Fang Vice Addiction

Chapter Seven: Suspicion Zone

By Traingham

Two figures sat upon one of the bell towers of the campus. The moonlight bathed both of them as if to beckon them towards it for one last flight. Evangeline watched Negi from the corner of her eye panting as he tried to steady his heart from the frightful experience he had mere moments ago. Was she slightly angry with her disciple for not being able to take flight? Perhaps this was so but what filled her at the moment now was more like disappointment. Something about Negi Springfield always intrigued her from the moment she first dueled with him. He was quite powerful for a magister his age and despite the fact his victory over her a long time ago was due to unforeseen circumstances, he was able to keep his ground. So why was it that he couldn't fly for her?!

"So tell me Negi." The vampiress suddenly spoke to him. Negi turned to her slowly, a bead of sweat dripping from his forehead. "Why is it that you can't fly? What is hindering you from unshackling yourself from the restrictions your humanity binds you to?"

"I don't know master." Negi replied meekly, a look of shame plastered all over his face. A tear slipped down his cheek and Evangeline stood up and grabbed him by the back of his shirt to force him up to his feet.

"Crying doesn't solve anything, Negi!" Evangeline scolded him. "I'm going to have you flying before the end of this night. It's still quite young and I know you have he potential so if you think simple tears are going to let you off the hook, you're wrong." Evangeline frowned when she saw him trembling. He was still feeling sorry for himself.

"I don't want to disappoint you master but..."Negi wiped his nose. "...I'm just weak."

"I thought I told you to quit that."

"But-"

"I mean it kid. Stop feeling sorry for yourself right now." Evangeline sighed in aggravation. "We're going to take a different approach now."

"What do you mean?" Negi asked.

"Concentrate."

"Again?"

"Don't question me, boya! Just concentrate!" The vampiress watched him nod and she placed her fingertips on his forehead. The boy is a natural hero so let's see what happens when I bring out those reckless qualities. A grin found it's way on her lips as the world around them twisted and distorted.

Negi stepped away when he saw everything around them become distorted and gasped. Finally, Evangeline steeped away from her disciple and stepped up to the ledge of the bell tower top. She crossed her arms; her cape materializing in to a flock of bats that flew away, and turned back to Negi. "This is the final step I think you'll understand."

"Final step? What do you mean Eva-san?"

"I'm jumping this time." Evangeline answered without the slightest sign of hesitation.

"You're going to what?!"

"I'm jumping from the tower." Negi felt a shiver run down his spine when the vampiress grinned cockily. She took a step towards the ledge. "I expect you to save me before I hit the ground and fly me back to safety."

"Mast-"

"Don't fail me sensei."

"EVANGE..." Negi's jaw would have crashed through the ground if possible when the vampiress allowed herself to fall backwards off the tower top! He rushed to the ledge, looking down to see if she was playing a trick on him but she was actually falling to her death. "D-darn it! Grrrr..." Negi clenched his fist tightly, trembling violently. His feet simply wouldn't budge.

"Coward." Evangeline muttered, a bored expression gracing her face. "I guess I'll have to put off the ac-" Her voice died in her throat when she heard some sort of howl pierce the evening tranquility. Negi suddenly came at her like a bullet, his arms at his sides so he could catch up to her before she could get any farther.

"MASTER!" Negi cried out as he grabbed on to her, holding her close. "HANG ON!" Evangeline could see tears welling up in his eyes.

I can't fail master now! I can't disappoint her like this! I can't disgrace myself like this! Negi tightened his hold on her and screamed desperately as the ground started coming in fast. Evangeline's eyes glowed, as she was about to dissipate the illusion when to her shock they came to an abrupt stop. Her eyes stopped glowing and she look to Negi who had his eyes closed tightly. She could hear him grumbling under his breath incoherently the whole time they floated there.

"Hey, boya!" She called to him.

Negi opened one eye slowly, taking in the sight of his master's grinning face and opened the other before blinking a few times. "I-I...did it?"

"That's right."

"I did it?!"

"I said yes, you dunce." Evangeline replied. "Now, can you redirect our feet to the ground? We're upside down."

"O-Ok." Negi replied.

...Nothing happened.

"How do I do that?" the young magister asked.

"It's called mind power, boya. It isn't that hard."

"Alright." Negi had them turn upright again and he landed on the ground.

"See, I told you." She patted him on the head. "You could do it in one night if you had the right push. Now..." she snapped her fingers and Negi found himself back on top of the tower with her. Everything, however, was no longer warped and twisted. "...I remember telling you not to close your eyes."

"Th-that was all j-j-just an i-illusion?" Negi stammered in surprise. He walked over to the ledge of the tower and blinked. "That all didn't just happen."

"Oh, it happened alright, boya." Evangeline joined him near the ledge and shoved him off. Negi yelped in surprise but he stopped himself in mid-air. "Now do you think that was fake?"

"I'm flying!"

"You sure are." The vampiress said before frowning. Negi suddenly started to zip around like some wild bee in the spring season. All the while he was screaming his heart out in glee like some drugged wild child. "WOULD YOU STOP PLAYING AROUND!"

Negi stopped.

"Get back here disciple!" She ordered and he was back by her side without a second to spare. "You want the whole campus to hear you?!"

"I'm sorry master!" Negi quickly apologized with a bow.

"That chapter of our lives is over." Evangeline said with a relieved sigh before smirking. "You actually weren't that bad."

"Thank you master."

"Now fly me home." The vampiress ordered.

"You mean..."

"Did you hear me, boya?"

"U-um...yeah, I did." Negi approached her nervously. He slowly hefted her into his arms and raised an eyebrow when he realized she wasn't that heavy. "That's weird."

"What's weird?" Evangeline asked with a twitch.

"Nothing!" Negi replied quickly, hoping that she wouldn't probe his thoughts. He sighed in concentration and kicked off from the tower, flying in the evening sky. He closed his eyes for a moment as the wind flowed through his body and for a second he felt as though his body and soul were free. Evangeline watched his face as he closed his eyes and for the briefest of moments a genuine smile worked it's way across her lips.

We're finally making some real progress here...

The Next morning...

The piercing rays of the sun shone through the stained glass windows of the hall giving it a majestic appearance that made even Takane Goodman stop to admire the sight. Mei stood behind her, hands wrapped around her broom as usual and continued walking when her master went onward. She tried to keep a distance from the blonde magistress, however, due to her golden flowing locks. Takane and her underling finally reached the Headmaster's office door at the end of the hall and the older magistress knocked.

"This campus is impressive." Takane remarked in deep thought. "Don't you think, Mei?"

"I guess."

"It's too bad we're only here on business." Takane said with a sigh. She adjusted her cap and straightened out her dress before Takamichi opened the doors. The professor greeted them with his usual mellow smirk and allowed them to enter. There at the end of the room was the headmaster sitting on his large leather chair behind his desk. Behind the chair was a large circular glass window that allowed them a view of the campus; from the dorm rooms to the festive area near the Mahora Campus bridge. Beside the doors were long white staircases curving in to a second floor above that took up the top half of the large room. From below Takane and Mei could see a private library.

"Amazing." Mei said in a wondrous whisper as she observed the portraits of the other headmasters on the right side of the room that were on the left and right side of two double doors leading to another chamber within the room. The young magistress broke out of her daze when she realized her master took a few steps forward and took her respective place beside her.

"Good morning again, young Takane and Mei." The headmaster greeted them, one of his bushy eyebrows raising slightly so he could view them clearly with one eye. "I take it that you've settled down in one of the dorm rooms?"

"Yes, headmaster." Takane replied with a quick bow.

"Good, good." The headmaster hummed. "And Gandolfini?"

"I believe he is still on the search for Lingsen."

"I see." The headmaster stroked his chin and nodded. "Takamichi?" said the old man before staying silent for the rest of the meeting. The teacher nodded quickly with a slight chuckle and stepped in front of Takane and Mei.

"The meeting near the world tree will take place when Gandolfini and the others arrive here. Until then you two can do what you please as long as it doesn't interfere with the affairs of the students." said Takamichi. Takane chuckled softly after hearing the teacher and almost felt like rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry Mr. Takahata, sir. I assure you that the affairs of the students on this campus will do nothing to catch our interest. Not so much for us to feel the need to interfere anyway." Takane's right eyebrow twitched for a moment when a distant thought came to mind. "I have heard, however, that "Dark Evangel" herself resides on this campus."

"You've heard right Ms. Goodman, and I'm sure you also know the reason why?"

"Yes sir."

"So I advise you don't meddle with her affairs either." Takamichi raised any eyebrow when he felt a slight disturbance in the blonde magistress. "I seriously don't recommend it at all. Mcdowell outclasses any Wizard you've ever heard of."

"You mean with the disappearance of the "Thousand Master."

"That was...a special case." Takamichi replied hesitantly, feeling bad memories rise from the back of his mind.

"I hear that there are others here as well." Takane continued. "May I hear about my 'co-workers'?"

"There are some within the faculty, but don't worry about that. You'll meet them when the time comes..." Takamichi paused once again. "...However there is one amongst them that I should alert you about. He is a little reckless so I don't want you to be alarmed and start a scene should anything unusual come up."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Negi Springfield. He's a young magister who is very promising. He's the English form teacher of the school so he's pretty well known, even by the young women who attend Ursula Campus." Takamchi reached for the staff book on a shelf near the desk and opened it to find a picture of the young magister. When he found a photo he approached Takane and Mei to let them view it. At once, Takane's eyes widened in shock.

This is the boy that bumped in to me a few days ago. I knew I felt an odd aura from him. He's a magister; a combat mage! Takane's eyes examined the photo intensely before she pulled away. "So this boy is a magister. His face seems so familiar."

"Because he is Nagi Springfield's son." Takamichi spoke proudly. "He really does take from his father doesn't he?"

"He sure does..."

Turning to Negi...

Negi opened his eyes, seeing nothing more that blurry shapes and colors. He stretched with a yawn and accidentally rolled off the couch he was resting on, bringing the cover he slept with down to the cherry wood board floor with him. He let out a pained hiss as he rubbed the arm he fell on and tried to get in to focus.

"Good morning, Master Negi!" greeted Chachazero's mischievous voice from above. The boy blinked a few times to improve the focus of his vision and found his familiar looking down at him from the coffee table beside the couch. That's when he realized that he was on a wooden board floor. Asuna's dorm had a carpet, didn't? The dorm room wasn't exactly as big as the room he was residing in now either which could only mean that he wasn't in the dorm room!

"Oh no..." Negi gasped, stumbling to get back to his feet. He walked quickly to the window blinds near the door and opened them...which was a big mistake in itself. The rays of the sun hit him directly and his eyeballs shrunk to the size of small specks before the painful sensation struck him all at once! His hands slapped on to his face to shield his eyes and he fell backwards.

"Master!" Chachazero cried out, jumping from her spot on the table.

Chachamaru heard the thump from Negi's fallen form in the kitchen and stepped in to the living room quickly to find out what was the matter. At the sight of the rays shining on Negi's writhing body she was at the blinds in an instant to close them, almost kicking her smaller counterpart in the process.

"Sensei!" Chachamaru called to Negi as she got down on her knees to tend to him. She held him in her arms and awaited a response until Negi finally stopped twitching and opened his eyes to look at her with a meek grin.

"I'm sorry about that Chachamaru-san. I guess that was a stupid thing to do." Negi said with a forced chuckle.

"You're condition won't allow you to expose yourself to the light so early sensei. You must allow your body to adjust before you do that."

"I didn't really know that. I guess my body usually does that by the time I'm done washing up and getting dressed." Negi pushed his palms against the floor to lift him off the androids arms slightly. "I'm fine now."

"Perhaps you should rest a little longer until the mistress is awake." Chachamaru suggested.

"No. I better get outside and check on my students. It is my job as a teacher to see how they're doing with their projects." Negi got back to his feet with her help. "Besides, I have a feeling that Asuna-chan is going to be looking for me when she doesn't see me in her dorm room on a day off."

"Very well sensei." The android replied with a slight nod. "You don't wish for any breakfast?"

"I'll get something from Satsuki's."

"I am heading there right now." Chachamaru said rather suddenly. So sudden that it caught Negi off guard. "Would you mind if we..." She paused for a moment as if to consider her next words before continuing. "...walk there together?"

"I-I don't mind Chachamaru-san." Negi answered. He felt a pull on his sweat pants...where did those come from? He looked down at Chachazero who was trying to climb up the sweat pants he had on and reached down to pick her up and sit her down on his head.

Did someone dress me to sleep last night? I don't even remember dozing off here or changing my clothes for that matter.

"You don't think Eva-san will mind if I shower here do you?" Negi asked.

"I don't believe she will sensei."

"Thanks!" He said with a quick bow. "Er...do you have any spare towels?"

"Yes. I will be right back with some right now." With that exchange Chachamaru headed away to the closet upstairs to find him what he required.

"Does master want me to help?!" Chachazero asked hopefully.

"Help with what?"

"Help with showering!"

"I-I don't really n-need any help Chacha-"

"I can scrub your back!" Chachazero cut him off.

"Well-"

"Rinse your hair of shampoo, maybe?"

"No, I'm fine." Negi finished, patting her on the head. Chachamaru came back down with a towel and handed it to him before saying, "The bathroom is in the mistresses room since she is the only one here who requires it."

"Oh really?" Negi asked before swallowing deeply. "A-are you sure she won't mind?"

"I am sure sensei." Chachamaru assured him.

"Alright then." Negi carefully took Chachazero off his head and set her down on the table much to the insane little puppet's dismay. "I'll be back then." He headed up the stairs before disappearing in to the hallway. The deeper he ventured in to the hall the darker it seemed to get. He wasn't sure why there were more rooms along the way as he searched for Evangeline's room but he didn't want to find out what they were for. He finally reached the room at the end of the hall, which was shrouded with a black curtain.

"This must be it." He said to himself as he slowly pulled the curtain to the side so he could step in. He was surprised to find that the room looked different from the time he last came inside. A black carpet covered the entire floor of the room, and a large shelf of books was at the corner of the room. There was a large dresser beside the closet and hear the window of the room was a large bed, perhaps slightly larger than a queen sized selection which was overshadowed by dark drapes with golden linings. There slept Evangeline, peacefully wrapped in crimson red covers that reminded Negi so much of blood. Weird plushies and teddy bears surrounded her along with heart shaped pillows.

It feels a little eerie in here. Thought Negi as he spied the bathroom from the corner of his eye. He focused back on the vampiress who didn't seem to sense his presence and walked to the bathroom ever so slowly in hopes that he wouldn't wake her. When he reached the bathroom he stepped inside and closed the door behind him carefully as to not make a sound.

"I feel like I'm violating her privacy." Negi said to himself with a sigh, his back to the door as he leaned back against it. His eyes zeroed in on the large shower before him and he hanged his towel on the bar beside the sink. "This is going to be awkward." He grumbled as he slowly stripped off the clothes he was dressed in. The cold air pierced his bare skin when he was completely nude and he quickly padded over in to the shower, closing the glass door when he was inside. The inside was huge enough for a couple to shower together in, and the floor had little chibi-bat floor pads so he wouldn't slip.

"Nice." He whispered in wonder. He walked to the hot and cold knobs under the showerhead and turned them to release the water. As soon as the cold water hit his skin he jumped back reflexively before balancing out the temperature and allowing the water to hit his entire body with a relaxing sigh. He ran his hands through his hair to get it out of his face and looked around for a bar of soap. Surprisingly enough he found two soap bars and a few wash scrubbers in the corner of the shower chamber. After grabbing them he scrubbed his body and rinsed himself.

A voice whispered to him in the shower mist...

"Huh?" Negi whipped around to see who spoke but saw no one there. After taking a moment to make sure no one else was in the shower chamber with him he opened the glass door slightly to see if anyone was outside and came face to face with Evangeline herself. To say that Negi was speechless would have been a simple play at words. There she was in her dark black robe; her hair a mess and her eyes squinting at him as her body fought away the morning daze. He opened his mouth to say something but now words were formed or heard. That's when he took that moment to pull his head back in and shut the glass door.

"Oh my gawd." Negi felt his heart beat accelerate as he took a few deep breaths to pace himself. Was she still out there just staring at the door or was she going to do something to him? Chachamaru said she wouldn't mind so he had no reason to be so uptight, right? So far his better instinct were not quite convinced that it was safe to step out right now.

"Negi? That you?" He heard Evangeline's voice on the other side of the glass door.

"...Um..." He had to clear his throat. "Y-yes master. It's me."

"You're awake pretty early, boya. You seem to have made yourself a bit comfortable in my home as well." The vampiress' voice held no malice or murderous intent much to her disciple's confusion. He would have expected her to be scolding him by now but her voice was simply calm and laced with curiosity.

"I'm sorry master!"

"...Sure you are." Was Evangeline's only reply before the glass door suddenly slid opened. The young magister almost lost consciousness when the vampiress walked in to the shower with a towel wrapped around her body. The smirk on her face made his heart race since he was well aware that she only did that when she was up to mischief. "Well, since you're here, I order you to scrub my back."

Negi merely looked back at her, blinking a few times as he covered himself...

"Hello, are you deaf? Grab the back scrubber!" She ordered.

"Y-yes master!"

Later after...ahem...that little mishap...

Kotaro ate his yakisoba slowly, stealing glances at Negi every few seconds as the boy looked in to the distance. He wasn't exactly sure what happened to the young teacher but at this point he could tell that it was Evangeline's doing. There was no one else on campus who could possibly leave Negi in such a distant state. Chachazero on the other hand didn't seem to mind that her master was behaving so oddly. In fact she was actually having fun poking at his cheeks and quoting war speeches as she moved Negi's lips to make it seem as though he was the one reciting them.

Satsuki finished preparing another dish and handed it to one of the waitresses to take it to one of the customers sitting at the tables. When she noticed Negi with the same look on his face when he first took a seat at the bar she decided to find out what was the matter. "Negi-sensei." she called to him but he made no response. There wasn't even a twitch from him as his familiar started to arch his eyebrows.

"Sensei." She placed her hands on both his shoulders and shook him back to reality. He blinked a few times, focusing on her after he was out of his stupor and she offered him a warm smile. "You've been sitting here so quietly for a long time since you arrived with Chachamaru. Is there anything wrong sensei or do you want your usual order?"

"Sure, I'll j-just have my usual." Negi replied with a stammer. Satsuki nodded and turned to head in to the kitchen but Negi stopped her for a moment. "Hey, did Asuna come by around here by any chance?"

"No." Satsuki replied.

"Thanks."

"No problem sensei." The girl headed back in to the kitchen and Chachamaru stepped out with a glass of water.

"Here sensei." Chachamaru handed Negi the glass of water. "Please have a drink. Your skin tone is pale. Did the mistress do anything to you as you showered?"

"HA! I knew this had something to do with the Evangeline!" Kotaro suddenly cried out as though he was part of the conversation the entire time. Then as if he was struck from behind he flinched and leaned over to his friend. " W-what does she mean by that? Why would that disturbing girl bother you while you showered? You were in her house or something?"

"I don't really want to get in detail about it." Negi replied weakly. Unbeknownst to the three, Takane and Mei just happened to be walking by just as the dog demon blurted out the vampiress' name. The blonde magistress stopped dead in her tracks, causing Mei to collide in to her.

"Did you hear that?" Takane asked her underling as she looked among the crowd for any suspicious customers. Her eyes widened when she got sight of Negi sitting in front of Chachamaru who stood behind the counter. She paid no attention to Kotaro despite the fact that he was the one who blurted out the words that caught her attention. "There's Negi-sensei now."

"Looks like him." Mei added on. "Are you going to greet him Takane-san?"

"Not yet Mei." Takane replied, spotting a vacant table amongst the other occupied tables. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." Mei replied.

"Then let's have a seat, shall we?" The elder magistress suggested before leading Mei to the vacant table she spotted. Both girls took a seat and awaited someone to tend to them while they spied on Negi.

"I'm sorry sensei." Chachamaru apologized. "I did not think she would have bothered you."

"You best be." Chachazero scolded her as she unsheathed her two blades, however, Negi stopped his familiar from exercising her bloodlust yet again.

"It's alright Chachamaru-san. None of it was your fault."

"I still don't understand what she did to you." said Kotaro. "Anyway I guess it must be tough to be that Eva's disciple. Lately though, you've been acting kind of weird Negi. I swear, that vampire must be driving you batty or something." His use of the word "Batty" again made Negi wish the dog demon would stop with the pun already.

"It's a little rough." Negi replied.

"Master Negi can handle hell itself!" Chachazero declared.

"What's with that creepy little puppet?" Mei asked Takane with a shiver. "It kind of resembles that waitress behind the counter."

"...Evangeline is known as a puppet master. Perhaps the puppet accompanying Negi-sensei must be a gift from her of some sort. Nevertheless this shows that our fellow magister is involved with that dangerous wizard."

"But what would someone like him be doing with someone like 'her'?" Mei fiddled with a lock of her red hair. "It seems kind of weird to me."

"As odd as it seems we can't look past the evidence. From here I can't really sense his magic aura...either he's really weak or his aura can't be read so easily." Takane rested her chin in her hand in deep thought. She had to admit that the boy looked adorable in his green suit and tie. He didn't look like the type "Dark Evangel" would be interested in.

"So have you decided on the tournament yet?" Kotaro inquired after he swallowed some noodles.

"Ku-fei-san seriously wants me to participate so I have to." Negi replied with a woeful sigh.

"Awesome! Now we can finally have that re-match we've been holding out on."

"I guess."

"I can't hold in my excitement!" Chachazero exclaimed happily. "I can already see the blood shed. The screams of pain! Master Negi must not keep me from watching him dominate in this event!" Chachazero practically danced with glee.

"Negi...you seriously need to return that creepy little thing from where you got it." Kotaro advised in horror.

"Master must stop associating himself with such an flee-bitten stray." the puppet quipped, breaking the straw on the camel's back, so to speak. Kotaro gaped at the sadistic little puppet for a few seconds before he suddenly launched himself at poor Negi to rip Chachazero to shreds.

"LET ME AT IT, NEGI!" Kotaro bellowed, alerting most of the customers. "I SWEAR, I'VE HAD IT ALREADY!"

"Calm down, Kotaro-kun!" Negi cried out, trying to get a good grip at his friend's clawing hands before he could cause an accident. Suddenly without warning a hand grabbed ahold of Kotaro's shirt collar and pulled him away from Negi roughly.

"Causing trouble already, I see." Asuna said in irritation, still holding a firm grip on the dog demon so he wouldn't let loose. Konoka and Setsuna stood beside the red-head waving at Negi while Chamo rested on her shoulder. When Kotaro finally calmed down she got in between him and Negi. "Now, as for you Negi, we seriously need to talk about your absence as of recently."

"Asuna-chan. It's a long story really-"

"I already know that it concerns Mcdowell." Asuna growled her arms crossed in an intimidating fashion. She looked to Chachamaru and asked, "What has Evangeline been putting him through?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary for her, I would assume." Chachamaru replied, dead-panned.

"I'm going to have a word with her."

"I don't think you should Asuna." Negi stopped her.

"Why not squirt? Why are you always on her side anyway?! Do you enjoy what she does to you?" Asuna asked in perturbation. She didn't really get what was going through the boy's head anymore.

"I don't believe what you're doing is wrong Asuna, however, I would agree with Negi-sensei on this one." Setsuna intervened with a nod of her head.

"You too, Setsuna?" Asuna asked in confusion.

"It seems that Evangeline is pretty popular among the students here." Takane deducted from her observations on the conversation so far.

"Didn't Takamichi-sensei say not to meddle with affairs?" Mei questioned.

"I'm not doing anything of the sort, Mei!" Takane retorted.

"You're practically spying on Negi-sensei. You haven't even introduced yourself to him."

"Quiet you." Takane shushed her underling with a finger at her lips. "I'll introduce myself to him when the time is right."

"Here is your food sensei." Satsuki told the young teacher as she rested his plate in front of him with a pair of chopsticks. Negi nodded and parted his eating utensils before digging in, all the while trying to ignore Asuna's angry glare.

"Master doesn't need help with his food?" Chachazero asked, tapping her two blades together for some emphasis. Negi shook his head, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of his forehead. The tension in the air was seriously beginning to get to him.

"No, I'm fi-"

"Would you stop ignoring me?!" Asuna cried out before he could finish. "What's going on here Negi? Why don't you talk to me anymore? I don't even get to wake you up in the morning anymore." Asuna placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair. "We're partners, aren't we?"

Chamo crossed his arms together and nodded his head knowingly with a chuckle. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you're starting a profession of lov-"

SQUEAKY!

"Best not to let your thoughts roam any further, ermine." Asuna growled as she squeezed Chamo between her fingers.

"Yeah...I under...stand." Chamo managed to squeak. "It's...c-cool."

"Scary girl." Kotaro whispered to Negi from aside. "I can understand why you're staying away from her."

"No, no!" Negi hissed. "It's not like that at all!"

"Lively bunch, they are." Mei commented to her superior.

"My thoughts exactly, but I still don't see where Evangel-"

"What a lively start to the day, hmm?" a dark voice chimed from the crowd. Takane and Mei took note of the change in Negi's demeanor as soon as the voice was heard and started to get the feeling something was going down. Evangeline combed through the crowd wearing clothes similar to that of some gothic doll and made her way to the bar where Negi and the others were hanging out. Almost immediately, Takane and Mei felt violent chills run through their entire bodies.

"H-hello, master." Negi greeted the vampiress.

"Likewise boya." Evangeline greeted back before raising an eyebrow. Almost as though Negi read her thoughts, he stood up from his seat and offered it to her. "Thanks." She said with a grin as she took the seat offered to her.

"Good morning mistress." Chachamaru greeted her. "I will get you something to drink." With that the android went in to the kitchen where she was out of sight. Evangeline turned to Asuna who stood beside her in wait and asked, "So the guardian is here to check on her roommate?"

"Yes. It's not like I get to see him as much anymore since you started pushing him harder." Asuna retorted. "Every time he's teaching in class he's practically drained!"

"I know." Evangeline replied somewhat cheerfully. "I have that effect on most people."

"Don't play game with me, Eva."

"I don't play games with annoying brats."

"What have you two been doing?"

"Training, not that it's really any of your business." Her lips curled in to a smirk. "Are you jealous?"

"O-Of course not!" Asuna blushed furiously. She whipped around when she heard Konoka and Setsuna murmuring amongst them and they both went dead silent. "Why does everyone ask me that?" The red-head covered her face to hide the blush that blossomed and felt like disappearing. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around shyly to see Takamichi standing beside her. Konoka and Setsuna were behind him.

"Quite some commotion here." The gentle mage said with a smirk. His eyes stopped upon Evangeline and Negi. "Good morning you two."

"Likewise Takamichi. What brings you here?"

"I just felt like stopping for a drink." The vampiress caught him steal a glance to the side, and tried to follow it but she wasn't sure what he directed his attention to. Takane and Mei on the other hand took that as their cue to leave the scene before they could get in trouble. Asuna seeing that Takamichi didn't have a seat grabbed ahold of Kotaro and yanked him off his seat!

"What's the big id-mph!" Asuna clasped a hand over his mouth to muffle any more words.

"Here is a seat s-sensei!" she blurted out, getting his attention.

"Thank you Asuna." Takamichi said with a smile. He took the seat beside Evangeline and Satsuki approached the counter to take his order while Chachamaru came from out back and brought the vampiress her drink. Negi on the other hand found this as the perfect time to make his escape.

"Well then!" Negi said loudly, getting the other's attention. "I better check on my students now."

"Qualities of a good sensei, Negi." Takamichi complimented.

"But you haven't finished your food disciple." Evangeline reminded him, with a raised eyebrow.

"That's alright! I'm not really that hungry anymore." With that final exchange Negi was off running like white rabbit.

"It's clear to me now that Negi-sensei is very much involved with "Dark Evangel"!" Takane declared with a haughty grin. "If Takamichi hadn't shown up we might have learned a bit more of their connection. Gandolfini might want to hear about this."

Mei rolled her eyes. They sat at the table the entire time and yet no one came over to serve them anything.

"Well, there goes Mr. Negi right now." Mei informed Takane, pointing at the young teachers fleeting form as he tried to put as much distance between him and the food court as he possibly could. She wasn't sure why he was running though. "What do you think he's late for?"

"He's a suspicious character. And for him to run when Takamichi showed up must mean something."

"Maybe you're looking in to this a little too much."

"Nonsense, Mei. Let's see what he's up to."

"Yes ma'am."

-----------------------------------------

At The Haunted House set up...

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"Here is a face we haven't seen in a while." Kaede said aloud when she saw Negi strolling up to the haunted house. He was breathing rather hard so she figured he ran to their project due to circumstances he probably didn't want to explain to them. Nodoka set down her hammer and joined Kaede at the entranceway to the haunted house and yelped when she saw Negi.

"S-sensei!" She squeaked shyly before running the other way. Instantly, Yue and Haruna came from out of nowhere and restrained her before she could get any farther.

"Where are you going Nodoka?!" Haruna demanded. "This is your chance! Ask him out to the festival!"

"I can't d-do it!" the bookworm cried out.

"You can do this! We'll even come with you!"

"Raaaaaaaaaah!" Nodoka broke free and dashed away as though her very life depended on it. Haruna and Yue simply sighed and regarded today as another failed attempt. At this rate they were going to have to search all of Library island for her if they wanted to see her again before midnight. Ku-Fei heard the commotion and stepped out from behind the wall tiles she was putting up, hammer in hand.

"What is the problem? Why bookstore run before work is done?" The Chinese girl asked.

"Negi-sensei is here." Yue replied much to Ku-fei's excitement.

"Disciple is here?!"

"That's right." Haruna answered.

"Aiyaa! Disciple!" Ku-fei was out to meet the young teacher at the entrance in the blink of an eye.

"I hear Master's teacher." Chachazero alerted Negi from up top of his head.

"Oh no...Ku-fei." Negi grumbled under his breath as he stopped in front of the haunted house where he saw Kaede putting the neon sign up with the help of the twins. He turned and flinched when Ku-Fei was standing right beside him.

"Negi! Have you decided on tournament yet?"

"About that..." He paused as he looked in to his master's eyes. He could see such burning pride and he was afraid of what would happen to that spark if he said anything to bring her down. "...I'v decided to participate."

"Master is very proud of disciple!" Ku-fei praised him before they both heard someone land beside them.

"Hi Kaede." Negi greeted the ninja.

"I'm glad to hear that you're participating too, Negi-sensei. Since that's the case why don't you train with me this afternoon after we're done with the halls?"

"That'd be great." Negi accepted.

"You train with Kaede-san?" Ku-fei asked, her hands on her hips with jealousy.

"S-sometimes."

"Why you not train with Master this afternoon?!" The Chinese girl asked, stepping in front of Kaede to keep his attention off of her.

"We-well you see..." Negi started off but he heard someone call out to him loudly in the distance.
He turned around and saw Kotaro running to them for all he was worth. When the dog demon finally reached them he used Negi fro some support to stand up. "Wh-what's the problem, Kotaro-kun?"

"Nothing...I just didn't want to be left with Asuna-nechan or your evil master." Kotaro replied. He looked at Ku-Fei and Kaede before asking, "Am I interrupting anything?"

Evangeline took a sip of her drink and set it down on the bar counter before looking to Takamichi. He informed her about the arrival of Takane and Mei as well as the other arriving mages.

"So I was being spied on some time ago?" Evangeline asked the teacher.

"That's right. Takane is under Gandolfini and I'm sure you already know his sentiments regarding you." Takamichi replied. "What I'm worried about is him finding out that Negi is closely associated with you."

"You think that he may attempt to apprehend me by using my own disciple?" Evangeline asked with a mocking giggle. "I highly doubt that something like that may be possible."

"Gandolfini isn't afraid to try it, Eva-san. I hear that he's already looking for Chao Lingsen. I know you're familiar with her."

"I am."

"Well, I remember telling you about it before but she's a threat to all mages around the world. She's no different from a ticking time bomb so Gandolfini wants to diffuse the problem now. Knowing that you're on campus will probably tempt him to get a go at you."

"I'd like to see him try." Evangeline rolled her eyes.

"On a lighter note, have you heard of the tournament?" Takamichi asked.

"I have."

"How about Negi?"

"Yes."

"So I take it that you two are going to join?"

"Why?"

"I've felt something change within Negi these past few days and I'd like to find out for myself how much he has improved. His magic aura has manifested in to something promising, however..." Takamichi put out his cigarette and tossed it in to the ashtray on the counter. "...I can't quite place the feeling I'm getting from him." His words made Evangeline smirk.

"What is it that you're feeling from him, Takamichi?"

"Almost as though there are two of you every time he stands beside you. I guess all that time he's been spending with you must be rubbing off of him."

"That's an interesting way of seeing it."

To be continued…