I do not own Zero No Tsukaima, and I apologize in advance for using so much of the light novel for one of my scenes.

AN: I just noticed that I forgot to respond to reviews last time. Also, a lot of people liked chapter 7, from what I can tell. Thank you all. As for why it took so long, I have a job and am doing school full time. And I have a life where I am often naked. And video games, notably the Assassin's Creed games that I just started. Also working on other projects, non-fanfic ones. Anyway, I'll answer some reviews.

MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs, This Saito did make it clear that he didn't like his "Master"

TheDudeMan400, Henrietta and Saito's encounter will not be soon

LittleLady, That might happen when there a reunion.

FaceMeltor, This fic is not dead, I am just easily distracted in nice weather.

Geororo, Of course this is Star Wars! Haven't you noticed all of the lightsabers, blasters, and Ewoks? Also, Saito's wrong. I should let you know, that just because Saito realizes something, doesn't mean that what he realized is right.

Deviate's Fish, You could say that a real soldier doesn't kill, he follows orders. But that would be splitting hairs. Besides, the chapter 7 elaborated on that.

eyesmonster, 244 and counting.

I feel that I must do this, even though it hurts. I was wrong. It is possible for a Marine to go to West Point. However the method of doing so was so complicated and difficult that I found that the show "Lost" tried to make more sense. Also, Henrietta arrives in this chapter. Now then, let's move on, to a GLORIOUS anticlimax.

It was a dark, cloudy night as the carriage approached Count Mott's manor. Siesta sighed, this was her life now. There was no hope for her own happy ending, she'd never get to see Saito again. That was the true tragedy of all this. Instead she would be Count Mott's servant, probably more, if the rumors were true. As a few droplets of rain came down Siesta couldn't help but think that the Founder Himself was crying for her.

As the carriage rolled to a stop Siesta got out, and noticed all of the guards running frantically about. "What's going on?" Siesta asked the nearest guard.

"A commoner broke in and attacked the Count! We're getting ready to move in and apprehend the assailant." The guard quickly said before running getting into position. He was standing with thirty other guards, all armed with halberds.

Siesta quickly made her way to some servants who had gathered outside. "Why are so many guards getting together to catch one intruder?" Siesta looked toward the speaker, it was an old man.

"I have a hunch." A blond servant girl said. Siesta quickly moved toward the girl, along with all of the other servants. All of the amassed people were asking what she thought. "Well I'm not sure, it's just a guess." The blond girl said, leading everybody on her every word.

It was obvious now. This girl just wanted to be the center of attention. "You don't know what's going on?" Siesta sullenly asked.

"Well I got a letter this morning from my sister. She works in the capital, Tristania, at the Charming Fairy's Inn." Siesta's eyes widened, her cousin, Jessica, and her uncle, Scarron, owned that place. "It seems that a commoner fought and beat up a Noble! She said his name was Satio Higaga, or something."

"Saito Hiraga?" Siesta asked, almost hopefully.

"Yeah! That was his name!" All of the attention shifted to Siesta.

"What's that smoke!" Siesta was thankful that all of the eyes were off of her, but she was growing concerned. If Saito was saving her again, was he near the smoke. Was he okay?

"AHHHH!" Mott screamed. André had just set fire to one of his most valuable paintings! "Give me my wand! I need to put this out!"

"Silence, you can replace it." André snapped. He hated that insult to the Nobility. "Go do something useful and get out of my way."

André kept his focus on the plebian with the dagger. The commoner's eyes were twitching, and André could tell that it was analyzing its surroundings.

"This place is going to be a pile of rubble, isn't it?" The commoner asked.

"Depends on how long this fight takes." André responded, a small smile on his face as he tried to figure out what the commoner was going to do next.

"WHAT! FIGHT OUTSIDE! DON'T DESTROY MY..."

"Stop screaming and leave!" Both the commoner and André coldly ordered, prompting Mott to run away. André knew he was rich enough to replace it anyways.

The commoner and André gazed at each other. He needed to figure out what the commoner was going to do. Its fight with Mott was unfortunately short, but one thing was apparent. It was fast, and if it got in close the fight would be over in seconds.

He began a small chant, preparing a simple dot fire spell. (1) Flames shot out of André's combat wand, and he made a ring of fire igniting the floor around himself, hoping to keep the commoner out of arms reach.

A look of confusion covered the commoner's face, as it stared at the flames for a moment. It shrugged, then ran out of the room. The commoner didn't even seem to be taking it seriously, as it didn't even try to use the speed it used against Mott. André let out a groan of frustration. He had quite literally just made the barrier and now it was in his own way. All it proved to be was a dreadful waste of his willpower. André made himself float over his wall of flames, and calmly followed.

This was a problem. André had assumed that the commoner would attack him once the fight started, unfortunately it seemed that it would lead him on a chase. Still, it changed nothing, all he had to do was keep his distance, remain cautious, and the commoner would die. André smiled as he gazed at the commoner's escape route. It was a long hallway, with doors leading to separate rooms.

The Inferno began a quick chant for his most powerful spell. He unleashed a pillar of fire that consumed the hall, igniting everything in its path. André grinned as cool air rushed past him to feed the violent flames of his spell, as it violently expanded, demolishing the doors and lighting the rooms within aflame.

André listened closely, before groaning. He couldn't hear any screams of panic nor pain. The commoner wasn't close enough to him to be burned. André began to march forward, glancing into each room, making sure the commoner hadn't somehow evaded his fire. Thankfully, it seemed that everything that could burn was on fire, as the hall quickly became choked with black smoke.

He kept marching, and reached beyond his spell's effective range. Simple to see, as it was devoid of fire. André paused for a moment, wondering if he should use his strongest spell again, and decided a against it. He was only strong enough to use a line spell 8 times when he was at his best, it would be practical to simply use dot spells unless he was certain he would hit the commoner. He quickly chanted a strong dot fireball, and unleashed it at the nearest door, blasting right through it and consuming the room in flames.

Still nothing, André growled in annoyance. As much as he enjoyed burning a fool's property, he really wanted to just find the commoner. André had already burned through his short patience, and began chanting for his most powerful spell, completely ignoring the conclusion he just made. He needed to find the commoner now. For all he knew the commoner was laying traps for him, he knew he couldn't just rush ahead. André needed to be methodical and check every corner, so he would be methodical quickly, even if he knew it was reckless.

Saito glared through the rain at Count Mott's Manor as, for the fourth time, a large group of windows shattered with flames escaping through them. This was just getting offensive. Did that noble really think that he was stupid enough to stay in there as he lit everything on fire? Saito knew that fighting a man who shot fire everywhere wasn't a good idea in a building full of things that burn.

Saito shrugged as he checked his satchel, making sure that everything was in it. He had recently added Count Mott's short staff, since he was sure he could sell it for way more than that Fézensaguet boy's wand. After all, you can never have enough money.

Saito glanced back towards the burning Manor, and grinned as he saw another display of fire magic erupt from the windows. He knew it was good to run from this mage, he seemed much more dangerous than Mott, and Saito felt weaker when the mage attacked. Saito tried to make himself angry, but it didn't seem to strengthen the runes against André like it did for Mott. This, of course, meant that he still didn't fully understand the runes. It seems anger wasn't as important as he thought. Anger was a consistent aspect of the runes. If it wasn't important for the strength, then it may have simply been a symptom of the increased strength, or maybe an unnecessary part he involved.

"So you're going to run?" Derflinger asked.

"Well, I didn't want to fight him inside because he had way to many advantages inside. Just look at all that smoke, I wouldn't be able to breathe or see, and I'm sure he has experience fighting in that. Even if I fight him out here I couldn't actually beat him, since Mott might kill him and pin it on me. Even if I beat him here, I'd still lose. It just isn't smart." Saito explained as he began to walk away. "By the way, Derf, do you know any ways to travel that would be harder to track?"

"Why would I know?"

"Just hoping you had insight on avoiding the people trying to kill me. Ah well, let's find the Rainment."

Siesta and the other servants stared at the Manor, enraptured by the billowing smoke and the spreading flames. Saito was in there, fighting for her. Siesta couldn't hide her worry face as she gazed at what was surely a horrific fight. All she could do was pray to the Founder that he would survive the inferno. There was a massive crashing sound as the Manor fell in on itself, the flames reaching toward the heavens. Siesta prayed to the Lord and Founder that her hero was safe.

"A DRAGON!" One of the servants cried out. Siesta looked toward the sky, and saw a red speck diving toward the fire. Once it reached the burning Manor, it suddenly and abruptly changed direction, flying strait up. It began flying toward their group, and landed heavily in front of Count Mott.

"The commoner escaped." A red haired Noble cheerfully stated as he dismounted the dragon, all of his clothes were blackened.

"YOU BURNED DOWN MY MANOR! AND WHY ARE YOU HAPPY!" Mott screamed.

Siesta couldn't hear what the new Noble muttered to the Count, but it seemed that Mott backed away from the red head at whatever was said. Siesta strained to hear the last words. "...Uphold your end of the deal." The Noble gave a look of disgust, before he made an announcement that made Siesta feel like jumping for joy. "Anyone who is or was Count Mott's mistress, you are free to leave. If any of you meet Saito Hiraga, thank him."

Siesta's heart skipped a beat. It was Saito that saved her! As the new Noble began walking away, Siesta made her way toward him. She needed to know what happened inside. This Noble didn't seem to be Saito's enemy, after all, he gave Saito credit for saving them. "Excuse me, Master..."

The Noble turned around. "Châtelet."

"Master Châtelet, can you describe Saito Hiraga? I might know him."

The Noble turned toward her, a look of shock on his face. "Only if you tell me about your Saito Hiraga."

Saito was once again making his way North, toward Tarbes. Thankfully it had kept raining last night, so his trail would be gone. Saito was at the moment very concerned. The way André acted when he attacked was not a good sign. He did not underestimate him, and was very serious. If he didn't flee at first opportunity, Saito knew he would be cooked.

He knew that his victories occurred because his foes underestimated him, or he was able to surprise them. If he wanted to beat André, or god forbid André WITH Gerald, he would need to be the one attacking them, or at the very least have some good traps set for them.

It just seemed easier to evade them. After all, he only barely beat Gerald, André is most likely Gerald's equal in combat.

But those all paled compared to a different concern. He was wrong. Anger, it seems, is not something that affects the strength of the runes. The difference in speed between facing Mott and André was as clear as night and day. If Saito wanted any chance of beating Gerald and André, he needed as much power from the runes as he could get. That, or use lethal force.

Of course, killing wasn't an option. Even if he felt ready to kill, it would only make his problems many times worse. If Saito killed any noble, then they would go at him with enough force that no strategy could defeat.

Saito was under no illusions, his situation was incredibly bleak. Still, he was determined to reach Tarbes, even if that definitely not the best course of action. He knew that the smart thing to do was return to the Academy, his pursuers wouldn't attack him there and he could possibly find information on how to get home. Although going back to the academy meant going back to Louise, and Saito was 100 percent sure that she would be angry at him.

So he might as well go and see if he could find the "Thunder Dragon's Rainment."

Still, he couldn't help but wish he had a car or something right now. He'd settle for a unicycle at this point.

I let out a long yawn as I waited. I was waiting for my best friend to give me a ride. I was going to take my driving test today. He had already taken and passed the test, even had his own car. His parents had bought it for him a few years ago, and told him to fix it up. I laughed at the fact that his parents gave him a junker, but he knew I couldn't laugh once he fixed it.

I was always a bit jealous of him for that, he was good with his hands. He made his own high-end computer, repairs cars, and build with legos so that it actually looked like the side of the box.

I heard him approaching, the booming of his cars speakers (That he also put in) foreshadowing his approach. It was "Kickstart my Heart" by Motley Crew, an appropriate song as he drove up in his 1969 Shelby GT 350. A Goddamn Mustang. I smoldered with jealousy just looking at that car. It was painted an almost reflective black, and he had the engine roar for me. I couldn't really say anything else, since I know next to nothing about cars. All I can really say, is that it looked badass and sounded powerful.

He opened the door for me, and turned down the volume. "SAITO! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"

"I'M COMING YOU BASTARD!" I shouted as I walked down to the car. I got in, and it was freezing in his car. I was used to it, since he always needed it to be colder. I cheerfully gave him the usual greeting, "Nice to see ya, cracker."

"That's unfair, I can't say something racist back. I'm white." He whined.

"Ah, the benefits of being a minority." I said with a chuckle. "Could you turn up the heat, and go faster, I don't want to be late."

"I fixed this car myself, I am not going over the speed limit. And it's not even cold in here."

I glanced over and groaned. "You are going 5 miles under the limit, and I'm afraid that I might see my breath."

"My argument stands, when you can drive, you can do whatever the hell you want to your parents van, jackass."

"At least I'll have more than a passenger seat, and it probably uses less gas."

"While your car will be practical, mine is fantastic and MINE. Not something I borrow from my parents."

"I'll drive faster in a minivan than you will in your Shelby."

"...True... Damn it, I can't think of a comeback." My buddy said with a sigh.

"Then I guess I win." I said triumphantly.

"No, you don't win. I still have a sexy car. This car is better than any car you are likely to ever own. Bitch."

This was terrible, horrid. Mical de Cowie had been pursuing the Familiar on Headmaster Osmond's orders, but it seemed foolish. He had seen for himself what the man was capable of, and Mical knew for a fact that he couldn't lay a finger on the man no matter what he tried. His job was to patrol the outer walls of the Academy, and that was mostly just for show. He didn't know how to capture anybody.

His family wasn't know for anything, his lineage didn't even include someone as strong as a triangle class mage. Mical himself was only a dot water mage, hardly the kind of mage who could even fight. But here he was, listening to his familiar, a crow, give him directions to find the commoner. Mical hated this situation, his family had donated money to the Academy just so that he would have the prestigious job of guarding the walls, and guarding kids who were better at using magic than he was.

Still, Mical was intelligent, and he was easily able to see why he was sent instead of any of the other guards at the Academy. He was the least skilled at combat, any other guard they sent would have a better chance at killing the commoner. Headmaster Osmond wanted the commoner alive and well. Mical's only chance of success was if he could convince Saito Hiraga to return of his own volition.

Of course, that was also very unlikely since the commoner appeared to be slightly insane. According to his familiar the commoner is occasionally singing in an odd kind of gibberish and making odd noises, at which point the sentient sword would ask what he was doing. The commoner usually told the sword to just keep watching for anybody following him, before singing again in gibberish and making odd noises.

Perhaps the singing was some kind of enchantment, and what they all believed was a commoner, may in fact be a noble. Possibly some kind of obscure magic. It always seemed odd to Mical that everyone was so ready to believe that the familiar was a commoner, when he took to being called a commoner so poorly. Still, the off chance that the familiar could use magic, and may have been practicing a chant he didn't know was concerning.

Either way, whatever the familiar was chanting was irrelevant. Mical needed to get him to return to the Academy. To do that he needed to observe the bar "Dirty Princess" in Tarbes.

"Finally you stopped singing."

"Yeah, well I thought singing a few songs would remind me of home." Saito sourly told his sword as he drank some of the water they served. It had a heavy taste of iron, and Saito deeply wanted to drink something else. However he didn't want to drink a lot of liquor, he was a mean drunk. It didn't help that he was in a bad mood. When he recovered a memory that included the song "Kickstart my Heart", he decided that singing every single song he could think of might help trigger a memory. It had attracted a few glances of confusion from the people in this town, and annoyed Derflinger to no end. It didn't trigger any memories.

"You, where were you?" A large, clearly drunk, man asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Partner, did you make another enemy?"

"I don't think so!"

"What's with the talking stick, huh?" The inebriated as slurred, breath thick with the scent of bad wine.

"The stick is a sword..."

"Damn right!" Derf quickly chimed in.

"And I'm not who you think I am."

"SHLUT UP TAKEO!" The drunk loudly slurred as he grabbed Saito by the collar, lifting the boy up.

"Jacob, that is not my grandson." An old man interrupted.

"QUIET SASA-" The drunk, Jacob, began before Saito decided to rudely interrupt with a light gab to the throat. Jacob dropped him as he followed with a light gab to the solar plexus, then gave a hard headbutt.

Saito straitened his sweatshirt as the drunk fell onto his back, unconscious. "Jesus Christ, everywhere I go I get into a fight. This isn't normal. Starting to piss me off."

"You start most of them." Derf reminded his partner.

"Excuse me," Saito's eyes widened, it was English. "Did you just say "Jesus Christ?""

Saito turned and looked closer at the old man. He was Asian, and had a musket strapped to his back. Saito began to smile. "You speak English?"

"Sasaki Takeo, pleasure to meet you." The old man said as he extended his hand.

"Saito Hiraga. My God it is good to hear English." Saito said with a grin as took a firm grip.

"You have no idea." Sasaki smiled as they shook hands. "Also, we should help Jacob here. I think you broke his nose."

Louise was sullenly laying in bed. Saito hadn't come back yet. It had been 9 days since he left. Still, she wouldn't let people see her like this. She couldn't go to The Evaluation Fair, where everyone else was going to be showing off their Familiars. Her only hope was for her Familiar to abruptly show up. At this point Louise didn't care if Saito came back for the sole purpose of humiliating her, since his presence would be better than anything.

Worst of all, Princess Henrietta was here. She was going to see her humiliation. The woman she respected most was going to see her most humiliating moment. Things truly couldn't get any worse.

There was a knock at her door, and Louise let out a sigh before she put her confident facade back on. She calmly opened the door, but before she could tell them to leave a cloaked figure pushed their way in and closed the door.

"Wh-who are you! What are you doing here?" Louise frantically asked.

"Well, it has been awhile." The woman cheerfully said as she came forward and hugged her. "Louise François.

"Your Highness!"

"Louise it's so good to see you. I have missed you so much!"

"You should not have come here! This is too humble an abode for you to grace." Louise said ceremoniously as she bowed.

"Oh! Louise! Louise Françoise! Please stop acting so formally! You and I are friends! We are friends, are we not?"

"I am not worthy of such kind words. Your Highness." Louise replied with a steely, strained voice.

"Stop that, please! Neither the Cardinal, my Mother, or those greedy court aristocrats who buzz around wearing friendly faces are here! Oh, don't I have any friends who will open up to me? If even Louise Françoise, my old friend whom I've missed dearly, acts so distant, I would just die! When we were little children, didn't we get together and chase butterflies at the palace courtyard? And got all muddy?"

"...Yes, and La Porte the Chamberlain told us off for getting our clothes so dirty."

"Yes! That's right, Louise! We were arguing over those puffy cream cakes, and ended up having a real scuffle! Oh, whenever we fought, it was me who always lost. You would grab my hair, and I'd just start crying."

"Not at all, Princess achieved victory on at least one occasion."

Louise said as she thought back to the days when she and Henrietta played together.

"You remembered! Looking at the two of us, one could call that battle the Siege of Amiens!"

"That was when we were fighting over a dress in princess' bedroom, wasn't it?" Louise said with a giggle, as the stress of her situation melted away.

"Yes, in the middle of our 'Make-Believe Royal Court', we ended up fighting over who would play Princess! And it was my blow to your stomach, Louise Françoise, that successfully decided it."

"I'd fainted in the presence of Princess."

After that, the two of them exchanged glances and broke out in laughter.

"That's more like it. Louise. Ah, I'm getting so nostalgic, I'm starting to cry."

Louise smiled, she desperately needed this. To think that the Princess thought of her (HER!) as a friend. "I am honored that Princess remembers such things. I had thought that Princess had forgotten about me."

"How could I forget? Those day were always fun. There was noth-... there was nothing to worry about." Louise could see as the Princess's spirits fell. "I envy you, Louise. Freedom is such a wonderful thing."

"What are you saying? You're the Royal Princess!"

"A princess born in her kingdom is like a bird being raised in a cage."

Louise had never considered what it was like for Henrietta, being a Princess. Having their life constantly controlled, monitored. It was a small miracle that she didn't have dozens of Royal Guards in her bedroom at the moment. That, more than anything, was a sign of how trusted she was. Still, Louise couldn't think of what to say to Her Majesty.

"I'm getting married."

It was odd, Louise had never thought she would hear those word spoken so hopelessly. Again she was at a loss for words, before she decided to give a simple, common answer. "Congratulations..."

A silence fell between them, until the Princess let out a sigh. "Listen to us, all we have been talking about is me. What about you Louise? I'm sure you summoned a strong Familiar!"

Louise's spirit instantly fell. She couldn't lie to Henrietta, she had to tell Her the truth. "I summoned a..." What could she call Saito? She didn't want to say a commoner. He had tried to tell everybody that he wasn't a commoner. She quickly decided. "I summoned a warrior, he called himself Saito Hiraga, a 'Devil Dog.'"

"You summoned a devil dog? I've never heard of that kind of Familiar."

"No, Princess, I summoned a human, I think 'Devil Dog' is a kind of soldier." Louise nervously said.

"Could I meet him?" The Princess kindly asked.

"He ran away." Louise mumbled.

"What? you mumbled, are you alright? Louise Françoise?" Henrietta asked, concerned for her friend.

Louise let out a long sigh. "My Familiar ran away. I don't have a Familiar for The Evaluation Fair."

Saito was standing outside in his underwear, dying his satchel a new, more tolerable color. It was going to be dark green. He looked up toward the sky, and gazed at the dual moons. It was peaceful out. Saito was still waiting to be attacked. The past three days were odd, since he had yet to get into another fight. It seemed he wouldn't get into life or death situation every other day. Saito took his satchel out of the dye, and hung it out to dry. It should be useable when the sun comes up.

He looked at his hands. They were green. He rinsed them off in the nearby river. They were still green. "Damn it." Saito put on his fingerless glove, covering the green tinted runes on his left hand, grabbed Derflinger, and entered Sasaki Takeo's home.

Sasaki was a nice old pilot. The fact that he was a pilot Saito found amazing, and the fact that the "Thunder Dragon's Raiment," was his old Fighter-Bomber was even more amazing. A super-sonic Fighter-Bomber, that could go just over Mach 2. Sasaki was going to show it to him tomorrow. He also had 14 grandchildren, one of his sons gave him eight alone. Two of who were named after their grandfather. It didn't help that they looked identical.

"Saito!"

"Hey Sasaki."

"Why didn't you tell me you had a bunch of bullets?" Sasaki asked as he hobbled toward Saito.

"I have a pistol, of course I have bullets. I have two hundred and forty... three? Four? I can't remember. Why does it even matter?" Saito responded with a shrug.

"Yeah, well I took some. One box of fifty."

"Do you have a pistol?"

"I have my colt." Sasaki said as he showed Saito the gun.

"Really?" Saito stared at the pistol in the moonlight, it was a colt 1911. "You do know that they don't have the same caliber, right?"

"I just want some, it don't matter why." Sasaki grumpily said. "I want to know, what's changed back home? I haven't been state side for over 40 years."

"There's a lot less hippies, but more complainers. Uh, civil rights passed."

"I was there when those black bastards were bitchin'! I want to know if we built shit on the moon! Did we get rid of the fuckin' Commies! Did we win in Nam! Don't need to know 'bout that civil shit. I was still able to get in the air even though my nickname was fuckin' Charlie!" Saito decided to ignore the slightly racist beginning of Sasaki's rant, and just be glad he didn't use the N-word.

"Well... We didn't build anything on the moon, just walked on it. The USSR collapsed from within, we left Vietnam before the fight was done, so I guess we lost. Ummm... Star Wars, happened, and other exciting stuff? The Beatles?"

"We fought in space!"

"...No. What year did you leave?" Saito was amazed that this had yet to come up.

"Got here on August 28, '69."

"I'm got here in the year 2010, December seventh."

The two stared at each other in silence.

"So I'm in my 70s, I age pretty well."

(1), I recently realized that most people don't know how magic works in Zero no Tsukaima. I have recently realized this makes sense since it's never well explained in the anime, however the light novel better explains it. I will explain how it works over the course of the story, through Saito's point of view.

AN: First off, bet most people weren't expecting another person from our world. He ties in with one of the other characters. It should be fairly obvious who. Next chapter I'm revealing what the new Dragon's Raiment is, if you can guess, you get a hug. Also, Fouquet steals the Staff of Destruction, will Saito be there? Will he even be there for The Evaluation Fair? Will he gain a better understanding of his runes? Will he be a pansy and run from a fight again? Will Mical attack Saito? Dun dun duuun!

Either way, Read and Review!

This is Lee, and I'm out!