Resolution

Fandom: ZnT/KHR!

Summary: All that Louise wanted when she performed the Summoning Ceremony was to prove to her peers that she wasn't zero, but instead of a dragon or a griffin, she got a plebeian of all things. What she didn't expect even more was to got a plebeian familiar... who seemed to know her. AU Saito, Saito/Louise.

Keys: "French/Halkeginian", "Japanese", "Old English/Spells"

Chapter 1 | The Sacred, Beautiful, and Strong Familiar (1)

"Ne, ne, Louise-chan! See this!" the jet black haired ten years old on the other side of the mirror told her as he showed her a picture of three children, one boy and two girls, holding each others' hands. The children in the picture were smiling at each other merrily. "My art teacher asked us to draw people important to us, so I drew you two!" he explained, "I wish Rietta-chan is here to see this too, though." The grin on his lips morphed into a pout.

"Well, princess can't be here today because she has lessons to attend. It's just you and me." Louise replied. "But it would be nice if we could really hold hands like that..." the pink haired girl trailed off as her right hand reached out to the mirror's surface. Despite being a magical mirror, it wouldn't let her hands through to the other side. "It's very unfortunate that we could only meet through this mirror."

"Then one day, I'll find a way to go to your world, or bring you two to mine!" The boy exclaimed, his eyes flashing in determination. "I'll study science and the likes to research about dimension travelling just to meet you two, even if I don't like them! I promise I'll find a way!" he said that with such conviction that it touched Louise's heart. The boy was always so determined. "Till then, wait for me, Louise-chan." His left hand reached out so it would parallel with Louise's right hand.

"Then, I promise to wait for you till the time comes..."

Louise opened her eyes as she sat up groggily. She stretched her stiff limbs before she stood up and continued with her daily routines. As she sat down in front of the mirror and brushed her hair, Louise could only think of one thing. 'Who was that boy? Why does my heart ached when I can't remember him?'

It was the start of a new academic year. Louise was now a second year student. Despite gaining the nickname 'Louise the Zero' after the first year she attended the Magic Academy of Tristain, the jeers did not deter her from striving to work harder than before. Thus, even when the professor was introducing herself, she was already studying from the book she borrowed from the library, while occasionally paying attention to the lesson.

When she heard she was called though, she hesitated for a bit. She did not want to start the first lesson with explosion of all things... but this was alchemy right? It wouldn't do any danger... hopefully. When the teacher asked for her name, she stopped writing and stood up. "Louise. Louise de la Valliere." Just right after she introduced herself, one of the guys in the class, Malicorne if she wasn't mistaken, warned the teacher not to choose her. That, of course, injured her pride quite a bit. Not to mention the others agreed to it. But what set Louise off was Zerbts, of all people, telling the professor not to.

If there was one thing Louise wouldn't hesitate to do, it was to prove to Kirche von Zerbts that even she could do something. "I'll do it, let me do it!" she exclaimed aloud so the whole class would hear it. when the teacher gave her the OK, she walked down from her seat to the front of the class. The teacher took out three pebbles for her to use. Taking out her wand, she told Kirche to shut up, because the red head was disturbing her. The teacher instructed her on what to do. Nodding in understanding, Louise raised her wand and casted the spell. "Lel, in, yan."

The pebbles began to shake and shine, changing colours like a rainbow. Louise looked at the stones with a neutral expression, though deep in her heart, she hoped that just one, just once, it would work. But as the light began to intensify, she knew this wouldn't end well.

An explosion to her face told her that she shouldn't have jinxed herself.

"See what I mean?" Kirche exclaimed, slamming her fist to her table not so lightly as she glared at the pinkette.

"I made a little mistake, that's all." Louise retorted, taking out a handkerchief to clean the dust off her face.

"How is this 'little'?" Malicorne asked.

"Your percentage in magic is zero!" Guiche exclaimed angrily.

"You zero Louise!" Kirche taunted furiously.

Louise ignored all those taunts and only spared another glance on the knocked out teacher. 'I guess they were right... this is by no means 'little'.' She admitted to herself. There was no way she was going to admit that out loud though. Not even if she was on her deathbed.

Walking down the staircase after she went out of Old Osmond's office, she met with Zerbts, the person she wanted to avoid the most right now. Louise tsk-ed in inwardly. Just her luck. She didn't bother to hid her annoyance away from Kirche.

"So, how was it?" Kirche asked teasingly, "At the reflection room again? Or are you finally getting kicked out? Maybe?" she sneered, before she laughed mockingly with Montmorency. Tabitha who were with them only ignored them and chose to focus on her book. Louise was actually grateful at Tabitha for that. At least, it was better to be ignored than laughed at.

Walking past the three, Louise answered Kirche's question. "No punishment." When she heard their surprised exclamation, Louise couldn't help but smirk inwardly. "They said that the teacher carries part of the responsibility, since she let me use magic, even though the class warned her." But when the two broke out into another laughter, the smirk in her mind was immediately wiped off. "I was only having a bad day."

"You're always having a bad day, right? Since you don't even have a nickname yet... of course, except Louise the Zero that is. Ah, such perfect nickname for a failure like you!" Kirche jeered.

"Shut up!" Louise demanded, not even looking at her archenemy's face.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I wonder what kind of familiar spirit you will summon, Louise the zero~!" the dark skinned red head continued to taunt.

Having enough getting taunted and jeered by her archenemy, Louise snapped again. "I have great confidence when it comes to the Summon Servant spell!" she took satisfaction when she saw the off guard look of her taunters. "Just you watch. I'll summon a sacred, beautiful, and strong familiar spirit that will be unmatched even with everyone else's familiar combined!"

And with that, she walked away from Kirche, Montmorency, and Tabitha.

Getting ready for bed, there was only one thing she felt after that declaration at Kirche (and Montmorency and Tabitha by extension), and that feeling was regret. 'Why must I say that! Now, if I summoned something ordinary or, oh Founder please don't, or nothing, then... then I would get ridiculed for the rest of my life! I don't know if I could stand that!'

Slowly drifting to sleep as she prayed to the Primogenitor to just let her have happiness for once by proving to others that she could do it, she succumbed into another dream.

The mirror boy smiled at her sincerely. Smiles were probably the only expression she had ever seen from the boy, besides his pouts that is. The boy's right hand was curled into a fist as he looked at her with those determined eyes of his. "When I'm there, Louise-chan, I'll protect you from the others that dare to mock you, because you are certainly not zero!"

The day of the Summoning Ceremony arrived. Every second years student were gathered in the field. Everyone had an excited and eager expressions on their faces. Well, except for Tabitha, who as usual did not show any expression, and Louise who was still praying to the Founder up there to grant her her one wish to prove herself to others. Gripping her wand tightly, she prayed again silently.

"I can hardly wait to see how great of a familiar spirit you will summon." Kirche suddenly exclaimed as she popped out from behind.

"Leave me alone." Louise grumbled.

The ceremony continued without any hitch. Everyone summoned a good familiar, some even rare ones, which made Louise even more nervous than before, anxious even. Quoting Montmorency just now, if she summoned a weird familiar spirit, it would be a life long embarrassment.

When Kirche summoned a fire salamander, Louise was even more anxious, but at the same time, pissed. How could someone like Zerbts summon a salamander?! Her archenemy couldn't be that powerful... right? No way she was that powerful!

"Have we gone through everyone?" Mr. Colbert asked, looking around to see if he had missed anyone.

"No, not yet." Kirche answered, "Miss Valliere is left." She glanced at Louise who was standing behind a tall student. She scowled at that.

She walked to the center of the field, her wand at her right hand. She put on a neutral expression so no one would see the nervousness she was feeling. Ignoring the doubtful looks on her classmates' faces as well as the mocking whispers amongst them, she stood there proudly.

"You said you can summon something greater than this boy, right, Louise?"Kirche asked, patting her fire salamander's head affectionately.

"Naturally." Louise responded smugly, though her grip on her wand hardened even more, so hard that it could have practically snapped her wand. 'I beg you...' she pleaded in her mind as she raised her wand. "My slave, who lives somewhere in the universe!" she started, catching everyone off guard. "Oh sacred, beautiful, and strong familiar spirit! I desire and here I plead from my heart! Answer to my guidance!" she chanted and pointed her wand forward.

And an explosion occurred, again.

And in the midst of the smoke, she was surprised when something that resembled a gun (only without any revolvers) was pointed at her. The smoke started to clear, revealing a boy in a strange white and blue clothing. The boy had messy jet black hair and sharp blue eyes that were narrowed at the moment. His body were bruised and there were even some cuts on his arms and legs. But when both their eyes met, the boy's eyes widened and he lowered his gun.

"Louise?" the boy called out in a quiet voice.

Not caring about what her classmates were talking, Louise could only returned the surprised look of the boy with her own. One question revolved in her mind. 'How does he know my name?'

To Be Continued

TWGA: Hello everyone! Welcome to my first ZnT fic (and crossover with KHR!) that I published. I'm still getting used to writing the ZnT characters, so I'm sorry if I make them too OOC. Saito would be an exception since he has a different past than canon, but I'll try to make his character as close as possible with canon. I'm also sorry if there are any wrong spellings and grammars in this fic, because English is not my first language.

Not all KHR! characters will appear. The only definite ones are Reborn and Byakuran, and even then, it'll be in later chapters, like, later chapters. The other characters might appear in Saito's flashback, but that's probably it.

This fic will be following the anime, at first. In later chapters, it's going to diverge from any of the canon timeline.

Thank you very much for taking your time to read this fic!