Zero's Dog
Chapter 3
A Learning Experience
The crowd dissolved into panic moments after the girl's scream. Students climbed over, stepped on, and beat up each other in their efforts to escape. There was a group of boys who stepped forward wands pointed at the victor. Besides them the only people not fleeing were Guiche, Louise, Kirche, Siesta, Montmorency, Katie, and a blue haired girl who was reading a book.
"Halt, monster," one of the boys said to Kotaro, "you will not be killing anyone today. Everyone wand at him, he may try spirit magic."
"How do you know about my magical abilities? I'm not an elf. Why's everyone afraid?"
"Don't be deceived, someone go fetch the teachers, we'll hold it off!"
"Wait everyone he's not an elf! My familiar is not an elf," Louise tried hard to be heard but to no avail.
"Guiche are you alright," Montmorency called to the kneeling blond, who simply kept muttering "Please don't kill me, I'm sorry, I don't wanna die."
Kirche, Katie and Siesta all looked at Kotaro with various mixes of fear, sorrow, and compassion.
Kotaro looked at his surroundings. "This is getting beyond ridiculous. I didn't want to reveal myself to so many so soon but it seems that I have only few choices now."
One of the 'heroes' advanced on Louise, pointing his wand at her. "This is your fault, Valliere, and you will fix it or I WILL," he said with a threatening tone.
"Louise," Kirche asked turning towards her rival, "What's going on? Did you know abo . . ." but was cut off by a chilling howl that pierced the sky and drowned out all other noise. Everyone turned to the source.
Where only seconds before Kotaro had stood, there was a great dark lupine form. To call it a wolf would be to drastically understate its size, which was greater than most horses, and its presence, which caused the flesh to crawl of all who bore witness to its body or its howl. Its fur was black, like a void not even light could pierce. After a moment, it addressed everyone, including the fleeing crowd who had paused at the howl.
"Now that I have your attention I would like to speak," spoke Kotaro, his voice deeper and with more of a growl than his human form, "First off, I'm not an elf, I'm part dog spirit. I don't know what an elf from here is, what it looks like, or even why they are so terrifying to you. Second, you will not mistreat or threaten Louise because of some assumption about me. She had no control over what she summoned and contracted. I hid my ears and tail because I really didn't want it to end up like this. And finally Guiche," he said approaching the terrified boy, "the moment you surrendered I stopped fighting. I wasn't even seriously fighting you. I don't kill in cold blood unless the person really, REALLY deserves it. Nor is human very tasty so you have little to fear there. But if it'll make everyone feel safer, I'll change back to my human form"
The crowd seemed to have calmed and Kotaro reverted, thankful for some understanding and that he could retain his pants when changing back to human form. The wrappings hadn't fared so well and his tail was completely visible. He looked around at those who had remained: Kirche was blushing heavily at him, Katie's eyes sparkled with adoration, Montmorency had run out and was clutching Guiche like he might disappear any second, Siesta still looked frightened, and Louise' face was flushed. She retrieved his hat and stomped over to him and then it happened. Kotaro collapsed, unconscious, at his tiny master's feet.
"It seems the Bell of Sleep really wasn't necessary, Osmond," muttered Colbert who arrived moments later with an elderly man.
"Interesting, Miss Valliere, if you would, please come to my office. I wish to have a discussion about your peculiar familiar. Don't worry, Colbert will look after him."
Colbert turned to look at the unconscious familiar. With a sigh, he set about taking the boy back to Louise' room, trying to ignore the stares of his students.
(Scene break)
It was dark when Kotaro woke up with a start. Finding himself in a bed, he laughed at the crazy he had had. About how he had dueled another student, who had been a complete failure in combat and how he somehow was a servant to a short, bratty, pink-haired girl.
"You're awake," the pink-haired girl asked, sitting at a table in the room with a tea tray.
"Yaaah," he replied, stretching his arms above his head, "how long?"
"Were you asleep, all day. Why is that? It didn't look like Guiche was THAT hard to beat, you didn't even get scratched."
"I'll tell you only if you swear to secrecy, never mind you'll probably just beat it out of me anyway. Or activate this brand that would either rob me of my will or hurt me until you get what you want," he sighed, "It was my using Kanka and also my wolf form."
"Kanka? What's that?"
"It was when I was covered in that silver aura, it combines Ki and magic."
"You can use magic?"
"In a sense, basically I combine mental and physical energy in a way that boosts my natural abilities and creates a defensive aura around my body. I could do those things with Ki OR magic but the effect is greater with both. The only real drawback is that it's twice as tiring if not greater because it draws from mental and physical stamina at once. That's about my extent when using magic though."
Louise, who had had a developing depressed look on her face, perked up at the last remark.
"You're fighting ability was incredible."
"I pulled my punches when I realized how weak he was compared to when I usually fight."
"Your USUAL fights?"
"Yeah, though recently I haven't had too many enjoyable battles because there aren't many problems that can be solved with my fists anymore. The Mahora Budikai was decent this year but nothin' like the trip to Mundus Magicus a few years ago. Now that had some good battles"
"Mundus Magicus, you mentioned that before, what is it?"
"Okay, this may be confusing at first but bear with it," he took a deep breath, "I'm going to refer to this world as a planet and as Earth. You know that the sun rises and sets, the four seasons, and the moons have different phases?"
"Yes but how does this fit in?"
"Just a brief astronomy lesson, but it's important. Anyway, those are all a result of the rotation of this planet and the orbits of the moons and this planet. Simply put this Earth is round and moves in a circular path called an orbit around the sun."
"Look, you may think I'm ignorant but I'm not stupid, 'this Earth' as you put it is the center of the universe and the sun orbits us," she declared defiantly.
"Just go with it, I'm not trying to trick you because it wouldn't help me. Now, I'm from a different Earth as I've told you already. We have a sun and one moon. There are also seven other planets besides my Earth that orbit the sun. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, in order from closest to farthest from the sun. Most people on my earth know this and are ignorant that Mars is actually two worlds: the Mars they are familiar with and Mundus Magicus. Mundus Magicus was formed six thousand years by a being known as the Lifemaker, and was made completely out of magic."
"How can people be that ignorant to another planet?"
"Because, the way to see Mundus Magicus is to travel there in a special way: magically through a gateport that connects Earth to it. Technology where I come from has advanced to allow travel between planets but pure technology can only show us Mars which is a barren wasteland."
"Then why not use magic instead of technology?"
"Magic is kept hidden from the majority of the people in my world."
"What do you mean? How can nobles be of higher status if they're not known?"
"Magic isn't involved with social standing where I come from. The most powerful person in the world could be completely removed from magic. Likewise, the lowest beggar could have magic as an integral part of his life. Magic usually means sleight of hand in the eyes of the majority. And information travels faster than you can imagine. It's easier to keep people ignorant than to let the knowledge of magic become common knowledge," Kotaro explained.
"So basically, your experience with Mars/Mundus Magicus is based on how you get there. Now about what happened. A group called Ala Alba was formed a few years ago, which included myself, nearly a dozen girls, and my friend Negi as the leader. The original purpose of the group was to travel to Mundus Magicus and look for information on his father, Nagi Springfield, The Thousand Master. As soon as we arrived the gateport was destroyed and we were defeated by another group Cosmo Entelichaea. They caused us to be scattered across the planet with little means to find each other and framing us for the crime. To make the problem worse a few of Negi's students who were still unaware of magic had followed us and were cast into the wilderness as well. Three of the girls were lucky enough to be sent to the same place. When one of them had fallen ill the other two found help. Unfortunately that help in the form of medicine cost them their freedom. One million drachma is a lot of money. When we found them they were debt-slaves with at least ten years each of labor to pay their debt.
"While one of our group who had we joined up with set out to locate the rest of our missing comrades, Negi and I entered a tournament, of which the prize money was just enough to liberate his students. At this point Ala Alba was more or less complete again. But Cosmo Entelichaea still impeded the homeward journey. After fighting them, an agreement was reached we returned to Mundus Ventus, Earth."
"I see, but how again does this compare to your fight with Guiche," questioned Louise at the length history.
"That tournament that Negi and I fought in was a GLADIATOR tournament. And in the final match one of our opponents was a famous war hero. Imagine a vast army, now take all that might and combine it into a single individual. That doesn't even come close to accurately describing 'The Immortal Fool,' 'The Thousand Blades,' 'The Invincible Swordsman,' Jack Rakan. To try fighting him is like suicide depending on his mood. When I pulled my punch against Guiche I only gave him a gash across the cheek, when Rakan pulls his punches, the other side is almost guaranteed to receive a minimum of three broken bones. Another comparison, for a fighter such as me to try fighting him would be like a puppy trying to challenge a full grown dragon."
"Then why would you fight him?" she responded, questioning her familiar's sanity.
"We needed the money to rescue the three of his students. They didn't know about anything related to magic until one curious choice led to near-death for one of them, and forced servitude when someone was kind enough to give them a miracle drug that they couldn't hope to pay for. Plus Negi and I needed to sharpen our combat skills anyway."
"Well, that's enough knowledge for tonight; I'm going to sleep now. Wake me at dawn with my clothes," she said, starting to lay down, "Wait, I almost forgot something."
She hopped out of the bed and walked over to where Kotaro was sitting. "You were very brave today," her soft voice called out. "And ever since then I've wanted to do this but you were asleep," she cooed leaning in. Then her fist connected his jaw. "That is for the sheet you tore up!"
She lay back down and snuffed the final candle out without another word. Kotaro remained where he sat, amused at how skillfully he had been sucker-punched. He chuckled a moment then decided that he, too, should rest for the following day.
(Scene break)
When they walked into class the next day the room fell silent. Twenty pairs of eyes followed the strange pair across the room, mostly focusing on the dog-like ears and tail that Kotaro sported, to an empty pair of desks. The only exceptions to the piercing glares were the blue-haired girl, who was still reading a book, Kirche, whose gaze seemed tinged with some form of passion, and Guiche, who had a mix of fear, respect, and curiosity in his eyes.
'That blue-haired girl with the book reminds me of Yue.' "Hey," Kotaro broke the eerie silence, "what's her name?" As he spoke he pointed to the petite girl reading the book.
"That's Tabitha," replied Kirche, "why'd you want to know? Don't tell me she's the kind of girl you're attracted to."
"Not quite. Yesterday she was the only one who didn't react to these," he said, pointing to his ears and holding out his tail, "and I like to know the names of people I could potentially work with in the future. Also, she reminds me of a girl I knew back home, both in stature and in the way she reads with a passion."
"Did you like her," Guiche blurted out as if he needed more knowledge on this strange new boy.
"I'm friends with her, but she intimidated me shortly after I became close friends with her teacher, Negi Springfield, by using rhetoric and philosophy to shatter one of my beliefs. Besides, I was 10 years old, so was not at the 'relationships beyond friendship' phase of my life and she had feelings for Negi anyway. Maybe it was his maturity and only a four or five year age difference?" he thought out loud.
"Wait is Negi the friend who had multiple girls fighting for his affection? Were all those girls his students?" Guiche had his passions roused
"Most of them."
"How old were the girls and how many of them were there?" Montmorency didn't seem pleased to hear Guiche shamelessly asking about other girls and delivered a slap to the back of his head. Not that he noticed.
"Let's see," Kotaro gripped his chin, pondering, "Class 3-A had 31 girls in it but one had to go back to her home country, they were all about your age, 14 and 15 years old with a few exceptions, and at least eight of the remaining 30 girls were seriously infatuated with Negi, but nothing really happened besides them giving a love confession."
"How was there a class with 31 girls?" Guiche was no doubt fantasizing about the possibility.
"All of the students at Mahora Academy were girls."
"Was he that handsome," Guiche was seriously following this path to the end.
"He would be considered handsome and charming by most girls today. He was really charming and mature four years ago too, but he would have likely been described as 'cute' rather than 'handsome' by girls."
"So he was their school teacher, incredibly charming, high maturity, and was five years their elder? Is that an accurate summary of why girls flocked to him," Guiche asked Kotaro with a fervent intensity.
"Almost," Kotaro replied, covering his mouth and trying to hold back the laughter that was rising in his throat. He looked around the class as a way to calm down but found that all the other students, especially the boys, were keenly listening. Even Tabitha was glancing over curiously. The sheer absurdity of this, considering their reaction to him the previous afternoon, struck him and he lost his self-control and burst out laughing. Everyone looked confused for a moment then anger appeared as they assumed he had tricked them.
"What's so funny," Guiche asked, his eyes narrow.
"Sorry, it's just everyone here was so drawn into my tale, I almost forgot how they reacted to me yesterday," Kotaro responded, once again regaining control of his laughter. "Also, it was the single part of your question that was wrong. I said the age gap between him and his students was about five years, not that he was five years their elder."
It took a second to sink in. Then the class was up in arms. "WHAT?" "He was only 10, YEAH RIGHT!" "Do you seriously think that we'd believe such an obvious lie?" "Was he really that charming?" "Which girl won his affection?" "Did he break their hearts?" "How was he a teacher at that age?" "Yeah, what's next, he was a mage of incredible power and also a war hero? Or how about this: he's the last prince in an exiled royal family descended from a deity." The last comment drew laughter from most of the class.
It would have continued all morning if not for the middle-aged woman in a purple robe and what looked like a witch's hat, who entered the room at that moment. "Quiet down now class, or I'll fill those disrespectful mouths with clay," she calmly asserted. Though she was barely audible over the students, but the room hushed to a level similar to when Kotaro had entered the class.
"Hello, my name is Mrs. Chevreuse and I will be teaching the class about Earth magic today. Now, who here can tell me the four elements of magic? You there, Miss, stand up and tell the class the answer," she said pointing at a raised hand.
Montmorency rose. "Actually there are five elements and they are water, earth, fire, wind, and void," she said with a distinct air of pride and she sat back down.
"You are correct; however the legendary element void has been lost for millennia. Now, I'm an Earth mage, my Runic name is 'Chevreuse the Red Clay,'" she pulled a few stones from her pocket and placed them on the table. Earth magic affects our lives daily, as it governs the creation of matter. It produces and refines precious metals, and allows us to raise buildings and harvest crops more easily. Today I'll be showing you how to transmute. Do you have a question, Mister . . ." she fumbled for a name
"It's Kotaro," he'd stood up, "can Earth magic really 'create' matter? Where I am from, one of the Natural Laws states that 'matter cannot be created nor can it be destroyed.' I'm just curious if that law is in effect here too." He sat back down.
Chevreuse was perplexed and the other students looked at Kotaro like he had just sprouted a second head, as he leaned back in his chair crossing his arms behind his head. Chevreuse regained her composure. "I've never heard anything like that. Who are you again?"
"He's my familiar," Louise said, standing up at her seat, "I'm sorry for the interruption, it won't happen again," as she sat back down she hissed at him "It better not."
"Come on 'Louise the Zero,' did you even summon him? How do we know that he's not just some commoner that you bribed to show up at the summoning ritual and have been paying to act since," a chubby, blond boy in the middle of the room jeered.
"Mrs. Chevreuse, 'Malicorne the Breaking Wind' just insulted me," Louise whined at the teacher as other students snickered at the use of a mean nickname for Louise.
"It's 'Malicorne the Windward,'" the chubby boy squawked back at Louise, "really Louise, you are just a –", but he didn't finish as a tall form loomed over him.
Louise turned back to the chair beside her to find her familiar had left it. Much of the class gasped including the teacher, who gripped the table to steady herself, at how the familiar moved instantly. Kotaro leaned forward to look the fat boy in the face and began to address him.
"Hello there, Malicorne was it? There are a few matters that I would like to discuss with you. Right here is fine. First, I don't know how this 'Louise the Zero' nickname started nor do I know why it's used but I don't care. Don't use it anymore. Secondly, you've no doubt heard the rumors of how soundly I defeated Guiche yesterday if you weren't there yourself," Guiche fidgeted slightly, "and also know of these," Kotaro erected the ears that he'd flattened at the start of class and swished his tail in a wide arc, "if you really think I'm simply a commoner she pulled off the street, you should congratulate her for finding someone so unique who would serve her. As for being a paid actor, you're wrong. I'm not merely a person who whores himself off to the highest bidder. She would have a better chance beating me into submission than hiring me with a bribe. Are we clear now?"
Malicorne gave a small spasm affirming the question. "Good. Oh and one more thing," Malicorne flinched at what was coming, "Louise, I'm doing this now as a favor, I request that you not use me in the future as a tool to intimidate and lord over others. Thank you." He turned back to the teacher, "I apologize for interrupting your lesson; in the future I will resolve issues outside of the classroom." He returned to his seat next to Louise, who pushed his chair over as soon as he leaned back. His tumble to the floor was met with a resounding silence.
"Scary," a soft voice announced. Kotaro's eyes swept over the room for the source of this new voice. He realized that it had come from Tabitha, who was still holding her open book but had shifted her position slightly away from it to speak. He once again found the situation funny and let loose a chuckle. Everyone stared at him and he glanced back at them. Kirche's eyes were the only ones that met his without nervousness. Her eyes showed fire and that combined with the deafening silence unnerved him.
He turned back to the teacher who was still frozen and clutching the table before her. She had apparently frozen in fright upon discovering his ears and tail and hadn't realized that he was done with his 'discussion.' He sighed and walked over to her and stood on the side opposite her. No response. He called her name. No response. He called her runic name. No response. He waved his hand before her face. No response. Chevreuse's pulse was visible in her neck so she was still alive but unresponsive to sound or movement. Kotaro had one more plan to revive her before shaking her or raising his voice. He turned back to the class who was likewise frozen and silent except for the eyes that followed his movements.
"I've tried all the usual methods for rousing someone from an unconscious state, except for shaking her or being louder but I'm afraid of scaring her even more and I'd rather not splash her with water unless nothing else works so I'm going to try something different. You should all cover your eyes because it might be temporarily blinding to those who watch, so just a fair warning, and no Kirche I will not be taking off my shirt," he quickly shot at the girl who had prepared to speak with mischievous passion in her eyes. "I'll count to three to give you all time to shield your eyes though you may choose not to. It will happen the moment I reach three, there will not be a pause between 'Three' and the flash," he said turning back to face the unresponsive teacher again.
"One." He took two steps back from the teacher's table.
"Two." He raised his left fist to eye level.
"THREE!" and he flooded his left hand with mana like when he performed Kanka. It was only for a moment but it did create the bright light he had desired. A few groans behind him suggested not everyone heeded his warning. He hadn't shielded his eyes either and was feeling dizzy but a surprised start from in front of him meant it had worked.
"Ah Mrs. Chevreuse, you're back," he said still trying to blink off the blindness, "you had us all worried, you've been standing there, unresponsive for the last six minutes no matter how we tried to wake you, I was almost to using a bucket of water." His sight returned and he saw her clutching her chest with her left hand while gripping her wand vertically in her right. "Now to, once again, apologize."
He took a deep breath and apologized again with the promise to use more self-control in the future. Chevreuse had calmed by that point and Kotaro sat down in the seat next to his master. His 'little scene' had apparently earned him more than being pushed from a tipping chair because he received a smack to the back of his as soon as he was settled.
"Back to what I was talking about: transmutation, the basic magic of Earth element." Chevreuse settled back into the lesson after her shock quickly. "You no doubt learned basic transmutation as first year students but let's review, a grand house is built on a good foundation." She gestured at the small stones on the table. She pointed her wand at one and softly chanted. Though Kotaro was familiar with incantations being in other languages from witnessing so many of Negi's battles, he didn't recognize any part of her chant. When her chant finished the stone glowed brilliantly for a moment and revealed a yellowed luster when the light faded.
"Is that gold?" exclaimed Kirche.
"No, I'm still only a triangle mage; transmuting gold can only be done by a square class mage. This is merely brass."
Kotaro leaned back again, "Triangle mage? Square class mage? Something else to ask Louise about later, when she's less pissed with me. This style of magic is intriguing, though." He returned his attention to the front as Chevreuse was looking over the students.
"Miss Valliere, your familiar has been rather proactive in class today. Your drive must be just as strong so come up here to show the class your transmutation." There was a collective groan from the class.
"But Mrs. Chevreuse," Montmorency chirped, "'Louise the ... uhm. Valliere' can't do that. It's too dangerous." There wasn't any teasing in her tone.
"Shut up, Montmorency! I can, too, do it!"
"Miss Montmorency, I can't see how this could possibly be dangerous, it's only a simple transmutation," Mrs. Chevreuse asserted.
The other students were having reactions similar to Montmorency's. Some crouched under tables. Others hid behind chairs. Tabitha rose from her seat and left the room, without drawing herself from the pages of her book. Kirche followed but not without a hesitating glance back at Kotaro, who remained in his reclined position with his hands behind his head. He observed the classes fear with curiosity. He returned his gaze to Louise as she chanted at the front of the room. She finished her chant and the rocks began to glow.
Meanwhile, on the far side of the school grounds.
Colbert was in his personal shack, where he could have time to himself. His continued status as a bachelor depressed him to no end. However, here he could find hope. Hope in a flask full of SCIENCE. He was recording the results of his latest experiment when he felt a tremor and heard a muffled explosion. He ignored it and continued recording.
Back in the Classroom
"What the Hell was that," Kotaro yelled. The room looked like it had been inverted, then righted again but the contents were a different matter. Chairs and tables were overturned. Dust clogged the air. Mild groans came from various places around the room. It had been a colossal explosion. Kotaro turned his attention to the origin of said blast, releasing the protective silver aura that he had cloaked himself with at the last second. At the blast-center stood Louise, hair tangled, torn clothing, dirt marking her face and the intact parts of her clothes. Mrs. Chevreuse had not been as lucky and lost consciousness. Realizing the mounting glares from her peers, she turned away to wipe the dirt from her face
"It seems I messed up a little," she said with a voice rich in dignity.
"A little? You were supposed to transmute it into something simple, maybe copper or glass. 'High explosives' weren't on that list," thought Kotaro.
"Well now, looks like you've done it again," said a condescending voice from the other side of the classroom, "remind me Valliere, how many successes does this make, disregarding your fluke of a familiar?"
"Zero" could just barely be heard, in a cracked voice that traveled past her hunched shoulders, as her reply.
Author's Notes
Here we are with another completed chapter. I know it had a lot of background info on events that happen in Negima. If anyone who is reading Negima had something spoiled by this, then I am sorry.
Several of the Zero no Tsukaima fans were probably upset that I had some nameless bystander call Kotaro an elf. He's obviously not but there were a few reasons why I did it. First, Kotaro is new and mysterious to the academy. Second, his attire at the duel revealed a kind of beauty while concealing his tail. Elves in fiction are often referred to as 'fair folk' in one form or another. Third, Kotaro demonstrated abilities that surpassed what was considered, by most mages, to be "humanly possible," like tearing a through a bronze golem easily, creating physical doppelgangers of himself, and Kanka which is flashy, magical, and doesn't require a wand. The final piece was his exposed ears. His ears taper off to a point, even if they are canine in nature. 'Pointed ears' is going to be the most prominent feature of an elf that these noble's kids know of. Though the ears of elves are on the sides of their heads and grow out from their heads horizontally, not many have seen an actual elf but a lot probably had a cousin-who-knew-a-guy-whose-best-friend's-uncle fought one and barely survived "the bloody rampage of the incarnation of pure evil with pointed ears."
Regarding the 'info dumps,' I kind of felt they were needed in order to prevent the many questions that Louise would have likely asked had the bare minimum not been explained. I'm not saying she's accepted everything Kotaro told her but she does understand some things.
Disregarding the non-fiction stuff like astronomy, I really liked Kotaro's dialogue in this chapter, especially his spiel about Negi as the clueless 10-year old chick magnet that we (readers of Negima) know and love. The reason I used eight as the number of girls competing for him instead of all his Ministra Magi because as far as I'm aware 'only', and I use the term very loosely, eight of his Ministra have either outright declared their love or it's so obvious (as their character developed) to the reader that said reader would have to try to not notice it. If the girl's feelings of love/affection for Negi are even slightly ambiguous, I didn't count her. I also enjoyed Kotaro's intimidation of Malicorne. It was fun to make him more blunt as a talker and much more merciless than the previous few chapters. Speaking of Malicorne, I got his used the runic name from the light novel translation but changed the name Louise called him from "Malicorne the Common Cold" to "Malicorne the Breaking Wind." I did this cause he's a wind mage and 'Common Cold' didn't seem to fit as well as "Breaking Wind" which 'to break wind' is another way of saying 'to fart.'
About the brief scene with Colbert near the end, I wanted a sudden shift from Louise trying magic to a completely different character. The anime switched to Headmaster Osmond sexually harassing his secretary but I wanted a character who might be doing one of several things. If I hadn't said SCIENCE was in the flask, someone would have likely assumed it alcohol.
Louise was also fun to write even if she only had a major part in a few scenes this chapter. Her uses of violence are a lot tamer this chapter than chapter 1. Like her sucker punch of Kotaro when her actions could've meant something else among other things. And to those who were confused about the ending of this chapter, yes Louise was starting to cry. Anyone who can guess why gets a cookie.
As always thanks for reading and tell me what you think. I'll try to update again within the week but I have classes so I might not be able to.