A/N: Sorry about this being a day late, I just got back from being out of town. Enjoy…

Chapter 4) Skipping

Negi walked through the halls towards class wearily. The girls had been in the room late after their camping trip. He hadn't gotten much sleep, and to make matters worse he'd discovered this morning that someone had gone through his storehouse of magical items over the weekend. There was no telling who since Chamo had spent the weekend out on the town somewhere. One of the girls might have gotten into it last night, but there was no way of telling who or what was taken since he'd never had the chance to catalog everything he'd brought from home.

Negi sighed and decided to question the girls after school. One of them probably just went looking for some aging candy for a hot date or something.

Negi stepped into the classroom and everyone stood up. Something tickled his magical senses and he stood there for a moment scanning the faces of his class before he began taking roll.

"Yuna Akashi." Negi stated purposefully.

"Here, Negi-sensei." Yuna said sending him a quick wink and a grin.

"Kazumi Asakura." Negi said next.

"Here, sweetie." Asakura said blowing him a kiss.

"Yue Ayase." Negi said continuing.

"Here, Negi." Yue said giving him a wide smile.

Negi stopped for a moment and looked up at Yue. She was smiling back at him and batting her eyelashes. This was definitely not Yue. Negi continued with the roll until he reached Setsuna who was eyeing Yue worriedly. Negi finished the roll and quickly recited a spell under his breath.

As he then gazed over his class he saw what had touched his magical senses. Yue had been replaced by one of Setsuna's replicas. This explained why Setsuna was looking so worried, as it was pretty obvious where she had most likely acquired the doppelganger.

Negi cleared his throat and turned to Yue's double. "Yue-san, Setsuna-san, will you please come with me to the office? There's something I need to discuss with you before we begin class. The rest of you please turn to page one hundred and ninety four. Please familiarize yourselves with the passage, as I will be giving a quiz on it as soon as I return."

Various groans erupted from the class as Negi escorted the fake Yue out the door of the classroom. As soon as he was out of earshot he cancelled the spell on the fake Yue and turned to Setsuna. "I'm assuming Yue got this from you."

"Yes, Negi-sensei." Setsuna said guiltily. "She didn't tell me she was going to use it to skip class."

Negi rolled his eyes and handed the talisman to Setsuna. "Well, could you please use this to trace down where she is? I'll need to go collect her and bring her back to class." Setsuna nodded and the two of them set off.

"Are you sure about this?" Kotaro asked the tall girl.

"Certainly Kotaro, you want to make a good first impression." Kaede said smiling.

"But she already knows me." Kotaro said flatly.

"Yes, but this is your first date." Kaede pointed out.

"Hey, wait a minute who said anything about a da…" Kotaro started.

"There she is, get going." Kaede said slapping Kotaro on the rump to get him moving.

Kotaro grumbled at the smack he got across his behind from the ninja girl. What was she talking about, date. He was here to put Yue in her place and she's here making jokes. Not to mention making him get dressed up for this stupid thing. Though looking cool when he finally beats Yue at her own game did sound reasonable.

Kotaro walked up to the girl, who was in her standard uniform, wearing the slacks and dress shirt Kaede had picked out. Yue immediately noticed him as he crossed the food court to where they had agreed the previous night to meet.

"What are YOU all dressed up for?" Yue asked critically.

"Uh, Kaede thought it looked cool." Kotaro replied slightly embarrassed. He wasn't accustomed to going into battle dressed like this, but then this wasn't a conventional battle either.

Yue shook her head wearily and then looked around. "Come on, I need you for something, but I can't tell you about it here."

Kotaro was about to object when Yue grabbed him by the hand and darted off toward one of the abandoned buildings on campus.

Kotaro would have rather defeated the girl in public, but considering the unorthodox tactics that Kaede and Ku Fei had suggested he figured in private would probably be just as well. He didn't want to humiliate Yue, in a way he actually respected her, he just wanted her to see him as more than a simpleton.

Yue led him through the building to the stairs leading to the basement. She pushed her way into the barely lit room and there she released Kotaro.

"Hey squirt, why'd you bring me all the way down here?" Kotaro asked.

"I need your help." Yue said lighting a single candle.

"Help with what?" Kotaro pressed.

Yue rounded on the boy immediately. "Look, you're always going on about how strong you are, so here's a chance for you to prove it. I need some protection for what I'm about to do and you're going to provide it."

Kotaro thought it over for all of two seconds. It sounded dangerous, which immediately had his interest. However, this also left him a window of opportunity. "Alright, but afterwards you and I are going to set some things straight between us."

Yue grinned. "That sounds like a challenge."

"It is." Kotaro said aggressively.

"Alright, you help me and I'll listen to whatever it is you have to say." Yue said nodding.

Kotaro watched as she pulled a small vial out of her pocket. "So what do I have to do?"

"Keep these three off me while I cast a spell." Yue said as she suddenly pulled the cork on the bottle and cast it into a magical circle she'd drawn in the middle of the room. "Sim Tua Pars."

"What the… that's…" Kotaro said in shock.

"We're FREE!" Three small voices said as the three slimes; Ameko, Suramui, and Purin, erupted from the vial prison into which they had been sealed.

"What are you doing letting those slimes out!" Kotaro roared.

"Shut up and get to fighting while I cast this spell!" Yue shouted back.

Kotaro jumped toward the slimes without thinking. The three were halfway across the distance separating them from Yue when he reached them. Kotaro slashed forward with his claws only to have them split apart and wrap themselves around him. He grabbed two of the amoeba girls with his hands, their bodies writhing in his grip, but the third wrapped itself around his chest and began to constrict the air out of him. He had nearly lost consciousness when he heard Yue's chant.

"Promitto Hic Creatura Iussu Hic Unus Per Hic Iugum Ego Puto Ergo Ego Exsisto." Yue recited, standing outside the circle of power with her magic book hovering before her. The candle gave off an eerie blue glow for a moment and the circle of power roared to life. The three slimes immediately released Kotaro and raced for Yue. Kotaro scrambled to get to them in time, but he realized he wasn't going to make it.

"HALT!" Yue shouted holding her palms forward.

The aquatic girls immediately stopped in their tracks causing Kotaro to collide with them, or rather through them. He got up slowly, keeping himself between them and Yue.

"You bound us!" Ameko said plaintively.

"How can you be strong enough to bind us?" Purin demanded.

"I got a little boost from my teacher." Yue replied back. "You three now serve me."

"No way!" Kotaro shouted in unison with the three slimes.

"Oh yes, I looked up the spell and checked it several times. You three are now bound to me. Whatever it is I command you to do, you have to do it, understood?" Yue said imperiously.

"We've been beaten again haven't we." Suramui said looking at her 'sisters'.

"It looks like it." Ameko said in a huff.

"Man, it sucks to be us." Purin pointed out.

"I know the feeling." Kotaro groused. "I can't believe you used me just so you could go conjuring some demons. Do you have any idea what these three could have done to you?"

"Of course, that's why I brought you along." Yue pointed out.

Kotaro raised his finger to argue, but it died there. Oh yes, he was getting even with her for that one.

"Now, you three are going to get out of here." Yue commanded. "There is a bathtub in my dorm room. The three of you are going to go there and wait for me there until I come to get you."

"Yes… mistress." The three of them said grudgingly.

In an instant the three of them seeped away leaving no trace of the events that had transpired other than a damp empty basement and a lit candle that had now returned to normal.

Kotaro shook his head and looked at the diminutive mage. She was getting in over her head and he knew it. One simply didn't conjure demons and expect them to obey like pets.

"So what did you want to say to me?" Yue asked with a self-satisfied smirk.

Finally, it was too much for Kotaro to handle. He was going to wipe that smirk off her face if it was the last thing he did. He stepped forward resolutely, and as Yue opened her mouth he brought his crashing down on hers.

Kotaro didn't really know that much about how to kiss a girl since he'd never tried it before so he just opened his mouth a little pressed in close to her. She seemed to struggle for a moment and her sharp intake of breath sucked his tongue into her mouth. Yue squirmed in his hands as he held her arms and pulled her close. He had no idea if it was working, but after a moment she stopped squirming and almost seemed collapse in his arms. He quickly wrapped his arms around her to hold her up not knowing exactly how long kisses were supposed to last.

Finally Kotaro pulled back to look at the absolutely stunned look on Yue's face. Then he remembered the other things Kaede had told him. He had to say something cool. He leaned in close to Yue and looked her in the eyes just as Kaede had told him.

"You talk too much." Kotaro said in a whisper. He wasn't certain what to do next though. Yue was obviously at a loss for words and her stunned expression told him he could probably count this one as a win on his part. Just to make sure though, Kotaro leaned in and kissed her again.

"Yue!" Negi shouted. "Is THIS what you skipped my class for?"

Yue turned her head, breaking the kiss with Kotaro and looked, horrified, into the face of Negi, Setsuna, and Kaede. Her day could not POSSIBLY get any better. Negi looked shocked. Kaede's jaw was hanging open. Setsuna's eyes were about to pop out of her head.

Yue fought for air to try to speak. She'd been about to yawn since she'd been up most of the night preparing the ritual for fear that Negi might discover she'd lifted the bottle out of his horde of magical artifacts. Kotaro had plunged in and the next thing she knew she was going weak in the knees as he embraced her. Now to look up and see Negi looking at her was a nightmare beyond all nightmares.

Yue's mind raced to try to find an excuse; ANY excuse that would get her out of this predicament. If she told Negi why she was really there he would be furious with her for conjuring those demons and taking the vial. She therefore had absolutely no recourse whatsoever.

"Yes, sensei. This was why I skipped your class." Yue lied. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Since the first kiss." Kaede said stunned.

"Yue, I am SO sorry we walked in when we did." Setsuna said apologetically.

Yue felt like she was red all over. Whether it was from embarrassment or rage she couldn't tell. Negi tended to be clueless about how girls felt about him at the best of times and now he was going to be thinking she was involved with his best friend. Yue could practically see the label on Negi's forehead reading 'Property of Nodoka'.

Unfortunately things were just beginning to get worse for Yue. Kotaro, who was normally a bit slow on the uptake, was just starting to speak. "Wait, you mean you didn't come here to…"

Yue would probably regret her decision for the rest of her life, but she had no choice. If Kotaro said anything more she was going to be discovered for sure, so she did the only thing she could think to do. She grabbed his face in her hands and muffled his voice with a kiss. Kotaro was about as shocked as she was the first time when he had kissed her. Yue held him there for a moment and then released him.

"We'll talk later." Yue promised stepping away from his embrace. She then walked over to Negi. "I'll meet you after school."

Kotaro just stood there slack jawed, and nodded dumbly. Yue could almost cry. The boy was destroying her hopes of ever winning Negi away from Nodoka and she was playing right into it.

Negi nodded to Kotaro and then led the way back towards their class. Yue followed in silence, her two friends walking silently beside her. She didn't know exactly how to feel at the moment. Could Kotaro really be in love with her? He must be or else he wouldn't have just walked up and kissed her like that.

Yue stood back and looked at herself critically. Her heart was racing and she felt scared and exhilarated all at the same time. It was just like the time when…

Yue almost tripped over her own feet. It was just like how she felt when the clone of Negi had nearly kissed her. Yue suddenly wasn't feeling so good. Could she really be developing feelings for Kotaro? If she was then it was nothing more than infatuation, but then that's what she'd told herself about Negi too. She was only feeling the way she did because he was the first boy to notice her. Well, his clone had been the first one to notice her. Now it appeared that the real Negi was no closer to noticing her and Kotaro WAS. Why did life have to get so complicated?

Kotaro brought his hands up to his lips after the four of them had left. Kotaro might not be the brightest star in the heavens, but he wasn't exactly stupid either. After seeing the reactions of Negi and the girls it began to dawn on him that Kaede might not have understood his intentions toward Yue.

If she had given him advice thinking that…

Kotaro suddenly wasn't feeling so good. He had kissed Yue… on the mouth… twice. Here he was standing there in cool looking clothes like he was ready for a… oh no, that's why Kaede had called it a date. She thought he was pursuing Yue!

Of all the stupid ideas, like he could ever be involved with someone so… so… A million thoughts seemed to die in Kotaro's mind as he searched for some suitably horrible word. The only one that kept jumping up no matter how many times he tried to beat it down though was… warm.

For as long as he could remember he'd been alone in the world. He'd spent countless nights alone sleeping in forests or in the rare bed he could find. It was a miracle he was as civilized as he was. But for the first time two nights ago he'd been something he'd never been before. He'd been warm.

It was hard to explain, because he'd felt warmth, heat, fire, all of the things that made up the sensation, but Yue holding him close had made him feel funny. He felt like he was warm on the inside, and it was a new experience for him.

He'd felt it again a moment ago when he had held her up to keep her from falling. She'd almost seemed to melt into his arms. Then she had kissed him back. Could Yue actually feel something for him?

Kotaro tried to wrap his mind around the concept and failed miserably. How could she ever see anything in him? They were too different. Kotaro didn't consider himself stupid, but Yue was so intellectual and complex while he was such a simple person.

Still she had kissed him back and told him that she would talk to him later. She actually wanted to talk to him for a change. Kotaro was suddenly wondering what in the world was he going to say to Yue when he saw her after school. He had absolutely NO idea what he was going to say to her now. If she really did love him, then…

Kotaro sighed and walked out of the basement with his head aching from the effort of trying to think of what he was going to say to Yue. Why did life have to get so complicated?

"How in the world was Kotaro able to skip class like that too?" Negi said to himself as he walked through the halls towards his classroom.

"He probably used a copy of himself." Kaede said offhandedly.

"Wait a minute. Now that you mention it, you were there this morning when I took the roll." Negi said suspiciously.

"Yes, I made a copy of myself and then I went to help Kotaro on his date with Yue." Kaede said guiltily.

"It wasn't really a date." Yue said slowly.

"More like a tryst." Setsuna agreed.

"I can do without the vocabulary lesson." Yue said flatly.

"Yeah, that's my job." Negi said looking over at the two of them. "What I don't understand is how you were able to substitute a clone, and yet I didn't sense anything and yet I was able to sense Yue's paper double."

"It was because she was using chi." Setsuna offered. "Normally you wouldn't be able to sense paper doubles either as long as you remember to cover the magic with chi so that it's undetectable."

Setsuna looked at Negi. Negi knew his look was probably quite irate at that moment as she suddenly slapped her own forehead. "Not that I have ever done it sensei!"

"Just how many different ways have you girls figured out for using magic to skip my class?" Negi asked hotly.

"Eva uses illusions." Setsuna said slowly. She was hanging her head.

"At least SHE knows how to speak English!" Negi said hotly. "So EXACTLY how often are we talking about?"

"Not that often!" Kaede said miserably.

"Only when Mana and I have an important job to do." Setsuna confessed.

"Mana too?" Negi asked incensed. "How many of you girls are actually IN my class on a given day? How many of you have been skipping? Confess now or I swear I'm going to give you a test so hard that you'll ALL be in the Baka Rangers!"

"Hakase uses a hologram." Kaede admitted.

"Chao used an android look-alike." Setsuna continued.

Negi glowered at his girls and wondered what to do next. Finally he just sighed. "That's it, no more skipping. If you have important jobs to do that are cleared by the headmaster then bring me a note explaining your absence. From now on I'm going to use my magic to make sure none of you girls are loose and around campus when you should be studying."

Negi was fit to be tied. He was definitely going to have to have a talk with Mana and Hakase. He had always wondered where Chao had found time for building such a large robot army. Apparently, now he knew. Several rather nasty test questions came to mind as he brooded on his way back to the classroom. As he neared it he could hear the girls chatting inside and it was apparent not a lot of studying was going on.

Negi stalked up to the door. He already had his magic prepared as he hit the trip wire. Suction arrows flew through the air only to be caught in his palm and he deftly caught the bucket before it hit the ground. He sat the offending items on the ground and then motioned for Yue and Setsuna. The two came into the class and quickly took their seats.

"Kaede-san, can I see you in the hall for a moment?" Negi asked.

The clone nodded and joined him in the hall. Kaede dismissed her clone and then went back to her seat. Negi was just about to re-enter the room when he stopped. Shizuna-sensei came walking down the hall towards his classroom and her face did not look pleasant.

"Is something wrong, Shizuna-sensei?" Negi asked alarmed.

"Negi-sensei, the headmaster wishes to see you immediately. He says it is very urgent." Shizuna said worriedly.

"What is it about?" Negi asked getting more worried by the moment.

"I don't know. He hasn't told me, and that is rather unusual." Shizuna confessed.

"Alright." Negi turned to his class. "Change of plans girls. I have to meet with the headmaster. I want all of you to write me a paragraph, in English, explaining the passage you just read. Please give it to Shizuna-sensei before you leave."

The accumulated groan rose from the class as Negi quietly shut the door and headed towards the headmaster's office. There were times when Negi really hated being slightly psychic. It was the worst of both worlds. You always knew when something bad was about to happen, but you had no more idea what was going to happen than anyone else.