Disclaimer: I don't own Mahou Sensei Negima
Chapter Two – Signs
The fist sign that told Asuna that something had gone horribly wrong was when she heard the sound of someone sobbing loudly just outside the door of her room. Curiosity getting the best out of her, she decided that her shower could wait for a moment and then quietly, she made her way to the door freezing on her tracks when she recognized the voice as Konoka's. Abandoning all efforts of being discreet she flung the door open ready to kick the sorry ass of whoever made Konoka cry. The sight that met her eyes when she did though made her stop again. Konoka sobbing uncontrollably with her arms around a baffled Setsuna was not what she was expecting to see. This had been the second sign and it made her even more worried and curious than before.
She separated the weeping girl away from Setsuna as gently as she could and without saying anything or waiting for anything to be said she led her inside the room leaving the door open for Setsuna to come in if she wanted, which she did after a moment of hesitation. She felt pretty much like she did the first time she had set foot inside the room, insecure, like she was an intruder.
Asuna helped Konoka lay on the bed and once she made sure the girl would stay there, she quickly got up to prepare something to drink to calm down the other girl. She passed in front of Setsuna who was standing in the doorway looking really helpless. She silently wondered what had happened that made Konoka cry like that, but it had to be something big since the mentioned girl always stayed optimistic whatever her problem was. And then there was also Setsuna who seemed to her was not really paying attention to her surroundings which worried her even more as Setsuna always was alert when Konoka was around, which was practically all the time.
She gave a deep sigh although she tried to dissimulate it by opening the cabinet where they kept their dishes, taking out two cups and slamming them against the counter rather loudly. She wished things where different as she had already planned their afternoon together. Konoka and Setsuna where supposed to arrive a few minutes late since the Headmaster had taken an habit of summoning Konoka to his office as soon as classes where done for the day. After changing into a more casual attire –which wouldn't be as quick since they always had trouble convincing Setsuna to wear something other than her school uniform- and then they would go to the movies and if they didn't find anything interesting they would then go window shopping but as usual they –Konoka and Asuna- would end up buying several things they claimed were necessary.
After exhausting themselves with their shopping they would stop by at the Chao Bao Zi to buy something to eat –Asuna waving off Konoka's offering of cooking for them saying that she worked too hard and that she needed a break, Setsuna agreeing wholeheartedly- and then Konoka would surprise them by sweet-talking her way out of paying for her food with the excuse that she had spent nearly all her allowance with all her shopping.
Back in their room they would eat their food happily musing about stuff like how Negi and Chamo where doing back in Wales, they would get melancholic but then Setsuna would cheer them up by saying that at least their underwear was safe from 'Ero-Chamo.' They would share a good laugh and then Konoka would clean up after they finished eating –Setsuna of course would assist her- while Asuna entertained herself by playing some videogames.
After finishing up, Setsuna would announce that she would take her leave and would shake her head at Konoka's insistence of walking her to her room saying that it was late and that they had to get up early in the morning. Konoka would pout but seconds later her eyes would brighten up and she would hand Setsuna one of her shopping bags and she would insist on Setsuna to inspect it's contents before she left.
Setsuna as always would succumb to Konoka's puppy-eyed stare technique and would immediately blush upon discovering the contents of the bag…clothes. She would ask Konoka about it and the brunette would reply that as she knew Setsuna didn't really like shopping, she had done it for her, making Setsuna blush even more deeply. Setsuna would then shyly thank her Ojousama for doing such a thing for her and of course Konoka would pout again and she would chastise Setsuna for calling her like that.
Asuna would roll her eyes at their almost unconscious flirting and would wonder when they would confess their obvious-to-everyone-but-themselves attraction for each other but wouldn't say anything either, knowing that it was only a matter of time. Knowing that she was on the way of their commonly bickering, she would excuse herself saying something about having to work early in the morning and would then climb up to her bunk after bidding Setsuna good night.
Setsuna the seeing that Asuna was seemly asleep with her back turned to them, would whisper a sweet 'thank you' to her Kono-chan for her new clothes and the fun afternoon together and she would then, in a rare moment of bravery that had nothing to do with fighting against foes, leaned down and placed a feathery kiss on Konoka's cheek effectively stunning her and making her blush as brightly as her protector. Konoka would smile sweetly at Setsuna to make up for the lack of words making Setsuna feel like she was about to pass out, stammering out a good night. She would watch as Setsuna practically ran down the hallway that lead to her room until she could no longer see her and then she would close the door with a content sigh and then she would give a quiet laugh full of joy. Making her way to her own bed, she would whisper Setsuna's name affectionately to herself.
On the top bunk, Asuna would smile knowingly to herself feeling happy for her smitten friends, before falling asleep.
A particularly loud sob from Konoka shook Asuna from her internal musings and with a resigned sigh she put one small bag of tea inside each one of the cups and then turned around to fill the tea kettle with water that was always waiting next to the stove and placing it on the stove once she had turned it on; then the uncomfortable waiting began. It would be at least ten minutes until the water was boiled properly.
She tapped her forefinger against the edge of the counter to at least get distracted with something; the sound of the tapping sounded incredibly loud in the silence of their tiny room and it was driving her crazy. Uncomfortable silences were not really her thing and Konoka's soft wailing didn't help one bit. Running a hand along the length of one of her ponytails she saw that Setsuna was now sitting on one of the chairs next to the table with her head bent down and her head resting on one of her palms pointedly looking away from Konoka although she did notice that once in a while her gaze drifted over to the resting girl and each time she did, her eyes filled up with sadness and something that looked like impotence to Asuna's eyes.
Asuna herself was feeling pretty much useless at the moment. How could a cup of tea make these two girls feel any better? She should be at least trying to console one of them, but she didn't think anything she said would make a difference, she wasn't the best at cheering people up; she didn't Konoka's or Kaede's seemly innate ability with kind words and she definitely lacked Evangeline's or Chisame's crudeness and brutal honesty to make them get over with their problems and move on.
The sound of the kettle whistling gave her a moment to get herself back together and avoid having all those useless thoughts. Filling both cups with steaming water and the amount of sugar each girl liked, she knew that she had to stay strong for her friends and with a reassuring breath she walked first over to Setsuna who was having a staring match with the table. She looked up when Asuna placed the cup in front of her and weakly returned the sympathetic smile that she offered; her eyes then wandered over to Konoka again, and Asuna understood the silent plead to do whatever she could to help her distraught friend. For some reason, knowing that she wasn't the only one that was feeling useless gave her a flicker of confidence. Patting Setsuna's shoulder she tried to make her understand that she would try her best.
She kneeled next to the bed Konoka was laying on and noticed that at last she had stopped crying.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked feeling completely stupid for asking that, knowing that the other was feeling miserable at the moment; she just hoped that she would be ale to change that soon.
Konoka eyed Setsuna momentarily as if think what to respond. "I feel like I have the flu." She finally said in a hoarse voice but smiling weakly nonetheless. Asuna didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing.
"Here, I made this." She said holding the cup up to Konoka's head level. "I don't know if it's any good though."
"Thanks." Konoka said holding herself up in one arm and taking the offered cup with the other. She brought it to her lips and took two long gulps. "It's delicious." She said giving it back to Asuna and laid down again this time keeping her eyes plastered to the on the base of the bed above her.
"So…Do you want to tell me what happened?" Asuna tenably asked and immediately regretted when she noticed that the other girl's lips started to tremble slightly and slowly shake her head 'no'. "It's okay, you don't have to." Asuna said gently patting Konoka's hand through the covers. Konoka smiled thankfully at her before returning her gaze towards the bed.
A discreet cough behind them got Asuna's attention and turning around without getting up she saw that Setsuna was now standing next to her, her eyes fixed upon Konoka even when she spoke at her. "Asuna-san, I'll be leaving now, I'll see if Tatsumiya needs any assistance with her patrols."
"Okay." Asuna said standing up and straightening down her skirt.
"Secchan…" She heard Konoka call out behind her and took that as her cue to leave the two of them alone. She picked up the cup on the floor and then the one on the table to put them in the sink.
"Don't worry Kono-chan," She heard Setsuna say. "Everything is going to be alright, I promise." Upon hearing those words, she couldn't help to take a peek at the two love birds and saw that Setsuna was now kneeling down on the same spot that she had been a moment ago with one of Konoka's hand between her own. She smiled at the tender scene and not wanting to interrupt them, she decided that she would wait outside. Closing the door behind her to give the girls their privacy, she noticed a yellow folder and some papers scattered on the floor, she had obviously overlooked them in her haste to help Konoka inside.
She picked up the folder up first and was to start picking up the rest of the sheets but stopped in mid motion when she saw the picture of a boy peeking out from the folder. Forgetting what she was doing she read the first few paragraphs below the picture. It only contained information regarding the young man like his name, age, birth date and a few things about his education. Not interested in that she turned the page and was surprised when she saw a picture of Konoka and information about her as well. 'What the hell is this?' She thought looking at the photograph of the boy again.
"What are you doing?" A voice behind her asked making her jump slightly.
Setsuna had just walked outside and was looking down at her with a stern look on her face, making her feel a little nervous, but she pushed aside the uneasy feeling and showed the paper to Setsuna who scowled at the sight of the boy making her even more curious.
"Is this yours Setsuna-san?" She asked looking at the other girl.
"No." Setsuna answered with unfeigned anger though she didn't know if it was directed at her.
Ignoring the sting on Setsuna's voice she decided to try again. "Do you know who it belongs to?" She asked watching Setsuna squat down to pick up the sheets closer to her.
"Yes, it belongs to Ojousama." She answered dryly making Asuna frown in frustration.
"Do you know who this guy is?" She asked pointing at the picture with her head.
"I haven't met him." Setsuna answered not looking up at her making Asuna growl in frustration. She wasn't giving her any straight answers dammit!
"Setsuna-san, you know what's going on don't you?" She asked crouching down next to the other girl. "Does this have anything to do with Konoka crying like that?" She asked closing the folder and shoving it into Setsuna's hands. "She is my friend too you know." She added when Setsuna didn't say anything.
She saw Setsuna sigh into her hands and waited impatiently for an answer. "Very well, I'll tell you." She finally said.
"Well?" Asuna urged when Setsuna grew silent again.
"This…boy is Konoka Ojousama's future fianceeé." Setsuna said quickly as if uttering those words cost her great deals of effort.
"What!?" Asuna exclaimed standing up very quickly, not believing her own ears. Konoka's fianceeé? What the hell was happening?
"Asuna-san! Quiet down!" Setsuna alarmingly said standing up as well, the folder sliding through her lap and finding it's way back to the ground.
"How do you want me to quiet down!?" She cried looking at Setsuna like she had lost her mind. "This is ridiculous!" She exclaimed outraged.
"Ojousama is just behind the door! She will hear you!" Setsuna harshly said on a barely restrained voice.
"How can you stay so calm? This is Konoka we're talking about!" Asuna angrily asked although she did lower her voice to a loud whisper.
"Do not assume that you're the only one that is upset about this!" Setsuna hissed through clenched teeth, pointing at the folder on the floor. "I care about Konoka more that anything else!" She said looking angrily at Asuna; she too was speaking in an angry whisper. "But if you go about screaming your head off, Ojousama will know what we're talking about and she will start crying again!"
That calmed Asuna a bit although she was breathing really hard from restraining her anger, then an idea occurred to her. "But Konoka has already managed to avoid all those other stupid marriage meetings right? She can just turn this one down as well!" She said looking at the door as if was Konoka standing there in it's stead.
"Not this time." Setsuna sadly explained. "The Headmaster has already made a decision."
"What!?" Asuna practically barked, her eyes widening in surprise. "That old geezer! He doesn't have any right to do this!" She said with indignation.
"I'm afraid that we won't be able to change his mind." Setsuna quietly said, the tone of her voice made Asuna look at her in astonishment. She had never seen this girl so defeated before. Then the fact that this was affecting Setsuna more than she was letting on finally hit her.
"Setsuna-san, what about you?" Asuna carefully asked.
"What about me?" Setsuna asked looking at her.
'What? Is this girl for real?' Asuna incredulously thought. "I mean…how are you dealing with all of this?"
Setsuna hesitated for just a second before answering. "That's not of any importance; all that matters now is Ojousama." She said in her bodyguard mode.
"That's bullshit and you know it." Asuna firmly said. "Haven't all these years with us taught you anything? I and of course Konoka care for you, you are our friend." She explained. "Do you think that Konoka would like to see you down like this? She too cares about you more than anything." Asuna finished resting her hands on each of Setsuna's shoulders.
"I…I don't really know what you're talking about." Setsuna stammered looking away from Asuna's kind gaze.
"Don't be silly," Asuna insisted. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." She said squeezing the muscles under her palms reassuringly. "You know how Konoka feels about you, am I right?"
"We're just good friends, that's all there is to it." Setsuna said quickly. Maybe too quickly because she immediately realized her slip and blushed a bright red.
"But you want something else right? Something more than just being good friends."
"Asuna-san please don't, I can't deal with this right now." Setsuna implored rubbing her temple with the back of her hand, a really tired expression on her face. It appeared that the day's events were finally taking their toll on her.
"Then when will you deal with it?" Asuna asked squeezing Setsuna's shoulders again making her look up. "I'm sorry Setsuna-san, but it's only at times like this that you actually listen to whatever we have to say, do something before it's too late. Can't you see that all this denial is only hurting you both?"
Setsuna smiled at Asuna's passionate words but she still shook her head in exasperation. "I really appreciate your kind words and sentiments, but things don't work like that." She solemnly said.
"Don't give me that crap now…" Asuna started to say not wanting to believe that Setsuna was actually giving up before even starting to fight back, but her words were cut short when Setsuna interrupted her.
"No, Asuna-san, this isn't 'crap' I'm saying…Ojousama's world is different from ours, and don't give me that look," She said when Asuna looked at her with widened eyes full of surprise. "This is the truth, and it won't change no matter how much we dislike it." Setsuna said looking at Asuna straight in the eyes, with an expression of that of an older sister teaching a kid a lesson.
"What are you talking about?" Asuna asked perplexed.
"I'm saying that Ojousama's life will never be her own." Setsuna sadly said. "As the next head of the Kanto and Kansai Magic Associations, she will be pushed around and decisions will be made for her, that's just the way it is."
"I cannot believe what I'm hearing…Just the way it is?" Asuna said letting her arms fall back at her sides.
"I told you that it doesn't matter what we think." Setsuna said, her eyes brimming with sadness.
"But you're supposed to be her protector!" Asuna seethed through clenched teeth, her fists clenching and unclenching rather tightly.
"I know that!" Setsuna yelled.
"Then why don't you do your job for once!?" Asuna said angrily, her mismatched eyes filled with fury. "Tatsumiya told you once that you don't only have to protect Konoka from just physical pain, but her heart as well!"
Setsuna still looked away from her, eyes hard as stones and jaw clenched, she was visibly trembling but Asuna found no sympathy for the girl, her silence only making her even more angry that she already was. "Well if you are not going to do anything about it I am!" She declared losing her patience and walking over to the door.
"And just what are you planning to do!?" Setsuna finally countered, angry tears gathering at her eyes. "Walk in front of the leaders and tell them that you disagree with their methods!? They've been doing this for generations; the opinion of an eighteen year old girl who they don't even know is as good as nothing to them!"
Asuna stopped by the doorway with one hand gripping the door handle. "You know I don't really get you," She said looking at her with something that resembled resentment. "One minute you tell me that Konoka is the most important person in your life and the next you're yelling that there isn't anything you can do for her. Truth be told, I don't know how she has put up with your silly behavior all these years."
"I already told you it's not that simple!" Setsuna repeated in a desperate cry, tears of frustration now running freely down her cheeks.
"Well the least you could do is try to do something!" Asuna angrily retorted. She felt really disappointed in this girl; she thought that if Konoka was involved in some kind of predicament, she would be the first one at her side, supporting her. But no, she cowered out like she did countless of times in the past. The anger she felt made her grip the door handle so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"But you just don't understand…!" Setsuna started again making Asuna turn around to look at her.
"I don't want to hear any more of this crap! If you don't have anything important to say you might as well leave!" Asuna told the shocked girl. She waited for a few seconds but Setsuna didn't say anything more. With a frustrated growl and shooting Setsuna one last look full with disdain she opened the door and walked inside closing it with surprising carefulness.
- - -
Setsuna stayed there just outside the door, feet rooted to the floor. Sighing she ran a hand through her ponytail trying to gain control of her overflowing emotions. She looked down to where she had dropped the folder and sighed again. Asuna was right, she was just contradicting herself with saying those kinds of things but she knew she also was right. The chiefs of the Magic Associations couldn't and wouldn't be moved by anything that Asuna had to say. How could they when they wouldn't even consider Konoka's romantic interests and happiness? No, their decision had been made and it would not waver.
She bent down to pick up the papers yet again but this time she did all she could to not look at the offending photograph. Just when she was about to leave though, her ears picked up the sound of agitated voices inside the room. She stopped dead on her tracks, eyes widening in horror when she remembered her screaming match against Asuna. She then heard the sound of footsteps getting closer to the door and a pleading voice.
"Please Asuna, let me go!" Konoka cried.
"Now's not a good time. I'm sorry Konoka but I cannot let you go after her." She heard Asuna say in an apologetic but firm voice.
How had she been so careless? She kept her gaze on the door her heart beating like mad inside her ribcage. She had forgotten that Konoka had been inside her room the whole time.
A/N: I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. This just teaches me not to baby-sit and write at the same time. My mind's somewhere else while my hand does all the writing on its own, lol. I also want to thank everyone who gave me title ideas, I've taken them all in consideration, but something seems to me, is off…so it remains untitled as of now.
Thank you all for the lovely reviews and I'm sorry for not replying to all of you. Don't know when the next update is gonna be, like I said I have no idea where this is going. –Sighs- now I'm going to get back to my baby-sitting. Darn.