A/N: Not only did I procrastinate on this chapter, but I lost half of it as well. I cannot offer any suitable apology for this. Also, is being weird and not letting me format my writing properly, so its all centralised this time aorund.

Shujin1: Oh right, thanks for that!

Tikigod784: Howell canon? Meh. Epic? Not yet.

GaleBread: And still no PoE…

TzuiAssassian: Ah right. Mind pointing out my mistakes?


Chapter Seven: Dodge ball Showdown Part One

"Peace is not in my vocabulary"

Mana Tatsumiya

The school bell rang in the clear air, echoing around the area. Out in front of the building, children and teenagers were lounging around and playing in their free time, taking advantage of the beautiful weather. It was almost picturesque, with clouds rolling slowly by on a cerulean sky, and a warm sun gazing benevolently down on all.

A ball flew through the air, casting a small shadow on a girls face. Grinning wickedly, she ran to where the ball began to fall back down to earth, hitting it back up towards one of her friends. "There you go!" cried Yuna Akashi, her black ponytail swinging with momentum.

"Got it," replied her friend, another girl, this one with short, purple-white hair. Ako Izumi. She rebounded the ball to a third girl in the group., who stepped forward slightly to bounce the ball back in the air.

"Hey, it's been five days since Negi-kun's arrived," began Makie Sasaki, as the ball flew up away from her. "What do you think of him so far?" she asked with genuine curiosity, glancing at the other sports girls.

"Hmmm, he's not bad, being cute and all…" ventured Akira Okochi, the fourth member of the sports girls, hitting the volleyball back up as it fell near her.

"Yeah! He's really giving it his best with the whole teaching thing too, unlike that Howell guy," offered Yuna, making a disgusted face when mentioning the albino's name.

"Who?" asked Makie suddenly, tilting her head to one side quizzically.

"Another new teacher. He's teaching literature to older classes," explained Akira, as Ako bumped the ball back into the air.

"Did something happen with him?" asked the trainee nurse, once the soft sphere was back in the sky and heading at Makie again.

"Um…"


"Hey, Akira-san, where's Turnips?"

Akira, currently reading a book in the armchair, responded, "You mean Yuna-san? She's in the shower right now, Howell…"

"Oh. Okay."

Howell stared blankly at the swimmer, then stood up and strode deliberately over to the bathroom door.

For one reason or another, Yuna hadn't locked the door. Or perhaps she had, but Howell was just able to get around it somehow. Either way, instead of waiting as he should have, the young man just threw open the door and peeked in, announcing loudly, "Yuna-chan…"

Yuna stood frozen under the running water, her fingers hanging by her very-wet hair, eyes very wide as she stared at the intruder, who returned the stare with interest.

"Um," he said, most tactfully.

Very slowly, not ever letting her eyes leave his, Yuna reached for the shower curtain and pulled it across her chest. She looked at him, unmoving, for what seemed like ages.

Howell finally reacted, taking a step backwards and then slamming the door shut front of him. Dazed, he turned around, pressed his back to the door and stared at his feet, crimson eyes clouded.

"What… what was…" he mumbled brokenly. "… that?"


"Nothing really," said Akira, noticing Yuna imitating slitting her throat if she revealed what had happened in the apartment this morning.

"But still," interrupted Ako, as Makie caught the ball as the game paused momentarily. "Next year is exam year. You think we'll be ok with a child teacher?" A note of worry had crept into the girl's voice, as fear of failure set in.

"So what? This place is an escalator until university anyway," pointed out the Yuna, shooting her friends a thumbs up as she grinned, totally care free.

"But in the end, Negi-kun is only ten years old," commented Makie, stifling a laugh at the basketball girl's behaviour. "There's some stuff you just can't talk to him about like you could with Takahata-sensei."

Yuna suddenly giggled, some colour tinting her face. "Hehehehe…instead, it's more like we should be listening to his problems!"

"Hahaha, you mean as his experienced one-samas?" laughed Makie, throwing the ball at Ako. The coach of the junior football team squeaked as she hit the ball away, causing it to fly from the ring of girls and bounce slightly as Makie set off after it.

"Throw that thing properly will you?" complained Ako after her, as the gymnast leant down to pick the ball up, as it rolled to a stop before a set of legs.

"You lot as experienced one-samas?" sneered a cultured voice from above the girl. "Don't make us laugh!"

Looking up, Makie gulped. "Y-you are…!"


The day outside was perfect, the sun shining high in the sky, with birds singing and kids playing. Sighing wistfully, Negi turned his attention back to the sheaf of papers on his desk, massaging his wrist as he set about grading the latest homework from his classes.

Next to him, Howell Fitzwilliam was busy making paper airplanes out of the work he was supposed to be marking and flinging them all over the place, generally making a nuisance of himself.

One of the flying projectiles struck Negi in the side of his head. The boy sighed and crumpled up the paper assailant and hurled it at the bin, managing to get it in from a distance of two feet!

"He is more of a kid than you, eh?" smiled Seruhiko, clapping a hand on the boy's shoulder, tilting his head in the albino's direction. Negi looked up at the older teacher and nodded, smiling.

The moment was spoilt however by yet another teacher coming up to the boy's desk.

"Springfield-san, Seruhiko-san," nodded a blue haired woman, holding some books against her chest.

"Oh, hello Katsako-sensei," welcomed Seruhiko. "Oh Negi-kun, you haven't met her yet right? This is Katsako Tamori. She teaches history here."

"Oh? What period?" asked the child genius, looking at the woman politely.

"All of them," she replied with a smile before Seruhiko could speak. "I'm an…avid historian," she explained. "Oh and-" she said, whacking the other older teacher with her free hand. "-how many times do I have to tell you to call me Kat?"

Negi stared as Sruhiko tried to mumble an apology to the irritated woman.

"Negi-sensei?" asked yet another feminine voice.

"Um…yes?" he replied, twirling in his seat to face this visitor, who turned out to be Shizuna.

Seeing his slightly worried expression and the two adults bickering like children behind him, the mature woman smiled warmly. "Oh don't worry, those two are always like that," she explained with a discreet wink. "So how's your teacher training coming along? Have you got the feeling for it yet?" she asked, leaning to one side to avoid one of Howell's wildly careening paper airplanes.

"N-no…not yet," stammered the boy bashfully, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm younger than everyone in my class, so I tend to be treated as a kid…no one ever comes to see me for advice or anything," the child elaborated, his voice tinged partly with relief, and partly with disappointment.

"Heheh..well that can't be helped can it?" replied Shizuna in sympathy, patting the boy on the back in a motherly fashion. The ten year old smiled up at her as Howell final ran out of paper and instead began top fire off elastic bands in random directions, one hitting Katsako's hand, making her drop the books she was holding. As she and Seruhiko bent down to pick them up, they knocked heads against each other and proceeded to mumble embarrassed apologies to each other for the next five minutes whilst collecting the books up off the floor.

"Waaah! Sensei!" exclaimed yet MORE females as they burst into the room, heading straight for Negi's desk. Seriously, the kid just kept attracting females to his side. Lucky little brat.

"Yes?" he asked, springing up form his seat as he recognized them as members of his homeroom class

"T-there's a fight in the school grounds!" reported a teary girl, Izumi he remembered.

"Please help us sensei!" begged an equally teary Makie, holding up a bruised hand to convey the seriousness of the situation.

"EH?!?! Who would do something like that?!" demanded the boy, leaping up and running out towards the school grounds, the girls following. At the door he nearly ran into yet another student, who smoothly stepped back and to the side, allowing the ten year old and his girls to continue down the hallway. Once they were gone the boy entered the staff room and looked about momentarily before locating the teacher he needed to see.

"Fitzwilliam-sensei!" called Lee Obidia irritably, rubbing the scratches on his forehead with his free hand. The teacher p[erked up at the mention of his name and looked at the boy as he approached. "Don't let your cat wander about next time," growled the reporter, dropping on the albino's lap a small cage containing a furry ball of fury, hissing and spitting at the blonde. "She's a menace."

"Lulu? Nah, she wouldn't harm a fly," replied Howell cheerily as he released his familiar, the cat settling down in his lap as he petted her.

"That furball nearly sliced and diced me!" cried out Lee in annoyance. "Plus she makes far too uch noise! Keep better control fo her sensei! Set an example!"

"But…she cares for me," mumbled Howell, slightly confused..

Words failed Lee as Shizuna laughed quietly at his predicament, Katsako and Seruhiko continuing to act like teenagers.


"Ouch," winced Clyde, seeing the mean high-school girl hit the ball straight down in a brutal attack at the students from Negi's class. The ball speared at the face of the girl with the long black hair, but was intercepted by someone he had learned was called Yuna. The projectile smacked into her arm and rebounded back into the older girl's hand, leaving behind a nasty bruise.

Luckily, further injuries and conflicts were avoided with the rather timely arrival of Negi. Clyde smiled to himself as he saw his little friend stand up to a group of girls nearly twice his own height.

"Ah Negi, always seeking the diplomatic solution," whispered the blonde Observer to himself, twirling a rose in his delicate fingers, the bags under his eyes giving him a haunted look. He hadn't been sleeping well lately, nothing but nightmares whenever he drifted off. Lucky him that he had those sleeping potions, otherwise he would have burnt out ages ago…

Shaking his drifting mind clear, Clyde turned his attention back to the confrontation, ready to summon his rapier and leap down, making a dramatic entrance whilst revealing himself to protect his friend!

"Your presence is hardly required yet, Observer 36215," rasped a voice in his ear.

Clyde nearly yelped as he jumped in fright, spinning around to see who had spoken. But he was perched all alone on the branch, a faint dusty wind gently swaying the leaves.

"M-must be a lot more tired than I thought," grumbled the irate blonde, sighing wearily. "Oh right, Negi! Gotta save him!"

Clyde turned his attention back to his friend's plight, being mercilessly-

"Awww, he's so adorable!"

The Observer fell from the tree and crashed into the bushes below when he saw that the damn kid was only being fondled again. Tat's al that ever seemed to happen to Negi ever since he got here. Well apart from the occasional head whack from that girl with the bells.

And in came the cavalry!

"Cut it out you old hags!" snapped a voice as the volleyball slammed squarely into the back of the lead girl's head.

"What the..?" snarled the leader of the seniors, twirling in place to face the threat, confronted with the sight of an unlikely duo.

"A-Asuna-san and Class rep-san?!" exclaimed Negi, equally surprised.

"This place has always been used by 2A," said Ayaka serenely. "Might we ask that you 'old' ladies vacate the premises?" she asked sweetly, with barely a trace of a smirk.

"W-what did you call us?!"

"In short, our Negi-sensei – HEY!" yelped the class representative as Asuna shoved her out of the way to grab the high schoolers' attention. "Anyways, you guys had better get out of here! Just because you're seniors doesn't give you the right to push others around!"

"Hah. You talk big but you're just a kid," scoffed one of the senior girls, sharing a laugh with her classmates. However, the one with raven black hair, the leader of the gang, seemed thoughtful.

"I know those two…" she began, snapping her fingers as she remembered. Kagurazaka Asuna and Yukihiro Ayaka. They may be middle schoolers, but they're quite renowned…" She turned back to the two 2A girls. "But you should better do what your senpais say. Kids like you should play in a little corner of their own!"

Asuna's face twitched slightly.

"And what's more…isn't it a little unfair for your class to have a monopoly on this cute little kid?" queried the leader, hugging Negi tightly, who was currently trapped by the high schoolers. "Why don't you give him to us?"

That set off the powder keg that was a quivering Ayaka, murderously glaring at the girls treating her precious senpai as their own.

"Who'd share with a bunch of grannies like you?!" screeched the blonde in uncontrollable fury. "Getting all puffed up because you're seniors!"

"What was that?! You want a piece of this damn brat?!" hissed the high schooler coldly.

Negi in the meantime had taken advantage of the commotion and slipped free from the grasps of the girls, and was now looking on, worried. As a teacher, he was meant to stop such situations occurring, but when everyone involved was taller and older than him…

"Argh, you owe me big time for this!" groaned Clyde, as he raised his arm, still covered in dirt and slightly bruised from his fall. Closing his eyes to aid his concentration, the Observer incanted a quick spell, and shot an emergency pulse into the air, set at the frequency Takahata had told him to use in such circumstances. His work done, the boy let his arms fall to the ground, and he lay there, staring at the sky and listening to the girls fight, the brawl drowning out Negi's pathetic though wilful attempts to break it up.


With a groan, the door finally opened inwards. Darkness welled up behind it, impenetrable to their eyes. But what truly confirmed this to be a den of evil in their minds was the smell. The smell of rotting flesh and blood.

Connor's face betrayed his disgust, as he pulled the collar of his coat around the lower part of his face in a vain attempt to ward off the stench. He glanced sideways and waved at Masayoshi to go in before him. The Chief Librarian of Meridana looked at the damned swordsman as if he was mad, leaning over to peek inside, his features etched in an expression of utter horror.

Holding back his impatience, Connor raised his foot and slammed it in to the small of Masayoshi's back, propelling the other man through the portal and into the room behind. There was a yelp and a squelch as he landed in something wet. Steeling himself, Connor went inside after him.

He blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust. There was precious little lighting this far underground, in the Academy catacombs.

"Eugh, what is this stuff?" moaned Masayoshi, struggling up from the muck. It tastes disgusting.

"Fetid water. We're well below the water table this far down. Underground stores must have leaked in here," explained Connor, as hazy shapes began to resolve themselves and he could begin to discern the size of the room.

Breathing shallowly through his mouth, the man took a tentative step forward, an audible squelch betraying his movement. "Ugh, mould. Honestly, this place is disgusting," he commented in distaste. Masayoshi ha managed to stand up by this time, and had retreated past him to the door, taking solace in the faint light issuing from beyond it.

"C-Connor…" stammered Masayoshi suddenly.

"What is it?" asked his companion, turning around. His look of annoyance melted away when he saw the ghastly state of the wizard. The young man was covered in blood. It was on his face, his clothing. Inexorably Connor's gaze fell down to his own feet, sinking into a partly congealed puddle of blood.

Horror welled up inside him, yet he maintained his composure with a steely determination born out of years of hardship. He turned back around to look at the room, and raised his hand. With a muttered incantation, his fist glowed as if it held a small fire inside, shedding light on the chamber.

"Jesus," swore the swordsman softly, averting his eyes. This was bad. Very bad. "Masayoshi, we're leaving!" he said loudly, turning back. "Masayoshi?"

"His eyes shine upon me…His eyes shine upon me…" uttered the black haired magician over and over again, trembling violently. His eyes continued to scan the opposite wall, adorned with crude images and phrases daubed in blood.

"Dammit, snap out of it!" growled Connor, leaping over to the young man and hitting him in the gut. The magician bent over involuntarily, breaking eye contact with the accursed scrawling. Immediately his mutterings stopped, and he slumped forward, unconscious. Connor caught the mage before he hit the blood slick floor, and dragged him outside, leaving a bloody trail in his wake. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the swordsman slammed the door shut.

Panting heavily, as if having run a marathon, Connor slumped against the wooden construct and sighed heavily.

"Looks like we found the missing students," he whispered to the passed out form of his companion.


Chapter Eight preview: "Come one, come all! Behold one of the most irregular matches in dodge ball history! The infamous Black Lilies take on Class 2A in a battle for the playground! I'm Lee Obidia, your reporter on the ground, promising to update you on the situation as it unfolds!"

Next time on Memories Are Everything: Dodge ball Showdown Part Deux