Mahou Sensei Negima: Transcending Bonds
Chapter 2: A Girl's Inner Thoughts
Negi and Asuna spent the rest of the day together, catching up with one another, as the day went on. And as the sun was preparing to set, Negi wanted to bring Asuna someplace special that he hadn't thought of the other days she came to visit. He led Asuna across the grounds with her eyes closed, leading the way by holding her hand. Chamo hung around Negi's neck as they walked.
"Hey! Come on Negi. What's the surprise you wanted to show me already?" Asuna chuckled. Negi lightly chuckled, promising Asuna that it would be worth the wait. He led Asuna into the old dormitory building and guided her up to their old floor. They soon came to a stop, making Asuna feel excited.
"All right. You can open your eyes." Negi said. Asuna opened her eyes and lightly gasped, seeing they were in their old dorm room. She started glancing around the room, chuckling at each little corner of the room. She turned back to Negi with a small smile.
"This is our old dormitory room, isn't it?" Asuna asked. Negi nodded, walking up to her side. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Asuna glanced back to see Konoka, all grown up and wearing a black sleeveless top and blue jeans, smiling at the doorway.
"Hey there you two! So you made it before I did huh?" Konoka asked. They greeted Konoka as she walked over to Asuna, taking her hand gently. The two smiled as they looked at one another.
"Asuna, its so great to see you again. Sorry I wasn't there earlier to greet you. But Negi said I'd be able to see you when he brought you here later." Konoka said. Asuna chuckled, telling Konoka that she was happy to see her too. Konoka giggled and hugged Asuna as she glanced at Negi.
"So...mind telling me what Konoka's doing here too? I'm betting this isn't just some little "family reunion" you had scheming here either, is it?" Asuna asked. Chamo snickered and jumped off Negi's shoulders and onto the nearby table.
"Heh! You're sharp there Asuna. Ol' Negi here was planning with the dean, ya see, so the four of us could all spend our time at the school here together! In our old "home sweet home"." Chamo announced. Asuna lightly gasped, quickly asking if that was okay with the students who were using the room now.
"Of course it is silly. The students who used this room were transferred to another part of the dormitory when they graduated. So this room's been empty for a couple of months now. Grandpa even said so." Konoka said. Asuna looked to Negi and smirked.
"This is really sweet of you Negi. Heh. I can tell I'll be getting deja-vu here." Asuna said. Negi chuckled, glad to hear that.
"Okay then. We all remember where we slept, right?" Chamo asked. Asuna nodded, remembering she had the top bunk and Konoka had the bottom. Negi looked up to his old little bunker, thinking back to the days he used to spend up there. But one look up had him worried that he may have outgrown his old space. Asuna felt the same way when she looked up.
"Hmm. Hold on a minute. What's Negi going to do? That spot looks WAY too small." Asuna said.
~ NEGIMA: TRANSCENDING BONDS ~
Luckily, Negi and friends were able to figure out arrangements for Negi before long as they slept peacefully that night in their old bunks. When the sun came up the next day, we find Negi sleeping peacefully next to Asuna in her bed. As the sunlight glint in through the window, Asuna was the first to wake, stretching her arms out wide.
"Wow. Morning already?" Asuna yawned, rubbing her eyes. As she lightly yawned, she took a glance down at Negi still sleeping. A little smile came to her face.
"Heh. Almost forgot how peaceful Negi is when he's asleep." Asuna thought. She looked down at her pajama top and chuckled.
"Not to mention back then, I'd always find him with my top open. Man. I was such a jitter bug back then. I can't forget how many times I must've bashed him for that." Asuna thought. She lightly patted Negi's head before she climbed out of bed to get dressed. Everyone soon woke up afterwards and were outside in no time, dressed and ready for the Mahora Festival.
"All righty! Mahora Festival, here we come!" Konoka exclaimed with glee. Asuna and Negi looked back at their estatic friend and then at each other, chuckling quietly afterwards. Chamo was seen around Negi's neck as he sat up close to his ear.
"So...is today gonna be the day you're gonna tell her?" Chamo asked. Negi shook his head.
"No. Not yet. I don't want to surprise Asuna on the first day of the festival. I'll wait a little while until we're a good couple days into the festivities, then I'll tell her when we're alone." Negi whispered. Asuna took a small glance at Negi.
"Hmm? Hey. What you two whispering about over there?" Asuna asked. Negi lightly gasped, waving his hand nervously.
"Wh-What? Us? Oh. Nothing." Negi said. Chamo nodded, saying they were just talking about "guy stuff". Asuna smirked and looked away.
"Okay. Whatever." Asuna said. Just then, they all saw a group of girls seated together sipping coffee together. Negi and Asuna recognized them as Haruna, Nodoka and Yue. Haruna quickly spotted them and laughed, waving at them as Yue soon followed.
"Hey! Negi! Asuna! Over here you guys!" Haruna exclaimed. Asuna chuckled, rushing to join them alongside Negi and Konoka. Nodoka took one look at Negi and lightly blushed.
"So...how did Asuna like your little surprise?" Yue asked. Negi chuckled, commenting that Asuna loved it very much. Haruna smirked and winked.
"That's cool. So what are you guys planning to do first? There's A LOT to see at this year's Mahora Festival. So if you're doing anything special, tell us now!" Haruna shouted. Konoka chuckled, saying they hadn't planned anything special for today. Nodoka lightly sighed.
"Okay then. See you guys later then. We're going to the festival after our morning coffee." Yue said. Negi nodded, waving goodbye before they started off again. However, as soon as they did, Nodoka was glared upon by her friends.
"Come on Nodoka! You haven't said anything to Negi YET? Yeesh! How many YEARS ago did you even express your feelings to him?" Haruna exclaimed. Nodoka stuttered, waving her hands in a jittery fashion.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What? Come on Haruna! C-Cut that out! I...I know that Negi was planning something special for Asuna! S-So I...!" Nodoka stuttered. But she soon found Haruna glaring directly at her as sweat raced down the back of her head.
"So WHAT? You love Negi more than she does, RIGHT?" Haruna exclaimed. Nodoka was starting to turn beat red, unsure of what to say in front of her. Yue lightly sipped her coffee before sighing greatly.
"Haruna? Knock it off. Maybe Nodoka's not as "into Negi" as she was when she was a kid." Yue said. Haruna glanced between the two before groaning.
"Man. What happened to the two of you?" Haruna asked. Meanwhile, Negi and his group was already deep within the grounds of the Mahora Festival, seeing all the festivities, music and excitement around them.
"Wow! Ha ha! Mahora Academy really knows how to throw a party!" Asuna laughed, seeing all the confetti and balloons around the campus grounds. They stopped at the sight of a group of performing jugglers. Each was dressed in a festive style of clothing, bright colors and colorful dots decorated their suits.
"Hey! Look Asuna! Jugglers!" Konoka laughed. The group stopped to watch, seeing the graceful juggling skills of the performers. They continued juggling batons between each other without so much of a flaw. And in the middle, Negi saw someone seated underneath the juggled batons. It appeared to be Zazie Rainyday, juggling a group of balls in her hands.
"Huh? Is that Zazie?" Asuna asked. Negi chuckled.
"Yes. That's her all right. She told me she wanted to perform at the Mahora Festival this year. So she got the dean's permission to be a traveling juggler. This must be one of her performing spots." Negi explained. Zazie caught a glimpse of them and smiled, shifting her juggling balls into one hand to wave with her other.
"Ha ha. Look at Zazie. She's still got it." Konoka giggled. As Asuna's head began looking around the grounds, she stopped at the sight of a local shop stand. She looked to the others and told them she'd be right back.
"All right then. Konoka and I are just going to check out another stand nearby. Is that okay with you?" Negi asked. Asuna nodded, separating from her friends to visit the stand. The shop had many different items around like hand made necklaces, small jewelry, books and toys and all sorts of cute things. She saw a small little stuffed animal in front of her and smiled.
"Hmm. This is kind of cute. I wonder if..." Asuna said. Just then, she glanced over at Nodoka on the other side of the stand. She walked over and greeted Nodoka, slightly surprising her a bit.
"O-Oh! Asuna, its you." she said. Asuna nodded, looking down to see Nodoka with a romance novel by her hands. Nodoka glanced down and withdrew her hand, blushing heavily.
"Uh...! I-I-I...! There's a reason why I was looking at that! I...I've been starting to like romance novels." Nodoka said. Asuna smirked and lightly tilted her head, not surprised that part of Nodoka hasn't changed.
~ NEGIMA: TRANSCENDING BONDS ~
The girls sat down together at a bench nearby, watching some of the costume wearing performers strolling the streets.
"Hey Asuna? Can...Can I ask you a question?" Nodoka asked. Asuna looked to her friend and nodded, saying she'd happily help "bookworm" out anytime. Nodoka lightly chuckled, remembering her old middle school nickname, before slowly looking back at Asuna.
"Well...I've been wondering. How do you feel about Negi? For REAL?" Nodoka asked. Asuna gasped, blushing slightly under her eyes.
"Uhh...huh? Wh-Where'd this come from all of a sudden?" Asuna asked. Nodoka waved her hand, saying that she just wanted to know was all. Asuna scoffed, wagging her finger.
"Yeah right. I'm not buying it Nodoka. You wouldn't just ask me something like without a good reason." Asuna said. Nodoka fell silent for a moment before giving a sigh.
"Yes. You're right. Th..The reason is that Haruna's been pestering me about trying to "win Negi's heart" while the festival was going. But after I graduated from the academy, I've asked myself...if Negi would be happy with me...or if I should let him pick whichever girl he wishes to be with." Nodoka said. Asuna was completely silent, looking on at Nodoka.
"I heard an old saying from Yue the year we graduated middle school. She once told me that if I truly loved Negi, I would let him choose what would make him the happiest. So...I wanted to ask how YOU felt about Negi. After all, he risked his life to rescue you from Fate all those years ago." Nodoka said. Asuna lightly blushed before looking down at her lap, remembering that grand adventure and returning to Mahora afterwards.
"Well...I don't know what to say. But...I think my view of Negi changed after that. He's a really awesome guy, even if he was a bit of a nervous ninny as a little kid. Not only is he strong and has a caring heart, he's risked himself for things that I thought were ridiculous or foolish." Asuna said "So...maybe I have started to see Negi more as someone I wouldn't mind...spending the rest of my life with." Nodoka lightly gasped.
"A-Asuna..." she muttered. She looked on at Asuna's eyes, seeing she was truthful and sincere with her words. A smile came on Nodoka's face as she turned back to her.
"Th...That's great Asuna. I hope you and Negi...have a "happily ever after" when this is over." Nodoka said. Asuna lightly smiled.
"You've really grown Nodoka. Congratulations." Asuna thought "Don't worry. If that day comes, I promise I'll watch over Negi for you. I'll make sure he's the same Negi you know and love." The two girls continued smiling at one another, soon talking about other things as they watched by Haruna and Yue from nearby.
"Nodoka...I'm proud of you..." Yue muttered. But Haruna seemed very disappointed, never expecting Nodoka to have changed so "drastically" over the years.
TO BE CONTINUED...
