Disclaimer: Do not own Negima.
Impulse fanfiction is what I'm trying to do right now. Quick one-shots and simply filling in chapters is a good way to start getting productive. This one will either end up being Negi/Setsuna or Negi/Konoka even if it starts off as Negi/Asuna; it's possible that it'll end up as something other combination though. Some Setsuna/Konoka to disprove some people who think I dislike the coupling. I really enjoy most of the pairings both canon and crack.
-Unknowingly-
"So that's review from the past 3 chapters, any questions?" Negi grinned at class 3-A, another year full of hectic mayhem and unbelievable scenarios. "Well then it seems everything is in order! Class is over!" Cheers and giggles ran through the classroom as the girls started shuffling their belongings together and leaving.
Unbeknownst to Asuna, the previously-ten-now-eleven mage watched her with nervous eyes and rose tinted cheeks. He made no motions to get her attention as he just stood there and she smiled at him, bidding him a good day until they saw each other later. After she left the classroom Negi started to breathe again, not knowing that he had held his breath the entire time.
He laid his hand over his heart and could feel it thumping, a small trickle of sweat graced his forehead as he could do nothing but wonder why he was feeling like this. Gathering his own things he left the classroom in a sort of haze his thoughts constantly on the brief interlude that occurred between him and Asuna.
He got home, shoes off, books away, poured himself a glass of water, went to his futon and sat there while nursing his drink. He hoped that this was simply a one-time deal because if he felt like that around her all the time he didn't know what he would do. Deciding to shrug it off as just an off day he decided that an afternoon nap would do him just the trick.
Negi awoke a few hours later and was greeted by the sound of cooking. "Mmm, that smells delicious," his mouth watered slightly from the delectable dinner being cooked. "Ahh, hello Negi-sensei, how are you this evening?" Konoka cheerfully greeted him while stirring her pot.
"I'm doing fine Konoka-san, that smells really good!" She beamed at his praise, "Thank you, could you get Setsuna-chan and Asuna-san please?" busying herself with the stir-fry and setting the dishes. He nodded curtly and decided to start in the living room. He was about to search the other rooms before he heard a thud in the back of the dorm.
Rushing out back he found Asuna sprawled on the ground and Setsuna with her sword hovering close to her neck. A swift back flip followed by a swipe of the sword only to be countered into a sword lock. Negi's heart filled with pride as he saw his two students grow and become extremely gifted warriors he couldn't help but clap his hands at the sight.
Both participants in the spar were puzzled at the clap and turned their necks to see their teacher applauding them. Blinking at each other they began to giggle and withdrew their weapons back into their cards. "Good evening, Negi-sensei," they both greeted him at the same time.
"Ah, no need to be so formal," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at the honorific, "we're not in class ya know." Asuna walked up to him and ruffled his hair, "but it's so fun to call you sensei, besides you should want to be called sensei since you are ten years old," Negi just looked at her with a face of slight awe when he started to blush and then corrected her, "eleven now."
"You'll always be the ten-year-old teacher to us Negi-sensei," Setsuna commented in. She smiled fondly before she too ruffled his hair and walked in while being trailed by the other two. Dinner was a small affair as everybody kneeled or sat around the table enjoying the meal and praising Konoka's cooking. There was something else going on as well however.
Konoka and Setsuna both noticed that Negi was glancing at Asuna occasionally and he seemed to be in a turmoil of sorts. He blushed and seemed to choke up slightly when he looked her way. They glanced at each other and nodded with an understanding that could only come from very close friends.
"So how was your day Asuna?" Negi asked as casually as he could without trying to make it obvious that he was nervous. "Hmm, there wasn't much to do today. Kinda strange considering what we usually go to right?" she chuckled at her own small joke causing Negi to tense up from her melodic voice.
"Although I saw Takahata-san today, and he agreed to a lunch tomorrow! Isn't that great!" she clapped her hands together in excitement, "Yeah it sounds great," Negi, replied hoping that Asuna didn't catch the fake enthusiasm that came from his voice. She didn't, so things simply continued on as they normally did that night.
At the end of the meal Asuna bid them well and retired to her room to study and then sleep. Setsuna was about to gather up the dishes before Konoka stopped her, "Why don't you take a break and I'll get Negi-sensei to help me okay?" she winked at her and Setsuna nodded in understanding.
Picking up the plates the two of them heading to the sink while Konoka washed the dishes by hand and Negi dried and racked them. "So Negi-sensei, how have you been lately?" Konoka asked as innocently as she could. "Well, I've been doing fairly well. How about you?" she just nodded.
"Say Negi-sensei, how old are you again?" she sweetly inquired, "Eleven now, you were at my birthday weren't you?" he cheekily retorted back. "Of course I was, I baked your cake." Sticking her tongue out at him he playfully stuck his tongue out back at her. "You've noticed haven't you," Negi asked out of the blue catching Konoka off guard.
She meekly nodded and he sighed though both didn't stop cleaning the dishes, "I didn't want to bring it up while Asuna was there." He nodded; it would have been quite a situation to try to explain to Asuna. "So when have these 'things' started happening," Konoka asked as casually as she could try to make the situation as least awkward as possible.
"Today," a one-word answer left his lips. She could do nothing but feel a sort of pity for the boy, he was eleven and he was already having these feelings she didn't have until lately. It was hard enough to understand it at fourteen let alone eleven. "Do you know what they are?" she asked making sure that her confirmations were correct.
He stopped drying the dishes and looked out the window for a moment before having his eyes stray down to his hands. She stopped washing the dishes and they both stood there for a moment before he gave a slow shake of the head. "Do you have an idea of what they are?" she hoped that she wouldn't have to explain these emotions he probably had, it was already hard enough having this conversation.
Not that she minded talking to Negi; it was very much the opposite usually. He was quite an amiable and friendly person to talk to. Who wouldn't want to talk to a charming and brave boy who did everything in his power to make sure that everyone succeeded and given second chances to right their wrongs?
He hesitantly nodded his head, "I think I know what they are, but I'm still not sure," he seemed like a lost child in a thick fog. Which was what he essentially was, a child but lost in the haze of emotional confusion as opposed to a fog. "Maybe you should talk to someone else about these feelings you have," Konoka carefully chose her words to avoid freaking out this delicate situation.
Negi could only blush, as the thought of sharing his inner most thoughts were foreign to him and quite embarrassing now that he thought about it. "Whom would I talk to?" he questioned to Konoka. "Hmm, Setsuna-chan may give you something. Why don't you go ask her right now, I'll finish up everything myself." He was about to protest but she just shoved him out of the kitchen and went straight back to washing and drying.
He drudged towards the living room where Setsuna was and found her reading ahead a few chapters on their current assignment. "It's nice to see a student of mine so diligent," he smirked at her quite caringly. She flushed a little at the admiration, "ah, it's nothing much Negi-sensei, it's to make sure I don't fall behind incase we go off on another adventure."
"Well it's good that you're doing it anyways," he sat down next to her while she looked a little quizzical as to why he was there. "Do you need something sensei?" she asked oblivious as to what he was going to ask her. "Uh… erm… I don't know exactly how to put this," he grew a little silent and was in a bit of deep thought.
If it was enough to make him become this pensive it must be important, "go ahead sensei, if you need to tell me something important I'll keep it a secret." He smiled his signature leader-smile and looked down at his lap before opening his mouth. "Lets say, I have this friend, and this friend is a girl."
Setsuna could only nod, unsure where this was going but was going along with it. "Lets say one day out of the blue, I see this friend and I can't breathe right and start to redden up a little," he was starting to say things in a rush clearly flustered at the words that were escaping him.
"What do you think of these things I'm feeling and should I do something about them?" He turned his head to find Setsuna completely red-faced and flailing her arms around like a mad man. "Why would you be asking me something like this sensei!" she was utterly confused at this point, wondering if it was someone she knew… or maybe herself!
"Konoka-chan suggested that I talk to you," that made it even worse! Maybe Konoka didn't recipiate her feelings, but did she even know about these feelings she harbored for her? Maybe she wasn't subtle enough with her actions and they were glaring. A cough interrupted her very digressive train of thought snapping her back to reality.
"Sorry sensei," Setsuna apologized bowing her head slightly. "No it's fine, I was just wondering where your head was for a second," chuckling a sweet voice at her caused her cheeks to redden even more. "That's mean sensei!" she giggled at her own childishness, "I'm your teacher, I can laugh at you whenever I want!" he took on a mocking stance of false maturity.
"No! I don't wanna be picked on by mah teacher!" Setsuna mimicked the sound of a young baby girl, "Setsuna-chan should know that this teacher would never pick on her," caring eyes looked upon her as he patted her head slightly causing her to catch her breathe from the contact.
"Looks like you two are having fun without me," Konoka's voice echoed through the room as she took a seat to the left of Negi while Setsuna was to his right. "So has he told you the details?" Setsuna could only cock her head in questioning before shaking her head.
"Well…" Konoka leaned closer and started whispering in her ear and Negi watched in mild amusement and anxiety as he watched Setsuna's eyes grow wider and wider until finally he thought they were just going to pop out. "So it's about Asuna-san is it?" Setsuna asked with a sly grin that made Negi squirm a bit.
"Setsuna-chan, stop making Negi-sensei more uncomfortable then he already is!" Konoka mildly scolded Setsuna causing her to blush slightly but her grin was still there and it was still directed towards him. "What are you going to do about these 'maybe real' feelings?" Konoka asked whole-heartedly with a lot of concern towards her teacher.
"I've thought about them for a little bit, and I think for now it's best to leave them alone, who knows maybe they're just a temporary thing and by next week they'll be all gone." He nodded to himself in a way a person did to convince him or herself when they weren't sure about something.
"That's no way to go about it sensei, when you feel these maybes you have to nurture them into something more," Setsuna spoke with the style of a sage, like she had gone through some of these things herself. "Why that's wonderful advice to give Negi-sensei!" Konoka greatly praised Setsuna causing her to blush. Maybe she had gone through some of this herself.
"But what should I do now?" he seemed desperate trying to figure out some solution to his conundrum. Setsuna and Konoka looked at each for the umpteenth time that day and nodded to each other again. "We'll help you Negi-sensei!" they chorused at the same time both with enthusiasm and cheer.
Negi was a little taken back with their rambunctiousness but then started to grin. "Thanks girls, I just know that with your help we'll figure something out to my problem." So they all sat there in a circle chatting about how they were going to help Negi win Asuna's affections.
Though unbeknownst to all three of them, Asuna was just outside the living room on the edge of the stairs listening intently after what had just happened. "Negi…" she whispered to herself, did he really feel that distraught around her? She clenched her fist together, why did he have to feel these things for her?
Why couldn't he feel them for Setsuna or Konoka? They were far nicer then she ever would be. Setsuna was a lot stronger and smarter then she was, Konoka was warm and loving and both of them were far more caring and sensitive then she would ever be. "So why me?" she breathed angrily to herself, confused that she was both exhilarated and mad that Negi had these feelings for her.
Quietly she crept back up the stairs and into her room pondering what these feelings Negi had for would mean between then now that she knew, and he didn't know that she knew. Lying in her bed she simply thought about the hundreds of thousands of scenarios that would play out and each one of them turned out bad. Sighing to herself she stopped thinking about it and thought about her brunch with Takahata-san tomorrow and slowly drifted off into a quiet slumber.
Downstairs the trio had just finished their plans. "So it's agreed. Tomorrow after class we all go to Evangeline-san's cottage and then ask her for advice," both Setsuna and Konoka chorused at the same time. Negi looked a tad nervous, "neh, I don't know if Master is the best person to ask advice from." He warily recalled all the other times he asked for her helped, most of them ended up with him spending a week in the Evangeline's resort to train but it still didn't help him with the problem he asked her about. "If we're going to go can I borrow a training sword from you Setsuna-chan? Even if she doesn't give us advice she'll undoubtedly make me train regardless, so I might as well start on a new art." Setsuna could only agree wholeheartedly, "Sounds like a great idea sensei, I'll give them to you first thing in the morning."
Konoka pushed herself off the couch and got onto her somewhat sleepy legs, "Good Night, Negi-sensei. Setsuna-chan." Konoka bowed her head slightly to her teacher and then left for her bed while Setsuna stayed for a bit longer. "Even though we've come back something is still bothering you isn't it." He smiled openly at Setsuna, never one to miss a mark he thought to himself.
"Something is, but I can't seem to place my hand on it. When we left the Magical World after we gave up the search for my father and the group had gotten back together, there was this feeling that I got. A feeling I couldn't shake that we were being… followed." There he said it, this had been bothering for the past few weeks but he finally got it out there.
He glanced at Setsuna for a reaction and found her pensively in thought. She was biting her bottom lip the tiniest bit and her hands moved up to hold up her head as she slouched slightly. Cute. He didn't voice his opinion, he didn't need to let Setsuna freak out. Even though she was a warrior at heart she was still a bumbling girl when it came to praise and compliments. Slowly he saw that Setsuna had started to nod in agreement, "I had a similar feeling when we were leaving. I thought I felt another presence but because no one mentioned it I just shrugged it off as paranoia."
Catching the face of the clock he stood up and bowed to Setsuna. "Good night Setsuna-chan, I'll see you in the morning. It's best not to dwell on these issues any longer." Grinning at her he left and went to bed leaving Setsuna in the living room alone. "How foolish of me, another feeling?" She almost maliciously chuckled but it only came out as a half-sob half-strangled laugh "Demons shouldn't feel anything." Wiping her tears she eventually ascended the stairs and got in bed herself.
As the four of them slept each had a single thought. "Onto a better day."
-
Setsuna woke to the enticing smell of toast, eggs, bacon and warm tea being brewed. Yawning and rubbing her eyes Setsuna grudgingly got out of bed, she was definitely not a morning person. At least she woke up to Konoka-sama's cooking, that was a definite plus in her book for the day.
Standing up she walked out the door and proceeded down the stairs only to find that Negi-sensei had been cooking breakfast. The table had been set and everything was set out in front of them. Still in mild surprise Setsuna took her seat without saying a word until Negi turned off the stove and the toaster popped a last time.
"Ah… um." She couldn't form a coherent thought much less a sentence at this occurrence. She took a look at the clock. "4:15 AM, isn't this a tad early Negi-sensei?" she inquired not angry at the loss of sleep as more curious at why he was cooking breakfast at this ungodly time.
"I woke up about 30 minutes ago, and I felt a bit too restless to go back to sleep. So I decided today would be a good day to treat my students to a healthy breakfast, nothing wrong with that right?" Negi good-heartedly told Konoka's protector while buttering his piece of toast at the table.
"No, I guess not. This definitely does look delicious sensei." "Thank you. Go ahead and dig in." Not wasting a moment Setsuna heaped an omelette and two pieces of bacon onto her plate and munched away with gusto. Sweat dropping for a moment Negi finished eating his toast and stood up. "I'll wake up the other two so that their food doesn't get cold."
"Moway pownd wood (Okay, sounds good)," Setsuna muffled through her mouth full of food. "Heh, don't talk with your mouth full, it's bad manners," Setsuna blushed at the comment as she stopped talking and thoroughly chewed her food as Negi went up stairs to wake up Konoka and Asuna.
Creeping into Konoka's room he gentle called her name to lull her out of her unconscious state. "Come now Konoka-chan, a new day awaits us." She started whispering, unconsciously Negi started to lean closer in order to hear what Konoka was saying. "Don't lea-… -chan, please don'-…," her arms started to reach out and because Negi was so close he was pulled into her arms.
"Prom-… ever leave m-…" she continued to mumble incoherently with parts of her sentence unsaid or at a barely audible level. Eventually Konoka stopped mumbling and with a tight grip on Negi slept on peacefully. "Um… Konoka-chan… Konoka-chan," Negi was desperately whispering to Konoka his voice rising with each consecutive syllable. "Please wake up Konoka-chan this isn't appropriate and breakfast is ready," he continued his gentle voice ministrations until he saw that Konoka started to stir.
"There we go, up and at 'em," her tired eyes fluttered as sunlight streamed in from her window. Looking around for a moment she tried to see what was going on and didn't realize what she was holding onto. Her eyes drifted around her room until they settled down on her pillow.
Or what she thought was her pillow. "Ne… gi… sensei?" then proceeded to scream at the top of her lung. Panicking Negi quickly covered her mouth and then flipped her down to avoid having her freak out and do something drastic. "Okay, Konoka-chan, when I let go of my hand I need you to no scream and not freak out or anything." Without hurting her he removed his hands inch by inch and then got off of her. After being released Konoka straightened herself out and sat on her bed then eyed Negi questionably.
"What were you doing in my bed Negi-sensei? Something not perverted I hope." Konoka uncharacteristically leered at the wide-red English boy. "I was just calling you for breakfast Konoka-chan, but I heard you whispering something so I leaned closer to hear. Then you grabbed me like a stuffed animal. Anyways, Setsuna-chan is already downstairs eating. Hurry or else your breakfast will turn cold." Flushing slightly that she had been whispering in her sleep she quickly shooed Negi out of her room so that she could change and then go eat.
Going down the hallway Nagi's soon stood in front of the door of the girl he had 'maybe feelings' for. Normally this would be fine, just barging into her room and then like an excited puppy pounce on her to wake up. Today was different though because he was consciously aware about what he would feel if he did that. Opting to be safe he simply knocked on the door and heard a 'In a minute' come from inside.
Wiping his brow and being glad that he didn't have to deal with any more emotional issues for the morning he proceeded down to enjoy his home-cooked breakfast. Seating himself next to Setsuna he quickly gulped down his glass of milk and dug into his bacon quickly. Eventually they heard footsteps come down the stairs as Asuna took her seat next to Konoka.
"This looks great Konoka-chan!" Asuna praised her cooking once again but had a puzzled look on her face when she shook her head. Konoka pointed her fork to Negi as Asuna turned her head to take a look. Blushing red Negi only nodded his head as Asuna smiled broadly at him. "This is great Negi, I wish I could cook like you and Konoka-chan." Warming up considerably she started to heap some eggs onto her plate and everybody enjoyed their first breakfast together in a long time.
Taking a quick look at his watch he found that it was nearly 5:00 AM. "Time to get to class girls, we've woken up pretty early today so we shouldn't be late to class!" The girls thanked their teacher and went up stairs to grab their stuff as Negi quickly took the plates and put them in the sink then putting the leftovers into the refrigerator.
Running up the stairs he quickly grabbed his suitcase, staff and cloak and jogged back down the stairs and found that the girls had waited for him. Setsuna walked up to him with a case in hand and handed it to him. "I don't have any of my old training swords to lend you because they broke after wear and tear, but I do have this wooden bokken that a friend gave to me. I never really used it because it's not the same as a shinai, which was what I was more familiar with. Maybe you could learn a mix of magic and a unique swordsmanship style with this."
Graciously Negi took the case with care, "Thank you Setsuna-chan, I'll take good care of it and make you proud." She beamed at her teacher's promise as he pushed them along to class. "Come on now, we have to get to class!"
They all ran to class and met more of their friends along the way before coming to a stop at his class. Taking his key out and unlocking the door he turned around to his students and laughed aloud, "Class is in session!" A series of giggles, groans and moans filtered around the small class as everybody filed in.
"I hope everybody did their review last night because we'll be going over it." Causing Asuna to tense up. "Oh no, I forgot all about it!" Negi chuckled a little at Asuna's antics.
At least somethings never really changed.
-
"I've got lunch with Takahata-san, take care you guys." Setsuna and Konoka both waved as Asuna left to go down the stairs. "Come on Negi-sensei, we have to go meet Evangeline-san now." The three of them set off through the campus and onto the trail to his Master's cottage, unbeknownst to any of them that they were being trailed by a shadowy figure in the trees.
Chachamaru, who graciously let them through the door, greeted them then they ventured into the living room of the cottage to find Evangeline sitting on the couch reading a book. She glanced up from her reading and frowned at her student and his two students, "What brings you here today Apprentice?"
Negi opened his mouth only to be interrupted right away, "Wait, I don't want to hear it. Just go to the resort and I'll talk to you privately." Nodding he gave one last fleeting look over Setsuna and Konoka and then left to go into the glass domes. "Now that he's gone, I don't feel like dealing with his feelings right now. They're about Asuna my other apprentices isn't it?" They could only nod at Evangeline's aptitude and incredible sense.
"Not surprising, I felt a different shift in his magic that seemed more emotion based. Though there is something else interesting, both of you have gotten similar shifts as well. Not as defined or pronounced as my apprentice's shift, but I can definitely tell that you both have it as well. Is it love I sense from both of you?" She had a devilish smirk on her face now as both the girls had tomato faces from all the insinuation the vampire was leaking.
Right as they were off the spot light they heard an alarm, "Master! There is an enemy that's com-" before Chachamaru could even finish her sentence the walls exploded and she was slammed onto the ground. The remaining members looked on to find the worst person to be here at the moment. "Fate." They all knew of him, since he had so easily defeated them in this world and in the magical world as well.
"How nice to see all of you. Where is my favorite little toy?" He asked nonchalantly as he eyed the room around before they rested on the glass domes. "Oh, seems like he's training right now isn't he?" Walking up he saw the inscriptions light up warning him to keep out as he casually brushed the defensive spell aside.
"I'm a little disappointed Evangeline, I expected a little more 'Ooomph' from anything you made." His creased mouth and his overbearing tone of superiority pissed them off but they could do nothing because he was so much stronger then them in their current state. "Hmm, that's right. I planned on him being in here when I came." Reaching into his sleeve he pulled out a talisman and pressed it against the glass dome.
Instantly electricity started to spark all around the dome, "Since I don't really have the heart to kill him myself. I'll just let your dome do it for me; I've accelerated the dome to its maximum capacity. Right now time is passing nearly 22,000 times faster than the normal time flow in the dome, on top of the time flux now the stability of the domes are also weakening."
"To put it simply, a minute here is a year there. So within an hour, Springfield will be nothing more then a withered old man and in two hours he shall be dead. Assuming of course the unstable conditions inside the domes doesn't kill him first." A deadly smirk appeared on his face as he stood in defensive guard.
Instantly Setsuna charged him with her nodachi and made a large sweeping angle down before countering his air-void attack. "It's not him." All eyes turned to Chachamaru who got up from the rubble as she dusted herself off and realigned her parts. "That punch had no real destructive force behind it, it's all physical. None of it is enhanced by ki or magic."
"So you've figured it out, a smart robot you have there Evangeline. I might just take it for myself." He did a roundhouse kicked and pushed Setsuna back even with her sword taking the brunt of the damage she still felt a lot of the power behind that impact. "There was ki in that attack, I could feel it through my sword."
"Another secret revealed, you guys are impressive," he continued to smile at them as they started to growl. He moved his hand out and put up a single finger, "by the way, it's been one minute." Making even Evangeline fly off that handle she threw dark and lightning arrows towards Fate only to have them reflected away by a barrier made of ice.
"I guess I might as well reveal to you why I'm here. It won't matter anyways seeing as how none of you have the power to stop me." Making a wide sweep he knocked a chair up into the air and caught up before sitting down in front of the dome. "I'm just a water clone that Master had originally made, he only gave me the power to use ki when I was defending or countering. I don't know why he didn't want me to just crush you all but I really don't care, my goal is to simply see the talisman through the 2 hours and then leave."
"By the way, it's been two minutes." Eliciting a cry of fury from Setsuna she transformed into her half-demon state, white wings exploded out of her back, and with pure anger struck at Fate, but he blocked the blade with his bare arms. "My, my, a feisty one you are. Why don't you take a breather." Moving through her defense he made a clean uppercut into her chest, which knocked her back and slammed her against the wall.
Immediately Konoka rushed to her aid as Chachamaru and Evangeline were left to deal with Fate's clone. "Fate isn't important right now, what's important is that we get that talisman off the dome before it's too late." Nodding to her Master's statement the robot charged straight in and started with a roundhouse before shifting her weight and moving into a grappling move.
Fate blocked the first attack only to be thrown from the second, but mid air he did an air-void move and reappeared next to Chachamaru and kicked her out the cottage completely destroying one side of the wall. Konoka had changed into her healing form and was trying her best to heal the bruise that had formed right above Setsuna's stomach.
Evangeline summoned more dark and lightning arrows only to hear a snort from Fate, "Didn't you already try that? It's not going to work." She only grinned at him before spiraling all the arrows into a single point and sending them straight at Fate. Moving his arms up to create an ice barrier he was pushed back quickly as the arrows pushed him back before shattering his guard and sent him sprawling next to Chachamaru's barely moving form.
Quickly she rushed to the dome only to be slammed from the side by her robotic servant's form. "That was pretty tricky of you Evangeline, but nothing less expected from a vampire. 3 minutes have passed just to let you know." Staggering up, Evangeline helped move Chachamaru towards the back where Konoka and Setsuna were.
"Our priority is to get that talisman, the three of us can hold him off for a minute or two. That'll be enough time for Negi to teleport out and help us end this situation!" "What are you guys blabbering about? Oh and by the way, 4 minutes." They all turned to find Fate in their group talking; he smiled at them brightly before a spinning sidekick sent Konoka flying through the air and through the wall.
"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna cried aloud before rushing to aid Konoka. Chachamaru sent a jet fueled punch and knocked Fate out of the cottage as Evangeline followed up with more arrows of her own. Helping Konoka up she groaned and whispered to Setsuna, "Go help them. I'll go get the talisman." Setsuna was about to protest before Konoka sent her a sharp commanding look.
Setsuna nodded before taking off to catch Chachamaru's flying form before she crashed into the ground. She struggled and limped into the room and then using the last of her strengthen she ran to the dome. Setsuna and Evangeline both flew over her head as she continued her mad dash for the talisman.
She touched the talisman before roughly feeling a kick smash her across the face and splintering the wall she hit. Coughing blood up on the ground she slowly pushed herself up before seeing the clone's shoe right next to her hand. "Silly girl, don't think you could have tried to pull a fast one on me. It's been 5 minutes now anyways."
"I did get it." Konoka whispered with a smile on her face before coughing up more blood. Whipping his head around he found that it was indeed tree, the talisman was ripped off and nowhere to be found. "You stupid wretch!" He moved to backhand Konoka across the face only to be stopped as he felt a strong grip grab his arm. "Now, that isn't the right way to treat a lady."
"Negi-sensei?" She whispered, never before had she been so happy and confused at the same time. "Neh, let me take care of this Konoka-chan." Throwing the clone over his shoulder he performed a perfect air-void move and was above Fate's clone before he could react and slammed him into the ground with his two feet.
"You bastard!" The clone performed an air-void move only to find himself kicked higher then before. "You shouldn't mess with my friends and students if you don't want to get hurt yourself." Aiming his bokken straight up he pointed at Fate's clone in midair. "5 Wind Arrow Air Strike Void!"
He used an void instant movebefore creating 4 wind arrows that pierced through both the clone's hands and feet, then when he reappeared above the clone he created a finalwind arrow on the tip of the bokken and then struck through the chest of the clone in midair. Instantly the clone exploded into water as he landed while a shredded paper doll fluttered down from the sky.
Moving to Konoka he found that she had already passed out from all the fighting and gentle moved her onto the biggest sofa they had, checking her condition a final time he ventured outside to find the rest. Carrying Setsuna and Evangeline on a shoulder each he returned to the cottage and tucked his Master into her bed while laying Setsuna next to Konoka.
Venturing out the opposite side of the cottage he found Chachamaru stuck in a tree completely knocked out. Air-voiding himself into the branches he tugged her free and returned back into the cottage with an Instant Movement. He didn't bother with an Air-Void because it was too rough on her fragile body and it wasn't as effective when he still stood on something solid.
Laying her down on the couch that was perpendicular to the one Setsuna and Konoka was on he gone on to survey the damage. Three broken walls, all the windows shattered, the front door was broken, and the surrounding trees were down. "Oh boy, Master's going to have a giant fit when she sees all this."
Sighing to himself Negi set off to fix up what he could.
-
"Urgh, I feel horrible." Setsuna opened her eyes and for a moment felt extremely unsteady as well as a little pressure on her chest. Looking down she near blanked out as Konoka hugged her like a teddy bear. Oh no, Ojou-sama! If she wakes up like this I don't know what I'll do! What if she likes this? Should I stay? Should I leave to not violate her innocence? What should I do?
Her train of thought ended instantly as she heard a giant crash outside, fearing that it might be more enemies she decided that it would be best to leave. Awkwardly and somewhat unwillingly, Setsuna eventually left Konoka's death grip to check what was going on. "Wait, how did I get here anyways? Last I remember I was… FATE!"
Quickly pulling out her nodachi she guarded herself and Konoka incase anything happened. The walls were badly repaired because only planks of wood were covering the walls as opposed to actual carpentry. The door had been replaced but she could still see the cracks and most of the window panels had been removed and the glass cleaned up. Looking out she saw that some of the trees had actually gone back up albeit a lot shorter.
Hearing footsteps she sneaked up next to the doorframe. She could instantly knock them out then decide whether or not they were hostile without being in danger herself. As soon as the door opened she swung the blunt side of her sword down and smashed it onto the cranium of the intruder. Or that's what would have happened if she didn't feel a breeze as a hand from behind grabbed her swinging arm and another hand locked her free one to her back.
"Let go of me you bastard!" "Ah, that's no way to greet a teacher Setsuna-chan." He chuckled lightly as he felt her tense up at the words. Letting her go he saw her turn around slowly and deliberately. "Ne…Negi-sensei?" This was the short, little eleven-year old brat?!
There was no way this well developed, fairly muscular but lean, tall, tan kid was Negi. He was… he was gorgeous simply put. His clothes were tattered and his skin dirtied but she could tell under all that grime was an extremely handsome man. "Maybe this'll help?" Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a pair of spectacles with the right lens with a crack running through it.
Placing it on his face he devilishly grinned at her making her blush prettily. "Well, how about now?" She could only nod as he patted her on the back, "come on, lets pick up the others and get them somewhere safe. I could only fix up this place so much but it won't be enough until they fully get this placed fixed up." She could only continue to nod dumbly, taking a step forward she put too much pressure on her right leg and fell.
Before she even realized she was going to fall Negi had already caught her and she blushed even brighter. "I didn't think you were this much of a klutz Setsuna-chan," causing her to feel slight embarrassment. Letting her hold herself on his shoulder he squatted down and inspected her ankle. "You must have hurt it fighting Fate's clone, come on I'll carry you." Before she could protest she found herself piggy backing on his new taller and slightly larger back. "You can take a nap if you want Se-chan, it's fine if you do." She shook her head before snuggling onto has back and yawned. He froze up when she snuggled into his back before chuckling at her yawn. "Like a baby." Setsuna swatted him on the head before she just held onto his neck.
Grabbing the rest of the equipment he stuffed it in the bag he brought 6 hours ago and looped it onto his left arm. Then using some acrobatics he maneuvered Konoka onto his right arm, caught Evangeline's dress in his teeth, then finished with Chachamaru on his left arm he lightly kicked opened the door and set down the trail.
"What time is it Setsuna-chan?" "Reh? How can you talk Negi-kun?" "Negi-kun now? Well, when you're alone for 5 years you tend to pick up some skills, both useless and useful." He smiled through a mouthful of Evangeline's dress, as she turned red that he caught her new honorific she gave him.
"I learned ventriloquism when I stayed near the beach and palm trees. I tried projecting my voice to try to herd fish into my traps. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time I ended up diving into the sea to get them myself." She giggled, that sounded more like the Negi she knew so well.
"Wait you just said 5 years. What do you mean 5 years?" He stopped moving for a moment and his eyes looked outcast. "I'll explain it when I get cleaned up and I get everybody healed up. Yourself included Se-chan." Resuming the walk she kept quiet the rest of the way and could only point in the direction of 4-person dorm. When she asked why he forgot, he simply replied that 5 years made many memories fade away.
When he arrived at the door he kicked the door lightly to get someone on the inside to come out. 'Coming!' was heard inside as they heard someone fall on the second level and then stumble around before rushing down the stairs to the front door. Both Negi and Setsuna sweat dropped at what they just heard. Asuna-chan…
The door opened and Asuna's faced popped out. "Yes can I hel- AH!" Immediately the door flew opened all the way and she hurriedly tugged Negi in after she saw him carrying everybody. Quickly Asuna helped relieve Negi of all the girls on top of his body by carrying Konoka into her room and helping Chachamaru and Evangeline onto the sofas.
"Keep holding on Se-chan, I'll tuck you in myself." He ascended the stairs and entered her room looking at the simplistic setting. "I like minimalism myself," he smiled gentle before gently changing the piggyback into a bridal style carry. He laid her in bed and pulled the blankets over her. Setsuna had eyes that pleaded him to tell her everything but he whispered to her reassuringly.
"All will be fine. In the morning I promise to tell everybody everything okay?" She nodded slightly but was still unsure. Sensing her insecurity he kissed her forehead to rid her of her longing questions. She was burning red from the touch but he moved his fingers to closer her eyelids. "Sleep tight, Se-chan." Something melodic about his voice lulled her to sleep as she drifted off into oblivion.
He went down the stairs to find Asuna tending to Evangeline for a moment before standing up and wiping her brow. Turning around she noticed that Negi was there and bowed to him slightly. "Thank you stranger, I'm greatly indebted to you." He shot her a puzzled look before laughing at her.
Looking up she get annoyed that he was laughing at her. "Hey you jerk, I'm just being nice and trying to say thanks for helping my friends." He stepped closer to her and his smile grew even wider. "Asuna-chan, don't you recognize me?" Quizzically she moved in closer and examined the face.
It was dirty and underneath the grime was a tan face, but there was something vaguely familiar about this face. "You do look sort of familiar, now that you mention it did you notice a little kid about this high with them?" Negi continued to laugh hardily causing her to get even more annoyed. "Now you're just being a jerk and I don't even know your name!"
"Who me? You can call me Negi Springfield." That caused Asuna to choke up completely, "Wha… wha?! Negi-sensei?!" Now that she looked closer she could see the resemblance. He was a lot tanner, taller, a little more muscular and his hair was definitely longer. However the little eleven-year old boy she sawa fewhours ago was there inside of this whatever-year old she saw right now.
"How did… what?" "Don't worry about it Asuna-chan, just get some sleep and I'll explain all of it in the morning," she continued to stare at the boy unheeding of his words. He sighed slightly before repeating the process on Asuna that he did on Setsuna. He closed her eyelids and whispered the words "Sleep," to her. Instantly he felt the girl go limp into his arms as he carried her upstairs and tucked her in.
Returning down stairs with 2 pillows and a pair of blankets he tucked in his Master and Chachamaru as well. "Boy, I'm restless right now." Going up the stairs for the third time that night he grabbed a towel and the largest set of clothes he could find. "A bit too small for myself, but if I make some adjustments I can live with it."
Proceeding into the bathroom he let out a gleeful giggle. "Oh boy! A real bath! It's been 5 years and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it!" Turning on the water he let the tub fill up before he eased himself in and let himself soak in the heat. "Mmm, I've really missed this. 9 months in the desert can really make a guy appreciate the simple things in life."
For the next two hours he soaked, scrubbed, shampooed, rinsed and repeated to his heart's content. Getting out of the bath he rubbed himself dry with a nice soft fluffy towel and redressed himself in a pair of running shorts and a hoodie that was just a little too constricting.
Grabbing his wallet he ventured out into the night with keys in his hand. "I need to grab me some new clothes." Whistling to himself he walked to the closest tailor of Mahora and ordered 10 new suits as well as buying casual clothes for himself. "Hmm, I must have grown at least 7 inches."
Whistling to the tailor he caught his attention, "Hey could you measure how tall I am?" Nodding at the odd request he took out the measuring rope and measured him from the heel of his foot to the tip of his head. "You are a little over 5 feet 7 inches." He faced faulted. "Holy crap 12 inches, what the hell could I have been doing to make my grow that fast?"
Thinking back to all those avalanches, fighting for survival and the added gravity it sort of made sense. After buying some off the rack clothes he got a date for his suits to be ready and negotiated the price for a bit. After agreeing on a price that was satisfactory for both parties he journeyed home.
Checking his pocket-watch he found that it was already 3:15 in the morning. Looking around he found a pharmacy and ventured inside to buy tons of wrapping, rubbing alcohol, an ankle brace and a few bags of ice. Finishing that task he returned him with his bags full of clothes and medical related items and placed them in his room.
Returning down stairs he prepared to make breakfast. "I haven't touched a stove in five years. Time to get cracking." He chuckled slightly as his own pun and then started to make the same breakfast he made 5 years ago or a day ago depending on who you asked.
-
Setsuna woke to the enticing smell of toast, eggs, bacon and warm tea being brewed. Then felt this overwhelming sense of déjà vu as she looked around and felt pain pulse around he ankle. Before she could get out of bed though she felt another person in the room instantly appear. "You really should call so that you don't hurt yourself any more."
She stared in awe that he had performed a ground instant move through solid objects and up a story. "That was amazing," she breathed allowed. He sheepishly scratched his head, "that was nothing. Come on I'll carry you down and we can brace that ankle up before you start moving around again." Accepting his help because she knew he wouldn't take no for an answer she felt her cheeks turn red as this older Negicarry her down the stairs.
When she and Negi reached the bottom she saw Evangeline in Konoka's borrowed pajamas with bandaging all around her right arm and hand. Chachamaru had borrowed Asuna's clothing and was using the ice to help her stay cool because it seemed that one of her internal fans was broken.
Konoka had the right side of her face completely bandaged and had a bag of ice over it, her left arm was in a sling but she looked pretty happy munching on some toast. Asuna was next to her tending to her other cuts and wounds that had accumulated during the fight against Fate.
"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna cried as she saw the condition Konoka was in; the Dean's granddaughter looked up and smiled. "Hi Se-chan! Try some of this toast it's delicious!" completely unfazed by all the bandaging she received Setsuna started to cry tears of happiness. "I'm so glad you're okay Ojou-sama."
"Well it's thanks to Negi-kun now isn't it?" She beamed at Negi who rubbed the back of his head after slipping the ankle brace onto Setsuna, he took out some rubbing alcohol and started to clean up the cuts and bruises she had on her body. "I won't bandage you until you've taken a bath like everybody else. Konoka-chan can't heal anybody right now until she gets moderately better herself."
"Asuna, why don't you help Setsuna-chan, I'll take care of everything else down here." Agreeing without any hesitation she stopped helping Konoka and helped Setsuna into the bathroom. "I'll grab your clothes upstairs and don't worry. Negi promised that he would explain everything to us once we all gotcleaned up and had breakfast." Winking at her Asuna rushed upstairs to grab her clothes.
Sighing to herself, Setsuna could tell that today was going to be another eventful day.
-
After Setsuna had finished her bath and got bandaged up she enjoyed breakfast with everybody else while Negi catered to all the girls whims. Eventually everybody was full and satisfied as he ushered all of them into the living room they all sat down on the sofas leaving the single armchair alone for Negi.
Sitting down they all got a real look at the 'older' Negi for the first time.
He had grown nearly a foot and towered over all the girls now, his eyes were a little bigger and his hair had grown past his shoulders. They were still the brown they remembered but lighter and there were streaks of blonde in them. His skin was light tan, which was a far cry from his pale skin from the day before.
He had grown a lot more muscular but his muscles were toned so they did not protrude nor did he seem overly buff. The one thing that they all noticed the most was there was this air of confidence around him that they just couldn't place a finger on. It annoyed Evangeline the most because it reminded her of Nagi so much yet it still wasn't the same feeling she had all those years ago.
Clapping his hands together he looked upwards in concentration before speaking. "Okay, lets see… where to begin."
-Chapter 1 End-
Wow, definitely not impulse. I worked on like 4 pages in 2 months. Then during the beginning of March I wrote nearly 14 more pages onto this story and by the time read chapter 2 I'll about done with chapter 5. This, like Remembrance, is just a preliminary/experimental start out. I've reevaluated my shipping and it'll be more Negi/Setsuna but I'll still have Negi/Konoka, Negi/Asuna, Setsuna/Konoka, Setsuna/Asuna, Asuna/Konoka, Negi/Konoka/Asuna and other various combinations in the story. I just feel that Negi/Setsuna is extremely undershipped and they deserve a story.
If you're expecting Chapter 2 anytime soon think again. I've horded a few chapters on my computer right now and online onto my online accounts to avoid losing everything if I crash. For those wondering, I do have chapters 2 and 3 of Remembrance done. And The Auction is almost done I've just been working out the last few scenes trying to get them right.
Until next time.