Chapter 9: a field trip
Another bright day In Mahora acdemy and 3-A was happily cheering upon Negi's declaration on the field trip to Kyoto, Ayaka decided to speak to her
"Negi-sensei" she called "I understand that you are foreign here, I and the class will be happy to honor your wish"
"Thank you Ayaka-san!" Negi cried happily while grabbing her hand "Kyoto is just fine"
"H-happy to oblige" Ayaka blushed
While a few students were excited about the trip with Negi, Haru watched her happy mood
'Oh Negi-chan' he smiled 'you act like that when something interests you sometimes'
But then Shizuna came in
"Negi-sensei, Haru-sensei" the nurse/counselor called "headmaster wishes to speak with you"
"WHAAAT?!" Negi screamed "WE CAN'T GO TO KYOTO!?"
"I apologize at such a... shocking development" Konoe reasoned "but there has been some dificulties in the area you wish to go"
"What kind of diffculties Konoe-san?" Haru questioned
The headmaster then explained about his group (Kanto Magic Association) and the one in Kyoto (Kansai Magic Association) are having a little conflict with each other
"I see" Haru nodded "that is bad..."
"Can't you do anything about this?" Negi aked with her eyes tearing up
"Which is why I called you" he pulled out an envelope from his drawer "I wish to end this feud once and for all"
He then gave the letter to Negi who will be the messenger and deliver it to the director of the Kansai Association. The young teacher was pleased to have the approvment of Konoe as she went out of the room to prepare for the field trip
"That Negi-chan" Haru chuckled "she can be a bit handful"
"Oh and before I forget Haru-kun" Konoe added "did you by any chance Konoka know of your magical affairs?"
"No" He answered "is...that a problem?"
"Not really" the headmaster sighed "it's just that her parents wanted their daughter to have a normal life which is why she is here"
"I see..." Haru nodded "I hope they at least told her something important"
'I hope that's the case' Konoe agreed 'because Konoka will be an open target to the spies when she gets to Kyoto'
Afterwards Haru was buying a few casual clothes for the field trip
'This should be enough' he smiled at his choice of clothing 'I wonder if Negi-chan has picked her clothes yet?'
Haru walked to the changing booths and on the way Asuna bumped into him
"Sorry about that Haru" she apologized
"Is something wrong Asuna-chan?" he blinked "you look worried"
"I can't find Konoka anywhere"
Suddenly the two heard a shriek close by and decided to go there, upon opening the curtain they saw a blushing Negi being kissed by Konoka... on the cheek
'Now's my chance!' Chamo dashed with chalk in paw and made the contract circle 'PACTIO!'
Bright light flashed through and after a few seconds a tarot card appeared in front of the young fortuneteller who has tears of joy upon seeing it
"A card made for me" she cried happily but upon closer look the picture looked...cartoonish as if it was drawn by a kid
"WHAT'S THIS PIECE OF CRAP!?" Konoka shouted in dismay "ASUNA'S LOOKED WAY BETTER THAN THIS ONE!"
Negi took the card and inspected it "it seems that if you don't kiss right, you won't make the right card" she explained much to Konoka's dismay
The young redhead was about to have another kiss form Konoka but thankfully Asuna was there to stop it and Haru pulled the brunette back for Negi's safety preventing her from becoming a mumbling tomato
"Darn it...!" Chamo snapped his fingers "that pactio card is worth a lot in the magical ermine community"
"I figured you had something to do with this" Asuna cracked her knuckles causing the ermine to go stiff before the pummeling commenced
As the group walked back into the dorm, Konoka whispered to Negi about getting her own card before going ahead with Asuna back to the room
Negi was blushing red all the way to her ears but Haru was able to calm her down
"It's okay Negi-chan" he smiled "we'll take care of Konoka's decision somehow"
"Haru-kun..."
"Don't worry about that" he assured "right now you need to prepare for the field trip remember"
Negi smiled and ran off to prepare her trip leaving Haru holding a bandaged Chamo in hand
"Now that Negi is fine..." he looked down at the white ermine "what were you doing when Negi-chan was with Konoka-chan?"
Chamo shivered at Haru's gaze "w-well, I sense a small magic energy and...and I thought me and Aneki could figure out her power"
Haru hummed in thought, upon seeing Konoka on the first day, he did sense magic in the young fortuneteller "Ok Chamo" he breathed "I believe you, but..." he then went close making the animal jump back in fright "if Negi-chan will be used as a guinea pig for your schemes. I'll have you feel that again"
"U-understood aniki" Chamo gulped with sweat pouring down like rain
Another day passed by as Misa, Madoka and Sakurako are excited to have a relaxing day
"Mmmm, it's such a nice day today" Madoka smiled
"It sure is" Sakurako nodded "let's get some snacks first"
"Good idea" Misa nodded "I'm feeling the need to eat right now"
"Hold on there"Madoka tried to reason them but she was ignored as the two went to get something to eat "hey! Don't leave me like that!"
While the three were conversing about their upcoming trip however they stopped
"What's wrong Kakizaki?" Madoka asked her friend getting a pointed finger
The other two looked at her direction only to be shocked at what they saw...
Negi Springfield and Konoka Konoe walking...together!?
The three of them went into hiding about the sudden predicament
"This is a big shock!" they whispered to each other "what are they doing here by themselves?!"
"I know!" Misa pulled out her cellphone "I'll call Asuna about this"
Back in the dorms Asuna was woken up by the ringing of her phone
"Who would be calling me at this time?" she yawned "hello?"
"Asuna, this Misa!" the phone echoed "I've got to ask you why is Negi-chan and Konoka together!?"
"Negi and Konoka?" Asuna mumbled still feeling sleepy "what are you talking about?"
Her phone then vibrated "oh I got a message" she opened to file to reveal a picture of Konoka holding a shirt in front of Negi "they're just having fun" Asuna flopped back to bed "it's not my concern"
"Asuna, Asuna!" Misa tried to reach her but sighed "she hung up"
"I know" Sakurako took out her cellphone "I can call Haru-sensei about this"
"Since when did you get his number?" Madoka questioned
"I asked him after class" she smiled
The two girls comically slipped down in envy at Sakurako's luck 'lucky girl' they grumbled
Haru was in a shop looking through some merchandise until his phone rang "I wonder who's calling me?" he then answered "hello?"
"Haru-sensei!" Sakurako's voice shouted "it's an emergency!"
"Calm down" Haru replied "now tell me what's wrong" he was then told of what she saw earlier 'it seems that they mistook Negi and Konoka-chan's gift finding for Asuna as a date' he sighed "all right I'll call them about this"
He ended the call and went to contacting Negi
Negi and Konoka are wandering around another shop finding a good present for Asuna's birthday, Konoka was checking the merchandise and suddenly Negi's phone rang
"That must be Haru-kun" she answered her call "yes?"
"Hey Negi-chan" Haru's voice spoke "did you find a gift yet for Asuna-chan?"
"Not yet" she replied "have you?"
"I don't have one yet either" he answered "oh and also you're being followed by some of our students from class and have suspected you and Konoka-chan have gone on a date"
"A DATE!?" she screeched with a blushing face
"Calm down Negi-chan" Haru soothed "even if I did try to convince them it isn't, they'd pretty much ignore my answer"
"Okay" she sighed "I'll see you at our meeting spot later with Asuna-san?"
"Of course Negi-chan" he replied "I'll get her first and we both give our gifts together"
"See you there Haru-kun" Negi giggled
Konoka returned to Negi "was that Haru-kun Negi-chan?" she asked
"Hai Konoka-san" Negi nodded "let's get our gift for Asuna-san and meet him at our scheduled place"
After a few hours of shopping Haru got the gift he was looking for and had it giftwrapped
'I got my gift now' he smiled 'better get Asuna-chan now before the sun sets'
He was walking down the road and spotted Asuna being dragged by a frantic Ayaka
'Ayaka-chan must've found out about the cheerleader's jumpy conclusion' he then called them "oi! You two stop right there!"
Ayaka stopped when she heard Haru's voice finally stopping to give Asuna time to fix herself, she turned around to see him
"Haru-sensei!" she spoke "tell me where Negi-sensei and Konoka-san are..."
"I was about to meet them at our meeting place" he said calmly while laughing at Ayaka's worry "let's go together"
The three of them went to Haru's destination
In the plaza Konoka was letting Negi sleep on her lap and smiled at seeing her like this 'Negi-chan is so cut when she sleeps' she giggled before looking at the sunset 'I wonder if I can try to get that card if I kiss her now?'
The cheerleading trio looked at Konoka in envy when they saw her let Negi sleep on her lap
"Kyaaa~!" Sakurako squeeled "I'm so jealous of her right now"
Misa nodded at her statement, she never even had tried that with her boyfriend before
"Hey" Madoka called to friends "look at that!"
They saw Konoka lean down onto Negi's face
"We have to stop them!"
They were about to jump out of their hiding spot only to comically fall at hearing Konoka's words
"Nah!" she moved up and away fom Negi "I shouldn't take advantage of Negi-chan like that"
"Konoka-chan!" Haru's voice called "Negi-chan!"
Haru, Asuna and Ayaka arrived with the girls shocked at seeing them like that while the latter was shaking like a leaf
"Haru-kun?" Konoka blinked
"Wh-wha-what are you doing Konoka-san!?" Ayaka stammered "using your lap like that?!"
"So you two really are..." Asuna mumbled
While the group was bickering about the situation, Negi yawned and rubbed the sleep off her eyes
"Good to see you awake Negi-chan" he smiled
"Haru-kun?" she blinked for a few seconds before her eyes widen "then Asuna-san's...!"
"Yep" Haru nodded before he turned to Asuna "Asuna-chan what's the date today?"
"April 21st" she replied "why?"
The teachers presented their giftboxes to her "Happy birthday Asuna-san/-chan!" they smiled
That caught the girls (except Konoka) by surprise and then the cheering trio jumped in giving their gifts (which they bought thanks to Ayaka's command) Making Asuna feel teary-eyed and happy for the gifts
"A-arigatou minna" she smiled "I feel so happy right now"
While that happened Ayaka and the cheer group were shouting at each other for making jumpy conclusions earlier
In the school dorms Negi Springfield was shaking anxiously as she watched the clock ticking for the alarm to go off
Just a few more seconds before the big moment aaaa~nd...
"OKAY EVERYONE!" Negi shouted in glee as she started moving fast with dressing up "it's the big day today!"
Asuna and Konoka yawned as they got up seeing Negi all fired up for the field trip
"Hey" Asuna called "where's Haru?"
"Somebody called me?"
The girls followed the voice only to have red faces (the students are redder than Negi) to see a half naked Haru drying himself from his shower
"What?" he blinked
"You forgot your clothes again Haru-kun" Negi handed Haru's clothes to him "please get dressed"
"Arigatou Negi-chan" Haru went back to the bathroom to get dressed
Negi went ahead to her planned trip leaving Asuna and Konoka with Haru in the room
"Negi-chan is really excited for this trip" the brunette giggled
"I hope that she can handle herself if she's that excited" Asuna sighed before realizing what she said "I can't believe I'm getting worried on my own teacher like that"
"That means you have been charmed by Negi-chan" Haru smiled as he was now dressed in a formal suit thanks to his girlfriend's insistance
"What do you mean Haru-kun?" Konoka asked as she placed breakfast on the table before she started cleaning the cookware
"Negi-chan has the ability to get close with people" he replied "which is why Asuna-chan is worried about her"
Asuna blushed in embarrassment and she quickly ate her food before dashing to the bathroom
"I think you got her there Haru-kun" Konoka giggled as she finished her clean up
"Let's eat our food and catch up to Negi-chan" he chuckled "knowing the class, they're just as excited as she is"
True to Haru's words Negi met her class with Shizuna and a couple of other teachers with her
"Negi-sensei!" 3-A cheered "we're happy to see you!"
"Minna" Negi was surprised "what are you doing here?"
"The class couldn't wait for the trip" Shizuna answered "so they got up and came here early"
"Minna..." Negi was welling up some tears before smiling "arigatou!"
The girls squeeled happily and dashed for their cute teacher making a group hug, as they did that a shadow was watching from a distance
Everyone is now on boarding the train and the students are being listed into groups...
Group 1: Fumika, Fuuka, Sakurako, Madoka, Misa
Group 2: Fei Ku, Chao, Kaede, Misora, Satome, Satsuki
Group 3: Ayaka, Chizuru, Natsumi, Chisame, Asakura
Group 4: Makie, Yuna, Mana, Ako, Akira
Group 5: Asuna, Konoka, Yue, Haruna, Nodoka
However as the groupings continue
"Negi-sensei"
Seat number 15 Setsuna Sakurazaki called her with Zazie Rainyday behind the girl
"I'm supposed to be leader of group number six but apparrently me and Zazie-san are the only ones"
"Oh yeah, Eva-chan couldn't make the trip" Haru hummed as he remembered the girl's curse "what do you think Negi-chan?"
"The best thing we can do is to have them join in the other groups" Negi looked at her students "Asuna-san, you take Setsuna-san in your group, class rep-san, you take Zazie-san"
"You can count on us Negi-sensei" Ayaka smiled with Asuna nodding in agreement
As the groups were finalized. Negi, Haru and Shizuna were making a quick announcement on this trip and after that, everyone was doing thimgs to pass the time on their way to Kyoto
Negi and Haru were walking on the end of the corridor checking on their students having fun with each other's company
They reached at the end of the car and closed the door to have discussion a about today
"Everyone sure is lively" Negi smiled
"You sad it Negi-chan" Haru agreed
"Don't get comfartable you two" Chamo interjected "remember we are now going to enemy territory, who knows what kind of people would try to sabotage your mission aneki"
"Oh don't be such scared animal" Haru huffed at Chamo "we're in a train"
Just then they heard a scream. The teachers opened the door to see most 3-A students screaming in terror as the car is suddenly filled with frogs
"HELP US SENSEIS!" Makie cried out as she was surrounded by the green amphibians
Negi, Haru and Asuna started catching the creatures and placing them in plastic bags
"What's going on here!?" the young teacher shouted as she continued garbbing the frogs
"It seems that the spies are distracting us from the mission Negi-chan" Haru whispered before standing up "has anyone passed out from this?"
"Shizuna-sensei fainted!" Makie replied
"The nurse assistant also fainted!" Asuna added
"Have the two placed on the chairs" Negi spoke "I leave the class-rep in charge until Shizuna-san wakes up"
"You can count on me Negi-sensei!" Ayaka saluted
"Hey aneki" Chamo whispered to Negi "do you still have the letter?"
"Of course I do" she replied as she pulled the object out "it's in my coat pocket"
Just then a quick swoop snatched the letter, revealing a bird with the letter in it's beak
"Hey come back here!" Negi dashed off following the culprit with Chamo behind her
"Ayaka-chan" Haru spoke to the temporary charge "has been counted in the list?"
"Almost Haru-sensei" the class rep "we're just missing Setsuna Sakurazaki"
And speaking of Setsuna cambacl looking quiet as usual with Negi and Chamo right behind
"Setsuna where have you been?" Ayaka questioned
"In the bathroom" the swordswoman replied before taking her seat
"You okay Negi-chan?" Haru asked "you seem a little out off it right now"
"Oh sorry Haru-kun" she said calmly "I was just wandering who would try to stop my mission"
'I'm wondering on that too' Haru thought as he went to the downed ladies from the frog incident "any luck on our patients Ayaka-chan?"
"They are still out cold Haru-sensei" the class rep replied "they won't wake up soon"
"I can think of one way to wake them up" Haru placed his right hand on his buckle
Connect...please
A red circle appeared next to him, he reached inside and pulled out a plastic case
"What's in there Haru-sensei?" Akira asked as she fanned Ako's face
"Just the cure to wake our two sleepyheads" he smiled
Haru opened the case to reveal a set of small sweets inside (assorted set of cookies and brownie cubes)
"Time to wake them up"
Haru presented the food in front of Ako and Shizuna
"Haru-sensei" Yue called "I think you got wrong about waking them up with food"
But then Yue got a bit wide-eyed at seeing the girls groan upon having th scent reaching their noses
"You were saying Yue-chan?" Haru quirked
Shizuna and Ako finally reached conciousness
"Haru...kun/sensei" both girls murmured as they woke up
"Good thing that you two are awake" he smiled before looking at Yue "and don't underestimate the power of food Yue-chan, they can be a helpful at anytime"
After making sure they were okay, the two girls looked at the presented snacks before looking back to the assistant teacher
"Are they-?" Shizuna guessed
"Hai" Haru nodded "Shizuna-chan and Ako-chan needs something to forget the traumatic experience"
As the two got a bite on their food, the girls' eyes turned into stars as they took a handful of the snacks and delibaretly pigged out without a care
"Umai~!" the sighed in bliss "Haru-kun/sensei you make such wonderful food"
"Thank you for your praise" Haru bowed as the two girls got envious glares
The train stopped signifying that it reached the target destination
"3-A has finally arrived!" Negi cheered happily
"KYOTO!" the students cheered as well
"C'mon everyone!" Asakura called as she pulled out her camera "let's take a group photo together!"
After taking the photo, everyone was at Kiyomizu temple pumping with energy
'These people are too peppy right now' Chisame thought as she tried being nonchalant
Haru was looking around the area until he spotted Zazie Rainyday looking passive with a bird on her head
"Zazie-chan" he called "what are you doing here?"
"..." the girl replied
"You must really like the view on this place huh?" he looked at the scenery "it really does make you feel like being in those old-fashioned movies"
Zazie looked at her teacher with a bit of curiosity before her bird suddenly took off and landed on Haru's hand
"...?" she questioned at seeing her bird act like that
"It seems that your pet was curious about me" he answered as he patted the animal who chirped happily in affection "I didn't know that you have such lovely pet Zazie-chan"
"..." she looked away with small blush and smile
"Oh don't be shy Zazie-chan" Haru went close and the bird flew up a bit as he took her hand "let's go with the others now"
Neither did the two of them realize that a few 3-A students watched them from a distance
"Ara" Chizuru smiled "Haru-sensei can understand Zazie-san too"
"It seems that Haru-sensei is like class rep in some ways" Haruna smirked 'which makes him pique my interest even more'
Mana and Chisame looked passive at the ordeal, but the former was seething a bit inside since she was still figuring out the assistant teacher while the latter felt a bit envious that the silent clown was getting attention this time
The trip continued on with Yue explaining about the places they were going through before stopping at the area with two big stones on the ground
"And here we have the love stone" Yue spoke "it's sad that if you walk from this stone to the other one with your eyes closed, your dream of love will come true"
Ayaka stepped forward "as the class rep, I will start"
"No fair" Makie whined "I'm going too!"
Nodoka was blushing a storm, but she was pushed by Haruna and Yue to do this
Chizuru and Chisame also stepped forward with the thought of Haru as their wish
And lastly Ako Izumi was in a state like Nodoka but she stepped in with Akira noticing her behaviour
'Ako-san' she thought but then she got a glimpse of looking at Haru which caught her by surprise 'you wish to be with Haru-sensei?'
She then recalled from his first arrival about having more girls with Negi-chan which prompted her to blush and realize that Haru's words just made him open to anyone in class to have his company
When the race started, the girls started walking slowly with the others cheering them to continue
'Heh' Ayaka smirked 'I trained myself so well that this test is easy' she then used her mind's eye and ran straight to it 'I'm goin to get my free day with Negi-sensei wish!'
But as she dashed to her goal Makie, Chizuru and Chisame followed her direction and they suddenly fell into a pit
"Ite!" they graoned but when they opened their eyes to see frogs again and cried "KYAAAAHH! DASUKETE!"
Negi, Asuna and Haru pulled the trapped girls out of their pit
"Is everyone okay?" Negi asked in worry
"Who would put a trap in this area?" Haru asked as he helped the girls on their feet
Just then Nodoka and Ako reached the goal as they touched the stone
"Honya-chan and Ako reached their goal" the girls cheered happily
As the group congratulated the winners, Negi and Haru noticed Setsuna from the distance with the former getting a bit jumpy
The class continued their journey onto the three waterfalls which had the class ask Yue about them to which the girl replied that from right to left they are; health, wisdom and true love
The girls instantly went for the third waterfall, but as they drnk the fluid they became addicted to the water and continued to drink a minute passed with nearly half the 3-A class passed out
"What happened here!?" Negi panicked at seeing her students on the floor
"It seems that our classmates passed out for no reason" Yue replied
Negi went up to the roof and spotted a barrel of sake mixing with the waterfall "who would put sake on this trip!?"
The rest of 3-A helped their passed out classmates on a resting area and try to wake them up
"Wake up class rep" Yue slapped Ayaka trying to open her eyes "we don't want the other senseis to shut down this field trip"
"Hmph" Nitsuta spoke as he walked with Seruhiko "these students are just lazing around"
"Don't be harsh Nitsuta-san" Haru called to his fellow teacher "3-A just used so much of their energy on today that it tired them out"
Haru's reasoning made the man stare at the class as those who are still awake were placing the sleeping ones on comfy places
"All right Haru" the stern man replied "I'll let them be for today" he then walked away with the other teacher escorting him
"Phew" Asuna wiped the sweat off her head "nice save Haru"
Just then Shizuna came in to see that 3-A is having a slight problem with their classmates "what happened here?" she blinked
"Some of the 3-A students got tired is all" Haru reasoned "have we found a place to sleep in yet Shizuna-chan?"
After getting an inn with most of 3-A prepping for a good night sleep
Negi and Haru were sitting on a bench in the hallway
"So Negi-chan, how are you liking the field trip?" Haru asked his girlfriend
"It's great Haru-kun" she replied "though I just can't help myself on one thing"
Before she could say her next words, Asuna came in to the scene
"There you are" she sighed "I've helped my classmates bring the tired ones to their rooms, would you mind telling me what's going on here?"
Negi explained about her mission from the headmaster and the spies in Kyoto to stop her
"I knew that there was some kind of magic stuff involving this trip" she huffed at her teachers "and here I thought that I could relax right now"
"Gomene Asuna-chan" Haru bowed before his student surprising the girls "but right now Negi-chan needs help" he then clasp his hands with hers "and who better for me to count on this other than you Asuna-chan"
Asuna turned red at his words before she moved her hands away and turned around
"A-allright Haru" she stammered "I'll help Negi on her mission"
Afterwards the two teachers decided to take a bath in the onsen together
"Fuah" Negi smiled as the stress of her work is being washed away "this hot spring is so relaxing"
"You said it Negi-chan"Haru sighed as he felt warm waters washing over his body with Chamo on his head feeling the same way "good thing that you and I brought swimsuits this time"
Negi blushed at the memory when she tried to find swimwear to avoid the incident in the past from Mahora's bathhouse
As the teachers continue to soothe in the waters, Haru heard a sound behind them
"Haru-kun?" Negi blinked "what's going on?"
Haru placed a finger on his lips "we have company Negi-chan"
The two of them turned around only to be surprised at who they saw
'Setsuna-san/chan?'
