Bwahahaha… Hello there! Welcome to another chapter in this twisted little story! Things are beginning to get weird and they're only gonna get weirder! On top of that, we've got some very special guests in the next few chapters! Starting with this one… Anyway, let's move on, shall we?

---Kouji Tamino

Naoko was walking down the street, coming home from her 'job that's not actually a job', a pocket full of money. She smiled as she thought of how much she had earned in just that day. '10,000¥!! My erm, 'tempting' people to go to the restaurant has really improved Mr. Tarafuku's business, hasn't it?…' She happily skipped down the street, not noticing that she was stepping on a young boy that was lying on the ground, unconscious. She gasped as she heard a groan from behind her. She looked back and her eyes widened. "Oh my!"

The boy had a few scratches on his face and was dressed in an odd outfit. He was wearing a brown jacket with an oddly shaped collar/hood. Naoko couldn't really tell what it was because the outfit was so unusual. The sleeves were folded up showing the white inside. He was wearing matching pants and what seemed to be some sort of skirt to Naoko over it. He was also wearing lighter brown shoes and a very small pair of glasses rested on his nose, which Naoko thought looked very cute. His hair, oddly enough, was two colors. The top of his hair was light brown, and the bottom was dark brown. Another thing she found strange was the long thing he was carrying on his back. She was so engrossed in studying him with her eyes that she didn't notice that he was now awake and staring right back up at her. "Um, hello there… Why are you looking at me like that?"

Naoko gasped and blushed heavily. "Oh, I'm so sorry!! For both the staring and stepping on you!!"

The boy chuckled. "Um, that's okay… I think…" He stood up, but quickly fell to his knees. "Whoa, a feeling a little woozy there…"

Naoko took his hand and helped him up. "Oh, you shouldn't move… You look terrible… What happened to you?"

The boy shook his head slowly. "I don't know… I remember everything else about myself, but I have no idea how I ended up here…"

Naoko smiled. "Then you can come live with me and the others until you get well and hopefully get your memory back!"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "The others?"

"Yeah! Shin-sama, Junko-oneesan, Ami, Megumi, Sakura, and Tenshi! Tenshi's a bunny, though…" She bowed. "By the way, my name is Naoko Sagawa!"

The boy sweat dropped. "Oh great, more girls…" He muttered.

Naoko tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? What was that?"

The boy smiled nervously. "Oh, nothing!" He returned the bow. "But how rude of me… My name is Negi Springfield!"

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Love Hina Next: Second Phase

Week 2, Day 9: A Magical Boy Appears…

"Awwww, he's so cuuuuute!!" Ami, Megumi, and Sakura screamed in unison. They pinched his cheeks and stretched them.

"How old are you, little boy? Negi, was it?" Megumi cooed, poking his nose.

Negi frowned. "I'm not that little! I'm 10!"

Sakura giggled. "Older than I thought!" She ruffled his hair playfully, smiling evilly at him. "But that's still little in my book, squirt…"

He pouted, then sighed. "Oh, well…" He blushed a bit. 'And I thought handling a class of teenage girls was bad enough… Now I have to deal with a house of women!' He looked around. "Wow, this is a nice place! But am I the only guy here?"

Junko scoffed. "You wish… There is another… Although it would be a bit of a stretch to call him a 'guy'…"

Ami glared at her. "Junko!" She sighed, looking back to Negi. "Anyway, his name is Shinichi Suichi, and his parents own this place…"

"Somebody mention me?" Shinichi asked, now in the doorway. He looked to Negi. "Oh, hey there!" He said to him, waving.

Negi stood up and bowed to Shinichi. "Hello! My name is Negi Springfield… It's a pleasure to meet the erm… son of the owners of this fine mansion…"

Ami squealed, jumping up and hugging Negi. "You are just too cute!" She hugged him even tighter, squishing his face between her breasts. She let him go, smiling at him. "So, where are you from, Negi?"

Negi blushed from the physical contact. "Um, I'm from Wales…"

Megumi grinned, having noticed his blush. "So, Negi…" She walked up to him and ran her hand through his hair gently. "Are all of these beautiful women in one house too much for you?…"

Sakura quickly ran over and pushed Megumi out of the way. "Back off, horny gal! Negi is just a baby! Leave him alone!" She picked Negi up and cuddled him. "Don't worry… I'll protect you from that… that… cradle-robber!!" She began to slowly squeeze the life out of him.

Negi gasped for breath. 'But who'll protect me from you?!' "Mishima-san…" Negi managed to choke out. "Can't… breath…"

Sakura looked to Negi, who was slowly turning blue, and let him go, dropping him to the ground. "Oh… Sorry!"

Negi took deep breaths, gasping for air. Naoko ran over to him. "Negi-chan, are you okay?!" She looked to Sakura and glared. "You should be more gentle with him, he's just a kid!" She snuggled against him, making him blush even more.

Negi stared at Naoko and smiled. 'Wow, she's cute… And she's only 2 years older than me?…' "Um, I'm all right, Sagawa-san…" He did a double-take, blinking rapidly. "Hey, wait… Did you just call me 'Negi-chan'?!"

Megumi giggled. "Ooh, does Naoko have a boyfriend?"

Naoko and Negi blushed, rushing away from each other. "N-no! Negi's just nice, that's all!!"

"And Naoko gave me a place to stay!" Negi added.

Junko raised an eyebrow. "Wait, wait… Did you just say what I think you did?"

"Naoko…" Ami muttered. "You didn't promise Negi that he could stay here, did you?…"

Naoko pouted. "B-but… Why not? He has nowhere else to go! If it's about him being a boy, Shinichi gets to live here!" She sweat dropped as she came to a realization. "Right, this is his place…" She hugged Negi. "But he's only 10! What's the worst that can happen?!"

Sakura sighed. "Well, it's not up to us, anyway…" She looked to Shinichi. "It's up to the man of the house…"

Shinichi smiled. "Well, I can't just send him out in the streets, so… Of course he can stay!"

Junko growled. "Figures…" She walked over to Negi and poked him in the forehead. "Look, Negi… No offense, but I hate kids… So just stay out of my way, and you won't end up on the wrong side of my fist, okay?"

Naoko frowned. "Hey, be nice to Negi-chan, sister!"

Negi mentally cried. 'Oh god, she might end up being worse than Asuna used to be!' Suddenly, Negi's nose began to tickle. His eyes widened. 'Oh no, please not now…'

Ami frowned. "Negi-kun, are you all right?…" She flinched as Negi sneezed, blowing off the clothes of the girls and leaving them in their underwear. Ami gasped. "Oh my, what could have done that?"

Naoko blushed, running away. Junko also blushed. "Ami, did you sneeze again?"

Ami shook her head. "No, but Negi sneezed…"

Negi gulped as everyone stared at him. He inhaled, unable to breath in his nervousness. He finally exhaled as everyone shrugged it off with a 'nah…' "Um… I think I'll take a quick nap…"

'But Negi-chan, you're so dirty…" Naoko noticed, pointing at his dirty clothes and face. "You should take a bath, first!"

Negi looked away. "Well, um… I don't like baths…"

"You don't?" Naoko asked, pouting. She decided to lay on her charm. "Please take a bath? For me?"

Negi bit his lip, then tilted his head, confused. "Odd, suddenly I feel like taking a bath… Where's the bathroom?"

Naoko pointed to the door. "Right over there!"

"Thank you…" Negi muttered.

-----

Negi sighed, staring at the water and in nothing but a towel. "I really don't like baths, but there was something about Naoko that just… convinced me to take one…" He slowly dropped his towel, when Naoko came in.

"Negi, I thought I'd help you with your--" She gasped as Negi quickly turned around in surprise, exposing his-- "Oh my god!!!" She screamed, looking away and blushing heavily. "I'm so sorry Negi!!" 'I've never seen what that looks like before…'

Negi also blushed, quickly putting his towel back on. "It's okay now…"

Naoko bit her lip, both of their faces still red in embarrassment. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Negi-chan!!" She bowed several times. "So sorry! I should have knocked! I'm so stupid!" She turned around to leave. "I'll just go now…"

"Wait!" Negi yelled. "What did you come here for?"

"Oh!" Naoko smiled, holding up a towel. "I just… wanted to know if you wanted me to scrub your back!"

"Oh, okay!" Negi nodded. "Yes, that would be nice… Thank you!" He gasped as Naoko let her towel drop. "Gyaaaah!!" He then sighed in relief as he realized that she was wearing a swimsuit.

Naoko giggled, wearing her red frilly swimsuit. "Relax, silly! It's a swimsuit! Now sit down so I can scrub your back…" Negi complied, and she went to work. "Negi-ch--, er, Negi-kun… You know, you're really mature for someone your age… Maybe even more mature than guys my age…"

Negi chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot from my students…"

Naoko gasped in surprise. "You're a teacher?!"

Negi nodded. "Yeah, I'm an English teacher at the 'Mahora Academy Girls' Junior High'… I teach class 2-A, soon to be class 3-A…"

Naoko giggled. "So, you're used to stuff like this? Living with several girls, I mean?…"

"Yeah, but now I'm living with women!" Negi yelled. "Some strange women, too!"

Naoko sighed. "Yes, we are a bit… strange, aren't we?…"

-----

And so, later, Negi put on an old pair of pajamas that belonged to Shinichi. They smelled a bit musty, but fir perfectly. He yawned. "Oh geez, what a day… The people here are weird…" He smiled. "Weird, but nice…" He winced as he remembered Junko. "…Mostly… Sagawa-san is scary…" He got a worried look on his face. "I hope they don't find out my secret, though… But who knows, maybe I won't get in trouble… For all I know, thisis an alternate universe…"

Quickly changing the subject, he smiled. "But Naoko Sagawa-san is really cute, and she's a good cook, too! In fact, she reminds of a combination of Nodoka-san and Konoka-san… And in some ways, even Asuna-san…"

He looked up at the moon and sighed. "But I really hope that I can get home soon… Not only do I have my responsibilities as a teacher, but… I miss them… I miss all of them… How did I get here, and why can't I remember?" He shrugged. "Hey, maybe this is all just a dream and I'll wake up tomorrow and this will have never happened…" Negi hopped in to bed and covered himself up. "Then again, maybe I won't… But, stranger things have happened… Oh well, I'll just sleep on it…" He closed his eyes and was asleep within a few minutes.

End of Day 9

Next chapter: Return to Hinata House!

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Whew! Got another chapter finished! And look, it's somewhat early! Well, earlier than usual… And yes, I did go there. I did go and put Negi in here… For those who don't know, Negi Springfield is the main character of Ken Akamatsu's current series, Mahou Sensei Negima! Magister Negi Magi. I already described it in Love Hina Next, but it's about a 10 year-old wizard-in-training who has to teach at an all girl's school as part of his training to become a full fledge wizard. He has to keep his powers under wraps, however. Otherwise he's failed and has to go home. Anyway, see you next time!

---Kouji Tamino