"Negi! Negi!"
"What is it, Kotaro-kun?"
"Come on, let's fight! I just finished today's training with Ne-san! She taught me something really cool!"
"I really can't right now, Kotaro, I'm in the middle of teaching!"
"Come on! It's just the shrimp and the bookworm! Fight me! You can finish their training later!"
"Kotaro!" Yue yelled in a flustered rage, "Grow up! Negi's teaching us right now! You can have him later!"
Kotaro grimaced, "Fine, but once you're done, Negi, it's me and you! You got it?"
Negi nodded. "Okay ladies, it's time to see what you can do…nothing powerful, just basic attacks. A wizard's got to be able to protect him or herself."
"You mean…" Yue trailed off.
"Yue and I have to fight?" Nodoka finished.
"It's fine, neither of you have enough magic power to really hurt the other right now, so we should be good to go. If all else fails and one of you gets overwhelmed by the other, I'll either step in and stop the attack or call it off."
"This should be good…" Kotaro mused.
Yue glared at him and turned to face her opponent.
"Don't go easy on me Nodoka," Yue stated cheerfully.
Nodoka was obviously uncomfortable, "Alright…but I've been practicing…"
The first attack was a shock to everyone. It was a simple attack…just a wind based attack that would remove the user's wand or stun them for a moment. Unfortunately, Nodoka had indeed been practicing, and Yue barely managed to dodge a wind bullet that would have probably impaled her. The four could hear it ripping through the forest behind Yue until it finally dissipated.
Negi's reaction was priceless, and the first thing he did was turn to Nodoka to comment on her attack. He didn't notice the tree behind Yue give way. It came plummeting down to the earth, and Nodoka noticed all too late that it was heading for Yue. There was nothing she could do; there was nothing Negi could do. Yue turned around to see what Nodoka was screaming about…and then it connected. Yue had been pushed safely out of the way; it landed on Kotaro.
"Kotaro!" Yue screamed, digging through the branches and leaves of the tree, hoping to find her savior, "Kotaro!"
She found him only a few moments later. He lay barely conscious under the weight of the tree; it hit him dead on. Tears began to run down her cheeks.
"Why are you crying, silly Ne-chan?" Kotaro asked, barely audible. He smiled and tried to reach his hand out to hers, "I'm glad you're safe."
He was gone, out cold.
Negi rushed over to check on the scene, "He's alive!"
Yue looked hopefully into his eyes.
"Give me a second."
Negi pulled out Konoka's and Asuna's probationary contract cards; with a flash of light and obvious confusion, the two were standing in front of him.
"What's going on, Negi?" Asuna dared to ask. Her eyes finally fell on Yue and a hand she was holding.
"That's Kotaro!" Konoka screamed, rushing over to the fallen tree.
"Asuna, I need your help moving the tree!" Negi declared, forcing Asuna into contract mode.
Negi didn't even get to help; Asuna kicked the tree to the side and Konoka began to work on Kotaro.
"Will he be alright?" Yue questioned Konoka urgently, the tears streaming down her face, "Please tell me he'll be alright!"
"It's too soon to know," Konoka replied, focusing on her task.
"You need to calm down, Yue," Nodoka tried to consol.
"Calm down?" Yue asked, grabbing Nodoka's shirt, "Would you be calm if this was Sensei? Would you be calm if Negi were crushed by a tree!? Would you be calm if he saved your life by nearly forfeiting his!? Would you be…?" Yue's words were drowned out by her sobbing and she quickly pushed her head into Nodoka's chest.
"He was trying to save me!" she sobbed, tears flowing from her eyes, "He was trying to save me…"
Negi explained the mishap to Asuna in the midst of the turmoil and when Konoka finished healing Kotaro, Asuna picked him up and carried him back to the dormitory…after a brief thrashing of Negi for his stupidity.
Yue volunteered to keep him in her and Nodoka's room for the night. Caring for him was the least she could do…she owed him her life after all. Nodoka didn't seem to have any complaints, and since their room was right beside Negi, Asuna, and Konoka's, it seemed more than fair.
The day was done, and school was out for the time being. The Mahora festival was in a week's time, and right now, she couldn't care less if it took a week or another year; right now her focus was Kotaro. The injuries he'd sustained were worse than she could've thought, and he was in a fit of a fever.
She walked over to the sink and stared into the water as she soaked a clean rag with cold water. 'What am I thinking? Why am I feeling this way? It's because he saved my life right? But Kotaro would do that for any girl…he's the chivalrous type after all…or would he?'
She stared deeper into the water until it finally became still. For the first time in hours, she could see her face. Her eyes were swollen from crying all night and her cheeks almost looked as though the tears had stained them. Her hair was a total mess…so much so that she had unbraided it and pulled the knot out from behind her; there was no point in trying to make it look pretty…she'd require a lot more time to fix it up right…and that was time she couldn't waste. She had to look after Kotaro…she wanted to look after Kotaro.
"I'm in love with him…" she whispered to herself. The moonlight shone brightly outside her window…a bright full moon…the same one she looked at every other day…but today it felt as though it was something more. It felt like the moon was beckoning her to begin anew.
"But I'm in love with sensei…" she whispered. She stared into the water once more and noticed the moon reflecting its light. It was because of the moon that she could see her swollen eyes; that was the answer she was looking for. She'd never shed any real tears over Negi, as Nodoka had…she'd never really even given any thought to actually being with him as Nodoka had. But right now, in this room, with Kotaro lying on her bed, she was happy. She was content with caring for Kotaro.
"I guess I owe Nodoka an apology…" she whispered to herself, "For ever trying to take Negi from her. I thought I knew how she felt…"
She walked over to her bedside and placed the cold rag on Kotaro's forehead, "I had no idea…"
"Yue…" Kotaro moaned.
"Kotaro, are you awake?" Yue asked, slightly hopeful.
"Look out…Yue…"
"Oh Kotaro…" Yue whispered to herself, "You protect me…even in your dreams."
She leaned down low and put her forehead against the rag, pulling her head back far enough to see Kotaro's face.
"Thank you, Kotaro, for opening my eyes…thank you for everything."
She leaned low and kissed him.
Nodoka woke up early; only to find Yue barely clinging to consciousness. She'd obviously been awake all night.
"You should get some sleep Yue," Nodoka commented, "I'll keep watch over Kotaro for now. Get some rest; you look like you're the walking dead."
Yue chuckled, "Like in Haruna's latest manga? I bet I'll be a superhero to boot! A superhero zombie…definitely Haruna's strangest plot yet."
Nodoka's mouth dropped. She'd known Yue for years and she had never heard her crack a joke.
"Are you feeling okay?" Nodoka had to ask, "I've never heard you crack a joke…"
Yue paused for a moment and her face went blank, "That's because I haven't told a joke since grandfather passed away…" She looked back down to Kotaro and brushed his hair to the side slightly, "I've got to replace his towel…"
Yue was up faster than Nodoka expected. She looked so tired, but it was obvious that taking care of Kotaro meant a lot to her. Nodoka smiled, "I'll be back in a little while, Yue," she hollered into the kitchen.
"All right, see you later!" was Yue's response.
Nodoka quickly made her way out the front door and flipped open her cell phone.
"Hey, sensei? Can I get you to meet me somewhere?"
"Sure, anything wrong?" Negi's voice responded.
"No, we've just got something to talk about is all. Is the café at the corner alright with you?"
"Sure, see you in a few minutes."
"Yep! See you soon!" With that, Nodoka bolted down the hall.