Side A : Mahora Sensei Keitaro!
Written by Shaun Garin
Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned and created by Ken Akamatsu. All characters are used for entertainment purposes only.
Chapter 4 : Flash and Bang! Arrival At Hinata House!
"Aaah, Keitaro. You've arrived," greeted Haruka as Keitaro and his students walked up to the top of the hill. Most of them were looking around at the spectacular glow of the cherry blossoms. "You're just in time to help start setting up for the Cherry Blossom Viewing Festival."
"Aunt Haruka! Nice to see you too!" Keitaro suddenly found himself sporting a large bump on his head as Haruka had struck him upside his head. "Er, Haruka."
"Better," said Haruka. "Hmm?"
Keitaro looked at the girls and then said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce them. These are my students. This is Konoe Konoka and Kagurazaka Asuna," he said, pointing out the two girls to his left who were dressed casually and carrying suitcases with them. Asuna was looking at the cherry blossoms and Konoka was tugging at a girl with white skin and long dark hair. "Sakurazaki Setsuna, Ku Fei, Nagase Kaede..."
"Hello," greeted Kaede and Ku Fei grinned and waved.
"Saotome Haruna, Miyazaki Nodoka, Ayase Yue and Sasaki Makie," finished Keitaro. "Is everyone at the viewing area in the front yard?"
Haruka nodded as she lit up a cigarette. "Yeah, they're all there. Here, gimme a hand with this stuff. Your girls can get settled in at the House. I think rooms 202, 203, 303 to 305 are empty. Negi should be there, working on getting the rooms all ready."
"All right. Thanks Haruka-san." Turning to his students, Keitaro grinned. "Welcome to Hinata House everyone. Please relax for the next two weeks we're here. Just remember we can only use the field trip money sparingly so no going too far outside of the City."
"Yes sensei," chorused the girls as they headed into the house.
"It's pretty run down," said Asuna as she tapped a wall. "Say, what do you think about this Konoka?"
"It sounds like a lot of fun," said Konoka with a chipper smile. "This is going to be great! And look, there's even an open aired bath out there! Sechan, do you want to go there as well?"
"Er," stammered Setsuna. "Well, maybe later."
"Aw pooh," said Konoka. "Well, it'll be us three in the room anyhow."
"You're right," said Asuna as she opened the door to the room. All of a sudden, a small figure bumped into her at chest height. "Er..."
"Eh? Sorry!" cried Negi as he back-pedalled. "I'm sorry, I was cleaning in here and well..."
"Aw it's a little kid!" cried Konoka, ruffling his hair. "Who're you little guy?"
"Er, um, Negi Springfield, pleased to meet you," said Negi, bowing low. "I'm the caretaker of the dorm."
"This little shrimp?" exclaimed Asuna, poking and teasing his cheeks. "What's a little boy doing as the caretaker of a Girls Dorm?"
"It's something of a long story," said Negi with a sigh. "Are you new tenants?"
"Just visitors," said Konoka cheerfully. "We're here with Keitaro-sensei."
"Oh! That's why I was cleaning in here!" exclaimed Negi, clapping his hands in thought. "Futons are in the closet and there's a kotatsu in here as well. I gotta get the other rooms ready, please, enjoy your stay!" With that, Negi dashed off, leaving the three girls to watch him run off.
"He's so cute, don't you think?" said Konoka.
"I dunno about that, I'm not a big child lover myself," snorted Asuna.
"Springfield..." was Setsuna's contribution to the conversation.
"Naru-san! Naru-san!" Called out Keitaro and Naru looked up from where she was walking up the hill, dressed in her school uniform. "Hey, did you get back from school today?"
"Hey, Ronin-sensei," greeted Naru as she got to the top of the stairs. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon. Did you pass?"
"Naw, I didn't," said Keitaro. "I was really pushing myself and I found out that I couldn't do what I wanted to do. I blanked out all the way through the test."
"Aw, poor guy," said Naru, patting him on the back. "So, have you met the rest of the Hinata House group?"
"Unfortunately," said Keitaro, fingering a new set of bumps on his head. "I accidentally walked into a bathroom and some crazy girl with a sword came at me. And I thought I only had to worry about that back at the dorm."
"That would be Motoko," said Naru. "You want to avoid messing with her. It's said that she's from a school called the Shinmei Ryu; a powerful swordsman group that is known to make the heavens tremble in fear of their awesome might!"
"GEH!" Exclaimed Keitaro in shock. "You mean Motoko-san is from the same school as Sakurazaki-san?"
"EH?" asked Naru, turning to meet him. "What did you say?"
"Well, it sounds weird but I think I have a girl in my class who is in the same swordswoman school as Motoko-san," said Keitaro, recalling his first and numerous encounters with the swordswoman's blade. "Does the words 'Shinmei Ryu Technique : Boulder Cutting Blade' mean anything to you?"
"Yeah, that's Motoko's technique," said Naru, grinning. "How did you know that was Shinmei Ryu?"
"I kinda keep having... accidents and getting on the wrong end of them," said Keitaro and Naru blinked.
"Accidents... as in... perverted accidents?"
"Er... yes?"
"YOU LETCH!" With a strike of "Super Naru Punch", Keitaro was sent flying into the wall. "Hmph, serves you right pervert-sensei."
"Hurt... bad..." moaned Keitaro from halfway imbedded into the concrete retaining wall.
"Wow, what a lovely view from up here!" called out Haruna. "C'mon Yue, Nodoka, you two are so slow!"
"You walk too fast," deadpanned Yue as she lazily trudged up the stairs to the laundry deck. "Hmm?"
From behind the laundry poles, a blue haired girl poked her head out. "Oh hello! Are you three visiting?"
"Yes we are," exclaimed Haruna. "I'm Haruna, and this is Yue and Nodoka. We're here with Keitaro-sensei on vacation!"
"I'm Maehara Shinobu, nice to meet you all," said Shinobu as she shook out a sheet. Suddenly the wind grasped it and tore it free of Shinobu's hands. "Oh no!" she cried, flailing to grab it.
"Gotcha!" cried Su as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere, getting the drop on the sheet. "Hey, Shinobu, you lost something."
"Thanks Su." said Shinobu as she carefully shook out the sheet once more. "Everyone, this is Kaolla Su."
"Heyas, did you come with Keitaro?" asked Su, hanging off the railing like a demented monkey.
"Yes we did," said Yue as she sipped her juice. "Where is sensei at the moment?"
"Keitaro's imbedded in a concrete wall," said Su in a casual tone. "He's got a lot of HPs since Motoko is down there trying to cut him loose with Boulder Cutting Blade."
"GEH!" cried Nodoka. "A concrete wall? What!"
"Oooh, sounds painful," winced Shinobu. "Su, can you, you know, help Motoko?"
"Roger!" grinned Su as she swung backwards and dropped off the laundry deck. There was a short pause of silence and then a loud "Nyah ha ha!" followed by a tremendous explosion. Keitaro screamed as he went flying into the air and crashed down on the deck, rolling several times and coming to a rest under Nodoka's legs.
"Ow ow ow," grimaced Keitaro as he opened his eyes and sat up. Nodoka flinched and back-pedalled as his head came too close to the hem of her skirt. "Wow, that was some trip. Oh hello everyone."
"Shinobu, this indestructible pervert-sensei of ours is Urashima Keitaro," said Haruna with a grin.
"Otherwise known as the Ronin-sensei," added Yue as she had a steadying hand on Nodoka's shoulder.
"You don't have to broadcast my status like that!" cried Keitaro, spiking.
Shinobu giggled.
"So what kind of hobbies do you have, Negi?" asked Keitaro.
"Um, well, mostly just reading and what not," said Negi.
"Ah. Hey, where's Tama-chan?" wondered Keitaro.
"Tama-chan?" asked Negi as they entered the foyer. "What's Tama-chan?"
"That," said Keitaro as he pointed towards his flying turtle chasing after a screaming smoking ermine.
"AAAAAAAAAAH! BACK! BACK I SAY FOUL AVATAR OF THE TURTLE GODS, BACK!" Screamed Kamo-kun.
"Myuh!" exclaimed Tama-chan, delighted in the chase.
"EEEEEEK!"
Negi sweatdropped and Keitaro laughed. "A talking ermine. Now I've seen everything. So, got anything else that you wanna share?"
"..." was Negi's contribution. Then he sighed. "At this rate, the whole city will know I'm a wizard."
"Cherry Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms!" called out Su as she cajoled all around the yard.
"Hmm so you're the famous Urashima Keitaro," said Kitsune as she stabbed a yam with her chopsticks. "Naru talks a lot about you?"
"Eh?" asked Keitaro as he looked up from his bowl. "Really?"
"Oh yeah, like 'that pervert is shacking up with Konoka-chan' or 'he's got a two percent chance of getting into Tokyo U'!" laughed Kitsune and Keitaro sagged. "Aw c'mon, she doesn't talk bad about you ALL the time."
"Gee, thanks," grumbled Keitaro. "Looks like the girls are having a good time."
Sure enough, Su had managed to grab several of Keitaro's students into a wild party, complete with festive decorations and the occasional alcoholic drink. Shinobu was frantically trying to rein in the girls but so far, it was less than successful. Even the responsible adults, Naru and Motoko in comparison were half drunk already. The only ones who didn't join in were Kaede who was busy with her food and Yue who was working her way into a Last Elixir Juice Box.
"Yeah. Hmm?" Kitsune looked up at the sound of an engine and then frowned. "What in the...?"
Suddenly without warning, a van erupted from the trees and then hit the curb. It rolled over forwards, sending people scattering and screaming as it smashed into the lamppost at the edge of the dorm. It groaned once and slammed down on all four wheels as steam hissed from the engine and then erupted into a ball of flames. "Oh my god, it's a scene out of Grand Theft Auto!" cried Keitaro as the door was kicked open.
"Oh god, I'm sorry but I could barely see. Damn this night blindness," grumbled a male voice.
Haruka froze.
"Papa, your driving sucks!" added a younger female voice as the pair staggered out. A handsome twenty-some man walked out, bleeding profusely from his forehead as a little girl dressed in overalls and a backwards baseball cap followed a bit more unsteadily. "Sorry about that," he grinned.
"SETA!" exclaimed Naru and Haruka in tandem.
"Hahahaha! I'm sorry for startling everyone, but I haven't driven in a long time," said the bleeding man named Seta. "It's good to see you again Naru-san, Haruka."
"You certainly haven't changed a bit," deadpanned Haruka. "I thought you were still overseas."
"Actually funny thing about that. I was at a dig site and there was a problem with an evil cult and a group of Neo-Nazi's. Oh, and I can't forget about the problems with the small platoon of R-Wings after me. My goodness that was certainly a fun time." laughed Seta.
"What the hell is going on here?" screamed Keitaro. "What about the flaming wreckage? And you're on FIRE!"
"Oh, so I am," said Seta, calmly pulling out a fire extinguisher and hosing himself down. "Well, I decided to come by for a visit. It's been a while and I didn't expect this many tenants actually."
"Is he a complete freak or something?" wondered Haruna in shock.
"I think he's absolutely HOT," said Asuna, making the others fall over in shock. Naru could only blush and nod as well.
"Papa, I think you're scaring them," deadpanned the little blonde girl. The van exploded once more.
"I see," said Seta as he sat around the table with the rest of the residents of Hinata House. "So it's been changed to a girls dorm."
"That's right," said Keitaro. "According to Aunt Haruka," here, Haruka hit her nephew across the head, "Haruka," corrected Keitaro, "Grandmother Hinata left the house to me and assigned Negi-san to be the landlord for an indeterminable amount of time. I'm not here usually since Grandmother Hinata also got me a job at Mahora Academy as a full time sensei now."
"Wonderful!" Exclaimed Seta. "Ah, Mahora Academy. Brings back memories."
"Mostly sleeping on the job," said Haruka.
"Wow, so you went to Mahora?" asked Asuna curiously. She and some of the girls sat around the table, wanting to learn more about the guy who made a flashy explosive entrance into their lives.
"The Mahora Academy for Guys on the north side of the Academy City," said Seta. "Although I wasn't too good at it at all and I wound up dropping out before trying again for Tokyo U!"
"Papa, get them off me!" Exclaimed Sarah as she ran out, flailing her arms as Shinobu, Haruna and Su fussed over the little girl.
"She's so cute! Seta-san, is this your daughter?" asked Shinobu.
"No, Sarah is the daughter of a friend of mine," said Seta, lighting up. "I'm taking care of her right now."
"Papa!" Protested Sarah. "Can't you get these girls off me or something? They're suffocating me!"
Negi chuckled, embarrassed at their actions. "At least they're not kicking me:"
"That can be remedied!" Exclaimed Su, abandoning her pawing of Sarah to kick Negi into his teacup, spilling the liquid all over Asuna's skirt.
"Argh, hot hot hot!" Chorused the pair as they ran around in a panic.
"It's nice that for once, we can enter the baths without getting kicked about, or hit or shot at," said Keitaro as he, Negi and Seta relaxed in the hot spring.
"So how long ago did you attend Mahora Academy?" asked Negi of Seta.
"Hmm... at least fifteen or twenty years ago. I'm a bit older than I should be but the adventure keeps me going," said Seta. "Do you mind if I smoke?"
"Ashtrays over there," said Negi. "It's usually for Haruka-san."
"At least it's relaxing now," said Keitaro as he leaned against a rock. "No worries, no problems, no girls appearing out of nowhere to kick us in the head..."
"Don't say that, it's bad luck," laughed Negi but he was sweating.
"So Keitaro, how long have you been working for Mahora?" asked Seta. "It must have been quite an experience, dealing with these girls on a regular basis."
"Hmmm... since November before the Tokyo U Entrance Exams in March. I spent the first part floundering around mostly, trying to improve my own English before teaching my students something completely wrong. Although we got off to a bit of a rocky start."
"Mmm... Negi, you remind me of someone."
"Eh?" asked Negi. "Who do I remind you of?"
"A friend I knew about fifteen years ago. Ah, he was something of a person. An undeniable charisma seemed to follow him where ever he went." Seta leaned back into the water, becoming lost in the memories. "It's been a while since I saw him. Must have been Nineteen Eighty-two or Three when I last saw him. I wonder how he's doing since we parted ways in Eighty-four."
"Fifteen years," said Keitaro as he too sank against a stone and let the memories of his first love wash over him. "It seems to be a common thread amongst us menfolk, doesn't it?"
"Fifteen years ago," said Negi. "My father was said to have died. Some said that he was around ten years ago as well but it was never confirmed."
"I'm sorry, Negi," said Keitaro. "I shouldn't have brought up bad memories."
"No, it's all right," said Negi as he shook his head. But there were tears at the sides of his eyes. "Everyone said he's dead. But, one night, six years ago, I'm sure he came to me. It was a night in Wales and there was... a fire. My father came and saved me and my cousin. I'm sure of it, that my father still is alive."
"Fifteen years ago," said Keitaro. "I made a promise with a girl. She was my first love. We promised that one day, we would go to Tokyo U together. Strange how things work out."
"Well then," said Seta as he reached over to a tray that rested on top of a floating Tama-chan. Pouring two small saucers of Sake and one small saucer of juice, he handed it to the others. Raising it in a toast, Seta smiled and said, "To memories, of fifteen years ago and the days to come."
Keitaro and Negi shared Seta's smile and the trio drank.
"BAUGH!" Exclaimed Negi, spitting his drink out, coughing. "Someone spiked my juice!"
"No, I think I got your juice," said Keitaro, rolling the liquid around with his tongue. "Yeah, definitely. Who puts white grape juice in a Sake bottle anyhow?"
Seta laughed cheerfully as he poured out a drink from the juice bottle that had Sake and sipped it. "Well then, another toast, to friendship then."
"I'll drink to that," cheered Negi, helping himself to the Sake Bottle that had juice in it.
"Cheers," the menfolk chorused and they drank.
"So Asuna, what'cha doing? Peeping on the men?"
Asuna jumped a mile as she spun to see Shinobu, Haruna, Yue and Su grinning in their own fashions. Yue was not smiling but it was a hard thing to tell with a girl who looked like she was constantly pouting in a cute manner. "No!" she protested loudly and then turned red to see if the guys had heard her. They hadn't as they were laughing in the bath and making toasts to everything. "I figured no one was in the bath so I went to wash up after the brat poured tea onto my skirt."
"What are they doing in there?" asked Shinobu curiously.
"It looks like they were reminiscing about memories," said Asuna. "They all have history that dates back fifteen years ago."
"Oh? What are they talking about?" asked Su.
"Sensei made a promise fifteen years ago. Seta had a friend who he hadn't seen since fifteen years previous. And Negi... his father died, ten, fifteen years ago. Possibly before he could remember his face."
"Hmm... three men with memories around the same time. Destiny collides and the world shakes as their dreams come true," said Haruna, a glint in her eyes. "Fu fu fu."
"Mooouuuu, don't do anything terrifying, Haruna-san," whimpered Shinobu.
"I know, she can sneak in there and get the information!" exclaimed Su as she whipped out some strange white bodysuits marked with the three eyes and a device attached to one side. "With the Su Cameo Suits! With these babies, one can sneak into any place undetected!"
"No!" Wailed Shinobu. "That would be an invasion of privacy!"
"But it's too good to pass up!" Exclaimed Haruna as she grabbed Asuna and started to wrestle the girl into the suit.
"Hey! Leave me out of this!" protested Asuna but her pleas fell on deaf ears. "Aaaah, I look like I'm in a gimp suit!"
Haruna laughed as she got into her own suit and hit the device on the wrist. "Switch on!"
There was a short hum and the pair vanished. The door opened and the air rippled very briefly as Haruka seemed to push Asuna into the bathing area.
"Ooooh, this won't end well," said Yue, sipping her own juice.
'Haruna-chan, we're going to get into so much trouble!' Protested Asuna in a hushed voice.
'Would you relax? Su's inventions ALWAYS work, haven't you figured that out by now? And there's no Niita to stop us and we're not even under the jurisdiction of the school right now! Now c'mon, you wanna find out what they're talking about, right?'
'Eeeergh.. fine, lets do this.'
As the pair sneaked over to the waters edge, Seta's voice floated up into the air through the hazy steam. "So Negi-kun, do you have anyone you like here?"
"Geh? No, I don't really think so," said Negi. "They spend their time making me do stuff around here, maintaining the dorm and usually kicking me around like a football."
"You'd think with magic, you could do things faster," said Keitaro.
"AUGH! Keitaro-san, Seta-san wasn't told about that! I'm gonna get Ermined for sure!"
"Hahahah! I thought as much when I saw the staff. You're from the western magi societies, right Negi-kun?"
"Mwa! You know about magi?"
"Of course! Wow, it has been a while since I dealt with them though. I think I still have an outstanding warrant in some countries because of magical problems." laughed Seta.
"What sort of problems? They don't tend to follow you, do you?" asked Keitaro.
"No, not usually. I'm definitely not welcome in Kansai anyhow in magical areas. I helped some people in the last Great War and things kind of spiralled out of control. I'm sure I don't have to worry though, I can handle myself."
"You certainly seem sure of yourself, Seta-san!" exclaimed Negi.
"So what about you, Keitaro? Do you have someone you like?"
"God, I dunno. They're all junior high girls and it'd be kind of wrong for a student-teacher relationship. It'd be something out of Card Captor Sakura or I My Me Strawberry Eggs."
"Aaaah. It's a shame, some of your girls seem to like you a lot."
"Speaking of which, what's with Miyazaki-san anyhow? She seems really nervous and doesn't talk much."
"I'm worried about her to tell the truth," said Keitaro. "I think... she could have been molested as a younger girl. Of course I have no proof but she's certainly skittish enough."
Asuna paled as she looked at Haruna. Haruna didn't say anything but her face was set into a grim line which meant it was probably true.
"A terrible thing to happen to a girl at a young age." Said Seta. "The subways and train stations are terrible places at times for girls these days."
"Poor Miyazaki-san," said Negi. "Maybe we could teach her magic to help her out? Sort of build up her confidence?"
"It's a start," said Seta. "I remember a few spells back in the day. Of course I have no way of teaching them myself but I'm sure there's some practice wands from way back when in the van still."
"But the van's a smouldering wreck!" said Keitaro.
"Hahaha! Don't worry Keitaro! The van is really hardy. It definitely has had its share of encounters with explosions before."
"Sounds like you're a regular James Bond," said Negi.
"Call me Noriyasu. Seta Noriyasu." The men had a good laugh as Asuna sighed and walked back towards the other side of the water to leave the springs.
'Asuna! Wait up!'
Once out into the changing room, Asuna stripped off the suit as Shinobu and Su looked at her. "Well?" asked Su.
"Poor Miyazaki-san," said Asuna. "Haruna-chan? Is... it true?"
Haruna flashed into existence and pulled off her own hood. "Unfortunately. To everyone else, it's just a statistic, but Yue and I have known Nodoka for a long time now. When she was little back in elementary, she was a cheerful girl. That all changed when she came home one day and didn't leave her room for a few weeks. Yue and I dragged her out and cleaned her up but Nodoka-chan hasn't been the same since."
"So, Keitaro-sensei knows," said Yue. "What is he planning to do about this?"
"He wants to help, and so does Negi and Seta-san," said Asuna. "They want to teach her magic to boost her self confidence actually."
"Hmmm," said Su thoughtfully. "How about martial arts as well? Aniki taught me Savate and I'm sure I can teach her that!"
"It's a possibility," said Yue. "Lets go and find Nodoka-chan."
"This way?"
"No, you want to keep from turning your hand like that," said Seta as the three men stood on the laundry deck. "There you go."
"Jeet Kun Do," said Keitaro. "Along with a lot of styles. Did you actually learn all of these fighting styles?"
"When you get around like I do, it pays to dabble in various things!" said Seta cheerfully. "Oh, Negi-kun, you want to move your foot out a bit more."
"Hai," said Negi as he adjusted his stance. "Thank you for teaching some of these forms, Seta-san."
"It's the least I can do," said Seta with a smile. "After all, we three men should stick together, considering that girls like to kick us! Hahahaha!"
Keitaro laughed. "Oh yeah, this'll come in handy."
"Sensei, sensei!" Exclaimed Ku Fei as she ploughed into Keitaro's back. "Oooh, are you learning martial arts-aru?"
"Yeah, Seta offered to teach me," said Keitaro. "You know, in case I ever need it."
"Oooh. Seta-san, would you like to spar-aru?" asked Ku Fei and Seta smiled back. "All right! Stand back-aru!"
Keitaro and Negi backed away a few steps as Seta slid into a loose stance and Ku Fei adopted a Chinese Kenpo style. There was a slight blur of movement and Seta and Ku Fei stood opposite each other, Seta grinning and Ku Fei with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Wha?" said Keitaro as Seta turned around and nodded his accent to the Chinese girl.
"Instant Movement," said Seta with a smile. "Lets give them a show."
The pair launched at each other, hands and feet in a wild blur. A high kick propelled Ku Fei into the air as she reversed her movements, grasping the outstretched leg. Seta dropped his weight to the other leg as she attempted to swing around to kick him on the head with a swinging kick. Unbalanced from the lack of a stable counter, Ku Fei brought the whip kick downwards and Seta caught it in an open palmed block. Pushing Ku Fei's leg to the side, he drove a fist into her stomach that knocked her several feet backwards.
The pair sized each other up for a moment before launching into the air with a single three hit kick combo in the air. Landing on either sides of the roof, Ku Fei dropped into a low sweep and brought her leg upwards as she pushed off with her arms into a springing upwards heel kick. Seta took it and flipped backwards to land half-crouched onto the ground. Three more strikes met their mark and the pair fought back and forth. Seta danced around a blow, putting his legs into a neat little hop-skip as he round housed her across the face. Ku Fei stumbled once and then broke off the attack. "Thank you for the match, sensei," said Ku Fei with a bow.
"No, thank you," said Seta, still smiling. "That was one of my more invigorating matches."
"Wow, Seta! That was amazing!" exclaimed Keitaro. "I didn't know you could move like that!"
"Hahaha!" Laughed Seta. "I'm not great, just good enough."
"The fighting style looks a little familiar," said Negi slowly. "Ah! It's similar to the style Takamichi uses!"
"Oh? You know Takamichi?" asked Seta.
"Mmm! He was my father's friend and I learned how to fight from him for one month when I was little," said Negi. "Wow, I didn't know you were in the same school as he was!"
"More like I picked it up here and there," said Seta breezily. "So, ready to get back to learning?"
"Yes!" chorused Keitaro and Negi.
"Nodoka-chan, you want to see this," said Shinobu as she pulled the girl along.
"C'mon Nodoka-chan!" put in Haruna, pushing from behind. Yue trailed at the back with a juice box in her hands.
"Um, okay," said Nodoka as she followed her up to the deck. All of a sudden, Negi hit the ground with a "OW!" "Oh!" exclaimed Nodoka in shock.
"Hahah, nice throw, Seta-san!" exclaimed Negi, getting up. "Oh, hello Shinobu-chan, Miyazaki-san!"
"Hello!" Chorused Keitaro and Ku Fei and Kaede. Kaede reached out and corrected Keitaro's punch and Ku Fei raised an eyebrow and moved it back into place. The pair looked at each other and moved his fist halfway.
"Care to join us, Miyazaki-san?" asked Seta politely.
"It's really fun-aru!" exclaimed Ku Fei. "C'mon Nodoka-chan, come on-aru!"
"It's all right," said Shinobu as she lead Nodoka into the crowd. "Don't worry, no one will hurt you."
"Um, thank you," stammered Nodoka.
"Hmm, Negi-bozu, can you put Nodoka-chan through the warm up-aru?" said Ku Fei.
"Um, sure," said Negi as they moved to the side. "Don't worry, it's simple stretching. Just follow my lead."
Nodoka blushed as she moved down in the stretches that Negi showed her. "Is this Tai Chi?" asked Nodoka as Negi showed her the movements.
"Yeah, it is," said Negi. "Seta-san said it's good for a warm up and then Ku Fei-san will show us Kempo and then Kaede-san shows us the footwork. Don't worry about getting it right, just follow as best as you can, all right?"
Negi's smile made Nodoka smile briefly and blush before she went to work following Negi as best as she could.
"You want to turn your arm like that and then bring it up in a whip-kick," said Ku Fei, demonstrating on Keitaro. "The opponent usually keeps his or her arm tense which allows the leverage in order to perform this kick," she added, driving the whip-kick into the side of Keitaro's head. Keitaro rubbed the side of his head and nodded.
"Do you girls want to join in?" asked Seta, calling over to the three at the other side.
"Sure looks like fun, c'mon Shinobu, Yue!" Haruna pushed the group over as they too joined in.
Yue cast a glance over at Nodoka who seemed to be enjoying herself, her cheeks flushed with exertion. "Go, Nodoka, fight on," she whispered.
"Seta-san looks really cool," said Asuna as she and Naru sat to the side, watching as the small group of martial artists taught the small group of ever-growing students and residents. The group had gotten so big, it had spilled out onto the lawn.
"Yeah, he does," said Naru. "It's been a while since I saw him last actually. Almost two years."
"Do... you like him?"
A pause and Naru smiled. "I did, a long time ago. It's not to say that I like him as a friend, but he's so spacey at times." Naru giggled. "Seta was the reason why I tried for Tokyo U actually."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," said Naru as she let the memories wash over her.
"Sempai, I've decided to try for Tokyo U after all!"
"Are you sure? It's a very difficult test."
"I know, but I feel like I can do it. With you helping me, I feel like I can do it."
"Hehehe. Well, try your best. One day, you will make it. That I'm sure of."
"Naru? Naru-san! Hello, earth to Naru!"
"EH?" Exclaimed Naru, jerking back to reality as Asuna grinned. "Oh, sorry my mind was wandering there for a minute."
"Oh? I'd think you were reminiscing about how cool Seta was back in the day." said Asuna with a grin.
"Why you...! That's not true!"
"Ahahaha! You're blushing!"
"Come back here!"
"Nyah, follow the sound of my ponytail bells!"
"Looks like they're getting along well," remarked Kitsune as she leaned against the wall, sipping her beer. Haruka nodded from beside her as she tapped the ashes off her cigarette.
"What a day," sighed Haruna as she sunk into the water. "So, did you have fun Nodoka-chan?"
Nodoka blushed. "Yes, I did actually. Thank you."
"Aw, thank the guys," said Haruna and Nodoka blinked.
"Sensei, Negi-san and Seta-san were worried about you," said Yue, elaborating. "You've been so quiet during our vacation and we decided it was time to cheer you up."
Nodoka went red as she sunk to her nose. Bubbles erupted as she muttered out something under water.
"Nodoka-chan, they're not bad people," said Haruna gently. "I think, that despite his talent for getting into compromising situations, Keitaro-sensei is a good guy. And so is Negi and Seta-san. I really think that those three are men you can trust with your life."
"I'll have to thank them," said Nodoka after a minute of consideration. "After all, they were complete gentlemen today."
"We're here behind you, okay, Nodoka?" said Yue. "Don't worry. We'll give them a good pounding if they do something stupid."
Nodoka stifled a giggle but her shoulders shook in laughter. "Oh you guys!"
"Hmm," said Asuna as she nodded to Naru and Konoka as they stood behind the door. "honya-chan is doing all right."
"That's good," said Konoka cheerfully. "I'm going to find Sechan and get her to smile for a while! Naru-san, do you want to kick her with me?"
Naru laughed. "Sounds like fun. If she's anything like Motoko, she needs cheering up. Asuna, want to come along?"
Asuna grinned and the pair set off in search of two uptight kendo-ka to flying kick.