Summary: We all know that Saito would get summoned by Louise. But I was thinking, what if Saito was summoned somewhere else before he got summoned into Halkegenia. And that he's not alone and have few people also got summoned with him or better yet, Saito got summoned with his classmate.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything with Zero no Tsukaima or Arifureta Shokugyou.

Hajime POV

All I saw after been blasted by Behemoth attacks was that Saito is struggling to pull us up by using a rope which preventing us from falling into the Abyss. But with how badly injured he was, I don't think he have enough strength to pull us up.

How does this happened to us anyway as I'm thought about it.

Before the fall

Monday. Quite possibly the most depressing day of the week. Most people were, without a doubt, sighing heavily as they lamented the beginning of the week and the end of their glorious weekend.

And I, Nagumo Hajime, was no exception as well.

Currently I'm on my way to school, albeit halfhearted since I was pulling all-nighter last night and regretted that I didn't get much sleep. But my mother would pour cold water on me if I don't wake up.

As I slowly make my way to school, I saw Saito walking in front of me before noticing me behind him.

"Yo Hajime, morning." Saito greeted me as soon as he turn around and meet me.

"Oh Saito, morning." I greeted back.

Once we done greeted each other, we continue walks toward the same direction which is our school. Both of our school uniform were same with each other except for Saito, as he wore his usual parka over his school uniform.

Now that I'm wondering about it, how the hell he wear that during spring season anyway? But I simply just ignored it because I don't want to know how he can endure the heat.

I have known Saito since middle school and because we have same interest in specific hobbies, we easily bonded and become friend at that time where we talked about anime and games. We chatted about various thing as we walk toward our school. On the way there,

"So Saito, what's you have been doing this past weekend?" I asked.

"Well nothing much actually…..Say Hajime, wanna join me in my next experiment later after school today? I could really use some helps."

When Saito said about 'experiment', my body suddenly went rigid.

"Hell no way man. I don't want to be involve with your dangerous experiment again!"

"Ah, come on Hajime. It's not that dangerous you know. I reassure you that it's safe."

"You said that last time too and after that I almost got burned by your stupid experiment!"

"Hey, it's slight miscalculation alright! How should I know it's easily combusted when adjust more than it should? Come on now Hajime, please help your friend here. I promise it won't happen again."

"And you said that last time too and it always went wrong when you said that. How many time already huh? Almost a dozen time this month and I don't want help unless it's really safe for real!"

"Ceh, alright fine then. I have to find someone else to help me then. Which is hard consider you're only one that I know could understand these experiment I was about to do but now, guess I have to postpone it anyway….." Saito muttered silently which I didn't hear after that.

The reason of why I don't want to help Saito was that every time Saito doing some sort of science experiments, things went wrong horribly.

Saito is what you called a scientist, a mad scientist if he ever let loose without supervision. Ever since he was young, Saito was fascinated with science and all its invention which encouraged him to learn more about science. Which I heard from his family whenever I come and play games at his house.

It can't be helped that his grandfather was a scientist too and his father as well but a bit subtle. Saito always visited his grandparent's house since he was a child. And from there, Saito begun to learn more about sciences and was really good at it too. Not to mention his grandfather, Hiraga Gennai taught him personally with all his knowledge.

And Saito always tended to went overboard with his experiments and got into a trouble because of it, and also brought me along as well. It can't be help too since Saito always overly curious and didn't bother the consequences of his actions.

"Why are you keep doing this dangerous experiment anyway Saito? Wait a minute, should you have a permit when doing these kind of experiments? Especially the dangerous one?"

"Never mind about the permit or something that similar. What people doesn't know, won't hurt them."

"But it hurt me when I am involved!"

"Well whatever. Look, I promise this won't endanger us both. I just need pair of hands to help me with and that's all."

"You sure? Because last time I almost lose my hands when you need pair of hand to help. How you can be sure this isn't dangerous after all?" I asked warily.

Saito didn't answered my question but I simply just let it go for now. Knowing Saito, he won't give it up that easily and pestering me to help him. Whether I want to or not. Wonder why I still hang out with him anyway?

Few minutes later, we've already arrived the school.

"You go on ahead Hajime, I need to visit faculty teacher first about my school project." Said Saito as he quickly went toward the faculty office, leaving me alone.

"Hey! The class is about to start soon you know!" But Saito didn't heard it as he already gone now.

Since there only couple more minutes left before the class start. I quickly dash toward my classroom.

Third P.O.V

As always, Hajime barely managed to arrive just before the bell for first period rang. He somehow managed to steady his sleep-deprived body and opened the door to his classroom. He found himself on the receiving end of a multitude of scornful glares and annoyed tongue clicks from a majority of the male students as soon as he set foot in the classroom. None of the female students seemed all too pleased to see him either. It would have been fine were they simply ignoring him, but they too gave him stares of contempt.

Hajime did his best to ignore his classmates and went to his seat. But as always, there were a few students who couldn't resist the opportunity to needle him.

"Sup, you gross otaku! Stay up all night playing video games again? I bet you were playing porn games the whole time!"

"Wow what a creep. What kind of disgusting pervert stays up all night playing porn games?"

The boys all laughed, as if they found that statement somehow hilarious. The student who'd first called out to Hajime was Daisuke Hiyama, the ringleader of Hajime's tormentors. Daisuke never seemed to tire of teasing Hajime, as he went up to him on a daily basis. The ones who were laughing wickedly next to him were Yoshiki Saitou, Reichi Kondou, and Shinji Nakano. It was those four who'd always made Hajime's life miserable.

As Hiyama had stated earlier, Hajime was indeed an otaku. But he wasn't particularly ugly or obnoxious, so the moniker gross otaku hardly did him justice. His hair was cropped short and kept tidy. Plus, it wasn't as if he had a communication problem of any sort either. Sure, he wasn't the most talkative guy around, but he had no problem responding to people who talked to him. He was a quiet person overall, but not to the point where it could be considered gloomy. He just happened to have an interest in a very specific set of media—namely manga, novels, video games, and movies.

While it was true that public opinion of otakus hadn't been very positive as of late, at most being an otaku usually earned you a few looks, not which kind of targeted bullying. So why did all the male students hate Hajime so?

The answer was simple.

"Good morning, Nagumo-kun! You barely made it on time today too. I think you should at least make an effort to come earlier." One of the girls smiled softly as she walked up to Hajime. She was one of the few people in the whole school who treated him kindly, and also the reason everyone hated him.

Kaori Shirasaki, one of the most popular girls in school, and beautiful enough to be considered a goddess by many. She had sleek, black hair that went all the way down to her waist, and large alluring eyes filled with kindness. Her small nose sat perfectly upon her face, and her pink lips were the epitome of perfection.

She always seemed to have a smile on her face, and her knack for looking after others combined with her strong sense of responsibility made her one of the most respected students at Hajime's school. Moreover, she was tolerant and understanding to a fault, to the point where no one had ever even seen her look unhappy before.

And, for whatever reason, Kaori had taken an interest in Hajime. Most people assumed Hajime was a terrible student because he always slept in class due to his frequent all-nighters (in truth, he had pretty average grades). And, since Kaori was always looking after other students, they believed that was the reason she talked to him.

Had her overtures convinced Hajime to become a better student, or had he naturally been a better looking guy, the other kids might not have minded Kaori's interest in him as much. As it was, though, he was sadly as average looking as one could get, and his favorite motto was "hobbies over real life," so obviously his attitude toward school had shown no signs of improvement either. As it was, the other average looking male students of his class couldn't stand the fact that Hajime was so close to Kaori. "Why him and not us!?" they thought. Meanwhile, the other girls simply thought he was being rude to Kaori. They were unhappy that he wasn't even attempting to reform his habits.

"A-Ah, good morning, Shirasaki-san." Hajime's face stiffened up as he felt the bloodthirsty glares of his fellow classmates, and he awkwardly returned Kaori's greeting.

In contrast, Kaori smiled happily as she looked at him. Why do you always look at me like that!? Hajime despaired as he felt the gazes of his classmates' burn into him.

Hajime was honestly bewildered. He didn't understand why the most beautiful girl in school cared about a guy like him. To him, it seemed like there had to have been something more than just her natural disposition to help others.

Of course, he wasn't so conceited as to believe she might possibly have any romantic interest in him. Hajime was well aware of the fact that he'd given up a great deal of things to live a life fully devoted to his hobbies. He knew his appearance, grades, and athletic ability were all utterly average. There were a whole host of guys better than him who were far more suited to be her partner, even just among her acquaintances. Which was why he found her behavior so puzzling.

Honestly, I just wish you'd realize you're the reason everyone hates me right now! Hajime screamed inside his head. However, he didn't give voice to his thoughts. He knew that some of his classmates would no doubt drag him out behind the gym once classes were over if he ever dared to do so... The moment Hajime finished his conversation with Kaori, three new people walked up to them. They'd been watching the two of them like vultures, waiting for him to finish talking. Among this new group was of course one of the "better guys" who'd been mentioned previously.

"Good morning, Nagumo-kun. Must be rough staying up that late every day."

"Looking after him again, Kaori? You're really too nice for your own good."

"Seriously. Talking to a failure like him is a total waste of time."

The only person who'd greeted Hajime out of the three was Shizuku Yaegashi, Kaori's best friend. Shizuku's black hair was tied back in her trademark ponytail. Her almond-shaped eyes give her a rather sharp look, but deep within her gaze dwelled a kindness that made her seem cool rather than cold.

Standing 172 centimeters tall, she was a good deal taller than most of the other girls in his class. That, combined with her well-built body, made her seem like a dignified samurai. And samurai made for a rather apt analogy as her family actually ran a dojo that taught the Yaegashi style, and Shizuku herself was a peerless swordswoman who'd never lost a single kendo tournament. In fact, she'd been featured in magazines before and had a rather rabid fan base. The press even took to calling her the modern samurai beauty. Many of the younger female students had started calling her onee-sama in an almost worshiping manner.

The guy who'd greeted Kaori with that rather clichéd line about her kindness was Kouki Amanogawa. He was perfect in almost every way. Great at sports, handsome, and had outstanding grades to boot. Even his name sounded heroic. Written with the characters for "light" and "radiance," it gave off a rather dazzling impression.

He had flowing brown hair, soft features, stood 180 centimeters tall, and despite his slender frame still had noticeable muscles. He was kind to everyone he met, and had a strong sense of justice (or so he thought anyway.)

Like Shizuku, he'd attended the Yaegashi dojo since he was in elementary school and was skilled enough to have competed in national tournaments. He and Shizuku were childhood friends. Dozens of girls had fallen for him, but because he was always hanging around Shizuku and Kaori, very few had ever worked up the courage to confess. However, he still received at least two confessions a month from girls that didn't go to Hajime's school. A real Casanova through and through.

The last guy, who'd lazily added on his own comments to Kouki's line, was Ryutarou Sakagami, Kouki's best friend. Ryutarou had short, trimmed hair and a gaze that seemed at once both cheerful and stern. He stood 190 centimeters tall, and had a massive, bear-like frame. As his build suggested, he was a muscle head who didn't have much delicacy.

Because of his love for hard work and hot-blooded actions, he disliked Hajime, who spent all his time in school sleeping. Ryutarou gave Hajime no more than a single glance before huffing disdainfully and ignoring him.

"Good morning Yaegashi-san, Amanogawa-kun, and Sakagami-kun. Heh, well, you know what they say, you reap what you sow. it's my own fault for staying up all the time." Hajime smiled wryly as he greeted Shizuku and the others. The two guys glared daggers at him, their eyes all but screaming, "What gives you the right to talk to Yaegashi-san so casually like that, huh!?" Shizuku was nearly as popular as Kaori, after all.

"If you realize it's a problem, shouldn't you try and fix it? I don't think it's fair to Kaori to keep letting her spoil you. She doesn't have time to always be looking after you either." Kouki warned Hajime sternly.

Kouki also clearly thought Hajime was a failure of a student who was simply squandering Kaori's kindness. Hajime desperately wanted to shout out She hasn't been spoiling me! And in fact, I'd really rather she leave me alone! But he knew if he did his classmates would "escort" him somewhere quiet after school. Kouki was the kind of person who always thought he was right too, so Hajime simply shut his mouth and didn't utter a single response.

Then the classroom's door opened and Saito entered the class at the last moment before any teacher arrived. He seem happy though but for Hajime, its mean something bad would happened to him if he's remember their conversation before. He then walk toward his desk when he saw four of his classmate ganging up on Hajime as he was on his way.

"Oh? Good morning." Saito greeted.

Four of them greeted back and before Saito asked,

"So, why the four of you ganging up on Hajime? Did he did something or what?"

"Actually, it's nothing Saito. It's just that Shirasaki-san just asked about me anyway." Hajime quickly answered before other could.

Saito seemed understood what Hajime mean and sympathize for him. After all, the goddess seem interest of Hajime and that Hajime didn't know why.

But before Saito could ask again, a bell had rang signaling the start of classes finally rang, and the teacher walked into the classroom. As they noticed the teacher, all of them went toward their respective seats. Then, as always, Hajime drifted off to dreamland as class began.

Kaori smiled as she saw Hajime slumber. Shizuku stared at him, amazed, and mused that Hajime was quite the celebrity in a certain sense. The guys all scoffed at him while the rest of the girls stared, gazes full of scorn.

After a while, the classroom began to grow noisy again. Hajime suddenly woken up by a sudden shake on his table. When he looked up, he saw that Saito standing nearby.

"Yo sleepy head, class is over." Said Saito as he took a chair nearby and sat at the other side of Hajime's table.

Holding on his hands was two simple meal for lunch. Seeing that Saito had brought his lunch with him, Hajime rummaged through his bag and brought out his lunch, a simple meal.

Two of them chatting about they're talked about early the morning as they were eating. However, the school goddess, perhaps more of a devil in Hajime's case, smiled happily as she scooted her seat closer to Hajime.

Saito and Hajime stopped talking and were surprised by the Kaori's action.

"Um…..Shirasaki-san? Did you need something?" Saito asked.

"Oh, I was thinking that it is rare that Nagumo-kun still in the classroom." Kaori answered.

Upon hearing her words, two of them understood what she meant. Normally Hajime would've quickly eaten his lunch and bolted out of the classroom to find a secluded place for his afternoon nap, but two straight days of all-nighters had apparently taken their toll on him.

Kaori turn to look at Hajime whom apparently had finished his lunch and asked,

"Nagumo-kun, did you not bring a lunch? If you'd like, you can have some of mine," As the frigid atmosphere descended upon the classroom once more Hajime screamed internally as he cursed himself for eating his lunch quickly.

Nearby, Saito is slowly move away from the scene, not wanted to involve as he continue eating his lunch.

"Ah, thanks for the invitation, Shirasaki-san. But I've already finished eating my lunch, so why not eat with Amanogawa-kun instead?" He showed Kaori the remnants of his packaged lunch as he said that.

However, such a feeble resistance meant next to nothing in the face of the great goddess, so she continued relentlessly.

"Huh!? That's all you had for lunch? That won't do at all, you need to eat a proper meal! Here, I'll give you some of mine!"

Saito, who haven't go away just yet, was amazed by Kaori's willingness to give her meal to Hajime. But that doesn't stop him from involving what going to happened but at last, it's seem it doesn't matter if Saito getting away or not.

With each passing moment, Hajime could feel the pressure mounting. Saito could felt it as well and was going to save him from the trouble when someone else beat him to it. Kouki and Ryutarou appeared.

"Kaori, let's all eat lunch together. It seems that Nagumo needs some more sleep. And I won't allow anyone to eat Kaori's delicious handmade lunch while half-asleep!" Kouki flashed Kaori a dazzling smile as he said that pretentious line, but Kaori simply looked puzzled. Kaori was a bit slow, or rather just an airhead, so Kouki's handsome guy appeal was lost on her.

They looked at Kouki weirdly when he said those line.

"Huh? Why do I need your permission to share my lunch, Kouki-kun?" Shizuku let out an involuntary snicker as she heard Kaori ask that question in such an earnest manner.

Kouki began laughing awkwardly and tried to change the subject, but the important point was that the four most famous people in school were sitting together with Hajime and Saito while the rest of the class was not at all happy about it.

Hajime sighed deeply and turned toward Saito, giving him the look that they should get out of there before anything happened.

"Well that escalated much. How did this happened anyway? We're just having lunch peacefully before and now it turn out like this." Saito whispered so that two of them can hear only.

"How should I know, I got roped into this too okay. Should we get away?"

"Yeah, but let me bring my stuff first." Saito agreed as he walked toward his table to fetch his stuff. Once that done, Saito signal Hajime that he got his stuff and ready to bolt.

Hajime noticed him began to stood up and follow Saito and was about to give his usual evasive answer to other four, when suddenly he froze and notice something under them.

There was a glowing silver circle engraved with various geometric patterns glowing in front of Hajime, at Kouki's feet.

The rest of the students all saw the strange circle as well. Everyone was frozen in place, staring at the weird glowing pattern that, for lack of a better word, looked just like a magic circle.

"It's me or does these look to me like a magic circle?" Saito asked seem to be unfazed by it as he's study the magic circle with curiosity.

"You know what Saito, there's freaking magic circle appear out of nowhere and the first thing you do was to take a look and study it!?" Hajime retorted back.

"Oh…..you're right. Well, is not every day you can get to see this happen right"

Saito just shrugged about it but unaware of him nor others, there also another magic circle appeared under Saito. Though this one didn't glow bright like Kouki's instead it glowed dimly, overshadow by Kouki's magic circle. Not to mention, it's quite small compare to other one.

Then something happened before anyone could do anything.

The magic circle began to glow brighter and brighter, until its light enveloped the entire classroom. The circle itself began expanding as well, and when it finally grew big enough to cover Hajime's feet, everyone finally became unfrozen and started screaming. Aiko-sensei, who had remained in the classroom, yelled "Everyone! Get out of the classroom!" at the same time the magic circle flared up in a brilliant explosion of light.

At that moment too, magic circle under Saito also begin to shine simultaneously.

After a few seconds, or maybe a few minutes, the light finally began to fade, and color returned to the classroom. However, the room was now deserted. Some chairs were knocked over, half-eaten lunchboxes were sitting on desks, and chopsticks and plastic bottles were scattered across the room. The classroom had everything still left in it except the people.

The mass high school disappearance incident caused quite a stir across the world, but that story was better saved for another time.

So I write this due to I had a hard time to write my Gamer fic because of writer's block. This story is about Saito who involve with the cast of Arifureta and how much changes would be if he was there. I also write this because to see if Saito have some sort of power before he got into Halkegenia, getting summoned by Louise.

Also, Saito is a scientist in this fic because he has a connection to Hiraga Gennei, an Edo period Japanese scientist, pharmacologist, physician, author, painter, and inventor.