A/n

I have no real explanation where this chapter came from, but here it is. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 4: Weird Sludge Appearing

It had been close to a week since the events with Evangeline around the lake and dorm, but things were at last settling into a bit of a routine. Both Evangeline or Eva for short and Chachamaru were attending classes on a daily basis now, to which I was pleased about. Nonetheless, I think Eva didn't want me to come visit her house due to what I did last time, even though I had undone all the damage I had made. Anyways, the girls of 3-A had come to accept Negi and I were going to be there teachers and were getting used to the idea. And my high school girls were dutiful at doing what I assigned them and did very well in my class.

So, classes had come to an end for the day for Negi and I, we were walking down one of the hallways of the school building that our classrooms for 3-A were in. My chemistry classroom is in a different building as it's a high school course and the level of schooling were divided into separate parts of this academy. Back to topic, our students were off at their club activities for apparently, you can have a club here at Mahora for just about anything. I can see good and bad points with that kind of mentality, there can be some ridiculous ideas for groups to be formed, but it's good to let the students here the opportunity for free thinking.

Negi was telling me about some of the clubs that the girls had told him about, probably to get him to be a club advisor were I to guess. Have had a few ask me the same thing, even some of the high school girls from my chemistry class have asked and… begged for me to be an advisor for the club they were members of. It was when Negi mention that Asuna had started a club to find a chupacabra that I came to a halt, staring at the kid. "Are you serious Negi? Asuna has created a club for the sole purpose of finding a chupacabra, a creature whose existence is questionable to begin with?" I questioned in slight disbelief.

Negi nodded, "Yes, the academy approved the creation of the club and so, she is at the 'Chupacabra Research Society' with a few others right now." He said.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, "Of all things she could have an obsession about, why on a mythical creature? I'll not ask who is with her or got dragged to go with her to this club she came up with, just stating for the record that I want nothing to do with it period," I replied and then we resumed walking.

Negi and I made our way outside and shortly thereafter, we came into view of Asuna and a few of our other students, who I would assume Asuna convinced to go along with her in the chupacabra club. In fact, Asuna was calling out for the creature that the club was made for, but what she was approaching… wasn't what she was looking for. The reason that I knew that, comes from the time I've spent around wizards, recognizing something that's unusual, just out of place or both. I may not see whatever it is in a way to be able to identify it, but I can see it being out of place rather than something unnatural in the world. Negi pointed his staff at whatever the stuff was… looked like black sludge to me and used his elemental manipulation skills to change the stuff into a… weird looking raccoon with a hat.

Asuna slammed down a net she had over the 'raccoon' seconds after Negi changed the sludge into it. So, when she saw that what she actually caught, she was very confused and her hair showed it. How her hair can do that, is a mystery to me, but then there is a lot about Asuna Kagurazaka that doesn't make sense to me. "Negi, Matthew, see you have taken care of this one," said Takamichi.

Both Negi and I turned and saw our older colleague coming up to the two of us, "How many does this one make for you Negi?" Asked Takamichi.

"This makes three," replied Negi.

Takamichi nodded, "I've already taken care of five," he said.

I cleared my throat, "Excuse me you two, mind cluing me in on what you two are referring to in more detail? Granted, there was something there that wasn't natural, so wasn't supposed to be where it was. But, what is that black sludge and what does it do to be as dangerous as you imply it to be." I inquired.

Negi faced me, "Wait… You could see the darkness Matthew?" exclaimed Negi.

I nodded slowly, a little confused by what Negi had called the sludge, "Yes, I saw the black sludge or goop, don't know why you call it darkness, but to each their own. The sludge wasn't what I would call darkness really." I returned.

Takamichi regained my attention and started explaining to me, "Well Matthew, what you call black sludge is a form of magical darkness and it does not have good intentions at all, that is clear…"

Don't doubt the man would have kept going, but Negi and I noticed two red dots of light heading for the school building. Negi was off running first and I was a few steps behind him, leaving Takamichi to catch up with both of us. We came into a clubroom and if the chalkboard is anything to judge by, this room was for the 'Chupacabra Research Society'.

However, there was little time to take in much of the room as the two red dots of light landed on a book and after a light glowed and died down, two… 'things' stood before us. One looked like a cat without arms and legs, the other was a frog with spindly legs and arms. As Negi and Takamichi were silent, I took that as I would be the spokesman in this… we'll see if that was a wise idea to go with. "Okay then, who the hell are you two? Then what are you two supposed to be. And most importantly, who the hell's idea this was for you two to appear out in the open for anyone, wizard or non-wizard could see you? For they need to be fired for this, then punished for the rules they have broken and the stress they caused for others." I said to the two new arrivals.

Only some of my questions were answered, my first assessment in what they looked like was accurate. Other than that, my questions went unanswered, which irked me a fair bit. The reason being, Negi has had many lectures on the importance of secrecy, had been around for some of them… boring as heck. And then, he had also been threatened to lose a lot if he does reveal he's a wizard. Yet, these two here had blatantly taken a serious risk of being seen and aren't mentioning any of the rules wizards and witches have for themselves, which they had broken.

We went to the Dean's office as the message the cat and frog had was for him apparently and was urgent. Once in the office, they introduced themselves, the cat was named Shigimi and the frog was called Matsu. They did mention that they had come from England's Magic School, which Negi had attended. After Matsu said that what they were here to tell was a serious matter, it was Shigimi who finally got down to delivering the message that they had traveled to bring. "It seems, to our dismay… that someone has stolen the star crystal from the magic academy nya." Shigimi said in a slightly embarrassed tone.

Everyone, minus me, was surprised at hearing this, as for me, I'd hear mention of this 'star crystal' from a couple of witches and wizard, but nothing other than the name. It had always made me somewhat curious, as the mention of the star crystal had always been with apprehension, fear or both. Dean Konoe asked for conformation of this event, and both Matsu and Shigimi said it was true. I grunted to swing everyone's attention to me, "Shocking as I would guess the theft of this star crystal is, would someone please fill me in on what it is and what it does. Only have ever heard the name, never any more detail than that, I think most just assume all witches and wizards know about it already. Apparently forgetting, there is one 'true' alchemist around that isn't all knowing and would like to have logical explanations and not 'that's how magic works'." I requested.

Dean Konoe spoke up and began explaining to me what the star crystal was and why it was so dangerous. By the description, it sounded an awful lot like the Philosopher's stone back home and that thing was a horribly dangerous object. The star crystal had many of the same qualities as the stone and to those who knew details about it, we referred to it as the devil's work for a reason. Being among those few and this star crystal is sounding far too similar to the stone for my liking or comfort, I began assuming that it was equivalent to the stone overall. When the dean had finished I spoke, "So, let me see if I understand this right, this star crystal, is an object that can amplify a witch's or wizard's… magic without a foreseeable limit." I stated, saying magic in a derogatory manner as I've always done, before going on, "And this thing was put where lots of people had access to and no guards or security were in place?!" I asked incredulously.

My gaze flicked to Shigimi and Matsu, they were nodding slowly. I let out an exasperated sigh, "Then why is it such a surprise that someone stole it?! An item like that is far too tempting for some to resist taking and using it for themselves. Please don't tell me that there was no one patrolling that night, so that there aren't any clues of who it was that took this star crystal." I keep staring at the two who had come from the magic academy and their expression was answer enough for me, I was completely right. Couldn't help the thought that came out of me, "Some wizards and witches can be horrendous idiots! It's times like this I'm amazed that people that can't do elemental manipulation haven't discovered that witches and wizards exist yet with such huge blatant mistakes made."

"Matthew, this isn't the time for that and it's wrong for you to say such things," chastised Negi.

Swung around to face my young friend, "Negi, this doesn't just show irresponsibility, it's reckless assumption and stupidity in action and that is more than just dangerous. Still… I admit, this isn't the time for this so, a discussion for later perhaps," I replied to Negi before facing the dean again.

Negi then asked Dean Konoe if the 'darkness' was related to the theft of the star crystal, to which the reply was there wasn't enough information to say. The meeting was concluded on the note of the need to be vigilant for any clues as to this crime. Negi and I headed to the teachers' office room that Negi and I had desks in. I got down to sorting papers that needed grading and which class it went with. Negi was going over his Japanese language work book he was using to learn the language better. It was shortly after we started our tasks, some more unwelcome news came to the both of us in the form of seeing the frog and cat from before appear on Negi's desk. Leaned over and sighed, "What may I ask, are the two of you still doing around here? You delivered your message, so pack your bags and get the heck out of here, the sooner the better in my opinion," I said none too nicely, but then I was developing a growing dislike of these two for some reason.

What that reason was for my dislike, I can't exactly say, but they are annoying the hell out of me! Maybe it is the vibe I get from them, which is that of a tattle tale watching for material to use to blackmail their target. I don't know, could be something completely different, but with how good I somehow am at predicting situations like this… I'm reserving judgement for now. I mean, for example on how I'm good at predicting odd situations like this one is, there was homunculus Lust, who became a stalker of me… was freaky in ways words can't say! Or there was the dynamic between Roy Mustang and the mini midget, Edward Elric… hope I'm wrong in this.

"Oh, how rude of you to say that, we thought we could stay and enjoy the sites here in Japan," rebuked Shigimi.

… Again, there's something about these two that's bugging the freaking hell out of me and it somehow feels familiar, but I can't place the feeling at all. Although, this also meant that if they did stay, guess who gets to play host to them… you guessed it, Negi and me… that doesn't sit well with me in the slightest! Yet, Negi being the kind-hearted kid that he is even with it is to his detriment, said that there was no problem with Matsu and Shigimi staying. But Matsu's reply only served to irritate me more, "Please don't mind us, even though we'll likely be a bother… in a good way." He said.

It took me a good amount of willpower to not hit Matsu after he said that, it was so annoying, especially the last bit of it. However, instead, I took Negi aside and out of hearing range of Shigimi and Matsu to have a word with my young friend. "Negi, as your friend, I must say something in this instance or I couldn't consider myself your friend. I admit, Chamomile isn't healthy to have around you, but… these two are I feel, going to be worse for you in a different way than the white rat is." I paused and glanced back to where Shigimi and Matsu still were, ignoring the rat's response to my comment about him, then looked back to Negi, "I get the impression that those two might tattle on you should they catch someone seeing you do magic, no matter how small it may be. That would land you in serious trouble Negi, you're not a master wizard yet so are held to a very high standard still."

Negi waved off my worry I was expressing for him and returned to his desk. I hoped I was just being a tad paranoid in this, but this vibe of trouble won't leave me. And as if to make the feeling worse…

"You know Negi, if you do something wrong, then we will have to report it nya," said Shigimi in a sing song voice.

"Definitely, but don't mind us, watching your every move… in a good way" added Matsu.

This irked me all the more, the test that Negi was doing right now is tough enough as it is, hiding the fact that he's a wizard from those around him. This added wrinkle of these two watching Negi's every move was absolutely unfair and also, if I'm not mistaken, against a rule or two of this test he is doing.

-Scene Change-

Negi and I left the office, to get away from Matsu and Shigimi more than anything else, and were outside on the academy grounds. The white rat was chattering about the issue that the two previously mentioned tattle tales would present… and though I wouldn't admit it easily in the dirty rat's presence, I agreed with him. Chamomile wouldn't let me live it down if he heard me agreeing with him since I almost always don't, if I respond to the rat at all. The view the rat had was valid, Shigimi and Matsu said they would be watching Negi, looking for an excuse to fail him, makes me wonder who has it out for Negi.

My young friend's counter was that he had done nothing wrong, to which I know he's wrong with… on three counts thus far. In fact, I reminded him of that, "Negi, I feel the need to correct you by reminding you that three of our students know you're a wizard, even if you don't remember or know it." I said.

Negi stopped and looked at me, "Well, Asuna does, but that's all Matthew and she promised that she would keep it a secret," he replied.

I shook my head, "I happen to know that two others are in the know about you as well, those being Mana Tatsumiya and Zazie Rainyday. One was told about you by the dean, so Mana shouldn't be an issue, but Zazie saw you do elemental manipulation, thankfully I got her to promise she wouldn't talk about it and I'm inclined to believe she won't say anything."

Negi was quiet after I said that, clearly nervous at the prospects as they sunk into his brain. I told him I would see him later, before I headed back towards Dean Konoe's office. The dean might not be able to help change or explain this situation, but he could get into contact with those who can and I wanted to have a serious chat with them. Wasn't in the mood to 'knock' on the door, so I just kicked it open instead and to Dean Konoe's credit, took my entrance in stride. "Mister Selvess, to what do I owe your visit? Would assume it's important as you kicked in my door." he greeted me calmly.

Nodding, before I gave my answer, "Indeed dean, I can fully understand that the star crystal theft is a bad thing, probably better than most would understand. But with Shigimi and Matsu staying here, I'm seriously concerned about things going forward for Negi." I made my way to the dean's desk and put my hands on it, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but when a wizard is undergoing their test to become a master wizard, they are to be 'loosely' observed, emphasize on the loosely. That doesn't mean that the teste has every single move they make watched, to be failed at the tiniest mistake. That would make the test pretty much impossible and unpassable for any in the real world, for the chance at a perfect score on a practical exam is extremely low. This kind of thing, where someone gets some of the set rules ignored, only happens when someone pulls strings to have another fail the test and face the consequences and I can't think of anyone who would want to do that to Negi."

The dean's reply to me was that he could do very little in this, but he did tell me he could arrange a meeting with the head of the magic academy right now if I wanted, to which I agreed to. He did a spell to have an image of the principle of England's magic academy appeared for me to communicate with. Had met the man a few times, knew him simply as principle Smith and knew him to be a reasonable man willing to at least listen to what was said and I would take that. "Ah, Matthew Selvess, good to see you're doing well, what is it I can do for you at this time?" Smith asked.

I forced a smile, "Well Smith, your envoys arrived in Japan and told us about the theft of the star crystal. But, they are apparently staying and watching Negi Springfield while he's taking his master's level exam. As I recall, that would be a violation of the set rules of this particular exam as it would make it just about impossible to pass for anyone. So, what is the mean of these 'proctors' Smith?" I demanded.

Principle Smith gained an expression of bafflement on his face at my demand, "Envoys? I do not know what you are referring to Mr. Selvess. And how is it that you know about the theft of the star crystal? It only happened within the last twenty-four hours, we're still looking into the incident here." Smith returned to me.

The response puzzled me for it didn't make sense with the current circumstances, I'm beginning to think there's more to this than either of us know. I set down to explaining to Smith about the appearance of Shigimi and Matsu, the message they delivered to those of us here and finished by telling him about how they were staying to watch Negi. Principle Smith looked even more confused than before, "None of the staff here, nor I sent any envoy to Japan. And where it is good that you and the others there know about the incident, hopefully so that you can keep your eyes open for anything unusual and perhaps help with catching the thief. I will look into this further and try to find out who could have sent them and get back to you two when I learn of something." Answered Smith before disappearing.

I apologized to the dean for coming in so rudely and he forgave me for the action, then I left the room. I was looking for Negi to tell him what facts had come to light from the conversation I had been a part of, for clearly Shigimi and Matsu aren't representing who they claim they are. My search ended when I found Negi… with Nodoka Miyazaki and by the way the white rat was freaking out, the two had been caught with Negi doing his craft. …And so the number of risks goes up to four. I swear, I leave Negi alone for less than an hour and he finds himself in deep trouble. Nagi is worse in this kind of thing, but that's not something Negi should be developing!

Glanced over to where they were staring and spotted Shigimi and Matsu, with excited looks on their faces… I think that is what I was seeing at least. I drew closer to listen to what was being said, "This doesn't look good, no one is supposed to know that you're a wizard, but now she does" Matsu was saying

The next to speak up was Shigimi and it was moving or dance with glee, "Guess what, guess what, no, don't guess, we get to report you!"

I stepped forward out from behind the bushes I had been behind and was now directly behind the two tattle tales, "You do that kitty, then I spill everything about how you've been lying about your purpose here and then I'll report you! And the same goes for you frog, perhaps your master will be caught too, one can only hope," I stated coldly, folding my arms putting on an expression that Teacher would be proud of.

Both Shigimi and Matsu turned to face me and the quickly started shaking at the sight of me as I continued, "You almost had all of us, including myself fooled, think you're so smart with how you acted didn't you?!" I asked, still in a cold tone.

"Matthew, what are you talking about, what has Shigimi and Matsu not told us?" questioned Negi.

Matsu and Shigimi began shaking their heads violently from side to side, pleading for me to not say more. I just gazed at them with an expressionless face, "That depends Negi," I said, my eyes flicking up to look at Negi, then going back to the tattle tales. "You two going to be insistent on 'reporting' this, or will you be wise and pretend that you saw nothing here?"

Shigimi and Matsu nodded said they saw nothing and disappeared from the area very quickly and went to who knows where. I focused my attention back on Negi and Nodoka, giving them a stern look, "Assume that you two have a valid explanation for being alone like this, for normally it's inappropriate for those your ages to do," glanced at the rat, "Hope he didn't have something to do with this Negi. I know I've mentioned more than a few times now, that listening to him is not a good thing my friend. And if he is somehow responsible for this happening, then he and I will be having a serious talk behind closed doors without you Negi, being present."

Chamomile was shivering at what I had said I would do with him if he was at fault for Negi nearly getting stripped of his qualifications. "Well Matthew…" began Negi, but Nodoka interrupted him.

"It's not what you think Professor Selvess!" she exclaimed.

Felt an eyebrow rise at what this student of mine was saying, "I'm not accusing either of you of anything other than being here with each other, which is fact. All I'm asking is what went on between you two while unsupervised. It is a simple question I would think to answer," I remarked.

Negi quickly started the explanation I requested, told me that Nodoka had seen him taking care of more of the black sludge that had popped up. Nodoka had freaked out, but admittedly had taken learning that their kid teacher is a wizard better than Asuna did. Nothing else apparently happened between them and I hadn't doubted either of them really. If there was anyone that I didn't trust, then it was the dirty white rat and it was for very good reason I had my doubts about his trustworthiness. And speaking of the dirty white rat, he appeared on Negi's shoulder and began chattering away about how Negi should make a contract with Nodoka. My response was to smack my forehead with a hand, "Once again, your two cents and opinion isn't needed, you dirty white rat." I said to Chamomile.

Said rat bristled at me, "For the umpteenth time, I am not a rat that you would find down an alley, I'm an ermine fairy!" he shouted at me.

My left hand shot forward and grabbed the rat, brought him close to my face, "And for the umpteenth time to you, what makes you think I care whether you are an ermine or a so called fairy you dirty white rat?" I growled, squeezing him as I did so. Took a moment to look back towards Negi and Nodoka, seeing they were both blushing and not looking at one another. Then I turned my head back to Chamomile, "No, what I should say to you white rat, is that you're an idiot for not remembering that you're talking to a near ten-year-old and a middle school teen." I grumbled at the white pain in my rear lately, before I released him from my vice grip.

Chamomile fell to the ground, then he made distance from me and kept bristling at me… that's until he got kicked, by Asuna of all people. The orange haired teen wasn't alone either, there was a number of students that Negi and I share. That number was made up of Asuna in the lead, Konoka, and Setsuna Sakurazaki, those were the ones I knew the full names for sure. The others I remembered from the class role, there was Miss Nagase, believe her first name is Kaede. Next was the dark green haired girl that is an artist of the class, Miss Saotome, can't come up with her first name at the moment, think it begins with an 'H'. Last but not least, there were the twins 3-A has, both with the last name of Narutaki, know both have a first name that starts with 'F', other than that, don't know the difference between them. Am still working on memorizing names of the students I teach, continues to be a fault of mine, difficulty remembering names.

"Miss Kagurazaka," I hollered and all the girls stopped and turned to face me. "What are you girls doing that has you in such a hurry?"

Miss Saotome gave me the answer to my inquiry, "We're going to go see a chupacabra professor!" she replied.

The group of girls continued on into the school building ahead of them, which was I can't say what the structure is used for off the top of my head. I followed them, Negi a few steps behind me and Nodoka on the heels of Negi. After entering the building, found it was empty other than the girls and us teachers with them. I noticed that Negi, shortly after we came into here, stiffened as if he felt something. Had to admit myself, there was something definite off, felt kind of like I was facing a homunculus again, at least there was the same feeling of foreboding danger. So much so, that my right hand was touching one of the mythril rods on my belt, ready to pull out for use in defense of my life and those around me. The weird thing, haven't had this feeling to this extent since I had to get Nagi out of some serious stuff he got himself into years ago.

"Say girls, how about we split up and look around here?" Suggested Negi.

Could tell right away that Negi wanted the girls to go elsewhere so that he could use elemental manipulation to track down whatever was here putting off this bad sensation. That's all well and good, more power to him I say, it is nice that he is finally thinking ahead and trying to keep the number of liabilities he had down. While he does that, I'll go about this my own way and we can compare observations when this is all said and done. Most of the girls agreed and went one way, leaving Negi and me almost alone, there was still Nodoka and Asuna had stayed behind.

I decided to make my exit discreetly while there was none really watching, setting out on my own to explore this place. The structure itself was normal enough, nothing that I could tell was out of place, still, this bad feeling about this situation wouldn't leave me. By the time I had inspected three rooms and finding nothing, things changed abruptly. Everything around me changed as a wave of black passed by where I stood. When I next glanced around me, I found myself… in what appears to be Wales, England, which made little if any sense. Didn't have much time to take in the scenery, as hedges shot up ahead of me out of the ground.

Once the hedges finished their uncommon 'growth spurt', I continued forward, though I did so cautiously, prepared for the unexpected. It was only a few minutes into the maze that the hedges had formed, when I bumped into another, falling to the ground. To my surprise, I looked up and discovered Evangeline in front of me and Chachamaru was behind her, "Evangeline… didn't expect to find or see you around here… wherever here is," I said as a greeting.

Evangeline's eye locked on to mine and widened, "What the? What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" She demanded loudly of me.

I gained a frown on my face, "Mind your language young lady, a student shouldn't use such an exclamation," I chided.

"Indeed master, you should hold yourself above saying things in such a way," added Chachamaru.

Evangeline appeared to be about to snap at Chachamaru, when she seemed to realize that the scenery was as I had stated, not like it was supposed to be. I got to my feet, before stretching out a hand to Evangeline and after she accepted, begrudgingly, helped her to her feet. It was clear to me that Eva still didn't much like me, but she had learned that going against me or challenging me would be a serious amount work on her part. My observations told me, Eva didn't have the habit to put lots of effort into something unless she saw it as worth it to her to go through, and I don't seem to be worth the work… yet at least.

I was about to ask what the two of them were doing around this fake Wales, when there was a clearly audible scream to my left, Eva's right. Had no hesitation, but broke out into a sprint in the direction that the scream had come from. Could hear both Eva and Chachamaru behind me, following for whatever reason they had. Evangeline passed me and leapt up to the top of the hedges, which is rather unfair at the moment for her to do. However, that may be her way of 'one uping' me, where I can't do much to counter her in, she is smart, I'll give her that. The next thing I knew, Chachamaru came up beside me with thrusters on her back alight and held out a hand. I took the offered hand and Chachamaru pull me up and got me to the top of the hedges at the same level as Evangeline herself.

The three of us were still heading towards where the scream had come from, Eva and I going along the hedge top, Chachamaru was flying with the thrusters in her back. The top of the hedges was akin to solid ground, how they grew to be like that, I can't begin to guess. It wasn't more than a few minutes when the site of Negi and a few girls came into view. Opposite of them in the air was… an odd creature. It was small, had a white body green plantlike arms and legs with a humanistic head surrounded by red flower pedals.

Asuna was changed yet, this time it wasn't the red outfit with armor and sword, it was more the classic Japanese male samurai outfit I have seen in some of the history books I have gotten my hands on, with a large paper fan. …Now that I think about it, by what I understand about the contracted protector of a witch or wizard, they have three cards that can be drawn. That being the case, this must be one of the other two cards Asuna has… wonder what the last one does.

Anyways, Asuna shot forward, the creature used vines that came from below to smack Asuna way from her course towards it. Then, more vines appeared and bound Nodoka and raising her up in the air, to which Negi did make a valiant effort to save the girl, but was denied when vines wrapped around his staff. Eva sprang into action and used her elemental manipulation to send ice, cutting down Nodoka and Asuna managed to catch her. Looked back at the flower creature and saw it was appearing skittish and was about to run, so I took action to make sure that this thing wasn't completely lost. I sent a small amount of mythril at the thing and it attached to it, acting as a tracking method for me to find this creature later.

Not too long after I had done so, the flower thing bolted away from our group, yet Eva caught its movement. The blonde leapt up into the air to give chase to the odd thing, but when Chachamaru called to Evangeline, saying that she wouldn't be able to fly, I knew there was trouble. Although I'm an alchemist, my skills lie in particular areas, but I can do some other areas that I don't specialize in, just nowhere near as well. Plants isn't one that I've tried, but I have a general idea how it works… one of the take aways from the second time I had gone through the gate, wasn't as bad as the first experience, but still horrendous. Back to the situation at hand, I clapped my hands together and them put them down to the hedge under me, and managed to get the greenery to move and shift to give Eva a softer landing.

However, something zoomed passed Chachamaru and I, striking Eva in her back, before being absorbed into her. That something for the split second that I had seen it, looked to be the weird black sludge that had been popping up lately. There was a definite change with Evangeline, even I, who am not a wizard felt it. The blonde turned to us and one look showed that she had no friendly intention towards us right now. Prepared myself to defend, grabbing a rod and transmuting it into a medium length sword.

Negi demanded to know who it was that caused all of this and was controlling Evangeline at the current moment. I couldn't help myself by tell Negi how foolish such a thing this was, "Negi, it isn't worth asking them that question. They will unlikely give you a sensible answer anyways, if they give you one at all that is." I remarked to Negi, but keeping my attention on Eva.

Evangeline then shot two spells, one at Negi the other at me. I brought my sword up to a position to give a good solid horizontal swing and executed the movement, sending the spell away from me. Negi, seeing the spell, promptly did as he had the last time Eva had sent a spell his way and had it circle him once and made it return to sender. The spell made good contact with Evangeline and as it had, I raced forward, not thinking about my actions fully. Leapt up and caught Eva in my arms and managed to land back on the hedge top, though closer to the edge than I liked. Was breathing a little harder, when the environment around us began disappearing. I attempted to run ahead of the disappearing ground, but didn't make it very far when the hedge top vanished from under me. Felt myself falling downward with Evangeline still in my arms, then Chachamaru caught me, stopping Eva and I from slamming into the ground.

Once on the ground, one glance around the room, I saw that everything was back to what it had been before this all had started. Chachamaru took Eva from me and left, where I went over to Negi and the other two girls to check on them. Everyone seemed to be okay with all that had just happened, but that left the question of what this was all about unanswered.

-Scene Change-

I looked around me and found whiteness, until my gaze fell upon a familiar, yet hated double doors I had seen a couple of times before. There were two reasons I hated the doors so; the first was, the times I had gone through them, it had been some of the worst experiences of my life, the second the one I would see with this place. Then I heard the voice I loathed with every fiber of my being now, "Well well, our paths cross again Silver Alchemist."

Spun around and glared with loathing and hatred at the being known as 'Truth'. Every time, I had crossed paths with this being, my life had taken a turn in a way I didn't want nor chosen. Yet, this guy found it funny to see me struggle, he apparently liked seeing Edward Elric and myself go through hardship. "What the hell do you want Truth?!" I growled.

Truth smiled at me, which irritated me badly, "Want? And here I am going to send you help for your troubles that you are dealing with. Maybe it will make things more interesting?" Truth mused.

I didn't like the sound of that at all! Truth screws with me and I hate it, but… I would wish such a fate on no one else, not even on any of the homunculus. I jabbed a finger at the being that had cause me so much grief, "Don't you dare Truth, you watching my issues and suffering should be enough for you, don't involve another in your entertainment!" I shouted.

Truth laughed at my demand, "We shall see Silver Alchemist, we shall see."

Everything around me faded and my eyes snapped open and I found myself in my bed. I was breathing raggedly, knowing that meeting Truth hadn't been a 'dream' and it irked me more because of that fact. After I woke up, the day began the routine it had taken on over the last few weeks, classes came and went and there was nothing out of the ordinary. I was sitting in on Negi's last class of the day, my chemistry class had ended an hour ago and now I was observing the girls of 3-A. My worries from before about their performance still remained, Negi will be judged by how they do in their midterms and finals as will I. For me, I just think that my high school students will save my rear by their scores, but Negi doesn't have a second class to help him like I do.

Once class ended, Negi was caught by Nodoka and the two slipped away from the rest of the class. What that meant for myself, is then a number of the girls came to me, whining that Nodoka had disappeared with Negi. Why they came to complain to me, I haven't the faintest idea, maybe since I'm the manager of the dorm they live in the see me as the figure to give their grievances to, I don't know. Some of the girls did actually had questions relating to the math class I have them for, which I answered without a problem, but most just came to whine or have my attention. Yes, Negi isn't the only one the girls chase after, a third of them focus on me, another third go to Negi exclusively, while the last third go between Negi and I.

It was Konoka Konoe and Setsuna Sakurazaki that assisted me, saying that they had invited me to see the academy's planetarium. I was quick to going along with the story as it helped me get away from the girls that have the 'hots' for one or both of their teachers. Plus, along the way, I learned that the two girls were going to the planetarium to avoid the 'Chupacabra club' as they were planning for another hunt headed by Asuna herself. Can completely understand the wish to avoid that club, it is ridiculous in my view!

We arrived in the room that housed the planetarium and the room itself had stadium type seating that sunk towards the center. In the center, was a large mechanism that I believe was supposed to represent the planets and the sun relationship as they move. It was quite an impressive machine, even I have to admit that. The sheer complexity was neat, I would love to inspect it closer, but something tells me that would be taken nicely without permission. Although I'm not all that familiar with the subject of Astronomy so, I can't say how accurate this planetary model actually is. I wasn't the only one that was impressed by the machine, Konoka was as well.

Two of my other students, I believe their names are Naba Chizuru and Murakami Natsumi if I remember the roll correctly. Both apparently were members of the Astronomy Club and had agreed to let Konoka, Setsuna along with myself to look at the planetary model. They had asked if there was anything I wanted to know, in a way that made me think that they wanted me as an advisor for the Astronomy club, but maybe not, who knows.

Konoka did make the request if she could try putting in a date to see how things would look on the said date, or something like that. She did mention that Astronomy had been a hobby of hers for a good deal of time when Setsuna asked if she knew what she was doing. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing in this case. As I watched, Konoka brought out a collection of sticks and rubbed them together, "Now show us the future, show us the way, let us gaze upon the stars and divine what will come our way." She chanted.

…That sounded like a lot of hocus pocus, and as a scientist, I don't put stock into superstition, "Konoka, don't know if I should be the one to tell you this, but chants like that don't work. When some claim they do, it is just circumstances work out and they claim they knew." I said.

Konoka ignored my statement and kept going, I watched for a little while longer, but then got up and left to find something else to do. As I was walking around looking for something interesting to occupy myself with, I came upon one of the open areas and got my wish. In the said open area, was Negi and Nodoka, and at this time Negi was invoking her contract. Once done, the only noticeable change, was that Nodoka has a pair of red rimmed glasses on her face and a book in her hands that looked like a journal of some kind.

Shortly after I took this in, I heard a ding… coming out of an unseen source that I think came from somewhere around Nodoka. Then she opened the book she had and read what was assumedly on the pages. Let me tell you, what the teen read wasn't only unexpected, but also hilarious to listen to, more for whom it displayed as the perverted degenerate that he is. The thoughts of the dirty white rat were being read out loud, stripped bare for those of us present to hear! And it proved me right in calling Albert Chamomile, dirty and a pervert along with a rat. Some of the highlights, were him wetting the bed recently and then having Negi take the fall for him with Asuna… will have to get him back for that, since Negi wouldn't do anything against the rat. Or there was a short story about the rat proposing to a lady that wisely turned him down, calling him a complete slob.

Consider this around the same level of entertainment that I get teasing the mini midget and watching the reactions he gives me in response. Came out from behind the greenery snickering as I came, "Got to say you dirty white rat, Nodoka sure showed you your place." I commented, with a smile in clear view for all to see. "Have always said that you were a no good dirty rat, and now we hear of your activities that prove me right. You got exactly what you deserved Chamomile."

There was another ding from nowhere and then Nodoka spoke up again, "It's good to see Nodoka is shedding some of the shyness that she had before. Makes me worry less about the girl's future seeing her extend herself around Negi and others."

I froze at hearing that, for those were the thoughts I had about Nodoka after observing this situation a bit. Turned towards Nodoka, who was looking at me, "Is… is that what you really think about me professor?" she asked in a tone that was hard for me to read.

Rubbed the back of my head, "Um well, when Negi and I got here, you really acted very shy and quiet, avoiding both of us almost all the time. You seem like a nice girl and so it is good to see you trying to do more, fulfilling your potential and everything Nodoka." I answered calmly as I could.

Once more, there came a ding and Nodoka looked at the pages of the book, before she gained a heavy blush on her face. Then she… posed for Negi, which was followed by another ding, to which the girl went back to the book again. She repeated the action however, this time whatever it was she read, didn't sit well with her. I glanced over suspiciously at the rat and saw him smirking at Nodoka. My right fist came down fairly hard on Chamomile's head and he cried out in pain from the impact, "Don't tease her ya dirty rat, or the next hit will be with my left hand and a good deal harder." I hissed to Chamomile, before there was then a poof of white smoke and Nodoka was back to normal, before her stomach growled loudly.

Negi and the rat, took Nodoka off to get her something to eat, in order to refill her energy that had been used for the invoking of her contract. I didn't follow them, as I saw there being other things in need of doing. There was still that 'fairy' as Negi called it out and about, causing trouble and I didn't like that hanging over us. Since I had managed to attach some mythril onto it, I should be able to track the little gremlin down and handle it efficiently, bringing the issue to a close.

Began searching around the area that it had appeared yesterday, then systematically worked my way out from that point. Felt nothing, that is until I got around the outer parts of the academy where there was a couple of different sites, that I felt a response from the mythril. Followed the feeling and it led me to a cemetery, where I found the little gremlin floating in the air, but that wasn't all I found. Nope, Negi was there along with Asuna and Nodoka beside him, Setsuna was a short distance from them. What got me even more on edge, was that Konoka was bound with vines connected to a 'tree' in the center of this cemetery, in the air above the ground. Setsuna leapt upward at Konoka, likely attempting to cut her down, but other vines attacked her and stopped her from accomplishing what she was trying to.

Witnessed Negi fire off a spell at the tree, but it was deflected. The thought that two more had just been added to the list of liabilities for Negi, flashed through my mind, but I ignored it for the moment. I spotted the gremlin move to be next to the tree, and I figured that if that gremlin was taken care of, then this would come to an end, so I ran towards it, transmuting a rod into a sword as a went. Then I used a gravestone as a launching object to propel myself at the trouble maker to strike it down. However, just as I was about to hit it, the little gremlin noticed me and disappeared, so I swung through nothing but air. Landed on the ground and caught sight of the tree withering away like it hadn't been there.

Let out a heavy sigh at the development of Negi gaining more of our students knowing he is a wizard and yet, not taking care of the gremlin for the trouble of that. Made my way over to where Negi and the others were, only to find that the other two who had a knack of ticking me off, the 'cat' Shigimi and the 'frog' Matsu. In fact, what I heard made it hard to not transmute the rod in hand into a club and send them flying, "More have seen you practice magic Negi, you cannot deny that this time," said Matsu.

"You know what that means, don't you Negi?" posed Shigimi happily.

I stepped forward and made my voice known, "Need I remind the two of you, that neither of you are in any position to talk about reporting someone else. Unless that is, you want me to spill your secret that would get you and your master into serious trouble in several ways."

After that, the rat came to Negi's defense, one of the few good things he does for the kid. Still, it came down to me to shoo the two tattle tales away and they did leave, which served to help a little with the current situation. Once it was proven that everyone was okay, all of us began to make our way back towards the dorms. The day was coming to a close after the events that 'fairy' as Negi had called it had caused. To me, that little flower thing was a trouble making gremlin that stories portray. And with it having gotten away a second time now, it worried me what it would do in future, for I doubt it would lie low for long. I came out of my thoughts as I picked up on the rat explaining about how Asuna and Nodoka were Negi's partners and what that meant. When I glanced around seeing that it was to Konoka that the white rat was doing this for.

I sighed at the issue that Chamomile was creating for Negi without thinking about the kid, and that this wasn't new, made this worse. It was when I heard my name being mentioned, that my attention sharpened, "So then, if Negi has both Asuna and Nodoka as his partners, then who is around to help Matthew?" Asked Konoka.

Everyone stopped at that question including myself, the girls seemed to be listening, while Negi was looking away. I believe that there has been a misunderstanding made, that being I'm a wizard and that is not the case at all. I cleared my throat, "Um Konoka, I don't have a partner…" I began and was about to explain that I'm alchemist and not a wizard, yet wasn't given the opportunity to say so.

No, what happened was Konoka coming up and wrapped her arms around my middle in a hug, which was one of the last reactions that I had thought I would get. Had just enough time to raise my arms as she embraced me, "Then can I be your partner Matthew?" She inquired.

Konoka looked up at my face with a mix of a smile and a 'puppy dog' look, which made her quite cute. …I'm embarrassed to say it, but I stuttered an amount, before I was able to answer in a calm, logical manner, "Uh… um…er, Konoka, I can't make contracts like Negi can, since I'm not a wizard technically," I replied.

Then Asuna spoke up, "Yeah freaking right you're not a wizard! You made a sword out of thin air with magic to attack that fairy, so don't deny that you're a wizard Matthew Selvess, if that's your real name."

"Asuna… you shouldn't… talk to one of our professors like that," whispered Nodoka.

Konoka glared at her roommate, "Asuna, what are you so mean to not only Negi, but also Matthew," she nearly demanded.

I was more surprised that Asuna had seen me perform a transmutation, though it wasn't like I was hiding the fact that I can do such things. "Ladies, enough of you bickering with each other!" I hollered, before continuing in a normal volumed voice, "For your information Asuna, my name is Matthew Selvess, it is the one I was born with. I am not a wizard as I stated, I don't believe that 'magic' exists, it is only a word that people use to explain something they don't understand or don't use their intelligence they have to explain it. What Negi does, is elemental manipulation, not magic! He will disagree with me in this and he is welcome to, I will not fault him for that opinion. Finally, I didn't make a sword out of thin air," I said grabbing one of my mythril rods, held it between my thumb and pointer finger, before clapping my hands together and pulling them apart while transmuting the metal into a longer rod as I didn't want to swing something dangerous around in the present company. "I change a short metal rod into a sword, it's a skill I have called alchemy, which is an art and a 'science', not an unexplained ability that a number call magic."

Konoka gained an expression of disappointment, but then looked to Negi and went over to him, "Negi, how about you do a contract with me, so then I can help Matthew and you?" She requested.

The request took Negi and me by surprise however, Setsuna stepped forward at that moment, "Miss Konoka, you shouldn't get involved in any of this! If you're in any danger then you have me to save you from it, so you don't need anything else." She stated.

As much as I dislike being 'the devil's advocate', I feel I need to point out the fact that the truth of the matter is, Setsuna had just unable to save Konoka. "Uh Setsuna," I remarked and all looked to me, "Perhaps it is mean of me to remind you of this, but you were just unable to save Konoka, Negi got her out safely. You made an admirable attempt at doing so, but still, didn't save her, yet she is fine so no harm done. My point is that having help isn't a bad thing, so maybe toning down the pride, duty and honor thing just a bit from time to time would do well for you."

The matter of whether Konoka should or shouldn't make a contract with Negi was settled by the girl herself, she kissed Negi and the rat doing his thing, making the pactio contract official. Then she went over to Setsuna and hugged her, "I can't let you take that kind of risk all by yourself Setsuna" Konoka sobbed softly.

Girls… so emotional about the little things, have a hard time seeing why they make such a huge deal out of things. Know that my sister Maria would smack me upside the head for thinking such, but as she's not here, I don't have to worry about that.

Chapter end

A/n

And that's where I'll end the chapter. Again, I've no idea where this chapter came from, one of those that just came in a huge surge and I managed to get it down. Now, in 3-A there will be some girls of course that will go for Negi and others will Go for Matthew. You can suggest all you want, but understand that the decision of who has relationships is mine in the end. And as for 'Truth' popping up, there is a reason, but I'm not saying what that is just yet. Anyways, some of you take the time to review and tell me what you think. Peace out all until next time!