Ch. 21

"Actually, Yuuko-san did mention a treasure." Negi said when he'd recovered enough to stand, rather than being doubled over his wand. Naruto had been filling him in on what had happened before they arrived.

"She did?" Shikamaru seemed surprised. "She was supposed to tell me everything important, but I never heard about treasure."

Negi fidgeted. "She only told me, because she had a special mission for me which dealt with it."

"Really?" Nami asked eagerly, leaning towards the younger boy. "You mean the treasure's real?" She grabbed Negi by the shoulders and smiled excitedly into his face, pictures of jewels reflected in her eyes. "Tell me all about it! Pleeeaaase?" Her voice took on a cajoling tone.

"U-umm…" Negi smiled nervously. "Yuuko-san said to tell you that she took the treasure to pay for the food, since there's a lot of us…"

"Ah," said Nami, smiling, "So she took it. Your boss took my treasure."

"Eheheheh…" Negi's nervous smile became nervous laughter, and he started sweating as Nami kept smiling at him. His anxiety was proven to have good cause when he was lifted off the ground and swung violently back and forth by his neck.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, SHE TOOK IT!? GIVE IT BACK, GIVE IT BACK!! YOU'D BETTER PAY ME EVERY BELI'S WORTH!!"

"WAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Nehi wailed fearfully. "DON'T KILL MEEEEEEEEEE!!" When Nami stopped swinging him around to snarl into his face, he whimpered and looked up at her, huge tears wobbling in his forest-green eyes.

"Nnngh…" Nami wavered, before sighing and releasing him. She dropped to all fours despondently. "I can't do it… he's just too cute…"

"Um…" Negi said awkwardly, before putting a hand on her shoulder apologetically. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Nami-san." He said seriously.

"Hey," Ed said, "It's not like someone died or anything."

Nami continued sniffling as Negi tried hard to console her. "It's alright, Nami-san. I have something to give you as a replacement."

"R-really?" Nami looked up at him hopefully.

"Yes." Negi smiled. "It's this!" With a look that said 'tadaaaah!' on his face, he held up a glass ball about two centimeters in diameter. It had a tiny black speck in its center, the only flaw.

Everybody facefaulted.

"THAT'S IT?!" Nami yelled as Negi cowered again.

"Waah! It's better than it looks, I promise!"

"IT HAD BETTER BE!!"

"Calm down, please, Nami-san." Watanuki said, surprisingly composed for such an excitable boy in such a volatile situation. Of course, his boldness may have had to do with the fact that he had a splitting headache from banging his head against the wall. "Yuuko-san would never underpay a debt. She's something of an expert on equivalent exchange."

"Even more than me and Al." Ed put in.

"Exactly." Watanuki nodded. "Yuuko-san may be a witch, but she's the dimension witch, and she is very fair as far as price and debt are concerned. Too fair, at times." He smiled ruefully. "A word of advice. If you ever experience inexplicable paralysis starting at the pinky finger and radiating up the arm, you probably have a bad habit involving dishonesty that you need to fix."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Just take the marble, Nami-san. It's definitely worth as much as the treasure you didn't get, even if esoterically."

"Esoterically?" Usopp inquired.

"Watanuki-kun means that the value of the marble may be understood by only a few people, so it may be difficult to sell for money." Robin explained.

"Oh. Okay, I'll accept it." Nami took the marble, albeit reluctantly. "But I don't see how a marble could be worth more than 50 beli."

"Well, Chopper's only worth 50 beli." Usopp pointed out. "Maybe we'll use it to trade for him in a hostage situation."

"EHH??" Chopper cried. "I'm going to be a hostage?!"

"Of course not, Chopper. Usopp's just fabricating." Nami reassured him.

"It would explain why the marble is esoteric in value, though." Robin said. "Ishi-san's life is surely worth more than the treasure we would have obtained here, but it is a rare situation in which we could use the marble like that."

Negi sweatdropped. "Actually, that's not the reason it's worth so much."

"It's not?" asked the MnK.

"No. The 'marble' is magic. I don't know specifically what it does, but it has something to do with inter-dimensional information transference."

"Oh, so it's a mystery marble!" Luffy said wisely.

This time everyone sweatdropped. Even Shino.

"Close enough." Negi said. "That's the rest of my mini-mission; to explain to you what the deal with the marble is."

"So tell us already." Sanji said, blowing smoke.

Negi nodded. "Some time from now, you're going to gain a new crew member with the ability to activate and use the marble. It might be the next one, it might not. I don't know. But eventually he or she will join your crew. When that person does, you should give it to him or her, and you'll find out from there what exactly it is and what it does."

"Oh, so it's a mystery marble!" Luffy said wisely.

Everyone sweatdropped again. Nami hit Luffy over the head. Everything was normal.

"Anyway, that's all I have to say about the marble." Negi concluded. "But I did have one more thing to give you specifically, Nami-san…" He pulled his backpack off and dug around in it for a while. Pulling out a package wrapped in plain brown paper, he held it out to her with a smile. "This is for you, as an apology for the anxiety and problems you went through during this time."

"Eh? Thanks…" Nami took the soft package and opened it. It contained a t-shirt of deep royal-blue cotton with bold white lettering on the front. It said 'F34R T3H CU73 0N35.'

"A t-shirt?" Nami asked curiously. "It seems durable enough, but…"

"Yuuko-san made me buy it because she knew it would be perfect for you, Nami-san." Negi said engagingly. "The words on the front translate as 'Fear the cute ones,' and since you're both extremely beautiful and beautifully strong, it suits you very well. Do you like it?"

Nami was, against her better judgment, quite flattered. "Yes. Yes I do. Thank you very much, Negi-kun." She smiled down at him, all traces of ire gone.

"Oi, Negi," Naruto murmured conspiratorially, "How'd you learn to talk to girls like that? And why're you being so nice to her, when she nearly killed you earlier?"

Negi just smiled brightly. "My big sister used to say 'be nice to women, they'll control your life one day.' She was more right than she knew, but the advice has served me well."

"Oh, I get it…"

"Well," Shikamaru said, "If Negi's done, we should get going."

"I'm all set." The minute magician nodded.

"How are you leaving, anyway?" asked Zoro. "I didn't see another ship at the beach where we anchored the Sunny, and there aren't any others on the island."

"That's simple." Shikamaru replied. "Magic."

Usopp laughed, before realizing that Shikamaru wasn't joking. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Yep!" Naruto grinned. The air above their heads began to warp and twist.

Tenten winked cheekily at Usopp. "There's our ride! You take care now, and if we meet again, we'll have a real competition. One with targets!"

And then the distorted atmosphere wrapped around them in glowing streamers, and they disappeared.

Wood Between the Worlds

Once they had given their reports to Yuuko, the members of the little band separated and went back to their normal routine. Or what passed for one, here in the Wood. The ninjas spent some time training, Ed and Al joining them in some elementary sparring matches. Negi asked for, and received, permission to browse through Yuuko's library, at the price of babysitting Jewel and Mokona while Watanuki made a late supper for the rest of them. He didn't mind, though; the affable young wizard enjoyed the company.

Later, while the nine of them who had participated in the mission ate (plus Chouji, who had joined them for an after-supper… supper), Negi perused one of the books he'd borrowed, absently spooning his clam chowder into his mouth with one hand while turning pages with the other. Naruto looked over at him curiously, licking his chin to catch the thick white sauce which dribbled down it before it could drip. "Oi, Negi, whatcha reading?"

"Illusions, Hypnosis, and Telepathy: the Magic of the Mind." Negi replied, turning another page. "It was referenced in another book I saw in Yuuko-san's library, Sorcerers Psion. There were also references to oracles in that book, but this is more along my research topic."

"Is that so…" Naruto made a face at Negi. "You're kind of a geek, aren't you?"

"Naruto, that's rude…" Al said, reprimanding the young shinobi.

"Ehh… Whatever."

Negi ignored the exchange, still deeply into his book. He murmured quietly to himself as he read. "Self-hypnosis… internal psychology… mnemonic devices… hmm, I saw something about that earlier…" He flipped back several pages and began reading again.

Watanuki gave a vexed sigh and interposed his hand in between Negi's face and the book. "Negi-kun, it's rude to read at the table. Please finish your clam chowder first."

"What? Oh, sorry about that, Watanuki-san." Negi slipped a bookmark in between the pages and shut the book, laying it down on the floor at his side. He bent to the food with a will. "This is very good, Watanuki-san!" he said cheerfully.

"I'm glad you like it." Watanuki returned dryly. Sighing he continued, "I discovered that there is actually something I dislike more than being Yuuko-san's manservant."

"Really?" Tenten asked curiously. "What's that?"

Watanuki gave her an annoyed look. "Missions." He said flatly.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto said. "You didn't even do anything dangerous this time!"

"Pfft." Ed scoffed. "Dangerous? He didn't do anything at all, let alone something dangerous."

"Actually," Negi began, swallowing his mouthful of chowder hastily, "without Watanuki-san's assistance, I could never have sealed the inter-dimensional portal, and the mission would have been a failure."

"That is correct." Shino said calmly. "Every person's effort in a mission is vital. This is the essence of 'teamwork'."

"Ehh… is that right?" Naruto said, an odd look on his face. He was always weirded out by Shino, no matter what the situation was. After a moment, he looked away dismissively. "I still say he didn't do jack."

Everyone at the table sighed inwardly at Naruto's stubbornness, though many of them agreed that Watanuki didn't really play an active role in their missions. "Regardless," Watanuki said, "I still dislike missions. I would much rather continue with the shop's upkeep."

"Is that so?" a voice said from the doorway. They all turned to see Yuuko standing there, leaning indolently against the doorframe and smiling impishly. Low-riding black pants hugged her hips, accented by a slim belt of red leather. The sides of her pants' legs were open, held together with scarlet laces from ankle to hip. A bare-midriff shirt of yellow cotton showed off her belly, its collar and top two buttons open to flaunt the beginnings of her bosom. Her hair was done up in a single long braid, which started high up on the back of her head and fell almost to her hips, swinging heavily with the slim, garnet-studded leather thongs woven into it. "Well then, Watanuki-kun," she continued, leaving the door to walk towards the table, "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that you aren't going on the next mission."

"Thank God!" Watanuki cried, throwing his hands into the air.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said. "A new mission so soon?"

"But of course." Yuuko smiled. "Don't worry, Shikamaru-kun, you don't have to go either."

"Really? That's good to hear."

"So who is going?" Ed asked casually, idly twirling his spoon between his fingers. "I'm up for another mission."

"Good, because you're going." Yuuko replied. "As are Naruto-kun and Negi-kun. I've already told Ino-chan, who's going as well."

"Che, I have to work with Ino?" Naruto grumbled. "She's such a prissy-girl."

"Be that as it may, she is going, and so are you." Yuuko said.

"Excuse me, Ms. Yuuko?" Al asked. "Am I going with big brother?"

"Of course you are, Al!" Ed said stoutly. "We always work together."

"Actually," Yuuko said, "Alphonse-kun will stay here."

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ed shouted, surging to his feet. "YOU'RE SPLITTING US UP?!"

"Big brother, calm down!" Al protested, though he too was distressed at the prospect of their being separated.

"Yes, calm down, Edward-kun." Yuuko ordered. "I have a very good reason for Alphonse-kun to remain here."

"It had better be a hell of a good reason." Ed snapped.

"How about the fact that if Alphonse-kun were to go on this mission, he would surely die?" Yuuko asked. "Is that a good enough reason for you?"

Ed immediately sobered. "Explain."

"It has to do with the blood seal you used to bind his soul to the armor." Yuuko said, voice serious. "It reacts negatively to strong magical auras, because of its purely scientific nature. When science meets magic, things tend to go… shall we say… wonky." Naruto snickered at her word choice, but was quickly glared into submission by Ed. "The place to which you will be traveling, the land of Xanth, is literally saturated with magic; so much, in fact, that the very laws of nature have been warped somewhat and incidental magic is common."

"The theory makes sense, Ed." Negi admitted when the blond alchemist looked to him for confirmation.

Ed sighed. "If magic screws with science, won't it mess up my automail too?" he asked Yuuko, having finally accepted that Al could not go.

"No." Yuuko replied, shaking her head. "I only said that it makes science wonky, not that it ruins it. In point of fact, complex mechanical objects tend to come closer to life than they would otherwise, in the Land of Xanth. Your automail should actually feel more natural while you are there, rather than less."

"…right." Ed still didn't approve of magic, but having seen and heard and felt and even smelt so much of it over the past two months, he couldn't deny its existence or usefulness. Still, it was always a bit disturbing, because he couldn't understand it the way he could alchemy. It wasn't completely rational, the way the sciences were. He had asked Negi to explain magic to him, while the ninjas had been in the Copper Isles. The young wizard had explained as best he could, but when Ed had commented on the lack of absolute logic, Negi had just shrugged, smiled apologetically, and replied, 'What has logic to do with love or magic?'

Ed sighed. And he was going to a world that was, according to Ms. Yuuko, 'literally saturated with magic.' This could be a problem. Was it going to be completely illogical? Or would it, like Negi, be generally reasonable and intuitive, but with odd quirks and bouts of irrationality? Oh well, at least Negi will be there too. He'll have to act as translator between the languages of magic and science.

Ed stood up. "So, when do we go?"

"As soon as everyone is ready and assembled." Yuuko said, smile narrowing her eyes.

"Well I'm ready."

"No you are not." Watanuki said. "You still have to wash your dishes."

"I'll do it!" Al said hastily. "Since I don't need to eat, I'll just do big brother's dishes."

"Thanks Al." Ed said, relieved. Not that he really minded doing dishes, but he didn't want to be the one holding them up from the next mission.

"Do mine too!" Naruto said, thumping his bowl down on the table. He still hadn't gotten the hang of eating western soups and stews and chowders. He tended to eat all of the solid bits and then drink the rest, just like he would with ramen. This meant that he had a wide, drippy white ring of chowder around his mouth.

"Naruto-kun," Watanuki sighed, "Wipe your mouth please."

Naruto ran his tongue around his lips to collect the sauce, and then scrubbed his face with his sleeve to get the rest. "So will you do my dishes too, Al?" he asked insistently.

"Sure." Al said pleasantly. "I can do yours too, Negi, if you want."

"That would be great, thank you." Negi smiled.

"I guess this means we're all ready." Ed said.

"What about Ino?" Negi asked.

"Right here."

They all turned to see the platinum blonde kunoichi in the doorway to the dining room. With a vain toss of her head, she sniffed scornfully at Naruto's unkempt appearance. He began to self-consciously wipe his face again, and then stopped and sneered defiantly at her. He was just fine the way he was, and no stuck-up priss was going to make him work on his appearance. Now, Sakura-chan, maybe. But Ino? She could shove that superiority up her butt and leave it there to rot.

"Well, if the pretty princess is ready, so am I." Naruto said and stood up too. "Lead the way, Yuuko-san."

Yuuko smiled and exited the room, two ninja, an alchemist, and a wizard in tow. Al gathered up their dishes and left for the kitchen to wash them.

The four of them stood by the appropriate pool, Yuuko—with Mokona balanced cheerfully on her shoulder—nearby. Negi looked at the small object she'd handed him on the way.

Yuuko raised one hand, palm to the sky. "Have fun, children." she said, and sent them off.