So, I've decided to rework this story. I've read the light novels and thought it'd make for a better basis than the anime. Also, wanted to revisit the early chapters because I think I could've done things better.
Decided to skip a recap of the events of Naruto's events at least for now, just know this starts right after chapter 485 of the Naruto manga.
Don't know what I'm going to do with the original. I was thinking to delete it, but I'm too sturbborn to do that and some people seem to still like it, so I'm keeping it for now.
Prologue
The Summoning
Louise got out of bed at the first glimmers of dawn and went about her morning routine as she did every day. She brushed her long wavy pink hair and prepared to leave her bedroom. Until she spotted her wand lying on her circular table; her stomach clenched with anxiety as she suddenly remembered what day it was.
As she reached out to grasp it, her fingers twitched involuntarily before finally taking a firm grasp on its handle. Why are you scared, huh, Louise? She scolded herself out loud. If you chicken out, you'll only prove them right. Especially that wench Zerbst!
She donned her school uniform: a white blouse with a black pleated skirt. She adjusted her black knee-high stockings, emphasizing her thighs as she stood up, before throwing the navy blue hooded cloak over her shoulders, fastened around her neck with the school's gold brooch.
Once she was good and dressed, she turned to check herself in the mirror on her vanity table. A short, lanky girl with long, wavy pink hair to her knees, and vivid hazel eyes, looked anxiously back at her.
The Spring Summoning Ceremony defines a mage's life, turning to face the wooden door of her suite, she frowned, I'll summon the greatest, most majestic and beautiful familiar they've all seen. Louise held a tightly clenched fist in front of her, That way everyone will stop disrespecting me, calling me Zero and all those things. They'll start acknowledging me as a true mage!
Professor Colbert, a tall, balding, middle-aged man in a navy blue tunic and spectacles, explained the ritual's significance as Louise joined her classmates who had gathered in a circle in the spacious, grassy courtyard.
Despite the small scars that marred certain regions of his face like weathered wood and had made more than one student wonder about his past, Louise was fond of him. He was one of the few people who never put too much pressure on her shoulders or scolded her when she had doubts. He wouldn't throw disapproving looks at her, as if to say, 'Shouldn't you know by now?'.
"This is the first test since you advanced to the second year, and the sacred first day when you meet your familiars, with whom you'll spend your lives as nobles," he said.
As her mouth tightened with concern, weighing on the worst possibility that the spell would backfire like it usually did, Louise's small fingers clenched around the wand's hilt; she couldn't help it.
"Looking forward to the amazing familiar you're going to summon!" a voice she knew all too well chimed like a bell behind her. "Hope it's something more impressive than the usual…"
Louise looked over and almost immediately grunted in displeasure at the sight of the brown-skinned girl, who was nearly twice as tall as she was. One of her eyes was obscured by a front lock of her long, fiery red hair. Part of her uniform was unbuttoned, as if to emphasize her shapely figure—which resembled a sculptor's masterpiece —much to the chagrin of poor Louise.
"Leave me alone," the girl spat through gritted teeth, immediately looking away from her rival, as Kirche von Zerbst only smiled smugly at the girl's helpless anger.
About an hour passed as Louise watched in nervous anticipation as most of her classmates successfully completed their rituals without much fanfare. For a moment, a small portion of her brain very seriously entertained the idea of scampering away like a mole and saving herself the embarrassment of a botched summoning her way.
As Zerbst was the next to approach the Summoning Area, Louise scowled in scornful disdain. All the more so since the wench couldn't help herself as she strutted forward, making flirtatious gestures to the male students from every class who took a keen look at her beauty (or lecherous assets, as Louise would rather call them) as she went on with her summoning incantation.
Of course, the shameless Zerbst witch couldn't refrain, and her ritual was interspersed with suggestive movements of her lips and swings of her hips that she was pretty sure were destined to hurt her pride very badly.
Zerbst was always picking on her like that, and she always found a way to really drive Louise up the wall.
Hope she summons something disgusting like a cockroach; that'd suit you so nicely, Zerbst! Louise giggled wickedly like a Cheshire cat, her shoulders hunching up and down—the image of her rival squealing as she summoned a giant, drooling, creepy-crawly monster was just too delicious to pass up.
However, when Kirche succeeded in summoning her familiar against all her predictions, her hopes were swiftly crushed. To rub it in, her familiar was no ordinary one.
It was a Fire Salamander. Louise recognized it as soon as she saw it. Its scales were a brilliant scarlet, gleaming like a bright red fiery ruby, and its tail had flames swirling around the tip.
"Quite the familiar you've summoned, Miss Zerbst," Colbert rubbed his chin as he marveled at Kirche's familiar. Meanwhile, she reached down and stroked the salamander's back.
"Is there anyone left?" Colbert glanced around at the circle of students in front of him. They had split into two groups: those who had summoned familiars and those who had not. Louise was standing alone now, before she could object, her teacher called out to her.
"Ah, yes! Miss Vallière." Louise flinched, a spasm crossed her face. "Come over here."
As the eyes of all her classmates locked on her—mostly Kirche's honey brown eyes—Louise's throat knotted tightly.
Swallowing the brine that crept into her throat sharply, she walked forward with wobbling steps, as if her legs would turn to stone and crumble in the wind, as Kirche retreated with the salamander she had named Flame.
"Hope you can get yourself a familiar as impressive as this good guy," she whispered in to her ear as she passed by.
Louise's face flushed with anger; outrage welling up in her throat. With renewed determination, her fingers gripped her wand. Zerbst was chuckling under his breath, but she never noticed.
"Of course, I can…" she gritted her teeth, before stomping her way towards the summoning circle. "Of course, I can…"
The girl kept mumbling to herself as her ears buzzed at the whispers that broke out as soon as she stepped into the middle of the circle, ready to perform the incantation. She had been made fun of for as long as memories could stretch back. Members of her own family were ashamed of her performance as a wizard. Now, it was time to teach them all how wrong they were.
It felt as if all the reassurance she'd woken up with that early morning had dried up like a flower in the bitterly cold winter.
"It's her…"
"Louise the Zero…"
"What'd you think she'll summon?"
"Probably another disaster, like always."
She gripped her wand firmly, trembling with fury at the laughter that erupted. It was always like this: long, awkward silences, followed by thinly disguised murmurs that would always creep their way into her ears at all times.
Louise's heart pounded in her ears, but she tried to boldly puff out her chest facing her peers. She raised her arm up into the azure sky, making an arc motion waving her wand.
Finally, the moment had come. She had been practicing the summoning spell for hours, and now it was time to show the world her worth as a noble and a mage.
Louise's hazel eyes had a glint of determination. As the wind blew, her long pink hair swayed gently in the breeze.
As she began to chant the spell, she parted her lips. "Pentagon of the five elements, heed my call," Her excitement threatened to throw her off focus as she felt the magical energy flowing through her body, creating a shimmering magic circle underneath her feet. "Bring forth my familiar!"
From the glowing circle of magic, an updraft gushed out, funneling chopped grass across the courtyard. It blew fiercely, and Louise's female classmates had to clutch their skirts to their legs to stop them from blowing away.
Dust and grass flew into Louise's face, forcing her to squint to protect her from being blinded. She could sense that the ritual was nearly complete.
Please… she thought to herself, please come to me.
Her ears were not bombarded with any sort of loud noise, even though there was a bright flash of light. For a moment, an illusion blossomed in Louise's chest.
It would not last. As the billowing cloud of smoke drifted away on the gentle breeze, finally revealing her familiar, Louise's face gradually fell.
Blinking, shocked out of her mind, as if desperately trying to wake up from a terrible nightmare, she pinched herself awake.
The spell was supposed to bring before her the most majestic, powerful, and beautiful familiar of all time. But as far as she was concerned, what appeared before her failed to live up to what she had expected.
"It can't be…" she whispered. "No way…"
She pulled harder on her cheek, the way Eleonore did before she would call her 'Baby Louise' with that usual scowl of hers marring her face. It stung her like burning white-hot metal. A tiny tear rolled down one of her eyes, as it always did, but she wasn't waking up from the bad dream.
One would assume that the ritual would call forth the most suitable magical creature for the young wizard: a being that would best display their talents in terms of the prime elements.
The idea of a human being summoned through such a ritual had never crossed Louise's mind, nor any of her classmates from the looks of it. None of the books she had read in order to prepare herself had even mentioned such an outcome as this happening.
And yet there he was, grumbling to himself as he rubbed his head, meanwhile she simply froze as she watched the scene unfold, not wanting to believe what had just happened.
From his youthful features, he looked like a boy her age. He was dressed in some of the most outlandish clothing: what she thought was a zipped turtleneck made of a mysterious orange fabric with black accents that wrapped around the arms and mid-chest, and a stripe that ran diagonally down the center of the chest and hem. The whole ensemble was completed by a pair of pants, also orange and gaudy. His footwear was the strangest she had ever seen, looking like a cross between sandals and boots, with his toes exposed.
He had stopped rubbing his head, which was full of that strange blond hair, unruly and spiky, which reminded her of the sun, falling all over his brows. Blinking in surprise, he watched with his wide, blue gaze like the sky, maybe too intense for his age.
A grimace of shame crept its way across Louise's face as she noticed that he had three identical cat-like whiskers engraved on each cheek. What a joke! This is my familiar? She thought horrified, The greatest, most majestic and beautiful familiar…?
Just great. He was a peasant in the truest meaning of the word.
He'd no doubt cut himself in a street fight with some other peasant over some stupid thing.
Louise stood before him, tilting her head to one side, and glared at him in irritation.
"Excuse me…" The boy looked up at her, confused. "Who are you?" Louise interrogated.
The blond boy's eyebrows knitted together in apparent annoyance.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you know…"