The Story Goes On

by tsaieric

Negi/Setsuna Pairing, a sequel to "The Mage and the Swordswoman." After the returning from South America, Negi and Setsuna have gotten closer and this is but one of the many days of happiness that they will experience together. One Shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Negima, Akamatsu Ken owns it

Mahou Sensei Negima Fan Fiction

"The Story Goes On"

A Continuation of "The Mage and the Swordswoman"

"Negi-kun, wake up it's time for school." Hearing a familiar voice calling his name, Negi Springfield groggily opened up his eyes.

Several weeks had gone by since his return from South America, and a lot of things had changed since then and this was part of the change.

"Good morning." Negi paused for a moment before continuing his sentence to the girl standing on the side of his bed. "Setsuna-san."

Sakurazaki Setsuna, stood there in her school uniform like always with her hair tied to one side while her hands were on her waist and the sword in a bag carried on her shoulder. The two had gotten a lot closer since the day they returned from the their mission, and waking Negi up, had apparently become one of Setsuna's new found duties and interests.

"Se-chan, I got breakfast for you as well." Another person then spoke and Negi could tell that it belonged to his roommate.

Konoe Konoka was the typical YamatoNadisco, one who Setsuna had sworn her duty towards and only did Negi recently learn that his now girlfriend seemed to have this unhealthy devotion towards her until that day when she was questioned by Evangeline in the tournament for her true feelings.

"Thank you, Ojo-sama." Setsuna replied and sat down at the dinning table as Negi quickly climbed down from his little space.

"So is Asuna-san going to make it today?" Negi asked as he took a look at the clock in the room as he also sat down.

"She said that she is doing a longer delivery route today." Konoka replied after taking several seconds to remember what her roommate said before leaving for her part time job.

"I see." Negi nodded then turned his gaze to Setsuna who was sitting next to him, who apparently had just picked up her chopsticks.

Setsuna was elegant in her actions as ever, and Negi was again in awe of her beauty even in the smallest action like this. But noticing Negi's gaze and caused Setsuna to pause and to ask her teacher what was wrong.

"Something wrong?" Hearing Setsuna's voice, Negi quickly changed his attention from the scene before him to the conversation.

"No, I am just... admiring how elegant and beautiful you are." After those words, came out Negi actually regretted it.

Setsuna was stunned and when her mind took in the meaning, her face became red like a tomato and was silenced. And Konoka, who was watching all, cocked her head and pretended that she did not realize what was going between the young couple. Then just as she was about to sigh, she looked at the clock and realized that they should leave for school or they would be late.

"You two, we should get ready." Konoka said as she finished her last bite and started to clean up the table.

Konoka's words immediately broke the two out of their own world and caused them to scramble to get ready.

"Negi-kun, your tie." Setsuna worriedly handed the young boy his tie as he buttoned up his shirt in a hurry.

"Thank you, Setsuna." Negi replied as he took the tie from Setsuna, while Konoka was already about to leave.

Konoka then paused for a moment as she observed to the couple and thought that she was a little bit jealous of Setsuna.

"Negi-kun..." Konoka quietly whispered the name as she remembered how many times he had came to her aid.

Then before she could go on, Negi and Setsuna quickly rushed out from the room and came to Konoka's side.

"Let's go." And then the group left as Setsuna, followed by Negi and Konoka stepped out of the dorm room.

The run was like always as thousands others rushed their way through the gakuentoshi, trying to get to classes on time.

"Good morning, Asuna-san." And while they made their way to their campus, they were joined by Asuna, who had finished her delivery.

"Good morning, Negi." Asuna greeted him energetically, but Konoka knew that this was all a facade that she was keeping. After all, Asuna was very shocked when she learned about the relationship that had developed between Negi and Setsuna, but she kept quiet about it and gave her 'blessings', but Konoka knew otherwise.

"Asuna, about this evening, did you get the things?" Konoka then asked as the run to the all girls academy continued.

"Yeah, I did." Asuna replied as they continued their way, while Negi was oblivious to the topic of their conversation.

"Did I miss something?" Negi asked Konoka, and Setsuna sighed, as she was also aware of the event they were discussing about.

"Sensei, have you forgotten?" Setsuna asked, trying to make sure that Negi remembered what was happening this afternoon.

Negi gave thought for a couple seconds before remembering and said, "Oh."

"We are throwing you a party for your move in." Asuna went on as they finally made their way to the school grounds.

After long discussions and preparations, Negi was finally given his own dorm room, which to Setsuna was a relief. But to Asuna and Konoka, it was a rather sad turn of events for more than the mere inconvenience of having someone move out.

"Oh..." Negi then nodded as the group slowed down when they entered in the academy grounds.

"Good morning, Negi-sensei." Then they were joined by two others as sound of the morning greeting came.

"Good morning, Yue-san, Nodoka-san." Negi greeted the two young girl that joined them with a smile, to which Setsuna also did.

These two girls were also of the group that was aware of the existence of magis and had formed pactios with Negi. However, those things were not what Setsuna really minded, what she really minded was their feelings towards Negi.

"Sensei, we have something to ask you after school." Yue said and Setsuna frowned as she heard that.

Setsuna knew very well that they were probably talking about their results of practicing magic, but Setsuna was obviously jealous.

"Why am I thinking this way?" Setsuna asked herself, but no answer came to her as the girls continued to talk with Negi. Then the group moved on and just as they were about to enter into the classroom, they were interrupted by an incident.

"Good morning, master." Negi greeted the blonde petite newcomer and her robotic companion who slowly walked towards them.

"Moring, kiddo." Evangeline seemed to be in a rather good mood today and Setsuna had an approximate idea why, which was due the fact Evangeline probably liked Negi to a great extent, perhaps greater than her affections towards his father.

"So everything set for your new place?" Evangeline asked, which was kind of out of her character a little bit, despite that she kept her face.

"Yes, master." Negi replied with a gentle smile and Evangeline nodded, while Setsuna could notice a slight blush on the vampire's facial feature. From this, Setsuna realized that she had not focused on Negi this much before and perhaps this was the usual way these people interacted with him. But still, she was uncomfortable with all of this.

"Why am I thinking all of these thoughts?" Setsuna asked herself once more and like before, no answer came.

But Setsuna quickly gave up on thinking about all of these and turned her attention to the current situation.

"Let's go, it's about time, sensei." Setsuna said after realizing that a long period of time had went by and that Negi needed to get ready.

"I will see you in class then." Then Negi departed and for some reason Setsuna felt better, knowing the fact at least these girls would not be near him.

"I am really pathetic." Setsuna thought to herself as sighed, which was noted by everyone in the group around her.

"Setsuna-san..." Asuna did not know how to approach her sparring partner and kendo teacher, but she knew what she was feeling to some extent.

"Se-chan, let's head to class." But then Konoka changed the flow of conversation and quickly led everyone to class.

Setsuna was quiet as they walked to class, however, she seemed better than before they continued their way to class. But Setsuna's thought then once again drifted to the young teacher who was not present at the moment. "Negi-kun and I..."

"I never thought love could be so difficult after we confessed." Setsuna sighed as her thoughts continued while she walked along with the others.

"And certainly never happily ever after." Setsuna was sarcastic as she knew that happily ever after only existed in fairy tales, but now she understood it from a realistic way instead of just knowledge wise. And while she pondered all of this, the group had made it to the classroom and without too much awareness of her surroundings, Setsuna took her then Setsuna's thought quickly moved onto something else.

"What should I make for him?" Setsuna thought as she then sighed while trying to think of food that her young lover would like.

Setsuna had taken more time into culinary after their relationship began and she found it rather interesting. Instead of being frustrated of all the efforts she had to put into it, Setsuna was actually enjoying it almost as much as practicing the swords; she believed that it was primarily due to the fact that it was for Negi's sake, however, today it seemed to be just one of the problems ahead of her.

"Setsuna-san?" Hearing her name being called, Setsuna looked up to find Sasaki Makie looking at her curiously.

"Sasaki-san, is there something you need?" Setsuna asked with a smile as she turned her focus back from her thoughts to her classmate.

"Well, no." Makie then paused for a moment before continuing on. "It just seemed like you are a little bit unwell, Setsuna-san."

Setsuna was a little surprised by that, but decided to keep her emotions to herself as she listened to Makie.

"Sasaki-san, I am fine, but thank you for your concern." Setsuna smiled as the words came out, which surprised Makie.

"She seemed smoother than before." Makie thought for a moment, but quickly put the thought behind herself, believing that Setsuna was just being polite. And then after some friendly petty talks, Makie returned to her seats while Setsuna retrieved from her mind what she knew of the gymnast.

"She is also one of those interested in Negi-kun." Setsuna felt strange for a moment, but yet refrained herself from speaking. After all, it was was a sort of frustration that was more than anger, but yet she did not want to admit what the other parts were.

"Negi-kun should be here in a little bit." Setsuna then realized what time it was as she turned her attention away from the thought.

Somehow, she missed being with Negi every moment, she realized that this was probably the fact that they were now dating and that Negi was popular despite his youth. Setsuna wondered, "Really, is it this hard for everyone?" But like always before, there was no answer that came.

The other her had not shown up since their encounter with the dragon at South America and she seemed to always be the one that gave her the push she needed to go over the top. Still, she needed her help as she was could feel herself wavering emotionally, and this was not something that she was used to.

"I have always devoted myself to serving Konoka-ojousama, but I should have learned about dealing with emotions better." Setsuna said to herself as she got ready for the class by taking out the appropriate books and writing utensils. Then she sighed, not sure of what to do about all of the things happening around her as she paused for a moment.

Yet, at the same time she realized that there was very little she could do to change the situation, which made her mood sunk deeper.

"I guess everything is balanced as they say." Setsuna was now seeing why everyone talked about how hard a relationship actually was.

"Happiness is balanced by equal amount of hard work." But then Setsuna's thought was cut short as the door to the classroom was slid open.

Then she heard the bell rang and Negi, with his regular smile, walked into the classroom with materials in his hand. And seeing him there in the classroom made her feel at ease, which also made her smile slightly as she returned to take out all of her class materials. And when she was done, she noticed that Negi was still working on placing all the materials he had prepared for today.

So without saying, she went ahead and decided that she should help at least in handing out the handouts for the class. On the other hand, Negi was too concentrated on his work and did not notice his girlfriend''s approach and was surprised when she showed up next to him.

"Negi-sensei, do you want me to help you?" Setsuna's voice made the younger boy jumped back, to which she felt a little hurt.

"Setsuna-san..." Negi was relieved seeing that it was Setsuna, for some reason he knew that he should be spending more time with her.

"What's wrong?" Negi then asked warmly and that made Setsuna felt less hurt.

"I just want to ask whether there is something I can help you with?" Setsuna repeated her offer, which slightly surprised Negi.

"Uh, sure." Negi then divided the pile of papers that were before into two piles and handed Setsuna the pile that had writings on them.

"There are some minor modifications that I have to make before handing it to everyone." Negi explained as Setsuna took the papers.

"Please hand them to everyone." Setsuna smiled back while Negi returned a assuring smile, which made Setsuna felt warm. And so Setsuna quickly went on in a cheerful manner and handed out the papers, but all of this was watched by everyone else, especially those who had close relationship with Negi and Setsuna.

"They look happy together." Konoka noted and Asuna could not agree more as she stood next to her roommate.

Asuna still could not believe that her role of being Negi's caretaker was now over and she felt jealous, jealous of Setsuna for her new role. And for Konoka, despite also being jealous, noticed her roommate's thoughts as she saw the looks on Asuna's face; therefore, she decided to tease her a little bit.

"Jealous of Se-chan, Asuna?" Konoka's words slightly surprised Asuna, who immediately tried to deny it.

"Of course not." Asuna immediately shot back, but then she paused for a few seconds and realized perhaps that was true, at least to some extent.

"Well, maybe so. I will miss having a roommate like him." Asuna replied with slightly sad voice and Konoka could not do much but smile sadly as well.

"How would things be different?" Asuna wondered, as she thought of the possibility as she realized that she liked him a little bit.

"Perhaps, I will still not recognize that at least I liked him." Asuna, then realized the meaning what she just said and quickly corrected herself.

"No, I meant that I like him as a brother and a good friend." She then tried arguing with herself, but again that proved to be futile.

"Maybe I was lying to myself all along." She knew that she liked him; however, she did not realize it was this much, but she also knew that it would be little use to dwell upon it, so she told herself, that she should forget about this for now.

Asuna then stretched and leaned back, while Konoka laughed in seeing that her friend gave up thinking about it.

"I guess that's what kept her going over the past few years." Konoka thought as she decided to get ready for class.

"And maybe that's what will get her through this time as well." Konoka then ended her thoughts on the romantic relationship of her homeroom teacher and returned her focus to her class.

"Se-chan is really cute though." Konoka then thought as she watched her childhood friend handing out paper to her classmates. "Being able to do something for him is truly happiness." Konoka smiled sadly as she turned her attention to Negi.

"I guess those romance novels had some truths to it after all." Konoka laughed a bit as she got ready for class.

Several minutes later when Setsuna was done with the handouts, the bell sounded, signaling the beginning of the class, and all went well until the first break came.

"Negi-kun, can you tell us how to do this problem?" Makie was the first one to attack, which was soon followed by others. Seeing this, Setsuna became slightly jealous of the other girls, but she remained calm, trying not to make the situation worse. But when she realized that Negi was being overwhelmed and without further ado decided to intervene in the situation.

"Can't you guys stop it? Negi-sensei is troubled by you people." Setsuna said after separating the girls from Negi with her body.

Asuna, who remained in her seat not too far away, chuckled realized that it was what she used to do all the time.

"Well, I guess I will help." Asuna then got got up and helped out Setsuna in clearing out the crowd of students.

"Really, they don't know when to give up." Asuna then brushed away the little bit of sweat that formed on her forehead.

Setsuna could not agree more, but it surprised her when she noticed that the library exploration club had finally decided to join them.

"A job well done." Yue complemented the two stoically as Haruna and Nodoka followed closely behind her.

"It's no problem, I have gotten used to this." Asuna replied as Konoka also made her way to the front of the class as well.

"But it is really unimaginable that Se-chan would do things like this." Konoka's comment sounded innocent, but in reality it made the group focus their attention on Setsuna, who obviously was not ready for this.

"And she is the first as well." Haruna added, which everyone else knew was for the purpose of making the situation worse for Setsuna, as she did not really know how to respond to the attention on her, and Negi could tell this as Setsuna blushed.

"Anyway, well thank you, Setsuna-san." Negi then decided that perhaps offering his gratitude was the best way to get Setsuna out of the situation, to which she replied as her blush grew deeper, "You are welcome." And this made everyone sighed, realizing that the two were a couple after all.

"For you, I would do anything." Setsuna then continued in a smaller volume which was still audible to anyone still close enough.

"That's so cheesy." Everyone almost thought of the same thing as they heard it, but said nothing about it as they knew Setsuna was very serious about it, which made Negi blushed. However, he was silent due to the fact that he was surprised and appreciated feelings of Setsuna.

"The couple over there, would you mind the surroundings would you?" It was then when the two realized that almost everyone else was watching.

"Maybe I should write about this in the school newspaper." It was when Asakura said those words, the two finally started responding.

"Well,Setsuna-san, thank you, I guess I will get ready for the next class then." Negi then quickly gathered his materials and exited out of the class.

That left almost everyone in the class dumbfounded, except those who were aware of the situation between Setsuna and Negi. But in this case, they chose silence because it was a lot more fun watch the two interact than breaking the interactions. As for Setsuna, this made her smile as she realized that she was of actual help to him, which made her really glad. In this, she also realized that he was indeed still very popular amongst the students, which made her proud and worried at the same time.

"After all, I am just one girl who is not really girlish." Setsuna did not know whether to smile or to frown at the thought, because she was a warrior and a maiden as well.

She had definitely grown stronger in terms of the combat skills, but she was still not strong enough to protect him from everything. On the other hand, she still lacked a lot of skills as a regular girl to support him due to the fact that she focused all of her time training to become Konoka's bodyguard and never thought of becoming anything else.

And especially after the swarm of girls that rushed him, it made her feel that she really lacked a lot of things as she realized each one of them had their strengths, which were often the abilities she lacked. It was also a similar situation when she compared herself to the rest of the girls who had pactios with Negi, which made her more depressed.

Asuna, who apparently noticed what the swordswoman was thinking, went over to her side and patted on her shoulder.

"Setsuna-san, don't feel so down." Asuna assured her as she stood beside her. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses."

Setsuna did not really know how to respond to Asuna on those words, so she gave thought to them seriously. "My strengths and weaknesses." Setsuna whispered those words and immediately was immersed in her thoughts.

After all, she was a very skilled sword user and apparently, her domestic skills were not to the point of absolutely horrible. She also realized that she was called by Camo to be one of the most compatible partners in terms of combat skills and remembering that made her feel better. "Well, I guess I am not that bad." Hearing those words from Setsuna's mouth, told Asuna that she had helped pointed her in the right direction.

"Anyway, it's physical education next period so you two let's get ready." Then before Asuna could say anything else, Konoka reminded them that they were still in school.

"Okay, be right over." Asuna shouted to her roommate as she noticed the other girls were getting ready to leave as well. "Let's go then." Setsuna said to her friend and on her face was confidence, and seeing this made Asuna feel relieved. And as Setsuna got her clothes, she felt confident and that as long as she tried her best, there could be nothing that could stand against her in her relationship with Negi.

That was at least what Setsuna thought of the situation throughout the day before the end of the fourth period of class.

"Negi-sensei, let's go to the rooftop and have lunch there." Setsuna made sure that she was the first to Negi's side to invite him for lunch.

"Sure, Setsuna-san." Negi agreed happily, but unknown to them, this was only the beginning of another tiring event.

"Hey, you two." When they arrived at the roof, they were joined by Asuna and Konoka, whom they felt were at least safe to eat with.

So after a finding spot, the four sat down and began to enjoy their food, but that was before they had the interruption.

"Where is that stupid pupil of mine?" Setsuna could make out that was the voice of Evangeline, who was accompanied by Chachamaru.

"Master, Negi-sensei is right over there." Setsuna then looked towards the source of the sound and found the vampire and her familiar standing there. "Ah, there you are."

Evangeline was smiling as she approached the slightly surprised Negi while Setsuna remained on guard, primarily due the fact that she believed that the blonde vampire was up to something again.

"I need to discuss something about the the combat techniques with my pupil there, so I am going to..." Before she could finish, Asuna summoned her paper fan and slapped it on the vampire's head.

"What are you doing, Kagurazaka?" Evangeline shouted angrily as she rubbed the spot where the paper fan hit.

"You are going to suck on him again aren't you?" Asuna was angry, and everyone could tell that even without seeing her face.

"So? We made a promise and I am going to give him something extra in return." But that was the part everyone else was worried about. "He is just a ten years old boy, what are you planning on giving to him?" Asuna was quite angry as she could tell where this was going.

"Something mature man would like?" Evangeline replied, and Setsuna felt strange as it was a inquisitive tone.

"Evangeline-san, you are not trying something fishy are you?" It was now Setsuna who spoke, which surprised to everyone a little.

"I forgot, that this half demon girl is now his girlfriend." A sweat drop formed on her head as the vampire remembered that. "Evangeline-san, maybe I should give you a reminder of..." But Setsuna was cut short as several others from their class also showed up.

"Negi-kun, we made lunch for you to eat." The group already there sweat dropped, due to how comical the timing of the appearance of the second group was.

"Negi, I think you better make a run for it or else you are going to die from eating too much." Asuna suggested.

Setsuna nodded in agreement and immediately looked around for a escape route and fortunately there was one.

There was one exit at the opposite end of the roof, and without any hesitation, Negi and Setsuna ran forth.

"What about us?" Konoka asked innocently.

"We will try to stop them if possible, but..." Asuna paused and looked at the approaching crowd before continuing, "but I guess it's not possible."

Of course she knew she could try the arcane means, but it simply was not worth it to use it for a situation like this.

"Let's get out of the way for now then." Evangeline suggested. "I don't want to be trapped in that kind of stampede." To which Asuna and Konoka both nodded in agreement and quickly moved out off the way; after all this was not something worth getting injured for.

"Sorry, Negi. I guess you are on your own with Setsuna now." Asuna apologized mentally as she watched the chasing crowd.

On the other hand, Negi and Setsuna were dashing through the halls of the academy while carrying their lunch.

"I should have known that this will happen." Negi said as they made their way across the hallway while Setsuna was kind of blaming herself for not noticing the crowd.

"I should have noticed such a large group approaching us." Setsuna was now very critical of herself, especially since their relationship began; after all, she felt that being in love would have made her stronger, but often times it was proven to be not necessarily true.

"Or perhaps it isn't because I am not stronger, but that I have become more careless because of the happiness." Setsuna had taken time to think about it and that seemed to be the more likely answer in her case.

And just as she was thinking about all these things, she felt that the crowd was actually getting closer to them. "Negi-kun, they are getting closer." Setsuna quickly informed her teacher, who apparently sensed it as well.

"Is there anywhere that we can hide?" Negi asked, to which Setsuna quickly replied as she had been considering this question as well. "We can head toward the extracurricular building." Setsuna answered. "Since it is usually pretty empty this time of the day."

Negi nodded, even though he had been here for almost a year now, he still had very limited knowledge everything that was actually on campus. That was especially true when it came to extracurricular activities, and Setsuna on the other hand had been here for years.

However, he was more amazed by how determined Setsuna was as she carried out her promises, which now was to protect him.

"I am so glad that she is with me." Negi said to himself while they made their way towards their destination. "I can't imagine what I will do under this type of circumstances." He told himself, but he realized maybe he was not completely right.

"Maybe I probably would know what to do, but even so with her I felt that I can just give my back to her." Negi then remembered when during the school festival while trying to protect Chao from the pursuing magi teachers and students, the way she fought and how elegant and beautiful, which entranced him as he now recalled it.

"Negi-sensei, take a right turn there." Setsuna's voice and the change in the way she addressed him made him realized that there was a still a reality.

"Sorry, Setsuna-san." Negi replied as he made the turn, which Setsuna soon followed after as they made their escape.

"We should be fine here." Setsuna tried to assure her teacher, but she realized that perhaps assurance was not the only thing she could offer.

"I am going to run decoy." What she said took Negi by surprise, but that did not prevent him from trying to stop her.

"Setsuna-san, I don't think that is necessary for this." Negi argued as he tried his best to urge her to stay with him.

"But..." Setsuna wanted to counter his point, but what Negi said following that swept all her reasoning away.

"After all, if you leave, it will be pointless since I wanted to enjoy lunch with you." Hearing that, Setsuna gave up resisting.

But then just as they were about to start with their meal again, they felt people approaching the classroom.

"Finally found you guys." It was Asuna, Konoka, Evangeline, and Chachamaru who showed up and seeing that made them feel relieved. The four then entered the room while Chachamaru shut the door behind them,"It took us a while to find you." Asuna noted.

"Thinking of going on without us?" Evangeline asked in her usual cruel and authoritative voice after the door was shut.

"Well, I thought that you would enjoy the meal by yourselves." Negi was trying his best to get out of the situation but apparently it was not working.

Then Negi looked to his former roommate for help, but it seemed like that they could not really help him either.

"I tried, but she doesn't seem to listen." Asuna replied to the unasked question while Konoka also nodded in agreement.

"Well, I need you to give me a little blood." Evangeline continued, ignoring the fact that Negi was a bit unwilling, as she advanced towards him. But before she could get any further, Setsuna came in between the two, blocking the petite blonde vampire.

"Evangeline-san, you already had his blood when we trained yesterday." Setsuna reminded the vampire, who apparently was not happy about it.

"A couple sips more won't hurt the boy." Evangeline countered, while she added the fact that she could get to spend some time with her pupil. However, Setsuna was firm in not backing down as she insisted that what Evangeline was doing was against the contract they had.

"You are only suppose to suck on his blood after each training session." Setsuna argued as Evangeline stood there unfazed.

"So?" That was Evangeline's only response.

Hearing that, Setsuna knew that the vampire before her was not going to back down, so she readied herself by quickly removing the cloth covering her blade Yunagi; it all happened so quickly that if she had done it elsewhere others would believe that it was magic or something along the arcane arts, but she knew that she had to be ready. Then silence and tension fell between the two while Asuna, Konoka, and Chachamaru watched as Negi panicked since he could not think of a peaceful solution.

"No use, Negi. This is something they got to resolve sooner or later." Asuna said as she pulled Negi back from stepping into the middle.

"But..." Negi did not know how to counter against her reasoning as he did not know why the vampire was doing it.

Then tension continued to build as the two opponent watched each other carefully, not willing to give the other side the first strike. But then, the bell rang, which brought an end to the seriousness of the situation as Evangeline smiled and started to walk away.

"What?" Setsuna was surprised because she never thought Evangeline would simply walk away like that, so she decided to ask her why.

"Why are you just..." Setsuna did not finish when Evangeline looked back with an evil smile on her face.

"Well, I accomplished what came after you for." That was all Evangeline said before turing her gaze away and left them, which really confused Negi, Setsuna, Asuna, and Konoka. However, their question was soon answered by the android.

"Master's intention was not to really suck on Negi-sensei's blood." Chachamaru explained as Evangleine exited out of the room.

"Her purpose is simply to disturb your meal per request of certain classmates." Now that made sense to the three girls.

Then it hit everyone else in the room, especially Asuna, that who might actually be behind this stupid act. "Yinchjo is behind this, isn't she?" Asuna was not happy when she spoke the name, not just for Setsuna's sake but for herself as well. However, the android remained silent for a moment, and said nothing as she turned away and followed after her master.

"So I am right." Asuna sighed while Konoka turned her attention to Negi and Setsuna, who were still confused at the situation.

"They probably just want to interfere with your dating." Asuna explained and immediately Konoka understood, while Setsuna and Negi remained a little confused.

"Wait a second, so this is..." Setsuna eventually also understood the situation and sighed in defeat as she realized how crazy people could be for their loved ones.

Asuna shrugged, then answered as Setsuna thought, "Yep, you wasted your entire lunch time because someone was crazy enough." Hearing that, Setsuna and Negi were left dumbfounded and then remembered that Asuna and Konoka were having lunch with them when it started.

"Ah, Asuna-san where is your lunch?" Setsuna was daring enough to ask, to which Asuna replied, "Well, I ate it while you guys were hiding."

That took the two of them by surprise, and they looked to Konoka, who scratched her face with her finger showing her embarrassment that she also ate already. And before anything else could be said, Negi remembered that he still had work to do and the class right after lunch.

"Setsuna-san, there is something else I need to do, please go on ahead without me." That also took Setsuna by surprise as Negi took his belongings and left.

"I.." But before Setsuna could get the sentence out of her mouth, Negi was long gone, leaving Setsuna there.

"Poor Setsuna." That was what Konoka thought of her childhood friend as she watched Negi left the room in a hurry. Although she was a strong warrior, but internally Setsuna was just like any other girl, who would want to spend time with her loved one, and obviously, this was the opposite of that.

"Se-chan..." Konoka then decided to try her best to comfort Setsuna, but the swordswoman could not take in any words due the shock of everything. "What happened?" And that was all Setsuna could squeeze out of her mouth as she tried to make her mind think again.

"We didn't get to eat lunch together." She began to recount everything that went wrong today, at least for the last hour or so.

"Then we were swarmed by our classmates who wanted to eat with him." However, to the outside she seemed to be mumbling and from this Konoka could tell that she had lost it.

"What do we do?" Konoka asked, although she already knew what her roommate would do in bringing Setsuna out of her state.

"Take her by the hand and lead her back to the classroom?" And that was just as Konoka expected of what she would get out of Asuna.

Thus, the two quickly went to work and took hold of Setsuna's hand and led her back to the classroom while Setsuna continued with her self pity. And when she returned to the real world, Setsuna realized that she was no longer in that room in the extracurricular building.

"How did I get back here?" Setsuna asked mentally, then she saw Asuna and Konoka, who were not far away from her deck.

"You kind if went into your own world, so we took you back." Asuna explained to her friend, who seemed at first hard to comprehend that.

Then Setsuna noticed the clock and according to the time it displayed, it was already time for last period of class.

"I was out for an entire period?" Setsuna was shocked to realize that she was out for the entire period, but there was nothing she could do about it now. However, Setsuna realized one thing as she looked around the classroom to make sure everything was okay, he was not here.

"Where is Negi-sensei? Isn't this period suppose to be his class?" Setsuna asked, to which Asuna decided to let Konoka explain.

"Well, the last class ran late so he is still at the other class." Konoka explained and Setsuna nodded upon hearing it.

"Setsuna-san, how about your lunch?" Then Setsuna remembered that she still had not eaten her lunch yet due to all that had occurred.

"I think I will skip it." But just as she finished, her stomach growled in protest and Setsuna blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, we still got some time before the last period starts." Konoka then noted that fact and Setsuna quickly took out her barely touched lunch. And while she ate, Setsuna began to really give thought to what had transpired during lunch time, since it was kind of extraordinary. And when she did she realized that they had gotten closer to one another; furthermore, she stood up to Evangeline for his sake.

"I guess today wasn't so bad after all." Setsuna smiled, since she realized she did something good after all; the happy thought continued in Setsuna until she was done with her lunch, and just as she finished, the bell rang.

"Everyone, class is starting, please get back to your seat." A voice said and Setsuna immediately recognized it as the source walked in.

"Yes, Negi-sensei." Almost everyone in the class said in unison and then started their way back to their seat, and for Setsuna, she was glad that he came back.

"Well, everything is going to be alright, I guess." Asuna noted as she saw the smile on Setsuna's face as she looked at Negi. And Negi, who apparently came into the classroom in a hurry, also noticed Setsuna's gaze on him, to which, he smiled back.

Seeing this sight, the friends of the two sighed in relief and chucked a bit while readying for the English class that Negi was teaching. The class then went on without any interruptions and troubles, but this remained true only until the end of class.

When the bell rang, Setsuna immediately stood up to get to Negi's side, but again she was a couple steps too late.

"Sensei, we have some question to ask." It was Yue and Nodoka who went up to the front of the class and seeing that it was those two, Setsuna was not so worried.

"I might as well go up." Setsuna thought as she walked forward while others in the class readied themselves to leave. But unlike previously, where something unpredictable happened, this time only six classmates remained in the classroom.

"These are all people who knew of the magic world." Setsuna noted as she made her way to the front of the class.

The people who remained in the class were Yue, Nodoka, Asuna, Konoka, Evangeline, and Chachamaru.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Setsuna sixth sense told her to be careful, but she did not know how and why.

Those were exactly also the thoughts of Asuna and Konoka as they watched the situation from afar, doing their best to keep out of it.

"Evangeline is at it again." Asuna thought while her hands packed her belongings. "I think we better get up there before Evangeline-san starts again." Konoka's words then showed Asuna that they were thinking the same thing.

Then once more, the group that had always been at Negi's side gathered around him, and this made Setsuna feel strange. "Why do I feel strange about this?" Setsuna wondered. "It is the routine thing, but yet I feel that I wanted things to be a little bit different."

They had always gathered together after school, it had become something so normal for those around Negi, but yet Setsuna realized that something had changed and it was because of her, and the way others looked at her was one of them; she could feel that the eyes were full of various types of emotions as she slowly made her way to Negi's side.

Some were of jealousies, some were of encouragement, some were confusion, but there were others there as well.

Obviously, the other girls, especially Nodoka and Yue were of the first group, but said nothing about it directly. For Asuna and Konoka, Setsuna was not sure which emotion were strongest in them, but she could sense a variety of them. Evangeline and Chachamaru were a little bit different, but it was apparent the blonde petite vampire was not happy about it.

"Setsuna-san." Negi then greeted Setsuna before her thoughts on the others went any further than mere observation.

"We are going over some of the material from the class today." Negi continued as Setsuna decided to put other thoughts behind her.

"Would you like to join us as well?" Setsuna could see this was obviously Negi's invitation of asking her to spend time with him together and so she smiled.

"Of course." Negi smiled as well when he heard her response, while Yue and Nodoka tried their best not to show any emotion on their face. As all of this went on, Asuna and Konoka could tell that those two's hearts were filled with complicated emotions even though their face did not show it.

"We are similar to them in some aspect." Konoka then looked at Asuna, who even though was calm superficially, was unhappy about Setsuna being that special person to Negi. Nodoka and Yue said nothing concerning that, but continued on going through the class material as Setsuna also listened in. And so the next couple of hours went by peacefully, at least for the duration they were in the classroom.

"That was a lot of material we went over." Negi exclaimed happily as Setsuna walked next to him with Konoka and Asuna behind them.

After all this time in the classroom, Setsuna was now more sure of Yue and Nodoka's feeling despite their effort to stay calm and cordial towards her. Which unlike Asuna and Konoka, who also held feelings for Negi, Nodoka and Yue's emotion were stronger in a negative sense.

"Would I have the same emotions if it was reversed?" Setsuna did not know, and she believed it was something probably she would never know.

"After all, I am with him now." Setsuna looked at the sky as she remembered how they battled for the sake of each other. But then, Negi's voice brought her thoughts back to reality.

"You are going to leave for the magical world?" Setsuna was now surprised, since she thought that this was something that would happen perhaps years from now.

"I plan on leaving during the summer." Negi then recounted his plans to her. But then the next part shocked her.

"I need to go by myself." Negi's words were as sharp knife to Setsuna as she listened.

Setsuna was uncertain, why at a time like this? And why by himself? But then Negi's further explanation completely solved that mystery.

"Actually, I spoke with the dean about this subject after we returned from South America." Negi paused as he scratched the back of his hand in embarrassment, bu then continued on. "He then told me that it was going to be a dangerous trip."

"So I don't really want you to be involved." But this made Setsuna unhappy.

"Why?" Setsuna raised her voice and Negi could tell that she wassad and angry over this.

Setsuna went on, "Didn't we promise to be always be with one another? I have gotten stronger, so don't just leave me here."

"Setsuna-san, I am not abonding you." Negi tried to explain, but obviously Setsuna was too emotional.

"Then why are you going by yourself?" Setsuna was angry and also sad, but then she realized that she should at least let him explain; then as she calmed down, she realized that she was never this emotional before. "I thought I am your sword and shield and your partner."

"What's wrong with me?" Setsuna thought as she realized that tears were actually forming in the corner of her eyes.

Then she realized she fad felt insecure all the time while away from him, and this made her realize how strong she loved him.

And hearing all this, Negi could tell how determined she was.

"I thought that keeping you away would be the best way." Negi explained, but he went on. "But I guess that someone to go with is not such a bad idea after all."

Hearing that, Setsuna paused for a moment as she realized that she was not left behind, and soon she was filled with joy as she understood the full meaning of his words. And with inability to contain it all inside of her, she embraced her young lover, which took him by surprise.

"Then I guess we are through on this." Negi went on as he smiled a bit as he turned towards Setsuna. "Right?" And seeing his face like that, Setsuna's felt her heart going faster and she could feel that blood was rushing to her cheeks.

"Well, maybe things are going to work out" Setsuna then felt herself weakly smile as her hands patted in Negi's head. "We just need a bit more time to work it out between ourselves.

"I am sorry for not telling you.." Negi then apologized.

"It's okay." Setsuna then spoke with a soft and this told Negi that she had accepted his explanation.

"Just be sure to let me know next time." Hearing that Negi nodded and gave Setsuna the warmest smiled.

And seeing that smile, Setsuna felt all her negative emotions were swept away and her smile grew bigger as well.

"Sure!" Seeing his smile made her felt that things were going to be okay.

…...

Several minutes went by after the two finished their discussion, and after picking up the last of Negi's belongings and some grocery, they were finally on their way to Negi's new residence.

"So you've seen your new home, so how big is it?" Setsuna asked curiously, since she had not been in the other living area on campus except for the student dorms. "It is slightly smaller than the dorm room for the student, so is actually more like an apartment." Negi replied as he tried to remember the details.

"How about the furniture?" Setsuna then asked, trying to see if there was anything that he needed to get. "Actually, it has almost everything I need." Negi answered after several seconds of thinking and hearing that, Setsuna nodded in satisfaction. And the rest of the walk was filled with laughter and happiness for the two of them, but then when they arrived, their found that they had company.

"What in the world took you two so long?" Asuna asked with slight irritation in her voice as Konoka stood next to her at the door to Negi's new apartment, and that made Setsuna and Negi froze for several seconds.

"Asuna-san, Konoka-ojosama, why are you two here?" Setsuna was the first one to break out of the shock and so she asked.

"We are going to do a house warming party for you." That surprised the two even more. "But..." Negi wanted to say something, but was cut off.

"Come on and open up or else the food is going to go bad." Asuna shouted and feeling that there was no good reason to refuse them on the offer, so Negi decided to let Asuna and Konoka in and let them do as they pleased.

"You sure about this?" Setsuna asked.

"Well, they are doing it for us, so why not?" Hearing Negi's response, Setsuna frowned and sighed but said nothing else. And at the urging of Asuna, the four entered the house after Negi unlocked the door and the three girls were surprised to see how organized the room was.

"I thought you just moved." Konoka was the first to speak as Negi led them to the small kitchen for the apartment.

"I started organizing the stuff as soon as I moved them since they were not really 'packed'." Negi explained as Konoka and Asuna put the grocery on the floor.

"I see." Asuna nodded while Konoka took something out of the bags they brought with them.

"I will start setting up then." And without further delays, Konoka started setting up for dinner and it turned out that they decided to do a hot pot.

"You sure about this?" Negi asked, after all it was already very warm despite that summer was not here yet.

"Well, it well be easier that way due to the number of people." Asuna was the one to answer, to which confused Negi and Setsuna.

"The number of people?" Negi asked and his question was soon answered when the door bell rang.

"Hold on, be right over." Asuna jumped as soon as she heard and went to the door.

"What took you so long?" Asuna's greeting was strange and by her response, Negi could already tell who showed up. "It took more time than expected." It was Ayaka, and apparently she was not so happy to see Asuna greet her.

"Uh... Why is everyone here?" Negi was getting worried, while Setsuna sighed deeply, knowing how it would turn out.

"Of course it is to celebrate your move in to the new home." Yue then added from behind Ayaka, stoic like she always was.

"Yue-san and ...Nodoka-san." Negi then realized that there were more than these two and Ayaka that had arrived.

"Yo-Negi." Asakura Kasumi had a big smile on her face as she also joined the party, but everyone else knew that she was here for the fun instead of trying to spend time with Negi.

"Hey kiddo." Before they had time to recover, another guest had already shown up at the door, and to everyone's surprise, it was the blonde vampire and her pactio partner Chachamaru, who apparently were not considered people who often participated in this type of activity.

"Master, I didn't know you are coming." Negi was very surprised like everyone else, but he quickly greeted her trainer and her partner.

"Well, I was just nearby and decided to drop by." Evangeline replied uninterested, but then Chachamaru blew the cover.

"Master, did you not purchase gifts for Negi-sensei right after you heard about it from the dean?" Hearing that, Evangeline's face became bright red as she tried to make her android companion close her mouth. "How many times do I have to tell you to shut up about certain things?" Evangeline was trying to hide her embarrassment as she pulled away Chachamaru into the restroom, which was followed by weird noises and moans.

"Let's forget about that." And everyone agreed to Negi's suggestion.

"So how many of you are there?" Negi then realized that he might not have enough room for everyone who came.

"Let's see..." Then before, Haruna also decided to make her appearance.

"Hey Negi." Haruna then turned to her friends and greeted them as well.

"Saotome-san, you are here for the party as well?" Setsuna asked.

"Well, of course. Don't want to miss out on the fun." Hearing that, Setsuna smiled tiredly, but soon decided that this was part of the peaceful life.

"Alright, that makes twelve people including myself." Negi then smiled as he felt that at least things were peaceful.

The past several months had been very eventful and things certainly had changed a lot, but these were also signs to him that everything was carrying on as they should. Upon him thinking all this, Setsuna noticed that Negi smiled, and seeing that, her expression changed from the tired smile to one that was satisfied and warm.

"Maybe things are going to be okay." Setsuna thought as she looked at the group before her with a smile.

"Maybe things will just turn out the way they should." Setsuna was certain that whatever appeared, they would be able to win, like they always had.

Especially if he was with her, they would have nothing to fear.

"Setsuna?" Then she realized that Negi was calling her.

"Yes, Negi-kun?" She asked.

"Everything alright?" Negi sounded a bit concerned, but this made her feel warm.

"Don't worry, everything is alright." Setsuna assure him and herself as well.

"Everything will be alright."

"I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead"

Philippians 3:13

Completed: 9/21/2011

Edited: 10/18/2011

Author's Note:

Dear readers, I don't know how many of you actually read my previous works "The Mage and the Swordswoman", but I really appreciate you reading this. I was first inspired to write this story after thinking what if something about the story was different? What if something else happened? And the result was the prequel "The Mage and the Swordswoman".

So the first thing that happened was that I went back to the prequel and when I read it, my first thought was: "...This sucks." The story was okay, but the writing style was terrible, but then I could not really blame anyone, after all, I wrote that in a writing spree during my first year in college when I was still untrained in the arts of writing. So first thing I did was to revise the entire thing so that it is readable.

But anyway, I am still considering whether or not to write a sequel this. If I do, though, I will probably write about the magical world arc, but anyway, I won't be able to do it alone, so I am also looking for someone to coauthor with me.

Anyway, I will see you next time.