Work Text:
Familiar of Zenless
Written By Jlargent.
Me: So, I'm making another ZZZ story, but this time I'm making it a crossover with Familiar of Zero. So, you can probably guess the summary of the story. Anyone who has read or watched the Familiar of Zero series know that in the beginning of the series Louise is quite frankly a bitch to Saito and the others save for a few people. Anyway, I do not own Zenless Zone Zero or Familiar of Zero in any shape or form, typical disclaimers apply.
Louise Yanagi's POV.
It's hard to believe what can happen within two years…
Those were my thoughts as I follow my new mother as she and my younger sister Soukaku make our way outside of New Eridu. I think back to when I first arrived in this strange new world…
Flashback: Two years ago...
"My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear!" (1) I chanted, letting my magic reach out to summon a familiar. I know it is a desperate gamble, and that this is my last chance to stay at the Academy despite my lack of magic.
I was already on edge from my encounter with that cow Kirche, mocking me the night before about my placement in the school. And it did not help that I had received a letter from my older sister Elenore "Reminding" me that should I not produce adequate results that I will be used as a political tool. It took everything I had to not return home and make my displeasure known about it. If there was one thing that I appreciated from my mother was her stupid "Rule of Steel" mindset because it was taking an extraordinary amount of patience to not lash out at my own sister. Lately it was taking more and more patience to not simply unleash my explosions on the bullies at the school, I know fully well how dangerous and powerful my magic is, I could simply unleash one blast strong enough to collapse a tower and render people to pieces of lumps of charred flesh and bones.
This is why I am desperate to prove to everyone that I can do magic despite what everyone else thinks.
I shift my focus back to the task at hand. And that is summoning my familiar and finally getting the recognition that I deserve…wait, is that a summoning circle…at my feet!? The sensation of sinking hits me as I started…flickering? Is that the right word? I raise my head to see the frightened looks of the other students and Mr. Colbert, my senses fade away the sensation picks up I reach out to them but my hand flickers out of existence.
I groan as I regain consciousness, I open my eyes to see that I was someplace that looked alien. I could see large tubes with windows on what seemed to be metal...bars? I wander around trying to figure out where I was, it felt as if the place had been abandoned for some time, black crystals was jutting out of the ground, green dust like particles were drifting near the crystals like fairies. The sound of my shoes hitting the ground echoes in the empty space, I shudder as the feeling of loneliness goes through me.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I call out only for silence to greet me. I look around trying to make sense of my surroundings, I mentally curse at the situation that I found myself in I'm trapped in an unknown place, I search myself and mentally curse again realizing that I must have dropped my wand before I arrived here Not that it would be of any use anyway. I thought bitterly making my way to someplace that I could use as a shelter for the time being until I get a grasp of the situation and determine a way out.
*C-clack! *
The sound of a rock hitting the ground echoes in the empty area. I tense at the sound realizing that I was being watched, I slow my steps and cautiously look around trying to find the source of the noise. A low growl catches my attention, I start looking around frantically and spot a building that I could hide in, it looked a bit far but I'm confident that I can make it. I gradually creep my way towards the building, but a loud roar stops me in my tracks, I quickly turn my head to the source and monsters, there was no other word to describe what was coming towards me.
They were pitch black with rock like protrusions, some were hulking with rock clubs and others had sharp blades, there was one that looked like an actual demon with bone-colored horns, and I could see an orb of black energy in place for the heads of the smaller ones. My breath hitched when one of them raised its blade and was surrounding it with an ethereal energy, ready to bring it down to me.
THUNK!* the sound of an arrow hitting flesh catches our attention, I look to see the aforementioned arrow sticking out of the orblike head of the monster. I heard it gurgle somehow and suddenly collapses, it raises its blade like arm feebly before it drops to the ground, and it flickers out of existence, I look around to see where the arrow came from, there standing was a young man wearing a blue and white uniform, his yellow headband was fluttering in the wind as he lowered his bow, the shape of his bow was unusual, it looked to have two blades instead of it being a solid piece of wood.
"This is a real hassle you know?" he questioned and much to my surprise his bow actually separated to reveal that it was also a pair of curved swords.
"Harumasa, you've used up your required amount of sick days this quarter." An older woman's voice spoke and there was an older woman with pink hair similar to mine but straighter wearing a short skirt, a piece of armor shaped like a demon, in her hands was a spear, but the blade was longer, and it looked like it was more of a sword.
The man sighs "Yeah, yeah. I know deputy chief. But we know you'll excuse my medical absences and bluff the higher ups anyway because you like me." He laughs lightly as he prepares to attack the monsters.
"It's true, you tolerate our eccentricities because you care about us." a woman's voice commented, I turn my head to see a young woman with…fox ears?! She calmly walks towards the monsters, a sword ready to be drawn, and near her was a ball of blue flame. Wait, it was a black ball with horns and a singular eye surrounded in blue flames.
Is that a demon? I thought to myself as the ball was casually floating about without a care near the fox woman.
"Still, I do agree that we should wrap this up quickly so that we can get a proper meal." She commented placing her hand on the handle of her sword and the demon zipping into the blade itself. She closes her eyes focusing on her next move, suddenly her eyes snap open revealing crimson eyes looking at the monsters balefully. The end of her hair flares out and was coated in blue flames, her body tenses as she unleashes her attack.
"I swear upon my blade…" she spoke softly and in a flash of blue several arcs of blue lights crisscross the monsters before she appears on the other side, her sword slightly open. She then sheathes her sword with an audible click and the monsters acted like the slashes affected them and much to my surprise they suddenly froze as if they were turned into ice statues.
"It's my turn. This will be quick." The pink haired woman spoke her spear shouldered and started to crackle with lightning "Mind and body…" she intoned, and she vanished in a clap of thunder and streaks of lightning crisscross the monsters and with a bolt of lightning she appears and the monsters shatter and flicker away. I stand there in both shock and awe at what my rescuers had accomplished without the need for a magic wand. The pink haired woman turned to me and bends down gently grab my hand "Are you okay?" she gently asks me and before I can answer her, a wave of exhaustion overwhelms me, and I black out.
Tsukishiro Yanagi's POV…
I place my fingers to check on her pulse and it was steady The adrenalin must have worn off and she passed out. I thought calling on my medical knowledge from my time as a Field Medic in the Defense Force, I carefully pick the girl up and was surprised at how light she was She looks to be in her early teens and she's this light? How long was she suffering from malnutrition before we found her? I mentally questioned noting that she was wearing some type of uniform, but with a cape? No, she must've been cosplaying as a magical student.
"Is she okay Yanagi?" Miyabi asks me.
"She's just exhausted. We should take her to the hospital just in case." I tell her.
Later: New Eridu Medical Hospital: Recovery Wing.
"So, how is the patient?" I ask the doctor.
The doctor looks over the clipboard containing the information about the patient "It is as you determined, she is underweight from malnutrition and her stress levels were high. Not surprising considering that you did find her in an active Hollow. Other than that, she is in good health." She reported.
"Is there any identification so we could possibly contact her relatives?" I ask her.
"As per standard procedure we did a background check on the patient, but we have no idea who she is." She explained.
"Do you think she's from the Outer Ring or outside of New Eridu?" I ask her.
"Not possible, if she was from outside of New Eridu there would be traces of that. And her clothing when she was admitted is too clean. Those from the Outer Ring are more like a biker gang than someone that looks like she has an education within the city." She explained, I nodded in agreement to her statement seeing her clothes were well made.
"So where did she come from?" I mused.
"There is one other thing. Something that I've kept off of her medical chart." The doctor spoke catching my attention.
"What is it? Is it something dangerous?" I ask her.
"No, but it is concerning. Part of the standard procedure when a new patient is admitted is that we assess for Ether Resistance. And over the years depending on body type, age and lifestyle that individual can build more resistance as they get older." She explains.
"How does that affect her?" I questioned.
"To put it bluntly for whatever reason she is immune to the effects of Ether Corruption." She tells me much to my surprise.
"Are you sure that she doesn't have Ether Aptitude Regression Syndrome?" I wondered, I remember that Asaba was diagnosed with this at a young age.
"No, if the did have EARS it would have been detected. When I say that she is immune I mean it. Her white blood cells have a type of…"barrier" surrounding it for lack of a better term, from what I believe this is actually preventing her cells from Ether Corruption. This girl is quite possibly the most valuable individual on the planet." She comments.
"But she could also be the most dangerous. Is that what you're suggesting?" I ask her.
"Yes, with someone like her existing this will paint a target on her. As a part of Section 6 you have the final say as to what to do with her." She tells me "This girl, if anyone malicious finds out about her immunity, she would be dissected and analyzed for years before they kill her. This would also apply to anyone in the White Star Institute." I nodded knowing that there would be quite a few that would do this to her.
"What do you suggest then?" I questioned her.
"First, we should determine her family status, if she does have any living relatives we could find them and return her to them without a problem but warn them of the possibility of her immunity being discovered. If there is no family members she would have to go to an orphanage until she becomes old enough to leave." She suggested.
"Sending her to an orphanage is a terrible idea. The risk of her being kidnapped is a possibility, and if the kidnappers discover her immunity they would immediately sell her off of the black market and we won't see her ever again." I pointed out.
"Recalling those rescue missions from your Defense Force days?" she asks and for a brief moment the memories of the dead bodies littering the cages enter my head. I shake it to focus on the conversation at hand.
"Yes. But the immediate concern is for the girl." I tell her.
"Another option is for someone to gain custody of her until either her family is found or if you apply for adoption for her." She informs me, thinking back to when I adopted Soukaku after the war against the Oni, I took her in after her older sister ritually killed herself to stop the war. To this day, I don't regret adopting Soukaku, she's become the daughter that I never knew I wanted even though Soukaku sees me as a sister figure. What I do regret was how it all ended, I wish there was another choice that could have been made.
I fear the day that when she becomes old enough to understand, that I all but killed her sister so that she could live.
"Until we determine if she has family we should keep the option for adoption on hold." I suggest as the patient was moaning softly indicating that she was waking up, for a moment the girl looked around panicking "Easy, easy there miss. You're in a hospital; you were brought here after you were found in a Hollow. Can you please tell us your name? We need to be able to contact your parents." She told her gently.
"Louise Franciose le Blanc de la Valliere." The girl replied, I raised my eyebrow in surprise. Knowing that she is connected to a heart monitor there was no way that she was lying about her name, which is unusual considering how long her name is. Her name sounds like it belongs to nobility, which is impossible since they fell out of favor centuries ago.
"What is the last thing that you remember before you were in the Hollow?" she asked.
"What is a Hollow?" she asked confused "The last thing that I remember was appearing in a strange place after messing up the Familiar Summoning Ritual." She then moaned in frustration "Dear Brimir! How am I supposed to pass my test if I teleported myself to someplace weird?"
End flashback: Louise's POV.
I shake my head at the memory of meeting someone who was more like a mother to me than my own biological mother, I freely admit the fact that I had somehow teleported myself to New Eridu was supposed to be impossible, but from what the researchers at the White Star Institute has stated, Hollows are masses of warped areas of space and time so it's possible that I had somehow tapped into the Ether that makes up a Hollow and was sent there. At least that's what mom theorized.
Aside from the culture shock that ensured by the matter of being in not only the last city of Humanity, the fact that this world also shares room with half-humans called thirens. Admittedly I was scared and hesitant to talk to anyone, what should I say? "Hi, I'm from another world with magical powers!" yeah, I would be declared mentally unstable from that sentence alone.
I decided to focus my attention to the Oni Village, it reminded me of some of the villages in Tristain, but the homes were more aesthetically appealing. I could see why Soukaku loves her hometown, speaking of the blue gremlin, she darts around without a care smiling at the little children. I smile seeing her genuinely happy, I know that she tries to hide it, but I could tell that Soukaku sometimes fakes her smiles. I know I should talk to her about it, but I have no idea how to bring it up without making it awkward, I did let her know that whenever she feels sad that she could talk to me about it. Now I know how Cattleya feels when she comforts me.
Cattleya…she's the only member of my biological family that I actually care about. My mother, father and Elanor can all get swallowed up by a Hollow and suffer for all I care. They treated me like I was a hindrance and not to mention making a marriage contract with a man old enough to be my father was wrong in several ways. I take a deep breath before I start to spiral into myself, my mom suggested that I go into counseling due to the unfair pressure and elitism that my old school had. I recognize that it was a very toxic environment that the headmaster refused to do anything about. Of course, my counselor was well informed about my situation and was surprisingly insightful about how I could heal from the trauma.
"Louise, can I talk to you a moment, alone?" mom asks me. I look to Soukaku who was entertaining the children with stories from the Hollows. I nodded following her. After a few minutes we reach a secluded area that looked to be ignored for the most part. There were a couple of tree stumps, and we sat down on them, mom was silent for a moment before speaking "You're probably wondering why we're here aside from having Soukaku visit her home village right?" she asks me.
"The thought did cross my mind yes." I answer.
"To fully understand the situation, there's something you should be aware of. And it involves the Oni Village." She tells me.
"I promise that whatever is spoken here will be kept between us." I vowed.
"Thank you Louise, this took place about a decade ago…the Oni declared war on humanity and despite the numbers the Oni refused to surrender. I was an intelligence officer in the Defense Force, and I had discovered that the one that started the war was dead and I had entered the enemy lines to confirm this. I was carefully making my way towards the Oni Village when I stumbled on a young Oni child literally trying to eat a plasma rifle."
"That was Soukaku right?" I questioned.
"Yes it was. I reached down to gently pull her away from the rifle when I heard the whistling sound of artillery shells about to hit, in a moment of panic, I shielded her from the blast knocking us both out. When I woke up I was in the chieftain's tent arguing about what to do with me. And Soukaku nibbled on my pocket holding my rations which she gave to the others, even then she was thinking about the other children in the village before herself." I chuckled to myself a bit before continuing on "Soukaku was led away and we got to talking, the Oni that was in charge was the daughter of the one that started the war, and all that they wanted was to be accepted into New Eridu, but as you'd expect the shortsighted fools on both sides decided that war would settle it rather than negotiation." I commented.
"Suddenly the term "A person is smart, but people are stupid." Applies to that situation." I snarked, she barely snorted at how apt that was.
"In the end there was a way we could end the war without any more causalities on either side, the Chiefess was already dying, and we had little options left…" a look of realization crosses my face before I finished "She willing sacrificed herself to save the rest of her tribe…and I was the one that killed her." I gasped in surprise "Afterwards her blood was injected into me, making me essentially half-Oni." She finished.
"Why? Why did she willingly share her blood with you? You tried to kill her and yet she offered her blood to foster peace." I exclaimed.
"She was dying, and she was sick and tired of the war like I was, and to be fair I wasn't trying to kill her, I was there to gather information and found myself as a representative of the Oni Tribes." I pointed out "But the devastating part was that Chiefess was…Soukaku's older sister." I raised her hands to her mouth, and she could still hear the gasp.
"Her older sister?" I asked in deep shock.
"War is pointless, any soldier that has been through one can agree with my assessment, but it will happen no matter the era or how old you are. The best we can do is either stop it sooner or minimalize the casualties on both sides." She tells me "And not a day goes by that I regret losing her, I know that she was going to die anyway but still, I wanted her to live so that she could raise her sister. What I did was a mercy kill…" She spoke lowly; a tear falls from my eyes.
"I take it she doesn't know?" I ask her.
She shakes my head "No, she doesn't know. It wasn't long before I took Soukaku in the first words she said to me was that I smelled like her sister. I knew that I had to make sure that she would grow up not only as a member of New Eridu but also as a member of the Oni Tribe. That's why we come here every year, to reconnect with her heritage and since I am the bridge between New Eridu and the Oni Tribes, I am essentially their voice. So, if they need aid like food or medical supplies I will use my connections to make it happen." She sighs "A part of me is afraid of what will happen when Soukaku learns the truth about her sister and that I killed her." She frowns.
"I think Soukaku will forgive you for what happened, it was a time of war, and you tried everything in your power to raise her right like a mother would." I tell her "I believe that she is stronger than you think, and I don't mean in the physical strength department, she may be ignorant of the world around her, but she is surprisingly perceptive in that regard. Personally, I think she'll forgive you, but I think you need to start forgiving yourself." I spoke, surprising her with my wisdom.
"When did you get so smart Louise?" she asks me.
"When I started counselling I had to learn that I had no control over the issues surrounding my former school, I can only focus on the here and now. And that meant confronting my shortcomings and insecurities about myself." I stop and looks towards the sky with white fluffy clouds signaling a perfect day "And I'm all the better for it." I smiled looking back at her.
She smiles in return for making the right decision to take me in. I was a far cry from the young woman standing in front of her. Before I was frightened, malnourished and had self-esteem issues stemming from a toxic environment. But looking at me now, I'm healthier, more stable and set to graduate from school soon.
"By the way Louise…what are your plans for the future?" she asks me.
"Right now? Just enjoying the great weather and being happy about my life now." I answered "But afterwards? I have no idea, but whatever it's going to be, I'll have you, Soukaku, Auntie Miyabi and Uncle Asaba." I tell her smiling happily.
"No matter what, you'll have our support. I promise you that." She tells me.
"Even if become a Hollow Raider so I can find a way home?" I replied jokingly.
"We both know that you would enter a Hollow to get some nookie with your girlfriend Ellen." She shot back making me blush deeply.
"I forever regret not locking the door to my bedroom when you and Soukaku returned home that night." I moaned.
"You know I was both respecting your privacy by knocking but asserting my authority as your parent by coming in anyway!" (2)she giggled making me flush deeper "But seriously, I'm glad that you have someone that loves you aside from us. And as long as your relationship is a healthy one I don't see the problem with you dating her." She tells me.
"Thanks mom, we should get back to Soukaku. She's probably looking for us anyway." I point out.
"Agreed, we don't need to be back in New Eridu until tomorrow so we should stay the night and enjoy the food offered here." She offered.
"That sounds like a great idea mom." She smiled at my answer, life in New Eridu is always a roller coaster of surprises, and adopting a young girl from another world was the biggest surprise, but one that keeps on making me and Soukaku happy. And I wouldn't trade that for all the Dennies in New Eridu.
The End…
(1) The Summoning Ritual incantation from the anime.
(2) Yes, I did make a reference to infamous Fairly Oddparents meme. It was too perfect not to use.
Me: So, at one point I did have a bit of writer's block when Louise was in the Hospital, but rather than a long drawn out sequence of Louise panicking about being yeeted to a new world I decided to just get to the portion where Tsukishiro was still suffering from PTSD due to the war.
Louise having a romantic relationship with Ellen was more fleshed out in the beginning but I felt it would be better for them to have the pairing more low-key rather than a section on how they hooked up. Still, I am satisfied with the end result.
So, until next story Hoody Hoo!