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Disclaimer: I own neither Negima! Magister Negi Magi nor Fairy Tail.
Italics text = character thinking to themselves.
Underline+Italics = character communicating with telepathy
Bold text = shouting
Bold+Italcs = Casting Spell/Ability
Chapter Four
The Great Book Hunt Part One:
The Hated Book
"You're pathetic, you know that?" Asuna said as she watched Natsu grip his stomach as the carriage rolled along the road.
"Sh-Shut up…" Natsu moaned.
"Natsu doesn't do well with transportation," Happy said as he sat next to his sick friend.
"I'm referring to that you shouldn't trick a girl into doing a job with you," Asuna said, bringing into attention of the commotion that had occurred earlier.
"Why did you come, anyway?" Happy asked as he looked at both Asuna and Negi.
Asuna scoffed. "What else?" She asked. "It's to make sure Lucy gets back safe and sound."
After a second beating courtesy of Asuna, Natsu had explained that he had gotten a job to retrieve a book from a Duke of Evaroo and apparently Lucy had been recruited, or more like tricked, helping with the job due to the Duke currently hiring a blonde maid. The award was two hundred thousand Jewels, plenty enough for Lucy to live off of for a while with her rent of seventy thousand Jewels.
"It's okay, Asuna," Lucy said from her place at the window on Asuna's right. "It's an easy job I'm sure; all I have to do is sneak into the mansion and steal a book. Easy."
Apparently these people haven't heard the saying Easier said than done.
"Still," Asuna said, taking a look at the photo of the Duke. What a disgusting person was what she immediately thought the first time she had seen the portrait. "What is so important about this book that someone wants it stolen?"
"No idea," Natsu said.
"And you just took it?" the red head asked before sighing in exasperation. "I guess the jobs you do here are a lot different from the ones I've done."
"You were in a guild before, Asuna?" Lucy asked.
"No," Asuna said. "I was more of a bounty hunter, hunting monsters mostly."
"What kind of monsters?" Happy asked.
"Just the kind of monsters you'd find anywhere," Asuna said, her face taking on one of remembrance. "Demons, ogres; I even hunted a dragon once with Setsuna, though it got away in the end."
"A Dragon!" Both Happy and Natsu, whose motion sickness was momentarily forgotten, said in alarm, surprising both Negi and Asuna.
"What kind of dragon was it?" Natsu asked leaning forward across the small space between the carriage's sides.
"Was its name Igneel?" Happy asked.
"Whoa, slow down," Asuna said, holding her hands up defense. "It didn't have a name, and it was only a gryphon-dragon*."
"Gryphon…"Natsu began.
"…Dragon?" Happy finished. "What kind of creature is that?"
"A hybrid," Negi said as if it was common knowledge. "Why, what's so special about a dragon named Igneel?"
The next few minutes were spent with Lucy explaining Natsu's childhood, with Negi and Asuna sitting in stunned silence. By the time that they had reached their destination, the town of Shirotsume, the tale of Natsu's personal quest in search of his foster father was told in full.
"That's amazing, Natsu," Negi said as they departed the carriage. "I had no idea you had such a childhood."
"Ugh, I'm never riding a carriage again," was all that the sakura-hair mage could say.
"You say that every time," Happy said.
"Anyway," Natsu said, "I'm hungry. Let's eat!"
"How about we put our stuff at the hotel first," Asuna suggested, grabbing hold of Natsu's scarf to keep him from heading off to the nearest restaurant.
"I'm not really hungry," Lucy said. "Why don't you just eat your own fire?"
"What are you saying?" Natsu asked with a disgusted look. "Do you eat your own Plue or Bull?"
"Of course not," Lucy exclaimed.
"You mean you can't eat your own fire?" Negi asked. That made a little sense, since you'd just be eating your own energy.
"What a pain," Asuna sighed.
"Oh!" Lucy said then, spinning around. "Asuna, Negi, can you come help me with something?"
"What?" Asuna and Negi began before a hand grabbed the two.
"You guys can go get something to eat something," Lucy said as she towed her two captives away. "We'll see you in a bit."
Leaving a stunned and quizzical Natsu and Happy, Lucy led Negi and Asuna down the street and around the corner of the shop.
"Okay you two," Lucy said as soon as they were out of earshot. "I want answers."
"Huh?" The two mages asked, both wondering if their cover had been blown by Asuna's previous statements.
"It's about your friend Konoka," Lucy said. "I want to know where she learned to heal like that. Healing Magic is a lost art, and I'm surprised that Makarov-san hasn't asked about it yet."
Asuna and Negi looked at each other.
Got any ideas? Negi asked over their telepathic link.
One. Asuna said, clearing her throat.
"Actually," she said looking at Lucy. "Konoka has always been a healer."
An eyebrow on Lucy's face went up. "Really?"
"Yeah. We come from a small village in a small country to the east, and Konoka has always been one who wants to help and she discovered her affinity to healing magic a couple years ago." Asuna explained, silently praying that that was good enough for the Celestial Wizard.
"Then how did you learn magic?" Lucy asked, this time looking at Negi. "I'm sure a small town doesn't have a Magic School."
Negi shrugged. "Trial and error mostly," he said. "I did have some good teachers and managed to read books, but I mostly trained myself."
Lucy looked at the pair with a look as if trying to see if there were any lies in what she had been told. Both Negi and Asuna struggled not to fidget under her gaze.
"That sure explains a lot," Lucy said finally.
Negi and Asuna silently released the breath that they had held; looks like they were safe for now.
"You guys can meet up with Natsu and Happy," Lucy said, turning around and heading down the street. "I'm going to look around town."
"Okay," Asuna said, turning around and Negi followed.
When Asuna and Negi managed to finally find the pair at a nearby restaurant, all thoughts of going to the hotel clearly forgotten, and eating a large amount of meat as well, the two decided to have lunch as well while waiting for Lucy. Upon seeing Natsu's horrendous eating habits, Asuna immediately acted like she didn't know the pink-haired mage and tried to focus on her own meal.
"Let's save these for Lucy," Natsu said, setting aside some of the meat. "She looks like she likes oily stuff."
"Wow, this is oily!" Happy exclaimed as he munched on his piece.
Asuna could only sigh. Why did most boys have to be such idiots?
"Since when do I like oily foods?" Lucy's voice rang out then.
"Oh, Lu…" Natsu turned in the direction of the voice when he suddenly stopped midsentence. "…cy?"
Asuna and Negi looked in the direction of their friend and it was clear to what had caused Natsu's reaction. Lucy had apparently taken Happy's suggestion to heart and was now dressed in a maid outfit that was a little too small in the skirt.
"I look good in anything, don't I," Lucy said with a smile while the remnants of food fell from the two stunned Fairy Tail mages.
"Oh no Natsu!" Happy said in panic to Natsu. "I only meant it as a joke, but she took it serious!"
"Too late to tell her," Natsu said, holding his hand up as if to whisper. "Let's just go along with it."
"I heard that!" Lucy shouted angrily.
Asuna could only shake her head: You can't take these two numbskulls seriously at all.
After managing to help Natsu and Happy get over their shock, the group traveled to a mansion that was the client's. Oddly, when Natsu knocked on the door, a voice came from the inside asking them to come in through the back door.
Inside was a middle age man named Kaby Melon—to which Natsu and Happy's minds immediately went to the remembrance of food—who explained to them the fullness of the job. It seemed that they didn't have to bring the book back, only having to burn it as soon as they acquired it. The big shock came when Kaby informed them that he had raised the reward to two million Jewels, something that sent Natsu in to a fiery frenzy as he towed Lucy out of the house and toward the target's home.
By the time that Asuna and Negi had arrived, due to them resisting the urge to fly to catch up as it would attract attention, Natsu and Lucy were in the process of breaking in. Turned out that the Duke's horrendous appearance also reflected in his choice of maids, something that the two were grateful to have missed. With Happy's help, the group managed to make it to the roof were Natsu and Lucy were considering their next move.
"You guys really don't think we can just waltz in and take the book right?" Asuna asked as Natsu was currently pressing his face up against a window; man, what a kid.
"Why not?" Natsu asked, pressing his hand up against the glass. "We'll just sneak in, find and burn the book, and go to Mr. Kaby and collect our two million Jewels."
"Yeah, but don't you think it's strange," Lucy said.
"Strange how?" Negi asked.
"It's just that," Lucy said. "The name of this town, and the name 'Melon'; I'm sure I've heard those names somewhere before, but I can't be sure where."
"I'm sure it'll come to you," Asuna said. "Hey Natsu, wait up!"
Natsu had melted the glass with his flame and unlatched the door to the window; he slipped into the room with his three less willing companions following.
"Is this some sort of storage room?" Lucy asked as she stepped in.
"Looks like it," Negi said as he inspected a crystal ball on a shelf that had a wolf draped over it. For some odd reason, the young genius mage couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.
"Hey Natsu! Look at me!" Happy said with a skull over his head.
"Looks good on you!" Natsu laughed.
"Will you guys cut it out," Asuna exclaimed. "We're breaking and entering here!"
"Okay Happy, go see if the coast is clear," Natsu said.
Happy, with the skull still on, bounded over to the room's door, opened it to allow his head out, took a quick glance down both sides of the hall and returned to give the okay.
"What happens if we're caught?" Negi asked.
"Most likely we'll get killed by that massive maid," Lucy said with a shudder as she remembered the gorilla-like maid.
"We won't get caught," Natsu said with confidence.
"Just be quiet," Lucy said. "We can't let anyone find us. Doesn't it sound cool? Like a ninja?"
"Cool," Happy said.
"INTRUDERS!" The voice of the maid rang out through the corridors as the maids suddenly erupted through the floor.
"Blast it! They found us!" Asuna screeched.
Natsu, quickly wrapping his scarf around his head, shrouded his feet with fire and proceeded with a kick while screaming "Ninja!" sending the maids flying back.
"Let's get out of here!" Lucy said, grabbing hold of Natsu and darting to a random door with Happy, Asuna and Negi following close behind.
As luck would have it, the room that they had entered was clearly the Duke's private library, and thankfully the duke wasn't around.
"That was close," Lucy sighed, leaning against a bookshelf.
"I'll say," Negi said. "And I thought running from Dragons was tough."
Lucy raised an eyebrow, but decided to put aside her question for now; they had a book to find.
Natsu and Happy were way ahead of the resting trio, shuffling through the shelves as they searched for the book titled 'Daybreak'. Lucy then turned to peer at a shelf herself.
"To think that a creep like him actually has all of these books," Lucy mused. "If he actually read any of these, I might have a little respect for him."
"You know, Lucy," Asuna said as she too shuffled through a shelf. "You remind me of Nodoka."
"Nodoka?" Lucy asked. "A friend of yours."
Asuna nodded. "And one of the biggest bookworms that you could ever meet," she added. "That girl can get so absorbed in a book that she'll lose sense of her surroundings."
"Really," Lucy said in awe. "I'd really like to meet her. She sounds like a nice person."
"Just don't let her anywhere near Natsu, Gray, or any of the guys," Asuna said.
"Why's that?" Lucy asked.
"Nodoka has a little fear of men," Asuna explained. "She was even scared of Negi when she first met him."
"What!" Lucy glanced over at the boy, who was focused on finding the book. Thankfully, he didn't hear her exclamation.
"But isn't he younger than her?" Lucy added with a whisper.
"Yeah, but its Negi's personality that sets her off," Asuna said. "I guess that's what led her to confess to him in the first place."
"What!" This time, the three male occupants heard the blonde's cry and looked over at her.
"You okay, Lucy-san?" Negi asked.
"I-I'm fine," Lucy said quickly. "Just this book freaked me out a bit."
Seemingly satisfied with her answer, the boys returned to their search.
"How old is this girl?" Lucy asked as soon as the three were out of range.
"About my age," Asuna said. "Actually, I was there when she did it."
"And you're okay with that?" Lucy asked. "Isn't he your cousin?"
Asuna shrugged. "I once had a crush on my teacher who was old enough to be my dad," she said.
Lucy opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by Natsu's voice.
"I found a gold book," the pink-haired mage said, holding up the book.
"Upa!" Happy exclaimed.
"Will you guys look for it seriously?" Lucy shouted at the two. "Upa?"
"Wait," Negi said. "Look at the title."
The others glanced on at the cover and, written in black letters against the gold, was the words Daybreak.
"Daybreak!" Natsu exclaimed, bring the book down.
"We found it!" Happy said with joy.
"Are we really allowed to find it this easily?" Lucy asked, as if the entire scenario was too suspicious.
"Let's burn it then," Natsu said, his free hand covered in flames.
"Hold on a sec," Lucy said, snatching the book from the fire mage's hands. "This was written by Kemu Zaleon!"
"Who?" Four voices chorused.
"He was a famous mage as well as a writer," Lucy said. Her face then light up in joy as she held the book above her head. "I'm a big fan of his. I thought that I have read all of his works. Does this mean it's an unpublished one? Amazing!"
Diffidently like Nodoka, was all Asuna thought as Lucy, Natsu and Happy were arguing on whether to destroy the book or not.
Then, something told Asuna that something was coming and she wasted no time in alerting her friends. The ground then exploded and the Duke himself popped out, saying something about being a genius with letting the group do what they wanted, which Asuna disagreed with immediately. Now they'd most likely have to fight, and the sword user quickly slipped her card into her sleeve so that no one could see her use it.
"To think that all you were looking for was that worthless book," the duke sneered as he landed on the floor.
Worthless book? Lucy thought in confusion. The client wants it destroyed for 2 million Jewels and the owner says it's worthless?
"Then I can keep it?" Lucy asked hopefully. Asuna almost facepalmed; they were in a possible life-and-death situation and she was wanting to read that book! Just how far do bookworms go?
It didn't make anything better when Evaroo called out some hired body guards called the Vanish Brothers from a guild called Southern Wolves and Lucy was still trying to read the book. It was almost hilarious to watch.
"Natsu, buy me some time," Lucy said then, closing the book and turning around to dash out of the room. "This books has some kind of secret."
"Don't all books have secrets," Asuna mumbled as the blonde darted out the room.
Negi, meanwhile, was watching the Duke. He had seen the way that the man's eyes had light up at the notion of the book containing a secret and knew right there and then that Lucy was in trouble, especially when the Duke said that he'd be going after Lucy himself.
"You guys go after Lucy," Natsu said. "I'll handle these two."
"Natsu," Happy said in worry. "They're two Southern Wolves; I'll support you."
The blue cat stopped though at the look in Natsu's eyes.
"I'll be fine," he said with confidence.
Asuna sighed; sure go after and rescue a damsel in distress and let the men have all the fun. Geez, there really wasn't that much difference here.
"Fine," Asuna said, turning around and grabbing hold of Negi, "but don't come crying to us when you get beaten up."
Natsu smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"Negi, you and Happy go on a head," Asuna said as soon as they left the room.
"But Natsu said that we all go after Lucy," Happy protested.
"Look, Cat," Asuna said, taking on the aura that she often used with Chamo. "I'm sure that Natsu can take care of himself all fine and dandy, but those two are clearly not to go easy on. So I'll stay here in case Mr. Firehead needs any help, so you two get going."
Happy quivered slightly; that look almost reminded him of a particular member of the guild, but didn't say anything and only gave a small nod before following Negi in search of the blonde mage.
"I wasn't hoping to fight so soon," Asuna mumbled once the pair was out of sight as she took out her Pactio card. "But guess I don't have much of a choice, but I'll hold off for a little bit."
Bringing the card out in front of her, Asuna said with a loud voice, "Adeat!"
*Gryphon Dragon refers to the creature that Yue Ayase encountered during her race at the Magic School in Mundus Magicus. Don't know what chapter that is, but that is what it was called.
Sorry for taking so long and for possibly messing up this chapter. I know that I haven't put a lot of fighting with both Asuna and Negi in it, but the next chapter will have a bit more of their participation, so please be patient.
Thanks again to all of your reviews. I'll be announcing the results of the poll in the next chapter, so stay tune…I just sounded like an idiot, didn't I?
