Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½
Rise of Prodigies
Chapter Sixty: Preparing for the Final Battle II: Pactios
Beta:
Kotarō Inugami stood on the upper deck of the Great Paru-sama and stared off into the distance at the Ostian landscape before him, at the myriad floating islands that dotted the sky as far as the eye could see. He however was registering none of it. Instead, he was fixating on one thought that repeatedly ran through his mind.
I'm weak. He lamented. I'm one of the champions of the New Ostian Tournament, I should be strong… But really… I'm weak.
Even among the people on the airfish now, and not counting the totality of Ala Alba, he was mid-tier at best. Upper mid-tier, yes, but still only in the middle bracket of strength. And even there, whilst he hadn't fought her, he was sure Asakura-san could give him a run for his money.
And she was one of the weakest of us when we first came to Mundus Magicus too.
The wannabe journalist's growth was truly phenomenal. Her talent for necromancy and synergy with her Guardian Spirit, Aisaka-san, was amazing!
If she was the only member of Ala Alba who had grown strong super fast, Kotarō could've chalked it up to her being exceptional, but she wasn't. Every one of them had! Sure, most of them hadn't grown as much as the Necromancer but even their generally pacifistic healer, Konoka-san, was now totally badass in a fight!
And then there's the others in the mid-tier who were strong to begin with like Sakurazki-san…
It was almost ironic really that they were the ones who seemed to have grown the least. In that way, they were in the same boat as Kotarō but…
Like I said, they were strong to begin with.
That was not to say that all those who had been strong when they first reached Mundus Magicus had seemingly stagnated like he had. Miyazaki-san for example had gotten insanely stronger too, having picked up a set of Artifacts to compliment her Pactio Artifact's mind reading ability and mastering a number of truly scary spells. But she, and those in the same category as her, paled in comparison to the real monsters: Negi; and, to a much greater extent, Ranma-san.
That Magia Erebea (Dark Magic) thing Negi picked up is just broken!
Seriously allowing him to absorb spells and in the process gaining some of the attributes of said spell? That was just crazy! Sure, it came with the downside of potentially turning Negi into an out of control, bloodthirsty demon but as a Hanyō, Kotarō didn't see much of a problem with that. The out of control bit was a little worrying but the half-demon was sure Negi would find a way to fix the issue, especially with Ranma-san's help like he'd set out to obtain. After all, what couldn't the redhead do nowadays?
How in the world did that girl end up a literal slime god thing anyways!?
The scary thing was that Kotarō was fairly sure he wasn't being hyperbolic when he described Ranma-san as a god, not like when people labeled exceptionally powerful demons or magical beasts as demon gods. To his Hanyō senses, Ranma-san was different. He never made a big deal of it because it was obvious to him that the redhead was deliberately playing it down but she reeked of divinity in a way that human senses couldn't perceive. And that was after he was sure she'd been suppressing it like crazy.
How the hell did she manage to become a goddess and I'm still so bloody weak!? Kotarō thought as he growled in frustration.
A trio of familiar scents approaching caught his attention however and Kotarō quickly reined his temper in. He didn't want to scare Izumi-san, Okouchi-san and Natsumi-nee. So it was whilst only exhibiting mild irritation, by his standards, that he turned to the three girls that were walking towards him.
"What is it?" He barked.
Izumi-san and Okouchi-san winced at his irritation but Natsumi-nee just shot him a glare.
"Don't be rude, Kotarō-kun. Whatever's got you upset, don't take it out on us." She scolded as Izumi-san and Okouchi-san nodded in agreement.
It was Kotarō's turn to wince and with a gulp, he hastily moderated his tone before repeating his question. "Sorry. Uh, so what did you girls need from me?"
Natsumi-nee was nodding in satisfaction at his change in tone when Izumi-san and Okouchi-san suddenly pushed her forward, causing her to turn to her friends in surprise as she stumbled a little. "Akira-chan? Ako-chan?"
The other two girls just nodded in Kotarō's direction, causing Natsumi-nee to blush lightly and the Hanyō to grow wary at whatever the trio wanted. He thus looked towards their apparent spokeswoman inquiringly.
"Uh, so, Kotarō-kun," a still blushing Natsumi-nee began nervously even as her attitude caused Kotarō himself to grow anxious. "I, um, I mean, the three of us would like your help to gain some power for ourselves so we can feel a little safer."
Gain power with my help? The Inu Hanyō thought with a bitter laugh.
"I'm the last person you should be asking for that."
Her attitude switching on a dime like only she could, Natsumi-nee's anxiety evaporated and was instantly replaced with exasperation as she reached out and grabbed one of Kotarō's canine ears.
"Oh, stop moping, Kotarō-kun!" She scolded as she pulled on his ear in reprimand. "You're plenty strong! You're just not insane like Negi-sensei and Ranma-san!"
"Okay, okay, I get it! Stop pulling on my ear damnit!"
Huffing in irritation and looking skeptical that she'd convinced him, Natsumi-nee was nevertheless merciful and released his abused ear. And just like before, her attitude underwent an abrupt change as she suddenly became visibly nervous again.
"Besides," she said in a barely audible whisper. "You're the only person who I want to help me with this."
Now, despite what many of his friends said, Kotarō was not an idiot. And even if he was, it didn't take a genius to figure out what Natsumi-nee wanted: a Pactio. With him. Thus blushing and scratching his cheek nervously, he nodded as he otherwise tried to play it cool.
"S-Sure, I'd be happy to make a Pactio with you, Natsumi-nee."
This seemed to be the cue that Izumi-san and Okouchi-san were waiting for and the words had barely left his mouth before they suddenly jumped forward to stand beside Natsumi-nee and declared, "We need Pactios too!"
Blushing crimson, Kotarō hastily replied. "No way! The only one I'd kiss is-"
Before he could finish, in a daring move, Natsumi-nee reached forward and pulled him into a kiss. It was only a brief peck on the lips really, but it still made blinding fireworks go off in his head. He was kissing Natsumi-nee!
Oh, wait! Those fireworks weren't in my head. That was from the Pactio being sealed. Kotarō realized as his vision returned and he briefly saw Natsumi-nee all dressed up in what must've been her Pactio's battle costume. He wasn't able to get a good look at it though before she disappeared entirely.
"Um, that… yeah." Kotarō said distractedly as he touched his lips in shock even as in the background he heard that pervy Ermine Spirit, Chamo, cheering at earning some good money for the new Pactio.
"My turn next, Inugami-kun." Okouchi-san pressed.
"Then me," Izumi-san added.
Both girls were shooting him eager looks as they said that and Kotarō felt like a heel for what he was about to do, but he was serious when he said the only person he wanted to kiss was Natsumi-nee.
"Sorry," he said honestly as before either girl could react, he used Shundō (Instant Movement) to teleport away.
He had a Ministra Magi to find and question anyways. Seriously, what was Natsumi-nee thinking, seeking him out for a Pactio and bringing her two friends along when she did so!? She knew him well enough to know he'd only ever consider making a Pactio with her!
She can be so easily swayed by peer pressure at times. He thought with fond exasperation as he raced through the halls of the Great Paru-sama in search of his new Ministra.
Ako couldn't help the pout on her face as the young dog boy had run off like a bat out of hell. Geez!
Turning to her friend, she said. "Is he still in the girls are icky phase or what?"
"We should have expected this." Akira sighed.
Gently clapping her hands, Ako's face turned a touch pink, she said. "Plan B?"
Akira nodded and Ako returned one of her own.
Thus at an unspoken signal, both of them, flush with determination, ran off to find one of the other mages in their group to form a Pactio!
Ako was outpaced by Akira however as they both raced towards Yuna-chan. They knew her the best and she was a pretty good mage from what Makie-chan had boasted. She was thus naturally their first choice as a Magistra for a Pactio. And Ako needed one. She needed to be able to do something. Even if she only got a mediocre magical item as her Pactio Artifact, if she could be the slightest bit helpful maybe it would ease the gnawing guilt she had at causing Akira, Natsumi and herself to end up as slaves. Of everyone in Ala Alba having to constantly fight to protect them whilst she could only cower in fear.
"Yuna-chan!" Ako wheezed out as she finally found Yuna-chan, frowning at the sight of Akira already chatting with Yuna-chan in a rapidfire manner through the open door of the cabin that the magic gunslinger and Makie-chan shared.
"Oh, hey, Ako-chan!" Yuna-chan smiled at her as she halted her conversation. "Need something?"
The light blue haired girl wanted to speak up, she really did. Yet, she, Natsumi and Akira remembered the conversation they'd had with that magical Ermine Chamo before they had set on their quest to get themselves a Pactio. About how many Ministra each mage could support.
From what she knew, with both Makie-chan and Akira, Yuna-chan was at her limit.
"N-No." She smiled, feeling even more dejected inside at how useless she was to her friends. Akira looked at her, looking somewhat ashamed, but she flashed the swimmer a smile.
Her friend wanted to help too, so it would be selfish of Ako to try and take her own chance away.
"I'm just going to see what we're doing for dinner. Make sure Akira works hard, Yuna-chan." She said, hiding her disappointment.
"Sure thing!" The basketball star replied with a wave. She looked genuinely cheerful but Ako could see a hint of understanding and even apology in her eyes, but in a show of the maturity she'd developed since coming to Mundus Magicus, Yuna-chan didn't let it show. Thus allowing Ako to preserve her dignity by pretending she didn't understand what was going on.
Ako offered her friend a grateful smile in response to that as she offered her and Akira, and a confused looking Makie-chan who she glimpsed through the open cabin door, a wave of her own as she raced past them and deeper into the Great Paru-sama.
Her desperation carried her through the airfish. There was more than one mage on the ship after all!
Yet, at each and every turn, the trainee nurse had no luck.
First was Chisame-san! S-She was tough, strong and pretty much the leader when Negi-sensei wasn't around.
Ako had hoped that the orangette's sense of responsibility as Ala Alba's de facto second-in-command would give her the 'in' she needed to convince her. Sadly, that was not the case.
"No." The orangette said bluntly, before shooing Ako away and slamming her cabin door closed behind her.
Alright, so I was flat out rejected. Ako thought, her anxiety starting to build. She pushed it down though. I still have other options. Now's not the time to panic yet!
She could always ask Konoe-san! Though, um, Sakurazaki-san could be pretty overprotective of her 'Ojou-sama'. Wait, would she have to start calling Konoe-san that too? No, best not to try. The bodyguard was pretty scary after all.
Asakura-san was technically an option, but an absolute last resort. She was a good enough person but her Necromancy was creepy and scary. Plus she and Aisaka-san were practically already married, even more so than Konoe-san and Sakurazaki-san! The multiple TMI moments regarding their sex life was proof enough of that. Add in that despite appearances, Aisaka-san was extremely possessive of Asakura-san, the time she'd only stopped from killing the enemy that hurt her girlfriend because she needed to tend to the wounded Necromancer came to mind, and the wannabe journalist was just not an option. Ako didn't even want to think what her ghostly classmate would do to her if she so much as suggested encroaching on her sacred bond with her girlfriend.
Karakuri-san was a robot, so that wouldn't work. Is that… racist? Speciesist? I certainly hope not. If so, I'll apologize later.
Though Ayase-san was an option too!
She's this big magical knight now after all, isn't she? Ako thought as she sprinted in the direction of the cabin that the purplette shared with her friends from Ariadne.
"W-What kind of pervert are you? I hardly even know you and you want that?!" Ayase-san said as she slammed her cabin door shut in Ako's face.
At her second outright rejection, Ako's depression was growing into a thick, black ichor at this point, bogging her down as her options dwindled.
Briefly, she considered asking Negi-sensei when he came back from speaking with Ranma-san. Yet, just as quickly as the thought occurred to her, she dismissed it. She didn't want to trouble him even more by begging to be his partner. What if she got something worthless from her Pactio? If he was her Magister in that scenario, then she'd be even more of a burden to him! She couldn't accept that. She just couldn't! He already had so many things weighing down his shoulders!
With all her options exhausted, she swallowed her fear of Sakurazaki-san and headed off to find Konoe-san.
If this fails, then Asakura-san is my only option left. Ako thought with a shudder. I really hope that Konoe-san and Sakurazaki-san are okay with this.
Knocking on the door to the magical healer and her bodyguard/girlfriend's cabin, Ako waited as the door was opened.
"Oh! Izumi-san, is there something you need?" The gentle brunette asked.
Mustering all her courage, she bowed deeply. "P-Please! Let me be your Ministra! I want to be able to help!"
"Huh?" The princess of their Academy said in bewildered surprise.
"Ojou-sama, what is all the racket?" Sakurazaki-san asked, looking somewhat flush in the face as she wore… cat ears? How strange. And was she buttoning up her blouse? And why wasn't she wearing any bottoms!?
Wait! Were they…
"Izumi-san wants to join our little family." Konoe-san said, totally unfazed by Ako catching sight of her girlfriend's state of undress.
Wait, what? F-Family?! Wasn't it like a warrior to wizard contract? No wait, that perverted Ermine said for some people, he'd used Ranma-san and Haruna-san's parents as an example, it was seen as a marriage contract too!
Ako blushed furiously and in mortification at the implication.
"I don't think we should, Ojou-sama." The swordswoman said in a stern tone. The cat ears were certainly not helping her look serious though. Nor was the fact that she was mostly naked, because now that Ako had time to get a good look, she was pretty sure she wasn't wearing anything at the moment besides those cat ears and her blouse! "Izumi-san is, to be frank, a civilian while both of us are trained for combat. It would be unwise to drag her into this fight and forming a Pactio with her will do that."
It felt like bile was clawing up Ako's throat. Even when trying to help she still came off as a burden. This feeling was strong enough for the trainee nurse to easily push aside her unease at having essentially caught her classmates engaging in hanky panky.
"B-But! What if I get a strong magical item! Every little bit counts, r-right? Right?"
She didn't want to sound desperate, but at this point? What choice did she have?
"Please, please I can't be a burden here! I have to do something instead of sitting here watching the world unravel!" Ako exclaimed with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Let me finish." The swordswoman chided and Ako zipped her lip, swallowing heavily as the other girl continued. "At the same time, Izumi-san really should have something to defend herself with."
Yet, even while saying this, Sakurazaki-san seemed sour about the whole idea.
"There there, Set-chan." Konoe-san said as she patted the top of her girlfriend's head. Oh, oh! Ako blushed at the implication. And did Sakurazaki-san purr at being petted?! "This Pactio will only be provisional. Once this is all over and we get home? We'll make a permanent one together. Just the two of us. It'll be super duper steamy~"
"O-Ojou-sama!" Sakurazaki-san sputtered, her face an atomic red in embarrassment.
"And Izumi-chan can join in if we like her enough." Konoe-san said, looking impish.
"What?" Ako squeaked like a mouse.
"Kidding~"
Ako's heart might not last with this devil in angel's clothing as her Magistra, but… If it meant she wasn't useless anymore then she'd learn to live it. Even if it did mean she'd end up as Konoe-san's sidepiece. It wasn't like she didn't like girls that way after all.
"Now, let's make that circle. Chamo-kun showed me how to do it in case we needed to shore up our arsenal." She looped an arm around Ako's and pulled her into her cabin, even as thin strands of light created by what the trainee nurse recognized as her soon-to-be Magistra's Vincula Lucis (Chains of Light) spell quickly formed into the Pactio circle in a open space inside the room. "Time to show you how we do a Pactio Konoka style~"
Ako was not prepared. Nor were her lips. Or her everything.
Whilst Izumi-san, Okouchi-san and Murakami-san were carrying out their plan to attempt to secure Pactios for themselves, Kaede and Kū Fei-san were patrolling the Great Paru-sama, a assignment that Ala Alba had started up as a precaution since Cosmo Entelecheia tried to infiltrate their group. It was a mundane, and frankly boring, task and so the two friends were also using it as an opportunity to shoot the breeze as they carried it out.
"Kū Fei respect Negi-sensei decision." Kaede's Chinese friend said with a frown. "But it still naive. Elf girl only good for information aru."
"I agree with you," Kaede admitted. "But Negi-sensei is our leader. We chose to follow him. We need to have faith in him and his choices de gozaru."
"Agree." Kū Fei-san said with a nod. "But Kū Fei no like how decision split party. It never good to split party. Just look at when first got to Magical World aru."
Kaede winced at the reminder. "Yeah, that was a major annoyance. We're lucky Ranma-san gathered us back together so quickly de gozaru."
Kū Fei-san nodded in agreement once more. "Ranma-san know how to lead aru."
"About that," Kaede said, jumping on the topic now that it had been raised. "If you agree with how Ranma-san leads, why didn't you leave with her de gozaru?"
"Simple," Kū Fei-san said with a shrug. "Me no part of her group. Besides, need to help keep this group from stupid. Too many idealists."
Kaede sighed even as she expressed her agreement. "They're too naive. Not all of them. Chisame-san and Chachamaru-san are pragmatic enough, but they're too busy most of the time just reining Negi-sensei in. They needed our help with the others."
"Otherwise, naivety get them killed." Kū Fei-san said with a shake of her head. "Just look how they handle Ayase-san and her Ariadne friends."
"They still see Ayase-san as our classmate and friend, even though she doesn't even remember us." Kaede said with a frown. "It's coloring their judgment."
"Exactly," Kū Fei-san said with a firm nod. "Should treat her and her friends as potential spies. Nothing more."
"I wouldn't go that far." Kaede said with a shake of her head. "That would just alienate Ayase-san and her friends."
"Worth it." Kū Fei-san countered. "Cannot afford spies."
Kaede frowned. "I understand where you're coming from, Kū Fei-san, but I don't agree. Ayase-san is our fellow Baka Ranger. She's our friend. Even if she doesn't remember it. That has to count for something."
"You miss her," Kū Fei-san pointed out. "Can hear it in tone."
"I do." Kaede confessed. "I miss hearing her use that acerbic wit of hers to cover for her short stature."
Kū Fei-san let out a nostalgic sigh at that and probably would've responded but they were interrupted when they suddenly saw Okouchi-san and Izumi-san race down a parallel hallway to their own.
"What got into them?" Kū Fei-san asked as she exchanged a questioning look with Kaede.
The answer was provided from a truly unexpected quarter as out of nowhere, Murakami-san, dressed in an outfit, that Kaede pegged as a Pactio battle costume, consisting of a red medieval European style dress with a corseted bodice and white underskirt, a brown cloak and a wide brimmed hat decorated by a large white bow whilst wielding what Kaede assumed was her Artifact, a half golden masquerade mask with black engravings and red feathers that served as accouterments, in her right hand, suddenly appeared whilst accompanied by Inugami-kun.
Neither I nor Kū Fei-san sensed them. Kaede noted to herself in surprise. Inugami-san I can understand. His skill with Shundō is good enough that he can move too fast for us to detect him until he drops out of it, but how did Murakami-san manage it? It didn't look like Inugami-san transported her with his Shundō.
"The two of them are hunting for someone to make Pactios with them." The Hanyō explained. "As you can see, Natsumi-nee made one with me. I turned the other two down so they're looking for alternatives."
"We were feeling useless and wanted something to let us at least defend ourselves." Murakami-san added with a shrug.
Kū Fei-san nodded in approval. "Good. Always good to be able to defend yourself."
"Yes, if you three can do that then we might have to reconsider the plans to leave you in New Ostia. Especially if your Artifacts are powerful or useful enough."
"Was that the plan?" Murakami-san asked with a frown. "Leaving us in New Ostia whilst the rest of you went off to invade the bad guy's main base?"
"You have little to no combat experience de gozaru. To even think you would be coming along in the first place is rather foolish." Kaede pointed out.
Murakami-san's frown deepened at this and she huffed. "Then I'm happy we went ahead with Operation Pactio Get."
"Me too," Kaede's Chinese friend added. "Increased combat power good."
"Is that what you care about?" Inugami-kun asked with an arched eyebrow.
Kū Fei-san just snorted in reply. "Enemy are monsters like Cosmo Entelecheia and Mage of the Beginning. We need as much combat power as can get."
"It's just, we trained for months to get ready for this. Just tossing them in head first feels wrong, is all." The young Hanyō confessed.
"Agreed." Kaede replied as her thoughts turned to whatever ability of Murakami-san's Artifact had allowed her to sneak up on her and Kū Fei-san. "But sadly, we have little choice if they have something that could aid us. Every advantage we have or can gain matters at this eleventh hour."
From the way that Kū Fei-san was eyeing Murakami-san's presumed Artifact as she replied, Kaede suspected her friend was of the same mind as her. "Combat power is combat power aru. More better. So long not total liability, should come long during attack."
"I don't want to talk about this." Murakami-san said with a frown and reaching over to take a hold of Inugami-kun's hand, she raised her mask to her face, thus activating her Artifact and causing herself and her Magister to disappear from view.
"Can detect them?" Kū Fei-san asked, blinking in surprise. "Me no sense them aru."
"I can't either." Kaede confessed as a predatory smile spread across her face. "Murakami-san's Artifact must be quite powerful. Oh, this gives me so many ideas de gozaru"
After all, stealth was a ninja's best friend. Invisibility however? It was a lover. An exotic one on a far away isolated island, to be specific. But now that it was within reach? She was looking forward to exploiting it to the fullest!
"Kuku, thought so aru." Kū Fei-san nodded, stroking the faux beard she had pulled out of her pocket and put on like she always did when she wanted to appear sagely. "But save plans for later. Now us have patrol." The martial artist leaned in to whisper. "Think they gone?"
Kaede simply shrugged, "They haven't replied or reappeared, so we can assume as much."
Kū Fei-san nodded and started walking once more, prompting her to join the shorter girl.
They continued their patrol in companionable silence for a bit, but Kaede couldn't help break it a moment later. "This really is going to be our most fierce battle yet. I never dreamed of reaching such a stage. It is like something out of my dreams, yet I have this chill up my spine."
"Same." Kū Fei-san admitted. "Am excited. This good chance to show how strong we are."
"Personally, I'm a little worried I won't be able to pull my own weight de gozaru." Kaede said with a sigh.
"No worry, Kaede. You strong."
"Yes, but the others are so much stronger now. They've surpassed us."
Kū Fei-san shrugged. "We still strong. Never forget. We strong enough."
Kaede nodded. She wasn't quite as confident as her friend but she did broadly agree with her.
"Yes, we are." She said, reaffirming her belief in her own abilities. "We are strong. Strong enough to help our friends defeat Cosmo Entelecheia and the Mage of the Beginning."
Kū Fei-san just nodded in agreement.
Afternoon rolled into evening as they continued their patrol and it was as they were finishing off their shift, it would be Asakura-san and Aisaka-san's turn next and they were headed to their cabin to hand over the job, when Kaede and Kū Fei-san came across Chachamaru-san as she was making her way towards the cabins carrying a large manila envelope.
"Excuse me, have either of you seen Okouchi-san and Izumi-san? They were seen running about the Great Paru-sama and I wanted to check up on them." The gynoid said, looking concerned.
"No need to worry, Chachamaru-san." Kaede reassured the greenette.
"They on Operation Pactio Get," Kū Fei-san said with a chuckle with two peace signs. "No need me to explain what they doing, right?"
Chachamaru-san just sighed.
"We'll need to test their Artifacts."
"Think Konoka-san test lots already." Kū Fei-san said with a giggle, wiggling her brows as she did.
Chachamaru-san facepalmed. "Who?"
"Izumi-san I think," Kaede informed her. "We saw them running to Akashi-san and Sasaki-san's cabin and I'm fairly sure Okouchi-san would win that race hands down. Plus Akashi-san can only support one more Ministra."
"Hasegawa-san and Ayase-san will say no." Kū Fei-san said, smirking mischievously. "Izumi-san unlikely wait for Negi-sensei. No want to be burden. That leave Konoka-san."
"I shall go prepare the consoling ice cream. No doubt she has witnessed the darkness of humanity with that girl." The gynoid sighed in despair.
"Or she could've liked it. Izumi-san is bi." Kaede said with a shrug.
"True," Chachamaru-san conceded. "Celebratory ice cream then. I'll play by ear what to call it."
"Good idea." Kū Fei-san said, nodding in agreement.
"Anyway, thank you for letting me know." The gynoid said with a grateful bow. "I've got to work on scheduling that Artifact testing and if they're useful see about how having them will change our plans. Again."
With that she offered Kaede and Kū Fei-san a distracted wave and wandered off, muttering to herself all the while about schedules and plans.
"She works too hard de gozaru."
"True," Kū Fei-san said with a sigh. "At least, she going to see Hasegawa-san. Girlfriend will help destress."
"Girlfriend?"
Kū Fei-san shot her a look. "They not?
"They both like Negi-sensei though." Kaede countered half-heartedly.
"So?"
Kaede didn't bother to reply. She wasn't blind to the growing affections between the three after all.
Shortly after the conversation between Chachamaru-san, Nagase-san and Kū Fei-san in the Great Paru-sama's halls, Chisame was in her cabin stewing over the temerity of Izumi-san to approach her to form a Pactio with her. Didn't the Nurse's Assistant know how intimate a Pactio was supposed to be!? What it meant to make one? How could she ask her, someone she barely knew, to be her Magistra? Sure, some Pactios, especially temporary ones, weren't anywhere that serious, but still!
Her circling, angry thoughts, and the angry rant it had her spewing, were interrupted however when there was a knock on her cabin door.
"Who is it?" The technomage shouted, wary that it was Izumi-san back to plead with her a second time to take her on as her Ministra.
"It's me, Chisame-san." Chachamaru-san's voice called out from the other side of the metal door. "May I come in?"
"Sure," Chisame replied as she relaxed. It was only her friend.
Stepping in with a smile, Chachamaru-san addressed her. "Thank you. And just so you know, Izumi-san truly might not have known the significance of a Pactio. It might not have been explained to her. Or if it was, what it meant didn't sink in."
"Reading my mind now, Chachamaru-san?" Chisame asked dryly as she gestured for her friend to take a seat on her bed as she herself slumped onto the cabin's lone chair.
"No, I could hear you through your cabin door."
Chisame paled at having been caught ranting but Chachamaru-san rushed to reassure her. "Don't worry, it was muffled enough that even my sensors barely heard you. Besides, I have an advantage."
"Oh?" Chisame asked, looking at her gynoid friend questioningly.
"I heard about Murakami-san, Okouchi-san and Izumi-san's plan to form Pactios." Chachamaru-san explained. "It wasn't hard to extrapolate that they would approach you since you're a mage and without any Pactios. From there it wasn't difficult to figure out how you'd react."
"And how would you know?"
"I know you, Chisame-san." Chachamaru-san said with a smile. "I've gathered enough data points on your personality and how you react to things to predict you'd start ranting about being approached to form a Pactio and your reasons why."
"Uh, C-Chachamaru-san, you have personality data on me?"
"Yes, as one of my closest friends, being able to upkeep your mental well-being is one of my desires. And the data is necessary for that."
Oi oi, i-isn't that a little, um, how do I respond to that?! Chisame blushed at the admission.
"Chachamaru-san! Make a Pactio with me!" Chisame said, desperate to change the topic and saying the first thing that came to mind. Though even as the words left her mouth, she couldn't help but realize they represented her honest desire. She wanted a closer bond with Chachamaru-san and with the topic of Pactios on her mind, it was the obvious way to do just that.
Chachamaru-san looked shocked by Chisame's sudden proposal but with poise that the orangette couldn't help but admire, she recovered quickly.
"Are you serious, Chisame-san?"
Blushing brilliantly, Chisame nodded. "I am."
Chachamaru-san blinked in confusion at her confession. "But how can that be? You were just ranting about how Pactios are supposed to intimate things-"
Cutting her friend off, Chisame reached over to take Chachamaru's hands into her own, and explained. "I think our relationship is more than close enough to warrant it."
Chachamaru-san blushed and looked between their clasped hands and Chisame's own blushing face.
"What do you mean by that, Chisame-san?"
That's a damned good question!?
She and Chachamaru-san were definitely friends. Best friends even, more so than she was with Ranma-san and she'd just admitted earlier in the day that she saw the redhead as her best friend. But then what did that make her and Chachamaru-san?
Caught up in her thoughts, she'd gone silent and this prompted Chachamaru-san to squeeze her hands and lean in to Chisame's face with a look of concern.
"Are you alright?" Chachamaru-san asked, her breath playing across the orangette's face as she did, causing Chisame's heart to face in a way that it only otherwise did when Negi was being all chivalrous or manly or just plain attractive.
Wait! Does that mean- No! Now isn't the time for thinking like that! We're in a war damnit! A war!
Still blushing and with her heart still pounding, Chisame nodded.
"I'm fine, Chachamaru." She assured her friend, experimentally dropping the suffix and metaphorically offering to close the distance in their relationship even further than it already was.
The subtle gesture was not lost on Chachamaru but she also did not make a big deal of it. The only sign of her recognition being the growing blush as she leaned away.
"If you say so," she said, accepting Chisame's lie.
"Chachamaru, I'll ask again. Make a Pactio with me." Chisame said once the gynoid had finished leaning away.
"Why would you want to, Chisame?" Chisame's robotic best friend(?) asked, her voice soft and sounding almost vulnerable even as she returned the gesture that Chisame made her earlier.
"Y-You know, for tactical reasons!" Chisame sputtered, cheeks rosy, even as she mentally cursed herself for not being able to be honest. Not that she even knew what her real reasons for wanting a Pactio with Chachamaru were.
Chachamaru frowned, clearly not happy with her deflection but didn't comment on it.
"I'd be more than happy to make a Pactio with you, Chisame, but I'll need Master's permission and by the time we can return to Mahora to do so, the tactical rationale for it would be moot."
"We can hunt down Scroll-Eva-san and ask her."
She got the driest look from her friend(maybe more) at that. "We will need my real Master's permission, Chisame."
Grumbling a bit, Chisame pouted. "Fine, that's fair. Okay, well, I still want to even when we go back to Mahora. Got it?"
"Why?" Chachamaru asked, looking buoyed.
"L-Like I said, for tactical reasons!" Chisame repeated, mentally cursing her own inability to be honest as she did. Even if she didn't know what being honest meant. "Just getting back to Mahora doesn't mean we'll be safe. Even if we'd likely have beaten Cosmo Entelecheia by then, if we manage that, there might be other enemies in the future."
"I understand." Chachamaru said with a knowing glint in her eyes. "Is that the only reason though?"
Chisame gulped. "For now? Yes. D-Don't read too much into it!"
Chachamaru sighed in disappointment and Chisame hastily added, albeit in a barely audible whisper.
"Give me time, Chachamaru."
The gynoid perked up at this and nodded. "Take all the time you need, Chisame."
Chisame breathed a sigh of relief at Chachamaru not pushing the issue. She didn't know how she'd have answered her friend if she had. She needed time to think about her feelings for the other girl damnit!
"I'll be more than happy to make a Pactio with you after we return to Mahora and have gotten Master's permission, Chisame." The gynoid continued. "Which I imagine shouldn't be too difficult to obtain."
Chisame smiled happily at that, her heart filled with a surge of emotions that she was not willing to sort through at the moment.
Not wanting to touch the mess that was her feelings, Chisame changed the subject. "By the way, Chachamaru, why are you here?"
"I'm here to deliver this," the greenette said as she let go of Chisame's hands at last and pulled an envelope out from the pocket of the blazer she was wearing that she proceeded to pass to the technomage.
"I wasn't expecting anything," Chisame noted with a frown as she took the offered letter and began scanning it with spells.
"Should I go?" Chachamaru asked, eyeing the letter meaningfully.
Chisame shot her a look like she was stupid. "Don't be silly. Of course you can stay. There's nothing I'd hide from you. Besides, if it's a threat I'd want you by my side."
Chachamaru smiled so brilliantly at that vote of trust and confidence that Chismae's heart leapt at the sight.
Gulping, the orangette hastily looked away before she became lost in her friend's beauty and satisfied that the scanning spells she'd cast on the envelope and its contents had came back clean, she opened the envelope to find a letter and a card that was the size and shape of a Pactio card.
Frowning, Chisame picked up the card and looked it over whilst scanning it with more spells before looking to Chachamaru for a second opinion.
"It seems to be a magic tool that uses the same principles as a Pactio card to store an item." The gynoid replied obligingly.
"That's why my spells came back with readings that are so similar to a Pactio?"
"Most likely."
"Why would someone give me something like this?" Chisame questioned out loud as she turned her attention to the letter and began reading it, searching for answers.
What she read brought tears to her eyes. The card was a gift from Rakan-san that as a result of his death had been sent to her as part of the provisions in his will. Apparently, it had originally been something that he had intended to present to her as a "graduation present" for when he thought she was ready to strike out on her own without his mentorship.
"Damn Geezer! The ass is probably laughing it up wherever he is." Chisame scowled as she glared at the card, tears still streaming down her face. "'Graduation present'? Since when was I ever your student anyways!?"
Still, seeing it? The huge moron was the second best teacher she ever had.
"But whatever! I'll put it to good use, you ass." Chisame promised the card, still crying even as Chachamaru took up position behind her and wrapped her arms comfortingly around her shoulders.
The gynoid stayed like that for what must have been a whole half hour as Chisame read the letter's contents over twice, both the messy scrawl of the handwritten note from Rakan-san and the formal legal notice that accompanied it from the executors of his will, offering her silent comfort all the while.
"Thank you, Chachamaru-san." Chisame said honestly as she finally put the letter down and stored the magic storage card away alongside her Pactio card. Only then did she turn around and give Chachamaru-san a tentative smile to show she was alright.
And she was. She still grieved Rakan-san's passing, but she knew he wouldn't want her to become immobilized by it. He'd want her to move forward. To keep fighting the good fight against Cosmo Entelecheia and that's exactly what she'd do!
Chachamaru looked at her skeptically, but Chisame nodded reassuringly and with a sigh, the gynoid finally released her from her hug.
"If you need anything-"
"I know where to find you." Chisame assured her worrywart of a friend.
Chachamaru didn't look convinced but suddenly perked up, eyes glowing with lights that showed her sensors were going off.
"What's up?" Chisame tensed.
"Based on the Great Paru-sama's sensors-" Why does she say the full name every time? "-that I am remotely connected to, it seems Negi-sensei is only a few minutes out."
Chisame nodded and pushed herself up to her feet, stretching her arms over her head as she did. "Right, we should inform the rest of the Chucklehead Brigade. They'll want to do a group welcome back."
"Understood." Chachamaru replied with a nod. "I shall go inform them and grab the Welcome Back ice cream."
"What's with all the ice cream lately?" Chisame goggled.
"Haruna-san had bought it in excess and I wish to relieve the weight of the ship."
Sneaky little minx.
"But geez, could he worry us any more?" Chisame sighed out, resting her head against the wall for a moment before with a tired sigh she pushed herself away from it and began walking towards the door to her cabin. "Come on, Chachamaru-san, we have a welcoming party to muster up. It's a faint hope with all these lunatics onboard but let's try and keep it reasonable for once."
"Coming, Chisame-san." Chachamaru-san said dutifully as she followed after her.
As Negi landed on the Great Paru-sama after returning from training with Ranma-san to master his Magia Erebea, he was pleased but unsurprised to find Chisame-san, Chachamaru-san, Konoka-san and the rest of his students waiting for him on the upper deck of the airfish. It honestly filled him with happiness to see the loyalty that he'd gained from his students.
"Welcome back, Negi-sensei." Chachamaru-san greeted with a smile as she and Chisame-san walked towards her.
"I'm back, everyone." Negi replied with a smile of his own.
"So, Negi-sensei," Chisame-san cut in with crossed arms and a frown. "Did you succeed? Did you master your Magia Erebea?"
Negi nodded confidently.
Confidence that was almost immediately tempered by Scroll-Shishou as she floated over, pushing through his gathered students as she did so.
"Tsk. Don't be so sure about that, boya." The projection of his master said, wagging a finger chidingly at him. "Just because you mastered it whilst training with Ranma-chan doesn't mean you'll be able to consistently do it from now onwards. Real life isn't a shounen. Unless Ranma-chan used her divine powers on you to somehow make it so it's not a problem anymore."
"Did Ranma-san do that?" Chisame-san asked hopefully.
"No," Negi said with a shake of his head. "But I'm sure I can control my Magia Erebea now. I won't lose control again."
"We'll see." Scroll-Shishou said with a disbelieving huff.
"Master, might I ask, if you're here, then who replaced you as the guard for the prisoner?" Chachamaru-san asked the projection curiously.
"The dog boy and his new Ministra," Scroll-Shishou said with a shrug. "They wandered by the cabin you were keeping the elf in and I asked them to switch with me. I wanted to see if the boya here had managed to convince Ranma-chan to come back or not."
"Yes, Negi-sensei, where is Ranma-san and her group? Is she on her way?" Konoka-san asked hopefully as she walked over and began scanning the horizon in the direction whence he came.
"Uh, no." Negi confessed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Ranma-san isn't ready to come back yet."
Konoka-san pouted at the admission and Negi couldn't help but hastily reassure her.
"But don't worry, Konoka-san. I apologized to her already and though she didn't accept it this time, I'm sure she will eventually. It's only a matter of time."
"Even if she doesn't, she'll still fight alongside us." Chisame-san said, looking thoughtful. "Ranma-san might be stubborn about this, but she is also a very pragmatic person. She'll join us when we attack the Gravekeeper's Palace if for no other reason than quantity is a quality all its own. We can count on that."
Negi nodded. "Though Kotarō made a Pactio? With Murakami-san?"
"Who else?" Scroll-Shishou said with a snort. "You'd think that girl would let anyone else get their claws into her man?"
Negi just blinked in confusion at the projection's observation.
"Don't worry about it, Sensei. You'll get it when you're older." Konoka-san reassured him with a playful grin. "In other news, I made a Pactio with Ako-san as well. And Yuna-san did the same with Akira-san."
"W-What? I've only been gone for a few hours!" Negi said, stunned at so many Pactios being made in such a short time.
"We work fast, Sensei~ You aren't the only Pactio fiend after all~" Konoka-san giggled in a way that made him terrified.
"Okay, but why?"
"The same reason you wanted to be strong, boya." Scroll-Shishou told him with a snort. "They didn't want to be powerless. Especially not in the face of monstrous enemies like Cosmo Entelecheia."
Negi frowned. He disapproved of what his students had done. They shouldn't have needed to have to become strong like he had. He was their teacher! He should be protecting them! But he also understood where they came from… He'd been in their position before after all.
"I see." He said softly as he nodded his head in understanding.
I'll need to talk to them about their Pactios. Find out for sure why they did it, learn what their Artifacts can do, see if we should or can work them into our battle plans… But for now…
Balling his hand into a fist, he raised it before his face. "Everyone! It's almost time for what will no doubt be our most perilous fight yet. If we hope to have even a chance to succeed, we'll need to be at our very best and pull out all the stops. Let's finalize our plans to assault Cosmo Entelecheia and bring down the Gravekeeper's Palace! For our friends! For the world!"
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered, fists pumped into the air to join his own.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
And so the merry-go-round of Pactios has been made. The last skill sets are formed. Ala Alba has been reformed into Neo Ala Alba! Now with more school girls. I think getting into the girls' mindsets of this was the best part. Ako especially for me. Her spiraling depression at trying to amount to something in a crazy situation she didn't even want to be in was a blast to write. And I think she got a happy ending for her Pactio with the racy Konoka.
Nameless: We didn't get a chance to explore Akira's mindset this time around but we promise to include it in the next chapter instead. Her thinking was similar enough to Ako's that we thought giving an idea of it later in the game where her mindset would be more unique due to changed circumstances made more sense.
And of course, we had some fluff with Chachamaru and Chisame which was nice to see. Harem sisters working for their future man. I think ChaSame is pretty big with how their relationship developed in Canon. It was honestly very heartwarming and we wanted to emphasize it more with maybe something extra tacked on.
Nameless: Yup. And for canon purists, of which we've had some PMing us lately, please remember this is a fanfic and we can, as many before us have, twist a character's characterization to suit our needs. Which is exactly what we're doing. If it's not to your taste, then this story just might not be something for you. Just appealing to canon isn't anywhere enough to justify us changing something that by this point is built deeply into ROP. And to be honest, I can't think of any arguments that would. Not for something that's already so deeply built into the story.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!