A/N: Here we go! Nine chapters for one day?! Damn...

Blaze Shadow: Precisely! It's that Kestrel :D (aw come on, there's a Miss Nagase there too :P)

TzuiAssassian: Sorry if I'm boring you so far :P Yes, things will develop from here. Like CHisame's cyber battle with the hacker...

Chapter Nine: Moment of truth

"Come on Fumika!" whispered Fuka fiercely, dragging the mop and bucket towards her room, her twin sister following with three spray cans of crazy foam, a ball of string and one of Kaede's smoke bombs from her store in the secret compartment in the janitorial closet.

"Are you sure about this?" queried Fumika, slightly concerned over the possible consequences of this latest trap they were setting up. True, they had done this numerous times before when Kaede had left for training, always leaving a trap to greet her on her return, but this new scheme of her sisters…it was just crazy. But knowing Kaede, it'd just be either hilarious to see her finally fall prey to one of their devices, or amazing to see her avoid it.

Fuka turned around to face her sister as she shoved against the door to her dormitory, pushing it open as she answered. "Of course I am! You know that we can't use trip wires on her, and Hakase won't let us use another laser beam," she explained as she put down the bucket, filled with bottles of various liquids, throwing the mop down and walking over to help her twin to carry the rest of their equipment inside. Placing it in a small heap in the corner, the twins sighed in relief at not being discovered. No chance of anyone coming across their little plan, not with the rest of the girls in the baths, Kaede in the mountains and Negi in his room marking their exam papers.

"But isn't this…slight overkill?" asked Fumika, unravelling the string whilst Fuka began to look through the bottles of liquid, checking every now and then the list she had gotten from Hakase regarding chemical mixtures. Her twin just grunted in reply as she found the two liquids she had been looking for. "We could get in real trouble for this," pointed out the more mild mannered girl, tying the string to the doorknob, making sure the knot was tight enough not to fall off or unravel.

"No we won't," said Fuka grinning mischievously. "Remember what Kaede said? If she falls foul of our traps, she deserves whatever she gets! That's what she said!"

"Well, true, but I don't think-"

"Look, just help me out with this! In the end, if something goes wrong, I'm sure it won't be anything major," sad Fuka with an utter finality, brooking no discussion. Fumika just sighed in defeat and continued her work, pulling the string tight and wrapping it around one of the supports of the bunk bed, before leading it into the kitchen and tying it against the door handle there. Her more devious sister in the meantime had begun mixing the chemicals they had bought into the room, her eyes glinting evilly as the concoction began to bubble and fizz violently.

Then it exploded.

Coughing violently as a thick green fog filled the room, the twins stumbled around blindly. Fuka tripped her way over to the dormitory window and hurled it open, expelling the haze from the room. Eyes watering, she turned to her sister, who had fallen onto the sofa.

Fumika looked up at her blearily. "Does that count as major?"


With a tired but happy sigh, Negi placed his pen on the desk and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. The last papers had been marked, and he was now sorted for tomorrow. He yawned widely as he stood up, putting his glasses back on. The boy glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above him, noting that an hour had passed since he had been interrupted by the twins. That probably meant the girls would be coming back any minute now. Briefly Negi wondered if he should tell Asuna about his plans during the summer vacation, to go to Wales to seek out his father. She would probably call him stupid for going on such a dangerous journey, and try to get him to stay.

The child teacher smiled as he remembered how determined his roommate could be. But she would understand his need to go and at least try to look for his father, and if not, he'd go anyway. It was something he had to do, to make sure for himself that his father could not be found.

Or she could decide to tag along. That thought worried Negi most of all. Any venture to the magic world would be fraught with risk, and as her teacher, he couldn't possibly allow or even expect her to come. She'd be safest here, along with the others, under the care of Dean Konoe and Takamichi.

Negi meditated on the matter as he packed up the papers he had been marking, as well as other items he'd need for the next day's lesson, finally reaching a conclusion. He'd tell her. It'd probably work out for the best anyway. Otherwise, he would have to worry about her sneaking after him or doing something similarly stupid and/or dangerous.

"Yo aniki!" called Chamo, scrambling up the boy's leg and leaping up to his shoulder. "What you thinking?" he asked, lighting one of his ever present cigarettes.

Negi half turned his head in order to bring the ermine into his field of vision. "I was considering whether or not to tell Asuna about the trip," he explained to his old friend, who he hadn't been seeing that much lately come to think of it…

"Oh that, right," nodded Chamo thoughtfully. "Well, she is your partner, your first to boot. She has the right to know, right?"

Negi nodded. "Yes, and that'll make sure she and the others don't worry about me when I leave…"

Chamo hacked a laugh at that.

"Alright, stop them trying to follow me," corrected Negi with an exasperated sigh. Chamo nodded in approval of the child teacher's revised words.

"OK aniki. But you sure you'll be able to deal with any problems that might pop up in the magic world? Having one or two partners may be useful in such a situation," pointed out Chamo, taking a long drag on his smoking cigarette.

Negi paced in a circle around the room, thinking. The sky outside the window had turned dark a long time ago, and he could feel weariness dragging him down. "I understand that Chamo, but I can't take my students! It's just too dangerous."

The small mammal raised an eyebrow. "Unlike your adventures here," he retorted.

Negi had no comeback for that argument.


Luke blinked. He had actually managed to doze off on a mountainside with nothing but his clothes and a cloak for warmth. That was new. What was more surprising was how warm he felt. Normally, the upper reaches of a mountain would be freezing and dark. And the sky would be a dark blue, not orange…

That got him out of his dozy stupor. The blonde's eyes went wide as he sat up, glancing about. He was in…a tent? He looked about, confused. When did he go into a tent? He looked down, finding himself in a sleeping bag. His situation continued to get stranger.

OK, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this the youth told himself, his mind working over the possibilities. Probably somebody, out on a late night stroll or on a mountain patrol, found me sleeping and assumed the worst. Being the one of the kind folk who lives around these parts, they decided to take me back to their camp and look after me.

Yep, that was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Though it didn't help with the guilt the boy felt at having worried someone needlessly. Resolving to sort out this mess as soon as possibly, he clambered out the bag and stood up, straightening out his uniform. His cloak had been folded neatly in a corner, amongst some other clothes. Luke retrieved it gratefully and draped it around his shoulders; at ease he now had the garment back. He had had it for a while now, and had grown rather fond of it truth be told.

Checking his appearance one last time, to make sure he hadn't lost anything rather than out of any sense of vanity, he stepped outside. A picturesque camp site greeted him, a roaring fire in the middle, facing the tent. He was in the middle of a small clearing in the woods, as far as he could tell, and several fish had been skewered on sticks which had been set into the ground around the fire.

The smell of cooking food aroused his sense of hunger, and his stomach grumbled to show its dissatisfaction with not having had anything since that drink in that café before the impromptu chase. He really hadn't expected to experience that in Mahora. Last time he'd ran like that, it was ahead of a rampaging horde of Heartless hot on the heels of a fleeing Cygnus, making for the relative safety of Hollow Bastion. Luke shook his head, a grin playing around his face. He wondered how that guy was doing these days. Probably a lot better than me, he thought with a chuckle.

"Oh, so you're awake de gozaru," said a voice behind him, startling the boy into turning around.

He got one good look before the gentlemanly part of his mind screamed in indignation at him. "Sorry!" he replied, spinning back around, to spare his host embarrassment and to hide his reaction.

Kaede smiled nonchalantly, holding the damp towel against her body. "Looks like I was wrong de gozaru. When you wouldn't wake up I thought you may have lost consciousness."

"N-no, I'm just a heavy sleeper," explained the boy, still looking out at the dark forest, his mind racing. Gah, it's only been one year! I am so not ready for this!

"Oh good," replied the ninja, walking into the tent. Hearing the flap drift closed, Luke breathed a sigh of relief and relinquished his hold on his nose. No blood trickled out. Good start. "What were you doing up here anyway, de gozaru?" asked Kaede from inside the tent, getting dressed.

"Having a walk. Helps me clear my head," replied the boy, flicking out his pocket watch and checking the time. Not out of necessity, but simply finding comfort in the movement.

Inside the tent, the kunoichi smiled. Interesting indeed…"Oh? Something bothering you?"

"You could say that," came the youth's answer. "Been a while since I was here. Little's changed."

"You've been here before?" she asked, curious.

"Oh yeah, a long time ago," he said, staring up at the night sky, at all the stars, idly wondering which ones were orbited by worlds he had visited.There was a moment of silence, broken up only by the sound of the crackling fire and chirruping crickets. Luke was staring at the flames, lost in his memories of Mahora. There had been a fire then too, and a deamon. And the Shagohod…god, what a mess he had made of things.

Kaede stepped out of the tent, dressed in a simple training outfit. The boy was standing before her, facing the fire, lost in a world of his own. She walked past him, startling him out of his reverie as she knelt down next to the free and pulled out two fish-on-sticks. She turned around and offered him one. The boy eyed it as he spoke.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I've abused your hospitality enough as it is," he said, smiling apologetically at the girl. Of course, his stomach did not like that, and groaned in protest. The ninja raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly.

"Fine!" he said, taking the roasted fish from her. "Thank you," he added as an afterthought, sitting down where he was, biting into the warm meal.

Kaede looked at him curiously, and turned to face him as she too ate, her back to the fire. The blonde looked up at her studying him, and blushed slightly.

"W-what? I'm not going to try to sewer you with the stick when your back is turned or anything!" he said nervously, chewing on his fish, edging away from the girl.

Kaede suppressed a laugh. "No, it's nothing like that de gozaru. You simply interest me," she replied, still smiling.

Luke knew that smile all too well. It tended to herald either:
a) Pain, or
b) Uncomfortable situations.

This was turning into a b) option, which was definitively not what he wanted right now. He looked away, eyes roaming the forest surrounding them as the girl continued to look at him, trying to puzzle him out. The silence continued to grow in awkwardness, a battle of wills between the pair to see who would speak first.

To hell with that. "Hmph. What interests you about me then?" he asked, turning back to look at her. He could have sworn the girl's smile widened fractionally. Luke suppressed a gulp as he constantly reminded himself that this was, for all intents and purposes, a perfect stranger to him, and he to her. This was NOT the girl he had known over a year ago. And she did not know him at all.

"Well, several things de gozaru. Firstly, you came up a mountain with no equipment of any kind. Second, your clothes are highly unusual, and thirdly, you haven't asked me for my name, or offered yours de gozaru," explained the ninja, her smile not faltering for a second.

Luke grimaced. She had a point. He stood up slowly, holding the fish between his teeth, biting off another chunk and swallowing it whilst he pretended to think over his answer. "Ah right. I apologize then. I sort of came up here whilst wandering around the campus. I had no intention of staying here until nightfall, but I lost track of time and decided to rest here. Mountaineering in the dark is highly unadvisable after all, right?" He waited for Kaede to nod before continuing. "As for you second point, is it that unusual for someone to be wearing unique clothing? You yourself are wearing a training outfit which looks highly unusual," Luke continued, indicating the girl's clothing as he did so. She glanced down and nodded in admittance. Satisfied with that, the blonde moved onto the final point. "As for the names, well, all this immediacy forced it from my mind, for which I duly apologise. I am Luke Mason," he said with a bow. "And you are…?"

"Kaede Nagase," replied the girl looking up at him, the fire dancing wildly behind her. He couldn't fathom what was running through her mind (never could really) but her look…it was either playful, or predatory. Or even a mixture of both. "And you're a poor liar, Mason-san," she finished, a kunai appearing in her hand.

That's when Luke realised just how much trouble he was in.