Chapter 12: Defense Against Dark Arts
"So, what do you have planned for class, bozu?"
Evangeline McDowell was sitting in the faculty table beside Negi Sprinfield, and both were having quite the nice lunch with the rest of the professors.
"Master, did you have to transform like that?" whispered Negi, lowering his head as Evangeline laughed at his comment.
"I would have done the same to you if you asked," said Evangeline, still snickering. "The students won't respect you like that, bozu."
"It can't be that bad," said Negi, "the girls at Mahora didn't have any problems with me like this. But I will be giving evaluations today, to have an idea of where should I start specializing. I'll have them duel with each other."
"Are you sure that's wise, professor Springfield?" Professor McGonagall calmly questioned. "I don't mean to alarm you, but with the many physical magic styles around, it might be physically deleterious for some of the more elementally oriented students."
"My pupil can break off any battle that goes too far," Evangeline assured.
"You have great confidence in the boy," Professor McGonagall commented, drinking some of her tea with pursed lips.
"Doesn't everyone in England in the boy who lived?" Evangeline's words left Minerva McGonagall in silence. The young-looking vampire continued. "He's been well trained both by his tutors in England and by me, in the arts of light and darkness. He has physical and elemental magics to his side, and tends to be quite physical in his repertoire. He'll do fine, Minerva. You worrying so much is making you old, ku, ku, ku."
"Yet you require magic to stop looking like a child, Eva," McGonagall threw back at her, still keeping a calm face.
"Touché, Minerva, touché," admitted Evangeline. The two kept eating their lunch quietly, sipping tea and eating together like old friends. Negi definitely didn't understand the chemistry between them.
"Well, I should get going," he said, breaking the silence. With a slight bow, he headed to his classroom.
Negi got there before any student, and got the room empty, perfect for battle. He sort of wished he could have made use of his master's training grounds instead of the poor castle, knowing the potential of his girls, but he hoped things didn't get too out of hand. He was quite excited; this would be his first class in Hogwarts.
Soon, he was sitting in his desk with nothing to do but wait for the students to arrive. He'd probably been overly eager about this. With his hands between his arms, crossed over the desk, he waited and waited a bit too much. Finally, a yawn escaped him.
"Your first day and already you're tired? Gimme a break, gakki [Japanese: kid]!" Entering the classroom with the slight noise of her bells was his former and current student: Asuna Kagurasaka, tapping his head slightly with a giant paper fan. "If this keeps up you'll end up crashing, and don't expect me to watch over you here too."
"Asuna-san!" Negi exclaimed in relief. "You surprised me!" He looked at those entering the doorway and smiled: Asuna wasn't the only one entering the classroom. Behind Asuna was a green haired young man, his gaze a bit defiant. He was probably from Gol D. Roger's, by the mess his uniform told. Also with them was a girl from Hogwarts, Alicia Spinet. He remembered Asuna had been sorted into Gryffindor, so he was glad she was making friends among the group.
Negi checked his roster, noticing Asuna was the only student of his in this group. Despite that, she'd probably be a great way to get to know the different magic styles, considering her ability to nullify any magic attack directed towards her, and her use of melee weapons if needed. There were none from Capsule College, which meant she wouldn't be facing anything over her head, he hoped.
"Alright, everybody, lets wait a couple of minutes and wait for the other students to arrive. Apparently, they would be from Slytherin, the rivals to Gryffindor from what he'd read. Most of them being exchange students, however, should make this rivalry a lot less noticeable, right?
"Don't tell me I have to take classes with this shitty moss head." The voice came from Sanji Prince, an elegantly dressed student from Gol D. Roger's, whose bright blond hair covered half of his face, and his only visible eyebrow curled to the left. Despite being in the same school, even in the same crew, the two of them never seemed to get along for some unknown reason. Two alternative magic users… how he wondered what each of them held in store for the class!
"Are you scared I'm going to outdo you, cocinero bellaco (Spanish: Ero-Cook XD)?" Zoro returned with a smile, confident of his superiority. "I could beat you in any class at any time."
"Um… excuse me…?" Negi could see this would be a lot more trouble than he thought.
"Like an idiot like you could ever outdo me, shitty swordsman," Sanji continued, now face to face with his schoolmate, his crewmate, his rival.
"I only do it in every duel, curly brow." Zoro was already reaching for his katana, when Negi managed to get between them, pushing each to either side of the room.
"I'd rather you didn't compete unless directed," Negi said calmly, as if he hadn't been the one to smash each of the boys into the wall, as if he was an innocently sweet ten-year-old. "I am Negi Springfield, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and I have to know where you stand for me to actually begin teaching." As Zoro and Sanji recovered their composure and managed to rip themselves off the wall as if nothing happened, dusting the loose stones and rubble off their robes, Negi continued. "I understand that each class of magical arts has unique abilities, and therefore I must customize the class to my students. So, I will be checking on your abilities one by one. Any volunteers?"
Immediately Zoro and Sanji raised their hands, sparks of anger flying at each other, not even looking at their teacher at all.
"Well, that wont do, I wont really have an idea of how strong you are if you fight against each other…" Negi said, thinking it over. "How about you fight Asuna-san, Prince-san?"
Sanji looked appalled by the idea. "Of course not! I couldn't!" he said, going over to Asuna and fawning over her. "How could a gentleman such as myself ever try to harm such a dazzling young lady?"
Asuna rolled her eyes, slightly insulted by this gentlemanly crap. She was as good a warrior as any; she didn't need anyone holding back because of some chauvinistic bullshit.
"I'll take her on," said Zoro with a smile, removing the bandana on one of his sleeves and wrapping it over his head, a devil-like smile on his face. "Man, woman, child, if they decide to fight me, I'll fight back."
As Sanji began to argue with Zoro about being a gentleman and not harming ladies, Asuna got ready for battle herself, using her pactio: her paper fan transformed into something much more useful: a heavy blade. Zoro raised an eyebrow and smirked at this. He loved a challenge.
"Careful not to get yourself or your partner hurt" Negi warned, now a bit unsure of his strategy. Would he come to regret it after all?
Asuna and Zoro stared at each other intensely. Without breaking eye contact, Zoro pulled out his first sword, a katana with a white hilt known as Wado Ichimonji, and put it in his mouth, and took his other two katana, Kitetsu and Shusui, in either hand. The air around them was becoming intense, just the power of their stares was overwhelming, their presence becoming larger and larger in the room, and everything around them seemed to shrink. Asuna had never felt a will like Zoro's before, and frankly it was almost a bit intimidating… but she was certainly not about to back down.
It would all be decided in an instant. One attack. One moment's hesitation could decide the impromptu match. Asuna decided to break the silence, lifting her heavy blade and charging against him, using the difference in reach to her advantage. One strong, well-placed swing was all she needed. She almost had him, almost hit him with all her might, but his reflexes were fast, and with the combined strength of the three swords he was able to fend off her attack.
He broke her guard for one second, and that was enough for him to do one of his signature attacks. Charging at her to break the distance, the swords on his hands across his chest and the blade in his mouth horizontally behind them, striking with all three at once as he shouted a muffled "Oni Giri!" which, although it was only with the back of the swords, still sent Asuna flying to the wall.
A weak smile appeared on the girl's face, her eyes still half-closed. Had the magic of the attack not disintegrated upon hitting her and had it not only been this man's physical power, she would have likely passed through the wall. And this wasn't even a serious battle, neither of them showing any bloodlust. Asuna got herself off the wall, smirking as she cleaned the blood on her mouth, sword still in hand. Seems she got herself a new training partner.
"Still getting up after that," said Zoro, swords still in hand, a devilish grin on his features. "Impressive."
"Impressive is you blocking my attack like that, that takes serious strength to pull off" said Asuna, getting ready to battle once more. "I take it you know corporeal magic."
"Not one bit" Zoro declared, looking forward to another face-off.
"Uwaaaa, Asuna-san! Roronoa-san, that's enough!" said Negi nervously. The two seemed to enjoy that skirmish a little too much, and he certainly couldn't be sure they wouldn't destroy the classroom if they continued. This had definitely been the worst idea he'd ever had. Pitting students against each other was the worst thing he could have done.
"After class? By that moving tree in the grounds?"
The green-haired swordsman knew the girl's words were not an invitation, but a commitment. With a smirk, he nodded. Boy did he look forward to it.
Sanji's jaw fell. Did a beautiful girl just ask that shitty marimo out? He could not let himself be outdone.
"Profe, why don't you face me?" he said. Even if it seemed wrong to be picking on a 10-year-old, he already knew the kid could defend himself, and it was certainly better than hurting a lady. He would never forgive himself if he ever did something as preposterous as that.
A look of realization came upon the young professor's face. He hadn't even considered it. With him doing the battling, he could certainly measure the level of power of these kids. Determined and excited, the bespectacled boy nodded. "Alright! Please show me your abilities then!"
Raising his leg, the blond youth got into battle stance. The kid teacher in front of him looked more excited than anything. Was he even taking him seriously? He was even within reach. "Diable jambe," he uttered, his leg on fire as he kicked with his utmost strength. It didn't take the boy any effort to grab his attack, fire and all. No wonder he could become a teacher at such a young age.
Sanji's attacks didn't let on. "Mouton shot! Collier! Côtelette! Poitrine!" One by one, Negi was dodging or parrying his attacks. It was absurd, the young boy didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. There couldn't be that much difference between them. The boy, however, was greatly impressed.
"Wow, Prince-san! You're really strong!" the boy said, meaning it wholeheartedly.
"No me vengas con eso! (Spanish: Don't you dare say that!, in Japanese, for the fans Kuusakendaaa! Or however you write that phrase in Romanji)" It was frustrating. After training so much, getting so much stronger, how could he lose so absolutely. His attacks were now in a frenzy, but the young bespectacled wizard finally grabbed one of his kicks and pushed him into the ground.
"Prince-san, you are truly strong, good at your alternative magic skills, but you have much to learn about other types of magic" Brown eyes stared into even darker ones and, panting, the pissed off young man slowly calmed down. He turned to the rest of the class, where not even Zoro would dare do a snide comment about the blonde's performance. "Neither you nor anyone here besides Asuna and myself seem to know corporeal magic, and your style would certainly benefit from it. I'm going to teach you to balance martial arts, magic, and all sorts of techniques with what you already have on your arsenal. Some things might be good for attacking, but since that must be tailored to each of you, we'll start with defense. Now, shall we continue with the class?"
