Negima Remix!
Chapter 28: Power of the West; God's Right Hand of Destruction Part 2
Back in the Never-Ending Spell Zone
Out of the bamboo forest, out jumped the four teens, as they had finished formulating their plan. Negi was now in his Combat Mage outfit, even more confident in this plan than ever. Seiji however, was feeling a little uneasy about this; what Negi had suggested after he kept that small detail about the plan between them, excluding the girls. He knew that one word of it, and Mini-Setsuna would disapprove of it, Reina would be worried sick, Chamo would be begging Negi not to do it, and Asuna…well, he could tell that after the 'Girlfriend' comment from the wolf boy was still egging her on, so he didn't want to think what she would do.
'Dammit, Negi!', Seiji thought as the four teens stood battle ready at the sidewalk, awaiting the deadly duo to pop up, 'I know that you think this is the best idea, but you've never done anything like this. Plus, you at least have to have some combat experience to use it.'
It was then that they heard running footsteps as the quartette stood ready. Asuna gulped a little, with her fan at the ready, "They're c-coming!"
Negi gulped as he prepared himself, 'This is a fifty-fifty chance at best, but…', he then held his staff at the ready as he prepared the spell, '…Father, I wish you could see this.' He then chanted, "RASTEL MASKIL MAGISTER!" He brought up his right hand and extended his index and middle finger as they glowed an electric yellow, "EVOCATIO VALCYRARIUM CONTUBERNALIA GLADIARA!"
And then suddenly, out of the energy shot out seven Wind Spirits to fight the two that finally appeared. Scar charged forward towards Seiji, who clapped his hands together and placed them on the ground, starting a transmutation. Scar shouted, "Whatever you have planned, you're dark powers will not avail you!"
Kotaru smirked as he charged in head forward, grinning, "Idiot! You can throw wind and lightning magic at us both, but we'll still clobber you all!"
Then, just before the Wind Spirits popped up, thousands of stone spikes shot out of the ground. When the wind spirits met up with the spikes, they collided into a huge dust cloud of stone barrage, nearly getting both Kotaru and Scar. However, Kotaru brought up his Shield Talismans, and protected the two of them. But not before the next attack caught up to them; Reina created a dozen crystal stalagmites, and Negi used some of his lightning based abilities, to not only shoot the stalagmites at the two, but charge them full of electricity.
It was Scar's turn as he grabbed Kotaru, and jumped out of the way. The crystal spears struck to where they stood a while ago, and a tremendous electrical explosion was what had remained of the spot they once stood. Scar looked at the smoldering crater as Kotaru gaped at this; and finally the Ishbalan spoke up, "A unique combination of Magic and Alchemy to create a series of powerful attacks…God help us."
Kotaru then saw the boy, Negi Springfield, direct what appeared to be a lightning bolt, 'Not only that, but our wizard friend seems to be able to control the power of both Heaven and Earth.' But he knew what to do; Kotaru had made it his goal in life to take out strong opponents. And he wasn't about to let a weakling like Negi Springfield show him up. However, they failed to notice that Seiji made one more Alchemic attack; he created a giant Tsunami wave of unparallel force from the gravel underneath their feet, heading straight for them.
But before the two could act, Negi's Lightning Attack, and Seiji's rock wave, shot at them and a huge roaring explosion could be heard with a huge could of dust in the air.
The teens just stood there, amazed that it actually worked, until Seiji shouted, "BOOYAH!" Asuna was equally amazed by this, "Wait a second. That was great! We won?" Chamo shouted hysterically as he jumped around, "Ya did it, Big Bros!" However, Mini-Setsuna wasn't sure about it…that is until she saw the rubble moving, "NO! WE'RE NOT DONE YET!"
Then suddenly, the dirt blew up as blood red energy shot up, and Scar and Kotaru were heading straight for their particular fighting partners. However, the teens noticed that in their eyes, were the looks of not only anger, but the look of someone who was seriously pissed off.
Kotaru growled as he headed straight for Negi, "Not bad, Shrimpy Sidekick! You got us good, and you thought we were screwed!" Scar flexed his right hand as the strange tattoo markings on the wrist glowed as he snarled, heading for Seiji, "However…not killing us was your first…and final mistake!"
The two maniacs headed straight for the boys, but Asuna and Reina blocked their way, as Asuna shouted, "C-Come on! It's warrior against warrior!" However, Kotaru chuckled, as in a split second before Asuna could do anything, and got right by Negi's side, and slugged him a hard one in the stomach. Asuna looked in worry as she spun around in time to see the attack in full, "Negi!" but then, Kotaru gave Negi a mean right upper cut as Negi was still in the air, and crashed down hard on the ground.
However, in Scar's battle, he was having a difficult time, trying to at least hit Seiji at all. Reina ran over to help him, but she couldn't keep up with them, as Seiji did his best to try any Alchemic Transmutations. But no matter what, Scar kept on relentlessly to try and hit him with the fatal Right Hand.
Kotaru, while kicking Negi as he tried to get back up, saw the whole thing, and decided to take pity on the poor Ishbalan, "Here, I'll make it easy on ya." He then looked at Asuna and smiled evilly, "Oh, and by the way…I'm not a warrior…" with a wave of his hand, a black shadow stretched on the ground, and out of it, burst shadow dogs, charging and Asuna and Reina, "…I'M A MASTER OF DOG GODS!"
Before anyone could even react, a horde of scary black dogs had emerged from a shadow that stretched from Kotaru's feet. The dogs then pounced on Asuna and Reina, as well as mini-Setsuna and Chamo…and began to lick them all silly. Asuna couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably as the licking was tickling her, "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! EEEACK! YUCK! WHAT IS WITH THESE DOGS?" Reina answered, being licked and tickled herself, "YUCK! I DON'T KNOW! BUT I'M STARTING TO THINK! AHAHAHAHA! THAT THESE KANSAI PEOPLE…ARE A BUNCH OF PERVERTED IDIOTS!"
It was completely evident to the two near-death boys that the dogs were only summoned to keep them from helping out. However, as they continued to get tickled, Negi and Seiji were getting pummeled as Negi was being punched around. And from the looks of it, Kotaru was enjoying punching Negi into concrete; Negi on the other hand, was starting to look worse for wear.
Seiji on the other hand, had dodged a few blows, but not without nearly losing his coat. It was almost to the point to tatters. He stood away a few feet away from Scar, who was gaining the upper advantage now and would soon gain the upper advantage. It was then that Seiji decided to voice his opinion on this, "Listen, buddy. I don't care what you say: I would never use my Alchemy to hurt others. Unlike you, you Hypocrite!" This only got a snarl from Scar, as he pulled up his right sleeve, to reveal what was under it.
Seiji gasped as he saw what Scar was hiding under his sleeve; his whole right arm was covered in a tattoo of some sort of Transmutation Circle that he had never seen or heard of from any Alchemist or any Alchemic Book. Scar then stated as he flexed his right hand, "I only do as this arm instructs me to do! Contrary or not!" He then shot his hand towards the ground, creating a fissure heading straight for Seiji, catching him off balance. Just then, Seiji saw Scar running towards him, shouting, "LEAVE IT TO THE PROPHETS TO INTERPERIT GOD'S WILL!"
Chamo, who was pinned down with everyone else, was watching both fights, and didn't like where they were going. On one side, Negi was being beaten to a bloody pulp, and on the others side, Seiji was losing places to run from and Scar was gaining the upper advantage at speed, despite the face that he was older than Seiji and bulky with muscles. Both opponents the boys were facing were both too strong and too fast for them to even outmatch. In truth to Chamo, these fights couldn't be won by the boys.
Chamo gulped, "This is bad. Aside from Seiji, he's got to dodge that attack before he gets hit, but this Ishbalan clearly has him outmatched. And Negi, those punches that he's taking are breaking through his magic barrier." Asuna, finally caught up, asked, "Uh…so that means?" Chamo groaned, as he stated the obvious, "Both opponents' attacks are like single blows of concentrated Chi! You saw that power firsthand! If those two don't pull out a miracle for each other, Negi won't just get hurt…HE'LL DIE! And if Seiji gets touched by that guy in the head…his brains'll be over the pavement!!!"
It was after hearing that realization that the two could easily die like that, Asuna gasped as her eyes went wide with terror, "N-No…they…they can't…" but just before Reina could worry about it too, they heard Negi gasp a little as they saw him hunch to a wall. The scene brought a tear to Asuna's eye; Negi was bleeding in some areas, he was sweating up a storm, and he looked like he didn't have enough strength left to fight.
Seiji was cornered as well, as Scar's right arm was charging up as well. Seiji looked a little worse for wear, but unlike Negi, Seiji was just exhausted, and not bleeding at all. However, he wasn't even given a chance to perform any alchemic attacks on Scar, on account that he was kept busy running around, and that Scar was getting faster with catching up to him. Seiji cursed mentally, 'Damn! This guy's just too fast for me! I can hardly keep up with him!'
Kotaru flexed his fist as he prepared for the final strike; all his chi going straight to his hand. He then charged at Negi, smiling and shouting, "VICTORY'S MINE, WORM!"
Asuna shouted in fear and worry, "NEGI!"
Scar leapt forward, knowing that the boy was fully exhausted; this was the end for him. He shouted, "MAY GOD SHOW MERCY AGAINST YOUR WICKED AND SIN-FILLED SOUL, FULL-METAL!"
Reina's face showed much shock and worry as she shouted in fear, "SEIJI, NO!"
It seemed like it was it; it was the end for the two heroic lead characters of the story. Their fate was sealed just like that as the two opponents charged forward, to end their lives.
…but our heroes had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Negi opened his good eye, looking straight at Kotaru as he charged forward, then muttered something, "EXECUTE CONTRACT…FOR A HALF SECOND…NEGI SPRINGFIELD!"
And after that was spoken up, Negi shot up his left hand to catch Kotaru's punch, stopping it in his tracks. Kotaru looked shocked at this, and tried to pull away, but he couldn't. Negi's grip on him was one like an iron vice, as he struggled, 'What the Hell? How can a Western Wizard be this strong?' but before anything else, Negi brought up his right fist, and gave Kotaru the meanest right hook ever, accompanied with the fist, a little lightning spell, "FULGURATIO ALBICANS!", The attack sent Kotaru flying in a circle, screaming in electrical pain. And finally, he crashed face first on the ground.
Asuna, and the others looked stunned at this, but turned back to Seiji as Scar's hand reached for him like a wild animal. However, Seiji sent his left fist at it, and locked it in place. The red Alchemic energy spread over Seiji's left arm as the surge continued, but not until Seiji smirked, "Got ya!" Scar was a little confused by this, but then Seiji jumped up, and did a Round the World flip, and smashed both his feet into Scar's face. The impact kick sent him stumbling backwards, but Seiji landed on his feet.
Kotaru was only able lift himself up a little bit, but he turned to see Negi, and the wizard said, "THAT, Kotaru…is the true power of Western Wizards and Alchemists!"
Suddenly, Asuna and the others ran over to Negi, and now the rejoined Seiji, with Fuko hidden in his right jacket side. Asuna ran over to Negi, and embraced him like crazy, surprising everyone, including Negi. She muttered as she buried her face in his right shoulder, "Idiot! You stubborn idiot!", it was then that Asuna looked up to Negi…and to everyone's surprise…including Negi's….
…she was slightly crying. She then buried her face in his shoulder once more, muffling, "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" She then looked back up to a stunned Negi, as she then hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder, "I was worried…that I was gonna lose you, Negi." Negi was a little stunned by that, as was everyone else. However, once Asuna saw a somewhat perverted smirk on Chamo, she broke the hug and shouted to Negi, "Just don't ever do that again! You…you…you…STUPID JERK!"
It was then that Scar staggered a bit, from the impact of that double kick. Everyone was a little startled to see their opponent suddenly start to get back up, even Mini-Setsuna had to wonder, 'I know Seiji-sama's stamina is beyond anything, like that of a Half-breed demon…but this man…what form of power does he have?'. He staggered on one knee as he brought a hand over his face, "I don't understand…my attack should have destroyed your left arm."
Seiji merely stated as he stood straight up, "the only thing your attack destroyed was this…!" He lifted his left arm, only to have the glove and the entire right sleeve dissolve into slips of cloth…to reveal an unscathed Automail hand and arm. Seiji smirked, "I think I had a pretty good idea on what you were doing as you attacked me. Every time you used your arm's alchemy, you'd have to analyze it, by using your sight. But seeing that you couldn't see my left arm, you assumed that the rest of me was flesh and blood, excluding the fact that I've got an Automail cybernetic prosthetic."
It was then at that realization, Scar said out loud, "A fake arm? So that means your left arm begets nothing but destruction just like mine." Seiji winced at that comment, unable to try and cope with that reply. Asuna had just about enough of this guy, as she shouted, "YOU SHUT UP! SEIJI MAY BE A QUIET, OVERBEARING, LOUDMOUTH, AND SHORT-TEMPERED GUY…BUT HE'S NOTHING LIKE YOU! HE DOESN'T KILL ANYONE USING HIS ALCHEMY!"
Everyone was a little surprised by that outburst; Seiji was a little surprised, but also a little peeved. It was then that after he head all that, Scar had finally gotten up, his face still frozen in that stone-cold expression. Reina then shouted, "She's right! Even you should understand….!"
"I do."
Everyone was a little stunned at that, even as Kotaru groaned slightly while getting up, "I understand completely of what this boy is…and what she'll force him to do in the future…just as she forced his father and grandfather to do the same."
Everyone, even Mini-Setsuna, seemed confused by that, but then suddenly, turned their attention to a low growl. Everyone turned, and saw Kotaru, on the ground, and growling as it appeared that he was changing shape and size. His jacket suddenly burst to shreds, as did his shoes and white shirt. His muscles bulged out now, and all over his body, white fur was growing, as did his hair as it changed to white as well.
In a few seconds, he stood there completely transformed. He was now a white and silver werewolf, standing there on hind legs, and growling a vicious smile at the teens, next to his crescent moon scars on his cheeks. He then brought up his right hand, with the claws exposed and flexed them menacingly, "I underestimated you the first time, Negi Springfield.", he then showed a row of , "…but not killing me was your biggest mistake!"
Asuna was a little surprised by this as she, and the others, went wide eyed, "What the…?"
Mini-Setsuna muttered, "He can transform!"
Just then, Kotaru shot up into the air, with his fist curled up. Everyone was a little stunned by this, but then jumped out of the way as Kotaru was landing right at them. He then made a tremendous impact as his fist hit the ground; it was almost a tremendous crater explosion as a huge smoking hole was left to where Kotaru had punched.
Asuna gaped at this as she finally shouted and waved her arms around, "Hey! That's against the rules!"
Seiji grimaced at this, and Negi stated, "There's no other choice then, is there?" Seiji looked a little confused by this, but then knew what he meant as Negi lifted his staff, "Negi, are you insane?" Chamo nodded as he jumped on Seiji's shoulder, "He's right, Negi! This is gone to Hell! Don't face him, either of ya! You're both already pretty exhausted!"
Negi ignored the two as he chanted and glowed, "TEN SECOND CONTRACT EXECUTION! NEGI SPRINGFIELD!" And he lit up once more, feeling self-empowered as he did before. Seiji sighed as he got into battle stance and muttered, "Alright, let's finish this." However, Chamo, Asuna, and even Reina shouted, "Are you guys crazy?"
Kotaru just smirked at this as he snickered, "Alright…BRING IT ON, YOU WIMPS!", and then by everyone's surprise, disappeared into a blur.
The boys just stood there, trying to find a good opening, but at this rate, it was inevitable for their defeat. The two boys were exhausted, near the point of falling flat on their back, and not able to clear their heads of wits end. Scar was currently out of the picture, but Kotaru was a problem. Neither one of the boys had any idea as to where or when Kotaru would strike. Seiji was panicking in his head, unaware of a blur heading for him, 'Where's he gonna be at? On the right?' Then suddenly, his question was given an answer…
"On your left, Seiji!"
Then suddenly, after hearing that voice, he pushed Negi out of the way, and narrowly dodged away. Suddenly, the area to where Negi and Seiji were standing in became another deep hole as Kotaru made a tremendous punch at where they stood. As the boys stood there, both good and bad, they each looked at each other in terms of finding an answer as to who called out. It was then that Seiji turned to his right, and saw the last person he thought would save them.
….it was Nodoka.
"Nodoka?", Seiji asked, quite surprised.
Everyone saw Nodoka, standing there leaning her right hand on her right knee. She was dressed in the outfit depicted on her card, and was also holding the artifact that was on her card too. From the looks of it, she looked like she had run all around just to find them. She was breathing quite heavily, almost as if she jogged around the whole area. She then gave Seiji a tired, but hope-filled smile, "I…I made it, Seiji."
Reina was the first, being a little surprised by this, walked up to her and asked, "Nodoka? What are you doing here?" a little nervous, dreading that one of them were angry, answered as she showed them the book, "Well, um…you see…this book…" she stopped for a moment as she saw Kotaru attack again, and looked back to the book, "ACK! LOOK OUT ON YOUR RIGHT, NEGI-SENSEI!"
"ABOVE YOU, SEIJI!"
"HE'S GONNA ROUND HOUSE KICK YOU BOTH!"
No matter what Kotaru did, the boys had blocked, evaded, or counter-attacked every move he made. It was until the boys double-punched him, he staggered back growling. He then shot a look the boys and took a quick glance at Nodoka, 'What the Hell's going on? That girl can read my every move?'
Chamo and Fuko were elated to see that their friends were winning this battle. But Fuko nudged Chamo frantically, then Chamo asked annoyed, "Oh, for cryin' out loud! What is it?" Fuko pointed to the boys and then Chamo noticed; Negi was near exhaustion, and Seiji wasn't looking too hot either. Chamo paled as he stated, "This is bad! Both of them are going on empty here!"
It was then that Chamo and Fuko were lifted up, by none other than Nodoka, and she looked to Chamo. She then stated as if it was normal, "Uh…C-Chamo…I pretty much know what's going on here. And I think I have an idea." A little stunned by that, Chamo replied, "Uh, Oh yeah!", he then sweatdropped, "How do you know about me, Bookworm?"
Ignoring the question, Nodoka took a deep breath, after placing Fuko on her shoulder and Chamo on Asuna's, and shouted, "UM…KOTARU? HOW DO WE…GET OUT OF HERE?"
Everyone, including Scar who was still trying to recover, looked at her confused, as if she had lost her mind. Kotaru shot her a look, as almost to insult her, and sneered, "What? Are you insane or something? You think I'd tell you that…huh?"
Nodoka didn't have to say anything, but the look of determination on her face said it all as she stood tall and confident. She held the book in front of her, and in some strange way, it floated. The Transmutation Circle in the right page of the book began to glow and turn, and on the left page, Kotaru's thoughts showed. A doodle of Kotaru showed up, showing the Sixth Gate and the three weak points that needed to be exploited.
THE WAY OU OF HERE? YOU THINK I'D TELL YOU THAT? IDIOT!
I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT! THEY'D BE PISSED AT ME! ESPECIALLY THOSE PEOPLE IN BLACK WITH THOSE SNAKE CIRCLE TATTOOS! I'M NOT GONNA BLAB THAT YOU SHOULD DESTROY THE SIXTH GATE!
WHAT THE HELL?
THIS GIRL'S BEEN ABLE TO READ MY EVERY MOVE.
HUH? IT CAN'T BE THAT BOOK SHE'S GOT…? OH NO!
Nodoka closed the book and turned to everyone, explaining what she had discovered, "We can get out if we destroy the three hidden marks on the left and right parts of the Sixth Gate east of here!" the group looked at her in amazement as Asuna blurted out with her jaw open and nearly hitting the ground, "That's amazing, Bookworm!" Nodoka blushed from embarrassment of the compliments.
Kotaru's jaw nearly hit the ground as he shouted, "S-SAY WHAT?"
Taking this opportunity to escape, Seiji turned to Negi and nodded, "Go for it!" Negi nodded and jumped on his staff, flying towards the Sixth Gate. He zoomed towards it, but not before scooping up Asuna and Reina on for the ride, and brought out his right hand with bristled with electrical magic. He then chanted, "SAGITA MAGIC SERIUS LUCIUS!" And with three powerful shots, destroyed the three markers on the Sixth Gate.
Scar shouted, "NO!", and by that time, had regained his strength and stood up once more. However, Seiji had one more Alchemic attempt as he clapped his hands and placed them on the ground in front of him. In an instant, the ground lit up with electrical like energies until it stopped, and then the ground underneath him acted like a self moving surfboard, and he took off before Scar or Kotaru could go after him.
He then surfed straight towards Nodoka, and in a quick motion, scooped her in his arms. Nodoka blushed at this; the very person she had fallen in love with, was carrying her like a knight would for a princess. She blushed as she looked at Seiji in a dreamlike-look, 'S-Seiji…'
It was then that she realized something; she had played the boy Kotaru for a fool. She looked over Seiji's right shoulder and shouted back, "Kotaru…Scar-sama…I'm sorry!"
Both Kotaru and Scar seemed a little confused by that; both looking a little clueless. But they shook their heads, and chased after them, to prevent them from escaping. The teens however were on the verge of making it towards the Sixth Gate; the Event Horizon Point to where they would get their escape. They noticed something odd going on in front as a fissure just seemed to appear right in the center of the Gate's opening.
Mini-Setsuna was the one to point it out as she hovered next to Asuna, "Kagurazaka-san! That glowing light you se is a crack in space." Negi nodded, "Maybe you can use the Harisan to bust it open!" she winked as Asuna jumped off, "Leave it to me, guys!" she ran over to the fissure with her magically endowed speed, and with a mighty swipe of her giant fan, she destroyed the spell, and she shouted as they all jumped out, "WE'RE OUTTA HERE!"
After that, the teens had stopped as soon as they passed the Sixth Gate. Reina shouted as she got off of Negi's staff, "We did it! We did it!" as Seiji stopped, with Nodoka still in his arms, he noticed as he pointed with his left hand, "Uh, guys, those two maniacs are still chasing us!" Asuna was about to run at them with her Harisan, but Mini-Setsuna stopped her, "Wait! I'll take care of them."
Both Scar and Kotaru were running at them, like madmen, shouting, "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE US!"
Mini-Setsuna went through several hand signs, and chanted, "Close the trap once again and contain him within. Spell for Restoring the Never-Ending Place!"
VAN OON TARAK KILEEK AKU…
Kotaru knew what the little paper double was up to, and shouted, "NOOOOO!"
But it was too late; the spell had been completed and sealed the two in as it did for the heroes. The two just stood there, helpless as two lost children…okay; maybe one lost teen, and a really peeved off Ishbalan. Scar merely sat down Indian style, thinking about something that Kotaru couldn't pick up on, while Kotaru just shouted as he transformed back to his normal form, "AAWWWWW CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPP!"
Scar just merely closed his eyes as he thought on. Even though Full-Metal hadn't landed a single punch or Alchemic attack on him, he had managed to exhaust him enough to kick him in the face and nearly collapse. He was actually blessed that he had pushed the boy to his limits. Then his eyes opened, 'Though if the battle went on like it did…would I have been the one who would lose…?' He closed his eyes again, 'Full-Metal Alchemist…I will end your life…'
However, Kotaru just fell to the ground, completely exhausted and half naked, and shot his fist in the air, shouting, "I WON'T FORGET THIS, Negi! I WON'T LOSE NEXT TIME!"
Later On
In a Safe Location
They had put a fair amount of ground away from the shrine gates before Negi finally called a halt, the reasoning behind it was just in case Kotaro and that man that Nodoka identified as Scar did manage to find a way out of there…after all, there was no guarantee those two wouldn't have been able to break it the same way Asuna had done…well, once they recovered.
They stopped in the middle of a small river, perched on a large rock that bisected it, the rock's broad flat surface was cool to the touch and Seiji almost immediately took the chance to lie down against it, the cool surface already doing wonders for his tired and nearly worn muscles. The aches slowly subsided as he began to turn his attention elsewhere, re-evaluating the events of their daring escape.
"Seiji?"
Seiji was a little startled for a moment when Nodoka started to speak to him. He shot up and turned towards her, looking a little nervous at her; he had been silent ever since they escaped Scar and Kotaru's onslaught. Shocked and ashamed at the fact that his Automail arm was showing, he quickly turned away, with his face not wanting to see the look of shock of seeing something as inhuman as a mechanical arm. Trying to compose himself, he sat up, trying to hide his arm as best as he could, but with no success.
"Um…I'm sorry about that. What was it you wanted Nodoka?", he asked, trying not to sound like he was hiding anything.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
"I-I brought you a drink, Seiji.", holding up a can of Orange Diet Soda.
A little surprised at this, he hesitated before he said, "Oh, thank you."
He accepted it gratefully, opened the can and took a few sips of it, while she moved to kneel right next to him. He sort of noticed that Asuna and Negi had wondered off, along with Chamo, Fuko, Reina, and even surprisingly Mini-Setsuna. No doubt they were scouting the area, trying to find the fastest…and hopefully the safest route to the Temple.
For a few moments the two library bookworms remained there, just sitting in a somewhat uncomfortable silence. Both of them just sat there, looking away from each other, being quiet as mice, and casually sipping at their beverages. Even after they had finished their drinks, the silence between them continued for a little longer. It was then that Seiji sighed sadly, knowing full well what was coming next.
He knew flat out that Nodoka would never accept this, or accept the truth about what he was or what he truly did. Not to mention that he probably knew that she was pretty steamed at him as well, keeping a secret like this from her. He sighed as he turned to her, "So, I guess the cat's out of the bag then. About me and Negi being both Wizard and Alchemist." Before Nodoka said anything, Seiji continued with a look of hurtful shame on his face, "I'm really sorry that I kept this from you…but it was a secret, and…"
She shook her head, surprising Seiji as she calmly smiled at him, hinting a little blush, "Its okay, Seiji…I…I had an inkling about this before. But I wasn't certain…it just seemed like something that would happen or exist in a child's book or a Fantasy Manga."
Seiji was a little surprised at that and asked, "Y-you did? When?"
She blushed as she smiled, "It was…it was when you rescued me on Sakura blvd from the vampire." He raised an eyebrow at that, "Back then? How?" She giggled, "Well, it wasn't hard to know that the person who saved me was wearing the exact same jacket that I saw you wear on that rainy day. "
Seiji chuckled nervously as his head drooped over, "Guess I should have hidden my identity better back then."
It was then that Nodoka went silently as she bowed her head, looking a little curious and anxious to learn more about Seiji's secret, "So…how long have you been…?"
"An Alchemist?", Seiji finished, and Nodoka nodded as he gave her an answer, "Since I was old enough to read and understand it. I would have to guess since I was seven." Nodoka's face was shown with much surprise as she leaned in and nearly shouted excitedly, "Really? You've been able to do those amazing things for that long?"
Seiji sort of blushed from embarrassment as he looked the other way, "Well, I wasn't as good back then as I was now." It was then that Nodoka took Seiji's hands into hers, causing him to turn to face her in surprise. Nodoka then stated, "But still…you're an amazing person, Seiji." Seiji blushed at that comment; not once in his life did a girl, especially a pretty one like Nodoka, had ever told him that.
It was then that Seiji noticed she was holding on to his Automail hand; this caused him to worry in fright as he pulled back his hands. He looked at Nodoka terrified as she looked stunned, 'She saw it…', Seiji thought in pure worry and terror, '…now she'll just freak out!'
Nodoka looked confused at his reaction; she looked almost hurt to see him act like that. But then, somewhere in her mind, she realized that he might have felt frightened…or ashamed of his arm to her. Now knowing that the problem was, Nodoka calmly smiled at him, and placed a reassured hand on his Automail hand. Seiji was a little surprised, but Nodoka answered, "Seiji…you don't have to be ashamed about anything." He was a little confused, but then he realized they had gotten a little closer. "Because…because I could never be ashamed…of the one person…that I…", it was then that both teens had noticed, but didn't care, that they were getting closer together, and lips were almost about to meet…
"Seiji! Bookworm!"
The two teens looked over to where Negi, Asuna, and everyone else were standing; Chamo perched on her shoulder, both of them looking somewhat worried.
"Guys! What's wrong?"
"There's something wrong with Mini-Setsuna!", Negi stated as he pointed to the Chibi-double.
Mini-Setsuna's form began to shake as she struggled to say, "Someone's…Chasing…us. I don't…I can't…hold my form…!" Just then, in a puff of smoke, Mini-Setsuna had returned into a paper fold. Chamo jumped up and grabbed it, looking outward, "This is bad! If she couldn't have afforded to use Mini-Setsuna anymore…"
Negi finished, "Then we've got to hurry to the temple with the letter…as fast as we can!"
Next Chapter: Showdown at Cinema Village; Homunculus are Here!
