Hey everybody!
It's me again!
Sorry about the delay, but life... hasn't been very kind to me right now. It's not been easy to find the time to write this, but I'm hoping that with a more rigid schedual finally in place, I'll finally have more time to write! So good on that at least right?
Anyway, time for some of the usual!
'Thoughts'
'Emphasis'
[Things in other languages]
ARSLOTHES- Well consider it done! And I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!
Chapter 6
"M'kay, You ready Akira-chan?"
Looking across the table with a hint of some fear and apprehension, Akira hesitantly nodded her head.
"As ready as I'll ever be at this point."
Chris nodded his head in understanding of her determination. He then looked down at the mock test sheet he had in his hand and nodded his head with as much of a neutral expression as he could muster.
"You got a score of 78. Not bad, but you could do better."
Akira let a sigh out as she slumped her head.
"I know… Honestly, when your trying so hard for someone else, you really start to feel the pressure… When it was just me I didn't care all that much about it… but sense Negi-sensei's job depends on class 2-A getting out of last place…"
Chris smiled at Akira, impressed by her willingness to help others despite the sacrifice to herself. It was mid-afternoon of Sunday, the day just before the exam. Chris had heard that the girls really gave it their all yesterday with the study session, but he had been surprised when Akira had texted him earlier that morning and asked him if he would be willing to help her study for a little bit today. He had been preparing to teach her what she might want to know about magic, but she had asked him to help her in academics instead. Despite it not being part of the contract, Chris opted to help her out. Eventually, most of the morning had led to just him teaching her all the little things that might be helpful in a test until he the mock test he had her take an hour ago. She hadn't needed the whole hour, but she had cut it a little close. Putting the paper back on the table, Chris turned his attention back to Akira.
"That's a feeling most people get when they happen to be relied on Akira-chan."
"Oh, I know that Chris-kun, I'm used to having people rely on me… but I guess it's just the seriousness of this one time that's really getting to me…"
Chris started to stroke his chin in some thought as he nodded.
"I see… It's understandable. Your actions will affect others after all. But Akira-chan, don't stress yourself out so much. Ultimately, this still falls on Negi, and I get the feeling he's doing his best with the Baka rangers. Just do the best you can, don't work yourself to death doing it though."
Akira couldn't help but smile at him in return.
"I'll try not to. Thank you for your concern."
Chris nodded in affirmation of her words before he stood back up and stretched himself out.
"Well, I think you've done enough in the studying department. Want me to teach you some magic to take your mind off of it?"
Akira, curious, looked over at Chris.
"Any spells that can make me smarter?"
"Ha! Yeah there are. I wouldn't recommend any from the new magic side of things though."
"Why."
"There happens to be this one spell called the 'Gray Cell spell'. Super enhances your brain to pick up and understand information at super human speeds. Problem with it is that it never stops super processing, and after a month, sometimes a month in a half, your brain shuts down and turns into a vegetable for the rest of your life… Wanna try it?"
Akira felt the blood drain from her face before she quickly shook her head.
"No Thank you… How about something that doesn't turn me brain dead?"
Smiling to himself, Chris tapped his chin for a moment before an idea came to mind.
"Ah-ha! How bout a charm? I have just the one if you're interested."
Cocking her head to the side curiously, Akira nodded her head in answer. A moment later and Chris walked away from the table humming to himself and went to one of the shelves.
"Just a minute… I need to find some material… ah-ha! Here we go."
Akira watched Chris almost trip over himself in trying to get back to the table, where he then placed a small silver/gray stone on the table. Curious, Akira reached out to grab hold of it, but Chris stopped her.
"Hold up, don't touch it yet. I'm going to show you how to engrave spells into items."
"Spells?"
"You know those charms you normally can buy from hawkers with 'guaranteed' results of love and fortune and all that? Well I'm going to show you how to do it properly, not just engrave a cool symbol into something and call it a charm. No, I'm going to show you real magic."
Feeling somewhat excited, Akira watched Chris set himself down properly before he placed both his hands around the stone. He then took a deep breath and began to concentrate deeply. For a moment, nothing happened, but Akira noticed that something began to form around his hands. It took her a moment, but she quickly came to the conclusion that it was light. Unexpectedly, undine sprouted from between his hands, and Akira watched on in fascination as the water elemental began to weave itself between his fingers, grabbing at the light and connecting it to the stone in some strange way. Akira held her breath, her wonder at this scene drawing her full attention into it before suddenly, Chris gripped his fingers tightly and the stone shot into the air before it landed back on the table loudly, causing Akira to jump almost equally as high. Chris brought his attention to the swimmer and gave her a beaming smile.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but want to tease you there. The stone normally doesn't jump like that when you get done, I just did that part myself."
Akira gave him a cross look, but she brought her attention back to the stone on the table and saw that the surface wasn't smooth anymore. To her, it looked like an angular 'P' had been engraved into it, but she wasn't sure what it meant. Chris reached across the table and picked it up and began to eyeball it.
"… Perfect! Here you go, one charm for knowledge."
Taking it from his hands gently, Akira eyed it for a moment before she gave him a smile in return.
"Thank you Chris-kun… but… if you don't mind my asking, what did you do exactly, and what does it do?"
"I'll answer the second question first since it's the shorter answer. It does exactly like you want it to. It makes you smarter… to a degree at least. It won't make you super smart or anything, but more like make you able to learn and recall knowledge more easily. I don't want you to cheat after all."
Akira sheepishly smiled at him on that remark, but listened intently as he continued his explanation.
"Now, as for the other question, All I did was imbued the charm with a hint of 'knowledge' Or more precisely, I asked a spirit of knowledge to bless it. Thankfully for you, Undine represents this in some aspects, hence why the effect is much weaker than if I had asked a god to bless it. Basically, I asked Undine to grant it a small favor and thus using the ruin of OS, Celtic for 'knowledge', it gains its effect. Pretty great, right?"
Akira looked back down at the charm in her hands and began to ponder on that, the fact that she was holding an actual item of magic filling her with some semblance of awe, but at the same time, she was curious to check and see how well it might work.
"So… how do I know if it works?"
"Easy, we can go somewhere with a bunch of books and you can study something. Not your schoolwork though, you need a break from that. Happen to know of any good libraries?"
Akira quickly gave him an answer.
"Library island is a good start. It's a little out of the way, but I don't see why we shouldn't go."
"Alright then! Library island it is! Go ahead and start getting ready and we'll leave in a few minutes. I'll meet you outside."
Akira nodded in affirmation before she stood up and went back to her room. Chris, having watched her go, got himself up and began to get himself ready to go. However, as he was in the middle changing into his cloak, a thought came to him.
"Huh… who says we need to show her just one thing regarding magic today?... He he, I have an idea."
Grinning to himself, he went to the front hall closet and pulled out something before quickly making his way outside and waiting for Akira to get done. Eventually, aforementioned swimmer made it outside, where a very odd sight greeted her. For the first few moments or so, she could only stare with a blank look on her face. Eventually though, her natural curiosity caused her to break her vigilant perplexity.
"Chris-kun… why are you holding a broom?"
Grinning at her, Chris twirled the broom in his hands before he tapped the ground with the head.
"Easy, rather than do the boring thing and walk to library island, we're going to fly there."
Akira blinked in the face of Chris's eagerness before she slowly opened her mouth.
"Come again?"
"I'mma show you how to fly Akira-chan."
"That's what I thought you said."
"Well you heard right, so come on over and let me show you how it's done!"
Not sure of how best to process this, Akira did as she was told and came up next to Chris, who then shoved the broom in her hands.
"Alright, now put it between your legs as if your riding it."
For a moment, Akira had thought of something else entirely when he said that and a small blush covered her face before she mentally chastised herself for thinking something so indecent. She then did as she was asked and felt rather silly when she did. Like a small child pretending to be a witch.
"Um… now what?"
"Now, we do a little magic and see where it gets us."
Not sure what he meant by that, Akira simply watched on as Chris took a deep breath. Next thing she knew, a slight breeze blew when he exhaled and a fairy looking creature seemed to come out of nowhere and flew around Akira once before it flew to Chris's shoulder and perched there. For a moment, Chris and the fey spoke to each other in a language she couldn't understand before he smiled happily and ran up behind Akira and hopped on along with her.
"Wha-"
"[HOLD ON TO YOUR HORSES!]"
Next thing she knew, the ground was gone from beneath her feet and the force of the ascent pushed her against the handle of the broom clenched tightly in her hands. As she went up, Akira couldn't help but notice the sound of someone screaming. It took her a second to realize that the screaming was coming from her. The stop was just as sudden as the ascent, and the force of the break would have thrown her off if Chris hadn't put his arms around her middle, where his surprising strength kept her firmly rooted in place.
"Ha ha! Sorry about that Akira-chan!"
However, all he got out of her was a shivering of her body along with an almost mechanical slow turning of her head. Her face was plastered in fright as she happened to look down, and the look of her eyes told him that she wasn't sure if she should keep screaming in terror or project a semblance of her anger and frustration at him. Deciding that he had messed with her enough, Chris gave her an apologetic look and hugged her close.
"Sorry… I guess I went a little far there. How about we just get to library island now eh?"
"Can we not fly there?"
"I promise it won't be as bad as the take-off. I'll hold you close and make sure you don't fall off okay? I promise as your master to never do anything that would hurt you."
Despite the fear of the last few minutes, Akira went against her better judgment and decided to believe Chris's words.
"Alright… just… no more surprises today okay? Or else I'll seriously start to dislike you."
Giving her a gentle smile, Chris pat her leg as if to reassure her of his word.
"Well, it would be rather uncomfortable for me if my apprentice came to dislike her master. Anyway, let's get moving shall we? Don't worry, you may be in the front, but I'm the one actually controlling this thing with Sylphs power."
Noticing how Akira tensed up body at his words, Chris quickly decided to add in something to assuage her fears.
"I promise I'll make it a gentle ride."
Akira couldn't help but feel just a little suspicious of his words, but at the same time, she had started to understand that he did lot of things out of a sense just wanting to be funny. Letting her suspicion go, Akira was rewarded for her trust with a very gentle and very nice ride in the sky from the dorms to Library Island. Despite the incredible height they were at, she couldn't help but look around her in wonder at the ability to fly without being in a plane. Noticing her awe at the space around her, Chris couldn't help but smile.
"Enjoying the view? Just be careful okay. I'm using Sylph to make us fly and I'm also casting a kind of charm to prevent us from losing our balance, but if you fall and I don't catch you… but let's not dwell on that. I'm sure you have a question about this process."
Akira once again found that Chris had taken the element of surprise out of her question and couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't in fact reading her mind.
"Yes Actually… it involves old magic and new magic in this process. Is being able to fly different between the two?"
"No, not really. The only difference is the source. A new age mage can just supply his own magic while old style mages use another spirits power. Obviously, it has to be a Sylph or other related wind spirits… however unlike new age magic, old magic can't really cast a spell on something to make it fly. It's one instance you'll find where new age magic beats old magic in terms of utility. As a matter of fact, my cloak actually has a number of enchantments cast on it, one of them being flight."
Curious, Akira looked over her shoulder at Chris, yet another question on her lips.
"Then why use Sylph to fly?"
"Because sylph really gets antsy if not let out to fly. Under its own power or by helping another, the spirit gets what it wants in the end. I have to appease the spirits under my care or our relationship will get rocky. With this kind of power in my hands, I have to make sure the source is treated well, you understand."
"I believe so… give and take?"
"Pretty much. But for me it tends to be a little more special."
"Why is that?"
"I'll explain it later. For now though, let's just say I have a way with otherworldly creatures. By the way… the island in the middle of the lake there, is that Library island?"
Akira brought her head back to the front and saw what he was looking at.
"Yes, that it is."
"Great! Lets just circle around a few times to find a good spot to land."
"Um… I have another question actually."
Chris brought his attention back to Akira and gave her back a quizzical look.
"One more."
"How do people not see us? Are we invisible?"
Chris chuckled to himself at that one before he answered her.
"Not really invisible. More like we look like something else. If people took the time to look beyond their feet, all they would see of us is a bird. Any mage worth his salt should be able to do that in his sleep. I know you might have a few more questions, but save em for a little later and help me look for a spot to land."
Nodding her head in agreement, Akira did just that. A minute or two later, and what she happened to spy wasn't a landing spot, but a group of people somewhere on the outer skirts of the Libraries boundary.
"Chris-kun… I see people down there."
Bringing his attention to where she was looking, Chris saw the group she was talking about. However, at the same time she realized it, Chris saw something about them that he didn't expect.
"Isn't that…"
"It's Negi-Sensei and the Baka Rangers!"
"So it is… why are the girls in their knickers?"
"Knickers?"
"Underwear."
Akira blushed a little at the mention, but she shook her head.
"Ah…I have no idea why…"
"Well, let's find out why then shall we?"
Chris circled around the library once to find a spot close enough to talk to the group, but not to be seen landing. He found the ideal area and the two of them touched down far more gently then when they had taken off. Not sure what to do with the Broom, Chris told Akira to leave it behind a tree so that they could pick it up when they leave. Taking a moment to figure out where Negi's group would be, Chris and Akira made it seem as if they had heard voices and had come to investigate. Chris, after having rounded the corner cocked his eyebrow in mock surprise upon seeing the group.
"Ah-ha! Well look who it is! Been gone for a total of… 3 days now if I count correctly and I find you looking like this? If I didn't know any better, me thinks that something illicit might be happening between teacher and student Negi."
Despite the initial surprise of another voice catching the girls unaware, Negi was only confused momentarily until he saw who it was that had addressed them.
"Ah! Chris!"
"In the flesh. Mind explaining why ya'll have been missing for almost 3… well technically 2 and a half days now… and why everyone is almost naked?"
The next hour was spent with Negi explaining what all had transpired, with both males going out to make a quick clothing run (Chris was not happy about spending money on clothes that weren't for himself) and eventually getting the Baka Rangers taken care of and escorted back to the dorms (Chris and Akira had to put the whole library island thing on hold for the time being) until eventually the whole of the situation was thoroughly explained to one. Chris, who had been helping to get the girls back in their rooms and ready for the upcoming day. After finally getting Negi, Asuna, and Konoka back into their homely abode (upon which Konoka pretty much zonked out on the bed the moment she hit it) Chris dragged both Asuna and Negi to the coffee table to get a decent explanation out of the both of them. He knew what had happened to them, but not all the details that had lead up to the current rescue. It didn't take very long since Negi had been explaining what he could from the start of the hour, but Asuna also felt the need to add her own little snippets of input in as well. After hearing all he could from the both of them, Chris folded his arms across his chest and gave the both of them a gaze filled with genuine interest.
"That is a hell of a tale you two. The fact you guys managed to get any studying in is actually pretty amazing. On that note…"
Chris turned his attention back to Asuna, the girl looking ready to doze off any second before the sound of his voice brought her back to the conscious realm.
"How do you think you'll fare on tomorrows test Asuna-neechan?"
"Uhhhhhhhhhhh… Passing… I hope?"
Chris could only cringe at her words.
"Ugh… well… I guess so long as you barely pass you'll do fine… I managed to get the other girls in the class to study well enough over the past few days, so I have some hope there. Let me pull out a quick study plan of stuff I'm about eighty five percent certain is going to be on the test tomorrow…"
Chris reached into his cloak and pulled out a study guide for Asuna to look at.
"Do with it what you will. Study it tonight if you want, but I would recommend that you at least give it a look over once. Most importantly though Asuna-neechan… get some sleep, your dozing pretty bad as is."
Asuna caught herself just as she was about to fall onto the coffee table, however, the sight of the study guide partially woke her up.
"Nah… I think I'm going to try to study a bit more… I'm the stupid one in our class after all, so I need to try my hardest."
Chris gave her a nod, his respect for her going up a bit more with her work ethic and left her to it as she took the guide and went to her desk to read over it. That left Negi and Chris by themselves at the table, with Negi looking worriedly over at Asuna who had just sat down, and Konoka who was out like a light on her bed. Chris noticed his gaze and simply shook his head.
"Relax Negi. You've done everything you can at this point. Just try your hardest to believe in the effort you put in, and the determination of the girls."
Negi brought his attention back to Chris and looked at him for a moment before he gave his friend a small smile.
"You're right… all I can do is believe in them at this point…"
"Right? Now you go on ahead and get some sleep as well. You guys have had a trying last few days, and the least you can get after all of that is a small rest before your real challenge tomorrow."
Negi nodded in agreement before he got up and made his way to the restroom to get himself ready. Chris, for his part, took one last look at Asuna who was actually staying awake to read the reference book before he decided to go ahead and get himself ready for bed.
"Well… I can only hope it works out…"
Xx The next day xX
Chris could only run with a blank stare on his face, the annoyance very plain in his eyes despite the expressionless he had on his face.
"Ya'll are super lucky I didn't work today or your asses would be in even more trouble than what you're going to get just for being this late. Seriously, how do you manage to oversleep till 12:30? You owe me for this."
Asuna could only grimace as she ran ahead of the baka rangers, her clear distaste of owing Chris anything quite evident.
"I get it! That's the 4th time you've mentioned it on the way here! I'll pay you back with my soul or something just let it drop already!"
"Be careful what you say Asuna-neechan. I may just hold you to your word."
Feeling that Chris might actually take her soul in payment, Asuna shut up. However, Yue, who was currently on the back of Kaede due to the fact that her leg was still messed up, let out a loud sigh at the two of them.
"As funny as it is to listen to the both of you flirting with each other, could you pay less attention to each other and more on the road? We're almost to the school building."
Noticing what Yue was talking about, the group saw that they were already on the steps to the school building. Thankfully, someone from class 2-A noticed them and told them that the test had already started, spurring the girls the last little leg of the trip until they were greeted by Instructor Nitta.
Asuna was the first to say something in an attempt to make the man a little more sympathetic to them.
"S-Sorry we're late… Yue here injured her leg."
The man looked back to Yue.
"Do you need to go to the Hospital?"
"N-No Sensei… I'll be alright."
"Very well then. Since you all are late, you'll have to take the test in another classroom."
All the girls nodded in understanding, there actual demeanor looking rather worn out. Chris was quick to notice this, but honestly couldn't find the words to spur them on a little more. He had no idea if they had gone to bed on time, but he got the feeling they tried to get some more studied in last minute. Negi, however, felt that he needed to say something to them.
"H-Hold on for a second!"
The girls stopped for a moment to see Negi, who was trying really hard to come up with something to say. Eventually he stopped thinking about it and decided to go with what he thought would be best.
"Everyone! Please do your best on the test! I'm sorry I lost the magic book, if I hadn't been dragging my feet then…"
Negi left the rest of his words unsaid, but at the same time, it was easy to see that he felt pretty responsible for what had happened. The girls could see this as well and tried to put on equally brave faces.
"Don't worry negi-sensei!"
"Yeah! Leave it to us!"
"We'll manage even without the magic book!"
"Thanks for taking the time to study with us De Gozaru."
"Ha… ha ha ha…"
The laughter was lackluster at best. Chris cocked his eyebrow up in amusement at the way things looked.
"Wow Negi, could you have been anymore unconvincing?"
All Chris got for his words was a light whack on the head from Asuna.
"Cut that out Chris. He's tried his best these last few days after all. And Negi? Don't beat yourself up over it, that's my job after all. Plus, I threw the book away, so that's my fault. We'll be fine okay?"
Negi couldn't help but be hesitant over it.
"O-Okay then Asuna-san…"
With a nod from her head and one final cheer from the rest of the group (barely loud enough to count as raising your voice) the girls made their way inside, walking with a woozy gait as they did. For a moment, Chris didn't say anything, but he couldn't hold it in for long.
"Ya know Negi, I can believe as much as I want to for them to pass, but to put it plainly… they look like shit. Forget passing, they might get tossed back to elementary school."
"Funny story behind that now that you mention it… but I agree with you. They are not up for this right now…"
Chris and Negi let out a small sigh at this new information, but after a few more minutes, they both followed along into the building. They didn't immediately go to the classroom, but Negi hung his coat up and took a look at anything on his desk that required his immediate attention. Thankfully there wasn't and by the time they got done, the actual test had started. Chris followed Negi to where the latecomers where currently testing. Sadly, the only ones in the room where all of Negi's group. However, even from outside the room, Negi and Chris could see that the girls looked really wore out. Hell, Yue looked like she was falling back to sleep with the pencil still in her hands. Chris let his discomfort be known when he spoke up.
"Eugh… they don't look much better now than they did 10 minutes ago…"
"Your right Chris… 3 days of underground exploring and studying was too much for them… but… I can't make them smarter or anything… but a maybe a little pick-me up should help them along?"
Chris, curious about the choice of words, looked over to see Negi had pulled a small flower from somewhere with the words of a spell already being muttered. Chris recognized the spell instantly, seeing as Negi would use it often when he, Anya, and Chris would be up all-night studying.
"I see… little pick-me up should be just in the bounds of not cheating. I guess leave it to them at this point eh?"
"Right… I've done everything I can at this point. Now we hope."
"And Pray."
Chris and Negi couldn't help but smile a bit at that before they left the area so that Negi could help round up the test scores when the classes where done. Chris, not seeing much else to do with his time here, parted with Negi and spent the rest of the day going to train at the pond in the high schoolers area. Thankfully the actual test results wouldn't be posted until tomorrow afternoon, so this left plenty of time for the rest to stew and panic over what they did or didn't do right. He wasn't going to fret over it though as none of it was really his issue. Floating along the surface of the pond, Chris couldn't help but let out a sigh to himself.
"Well… It's not like anything about it really affects me at all. If Negi fails, he fails, doesn't detract from my own assignment. Honestly… I would like to see him pass though. What do you think Sylph? Will he pass or not?"
The wind spirit hovered over his head for a moment, as if to see what he had said was anything relating to an order. When it found it wasn't, all it did was smile brightly before it started to fly around again.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Xx The next day. (day the exams are posted) xX
"Man, you people get worked up over the weirdest things."
Chris said as he sat down on a bench. In front of him, the Baka rangers along with several members of the library exploration team where around Negi, who was currently looking about as nervous as a girl at her first prom. Currently, they were all looking at the large screen being set up in the main school building outside of the café. Here the results of yesterday's tests would be announced, telling everyone which class scored high or low this semester. Everyone from 2-A was hoping it would be in not-last-place. Chris However, was more curious about the betting pool going on, but only for a moment before Asuna's voice caught his attention.
"This school has always been like this. Everyone gets rowdy over something. Even for something like this."
"Huh… I see."
He wasn't really interested in the reasons truth be told. However, he was curious about the scoring, which they were fixing to announce in about five minutes. Standing back up, Chris walked over to his friend and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Feeling nervous?"
Negi nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, very."
Chris nodded his own head as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, all we can do is just wait at this point I suppose."
Konoka, who had been eavesdropping on the two boys, came over and ruffled Negi's hair warmly to bolster his spirits.
"It'll be okay Negi-kun. Everyone did their best. I have no doubt we'll be out of last place."
Negi, warmed by her gesture, smiled up at her, a little more hope coming back into his spirit. Chris, on the other hand, interrupted the two when he saw the announcer getting on the platform.
"Well, we're about to find out what your best amounts to Konoka-neechan. They're about to start."
Seeing that he was right, the rest of the girls turned their attention to the announcer just as she began talking.
"Good Afternoon everybody! Today is the day we reveal the overall test aptitude for all the girls second year middle school classes! Since everyone seems to eager to hear their scores. lets go ahead and get down to it! But first, the overall average of the entire division was 73.4!"
The girl looked down at a note in her hand and began to talk.
"The award to top class this year iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssss…"
For a moment, all the baka rangers where looking hopeful, that is until the announcement was made.
"Class 2-F with an average of 80!"
"GAH!"
All the girls pulled an anime styled fall while Chris gave them all a rather dubious stare.
"Ya'll weren't honestly expecting first place where you? Hard work produces results, not miracles."
"Even if it's true, you don't have to be so negative about it aru~…"
Despite that, the announcements continued, and for all intents and purposes, all the hope that 2-A had was draining as quickly as the announcements where being made. By the time tenth place had been announced (2-M), even Chris was starting to feel nervous about the girl's chances.
"This is not turning out the way I expected."
Negi, who was even more nervous than the girls themselves, couldn't help but be curious about Chris's words.
"How did you expect it to turn out?"
"Well… at least in the top 15… oh look they just announced 15. Spoiler alert, It's not your class."
Eventually, the pit of despair had grown so big that everyone in the baka rangers was starting to panic. Finally, the announcer was at the last three slots before fate was decided. Makie, looking incredibly worried, looked to Asuna for answers.
"Hey wait a second! We haven't been called at all yet even though we did our best!"
"Re-relax, we still got three classes to go."
"Actually Asuna-neechan, it's two. Class 2-P just took 22nd place."
The Rangers panic was palpable at this point.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! If we don't get the next spot, then we're dead last for sure!"
Chris, who had stopped paying attention to the board, looked over to see Negi, who looked very worried at this point. But even more then him, Asuna looked guilty. Chris honestly wasn't sure what to do now. This wasn't really his issue, but despite his constant self-denial of Negi's issue not something he worried about, he couldn't help but worry over his friends future. Sadly, the next name to come up on the list pretty much crushed all hope.
"And with a low average of 69.5 points is 2-K! Please try harder next time."
Chris turned to look at the girls, and honestly would have laughed at all of their stark white expressions if Negi hadn't been sharing it with them. However, Negi came out of it much faster than the rest of them, but the look of acceptance on his face told Chris everything before Negi turned around and walked away. Chris honestly felt he should have stopped him, but at the same time, he didn't know what he could say to him. He was conflicted before he suddenly thought of something. Chris turned around and tapped Asuna on the hip, catching her attention and forcing her to look away from the screen.
"Huh? What? Chris-kun? What do you… wait, where's Negi?"
"He took off."
"He what?! No! he can't! this isn't right! We have to-"
"Asuna! Asuna! I get it! I plan on doing something to help him out, but I need you to do something for me okay?"
Asuna stopped what she was going to say, the fact that Chris had a solution bringing some hope to her.
"You can help!? How-"
"Just, stop talking for a second okay? Negi is probably going to get his stuff and leave for the train in probably 10 or so minutes. You and I need to stall him when he gets there."
"Train station? Why at the train station?"
Chris rolled his eyes as he let out a sigh.
"I don't really have time for an explanation okay? Just be there in about fifteen minutes okay? I'm going to stall him, but I can't do it for very long, so I'll need you to do the rest of it until something happens."
"Something? What the hell are you-"
"No time to explain! Old magic bullshit okay? Now I gotta go! Be there in fifteen minutes and bring everyone else okay?"
"Wait! What am I supposed to-"
Chris didn't give her the time to finish before he was already out the door and making his way to the train station. Thankfully, it was a short fly away for him, so that when he touched down, he could start formulating things to say to him. He had a feeling that Negi leaving wasn't something that was supposed to happen, especially after he had such a good reading from Sylph in regards to this future. As small as it was, Sylph could predict the future in regards to certain things. In actuality though, it was more that sylph could feel the winds of emotions from the future, which was why he hadn't been worried about what was going to happen today.
"That means I'm missing something here…"
Chris muttered to himself as he tapped his chin in thought. However, he knew that readings like that without clairvoyance where pretty much up in the air for how they could be interpreted, so he could be wrong for all he knew. Chris decided to go with his gut on this one though and waited for Negi to make his appearance. Just like the rain eventually falls, Chris smiled to himself as Negi walked under the overhang, looking forlorn. That expression quickly changed when Chris called out nice and loud.
"Hey Negi! Damn, you sure packed fast!"
Negi rounded his head to see that Chris was approaching him with a smile on his face.
"Ch-Chris! What are you-"
"Doing here? You are easier to read then an open book you dolt. You honestly didn't think I was going to know exactly what you were going to do when you saw the news? Negi, Negi, Negi… for shame. How could you up and run off without telling anybody? Most importantly me! I feel offended!"
"Chris, I honestly don't think you're all that broken up by me not-"
Chris held up his hand and shushed Negi into silence.
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…. Shush. Now is not the time for you to speak. We are going over my rant right now… though I don't honestly have a lot to say to you."
Chris dropped the silly act and put on a serious face for once, a rare sight even for Negi.
"So… is this really how you're going to end it? Pulled out of your quest to become a Magister Magi cause a bunch of girls couldn't get their brains in order long enough to pass a moderate-at-best difficulty of a test?"
Negi let out a small sigh as he looked to his friend with a sad expression.
"Chris, you know as well as I do that if you fail your test, that's it. You get no second chances."
"I find that to be bullshit. The only reason you shouldn't get a second chance is if you happen to die, if not, you should get unlimited do-overs. The system itself seems to be flawed in my personal opinion. Want to know what I think you should do? Turn around, find the headmaster, demand that you be allowed a second chance, and then gives those girls a real lesson!"
Negi honestly was going to tell Chris that he didn't think that would work at all, but in lieu of his own situation, all he could do was chuckle to himself.
"Ahhhhhhhhh Chris. You're really too good of a friend for me."
"Nonsense! Friends are friends because we just happen to turn out that way! There is no 'too good' or 'too bad' of a friend in this world! Besides, what are friends for?"
Negi couldn't help but chuckle.
"He he… good point."
"When do I not have a good point? Rhetorical question, don't answer that. Anyway… wanna know something? I happen to have this song that'll tell you all about how I feel as your friend… I think you know it…"
Negi was confused at first, not really sure what his friend was on about. However, before he could ask about it, Chris started up.
"do do, do do, da na na na. na naaaaa, na na, na na, nananananaaaaaa!"
Instant recognition set in on Negi's face followed quickly by horror.
"Ohgodno."
"We're no strangers to loooooooooooooooooove You know rules, and so do IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
"Please stop."
"A full commitment's what I'm, thinking oooooooooooooooooof. You wouldn't get this from, any other guy."
Negi could only put his hands to his face in shame as the full social execution began.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII just wanna tell you how I'm feeling, gotta make you, understaaaaaaand."
"Oh god why are you starting to dance… why are you doing this to me."
Chris twirled on his feet before he stopped in a pose pointing to Negi, his shoulders bouncing to some rhythm that only Chris could hear.
"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you doooooooown, never gonna run around and desert yooooooooooooooooooooooou. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye, never gonna tell a lie, and hurt yooooooooooooooooooou!"
"Negi!"
"Oh thank god a distra- ASUNA!?"
Chris stopped singing just as he looked over at the new arrival, a large smug grin on his face as he looked at Negi.
"I'll give her one thing. That girl is on time when she needs to be."
Negi couldn't find the words for his friend right now, seeing as this was probably some plan of his, but he could only ruminate on it for so long before Asuna's desperate words caused him to look back to her.
"I'm sorry Negi! I'm so sorry! I never should have thrown that book away! It's all my fault that you failed your final challenge!"
Negi was momentarily confused. However, he quickly realized that Asuna was blaming herself for this and shook his head with a small smile on his head.
"That's not true Asuna. This was nobody's fault."
"So them not passing there exam is not their fault? Weird logic you got there Negi."
"Chris… could you like… not be your usual self right now please? I'm trying to have a serious discussion."
Chris shrugged his shoulders in answer, leaving Negi to sigh.
"Back to what I was saying… Asuna-san, if I was any kind of teacher, I never would have needed you to use a magic book to pass in the first place. It just shows I wasn't ready is all."
Letting out an emotional sigh, Negi continued to smile on at Asuna, doing his best to hide the sadness in his face.
"Do you mind telling everyone I had fun? The time spent with you all was short, but I enjoyed every second of it. Especially the time I spent with you and the rangers."
Negi was going to leave it on that, but Asuna honestly wasn't going to have it.
"That's it? You're just going to give up like that without a fight?! Didn't you want to be a Master magi or some such thing?! Weren't you going to try to find the thousand master!?"
At that last part, Chris was honestly surprised at what Asuna had said.
'He trusts her enough to mention his own father? How much has he told her in that regard?'
Before he could contemplate an answer, Chris was brought out of his thoughts when Negi turned around and made a mad dash while yelling out 'good bye!' However, before Chris had the chance to even run after him, Asuna was already on him just as he made it past the checkpoint where she then embraced him tightly to keep him from running.
"Hold still damn you!"
Negi struggled for a bit, but Asuna was far stronger than him and easily kept him from getting out.
"Just listen for a second! At first, I really hated you because I thought you came across as a bratty loser who always did stupid stuff. Thankfully, Chris was around to show how mature you are in comparison to him."
"Hey!"
"But the one thing I really respected you for was how hard you worked at your goal and how you never seemed to give up on us when pretty much everyone else thought of us as losers!"
"A… Asuna…"
Oddly enough, those words really struck home at Negi, as if to tell him that his work had actually had some kind of effect. Even more surprising was when Chris spoke up next.
"She's not wrong Negi. Your determination, your clear goal in life, and your passion to see it through are all traits anybody would look at first and foremost. Especially for someone your age. It's one of the things I also respect about you and have come to find as incredibly endearing about you. If you didn't have any of that, then the Negi Springfield I know would be someone I could never have called my best friend."
"Chris…"
For a moment, Negi couldn't find the words to explain the feeling in his body. But it quickly came to him. It was a sense of relief, that he hadn't been wasting his time here, that all his effort had been making an impact in some way. However, that sense of relief was thoroughly crushed when he quickly remembered that all the feelings in the world couldn't overturn a failure on his test.
"Negi-kun!"
"Negi-Bozu!"
The sound of familiar voices caused everyone to turn around to see the library exploration girls, The baka rangers, plus one dean granddaughter running at them in hopes of preventing Negi from leaving. Unfortunately, all it did was compound the feeling of failure in Negi's heart and he quickly turned around as if to flee from those emotions.
"I can't meet you all like this! Goodbye everybody!"
However, Chris couldn't help but think in the back of his mind.
'You haven't even bought a ticket yet, where the hell you think you're going Negi.'
As if to answer his question, Chris watched in fascination as a bright pink ribbon launched past him and wrap itself skillfully around Negi's ankle, tripping him up and causing him to fall flat on his face.
"Ohhhhhhhhh… ouch, that looked painful."
Was about the only thing he said before Negi was swarmed with the rest of the girls. Chris looked over to Asuna before he gave her a thumbs-up. However, he was somewhat ignored as Negi was being swarmed with comments from the girls.
"Negi-kun! That was mean of you! Up and leaving without saying anything to anybody!"
Konoka, who had been the first to be at Negi's side when he had fallen, gave him a gentle head pat and a comforting smile.
"We can go speak to grand-… the headmaster on your behalf."
"Yeah! This is way too harsh for a ten year old!"
"Yeah! Let us take the test one more time ~Aru!"
"No Ku-fei-san… I don't think it'll work that way."
Chris cleared his throat to gather attention and was successful in that regard.
"You know, rather than say things to the boy who can't do anything about his own situation, perhaps you should actually try talking to the headmaster himself? Who is literally standing right here?"
Everyone looked to see Chris pointing to his left, which caused everyone to turn and see that dean Konoe was indeed standing right there with a small crinkle of a smile on his face.
"I believe I heard my name mentioned."
"H-H-HEADMASTER- SENSEI!?"
"Ho ho, the one and only. Firstly, allow me to apologize to you girls, and especially to you Negi-kun."
Chris cocked his head to the side in some confusion.
"Apologize for what exactly."
"Ahhh… truth be told, I was the one who marked the 8 latecomer's tests. Sadly, it slipped my mind to give them to the reporting club despite the fact they pestered me endlessly about them.
"SERIOUSLY!?"
"So… maybe 2-A isn't in last place?"
Chris couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"Who knows?"
Makie, however, was not so confidant.
"So everything hinges on us Baka rangers? We are so dead."
The principle, that smile never having left his face, gently laughed to himself as he held the tests up.
"Well, since you all seem so eager to know your grades… Starting off, Sasaki Makie with a 66."
"Get out of here!? Really?"
Obviously, the girl considered that a high score, however, Chris couldn't help but mentally scoff at her. The headmaster, in a rather gentle way, told her his own thoughts on the matter.
"Being enthusiastic about your club activities is fine, but academics are equally as important."
Makie sheepishly scratched the back of her head while blushing.
"Ah… he he… yeah…"
"Next up we have Ku Fei with a 67 and Kaede Nagase with a 63. You both tried very hard I see."
Ku fei couldn't help but show her surprise and joy on her face while Kaede couldn't help but smile endearingly.
"Next up is Yue Ayase showing a great show of diligence. More then usual with a score of 63."
Yue didn't look quite as happy about her score as the other girls had, but the looks of beaming pride on Haruna and Nodoka's faces told Chris that this was far better than the average.
"Nextly, Haruna Saotome, 81 points. Nodoka Miyazaki, 95 points. Konoka-chan 91 points. No problems here."
Chris couldn't help but shrug his shoulders on that one. That was pretty much a given. The dean then turned to face Asuna, the girl looking very nervous as her scores had yet to be called. However, the old man didn't leave her in suspense much longer.
"Finally, we have Asuna Kagurazaki. Allow me to say this Asuna-chan. I'm very impressed with your hard work and diligence to have been able to score a stunning 71 points. Good work!"
Everyone was surpised at that score, but none as much as the girl herself who's eyes where almost disbelieving.
"Wha… then… where does that put us on the average."
Chris visualized for a moment before he let out a loud laugh that brought everyone's attention to him.
"Ho-ly Shit!"
"Chris! Language!"
"Free Country Negi! Anyway, I am bloody impressed with ya'll. I expected at best 9th or 8th place. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect a class to take a rock bottom score and shoot it up to an 81.2! ya'll just snagged first place!"
The shouts of joy where a far cry from the despair the girls showed the day before, leaving Negi stunned and Chris beaming like an idiot.
"Look at that Negi! You get to keep your Job!"
"Bu-But… We didn't even have the magic book! How on earth did we-"
The headmaster held up said item with a mischievous smile on his face.
"You mean this old thing? As if something like this could actually help you pass a test. At most, it would let you recall information faster while in your possession. No Negi-kun, this stunning turn of events comes from your capability as a teacher. This test of yours was designed to see if you could behave as a teacher, even if it meant more hardship then what one would find in such a situation. I am quite happy with the way you and your students worked on Library island."
At the mention of the word of students, Negi's face suddenly lit up in realization. Dean Konoe could only nod as if to affirm the thoughts in Negi's mind.
"That's right Negi-kun. Your students. From today onward you will be part of the permanent staff here at Mahora. I look forward to your continued service Negi-sensei."
At that point, Negi really couldn't find the words for this situation except to show his joy to Asuna. Chris, on the other hand, simply chuckled to himself as everybody congratulated his friend. However, Dean Konoe had his attention on Chris. Curious, Chris watched as the old man walked over and gave him a curious look.
"Negi has passed his own test so far in terms of being a teacher. However, despite the fact that it really isn't much of my business, I am a little curious about how your own assignment is progressing."
Chris shrugged his shoulders and held his hand up to about midway up his torso.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… kinda so-so right now. I can't really do much since an academy really isn't the place to be trying it. My regular routines don't allow me much in the way of doing my job either. Not to mention the… other thing."
Konoe stroked his long beard thoughtfully as he contemplated the new information.
"I see… Maybe I can do something for you before the start of the next term. However, take a short break until then since the campus won't be in use for the next week or so."
Chris nodded his head in understanding before the sounds of Negi shouting caught both of their attention. The source? Him being tossed into the air by the girls in a form of celebration. Chris could only roll his eyes while the Headmaster found himself chuckling merrily to himself. However, the Dean had more important things to do despite how much he enjoyed such a small distraction and he left a few minutes later. Chris however had to sit around and wait for the girls to eventually stop congratulating each other before everybody finally got tired enough of the remarks that they opted to go home, a fact that Chris was thankful for. Eventually, Negi, Chris, Asuna, and Konoka managed to find their way back to the dorm, the congratulations not quite over with when they ran into other students from class 2-A. Chris finally got tired of it all and just left Negi to be endlessly drowned in praise. Finally making it back to the room, Chris sat down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling in some thought. He was going back over the course of the past few days and honestly couldn't help but feel left out. Shaking his head, Chris took his cloak off and folded it, gently muttering to himself as he did.
"Stop it. You don't need to think that way. You've had enough of adventure already and you know it…"
Feeling slightly more annoyed then he thought he was, Chris changed into his pajamas, and by the time the other three made it back, Chris was already ready to get in bed. Negi, curious, started to put his stuff away as Chris was getting his futon out.
"Going to bed already?"
"For the most part. I'm pretty tired. Haven't been sleeping well so I decided to call in early."
Konoka, however, was the one to reply to that.
"Really? You don't want to stay up with us? I was going to cook Hotpot in celebration for Negi keeping his job."
Chris looked back at Konoka, the girl having the cutest smile on her face. Chris couldn't help but mull it over for a moment before he relented under her smile.
"Eugh… fine… only because Konoka-neechan is such an amazing cook though."
The girls smile only brightening, Konoka turned around and started getting everything together. However, while Konoka was getting food ready and Negi was getting his stuff put away, Asuna sat down on the couch next to Chris, the girls mind wandering far off as she stared at the ceiling. Curious, Chris brought his attention to the girl.
"Your brain finally give out?"
"Ha. Jokes on you, It gave out in the middle of the test. But no. Just thinking."
"After all the crap you put up with for 4 days, I would think thinking would be the last thing you would want to do."
Asuna let out a small sigh as she lay back into the couch, her body going limp as she looked out into the room.
"True, but I'm mostly thinking about my test score and the fact that 2-A actually managed to get itself into first place… I find it hard to believe, and I was part of it."
Chris sat up and turned his attention to Asuna, shrugging his shoulders at her.
"Well, it just goes to show that you worked hard enough for this to happen. You and the rest of the girls. I'm actually really impressed with your score. You hardly ever managed to get above the 40 mark, and I watched you do those mock tests. So…"
Chris nervously scratched the side of his cheek in some embarrassment, his hesitation and seeming grasp at words causing Asuna to look at him curiously before he finally managed to spit it out.
"So… yeah… good job Asuna-neechan… You worked hard for that."
Asuna was momentarily stunned at the words of praise coming out of Chris's mouth. However, the twintail couldn't help but smile wide a moment later.
"Thank you Chris. I'm surprised a word of honest praise could ever come out of your mouth truth be told."
Aforementioned child could only glare at Asuna with a blush crossing over his face.
"Ah Shaddap…"
The sound of Konoka telling everyone that diner would be ready soon broke them out of there current moment, Chris happy for it while Asuna responded in kind. Finally, with all that, the long day had come to a close, and Chris couldn't help but feel that despite his lack of participation, this had been a good week. He honestly kept an optimistic thought in his head that it might actually go on for a long time. However, he should have known that such small problems would eventually give way to larger problems, as he would find out soon enough…
Honestly, that Chapter was entirely to short for the time I spent on it. I hope to do better next chapter.
Also, if you have any questions regarding the story, feel free to message me!
However, I will not be taking OC requests. Sorry about you hopefuls.