Jesters And Chefs

by Tankou001

Zazie Rainyday is a silent acrobat Of The Nightmare Circus. Yotsuba Satsuki is the kind chef of the former Chao Bao Zhi. One would never think they could fall in love. How wrong they all are. Rated Mature. Yuri Alert!

Jesters And Chefs

A Zazie X Satsuki Fanfiction

Hey all! Tankou001 here with a all new fanfiction!!!! YAY!!!! (Ugh... I feel like crap T_T I'm sick T_T)

Anyway, I have decided, after long amounts of deliberation and lovingly reading my favorite manga, Mahou Sensei Negima, that I am finally gonna pick up a fic about it! My pairing stars my two very most favorite characters in the manga, Zazie Rainyday and Yotsuba Satsuki!!! "Wait! Why are those your two favorite characters?!?" I hear you ask in confusion "They're so minor!" I hear you say. But that's just it! I have been madly in love with the mysterious acrobat of the Nightmare Circus since I started reading the manga a while ago. She has always been a symbol of mystery and coolness to me since I first saw her. She has seven speaking parts in the serialized manga, five of those simple, one word parts. She is the most missappreciated character in the whole thing. It makes Tankou001 sad T_T

Tsuki-chan is my second most favorite. At first, when I saw her in the first couple chapters, I really didn't like her. However, seeing her later on in the manga and such, I really started to like her a lot. Plus she's cute as a button! Add all to it that I doubt either one is ever gonna be one of Negi's partners and I think it's cool to put them together. Anyway, all five of my favorite girls and more are gonna be in this fic. This fic takes place when all of 3-A are eighteen, just after they all graduate. Negima himself has also taken the form of an eighteen years old guy, despite the fact that he is only really 14 or 15 by now. He's spent too much time in Eva's resort and that's made him older.

Reluctantly, Eva eventually did partner up with Negi for a pactio to remove her curse. She now walks around in her smokin hot adult body, though she is still the same vampire we know and love, however, truly her body is adult now. (Yes, I'm a baaaaad boy XP)

Negima still hasn't chosen a true partner, cause he's kinda dumb like that, but there are some strong prospects on his lists.

Enjoy!

{HR}

Chapter One: All Pieces Fall into Place

Nightfall swept across the grounds of Mahora. Years had gone by since Negima Springfield became a teacher at Mahora Junior High for girls. He had become an english teacher and had sired into being a wonderful class of graduates, able and worthy of their own graduation just a few months before. Now his students were all in University, striving toward their degrees in whatever they pleased. Some of the students had already gone into internships and such things. Some had stayed in the exact same hobby they had five years ago. Ku Fei still fought as she always had. Tatsumiya Mana still hunted demons for money. Nodoka still managed kept books and Zazie Rainyday still performed in the Nightmare Circus. It was the last that walked through the night air, silently juggling as she stepped along the streets of Mahora. She was surrounded by her "friends," the shadow creatures that had followed her since middle school. She was a being of silence and mystery, even to her closer friends, such as Yukihiro Ayaka. Their relationship hadn't ever exactly been deliberate, though Zazie considered her a friend and "talked" to her often. As the silent clown stepped through the walkways of Mahora, juggling, she spotted something that camer to her attanetion rather quickly. There was another student nearby, at a building. What was her name again? It was Yotsuba Satsuki, wasn't it? She was standing at an empty building. Zazie had walked by the place many a time. What could Yotsuba want with an empty building?

Zazie stopped juggling, stowing her juggling balls in a small pack at her waist. She dismissed her shadow companions. Wherever they wanted to go it would be fine. Slowly she stepped toward the former classmate. Satsuki noticed her just as she walked up. "Oh!" She said, slightly surprised. There was a way Yotsuba Satsuki spoke that was odd, though Zazie couldn't quite put her finger on it, as she wasn't one to speak as it was. "Hello, Zazie-san. I didn't see you there? Taking a night walk?" Zazie nodded. "I'm sorry if I disturbed your walk." Satsuki said quietly, looking at the ground. Zazie shook her head a bit and Satsuki perked up. "I never really got to know you when we were in school together, did I?" Zazie lightly shook her head at this question. Nobody had really ever bothered to try to make friends with Zazie when she was in 3-A There was Ayaka and Sayo the ghost. Negima had seen Zazie perform, though they hadn't ever really gotten to know each other. No, for the most part Zazie had been a loner the whole time she had been a middle and high schooler. It all came from being both a foreigner and a recluse, she guessed. "Would you like to come in? I can make you some tea."

Zazie was a bit confused at the invitation. Was Satsuki the owner of the building before them? It couldn't be, she was only eighteen. How would a university student have the funds to buy an empty building by herself? Then again, Ayaka was blessed with family wealth and Evangeline owned her own home just outside Mahora proper. Was it so hard to believe? Hesitantly Zazie nodded and Satsuki turned to place a key in the door of the building. The lock clicked and they entered.

The main floor was something of a mess. There were unopened boxes and dust and sheets on tables. Zazie had never been curious enough to look inside the building but she was aware that it had three stories. She never had wondered at all what it used to be. Satsuki guided the silent acrobat up to the second floor, which seemed significantly more put together than the first. It was lightly furnished, something of a lounge. The final floor, where the two eventually ended up, was entirely residential. There seemed to be five bedrooms of reasonable size with a bathroom and small kitchenette in one room. I was a rather nice display and the only floor that was completely put together. Satsuki put a pot of water on the little stove in the first room. "This is where my restaurant is going to open up in a couple of days. Chao left a me some money for it when she left five years ago. I wish she was still around so I could thank her. The others are going to move in as well. This room is going to be mine. Ku Fei is the next room over. Satomi is going to live diagonal to this room. If Chachamaru is ever going to move in, it'll be the one next to Satomi room." Zazie wondered for a moment. There were five bedrooms. Who would the fifth belong to? As if reading her mind Satsuki answered. "The fifth room would have been for Chao if she had stayed... We decided to put it in anyway, in memory of her. She was, after all, the one who allowed this to happen. Even if she's gone back to her country we still feel like she's here with us."

Zazie nodded as Satsuki stood to get the tea pot. She watched as Satsuki made the tea, the fresh smell of leaves filling the tanned woman's nose. It was a very nice smell. Zazie wondered what kind of tea it was. As Satsuki handed Zazie the cup of tea she gave a brief, very quiet, "Thank you," before sipping at the spicy tea.

Satsuki drank her own tea and looked at Zazie. "You don't really talk much... do you, Zazie-san?" Slowly Zazie shook her head. "Could I ask why."

Zazie hesitated. Why didn't she talk? Was it that, unconsciously, she had taken an oath to silence? No, that was stupid. Was it simply that Zazie believed actions spoke louder than words? Something told Zazie that this wasn't quite the reason, though it was certainly closer. "Shouldn't have to..." Zazie muttered before taking a sip of her tea. There was no way to explain it, though Zazie shouldn't have had to speak. Ayaka understood everything Zazie said without the need for words, even over the phone. Those who could be made good friends should have been able to read the minds of those they knew as friends. To a degree actions did speak louder than words, though Zazie believed in something deeper than that. She didn't like talking, as a general rule. Those who were close enough to Hear her without words were true friends, that's all that mattered. Why waste breath on talking when it could be used to better effect.

Satsuki, however, was a bit confused. Of course those of normal origin couldn't truly understand it. Satsuki had no magic, unlike Zazie herself. The best Satsuki could claim was the help of mechanical stuff, like Chao Bao Zhi, the crazy train car that could fly. Then again, Zazie knew everyone had the potential for magic, so long as they put their mind to it. "I don't quite get it." Satsuki spoke out. "But I am sure whatever reason you have, it's a very good one. I have very few aspirations of my own, you see. I just want to make everyone happy with my food, that's all. I don't think it's a very big goal but I think it's a nice one to have."

What did Zazie want? Truly Satsuki's goal was a wonderful one. Making people happy, no matter the method, was a very respectable goal. The fact that Satsuki's goal was coming to fruition so soon in life was momentous. Zazie had never thought about what she wanted out of life. She was content to ponder on life's little questions and do her part in the Nightmare Circus so long as she was allowed. She loved her friends, the shadow companions, and she loved her close ties to the school but she had never thought of a real goal. Go along with the flow of life. That was Zazie's mantra. Slowly Zazie brought the tea cup to her lips, happy to just think on this all. Go with the flow of life, she went by. However, wasn't there a place where all water stopped freely flowing? The ocean was a vast place where all water ended up sooner or later, granted it flowed in the first place. When you get to the ocean things stop "flowing" and just sit, don't they? Eventually everyone had to make a choice on what they wanted to do in life.

The time went by, mostly Satsuki talking and Zazie nodding or shaking her head. Satsuki consoled in Zazie her worries and excitement for the restaurant. Naturally, Zazie didn't offer any vocal advice, though she did her part to seem happy and reassuring for the short young woman. Satsuki, though eighteen now, had always been on the short side. She was still plump, like she had always been, just wide enough in all the right places to be broad for her size but just thin enough not to be considered fat. She had the same caring eyes as she had always had and an adorable smile. Zazie admired her will to make people happy. It was something Zazie couldn't fathom dedicating her life to in such a way. Soon enough Zazie let out a silent yawn, making no attempt to hide it. She had something of a lack of proper manners because of her loner status, and thus normally made no attempt to be socially acceptable outside the norm. Satsuki noticed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Zazie-san. I interupted your walk and now I'm holding you out late." Zazie looked up and lightly shook her head. Satsuki smiled. "It's probably best we both get to bed anyway. I'll walk you downstairs." Zazie nodded and the two went to the door. Satsuki nodded to Zazie as she opened the door. "Have a nice night, Zazie-san. I hope the tea was good." Zazie nodded. Satsuki spoke up just before Zazie closed the door. "If you want... The restaurant is opening in two days. Would you like to come to the grand opening?" Zazie looked back and Satsuki finished. "You don't have to if you don't want to. It's no big deal." Zazie simply nodded and handed a ticket to Satsuki, a ticket to the next opening of the Nightmare Circus in a week. With that, the silent clown was gone.

Two Days Later!

Two days later Zazie arrived at the restaurant. It was bustling, unlike two days before. Tables were placed outside and the line to get seated was huge. Zazie suspected that it would be easier to get in at a later time. Perhaps she should have come by earlier as it was. It would be best to wait until conditions were better. However, as Zazie was turning to walk away there was a tap on her shoulder. Turning back around she noted Ku Fei, a former classmate. She had grown a lot in the five years since 3-A but she was largely the same. Though she now had a much larger chest and was a bit taller she was still the same China girl, martial arts captain she had been in 3-A. She gave a grin and thrust a piece of paper into Zazie's hand. "You're expected upstairs, Zazie-san ~Ne. Please enjoy yourself ~Aruyo."

Zazie looked at the piece of paper in her hand as Ku Fei led her into the restaurant and to the staircase. She slowly walked up into the second level, noting a much more relaxed environment. Zazie had somewhat expected a bar type setting, full of people smoking from hookahs and pipes, drinking fine alcohol or something like that. Though there were no pipes or hookahs Zazie suspected that there was probably some kind of alcohol being circulated to those of legal age. The second floor was very much like the lounge that Zazie had at first expected. The seating wconsisted mainly of cushy chairs and couches, some floor cushions available to those wanting to seat themselves on a lower space than a chair or couch. Some people played Shogi and Go and others simply chatted with each other. Chachamaru was currently manning the kitchen, which was in plain view, unlike on the first floor. Zazie noted the second floor lounge was more of a treat for those who would be able to afford it, rather than the standard restaurant the first floor was. People could take their time and chat with others. It was a laid back atmosphere, a happy contrast to the hustle and bustle below. Chachamaru noticed Zazie and waved her over. "Hello. Would you happen to have a pass to this section?" Zazie presented the piece of paper. "Thank you. What would you like?" Chachamaru asked. Zazie looked at the menu and tapped an item. "It will be available right away. Please make yourself comfortable, Zazie-san."

Sitting down, Zazie looked at the slid still in her hand. All expenses paid! It said. It was a nice thing to know that she wouldn't need the money she had brought, though Zazie now had no idea what she would do with it. Tips were always appreciated, right? Happy calls of "Tsuki-chan!" alerted Zazie to the entrance of another in the room, turning her head to see Yotsuba Satsuki arriving at the top of the stairs. She was in a pink apron, her hair up like it usually was. Unlike everyone else in the restaurant, at least from below, Satsuki seemed perfectly at home, not bothering to move any faster than her own pace, which was surprisingly slow for the owner of a restaurant at it's grand opening. Satsuki stepped up to the counter just as Chachamaru finished some items. "I'll take the position for now, Chachamaru." Chachamaru nodded with a small smile and sped down the stairs, many of the people on he second floor bidding her farewell as she left. Zazie began again to go into her own little world, as she often did. A plate was thrust into her hands where she sat on the floor. Zazie looked up to see Satsuki's smiling face. "Your food is ready. I hope you enjoy it." Zazie nodded and took her food, biting into the meat bun.

The taste was amazing, of course. Satsuki's food, though Zazie had never been a regular at Chao Bao Zhi, had always been top notch. She came once a year to the cart and it was always just as good as the very best food tasted elsewhere. However, this time it was different. It wasn't bad. On the contrary, it was better. Zazie was no stranger to the taste of Satsuki's food. Even when the cart hadn't been present it was hard not to get a taste of Satsuki's stamina soup or some of her delicious nikuman at least every other day. She had, after all, been the lunch coordinator in both middle and high school. However, there was more flavor in these buns, like Satsuki had put a little extra work into the buns before she had steamed them, like they were just a bit more tasty than usual, just enough that it was obvious, though not blatantly so.

A familiar sight appeared in Zazie's vision. What was her name again? It was Nagase Kaede, wasn't it. The tall woman crested the stairs, turning all faces to her. The fact that Kaede was one of the best catches on campus was no mystery. There was no man worth his own who hadn't taken a chance at winning the ninja's heart. Kaede had only grown more beautiful in the five years since 3-A. Even in 3-A she had boasted a position in the 3-A Big Breasted Brigade, being the second tallest and having the second largest bust in the class. Now she rivaled the all time winner, Naba Chizuru, in both height and bust size, though she was somehow much more desireable than Chizuru. Zazie guessed it was her laid back nature and the lack of maternal instinct. Chizuru seemed, to everyone, like a big sister. She worked at a daycare and was studying medicine at the university. Kaede, however, was laid back. She was never in a hurry to do anything save for have fun at her own pace, something Zazie was sure annoyed her professors. She did whatever she cared to do, regardless of what it would make people think. She also had a tendency to wear men's clothes far more than women's clothes, though such things only seemed to attract suitors more. Kaede planted herself right beside Zazie, calling up to Satsuki, "You know what I want, Tsuki-chan ~De Gozaru." Kaede looked at Zazie. "Morning Zazie-san. Like this place so far ~Gozaru?" Zazie gave a weak nod as she looked at Satsuki go back to work in the small kitchen. She seemed so happy, flipping dough and chopping vegetables and meat. "She loves this, Ya know." Zazie looked at Kaede in slight confusion. "Lately Tsuki-chan's food's been a lot better ~Gozaruyo. She's happy because she got a restaurant and it shows in her cooking, ya know?" Zazie was a bit confused. She lightly shook her head. Kaede gave a short chuckle. "Cooking is just like anything else. The better you feel about it the better it is. Tsuki-chan's always wanted her own restaurant and now that she has it she's so happy. Because she's so full of joy she can put it all in her cooking... And the love she puts in her cooking makes it taste all that much better ~De Gozaru."

Zazie didn't really understand it but she continued to watch Satsuki cook, amazed when she literally tossed the bowl of noodles to Kaede and Kaede cauight it at the end of a pair of chopsticks, throwing a shuriken back with a roll of money in the little hole. Satsuki tugged the thing out of the cork board behind the counter where it had been thrown and put the money in the till, a smile on her sweet face the whole time. Kaede waved a hand to signal Satsuki to keep the change before digging into her noodles. "Ya know, Zazie-san, you've got no reason to be such a loner ~De Gozaruya. You should hang out with people more. Want to join me for training some time?" Zazie didn't know what to do in response to that, though suddenly Kaede's chopstick hand found the top of Zazie's head and nodded it for her. "That's good ~Gozaruyo! I thought you'd never say yes." Zazie blinked in confusion, realizing sauddenly what had just happen. Had she just allowed herself to be pulled into training with the resident ninja of Mahora Gakuen? Surely this was some cruel joke.

The day went by more smoothly than Zazie would have suspected. Granted, it was a slightly ncomfortable day in that Zazie was with so many people who were more talkative than she would have liked. However, Kaede made herself the most close person to Zazie and that was reassuring. At least Zazie knew Kaede. At least Kaede wasn't a spastic, talkative individual. She understood Zazie enough to understand that she didn't like talking, though perhaps not well enough to Hear what Zazie did say, as Ayaka did. It didn't matter though. Kaede was well enough off in the department of relaxation and understanding that she didn't mind being unable to Hear Zazie. She just talked and let Zazie talk if she wished, which of course the silent acrobat did not. At the end of the day, which went by so much faster than Zazie had expected, everyone was clearing out. The place was already close to closing up, everyone was cleaning and putting away dishes already. Zazie had gotten there maybe two hours after they opened and had spent hours upon hours at the place, not noticing the time was going by at all. She had been so amazed at how it all was running, how happy the four owners were when they worked to feed everyone. Ku Fei was a wonder to behold when she decided to be fancy, balancing plates on poles and showing feats of acrobatics as she served people. Chachamaru, for obvious reasons, was an exciting sight when she decided to show her more robotic nature. Satomi, though not extraordinary, was truly cheerful and kind. She was a very pleasant addition to the team. What amazed Zazie most was Satsuki's presence. As was established before, Satsuki had always been a pleasant sort of girl, sweet and caring with a knack for the most delicious pieces of culinary art. However, today she was so much more than usual. She worked magic in front of everyone with a smile more full than had ever been seen on her face. She was so full of happiness, so full of joy at doing this that she didn't care what was happening around her so long as she could make people happy with her food, the food that made her happy just to make it as she was now.

Zazie left the restaurant with Kaede and, suddenly, they ran into none other than Negima Springfield as he was leaving as well. Zazie hadn't seen him, though it seemed he had been on the bottom floor while Zazie had stayed to the second. Long gone was the short ten year old boy of 3-A. Now he was a tall, able bodied man. He was ridiculously handsome and adult looking, despite the fact that he was only fifteen years old. Like Kaede, he was considered quite the catch, at least by women. He had, for five years, covered up the fact that he was a mage, at least from most of the people in Mahora Gakuen. For obvious reasons Zazie was well aware of his existence as a mage. Zazie knew that near everyone in 3-A was aware of magic now, for the most part. Kaede herself was one of Negi's many pact companions. "Oh!" Negi let out as He ran into Zazie. "I'm sorry. Is that you, Zazie-san? Nice to see you. It's been a couple years, hasn't it?" Zazie nodded slowly. Though she had always kept it to herself, Zazie has gone through a short crush on Negi back in 3-A. It wasn't as if nobody else had fallen in love with him back then. Zazie had gottemn the smarts to pull herself out of the childish crush, though she still did feel a bit out of sorts when in Negi's company.

Kaede saved Zazie from needing to say anything by speaking up herself. "Good Evening Negi-bouzu ~De Gozaru." Negi looked up at Kaede. She was still taller than Negi, despite the fact that, physically, they were the same age. Zazie had many ways of figuring things out in Mahora Gakuen, even where the status of things would normally be considered secret. Shadows existed everywhere and Zazie's friends could be anywhere that shadows loomed. Negi had used a special chamber where time was different, longer. The process had made Negi live longer then he had truly lived on the outside world. This made his body eighteen, though, on the outside, he was still seen as a fifteen years old young man. "See you next weekend, right ~Gozaruyo?"

Negi smiled. "Why not this weekend?"

"Zazie-san is coming with me this time around. Fuuka-chan and Fumika-chan are both going to be around and I think Kotarou-kun is going to be around too. It'll be crowded enough as it is. Next weekend works better I think ~De Gozaruya."

Negi snapped his fingers in a mocking fashion and laughed. "So... Does Zazie-san know?" Negi asked quietly.

"That's a silly question ~Yo!" Ku Fei's voice came from inside the shop. Negi turned around and smiled, bowing to his former teacher. Ku Fei bowed back. "You're powerful but you've always been a little dense ~Aru, Negi-bouzu. There's nobody in the old class that doesn't know unless they purposefully shut the belief out of their mind ~Ne."

Negi gave a laugh at this. It was all very true. Nobody from the original 3-A hadn't had brushes with magic, if not absolute contact and practical experience with it. Zazie could name off the people in the original class who actively studied magic, whether western or eastern alike. The ratio to those who didn't was astounding as far as averages went. Even those who didn't actively practice it all let it rule their life. The Narutaki Twins were Kaede's new apprentices in the ninja arts. They had always stuick like glue to Kaede from the beginning anyway. Kotarou was magical to the core and had pact companions in both Naba Chizuru and Murakami Natsumi. Even though neither studied magic actively they each knew the most small of incantations and used their artifacts more often than would be considered appropriate. Then again, who was Zazie to talk when she practically flaunted her powers over the shadow beasts to the public. Despite the fact that they were magical beings, they were easily seen and did not equate to any natural creature on the planet. Even those like Ayaka, who were one of the last to find out about magic, were no strangers to it now. When she found out about the pactio cards (And the method in which to attain them) Ayaka practically leaped into Negi's arms for the kiss. Akashi Yuna had been pulled into the magic world for a time and, instead of making a pactio with one of the mages in the class, she simply became one herself, happily taking a few classmates as her pactio companions in the process. Makie, though she had become one of Negi's companions, also became a mage in training. Ayase Yue now searched the library island with Miyazaki Nodoka near 24-7 not with their former excavation gear but with magic.

"Well," Negi started. "I'm gonna get going. Master will have my head if I don't get back to train on time." By master Zazie knew he meant Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell, The Dark Evangelist, The Undying Mage, Maga Nosferatu, and so on. To Zazie she had always just been a classmate and, at a few times, a bit of a friend when she was bored with the normal going ons of Mahora Gakuen. (Zazie recalled a time when, in her boredom, Eva dressed up some of the girls because "They had no sex appeal.") Zazie waved goodbye and Kaede said it. Soon enough Negi was gone. It was time to go home for everyone. Zazie wandered through the streets of Mahora Gakuen with Kaede that night, listening to the ninja talk and answering her yes or no questions with nods or shakes of the head.

Meanwhile Satsuki checked around the restaurant, happy as the clams she served and certain tomorrow would make an equally wonderful day. "You really are happy today, aren't you, Satsuki?" Satomi asked from the stairwell. "I'm glad Chao left you the resources for this place. Even if she's gone... I'm glad she left her mark on all of us."

Satsuki looked up at Satomi as she stood in the stairwell. "Ya." She said quietly, the smile never leaving her face. "I miss her... But maybe someday we'll see her again. In the mean time I'll do what I've always wanted... What she made possible for me."

Satomi wandered down from the stairs and approached Satsuki. Satomi had possibly been the closest to Chao after Ku Fei. Together Chao and Satomi had personally sold their souls to science together and had done so many wonderful and amazing things. They had made time machines, robots, the Chao Bao Zhi cart, and had brought peace to the world for a whole day. Satomi had taken it hard when Chao had left, though she still never cried, never looked back. It was only forward from here. Satomi gave Satsuki a hug, a tight one. She had always missed Chao and talking about the former genius made "The Professor" a little ill at ease. She always liked to be embraced after remembering the old times. Satsuki was more than willing to oblige. "I'm gonna turn in for tonight. You get to sleep soon, alright? We've got an early day tomorrow."

Ku Fei walked in from outside after grabbing the plates and cleaning off the tables. "Reminiscing about Chao ~Ne?" She asked. Satsuki nodded a bit. "Been a while since we last did that ~Yo. Let's chat for a while." Ku Fei tossed the dishes into the dish washer quickly, rinsing off her hands and tumbling up to a nearby table to Satsuki. "So what's in the pocket ~Yo?" Satsuki looked in her apron pocket. It was the ticket to the Nightmare Circus that she had gotten from Zazie two days ago. She had completely forgotten that she had put it there. Ku Fei, ever the nosy one, looked at it and made a noise of impresion. "Oh, the Nightmare Circus is a good show ~Aru! You gonna go see it?" Satsuki thought for a bit before nodding. "Bet Zazie-san gave that to ya, didn't she ~Aru?" Sastuki nodded again.

"She came over two days ago... before we opened up. We had some tea in my room and I asked her to come back today.."

"Which explains the all expenses paid pass ~Yo! Never thought you and Zazie-san were close." Ku Fei said with a smile.

"We never really have been..." Satsuki stated. "She was just walking and I invited her in."

"You're too nice, Tsuki." Ku Fei said with a grin. "I''d say it would get ya in trouble some day... But I know better ~Aru." Satsuki giggled at this. For some reason nobody had ever tried anything unexpected or lecherous with her. It was a comforting thing to know, though Satsuki almost wished for it at times when the other girls were angry at such things from young men who didn't know their boundaries. It seemed funny and nobody thought of Satsuki as any sort of romantic object. She was adorable and cute but apparently not worth the attention for romance. Still, there was too much reason to be happy to be let down by such facts this night. Ku Fei and Satsuki would continue to talk for quite the while. "Hey Tsuki?" Ku Fei asked eventually, Satsuki giving a look of inquisition. "Whatya think about coming to training with me and some friends this weekend on Sunday. It's when we're closed, right ~Aru?"

Satsuki thought about it. It would work out just fine, definitely. They had nothing better to do and Ku Fei made it top priority to keep herself spry. "Alright." Satsuki said after some thought

The Weekend Comes!

Days went by and Zazie couldn't stop thinking. She lay in her dorm for some time the previous day. It was the weekend now. All she had to do was wait for Kaede to arrive and bring her... Wherever they were to be going. Zazie's own roommate was out at the moment. It wasn't as if the university woman ever cared to spend time with Zazie. Yuhiro Mayumi never so much as breathed air from the same direction as Zazie if she could help it. On the contrary, she avoided Zazie at all costs. Zazie didn't know if it was because she disliked her or was scared or what. It didn't matter, though. Mayumi had, when they first moved in together, taken a single look at Zazie before judging her unable to be spoken to. Fortunately for Zazie, Mayumi was very passive about her avoidance. She did "speak" to Zazie sometimes, though only long enough to get it by that she was vacating the general vicinity at top speed. She didn't treat the acrobat badly. She simply took every step she could to make sure that the two never so much as shared the same space for more than a few minutes. This was alright, since Mayumi took mostly night classes and Zazie stayed out at daytime when Mayumi needed the room to sleep. A knock sounded at the door and Zazie went to get it, revealing Kaede behind the door with the Narutaki twins at her sides.

Fuuka and Fumika, the Narutaki twins, had been the smallest and most childish looking girls in 3-A five years ago. That five years had, however, made all the difference. They were now considered goddesses among women. Whether late bloomers or just having not yet hit a valued growth spurt, the twins had hit the brunt of their growth around second year in high school. They had grown by a foot and their "feminine assets" had gone from nonexistent to all too obvious. Now, though still identical, their personalities couldn't have been different. If Fumika was slightly meek in 3-A, she was now the very definition of submission, save for perhaps Nodoka. If Fuuka had been a bit wild in 3-A she was now the wild fire cracker of Mahora Gakuen, her pranks having reached a whole new level with her ninja skill. "Morning, Zazie-san!" Kaede spoke happily. "Ready for a trip to the woods for the weekend?" Zazie nodded silently. Kaede ushered her out of the room with her pack of things and pulled, from her cleavage, a cloak of pure black. Zazie wondered what it was for. Before she could think on it, however, Kaede swung the cloak around Zazie, transporting her into a log cabin. This was clearly some powerful magic. The twins appeared after her soon enough and then Kaede appeared minutes later. "You ever been told that your roommate's a little hostile, Zazie-san?" Kaede asked with a small smile. Zazie just shook he head Mayumi was the picture of popularity, so far as Zazie knew. "Well," Kaede started, "I suppose everyopne's entitled to their own opinion ~De Gozaruyo. Even if it's wrong. Oh! We're there ~Gozaru!"

Suddenly Zazie felt a wrenching sensation, as though she was being shoved out of reality. It occured to her as soon as her vision cleared up, now staring not at the walls of a log cabin but at mountain scenery, that this was probably just the case. Well... perhaps out of one reality into the next one. A man she recognized as Inugami Kotarou, better known by anyone normal as Murakami Kotarou, the supposed relative of Murakami Natsumi, who Kotarou had, five years ago, made a pactio with. Kotarou, like Negima, had also grown a lot faster than his outward age would have hinted. He had attained the body of an eighteen years old man through the very same means Negima had. He had used time manipulating locations to spend more time training. Zazie sometimes felt nosy, knowing what she did, though it wasn't like she was telling anyone any big secrets. What was the harm in turning oneself into a literal vault of little secrets? Zazie didn't bother answering her own mental question that time. There was so much wrong with it, despite the fact that it was one of Zazie's biggest hobbies. "You're late!" Kotarou complained before noticing Zazie, "Who's the new girl?"

Zazie hadn't expected Kotarou to know her. He hadn't ever been in the same class, despite his early graduation from middle and high school. He may have only been fifteen but he was still considered an upperclassman by the standards of Zazie, Kaede and the twins. He was a second year university student while the rest of them were only first years. "Her name's Zazie Rainyday, Kotarou-Senpai ~De Gozaruna." Kaede stated, a definite bit of sarcasm when adressing Kotarou by name. Kotarou made a noise of hilarity and stepped up closer, giving a shallow bow to Zazie. Zazie felt herself do the same. "She's been with us since middle school, though she's never done much with us. I thought I would invite her so she could see what our practices look like ~Gozaru." No answer came from Kotarou. He had been assaulted by the Narutaki twins sometimes between Zazie bowing and Kaede finishing her statement. Now they bounced from tree limb to tree limb attackling each other, though Kotarou seemed to willingly be putting himself completely on the defense. It looked almost fun, though Zazie knew better than to butt in on it. "You do acrobatics, right Zazie-san?" Zazie looked at Kaede and nodded slowly. "Not sure if you would be able to keep up with us like this... It's pretty tough to keep up with Me and Kotarou in combat ~De Gozaru." Zazie shook her head slowly. Nobody knew of Zazie's abilities, though it wasn't like she had ever offered to show the true extent of her prowess. The Nightmare Circus acrobatics didn't so much as make Zazie short of breath. She had her own methods of training, however private they were. However, Zazie was feeling uncharacteristically active today. The spirit of the practice she guessed. "Well" Kaede cut into Zazie's thoughts, "I suppose we could let them fight for a while. Remember, we're gonna be living off the land for the next two days. How about we go foraging?"

Zazie was caught a bit off guard. Slowly she nodded, slightly confused. Couldn't everyone just get food from the cabin inside Kaede's cloak? Surely there was a kitchen and fully stocked fridge in there. However, that would hardly be good training, now would it? Off Kaede went into the wood and after her Zazie followed. The foraging was rather lackluster, as Zazie soon came to find. All it was was catching rabbits, spearing fish and gathering wild vegetables. Despite the climbing involved in getting to some locations it was not too vigorous a workout. Kaede similarly was unphased. She was no doubt so used to all of this that it didn't affect her at all. When they finally reached the end of Kaede's "check list" the two stood at the top of the mountain peak, Kaede having wanted to get fresh snow from the snow cap for water. Zazie saw the exercise as highly time wasting. They had passed countless streams and ponds on the way up. Still, she wouldn't question it. Maybe the snow at the peak was better as drinking water because of extra minerals... Or something like that. When finfally the snow had been gathered Kaede stood at the vbery top of the peak. "Come look at this ~De Gozaruna!" Zazie frowned and stepped up beside Kaede, confused as to why they weren't leaving for camp right away. "Now look around." And Zazie did just that.

The silent acrobat gasped when she looked as instructed. She was shocked at the beauty laid out before her. The world around seemed entirely untouched. As far as the eye could see it was virgin wilderness, perfectly preserved as it had been made to be in the first place. Was this the real world? There was no way that such beauty had been preserved like this. There was no way this was earth. Surely Kaede had brought Zazie to another magical world where everything was untouched. "It's beautiful, isn't it? You don't see many places like this anymore. As far as the eye can see natural wilderness ~Gozaru. You don't know how long it took me to find this kind of place. It's my own special place. Right now we're somewhere in Hokkaido, by the way ~De Gozaruyo." Kaede turned to Zazie. "I bet you were wondering why we kept going up to useless places. Why go for high mountain truffles when we could just pick lowland mushrooms? Why go all the way to the peak for snow when we could have just gotten our water from the stream near camp? This is why ~Gozaruna!" Kaede spread her arms. "You're the fourth person I've shown this to. The three down below are the other three. They all were confused too... Then they saw this ~De Gozaru. The pure beauty of these mountains. I gotta ask you ~ De Gozaru. How would like training with us every weekend? You get to see the sights, get stronger, be better. I can already tell you're physically able. There's something about you that I know is different from the others ~De Gozaru. If I had to guess... you're a mage, right, Zazie-san?" Zazie nodded numbly, still looking at the sights around her. "I had a hunch from a long time ago. You never made it as obvious as Negi-bouzu but you always had that feling about you ~De Gozaru. Come on, Zazie-san. Let's get back before Kotarou dies of hunger ~De Gozaru."

In the end Kaede had to drag Zazie from the peak, the mysterious clown frozen in awe of the natural beauty that was laid out before her. When they returned, sure enough, Kaede's fortune had struck true. Kotarou, as well as the Narutaki twins, had worn themselves completely out in their fighting. They all lay on the ground, moaning for food as soon as they saw Kaede and Zazie get near. Kaede just let out a chuckle and started the fire for food. The night was beginning to fall as it was. A fire was a smart idea in the first place.

That night the group enjoyed fresh fish, mountain vegetables, mountain truffles and some soup made from the melted snow and the rabbits that they had caught as well as some extra veggies and fish. It was all very nice. Zazie had never been invited into a casual dinner before. When she had lived with her family, back in europe, it had been the standard family dinner most of the time. After she came to Japan she stayed the loner until tonight. Now, she felt almost as if she belonged. Granted the people she dined with weren't exactly who she would have guessed she would be spending time with at any time in her life, but it was still like she belonged with them. Three ninjas and an eastern magic fighter seemed strange when you added a magical acrobat, though it was just as normal as eating convenience store bento alone had become for Zazie after the last six years in Japan to the others, or so it seemed. Everyone happily chatted with each other. Many questions were passed Zazie's way but Kaede, as though she could read Zazie's own mind, answered all of them for her to make sure Zazie wasn't uncomfortable having to talk. By the end of the night it all seemed so natural. Questions were asked, subjects started and completed. Kotarou joked around about how Zazie never talked and everyone laughed. Even Zazie couldn't help but to give a silent giggle at times, seeing as she had very quickly found out that Kotarou's jokes weren't always centered on her lack of speech. He joked about everyone and everything equally. The Narutaki twins were playful, as Zazie had previously noticed, though it turned out that Fumika wasn't as shy in good company as she normally was. Despite her public shyness she was very wild when with close friends. Kaede, though still laid back, had a much more playful nature when with close friends. She flirted openly with Kotarou, if only to tease him. She made jokes about the twins and played tricks on them, though all were very light hearted. Zazie, despite her general remoteness to the group's mindset, was still quite a bit more active in her parts. She felt comfortable to let loose a little around these people. She juggled for them freely and did some acrobatics as well. She couldn't help performing for them when they asked and smiled at their applause.

Finally, when everyone was getting tired, Kaede set up a bath for everyone. Zazie watched as Kaede dragged, from the bushes nearby, a great big tub of metal. It was possitively huge, at least in comparison to one person baths. Kotarou gave a laugh. "Finally got to getting a bigger bath, huh?" Zazie gave him a look of confusion. "We used to have to pile in two at a time in a metal barrel. Now she's got something proper."

To Zazie, though large, the tub looked like a poorly welded together bunch of scrap that had been bent into the shape of a flat bottomed bowl. It hardly looked proper in any sort. In fact, it looked like it would fall apart at any moment. "Put it together myself ~De Gozaru!" Kaede stated with a definite note of pride in her voice.

Kotarou laughed at this as the Narutaki twins emerged from a nearby bit of bushes, towels in hand. Their eyes lit up when they saw that they now had a full tub instead of a barrel in which to sit in. "You guys get washed up yet?" Kotarou asked, the two nodding. "Okay, Zazie-san, want me to wash your back while Kaede-nee gets the water in the tub and warmed up?" Zazie hesitated. Wash her back? He was a man and she was a woman. Did he mean to peep at her body? Kotarou gave a weird look at Zazie. "If you've got somethin to hide I won't look. And besides, I'll help you if you wash my back." It all seemed so familiar. Zazie had realized that she had been rather well accepted but not quite this much.

Fortunately Kaede came to the rescue, at least Zazie would have though so until she actually spoke up as she went to grab some fire wood to fill the pit under the tub with. "Zazie-san, it's alright. Kotarou's washed my back plenty of times." Zazie gave Kaede a look of further confusion. Kaede seemed to suddenly understand, dropping the wood in the pit under the tub. "Is that the problem?" Kotarou gave a confused look suddenly as Kaede walked over and put a hand on Zazie's shoulder. "You don't have to worry about him. Hes a pretty noble guy. Besides, this is bath time, not lechery. Relax and give it a chance ~De Gozaru. This is what a training group deals with and handles. We wouldn't be a very good group if we didn't trust each other to something as silly as roaming eyes ~De Gozaruna."

Reluctantly Zazie filed into the bushes toward the stream with Kotarou. Kotarou took off his clothes right away, not at all caring who was watching. It was all so casual, too casual. Zazie took some time to remove her own clothes, only then remembering that, when they had come out of the bushes, the Narutaki Twins hadn't just been holding towels but wearing them as well. How had she not noticed? Kotarou was already done washing his hair in the stream by the time Zazie had gotten fully undressed. He looked over and Zazie turned away to avoid his glance. "Yo, you want your back scrubbed or not?" He asked harshly, almost as though hurt. "Take a seat at the edge of the stream." Zazie did so, cringing at the feeling of the cold clay she sat on. It all felt slimy and disgusting. How did the rest of them handle it? Zazie felt something hit her back that was cold and gooey and then hands that rubbed what must have been soap over her back. It was all so very uncomfortable. A soft bristled brush ran over the skin of her back and Zazie shivered a little, mostly at the cold water her feet sat in at that moment. "A little cold, I know. We are in Hokkaido, after all. Nothin's really warm here. Want me to wash your hair while I'm back here?" Zazie hesitated, then nodded slowly. It didn't seem that bad. Kotarou hadn't done anything lecherous yet. Soon enough he had finished with Zazie's back and lathered in the shampoo. She dipped herself into the stream to rinse off and then looked back to Kotarou from the water, her teeth soundlessly tapping in her mouth as she shivered. "Care to get my back really quick, Zazie-san?" Kotarou asked, pointing behind him as he sat at the edge of the stream. Zazie tried hard tro make sure her eyes didn't go between his legs. She had gone her whole life without looking at a man's... parts and she didn't plan on starting this night.

Soon enough Kotarou's back had been scrubbed down and he had rinsed off. He covered himself with a towel and Zazie did likewise with a towel of her own. According to Kotarou, the towel effect was more so bushes didn't scrape across delicate regions of the flesh, at least that was how it was among the group here. Zazie didn't fault this. Women's bodies had a variet of locations where the skin was delicate and she guessed that man were not much different if Kotarou was at least covering up some. When they had arrived back in camp the big tub waited, the water steaming. The twins were already lounging in the water with their hair down. Kotarou grinned wide and removed his towel, stepping in from the wooden block at the edge of the tub, sighing in comfort as he sunk neck deep into the tub and scooting away from the part of the wall where the wooden block lay on the other side. Zazie looked around for Kaede, who appeared to be gone. "Kaede-nee's out cleaning up at the stream. She left just after you so she'll probably be back pretty soon." Fuuka stated. Or was it Fumika? Zazie couldn't tell.

Sure enough, Kaede came out right then. How had Zazie not noticed her? Well, she was a ninja, after all. "Ah, I see everyone's jumped in without me... At least for the most part. I got a special gift for everyone for this weekend, by the way ~De Gozaru." Kaede was covered by her cloak, not a towel. If what Kotarou said was true, however, it would serve the same purpose. Just keep from getting scraped by bushes. Now that she was out of the bushes Kaede didn't seem to be putting much effort into actually covering herself. She seemed to rile through the inside of the cloak for a bit and pulled out four bottles of sake, a cheer sounding from the three in the tub. "Zazie-san, feel free to join us any time." Kaede said as she stepped into the pool, handing a bottle to each of the others. "Yours is inside the cloak." She stated. Zazie looked at the lump of cloth on the ground, noting that there was, in fact, the neck of a sake bottle sticking out of it. She shed her towel, rather delicately, to say the least, grabbed the bottle and sank into the bath as quickly as she could, trying to keep prying eyes from seeing her before she submerged into the hot, steamy water.

Unconsciously Zazie found herself letting out a sigh of relief. The water felt amazing and Zazie hadn't realized how long it had been since she had sunk into a nice hot bath. Kotarou already seemed to be talking freely with one of the Narutaki twins while the other and kaede toasted at the opposite end of the tub. Zazie lifted the sake out of the water, having let her hand sink into the water when she entered the tub. The bottle was just wet though. The sake would still be fine. She opened the bottle and took a sip. Of course Zazie had drunk sake before. It wasn't half bad. Gradually the night drew on even further. The feeling of familiarity only continued to escalate as midnight grew closer. Zazie began to feel better in front of everyone as she was. She wasn't sure if it was the sake or just the fact that Kaede hadn't lied. Kotarou's "prying eyes" hadn't done any prying at all in the direction of any of the women who he was with. Granted there were questions of a female nature directed at Kotarou. At one point one of the twins asked Kotarou if her breasts had grown any and he replied, after taking about ten seconds worth of looking, "They look about the same to me. But it's dark. They might have grown." Zazie was dumbstruck at the display of genteel manners in such a situation. There was no lecherousness in Kotarou's eyes when he "evaluated" the twin's size. There was no man's hunger to get a closer look or perhaps ask for a feel to be sure. No, Kotarou had just looked, evaluated and judged before going back to another conversation, as though the female body genuinely didn't affect him. Zazie would have called him gay hadn't she known better. Kotarou was most certainly one for women, though these women he seemed completely at ease with. He treated them like any other man and they treated him like another woman. Well, perhaps that wasn't exactly the case. However,. It was certainly a more comfortable environmemnt then what Zazie would have expected.

In the end, everyone went to sleep in a rather small tent for five people. Zazie curled up in a corner near the back and everyone else got a spot of their own, though there seemed to be some rivalry for the "best" spot. After the twins and Kotarou had gone to sleep, a display that ended up looking like a strange tangle of bodies since none of them could decide who got the "best" spot and just piled on, Kadede remained awake with Zazie. She didn't seem awake, of course. Zazie, however, could tell. Kaede's soft voice spoke out into the silence. "Never thought it would be this relaxed, did ya ~De Gozaru?" Zazie turned her head to look at Kaede, who lay across the tent from her. "I know it's a foreign kind of thing, a man around acting like Kotarou-bouzu does. He's the same in public as any other man would be... but here he's different ~De Gozaruna." Kaede gave a short sigh as she stretched her legs visibly from under the blanket. "When we all train there is no romance... at least not in the open. We're a group of fighters, nothing less. We do our chores and fight each other and get stronger here. When we're here, even if for just the weekend, there's no gender ~Gozaruyo. There's just people who want to get stronger." Zazie thought on this. Was it possible to do such a thing? Was it possible to simply extend disbelief to gender and sexuality for a weekend and then, after all was done, resume the standard personality, as though nothing happened? Zazie wished Kaede could Hear her like Ayaka did. "Of course not." Kaede started, the silent acrobat jumping a bit where she lay. Could Kaede Hear Zazie, after all? "It's not hard when you Listen." Kaede said, giving a husky chuckle. "You talk to Iincho all the time, after all. People don't Hear you because they don't Listen to what you Say ~De Gozaruna. As for your questions; It's impossible to simply disbelieve gender and sexuality. I am sure that Kotarou-bouzu still looks at us naked and thinks dirty thoughts about it. I'm sure Fuuka still gets naughty thoughts when she sees Kotarou-bouzu's special parts. I know that, the few times Negi-bouzu has joined us for the night, that I have given some special thoughts to his body. However, we don't show it. We don't hide the fact that we are who we are. However, when it comes time for more private affairs, we all tone down sexuality to a minimum. People don't like to be judged ~De Gozaru. It would be just as unkind to say that Kotarou couldn't join the bath as to say that the girls couldn't join him provided they wanted to. We spend private moments with each other because we want to ~De Gozaru. In the real world we are still students who have all the same problems but here we are a close group of friends who freely see and be seen, because if you can be close to those you consider close, why not get as close as you can ~Gozaruna?" Zazie was baffled by this speech. How did that make any sense? Were these people crazy? She couldn't understand it! "Maybe, some time soon, Zazie-san, you will. For now just get some sleep and set your mind at ease ~Gozaruyo."

When Zazie woke it was not by the gentle rays of sunlight that peered into the tent. It was not by the gentle ministrations of Kaede rousing her. It wasn't even by Kotarou shaking her awake. On the contrary, the waking call came by One of the Narutaki Twins drooling on her cheek. She went tense and didn't quite know what to do. It was so disgusting! The twin in question must have rolled off of the three persaon high pile in her sleep and found a new, lower location to lay her head on, even if it happened to be Zazie's own head. Zazie didn't know what to do, though fortune came to her as Kotarou lifted the twin from her place over Zazie, giving her a couple light slaps on the face to rouse her. "Geez, Fuuka, look what you did! You drooled all over Zazie-san!"

Fumika was rousing as well. "Did you want her to drool on you more, Kotarou?"

Kotarou gave a look of irritation. "Dammit! Just get outside! I need to stretch and you two need to warm up too! We got a long day ahead of us!" Everyone laughed as Kaede sat up and stretched out in her corner. Zazie was wiping her face off with her blanket and looked to Kaede who only smiled knowingly.

Meanwhile!

Satsuki waited in her room for Ku Fei to rise. It was Sunday, the day that the restaurant was closed and the day that Satsuki would go to train with Ku Fei. Where she trained Satsuki wasn't sure. She knew she had see, many years ago, Negi and Ku Fei training alone in front of the World Tree, however, Satsuki knew that Ku Fei didn't train there anymore. Soon enough Ku Fei had woken up, taking the Sunday for granted and sleeping in an hour extra. She knocked on the shared door and Satsuki opened it up. All of the room were, at least indirectly, connected. Each room, save for Chao's, had a door to the next room over. One never had to enter the hall if they didn't want to get to the next room over. "Morning ~Aru" Ku Fei muttered as she stepped in, still half dressed. "Ready for the day ahead?" Satsuki nodded with her usual sweet smile. "Hope you don't mind the place we're going to. I know you don't do much stuff with magic ~Yo. Eva-chan's got this cool place Negi-bouzu and I train in with her and some others. It's really big and fun ~Aru!"

Satsuki was sure that she wouldn't be doing any of the fighting or magic like the others would be but she was sure she would enjoy watching it all anyway. Of course, Satsuki had never been one for violence. However, so long as it was all in good spirit and for the sake of getting stonger, she supposed it was a fine thing to do. The two departed and, after about a half an hour, they arrived at Eva's home. Sakurazaki Setsuna and Konoe Konoka sat at the stairs, as though waiting for the two to arrive. Konoka waved and Setsuna stood behind her, a smile on her face. The four went into the little cabin. Setsuna briefly questioned Satsuki's presence but Ku Fei waved it by, insisting she was around for the training. Satsuki didn't quite know what to say, though. Int the basement they went, where many familiar faces were seen beside a huge construction of round bottles, each one looking to have different kinds of places of the world in them. One was a great mountain range and another a desert. One was an ocean that filled half the bottle and one was a massive jungle. Finally there was a big bottle that had what looked like a snowy forest in it. In the middle of the five gigantic bottles was a much smaller bottle with a tower in it. It alone was the only hospitable looking place. Evangeline sat in the middle of a pentagram on the floor. "Hey, Ku Fei-san. Finally got your ass over here? See you brought a guest. Good morning, Satsuki." Satsuki nodded in acknowledgement.

Evangeline was no longer the little girl she had used to be in 3-A. Satsuki didn't know quite how, thought somewhere around the end of the year in 3-A Eva had gone through a massive growth spurt, sprouting into a wonderful woman that matched even Naba Chizuru and Nagase Kaede for beauty, bustiness and height. It had happened gradually, of course, though "gradually" had only entailed over the course of perhaps three years, an unusual rate of growth for anyone. Then again, when Satsuki looked at people like Negi and Kotarou, their growth rates were similarly flawed. Perhaps the original 3-A was just strange. Soon enough there was a glow in the room. Everyone seemed calm, though Satsuki didn't know what to expect. Suddenly there was a feeling of being wrenched from her place and Satsuki let out a short scream of fright and then, suddenly, she was at the tower she had seen in the central bottle in the basement just moments ago. Everyone else was around her, giving her mildly worried looks. "You okay ~Aru?" Ku Fei asked. Satsuki nodded, still a little shocked.

It turned out that where everyone was was a special bottle where every one hour that passed outside equalled one day on the inside. Was this kind of thing how Negi, Eva and Kotarou had all grown so fast. Asking Ku Fei, the martial artist admitted the fact that it was just so for Negi and Kotarou. However, Satsuki learned that Eva had grown because, according to her, that was her new true form. She had, albeit reluctantly, made a magical pact with Negi, which released a good part of her vampire's curse as well as something called Attendance Perdition, which apparently had forced Eva to stay within the ground of Mahora Gakuen for years before 3-A even came into being, at least as they had been under Negi. Satsuki had known about magic for a ghood time, though she hadn't guessed that so many people were involved in it. Looking around she noticed that there were many more people then she had counted. There was Konoe Konoka, Sakurazaki Setsuna, Kagurazaka Asuna, Negi, Akashi Yuuna, Chachamaru (This wasn't a surprise), Sasaki Makie, Ayase Yue, Asakura Kazumi Kiotome Haruna, Miyazaki Nodoka and Izumi Ako. It was revealed, soon enough, that Aizaka Sayo was also present, though Satsuki hadn't seen her at first for some reason. It was surprising to know that all of the others were training under Eva or Negi, and even if they trained directly under Negi, Negi trained under Eva. All people answered to Eva in the end, apparently.

Within a short time everything became even more clear to Satsuki than before. All Satsuki had known about magic and how groups worked was that they all cast spells or used some kind of magic to do special things. On the contrary, it was much more advanced then that! Not all mages were made equal in the same situations. Konoka and Ako were the resident healers of this training group. Negi, Setsuna, Ku Fei and Asuna were close quarters melee combatants, the "Magic Swordsmen" as they were nicknamed. Makie and Haruna were "Indirect Combatants," all having something other than close range melee or long ranged ballistics. Haruna, for instance, summoned while Makie used a long, magical ribbon to attack from twenty feet away. Yuuna was apparently a "Buffing Caster." She powered up allies instead of going to direct combat. Yue and Eva were best referred to, by Eva's own words, as high powered artillery, staying back and sending barrage after barrage of powerful spells at the enemy while the closer ranged combatants did the most of the hard combat for them. Nodoka and Kazumi seemed entirely noncombative. In fact, both admitted freely that they had no place on the battlefield, were one to spring up. They were "field" mages. They spied and revealed traps, making sure that their companions weren't hurt outside the fight so that they could be spry for the fights ahead. Apparently Sayo worked directly with Kazumi when needed so her job was assumed similar. However, Satsuki was later surprise when the ultra plain former classmate lifted up a piece of furniture with her mind and flung it at her opponent. Chachamaru was, apparently, all kinds of support, not being a true mage but being useful outside of a fight and in combat at all distances or situations. It was all so very interesting to Satsuki when she saw it. As she sat down, helping herself to a drink, Evangeline approached Satsuki. "So what made you decide to join us in our special little training session, Satsuki?"

Satsuki looked to Eva and gave a smile. "Ku Fei asked me if I wanted to come, so I did. I thought it would be nice to see her train." Satsuki looked at Ku Fei's ensuing battle with Negi and cringed as she sent the teacher flying into a nearby statue, which exploded when he made impact. However, Negi flew right back out of the rubble to attack Ku Fei in return. "I must say... It's a lot more imnpressive than I though... If not more violent."

"Ya, Mages are like that." Eva admitted. "To put it to scale, We'll say the average human has a power level of two. These people, all of them, with no acceptions, rate in the tens of thousands. To witness something so extraordinary a normal human is normally blinded by the sheer scale of it. With so many apprentices and so many of their apprentices it's hard to keep this place clean and in order. Believe me when I tell you that this isn't it. The Boy has quite a few more students and I have, in moments of weakness, taken on similar students. Not all of them are from the old 3-A, even if the ones here today are. You'd be surprised how many mages live amongst the general population." Eva stood up. "It's not normal that I get anyone not interested in magic to come here. However, I've always wondered if you would join up the crazies to learn at least a couple kitchen spells."

Satsuki paused. "I don't know if I could."

"Nonsense." Eva stated. "The only reason you wouldn't be able to perform magic would be the refusal to try. I wouldn't blame you, though. Just between you and me, I admire you, Satsuki." Eva said, looking down to Satsuki. "You're the only one of these stupid kids that sees the future in a believable light. You planned out something both possible and commendable. All you want to do is make people happy. There's no way that isn't worth kudos, even from an undying, evil mage like myself."

Satsuki felt a smile form on her face from the former expression of confusion. "Maybe... Maybe I could try to be a mage of some sort. What would you recommend?"

Eva grinned, sitting down on thin air, floating about a foot off the ground. "Well, first I gotta say that you shouldn't take lessons from any of these kids. I'll tell ya right now that I'm not the kind of teacher that would be good for you. In fact, I wold be the worst kind." Satsuki gave a confused look. "I train all my students like a slave master controls his inventory; with a whip and iron fist. I beat my students bloody and ragged, push them to situations that should kill them and beat them mercilessly when they fail obviously impossible tasks."

"Why not Negi-sensei?" Satsuki asked.

Eva seemed to think for a moment. Maybe she was thinking up something profound or long winded. Some kind of speech that would sum Negi up in the best way. After a short sigh Eva spoke. "The Boy's too stupid." Eva left it at that. No profound speech, no long winded description, no heartfelt explaination. Negima Springfield was just "too stupid" to train Satsuki. "Besides, what kind of stuff could he teach you?" Satsuki sat confused even still. "He's a magic swordsman. He'd be a great teacher if you were some crazy tomboy who wanted to kill people. However, ask yourself this. Would you ever consider taking human life something that could attain happiness for anyone?" Satsuki realized now just what Eva was talking about. It was true. Negi was a fighter to the core. He had trained with Eva and Ku Fei and all of his other masters for the specific purpose of being a lethal enemy in combat. His fists were weapons, not life giving instruments. Satsuki looked toward Konoka and, as though reading her mind, Eva cut in. "Konoka-chan's a no-go. She's too stupid also. Not to mention she's barely done learning her healing magic. Anyway, you don't want to be a healer."

Satsuki looked at Eva in confusion and partial hurt. "Why not?" She asked

"Because it isn't healing injured people you want." Eva reminded Satsuki. "You want to make people happy. If you became a healer you would be making people happy, though only from injury. Something tells me you want to make everyone happy, not just the injured and their families. If there is a type of magic that you would want to focus on, I don't know what it would be called. However, the basics are always the best place to start." Satsuki gave a nod. That was a reasonable thing to say. After all, Grandma's hot apple pie couldn't be savored if you didn't learn how to cut and peel the apples first. "That said," Eva started, handing Satsuki a little wand with a heart at the end, "As a mage in training, this is your greatest tool. It's a wand. Satomi-chan and Ku Fei alike know how to use them. Chachamaru can instruct, so I'll send her over to your restaurant to live there for a while so that she can help you learn the basics. In the mean time I'll help you out with a starter spell."

Satsuki watched as Eva instructed the first spell she would ever make. It looked fun and simple. Satsuki took the wand in hand and waved it through the air. "Practe Bigi Nar Aldescet." Satsuki spoke up. Nothing happened. The fire did not come up from the wand like it had with Eva. Not even the smallest of sparks.

"That's about what I expected." Eva stated before Satsuki gave her a hurt look. Eva balked. "I meant that you're a beginner! It's not like you can learn every spell right away. I'm sure you'll learn it soon enough!" Satsuki cheered up and Eva breathed a sigh of relief. "That said, you should practice several times every day. Since you don't live in the stabdard dorm and since everyone in the restaurant either knows or actively practices magic you should ask them for help whenever you can."

Ku Fei stepped up from her fight with Negi. She was covered in bruises and scrapes, though she didn't seem phased by them. Ako was on her like a hawk as soon as she cleared the general combat area, healing everything before she was even completely under the pavilion. "Thanks ~Aru! You're such a good healer, Ako!" Ku Fei said with a smile. "Teachin Tsuki magic ~Ne?" she asked Eva.

"You think yo could do better, pyro?" Satsuki was confused as Ku Fei laughed. "This crazy girl is the closest thing you could get to a fire mage in our group... even if she is better with water. She doesn't hold back with fire energy, just lets it roar out of control the instant it parts from her."

"What do you mean?" Satsuki asked with a look of inquisition.

Ku Fei laughed and gave a look toward Eva, who shrugged in defeat. "I'll show you ~Aru." Ku Fei took out a card and spoke, "Adeat!" summoning forth a great metal staff. She twirled it around a bit and let out, "Practe Bigi Nar Aldescet." Satsuki had been expecting a flame as big as Eva's, perhaps larger. She did create a larger flame. The flame came out as the standard lighter sized flame. However, it continued to grow and grow out of control until it raged, blasting out in all directions. Eva stepped in, of course, summoning a torrent of water to extinguish the flame. Ku Fei was laughing as she sat soaked on the ground. "No control whatsoever ~Yo."

Eva sat down with a groan. "It's a good thing she is so good with water. She has, and often at that, used fire magic in battle. We're lucky she can extinguish the flames before they get too out of control. She burns so much hotter than the average caster and it spreads much faster. Needless to say, if you're going for some minor kitchen spells, trust Satomi-chan instead of Ku Fei for anything to start the grill." Satsuki couldn't help but giggle at Eva's words when she said them. It was definitely noted.

The rest of the day Satsuki worked on her first spell, the spell that would hopefully start it all. Again and again she tried. Again and again she failed miserably at getting even a single spark. Why wasn't it working. Supposedly there was a lot more magic in this resort. Shouldn't it be easier. "You're too tense." A familiar voice chimed in. Satsuki looked behind her to see Akashi Yuuna smiling merrily. "You need to loosen up." Yuuna hadn't ever been particularly close to Satsuki, though, like all members of the old 3-A, she did often enjoy Satsuki's cooking and they were at least good acquaintances, if not slight friends. Yuuna was a very friendly person and it was rare that someone didn't like Satsuki. "It isn't something that you need to do right now. Just relax and let it flow out."

"But," Satsuki started, "I am relaxed."

Yuuna shook her head, walking over to Satsuki and taking hold of her wand arm. "You tense up when you start your incantations, I can see it. Now, work with me." Gently guided by Yuuna's hand, Satsuki spoke the incantation. Fire burst in a lighter flame from the tip of the heart shaped tip of the wand. Satsuki smiled wide and Yuuna chuckled. "Technically you didn't do that all on your own. I helped out a bit by supplying you with some magic power. However, the idea if still the same. You're too tense to focus your magic into the focus item. Try to think about something that makes you happy or that makes you relax when you cast."

Satsuki gave an excited nod. Then something hit her. She had used some of Yuuna's magic? How was that? "How did you give me some of your magic, Yuuna-chan?"

"I'm a buffer mage. It's the first thing that we learn. After all, even if you can't strengthen someone with an advanced enchantment for lack of time or concentration you can still grab an arm and throw all your power into them. We don't fight, after all, we allow others to fight better." Satsuki cocked her head in confusion. Yuuna sa down with a slight smile. "I'll try to explain it easier. Think of the battle field as a big scale, a teeter totter of power. When on force is stronger the scale goes one direction and that side has the advantage. The job of a buffer mage is to equal out that scale. And, if we can, to make our side the heavier one. We do this through advanced enchantments and abjurations, thing to protect and strengthen. At times there are situations where the battle field is just too chaotic to get close enough to the combatants and form a string of incantations. If that's the case we just channel all our magic power into the target combatant and hope that it's enough of a boost to tip the scale in their favor. Since we can't make them stronger by ourselves we give them the resources to do it themselves. As non-combatants, buffer mages don't have the training to cast in a big melee. We stay back between the magic swordsmen and the indirect combatants and wait for a fighter to come to us while the other fighters make cover for their partners. This is a pretty dangerous position but it's well worth it when you figure out how much protection you have when sandwiched in between two different types of potent fighters."

That didn't sound too alluring a position to Satsuki, thogh she supposed she couldn't understand it until it was her that was in such a situation. She was about to go back to practicing the magic flame charm when Eva called out, through some kind of magic it seemed, the call for dinner. Everyone broke off from their fights and filed into the resort building, delighted to have a feast after a day of hard practice. For the most part, everyone was covered in cuts and scrapes. Ako and Konoka, however, were quick to repair the damage. Even Yue, who wasn't supposed to be in direct combat at all, seemed to have taken a good deal of lesser beatings. Wizards, the "high powered artillery" of mages, depended on barriers and shielding techniques for any kind of protection since they had next to no direct combat prowess. Yue, however, explained that it didn't always work, especially against the more powerful spells and combatants.

Dinner was quite a lovely display. Eva sat at the head opf the table, drinking something red, which Satsuk suspected... Hoped, was wine and not blood. She was a vampire, after all. Negi sat at the opposite end, talking with Asuna about something. Satsuki was just fine where she was in the middle. So many strange foods and drinks were laid out. Nothing japanese, as Satsuki was used to. There was a type of sausage called haggis, something called tripe, a big bowl of crescant rolls. A few racks of beef ribs sat as the centerpiece to the feast. Did they all eat this good every time they came for the weekend?

"Excuse me," Satsuki aked Makie, who sat to her left, "Does anyone else from 3-A come here to practice?"

"Oh ya!" Makie exclaimed, "Sakurako-chan and Chisame-chan come here all the time! Sakurako-chan's a counter mage and Chisame-chan's a field mage!"

"Counter Mage?" Satsuki inquired, confused on the name.

Yue was the one who answered the inquiry. She sat right across from Satsuki. "Counter mages are mages that don't normally cast their own spells. They focus on magnetising their bodies to spells cast by enemies, driving the combat spell to them and then redirecting it."

"So they throw spells back at the caster?" Satsuki asked

"In the beginning that's what they're best known for, yes." Yue replied. "However, Sakurako-chan is far beyond such a beginner stage. Now she can hold the attack and take a choice on who to throw the spell at. I have seen powerful spells flying from hundreds of feet away right into her hand and she has held them for minutes before designating a new target. Although they don't normally cast their own spells and though they have almost as little practical combat ability as wizards like myself, more advanced counter mages like Sakurakoare even able to pull barrier spells and buffing spells from enemy casters and grant it on allies and themselves."

"That's amazing!" Satsuki said, amazed that here were so many kinds of mage out there.

"And not for you." Eva remarked from the end of the table. "The same reasons for not becoming either wizard nor magic swordsman apply to counter mages. You're not meant for hurting people and, if you want to become a good counter mage, throwing redirected fireballs at people is where you start. It takes years to redirect buffing spells since a good deal of them are touch effects and you'll have to take them from more than fifty feet away after the spell is done but before the spell is delivered. I doubt you'd be able to grab a lightning bolt and redirect it, which makes counter mage very far from your territory."

Satsuki frowned but Makie spoke up. "Don't worry about the old crone! She's just sore because she's dead!" With that Makie pulled out her gymnastics ribbon and launched it down the table, grabbing a pair of beef ribs off of Eva's plate and pulling them back before Eva could grab them. Half way to Makie the ribs stopped in mid air, Eva's hand extended. Sudenly iot was like a tugging competition, Makie with her ribbon and Eva with invisible strings. Makie gave a grin about a minute into the "fight" and spoke up. "Ribbon Ribbon Ribbon, Smite Mine Enemies. Electric Stream!" A very visible stream of blue electricity traveled down the ribbon that Makie used, jumped over the ribs and traveled down the invisible strings that Eva was using, giving her a shock that made her let go of the ribs and sit back with a singed arm that quickly healed back to normal. "Don't mess with me, Kitty!"

"Don't call me that!" Eva yelled, And I'm not an old crone! You're just a little brat!"

"At least I hadn't gotten stuck in the body of a ten year old for over a thousand years old! You've got a lot more brat time than I do!" Makie countered

"That's it!" Eva said, standing up. "You want to fight about this?!?"

"Any time, ya old bat!" Makie yelled out, standing up in challenge

Satsuki was worried. What would happen to the food if they fought here? What would happen when so many people were so close. People could get hurt if they were as powerful as Eva said they were. With a small yell, Satsuki called out. "Please everyone! Please don't fight at the dinner table!"

Eva and Makie looked at Satsuki and, suddenly, the hostility ended. Eva sat down and Makie sat down, both with embarrassed smiles. "Of course we weren't really going to fight, Satsuki-chan." Makie insisted, "Isn't that right, Eva-chan?"

Eva piped up with a nervous grin. "Of course not! We were just playing around is all." Suddenly a bout of nervous laughter filled the table befoe gradually quieting down as dinner became a normal one again.

Later on, when everyone was getting ready for bed, Satsuki sat in the bath house alone, thinking on the day. A voice came from behind her, the voice of Sakurazaki Setsuna. "Mind if I join you?" Satsuki looked behind to see a nude Setsuna walking toward her, a pair of huge white wings out to be seen. Satsuki had, of course, seen these wings before, if only once five years ago. It had been when 3-A was still whole, when Chao had been trying to reveal magic to the world. It had been when people had fallen from the blimp that Chao had been on and when the reinforcements had come to rescue them from falling to their deaths. Setsuna had come in with wings to rescue Konoka. Of course, Satsuki hadn't seen Setsuna's wings ever since. She had barely remembered what they looked like until now. Satsuki nodded and Setsuna dipped into the hot pool beside Satsuki, careful not to hit Satsuki with her wings. "So," Setsuna started, "How did you like your first day of praining with us?"

Satsuki looked at the water that covered her. "It's different than I thought. Somehow... I thought it would be..." Satsuki struggled for a word.

"More orderly?" Setsuna offered. "Less violent? A lot of people think this when they first start out. They think, 'I bet it'll be a whole bunch of people in a line, working on casting the same spell and working together to do drills.' We're long beyond that. In truth, it's never been like that, I think. We just pair up and work things out. We fight with our specialties and get better by fighting someone different. So tell me, Tsuki-chan. What kind of stuff are you thinking of doing. Eva made it clear at dinner that Wizard, Magic Swordsman and Counter Mage aren't for you. I agree with her. You aren't right to rain destruction on the field or slice people in half. What is it that you feel you want to do?"

Satsuki paused for a moment. "I want to make people happy, everyone. Eva-chan said that I shouldn't be a healer because that would just be bringing happiness to the injured, not to everyone."

"I can see her point." Setsuna put in knowledgeably. "Though some healing would be nice, for the times that you did want to bring happiness to the injured, I don't think you should make a specialty out of it like Kono-chan or Ako-chan."

"What do you think I should do?" Satsuki asked.

Setsuna thought for a bit, running her hands through her feathered wings slowly, cleaning them one feather at a time. "Well, I know you shouldn't try what I do... I'm made to defend and attack. My primary goal is to protect Kono-chan... and to be the best partner I can to her. However, that won't be your path. Though I can only take lives to protect I think, if there is a way to do it, you should save lives, not through combat but through stopping it. If there is a way to make sure that nobody can fight, it would be a style that you used."

Satsuki thought on that for a moment. To make sure nobody could fight. To protect people not through combat but through forcing everyone to be peaceful toward one another. It was certainly an alluring prospect. At Chao Bao Zhi and at her restaurant now Satsuki maintained a strict policy of no violence in the area. What if she could do that with her magic, like a peace bond that affected everyone around her. "Does such magic exist?" Satsuki asked

Setsuna gave a chuckle. "I'm sure it must. Five years ago Satomi-san cast a spell that put the world to peace, if only for one day. Magic can do anything, if you are powerful enough. I am sure that, even though magic is best known for battle and destruction, that it could easily be used for the opposite means; to bring peace to people around you. If nobody gets hurt because of the peace you can bring then I am sure everyone would be very happy. That's your goal isn't it?"

Satsuki gave a happy nod. So it would be possible! Maybe Satsuki wouldn't be able to perform such magic until after she learned some spells to hurt, it didn't mean she ever needed to use those spells. If she could learn a spell to make the area peaceful then certainly it would make people happy. Of course, that didn't mean that she would bring peace to the whole world. There were always people, like Ku Fei, who were more happy when they could fight. However, not all fighting needed to truly injure another. Maybe Satsuki could make sure that people could fight, just not truly hurt people.

"I gotta say," Eva's voice echoed out from the entrance of the baths, "It's an alluring prospect. Naturally I wouldn't have ever thought of it since I am, by nature, a very violent person. I'll admit I've never done any research on magic that brings peace, at least not on a large scale. However, I think I once saw a peace bonding spell. That would be a wonderful place to start, at least on the subject of peace magic. However, you still need to master the basics."

Eva joined them and Satsuki gave a smile. This was wonderful. Peace Magic, what a nice name for what she would be doing. Satsuki waded over to Setsuna. "would you like some help cleaning your feathers?"

Setsuna hesitated. "Well... preening my feathers isn't like washing my back... It's a little harder than you might think. I suppose, if you're careful... maybe. It's hard to get the feathers closer to the start of my wings, closest to my back. Just... run a finger or two under the feather to get it clean. Please don't pull on them."

Satsuki nodded, doing as she was directed. The feathers were so amazing. It was astounding that Setsuna was half bird like this. An orphaned child of the Bird people. Of course, it was well known to the old 3-A class that Setsuna wasn't the only half animal person. Kotarou was from the Dog Tribe so he had a beast form and had dog ears and a dog tail, though he usually kept them hidden when out in the open unless circumstances allowed him to show them openly without suspect. Then again, even though there weren't many animal people in the school there were still some strange characters. Eva, after all, was a vampire. Chachamaru was a robot and Chao, when she had been in the school, was a martian. Sayo was a ghost. Even the more normal people, such as Tatsumiya Mana and Nagase Kaede, were quite different from the average definition of "normal." Kaede was a ninja, though she was loath to admit it to the average person. Mana was a priestess, though she had demon eyes and hunted monsters for money. Even Kasuga Misora, a self respecting "messenger of god," was a mage who had a pair of magical running shoes that allowed her to run faster than any normal person, jump great distances, run on water and run on walls and ceilings. Satsuki wondered briefly if the magical shoes made her dance better or if they helped her balance. Satsuki quickly shook those questions from her mind. Misora had been on the track team. Naturally she would at least have an accute sense of balance.

The night went on and, after twenty four hours of being in Eva's resort, everyone left. It was only one hour after they had entered. The rest of the day went no different than normal. Satsuki made food, walked around Mahora Gakuen and generally had a pleasant time. Somewhere around nine 'clock that night Satsuki was walking through the world tree square. There, at the base of the world tree, she saw a welcome sight. Zazie Rainyday sat at the world tree, juggling bean bags. Satsuki approached her. "Good evening, Zazie-san." Zazie looked up. It had been a fun weekend of training in Hokkaido for her. She had just gotten back an hour earlier and was now pleasing herself with the usual activities of juggling and minding her own business. Satsuki was a sight that, for some reason, made Zazie happy that she had chosen this spot to amuse herself at. She gave a slight smile and a nod. "Are you out to enjoy the night air tonight?" Zazie gave a nod. "Would you mind if I joined you?" Zazie shook her head.

For the next hour or two Zazie and Satsuki sat in general silence. It wasn't for lack of attention. Satsuki just sat and admired Zazie's skills. Zazie herself simply did what she did best, entertain others. It was sort of like a silent bonding time, both supposed. Right now there was no need for talk, just a silent appreciation of each other. On occasion Satsuki asked something trivial. She mentioned that she was going to start training in magic and, despite the fact that Zazie knew everything that a beginner would need to know, as well as how to teach it, she felt no need to offer up her services at the time. After the extended period of juggling, tumbling, balancing acts and climbing the World Tree Satsuki left and Zazie gave a nod of farewell. Even though Satsuki didn't yet know it, she was feeling much closer to Zazie already. Even though Zazie didn't feel it yet, she was getting attached to the little chef. The two didn't know yet that they would soon be getting a lot closer to each other.

{HR}

There ya have it! The first chapter of Jesters And Chefs! When I first thought of this fic I was gonna name it Culinary Silence. Then I thought "No, that's a dumb name." Though I believe Jesters And Chefs isn't very good either, it's better than the former in my mind!

Fr thos of you who wished to ask on my choice of stuff in this chapter, you may have noticed that whenever Satsuki talks it's in italics. This came to me just after Satsuki arrived at Eva's resort, not when I first started. In the manga Satsuki is supposed to have a different method of speaking, which is shown by her lack of actual speech bubbles when she talks. Negi comments that it is "a cute way of speaking" so I assume it's like an accent or something of that nature. That or just some kind of soft speaking method. To make that known I took an alternate route to making it obvious and made all of Satsuki's speech italicized.

For those of you who paid particularly good attention to stuff referring to Zazie, you may have noticed that I made some "improper" capitalization. In fact, that was entirely purposeful. When referring to Zazie "Speaking", or being "Heard" and other such things like that I capitalized. The reason for this is because Zazie doesn't actually talk when she "speaks." For instance Ayaka Hears Zazie when she Speaks. In this case, both Hear and Speak are something beyond verbal, a mental kind of talking that, while heard through the ears, is not spoken through the mouth, thus they are capitalized. This way of specification will be used a lot in this fic as well as Satsuki's speech being italicized. Furthermore, aside from her odd one to three word parts and the use of her spell key, Zazie will have very little speaking parts in this manga, even if she has many Speaking parts; if you get the reference. When Speaking, Zazie will be thinking, like she did earlier this chapter with Kaede. It will never be directed at someone as speech by other characters is, though any characters who Listen will hear it as though Zazie is speaking to them or addressing a group. If you are confused on this, just wait and see for further development.

For those of you who may want to know, Kaede and Kotarou do NOT belong to Ala Alba anymore. Although they are welcomed in the group, they have their own little group, which Zazie now belongs to and which will grow throughout the fic with OC's and Canons alike. It is called Kage No Deshi (Disciples Of The Shadow). Eva and Negi's group are still called Ala Alba and are still the bigger group, though Kage No Deshi are more specialized and precise. Ala Alba takes in any student or mage while Kage No Deshi is a bit more strict on the conditions of joining. Fr instance, you have to be some kind of stealth or shadow user. (Kaede, the Narutaki Twins and Kotarou are all users of the eastern mysteries, a.k.a ninja skills! Zazie is a shadow and dark user.)

If you wanna know any more I guess you'll have to read on!

Please Review And Please Don't Flame

Yours,

Tankou001