and suddenly found his himself being pushed out the door.

"Go and clean yourself up as well! I might have a commoner as a familiar but I refuse to have a commoner covered in filth!" Louise yelled.

"As you wish."

It was about an hour or so later that Jinrui finished with Louise's demands and felt all the better for it. Of course, he had to wash the clothes by hand but thanks to that kindly young maid, Siesta if he recalled her name correctly, he got the gist of it quick enough. Unfortunately, finding a place to actually bathe turned out to be a bit more difficult and he had to ask for the maid's help in finding an adequate enough blade to shave but in the end, he was cleaner than he had ever been in his whole life and felt all the better for it. It was a simple necessity to be sure but when one's priorities regard the dismissal of such things in lieu of more important priorities, it was hard not to be as thoroughly pleased as Jinrui felt.

Now here he was sitting atop one of the castle's higher towers, his back against the spire and his pack resting at his feet. He was alone in every physical sense of the word.

He raised his left hand and regard the runes ascribed across it, just beneath his knuckles. "So I'm to be her familiar am I…?"

"You submit to that girl…" A voice of shadows, a growling in the dark.

"I don't submit to anyone, not even you." Jinrui suddenly smiled. "You're more upset that the mark is on your side."

"I am upset that you let some child mark you as hers! You're ours! You belong to no one else!" A howling wind in the midnight.

"I am yours," He agreed, "but you are also mine." He looked to the opposing tower where he knew Louise rested now, safe in her bed completely unaware of the danger she had put herself in by doing what tradition dictated to her. "She saved my life, whether intentionally or not it doesn't matter. She asked for me, and she has given me a purpose again."

"Will you truly bow your head to the frivolous desires of a child?" A softer voice, the sun rising on the horizon.

"… I will have her respect. Whether it is easily earned falls to her. I did not abandon the empty Earth just to enter a populated Hell." He glanced once more at the runes on his hand. "Is there something more to this… familiar contract? None of the beasts I saw had so much as a mark on them."

"What makes you think we would know any more than you?" growled the rising moon.

"It may be magic, but it is human magic." The rays of the sun were chiding.

He made a show of sighing and rising to his feet. "I guess I was expecting too much out of you both. I'll have to figure it out on my own."

"Excuse me?" He blinked at that and made a supreme effort not to smile. It was rare for the two of them to speak in unison like that.

"Well, it is human magic, like you said, so logically a human mind is the only thing capable of understanding it fully." Oh he was pushing it by the way both his fists suddenly clenched painfully tight. "This is a school after all, I'm sure there's some manner of dictionary to help me to translate this."

"Is that what you think?" Fangs clenched tightly in the darkness.

"No human library could ever compare to our knowledge!" Claws glinted in the light.

"No, no. I don't want to be a bother—"

"We will unravel this spell," growls in the twilight.

"Do not speak to us until then," demands made in the dawn.

Silence.

Sweet, blessed silence.

Jinrui carefully flexed his fists and slowly started to grin. "It seems I can add my sanity to that list…"

The sun was just halfway to dawn when Jinrui decided that now was an appropriate time to awaken Louise. He rose from his bed of hay, which was by far the most comfortable thing he'd slept on in years, and spoke gently to the pinkette, shaking her gently by the shoulder. "Time to wake up."

"Mrmm?" It has been a long time since Jinrui had seen someone wake up from a good night's sleep but even though the memory was hazy at best, he did not recall anyone waking up in such a fashion. Mumbling something unintelligible, she sat up and rubbed her eyelids before yawning. He wasn't sure but it seemed the word adorable fit his 'master' quite well.

"I've laid out your clothes on the table," He told her.

"Hrmama…?" At least, it certainly sounded like that to Jinrui. It was hard to translate grunting and from the sound of it, she was either grateful of question. God help her if she actually wanted him to pick out everything.

"I don't believe it appropriate for me to pick out your underwear for you, and as I am not certain if there was anything else you wanted. I've not familiarized myself with the layout of the castle so I thought it best to wait for you."

"Huh?" It looked like the brain was just getting kick-started. Time to make a hasty but dignified retreat before she gathered enough of her wits to lambast him for returning long after she fell asleep the previous night, or worse, continue with her new familiar equals new manservant routine.

"I shall be waiting in the courtyard for you." He informed her, trying his best to make it sound less like an order and more like a farewell. Jinrui exited her room and closed the door with a sigh before making a hasty, but still quite dignified, walk down the tower stairs.

He wasn't lying about not finding out where the kitchen was and so help anyone who tried to get between him and a breakfast that wasn't made up of protein bars and spam. Hopefully, Louise wouldn't have any more childish demands to make of him.

Jinrui couldn't believe his ears. This girl that summoned him as her familiar wanted him to dress her every morning from the underwear up. He could accept washing her clothes, the necessity now being readily and easily available was something of a blessing to Jinrui and he wouldn't dare pass on the opportunity for a good washing even if he had to sneak his own clothes in with her own, but there was a limit to how much shit he was going to take.

"It is often considered impolite for a man to be present when a woman is changing." He argued.

"You are not a man!" She declared with a heated glare. He quirked an eyebrow at that. Okay, he was willing to admit he looked quite different with a clean shave and hair not buried under ash and grit but there was absolutely no way that he classified as bishonen. "You are a familiar! It is no more impolite for you to be around me while changing then it would be for a dog."

Jinrui's fists clenched at that, this time of his own volition. "Is that what you think?" He asked her, his voice cold as ice with anger shining in narrowed, crimson orbs.

Louise seemed startled by the sudden shift of emotions in him but it was quickly overtaken by what she felt as righteous indignation. "I will not have my familiar take that kind of tone with me. There will be no food for you until dinner this evening."

Jinrui's mutinous expression did not waver in the least as he inclined his head. "As you wish."

"This is ambrosia, pure and simple." Jinrui swooned, taking another bite of fresh bread. Food like this would be considered a miracle and Jinrui treated it as such. Whether it was luck or good fortune, Jinrui had run into that same maid as before and like Louise, Siesta had been quite surprised at how different he appeared from when he was covered in grime. She had been kind enough to show him the way to the kitchens and was even so kind as to offer him a meal before hearing of his punishment. He didn't care if it was of the same make as the rest of the commoners, it was fresh food and that was good enough in his book.

"Familiar!" An all too familiar voice called for him. Eyes narrowed, Jinrui inhaled the last of the bread and quickly swallowed it down. He rose to his feet just in time as four and a half feet of pink-haired irritation entered the courtyard and, spotting him, gestured for him to follow her. "Come, familiar."

'If she whistles for me, I don't care what I owe her, I'll kill her.' Jinrui stepped up beside her and followed just a bit behind as she walked.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" He asked her.

Louise glared at over her shoulders at him and finding him honestly curious informed him, "There are no classes today for all the second year students. We are supposed to be building relationships and open communication between our familiars."

"Oh I'd love to build that…" muttered Jinrui, making no effort to hide his sarcasm.

"Don't presume to take that tone of voice with me, familiar!" Louise snapped at him.

"Weapon." Jinrui snapped back with clear venom, surprising her and throwing Louise completely off track. That word sounded so strange to say, it felt even more so when used as reference to himself. "If you can't be kind enough to remember my name then call me by what I really am. I refuse to degrade myself to the level of a beast."

"You dog!" She snarled with hands clenched with pink hair arching like an angry feline. "You don't talk back to me! You are my familiar and I'll—"

"What exactly?" Jinrui's eyes were narrowed and, unseen by Louise, his shadow was rapidly twisting and turning beneath his feet, flickering through a variety of shapes, all of them sharp and deadly. "In case you've failed to realize, I am not some form of animal ready to please you at your whim. You may well have saved my life but that debt is rapidly losing its importance."

"W-W-What?" Jinrui smiled at her stuttering. She was either incredibly angry or was confused by the frank admission that he owed her his life. Either way, she seemed to have lost the ability to speak coherently.

"If it wasn't already obvious, this master and familiar thing is not going to work out if you keep insisting on playing master and dog with me. We will either be equal partners or I'm gone, regardless of whatever contract you've bound me with."

"Equal partnership!" She shrieked. "You are my familiar and you will obey!"

Six months ago, her head would have been separated from her shoulders. Now she was seconds away from getting placed over his knee and so help him, he'd give her a righteous spanking!

"Well, well…" A feminine voice drawled, turning the arguing duo's heads to the speaker that had interrupted their argument. Jinrui recognized the girl's voice from yesterday and though he did not understand her words then, he recognized the mocking hidden beneath false kindness. "Not only is your familiar disobedient but speaking to a noble in such a manner." She tossed her red tresses over her shoulder. "If you were going so far as to hire a commoner to fake being your familiar, you could have at least found one with proper respect couldn't you?"

"What did you say, Kirche?" Louise growled, still ticked off with Jinrui but now having a new focus for her anger. "You know I did the summoning properly and he appeared!"

Jinrui's attention wasn't on the girl or his so-called master, but the large, red crocodilian at Kirche's side. "What the hell is that and why is it looking at me like that?" The thing's golden eyes were narrowed and it was standing between him and Kirche as though it half-expected him to kill her where she stood and by the way it flame-tipped tail was quivering; it knew it would not be able to protect her.

"Never seen a salamander before, commoner?" Kirche asked, not noticing her familiar's reaction as she crouched down to scratch at the back of its head, its eyes still locked on Jinrui.

"A salamander…" He repeated and the knowledge came to him in an instant. Salamander, salamandra ignis, reptilian beast of fire frequently found in places of extreme temperatures such as volcanic vents and steel forges. He blinked. Reptilian… "Ah, I see…" He knelt down on one knee before the salamander, which flinched but kept itself between him and its master. Jinrui stared at the salamander for a moment before suddenly speaking, or at least what could either girl assumed as speaking for the noise made more sense coming from a serpent's mouth than a human's.

Neither of them were as surprised as the salamander itself who starred open-mouthed at Jinrui before croaking a reply of his own. The two continued this exchange for a minute more before Jinrui rose to his feet as he nodded at a confused Kirche. "Flame is an example of his race and you've done well with him." The salamander's chest puffed out at that and he croaked a small spark of fire, thoroughly pleased with himself.

Kirche raised an eyebrow at Jinrui before suddenly blinking with the realization that she hadn't mentioned her familiar's name to anyone for she had only decided upon it that very morning, so then how did he…? She glanced down at Flame who looked up at her with a happy wag in his flame-tipped tail. "You are rather odd for a commoner but I thank you for the compliment." She turned and walked off with Flame hobbling along after her, his head and tail held high with a prideful gait in his step.

Jinrui watched the salamander scamper off and shook his head, chuckling. "It seems I've made someone's day." He glanced down at Louise. "Now, back to our discussion…"

Finally recalling her wits from the strangeness of the event, Louise said, "There is nothing to discuss, you are my familiar and you will obey!" There was a distinctive lack of conviction in her words, though the imperiousness of the order was still there.

Jinrui's eyes narrowed but thankfully the conversation with Flame had cooled off his temper somewhat so he wasn't feeling particularly murderous as he responded back with an even tone, "I am your weapon to do with what you will," he agreed, "but if you continue to treat me as a something rather than a someone, you'll find this weapon turned back upon you." It wasn't a threat, not really. If she continued with this bratty routine, he'd kill her. A simple fact.

"Such insolence…!" She was frustrated, that much was obvious, but by his stubborn refusal to obey without question or by his strange correction of his title as her weapon rather than her familiar. "Go and bring me some tea or something! I will be contemplating your punishment!"

Jinrui's eyes remained narrowed but there a strange smugness in his smile. "As you wish."

Six months ago, he'd have carried out her order without hesitation. Now, he was exploiting as many loopholes as he could just to avoid having to deal with her. For example, she asked for a cup of tea or something, so he had to spend at least some time to choose for her, yes? Better still, she never actually said when she wanted that drink. Jinrui was wondering if he this school happened to have laxatives when a large, floating eyeball appeared in his path.

"… And what are you looking at?" The thing blinked repeatedly before floating away. "What an odd… something…

"That's a bugbear," a soft, female voice answered from behind him. Jinrui looked over his shoulder to find a familiar smiling maid with a plate of food in her hands.

Despite his earlier mood, Jinrui had to crack a smile at the maid's appearance. It was nice to see someone that didn't immediately irritate him with a single, derogatory glance. "Working hard as always, Siesta?" He always did appreciate a working girl, even before…

"As always," She agreed with a beaming smile. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay to chat." She indicated the pastry on her plate which Jinrui eyed with a hungry gleam in his eye. He couldn't help but be curious.

"What is it?"

Siesta seemed surprise by the question. "It's a cheesecake. Do you not have any where you are from?"

"Not so much anymore I'm afraid." He had always been told of such wondrous delights as pastries such as cake and pies but never had he actually seen one before. He couldn't imagine what it tasted like. He was about to ask her whether there was any available "for his master" when he was rudely interrupted.

"Hey. Is my cake here yet?" The two glanced over at a nearby table where a girl with long blonde hair combed into large, elegant curls sat with a small frog in hand and a boy opposite her. He was every bit the arrogant little fool known as nobility in these lands with blonde hair styled into a perfect shape and looked every bit as dignified as royalty despite the pig-sized mole sitting halfway onto the boy's lap. It was the boy who had spoken and sealed his fate. He had renewed Jinrui's almost forgotten irritation with Louise and thus made himself the perfect target for some misplaced aggression.

Six months ago, he'd have gladly walked over and shoved the cake down the boy's throat, plate included.

Now, physical punishment was all well and good but it was short and sweet, lasting only for the moment. Total humiliation lasted much longer.

Jinrui offered a smile to Siesta that seemed a touch scary, especially with how his red eyes seemed to twinkle. "I'll take that cake to him, if you don't mind."

"Ah, but—" Siesta blinked and found the plate had already left her hands.

"Really, it's no trouble, Siesta." Jinrui walked over to the table and set the cake down before the boy who didn't spare him so much as a passing glance as he continued to praise the girl across from him, having just finished praising his familiar and moving onto the girl and her frog. "Your familiar spirit really resembles you in how cute it is, Montmorency."

Jinrui spared the girl a cursory glance before shrugging. "I suppose it's a fitting praise as the other girl from last night has yet to have a familiar of her own." He agreed.

The boy twitched and turned, starting an angry retort that died with the realization of who had spoken. "You're that plebian summon of Louise the Zero."

Jinrui quirked an eyebrow at the title, wondering just what it meant but shelved it for a later time. "You're that arrogant little twit I saw last night with that younger girl with the brown cloak." Jinrui smiled genially, revealing an above average number of sharpened teeth. "Too bad too, her food certainly sounded delicious…"

"H-How dare you address an aristocrat in such a manner?" He demanded, angry and shocked that he was being put down but what he perceived as a mundane commoner. "I shall—"

"Guiche." He froze like a statue as Montmorency's brow furrowed as she stared at him suspiciously. "What is he talking about?"

The blonde-haired nobleman, otherwise known as Guiche, looked more concerned with the girl than Jinrui; a mistake. "Nothing but lies I assure you, Montmorency. After all, I—"

"Cannot tell lies in front of your eyes? A poor attempt at poetry but not a bad altogether. It loses itself though with your continual use, or perhaps I should say abuse of it." Jinrui stated and noting the confusion on the blonde girl, he elaborated. "It seems to me that particular line is a favorite of his since I heard him using it with that girl, what was her name? Katie?"

Confusion was rapidly being replaced with anger and Montmorency's hand started to clench tightly, the once playful frog in her other hand now puffing up like an angry toad to match its master. Both turned narrowed eyes upon a decidedly nervous Guiche who rapidly proclaimed his innocence and how aggrieved he was to be facing such accusations from the familiar of a zero when Jinrui happened to interrupt him mid-way through.

"Well, I could be mistaken," he admitted. "I'm not all that good on names you see, but since she's coming this way, I suppose you could clarify her name for me?"

"What?" Guiche squeaked, yes for certainly something in that high an octave had to be called a squeak, turning a stark white.

Satisfied with a job well-done, Jinrui casually walked away just far enough to not get caught up in the ensuing, and decidedly one-sided, fight that was about to take place. He wasn't disappointed as Guiche buried himself deeper and deeper with both girls subconsciously double-teaming him with questions and demands too quickly spoken for Guiche to answer let alone try and deflect away with more rosy words of praise.

A crowd was starting to gather and hearing opportunity's bells ringing loud and clear, Jinrui snatched a plate of untouched pastry and took a bite. Six months ago he would have gone down on his knees and praised hallelujah. Now, he managed to suppress that urge down to a stream of happy tears. Thankfully, he didn't miss out on the double slap Guiche received from the two girls that left a pair of red handprints on either side of the blonde's face and him flat on his butt from the force of the strikes.

As the gathered students laughed at Guiche's misfortune, the blonde managed to salvage enough of his pride to rise to his feet, his eyes settling upon Jinrui who saluted him with his fork.

"Looks like you don't know the manners you should show towards nobles." Guiche accused him.

Jinrui shrugged, placing the plate down as he spoke. "There are only nine people that have ever earned my respect; you cannot begin to compare with any of them." The casual response did not appease any of Guiche's shattered pride.

"Then perhaps a duel will teach you to respect your betters and teach you what it means to make two ladies cry." If Guiche had expected fear or surprise from the ashen-haired commoner, he was disappointed and a bit confused, almost losing his dramatic pose as Jinrui slowly turned to face him with a smile so wide as to reveal all of his sharp teeth in such a way as to almost be predatory.

"A duel?" repeated Jinrui, his eyes twinkling dangerously, his shadow rippling beneath him, the light of the sun twisting unseen in his right hand. "As in… a fight?" He chuckled, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "Boy, if you are that eager to die, just tell me. I'll kill you here and now if you desire."

Whispers broke out in the crowd, disbelief and hilarity at Jinrui's bold words echoing softly on the wind. The students found the idea of a plebian winning over a noble to be funny but the idea of a commoner actually killing a noble in a duel?

Impossible.

Six months ago, Jinrui would have demonstrated how easy it truly was, starting with Guiche. Now, he stood patiently, waiting for the pretty-boy's response which wasn't forthcoming. Despite his idiocy, Guiche was the son of a general and despite his own lack of actual training; a soldier's instincts still flowed in his veins. He heard Jinrui's words not as jest or a false sense of bravado like his year-mates; he knew the plebian truly believed himself capable of killing him.

It was right about here where Guiche's idiocy took over from his common sense.

"Thirty minutes hence, at Vestry field." He declared hotly, turning on his heel and stomping off to prepare. He was looking forward to seeing the look on that plebian familiar's face when he beat him soundly and without effort.

Jinrui watched him go with a smile on his face. He was interested to see how superior these nobles thought of themselves against a plebian that stood on greater ground than they. He was quite happy with that line of thought up until Louise shoved her way through the crowd to stand before him, glaring with everything she had up at the taller boy. "What do you think you're doing?" she didn't give him time to answer, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him.

'Surprisingly strong for one so small…' He thought. "Where are we going?"

"To Guiche. He might still forgive you and call off the duel."

Jinrui stopped and wrenched his arm free from her grip. "That is one wish, I will not grant you."

"You don't understand anything. A commoner can't hope to win against an aristocrat. He'll kill you easily." Was it his imagination or did he hear actual concern in her voice? Was she actually worried for him rather than angry? He studied her for a moment before smiling sadly, shaking his head.

"In all my life, I've only ever met two people who were capable of killing me. I can only pray that I'll find a third." He sighed, glancing up at the clouds passing by far above in a blue sky. "I am your weapon, whatever is precious to you, I will protect, whatever is wretched to you, I will destroy."

"Stop that! Why do you keep referring to yourself as a weapon?" She demanded, clearly frustrated with him.

Jinrui slowly turned to look her in the eyes and Louise felt her breath catch in her throat. It was a limp, unfocused gaze that saw far beyond her to a range impossible by eyes unused to the sight of destruction and death. It felt like eternity that Jinrui's eyes laid upon her but in reality it was only long enough for Jinrui to speak.

"Because that was what I was born to be."

"I compliment you for not running away." Guiche smiled, closing his eyes as he ran a hand through his golden locks, missing the look of… something… in Jinrui's eyes at his words.

"I'd gladly turn my back on you not out of fear, but out of disgust that someone as idiotic as you can proclaim yourself victorious before the fight has even begun." Jinrui inclined his head. "Fight or die, foolish boy."

Guiche grunted and shrugged with a great amount of exaggeration in his movements. "Who am I to deny a commoner's request?" He whipped the rose in his hand, allowing a petal to fall to the ground. There was a bright flash of mana before a metallic suit of armor rose up from the ground with such speed that earned more than a few awed whispers from the crowd. "I am known as Guiche the Bronze, therefore the bronze golem Valkyrie shall be your opponent."

Acting on Guiche's unspoken command, the golem charged at startling speeds, aiming for a hard punch to Jinrui's diaphragm. For a living suit of armor made entirely out of bronze, the thing was quite fast, faster than most normal humans could go without years of extensive training.

Jinrui caught the golem's fist with his left hand without a flinch, a faint flicker of shadows dancing along his arm.

"Wh-What?" gasped Guiche.

"Asato ma sad gamaya…" Jinrui clenched his fist, crushing the golem's own. Light erupted in Jinrui's right hand, shifting its shape until it resembled a Chinese dadao in all but its make. The runes ascribed on the back of his left hand started to flicker before suddenly alighting themselves with emerald intensity. The golem was sent flying, sliding apart as two large halves from the power of Jinrui's strike.

"Is it doing what I think it is doing?" An unheard question from the light to the dark.

"It is, and I LIKE it!" Excited laughter in the shadows. "Let's see if the boy can figure it out for himself, hmm?"

Shocked cries came from the crowd of students, none of them as loud as Guiche's own fearful stuttering, "Im-Impossible! You're just a plebian!" He waved his rose wand several more times, summoning a small troop of golems that stood between him and Jinrui.

Jinrui tilted his head for a moment before suddenly dismissing the sword in his right hand as he held up his left fist and ancient runes now glowing faint as dying embers before suddenly reigniting as black energy coiled around the arm like angry serpents.

"Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya…" Jinrui raised his arm up high and the crowd of students screamed as black hands rose up from the shadows of the assembled golems and grabbed them by their necks. Jinrui slowly started to clench his hand, the shadows mimicking his every move, before suddenly slashing his arm down.

The shadowed limbs pulled down on the golems and slammed them down into the unforgiving ground, crushing their necks in the process. Jinrui flinched and the darkness disappeared from his left arm, leaving faint burns on the sleeve of his jacket. He sighed and rubbed the soreness out of his left hand, quirking an eyebrow as the light faded completely from the runes.

"Wh-What are you?" whispered Guiche, returning Jinrui to the task at hand.

It was time to finish this.

"Mrutyor ma amritam gamaya…" Shooting forward at impossible speeds and Jinrui was suddenly face to face with Guiche. The blonde fool had breath enough to gasp before Jinrui's fist met his stomach with enough force to send him up into the air by several feet. Jinrui spun tightly on his right leg, kicking out at Guiche's torso and sending the noble skidding across the dirt. Jinrui appeared almost instantly atop Guiche, slamming his foot down upon the boy's back, shoving his face into the unforgiving ground. The sword of light rose up high over Guiche's head, ready to cleave the neck.

"Yield!" He managed to scream, turning his head just enough to stare up with one frightened eye at his opponent.

Jinrui paused, head tilting to the side in confusion, the crowd silent as the grave around them. Many of them were pale as death, some were openly gaping, and a few, most of them female, were weeping, but every single one of them were thoroughly shocked as their entire world view crumbled before their very eyes.

A commoner had defeated a noble in battle… in a fight that had lasted less than three minutes.

"Yield…? What does that mean… yield?" asked Jinrui.

"I give up! I surrender!" Guiche was almost in tears himself, his eyes locked on the energy blade in Jinrui's hand.

Jinrui's face lowered, hiding his eyes in shadow. "You… give up…?" Slowly, Jinrui's shoulders started to quiver. He was far from happy with Guiche's words.

He was furious.

"Yes, yes I give up!" Guiche pleaded, unaware of the fires he was stoking. Jinrui still didn't move. "Wh-What are you waiting for?"

"I'm trying to understand… I've been in many battles you see and none of them have ended in surrender. There have always been two options, to live or die. I'm trying to understand the existence of a third option…"

"Jinrui." A soft voice called out from behind him, almost unrecognized by the sudden change in its usual fiery tones. Jinrui turned to meet Louise's eyes.

"Yes?"

"No more." It wasn't a plea or a demand, far from it. It was an order from his new Lord.

"… As you wish." Jinrui's sword slowly started to vanish like a dying flame and Guiche let out a breath of relief that choked in a frightened squeal as Jinrui hauled him up to his feet, the blade suddenly alive with fresh light, its sharpened edge dangerously close to Guiche's neck.

"Never in all of my life have I met someone as disgusting as you. You were so proud to kill for your convictions but cowered under the face of death, afraid you were to die for them. If your actions are common-found amongst the nobles then I, for one, am glad to be a commoner. You might be a noble by blood, but it sure as hell isn't by spirit." Jinrui dropped Guiche to the ground and turned his back upon him, the blade vanishing into thin air as he walked to Louise who had stood silent throughout the brief exchange. She was afraid even if she did her best to remain standing firm in front of him.

He stared down at her for a long moment before suddenly smiling and bowing his head. "I suppose it is too much to ask that you make some actual enemies, my Lord? It's not much fun fighting idiot schoolboys."

If she was confused by the strange form of address, Louise didn't show it as she responded in a dry voice, "I'll try and see who I can find."

That earned a pleased nod from Jinrui and those unseen at his side.

"She has claws."

"Good…"

"Are you a mage?" The question was softly spoken, hesitant and slow with its delivery but still surprising with its words. Louise and Jinrui were sitting in her room, the sun long since set in the horizon. Jinrui was lying atop his bed of hay while Louise was sitting at her dresser, brushing her hair and gazing at Jinrui through his reflection in the mirror.

Jinrui glanced up and, sounding amused by her question, answered, "I said earlier that I am by no means a noble. What you saw earlier was just one of the abilities granted to me by being what I am."

"What do you mean 'by being what you are', Jinrui?" Louise asked. Jinrui chuckled, pleased with hearing her speak his name and by how she looked as though she was bracing herself to find out she had summoned some manner of demon.

She wouldn't be wrong, not entirely.

"I am your weapon, whatever is precious to you, I will protect, whatever is wretched to you, I will destroy." He repeated. "I was a part of an order and each of us was given unique, even dangerous, powers upon joining. I suppose the best comparison for it would be knights given enchanted weaponry… but I'm more of a weapon than I am a knight, though I do have a knight's sense of pride…" Jinrui suddenly asked, "Tell me, if you had been dragged away from your home, forced to do some strange person's laundry, sleep on a bed of hay, and sub sequentially threatened with no meals if you disobeyed, what would you do?"

Louise seemed surprised by the sudden question but that surprise gave way to offended pride. "I would never do such things!" She declared hotly, slamming her brush down with emphasis as she turned in her seat to face him. "Such a thing is beneath the daughter of a duke and I would—… Oh…" She finally connected the dots, her face rapidly turning as pink as her hair and looking quite uncomfortable.

"Six months ago, I would have killed you." That earned a flinch. Jinrui gave her a wry smile. "But that was then and this is now." His suddenly solemn eyes locked onto Louise's own, freezing her in place as he spoke, "The reason I haven't is because I am curious. Who is this girl that had the power to call for me? Why did she plead for me to answer to her guidance? What was it that let her reach out to me and no one else? Whether or not these questions are answered, I am yours to do with what you will."

Louise looked wide-eyed at his confession, for when she had called for a familiar; she had expected an obedient beast, with great sense of pride and even greater power. What she answered was something proud and powerful, there was little doubt of that, but obedient wasn't a part of the equation. It would take some time for her to adjust from what she had expected to what she had received.

Still… there was one question that needed to be asked.

"Earlier… you said that you owed me your life… what did you mean by that?"

Jinrui didn't answer. At least, not right away. "We spent all of our lives fighting in a senseless war… and when it was finally over and victory was ours… I was the only one left to bask in it. What good is peace when you have no one to share the joy of it? I was alone for so long… with no enemies to fight, no friends to protect… I had almost forgotten what it felt like… to be alive…" Jinrui sighed, lying back on his bed of hay, closing his eyes to welcome the sweet abyss of sleep.

"… Jinrui?"

"Yes?"

"That order you were a part of… what was it called?"

Jinrui's eyes opened the tiniest bit, glancing up at Louise as she laid atop her bed, looking down at him with an unreadable expression on her face, the moon highlighting her pink hair from the room's lone window.

"We called ourselves… Masked Riders."

On the next Calling...

"On Wings of Silver"

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

A new character for my revised Kamen Rider Kaiju storyline, Jinrui Hanshou is one of the most powerful of the Riders. In point of fact, as Jinrui himself has stated, there are only two Riders capable of exceeding even his great power and thus capable of killing him. While he is capable of transforming into his Rider form, Jinrui only does so when his m-base powers (something akin to Marvel's x-gene) are not enough to win the fight. Against someone like Guiche, Jinrui would think it as being overkill even with an army of golems at Guiche's command.

This incarnation of Jinrui is very different from the one set to appear in Kamen Rider Kaiju and is almost an exact opposite in terms of personality and ideals. He was born and raised as a weapon in a war that was already lost decades before and being the sole victor of that war has left him with literally nothing. Nothing to destroy, nothing to protect… just continued existence where he would be driven to the brink of madness from years of lonliness.

To be perfectly honest, Jinrui was originally intended to be my first one-shot in this series but I just couldn't get his character down the way I liked. I wanted to create a human(ish) familiar that would be willing to serve Louise but at the same time, maintain a level of pride befitting a soldier of war. Jinrui may refer to himself as a weapon rather than as a familiar but that is because it is exactly how he views himself and the other Riders, weapons born and raised for war against a force unimaginable. Jinrui is willing and able to do anything Louise asks of him so long as she does not step on his pride. He views Louise as a "Lord" because, to him, the difference between a Lord and a Lady is a matter of actual power between them rather than gender differences. A Lady may well command a soldier but it is a Lord who wields the weapon.

Of the human(ish) familiar I've created thus far… Jinrui and Nicolai tie for first though I think Jinrui has a slight edge on the hybrid. Being a true Gandalfr, Jinrui would be able to utilize his powers to their fullest potential and really, out of the other familiars created thus far, I imagine he would get along well with Derflinger. Definitely in the top five of possibility, Jinrui may well make his own story… or he may not. Time can only tell.

April 29, 2011 ADDITION:

It has been brought to my attention that my attempt at a silent tribute was to be as foolhardy as a spoken tribute so allow me a moment to soapbox my thoughts and feelings. As some may have noted, I wrote this one-shot to the writing style of the author known as Gabriel Blessing as a silent tribute to his marvelous work The Hill of Swords. The reason I did not simply say as much before now was because I did not want anyone to compare them as such comparisons would be unfair both to Gabriel Blessing and myself.

This chapter is but a mere one-shot of possibility that is likely to never be anything more than what it is while The Hill of Swords is a novel of epic length and equally epic quality. To compare them would be a great injustice to them both and I did not want that. However… my attempt at a poorly hidden tribute has garnered opinions that opened my eyes to the fact that, just because I see this one-shot for what it is, no else is privy to my admittedly mad way of thinking. So let me say it here and now that yes, this is a one-shot written as a tribute to the great work of Gabriel Blessing but please refrain yourselves from comparing them for what is a simple chapter of possibility compared to a novel of incredibility?