An epic tale set after the end of the Mahora Festival, blending love/comedy and action just like the original. Primarily Kono/Setsu/OC love triangle, with some Nodoka/Yue/Negi, Asuna/Nagi, Mana/Kaede
Yuri Warning: If you don't like it, get out. It's for your own good, trust me.
Additional Note: Initially, I somehow I managed to upload my rough draft rather than the final draft. This error persisted for the first 12 hours of the fic's life. If you stopped reading where I had gibberish key presses instead of well researched latin for the spells, or one of my other various typos caught during the editing process, I apologize and humbly ask for a second chance. This is now the properly uploaded final draft.
The Headmaster's office was deadly silent as she made her approach to the overly large desk, dreading every second of this encounter. She took up a position of humility as tradition demanded she did, bowing to one knee and facing her expression to the ground, exposing the back of her neck to the one she addressed.
"I'm terribly sorry. I cannot apologize enough for this, but Konoe Konoka-sama is unable to attend this meeting, and has sent me in her stead."
Setsuna had her eyes clenched shut tightly as she spoke, trying to prevent her body from trembling with emotion. Even as she apologized humbly, her voice had been thick with raw emotion, unbecoming of one such as her, and undermining the supposed apologetic nature of the message. She knew she should elaborate more, but if she hadn't stopped talking just then, her voice probably would have cracked with anger. How else could she feel, when Konoka-ojou-sama was being forced into a marriage contract with the man standing next to the Headmaster.
Ojou-sama had come into her room not an hour ago, hiccuping and sniffing, barely able to get the story out between wracking sobs. Apparently, the political situation had gotten bad enough between the Magi Societies that the Headmaster had gotten tired of the failed omiai (arranged marriage meetings) and had simply informed her that she was to marry a Magi Prince from the European Union when she graduated high school.
The news had torn Setsuna apart on the inside just as badly as Konoka's exterior was, though she had kept her own pain deep down as she cuddled the brunette girl until the tears had finally stopped. That same salty water which stained the plaid skirt of her uniform was barely dry, and she could still feel the warmth of Konoka's body resting against her lap as she knelt in the office now. Setsuna would have stayed with her Ojou-sama all night if she could have, but the Headmaster had requested that his grand daughter attending this meeting with her new fiancee, but Konoka couldn't bear the thought, so she sent Setsuna to at least deliver an apology.
The half-demon had only had a brief glimpse of this man who caused her Ojou-sama so much distress before bringing herself to a humble kneeling position as her training demanded, but from what she had seen, at least Konoka's fear that he was entering into an arranged marriage because he was old or ugly or fat or were unfounded. He looked to be in the later years of high school, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, and unmistakably a Western Magi, probably British. He had a thick crop of dark brown hair, shaggy but well kept, and a pair of thin square glasses settled on his nose, probably for reading, reminding her of Negi-sensei's. The Western Magi image was completed by a stylistically-outdated yet still somewhat suave brown pinstripe suit and a metal staff topped by a white, multifaceted stone.
Still, she could not forgive this man she had never met. Anyone who made her Ojou-sama cry so deserved a swift death, or at the very least her spite. Yet her training wouldn't allow her even this small petty comfort. He was a prince of one of Britian's royal Magi families, much like Konoka was a princess of the joined Kansai and Kanto lines and it was never the place of a Shinmei-ryuu swordswoman to question the workings of the upper echelons of the magi nobilities, only to obey and protect them as best she could.
"Rise, Sakurazaki-san."
She jerked her head up, uncertain if she had heard the late teen Magi correctly. "You need not refer to one such as me so politely." she demurred as she rose, torn between her need to be subservient to royalty and her want to retaliate for the distress he caused Konoka.
"Then, Setsuna... san?" he replied, looking into her eyes with a smile.
"You have the right to call me as you wish." she informed him stiffly by way of reply.
"Mm..." he said, rubbing his chin and evaluating her. "Then, so I shall." he said favorably. "And lest I rudely forget to introduce myself, my name is Adeleratte Buckthorn. But you can call me Adel."
Setsuna wanted to hate him with all her heart. "Is that an order?" she asked quietly.
His smile faltered, his gesture of friendliness by letting her use his nickname rejected so abruptly. "I suppose it is." he said, wrinkling an eyebrow in confusion.
"Well then, Adel-sama. I'll deliver my mistress' message and leave." She closed her eyes and took a breath, then fixed him with her gaze once more. "Konoka-ojou-sama is unable to attend the meeting tonight, due to..." The next word caught in Setsuna's throat, and she frowned, unable to continue, try as she might to force out the words.
Adel shifted uncomfortably, and the headmaster cleared his throat. "I should warn you, Setsuna-kun. Adeleratte is one of the last in the Buckthorn lineage, and their family has a sort of bloodline trait... one that's an old and powerful magic, and nowadays rather rare. A spell permeates the air around him wherever he walks, one that won't let any person tell a falsehood, known as the Finus Veritas. There is little that can trick such old magic."
Adel smiled nervously as he watched Setsuna grit her teeth. "You were going to say she's ill, correct?"
She contemplated shaking her head negatively to bypass this abominable magic, but decided against it. "Yes, I was." she admitted, her voice defiant.
"Then let us go with that. Please send my... fiancee..." he said the word uncomfortably, "...my best regards, and my hope for a speedy recovery." He turned his head to the side, looking at her with an embarrassed sideways glance. "I do appologize. My power... it's quite inconvenient, really. I'd much rather be able to have a normal social life, where a certain degree of latitude is sometimes necessary, as far as honesty goes."
The swordswoman wasn't certain what to make of that, so she turned to the Headmaster instead. The old man looked... tired. Not for the first time, Setsuna wondered what burdens he carried quietly that he concealed from Konoka and her. Not that it justified this forced marriage, but still. "Am I dismissed?" she asked with a heavy heart.
"If Adeleratte-kun has nothing more for you..." the old man stated, looking disgruntled by his granddaughter's disobedience more than anything.
"Actually, I was hoping you might show me around Mahora Academy. I'm to be spending a week here, so I'd like the local opinion on good food and good sights." He smiled easily.
Setsuna wanted nothing more than to return back to the dorms and comfort her charge. She especially didn't want to spend time with the cause of her distress while Konoka suffered back at home. She closed her eyes, nodding. The burden of a Shinmei-ryuu swordswoman was a heavy one. "I'll escort you around campus, if that is what you desire." she stated plainly, only halfheartedly trying to cover up her unhappiness. After all, one must perform one's duties, not necessarily enjoy them.
"This is Chao Bao Zi, the most popular restaurant on campus, at least with the girls of class 3-A." Setsuna stated flatly, gesturing vaguely with one arm to the trolley car... if it could even be called that. Setsuna happened to know the bottom was covered in rockets, allowing the whole restaurant to fly, and the top had a very obvious giant laser cannon, albeit now wrapped in streamers, and something else that looked suspiciously like a rocket launcher on the front.
"Popular is right." Adel nodded, rubbing the back of his neck looking at the dinnertime rush. Then he turned to her, looking her in the eyes. "Tell you what. Why don't I wait in line and get us some meat buns while you stake out a table?" He winked. "You can call her and see how she's doing."
"But, I cannot be so rude as to let you treat one such as me to..." she started frantically.
Adel shook his head. "You're worried about her, right?" He turned away from her, walking towards the line, waving his hand absently. "Make sure she's doing well, otherwise you'll be thinking about her all meal long."
Setsuna drifted in a daze back to a free table in the rear of the outdoor patio eating area, her mind in chaos. Were all British men frustratingly gentlemanly like this? Why couldn't he just he just be a jerk so her feelings could be settled, instead of a jumbled mess? The half bird-demon stared off into space, not really thinking about anything in particular, for a long time. Finally, she slid her thin black cell out of her skirt pocket, hitting the first number on her speed dial as she sat at the table uncertainly.
"Hello?"
"Ojou-sama?"
"No, this is Asuna, I just picked up her phone. Konoka is asleep. What happened? Is everything all right? Her cheeks are all puffy and stained with tears."
Setsuna closed her eyes lightly, her heart wrenching. "It's a long story. How is she now?"
"Well, she's sleeping soundly now, with a smile on her face. Only reason I even know something is going on is the tear stains..."
Relief broke through Setsuna's chest. "I'll explain everything when I get back. Can I entrust her to you for the night? I'm... otherwise occupied."
"Sure." came the easy reply. Asuna was good at taking responsibility for people without question.
"Alright. I'll talk with you later."
The phone slid back into her pocket as the British Magi prince returned with food for two. "How is she?" he asked, sounding concerned.
"She'll be fine." Setsuna returned guardedly. She contemplated not eating the food as a sign of protest, but worry had a way of making one quite hungry, so she tore eagerly into one of Satsuki's delicious creations with a bit more abandon than one should necessarily show in front of royalty. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind.
"She's not taking this very well, is she." Adel said softly, by way of opening.
Setsuna opened her mouth, then shut it again. She had been meaning to cover for Ojou-sama, but then she remembered his inherent magics. She hadn't realized what a deceitful person she was until this moment, and that realization only increased the depths of her unhappiness. "No... she is not."
"I don't suppose its any consolation, but this isn't exactly my cup of tea either." he said absently, chewing over his own meat bun with a blank expression, gazing at the almost completely set sun.
"You're being forced into this as well?" Setsuna asked, somehow realizing for the first time that this man might be as much a victim as any of them in this situation.
There was a long silence, than a single nod. "British relations with the Vzladian Order have gotten bad enough that Father wants to make a powerful statement of partnership between the Japanese and Britian, to renew our pact from after the second Great War." He curled his lip, showing what he thought of that.
"Vzladian Order..." Setsuna pondered. She had heard the name, of course. They were a long line of Magi, more East than West, but mixing both styles, and they traced their roots back to Mongolian witch doctors thousands of years ago. They had been major agitators in the Cold War, when Kanto had stood firmly with the West, and while Kansai had wavered, they ended up on the side of the West as well in the end. But she hadn't heard much about the Vzladians lately. "And... that's what this marriage is about? Showing some Magi two thousand miles away England and Kansai are allies?"
"Well, a marriage to the Konoe line shows friendship from England for both Kansai and Kanto, but... yeah.. pretty much." He bit his lip tentatively. "These are really good. What do you call them in Japanese?"
She completely ignored his question, still reeling from the knowledge that Konoka's life, and by proxy, her own life, were going to be completely ruined for the diplomatic equivalent of a warning shot. She looked down at the half eaten bun, a turbulent tumult of emotions buried deep inside her blank eyes.
Adel cleared his throat weakly, sensing disaster building. "So... tell me." he rushed, seeking to engage her in mind in other things. "What is Konoe-san like?"
"Ojou-sama?" Setsuna said thickly, trying to bring her mind out of the pooling distress inside her.
"Yes. I've only seen pictures, and I'd like to know more about the girl herself."
"She's..."
"... yes?" the British prince prompted at length.
Words began to tumble out of Setsuna's mouth faster than she could stop them. "She's really wonderful. She might seem a little air headed and bumbling at first, but that's just how she is on the outside. She's really smart and talented, and she can't help but be kind and caring and tender, even a little too much at times, so that sometimes she needs saving, but she'd go to any length to help people in need, that's just the kind of person she is... and she's strong, too, not just her magical potential, although that's through the roof as well, but I mean as a person, she's dragged me out of the pits of despair more than once, and she's forgiven me all my many failings, even those I can't forgive myself, because no matter how bad things get..." Setsuna had almost entirely ran out of lung capacity as well as emotional strength, so the last bit came out as more of a resigned whisper. "...she'll always be awake the next morning with eggs on the stove and a kind word and a smile for you."
After a long awkward silence, the half bird-demon blinked, not sure what had inspired her to say all that. Was the magic around this man really so strong that it forced out truths like that?
Adel, who's meat bun had been held halfway to his mouth during the entire rambling confession, finally completed the journey and chewed thoughtfully. "You really love her, don't you." he managed at length.
A piece of her food got caught in her throat, and Setsuna coughed violently, choking and gagging. Adel slid his chair back noisily on the paved surface, starting to rise and come over to her when she waved him off, knowing she was okay, managing to clear her throat with some effort. Once she was over the initial shock, she planted a hand on the table, her down-turned eyes slowly making the journey upwards to glare at him morosely. "N... yes." she said, as though the sound were ripped from her throat. Her eyes widened as she processed what she had said, far from the denial she had intended. There was a moment of terror, unshared by the silent, almost bemused gaze of the man across the table, then finally she turned her head away, ashamed that her betrayal had come to light in such a way, especially to Konoka's fiancee.
"It's okay." the Magi said quietly, glancing to the side. "I sensed a lot of hostility towards me from the beginning, and I wondered if... that... was the reason." He sighed. "It makes it easier, in a lot of ways. The truth is... I've been planning on trying to get out of this engagement from the beginning." He shrugged, tapping his foot in thought, watching Setsuna's guarded reaction. "There's no chance either of us can disobey our parents wishes while this conflict persists, but four years is a long time. Once the engagement has served its purpose, if we all agree, it's legal to dissolve it. I don't like the idea of arranged marriages, any more than I'm sure Konoe-san does. In all honestly, my biggest fear was that she would be some starry-eyed, sophomoric girl that would fall in love with me right away, instead of having a mind of her own."
Setsuna could only shake her head miserably. "You don't understand."
"What?" Adel pursed his lips. "Ah. She doesn't know yet?"
The swordswoman could only confirm it, her eyes glistening.
That earned another thoughtful nod. "Don't worry, Setsuna-san. You professed your love for her in Finus Veritas (latin: Zone of Truth). You may not realize the significance of that, but I've seen quite a few husbands and wives who can't do that. It takes the purest form of love for the mind to confirm it when enchanted so that no falsehoods can be spoken. I have to believe that this sort of love fill find a way to work itself out."
Setsuna could feel the blush rising to her cheeks, his words sparking a forbidden hope deep inside her bosom. But she squashed it fiercely, a fierce sort of anger overriding her hope and even her embarrassment. "We're talking about my immoral and improper feelings towards the girl you're engaged to!" she growled. "Shouldn't you be a little more upset with me, Prince?" She said the last word like a curse.
That caught Adel off-guard, another effort of his to be nice backfiring, this one even worse. "I suppose I probably should be." he allowed. "But I've never even met her before. You make her sound like quite a wonderful person, but you can't expect me to be as in love with her as you just from a description."
Setsuna set down her food, her lower lip trembling as she slowly rose, that being the final straw. "I may be a bad person for letting my attraction to Ojou-sama overwhelm my training, but you are much... much worse. Your apathy for my sins is appalling. Your apathy towards Ojou-sama is revolting. If you care this little about the betrayal of trust I have committed in my position, I shudder to think of how you could ever hope to a proper husband to anyone... much less a woman of her calibre."
Adel set down his food gently, looking up into her burning eyes as she stood over him. "You haven't betrayed anyone's trust, Setsuna-san. That's why I'm not upset."
"I have." she insisted fiercely, though more to herself than anything, oblivious to the attention she was drawing to their table from various other patrons nearby. "I lied to myself about it for this long..." she breathed, crossing her arms over her chest, as though protecting herself from her unwelcome realization. "But the truth is... though I strive to protect Konoka-ojou-sama, perhaps the one she needs protecting from the most is me."
The British magi wasn't certain what to say in reply, so he only sat there for some time, staring at her. "I told you..." he finally tried. "... it's not like that. I know I'm the unwelcome intruder here. How could expect anything else when I'm forced to just waltz into her life... she doesn't have to drop everything for my sake. What I'm saying is... I don't mind that you lov..."
"Don't!" She took a breath in the silence her outburst left. "... say it." she finally completed. "I can only hope that in the time before you marry Ojou-sama, you learn what love truly is and feel it for her. You'd be a fool to cast her away." Setsuna gritted her teeth, casting her eyes downward and trembling from the effort of not crying. "I've always known it was only a dream, and now its a dream that's over. So if that's all you have for me... may I be released?"
"..." Adel swallowed uncertainly. There was a terribly fierce passion in this girl that drew him in. He wanted, worse than anything in this world, to draw her into his grasp and comfort her. But that same passion that attracted him would never allow her to accept the gesture. He did all that he could for her. "Of course. I'll see Konoe-san in the morning, assuming she's in the mood to see me."
The last few words were spoken to the Shinmei-ryuu trainee's back as she walked away. Adel couldn't help but feel a despair deep down. He was being forced to intrude upon a bond formed since childhood. How could anyone, even himself, not feel as the bad guy here? He could only shake his head, hoping tomorrow would go better.
A polite serious of knocks somehow managed to drag Adel out of sleep, despite how little he wanted to be woken. He was tired... the original meeting with Konoe-san had been scheduled late enough in the evening, plus the 'date' with Setsuna had lasted a while longer before she walked off on him. He was already jet lagged enough from the flight to Japan. Who was knocking on the door at... he glanced at the red numbers glaring at him through the darkness... 4 o'clock in the morning?
The next set of knocks, however, we're not so polite, more like frantic banging, so he rolled off the futon, making a vein attempt to arrange his bangs into something other than a sleep tangled mess, and opened the door to his borrowed room.
"What did you tell her?" came the quiet query.
The girl who greeted him at the door had long, luxurious hazel locks, delicate porcelain skin, and intense brown eyes, currently filled with a trembling mix of anger and fear. She looked familiar from somewhere, though it took a moment to place her. "You... must be Konoe-san..." Adel started uncertainly, sleep thick in his brain.
The words were echoed, filled with such intense emotion that they surely would have been screamed by virtually anyone else, only the noble daughter's deeply ingrained restraint holding her back. "What... did you tell her??"
"I... swear I would explain it to you, if only I had some clue of what you're talking about..." He said awkwardly, struggling to express himself properly in Japanese. He had only been speaking the language for a year and a half now, and it had subtleties that still eluded him, especially when he'd only woken up a short while ago.
The girl, his future wife, he presumed, thrusted a neatly written note at him with a furiously hurt look. He took the note without looking at it, keeping their gazes locked, before finally glancing down to it.
Ojou-sama,
The last six months have felt like a dream, a dream that I wish I never had to wake up from, but all good things must come to an end. It was never my place for one such as me to be so close to you. I can only thank you for doting upon me and allowing me the transgressions you did. You made this guardian happier than she ever deserved. But now I must depart, lest I put you at any more risk than I already have. We both have our respective roles to play, and our fates do not allow us to remain together any longer. I wish...
The handwriting got unsteady at this point, as though the writer could barely continue.
...but, it doesn't matter what I wish. I hope you find happiness with him, and that your future is a bright one.
Adel could barely make out two more words: 'Perhaps someday...', but apparently the writer had thought better of it and erased with her might and finished the letter as it was.
He could only shake his head, wondering how things could have gotten off to any worse of a start. Konoka hated him now, and it was little wonder. This looked pretty bad... he would probably feel the same way in her shoes.
"You told her to leave, didn't you." she flatly accused, airing the obvious.
"No."
"Maybe not in so many words, but you made her feel like she needed to leave."
"That..." But it was a charge he couldn't deny, the truth of it was plain in his hands. Whatever had transpired between them, it had convinced Setsuna to leave. "I never meant to..."
She cut him off, not caring for his explanations. "I hate you." The words cut deeply to the core, spoken while under the effects of his unconscious ability, it wasn't hyperbole or an exaggeration. She really did hate him.
"This is all a mistake, Konoe-san, I swear." he said, turning and holding his head in one hand and the letter in the other, rereading it. "I never..." He looked up at her again, at a loss for words, her baleful glare like a spear through his chest. Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Wait, I've got it. Let's go get her."
Konoka blinked, clearly not expecting that. "How?"
"It's a tricky spell, and you'll have to be the one to cast it, since it relies on a link between the caster and the object of the spell. But if you have something with her essence in it to act as a focus, you can locate her anywhere in this world."
Konoka's breath caught in her throat, hope seizing her for the first time. She still wasn't going to forgive him, but this was too good to pass up in her anger. "Hang on, I have just the thing." She ran from the room, coming back after the sound of a door opening then closing again quickly just down the hall. Seconds later, she returned with a white feather, wrapped in a handkerchief.
"That was quick."
"Yeah, Gramps put you just a few doors away from me." she said evenly, her anger temporarily forgotten. "Will this work?"
"Why a feather?" Adel asked.
The Kansai Princess didn't reply, not wanting to betray Secchan's secret to this random stranger. 'A random stranger I'm engaged to.' she lamented. "Something important to both of us." she finally tried.
"Well... if that's true it should work." Adel said, trying to stay optimistic. "Now, just recite your activation key, and..."
"I don't... have an activation key yet. I haven't gotten to that part of my training yet."
That gave Adel pause, not realizing how much of a novice this girl was. Western Magi started their training by age 5. If she hadn't even gotten an activation key... it was a difficult spell as it was. "Umm... oh. Well, maybe I should try casting it then. My link to her isn't nearly as strong, since I only just met her, but... umm..." This was looking like a worse and worse idea.
"No." she insisted firmly. "What's the incantation?"
"It's impossible without an activation key, since the spell demands one. Well... I suppose you can use the generic Western one, 'Practe Bigi Nar'. After that, it's 'Phasmae Vetustus Intermundia, Avocoare Rescivi Ipsum Anquisivi. INVENIO CALXCIS!'. (latin: Spirits of the old world, the space between worlds, heed my call and assist me to find what I seek. ABSOLUTE DISCOVERY!)
Konoka repeated the unfamiliar latin words on her tongue, rehearsing the more difficult syllables over and over. Finally, she looked up at him and spilled them all out at once. "Good?"
"Your accent might be a problem..." he pondered, but the twinge of hurt from her expression made him reconsider. "Well, yes. It should be good enough. Here, use my staff."
He stood behind her, positioning her hands on the metal, guiding her hands through the motions of the spell. She was stiff and uncomfortable against him at first, but on the third repetition, she took a deep breath and relaxed, letting her body flow with the motions, and they came much more naturally. "There we go, you're getting it." He said calmly, practicing it again with her melting into his guidance. "Now add the incantation."
"Practe Bigi Nar! Phasmae Vetustus Intermundia, Avocoare Rescivi Ipsum Anquisivi. INVENIO CALXCIS!"
There was a long, pregnant pause, and then she said. "Did... it work?"
"Uh... no. You were close, but try enunciating your words more clearly." Adel said politely. It hadn't even come close to working, in all honesty. She was barely a novice, trying to cast a mid-level, without even having mastered an activation key, in a language she didn't even know. This spell could take days even for the best of students to master. But making an effort seemed to be making her happy, and Adel was loathe to tell her it wasn't going to happen.
He guided her through seven more tries, each one a total failure, and began to contemplate exactly how to explain to her that he was going to have to try casting it himself, when something tickled his magic sense. "Was that..." he started.
"Oh, there she is." Konoka said happily, turning the staff pointing to the south west. "She's heading back towards Kyoto. I suppose I should have guessed that... silly girl." There was a sadness in the Kansai Princess' voice.
Adel was glad that he was standing behind the younger girl, pressed up against her as they had been going through the motions of the spell, so that she couldn't see his shocked expression. There was no way she had mastered this difficult of a spell this quickly. Her pronunciation was awful, even if her motions had been fairly good... but there it was. He could feel the location magic pulsing through the crystal topping his staff. "C... con... congratulations!" he stuttered. "I'm really impressed, Konoe-san."
She pulled away from him, smiling at him for the first time since he had met her. He knew exactly why Setsuna loved her at that moment, because he would happily die to see that smile preserved. Shaking his mind out of the moé induced stupor and into gear once again, he smiled back. "How far away is she?"
The brunette put a finger to her lips, contemplating with her eyes up at the ceiling. "I don't know... maybe two hundred miles? It was hard to tell."
"That sounds about right for a night's travel for a Shinmei-ryuu apprentice. Luckily for us, my broom goes faster than even the fastest swordsgirl." He took the metal rod from her hands, whispering the command word that made it start to hover, sliding a leg over and motioning for her to get on too. "We can track her down, and you can let her know your feelings. Plus, if you still don't believe me, she can confirm that I did not tell her to abandon you. Quite the opposite really."
Konoka regarded him blankly, her smile gone. "Secchan will understand once I talk to her." It was clear she was still up in the air on if she trusted him or not, but she hopped on anyway. "We're inside, so how are you..."
He didn't bother replying, ascending rapidly. She barely had time to shriek as they hit the ceiling, passing harmlessly through solid material up into open sky. The sun wasn't due to rise for another hour or so. "Are you ready for the trip?"
She was wearing her school uniform, with the skirt tucked neatly under her to prevent any unsightly views from below. She looked a little shook up having just phased through the ceiling, but contemplated for a moment, then gave him a quick nod. "I brought everything I'll need I think."
"Then here we go."
The pair rocketed off through the darkness, towards their destinies.