Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Sensei Negima

Note: It would be advisable if you have read 'The End' which is a backstory to this one. Also, feedback is much appreciated.

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Chapter 1: Graduation

"What?" Eyes widened.

"We're very sorry." Misora shook her head. "But I'm afraid Sakurazaki-san will not be with us anymore…"

"W-Why…?"

"Sakurazaki-san had some business in Wales…and…well…" Natsumi scratched her cheek. "It…happened."

"What we're trying to say is…" Negi spoke up, knowing that if he didn't the situation would get worse. "Setsuna-san is gone and she will not be coming back."

"So she's…dead?" Fuuka asked, putting two and two together, which caused another uproar from the class.

"What?!"

"Sakurazaki-san?! Dead?!"

"I thought she was the strongest one here?"

While the chaos among her classmates went on, Asuna approached the ten year old teacher. "Oi, Negi. I know we have to come up with an excuse on why Setsuna-san isn't here, but isn't killing her off a little too much?"

"I understand, Asuna-san. But…" Negi scratched his cheek as he pointed to his students, who somehow managed to quiet down and almost look like their mourning. "It looks like we can't change their minds now…"

Asuna looked to where Negi was pointing and saw Ayaka in front of her other classmates. She slapped her forehead as Ayaka coughed and said. "Now, everyone, I know many of us don't know Sakurazaki-san very well, but as her classmates, we should at least say a few words about Sakurazaki-san on her funeral. Right, Negi-sensei?"

All eyes turned to the teacher as he tried to think of another excuse.

"U-Um…A f-funeral was already held in Wales for Sa-Sakurazaki-san…" Nodoka piped in as Negi sighed.

"Well then…" Ayaka tapped her chin. "How about we say something about Sakurazaki-san right now? Why don't we start with Negi-sensei, then?" The blonde said as she smiled and clapped her hands together, trying to ignore Asuna's shouts of "Shotacon!!"

"Setsuna-san was…a great student." Negi began, causing everyone to quiet down, even the starting brawl between the class representative and Asuna. "She had average grades and usually didn't interact much with her classmates…but those who knew her knew her well, and they always benefit from her actions. Setsuna-san held all of her friends close to her, and if her friends were ever in trouble, she would do her best to bail them out, even at the cost of her own life. All I can say is, Setsuna-san was not just my student, but also my friend, and a very valuable one at that."

Several of the girls clapped after Negi's words, a few of them even shedding a tear or two. After that, Ayaka stood up once more. "Thank you for your wonderful words Negi-sensei, I'm sure Sakurazaki-san would've been rejoicing on the other side had she heard you."

Negi sweat-dropped. I certainly hope not…she might be doing important training or something…

"Anyways…who would like to go next?" The class representative said, causing the rest of 3-A to look around the room for anyone who they knew was close to Setsuna.

"Excuse me. I have to go to the bathroom." One of the girls said as she stood up, though it was rather obvious that she wasn't going to the bathroom, since she brought her bag with her. She then exited quickly, without another word.

"Konoka!" Asuna called out, and she tried to give chase, but Chisame had grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her.

"Don't."

The other girl just sighed as she looked at the door where her friend had passed a moment ago. "She's taking it really hard…"

Evangeline, who knew all about what happened in the Magical World, then piped in, knowing just how to make this little discussion more interesting. "Pft. Let her wallow in her sadness. She did lose a loved one after all."

Well…that got the class active.

"So Konoe-san and Sakurazaki-san DO have that kind of relationship?! I thought it was just a rumor!"

"Kyaa~!! I knew it!!"

"They looked so good together!"

"But poor Konoe-san! To be widowed at such a young age--"

"All right, ALL RIGHT!! Stop talking about gossip! We're mourning for Sakurazaki-san! So if you don't have anything to say about my friend other than some rumor you heard in an overly-vandalized bathroom stall, then shut up and listen to those who actually know her!" Chisame snapped, surprising the rest of the class, which caused them to shut up.

Chisame looked at Asuna, who nodded and took a deep breath. "I guess I'll go next."

==noitaudarG==

Time stops for no one. And so, no matter how saddened the Ala Alba and/or Class 3-A were about the loss of their classmate, they spent their time moving on and living with their lives. That time turned into days, then into weeks, into a month. And, eventually, the month turned into seven months: into the day Class 3-A never noticed until it was already here.

That day the classroom was as noisy as usual. It was late in the afternoon, and the tables have been rearranged with a few at the bottom together with the teacher's desk. Various decorations had been set up all over the room, but only the banner above the chalkboard told of the occasion that will be held: HAPPY GRADUATION 3-A!!

There was also a small note on the bottom, in small, but still readable: GOODBYE NEGI-KUN!

Sure enough, a hyperactive member of the class excitedly burst into the room, followed by her classmates, all yelling the same word: "PARTY!!!!!!"

"Woot!!! No more formalities!! Let's celebrate!!!" Yuuna, ever the party animal, exclaimed as Ako, Akira and Makie followed her. Makie looked like she had the same idea, and the four headed towards the mini-sounds system Satomi had built, just like they had talked about as they were planning the party last week.

It was also decided that all the girls involved in sports were to act as the DJ's in the party, each girl taking a certain amount of time. Yuuna, who was up first, grabbed the headphones equipped with a microphone as she turned the system on. "Yo, 3-A! This is high-and-mighty Yuuna Akashi and I will be your DJ for the next two hours!! Now…ARE YOU READY TO PARTY THE 3-A WAY?!"

"YEAH!!" Excited cheers erupted from the classroom so loud that it was able to get to the mike, causing more noise.

"Good!! For now, I'll play a fast songs we can get some stress off of us!" Yuuna then winked to the girls. "But you can also request some songs, even slow ones, hehe~"

Music and chatting then filled the classroom seconds later, with some of the students either dancing to the beat of the song Yuuna was playing, or just dancing for the heck of it.

The door then opened, revealing Ku Fei, Satsuki, Hakase and Chachamaru, followed by a few green-haired robots. All of them were carrying boxes, trays and plates. "We've brought the food-aru!"

"And here's the food, courtesy of the Chao Bao Zi!!" Yuuna announced, causing a few of them to clap and cheer as they headed for the table, lining up to eat. Yuuna, upon noticing this, immediately stood up, completely forgetting that she still had the headset on. "Hey! Leave some for me!!"

After a few minutes of eating, Yuuna headed back to her post, resuming her role as DJ. After three songs, Negi approached the brown-haired basketball player. Yuuna nodded, turning her mike on. "Everyone, Negi-kun's got something to say. Take it away teach!" she said, throwing a mike to the auburn-haired boy, who caught it with ease, as she turned the music down.

"Well…as everyone knows, I will be leaving once you graduate." Negi began, initiating a few 'aww's from his students. "I had a lot of fun during the time I have been your teacher. And so, I decided to give graduation gifts to everyone as a 'thank you' for allowing yourselves to be taught by me, and for teaching me a few things as well. Chachamaru-san, please bring the first gift."

The green-haired robot nodded, placing a box that was taller then Negi beside the said boy. Yuuna then commented. "Who-hoa! That looks like a pretty special gift Negi-kun!"

"It is Yuuna-san! This gift is for Gil number One: Aisaka Sayo!" Negi grinned while the rest of the class looked at each other with confused faces.

"Wait, isn't Sayo the ghost of 3-A?"

"Come to think of it, her name was mentioned a while ago during graduation…"

"Yeah but didn't Negi-kun take her diploma?"

Several more mumbles filled the air, but Kazumi, who knew what the gift was, paid it no heed as she winked at the ghost beside her. "Go ahead, Sayo-chan! Hakase, Negi-kun and I worked real hard on that gift."

The white-haired girl nodded as she hesitantly went into the box. Then, a scream was heard and the box toppled backwards, which caused several of the girls to scream in response. The class stayed alert for a few more seconds, and then saw the box open much like how a coffin would.

"…Eh?" Sayo sat up, flexing her now solid fingers. She touched her face, as well as the new uniform on her new body. She then brought her hair to her face: dark gray, just as it was when she was alive.

Kazumi went to the girl still in the box. She smiled as she held out a hand. "Need help in getting up, Sayo-chan?"

Sayo hesitated for a moment, but accepted the hand and was pulled up. She smiled as she tears formed around her eyes, jumping the red-haired girl and hugging her tightly. "Asakura-san!!!!"

"H-hey…not too tight Sayo-chan…" Kazumi said as she did her best to hug back while being crushed by Sayo's arms. "You've got a robotic body after all…"

"Ah! Sorry!" The ghost said as she let go of the red-haired girl. She then approached Negi and smiled. "Thank you, Negi-sensei!"

"You're welcome." The boy said as he handed Sayo her diploma. "But you should really thank Hakase-san. She was the one who designed your body."

Sayo turned to Satomi and thanked her as well. Satomi scratched her cheek. "Well, you're welcome. But it was really all Asakura-san's idea…Your design was taken from Chachamaru's, but I had a problem to how the power source was to accommodate you."

Having understood only the part about Kazumi and Chachamaru, she smiled at Hakase and thanked her again. Satomi only smiled. "I said it was no problem Aisaka-san. So long as you see me once or twice a month for maintenance." I guess I shouldn't tell her about the part where the power source is a voodoo doll…

"Now that that's done, on to the next gift!"

They then proceeded to the rest of the gifts, each girl getting a unique present from Negi. The potential mages in the class (such as Yuuna) all got wands, for practice. Kazumi got a camera that was equipped with the latest enchantments from the Magic World. Yue, being more powerful, got a set of Magic books as well as a few weapons. Girls with artifacts got equipment that can help them in improving their Ministra capabilities. The most unique so far was Evangeline's and Chachamaru's gifts, which contained their graduation diplomas as well as a letter of approval from the Dean: They were allowed to graduate from Middle School and, little by little, the seal on Evangeline will allow her to look older (to exhibit growth) and more powerful. By the time they graduate, they will be employed as teachers in Mahora.

The most unique, that is, before Konoka's gift: A long box that, when opened, revealed Yuunagi.

Everyone fell silent as Konoka stared at the sword, taking it out of its container.

"Yuunagi was…found among Setsuna-san's possessions. Her…erm…will stated that it should go to you, Konoka-san." Negi spoke, which should mean 'Setsuna-san told me to give this to you before we left.'

The brown-haired girl only nodded as she went back to her seat, still staring at the sword.

Once the giving of gifts was done, the party resumed its way of being noisy, with music blasting through the speakers and chatting all over the room.

And, of course, a 3-A party wouldn't be a 3-A party if someone didn't spike the drinks with something alcoholic.

==noitaudarG==

Hours later, on one corner of the classroom, Akira, Ako, Yuuna and Makie were sitting together, with Yuuna's three partners examining her from head to toe.

"It can't be helped." Akira concluded. "She's drunk."

"EEEeehhh? Stop being so silly Aki!!" Yuuna said as she grinned in a weird manner. "I'm perfectly healthy, see!!!" She then tried to stand up but Ako pushed her back to her chair.

"You only call me Aki when you're drunk."

"Ohh…why did you have to bring that 'Essence of Dragon' with you…" Ako said, looking at the now empty bottles, which Yuuna had finished all by herself. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but the drinks here were spiked too!

At that moment, Fuuka, Fumika and Kaede passed by the group, with the younger twin saying. "It's such a shame that Sakurazaki-san's not here with us…it really feels weird to know that your classmate is dead."

Unfortunately, the drunk girl heard the conversation, and decided to butt in. "Huh? Dead? Sakurazaki-san's not dead! She's in bird country--"

Akira stepped on Yuuna's foot, causing a drunken yelp from the other girl. That caused the three to look at the said girl, along with the other girls that were near the area. Ako then rubbed the back of her head as her classmates wondered on what Yuuna just said. "Ahaha!! Yuuna-san means heaven! You know, the one with the angels and--"

"What angels…?! Sakurazaki-san told us herself that she was half demo--"

"Yuuna! Shh!!" Makie covered Yuuna's mouth and turned her around as the pink-haired girl put her finger on her own lips. "Our classmates can't know about that, ok?"

The brown-haired girl blinked, trying to process the information in front of her. Makie was less than 6 inches from her face, touching her lips.

"Haha!! Sakurazaki-san sure was modest up until the end." Ako said, trying to divert the attention from Yuuna's unfinished statement.

I have an idea… Natsumi, who saw the whole thing, then elbowed Misora, the DJ at that time, who was sleeping on a chair near the sounds system.

"OWWW!! What did I do this time Sister Shakti??" Misora jolted awake with the mike still on, getting looks from her classmates. The spiky-haired girl then looked at Natsumi, who gestured something that resembled a polite 'You idiot, help us get out of this mess!'

Misora nodded. Let's see….think Misora think…ah! Misora then put her hands together, looking as decent as she could. She smiled. "Why don't we pray for Sakurazaki-san's soul?"

The others were about to agree when a certain brown-haired girl then grinned and suddenly blurted out: "Ahhh, I get it! You want me to make one of those pacty things!! Err…pacto…paci…ahh! Pactio!!! Just wait a second, I'll call Chamo." Yuuna turned around weirdly and shouted at the top of her lungs. "CHAMO-KUUUU--"

Once again, Akira stepped on Yuuna's foot, causing another drunken yelp.

"Chamo?" Fuuka tilted her head. "Isn't that the name of Negi-kun's pet?"

"Errrr…Yuuna-san means…" Ako said, looking for a word that sounded like 'pactio' "…p-panties!! Y-You know how Negi-sensei's pet likes to sleep in those sort of stuff!!"

"Ehhh…??!! But I already saw Makie's panties when she was changing this morning!!!" Yuuna slurred as the pink-haired girl blushed. "They were--"

The brown-haired girl was cut off once more, this time by Makie, who took Yuuna's head in her hands and pressed her lips against Yuuna's. This is the only way to shut her up…or at least cause a change of topic!!!

Amidst the squeals and cheers erupting from the class as the two girls kissed, Asuna then noticed that one girl wasn't taking part in the chaos caused by the drunken basketball player. The orange-haired girl then headed towards the other side of the room, where Konoka was staring out the window.

"Hey…you all right?" The orange-haired girl quietly asked.

"Yeah." Konoka said plainly, one hand supporting her chin as she looked out the window, the other clutching Setsuna's sword.

"Negi…said that he's going to deliver Setsuna-san's diploma once he gets back to Wales…so if you want to send Setsuna-san something, you can give it to him tomorrow morning before he leaves." Asuna scratched the back of her head, trying to think of how to brighten the other girl up. She then had an idea. Maybe it's time to give her this…

The orange-haired girl then fished something out of her pocket: the letter Setsuna gave her before they headed back to Wales. She then gave it to the brown-haired girl. "This is a letter from Setsuna-san. I…um…read it on the day she gave it to me but she said that I can only give this to you on Graduation Day."

Konoka's eyes widened at the mention of Setsuna's name, and she eagerly opened the letter.

It was a plain letter, not like the ones Negi receives from her older sister. It was by Setsuna's hand, and, as Konoka put her nose against the paper, it even smelled like the raven-haired girl. She then proceeded to read, taking in every word that was written.

Ojousama,

By the time you are reading this, you have probably graduated from Middle School. I am sorry that I'm not here by your side right now, for I have to settle the affair with my family. (Hopefully, Asuna-san and the others have filled you in.)

Ojousama, I'm sorry that I told everyone first and did not say goodbye to you. That was because if I told you while we were in the Magical World, there would be a chance that you will follow me, and nobody would want that. The world I'm going home to is a dangerous place, and I don't want you to get hurt.

Kono-chan, please don't take this the wrong way. The last thing I would want to do is to get away from you, and even now I am thinking of how you are doing. I am doing this so that I can get stronger, so that I would be more able to protect you. It is my purpose to always make you smile, and to make sure that no tears will ever escape your eyes, and that is all I'll be able to think about during the days we are apart.

Once I become stronger, I'll come back to you Kono-chan. I'll come back to you and protect you. On the day of my return, give me Yuunagi. Until then, I will leave her in your hands. But rest assured, I WILL come back. No matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes…I'll come back. That's a promise.

Setsuna

Asuna watched as Konoka read the letter, and she was a little happy when she saw Konoka smiling toward the end. She was then alarmed when she saw a tear sliding down the brown-haired girl's face. "Konoka…"

"I'm glad, Asuna…" Konoka smiled, tears still trailing down her face. "Secchan's going to come back…"

There was then a glow from the letter, and Konoka found that there was another segment of the letter, at the bottom of the paper.

P.S. Could you please tell the rest of the class to go out of the building and look up at the sky? I have a gift for all of you.

"Hey Asuna…" Konoka said, her eyes wide. "Have you ever read this part?"

"Hm?" Asuna read the segment, and her eye's widened. She then cast a look at Konoka, and both of them nodded before they proceeded to herd their classmates out of the building.

==noitaudarG==

"Hey…what's going on?" Misa said as the rest of the class went out into the front of the building.

Asuna then caught something in her eye. She then pointed, which caused most of the Ala Alba to look. "It's the demons from Kyoto!!"

"Yo." The bird demon saluted as it winked. "We were just doing a favor for Setsuna-sama. Congrats, little misses!"

They then disappeared, leaving the rest of the class more disoriented than before.

"Just look up everyone!!!!" Konoka said energetically, managing to get everyone's attention. The rest of the class, too stunned at how the girl got from gloomy to energetic, just followed her command, and marveled at the sight above them.

Up in the sky, in white lights too bright to be stars, was a:

CONGRATULATIONS 3-A!!

--Setsuna Sakurazaki

Everyone stared at the raven-haired girl's message in awe for a full ten minutes, before the light magically turned into something else and then realized that the said girl was 'dead'.

"What? Black Feathers?" Madoka asked as one feather landed on her head. She then looked around as she saw other black feathers falling to the ground like rain.

"AHHH!!! It's a ghost! It's a ghost!!!"

"Huh?! Sakurazaki-san!? Where?!"

"Aisaka-san! You're a ghost! Can you see her??"

"Eh--"

"Hey!"

"Wow…That's Setsuna-san for you." Asuna chuckled as she shook her head, ignoring the various screaming girls and the teacher trying to calm everyone down. Her eye then caught sight of Konoka, who was still looking up. She then approached the said girl. "Konoka, it's over--"

"Shh…" The brown-haired girl said as she waited for a feather to fall into her hands. It was pure white, and larger than the others.

Wait…could it be that that feather's actually from one of Setsuna-san's wings?! Asuna thought as her eyes widened.

On it was written:

Congratulations, Kono-chan. See you soon.

Konoka smiled and gently kissed the feather. "I'll wait for you, Secchan."

I'll be right here, waiting for you.