Disclaimer: I do not own Negima. That is Ken Akamatsu's brain child. The only things I own are my ideas and my OC Clyde Metro, so please don't sue. The college might get upset with me if I were to suddenly stop paying my loan due to lack of funds.

Author's Notes: First and foremost, congratulations to GaleBread for catching my intentional little plot hole. Glad to see somebody finally called me on it. (Throws confetti and blows noise maker) As the winner of this little unannounced contest, GaleBread will get to help shape a bit of the rest of Fallout. What part, you may ask? You'll find out in a couple of chapters. Also props to DarkDragonDave for another proofreading job. Speaking of which, if you haven't read his "Bard Moon Rising" story, give it a shot as it's a pretty interesting read so far. Oh, one thing before you get to the story. Some characters may seem a little OOC. There's a reason for it, so don't stop reading halfway through because you think someone is acting strange. Enjoy!

Key:

"words" - Notes character's thoughts/telepathy

words- Notes something written (letter, sign, etc)

"words" - Notes spells

Negima: Fallout

Chapter 9

"Alright…piece of cake…a little more…whoa!"

Clyde quietly yelps out in shock as the beaker he is currently working on starts to fizz over. Looking around in a frenzy, the blonde quickly grabs an arm cover from the nearby couch and uses it to stop the pale blue liquid from making a mess on the desk he is working at. Shaking his head in disappointment, the blonde looks up at the clock above his head and notes the time: 2:47 a.m.

"Man, this would be so much easier if the Headmaster would have just given me my own damn room. How in the hell are they expecting me to do any of this research if I have to go all cloak and dagger? Could always do it in the clock tower, but the candlelight coming from an abandoned building would probably attract more attention than I want."

Clyde sighs and looks up at the clock yet again, seeing that only a single tick has gone by on the minute hand. Cursing quietly to himself, Clyde dives back into his thoughts again.

"And how exactly are they hoping to keep up the charade of me being an honor exchange student if my grades tank? Knowing this curriculum or not, it's still tough if you're running on two freaking hours of sleep. Oh well, I guess I should be thankful that they decided to not turn me into an ermine….speaking of which, I guess I'd better keep moving along with this little chore. Definitely would not be good if they decided to change their minds…"

And with that last thought, Clyde takes a quick glance about the room, making sure that none of his roommates are up and watching before grabbing a vial and emptying the liquid inside into a large beaker. A fatigued smile pops up on the blonde youth's face as his latest concoction starts to dimly glow in it's bottle. Chuckling quietly to himself, Clyde sets the beaker to the side for now and starts mixing more vials, whispering a compliment to himself as a sort of pick-me-up.

"Good job…only a couple more to go…"


"Good morning class!"

"Good morning, Negi-sensei!"

"Well, I'm glad to see all of you awake and alert…Naba-san, would you please wake up Clyde?"

Chizuru chuckles and gently elbows the half-asleep blonde in the shoulder, causing him to nearly leap out of his chair in reaction. Clyde shakes the cobwebs out as the majority of the class laughs at the youth's misfortune. Negi for his part joins in with a slight chuckle before chastising the boy.

"Really, Clyde-san, you should get more sleep at night."

"I could get more sleep if somebody wouldn't have gotten me in trouble and made me do the academy's experiments!"

Negi blinks in confusion a couple of times before remembering his pactio with Clyde. Shaking his head in frustration due to his forgetfulness, Negi quickly mind texts the blonde back.

"You were the one that got yourself in trouble! I volunteered to accept punishment, remember?"

"Yeah, very nice of you, but I didn't think you did anything wrong. You could show me a little slack here, "sensei."

"You're supposed to be playing the role of an exchange student, Clyde. Don't get mad at me if I have to treat you like a miscreant."

"Miscreant!? I'll show you miscreant! You want a problem child in your class…"

And as quickly as Clyde and Negi's mental rant begins, it ends as Ayaka gets up from her seat and slaps Clyde.

"Stop glaring at Negi-sensei! Show him some respect, Clyde-san!"

Clyde grimaces in pain as he looks up at Ayaka through his teary eyes, the red imprint of a hand right on his cheek. Too fatigued to cause a big scene by arguing or reacting, the boy opts to mutter a nearly inaudible "sorry" and settles back down in his desk.

"Nice…an iron fist in a velvet glove…"

"Hmm…did you say something, Clyde-san?

"Not at all. Go ahead and continue, Mr. Spring…er, Negi-sensei."

Negi smiles and nods before continuing with class. The young teacher turns to the board where the ideas for the Cultural Festival still remain, grimacing in disgust at the majority of the "suggestions." Shaking his head, Negi turns back to face the class, which for a pleasant change in pace, are silent.

"Alright, then. It seems that due to most of our choices being inappropriate, that we have no choice but to go with the Romeo and Juliet idea."

Negi pauses for a few seconds, waiting for the protests that the boy knew would come.

"Inappropriate? Kissing booth would have been kind of cool!"

"It would have raised money!"

"What in the hell was wrong with Cosplay Contest!?"

"Geez, I don't think I've ever seen Chisame get so worked up over something."

"I'm not worked up! I was…curious. Yeah. Just curious."

Negi sighs quietly as the class continues on their tangent. Muttering quietly to himself for the second time in as many days, the windows find themselves letting in a gust of wind. As the girls all scramble to save loose papers, Clyde's eyebrow arches up at the spectacle. Quickly standing up, Clyde addresses the pint sized teacher.

"Wow, Negi-sensei! I had no idea that it was so windy here in Japan! I really do wonder how it is so windy! It really is a mystery to me!"

Negi chuckles nervously to himself at the older boy's statement, seeing the boy was clearheaded enough today to put two and two together. Trying not to blow his cover, Negi quickly whips up a lame excuse.

"Yeah…it is a mystery. Heh…maybe it's a pressure cell or something…I'm an English teacher, Clyde-san, not a weatherman. Now then, if we're ready to continue…I personally think that a play would be a terrific idea. Naturally, we'll need a director…yes, Naba-san?"

The brown haired beauty chuckles as she lowers her hand.

"Negi-sensei, how about Natsumi? She knows the most about theatre in this class."

Natsumi for her part just yelps in shock.

"Oh, no, no, no. You guys don't want me to direct. I don't know that much about it…really!"

"Now, now. Don't be so bashful, Natsumi. You'd be perfect for the job. You need to learn to come out of your shell."

"Chizu-ne…I'm not a director though. I'm an actor."

"I think you would do just fine."

Natsumi turns her glance from Chizuru up to the smiling boy teacher that was the source of the more recent comment. "You're the best person I can think of for the job. Please?"

The redhead rubs her hands through her hair, a look of worry on her face. Finally, after what seems like an eternity to the girl, Natsumi looks up to the still smiling teacher and flashes one of her own.

"Right! I can do this! I won't let you down, Negi-sensei! I remember how most of the story goes since Takahata-sensei had us read it last year…besides, directing can't be that hard…right?"

Negi beams as he begins writing on a piece of paper.

"Director…Natsumi…Murakami…there! Now that we have that done, I guess we should pick a male lead…and seeing as how Clyde is the only male in this class, I guess he's got the job."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Clyde scoffs and shakes his head. "No offense, but I really don't think I should have the lead. I'm the new kid on the block, y'know. Why don't you do it?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly…"

"Nonsense! Let's have a vote! Whoever thinks I should be Romeo, raise your hand."

Everybody looks around the room, seeing only five or six hands in the air, the majority of the raised hand owners winking at Clyde. Chuckling nervously, the youth presses onwards. "Negi?"

The class takes another glance around, seeing most of the unraised hands in the air now, with Chisame, Evangeline, and Chachamaru not being bothered with casting a vote either way. Negi lets out his all too familiar nervous chuckle and writes his name down on the sheet.

"I'm Romeo…swell…just terrific…now for the rest of the cast…"

"Negi-sensei, as your class representative, I will gladly accept the responsibility of taking the lead female role."

"Wait a minute!" Makie quickly gets up from her seat and walks towards the now slightly irked rep. "I remember the end of that play too! You just want to get a smooch from Negi-kun!"

Ayaka slightly blushes at the accusation before offering up her rebuttal.

"No, that isn't the case at all…not that I would mind kissing Negi-sensei…I'm nominating myself because I don't want our play to be screwed up."

"Well, she is used to acting." Asuna scoffs. "She does it everyday with that good doer act."

"It isn't an act. Maybe acting like a good doer is something you should do though, Asuna!"

"Negi, use that cufflink you got there and cause a breeze or something. I'm not going to get hit again by breaking them up."

"Wha?" Negi arches an eyebrow at the grumbling blonde who appears to be trying his best to tune out the argument between the two females. "How did you know about my cufflink?"

"Because you just gave it away. It was a guess. Knew you had to be making magic somehow. Talk about lucky!"

After Clyde's last pactio transmitted message to the pint sized teacher and after said teacher facefaults, he breaks out in laughter, causing the class to look at him strangely. Ayaka and Asuna are able to cease their verbal fire long enough to look at their hyena of a classmate before glancing at each other again.

"Is he okay?"

"You'd know better than I would. He's your roommate now, isn't he?"

"Not by choice."

"Ahem."

The two girls abruptly stop in their conversation as the young teacher clears his throat. Clyde's laughter subsides as well as he receives another Chizuru elbow for his troubles, snapping him out of his chuckling stupor. Negi, with the order restored in his classroom for the time being, decides to press on with the current subject.

"Seeing as how we might have some difficulties selecting certain parts, I think the best thing would be to draw out of a hat again." Negi smirks as he pulls Konoka's beret out of his desk drawer, the ermine stowaway from the day before gone like a thief in the night. After a few moments, Negi gets everyone's name, sans Natsumi's and his own into the hat.

"OK…I guess we'll go for the role of Juliet first…"

A mixed look of happiness and dread washes across Negi's face as he reaches in to see who his leading lady will be. The boy takes out a slip of paper and the look on his face changes to complete dread as he reads off the name.

"…It looks like our Juliet is…Clyde."

The announcement is met with waves of laughter as Clyde shakes his head violently in protest. The blonde quickly stands up and walks up to the teacher's desk.

"Hey, not to be a spoilsport or anything…but there's no way that's going to happen. Thirty girls to pick from and I end up having to dress in drag? I'm thinking…no. Matter of fact, I'm new here. So why not just have me be stage manager or something? I wouldn't lose any sleep. Isn't like I'm going to have family here to watch me perform, right? You should also know that I get really nervous in front of…"

"Stage manager it is." Negi nods in agreement, hoping to be able to end the chain of excuses that Clyde has been firing off. "With that settled, we still need a Juliet…looks like…Haruna.

"Yeah, way to go, Paru!"

"Dang…I wanted to be Juliet."

"Oh, quit pouting. It isn't the end of the world, y'know?"

Haruna for her part chuckles for a few moments before speaking.

"Negi-sensei, don't you think it would be better for me to work on sets for the play? I am the artist you know…although I do know who we could use for Juliet."

The girl adjusts her glasses before pointing a finger at a desk behind her.

"How about Nodoka? I'm sure she's read that play plenty of times! I bet she knows the part in and out!"

The purple haired librarian lets out a slight yelp in terror at the mere suggestion of sharing the lead with Negi, all too well knowing the play and the relationship between it's namesake characters. Before Nodoka has a chance to protest, Yue stands up from her desk and offers her two cents.

"Negi-sensei, I think that would be a good idea. I'm sure Nodoka won't have any problems with taking the lead, right?"

Nodoka slightly squirms in her seat at Yue's last word, which is emphasized with a glare in the purple haired girl's direction. Taking a deep breath and taking a few moments to compose herself, Nodoka stands up, a slight smile on her face.

"All right. I'll do it!"

The acceptance of the role is met with cheers from the vast majority of the class, with a few girls sitting in their desks with slight scowls in disappointment; Makie and Ayaka in particular. Negi smiles and nods as he writes the name in and proceeds on down the cast list.

"Glad we have that settled. Now, for the next role…"


"Hey, not to be ungrateful or rude, but did Ayaka really have to do this?"

A very sleepy Clyde sits up slightly from the couch that he is currently resting on in the dorm. Chizuru chuckles from across the room as the boy shoots a half-awake glance at her.

"Now, now. It isn't that bad, Clyde. You should be happy. Just consider it a chance for you to meet and get along with the rest of the class. Besides, we do need to start planning for the play, so that's why Ayaka suggested everybody meeting here."

"That, or she's trying to score brownie points with the teacher."

Chizuru responds with a smile and a chuckle at the blonde's theory. His question answered, Clyde flips the brown haired beauty a thumbs up before lying back down on the couch. His trip into slumber land is cut very quickly, however, as he feels his legs being yanked off the couch. Awaking in shock, Clyde's upper half finds it's way off the couch as well, causing the boy to crash to the floor. Looking up in anger, Clyde's angry look dissolves away as he is met with one from the blonde girl standing over him.

"Sorry Clyde, but no shoes on the couch. Didn't your parents ever teach you manners?"

"Sorry. I'm just a little tired."

"Well don't take it out on the couch with your shoes, alright?" Ayaka's expression brightens as a knock is heard at the door. "He…They're here!"

And with that, Ayaka quickly makes her way over to the door and mistakenly opens it with her standing directly in front, getting trampled by twenty-some people as they flood into the living room. Clyde can't help but to let out a chuckle before helping up the roommate/floor mat that ruined his nap.

"Yawn…You OK?"

"Yeah, I think so. Thank you Clyde-sa…"

Ayaka trails off as she notices a smiling Negi standing behind Clyde in the doorway, chuckling and waving at the unfortunate girl. Without wasting a second, Ayaka quickly pushes Clyde into the couch, sending him crashing over the top of it and onto the trio of girls now sitting on it. After quickly rolling to the floor and apologizing to the cheerleader trio that has broken his fall, the blonde opts to just sit down against a wall for the little class meeting.

"Wow, you sure like making physical contact with cute girls, don'tcha?"

Clyde arches an eyebrow and looks up from the ground to see a snickering Asakura. Shaking his head and letting out another small yawn, the boy only lets out a half hearted "meh," causing the redheaded reporter to pout.

"Oh, you're no fun! How am I supposed to get my laughs from you if you're too tired to even put up a protest? Wait…didn't you say you had some kind of special assignment or something? You know, for the…" Asakura quickly surveys the room to make sure that nobody is near enough to hear her whisper. "…for the magic academy thing?"

The girl's question is answered by a small nod and a thumbs up.

"Man, that's gotta suck for you. Cheer up though, Clyde-kun. It could always be worse, right?"

"Sorry to interrupt…"

Both Asakura and Clyde look behind the reporter to see a cheerful looking Makie raising her hand as if to get the duo's attention.

"…um, is it OK if I grab something to drink? You live here so you can give the thumbs up, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Clyde lets out yet another yawn before continuing. "Drinks are in the fridge. Help yourself…Makie, right?"

"Hey, you remembered!" A grin breaks out on the gymnast's face, as well as a slight blush. "Since they were being quiet, maybe you could tell me. Which one are you dating? Ako or Yuna? There had to be a reason that you were all out together for the whole day a couple days ago."

"Neither…yawn…" Clyde thinks of putting up more of a defensive argument, but is too tired to do so.

"Really? That's nice to know." Makie lets out a giggle before going to the refrigerator. "Talk to you later, Clyde-kun!"

Clyde raises a half awake eyebrow as the high spirited gymnast runs off to the kitchen as Asakura lets out a laugh.

"You're getting pretty popular, Clyde. How about getting yourself a girlfriend so I can get some gossip?

"…Whatever. You want to hand me that pillow on the end of the couch?"

Asakura haphazardly grabs said pillow and tosses it at the boy's face. Clyde quickly puts the sleeping aid between his head and the wall, causing the paparazzo's smirk to become a frown.

"You are so damn boring. Wake up a little, man."

The duo's attention, as well as that of everyone else turns to the kitchen following the sound of glass breaking and a certain pink haired girl saying "oopsie." Ayaka turns from the group of students that she was talking with and glares at the chuckling Makie, already scouring the kitchen for paper towels.

"Makie! What are you doing in there!"

"It looks like she's dropping stuff, Rep."

"I can see that, Sakurako!"

"Hey, is that soda?"

"Awesome! I want one!"

"Us too!"

"Thank you for the generosity, Rep."

"But…I…ugh." Ayaka sighs in defeat, obviously none too pleased with having to now make a trip to the grocery store in the near future. After turning due to a tap on her shoulder, the rep's demeanor takes a 180 as she comes face to face with a smiling Negi.

"That is very generous of you, Ayaka-san."

"I do what I can, Negi-sensei." Ayaka blushes ever so slightly as she lets out a giggle. "After all, a class rep has to take care of her classmates."

"Indeed." Negi nods before continuing on. "Anyways, I was just curious. When is the cultural festival anyways?"

"When is the cultural festival?" Ayaka blinks in confusion a couple of times before responding. "That would be in a week and a half, Negi-sensei."

"Right, a week and a half." After the information settles in, Negi's eyes nearly pop out of his skull. "A week and a half!? We have to be ready in a week and a half!?"

"Nobody told you?" Ayaka ponders, already able to deduct the answer from the boy's demeanor. The blonde, now in a state of saddened shock continues on. "Nobody…told…him. My responsibility…I failed…"

"It's not your fault, Ayaka-san. I should've paid better attention myself."

"I'm the class representative…it's my duty…I failed Negi-sensei…"

Before Negi has a chance to say anything to the stunned girl, Ayaka quickly stands up and runs crying to her room, still apologizing to the stunned teacher as she goes. Negi blinks a couple of times and goes to follow the now depressed rep, but promptly runs right into Chizuru a few steps later.

"Don't worry, Negi-sensei. Natsumi and I will take care of this."

"But Naba-san…"

"It'll be fine." Chizuru's smile and confidant manner makes the young teacher feel slightly at ease. "We'll take care of her."

"Alright then…I guess we'll end the meeting for now…see you all later."

Natsumi opens the door and sees the class out, trying her hardest to not be distracted by the snoring that her newest roommate is currently doing. Chizuru smiles and nods as she cleans up Makie's unintentional mess, grabbing a soda for herself before going to cheer up Ayaka.

"What a night…" Natsumi sighs as she waves to the last of her classmates and shuts the door, coming to an abrupt stop a few inches shy of Clyde's protruding legs. Chuckling slightly, the redhead makes her way over to the closet and grabs a blanket, tossing it over the fatigued blonde. Her task complete, Natsumi follows Chizuru's lead and goes to try to cheer up Ayaka.

"What a mess of a day…we didn't get a single thing done, did we?" Natsumi ponders to herself for a few moments before brightening up and continuing on her way.

"Gotta be positive. It isn't like tomorrow can be any worse, right? Everything will be so much better tomorrow…I hope."


Natsumi lets out a yawn and stretches as she climbs out of her bed, eager to see if her thought the night before would prove true. The half awake girl puts on her slippers and robe before stumbling out of the bedroom, Ayaka still cooped up in her room. Natsumi lets out a small sigh as she passes the door. Her and Chizuru had managed to get Ayaka calm the night before, but she was still not in the best of moods. Chizuru told Natsumi that the blonde girl would be fine with a good night sleep to clear her head, so the redhead just keeps walking past the door, not wanting to disturb her slightly depressed roommate. Scanning the living room, Natsumi notices that Clyde is already absent, as proven by the pillow and folded blanked lying on the arm of the couch. The smell of bacon and eggs takes Natsumi away from her quick glance at the room and leads her into the kitchen, where a smiling Chizuru is already working away on breakfast.

"Good morning, Chizu-ne!" Natsumi smiles to the brown haired girl as she sits down at the dining room table. "What all are we having?"

"Oh, a little bit of everything…" Chizuru gives the actress a smile of her own before sitting down. Natsumi's smile slowly evaporates though as she notices that Chizuru is still smiling and hasn't taken her glance off of her for the last couple of minutes.

"Um…what's wrong, Chizu-ne?" Natsumi gasps in shock before feeling her face. "Is it a pimple? Do I have something on my face? What are you looking at?"

"No, no…nothing of the sort." Chizuru dismisses the girl's worries with a wave of her hand before continuing. "It's just that…your freckles…"

"Wha…?" Natsumi tilts her head in confusion at the girl's statement. "What about them?"

"It's just that I wish I had them. Look at how well they compliment your face! All I have is a dumb beauty mark…just a single one! And your hair…"

Chizuru lets out a small giggle as she runs her hand through Natsumi's red locks. Natsumi for her part is frozen in confusion.

"It is sooo short! I wish I had shorter hair like you. Do you know how much I have to spend on shampoo each month? It's terrible!"

Natsumi thinks of saying something to her stranger-than-usual friend, but finds herself only able to blink in confusion and shock as Chizuru's hands have now found their way to the front of her robe.

"And your chest…why can't I have ones like you? These things always get in the way and they're so heavy!" Chizuru's hands quickly retract before bringing her arms around Natsumi in an embrace. "I am just so jealous of you! Why do you get to have all the luck of cute freckles, short and easy to wash hair, and a compact bosom? It just isn't fair!"

"I…I…I think I'm going to skip breakfast today. As director, I got to get to school pretty early. Bye!"

The most amazing part of the sentence for every witness was the fact that in that time, Natsumi was able to break free, get changed, and get out the door before uttering "bye." As the door closes in front of her, Chizuru puts her face in her hands and pouts over the dining table.

"I wish I could move that fast."


"Hey Clyde, do you have a minute?"

The mentioned blonde turns his attention up from his desk to see a worried Natsumi. The boy shrugs and nods to the redhead.

"I just wanted to ask you before Chizu-ne gets here…was she acting odd when you left this morning?"

"Acting odd?" Clyde strokes his chin for a few moments before coming up with an answer. "Well, she did say she was jealous about my legs. Something about how I'm lucky that I don't have to shave them? That qualifies as odd, right?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. Do you want to know what happened to me this morning?"

Clyde shrugs again and Natsumi walks a little closer to the boy, whispering in his ear. The mage's face runs the entire gamut of emotions as the redhead tells of her ordeal, from an arched eyebrow, to a slight smirk, to eyes and mouth opening wide in shock. As Natsumi finishes, Clyde blinks a couple of times and waits for the information to settle in.

"You think she has a fever or something, Natsumi?"

As soon as the words leave Clyde's mouth, the attention of everybody in the classroom turns to the commotion at the doorway, as a frustrated Ayaka walks into the room, hindered in her journey by the well endowed girl hanging on her neck.

"Chizuru! What's with you? Lemme go, already!"

"You look so cute in a tie! Why can't I look cute when I wear a tie? And why can't I have green eyes? Green's my favorite color!"

All the class finds themselves able to do is sweat drop at the spectacle in front of them. Evangeline watches on from the back of the room for a few seconds before letting out a scoff and opening up a newspaper. Negi for his part isn't sure what to make of the display, but speaks up anyways.

"Um…excuse me…Naba-san? Are you feeling alright?"

At the sound of the small teacher's voice, Chizuru releases her grip on Ayaka and turns her attention to Negi. An awkward silence ensues as the girl stares at Negi for a few moments before grabbing onto the back of his hair.

"Ooh, I love your ponytail! I want a cute little ponytail like that!"

"She could cut her hair short…" Chisame mutters to herself, obviously just as annoyed as Evangeline is with the strange display. "Or better yet, she could shut up so we can get this day of torment started and out of the way…eh!"

The net idol finds herself letting out a yelp of shock as she finds herself face to face with the still smiling Chizuru.

"You know, I have always liked those glasses. I wish I had glasses like that!"

"Go stare at the sun or some…hey, what are you doing!?"

All Chisame can do is watch on in shock and anger as Chizuru takes the glasses off of her face and puts them on her own. Deciding enough is enough, Clyde hops up from his seat and goes to retrieve his deskmate.

"OK…let's go sit down, hon. That's good for today." Clyde lets out a nervous chuckle as he gives the glasses back to the fuming Chisame.

"Eh, sorry about that? You know, you do look better without the glasses though. Have you ever thought about contact lenses?"

A low growl from the peeved girl is all it takes for Clyde to drop the subject and hastily make his way back to his desk with Chizuru in tow. Negi shoots a confused look over to Clyde, who just shrugs in equal confusion as Chizuru runs her hand through his hair, this time complaining that her hair isn't as shiny. Deciding that this is probably the calmest he's going to get the class, Negi decides to push onwards.

"Alright then…Haruna-san, have you decided what you are going to do with the sets yet?"

"Already covered, sensei!" Haruna stands up and flips the teacher a pair of thumbs. "And thanks to Lingshen and Satomi, we should be able to have the sets done tonight. Technology rocks!"

The beaming manga girl hops up from her desk and runs around the room, giving both of the scientific geniuses high fives before sitting down. Negi lets out a chuckle at the spectacle before continuing on.

"Terrific! That leaves us time to get our lines down. Now then, let's start with our lead. Nodoka, are you feeling comfortable with the part?"

"Yeah, fine. Now buzz off."

Negi lets out a chuckle, but the smile from his face quickly disappears as he notices that the purple haired librarian has a scowl etched on her face.

"Um…are you okay, Nodoka?"

"Terrific. Leave me alone."

Concerned for the girl as she is definitely acting strangely compared to usual, Negi leaves his desk and walks to the irked girl.

"Nodoka, are you sure that you're fine? I've never seen you act like this."

"Shut up, Negi!"

Following that trio of words, Negi finds himself lying on the ground several feet away as a result of a Nodoka backhand. After a few moments of hushed silence, Ayaka gets up from her seat and storms back towards Nodoka.

"Bookworm-chan! Why did you do that to Negi-sensei!?"

"You want some of this, blondie!? I can backhand you the hell out of my way too!"

All Ayaka is able to do is stand there stunned. Normally used to having Asuna yelling at her about various things, the blonde isn't quite sure how to react. Cautiously taking a few slow steps backwards, the rep turns her attention to the dazed teacher who is struggling to his feet.

"Are you alright, Negi-sensei!?"

"…Yes, I think so…thank you, Ayaka."

"You poor thing!" Without warning, Negi finds himself wrapped in an embrace with his head stuck between a soft place…well, two soft places. Clyde's raised eyebrow seems to be stuck in place as he tries to put two and two together. As the boy runs through his thoughts, he feels himself being picked up out of his chair. Abruptly turning about, he sees a smiling Sakurako staring at him.

"Clyde-kun…I was thinking…"

"That's good, I suppose." Clyde blinks a couple of times at the blushing girl before continuing. "Thinking about what?"

"Well, do you like cheerleaders?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Really?" Sakurako lets out a small giggle as she inches closer towards Clyde. "What about lacrosse?"

"Um…It's alright."

Clyde tries to take a few steps back, but Sakurako promptly stops him by grabbing his right arm and wrapping it around her waist. Clyde starts chuckling nervously and sweat drops, not quite sure of what to make of the girl's advances.

"You don't have a girlfriend yet, right?" Sakurako's blushing becomes ever more noticeable by the second as she finally wraps her arms around the boy's neck. "Don't worry, Clyde-kun. I'll be your girlfriend!"

"Be his girlfriend!?" Sakurako's idea for Clyde does a very good job of drawing attention away from the still dazed Negi. Quickly getting up from her seat, Misa storms over to her beaming friend and the very confused Clyde, grabbing onto the girl's hair and pulling her over to Madoka's desk.

"What the heck!? I know Clyde is cute and all, but you can't be so forward!" Misa shakes her head briefly before continuing her chastising of Sakurako. "You see, the thing about boys is…"

"Oh, come on, Misa. I want a boyfriend. You have a boyfriend. What's the problem?"

"The problem is you don't know him! Dating takes time, Sakurako…hey! Are you even listening to me!?"

Misa grumbles in frustration as the lectured girl has already made her way back over to Clyde's desk and has him currently locked in a bear hug. Misa is able to drag her cheering compatriot away for a second time, with the dragged girl promising to call him as she is brought back to Madoka's desk.

"Madoka, you want to help me out a little bit here?"

"Eh…maybe later…I think I'm gonna take a nap."

"Take a nap? Don't be so lazy, Kugumi!"

Misa smirks, knowing that she will get a reaction from the third cheerleader over the makeshift nickname. The purple haired cheerleader is out of luck though, as Madoka just lets out a yawn and a very quiet "whatever." Before anything else in the classroom can happen, the bell rings, bringing an end to the more than usual chaos of 3-A.

"Umm…everybody study your lines, I guess…" Negi sighs as he watches the class leave, notables being Clyde sprinting from the room, Sakurako giving chase, Nodoka punching a hole in the wall next to the door before storming out, Misa yelling at Sakurako to knock it off while dragging a now asleep Madoka, and Chizuru following Kaede, pouting about how she wishes she was taller. The boy shakes his head in frustration and wonders if the strange behavior is some kind of a test for him, or if the school has a gas leak somewhere.


Clyde lets out a sigh of relief as he slams the door of his dorm shut behind him. After locking the door and making sure that there was no way the crazed cheerleader can get in, the blonde plops himself down on the couch and tries to sort out the chaos.

"What in the hell was all of that stuff about today? I know that Negi's class is a little eccentric, but I didn't think they were that bad…Wait a minute…maybe it's some kind of test for me and Negi? Nah, it couldn't be. The mages council wouldn't be bold enough to make it obvious…would they? Gas leak? Probably not…"

"Ah, damnit!" Clyde growls in frustration as he stands up and runs his hands through his hair. "There's gotta be a reason. That's alright, I'll just grab a soda and get back to brain…"

Clyde freezes mid word as he thinks about the night before, vaguely remembering giving the green light to the class for some beverage refreshment. Quickly rushing over to the fridge, Clyde throws it open and immediately digs towards the back. After a frantic search, Clyde slowly backs away from the refrigerator with a worried look on his face.

"Oh crap…"

Whistling nervously to himself, the blonde pulls out his pactio card with Negi and gives it a quick glance. After thinking on what he's going to say for a few moments, Clyde reaches out to his small comrade.

"Negi, what are you up to?"

"Clyde? I should ask you the same question. You've been missing since class ended."

"Yeah, I know. How's the face feeling?"

"I think I'm fine. I'm not sure what happened though."

"Funny you should mention that. I think I might know what happened…"

"Really? What's that?"

"I'm at the dorms now. Grab the troops and meet me here as soon as you can…and try not to get too angry."

"Hey, Clyde?"

"Yeah, Negi?"

"….Why is it that whenever you say that, something bad always follows?"


Author's Notes: The Encore!- Yep, as if the chapter title wasn't enough of a hint, this little episode is going to be a multi parter. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but eh, life goes on. Something to look forward to somewhere down the road. Speaking of somewhere down the road, it is with mucho happiness that I announce a new story from the keyboard of Midnight Sleeper. Negima: Reset, set to grace very soon. As for updates on this new project, that depends on the fans. No, I'm not going to hold stories hostage or anything of the sort, but reader voting is going to play a major part in the storyline as far as how certain things happen, at least I'd like it to. What better way to give back to the readers than to let them help shape the next story? If anyone wants information, I put up a description in my profile. Anyways, kudos for all the reviews and if you like what you read, keep em coming. E-mail, AIM, you all know the drill. See you all later with Chapter 10 of Fallout and Chapter 1 of Reset!

-Midnight