By the Light of the Stars

Hey all, this is a challenge I received from Nightmares Around Winter, for the rights to adopt a story. This is a one-shot offshoot of the story up for adoption. You will note Negi is called Nigel in his fic, so he will be in my own.

Now to explain a little more, Nigel is roughly the same age as the girls, has died several times already, and is American-Indian. That's all I'm going to spoil for now.

…

Nigel Ohanzee-Springfield gazed upon the night sky as a small semblance of peace found its way into his soul. After six days of teaching his class he could already feel a change overcoming him. Somehow, someway those girls were easing his pain. A pain he felt ever since that day, the day he met the man who left him alone.

"You know if you stay out here like this you'll catch a cold sensei" a voice called from behind him. Nigel turned around and saw it was one of his students. He looked down at his jacket beside him and couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm not worried. Nights were much colder in Whales, and there I wore more traditional cloths"

"Oh" she asked.

"Leather breeches, Moccasins, and a leather vest. Trust me, it's not the warmest of clothing" he said.

"So…do you like the weather here? I always find it to be nice and mild"

"You didn't come here just to chat about the weather did you…Ako" he asked with a small smile playing across his face. Turning to look at her he couldn't help but admire her subtle beauty. Her jaw length white hair made her eyes look like they glowed in the soft night air. The gentle moonlight gave her skin an ethereal look to it. Her cloths consisted of a skirt over a pair of black thigh high socks and boots. The dress shirt and tie completed the ensemble with a bass guitar strapped to her back.

"*Sigh* No, I didn't. I wanted someone to talk to. Someone who might understand how I feel" she explained as she sat down next to him.

"I'm all ears. You can ask me about anything you want to right now" he said seriously, noting the depressed tone she had, and how her entire demeanor changed.

"It's difficult for me to say and it's…kind of personal" she replied.

"If you want, I'll just listen. Sometimes just letting another person know is enough" he replied setting a hand on her shoulder gently.

"How…how did you get that scar…over your heart" she asked hesitantly. This threw him off for a minute. Not many people wondered about that.

"…It was…a long time ago. I went out hunting with my best friend. We had done everything together. Hell we were raised as close as brothers. It was just after we had gotten a buck. He asked to borrow my knife, claiming to have left his own back at camp by mistake. I gave it to him thinking nothing of it…until he turned around and stabbed me. The look on his face was sick triumph, like he just killed a bear with only the knife in his hand. He said it was nothing personal, but I needed to die. Then he could be there to comfort a girl who had liked me. That hurt worse than any knife. He betrayed me and threw away all our years of friendship, over a girl" he said a glazed look entering his eyes as he remembered that day.

"Aren't you self conscious about it? Doesn't it make you feel…deformed" she asked hugging herself.

"No, and you shouldn't feel that way about your own" he said shocking her.

"How did you…"

"I saw it during the bath incident. The instant you asked about my scar, I realized what you were really asking, "How did you cope with it?""

"I just…hate it. It makes me look ugly, even without people seeing it" she cried, the tears starting down her cheeks.

"What would make you say something like that" he asked shocked.

"Before school began, I asked a sempai out. He rejected me…badly" she replied resting her head on her arms.

"That doesn't make you ugly" he said firmly.

"Oh and what does it mean then" she asked somewhat bitterly.

"It means he couldn't see the gem standing right in front of him" Nigel replied with total honesty making Ako look at him.

"What do you mean" she questioned.

"Ako, you need to stop defining yourself by the scar. What you are is an intelligent, talented, beautiful girl. That scar is not who you are, and it does not make you any less beautiful. You care for others, you can play an instrument better than most people can ever dream of, and you are smart. All of that is wrapped in a beautiful appearance. All I see is the diamond, no rough" he nearly yelled in an attempt to get through to her. It seemed to work as she smiled a little.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me to hear that" she said.

"You're welcome" he replied. They sat in a comfortable silence until Ako decided to pose another question.

"So…what has you looking out at the stars tonight?"

"It helps me to think. Something about the vastness of the eternity that we see every night calms me down" he replied.

"Vastness of the eternity" she asked.

"Yeah. Every star we see, is older than a thousand lifetimes for a human. All our problems seem so insignificant compared to them. I mean our existence in and of itself is nothing more than a blip in eternity. Everything we do will likely never be more than a blink compared to the ages. But then there is the beauty of it as well. Our screw-up's are the same. Nothing but time is forever, and knowing that helps me to calm down and see a solution"

"You know Nigel sensei; you really are one of a kind. But I think that's what I like best about you" Ako said scootching a little closer to Nigel.

"Umm…Ako" he asked as she moved ever closer.

"I really like you sensei. You are kinder than a lot of guys our age, and…I want to get to know you better" she said leaning close to him her eyes half lidded.

"Ako we really shouldn't, I mean I'm a teacher and you're a student…" the argument died as he saw the look of hurt that began to cross her eyes. Another rejection would crush her, and this time she might not recover. It was the straw that broke the camel's back for Nigel.

He leaned in and connected lips with her, allowing both of them to immerse themselves in the comfort of the other, for as Nigel soothed away her pain, she removed some of the hatred that gripped his heart. And so as the two shared a kiss, the stars seemed to wink in approval. For love always seems to begin blooming, by the light of the stars.