Chapter 11: The Truth about Hope
"Negi-kun… are you sure there is nothing wrong?" Konoka said.
"Yes. There is nothing to worry about girls," Negi said.
"Hmph…," Evangeline says. She whispers something to Nodoka.
"Okay," Nodoka said.
"Oh…," Nodoka said.
"There is something up," Nodoka said. She pointed at the diary. It's about Hope.
Negi Springfield: Inside A Video Game
Why
would Hope do such a thing?
Why, why?
Doesn't she remember anything from the Magic Academy? Me? Anya? Miyaka?
We were friends back then.
Why doesn't she remember anything?
Is it because of her?
Negi Springfield
"Negi-sensei!" Nodoka said.
"We want the truth," Asuna said.
"What truth?" Negi said.
"About Hope," Haruna said.
"Hope?" Negi said.
"Yes, Hope," Yue said.
"What about it?" Negi said.
"About you, Anya, Hope, and Miyaka. At the Magic Academy," Setsuna said.
"How'd you know that?" Negi said.
They all looked at Nodoka.
"Oh," Negi said.
"So tell us now," Konoka said.
"Well, Miyaka, Anya, Mei, and I all went to the Magic Academy -," Negi said.
"Mei?" Miyaka said.
"Oh… Hope's real name is Mei," Negi said.
"How do you know Hope is Mei?" Asuna said.
"… Because… if you looked at her, you could see… she had to ponytails – both tied with ribbon… like Asuna's bells. Mei would always tie ribbons in her hair," Negi said, "And the way she recognized me… I knew it would be Mei."
"Go on now, boy," Evangeline said.
"Okay. Well… we five and many others were great friends. Then three days after Miyaka disappeared, Mei and two others disappeared, too," Negi said. "Then the rest is a mystery…"
"Oh," Miyaka said.
"Do we know anything else about Hope?" Haruna asked.
"Nope," Negi said.
"Yes," Nodoka said. She pointed to the diary again.
"Luckily, I was able to reach this far," Nodoka said.
Hope/Mei: In the Lair
The nerve of that girl! Going into our plans and destroying everything we planned!
I guess this is what I expected after she lost the hope in me…
Heh. That Miyaka Kimura. She will pay for abandoning me!
Hope/Mei
"…I abandoned her?" Miyaka said.
"I don't remember anything like that…," Negi said. "But in the middle of the year, you did go missing.
"Oh…," Miyaka said. "So this is all my fault."
"Don't say that!" Konoka said.
"What's she saying?" Karumi came up and said.
"That this is all her fault. You know, getting into the video game and stuff," Setsuna said.
"Miyaka… this isn't your entire fault. Remember the old Miyaka Kimura? The one who was number one in the Elite Four, the best one in the Heaven to Be Seven, and the champ of the Olympic Champions? This isn't all your fault. It's the fault of the person who took us here," Karumi said.
"All right then," Miyaka said.
Again, two more portals opened up.
"So Karumi, do you want to go home without us or stay with us?" Negi said.
Karumi looked at Miyaka.
"I'm staying," Karumi said.
With that done, all of them went to the next level.