Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha created and own Mahou Sensei Negima!


Your Mother's Gentle Hand.

Book Three.


A few minor alterations were made to the former Class 2-A's living arrangements when they graduated into Junior High 3-A. Chief amongst them were Ayaka moving in with Makie and Haruna moving in with Ku Fei. That meant Ako was reassigned to room with Akira, something both were perfectly fine with. Not to mention Yuuna, who was positively thrilled at the idea of having a whole room all to herself now. Ku Fei had been less enthusiastic about rooming with Saotome, muttering something about Haruna's family having some bad blood with the Chinese, but she had accepted her regardless. So it all had worked out smoothly enough in the end.

Well, for Arika, at least. The girls had been less fortunate, in that their actual motives behind their moving requests had been left unfulfilled regardless. When, earlier that year, Arika had told them Negi was unlikely to room with three girls at once, the Class Rep and the wily Saotome had tried to shift things around so Negi could end up either with Ayaka and Makie or with Nodoka and Yue, but Arika had quickly seen through the ruse. As did the Headmaster, naturally. Not to mention Negi seemed rather content rooming with Chisame and Hakase, and why to disrupt such a blissful coexistence?

(Chisame, of course, would have been quick to disagree on the subject, had anyone asked her on it. But obviously, no one did.)

The proud Class 3-A, naturally, had been left untouched in terms of its student lineup or choice of homeroom educator. Not only because, despite their frequent protestations on the contrary, they for the most part really liked each other, but because nobody else in the school liked them (other than all those fanboys and fangirls Yukihiro, Kakizaki, Karakuri and Sakurazaki had, but then again, could it be said any of them really knew those girls for what they actually were?) So moving any of them into any other classroom would have been simply asking for untold trouble, both from the inside and the outside of the class.

Those were pretty much all the changes that transpired during those days. Well, other than the sudden and very awkwardly timed reapparance of the Sakura Lane vampire.


"Sir!" Takamichi T. Takahata, who was supposed to be about to leave minutes ago, walked back into the Headmaster's office, looking fairly rattled. Which never was a good sign at all. Takahata had lived through things that would have broken most men and walked away from each still mostly functional and rational, deeply entombed self-worth traumas aside. "Please turn your TV on! There's just been... an interesting development."


Shinonome Nanami, dark haired, bespectacled Executive Public Relations executive for the Mahora Student Council, left the reunion with Kiryuin-sama and her inner circle fairly late that evening, taking her usual shortcut through the old, cold Cherry Lane. The skies were cloudly, but for once this week, it was not raining. Even so, she hurried down the wide pathway flanked by sakura trees, more out of fear of another rainstorm breaking down quickly again, rather than because of any concerns over her personal safety. She knew no one, not even in Mahora, not even in 3-F, was crazy enough to attack one of Kiryuin-sama's trusty assistants.

Her long smooth hair trailed behind her with her moderate sprint, and she kept her bag firmly pressed against herself, a custom acquired early in life.

At midway, she stopped, believing she had just heard something strange. It had sounded like huge winds flapping in the wind that grew stronger by the moment.


The lovely looking face framed by carefully combed locks of gold smiled, its green eyes sparkling with refined contentment, all across the TV screens of the whole Area Eleven.

"I, Mina Tepes, am here to inform you, as is my right as duty as ruler of the vampire race, to claim ownership over this island, as the capital of my species from this night on..."


The strange noise subsided momentarily, but when Nanami started rushing down the path again, it was not only faster, but spurred by an added element.

Fear.


"You don't need to fear," the tiny blonde in elegant black promised, with a hand on her flat chest, "Our species has learned well from past mistakes, which nearly led to our extinction. We mean you no harm. We come out into the light, not to threaten you, but to extend offerings of peace. We are not here to conquer, but to coexist in harmony and mutual respect."


The shadow passed right above Nanami's face, bearing the vague shape of a monstruous black bat. By that point, the girl's heart was beating madly, and her face was covered in sweat despite the iciness of the night. She reached for her cellphone, but then the shadow landed right before her, and out of it, a long arm was shot out. A strong hand with long fingernails painted black grabbed her wrist and twisted, making her scream and drop the phone.


"It has to be some sort of elaborate scam, isn't that correct?" Hakase Satomi said, for Chisame's benefit, as both sat before the TV of their room, sitting closer than ever before. "Even if creatures such as vampires existed, and in that case I'm reasonably sure Sensei would have told us about them, there's no way they would reveal themselves to the world like this..."

"Y-Yeah, it's surely just some kind of sick joke..." Chisame agreed, taking mental notes on that magnificent black dress for her next cosplay session. One way or another, it was due to be all the rage immediately. "What kind of weird supernatural group would place a kid as their leader, anyway...?"


The tall, buxom, blond woman in skimpy black leather and a cape as long and dark as the night itself trapped Nanami between her arms.

"N-NO! HELP! PLEASE! STOP, I BEG OF YOU! HELP...!"

"Heh heh heh. No one will come, not here, and certainly not at these hours..." the stranger said perversely, closing her mouth in, on Nanami's pale neck.


Negi, Nitta-sensei and Fujimura Taiga-sensei watched, flabbergasted, their own large TV set in the temporary safety of the main hub of teacher offices, where they had been working after hours. Until Akashi Wataru-sensei had rushed in bearing urgent news and prompting them to turn on the news.

"This, this can't possibly be happening..." Nitta said weakly. "It's just plain too absurd to be true..."

"N-No, no way at all..." Taiga gulped despite herseld. Was this one of the signs of the end of the times Negi had talked about? Shit, he had been serious after all, hadn't he?

Finally, she has made her move. Sooner than we expected, too, Akashi grimly considered. And so, now we will have to act quickly or...

But damnation, she was so cute! Yuuka would have been all over her, no doubt...


Sharp fangs pierced through Nanami's skin, and then the painful sensation of being draned began, as the thick red elixir of life was strongly pulled out through twin holes that were too small. The girl shrieked powerlessly, and tears flooded her eyes, her whole body and mind assaulted by panic and despair.

At least, until she began feeling woozy and silent, which happened fairly soon, and yet it felt like it had taken an eternity.

The numbness and the darkness slowly pushed her down into a blissful, serene relief without dreams. So she couldn't hear the triumphant laugh of her attacker.


All those events were fairly important in their own way, obviously, but for Arika herself, that particular chapter of her life actually only began during one of those instances that would become much frequent later on, where the collective Class 3-A were reduced to their underwear. At this point in the history of such occurrences, however, Negi was not with them at the time. He instead stood outside of the nurse office where they were being examined in their health checkups for the start of the new school term. And he knew better than not to try and peek in.

"So, what do you think about last night's announcement? The one with the vampire girl?" asked Asuna as the blond, blue eyed school nurse Kitami Reika carefully took her measurements, with cold and silent efficiency.

Arika, standing close to the group with her arms folded, kept a watchful eye on Kitami as the other blonde worked in an efficient silence. While they always been unerringly polite to each other, very shortly after meeting it had grown crystal clear to everybody, themselves included, they simply disliked and distrusted each other. Arika wished she could tell why. She was sure there was a good reason, her instincts rarely if ever were in the wrong, and yet she couldn't tell exactly why she felt that way.

It was a very bothersome sensation which only added to her general discomfort around Kitami. She'd even prefer for Mikado Ryoko to fill the office instead, but Konoe-sensei had assigned her to teach Biology. That was yet another decision of his Arika couldn't help but hold in permanent if unspoken contempt.

"What's there to think about it?" asked Misa, standing slightly behind as the next in line. "It's obvious it's some sort of publicity stunt."

"Yeah, maybe they're going to set some sort of amusement park at that Bund island," agreed her partner in cheerleading Kugimiya Madoka. "I think I'll be going as soon as they open it for the public. Sounds like a wicked cool place."

"Eeeehhh!? Aren't you afraid in the slightest it might be true?" whined Makie.

"Nah, what kind of dangerous vampire queen would be a cute Lolita who shows up in TV giving press conferences? I mean, seriously," Misa shook her head, stepping ahead and lifting her arms now it was her turn. "Besides, it that crap were real, don't you think they'd have revealed themselves long ago?"

"Perhaps it wasn't their due time," Kitami commented, calmly taking measures of Misa's decent bustline. "Patience is a virtue even the mightiest have to follow, if they are wise."

"Sensei!" Shiina Sakurako said. "Don't tell us you believe in the supernatural!"

"Yes, I do," Reika nodded, now listening to Misa's heart rate. "I have seen things."

"Such as?" asked Haruna in a suspicious tone.

"Maybe I'll tell you, someday, if you're ready by then," the blonde smiled, sharply. "As I said, patience."

"She got you there, Haruna," commented Yue.

Chisame hummed to herself, looking rather troubled, with her arms folded as well. If mages, charmed books and gender-changing lagoons existed, after all, the existence of vampires was not such a huge next logical step. When she and Hakase had asked Negi on the matter, he'd uneasily dodged around the issue, and now they couldn't grill him again as long as the others were around, but as soon as she could get her chance...

Standing right outside, in the otherwise empty hall, Negi rubbed his nose. The images from last night just wouldn't leave his mind no matter what. Those developments could be very problematic for the safekeeping of the mages' own secrecy, and mostly, for his students' safety. Exactly how much would Mina Tepes end up revealing? Was she planning to expose them after finishing exposing her own species? If so, should they directly oppose her, to quickly shut her down before she threw the whole world of the supernatural off-balance, or establish a dialogue with her first? He was aware it wasn't up to him to take either option, but he still felt like he had a stake on it. So to speak.

He supposed his higher ups had discussed such things with the Queen of Vampires before last night's surprise TV broadcast all over the country and most of the rest of the world, but then why hadn't he been informed at all beforehand? Even if he was only a lowly apprentice, surely such things were supposed to be coordinated on all levels, even his, weren't they?

He hated it so much, feeling so useless, so irrelevant, so-

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a dark, crushing, incredibly melancholic aura coming down the hall, and then, sure enough, Itoshiki Nozomu-sensei, pale and cadaveric as always, wearing his usual outdated hakama and sandals, besides his glasses, was walking towards him. "Negi-sensei!" the young man cried out. "I bring terrible, despairing news! Please come with me to the sick bay. One of our students was found brutally attacked one hour ago!"

Negi tensed in alarm. "Ehh, what?! Who?! Where?! How-"

The doors of the office were tossed open, and out stepped Asuna, Haruna, Asakura and Ayaka, still in their undergarments. "Oh God, I knew it!" Asuna shouted. "There's some sort of vampire, chupacabras or another weird killer beast on the loose, isn't it!"

"Is it anyone we know?" asked Ayaka, concerned.

"GAHHHHH!" Itoshiki quickly pulled back while Negi gasped aloud, the frail looking man hiding his own face behind one of his wide sleeves. "What are you thinking, going out like that?! Negi-sensei, what sort of values are you teaching them?! I'M IN DESPAIR! TODAY'S YOUTH AND THEIR LACK OF SHAME HAVE LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!"

Standing at the very back of the group with Karakuri Chachamaru at her side, Evangeline A.K. Mc Dowell smirked to herself.

And Arika angrily scowled at her. Which, if anything, only made that awful woman to smirk even more.

Kitami Reika neither scowled nor smirked. But her expression still definitely showed some clear interest.


When Negi and Itoshiki made it into the medical bay, Assistant Nurse Sagisawa Yohko warned them before leading them into the struck girl's room, "The Student Council President is with her right now, and she is a bit... excitable, so please don't mention anything about responsibilities on this subject to her. She's likely to start blaming you or herself, but either way, she could do it... harshly."

Negi nodded. "We understand."

"Sensei, before you go," Itoshiki gently stopped the beautiful dark haired woman before she could walk away, "About those medications..."

"No, I won't prescribe you any toxins, and yes, you do have to keep taking your antidepressives," she sternly told him. Then, far more kindly, to Negi, "Watch over him as long as we aren't around, will you, Sensei?"

Negi nodded again. "Of course I will!"

After she walked out of sight, Itoshiki muttered as he followed Negi in. "This is despairing! I've been reduced to a load for all around me. No doubt everyone would be far better off if I just-"

"Shhh," Negi imposed him silence with a subtle gesture, as they saw an also beautiful (it seemed the Area Eleven was unable to breed ugly females, all things considered) and tall, well built young woman with very long black hair and thick eyebrows, wearing a special all white version of the Mahora High female uniform, with shiny golden buttons and boots with quite high heels. She sat in silence next to the sleeping Shinonome Nanami, holding one of her limp hands, until she quickly realized she was being watched, upon which she carefully left the hand at the sickly girl's side and stood up with strict aplomb and even cold haughtiness.

"Kiryuin-sama," Itoshiki dryly said, "You can be certain we will do our best to capture those responsible..."

"You better will," she said, with a voice that was pure iron. "And so will we, no matter what." Without a single more word, she briskly walked past Negi without even looking at him, and disappeared from sight.

Itoshiki shuddered. "Such... intensity."

"Indeed," Negi said, faintly impressed for a moment. Then he reassumed a cold efficiency as he took the chair beside the girl's bed, checking on her pulse and other life signs. No shy doubts or boyish awkwardness in his behavior this time. Things right now were far too serious and dire for that. After humming analytically to himself, he pulled off the bandages around the victim's neck and exposed the twin small marks on her skin. "Just as I feared. At the worst possible moment, too. If this isn't an isolated incident, and the truth about this gets out, the students might even riot..."

"Quite true," Itoshiki pondered, even more darkly. "Especially now that young woman will be studying at your class."

Negi curiously looked back at him. "Which young woman, Itoshiki-sensei?"

The older male blinked. "Hasn't the Headmaster told you yet?"

Negi's brain began blaring powerful signals of alarm. "No. No, he hasn't. What's her name?"

So Itoshiki had to tell him.


"It's very bold, even from you," Arika said, sitting at the other end of the living room in Evangeline A.K. Mc Dowell's cottage in the depths of the mountain woods. "Attacking again now of all times, so soon after the arrival of Nagi's son, and choosing Shinonome-san, as well. What do you intend to achieve from this?"

"Didn't the old man have anyone better to send my way?" asked the tiny blonde in the black flimsy neglige, lazily resting her chin on a fist, one bare leg thrown over her couch's armrest, which clearly exposed a black-thong-only-covered part of her anatomy to Arika's view. "Or is his idea of baiting me sending Nagi's hoyden my way?"

"It isn't any easier for me than it is for you," Arika said, refusing to take Eva's own bait, much like she had rejected the tea Karakuri Chachamaru, in her French maid uniform, had just brought for her. "Heavens know I find his ways upsettling often, myself."

"It must be difficult, being the lapdog of someone you don't sympathize with," Evangeline nodded, in what truly was a sincere mixture of empathy and despise, as Arika knew well. "Since it's such an obvious and sloppy course of action, what makes you so sure I'm responsible? You have another vampire in this campus. Go ask Akashiya."

"You aren't and shouldn't ever be the jesting type. It doesn't suit you," Arika dryly told her.

"Fair enough, I suppose. How about a third party? The Vampire Lords are in an unrest as of late, since the princess' announcement. I wouldn't put something like that above them, resorting to desperate gambits to turn public opinion against Tepes' people."

"You are remarkably well informed for a recluse. Who are your spies?"

"Spies? Bitch please, I have Maginet," Eva sneered. "You don't even know how to turn a computer on yet, do you? Absolutely disgusting! Why don't you ask for your daughters-in-law's help with that?"

Arika smiled. "Unlike others, I have never needed to keep others as my underlings or assistants. That's part of why I escaped the palace."

"That, and the whole part about being caged like an animal."

"Since my jailers were my former underlings and assistants, my point still stands," Arika stated, a pointer finger held up.

Evangeline actually laughed at that. "That's the only thing I like about you, Arika Entheofushia. Your prison humor is always welcome by a prisoner. As for my hand in this attack, I will not confirm or deny anything. The facts will do that themselves. I believe in actions over words, and frankly, yours, other than your prison memories, bore me, so you are free to take your leave."

"Evangeline," Arika said as she stood up. "The moment you touch a single hair on my son's head, that'll be the moment this will become personal between us."

"Looking forward to it, then," Eva licked her pink lips, with a savage gleam in her emerald eyes. "May the best woman win."

"Again," Arika matched that gleam with her own.

Slowly, Evangeline's smile became a vicious scowl, but she said nothing as Chachamaru opened the front door for the visitor and Arika stepped out, back into the full moon night.

After all, Evangeline had really meant it when she had compared actions to words.


"Thanks for your time," Arika-sensei said, starting the next interview in her itinerary for the night. "Now, I hope you realize this is only a routine questioning, necessary in the wake of such an event. Your report files are all clean, and you have nothing to gain and everything to lose from attacking a member of the Student Council..."

The beautiful, pink haired girl who sat opposite her in the small apartment in the last floor of the female student residence sniffled loudly, her face like that of a child about to burst into tears. "Th-Thank you, that's so kind from you..."

Arika inhaled, taking another good look at the young woman, and specially the black choker around her neck, which had a rosario attached to it through a short silver chain. "No one has touched it recently, right?"

"N-Not for more than a whole year, after I arrived here..."

"Have you experienced any lapses in your memory lately? Or periods plagued by troubling sleep, strange nightmares, bizarre dreams?"

The girl shook her head. "I've slept like a log lately. And I can't remember ever forgetting any important span of time... then again, I wouldn't remember it if I had forgotten, right? B-But I think I remember everything, I mean, perhaps I won't remember the details like how many steps I've given in each stroll, and how many times I had to brush my hair over the last week, but-"

Arika nodded, taking a few notes. "I understand," she softly interrupted, because the girl was getting in her nerves. "What is your degree of familiarity with Shinomome-san?"

"Umm... none? That is, I knew who she was, that is, who she is, but I don't think we ever crossed any words. The impression I got was she always was, is, that is, good at her job, and I have no idea why anyone would hurt her, and-"

"Bite here, please," Arika requested, extending a small padded patch for the girl to chomp into, which she did after a moment of hesitation.

"Is it a match?" the pink haired female asked as Arika eyed the bite marks carefully.

Arika said nothing, but shook her head all the same. "Of course, you still could have used an age changing pill before striking."

"I thought you had said I wasn't an actual possibility-!"

"How is your younger sister, Akashiya-san?" asked Arika.

Akashiya Moka gulped. "I... I don't know. At home with Father, I suppose? She... She never calls me. I, I believe she might have something against me..." she sadly said.

"I wonder why," Arika dryly noted, standing up from Moka's couch. "We'll remain in contact. In the meanwhile, for your own wellbeing and others', you are forbidden from stepping out of campus grounds by orders of the Headmaster until further notice. Please have a good and quiet night at home."

Moka blinked repeteadly. "My other sisters?"

"What about them?"

"Aren't you going to ask about them?"

"No. Someone else is handling that angle," Arika denied, calmly heading for Akashiya's door. "If you happen to receive further news on this subject, please contact the Headmaster's office accordingly. You know the number."

"W-What if it's by night, after his work hours?"

"Then call me. I know you have my number as well."

And she was gone.

Akashiya Moka sat alone for several moments afterwards, humming and trying to remember. She then pulled a black and pink notebook from under one of the couch's cushions and flipped through it quickly. And she bit on her tongue. "Oi, must've forgotten to write down that time..."

She ran out through the door, hoping to catch up to her. "Sensei, wait, pleaseeeee!"


Walking through Sakura Lane back from the students' residence, Arika silently pondered the results of her recent evaluations. Naturally, she knew the culprit's identity all too well by now, if it hadn't been obvious enough already from the moment she learned on the attack. Still, she felt fairly confident on walking alone through the night with that knowledge. She did not think Mc Dowell would dare acting against her yet. It would mean too fast and brisk of an escalation against the staff's authority and forces, and Mc Dowell was smarter than that, no matter how much Arika despised her.

Then again, often cleverness hinges on being unpredictable, and on doing what would seem foolish at first glance.

Arika stopped as soon as she reached the intersection that would take her to the faculty's residential area. There, she found Asuna of all people, with a coat over her clothes and a red and black striped scarf wrapped around her neck. The girl stood under a lamppost, with her fists cocked on her hips. "It was about time, Sensei! I was about to go home! So, why did you want to see me here?"

"What?" Arika asked. "Kagurazaka-san, what are you saying? I never told you anything about meeting you here!"

"Of course you did!" Asuna protested, holding her cellphone up. "Don'tcha remember? After I left my Art Classes, you called me and told me to wait for you here, that it was very important and it couldn't wait until tomorrow."

"I never did that!" Arika exclaimed. "Oh Gods. Karakuri."

"What does Chachamaru have to do with this?" asked Asuna.

Arika remembered Hakase-san more than once telling her about many of the applications she had installed into Chachamaru. Self cooling devices. Extra Turbo flight boosters. Advanced locking and aiming systems. Personal cold and heat processors able of the finest precise readings. A nearly flawless mechanism of analysis, recording and duplication of voices.

The cold breeze cracked with the sound of bitter, grim laughter, and the flapping of wings.

"You dared warning me against ever touching your son, Arika Entheofushia..."

Arika and Asuna looked up, at the dark cloaked figure surrounded by a mass of shrieking black bats, suspended high in the air above them. "What in the world...!" Asuna breathed.

"Duck!" Arika pulled the redhead down with herself, rolling away from the sudden discharge of ice flechettes from the sky.

"- but you failed to mention anything about this child!" cackled the shadow in the heights, plummeting down to face them directly.

"Evangeline!?" Asuna asked as the small figure cloaked in darkness tossed her pointy hat aside. "Aren't you too little to be doing wire-fu from that high? The Movie Club has a lot to answer for...!"

The triumphant smirk disappeared from Evangeline's face. "Do you think that was a trick, Kagurazaka Asuna? It was naught but a diminutive sample of my real power! Tremble and cower before the unleashed might of Evangeline Anasthasia Katherine Mc Dowell, the one true Queen of the Night!" she cackled.

"Oh, I get it. They convinced you, because you're a fan of that wacky vampire show all Wednesdays, like Chisame's little sister," Asuna said. "That's just mean, taking advantage of a kid like that!"

Evangeline opened her mouth, fangs bared, as wide as it would go, before just deflating in a bitter sigh and asking Arika, "Would you just talk her out of her delusions?"

"Hey, you aren't the one to talk about delusions," Asuna muttered.

"She's not delusional," Arika dryly said. "She actually is a centuries old, perverse, immoral vampire, a cruel enemy of Negi's father, and all around rotten bitch."

Evangeline regained her smile. "Much better! Oh, when you want to, you can be a real flatterer, Arika-sensei!"

"Um, alright," Asuna decided to play along. "So, you're out to drink my blood tonight?"

"Basically," Evangeline nodded.

"But why mine?! I mean, I'm sort of flattered you thought I looked tasty, although I really don't swing that way, but c'mon, class pride! You should be attacking, I don't know, 3-F first! For shame, Eva-chan, for shame..."

"Incest," Evangeline mumbled, "is a real bane upon human genetics."

Arika frown grew deeper.

"What was that?" Asuna asked. "Something about a test for telekinetics?"

"I think she mentioned something about genetics..." Akashiya Moka said, standing behind Arika and Asuna.

"Genetics? What do genetics have to do with any of- AHHH!" Asuna almost jumped out of her skin. "You were there!"

"Just arrived, but yes, I am now," Moka nodded, then asked Arika, "Sorry, Sensei, but I don't have your number after all. Would you mind telling me so I can- Oops, forgot my pen. Could you wait here until I run back home and then back here so we can-?"

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Evangeline roared, making Moka leap to hide behind Arika. "You're adopted, aren't you?! I refuse accepting Shuzen might have spawned anything like you! He's sure to thank me over this!" she said, lunging ahead surrounded by a thick aura of swirling darkness.

"AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEE!" Moka shrieked, hugging tightly onto Arika from behind, stopping the teacher from tossing herself into Evangeline's way...

... so it was Asuna who did it instead, kicking Evangeline in the chin and sending her flying a few feet up.

Things sort of snowballed downhill from there.


However, much to her chagrin, Arika was unable to get herself involved into much of what would transpire between Negi and Evangeline afterwards. As a matter of fact, the nature of Eva's attacks on her son and his students, and Negi's stubborn unwillingness to endanger his mother or anyone else unless absolutely necessary meant that, during the next few days and their limited chance window, the former Queen sadly missed almost any chance at all to be of any help to her child.

Of course, she still made sure of learning the full truth on what had happened from Nozomu shortly after. And realizing Negi had managed it off without her assistance only made her even prouder of him than before.

Even if that still didn't lessen her frustration and exasperation at his selfless risk taking to any degree, either.


"MEA VIRGA!" Evangeline heard, rising above the concerned shouts of her classmates.

And she felt herself grabbed by a wrist and pulled up, quickly gaining height as she opened her eyes again. She looked into the boy's bright eyes, and felt her heart skipping a bit. "What...?"

"Evangeline-san!" he said. "Are you okay?"

Her mouth moved angrily. "Wh-Why have you saved me!? I could have killed you! What kind of imbecile are you!?" She tightened her hands against her bare chest.

"You're my student, Evangeline-san," he warmly said, pulling the still wet magical staff further down towards the bridge. "I don't need any other reason."

She bit her lower lip, turning her head aside. "What a cretin."

As they landed, he softly put her down, while Itoshiki offered her his hakama shirt to cover herself up. She accepted it with a grunt, hastily pulling it around her torso. Chisame ran to Negi's side, eyes welled up in tears, hitting his head with a fist. "You stupid idiot!" Then she hugged him, pressing him against herself. "What if you had died?! We'd have been in despair! Your death would have left us in despair!"

"And those are my catchphrases," Nozomu humbly said, being as ignored as usual.

"We did it...?" Misora was groggily saying, coming back to her feet aided by Cocone and approaching them. "Wait. We really are alive? We did it for real? Hell, yeah! We beat the Dark Evangel! We're The Man! We're The Man!"

"Baka," Cocone whispered.

Chachamaru was coming back online as Hakase finished pulling pieces of needles out of her eyes. "Master... Sorry. I..." her voice faltered. "Failed you again..."

"Hush. Hush, please," Satomi told her maternally. "Nothing of this is your fault..."

"You did great, Negi-kun," Misa rubbed his hair and winked an eye at him.

"Indeed," Itoshiki pushed his glasses up his nose before pulling his wooden ruler out again. "Highly courageous. However," he aimed the ruler at the girls, "You have broken one of magic's main taboos! I'm sorry, but I'll have to erase your memories before we all are sentenced to an eternity of erminedom!"

Despite her blurred vision and her current damaged mobility, Chachamaru still managed to be before him in a flash, to grab his thin wrist very strongly. "Don't you dare."

"Sensei!" a tiny voice came from the other side of the bridge, panting and wheezing. "If you want to punish someone, punish me, please! It's all my fault, after all!"

They all looked at the newcomer; Kaga Ai stood with her hands on her knees, hunched over and with her tongue almost hanging out. "Sorry I failed both you, Sensei, and you, Eva-sama! I deserve anything you can do to me!"

"What the blazes?" Evangeline said. "You managed to break through my spell, and keeping your memories of it? How?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't say!" Ai wailed. "I-I just know I couldn't keep doing any harm to Sensei, so I broke down like the useless thing I am! Then I saw the lights at the distance, and I guessed you'd be here, so I came to apologize!"

"Where are your classmates, Kaga-san?" Itoshiki asked her.

"Ummm... Like you said, I left them at a safe place... One where no one will think of looking for them to hurt them..."

Cocone approached her, touched her, and blinked. "You left them at a trash dump."

Ai cried again. "They were too heavy for me to drag them all the way up! It's the dump right outside our dorm!"

Nozomu sighed. "It's good you're here, in any case. So I can erase your memory too..."

Negi stepped between him and the girls, extending his arms and shielding them all. "You'll have to erase my memory first!"

"Negi-kun...!" Misa breathed.

Itoshiki glared at him. "Is this a conscious challenge to the Academy's regulations, Negi-sensei? This could have quite serious consequences for you..."

Without saying a single word, the boy still stood against him, glaring back with intensity.

Feeling not only his eyes, but those of all the girls, from Evangeline's sharp and cold ones to Kaga's confused and fearful ones, so squarely fixed on him, the older teacher finally sighed and pocketed his ruler back. "I know I'll regret this."

"I can sympathize," Chisame honestly offered.

"Thank you for your undeserved vote of confidence!" Ai fell to her knees before them all. "I swear on my life I won't ever reveal your dark, horrible secret to the unaware masses you no doubt are preparing to sacrifice to the foul beasts of the pit in a naked orgy of lewd and immoral acts!"

Misa perked up. "Lewd and immoral acts, huh? Do we really do those things at this business?"

"What's the deal with her?" Chisame asked.

"Long story. I'll tell you later," the cheerleader promised.

"Hm, hm, hm. Dolts, all of you," Evangeline said, finally regaining her habitual aloofness. "Chachamaru! As for you, to make up for your unforgivable new failure, you'll have to repay me with decades, no, centuries of the most abject servitude!"

"So no change then?" Nozomu asked.

Chachamaru looked hopeful. "Does that mean you aren't going to dismiss me, Master?"

"Dismiss you? HAH! That'd be too merciful to you! Your ass is mine, Chachamaru!" The undead mage closed a fist up. "And I'm going to make sure you work the hell out of it! Your ass is going to be so sore you'll never be able to sit down again!"

"Can't you pronounce two sentences without saying anything that won't be grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit?" Misa wondered.

"Thank you so very much, Master," the robot softly smiled.

Negi, meanwhile, was chuckling softly, pulling his roster-book out and writing 'WE BEAT HER!' under Eva's picture. "Anyway, Evangeline-san, now you'll stop attacking people at night, won't you? And you won't skip any more classes, either... You'll study hard so you can graduate along with everyone else!"

Evangeline's dangerous smirk returned. "We'll see about that. But remember this, and remember it well, Boya. Watch your back. Because I'm far from being the only powerful enemy your father made, and they'll be gunning for you right like I was. You might not be so lucky next time." She turned to his Ministra. "As for the lot of you, I'd suggest pondering your future choices while you still have them. Tonight, you put on a pathetic, sad showing of poor, uncoordinated skills. If you really want to be Ministra Magi, you'll have to try better than that. If not, just quit right now. You've been warned. That's something the Mistress of Darkness does for almost no one." Her fierce green eyes sparkled threateningly.

Chisame looked stunned for a few moments at such grim words, until she noticed Negi staring up at her. "Talking about that, Chisame-san, whatever happened to your mouth?" He worriedly reached up, putting a hand on a cheek of his first Ministra. "Does it hurt?"

"Oh, this? It's nothing, really!" Chisame said while crouching down to give him a better view of her gums. "Chachamaru only grazed me with a fist. It doesn't even hurt anymore!"

"Are you sure about that, Hasegawa Chisame?" Evangeline chuckled callously, then grabbed Negi and Chisame's heads and pushed them against each other, making their lips to crash in a rough kiss. "Let's see about that!"

Negi's eyes widened just as Chisame's ones watered up with sudden tears of sharp pain.

At that moment, Chamo finally arrived the scene, bathed in sweat and dragging himself on. "Path too long... Legs too short..." Then he brightened. "Oh, Bro! I see you all decided to skip the pointless fight and just start a wild party! Way to go! I'll get the video camera, whipped cream and lubricant"

"KYAAAAA!" Chisame jerked her head back. "THAT HURT!"

As Misora and Misa began to tease her mercilessly, Negi seemed vacant and mesmerized for a moment, while absently swallowing the few drops of the blood from Chisame's gums, rolling them into his tongue, finding its taste so wonderfully sweet. If he had been more aware of himself, he'd have noticed, at the same time, a brief tingle at the spot of his neck where Eva had bitten him. But the strange sensation went as quick as it had come, and he paid it no actual attention.


Next morning, the girls in Negi's class, with no exception for once, were staring blankly and in a complete silence at the new addition to their classroom, who now stood before them along a quietly suffering-looking Negi, having just written her name on the chalkboard.

The short blond girl smiled cutely at them. "So yes, I am Mina Tepes, and I will indeed be your classmate, for the duration of this term at the very least! I look forward to a very enriching learning experience with you!"

Even Zazie, while not exactly open-mouthed, was expressing some emotion, in the form of a stop to her usual ball juggling and a quiet, long and fixed stare. Zazie. Evangeline's mouth twitched slightly at one of its corners. Chisame's expression displayed a confusing mixture of dread, annoyance and disgust. Yue's eyes had become two tiny black dots. The always empty first seat at the front of the class seemed to shift on itself slightly, as if trembling, but everyone was too distracted to notice or care.

Kakizaki of all people was the first one to react, lifting a quaking finger and slowly pointing it at the newcomer. "You... are really that one... the Mina Tepes in TV?"

Nod.

"Here in our class...?" Misa asked again.

Nod, nod.

There was a blunt, general silence.

"I have a question, if you don't mind," asked Chachamaru, who had finally snapped of looking as logically stumped as a mechanical doll could.

"Of course I don't. Ask away," Mina-sama allowed, with a smile.

"I never would have expected for one in your position to spend any part of your time pursuing a position as a student amongst us," Chachamaru stated. "As a matter of fact, I never would expect for any powerful vampire to spend any time at this academy unless they were forced against their will to do so." And when hearing that, Eva clenched her teeth and fists alike. "So, may I ask if you have been placed here against your will? Because that is something no one should ever do."

"Tell that to my father," Chisame muttered.

Mina-sama smiled again. "No, I am here fully because of my own will. As a matter of fact, some of my advisors spoke against it, but it was necessary, as I see it. I need to complete my education, and to better show the human race we are willing to coexist peacefully, one should lead with the example. So please, just think of me as another student. Call me Mina-san at most, if you must."

More extremely awkward, and even terrified, silence, ensued, broken only by Fuuka and Fumika's panicked sobs as they leaned on each other.

Makie raised a hand. "I have another question!"

"I'll be pleased to answer," Mina-san said.

"Are you related to Eva-chan?" she asked, pointing at said classmate, whose exasperated expression only grew even more tense. "Because you look so alike...!"

Mina-san looked over at Eva, changed from a smile to a little smug smirk, and then laughed softly. "Oh, do you think so? I don't see any resemblance, cute as she is!"

"I'm not cute..." Evangeline mumbled dangerously under her breath.

"Regardless, no, regrettably, the whole of my family died long ago," Mina informed, growing more serious.

"Um..." a certain pineapple-haired redhead swallowed hard, extending a microphone ahead. "Asakura Kazumi, ma'am, of the school newspaper. Pleased to meet you, I hope you won't mind to grant us an exclusive interview, quite probably the most important one we'll ever cover..."

"I'd love to," Mina said.

Kazumi squealed in ecstatic glee inside. Whether that was a fraud or not, they had just been handed a gigantic scoop. Thanks a million, Lady Fortune! "Oh, um, thanks a lot! Ohhhh... forgive me if you think I'm starting with the wrong foot, but I think it's necessary asking... are you an actual, ah, vampire?"

She nodded and pulled on a corner of her own mouth, a long curved fang peeking out. Nodoka fainted, and Fuuka and Fumika cried, their hug almost crushing each other. "Certainly. Of course, during the daytime our powers are limited, so I'm afraid I can't give you any displays just yet."

Kazumi gulped. "Okay. Ahhh... I don't mean to offend with this either, but our readers would surely want to read about you age..."

There was another delicate laugh from her. "Oh, I'm so very sorry, but a lady never talks about that, Asakura-san! I sincerely hope you understand."

So far so good, a nervous Negi thought. No one has killed anyone yet, maybe we can make it through this, maybe we actually can...

And then Kazumi asked that question.

"Of course, we are, ah, all honored to have you here, but exactly why have you chosen this particular class in this particular school? I assume one as important and powerful as you wouldn't have left it to chance."

"Very perceptive. Indeed, that was a calculated decision. Mahora, being the Area Eleven's biggest and oldest academy, gifted with so much prestige and tradition, was always my most logical and treasured choice, of course. As a matter of fact, back in her day, my mother also studied here." Nodding at the gasps of surprise and disbelief, she nodded. "As for my selection of this class specifically... it has everything to do with one of you. One who is fated to great things by birth. One," she half-grinned, gesturing for a hand for emphasis, "who is going to be my loyal servant."

Thirty bodies and one spectral form, for one reason or another, backed away on their seats with varying degrees of intensity, from the nearly inexistent to the overwhelming.

As for Negi, he just repressed the ice-cold chill running up his spine lest it made him squirm and yelp in an extremely awkward manner.

It was not an easy task at all.


To be Continued.