Author's Notes:

Hey guys! I told you I'd get the next chapter out before 11:00 PM. I mean, it's not exactly early right now, but it could be worse right? I'll make it up to you guys somehow. I'm writing these Author's Notes before actually writing the story, so I don't know how long the chapter will be or how good…or bad it will be. I guess we'll find out soon. Enjoy chapter 8!

Chapter 8: Love's Return

Saito was motionless. The world around him was silent. His body was wounded and broken. He looked up at the floating ship in the sky, a blank expression on his face.

"Derf, do you remember when we fought the Army of 70,000?"

Derf was confused as to why Saito would ask such a question now. "Of course. Is this really the time to be recalling past conflicts? We need to retreat."

Saito ignored Derf's last statement. "How did I end up in the woods with Tiffania?"

Derf was silent for a few seconds. "I took you there using my own store of magical power."

Saito looked at the sword. "Take me to that ship."

Derf was surprised, but quickly refused. "No! You'll die! We need to retreat!"

Saito didn't respond to this. He began to slowly get up. He could hardly stand, let alone walk.

"I'm going to die, Derf. No matter what happens. At least let me choose where I take my last breath."

Derf was silent. "Very well."

Saito closed his eyes. "Thank you, my friend." In an instant, Saito found himself on the deck of the ship. Louise was only a few feet away. Saito could see that she had two bullet wounds in her abdomen and chest. He crawled closer to her, using all of his strength to pull himself across the ground. When he finally got to her, he placed his hand on her neck. She still had a very weak pulse. Knowing that he was going to die, he gave her a kiss. As he did, his runes began to glow. Louise's wounds began to emit steam, and slowly began to close themselves. Saito was happy that he was at least able to keep Louise alive, even if he died in the process.

Cromwell was watching from above, taking amusement from his foe's demise. He bagan to gloat to Saito.

"How very noble of you to die by her side! Truly inspirational! You fought a valiant battle, but I'm afraid the time has come f-" He was interrupted by a massive explosion on one side of the ship. He looked in the direction of the explosion and saw a dozen ships firing their cannons at his soldiers, who had been ordered to take other parts of the city. The ships belonged to the combined militaries of Germania and Tristain. Another explosion made Cromwell fall from the crow's nest, injuring his ankles. Several wind mages boarded the ship, pinning him to the ground.

Some soldiers ran to Saito and Louise's side. Prince Wales boarded the ship after hearing that it had been secured. He ran to Saito's side, fearing the worst. His runes did not glow at all. He immediately ordered him to be rushed to his Palace's infirmary. He then sent a search party to look for his friends, who had been badly injured by Louise's explosion and rendered unconscious.

In the Royal Palace.

Louise's eyes cracked open. She was in a very luxurious bedroom. She had very dull pain in her chest and abdomen where she was shot. She also felt extremely weak from using Void Magic too much, but she otherwise looked as if nothing happened to her. A few minutes after she woke up, a maid walked into the room.

"Ah, Ms. Valliére. You're awake. I will inform Prince Wales." She left a glass of water on her nightstand and left the room. Soon afterwards, Prince Wales rushed into the room. " ére! I'm glad to see you're awake!" Louise was confused.

"Where am I?"

Wales smiled. "In my Palace, of course. How do you feel?"

She moved her body around, trying to find any aches or pains. "I feel fine. My chest and stomach hurt a little though. And I feel really weak."

Wales nodded. "I thought you would. I'll explain the details later. For now, get some rest." He got up to leave the room. Before he did, Louise stopped him.

"Wait!"

He turned around, a little surprised. "Yes, m'lady?"

She bowed her head. "Thank you. For saving me, I mean."

Wales shook his head. "I didn't save you. Your familiar did. Saito."

Louise's eyes widened. "Saito did? But…how?"

Wales turned around, about to leave the room. "I don't know exactly."

"How is he?" Louise asked, worried.

Wales didn't turn around. "His heart can't beat on its own. We have to pump it ourselves. His body is extremely frail. I don't understand how though. He looked very healthy when I met him before the battle. He has several broken bones, damaged organs, and deep lacerations. But, at the very least, he is alive."

He was about to leave, but then remembered something. "Your friends are okay as well. The Germanian, Gallian, and the 3 blondes." With that, he left the room.

In another room, several doctors and mages surrounded Saito's body, trying desperately to get his heart to start beating. In Halkeginia, they often used electric eels to restart someone's heart, as they had no firm knowledge of electricity yet. It would take several hours for the eels to arrive, so they had to pump Saito's heart manually

Meanwhile, Saito woke up in front of Gandalfr. The light in the room was nearly non-existent.

"They're trying to revive me." Saito said.

The being nodded. "Yes. If your heart starts beating again, your runes may begin to heal you as they did before. However, much of your energy has been transferred to the girl somehow, so I'm not sure if the healing will be as effective."

Saito sat down, thinking about how his runes seemed to heal Louise. "What do you think that was? I've never been able to heal."

Gandalfr sighed. "It most likely has to do with you 'absorbing' a second Gandalfr. In my prime, I was capable of healing the most gruesome of wounds in a matter of hours. Perhaps some of that power was transferred to you."

The light in the room flickered, becoming slightly brighter. "Looks like they finally got the eels, huh?" Saito said. Gandalfr nodded. "You'll wake up in a few moments. Congratulations on not dying…again." This was the closest thing to a joke Gandalfr had ever made in Saito's presence. It put a smile on Saito's face before he woke up.

Everything around him was bright. There were several people who he didn't know watching over him. He was in pain and his body was wrapped in bandages. His runes immediately started to glow as steam rose his body. Everyone who was near him stepped back, not knowing what was happening. Saito managed to raise his voice a little bit to where it was just barely audible.

"I need to be alone." He said, weakly. Everyone in the room nodded and left. Waiting outside, in case something went wrong. Saito laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. His body felt hot, but relaxed. He knew it would take days or weeks for him to heal, so he had one of the doctors give him a sedative. He told them to let him wake up when his runes had stopped glowing so brightly. He then fell into a medically induced coma.

A few hours later, Kirche woke up. She was badly bruised, but had otherwise healed the wounds she got from Louise. She got up and looked at the doctor attending to her.

"In which room is Louise de la Valliére being kept?"

"If you want to see her, I can take you to her room."

Kirche nodded and stood up, leaning on the doctor's shoulder. After a while, the doctor stopped in front of a large door. They knocked for a few seconds, after which, Kirche heard a soft "Come in." The doctor left Kirche and Louise to be alone.

Louise was surprised to see her bitter rival/enemy in her room.

"Come to mock me, Kirche?" She said as she was still lying in bed. Kirche sat next to her on the mattress.

"I came to apologize, Louise. All these years, I mocked you about your magic. I never thought you were capable of…" She could tell that Louise felt uncomfortable hearing about what she did while under Cromwell's control, so she stopped talking about it.

"When we found out about what happened to Saito, I…I thought that you were the one who did it." Louise looked at Kirche. "What happened to Saito?"

Kirche realized that Louise would have had no idea, so she began to explain everything that had happened. By the time she was finished, Louise felt extremely guilty. "I really am a loser huh? I'm sorry for putting you all in danger." She said. Kirche shook her head.

"No. You're stronger than any of us. Cheer up. We pulled through, so it's nothing to worry about. But from now on, would it be okay if I considered us friends?" Louise smiled at her. "Sure!" They hugged for a very long time. Years of torment between the two suddenly disappeared, as they became best friends.

Three Weeks Later

Everyone had been transported back to the Magic Academy. Saito's body had finally stopped steaming, so he was slowly weaned off his anesthetic. Louise had watched him sleep every night, waiting for him to wake up.

She had left the room to get some water. When she came back, she nearly dropped the glass on the floor at what she saw. Saito was standing by the window, stretching his back. He hadn't noticed her walk into the room, so he was very surprised when he was knocked to the ground by someone. He at first thought he was being attacked, but calmed down when he felt that it was an incredibly light person and saw that they had pink hair.

"Hey, happy to see me?" Saito said, smiling.

Louise had buried her face into his chest. He stroked her hair slowly. He had missed the feeling of having her close to him. After a few minutes, she looked up at him.

"You could've died, you idiot!"

Saito started to laugh, disregarding her statement. After a few minutes of holding her close to him, he pulled her away.

"Louise, if I'm going to be your familiar, then I need to be open with you." She nodded, waiting for what he was about to say. Saito sighed. He began to explain why he was there. He explained everything from the first time he went to Halkeginia, to the present day.

Louise had listened to his story closely, taking in every detail. This was the only time Saito had ever told anyone about their relationship in detail, so he was extremely nervous.

"I treat you so poorly." Louise said. "Why did you come back here. You could have been happy with your family."

Saito scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess I kind of just fell for you. Corny, eh? I don't expect you to love me back or anything, but I thought you should know that that's how I feel about you." He chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, trying to get rid of the embarrassment in the air.

As he was laughing, Louise suddenly kissed him. His eyes were wide, but he eventually relaxed enough to close them. She pulled away and turned around.

"That was just to say thank you for saving me! Don't get any wrong ideas! I still don't know you, after all!"

Saito simply laughed at her, igniting the fury within her, which he knew of all too well. Several rather ineffective punches later, she finally calmed down. Saito kept her close to him until they were interrupted by Agnes, who became embarrassed when she saw Louise so comfortable in Saito's arms.

"Her Majesty Henrietta has called for your presence in the Royal Palace. We are to leave immediately" Blushing, she left the room as quickly as possible. They helped each other get dressed. Saito wore new, white clothes (similar to the ones he wore during his wedding in the canon), while Louise simply wore her school uniform. She then helped him walk out of the building and into the carriage. Although he was no longer in pain, his body still needed healing, so he could not walk alone.

While in the carriage, Saito and Louise made small talk about Japan and Halkeginia. As they spoke, a man on a bicycle rode by, ringing his bell to say hello. The sound brought back flashbacks for Louise. She remembered the torture she was put through to get her to use void magic. The sound of the bell acted as a trigger. Her face filled with fear and she began chanting the Explosion spell. Saito grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her violently.

"Louise! Wake up!"

She slowly came out of her trance, just as she was about to finish the spell. She hadn't realized what had happened. She simply thought she fell asleep.

"Saito. Why did you have to wake me up so violently?" She said. She sounded groggy, as if she had just been asleep. Saito didn't tell her about the bell.

"Sorry, I just got tired of being alone, you know? Not having someone to talk to." Louise yawned and laid her head on his shoulder. "You're such a wimp, Saito." She fell asleep. Saito was extremely worried, but decided that he should put it off until a later date.

After a few hours, they arrived at the Royal Palace. Saito nudged Louise until she woke up. She didn't say anything. They were led into the Palace. Several maids and guards clapped and gave their congratulations to Ms. Valliére and the Hero. They were led into a massive room. Inside, were the leaders of Germania, Tristain, and Albion. King Joseph of Gallia had not been invited.

Henrietta stood up to greet them. "Greetings Mr. and Mrs. Hiraga." They both blushed violently. "We're not…!" The leaders began to laugh. Wales teased them more than the others, perhaps because he was more familiar with Saito

"It's only a matter of time and…" he looked at Saito and winked "perseverance."

Henrietaa finally stopped laughing. "We are just teasing. We actually called you here to reward you for your actions in Albion." She looked first at Saito. "I would like first to offer you the title of Chevalier. A small reward, I am aware, but it is the most I can do without getting any backlash from other aristocrats."

Saito bowed, allowing Henrietta to hang an aristocratic cape around his shoulders. "I am deeply honored, Your Majesty."

She then turned to Louise. "As for you, my friend, you are now my sister. In the event that I am unfit to rule Tristain for any reason, command of the Kingdom will be yours." Louise's eyes widened. She couldn't speak for several seconds.

"I do not believe I am deserving of this reward, Your Majesty."

Henrietta hugged Louise. "No one is more deserving of this honor than you, Louise." They remained in each other's embrace while everyone in the room clapped.

"Now, I'm sure you two are tired." Henrietta said, "I have arranged a room for you two to share for as long as you wish to stay here." She winked at Saito as two guards escorted them to their room. When they were left alone, Saito sat on the bed, thinking about what he should do next. He knew very well that Sheffield and Joseph would become a problem soon, but he had no idea how he should counter them other than to fight them head on.

As he was thinking, Louise wrapped her arms around him. "You've just been made an Aristocrat! At least try to look happy about it!" She scolded. Saito pushed the thoughts away from his mind. He kissed Louise's forehead and laid down in bed. Holding Louise close to himself, they soon fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Notes:

Alright, that was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to write. Frankly, I don't think I wrote a good chapter. Something about it just feels off to me. But, as long as you guys are entertained, I'll let it slide. As always, leave a review and tell me your thoughts. It's a big help to me. Thanks again! I'll catch you guys next time!