Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Prologue

Lina stared at the picture. "What is this?" she muttered, almost in disgust. "What's Kain doing surrounded by all these girls?"

Indeed, the smiling sensei was surrounded by his students—Alyssa, Miyu, Mai, Momo, Kagome, Nodoka, Yue, Ami, Akari, Kiami, Hinagiku, Erika, Kazumi, and Nanami, to be exact, with Kamo perched on his shoulder. There was a second boy in the picture as well…Kenjirô, of course.

"It's just been one adventure after another here…it seems I can't go more than a few weeks without some magical enemy attacking me. I keep finding out more and more about this school, about my father, about his past…and about enemies that I've innocently gathered. And my students keep getting involved in the trouble, but they've declared their determination to help me, and I've had to rely on them quite a bit.

"Still, it's not all bad—we've become a pretty good team, and most of them are determined to follow me into Arcanus Myrror when I'm finally released to go searching for my father. We'll see how that works out.

"Also, I've gotten a new friend thanks to these adventures, as you can tell from the picture—his name is Kenjirô Hanatabi, and he's a hanyô. But he's now a student at this school, too—and I'm beginning to suspect that he might not be the only half-demon. Why not? This school has everything else….

"Now it's time for the School Festival, so hopefully things will be a little more peaceful.

"In any case, wish me luck. I know I'll need all of it I can get in the future!

"Ciao!"

The magical image of Kain winked out, and Harold put the envelope down with a laugh. "He has twenty-nine students, and that group looked like half of them. Well, I know Mahora has a lot of mages attending it, but all those girls know about magic…? Kain's been close-lipped about how he's managed to let them all into the circle of the magic society."

Lina threw the picture down in disgust. "He certainly is an airhead, no doubt about it. I wonder if I should go pay him a visit…."

"Ah, I wouldn't, Lina. It sounds like he has enough troubles as it is without adding you to the mix…."

"You take that back, you old man!"

Harold laughed again. "My, my, Lina…you are so quick to light up…."

"Ah, whatever!" Lina turned away and huffed. "Well, he might be having lots of fun, but he's missing plenty of opportunities in Arcanus Myrror, too. If he doesn't come home for his summer vacation, I'll go fetch him and drag him over. No matter how serious things are at Mahora, he can't call himself a proper mage until he's dealt with a real magic world."

"Hmm. I wonder." Harold puffed at his archaic tobacco pipe as he looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. "I've never been anywhere except Wyoming and Arcanus Myrror, myself, but I've heard some legends about that place. Soon, Mahora Academy is about to become the most magical place on earth…a place nearly the equal of Arcanus Myrror."

Lina glanced at him in surprise. "Oh?"

"Mahora's tree is one of the last remaining mana trees, and it reaches its apex about every twenty years or so. I hear it's due to happen again this year, around the time of this Festival he mentioned. If Kain's been having to deal with villains during things as innocent as a school trip, I wonder what troubles may arise when the school fills up with mana…."

"I guess," Lina sniffed. "Well, I don't have a lot of interest in school festivals, so I'll leave him alone for now. I've gotta run, Pops; I'll see you later."

"I'll let you know when the next letter comes."

Lina waved at him as she sauntered out the door.

Harold closed his eyes again as he considered it. It was somewhat distressing to hear that Kain had already been involved in so many troublesome situations, but it was heartening to know that his class was there to support him. The irony of it amused Harold, and he wondered if the Headmaster or the Principal had expected this kind of situation when they agreed to send Kain to Mahora.

One thing was certain—he was receiving his harshest lessons in one of the best locations available….

Author's Note: The School Festival

Actually, this Prologue is a bit of a jump forward in time, since Hinagiku and Kazumi are already in the picture, but Chapter 1 actually picks up where Act 3 left off, with the Sunday trip to Alyssa's villa right after the battle with von Herrmann. We have a few more emotional situations to resolve before returning to the real world, then we have a few other loose ends to tie up…and then it's the Festival. But not right away. We have a few more characters to introduce for future reference, and a few extra scenarios to go through, and then we'll be into the School Festival.

And what a festival it will be! The festival in Negima is an arc that dwarfs even the Kyoto arc. It is over ninety chapters from the end of the Graf arc (when it begins transitioning to the Festival, getting ready for it) to the end of the Festival arc, when the villain is defeated. By comparison, the first few arcs I've copied here—the Introduction, the Library Adventure arc, the Vampire Eva arc, the Kyoto arc, and the Graf arc all total are about seventy chapters. This 'arc' will be 3 Acts on its own.

So, let's not waste any more time and get started….