(This one picks up where "Passions II" left off.)
"…going to get there?"
Haruna jerked her head up; she had fallen asleep while leaning against a lightpole. "Huh?" she asked sleepily. "What'd you say?"
Yue glared at her. "I said, how are we going to get there? None of us can drive yet…"
"The festival's only five miles away, isn't it?" asked Negi.
"As far as I know," said Yue.
"I think I can take the three of us on my staff," said Negi. "We'll have to stick to the woods so we won't be seen, but it won't take us very long. I can go pretty fast on it."
The four went into the woods, and Haruna, Yue, and Nodoka got on Negi's staff. "Hold on tight," said Negi, and he took off. Even with the three girls and Negi on the staff, it kept up a relatively fast speed. Negi noticed Nodoka was looking a bit scared.
"Feel free to hang onto me, Nodoka-chan," said Negi. Nodoka looked at Negi, her face red as a beet; she put her hand down and laid it on Negi's, her fingers intertwining with his own.
"This'll be fine," whispered Nodoka, so only Negi could hear her. Negi could feel her face grow hot, probably as red as Nodoka's face.
Soon, Negi got tired of weaving amongst the trees, so he cast an invisibility spell over the staff, then sharply cut upward. "What- what in the world are you doing?" asked Yue, her voice a bit shaky.
Negi smiled. "You'll see." They passed the treetops, and Negi leveled out. The three girls' jaws collectively dropped.
Negi had positioned them so they could fully see the sun beginning to come up. It was as though God had made that sunset the best ever just for them- they had seen many sunsets before, but none as beautiful as this one. "Is it because we're so far up?" Nodoka asked herself, "Or is it because I'm up here with N-Negi-kun?"
They stayed there for a few minutes, simply gazing out at the sunrise; Yue moved forward on the staff and laid her head on Negi's shoulder, while Nodoka moved in and placed her head on Negi's other shoulder. Negi's mind went into overdrive.
"This… is awkward," he thought. "I've got two very cute girls asleep on me… and one that isn't too bad herself just staring out into space. I know… I'm supposed to be looking for a partnr- or at least that's what Chamo-kun said I was supposed to be doing… I really think Nodoka and I have something special, but… what about Yue-san or Haruna-san? What do I do about them? They're Nodoka's best friends…"
It wasn't too long before they arrived at the carnival site. No one was there, so Negi continued to ride his staff, all the way to the front gate. There, he saw a sign.
Carnival Will Open At 9:00 A.M. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
"Ah, dangit," said Negi.
"What is it?" asked Haruna. She looked at the sign. "We gotta wait three hours for it to open?!?!"
"Guess so," replied Negi.
Haruna motioned to a picnic bench. "Let's just go over there and sit and wait."
Negi smiled. "Good idea, Haruna-san." They rode over to the bench; Haruna dismounted and sat down on the bench. She was asleep in seconds. Negi, on the other hand, sat down, after laying Yue and Nodoka down on either side of him, and laid both their heads in his lap. (Writer's Note: It's a very big bench.) "This… would be really awkward if one of them woke up right now," Negi thought, seeing Yue's forehead leaning against Nodoka's.
The three hours seemed to pass like minutes to Negi; despite being extremely nervous about having two cute girls asleep on his lap, he enjoyed finally being able to sleep for more than two hours at a time (Asuna and Konoka keeping him up a lot). At 9:00, the gates opened up, the rides began to warm up, and Nodoka, Yue, and Haruna woke up from their naps. Nodoka and Yue immediately began blushing when they realized where they were.
"Negi-sensei, I-I'm so sorry!" stuttered Yue. "How- how'd we end up laying on you."
Negi smiled. "You two sleep pretty heavy. Anyways, the park just opened up, so do you guys want to head in?"
Nodoks smiled. "Yep, I'm ready."
Negi went up and paid for the tickets, seeing as the girls were still waking up a bit. He walked over to them. "I got the tickets here. Let's go."
Once they were in the park, Yue turned to Haruna and whispered something in her ear. Haruna grinned. "Great minds really do think alike, Yue." Yue laughed. "So, it's settled then." She turned back to Nodoka and Negi to find both of them with confused expressions on their faces
"I… I'm kinda scared to know what you just told Haruna," said Nodoka.
"Yeah, what did you tell her?" asked Negi.
Haruna grinned again. "You'll find out later."
Negi looked Haruna straight in the eyes. "It wouldn't happen to be another plan to get me and Nodoka alone together, would it?" Nodoka flushed when he said that, for that was exactly what she wanted that day.
Haruna's face grew red, and she leaned over to Yue. "He's onto us," she whispered harshly. "Play it off," Yue responded, not even moving her lips. Haruna had always been impressed at Yue's ability to do that.
"Why would you think that, Negi-kun?" Haruna asked him.
"Well, let's see," said Negi, "you managed to do it last night, get me and Nodoka alone in the room together for practically the whole night."
Yue looked at Negi, a bit surprised. "I thought you said you had fun, Negi-sensei…"
"Never said I didn't," replied Negi, winking at Nodoka; her face grew even redder.
"Okay, you guys, come on," said Haruna, very impatiently. "We got some fun to have!" Negi started walking towards Haruna and Yue, who had already gone a bit further ahead. Negi soon heard a small voice behind him: "Um… Negi-sensei?"
He turned around. "What is it, Nodoka-chan?"
"Well…" she began, "I was wondering… if maybe… I could hold your hand for awhile…"
Negi smiled. "I don't see why not," he said, holding out his hand. Nodoka's face grew its reddest yet, as she reached out and grasped Negi's hand. Negi's fingers intertwined with Nodoka's, their palms pressing together. "Oh my God, I'm in heaven…" thought Nodoka. "This… has always been a dream of mine… to actually be out on a date with such a cute guy as Negi-kun… one who I can actually stand to be around, one who I can trust finally…"
Haruna and Yue led the group over to the tilt-a-whirl. "You all up for it?"
Nodoka's eyes grew wide. "Come on, Haruna, you know I don't like those kinds of rides…" Negi, on the other hand, said, "Alright! Let's do this!"
Nodoka backed away a bit. "I'll stay out here and wait for you guys."
"I'll stay with you," said Negi, feeling a bit guilty
"N-no, you don't have to do-"
"I know I don't," said Negi. "I just want to keep you company while Yue-san and Haruna-san are doing their thing." Nodoka smiled, her face growing red again. "I can deal with that," she said.
Nodoka and Negi went over to a bench and sat down, as Yue and Haruna waved to them, then entered the ride. Nodoka looked over at Negi. "Negi-kun… I know you probably want to go have fun…. You can leave me here, I won't care."
"No, honestly, I'm having fun," said Negi. "I think it's fun hanging out with you."
Nodoka looked down, her eyes filling with tears. "You're one of the only one who thinks so…" she muttered.
Negi looked at Nodoka, a look of genuine shock on his face. "I don't get it, Nodoka-chan. You're a great person; why wouldn't people like to be around you?"
"They… think I'm just someone who's always got their nose in a book, and that's all I care about," she said. "They don't give me a chance… Guys or girls. I think that's one of the reasons why I like you so much, Negi-kun. You're always there if I need to talk to you about something… You're not like the other guys I've known in my life…" (Her hands began to tremble as she said this.) "And, you're really cute. Can't forget that!" she said with a laugh. Nodoka looked over at Negi, to see his eyes tearing up. Nodoka moved in closer to Negi; the pair leaned in, their lips touched-
"Hey, Nodoka! We're back!"
The two pulled apart just in time- Yue and Haruna came up over the hill, looking right at them. Yue was the first one to notice that both Nodoka and Negi were teary-eyed. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"No, everything's fine," said Negi. "Where to next?"
"It's getting to be lunchtime," said Haruna. "How 'bout we go get some food." At that exact moment, Negi's stomach rumbled. "Good idea," he said, and everyone laughed.
Once again, Haruna and Yue led the way, with Nodoka and Negi lagging behind, holding hands again. "Sorry we got interrupted," said Negi.
Nodoka just smiled. "I know a place where we can do it without interruption."
The four had an excellent lunch together. When they finished, Haruna leaned over to Yue. "Is it time?" Yue nodded.
"Alright," said Haruna, getting up and stretching, "Yue and I are going out on our own. So you two lovebirds are on your own until dinner. We'll meet back here… six o'clock, we'll say. Ciao." They took off before Nodoka or Negi had a chance to protest.
"I made them promise they wouldn't leave us alone…" muttered Nodoka to herself.
Negi heard it too, though. "Do you not want to hang out with me? It's fine if you don't."
"No!" said Nodoka. She calmed down a bit. "No, Negi-kun, that's not it at all. It's just that… I'm not really quite sure on how to act around guys. I mean, I spend all my time with girls, so…"
Negi reached over and took Nodoka's hand. "Don't worry about acting polite or anything. We're here to have fun."
Nodoka's hand closed around Negi's. "You… sure have a way with words, Negi-kun."
"All I can do is try," said Negi. "So where to first?"
Nodoka smiled and gripped Negi's hand. "Follow me." She began to weave amongst the people; they kept it up for about five minutes before Negi said, "Do you know where you're going, Nodoka-chan?"
Nodoka smiled, slowing down a bit. "Of course I do, Negi-kun. Me and my dad used to come to this festival all the time when I was little.
Negi looked over at Nodoka, intrigued. "Now, this is the first time I've ever heard you talk about your family, Nodoka-chan…"
Nodoka laughed. "There's not much to tell, really. My childhood wasn't the best in the world, but me and my dad were inseparable…"
"Where's your dad now?" Negi asked. One look from Nodoka told him it was a painful subject for her.
"Never mind about that," Negi said quickly. "Where did you want to take me?"
"To mine and my dad's favorite ride," replied Nodoka. They took off again; it wasn't too long until they stopped again. "This is it," said Nodoka. Negi looked up and smiled.
"The Ferris wheel?" he asked.
'Yup," said Nodoka. "I've always loved the view from the very top…"
Negi pulled Nodoka forward a bit. "There's not much of a line; thus, not much of a wait. Let's go." They walked to the line, still hand-in-hand. The wait was about five minutes, then they found themselves in a yellow car. Negi sat down, and Nodoka snuggled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder.
Slowly but surely, their car rose into the air, as the other passengers entered and exited their cars. It wasn't long before everyone was on, and the wheel began to turn slowly; Nodoka reached over and took Negi's hand.
"This… is my idea of fun," said Nodoka.
Negi smiled. "This is my first time on one of these… but it's definitely fun." He leaned in and kissed Nodoka on the forehead. "Mainly cause you're here."
Nodoka's face grew bright red. "Just wait till we hit the top," she said.
The Ferris wheel completed a few circles, then stopped, Negi and Nodoka's car at the very top. Negi turned around so he was leaning against Nodoka's shoulder; he looked out across the horizon.
"Wow!" Negi said, "it's beautiful. I can see for miles!"
"I used to come here even when my dad couldn't come," said Nodoka, "just so I could ride the Ferris wheel. This is the best view ever, to me." She giggled. "If you don't count me staring at you all the time…"
Negi laughed. "Not much of a view there, I'll tell you that."
Nodoka spun Negi around and, before Negi could say anything, she kissed him. He was a bit surprised, but he received it, closing his eyes and enjoying Nodoka's soft lips pressing against his own. Neither of them could tell how long they were like that, but they broke apart.
She looked into his eyes. "Now, this is the best view ever."
"I agree completely," said Negi, looking into Nodoka's eyes.
Just then, a loud voice came over the intercom: "We're sorry to inform you all on the Ferris wheel right now that we're having some… erm… technical difficulties right now. So just stay calm, and we'll have this fixed in no time."
Negi looked at Nodoka, then lay down on his back. Nodoka understood immediately, and lay down so her stomach was pressed against Negi's. For the fifteen minutes the ride was stuck, they lay there, Nodoka's breasts pressing up against Negi's chest, the two locked in a passionate kiss.
The ride began to move again, and Nodoka got up, allowing Negi to do the same.
"This was the best time I've ever had, Neg-kun," said Nodoka.
"I'd have to agree," said Negi smiling. The ride stopped at the bottom, and Negi and Nodoka got out, their hands pressed together, holding on as though they'd never let each other go- and both Negi and Nodoka knew that that was the case.