Disclaimer: I only own my own OCs, Reina Whitehall, Hisao, Corentin Catherine-Verliane, and the lady in charge of Schwarzerschutz. Everyone else is owned by Ken Akumatsu.

Authors Notes: Don't expect an update anytime soon. I will be moving soon and I am also working on another fic that I am storing chapters for. No it isn't Twins Testing Trouble, which may as well be dead. The name of this chapter title came from the song "Fly Routine" by Hostile Groove.

Negima: Femella Intra Machina

By Dark Dragon Dave

Chapter 04: Fly Routine

The night falls upon Reina's first day at Mahora Academy. In the quickly fading beams of twilight, the Ivory Knight stands inactive near the class building. Several birds have taken to perching on it temporarily. The students are quite enamored with the girl and her robot now. Something she desperately wanted to avoid… too late now. Maybe she'll get lucky and this brief stint with minor celebrity will fade quickly. Because of her current predicament, she is able to convince her new teacher to show her to her room.

She feels bad, since she thinks she's really just using him. Thankfully, her sensei doesn't seem to mind much. They walk to the room she now shares with Chisame. This is one of the points she's dreading. Sleeping in the same room as a girl. Reina shudders at the thought.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I'm causing… and it's not even my first day."

Negi smiles at her, "That's fine, don't worry about it. Things will settle down soon."

"If you say so. So what is, Chisame was it? What is she like?" Reina asks the diminutive teacher.

The small boy ponders this over for a moment before answering, "Honestly, not that many words have passed between us. She seems like the quiet type. So the likelihood of her bombarding you with questions is slim. Tell you what; I'll come in with you to make things go a little more smoothly."

The girl nods appreciatively. "Thanks."

They enter the room to find Chisame packing stuff away in a closet. Quickly souring, the look on her face changes from nervous to angry. "Oh… you're here already." After clicking closed, a combination lock settles into place on the door.

Once again, the poor white haired girl's nerves begin to fray. "I'm sorry," she says weakly. And she was doing so well when the Ivory Knight's landing was impending.

Chisame gets a cranky looking scowl on her face which makes Reina feel even worse. "Why are you sorry?" she asks, a slight hint of disgust in her voice.

"Well, you were in a room all by yourself… and then… I came in and ruined that." Reina looks away as her voice becomes quieter as she speaks.

The computer girl sighs and informs her, "Listen, your bed is on top and you can use that dresser over there, next to your bags." With an emphasized point to the closet which incidentally has a lock on it, Chisame adds, "Do not open that closet. That is mine and mine alone." She pushes her glasses up on her face, causing the light to glint off of them in a threatening manner. "Consider it part of my agreement to let you live here, got it?"

Reina nods at her meekly. She can swear the temperature in the room dropped by a fair amount.

"Listen, I am busy right now, so why not take a bath or something," Chisame says in a tone that rang clear to Reina. Go away and let me enjoy these last few moments of being alone. "The boy there can show you where they are. You remembered to bring some towels, right?"

Reina confirms that she did, in fact, remember towels.

"Good, grab a couple, your washing stuff, a change of clothes, and have the kid show you where the bath is because he knows well where they are." Chisame huffs away from them and sits back down in front of her computer.


The door to the bath looms like, well a door. For Reina it means a huge leap she is not quite ready for but is a necessary evil. She could always hop into the Ivory Knight and go home and do this. She can hear other people coming. "So is this like a co-ed bath or…"

"No," Negi tells her. "It's girls only, even though I've had the chance to use it. Not by choice mind you." His face becomes red at these thoughts.

Reina smiles knowingly, shortly before a group of other girls, Kazumi Asakura among them, turns and walks down the hallway leading to the baths. Well, she may have to barge her way through, but… Oh, let's face it there's no way she is going to get closer to the group now approaching her. There was only one option. She is going to have to take Negi in with her and wait it out.

She grabs his hand and the first thing she feels is resistance. "I can't go in there!" exclaims the boy teacher.

He is right and she knows this. "I- I- I can't…"

"You can," Negi says with a smile. "You're a girl just like them. So there isn't much different between you and them."

"I know… It's just that—"

Someone of the group decides to interrupt her. "Hey look, Reina's trying to take a bath with Negi!" It was a pink-haired girl with ribbons in her hair. The group quickly surrounds them and snags Reina.

As they pull her unwillingly into the bath, Negi gives her a hesitant smile, a real "Sorry, but this is for your own good" look. The doors close and Negi leaves before they realize they could have taken him in with them.


Hell is generally considered to be a fiery pit of eternal torment and damnation, where screams fill the air and demons spend the day nipping at you while you do menial tasks, similar to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Very rarely is it a place described as having warm water and naked girls, unless you happen to be Reina Whitehall. She is trying her best to keep the thoughts at bay.

In her various items are two things she's used for a very long time. These aren't the originals, but they've been the same nonetheless for as long as she can remember. Two small rubber plugs that she uses while bathing or showering. They, the plugs, sort of resemble ear plugs to a degree. She takes one in each hand and places them in the connections behind her ears.

Most of the other girls have already gotten in the bath but there are a few who have elected to lollygag, seeing no need to rush into it. The shy mech pilot is one of them. If she wasn't so certain someone would probably stop her if she tried to leave, she would.

"Doesn't that hurt?" asks this one girl. She was in class earlier, but she seemed too small for that grade. She looks just like the other girl next to her so they must be twins… or clones. Fortunately, they have different hairstyles. The one who spoke has ponytails, the other one has odango. Reina tries to slide away, but the odango girl moves over to the other side of the taller mech pilot. "My name is Fuka Narutaki."

"Eh… not really. A- And nice to meet you."

"And I'm her twin, Fumika."

Reina starts backing away from the two. As she's stepping away, the taller girl thinks of the scene in the "The Shining." Only she's backing away and the twins are still there. Thinking of that just makes things even worse. Damn Stephen King and all his horror. All they need now is the girl with the psychic powers, the rabid dog, and Randall Flagg and they'd have themselves a party.

Unknowingly, Reina is working her way to the edge of the bath. "I could tell," she tells them. "It's kind of obvious." Her smile masks a need to run.

"Say, is there any reason you are backing away from us?" Fumika asks.

Lying, Reina responds, "No, it's just that… you know… busy and all."

Fuka asks, "Busy… in a bath?"

Damn. They got her. "Well, you know when you've got to clean up real quick. I still have some unpacking to do and all. I did just move here."

"By the way, Reina-san, you may want to watch out for—"

It is too late. She doesn't see the edge and falls right into the water. Her towel, which just her being in it was a miracle in and of itself, flutters about lazily before rumpling to the floor, despite looking like it is going to go into the water. Several other students issued complaints about being splashed.

Today is shaping up to be a very bad day indeed.

Reina sits alone, out of embarrassment, over in a farther end of the bath after apologizing profusely to everyone and scrubbing properly.

Kazumi chooses this time to get any and all data she can on the new student. A lone wolf is easily captured with the right bait. Quietly, she walks up to the victim… er, new student with note pad and tape measure in hand. Perhaps she can get her to spill something on the mech fight too.

"Hello," Kazumi introduces herself. Reina reacts like someone had poked her with a cattle prod. "Whoa! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Kazumi Asakura, and I keep an extensive record on our class of 3–A. And seeing as you are a new class member, I'd like to get a few things on you, if I may."

That's the last thing the now quivering Reina wants but at the back of her mind she can hear Negi and her father telling her this is for the best. With her nerves telling her to shrink away and run, she says, "O- Okay fine," with a wavering voice. "Um… wha," she gulps, "what's with the t- t- tape measure?"

"Oh that? Well when it comes to the class, I also keep detailed information on their measurements."

"Their what?!"

Kazumi looks at her like doing this is completely normal. "Hey, this is important information to know."

Reina backs away a little. "Listen, I think I've been in here long enough… so… I got to go."

As the white haired girl is about to get out of the water, Kazumi says, "I saw your mech fight… the one with the black mech."

Reina stops and turns around. "You saw that? How on earth…"

Kazumi smiles. "There are a lot of things on the internet. Mind if I ask you some questions about that as well? I am also with the Journalism Club and I smell an interesting story here. As prevalent as they are in popular culture, mech fights don't happen all that often. I'd like to get the view of one who experienced it directly. So if you help me, I might be able to put a positive spin on the fight. If not… perhaps you are bullying around another presenter. And information passed around on the net tends to spread quickly. And I'd seem a lot more credible if I had a close up picture of you. Whadya say?"

Not wanting to hurt her father's company and, more importantly, let her father down, she agrees. "F- Fine…" She slinked back down in the water and tried to focus on something else. This whole measurement business doesn't sound the least bit thrilling.

"Okay, first off, what is your blood type?" Kazumi asks. "I usually find this out in the original introduction as a lot of new students add it to their intro. You, however, passed out."

"Umm… To tell you the truth, I find… blood type compatibility to be a c- c- complete waste of time."

"…Really?" Kazumi takes notes on this. "Why's that?"

Reina explains, "It's not really based on any kind of science or anything. It's really j- just a superstition and I grew up in the scientific community. But if you must know, I am a Type O. S- So right there the whole thing is shot full of holes."

"Huh…" the red haired girl says as she makes a note of this. "So… what are some of your likes? I would assume robotics, right?"

"Well that's o- one of them. I also enjoy reading books," replies the timid girl.

"Uh-huh… Now, what are some of your dislikes?"

Reina is still feeling slightly uncomfortable as she speaks. "Well, I suppose… someone who would use mechs to force their will on others. I prefer to see them as means for space travel and possibly defense, but using them to bring pain and suffering is wrong."

Knowing a good lead when she sees one, the reporter latches on to this last bit. "Space travel, you say? Have you been to space?" Shaking her head in response, the mech pilot tells her no. "Okay…" Damn, that angle fell. "Now, the part of the game that everyone enjoys… getting those measurements."

At hearing this, Reina hopes maybe there will be some kind of weird electrical accident that strikes her dead. When no such misfortune happens and with the thought of bad press getting out about Kaminari, she accepts what must be done. Reluctantly, she stands up.

"You'll have to move over here," instructs the tape measure wielding girl. "The light's better over here."

Reina swallows her throat again as it felt like it was trying to escape. Her breath quickens as she approaches, dreading the instrument in the other girl's hands.

"Turn around and lift your arms a bit."

Once again, the timid girl does as she is told. The thoughts of her father kept her from running and hiding. She can hear the noise of the tape. Then it happens. The red head wraps her arms around Reina and brings the tape along with her, once around her rib cage, under her breasts. You're a girl just like them. So there isn't much different between you and them. Got to keep that in mind… but they seem to be awfully touchy. She is distracted enough that it comes as a complete shock when the tape goes around her breasts.

"Ah!" she shrieks.

Kazumi gets the numbers memorized before she asks, "What's the matter? Never had your bra size measured?" Now that the measuring tape is done she writes down the numbers and gets to figuring.

Well, in all honesty Reina has been shopping for them, but she did it herself and with better than expected results. "It's n- n- not that. I was thinking is all. And I usually go by myself."

"Certainly you went with your mother at least once."

Reina closes her eyes in a slight bite of sadness. "No… I don't have a mother. I am adopted."

"Oh! Oh jeez… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so inconsiderate." Kazumi honestly feels bad about bringing it up.

"It's okay. S- S- So what are you g- going to do with those numbers?"

A smile crosses the reporters face. "I'm going to rank you."

"Rank me for what?" the timid girl asks.

"I know every girl in order ranked on," says Kazumi, "bust size, so these are important numbers."

"Oookay," this bit of information is a bit too much for the scared new girl. She starts leaving when Kazumi grabs her by the shoulder. Her balance changes because of this and she twists around to adjust for it. Overdoing it, she ends up turning right around and falling backwards.

The water makes a gurgling sloshing noise past her ears as she is able to change this in to a backwards swimming motion. Well, actually calling it a swimming motion is being generous. Either way, it does its job of getting her farther away from Miss Touchy Weirdy. Her head is just above the water as something ends up blocking her way. Actually… two somethings that are largish and soft… A dread sense falls over her. Expecting just what you are thinking, she lifts her gaze upwards.

She can hear the possessor say, "Ooh… Oh my."

As expected, another girl is blocking her path to freedom. This one has ample… blocking abilities. "Ah!" Reina stands up quickly and begs her forgiveness. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. My name is Chizuru Naba, since we haven't been formally introduced. I would like to say, you should be a bit more careful," she says, her voice carrying its usual motherly tone. No anger just friendliness and understanding.

Perhaps she has been in the water to long, maybe something else… but… that phrase, that tone. "You should be a bit more careful," Reina mutters to herself. She shakes her head like she is trying to remember something. "M…"

The world gets a bit swimmy. An alarm, klaxons going off, she's heard them before. A flash of light, red, the sound of rapid gunfire… What is all this?

She comes back to reality holding her head and being held by the same girl she had bumped into.

"Good news," Kazumi tells her as the white haired girl opens her eyes, "You are tied for sixth."

Reina decides that with her head hurting, her fear, and all the stuff going on that discretion is the better part of valor. "Okay… I- I- I am getting out n- now."


Now fully dried off, clothed, and wanting to put as much distance between her and the baths, Reina decides to head back to her room. She once again comes to the door that contains her new roommate. With a steeling of her courage she turns around and heads away from this door too.

The night air is cool against her freshly washed skin. She still has her dirty clothes and other stuff with her as she leaves the building behind. She removes the rubber plugs from behind her ears as she walks along, thinking about how coming here was an utter mistake. There isn't anyone really out at this time so she walks to the Ivory Knight in almost complete silence.

"Who was I kidding?" she asks herself. "I am still a scared little girl."

Reacting to her presence, the Ivory Knight opens its hatch and lowers the winch.

Sighing, she asks the Knight, "Do I really belong here?"

The Ivory Knight says nothing in response.

"Like you would give me an answer." She says as she sits down near the foot of the large scale machine. "I can't do this, you know. I am a sad, pathetic person. Afraid of my own gender… how does that happen?" She remains silent for a while, listening to the breeze and the other ambient noises.

"This place is pretty quiet at night, isn't it?"

Without warning, a voice answers, "It's not always like this."

Quickly looking where the voice came from, the sitting girl sees the Takamichi guy that greeted her this morning. He is wearing the same suit as earlier… or a similar looking suit. The smoke from his cigarette trails off in the breeze. He looks rather dashing like that. "Umm… Hello Takamichi-san."

"Hello," greets the older teacher. "Say, is there any reason you are out here by yourself… with that stuff there?"

"I… I don't think I belong here," she tells him. "I think coming here was a big mistake and a waste of everyone's time. I can't even get through a day without fainting, summoning a giant robot, and almost getting everyone killed. I'm too weak to get over my fear because every time I see a girl I want to run or pass out."

The smoking teacher chuckles at that. "Is that all? I think you're wrong, you know," he counters. Reina looks up at him. "I think it's just a bad case of first day nervousness, I also think it takes a pretty brave person to pilot something like this, especially in the fashion that you do."

The dejected pilot doesn't say anything to counter that but it is clear his words didn't seem to make a dent in her mood. "I know you must see it as totally mundane to you," Takahata continues, "but it really is something that requires a lot of bravery on your part. It's just that you've gotten used to it. So just as piloting mechs is second nature for you, so too will this become second nature. Just some time is all you need."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes I am. And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll always listen when I can. Negi will also listen, and the Dean always makes time for the students," explains Takahata. "So there is a wealth of teachers and faculty who will listen. You needn't feel alone, okay?"

"Okay…"

"So how about one more day, huh?" He put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Show us all your confidence."

Reina mutters, "Mm hmm."

"That's good. Do you want me to walk you back to your room?"

With a slight bit more confidence Reina tells him, "No. I should be fine now. Thanks for the offer though."

Takahata smiles. "There, that's better. So I'll bid you good night and let you get back to your room."

"Good night, Takahata-sensei." As Takahata walks away, Reina picks up her stuff. With her slightly wet payload in arm, she gives the school one more shot.


Chisame is sitting at her computer, checking the clock in the lower right hand corner. It is getting late and her last few moments of privacy are going to an end at any moment. She checks the flow of traffic one last time, just to confirm that all is… 1000 hits fewer than at the start of the day? What?! Is this some kind of technical error?

She presses F5 in hopes of refreshing the data… maybe it is some kind of load error. When that resolves nothing, she is at a loss.

"Maybe some kind of bug in the tracker program," she thinks. When the door to the room opens, her thoughts shift to "Damn it."

Her new roommate enters rather hesitantly, issuing an assortment of apologies. "Umm… I don't want to be a burden, but is there a place where I can put my clothes and towels?"

"Yeah, there's a hamper over there." Chisame wishes she'd stop missing the obvious. Now there are two things wrong with her life. Her website has likely been hacked and her peace has been destroyed. Life just can't get any worse, can it?

Reina quickly dumps her clothes off and then climbs up into bed. "Oh! I almost forgot!"

Sighing heavily, Chisame turns to see her new annoyance remove some black things from her pile of clothes. "What the hell are those things?"

"Ah… Um… They protect the c- connections behind my ears from w- water and things like shampoo," explains Reina as she looks at them.

"She must have a stutter or something. Her voice sounds a little off, like she's afraid of something," Chisame thinks. "I'll chalk it up to being the new girl… Wait! Why should I care? Just going to end up being a pain in my ass."

"So, I could hook you up to a computer?" she ends up asking.

Reina is not sure about that, but at least it's a subject she's halfway comfortable with. "I don't think so… Maybe if there was enough of a work around and the hard drive of the computer in question is large enough. But I don't think that a standard personal computer would have the proper architecture for my mind."

"Huh…" Truth be told, Chisame checked out on the conversation at I don't think so. Things for her are getting weirder. Random posts are disappearing too, it seems. The log-in records don't show anything… What is going on? As soon as her hits started dwindling, they stop falling. This is all very confusing.

Without much to do about it, Reina takes her pants off and climbs into bed. When that is done, she places the pants on the top of her blankets… she'll get to them, and her unpacking, tomorrow as she doesn't want to irritate Chisame any further. Going to sleep would be the best option. Nice, quiet, and out of the way, sleeping is.


Much farther away, a black haired boy sits in a chair on a balcony, looking at the clouds below. He had a cup of tea to drink a little earlier. He often switches between it and coffee… but really, both were inferior and simply muddied up water. Still, water gets boring after a while. Caffeine likely isn't the best thing before bed, but what the heck.

His thoughts turn to Reina and how she is not with him now, not in a romantic way mind you. It's just that… she is the only other person like him on the face of the entire planet. And not having a knowing person to talk to about your experiences can get a bit lonely. A single dragon can have a million friends but not having other dragons to talk to can lead to a hollow existence and bring low even the mightiest of creatures.

A click from behind him signifies that he is about to be disturbed. And he so enjoys his quiet evenings.

"Bonsoir, Monsieur. How are you this evening?" asks a teen in a French accent.

He has an old fashioned pilot's helmet, one of the leather ones with the goggles. His hair is long, stopping at his shoulder blades, and light brown. His eyes are a maroon color. Wearing a white shirt like Hisao, but never bothering with a tie, he prefers to let the top button remain unbuttoned. On both of his wrists he wears a black leather armband. He has also chosen grey pants and white sneakers.

Hisao doesn't mind this guy, actually considering him one of his few friends. "I'm okay, Corentin-san. I'm just enjoying the night."

If Hisao had referred to him by his full name it would have been Corentin Catherine-Verliane. He sits down at the same table and tests the tea pot. There is some available and he notices there is a second cup. Happily, he pours himself some.

"Thinking about the girl again, no?" He sips to find that the tea is quickly losing warmth.

Hisao thinks about this for a moment before answering. "Yes."

Corentin laughs a little bit. "Are you sure you do not harbor feelings for her?" Hisao closes his left eye and levels a sideway glance at him. "Okay," the French teen says jovially. "But your thoughts often wander to her. Often, I wonder, you know?"

"There's no way I see her like that. Absolutely not." Hisao's voice carries a dead serious tone. "You know why I need her with me."

"Okay. I understand. I kid, you see? I do suppose that is good news." Corentin says with a smile. "Listen, I did come with a specific reason. The higher one, the lady, she wants us for a night simulation."

This strikes Hisao as being off. "Really?" Generally they let them get their rest.

"Yes, this is true. I heard that a weird girl showed up and offered a contract for us, and apparently she is still here."

"So we're being paraded out like meat for the purchasing," the black haired youth sighs. "I really don't like being tied to these people, especially when they use us like this."

"Hey, we can't complain. We are not lucky, like you," explains the French boy. "You, Monsieur, gave up a family. I still, to this day, do not understand why one would do that."

"I did it for my own reasons."

Corentin changes the subject. "Ah, I apologize. It is not my business. From my perspective it is strange, you see. All I ever had was my name, and I am lucky to have that. It gives me a start, should I ever choose to go looking for my parents. Due to French naming, I can start in Brittany. And if I have a friend with me, I do believe I am not truly alone."

The black haired boy reminds his foreign friend. "When will we be needed?"

"Oh! I have gotten sidetracked. We should leave now." Corentin gulps the last bits of cold tea out of his cup and shudders.

"Right."

The two of them get up and leave the comfort of the room, heading into the cold metal hallway.


Testing room number four is the room that contains the ten children that make up Mercenary Unit 12. This company, Schwarzerschutz Special Machine Design, is considered both a rival to, and far behind, Kaminari Grand Industrial when it comes to design and construction of large scale mobile armaments, sometimes referred to simply as "mechs" or "mecha." Because of this, they have to rely on something other than the minor government contracts they receive. Within the last few years they have developed a mercenary branch to the company which takes contracts for pay.

A side effect of this is a need for pilots. Their method of solving this is also a very shady practice. "Adopting" children. Most of their pilots were taken at young ages to grow up in the company. To keep from being noticed, they will take children from across the world. Japan, Australia, France, the United States, it matters not. Documents can be easily forged when one has the proper technology, and what matter would the lives a few unwanted children have?

The youths, all around 15 years of age, stands before the lady in charge like a line-up of troops. A majority of them are casually dressed. In front of them were a number of simulation pods, crafted to resemble the company's standard control scheme. However, there is one more pilot than there are pods.

"Why are there more pilots than there are pods?" asks the strange girl. She stands in the dark to prevent being seen.

The lady in charge, who is wearing a standard blue business suit and skirt, says, "Ah, that is because of our star pilot here." She walks over to Hisao. "You see, this child here can actually download his brain into a mech. A technique we have been trying to perfect. It gives him almost perfect control over his machine."

"Perfect. Let's see what he can do."


Hisao comes to the Ebony Knight and sees it has been plugged into Schwarzerschutz's simulation system. They spent quite some time after he arrived here trying to do even the simplest task with it. Programming and everything was like looking into the future for them.

After he ran away from his former life, he needed some place to get parts for the Ebony Knight. There are very few places he could go that would accept him, without returning the Ebony Knight for fear of legal action against them by Kaminari. Schwarzerschutz Special Mechanical Design is different. They kept a lot of things off the books.

So he works for them and gets room, board, and parts. That's not to say this position isn't without its perks. He gets an education here and a lot of freedoms like the other pilots. Perhaps they do good work, taking the children the world forgot and giving them something they otherwise would not have gotten.

The black haired boy quickly dismisses such thoughts as they tend to depress him. He climbs into the cool leather seat and doesn't bother strapping himself in since it won't be moving. The system here operates much like the one at Kaminari… to a degree. That degree being, it takes his mind and places it in a supercomputer. Kaminari's is a lot smoother and doesn't cause him any pain. The system here feels a lot like slowly rubbing his mind with fine sandpaper.

Hisao grunts to counter the initial sting. Once it passes he finds himself in a virtual landscape with the others. One of the mechs, a drab green one piloted by Corentin, approaches the black mech.

"Here you are." His voice carries joy with it. "So, yes, shall we be the paraded meat?"

"Whatever gets us by," replies Ebony Knight Hisao. Suddenly, on all radars, multiple targets appear in the west. "Okay, everyone, fan out, two to a group. They are headed this way; let us catch them in our net. When we are in position, activate Heat Signature Cancellation. You two," he points to two of the closer mechs, "go on ahead and when you get there, before we activate HSC, use the Local Radar Jammer to block them from guessing our locations."

The two pilots acknowledge the plan and dash on ahead of the others. As the rest finally take off, Corentin and Hisao group together and head south of the incoming enemies.

"To me, it seems like it is too easy," Corentin says.

Hisao agrees. "She wants us to show off our combat abilities, so I am inclined to agree with you. But by spreading out we prevent ourselves from getting into a battle larger than we can handle; but by the same token, if we stay close enough, we can prevent being overrun."

Corentin, farther away in his test pod, is happy to be on the field of battle with Hisao, even if it is a simulation. He is a great leader and worthy of admiration. "Good plan, Mon Lieutenant."

"We'll see. It's always been about the equipment, and since this is a simulation, we don't know what to expect."

The two mechs that left first now arrive and drop two spheres on the ground. Both of those spheres activate and begin the radar jamming they are made to do. The rest of the squad spread out to their predetermined locations. As the last to leave the starting point, Hisao and Corentin arrive at their spot last.

Then they wait.

For an unusually long time.

"Something is wrong," Corentin states.

"We've been duped into this. They are going to try to take us out one by one," observes Hisao. Over a private communications wavelength, he tells the others, "Stay alert and stick close to your team member. They are going to swarm us one-by-one."


"This hardly seems like a new strategy. It looks more like he's waiting for the enemy to make a move," says the mystery girl as she watches the battle unfold on a wall of monitors.

The lady from Schwarzerschutz counters with, "Oh, just wait."


"We cannot just wait here to be attacked, yes?" asks Corentin.

"Of course not," answers the Ebony Knight. "You and me, we're heading to where they came from."

"Oh! I shall follow your lead then," Corentin chimes.

They both boost off in the direction the enemies had come from. They arrive at their destination without having seen any trace of their enemy. Hisao comes to an abrupt stop causing Corentin to rush past him suddenly. The French boy pulls off a boosting zero turn spin while hopping.

"What is the matter?"

"We haven't seen them at all. Time to draw them out of hiding." Before his friend can say anything, all the jets along Ebony Knight Hisao's back adjust angle and he lifts effortlessly off the ground.

"What do wish me to do?"

"Pay attention… they are going to make themselves known."

Exactly like something that size shouldn't be doing, the Ebony Knight hangs in the air. He draws his rifle and begins firing in random places along the horizon. It isn't long before he is dodging bullets. In response he drops down back into the trees. In the distance, he can hear the sound of more gunfire. Apparently his teammates found the others and were now in combat.

Corentin eliminates two of the enemies before things quiet back down. He rushes off to find Hisao in the center of the forest. "Good job, Mon Lieutenant."

"It really wasn't anything." Hisao is slightly perturbed.

"You seem angry. Is something the matter?"

"Just this whole thing," Lieutenant Hisao states. "Trees? And what was up with the enemies? They fell for me showing myself. This whole thing was a waste of time when it comes to trying to show our abilities."


"Well," the mysterious girl says, "he's got you there. And with that, I do believe I have made up my mind."

With a slight grunt of frustration, the Schwarzerschutz lady presses a button and speaks into a microphone. "Okay, everyone back."


The group from the simulation stands lined up once again, unsure what was the whole point of the exercise. The mysterious woman and the Schwarzerschutz rep lady stand before the students. Hisao finally gets a good look at the mysterious woman. She's about his age with black hair and brown eyes. Hisao's not up on such things, but from her hair style, he guesses she is of Chinese descent.

"Yes," she says. "I have seen what I needed to. I would like to hire Hisao there. He is the most useful one."

Corentin speaks up out of turn. "I would like to go with him too."

"Corentin, shut up," orders the Schwarzerschutz representative.

"No… He could be useful as well. A team is more useful than a single unit. And he obviously knows how to control his mech as displayed by that turn he made. That requires considerable skill. I will hire him as well."

It looks like Corentin relaxes. "Merci, Mademoiselle."

"I will need you at Mahora academy in two weeks and you will need to stay for quite some time. I assume this is okay with you."

This strikes him as a lucky stroke so Hisao agrees, "Of course. Though, I would like to ask a question."

"And that would be?"

"Why would you need our services at Mahora anyway?"

"That," she walks up to him hand places her index finger on the tip of his nose as she smiles. It's then that Hisao notices a slight difference in their height… and how cute she is. "Is none of your business for now."

Hisao blushes at her sudden change in personality. "R- Right. As you wish."

Corentin looks at this girl out of the corner of his eye. His expression is visibly cooler towards her.

"See you again soon." She turns around and leaves quickly, her coat flapping as she walks out.


Morning comes again and Reina wakes up to the sound of an alarm clock that's not her own. Chisame also wakes up to that sound. Reina blearily flips her covers over, sits up and then stands. A split second later she is sprawled out, face down, on the floor in a t-shirt and panties.

"Oow…" complains the fallen girl.

Chisame witnesses the fall of Reina. She leans over and looks at the stupidity of her new roommate. "Smooth."

"Not used to the bunk beds…" It then dawns on her that she's alone in this room with a girl. And this girl just spoke to her. Mere moments later, she is over near her bag.

Chisame regards her with slight disdain as it's too early to start loathing. "God, you are sad," she mutters. "Listen, if you are a little uncomfortable, you can use this room. I'll get dressed in the kitchen. Sound okay to you?"

"Uuh… If that w- won't put you out…" Reina half-whimpers.

"Yeah… no problem." Chisame yawns and finally gets out of bed. So far this hasn't been all that bad. Her roommate seems like one of the out of the way types. "I can make some breakfast too, I guess. Never had a roommate to worry about."

Reina looks embarrassed. "Uh… Again, I don't want to be a burden."

"You're the daughter of the Kaminari owner, right?" the computer girl asks as she takes a fresh uniform from her closet.

"S- Sort of... Why do you a- ask?"

"You're probably used to getting waited on, aren't you?"

Reina nodded. "Yes, b- but that doesn't mean I am inc- capable of doing for myself."

"Ah… well, either way I can handle it to give you time to dress in private and when we are done eating I'll get dressed in there." With her clothes in hand, Chisame heads into the kitchen area.

This eases Reina, leaving her to get dressed for class by herself. She takes her shirt off, puts on a new bra, clean panties, clean shirt, skirt, socks, shoes and neck tie. By the time she is done, she can smell the food cooking in the kitchen area. Her mouth begins to water and her stomach grumbles. "Oh! I forgot… I didn't eat supper last night."

When it finally is done, the hungry girl is quite happy to see it, even if girls still freak her out. "Thank you v- very much."

She is about to eat when Chisame asks something. "I don't mean to be rude, but do you have a stutter?"

"Eeh… N- N- No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've listened to you and it seems there is a slight hitch in your speech is all, almost as if you are afraid of something."

"Oh… T- That."

"Damn!" Reina thinks. "How do I cover up my fear? If they find out I am afraid of them, it'll just make me a huge target, won't it?! Aggghhh… This is the worst thing!"

Breaking the scared girl out of her thoughts, Chisame says, "You okay? Why don't you eat? Forget I said anything."

"Huh? Oh, yeah…"

"Go ahead and put the dishes in the sink when you are done." Then Chisame adds, "I can take care of them later."

Reina starts eating and worrying about the fact there is a girl in the same room she is eating in. "I c- can take care of th- them, if you want."

While that sounds like a good trade off, Chisame also knows this means that Reina would be here later. The advantage is too much to let slip away. "No. I can do them."

"Okay. Thank you so very much for all your hospitality."

"Forget about it. When you are done, go ahead and head off."

The white haired girl nods and continues eating. Finishing shortly after, she leaves her plate and fork in the sink and quickly leaves.


Most of the class is assembled and separated into their social groups, most of which are discussing the rapidly approaching Kyoto trip. Some are discussing the latest rumors and gossip. Satomi and Chao are talking shop, with Chao yawning every now and again. Evangeline is sitting in the back, disliking it all.

Asuna, Konoka, and Negi, now with only an adhesive bandage on his head, rush up to the door like they do every morning in their tragic rut of lateness. Without a moment's hesitation, they slide the door open and bumble in to the room. Negi looks around to see that, yes, Reina is in class. Outside the room, part of the Ivory Knight can be seen, due to its exceptionally close proximity to the building.

The day travels along without much trouble. After classes end Negi approaches Reina. "Good afternoon," he greets.

"Afternoon, Negi-sensei," she returns with a smile. "Something up?"

"I was asked by Dean Konoe to ask you about joining some clubs. If there is anything you enjoy, there is likely a club for it."

"Ehh… I don't know. I like reading…"

"There are several reading related clubs, there's the Library Exploration Club—"

"Why would a library need to be explored?"

Negi thinks back to the events leading up to the exam. "Well it is an incredibly large library. There are parts of it that some people don't even know about. They have the Library Exploration Club set up to chart all the different part of the library."

"Sounds kinda Indiana Jones to me."

"You could always be a library aide."

Reina looks down. "Maybe I can take some time first? I am still having troubles getting used to the whole 'There are girls here' thing. I'd be useless in a club with nothing but a bunch of them." She looks outside at the Ivory Knight. "There aren't any clubs for people who can download, are there?" she asks jokingly.

"I'm afraid not," the teacher says in a similar manner.

Something floats into the girl's mind. "You're not busy, are you?"

"I need to go meet Konoka and Asuna downtown a little later."

"…How later?"

"About an hour, why?"

Reina smiles at him and stands up. "I'm bored… Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Downtown…" Reina tells him. She adds after seeming to inhale, "In about an hour."

Negi is confused as to what she is on about but then he looks outside. "You're not thinking about…"

"Just come on. I think I owe you a trip where you don't get hurt."

Negi counters with, "But I should stay here."

"Nonsense. When the time arrives I'll drop you off, or… are you scared from last time? I am still very sorry about that."

"I suppose I am a bit. I felt awful that I couldn't help you. I felt powerless."

"What could you have done, Negi-sensei?"

"I still feel like I could have done something."

Reina laughs lightly. "I suppose we both just need to drop our respective hang-ups. Me and my feeling bad for injuring you, and you for feeling powerless."

"Yeah."

The white haired girl holds out her hand. "Let's start over again. Hello, I am Reina Whitehall."

Grabbing her hand and shaking it, the young teacher says with a smile, "Greetings, I am Negi Springfield."

"So… Want to come along?"

"I think I will," he replies.

"Good, let's go."


As they walk to the Ivory Knight, Kazumi Asakura sees the two of them and decides to ask a few more questions she thought of since last night. While at this point she realizes that Reina owes her nothing, she still thinks it is worth a shot to see if she'll answer them.

The winch with the foothold lowers down and Reina stands on it. Negi plants his foot down as well as they both grab a hold of the wire.

"Hey, wait!" orders the reporter.

"Reina-san, stop the winch," Negi tells Reina. She does as he asks reluctantly.

"I'm glad I caught you, I thought of some more questions I'd like to ask, if you wouldn't mind."

Reina wishes there was a fast retract switch on the controls. "But I was just about to take Negi flying."

"Ooh… that sounds kind of fun," the reporter comments. "I was going to ask you a few questions, but I wouldn't mind going flying."

"Y- You can't just invite yourself…"

Negi, in his infinite wisdom, says, "Why not let her come along? The more the merrier."

"But then I really won't be making up for my mistake earlier," Reina tells him.

"But we resolved that. Plus," Negi motions that he wants to whisper the rest, when she leans in he says, "this can only help you, right?"

"You're the teacher," Reina says.

Negi realizes what he's just suggested. "But it's your body… mech… I guess. I'm sorry for suggesting it."

"No, you're right. But I'd still like to take you alone sometime though."

"Hello?" The slightly irritated red-head says.

"J- Just a sec- cond…" Reina uses the winch to lift her and her teacher up.

Asakura scoffs at the seemingly rude treatment she's receiving. Once Negi and the pilot are inside, the winch comes back down. She looks it over curiously and then places her foot on it like the other two. She presses a button the control panel on the wire labeled "UP" in English. The winch once again jerks to life and the reporter shouts as she grabs on to the wire to keep from falling off.

She soon finds herself inside the cockpit of the Ivory Knight. The first thing she notices is that Reina is sitting in the seemingly only chair. "So how does this all work?" she asks while the hatch closes. "Won't we get tossed around?"

"Not i- if I operate gently. If I just fly ar- round without doing a- anything too showy we should be fine," Reina answers.

"Good thing I brought along my camera. I wouldn't mind getting some aerial shots from around Mahora," Kazumi says offhandedly. "So how does this work? I've heard you talk about it, now show me."

"O- Okay…" Reina says answers as she leans back into the chair and fastens the safety harness. Safety devices clasp on to her legs and around her head. Two wires slowly lower down from above.

"The last time I was in here, she was in a chair away from the mech so I had the chair to myself," the small teacher tells Kazumi.

"So your brain and body can separate." Her curiosity is starting to increase.

Reina is quick to correct her as best she can. "Not l- literally removing my brain. It just takes my thoughts, rem- moves them, and places them inside the Ivory Knight. My b- body would die if it weren't for the life support systems that keep it functioning." She takes the two wires and effortlessly plugs them in. With her arms on the armrests, clasps wrap around her wrists. "All this stuff is to keep me from getting tossed loose, even though I don't intend on doing anything that would cause that."

And with that, her mind transfers over to the Ivory Knight, the insides of which light up when the transfer is complete.

"So… Did it work?" Kazumi asks.

A voice, Reina's voice, comes across speakers in the cockpit of the Ivory Knight. "And here I am."

The red-headed reporter is at a loss for words.

"Don't go overboard, okay?"

"I won't," confirms Reina. "Taking off!"

The Ivory Knight steps away from the building suddenly, scaring some of the people nearby and the birds off of it. Being extra careful, the steps she takes are small. Before she can take off, she has to get far enough away to keep from shattering windows. Reina soon steps out into the empty street. Her boosters flare up, allowing her to "skate" along the street like on an ice rink, sparks occasionally flying off the bottom of the feet.

"So when do weEEEEEE!!" Kazumi is about to ask when they were going to take off when she got that feeling one gets riding up in an elevator. Her reaction is more from knowing that they actually lifted off. "We're in the air, aren't we?!"

"Take a look for yourself," says the Ivory Knight.

The hatch opens, calling the intrepid reporter forward. She stands at the edge, looking out at the horizon. "Wow. Nice. I hate to ask, but could we go out to so I could get a nice picture of the campus?"

"Uh… Yeah." The hatch closes and a screen drops down. "Here, you can see what I can see as far as actual landscape is concerned."

"They replaced it rather quickly, didn't they," observes Negi.

Ivory Knight Reina became embarrassed at that statement. "Yes. The Kaminari technicians that look after my body here are rather quick and fairly efficient. And I can never apologize enough about that."

"Still on about that?" Negi asks. "We both forgave each other."

"I'm still a bit new to that idea. Sorry," the mech girl says. Slightly chuckling, she adds, "What's sad is it was my idea."

People around Mahora watch as a large white object flies about over their heads. Some, especially those affiliated with the robotics club, don't pay it much attention. Others tend to be freaked out that this large metal object, which has no business hanging in the air like that, is hanging in the air like that and moving about like it's a natural thing for it to be there.

They happen to glide over the forest and past a small cabin. Its blonde owner happens to be outside when the Ivory Knight passes over head, rising high enough to not cause too much of a disturbance. Evangeline regards it with her usual disdain.

"Like a kid with a toy," the diminutive vampire comments and then goes back to the book she is reading.

The trees rush under Reina as she boosts along, green streaks of verdant nature. Eventually the mech comes to an urban area, with taller buildings. Once again, teacher and student get the "excess gravity" feeling of rising up quickly.

It isn't long before Reina declares, "We are at the edge of town," as the hatch opens again.

Pulling her camera out of her pocket, Kazumi steps towards the edge again, feeling a wind rush past as she braves the danger of falling out. She levels her camera, but can't get a good enough shot standing in the hatch opening. She protests this with an obvious irritation.

"I suppose I could help, but how willing are you to get this shot?" Reina asks.

"Pretty determined, I'd say. The Aviation Club can't exactly hold a spot like this unless I talk to the helicopter guy, but he's the unfriendly sort."

The Knight brings its hand up to the hatch. "Climb out."

"Oh…" Kazumi judges the wind. With quite a bit of hesitation, Kazumi steps out onto the large metal hand, its fingers rising up enough to prevent her from falling off. In this delicate position she can see all of Mahora, its size and scale, all within her sight. She brings her camera up and snaps a couple of quick photos. Satisfied, she walks back in to the Ivory Knight, the hatch closing behind her. "That was amazing. It was so high up!"

"Negi, want to check for yourself?" Reina asks. "It's not every day you get to be so high up."

Having been so on several occasions Negi turns her offer down. Being a mage sometimes ruins the little things in life. Reina offers that he doesn't know what he is missing.

"You have a fear of heights, don't you?" Reina asks.

Negi is a little timid about the truth, beings as he can't tell her. Ever. "It's not that. It's just that…"

"Oh! Okay. I get you."Reina thinks he is speaking as though his fear of heights is the same thing as her fear of girls, which is to say it is a secret that he doesn't want out.

"So now what?" Kazumi asks.

"Is there somewhere you need to go?" Reina asks.

"Actually, I was going to ask you a few questions… Now I'd like to ask you what it's like, being able to do this."

"The short answer is 'it is like being a giant toy.' Sort of. The long answer is something else."

"I'd like to be able and sit down and ask you some questions," the paparazzo says.

Negi chimes in. "That's a great idea. You should do it."

Reina chuckles nervously, "Maybe later."

"Oh crap!" Kazumi suddenly exclaims.

"What's the matter?" Negi asks.

The tardy girl explains her situation. "I'm late for a club meeting. It starts in a couple of minutes!"

"I can get you there now, and it gives me a reason to go fast. Hang on," Reina advises. She opens up a panel in her back, revealing a larger engine than the ones keeping her aloft. "And by that, I mean stand up and place your backs to the rear wall."

The young teacher and student do exactly as told. Negi conjures up thoughts of last time he was… inside Reina. The way he thought of it and what she said last time, "But don't think I'm always this easy. I mean, the first date and already you are in me." He turns red as these thoughts surface again but he doesn't have much time to worry about that when they feel a sudden increase in G forces.

The massive engine screams as the Ivory Knight flies across Mahora like a jet. Most of the scenery becomes a green and blue blur, seeming to stretch as the Knight picks up speed. To prevent anyone from getting tossed about, and because her engines are on her back, she slowly angles herself backwards until she is traveling straight up.

"Sorry. Forgot to add sudden de-acceleration into the equation," Reina says as she continues upwards. "I didn't want to splatter anyone against a wall." After a short moment, she breaches the clouds. "Hey, at least I can show you this." Her screen changes from grey to blue and white, showing them a view of the cloudscape as she leans forward. "I would have opened the hatch, but there's decompression and stuff to worry about."

The white horizon starts to rise upwards as Negi and Kazumi quickly become weightless. "Have fun guys," Reina tells her two passengers as she heads downwards and the screen becomes grey again.

They spend a brief moment getting used to the weightlessness now handed to them. The two do any number of spins and rolls, laughing at having a once in a lifetime experience. Those trips aren't cheap, you know! 25 seconds of zero gravity experience and the two of them slowly descend back down to the floor, gradually gaining their weight back.

With one minor shake, the mech girl declares, "We've landed. I Hope I didn't make you late."

"I should be fine. And if I tell them I was in the upper atmosphere not a moment ago…" Kazumi smiles at thinking about it.

The hatch opens again and Reina offers her hand as quick transport to the ground. The comparatively small girl takes the offer and gets to the ground in quite a fashion. There are a number of other club members who are shocked at the entrance. Being part of the journalism club they decided to take some pictures. They had heard of the commotion yesterday, but weren't able to get any action shots of the machine. Now is a golden opportunity.

"Thanks," the now focused upon reporter says.

"No problem." The Ivory Knight stands up.

Kazumi shouts up at the mech, "I'll have to ask those questions later!"

As if she's perfectly okay with it, Reina replies, "Okay. Talk to you then." She kneels down and gives an energetic leap up into the air, firing her boost jets at the apex of the jump.

"It sounds like you are making progress with your fear already," Negi observes.

"I think it's the fact," states the mech in response, "that I just feel a lot more comfortable in here. So, didn't you need to meet Konoka and Asuna?"

"Yes, but I still have some time yet."

Reina laughs. "So, you do want to spend time with me…"

Negi rivals tomatoes for redness after she says that. "No, it's not that! I- I couldn't. They'd fire me!"

"So if you weren't a teacher, you'd throw yourself passionately at me, begging for my warm embrace and perhaps a kiss from your lover's lips? I'm not quite sure what to say."

"Ah!" exclaims the boy, "You're reading too much into everything I just said!" He is now in full panic mode.

"I'm just kidding you," Reina admits, "you know. It's fun to watch you squirm around like that."

Exhaling heavily, Negi relaxes.

"So what do you want to do now?"

Negi thinks this over. "How about seeing the tops of the clouds again? That was a lot of fun."

Putting more into her engines, she rises upwards like a giant chunk of metal. "Sounds like a plan then."

Eventually, she rises up out of the clouds like an unmoving shark fin; the clouds coming off of her like water from a swimmer coming out of a pool.

"We're here. If you want, and can give me a few moments, I might be able to open the hatch."

"But wouldn't the decompression kill me?"

Reina says, "That's just it. I can equalize pressure, and if you are still concerned, there are oxygen masks. I can lower one down."

"Okay. I wouldn't mind see the clouds without looking at a screen. If it won't be too much of a problem, that is."

"Not at all. Consider it making up for getting you hurt."

Negi sighs. "Are you still on about that? I thought we agreed to forget it."

"I'm sorry. I just won't feel right till I make up for it."

"You're just that kind of person. You feel you made a mistake and you want to make up for it. That means you are a thoughtful person."

If Reina could, she would blush, but alas she can't. "Um…Well, thanks I guess."

After several minutes, the door opens and Negi is wearing an oxygen mask, while Reina's hands provide a safety barrier. He's looking out at the beautiful scene of the clouds and the curvature of the Earth. The clouds below look like he could step out on them and they would be fluffy. And the silence is amazing. Usually he is dealing with any number girls and whatnot but all that is up here is quiet and engines, which seem quieter than they should. Ah well, he isn't complaining.

Breaking the peace, Reina tells him, "Whenever you are ready to go back, let me know."

He remains up there for a little while longer, trying to get every last second he can without seeming like he's using Reina, not that he doesn't appreciate it. "Yeah," he tells her, "I'm ready to go."

"Okay. Where are you meeting Konoka and Asuna?"

"Downtown."

"I hope I don't spread too much panic. Last thing I need is a bunch of people getting into car wrecks or something." Reina doesn't care to observe the jet that passes, within sight of her radar, behind her.

Oh, but it noticed her.

She flies down past the clouds, further and further down, Mahora getting ever closer. The tops of buildings skim by as she gets ever closer to downtown. Deciding it would be a good move, she slows down.


Konoka and Asuna are walking along the sidewalk, mostly doing window shopping, when Konoka gets sidetracked by some side store. It has a beautiful crystal ball. The happy brunette ogles it like a kid does a new toy.

"172,000 yen, are they nuts?!" she scoffs.

Asuna sighs, exasperated at her friend's distraction. "Well if you're not going to buy it can we get a move on?" the red-head asks. "He's probably already waiting."

Finding it hard to pull herself away, Konoka agrees. They don't get too far when a large metal white object comes from around the corner of the street ahead.

"That's them," says Negi inside the Ivory Knight.

The mech lands without crushing anything or knocking anything about with its jets. Negi's two roommates recognize the machine right away. They look at each other and jog up to it as it kneels down. The chest hatch opens again and she brings her hand up once more.

Negi hops out and on to the hand. "Don't forget, we have a class field trip coming up soon."

"Right."

"Hiya, Reina-san!" Konoka shouts.

"Hello, Konoka-san, was it?" asks the mech girl. "And Asuna-san, right"

Konoka answers with a "Yep."

Asuna follows with a, "Yes."

"So we'll see you later back at the dorms," Negi tells her.

The Ivory Knight nods and flies off after another powerful jump. That night, Reina is called into the Dean's office. It turns out that the jet Reina ignored earlier reported her to the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau. They got a hold of him and told him to reprimand the aviation club for going above their allowed airspace.

Reina apologizes for a good 20 minutes.

So that is what that machine is like in action… I can't wait to get myself into it. I just gotta keep feeding, keep on eating the data. Soon I shall be powerful enough to harness full control, and then we'll see who's powerful.

You go girl… Ha ha ha!

Negima: Femella Intra Machina Chapter 04: End

The End of the Chapter Stuff: Yes this one ran longer than the others by a lot. Sorry. And still no hint of the actual Negima story. Next chapter will be the Kyoto trip, I promise. Otherwise I'll be 400000 words in and not be at Mahorafest… Oh well. FIM was created to be a long term project.

A Special Thanks Goes To: Eternal-Longing for once again being a really good proofreader.

Thanks for Reading!