Side A : Mahora Sensei Keitaro!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned and created by Ken Akamatsu.

Chapter 3 : The Crunch Time! Studying Paying Off?

"Pencils down," said Niita. "All right, you girls are free to go. Grades will be displayed this afternoon."

Asuna stretched as she yawned. "It's a good thing we got our sleep in," she said. Ku Fei was sprawled on the desk next to her, looking distressed. "We did our best though."

"I hope Keitaro-sensei comes back soon," said Makie as she set down her pencil and handed in her answer sheet.

"Don't worry, I think so," said Konoka. "Don't you think so, Nodoka-chan?"

"Oh, um, yes, of course," said Nodoka, not willing to meet Asuna's gaze. "I hope he's back soon too."

"We did our best," said Yue. "Keitaro-sensei really put his all into teaching us. I think even if we didn't get out of last place, I for one am willing to have Keitaro-sensei back."

"I agree," said Kaede. "Lets go and find him! He should be back by now."

They didn't have long to go, as Keitaro walked up towards the school. "Keitaro-sensei!" exclaimed Makie, leaping into her jump kick, followed by Ku Fei.

Keitaro was struck and to their surprise, he did not rise immediately. "Fu fu fu fu," he said listlessly.

"Oh no, I think I hurt him!" exclaimed Makie in shock as the Baka Rangers crowded around him.

"Keitaro-sensei?" asked Asuna, waving a hand in front of his face. "Keitaro-san? He's..."

"In shock," said Yue, summarizing the trauma he sustained. "I think, he didn't pass his exams."

"Fu fu fu fu," said Keitaro listlessly.

Kaede shared a glance with Ku Fei as the pair grabbed him around the middle and carried him like a piece of lumber across the school yards, attracting many stares and surprised glances as they made their way to the nearest cafeteria. The Baka Rangers were behind them and they soon stopped at a cafeteria. "Two beers please," said Kaede, much to the consternation of the others.

"Two beers," said the man, setting them down. "This for your sensei here?"

"Yes," said Kaede. She then punched Keitaro's nose, making him open his mouth reflexively and poured one of the beers down his throat. Keitaro sputtered for a moment and then came back to life. "Yo," said Kaede.

Keitaro looked at his students and said, "The results?"

"Not yet," said Asuna, shaking her head. "Sensei, what happened?"

"I..." Keitaro grabbed the next mug and drank it down. "I failed..."

"I see," said Yue. "What are you going to do now, sensei?"

"I think I may want to go on a trip, over the spring break," said Keitaro. "Off to maybe Kyoto, to see what's going to happen to me. A journey of reflection and healing."

"Great, we'll join you!" exclaimed Asuna and Keitaro's eyes bugged out.

"WHAT!"

"Sensei, we are allowed to leave school grounds during the Spring Break which lasts a month," said Yue. "During that time, we may accompany a sensei when he or she goes for a trip, or be chaperoned by one during that time during any trips. If you wish to go to Kyoto, then it is fine with us."

"No... maybe not Kyoto," said Keitaro. "Maybe... Hinata City. To see the dorm my grandmother left me. Hinata Inn..."

"Fu fu fu," laughed Kaede. "Waiter, two more beers please and juice all around. A toast then, to new friendships."

"A toast," chorused the group as the drinks were set down and they took up their mugs and drank deeply.

"I'm so nervous," said Makie, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Relax, it'll be over soon," said Asuna.

"That's what I'm afraid of! What happens when we're in last place again and Keitaro-sensei is fired?"

"He won't be," said Yue. "We did our best. It's time we believed in him. And us as well."

"All right everyone!" called out a girl at the front of the lobby. "Here are the results of today's examinations! The second year average score is 81 with only a two point offset of first and second place! In first place, Class 2-F with 81.3 Points!"

A resounding "Awww, noooo!" came from Sakurako and the Mahora Cheerleaders.

"Second place is a surprising upset by the underdogs of the year! Class 2-A with 79.3, coming in as second!"

There was a general stunned blink and then the girls exploded into loud cheering and celebratory whoops of joy. To the side, Takamichi stood with Shizuna and Keitaro. "So.. you stay on for a year. That's great news."

"Yeah, it is. I owe it to the students who believed in me, and believed they could do it," said Keitaro.

"So you failed your entrance exams?" asked Shizuna. "What are you going to do now?"

"First, I'm going on a trip to Hinata House. And then I'll come back and teach again." Keitaro smiled. "After all, there are still promises to be made and promises to keep."

"You're a good man, Urashima Keitaro," said Takamichi. "I'm sure one day, you'll find who you were searching for all this time."

"Keitaro-sensei!" Keitaro was kicked in the back of the head by Makie and Ku Fei. "It's a party! C'mon, the dorm is waiting for us!"

"Gotta run. Later Takamichi, Shizuna." Keitaro was then dragged away by his students and Shizuna smiled.

"He really needed this, didn't he?"

"Yes. I wonder who really helped who today. The teacher or the students. Although, he has a lot to learn and a lot of people to earn trust from."

"Ugh, the girls really made me drink too much," said Keitaro, dragging himself into the dorm as the party still raged on the dormitory lawn. Most of the energetic girls were still dancing around in the lights of the party set ups and somewhere in there, Asuna had lost her panties which lead to a round of sensei bashing.

Stumbling around the corner, Keitaro nearly ran into Nodoka. "Oh, sorry sensei," said Nodoka, a bit red faced.

"It's all right," said Keitaro as he steadied himself on the wall. "I just had a bit much to drink really."

Nodoka nodded. "That's fine, though I think some of the sake was passed around," she said and then her feet came unglued as she sagged into Keitaro's arms.

"Wha? Miyazaki-san, what's wrong?" Placing a hand on Nodoka's forehead, Keitaro shook his head and sighed. "Sake, at her age? Maybe I should go down and reign in the girls."

Nodoka murmured and pressed deeper into Keitaro's arms and Keitaro sighed as he picked her up. "If it isn't one thing, it's another," he said, stumbling towards the room he shared with Asuna and Konoka.

Fishing around for his keys with one hand, he opened the door and placed Nodoka on his futon, making sure to cover her up. "That's going to be some crazy hangover tomorrow morning," he remarked to himself as he tucked himself into a corner, sitting upright. He then passed out soon enough.

Morning came soon enough as Keitaro cracked open an eye. The throb of the hangover hit him hard and he tried to bury his face in his arms. A moan came from the other side of the room as Asuna rolled over. "Oh god," she exclaimed. "Who's bright idea was it to crack open sake?"

"I think there should be a universal hangover brew," said Keitaro from the corner of the floor he had pulled up. "Otherwise, we're looking at complete and utter disaster zones."

"Shut the window then," grumped Asuna as she reached over and hit the curtains. The sunlight decided to be a meanie that morning and struck Keitaro with a single shaft of light.

"Argh!" exclaimed Keitaro as he stood up to avoid the beam of light and noticed someone in his own futon. "Wait... what's Miyazaki-san doing in my futon?"

Asuna looked over the edge of the bed and tried to focus. "Oh... that," she said. "I think she passed out and you put her to bed."

"Right," said Keitaro. "Where's Konoka-chan?"

"She said something about getting the permission for the Baka Rangers and the Library Exploration Team to go with you to Hinata City," said Asuna. "Well now I'm fully awake and I need aspirin."

"Two for me, please," said Keitaro as he sat up and rubbed his head. "Ouch."

The door banged open as Konoka practically leapt into the room, jump kicking Keitaro. "Keitaro-sensei! I got us permission!"

"AARGH!" Keitaro slammed headlong into the ground as Konoka landed on him.

Asuna stared at the other girl in complete and utter shock. "KONOKA!" she exclaimed loudly and immediately regretted it afterwards. "What are you doing, drop kicking Keitaro-sensei?" she asked in a much softer voice.

"It looked like fun last night," said Konoka with a giggle. "Makie and Ku Fei and the Narutaki twins keep doing it so I decided to try myself. It is fun after all!"

"Wonderful," said Asuna. "I'm gonna get aspirin for myself, Keitaro-sensei and Nodoka-chan when she wakes up." With that, she meandered into the bathroom.

"Good morning, Miyazaki-san," said Keitaro as Nodoka wandered downstairs for breakfast in the dorm cafeteria. "Did you sleep well?"

Nodoka massaged her eyes. "Um, sort of. Sensei, did you find me last night?"

"Well, you were drunk so I let you sleep it off in my futon," said Keitaro. "I slept on the floor."

Nodoka went red as she stammered out, "T-Thank you. I don't drink much but thank you."

"Miyazaki-san..." Keitaro hesitated as he formed the words. "I'd like to say that I'm sorry. I didn't really give a good first impression when we first met and I'd like to apologize."

Nodoka took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you... sensei."

Keitaro brightened. "All right then! Lets have some breakfast. Oh, Miyazaki-san, the Baka Rangers are coming on a visit to Hinata City and Ayase-san and Saotome-san were wondering if you would like to accompany us. You don't have to, but it would be a nice change of pace."

Nodoka blinked at the statement. "Um, well, I'll have to think about that," said Nodoka.

"There's no pressure," said Keitaro gently. "If you don't want to come along, it's fine."

"Yes, sensei."

"How did you manage to get Honya-chan to come along?" asked Asuna curiously as she and Keitaro sat around the low table, eating lunch.

"I let her decide on her own," said Keitaro with a shrug. "I didn't want her to feel left out and with Ayase-san and Saotome-san coming along, it didn't seem right not to let her come."

Asuna poked her eggs and smiled. "You really are a nice guy, sensei."

"Thanks, I think," said Keitaro, feeling as though it was backhanded. "Excuse me, I need to make a phone call to the dorm."

"All right."

"Hinata Girls Dorm," said Haruka, picking up the phone in the lobby.

"Aunt Haruka! It's your nephew, Keitaro."

"Don't call me aunt," snapped Haruka. "So, Keitaro. How did your examinations go?"

"Not very well, Haruka-san. I failed again this year."

"Mmmm," Haruka allowed. "So, you're a third year Ronin then. How about your class? Are they all right?"

"They did great for their exams! Second out of the whole second year of junior high!"

"That's great news then," said Haruka. "You must really love teaching these girls."

"Yeah, I do. They're just a fun bunch of PHRRGH!" There was a sound of a scuffle and a clamour of voices before Keitaro came back onto the line. "In any case, is it possible to come for a visit and bring some of my class with me? Not all of us, but some of them want to come for a visit to the hot springs."

"How many are we looking at?" asked Haruka.

"Lets see, there's the Baka Rangers so that makes five, the Library Exploration Team which makes up four and a newcomer that the Headmaster insisted on sending with us, Sakurazaki Setsuna so including myself, that's ten people. Are there enough rooms for all of us or do we need to pool?"

"There are a lot of rooms in the Dorm," said Haruka. "Don't worry. Are you actually going to pay for this though? This is more of a field trip than a visit."

"The headmaster has allotted some of the field trip money to this trip. Apparently 2-A's last trip didn't fly so there was a lot left over this time around. I'll also be teaching them during their 3-A year as a full time teacher. So which means I'm probably going to take it easy and I won't study till my brain melts for next year's testing."

"Good luck with that. When are you arriving?"

"Tomorrow. We'll set out at eight and should be there by ten. And then we'll get the girls settled in and declare it a vacation. Speaking of which, how's Naru-san doing? Did she get into Tokyo U?"

"Well, Naru..." There was a click and Haruka checked the phone connection. "Huh. He must have run out of time on his phone card."

"Keitaro-sensei, lets play!" exclaimed the Narutaki twins as they jump kicked him in the head as his finger hit the disconnect button.

"Dang it you two, I was on the phone!" exclaimed Keitaro but he went into the merry chase.

"So the headmaster is sending us and Sakurazaki-san?" said Asuna as she sipped on some orange juice.

"Yeah. Although, Sechan hasn't been talkative recently," said Konoka. "I wonder why?"

"Hmm," said Asuna.

"Hey!" exclaimed Haruna as she walked up with Nodoka and Yue. "So you guys packed for tomorrow's trip?"

"Yeah, I've been packed since this morning," said Asuna. "How about you three?"

"I've been doing some research on the place we're staying," said Haruna with a triumphant pose. "Hinata Inn has it's own hot springs and the grounds are huge! Furthermore, there's a mystery around the grounds."

"A mystery?" asked Konoka.

"It is said that on the grounds lie a powerful Annex that has forged countless marriages through the centuries. It's magical power is so immense, that it could bind even two men together," said Yue, taking a sip of her juice. "It is said that if you confess to someone you like on the grounds, the magic will bind you forever."

"Sounds like the story of the World Tree," said Asuna. "I wonder if I could get Takahata-sensei to come with us?"

"Afraid not, cheese head," giggled Konoka. "Takahata-sensei went overseas yesterday."

"WHAT!"

"The Annex?" said Keitaro, dragging himself to the group. Nodoka looked at the dead and bloodied face and shrieked, kicking him away.

"Ow," said Keitaro and Nodoka gasped.

"Sensei! I-I'm... I'm so sorry!" With that, she ran off in embarrassment with Haruna and Yue trailing behind.

"What was that all about?" asked Keitaro as he sported a bandage to cover the gushing wound on his head.

"You scared honya-chan away again," said Asuna with a deadpanned expression.

"Myuh!" agreed Tama-chan who alighted on Asuna's head.

"Well, playing with the Narutaki's is kind of rough," said Keitaro and then went sailing across the lobby as Makie and Ku Fei exclaimed, "Sensei! Play time!"

Konoka laughed as Keitaro was roughed up by the four girls, the Narutaki's having joined the fray once more. "I wish something like this would never end."

"Don't say that," said Asuna. "Otherwise, sensei might become a fourth year Ronin."

"Myuh!" added Tama-chan.

Authors Note : Please Continue Onto Side B : Love Negima! Chapter 3