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 16:

Black Tidings

A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards

"Damn."

She collapsed against the white marble way, her limp hand dragging a black searing scar across the once pristine surface.

"Damn it all!"

A red haze visibly rolled off her in waves, as white wisps of steam and vapor rose from her body.

"What's --- wrong with me?" Kanako hissed spitefully between ragged breaths that trailed a white crystal mist of frost. "Its never --- relapsed this much before. First, at the train station, then --- in the classroom, and now --- t-this!"

Was that really me back there? The real me? Why did I use it? I could have done a thousand other things to --- pacify that wretched brute, but I used it instead. My curse, this accursed bloodline limit!

Rivulets of salty stinging sweat ran down her ashen haggard face as the genius girl struggled to control her "curse." Beneath her fingers, she could feel the marble melting, filling the air with an acid stench. There was little time left for her. She did not have a clue where she was, her delirious mind incapable of bringing up the countless maps she had already memorized of the school's grounds. The most important thing now was to find a place to --- rest. She always felt better, after she had slept some.

There. Beyond the bushes, past the tree line; that tree looks like a good spot as any to hole up in for a while. The fools had to cancel classes for the day just when this happened. They're lucky I haven't run into any other students yet in my meandering. They'd be dead before they knew it. Only --- Only Onii-chan can get close to me without dying.

Kanako pushed herself off the marble wall, ignoring the freezing ice the sprung up around the melted marble that she had blacked with only a touch. A foggy white mist began to thicken in the air around here, as she pressed on away from the building, each leaden step freezing the ground right beneath her feet with ice in a crackling hiss. She was feverish, hot to the touch. The delirium beginning to take its toll on her coordination, she was limping; pathetic.

What is wrong with this foul school? Something's just not right. Now that I am at this point, I can sense it now, something in my blood stirring. It was never like this back in Kitsusho Academy, even when Keitaro-niisan wasn't around, I could still control it. Yes, now that I think about it, that ugly hate in my heart has steadily been getting worse. I wasn't even thinking when I hurt and humiliated Kagurazaka. All I could feel was this great --- rush, exhilaration, and glee at the power I wielded at that moment, complete domination over another's spirit. A perfect marionette.

The fog grew thicker and the air colder to the touch, puffs of crystallizing vapor formed in the air with each breath she took.

Yes, I want to destroy this school. I'm certain of it, but was that really necessary? Was that the real me? No, I hate them, but I wouldn't go that far would I? I'm not --- that kind of person am I, Nii-san?

"O-Of c-course --- not," the raven-haired girl whispered to herself as she sank against a tree. Her vision had dropped poorly. Everything around her seemed to be spinning. She didn't have much longer now.

Besides, just think of the other bizarre things that reside in this decadence. That --- that spirit I saw in the classroom during that black vision. The song! Mahora Academy has its own skeletons in its closet that it doesn't want anybody to know. If I can solve that mystery, maybe it will reveal some clues to what is happening to me. I doubt it's a mere Hollow that can accomplish all of this. The Headmaster probably knows, and that scumbag, Takahata, probably knows too.

She laughed mirthlessly, sliding down with her back against the surprisingly smooth trunk.

All is not well at Mahora Academy, Konoemon-yarou. When I tell this all to Nii-san, I'm sure even he will help me obliterate your school. ...Ugh. And what's --- that --- that McDowell girl must have something to do with this mess too. She's not normal either, though I'm surprise just how abnormal Kagurazaka turned out to be... Ba Ji Quan? Absurd. How dare someone teach that honored art to her.

Kanako couldn't move anymore, the darkness of weakness would take her soon.

Some daft fool had better not come around this way, unless they want to die. I wonder if Onii-chan will be angry when hears about this? I think I just announced our presence to every "Chipp and Dale" out there, not once but twice, and on top of that, there were plenty of witnesses this time. Fufufu, what a fool I was. My body just moved on its own. I shouldn't have lifted a finger to help that boy. If I hadn't everything would've gone on just fine.

But he's just a boy, said a compassionate feminine voice in her muddled thoughts.

So WHAT? He's obviously genius of some renown just like me. He can take care of himself!

When did you learn to begrudge children, Kanako?

'Begrudge' children? Ha! They're no better than the damned grown ups! I'LL FIX THEM ALL! I --- I'LL SHOW YOU!

They're innocent, Kanako. They're only emulating what they see. Isn't that why you stepped in?

No! Not for a second! My body just moved of its own volition, even if I hadn't stepped in, he would've shrugged it off just fine.

What if he hadn't shrugged it off?

Are you mad? Couldn't you feel that naive comforting kindness which was virtually shining out of his body? Even I could feel it coming straight through the door. He was just like-!

Keitaro, wasn't he?

Shut up.

I suppose, Negi-kun's probably smarter than him to be able to land a teaching job at such a young age. It must be a terrible responsibility for him; something that even you with all your 'Great Expectations' have not yet had to meet.

Shut up!

Truly, he's an unfortunate boy. He should've been allowed to enjoy his youth a little longer like you do now.

SHUT UP. I don't want to hear it!

Kanako, what you did was only natural. There's nothing to be ashamed about it. That boy is just like you and Keitaro. Birds of a common feather tend to flock together. You didn't have to step in the way of Kagurazaka Asuna to stop her blind rage either.

That was for my own selfish reasons. I didn't do it to save anybody! I only did it satisfy myself --- only! I didn't care if she beat Springfield Negi to death. Either way, I would've gotten my due satisfaction!

Sleep for now, Kanako. The other you is trying to wake up. Sleep --- and She will go to sleep as well. Remember I am You, You are Me, She and I are two, and together with you, We are One. We can talk --- anytime.

Aghk! Heavy...so heavy, Kanako thought to herself, her drooping eyelids fluttered sluggishly for a second, fighting that last hurrah...

Sayonara, Onee-chan.

...and then she slept.

Rock.

The stolid essence of the Earth forged over millions of years. It is the substance that Mankind has used for generations to build the foundation of civilization itself. Even after He discovered fire, tamed the land, and wrought steel from the earth for the first time, Man like the prodigal son returns to the earth once more to draw out more of this precious lifeblood. A timeless symbol of strength, but even it was not impervious to change.

Given the right push, exploiting the inherent weaknesses in its flawed design, even a rock would crack under pressure, just like this...

Crack.

Steel-green eyes stared impassively at the shards of stone that had crumbled in the palm of her clutched fist. The mighty object that had once been even larger than her fist had been broken, defeated by her will, and she began to grind it unto dust until no shard remained as a passing breeze carried off the refuse. All that remained in her hand was a layer of crumbly crystalline minerals that shined in the sunlight.

Are these the tears of the Earth? the girl wondered as her long black hair fluttered freely in the wind. Or are these the tears of those who reside in these blood-stained walls, waiting to be released?

Ghosts. Phantoms. Wraiths. Spirits. Demons. Hollows. It did not matter to her what they were called because they were all the same evil. Lost souls that must be guided back into the righteous way set forth long before the soul dreamt of this waking world. With these two hands, she would guide them all to rest and prove to the world that her honorable path was true. No one will ever dare doubt the ways and the vision of the Shinmei Ryu again, once she was through with her battles of which there were many yet to come.

The girl raised her soiled hand, stained with the weight of the world, and let the playful sea breeze to carry off the shining tears. "However, I doubt few will ever compare to the battle I am about to fight."

Her fine-tuned senses took in all that was around her from the white sandy beachhead that the people of this city had built to the gently crashing waves of the sea flowing through the Mahora City's bay, and this distant ominous Gothic visage of "Library Island." Here, humans clashed freely with the denizens of keiji, the neighboring world, without ever realizing the terror that lay beyond the corner of their eyes. What they could not see, could not hurt them, but all it took was one mistake, and the whole game would change.

If you can see them, so they can see you.

"Sakurazaki Setsuna, I swear by the sword that was passed down to me --- Shisui --- for the Shinmei Ryu, and on my honor..."

The winds shifted suddenly with a howl, sending her long hair whipping into the gales like gleaming black ribbons.

"...I will kill you..."

A black cloud blotted out the sun, drowning the world for an instant in shadows that squirmed and breathed with fangs and teeth.

"...that I swear on this blood oath --- I, Aoyama Motoko, the heir of the Shinmei Ryu."

Just as quickly then, the world returned to its former self, no living shadows with fangs and teeth, no howling winds, no black clouds; normality. It was all contrived, of course, for she could see the truth clearly. Of the legion of disciples among the Shinmei Ryu, her sight was the clearest of them, putting to shame even the greatest of the miko disciples of her generation. This gift was part of the reason that no spirit dared to tread upon the grounds of Kyoto, which she had made virtually sacred through righteous persecution and tenacity.

Motoko exhaled, allowing herself to relax and enjoy the seemingly peaceful scenery. There would be plenty of time to set right to wrongs, past and present. For now, she must bide her time until the fateful hour.

Vengeance.

"Saa, saa, isn't this wonderful weather we're having today?" called out a mellifluous voice with a cheery twinkle in her laugh, a voice that was intimately familiar to the ebony-haired girl.

Whirling about with intense conviction, she watched with her steel-green eyes as a tall misleading figure approached down the beachhead. Clad in a red hakama, a white gi, traditional white split-toed socks, and wooden sandals, she could have passed for a regular disciple of the Shinmei Ryu or a miko from some shrine. However, only a few were allowed to carry their katana out in public, and this woman bared hers by her side without the slightest discomfort, disguised as a wooden cane.

She removed the wide-brimmed bamboo hat that veiled her features, and Motoko was struck speechless, in spite of her best efforts not to be awed by the woman's presence. "...A-Ane-ue. Tsuruko-aneue..."

"Good morning, Motoko-han!" greeted Tsuruko Aoyama with a beaming smile, "I am surprised you are cutting classes on your first day at Mahora Academy. How most unusual. I would never expect something so --- rebellious and improper out of you, that I would not."

"Ah! N-No! It's not like that at all, Ane-ue!" Calm down. I have to calm down! This is exactly what she wants, and I won't let her have the satisfaction of such a play!

"Do not worry as you may speak freely. I have already made sure that we won't be eavesdropped upon, that I have."

"Ah..."

"Now, what it is it, my dear? This better be good or I might just have to show you some proper discipline, not unless you want me to report this to the Elders instead?"

Motoko frowned openly, barely keeping a lid on a bundle of explosive emotions. "C-Classes were cancelled today, Ane-ue, in light of some --- incidents this morning."

"'Incidents'?" What could my dear Motoko-han mean by that?

"Trash cans exploding and an 'explosion' of some sort in Class Two-A, my classroom."

"Classroom Terrorism? My children these days certainly know how to have fun. I just hope they do not start copying what the rest of the world does. There is no honor in the methods of those villains..."

"Hai."

"Were you hurt, Motoko-han?"

The ebony-haired girl gave a start at the utter absurd notion. Did her elder sister really think so lightly of her? She, Motoko Aoyama, who was destined to be strongest of the Shinmei Ryu?

"Motoko-han, no need to make such a face. I am only concerned with your welfare, that I am."

"Your concern is --- appreciated, Ane-ue." Just you wait, Tsuruko! One day, I will step out from underneath your shadow and destroy all of those vile, disgusting, ugly, and ghastly turtle oni by myself. I will show you just how much stronger I am than you!

Tsuruko gave a light sigh, her dark olive green eyes softening as she came to gentle stop before her younger sister, her sandals scuffing with a soft hiss against the white sand. Standing side by side, the Aoyama sisters were nearly mirror images of each in beauty and grace, only their eyes and hair differed by simple shades. The elder sister with more of emerald shade in her black tresses compared to her younger sister's fine ebony, and the difference of light and dark between Motoko's steel-green that could have passed as olive green as well and Tsuruko's darker eyes.

"You have beautiful hair, Motoko-han, that you do. It is a shame that by my age, your dark ebony hair will be fairer and acquire the same emerald luster as my own. In a way, to look upon it makes me feel like an old woman!"

"A-Ane-ue." What is she getting sentimental for all of a sudden? Did she not come here to belittle me as usual?

The older woman gingerly reached down and took her sister's left hand, examining it with a bizarre twinkle of care in her eyes. "Impressive, your left has gotten stronger. Zircon, the size of your fist. Soon, I imagine you'll be able to even crush real diamonds with both of your hands."

"A-Ah!" How did she know?

"You could have just washed your hands in the ocean water, Motoko-han, if you did not want me to find out." Tsuruko smiled as she let go, ignoring the wisp of indignation that flickered across the eyes of her younger sister. I wonder, does Motoko-han still begrudge me so? Aye, she must. It is the only explanation of her behavior for the past five years.

"I have nothing to hide, Ane-ue. My intentions are all righteous, pure, and just."

"So I see... You would not mind telling me of the rest of your adventures thus far then, would you?"

"As you wish, after some considerable delay at the administrative offices in regards to a bureaucratic --- snafu --- with my belongings, I was finally let out to ahead to classes. I was already over thirty minutes overdue when I felt an aftershock of explosive ki rock the building."

"Explosive ki?"

"Hai, I believe it was responsible for the shattered windows in my classroom as well additional collateral damage that I saw as I approached. Things were far from that simple, however."

"Oh, what's next?"

"Call it a stampede. Roughly, three minutes after the explosion, I encountered a student, with auburn hair and bells in her hair, fleeing through the hall ways like a woman possessed, screaming at the top of her lungs for mercy. I was unable to make an inquiry or stop her as three more individuals shot past me in hot pursuit: a tall blonde-haired student of some note, who might have been a gaijin, a female member of the faculty (I presume), and --- Konoe Konoka."

"Ah, Kono-chan! Now that reminds me, doesn't Secchan attend Mahora Academy too?"

"A hovel for scum, vermin, and dolls," Motoko spat suddenly, a disturbing tightness in her voice as she turned to face the gentle waves of the sea.

Silence.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Great Scott! How much more can there be? 'The Other You'? What's the deal with Kanako here? On a different front, all does NOT seem to be well with Motoko in the slightest. She can't be serious now, can she? And what's Tsuruko really up to, honestly? Maybe there will be a few more answers than questions next time, folks+

Now, I gotta pass my gratitude to all you readers and reviewers. You can't believe how happy I am to see that all of you have stuck it with me thus far, and I promise you that we still got plenty of great things to see. Remember, I encourage each and everyone of you to always feel free to comment, review, and/or discuss the story. I love hearing from y'all, and if you're up to it, feel free to ring me up on AIM, or even send me an e-mail. You know how to get in touch with the scribe here. And with that said, it's time to holla back to the League of Extraordinary Reviewers from our last line up:

To the Man With Five-Ohs, Mister Skuld's Sentaro 5, there's plenty more of where that came from and then something more special. Trust me, Chachamaru isn't going to be left out of the big picture. Nihaha...

To That Man Who Has No Name, Mister Havenoname, be careful what you wish for, man. It might just end up coming true, you know. As far as we're concerned, I technically AM God in this story, and I like to consider myself a --- beneficent --- God, so...you know. +

To The Most Valuable Reviewer of the Day, Mister Alpha Draconis1, you have NO IDEA how HAPPY it makes me to hear that coming from a fellow fan. You have SAID what has NEEDED to be SAID for the LONGEST TIME about the mad, rabid, crazy KonoSetsu fanboys/girls, especially in regards to the master/servant lesbian romance line. And just for that, I will grant you ONE "free look" into the Future (TM)! Remember, you only get to ask ONE "question," so ask wisely. Feel free to e-mail me (see my profile) or IM me on AIM (JamesEdwards0079) when you're up to it. Until then, keeping up that fighting spirit, man! That's the kind of philosophy I like to hear! XD

To the Man Who Owns Jak AND Daxter's Souls, Jak Sacul, I'll give you the same warning I gave to good ol' Havenoname, be careful what you wish for. Oh, and I'm glad you enjoyed Chachamaru's little introspection. Nihaha... +

Well, that wraps it up, folks, so until the next time we meet, let's rock! May the Force be with you!

Omake!

Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu

Episode Preview!

Chapter 17:

Black Tidings

"I don't understand why people tolerate him and the childish games he insists upon indulging in. The Konoe Clan might be an old --- family, but they're not all powerful, almighty."

Tsudzuku!