Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Not Even Bothering with the Excuses.

Chapter Three.

"There's something I need to tell you," Yuuna said after gathering her breath.

"Does it have to do with last night?" Ako asked, sitting across the table, facing her and between Akira and Makie.

"Yes. Yes, it does," Yuuna admitted.

Makie blinked. "What happened last night?"

"You'll see, Maki-chan," Yuuna began, "I was talking with Evangeline when she was approached by Karin, the girl from the Festival, and-"

"The Festival hasn't happened yet," Makie reminded her. "Or are you talking about last year's?"

"I don't know by this point, honestly!" Akashi said irritably. "Look, you remember Karin regardless, don't you? The Madoka lookalike?"

"Ah, yes, her," Makie nodded. "What about her? She had a crush on Eva-chan, didn't she?"

"Oh boy, does she ever," Yuuna sighed. "Anyway, she was with this..." she instinctively glanced back over her shoulder, "... very nice, polite and kind lady who-"

"The one Tokiha-senpai described as bigger than a warship and with evil eyes?" Ako said.

Yuuna made a terrified silencing gesture. "D-Don't talk about Dana-sama like that...!"

"Oh," Ako said. "So Skuld-chan was right about her."

"Skuld?! You told Skuld about Dana-sama?!"

"Well, she's your roommate, I had to tell her after you failed to show up all night long!" Ako replied. "What, hasn't she commented on it yet?"

Yuuna bit on her thumb. "N-No, she was already asleep by the time I arrived, and I left her that way too... What did she tell you about Dana-sama?"

"That she was Eva-san's master and teacher from long ago and that she was very powerful and manipulative," Ako said. "Are you okay, Yuuna-chan? Did she do something to you?"

"Well, actually... sorta," Yuuna gulped.

"Sort of?" Akira echoed in concern.

"Nothing bad bad, mind you," Yuuna added quickly. "But I thought you all needed to know anyway, b-because it might affect you as well sooner or later, and-"

Her three friends just stared at her quizzically.

Yuuna made a mortified sound and took both hands to her own head. "I just hope Negi-kun's faring better. He certainly couldn't be doing any worse..."

Negi hesitated before ringing the door.

Not for the first time that Sunday morning, he asked himself why he hadn't allowed Chisame to come with him, but then, just like every other time, his own answer came clear: it was too risky to let Chisame come along for this. After all, there was no guarantee on how things would turn out. He had nothing to fear, physically at least, from a possible confrontation with the inhabitant of these living quarters, but Chisame did, and he wouldn't ever endanger her willingly, much less now.

So he rang, and then waited, hoping for the best. Much to his surprise, it was a very pale girl with extremely long and smooth black hair who warily half opened the door, looking at him with huge soulful dark eyes framed within that beautiful, delicate face.

"Komori-san?"

"Good morning, Sensei," Komori Kiri from Class 3-F said. "Matoi's here, I'll tell her you came to visit her right now, if that's what you wish."

"Komori-san, what are you doing here?" Negi asked as Kiri opened the door only a bit more, letting him in, and just as soon closing after him. "Weren't you living in your classroom?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, I'm a hikikomori, what would I be doing anywhere but here?" she replied, with the awkward stiffness of a bad lie. "The outside world is bad, it only hurts you, there's disease and viruses everywhere, and anyway, now you can take online classes without needing to face treacherous teachers. Present company excluded."

Negi blinked. "Did… Did something happen with Itoshiki-sensei?"

"I'll go tell her you are here. Please take a seat," the girl, tightly wrapped on a very long blanket reaching down to her white bare feet, silently slid over to a back room. Negi swallowed, sat on a chair, and waited barely a couple of moments before Kiri walked back out, nodding sparsely. "She'll see you now."

"Thanks, Komori-san," Negi nodded, walking by her. "You're very kind…"

Before he could step into that other room, Kiri grabbed him tightly by a sleeve. "Sensei."

"Yes?"

"Please be careful. She is as hurt by the outside world as I am, if not more," the girl warned in a whisper.

Negi paused, then nodded. "Of course."

She let go of him, and so he walked into the room, gasping to himself. The short haired Tsunetsuki Matoi sat on the floor, with her back turned on him, facing one of three walls fully covered all over in photographs of several students and teachers from the Four Schools, and probably others as well. There was a predominance of pictures of Chisame and Itoshiki-sensei, but Negi also noticed several pictures of himself, and briefly, a shudder ran down his spine, as he remembered Matoi's short stint stalking him after the dodgeball game.

Not bringing Chisame had been, after all, a good idea.

"Sensei," the girl in a featureless white shirt and dark red shorts, her feet in generic white socks, spoke quietly, without looking back at him. "I'm so glad you came. I was starting to think… that nobody ever would."

"Matoi-san, sorry we haven't called," Negi said, giving a tentative step towards her. "It's just that, well, you stopped coming, and we figured you had your reasons, and you would want to be left alone for a while…"

"Ah," the young woman said blandly. "I see. Of course. In a way, you would be right."

"Chisame… sent you these biscuits she baked herself," he offered, extending a small plastic bag filled with somewhat awkwardly shaped sugary treats. "She really wanted to come, but—"

"You told her not to," she cut him. "I know you all too well, Negi-sama. I knew you wouldn't let her to."

"Have… Have we done anything bad? You started avoiding us, and now Komori-san seems to be upset at Itoshiki-sensei…"

Matoi sighed, then turned around at least, facing Negi. To his combined relief and puzzlement, she didn't look angry or maniacal, just emotionally tired and weary. "N-No. No. I… I wouldn't say you've done anything wrong, although Kiri-chan might think otherwise. Believe me, if I were upset at you, I'd already have stabbed you in the throat from behind."

He laughed rigidly. "Ah-ha-ha, Matoi-san, such a kidder…"

Matoi gave him a bland glare. Ji.

Negi gulped loudly.

Matoi waved a hand, returning to her earlier merely eerie calm. "It's not your fault, I think, but mostly, it's like… this is about what you have NOT done. It feels like we've been doing this for years and we never get anywhere, Sensei. A girl's heart has needs and mine has spent far too long having its unfulfilled. It's been so long that I almost began forgetting who I was in love with now. As you'll imagine, that's a terrible thing for a staunch advocate of love like myself."

"Right."

"Right! And I'm sure Chisame-sama must feel the same about you. It's been, what, ten years now, Negi-sama? You can't excuse yourself on being ten forever. Even if it's true. Somehow."

"Yes, well, about that…" Negi rasped uncomfortably, "Chisame and the girls did feel that way, it turns out, so, um… we have been taking steps to… develop our relationships and forge ahead in life already, y-you might say…"

Matoi blinked. "R-Really. That's, uhh, good? Y-Yes, yes, good, naturally, if it pleases Chisame-sama… What manner of steps are these?"

Negi said nothing, staring down at his feet and blushing.

Matoi waited several moments, then bluntly said, "You've started having sex, haven't you?"

A loud thump was heard from the outside, further startling the terrified young Mr. Springfield.

Matoi sighed again. "Worst part of living with a hikikomori. You can't tell her to step out while you're having private discussions, and she'll just take that as an excuse to spy on you…!"

"Okay, let's see how I can phrase this," Yuuna said after drawing a deep breath. "You know I've been trying to distance myself from my dad's shadow, to cut the umbilical cordon as they say..."

"Have you?" Makie blinked. "You've been as crazy about him as ever."

"Men don't have umbilical cords," Ako said, "that's a biological link exclusively between the child and the mot-"

"Figure of speech, Ako-chan!" Yuuna interrupted her. "Let's just say that Negi-kun's started helping me with that!"

"Oh my God, don't tell me that you're one of his girls now," Makie said while Akira paled slightly. "Iinchou will never forgive you!"

Yuuna blushed, fumed, and threw her glance aside. "W-What if I am?"

"I'm surprised, really," Ako admitted. "You never were one to fall for young men!"

"Eeehhh!" Yuuna said while, unnoticed by them, Akira paled even further. "I'm against immature men, but Negi-kun's as mature and responsible as they come!"

"Is that why you were away with him and the girls last night?" Ako frowned. "Were you fighting someone or having another kind of adventure?"

Yuuna rubbed the back of her own neck with a hand. "Y-Yeah, you could say so... Negi-kun fought that Karin girl and Eva-chan to, um, prove himself to Eva-chan."

"I thought he'd done that already, and that's why she took him as her student?" Makie asked.

"It's... complicated," Yuuna said. "She's asking more from him now, and so are we, I guess. You'll see, the thing is that, ah, um, well!"

"Oh. That explains everything!" Ako huffed softly.

"Give me a break, will you?!" Yuuna despaired. "This isn't easy to explain at all, and I don't want to scare you away from me!"

"It's okay, Yuuna-chan," Makie said. "I mean, Iinchou will want to kill you, but even if she's my roommate, you're my third best friend, so I'll support you over her in the competition for Negi-kun..."

"I only rank third?! No, I mean, you're misunderstanding! I, we, that is, Chisame and Yue and Hakase and Shiori-senpai, we aren't competing for Negi-kun here!"

Ako raised an eyebrow. "Who is 'Shiori-senpai'?"

"N-Never mind that now!" Yuuna groaned loudly. "What I'm trying to tell you is that I, we, all of us, that is... w-well, we're sharing Negi-kun now, and I wanna tell you you're welcome to join in too if you want, since you're my dear best-!"

It was at that point that Akira sprang up from her chair, bolted over the table bowling Ako and Makie aside, grabbed Yuuna by the throat and shoved her against the wall.

Now, a visibly disturbed Kiri sat next to Matoi as Negi finished explaining.

"I feel like I should be grabbing you by the throat and shoving you against a wall," the shut-in said quietly. "I would be a better woman then."

"Shush, Kiri-chan," Matoi hummed, stroking her own small chin thoughtfully. "So that's the way it is, huh. Forehead and Fujoshi have beat me to it..."

Negi gulped noisily. "Look, Chisame never intended to hurt you, it's just that things happened far too fast for us to-"

Matoi raised a hand and scowled. "Spare me the explanations. It's my own darn fault. I stopped being by her side, I lagged behind in my love, I strayed from that path. It cannot be helped."

"Oh?" Kiri said. "So you aren't feeling homicidally jealous for once?"

Matoi seethed softly. "That's a side of me you really, really shouldn't be spurring. Regardless, Negi-sama..."

"Yes?" the boy said.

Tsunetsuki stood up, folded her arms behind her back, and turned around, facing one of the walls all papered over in photos. "I'm a woman torn apart by life. You are a constant, the constant in everyone's lives. Of course you couldn't understand. Others gravitate around you; you are the center stone, and you don't need to worry about your shifting feelings. Because yours have always been with Chisame-sama."

Negi blinked. "I'm not sure what are you trying to say here..."

Matoi shook her head. "What I'm saying is, I've always been defined by my love, but that love wasn't always the same. Before Chisame-sama, there was Itoshiki-sensei, there was you, there were others. This thing... this never ending rut we've all fallen into... it has confused me on the subject, dulled my drive. That's why I just sat here, not knowing what to do anymore. You were the only one who cared enough as to come here, and so you've shown me the truth. Thank you, Negi-sama."

Negi doubted, feeling a hint of danger that Kiri also appeared to feel, judging from her stunned expression. "Matoi-san, like I told you, Chisame also worried and cared about you, and she-"

Matoi looked at him again. "Sensei?"

"Y-Yes?"

"This Dana woman... Are you sure she can do what she promises? Breaking this gray cycle, putting us back on the course towards a future? All through you?"

Negi paused before giving his careful answer. "I believe she honestly means well, even if her methods would be objectionable to many. But Haruna, Nodoka and Evangeline-san all trust her, and I cannot deny that she is much wiser than I am, even if I cannot see the motive behind many of her actions..."

"Right. We all are pawns gambling in the game of life, to a degree or another," Tsunetsuki nodded. "There's no getting around that if we really want to move ahead and leave the imprisoning security of our stagnation..."

Kiri stared at her in irritation. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with staying where it's safe! You can't bash my philosophy with your cheap pontification!"

Matoi rolled her eyes at her, then began unbuttoning her shorts. "If you don't want to see what is about to happen, step outside. If you can, of course."

Kiri's jaw dislodged itself while Negi's eyes widened. "Y-You can't be serious...!" the pale girl shuddered.

"You know I'll do anything for love," Matoi said, vigorously pulling the shorts down her legs. Then she smiled at the paralyzed boy. "Negi-sama, I can't help but being far too lenient with you, even now. I shouldn't be doing this, but I'll be one of your brides as well."

"How could you, Yuuna?" Akira said, finally breaking her long drawn silence. She had already moved her hand down from Yuuna's neck to her collar, but she'd never stopped holding her on an iron grip, despite Makie and Ako's attempts to pull her back. "You know well what Sensei's been going through, for far too long! And now, you do this to him, on top of everyone else…"

"Akira, please," Yuuna wheezed. "Let me breathe."

"You can breathe just fine, Yuuna," Akira said, squinting coldly. "Just answer my question."

"Akira-chan, please!" Ako begged. "What got into you?! This isn't like you!"

"Yeah, you never were this mad at any of the girls before!" Makie added. "I get that you like Negi-kun as well, but—"

"I'd never force myself on him! For God's sake, Yuuna, he's ten! Why do I have to remind you of this?!" Akira not so lightly bopped the back of Akashi's head against the wall. "There never was any reasoning with Iinchou or Kakizaki, but I really expected better from you!"

"Oh, come on, now!" Ako was growing frankly irritated now. "It's not like Yuuna has been, um, forcing herself into intimacy with Negi-kun or anything!"

Then a sudden, deep wince involuntarily marred Yuuna's features.

Makie failed to notice, but Ako jerked back, and Akira made a low, hissing sound accompanied by some uttered "I knew it…"

"Oh, no," Ako said. "No, you've got to be joking…"

"What? What?!" Makie blinked cluelessly. "C'mon, don't leave me in the dark!"

"Maki-chan," Yuuna groaned. "You might wanna step out for a while…"

"That's not what you were saying just now, while proposing to us to 'join' you," Akira told her. "What in the world have you done, Yuuna? Do you have the slightest idea what you have gotten him into?!"

"Why, why were you so fast to assume the worst thing at first?!" Yuuna demanded.

"Why were you so fast to actually do it?!" Ookuchi shot back.

"Oh my God," Ako sat back, placing a hand on her own mouth. "You're so busted when this gets out. Who's into it?"

"So far, me, Chisame, the Prof, Paru, Honya, Yue, that library Senpai of them, Eva, Dana-sama and the Karin girl," Yuuna answered.

"So far," Akira repeated evenly.

Yuuna gave a quick nervous nod. "That was a joint decision between all of us. You'll have to crush throats other than mine, including Eva's and Dana-sama's."

"Yeah, it's gonna be a race between Tsunetsuki-senpai, Iinchou, the Vice Prez and Misa to see who kills you first," Ako sighed sadly. "Skuld was right, that Dana woman didn't bring anything good along."

"It should be said that this had started before Dana-sama took control of the situation," Yuuna pointed out. "Chisame and the Prof got the ball rolling."

"Huh, always the quiet ones," Ako mused, giving Akira a bland look.

Perhaps in shame because of that, Akira finally let go of Yuuna, who thanked her with a long, deep wheeze. "You even got complete strangers into this before telling us anything so we could stop you. Some friend you turned out to be."

"I'm telling you, it all happened too quick and I didn't even have the time to contact you," Yuuna argued. "Look, let's just cut through the bull already, should we?! You'd be perfectly content standing still forever while nothing ever happens,but surely you've noticed this as much as any of yours! Nobody's meant to live like this! I'm a grown woman by all rights now, and I have needs, damn it! So do you! You're just too stuck into your fear of being rejected to act on it!"

"You've been doing naughty things with Negi-kun?" Makie realized, and Ako barely repressed the urges to just give her a ball and tell her to go bounce it off a wall.

Yuuna glared at her with airs of great, wounded dignity. "Yes, Makie. Yes, that's exactly what we've been doing for a few days now. Well, only one day in my case. But what a day!"

"Oh, so that's why you came in walking so funny," Makie said. "And that offer you made us… was it so we could do those things with Negi-kun too?"

"Yes. Yes, that's right what it was, Makie. It still is. Are you interested?"

Makie shrugged. "Sure, I'm game!"

Ako and Akira facefaulted.

"Are... Are you really going to d-do... this right before me!?" Kiri stammered first, then squeaked, taking a step back and wrapping herself further with the blanket, white cheeks burning red.

"You always can move to your room, the kitchen or the bath even if you won't leave the apartment," Matoi suggested, pulling her top over her head as Negi watched on. "Go touch yourself while thinking of Itoshiki-sensei for all I care. Me, I've got better things to do. My heart is more active and can't rest idle as much as yours."

"This is still somewhat... rude to your flatmate," Negi said, gulping a little as Matoi stood before him in plain white bra and panties. She didn't really have anything he hadn't seen before in the others, but he couldn't deny seeing her like this reignited the connection they once had. Even if only now he realized there might have been something mutual about it. "If, if you want, we can take this to Chisame's-"

"I'm not ready to face her yet," Tsunetsuki said, kneeling in front of him and starting to unbutton his shirt. "I must prove myself with you first. Will you stop squirming so much? Are you sure you're truly experienced?"

"Of course I am," Negi sounded slightly offended, "but the point is you're making Kiri-san terribly uncomfortable..."

Kiri sighed. "That's okay, it's not like I ever expect good manners from Matoi-chan." She paused, actually sitting down on the floor to watch Matoi pulling the shirt off Negi, and caressing his abdominals. "How odd, this is the first time I see real muscles on a boy your age. When I bathed Majiru-kun-"

Negi was distracted by this enough to stop Matoi's ministrations, instead looking at Kiri in horror. "Itoshiki-sensei's nephew?!"

"It was... just something perfectly innocent," Kiri defended herself, blushing aside and looking aside. "He showed up at the classroom one afternoon past classes, all dirtied up by a bully and crying for his uncle, so... so, well..."

"She took pity on him, enough as to conquer her fears of going out of the classroom, take him to the baths, and scrubbed him a little," Matoi took over while pulling Negi's belt off. "At least, that's her story of what happened! For some reason, Majiru-kun won't ever approach any of us after that, and shortly after, Kiri-chan had a crisis and came back here. Take that as you will."

Kiri's blush grew once more, and she stared angrily at her classmate. "H-He just misunderstood me, th-that's all!"

"Oh, and then why were you ashamed enough as to avoid Sensei afterwards?" Matoi challenged, pulling Negi's pants down around his ankles. She smiled at the small bulge tenting up in his boxers and surrounded it with a massaging hand. "Nice... Did you do something like this, Shotacon-chan?"

"O-Of course I didn't!" Kiri gasped as Negi moaned. "You're crazier than Chiri! I, I don't know why I even...!"

"You haven't left yet," Matoi purred, giving her a sly smile back over her shoulder, and getting Negi's cloth covered erection in her hand. "That's okay, I'll let you share."

"What?" Negi gurgled.

"I told you," Matoi wagged the pointer of her free hand. "This is a test for myself, as well! If I can't bring myself to share Negi-sama, I won't be able to coexist with the harlots around Chisame-sama either, so I'll start small with Kiri-chan and see if I can work my way up from there. If not, well, other measures will have to be taken."

"I must say the nature of these measures concerns me greatly," Negi managed to chime in even as Matoi dry masturbated him.

Komori took all of this with a huge eyed, flushed shock, then lowered her head, muttered something to herself, and let go of the blanket, covering her face with both hands and shaking her head.

"Are you in or not?" the annoyed Matoi asked, hooking her thumbs around the elastic band of Negi's underpants.

Kiri breathed out sadly and stood up to approach them, in the thin white camisole and matching shorts she was wearing. "I suppose I'll never be able to look at Itoshiki-sensei eye to eye again anyway, so there's nothing left for me..."

"Don't talk about this like that," Matoi said, yanking the boxers down all the way while Negi gaped. "You're upgrading to a superior shota."

Yuuna blinked. "Seriously? I mean, I wasn't expecting for you to accept it. I was expecting some opposition from Akira, yeah, and I thought Ako would take it, but...?"

"Wha-What struck you about me as the kind who would just jump into a harem?!" Ako cried, peeling herself off the floor.

"Collective," Yuuna corrected her.

"Excuse me?"

Makie inhaled, then exhaled. "You mean it because of Sku-chan and Senpai, don't you, Yuuna-chan? Well, you said it yourself, one can't keep waiting for others all life long. If it can't work, then it won't work. I love Homura-mama, but I'm not like her in that I'll struggle 'til the heat death of the universe for someone who just isn't answering that way until she does. If they don't want to move in already, I'll have to respect that and look elsewhere."

"Wow," Yuuna blinked. "That's really mature from you, Maki-chan."

"No, it's not! She's talking about making babies with a ten year old, how is that mature?!" Ako protested while helping a groggy Akira back up.

"He's been ten years old for a decade already! Well, what are you going to do now, Akira?" Yuuna asked as they all sat back around the table. "You will turn us in, I assume?"

"Don't tempt me..." Akira said.

"How are you even going to live on a teacher's salary? The whole lot of you? Are you going to live in that woman's castle, or what?" asked Ako.

Yuuna shrugged. "Dana-sama says Negi-kun's fated for great things that will allow to give his mates the lives of queens. Seeing all he's achieved so far, I feel inclined to agree."

"All the same, you've just met her!" Akira complained. "You shouldn't believe her that blindly!"

"I always thought Negi-kun was so very cute," Makie was musing to herself. "Come to think about it, I should've strayed true to those feelings..."

Ako stared at her. "You bought it lock and stock, didn't you?"

"C'mon, Ako-chan, you always thought it too!" Makie said. "That plotline of yours with Kotaro-kun never got anywhere!"

"There was such a plotline?" Yuuna inquired.

"I... I don't think it ever was written down," Ako said uneasily, lightly scratching her own chin with a finger. "I mean, he's cute too, but... Never mind."

"Besides, it's not like we're shy about each other!" Ako smiled, running an arm over Ako's shoulders. "Remember that day we drank the love potion?"

Ako and Yuuna blushed while Akira blinked and asked, "Love potion?"

"Yeah, it was a thing that Iinchou brought and we drank by mistake," Makie said casually. "Iinchou freaked out, locked the three of us into a room, and... things happened. Didn't the girls ever tell you?"

"N-No!"

"It's not the kind of thing one shares that easily even with good friends, Makie," Yuuna said in annoyance. "'Oh, Akira, you know what? Yesterday we were under the influence and had our way with each other'?"

"You and Iinchou...!" Akira gasped.

"No, no, I'm telling you, Iinchou didn't drink any of it, she just locked us up and waited outside until it passed," the pink haired one explained. "Well, I'm sure we'd have fixated on her too, with a bit more time, but she was faster than us..."

Yuuna gave her own lips a quick lick. "Not that I'd mind. Iinchou may have her issues, but also a bitchin' bod."

"Yuuna!" Ako said.

Makie gave Yuuna a mischievous smirk. "What if we show Akira-chan how it was like, Yuuna-chan?"

"What?" Akira said.

Yuuna smiled back. "So bold of you, Maki-chan. Ako?"

"Um?" the short haired nurse babbled. "Um, oh, I, what, for real!?"

"So very much," Yuuna purred, as she and Makie began pulling her tops up their arms and over their heads. "I'll teach you a lot of what Dana-sama and Eva taught us, too. That way, you'll have a clear idea of what waits for you in Negi-kun's collective."

Akira trembled and paled. "I, I, I have no intentions whatsoever of-!"

"Let's make a compromise: fight me down if you really don't want to," Yuuna challenged saucily, and then returned the earlier favor by boldly jumping over the table and tackling the taller girl into a sudden, deeply torrid mouth kiss.

"This... This is wrong, however," Kiri changed her mind again, looking at Matoi getting on her knees and one hand, and using the other one to jerk Negi off a couple of times, then slowly taking the erect member into her mouth. "No, I know everyone thinks of us as crazy, but-!"

Matoi simply raised her butt at her and shook it as if mocking her, all the while calmly, but steadily, fellating the boy. Negi hissed and rested his hands on Matoi's scalp, too enraptured (and too considerate) to point out she appeared to be experienced at this, but making sure of showing his appreciation regardless.

"No, I mean it!" Kiri complained. "Besides, think of Itoshiki-sensei! I, I still love him dearly, and- and-" Here she stopped and looked troubled, taking a hand to her chin. "Wait. What was I just talking about?"

Elsewhere in the Mahora campus, a mysterious figure wrapped in a dark cloak and hood walked slowly under a large tree, staring up at the branches, and the black haired man in the hakama hanging from them. This limp figure opened an eye and stared back down, raising his eyebrow.

"Who are you?" the hanged man asked, with a voice notably clear despite having a tight noose around his neck. "The... The spectre of death, coming for me at last?"

"No, I wouldn't go quite as far as to say that," said the enigmatic stranger, who was just as skinny and lanky as Itoshiki Nozomu himself, if not even moreso, and giving the overall appearance of a badly stuffed scarecrow more than anything else. And no, before you ask, this was not Jonathan Crane. "But I have come to take you out of this world, for I have found you stand in the way of my plans."

"What are your plans?" the hanging teacher asked now. "I won't object on general principle, but if you're going to do anything that would inconvenience Negi-sensei or my students, I'm afraid I'll have to object..."

"No, no, far from it," reassured the unknown man, who looked quite out of place as a mysterious presence in broad daylight. "If anything, you could say I'm here to help Negi Springfield until the very end. That is why you have to disappear, you'll see. You are the first of several."

"Nagi, is that you?" Itoshiki asked, half dreadful and half hopeful. "So you actually survived Ialda Baoth after all...?"

"I'm not the Mage of the Beginning or one of her representatives," the stranger said in a weary, almost apathetic tone, shaking his head, for it was clear he was a man, even if a rather physically unremarkable and even ridiculous looking one. "Look, I'm just doing this because I feel I have to. You're only a narrative obstacle. I tried, you know. I attempted to work you and your kind into the great design, but-"

Itoshiki reached into a wide pocket of his pants and pulled a wooden ruler out of it. A whisper began being borne out of his throat, that of a chanted activation phrase.

The miserable looking phantom in rags shook his head and extended a hand towards him. "No, no, that won't work, why must you make this even harder for me. I like you. Any actual last words?"

Blinking in surprise at the sight of the ruler flying off his hand and into that of the other man, Nozomu only could say one thing. "I'm in despair..."

"Fitting, actually," the weird figure approved. He moved his fingers around, in a subtle circular arc, and then he was all alone, before disappearing himself, back into the distance.

Hasegawa Chisame believed in fair play. She wasn't always happy following that principle, but even when it hurt her, she still respected its importance, and that was why Evangeline had placed her as Ala Alba's second in command.

So once Negi had taken it upon himself to go negotiate with Matoi in her stead, Chisame felt herself with the duty of returning the favor. That was why she'd snuck out while he was away and headed a few doors apart, now standing before Iinchou's quarters and ringing on.

Sure enough, Yukihiro Ayaka peeked out almost immediately. "Chisame-san?" she blinked in mild surprise. "How can I help you?"

"Um... Sasaki isn't here right now, is she?" Chisame swallowed. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you, without any interruptions..."

What the hell am I doing?! Chisame berated herself in her mind. Sasaki might be the only chance I have to survive this! If we team up against Iinchou, we might just-

"No, she is over at Ookuchi-san's, talking about something with the rest of her quartet," Ayaka pleasantly said, inviting her in with a gesture. She was in a good mood today, but that only made Chisame's outlook more despairing. "Please come in, I'm sure we won't be disturbed in a long while."

"Ah, thank you," Chisame said stiffly, as her own feet basically forced her to walk inside, and the blonde Class Rep closed the door after her. "Please don't be mad at me," she begged quietly.

"Ara?" In a subtle gesture obviously copied from Chizuru and signifying the first truly ominous manners, Ayaka raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be upset at you, Chisame-san? Have you done anything to inconvenience Negi-sensei... again?"

"N-No... No, really, I haven't," Chisame said, trying to stifle a shudder of shame. "But I know that you're very sensitive about these things, so I wanted to apologize beforehand anyway."

"Which 'things' are we talking about here, Chisame-san?" Ayaka moved smoothly to stand before her again, the brink of menace constantly hanging in those beautiful blue eyes. "Has anything bad happened to Sensei?"

"No! As a matter of fact, he's feeling stronger than ever!" Chisame said. She decided to start with the easiest part. "You'll see, yesterday, we met up with a woman... a lady... who happens to have been Evangeline's master in magics, long ago. That's what Akashi is telling the Sports Girls right now."

Ayaka sprang up in alarm. "Yesterday?! And you're telling me this just now?!"

"Please keep in mind that we didn't want to trigger a potentially dangerous situation by bringing everyone!" Chisame argued on the defensive. "Anyway, she doesn't mean harm... I think..."

"You think!"

"Well, yes, it's Evangeline's master after all, so one can't ever be truly sure! But she says she wants to develop Eva's training further, which only can help him!"

"Or break him altogether, Chisame-san!" Ayaka snarled.

"You know this whole road is one of gambles, that's part of why I'm here to consult you!" Chisame protested. "And... W-Well, there's something else," she admitted.

"What else?"

"Maybe you'd like to sit down before I tell you," the hacker gulped.

"Maybe you'd like to tell me what has happened to my Sensei before I start strangling you," Ayaka threatened, seeming to loom over her despite their similar sizes. Oh God, she was even projecting the black aura around herself already.

Chisame winced and shielded herself with an arm. "Please don't do anything rash! Negi would be heartbroken , now more than ever!"

"How so?!"

"Because," a soft, quiet voice said from the window, "she is carrying Sensei's child."

A horrified Ayaka suddenly spun around, letting go of the just as panicked Chisame, and whipped towards her second floor window, to look at Karakuri Chachamaru, hovering in midair right outside, with a sighing Hakase cradled in her arms.

"Ahhh, right in the nick of time!" Satomi wheezed, wiping her large shiny forehead with the back of a hand. "This was careless, Chisame! Good thing I had the common sense of planting a tracker on you this morning, seeing you looked about to do something reckless...!"

"Could we please be allowed in?" Chachamaru asked politely. "We are bound to attract public attention this way."

Ayaka took both hands to her own scalp and let out a very shrill, and very public attention calling, loud shriek of outrage.

Matoi pulled back from the phallus to breathe again. "I think it's hard enough by now," she estimated. Then she glanced back at Kiri. "Last chance, want to leave before we start in earnest?"

Kiri frowned cutely. "W-Why should I? It's not like I have anyone else!"

"100% sure?" Tsunetsuki taunted her. "Because you were just mentioning..." There she stopped, apparently losing her own train of thought, and after a moment she looked back at her walls, noticing several blanks she could have sworn had been dutifully covered on photos moments ago. Probably not important at all, she decided, going back to caressing Negi's member in a hand. "Never mind. If you think you can take it, I won't stop you, but keep in mind I go first..."

"Actually, that won't be necessary," Negi said.

Matoi frowned. "Eh?"

He stepped back from her and out of the pants and boxers pooled down by his ankles. Then he peeled his socks off, and tugged back on the band of his hair, letting its back hang free past his shoulders. Next, he took the bifocals off and placed them on the nightstand. "I can do this better while completely naked," he confided the girls. "Duplicating matter not my own is more difficult."

"Ehhhhh?" the girls chorused.

He smiled, brought his hands together, closed his eyes, and chanted something in Latin. Much to the girls' surprise, the air around him seemed to warp violently and briefly, and he somehow, without actually appearing to split physically, suddenly manifested himself as two different naked Negis standing next to each other.

"Ah!" Matoi snapped her fingers as Kiri stared on blankly. "It's a trick like Kaede-san's duplication!"

"Well, the general principle is similar," one of the Negis said, "but while Kaede uses her chi to briefly manifest separate copies of herself, and Setsuna's magic infuses paper copies with a short lifespan, this technique uses kaleidoscopic principles so my living matter can be duplicated by borrowing a minimum amount of mana from each of my counterparts in the infinitude of the multiverse."

"I don't have the slightest idea of what you just said,'' the stalker confessed, and Kiri only looked even more livid than before. "So this other you... isn't you? But the other you from another world?"

"No, no, my awareness and self have just been momentarily split between these two bodies, one of which is composed of matter that is impossible to differentiate from mine. But this is me, much like I am," the second Negi reassured them, as the first Negi nodded. "And my feelings are sincere for both of me. Similarly, while the mass itself is borrowed, the genetic code the mass is assuming while in this dimensional plane is all mine, so no matter which one of me impregnates you, your child will be mine, not another Negi's."

"... impregnate...?" Kiri hiccuped weakly.

"Of course, if you don't want me to..." Negi One began.

Kiri blushed and waved her hands. "When, when have I said that?! D-Don't put words in my mouth! I have nobody else to share a future with, I told you! Who else would ever want a NEET like me?!"

Matoi looked slightly troubled again, staring at the empty spaces on the wall once more. Jiiiiiiiiiii? Then she blinked several times and stared at the Negis again. "Wait, but that is a narrative trick! A cheat! A copout! One that Darkenning-sama would never stoop to!"

Negi Two winced. "W-W-Well... he'll understand, I'm sure... this never was intended to be a work matching any of his in quality..."

Matoi frowned, eyebrows raised, before inquiring, "And who taught you such an insane thing?"

"Dana-sama did, of course," said Negi One.

"In the course of a single night?!"

Negi Two shrugged. "She's a very good teacher."

"More like you're a scarily intense learner," Matoi muttered, unhooking her bra and letting it drop, freeing her small perky breasts. "But I guess that's part of why we love you so much."

"Who gets which one?" Kiri doubted, taking off her own bra and releasing a rather bigger set of breasts, both milky white, even the nipples pinkish and untouched by sunlight. One Negi's eyes followed, while the other one's remained fixed on Matoi's.

"I guess that decides it," Matoi said, pointing at his face first, and then at his. "He likes me better, while he likes you better..."

"It would appear that under these circumstances," Kiri's Negi explained, "my mind copes with the separation by rearranging different aspects of my personality into each body, until re-integration. But that should be for the best, shouldn't it?"

"I suppose..." Matoi sighed, sitting down on the floor to pull her panties down her legs, Kiri promptly following suit much more nervously. She had a small but marked bush of black hair right over her pussy, while Matoi's was well shaved bare. This time, the Negis' attention drifted from one girl to the other, both switching interests now to look at the crotches. "Oh, for Cupid's sake! What will it be then?!"

"Teeny eeny meeny moe or however it goes," Kiri chanted blandly, a finger pointing at each Negi back and forth before settling for one, slowly crawling over him and forcing him to sit on the floor as she blushed, an arm planted at each side of his. "P-Please be gentle, I've never done anything like this before..."

That Negi swallowed and gulped. "Okay."

The other Negi addressed Matoi. "And you?"

"Surprise me again, Negi-sama," Tsunetsuki smiled at him.

"Fine. As you wish." Since this apparently was the bolder side, he grabbed her by the arms and forced her down, straddling her hips and penetrating her vaginal wetness with a mighty groaning thrust.

"Ah!"

"That... That was incredible," Akira wheezed, now flat on her back on the floor of her living room, at the middle of an also nude and momentarily sated Ako, Yuuna and Makie.

"Y-Yeah..." Ako babbled, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "What, what we did the first time doesn't even compare..."

Yuuna smiled proudly and folded her arms under her neck. "Negi's not the only one who learns fast, you know! Whaddya say then, Akira? You in?"

The tallest friend managed to blush again. "I... I guess I should..."

"That's the spirit!" Makie laughed, swatting her hand on one of the swimmer's hips.

"How many girls are you going to recruit for this collective project?" Akira asked Yuuna.

The basketball player shrugged. "As many as we can, Negi's got juice to spare, moreso after a trick Dana-sama taught him. Maybe some guys as well, although I'm in no hurry for that. I've realized that Negi-kun is all I need..." she breathed out dreamily.

"Well, at least this cured you from your Papacon," Ako observed.

Akira rubbed her own chin. "Would it be okay if I invited some of the girls from my team? Uruka-chan's going through a depression of sorts after she broke up with her boyfriend, and-"

Makie tensed up. "That... That girl? Are you sure you want to share Negi-kun with her?"

"Why not? She's a very good person, she reminds me a lot of you. And then there's Nonokusa-senpai, who needs a loving person so badly, and Minami-chan, who needs someone to cheer her up, and Shirley-senpai, who misses her friends abroad so much, and even Sensei, who-"

"You want to bring your coach along too?" Yuuna blinked a few times.

"Sure, why shouldn't I? Nyamo-sensei is very beautiful, smart and kind. She could be a strong but gentle disciplining hand for your team... our team," she amended after a second, smiling and placing both hands on her belly. "Now I only have to think of what to tell Mom and Dad."

"Tsk," Makie clucked her tongue. "Madoka-mama won't mind, I'm sure, but Homura-mama might be mad for a while..."

"Somehow, I doubt Uncle and Konata-oneesama will put up much resistance," Ako mused. "How about you, Yuuna-chan? Will you tell any of the girls in your team?"

"Nah, they're all bitches," Yuuna bluntly said. "Not worth the effort. Maki-chan?"

Makie frowned. "Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say that about my partners, but... I don't think they'd be interested anyway. All of them have boyfriends already. Ninomiya-sensei is sooooo pretty, though, and still single..."

"Oh, you're so naughty," Yuuna teased, tickling the gymnast's stomach so she giggled. "Fine, Akira, but be careful who you talk to. Any wrong step and we'll be in hot water with the Headmaster."

"We'll eventually have to deal with that anyway, though," Ako cautioned. "You can't keep this hidden for long, especially if more of us get to join in..."

"Eva-chan said that she'll take care of that, but that we'd better play it safe in the meanwhile," Akashi replied, hand now rubbing Makie's tight ass up and down. "Naturally, that'll be easier said than done when it's time to tell Iinchou, the Vice Prez, and Misa..."

Ayaka's loud scream was heard by them then.

Yuuna sighed. "Case in point..."

While Negi was now hammering into the languidly moaning Matoi with vigor as he held her legs hooked around his shoulders, Negi was instead Frenching with Kiri, one of his hands rubbing and caressing her clitoris and the other teasing a finger constantly around the ring of her anus, as he had been taught recently. Kiri kissed back, closing her eyes, abandoning herself to the moment and wrapping her arms around his neck.

She was amazed sex of the non-self pleasing variety could feel this good. If she'd known earlier, perhaps she would have acted on what she was sure had been Chie-sensei's attempts to seduce her. And suddenly, the idea of inviting her into bed with Negi and herself was looking rather appealing indeed.

Then she felt someone gripping tightly on her shoulder, and she chanced glance aside to see Matoi grabbing her, biting on her lower lip under Negi's thrusts. Smiling softly, Kiri reached with a hand and caressed that of her roommate, then groaned as she felt Negi's hands leaving her orifices.

"Sorry," she heard the boy say, "but I'd say you've been stimulated enough, and I really need to put it in..."

"Okay," she shyly said, bracing herself, and then gasping as he entered her. After a few moments of him sinking in, she felt as sharp tearing her from the inside. "Hiiiiih!"

Negi caressed her sides oh so tenderly. "There, there. It'll get better," he promised, kissing her on a nipple as some fine line of red tricked down and out of her. Matoi's hand wandered down to squeeze Kiri's other breast, and indeed, soon enough it was feeling better, much better, as both of the same boy kept on moving, back and forth, into the classmates.

They were close enough that Matoi could, by craning her neck enough, reach over and kiss Kiri's lips as she was doing now, with a little happy purr. Tentatively at first, then more boldly, and after an initial jolt of primal fear, Kiri surrendered to an emotion just as primitive and began kissing back. All the time they'd been living together, it'd never crossed her mind that Matoi-chan could fall in love with her too, but had the idea occurred to her, Kiri would have reacted in panic. Now, it barely seemed to matter, as the Negis began reaching a synchrony, doing the girls under them as one, never rough, but never letting go or slowing down either.

Naturally, Matoi's Negi reached his breaking point first. "C-Cumming," he said, clenching his teeth around the word the girls had taught him. One of several anyway.

Matoi sank her fingernails into the flesh of his ribcage, as much as she could. "Gimme!" she whimpered. "Gimme it all! Negi-sama!"

And he sighed, and shot his seed into her as she clenched around him, milking him as the girl grabbed Kiri's hand even tighter now. Kiri swallowed, seeing the signs on her own Negi's face as well, and surprising her, an orgasm of her own shook her before it could seize him. "Oh God!" she cried out, and only after several more thrusts, she also felt his warmth spilling all the way down into her eager womb, no doubt fertilizing her for- "Oh goodness," she realized with a shiver. "Oh dear..."

He hugged her, and kissed her forehead, much like the other Negi was doing to Matoi, and so they spent several long minutes, just resting together while the Negis slowly fused back into one, in a way as difficult to describe visually as their separation. He rested between them, and with a small apologetic smile, wrapped an arm around each's waists.

Matoi hummed then, tapping a bare foot down. "Sensei?" she asked after a while.

"Yes, Matoi-chan?" he asked while Kiri kissed him uncertainly.

Matoi smirked at him. "Do you have any of those age changing pills on you right now? Let's try that again, but now with a grown man..."

Much, much later, Negi left Matoi and Kiri's quarters, fixing his collar with a small satisfied smile. As he walked away unaware he was being followed, he couldn't help thinking of how nice girls were. Even nicer than he'd ever thought they could be. Why, he couldn't understand why some men were always so pushy and uncouth about th-

"Sensei," a voice said from behind him then, as he doubled a corner. "You and me need to talk. Right now."

Negi sighed and stopped, then turned around. "What is it, Kazumi-san?"

Sure enough, Class 3-A's ace reporter stood there, with a small digital camera in a hand and a just as small microphone in the other. Frowning. "You know what is it, much better than I do, Sensei," the tall, busty redhead said humorlessly. "What in the world is going through your mind now? Did you snap under the pressure, or what?"

Negi blinked. "Ohh! Oh, you... But, of course, I shouldn't have understimated you. Still, I don't get how-"

"I can't lie, it was someone else who put me on this trail," Asakura Kazumi said. "I thought she was full of it as usual, but now I see that... Damn it, Sensei, I never expected any of this from you!"

Negi frowned back, slightly but even so. "Were you listening on us? I'll admit I may have done wrong in the first place, but two wrongs don't make a right..."

"Don't give me that!" the teenager snapped. "How many others have you pulled into this? How long have you been doing this?"

"We need to discuss this in private," he said, leading her down the stairs and into a broom closet, which he closed from the inside. She scowled further at him in the mild raised his hands placatingly. "It's Chisame, Satomi, Haruna, Nodoka, Yue, Karin-san, Shiomiya Shiori-san, Master Evangeline, Yuuna, Matoi, Kiri-san, and Master's own master from her youth Dana-san so far. We weren't expecting to keep it a secret from everyone in the long run, of course, we don't think lowly of your intelligence. We-"

"Oh, so Iinchou didn't know," Asakura grumbled. "That explains the scream."

Negi blinked. "W-Which scream?"

"Didn't you hear? No, of course, I guess you couldn't listen over their moans. Even I could hear the echoes, but a source living near her called, reporting she'd suddenly heard a piercing scream of fury coming from her room, followed by some commotion. But, if you haven't called on the subject, I suppose it couldn't have been anything too grievous," she explained, rolling her green eyes.

Negi took pause, mildly stunned. "Oh! Oh, dear, Chisame must have jumped the gun. I told her to wait, that I'd handle it..."

"Actions have consequences, you taught us that, Sensei," she wagged a finger at him. "When did you forget? Anyway, what's up with that? When did you finally get the clue while we weren't looking?"

"It was a gradual proccess of sorts," Negi explained, lowering his face, "and ever since, the girls have been bringing to my attention that they have emotional and physical needs that have been neglected far too long, so I thought it'd be rude-" Here he interrupted himself and shook his head. "No, I shouldn't be dishonest. This is about my own perceived needs as well. I won't pretend I'm a victim of something I enjoy so much myself."

"Oh, you do?" Kazumi lifted an eyebrow.

"Yes," Negi admitted, fists tightening by his sides. "Oh yes, I do. Whenever I do, all the frustration, all the urgences, seem to go away, and I'm in peace at last. I know it's selfish, okay? But it makes them happy as well, and tormenting myself this long hasn't put me any closer to Father anyway!"

Kazumi studied that answer in silence. "I see."

"We'll keep discussing this later," he promised, his hand reaching the doorknob. "I need to go check on Chisame and Iinchou."

She grabbed him by his other sleeve. "Not yet."

"Kazumi, please," he said tensely. "You said it yourself, my actions have consequences, and so does my lack of action!"

"It's kinda too late to worry about that, now that you've got such a big ball rolling," Asakura scolded him. "What kind of woman is this 'Dana'? This was her idea, wasn't it?"

"No, I already had done it with my roommates, the librarians and Yuuna before engaging her and the Master," Negi replied. "Will you please let me go already? If you want to denounce me, or share your results with whoever is employing you now, I can't stop you in a good conscience, but-"

"You little idiot," she snorted, pulling him towards herself. "You don't get it, do you? If you weren't the Achilles' Heel of my reporting objectivity, I'd never have skipped the exclusive on your magic, no matter how many of the girls threatened me. This time, you aren't going to deny me the full inside scoop, just for my own sake. This time you aren't going to ignore me and leave me in the fringe!"

"K-Kazumi-san?"

She grinned dangerously, each hand tightening on his buttocks and pinning him against her. "I took a job this bogus only because I knew there was a small chance it'd pay off, one way or another. I must admit I was expecting better from you. But if you're just a sleazy scoop, well, then you still are the best scoop of all."

Before he could even ask what was that supposed to mean, Asakura leaned down and planted her mouth on his.

"No," Negi said then, puling back and shaking his head. "Not right now. Sorry. Ayaka... I need to speak with Ayaka immediately, for everyone's sake."

Asakura made a strange sound, and then sobered, also distancing himself as much as she could within such small quarters. "Y-Yes. You're right, of course. I don't know what came to me... But we still need to... talk, and-"

"Later," Negi promised, opening the door without looking back.

"Tomorrow night. My room," she stated.

He paused, as if to object, before nodding reluctantly. "Very well. That's what we'll do. Farewell, Kazumi," he said, and then bolted away, down the stairs.

He was about to reach Ayaka's quarters when someone grabbed him by the shirt from behind. Turning back in shock, he saw it was Haruna who had grabbed him, standing there with Nodoka and Yue. "Girls, what are you doing?" he demanded. "I need to-!"

"Chisame, Satomi-chan and Chachamaru are handling that, Negi-kun," Saotome said seriously. "Trust them on this. Come on, you'll spend the night with us..."

"Chachamaru?" Negi gasped. "D-Does she know too?!"

"Evangeline told her, why wouldn't she?" Yue said dryly. "Listen to Paru this once, Sensei. You'll only make everything more difficult if you step in right now."

"But, this is my fault...!"

"Assuming there any any 'faults' to assign, they are shared by all of us, Sensei," Nodoka said evenly. "Please, be reasonable. If they need us, they'll call us."

Negi glanced back at that closed door, stared for several moments, and finally followed the librarians reluctantly, down the hallway. "So you'll be spending the night with us," he told Haruna.

"Yep," she replied.

"What will Ku-san thought? Does she know, too?"

"It's not uncommon for me to slee over at Yuecchi and Nodo-chan's," Haruna shrugged as Nodoka wordlessly unlocked their front door. "Kero-chan won't interrupt either since he's away with Yukito-senpai."

Negi blinked. "Who's Yukito-senpai?"

Nodoka sighed, ushering them in. "We'll explain everything over dinner. How did your meeting with Tsunetsuki-senpai g- Oh," she said, seeing Matoi and Kiri sitting by their table, the former waving casually and the latter blushing and wrapping herself in her blanket. "So it did go well after all," Nodoka reasoned, taking her shoes off. "But why aren't you over at Chisame-san's?"

"We went there first, of course," Matoi said, "but it was locked and Chisame-sama seems to have changed the locks since I last was there."

Negi scratched himself on a cheek uneasily. "That... That had nothing to do with you, it's just that-"

"I'm sure that's an interesting story, and I for one can't wait to hear it," Matoi said, pouring them tea while Yue muttered to herself. "Anyway, we came to the next apartment to wait for you, and it paid off."

Haruna blinked at the door. "Where did you get a copy of THEIR keys?"

"Ever ready for any occasion. I had plenty of time in the resort, to borrow them just in case I needed a good vintage point to protect Chisame-sama and Negi-sama from," Matoi explained as the boy and the other girls also sat down. "Since we'll be next door neighbors now, not to mention fellow co-concubines-"

"Yue and I are aiming for the rank of wives, actually," Nodoka interrupted while Yue choked in her saliva.

Matoi and Kiri stared aghast at this for a moment before the former asked, curiously, "And how in the world do you expect to achieve that, Honya-san?"

Nodoka smiled. "Well. Not how in THIS world, but be relieved, I don't plan for your 'Chisame-sama' to be shortchanged either..."

Negi began rubbing his temples in circles. This would be such a long, long night.

Sympathetically, Haruna patted his back.

To be Continued.