Title: Novus Fabulo Negima
Disclaimer: I do not own ANY characters, places, or story plots. All credit goes to Akamatsu Ken.
Chapter 3: The Bathhouse Incident
Negi spent the rest of the day sitting near a statue and deep in thought. He was running over what happened today and trying to think of ways to suppress any information leaking out, unfortunately Setsuna got her courage and voice back so she chased Negi around the school screaming he was a pervert when he told Konoka that sleeping in the same bed together might not be so bad. The paparazzi, meaning Asakura, picked up the story and it spread like wildfire. He sighed and thought privately that he would probably be pelted with questions about this tomorrow. Looking up from the ground he spotted a girl with blue hair and carrying a large amount of books. Nodoka Miyazaki if he remembered correctly. "Hmm I think I'll help her with that." He thought. So he stood up and walked up to Nodoka. "Hello Nodoka san, do you want me to help with that?" As soon as I spoke Nodoka dropped all of her books in shock.
"Um… ok. You can help… but only i-if you w-want to." Nodoka stuttered with a small blush on her face. Negi bent over to help pick up the books and almost carried all of them but Nodoka managed to pick up 4 or 5. "Uh, sensei, could I ask you a question?"
"Sure Nodoka san, what is it you want to know?"
"Is it true you are staying in Konoka's room?" At this Negi froze and a small blush materialized on his face. She took this as a yes.
"Ah Nodoka san, could you please not spread that fac- I mean story, around? I'm afraid Asakura would go have a field day if she knew." Negi pleaded.
"Sure sensei." This disappointed Nodoka to some extent because she hoped for it not to be true so she could offer for Negi to stay in their room instead. She started to walk towards the school.
"Uh, Nodoka san, where are you going?" Negi asked with a hint of confusion in his voice. "School is over you know."
"Oh I wanted to get something from the classroom. Could you come with me sensei?" Nodoka knew this was a lie, but she needed to get him over there because the class was throwing a surprise party to welcome Negi sensei.
When Nodoka finally reached the room she asked Negi to open it. When he reached for the door and found it unlocked, his mind went into overdrive, thinking of many possibilities as simple as Nodoka trying to corner him to a demon that wanted to kill him. "I knew I locked this door." He thought. His hand gripped his staff as he cautiously opened the door. Then the sudden sounds and popping noises scared him and he fell back and was halfway through chanting Sagitta Magica before realizing it was his own students and they were shouting "Surprise!" and not some offensive spell. He got to his feet and dusted himself off.
"Well you certainly gave me quite a surprise there!" Negi laughed along with his students. "What's all this for?"
"Well we wanted for you to get to know us a little better so we threw a surprise party for you." Sakurako replied.
"Hmm so all of you were in on this, even you Takamichi?" Negi asked.
"Yes, I was." He dropped his voice lower. "If you didn't realize sooner you could have blasted your students to pieces. This isn't like Kyoto, Negi." He whispered.
"I know." Negi turned back to his students. "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's party!" To this all the girls started to swarm him to ask him more questions, to give him gifts, or to display one thing or another to him. When they were finished they started to talk amongst themselves. Negi then stood on a desk. "You can this a party? Come on, I may be a teacher but I know how to throw a good party." To which he waved his hands behind his back and a large stereo system and a dj turn table appeared just outside the door. He dragged them in, cleared the classroom floor of desks, dimmed the lights, and pumped up the music. "This is a party!" All the girls went wild and started to dance or to continue to have conversations. Haruna Kiotome took to the turn tables. Takamichi chuckled behind him.
"Japan's parties are less loose than Europe's parties, Negi."
"Really, well the girls took to it just fine." Negi grinned at Takamichi.
"Well I don't know about you but I think we are going to see quite a few sleep deprived people tomorrow."
"Ah Takamichi, let them have their fun."
XXXXX
Soon after being asked to dance numerous times, getting to talk with everyone, and getting cornered by a few girls, Negi left the party with Konoka at about 8. He yawned. It had been a long day.
"I thought you were an English gentleman, Negi." Konoka teased him. "You know how to throw a really wild party." They had talked for a long period of time during the party in which Konoka found out a lot about Negi.
"Ah, I might have been the top of my class, but doesn't mean I am not someone doesn't break a few rules or know how to have a good time." Negi grinned at Konoka. At magic school he had broken more than a few rules and thrown more than one great party.
"Well do you want to go to m- our room yet?" She was blushing as she said this. He then remember the living arrangements he had for tonight and groaned inwardly.
"Sure. Let's go."
XXXXX
When they arrived at Konoka's room he set his things down near the door. He stretched out and yawned again.
"Negi, if you're that tired, do you want to just go to sleep?" Asked Konoka, who was standing next to him looking concerned.
"Ah not really Konoka, I was wondering if I could have a bath before bed." He used to hate baths, but then started to like them after training in the mountains for a month.
"Um, well the whole building shares a giant bath and this is an all-girls school…" Konoka answered blushing as she said it. Then realization hit him hard, he almost staggered back in shock at the thought of having to take a bath with girls. "Oh, don't worry everyone's probably still at the party." This calmed him down.
"Yes, you're right. Well then I guess I'll take a bath before any of the girls get back then."
"Well I haven't taken a bath yet so let's go together!"
"What?" Negi turned around and stared at Konoka, taken aback by what she had suggested.
"Oh come on don't be shy Negi kun." She started to pull him out the door.
"No Konoka wait-" But before he finished his sentence she turned around and gave him the puppy eyes. "Gah! I can't resist that!" Negi felt the walls of his proper judgment crumble down. He sighed and let Konoka lead him, but this time he slipped his hand into her's.
XXXXX
As soon as they arrived at the large bath, Negi almost wanted to have a bath with Konoka. Almost. She led him into the locker rooms and when she left he took of all his clothing and tied a towel around his waist. He turned to see Konoka standing there with a towel covering most of her body.
"All right Negi kun, there are the showers." He sat down on one and turned his back on Konoka as she sat down on a stool next to him. He then proceeded to wash himself down and listened as Konoka did the same. After he was done he got up and thought about getting into the large pool in front of him.
"Hey Konoka san, do you want to…" He indicated what he meant. She blushed furiously but nodded. She looked away as he removed his towel and slipped in to the warm water. He did the same when she entered the water. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Negi started to relax. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. She looked at him and was surprised to see he had a very muscular build. It had not shown at all when he wore a suit. Her eyes were beginning to shut until they heard voices.
"Oh no." Negi whispered to Konoka. "Let's hide, now." They both swam to the end of the pool and hid behind a fake plant.
"What! Are you serious Asakura?" They heard Ayaka's voice ring out through the din.
"Yeah I heard Setsuna shouting about it earlier." This was, of course, Asakura.
"I heard the dean is planning on having Negi go out with Konoka!" This was Fukka's voice.
"That would be unacceptable!" Ayaka raged. "I'm going to talk with the dean about this."
"Well it wouldn't be impossible, the dean is trying to find a husband for Konoka, and here comes waltzing in a 15 year old who already graduated collage and has a job." This was Haruna's voice, so Negi assumed the party had ended. As the girls talk with each other Negi motions for Konoka to follow him. They silently sneak back to the lockers and almost make it to the door when Negi accidentaly knocks over a stool. The girls stop their conversation and move towards the source of the noise. Konoka darts behind a fake plant while Negi acted natural and leaned on the wall. The girls saw him and cried out in shock.
"Negi sensei! What are you doing here?" They ask. "Are you trying to take a peek?"
"No, I was here before you all arrived and when you did I guess I sort of panicked."
"Oh." Ayaka sounded a little too disappointed for his liking.
"Hey Negi sensei, why don't you join us?" Asks Haruna.
"Well…" His mind desperately tried to find a reason not to. Then he had a stroke of brilliance. "I came with my fiancé, so I can't join you."
"EHHHH?" The girls screamed. Inwardly he smirked, all of them were gossip hounds, they wanted the dirt on anyone and everyone, so he knew that the temptation of a hot scoop on a new teacher was too much then their mortal minds could take.
"Anyway, when you guys walked in she slipped away so if you could help me find her that would be great."
"Of course, anything for you Negi sensei." Ayaka said. On the inside she was steaming with rage and swore when she found out who it was that she would strangle the life out of her. The girls disappeared, in the way Negi indicated. When they were gone, he nudged the fake plant that stood beside him.
"All right Konoka you can come out." She stepped out of her hiding place her face bright red.
"Why did you have to tell them I was your fiancé? What if they find me?"
"Don't worry I sent them all that way so the path to the exit is clear." They were nearly at the exit, but Negi slipped on a bar of soap and landed on top of Konoka in a misunderstanding position. The girls then appeared next to them and gasped. Negi tried to redeem himself as much as he could. "Uh… I found her?" Then he flicked his fingers and used magic to make all of his students fall down. He then quickly helped Konoka to her feet and did the first thing that came to his mind: run like hell. When all of the students stood back up Negi and Konoka were long gone.
"Grrr, damn that Konoka, trying to seduce Negi sensei." Ayaka growled.
"Wait that means… Negi's fiancé is Konoka!" Asakura exclaimed.
"The next time I see Konoka…" Ayaka trailed off.
XXXXX
When Negi got back to his room both him and Konoka slid to the floor panting from their long run.
"I'm sorry Konoka. Now tomorrow I'll have all campus asking us questions about this." Negi apologized to Konoka and helped her up.
"It's okay Negi kun. Well do you want to go to sleep now?"
"Yes, you go on ahead and change." When she left Negi started to unpack his bags. Then he poked a small lump in his shirt in his suitcase and whispered, "Chamo, come on out." As he said it a long, white ermine reared its head up.
"What do you want Aniki? I know I came snuck on to your luggage, but you found me halfway in the middle of the flight, but you can't just interrupt me sleep like that. 'Cause you know you're going to be having a good sleep as well." Chamo replied with a twinkle in his eye.
"Just make sure not to come out when Konoka san is around alright?"
"Ya, ya now go and get to your bed before she gets lonely."
"Chamo!"
"Hahaha, it's so fun to torture you Aniki."
When Negi turned away from the luggage he found that Konoka had already changed into her sleeping clothes and was fast asleep. Negi changed quietly and slipped on to the bed as carefully as he could so as to not disturb her. She turned and put her arms around him. He blushed but let her have her way, and soon she was using his chest as a pilliow. He took one last weary look at the ceiling before becoming enveloped in the pleasant warmth that was hugging his body and he succumbed to sleep.
XXXXX
So that about wraps up that. Now let the fun begin. Why you ask? Because now this couple's troubles start. :D Until next time.