Chapter Fifty Four! This is so amazing. We have all come a long way from the day I put up the first chapter. Damn, this is a long time coming. I hope all of you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing for you all, my dear readers. Right! This chapter is the home stretch everyone! The end is within sights and there will be something very good coming up. At least I hope it is.
To Argorok, thanks for the review. It is much appreciated.
To Mizere... truthfully, Gamiya... is... dead. He really is dead... But Do Not Worry! Everything will be explained in this chapter!
Right, as usual, please read and review.
I do not own Negima nor Ragnarok Online.
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With sudden gasp, Gamiya suddenly sat up. He slowed his breathing, trying to calm down. Gingerly, he brought up a hand to the side of his neck. The blade seemed to be missing. He exhaled with a disgruntled tone, thinking to himself, "So… I'm finally dead. What is there to do now?"
"Welcome back," greeted a familiar voice.
"Hold on a minute… now I must really be in Heaven if she is here…" he thought as he looked around. His eyes widened as he saw most of Class 3-A and some of the familiar residents of the Magic World gathering around him; he also took note of some of their very surprised faces. "Ah, I must have been dreaming if you all are here," he said, somewhat disappointed a little.
"Not quite sensei," uttered Mana, who was seated next to him, gestured behind him. Puzzled, he slowly got to his feet and turned around and came face to face with… impossible.
"Wha…? How? Wh-?" he started to stammer out but she stepped forward, reached out and touched his lips, silencing him.
"I missed you," she said with a slight smile.
"Curina…" he whispered out as he slowly grabbed her hand and held it to his chest, "I thought you were dead."
"I am," she simply said, with a satisfied smirk, "But, I can explain all that later on. Right now…" Then, she leaned in to whisper into his ear, "… so are you."
He stared at her as she linked arms with him. "Okay… looks like there really is a lot to explain," he muttered as he tried figuring out what she meant. Although, he did feel a bit lighter now… especially his right hand. Taking a quick look, he was astonished to actually have a real hand attached, all the while getting dragged back to the hall everyone was feasting at earlier by his wife.
With everyone back at the feasting hall, the girls promptly took action. Rearranging the seating arrangements, they placed the tables and chairs in a way that they were very close to each other, surrounding the banquet table in a semi-circular formation. Curina and Gamiya were seated at the inner part of the circle side by side, central to the formation. Everyone that wanted to be in earshot to her explanation quickly took their seats.
"Alright, we're all here now. So mind explaining why you are here?" he asked, feeling a little confused as to how she ended up here. There was no way she could have access to a Warp Portal spell and it was too farfetched that someone was able to know what happened to him in the Phreeoni's stomach.
"Well, actually, I didn't even know you were here until her Highness here was able to summon me," she explained as she motioned to the slightly blushing member of royalty.
"How?" was the question he uttered as he looked quizzically at the bell girl.
"Erm… actually, the Grave Master asked for some help," she started haltingly, "She wanted to express her gratitude in helping her make the correct decision… so I told her what I knew about you. She then decided that she would at least give you a chance to go back home. I… I'm not really sure what happened then, it was all a blur. She said something went wrong in the vocal component thing and somehow… somehow a yellow portal appeared and she came out of it."
"Huh," he said, halfway disbelieving her. Then again, the proof was sitting right next to him. Turning back to his wife, he asked, "So… what did you do to me?"
"Well, I just severed the bond between your spirit and your body," she explained calmly, "And then, disintegrated your body to prevent anyone from resurrecting you."
He stared at her, unable to comprehend why she would so that.
She sighed and muttered, "You're rarely are as dense as this." Taking in a breath, she continued, "On Midgard, you're dead. It would look very weird if you showed up alive, wouldn't it? I didn't really feel comfortable doing it, but I had to. You don't belong here."
"I know… then again, I have no idea how to get back," he muttered back, "How were you going to bring me back?"
"Well… there is a second reason why you had to end up dead," she said further, "You see, I was summoned here… and I doubt I could bring anything back with me from here. But… I can bring local spirits around with me…"
"What… what are you talking about?"
"I am an Assassin Cross and representative of Hel," she explained slowly, "I escort neutral and evil spirits to Niflheim. The neutral spirits stay in the city while the evil spirits are thrown into the Bottomless Pit. I can shackle spirits to myself for escort purposes."
When he gave a dumbfounded look at her, she sighed and said exasperatedly, "I escort evil spirits to Hell."
"Ah! So you're an angel of some sort," he exclaimed, finally understanding something.
"Yes, I guess," she muttered as she rolled her eyes, though she sported a slight brush. Clearing her throat, she followed up with, "Anyway, only spirits from Midgard can travel with me. And right now, you are a spirit."
"Heh, when you put it that way," he replied with a smirk.
"A… are you sure you're alright with this, Iroi-sensei?" spoke up Negi nervously.
"Well, it's inconvenient that I have to be dead to actually get back," he started, but then taking a glance at his wife, he smiled and continued, "But at least I can be with her." His hand sneaked for hers under the table, prompting her to give a knowing glance to him.
"You know, this could be a great storyline for another manga," quipped up Haruna as she quickly whipped out a new notebook to make notes, "Yes… yes… not even death can keep us apart… oh, yes…"
"Er… Paru… I don't think this is the time to do this," Nodoka haltingly chided her.
"Oh yeah, does that make Iroi-sensei an angel as well?" asked Konoka suddenly.
"Ah…" sounded Curina but was interrupted by excited chatter from amongst the girls.
"Well, I guess it kinda does," Gamiya admitted after a moment's thought. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he continued, "I did swear to be with her forever." More exclamations from the romantics followed.
The assassin sighed and shook her head. "I… don't think it's that simple," she told him sadly, "Your idea of the Heavens is quite different from what it really is. Only good souls… and heroes especially, can be admitted to Val- er, Heaven. As a former assassin, I am bound to fulfill my oath to Hel. There is no way for us to be together permanently."
"I… sorry for bringing this up," apologized the healer of Ala Alba, a little distraught to have saddened her, "I didn't want to make you sad."
"It… no need to worry about it, young lady," assured the assassin, "Its fine… really…"
"If I have to be apart from you, even in death, it certainly is NOT fine," declared the high priest, much to everyone's surprise, "If that means I can't be with you, then screw being an angel."
"But… but…"
"No 'buts' about it," he said, as he held his finger to her lips, "If you are supposed to stay in darkness, then in darkness I shall join you, even if it means taking up residence next to the gates of Hell."
Her cheeks blushed only slightly. "Do you always have to go poetic with me?" the smirking assassin asked as she pushed away his hand, "Then again, it's just like you to make these idiotic declarations."
"Hey, I may not be as smart as a wizard but I'm not that stupid," he protested good-naturedly as pretty much everyone started laughing.
"No, you are definitely a big idiot," she countered as she pushed her chair over and leaned on him, "But you're my idiot, and no one else can say that about you."
He sighed and shook his head with a smile. It was then he noticed Mana quietly getting up and leaving the hall. He sighed, this time mentally; while it was great that his dear wife actually made it here and wanted to bring him back home, wherever that was right now since he didn't really know where they put assassins when they passed away, he was also worried about the mercenary miko's reaction now that she got over the shock.
"Go."
He turned to look at his wife, her loving face full of knowing. "Just go. I know what you want to do," she whispered over to him discreetly, "I believe I have to entertain some questions from your other students here."
He smirked and whispered back, "And I'm sure you'll come after me when you can." Getting up from his chair, he excused himself away and went after the miko. Curina sighed and shook her head, muttering, "He better sort that out. It won't be healthy down the road."
"Erm… Iroi-san? I hope you don't mind me asking questions, but I am a bit confused," said Negi. Getting a curous look from her, he continued, "Well… you mentioned Hel and Niflheim and Midgard… and Iroi-sensei talks about Heaven and angels and Hell… two very different belief systems and yet neither of you seem very religious. I was wondering how that came about."
"Are you kidding, Negi-sensei?" interjected Misora in deadpan, "Father Iroi is a priest. Yeah, he calls himself a high priest, but a priest all the same. A man of the cloth. How could he have been a priest if he wasn't religious? He must have heard his calling from somewhere…"
"Actually, belief never crossed our minds," she explained to them, rather amused by the discussion, "I didn't really believe in the gods until I ended up dead and discovered that due to being an assassin, I was part of a pool of candidates to be bound to Hel, ruler of Niflheim. Now that I think about it, I was quite shocked even though I didn't show it. I had just died, got my memories back and was standing in front of the Lord of Death…" Pausing only to gauge the reaction to the topic she was drumming up, she continued, "And maybe I shouldn't speak about that with you… Anyway, I don't really remember when the Church sprang up. I know the main place is in Prontera, although I did hear of a discovery of a Saint in the town of Rachel. Don't know if male or female, but I guess it's the Saint that gave the Church the new direction I've been hearing about. Does any of this answer your question, young man?"
"I guess does in a way," admitted Negi, visibly trying to wrap his head around it.
"Give it a rest, Negi," said Asuna as she slapped his back, surprising him quite a bit, "Now is not the time for thinking up difficult things. Let's just enjoy the party, okay?"
"Ah, yes, Asuna-san," he replied with a smile.
"Mana?"
The girl looked straight ahead, catching sight of the high priest's reflection in the window. Night had descended and the stars were out, creating a beautiful night time sky. However, she didn't really come out here to see the view, but to think of her current situation. She was outwardly calm with the situation, but inside she was somewhat distraught. She had finally made her feelings known a few days back, even willing to let nature take its course in letting him move on with his life and eventually fall for her. While she didn't know how much longer her lifespan was compared to a normal human, she was quite willing to wait as long as possible for him. Now, it seemed all for nothing as by some strange accident, Asuna and the Master of the Gravekeeper's Palace was able to actually summon his wife here… and she actually had the ability to bring him back to his own world. Yes, it did indeed trouble her heart so.
"I guess you're hurting inside, after what she revealed," he presumed, taking care to go slowly as he wasn't sure how she would react.
"I… truthfully, I don't know what to think," she admitted, actually giving light to part of her worries, "I should be happy for you. In a way, you are finally reunited with her after so long. Turning to face him, she continued, "Yet, I also having a sinking feeling that I am somehow going to lose you… like I lost… him…" She closed her eyes for a moment, the image of her late magister in her mind. "I suppose my choice in men is quite clear," she summed up wryly as she opened her eyes, "As men go, one is taken away by Death, and one was already claimed by another."
"I don't know whether to be proud of what I just heard or to run away and hide," he deadpanned with a sort of agonized face. Then his features softened as she chuckled. "Ah, screw this," he said with a huff. Staring straight at her, he told her, "I am going to have to apologize for this, but you are going to have to stop waiting for me. I'm sorry, but I can't be with you."
She sighed, already guessing that he was going to say that. It sounded a little harsh, but then again, his straightforwardness was part of the charm. He was never one to back down, nor one to leave something or someone dear to him undefended. His actions sometimes spoke louder than his shout for silence in a noisy class.
"Have you no tact?"
The both of them turned to see Curina staring at them with a frown on her face. "Oh, who am I kidding? I know you too long to know you barely have any," she said as she took a few steps forward, sounding a little exasperated, "How could you just come out like that? Don't you know how to let her down gently?"
Before he could protest, Mana chuckled. Both adult spirits turned to her, looking puzzled. "Please do not worry, Iroi-san," she addressed the assassin cross, "I can quite understand why he is like that."
The wife huffed and said, "Well, you definitely know quite a bit. It makes me wonder if there was something more than that…"
"I can assure you, while I do wonder what it would be like, I also know he would decline such an offer," the miko answered back serenely, "He still hasn't gotten over you."
The woman smirked, "Yeah… he's quite reliable like that…" Looking at her straight in the eye, she asked, "I guess he told you our story?" Getting a nod, she continued, "Well, I suppose I have to be thankful that he was able to partner up with someone good while he was here. Thanks for taking care of him. I'm grateful for that."
"Yeah, took good care of me for you to send a knife at me," the high priest finally spoke up with a smirk, "What were you really thinking back there?"
"Miya-kun, I was serious about only being able to bring you back the way you are right now," she told him with a straight face, but then she smirked when she said, "Then again, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy getting a little payback for making me worry so much." The miko blinked in surprise. Miya-kun?
"Huh, figures…" he mumbled as he turned away and hunched over in mock despair, while the other two chuckled at his antics.
"I don't think we have to worry about that," teased Mana, "It is pretty well known that you can bounce back from anything… Miya-kun…"
Cue much groaning.
The night quickly passed by, with many of the girls sleeping in after a wild night partying. Things only started picking up at mid-morning, closer to noon, when everyone got ready to return to Mahora. It seemed the ruins had a gate port which was linked to the main office building, on the roof. Some of the older people, including the Dean, had already left for the school in the morning.
"Well, I guess this is it," Gamiya said resignedly, looking at the whole of Class 3A assembled before him.
"Yes, I guess it is. I thank you for all your help, Iroi-sensei," said Negi as he bowed, sad but grateful, "I know most of the class would wish you could stay longer."
"Yeah, you're about the only one besides Nitta-sensei who could shut the class up," muttered Chisame.
"Mou… I was kinda hoping you would guide me in my healer training," stated Konoka sadly.
"You're a natural. Don't worry so much about it," the high priest assured.
"Thank you for your guidance, sensei," said Setsuna respectfully as she bowed, "It is thanks to you that I was able to protect ojou-sama."
"No, you did that all by yourself," he remarked with a grin, "I just gave you a little push, that's all."
"Nevertheless, I am in your debt," she said as she straightened up.
He looked thoughtfully at her and then told her, "You know, if I ever come back here, I'll fight you." Noting her surprised face, he continued, "I just wanna see how good you've become."
"I will be looking forward to it," she replied with a slight smile.
"Iroi-san! Iroi-san! Can you fight Kaede-san? We want to see who is better!" exclaimed the twins as they suddenly pushed the slightly embarrassed Koga ninja forward.
The assassin cross chuckled and told them, "I don't think it will be such a good idea. Sparring with me would be quite dangerous."
"Speaking of sparring, I want a spar with you, Iroi-san!" shouted Kotarou, much to Natsumi's chagrin.
"Now hold on boy, I got first dibs on the man," interrupted Rakan loudly.
"No fair! You're way too powerful! No way there would be anything left for me to fight!" retorted the dog hanyou.
"Oh, Kotarou-kun…" called out Chizuru very sweetly.
"Okay! Shutting up now…" he suddenly whimpered, with Natsumi starting to tremble next to him.
"Sensei," Mana said as she stepped forward, "Thank you for the talk yesterday. I will most certainly take your advice."
He smiled as he replied, "Good to hear."
"Alright everyone, we're ready to send them back!" announced Asuna as she came forward with the Master of the Gravekeeper's Palace.
"So, are you two ready?" the mysterious keeper asked.
The both of them nodded, and then Curina suddenly produced some manacles and a length of chain. "Er, what are those for?" asked the high priest, suddenly feeling a little confused as she never mentioned that before.
"Ah, remember when I told you I escort spirits?" she asked. Getting silence, she continued, "Well, I use these to tether them to me. So… do you mind if I cuff you?"
"What!? I am not a criminal! There is no way in Hell I'm wearing those," he protested vehemently.
"But this is the only way!"
"No! Way! You are not clapping me in chains," he shouted as he started running off amidst the roaring laughter.
"Get back here! Don't be so stubborn!" she shouted back as she chased after him, with more laughter erupting.
"Shouldn't we help Iroi-sensei?" asked Negi, a bit frantic that the high priest was getting chased around the platform… by his wife no less.
"I WILL NOT BE EMBARRASSED IN FRONT OF MY STUDENTS. STOP CHASING ME, WOMAN!"
"THERE IS NOTHING TO BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY. STOP RUNNING!"
"Worry not, Negi-sensei," said Mana as she smirked, "I doubt he would be in need of any assistance."
"I WILL NOT STOP RUN- WHERE DID YOU GET THAT PAN-!?
*PANG*
"… No, he will most definitely not be needing assistance," she repeated with amusement as everyone watched the assassin cross shackle his wrists and chained the other end to her waist. Then, with surprising strength, she hefted his body over her shoulder. Then, she took position in front of the Master and Asuna with her 'package'.
"Ready?" asked the mysterious Master. Getting a nod from her, she and Asuna flanked her with the bell girl quietly muttering the words of the spell to send them back, the Great Grand Master Key gaining a faint white aura around it. A huge magic circle appeared, encompassing the whole platform. There was a flash of light… and they were gone.
