Fairy Tail is the creation and intellectual property of Mashima Hiro and Kodansha.
Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.
Irremediably Collateral and Supplemental.
Erza Knew Everyone's Parents.
With special thanks to Darkenning.
"When we get to meet Negi Springfield," Wendy Marvell asked as they made their way through the narrow streets leading to the stadium, "is there any special way we should address him?"
"Do you think we'd like it if I asked him for a fight?" Natsu Dragneel added a question of his own.
"Why do you ask if you're going to challenge him to a fight either way?" Gray Fullbuster asked him in turn.
"Does he usually carry fish on him, I wonder?" Happy the cat wondered. "I'm hungry…"
Hasegawa Chisame gritted her teeth for what had to be the umpteenth time that afternoon alone. Lucy was starting to grow worried the younger girl would be toothless by the time they finally caught up to her friends. "Now listen, you numbskulls," Chisame tersely began, "I'm actually very thankful you took some time off to come with us, but there's no special way you should treat him! Other than the rampant childhood trauma, the unhealthy father complex, the weird attraction aura and the unsettling politeness and martyr syndrome, he's a completely normal child!"
"You misspeaked the word 'inhealthy'," Suzushiro Haruka lectured her, marching between Chisame and a contented Kikkawa Yukino. "Besides, there ARE several things one must keep in mind when dealing with Sensei, and you know it. One isn't to speak ill of his father, that shouldn't be a problem with Erza-san around…"
"Damn straight," dryly said the tall redheaded woman in armor leading the group, never looking back.
"… also, he isn't to ever be offered coffee," Haruka continued, nodding at Erza's words. It bothered Chisame that the two of them seemed to get along so well, when Haruka usually tended to butt heads with any other woman of authority anywhere in her proximity. "He doesn't like fighting for no real reason, but if it's for sport, he'll humor challengers and give his best at supplyting a worthy match." While Natsu grinned and cocked a fist up, Haruka went on, unfazed, "Ladies are to be treated like princesses in his presence, since he's very quick to defend us no matter what. So cut back on the Lucy-san abuse, people. He won't like it."
"Yeah. That would be awfully nice," sighed the blonde buttmonkey of the team, shoulders drooping slightly.
"Nobody has answered my question," Happy reminded them.
"That's because it's a dumb question!" Carla told him. "What would any great hero OR a schoolteacher be carrying fish on him for?!"
"Well, why wouldn't he?" the other cat asked, making Carla facepaw. "Isn't he an ever ready friend to all cats?"
"That… That's Chachamaru, not him," Chisame said, an eyebrow twitching and teeth grinding yet again. "They're easy to tell apart because she has green hair and is a robot, and he's a ten-years old boy."
"What is a robot?" Juvia Locksear asked, managing to walk close to both Gray and Yukino somehow, despite the two of them keeping a wide casual distance from each other. The blue haired shapely woman kept a dark blue parasol over her head, protecting her from the scorching sun blazing all over the large, bustling city. Hikaru, Kirara, Tsuwabuki and Nanami had been left behind, in the hotel rooms the group had just secured after arriving to New Ostia.
"Let's just say that's the way we call mechanical golems and homunculi in Mundus Vetus, although I am oversimplifying it a bit too much, perhaps," Yukino explained.
Juvia looked at her with large, adoring eyes. "Aaaahhh, I see. Just like Yukino-sama, to be so knowledgeable and open with her wisdom…!"
Haruka frowned. "I can tell you and Tsunestuki-san are going to get along infamously, Water Woman. Hey, Squad Commander, this is the place, right?"
"Yes," Erza said stoically, as they stopped before the wide, iron gates of the Colisseum's backstage. She breathed deeply. "Natsu. Knock."
The male Dragon Slayer blinked. "Eh, why me?"
Erza's fists clenched by her sides. "Don't question me and just do it..."
"Ohhhhh!" Natsu grinned. "Nervous over meeting someone who looks so much like-!"
Erza grabbed him by the back of the head and began bashing his face on the doors. "Forget it, I can do it myself!" she roared. "KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!"
Everyone else backed away, while Wendy outright hid behind Lucy's legs.
Finally, a rather plain looking man with black hair, slicked back and framing an elongated, prematurely aged face. He wore gray pants and an open black vest, showing off his muscular, scarred arms and chest. His eyes were gray and dull, and his face was twisted in a scowl of contempt.
"What do you beggars want? Or are you fans?" he asked crudely. "It's too late to register yourselves, so it can't be that."
Natsu, with a pummeled swollen face still held by Erza, laughed weakly, pointing at the man's hair. "Ah ha ha... Rooster..."
"We are looking for the man who calls himself Nagi Springfield," Erza said. "We are willing to pay if you would take us to him."
"Ah, you too?" the man scoffed. "Yeah, you and every other wacko and hormonal fangirl in town today! That bum doesn't room here, he's got himself a place somewhere else. So scram! I've got better things to do than wasting my time with admirers!"
"Where is this 'somewhere else'?" Haruka asked coldly.
"Why should I know or care? Do you have any idea how many fighters are there in these preliminars?" the man asked back. "Pretty-Boy won't even make it to the final rounds, I'm sure. His fight today was a stroke of luck..."
"I disagree, I watched it and I thought it was a magnificent display of technique and strenght," Erza said.
The man scoffed. "He's not bad-bad, but many of the guys in this tournament are monsters. Literal ones, even! I should damn know, I trained several of them myself."
"An unbiased opinion, yours, then," Gray smirked.
The man looked at him with despise and flickered him on the bare chest. "Fuck off, fella. We've got a strict dress code here, this is a decent arena!"
"Ah? Don't tell me that..." Gray looked down at himself and yelled. "Gaaahhh! I did it again!" he said, seeing himself reduced to black boxers.
"Look, if you're a comedy act, come see me tomorrow after the fights and we'll talk about giving you a gig in between matches," the manager, for this is what he was, began herding them away. "In the meanwhile, it's late and I wanna go sleep, so..."
Then someone stepped out of the gates, asking the man, "Tosaka-san? Those voices I heard, are they... ahhhh..."
Chisame and Haruka froze, as their gazes met that of the young woman who had just shown herself to them. She had short black hair and was wearing a maid uniform, with a broom in her right hand.
The man named Tosaka looked back at the shocked girl. "You know these people?"
After a moment, she shook her head quickly. "No... No, of course I don't! It's just..." she said, looking at Chisame with eyes that implored silence, "It shocked me to see so many people here, this late..."
"They were on their way out," Tosaka sneered, walking back in with her and closing the gates behind them. "Buy your tickets tomorrow like everyone else! Good night!" she barked from the other side, and then turned the lights off.
Lucy blinked. "You... You know that girl, don't you?" she asked Chisame. "She recognized you, and you recognized-"
Chisame grabbed her and Wendy and began pulling them away, with the rest of them following. Finally, they stopped around a lonely corner, and Chisame put her hands on her knees, sporting a haunted face. "That's Kugimiya Madoka, another of my classmates. What's she doing here? Why was she dressed like that?"
"Why didn't Sensei mention her?" Haruka added, looking back.
"She was wearing the shock collar of the slaves," Erza said grimly, remembering long, hard days of her earlier youth. "You should have been expecting for something like this, Chisame. Not all of you could be fortunate enough as to find helpful saviors."
"Is there any other kind of savior?" Natsu asked.
"This is bad," Yukino said. "As soon as that horrible man sees her face in a Wanted poster, he'll turn her in for the reward. No wonder she didn't want to be recognized..."
"We always could go there, kick his ass, and save her," Natsu proposed.
"Moron, we would have to fight every gladiator residing there, and then the guards that will come from City Hall!" Gray told him, pulling his clothes back on. "The question is, does Negi Springfield even know she's there?"
Haruka hummed. "He'd have to, now they're close enough that he could contact her through the cards... The cards!" She slapped herself on the forehead. "Of course, now WE are close enough for it, too!"
"Yeah, now we are. Worth a try," Chisame said, reaching into her handbag and pulling her Pactio card out. After several glances around, she made sure there were no close snoopers and put the card against her head. "Sensei? Sensei, it's me, Chisame... The VP is with me..."
After several moments of eager waiting, Lucy couldn't take it anymore. "Well...?!"
"... I have signal, but he won't answer," Chisame said. "I feel like static..."
"Wha-Wha-What is that supposed to mean?! Is he hurt?! Is he, is he...?!" Wendy panicked.
Chisame put the card down and sighed. "It's what we get when he's asleep!"
Yukino, Lucy, Wendy, Erza, Carla and Gray facefaulted.
"He's a child and it's late already," Natsu observed, folding his arms. "Were you expecting anything else?"
"Aye," Happy nodded. "Let's go sleep, too!" He yawned cutely. "I'm tired, that was a long trip...!"
"And we haven't rested since," Lucy agreed, picking herself back up. "You'll contact him tomorrow early, Chisame."
"I guess..." a disappointed Chisame looked down.
Erza looked at her in silence for a while, and then smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Chisame," she said. "I know we won't be able to sleep tonight anyway, so why don't I show you how an adult woman can spend a night in the big city?"
Chisame began screaming inwardly.
It was Chisame's first time in a pool hall, and it felt as awful as she'd ever imagined one would be. The mere fact she'd be allowed in despite being a minor unnerved her, so she sat at a corner watching Erza and twiddling her fingers, attempting to ignore the dirty looks from the men around the business.
Fortunately, most of them were more interested about Erza, who stood by the main pool with a stick in her hands. Not that Chisame could blame them since she was taller and bustier and curvier with bigger boobs and a much better, firm and round ass and-
"Is that kid checking the other lady out?" she heard one of the men asking another in a whisper, interrupting her ruminations.
"I'M NOT!" Chisame growled, closing her eyes and blushing.
Oblivious, Erza kept on paying attention to the skinny man bleached blond who was explaining the rules of the game to her. "It's simple, really," he was saying. "By hitting the balls with the white one, you've gotta pocket 'em in order, starting with Numbah One. It's easy! Don'tcha think?"
"Yes," the redhead nodded contemplatively. "As soon as I've pocketed all nine, then I win, right?"
"You'll never get it right in the first try, but sure thing!" chuckled a portly man in black, with a ratty, scruffy beard. He puffed on his cigar and gestured at her to try. "C'mon, show us your aptitude!"
"Look at this, Chisame," Erza said, raising a hand and changing herself into a skintight, highly revealing Playboy bunny outfit, complete with ears. Chisame began choking loudly in her saliva. Did this darn woman do those things on purpose?!
"She's a mage!" one of the men gawked.
"M-Maybe she's here f'r the tourney!"
"Why a bunny though?!"
"Are you stupid?! Why are you complaining?!"
"This is the attire meant for this kind of establishment, isn't it?" Erza asked casually, leaning towards the table and sticking her ass up, Chisame's eyes following it unwittingly. The redhead drew a deep breath in. "The white ball... Like a pure, unsullied maiden..." she chanted, taking aim with the stick slowly.
The closest man asked Chisame, "What is your girlfriend mumbling about?"
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"
The tip of the stick touched the white ball's surface gently. "In whose heart chaste thoughts doth dwell..." Erza kept on intonating.
"Oi, you're doing it wrong..." the fat man warned.
"SHALL STRIKE EVIL DOWN! LIKE THIS!" Erza roared majestically, and she hit the white ball in full force, creating a huge blast of sheer power that sent all the men barreling back off their feet, and made Chisame shriek. There was a loud boom, and then, when the dust of the impact settled down, the patrons gasped, struck by horror.
"Y-You... You pulverized them!"
"What the hell's wrong with ya, lady?!"
"Hmph. Just look at that!" Erza huffed, eyeing the shattered balls, scattered in pieces all over the now cracked table. "The balls didn't have enough balls..."
She looked over at the appalled barman and shouted, "HEY YOU! Your material is defective, what kind of racket are you running here?!"
Chisame rushed behind her and slapped her hard in the back of the head. "I-I-IDIOT! That's not how you play billiards! Even I know that!"
Erza blinked. "Ah, no?"
"NO!" Chisame and every man in the room yelled.
Erza looked down. "I apologize, then. I thought this would be a fun place to take you to, but I can now see that you aren't having any fun, Chiu..."
"You... You actually don't know anything about nocturnal adult entertainment either, do you?" Chisame realized.
Erza bowed at the owner. "My apologies. My Guild will pay for the damage to your table and testicles. I mean, your balls."
"Your... Guild...?" the man said, then looked at the tattoo on Erza's arm... and then he and all of the patrons jumped back, screaming in terror. "FAIRY TAIL!"
Erza pouted. "Oh, come on! We haven't ever destroyed any parts of THIS city...!"
"No, you have! You definitely have!" one of them said, hiding behind an upturned table. "You're in league with Moulin Rouge, aren't you?!"
Erza raised an eyebrow. "Moulin Rouge?"
"A mage from the infamous Fairy Tail! She's been wrecking havoc across the city for days now, eluding the guards and beating them down!"
"Moulin Rouge?" Chisame echoed. "There's nobody in Fairy Tail with that name, is there, Erza...?"
And then Chisame winced, seeing the redhead surrounding herself with a large aura of black flame even Natsu wouldn't have dared touching. "The nerve of that witch..." she was grumbling inhumanly. "Using our perfectly good name to do what she wants..."
"Oh, crap," Chisame said. "This is the night that never ends!"
"I really think you should be taking this easier," Chisame protested while following Erza, against her will of course, into a palatial restaurant several blocks away. This place, they had been told, was the favorite of Moulin Rouge over the last week. "I mean, yes, this person has to be dealt with since otherwise you will be hunted down before long, but...!"
"It's personal on more than one sense," Erza said without looking back. "Not only the Guild's name is being difamated, but also that of a partner."
"We do... I mean, you do have someone with that name after all?!" Chisame said. "But who, I thought I'd been introduced to everyone...! And put on something else already, will you?!"
A short haired, meek looking young waitress came over to greet them. "Good evening, may I help you?"
Erza looked at this inoffensive person, then glanced around, and then roughly pulled her aside, towards another room. "Kyaaaaa!" the poor girl screamed.
Chisame gaped. "Seriously?! Seriously?!" she cried, and then went in after Erza, closing the door after herself. The redhead was vigorously stripping the much smaller girl in what had turned out to be a storage room for barrels of wine, despite her terrified protestations. "You are making everything much worse for us! At this rate, you-!"
"Bisca," Erza said, using the waitress' own belt to tie her hands together behind her back.
Chisame blinked. "Eh? Bisca, that is-" For a moment she struggled to connect the name with a face, and then it came to her. "Bisca-san, ah, yes, now I remember! What's she got to do with this?"
"Once, she used to act as an outlaw, until I taught her the path of virtue and law," explained the woman currently tying an innocent worker and putting on her uniform, one that was clearly too small for her voluptuous figure. "Back then, she used to go by that battle name of Moulin Rouge. Whoever is supplanting her now, thus, has figured out a connection between her and the Guild, and so she has to be dealt with immediately."
"You mean you beat her black and blue, right?" Chisame frowned, even as Erza smoothed the waitress uniform on herself. "Was there any need for this? Couldn't you have equiped yourself with a waitress uniform if you really felt you had to ambush her like this?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Chisame, why would I have a waitress uniform as one of my armors?"
"YOU HAD A FREAKING PLAYBOY SUIT!" Chisame said, and then winced at the poor girl kneeling on the floor, in her underwear and making Bambi eyes. "H-Hey, don't hold this against us, we are doing this for the greater good... I hope... and we'll compensate you... I hope... and... HEY YOU WAIT FOR ME DAMMIT!" she cursed, bolting out after Erza as she stomped back out, now in 'disguise'.
The actual waitress looked down. "I'm not paid enough..."
Chisame gulped, following Erza into the main hall of the restaurant. Most customers had left the building, opening a clear area for a single young woman sitting at a table, eating delicately and with the best of manners. A large hat obscured her face, but she was petite and svelte, and had long light hair that looked almost angelic. She was wearing a light pink dress, with semitransparent sleeves that allowed for a Fairy Tail tattoo to be visible on her left arm.
Erza walked towards this person, while Chisame stayed behind and frowned, thinking. She had the impression she knew this person. That she had seen her somewhere before...
"I don't think I am ready for dessert just yet, as I'm still enjoying the main dish," the customer said, and Chisame's skin crawled all over, fully recognizing the gentle but thick Kyoto-ben. She felt true panic and dread run over her, and the temptation to just run out was strong, only overwhelmed by knowing she'd be lost immediately in this city without Erza as a guide. Then the hat was raised just a little, and a single green eye was visible, glinting behind glasses. "Then again, you offer a most tempting sweet from my home country. How did you know...?"
"I don't know what are you talking about," Erza growled. "All I know is that you are supplanting a Fairy Tail member. Why? Answer quickly, before your head is forcibly separated from your neck."
The customer laughed disdainously. "I have friends and connections everywhere, it'd surprise you to know how highly. Those keeping the records of the Guilds don't hold yours in high esteem, did you know that? Of course you did. There is a saying about Magnolian bureaucrats, that if anything bad can be pinned on Fairy Tail, then let it happen, it'll probably be true anyway."
The hat was pushed higher, and the full face, lovely and gorgeous, was unveiled. Chisame felt like screaming. "Titania-han, right? It's a honor," Iwai Tsukuyomi said, slowly pulling her sword from under the table. Erza summoned hers, much larger and sturdier, into her hand. The few foolishly brave customers left began moving towards the door discreetly, followed by waiters and waitresses alike. "It's funny, just using a few magical trinkets and putting on a temporary tattoo is enough to convince anyone that you're a Fairy Tail actual mage! Of course, it might be that they're just too afraid of my blade to contradict me..."
"I'm not," Erza lifted her blade.
"Let's make this quick, please," Tsukuyomi said, delicately wiping her mouth with a handkerchief and then standing on the table, damned sword at the ready. "Like I said, I haven't eaten my dessert yet, and I've got to get back to my Master before dawn. That's the best part of working for children! They can be so clueless about what adults do during nights...!"
Children...? Did she mean Sextum? Chisame gulped hard, wondering exactly how far the Averruncus was at the time. And then Tsukuyomi looked directly at her, and smiled with an undeniably evil glint in her eye.
"Don't run away just yet, Chisame-han," she asked politely. "You'll see Negi-han soon enough!"
Before Chisame could ask what did she mean, Erza lunged onto the mercenary.
The table exploded into oh so many splinters from the sheer brutal force of Erza's furious downward slash, just as Tsukuyomi leapt back and out of reach with a mischievous giggle.
Chisame stayed back, knowing her powers were not up to the task of helping against a Shinmeiryuu, much less with no visible electrics in sight since the restaurant was illuminated by candles and oil lamps. One of them was quickly seized by Tsukuyomi and tossed at Erza with a hearty cry of "Catch!"
Erza caught it in midair, and without looking back she threw it at Chisame for safekeeping. Chisame knew Tsukuyomi played dirty and she wouldn't think twice of burning the building down to win, but she hardly could scream warnings to the redhead, since all she could do was barely keeping up visually with them, they moved so fast across the large hall trading blows.
It was clear, however, that Tsukuyomi had a speed edge, even if Erza was in advantage when it came to strength. The smaller girl danced with grace around the Fairy Tail member, striking strategically at seemingly random but actually carefully picked spots, mostly in her exposed limbs.
"Chisame-han, where is Setsuna-Oneesama?" Tsukuyomi asked casually while barely dodging Erza's latest slash, which damn looked like it had maiming intent at least behind it. "Don't tell me you haven't found her yet! Soft women like you can't be trusted for anything…"
"I'm your opponent! Focus on me!" Erza demanded, kicking her in the stomach and slamming her on a wall.
"Erza-san!" Chisame took advantage of the very brief respite to warn her. "Put on some armor! She's actually a veteran killer!"
"I don't need armor to finish this gnat off," Erza grunted, avoiding Tsukuyomi's next retaliation strike and doing a leg sweep on her, throwing the hitwoman off balance. "You just stay out of the way!"
"A wise advice," Tsukuyomi agreed, flashing behind the redhead, grabbing her by the hair, and shoving her against a wall, tossing her through the glass panel and out onto the street. "I like the food here. Let's take this outside, shall we? Thank you!"
Chisame cursed and went after them once Tsukuyomi had jumped outside with girlish glee. The street was fortunately mostly empty, and the few passerbys in sight were fleeing as they saw two women, no doubt drunken brawlers from the tournament, duking out in the open.
"Say, you're good! So you aren't just fame, that's great!" Tsukuyomi delighted as she absorbed a barrage of punishment from Erza, just soldiering on and advancing on her, hacking and slashing. Her eyes had become black sclerae with golden pupils, eerily reminiscent of Evangeline when she entered a berserker rage. "I'll become so famous after slaying you, Oneesama will be impressed…!"
"Fall! Die, you demon!" Erza snarled, landing several cuts on this girl who refused to yield. "What manner of fiend are you?!"
"The best!" Tsukuyomi panted, finally backing away and taking a moment to lick the edge of her blade. Chisame shuddered, noticing the maniac's mouth was now tinted in red, and that Erza's arms had bleeding cuts all over them. "Oh, you're so fine. So sexy! Come to me. Come!"
Erza squinted and impulse herself before running at her. "As you wish!"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes yes!" Tsukuyomi cooed, answering the charge with one of her own, and then the two fighters collided, like in a martial arts movie. Chisame could swear that for a moment their silhouettes became everything visible, melded into one ever so briefly, and then they both landed on their feet facing away from each other.
There was a long, tense silence that worried Chisame, as both had grown perfectly still.
Then Tsukuyomi chuckled. "I have cut an inconsequential object…" she chuckled with mock pomposity.
Erza blinked, relieving Chisame. So she was still alive, after all. "What do you mean? You didn't even touch m—"
Then, from under her skirt, her white panties fell to the pavement, sliced to ribbons.
Chisame took a hand to her nose while Erza blushed.
Tsukuyomi spun back on her feet, clicked her heels together, and poked the tip of her tongue out, cutely. "Sorry about that! Can we please go on from where we left?"
"YOU BITCH…!" Erza roared, throwing herself against her, right before a lightning bolt fell between both fighters, separating them and forcing them to yank back.
Chisame blinked, and then whipped her head towards the source of the spell. Her heart stopped for a second.
There, blocking the way out the street, stood someone wrapped in a long brown coat, and sporting wild, dark red hair. He clearly had dressed up in a hurry, disarranged and still tired, but no less energetic as he shouted "Tsukuyomi-san! What in the world are you doing now?!"
And then he noticed Chisame's presence, too. Tsukuyomi was instantly forgotten, the blonde just scoffing and pouting like a scolded child, even as Erza also stared on at him, almost as fascinated as Chisame. Briefly, Tsukuyomi pondered taking advantage of that distraction and skewering her with a cheap shot, but decided against her. She really wanted to be paid for this job, and it remained her best bet to find Oneesama. So she just sheathed her sword with a sigh.
"See, Chisame-han, I promised you… Do I deliver, or what?"
Bawling her eyes out like a schoolgirl in love - which she of course DEFINITELY WAS NOT - Hasegawa Chisame threw herself into the arms of Negi Springfield.
For a moment, the young man didn't know how to react when this young lady hugged him, pressing her face against his chest.
He knew who she was supposed to be. He had her Pactio card, and Asuna and Yue had talked repeatedly to him about her, and about how important she was supposed to be for him. Yet, seeing her in the flesh was not conveying the same feeling he knew he was supposed to be experiencing. That ashamed him, and then…
Then, he remembered something. He remembered the shame of failing a young lady, who was much like this young lady… no, it was the same young lady, as a matter of fact! He could remember that sensation as she embraced him tightly, as they fell together… down a chasm into the depths of… Library Island? They had been looking for a book… with Asuna and Yue…
His lower lip trembled as that triggered a domino effect in his mind. He remembered saving her from a long fall under the rain, and then the shame at having his secret uncovered. The shame of stumbling into her own secret, that of cosplaying as a net idol. The shame of not being able to protect her from being taken prisoner during a school festival, and then that of failing to save her at the Gateport, before the whole world went dark and—
Theirs had been a relationship marked by shame, but he realized now that a large amount of joy tended to follow those moments. And he felt joyous right now, enjoying her warmth, that smell that now reminded him of so many nights slipping into her bed, only to then experience the embarrassment of waking up and being scolded. The embarrassment of sneezing on her and stripping her. Being bathed by her, that also was its own mix of happiness and shame…
"Chisame," Negi said weakly, and then hugged her back, holding her close.
Tsukuyomi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you remember now, don't you?"
"Yes…" he said.
The assassin rolled her eyes. "Figures! The Power of One True Love, and all of that rubbish. Haruka-han is going to seethe... and so will the Zero…"
And she made a little wicked grin. "Always a good thing…"
Chisame pulled back, sobbing hard and trying badly to hide it. Negi smiled awkwardly. "Chisame, I'm so sorry. I—"
"MORON!" she said, and punched him in the chest.
It felt like punching a wall, even more than usual, and her knuckles hurt, but it didn't register. She kept on punching him. "IDIOT! IMBECILE! How dare you! You revealed yourself to everyone…!"
He absorbed all the blows without a word of protest, until he saw she was hurting herself and gently kept her hands in his. They were so big now, Chisame noticed, and so strong and callous… She blushed, a feeling made even worse when Erza approached them, still staring in quiet awe at Negi.
"Oh my God…" the woman said. "You are his living image…"
Chisame sniffled, and then looked at Tsukuyomi. "What the hell are you doing with this psycho, too?! Are you out of your flipping mind?!"
"He needed me since all of his so-called good partners were unavailable to protect him at the time," Tsukuyomi said. "For shame, Chisame-han. Why weren't you there with him?"
"Y-You threw us through a huge explosion, it's a miracle I'm even alive!" Chisame growled, resisting the urge to spit on her face. She supported herself on Negi, her legs still wobbly, when had they gone wobbly? Ashamed of herself, she straightened up and coughed into a fist. "And your… boss?"
"We had a fallout. It was pretty while it lasted!" Tsukuyomi sighed. "C'est la vie!"
Chisame glared at her. "Well, scram off now. I'm going to protect him from this point."
"I haven't been paid for my services yet," the blonde raised a finger.
Erza grabbed her by an arm and grumbled as she pulled her down a side alley, leading everyone away before the guards arrived. "Whatever the terms of your contract were, I doubt they included sneaking away during nights and harassing citizens. I'd say those are solid grounds for a termination of contract."
Negi gasped. "Tsukuyomi! Did you do that?!"
"It's the only way I can earn myself a decent meal now," she said, beginning to pull Erza along another way instead. "Come on, I'll show you the kind of ratty trap Negi-han has us living in now! Don't be afraid, I'm not taking you anywhere else. Tell them, Negi-han!"
The boy sighed. "Y-Yes, we're currently living over there, it's safe. Um, it seems that you've been looking after Chisame, th-thanks for that, Miss…"
"Erza," the tall woman said. "Erza Scarlet. I knew your father."
Negi's eyes lit up. "You did…?!"
"You can talk about that later!" Chisame said. "Listen, we saw Kugimiya, they've got her as some kind of slave for the asshole running the arena! Didn't you know about that?!"
Negi exhaled. "Ah, that. As a matter of fact, yes, I knew. Misa-san is there, too. They contracted a heavy debt upon arrival, so they have to pay Tosaka-san with their services. Part of why Kotaro and I are fighting is so we can pay their debt off."
"And he couldn't announce we'd found them either, especially since they aren't safe yet," Tsukuyomi said with an indifferent yawn. "Honestly, you people don't even need us to ruin your lives. You do a fine job getting into fiascos on your own!"
They had just stopped before a large, dilapidated house by a closed market. "We've rented this property for the duration of the tournament," he told Chisame and Erza before rapping his knuckles on the door. "Please open," he asked in a low voice. "I found her already…"
The door creaked open from the inside, telling Chisame that whoever was opening had been waiting by its side. Sure enough, it was Kagurazaka, in a light blue sleeping gown, who blinked at her in surprise. "Chisame…?!"
"Hey, Kagurazaka," Chisame said blandly as they hurried inside, Negi dragging Tsukuyomi in by an ear like an unruly child. "Please don't make a scene out of this. I'm with the Vice Prez, she's fine, and this here is—"
"CHISAMEEEEEEE!" Asuna cried, enveloping her in a bone crushing hug.
"GAAAHHHH! LET ME GO! LEGGO, YOU SUPER STRONG DUMB GORILLA! YOU FORGOT YOU'RE MUCH STRONGER THAN ME?! WHEN DID YOU BECOME SUCH A DAMN SENTIMENTAL?!"
Erza smiled. "Why, Chisame! The way you'd described your friends, I almost thought that they hated you or something…"
"SHE'S CHOKING THE FREAKING LIFE OUT OF ME! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THEY DON'T?-!-?"
"Guys, guess who's here!" Asuna shouted, slamming open the door of the room where Yue and Skuld were sleeping.
"Aaaahhhh?!" Skuld yelled, all but falling off her bunk. Yue simply sat up on hers, frowning and pulling her sleeping mask off.
"This better be good..." Ayase said.
"It's Chisame! Chisame's here, Negi's plan is paying off after all!" Asuna said excitedly. "And she says the Vice Prez is with her too!"
Skuld rubbed her eyes with a fist while Yue began hopping on a foot towards the bathroom. "Ah, I see," the Norn said. "That's good, at least until she learns that Negi doesn't remember her."
"Um, yeah, about that..." Asuna began.
Chisame waved blandly at Yue as she saw her emerging from the room, making her way to the toilet. "Evening, Ayase. Looking good."
"Evening," Baka Black replied in the same way. "You too," she added, and then locked herself in the small room with the little duck sign on the door.
"Ah," Erza said. "So that's the famous Pee Girl."
"Yeah," Chisame answered. "She's rather tolerable, actually. It's Haruna you have to look out for."
From another bedroom, out peeked a blue eyed blonde head, covered by a very light layer of brown fur and ornated with two cute dog ears. "Oh?" this person said. "Ah, you are more of the Professor's compatriots?"
Chisame looked at this stranger in perplexity until Negi rasped. "Chisame, this is Collet Farandole, we met her while we were hiding in Ariadne Academy, and she's followed us during our travels, being rather helpful and supportive. Collet, this is Hasegawa Chisame, and this is Miss Erza Scarlet."
"I see..." the dog girl, fully stepping into sight and troubled by a strange sensation that she should know this Scarlet person from her name. She was barefoot and wearing a long, blue sleeping shirt. "Pleased to meet you! Asuna has talked a lot about you, Class Rep..."
"That's Ayaka," Chisame said.
"Ah, sorry, I misremembered," Collet replied. "You actually look a fair bit like a Class Rep. You have the face for it..."
Another girl, rather shorter and flat chested, yawned and mumbled while walking out after Collet. She had long pink hair, lighter in tone than that of the Narutaki twins, and a cute and delicate face. Her sleepwear consisted of a fancy and frilly white gown reaching down to her feet in slippers. "What's all of this commotion?" she asked. "Is the madwoman- Ah," she stopped, fully waking up at the sight of Chisame. "You!" she said, recognizing her since she'd studied Negi's cards more intensively than Collet had.
"Aaaand this is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière," Negi said, "my-"
"I'm his Master!" Louise quickly interrupted him, assuming a stiff authoritarian pose.
"His Master! I see." Chisame looked at Negi. "What do you think Evangeline is going to say about this?"
Negi flinched a bit. "It's a complicated story... I have become her Familiar, since I answered her summon upon my arrival..."
"A Familiar like Chamo, you mean?" Chisame asked. "What kind of stupid bull is that?"
Louise was about to protest energically at this assesment of her relationship with Negi, but Erza distracted her with her question. "Louise, huh? Let me guess. Are you the daughter of Karin of the Heavy Wind?"
Louise's eyes widened as she looked at her. "Do you know my mother?!"
"We fought together in the wars against the Phantom Tribe," Erza said. And then, after pausing, "I heard about Cattleya, naturally. My condolences."
"Ah... Thank you," Louise said, lowering her gaze and sounding almost human for a moment, which startled Collet. "W-Well, if you truly are a friend of Mother, then you are more than welcome at my house, of course..."
"I wouldn't say we were friends... but close enough," Erza said, smirking as Yue came back from the toilet, wiping her hands dry with a small cloth. "You seem to be like your father even in this regard, Negi. He always would have beautiful women following him around anywhere."
"Beautiful women and Louise the Zero," Tsukuyomi said, ignoring Louise's latest sharp glare. "But what Shorty lacks in stature and beauty, she has it in blind luck! Did you know that she was the first one to make a Pactio with Negi-han when he arrived here? Even before he finished landing, as a matter of fact! A true maneater, in the proud tradition of Tristain..."
Chisame became an ice sculpture while Negi seemed to shrink in dreading anticipation.
Tsukuyomi frowned and slapped herself on a knee. "Oh, come on! You of all people should be used to this by now...!"
"Separation has made her more vulnerable on the subject, that would be my guess," an amused Erza said while Asuna walked back in, holding a tray of drinks in a hand and dragging a yawning Rito by the other, the boy holding loosely onto the Keyblade while Kotaro followed them.
"Hey, you've gotta try this root beer! It's really good, and- Ahhhh, you're frozen," Asuna came to a halt. "Either Sextum's here or you've been told about Louise-chan, Yue and Lena-chan already..."
Chisame's ice exploded in all directions. "Who the hell is 'Lena-chan'?!"
To be Continued.
