Magister Negi Magi is owned by Ken Akamatsu and Kodansha Ltd. Tokyo in Japan, and by Funimation and Ballantine - DelRey in the United States, NOT by me.

Jumping off in the deep end now...

SPOILER ALERT! AU story occurring after c189.

(-)

"First editions, rare, out-of-print books, and obscure reference materials. The things you can find in truly old libraries never ceases to amaze me."
-Nodoka Miyazaki. "A Librarian's Tour of the Magical World."

(-)

Ala Alba in the World of Magic: Tales From the Fireside

Chapter Eleven: A Modest Librarian.

(-)

Mahora Academy. Evangeline McDowell's Resort.

Dressed in a maid's outfit borrowed from one of Chachamaru Karakuri's sisters, Nodoka Miyazaki stood waiting in Evangeline McDowell's library. Located in the deepest part of the arrival tower of Evangeline's resort, the library was where the little vampire had ordered her to report for her session of 'special training.'

Negi and Kotaro had undergone special training so intense they couldn't describe it without breaking out in a cold sweat. Asuna Kagurazaka, even now, was apparently undergoing more of the same.

Nodoka suddenly realized thinking about what kind of training Eva might put her through was beginning to make her nervous. Normally, standing in the foyer of a library would have no more meaning to her than that of being at the entrance to a place she would normally find comfort in.

Eva's library was different. Dimly lit, dead silent due to the oppressively solid mass of the tower above it, this library felt like a tomb from which there would be no escape.

Hearing a soft rustle of cloth, Nodoka turned towards the library's entrance. No one was there, and the door showed no indication of being just opened. "E... Eva? I...is that you?" Turning a complete circle produced no indication her supposed trainer was anywhere nearby. Looking back at the library's door, she considered leaving, but that would surely mean failure of whatever test Eva might have planned for her. Instead, she rushed deeper into the library so she could at least wait in the questionable safety of a circle of light provided by a nearby lamp.

Evangeline McDowell smiled as she watched her newest trainee from the shadows. That the little librarian didn't flee when she should have might call her intelligence into question, but it was certainly a plus in terms of showing her courage and determination.

Panting from the short run and her rising fright, Nodoka heard another sound. After looking around and once more finding nothing, she took out her Pactio card, summoned her Diarium Ejus, and was preparing to call out Eva's name when something rushed up and embraced her from behind. With her voice suddenly frozen in her throat, all she could do was look down to see Eva, ready to sink a pair of gleaming fangs into her neck.

"What will you do Librarian? If I bite you, you'll be my slave, but you'll be able to make Negi yours..."

Nodoka wanted to scream so much it surprised her she wasn't doing so already. Still, what good would it do? Yue wasn't here to help her, nor was Negi. If Eva was serious, the only one who could save her was herself. Feeling Eva's fangs beginning to press into her neck, she focused everything she had into moving the arm that held her artifact. "No...NOOO!" Swinging the Diarium Ejus with all the strength she could muster, she hit Eva in the head with enough impact to maybe stun a fly. Weak as the hit was, the little vampire still let her go. Stumbling forward, she turned to face her attacker and opened the Diarium Ejus. "Evangeline McDowell!" Instantly, a flood of information filled the two facing pages of the artifact. NONE of it having any relevance to the current situation. The only thing that made any sense was the picture frame. THAT showed Eva holding her limp, maid-uniform dressed body, draining her to the last drop.

Eva gave Nodoka a hungry grin. The little Librarian was brave, but that artifact of hers wasn't any good against someone who could flood it with surface thought gibberish. "What will you do Librarian? I ask you again; Do you want Negi to be yours or not?"

Nodoka backed up slowly as Eva began to advance. She tried to ignore Eva's taunting, but the idea of making Negi 'hers' had a dangerously seductive appeal. Glancing down at her artifact, she suddenly realized she was reading herself. Now the picture showed her, with Eva in the background, drinking Negi's blood. That stunned her. Was her desire to have Negi so desperate she could do such a thing to him? Shaking her head to clear away such terrible thoughts, she closed her artifact and straightened herself up. "Ye... yes. I want to be with Negi, but I won't have him your way. That's dirty, cheating. I would NEVER hurt him like that. Even if it means he'll never love me in return." Pausing for a breath to steel her resolve, she took a step forward and exposed her neck. "If you must have blood, go ahead and take mine, but don't use me to hurt Negi!"

Eva smiled once more, pleased to find that the self-sacrifice the little Librarian had shown during Mahora Fest was more than just a fluke. Now to see if she had the mettle to deal with what her artifact could really do. "Good. You pass. For now..."

Nodoka lowered her chin to see Eva gesturing for her to follow. A short trip down a hall brought them to a brightly lit room. It had the feeling of a reading room, but all it contained was two stone benches. At Eva's pointed finger, she sat down on one, while the vampire took the other. "Eva...?"

Eva crossed her arms and legs. After briefly considering how best to proceed, she decided 'throw the baby in the water and hope it swims' had to be it. The Librarian had potential, but if she couldn't stomach what was about to hit her, she needed to get out before anything bad happened. "Librarian, do you really understand that your artifact is just as much a weapon as any spell Negi might throw? Or Setsuna's sword? That blade of hers can 'kill' you know. It's not just a prop for focusing Shinmei Ryu techniques."

Nodoka looked down at her artifact, then back up at Eva. "I thought it could just read minds? Negi's talked about using it for communication, but he hasn't had time to show me how yet."

Eva shook her head. "No. The Diarium Ejus is a weapon because if you read an enemy's thoughts, then you or someone else act on those thoughts, that enemy might be wounded or killed. Have you ever considered 'that?' My little Librarian?"

Turning slightly pale, Nodoka looked down at her artifact like she'd never seen it before.

Eva uncrossed her limbs, then leaned forward. "Now, open your artifact and pay attention to what I'm going to demonstrate to you. I want you to see things you might encounter when using something like your Diarium Ejus." When Nodoka complied, Eva continued. "What would it be like if you saw someone's plans for a person close to you? Say, that boy Fate Averruncus planning to petrify the Boya, then to destroy him while he was helpless?"

Nodoka watched in shocked fascination as her artifact played out Eva's words. Showing the white-haired boy from Kyoto casting a petrification spell on Negi, gloating and threatening Negi's friends as the petrification took hold, then smashing the resultant statue into unrecoverable bits.

"What if you didn't, or couldn't do anything to stop him? Would you cry? Or run away? Despite your feelings for Negi, I hope you'd do something smart to gain revenge. Trying to discover how to negate his water clones perhaps, instead of reacting emotionally and doing something stupid, like attacking Fate mindlessly and winding up dead like your precious professor."

Nodoka felt mildly ill at the thought of watching Negi die and not being able to stop it. Before she could even consider closing her artifact, Eva began another example.

"What if you were wondering what had happened to your friend Yue Ayase, and you 'read' a demon or some such you knew had been near her? What if you saw that the demon had killed your friend?"

Now Nodoka watched, horrified, as a demon pierced Yue through the shoulder with its claws. The demon lifted the struggling girl into the air, then tore open her throat with the claws of it's other hand before flinging her to the ground to choke and die, in fear and pain, on her own blood. Now the Diarium Ejus was showing her things she had never really considered. She tried to close the artifact again, but Eva stopped her.

"WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO CLOSE THAT BOOK LIBRARIAN!" After Nodoka, starting to grow increasingly nauseated, reluctantly straightened up and looked back down at her artifact, Eva, her voice rising and cracking slightly as if she was having to force out the words, continued. "Finally, what if you were trying to find out the motivations of an enemy, and you saw what she'd done after being driven completely insane with pain!"

Nodoka watched now as the blackened corpse of a child rose from the ashes of a still smoldering fire, to attack and kill without mercy many of the men, women and children of the village responsible for burning her. The horribly burned child slowly healed with the draining of blood from each body, and in the end, the image finally resolved into that of the person sitting before her. Now heaving from her nausea, Nodoka flung the Diarium Ejus aside, fell to her knees and began retching.

Eva sat calmly, ignoring the scent of bile, until Nodoka finished emptying her stomach. "THAT BOOK ISN'T A TOY LIBRARIAN! IT - IS - A - WEAPON! IT CAN BE A COMMUNICATION DEVICE, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY NOT A RECORDER FOR YOUR EROTIC DREAMS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME NOW LIBRARIAN!"

Nodoka continued dry heaving, then started gasping out words as best she could when Eva finished shouting. "ye... YES! Master Evangeline..."

Eva allowed herself another smile of satisfaction. "Good. If you're still serious about helping the Boya out, get yourself and this mess cleaned up. There's cleaning supplies in a room next to the entrance. When you're finished, I'll start your next lesson by explaining what I just did, and why you couldn't read me properly a moment ago. Then we'll move on to how you can prevent that from happening. After that, I'll start showing you what else that book should be able to do."

Nodoka looked up at Eva. Playing with her Diarium Ejus was something she couldn't honestly say she'd never do again. However, Eva's harshness made her realize how far she really needed to go to stand at Negi's side as an equal. Wanting very much to do so, she began to understand, more so than after the incident with Professor Nijuin's daughter, that involving herself in Negi and Eva's world meant the possibility of facing unpleasant things, and risking unwelcome consequences. Pulling herself upright, she straightened out the rumpled maid's uniform, wiped away the tears on her face, and gave Eva what she hoped was a firm look of determination. Yes! Master Evangeline!"

Eva gave a fangs-showing smile of approval and waved Nodoka on her way.

(-)

Megalo-Mesembrian Gate Port.

Professor Negi Springfield, the boy she loved, had been gravely wounded.

A short distance away, the White-haired boy from Kyoto, who MUST be responsible, stood talking to Professor Springfield.

His actions could not be forgiven, but without a Pactio card, there was nothing to be done.

For a reason they did not understand, all three Library Trio Pactio cards, taken earlier by Professor Springfield, flashed across the intervening distance to stop with a nearly audible 'snap' before herself. Yue, and Haruna.

Nodoka Miyazaki snatched her Pactio card from the air before it could settle to the ground. "ADEAT!" Instantly, the Diarium Ejus appeared before her. Wanting nothing more than to faint, Nodoka forced herself to focus on something Eva had emphasized during her training; "When you're scared or confused, just DO something! Most times , ANY action is better than doing nothing!" Seeing who was near the developing fight for Konoka, she just picked the person's name who first came to mind. "Thought Pursuit! Picture Diary of the ID! Two small edition volumes! Ku Fei Praestantia Immineo Fate Averruncus!" Snatching the two volumes as soon as they appeared, she took the one from Fate and folded it inside the one for Ku Fei, then touched Ku's book to her own. ("KU! Just like Eva said in practice!")

Over on the other gate port walkway, Ku Fei nodded slightly and seemed to abandon Konoka, stepping away from the healer and into the swirling smoke even as Setsuna struck at the White-haired boy. Her target, revealed as a water clone, dispersed in a splash of water and the Shinmei-Ryu girl was left vulnerable to a counter-attack.

As Nodoka gasped in fear for her friend's life, Ku Fei stepped back out of the concealing smoke and landed a heavy punch on the presumably 'real' Fate preparing to attack Setsuna from behind. There was an explosion of Ki energy, Fate was knocked away, and Setsuna was safe. Now unable to see because of an increase in the amount swirling dust and smoke, Nodoka collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath from the exertions of her heart, pounding from worry and threatening to explode in her chest. Lacking the concentration required for continued existence, the two mini diaries faded away, leaving her holding just her original artifact. ("I...I have to get back up! Eva said I can help everyone fight, even though I'm such a weak person!")

(-)

"Nodoka. I'm not sure there's much hope for you as a fighting mage, but that book of yours could be the ultimate un-jammable communication device for the Ala Alba. Can you guess why?"

Nodoka sat back and stared at the ceiling of the reading room for a moment. "Well.., using the 'Picture Diary of the ID' in the manner you spoke of would seem too cumbersome. Perhaps by something related to that, but using only the Diarium Ejus?"

Eva smiled. "Very good! Now, 'how' would such a thing work?"

Nodoka looked over at Eva. "Some variant of Telepathia? Like Negi uses with the Pactio cards, only everyone is tied into my artifact somehow?"

"Excellent! I can see now why you're twenty-first on the Junior-High class score level chart! Now, there are dangers involved with this spell I'll explain momentarily, but for now, let me show you how it should work..."

(-)

Pulling herself back to her feet with Yue and Haruna's help, Nodoka turned to the page in her Diarium Ejus where she'd written down the spell Eva had shown her, the group-name Eva had given to Negi and his partners, and the name of everyone in that group. "Di... Diarium Ejus! Ala Alba Diary of the ID! Nodoka Miyazaki Telepathia Terminus!" There was a tiny mental 'pop,' and she suddenly 'knew' where everyone was. Starting to work through the process of connecting the Ala Alba together, she gave a sigh of relief when linking to Negi told her Konoka had taken care of him. She switched to Asuna and was starting to tie her into the spell when Negi was attacked again and a backlash of pain washed over her. Warned by Eva that such might happen to her as the 'Telepathia Terminus,' she was still unprepared for the sudden debilitating sensation. The linkage spell collapsed as she once more fell to her knees. Stunned and unable to focus her thoughts, she could feel herself being pulled back to her feet by Yue and Haruna. Her two friends were screaming at her to 'get up and run!' and shouting in a panicked manner about massive stone pillars. There was a loud, groaning sound of something falling and smashing apart, a flash of light, and then nothing.

(-)

Nodoka opened her eyes. The first thing to make it's way through her throbbing headache was the realization she was lying on some kind of stone staircase, with her legs folded painfully under her body. Shaking her head only served to increase the barely tolerable pain between her temples, so she just closed her eyes and lay still. Voices whispering in a language she didn't understand finally filtered through her headache, so she rolled over on her stomach and slowly rose to her knees. Even that simple act seemed to take forever, and when she finally leaned back and opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting if front of what seemed to be, from people carrying books to and fro, some kind of library. A person who looked like a teddy-bear came over to say something to her, but she didn't understand the words, and could only shake her head carefully in response. Not knowing what else to do after the person left, she slowly rose to her feet, put away her artifact, then staggered into the building, hoping to find 'library comfort,' and time to gather her wits.

Finding the cool dimness of the entry-way helped relieve the pounding in her head, Nodoka paused, taking several slow breaths to try and help herself relax, then straightened up and walked on into the library. As soon as she passed through the door into the main room, a seemingly human person wearing ebony-colored rabbit ears(?) and clerk-ish clothes stood up from behind the checkout desk and started shouting at her. Confused by his unintelligible words, thinking the building wasn't a library after all, she turned to flee.

Since the style of raincoat seemed to indicate that the assistance 'promised' to him after his request for such from the Granicus City Library was trying to run away, Hi'Ki Zosho got up from behind his desk and ran after the person. Grabbing the girl by the elbow before she could get out the door, he pulled her back inside the library. "Where have you been"? It's been two weeks since the last Whale-ship go- GAH!"

Nodoka suddenly realized the person who was dragging her back into the library was a boy. Still confused about what was going on, unable to understand his words, she felt her old fear coming back and swung her free hand around, fist closed, to sock the rabbit-ears wearing boy in the face. "Let me go! I'm sorry if I did something wrong! I'll leave right away!"

Hi'Ki felt shocked by the weak punch more than anything else. He looked at the girl again and suddenly understood by her words that she couldn't be who he thought. Realizing he'd made a terrible mistake out of his desperate need for help, he let the girl go. "Please forgive me! I misunderstood who you were!"

Nodoka reacted to the apologetic tone and the release of her arm with wary caution. She still didn't understand what the rabbit-ears wearing boy was saying, ("Tho... those ears look real!") but his tone of voice was completely different now. Relaxing further, she turned to face him politely. "I'm sorry! I thought this was a library and wanted to rest for a bit! If it isn't, I'll leave right away!"

Hi'Ki listened with confusion to the girl's gibberish of words as she started to make apologetic bows. Realizing the two of them babbling at each other in different languages was getting them no-where, he made what he hoped she'd understand was a 'follow me' gesture, and walked back to his desk. The girl followed him, then stepped aside when a Kage-Jin professor came up to check out several books. He went through the steps of doing so, then nodded as the girl stepped back in front of his desk. Reaching into the back of a drawer he rarely opened, he pulled out a language index book used for when the occasional person who didn't know Tradespeak came to visit the library. It was unusual that, as a Hu-Jin, she didn't know that language, but it happened sometimes, so he wasn't worried. Turning to the introductions page, he placed his finger next to the first line of the list. "Do you understand Kit-Go?"

Nodoka stared for a moment, then shook her head. The rabbit boy seemed to be trying to find a language she understood, but as he went down his list, each attempt as useless as the last, it quickly became obvious he was growing confused and frustrated.

Hi'Ki read off the last introduction, watched the girl shake her head, and sat back to rub at the bridge of his nose. Looking back down at his book, he turned it to the next page. It wasn't very likely, since there were almost never Normal World visitors this far from Megalo-Mesembria, but the Normal World language index was the only thing left to try. Leaning forward to rest his chin on a palm, he read the first introduction that caught his eye. "Do you understand English?"

Nodoka watched as the rabbit boy turned the page in his book, sighed, and read another phrase. He frowned at her, and started to read another phrase when she suddenly realized she'd understood what he'd just said. "YES! Yes! I understand English!"

Hi'Ki stared up at the now smiling girl like she'd just fallen from the sky. ("English! The girl knew a Normal World Language!") "Wha... What are you doing here?"

Once again Nodoka felt confused. The rabbit boy had said something in English, then shouted in gibberish again. The boy flipped through many of the pages in his book until he found one he wanted. He started reading and making a flurry of motions she recognized as setup for some form of spell, then finally pressed his finger to the page. There was a small flash, and he looked up at her once more.

"I said; What are you doing here? Girl of the Normal World?"

(-)

Hi'Ki checked in a few books handed to him from a bespectacled Hu-Jin, then turned back to Nodoka, who sat in a chair he'd pulled over next to his desk. "I don't know what those people who attacked you did, but it sounds like there was some kind of accident involving the Gate Port teleportation system. You're lucky you didn't fall into the ocean, wind up on some mountain, or land in the nest of something like a Cerberus Cloth Eater!"

Nodoka made an 'EEEK!' motion and gave a mildly strained laugh. "Those sound terrible! I'm glad I landed here!"

Hi'Ki chuckled as he swiveled his chair to place the books on the return cart. "Yes and no! You might survive all three, but in one you'd nearly drown, the other nearly freeze, or after the Cloth Eater was through sliming you, be left stark naked in the middle of the forest!"

Nodoka laughed again, but then turned to look out into the nighttime darkness now surrounding the library. Her smile fell, and her expression become one of melancholy. "I wonder how my friends are doing..."

Hi'Ki finished with his stylus and closed the library register. He reached up to scratch an itch at the tip of his ear, then looked over at Nodoka. "If you want to get back to Megalo-Mesembria, you're out of luck for the moment. You'll never make it cross-country to the next big town north of here. Granicus City is the closest place you could get a transport to Megalo-Mesembria, or wherever else you might need to go."

Nodoka balled up her fists and fought to hold back her tears. Here she was, safe in a library, talking easily with a boy even and she couldn't do anything to help her friends. She'd tried the 'Telepathia Terminus' spell with her artifact again, but none of her friends were close enough for it to lock on to. Realizing she was completely alone, the tears finally came. "What am I going to do?"

Still absent-mindedly scratching his ear, Hi'Ki looked at he pile of books on the return cart, then back over at Nodoka. "Why don't you stay and help me out for a while? There won't be another Whale-ship stopping in this backwater town for another two weeks. Estimated Prophet will be here from down south, escorting the Ofuda Tree harvest on the Cyclops about the same time. The Whale-ship is expensive. Help me straighten out the mess in this library for two weeks and I'll get you a ride up to Granicus City on the Prophet. My dad knew Captain Adenaur, and I'm sure she'd help you out as a favor to me."

Nodoka gave a sniffle as she rubbed at the tears with her wrist. "Help you? What's wrong?" The rabbit boy suddenly jumped up and slammed his fist down on the desk, causing her to start with surprise.

"Some bunch of idiots broke into this place the last time the Whale-ship was here and dumped an entire section of books on the floor!" Realizing he'd startled Nodoka, Hi'Ki sat back down. "Excuse me. It's just that my father and several of his friends set this place up after the war twenty years ago. He died last year, and it upsets me that someone would come in here and wreck things."

Something other than worry began to pique Nodoka's interest. "Did they steal anything?" At Hi'Ki's curious look, she stood up to indicate the whole library with the wave of her arm. "When people vandalize a library, it might be just that, but another reason to dump books is they're looking to find something, or to keep other people from finding it."

Hi'Ki guffawed, surprised at Nodoka's sudden seriousness. "This backwater research library? I mean there are important things here, especially about the Dragon Clans to the south, but Dracogenia's so far off the beaten path we only get a Whale-ship once a month! Who would want to steal anything from here?" Standing up, he took a light coat from a wall hook behind his desk and began putting it on. "Anyway, will you help me out?"

Unable to be with her first love temporarily, Nodoka now felt she had something to focus on with her second. "If you promise to get me on that ship, I'll start right now!"

Hi'Ki smiled at Nodoka's 'burning with passion' intensity. "Tomorrow's fine. Besides, It's past time to go home anyway."

Nodoka deflated and stared at Hi'Ki in slight confusion as he began whispering incantations and touching glyphs on the wall to turn off the Library's lights. "Home? What...?"

Shaking his head, Hi'Ki picked up Nodoka's raincoat and started helping her into it. "Since you were in some kind of accident at the Megalo-Mesembrian Gate Port, I doubt you have a place to stay. I'll let you stay at my place, or I'll help you get a room. Unless you stay down by the docks though, it'll cost you, and, well, I wouldn't feel right leaving a girl alone down there..."

Nodoka began to fidget as Hi'Ki herded her towards the door. "Um... maybe I could stay here?"

"Heh heh... Never stayed over with a 'boy' before...?"

Nodoka's nervousness increased as Hi'Ki held the door for her. "Well, in a way, but there were other girls there..."

Hi'Ki laughed at Nodoka's shyness as she stepped through the door. "Don't worry so much! My mother's still alive, so she'll keep you 'safe' from me!"

Nodoka gave a half-hearted laugh, hoping Hi'Ki would change his mind, as she stepped through and turned to wait for him to lock the door. "What will your mother think? About you bringing a strange girl home?"

Hi'Ki gently grasped Nodoka's hand and started to guide her away from the library. "Don't worry. My mother has a past habit of picking up the occasional stray. I'm sure she won't mind if I bring one home for a change."

Shocked by Hi'Ki's boldness, her furious blush at the very idea of holding hands with anyone besides Negi thankfully hidden by the darkness of night, Nodoka meekly allowed herself to be lead along towards the home of a boy she'd only just met.

(-)

Despite the welcoming nature of Hi'Ki's mother, Nodoka barely managed to sleep any in his home that first night. The next day, she fainted twice after meeting several very strange looking 'beast' people browsing through the library. Utter exhaustion convinced her sleep was better than stress, and a conscious decision to just treat everyone she met like 'people,' lessened her anxiety from that direction. After that, she could even manage to talk to them without stuttering, as long as it was a type of beast person she'd seen before.

Nodoka glanced at the spine of another book, then walked over to place it on the proper stack. Helping Hi'Ki sort through the vandalisim mess in the Dracogenia Library had turned out to be surprisingly easy. Once his mother had dealt with her language issues, she'd found the library's cataloguing system similar to the one on Library Island. Now, after only five days, she had most of the mess sorted out, and was nearly ready to begin re-shelving.

"Miss Miyazaki! Oh my... this is so terrible..."

Looking up from the library register she was using to sort the books, Nodoka saw a gray haired, faded-stripes tiger-man making his way down the aisle towards her. A somewhat absent minded researcher from Tantalus she'd helped several times, he'd reminded her of an old tired tomcat, at least, until she'd noticed his still sharp claws. The tiger-man was normally very calm, and seeing him in such a hurry made her worry. "What's wrong Professor Bagera?"

Panting from age and exertion, the tiger-man leaned on a shelf to catch his breath, then looked up at Nodoka with an upset expression on his face. "Tell me you weren't involved in that absolute disaster in Megalo-Mesembria! If someone took you away for the reward it would ruin me! You've only been here a few days, and you've already helped me so much!"

Nodoka stared at the out of breath tiger-man in shock. "Huh? Reward? For what?"

Professor Bagera was starting to speak again when he was interrupted by the appearance of a frumpy, glasses and coat wearing Hu-Jin and her equally bespectacled and frumpy, but younger companion at the end of the aisle. "Miss Miyazaki. Surely someone who loves books as much as you seem to wouldn't be involved in such a terrible thing!"

Now Nodoka was starting to get worried. "Involved? In what?"

"Nodoka!"

Now Hi'Ki came running down the aisle. "Nodoka! They're saying on MNN that you and your friends destroyed the Megalo-Mesembrian Gate Port! The Magic Council has even posted rewards for all of you!"

Nodoka's expression quickly became one of disbelief. "WHY? Negi and I and all our friends just came to visit this world. That white-haired boy and his friends attacked us! We didn't do anything like that!" Her eyes filling with tears of anger and worry for her friends, Nodoka took out her Pactio card and summoned her artifact. Taking her Diarium Ejus, she thrust it out at the coat wearing woman. "Here! You've said you can read any book Miss Yomuoto! Take this book and read me! See the truth for yourself!"

Reaching out, Professor Bagera placed his hand on Nodoka's book and gently pushed it back to her. "That won't be necessary Miss Miyazaki. I may be an eccentric, self-centered Professor of History, but I'm not unaware of the current ways of this world." Turning to face the other three standing in the aisle, he crossed his arms and reached up to scratch his chin for a moment. "Considering the tactics used by the Separatists in the past, and the sincerity of our fellow bibliophile's response to this news, are there any of you who doubt Miss Miyazaki's word?" After a unanimous shaking of heads, Professor Bagera turned back to Nodoka. "Most anyone serious about using this library won't care who you are Miss Miyazaki, but others in town might."

Now Hi'Ki stepped forward. "It's only been a five days. We come early and leave late. Nodoka spends most of her time in this aisle. I don't think enough people have seen her yet to worry about. Staying in a small town like this might be a safer bet long term, but I sure she'll want to start looking for her friends." Hi'Ki glanced at Nodoka, who nodded. "Going cross-country by herself is impossible. Going by caravan would be like asking a bounty hunter to pick her up. As much as I'd be willing to do so, I can't leave the library. Nodoka said she has a little money, but not enough to afford transport on the next Whale-ship. That means the next safe transport anywhere will probably be on the Estimated Prophet."

Professor Bagera's eyes widened a bit. "Captain Adenaur and that ship of hers? Are you sure that's wise? Considering who she's working for and where she'll be escorting the Cyclops next?"

Hi'Ki grinned. "She's contracted through Dolnegus because she's the only one the Dragon Clans trust to handle the Ofuda Tree harvest. The mills are in Granicus City, and if you do business in Granicus city, you go through him. There's no love lost there. She hates him for his slaving. As far as going to Granicus City is concerned, Nodoka has to go there eventually since it's the closest city with a Whale-ship Terminal. The only way she'll ever find any of her friends is to start at a place like that. One of them would have to rise from the sea or appear out of the forest for her to find them in Dracogenia."

"What about the reward?"

Hi'Ki turned to face Yomuoto and her friend, who had asked the question. "I don't 'think' it will sway Captain Adenaur. Especially after I talk to her about Nodoka's situation. The Captain isn't exactly happy with the Separatists either. If they succeed in cutting off the Normal World, her family stands to loose a lot of business. My father and Captain Adenaur's were close, she's almost like an older sister to me. She should be willing to provide passage to Granicus City, maybe even to help Nodoka locate her friends if I ask for it."

"Even if that's the case..." Professor Bagera paused as another library customer wandered past the end of the aisle carrying several books. "...Miss Miyazaki being able to leave is still another week or two away. Someone unsympathetic may notice her before then."

Nodoka swung her arm around to indicate the piles of books. "Maybe I should stay here. I still have a lot of work to do, including helping you as much as I can Professor Bagera..." The tiger-man smiled in thanks. "... so maybe that would be best." Now Nodoka glanced nervously at Hi'Ki and turned slightly away from him. "That might be better than hiding at Hi'Ki's house all the time..."

Not being able to see Nodoka all day made Hi'Ki not at all happy. "What if my mother bleached her hair? Or maybe braided it somehow?"

Yomuoto's companion gave a cough. "What about using a glamour spell to disguise her as a U-Jin? Say she's your cousin or girlfriend or something? If people ask, just say they were mistaken about her being a Hu-Jin, or that person left, and she's been sick and staying at your house since the Whale-ship dropped her off."

A sharp 'Ding!' from the bell at the checkout desk, indicating someone needed assistance, saved Hi'Ki from the embarrassment of having his flush at the idea of Nodoka looking like an U-Jin seen. He fled to do his job as Professor Bagera gave the idea presented by Yomuoto's companion an approving nod.

"Hmm... to hide in plain sight would work best."

("ME? An U-Jin girl?") Nodoka remembered how pretty Akira Okochi and the many other female students dressed as Bunny-Girls during Mahora Fest had looked and started fretting. "I... I'm not pretty enough to be an U-Jin..."

Grinning broadly, Professor Bagera clasped his hand on Nodoka's nervous shoulder. "Nonsense dear girl! We're not even the same species and I think you're cute! Why, If I was thirty years younger, I'd give young Hi'Ki a run for his money!"

Nodoka wanted to disappear into the depths of the library. Even if the professor was an old man, he was the first boy besides Negi to call her cute. ("Give Hi'Ki a run for his money? Did that mean Hi'Ki thought she was cute?")

Professor Bagera began laughing as Nodoka's hands went to her face and she turned completely red. "Ah youth! It's so wasted on the young! Anyway Miss Miyazaki, we happen to have here the finest bibliophilic master of glamour spells this side of Megalo-Mesembria! If you would please, Miss Chosha..."

Yomuoto's companion rolled up her sleeves and moved up to stand in front of Professor Bagera. The look she gave him was one of displeased exasperation. "I'm not that good you dirty old man! Besides, you could have done this to, you know."

A wide, toothy, amused grin matched Chosha's one of displeasure. "Yes, but If I say or do anything else to this poor shy girl, she may faint dead away!"

Chosha clenched her fist like she wanted to plant it in the middle of Professor Bagera's smug face. He suddenly realized what she was doing and stopped laughing. Relaxing and taking out her Partnership card, she summoned an artifact book and took out a pen, then turned to look at Nodoka. "Just ignore this old fool Miss Miyazaki." Pausing momentarily, she glanced at Nodoka from several angles. "My best work uses a persons natural attributes to help make a glamour more believable. Your hair is so short there's not much to work with. Best bet would be to make you look like a short-ear." Stopping once again, she began writing her spell in the artifact. "Obviously you must be at least a provisional partner to some mage. Do you have a keyword Miss Miyazaki?" Nodoka gave an affirmative nod. "Good. The spell I'm going to do will last about a week. After that Professor Bagera or I will have to renew it. Are you ready?" Nodoka looked unsure, but still gave another affirmative nod. "Fine. I'll set the spell to your keyword. You'll be able to turn it on and off like an artifact based on that if you need to. Now, don't tell me your keyword, just think about it and repeat after me..."

Hi'Ki came back to find a cute, short-eared U-Jin with tan colored hair and ears standing in Nodoka's place. Professor Bagera, Yomuoto and Chosha all grinned knowingly as he gazed at their effort in amazement. "No...Nodoka! W...wow..."

Unused to so much positive attention from near strangers, along with having a boy she didn't feel the need to flee from show interest in her, Nodoka finally gave up. A puff of steam rose from between her glamoured U-Jin ears and she fainted so quickly Chosha and Professor Bagera nearly collided with each other jumping in to catch the beet-red girl before she could hit the floor.

(-)

"Nodoka, it's time to go home."

Nodoka turned away from another fruitless examination of the library register on her desk as Hi'Ki came into the aisle that had been her 'office' for nearly three weeks. "Oh? Well, I'm nearly done putting the books away, I shouldn't have any trouble finishing up tomorrow."

Hi'Ki dropped down into the extra chair he'd brought into the aisle two weeks ago so he could sit and talk with Nodoka while she worked. "I guess I'm lucky Captain Adenaur's ship was delayed. You've nearly finished this project, you helped Professor Bagera get finished with his research in time to board the Whale-ship, and you've been able to assist Miss Yomuoto and a few others with things they've been working on. You've been a great help to me and this library." ("And I've been able to spend a few more days with you. I'm going to miss you when you leave, Nodoka...")

"Thank you Hi'Ki." Removing her rarely used glasses, Nodoka leaned back in her chair. "As much as I want to find Professor Springfield and my friends, realizing someone had stolen books from this library upset me so much I just had to try and figure out the reason. Unfortunately, I'm still stumped. Maybe I'll be able to see something besides the obvious pattern after I finish re-shelving tomorrow."

Hi'Ki glanced over at the register, where a little red 'x' mark indicated each missing book. "It's so silly though. Why only books about the war twenty years ago, and the Enteofushian Conflict, and why steal them? It's not that hard to check books out!"

Nodoka closed the register and got up to stretch. "Well, if you steal a book, there's no record of who checked it out and didn't return it. I actually do have an idea about what they might have been looking for, but I can't seem to get it to form enough for words. Maybe if my friend Yue were here, she could help me figure it out."

Standing up along with Nodoka, Hi'Ki reached out to take her hand as she dropped it after the stretch. "You gave me a pleasant surprise by getting as far as you have. I'm good at running this library by myself, but not so good at being able to clean up things like the nightmare this aisle used to be. If I haven't said it before, then; Thank you very much Nodoka."

"Yo... You're welcome!"

Hi'Ki turned away to hide the look on his own face as Nodoka made her bow of thanks for his praise. "Anyway, I'll go turn out the lights and meet you at the door."

Raising back up, Nodoka watched Hi'Ki walk away, then turned to take her borrowed coat from it's hook on the wall. When the lights over her went out, backlighting emphasized an odd difference in shape between the moulding trim on two of the aisle's bookshelves. Sliding the Librarian's ladder over into place, she climbed up and found the odd shape was the spine of a book. Climbing back down the ladder, she paused to glance at the book's title, then opened it to the frontispiece page. Next to that page was a picture of an apparently important family. Nodoka's eyes grew wide with surprise at the apparent familiar facial features of the family's children, but before she could delve any further, the rest of the library's lights went out.

"Nodoka! Come on!"

Closing the book, Nodoka grabbed the coat and ran for the front of the library.

Hi'Ki smiled as Nodoka ran up carrying a book. "Finally find something interesting to take home to read?"

Nodoka set the book down momentarily and quickly donned her coat. "Maybe. Should I check it out?"

"No. That's all right. You'll bring it back. I trust you." After holding the door for Nodoka, Hi'Ki stepped through and locked it, then turned to grasp her hand for the trip home. Noticing a splash of lights down near Dracogenia's port area, he squinted to focus on the distant scene. "Ah... Well, the Prophet and Cyclops are here." ("Darn it all!") "I'll take you down in the morning and introduce you to Captain Adenaur."

Watching from the shadows of a nearby building, a hooded figure watched the two U-Jin librarians walk away from their natural habitat. Seeing the book in the tan-colored U-Jin's hand, the figure swore softly and vanished completely into the shadows.

(-)

Pausing in front of a Stationary shop while walking down towards Dracogenia's port, Hi'Ki asked Nodoka to wait outside while he went in to quickly pick up an item needed for the library.

Holding the book she now found to be VERY interesting, Nodoka hummed to herself and shuffled her feet in boredom until she noticed a familiar face inside the hood of a raincoat wearing person across the street. Shocked beyond belief, she could only stare as a disreputable looking woman with an eyepatch, wearing a samurai's swords and casual attire, turned a corner and lead Professor Negi Springfield out of her sight. Forgetting completely about Hi'Ki, she took off in pursuit.

Hi'Ki walked out of the stationary shop just in time to see Nodoka disappear down a nearby alley. Seeing three bounty hunters o-so-casually do the same, he reached for the rarely used wand he'd received from his father and followed.

Surmising the person was probably heading for Dracogenia's Magistrate's Office, Nodoka ran down an alley running parallel to the route there until she came to a small walkway between two buildings. Slipping through the scattered detritus along the walkway and stopping just short of the street the person leading Negi should be on, she drew out her Pactio card, summoned her artifact and waited. Just as the person stepped in front of the frame of the walkway, she struck. "DIARIUM EJUS LIBRI ERUPTIO!"

A swarm of books came forth from around Nodoka to sweep out and pummel the one-eyed female samurai to the ground. When the woman tried to get up again after the book swarm faded, Nodoka ran out and clubbed her with the library book and her Diarium Ejus. The woman finally went face down for good. After grabbing the rope the samurai had been leading Professor Springfield with, she turned to find her retreat back into the walkway blocked by three even more disreputable, very dangerous looking men.

Snapping a small wand calmly into the palm of one of his hands, the apparent leader loomed up over Nodoka as his companions spread out next to him. "Well now lookey here! We found ourselves a fat little bounty to go along with that book we're supposed to find! Not only that, there's a pretty little U-Jin thing trying to steal that bounty from another Hunter! That makes her worth a little money to!" Licking his lips, the man waved his two companions forward. "Get her..."

Nodoka didn't need her Diarium Ejus to understand what these men intended before turning her in, there was a dark alley behind them that said it all. What she didn't understand was why Professor Springfield was just smiling at her and not doing anything.

"Sagita Magica! Effervo Explosio Carota!"

Before Nodoka could try to run, a sagita magica came from behind the three bounty hunters to impact amongst them, knocking one down and raising a cloud of dust and smoke.

"Nodoka! Come on!" Hi'Ki ran though the smoke and the bounty-hunters, grabbed Nodoka and the boy standing next to her by their hands, and started running towards the library.

Flushing furiously at Hi'Ki finding her with Negi, but happy for his help at the same time, Nodoka allowed herself to be pulled rapidly along until something about Hi'Ki's sagita spell made her give a mental sweatdrop. "Hi'Ki... 'A Swarm of Exploding Carrots'?"

Hi'Ki turned and grinned back at Nodoka as they ran. "Hey! I like carrots! Or hadn't you noticed?"

Behind the two fleeing U-Jin and Professor Springfield, the three bounty hunters recovered from their surprise, and ran after the fleeing trio.

Behind them, a short girl wearing a Hakama Kimono and carrying a broom came to help the knocked down samurai girl. The short girl helped her companion stand up, bemoaning their bad luck as she did so, then both of them followed after the bounty Hunters.

tsuzuku

(-)

Author' Notes:

I am amongst those who feel Nodoka has gotten a raw deal ever since v06. Give Nodoka an awesome artifact, then brush her aside after that because the artifact might be TOO powerful! Well, there are ways to control it without making Nodoka USELESS! (Pain feedback from the linkage spell for example. Easily blocked with experience, not so easy for Nodoka.)

About the three spells Nodoka uses:

"Thought pursuit! Picture Diary of the ID! Two small edition volumes! Ku Fei Praestantia Immineo Fate Averunncus!" (Ku Fei superiority over Fate Averunncus.)

'Thought Pursuit, Picture Diary of the ID' exists. (c177) Fate seems to fear Nodoka's artifact, (c045) so by implication it might mean he can't defend against the Diarium Ejus reading him. (This may be the first instance of KA back-stabbing Nodoka. DARN that Kotaro for spilling the beans about Nodoka's artifact to Fate!) Therefore, Nodoka should be able to call the ID spell against Fate, as long as he was in range, and she knew his name. (Eva tells her in my c11, there are other times she might have learned it.) Finally, as my own idea, calling ID on Ku Fei and Fate, then placing Fate's book inside Ku's, places Ku in a position of 'superiority' to Fate, as it relates to their 'ID' books, and as such, lets her know where he is, or at least helps her own abilities 'read' his movements, and thus strike at the 'real' Fate, even if she can't hurt him.

Touching both books to her Diarium Ejus makes Nodoka 'superior' to both Ku Fei and Fate. By a lesser effect of the next spell, this allows her to 'talk' to Ku Fei. (Talking to Fate would be colossally stupid. He would probably back-track through the link and kill her.)

"Diarium Ejus! Ala Alba Diary of the ID! Nodoka Miyazaki Telepathia Terminus!"

With this spell, a variant of the ID spell, Nodoka links all the members of the Ala Alba together by making herself the physical manifestation of their 'ID' diaries. (My own idea.) Thus, everyone knows where everyone else is, allowing them to coordinate better and fight more efficiently. The obvious assumption is that, unlike normal telepathia, the effect of the Diarium Ejus can't be blocked. (Eva could only manipulate what Nodoka 'read,' not prevent herself from 'being' read.) Just as obviously, the spell's two biggest vulnerabilities are Nodoka's inexperience, (her inability to block out the pain of those she's linking,) and that if she is killed or incapacitated, the linkage is lost.

"DIARIUM EJUS LIBRI ERUPTIO!"

Explaining this spell would give too much away, so I'll talk about it next chapter.

"Sagita Magica! Effervo Explosio Carota!"

Yes, literally; 'A Swarm of Exploding Carrots.'

All U-Jin, including Hi'Ki and Nodoka in her glamour, are 'Mimi' types. Humans with rabbit ears and a tail. Not 'beast' types like the Nek-Jin tiger-man Ray Blaze, or the slave girl's Ku-Jin teddy-bear boss Mama.

Hi'Ki Zosho's mother is a certain, flop-eared U-Jin with two long, braided pony-tails. She keeps a cannon over the fireplace.

Hi'Ki, and Nodoka in her glamour, are intended to be Jersey Wooly short-ear type rabbits. (U-Jin.)

General comments on all the 3A girls:

You may have noticed that, so far, most of the girls in 'Ala Alba in the World of Magic' have been able to take at least semi-independent actions without Negi Springfield holding their hand. This is intentional, and will most likely continue.

Negi may be the title character, but that doesn't mean his students are incapable of taking care of themselves.

Some may be selfish, or vain, or act in an occasionally irresponsible manner, but they do have their own skills and abilities. They may not be as strong magically as Negi, or as physically capable as Kaede Nagase, but neither are they as bad off as new-born kittens.

Next up: Haruna Saotome.