Because this chapter wouldn't shut up in my head and kept distracting me from playing Dead Space 2...UPDATE!
Also included is a shout out to the best Familiar of Zero fic I have ever read. Cheers!
...
"Familiar!" I heard my master yell out as soon as I was within her screaming range. Siesta was still beside me and was as white as a sheet after she heard my acceptance at Guiche's challenge.
"Here master. I got our tea and even some cake ready." I pointed out to the still shell shocked maid. Louise walked up to me with a very displeased expression. I was glad when I saw that she was cradling my parasol in her hands though.
"What. Did. You. Do?" Louise asked me in a tone of a human mother would after finding out that their child did something unsavoury.
"Getting us tea for our discussion." I responded. I heard rattling of porcelain against metal again and turned to Siesta who moved on from shock to mild panic. I do hope she doesn't drop the tray.
"Mister Yuka was challenged to a duel by Sir Gramont and he accepted! They will meet in front of the church in an hour!" Siesta blurted out in panic, I swear she looked like she was going to faint. I turned back to my master and saw her expression to be the complete opposite.
"This is Siesta, by the way, very adept at caring for flowers and has a decent singing voice." I introduced Siesta to my master, sad that she probably wasn't listening at the moment because of what the maid just told her.
"You did what?!" See? Louise yelled the question at me with an incredulous expression.
"The boy challenged my honor and I saw it fit to defend it. To be fair, I asked him thrice if he was serious about if before accepting." I explained. My master started trembling a bit, clutching my parasol a little harder than she was before. She then held it to her left side and grabbed my hand with her free hand before she started walking away.
"Where are we going?" I asked innocently. My master stopped and glared at me for a moment before turning back.
"To Guiche. If you say that you are sorry then he might just call the whole thing off!" She declared before dragging me off…or should I say, before I let her drag me off. I turned back to the motionless maid who was getting farther and farther away from us.
"Outer table to the northeast! Keep the tea warm!" I yelled out to her before my master yanked me further away from the poor maid.
…
"Master, really now. There is no need to get so worked up about this." I stated as Louise led me through the castle. I heard no more than a few grumbles as a response, she was clearly not going to hear any of this. I decided to stop her right there before anything else could be said or done. I planted my feet firmly on the ground, surprising my master as she recoiled from the sudden resistance. She turned back to me with an expression of anger, frustration…and worry. Ah, I see now…
"Louise, listen to me. I will not lose. I certainly will not be injured by this." I calmly stated with a raised brow.
"You-you-you don't get it do you?!" My master suddenly snapped at me before continuing.
"This isn't some commoner rabble you are about to duel with, he is a mage! You can't just expect to defeat him just because you are older than him and better built than him! Physical strength alone can never overcome magic!" I couldn't help but smile at her concern for me. I had to suppress a chuckle building up when I heard her say that physical force couldn't overcome magic. How many have said that to me over the years?
"Are you…worried?" I asked in mock confusion. I got my answer when her hand went across my face with a sharp sound. The action seemed to have hurt her hand more than my cheek as I saw her clench her hand into a fist a few times.
"What kind of mage wouldn't be worried for the safety of her familiar?" Louise solemnly stated, passion and honor. My master seemed to have more to her than I gave her credit for, perhaps a better upbringing than most of the other students here? If she isn't bi-polar then she must be a very conflicted person for some specific reason.
"Quite. Tell me, Louise…is that boy of some worth to you?" I asked her. It was not impossible that my master might be harboring feelings for that boy which is why he is adamant at making me apologize to him.
"What?! No! Guiche is a disgusting playboy!" Or not…
"Then you wouldn't terribly mind if he were to die?" I asked another question. My usual warm smile being replaced with my other usual smile, the one I use before the onset of battle. Louise flinched and backed away a half-step.
"What are you saying?" The girl asked back nervously.
"That boy was one of those who were laughing at you when you first called me to this place. I would assume that he is also one of those who have done so before in other occasions as well." I postulated. I got my confirmation when Louise turned away from me.
"I have no talent in magic…" My master supplied with. So she believes that their taunts were justified because of her lack of apparent skill at magic? Children, the whole lot of them.
"Ah yes. One of the things I intend to disprove by the end of the day." I stated before walking off in the direction where my master was originally heading to.
"What are you talking about?" She asked as she fell in step with me.
"Let me ask you again. Does Guiche deserve to die?" I calmly asked my master one more time. She gave me a puzzled and worried look before she shook her head.
"No, he doesn't." She stated simply. Rejoice, Sir Gramont! Your life is spared and you now owe it to my master. I grinned evilly as I planned my move. I thought of ways to utterly defeat the child without outright killing him.
Assert my power.
Give my master more confidence in herself.
Educate a pompous brat.
Tea and cake afterwards.
A fine day indeed.
…
"Am surprised that you actually showed up." Guiche said with a smirk as I stood twenty paces in front of him. I merely shrugged before glancing back at Louise. My master was looking on with a grim expression while clutching my parasol close to her chest. I looked around and saw that several students had arrived to see the disciplining of an upstart commoner at the hands of their peer. Among them were Kirche and Tabitha. The redhead was snickering while looking between me and Louise before saying a few words to her companion. The smaller girl did not share her sentiments and was looking right at me with focus. Was she gauging me? No matter.
"Yes, yes, the mandatory taunts before the duel, I know this already. Are you going to begin the duel or should we simply throw unpleasantries at each other?" Step one, make sure to belittle their taunts and posturing. That will make them work harder to try to humiliate you through force of power.
"So be it! Remember this day, commoner! The day that you grovel on the ground and beg Guiche the Bronze for forgiveness!" The boy declared before swinging his rose, making three petals fall to the ground. The petals glowed and three slender metal golems sprouted forth from the ground. Well crafted and instantaneous spell execution. Was the spell already laced within the rose beforehand? An interesting concept if it was so.
"These are my bronze Valkyries! They will make sure that you will never speak out of turn against a noble ever again!" He declared before doing a flamboyant pose for the crowd. The students assembled there 'ohhed' and 'aaahed' at Guiche's display. The golems are well made but they seemed to be hollow, a compromise to maintain mobility despite the weight of bronze. They didn't even look armed. I smiled at the situation, this will be like schooling little Cirno back in the day.
"Three strikes." I suddenly said, bringing Guiche out of his self absorbed posing. Step two, provide a stipulation to the battle that would normally mean complete victory for your foe.
"What?" The boy asked in confusion.
"I will allow you three strikes at me. If you do not fell me by the third, I shall begin my counterattack." I clarified. The boy stared at me for a moment before laughing.
"And what makes you think that you can even last for more than one strike? Very well! I accept!" Guiche got caught hook, line and sinker as he sent one of his golems at me. The bronze construct ran at me before delivering a right straight aimed at my sternum. The blow connected and the result was pretty much what I had expected. The metal gauntlet of the golem was completely crushed, as if it punched a solid steel door instead of a man. I stared at my foe who was in shock at what just transpired. I could hear various gasps and murmurs from the crowd.
"Strike one." I stated, making the boy flinch. It seemed that he has finally realized that this will not go as easily as he had expected. Step three, completely crush all expectations and dominate your foe to the point of despair. Those three steps were the lessons I learned when I faced the Lunarian woman, Eirin. It was a lesson I took to heart.
"How dare you!" The boy yelled out as he sent out his other two golems at me. The one I was currently facing used its remaining hand to grab into my arm and keep me detained. I smiled at the futile gesture but let it do as it pleased for now. The other two arrived and delivered a punch to either side of my head, intending to knock me out in one strike. Both hands that met my skull were crushed in the same way that the first one's hand was.
"Strike two." I reminded the boy, who was slowly backing away. He threw out five more petals and they sprouted into five golems that were armed with bronze swords.
"Guiche! You know that duels aren't supposed to be lethal! There is no need to use weapons like that!" My master screamed at the panicking boy.
"Quiet! I shall not lose!" Guiche yelled back before sending all five armed golems at me. The three who were currently with me held onto me like vices, preventing any movement from me…or so they thought. The five golems converged and swung their swords at various parts of my body.
"Yukaaaaaaaa!" I heard Louise say my name for the very first time. I smiled at her worried voice as the sword strikes connected. The result was all the same, the blades warped and snapped after hitting me. I takes a very special kind of steel to harm me now. A long time ago, bronze would have been enough to damage me, but not anymore. The entire yard was in complete silence at what just happened. They just witnessed eight bronze golems strike at me and fail miserably.
"Strike three." I calmly stated before I reached out at the golem that was hanging onto the left side of my body and grabbed its head. I proceeded to crush its bronze skull and pushed down upon the frame, making it buckle and collapse into a heap of scrap metal. I looked back to the boy, who was looking at me in terror. I closed my eyes and gave him my trademark smile before I was about to attack and he screamed in response.
"My turn." I stated through my maddened smile before I reached for the golem holding me from behind. I grabbed its neck and swung it at the golem holding to my right side, the arms of the golem behind me snapping to pieces at the joints from the action. Both golems crumpled into useless heaps of bronze before I turned my attention to the other five.
"No! No! No! Get away from me!" Guiche suddenly yelled out before dispensing more and more petals to create a wall of fifteen golems between him and me. It seemed that he finally understood the situation he had gotten himself into. Too bad, it was too late. I started to slowly walk toward him, closing the distance between us. The boy panicked and sent all of his valkyries at me. The five in front of me used what was left of their swords to try to attack me in desperation. The first one tried to thrust a broken blade at me and I used an open palm to block it. I caught the broken weapon and pushed against the golem, snapping its arm off at the shoulder. I punched through the golem's chest and lifted it up, doing the same thing to another golem with my other hand. I smashed both golems together, catching another in the middle. The three crumpled and I stepped over their metal corpses, just in time to see that the remaining two joined up with the other ten that Guche just summoned. I smiled and clenched my hands, making my bones crack, before walking toward the group.
Three charged to start. Was he trying to conserve his forces and decided to attack in waves? A suitable strategy to tire out an opponent, he knows basic military tactics. Too bad those tactics do not apply to me. I drove the point home my repeating the same move I did before, with slight differences. I grabbed the heads of the two golems who were trying to flank me and head butting the one who charged right at me, crushing its head. The two in my hands struggled to break free but I silenced them by lifting them up and smashing them down onto the third over and over again, using them like flails. I discarded the broken constructs and started forward again.
"More!" I yelled out at the boy. My word was enough to rouse the remaining seven into action and they all charged at me. I raised my arm and smashed it down onto the first, crushing its shoulder and torso like paper. I casually tossed it into another golem with a bit more force than I intended since it was enough to crush that one as well. The remaining five surrounded me and decided to bull rush me at the same time. Was that boy so stupid or was it because of panic? Regardless I simply leapt up and allowed the five to crash into each other. I dropped myself down and crushed all of them at the same time while they were still tangled together. The impact from my aerial stomp caused a small crater and kicked up some dust into the air. I swatted at the air and cleared the dust away from me in one move. I glared at my opponent who was still holding onto his petal-less rose since he spent all of them in making his golems. I took a step forward and he discarded the bare stem onto the ground on his side before he crafted a bronze sword in his hands.
"H-h-how?! You're just a commoner! How can you defeat my Bronze Valkyries so easily?!" The boy screamed at me in octaves usually reserved for women. I grinned evilly at him before I took another step forward.
"Now, now. When did I ever state that I was a commoner in the first place?" I asked before glancing at my wide eyed master then back at Guiche.
"It seems that your rose has wilted, sad. Perhaps I could help with it, yes?" I said with a smile. I closed my eyes and reached out in the direction of the discarded flower before opening my eyes again. I could feel my eyes glow red with power and I smiled. I turned my hand over and gestured upward.
"Rise." I declared and the stem that Guiche discarded erupted into a mass of thorny vines that wrapped themselves around the poor boy. The thorns dug into his arms, his legs, and his torso. I shaped my hand as if it was holding something, and I squeezed. Guiche's agonized scream was the only indication that the vines were constricting him. As if fueled by his pain and agony, several blood red roses started blooming amongst the vines.
"I will only ask this once. Do you yield, Sir Gramont?" I asked the boy before squeezing a bit harder.
"Y-y-y-e-" Guiche's answer was cut short as I made the vines squeeze a bit harder for a moment. I could keep this up all day. The boy will have several cuts and bruises but he will not die from this. It was the perfect way to make him suffer while keeping my promise to not kill him.
"Enough!" I heard Louise yell out from within the crowd. I turned around and saw my master in the verge of tears and she clutched my parasol so hard that her knuckles were going white. I glanced around to the other children and saw that they were all in anguish after witnessing what was happening to their peer, some were even outright crying. Tabitha and Kirche simply stood in silence with mouths agape, though Kirche's was wider than Tabitha's. I sighed before turning back to Guiche.
"As you wish." I stated flatly before releasing the hold the vines had on the boy. I let the magic go and the mass of thorns and roses retracted back to their origin before forming into a single beautiful red rose. The boy collapsed and Montmorency quickly ran to his side before casting what seemed to be several healing spells. I walked up to my master, making the other students back away very quickly.
"Now then, master. Tea?" I offered with my usual warm smile.
…
"What…are you?" My master asked with a meek voice. Her previous fire extinguished after the events of the duel.
"I am what is known as a youkai. In my homeland, that is the general term for fantastic creatures that usually have humanoid forms." I stated before sipping more tea.
It was half an hour after my duel with Guiche and Louise and I were currently back to our previous table, my parasol leaning on it between me and Louise. Siesta was standing behind us with a cart that had tea and snacks on it. I was sitting beside my master instead of across from her because we were no longer alone in the table.
"What is wrong, Sir Guiche? You have yet to touch your tea?" I gestured to one of the new occupants of the table. I invited Guiche and Montmorency to our table for tea with a smile after he stopped writhing in pain. The two were very wary of me at first but I assured them that I bore no more ill will towards the boy anymore. They didn't seem convinced so I elaborated that if I wanted them dead, I would have already done so. That got them on their feet rather quickly.
"I'm sorry…I am still in pain and cannot enjoy the tea as I am at the moment." He quietly said, avoiding my gaze. The discarded rose was back on his shirt on my insistence due to the fact that it was his rose and it would be a shame to leave such a nice specimen on the ground.
"Nonsense! That is no more than a scratch, I assure you!" I declared with a friendly smile before pushing the neglected cup of tea closer to the boy.
"He said that he didn't want tea!" Montmorency snapped at me with a glare, making the other occupants of the table wince. I sighed and leaned back into my chair.
"So be it. It seems to be a waste of good tea though." I commented with a smile before taking another sip.
"Why did you invite them along anyway?" Louise questioned. I looked to the sky and chuckled.
"You could say that it is tradition to have tea after a battle where I came from." I admitted. My master tilted her head to the side and gave me questioning look.
"Don't think about it too hard, you'll get a headache." I admonished her. She shook it off and drank all her tea in one swig before asking for a refill from Siesta.
"You lied to me…" Louise said in slight irritation. I raised a brow at her and gestured her to continue.
"You said that you were a common gardener. You never said that you were a powerful magical creature." She bit out with a pout. I simply shook my head and sighed.
"I never said I was a commoner, that was something you and your peers assumed. I also said that I was skilled at making flowers bloom, I just never embellished my methods or the magnitude of my skill at it. I did not lie to you." I said with a wry smile. Louise just gave me an unsatisfied grimace before sighing.
"So, a youkai is a fantastical creature right?" Louise asked in clarification, changing the subject. I nodded in response.
"Usually they are animals or items who have gained magical awareness, being reborn as a youkai. Others are simply born into the world as youkai. There are several kinds of youkai that exist and each of them are considered as monsters by humans." I explained further. Louise nodded, trying her best to understand what I was saying.
"So, what kind of youkai are you?" Siesta was the one who asked that question. I turned to her and smiled.
"I am unique. I am simply Yuka Kazami. I am the only one of my kind." I declared. I glanced at my master and saw that she had yet another expression of surprise.
"Yes, master. That means that you have summoned a powerful, one of a kind familiar." I said to her and she beamed. I continued before she could even start gushing.
"As such, it is unfair to say that my master is untalented at magic. Afterall, she summoned a powerful magical creature and not a commoner, yes?" I said to the two blondes, who nodded in agreement.
"So where did you come from then, Mister Yuka?" Siesta supplied another critical question. The girl was either very curious or she was planning something.
"I come from a realm very different and very similar from this one." I responded cryptically.
"Similar but different?" Guiche was the one who asked this time. His previous fear of me was replaced with wonder and curiosity.
"Indeed. My realm only had one moon to start with. Additionally, there was the realm I came from and the outside world--"
"Wait! Stop right there!" Louise interrupted. I looked at her and saw that she was rubbing her eyes in frustration before looking at me.
"There are two worlds on your homeland?!" She finally said, completely lost in my explanation.
"Yes and no. My realm, Gensokyo, is a hidden place on the world known as Earth. Gensokyo is surrounded by a powerful barrier that isolates itself from the rest of the world, that is why it is called the outside world." I elaborated.
"Why the secrecy? If you are as powerful as you say, then why do you need a barrier to hide yourselves from the rest of the world." Montmorency finally joined the conversation with a valid question.
"Good question. The reason why is the difference of magic between Gensokyo and the outside world. Earth developed in a very different way from your own world. After a certain point in its history, the magic in the air suddenly vanished. All magic eventually died out centuries later. Thanks to the barrier, Gensokyo was spared the same fate as the rest of the world." I explained, all four children with me gasped at the prospect of a world without magic.
"Why?! Magic doesn't just…disappear! What happened?!" Montmorency once again asked.
"I have asked the same question before, I have yet to find a good answer. Regardless, Gensokyo became the last sanctuary for all magical species that can access it. It eventually became known locally as the eastern wonderland because it was located eastward and a virtual cornucopia of magical beings." I supplied.
"Amazing…" Siesta muttered.
"So you are the strongest one there?" Louise asked with an uncertain tone of voice.
"Louise, if you knew what I have been through for the last sixteen hundred years, you would not be asking that question." I said with a smile. The little pink-haired girl gulped at the prospect of having to find out.
"Now the question becomes, why would someone as powerful as you be summoned by someone like Louise?" Montmorency asked once again. My, she's quite curious for someone who just snapped at me moments ago.
"Hey!" Louise yelled out at the blonde girl who put up her hands in defence.
"It's a legitimate question! You've never been any good at any kind of magic you have ever tried, then out of nowhere you summon a powerhouse like him as your familiar! I mean…how in founder's name does that even work?!" Montmorency yelled back. Louise flinched for a moment before glancing at me, understanding her train of thought.
"Tell me something, what are the usual criteria for summoning in this realm?" I asked. Guiche raised his hand and spoke up.
"Usually, the summoned creature fits the element of the summoner. It is the easiest way we know of to determine the element of a particular mage." Guiche supplied. It made sense. Guiche is an earth mage so he summoned a mole. Kirche has a salamander so she's fire. Tabitha summoned a drake so she must be wind. I turned to Montmorency and saw her tiny frog, water.
"Yes…that does make sense." I muttered to myself before gesturing to Siesta for a refill.
"Does that mean that I'm an earth mage? I mean, plant manipulation is earth magic right?" Louis asked Guiche, who shrugged helplessly.
"Normally, yes it would. However, Mister Yuka here should be more than the sum of his parts. After all, I cannot remember having the power to make flowers bloom to be something a powerful magical being would use." Guiche pointed out. I couldn't hold it in any further and I simply started laughing.
"I'm sorry. However, any talent…no matter how mundane, can become formidable with polish and creativity. You are correct in saying that there is more to me than that. However, I want to put things in a better perspective for you. Look around you. What do you see?" I said and the four of them looked around and responded with 'castle' at the same time.
"To be young again. No, look beyond the obvious. When you walk in a field, when you traverse a mountainside, when you go through a forest, what do you see?" I asked again with more emphasis.
"Plants." A new voice spoke up. We all turned to the source and saw that it was Tabitha and Kirche. The blue-haired girl was holding a large crooked staff, her foci of choice it would seem.
"Very good, Miss Tabitha. Tea?" I offered and she held up her hand and politely refused. I turned to Kirche and offered the same. She obliged and Siesta served her a cup. The two newcomers pulled up their own chairs and it quickly became much more crowded than it normally would be. I sat with Louise to my right and Guiche to my left while Tabitha sat next to Louise and Kirche beside Montmorency.
"Now, to elaborate on Miss Tabitha's point, you need to understand that this world is covered with plant life. It is what sustains every other life form here. Imagine the kind of power you would posses if you could manipulate them to a degree wherein you can make flowers bloom without any restrictions to size, number, or species?" I proposed and Guiche gulped at the realization.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed Louise. Your familiar is very impressive." Kirche chimed in and Louise stared at her with her mouth agape.
"What's your angle?" She quickly bit out at the redhead.
"No angle. Just giving credit where credit is due. Now if you could only apply that to regular magic." The redhead said with a smirk, beginning another bout of taunts and counter-taunts. Tabitha ignored the girls on her side and simply stared at me intently the whole time. I raised a brow at the girl but I thought nothing of the gesture, she was probably trying to figure out what I really was.
"Compatibility." Tabitha stated, making the two arguing girls quiet down.
"Excuse me?" I asked the girl.
"It's another one of the criteria for summoning a magical creature." Kirche supplied. I nodded toward her to continue.
"Aside from elemental affinity, you can also summon a creature that would be most suited for your needs as a mage. The concept is old and is superseded by the elemental affinity factor because there has been little proof of the theory in the history books. I mean, the last time a humanoid familiar was summoned was back during Brimir's time" Kirche clarified, earning looks from everyone at the table.
"You don't suggest that Louise is a mage on par with the founder do you?" Montmorency asked the redhead with an incredulous expression. I looked at Louise and saw her opening and closing her mouth while her body was as stiff as a board. Oh dear, I think her brain broke.
"Just calling it like I see it." Kirche said with a shrug.
…
When Louise went to sleep that night, she was equal parts exhausted, exalted, and embarrassed. She had offered Yuka to share her bed for the night, but the man politely refused and assured her that he had adequate means of sleeping comfortably. She truly had called out a familiar that was noble and powerful!
And when Louise slept, she dreamed of sunflowers and battle.
There was her Familiar, but it was strange. Instead of the confident and well-built man she had summoned, she saw an elegant and slender woman instead. No matter, Louise felt like giggling all the same. This was amazing! It was wonderful!
So it was when she saw her Familiar face off against countless winged beasts, demons as her mind supplied her with. Spectacular! Her noble Yuka will bring forth divine punishment to those beasts!
It was not as she had expected.
The woman, her familiar in her dream, went into a mad cackling rage and started firing countless bolts of magic at the oncoming horde. Those unlucky enough to come too close were ripped apart by her bare hands. When she saw the spray of blood rain upon the field of sunflowers, when she saw the sky become dyed black and red, when she saw the six purple wings of a being so powerful that even her familiar could not defeat it on her own, when she saw the maddened lustful anger of the one whom she had summoned, she knew for a fact that it really was a nightmare.
And so Louise dreamed of sunflowers and battle.
…
Yuka smiled at the tiny form of her master who was currently curled up into a ball in the middle of the sunflower field of Mugenkan. The Flower Master of the Four Seasons noticed strange sounds coming from the sunflower field when he entered the dream realm for the night. He approached the source and found his master sleeping amongst her flowers. Yuka's smile grew bigger when he realized what this meant.
It means that he can train Louise in the use of magic here without inflicting any harm on her actual body. Perhaps he could teach her basic Danmaku dodging techniques first.
…