Author's Note: I'm still making a few minor revisions, but this is just a little peek as to why I haven't posted anything new with ANIMANIA yet. Rest assured, both the next chapter for that story as well as this one are very close, most likely by the end of the weekend.
This will be a lemon. Not THIS chapter, though: the juicy stuff starts in Chapter 2. And no, the original character is NOT a shameless self-insertion. I'm German, not Irish.
Mahou Sensei Negima belongs to the same guy who made Love Hina! Since I can't think of his name right off the top of my head, it obviously isn't me.
Chapter 1
The man was fairly young, perhaps mid-twenties, with coppery red hair that matched his goatee. He wore thick rimmed glasses that not only cast an eerie glow from the light of the overhead full moon, but also reflected the lit end of his cigarette every time he brought it to his lips. Spread out before him were the expansive ground of the city-sized campus, where four days from now he would begin his teaching career.
There was a distinct feeling of not being alone……and as he glanced left, then right, he saw that the 6th sense was indeed accurate.
The woman could easily be described as gorgeous, a title only enhanced by her choice of attire this evening. She was gazing out across the bridge that left the academy almost wistfully. After a few moments she was shaken from her thoughts by none other than his presence, and he realized he had been staring at her the whole time.
The young man was obviously flustered, hastily stomping out his cigarette beneath the heel of his shoe as he tried to straighten out his jacket. Despite the darkness, Evangeline could easily see that he was blushing, no doubt nervous that he had just been caught smoking on school grounds by what he assumed to be one of Mahora Academy's college students.
"Good evening, Miss….I'm John Mallory." There was a heavy Irish accent in his voice, coupled with his flaming red hair to reveal exactly what part of the globe he was from. He held out his hand, but she made no move to come any closer and shake it. It also took her a few seconds to respond.
"Good evening, Mr. Mallory. I'm…..Eva. Eva McDowell." He hadn't expected to meet too many Caucasian students here, let alone hear a British accent. But it was her smile startled him. For a split-second and in this lighting, it almost looked like she had fangs.
"Are you a student, Ms. McDowell?" He finally let his hand drop, accepting that to wait any longer would do little more than make him look like an idiot.
"Well, I should expect so, otherwise I'd have no business being here, would I?" The young man never had a chance to reply before she spun on her heel and strode off into the darkness, calling over her shoulder. "Good night, Mr. Mallory. I'd say it was a pleasure meeting you, but I haven't had enough experience to say one way or the other….."
At this, John simply didn't reply because he had no clue as to what to say.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Evangeline A.K. McDowell brushed a strand of her waist length blonde hair out of her eyes before continuing to stare out the window, completely oblivious to whatever droll topic her diminutive Professor was going on about. Her small right hand absentmindedly turned over the note that had been left in her seat before class.
It was a gorgeous day outside: cloudy, with a slight chill in the air. There was the threat of rain, too. A day perfectly suited to her vampire tastes. The fact that she had to spend it in this crowded classroom with three dozen giggling schoolgirls was enough to make her want to slaughter every living thing within a hundred mile radius. She smirked wickedly as she was left to her vivid imagination. Just for the hell of it, all anyone would find of her victims would be piles of skulls sprinkled with pink glitter. Consider it a little poetic justice for having to be around so much estrogen for so long.
And a decade earlier, she would have done just that. But then she had fallen head-over-heels for that damn Nagi Springfield. She had sought him out, pursued him mercilessly, and what did it get her? Trapped in the body of her child form, her powers sealed except for a brief reprieve when under a full moon, and completely unable to leave the grounds of this academy. And the only one who knew how to free her was nowhere to be found, forcing her to place her fate squarely upon the narrow shoulders of her twelve-year-old homeroom teacher. Negi Springfield, son of her arch nemesis and Wizard-in-training.
Evangeline kept her seat, waiting for the rest of the students to file out and make their way back to their respective dormitories. Of course there were the few stragglers, reveling in Negi's company under the guise of 'getting extra help'. The small vampire rolled her eyes, squelching her rising temper until the riffraff finally vacated the premises. Finally, when the only three left in the room were Negi, Chachamaru, and herself, she strode forward to the desk at the front of the room.
"You wanted to speak with me, Professor?" The sarcasm practically dripped from the last three syllables, but the object of her distaste didn't seem to notice. Or else he was so used to it that he didn't care.
"Evangeline, I have wonderful news! My sisters sent me a package from home, containing some journals that belonged to my Father!" Evangeline perked up suddenly, never having expected to be interested in what the shrimp had to say. But her hopes were reassured as he continued. "I've been reading them nonstop for two days, searching for anything that could help, and I've found out how to lift your curse!"
Evangeline had never remembered the last time she felt so happy. She also couldn't remember leaping over Negi's desk and hugging him as tightly as she could. But that's where she found herself, all the same. Then reality kicked in, and even though the blonde vampire let up on the hug, she kept her teacher within arm's reach in case she needed to strangle him sometime in the very near future.
"And what is needed to break the curse, precisely?" Negi physically shrank beneath her gaze, and likely would have scurried away if she wasn't gripping his shoulders so tightly.
"Well, it's a little complicated, but you need blood. And a lot of it….." Evangeline licked her lips, only half in jest.
"How much blood, precisely?" It shouldn't have been that easy…..in fact, she had already attempted this exact same method in an while trying to regain her powers.
"Well, more blood than a human body can give at once and survive….But it all has to be from the same person, and it has to be given to you willingly."
"Willingly?"
"No nervousness, no fear….they need to WANT to free you, and be okay with any of the pain that you might inflict. And if that person experiences hesitation or doubt for even a split-second, the method won't work anymore."
"So, when are you going to start letting me feed?"
"Well, I DID promise to help you…..so I suppose I could-" Evangeline cut him off in midsentence, knowing that it would be of little use to try. Despite his regular displays of bravery, he was far too afraid of having his blood sucked to keep up his defenses for as long as she would need him to.
"Wait, when you say won't work anymore, you mean I'll need to start all over, right?"
"No…..this method of breaking the curse will be useless, and another method will have to be used. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is, and my Father never bothered to write that one down….."
"Great…..so I need to find a blood buddy…..how much of their blood will I need?"
"Six quarts. A healthy donor will give one quart each time they visit a blood bank and still be alright. If they wanted to push themselves, they could probably give you two. So you need to drink from that same person three times."
Evangeline let out a sigh of disappointment. There were very few girls in her class who could give ONE quart without passing out. And then there was the question of their states of mind. Sure, there were plenty of them that might be willing to help her, but the idea that they would be completely fearless throughout the ordeal was laughable.
Then it hit her. She knew why all the blood had to come from the same person, and why they had to be completely willing. That dirty rat…….Negi never saw the blow coming, as he was suddenly curled up on the floor and rubbing at his skull painfully, Evangeline threatening another punch.
"You insolent little shrimp! This is a bloody Match-Maker's spell!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Monday morning, and Evangeline found herself sitting in the same wretched company, albeit in a different classroom. While every other girl in her had spent the past weekend imagining what their new history teacher would be like, and whether or not he would be a rival for the affections they had for their homeroom teacher, the little vampire had spent those last 48+ hours dwelling on what she had learned about her curse and making a list of possible donor candidates.
Every name she had written was promptly rejected.
But then, the new History Professor strode into the room. The man she had met Thursday night, reporting dutifully for his first day of work. He started by asking the names of the last five Emperors of Japan, and promptly received the answer.
"Those who fail to learn from History are doomed to repeat it. That is both true of your everyday lives AND this class. However, it is just as admirable to have knowledge of the histories of other parts of the world. That being said: in what year did Ireland gain independence from England?"
The room was silent save for the sounds of books rustling as the students tried to find the proper page. It didn't take them long to realize that their Japanese History books would be of little use. When the answer was finally spoken aloud, its presenter hadn't bothered to raise her hand.
"January, 1922." Evangeline called out, boredom in her voice. It wasn't very difficult for her to know the answer: she had BEEN there, after all…..
Quite a few of her fellow classmates gasped in shock. Professor Springfield was the only person who had ever gotten her to speak in class, even though it was usually a biting remark. But no one had EVER heard her answer a question before…..
Professor Mallory studied her face for a little bit, detecting familiarity before he was forced to resort to his seating arrangement. Being the only Caucasian girl in his class, it wasn't too terribly difficult to find her name and matching school photo. And again, that British accent.
"Thank you, you're absolutely correct, Miss……McDowell?" He studied her face again before continuing. "You don't happen to have an older sister, do you?"
Instead of answering, Evangeline opted to rest her chin in her right palm and give him her most enigmatic smile. All of the pieces in her complicated little puzzle had just fallen into place. An older, but still considerably young male would make the best donor. Besides, he was fairly handsome.
Evangeline now had a suitable target, and if everything went according to plan she would soon be free of this damned curse once and for all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Seriously people? 147 hits and NO ONE has anything to say?