Disclaimer:
Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima is the creative property of Ken Akamatsu, who created this wonderful anime/manga series. Shingetsugan Tsukihime and Fate/stay night is the creative property of TYPE-MOON. Anything not attributed to Akamatsu-san or TYPE-MOON belongs to their respective owners, such as references to Cowboy Bebop (the Swordfish II) that is a creation of Sunrise and Shinichiro Watanabe, BLEACH is a creation of Kubo Tite, and vice-versa. This story is written purely just for fun, guys; please for God's sake, don't sue me! I'm just a high school student with too much free time on his hands! On the other hand, any specific author created characters I created for this fic (despite how unoriginal they may be at times) are mine. So without further adieu, let's get on with the show!
The Surgeon General's Warning:
Read at your own risk. Multiple pairings inside folks, with KanaxKei and KanaxNegi, just to name a few! You never know what you're going to get so read on (I might even do some alternative stuff, if you know what I mean).
Blue Blue Glass Moon, Under the Crimson Air
I Wanna Go To A Place...
Chapter 13:
Picking up the Pieces
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
There was not literally an explosion per say, but if anything that simple declaration of who she was worked like a proverbial nuclear bomb. Where there was once an agitated sensation of being in the air, she could now openly feel the stares of terror and fear. The first one to react was none other than Kazumi Asakura herself, pulling out a handy megaphone seemingly from out of nowhere:
"Everybody, out the door NOW! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST! CODE RED! CODE RED! GO-GO-GO-GO! DOUBLE TIME! We have to tell the whole school that THE Classroom Terrorist, Urashima Kanako, is here! This is crucial information people! GO, NOW! And GODSPEED!"
The effect was instantaneous as a stampede of girls rifled out the door in giggles and shrieks, some excited and some in obvious panic. Of course, they all made a wide berth around the newly discovered resident "classroom terrorist" in their flight. Negi Springfield did not have a clue what was going on. The names and phrases these girls were throwing went through one side of his head and out the other. Only one thing stood out to him and it was the fact that he had to stop this stampeding rush of students from leaving his classroom.
Big mistake.
"Hey, wait a minute here! You just can't-UWAH!" yelped the foolish sorrel-haired boy as he was promptly knocked aside by the wave of humanity.
The blow sent him spinning about like a human top on the soles of his brand new loafers. Negi waved his hands about in an effort to steady his balance, but this only served as a convenient impromptu crank for the girls hurrying by him. Each passing girl gave him an extra turn, and before he knew it, he was spinning so fast that the world became a blur, his eyes and glasses going completely swirly-eyed.
"Uugghghghghhh, so dizzy."
Soon, a pair of slender hands adeptly grasped him by the shoulders, killing his momentum without the jarring sensation of suddenly stopping. He was not quite sure how the owner managed something so skillfully with such minute discomfort to himself and for that he was grateful. However, judging by the hushed ambience, his students had all effectively ditched his class for the day.
Negi closed his eyes and palmed his brow, shaking his head lightly in an effort to cure himself of this dizzying swirly-eyed spell and the monster headache he could feel creeping up on him. The boy was quickly coming to the realization that his first day of classes had become a complete utter disaster. "Oh no, I'm going to be the laughing stock of the faculty for sure at this rate, barring if the Headmaster doesn't decide to sack me from the get go!"
"Yes, I imagine things are looking pretty dismal for you, Springfield-sensei," the owner of the slender hands replied to him in straight English. He did not even realize he had slipped back into his inflected British English out of habit.
The bespectacled boy made haste to correct himself, opening his now cleared eyes. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to --- UWAH! It's YOU."
"Who else were you expecting? The Christian God?" Kanako spoke to him in Japanese once more. Her moody mezzo-soprano had slipped back into its emotionless indifference as part of her eternal "poker face" persona. "Jesus Christ? Kami-sama? Yahweh? Allah? I can go on and list the ninety-nine names of the latter most deity if you wish too."
"Um, um! Could you, um-!"
"Curious, you don't seem to be at the age where you would be skittish around the opposite sex just yet. You're probably just a little over ten years old by some months and days, bouya."
Negi puffed up his cheeks defensively, a faint flush of red spreading across his face. "H-Hey, I'm not just a kid, you know!"
"'A kid'? I never said anything about that, Sensei. You're proving yourself to be every bit the part of a boy, much too old for your age."
"Huh?"
"Well, I suppose I should apologize for today's fiasco," the raven-haired genius murmured as she withdrew her hands. It was then that bespectacled boy noticed just how much taller she was than himself, adding to his marked discomfort. After all, she was the girl responsible for this disaster and she had the nerve to call it a fiasco. "I never intended to allow them to use me as an excuse to skip classes, but then again, many of the students will likely be doing that once word goes around of my presence."
This girl! What's up with her? She's not like any of the other girls I've ever met. "Hey! Did you plan this from the start?"
"Kagurazaka Asuna was a target of opportunity."
"'A target of opportunity'!"
"Your presence, however, was an unexpected anomaly. I never thought that cunning rat, Konoemon, would do something like this. A ten-year-old child becoming an English Professor at his own school? The very notion is unheard of. Either you're a very exceptional child or this is an extraordinary joke."
Negi made a face. He just did not understand what was happening. His teacher orientation classes never prepared him for anything like this. "What are you talking about, Urashima-san? I don't understand anything of what's happened here! What have you done? How did you do what you did with that ruler? Why did you do it? What's going on? Heck, WHO are you?"
In a rare break from her emotionless mask, Kanako allowed herself a glimmer of surprise to work its way through her watchful hazel brown eyes. The Headmaster appeared to have pulled a fast one on her. This Negi Springfield clearly did not have a clue about her, nor did he know was what was happening around him. He certainly had to be a genius of some sort. Through conversation and his actions thus far, his mental and intellectual development were extraordinarily mature for someone of his age. It was almost like looking back at a younger naive version of herself when she was ten years old.
Strange, I never heard of him either. He obviously is British by his accent when he speaks English, and very well-mannered boy he is too. Why did I never hear about him before? This is most unusual.
"Well? Come on, please say something," Negi pleaded earnestly with her. "Do you have any idea how much trouble we're both in for? Fighting, destruction of school property --- I mean, I'm probably going to lose my job over this, and it's only my first day here! I don't even want to think about how Anya and my onee-san are going to react when they hear about this disaster."
"I see, so you really don't know who I am or what sorts of a death trap the Headmaster has thrown you into. Hmm. I never expected such an underhanded move out of him. I can now see in part why Takahata-sensei was so tentative this morning."
"Takamichi was what?"
"'Takamichi'? I wasn't aware you were close to him."
"Of course, we are! That nut and I are practically best mates, even though he can be a little off at times. ...Hey! Why am I telling you this? You still haven't answered a single thing I've asked you!"
"Interesting, the Headmaster has dealt a very well-played hand," Kanako murmured aloud as she turned away from him, heading towards the door. "You're quite an intriguing chess piece he's brought into play. I'll need to rethink my plans over to account for your still unknown capabilities."
Not being the type of person who was going to let himself be ignored any further, Negi bravely stood in the raven-haired girl's way, spreading his arms wide to block any attempt to circumvent him. "Hey! Stop ignoring me like that! I'm not a kid, some boy, or a chess piece in somebody's game, Urashima Kanako; I'm your TEACHER!"
Negi Springfield was done with diplomacy and this was going to be the way he was going to make his first stand. He was tired of being ignored and treated like an insignificant object. If this was part of his training to become a magister magi, then he would meet the challenge head on. Whether she liked it or not, he was going to get through to this Urashima girl, and he was not going to give up in defeat. This girl, a transfer student that he did not even know a single clue about had just made herself his new top priority among his students.
His passionate dark brown eyes stared up determinedly at her cold, indifferent hazel brown eyes without a flinch.
For a moment, it appeared for all intents and purposes that some great content of wills ensued between the two unmoving individuals. The black kitten versus the sorrel-brown puppy, this was a battle of fantastic proportions! Who will survive?
A low chuckle emanated from Kanako, as the corners of her lips quirked into a peculiar smirk. Her shoulders quivered in time with the grating sound, which rose in tempo and volume. Before Negi even knew it, she threw her head back in uproarious laughter, clutching her sides. The bespectacled boy was caught dumbfounded, unsure of what to say or do, his resolve swiftly crumbling as he lowered his arms.
"Um, are you alright, Urashima-san?" he asked her out of concern. She seemed to be holding her sides as if she were in pain, at least to him anyway. "Do you..."
Negi never got a chance to finish his sentence. The madly laughing girl brushed passed him without even acknowledging him, stumbling about off balance like a drunk, as she pulled herself out the door. Just like that, she was gone from his sight. For several minutes, he could still hear her haunting laugh echoing through the halls. It was as if he had just unleashed some psychotic abomination onto the school grounds or perhaps a mad scientist hell bent on world domination.
Whatever it was, the sorrel-haired boy had come to a singular conclusion about his new charge:
"That girl is mad, definitely mad."
Negi sighed, and took a moment to vent in good old-fashioned English. "Why is it that I seem to have a knack for attracting trouble? Anya, Sis: is this what being a Springfield is all about? There's no way Dad could have had it this bad in his hey-days."
Unfortunately, he had forgotten to check if he still had an audience. The rude ugly clap of applause all but bowled him over onto the floor. Stifling a yelp, he quickly composed himself in a professional manner as possible, and turned to face the mostly empty rows of desks. There was really no way he could have hid the fervid blush of embarrassment on his cheeks on though, but the sight he saw was even more surprising.
Three students had not left in the ensuing commotion.
There was another raven-haired girl, who reminded him a lot of Urashima Kanako, with a reserved expression on her pretty face and most of her long hair tied off to the side in a flourished ponytail. She sat in the second row's second desk, watching his every move like a crow, her piercing dark brown eyes nearly black as night. This alone was enough to send shivers up his spine, and he made a casual note never to make her angry unless he absolutely had to do it.
His second student was a much more curious sight. Neon green hair, long silvery antennae sticking out of her --- hairband (he imagined), and matching neon green eyes to go with her get up; she was certainly a sight to behold. He never expected to meet a student who even cosplayed as an android girl during school hours too. She really had the "emotionless battle android" act down great, and boy, was she tall for a Japanese girl, at least a hundred-eighty centimeters tall (virtually six foot by American standards)!
The third student, however, immediately grabbed his attention. Why she could not have been any older than him, with long beautiful blonde hair and deep sparkling blue eyes like his big sister. Of course, these little details was but the tip of the iceberg. She was the source of the rude clapping, set to a particular tempo that only someone of his British sensibilities would catch its meaning: the hangman's march. It also did not help that she wore the haughtiest smile this side of Meldiana while she sat upon her desk, like some princess.
Now, this was the sort of opponent he was used to dealing with back home.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
Yes, O Great Readers and Reviewers, I have returned (or at least for a little while)! I am sorry it took so long, but hey, I managed to survive New Cadet Week (barely) after all, and now the saga of Glass Moon may continue. The stage is set and the players are playing wonderfully. Is this the start of a rocky relationship between Kanako and Negi? Will Kanako leash our poor magister magi-in-training and turn him over to the "Dark Side (TM)"? Will Negi convert Kanako to goodness of the "Light Side (TM)"? Or will it be something else entirely? Nobody knows save for the Big G upstairs, my muses, and --- well --- your imaginations.
I would like to thank the readers and reviewers who have put aside their precious time and invested it into this story. Without you, this tale would not be possible and I encourage you to always feel free to comment, review, discuss, or even send me an e-mail. You know how to reach me. Now, I would like to give out a few personal shout-outs to the reviewers from our last line up:
To Da Would-Be New King, Mister Namaru, I suppose you could say this is child's play for a "true villianess," just the first baby steps. I am not to knowledgeable on Thanos myself, although personally, my favorite villian for the Marvel comics universe is the recent incarnation of Captain Marvel where he was driven insane by his powers and eventually destroyed the universe himself before ressurecting it.
To Da Man with the Power of Cool, Mister Havenoname, I am glad you are enthusiastic about the future. I promise there is going to be some awesome showdowns we always wanted to see, and hey, maybe your imagination is not too far off the mark, eh?
To Da Wiseman, Sage Necromonger, brutal honesty certainly has its weight, I suppose, but I do not think we ought to ignore the breach of morality in this particular henious act either, can we?
To Da Man with Super Chill Otaku Powers, Mister Jak Sacul, you hit the nail right on the head. Congratulations! Oh, on the subject of violence, I am sure there will be more than plenty to go around for everybody. XD
And that wraps it up for me folks. I am in college now and the semester has begun, but as I have promised previously, I will continue to forge on ahead with Glass Moon. The show must go on, and I will try my best to get up a new episode for your reading pleasure (or ire) by the next weekend. See you around, ladies and gents! Peace!
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Episode Preview!
Chapter 14:
Teacher or Student Counselor?
"You're not what you appear to be, Sensei."
Tsudzuku!