Thoughts cloud my judgment as I keep my eyes closed at night. It's a reprieve from the incessant pain I feel when I open them. The lines of death haunt me during the days and the only salvation I have is at night. The nightmares I once had back in Japan don't plague me here. I feel free when I sleep but, at what cost?
"Zero" – Regular Speech
'Zero' – Thoughts
"Zero" – Unknown Speech
"Zero" – Spell/Technique
Daylight came early for Shiki as he never was one for sleeping in too long. Granted, it was exactly the opposite when it came to his life back in Japan but that was mainly because his maids were extraordinary light sleepers who required only 3 hours of rest each day. This became a routine challenge for him as he wanted to beat the maids at least once in their quest to wake him up but he could never beat it. Every time they would come wake him up from his slumber at exactly 5:30 AM and each time he tried to plan to wake up earlier than that, even if it was 5:29 AM, he could never reach that goal. It was elusive to him as ever and-
"What's this…?" Shiki asked himself aloud as he felt something moist hit his hand as he looked down to see what it was.
On the back of his hand was a small drop of water… or at least something that looked like water. He knew it wasn't a drain pipe or anything that could've been from above as this was a princess's room. Something so degraded as a leaking roof would never make sense to Shiki as the walls were made of brick and stone that held away the harshest of weathers. It puzzled him even further to realize that the liquid that had hit his hand had also hit his face as he felt his cheeks flowing with the liquid.
It wasn't until a few brief moments that Shiki realized what the problem was. It almost shocked him to figure it out as he didn't think he could still hold such an emotion… but the boy was crying. His tears couldn't stop flowing from his eyes as he remembered his time back in Japan. Three days into being away from his known origins and his body was already starting to break down with fear. Granted, his mind hadn't faltered in any way shape or form, but his body was telling him that he was homesick. He wanted to leave. He wanted to get back to all of his friends back in Japan.
He was interrupted in his reminiscing moment though when he heard the stirring of a familiar pink-haired menace known to him as his 'master'. As Louise tried to get herself out of her bed once again, she couldn't help but bark at Shiki as she tried to demand from him to help her out of her bed.
"Shiki…" Louise said, slightly muffled from her face being implanted into her pillow. "…Dress me." She demanded as she rose her finger towards her self-declared 'pet'.
"E-Excuse me…?" Shiki asked as he couldn't figure out what she meant by that. "You want me… to what…?" Shiki asked once again as he hoped he didn't hear what he just heard.
"Dress me you stupid dog." Louise said again from her pillow.
"Yeah… not going to happen." Shiki said with his arms crossed as he couldn't figure out what had gotten into this girl.
"Yes… you are." She said as she turned her head to see what exactly the problem was with her request. "You're my familiar and it's the familiar's job to take care of their master." Louise explained in a stern tone. "And since you're a Plebian, you should feel honored to be serving under me." Louise said as if she were all that and a bag of chips.
"Yeah… I'm still saying it's not going to happen." Shiki said once again as there was no way in hell that he was going to do something to demeaning. "I may have been summoned up by you by some random means of magic but that does not make me your pet." Shiki explained as he leaned up against the wall from his sitting position.
"I don't care how it happened; you should know your place as a Plebian!" Louise said a little louder, starting to get a little angry at the defiance she was being faced with. "I am giving you an order as your master. Dress me so we can get ready for the day!" She demanded once again.
"And as I've said before, I'm not a pet. What the hell is a Plebian anyways? I've heard that term thrown around so many times that I'm starting to think of it as an insult." Shiki asked as he honestly had no idea what they meant by the word 'Plebian'.
To him, it sounded like some sort of food… but to the aristocrats of the Tristain Academy, it was the hierarchy system that made up most of their economics as well as their government. Plebian was just a category for the populous that made up the lower-class citizens. They weren't nobles, they weren't special… in fact one might say there were downright slaves. This however, made no sense to Shiki, and thus made it an invalid argument to be faced with.
"Don't question me dog! You are obligated to help me and I won't be taking 'no' for an answer!" Louise yelled out as she had finally had enough. Rising from her grave of a bed, Louise immediately pounced upon Shiki with great speed before being redirected back onto the bed by the swift moves Shiki used to subdue his 'master' instantly.
Sighing to himself as he was now up and about, Shiki decided to stop the arguing here as he knew that anything further would either land him at the other end of a failed spell or he would be the experiment for her next attempt at creating something and having him try it. Deciding to come to a compromise, Shiki went over to the drawer, picked out a new pair of rolled panties for her and picked up the uniform hanging on the hangar.
"Look, we need to come to an understanding Louise." Shiki finally said as he threw the rolled piece of fabric next to her. "I'll help you get up in the morning and help you get ready… but I'm not doing it for you." Shiki explained as he placed the hangar on one of the decorated wooden beams that seemed to be made of some of the finest oak he had ever laid eyes on.
"However, you'll have to help me as well. I need your help when it comes to my eyes… as of right now, they're not bothering me as this… place… doesn't seem to affect my eyes as much as they usually would." Shiki said, almost a little astonished as he really didn't have that much pain emanating from his eyes.
It was almost as if the magical energies of this world had somehow catalyzed his resistance to the pain and it was slightly easier for him to keep his eyes open for longer. Granted, the pain was still there and it wasn't like it was a complete relief since he was developing a small resistance to it… but it was a nice change in the right direction ever since he got here. Now all he had to do was find a permanent solution to either be rid of them, or find a way to control them so he could live out his life peacefully. Now was not the time to discuss this as Louise immediately chimed in to regain his attention.
"H-hey! Don't just think that you can set your own terms without my consent you stupid dog-!" She was once again cut off when Shiki finally lost it, again, with that one key word.
"-And stop calling me Dog!" Shiki yelled out as he couldn't stand that demeaning nickname. "I'm a human being, not just some animal that you can string along on a leash. I'm not some sort of toy that you can mess around with as you please and throw away as if I'm nothing!" Shiki yelled at her, a little angrier than he thought as he was breathing a little heavy as he stopped his attack of words on the girl before him.
Seeing as how he had been wrong to say such a thing in such a tone, Shiki immediately diverted his vision to the side before looking out towards the window. Gritting his teeth, he went towards the window, opened the panes and let the warm, fresh air wash in and dilute the staleness of the environment they were in as he couldn't stand being in there any longer. Looking back at Louise, who almost looked like she was slightly in tears by the unexpected reprimanding, Shiki gave a deep sigh as he knew he should apologize to her. Then again he wasn't entirely keen on doing so as he knew this would give her more ammunition to fire at him if he showed weakness.
"S-stupid…" Louise muttered under her breath as she looked away from him.
'How can he act so high and mighty when all I wanted was for him to dress me…' She thought to herself as she shouldn't come to terms with reasoning with a Plebian.
She almost had it in her to give a retort 10-fold what she just received when the unthinkable happened. Just as she had turned to obstruct her view of the highschool boy, the same stupid boy came up to her and gave her a hug. It was so far out in the left field that Louise couldn't properly respond with proper words for the first few seconds of contact. First was the shaking that was done from the shock factor. Next was the stuttering as she tried to formulate her words that seemed to stumble over themselves as they tried to leave her mouth. Finally, she started to turn beet red with steam coming out her ears from each end as she had never felt the embrace from the opposite sex like this in her entire life.
"Y-Y-You S-S-s-stupid-" She was once again, for the third time now, cut off from her chance to speak when Shiki placed his hand on the back of her head, petting her as if to try and calm her.
"I'm sorry." He said with a sigh as he couldn't bear to see a girl cry because of him. "I may be a bit rough around the edges but I refuse to be someone I'm not." He explained as he held her there. "I was told something before… by Colbert-sensei. He said that my role in this world would change everything. I don't know what he meant by that… but I feel that if I stay with you, I'll get more answers… so I'm counting on you." He said genuinely as he then held her at arms length.
"I know this may not be much coming from me now but… I'm here now for a reason. I have no genuine place in this world and I know I might never return. So, if you don't mind me asking this now… I would like to reconvene on this contract of ours." Shiki asked as he stood up from the bed.
"W-wait what do you mean?" Louise asked as she didn't know how to respond.
"What I mean… is that I would like us to change how our contract was made this last time." Shiki said as he took out his small knife that he had held with him since as long as he could remember. "This knife has been with me for as long as I can remember. I've never once been without it and it's the only thing that makes me know who I am…" Shiki said as he recalled his past as a member of the Nanaya Family, a clan of demon hunting individuals known for their lethality with small blades and daggers.
"…Not that it will mean much to you but on my name as a Nanaya, I will be there to protect you and back you on all your endeavors." Shiki said as he unsheathed the blade from its container to show its steely gaze.
'What are you doing Shiki…?' Shiki thought to himself as he gripped the knife in his hand.
"I have only one request before I enter this contract with you Louise…" Shiki said as his gaze turned from a sincere look to a fierce glare. "…Help me find a way home once I am no longer needed here." He asked as he extended out his free hand towards the baffled girl.
"So, what do you say? Do you accept these terms?" Shiki asked as he stood there, hoping to have no further conflict.
Louise was confused as per how to respond. The Plebian that stood before her had a demeanor that she had never seen before in someone of lower birth. It was so foreign to her to be conversing with one of such lower stature that she couldn't formulate the proper words immediately. In fact, she was so confused that she had to ask a question before giving a proper response.
"What makes you think I'm just going to allow you to make your own terms?" Louise asked as she rose from her bed and stood at the side of it. "And why are you even saying things like 'making a new contract' when we're in one already? You're making no sense. Also you said you were no pet so why enter a contract where you would willfully support me?" Louise asked, rattling off question after question as they formulated within her head.
"What do you have to gain from this? This isn't like the original 'you' that I first summoned." Louise accused the boy before her as she felt like he had been abducted and had been replaced by someone completely new.
"Heh… you're right. I'm quite a bit different from how I was when I first arrived…" Shiki said as he looked out to see the rising sun. "Then again… I'm not all that different from how I was before." He clarified as he recalled his discussion with the old mage named Colbert.
"It must have been during that time… that I realized I had no choice in the matter. I'm stuck here." Shiki said as he started to think of it logically. "So why fight the system here when I can just have it work for me instead?" Shiki asked aloud as he walked over towards the window again.
Looking down at the courtyard, Shiki could see two students practicing magic with one another. He could see the flowing energy which enveloped the wands of their wielders as they casted simple spells at one another. This intrigued Shiki greatly as he never really had the chance to mess with magic or anything magical back in Japan… even though he was technically conversing with supernatural beings and destroying them as if they were nothing but scraps of paper waiting to be cut apart.
"But you still haven't answered my question." Louise interrupted the boy's train of thought as she leaned against the banister of the bed with her arms crossed. "Why enter another contract when we've already entered one?" She asked, hoping for a direct answer.
"To make it so you wouldn't misunderstand." Shiki said blatantly as his thoughts went back on the subject at hand. "I told you that I would stay by your side and protect you with whatever your endeavors would be." Shiki explained as he phrased his conditions to the letter. "However, you have to swear that you'll help me find a way back to my home world. I realize that this will take time but I don't plan on staying here forever. I want to get back. I don't belong here for a reason." Shiki said as he felt the strain of his use on his eyes start to take their toll.
"I… I need to get back. I have things that I need to settle back in my home world." Shiki said as he covered up one of his eyes with his hand so he would at least be saved from some of the pain.
Louise was taken aback by the request as she wasn't accustomed to this type of tone from someone of lower birth. She couldn't help but feel the tick marks start to tally up as she counted how many times he had been disrespectful to her. Then again, it wasn't like his words weren't getting through to her. The only reason she hadn't snapped on him was because he was making valid sense. He wasn't attacking her nor was he out of his own right to say what was on his mind and he had true concerns that would warrant anxiety on his part.
Taking these few notes into account, Louise thought of what she could say in response so that it wouldn't come off as her acting 'holier-than-thou'. Standing there against the banister for a few more moments, she started to speak.
"Very well…" Louise started her retort as she knew how to approach the situation. "…I'll enter this informal contract with you just as long as you swear to protect me. I will be relying on you for a great deal of many things." She said with a face of a proud aristocrat. "And on my name of the household of Vallière, I will help you find a way back to your home world." She said with a smile as she couldn't think of anything happier to say.
She wanted to be rid of him. He wasn't anything particularly strong and she knew that if push came to shove he wouldn't do that well in a fight. He wasn't burly or strong and he definitely couldn't stand up to a salamander, let alone a drake. This would provide her a chance to get a new familiar and it would be at least 10 times better than this Plebian boy.
"Right… then I guess that's that." Shiki said as he turned around to make his way for the door. "I'll be out here waiting for you to get ready. I'm sorry to say but it just doesn't sit right with me to help a girl dress." Shiki admitted with a sigh as he walked towards the door.
"Stop!" She yelled out at him as he halted in his movements.
Looking back at her, Shiki had a puzzled look as he couldn't figure out what she was trying to do with that 'commanding' voice of hers.
"What?" He asked as he was hoping to just leave her in peace.
"T-….ou…" She said in a muffled and hushed tone as if she was hoping he would hear her with that silent voice of hers.
"I'm sorry? I couldn't hear you." Shiki asked as he turned around fully so as to address the issue at hand.
"T-Th… you…" She repeated herself once again in a hushed tone.
It was almost as if he were pulling for teeth as he tried to get the words from out of her. She wasn't stubborn with her speech a few moments ago when she yelled at him to stop and now that she had his full attention she refused to speak in a clear tone. This wasn't just annoying, it was flat out unbearable.
"Come on. If you want me to hear you, you have to say it like you want to actually say it to me." Shiki said as he placed his hands at his waist, giving a sigh as he couldn't quite figure out what she said a second time.
"I said 'Thank You' you… you stupid dog!" She yelled at him as he was completely taken aback by the shock factor of the response.
"W-What…?" He said after a few moments of silence.
"T-Thank you… for apologizing to me…" Louise said as she darted her head to the side, not being able to keep her composure for whatever reason that might be. "…I've never been yelled at like that before… it was... discomforting…" She admitted, slightly embarrassed at the comment.
Smiling, Shiki made his way over to the pink-haired heroine and placed his hand on her head before rustling it a little, making the once embarrassed Louise into a really pissed off one.
"H-Hey! Quit it!" She protested in defiance as she smacked his hand away. It wasn't until that moment that she noticed Shiki was actually laughing… the first time in… well ever, that he had heard him laugh.
"It's not funny! I am Louise Françoise-" she was cut off when Shiki had laughed so hard that it overlapped her words and she couldn't articulate it over to him since he was laughing too hard to notice.
"I-I know… I know… you're an aristocrat and I'm just a commoner… I get it." Shiki said with a smile as he reestablished eye contact. "However… you're like me in many ways." He said with a genuine smile as he turned around and made his way out of the room.
"We're in this together Louise… for better or worse, we're in this together. Let's get you to class alright?" Shiki said with a turn of his head, smirking on his way out as he closed the door.
Growling sounds soon came from Louise's room as Shiki was free from the room and was on the other side of the door. It was apparent that his last stunt wasn't one that was taken so easily.
"W-Who does that Plebian think he is?! Comparing me to him!?" She yelled out in rebellion as she stomped about the room, getting ready for class.
Snickering at the comment, Shiki waited on the other end of the door, making sure to not be in the way of where the door would swing when it would open as it most surely would fling open and knock him out with how much force she would put behind it. In fact, it didn't take much time between the second he closed it, to the second she kicked it open with herself fully dressed and ready to go.
'Wow… 8.5 seconds…' Shiki thought as he was counting the entire time.
"Well, are we ready?" Shiki asked as he walked past the girl with the nice shade of red placed upon her face.
"D-Don't patronize me you stupid fool!" Louise said as she sped past Shiki, nearly knocking him over as she walked down the hall, down the stairs and out to the courtyard where she made her way off to her next class.
Once again, Louise's schedule started off with Alchemy. It was another boring lesson with potion-making and transmuting as well as proportional managing of herbs and compounds that made up several compounds which mixed the two lessons together to make what was known as an 'animation potion'. The lesson was to make the earth come to life and form into a golem and it was made apparent that this was some high-class alchemy as half of the students, including Louise, couldn't comprehend the subject. Shiki was half-interest in the subject itself but it wasn't anything he was going to put his time towards. As Shiki was starting to doze off, one of the most anticipated things happened in the classroom… again.
As what was expected of her, Louise had once again lived up to her name as 'Louise the Zero' as she had once again made and explosion… out of herbs that were made to re-animate and revitalize plants… How this was possible could only be explained by the most well-trained of minds in the acts of alchemy and the workings of nature as this was completely unheard of in any form or fashion of the current course concept.
"Haha! Nice one Louise… you never cease to amaze." One of the students said with a grin as he was on the opposite side of the classroom and wasn't caught in the blast.
"Shut up! Who asked you Guiche?" Louise yelled from the smoke screen as she had enveloped the entire area with the blast remnants.
Now that Shiki thought about it, Guiche was the blonde-haired boy who had levitated him back into the clutches of the insane pink-haired girl on his first night in Tristain Academy. He was a self-absorbed little man who probably loved himself more than anyone else. It was odd since he didn't seem like the type of person to put down a girl as he was such a flirt with the other girls but I guess boys will be boys when it comes to situations like this. Deciding to intervene in the little quarrel, Shiki made his move.
"Yeah well you never cease to amaze me either Guiche." Shiki said as he started to walk down the steps, leading to Guiche's golem.
It was actually a rather nice golem. It was well-made, refined and sturdy compared to the other students. Guiche prided himself in this as he was an earth-type mage. This was his department. He understood the concept and was able to make a mid-tier level golem that resembled an iron-make warrior with the slender shape of a female as if it were a warrior princess. The golem looked to be rather sturdy as when it was tested against a low level corrosion spell, the resistance of the golem hadn't faded. In fact, it looked like the spell hadn't done anything and thus Guiche received a perfect score on his golem.
"Oh? The Plebian has something to say? What, you don't like my golem? It's perfect." He boasted its excellence as Shiki walked up.
"Yes, you're right. It is pretty sturdy… but if you were paying attention in the class, the teacher said that the compound would need to be reinforced and placed at the epicenter of the golem in order for it to maintain its shape and form." Shiki explained as he only paid attention to that small bit of information.
"Um… yes. I did that. Didn't you see the corrosion spell that was placed upon it? My golem didn't even flinch at that. Are you stupid or something? And what are you even trying to do? You're not a noble so you can't learn magic. You shouldn't even be he-" He was cut off in his retort when Shiki had placed his finger into the golem.
Now, normally this wouldn't be odd as there were several holes in the construct where the joints were magically held together… but Shiki didn't place his finger there. He placed it in the chest of the golem where the 'Point of Existence' was. This was the point where the entirety of the golem existed. If Shiki had pierced anything through this point, it would cease to exist and would thus die. This in turn corroded the golem into nothing but a pile of dust as the construct eroded instantly and became nothing but a pile of rusted iron in the wake of such power that Shiki held with his eyes of death perception.
"W-Wha…" Guiche said agape. "H-How is this…" he couldn't formulate the words from his mouth as he had never seen such a thing in his life.
A Plebian… no, just a common street peddler, had destroyed his golem. Not only did he just destroy his golem, he completely erased it from any form of what it had prior been. What's more, he did it with a finger! A simple pierce of his finger into the chest of the iron golem and bam, the whole thing fell to pieces.
"No! No no no!" He yelled out in disgust at the display before him. "This… this cannot be. What did you do?!" Guiche accused the boy of treachery as he couldn't fathom what had just happened to him.
"Nothing. Perhaps you should study a little more on earth magic. Shiki said with a grin before blowing the iron dust away from his finger.
"S-Study…? Study?!" Guiche yelled at Shiki, almost threatening him with his rose wand as he clenched it in his hand.
"Louise! Your familiar… he's disgraced me." Guiche turned his head at the pink-haired girl who was completely awestruck. "I, Guiche de Gramont, challenge him to a duel!" He yelled out as he turned once again at Shiki who was honestly confused as per what he had meant by that.
"I'm sorry, what?" Shiki asked him, slightly confused as per why he first addressed Louise about it and secondly, what he meant by 'duel'. He had a pretty defined idea on what he meant by a duel but at the same time, this was a different world… who knew what these terms meant now that magic and physics-defying mechanics were now put into effect.
"I challenge you to a duel you Plebian!" Guiche yelled out again, turning his wand on the boy with it nearly snuffing out his face.
"Guiche! You can't just challenge him to a duel! He's not even a noble! It's also against the rules to fight on school grounds!" Louise protested against the blonde-haired boy who clearly was out of his mind.
"Yes but at the same time he's not even supposed to learn magic. Yet here he is, using magic as a tool to humiliate nobles and to disgrace my work!" he clenched his teeth as the disgrace was far too much for him to bear with a clear mind.
"Alright then I accept your little duel." Shiki said with his arms crossed as he was starting to get pissed off at the kid. "You name it and we'll go there and-" he was cut off when Louise interjected.
"You idiot! You aren't supposed to accept!" Louise yelled at her familiar as he yanked on his shirt to bring him down to her size. "Guiche is a skilled mage and you're just a Plebian! You can't face him and hope to win!" Louise said, despite having seen the boy completely destroy a golem with just his finger.
"Too late Louise, the fool has already accepted. I'll meet you down at the courtyard. We'll settle it there." Guiche said with a fiery passion in his eyes as he was out for blood.
"I'll meet you there then." Shiki said as he walked past Louise, ready and willing to beat the ever-living shit out of the stupid kid.
He was halted in his advance when Louise pulled on his arm, almost making him trip over himself as his forward momentum was a little too strong. Looking back, he could see her leaning back slightly as she had held onto his arm with both of her hands latched and fully extended as she was tugged along for a good moment.
"You can't just go! You'll die if you face him you idiot!" She yelled at Shiki as she knew what Guiche was capable of.
"Oh really? Why is it that I wonder?" Shiki asked as he turned around to face her. "Remember what I said before? I'd protect you and back you up on all your endeavors." Shiki said as he took one of her hands off his arm. "Besides, if I die then that just means you can get another familiar who isn't so useless." Shiki said as turned away and ripped free from her grip.
Walking away as if he were walking to his doom, Shiki somberly left through the doorway that had been ripped open by his opponent who was patiently waiting for him in the courtyard. The crowds and the onlookers quickly followed behind as they were most likely expecting a slaughter to take place. Who knew that in such a short time, Shiki would once again use his eyes to kill somebody…