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Disclaimer:
I own neither Naruto nor Negima! Magister Negi Magi/Mahou Sensei Negima (take your pick of the name). These are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Ken Akamatsu, respectively.
Likewise, I do not possess any characters from other stories or other mediums of storytelling that may or may not be referenced in this fictional piece.
Chapter Three:
Curiouser and Curiouser
"I've been expecting you, Takamichi-kun. I take it your chat with the boy went well?"
Takahata nodded. "It did, in a sense." He would have to remember to check Naruto for how he reacts to potions. Not everyone could take them safely—they always work, but the rare individual could get sick from them. He didn't like the way Naruto started to cough and choke during some of his explanations. In that breathless voice, quieter than a whisper, the harsh coughing had been jarring and worrisome.
He gave the room a cursory glance as he entered. The room had a slight archaic feel to it, reminiscent of an old European manor. The windows were elaborate but not ostentatious, and bookshelves lined the walls. A few new furnishings had been added, but the Headmaster's room was otherwise the same as it had been before he left.
He sat in one of the cushy chairs before the Headmaster's desk. "I'm surprised Eva isn't here. Considering that Naruto-kun avoided her detection, I thought she would have stayed around to learn more about him." Takahata supposed that the Headmaster could tell her later, but she wasn't the type to just wait around for secondhand information.
Headmaster Konoe Konoemon laughed, his elongated head bobbing. His earrings swayed, hooked onto the Headmaster's stretched lobes. "She said that she was supposed to meet with Negi-kun today. I hadn't thought Evangeline would be able to have a civilized conversation with Negi-kun after their little squabble, but they seem to be getting along without incident, ho hmm."
Takahata winced at the Headmaster referring to Negi and Evangeline's fight as a 'squabble'. Some of Eva's spells—particularly the ice magic—could have gotten Negi sent to the hospital, if they had connected. Evangeline would have been fine, of course, but Negi was only human. "How do you know they're…"
"Not killing each other?" Konoemon finished. "A simple observation spell I put on Evangeline before she left. I doubt she noticed, depowered as she is, but she may have. It can be hard to tell with her."
Takahata couldn't help but agree. For all that he had known her for years, he still found her impossible to read much of the time. "Speaking of those two, what happened after they fought? Negi-kun told me some of it, but he just doesn't have the experience to tell me everything that might be important.
"Very little, actually. Once the blackout ended, the barrier once again blocked Evangeline's powers, causing her to fall and young Negi-kun to save her. The next day, she returned to class, and was going to talk to Negi-kun after school ended but fell ill. Today is the first time they will be talking since then."
Takahata was satisfied. That was what Negi had mentioned in his email, although the Headmaster's version was, of course, far shorter. Negi wasn't the sort to deceive, but he had an annoying habit of keeping information to himself if he thought it would upset people.
'Although,' Takahata thought, 'I do hope he doesn't mention this—or Evangeline at all—to Nekane. She might… overreact.' That was an understatement. Negi's cousin could be frighteningly protective.
"But that wasn't what you came here to talk about, or you would have simply spoken to Negi-kun," the Headmaster said. He leaned forwards in his chair, interlacing his fingers on the desk. His eyes peeked out from the shadows formed by his hairy brows. "The boy—the one you found. You said his name was Naruto, yes?"
Takahata did not answer immediately. He hadn't taken the opportunity to order his thoughts before he came to speak to the Headmaster, but perhaps he should have.
'By the First and Final Spell, how do I explain this without seeming insane?'
"Uzumaki Naruto was his name, yes," Takahata said, blindly searching for a way to explain Naruto's origins. "He's from a, ah, rather distant local."
One of Konoemon's gargantuan eyebrows rose. "Oh? Is he from overseas, then? Or is it the Magical World?"
"Not exactly, sir."
A look of slight irritation appeared on the Headmaster's face. "Well then, where is from? Kansai isn't far enough away, and if he was from the demon's home we would already know. Out with it, Takamichi-kun. Why do you look so hesitant?"
"Because I think that Naruto-kun is from a different world entirely than Mundus Vetus or Mundus Magicus."
Although the statement was cliché, the silence truly was deafening.
Konoemon gaped at him in open surprise. "That-that is a bold claim, Takamichi-kun. Many mages have searched to see if other worlds existed, but since the discovery of the connections binding the Old World, the Magical World, and the Demon's World, none has ever been shown to exist."
Takahata pulled a glass vial from his pocket, empty save for tiny drops of clear fluid. "Eva brewed this dose of the Οἴνος Τοû Ἀλήθειας Potion herself. We both know how good she is at alchemy and potion-making." Konoemon blanched at the comment, having felt her skill at the art firsthand far too many times when she had first been magically bound to Mahora. "Naruto-kun was telling the truth."
"Naruto-kun didn't use magic or chi when he transformed in the alley. Not even the slightest amount. When he talked to me, he described what he called 'chakra'." Takahata pulled out a cigarette and lighter, looking to the Headmaster for permission. Receiving it, he lit the smoke as the older man incanted a small spell to disperse the scent of it. Takahata certainly didn't mind—he hadn't been able to stand the smell either, before he started.
"It's a power his people create by combining their body's physical energy with the spiritual energy of their mind and soul. They use it to perform superhuman feats—well, some of them do, at any rate."
"Like your Kankaho?" the Headmaster asked. He stood up and began to pace in thought, his advanced age revealing itself in the stoop of his shoulders. Konoemon had lived for a long, long time, and his years were etched into his face—even so, he moved with all the grace one would expect from a man who had reached the highest levels of martial skill.
Takahata was surprised at the Headmaster's comment. "Not at all. Chi is more than just the power of the body, it depends almost as much on mental focus and life energy—the physical energy Naruto-kun spoke of was purely of the body. And magic certainly isn't solely the power of the mind. Further, chakra seems to be something coming solely from the inside, not a combination of within and without like the Kanka" That the Headmaster didn't already possess full knowledge of the Kankaho was surprising, especially considering that he had known Takahata's own master. He hoped the old man wasn't beginning to go senile.
"Although it was curious… how his people used chakra was remarkably similar to techniques one would find in magic or chi manipulation—if the techniques were almost entirely designed for war, that is." From what Naruto had told him, much of their world revolved around the ceaseless border conflicts or outright wars between nations. Well, Takahata couldn't claim that the same didn't exist in some places on Earth.
Konoemon stopped pacing entirely, staring at Takahata with a look of intense interest upon his face. "I have never heard of anything like that. You said you couldn't feel anything at all when he transformed? I don't mean magic or chi, but any reaction at all?"
His question was answered with a shake of the head. "Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. I'll need to get Naruto-kun in here, to find out more about this chakra—particularly if it was what interfered with Evangeline's senses." The Headmaster laughed softly. "I haven't gone to my workroom beneath the library for quite some time. It will be a pleasure to do some research again."
There was silence before the Headmaster spoke again. "Chakra… it has the same name, but it sounds entirely different from the chakras one finds in Hinduism, Buddhism, and yoga. It is something new, certainly, but discovering this does not mean that he is necessarily from another world."
"Not that I disbelieve you or don't trust in Evangeline's skill," the Headmaster hastened to explain, "but I cannot accept so great a claim without further evidence. Something you know, I expect—you wouldn't have come to me if you didn't have a stronger case than that. What more is there that you were going to say, beyond speaking of his abilities? Tell me about his home."
It was a moment before Takahata responded. He wouldn't lie, or keep any truly important information from the Headmaster, but he didn't feel that he should talk about Naruto's entire life. Even if he had forced it from the boy—or perhaps especially because of that—it was still private, and discussing it would be Naruto's decision.
There had been enough betrayal of trust already.
He decided to speak in generalities to avoid mentioning the personal events in Naruto's life. It would serve well enough, and he could avoid thinking about some of what Naruto had told him. It wouldn't do to lose his temper before the Headmaster. He could be angry on the boy's behalf later.
"He came from a place called Konohagakure no Sato, located in the Land of Fire. This was a military village, which sent its shinobi out to serve as spies, thieves, bodyguards, assassins, and warriors for the sake of its nation. To be a ninja in this village is the most illustrious life available—to the last man, shinobi are the heroes of their home. Konohagakure is one of five great shinobi villages of his world—there are dozens of other, less powerful ones that he doesn't even know the names of. Although they nominally remain in service to the daimyo which rule over them, practically speaking most nations are ruled by the leader of that country's ninja village."
Takahata had to stop to breathe and collect his thoughts, trying to think of what else Naruto had told him that would show the Headmaster how utterly unfamiliar Naruto had made his home out to be. "Countries affiliated with ninja exist across his entire world. I asked him about these countries—tried to find out if any of them sounded familiar. I couldn't recognize a single one. He thought magic was just stories told to children, and didn't recognize the term 'chi' at all."
He would have continued, but was interrupted by the Headmaster. "Enough, Takamichi-kun. You can give me more details later—as a written report, preferably. It's so much easier to mull over information when it has been written down. But what you've told me is… fascinating. Utterly and completely enthralling."
The Headmaster laughed. "Ho hmm… I haven't been this intrigued by anything in years! I really will need to have a long talk with that boy sometime. But for now, let me think."
Takahata stayed silent as Konoemon resumed his walk, pacing from one end of the room to the others. The old man's fingers trailed along the spines of his small library as he moved, before coming to a rest in front of a bookcase set slightly apart from the others.
"Did you know, Takamichi-kun, that this shelf does not truly hold books?"
Takahata didn't see what that had to do with the topic at hand, but dutifully responded with the negative.
"Every page is actually a viewing device. Each one shows a different book stored in Library Island. So each of these 'books' would let one read hundreds of tomes hidden away where even the Library Exploration Club could never find them."
Takahata doubted that—the students were never to be underestimated.
"I have perused through all of them, and have read the Book of Melchizedek in its entirety." The Headmaster stopped, and turned to gaze at Takahata with his inscrutable eyes. "Yet I have never—not in the hundred and fifty years I've known, never—heard of anything such as this."
Konoemon sighed, and hobbled back to his desk. He sat down slowly, carefully. Old—that was the only word Takahata could use to describe the Headmaster at that moment. He knew the man was ancient, of course, but the Headmaster always seemed spry and full of life. But now, he just seemed tired.
Takahata started when the Headmaster's voice sounded again. There was a strained tone to the man's voice. "Tell me how he came to appear on the World Tree."
The nod Takahata gave was pointless, as the Headmaster's eyes were closed as he focused on all the information he had been given. "He was being chased by shinobi for political reasons. Due to his own limited training, he was able to run from them for some time, but was eventually caught near a small body of water—a pond, or perhaps a spring. He rolled into it to try to escape, but as he fell in the water he saw that it didn't look like water at all, but a great number of images piling atop one another, so closely bound that they flowed like liquid. Next thing he knew, he was atop the largest tree in Mundus Vetus."
Takahata avoided mentioning that Naruto's 'escape' would have been death. Given what he had said about this 'Root' led by the new Hokage, Takahata couldn't bring himself to blame the boy for doing what he had. Some things truly were worse than death. Even so, it was awful to think of someone so young making that sort of decision.
He did wonder, though—how had Naruto survived running for so long? From how he had described the Anbu, he didn't think that Naruto would have been able to last as long as he had without being caught. The Kekkei Genkai the boy had mentioned came to mind—the healing Kekkei Genkai Naruto said he had might have helped him run longer. If it could help a half-trained boy escape elite warriors, it was no wonder Root wanted to capture him for it. And it was no wonder that Naruto had desired to desperately to get away; it didn't take much to imagine what sort of testing would be done to determine the limits of his power.
Sensing that the Headmaster wanted to know more, he continued, glad to have something else to focus on. "After he climbed down from the World Tree, Naruto found that he didn't understand the language. Assuming the worst, Naruto-kun hid from—"
The Headmaster interrupted. "A moment, Takamichi-kun. I had intended to ask earlier, when you said he was from another world, but how did you learn this? It isn't surprising that he wouldn't know one of our languages if he was from elsewhere, but how did you get this information from him if he did not speak Japanese?"
"I'll get to that in a moment, Headmaster. The first thing Naruto-kun did was hide—please remember sir, that he had just been chased by very dangerous individuals, and had suddenly been teleported, for lack of a better term, to a strange and new locale. From his story, it looks like he hid somewhere around the central plaza for most of a day."
"After that, he didn't really do very much, as far as I can tell. He mostly just pulled food from the garbage and slept in the alleys."
That this had occurred in Mahora and had not been corrected was upsetting to say the least, and he could tell from the Headmaster's angry expression that the leader of the school shared his opinion. He expected that the campus police were going to get a very angry visit soon.
But what was far worse, so far as Takahata was concerned, was that Naruto had been all but living in the streets for years after being forced to flee from Konohagakure.
Then there was his life in the village—although at least he had an apartment then. Takahata still couldn't understand why Naruto had been treated so horribly, and Naruto said that he didn't either. From some of Naruto's comments about his parents, Takahata thought it had to do with the boy's family. People could be cruel to innocents for the crimes of another.
Naruto's reaction to the potion had worsened at that point. He would need to find out how long Naruto had been under the potion's influence when he started coughing. It had started when he had explained the villager's unexplained hatred towards him, and his reasons for fleeing the village—how many minutes into the conversation had that been? He would have to remember to avoid letting him drink potions in the future.
"In regards to the language barrier you mentioned… that's actually quite the story. I could hardly believe it when he told me, but the very idea of foreign tongues is just a fable to his people. I don't know how, but it seems that everyone in his world speaks the same language."
"That's… not possible. Not for an entire planet." Not possible… impossible… Takahata was beginning to get very tired of those words.
He hadn't needed to be told that—he'd had quite enough encounters with language problems himself. Takahata didn't know what was going on with Naruto's home—without magic existing there and with Naruto not even understanding that languages were real—but he had spent a lot of time travelling over the years. The language barrier was one of the hardest to overcome when he went to the third world countries. It was worse in Mundus Magicus, where the massive translation spell ensured that everyone who travelled through the portals understood Latin (and only Latin, despite countless attempts to improve upon the magic), but it didn't do anything for the stranger languages one could find in the remote corners of that world, some of which weren't understood by anyone outside of the village.
"Nevertheless, it's true—the potion confirmed it. Naruto didn't understand a thing when I found him. According to him, I was partway through a sentence when he suddenly knew what I was saying. He even started speaking Japanese without noticing it. He was shocked when I pointed it out, so I'm certain it wasn't intentional."
"This boy is becoming more and more of a mystery with every passing moment," the Headmaster said, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. Takahata could only assume the mage was comparing the information to his knowledge of language-acquisition magics—there were a few spells that could hasten the learning process, but nothing so drastic. The frustrated expression crossing Konoemon's face told him that the older man didn't know much more than he did.
"You said he was being chased—by dangerous people, no less. Will we need to defend against these? Is Uzumaki Naruto himself a danger to our students?" the Headmaster asked. His chair creaked as he sharply rocked it back to an upright position.
"No and no. The people chasing Naruto-kun were what he called 'Anbu', the elite ninja of his village. If they were able to come after him, they would have. And from how he spoke of them, he would have already been captured if they were here. So I don't believe they will be a problem."
"And Naruto-kun? He's not going to be a danger. He hasn't had much human interaction these past few years—he was exiled from his home when he was eight due to political upheaval, and has lived without a real home since then. So he might not mingle well with other people, but he does have a good heart. He'd never try to actually hurt someone." Of this, Takahata was quite certain. He didn't know the boy well, but Naruto showed a remarkable lack of malevolence towards the people of his village—considering how he had been treated, Takahata viewed this as a sure sign that Naruto wouldn't hurt anyone at Mahora.
Takahata had fought in wars, and had seen amongst the noblest and most wretched of men. He was a teacher, and had seen children who seemed to be on a one-way street to prison and others who were blissfully normal in every respect. He didn't think it was arrogant to call himself a good judge of character. No, Naruto wasn't a threat to his students.
The Headmaster leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard as he thought. Takahata was certain that Konoemon would let Naruto stay in Mahora—he had a soft spot for those without a place of their own. Takahata had always thought that it was a trait that made him such a good Headmaster—although considering that he himself had originally got a teaching position due to that soft spot, he supposed that he might be a bit biased.
He already knew Naruto would be allowed to stay here… that decision would take only a moment for the Headmaster. So what was he thinking about?
"Forgive me, Takahata, but you will not be able to stay long at Mahora," the Headmaster said.
Surprised by the new direction the Headmaster had taken the conversation, Takahata sputtered. "Wh-what? I just got back! The AAA isn't supposed to call me again for at least a week! There's a lot I need to do here, now that I'm back." What was the Headmaster thinking?
The Headmaster waved Takahata's protests aside. "It will only take a few days. And it's not the AAA that needs you this time—it was a personal request from an old friend of yours in the Magical World. From Ariadne, I believe."
"Seras?"
"The one and only. The kraken are migrating two years earlier than they normally would. The fishing fleets aren't going to be able to leave their travel paths in time to avoid being attacked. She'll need to deploy you and a regiment of the Ariadne Magic Knights to beat back the kraken while the fishermen pull away into safer waters." Konoemon sighed sadly, and his voice was touched with regret. "I know you wished to spend time with Negi-kun and Asuna-chan before the field trip we've been planning, but I'm afraid that won't be possible now."
Takahata frowned. Kraken were powerful—he couldn't blame Seras for wanting his help. He might even run into Jack over there, which would be… annoying, actually, if somewhat pleasant. He wasn't too worried about how Negi and Asuna would be if he left—he would like to speak with them both, but he was certain their battle with Eva would be the most dangerous thing to happen to them for a long time. The field trip at this time of year typically went to Hawaii, anyways. No one in Class 3-A ever got hurt when they went to Hawaii.
"When will I be leaving? I was hoping to introduce Naruto-kun and Negi-kun, if he's to be allowed to stay."
"Of course he can stay—you can even introduce them yourself, so long as you do it today. Although you did mention that he has lived on the streets for some time, yes?"
The nod Takahata gave was hesitant. "True, but—"
"Then we can't simply put him in a class with other students, now can we? He needs to make up for his lost education. He needs to learn about our world and culture. To be made a laughingstock in one's first day of school in years for something like that would be horrible, would it not? To say nothing of the obvious problems his ignorance about our world, our technology, our history—I don't think I need to explain how much trouble that could cause."
Konoemon 'ho-hmmed' and nodded. "Yes, I don't think he should be made a student. But we will need to keep him close by, won't we? It will be important to keep an eye on him, and I'm afraid everyone I'd trust to do that would be completely occupied during school. So we can't just give him a room somewhere in the city. We'll need to do something somewhat… different for him."
The Headmaster stood from his desk and strode purposefully from the room. "Come Takamichi! I will escort you back to your apartment, and as we walk we can speak of what to do with young Naruto-kun."
Naruto walked through the streets of Mahora with wide eyes. He hadn't really looked at the city when he had arrived—everything had seemed too malevolent then, too new, too frightening. He had tried his best to avoid leaving the alleys, where no one could see him—and just as importantly, where he couldn't see the rest of the world.
But now he was clean, dressed in clothes that had been magically repaired and refitted, and with a stomach that was full for the first time in ages. It was remarkable what such seemingly small changes could make.
Naruto had never seen a place like this. Even with the great numbers of people who were constantly coming and going, the place seemed more orderly than either Konohagakure or Tanzaku had been. His cities had been made to defend against invasion, so the streets were confusing and the buildings often shaped so as to provide defense against attackers, rather than for ease of use or appearances.
Takahata put out a hand to stop Naruto, but pulled it back when Naruto recoiled away from the touch. Takahata didn't acknowledge Naruto's flinch, and he was grateful for that.
Takahata waved, catching the attention of someone in the crowd. A boy pulled himself from the mass of people to jog over to Takahata and Naruto. He paused when he saw Naruto beside the older male, but quickly turned to the man and addressed him like old friends.
"Takamichi! Where've you been? I tried to call you, but you didn't answer your phone. Did you hear about my fight with Evangeline? Are you—"
Takahata was forced to interrupt the boy before the swarm of questions grew to unmanageable proportions. "Slow down, Negi-kun! I can't answer questions when you throw them at me all at once."
Negi didn't look like anyone Naruto had ever seen before. Negi's red hair looked like he had tried to make it orderly, but it had become messy again. He wore a suit—Naruto had only ever seen a suit before because Takahata wore one, but he thought it had a formal look. It looked odd seeing it on another kid, but it was somehow suitable. Small glasses rested on his nose and something long and wrapped in strips of cloth was strapped to his back.
Negi looked down contritely. "Sorry Takamichi." When he spoke, it was in a calmer, more sedate voice. "But where were you? I wanted to talk to you after the fight—to ask about some… things, that I found out from Evangeline-san. About the Thousand Master." An aside glance was tossed Naruto's direction.
"The Thousand Master..." Takahata repeated, his voice low and soft. "Eva and he were… complicated." His eyes gazed off into the distance, seeing something apart from the here and now. Naruto was reminded of Sarutobi, and of some of the older ninja he had seen, like Iruka-sensei. Sometimes they would stare at something he couldn't see. Ayame had said that they were remembering, but Naruto certainly never got lost in memories like that.
Takahata's attention abruptly pulled itself back to the boy in front of him. "I'll have to tell you about them soon. Watching the two of them fight were some of the funniest moments of my life." A small smile graced his face at the thought, but his eyes said that there was more than that. "Perhaps when I come back from my trip?"
Negi, who had been practically vibrating with eagerness to hear more about this 'Thousand Master' person, visibly deflated. Naruto did as well, though to a lesser extent. Someone with a name like that sounded amazing. "From you—you're leaving, then? I didn't think you would be sent back out again, so soon after leaving." Naruto thought that Negi sounded a bit hurt—he could sympathize. Takamichi was the first—well, only—person he had really talked to since he came here. Or that he had really talked to in years, to tell the truth.
Naruto had to say his part. "You can't leave now Takamichi! You said you'd show me around this weird city!" He intended to hold him to his word, too—it was the least the man could do. He had never disliked a bowl of ramen before, but he couldn't help but hate the memory of the last batch he ate—filled with that potion that made him tell the truth.
He had beaten it, though. Nothing was tougher than Uzumaki Naruto! He had clenched his body so tightly that it hurt, his torso especially. But he hadn't said anything about the Kyuubi.
Naruto wasn't one to hold a grudge. But… well, he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't a little bit glad Takahata was leaving, regardless of what he said. He didn't like being angry at someone for trying to help the people who depended on him. But he was.
Takahata raised his hands, making a settling motion in the air. "I know, I know. But there's some urgent business rather far away—in an entire different world, you could say." Negi looked upset, but nodded in acceptance. Naruto, on the other hand, cocked his head to the side. What were the other worlds like, anyways? Was this entire world like Mahora? Why couldn't humans visit one of the planets?
"Takamichi, would you please introduce me to your friend?" Negi asked politely, sending another curious glance Naruto's way. It was obvious, even to someone as inexperienced as Naruto, that he had wanted to know since the very beginning.
Takahata looked taken aback. "Sorry, I should have done so from the beginning. Negi-kun, this is Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto-kun, Negi Springfield from Wales." Seeing Naruto's blank look, he elaborated, "That's a country, not the animal. It's across the ocean."
Naruto didn't see it—curious as he was as to how Negi could come from a whale—but Negi's forehead creased in thought when he noticed that Takahata had not mentioned where Naruto was from. That Takahata had elaborated on Wales in the first place was unusual—he had never done so before. Negi thought that was important, but he didn't know how.
Negi stepped forwards. "A pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-san," Negi said, holding out his hand.
"No need to be so formal, just call me Naruto," Naruto said. He couldn't stand to be called by his family name—mostly because there wasn't any family to go with it. He extended his own hand, but it made only the briefest of contacts with Negi's before he pulled it back. He thought he withheld the wince well—he didn't like being touched. "Nice to meet you!"
When he was in the Academy, Naruto had never really had the opportunity to talk to the other children—from day one, they had avoided him. And there wasn't anyone around him in Tanzaku. He had never actually said those words to someone before.
It felt… strange. But not unpleasant.
Takahata nodded approvingly. "I hope the two of you feel the same later, because you'll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future." He held his tongue for a moment as both the boys looked at one another with quizzical expressions, wondering what he had meant. "Negi-kun, Naruto is going to be the new assistant teacher."
Naruto stared blankly at Takahata. He was certain he hadn't heard correctly. "I'm… excuse me?"
"You are going to be an assistant teacher," Takahata said, speaking slowly and with clearly defined words so that Naruto had no chance of misinterpreting them.
Naruto was dumbstruck. He was only—well, not old enough to teach! He hadn't even completed the Academy, how the hell was he supposed to teach someone?
"B-but Takamichi, the Headmaster said that I was doing well!" Negi stammered, sounding as confused as Naruto felt. "I don't need an assistant to teach Class 3-A—"
Wait, what? This kid was a teacher?!
Naruto could see that Negi was getting upset, but Takahata spoke before he could build up any steam. "The Headmaster has full faith in your abilities as a teacher, particularly after you managed to help 2-A achieve the highest grade in the school."
It was startling how much Takahata's soft-spoken voice affected Negi. Naruto was reminded of Ayame and the Hokage, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy that he ruthlessly stomped down moments after it arose.
Negi, calmer after Takahata's intervention, said, "Then why do I need an assistant teacher? No offense to Uzumaki-s-san—" Negi stuttered as Naruto glared at him. "I-I mean, Naruto-san."
"I told you already, call me Naruto!" Naruto scowled at Takahata and Negi. He wasn't too fond of formality, either. "What's up with Negi being a teacher, anyways? He can't be older than eleven!"
"I'm ten," Negi said, as though that made all the difference.
"Fine, he's ten then! I mean, I haven't even finished the Academy—I don't know how to teach a class. That's—that's—" Naruto struggled to find a word to describe how uncomfortable the idea of a child teacher was.
"Bizarre? Peculiar? Disconcerting?" Negi offered.
"Uh… right. One of those."
Negi looked like he would reply, but Takahata's soft laughter stopped him before the words left his mouth. "I'm sure this must seem strange to you, Naruto-kun. I admit, it's rather abnormal to have people so young teaching," Takahata's chuckles died down as he continued, "Extremely abnormal, actually."
"But I assure you that Negi-kun is qualified. He's actually earned a degree from Oxford. He's a genius, particularly in regards to languages. He learned Japanese in just two weeks."
"B-but Takamichi, I still don't have all the words down, and when I try to write in kanji it—"
Takahata waved off Negi's protests. "Don't be so humble, Negi-kun. Be proud of what you've done—it was a truly amazing feat. You've achieved an admirable rapport with the girls already. And that, I think, is the most important sign that you are doing well.
One of the passersby bumped into Negi, who nearly knocked Naruto over. The number of people in the intersection was increasing—Naruto couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with so many others around him.
Takahata must have noticed—or perhaps he was simply feeling crowded as well. Regardless of which it was, his next words relieved Naruto. "Perhaps we should head inside? There's a small tea shop nearby, where we could talk without there being so many people."
At Negi and Naruto's agreement, Takahata lead the two of them aside. Naruto had never seen multiple stores being in a single building before—at home, each business stood as its own establishment. As they entered the homey little store, he was struck by the herbal scent that pervaded the store. Plants abounded, with a piece of greenery on each table and pots of them lining the windows. A small old lady stood behind the counter—as they entered, bells attached to the door ringing, she pulled a leaf from a nearby plant and began to grind it in a small mortar and pestle set upon the counter.
When the old lady greeted them, it was with a voice that was wispy and quivery with age. Takahata said something quiet to her in return before leading them to a table set a short distance from the entryway.
Naruto gave Negi an aside glance as they set down. So he was a 'genius'? Naruto didn't like to set stock in such things. He remembered the ones from the Academy—they had been rude and arrogant. Negi, on the other hand, seemed considerably less so. Naruto didn't know how long it would last, though.
"So why am I becoming a—a teacher?" Naruto said. He didn't try to hide his disgust and horror at that terrifying word. "I don't know anything about anything about… about… all of this!" he said, waving his arm at the world. Naruto didn't like admitting that. Saying you didn't know how to do something showed weakness, and people could take advantage of that. He didn't know how different it would be here at this… school…, though. It had been true in the Academy, though, so he didn't think here would be much of a change.
Takahata acknowledged what Naruto said with a tilt of his head. "So you had mentioned when we spoke earlier. However, that's why you're the assistant teacher. You won't be giving lessons. You're job will for the most part be to help Negi-kun with his duties—watching over tests, grading exams, carrying messages to other teachers, and other busywork. The most you'll ever have to do is substitute for Negi-kun if he gets sick. You'll also be assisting some of the other teachers, but primarily Negi-kun."
"That sounds boring."
"Perhaps." Takahata sounded like he knew something that Naruto didn't, and that something was absolutely hilarious. "But the Headmaster will give you regular paychecks, and also provide for room and board."
Naruto's eyes lit up at that. He probably should have figured that out earlier, but he honestly hadn't considered that he was actually going to be paid. And if they were also giving him a place to sleep and… a piece of wood (he didn't know what the board was for. Maybe the room leaked?), then doing something so boring all day would be worth it. Maybe he could sleep through it? After all, watching over a classroom couldn't be all that hard.
Negi, who had been listening to their conversion silently, leaned forwards to give his own opinion on the matter. "I can understand Naruto-s… Naruto helping the other teachers—I'm certain with them teaching so many classes it must be quite difficult—but I only teach third year English. I don't think I need the help."
"You may not think so," Takahata said, "but you're going to need the help soon. You've shown great dedication as a teacher—both myself and the Headmaster are very proud of you." Negi beamed at the praise. "However, your own studies in magic have declined because of this."
Negi's tea spewed from his mouth as he did a spit-take. "Wh-what did you say?" Negi squeaked. His eyes widened to the size of softballs. "M-magic? Th-th-that's ridiculous!" he said in the most unconvincing way imaginable. Negi's hands shook as he began to wipe away the tea on the table with a napkin.
Naruto snickered. Negi's reaction was hilarious—he was practically vibrating, and his face… Naruto's stomach hurt from trying to keep from laughing. How was this kid supposed to keep a secret?
"He already knows about magic, Negi-kun. You didn't think I would talk about magic in front of a mundane, did you?" Takahata sounded amused.
Negi was quick to reply. "N-no! Of course I don't think that! I just—just didn't think, that's all." The old lady at the counter steadily crushed tea leaves, the quiet grinding sound regular and repetitious. "What about the shop owner?"
"She's the tsukumogami of that pestle over there. Aside from making tea, she also sells herbal medicine and some minor potions. This place is quite popular with the mages, actually—she makes all her tea herself, and there's just always an extra touch to the flavor that normal people or mages just can't quite imitate."
Negi nodded appreciatively, but Naruto didn't get what was so great about it. Tea was tea, wasn't it? It tasted good and was a nice drink, but he didn't think it really mattered apart from that. He did wonder why the old baa-san hadn't come to get their order. Maybe they didn't do that in this world? Not that he had a lot of experience in this sort of restaurant
"Takamichi, I know what you said, and I can see why you said it." Negi looked down at the table. Naruto thought he looked dejected, but when Negi's face rose again his eyes were determined. "I have been giving a great deal of focus to my class, but they hardly deserve less! If anything, I haven't been giving them enough—there are so many students I still don't know very well. As a teacher, aren't I supposed to do everything I can to learn about and support my students?"
The look in Negi's eyes surprised Naruto. He seemed so passionate about teaching. Naruto was impressed—he didn't know people his age could feel like that. The Sage knew there was nothing he was so devoted to.
Maybe this whole 'teaching' thing wouldn't be so bad after all.
"I don't know exactly what Negi's talking about, but if he's a teacher isn't he supposed to do all that?" Naruto knew he wasn't saying anything Negi hadn't, but he didn't want to be left out of the conversation. It sounded important. "At the Academy there were a lot of instructors, but the only one who really taught me anything was Iruka-sensei. The others spent all their time with the most promising students, but Iruka-sensei tried to help everyone in the class. That's the best sort of teacher, right?" Naruto's attention was focused on Takahata, so he missed the sidelong glance Negi sent his way.
Naruto hadn't known why at the time—he thought it might have been because they were playing favorites. They had the students they knew, and focused on teaching them. He knew a couple other students fell through the cracks too, and probably wouldn't ever get to become ninja. He knew better now, of course—they had ignored him because of the fox. But Naruto thought he still had a point.
Takahata's eyes widened as Naruto defended Negi and his teaching. "That's not what I was trying to say at all!" Takahata said, trying to sooth the ruffled feelings. "As I said before, I'm very proud of how you've developed as a teacher, and so young as well. But you can't deny that you haven't been able to devote very much time to studying your magic."
Negi's spirited look faded as the conversation moved to a topic that he knew was true. "I-I admit that I haven't done as much work to becoming a full mage as I used to, but there's always so much to do…"
The look Takahata gave Negi was sympathetic. "I understand, I truly do. That's precisely why I know that you need Naruto-kun's help. With him able to shoulder some of the workload, you'll be able to practice more." A teasing grin crossed Takahata's face. "And perhaps put a little time into finding yourself a Ministra!"
Negi blushed. The pactio with Asuna-san was something he hadn't mentioned to Takahata. He thought he would talk about it in person, but now that the subject came up he found he couldn't force the words out.
Naruto, however, felt annoyed. "So what'll I do? Negi gets to learn to be a wizard, but I don't get a teacher?" He felt like an idiot as soon as the words left his mouth. Of course they couldn't do anything for him—no one here even knew about chakra energy!
"But—couldn't you learn to do magic too?" Negi asked. "I thought you were a mage. If you can't do that, you could at least practice perfecting your chi…"
Takahata shook his head. "Naruto-kun cannot use either magic or chi. It's just not possible for him."
Negi gaped at Takahata. "But—how does he know about magic? I didn't think anyone was supposed to know about magic if they aren't involved with it!" Naruto had no idea how hypocritical the comment was, but Negi blushed as soon as he said it. "Is he someone's Minister Magi?
"Not at all." Takahata shook his head. "He knows about it because it played a major part in him coming here. He, however, uses another power, called 'chakra'. We don't know much about it, but it was commonly used by the people in his world."
The old lady came, holding a platter with three servings of tea in small cups. Naruto looked down at his cup—smaller than he thought it would be. "Takamichi, aren't we supposed to order first? And what's with the tiny tea? I don't think it will last more than a few sips."
The old lady answered, much to his surprise. She hadn't spoken to anyone but Takamichi since they came in, and he hadn't heard what words she said. "I always know what tea is best for you, boy—always. If you come in sad, I know what will make you feel better—come in happy, and I know what teas will let you stay that way. This is all you need."
Naruto was a little freaked out by the old lady. Her eyes saw too much, and they shone with a light that he found rather creepy. And she was a tsukumogami, too… Naruto had thought Takahata was joking around when he said that—youkai weren't real, after all!
But this lady was one. He knew it. The small voice in his head that said things like 'don't jump off the cliff!' or 'don't prank the Anbu!' or 'don't try to take apart the bee hive to get the honey!' told him that he should run. But Naruto didn't listen to that voice very often—he just cowered in his chair.
Spirits were scary. And he'd be damned if he didn't have a very, very good reason to know that.
Takahata and Negi looked at Naruto's fearful reaction to a rather harmless spirit in bewilderment. The tsukumogami however, chuckled. It was an odd sound—like a wispy and airy form of belly-shaking laughter. She withdrew into the back of the shop, still quietly laughing.
"Are you alright?" Concern colored Negi's voice as he stood to check on Naruto.
Naruto looked up at Negi, his eyes darting around wildly. "Y-yeah. She's just… scary. Spirits are scary"
Takahata and Negi sweatdropped. The lady was odd, yeah, but she wasn't even remotely threatening. If he reacted like that to just a tsukumogami… Negi decided to keep Evangeline and Naruto as far apart as possible.
"Takamichi, you said Naruto was from… another world? That can't be possible, can it?" Negi asked, trying to pull the conversation back to a more important topic. "I mean, I've read essays on the subject when I was back home, but there was never any serious discussion that one actually, feasibly existed—for there to be another, with human beings—not an alien planet light-eons away—is… is…"
Negi trailed off without finishing the sentence, a stunned expression on his face. Naruto could sympathize. His stunned expression changed more quickly than Naruto would of have expected, though, taking on a more focused and thoughtful mien.
"The Headmaster was also of that opinion. However, it is undeniable that he is, in fact, from someplace we have never heard of. Even his language is different—he only knows Japanese because he somehow began to understand it when I was halfway through a sentence."
Negi turned to Naruto. "How did you do that?" Negi asked, curiosity making his words come out almost more quickly than Naruto could follow "There's been a lot of work into trying to learn languages through magic, but there hasn't been anything conclusive—they can speed the process, but there has only ever been one good translation spell, and that only works for Latin."
"I already told Takamichi that I don't know, alright!" Naruto snapped. "I went into some weird water, and woke way up on that 'World Tree' thing. I don't know this place, I don't know how I could speak your stupid language, and I don't know I don't know how! So would you all just stop asking?"
As he spoke, his volume rose. Didn't anyone get that he did not know what happened? Couldn't they stop with the questions? He had told Takahata so much… more than he had ever told anyone, things that he didn't ever want anyone to know. Wasn't that enough?
By the end of Naruto's sentence he was shouting. His voice rasped—he wasn't used to speaking so much, let alone yelling. He hadn't meant to do that. Negi practically fell over himself apologizing. Takahata, however, frowned. Naruto flinched from his gaze, dropping his eyes to the table.
"I—I'm sorry, I had no idea! Just showing up in another place like that must be stressful—I, I mean, I'm terribly sorry," Negi said, stumbling as he tried to respond.
Now Negi was making him feel bad. "It's fine. I just… overreacted." An uncomfortable silence fell, with either of the two able to find a topic to talk about.
"Where am I supposed to sleep tonight?" Naruto abruptly asked. He was careful to keep his voice down, but even he could hear the contriteness in his voice. He didn't like it. "You brought me to your apartment earlier, but I don't think I should stay the night there. You said this Headmaster guy would let me have a room?"
Takahata scratched the stubble on his chin. "If I remember correctly, room 665 has only one resident, and it was built for two. The Headmaster said you could stay in that one for the time being."
Light shined off of Negi's small glasses as he pushed them higher on his nose. "But that's… isn't that her room? I think we should discuss it with her before we just put her and Naruto together." Negi sounded slightly affronted.
Takahata chuckled. "Still annoyed at the Headmaster for putting you with your roommates without asking you? You can't deny that it worked out well." Negi blushed as he nodded in agreement. Takahata's gaze took in both of the boys before him. "The Headmaster might seem odd at times—particularly when it involves his granddaughter—but he is a shrewd judge of character. Naruto, you'll be meeting him briefly before classes start—but I doubt meeting you in person would change his mind. He already knows who you are, and that is enough for him to know where to put you." Takahata left unsaid that the Headmaster had chosen to put him in that room based on the number of syllables in his name. What he said was true, after all—just not why the Headmaster had chosen that room.
Naruto didn't particularly care about why he got a certain room, or even what room it was. What was important was what Negi had said. "I'm going to have roommates?!" Naruto didn't want to sleep in a room with someone else! His sleeping space had always been his and his alone—even if the orphanage he had a room separate from everyone else's. "I-I can't go to sleep with someone else there. You'll have to put me someplace else."
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Takahata said. "That is the only room available to you right now. I'm leaving soon—you won't be able to stay at my apartment, because it wards itself when I go on trips. The only other option would be where you were sleeping before I found you." The reference to him sleeping on whatever soft object he could find in the garbage and alleyways brought a scowl to Naruto's face.
The comment went completely over the head of Negi, who was quick to chime in with his own support of room 665, citing his student's honesty and integrity as reasons for Naruto to room there. Pressured on both sides, Naruto conceded.
Negi smiled when Naruto agreed. "That's wonderful! I live on the same floor, at the end of the hall. Most of the class does, actually. I can show you there now, if you would like."
Naruto nodded. "Fine. I'll go to your stupid room. But don't expect me to like it." Naruto lifted his teacup to his lips for a final taste. Inches from his lips, he stopped. He didn't feel like having any more—anxiety was making his stomach roil, even worse than it normally did when he talked to other people. He did not want to have to sleep with someone else there. Something bad was going to happen, he just knew it. He set the teacup down, and stood to follow Naruto from the room.
As he stood up, he noticed that his teacup, as well as Negi's and Takahata's, was empty. The old lady had made the exact amount of tea that he had ended up drinking. Naruto felt a cold chill run down his back. He backed away from the table, eager to leave the place as soon as possible.
As he began to leave, movement from the back of the store caught his eye. The old lady, who hadn't been there a moment ago, was standing not ten feet away, looking at him with those strange eyes of hers. Cracked lips opened, and the old lady whispered a word that Naruto didn't know the meaning of. Even so, he fled from the building to wait across the street for Takahata and Negi, and dived into their conversation with a gusto he hadn't shown earlier, eager to do something to forget the old lady.
Particularly that word she had said. He didn't know the meaning of it, and didn't think he wanted to. It sounded ominous in a way he didn't fully understand, and with him lost in another world, that was the last thing he wanted. He silently swore to never go near the shop again—perhaps if he stayed away, he wouldn't get involved with her.
And that strange, frightening word.
"Jinchuuriki."
The night was young, and the moon had only breached the sky a short time ago. The stars glittered in the sky, shedding their dim light over the streets of Mahora. It always amazed Asakura that the night sky was so brilliant and clear here, even when the streetlights should by all rights have hidden the stars from view.
A speckled grey cat crossed the street, mewling plaintively as it stumbled across the pavement. Asakura Kazumi would have bet ten lunch tickets it was the same one Chachamaru had rescued last week—and the week before that, and maybe even the one before that, as well. Its owner really should keep better care of it, she thought.
Asakura crouched down on the pavement, extending her hand for the cat to smell. However, the feline turned away from her with a yowl and darted back into an alley. She couldn't help but snicker as she saw it dart under a trashbin. Maybe the smell would teach it not to turn away from the magnificent Asakura!
'Although I think Sempai belongs there more than that cat does. He doesn't have much better an opinion of me.' Asakura chuckled ruefully as the pushed herself from the cold concrete to her feet. She hadn't meant to be out so late, but one of the older students from the Newspaper Club had asked her out.
The boy had been a foreigner, from someplace in Europe. Even though he had a horrifically thick accent, he had been sweet, and was helpful to the students new to the club. So when he had skimped out on her date at the last minute, leaving her alone at the coffeeshop in her best clothes… well, it had hurt. She had a crush on her sempai for more than a year, and he pushed her away like that?
It wasn't like she wasn't attractive. She got plenty of compliments over her hairstyle—red hair pulled back into her spiky sprawl wasn't something just anyone could pull off, and her figure was ranked fourth in the class!
Her lips curved into a feral grin, causing the few pedestrians out so late to carefully edge around her. He might have skimped out on the date, but there was no way she was going to let him get away with it. She was helping Misaki with her dating article anyways, so it shouldn't be too hard to slip in a few subtle jabs into it.
"Asakura-chan!"
Asakura turned towards the call to see some of her classmates jogging towards her. She smirked at the sight of the cheerleaders—they had obviously just gone shopping, as the piles of bags heaped upon poor Madoka showed. It was hard not to laugh at her when only her short-cropped black hair was sticking up over the bags.
"Gone shopping again Sakurako? I thought you spent all your allowance on food tickets," Asakura said.
Sakurako giggled. She always seemed to be laughing or smiling, although with her luck who wouldn't be? Her orange hair was tied up into two short tails higher up, and in two short braids sticking out past the nape of her neck. "Yeah! But then I bet on the high schooler's dodgeball game, and got it all back!" She waved her hands in Madoka's direction, who moaned under the sheer weight of her load. "We went to the mall to celebrate."
Asakura didn't think Madoka would have gone if she knew she'd be carrying everything Sakurako and Kakizaki would get. She knew she wouldn't have.
"And we must have gone to absolutely every store there. My feet are killing me," complained Kakizaki—she always did prefer to be called by her family name. Pink-lavender hair trailed down her back. Madoka growled from under the trembling tower of bags she carried. "Although I found something particularly nice in the bookstore." Kakizaki reached out to pluck an object from the middle of Madoka's burden.
"You got The Tale of Genji?" Asakura stared at the book in Kakizaki's hands, although her gaze kept sliding towards Madoka. "I thought you hated those sorts of old books. You said they were 'stuffy'." The bags in Madoka's arms were beginning to tilt precariously to the left, something the other two-thirds of the cheerleading trio didn't notice.
The collapse of the mountain of goods cut off her attempt to explain, burying the cheerleaders under a pile of bags and boxes. Kakizaki's voice emerged from underneath it. "M-Madoka, you idiot!" Bags shifted as she moved to a sitting position. "What the hell did you drop it for?"
Asakura edged away from the group as Madoka pulled herself from the pile. "Me? Who was it who thought we should go alone this time! Without your boyfriend to carry anything, we—"
"Oh, come on! You're stronger than he is anyways, there's no way you'd fall over under just that much."
"What?!" Madoka's husky voice rose to a point just shy of shrieking. "Are you saying that I'm—I'm manly?!" Asakura winced as her usually deep voice hit a particularly high note. There weren't many things that the cheerleaders actually got in fights over, but Madoka's voice (and her complex over it) was one of them.
It only degenerated from there. Madoka and Kakizaki carried on the argument, as usual, often completely misinterpreting what the other said, while Sakurako futilely tried to mollify her best friends, adding more fuel to the fire as she did so. Asakura tried to interject, but was pushed aside each time she did so. A crowd began to grow, attracted by the possibility of a catfight.
It was almost impossible for anything to get between the cheerleader's friendship, and it was just as difficult to get between their arguments. In fact, there existed only one person who was actually capable of such a deed…
"Kakizaki! Kugimiya!"
It was amazing how those two words caused Kakizaki and Madoka to immediately stop fighting when the combined efforts of Sakurako and Asakura had accomplished nothing. Passersby stopped walking at the imperious tone and turned to watch the owner of that voice stalk towards the troublemaking duo.
"C-Class Rep!" Madoka stuttered as she stood at attention. "We were just, well, you know—"
"Practicing!" Kakizaki finished. "For Drama Club."
Asakura facepalmed. 'You do know who you're speaking to, right? Class Rep knows all your extracurriculars already. Even for you that was a stupid excuse.'
"A pathetic excuse!" barked Yukihiro Ayaka, Class Representative of Class 3-A, unknowingly mirroring her classmate's thoughts. "Arguing like that in public, were anyone can see you—you are behaving like children!"
Sakurako pushed herself forwards to stand by her friends, ignoring the growing crowd that gathered to watch the debacle. "But—"
"'But' nothing, Shiina!" Sakurako ducked her head, a motion quickly imitated by the other cheerleaders. "I can't believe you—having a fight the day before we get a new teacher!" Ayaka refused to permit her to get in the way of her lecture. She could be overbearing like that sometimes. "What will he think if the first thing he hears about our class is that we behave like this?"
Asakura hadn't heard anything about there being a new teacher. She frowned—no gossip, no rumor, was supposed to elude her.
"A new teacher?" Kakizaki asked, voicing the unasked question running through everyone's head. "Why do we need a new teacher—I thought we could keep Negi-sensei when we got first place in the exams." She sounded dismayed, and looked the same.
Asakura could sympathize—she didn't want their sensei to leave either! After all the work he put into helping them pass the finals, for him get sent away would just be too much.
Besides, almost half of the articles she had worked on last semester had been about their child-teacher.
Her fears were allayed when the class rep shook her head. "He's not being replaced. How could anyone replace our mature and handsome Negi-sensei?" A dreamy look entered the Class Rep's eyes as she spoke, and she sighed happily. Sakurako, Madoka, and Kakizaki, their argument forgotten, snickered at Ayaka's hopeless and obvious crush. The sound pulled her from her reverie, and Ayaka glared at the cheerleaders for their impertinence before continuing.
"No, our new teacher isn't going to replace Negi-sensei. He's supposed to be an assistant teacher, actually—he's mostly going to do all the boring work for Negi-sensei."
Madoka's brow furrowed. "But Negi-sensei never seems to have any real trouble—I mean, most of his time is spent on us. He can't need a helper already."
Considering that the class he taught was 3-A, Asakura thought that it actually took a lot more work than Madoka gave credit for.
"It's because of his studies, actually," said the class rep. "Poor Negi-sensei has selflessly devoted himself to teaching us, and in so doing has neglected his own learning for our sake." Ayaka pulled a tissue from a pocket of her uniform to wipe the developing tears from her eyes.
Asakura perked up at Ayaka's statement. Sensei… is still learning?
But if he was, what would he have to take lessons in? Negi-sensei spoke Japanese so well he hardly had an accent, and she could have sworn he greeted Kū Fei in Chinese the other day. And he knew all the other subjects well enough that he actually managed to get the Baka Rangers to pass their tests (a commendation if she had ever heard one). He already had a job—one he seemed to like, too, and the entire class knew about how he had already graduated from university.
If he already knew so much, then what exactly was their sensei studying?
Ayaka looked around people that had gathered about the group. Now that the fight was over, and the entertainment gone, they had begun to drift away. She frowned as her eyes grazed over the crowd. "I don't know what he looks like, but none of the people here seem like they'd be teachers. At least he would have to see your embarrassment in person."
The cheerleaders, who had obviously hoped their argument had been forgotten, collectively cringed. Ignoring them, Ayaka turned to Asakura. "Do you know where Zazie-san is? Other than the girls working at the Chao Bao Zi, she's the only one I haven't told about the new teacher."
Asakura closed her eyes to focus on class schedules. As the great paparazzi of 3-A, she had of course memorized what classes and clubs her classmates were in. This late, the only actual club active would be the Astronomy Club. Zazie was only involved in the Magic and Acrobatic Clubs, so she should have been in her dorm—that's where she typically spent her time. She wasn't exactly a social butterfly.
'Come to think of it, wasn't Zazie involved in something else? Not a club, but something related to that.' Asakura frowned as she tried to remember what it was Zazie was involved in. 'Nightmare Something-Or-Other'.
Nothing came to mind, and the thought soon slipped away from her. Asakura shrugged, and addressed Ayaka, saying, "She should be in her dorm already. How long ago did you check on her? I think practice for the Acrobatics Club ended an hour ago, so she ought to be easy enough to find."
Ayaka covered her mouth as she gasped. "I-I completely forgot about that!" Her hand raised to her forehead as a moan of despair slipped through her lips. "How could I have forgotten? To not know when my own classmate is busy—to neglect her simply because she so rarely speaks up!" Tears began to gather in her eyes as she berated herself.
Asakura sighed. Of all the people to be class representative, did they have to have one so melodramatic? 'Well, I suppose it could be worse—at least Class Rep tries. Some of our other classmates could have been far worse.' She shuddered an errant image of a 3-A represented by Hakase ran through her head—she was quite fond of all her limbs remaining in their place, thank you very much!
"Maybe I could go tell her for you?" Asakura suggested, hoping to get Ayaka moving on before she really got into her theatrics. "You could head over to tell Satsuki and the others." When Ayaka didn't immediately respond, she added, "If you're done quicker, you might be able to see Negi-sensei before he takes a bath. I think I heard Asuna talking earlier today about how she was going to force him into one tonight."
As expected, the Class Rep's reaction was immediate and enthusiastic. She hardly even said goodbye before she ran off. Asakura could only shake her head at Ayaka's obsession.
Catching sight of her classmates slipping off, Asakura was quick to reach out and grab two of them by the backs of their necks. "Hold it, you three!" A quiet whimper escaped Sakurako. "Come with me and we'll talk a bit, shall we?" Despite how it was phrased, Asakura's tone of voice made it clear it was not a request.
The trio of cheerleaders quickly grabbed their bags and fell into step behind Asakura as she walked towards the dormitories. "Didn't you three learn from the last time? What made you think have Madoka carry everything was a good idea?"
"But—come on, Asakura-chan! Madoka's stronger than me and Kakizaki combined, and we've all gone shopping for longer without problems!"
"Ha! You might have shopped for longer, but you sure didn't buy as much. I don't think I've ever seen the two of you hold more than three or four bags each. How many was Madoka carrying?" Asakura didn't turn when she addressed them, and kept her pace brisk.
The cheerleaders hurried to keep up with Asakura, each carrying as much of the fallen goods as they could, which was certainly more than she had ever seen them carrying. When they spoke, it was in a mumble— Asakura couldn't make out exactly what they said, but that didn't matter. She could tell they were feeling browbeaten by their tone of voice, and how they felt about it was more important than what they said.
"Exactly. Maybe next time we should make you carry them all, Kakizaki. Or maybe Sakurako feels tough enough to handle them." Asakura looked at them over her shoulder, and was pleased to see the two leaders of the cheerleading group turn pale. They passed through the doorway into the dorm, which Asakura used as an opportunity to dismiss them. "Go on, all of you. I didn't think you'd get into this sort of trouble again after the last time. You should be glad Class Rep is probably too busy to report this."
Thoroughly berated, the cheerleaders slunk away, figurative tails tucked between their legs. Asakura was relieved this was solved so easily—when the cheerleaders got in trouble, they usually ended up making everyone else in class feel bad too. She was only glad that she remembered some of the speeches Ayaka had given them before—hopefully it would be as effective in deterring trouble as the one she had given had been.
As she approached Zazie's room, Asakura was surprised to find the girl she was looking for appear by her side. She hadn't even noticed Zazie approach.
"Zazie, mind if I talk to you for a moment?"
Zazie Rainyday stopped in front of her door. Her dark skin and light, almost silver, hair made a startling contrast. The tattoos around her eyes—the crescent-like slash crossing her right and the teardrop under her left—only added to her exotic appearance.
"…," she said, tilting her head to the side.
Asakura gave a wan smile, and sincerely hoped that meant 'yes'. "We're getting a new teacher tomorrow, to help Sensei with his job. Class Rep sent me to tell you about it so you'd know."
Zazie nodded. "…"
'Why is Class Rep never around when we need to talk to Zazie, anyways? She's the only one who knows what she's saying.' Asakura silently wondered why she had actually volunteered to speak to the least talkative member of Class 3-A in the first place.
"Well, just so you know." Asakura didn't dislike Zazie—they had been in the same class for years, and they got along well enough—but that didn't change the fact that her classmate could be seriously creepy at times.
Relieved that she had given the message, Asakura began to head to her room as Zazie entered her own. When she heard Zazie gasp, however, she turned back.
"What's wrong?" Asakura asked as she looked to see what had caused her classmate to be startled. The door to her room was open, and Zazie stood stiff-backed as she pointed into the dark room.
Her room was shrouded in shadow—the only light that could be seen was that which shined in from the opened door. But the light was sufficient to see onto the couch in her room, illuminating what had caused Zazie to actually make noise.
"Zazie?"
"…?"
"Why do you have a half-naked blond boy on your couch?"
Author's Note:
Wow, you read all the way to this point? Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.
I know that in the manga, Eva and Negi met after their battle on accident, but I think that Negi, at least, would try to sit down and talk with her afterwards, so their meeting is intentional here.
If you have any questions to ask, or suggestions to make, please don't hesitate to ask it in a review. I try to respond to everyone who reviews the story (if I can respond, that is… I can't reply to an anonymous review).
"-San" isn't exactly formal by Japanese standards (it is used pretty much everywhere, from what I can tell), but to Naruto even that little bit is too much. He's fine with an affectionate honorific like "–kun", though.
I had some references to magical items or creatures here, so I thought I would try to explain where they came from, and their origins. I'm trying to research what I'm doing with this story, so I hope to have a lot of the items and spells have some historic or mythological basis. Not everything can be explained in-story without sounding painfully forced, so I'm taking my cue from Ken Akamatsu's own Lexicon Negimarium, which I think are the most awesome things ever.
Οἴνος Τοû Ἀλήθειας Potion: "Oinos Tou Aletheias" is how it is pronounced. In many cultures across the world, alcohol is considered to induce truthfulness. The Teutons (referring to the Germanic people during the Roman era, as opposed to the Teuton tribe), for example, were known to drink wine during councils, due to the belief that one could not lie well while drunk. Although languages across the world have similar proverbs, two of the most well known (in the Western world) would probably be "in vino veritas", a Latin phrase originating from Pliny the Elder, and "en oino aletheia", a phrase attributed Alcaeus, a Greek poet. Both of these approximately translate to "in wine [there is the] truth". "Oinos tou aletheias" means "wine of truth"—the process of making the potion grants a liquid the truth-telling properties associated with wine. Despite the name, the potion given to Naruto does not actually have any alcohol in it; wine is not actually required for the potion to work—however, Evangeline did previously put wine in the potion, which would be the incident referred to in Chapter Two.
I chose to use "Oino Tou Aletheias" rather than the Latin equivalent because 'potion' is a word of Greek origin. Also—Greek is a horrible, evil language. However, if you have spotted a mistake in my use of it, please tell me.
Chakra: The concept of 'chakra' trace back as far as the later Upanishads (ancient philosophical texts of the Hindu religion), such as the Yoga Kundalini Upanishad. Different systems of chakra exist, but in the West the most well known would be to describe chakra as centers of energy located vertically along the body. There are seven major chakras, the Crown Chakra (Sahasrara), Brow Chakra (Ajna), Throat Chakra (Vishuddha), Heart Chakra (Anahata), Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura), Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana), and Base Chakra (Muladhara), as well as many minor chakras. Each of these chakras have a different meaning, and to have these in balance is to have balance both physically and spiritually. They distribute prana (life force) throughout the body through pathways called 'nadis' or 'meridians'.
It is easy to so how this chakra and the chakra of Naruto are similar, and how they are different; the concept of having focal points that distribute energy through pathways in the body makes it quite obvious that Masashi Kishimoto was inspired by this chakra in making his own; even so, one can also see they are distinctly different; one an energy, the other locations. However, the form of chakra most prevalent in this story will be that of the shinobi, not that of the yogi or yogini (male or female practitioner of yoga).
The Book of Melusedek/Melchizedek: I believe that 'Melusedek' is actually a mistake of the translators. The official translation (the original first volume, not the omnibus) gives the name 'Melusedek', and the scanlation I read to compare it to says "Merkisedek". One might notice that both of these names are similar to the name "Melchizedek", a figure mentioned as the King of Salem and priest to God in both the Old and New Testaments, in the Second Book of Enoch, and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. As Melchizedek is also mentioned at the back of the second volume of the manga, I am referring to the book as that of Melchizedek (I don't know why they say Melchizedek in one place, and Melusedek in another in the same volume). The Negima Volume 1 Omnibus uses yet another name, Melchisedech.
Kraken: The Kraken is a monster from Norse mythology. The legend almost certainly originated from sightings of real-life giant squid, and the myth simply grew with time. Kraken are typically described as giant squids large enough to sink a ship by themselves; some myths and tales describe them as being significantly larger. For those who are unfamiliar with mythology, a kraken was not, in fact, the creature that Perseus defeated in myth; the kraken is from Norse mythology, not Greek. What he defeated was called 'Ketos', or 'Cetus', a giant whale/giant fish (incidentally, 'cetacean', the order that marine mammals such as whales and dolphins, comes from the word 'cetus'). A kraken attacking Andromeda was either a mistake, or an intentional deviance from mythology for the movie's sake.
Tsukumogami: Tsukumogami are a type of obake, shapeshifting youkai of Japanese folklore. obake is a term for any youkai that can shapeshift. A tool that has been of use for 100 years becomes alive and aware, and thus is a tsukumogami—however, they are considered to be spirits and supernatural beings, not enchanted items. They are said to be repelled by electricity, which is the reason that most modern items cannot become tsukumogami. By some stories, only well-cared for objects become Tsukumogami, while in some others it is once-love items that have been abandoned (like much of folklore, it is contradictory at times).
In this story, a tsukumogami coming into existence is a very rare occurrence in comparison to the sheer number of objects in the world—something that is necessary in the story to prevent them from popping up every direction one looks. Not every hundred-year-old item will become one.