A/N: SPOILER ALERT! I am basing this chapter off of events that occur in chapter 203 to 205. If you haven't read them yet, you might not want to read this! And of course I don't own Negima…

A Day Indoors XXXIV

Yue readied herself as she leaned against the wall. All her training as a Mage Knight had readied her for this moment when she would finally take her revenge. It had taken her ten years to track down her enemy, but she'd finally found him.

Those ten years had changed the young sorceress; having everything you held dear ripped from you could do that. Gone was the scrawny little girl that had let her enemy escape the last time they'd crossed paths. Now Yue's long hair was held back in a thick Lara Croft style braid that ran down the center of her muscular back nearly down to her shapely legs.

As her enemy approached unaware, Yue pulled out her combat wand and waited until the precise moment to strike. As she lunged, she released her chantless spell to immobilize her opponent. She knew it wouldn't hold someone of his power for long, but it would allow her to get off her more powerful attack spells before being cut down like… her.

Magical bands wrapped around the dark mage as Yue raised her wand and allowed herself the rare luxury of an exultant cry of victory before beginning her spell. "Now, DIE SPRINGFIELD!"

"Yue?!" The dark mage, Nagi Springfield said in shock as he looked up at his attacker in disbelief. The bands were wrapped tightly around him, and Yue knew she could cast her spell before he had a chance to free himself and retaliate, so she paused a moment.

"I see my reputation precedes me. I've been hunting a long time for you Springfield." Yue said victoriously, ready to end the life of the man who had ended hers. The fact that he knew the name of his killer made it sweeter still.

"I've been looking for you too Yue!" Nagi said happily, you'd think the fool had forgotten the fact that he was currently bound. "Where have you been? I've been searching for you for ten years!"

The young Mage Knight paused in her incantation. He'd been hunting for her? Perhaps he was trying to stall to give some comrades time to come to his rescue? Yue shook her head. He was a dark mage. It wasn't in his nature to rely on comrades to save him. That would mean that he'd been looking for her since…

"So I take it you were looking to finish the job you started ten years ago?" Yue sneered at her captive.

"What job?" The dark mage asked seriously.

"The job you started when you killed my sister you black hearted beast." The Mage Knight turned Mage Hunter replied as she prepared to end the folly of allowing the man to speak.

"Yue, I never knew you had a sister. What are you talking about?" Nagi continued in confusion.

"Ten years ago, the Ostia Tournament, do you remember it?" Yue asked levelly.

"You mean YOU were there too? My God, all these years and we were so close to finding you back then. When you didn't show up, we were afraid that… Nodoka tried to use her book, but she couldn't see anything." Nagi began to ramble.

"That was the day you killed my sister Collette and I began my journey to find you and kill you." The avenging Valkyrie said as she readied her spell to finish her nemesis.

"WHAT? Yue, I never killed your sister! I didn't even know you had one! Please Yue, you're not making any sense! Just tell me what's wrong!" Nagi pleaded.

Uncertainty gnawed at the back of Yue's mind. Ever since Collette had died in her arms she'd dreamt of this day and how she would take revenge on her murderer. She'd always imagined it as a lot of shouting, swearing, and blood spilling instead of a young innocent looking man pleading with her like he was some boyfriend trying to figure out how he'd made her cry.

Yue shook her head in disgust; hesitation was death when dealing with mages like this. "You aren't going to trick me that easily Nagi Springfield, today you pay for your crimes."

"Nagi?" The dark mage countered, suddenly looking alarmed. "Yue, you should know that isn't my true name. What happened to your memory? What have they done to you?"

"They have done nothing. You are the one who killed my sister, an act which I intend to avenge now." Yue said preparing her spell again.

"If this is the end of my life, then I would ask only one request. Please Yue, for the last ten years I've done nothing but wonder what happened to you after you disappeared. Please, tell me what has happened to you. After you do, I swear I won't try to stop you from killing me." Nagi said seriously as he got a distant look in his eyes.

"Like you can stop…" Yue started as Nagi casually stepped out of the binding spell she'd trapped him in. Yue had studied this man closely. Every report from every survivor of every encounter had been carefully reviewed. Right now she was dead. She couldn't hope to cast a spell before he snuffed her life out. Under the circumstances, logic would dictate that she play along.

"Alright, the first thing I remember is appearing in the road in Ariadne. That was where I was found by Collette Farandole. She was a Mage Knight Cadet and was studying to become part of the elite Valkyrie Brigade. Since I couldn't remember anything but my name, she took me in and I took her surname as my own. I joined her at the academy and began studying to become a Mage Knight Valkyrie with her." Yue said remembering her earliest days with Collette.

"Ariadne, the independent educational city-state, who knew you would have ended up in a larger version of Mahora academy?" Nagi said shaking his head sadly.

"Then the day finally arrived for our first assignment as cadets in training. We were sent to assist in the apprehension of a wanted criminal, namely you. Collette and I were patrolling the streets of Ostia near the arena when we heard a commotion. Collette ran ahead and I watched as a blade of dark magic lanced out of a nearby alley and pierced her chest." Yue said trembling as she remembered the day her 'sister' had died.

"I ran to her and held her in my arms as she was gasping her last breath and looked up to see you fleeing down the alley. From that day forward I have hunted you. After I graduated I followed your exploits through my connection with the Valkyries, and when I could no longer continue because of my duties I resigned and became a bounty hunter specializing in mages until I could finally catch up to you and kill you for what you did ten years ago." Yue said with tears flowing down her eyes.

"All this time…" Nagi said sadly as he turned his back to her. "You didn't remember your real name. In your mind, you were Yue Farandole, so Nodoka's book couldn't find you. All this time…"

"Now it's your turn to die Nagi Springfield, or else kill me so I can join Collette knowing I did my best." She hissed as she drew her wand to fight.

"I didn't kill Collette Yue." Nagi stated solemnly.

"I saw you kill her."

"You saw her die." Nagi corrected. "The man who really killed Collette was named Kagetarou of Bosporos. That day, he attacked me in the alley outside the arena. I never knew that an innocent bystander was hit by his blades. I'm sorry, that blow had been meant for me. When you saw me running, it must have been as I ran after him."

"LIAR!" Yue shouted as her most powerful chantless attack spell lashed out at her tormentor. It was weak compared to what she knew him to be capable of, but reason had fled with the pain of her remembered loss.

Nagi didn't even move as the bolt of energy knocked him to the ground. He knelt there on his hands and knees shaking his head. "All this time…"

"Face me Springfield!" The furious Valkyrie demanded. "You wield dark magic, and it was dark magic that killed Collette! I'll not let you confuse me!"

"I can't hurt you Yue." Nagi said lowly. "My magic won't work against you."

"What are you talking about? You've already hurt me more deeply than anyone else ever could, now FACE ME!" Yue screamed as she conjured a sword and dove toward the dark mage. Nagi spun around to look up at her but didn't rise from his knees.

Nagi never moved as the blade slid past his face, cutting his cheek and imbedding itself in the wall behind him. "I know you Yue; you would never kill someone in cold blood."

Yue physically knocked the mage to the ground, straddling his chest and raising her sword. "You'll be surprised at what I can do."

The sword drove down into the ground next to Nagi's head. He never flinched. Tears were rolling down Yue's face as she stared at the loathsome man beneath her. "Why?! Why, won't you fight me?"

"Yue, it's true I've studied dark magic, but I didn't kill Collette. I can't use m magic against you because dark magic feeds off negative emotions like hatred, anger, and fear. Yue, I can't feel those for you. Yue, I could never hate you or be angry with you, and I'm not afraid of you. I've known you for too long." Nagi said looking up at her.

"Then why don't I remember you? What proof do you have?" The young woman demanded.

"Look in my pocket Yue."

Yue feared some sort of trick, but if he was faking this to get her to let her guard down he missed his calling as an actor. Yue's trembling hand moved into his vest pocket and pulled out… a pactio card.

Yue scrambled back from the man as if fleeing from a deadly viper, but her hand refused to let go of the card. She dropped the sword, as it reverted back into a wand, and gingerly removed her own identical pactio card.

"How…"

"You and I were partners Yue. You and all the friends we had from Mahora Academy came to this world in search of my father. We were attacked, and you were teleported away from us. We searched for you for so long." Nagi said standing. He walked over and held his hand down to the stunned Mage Knight and helped her to her feet.

"This all has to be some kind of trick." Yue said desperately as her hands fell limp to her sides.

"It's no trick Yue. You are Yue Ayase, partner of Negi Springfield the dark mage. I don't know how you lost your memory, but I think I might know how to restore it." Negi said cupping her face in his hands.

Tears flowed over Yue's trembling lips as Negi's mouth leaned down and claimed hers. It felt familiar. It felt… right.

I'm sorry Collette.

A/N: This shout out goes to RPGer, CapoExecutor, Neferius, Eternal-Longing, and AznPuffyHair. I got all of your reviews, but have been too busy here lately to reply to any of them. This chapter is for you guys…