Evocation: A form of magic that emphasizes attack power and offensive capabilities. Evocation is one of the most simplistic forms of magic but can also be the most devastating. Utilized incorrectly and it can destroy the environment around you. It is a volatile magic that can be manipulated in a variety of ways. Everything from casting the simplest fireballs to the most complex of blizzard storms. – The Basics of Evocation; Chapter 1.

"Zero" – Regular Speech

'Zero' – Thoughts

"Zero" – Unknown Speech

"Zero" – Spell/Technique

Two months have passed since Shiki had arrived at Tristain Academy. It had been an odd experience for him at first... well actually it would be an understatement to just call it odd but no amount of proper wording would be able to summarize his experience in this new world. Just the fact that he was transported somewhere else was shocking but then the use of magic and the aristocratic world that he was thrust into was just a little bit too much for him to wrap his head around. There were too many unanswered questions as well. Who was Shadow? What were his objectives? Why was Shiki summoned here? What was he supposed to do to get back to his home world?

Too many questions... literally no answers.

Things just didn't seem to add up no matter how much Shiki thought about it so instead of wasting more time towards it, he decided to fixate himself on becoming more akin in this world he was stuck in. Slowly learning about the aristocratic world that he was living in, he started to develop an understanding of how to deal with the 'nobles' that he came into contact with each day. Despite their attitude and their overall 'holier-than-thou' attitude, Shiki started to understand why they acted the way they were. Granted, he didn't quite agree with the system since he wasn't born here nor did he ever consider himself part of the system but he would much rather stay under the radar than be a blinking dot running across it constantly.

Most of his learning happened when he wasn't with Louise. Whenever he was around her, he had to be careful with what he said since she was such a bi-polar person. Granted, her personality slowly started to come around and he got a feel of what topics he should and shouldn't talk about but overall, it was still an edgy situation whenever he talked with her. The sheer patience she had was minuscule, the amount of empathy she considered for others she didn't like was even less and her demeanor felt like that of a crying toddler who would rather resort to violence than reason if things didn't go their way. Overall, Shiki HATED to talk with her but he would one day need to reason with her in order to continue forward in this place.

Now on the other side of the spectrum you had Siesta, a simple maid of the Academy who was well renowned for her kindness among the Plebians. She was a kindhearted individual with a great wealth of knowledge about the world... granted, it may have seem simple to others but for Shiki it was an invaluable resource. He found himself walking down to see her more often than not and whenever he wasn't busy trying to appease Louise or trying to learn more magic basics from Colbert, he was talking to Siesta to learn more about the world. It was because of her that he learned so much and she seemed to accept him wholeheartedly unlike the others who he interacted with on a daily basis. It was a great change of pace... if Shiki had to put a word to what he thought of Siesta, it would probably be 'Friend' as he never really had any friends here.

"You know... I'm glad I got to meet you Siesta." Shiki said one day as he was helping her with her daily chores through the Academy.

"What do you mean?" The girl asked in return, a little puzzled by the comment.

"Well, you don't ever seem to judge me based on where I've come from... despite my short-comings you've helped me so much." Shiki said as he turned to smile. "I'm glad to have met someone like you." He said with his eyes closed.

Shiki had gotten REALLY well at navigating around the Academy with his eyes closed. Since he didn't have his glasses anymore, he had to adapt. The power of his Shinigami Mark was still unreliable and as such he needed to supplement that deficiency. This was an ineffective and temporary solution, but it was a solution nonetheless. Being able to harness what little magical energy he could master with, he was able to adapt his other senses to make up for it. Using Wind Magic to increase his hearing and using Earth Magic to increase his sensitivity to vibrations, Shiki was able to use these two in conjunction to navigate, at least to a lesser degree, around while being 'blind'.

He was nowhere near being a master of the two elements but Shiki showed an increased affinity to Wind Magic and to a lesser degree in Earth Magic. With these two combined, he was able to adapt it into a form of sensing which proved to be VERY effective in the restricted use of his eyesight. Until the Shinigami Mark could be controlled properly, Shiki would continue like this as long as he could manage.

It was killing two birds with one stone, now that Shiki thought about it. He was intrigued by the magical world and wanted to try to master what he could. With Colbert-Sensei teaching him the basics and with him utilizing those teachings in everyday practical use, it proved to be very effective in his learning. What's more, he didn't need to use his eyes so he wouldn't feel the increased sensation of the throbbing headache. It was a good thing for him and he was thankful for all the help he was receiving from both Colbert and from Siesta.

"S-Shiki...?" Siesta asked as the young man went quiet. "Is everything alright?" She asked, slightly concerned for his health.

"A-Ah! Yes. Sorry for worrying you." Shiki replied as he recalled that he hadn't told her about his actual condition when it came to his eyes.

He had kept it a secret so as not to scare away his only friend and it seemed trivial at this point... but Shiki had kept it from her for good reason. The less people knew about it the better. As such, he had told her that he had an eye condition that made it hard for him to use his eyes... while it may not be the truth, he wasn't exactly lying about it either. His eyes still gave him trouble. Even if it was to a lesser extent than him being in Japan, he'd much rather be safe than sorry.

"Sorry for troubling you, I just recalled a few things since I've been here..." Shiki stated as he began to walk down memory lane.

"I remember the day I first met you. You seemed to be the center of joy as you walked about to help everyone. You were a kind person who would lend out a helping hand to anyone that needed it. I was really envious of you." Shiki said with a smile.

Since he was 'blind' Shiki couldn't tell that Siesta was blushing but just from the mood alone, he could tell that it was making things awkward. As such, he decided to switch topics.

"Haha! Sorry, I must've made things awkward." Shiki laughed it off, trying to downplay the situation. "I just wanted to say thank you for all that you've done." He summarized before switching topics.

"O-Oh no... it's okay, really!" Siesta replied, still slightly blushing. "I'm just glad that you've found some place to call your own since you're not from here." She said as she too recalled the first day that she met him.

He seemed like a lost child almost, trying to find his way through the world as he had no idea how it worked. With no prior background knowledge and no parents to teach him right from wrong, he was completely defenseless when it came to knowledge. She felt like it was her duty to at least give him an opportunity to understand. It wasn't much, at least in her eyes, but she was glad to have been of some use. Besides, it was nice to have someone strong around to help with the chores that involved picking up heavy items and placing them in different areas for inventory so that was always a plus.

"I should be thanking you actually." Siesta finally said as she turned to pick up one side of the crate. Instantly taking the other side, Shiki lifted the heavy crate with her as they placed it upon the stack for the cook to take inventory. "You always want to help us out with our duties. No one has ever even heard such a thing from nobles." Siesta stated as she found it dumbfounding.

"Well, I'm not really a noble..."

"But you are part of the Vallière household. You were summoned by Miss Vallière to protect her and serve as her Familiar... while I still find it odd, you still hold that same honor as someone who serves a royal house." She retorted as she finished up her duties for the day.

"If that's the case..." Shiki said as he finished placing the crate down. "...Then I don't want it." He simply stated as he looked back at her.

This truly shocked Siesta as it would mean everything to her to be held in such high regards as a noble. Who could think like that? Then again it probably couldn't be helped. Shiki wasn't from this type of world. He probably had a much better time in his previous world where aristocratic people didn't exist. It seemed like a nice place where Siesta could be herself but she dismissed those thoughts quickly as she knew it wouldn't be possible for her. She did enjoy listening to his stories though. All of the experiences Shiki had were something akin to that of a storybook character.

Then again, Shiki made sure to keep most of his past out of it entirely. Not keeping her within the same trust circle as he did others, Shiki made sure that she didn't know of his Eyes of Death Perception. He made doubly sure that any story he did share with her was devoid of such thoughts so as to protect her from the potential dangers. It's the main reason why his stories seemed to be so uplifting and peaceful... it was because those tales were of a time long since past for Shiki. The life he had back when he was just a kid seemed so foreign to him but, with a bit of creative words and a few fabricated characters he weaved a decently believable tale of a highschooler who got along with his classmates and enjoyed a peaceful life.

Such a shame that this was so far from the truth.

"I-I think that's admirable..." Siesta put it simply as she wondered why he felt so strongly about it.

"Really? I don't think it'd work out in all honesty. I mean really, can you see me being address as 'Lord Tohno'?" Shiki asked as he struck a serious pose with his eyes closed.

"A-Ah, well..." Siesta stopped her speech when she thought about Shiki being a lord.

It wasn't a bad image in her mind... but for it to completely stop her train of thought was something completely out of the ordinary from her usual character. Deciding to sneak a peek at what her expression was like, Shiki noticed that she was blushing madly. Not sure on how to respond, he quickly dismissed the image from his mind and decided to play dumb.

"Siesta..? You alright?" He asked, wondering what was going on. "You've been acting a little strange today. Did something happen?" He tried to pry for some information, playing his role perfectly.

"Oh! No, it's nothing... just getting a little late I guess. Starting to get a bit tired." She said as she diffused the situation instantly.

"Ah, you're right. It is getting pretty late. Louise is probably going to get on my case again..." He grimaced as the burning ember of violence came to mind.

"You should probably go. I wouldn't want you getting in trouble because of me."

"Right... well then, I wish you a good night Siesta." Shiki stated as he started to make his way back. Barely audible and almost as if it were a fleeting statement, Siesta replied back:

"Y-Yes.. good night Shiki... and.. goodbye." She whispered that last part almost inaudibly.

As Shiki had walked back into the dormitories of the magical students, a large figure in a chef outfit had walked out from his workshop just across the way. Looking over at Siesta he sighed as he walked up to her.

"You sure you don't want to tell him?" The cook said as he looked with saddened eyes.

"Yes... Knowing Shiki... he would most likely try to stop something like this." She said as she put up a fake smile. "Wouldn't that be catastrophic?" She laughed a little, trying to brush it off as if it were something to make fun of.

"Alright... I just hope you know what you're doing Siesta." the cook finally decided to dismiss the subject.

Under the dark of night, Siesta stood there with the cook as they looked up at the sky... just barely in the darkness of it all, the tears on her face were reflected by the moonlit glow.

[Colbert's Classroom]

The next day was rather similar to most days. As always, Shiki had to wake up Louise as she was a heavy sleeper and wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away. This usually meant that she was always late to class. Usually blaming her familiar for her near tardiness, Shiki started to accept his role as being part of the 'blamed party'. It wasn't like he cared in the end but it did start to get repetitive from time to time. Either way, Shiki was still allowed to learn at his own pace when he could talk to Colbert-sensei and that's what really made him look forward to each day.

With his new skill-set being focused around control of magical properties and using concentration as a means to increase the duration and efficiency of his control, Shiki was able to learn at a much swifter rate than what Colbert had originally expected. It was always a treat to see what Shiki would pick up on next. With each lesson, Shiki began to learn more about the basic foundations of magic and with a few short months, he could already apply it without needing a medium.

"Shiki, I must say, you're a real quick study aren't you?" Colbert said one day during one of his private lectures.

"A-Ah... well, I wouldn't say that. I'm nowhere near the level of your students." Shiki said as he tried to downplay the compliment.

"That may be so, but do you know how long they have been studying magic in comparison to you?" Colbert asked, not exactly expecting an answer.

"Probably a lot longer... but still, it doesn't matter how quick I learn, if I can't catch up to where I should be then there's no point in comparing." Shiki stated as he grimaced at the thought of it all.

"There's something that's been bothering me Shiki... why feel the need to get stronger in the uses of magic? It's not like you'll need to use it to protect yourself anytime soon. Also from your fight with Gramont alone proved that you can hold your own... so why the need?" Colbert asked, hoping this time for some sort of explanation.

"I... I feel like something isn't right with how I am right now." Shiki admitted as he thought on the subject. "I don't know what exactly the feeling is but one more than one occasion I've had to make this connection." Shiki stated as he recalled his prior events back in Japan. "It's because no matter what I do, things never seem to work out for me. I try my best to make the best out of any situation I'm placed in but even that's not enough." The young man said through gritted teeth.

"I hate being weak... and my eyes are just that: My weakness. I may be able to cut through anything but this world is filled to the brim with magical prodigies and at any point in time, that weakness can be used against me." Shiki clenched his fist as he thought of Shadow. His mind was on the masked figure. He didn't know what the person wanted or even what they were capable of... this frightened Shiki as he knew how powerful magic was in this realm. He would be lying if he thought any differently.

"I understand how you feel. That feeling of helplessness is pretty gruesome Shiki." Colbert agreed with the young man. "But you see, you've already overcome that weakness... at least to a point." He added that extra caveat.

"You've already proven yourself to be capable of magic and in such a short amount of time you've gained a finite control of it to sense with just earth and wind magic alone. That is something that has never even been thought of. To try and weave two different spells together to create a new typing of sensory spell... it is really something remarkable Shiki." Colbert stated as he was amazed at the learning capability of his little prodigy.

"Well to be fair, I wouldn't have even thought of something like this if it weren't for your suggestions towards learning earth and wind magic." Shiki retorted as he recalled their first lessons together two months back.

"It happens to everyone in the class. You develop an affinity towards an element and you work towards it to master. Some are gifted to be able to manipulate more than one form of magic and in your instance you've been gifted with two... at least now. Who knows, if you continue to study you'll be able to manipulate all four elements." Colbert joked as he was trying to cover up just how shocked he was at Shiki's adaptability.

One would normally be proud of what his students could achieve in the fields of magic but for Shiki it was terribly frightening. Just only two months ago this young man could barely hold his own when it came to his own sight. With no real foundation to stem off of and being completely isolated from everything he found normal to him, the young man was still able to adapt and overcome. What's even greater than this was his complete mastery over learning. In such a short time he was able to achieve in two months what would normally take a magician two years to accomplish.

That's not even going into the blissful fact that the constant use of magic is supposed to put a strain on a person's body and in Shiki's case, he seemed perfectly fine. The bald magician was thinking of telling him the consequences of using magic to such a degree that he was implementing it at but when he learned that Shiki had been constantly been using his original sensory spell for nearly four days, he decided to dismiss it as the threshold should have broken him 4 hours into it. Before breaking open into that can of worms, Colbert would need to do more research to determine why Shiki had such insane mana reserves.

That would need to wait for another time though as their lesson would soon be over. Today was a lesson over Evocation. It was probably the most basic form of using magic but definitely the most dangerous if used improperly. It was the main reason why Colbert had waited so long to teach him as it would most likely lead to catastrophic results if something were to go awry during incantation. As such, the practical use of evocation-type magic weaving would be beneficial to Shiki if he were to get stronger.

"Alright. Show me what you've learned so far Shiki." Colbert prompted the young prodigy to begin.

"Okay..." Shiki said as he breathed deeply, trying to get an idea of what he wanted to do.

Judging from what the old teacher had told him, Shiki simply had to imagine the shape of what he wanted to bring forth into existence. Imagining a simple orb in hand, he was able to condense the air around him and concentrate it into a ball which manifested in his palm.

"Ventus." Shiki simply stated as the whisks of air congregated to his person, becoming one as it formed a single entity.

"Great. Now add Sphaera to the incantation." The teacher instructed as he saw the orb come into view.

Complying with the order, Shiki concentrated as he focused his thoughts on the orb.

"Ventus.. Sphaera." Shiki commanded as the once wispy orb turned into a more finite existence. With the sheer power increasing nearly two-fold, the orb became more of a solid piece of energy as it enveloped his palm.

"There! You see Shiki? If you apply multiple words of power together, the form of the spell you wish to take shape becomes more exact. Proper use and understanding of these incantations can increase your magic output." Colbert praised his student as he hadn't expected such progress to be made.

"But what if you use the wrong incantations?" Shiki asked as he dispelled the orb. "Wouldn't it cause adverse effects?" he questioned as he was curious about the actual danger from mishaps.

"Well, you've experienced it first hand haven't you?" Colbert asked as he recalled the commotion in the courtyard from Louise.

"Yes, I guess you're right.. but from what I saw, those were all simple spells with no real intricate incantations being cast. I'm curious about complex magic which could go awry if used improperly." Shiki stated as he recalled the events that took place when Louise threw a temper tantrum.

"Hm... well, I personally have never seen it but if you take the same concept where multiple words of power increase your magic output, a miscast halfway through a complex spell could cause a greater amount of destruction." Colbert reasoned as he thought about it.

"But, you probably don't have to worry about such things as you're just starting to understand magic. It would be truly astounding if you were able to cast a complex and intricate spell with multiple words of power." The old man reassured his student as the bell rang. "Ah.. It seems our lesson ends here today." Colbert stated as he lost track of time.

"B-But I have so many more questions!" Shiki protested as he was actually just trying to delay his inevitable reunion with his 'Master'.

"They'll have to wait until next time. Besides, Ms. Vallière is probably going to chew your head off if you don't see her soon." The old man joked as he saw right through his pupil's pleas for help.

"Thanks for being so compassionate towards your students..." Shiki grimaced as he didn't want to confront Louise.

Every interaction just seemed like a chore. Things were never okay between them. There was always something wrong. Nothing ever seemed to please her and whenever they found common ground, it would soon be replaced by the dribble drabble of a teenager on her period. It was an overall experience that he didn't want to keep repeating. He thought that he had gotten through to her during their so-called "heart-to-heart" in the courtyard but that was quickly dismissed over the next two months. Now it was all about-

"Where have you been all this time you damn dog?!" Louise barked at him as he was lost in thought. Apparently his feet had moved him already to where Louise was at without him knowing.

'Aaaand here we go again.' Shiki thought as he sighed.

"What was that sigh about?! Are you hiding something from me?!" Louise accused the man of deceiving her even though she had no proof.

"Calm down Louise. I just finished up my lessons with Colbert-sensei." he remembered to add on the honorifics in front of Louise. He didn't want a repeat of last week when the two of them decided to drop the honorifics behind each name.

They were, to a point, close friends. They talked to each other a lot about the different concepts pertaining to both worlds and it was an overall interesting relationship that they had. Unlike others that he had established with certain pink-haired fireballs, Shiki had treasured the relationship he had with his teacher. Then again this didn't matter to Louise. All she saw was a 'Plebian' acting out of character and being overall disrespectful to those of a higher class. It was just an aggravating system to Shiki. Why the need to establish such boundaries with people who you interacted with from day to day? It just didn't make sense to him.

"Oh? Is that right?" Louise still didn't quite believe him as she had her doubts constantly about his character. "Then what exactly did he teach you today?" She asked him, hoping he'd slip up so she could get to the 'truth'.

"He taught me the foundations of Evocation." Shiki stated as he recalled the lesson in its entirety. "Apparently it's a lot simpler than I thought." Shiki smiled as he felt he understood the concept.

"Ha! Knowing you, you probably can't do much with magic." Louise dismissed the comment, as if she was trying to downplay it.

"Well, it's probably better than what you can manage." Shiki retorted, getting a little irritated at her belittlement.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Louise took great offense as she knew she wasn't the best at her... 'craft'.

"Ah... looks like they're at it again." A student stated a little too loud as they were walking past.

"What's that supposed to mean Tatsu?!" Louise bursted out in anger at the passing student. She was already in a small fit from the reminder of her pitiful magical ability and Tatsu just so happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Ah! N-Nothing! I just-" He was cut off from one of Louise's temper tantrum.

"You just what?! It's none of your business!" Louise barked at him, making him turn tail and run as she clenched her wand in her hand.

"You know Louise, you should probably watch what you say... some might start to think you as the unladylike-type." A familiar voice stated from afar.

This didn't exactly help with Louise's attitude but from the voice came a small portion of reason... so she took it with a grain of salt and decided to shift her attention to the familiar voice. As it turned out, it was Guiche de Gramont.

"Oh? No longer limping around Guiche?" Louise jested as she hadn't seen him in the past two weeks. "It looks like you've finally made a full recovery."

"Yes... and judging from the display I just witnessed, it seems that I haven't missed much." He said as he looked over at Shiki. "I see you've developed since I last saw you." Guiche commented as he had heard the rumors flying about. "Apparently Colbert-sensei is teaching you magic?" The earth mage questioned his 'rival' as he wasn't sure to believe it or not.

"Ah.. yes. When he isn't teaching his class he spends some of his time to teach me the basics." Shiki replied as it was strange to have someone openly show curiosity at what he was doing.

"Well I must say that I find this quite odd." Guiche admitted openly. "First off, it's never before been seen that a Plebian has been summoned during a Summoning Ritual.. next it's never before been seen that a Plebian is even able to cast magic and furthermore it's almost unbelievable that a prestigious magi like Colbert-sensei is teaching magic to someone like you." Guiche listed off his points as they were almost all true, albeit a little biased.

"It's not like I can do much about it. Besides, aren't you the least bit curious about why I can cast magic? Or even why I was summoned here to begin with?" Shiki asked, trying to make the young noble see things his way.

The conversation soon turned to drabble in Louise's ears as she was almost completely pushed out from the conversation. She was mad, that was certain but she was more awestruck at the atmosphere between the two. At first they were at eachother's throats, ready to kill one another and then after a short two months they're completely fine being eachother? That was odd. Way too odd for Louise to understand.

"Tch. Fine! Do as you wish you stupid dog!" Louise yelled at Shiki as she stormed off. A little ticked off for some reason or another.

"What did I do wrong this time..." Shiki shook his head as he always seemed to be in the wrong, no matter how hard he tried to do the right thing.

"Hm... perhaps she's jealous?" Guiche thought about it for a moment as his intuitive insticts of the fairer sex started to kick in.

"J-Jealous? Of what?!" Shiki retorted, a little shaken by the comment.

"Ohoho... Shiki Shiki Shiki... you don't understand the heart of a maiden do you?" The blonde mage said with a sigh as he placed his hand on Shiki's shoulder.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, don't worry Shiki. I'll be sure to teach you when I can... I mean really, who are we but poor souls to not understand an aching maiden's heart." Guiche stated poetically as he brought out his rose wand to take the icing off the cake.

"Right... well, since we're on the topic of teaching I have a favor to ask of you Guiche."

"Hm? A favor?" Guiche replied, almost puzzled by the question.

"Can you teach me earth magic? I'm not very well versed in the understanding of it all and since your primary element is earth, I was wondering if you'd be willing to teach me a few pointers." Shiki asked, hoping that Guiche would be reasonable about this request.

"Hm... Well, I don't see why not but..." Guiche was a little apprehensive about it since he thought it might tarnish his image if he was seen helping a Plebian learn magic... but he was also hatching another plot in his head that would require the assistance of one such as Shiki as he was a strong fighter. The man was able to take down all of Guiche's hand-made golems with little to no effort so it came to no surprise that Shiki would be a formidable asset should Guice ever need his abilities.

"Alright fine, I'll teach you magic... but on one condition." Guiche said with a grin as his plans swiftly went into motion.

Alright! With that, Chapter 12. Sorry for such a long wait. A couple of things are coming up in my life and I've had less time and motivation to write so hopefully I can continue this as I can since I'm actually starting to get attached to the characters and the story. As I've said earlier though, this isn't going to play along with the complete storyline of Zero no Tsukaima. There will be some subtle hints here and there that play back to the anime but overall, this is my own story that I will have fun butchering and peeling apart as things start to unfold. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. See you all in the next chapter.