Same disclaimer.

This chapter is called 17.2, because I was writing chapter 17, but I ended up with this idea to fill a little gap from the previous chapter about where Kuro ended up before the Tournament. So yeah, the next update MIGHT be the real chapter 17.

To you, isolono: Spoiler: The tournament will pretty much end the same as the original, with the differences in the previous rounds before the final.

Also, two hickeys, one without the fangs. You know the reason *lenny face*.

Anyway, enjoy reading 17.2!

"... Why am I here?" I ask to myself, as I recognize the bed I'm lying on being Eva's. As far as I could remember, I was sleeping in the supervisor's room in the dormitory. "Meh, maybe another prank." Getting off the bed, I land my feet on the wooden floor and start heading downstairs...

Then I hear the girls starting to shout at something, so I quickly walk down and see them panicking at something. Planning to calm them down, I speak up: "Hey everyone. What makes you girls so panic? The tournament just..." Kaede and Setsuna suddenly pulls out their weapons, and in a second, the latter pushes the blade of her sword at my neck, while the former points her kunai at my right temple, interrupting me from speaking further. Though, I think they're just spooked a bit. "Sorry for scaring you girls, but for real, what happ..."

"Who are you?" Pulling out her fan, Asuna points it to my face, silencing me. "How did you get in here?"

"Uh... Asuna, what's going on?" Clearly confused at the situation, I try to ask her to understand more. "I mean, Eva gave me permission to..."

"For a stranger like you? Unlikely." Kaede says from behind me, already having a spell to try to bind me.

"Stranger? Come on, Kaede, we're friends here..."

"The only males we have been 'friends' at are mostly the staff and Negi-sensei's father's friends. You're just an outsider."

... Something's wrong. "Okay, there might be some gaps in my memories. However, where's Negi?"

"BAD NEWS EVERYONE!" Everyone turns to see Chamo sneaking in with Chao's time watch. "NEGI-SENSEI HAS BEEN DETAINED!"

"WHAT?" The girls shout in surprise, except Kaede and Setsuna who just widen their eyes in shock.

"... For what reason?" I think I get the situation now. "Chamo, was he detained because Chao has exposed magic to the world?"

The ermine notices me and asks: "Hey, who are you?"

I sigh. So NOBODY knows who I am. And it's only for one reason... "Okay, I think I understand now."

Setsuna pushes the blade into my neck, not at the point of cutting through the skin. "What are you talking about?"

"Look." I turn serious. "I was confused because you didn't seem to recognize me. However, if Chao has done that, then that means we're allies now. Our top priority is to get Negi, then return back to the last day of the festival and stop Chao from executing her plans."

Kaede asks in suspicion: "And why should we trust you?"

"Because..." The girls look at Chamo, and see me picking up the watch from the ermine's hands. "I know exactly how to fight against her abilities, considering I have a nature power to do so."

Kaede and Setsuna look at the one they are holding, and the see none. Asuna stands between the group and me while transforming the fan into the sword. "Don't you dare pull anything funny. Besides, what do you mean by returning? The magic of the World Tree is depleted."

I pour my own power into the watch and make it work, causing everyone to gasp in surprise. "This watch works with every magic, not just the World Tree's power. However, no regular mages, including Chao, could use it in a long time. And even with World Tree, you can only rewind to a period of time. I could fix that problem, but I want you to not fight me."

Silence occurs... then Nodoka asks timidly: "M...May I ask for your name?"

"...It's Kuro." She then starts opening her artifact, causing me to chuckle and everyone to glare at me. "Dear Nodoka, that artifact of yours doesn't have any effects on me, because I could counter it. I could even give out fake intel if I really want to."

The girl yelps in surprise, and Chisame walks in: "Hold on. You seem to hold our personal information, and you even know how to fight Chao. Tell us now: was you Chao's ally?"

"... How to answer that..." Now that's difficult. I'm currently her ally, but now... "I'm her ideal ally. However, current I'm her enemy."

"Ideal ally?" Yue asks.

"I can understand her motive. However, her executions cause a lot of troubles to everyone. That's why I'm stopping her now."

Nodoka looks at her book, then to me, not knowing if she could trust me or not. However, the matter is halted as Kaeda looks at the window and sees two mage teachers walking to the cottage. "They are here... they must have suspected Eva being Negi's friend..."

"Then it's settled." The girls and Chamo look at me again. "You girls want to rescue Negi, right? Here's my plan: I will hold them here, while the girls rush out. The moment the two teachers have distracted by me, run. I will follow when you girls save Negi."

"Hold on. You're saying that we're leaving them to you?" Ku Fei asks in surprise. "They're very powerful..."

"I soloed Eva and won before." I simply shut her up. "Those two are nothing to me."

"So everyone comes out..." Touko says as everyone leaves the cottage...with a stranger leading them. "Hm? Did we miss something?"

"Surely we are not." Her partner says, a bit surprised at the scene. He then asks me: "Hey, are you with Chao?"

"If I am, then magic would be fully exposed instantly, not just after a few months." I say nonchalantly, giving them a casual shrug.

"If you're not..." Touko calmly says. "Then please step aside. We need to..."

"Yeah no." I interrupt her. "Sorry girl, but I'm not going to obey you. Not when there is still hope to fix this up."

A vein pops on her head. "What hope would it be if magic's already exposed at some parts?"

"... Something like this." I pull out Eva's Pactio card and activate it. And immediately, the teachers are simply frozen in place, not being able to move.

"What the..." Touko tries to move her arms, but ends up stuck in space. "What kind of artifact is that?"

"Girls, now." I simply say to the girls, causing them to start running towards the Academy...

"Thank you." Nodoka timidly says, as she's pulled by Yue out.

"You're welcome." I smile at her. Well, at least she is still...

*CRACK!* Turning to Touko, she has managed to break the effect 'To be fair, I didn't use all of the power' and she tries to chase after the girls. I immediately change the card into Ram's one and call out multiple Fuuma Shurikens to stop her on track. "You know, miss Touko..." The woman glares at me. "Sorry about your love life being interrupted. However, capturing the girls won't save it, so..." Side-stepping, a slash wave narrowly flies towards my left, hitting the cottage. "... Guess I shouldn't have said that."

"YOU SHOULDN'T!" Touko breaks out of the temporary prison and rushes towards me with her sword pointing at my face, forcing me to call out both of my katanas and cross it in front of my face to block the attack.

And immediately I have to push the blade back so I could dodge the spell barrages from her partner, while trying to dodge Touko's slashes as well. After ten seconds, the other mage has finished chanting his spell, locking me in a tornado. Thinking that they have stopped me, they start running towards the girls. I yawn and then sit down, waiting for the tornado to die down...

And when it's down, I see them returning back with surprised faces. I just wave at them friendly and say: "You like it? I learnt that from the trip to Kyoto."

"...What kind of mage are you?" Touko asks, irritated that she can't completely her objective. "No way you have made it in just a few seconds."

"Oh, but I just did." I stand up and release a burst of energy, breaking the wind prison. Then I make the left kanata disappear, and sheath the right one into the scabbard on my left waist. "You know, it would have been fun in normal conditions, but given the current problem... I have to end this quickly."

Third person's POV

"So this is where Negi-sensei's location is..." Nodoka says, as the information in Mei's memories have been revealed in the diary, gaining 'kind of' cheers from the others.

"Hau..." Mei cries. "We're failed our mission, and our intelligence has been pulled out mercilessly..." She looks at the unconscious Takane. "She was looking forward to finishing her training and heading out to work in the Magic World too..."

"Don't worry." The girl looks at Asuna, who has a determined look on her face. "Leave it to us! We will definitely return history back to normal!"

"...Eh?" Mei replies in confusion. And then, an earthquake occurs, making everyone fall on the ground (except the ones who already are). "What was that?"

"The source came from Eva's cottage..." Kaede tracks the power surge. "The two mage teachers couldn't possibly give out such power. Could it be..."

"Right now, it's not matter." Haruna says. "We have to save Negi-sensei now. Leave the girls here, they couldn't cause harm to us now."

"R...Right..." Asuna says, before apologizing Mei. "We're sorry, but we really need to do this." She turns her sword into the fan. "Everyone, let's go!"

"HEY WAIT!" Mei calls them back, but fails. She then cries again: "How miserable..."

"That's just a bad luck." Mei looks up to see a man wearing a lab coat walking towards the trio. "You girls are good, but facing someone like Chao, you need better force."

"Wha...Who are you?"

"Just somebody. Anyway, Touko and her partner are knocked out. If Takane and Megumi wake up first, find the teachers in the cottage." The man then walks away, leaving the girls be.

"WAIT!" This time she succeeds. "If you know Chao and her plans, then why didn't you stop her?"

"... All I can say it, I don't know when she did it." With that, he continues walking to the Academy, planning to help a certain group...

Time skip

"That Cerberus is too dangerous..." Kaede says, while dodging its swings.

"You don't say. The Hippogriff is the same level..." Setsuna follows, trying to protect Konoka with all she has.

"Yue, please tell me you have something..." Blocking 'Takamichi's' attacks, Asuna is struggling in deciding if she should hit him or not.

"Hehehe! You girls should give up now! My familiars are more powerful than you!" The one controlling the monsters is laughing at how the students are struggling to fight. "You're not going to finish yourOWOWOW!"

The monsters suddenly stop, as well as 'Takamachi', as they turn to look at the back of the Cerberus, and see a silver-haired maid pinching the chibi's face, making her squirm in pain. And then, the whole place breaks down like glasses, revealing everything that just happened was just delusions.

"...WAIT!" Asuna then recognizes. "Everything is just delusions? Even Takamichi-sensei?"

"That's correct." The maid replies, as the real situation is her sitting on the ground with the chibi in her lap, with their cheeks still being pinched. "Master Kuro has predicted you girls would get some troubles here, so he sent me here first to help you."

"And I was just found that out as well." Yue says, as she looks at her artifact. "Though, thank you for ending this sooner..."

The maid nods, then removes the chibi's hat and reveals her face. "You shouldn't do that, even it's to help your father."

"I'm sorry..." The girl cries a bit, afraid that she might be hit somehow.

The maid then carries her up and walks to the other exit. "Everyone, we need to rendezvous with Negi soon. I will lead the way..."

"Wait a second." Haruna stops her. "You just said something about 'Master Kuro', right? Is he some kind of..."

"He's not." The maid immediately says, ending any thoughts in Haruna's mind. "If you need to know about him, ask him directly, or wait for him to give me permission."

"... Okay, just go..."

"WAIT A SECOND!" Chisame immediately stops everyone, except the maid who just walks away. "Are you all fine with continuing like this? Doesn't this fight mean anything to you? Even if it's just delusion, what if we have to deal with the real things?"

"Then we just have to move forward." Asuna says, shocking the cosplayer. "Besides, that brat sure talks big, but he can't do anything by himself. That's why we will just have to help him."

And with that, everyone gives out their responses. Chisame sighs and facepalms, then says: "I don't want to see the world with those fantasy stuffs, so I will follow you."

"Great!" And with that, everyone gets out of the exit... and sees the maid giving the little girl to her father, with the real Takamichi standing in their way...

"Everyone!" And to their surprise, Negi is running towards from inside, with Kuro walking behind him. And with that, everyone greets him with hugs and... you know the stuffs.

Takamichi looks at Kuro and asks: "I was planning something for Negi... but you seem to know that, given by how you look..."

"*Smirk* You have no idea." He then turns to the maid. "Thank you Sakuya. You can leave now."

"I will take my leave then." The maid bows and disappears, much to everyone's surprise.

"So, is this everyone?" He then asks Asuna, who nods in return. "Chamo, can you give me the watch?"

The ermine gives the object to him, but warns: "We need to go to the roots of the World Tree. That's where..."

"Don't worry." The watch starts working again in Kuro's hand. "I just wanted some drama. From now on, I will help you all directly."

"But it requires a lot of energy!" Negi says. "You can't possibly do it alone..."

"Why not?" Kuro just shrugs.

"You're clearly underestimating the situation mister." Takamichi says. "Even if that's the real Time-machine..."

Kuro sighs and pulls out the first Pactio card he gained, then shows it to everyone. "If I'm not strong, I won't have a chance to make Pactio contract with THIS girl."

"... THAT'S EVA/MASTER?" The girls and Negi shout in surprise, clearly unexpected that someone has managed to make the Dark Evangel be his Ministra.

"Though, don't need to say to her about that, otherwise it's going to be bloodshed." Pocketing the Pactio card, Kuro says: "Takamichi, the history will be fixed. Don't worry about the girls, they will do well."

"And I can see that." He then turns to Asuna and says: "Hang in there, okay?" And he returns to Negi. "Can you deliver a message for me?"

After hearing that, Negi nods. And Kuro starts the watch. "Alright everyone, it's time to fix history!"

Time rewind, Kuro's POV

Thanks to my influences, we have managed to stand on a roof of a building, instead of being in the air. Giving the watch back to Negi, I say: "Now we have returned, let's pick somewhere safe so we could make a plan to..."

"Thank you very much, sir." Negi bows, followed by his students. "Without your help, we might not be able to make it..."

"Don't sweat it. Also, keep that until we spoil Chao's plans."

After that, the Librarian Trio lead us to where they usually spend their time in. Chamo then says: "Alright, we have some time until the evening. Let's think of an operation to stop Chao Lingshen!"

After everyone agrees, Negi pulls out a note and says: "This is the report of the mage teachers. Around 7 P.M, Chao will send an army of around 2500 robots and 6 giant weapons to the six Magic Concentration Points, and create a giant magic formation with a diameter of three kilometers, and then activate the Forced Recognition Magic on the world."

"6 giant weapons for 6 points." I say it simply. "Everything needs preparation. As long as the weapons aren't on those points, Chao can't activate the spell."

"And how could you know that?" Setsuna asks.

"A bit of game logic, based on real deal." I shrug.

"Those things won't help..." Chisame accuses.

"Oh ho, then you're so wrong. Though... we have one more problem. How are we going to put them back, WITHOUT exposing ourselves? In term of 'using magic', that is."

That leaves everyone in silence for a moment... Then I pull out my phone and dials a number. Nodoka asks: "Uhm, sir? Who are you calling?"

"Give me a second..." Once the call is through, I put the phone on my ear... "Hey Chao. What are those robots' weaknesses again?" That question causes everyone to widen their eyes in surprise. "...Uh-huh... those things huh? Where can I get it... there? How long... I see, so we just have to ask the Headmaster huh... okay, thanks." Ending the call, I turn to the girls. "Okay, those robots, we can..."

"DID YOU JUST CALL THE MASTERMIND AND ASK FOR HER WEAKNESS?" Everyone screams, clearly not expecting such unorthodox way to find details.

"Yeah." I laugh at their expressions. "I will explain once it's done. Anyway, there are some magical weapons that could deal damage to these robots, and they can be used by normal people in the festival. However, only the Headmaster can get it, so we need to ask him for the transport." Though, everyone is wearing a 'WTF' face, so I have to clap to regain their senses. "SO, this is a bit risky, but we're going to need everyone, magic and non-magic, to fight her. Chao's plan is never to kill anyone, so we will be safe for sure. About the plan..."

After the plan being spoken out...

Everyone agrees and gets to work.

Time skip, Third Person's POV

"It's not going to be that easy, isn't it?" Asuna says to Negi.

"It's not. But... somehow, I feel that I can trust him..."

"Yeah no, it's just your naive, Negi."

"That's mean, Asuna..."

"Anyway, we're heading out now. You keep your strength to face Chao in the end."

View changed, time skip

"Hey, have you seen mister Kuro?" Setsuna asks Asuna, as they're now in a defense point.

"No clues. But, our Pactio telepathy and our phones don't work..."

'I'm working on it, hang on.' The girls nearly jump up in surprise at the voice.

'Wait, is that you mister Kuro?'

'Who else? I'm trying to bypass Chao's backup plans. It seems I can open the telepathy for us now. I'm connecting the others as well.'

Asuna: 'But where are you now?'

'It will be a surprise.'

With that, Kuro's voice is gone. Setsuna then speaks up: "I'm starting to question if he's human at all..."

"What do you mean? He's like you or Kotarou..."

"He didn't breath, at all." Setsuna explains. "If you notice, he hasn't breathed for once. His power seems completely fake, despite being too powerful. And it's not like an illusion at all."

Asuna, not understanding that, decides to say: "We can ask him later, for sure."

...

"WAITWAITWAIT! If you're the Hero units, then the money would definitely go to you!" Yuna complains after hearing the instruction in the pamphlet.

"Don't worry about it." Setsuna assures the gunslinger girl. "Since we're part of the performance, we won't take any prize money."

"Oh, is that so?" Yuna says in relief. Then she notices another squad of robots coming up. "Setsuna, Asuna! They're coming again!"

"Alright!" Asuna acknowledges and turns to the enemies. "We will handle them, then the rest will be..."

During her speaking, a barrage of spears suddenly slams down and destroys the front of the robot squad in a second, forcing the rest to stop advancing. Then, another robot-like figure lands down before the squad and faces them with a green spear in its right hand. The spears that destroyed the robots get pulled up and retracted to the original spear, before the robot-like figure transforms the spear into a purple odachi and rushes into the other robots, starting to destroy them in close-range combat.

"Uhhh..." Yuna asks. "Aren't the robots our enemies? Why is that one destroying its allies?"

"No clue." Setsuna says, also confused at the situation. "However, it seems to take care of them easily. Everyone, take care of the rest please. Asuna and I are heading to the street below."

...

"That's unexpected." Chao watches from a camera that observes the fight, as it's focusing on the mysterious figure. "I don't remember building something like that..."

"Whatever it is, it's pushing the robots back with great efficiency." Hakase says in worry. "If this goes on, the plan won't succeed."

"Then I guess we have to eliminate it now. Mana, you're up."

...

"I hear you." Hiding in the shadow, Mana points her sniper towards the robot-like figure. "Looks too humane, but it doesn't matter." Pulling the trigger, Mana looks through the scope as the bullet hits the mark, covering the target in the time-warp. "It's done. Now, let's..."

"That's a bit impolite from you." Hearing a voice behind her, Mana pulls out her pistol and shoots the target behind her, only the shot to be deflected away and explode. Turning back, Mana is surprised to see the target she just shot standing right behind her. "You should wait for your turn before jumping in like that."

'A self-aware android? Like Chachamaru?' Not saying much, Mana pulls the other pistol out and starts firing at the target, only for it to dodge at the last second, avoiding being warped away. Jumping down to another roof, she looks back to see the target following her, but keeping a good distance away. "Interesting. A rouge android right under Chao's watching..."

"Android?" The target laughs. "Sorry to pop your bubbles, but I'm not an android, and I have never sided with this Chao in the first place."

'This Chao?' That is Mana's thought, before she sees a light covering the target... and then it transforms into a mid-20s man wearing a lab coat. 'A human?' "Who are you?"

"The name's Kuro." The man pulls out his dual revolvers and points it to her. "Chao pulled out quite a cheesy plan, and I'm siding with Negi to stop it."

"Cheesy?" Mana asks, not expecting someone to call a plan like Chao's 'cheesy'.

"I mean, it has a ton of holes in it, and it might end up leading to her future, as we speak."

Knowing that he's not letting her go without a fight, Mana decides to distract him a bit: "I don't think you can understand what Chao is aiming at."

"I might not." Kuro answers. "However, I'm sure she hasn't thought about the consequences of her interfering into the past. For all we know, it could be seen as she's completing her future."

"C...What?" Mana asks in confusion.

"I have seen this case before. A girl wanting to revenge for her parents, has returned to the past and tried to kill the person she assumed to be the killer, but then found out that she's the one dealing the damage."

"..."

"In Chao's plan, while it might not be the same, it could lead to a bad future, heck, could be worse than her past. I don't know if Negi views it the same way, but currently we have a common enemy, and we would like to collaborate before this is over."

"..." Now that makes Mana think. Yes, she sympathizes with Chao and works with her for 'better future'. However, this man seems to know what Chao is planning, and know the consequences clearly. She decides to ask: "So you want me to turn my back against Chao?"

"It's your choice of thinking." Choice of thinking? "Though, you could try and stay neutral and step down, stop fighting. We don't really want to hurt anyone, but if some little pain is needed to make her recognize the truth, then it must be done."

... Pulling both hammers, Mana says: "Sorry, but I still believe in Chao. You have to walk past me to reach her."

"Very well. Pull the trigger."

"What do you mean that you can't reach Mana?" Chao asks Hakase, as she's watching the gun fight going on.

"There's something distorting our communication! Also, all the girls could somehow speak to the others via telepathy!" Then Hakase asks back: "Are you sure you don't know who is that?"

"I'm positive. Even if he's someone like me, I haven't met him in my past. But no matter..." Chao walks to the magical formation. "My target is this... but Negi-sensei, aren't you going to come?"

"Mana's defeated!" Hakase warns. "She's being pulled towards the time!"

Kuro's POV

"I guess that's a bit harsh." I say to myself, as I pocket my revolvers and dispel the distortion spell. I then pull out my phone and dial... Then puts it away. "Forgot that I only helped with that..." 'Negi, can you hear me? Where are you?'

'I'm heading to the last defense point! The others have fallen!'

'...Guess I'm heading there as well.' Turning off the telepathy, I look at the sky towards a specific object. "Your plan won't succeed, Chao. And I will make sure of it."

Third Person's POV

"Negi-sensei!" The child teacher looks at the announcer who's calling for him after he broke the last giant weapon in half. "The scouts have detected Chao! She's on an air ship 4000 meters directly above of the World Tree!"

"Understood!" Negi answers.

"By the way, Sensei! Have you realized what the meaning of your action is?"

"I believe so." Negi answers without hesitation.

"Then I have nothing to say anymore! GO!"

"Roger!" With that, Negi flies up in the air, narrowly missing the calls from his students.

"Aw, I want to ask how he could do that." Yuna says, disappointed.

"That's just CG, Yuna." Asakura says jokingly.

"But we still need to get to him." Kuro suddenly appears next to Asakura, surprising her. "Setsuna, Asuna, we need to get up there and cover him. I see a lot of flying units on the air, waiting to shoot him down."

"Mister Kuro!" The duo say the person's name at his appearance, before Setsuna nods. "We understand. We will gather force to do so."

"Do it fast. I'm heading to him first." Crouching down, Kuro then jumps straight up to the air, surprising everyone nearby at how high he could jump, and to further it, he transforms into the robot-like figure before, with the additional of three pairs of demon-angel wings, as he flies up and chases after the child teacher.

"WAHWAH! That robot is your friend? Why didn't you say so from the beginning?" Yuna asks Asuna with a surprise face.

"We didn't even know he has an armor like that!" Trying to cover the story, Asuna answers.

"Nevertheless, Asuna, let's go. We have to gather everyone!"

...

'Damn it! Too many of them!' Negi is struggling to avoid the shots from the air units. He manages to defeat some of them, but he's going to get swarmed soon. 'I have to find some ways to get out of this!'

'Then you got it!' Suddenly, multiple slashes appear in the air, destroying many air units at once. Negi turns to his back and sees a white robot with wings and a mask plus red optic on the left eye. "Sorry for taking too long. I need to deal with dangerous factors on the ground first before chasing you."

"Mister Kuro?" Negi asks in surprise, not expecting the person before him is the same man from before.

"Yep! Oh, and the others are arriving soon..." Pulling out a black sword and a white one, Kuro sends a cross slash wave to Chachamaru-like, sending her off the duo. "Negi, I will take care of the situation here. Head to Chao now!"

"R...Roger! Thank you very much!" Appreciated at Kuro's help, Negi accelerates towards where Chao is and prepares himself for the final showdown.

"You're welcome." Kuro says to him, then notices the robots aiming their guns at him and firing the bullets. The bullets collide at him and explode, trying to pull him towards the time... Only for him to cover himself with the wings before forcefully spreading them, destroying the spell in process. "Annoying bastards." Raising his left arm up, he calls out Darkness Strings that wrap around a good amount of robots, before he pulls once to shatter the opponents. With that, he starts flying forward the army and uses the blades to destroy the robots while dodging/breaking the bullets before they could reach him.

...

Time skip

"So you have come, Negi-sensei." Chao says, as she finds out that Negi has reached her location. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to put a stop to your plan!" Negi says, determination in his eyes.

"Very well! I too shall prove my beliefs with everything I have!" Throwing the robe away, Chao prepares herself for the fight. "Here I come!"

The two immediately activate their Cassiopeia to fight... only to find out that: None of them are working. "Huh?" Both of them try to activate them again, to no success. Chao asks in surprise: "What's going on here? Why can't I activate Cassiopeia?"

"That's because of me." The three (including Hakase) turns to look at Kuro, in his normal appearance, standing in the space between the two fighters, with Eva's Pactio card in his hand being activated. "Chao, I think you should be able to recognize it. That's your own device after all."

"What do you..." Then a memory clicks in her mind. "Impossible! That thing never worked!"

"And yet, it is, right in front of your eyes." Lowering down the card, Kuro says: "Sorry, your intention might be respectable, but those actions of yours could cause massive distortion in time and space. And I'm going to stop them now."

"...You're a surprise, mister." Chao laughs, as her weapons start working and aiming at him. "But I'm not going to stop here, not when my plan is going to the end."

"Well, Mana said the same. I wouldn't expect less from you." He takes a stance and says to Negi: "Be careful. Chao could use magic as well. Her main affinity is Fire, so your Wind must be stronger to defeat her."

Now that causes both Hakase and Chao to widen their eyes. A nobody somehow gaining that valuable detail is not someone to be underestimated. Chao then says: "So be it! CODE ||||||||||, SPELL PATTERN CIRCUIT OPEN! SEAL RELEASED!"

Time skip, Kuro's POV

I hope you don't expect to win, do you?

"Why are you two heavy for some reasons?" Changing into Hybrid Heart, I fly towards them and catch them midair so they won't fall to their deaths.

"Hey, that's impolite to say to a girl." Chao weakly talks back, clearly offended by that comment.

"Sorry. Anyway, the spell..." The light starts to dispel. "So that's the second part..."

"May I ask..." I turn to see Chao. "How did you know? My future, my plans, everything."

"Once we land down, okay?" Reaching the flying food stall, I let the duo lay down on the roof... and let the others take care of them.

"Thank you, mister Kuro..." Negi says, as Konoka starts treating his wounds, and Chao's as well.

"No sweat." Turning back to my normal self, I sit down and look at the World Tree. "I just feel like doing so."

"Saving the history is not some easy job, mister." Chao says.

"By the way, who are you, really?" The magic-aware people have gathered, instead of the girls from the original, as Setsuna asks. "We tried to convince the others that the other appearance of yours is an armor."

"Well that's true... *Sigh* Before that. Chao, are you aware of the multi-verse theory?"

"Multi... so you're from a different Mahora?" Chao says, earning surprised gasps from the others. "You have stopped me before, huh?"

"Not quite." I answer. "I have already stopped your plans since the first day I was in Mahora. At my current time, we're going to enter the second stage of the Martial Tournament."

"Wait, I thought that's one of Chao's plans?" Setsuna asks in surprise.

"Was. After I warned her, most of her plans are wasted. However, I'm helping her creating different plans to reveal magic to the world."

"What the? You want Negi to turn into an ermine?" Asuna shouts.

"No. At one point in the future, magic will be known to the world. Chao and I are planning a different plan to not affect the world like her previous ones." Then I notice the food-stall has reached the ground. "Let's celebrate with your friends first, before we could talk more about it."

A small time skip

"So, where do you want to start first?" The magical staff has gathered, along with the students as well. I decide to let them choose what to ask first.

"First: what is your name? Kuro is obviously not your real name." Yue asks, suspicious at the moment she heard the name.

"Well yes, but Kuro is how I address myself now. That's why Nodoka's artifact still acknowledges it."

The next one is Haruna: "How did you get ahead of us and save Negi-sensei before we could reach you?"

"Teleportation. No other explanations."

Mana: "Are you human?"

"Eh... was, to be exact. Though, calling me now human is not wrong either, except my enemies maybe."

Kaede: "How did you get inside Eva's Cottage?"

"That... I didn't really have any answers. I was sleeping in your dormitory's supervisor's room before I woke up and found you. By the way, I am Negi's assistant teacher in other world."

Hakase: "Other world, you say? How many things have you changed?"

"Uh, let me count... Breaking Eva's seal, being formed the Paction contract unknowingly with her, Kyoto's failed kidnap, trying to make Chachamaru more human..."

"YOU HAVE A WAY TO BREAK MY SEAL?" Guess who.

"It's an accident, actually. Instead of Negi's blood, you had mine, and yeah. Also, you're no longer a pure Vampire."

"... What? A Shinso Vampire can't be changed that easily..."

"The fact I have the power to manipulate Reality says otherwise." Earning blank stares, I continue: "Anyway, continue."

Takamichi: "How come is she your Ministra, instead of the other way around?"

"Not sure. But if I have to guess, maybe it's because I'm stronger than her."

Eva is not happy hearing that. "Stronger than me? You're over-confident."

"Well, you can think that. So next?"

Haruna: "That maid from before, Sakuya right? She called you Master..."

"Think of her like Chachamaru, except that she's created with pure magic. Mine."

Eva grunts. "I can't believe any of this. Unless you have some proofs..."

I sigh, pull out Asuna's fan much to her surprise, and swing to my left, just in time a certain person suddenly appears and tries to spear me, and with that she's thrown off. "Clem..."

"YOU ARE A MEANIE, DADA!" The girl fake-cries, accuses me for the hit.

"Then explain why you're planning to spear me." I say, while looking at people's surprised faces. "Don't ask, she's like that all the time."

"Uh..." Negi asks, shocked at what he just heard. "Mister Kuro... did that girl just call you father?"

"No. 'Papa' is how she calls my son... which is her father anyway."

... Yue: "And your age?"

"Over a century, for sure." Picking the girl up, I ask her: "For what reason do you have to find me?"

"T.O told me to find you." The girl answers, while pouting at how I pick her up (by picking up her collar on the back).

"... Kay then." I then turn to everyone. "I guess I have to take my leave now. Can't risk messing this timeline any further." I pull out a perfect Cassiopeia and throw it to Chao. "You can use it to return. However, I want you to think carefully before trying to pull something like this out again." With the free hand, I summon my katana and swing it in the air, creating a portal...

"Wait!" I turn to Negi, as he bows again. "Thank you for everything!"

"Like I said, no sweat." I look at Chao again, then to Eva and Chachamaru. "Take care of yourself. The future will be very rough for everyone..."

"Oh, I forgot. Auntie Eva..." And with that I cover Clem's mouth, not wanting her to say anything further.

Eva's cheeks have a faint pink on it. "What is she planning to say?"

... You know what? I'm going to mess with this world. "I'm sure your other self wants to ask me something. By the way, *change language to English* you and me, the birds and the bees. Go figure. *Change back to Japanese* The future is in your hands now, bye!" And with that, I jump into the portal, with Clem in my arms, leaving the confused staff behind.

Morning, Tournament Day

"Cai.. dech...gi vay, Clem?" I slowly ask the girl, my eyes are glaring at her.

"Teehee, I just wanted to mess around a bit..."

"...*Sigh* At least I do have a mind to do so. Anyway, let's go to the Amity Colosseum and prepare for the Tournament."

Back to the 'original', Third Person's POV

"..." Slowly recognizing what Kuro just implied, Eva's face burns up in embarrassment.

Chao looks at the new Cassiopeia, then giggles. "I guess I have to think more carefully than I thought." She then notices Eva's face. "What's wrong?"

"... He... He couldn't mean that..." Ice starts to emit from her, making everyone step back in fear as she's also releasing a deadly Aura.

"What did Kuro say, Negi?" Asuna asks, clearly not understand English very well.

"Um, he talked about birds and bees or something..." Negi answers, also confused like Asuna.

Though, the adults look at Eva's embarrassed face, as they start looking away with a faint of pink on their face.

And the bookworms are deep red now. "E...Eva... you are..."

"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT!" Eva shouts in embarrassment.

"Right..." Chao sweat-drops, before saying: "I guess it's time for me to go now..."

Chapter 17.2 end!

So yeah, not too much details, but most of the main fights are the same, so I won't repeat it. I have seen many stories repeating some main events, and I don't like doing that.

I think this is enough. We will return to the main core world in the next chapter. See you then!