Note: I do not own Familiar of Zero or Rave Master, and I am only borrowing the ideas from said wonderful works, as well as others I might end up using, for entertainment purpose only.

A young woman with strawberry pink hair was travelling on a ship. However, this ship was no ordinary ship.

It was a flying ship, one that travels not only by sea but also by air...

A flying 'pirate' ship.

She was voyaging together with her fellow crewmates. They were called Silver Rhythm, an infamous band of 'honorable thieves' in Song Continent, as they only steal from the corrupt and the evil and give what they take to the needy, somehow similar to Robin Hood and his merry men, but merrier than they will ever be.

They were thieves, not heroes, but their heart is in the right place.

At the moment, she was the one in charge of the operation, as the captain was presently visiting their friends who live at Garage Island.

In truth she was just an honorary member of the band of thieves.

She was infamous in her own right, a phantom thief managing to rob items of great value and extremely high security, but since she was close friends with the gang and had known them for over a decade, she went with them whenever they ask for a favour.

After all, her magic gave her the ability to unlock and unseal locks that are protected by powerful magic. She has been found to be quite proficient in the art of burglary, her abilities surpassing even the captain of the group who is a Silver Claimer.

Once she decided to steal something, consider it stolen.

After breaching top-level security measures, they managed to successfully get their hands on the goods that were in the hands of the greedy and undeserving, beating up and punishing said unscrupulous individuals while they were at it before giving away the majority of the loots to the poor and the needy, leaving just enough for themselves.

Silver Rhythm had struck once again, and on record time to boot.

The girl could not wait to see the look on the Captain's face when he got back and found out his record for the fastest heist has been broken.

Such a pity she would not get to see it though, as the next thing she knew, she was standing in a distantly familiar room, a classroom, where faces from a distantly familiar past were staring at her with mocking and ridicule.

And so her dream ends.

And a new journey thus begins...

If one can consider it as such...

Chapter 1

One day. It had been one day since it happened. One miserable day since Hiraga Saito, an average seventeen year old second year high school student made the stupid mistake of letting his curiosity get the better of him and touched a floating green oval, one which pulled him into another world where he was bound to serve a rude and oppressive aristocrat.

Yes, she. Hiraga Saito had the misfortune of being summoned as a familiar by a mage named Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, a girl who most certainly did not deserve the cute look she was born with.

If Saito could help it, upon knowing what she was like, he would have wanted to do nothing more with her.

Unfortunately, in this new world, much as Saito hated to admit the fact, she was his only hope, and, though it was only slightly, the only one who gave even the slightest damn about him.

So here he was, trying his best to endure the mistreatment and discrimination his 'master' was subjecting him to.

No matter what, he would do his best to stay alive in the hopes that someday, he would be able to go home.

And for him to be able to stay alive, he needed to have, at the very least, a proper meal.

'I'm starving,' was the first thought that entered Saito's mind.

His breakfast was only made of a very small piece of bread and some soup. Not nearly enough for a healthy young teenager to maintain his energy.

It was almost lunchtime, yet he wasn't looking forward to it, not when all he would receive were scraps that could hardly satisfy even a lowly mouse.

He may not be that quick-quitted, but even someone like Saito had already managed to catch on: he was in a world where non-magical folk were considered as low class and thus discriminated.

Commoners, that was what they were called, though because of his personal circumstances, he was probably in an even worse position.

Saito, having lived in the free country of Japan does not consider himself a commoner. However, not only is he considered a commoner in this system because he could not cast magic, he was also a familiar, in other words, a lowly animal.

With all these strains, Saito was barely able to keep his temper in check. The only reason why he had not yet lashed out at his master was because of her cute face, something which was quickly losing its appeal.

Thankfully though, Saito managed to find a weak spot on his 'master.'

Zero. Having constantly heard other people calling her that, Saito had been wondering why she was called by that name.

A couple of hours ago, during his first sit-in with an magical class, Saito found out exactly the reason why she was called a zero.

Zero talent. Zero success rate. Apparently, Saito's summoner did not have any skill as a mage, failing every single spell she tries to cast and was bound to end up in an explosion like it recently had.

Though Saito's body was tired after having to clean up the mess his master made when her transmutation failed spectacularly, he thought that the experience was worth it.

With all that mistreatment from Louise, there was no way Saito could keep quiet about her new-found weakness.

He started teasing Louise like there was no tomorrow.

"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it~ That's just perfect~ Rate of success is zero. But a noble despite that... wonderful!"

Louise didn't say a word, which only encouraged Saito to continue what he was doing.

Bitter-sweet revenge. Now he had something to get back the girl with. It was not much, considering all things that happened, but for now Saito was satisfied.

"Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Transmutation! Ah! Kaboom! Oh, I screwed up! Only 'the Zero' screws this up!"

Saito danced circles around Louise like this, raising his arms every time he said kaboom, mimicking an explosion.

It was quite a detailed performance.

Such a pity that the intended audience was no longer paying him any attention, though Saito did not notice it.

"Mistress Louise. This humble familiar has made a song for you."

Saito continued his tirade, bowing his head in mock respect. Not eliciting a response, Saito began to sing.

"'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case. A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl...'"

Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.

"Bwahahaha- whoa!"

His laughter, however, was quick to fade the moment he saw Louise pointing her wand at him.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?"

Yes, Saito knew now that Louise is unable to cast magic properly. However, even he knew how dangerous explosions were. Though no one was killed or badly injured by the one she recently caused, Saito highly doubted that would be the case if the failing spell was directly cast at him. The pebbles, which were the magic's intended target, were nowhere to be seen, likely to have been blown to smithereens.

Saito most certainly did not want to be blown to smithereens.

Oh crap!

Instinctively, Saito moved his body sideways to dodge the girl's spell.

He was too late.

A flash of light and then... nothing

Huh?

There was no explosion. No kaboom. No nothing, aside from a bit of pain.

Or so Saito thought.

"Fufufu..."

Until Louise started giggling.

"Ahahahaha!"

Which soon turned into a full blown laughter.

"What's so funny?" Saito demanded.

"You!" The girl exclaimed pointing at him.

"Me?!"

"Yes, you! Why don't you look in a mirror and see for yourself?"

Reluctantly following her advice, Saito did just that and approached a human size mirror at one side of the classroom...

And found himself staring at a horrible sight.

"My face! What did you do to my face?!" Saito screamed in horror, as he saw the transformation. The skin of his face had become green. His ears had become somewhat pointed but worse of all, his front had been elongated, razor sharp te- no fangs, protruding from it.

He now resembled one of those villains he had seen in American cartoons.

"Oh? I turned you into a crocodile. Well, I did not succeed completely but... Ahahaha! I must say that face suits you!"

Louise fell to the floor laughing as she clutched her stomach.

Saito was seething. A few moments before he was the one feeling amused at poking fun at her.

Now she had the tables turned on him.

"Turn me back."

At this point in time, Saito was starting to no longer care that the girl was his only hope in this kami-forsaken world. Now she was really getting on his nerves.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said turn me back!"

"Say the magic word."

That does it!

Unable to take anymore, Saito was just about to jump the girl and make her pay when...

"Hey." Said Saito, forgetting about his anger at the moment.

"Hmmm?" The girl responded, and while she was no longer laughing, the glint of amusement was still present in her eyes.

In truth, Saito was just an average teenager. He was not exactly the brightest of minds and was actually on the slow side of things.

"Who are you?"

However, even someone like him, though it would take a while, would notice when something was off.

"Who am I? I'm Louise Valliere, the girl who summoned you. Don't tell me you've already forgotten my name Saito..."

Oh ri... wait, what?! Did she just call me by my name?

Now Saito knew that something was definitely messed up with this picture. As far as he could tell, the girl held little to no respect for him at all. Heck, she considered him as little more than a dog or cat, perhaps even less.

"...By the way, if you keep looking where I think you're looking I'm going to pluck your eyes out." The girl Louise said sweetly.

"Oh sorry!" Saito averted his gaze from the girl on reflex, a blush on his cheeks as he realized that his eyes had somehow locked themselves on her skirt, before forcing his mind to resume its function.

"Good. I'm glad we've come to an understanding."

Why, why was it, why was she not only calling him by his name instead of 'familiar' or 'commoner', but was also seemingly embarrassed and angry that he had been looking at her underwear when just the night before she considered him as too dumb and too beneath her to be even considered a male?

That aside, the girl supposedly was not even able to cast any magic, yet what she had done to his face was certainly successful.

Then again, this is more like a curse than a spell, and curses might work for someone like her, thought Saito grimly.

Just as he was about to try and question the girl further, a bell suddenly rang.

"Oh, it's lunchtime!" Louise said, as she got up from the floor and onto her feet, a carefree expression on her face.

Saito just stared at her dumbfounded, unsure of how he should act. Just when he thought he got the girl all figured out her tone and personality had undergone a drastic change.

Is this her way of getting back at me? Some kind of reverse psychology trick to throw me off? If not, does that mean she's suffering from some sort of personality disorder? Having known people in his school who had snapped and gone haywire, if what Saito had seen so far was what Louise had to deal with on a daily basis, that was definitely a possibility.

For a moment, Saito almost felt sympathy for his 'master,' as he thought of what she had to endure every day.

But then, upon remembering all the mistreatment he had been receiving from the first moment he had arrived here, as well as the fact that she was responsible for his current predicament, any notion of pity he had completely vanished.

Why should I care anyway? It's not as if she had done anything to earn my respect, Thought Saito bitterly, the anger and resentment washing over him, as he followed Louise out of the classroom.

Only for her to stop by the door, turn around and pointed her wand at him.

"Hey, what d-" but Saito was unable to finish his statement as he felt something hit him square in the face.

"What was that for?!" Saito demanded, his anger mixed with nervousness. Having a girl whose spells explode point their wand at you is not exactly a comforting thought.

Though it was a needless worry.

"I turned your face back to normal. Can't have you walking around looking like that now can we? Now come, it's time for us to eat."

"Oh, right," said Saito sheepishly, as he followed Louise out of the classroom, his stomach growling, feeling too hungry to care about anything else at the moment aside from food.

Though the rations he was given was little better than a dog's, Saito, recalling that countless people in his world did not even have anything to eat and died of starvation...

I suppose it's still better than nothing...

xxxXXXxxx

"Hey, Louise, can I ask you a question?"

"Something wrong?"

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just being generous to a commoner. Now unless you want me to withdraw my generosity, familiar, I suggest you stop pestering me and just focus on eating."

"..." Wisely, Saito decided to shut up.

Still, even then, the boy from Japan could not help but wonder at the strange behaviour the girl Louise was exhibiting.

Now that they were in the presence of other people, Louise seemed to have gone back to her usual haughty and indifferent attitude.

And yet, while her voice was stern and commanding, she was actually being nice to him.

For some reason, the girl Louise, instead of proceeding to the dining hall, went to the kitchens instead, where she requested the staff to give her and Saito some food.

Being a noble, Louise was easily able to persuade them, and thus Saito finally managed to have a decent meal, the two of them seated by a table that where he was somehow hidden from view by one of the pillars supporting the building.

More importantly, what Saito was given was not the scrapes he had that morning, but real food.

I guess Louise probably does not want the other nobles to see her being nice to her familiar, concluded Saito. But still, it doesn't make any sense. I mean last night we're all alone and she was treating me like garbage.

Not that I'm complaining but something's definitely fishy, Saito could not help but stare at Louise suspiciously.

His line of thought however was interrupted by a nearby commotion.

xxxXXXxxx

"Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"

By a table that was located a few seats from where Saito located, a small commotion was presently in progress.

Guiche Gramont, the son of General Gramont, had been caught two-timing. And as a result, he was humiliated in front of his friends and onlookers, getting two painful slaps on the face, one each from Katie and Montmorency, the girls he was cheating on, as well as had colored perfumed poured over his head in an embarrassing fashion.

His pride hurt, Guiche needed a way to vent his frustration.

And what better way than to use one of the servants as an outlet?

It was obvious that Guiche was the one at fault.

"Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"

"I-I, I'm very sorry sir!"

The eleven year old servant boy who had picked up the precarious item and gave it to Guiche with good intention was trembling in fear and on his knees, bowing before the noble and apologizing for an offense he never committed.

However, no matter how much in the wrong a noble is, if it is against a commoner, the noble is always right. If a noble accused a commoner of something, it is always deemed to be true even if it is untrue.

"That's right, commoner, you should know your place."The boy Guiche stated with a smirk, as he continued to 'gracefully' step on the head of the servant who was grovelling beneath his feet.

The boy's fellow servants could only look on in pity, unable to do anything to help no matter how much they wanted to, while the mage's noble friends joined in on the fun.

A commoner simply cannot stand up to a noble that is a belief that everyone in the Alviss Dining Hall shared.

Well, maybe not all of them.

xxxXXXxxx

Those bastards!

From his seat, Saito gritted his teeth in fury. He had seen everything transpire from the beginning, from when the boy picked up the bottle and returned it to its owner to present, and thus knew full well that the boy was innocent.

Yet now the boy was being blamed for something which he did not do.

Saito never really gave a damn about the nobility crap they were spouting, and what was happening was nothing short of bullying and child abuse.

This did not sit well with Saito.

"That's it!"

Unable to take anymore, the Japanese stood up, the wooden chair he was sitting on falling to the floor with a loud clatter, ready to pounce at the flamboyant fop for his actions.

"Kyaaa! Watch out!"

Then a loud crash was heard as Saito saw something collide with the flamboyant fop.

The next thing anyone knew, Guiche and his cronies where all sprawled on the floor.

The sudden noise created had all the heads in the dining hall turn towards its direction.

Apparently something crashed into them with such force that they were knocked off their feet, like pins struck down by a bowling ball.

"What in the Founder's name?!"

"Man, that hurt!"

"Ow, my poor backside!"

And as for what exactly served the purpose of a bowling ball.

"What the hell?" The douche bag Guiche demanded angrily. "What do you think yo- OOOF!"

Whatever Guiche had to say, however, died down his throat as a fist landed on his face.

"Kyaaaaaaa!"

"Hey wait a—AAARGH!"

Then a foot landed on that spot where the sun don't shine, which made a number of the males who were watching wince.

"Hey isn't that..."

"What's she doing?"

"Oh, Founder!"

"Pervert! How dare you put your filthy hands on me!" A female scream was heard, as its owner continued to pummel the rose egotist to the ground.

"Zero's gone crazy!"

"Somebody call a teacher!"

In the sight of many, there was Louise, beating the crap out of Guiche and his minions.. They were trying their best to hold her down from her rampage, to no avail.

It was a sight that brought shivers down the spines of onlookers.

It is a known fact in the school that Louise was a failure at magic and because of it everyone looked down on her.

At this point in time though, even though they would soon forget, even though they would go back to teasing her again once things settle, none of them, not even her worst harassers, would want to mess with Louise the Zero.

When teachers finally arrived at the scene, the damage done was already devastating. Guiche and his little gang were all lying beaten on the floor at various angles.

"Get off me you lecherous fiends! Get off me!"

Though how she could say 'get off me' with a straight face when she was standing on top of the beaten and unconscious bodies is definitely a mystery.

Kami, I feel like I'm watching one of those female gangster movies!

Saito could not help but gulp, he himself feeling fearful at what he had just witnessed. Though he had several suspicions now about his 'master', who was currently being dragged away, screaming all sorts of profanities about how she was being molested, there was one thing he was certain of.

Having seen the sorry and bloody faces of the fop and his cronies before they were dragged away, whether his theories were true or not, if he ever pissed Louise off, Saito knew it would mean the end for him.

With his mind showing him images of such a scenario, he almost jumped in fright when he felt something tugging at his sleeve.

"Umm, excuse me sir?"

"Yes?" Saito asked, managing to regain his comp composure.

"Here is your cake, sir."

"Oh, thank you." Said Saito gratefully as he received the piece of cake from the boy who immediately scurried off to give the same dessert to the other occupants of the hall.

Wait a minute...

Saito's eyes widened.

Don't tell me...no, there's no way that girl would do something like that.

The raven-haired teenager shook his head.

There must be some kind of mistake.

xxxXXXxxx

The rest of the afternoon was spent by Saito in the kitchens, helping out the staff in their duties, like fetching water from the fountain, chopping wood and cleaning dishes, as per the instructions of his master which was left behind in a note that was dictated to him by one of the maids.

While Saito could understand verbal speech due to the miscast silencing spell, he was still unable to read the local language.

Now Saito would normally protest at being made to do such tasks, not because he could not do them, but because of the discrimination factor that was still fresh in his mind despite the better treatment.

However, since he was in an area where everyone was working diligently, even without Louise's orders, he decided to help out as best as he could. After all, it would not be too good for his image, especially his personal assessment of himself, if he just stood by and watched while everyone around him was busy with their respected tasks.

Saito did a good job when he put effort into it, and his quiet attitude and lack of complaint while doing tasks earned him the approval of the staff.

It's probably why she thought making me work in the kitchens is a good idea, thought Saito grudgingly. He had to admit, the guilt trip method is quite effective.

The rest of the time he spent pondering about many things, about his home, about his friends and family who are definitely worried about him and how to get home... as well as the strange behaviour the one who summoned him was exhibiting.

From the information he got from overhearing the students talking, the six 'molesters', the douche Guiche included, that Louise had beaten up got sent to the infirmary, all of whom were suffering from fractured bones and ribs. As for Louise herself, she was supposed to be doing detention and since she did not show up for dinner, she was probably doing her punishment.

Being the most recent of the incidents, as well as Saito being a curious person by nature, the strange behaviour of Louise is what Saito thought about the most and in his musings he had come up with several possibilities that seemed to make sense.

However, if there was one thing that Saito understood, it was that...

'She's late.'

It was ten o'clock in the evening and at present, Saito was in Vestri Court, waiting for the girl to arrive. After asking help from one of the kitchen staff to lead him here, since Saito could not read the note, he had finally managed to get to the designated area ahead of their scheduled time of meeting.

They were supposed to meet at eight.

Two hours had passed since the designated time, but she was still nowhere to be seen.

Then Saito heard footsteps on the grass.

'Finally,' Saito thought with a sigh, concluding that the footsteps belong to her. While he may be new to this school, the fact that no one had even gone near Vestri Court in the past while meant it could have only been one person.

And there she was, the girl who had set up this little rendezvous, her eyes hidden from view by her long pink hair.

Having forgotten his position, as well as everything that transpired so far due to the irritation he felt, Saito snapped at the girl.

"What took you so long? It was freezing out here!"

"Sorry about that, the penalty I was given for my actions took longer than I thought it would. I haven't even had dinner yet."

Now the irritation Saito felt was fading, slowly being replaced by guilt.

"But that is of no consequence. Right now, there is an important issue we need to fix."

Saito blinked. "Important issue?"

The girl Louise nodded. "But before that, I want to ask you a question. Tell me Saito, what did you have for dinner?"

Saito was puzzled. Why of all things would the girl ask about what he had for supper?

"It was just some pasta." Said Saito nonchalantly, though that was an understatement. Though he was still surprised that they had it here, the spaghetti Saito had eaten was the most delicious one he had ever tasted, but better than the versions he head eaten from fast food. That aside, the dessert and drinks accompanying it was also of high quality.

"Did you enjoy it?"

Now Saito was even more confused. Why was she asking these kind of question?

Still, Saito decided to respond. "Yes."

"I see," said the girl quietly.

Suddenly Saito felt a chill run up his fine, and suddenly he felt much colder.

The way she says it... it's as if she's implying that that meal was supposed to be my last sup...?!

"H-hey, L- I mean Master?"

Saito started taking steps backwards, slowly backing away from the girl who was now emitting a faint white glow.

"I'll explain it to you in simple terms," the girl Louise stated as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the trembling young man. "Your services as a familiar are no longer needed."

The raven-haired boy's eyes widened in terror as he saw an orb of light forming at the tip of Louise's wand. As for what he was thinking at the precise moment, it could be summed up in one word.

Crap.

"Explosion."

xxxXXXxxx

Once upon a time there was a girl who fell into depression.

This girl was a noble, grew up with high pedigree, but could not keep up with the standards of nobility because of one simple reason: one of the requirements of being a true noble is the ability to cast magic.

And the girl, sadly, could not pass that requirement. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how diligently she studied, even though she put her heart and soul into it, she could never cast a spell properly. Whenever she tried to use magic, there were only two results to expect.

One, nothing would happen.

Two, it would end with the signature result: an explosion.

Perhaps, if she had been part of a loving family, she would not have such a problem.

Sadly, her family was not a normal loving family.

Even among the nobility, each family have their own rules and traditions that they follow. However, despite the differences, they can be classified into two groups.

Nobles who are people first before they are nobles, and nobles who are nobles first before they are people.

Her family belongs to the second group.

Her father was a Duke before he was a father.

Her mother was Duchess before she was a mother.

Her sisters were nobles before they were her sisters.

Upholding nobility takes priority over love and affection.

A priority that takes up so much of the time that there was no longer any time for the latter.

Thus was the inevitable result.

In the end they had never been a family.

They were simply nobles living under the same roof.

Unconsciously the girl was blaming herself for it. If only she was not a failure in magic. If only she were a proper noble, maybe, even if just a little, there would be an opening.

Maybe, just maybe, there would have been time, no matter how short, for them to do things a normal family did instead of talking about her failure.

When it comes to material things, the girl had basically everything and more. Luxuries only the wealthy could afford were available in heaps.

But the one thing she wanted, the love of a mother and father, was something which she never had.

Except in her dreams.

Even in the country of Tristain, a country in the Continent of Halkegenia dreams have hardly been considered as important.

The country is in a world with magic just like the other one, yet surprisingly enough, despite this fact, dreams are usually explained in non-magical terms.

True, there are many beliefs about dreams such as that it is a sign of what is to come, but even religion considers said belief as nothing but superstition. According to what they considered as fact, dreams are simply nothing more than thoughts and ideas that randomly pop up in a person's mind when they slumber.

Yet there was one person who knew the truth, or rather, had an experience that certainly cannot be classified as an ordinary dream.

Though in her heart the girl truly wished...

That the dream was reality.

And reality was the dream.

Unless of course, reality was the dream.

And the dream was reality.

Because in all honesty.

She could no longer tell which is which.

Perhaps both of them were dreams.

Perhaps both were also reality.

But if there was one thing she was sure of.

The world she had recently woken up into.

Is not where she wanted to be.

Even though that world was not all butterflies and daisies.

Even though in that world she also experienced grief and sorrow.

Even though in that world she was not high class as she was in this one, and was in fact quite the opposite.

Still in the end, that is the world where she wanted to be.

Someday, somehow, she will find a way back to that place... back to them.

But for now, she needed to be patient,.

And as for dealing with him, the young man who had been caught up in a fate similar to her own, a fate that she was unintentionally responsible for...

She knew that what she was doing.

Was what needed to be done.

xxxXXXxxx

To be continued...

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Alright, this is the first chapter for another Familiar of Zero Crossover Fic, Moonlit Reflection, Now this fic is mainly a FoZ fic crossed over with Rave Master.

Now, I am not really a fan of canon Louise, nor am I fan of canon Saito. However, in this fic, I will try to throw my dislike for the latter and have him as the main character alongside Louise.

Yes, the Louise in this fic is different from canon Louise due to her experiences which will be slowly elaborated as the chapters progress. I don't really like following the canon storyline either so many things will be different, very different.

Yep, explosions as they are have always been underestimated and in canon they are usually used for comic relief. As a bit of spoiler though, in this fic, the supposed 'failure' spell until the Founder's Prayer Book in canon will not be such. There will be light moments in this fic, but per respect to the many characters out there from Naruto (Deidara), Rave Master (Shiba, Haru, Shuda), Fairy Tail (Azuma, Mirajane, many others) and other characters that use explosions, I will try to avoid using it for comic relief.

That's all the information I will reveal for now though, don't want to spoil it too much.

All hail Explosions!

But enough about that for now...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then people...