Disclaimer: The following story is a fan made work of fiction. Fairy Tail and Mahou Sensei Negima! are owned and written by Hiro Mashima and Ken Akamatsu respectively. Please support their official releases.

Chapter 13

Arc II

Souffle on a Wintry Day

One of the first things that anyone learned about Chamo is not to leave him unsupervised. Ever. For an unsupervised Chamo is a Chamo with time on his hands. A Chamo with time on his hands inevitably turns to thoughts and activities which any person of good moral would undoubtedly try to prevent. And in the room shared by Asuna and Konoka a beautiful scene was beginning to develop right in front of the perverted Ermine's eyes.

As to why Asuna was not there to ruin his fun, or his beloved brother Negi to make the scene even better, Chamo did not know. He had not seen Negi since the train ride back from Kyoto while Asuna had left to search for him several hours ago. Regardless of the reason as to their continued absence, the Ermine found himself no longer caring. The date between the surprisingly bold Konoka and the surprisingly delicate Setsuna had been quite the highlight so far and was just about to hit on the afterburners.

Konoka had just begun feeding Setsuna her homemade confectioneries, laughing as the swordswoman protested profusely. The poor girl kept stammering on about how she should be the one to feed Konoka, only to find Konoka holding up yet another sweet morsel in front of her mouth. Unable to tell the gorgeous girl no, Setsuna found herself opening her mouth for the tasty treat time after time.

At one point during the meal, Setsuna had wondered aloud where Negi and Asuna had gone off to, but Konoka had brushed her off. The princess of Kyoto had obviously seen an opportunity to press her advantage, and the girl's aggressiveness brought a tear to Chamo's beady little eyes.

For unbeknownst to the two girls, a portion of Konoka's cooking had been laced with a powerful love potion. Originally created by Negi to help realize Asuna's hopeless crush on Takamichi, the potions had lain undisturbed for nearly a month. In his haste to try out more traditional stratagems, Negi had forgotten to properly dispose of the finished product.

Thus allowing Chamo to swoop in and make off with the powerful aphrodisiacs. It may have taken some patience on his end, but the Ermine had finally seen an opportunity to use them. Sure he would have preferred to have his Aniki there to take part in what was inevitably coming, but Chamo could live with the results. The Ermine thanked his lucky fur that they had fallen into his paws and was getting ready to sit back and enjoy the results.

"Mmm... the cinnamon buns were delicious, Ojou-sama, but this chocolate soufflé is absolutely amazing! How did you get it to come out like this?"

"Silly Se-chan. With love of course!"

"O-o-oj-o-" Setsuna's stuttered reply sent a shiver of excitement racing through the ermine's fur. "Ojou-sama, please don't kid like that. What would your father think?"

"Ah, don't ruin the moment Se-chan. Just take another bite. Like this." Konoka stabbed her fork into a slice of the sweet dessert before bringing it to her painted lips. Petite white teeth flashed as she bit into it and gave her lips a luscious lick. "Mm. See? I think that you will enjoy it very much."

Chamo snickered as he watched Setsuna follow Konoka's advice. The nervous girl nibbled a bite of soufflé with an embarrassed blush. To her left, and sitting with one hand on the swordswoman's inner thigh, Konoka swallowed a second piece with a seductive smile.

Few sights could make Chamo happier.

Both of the subjects had just swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker. The potion was fast acting, meaning that it would not be long before it began to take effect. The Ermine had his camera ready to record and a bag of tissues set up in the drawer by his other paw.

Let no one say that he was not prepared. It was almost time for the greatest show on Earth to begin, and the Chamo would not miss even the smallest part of the performance.

"Konoka-san, I'm home."

Tears of joy ran down Chamo's furry face as both girls turned to look at the room's newest arrival. That voice which had to be the sweetest thing Chamo had heard in his entire life. For the source of it had been his big brother, the boy's voice ringing out as he entered the dorm room.

Truly the gods were watching over them this evening!

"Oh boss, your timing rivals that of Eros himself," the Ermine whispered into his drawer of pilfered undergarments. "Thank you, boss, thank you! I promise that when you look back on this night, you will feel only warm feelings of happiness."

The Ermine had only wanted to enjoy a night filled with steamy girl on girl action. Instead, he could achieve his second highest goal: of making his best friend's first time with a woman instead be with at least two beautiful, sexy older women. It was like a dream come true!

"Hey, Se-chan, has Negi-sensei always looked so cute?"

"He's the most handsome man I have ever seen, Ojou-sama. We should invite him to join us for dessert."

"I agree, teeheehee! But what's this? Oh no, Negi-sensei, those clothes you're wearing are all wrinkly. No no no, that won't do at all! Se-chan, help me get them off of him."

"Hai! Your wish is my command, Ojou-sama."

Chamo almost jumped as he fumbled for the camera with his four furry paws. He could not afford to miss this event! He would be forever known as an eternal sinner of the brotherhood of Eros if he failed to capture the night that Negi became a man. It was only when the light on the camera blinked red to show that it was on and recording that Chamo started to relax. The girls were well on their way removing Negi's clothing, but it would be clear on the tape that the evening had only just begun.

It was also the moment that things went completely wrong. Setsuna had just finished stripping a completely flushed and stuttering Negi while Konoka walked over with a bowl of whipped cream and a spoon when a fourth and highly unwelcome individual walked in the door.

"Hey everybody. I'm sorry for being late. Negi and I ran into Iincho and I had to stop her from – OH MY GOD. KONOKA! WHAT ARE YOU AND SETSUNA DOING TO HIM?"

"Hi Asuna! Have you come to join Se-chan and I as we have dessert with Negi-sensei? There's plenty of whipped cream to go around, and I've just put some chocolate to boil on the stove."

"NO! No, I will not join you in your insane debauchery. What the hell has gotten into the two of you? Weren't you planning on having a calm night alone with each other? And Setsuna, take your hands off of Negi and keep them where I can see them!"

There went that plan down the drain. The moment Asuna had appeared, Chamo had known that things were going to go badly. The girl had no appreciation for art and was often a pain in his backside. As the girl went about freeing his aniki and administering swift punishment to the two besotted girls straining to reach the young boy, ruining any possibility of a fun filled evening.

"Asuna, save me! Please! But be careful. I think that they are under some kind of magic spell."

"A spell? Who on Earth would put this kind of a spell on..." Asuna's voice stilled in mid-thought.

Chamo's fur began to stand on end. His aniki had just sold him out! Why did he do that? Chamo had taught him about the bro code years ago! Negi should have known that selling out a bro in this situation went against everything that the bro code stood to uphold.

Was there nothing holy remaining within this world?

"CHAAAAAMOOOOOO!"

Apparently there was not. And if that was not a sign to make for the exit at top speed, then Chamo would be a monkey's uncle.

The Ermine darted out of his drawer and made a break for the door. He only had one chance to make it to freedom before the orange-haired harpy tried to punish him for his perceived sins and he would be damned if he failed to make it.

He failed to reach his destination.

A world away from the safe confines of Mahora saw a land still held in the icy grip of winter.. A few brave tendrils of green poked their way towards the sun as another wave of ice and snow loomed on the horizon. Soon the oncoming storm would break, venting its fury upon the land below as it dyed the world a single shade of white.

Some distance away, three figures made their way across the snow covered land. Nondescript clothes covered their bodies as they trudged along. They wore cloaks of soft white wool, raised to protect their faces from the wind's chill bite.

The three were within the limits of a burned down village. Charred piles of wood marked the edges of an old road which had run through its center. Scorched stone from ancient walls and buildings littered the area, cracked from the heat of the fire and bearing the marks of a magical battle.

Stone felt the wounds of battle more deeply than anything else of the earth. Tougher and more resilient than its softer brethren, that which it could not resist left wounds which would never heal.

One of the figures grunted as their boots crunched in the white snow. The figure fidgeted uneasily as it moved within the deserted village. It wandered with less purpose than the others, its head moving back forth as though it waged an internal argument. Snarled sounds that no human voice could make came from its darkened hood.

The other two figures conducted a precise search of the area. The two would enter destroyed buildings, moving charred pieces of immense timber aside with the ease of a child playing with sticks. Items were unearthed from rubble and snow. Each was discarded upon inspection as each was determined to be of useless to their search.

This pattern continued for nearly half a day. The sun, which had been rising in the sky upon their entrance to the village, was now setting. The darkness of a northern winter was settling on top of the land's snow blanket as the once far off edge of the storm placed its fingertips on their location.

The first figure finally spoke when the first flakes of snow started to fall. "Kyoka, you know I hate this stuff. Damn shit is too cold for me. My body was made for blowing things up, not trudging through the snow with you and Silver."

One of the others let out a grunt of amusement at their companion's speech, causing the first figure's head to whip around in the others direction. A flame crackled to life on the ground between the two. A flame that was quickly snuffed out by a gust of snow.

"Ah yes. I can't use my powers openly here, now can I?" The first continued. They raised a hand and pointed it at the figure who had grunted. "Because according to the almighty frozen asshole over there, doing that would be bad. And Silver is always right."

Frustrated, the figure dropped their hand and tried to kick the lone rock sticking up in the other figure's direction. However, it turned out the small stone was just the tip of a much larger piece of rock. The figure's hood fell down as they hopped around in obvious pain. Canine features born by no human could be seen, twisted into a demonic visage as the male figure began to scream in fury.

"Dammit! Everything in this entire goddamn world is trying to piss me off. Why can't I have gone looking for those frickin Fairy bastards or just stayed back at the base with Franmalth? Coming along 'just in case you're needed' is a waste of my time." The strange man ceased his jumping after a time and pulled his hood back up with a jerking motion. "I was going to assassinate the entire magic council before we got dragged into this weird universe. Do you understand that? The entire goddamn magic council! And what do I get as compensation when sent over to this hickville? A big pile of frozen shit and a half built base of operations. Son of a bitch! This sucks so much ass that it ain't even funny."

The third figure, a female by the cut of their cloak, opened her mouth to reply as they drew close to village's edge.

The irate man cut her off. "And before you tell me to stop screaming, Kyoka, you know what? You can shut it. This is a complete and fucking waste of our time. We should be kicking ass and taking names instead of working like lackey's for that white-haired bastard."

"If you feel that way then you should help us search, Jackal. If you did, we would most likely be back to the other world much faster," Kyoka said in an icy tone. Possessing a cultured voice, the woman left inhumanly clawed footprints in the snow. "Also, we are not working as lackey's. It is merely an alliance of convenience and nothing more."

The one named Jackal made a rude hand sign in her direction. "Fuck that." Spotting another item sticking up from the snow, he raised his foot to kick it as well. A grin grew on his face as he took careful aim at the third figure's back.

"Jackal. Hold! Do not move your foot." Kyoka's voice halted Jackal's kick. Surprisingly enough the man listened to her. Though the action of halting his moment did cause him to lose balance and fall to the snowy ground in an undignified heap.

A stream of angry words flew out of his mouth as he glared at her. "Shit Kyoka, really? Why'd you stop me?"

"Yes Jackal. Really. Now move out of my way." She pushed him aside and knelt on the ground. Her hands gently removed the snow covering the object's surface. "Silver, come over here. Is this what we were asked to locate?"

The one named Silver stopped his own search. With a crunch of snow the man padded over and plucked a small blue bottle out of the snow. His hood fell down to reveal a dark-haired man with a strong jaw and weathered face.

Dark stubble glinted with threads of silver as the man grinned in satisfaction. "Yeah, this looks like the thing alright. We're pretty lucky to have found it out here. My contact said that it would most likely be located closer to the village's center." Silver gave a resonant chuckle and held it towards his talkative companion. "It's a good idea we brought you along, Jackal. Your boredom probably saved us a lot of extra searching."

Jackal backed away from the object as though it were made of acid. "Whatever, asshole. Just keep the damn thing away from me, alright? This world has some seriously messed up magic. Figuring out how to adapt has been a pain and I don't feel like making it all a waste of my time."

Silver gave a second resonant chuckle and tied the bottle to his belt with a leather thong. "And that, Jackal, is just one of the reasons why we can't yet use our abilities openly. Magic here can be tricky and subtle, just like this little bottle."

He then extended a hand to Kyouka, allowing the lady to use it to stand up. The woman brushed some of the snow from her knees once she was fully upright. Flashes of a scaled body with claws for hands slipped through the cloak's concealment as she brushed. The reptilian body was at odds with her cultured voice.

"The day is approaching when we can move as we please, but today is not that day. Not until we have finished our reconnaissance and discovered a method to free Lord Zeref from his prison in this realm will we use our powers openly. There are too many factions that we still do not understand, and it would not behoove our mission to be captured or killed by those of this world who are still beyond our reach."

An audible 'tsk' of frustration escaped her mouth at this statement, as though the woman found it utterly vexing. "And despite our best efforts, we still know the location of only a single Fairy. If each of us were able to make it through, and one of them has as well, then it stands to reason that each of them must have made it through too. Our only saving grace appears to be that they have yet to find one another, thus ceding the advantage to us."

The feminine monster turned a piercing stare upon Jackal, causing the male to scowl in annoyance. He had opened his mouth to respond to her words but shut it with a click.

The woman continued in her cultured, icy tone. "Before you say anything, Jackal, remember this. The others remain unaccounted for and she is too powerful for us to take on without causing a scene. We will not make our move on her and risk antagonizing the powers of this world in the process."

She patted Jackal's shoulder as she moved past. "Have patience as we wait. All doors will open to us in time so long as we do not close them."

Jackal grumbled to himself but kept his voice down. With things their goal accomplished and no reason to linger, the three figures tightened their cloaks and set off the way they had come.

All trace of their footprints was wiped away by the soft falling snow.

END

A/N: I said that the next chapter would be posted quickly and ta da! Here it is at the last moment. It is only a short one though as it is a transition chapter that starts off the second arc. I hemmed and hawed quite a bit regarding the Chamo scene, worrying whether I would be better off just spinning it into a bonus chapter or as a stand alone side-fic. Still, I wanted something that would be a jarring break to the past narrative which was focused on the sense of loss felt by Natsu and Gray. And what better to change those gears than by switching to one of humor and romance? Or at least, that's what I thought in my head. I'll base my future actions regarding similar material on the feedback that all of you provide. So if it sucks – then please tell me so that I don't do it again. And if it doesn't – well, please let me know so that I can quite worrying :)

On the bright side we are nearly at the end of my old material. Woohoo! The next chapter coming up is the end of that stuff, and that is being generous. I rewrote the thing extensively and I am – for one of the few times – actually quite pleased with how it turned out.

That chapter will be posted on Friday the 15th and then there will possibly be a long delay before the next one. I have the next chapter finished and the chapter afterwards mostly complete, but I want to stay at least 2 chapters ahead of what I have posted. And as I mentioned last chapter my writing schedule is only just starting to calm down, so I am not expecting to bust out 5 or 10 thousand words in a day anytime soon.

On to the comments section!

Chamo: He's an integral part of Negima and makes for useful comedic relief, so I had to keep him around. But unlike in canon, Chamo is going to be punished for his bad behavior. And while he will not change his ways (in my eyes he is both irredeemable and irrepressible), Chamo will not have the same free reign that he did in the series. Natsu, Erza, and the rest of the Fairies will not look kindly upon his perverted behavior – which, quite frankly, often crosses the boundaries of humor and forays into disturbing breaches of privacy and sexual harassment – and will take steps to curb it.

Evangeline and Asuna will also not be quite so forgiving or uncaring as they were in canon Negima.

An unfortunately necessary part of any good story are characters we love to hate. Harry Potter has Umbridge. Gundam Seed has Flay. And Halo had 343 Guilty Sparks (rot in hell, you mother%(*^&!$ piece of trash). It helps the characters we love stand out better and can give the plot more definition.

Konoka and Setsuna: It's a thing. A very important thing, and one that will not be going away. And in case it was not clear each of their actions prior to Negi entering the room were done completely of their own free will. It was only when Negi entered that Chamo's lust potions activated, turning the two girl's amorous attention upon him instead of one another.

Villains: They don't yet know where Natsu and the others are located, but when they do learn… man will the fireworks fly. Stay tuned for further developments because they have been busy little bees off screen, and some of that work will make an appearance in this current arc.

As to which of the Faeries has been located… well, there are four female candidates to choose from. I wish you luck in your guessing.

Pairings: After much internal debate, PMs, and reviews, I have decided to post some - not all, but some - of the pairings. They will be found at the bottom of chapter 14 and chapter 1. But keep in mind, while some (like KonokaxSetsuna) will be ovious and clearly shown, others will appear like this: Natsux?. That is so that I do not completely handicap myself by taking away my ability to use romantic misdirection on ya'll. I'll get the big ones in there but will keep a couple close to my vest.

Recommended Reading: This time I would like to recommend What She Wants by Warlordress. This is a short and complete Pokemon fanfic featuring Ash and Misty as the pairing. With Ash all grown up and successful, his mother Delia has started to feel her age and wants her son to find a pretty girl and settle down. Filled with humor and pokeshipping fluff.

Until Next Time,

~Elsil