[Play "Organization XIII theme"]
Mysterious Figure: *Suddenly drops into the room, and spins left and right as if to show he's ready to make any kind of move at a moment's notice. Upon seeing he's clear, he then jumps and rolls away to duck behind a desk. Slowly peaking up, he glances about his surroundings, trying to determine if the area is safe for him to proceed through. Confirming he's clear, he quickly vaults over the desk to swiftly move across the room, and then quietly slams up against the wall by a door. Reaching out with one hand the figure steadily opens the door, and uses a mirror to peak inside, making sure that the coast is clear before stealthily moving inside and hiding behind a large, potted plant. Slowly moving out from his hiding place, the man tip-toes across the room, carefully ... carefully ... Not willing to trigger any kind of trap that may be sprung at any moment. Upon reaching the main desk in the room, he steadily creeps around to the side that the chair is on, the studio lights come on, revealing ... the writer*
[End "Organization XIII theme"]
Z: Hi-dilly-doh guys! for those who don't know me, I'm DevilsZack00 and welcome in this new fanfiction: "Kingdom Hearts: Heart of the Familiar", an x-over between Kingdom Hearts and Familiar of Zero.
*He claps his hands several times* Oooh Kingdom Hearts, one of my favorite videogame series because of ... everything: From the story to the characters (Best character? Lea. Got it memorized?), passing from the music to the settings. Everything in Kingdom Hearts is a masterpiece. I know, sometimes Nomura seems to be drunk when he writes the plot ... but that's the beauty of Kingdom Hearts!
Familiar of Zero instead I met him ... three years ago, I think, thanks to my best friend, and I thank him very much for that. Now, for those who are reading this story and know me for my other fanfics ... FFXV will coming this week, I swear!
?: *The studio door opens, revealing Noctis from the fanfic "FFXV Journey In Remnant"*
Z: Oh crap- Hi Noct!
Noctis: FF, now
Z: Ok ... see ya later!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Familiar Of Zero. I own only the plot and the *spoiler*. As I am Italian, each chapter of this story is written in Italian and then translated with Google Translate to be corrected manually so I apologize for any grammatical errors.
Chapter 1: The Fated Land…
《The final passage reads: "On that Fated Land, a Great War shall transpire. Darkness will prevail... and the Light expire" 》
《Isn't it our duty as Keyblade Wielders to prevent this War from taking place?》
《Nah, not possible.》
《Wha—?》
《You really think you can change the future?We have to focus on what comes after. There's no use thinking of ways to change events that we know are gonna happen.》
《But, what about all of those who are here now? And the ones who will be here when the Darkness finally comes? Are we to abandon all of them?》
Fated Land, The World...
(Play "Kingdom Hearts series OST - Dearly Beloved (Rain mix) ")
Rain ... the falling rain was the only thing the boy could actually perceive, his only contact with 'reality' ... of course, he could also say that it was raining inside his heart too ... rain, c 'it was always the rain ...
And that incessant rain fell on that land now destroyed and with thousands of Keyblades stuck to the ground due to the battle that was taking place, a battle that in the future will be known as the "Keyblade War". And if as the rain fell, from the land itself some strange heart-shaped lights rose skyward, toward the giant blue heart-shaped moon: The source of all light, Kingdom Hearts.
While hearts continued their ascent undeterred, on the ground the people who remained standing were fighting to the death, led by four masked figures ... they are the 4 Foretellers, apprentices of the mysterious Master of Masters. And if in the center of the moor the four Foretellers, together with what remained of their Unions, were fighting against each other, another single but no less fierce battle took place nearby ... a battle between two figures.
The first figure was approximately 174cm tall, and due to the badly damaged blue full-body armour he wore, it was hard to tell his gender were it not for the male yet young voice that came from under the helmet. His hands tightened a strange Keyblade: The Keyblade takes on the appearance of a pin tumbler lock key, with bandages adorning the base of the blade ... the Keyblade is the Fenrir.
The second figure, on the other hand, was 176 cm tall and was entirely dressed in a black coat. The hood was raised, preventing anyone from seeing who was hiding under the hood, but by the voice and the physiognomy of the body, he too was a young male. The Keyblade that the hooded figure was holding a has a spiky, black guard resembling demonic wings, a horned, demonic head just above the handle, two barbed shafts, and teeth resembling a battle ax split into three almost claw-like protrusions. Its shaft and head are adorned with several twisting, silver patterns. It also contains two demonic, blue eyes with one on the Keychain and the other one on the head. This Keyblade is the Gazing Eye.
(End "Kingdom Hearts series OST - Dearly Beloved (Rain mix)" and play "Kingdom Hearts series OST - The Other Promise (Rain mix)")
The Keyblades of the two figures collided with each other at a speed and above all with an incredible ferocity, to the point that every swing was at times imperceptible to a possible spectator. Between thrusts, slashes and saves, the two seemed to be on par.
When the two, after yet another clash between their weapons, moved away from each other by a few meters, the hooded figure spoke. "So ... this is the end of the line, I guess" The voice was calm and did not reveal any negative emotion. Raising his Gazing Eye towards his opponent, he continued speaking as lightning fell from the sky, followed immediately by thunder. "Give up, please. You still have a seat in the Dandelions, I can take you there myself. None of this concerns you."
The hooded figure's words, however, did not seem to calm the fury the armoured figure had. "Nothing to do with me?! EVERYTHING HAS TO DO WITH ME!" Clutching Fenrir's hilt with all the fury in his body, the armoured figure ran towards the hooded boy and resumed his swift and devastating assault.
"Why you gotta be so-" The hooded figure took a few steps back during this assault until, after a seemingly endless number of attacks, he pushed Gazing Eye forward, knocking the armoured boy off balance. "- stubborn?!" Taking advantage of the moment, it was now the hooded figure attacking, hitting his enemy with a powerful vertical slash from top to bottom, momentarily slamming the Keyblade into the ground. "You Idiot !"
"Gah!" With a cry of pain, the armoured figure was hurled a meter away from the hooded figure but managed to land on his feet. Holding his left hand on his chest, he felt that the armour had managed to withstand this blow but could not withstand another attack with that force.
"Why? Are you asking me ?!" Removing his left hand from his chest, the armoured figure pointed to the land where the rest of the Unions were still fighting. "You have condemned everyone!"
"Not all of them. Ava's role-" The hooded figure was about to answer, but his opponent's cry cut him off.
"DON'T DARE SAY HER NAME!" His angry voice sounded broken for a moment, as if he were about to cry, but the feeling faded as he pointed to the hooded figure with Fenrir. "Master Ava, my friends, even the citizens of Daybreak Town! You have doomed everyone with your plans!"
"You're wrong! Ava's role was to preserve the light thanks to the Dandelions!" The hooded figure explained, trying to calm down the armoured figure. "My Master made sure the Light is safeguarded!"
"And are you sure they will make it?" The armoured figure lowered Fenrir, as if the hooded figure's words gave him hope. "That everyone can survive ...?"
"I ... I ..." The hooded boy opened his mouth, searching for the right words ... but deep in his heart, hesitation took over. Bowing his head slightly, he was silent.
The armoured figure was also silent, and the only sound the two could hear was the sound of rain, thunder, and battle not far away, though the sound slowly faded away ... and they both knew why.
"... There's no other way to conclude this, right?" The hooded figure asked hopefully, but when his opponent's response was to raise the Keyblade, he had to sigh sadly. "Then ... let's end this ..." He said, also raising his Keyblade and, with a battle cry, they both charged ...
And, for the armoured figure, everything went black for a few minutes. When he felt the rain hit his helmet, the boy was able to slowly and painfully open his eyes. He was lying on the ground, his face watching the stormy sky as the Kingdom Hearts was slowly disappearing, with Fenrir stuck in the ground not far from him.
"Sorry ..." Lifting his head slightly, the armoured figure saw his opponent in front of him, Gazing Eye in his right hand and facing him. "I hoped we could conclude this differently"
"... Yeah ... me too" The armoured figure muttered faintly, tears somehow streaming down his face. "Maybe I should have listened to Skuld ... Ephemer ... and you ..."
"... 'Maybe'? You freaking stupid! Of course you had to believe in them! In me!" For the first time, the hooded figure's voice broke, revealing that he was crying ... crying over what had happened. "If only you had, I ... I-"
"Eh ... sorry for that ..." The armoured figure seemed to chuckle weakly. "Can we say it together...one last time?"
"... Yeah, one last time" The hooded figure held back the tears. "I'm ready"
"Alright ... May Our… Hearts ... -" the armoured figure said faintly, until he was silent.
"-Be Our Guiding Keys" concluded the hooded figure as he silently observed the armoured figure, waiting for an answer that sadly never came ... and he knew why. "... Rest in peace ... and May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key ..." He said as he turned and started to walk away, leaving the land that will soon be known as "Keyblade Graveyard" ... last time ... he prayed for his opponent, hoping he could go to Kingdom Hearts...
(End "Kingdom Hearts series OST - The Other Promise (Rain mix.)")
《C'mon, are you telling me that you think the World can be saved by just seven people?》
《We have to at least try! With enough Keyblade wielders We could—》
《Well, if you wanna give it a shot...All righty, good luck!》
Tristan Academy, Halkeginia...
Halkeginia, a world of magic located somewhere in the universe. In this world, the creatures, mages and magic that normally existed in fairy tales were real. Like the real life medieval era, this world consisted of many kingdoms ruled by either kings or queens over their own respective lands and the society here was divided into two levels: the blueblood nobles/aristocrats and the commoners/plebeians. However, the only difference here was that the former had access of the magic while the commoners did not. In a nutshell, having magic here equalled power.
One of these kingdoms was the Kingdom of Tristain where one of the most well-known academies of magic was located, the Tristanian Academy of Magic.
On the academy's grounds, many students were gathered around a teacher standing before them. Their uniforms consisted of a white collared shirt, a dark purple long cape, a yellow round badge with a pentagram symbol on it, a pair of long dark gray trousers and shoes for boys in contrast to a skirt, a pair of long stockings and shoes for girls and obviously wands since they were mages. Their teacher on the other hand wore a long dark bluish purple garb with white linings which gave him more of a priestly appearance than a mage. Also instead of a wand, the bald bespectacled teacher used a long wooden staff.
Currently the school of magic was holding a yearly ceremonial event known as the Familiar Summoning Ritual. As its name suggested, the ritual was a sacred ceremony where the students had to call forth the magical beings which represented their affinity using the summoning spell.
"Today is the day of your summoning." announced the teacher to the young mages. "This is the first exam of your second year, as well as the sacred day of your first encounter with your familiar spirit who you will spend the rest of your life with as a part of an aristocratic family."
Among the students, there was one female student who seemed a bit nervous as she looked at her wand. Compared with the other students, she had unusual long pink hair that went past her shoulders and a rather short stature.
This girl's name was Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere…otherwise referred to as Louise the Zero by her classmates.
"I can hardly wait to see how great of a familiar spirit you will summon." said a voice behind Louise which made her flinch a bit and turn to see another girl wearing a mocking smirk on her face. Compared to Louise, this girl was the total opposite of the young pink haired mage. She had long red auburn hair and tan skin and a tall well-endowed figure, especially on her chest where some of her buttons were left undone and clearly exposed her cleavage.
"Urrggghh…just leave me alone, Zerbst!" replied Louise in annoyance as she turned away from her. The red haired girl however just giggled while covering her mouth, clearly enjoying the reaction she got from Louise.
The girl was Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst or Kirche the Ardent, the queen of beauty or one could say the onee-sama of the school.
The ceremony started first with one student summoning a floating purple eyeball creature known as a Bugbear as his familiar. The summoning then continued on with a chubby student successfully summoning an owl, a blond haired student whose uniform was slightly customized with laces and frills and had a rose as his wand got a huge mole, a blonde haired girl whose bangs were stylized in drills received a (probably normal) frog, Kirche summoned a big red lizard which had its tail on fire known as salamander, and a blue haired girl with glasses who used a staff instead of a wand ended up with a blue dragon much to everyone's surprise.
"Have we gone through everyone?" The teacher questioned the students as they familiarized themselves with their magical creatures.
Kirche was the one who answered him first. "Not yet, Professor Colbert. Miss Valliere is the only one left." The redhead then looked around to find the student in question hiding behind the crowd of taller students.
When it was finally Louise's turn, some students if not almost every one of them began to whisper among themselves about the pink haired mage.
"It's Louise the Zero."
"What is she going to summon?"
"I'm sure she can't summon anything. It'll be another explosion and that will be it."
Ever since her first year in the academy, Louise had been known for always making explosions every time she cast a spell even though she already followed the instructions properly, thus earning her the nickname 'Louise the Zero' for always having a success rate of zero in casting spells. However, despite the mockery, taunts, and insults she always got from her classmates, especially from Kirche, she always kept trying harder and harder. This ritual would prove that she wasn't a Zero and a failure mage as they thought.
"You said that you can summon something greater than this boy, right Louise?" taunted Kirche while showing off her salamander in front of Louise.
"Naturally." Replied Louise uncaringly. Her right hand holding her wand was shaking a bit before she began her chant.
(Play "Kingdom Hearts series OST - Dive Into The Heart - Destati")
Dark ... it was all dark ... and it seemed to be underwater? Was it sinking? The boy could not understand it ... at moments he had the strength to think, let alone to move.
'Looks like it's over…' He thought sadly as he continued to stand still, 'sinking' endlessly into the darkness.
Fol ... low ...
'?! What was that?!' The boy thought, surprised at the ... unidentified voice he had just heard.
Follow ... your ...
'Follow my what?' He thought, not having enough strength to move his mouth and make a sound.
Follow your Light…
When the boy heard this last sentence, his continuous sinking was over when he felt something under him, realizing that he was lying on something. He stood still for a few seconds as he suddenly felt his strength slowly return to the point that he was able to open his eyes and stand up.
"Where...am I?" The boy murmured, surprised. As he stepped forward, the "floor" where he was standing lit up to the point that he had to cover his eyes with his arm until, after a few moments, he lowered his arm, his eyes widening in surprise. It was on top of a very familiar enormous, illuminated stained-glass pillar, depicting five animal symbols ... the symbols of the Unions. He had done a Dive Into The Heart.
"H-How ..." the boy wondered. The last time he had done that was when he got his trusty Keyblade. While he was thinking, the boy took a few steps forward until a small ball of light, the size of the palm of a hand, appeared before him. "What?" He wondered as he stretched out a hand towards the sphere but this one, before he could touch it or squeeze it, moved away from him until it passed the pillar, rose many meters from the ground and reached the "void".
"Eh ... perfect, Lady Luck blessed me like always" The boy shook his head as he made a sarcastic joke. "The Voice said" Follow my Light "... but I can't reach-" Before he could finish speaking, a long staircase made of glass appeared at the end of the pillar, heading towards the sphere.
Follow your Light ...
"... Thanks, I think?" Hesitating slightly, the boy eventually started walking down the steps slowly. As he walked, he began to hear a second voice, this time female.
My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe…
"Another voice?" The boy wondered and, as he continued to climb the long staircase, he tried to look around, not finding anyone. "Right, this is my Heart, after all ..."
My divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call ...
"Yeah yeah, I heard you" The boy held back the urge to sigh as he continued up the steps. "But what are you talking about?"
I wish from the very bottom of my heart ...
"Yeeeah ... even in my Heart no one explains anything to me!" This time, the boy sighed until he reached the end of the staircase, the last step connected to another pillar, which however is incomplete, being devoid of any image. At the center of everything then is the sphere of light. Before he could take a step forward, the first voice spoke again.
Follow your Light ...
"... Got it" The boy nodded his head and approached the sphere which, before being touched, became a green portal. "Woah ..." The boy stepped back, gazing at the portal in all its glory as the second voice spoke again.
And add to my guidance and appear!
"That's my light?" He asked, hoping that one of the two voices could answer him. It wasn't long until he heard the first voice again.
Follow your Light ... and protect her from the Darkness ...
"Her? ..." The boy looked at the portal before bringing his right hand to his chest and inhaling. "May My Heart Be My Guiding Key" he muttered as he felt the courage inside him grow. After a few seconds, he approached the portal and touched it with his right hand and then entered.
"Wish me good luck ... Ephemer, Skuld, Everyone-"
(End "Kingdom Hearts series OST - Dive Into The Heart - Destati")
Tristan Academy, Halkeginia ...
BOOM
There was a huge explosion followed by a cloud of thick smoke on the ground after Louise finished her spell. Some unlucky students either got knocked down or coughed from her spell with some dust and ashes on their uniforms as they began complaining.
"Cough cough ... I knew this was going to happen."
"Cough ... My dear Montmorency. Are you alright?" Asked the blond haired student accompanied by his giant mole familiar with concern as he crouched near the blonde haired girl with her frog Familiar in her left hand. But she however was frozen in shock at the explosion that she ignored his question which earned her a confused look from the male student.
"What's wrong?" He asked again.
The girl named Montmorency just raised her other hand and pointed at the spot where Louise caused the explosion earlier, motioning the male student to look at the scene.
As the smoke faded away, a figure was lying on the ground in a badly damaged blue full-body armour. Everyone present remained silent as the armoured figure began to move.
"Where… am I?" Was the first question that came out from the boy as he slowly stood up, the armour creaking with every little movement.
Louise on the other hand still couldn't believe what she had just summoned. She was supposed to get a sacred, beautiful, and strong Familiar that even surpassed her rival's salamander. Heck, she even had bragged that she would summon a strong and beautiful familiar that would even make Kirche jealous the day before.
But instead, all she got was a ... a strange damaged full-body blue armour, not something like a dragon, manticore, or maybe a griffin.
"T-this is my… sacred, beautiful… and… strong… F-Familiar?" Muttered Louise, still sporting a look of utter disbelief on her face.
With heavy heart, the pinkette then approached her familiar who seemed still confused about his situation. As she got his attention, she asked. "Who are you?"
The helmet of the armour shifted towards Louise when he felt he had been called. He was silent for a few seconds as he shifted his attention first to his hands, opening and closing them several times, then to the rest of the students and finally returning his attention to Louise. "I-"
But before he could answer, both of them heard a chuckle coming from a certain red haired girl.
"This makes all you said worth it!" Mocked Kirche as she approached the two, "I never would have guessed you'd summon a broken armour."
Kirche's comment sparked uncontrolled laughter in the rest of the students, humiliating a lot Louise and her pride... on the other hand, the boy didn't seem happy with the scene.
"Wait, what do you mean about 'Broken armour'?! I'm human!" The figure said as a light enveloped the armour. After a few moments, the armour disappeared revealing the figure's identity. He was a boy with pale skin, short and spiky black hair and blue eyes. He wears a black hooded vest with a dark gray short sleeved plaid shirt underneath. He also has black jeans and black sneakers and black socks. On his left wrist there is also a strange black bracelet. "Y'see? A human like you"
Unfortunately, the boy's gesture did not work as he hoped as Louise's reaction was one of pure surprise and indignation while the rest of the students laughed even louder as Kirche mocked again. "Oh for the Founder! You'd summon a human! Ahahah!"
"Summon?! Hey, wait a second!" This time, at the mention of the word 'summon', the boy's eyes widened and he gasped once he remembered what had happened before...the Keyblade War and the Dive Into The Heart. Back then there had been a girl's voice chanting something about a Familiar and the voice was similar to hers. He then looked at Louise to ask if she was the one who did it but the pinkette was still busy dealing with her rival.
"It was just a little screw-up!" Countered Louise.
"That's the Louise the Zero we know. You never fail to meet our expectations!" Now it was the boy with an owl familiar's turn to talk before the entire crowd started laughing at the two, much to Louise's annoyance and the boy's confusion since the latter didn't know what they were laughing about.
"Uh, hey what are they laughing about?" The spiky boy asked the pinkette again, but Louise just ignored him as she turned to the elder man in robes. "Hey, don't ignore me!"
"Mr. Colbert, please let me summon again." The girl requested, but the professor whose name was Colbert shook his head in disapproval.
"I can't let you do that, Ms. Valliere." replied him which shocked Louise again.
"Huh? H-How come?" She muttered.
"This is a sacred ceremony that determines a mage's life." The teacher explained, "Redoing it would be a desecration of the ceremony itself. Regardless of whether you like your Familiar or not, he has been decided as your familiar spirit."
"But I never heard of taking a human as a familiar spirit!" Louise shot back. She then heard everyone start to laugh at her again which only worsened her situation.
"Human or not, there will be no exceptions." The teacher stated firmly and then gave Louise a stern look for prolonging the ritual. "Now continue with the ceremony!"
"Hey! Can someone please tell me what's going on here?!" Shouted out a voice nearby which had caught both Louise and Colbert's attention. The two then turned to see the boy with a very annoyed expression clearly written on his face as he crossed his arms. "Just what do you guys mean with the 'I'm a Familiar' thing?"
For the boy, everything was happening too fast. One moment he was fighting with him and then the next he had been brought to a World he had never seen before, and now those two were arguing about his position as a Familiar, a term that he didn't even have any idea of what it was.
Louise was about to reprimand the boy for using such a rude tone to nobles like them but Colbert shushed her. The professor realized that the boy before him was lost and he needed to be filled in about his status as the familiar that Louise had summoned as he cleared his throat.
"Ahem ... first of all, I'm sorry for the intrusion Mr. ummm…."
"... Zack" The Keybearer replied, though he had a hint of hesitation in his voice. "My name is Zack. No need to use Mr, just Zack is fine for me."
"Likewise here. My name is Jean Colbert, but you can just call me Colbert, Zack." Colbert introduced himself and then began to explain. "Alright then, Zack. You see, Miss Valliere here has summoned you as her Familiar."
"Summoned me?" Zack raised one of his eyebrows in confusion as he looked at Louise who was still glaring at him for some reason and then looked at Colbert again, "What do you mean?"
"As you can see, currently the Tristanian Academy of Magic is conducting a familiar summoning ritual as a test for these 2nd year students." The professor explained again and Zack seemed to understand the concept that he was in some kind of a school of wizards in the middle of a certain ceremony as he nodded. Colbert motioned the spiky boy to take a look around and Zack took a note that every one of the students at least had one animal ranging from many sizes and varieties. Colbert then continued on "A familiar is an animal or a creature that the mage summon which serves as their servant for the rest of their life through the summoning contract which Miss Valliere hasn't finished with you yet."
"So, I'm something like a Chirithy - WAIT A SECOND!" Zack was taken aback after he heard the last part of Colbert's explanation and then pointed his finger at Louise "You mean if she completed this contract with me, then I would become her servant forever ?!"
"Please don't take this the wrong way, Zack." Colbert tried to reassure the boy in front of him. From his reaction, the teacher could tell that he wouldn't agree with the idea of becoming a long-life servant of Louise. It was understandable though since no one would ever want to trade their freedom to serve a random person. But he also couldn't allow her to redo the summoning again, so he had to convince him with a win-win solution, "It's more like a partnership between two people, each taking care of each other."
"A partnership ... I see then. You could have explained it like that from the beginning, Colbert." replied Zack, feeling a bit more relaxed now. Some students, including Louise gasped at his boldness, especially at how he had called their professor by his name so casually like he was an equal. While it was true that Colbert had said that he could call him by just his name, at least he could behave in front of a noble like him. Some of them began to mutter about how rude and unmannered Louise's familiar was. Colbert however was unaffected by his boldness and instead he chuckled a bit.
But then, the spiky Keybearer remembered that he had to become the partner of the pink haired girl near him for the rest of his life. How could he agree to do that? If he really became her partner, he could never walk away from this World again ... sure, even if he didn't, it didn't make much difference ... he should have died at that moment actually. Better be alive here than be dead.
"Normally summoning a human as a familiar is never heard of." Colbert's words made Zack snap out of his thoughts and his worries put aside as he focused back on the teacher again. "But this familiar summoning ritual is sacred. Thus, I cannot allow Miss Valliere to summon another one since it would disgrace the ritual."
"Mh ...'sacred'? Then I don't mind to be her partner at all." He replied casually, placing a hand in one of the jeans pockets. "After all, better this place than ... the old one."
Upon hearing his answer, Colbert raised an eyebrow at his comment but shook his head and smiled. "Very well then." He then turned to Louise again who still had the sour look on her face at the turnout, "Now Miss Valliere, please continue the ritual."
"... Yes, sir." Louise reluctantly said before approaching her new familiar. Realizing that the pink haired girl was shorter than him, the boy took the initiative to crouch down a bit until his head was on the same level as her.
"You should be grateful. Normally a commoner wouldn't ever have a chance like this." She said in an authoritative tone before placing her wand on his head. "Pentagon of the five elemental powers ..."
"Grant your blessings upon this creature ..."
"And bind it as my familiar."
Zack's eyes widened in shock when Louise started to hold his head and then leaned forward closer to kiss him right on his lips. Due to the shock, Zack was unable to move in time while Louise kissed him ... 'Damn, my first kiss ... gone'
After the mage completed the summon contract and then released his hands, Zack quickly shoved her away and glared at her. "Hey! Do you have any idea what you did!? You stole my first… huh?" He stopped speaking when he saw his left hand glowing. Curious, Zack turned his attention to the hand and then saw a strange rune appear on his hand. The Keybearer suddenly felt a burning sensation within his body as the runes continued being engraved. Thanks to his tons of experience getting hit by Heartless or him, he felt less pain from the process, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt him at all as he had to grit his teeth. As he endured the pain, Zack did not notice that the black bracelet he was wearing disappeared into the runes themselves.
When the pain finally wore off, the Keybearer took a deep breath and then looked at the strange runes engraved on his left hand in curiosity. "What are these?"
"Those are runes." Louise explained, followed by Colbert examining his engraved hand.
"And a very unique one, I must say." The professor said as he opened a blank page from his book and a quill pen. "Do you mind if I take a sketch of this? I've never seen these kinds of runes before."
"... Sure, go ahead." Answered Zack with a nod after thinking about it for a few seconds.
After the professor had finished drawing, he turned to the other students. "This ends the familiar summoning ritual. You may all return to your dormitories, dismissed."
School dormitory, Louis's Room
Louise was in a bad mood. A very bad mood if one could say. Ever since the ritual had ended, she hadn't spoken one word to Zack except telling him to follow her. The spiky Keybearer on the other hand was confused, Louise had completed the ritual and now they were partners, so what was she so mad about?
"This is the worst day ever…" Louise grunted, dropping onto her chair next to a small round table with a small lamp on it, "I was supposed to summon a magnificent Familiar! But instead, I got a commoner in strange clothes!"
A tick mark appeared on Zack's head comically when he heard that. Why did she call him a commoner as if she was some kind of stuck-up princess?
"Commoner?! Look, I do not know what or why you're so upset about, but first of all I have a name, y'know? It's Zack!" Zack said with a frown before crossing his hands. "I thought I already told you that, Louise!"
"You won't address your master in such a rude manner like what you did to Mr. Colbert, Familiar!" Louise all but shouted, making Zack have to cover his ears from her outburst. 'Sheesh, even Skuld wasn't that loud when we were hanged out ...' He thought.
When Zack had recovered from her yell, he was about to argue back only to see Louise change out of her uniform into a nightgown. As a man with morals, the first thing that he did when he saw a girl changing in front of him was of course cover both his eyes while looking away.
"H-Hey! What are you doing!? That's inappropriate, you know!" Zack tried to hold back his embarrassment as he was shot. "Didn't they teach you that in this World?"
"Can't you tell? I'm going to sleep, so I'm taking my clothes off." She replied, unfazed by Zack's reaction.
"But why are you changing in front of me?! That's embarrassing, don't you know that?!" He shouted.
"So? You're just a Familiar, my servant. You're no different than a dog, so why should I feel embarrassed?" Replied Louise offhandedly before she threw the rest of her clothes to Zack which he caught easily. "Wash them and don't forget to wake me at dawn, or else no breakfast for you."
Zack couldn't take it anymore. He had been trying to be patient with her attitude in hopes of befriending her or something like that, but this time Louise had finally gone too far. If he remembered what Colbert had said before, this relationship was supposed to be a partnership between them, but she had just said that Zack was nothing more than a dog to her and now she expected him to do chores. Who the hell did she think she was? His superior or something? That time is over for him now! Ignoring her order, Zack just threw the clothes aside and walked towards the door.
"H-hey! Where are you going?! You dare to disobey your master !?" Called out Louise who was utterly shocked with her familiar's actions as she pointed her finger threateningly at Zack. "That's it! No food for you for the whole day tomorrow, you dog!"
Zack, unfazed with her warning, turned around and shot her a serious glare he usually gave to an enemy or someone who made him angry, making Louise cower a bit in fear.
"Do it yourself! Who do you think you are?! Ordering me around like I'm your servant?! I thought this familiar bond was supposed to be a partnership but you act all high and mighty!" He snarled. Not caring about the girl in the bed anymore, Zack got out of her dorm and then slammed the door really hard to vent off his frustration, leaving his so-called master. When Louise had finally recovered from her shock, she was truly furious. Not only had she summoned a strange plebeian, but also a disobedient one as her familiar. Her face was fuming from anger and she was ready to punish him with her explosion spell, but she was already too tired with what had happened today that she could even let off her steam properly.
Getting up from her bed, Louise went to the drawer and took out what appeared to be some kind of a riding crop for horse racing or in this case a whip. A devilish smirk appeared on her face as she had formulated a plan in her mind about what to do to punish and discipline her familiar tomorrow before the pink haired mage went back to sleep.
Minutes later, on one of the rooftops ...
"Damn, that girl is really getting on my nerves!" Zack mumbled lying on the roof floor. "He's hot-tempered! She orders me to wash her clothes? Who does she think she is!? I'm a Keyblade bearer, damn it! I fought Heartless, Monsters and others!" To calm himself, Zack took a deep breath and then looked up at the star-filled night sky. Although it was in a different world, it also shared the same sky as Daybreak Town ... except for two different coloured moons. Remembering what happened today, Zack sighed.
"I guess ... maybe I was too harsh with her. Come to think of it, it looks like she was the only one who was laughed at and made fun of by the other students." If he put it all together, Louise seemed to be expecting some kind of animal just like the other students and not a human being like her familiar since Colbert had told him that summoning a human had never happened before. No wonder she had been grumpy and upset around him. But then his face turned sour as he repeated what Louise had said earlier.
"You are just a familiar, my servant. You are no different than a dog."
"Haaa ... give me a break ..." He murmured and then reached out and yawned, feeling his eyes get heavier. "I fought to the death until a few hours ago ... and now this ... of course my life is never peaceful ... isn't it, eh Ephemer?" With a wistful smile, Zack gazed up at the starry sky as he remembered his best friend.
'I wonder if I'm the only Keyblade wielder here ...' He thought before slipping off into sleep, alone and on a roof of the Academy dormitory.
Due to the absence of the author, the endnotes will not be present this time. The author wishes to remind you that it would be great to receive follows / favorites or reviews (Provided they are reviews that help the fanfiction and the author's desire and not reviews like "Sh*t" - "End everything" - etc .. seriously, you act like kids behind a screen otherwise).
And now, a little preview of the next chapter made by ... Louise:
It's the first day at the Tristanian Academy of Magic for my Familiar. Sure, his attitude doesn't help but- That stupid dog! Why did he challenge Guiche in a duel?! He'll get killed- Wait... what is that strange sword?