Disclaimer: I do not own Negima in any way, shape, or form. That would be Ken Akamatsu's brain child. The only thing that I own are my ideas and my OC, Clyde Metro, so please don't sue. I don't have enough greenbacks to be tossing them about like party favors.

Negima: Fallout

Chapter 4

Kazumi Asakura. Student number 3, date of birth January 10, 1989. Points of interest: Ace photographer, reporter, 3-A's human database, best friends with a ghost, and proud owner of the fourth largest bust in the class. And today, this girl's life is going to become even more interesting...

Class has finally come to an end and the students take their leave. In all of the commotion of the maelstrom of happy girls, neither Negi nor Clyde can feel the gaze of the class reporter locked on them. The redhead loses herself in thought as she continues her gaze,
memories of the night before dancing through her head.

The Day Before...

"Come on, Chisame! It shouldn't take this long!" Asakura playfully eggs on her irritated classmate, who mutters profanities under her breath in between keystrokes.

"Asakura, if you keep this up, how am I supposed to do a decent job? And why exactly do you need these pictures so badly?"

"News has been boring the last couple of weeks. We have the big festival coming up here in a little while, but it won't matter if I have stories from it if the readers have all been scared off before the festival hits."

"...And you're thinking that Kagurazaka's birthday is going to be the big news you need to save your readership?" Chisame scoffs as her printer whirs to life. "You're really losing it, you know that?"

"Hey, what would you prefer to see in the newspaper? A happy birthday for Asuna Kagurazaka, or..." Asakura chuckles softly before continuing on. "...the in depth interview with net-idol Chiu?"

Chisame chuckles nervously as she grabs the pictures from the printer. "Happy birthday, Asuna sounds a lot better. It would be MUCH more interesting to read a story about an actual student from the school rather than some internet idol that nobody has heard of..."

"I'm glad that you're willing to help out with that Chisame-chan." Asakura smiles, patting her brown haired "friend" on the shoulder before looking through the photos."Hmm...Okay, the rep rambling on...cheerleaders cheering...Makie pulling off backflips...there isn't really anything in here I can use. Not even a good picture to make a story up around...what do we have here?"

The reporter stares hard at one of the pictures, motioning for Chisame to come over and look as well. Both girls look at the picture, and then each other in confusion.

"Well, this could most certainly work for a story. 'Hell Freezes Over. Kagurazaka and Yukihiro Make Up And Play Nice.' Only one thing though..."

"...I don't remember that even happening." Chisame finishes the sentence out, both girls trying to scrape together an answer. The net idol looks over to the reporter, her look of confusion replaced by a look of skepticism. "You think I doctored that picture, don't you?"

"You had to! There is no possible way this could happen and then the very next day they get into a massive rumble. Birthday or not."

"What reason would I have to make up a picture like that? And besides, even as good as I am with computers, I couldn't doctor this one that well in five minutes. Look at all the detail! Just fixing it up to have the hair blowing in the wind and making it look that accurate would take me at least..."

Asakura chuckles, putting a finger to Chisame's face to cut her off. "You know, considering that neither of us can remember this little detail, I think I have a new idea for a story. Thank you for doing this for me, Hasegawa. Doesn't it feel good to do something nice?"

"Hmph. Whatever. Door's over there, Asakura." Chisame huffs as she goes to rummage through her closet to prepare for her favorite (and seemingly only) hobby.

Asakura looks over the photograph and continues to walk down the dorm hallway to her room. "Yeah, I have a new idea for a story. Nobody else had my camera last night, and I can't remember taking that picture of those two having their little happy moment, so what the hell is going on? What exactly happened last night? Did everybody get drunk or something?"

The reporter walks into her dorm, sitting the pictures down on her desk before pulling a videotape out of her bookbag. She pops the tape in the VCR and grabs a pencil and notebook before sitting down, curious to see just what exactly happened. Giving a speech...okay, can't really remember that one happening. A toast? Yeah, that's a possibility. Rep talking some more...ho hum...Asakura is about ready to fall asleep herself when she is brought back around by the sound of something thudding. She glances back at the TV, watching on in confusion as one girl after another drops. Down goes Asuna, down goes Ayaka, down goes Asakura. "Well, this is certainly interesting. And to think I was originally going to tape this as a present for Asuna..." Asakura continues to watch on, the confusion growing even larger as she notices Sayo having a conversation with Negi's pet.

"What the hell!?" Asakura quickly muffles herself, not wanting to draw any attention from the neighboring girls. "Talking ermine...amazing!" She sits back in her chair, scribbling notes down on her notepad as she watches the ghost and the ermine flee the room in search of what she gathers to be Negi. After another minute or so, she notices something else rather odd on the tape: something or somebody slowly starting to appear at one of the food tables. Another ghost in the class? No, it can't be. Whoever this is seems to be having a nice snack off the table. After a couple of minutes, Negi runs into the room with Sayo and Chamo. After a couple of minutes of listening, an irritated Asakura discovers just why exactly she can't seem to remember anything.

"Son of a..." The girl muffles herself again, hoping that nobody is getting suspicious yet. Not everyday one hears the usually composed class reporter screaming profanities, after all. After settling down, she rewinds the tape to view the part her outburst caused her to ignore. "Ooh, this stuff is pretty good. A lot better than some little hug between enemies, that's for sure. The way things look, I think that Sayo and myself are going to have ourselves a little chat tomorrow..."

"Asakura-san? Ms. Asakura? Are you feeling well?"

The girl is brought back to reality as she feels Negi tapping her on the shoulder. She jumps out of her desk in shock, nearly knocking Negi over in the process.

"I'm terribly sorry, Asakura-san. It's just that class has been over for the last five minutes and you were still staring at the chalkboard." Negi smiles warmly as he hands the girl her bookbag. "Is something the matter? Truth be told, you were one of the first girls I thought would swarm Clyde-san."

Asakura takes a few seconds thinking over her options, finally deciding to just play it cool for now. "I'm fine, Negi-sensei." The girl smiles back, patting Negi on the head as she does so. "I was just thinking of a new story for the paper. I'm planning on interviewing Clyde-san very soon though after I finish with this scoop I'm working on now. Sorry for spacing out."

"That's quite alright. But your studies are just as important as the newspaper. You're one of the top students in this class and don't want to see your grades suffer."

Asakura winks and flashes the teacher a thumbs up. "Thanks for the nice words. I'll try to pay better attention next time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do on that new story."

Negi watches as she walks out of the room, chuckling to himself as she passes through the doorway. "Her dedication to her work is impressive. Nothing is going to come between Asakura-san and her goals. Me and her are a lot alike in that aspect. She could make a good pa..." Negi slaps his forehead in frustration, cutting his thought process off. "Come on, Negi! Why do you keep getting these thoughts!? These are your students!"

"Are we having ourself a mental breakdown?" Negi glances over to see Clyde sitting in his chair, feet propped on his desk, and eating the apple that he had given Negi at the start of the day. "Sorry to cut you off there, but don't we have a meeting to get to with the Headmaster? I'm sure that you're just dying to know what the heck is going on, right?"

"Sorry for holding us up Clyde. I was just thinking..."

"About girls?" The blonde cuts him off, taking another bite out of the apple.

"Yes, about girls...no!" Negi stammers after falling hook, line, and sinker. "It's nothing like that at all! I'm a teacher and an English gentleman! I don't have time to be thinking about my students in such a manner!"

"Mm-hmm...whatever you say." Clyde chuckles as he tosses the apple core into the trash. "I'm an English gentleman too...just that for my cover and to avoid questions about us knowing each other, I'm from Baltimore now...anyways, your secret is safe with me, you little Romeo. Now come on. We got to go have a little chat."

Clyde throws the younger boy in a headlock and walks down the hall with him, smiling and laughing at all the comments the two boys are receiving. Meanwhile, hiding behind a corner, Asakura grins and makes her way to the girl's restroom.

"This is perfect. A nice little meeting with the bigwigs in the school. This little story about magic is just going to keep getting better and better."

Asakura snickers as she gives the room a quick scan, confirming that it is empty. She bolts into one of the stalls, locking it behind her before standing on the stool to remove a duct above. After taking her camera out of her bag, she sets it on the tank before climbing up into the ventilation shaft. "Okay, now if I remember right, I take the second left and then the next right to get right above the Headmaster's office." Everybody has always wondered about how Asakura is able to keep on top of the news world around Mahora; well the vents are just one of her tricks. She hums softly to herself as she continues on towards her goal...

"So Clyde, what exactly is going on? Why are you back so soon?"

Clyde chuckles at the boy before beginning. "It's simple, really. You are just such an interesting case that the council elected to have me stay on a little longer and watch you a little more, this time taking a more hands-on approach."

The Headmaster clears his throat and glares at Clyde, making his smile disappear into hysterical sobs. Negi looks on in shock as the older boy wraps his arms around him.

"Okay! Truth be told, after reviewing the report that I had given about you, the council wasn't thrilled at all. To be frank, they were pissed at the both of us. You for what you did to save Asuna, me for not carrying out a punishment and letting you off the hook. They're still trying to figure out what to do with you, but as for me, I've been suspended indefinitely! Man, this is the same reason I left the academy for three years! Those old dust bags won't listen to reason, or extenuating circumstances or anything of the sort...er, no offense, Headmaster-sensei. It's terrible!"

Negi sweatdrops nervously, blinking a couple of times as Clyde shakes him. "Oh crumb. I should have known that it wouldn't be that easy to get through that whole mess." Negi regains his composure, prying Clyde off of him before speaking up. "So what exactly put you back here if you've been suspended?"

"This would happen to be Clyde's new post for the time being." Headmaster Konoe pipes in, causing both boys to shoot their glances at him, hoping for answers. "You see, since he has been suspended as an Observer, the mages in Wales decided to give him another task for the time being. He is to assist you in your job here, as well as help the school deal with any...difficulties it may face. One stipulation that they were rather clear about is that both of your fates are tied. If one of you fails, so does the other. You two are quite lucky. They were actually thinking of turning you into ermines, but based on the end result, the council in Wales decided to show leniency. I hope you two appreciate this second chance."

Konoe chuckles before continuing.

"I know that based on your performance here that you won't let me down, Negi-kun. As for you, Clyde-kun...I've heard about you. Joined the Meldiana School of Magic at age 4. Graduated at age 10, an impressive feat not matched until Negi-kun pulled the trick off a few years later. After your graduation, you refused jobs from the academy in order to set out on your own path, with little known about you or your happenings for the next three years. Returned to the school, ready and willing to work whatever job you were given. Worked your way through the ranks rather quickly, eventually being promoted to Observer. Your resume is quite interesting. However, it seems that something in those three unknown years seems to have changed your outlook. I take it you had yourself some learning experiences during that time?"

"Yep. Saw the world, sailed the seas. Learned a lot about myself..." Clyde grins and laughs, quickly cutting himself off and changing to a more somber tone. "Sorry about that, Headmaster-sensei. Wasn't meaning to sound sarcastic. Truthfully though, those three years brought on some of the best life lessons I have ever learned."

"Glad to hear that you benefited from your time on your own. I hope that those experiences will help you in your tasks here. I'm expecting that you will not give me any reason to regret my approval of you to stay here."

Clyde smiles and bows in respect.

"Understood, Headmaster-sensei. I'll do my best not to let you down."

"See that you do. Now that we have that out of the way, I suppose that you will need lodging. We don't have any empty rooms at the moment, so I'll have to bunk you with some of your classmates. I'll have to get back to you on which room you'll be assigned. As for other things, if you need a girlfriend, my granddaughter is currently single."

A smirk crosses Clyde's face, which is quickly wiped away as he is tapped on the back of the head with Negi's staff.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Clyde!" The young boy scolds, the older one rubbing a knot on the top of his head. Konoe chuckles as the older boy raises his voice at the younger one. "This should be good for Negi-kun. He needs another friend here that is around his age. Hopefully this will keep him from getting homesick." The Headmaster walks over and stands between the two boys, stopping their little quarrel before it hardly has time to begin.

"Oh yes, before I forget, your bags are ready to be brought over. I managed to get that out of my phone call in between the yelling."

Both boys chuckle nervously as the old man pulls out a piece of chalk and a small vial before drawing a magic circle on the office floor. After finishing his work, he empties the vial onto the floor with what appears to be dirt before bringing his heel down onto the middle of the circle, causing the circle to illuminate the room and a slight wind to pick up. After a few seconds, the light and wind subside with only a couple of leather bags where the magic circle was scrawled.

"So they got that spell right...impressive." Negi stares at the bags in amazement as Clyde tosses both of them over his shoulder. "A teleportation circle that works halfway across the world...wow."

"Eh, it isn't so amazing." Clyde haphazardly retorts as he rummages through a cabinet in the room, pulling out his old clothes. "So far, they can only make one shot ones like you just saw. Plus, you need to have something from near the other circle to make it work. That's why Headmaster-sensei had to use that vial of dirt. Then again, it worked well enough for me to move back and forth this last time, so I guess it is at least slightly interesting."

"Negi-kun." Konoe calls out to the young wizard, snapping out of his impressed state. "Mr. Metro and myself still have a few things to work out. You're dismissed for now."

"Yessir."

Negi bows and makes his leave, being the second person to do so from the room, as Asakura works her way through the vents back towards the restroom, grinning like the Cheshire Cat the entire way back. "Heh. The way that little circle worked with the light and the sound effects, it was practically begging for me to take a snapshot. Now then, how should I break the news to my two little stars?"

Negi walks along the sporting fields after his meeting, lost deep in thought, having even more questions after the meeting than before.

"Why haven't they figured out a punishment for me? It isn't like I did anything too terrible. Like Clyde said, the only thing that was hurt by that were all those demons, and they surely wouldn't look at that as a negative back in Wales. At least they aren't going to turn me into an ermine...I guess that's good for a start."

The young teacher continues on his way, waving to his students as he walks. After a couple of minutes, he hears a thumping sound on his briefcase. Confused, Negi quickly opens it to find an ermine gasping for breath.

"Oh, hello Chamo." Negi cheerfully quips as the little creature fills his lungs with air. "Um, how exactly did you get in my briefcase?"

"Aniki, you know what? If you keep this up, I'm going to have to call the Humane Society on ya! First it was the launching me into a dumbbell, now it's tossing me in your case as you scramble to get ready for class!" Chamo drops his angry routine and softens his voice to avoid any unwanted attention. His composure returned, he scurries up Negi's arm and perches on his shoulder. "Ah, I'm just messing with you. Today, I stowed away on purpose. I had a feeling something big was going to happen today, and boy, was I right!"

"Wow, Chamo! How could you tell?"

"Um...it's a sixth sense with us ermines! Yep!" If Negi was able to get a good look at the ermine, he would notice the large sweatdrop beading on his head. Odds are that Negi would be less impressed if he found out that Chamo stowed away so he could get a closer drop off to the girls locker room. It's a shame, really, that the boy didn't have to open up his briefcase for any reason today. Oh well, where there's a will, there's a way. Chamo decides to change the topic before Negi can have a chance to notice anything off. "So, where we off to now?"

"Well, I'm going to Master's cabin to find out why she hasn't been in school the past two days." Negi pauses, a look of worry etched on his face. "I do hope there isn't anything wrong. I haven't even bothered to check with her for training. What if she's mad at me?"

Having passed the fields, Chamo takes the opportunity to light up a cigarette before speaking up again. "Well, the worst that could happen to you is that she will drain all of your blood and probably do something to your body to hide the puncture marks as to avoid suspicion. Maybe slash you, or cut your hea..."

Chamo pauses, noticing that they aren't making any forward progress and that Negi is kneeled on the ground, obviously in fear of the ermine's scenario. "Eh, I think I took it a little bit too far..." Chamo sighs before attempting to console the young mage. "Aniki, I said 'worst that could happen.' Besides, the full moon isn't for another week or so. Plenty of time for you to patch up."

Negi picks himself off the ground, gulping in fear, Chamo's little "pep talk" having not much of a positive effect on the young wizard. "I only skipped out on lessons the last two days, and that was with good reason. Besides, Evangeline and myself have gotten along a lot better. She wouldn't kill me...I don't think so, anyways..."

After a few more minutes of hiking, the duo reaches their destination. Negi takes a deep breath to try to compose himself before knocking on the wood door. After a few seconds, the door is answered, much to Negi's regret, by aforementioned vampire, her look of disinterest going to one of rage upon locking gazes. No matter how much he's trained with her, he still hasn't gotten used to Evangeline when she is furious...and for whatever reason, now seems to be one of those times.

"Great. What do you want, Negi?" After a couple of seconds of the boy trying to bulk up on his courage, Evangeline speaks up again. "You came here to waste my time apparently...oh, I get it. This is about me skipping out on your little class, isn't it?"

Negi nervously nods before being brave enough to reply. "Y...Yes, that is one of the things I wanted to speak to you about. Also, um...I wanted to apologize for missing out on our training the last two days. It's just that with everything that has been going on, I needed to be there for the other students. Sorry, Master."

The vampire looks on, now sporting an amused smirk. "Master? Where in the world would you get an idea like that? What would make you think that I would train you? And what has happened in the last couple of days that would make you skip out on our imaginary training?"

Negi freezes in confusion, thoughts racing through his head. "I know that she somehow drank that potion, but what is going on? Clyde said is was only supposed to erase the past day or so. It's like Evangeline had the last few months erased." Deciding to forage on, Negi speaks up again. "Are you feeling alright, Master? I think that you're a little confused..."

The smirking vampire now has the look of anger scowled across her face yet again as she grasps the collar of Negi's shirt.

"Now listen here, "Teacher." I don't know what kind of a game you are trying to play, but it is getting old fast. I've left you alone the past couple of months, but if you keep insisting on irritating me, that will soon change. I'm feeling generous today, so if you leave now, I'll let you be for the time being." Evangeline chuckles slightly. "Maybe I'll even show up for your precious little class tomorrow."

Eva releases her grasp on the boy and turns about, bumping into Chachamaru as she does so. The vampire glares at her servant, frustrated for smacking into her before speaking.

"See the Professor off the porch, Chachamaru."

Negi and Chamo both sigh in relief as the vampire storms off into the cabin. Feeling a little safer talking with Chachamaru, the young wizard speaks up.

"Chachamaru, could you please try to talk some sense into her? Surely she can't be forgetting the past few months."

"I'll try, Negi-sensei. I'm unsure as to why she is failing to remember the past as well. I am sorry that Master wasn't in a better mood today."

Negi smiles as he waves his arms to dismiss the robot girl's thought. "Oh, no need to apologize, Chachamaru. It isn't your fault, after all."

"...Understood. Good day, Negi-sensei. Good day, Chamo-san."

Negi sighs in defeat as the two walk back towards the dorms, the ermine lighting up another cigarette.

"Well, that probably could have went better, wouldn't you say, aniki?"

"Yes it could have...is it really necessary that you smoke that so close to my face?"

"Ah, I'm sorry Negi. It's just that those two still give me the creeps. If she's really lost her memory, that could spell trouble with the next full moon. You're going to have to be careful, y'know?"

The teacher nods, remembering his last encounter against Evangeline all too well. Given what he had seen from her in Kyoto, Negi knows he's in a world of hurt if the vampire decides to cut loose a little more in their next battle. The boy is snapped back to reality as he hears voices growing ever closer. He quickly yanks the cigarette from the ermine's mouth and stomps it out, putting his finger over Chamo's mouth to keep him from protesting. Glancing ahead, Negi is able to make out the cause of the noise. A ragged looking Clyde is walking, well, being dragged by his coat pockets to be more exact, by the Narutaki Twins. Closely behind is a chuckling Chizuru and a concerned looking Natsumi.

"Chizu-ne, are you sure that Clyde's going to be okay being pulled around campus like this?"

The brown haired girl chuckles as the twins continue to point out various things of interest to the new student, who is doing his best to keep up with the duo.

"Oh, he'll be fine. Fuka and Fumika aren't going to kill him. Besides, Clyde-kun was going to need the tour sooner or later."

"Look over there, Clyde-kun! That's..." Fuka pauses as she notices Negi walking towards the little group. The girls release their captive and run to greet said teacher.

"Good evening, Negi-sensei!" The twins cheerfully quip in unison as a heavy breathing Clyde and smiling Chizuru and Natsumi pull up the rear.

"Hello, girls. I hope you're not being too troublesome for Clyde-san."

"Us, trouble?" Fumika replies innocently.

"We're never any trouble!" Fuka backs up her sister before both girls look at Clyde.

"Right?"

The blonde boy chuckles and puts an arm on each of the girls' shoulders. "No trouble at all. They are actually pretty helpful."

"See, Negi-sensei?" The girls giggle as Negi smiles back. "You see, we found Clyde-kun on a triple date with Chizuru, Natsumi, and the rep and thought we'd tag along!"

The following comment makes Natsumi and Clyde's eyes shoot open as wide as saucers and both wave their arms in denial while Chizuru just smirks and chuckles. Negi, meanwhile, has a similar look on his face as the ones on Natsumi and Clyde's. He knows that Clyde can be a little brash, but taking three girls out? At the same time? The same day? Chamo would be proud...heck, Chamo is proud, as anyone that would be paying attention could see the ermine applauding on Negi's shoulder.

"Yeah!" Fumika follows up as she pats Clyde on the head. "Rep must have gotten embarrassed, because she ran off in a hurry after we said that!"

"It's a misunderstanding!" Natsumi pleads the group's case, trying her hardest to contradict the twins. "And Ayaka ran off because she likes N...eh?"

Natsumi is cut off as she is wrapped in a big hug by Chizuru, being muffled by her chest.

"There, there, Natsumi. That's enough for one day. Fuka and Fumika are just playing a prank."

The brown haired girl smiles broader as she crushes Natsumi harder with her hug. Negi sweatdrops, Clyde blinks a couple of times and stares, Chamo can be heard panting, and the twins...

"What's wrong with you two? Are you sick?"

"You're thinking dirty thoughts, aren't you Negi-kun? You want to have a triple date too, don't you?"

The last comment does little to help the young teacher regain his composure as he waves his arms begin flailing faster and faster as the redness in his cheeks increases.

"I'm an English gentleman, girls! I have no interest in my students as it relates to romance!"

The two girls consult with each other before turning back to Negi, looks of shock etched on their faces. Negi opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off as the twins begin bawling as if on cue.

"Negi-sensei doesn't like us!"

"Negi-sensei said nobody will love us!"

"Um...uh, I'm going to go do homework. See you all in class tomorrow!" Clyde takes the opportunity to get while the getting is good. Natsumi, free of the awkward grasp of her roommate, quickly scours her brain for an excuse to get out of the train wreck that Negi unintentionally caused as well.

"I'd better see how Ayaka is doing. She...er, looked a little ill when she left us. C'mon Chizu-ne, we'd better go check in on her."

Natsumi turns to her friend, who is calmly shaking her head.

"Go on ahead. I'll see if I can help Negi-sensei out of his little situation."

Natsumi nods and begins walking away. She takes a final glance over her shoulder to see a blubbering Negi who now has a pair of ball and chains around both ankles in the form of the twins. Everybody in the trio seems to calm down as Chizuru pats the twins on the back and starts talking. Natsumi smiles and continues back.

"Nice save for Negi-sensei, Chizu-ne."

The boy teacher takes a deep breath as he sinks deeper into the warm waters of the onsen. Normally, taking a bath would be the last thing on his to-do list on any day, something that he would have to be forced into by Asuna. But tonight, there was no persuasion needed by his roommate, as the boy has figured that this will be one of the few places he could get some peace and quiet in order to sort things out. That's what the original plan was, but has seemingly ran into a snag in the form of Clyde and Chamo, both of whom are cracking jokes in between them. Negi sighs in frustration, sinking into the water up to his nostrils by this time.

"Aniki, if you sink into that water any lower, you're going to wind up drowning yourself."

Chamo chuckles as he pulls a zippo out of seemingly nowhere to fire up another cigarette.

"Yeah, Negi. No offense to you or anything, but I'd much prefer to give mouth to mouth to one of the cuties at the school, not you."

"I like this guy, aniki! He's got a good head on his shoulders!"

"You're pretty cool as far as familiars go as well, Chamo. Negi could learn a lot from you, if he would only listen..."

"I think he'll be fine as soon as his hormones kick in, don't you Clyde?"

"Yeah. Then he can appreciate the finer things in life and stop being so uptight around girls."

The pair stops talking as they hear the sound of bubbles snapping. Glancing over, they notice that the cause is Negi fuming while underwater. Finally his head snaps out of the water as well as his composure.

"I'm not uptight around girls! I'm a sensei, not boyfriend material!"

The young teacher takes deep breaths to calm himself down as the older boy and ermine exchange looks.

"Hey now, no need to get pissed." Clyde grins as he slaps Negi on the back. "It's okay to think of them as more than students. Hell, you do have pactios with all of them, after all."

Negi is about ready to raise his voice at his two companions, but stops in confusion as the last few words sink in.

"...Pactios...with all the girls? I'm not sure I follow."

Chamo raises an eyebrow as he takes a drag. The ermine chuckles and shakes his head as he pulls out a deck of cards, seemingly out of nowhere again. Clyde trudges through the water, grabbing a water bottle out of his bag before looking at the cards that the ermine is currently shuffling through. The older boy just smiles and shakes his head in amazement as he looks through the deck.

"I know I already submitted my report, but that is still pretty damn impressive. I didn't even think it was possible to form pactios with things that aren't even alive. A robot and a ghost...damn, I'm sad that I got demoted from Observer, but happy because I get to see more of these interesting things firsthand."

"Am I missing something? I was thinking that those pactios wouldn't really count since I technically didn't go back to the past." Negi makes his way through the bath and glances through the set.

"Look, you should be pretty happy that nothing negative happened. We were lucky enough to have time more or less put a band aid on itself. We could have messed up the whole world if we weren't as careful as we were, aniki."

Clyde nods in agreement at the ermine's statement before continuing for him. "You thought that just because we skipped through time that the only thing changed would be a bunch of demons biting it? Sorry, but those pactios are just as real as they were."

"Well, I don't suppose it's bad as long as I don't bring the girls into danger." Negi muses as he lathers up his red hair. "If worse comes to worse, we could always break the pactios, right?"

"Well, I suppose we could..." Chamo replies as he puts out his cigarette, "...but doing that would require me to draw up a circle and having the both of you there to undo it. We'd have to do that with all of the girls, and some of them I don't think would go too wild over that. Plus, their memories would have to be erased from the tragic heartbreak that you would wind up inflicting on them..."

"Heartbreak?" Negi's face blanches as he thinks of the idea of 3-A breaking down in tears, one student at a time. Sure, they wouldn't remember anything, but unfortunately for the boy teacher, he would. "...We don't need to do that. I think it will be just fine."

Chamo and Clyde glance at each other, flipping the other a wink and a quick thumbs up as they do so. So nice when people are young and gullible. Something Negi will more than likely grow out of eventually, much to the chagrin of the ermine. Clyde quickly drains his water bottle, tossing it back into his bag before continuing. "Of course, there really isn't much you can do about the copies that were planted onto the girls, but you could probably just pass that off as a party favor or something if anybody asks. Besides, it isn't like they are going to know how to activate them."

"That's really great for all of us, aniki!" Chamo pipes in while stifling laughter. "Can you imagine how bad it would be to have a whole class of girls wandering around toting magic artifacts? It would be ermine city for you two, and worst of all, what would happen to me?"

"They could make you into a smaller ermine. Make you ride in a thimble." Negi retorts, seemingly relaxed enough now to be able to crack jokes with the rest of the group. The trio continue to come up with scenarios and continue their laughter.

"...oh man, that would be horrible, but not as bad as if..."

Clyde is cut off from his little joke as one of the pactio cards is held in front of his face.

"What, Chamo? I've already seen all of these cards. That girl is pretty ho..."

Clyde shuts up again as he notices that Chamo is sitting on Negi's shoulder, both of whom have looks of fear locked onto their faces. Clyde slowly looks up, eyes nearly shooting out of his head as he locks stares with the smiling school reporter.

"Wow! This is incredible! This thing is really magic!?" Asakura happily jumps up and down, clutching the card to her chest, giving the boys time enough to cover up. Negi climbs up out of the water and makes a lunge for his staff as the happy paparazzi puts her hands on Clyde's shoulders.

"So how do I use this thing, Clyde-kun? You need to tell me for my story!"

"St...Story?" Clyde chuckles nervously at the beaming girl. "We could always just keep this as a little secret. Secrets are good, right?"

"Not this one! The tape, the picture of that circle the Headmaster made, the card that is magical, and now an interview with the stars of my article! We're going to be rich! Help me help all of us...eh?"

Asakura stops mid-speech as she notices Negi walking closer to her, pointing his staff at her head.

"You gotta wipe her mind, aniki! We don't have a choice!"

"Hmm." Negi nods and continues getting closer to his mark. "I'm terribly sorry about this, Asakura-san, but it's for the best."

"Wipe my mind...?" Asakura ponders, putting her index finger to her lips as she thinks. "Yeah, that could work...but I bet I could still remember to push this button before you do that."

The red haired girl quickly pulls a cell phone out of her camera bag and waves it at Negi. "I don't have the full story yet, but I have enough information to make a splash. Maybe we should talk before you do something you regret, Negi-sensei."

Negi does as he's told, slowly lowering his staff and keeping his gaze locked with the still excited reporter. She glances back towards the water, where Clyde has his eyes locked on her as well.

"Hmm...are you staring because you're wary, Clyde-kun? Or..." Asakura chuckles lightly, making the trio of males all raise their brows. "...are you thinking about our little encounter a couple of nights ago? As big as my assets may be..." Clyde's face turns red before he slaps his forehead down into his palm. "...that wasn't the reason I weighed so much...which was rude of you to say, but I'll let that slide, considering you saved me from a face plant. Maybe when this is all said and done, I'll take you up on that dinner and movie bit." Clyde at this point is shaking his head and still blushing, having been busted in a compromising position. "You didn't notice my camera pouch, did ya? Silly...Observer, wasn't it? Yep, I think that's what you said you were." The girl kneels down and whispers into Clyde's ear now. "Did you like what you ended up grabbing? You know, I'm not sure what Naba-san left you in that little letter, but I am very open to suggestions as well."

Clyde's eyes nearly pop out of his head again as he moves his hand under his nose and tips his head upwards, not wanting to lose a large amount of blood twice in a single day. Asakura laughs and pulls out a cloth from the boy's bag. "They were right in class. You do have a dirty mind. I was only kidding with you! Just trying to lighten the mood here."

Clyde takes deep breaths and manages to compose himself. "OK, let's just be reasonable about this." The boy pulls himself out of the water as well and rummages through his bag, pulling out a small glass and a soda bottle. "Here, have a drink while you figure out how you want to destroy Negi and my lives."

Asakura raises an eyebrow at Clyde as he hands her the filled glass. "What is it?"

"It's soda, silly girl." She looks at the canteen and then the glass, filled up with a brownish colored fluid. "What? You've never heard of Pepsi before?"

Asakura shrugs and drinks the glass down. "I'm not trying to destroy your lives. I'm trying to help them. Keeping secrets is never good, Clyde-kun. If you and Negi are able to come clean, you won't have to worry about the pressure of covering your secret up. Plus,
think of all the money! We'll all be loaded!"

"Money isn't everything, Asakura-san." Negi replies as he pats the girl on the back. "If you do this, Clyde and myself will be turned into ermines...or with all of the chaos that the truth would bring, Clyde and myself may end up worse."

"They wouldn't do anything to you if they couldn't find you, right?" Asakura asks as she smiles right in Negi's face. "You two could mo...whoa..."

The redhead gal staggers backwards in a daze, her phone dropping from her right hand. Before it can shatter, Chamo manages to run under it, catching it in his tiny paws.Asakura still stumbles about, falling backwards and being caught by the former Observer.

"Man, I wish I didn't have to do that." The boy moans in frustration as he shakes his head sadly. "She would have gone on that date with me too! A date with the cutest paparazzi I've ever seen and it's shot down the tubes! The light at the end of the tunnel caved in. Game over before it even had a chance to get plugged into the system! Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that we were able to keep our secret, but it's still not fair that..."

Negi and Chamo shake their heads as Clyde continues to lampoon over his loss.

"Negi, does he always do that?" Chamo asks, looking over to see the boy smacking his hand on the ground in frustration. Negi chuckles and rubs the back of his head.

"It's something to get used to Chamo, that's for sure...Clyde? We should probably take her back to her dorm"

Clyde mutters under his breath as he approaches the old clocktower. So close and yet so far away. "Oh well, there will be other opportunities probably." The full moon looks down on the boy as he continues his lonely journey, the wind gently gusting through his hair and the moonlight shimmering off of the bag slung over his shoulder. He makes his way up the stairs of the clocktower and leans up against one of the walls, reaching into one of his bags to pull out his green cloak. Clyde is just about to nod off to sleep when he notices a transparent face in front of him.

"I'm sorry Clyde-san. Kazumi kind of jumped me about you and Negi-sensei." Sayo looks down sadly, hoping that the two boys aren't too upset. Clyde's face slowly turns from a look of frustration to a smile.

"Ah, it's fine. It's my fault to begin with. I should have cleaned up a little better before I left. Video cameras are a wizard's worst enemy, after all. I hated to ruin her big story, but Negi and I don't really want to become ermines either. She seems a good enough reporter.
I'm sure something big will come along for her."

Sayo smiles back, relieved that the two understood her situation. A little tough to lie and make excuses when there's a tape proving otherwise.

"So, um, what all did you do?"

"Well, Chamo took care of the stuff on her phone and deleted some of the pictures off of her camera. You know, for being an ermine, he sure seems to know a bit about electronics. Negi managed to find the tape that busted us in the first place after a bit of searching. Yeah, I think that we're going to be fine. My only regret about today is that the Headmaster still hasn't found a room for me yet. No offense Sayo, but I don't want to stay in this tower the whole time like a gargoyle."

"None taken." The ghost girl smiles as she fades into nothingness. "Good night, Clyde-san."

Clyde adjusts himself and gets as comfortable as he can. "Good night, Sayo-san"

A few hours later, Asakura begins to get her bearings back. She slowly sits up on her bed, holding her pounding head in her hands. After a few moments, she feels something strange resting on her chest. She unbuttons her shirt and pulls a thin cord and recorder out.

"What the hell...? Was I working on a scoop or something?"

The girl rewinds the tape and holds it up to her ear. After a few seconds, her eyes shoot open in shock. Shaking her head in disbelief, Asakura digs under her bed, pulling out a shoebox. After rummaging about, she pulls out a tape and pops it in her VCR. As the glow of the television consumes Asakura, she begins chuckling to herself. "The way things look, I think that Sayo and myself are going to have ourselves a little chat tomorrow..."

Author's Notes: And so, another chapter (finally) comes to an end. Sorry about all of the scene changes, but it's the best way I could figure it out to work without using a lot of words. 7500-plus for the story was enough, I think Don't want to bore anyone to death with a mountain of a chapter. Anyways, like I said at the end of the last chapter, the story is going to start picking up from here on out, so for those of you reading, there's a little something to look forward to. Kudos to DarkDragonDave for the new review. As for a couple of points of interest, those who have ideas for my story or want to point something out, there's one more way to get ahold of me. Drop me a line on AIM at Jack Midnight 04. According to the registration, I guess I'm not the original Midnight Sleeper...what a drag. Ah well. Also, based on what you've seen so far, where would you like to see Clyde wind up at? Is there someone you'd think he'd click with? A personal favorite you would love to see get more keystrokes thrown their way? Let me know. Honestly, I'd like to use my audience's feedback to pick a winner rather than rolling dice or drawing cards like I've been doing for things so far. If you want an extra incentive, March 3 just so happens to be my birthday, so it would really make me a happy birthday boy if you would leave a little feedback, whether it is something towards the story or where you want to see Clyde wind up. I can read stats as well as anybody, so I know that my chapters get hits, so even just one or two words for a name would be appreciated.

See all of you with Chapter 5 :)

-Midnight