note: please excuse Asuna's potty mouth in this chapter
The next morning's sun had come out. Birds were chirping merrily and flowers were dancing in the warm breeze. Mahora Academy was uncharacteristically silent on this perfect, beautiful warm day. Classes had been canceled by the headmaster for unknown reasons, which nobody even bothered to question. It was a free day and it was time to enjoy it to it's fullest for tomorrow it was back to class.
The dean had overslept. He woke with a start, quickly tossing on a robe and rushing to his crystal ball, not even caring to fix his bedhead appearance. Touching the sphere lightly, he said a chant which caused the translucent crystal to fog. He tapped his slippered foot and drummed his fingers on the table as he waited impatiently for the fog to clear. God! The suspense was killing him. What if the fun had already begun without him? He glanced around his room, studying the four walls littered with pictures, then at the cloudy crystal ball. He didn't like the small image that the magic ball gave him. Maybe with today's technology something could be done to fix this problem?
The dissipating fog caught his eye. At last the sphere showed an image. Finally!
Negi began to stir from his sleep. He could feel a warm body laying next to him on the bed. Desiring to absorb more of the warmth, he snuggled closer into it and reached out to hug the body. His hands came into contact with something firm and smooth. As he ran his hand across this strange, firm, flat thing, his mind began to notice something was off. There should be something different here, something softer and squishier. Negi slowly opened his eyes. His breathing stopped as his hands froze where they were. He had gotten into Asuna's bed again and had even removed her sleeping shirt, but the person next to him wasn't Asuna. It wasn't even a girl!
The stranger began to move under Negi's hands which hadn't moved from the person's chest. He heard the boy mutter something about no classes as he opened his eyes. They were mismatched, the left: green, the right: blue; just like a certain someone's. Negi stared into them, confused.
"Wha? Negi, you stupid head! What are you doing in my bed again?" Negi did nothing but stare at the boy, who strangely resembled Asuna. The boy had Asuna's eyes, her same carrot-colored long hair, and even her same killer glare but that was were the similarities ended. "Where do you think you are-" The boy looked down at where Negi's hands were groping his chest then he froze like a statue. "WHAT THE FUCK?" He quickly sat up and, in a panicked frenzy, started touching his bare chest with both his hands over and over again. "WHERE THE HELL DID MY BOOBS GO!" The boy stumbled out of the top bunk bed in confusion and fell to the ground with a loud thud. "What, what's going on? No! I can't be a g. . . this. . . this has gotta be a dream!" He scrambled up to his feet as he ran to the mirror. The boy touched and pulled at his face as he stared at his reflection. "Yes, yes! This has to be a dream! A girl can't just turn into a guy overnight! I'll wake up from this nightmare soon!" He slapped himself hard. "Yes. . . a dream. . . dream. . ." Then, suddenly, the boy got quiet.
Negi, who had been watching everything from the top bunk, was still in total shock but recovered a bit when he saw the boy tug at his pants and look down into them. Negi blushed wildly as the boy let out a small whimper, then he finally managed to find his words. "Ah, perhaps you would like to tell me your name, friend?"
The boy turned from the mirror to Negi. His eyes betrayed the panic underneath his relatively calm silence but before he could respond, a voice interrupted them.
"Oh! Are you two fighting again, Asuna-chan?" On the bottom bunk, Konoka had sat up on her bed to observe the orange-haired person standing in front of the mirror. She rubbed sleep from her eyes as she let out a soft yawn. "You remember we got hallway cleaning today, right, Asuna? We should hurry so Ayaka-chan doesn't. . ." She trailed off when she saw that the person in her room was a boy. Her reaction was completely the opposite of what a normal person would have been expected to do when they awoke to find a half-naked male stranger in their room. "Hm? I'm sorry! I thought you were my friend!" She stood up to walk to the boy. "Wow, you look so much like her! Except," she circled the boy, "except, you're a boy."
The boy's head madly followed Konoka around as she inspected him. His eyes stared into hers when she finally came to a stop in front of him. "Ah! Konoka! This- I just woke up like this! I don't know what happened!" He took a step forward as his eyes started to mist. "I- I- don't know what to do!"
"What? Are you lost? How did you come to be here? And how do you know my name?" She opened her arms wide and moved in closer to the boy. "Oh! I see! We must have met before! Perhaps, grandfather invited you to stay over?" Her closeness made the boy nervously back into the mirror. His body went stiff when the dark-haired girl gave him a tight hug. "But, this is strange! I would have definitely remembered such a handsome boy with long hair!" She ran her hands up and down his shirtless back as she pressed her face against his chest. "Oh! So this is how a boy around my age feels like!"
"Ah, Konoka-san!" Negi stumbled out of the bed and fell to the floor. His shock had returned when Konoka had spoken but now as he saw his roommate pressing herself into the boy, his mind snapped back to reality. "You shouldn't do that!" Negi had started stepping towards the two when there was a soft knock at the door.
The three froze as they heard Setsuna Sakurazaki's voice on the other side. "Ojou-sama? Asuna-san? Are you awake?"
Before anyone could say anything, Konoka let out a loud, girlish giggle. "Yes, Set-chan! Come in!" The boy felt Konoka's hug tighten and her nails dig into his lower back.
"Did you sleep well, Ojou-saaaa. . .!" Setsuna stopped near the bathroom when she saw the what was going on. "OJOU-SAMA!" Setsuna ran to Konoka and pulled her off the boy. Like lightening, she kicked the boy in the stomach, sending him on all fours to the ground as her sword flew to his throat, forcing him to lift his chin to avoid her blade. "How dare you attack Ojou-sama!" She hesitated when the boy's gaze met hers. His eyes reminded her of her first friend after Konoka, Asuna. They made her want to put her sword away, drop to her knees and beg for forgiveness. No! This is not Asuna-san! I must be firm! Her softening gaze turned into a harsh glare. Her grip on her sword tigthened. "I won't forgive anyone who brings harm to my friends!" The polished blade nicked the boy's skin, sending a drop of blood trailing down his throat, causing the boy to flinch and inhale sharply. Again, Setsuna felt a pang of guilt smash into her gut. She almost withdrew her sword there but Konoka quickly spoke up.
"No! Set-chan! He wasn't attacking me!" Konoka pushed Setsuna's sword away from the boy then bent down to clean the wound Setsuna's sword had created. She felt the boy swallow when she touched the skin on his neck. She blushed as his eyes looked into hers. There was something familiar in them that sent a tingle up her spine. "Set-chan, he was just visiting us and I was giving him a nice welcome hug."
Negi didn't know what to do. He couldn't say anything. He just stood there witnessing Setsuna almost kill the boy that looked like Asuna. It had been Konoka who had saved him from the swordswoman's wrath but he was still confused. Where had Asuna disappeared to? He remembered clearly that he had helped her back to their room last night and that she had knocked out instantly when her head hit the pillow of their top bunk. She didn't have her job today, so she couldn't be out working. Negi stared at the boy Konoka was helping up. He looked so much like Asuna. Could they be related? Or maybe. . . Negi recalled the frantic words the boy had yelled a few moments back. 'A girl can't just turn into a guy overnight!' Could this boy possibly be Asuna-san?
Setsuna apologized repeatedly with a dark blush on her face. After the misunderstanding had been cleared, she had gotten a good look at the "offender". His shirtless state had caught her off guard and she had allowed herself to stare at his body. The boy had made no move to cover himself from Setsuna's exploring gaze. It seemed like he wasn't embarrassed. It didn't seem like he was even aware of anyone in the room. The boy's eyes had a drowsy, glazed-over look that soften his features, making his face look pretty. There was silence for a few moments before Konoka spoke up.
"What's your name, cutie?" No answer, except for a squeak from Negi. "Maybe you're a bit shy? Hey, you should give him a hug, Set-chan!" Konoka pulled Setsuna closer to him. "That'll probably help loosen him up. Plus, he feels really good!"
"Ojou-sama! That isn't a proper thing to say!" Setsuna attempted to free herself from Konoka's surprisingly strong grip. Her heart unintentionally sped up as she was pulled closer to him. Konoka smashed Setsuna into the boy, forcing her body weight on him and sending them both tumbling to the floor. "AH!" Setsuna landed on top of the boy with her face near his and her legs straddling his waist. Her face burned with heat as she saw the position they were in. "Ah, ple- please f- forgive O- Ojou-sama. . ."
"Set-chan!"
"Setsuna-san!" Upon hearing Negi's voice, the boy's eyes lost their glazed look and sprang back to life. He looked at Setsuna's red face, then at his hips where he felt something pushing down on him. Setsuna watched as the color drained from the boy's pretty face and his eyes grew large with surprise. Following his gaze, she saw what he had seen. She felt her head start spinning with realization. This is too much! She rested her head next to his neck and gripped his chest. She heard herself let out a low moan as her body moved against him.
"Ah, aha, oh, SHIT NO!" The boy gently rolled Setsuna off him then jumped swiftly to his feet. He ran towards the door, grabbing the nearest clothes his hands could find. He pushed past a speechless Negi only to pause and look back at the redhead. The boy caught Negi's surprised gaze. As their eyes met, he could tell that the boy needed something from him. Listening to his instinct, Negi nodded and followed the boy out the door, leaving behind a confused Konoka and an overheated Setsuna.
