Negima 2: Our Beautiful Christmas Dream

Chapter 11: Generosity of a Song - Part 2

Out on the floor, Nekane stepped out and faced the crowd. They applauded when Nekane appeared and she thanked them for coming out. Tina and Carol helped out behind the stage as the others would perform.

"I do hope you all donated some money to the children of this hospital. They are going to need it if this hospital is going to stay. So I do hope your generosity shines through." Nekane said. She peeked behind the curtain and nodded.

"All right then. We welcome our first performers. I am proud to present the Kaleido Stage Fools, members from the Kaleido Stage company from Cape Mary, California." Nekane said. The audience applauded as Sora, Rosetta and Layla took the stage.

"Let's do this guys." Sora said. Layla and Rosetta nodded. Anna and Mia brought out chairs for Sora to balance on and a tight rope for Layla. As they performed, Rosetta showed off her diabolo skills and she was seen juggling three at once.

"Wow! She's amazing!" Sakurako said from behind the curtain.

"Yeah! I know! Asuna never told us she could do that!" Madoka added. Evangeline watched Layla and was quite impressed with her abilities. Soon, Anna and Mia were on stage juggling while May did the same on a unicycle. The audience applauded.

"We're doing great guys. Let's keep it up." Sora whispered. Suddenly, Sora leaped off the stacked chairs and joined Layla on the tight rope.

"Amazing!" Satomi said completely speechless. Kazumi recorded everything on her camera while Chisame did the same on her laptop's camera.

"I can't wait to put this on my home page. It should really bring in the viewers." Chisame thought. After their finale, the audience applauded as they bowed and left.

"They really are great, aren't they everyone? Good job girls." Nekane said. As everyone clapped, the director watched from afar. He saw how many people had came and this made him worried.

"This isn't good. Those little annoying brats might pull this off. I best do something." he thought. On stage next was Valkyrie with Kazuto and Miss Sanada at her side.

"All right Valkyrie. It's your turn now." Kazuto said. Valkyrie smiled and took a mike. Music began playing and she began singing "Suki, Suki, Suki - Wa na Kanji" with a big smile on her face. Her friends watched from the sides and Miss Sanda was so happy to be with Valkyrie.

"Oh princess! You're just so amazing!" she thought. Hydra and Akina were also impressed with Valkyrie's song.

"Even as a kid, Valkyrie's got a good set of pipes on her." Hydra said. Akina nodded. But as she sang, the director managed to sneak into the lighting and and started causing the lights to behave weirdly. It didn't seem to stop Valkyrie, who was too happy singing to even notice!

"Darn!" he thought. When Valkyrie finished, the next to go on was Kaede, the twins and Fei Kū in a martial arts demonstration. Chao and Tina helped as the four girls broke boards with their kicks. The audience applauded for them as well.

"Thank you everyone!" Fei Kū cheered. Next was Yue, who sang with Nodoka on stage. Their song was "Winter Wonderland" and both of them alternated between lyrics. Kotaro was on stage dressed as a snowman, which he felt was a bit ridiculous.

"I SO am not wearing this thing again." Kotaro thought. After them, the twins, Anya and Carol came on stage singing "Joy to the World" while dressed as angels. Behind them was a cardboard drawing of the planet. As they sang, the planet behind them came down and knocked the girls down. But the crowd just laughed.

"Heh. Thanks everyone! We weren't expecting that to happen, but it did!" Fuka called. The director growled and stomped off. When the stage was cleared, Nekane returned.

"How is everyone feeling right now? I hope you are all enjoying the show. We're making sure to put on the best show we possibly can." Nekane said. During this short intermission, Yotsuba and Chachamaru offered cookies and hot cocoa to everyone in the crowd.

"We thank you all again for coming out to see our show. And now, I am happy to present our next performer. She's quite the famous singer from where she comes from. Please join me in welcoming to the stage....Miss Full Moon." Nekane said. The audience began clapping, and so did some of the girls, as Full Moon stepped on stage with Takuto and Meroko floating above in their spirit forms.

"Oh! This is going to be great!" Sakurako thought. As Miss Oshige started the music, Full Moon began singing "New Future" with a smile on her face. She was dressed in a Christmas themed robe and she had sparkling earrings shaped like trees.

"Ready Meroko?" Takuto asked. Meroko nodded and they sent a magical aura to Full Moon and she seemed to be sparking against the lights. Everyone was breathless as Full Moon continued to sing.

"She's so cool!" Makie thought. After Full Moon's song, Jennifer came on stage in a chair with Richie at her side and she was holding Chachazero on her lap. Evangeline had almost forgotten she brought her with them and the two were acting out a ventriloquist act.

"So, my little friend, do you know how cold it is out there?" Jennifer asked. Chachazero's response was "It's so cold that I saw polar bear in the fridge this morning trying to warm up!" cheerfully. Jennifer's lips didn't even move. The crowd laughed as the two continued.

"Hey. Isn't it considered cheating when the doll can talk?" Asuna asked. Negi figured no one would really notice. Just then, Ayaka told Asuna that she was next.

"Wha...What?!" Asuna shouted. She went on stage holding a microphone with a nervous face. Music began to play and she just gulped.

"Go for it Asuna!" Konoka shouted. Setsuna watched with a smile besides Konoka.

"Come on Asuna! Rock out!" Ako shouted. With one quick deep breath, she started singing "Itsudatte Love and Dream" feeling jumpy at first. But then was more relaxed and started singing better.

"Wow. Asuna is amazing." Negi thought. He watched as she sang while blushing. Soon after, Hydra and Akina were on stage next and they sang "Jingle Bell Rock" together. The only problem was Akina seemingly stealing Hydra's parts as they sang.

"Hey! That was MY part you line stealer!" Hydra shouted. Akina stuck her tongue out and soon the two were fighting with each other. But even despite the short tussle, they started singing together again as nothing seemed to have happened.

"Man. Those two need to learn to get along." Sora thought. After them was Sora and Rosetta singing "Blanc Et Noir" and then Yotsuba and May showing a cooking demonstration. Then came Miss Sanada and Rika singing "Frosty the Snowman" with Valkyrie as Chisame was in the snowman costume. Kazumi couldn't help but take pictures. Sayo and Kazumi snickered.

"Oh. I couldn't resist." Kazumi said. But as they were performing, the director let a skate shoe loose on stage and Chisame stepped on it. As she went skating away, Kotaro hurried to catch her and they both collided into a stack of boxes.

"I hate my life." Chisame groaned. Luckily, Chisame wasn't in any serious pain and the show continued. Zazie was on stage performing with Mia in tricks and acts. Even though Zazie's quiet nature creeped Mia out, their show was successful. Following was Negi and Carol performing "pretend" magic tricks. Asuna snickered when Chamo was pulled out of a hat by his tail.

"Very funny Asuna." Chamo thought. Following was a kendo demonstration with Hydra against Setsuna. Throughout the match, Hydra and Setsuna tied at the end. Both of them were out of breath.

"You're....pretty good." Hydra said. Setsuna chuckled.

"Yeah. You too." Setsuna muttered. After a short intermission, Layla was on stage singing "The Christmas Waltz" with Full Moon. But the director hadn't given up. He increased the light's brightness and nearly blinded Layla.

"Man! Who turned the lights up in here?!" Haruna groaned. Layla and Full Moon kept singing, even with the lights blinding them. Soon enough, Yue found the director and told him to leave.

"Make me!" he said. Yue groaned and dragged him out by his tux collar. Yue pushed him outside and locked the door.

"That little...!" he growled. Yue turned away with a huff and went back to dim the lights. The director growled and sat down on a chair outside.

"She might have me locked out. But I've already set a few little traps of my own. That show is as good as finished." he thought. And he was right. When Ayaka and Asuna sang "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree", the piano that Miss Oshige was playing was off key.

"I thought we checked that thing first!" Anya said. Yue glanced out the door and saw the director snickering. Yue groaned softly as the show went on. The next trap went off when Kotaro had a drink of water to get ready for singing with Negi. Their song was "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and when he sang, something caused Kotaro's voice to weaken.

"Hey. What the?" Asuna thought. She sniffed the water and groaned.

"Ew! There's some nasty stuff in here! And Kotaro's voice is suffering for it!" Asuna thought. Kotaro tried clearing his throat, but he still sounded the same. The crowd was starting to get worried.

"Oh no. Everyone seems a bit uneasy right now." Carol gasped.

"We need to do something and fast. I have a funny idea I know who is doing this." Layla said. Anna and Mia were next with Natsumi and Akira as they performed a ballet to the "Russian Dance" but the floor was slippery and they slipped.

"Ow!" Mia groaned. Soon, after enough of the director's hidden traps went off, the crowd was feeling more displeased than ever.

"Oh no! We're losing the audience! We need something and fast!" Asuna shouted. Negi wasn't sure what to do about this. Just then, he saw Evangeline walking to the stage.

"Huh? Evangeline?" Negi asked. She took a mike sitting on a chair and sighed.

"You can't stop now. If you wanted to save this place that badly, you shouldn't be afraid of anything that is thrown at you. I'll go on now." Evangeline said. The others were frozen from shock.

"You...You sure Evangeline?" Jennifer asked. Evangeline huffed and stepped out on stage.

"Just watch me." Evangeline said. She whispered to Miss Oshige to put on a certain song and the music began playing to the tune of "Do You Hear What I Hear" and Evangeline cleared her throat. The director was surprised to see Evangeline out on stage as he watched from a window in the door.

"All right. Here I go." Evangeline thought. Just as she was ready, Jennifer and Chachamaru joined her on stage as well.

"Don't worry Evangeline. We're not giving up either." Jennifer whispered. Evangeline smiled and the trio sang together while alternating between lines.

"Hey guys. Look. Everbody seems to be enjoying themselves again." Chamo said. As they paused for the song to pick up, Evangeline was about to start again when they heard a man's voice picking up the song.

"Huh? Hey. Who's singing that?" Mitsuki asked.

"I don't know. I don't recognize the voice." Sora said. Everyone started glancing around. When Evangeline saw who was singing, she gasped. Coming towards the stage with a microphone in his hand was Nagi Springfield! Everyone gasped.

"What?! But...But that's....!" Carol stuttered. Asuna and Negi's eyes widened.

"My father?!" Negi thought. Asuna was practically speechless along with Nekane and Anya. Nagi stepped up next to Evangeline and looked at her face as he continued to sing. Soon, Chachamaru and Jennifer stepped off stage.

"What is he...?" Evangeline thought. But soon, a smile was on her face and the two kept singing the song together. Together, Evangeline and Nagi sounded perfect as singing partners.

"Wow. There's something you don't see everyday." Yue said.

"Yeah. Is she actually smiling?!" Makie asked. Chachamaru and Jennifer smiled as they saw Evangeline smiling. After their song, the director was speechless as well. To finish up, Nekane sang "Silent Night" with Anya and Negi and Asuna sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and their show had the audience applauding again.

"Thank you everyone! We hope you enjoyed the show!" Negi said. After the show ended and everyone left, Sora and Layla counted the money and were happy to announce that they saved the children's hospital. Everyone cheered together.

"We all did it! Negi! Isn't that amazing?!" Chamo shouted. But when he looked for Negi, he couldn't find him or Evangeline.

"Hey, where's Negi?" Chamo asked. Asuna smiled and looked back into the cafeteria. Nagi sat on the stage with Negi and Evangeline by his side.

"But...father...I don't....understand. Why did you show up just now?" Negi asked.

"Is something wrong? Do you need us for something?" Evangeline asked. Nagi chuckled as he rested his arms on their shoulders.

"What? Can't I spend a holiday season with two of the most important people of my life? Or do I need your permission for that? Besides, I know that....the best present I could ever want is being with the people I care about this time of year. I mean...isn't that what Christmas is all about? Because I'm sure that's what it means." Nagi said. Negi and Evangeline smiled as they embraced Nagi in a group hug.

END OF CHAPTER