hey everybody! Here's chapter 3 up and ready for ya! Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Chris rolled over in his sleeping bag, the lack of one Negi Springfield not surprising him in the least when he found that the boy had vanished from his side. Chris then looked over to the microwave clock to see what time it was. About 4:57 if he was seeing it right. He could only let out a sigh as he sat himself up off the floor and turned to look at the bunk bed that Asuna and Konoka used. He then walked over to the bedside and looked in to see if Negi hadn't wormed his way into the bottom bunch. Oddly enough, all he could see was Konoka sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.
"He has to pick the one person who fucking loathes him huh…"
Looking up at the top bunk, Chris climbed up the ladder to check in Asuna's bed. Lo and behold he was not wrong, there was Negi all cuddled up beside the sleeping woman, neither one aware of the other.
"You'd think that after 10 years old you'd quite doing this shit Negi…"
Was all Chris could say about it. He was about to try to reach in and wake Negi up to save him from Asuna's no doubt raging fury when she woke up, but a moment later and said redhead started to mumble in her sleep and rolled over, clutching at Negi in an almost desperate embrace and began to make puckered lips on Negi's forehead.
"Ta… Takahata-sensei…"
Chris felt his eyebrow raise in some surprise, but a moment later and he watched as her eyes peeked open on awakening. Asuna may not be smart book wise, but she was fucking smart enough to realize that the person currently clutched in her arms was not her beloved Sensei. The shrike afterwards would have woken the dead. Chris could only watch on as Asuna backed away to the other end of the bed holding a blanket up to her front as if some kind of shield against the sleeping 10-year-old.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING SLEEPING IN MY BED NEGI-BRAT!"
Negi, who was now thoroughly awoken, rubbed his eyes to clear the bleariness from them.
"Huh… Onee-chan… ASUNA-SAN!? Oh god I'm so sorry! I'm used to sleeping with my sister and I guess I snuck into your bed since you look so much like her and-"
"Oh my god you are such a kid! What do I have to do, tie you to the Sofa!? Oh, no wait, knowing you, you'd like that wouldn't ya!"
Not willing to let the loud shots from either of them continue, Chris let out a low sigh and spoke up to catch their attention.
"You both bicker like an old married couple, Jesus. Keep it down why don't ya? It's 5 A.M. for god's sake."
Asuna's head whipped around so fast that her hair smacked both Negi and Chris across the face. Negi could only yelp in pain while Chris fell down the ladder with a 'shit!' followed by an impact proceeded by a loud 'fuck!' in English.
"5 already?! I'm friggen late! Don't wait up for me Konoka!"
In record time, Asuna jumped off the top bunk, her clothes flying off as she fell and hit the floor in nothing but her underwear. By the time she had managed to hit the entryway, she was already fully dressed and raced out the door.
Negi was somewhat flabbergasted at the site, though Konoka leaned over the edge of her bed and looked down at a disgruntled Chris.
"You okay Chris-kun?"
"I'll be fine… jesus… That girl needs to watch her hair or something…"
Konoka only giggled at him as she managed to work her way out of bed. Negi followed suite as he crawled out of the top bunk and to the floor, a puzzled expression on where Asuna had last been.
"Where is Asuna-san going to so early in the morning?"
Konoka was already in the kitchen as she put on an Apron.
"Her part time job. Anyway, I'll make breakfast for you both. How do you guys want your eggs? Scrambled or sunny-side up?"
Negi looked back at her and smiled warmly.
"I'll have sunny side up please."
Chris, who had managed to work his way off the floor, dusted himself off as he picked his blanket up off the floor.
"I'll have the same Konoka-neesan."
"Roger!"
Chris got to work making both beds for the girls while Negi was busy putting away the extra blankets that Asuna and Konoka had provided for them both. However, despite having just gotten up, Chris was ready to start some conversation.
"So Negi! Even after all this time you still can't bring yourself to sleep alone eh?"
Negi felt his face flush at that.
"W-well…"
Before he could make an excuse, Konoka also piped in past the sizzling of cooking oil.
"I'm also a little curious about that Negi-Kun. As much fun as it is to have so much energy in the morning, it's not good to overdo it so early either."
"Well Konoka-neechan. Negi here has a bad habit of whenever his sister would show up, she would always share a bed with him, even when he was 4. He hasn't really stopped since then."
"Hey! If you remember, I got better when we got to the academy!"
Chris stared at Negi with a smug grin on his face.
"So you say, but whenever Nekane would actually show up for longer than a day, you would always be found in her lap sleeping or lying in bed next to her."
"LIES! LIES AND SLANDER!"
Chris stuck out his tongue at Negi while the auburn-haired boy was furiously denying anything of the sort.
Konoka giggled at the both of them as she quickly finished up a healthy morning breakfast for all three of them.
"Alright you two, it's time for breakfast."
Negi and Chris quite the bickering for a moment to sit down and eat with Konoka. After delighting in quite the hearty breakfast, Konoka and Negi where getting ready for the day while Chris dragged his feet all morning. Negi, being curious, decided to press his friend with a question.
"So what are your plans for the rest of the day Chris? I know you said you're not going to class, but you never really told me what it was you would be doing while here."
Chris let out a loud yawn as he reclined back into the sofa and watched the other two getting ready.
"My plans for the rest of the day are to go and get ready for my new job. Takamichi said he would make up for what we missed yesterday and help me get into my job… and if your curious, it's kinda like a campus patrol job."
"Huh… sounds like it fits you to a T."
Konoka looked between the both of them, the gist having been lost on her.
"Campus patrol? Isn't that a little dangerous for someone your age Chris-kun?"
Negi laughed out loud, surprising the girl.
"It's fine Konoka-san. Chris might be a year older than me, but I know for a fact he can handle himself just fine. If anything, I'm afraid that this job might actually be a little beneath him."
Chris waved his hand dismissively, but his proud smile made it known he liked the praise being heaped on him.
"Oh stop it Negi. Flattery will get you everywhere with me you know."
Konoka looked at Chris curiously before she walked over and poked him in the cheek.
"Hum… are you really that strong?"
"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaa… stawp it Konoka-neechan."
Chris acted out being meek as Konoka pursued her cheeky assault on his face. For a few minutes, Chris could do nothing to stop Konoka while Negi simply giggled to himself at the display before he decided to intervene.
"Anyway… I guess you're not sure what time to be there at?"
"Nope. Not a clue. However, I'll be making my way to the teachers' lounge a little after you guys leave. Need to try to get myself ready for my new job after all. Until then though, I will be taking my sorry butt and going back to sleep!"
Chris quickly dodged out of the way of Konoka's finger and hopped back over to the couch and dove under his blanket. The girl giggled at him, though Negi could only sigh in disappointment.
"Oh come on Chris, I'm sure you can find something more productive to do with your morning."
"I could, but I refuse to do so! Good night and enjoy your second day of teaching Negi! Also, have a wonderful day at school Konoka-neechan! You kids have fun now!"
And with that, Negi could only shake his head with a sigh. Konoka smiled at Chris from behind the couch before she started to clean up.
"Negi-kun, is Chris-kun always so… free-spirited?"
"To be honest, he's kinda like a cat Konoka-san. It's hard to predict what he might do, but he's alright in most ways that count."
Konoka hummed to herself at the thought as she looked back at Chris, though she saw that he was already very snuggly back under his blanket and not even attempting to peek out from underneath. Both Negi and Konoka decided that since they didn't have much say in what Chris could do, they decided to leave him be for the next hour or so. In that time, they got ready with Konoka getting dressed and Negi finishing up his lesson plan for the day. Just as they were about to start heading out, Asuna had finally managed to make her way home and had to beg Konoka to fix just a little more to eat. Eventually they all left in a hurry, starting to run late as it was. After they did leave though, Chris managed to work himself out of his makeshift bed with a yawn and clean up the mess the group had made before he also got himself ready for his own work.
"Now that the rest of them are gone…"
Chris looked around the room for a moment, his eyes analyzing every nook and cranny of the room he could see. He then began walking around the room, looking behind, under, besides, and beneath anything that could perhaps hide anything. Even the bathroom( and both girls underwear drawers) was not spared his scrutinizing search. After a few more minutes of meticulous searching, Chris went back to the middle of the room, seemingly satisfied with what he could, or could not find.
"Alright then… I guess the old man didn't set up any magical spying traps in here. Odd considering that this is his granddaughters room though… well, I guess he wants to respect her privacy? Doesn't matter, means I can get to work…"
Chris looked around the room one more time before he went to the front door and whipped out a switchblade. For a moment, he simply stood and stared at the door, the knife twirling in his fingers as he contemplated something.
"Hum… Konoka would be rather upset with me if I did this… but at the same time, kinda important I go ahead and do it. Sorry nee-chan, I'll get you a present for the defamation later."
With a half-hearted apology, Chris turned the blade over in his hand one more time before he placed the tip on the door frame and began to cut out small markings into the wood frame. To anyone else, it would look as if he was simply cutting it up with odd patterns, but to a user of the arcane arts, it would have a deeper meaning. However, only those of an understanding of old magic could hope to understand what the symbols mean, and what their purpose might entail. After spending a good thirty minutes working his way around the door (Having gone to get a chair to reach the higher parts) Chris took a few steps back to look at his handiwork. He was quite pleased with himself as he put his knife away and began to clean up the wood shavings on the floor.
"And with that, I should be in the clear for most anything."
Chris looked it over one more time as a momentary worry, but he knew that it was perfect. This kind of ward could deter even high ranking demons, even keep them in this room if it was allowed in. Though it could prevent uninvited guests, Chris had lain several other charms and spells into the woodwork as he had worked. He was never one to be halfhearted about anything after all. Chris stretched out his hands for a moment before he waved his hand over the frame, watching the markings seemingly vanish under unblemished wood, though he knew that it was a simple illusion to prevent the mundane's from questioning why someone had made a carving file out of the door frame.
"Alright, with that out of the way, it's time to get to work."
Holding his hand up, Chris waved an arcane gesture in front of him and the ruins began to glow with energy. He then placed his hand on the door knob and turned it, opening the door into what was clearly not the student dorms. Instead, the pathway opened up into the teachers building, more specifically, an unoccupied room of sorts. Chris then stepped through and closed the door behind him. He then turned around and opened the door again, only this time he wasn't facing the room he shared with Negi. Instead he was looking into the hallway of the building he was in. he then smiled smugly to himself as he walked out and made his way to the teacher lounge. When he opened the door, he wasn't surprised to see Takamichi sitting in one of the chairs. However, Chris was a little surprised at the cross look he got from Toko-sensei.
"You, young man, are late."
Chris was genuinely confused by her statement as he walked over to her desk.
"Late? How do you mean?"
Takamichi looked over at Chris with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry Chris, I guess I forgot to mention that we need to be here before 8. The actual job starts after that, so we need to be prepped and ready to go before then."
Toko-sensei shook her head more at Takamichi then Chris this time, though her look remained neutral.
"I would normally give you a much firmer talking too on this, but seeing as this wasn't really your fault, I'm going to let it slide. Just make sure you're on time from now on."
Chris shrugged his shoulders in nonchalance before he sat down across from Takamichi.
"Understood Ma'am. In the meantime, though, what's the goal for today?"
"We'll be picking up where we left off yesterday Chris-kun. However, we now have a more narrowed goal in mind for you."
Curious, Chris turned his gaze to his commanding officer, the woman pulling out a map of sorts and placing it on the desk.
"From now on you'll be working in the all-girls section of the school ranging from the middle school to the high school. Your general duties will consist of patrolling for undesirables, and making sure that the peace is kept over there. It's a pretty easy section for someone just learning the ropes, though it can pose its own issues and challenges. Takahata-sensei will go over what's expected of you and what you need to do regarding certain situations. You'll be done when the school hours have concluded for the day. You also won't work in that section on the weekends, though we do expect you to be open should we need you on the weekend."
Chris only nodded his head as she continued to explain, though the instruction was short as she wrapped it up.
"Anyway… You're free to go now. If you have issues, report them to Takahata-sensei and He'll inform me as quickly as possible."
Chris nodded in understanding as he got back up and made his way to the door, Takamichi following close behind him. The moment Chris got out the door, he looked to Takahata with an annoyed expression, one in which the man vied his attention away from.
"I'm sorry okay."
"Sorry is not going to give me a better impression of you right now Mr-I-can't-seem-to-remember-important-details. How do you forget to give me the time I'm supposed to be here? I had been under the impression that I just showed up whenever!"
"I get it I get it… this is my fault… But she understood that and I explained ahead of time about forgetting. All's well that ends well alright?"
"I absolutely refuse to forgive you until you apologize in the only way that I'll accept."
"I refuse to buy adult content for a minor no matter how much you try to strong arm me."
"Not what I was going for, but dammit… No, you're going to get me something to eat for lunch to make for this blunder of yours."
Takamichi let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck in admitted defeat.
"Alright… I'll do that. Thankfully, the area you'll be patrolling has some decent food stands that can be found at lunch, so I'll get it for you then."
Chris smiled at the old man in victory as the young mage walked forward proudly.
"Great! Until then, let's get going on what needs to be done and on how I'm going to do it."
For the next few hours or so, Takamichi and Chris spent time wandering around the middle school campus, Takamichi instructing Chris on mostly just things that would fall under the premise of common sense, things like first aid if a student should be hurt, what to do in the event of a fire, Etc, etc. However, he also gave him instructions on what to do if there was something like a magical attack of sorts. Not that it had ever happened he assured him, but it was best to be careful. Chris got a feel of all the places he would be keeping watch over, and he also had a good idea of what kind of route he would be doing, though Takamichi told him that how he patrolled was up to him. Chris was curious if he would be the only one to watch this route, but Takamichi told him that there was actually a trio of girls that watched this section as well, though they would be doing it in the later afternoon since they had classes to attend during the daylight hours. All in all, by the time lunch rolled around, Chris pretty much had a good idea of his job and how to do it.
"So Chris… You think you can handle the job?" Takamichi said behind a lit cigarette.
"Easy. This'll be a cake walk."
Takamichi smiled at him as he nodded in understanding.
"That's good to hear then. You think you could watch this section for the rest of the day if I left you?"
"Why? You got something you need to do?"
Takamichi didn't answer at first, his eyes looking a little evasive as he seemed to be forming the words in his head. A look that Chris quickly became curious about.
"Ehhh… something like that."
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh? Now this is interesting… something you don't want me to find out about Takamichi? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?"
Chris inched close to the old man, looking up at him with a mischievous grin. Takahata however knew that he had to be careful with what he said around Chris or the young man would badger him to no end regardless of what he said or did to deter him.
"It's something adult related alright? I can't really tell you much more than that."
Chris let his smile fall from his face. This was one of Takahata's no-nonsense kinds of looks. The man wouldn't tell him regardless of how he goaded him.
"Alright alright… I can handle it for the rest of the day. So go and do whatever it is you need to do m'kay?"
"Alright Chris, stay good and I'll see you later today. Don't forget to head back to the office when your done to give your report on what you found… or didn't find."
With that, Chris waved the older man away, leaving the young man alone with the growing crowd of students and his thoughts. Chris turned back around to see what he could find, though a thought of going to see Negi struck him. He clearly had nothing better to do at the moment outside of actually patrolling, but he could do that while finding the lad. Setting his feet in a familiar direction, Chris happened upon the plaza where Negi and Chris had saved that girl yesterday. Lo and behold, there was Negi sitting on the steps.
"Hey! Negi!"
Chris marched over to the young man, who took a moment to stop looking depressed to see his friend coming toward him. Negi visibly brightened as he waved back.
"Hey Chris, how are you doing today?"
"Ehhhhhhhh… pretty good, but also pretty bored. My new job is mostly a glorified patrol officer after all. Takamichi just got done instructing me for the day, so I'm pretty much on my own for the remainder of the school day. Nothing interesting has happened so far, but I expect I'll encounter something before the week is out. How bout yourself? You having a decent day so far?"
The moment Chris asked how his day was going, Negi let out a long sigh.
"Not very well I take it."
"You have no idea Chris…"
Chris folded his arms over his chest for a moment before he was suddenly hit with some inspiration.
"Asuna again?"
A simple nod of the head was the answer Chris got. Letting out a small sigh of his own, Chris sat down next to Negi and gave him a light pat on the shoulder.
"You and that girl, I swear… So what happened? Other then what I saw this morning."
"I blew her clothes off again in the middle of the class after I asked her to do a problem."
Chris stopped patting him on the shoulder only to take his hand back and to prevent himself from laughing.
"Again? Ha! I know you like seeing Nekane naked Negi, but don't go trying to project that into Asuna. Outside of looks, she's the furthest thing from Nekane you can get!"
Negi blustered at that response, his face reddening as he rounded on Chris.
"I do not like seeing Nekane naked! Nor any other woman for that matter!"
Chris chuckled to himself as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that pal… by the by, we have some visitors coming to greet us… or more precisely, you sensei."
Negi looked to Chris before he looked in front of them only to see three familiar faces coming toward him.
Yue Ayase, Nodoka Miyazaki, and Saotome Haruna. By the time the group stopped, Negi was already curious about why the group was here on lunch break. Before he could contemplate it further though, Haruna spoke up.
"Good afternoon Sensei! I hope we aren't interrupting anything important?"
The girl left the conversation off with her question, as if to gauge if now would be a good time to get Negi's attention. Chris spoke up first, his right elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand as he smiled in a charming manner at the girls.
"Go right ahead ladies, He's all yours."
Negi nodded before he turned his attention to Haruna.
"Saotome Haruna… seat number fourteen was it? How can I help you today?"
"Actually Sensei, I'm not the one with the question, this one here is the one who needed to ask you something."
Haruna pointed to the girl right next to her, that girl being Nodoka Miyazaki. She had a book open, a book Chris could only guess was from Negi's lesson, though he noted that she seemed rather… hesitant to approach. He brought his hand up to his chin as he thought for a moment before he started to notice that the girl looked different in comparison to yesterday.
'Ah, she changed her hairstyle.'
Whereas Chris thought that, Negi was far more vocal in his realization.
"Miyazaki-san! You've changed your hairstyle. It really suites you!"
As if some magic word had been spoken, Yue and Haruna almost pounced forward to move the bangs from Nodokas eyes out of the way.
"I know right?! She's so adorable! But she never wants to show off her face, preferring to keep it hidden!"
Chris turned his attention to the girl in the middle and grinned internally at the sheer amount of embarrassment the girl was undergoing right now. So much so that she couldn't even handle it anymore and quickly escaped the grasp of her friends only to dart away as fast as her dainty little legs could carry her.
"Ah! Nodoka! Sorry Sensei! She's just really shy! Get back here!"
Both girls went chasing after their friend, leaving Negi in a heap of confusion and Chris grinning like an idiot.
"He he he he… Ohhhhhhhh, to be a young girl."
"What are you on about Chris? … and why are you smiling like that? You make me nervous when you do that…"
"Oh nothing Negi… just be prepared to be giving that trio more lessons in the future."
Negi was only confused, leaving Chris to sigh at his friend's lack of understanding.
"Whatever… she was a rather well behaved girl though wasn't she? Rather timid though in my opinion."
"True, but when comparing her with Asuna-san… I'd take Miyazaki-san over the other one any day."
"True dat boy."
Negi let out another sigh leaned forward full of hopelessness.
"What am I going to do…"
A moment later and something striking the ground between them both caught there attention, causing Chris and Negi to look at what made that noise. The noise having originated from a glass vial that had just fallen out of Negi's bag. Chris reached down and picked it up, the contents actually somewhat familiar to him as he rolled it in his hands a few times.
"Hey Negi, isn't this…"
Negi quickly snatched the vial from his friend, an excited realization on his face.
"It is! This is the set of seven colored magical pills Grandpa gave to me all those years ago! With this I can make that Love potion for Asuna in a snap! Nekane or Anya must have put it in my bag before I left!"
Chris sighed in an annoyed manner, his eyes looking crossly at his friend as he leaned back into the stone steps.
"Are you still going on about that love potion Negi? Seriously, let Asuna work it out on her own. Her love affairs have nothing to do with either you or myself."
Negi felt the truth to those words hit home, Asuna having said something very similar to him just that morning. Negi stopped for a moment and looked at the vial in his hands before he started to mumble to himself.
"I know that it would be best to just let her do it on her own… and this wouldn't be enough for her to forgive me… but as I am right now, I honestly believe this is the best I can do for her right now."
Chris grunted to himself in an uncomfortable manner as he looked at the determined look on Negi's face. Chris knew when he was beat and let out a sigh.
"Alright alright… just do what you think is best Negi… Hell, I'll even help you out a bit. If you wanna make that into a potion, you'll need some magically charged water of sorts."
"Drat! I don't have any with me right now!"
"S'cool, I got ya covered. Just bring out that alchemy set you keep on you and I'll provide the rest."
Beliving in his friend, Negi got to work putting his set together while Chris took a deep breath and stood up.
"Alright Undine, looks like you're up."
Chris cupped his hands together and started to concentrate. Negi watched his friend for a moment before a small drop of water appeared in the palm of his hand, only for that drop to swell rapidly into a fistful of water and begin overflowing outward. Negi watched in fascination as the water began to swirl into a sphere around his hands until eventually, it began to coalesce into a shape. That shape took a more definitive form as what Negi could only describe as a mermaid made of pure water with finned ears and hands.
"Chris… is that a fully formed Undine spirit?"
Chris stopped concentrating, his work having been done as the undine floated up around Chris's shoulder in a lazy manner.
"Yup. In case you're wondering, I also have the corporal formed versions of a Salamander and Gnome as well. You've already seen the Sylph, so that means I have all four founding spirits."
Negi's eyes widened in amazement at those words.
"That's incredible Chris! I had heard that giving a spirit a corporal body was almost impossible to do!"
Chris grinned smugly at his friend as he reached up and ran a delicate finger across the Undines back, an action that made the spirit shiver in delight.
"Impossible for new age magic maybe, but to old magic, we know how to do it as easily as breathing. Anyway, lets get you that water shall we? Undine, would you be so kind as to give my friend some water to use for a love potion?"
The spirit looked to Chris and then to Negi. For a moment, it did nothing, that is until Negi was doused in a bath sized shower.
"AH! WHAT THE HECK CHRIS!"
"Oops! Sorry Negi! I'm sorry Undine, I meant in the jar, not on him."
The spirit cocked its head to the side cutely before all that water on Negi vanished and his beaker now full. Chris nodded approvingly before he stroked the spirits back again almost lovingly.
"Thank you Undine. And that wasn't your fault, don't worry, I should have been more specific. Thank you so much for your hard work. You can go back now, get some more rest."
The spirit nodded lazily before it just seemed to evaporate into thin air next to Chris. Said youth looked to Negi and gave him an apologetic look.
"Sorry about that Negi. I do have Corporal Spirits, but they are very… fresh shall I say? They're like small children so they don't know a lot of things. It's my job as the contractor to teach them what I can so they can get stronger and wiser. Let's get you dried up, shall we?"
A moment later and Negi found himself feeling rather dry, his clothes as well. He looked down at himself and patted his coat to double check to make sure it was okay. He then nodded his head and smiled at Chris.
"It's alright Chris. I can tell when you're doing one of your usual pranks. However, that's still pretty incredible to have four corporal spirits with you. Old magic sure is amazing, isn't it?"
"Amazing yes, easy… not so much. Anyway, back to that love potion. The rest is actually pretty easy to do, just get an alchemical fire going, wait for it to boil, throw the pills in, wait a minute or two, and presto! One love potion!"
"Even I know this much Chris. But thanks anyway."
A few minutes later and Negi had one vial of pink colored love potion in his hands, looking quite impressed with himself and seemingly overjoyed at his success.
"We did it! This'll make anyone popular with the opposite sex! Let's get this to Asuna pronto!"
Negi dashed off, not even waiting for Chris to give his own input about the situation. Taking a moment, Chris looked down at the vial the pills came from and read the 'FOR ADULT USE ONLY' in big bold letters. He knew what was going to happen when anybody drank that, but he had opted to stay quiet about it just cause he knew what kind of ensuing chaos would happen.
'I'm a horrid friend… but I don't regret it one bit.'
Chris laughed evilly to himself for a moment before he chased after Negi. About 10 minutes later and they happened back onto the classroom, where Asuna was sitting in her seat, still angry about what had happened to her in class.
"Asuna-san! Asuna-san!"
Asuna let out an agitated sigh as she turned to look at the all-to-familiar voice coming to her with some kind of strange liquid in hand.
"Oh boy, I was just starting to feel like getting naked again… and look! You brought the other one with you! My day just keeps getting better! What do you want!"
"Your agitation is hardly appreciated Asuna-chan. Especially since Negi and myself have taken time out of our day to help you with your little problem."
Asuna felt her teeth grate yet again at the creepy kids use of honorific. He seriously agitated her more than Negi did just by talking. She was going to ignore it though and looked to Negi and Chris, a small amount of curiosity about what they were on about preventing her from outright punting them out the classroom.
"What are you even talking about?"
Negi pointed to the potion in his hand and whispered so that the other students wouldn't hear.
"The love potion! I was finally able to make."
"I thought you said it would take four months to make."
"I found a shortcut! Come on! I guarantee it'll work, just one sip and Takamichi will be-"
Next thing Either one of them knew, Asuna snatched the vial out of Negi's hands, uncorked it, wrenched Negi's jaw open and stuffed half the vial into his mouth with the contents being poured directly down his gullet. Confusingly enough, Asuna noticed that Chris was actually smiling.
"Ohhhhhh, dis about to get good."
Asuna didn't have time to ask what Chris was on about before Negi pulled the vial out of his mouth, the contents fully extracted and placed into his stomach. For a moment or two, nothing really happened, Asuna eyeing Negi, feeling that it wouldn't work while Negi was busy trying to regain his breath.
"See, I knew it wasn't going to work."
Negi looked down at the bottle in his hands in confusion, his mind racing over what could be wrong.
"That's odd… it should have worked…"
However, as the two of them where busy looking at each other talking about the supposed failure, Chris had brought his attention to the rest of the class. The moment that bottle had left Negi's lips, an immediate reaction came over all the girls left in the classroom. All of them having suddenly shot up in their seats and looking around fervently. Chris simply grinned to himself as he took a step back.
"Hey, I wouldn't be so sure about it being a failure Negi."
Negi turned around to see what Chris was talking about, only to be looking up at a dreamy eyed Konoka.
"Negi-kun… now that I get a better look at you… where you always so deliciously cute~?"
Asuna and Negi where dumbfounded at the moment with Konoka's words, but she made it even weirder by suddenly embracing him while letting out a girly squeal. Chris was grinning from ear to ear at this point.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, better than I was expecting."
In another moment, all other girls outside of Asuna where going gaga for Negi, Asuna watching on in sheer befuddlement while Chris was trying very hard not to laugh.
"Sonuva- That was a real love potion?! And I wasted it on him of all people?!"
"Yup, sorry Asuna-chan, we won't be able to make another one of those for four months. Regret your decision from the very core of your soul."
Asuna was mentally beating herself up over this golden opportunity having been wasted by her own hands, while Chris watched on for a few more seconds before things start to get really randy when the girls were starting to strip him of his clothes.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkay then! I think it's time this came to an end!"
Pulling one of the girls off Negi was enough for the boy to get free and allowed him to run for dear life and chastity out of the classroom, every girl still present except Asuna booking it after him. Said red head looked on at the situation before the situation really hit.
"Aw crap, this is my fault, isn't it?"
Chris held his hand up in a teaching kind of manner.
"Not fully no, part of the blame falls to Negi for not thinking this through, some of it falls to you for making him drink it. Kudos to you for that by the way, and the rest falls to me cause I knew this was going to turn out badly and just wanted to see something stupid happen."
Asuna looked at Chris with a dead stare.
"You're a horrible friend you know that?"
"I get that often. Anyway, let's get going before Negi ends up losing his innocence to raging hormones."
"Wait, that was just a love potion, right?"
"That and so much more Asuna-chan. Now let's hurry."
Despite having a little altercation with the class president (a situation that was quickly fixed with violence) Asuna and Chris quickly made their way out the class and tried to pick up on Negi's trail. However, he could move fast when he knew danger was approaching and neither one had an idea of where to look. The both of them scoured the floor they were on, but they didn't seem to find him here, so they opted to head down the stairs, where Asuna stopped and looked around. However, her mind went back to a minute ago when all this went down.
"Damn… I really shouldn't have been so hard on him… he was just trying to help after all…"
Chris looked back behind him, surprised that Asuna seemed to be feeling bad about this whole situation.
"That's surprising. I thought you hated him."
"I don't outright hate him, he's just really annoying is all… I can't really bring myself to dislike him after he tries so hard, even after coming here to Japan to teach. However, I'm a little concerned for him if you're the kind of people he calls friends."
"Myself and one other person are the only people he calls friends, and we all happen to be rather unique in terms of personality. I wouldn't worry about him though, since he is the only one in our group with actual restraint. Though you are right to worry about him if he's hanging out with a guy like me…"
For a brief moment, Asuna witnessed something like a change come over the boy's face. For the briefest of moments, Chris looked almost pained to her, but it was gone in a flash, leaving Asuna wondering if she hadn't just imagined it. A moment later and a familiar voice cut through the hall followed by the sounds of crashing and clattering.
"What was that?"
"That sounded like Honya-chan's voice!"
"Who?"
"Nodoka! Her nicknames Honya! I'll explain later, lets hurry!"
The both of them managed to find the room the voice had come from, only to try the door and finding it to be locked.
"Shit! It's locked!"
Asuna said as she tried to wrench it open.
"No shit Sherlock. I'd lock the door to if a bunch of weirdo's where trying to get into my pants."
"Not helping! Get it open you blasted mage!"
"Fine fine! Gimme a second here."
Chris came up to the door and placed his hand on it and was about to do something when something In the room caught his attention, that something being the sound of a panicked voice.
"Miyazaki-san! We can't! This isn't something a teacher and student should be doing!"
Chris quickly got his hands on the door and started to see what he could do.
"M'kay, gimme a minute or more and I'll get this-"
"We don't have a minute! It sounds like somethings about to go down now!"
Chris quickly turned his head in her direction, about to tell her off, but quickly went wide eyed when he saw what she was about to do.
"NEGI BRAT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HONYA?!
"HOLY SHIT!"
Chris jumped out of the way of a roundhouse kick to the door which knocked it clear off its hinges. Negi, who was on the other side of it, barely had any time to bring his hand up and deflect the speeding door away from himself while pushing Nodoka out of the way so she wouldn't get hurt. Chris and Asuna came into the room, with Chris being rightly agitated.
"JESUS WOMAN! You could have fucking killed somebody with that!"
"I'm in agreement here with Chris Asuna-san! That was really dangerous!"
"Geh! S-Sorry!"
Asuna could see that they were both right and tried her best to apologize given the circumstances. However, seeing as Nodoka was safe if not unconscious, they let it slide. Negi being all too grateful to the both of them for the timely rescue from an otherwise very compromising situation. Asuna, trying to forget what just happened, went over and picked up Nodoka bridal style.
"Geez Negi… your nothing but trouble…"
"Sorry… but thanks for saving me Asuna-san."
Asuna tried her best to ignore Negi's heartfelt thanks, but could only blush a little at his eagerness. Chris clapped his hands together, catching their attention.
"Alright, let's get that effect off of you shall we Negi? Else we'll just be plagued for days on end with girls trying to get into your pants."
"Days?!"
"Yes Asuna-chan, days. That was an undiluted love potion, meaning the effects where nearly 1000% more effective than if we had just had him drink a minuscule amount. Honest to god, if this wasn't lunch hour and everybody hadn't gone out, this could have been way worse than how it turned out."
Negi shivered at the idea. It had just been bad enough with the few girls that had chased him, he didn't want to entertain the idea of having the whole class after him. A moment later and Chris did a few things to Negi and a pink vapor started to seep out of his skin before it eventually dissipated into the air.
"There we go, you should be good to walk in public now."
Negi nodded appreciatively while Asuna shifted her footing, getting a better grasp on Nodoka before she spoke up.
"So what should we do with Honya-chan? Are you guys going to have to erase her memories or something?"
Chris and Negi looked to each other before they both shook their head.
"Nah, she should be fine. She may have been under the effects of magic, but she didn't outright witness it. Anyway, just take her back to the classroom… or the infirmary, I don't really care which. As enjoyable as this has been, I really need to get back to work. I'll catch you both after class okay?"
"Alright Chris. Thanks for helping me out today."
"No problem Negi! Also! Asuna-chan!"
The twintail looked to Chris, curious as to what he might want from her.
"What?"
"Thanks for helping today, and thanks for looking out for Negi. I appreciate it."
Asuna wasn't used to Chris saying anything that wasn't sarcastic or scathing in remark, so she was a little lost when a genuine word of thanks came from his lips. She blushed slightly before she harrumphed at him.
"I didn't do it for you or Negi-brat, I did it so that Honya-chan wouldn't do something she would later regret…"
Chris chuckled to himself as he walked past and waved them goodbye.
"Believe what you will you tsundere."
"Ah screw you!"
Chris laughed out loud as he left, his mirth filling him from the gut up as he left the building.
"He he he… seriously, that Asuna chick is way too much fun to tease… but on to the more serious matter… do I report this to my higher ups…"
Chris thought about that seriously for a moment. It was something magical in nature, so this technically was something he would need to file in a report. However, he felt that maybe this one should just stay off the books for now. It had been mostly harmless, and it was just a good bit of fun. Deciding that it would be best to leave it alone, Chris made up his mind as he got back to work, the lunch hour coming to an end as students made their way back to class. However, just as Chris anticipated, the next hour or so of traveling around the high school and middle school campuses where incredibly boring. At this time of the day, nobody was really out and about doing much of anything, every girl here in class doing their school work and preparing for their futures.
Outside of maybe a stray dog or cat, Chris had no more encounters of any kind as the rest of his shift drew to a close. After having made one more round, the young mage made his way back to the teachers' lounge where he made his report. Kuzunoha-sensei, though a little icy, congratulated Chris on a job well done and told him that as long as he did as he had done today, then he would expect more opportunities to open up for him further down the line. After bidding his boss a kindly farewell, Chris opted to find his roommates. Something that took very little time in doing, all he had to do was follow the sighs of depression from Asuna.
"Hey guys! Wassup?"
Asuna looked over at Chris with an annoyed expression before she rolled her eyes.
"Oh great, I forgot you lived with us to… Uggggggggggggghhhh… this day has just been terrible in general…"
"Maybe for you Asuna-chan, but my day has been great."
Negi smiled at his friend, it being rare for Chris to not outright insult Asuna on eye contact. Negi then turned his attention back to Asuna and simply laughed sheepishly.
"I'm sorry I keep causing you trouble Asuna-san… though I'm a little curious about something. Why did you help me out earlier today?"
A little worried that Konoka might end up hearing something she didn't need to, Chris looked over to see that the girl was so far out of it that he was surprised he hadn't noticed it before.
'Girl must still be reeling from the effects of that love potion… poor thing. Should wear off here soon enough though.'
A moment later and Asuna's voice made Chris look back at her.
"Don't get the wrong idea Negi-brat. I already said it earlier didn't I? I did it to help Honya-chan."
"Ah… of course…"
Chris however, snuck up on Asuna and peeked around her side to see her not-so-stern face. He could only bring his hand up to his mouth to cover a chuckle.
"Me think-y someone's not being honest tsundere-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaan."
"Geh!"
Asuna took a swipe at Chris, only to hit air as he danced away giggling to himself. All she could do was grit her teeth at him, but she found she couldn't really bring herself to absolutely hate him based on what she had seen of his willingness to fix Negi's mistakes. Looking back, Asuna walked back behind Negi and gave him a sharp slap on the back.
"Seriously! Sure, you messed up a little today, but have a little more confidence in yourself okay?"
Negi was sorta stunned by her words, and also by the slap, but her responded with a small stuttering 'Y-yes. Alright.'
Asuna moved forward to where Konoka was, the girl asking Asuna if anything had happened today since she was really out of it, but Negi only paid that exchange very little attention and pulled out his class roster and began to scribble in it. Chris, who just so happened to be behind him, peeked over his shoulder to see him write 'really strong kick' under Asuna's name and 'very cute' under Nodoka's.
"Ehhhhhhhh, what did you just write in your roster there Negi?"
"Ah! Chris! Stop it!"
However, Chris's words brought Asuna's and Konoka's attention on him and Negi was suddenly doing his best to stop them from peeking at his notes. Chris could only smile at the group as they all made their way back up to the room and began winding down for the day. Just like he had seen yesterday, Chris watched Negi get out several books from class and began going over them according to the teacher's guide and curriculum, where Asuna was doing some around the apartment cleanup, which left Konoka to get started on cooking and Chris to do whatever he damn well pleased. So, he opted to help Konoka out in the kitchen. For the next hour or so, dinner was prepared while Asuna finished cleaning the living space and Negi getting tomorrows lesson plane set up. Thankfully dinner was good and quick, though the actual cooking and preparation took over an hour to finish up. And since everything was now done, this left Asuna time to change (something both Chris and Negi learned to not peek on if they wanted to live) and get some last-minute studying in. Negi went back to lesson plans while Chris and Konoka went about cleaning the Kitchen. Konoka couldn't help but smile at Chris as he did what would be considered the heavy lifting.
"Thanks a lot Chris-kun. Asuna is always ditching me to go and study right after we eat."
Asuna leaned back in her chair and gave Konoka an annoyed look, though it really didn't have a real anger theme to it.
"Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me for having to study like crazy Ms. Top of the class."
Chris looked to Konoka with an impressed look on his face.
"Really? Thats impressive."
"He he… I'm not really top of the class mind you, those spots belong to Chao-san and Hakase-san. I am pretty decent at studying though."
A moment later and a knock on the door interrupted the lot of them. Konoka was the first to react to the sound.
"I'll get it. Coming!"
Asuna sat up straight in her chair and looked over at the door in some mild irritation.
"Who the heck is it? Especially at this hour, it's getting on 8 O'clock already…"
Negi had been interrupted from his own thoughts by the knocking and just as curious as Asuna was, turned his attention to the door. Chris however, wasn't all that interested and continued on with cleaning up the plates and dishes for Konoka. The moment the door was opened, Konoka was surprised to see the Library trio, led by Haruna, greet her.
"Good evening Konoka-san, Asuna-san! Negi-sensei! We just so happened to have some questions in regards to the lesson today!"
Negi perked up at that and went over to greet the newcomers, it being obvious that they were here to see him.
"Hello Saotome-san, Ayase-san… and Miyazaki-san!"
Negi and Nodoka bowed to each other somewhat nervously, something Chris grinned about as he continued to clean the dishes. Haruna and Yue had already barged into the room which left Konoka to ask if they wanted something drink while Asuna was pretty agitated at the fact that they just kinda let themselves in. However, Haruna was the first to notice that there wasn't just one male in the room.
"Ah! Hey! Aren't you the other guy that was with Negi-sensei at lunch today? … weren't you also at the party yesterday as well?"
Chris lifted a sudsy hand and waved at the newcomers.
"Yes on both accounts Saotome-san. I don't believe I ever introduced myself. The name is Chris. Chris Abernathy. Just call me Chris though. I've already had too many of you butcher my last name enough as is."
Haruna felt something interesting about this person, especially since he didn't seem to be a stranger to this room.
"Nice to meet you Chris-kun! My name is-"
"Haruna Saotome, Yue Ayase, and Miyazaki Nodoka. I know who you are, Negi's told me a lot about his students already. I've also seen your faces in his class roster as well."
"Oh? Sensei talks about us does he now?"
"Yup, though just the ones that have managed to catch his attention."
"Oh-ho… realllly now…"
Haruna looked to Negi, who was in the middle of conversing with Nodoka and Yue about some page, though Haruna was more interested in the implications of Chris's statement. However, there conversation caught Yue's attention, and she couldn't help but pop a question on seeing the young man.
"So you know a little about us then… but I'm a little curious about you to be honest. Who are you to Negi-sensei and why are you here at Mahora?"
Negi however, answered part of that question for her.
"Chris is a friend of mine Ayase-san. We go back a long time since before our time in the academy. As for why he's here… well…"
Chris smiled to the group as he started to put dishes away.
"The reason I'm here isn't important, and not trying to be rude or anything since I just met you, but it really doesn't concern you. However, I'm not going to be any kind of teacher or anything if that's what your curious about. As for why I'm in this room… well, ask the dean, he apparently doesn't seem to like renting rooms out to minors."
Haruna and Yue looked to each other curiously before they drew their attention back to Chris with Yue posing another question to him.
"So… what exactly do you do here then?"
"Here? Freeloading mostly until the dean gives myself and Negi a real place to stay."
However, before the conversation could continue, the sound of someone rapidly beating on the door caused everyone to turn in the direction of the knocking before whoever was on the other side decided to just let themselves in. Who it was made themselves apparent when she spoke up in an almost indignant voice.
"ASUNA-SAN! What's this I hear about you and Negi-sensei sharing a room together!?"
"Kinda rude just letting yourself in there Yukihiro-san."
Ayake, not familiar with this new voice, turned her head to see Chris coming out of the kitchen and giving her a smug smile. For a moment, Ayake could only blink in some surprise before she rounded on Asuna of all people.
"NOT ONLY NEGI-SENSEI BUT SOME OTHER POOR BOY YOU'VE LURED INTO YOUR NEST OF EVIL!?"
"I AM NOT YOU BAKA-IINCHO!"
Before the girls could come to blows, Konoka came to the rescue with her oh-so-sweet smile and demeanor.
"Actually Iincho, Chris is a friend of Negi-kuns and just so happens to be staying with us until he can find himself a place to stay."
At the mention of being Negi's friend, Ayake quickly snapped her head back to look at him, a calculated look in her eyes before she took on a sweet tone and gave Chris a small bow.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Chris-kun. My name is Ayake Yukihiro, the class president of class 2-A. I consider it an honor to meet a friend of Negi-sensei's, especially when he has to share company with one so… uncouth."
There was no doubt who that statement was directed at, and Asuna only glared at Ayake. Chris however, was internally laughing at the blonde.
'Lady, you are so easy to read. Trying to get into my good books won't score you points with Negi you know. Nice approach though.'
Chris bowed back to her and gave her a kind smile.
"The pleasure is all mine Iincho-san. By the by, since you're here, did you happen to want to join in on the group study session? Negi is more than happy to teach you all."
Ayake perked up at that, her intentions easy for Chris to read.
"A group study session with Negi-sensei?!"
In almost a flash, she was already sitting down at the table where most of the other girls had gathered saying something about how it was only natural for the class president to partake. Chris only smiled to himself as he took a seat on the couch behind Negi, watching the group as they started to chatter away. However, Asuna was not thrilled by the sudden intrusion, even less so by the sheer amount of people and noise that had just accumulated in the room. Sadly, the twin tail had a very low threshold for patience and in less than 10 minutes, she finally lost it.
"AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! DON'T GO THROWING PARTIES IN PEOPLES ROOMS DAMMIT!"
Next thing anybody knew, the new arrivals where quickly expunged from the room by being tossed out of it none-to-gently. Asuna then slammed the door shut, grinding a pencil in her teeth as she as she sat back down.
"Jeez… I've got work in the morning for crying out loud! Can't these people learn to keep it down?"
Negi could only scratch his chin sheepishly at Asuna's temper, deciding to give voice to his thoughts to distract Asuna from her mood.
"Such a lively bunch they are… I guess everyone from class lives in this dorm then?"
Konoka piped in to answer Negi's question with Chris and Asuna listening in on her miniature lecture.
"Of course, Negi-kun. We happen to be a boarding school after all, and it's much easier to put all the middle school girls in one building. Though we also happen to share our building with High school girls as well, but only from the Saint Ursula division. That's why all the middle schoolers are on the sixth and fifth floors."
Negi nodded his head while Konka produced a map to show the two boys what she meant. Chris worked himself up off the couch and walked over to look at the map. Negi looked it over before he spotted something that caught his interest.
"Oh! This building has a viewing platform? I would love to go and see it-"
Negi was interrupted when Asuna leaned over and started to sniff at Negi's hair. Chris saw what she was doing and suddenly something came to mind, his cheerful expression falling away from his face and quickly replaced with a dead stare at Negi. Asuna spoke up, the smell of Negi's head alone causing her to scrunch her nose in distaste.
"Ugh, Negi, you stink. Have you had your bath yet?"
"Uhhhhhhhh… well…"
Negi wasn't so much looking at Asuna so much at Chris, who despite not changing expression, somehow managed to pull off his dead stare more intensely. He could only swallow in fear as his now peaceful life was quickly beginning to fall apart at the seams.
"Well Asuna-san… I uh… I've been so busy setting up classes, getting things ready for living here, travel… did I mention setting up classes? Oh so busy that it totally slipped my mind you see?"
Asuna wasn't sure why Negi suddenly was getting rather tense, but she pointed something out on the map, something that said 'baths.'
"Here, go take a bath here. No one will be in there at this hour, so you can take your time."
Negi tensed up even more, not from the question, but due to the aura coming off of Chris as his stare seemed to look ten times larger then what should be normal.
"Ehhhh… uhhhhhhhhh… well… there… might be a slight problem with that Asuna-san…"
Negi's voice just kept getting quitter and quitter under Chris's gaze, something both Asuna and Konoka found unusual seeing as Negi never really seemed to have a reason to be afraid of Chris.
"Negi."
The boy flinched when Chris called his name.
"Y-yes Chris?"
"Are you bloody serious right now?"
Negi started to tap his pointer fingers together as his face began to flush. Now Asuna was really curious about this reaction.
"What? What happened? What's going on."
"Go ahead and tell them Negi. Go right ahead. You're not getting out of this one pal, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no, Nekane may have spoiled you rotten over this, but we are bloody well gonna change that today."
Konoka and Asuna looked to each other, now highly curious as to what could cause such a reaction out of both boys. Negi fiddled with his fingers a little bit more before he started to mumble to himself. Konoka leaned in closer to listen in before she heard him and giggled to herself when she finally knew what all the hub bub was about.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh~? Looks like Negi-kun hates bath Asuna-san."
Not only was Asuna busting a blood vessel right now, but even Chris looked ready to pop a vessel or two himself. In that moment, the two of them were unanimous in their actions and speech.
"YOU ARE SUCH A BRAT!"
Asuna nabbed Negi by his right shoulder while Chris grabbed him on his left.
"Oh! Gawd! Konoka-san! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALP!"
The only thing she did was wave him goodbye in a cheery voice saying she'll follow soon after. Negi felt nothing but doom and gloom at this point as both Asuna and Chris began to viciously talk down to him.
"Come'r! I'll wash you myself!"
"Today we break this disgusting habit of yours Negi even if we have to wash the flesh from your bones!"
His struggling availed him nothing even as the two opposing forces dragged him down to the bath house Suzukaze upon which Negi was quickly stripped followed by Chris and Asuna. Though Asuna had opted to change into a swimsuit while Chris had just wrapped a towel around his waist, the both of them taking turns to hold Negi down so that he wouldn't run away.
"Noooooooooooooo! Stoooooooooooooooop!"
"What are you so embarrassed about!? You're a kid for crying out loud! Besides, you've seen me naked, time to return the favor! Chris! Help me out!"
"Sure thing Asuna-neechan!"
"WHY ARE YOU BOTH SUDDENLY BEING SO COOPERATIVE WITH EACH OTHER!?"
Both Asuna and Chris grabbed Negi by his arms and legs and proceeded to run out of the changing room and then straight up chuck him into the bath, an act that was met with Negi desperately flapping his arms in an attempt to fly away from the water. Sadly, he couldn't fly without his staff and thus fell like a rock. Chris then jumped in right after him to prevent him from running away at his first opportunity. Such an act of obstruction would not be necessary as Negi knew when he was beat.
"You guys can be real vicious when you work together you know that?"
Before Negi could continue on, he was suddenly aware of something about the room he had failed to notice as he was being flung about. When it hit him, Negi stood up and began to look around the bathhouse in admiration.
"Woah! What is all this?!"
Chris rolled his eyes as he began to stretch in the water.
"It's a giant bath ya dingus, or did the baths not tip you off?"
Negi turned around and stared at Chris in an annoyed manner.
"I may wear glasses Chris, but that doesn't mean that I'm… blind…"
For a moment, Negi simply looked on at his friend, something about his appearance looking very odd from the collarbone down. It didn't really register with him, because he didn't remember his friend looking different from the last time they had a bath together. It didn't hit him until a moment later when Chris saw Negi looking at him and caused the young man to look down at his chest.
"Ah, I guess I forgot to mention that little detail huh?"
"Chris, what happened to you?!"
Negi was getting a really good look at his friend, his eyes wide open in sheer shock while his mouth was trying to form the words for what he saw. Chris's chest used to be about average, as one would come to expect of a chest that was unblemished, not looking as if something had bitten down and chewed on a person's upper torso like a fleshy chew toy. Chris's skin was marred with dozens of bite marks, as if some massive animal had decided to use Negi's friend to sharpen its teeth. Asuna was also getting a good look at him and could see such markings on his back as well, horrified at what she was seeing.
"Holy crap… what the hell happened to you? You look like a bear got hold of you or something!"
Chris smiled at the both of them as he began to swim around the large bath, not really concerned with the looks he was getting from the both of them.
"You're not far off from the truth Asuna-chan. But that's what happens when you deal with old magic. Do everything perfectly and you still could get hurt. Nothing is certain with it."
Negi looked on at his friend in worry while Asuna scratched the back of her head in confusion.
"I've heard you mention that a time or two today. What is this old magic thing you keep talking about?"
Chris looked to Negi, who simply shrugged his shoulders, leaving Chris to let out a sigh as he sat up in the bath.
"It's kinda complicated and would require a lot of explanation, made even more confusing since you're not a mage. I can tell you later if you want though. For now, we have other things to do… like taking care of that."
Chris turned his attention to Negi, who suddenly remembered the main reason why they were all there to begin with. Asuna got the hint about what Chris was talking about and looked at Negi with an expression that told him that she was enjoying this far to much.
"Good point… noooooooooooooow… let's get this dirty lil' puppy all nice and cleaned!"
Negi looked at Asuna with a growing sense of dread, his baser instinct telling him to run for it. He would have to, if Chris hadn't come out of nowhere and tackled him just as Negi turned around to take off.
"AHHHHHHH! No! Lemme go Chris! I thought we were friends!"
"And as I friend I'm doing this so you can learn the basics of hygiene! This wouldn't be so bad if you would quite struggling!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
A few more overly dramatic moments of wrestling later and Asuna had Negi by the top of his head and dragged him to the actual bathing spot, where she forced him to sit down and began lathering up his hair.
"THE SOAP! IT BURNS US PRECIOUS!"
"IT WOULDN'T BURN IF YOU WOULD JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES NEGI-BRAT!"
Chris, who was washing himself in the spot next to them, could only laugh at them both as he rinsed himself off.
"Ha! Seriously Negi, a bath isn't that bad. It can actually quite nice if you just stop fighting it. Oh yeah, make sure to wash his hair real good Asuna-neechan, he normally just mats it down with water and says he did it if you don't watch him."
Asuna let out an annoyed sigh as she was sure to wash thoroughly.
"God… Can't even wash his own hair… are you sure you're really 10?"
Negi, who was semi-whimpering, answered her.
"Well… we keep saying I'm 10, but I'm technically 9 and a half until May…"
Asuna stopped for a moment, those words taking a moment before they really sunk in. Then she got angry about that sudden truth.
"Are you frikken kidding me?! I'm a damned babysitter!"
Asuna began taking this pent-up frustration out on Negi's scalp, the poor boy wailing as he tried desperately to mitigate the pain vie complaint. The twin-tail let up as she sighed in resignation, suddenly becoming more gentle in terms of Negi's scalp, though her mood was still irritated.
"Sheesh… I've got a paper route tomorrow, so just stay still and settle down and We'll be done before you know it. Then I can get some sleep…"
Both Chris and Negi responded with 'okay' though both boys found themselves interested in Asuna's job with Chris being the first one to speak up about his thoughts.
"So you actually do the paper route gig? That sounds like a tough job for someone in junior high school."
Negi nodded his head, though Asuna forced him to stop moving so that she could get done faster.
"I agree with Chris. Though I'm more curious as to why you're doing it."
Asuna, not really paying much attention to the question, kept on scrubbing away as she answered.
"Easy, I'm an orphan and I pay for my own school tuition."
Negi and Chris both stopped what they were doing, the answer they got not quite being what they expected.
"Huh?"
"Sorry, what did you just say?"
"I said I'm an orphan, both my parents died years ago when I was really small and I've been on my own since then. Konoka's grandpa and Takahata-sensei have been looking after me since I was really small, but I can't just mooch off of them forever you know… though they both say they don't mind, I try to pay them back."
For a moment, nobody said anything, however, Asuna felt Negi shaking and looked down to see that he had turned around and was looking at Asuna with sobbing eyes.
"What the heck! Why are you crying?!"
Asuna shot up, Negi almost blubbering at this point.
"You've had such a rough life Asuna-san! It's no wonder you're so vicious and angry all the time! I completely misjudged you!"
Feeling a bit of anger growing at that remark, Asuna responded to negi's backhanded sympathy with some forceful anger.
"Gee, why don't you tell me how you really feel huh!? And I don't need your bloody sympathy!"
"Ya know Asuna-neesan, thats some pretty heavy back story your laying out there. Is it alright for Negi and myself to hear it?"
Asuna looked over to see that Chris, though not crying, had a pretty non-Chris like look of concern on his face. Not sure how to respond to such a look, Asuna started to scratch the back of her head nervously.
"It's not that big a deal ya know… I got over it a long time ago and it's not like it's a big secret… and why the heck are you still crying Negi-brat!"
Asuna rounded on negi, who was still crying, but she had missed the bar of soap that was by her foot and just as she stepped forward, lost her footing on the slick bar of animal fat(?). Chris watched as the both of them went down in a tumble and winched when they hit the floor. However, he started to smile at them both when he saw what kind of a compromising situation they had managed to get themselves into.
"And here I thought you didn't like Negi Asuna-neechan."
Asuna had landed on top on Negi on all fours as Negi was looking back up at her flat on his back. To other onlookers, it might have looked as if she had pushed him down. Chris still felt the need to laugh despite knowing that it was an accident. Both Asuna and Negi looked at each other for a moment longer before Chris's laugh broke them out of it and made Asuna shoot up in embarrassment.
"Shut your trap you little-"
The sound of chatter in the changing room cut off what she was going to say next and the trio all looked to the fogged glass door to see that a multitude of people where gathered and just about ready to come out. Asuna was the first to act and shot to her feet while grabbing Negi by his hand and hauling him up.
"Crap! People are starting earlier than usual!"
Negi looked to Asuna, who was flustered, while Chris looked pretty relaxed, though it seemed Asuna was the one dictating the actions to be taken.
"Not good! If they see us here, they'll more than likely misunderstand the situation! We gotta hide!"
Not even giving him time to comprehend the situation, Asuna took hold of negi's hand and hauled him over to the bath, where they both dove in and found a place to hide under a low hanging fern branch. Chris, however, had not taken cover and instead continued washing at a leisurely pace as the group of females entered. To his amusement, it was the group that Asuna had kicked out of the room earlier plus Konoka, which was Miyazaki, Ayase, Saotome, and the class representative. Asuna saw that Chris was still hanging out by the washing area and would have killed him if he was in range of her fist. However, Chris acted as if he was surprised to see the group and waved at them as they entered.
"Oh? Hello there. Fancy meeting you all here."
Konoka, who was not perturbed by the fact that a male was in the bath with several nude females, waved at Chris as she went over and stood next to him.
"Ah, hello Chris-kun. Still washing up I see… did Negi-kun and Asuna leave already?"
"Yup. You just missed em Konoka-neesan."
The rest of the group that entered where just a little nervous about Chris being in the bath, but Konoka treating him cordially as if this wasn't an issue lessened the amount of nervousness they felt about him being there, though Nodoka was hesitant to get close to him. This in turn allowed them all to get back to the earlier conversation, one which Ayake was still feeling heated about.
"This is still absurd! To think that that sweet innocent angel of a boy would be rooming with the violent and vicious gorilla of a woman Asuna! Whoever set this up had best be prepared to get an earful from me!"
Chris leaned back to look at the class rep and shrugged his shoulders at her.
"Well, you'll have to take it up with the dean then since he's the one who set it up. Negi and myself are stuck in the room until proper accommodations are made for us both."
"Eh? Principle-sensei?"
Konoka sat next to Chris and also started to wash herself, but not before confirming what Chris had said.
"Yup. Grandfather told him to stay with us until he could be roomed elsewhere… though knowing my grandpa, he'll just keep Negi with us until it starts becoming a real issue. Otherwise, he'll do it to keep costs down… By the way Chris-kun, did you need me to wash your back?"
Chris turned back around and looked at Konoka curiously before he understood her question.
"Oh, sure. That would be greatly appreciated Konoka-neesan. I'll help you with your hair in exchange."
As the rest of the group continued its conversation, some nonsense about Negi needing some kind of guardian or something along those lines, Konoka bent down and was about to begin scrubbing the back of the young boy before she saw the series of scars and amount of scar tissue ranging from his back and his torso. Despite being turned away from her, Chris could tell due to the sharp intake of breath indicating her surprise. Sighing was the only thing he could do at that point before he waved his hand around as if shooing away some pesky fly.
"It's nothing Konoka-neesan, don't worry about it. If it bugs you though, you don't have to do anything. I can do it myself."
Somewhat flustered and ashamed at her surprised reaction, Konoka shook her head.
"No, no I'm good. I'm sorry though… I was just… really surprised… if you don't mind my asking though… what happened to you?"
"I got attacked by a bear when I was younger. The damage was more superficial, but that doesn't mean it didn't still hurt at the time."
"That sounds so terrible… I'm sorry."
Chris laughed to himself as he shrugged his shoulders.
"It's all good. Anyway… I know you so desperately wanted to wash my back Konoka-neesan, but I think I'll excuse myself. Despite how I act, I'm actually quite… thin skinned about it. HA!"
Laughing at his own joke, Chris took the basin next to his leg and splashed himself off, whistling a jaunty tune that may have sounded a little to forced to be normal as he picked himself up and made his way out the door. However, his leaving caught the attention of the girls, upon which it seemed a lot of Negi's class had appeared while he had been talking with Konoka, and he could tell from the silence that many had seen his scars. Trying not to let such looks get to him, Chris made his way out the door where he hurriedly got dressed and made his way back upstairs, thankfully just in time to avoid Negi and Asuna's little balloon 'bust' episode with the rest of the class. Chris quickly got into the room, where he then swapped out his regular clothes into his Pajamas and got out the futon and crawled into it, hugging himself tightly.
'I didn't think it would still bother me so much… but I guess time can't heal all wounds now can it Master?'
About 30 minutes later and Asuna, Negi, and Konoka had made it back to the room, Asuna yelling at Negi for him to leave the dorm. Something about him making her breasts balloon up and pop or something along those lines, but Chris was really only half paying attention to it. It eventually straightened itself out, with Asuna locking herself in the bathroom after Negi said something rather sweet to her. Negi continued to apologize, but Asuna would not be dissuaded from the bathroom, not even with Konoka's words. After a while, both Konoka and Negi gave up with Asuna, leaving them both to start getting ready for bed. However, Negi looked back over at Chris, having seen that the dark-haired youth hadn't budged from his spot since they came back and sat down next to him.
"So…I know your trying to play it off and all… but did you want to talk about it?"
A muffled 'no' was all Negi got for his trouble. Letting out a sigh, Negi scratched the back of his head in a puzzled manner.
"Alright… Let me ask a different question. Is everything alright? Outside of the scar's I mean."
At that, Chris peeked his head out from under the covers, his violet colored eyes looking on at him quizzically past the young man's dark black bangs.
"I don't think I understand your question. As far as I know, I'm doing great."
"You're not making this easy… I wasn't sure about it since you showed up yesterday Chris, but today confirmed what I was suspecting. You've changed some since the last time I saw you."
Chris actually sat up, understanding dawning on his face as he did.
"Ah… that's what you mean. Don't worry Negi, I'm still me on the inside."
Negi looked at his friend skeptically, however, he knew not to push it right now. Negi neither had the time, nor the mental fortitude to put up with any of Chris's roundabout explanations to everything.
"Alright… if you say so. I'll just leave it at that then... for the time being. Sleep well Chris, I'll see you tomorrow."
Chris smiled at Negi as the other young boy started to get himself ready for bed, Chris rolling over in his futon as he muttered under his breath.
"Still mostly the same…"
I hope you enjoyed! By the by, speed will be about as erratic as one will expect, so I hope ya'll can put up with me for the time being!