Disclaimer: I do not own Negima, if I did KonoSetsu would be canon. I'm just a poor student writing this for my own amusement. Now with all that administrative business done, let's get on with the story!
Lapsus ex Caelum
Fall from Heaven
-Prologue-
Crimson splatters littered the grimy surfaces of the alleyway; pools of red reflected an inky blackness akin to oil in the moonlight. The thick sticky substance was already starting to cool as the last bit of warmth evaporated into the frigid early morning air.
Drip…
Chilled and heavy with moisture, a winter wind had caused ice crystals to form across the damp pavement and brick walls at some point during the night. The once shimmering lacework of white which crawled forth from drains and gutters melded with red and dirt.
Drip…
The cold numbed the senses, made it seem as if what had happened only seconds before feel unreal, a figment of some sadistic individuals' imagination. The smells, the sounds, the taste…everything…all fake. How could it be real when all the emotions felt dull as before? It still felt empty…bleak, just like it had been for the past year.
Drip…
Not too much longer until it all froze over. The red life-giving substance was still warm, still liquid, still steaming at the center but dark frost formed around the edges.
Drip…
Short, shallow, white puffs of air gave way to longer, deeper, more regularized breathing.
Drip…
Light blue eyes, usually bright and clear as the sky on a summer day, glazed over. Their depths lifeless as the grey ashes of a long extinguished fire stared ahead unfocused and unblinking…
Drip…
One foot shuffled in front of the other noiseless but clumsy as the figure with the once bright blue eyes turned away from the grizzly scene. Away from that-that mess…away, and toward the desolate street.
Drip…
Red…endless red…so much…too much...
A long curved blade scraped against the filthy concrete. The polished folded steel undoubtedly forged by a great master, now tainted with rivulets of crimson, lagged limply behind the figure like a useless appendage.
Drip…
Away…must go…leave…
A muscle involuntarily pulsed just below the figure's right eye as they continued to trudge forward, one foot scuffing in front of the other steadily away from the spot where it was. Blood-splattered cheeks were smeared with dirt and grime. Cuts and gashes and an ample amount of red covered the form of the figure walking. The injuries did not seem to cause any interference with their posture or hinder any movement…but no wound to that person could compare to the destruction oflaid waste to behind in the back of the alleyway.
The figure stopped their enervated movements, shoulders starting to sag and body slightly hunched forward. Glassy eyes looked straight ahead; seeing but unseeing.
"You did what you had to…you know that right?"
Another figure stood at the entrance of the alleyway battered and bruised. A shaggy haired man, perhaps in his mid twenties, voice quiet but commanding peered at the other figure with concerned russet colored eyes. He clutched at his ribs as if in pain, his body trembling slightly. It looked as if he stood due to sheer will alone.
"…" The other figure turned their gaze away from the man, deciding instead to look at the bits of rime covered debris and trash that littered the sides of the alleyway.
"Please say something…you're worrying me…" The man at the front of the alley dropped a bit of the edge in his voice replacing it with concern. Sandy brown eyebrows furrowed ever-so-slightly.
"I…I have never killed before…Yuki." The figure's voice was low, soft and distinctly feminine. The tone had a dead quality to it, no inflection, just monotone. Light blue eyes still dazed focused back on the man, but seemed to stare beyond him.
"Ah…" The older of the two companions, Yuki, looked down at his worn brown boots unsure of what to say. How do you justify to someone, an adolescent-a teenager, that the killing was necessary? That there would be many more kills after the first? Yuki never did like serious conversations such as these…they cut at his heartstrings and left a heavy feeling in his chest.
"It is your mission. Duty…remember your duty…think of her…remember the reason you walk this path." It was the only thing that came to mind, the only thing that could snap the girl out of this zombie-like state, but words of her left a bad taste in his mouth.
The nodachi clattered to the ground. Dark pupils dilated abruptly within frigid blue irises at the mention of her. Of course, that was right! She had to keep her safe, always and forever…needed keep her safe from harm…by doing this she was protecting her! Protecting her as she had vowed to oh so very long ago when they had been just children. Her lower lip started to tremble, oh what a wretch she was! How could she have forgotten…how could she forget her, even-even for a moment, a few short seconds?
"Setsuna, you are only trying to ensure her happiness." Yuki stepped forward ever so slightly ice crunching under the soles of his boots.
The teen let out a halfhearted laugh which sounded more like a cry of anguish than anything else. "I chose this…Yuki, I know…and I accept it…" Dull blue eyes looked down at rough palms and calloused fingers, the hands that had killed a man, the hands of a murderer. That was not her blood on the pale white skin…she was defiled now…unfit and impure…no good for her. The swordswoman let out a low humorless chuckle. She needed to stop entertaining such notions that she, Setsuna, a Halfling left to die and now a killer would ever be worthy to even stand in her presence again.
"I do it for her…so she can walk in the light and be without fear." Setsuna paused and looked up at the other figure. Her gaze was unfocused and cloudy causing Yuki to take another step forward.
"For her I would do this a thousand times over. To keep her safe…I never want her to know such darkness, or to even think it!" Setsuna knelt down on the ground, her long fingers stretching around the smooth wooden handle of her nodachi, Yuunagi. "I walk this dark path to keep her from harm…for as long as I am breathing."
The taller figure silently watched as the swordswoman fingered the sword hilt as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world while allowing the subject of her to fade back into the memories of her 'previous life'. "We should get going Setsuna…dawn is only a few short hours away." He walked over to the kneeling girl and held out Yuunagi's lacquered wooden sheath which had been discarded earlier on in the fight. The fight that had taken place only minutes before.
"Hmn…" Setsuna smiled a sad, broken smile, he was right…they needed to leave this place lest they get caught for leaving such a disgusting mess behind. The swordswoman pulled a white rag from her back jeans pocket running the cloth over Yuunagi's crimson smeared steel blade before taking the sheath from Yuki.
"Thank you…I don't know if…" Setsuna felt tears prick at her eyes as she silently sheathed her blade.
"Shhh…" Yuki extended his hand to pull the younger girl up. "Don't worry about it Setsuna, It's my job to watch over you after all, not only as a guardian and guide but as a friend…no need to thank me."
Setsuna gingerly took the offered hand and pulled herself up from her kneeling position, her body seemed to move in slow motion as she was far more exhausted than she'd like to admit. The young woman was grateful Yuki didn't comment on her sluggish movements.
The man let go of Setsuna's hand and turned to start walking back to the entrance of the alleyway. "Come on, let's get something to eat…or maybe some hot coco, it's fucking freezing out here." The brunette rubbed his hands together and shivered for emphasis.
The swordswoman allowed herself a small crooked half-smile, leave it to Yuki to make everything seem almost normal again. The petite girl sighed slinging the sheathed Yunnagi over her shoulder and into the holster she had strapped across her torso.
Was this what her life was to be like now? Nothing could ever be normal again… Not after this. She had killed after all, taken something that couldn't be brought back. No, that was not quite the right word to describe the act she committed…butchered or cut to ribbons seemed a more accurate depiction. There was barely anything left of a human form after she had finished, the body was completely unrecognizable.
Setsuna's mouth twisted into a grimace as she followed her companion out onto the darkened street. Tainted…that's how she was born…that was how she would forever be until the day she died…living in the darkness so Konoka could live in the light.
-Finis Prologue-
Alright so this is my first story after a really long hiatus! The idea has kind of been floating around in my head for a couple of years now, most of its already laid out but I've only recently put it to paper in true story form (well in this case the hard drive of my laptop). Because of that, and also due to the fact I stopped reading the manga after the School Festival arc, this fic will not be concurrent with the up to date chapters of the Negima storyline. This story will break from the main series around the end of the School Festival Arc. I guess it could be said this is an alternate storyline where Negi does not go to the magical world making it AU or AS. Also, if you see any mistakes let me know. I am only human and there are bound to be mistakes, and I will do my very best to fix them.
Just an FYI, this story will have a rather dark plotline. There will be much angst, bloodshed, intense violence, adult language, sexual themes, etc. So just be forewarned!