' Confessions of a Teenage Swordsgirl

"GAH! LOOK OUT!"

The pulse of magic from the demon rocked the floating mage, who, thanks to the timely call by one of his ministra was able to dodge the concussive blasts of energy.

"Thank you, Asuna-san!" The tiny mage called down to the armoured warrior girl, who was just about keeping speed with the flying ten year old boy. "Negi-Kun! Are you ok?" Another voice called out, this time from the white mage known as Konoka. Alongside her, as always, was the Shinmeiryu swordsgirl, Setsuna. This makeshift group of warriors was bulked out by the young Wolf-boy Kotarou, the girl labled 'Bookstore' by her friends, and the martial arts expert of the whole campus, Kuu Fei.

"You Are Wasting Your Time, Foolish Mortals. I, Ezekiel, Will Claim The Earth As My Own Hunting Ground, And There Is Nothing You Can Do To Stop Me!" came the booming voice of their foe. A slender, seven foot tall demon was floating infront of the group, his body black like soot, his thin, leathery wings beating against the wind, causing a vile stench to float over the whole group. The Demon's red eyes were boring into the eyes of Negi Springfield, the Lilliputian mage at the head of this band of warriors and mages, and were locked there.

At this moment, the demon received a rather hard slap across the face with what appeared to be a giant harisen. Asuna, the armoured girl, had called forth her weapon, which normally had the ability of dispelling any demon instantly. The demon merely laughed. "Young Lady, While You Have The Ability To Dispel Summons, Your Power Is Moot Against A Fully Substantiated Demon! CLAW OF EZEKIEL!" As he said this, a huge sparking claw formed in the air, and shot towards the warrior girl, who positioned her harisen to defend against the attack.

While the blow was not fatal, the girl did take some damage. Most of it, however, was to her clothing, which left here standing wearing nothing but an open bra, and a pair of blue and white striped panties. The girl looked down, let out a huge scream of "KYAAAAA!!!" and dropped to her knees. "ASUNA-SAN!" Negi yelled, dropping from his pursuit, going down to the fallen girl. Those who had been behind Asuna also stopped, to assist the young magi. The only two left pursuing the gigantic Demon were Setsuna and Konoka.

"Set-chan! Asuna! She..." Konoka began, but she was too far away from the sword weilding girl to be heard. Not wanting to have her oldest friend left alone against something so dangerous, she continued after her. Setsuna, on the other hand, was too focused to notice anything else. She was chasing the Demon, the Demon was running. That was all she knew. She had tried to take out the demon with a few strikes from her oversized sword, but they had not found their mark. I have to take this thing down. For Negi, for Asuna. For Ojou-sama... She thought, as she followed the dark being.

Several minutes later, Konoka finally caught up with the girl. Out of breath, the girl managed to say, "Set-chan. Where has it gone?"

"Ojou-sama... Please be careful. I fear we may have walked into a trap..." No sooner has the girl said this than the ground beneath them began to collapse, sending them plumetting down into a dark abyss, which seemed to close up behind them. "Welcome To The Pit. You Will Spend The Rest Of Your Lives Here!" The voice of Ezekiel echoed, but the two girls were unconscious, and unable to hear the taunting snarls.

"Uugh... My head..." Konoka mumbled, as she tried to move. She could not. Looking down at her leg, she could see that not only was it stuck underneith something, but it was under water. She was in a seated position, and the water reached up to her belly button. Most of her body was soaked in water, however. She tried to look around, but could not see much beyond her own space. "Set-chan?" She called out. No response came from the darkness. "SET-CHAN!?" She cried out, this time louder, and slightly paniced. She got a spluterred cough as a response.

"Set-chan, is that you?"

"KONOKA!" The girl replied, a note of joy in her tone.

"SET-CHAN! You're ok! Where are you?" Konoka replied, the joy in her voice much more apparent. She tried to move, but she could not, the rock crushing her leg was too heavy for her. She heard slow, ponderous footsteps, or at least, a step and then a thud, a step and then a thud. She strained her eyes, and could finally make out the face of her friend, which was covered in blood, and had one eye closed. "Oh, Set-chan... What happened?"

"I woke up and couldn't open my eye. I tried to find you, but I couldn't use my Ki. This place is like a nullifier, it stops energy." At this, Konoka tried to do one of the spells taught to her by Negi and Evangeline, but found that she could not. "Set-chan, what are we going to do?"

"I...I don't know, Ojou-sama"

"Kono-chan" Konoka replied, pouting. She tried to move once again, but still was unable to shift the large rock that was crushing her leg. Setsuna positioned her sword, which she had held onto, underneath the rock, and managed to lever the large rock off the slightly taller girl's leg. Konoka tried to stand, but when she put pressure on the leg, she could not hold, and she fell forward, but was caught quickly by Setsuna, who, once realizing that she was holding Konoka by a rather undignified part of her body, blushed, and shrieked slightly, which caused Konoka to fall into the water, bottom first.

"OJOU-SAMA! She yelled, and picked up the girl, before falling to her knees in the water, bowing low "I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry. I...I don't know what came over me, I was holding you, and then..." As she remembered, she began to blush again, but Konoka merely put her hand on Setsuna's head, saying, "It's ok, Set-chan. Please don't keep calling me Ojou-sama. It makes me sound like I'm something special, something to be revered, but I'm not. I'm just me."

"But Konoka, just you is something special to me. Uh, I, That is..." She trailed off, leaving a very uncomfortable silence.

The silence managed to last nearly ten minutes, neither girl saying or doing much. Then, without any warning, Konoka sneezed loudly. When Setsuna looked over at her, she could see that the girl was shivering. "Oj-...Konoe-san." She said, trying to not say Ojou-sama whilst keeping respectful to the girl, who looked up at her. She was shaking from head to foot, and her face and hands were pale, and turning blue. "Oh my god! Kono-chan, you're freezing! Here, take off those wet things," She said, a strange, almost alien instinct taking over. She removed the girls Jacket and shirt, leaving her in skirt and bra, before taking her own Jacket off, and giving it to the shaking girl, who, at the start protested a bit, but fell silent after a few moments. When Setsuna next looked at the girl, she had a grin on her face, even though she was still shaking.

"Set-chan, you're shaking too. You got almost as soaked as me when you began bowing, you'll catch pneumonia if you don't heat up. Come here..." She pulled the girl in, who didn't have time to object before she was locked in an embrace with the younger girl. She began blushing, but she realized that the girl had the right idea. Sharing their body heat was the best bet for the two girls to warm up. Suddenly, however, Konoka broke the hug, and sat down, slumping her head in her hands. "I'm sorry..." She muttered, in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

"Kono-chan?" Setsuna asked, confused.

"I...I forced myself on you, Set-chan. I know you don't like being in those kinds of situations with girls, and...I'm sorry."

"No, no, no, Kono-chan, I don't hate that at all, actually I li-" She suddenly realized what she was about to say, and she stopped talking.

"'Actually' what?" Konoka asked. Setsuna was blushing hard, her entire face bright pink. "...n...n...nothing..." She stammered. "It wasn't 'nothing'. Set-chan, you were going to say you liked it, weren't you?" Setsuna took a breath, about to deny it, but something made her change her mind, a little part of her that rarely got control was finally at the helm, and wanted its message to be heard.

"K...Kono-chan...I..." She stuttered, her voice wavering, her swords girl facade all but gone. She tried to speak, but she could not. Why can't I tell her? Why can't I just say how I feel? Because I'm scared, that's why. I'm too afraid to tell her because I don't want to lose her... Her mind was racing, she desperately wanted to tell the long haired girl something, anything, but she couldn't. All the pressure began to build up on her even more, and she began to sob gently.

"Set-chan, what's wrong?" Konoka asked, fearing that it may have been her that had caused the girl to cry.

"...it...it's...nothing..." The girl managed to say in between sobs. Konoka shivered, and walked across to the crying girl on all fours, gently rubbing her back, saying,

"Set-chan, I'm sorry if I caused this, I truly am. I didn't mean to upset you, if you want, I'll go away." upon hearing this, Setsuna suddenly looked up into the girls eyes, grabbed hold of her shirt, and whispered.

"P-please...don't go..."

This caused Konoka to tear up herself, and the two girls sat in the relative darkness sobbing for almost five minutes, before Setsuna started to talk again. "Kono-chan...It's...not that I like girls. And it's not that I don't like girls...it's..." she trailed off, once again unable to convey her feelings to her friend. Konoka sat next to the girl, saying nothing, shivering. Another few minutes of silence flew by, before Konoka muttered "so cold..." Setsuna, pushed by some inner driving force, stood up, and pulled Konoka up with her. She stood the girl, and backed up a few steps.

"Set-chan?" Konoka asked, but the swords girl had her eyes shut, and was clasping her hands to her chest. With a gasp, she made a movement as thought she had been hit in the small of the back, stumbling forward slightly. Two medium sized white wings appeared behind her, in a flurry of feathers. After a moment, Setsuna opened her good eye, walked towards Konoka, and embraced her, with both her arms, and her wings.

"Ah...feels...amazing..." Konoka whispered, nuzzling up to the girl, who was by now a bright red, blushing madly, but, at the same time, smiling. The two stood locked together for what could have been an eternity, before Setsuna finally un-wrapped the girl from her wings. She took a deep breath, and closed her eye. An eerie silence filled the cavern. "I...I like you, Konoka. A lot. I, Um...I love you." OH MY GOD I DID IT! I FINALLY TOLD HER! Setsuna opened her eye, and looked at the girl.

Konoka stood with open eyes, barely moving. Her mind, however, was racing. Set-chan loves me? Set-chan...And...I? I...I just don't know, she's my best friend, but this? Can I see myself spending the rest of my life with her? What would Grandfather think? What would everyone think? Konoka looked into Setsuna eyes, and, at that very moment, collapsed to her knees, in floods of tears.

"I'm-sorry-I'm-sorry-I'm-sorry-I'm-sorry..." She repeated, crying her eyes out. Setsuna fell to her knees too, unable to move, her face a mask of terror. She hates me...she hates me... Was all that she could think. Konoka began to slow her tears, and tried to explain. "I...I, can't give you an answer, Set-chan. Not right now... I need...time to think...I know how much effort and courage that must have taken, and...I'm sorry..."

Suddenly, the water close to the two girls began to bubble, and Ezekiel burst forth from the liquid, in flames, scratches all over his body, and his tail half missing. His eyes were emitting pure insanity. "CURSE THEM!!!!! THEY WILL SUFFER FOR THIS TRAVESTY!!! YOU TWO WILL DIE!!!" Ezekiel charged at Konoka, thrusting his claw as if to skewer her with it. In a single movement, Setsuna stood, leaped into the air aided by her wings, struck Ezekiel about the chest with her sword, and landed. The demon, maddened even further by the pain, diverted his attack, impaling Setsuna through the chest.

"SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!" Konoka screamed, as Ezekiel laughed.

"She Was Weak. She Was Unable To Defend Herself. She Will..."

"SHUT UP!!!" Konoka stood, glaring at the Demon, tears in her eyes. "She...she was...Set-chan. She protected me, she saved me. She loved me..." Konoka stopped, hanging her head, before whispering "...she loved me..."

"It Is Of Little Consequence. She Died, As Will You."

"I'm...Not...Dead..." Setsuna struggled to say, still impaled by Ezekiel's claw. The demon shook its hand violently, causing Setsuna to fall to the water. Konoka rushed towards her, cradling Setsuna's head in her arms, and crying.

"SET-CHAN!!!" She cried out, her sobs following noisily. Setsuna merely groaned in pain. "Konoka..." She managed to whisper, her eye beginning to close, her breathing short.

"No...NO! YOU CAN'T DIE! BECAUSE...BECAUSE...I love you too, Setsuna..." She said, pulling the girl in even tighter. Setsuna merely smiled.

"...thank...you..." She whispered, before slumping, unconscious.

"AHAHAHAHA! Such Is The Way Of Mortal Life. If You Want, You Can Join Her...IN THE AFTERLIFE!!!" The Demon yelled, striking at Konoka, but as he hit, his claw was deflected by a barrier of light. Konoka picked Setsuna up, and walked her to the edge of the water, where she laid her gently. As she turned back to the Demon, the beast looked into her eyes, and for the first time in its existence, felt afraid. Konokas' eyes were pure light, and the magical energy that she was generating was so sheer it had all but shattered the Pit spell.

"Candidus Luminarium, Sanctus Stipes, Pello Pepulli Pulsum!!!" She said, before pointing at the Demon. From the wound that Setsuna had given him, a bright yellow light began to shine, and the Demon roared in pain. Soon, all of his wounds were shining, and the demon was thrashing in the water, seemingly in agony. A few seconds later, the light began to rip the demon apart. He did not last much longer.

Konoka fell to her knees, exhausted by the spell. She managed to crawl across to Setsuna, who was by now breathing very slowly, and was covered in blood. Placing her hands on Setsuna's wound, she began to focus on the spell that Evangeline herself had taught her, despite the warning that had come with it. Evangeline had told her that this was a kill or cure spell, only to be used if no other alternative presented itself, since Konoka herself ran the risk of dying in the process. It was also rare because the incantation was in English.

"Light of Dawn, Light of Day. Holy giver, hear my pray.

Of my own life, Take and Share, Bring back to me the one lying here."

She gasped as the spell took effect, a huge ray of light falling seemingly from the sun, boring a hole into the cavern, enveloping both of the girls. Konoka was unable to withstand the pain for more than a few seconds, before she blacked out, collapsing onto Setsuna.


Konoka awoke with a start. She sat up, felt a sharp pain in her chest, and fell back onto the bed. As she lay there, breathing painfully, someone came over to her, and placed a cold flannel on her head. Konoka turned, and saw the warm, friendly face of Ako Izumi looking down on her.

"Ako..." She tried to talk, but found it brought her even more pain.

"You're ok, Konoka-san. You're in the Infirmary. Negi and Asuna brought both of you here nearly a day ago. Something about an accident in the Library."

"Both of us?" Konoka rasped. "You and Setsuna-san." Ako replied, indicating the next bed over. "She woke up a few hours ago, but she's sleeping now."

Konoka strained herself, looking over at the bed, where Setsuna was lying; her wings still on show. "Between you and me, Konoka, I know there was no accident at the Library. Mina-chan has told me about the existence of magic, and of...other things. Setsuna is a half demon, isn't she?" Konoka nodded, before putting on a bit of a sly face, even through the pain.

"Mina-chan?" She asked, inquiring about the shortened name for the counselor, Minamoto Shizuna causing Ako to blush madly.

"I…I...I...I...I...I've been caught" Ako stuttered, before deflating. "Konoka-san, please, please, PLEASE don't tell ANYONE what I am about to tell you. Shizuna-sensei and I… Well, we're in Love. Silly, I know, but..." She stopped, as Konoka put her hand on Ako's, and smiled.

"No, Ako-chan. Not silly at all." She said, before falling back down, exhausted.

She awoke again a few hours later, and the room was empty, save for the slumbering form of Setsuna. She's still alive! I saved her life! She thought, before pushing herself up, and out of bed, despite the pain. She walked over to her friend, and shook her gently. "Setsuna...Setsuna...Wake up." Setsuna mumbled, before shifting slightly, but did not wake up. Konoka thought for a few seconds, before moving her head downwards, and kissing her softly on the cheek. This made Setsuna wake up, blinking madly. She turned, and saw Konoka standing so close to her, and began to blush.

"Ojou-sama! I...I..." She stopped, as Konoka had placed her finger across Setsuna's mouth. Konoka smiled, before whispering, "I love you, Set-chan. Oh, and it's not Ojou-sama, is it?"

Setsuna shook her head, saying,

"Sorry...Konoka"

"Well done." Konoka said, smiling even wider. "You've earned a prize."

She leaned in, slowly, and kissed the winged girl again, this time, for much longer, and a lot more passionately.