Hey everybody! Here is another chapter of TF for your enjoyment! by the by, I had no idea I had reviews, so I'll go ahead and reply to those since I like taalking to the people who read my stories!

DBKai42: Thank you good sir/Madam! I have been spending a good deal of time writing in my spare time and I belive I am at a level that I won't cring about if I actually post something! Thanks for the welcome back!

Daemon of Wrath: I understand, I honestly Love Negima since it was the first Manga I ever read and it will have a special place in my heart despite it's rather... lackluster ending. Thats why I keep writing about it even after it's come to an end.

Also to note, since this is an AU, Don't expect to see UQ Holder stuff in here. As much as I like it, I'm pretty sure that one is just one of many futures that can occur in the Negima future timeline.

One last thing. I forgot to add this in, but I pretty much assume all my readers know what these stand for, but I'll put it in for those who are new to my writing style.

"Talking."

'Thoughts/inner monologue.'

And that should do it! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Over the course of the past few days, nothing much had happened for Chris save for maybe the few days when Asuna managed to get herself after-class lessons, but he had no part in that, and the fact that she had problems with English wasn't something he was concerned with. In fact, over the course of the past few days, Chris had found himself becoming increasingly bored with his job. It wasn't as if it wasn't an important job, Chris understood that well enough, it's the fact that he was expecting something to actually happen at this point. Of course, you know what they say, be careful what you wish for else you just may get it…

It was about midday, and Chris had just made yet another round along the Mahora high school division. Outside of the stray dog that he swore was following him, Chris had once again found nothing of note for his report. Letting out a sigh, he put his hands behind his head as he walked a leisure pace along the familiar route thinking about when the time would be up. Thankfully, school would be out in another hour, so he knew that he just had to endure with the boredom. As he continued on his usual route, Chris managed to catch something out of the corner of his eye. It had been out in the forest part of Mahora, the part that had yet to be touched by mans machinations. Curious, Chris came to a stop and peeked out into the forest. He didn't see anything more than the initial movement, but this had literally been the first interesting thing to happen since he started this job. Not even worrying about what it might be, Chris decided to go out and investigate. Speeding along quickly, Chris tried to keep an eye out for any more movement in the woods besides those of woodland animals. Almost thirty minutes later and Chris had nothing to show for his little venture except for some burs in his clothes that would take time to pull out. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Chris shook his head as he muttered to himself.

"And here I thought I was going to get to do someth-AHHHH!"

Next thing he knew, Chris tripped on an outstretched root, falling flat on his face and sending any woodland creatures running at his heavy thud. Picking his face up out of the dirt, Chris was feeling rather angry at himself for doing something so stupid, but such thoughts of anger where quickly pushed away when he thought he saw something glinting on the ground a distance off. He would never have seen it past all the trees and the foliage standing up, but here on the ground, it seemed to shine with just enough light to be seen. Obviously curious, Chris forgot about his anger and made his way in the direction of the glinting object. The discovery he made a moment later was well worth the fall. A beautiful lake had apparently been left undisturbed in the back recess of Mahora's campus, and from the feel of it, the air was fairly charged as well with magic.

"This must be some kind of leyline!"

Excited over the discovery, Chris sat down next to the water and began meditation. The moment he reached out to touch the magic of the area, he was instantly assailed by a wave of undiluted magic, pure and filled with the element of water. Deep in his mind he could feel Undine reaching out to touch it, the feeling of wanting to dive in strong in his gut. Chris resisted the temptation though and mentally pushed Undine back, sending images to it of them coming back later to partake in the spring. He could tell Undine was feeling depressed about it, but the contract put him in charge, and thus it had no choice but to obey. However, he wasn't one to be absolutely cruel, and knelt next to the lake and stuck his hand in. The water was riddled with magical energy, and just the touch alone was enough to make him feel invigorated. Undine also seemed to be joyful over the natural magical water and conveyed this feeling of happiness to Chris. All he could do was smile as he pulled his hand out and mentally noted the location. Chris would be coming back later at the end of the day, though he was going to have to come up with an excuse to leave the dorm room for an extended period of time.

"I'm sure Konoka-neechan will let me out for a little while."

Humming to himself about his find, Chris made his way back out of the woods, his day having vastly improved with this discovery. With a kick in his step, Chris made his way back to the middle school ground, and oddly enough, he happened upon Negi as he came running out of the building with a worried look on his face. Curious, Chris stopped to let Negi catch him. Upon which he did, and after catching his breath, Negi looked to Chris with a serious look on his face.

"Chris!"

"Yes Negi?"

"I need your help!"

Xx sometime later xX

"Okay then." said Chris, his hands on his hips and looking at Negi patiently.

"Seeing as I'm still having problems understanding the current situation, I want you to explain this to me one more time as I ask."

Negi sighed yet again, his irritation growing.

"Again? I've explained it twice now already."

"Well third times the charm as they say… Okay! So from the top! Where are we?"

"Currently we are at the Volleyball court on top of the middle school building."

"Alright… why are we here?"

"Because we plan on playing a volleyball game."

"With who?"

"The high schoolers from the Saint Ursula High school division."

"Why are we doing that?"

"Because they intentionally provoked the girls from Class 2-A."

"Why?"

"Because they antagonized them this morning and seemed to have had their pride injured somehow by the middle schoolers."

"And all this is important because…?"

"Because if Class 2-A loses I'll have to start teaching in the high school department due to a bet they made without my consent!"

Chris seriously doubted that seeing as the dean decided those kinds of things rather then childish bets. Nodding his head, Chris looked back to the girls on both sides of the court, all dressed up in sports gear… save for the high schoolers who were still in their uniforms.

"M'kay... so I get all that. It's understandable really, and I honestly think it builds character when people get a little friendly rivalry going on… however, I'm still confused on one thing here."

Negi tilted his head in confusion.

"And what is that?"

"I fail to understand what in god's name any of this has to do with me!"

Negi flinched at Chris's sudden anger, though he meekly smiled at his friend.

"Um… because I thought you might want to help me out of this little predicament?"

Chris let out a long and heavy sigh as he clapped Negi on the shoulders.

"Seriously Negi, when you said that this was an emergency, I thought it was actually serious, not this kindergarten stuff. I'm currently still in the middle of my job you know. I know my boss said to take care of my area how I see fit, but doing something like this would count as slacking off."

Negi poked his two pointer fingers together nervously as he looked at Chris with a dejected look.

"Um… does that mean you won't help?"

Before either boy could answer, Asuna's voice cut them off.

"Hurry it up already! We can't be dawdling all day waiting for you two to finish talking! If he's not gonna play Negi-brat, then quite pestering him!"

Negi started to flap his arms in a panic, trying to get words out as he attempted to placate the waiting students.

"Just one more minute Asuna-san! I really think getting Chris in on the game is a good idea! He's really good at sports and all that!"

Negi quickly rounded on Chris, tears practically in the boy's eyes as he seemed to be pleading with him at this point. Chris simply rolled his eyes as he put his hand to the bridge of his nose as if trying to suppress a migraine.

"Alright alright…"

"Yes!"

"ON ONE CONDITION!"

"Geh!"

Chris saw Negi almost recoil, but he wasn't going to let up.

"I'm only going to play until I'm either out, or until I get one hit in okay? No more, no less, are we agreed?"

Negi's head almost bobbed as the boy simply smiled at his friend.

"Of course! That's fine with me!"

Chris felt that all of this was a massive waste of time on everyone's part, but he couldn't really find it in his heart to deny Negi this one simple request. Letting out another sigh, Chris walked over to the 2-A side where many of the girls looked at him in curiosity, many debating why Negi-sensei had asked him to come help out. Chris could only sigh at the attention.

"God this is so frikken stupid…"

A moment later, the call to begin was sounded and the first throw was aimed directly at him. However, Chris saw it coming a mile away and moved his head out of the way to evade the blow. However, Negi, who had been standing right behind him, got clocked on his six and fell flat on his face. Chris turned around and watched as Asuna caught the rebound and threw it right back at the offending girl. Chris looked down at Negi and rolled his eyes.

"And we already have our first casualty. You're so out of your element here Negi…"

Walking over, Chris flipped the boy over, Negi's eyes swirling at the impact.

"Negi, how many fingers am I holding up?"

Negi tried to focus for a moment, but the only thing to come out of his mouth was 'FOR CAMALOT!'

"He's good, keep going."

Asuna looked at Chris skeptically as Chris helped Negi to his feet, but the twin tail had more important things to worry about at the moment. The announcement saying that the High schoolers where down to 10 players got everyone on the 2-A side all pumped up. Asuna fist pumped as she high-fived Ako and Yuna, both girls singing her praises. Negi, who had thankfully recovered, flapped his arms in some panic.

"Make sure not to get yourselves hurt alright?!"

Chris stopped paying attention to the group around him, though he noted that a number of Class 2-A really didn't look like the sports types save for a few of them. Noting that Konoka was in this group, he opted to go over and keep close to her.

"Hey Konoka-neesan. I hope you don't mind, but I think I'll just stand here and make sure the ball doesn't hit you. Your too sweet to be playing such a rugged game."

Konoka smiled at Chris and pat his head affectionately.

"Aw, that's so sweet Chris. You can be my knight in shining armor."

Chris smiled up at her and flexed his arms a little to show off.

"Will do Ojou-sama!"

Feeling just a little more pumped up about actually doing this, Chris turned his attention back to the game just in time to watch Asuna and the class rep finish up their motivating speech. However, the high schoolers simply jeered at Asuna's boasts, leaving Chris feeling that the girl was far more confidant then one should be in a simple game like this.

"He he… Looks like you all still don't get it… looks like that child teacher will be ours after all! I hope your ready you little babies! Ultimate deathblow technique!"

At the sound of something so ominous, many of the 2-A girls started to panic, many of them suddenly trying to evade it by getting out of the way. Sadly, with twenty-two people on the playing field, the range of evasion was severely limited. Negi attempted to keep the class calm, but a moment later and the girl softly lobbed the ball at the group, where it then bounced off the heads of three students in succession before the ball rolled back to the high school side of the court.

"3 Out on the 2-A side!"

Asuna looked at the three casualties in wonder.

"How on earth did she do that?"

As if in answer to her question, the girl, whose name happened to be Eiko, lobbed the ball again while saying.

"Kinda like this!"

Upon which another four girls where put out by a lazily bouncing ball. Chris honestly was rather annoyed with the whole thing and spoke up loud enough for all the girls to hear.

"I'm seriously wondering why on this green earth Ya'll have so many frikken players on your team! Seriously, dodgeball is kinda hard to do when your side of the court is chock full of people!"

For a moment, all the girls on the 2-A side looked to Chris blankly, then it suddenly hit everyone that what he was saying was true.

"Ah Crap! He's right! Having more people on your team isn't an advantage! It's a serious hindrance! It just makes you easier to hit!"

Chris could only give Asuna and the class rep a dead stare at the fact they just now figured this out.

"Are you serious right now."

However, the girls didn't have time to come up with a new plan as Eiko swung her arm back, her shots clear as all the girls were like fish in a barrel right now. The next girl who got hit was one of the smaller ones, Fumika if Chris remembered it correctly. But at this point, even he was starting to get agitated by the girl's attitude toward the whole thing. This honestly wasn't a game, it was one sided bullying. As the rest of the team was complaining about the girls rather vicious tactics, she quickly took aim at another girl, that girl being Miyazaki. Chris felt that now may be the time to start actually doing something even if he was going to do it once. However, as the other girl reared back and launched the ball, Asuna ran in to save the day. It was an impressive catch on her part, followed by a bravado filled cry about the power of middle schoolers. A power that sadly came up short when Asuna's full powered strike was caught by Eiko in one hand.

"Ha! To think that this is the best your true power could do… it's clear to see that you had absolutely no chance against us! For we are-"

Surprisingly, the girls removed their sailor uniforms only to reveal another kind of gym uniform underneath.

"- The Kanto regional tournament championship team the Black Lily's!"

For a moment, most everyone present was stunned at the imposing figure the girls represented… only for it to fall apart with the first words out of Chris's mouth.

"Wow, really? Dodge-ball at you guys age? And you accused this class of being a bunch of kids. How about you actually grow up and do something productive in your free time, cause seriously, that's just lame."

The looks of mirth on class 2-A's face was one of contained laughter, but the looks of embarrassed fury on the Ursula girls was priceless in Chris's eyes. However, it was what Negi said next that really threw salt in the wound.

"Come on now Chris, that's just mean. Does it matter they play a sport that won't really mean anything in the future? As long as they put there all into it, it'll yield some kind of result for them!"

"AGH SHUT UP! WHO ASKED YOU GUYS FOR YOUR OPINION! Vivi, Shii! Get ready for the triangle attack!"

Chris cocked his eyebrow up at that one.

"Seriously, Triangle attack? What are you, 5th graders? Who goes around naming there plays with such ridiculous na-"

"Class Rep is out!"

"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW PEOPLE?!"

Chris could only look on at the girls with utter fury growing in his gut only for it to be replaced with a lethargic acceptance moments later. So much so that when the high schoolers got two more people out, he didn't even flinch. However, he pretty much internally snapped when the next play the High schoolers did was some kind of absolute garbage tactic where Eiko jumped into the air with the sun to her back, declaring it a 'solar strike'. His anger was further fueled when Asuna was nailed not once, but twice in a serious show of force by the high schooler, a tactic considered cruel by many girls. Even Negi was getting really agitated at the older girl's serious lack of respect for the game. So much so that Chris actually felt Negi beginning to gather magic around him. For what, he wasn't sure, but Chris could tell Negi was mad. Just as Negi was about to start unleashing magical hell on these girls, Chris felt the need to try to step in, only to be outpaced by Asuna. The twintail knocked him on the head and gave him a stern look when he turned around to look at her in confusion.

"Hey Negi-brat! You better not be getting any stupid ideas right now. If I remember correctly, you're the one who was all on about a fair sports competition. Your just as bad as them when you resort underhanded tactics. If you're a man, do it fair and square!"

Chris was honestly impressed with Asuna's advice, his respect for her going up by several points. Chris knew Negi was one to take to heart such sound advice, and Chris knew that it would sink in. However, that only left the rest of the girls who were currently panicking about the lack of competent players on this half of the field. Chris saw Negi looking around, the boy fueled by Asuna's undying will and setting his tone to determined.

"Don't worry everyone! We can do this! Remember what Asuna-san said! Don't turn your back to them or else you'll just get hit from behind! Face forward! You'll have a chance if you keep going and never give up!"

The girls (hell, even Chris) felt oddly inspired by Negi's words, the stuttering child mere moments before having vanished only to be replaced with this confidant young man. Chris smiled a huge smile as he bust out laughing so hard that he caught the attention of both teams.

"HA HA HA HA HA! Damn straight Negi! You tell em! Hell, you even got me all fired up with that! And just for that little lip service, I'm going to give you all just the barest dash of hope here!"

Not even worrying about the confused looks he got, Chris boldly strode forward with a shit eating grin on his face and a cocky attitude in his eyes until he stopped just outside of the opposing teams line. This in of itself made him a prime target, and many of the 2-A girls were worried that he might get hurt. However, Negi knew Chris, and he knew that the other man would follow through on his word.

"Chris!"

"What do you need Negi?"

"Just make sure not to hurt anyone okay?"

Chris didn't even turn around as he gave Negi and the girls a confidant thumbs up. He then turned his attention back to the high schoolers, his grin still on his face as he stared them all down.

"Alright then Black Lily-neechan's! I came up here to do one thing and one thing only. One of you is going down in the next 20 seconds because I promised my man back there that I would do it. So if you don't want a dash of despair on this shit sandwich I'm about to serve you, then you better try to hit me with absolutely everything you got. You read me? Cause I don't want any of you whining later about how you pulled punches on a kid because you felt sorry for me."

Honestly, Eiko was fed up with this kid and his cocky attitude at this point. He had the gall to make fun of the sport they practiced so hard for and then had the nerve to come up front and taunt them all as if he could actually do anything about the Middle schoolers situation. Eiko tossed the ball to one of the girls in the back and called her up.

"I don't have to take this from a brat like you! I won't even waste my time with throwing this at you. Yu! I don't care how hard you throw this, I want you to wreck this kids face, got it?"

The girl she referred to as Yu wasn't really paying Eiko much attention until the ball got tossed her way, then she caught it on reflex.

"Eh? What? Why? You dragged me into this stupid game, why do I have to do your dumb work for you?"

Eiko looked at the girl with a hard look in her eyes… which was kinda hard to do since Yu was actually the tallest girl on the high schoolers side of the field standing at almost 6 feet tall.

"Because I am the captain and you haven't done a damn thing since you got on this team! You can at least hit one kid can't you? Or was all your boasting just your usual attitude?"

The girl named Yu glared at Eiko for a moment before she sighed in her face, the ball bouncing on her palms a few times before she walked past the dodgeball captain with an annoyed expression.

"I got it I got it… 'annoying bitch…'"

Nobody but Chris heard that last statement, and he was pretty sure that the woman named Yu wasn't directing that at him. However, a moment later and the tall girl looked down at Chris with something like resigned pity.

"So… you're the kid I need to pound with this ball right?"

"That would be correct."

Yu let out a long sigh as she bounced the ball in her hands a few times.

"Listen Kid, sorry to do this to you, but I guess I need to listen to my captain every once in a while… which kinda sucks now that I get a better look at you. Your kinda cute."

For a moment, Chris blanched at the declaration before a small chuckle made its way from his throat.

"That's new. I'm not really used to people referring to me as the cute one, normally it's my buddy behind me that gets called that."

Yu smiled back at him before she quickly pulled the ball back in her grip.

"He ain't really my type truth be told. Which is why I really don't like doing this to ya. Don't hate me okay?"

A moment later and Yu chucked the ball so hard that most everybody who didn't have a trained eye lost sight of it the moment it left her hand. However, the sound of a loud smack made everyone turn to see Chris, the mental consensus being that he would be flat out on the ground. What was not expected was him holding the ball in two hands a mere inch from his face, his grin never having dropped.

"Well now that you've gone and said that Nee-chan, it makes what I'm about to do seem excessive. Thing is, I got a brocode to uphold, and bros before hos' is one of our creeds. Though since you've been so honest, I'll also admit your real nice to look at yourself, and kinda my type as well. Don't hate me for this okay?"

Nobody saw the ball leave his hand, nobody even saw him move. The next thing anybody knew, the girl by the name of Yu was launched back five or so feet before she was knocked flat on her ass and went tumbling another few feet and stopped cold on her back. Nobody could process what just happened, and for the next few seconds, everyone's brains where trying to catch up with the thought of something so impossible happening. The silence was broken when Chris stretched his arms out and let out a satisfied sigh.

"That was refreshing! Alright Negi! I did as I promised. One out from me, so I'm going to sit out the rest of the game. Have fun! I'm sure if you believe in yourselves or whatever such nonsense you feed on, you'll make it through just fine!"

Humming a tune to himself as he walked off the court, Chris found a nice tidy spot next to one of the girls who had opted to sit out of the game. It took the referee a few more moments to draw her brain out of the disbelieving phase, but the fact that high school girl was out could not be ignored, and the girl meekly spoke it out for everyone to hear.

"Uh… Um… one out for the High school team?"

A moment later and the girls on the 2-A side whooped in delight at the sudden shift, many calling Chris out to come back and keep playing, though all they got out of him was a 'no way.' They couldn't get Chris to play, but the elated feeling that the rest of class 2-A had was quickly crushing any kind of mental inhibitions they had about beating the Saint Ursula girls. From there, Chris watched the game take a turn for class 2-A in a more positive direction, though he was sure he had to question a number of things that went on in terms of a number of major rules being broken on Negi's team (Like in the case of Makie using a ribbon to whack the ball on people's heads or when Ako kicked it… or when Chao and Ku Fei used Chinese martial arts…) However, he wasn't going to sweat those details seeing as the game was over leaving the high schoolers with 3 players left and 2-A largely victorious.

'Thank god this crap is over and done with.'

Letting out a sigh, Chris got back to his feet, but as he did, he noticed that one Eiko was not taking the loss well at all. In fact, he could sense malicious intent coming off of her, and the next thing he knew, she had her sights on Asuna and had pulled the dodge ball up and was poised ready to strike.

"HEY! What are you-!"

Before Chris could react, a blur of crimson shot right in front of Asuna as the dodgeball was unleashed, leaving Negi to catch it, pretty much shocking everyone save for Chris, who was far more impressed with that bit of magically enhanced footwork. That is until he saw Negi's pouty face, which told him that this was about to go down badly for Eiko and her two remaining girls.

"That sort of behavior…! IS UNACCEPTABLE!"

Negi launched that ball back with the force of a raging tornado, though Chris was impressed to see Eiko catch it, though what Chris was not expecting was her to hold it and not rip through her body with the sheer amount of magical force permeating that ball. That is until he remembered that this was Negi he was thinking about, and if Negi had his way, everyone would be happy, so He knew his friend would never bring himself to hurt another no matter how mad he got. However, that magical force had to go somewhere and Chris found out that the energy ripped something apart alright, the clothes of nearly every girl on the other end of the court, all girls of ages 16 and up having had everything shredded to bits save for their undergarments.

"Oh la la~"

Nearly all of the girls dropped their arms to cover themselves (though the underwear was doing a good deal of that for them) the shouts of confusion and shame bringing jeers and taunts from the middle schoolers. Eventually, most of the high school girls had to retreat, Eiko shouting something along the lines of 'we aren't going to forget this!'. Chris had no doubt that they wouldn't forget any time soon, but that wasn't really his problem. Chris then quickly took note that the girls where all chatter right now, with Negi being at the middle of it, many of them even contemplating tossing him in the air as some kind of victory toss. However, Chris felt that he was quite done here as he smiled at the group and turned around and began to walk away. However, unexpectedly, he heard the sound of a familiar voice call out to him.

"Hey! Chris-kun!"

On reflex, Chris turned around and saw that Asuna had run up to him, curiosity in her eyes.

"Where are you going? Don't you wanna get in on the sports victory as well?"

"I don't think I deserve much in the way of praise Asuna-neechan. I didn't do much, and I honestly have to be getting back to work. I was still in the middle of my patrol job before you all called on me to help out."

Chris was going to leave it at that despite what Asuna was going to say, however, the twintail didn't seem to want to keep him as she let out a small sigh.

"Alright, if that's what you want. Though I do think you at least should be thanked for helping out when you didn't need to."

Chris smiled at her widely as he put his hands on the back of his head.

"It's cool. I might not have done it if Negi hadn't asked…. But your welcome in any case. Catch you later this evening, and keep up your studies m'kay?"

Chris waved Asuna goodbye as he left the area, only to come across Shizuna and Takahata staying out of sight of the group. Takahata stopped him on his way out, obviously wanting to say something.

"So Chris. How did your little dodgeball game go?"

"It was okay. Not like it was any of my business. Gotta admit though, that class is nothing but high energy. I don't know how you put up with them for so long Takamichi, which makes me feel sorry for Negi seeing as he'll be stuck with them for a while."

Takahata could only giggle along with Shizuna.

"They tend to be rather energetic, but it's not really a bad thing. I'm just happy to see them start to open up more with him."

Chris turned around to look at the group that was currently throwing Negi in the air, a smile growing on Chris's face.

"I think they treat him more like a little brother then a teacher though…"

"True enough… but enough about that Chris, I'm a little curious about that dodgeball game though. I remember a time when you would have been more than willing to flaunt your skills by decimating the whole team. In comparison to back then, you're really restrained."

Looking to Takamichi with a curious gaze, Chris started to scratch his own chin curiously before he gave an answer.

"I guess three months can really change a person. I've learned a little self-control since the last time you saw me."

Takahata nodded his head in answer, a lonely look on his face as he let out a small sigh.

"I suppose so, but it's a little lonely to see you start to grow up from the person you used to be."

Chris laughed out loud at that remark.

"Your starting to sound even older then you already are Takamichi. Don't start going senile on me now."

"He he… I'll try not to."

Chris smiled at both teachers before he stretched himself out a little bit and started to walk away.

"Anyway, I got work to do, so I'll see you both later. Have a good day!"

Takamichi and Shizuna waved Chris goodbye while the young man made his way back into the dressing room and swapped out the gym clothes Negi let him borrow back to his usual attire. After that it was a simple task of getting back out into the grounds and finishing up his actual job of patrolling. A job that was easily handled for the remainder of the day. Chris eventually got done with his job and made his way back to the dorm, where thankfully he was the only one present. Asuna, Konoka and Negi had apparently not gotten back yet, and Chris saw this as the perfect opportunity to go and do what he needed to at the spring he found earlier. However, he wasn't one to leave people he knew in the dark… intentionally at any rate. He found a sticky note on Asuna's desk (next to all her poorly graded quiz's) and decided to use that to write out a message saying he needed to head out to get some stuff done and that he would probably be back soon-ish. And with all that out of the way, Chris made his way out the door, a big grin on his face at the prospect of his new personal space.

Xx Sometime later xX

Akira Okochi considered herself a sane rational person. As a sane and rational person, it was normal for one to go out and about after club activities to do things that they needed to do. For her part, all she really had to do was pick up some olive oil for cooking. That's all really, but just like a sane and rational person would do, sometimes they had some other things one likes to do after the day is coming to a close. For her, Akira liked to go swimming. She loved to swim, it was as natural for her as breathing and moving. A small problem with that though was that she couldn't use the pool after hours seeing as it closed, and she had been lectured by Iincho on a number of occasions for using the giant bath as an indoor pool. So, she had taken it on herself to go and find a solution for that problem. That solution being a special little place on Mahora that she was sure only she knew about. She only happened upon it by accident, and she had been going to it long enough that she was 100% certain that only she used it. It always made her grin when she would think about it, that pond that just seemed so magical to her that it would always set her heart aflutter with anticipation. At that, Akira hurried her pace up, people not really questioning why a middle school girl was on the high school campus.

Eventually, Akira found that one spot in the trees she could pick out and double checked to make sure nobody was in the immediate vicinity. The coast being clear, Akira ducked into the woods, and for the next few minutes, quietly made her way to the pond. However, just before she got to it, she found a small but well secluded spot in some bushes so that should could undress. Its why she brought her bag after all, so her clothes wouldn't get dirty. Eventually she stripped out of everything, underwear included, and put it all in the bag. She did not, however, put anything back on. Akira, being a somewhat sane and rational person, found that she did not like to swim with clothing on. In truth, she found it limiting, and had a true desire to have the water touch every inch of her completely with nothing to hinder it. Society would consider this a violation of public decency. However, as long as she was out here where nobody came, Akira was free to swim as naked as she wished. With such thoughts, having been mulled over once again, Akira walked back out into the woods toward the pond, where she then cleared the brush and trees and came upon the beautiful reflecting waters, glittering in the sunlight as the rays seemed to hit it just right.

What she did not expect was that someone would be sitting on the edge of said pond with their legs in the water, almost as naked as she was save for the fact that this person was wearing boxers. For a moment, Akira was having some difficulty processing what it was she was looking at, but it hit her eventually. This person was Chris, the young man that had been on everyone's lips as of late along with Negi. However, her attention was quickly drawn to the… creature's sitting around his neck and on his shoulder. They happened to look like some kind of mermaid made of water and a winged fairy creature. It then became apparent to her that Chris was looking directly at her, a blank look that she was sure she was mirroring. The both of them sat there for a moment, examining the other until the full-on implication of this situation hit them both. The first to break the silence was Akira, who started to fluster loudly when she began flapping her arms around.

"Oh-Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, I had no idea someone was here already else I would have said something!"

Chris, for his part, had the shame to blush at more her reaction then her body and turned his eyes away from her as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"N-no, it's alright… I honestly should have been a little more careful. Even if this was a hidden pond, that doesn't mean that I was the first to discover it…"

Taking a quick peek, Chris quickly recognized the face of the girl in front of him with her long brown hair and rather kind face.

"Wait… Your Akira Okochi aren't you? Seat number six in Negi's class right?"

Akira stopped stammering for a moment as Chris called her out.

"Y-Yes. I am. And your Negi-sensei's friend? Chris-kun right?"

Aforementioned lad nodded his head as he gave her a smile. However, a moment later and Chris realized that the both of them where still fairly naked, his chest and in turn his scars exposed to her in all their rough glory. Feeling some panic rise up in his belly, Chris quickly got to his feet and ran over where his clothes where.

"I'm sorry, I'll get dressed right away!"

Noticing the trepidation in his voice, Akira spoke quickly.

"N-No! Your good, you don't have to get dressed or anything! You were here first after all! If anything, I should be the first one to leave!"

Chris, fumbling a bit with his clothes, simply grabbed the towel on the ground and threw it around his shoulders so that he could cover some of his torso up. He then turned around, trying to regain some control over his speeding panic, and shook his head.

"Nah, it's all cool. I was just about to head out!"

Akira, not really sure about what to say to the young man at this point as he tried to get dressed, decided to bring up the most unusual thing she was looking at right now in order to distract herself from this awkward situation.

"Um… Chris-kun… I don't know if I'm seeing things or if those just happen to be really weird animals… but what are those… creatures?"

For a hauntingly long second, Chris dreaded to turn around. However, he did in fact turn around to see that both Undine and Sylph where playing around with each other, not having a care in the world over the fact that a mundane was looking at them as if this was the first time she had ever seen elementals. However, the playful nature of the scene was lost on Chris as his mind just now started to work through the ramifications of what was happening.

'Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhit. I forgot to dismiss them!'

In his haste to cover himself, Chris had forgotten to put away two magical elemental spirits, and now Akira was looking at them dead on. Hoping beyond hope that maybe he could bullshit his way out of this, Chris thought quickly and went with the most logical explanation he could come up with in that moment.

"They happen to be a new species of animal."

Akira looked at the Sylph and Undine for a moment longer before she turned to Chris, speculation on her face.

"Not to be rude to you Chris-kun, but I don't believe a word of what you just said. I have never seen a fish look like a mermaid and be entirely made out of water, nor a humanoid bird thing in all the things I have ever read or studied."

'Great, I had to get someone with an actual brain.'

Seeing as the situation had taken a turn for the worst possible scenario, Chris could only sigh in defeat as he waved his hand at the two elementals.

"Alright, if you didn't believe the logical explanation, then I have no doubt you're going to call me crazy when I tell you the actual truth. Those are elemental spirits of water and air, an Undine and a Sylph."

For a moment, Akira looked back at the spirits, said creatures now floating back to Chris and landing on his either side of his shoulders.

"Like those things found in video games? Those elemental spirits?"

"If we wanna use game terminology, then yeah, those spirits."

Akira scrutinized the elementals for a few moments longer, the implications of something sounding so insane making at least some tiny bit of sense.

"Oddly enough, I can more believe that explanation then the one you gave me about them being animals. But… if what your saying is true…"

Akira left the question hanging, but Chris could only sigh, some realization and understanding coming into her eyes as she looked at Chris.

"I can see this is going to take a bit of context… so how about we both get dressed and I'll do you the courtesy of explaining? Of course… I'm not going to be all that broken up if you just wanted to stay that way while we talked."

Akira suddenly remembered that she was in fact, nude, and quickly covered her body in embarrassment. Chris could only chuckle to himself as the girl rushed out of his sight and hurriedly got dressed. Chris also got himself clothed, and by the time she got back, he was ready to start explaining. Sitting down on the bank, Chris motioned for her to sit as well. After the pair got comfortable, Chris sat Indian style while Akira went with traditional Seiza.

"Alright… so, as you have no doubt guessed Akira-chan, these creatures-" Chris motioned to the Sylph nestled in his hair while the undine was happily skimming the water's edge. "- are not by any definition normal. In fact, as you have no doubt come to the shaky conclusion, they are in fact creatures that show up in magical settings. Like Dungons&Dragons, Dragon quest, Final fantasy, and so on and so forth. Which leaves us to the fact that you are no doubt coming to question certain aspects of reality. Well, I'm going to go ahead and clear the fog for you. Yes, magic is real, and yes, I am a magus. Mage, sorcerer, Voodoo master, elementalist, practitioner of Thaumaturgy, Onmyodo, necromancy, and any other name you'd like to attach to the usage of magic. Regardless of what it's called, I'm probably doing it. Still with me?"

Akira blinked a few times before she hesitantly nodded her head.

"So far."

"Good! Now magic has existed for a long, long, loooooooooooooooooong ass time. In fact, it's been a part of this given reality since the dawn of human observation and will continue to do so after you, your children, your children's children and any descendants you'll have eventually kick the bucket. Amazing isn't it? The fact that magic is real and for the longest time, you mundanes have had no idea of its existence even to this day."

"A little bit, yes."

"That was a rhetorical question. However, that brings us to our current situation. Magic is kept secret for a reason, that reason being that public usage of magic would in theory create mass chaos if used by people who are less then admirable and create a string of useless misunderstandings in the eyes of mundanes everywhere."

Akira thought about that for a moment before she realized exactly what he was getting it.

"I'm not supposed to know about it, am I?"

Chris nodded his head.

"Correct. You see, under the laws of the new age practitioners, we're supposed to wipe the memory of anybody who has witnessed magic, and if baring that… take certain measures should the person be incapable of being wiped."

"What kind of… measures."

Rather than explain it, Chris put his thumb up to his throat and slowly slid it across while making a choked noise.

"The chop."

Akira shivered at the thought and just now started to realize that she just might be in trouble. Holding her hands to her chest, hands clasped together in worry, Akira swallowed.

"So… then… you're going to have to wipe my memory… or… kill me?"

Chris looked her up and down for a moment, contemplating that question for a moment before he thought of something.

"Well… you see… in my case… I'm a little special. In accordance to the rules, I have to do either of those things… but! That's if I considered myself a practitioner of new age Thaumaturgy, of which I am, but I actually would be considered a user of old magic."

"Old… magic?"

"It would take a long time to explain all of that. But, being a user of old magic, I'm actually allowed to give you a choice in regards to this discovery of yours. I can either, A: allow you the choice of one of the first two options, or B: in accordance with the laws of Old magic, swear you to an oath of secrecy, and in exchange for your silence I will teach you anything and everything you would ever want to know about magic whether in terms of the old or new. The choice is yours in this regard. So… what do you want to do?"

Akira looked at Chris, but only in half that regard as her mind started to spin. This wasn't something she had been expecting to happen when she came out here today, and this sudden discovery left her reeling at the fact that reality was not quite as set in stone as she had been lead to believe. A moment later and a thought crossed her mind (not as if she was holding off on answering a question that would determine her fate, no sir, not at all!).

"Wait… if you're a mage… then does that mean… Negi-sensei is one as well?"

"Astute. You would be correct. However, unlike myself, Negi is a user of new age magic, and thus he would be limited to the first two options… though I know for a fact that he's far to kind hearted to do the second option at all, and it would seem his memory magic isn't working as well as expected."

Akira titled her head in curiosity at Chris's implied statement.

"Not working as intended? What does that mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds. You're not the first person on this campus… hell, your class to find out about magic. Someone else found out about myself and Negi, and when he tried to wipe her memory… well, it didn't go over so well. I personally think Negi somehow cursed Asuna-chan to forever be naked when he happens to need to sneeze."

Akira's eyes widened at the mention of Asuna.

"What option did Asuna go with?"

"None of them, I wasn't the one found out, hence Asuna knows without repercussions. Now, not to be rude, but we're still talking about your own current situation. I need you to make a decision… like… now. Cause if we get discovered, then I'll have to act on the first two options."

"I… so soon? Can I get a little time to think?"

"Again, not wanting to be abrupt here, but if you don't decide now, I'll decide for you."

Akira felt she was at a loss. It seemed that no matter what she picked, the repercussions would affect her in some way regardless of how she tried to act. Letting out a small sigh, Akira decided to give her answer now.

"Um… I guess… um… actually, this mind wipe thing… how far back are we talking in terms of memory loss? Would you just wipe the memories from the last few minutes?"

Chris didn't answer that immediately. However, Akira could see that he had tensed up, and he looked as if this option was the most troublesome of the two (No one would willingly choose to die after all.)

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… well… in regards to the actual effect… in theory, I would wipe your memory of the last few minutes and we would be done… in theory."

"You said 'in theory' twice. Why does that not sound like a good thing."

Chris was starting to sweat bullets at this point. However, even he wasn't going to keep the truth from someone who asked honestly, no matter how embarrassing the answer was.

"I'm terrible at memory wipes. If I happened to make one wrong move while I did it, I could potentially wipe your mind blank. You'd be a living vegetable. And that's with new age magic. If I ended up using Old magic, I would have to call on a god or goddess of memory or dreams, and those deities tend to ask for exorbitant prices. Things I'm either not willing to give up, or can't give up. But if you want a memory wipe then I suppose we can risk-"

Akira panicked at the sounds of those options and waved her hands quickly.

"No thanks! Lets just go with the third option, shall we?"

Chris nodded his head sagely, as if this was wise words coming from her mouth.

"I figured as such. Now! In order for that to happen, we need to exchange a contract… so, if you would just wait a moment here and I'll get it all set up…"

Akira watched the young man get up and begin to etch something in the dirt about five feet in diameter. At first, she just assumed he was making a simple circle, though not wrong, the etching went much much further than that. For the next few minutes, Akira watched him carve in sigils and images that she couldn't even begin to understand and eventually Chris stood up to admire his handy work. He then walked into the circle itself and turned around to face the center, gesturing Akira over as he did.

"Alright, this looks good. Okay Akira-chan! Come on over and stand in the circle across from me if you would please."

For a moment, Akira contemplated if she shouldn't risk the memory wipe, everything about this feeling more or less like a thing out of a game. However, she had the distinct feeling that Chris wasn't going to entertain the idea anymore. Letting out a long sigh, Akira steeled herself for what would come next and walked into the circle with him. Unlike what she was expecting though, nothing happened at first, and she curiously looked down at the sigils. A moment later and Chris's voice brought her attention back to him.

"It's not activated yet if that's what you're wondering. Anyway, I need you to give me your hands please."

Curious, Akira did as he asked and held out her hands face up. What she was not expecting next was for him to turn her hands palms down and then interlock his fingers with hers. For a moment, Akira felt a blush come onto her face and tried to pull her hands away on instinct alone. However, she felt great strength in his hands as she tried, and she suddenly realized that Chris was a lot stronger than his body would suggest.

"Hey hey, come on Akira-chan. I can't do this properly if you try to break away from me."

"Sorry… I just didn't expect you to… well… hold my hands…"

Chris cocked his eyebrow in curiosity before he realized what it was she was getting at.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Sorry, guess I should have been a little more tactful there. Relax though, this will only take a minute at most. Put up with it until then 'aight?"

Akira looked to Chris for a moment before she took in a deep breath and tried to relax herself, telling herself that it was simply a momentary thing and that she should relax a little. Chris smiled at her for a moment before he closed his eyes and dipped his head. For a minute or two, nothing seemed to happen, and Akira was feeling her cheeks flush more and more with each passing moment. Akira was about to say something before the ground, most notably the magic circle they were standing in, burst into light. Akira tried to pull away to cover her eyes on reflex, but Chris kept her hands held tight, stopping her from doing just that. All she could do was close her eyes, but by then, the light had faded to a dim glow on the ground, each rune and line glowing brightly. Chris looked back up at her, but Akira was surprised to see that his eyes had changed color, instead of being the usual violet color, they were now a deep blue. On a more terrifying note though, Akira also saw that Chris's sclera had turned black, like a night sky had come around those irises of his. As if sensing her sudden alarm, Chris kept on smiling at her.

"Relax. The change in our eyes will be gone when the spell is done."

Akira blinked in surprise at his suggestion and she almost let go to touch her face to see if Chris was telling the truth. However, Chris let out a low sigh as he began reciting something she couldn't even begin to understand.

"[O Lord Mithra, binder of contracts and keeper of vows, let these words be heard on this day. I beseech you, O Lord of the Covenant, to bind the words of this oath to our soul, so that in hopes a friendship is born, and your might is honored. I swear on my name that should Akira Okochi-"

Her name was the only thing she understood in all that, and the moment he uttered it, she felt something like chains wrap around her body, and when she looked, she saw bindings of light around her legs and arms. However, Chris wasn't done, and she could only continue to look on at him, fear growing in her chest at what she just got herself into.

"- Break the terms of this vow, that your judgment will be fair, and that should I fail to uphold my own end of this bargain, that your judgment will be swift. With these words, I bring together our vow, with these contracts, our will be set. May this pact be honored. May this Vow be upheld. On the name of Chris Abernathy, may this Contract be completed!]"

A moment later and the very chains that Akira felt on her body where also on Chris, but oddly enough, she could have sworn she saw… words etched into the links. Even more surprising was when a chain formed between them both. Akira felt the bindings on her body tighten further, and a moment later, they vanished in a flash of light along with the circle they sat on. Akira was surprised at first, but she felt Chris let go of her hand and watched him stand back up, his eyes normal and a smile on his face.

"Alright! That should wrap all that up! So! What did you think Akira-chan? How was your first real taste of magic?"

Okochi blinked a few times in utter surprise before she slowly looked down at herself. She didn't see any chains or the like still on her, and if Chris was telling the truth, her eye color was also back to normal. Patting herself one more time for good measure, Akira stood up and looked to Chris nervously.

"It was… well, Amazing honestly. If not somewhat scary. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was incredible to look at. But… what happens now?"

Chris stretched his arms out and then pointed to Akira.

"Well, that kinda depends on you Akira-chan. Under the rules of the Contract, you're not allowed to reveal magic to those who don't already know about it. In return, anything and everything you could ever want to know about magic is right at your fingertips. I can tell you anything you would ever want to know… or, if you felt like it, never ask about it and get on with your daily life. The choice is yours. However, just know that under old magic oaths, your technically my apprentice. So I'm somewhat bound to teach you something in the ways of the arcane arts."

Akira blinked in surprised, but she furrowed her brow in worry.

"Um… well… that sounds… well… troublesome for you doesn't it? I mean… I don't even know what to think about all this… Just this morning magic was the last thing on my mind. But by the end of the day I learn it's undeniably real? It's… well, it's a lot to take in."

Chris nodded slowly as he gave her an understanding look.

"That's alright. You don't have to make any kind of decision if you don't want to. But, if your ever in the mood to learn something, hell, if you even wanted ask silly questions, give me a call or look for me in Asuna and Konoka's room. I'll explain what happened to Negi and Asuna so that they know your also in on it, so feel free to ask them things as well… though technically Asuna doesn't know anything more than you do. Other than that, it might be best if we started to get back."

Akira didn't find any flaws in that logic and after checking herself one more time, started to gather up her things. However, before she could gather the rest of her things, the sound of someone sounding out a mystified hum behind her caused her to look and see Chris staring at her curiously. Somewhat confused about this, Akira spoke up.

"Whats wrong?"

"… It's not so much as something wrong so much as I had a question. Why, when you came to the pool, where you naked?"

Akira let the question float in her head for a few more moments before she felt her face turn bright red.

"Uh… um… well… the thing is… you see…"

Trying to find some way to explain this, Akira tried to go over what words to use. That is until Chris answered for her.

"According to your reaction, you were planning on swimming naked, is that right?"

Akira felt that she would have very much liked to die in that moment. She would absolutely love to deny that, but so long as Chris was being honest, she thought it would be best if she did the same.

"…Yes…"

Where she was perhaps expecting a laugh or some lewd grin of sorts from Chris, instead, all she got was a simple nod out of him.

"Alright, that's cool. I don't judge someone's hobbies or habits, and I don't plan on starting today. Anyway, I'm going to go on ahead. Have a good rest of the day Akira-chan!"

Chris waved at Akira once with a smile and left the confused girl behind as he made his way right back to the dorm room. When he got back, he was partially interrogated by Konoka, though she didn't press the issue when he said that it was mostly a guy thing. Konoka left it at that, though she wasn't happy about the vague answer and made her way to the bath to get ready, leaving Chris, Negi, and Asuna all in the room. Checking to make sure that this was out of ear shot, Chris closed the door and went to the couch, a nervous voice uncharacteristically coming from his mouth.

"So… Negi… Asuna-neesan… wanna hear something interesting that happened to me today?"

Hope you liked it!