Two days, and seven near miss head shots later, Miles was walking with Negi and Asuna to school. Asuna kept glaring at Negi, who was blissfully unaware as they continued their walk.
"So, is there any specific reason you are trying to burn the back of Negi's head with that glare, Asuna-chan?" Miles asked her.
"The little brat interrupted a great dream I was having! He won't stop crawling into my bed!" She exclaimed.
"Maybe he loves you." Miles said with a smirk. It had become a recent pass time for him to get her really angry.
Asuna just laughed at that. "Puh-lease! He's a ten year old brat! Who would fall in love with him?" Asuna looked at Miles as she said this, her eyes getting bigger when his smirk did, it seemed to say "I know something I won't tell."
"Who? Who is in love with him?" She said a bit louder than she meant to, as Negi turned to look at them.
"Whose in love with who?" Negi asked curiously.
"Forget it Negi-bozu! This doesn't concern you." Asuna said.
"Actually it kinda – Oof!" Miles said, as Asuna elbowed him in the stomach. Miles glared at her and whispered, "You shall pay for that one."
She tried to smile sweetly, but failed pretty badly. "Come on you slowpokes! We have to get there soon and help our class with our festival project!" She said as she began to run at top speed.
"Damn, she is fast." Miles said as he and Negi began to catch up to her. "Perhaps I'll stop by and help everyone for the next few days. Couldn't help to have a extra pair of hands, right?" He asked as they reached the class room.
"I'm sure the girls would like the help, right girls?" He said as they entered the room.
"What was that Negi-sensei?" The girls asked.
Negi smiled and pointed to Miles. "Miles here has offered to help you finish the haunted house."
The girls erupted in applause. "Thank you Miles-kun!" They said in unison.
"Your welcome ladies, I will see you at lunch break. Your not the only ones that Nitta-sensei keeps an eye on. See you girls at lunch break!" He told them and walked off to do his job.
.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸...¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸
During lunch break, the girls put Miles to work lifting big boxes to move around the rooms, and helping them set up their haunted house. Every time he passed one of the girls with cat ears though, he couldn't resist tugging them, causing some of the girls to giggle, blush or become annoyed (Asuna).
"Aren't we dedicated? Working on the festival, even during lunch?" Yuuna said.
"Yeah, but only because we have to." Ako replied.
"Guys, look! Did you see this?" Makie asked excitedly as she approached her friends, holding a school newspaper. She unfolded the newspaper to reveal the headline article about the world tree legend. According to the legend, if you confess your love to someone on the third day of the festival, they will be yours.
"See? Look! They say here that the World-Tree Legend is true! It's the talk of campus!" Makie said, with a little too much excitement.
"It could be true. Tho, this paper is a tabloid." Yuuna said.
"Well, y' know-w-w..." Misora said from behind them. "Okay, I, like, heard this from a sempai two years older than me who went to Mahora High School, okay? Last year, during the festival? Even tough they said it was impossible 'cause he was a club captain and super-cute, and all these other girls were after him? He totally said he'd go out with her!"
"No way!" The girls exclaimed.
Miles, who was currently moving some supplies for them, felt a rise in power in the room. He looked around, but it was gone. He shrugged it off and continued to work.
"And I heard that, three girls? In the same grade as us? They told their student-teachers that they liked them? And they said they'd go out, too!" Added Madoka.
"They did! Isn't that, like, illegal?" One of the girls asked.
"Listen to this!" Yuuna said as she opened the paper again. "'Call it the magic of the world tree! No obstacle too tough to overcome! Older/young, Cute/not cute, famous/a nobody- they all said it was impossible, but results don't lie!"
"I can hardly believe it." Ako said, blushing.
"I know! Me, either!" Makie said excitedly.
"I'm not sure I do.." Akira said silently.
"I wish I'd gone beneath it and said how I felt." Ako said, thinking back to her failed attempt at saying how she felt.
"I'm thinking I'd like to try it... Y'know? Just to be sure?" Yuuna thought out loud.
"But Yuuna, who would you say you..." Akira started before her eyes trailed off towards the back off the class.
No you're right, I guess theres no one I..." And Yuuna trailed off too as she followed Akira's eyes.
Ako, Makie and the other girls noticed their train of though stopped and followed their eyes. In the back of the class, Miles and Negi were talking silently together. The noise in the class brought the boys attention to the girls. Miles froze as he saw the predatory gleams in their eyes.
"Negi." He said silently to the young boy. "We are in danger here."
Negi looked up at Miles with a questioning look. "What do you mean, Miles?"
"Look at their eyes, one false move and they will eat us alive. Just follow my lead if you want to survive ok?" "Leon, I need an escape plan."
"How about number 49783. Jump through the closest window, closed or not."
"Sounds good!" "Ready?"
Negi nodded his head nervously as the girls began to close in on them.
"Right... NOW!" He shouted as he picked up Negi and jump out the window, which was open, luckily.
The girls all ran to the windows to see Miles landing on his feet. "Miles-kun! Negi-kun! Come back!" They shouted and giggled.
Evangeline just smirked and said to the girls as she went out the door. "Don't worry girls, Miles just happens to have sixth sense for danger."
The girls all stared at her. "How come she calls Miles by just his name? Are they close or something?" Haruna asked.
.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸...¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸
It was now the end of the school day, and Miles was on the roof watching as the girls ran to their clubs.
"Well, there you are. You know, the girls in class have been looking for you all day." Came a young voice from behind, one that Miles knew all too well.
"Well, hello to you too Eva-chan. I see you finally got over being scared of me to say hello to your old friend." He said without turning around.
She chuckled. "Friend? I always thought we were something more, lover." She said as she walked up behind him.
"Yes, I know you did, and I told you all those years ago that only one person has claim to my heart." He said with a smile as she jumped on his back and wrapped her arms lovingly around his neck, and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"Glad your still the same height, in this body, I don't think I would have been able to jump any higher." She breathed into his ear.
"Well, just like you, I'm not exactly aging, am I?"
"No, I guess not. Are you still looking for the counter curse?" She asked.
"Of course. I grew tired of this existence the moment I could control myself again. I still don't see how anyone could call this a blessing. I've seen so many people I've ever called friend die." He said, staring off into space, his face growing dark.
Evangelin bit his neck. "Ow! What the hell was that for!"
She just smirked at him. "Well one, you were falling back into the past, this is the first time I've ever seen you truly smile. Second, I haven't bitten your neck playfully in ages."
Miles laughed. "Yes, seeing as though I was your personal blood bank for about 10 years. And you still couldn't control me."
"Yeah, and it still pisses me off to this moment. You were the only one who could ever get away." She grumbled into the crook of his neck. "Have you ever found out her name?" She asked suddenly.
"No," Miles said. He knew he was referring to the girl he fell in love with at first sight all those years ago. "No, I haven't. But I have met her reincarnation 9 times." He said with a sad smile. Evangeline bit his neck again, harder this time. "Ouch! Would you stop that!"
She gave an uncharacteristic giggle. "Why? You keep falling into depression, and I just love doing it anyways, lover." She then proceeded to bit and kiss the same spot.
"You know, you keep calling me that, but I can't seem to remember ever being that intimate with you." He said, shivering each time she kissed that same spot. "And could you try to refrain from leaving a mark? I don't like being asked questions."
She stopped long enough to say, "Just say a vampire attacked you, those stupid girls would believe it." As she bit hard enough to leave a mark.
Miles sighed, "And, unfortunately, its true. They really would believe it."
"So tell me, since you never let me into your resort to see Negi's training, how is he doing?"
She groaned at Negi's name, for which Miles chuckled. "That boya is actually advancing fast, although he does over think everything. But he learns everything so quickly."
"You heard about the martial arts tournament thats going to be going on? I hear your pupil will be entering with Kotaro-kun. Wanna go watch with me?" Miles offered.
Evangeline laughed. "Why Miles! Did you just ask me out on a date?"
Miles froze. "Did I! Jesus! Whats wrong with me!" He opened his mouth to correct himself when she replied.
"Id be happy to Miles." She said, laughing as she kissed his cheek and jumped off his back. "And don't think you can back out now! Bye now!" She said as ran out the door, before Miles could ever get another word in.
He stared after her for a few minuets. "What on earth have I done?"
.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸...¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸
Ako was walking along a sidewalk and thinking at the same time, which can tend to be dangerous. "I wonder if I should ask Miles-kun out on the third day?" She suddenly slumped her shoulders. "Who am I kidding? He hasn't even said a word to me ever since we kissed. And odds are, the entire class has asked him out by now." She sighed in defeat.
"Hey Ako!" Yuuna called out to her. "What's that big thing on your back? I thought we weren't doing festival stuff till this afternoon!
"It's for practice. Kakizaki invited me to play in their band."
"I'm so-o-o-o jealous! Live performance, huh? Sounds fun!" Makie said.
"I'd come play too, but I'm horrible with instruments.." Yuuna said, laughing nervously.
"I could dance in the background..." Makie offered.
"Um, I don't think we need dancers." Ako told her as she re-adjusted the bass guitar on her back. "This thing is so heavy, I swear I..." but she never finished what she was saying, because the weight of the guitar pull her back and she started to fall towards the stairs that were behind her.
"Be careful!" Yuuna shouted.
"Ako! Look out-!" Akira and Makie shouted.
"Wha!" Ako exclaimed as she suddenly stopped.
A very familiar voice chuckled behind her as she got picked up. "You ok, Ako-chan? You should be more careful."
"M-Miles-kun! Thank you." She said, blushing.
"Heh sorry girls, I'm in a bit of a rush, gotta show my friend here around." He said, pointing at his friend next to him. With a wink, they walked off, leaving all four girls with love struck gazes, two for just Miles and the other two for both.
"So let me get this straight, Negi." Miles said to his friend. "You took some age candy, which, by the way, has got to be illegal. And Agreed to go out on a mock date with Asuna?"
"Thats right." Said Negi. "But please, call me Nagi when for now."
Miles laughed at that. "Don't worry about that, you look so much like him that I might end up calling you it by instinct anyways."
As they approached the area where he was to meet Asuna, Miles could over hear various girls talking about Negi. "Man, he out shines me now. Well thats good actually. I'm tired of girls following me everywhere."
As they approached, they caught site of Asuna, and Miles blushed. "My lord Asuna-chan. You look great!" Miles said, praising her.
She blushed. "Miles, what are you doing here?"
Miles just smiled. "Playing bodyguard. With how boya here looks now, I was afraid he was going to be swarmed by the girls. Now have fun you two!" Miles said as he ran off before Asuna could hurt him.
.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸...¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸
It was later that night and Miles was in his room, drawing a magic circle on his closet door.
"Ok Leon, show me the circle again. I don't want to screw this up."
"Are you sure you want to do this? This is going to take a lot of power." Leon warned.
"Positive, I need more time, and Eva still won't let me into her resort, so I have to make my own."
"Alright man. If you insist." And he showed the circle again. Miles was just about finished when there was a knock at his door.
"Come in! I'm in the bedroom!" He called out as he put the finishing touches on the circle.
"Miles-kun!" Came Makie's voice floating through the door.
"Hello Makie-chan, what brings you here at this hour?" He asked as he came out of his room.
Makie was acting weird. She kept shifting her feet and wringing her hands together, her face was bright red. "Um, M-Miles-kun? Do you think, that we could, um, goto the the festival t-together, on the third day?" She asked so quietly that Miles had to strain to hear her.
He smiled at her. "Are you sure you want to go with someone like me? I mean, I might end up working at some point you know?"
"Oh! Of course I want to go with you!" She said loudly, causing her to blush in embarrassment.
Miles chuckled at her antics. "Ok, I'll go with you Makie-chan."
She beamed a flawless smile that made his heart beat faster. "Save that smile to memory Leon, PLEASE!"
"Hey, wanna do something fun? Well, what I do when I need to think, or just want to relax?" He asked her.
"Oh? Sure!" She said, excited to be doing something with him.
Miles smiled at her and grabbed his staff. "Come on." He said as he took her hand and lead her outside. He set up his staff and smiled at her. "Get on. Lets go check out the festival from above." As he gestured to the spot in front of him.
"W-what? What do you mean, Miles-kun?" She asked nervously.
Miles just smiled. "Get on and you'll see."
She nervously made her way over and sat in front of him. "Ready? Hang on to my arms." He said as he kicked off the ground and took off into the night sky.
Makie screamed in delight as they took off over the festival grounds. "Miles-kun! This is great! This is the kind of magic you can do?" She asked excitedly.
Miles smiled at her excitement. "No not just this, I can do a lot of magic, but this is the only one I know of that can give joy to myself and others. I'm glad your enjoying yourself." He told her. She squealed with joy as he would pick up speed and perform loops in the air.
He came to a stop on a large branch of the world tree and got off. "Welcome to my spot. On many nights I come here to think, and this is the first time I've brought somebody here, I do believe."
Makie blushed. "I'm the first one he's ever brought here!" But she was abruptly stopped from her thinking as he took hold of her hand again and lead her further down the branch, to the trunk of the tree. He sat down, and brought her down to sit next to him.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a long time, just staring at the moon. Makie began to slip off to sleep and her head drooped onto his shoulder. Miles was startled by the sudden weight on his shoulder, but smiled at her.
She woke up 15 minuets later to find her resting against Miles chest as he held her close, keeping her warm. She looked up into his eyes to see him still staring off to the moon, deep in thought. His eyes suddenly shifted his eyes to look deep into hers. "Oh wow, I'm drowning." Makie thought as she looked into his eyes.
He brought his head down and placed a kiss on her forehead. She blushed and tilted her head up and closed her eyes. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, which, on her insistence started to become deeper, her tongue tracing his lips. When he felt that, he stopped the kiss.
Miles looked down at her apologetically. "Sorry Makie-chan, it was going to fast too soon."
"No Miles-kun, don't apologize, I shouldn't of..." But her thought was cut by Miles kissing her on the lips again.
"No more apologizing. Relax." Was all he said as he pulled her closer and looked to the sky with her in his arms. All the while, one thought kept going through his head.
"I've got too many problems, and not enough answers."
.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸...¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. .¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸
A/N: Well here it is, didn't get the amount of Reviews I wanted, but at 1500 views, I'm not one to complain. Thanks to all who review, Next chapter, The Mahora Martial Arts Preliminaries!