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 34:
The Changing Tide?
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
Naru was at a loss for words.
Kanako wretched indignantly, one hand clutched upon her side, as she propped herself up with the other, leaning heavily against the broken stump for support. A stream of yellowy brown bile and acid, laced with crimson lurched out of the younger girl's mouth, sure signs of the damage done by her Dokkan, but still, this was absurd! Even a seasoned fighter should not have been able to stand up after such an awesome blow from her fists. Certainly, Naru knew she was not yet a master of the style, but...
What the hell is she, some kind of freak? thought Naru with a snarl. "So you got back up, huh?"
"So --- wha-what --- i-if I --- did, violent girl?"
Naru twitched, her unfeeling hands balling into visibly trembling fists. Violent girl? "Not much, except I'm going to have to pound you into the dust --- again."
To her astonishment and rising anger, the raven-haired girl burst out laughing, choking painfully between guffaws as her grip on her abdomen tightened. She seemed to be hysterical with tears pouring out of her hazel brown eyes, but the entire time, Kanako held her gaze level Narusegawa. There was a spark of something --- dangerous in them, a new maniacal plan perhaps forming bit by bit.
"I --- have to --- say. This school --- is certainly --- certainly --- interesting."
"Huh?"
"So many --- many games, so many tricks in --- one day."
"'Games'? 'Tricks'?"
"I have to --- hand it to Konoemon-yarou; he's truly a --- brilliant --- little --- rat. It's a lot like --- survival mode; time for a --- health pick-up, I suppose." Kanako reached into the folds of her tattered uniform's jacket and procured a familiar wooden ofuda, which luckily was still intact. At the rate she was going, she might just run out of clothing first before her "hit points" ran out. Taking care to note down the durability of her equipment was always such a hassle, when she honestly just wanted to...
...kill things.
Suddenly, a bright blue glow enveloped her with a shriek, the brilliance of the light blinding to the eyes, as the magical energy broiled the air with violent gales. She felt like her body was on fire, and yet she did not scream. In fact, Kanako welcomed the inferno basking in its enervating fire breathed vitality into her, laughing with child-like joy. She could feel it, the chakra in her veins brimming to the full, overflowing with newfound strength; all of her true strength once again to use at her disposal --- to crush Naru Narusegawa.
Preferably into a bloody pulp, the raven-haired girl thought with a sneer, unconscious of the black calm settling over spirit like a veil over her eyes. The faint laughter of a feminine voice, so much like her own tinkled like a bell's chime in her ears.
Naru staggered back, shielding her irritated eyes from the intense glare, as her clothes and hair whipped and lashed in the tumultuous wind. Confused and uncomprehending, a silver of fear pierced her frenetic mind for an instant before it was lost in the flood of hot emotions streaming from her heart. What was going on? What should she do? Was this some kind of special effects trick, smoke and mirrors that Urashima was trying to use to scare her off?
The honey-haired girl made a face as the "dust" settled. No way. No way am I going to run away from you of all people, Urashima Kanako! This one's personal! I won't-
Thud!
Ugh...!
SLAM!
The move was fast, too quick for her eyes to follow. One second she had been standing her ground when a faint feathery touch, a glowing open palm, rested itself --- gently --- upon her abdomen. A figure standing beside her, words spoken...
"FLY! Meichuudan!"
...a powerful shockwave of force, brilliant blue; she was ripped from the very spot she stood, like a tree suddenly wrenched from the soil down to its roots. Air screamed in her ears for an instant, before she smashed back first into the tough trunk of a tree, leaving her winded and disoriented.
The back of her head ached, a million needles piercing her skull simultaneously, and yet somehow she was still conscious, her trembling legs just managing to keep her up. Rustling leaves whispered in her ears, as splotches of black swirled through her hazy vision. A low groan escaped her lips when suddenly Narusegawa eyes bulged outwards, her jaws slackened as she leaned helplessly forwards, a wordless gurgle of pain echoed forth.
A black figure hunched beside her, leaning into her, with a glowing blue fist buried into her stomach, the immense power of the blow shooting through her, splitting the tree behind her cleanly in half with an explosive shriek. Splinters and leaves showered her, and yet, all Naru could think of was how much she wanted to empty out everything inside her. She was sick, and the best thing to do was to let it all out, right?
"Hmm, what was that expression you were so fond of again? 'A-ra-ra,' fufufufu; I think I didn't quite capture the full extent of your stupid power. That Dokkan was quite --- interesting. Still, my Hakke is just about as good, don't you think so?" giggled a familiar voice in the same mocking tones she preferred.
That --- freak! That freakish. little. b!
"I was fighting handicapped, you know, Must've made you feel real proud of yourself, didn't it, Narusegawa Naru?"
H-Handicapped? Wait a minute, did she just say --- HAKKE?
Kanako withdrew her fist and backed away, allowing her "prey" to fall with gravity briefly, before she promptly seized the pathetic haughty wretch by the throat. The pressure from her clenched hand was even, just enough to restrict the erupting movement of the vomit that was no doubt trying to explode out of Narusegawa's throat. She could still breathe, of course, albeit with some --- difficulty.
"By the way, don't bother to struggle. With my hand around your little neck, my Hakke is effectively disrupting any motor nerve signals your brain is trying to send to the rest of your body, making you a picture perfect quadriplegic. And if you're too stupid to know what that means, it means you're paralyzed from the neck down."
Naru's honey colored eyes blazed angrily; so that was the reason why she could not lift a finger at all. Sensei had spoken to her --- once --- when she had brought up the subject of Hakke Ryu, the Eight Divinations style, a dead school that no longer existed. Its art was said to be lost forever, and apparently, for the greater good. If it was a dead style, why the heck was she in an absurd situation like this then?
Damn it, who or what was this Urashima girl supposed to be? She was definitely not some spoiled genius brat!
"So, any last words before I shove a Rasengan through your pretty. little. face?" asked the raven-haired girl nonchalantly with a smirk as she drew back her free hand, palm wide open.
A whirling blue sphere of scintillating energy --- no, chi, Naru corrected herself --- materialized spontaneously with a whistle in the girl's outstretched hand. The sphere gave off a brilliance and humming noise that increased steadily to a dangerous intensity, sounding like a hissing disc saw spinning hungrily at full throttle. Frantically, she willed her body to move, even though she knew it was futile. She was determined to struggle to the very last moment, the fires in her eyes burning defiantly at her soon to be victorious foe.
Kanako's smirk widened into a toothy, feral grin, her hazel eyes gleaming with a wicked light. "A-ra-ra, but you can't talk now, can you? How tragic. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped, can it?"
The execution was perfect. She hefted out the irritating upperclasswoman at arm's length, bracing her feet for the impending recoil, and lunged in with her striking palm. The bright whirling sphere of blue chakra shrieked as it coursed through the slim space of air, an anticipation that perhaps mirrored her own. There was no way out and soon totally victory would be hers.
"I hope you have sweet dreams --- NARUSEGAWA NARU!"
Nothing, absolutely nothing could stop her now!
Grab.
Kanako gave a choked start, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the slim fingers of the hand wrapped firmly around her wrist. She was less no more than inch away from delivering her final justice. The violent velocity of the Rasengan sphere sending Narusegawa hair billowing backwards, her expression unreadable thanks to its blazing brilliance.
In a single awesome sweep of motion, the raven-haired girl felt herself being ripped from her prey and hurled backwards into the air. Her concentration wavering, the blue sphere in her hand fizzled into nothingness, the expended chakra dissipating into the air. Instead, she focused her chakra into her feet, knowing fully well she would land on the slick tattered floor of the plaza that was pooling with water.
Kanako righted herself in mid-air with an acrobatic twist, somersaulting backwards to land deftly on the water swept floor. Her feet appeared literally to glue themselves onto thin layer of water, so that the energy from her momentum was distributed evenly across the surface tension, sending clean ripples across the pool. It was not a particular high-level technique, but to be able to land without causing a single splash was quite a feat.
"Analyzing... One match found: Suimen Hokou no Gyou, the Art of Water Walking, a kind of ninjutsu. Your chakra control appears to be quite impressive," spoke a strangely familiar voice in reserved tones. "Worthy of a B-Class rating, if not an A-Class."
The gurgling disgusting sound of Narusegawa lurching onto the ground and vomiting hardly surprised Kanako. It was the sight of a tall girl with long flowing neon-green hair and metallic antennae sticking out of the hairband she wore. Of course, she probably wore underneath her hair because it made no sense that she would have real antennae sticking out of her head like an android or something. It was a troublesome development that was certainly worth the frown creeping up her face.
"Tsk, tsk, well if it isn't Karakuri Cha-cha-maru?" Kanako spat at her classmate acidly. "By the way, where's your blazer? Isn't it a bit cold to be prancing about in just that white shortsleeve blouse and our uniform's flimsy vest?"
Chachamaru did not bat even an eyelid at the blatant hostility, much to the raven-haired girl's chagrin. She had to wonder what sort of relationship the girl had exactly with one, Evangeline A.K. McDowell. Honestly, just thinking about the petite blonde made her skin crawl.
"Narusegawa Naru, Student Number One, Saint Ursula's Class One-A, are you all right now?" the stoic girl asked the older girl who now lay on all fours panting beside her. There was an unsightly and smelly puddle of brown, yellow, and red on the earthen ground before Narusegawa, which was undoubtedly her vomit.
Naru coughed weakly. "I think --- I'll live --- somehow."
"Understood. Please, brace yourself; I shall transport you to the medical facilities as soon as I've detained the last culprit."
"Wha..."
Thwack!
"...ugh!"
Kanako could only watch with mild astonishment as Chachamaru calmly knocked out Naru as if it were the most natural thing in the world, no hesitation. It was a single debilitating chop to the base of back of her head, and the honey-haired girl was out like a light. Curiously, in the same motion, Chachamaru had reached out with her other hand, catching the unconscious upperclasswoman before she could suffocate in her own vomit and hauled the girl up onto her shoulder with one hand.
The neon-haired girl was astoundingly strong, contrary to her slim frame, to accomplish such a feat, and perhaps she was trying to send a message too. Kanako made a face as it seemed she had traded one annoying opponent for something even worse. "And that would be me, wouldn't it, Karakuri-san?"
"I have one question," said Chachamaru as she laid down Narusegawa in a more appropriate area. According to her scanners, the girl had miraculously not suffered any life threatening injuries. It appeared that her body was extraordinarily well-conditioned, much better than the average human.
"That is?"
"Where's Negi-kun?"
Kanako had to hold back the urge to do a spit take. What kind of an absurd question was that, and why was Chachamaru using such a --- familiar form of address for the Springfield boy so suddenly?
"Please, tell me where Negi-kun is, Urashima-san," the neon green-haired girl repeated as she stood up and turned to face her. Though her voice was emotionless, for a moment Kanako could have sworn she saw a glimmer of barely suppressed desperation in her stoic eyes.
"Why?"
"Because he went after you."
"Why?"
One of Chachamaru's hands twitched agitatedly for split second. "Negi-kun cares about all of his students. He would not have gone after you if he didn't..."
Hmmm, I wonder... "Why?"
"...Negi-kun... He was with you, wasn't he?"
"Why?"
"Wh-What --- what happened to him?" Chachamaru's hands were trembling, clenching and unclenching uncontrollably against her own volition. Ugh, what's --- what's happening to me? My --- My di-diag-diagnostics are --- reporting...!
"Why?" This is a pretty interesting reaction. I never thought it was actually possible to agitate Chachamaru like this, considering her behavior around Evangeline. There must be a lot of repressed anger and frustration in that girl, but --- I wonder what's Springfield's connection in all of this?
"WHERE is he? Tell me where Negi-kun is!" roared the neon green-haired girl suddenly, much to her own surprise. Spontaneously, the irises of her eyes turned a vibrant blue for an instant, before they returned to that --- familiar neon green; cold. What was this "feeling" welling up inside her personality layer? It was so powerful! Too powerful! All the emotion protocol safeguards were being overridden! No! I have to stop, but --- but --- but I can't stop!
Hmmm, I wonder if those two have some kind of --- special relationship already? Fufu, I suppose that kitsune woman was right about Springfield Negi, after all. Now then, let's see how far it goes, thought Kanako with a smirked as she slipped into a fighting stance:
"Why?"
To Be Continued...
Author's Note:
Ouch, talk about a comeback! That's chapter 34, folks. Was Naru taken by surprise yet again, or is there really that big a difference in terms of power? It sure as heck would not have been pretty if that Rasengan had connected. And what's this? Is Chachamaru getting ticked off? Ohhhh, I smell another fight! Is Kanako going to go all out on her and show more of what the Urashima Shinkage Ryu has to offer?
Well, maybe we'll find out on the next episode Glass Moon!
Reviewers and readers alike, I'd like to thank you all very much for your continued patronage. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the fight scene, and yes, I must apologize for the cliff hanger, but hey, it's for the sake of entertainment and drama.
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 I go, and although I said I wouldn't be doing a reviewer column in here anymore, a Mr. or Ms./Mrs. Anonymous has raised a concern in his/her review for chapter 33, which I think is worth addressing in-depth in public so that everybody's on the same page and we all know where we stand (although I feel like I've done this before somewhere):
Yes, everything you've read thus far has occured in the same day. If y'all get lost in the process, my bad, but all this exposition is unfortunately necessary. I am very slow and deliberate with the flow of the story for a reason. Some y'all might want it faster, but please, have a little a patience and enjoy the story. You don't need to speed read it all in one sitting and lose your head silly over it. Take it easy and enjoy the highlights, the drama, and the cool stuff as they come. Even good things take some time, and there's plenty more where all of this came from. There is absolutely no need to rush.
And don't worry, we will get to the "regular" story proper soon...
Now, Mr. or Ms./Mrs. Anonymous, I'm not terribly offended. It took a lot of guts coming out to say something like that and I respect it, though I do think you exaggerate some. I do not update every couple of days. I'm a weekly kind of a guy, and occassionally, I feel like putting more than one episode per week, so please, let's not get any ideas here. These characters have not been thrown together randomly. They're here together because they serve a purpose and I believe they are the dynamics people would enjoy seeing the most, especially for developments further down the line.
Also, they're not just a bunch of characters. They're the people I believe that the folks who read this story care the most about and are routing for, good or ill. They're the ones whose stories, whose struggles really matter to this audience. I've certainly got plenty of other "cameos," but you never know when they will take on a life of their own too. Everybody's got a chance, this story is going to be epic, and you bet I'm going to be hanging onto this for a while.
I believe you have very good intentions in mind, and trust me, I know what I'm doing. I wouldn't have put forth this much time and energy if I did not, and the story's already been written and planned well in advance. If you don't believe, you're more than welcome to contact me personally by e-mail or AIM (jamesedwards0079).
Oh, and this is a message not just to you but to everybody who reads this fic, please don't be hating on other people's anime, manga, favored Shounen-style storytelling methods, or whatever else. If they can do it right and make it entertaining (i.e. DBZ), more power to them. Some of us like the straight and narrow approach. Some of us like the linear. Some of us like the circular. Some of us love the mountains that just grow taller and taller, a blossoming world filled with intrigue and life. And we've all heard the sob stories and flames before, but guess what?
Where would the fun in a story, or even life for that matter be without drama?
Sure, it's all relative, but guess what, I like what I'm doing and if the guys and gals here mostly like it, then I ain't gonna fix what I ain't broke. I can't please everybody, but if I can make a difference to one person, it's good enough for me. If I make a lot of folks happy in the process of doing just that too, then hey, I'm glad we're on the same wavelength. Cool vibes, yo!
So without further adieu, that wraps it up, folks, so until the next time we meet (around the usual time again): Peace! Youth! POWAA! Explosion!
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Episode Preview!
Chapter 35:
Interesting
"You're a fake, a copy, hocus pocus and bogus, a pretender trying to be something its not."
Tsudzuku!