AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Hey everyone! I apologize for the delay, some issues came up and I also wanted to wait till a friend finished a little surprise to go with this update. A buddy of mine did a wonderful little comic of a bit from chapter 16 in this story and posted it over on pixiv. Unfortunately, Fanfiction eats links as always, so just ad the below to the URL from the pixiv homepage. Or, you can search their pixiv ID of 8613103 and view the "seaside melacholy" submission.
/member_ ?mode=medium&illust_id=76682166
Secondly, I have a big announcement with this chapter! There will be a sequel to this story and this one will be wrapping up in around 5 chapters, give or take one, NOT counting this one. Part of the reason for this, instead of keeping it all one entry, is I feel that it's a bit less intimidating to click on a story around 150-170k words instead of some several hundred thousand word behemoth. Easier to space out and just looks neater, personally. We're getting close to the end of this installment! Been a long ride so far and this is my first longer work, so I hope I've done well to make something enjoyable thus far as we approach the endgame.
"Now, to hope this one returns in a more functioning state." Negi commented pensively, watching where yet another of their test devices had been moments ago. The last time they had attempted this, their recording device had returned, yet it was completely inoperable. This time, however, Negi was hoping things would be different since the several days since their last test. Fate had made some strides with their own development and Negi felt noticeably better after finally getting a night of sleep, likewise helping further the project, but he still couldn't fully shake his worries about the 'dream' that night and what his father's words implied about it at the end. However, that remained on the back burner for the present, focusing on the current task.
"You seem to be doing better than the last time." Wakaba gently commented from Negi's side.
"I am, thank you." Negi answered with a quick nod. "I managed to start getting some proper rest a few days ago and it's been helpful."
"I told you so, Negi-kun." Fate interjected dismissively. "I believe we've managed to work out the last issues, so in theory, this should work now. Overlooking minor details is something you should know better than. But, it's good you're back to your usual self."
"I'm glad to hear that." Wakaba commented before Negi could respond. "However," her voice dropped to a heavier tone before she continued further, expression likewise taking on a more serious touch to match. "If you don't mind me asking, do you have any idea how long it might be before you return?"
"That's difficult to answer." Fate cut-in first. "There's many factors we would have to assess."
Negi echoed the sentiment with a nod. "Yes, we have a lot going on in our world. So, the first priority is to get everything back in order once we're back, given we'll have been missing for a while. After that, we need to catch up on some lost time and ensure matters will proceed smoothly. Once the situation is under control again and going well, then maybe we can see about visiting here."
Briefly, Negi paused, thinking over the options and possibilities as to try giving Wakaba some kind of estimate. He was used to working with wide and variable time frames, so giving a rough estimate wouldn't have been impossible here. "Assuming no worst case scenario and everything is in at least okay condition, I imagine it could be around a couple weeks to two months at the longest before a visit. It could potentially be longer till something can start being organized to start seriously helping this world, though." The problem of what to do here was going to be an obstacle, given he had an idea of what it was, but wasn't sure about the finer details. Still, that was something that would be solved and properly investigated once a stable connection between the worlds was established.
"I see… That's not too long then." Wakaba said slowly. "Thank you for telling me, I hope everything is going well in your world."
"Thank you, Nogi-san." Smiling, Negi returned the appreciative sentiment. "We have a few minutes to wait anyway, and assuming this works we might not get too many more chances to talk for a while, so I'd like to get to know you a little better." The child finished, staring at Wakaba's ethereal form curiously. They had decided to allow some extra time for the device to record and possibly leech some magic from the surrounding area if it landed near the goal of Mahora Academy to help the return trip, which meant they might as well pass the time anyway.
"Eh?" Wakaba seemed a touch surprised by the sudden request, her upper body backing up very so slightly and tilting her head. There was contemplation in her eyes, mulling Negi's request over and if she wants to answer it.
Besides him, Fate glanced toward the duo with an edge to his usual stare. "I would advise against discussing too much, it could return at any moment and we wouldn't want any complications to come up from negligence."
"A quick conversation won't hurt." Negi quickly responded, directing their attention toward Fate with an undeterred optimism under his words, before shifting back to Wakaba. "But I thought, it'd be a good chance to get to know each other better, we haven't had much of a chance to talk casually or about yourself much."
"I suppose we haven't..." Wakaba agreed with a murmur, her features softening to a less serious mask. She looked a touch eager at the idea even. "I haven't heard much about you either, but you already sound like you've experienced a lot in your lives. What did you have in mind?"
"Anything really. Any hobbies or interests you had during life or people you knew, something like that. Like, I always enjoy a good cup of tea during any of my studying." Negi prodded gently. With the spirit apparently not having a chance to talk in a significant length of time, he thought it might make things easier to throw them something to use.
"I hope you're not one of those lost causes who prefers the leaf drink."
Fate's condescending voice brought Negi's thoughts and good mood to a screeching halt, piercing glare shifting back toward Fate. Oh, of course he had to do this. The other mage could not resist even a passing shot at Negi whenever this subject came up. But this particular insult wasn't the worst part of it. This topic coming up yet again made the child realize something much worse.
"Fate, we never did get a chance to finish our talk from the first day we got here." He had let his friend get away with the win back at the Taisha's compound weeks ago.
"Oh, what shame. And here I thought you finally started coming to your senses about coffee being the superior drink."" Fate dry commented. His customary deadpan might have only appeared slightly more pronounced than normal to someone that didn't know the boy well, but Negi knew it was practically dripping with sarcasm aimed toward him, the mocking half grin further punctuating it.
"Please, the universe will end before that day comes. Tea's much better for your health and I'm sure you've only survived so long consuming that muddy water, because there's nothing normal for it to ruin in the first place." Negi fired back with a piercing stare and hostility more suited to someone having burnt down his house than insulted a drink.
"Trying to start a fight in the middle of an important experiment? How unprofessional, Negi-kun."
"I'm not the one suggesting it, but it would be so much easier if you admitted the truth already." Negi retorted with an edge, crossing their arms.
The sound of someone's soft, restrained chuckling interrupted any further argument from the mages, drawing their attention toward the source of it. The source being, surprisingly, none other than Wakaba. The laughter was mild, more amused than at the level of actual laughter than anything, but it was perhaps the most cheerful expression either of the two had seen upon the spirit.
"I-I ap-apologize." Wakaba answered between getting her amusement under control, acting like it was the first time she had laughed in a small eternity and finding some difficulty in the task. "It's just… Between you asking about anyone I knew and this, it reminded me of someone I used to know a long time ago. We used to argue about which food was better like that..." The spirit trailed off, finally getting her chuckling under control, her expression replaced by a nostalgic smile as long-gone moments came back to her memories. Yet, beneath it all, there was a sense of melancholy within her eyes.
"What did you talk about?" Switching gears instantly, Negi curiously asked toward the woman. This seemed like a good a topic as any to start with. This was the best mood he had seen Wakaba in since their short time together.
But there was one more parting shot to fire. {Fate, why don't you keep an eye for if it comes back. It would be a problem if we continued this debate and nobody was paying attention, wouldn't it?} Telepathically, Negi stated in the same moment of conversing with Wakaba. It was going to be his win this time.
{This battle isn't over, Negi-kun}
"We used to argue about udon vs soba. I was in favor of udon, while Shiratori-san always argued for soba. Neither of us would ever back down and never convinced the other to give in, but I always had fun with our conversations." Wakaba explained, a subdued smile spreading across her features while she recounted the details of her friend.
"Shiratori-san sounds like an interesting person." Negi commented, listening attentively. No matter the universe, somethings never changed.
"She was." Wakaba answered with a slow nod, a softness in her eyes that wasn't customary and staring toward nobody in particular while deep in memories. "I never got the chance to meet her in person, but Shiratori-san was still a close friend of mine for the few years we talked. I even tried soba once because of her, but it was always too salty for me..."
It was good to hear, but Negi couldn't help a pang of sympathy for the spirit. She certainly appeared to enjoy talking again and discussing some of her life before, but there was also something weighing down her smile, not that he couldn't understand. Who knew how long ago this was and, judging from the fact they never met and how small Shikoku was, it didn't feel like a stretch to think Shiratori met with unfortunate circumstances.
Still, there was something that seemed off to Negi. Yes, Shikoku wasn't that large, but if they had known each other for a few years and were such close friend, then trying to meet up wouldn't have been unreasonable. It wasn't impossible for circumstances to conspire against someone and perhaps it was simply that, but the mage couldn't help the one question that rose up in his mind. Wakaba had a slight reaction to mentioning whatever caused the Divine Era change, in their first meeting, along with having a generally mysterious past that indicated being a Hero, and if there was a team in this era, then Wakaba wouldn't have been alone. Depending on how this question was answered, it could have implied much about the world's state.
"Was she a Hero, like you were?"
Wakaba's head perked up, her focus returned back toward Negi at the sudden question. She didn't have the same steel mask covering her features like the first time she was asked any questions about what could be a sensitive topic, but she didn't appear to have expected the question.
"Negi-kun," Fate's voice sharply interjected before any response could be given. "It should be back any moment now."
Almost as if it were signaled by the statement, there was a familiar pulse of magic, signifying their device had returned and the time for casual conversation was over.
"Sorry, Nogi-san. We can talk another time, but you don't have to answer something like that. Sorry if it was too personal." Negi quickly apologized, receiving a quick 'it's alright' from Wakaba, before moving back towards Fate, taking a few steps over to him.
"It seems in working order..." Fate muttered, glancing over the camera. "Now, we need to see if it bothered picking up any useful information.
Wasting no time, Negi and Fate reached out with their magical senses towards the device while it played whatever audio and visual information it had recorded. That might have been of use, but it wasn't how Negi and Fate were expecting to confirm their experiment. Both mages carefully went over all traces of magic that the device had captured, much of it the equivalent of background noise and of no significance. This was beginning to get frustrating.
"Wait," Negi suddenly stated, leaning closer to the object with an eagerness, optimism starting to creep into their face. Had he imagined it? No, there was no way. He had definitely felt the presence, further probing confirming it. "Fate, did you feel that? It's faint, but I think it managed to detect the World Tree."
Fate silently stared at the contraption while it cycled through recording a plain-looking glassy field, much like the one they were currently standing on. "Hrm… There does seem to be something that stands out, but I'm not sure if that's what it is."
"It has to be Mahora Academy's World Tree, I'm certain of it." Negi reassured confidently. With all the time he had spent around the school teaching, including several trips beneath the tree, he'd become familiar with the kilometers wide tree's magical signature. Even if it wasn't at the peak it hit every 22 years, where certain wishes under its branches could be fulfilled with the right circumstances, the child could still pick it out between Mahora's normal defenses masking most of its magic from the outside.
"It's quite distant though… I wonder where exactly it landed since we tried to land it somewhere outside Shikoku..." Negi mused pursing his lips in thought. They had spent quite a while getting enough magic together to attach a delayed spell capable of detecting standout magical signatures past 100 kilometers, but it couldn't record with enough accuracy to determine where they were or many finer details, only something was within that range. Still, Negi was certain in his observation.
"I'm not certain I feel it, but your magical senses have always been highly developed. If you believe it to be the correct location, then I will trust you, Negi-kun." Fate answered, shutting the device off for the moment. "We should start preparing soon. It will take some time to get enough magic together to attempt transporting a person through. The exact location we land in shouldn't matter too much, provided it's not inside anything or among a large crowd. We can easily get wherever we wish once there."
"It sounds like you found what you were looking for." Wakaba commented, having taken a few steps closer to the pair. "I'm glad you were able to make something work."
"We have, thank you, Nogi-san." Negi said with a pleased smile. He couldn't help himself feeling optimistic at recent development. This was by far the best progress made since starting. Home was so close, he felt like he could reach out and grasp it practically. Soon, he could know for certain if everyone was safe and sound.
"That's good to hear, I imagine you must be concerned about your world." The girl sounded genuinely happy for the mages, yet beneath her words there was a trace of reserved disappointment. "How much longer do you think you will be staying here then?"
"I would expect approximately a week or so, give or take." Fate answered, shifting focus toward Wakaba. "Even if we have the correct location, we'll have to be certain no complications will arise and safe travel is assured."
"Sorry to leave you like this, Nogi-san. I imagine it'll be lonely again by yourself. I've really enjoyed talking with you as well." Shooting Wakaba a friendly smile, Negi added warmly. "You're quite a hard to detect spirit by most standards, but with some people, particularly the Heroes, developing magic as they are, maybe someone else will be able to see you soon."
The statement made Wakaba's eye widen slightly, the girl pausing to process Negi's words. "… They might be able to see me someday…?" Her words were slow, yet not cautious or overly hopeful.
"Probably," Negi confirmed with a confident nod. "I'm not sure how long that could be, given their circumstances are quite unique and there's not much to go off of."
"I see..." Wakaba trailed off, a look of intense contemplation over her face. "Thank you, Negi-san. That's interesting to know..."
Wakaba certainly was quite the mystery. She certainly had a long, long history with Shikoku and the current situation, but Negi could only guess at the inner workings of her head. Under different circumstances, he would have loved to have a lengthy discussion with the spirit and learn information the Taisha certainly wouldn't have ever told him. However, Fate's hand on his shoulder brought Negi's thoughts elsewhere.
"Negi-kun. Before we start preparing, there was one matter I think might be worthwhile to investigate." The other mage's flat voice stated.
Fate didn't even need to say it, Negi was already certain about what they wanted to look into. Far back during their initial attempts, they had sensed another odd presence coming from one location on the island, not like Wakaba, the Heroes, or even the Shinju exactly. There wasn't much on this island which gave off such feelings which could not be accounted for, and this was such an enigma. It certainly had something unique about it, and to leave without investigating what it was would have been foolish. It didn't appear hostile, but better safe than sorry.
"Right, we should get going soon then." Negi's gaze returned toward Wakaba. "Sorry, Nogi-san. But we'll be going for now. It's been nice talking with you. We'll be sure to talk more before we leave." Giving a slight bow, Negi bid farewell to the spirit for now.
"Likewise, until next time, Negi-san, Fate-san." Wakaba mirrored the gestured with a friendly smile.
With their business concluded for the moment, Fate prepared a quick teleportation spell. They had one small stop to make and drop off their recording device, then it was off to find this mysterious presence.
"A rather unassuming place..." Fate commented, glancing around the location. Their destination had turned out to be a rather unassuming looking suburb within the area known as Sanshu. The most notable feature was the Saita River running through the area, off to their side. Small bridges passed over it at multiple locations, connecting the two divided sets of land. The side they rested upon was the far more urbanized, buildings littered about comprising either a business or housing, most seeming about middle class from the exterior, with one or two upper scale buildings scattered among them.
On the opposite side of the bank, the story was quite different, far more greenery dotted it, many trees forming what seemed like a park or even a forest. There were still buildings surrounding the area closest to the water or peeking out from behind the trees, but overall it had a more 'natural' feeling to it than the developed side Negi and Fate found themselves on, especially with the afternoon Sun shining brightly over it all.
"It's interesting to see. We haven't explored too much of Shikoku outside of Sakaide. I wonder how it looks compared to our world..." Negi mused. He had already taken in as much of the sights he could commit to memory during their thus far short walk toward the presence. Given all his business trips and traveling for the Blue Mars Project, Negi had picked up sightseeing as a hobby, the desire to see more of the island before they left amplified by his natural curiosity and wanting to compare another world's landscape to his own once they returned. Even if Shikoku still appeared much like a modern town he was accustomed to, there were still some interesting facts, such as Sanshu formerly being Kan'onji, which didn't even exist in his time, having been formed by the merger of Onohara and Toyohama in 2005 apparently. Who knew what other interesting finds were lurking around when information like this existed.
"We're not here to sight see, Negi-kun." Fate lightly scolded. "What we came here for is right over there." The mage pointed down the street.
"I haven't forgotten, don't worry." Negi answered, directing their attention toward where Fate had drawn attention, several houses past where they were. What he saw, only raised more questions than answers provided.
A young girl, looking around the same age as the Heroes and mages, with short reddish hair done up with a white ribbon was talking with an elderly woman and being thanked for helping carry objects for them. She was dressed in a light pink hued T-shirt with a deeper shade of the same color as highlights across the edges of it, with a pair of plain blue shorts over her lower body and similarly pink long socks that went up halfway above her knees. But, that wasn't the most striking feature about the pre-teen looking girl.
She was the source of that presence both mages came to investigate.
By all rights, the girl looked entirely normal, yet there was no mistaking the unique feeling Negi could detect coming from her, something he could better analyze now that they were closing. It didn't seem to be anything like an experienced or powerful mage's, but there was a strong power within her that wasn't exactly as the Heroes, but bore a resemblance toward it. Whatever the cause, this person was certainly no ordinary child.
"This is a pretty ordinary discovery after finding Nogi-san." Negi commented, staring at the energetic looking girl with curiosity. The situation wasn't as overtly supernatural as finding a flying spirit in the form of a crow, so going up and bluntly asking about it was certainly out. He wondered if there was a chance she wasn't even aware of whatever this was. Konoka had held enormous magical potential without being aware of the magical world for a while. Things were going to get interesting if that were the case. "I think we should talk with her a bit, see if we can find out anything about this."
"I don't think that's going to be difficult, she's looking toward us." Fate dryly commented.
Just as Fate had observed, the girl's attention had shifted over toward the two mages once the woman she was helping retreated back into their house. Her gaze lingered on the pair for only a moment, before a friendly smile quickly took over her face and she started approaching the pair rapidly, waving warmly in her quick jog over.
"Heeeeeeey!" Her voice full of the same cheer her wide smile contained, the girl greeted, coming to a stop a short distance from the pair. "I saw you looking over at me, can I help you with something? I don't think I've seen you around here before! Are you new here?"
"Hello." Negi returned the upbeat greeting with his own kind one, offering a similar wave. "You could say that we're new around here, yes. Pleased to meet you, I'm Negi Springfield." Offering a customary bow, Negi continued the introductions.
"Fate Averruncus." Fate introduced himself in his typical manner, without the usual warmth of Negi's and sounding reserved instead, distant even.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Yuki Yuna!" Still grinning and seemingly undeterred by Fate's lackluster introduction, Yuna gave her name with a positive attitude and cheerful spirit. "Those are some interesting names, they sound pretty different from anyone I know." With greetings out of the way, Yuna took a few steps closer to the pair, stopping at a more personal distance of almost arm's length from them. "What brings you here then? There's not too many people my age around here."
"Well, we haven't been in this area before, so Fate and I thought we would look around a bit and learn about the place." Negi smoothly answered, the question of what made Yuna so unique still lurking at the back of his mind. Thankfully, she was so far quite the sociable and outgoing person, so maybe it wouldn't be too hard. However, there was one measure Negi wanted to take to rule out anything.
Carefully, the mage weaved his magic through the air surrounding them. She didn't appear to be a mage, though he wouldn't have been surprised if she could become a strong one with this feeling, but while human her presence felt, Yuna had something special about her and Negi needed to try testing the waters with it where he could. With a little active manipulation of magic, he could see if Yuna would sense it and it could potentially help him determine if she was aware of whatever energy she had.
"Oh? Then let me show you around a bit! There's a good udon place only a minute away." Yuna eagerly offered, leaning closer toward the two mages hopefully.
"If it's not any imposition on yourself, then we'd be happy to see anything you feel like sharing." Negi matched the friendly tone of Yuna's voice.
{She doesn't seem to have noticed anything yet…} Negi telepathically sent to Fate. It was odd to Negi. He would have expected the Taisha to jump at recruiting someone like this as a Hero, yet their entire time here there was not so much as a single word about Yuna, nor did she show up at any point in the Jukai, which meant she was entirely distanced from the organization, despite fitting the age range for a Hero. Why? Did they want to keep the duty to certain families? The three that the current Heroes came from were notable names in the Taisha, from the public facts Negi could find.
{No, but perhaps learning more about her will provide answers.} Fate sternly responded.
"Great! Follow me." Yuna motioned for the pair to follow her, starting to lead them down a narrow street away from the riverside. "You two said you were new, right? Did you just move here?" Tilting her head back toward the two, Yuna asked with a subtle hint of hopefulness in her voice.
"Ah, sorry. We're not from around here. Fate and I are from Sakaide." Negi apologetically answered with a shake of his head. It wasn't exactly a lie, given that was where they were living for the moment.
More feeling it than seeing it cross her features, Negi noticed a small trace of disappointment in Yuna's being before she answered. "Oh, I see. That explains it. You came all the way from Sakaide though? Why'd you come so far?"
"We happened to be passing through the area and decided to look around." Fate stated. And though it was a good excuse, Negi couldn't help feeling a touch slighted at being reprimanded about sightseeing, yet that exact reasoning being used against Yuna.
"In that case, Yuki Yuna will do her best to show you all the good places I know!" Yuna confidently declared with her ever present smile.
"Thank you, Yuki-san. You seem like a helpful person. We saw you helping that woman earlier." Negi commented, figuring it might be a good lead in for Yuna to discuss herself a bit.
"She recently got out of the hospital. My friend's family has been helping take care of her, but since it's still Summer break, I've had a lot of free time and been trying to help out how I can." The red-haired girl happily replied.
Before anyone else could answer, detected something in danger up ahead, followed by the sound of panicked mewling in the same direction.
"It sounds like something's in trouble, come on!" Perking up, Yuna suddenly raced ahead at a near sprint.
Matching her worried pace, Negi turned the corner at the same time Yuna did, even with her head start. Once past the corner, Negi saw an unlucky cat with its head stuck trapped a pair of bars, trying to wiggle free with no success.
"Aw… The poor thing is stuck. We have to help it." Yuna declared, looking at Negi, and Fate once he caught up, hopefully.
Negi nodded, a concerned frown across his face, leaning closer to the bar and gripping both that kept the cat's head in place, a small distance from the cat's head to not startle it too much. "Here, I can take care of this."
"Hrm?" Yuna paused, confused by the answer, stopped mid motion while going to attempt the same thing. "Are you sure you don't need any help? Those bars look pretty big..."
"Don't worry, I have it handled." Negi said, shooting a quick smile toward Yuna. It was true, the white colored bars were somewhat thick, likely a good few centimeters wide, but Negi had a plan. Yuna hadn't given any indication of noticing the magic he was weaving into the air yet, but there was one more test he wanted to try. While it might not have been impossible for a normal person to loosen these, it would've taken someone incredibly strong and was well beyond the capability of one child to move even one bar, let alone both with one hand each. Doing something questionably within human limits might be enough to reveal if she was consciously aware of any powers she had.
Slowly, Negi started to ease the bars apart, putting a mask of slight effort being applied. Part of it was to not further scare the already frightened animal, but also because he didn't want it to be too obvious about it. If she truly was an innocent, normal girl who simply happened to have some hidden power, Negi wasn't certain if he wanted to tell her everything yet.
The stuck feline slowly started pulling its head back with each further pull, till with one final tug, their head was pulled free. With its newfound freedom, the cat shook its head a few times.
"You did it! I didn't know you were so strong, Negi-san. Those bars looked really hard to move." Yuna cheer with a bright smile.
"It's only natural to help anyone in need." Negi returned with his own pleased smile. Internally, however, the mage pensively waited for any sign that Yuna might speak up or draw special attention to the act. She didn't appear to pay it much mind…
"Mhm! Helping people is what a hero would do." With her upbeat answer, Yuna crouched down near the cat, which seemed to somewhat cautious eye the three newcomers, and pulled out some dried meat from her pocket, slowly setting it down nearby. "Here, I was saving this for later, but food always makes me feel better, so you can have it." Speaking calmly to the frazzled feline, Yuna offered before taking a step back to give some space.
"You seem to try and help anyone or anything that crosses your path." Fate dryly commented, taking a step closer.
The cat, which had approached the offering cautiously, craned it's head up toward Fate, looking directly at them, before letting out a quick hiss and snatching up the meat, scampering off.
"It doesn't appear to think very fondly of me." Fate flatly observed while the animal raced away.
"It might help if you were a little softer sometimes, Fate." Amused, Negi commented with a small grin.
"This is me being 'softer', Negi-kun." Fate answered with a side eyed glance.
"Aw, it ran away..." Yuna muttered lowly before jumping back up and changing back to her usual cheery self, quickly as the flip of a switch. "Anyway, sorry about the delay! Let's get moving again. The shop's super close now."
Wordlessly, the two mages followed behind Yuna a more leisurely pace, yet not without a quick conversation of their own.
{She doesn't appear to have given any sign of noticing the magic, nor would first impressions raise any cause for concern about her being a danger. I'm sure she's like Minowa-san and more likely to get herself into danger helping someone.} Fate commented without looking toward Negi.
{No, she doesn't. Yuki-san's a kind and helpful girl that likes to help anyone she sees, kind of like Minowa-san, yes. But, I'd still like to know more about this if possible. She didn't seem to comment about what I did, but we might not have another chance to meet with her if everything goes well and we leave soon. Maybe we can try some more direct questions, it'd be easy to brush off as a simple interest in magic tricks if nothing comes of it.} Negi responded, internally conflicted over the matter while considering the final test. If she didn't have any awareness of whatever power she held, then that could have made her an innocent target, just like how Konoka had been kidnapped during his trip to Kyoto due to her incredible magic potential. Negi didn't expect the Taisha to kidnap Yuna or anything like that, but at the same time, he couldn't help worry about her future if this was the case. Someone like this would likely be a prime target to become a strong Hero if the Taisha recruited more and Yuna, so far, felt like the kind of girl who would've certainly taken that chance if offered, with her very heroic spirit and kindness. Maybe it would have been good to tell her anyway...
"Aaaaaand in here is the udon shop." Yuna gestured toward an opening in the next building after the group had turned the corner. It was a small and plain looking shop from the outside, a red colored awning covered the entrance for several body lengths wide, where a narrow door lead to the interior, the enticing aroma of cooking food spreading through the air from within the building.
"Thank you for showing us, Yuki-san. Are you hungry? I'll buy you a bowl as thanks if you'd like." Negi offered. It was only polite to properly thank Yuna for going out of her way like this, plus it'd be a good excuse to talk more.
"Thank you, Negi-san, but I'm fine to eat later if you want to keep expl-" The loud growl of Yuna's starving stomach, a hunger awakened by the smell of udon nearby, cut the girl off before she could finish her sentence and made her eyes widen
"Giving her food to a stray cat when she was starving herself… I told you, Negi-kun." Fate bluntly added with a deadpan voice, furthering the still deepening pink blush of embarrassment upon Yuna's face.
"Come on inside, let me get you something." Negi insisted, making her way over to the door.
"I-If it's fine, then s-sure." Yuna muttered, the customary energy in her voice briefly hampered from the embarrassment of her loud stomach while she followed the pair inside.
Once inside, Yuna had given a familiar greeting to the man behind the counter, the one running the eatery, more a small stand than a proper restaurant, with only a couple tables to sit at besides the front bar. The three had ordered their food and, after a kind thank you from Yuna and Negi with a less kind one from Fate, taken a seat at one of the further tables and spent a short time trying the food before conversation broke out.
"So, Yuki-san, what else do you do besides helping people?" Negi ask while Yuna took a ravenous mouthful of her udon noodles.
"Hrm? Well, I like to press flowers and I also practice martial arts! My otou-san taught me a lot about it." Yuna answered with a positive grin.
Flower pressing and martial arts? Rather normal hobbies, Negi observed. "Fate and I practice martial arts as well."
Immediately, Yuna's eyes lit up with an excited sparkle, the girl leaning forward from across the table closer to Negi. "You do? What do you practice?"
"Oh, I know a couple different ones, mainly Chinese Kenpo, but a few styles like Bagua Zhang and Bajiquan specifically, along with some other styles like Aikido..." Negi answered, mentally going through some of the techniques he had picked up. The first two were what he had practiced the most, but far from the only kind he used.
"Likewise, I know many styles, far more than only hand to hand as well, like Kenjutsu." Fate commented, sipping the only thing he had ordered, a cup of coffee.
"I've never heard of some of those styles, you should show me sometime. Maybe you two could come by my home and we could practice together someday. There's not a lot of other kids around who practice it much and sparring with other kids would be fun. I bet my otou-san could teach you guys some stuff too!" Yuna suggested with a pleased smile.
Fate gave Yuna a thoroughly unimpressed, long side glance while drinking his coffee for several seconds with an unbroken glance. The skepticism and dismissal was written almost painfully clearly across his face. The mere suggestion from a, mostly normal, pre-teen girl that he would be a good sparring partner for her, bringing forth a mixture of incredulity and even a hint of dry amusement.
"Maybe. We're fairly busy, but I'd be happy to show you some moves if there's time." Though Negi knew it was highly unlikely there would be such time, at least on this trip, Negi didn't have the heart to reject Yuna's almost boundless optimism and good mood when she was trying so hard to be friends. Still, he had to try rerailing the conversation somewhat before it got too out of hand.
"There's one more thing we're both interested in, actually." Negi added, maintaining his cheery as ever demeanor, despite the lure he was going to throw out with the next question, hoping it might reveal something.
"We both practice magic."
"Like magic tricks?" Yuna's answer was immediate, without an ounce of hesitation or suspicion, not even slight contemplation given before the words left her mouth.
Negi paused for a moment to consider his answer. She hadn't even thought about it for a millisecond. Yuna was a completely and utterly 'normal' young girl or an absurdly good actor, and given the small number of supernatural presences on Shikoku, Negi was willing to bet on the former. But, that left the question of what to do now? Did he tell her and maybe try to give her some magic as a precaution? There was no way there would be time for proper instruction, leaving it all to self-study and that could potentially snowball badly, alongside the Taisha giving strict instructions to keep this secret. Negi knew the value in keeping a secret, especially when it came to magic. But, at the same time, the fact he was leaving was also a cause for concern over Yuna, given his past experiences when it came to special talents and signaling people out, both personally and from seeing others. On the other hand, maybe this would make her even more of a target...
{Fate, I think we should tell her about magic and see about giving her it.} Negi told Fate, making up his mind. Most of his class had benefited greatly from magic, but Yuna was certainly someone with potential and with how dangerous the enemies faced were, if she were ever to become involved, it would've been better to be prepared after seeing multiple close calls. It may have been jumping the gun somewhat, but when one individual across an entire island caught his attention without any explainable supernatural reason, it felt appropriately cautious. Even despite magic being secret in his Earth, he wasn't opposed to people learning of it after everything he had gone through, it simply needed to be done carefully.
{Are you certain Negi-kun?} Fate asked, their eyes switching to stare at Negi.
"Not exactly." Negi finally answered, only a second having passed, throwing Fate a small and subtle nod as well. "It's… kind of complicated to explain. Why don't you finish up and meet us outside, I'd like to show you something."
Yuna curiously tilted her head, her eyes certainly confused, yet an interest in what the mages could've had in store for her. "Um, sure!"
"Great, we'll be right outside then." Negi answered, taking a final mouthful of his food, he had only ordered a small amount, and then standing up, taking care to leave his area clean. Behind him, Fate followed after finishing his cup of coffee, leaving the slightly confused Yuna to finish the last few bites of her's.
Paying for the meal, Negi and Fate headed outside, standing by a wall across from the small eatery they had used moments ago.
"I assume you have a plan for this." Fate finally spoke up, no one at risk for hearing anything suspicious nearby or cameras to record them.
"If she can keep a secret, then yes. There's something special about Yuki-san, and I wouldn't be surprised if she somehow got involved with the current matter someday. Just in case, I think it's a good idea." Negi answered confidently. It may have been a bit sudden for all this, but he didn't want to get distracted for too long after their latest breakthrough.
Shortly after they left, Yuna's form dashed out of the shop, throwing the mages a quick wave before rushing over toward them. "Hey! Sorry about the wait, you wanted to show me something?"
"Yes, but first, I'd like to ask, can you keep a secret? What I'm about to show you is very sensitive." Negi confirmed, sensing around for anyone one last time, but satisfyingly finding no one else who would see them. Sound wouldn't be an issue, that was easy to magically muffle.
"A secret?" Yuna tilted her head, perplexed. "Yeah, sure!"
"You can't tell anyone else about this, not a single person." Fate added sternly.
"I don't exactly understand, but I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to. I promise." Yuna affirmed her answer once again with a nod and friendly smile, if still sounding a touch confused over what was going on.
"Alright. Fate, could you take us to the countryside then?" Negi cheerily asked, opening the floor to his friend expectantly.
"What do you mean the country sid-" Yuna started to ask, only for her words to die upon seeing Fate's hand start to glow with magic. "E-Eh!? H-How's he doing that?!"
"Try not to move around too much, or you might not make it there with everything attached." Fate flatly stated a second before activating the magic.
When the magic faded, the group had been transported from their urban surroundings to the more mountainous regions overlooking the city, far from civilization atop a grassy hill, with some trees of various sizes scattered around it.
"H-How did we-" Yuna sputtered while glancing around the area in complete confusion, head whipping back and forth with wide eyes.
"Teleporting." Fate bluntly answered. Explaining the supernatural to people who had no experience with it was often a troublesome matter.
"W-Wait," Yuna muttered, attention shooting over to the mages while she started to process the situation and regain her composure. "By magic, y-you meant real magic?"
"There's not too many other ways we could've gotten here so fast." Negi answered with a quick nod.
"How did you learn how to do that!?" Yuna asked, running up close to the two mages, her expression like that of a child who just found a new toy.
"A lot of practice and studying." Negi replied, his friendly tone undeterred by Yuna coming perhaps slightly too close into personal space with her excitement. "We actually brought you here, because we wanted to ask if you would be interested in being taught magic. There's a lot it can do." To punctuate his point, Negi raised a finger, forming a small flame atop it.
"Eh?" Yuna answered, her face lit up like a Christmas tree at first, yet after a moment to let the offer sink in, her face shifted to an uncertain one. "But, why do you want to teach it to me?"
"Because you have something that drew out attention. We came out here to investigate something we sensed, only to find you." Fate interjected, cutting straight to the point. There was more to the story, but Yuna didn't need to know anything else besides that and she had a certain potential in her.
"B-Because of me?" Yuna stammered, a red tinge of embarrassment coloring her cheeks, the usual energy of her words slightly damped by the sudden insistence of being worth so much trouble. "I'm really not anyone that special..."
"Regardless of if you're aware of it or not, you have something unique about you, with the potential to become someone quite strong. You may believe it or not, but it does not change the reality." Fate continued with a gesture of his hand to command attention, doing little to help Yuna's composure. The question still remained of just what exactly was special about the girl, but felt powerful.
"B-but really! I don't even know what you're talking about..." Yuna muttered weakly.
"Setting that aside then, would you still like to learn?" Negi interjected. "You do martial arts, and magic is more than just spells like this. Remember how I pulled open the bars? I used magic to make myself much stronger than normally possible. It's great with martial arts."
"Magic can do that too?" Yuna said, her excitement beginning to return, replacing her flustered features. "What do I need to do?"
Good, she was eager, but that could potentially be dangerous as well with the terms and conditions of the offer. "First, I must restate you cannot tell a soul, not any friends or even family, only someone else aware of magic, like us."
Yuna barely hesitated. "I already promised I won't tell anyone, but how do I tell who else has magic? Wait, that mean there's more people like you around?"
"A few. You'll be able to 'sense' magic eventually and be able to tell." Negi responded with a quick nod.
"Oooh..." Yuna likewise nodded, a not remotely contained expression of wonder plastered across her face. "That sounds cool! What do I do then?"
"Well, about that..." Negi trailed off. Now came the difficult part for the mages to explain. The 3 Heroes training had already been somewhat unconventional, but Yuna's was certainly going to be interesting and largely up to her if no other obstacles came up which caused setbacks getting home.
"We're kind of going to be busy with something and might not be around for a while, so we can't do too much else aside from give you some material to study with a bit on your own. How good are you at self-study?" Negi curiously asked, a little hopefulness in his voice.
"I'm better at athletic stuff than studying eheheh…" Yuna admitted with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of her head and a touch of pink to her cheeks.
Fate felt a disappointed sigh come from his mouth. She was one of those kind of students was she? He had dealt with a few like that while substituting for Negi's class. Negi himself had done a lot of self-study, but they were a special case and naturally inclined toward academics. This person obviously had something unique as well, yet it sounded like they weren't fond of academics. Teaching her perhaps wasn't a bad idea itself, but to leave their magic education up to self-studying, especially with the secrecy required? That seemed questionable.
"But I'll still try my best!" Yuna quickly corrected.
Highly questionable.
"I had students who disliked or were bad at studying, but they took to magic quite well, maybe you'll be the same." Taking a more optimistic attitude than Fate did, Negi comforted.
"Really?" The news seemed to further encourage Yuna's resolve, her smile growing. "I'll give it a try then!"
"Alright, good. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time right now to give any dedicated lessons or go over matters too in depth, but I know we can make a detailed book to read from and study in a short time. Shouldn't take longer than a day or two to get it to you." Negi explained.
"That's pretty quick! But, you said you were going to be busy with something for a while soon. Can I at least know how to contact you so we can keep in touch?" Yuna asked, a little worry in her tone at the idea of not seeing her new friends again.
"Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to contact us for a while, sorry… But, don't worry! We won't be gone forever and we'll be sure to let you know when we're back." Negi apologized, alongside rapidly correcting himself upon seeing the downcast expression it put on Yuna's normally happy face.
"Where are you going then?" Though placated somewhat by the answer, she still remained rather confused.
"Personal matters, a long story." Fate quickly interrupted. Naturally, it would be odd how one couldn't keep in contact when the world as they knew it was confined to a single, small island. Being at opposite ends would make meeting in person difficult, yet with technology or magic, at least communicating across long distances was a trivial matter.
"Oh, sorry! I won't pry then." Yuna apologized in almost the same beat Fate had answered.
"Well, I think we've discussed what we need to. We can take you home from here, if you would like, Yuki-san." Negi suggested.
"Already? But I haven't had the chance to show you much of the city yet?" Perplexed, Yuna questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Negi shook his head reluctantly. "We would like to look around more, or at least I would, but we came here to find what ended up being you, and we have some important business to take care of."
"Aw, that's too bad, but I understand! Do you have time for one little quick practice session? I know you're probably way stronger than me and might win easy, but I'd love to see some of those cool styles you mentioned and how magic helps with martial arts! If it's not too much trouble, of course!" Yuna eagerly asked, a spark of restrained curiosity in her voice, while raising her hands in a half relaxed combat position.
"S-"
"Certainly." Before Negi could make the offer, Fate shot forward at speeds impossibly beyond human perception, gripping her wrist with one arm while simultaneously hooking and sweeping one of Yuna's legs out from under her, throwing her off balance and offering no resistance against being pulled and flipped forward hard enough to spin in a complete circle twice, and hit the grass on her back with a dull thud.
"Y-Yuki-san, are you alright?!" Taken aback by Fate's sudden motion, Negi quickly rushed over to the girl's side.
"Ow..." Yuna muttered with a small groan, but her briefly pained expression vanished almost the instant it appeared. Raising herself up quickly, Yuna now had a surprisingly undeterred, excited even, grin on her face. "I didn't really get to see what you did, but that was so fast!"
"Magic can make you extremely fast and strong, such as like that. Paired with skill in physical combat, it can be a powerful combination." Fate curtly added.
{… Fate, that was extremely unnecessary.} Negi threw out with dry, exasperated disapproval on his face.
{She asked for it, Negi-kun. She liked it anyway. Besides, pain and defeat can be an important lesson.}
Negi sighed. {We already had this discussion about you throwing cha- Wait… Is this about what she said at the udon restaurant?}
{Don't be ridiculous, Negi-kun.} Perhaps that was a small part.
"So, I could do that someday too then?" Jumping back to her feet, Yuna seemed more encouraged than anything else.
"Perhaps, but we must be going now. Further information will be in the textbook we send you. Don't worry about how it will arrive or anyone else seeing it, we'll take care of that." Fate answered plainly.
"Okay then! It was nice meeting both of you, Negi-san, Fate-san. I hope we'll see each other again soon!" Yuna smiled widely at the pair.
"Likewise, Yuki-san." Negi matched the warmth of the expression with his own. "Fate, whenever you're ready?"
Gathering his magic, Fate prepared a teleportation spell once more. Once they dropped Yuna off, there would be much work to do.
Home was within sight.