"Neo Negima"
"Dancing On The Void"
By Sweet Heavens
Chapter 4: The Start Of His Mahora Days (Nearly)
Disclaimer: If I freaking owned Negima I would also have created Love Hina and if that were the case Mutsumi would have been with Keitaro. I may be a masochist but come on! At least Mutsumi was gorgeous!
Member of "Otaku Town"
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In the darkness water in the form of droplets echoed like a gong as it dripped onto the cold hard, malformed stone floor he was sitting on holding onto his knees and rocking himself. He was cold, disorientated and each time a muffled banging noise like that from an explosion made him nearly jump off his feet, encourage the beast known as his fear and fed his sense of inevitably towards the idea of dying.
His heart was like a revving engine that was gunned over and over with each time getting louder each time the booms occurred as it pounded into his ears, his skin unconsciously shivered as tiny droplets of ice cold moisture struck the exposed parts of his flesh. His body convulsed, shivered and shook so much his control over his bladder stepped ever closer towards being emptied out of fear for his life.
But the darkness was the worst. He could not even see the short black shorts he wore or the bright orange t-shirt was wearing. His head of red hair couldn't shield him from the water that with the veil of utter black made it impossible to anticipate in the slightest.
The boy had been here for hours even if it felt more like a decade. This cellar, this horrible dank prison was a natural underground cave protected by multi dimensional shielding scratched on with flint and special paint only a ward weaver, an artisan could bring to life. Normally these beautiful weavings of the energies that this world leaked naturally like a human would perspire were made to keep things such as noise, pestilence or indeed water like the moisture leaking into the large cavern right now from seeping through the bedrock and contaminating the various crates containing beer and other alcoholic beverages. These barriers however had been crudely altered down to their fundamental function as something meant to shelter in the last moment just before the boy's beloved uncle picked up his staff he had inherited from his uncle, a battered old relic of a foci and charged off to help fight the mystery enemy that was causing the bed rock to tremor above him.
The battle of the timber valley, a magical valley in Wales and specifically the land where the village Negi Springfield had grown up in was raging outside in the plain and inside the settlement. The one sided massacre by a horde of conjured demons against a village of magi ill prepared for such an onslaught was raging topside. Things were happening out there he would only see the aftermath of after crawling out of a thin wind eroded hole from before the installation of the barrier when the noises would stop. The rumblings of the caved in wall would before the end of hostilities cause the hidden stalagmites of which one used to balance a damaged crate of Mundus Vetes wine because of its irregular height compared to the rest to crumble like a house of cards on top of him, burying him under a great mass of solid stone for three hours until he dug himself free with his bare blood soaked hands. Combined it made him either hesitant or unable to vacate for four solid hours where he found nothing but ruin and people made of stone that put Michelangelo's David to shame.
But now he had to wait here in this timeframe lost in fear once more, again powerless and woefully uninformed to what his people and their fate was to be. Negi as a small boy barely lived had only his imagination to play tricks on him, his rebelling soul imagining the catastrophe that might be manifesting above and body threatening to soil him with an overwhelming searing desire to see his beloved older sister Nekane who had ran to the front lines despite her weakened abilities in combat. For god sake her specialty was alchemy based chemistry to be specific artificial plant food. She had no place in a battlefield.
Still here in his uncle's underground storeroom he had no idea of the disaster currently underway or the blunders that would leave his whole childhood in flames like the distress communication spells to the Welsh National Guard that would take nearly half an hour to be received after getting to their destination as the on call guard was found to be taking a smoke break instead of being at his station meditating in a communication circle to wait for messages to copy down.
Again that wasn't the only mistake the Welsh National Guard made from their lack of foresight or budget. They had cut the manual observation of the antiquated anti demon shields around the village to make way for an automatic observation post that on the night in question had been getting its maintenance and henceforth not activated, leaving the mistake made by the fact the backup supposed to be listening in for messages of distress that much more horrifying to believe.
These many errors and the way Negi had to wait here had fuelled his entire life, his anger, his drives to see his goals a reality and most importantly of all his distrust of any official magical body. It had stolen the majority of the comradely attitude for years between Shishou and student in the magical world as he trained to the brink of death at times. But most importantly of all when he figured out roughly who had ordered this destruction the red headed male allowed the poison of hatred to bubble in his breast in regards to his own father for dragging his enemies to his village even beyond the grave.
The vision in front of him made three consecutive bangs as he remembered just before the uneven floor for the first time shook and cracked violently as he well he presumed anyway, the lining of dimensional shielding keeping him safe began to fail as a critical keystone was turned to pebbles by an earth movement like a tremor presumably from a high wield energy based impact. All around him in a few moments a stalagmite was destined to crush him nearly to death only for him to escape the jaws of death with a few broken ribs.
Suddenly that darkness became light; the cold water replaced by the warmth of something fuzzy over his skin. Oh and there was a wet feeling, something hot and fleshy that was pressed down upon him from somewhere and it felt very, very comfortable? It also served to bring the angst laden recollection to an abrupt halt.
Soon and sooner than he had liked that wet, sensual, loin stirring sensation was gone and a giggle replaced it as if the owner of that cute laugh could read his thoughts or sense his feelings about being parted from them.
Negi didn't deny his urge to groan in embarrassment. He had been dreaming about that again… And his faithful minion had as usual pulled him out of his nightmare and provided him with something more pleasurable to focus on.
What a good minion she was. He heard a giggle and assumed she had read the sarcasm going through his sleepy mind.
His eyes fluttered open to the sight of a very familiar female with fiery red hair, green almost glowing eyes telling him she was using her damn powers on him as she leaned over him like a lover greeting her mate after a good night's sleep. Above her was an unfamiliar ceiling, grey with a simple humming ventilation panel. It was a small room, more like a cell and for a second he had the sudden fear that his attack on Library Island and his day in his new dorm room had all been a dream and he was actually incarcerated in a holding cell in Mahora city. The burgeoning sense of panic threatened to murmur loudly until Negi remembered the events of last night that led him into what they claimed was a hospital bed.
Gaia just looked at him like a cat would to a mouse. She had the advantage at times like this and took advantage when she could. While waking up or going to sleep Negi was at his weakest to her powers of compulsion so for now until his mental fortifications were jostled to react he just succumbed to her powers of suggestion and just blatantly stared at his demonic partner.
Gaia in her human form was captivating. Apart from her gorgeous face she had the perfect hour glass figure supermodels couldn't compare to match including her long, slender and luscious legs that accentuated her great bust that was neither too small nor too big. She was the epitome of the proverbial goddess even in her choice of clothing that was no more than a shred of fabric to cover up her assets and maintain her modesty. An old legend no demon would ever offer an opinion to collaborate on stated that each time they took a new master their forms especially those of the succubus changed and fixed themselves minus the clothing of course to suit their new contractor's personal preferences.
Negi's personal beliefs refused to acknowledge that legend. Admitting that for whatever reason even if he had evidence to back it up in earshot of the succubus would only ever give her more power over him. Her contract was already far too lenient as it was and she had drove a hard bargain like for example it had taken four hours to talk her out of wanting a clause that guaranteed her days off from duty. She was most unusual with demonic behaviour that didn't follow the typical aristocratic manner summoned and contracted demons usually obeyed like an unofficial code of etiquette they took great delight in embodying as if to remind their masters and contractors how pathetic in comparison they were to them. Her payment for the services was deferred for at least twenty years when usually it was upfront to avoid the impossible concept of cheating a demon out of their payment and Gaia most intriguingly of all refused to return to the realm of her existence preferring instead to live out her days when she wasn't gallivanting around causing havoc within his body when almost all demons would implicitly tell you that spending more than a second longer than they had to on this side of the dimensional divide was for them truly hell. Oh the irony.
"Good morning master," Gaia greeted, "How are you?" Her dainty hand with skin the colour of milk with perfect pink fingernails caressed his long messy hair that needed to find a shower at some point. "Are your wounds healed?" She helped him sit up with a hidden strength that did not match her choice of body type and Negi felt a twinge of pain but it wasn't majorly painful, more uncomfortable like you would feel if a limb was asleep. His naked torso rippling with muscle had the usual scars but his healer had been skilled. The doctor had applied his energies in the right places and in ways beyond Negi's current abilities. His battlefield healing was pastes and potions than subtle regeneration of the flesh.
"I've seen better days," Negi understated, "You?"
"I have survived the trauma of being speared between realms yes," Gaia replied sarcastically, stroking his hair some more. She was very touchy feely. Negi had read this was in their nature as creatures that elicited emotional responses to use to feed from.
"Good to hear that," Negi replied brightly, his heart on the other hand felt a little heavy. The woman caressed his face for a moment reading his emotions, maybe even gently surgically eroding the parts that were feeling upset at getting her hurt before returning to his hair.
"So you got yourself stuck here then," Gaia said, waving her free hand around in the tiny room. She was the master of changing the subject and keeping it that way. "I leave you alone for a day and you end up working for the guy we were trying to steal from and then get into a fight with a new enemy and then you dare to wake me up before I have had my beauty sleep in the middle of said battle." She laughed a dainty sound that failed to reach her seductive eyes that peered deep into his soul. "What ever will I do with you master?"
The mage who was her master just shrugged and tried to look disarming but the wink he shot her told a different story. "Maybe by helping me out so I can get this damn job done swiftly?"
"Not too swiftly I hope. I quite like the feel of this place. The buzz of the underground shields radiating, the feel of untouched earth from the usually magically saturated land of Mundus Magicus hell I even like the boring, mundane feelings of the magi that live here." She licked her lips. "So tasty and," she exaggerated wiping her mouth as if she had excess drool, "So open for me to sample."
Negi offered her a lopsided grin and leant up, exposing his naked torso completely. He was still in the rags from last night where Takamichi had dropped him off in this room minus the shirt. The magic erebea markings had not been hidden yet due to the complexity of the glamour he used to obscure them.
"Maybe we can get that coffee while we do?" Negi smirked, "And the biscuits."
"Your doctor will not like you leaving master," Gaia teased, trailing a finger down his arm slowly. She had done this so many times Negi barely noticed her attempt to make him uncomfortable. "But I like your idea. I mean you made a lady all sore from all that exercise you had me do and nothing to show for it."
Negi rolled his eyes at the innuendo. His eyebrows were probably the strongest muscles in his body from all the daily practice. "You don't think I hurt all over from all those metal throwing weapons last night?"
She caressed his cheek, smiling an angelic smile despite the irony of that description then pinched his cheek hard with her nails breaking the skin. Just after she let go delicately, Negi grimaced as that look morphed into her serious expression.
"I saw that battle," indicating her ability to read every single memory, feeling and emotion he had with no means of blocking her powers. It got annoying as he had to soon abandon any concept of privacy not so long after he agreed to their deal. "And I saved you from violating our contract," Gaia said smugly mouthing each word one by one while slapping his sore cheek slightly each time like she was telling a bad pet to behave. If she didn't have the contract amendment promising she could voice any problems without repercussions he could have muttered a single phrase and she would have been on the ground screaming in agony. "A little poison will not harm you."
"So I was poisoned," Negi muttered, remembering his thoughts at the end of the battle last night, "You sure about that?"
Gaia smirked satisfactorily while she very much so ladylike in her movements rose to her feet and glided across the empty room and tapped on a section of the wall. An outline of a square of light appeared briefly before a hissing sound followed swiftly by a panel depressing and sliding to the side revealed an alcove containing a clipboard. She took out the pad of official looking paper, opened up to a page and showed him his diagnosis from his physician.
As he was a routine resident of hospitals, shaman tents or any other place where one had their bodies sewn back together the mage had become somewhat of an old hand at understanding his medical lingo. He saw the usual shit. There was his shoulder wound, the expected cuts, scrapes and oh he had broken his wrists for the first time for a while but never noticed it in the heat of battle. What stuck out made him talk out loud and summarise the jargon. "Alchemy based compound poisoning. Suspected to be the green dust," Negi murmured. That brought back some memories. Green dust in its dust like state was harmless but by adding simple tap water to it and exposing it to a blade conducting energy it became a slow acting poison that paralysed a person. It travelled up to the brain, killing all the nerves on the way until it caused an aneurysm and then obviously death. The only problem was Negi was sure that only one group used it as a weapon as the actual manufacturing process of the powder was unknown but who was it that made this stuff again?
"Cosmo Entelecheia uses this poison master," Gaia answered on the behalf of his memory, showing she had been reading his thought processes again. That damn telepathy was also a stipulation in her contract but why was she using it instead of talking to him? She put away the file into its space and pointed upwards with a tilt of her pretty head. Negi looked up to see a tiny lens that caught the light.
He was being spied on. How delightfully predictable of them and how bloody obvious it was too that they would have some sort of spy looking in on what they were doing.
"Thanks for the heads up," Negi mentally returned. He filed away his clue regarding Cosmo Entelecheia being in contact for certain with this Seijou group and those shadow men. "So," Negi drawled, "Any chance of getting me some clothes so we can get that coffee?" The sudden changes to speech made the succubus jump onto the bed next to him and ruffle his hair.
"They didn't bring anything for you," she crooned into his ear, "But the way your lady doctor was looking at you I think she won't be quick in finding any clothes."
"It seems all my working out has paid off," Negi japed, flexing his arm. "But let's gets moving so we can find someone who can lend me some clothes."
Gaia helped him to his feet the moment he offered his arm for her to hold onto. His bare feet felt cold on the tiled floor making him wince as he stretched out his muscles. Negi nearly tumbled when the mage managed to become fully upright but Gaia was quick to wrap her arms around him to steady him. A warm trickling sensation entered his mind, an odd mixture of confidence and self belief.
"A little pick me up I saved for you," she joked. Her long nails retracted, trailing down his chest as they did. With the right mindset given to him Negi took the time to gather some magical energy and reform the glamour hiding his markings. There would be questions about their meaning already and it wouldn't help him if he advertised their existence.
"I am much obliged Gaia," Negi thanked, wrapping his arm around his servant's shoulder. "Hold me while I get these muscles awake."
The demon effortlessly held onto his waist while he warmed his body up. It was like some kind of awkward dance where he kicked his feet into the air so he could touch his toes and stretched out his arms until his weary body woke up. It took a few minutes but with a reassuring nod Gaia let him go assured he wasn't about to fall on the floor like a drunken lout.
"The antidote for the green dust must be finished going through your system," Gaia declared, rubbing some imaginary lint from his naked shoulders. She was really, really into the touching thing. "The stiffness is probably a side effect."
"I agree," Negi agreed. It was not like he went out of his way to be contaminated by exotic poisons. At most he had found some poor sucker's corpse out in the middle of the desert with his nose bleeding when he had last come into contact with this poison. "I feel great now." Negi pulled off a compacted back flip into a sliding lunge using his right foot to descend on the spot before righting himself. He grinned at her saucily, "I'm feeling flexible."
"What a show off my master is," Gaia giggled, her eyes switched colours like a kaleidoscope before settling on brown. While the big details remained the same at all times but little details like her eyes changed colour at will. She claimed it was a sign of her rank in the demonic order. Her clothing shifted into a skirt with stockings while her rag which held her breasts in place turned into a blouse cut at the stomach. Negi smirked at her choice of footwear, a pair of cowgirl boots she knew were Negi's favourite. "Shall we go look for some clothes?"
Negi winked and concurred with her thoughts. "Want to cause some mayhem?" The fact he used some telepathy had her covering her mouth to hold in more of those melodious giggling.
Suddenly another hissing sound came from the door as it was depressed, a brief hum from a force field lowering and a beeping sound like one that belonged to an opening safe Gaia had once broke into. She had pulled off that haul by doing what she did best and charmed a drugged up security guard to let her in with her wearing little more than a bikini top and string panties.
Man those were good times…
"How are you feeling Negi-kun?" Takahata Takamichi stepped into the room as casual as one would enter their own apartment and leaned against the perfectly white walls, cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Last night when they had briefly met on that school roof he had been wearing an identical suit to the one he wore now only blue instead of brown. He had adopted the same deceptively relaxed stance that hid all that power. The schoolteacher had changed little from when he first met him with that same eerily well kept facial chin hair and the same short spiky grey coloured hair cut.
"Hi Takamichi," Negi greeted, "Did you ever buy that Ferrari?"
"You decided I was buying that Ferrari," Takamichi said. He just stood there with his hands in his pockets. Gaia's wings shimmered into being and caught the light from the ceiling. As expected and as he always did react like this the teacher did not even flinch at her rather obvious attempt to provoke him.
"That you did master," Gaia concurred. "You pointed to it the last time you two met in Singapore when he turned his back to you for a moment to admire the car and you teleported into the shadows."
"I did, didn't I?" Negi mused; knowing damn fine he had pulled the oldest trick in the book to escape another lecture from the teacher who Negi knew meant well but couldn't drop an argument older than the dinosaurs. "Takamichi," Negi said after giving Gaia a mock warning look for giggling at the memory. She was not helping things. "It is nice to see you again and I promise this time not to teleport when we say goodbye to one another. So keeping that promise in mind ahem," Negi made a gesture to show his inadequate attire, "Could you get me some clothes?"
"I think I can do at least that much," Takamichi said, "While we do that I can show you around some parts of headquarters and we can give you the things you had shipped over."
"A sound idea," Negi said, "After you Gaia," Negi suggested gentlemanly, gesturing for her to go first. She rolled her eyes at him but obeyed him anyway without saying a word. She swayed her hips and summoned her tail so it would wag in time with her hips. Negi grinned when she pouted at another failure to fluster the experienced teacher while Negi amused himself by patting the former member of the crimson wings on the shoulder and mouthed an apology he didn't really mean before stepping out into the underground tunnel.
The corridor was cylindrical in shape with an almost arch shaped ceiling matching the two doors he could see on either side of him with the narrow metal corridors stretching out tightly right through on both sides with seemingly no apertures between the two circular blast doors. It looked like he had the only room in the whole complex but upon inspection Negi was impressed with the concealed nature of the door that when closed over would give the appearance of a door that never really existed. The hum of magic was stronger though that by holding one hand in the room and into the hall proved his hypothesis that any attempt to escape his hospital bed with force would have been much harder than he figured.
The Valkyrie Corporation did good work with their MDN (Magical Discharge Neutraliser) systems. Unlike dampening fields created by magic that made you feel like someone had given you a pair of concrete shoes and thrown you into the ocean you tended not to notice the MDN at work until you walked into a room where magical energy was more prevalent and then out again. He could see their trademark all over the construction or at least the renovation of this facility. In fact he was surprised he hadn't thought about that when he was crawling through those tunnels in Library Island and felt rather foolish about it. His machineguns and other gadgets came from the biggest supplier of magi-tech on both sides of the divide.
Takamichi led his guests down the left tunnel. When they reached the blast door Takamichi placed his hand upon a hand print recognition system directly centre and then resumed walking down another vacant corridor. They did this about six times in silence while in reality Negi and Gaia had a talk telepathically about random meaningless things whilst Takamichi once again showed that cool aloof side of him by merely showing the way.
At last in the middle of the seventh tunnel the mild mannered teacher stopped in the centre turned to the right where it looked like was him staring at a mere blank wall. From within it a square hole opened and a robot arm attached with some kind of camera came out and looked down upon the kanka-ho master. A red laser beam bathed his body from head to toe and after it was done it zipped close up into spectacled eyes. The teacher removed his glasses and the red beam was shined into his left eye. Takamichi held up his hand and his open palm was subjected to a burst of that energy as well.
"That is one sophisticated scanner," Negi mentally complimented, "If that had been what we needed to deal with in Library Island we would never have gotten very far."
"The headquarters of this city keep getting more and more impressive," Gaia returned, "It is so much easier now to sense things and I can more than I could before like order, disciplined minds but I can feel treats in there too."
Negi was kicking himself silently for missing the signs of being under a MDN field. "We are in a military installation that have fighters that so happen to teach when not going to the rescue," Negi argued, "But to more important things Gaia. Is there anything we can exploit?"
"Hormonal tendencies like immature lust, uncertainty and feelings of inadequacy," Gaia shot back, "Teenagers work here in other words or maybe even small children reside here."
Negi let out a snort that had Takamichi show some interest in them for the first time in a while. His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as the scanner went back into its hole and a door depressurised and slid open to reveal another sealed door that opened to into what looked like an elevator.
"Follow me please," Takamichi requested, putting out his cigarette before doing so. Negi did his gentlemanly duty and motioned for Gaia to go in first. As she did so he grabbed her tail and pulled. She hissed in pain but got the message to change back to normal. Who knew how these people they were meeting were going to take seeing wings and a tail. Negi stepped into the lift and sat down on the conveniently placed railing inside it.
"Level three, section three please," Takamichi said out loud. There was a series of monotone beeps before the elevator door lifts closed. They ascended for a minute then unexpectedly it began to move horizontally. Negi fell into Gaia's chest. He grinned, languishing in her warmth before he retook his former position. It was just his luck it was a recently developed technology called a hyper lift that could move both vertically and horizontally.
"Don't say a word," Negi warned mentally.
"I shall not say a word master." She giggled and projected a feeling towards him that felt like someone was getting annoyed or embarrassed and nudged her head towards the cool as ice Takamichi.
"Wow," Negi said out loud but was saved from Takamichi's questioning look by the lift coming to a halt. They were led to a darkened room so dark nothing could be made out except for small shadows. The temperature inside was also freaking cold like they were in an industrial meat freezer.
"Lights," Takamichi commanded. There was a similar beeping noise like in the elevator then several lights turned on where they were met with a small, empty room with two perfectly square holes parallel to each other with a giant metal pole. Negi was about to ask what the hell the room was for when Takamichi spoke again. "Recognise Takahata Takamichi employee type overseer number twenty thirty three alpha. Please give me Springfield Negi-san, employee type special contractor number one two three beta gamma's school uniform."
A whirring noise from a motor started inside the wall to his right. The metal pole started to vibrate and soon enough like a conveyor belt a plastic coated school uniform much like the one he had been given back at the room. Takamichi accepted his clothing on the teenaged mage's behalf and then handed it to him.
Negi had expected much but for all the suspense made all he got for his trouble was an automated drycleaner. Negi rolled his eyes and his demon was laughing daintily having picked up Negi's mood. "Where do I change?"
As if it was waiting for the question the artificial intelligence receiving Takamichi's command opened another pressurised door to reveal a mirrored changing room. Before Negi could get a comment from Gaia about assisting him changing (Takamichi had already been given enough ammunition to lecture him with) he stepped inside and quickly changed into his black blazer, white shirt with a blue striped tie that he used to hide his binding necklace and black pants. He was even provided some school issue shoes to wear and a school bag like a satchel.
"Oh you are so darling," Gaia squealed upon seeing him in a school uniform for the first time. Negi gave her a wink and did a moon walk after he stepped out of his changing room.
"I have waited years to see this," Takamichi stated approvingly, showing a lazy smile. He had his cell phone in hand and Negi groaned with the flash from his camera.
"Is that necessary?" Negi asked honestly, "Who are you going to show?"
"I promised Eishun a shot," Takamichi said, shrugging.
Negi decided to remain silent despite his urge to voice his issue with the teacher handing over images of him in a changing room to random people he only knew by name.
"I want one too." Unsurprisingly that was Gaia asking. She was batting her eyelids at Takamichi.
"I forgot when I gave you a cell phone," Negi muttered warningly. "Do not give her anything Takamichi."
"I will have it printed off for you," Takamichi said in a gentlemanly manner, ignoring the plight of his friend's son.
"You are such a good man," Gaia thanked earnestly. The signs her using a compulsion to briefly snare him were Takamichi's sudden stiffening breath and his brief dilation of his pupils.
The teacher stepped into the lift, taking the time with his back to them to pretend to adjust his tie. Gaia giggled once more and Negi followed in without making a comment.
"Are you alright Takamichi?" Negi enquired jokingly. To his disappointment the man looked positively normal when he turned round.
"The main hub," the teacher requested. Negi followed his line of sight that led to the smouldering look Gaia was sending him.
"That is enough," Negi commanded, nudging her in the ribs. "Takamichi isn't going to play anymore."
"He's still flustered master," Gaia said amused as usual. Her new plaything was outwardly giving a good show of conservativeness.
"Just stop it please."
The trip was a bit rougher than the first. Three times Negi found out why they provided hand rails as it went up then slid to the side before dropping down several levels before levelling out to a side once more until they came to a full stop. The lights went out and a scarlet beam passed over them from top to bottom.
"Takamichi," Negi started in a questioning tone, "Is this a multi spectral scanner?"
"I think so why?" Takamichi asked as it passed pass his neck.
"Will it illuminate," Negi said, looking at his hands. Indeed the mysterious silver of Lancea Mercurium living within his magic erebea markings was showing, glowing like a glow stick. "Know what never mind." It wasn't like it was a big secret but he didn't want Takamichi seeing where it hung out when he wasn't bashing in skulls with it.
"I had wondered where the lance mentioned in Kotaro's report had gone," Takamichi mused, "May I ask…"
"Better off asking the wind for answers to what the hell it is or its reasons why it came to me," Negi said off hand. Gaia`s eyes were actually glowing as well, the sensor was penetrating her guise and like she had two transparent layers of skin both her human and demon form was starting to show where the light was lit over her. "Looking good my dear."
"You're quite shiny too," Gaia flirted back, taking a provocative pose that emphasised her bosoms. "Do I look just good to you master?"
"You scrub up very well indeed my dear servant," Negi said eloquently. The scan was completed and the sound of a lock unlocking brought hope that all the security checks were complete at last. Anymore of these holdups and the mage was wondering if he could smash his way through.
"Please state name and clearance code." It was an automated kind of voice that asked them that came from all around them. These security measures were getting insufferable.
"Takahata Takamichi, employee type overseer number twenty thirty three alpha. I'm escorting independent contractor, Springfield Negi-san, employee type special contractor number one two three beta gamma and…" He looked at Gaia awfully sheepishly.
"AA ranked succubus Gaia," Gaia supplied eagerly. It wasn't her full name but in order to say it required the human tongue and oesophagus to be literally capable of spinning three hundred and sixty degrees and the one time he had heard it he hadn't really as parts were below even what a dog could hear. So she was stuck with Gaia.
"And AA ranked succubus Gaia, servant of Springfield Negi-san, employee type special contractor number one two three beta gamma to see the base commander."
"Voice confirmed. Please proceed inside Takahata Takamichi and guests."
As soon as that voice was done the elevator door opened they were hit by the sounds, noises and sights of a state of the art military base in action.
It was gigantic. The base was built on four separate levels all facing a rotating 3D real time holographic image of Mahora city on a large crystal like holographic emitter. It showed everything to the smallest minute detail from trams moving around on tram lines to individual cars stating their current velocity. The system had floating monitors filled with code showing read outs from police radios right down to when the traffic lights were going to change colour. It even showed individual people in perfect resolution and colour.
Each separate terminal adjacent to it on all floors manned with uniformed operators had a specialised three dimensional interface like back in the dorm room on every monitor that all seemed to be dedicated to monitoring a separate piece of the 3D image in better magnification at any given time. In short it was the best example of computer tracking technology Negi had ever seen.
The interior of the room, its architecture however didn't look like it was custom built. In fact it looked positively ancient. All the rooms had columns and alcoves and had a feeling it had been around since before this city above him was built. It worriedly reminded the mage of a sacrificial roman altar he had been trapped in once.
As he stepped in Negi sensed the heavy chatter and atmosphere of this bustling nerve centre quieten for a moment as they stopped to stare at him. Negi in his usual show of wisdom waved to them all and jarred them back into working but some of the younger teens still tried to send covert looks when they thought he couldn't sense it.
"Didn't realise I was that famous," Negi murmured to his demon servant. She only quirked an eyebrow before grabbing onto his arm possessively to make this situation even more of a freak show. "Oh for the love of Jesus…"
"Follow me," Takamichi cut in before they could start bantering again.
"Behave master," Gaia said playfully, her voice in telepathy was scattered suggesting some kind of magical jamming field was in place here for anyone not authorised to use such magic in this room.
He and his new limpet were being led to a large elevator that served exclusively as the only entrance up to a basketball court sized office on a fifth floor that was impossible to see from where their lift had opened. It had this great single paned glassed observation balcony, sound proofed if Negi was not mistaken with a distortion filter to offer privacy when neededthat gave itself away where the polished steel of several big machines resembling mainframes sat inside with a projector screen at the very end caught the light from the fluorescent tube lighting. Some people were inside having a meeting or something including to his great delight the trio he had kicked seven shades of shit out of.
"Oh it's the idiots you beat up the other night," Gaia helpfully informed them. A girl sitting at a nearby console who was a bit younger than Negi with black hair tied into long dangling pigtails took offence it seemed at Gaia's exclamation. She tilted her coke bottle glasses to make it seem she wasn't paying attention to them but she had a fierce scowl that had a rather diminished effect with the fetching beret with a cross motif on top of it in gold thread she was wearing as well as her scarlet uniform with tartan short skirt. Gaia must have sensed it because she locked eyes with her and before he knew it the girl was blushing crimson and looking away.
"What did you do?" Negi groaned as Takamichi motioned them inside.
"Just playing," she teased, "It was so easy with all these teenagers and their suppressed lusts wafting around. It's like a buffet dinner in here."
The lift closed behind them and swiftly they were at the top of the control room and for once they didn't have a bloody security check to go through. Gaia had begun humming a tune on the brief trip while as ever Takamichi just looked cool and did a damn good job at it. When the lift stopped the door didn't open. Instead the lighting turned blue.
"The meeting is still going on," Takamichi enlightened, "So we have to wait for them to conclude before we can enter."
"Sure," Negi said shrugging, "Gaia, what's the mood inside?"
Gaia's eyes turned as black midnight as she reached out to touch the emotional energy prevalent in the next room. Her tongue ran along her lips as she worked.
"Anger, frustration, determination in the context of I believe to be in terms of closing in on stubbornness and oh… Lust?" she said, showing her appreciation of the last one. Ever heard of the phrase addicted to love? Negi knew succubi took that literally. They revelled on the stuff, treated it like confectionary or fine liquor hence the beautiful forms they preferred but you didn't need to be a demonology expert to know that. "It's an interesting meeting. Think they are talking about us?"
"Just in case keep monitoring them," Negi commanded, touching Gaia's shoulder as if he was giving her a reward. It was easier to transmit thoughts in dampening fields when you were in physical contact. "See if you can twist the situation without being detected. A mage that can only bark like Takamichi is easy enough but these guys employ proper magical defences."
"Aren't you being a little mean to Takamichi-kun?" Gaia asked with a look. Negi shook his head.
"I mean nothing against his power or who he is but it just well… his kanka-ho is not magic. It is powerful but it has its limits. Just keep in mind the mages inside may be keeping an eye out for outsider manipulation but I have my faith in you."
She broke out into a smile. "Okay I'll get right on it."
The room returned to its normal illumination. Negi double checked his uniform and declared it satisfactory. He heard a disapproving voice from Gaia who happily adjusted his tie for him.
"Stop being such a mother hen." Negi smirked at her mock show of horror as another sealed area depressurised and the door opened.
The office from below had looked smaller from below. A hidden section of the room not viewable from the bottom floor had an industrial brass teleportation circle with shallow trenches using liquid mercury as a conductor. These avoided being stepped in by a series of hard light energy fields etched painstakingly by runes every three centimetres of so on each side that fed eventually to two more circles, both of which sat on the desk ahead of the group and were designed for simpler tasks such as moving objects or more likely paperwork between departments. It was probably the same sort of system that moved the clothing around that he had gotten a few minutes ago.
To any normal mundane this would have looked rather impressive. To a mage like Negi it was unnecessarily power consuming and a sign of extreme paranoia from this overly cautious organisation. In Mundus Magicus they preferred to use runners in case someone you know intercepted the teleportation.
Anyway the room's crowd was gone and now the place was practically empty. All that was left inside was the knucklehead trio, all looking like someone had beat them up and they surrounded the table with the dark skinned man with his wrist cast on one side to the bearded dude with bandages wrapped around his head offering aid to the blonde sword wielding chick with her arm in a sling and using her sword as a makeshift cane on the other side to leave an opening to reveal the boss man, the commander of Mahora city.
Negi cursed instantly. He knew that man. His shishou had shown him in a picture the guy kept in his underwear drawer just to gain some sort of petty vengeance for some imagined slight from the old days. He still had his hair short except for the luscious ponytail like a girl that hung down one side of his body as the dapper gent leaned back in his swivel leather backed chair. But the tailored striped designer suit like some old British civil servant would wear was new instead of the mismatched long sleeved robe like in the photo. So was the tinted bottle green glasses and matching pimp cane leaning on the desk right over the emitter crystal to his monitor causing his computer screen in screen saver mode depicting a vampire being chased by what looked like a clove of garlic to shimmer.
The knuckleheads as they would now be collectively called were glaring at him hard and with bearded guy wearing pitch black sunglasses showing any facial expression that meant he was really mad at Negi.
"Negi-kun," the leader greeted, "I see you kept your word Taka-chan!" He jumped out of his chair, grabbing his pimp cane to lean on to come over to hug Negi. The mage stopped him in his tracks by pushing him back a little.
"Albireo Imma, my father's partner?" Negi queried. The powerful artefact the man gained had been mentioned off hand once by his master as being among the most unusual that had ever existed but for the love of him Negi could not remember what it was meant to be. Not that it mattered anymore since his father was dead and the pactio void.
"Yes that would be me," he said mischievously, making another attempt to hug Negi. As he was pushed away again, a little harder that time to make his point about his issues with hugging total strangers Gaia embraced him from behind as if to mark her territory. Albireo took it in good humour and backed away from the demon marking her turf. "And you must be Gaia."
"A pleasure," she purred dangerously.
"My computer tells me you are an AA succubus?" Albireo enquired curiously with eyes like a cat that had found an open cupboard door to explore, "I have never heard of your kind getting that kind of power."
"We generally don't," Gaia boasted while checking her nails. She loved to play her part. "By that time the few of us that can tap into that sort of power can feed off demons so we do not generally listen to any sort of summoning from magi but Negi was an interesting exception."
"I see," Albireo Imma said distractedly. The man looked at Takamichi expectedly and made a slight gesture with his head that only an expert like Negi could have seen. He smirked deviously and returned to his chair, motioning them to come forward with his hand.
As the man sat down the British national anthem came from somewhere in his jacket pocket and the man took out a mobile phone, a magi-tech model from again Valkyrie, click a few buttons before grinning like a loon. When Negi and company reached the table with Negi pushed by Takamichi and Gaia into standing in the centre Albireo proudly displayed what he was looking at to Negi.
Negi groaned at the image of him in his uniform. Takamichi had the gall to look sheepish by scratching the back of his head and looking away from him.
"When do I get mine?" Gaia whined.
"I already put it on his cell phone," Albireo admitted, opening a drawer to reveal a metal security case. He slid it over to Negi who opened it. Inside was indeed his mobile phone, a similar model to Albireo Imma's but with a section that he could clip on the scrambler disguised as an external battery pack. He also found the dismantled Sceptre pistol but with the round he had loaded missing but that was no big surprise. Satisfied in what he was seeing he shut the case but handed over the cell phone to Gaia who like an old pro accessed what she wanted and shrieked girlishly.
"Thank you for making her happy Albireo-san," Negi said sarcastically. The knuckleheads reacted stiffly to his tone but Albireo Imma was quick to cool their protests with a nonchalant wave.
"My pleasure," Gaia quirked an eyebrow at the tone he used at the last word but went back to admiring the picture. "But call me Al," Albireo insisted, "All my friends do."
"Okay Al," Negi said, showing his willingness to play nice, "What do you need me for?"
"Just a few things," Albireo said airily, "I have to do a few things, inform you of some other things you know things." As vague as he was deliberately being he said more than a long explanation could possibly say in half the time. That attack last night must have shook up the status quo.
"Alright then shoot."
Albireo Imma sat back onto his chair and put his shiny black shoes onto his desk, again disrupting the computer screen.
"Alright I'll give you the good news. Your items that we could not be place in your room that we received six hours ago are in storage locker eighteen such as your motorbike. I have your papers to transfer you to your new school prepared and everybody has been briefed."
"And the bad news Al?" Negi questioned flippantly.
"Look here," the tanned man with glasses warned. Negi tried to remember his name but yet again he hadn't cared enough to bother.
"Gandolfini," the boss man said gently, winking. Gandolfini backed away scowling and his friends were copying him. "Your little fight last night has forced us to close your school and to transfer all those pupils to St Ursula's high school for girls until the building is made safe. That should take us a year since you saw fit to shake the old campus to its foundations leaving cracks on nearly all of the supporting walls. As of exactly midday you will report there where you will meet your teacher who will guide you to your classroom. Kotaro-kun will be your classmate. Expect to use him to guide you around but he will be in all likelihood or I hope anyway," he left that hanging to show the innuendo he had left there, "Will be as lost as you are."
The next question Negi came up with he almost didn't ask as he sort of wanted to know but again he didn`t. "Will I be charged for the damages I caused to the school?"
"Of course not," Albireo said in an assuring tone. The teenager was glad. Negi had feared for a moment that he might have to pay the bill. "We missed most of it but our nearby unmanned aerial vehicles and the barrier mirror imaging system did catch the battle just before you approached the school and saw you tried to keep civilians out of it. You had no idea as to the enemies' capabilities."
"It's just as well that they didn't figure out I was trying to use it to stop myself being cornered," Negi thought darkly. Gaia seemed to read his emotion and squeezed his shoulder.
"I personally thought their names were a little stupid but yeah they were good fighters."
Retaining that fresh unfazed look, the mischievous mage carried on as cool as a cucumber. "Anyway because the building is unsafe you will be going to a new school and Toko-san here will now be your homeroom teacher."
"I hope we get along," Toko said genially. Negi could almost hear her teeth grinding at having to be polite and that bow must be agony with her injuries. Medical magic did wonders like putting on amputated limbs or replenish blood but get shot by a magical substance like unicorn blood infused scarlet rounds that only now Negi knew he must have at least glanced all three of them at least once and healing took much longer. "I will see you in the afternoon."
"Well now that you are introduced I only have to tell you a couple more things. One," Albireo held up his hand and wiggled a single finger, "We are now on yellow alert. That means we will be watching more closely so you don't end up all caught on your own like last time and two," he started again holding up a finger from his other hand. It was rather impressive considering he was sitting back and making himself look really unbalanced. "That little part of your deal with the dean where you have to help us when things go really bad is void. Instead we want to place you under the command of Asuna-chan and the Konoe Protection Group when they need you. You will meet them after your classes. Kotaro-kun will lead you to a general meeting at their headquarters after class. Do you have any questions?"
Negi didn't try to question his sudden reassignment to the Konoe Protection Group. It was probably going to be way better than being left to the tender mercies of one of these people, the so called captains of Mahora security that he suspected them to be but Negi knew to expect his school days to be hell with the stern look Toko-sensei was shooting him behind those glasses of hers. "Can I find my own way to the school? I have something to do first."
"Such as?" Albireo asked curiously.
"I have to buy a certain lady," Negi said, catching his servant's knowing and playful eyes, "A coffee I promised and I need to make a couple of calls."
"It is just as well that I have this map for you then," Albireo remarked, "It is in the secret compartment of your suitcase." Negi didn't care about that compartment being found out so easily. He knew it would be searched anyway before it was given to him. He had something better than a paper map in his bike. "You may do as you wish. I have your license authorised for the bike waiting for you at your dorm room but do not be late for class or I will have to report it to dean Konoe." That subtle threat had Negi nodding like a piston. The dean was the one guy he didn't want to piss off in this entire city. "And remember if you need us to aid you in your task do not hesitate to call. I added the necessary numbers to your cell phone. Use the telepathic frequencies we provided you with in emergencies or during downtime between the hours of 12pm to 7am. You are dismissed." The man made a move to get up until as if he had received a divine revelation from heaven he asked, "I do hope we can all have tea together sometime."
"I would like that," Negi agreed, silently perturbed at his unusual finishing statement. The man was unpredictable but not as annoying as his master had made him out to be. Negi had been half expecting the first meeting the two would have had to have involved some crazy adventure or something and not in a formal office setting.
The chief of Mahora climbed up from his chair, tapped a few holographic keys on his computer and the big teleporting circle in the back started to glow.
"Use that to get to underground garage three. I left your leathers in the saddlebag. Have fun."
Negi turned to each person around him "See you later Toko-sensei, Gandolfini-san…"
"Gandolfini-sensei," the teacher corrected quickly.
"Gandolfini-sensei," Negi said with a shrug that only seemed to make more frown lines on the dark skinned sensei, "And…" He motioned for bearded guy to say his name.
"Kataragi-sensei," he said gruffly.
"Kataragi-sensei," Negi said just as harshly as he said Gandolfini's name "Well Gaia, shall we," he offered his arm, "You can practice your bike leathers look."
"Oh thank you master," Gaia purred, taking the arm. They both stepped into the teleportation circle. "Bye Takamichi-kun!"
"Oh right later Takamichi," Negi said in farewell. The man had been so quiet he had already forgotten why he was pissed at him in the first place or that he had been in the room at all. (Latin) "Teleport."
Before the man could say anything they were swept up in a burst of light and taken away to their new destination.
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The teleportation circle exiting path was into a well lit multi storey underground parking garage and conveniently right in front of his bike. The bike was a classic Valkyrie made Midgard 1000cc street motorcycle, blue coloured with a silver streak. The saddlebag was open to show off his expensive black leathers but with the uniform on he was going to prefer his magical barrier so not to muss up his uniform.
"Give me my phone and change," Negi asked, taking his helmet and putting it on. Gaia handed him his phone with a pout of her cherry lips and shimmered her attire into a slinky red coloured bike leathers as well as taking her helmet. She got on the bike the moment after he did while Negi flipped a switch and a panel appeared on the dash. On the front were several features that no normal human would be allowed to see thanks to a spell. It had the standard satellite navigation system, anti collision detector and stealth system that disrupted targeting systems from some of Valkyrie's more destructive products. The system of features included interfacing with a tiny earpiece he already had surgically implanted in his eardrum to link up to this system and verbally speak the directions from the satellite navigation as well as be his hands free system for his various mobile phones. This worked for whatever bike he had as well.
"Well master," Gaia murmured, wrapping her arms right around his waist. She slid down his visor and started talking to him telepathically, "Get me to my coffee master."
"Yes my servant," Negi joked back. He took the time to select his course on the satellite navigation system, selected a nearby coffee shop and started the engine with the keys that were already in the ignition. He revved the engine and took off to the nearby car cage elevator to start his trip to school.
He was on his way at last to start his task and about fucking time too.
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End of task. Now we get to the school, meet Konoka and grin like mad people when he meets Mana again and finds out about life as a student. Stay tuned!