mwuh? Huh? I'm still alive?
Yawm...sorry for the wait...lessee...Holy Crap! Kuwabara's dead?
Not on my watch! Go Deus Ex Machina no jutsu!
10th period.
"The bells already rung!" Ayaka cried out, looking out the window desperately for a sign of the missing students, ears straining for the telltale sound of bells ringing that normally heralded the arrival of her nemesis "Where are they?"
"Honya-chan, Haruna and Konoka have disappeared too!" Yuna exclaimed, looking around frantically.
'Ojou-sama.' Setsuna muttered concernedly, eyeing Konoka's empty seat and wishing she had her sword to comfort her, but it had been confiscated as usual.
"They won't get a failing grade, they'll get NO grade!" Fumika wept, which was the general sentiment in the class. All their studying would turn out to be for naught with eight absent students pulling the class average down.
Nita sensei snorted in annoyance, marking off the absentees with a scowl. "Six missing students," he muttered "and no sign of either Kuwabara-sensei or Negi-sensei." He nodded to Seruhiko "May as well start the-!"
"WAIT!" Negi called out, leading the missing six students up the steps at an exhausted pace the members of 2A cheering at the sight of them "Sorry we're late…overslept!"
"And just where have you been?" Nita asked, looking annoyed, ignoring Nodoka's stammered apologies for forgetting to wake them "And where is Kuwabara-sensei?"
The Bakas flinched and looked down, Negi fighting back tears, as Asuna managed out a quick 'He couldn't make it' before following Nita to a separate classroom. As they passed Negi he group gave him heartening smiles, which he returned.
'I have to have faith in them.' The wizard insisted, recalling the image of Kuwabara leaping at the statue as the lift doors closed 'Kuwabara-san gave his life so we could make it back, I cannot lose faith!'
After the exam...
"Next time, don't be late!" Nita ordered, collecting the tests from the exhausted latecomers and making his way down the hall, where a most unusual sight appeared before him.
"Ah, the tests of the latecomers." The dean noted, a mass of bandages wrapped around its head, only the telltale eyebrows and moustaches hinting as to his identity. "I'll mark them personally Nita-sensei."
"Headmaster!" the 'oni' exclaimed in alarm, gaping at the man's appearance "What happened to you?"
"Just a bad fall." The Dean assured him cryptically, wincing as a few of his joints popped, looking over Nita's shoulder with a nod "Would you care to assist me, Sensei?"
"Hm?" Nita wondered, looking around in confusion "Wha-You?"
Grading ceremony...
"This is bad!" Kasumi exclaimed, staring at her laptop "At this rate there's only one place above last left! The Booby prize!"
All across campus the members of 2A crossed their fingers, no more so than the Bakas and Negi, who had put everything into it; they owed it to Kuwabara to at least succeed in the deans challenge.
"2nd from last is 2K with an average of 69.9 points!" the announcer called out, dashing their hopes to shreds and leaving the Bakas dissolving into a fine mist.
They had failed, they had come in last, after everything they'd been through Kuwabara's sacrifice had been for naught.
Asuna looked round for Negi, looking to comfort the boy, only to find that he had vanished while she'd been gaping at the board like an idiot. She shot off like a bullet, the other Bakas trailing behind her as she made for the one place she KNEW the predictable little brat would go. Sure enough she found him in front of the ticket office, calling out his name and startling him as she ran towards him.
"I'm sorry!" she cried out, flushed and near tears herself "I'm really, really sorry! If I hadn't made us go looking for that stupid book none of this would have-!"
"It's alright Asuna." Negi offered, smiling bravely at the redhead "You couldn't possibly have known what was going to happen, this isn't your fault." He smiled sadly "If I was half the teacher Kuwabara-san was we wouldn't have needed a magic book to pass. I just wasn't ready, and that's all."
He smiled up at her "Tell all the others thank you, especially the other baka rangers." He closed his eyes cheerfully "The brief time I had here…was great."
Asuna moved to protest, only for the wizard to turn sharply, moving through the terminal and dashing off with a cry of farewell. Not one to be outdone, she vaulted over the terminal and lunged after the boy, grabbing him from behind and holding tight.
"You used to bug the living hell outta me when you first got here!" she cried out, face flushing in embarrassment "But even so, you tried so hard for us, the group everyone had given up on!" she hugged him tighter "Now you're just going to run away? Just like that?"
"Negi Bozu!" Ku Fei called out, a desperate Makie running alongside her, as they dashed towards the station. Asuna gaped at them in awe, only for Negi to break out of her hold and dash off.
"I can't take you pitying me!" the welshman exclaimed, letting out a yelp as Makie's ribbon latched around his leg, sending him face first into the platform.
"Negi-kun!" Konoka called out concernedly, helping the boy up and staring at his sear-stained face, before smiling caringly down at him "That was cruel Negi-kun! Sneaking off without telling anyone!"
"This is too harsh a punishment for a kid!" the Bakas insisted, circling around the startled wizard consolingly "We'll petition the headmaster on your behalf!"
"Ho? You called?" an aged voice spoke out, the headmaster hobbling into view from behind, startling them and scaring the bejeezus out of Makie, who mistook him for a mummy "My apologies Negi-kun, it seems the final numbers were tallied WITHOUT the eight students I personally graded. The news club students have been disciplined severely I assure you."
"Wha-what does that mean?" the Baka's exclaimed, hope rising in their eyes as Konoka pointed out the possibility that MAYBE they had avoided last place after all.
"You mean it all depends on us baka rangers?" Makie asked, looking distraught, until she received her grade of 66. Ku Fei and Kaede looked rather chuffed at their own 67 and 63 percent respectively; whilst Yue seemed oddly disappointed at her own 63.
Haruna, Nodoka and Konoka easily scored over the 80 mark, the dean congratulating his granddaughter before turning to address the understandably nervous Baka red, AKA Asuna.
"71 percent." The dean revealed, nodding proudly at the stunned girl "You did very well Asuna-kun." He shifted trough the papers "With these, the average score comes to 81.2 percent."
"T-that means…" Negi stammered, recalling that the previous top score had been 80.8, even as a cheer erupted around the school.
"2A IS TOPS!" the Bakas cheered, raising their voices along side their classmates as they danced around the stunned professor who was looking at the ground in shock.
"Asuna-san…" he stammered, tears lining his cheeks "I…we…!"
Asuna grinned at him and ruffled his hair "We did, huh you little brat?" she teased, a kind tone in her voice.
Negi blinked smiling up at her, before looking up at the sunny sky. "We did it…Kuwabara-san."
"Sure did, Bozu."
Mahora Station...
Negi froze, Asuna froze, the collective Baka rangers and Library Exploration Club froze at the sound of the cheerful, hauntingly familiar voice. Negi briefly wondered if he was hearing things, until he realized that everyone seemed to be looking behind him.
"N-Negi…" Asuna stammered, eyes wide in disbelief as she pointed behind the mage. Even Kaede's eyes were wide in shock, which was saying a lot, as she rarely showed any form of emotion with them.
Slowly, hardly daring to hope, he turned to face behind, staring at the figure before him with wide eyes, taking in the tall frame, the white suit pants and black shirt, red tie undone and orange ponytail blowing in the slight breeze.
"S'matter?" Kuwabara called out, smirking down at the boy "Ya look like you've seen a ghost Bozu."
"Kuwa…Bara...san?" Negi managed to get out, the child-sensei's eyes tearing up at the sight of the man, before leaping forwards, decorum forgotten as he latched onto his neck "KUWABARA-SAN!"
"ACK! CALM DOWN BOZU!" Kuwabara swore, tumbling over backwards as Negi's momentum near threw them onto the train tracks, thankfully falling short on the platform "Damn, what the hell you got in that rucksack of yours?" he blinked as the sound of pounding feet drew near "Oh Shit!"
"Sensei!" the Bakas yelled out, dog piling on the duo, getting tangled together as they laughed cheered and cried their eyes out, Sayo giggling overhead, invisible to everyone but the frantic man below, who was trying to get his head over the side of the platform before the next train arrived.
That afternoon...
It was with a warm smile and a serious air the Konoe Konoemon, dean of Mahora Gakuen and elder of the Kanto magic association, added his personal seal to two official documents, which bore the name of two of the finest, noblest young men he'd ever had the fortune to meet.
'A shame Kuwabara-kun is taken.' He sighed, recalling the man's savage right hook through the visor of the statue and the courage he'd shown in risking himself for the others 'Ah well, time will tell…and there's always Negi-kun after all.' He noted cheerfully, blowing on the ink to dry it, before sending the documents off in envelopes.
Later...
"EEEH?" the Bakas exclaimed, clustered at one table at the café 2A was currently celebrating at "So the Headmaster was inside the Golem?"
"Yup." Kuwabara replied, sipping at his soda "I thought I was gonna be fired for sure when I found out. He said it was all part of the test."
"Grandpa." Konoka sighed, shaking her head in a long-suffering manner, whilst Asuna ranted in the corner about strangling the old man. Negi chuckled weakly, before blinking as he looked over a Kuwabara.
"By the way," the little mage asked, looking at his colleague inquisitively "How'd you find us down there?"
"I told you." Kuwabara replied, tweaking the boys nose "Stick with me and you never get lost. Finding stuff is my specialty."
"Sensei so cool Aru!" Ku Fei cheered, Kaede smiling in agreement next to her "You kick ass in scavenger hunt!"
"Hunt!" Asuna swore, pigtails fairing angrily as she pummeled a plushy of the dean, where she got one would forever remain a mystery "There's an idea! Ayaka! I need to borrow a horse and some bloodhounds!"
"Always full of energy that one." Kuwabara chuckled, earning a smile from Negi as they watched the two go at it again. "Not too sure that's good thing."
That evening...
"Tadaima." Kuwabara yawned, coming home to the cottage to find only Chachamaru waiting for him "Huh? Where's Eva-Chan?"
"She has an appointment with the dean." The green haired girl replied, "She asked me to stay behind this time, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Nah I'm fine." Kuwabara replied, wincing as he took his jacket off. He'd landed badly on his shoulder and it still hurt like hell. He blinked as a pair of hands rubbed against it, looking round into the concerned eyes of his roommate.
"You see to have a injured your shoulder." Chachamaru stated, "Please let me take a look."
Kuwabara's protests fell on deaf ears as the green haired gynoid made him take off his shirt so she could examine the limb. "As suspected, a minor sprain, possibly muscle bruising as well." She rubbed her hands over the joint "Did you pop it back into place?"
Kuwabara nodded, the dean had helped but it still didn't stop the fact that it hurt like hell having his arm yanked back into place.
"I'll fetch a pack to sooth the muscle and numb the pain." Chachamaru insisted, moving to the cabinet and retrieving the items, along with a roll of bandages "I suggest you get some rest Sensei."
'When the hell did I get a nanny' the professor wondered dimly, as the gynoid gently tended to his wounds, sending him up to bed with a glass of milk and a soft good night.
Sayo crawled in beside him that night, resting her head over his heart like Eikichi used to as the Tantei, and now permanent instructor drifted off to sleep.
Several weeks later...
Kuwabara was walking along the campus path, taking in the scenery with a smile, marveling at the architecture of the campus. "It's like one of those European towns you see in documentaries Kurama watches." He noted, nodding to a pair of passing students with a smile "Come ta think of it, didn't some European guy build the place ta start with?"
"Kuwabara-sensei!" a pair of voices called out, the lanky professor turning to regard the Narutaki twins and their escort, a smiling Negi Springfield, as they made their way towards him. "Yo, Fuka-chan, Fumi-chan!" he greeted, nodding towards them "Hey Bozu, what's up?"
"Nothing really," Negi replied, "I was exploring around campus the Narutakis were nice enough to volunteer to act as guides."
"Wanna join us Sensei?" the twins asked in tandem "Please! The more the merrier after all!"
"Alright, alright!" the Tantei surrendered, laughing as he allowed them to pull him along after them "I'm not doing much anyways, and walk seems like a good idea."
Their First stop was the junior high's exclusive gym, where various clubs including basketball and gymnastics were practicing.
"Only the volleyball and dodge ball clubs really have any games here." The twins noted in true tour guide fashion "The rhythmic gymnastics club is pretty good too, tho' the basketball teams weak."
"Hey!" Yuna exclaimed, spiking out in protest; It wasn't her fault no-one enjoyed the club as much as she did!
Kuwabara chuckled at the antics, particularly when Negi took offence to being compared to an old man. "Sensei! Sensei!" Fuka called out, drawing their attention with a devious grin "Wanna check out the changing rooms? I know you Wanna!"
"WE MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT!" Negi yelled, flushing an interesting shade of Magenta as he and Kuwabara beat feet to the exit, a giggling Makie looking out at them shyly from behind the door.
The Second stop found them at the pool, where Akira Okochi greeted them kindly as she got out of the pool, followed by several other members of the swim team. Whilst Negi looked about in a flustered manner, Kuwabara was resolutely keeping his eyes glued on the girls' faces, cursing his years of a delinquent purchasing doujinshi and damning the man who designed school swimsuits to the darkest depths of hell.
By the time the third stop rolled around Kuwabara had begun to suspect that the Narutakis were doing this on purpose. He'd also developed a deep loathing for the person who'd designed cheerleading outfits and their ability to corrupt the will of weaker minded men.
"What's the matter sensei?" Fuka teased eying the two males as they left the giggling cheerleaders behind "all this sexiness making you lose your cool?"
"No, but your desire to show it to us IS!" the two exclaimed, chasing after the twins, faces red with embarrassment.
"EEEE! Sensei's pissed!" Fumika squealed, running after her twin as they made for the hills.
"It's not my fault!" Fuka yelled over her shoulder "This is a girls' school!"
Later...
'I swear I'm never having twins.' Kuwabara swore, leaning back on his chair at the café as the Narutakis put away several bowls of mango pudding chocolate parfaits with happy smiles. 'Then again…' he trailed off in thought at the image of Yukina in a maternal kimono, belly swollen with child as she smiled at him in that adorable manner of hers.
"Kuwabara-san, your nose is bleeding." Negi pointed out, offering the man a handkerchief to clean it up.
"Thinking dirty thoughts?" Fuka teased, flushing slightly as she leered at him "Bad boy Sensei!"
"Shut it!" Kuwabara choked, the twins bursting into laughter, even Negi letting out a weak chuckle. At that moment the watch went off, heralding the Tantei's departure from the café and leaving Negi to the tender mercies of two of the worst troublemakers in 2A.
"Kuwa-kun!" Botan called out, running up from the sidelines "It's headed for that tree up there!"
"On it!" the Tantei yelled, shifting up a gear as he dashed towards the tree.
With Negi...
"Sugoi!" Negi exclaimed, gazing up in awe at the massive trunk of the world tree. He'd never seen anything this big that wasn't in a book. "It's huge!"
"There's several legends about this tree." Fuka noted climbing onto one of the lower branches along with the others "One says that if you confess your love to someone in front of this tree, they'll return that love."
The twins gazed out at the setting sun, eyes bright with romance as they watched it fall "How romantic." They sighed in tandem, smiling softly.
Negi smiled at the, marveling at the change from energetic little girls to romantic young women. He tried to envision who he'd confess to, starting off with Anya, disregarding his sister Nekane, smiling a bit giddily at the warm features of Konoka; only to balk in horror as Asuna's glaring features appeared in his minds eye. 'Oh no freaking way!' he exclaimed, shaking himself to rid his mind of the terrifying mental image 'Besides, teacher and students…that's just WRONG.'
"Fumika, here's an idea!" Fuka exclaimed, clapping her hands "Let's tell sensei we like and maybe he'll be our boyfriend!"
"COME AGAIN?" Negi yelped, only for a twin to latch onto each of his arms, preventing him from escaping "AAH! WHAT HAPPENS IF THAT STUPID LEGEND TURNS OUT TO BE TRUE?" he cried out, eyes frantic swirls as the twins planted identical smooches on his flushing cheeks.
"We love you sensei!" they called out in tandem, smiling cutely "Please treat us to mango parfaits again!"
Below...
Kuwabara chuckled as he stood at the base of the tree, gripping an unconscious demon by the nape of its neck, one hand in his pocket as he listened to Negi's frantic cries from above. "You're gonna grow up to be quite the heartbreaker Bozu." The Tantei prophesized, smirking slightly as the struggles intensified "Good thing I'm around to make sure you don't take advantage of it."
"Ugly to balance out the pretty huh?" the demon opined, only to have its face rammed into the trunk of the tree "Owie…"
"Who are YOU calling ugly?" Kuwabara muttered dragging the semi-comatose demon out of sight by his ankle, purposefully taking the path covered with rocks and roots.
By the time the demon was tossed through the portal he was bruised, beaten, mildly concussed, and almost grateful to be handed over to the tender mercies of the Makai Patrol.
Almost being the word in question, this particular demon had tossed chili dust into the third eye of the head pursuer, and something told him the short little bastard was the type to carry a grudge, namely the vindictive smirk on his face and the rusty cheese grater he held in his hand.
Cue Nadesico music
Love is in the air!
Asuna: Again?
A letter from home brings the rpomise of new feelings!
Negi: Ah! Nekane-oneechan! Why'd you write this?
The girls' fantasies are running rampant!
Kuwabara: WTF? THIS ISN'T A QUEER MANGA!
Next time on Reikai Sensei Kuwabara: Trancendant Emotions.
Haruna: Kukukuku! Inspiration!
Read and Review or be Junk punched by Chuck Norris Sensei.