Digital Flame Salamander
by Lunar Wave

The Warrior of Flame

The scene that the duo of human familiars were looking at was at least a hundred meters away from the academy. It was clear that they hadn't decided to use any form of long-transportation. There were no tire tracks to show that carriages were used, nor were there any sort of sign there were any horses. It was almost a miracle that Takuya and Saito had been able to track them down at all. Almost because Takuya had freely (and secretly) used his slightly sharpened senses to any source of heat. Being the Warrior of Flame had its perks. Saito didn't know exactly how Takuya and he succeeded in finding the girl, but that didn't seem to matter that much to him. And now the duo was waiting for the perfect chance to strike. They watched over the site, waiting and praying nothing goes wrong.

"Are you sure about this?" Saito asked his partner in crime. Takuya rolled his eyes and glared at him.

"If we don't move now, then when else should we?" Takuya drily asked, as he looked at the 3 stones in his hand. In his other hand was a torch. Saito himself had a branch about an inch in diameter and about 13 inches in length. Saito played around slightly with the branch, obviously nervous.

"But what if the girl gets hurt because we do this?"

"Better hurt and free than captured and still probably get hurt." Saito glared at him slightly.

"Fine, but if she does get hurt, I blame you."

"Well, keeping people away from you two is my job so I suppose that makes sense."

"I still don't like the fact that you, who is three years younger than me, is the one who does that job."

"I have martial arts training." Takuya pointed out though he immediately thought to himself 'makeshift martial arts training'.

"I still don't have to like it."

"Shut up, let's start the plan." Takuya growled, as he readied a rock. "Get ready to for the signal." He then ran off to get a good position. Saito sighed, as he looked at the branch he had armed himself with. He walked towards a closer position to the girl.

He remembered the time that he met the girl. He had just ran off to get away from that admittedly cute pink-haired slavedriver. He had no time to care about familiars and why the hell should he care about being essentially a slave? It was only when he realized that he was in a new world that he had actually failed at life.

Flashback

The sun had already risen, and Saito had spent that whole night, lost in the woods. He had finally found a road when he collapsed. He regretted everything he had done, but he had absolutely no clue where anything is anymore. His only hope is to find a way out. He was lost.

"Why did I not believe Takuya when he said this was a new world?" Saito mumbled.

"Are you alright?" A feminine voice spoke from behind him, he unwittingly turned his eyes towards the hooded figure that appeared, carrying an apple. Saito didn't even care about the face though. It was the apple that drew him in. It has been a while since his last meal, and he was famished. The girl chuckled slightly and passed the apple to the boy.

"Take care of yourself." She walked away from him. It took Saito a few minutes before he decided to finally bite into the apple.

"Well, she was nice." Saito mumbled, "wouldn't mind being HER familiar." And inspirations truck him now.

"OH wait! I should follow her!" He told himself excitedly, "Maybe she can point me back to the magic academy!" He practically ran in the direction the girl was going.

"Hey! Wai-…" But what he saw stopped his mouth, clamping shut in horror. It was something he only expected to see in particularly gruesome games, or wartime pictures.

Saito nearly barfed, but he swallowed it in, looking for the girl who had helped him in his time of need. Bodies of a few knighted men lay thrown around by a destroyed carriage. The earth was tossed around, as though bombs have been placed all over. In the distance, Saito could clearly see people dragging the hooded girl that he saw earlier. Saito growled, and raced after them.

Flashback End

Takuya had called him really pure and kind when he told this story to the boy, and he had only retorted that she was the first to ever show him any sort of kindness. It was afternoon by the time Takuya had found Saito, and evening, by the time they were close enough to the group to spy on them.

Saito positioned him just behind the location of the kind girl that helped him. Her back was to him, and though the hood was removed, Saito couldn't even tell what the color of her hair is due to the darkness. But he could see that she was both blindfolded, and gagged. Just a bit away, the bandits were laughing merrily, while a smug man seemed to be slightly out of place as he seemed to be trying to disassociate himself from the wild men. Saito once more looked at the girl, and specifically her hands. And now, he was struck by a bit of forboding that he didn't know what it was. It was true that he was the one who was supposed to get her bonds off, but he couldn't help but feel as if they had been forgetting something very important.

And it was then that he could see one of the men fall to the ground. He was instantly alert as the men was suddenly roaring, and the out of place man stood up from his position and reached for this really long stick. He strained his ears to make out the sounds that could be heard. And it was then that Takuya had chosen to enter the clearing.

"Oh my, did I get it?" Takuya looked blankly at the man unsure about what expression he was supposed to have at the moment. "Huh? Thought it was a rabbit. Ah well." Saito palmed his face, almost willing to just make a retort even if it ruins the plan. Takuya needs to work on his acting skills. It was clear that he wasn't even trying to act at all. The girl had clearly heard the voice and immediately began struggling, as though willing the ropes to be broken with just her frail strength. Saito looked urgently at Takuya, begging for the signal. And Takuya yawned, lifting his right hand, which was holding onto the torch.

"You brat, what the hell are you doing, throwing rocks!" The men who were guarding the girl looked menacingly as they moved forward, conveniently ignoring the girl. Saito nodded slightly.

"I saw a pretty big rabbit." The boy replied drily. "Hey, why is that girl tied up like that?" The men glared, alert to what the boy would do. The smug man stood up, his staff pointed at the child.

"I'm afraid, kid, you would have to die for seeing that." The boy sighed, as he flicked the switch and simultaneously dropping it, charging at the one that looks to be the weakest, the staffed individual. The flashlight was the signal, and it was the time for him to move. Saito lunged forward reaching for the girl.

"Yo, kind girl!" He whispered into her ear, pulling off the blindfold, "I'm here to help." It took a while before her eyes had focused enough to recognize his face, before she frantically nodded and stopped struggling slightly, allowing Saito to see the knots.

As he reached his hands towards the knots, it was then that he had a sudden realization. The knots were too tight. He needed a knife.

"Oh crap…" Saito gagged, as he looked around, hoping there was knife lying around. "OF all the things I forgot, it had to be the knife." The girl looked panicked once more, but she didn't seem to try struggling again, and her eyes were instantly roaming the area. Saito growled and pulled off her gag as well, as it was all he could do at the moment. It was too tight to unknot so he simply slid it down, to free her mouth. He continued searching when he saw in horror to see his friend getting thrown in their direction.

"TAKUYA!" Takuya looked so beaten up. Blood was flowing from various wounds on his body, made by what appeared to be knife marks. Bruises were also all over his body. But what sold it as far as Saito was concerned, was the way he looked at Saito then at the girl and back to Saito. He looked so panicked, as though the pain that his body was supposed to be feeling was non-existant.

"What the fu… Saito! Why have you not gotten that girl out of here yet!"

"I forgot to bring a knife." Takuya blanched when he heard this.

"… I knew I forgot something."

"So there was another of you huh? Pretty daring, if I say so myself." The man with a staff said nonchalantly. "But now, you both die." Ten human-sized golems stood from the ground and slowly converged towards the three. Ten + every bandit in the area seemed pretty terrifying.

"Hey! I thought only nobles have magic in this place!?" The boy cried out. Takuya gritted his teeth, reaching for a rock on the ground, while his right hand reflexively reached for his pocket.

"Clearly he's a noble." The girl behind them as she once more struggled. "Though why he would do something as uncouth as dealing with bandits to capture me is beyond me."

"Oh, your gag was removed, princess?" The man shrugged, "Well, we'll worry about that later, after I kill these brats." The golems once more tried to converge on them. The bandits looked uncaring at the situation.

"We'll leave it to you, alright? Beating up little brats is not in our job description." The men lazily yawned as well. The noble glared at them slightly and shrugged as well. This will be easy.

"Grr… I guess I have no choice." Takuya sighed, pulling out a red and black device from his pocket. A thin strip of blue appeared over his left hand. "Saito, promise to never tell anyone about this. You too, princess." Takuya growled as he cried out the words that he had longed to say since the beginning of this battle.

"Execute Program! Spirit Born!"

"What are you planning to do, Taku… What the… HELL!" For what stood in Takuya's place was not Takuya, but what could only be described as a child spawned from hell. No shirt, red pants, two broken horns, a red lion mane, and a burning tail. Five fingers on both his hands, but claw like feet. This could only be fully described as a boy from hell itself. The hellboy crouched growling. Flames covered his body.

The noble flinched at the sight, as their campfire itself started burning intensely, as though coaxed by the hellchild's presence to burn brighter. All the bandits flinched and many started running away.

Two words were uttered. Two simple words, but that was all that was needed, for the destruction to start.

"Baby Salamander" And it was then that it all began.

Flames danced in the forest. It was so surreal that Saito couldn't almost believe it. Fire, unrepentant and destructive, struck down the multitude of golems that had appeared in their midst. To see this surreal red warrior of flame destroy all those in its path was amazing. All the grass in the clearing burned away, and no matter what the noble did, the flames of the hellchild pierced through. The bandits were long gone now. They saw no reason to stay on a sinking boat.

This sight, any of the bandits that escaped, there will be many who returns to working honestly, thinking that this encounter was in a way, a punishment thrown their way by an angry god. The boy was not human, that much they agreed.

The noble stood gibbering as he threw as many rocks as he could towards the hellboy. He had long since forgone chanting long spells, as he was only a dot mage. He was not strong enough to handle this. It was only now that he had decided on his path.

"Please forgive me, Founder Brimir, I will not do harm to your descendants no further." He shakily bowed to the monster. The monster looked drily at the man and did the next best thing. He couldn't let the man stay awake, nor could he kill him. So he punched him with his burning fist, leaving a burning patch of hair on his head, which extinguished on its own after burning a decent chunk of it.

"What… the… hell… Takuya?" The monster looked at Saito and grinned, reverting back to his normal form.

"I'm Red Ranger! The Warrior of Fire!" Takuya struck a pose, and doubled up in laughter. "Now let's burn the girl out of the ropes, shall we?"

Saito looked at what used to be a bandit campsite. He picked up a dropped knife and walked back to the girl.

"… You really are a pyromaniac." All Takuya can do was grin in reply.

"Uh… what… what just happened?" The girl behind them looked baffled and slightly scared, unsure on the situation.

"Oh, hello, I'm Takuya! This is Saito, the guy you saved from dying from hunger." He nodded to him, "I'm contracted to the spirit of fire, which is what you just saw just now."

"Uh… I see…" The girl nodded as she felt the ropes tying her down fall.

"So what's your name?" Takuya asked, knowing that people who see his transformation first time would be naturally too shocked to speak.

"… Ann."

"So, Ann, do you need anything specific from that messed up carriage?" Saito asked concerned, before Ann had an unreadable face before she nodded quickly. Takuya grinned, before finally succumbing to the pain that had bowled him over a thousand times. He was only vaguely aware that Saito had caught him. By the time his concerned words were worming their ways to his ears, he had already succumbed to sleep.

The two looked at each other before nodding, "I'll take first watch." Saito offered.

"I'll be the one to take first watch, as I'll spend that time healing Mr. Takuya." Ann stretched as she walked towards the abandoned bags of the bandits, to pull out an ornate staff/scepter. "I'm also a noble, if you have not noticed. Specifically I'm a Triangle Water Mage." Saito nodded, as he looked through the bags as well, finding a long piece of rope and tying the fallen noble onto a nearby tree.

"So who is this guy?" Saito pointed at the offending man.

"No one I recognize." Ann grimaced. "Probably a fallen noble, judging by his clothes."

"Fallen noble?"

"Someone who has been stripped of his/her title as noble." Ann smiled, bemused at the fact that Saito would even ask that question.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! I only just arrived in this world just yesterday!"

This piqued Ann's interest, "just arrived? This world? Yesterday would be the day that the Magic Academy have the Springtime Summoning… Are you a familiar?"

"Yes, and so is Takuya." Saito sighed. "But as you could tell, he's smarter than me."

"If he was smart, he would've not been hurt this much. And you would've remembered to bring a knife." Ann pointed out.

"… I said smarter than me. I never said he was smart."

…

…

Ann seemed to have been having a hard time holding back her laughter. But Saito had no reason, and just straight out laughed.

"So Takuya would be a familiar of a Fire Mage, correct? He IS contracted to the spirit of Fire."

"Some girl named Zerbst." Saito confirmed.

"And you would be whose familiar?"

"A cute girl named Louise Valliere."

"Oh my! You are the familiar of my childhood friend?" Ann smiled, happy to finally have a somewhat common topic.

"Huh… You are best friends with that girl?" Saito looked shocked, at the revelation. Okay, what coincidence makes you meet like this? This kind of development is a bit too cliché, don't you think?

Ann just smiled wider. Then she frowned, as if remembering something. "But why were you all the way out here? Shouldn't you two be at the Magic Academy?"

Saito sighed, having no reason to lie, he looked at Ann would a somewhat bitter smile. "Well… I… sort of ran away."

"Why?" Saito looked at Ann to see that her face is not one of anger or disappointment, but more of a confused face.

"I… didn't want to believe it, that I was in a new world. I didn't want to. I thought that, if I just leave, then everything would be okay. I could go back and not be someone's slave."

"Slave?"

"That's how Louise seems to want to treat me." Saito grimaced. "Apparently, I'm lower than even a dog, in her opinion. But back in my world, I'm just a normal boy, from a regular family, attending school so that I can eventually help my family in turn."

"You attend school in your world?" Ann asked, "Then you MUST be quite high-class."

"Nah, it's kind of mandatory to go to school. Hell, the law practically tells us that anyone under a certain age SHOULD go to school."

"… That kind of world… I want to see it…" Ann smiled, "So… is that why you ran away? Because you are not used to being treated like that?

"Familiars are recognized as extensions of a mage." Ann informed him. "They are treated like the gifts of Founder Brimir to mages. Normally, they should be treated with care. Your case is unnatural because, one, you're human, and in many people's opinion, a commoner." Yeah, like that wasn't drilled into my skull the first time. "Two, you are Louise Francoise's familiar."

…

…

"… Uh… Ann… I think you're missing out a few details…"

Ann smiled ruefully, "It is not really my story to tell, but I guess for you to understand, I'll have to explain, I suppose. Understand that Louise Francoise has much expectations on her shoulders. She is a Valliere, who is attending school at the same time and class as their rival, the Zerbst. And she is a daughter of one of the strongest mages in Tristain, who is known for the Rule of Steel. Her two sisters are recognized to be high level mages as well."

Saito nodded, having not known these facts and can see how much pressure that would put on a person.

"Louise is, as you could say, being pressured to follow the standards placed upon her by society. It doesn't help that she can't even do any decent magic without blowing the target up."

"That explains why she didn't fly when me and Takuya were summoned. She can't use magic… But she summoned me!" Saito scowled.

"Yes, she always have set lofty goals for herself. Maybe she envisioned herself as having a dragon for a familiar, or a flame salamander from the Fire Mountains? Maybe even a Griffin?"

"I don't know about a Griffin, but I think the other two things would fit Takuya better." Saito jerked his head towards Takuya. "He sure has the element."

Ann nodded, "That's true. But maybe that is the case. A familiar shows what the strongest element of a person is, and how powerful it manifests. For example, a mole may not look much, but if it is a familiar, it shows an inherent powerful affinity for earth. In fact, I would even say one who has a mole for a familiar must have the talent to be a powerful earth mage. So what does it say about a human, whose only claim in his life is that he went to school?"

"… I don't know. What affinity would a human mean?" Saito sighed, looking at the crest on his left hand. "This is all that I understand really. I am a familiar. This is the proof that I am one. I have no idea what it means, but it looks a lot like old runic language to me. The kind you tend to see in video games."

"Is it possible for you to translate it, if it's familiar to you?" Ann pondered.

"Nah, I need an internet connection for that." Saito was starting to regret leaving his stuff at Louise's room, but at least that was it. His laptop, his pocketknife, and even a pair of binoculars are in that thing, as well as a bunch of notebooks, but it's not like he'll starve without them.

"I don't know what an internet connection means, but I suppose it comes from your home world." Ann smiled, and sighed, as she finally relaxed, her hands sore from being held out for so long. "I'm done healing Takuya."

"Great. You can rest first than we can set out when Takuya wakes up."

"I'm already awake you know…" The two people jerked their heads toward the boy.

"Oh, you are? How come?" Ann asked shocked, "How come you did not say a thing?"

"Because, as someone who holds the Spirits of Fire, to be healed by Water, is so great an insult that it makes my head ache just because." Takuya sighed. "That was the most painful healing session I've ever been in."

"I'm sorry." Ann apologized, "I did not know that there was such a thing regarding Fire Spirits."

"Nah, it's fine. Agnimon was understanding. Vritramon on the other hand… Well he's the one at fault for the headache. Damned dragon." Takuya flippantly answered.

"So you heard our whole conversation?"

"Yeah, but I saw no reason to interfere in it." Takuya shrugged. "The only thing that really made me want to ask something is that Rule of Steel thing. What is it?"

"Why don't you ask the daughter of the woman that started it all?" Ann asked, amused. "It should be fine for you to question that at least." At the nods, "So Takuya, explain your contract with the Spirits of Fire. Spirits, meaning you have more than just one." Ann pointed out. Takuya sighed nodding.

"I'm sort of the one who channels the two spirits of fire, the Human Spirit Agnimon, and the Beast Spirit, the Dragon Vritramon."

"I've heard of Agni before… isn't he the god of fire in Hinduism?"

"And Vritra would be an Asura in Hinduism, but that's not the point." Takuya growled, "I'm not particularly religious anyway. What matters is that Agnimon is the human spirit, and Vritramon is the beast spirit. Done."

"How did you get a contract to two Fire Spirits?"

"Agnimon was easy. He just sort of came to me because I apparently had the thought patterns ideal for a Warrior of Fire. Vritramon… I… it's a long story. One where my friends nearly got killed." The two nodded, deciding that it may be best that they not question further.

"Well I suppose that's expected that a human spirit would interact better to a human than a beast spirit would." Ann nodded. Takuya nodded, and noted that may be the reason Zoe had been able to control her beast spirit better. Zephyrmon certainly was more humanoid than the other Beast Spirits.

"At the very least, since I have both human spirit and beast spirit of fire, I'm known as the Warrior of Fire. That is all." It was clear that Takuya was hiding something, but they decided it best not to pry. Takuya stretched and held out his D-Scanner. "So you two, want to ride a dragon?"

""Eh?"" Both Saito and Ann echoed.

"Flying is a lot faster, than just plain walking you know." Takuya grinned. Looking at the incredulous looks, "What? I DO have a Dragon as a Spirit you know."

Ann was the first to get her voice back, "You can just freely use the spirits whenever you want?"

Saito followed immediately, "You can turn INTO the dragon?"

"To Ann, it's because Fire is Impulsive. Warriors of Fire tend to be more passionate than the other warriors after all! To Saito, I'll just show you! Beast Spirit Evolution!"

That night, a dragon flew through the sky. Three figures on its back, two of them teenagers, and one of them a trussed up adult.

Chapter End

Why did this chapter take so long? It's because I originally wrote it to be in Henrietta's POV, but it looked so bad I went into BSOD before I fixed it up to become Saito's. And I spent the most of that BSOD imagining a crossover of Touhou Project and Naruto, just because I can (will probably never appear in FFdotNet but oh well). So yeah, sorry if this was long coming yet too short. Also… I'm highly dissatisfied with how I delivered the fight scene. It looked better in my thoughts.

Have I ever mentioned that Henrietta is my favorite character in Zero no Tsukaima? No? Well, now I have.

This will be the first story I updated in a while, simply because this was the only one that was easy enough to make. For anyone who have read and was looking forward to XPotF, the current being written chapter is just a filler, so I'm saying sorry in advance.