Mahou Sensei Negima: The Chronicles of Time
Chapter 7: The End of Tears
Back at Mahora Academy, Negi's dark spell was broken and everyone returned to normal. They looked at each other and smiled.
"Hey! We're not statues anymore!" Konoka said. Everyone was so happy. Shade was rather shocked that her father would really allow her to be petrified. Fuka looked around.
"Hey. Where's Negi or Asuna?" Fuka said. Just then, they saw a battle wounded Asuna walking back. She cried softly as she carried Negi's broken glasses and charred staff in her arms. The others saw the smoke coming from town and looked at Asuna's arms. They gasped.
"Asuna...no..." Ayaka said softly. Konoka was speechless as Asuna approached them. When she reached them, they asked what happened. Asuna looked at them with tears in her eyes.
"I...I...I killed Negi." Asuna said. Everyone gasped as Asuna dropped to her knees crying. The next day, Evangeline and Karula used their magic to restore the city and erase the townsfolk memory of what happened. But in the classroom, a boquet of flowers was resting on Negi's desk as everyone cried. Rose and Asuna's future self looked at Negi's desk from afar and cried. Amna and Mana's older self stayed silent.
"Negi..." Konoka said. She hugged Setsuna tightly as she cried. Chamo was on Nagi's shoulders blowing into a tissue.
"Negi...I am sorry...this had to happen. You were...just an innocent boy." Nagi thought. Out of all the girls, Asuna felt the most hurt inside. She hid her face as she laid face down on her desk. Yue and Nodoka looked at Asuna.
"Asuna..." Nodoka thought. All of Class 2-A weeped over their teacher's death. No one ever wanted this to happen.
"P...Professor Springfield. No. I...I can't believe...this is happening." Ayaka said "Why? Why did it..." Ayaka looked at Asuna and she started to feel angry.
"It was HER!" Ayaka thought. In Asuna's mind, all of her memories with Negi started to tumble around inside her giving her a headache. She sobbed into her arms as she couldn't get them to stop. The door to their classroom opened.
"What the?" Asuna thought. The girls looked at the door and saw Professor Takahata enter.
"Hello girls. I know this is probably a bad time to say this, but let's just say that the dean has granted me permission to be your teacher again." Takahata said. But instead of feeling happy, Asuna felt heartbroken inside. Just then, Ayaka came over to Asuna. She grabbed Asuna by the hair and lifted her head up.
"Asuna. How...could you?" Ayaka said. Asuna saw hate building up in Ayaka's eyes. The others girls looked at Asuna and Ayaka.
"Ayaka. Please. I...I didn't mean to..." Asuna said. But Ayaka quickly hit Asuna's head into her desk and the others gasped.
"Don't you give me that! You wanted Negi gone the minute he became our teacher! You wanted Professor Takahata so bad that you tortured that poor boy! Admit it! You were HOPING something like this happened so you could have your way! ADMIT IT!" Ayaka shouted. Asuna didn't say anything.
"Ayaka! Don't say that! Asuna didn't do it on purpose! Negi was probably out of control. Don't you remember what happened to him?" Sakurako said. Ayaka pushed Sakurako away and looked at Asuna.
"Asuna! You better say something! Because if you don't, I'll...I'll..." Ayaka said. But Asuna stayed quiet. Ayaka growled and grabbed Asuna by her shirt collar.
"That's it! This is for Negi...you murderer!" Ayaka shouted. She punched Asuna in the face and she collapsed.
"Asuna!" Konoka shouted. On the ground, Asuna started crying and tears leaked from her eyes. She got back up and looked at Ayaka's angry face. Asuna growled and punched her right in the face. The others gasped. But when Asuna looked at Ayaka's face, she could only see Negi's face.
"No. Negi..." Asuna thought. Ayaka fell down and rubbed her face. Asuna started crying and ran out of the classroom. Her future self went after her. As Asuna ran down the halls, her tears wouldn't stop. She didn't look back or try to say anything to the others.
"Negi. Negi. Negi. Negi. Negi!" Asuna thought as Negi's face filled her head. She didn't watch where she was running and crashed into a locker door. Asuna saw the locker and started crying harder. She hit her head into the door constantly while banging it.
"What...kind...of...a...friend...AM I?!" Asuna shouted. She was stopped by her older self. She looked at her with a bruise on her forehead and blood leaking down her face.
"Asuna. Come on. We...better talk." future Asuna said. They went out to the small river and looked out into it. Asuna was sitting on the ground crying.
"Listen. I don't think you should be doing this to yourself. It wasn't your fault. You know that very well." future Asuna said.
"No! It was my fault! I was just trying to stop Negi from destroying the town. I only thought of that. And, I let it get too far and killed him. I never tried...to think of how I could have...cured him." Asuna said. She started crying again and her older self told her to stop crying.
"Why?" Asuna said.
"Because, I'm sure Negi wouldn't want to see you crying right now." future Asuna said. Asuna looked down into the river and saw Negi's reflection looking at her.
"She's right Asuna. Please...smile." the reflection said. Asuna looked away and then at the water again. Negi's reflection was gone.
"Look at me. I'm going insane. I...I never thought this would ever happen. What is...wrong with me?" Asuna said. Her future self smiled.
"You said it. I know. You said "I love you Negi" to him before he faded away. Right? That shows that even under that rough and mean exterior, you have a heart of gold and you wanted Negi to know that." future Asuna said. Asuna wiped her eyes.
"But...I don't even know if Negi heard me. I can't...decide what to do now." Asuna said. She looked at her pactio card and saw it was blank white. She sighed and put it away. Just then, someone else arrived.
"You could come with me. I can heal your pains child." he said. Asuna sniffled and wasn't going to agree to that yet. But hearing the voice, she gasped. Both of them looked back and saw Gragon!
"YOU!" Asuna said. Gragon chuckled and approached them.
"Why bother listening to yourself? You know she's lying. All you thought about...was protecting your fair city and nothing more. Now that Negi was my most powerful minion, you thought of him just as you did the others. You wanted him gone." Gragon said. Asuna growled.
"No! You're wrong! I wanted to save the city AND Negi!" Asuna shouted. Gragon chuckled.
"Really child, I never seen such pathetic lying." Gragon said. Asuna growled and her fists tightened. She reached for her pactio card and tried to activate it. But her powers didn't activate. Gragon laughed.
"Look at you. You're trying to use a dead pactio card? What a waste!" Gragon said. He saw something sticking out of Asuna's pocket. He jumped at her and grabbed it. Before Asuna could get it back, Gragon leaped back.
"Hmm. And what is this?" Gragon said. It was a picture of Negi, Asuna and Konoka out on a picnic. All three were smiling.
"Hmph. Why is THIS rubbish here?" Gragon said. He lit a fire in his hand and it burned the picture to ash. He dropped the ash to the ground and stepped on it.
"A fitting end to such a fool. Am I right...Asuna?" Gragon said. Just then, Asuna lost it and charged at Gragon. She punched him in the face with all her might. But Gragon didn't flinch!
"Ha. You're trying to fight me without your powers? Reality check. You might NEED those powers." Gragon said. He struck Asuna down and she slid back to her future self.
"Such pitiful humans. You let your emotions get the best of you. What happened to that brave warrior that defeated me those two times? Where is she Asuna? I don't see her." Gragon said. Asuna growled and got back up. She charged at Gragon but he struck her down again. He fired a black blast at her and she was shot into the river.
"No!" future Asuna said. She was feeling the pain her past self felt and looked at Gragon.
"You...horrible monster! Why do you see fun in all of this?!" she said. Gragon chuckled.
"Because...I don't have a heart." Gragon said "And...by the way, there's NO way of your beloved Springfield returning. So you better get used to being an old widow. That's what I see in YOUR future." Gragon laughed as Asuna got out of the river.
"You...vile demon! Stop talking. Just DIE!" Asuna shouted. She lunged at Gragon but he grabbed her by the throat.
"You really want to see your professor THAT badly? Then I can oblidge. Prepare...to enter eternal darkness child!" Gragon said. He started zapping Asuna with black lightning and she screamed in pain. Gragon threw her at her future self and knocked her down. He aimed his hand at them and chuckled.
"I hope you like being in the dark. Because that's all you'll be seeing from here on out!" Gragon said. Both Asuna's prepared for the blast, but something stopped Gragon.
"Then I think it's time you saw the light...fiend!" someone said. Gragon and both Asuna's gasped.
"What the?!" Gragon said. He looked and saw both Negi and his future self aiming their staffs at Gragon's head! They were both in their gold pactio states.
"It'll take more than what you did to stop me from protecting the people I care about!" Negi said. Asuna couldn't believe her eyes.
"N...Negi?!" Asuna thought. Both Negi's fired magical blasts and they struck Gragon hard. As smoke enveloped Gragon, he growled and blew the smoke away.
"How?! How are you alive?!" Gragon said "That dark world should have kept you locked up forever!" Negi huffed.
"Like we said, nothing you can do can stop us! Asuna is our friend! And you have no right to speak of her like that!" future Negi said. Negi turned back at Asuna and put his hand out. Just then, Asuna saw her card lighting up. She looked at it and there was her image with the giant sword.
"OK." Asuna said. She grabbed Negi's hand and stood up. She activated her card and went straight to her gold pactio form. Her future self did the same. Back at Mahora Academy, the girls saw their pactio cards returning. It could only mean that Negi was alive.
"Negi! He's...He's alive!" Fei Ku shouted. They hurried out to find Negi. Meanwhile, both Negi and Asuna's were attacking Gragon from all sides. He growled and fought back with his demonic sword.
"You can't stop me! My plans won't allow it!" Gragon said. Negi and Asuna fired a twin shot of magic and it slammed into Gragon. He crashed into the trees behind him and knocked them down. Gragon growled.
"This is the end of you Gragon. No more will you harm innocent lives!" Negi said. Gragon stood back up and started building a black energy blast in his hands. But it was interrupted when he was struck by bullets. He looked and saw the girls in their pactio states along with Amna and Rose.
"Now what?!" Gragon said.
"Leave our professor alone you monster!" Nodoka said. Gragon growled and looked at everyone surrounding him. Just then, he was attacked from above. He saw Nagi, Evangeline's future self and Karula looking at him.
"Just quit now Gragon. It'll save you the humiliation of failure." Nagi said. Gragon groweld and stepped back.
"This isn't over yet Springfield. If you want to finish this, then come to my lair in the middle of time and space! I'll be waiting! And so will the Magnificent Twelve! Because if you don't stop me, I'm going to absorb all of their powers!" Gragon said. He laughed and vanished in a black puff of smoke. Asuna looked at Negi.
"Sorry I wasn't here earlier Asuna. And...I'm really sorry that I made you feel this bad and cry. I don't like seeing you cry. You should smile." Negi said. Asuna started leaking tears and she hugged Negi.
"Negi! You're back! You're really back!" Asuna said. Asuna was crying her eyes out and Negi smiled.
"I'm glad I am too...Asuna." Negi said. Negi's future self turned to Asuna's older self and she hugged him. Rose was starting to sniffle a little. She was glad to see her family back together.
"Aw man. I can't believe it." someone said. They looked and saw Kotaro.
"I was out for a while and I miss all the excitement!" Kotaro said. Negi and Asuna started laughing and so did everyone else. Kotaro groaned and swatted himself in the face.
END OF CHAPTER
