Disclaimer:
Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima is the creative property of Ken Akamatsu, who created this wonderful anime/manga series. Shingetsugan Tsukihime and Fate/stay night is the creative property of TYPE-MOON. Anything not attributed to Akamatsu-san or TYPE-MOON belongs to their respective owners, such as references to Cowboy Bebop (the Swordfish II) that is a creation of Sunrise and Shinichiro Watanabe, BLEACH is a creation of Kubo Tite, and vice-versa. This story is written purely just for fun, guys; please for God's sake, don't sue me! I'm just a high school student with too much free time on his hands! On the other hand, any specific author created characters I created for this fic (despite how unoriginal they may be at times) are mine. So without further adieu, let's get on with the show!
The Surgeon General's Warning:
Read at your own risk. Multiple pairings inside folks, with KanaxKei and KanaxNegi, just to name a few! You never know what you're going to get so read on (I might even do some alternative stuff, if you know what I mean).
Blue Blue Glass Moon, Under the Crimson Air
I Wanna Go To A Place...
Chapter 28:
Batter Up --- SWING!
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
There had to be end of the running, just beyond this pocket of trees and brush; she was certain. Her memory was perfect, never forgetting: a face, a picture, a voice, a name, or a word. She had to hold on a few more moments because it would all be over soon. The wind whipping past her face, ruffling her hair and clothes, was a clock ticking off Death's hand, as the leaves in the trees rustled in a musical harmony.
Don't worry. I'll put you out of your misery! Kanako thought with a cold gleam in her hazel brown eyes. Her hand tightened in anticipation around the handle of the baseball bat that her kage bunshin had appropriated for her use. The appearance of those two girls earlier was an inevitably, but she did gain a rather valuable tool in the process. It was always easier to focus her chakra for this particular technique when she had a medium.
There! She could see it. The light at the end of the "tunnel." Now, was the time for her to spread her wings and fly!
"Come on, catch me if you can! Urashima Shinkage Ryu - Ougi --- Shyunpo!"
In an instant, she saw blue skies and not a cloud to mar the beautiful, as a trail of leaves scattered about her. Below her, she could see the practice field, unoccupied without a single soul in sight. It was a broad grassy expanse, with an adjoining bluff leading to the thin woods she left. A row of bleachers ringed the field for the convenience of spectators, and the auxiliary gym buildings were just a little further back. Vague lines of white still lined the field and an impromptu dug out, which by her inference was from a recent baseball game; it was perfect.
The familiar cacophonic screech from the Hollow assaulted her ears, accompanied by a deafening roar as it broke through the trees, propelling its serpentine body skyward like a missile. Bits of brush and debris still clung to its invisible form, but even without them, she could feel its hateful eyes burning into her soul. The pull of gravity was catching up with her, dragging her down, and the wraith would land right on top of her at this rate. She would have to remedy that little problem.
With a shout, Kanako twisted her body about face, hurling her baseball bat above her towards the bright sun, as she focused her chakra, both of her hands snapping crisply through the required hand seals on the fly. Her target was simple, the center of the invisible mass plowing through the trailing leaves in her wake, a perfect shot.
Inu. Ryu. Hebi. Tora!
"Ninpou --- Katon - Ryuuka no Jutsu!"
Her focused chakra coalescing to its limit, she breathed deeply, drawing in the air into her lungs and diaphragm to her physical limits, and when she could inhale no more air, she forcefully expelled it outwards, lighting the "fuel." A streaming jet of brilliant orange flame streaked rapidly through the air. The airborne hardly had the capacity to maneuver out of harm's way and could only scream in frustration as the searing flame that consumed its massive body struck it.
However, Kanako was far from finished. Focusing additional chakra into the mix, she expanded the high-speed jet into an unstoppable column of fire that burned every inch of vulnerable flesh on the Hollow to a black crisp. The tormented creature howled in agony as it was smashed brutally into the ground, the flames exploding into a hellish inferno.
That ought to keep him down for a few moments, the raven-haired girl thought with grim satisfaction.
Cutting her flow of chakra to the "dragonfire," she refocused her chakra flow throughout her body and seemingly disappeared into thin air. The world blurred by in a heartbeat, the ground rushing to meet her, the wind cold against her cheek, and just like that she was standing in a half crouch back on Mother Earth. Kanako calculated she was twenty good strides away from the violently thrashing form of the Hollow, and even from here, she could feel the heat of the flames against her face. Its screams of agony were like music to her ears, but she still was not finished.
She smirked, watching the dry grass around the inferno catch ablaze, as columns of black smoke rose into the blue sky above her. Today was starting to turn out into a fine day indeed.
Mada mada, I'm not done with you, yet...
Rising to her full height, Kanako raised her right hand skyward, listening careful for the rhythmic "whoosh!" of her falling baseball bat. An aura of blue chakra erupted from her body in preparation for what was to come, and right on cue, she heard it come, crisp and sharp, catching the bat adeptly by the handle. Her hand had not moved a single inch despite the considerable momentum of the bat, her strength easily matching the forces of nature.
"NOW, STAND UP!" she commanded the Hollow, her cold, haughty voice amplified by her chakra. The raven-haired girl sliced the air in front of her added emphasis, goading the wraith on to come at her, as she began concentrating chakra into her opened left hand. "IZA, IZA! COME ON, LET ME HAVE A LITTLE MORE --- FUN. YOU'RE NOT DEAD YET, ARE YOU?"
To make a long story short, the evil spirit did not need much more encouragement than that to get it moving again. The Hollow rolled its massive bulk out of the inferno, much of its body still aflame. Ignoring the pain, it reared up to its full height for all to see as bits charred flesh melted of its serpentine body like slag, revealing the red muscles and bones underneath its greenish hide. It was a grotesque sight, the smell of flesh and blood sizzling in the air. Though it had been invisible, the Hollow had opened itself up plainly to attack by manifesting itself physically onto the material plane to hunt.
A foolish mistake to the rational mind, especially when it was much easier to prey upon the souls of weaker spirits that wandered the world immaterially, but then again, Hollows rarely possessed rational minds. They were simply animals, stupid animals that is, in most cases. The individuals that did possess intelligence, however, were by far much more dangerous. Knowing these facts, the Hollow's existence brought many important questions to her keen thoughts.
Why did it appear? Why did it try to attack that student? How could it appear? Was not Mahora City supposed to be protected from these threats?
I'll worry about that later. Now, let's end this charade, Kanako thought dismissively, leveling the tip of her baseball bat pompously at her enemy as if it were a sword. "I'LL GIVE YOU A TASTE OF SOMETHING SPECIAL. CONSIDER IT A GIFT FOR YOUR TRIP BACK TO THE NEXT WORLD."
The blue aura chakra surrounding her flared brightly and merged with the other body of chakra she had gathered in her left hand. With a crack of electricity, a brilliant crackling sphere of energy materialized in her hand, sending a powerful shockwave in all directions. The wake ruffled her hair and clothes, and even the towering massive form of the Hollow staggered against the immense force, its yellow eyes glowing with outrage. Never before had the wraith encountered such strong prey; all the more reason to feast upon this one's soul and grow stronger!
"Saa, let's go for it!"
Kanako hurled the crackling sphere of might upwards into the air and pivoted about on her right heel, grabbing the handle of her baseball bat with both hands. She was going to smash the ball straight home!
"BUSTAA BOORU!"
Sensing the moment of opportunity, the Hollow instinctively charged forwards with a terrifying scream, tearing about the ground with its bare hands, coiling up its serpentine lower body, and pounced into the air. It was certain it would reach the girl before...
"BUSTAA FIERUDO, TENKAI!"
A blue shockwave of chakra erupted from the sphere suddenly, slamming into the Hollow before it realized its fatal mistake. Paralysis immediately overcame its limbs, and the creature found itself rising helplessly upwards, higher into the air. The wraith screamed in anger; throwing the sphere of up into the air had been a two-fold attack, and now the instrument of its death was descending back to the prey!
"This is the end for you! Urashima Shinkage Ryu ---- Hiken - BUSTAA! HOME RUN!"
Kanako literally crushed the chakra sphere with all her might, breaking her bat neatly in two. An awesome, roaring shockwave of air erupted from the point of impact where she hit the sphere. It was so powerful that she found herself skidding backwards while the sphere itself shot skyward at incredible speeds, moving faster with every second, until it was screaming arrow of light.
The Hollow never stood a chance.
Struck by the arrow of light, a massive hole opened up across the wraith's grotesque body upon the instant of the impact before it disintegrated into a million particles an instant later. The bright explosion consumed the sky and was deafening to the ears. Kanako grit her teeth, shielding her eyes by releasing one of her hands from the baseball bat's handle.
The force of the shockwave slammed against her, driving her back even further, her legs straining against the incredible pressure. It was more than enough to extinguish the flames from the pyre she had made for the Hollow while dispersing the column of black smoke easily, leaving behind no more but thin black wisps and scorch marks on the field.
Eventually, her momentum died down and the raven-haired girl skidded to a halt. Kanako could smell the soles of her shoes burning, earning a grimace on her part. Her limbs felt cold and wasted, the baseball bat clattered onto the ground with a limp thud having slipped through her loosened grip. It was taking all the willpower she had to stay upright, but she was truly happy, so happy that she began to laugh, an expression of pure joy on her tired face.
Sweat never felt so good on her skin; finally, she had accomplished something truly worthwhile today!
"It --- it was little bit overkill --- I guess..." she whispered with pride to herself, "...but I did it, all by myself, Keitaro-niisan! I didn't even have to use my bloodline limit either, even though it was such a huge Hollow, bigger than a bus!"
"Kukukuku, your Nii-san must be very proud of you, demon exterminator girl," boomed a deep insidious voice.
Kanako froze, a look of cold shock etched into her face.
Impossible.
When?
When did the second one appear?
"S'matter? What happened to all of that spunk you had a few heartbeats ago, girl?"
This Hollow; it was right behind her!
Unbelievable.
How?
"That was impressive, you know. Your soul burns brightly; beautiful, and I bet I'm gonna enjoy eating you alive."
The eerie shriek was all the warning she had left when the Hollow's great shadow fell upon her. Kanako whirled about face just in time to be struck by violent backhand, smashing the breath out of her lungs in a choked gasp of pain. Helplessly, she flailed back through the air like a rag doll, skipping across the field, before she crashed into a broken heap of limbs upon the grassy field. Agony spiked across her delerious mind, her consciousness fading with the encroaching blackness in her vision as blood gurgled out of her mouth. She did not even have the strength to cough; the pain was overwhelming!
Dammit.
I got careless again.
Scrapes.
Bruises.
How many ribs did I break?
Three?
Four?
I can't tell...
I think I dislocated my left arm too.
That yarou got me so fast, surprised me that I couldn't even throw up my chakra armor in time.
Damn; multiple fractures, lacerations...
I don't think my school uniform is any better shape than I am now.
The Hollow laughed as its massive form slithered nosily towards her. She could hear its deep, rich voice from all the way across the field. "Ah, I see that them human bodies still bounce plenty when I give 'em a good smash. I guess that makes up fer the fact of just how weak and frail they are; to think, I used to be one of you worthless trash!"
"You --- ba-bastard, don't --- think --- so high --- of yourself," Kanako spat back defiantly with a grunt. Gritting her teeth, she struggled against the lethargy in her body, just barely managing to lift her head to see the wraith's slow, purposeful approach. It was massive, even bigger than the first one she had vanquished with the same kind of half-man and half-snake body too, except it had a second pair of arms.
"Don't feel bad, you really did try hard, except --- your best just was no good at all."
"Nameru na... I --- I'm not --- done yet."
"Don't bother standin'. It's already over. Besides, you're in no condition to-"
"Rastel maskil magister!" shouted a loud voice, "Sagitta magica, una fulguralis!"
Suddenly, a great blinding bolt of lightning pierced the light of day from beyond the Hollow's peripheral vision. It never saw it coming, and by the time, the wraith turned about...
"What the-UWWAAAAAH!"
...it was struck dead in the face, lifting it clean off its tail by the devastating power of a megavolt, wherefore it crashed into the bleachers with a deafening explosion of energy. Kanako stared in utter disbelief, ignoring the splotchy stars that were swimming in her eyes. What kind of an attack was that? Was that Latin she just heard right now? If this was the case, was it possible that was...
Magic? But what's a magi doing all the way out here? I know they exist; the texts from the forbidden archives spoke extensively on them. Still, the use of magic is strictly forbidden in public, even by a mage issued with an A-Class license by the Magic Association. So who was it?
"Kanako-san! Are you all right?" shouted a very familiar voice. She did not even have to look at him to know who he was --- that little boy genius --- but she had to see with her own eyes.
Sorrel brown hair, the blue suit, the blue trousers, the brown dress shoes, his spectacles, those dark brown eyes, and that naive smile on his face; it was him. He was looking a bit shabby with bits of leaves and twigs clinging on to him, as he held onto the tall ancient staff, leaning heavily on it for support. There was no doubt in her mind now what he was, the bolt of lightning and the mage's staff was more than enough proof.
"Negi-sensei..."
Negi Springfield was a magi.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
That's one small step for all fandom, and one giant leap for all mankind! Chapter 28! And we've busted down another 1000+ hit milestones. Finally, we get a taste for some of that stuff Keitaro and Kanako have been all fussy about! Will this be the end for our lovely heroine? Of course not, right? I mean, Negi made it all the way there, and with that heavy artillery he's packing, even a Hollow that big shouldn't be a problem, ne? Still, what's going to happen now that the cat is out of the bag that Springfield-sensei is a mage? Oh dear, oh dear...!
Well, we won't find out until the next episode of Glass Moon!
Mad love to you all, folks! And remember, I always encourage each and everyone of you to feel free to comment, review, and/or discuss the story. Your comments can really make a difference, I assure you, and if you're up to it, feel free to ring me up on AIM, or even send me an e-mail (although you really don't need to boost my ego too often). You know how to get in touch with the maestro here Now, before we go, let's give a shoutout to the few, the proud --- the Reviewers:
To the Enthusiastic Man Who Probably Wished He Could See In The Future and Not Have To Wait for New Episodes of His Favorite Anime/Manga, Mister Alpha Draconis1, well, I can't really say now, can I? It is just the sort of thing you'll have to keep yourself guessing on, man, but chances are, if I can get a kick out of a particular show, characters, etc.; if can find some value of adding it to Glass Moon's lineup; and if I can reasonably implement the stuff into this uber-AUverse I've created like some Super Robot Wars game where you got Gundams, Evangelions, Variable Fighters, Arm Slaves, etc., duking it out, well...
You can always hope, can't you? (Whistles READY STEADY GO by L'arc-en-ciel.)
To the Man with "YOUTH! POWER! EXPLOSION!", Mister Keikun4238, hey, I'm happy as long as you all are enjoying the show, man. Though a review or two never hurts to help me stay motivated. (Wink-Wink!)
Well, that wraps it up, folks, so until the next time we meet (sometime next week, I'm guessing): Peace out! And have a happy Thanksgiving break/holiday/whatever! Cheers!
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Episode Preview!
Chapter 29:
SAFE!
"Kitsune."
Tsudzuku!
