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 19:

Of Naru Narusegawa and Asuna Kagurazaka

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

The loud bang caused by the door to the infirmary swinging open was certainly a spectacular way to grab the center of attention. It was almost as if somebody had kicked it down, and for a moment, the room's occupants felt a twinge of cold shock, their shoulders tensing up with a silver of fear. When there was no gunfire, somebody screaming for everybody to "stop, drop, and roll," or an explosion, everybody relaxed and let loose visibly with a relieved puff of breath. It certainly did not hurt to be a little bit paranoid in this day and age, even though this was Japan.

Standing in the doorway, huffing and puffing red-faced like a steam locomotive, was a rather curious sight.

The black and white uniform was a dead giveaway for Saint Ursula Girls' High School, an essential high school section of Mahora Academy's "comprehensive" approach to education. She had long golden brown hair, like honey, with a pair of persist cowlicks jutting out from her bangs, and wore a pair of large "eccentric" spectacles over her honey colored eyes as well. One of her braided ponytails had come apart, but in spite of her disheveled appearance, she was undoubtedly attractive, even with the nerdy glasses.

Takamichi broke the tenuous silence first. He had a feeling he knew this student from before, considering the length of his long tenure here at Mahora Academy. "Who might you be, Miss..."

"Narusegawa --- Naru, Saint Ursula's --- Class One-A," the bespectacled girl introduced herself within ragged breaths. She really was quite winded. Did she run across campus to get here? "Really, Takamichi-san, your memory can be so short some times."

Everybody stared at the English professor, especially Shizuna who was giving him a death glare. She wanted some answers out of him fast. Otherwise, she would have to introduce her fist to his face again, which had finally recovered from her bruising earlier. Shizuna honestly had to wonder if he had a superhuman metabolism or something; hence, his often ridiculous healing capacity when he took his fair share of blows from the opposite sex for being --- well --- him.

"Wait a minute, hair like honey, that voice, the cowlicks, the big glasses --- oh, that's right! You're that promising student from my One-E class whom I recommended for tutoring with Seta-kun four years ago, when he was loafing around here, like a playboy! How are you doing, Naru?"

The honey-haired girl laughed tiredly, steadying herself against the opened door. "I've been better, Sensei. I'm still surprised by how big the campus really is when you really need to get somewhere."

"Un, even I'm not used to it either; most schools don't exactly have an elementary school, junior-high, high school, and higher educations facilities all located on the same campus. Anyhow, so what brings you here, Naru? The Headmaster did give everybody the day off."

"I heard about what happened. I... Where's --- Where's Asuna?"

Now that line of inquiry was a rather sour subject, even Takamichi for all his good cheer deflated somewhat. The girl in question was only next door through the office. They had all been thrown out from there in their own way, and the English professor was most surprised that he had been asked to leave too. Her friends and Shizuna had given him the gist of what had horror had befallen her. It might have appeared fantastic to them, but to him, it was quite serious business.

Never would he have imagined that Asuna's potential would take such a turn!

"Narusegawa-san, are you --- are you close friends with Asuna?" asked Konoka tentatively as she stepped out from behind Hijiri's seat. This high school freshman reminded her a lot of her roommate and best friend. She gave off the same feelings Asuna did when the dark-haired girl was around her, and baring cosmetic differences, they could have been sisters certainly.

Naru breathed deeply and composed herself, fiddling with her loose hair for a moment before deciding to undo her other braided ponytail too. "Yes, I guess you can say that, but I think it's more than that."

"And what do mean by that?" Ayaka chimed in, her blue eyes sweeping curiously over the older girl. She, too, got the same vibes from Naru as she did from hanging around Asuna. Was there some kind of connection here?

"She's my imouto."

Silence.

Naru laughed sheepishly as she sweatdropped at the absurd expressions painted on the faces of everyone present. The air suddenly felt very stifling! "H-Hey, it-it's not official or anything like that! Etou, it's just that --- well --- we've known each other for a long time."

Stare.

"Umm..."

Stare.

"Eh-hehehe, six years is a pretty long time..."

Stare.

"Look! You've all tried to talk to her already, haven't you?" the honey-haired girl exploded suddenly with a fit of fiery irritation, which sent everybody scooting back just a little bit.

Yes, she was definitely just as volatile as Asuna. There must have been serious mistake upstairs when the "Big G" decided not to make them sisters at birth.

Hijiri sighed. "Okay, just calm down, Narusegawa-kun. Nobody here is trying to discredit your story. It's just from what I've gathered from these folks, Asuna isn't exactly the sociable type. Her two closest friends and her former teacher, the closest individuals to her, besides the Headmaster who officially retains guardianship over her, according to her records anyway --- well... If you can read their expressions, it's logical to deduce that they have never heard her mention you once."

"Good, she wasn't supposed to anyway."

Now that drew even more stares from the other occupants.

"Narusegawa-kun, are you saying you asked Kagurazaka-kun personally not to talk about you?" Shizuna nearly squawked, the disbelief clearly written in her eyes.

"Hai, it was an agreement between us, and if I guessed right, what she did to the windows was my fault."

It was all Takamichi could do not to let out a roaring spit take. Now, he was finally beginning to put pieces of the intricate puzzle together. He knew Asuna was physically gifted for a while, but lacked any true martial discipline. Whatever she could do, he assumed, was simply a result of imitation. Heh, what a fool he was to have been tricked by not one but two of his favorite students no less into complacency.

"Are you a martial artist by any chance, Naru?" the English professor asked bluntly with an amiable smile.

"Ah!"

"Don't worry about it, I'll make sure not a word of this gets out, right? Shi-wan wan, Hiji-nyanko, Aya-chan, Ko-chan?"

In a flash, the two women were literally at the bespectacled man's throat, one holding him up by the lapels of his shirt while the other lent her scalpel out for some lip service. The three students, Naru included, sweatdropped at this rather violent display. Did Takamichi get a kick out of aggravating the female species or what?

"S-Se-See? Eh-heheheheh..."

"H-Hai, uh, could you two please not kill Takahata-sensei?"

The two women released him promptly, dropping him flat on his backside on the floor, which earned a grunt out of him. He could have said something witty as a retort, but the deadly glares they shot him shut him up otherwise.

"Ooo, SAFE-FU. Thanks, Naru."

Naru sweated some more. "No problem, Sensei. Anyways, yes I'm a martial artist, and I --- I was the one who taught Asuna hakkyou-ken, Ba Ji Quan --- The Eight Extremes Fist style."

Ba Ji Quan? Now, it all made sense how Asuna was able to shatter those windows and shove the desks around.

"I-I --- I didn't teach her everything, Sensei! Honest! Just --- just the basics and --- a little more, I guess..."

So she was not a master of the style, but to think of her destructive power! Truly, she is a remarkable child, Takamichi thought to himself, feeling a fire of pride light itself ablaze in his heart. His joy, though, was short lived as he realized what other things this new revelation entailed about his treasured pupil.

"I only did it because I thought Asuna needed to know how to defend herself!"

"I respect your good intentions, Naru, but in the situation she was involved in, it wouldn't have done her any good either way. The person she was up against --- well, it seems she knows much more than she's letting on herself too."

"Huh?"

"Go on head. She's right there beyond that door, which leads into the mini-ward Hiji-kun's got here. We'll all go wait outside the office in the hallway for you. Take your time, Naru."

Shizuna looked about ready to protest such an arbitrary decision on his part; after all, she barely had a clue about what was going on. However, Takamichi gave his colleague "The Look," a little twinkle in his green eyes that often sent many a member of His Majesty Takahata's Women swooning. It was enough to silence her protests as a stoic Hijiri with the help of Ayaka and Konoka, both of whom seemed rather reluctant to leave, dreamily dragged her off. Naru, of course, made way for the procession, but she never took her eyes off the bespectacled man once...

...not even when he finally closed the door shut behind him.

"Sensei, you're a lot like Seta-san --- you know."

Death.

She did not want to die.

Death had seen her.

She did not want to die!

Death had touched her.

She did not want to die!

Death was coming!

I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!

I don't want to die! I don't want to die! PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME!

Please...

"Asuna? Asuna?" came a familiar voice.

It was --- comforting to hear.

"Asuna? It's me, Naru-neechan. Shhhhh! It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I'm here now."

A pair of arms embraced her into a feathery light cradle, warm and safe. This smell; she knew this good smell. It was sister's smell. And those feathers! That was her hair! Her big sister finally came for her!

"Onee-chan..." Asuna cried hoarsely as she buried herself deeper. It was so dark, so cold all around her. Was she dead? Was she blind? No, it did not matter anymore because Na-chan was here for her.

"Shhhhhh. You're safe, Asuna-chan. I won't let the bad people hurt you anymore."

"R-Really?"

"Un, they've gone all away now. Nee-chan made them all run away."

"And the scary girl? Is she --- is she gone too?"

"'Scary girl'?"

"I was s-scared, so scared. She --- she! She was going to kill me!"

"What did she look like, Asuna?"

"Black hair, black like the feather's on a crow. A red ribbon, blood red. Her eyes! Killing eyes, like a cat's eyes. She was co-c-cold. Was she dead? I don't know. I don't know!"

"Hush, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'll take care of it. Nee-chan will take care of them all."

"Onee-chan?"

"Shhhhh, go to sleep for now, okay? Dream happy dreams, and when you wake up, you'll be strong again. The Kagurazaka Asuna everybody knows, someone that everybody depends on. Okay?"

"Hai! I'll be stronger this time for sure, Naru!"

"Good girl. Now rest..."

She slept peacefully then, dreaming of better days and happier times yet to come.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Man, we have come along way. 19 chapters and 5000+ hits; by golly, and there's still plenty more down the line. Trust me, I'm not even close to running out steam. No big surprises here to who finally showed up, I guess. I'm not a big fan of Naru, or her character archtype in general, but I hope I was able to do a good job with her nonetheless. For you Naru fans out there, don't worry; I don't do character bashing.

I let the characters settle the score themselves.

Anyhow, thanks a lot for your continued patronage, folks; wouldn't be much of a point to writing this if I didn't have anybody to share the love with, if you know what I mean. Remember, I always encourage each and everyone of you to feel free to comment, review, and/or discuss the story. Your comments can really make a difference, I assure you, and if you're up to it, feel free to ring me up on AIM, or even send me an e-mail (although you really don't need to boost my ego too often). You know how to get in touch with the maestro here. And with that said, it's time to say hello to our Reviewers from the last line up:

To the H-To-Tha-Five-Oh, Mister Skuld's Sentaro 5, happy to hear you're liking things. Takahata's relationship with Shizuna in the manga appears to be pretty vague, and we don't really get to see what they do on a daily basis. However, you can definitely find some conclusive hints here and there that they are --- how to say --- involved with one another. I hope you all don't mind my interpretation of their daily business too much, but then again, I suppose you could expect the same from Akamatsu-san.

To the Yunlong the Dragon, Mister Alpha Draconis1, don't fret too much about Keitaro. Trust me, he's far from forgotten, but if you really want to know about his whereabouts, the offer still is open. Though I'm not certain I can give you a completely straight answer, if you know what I mean. As far Takahata, I figured it be somewhat keeping in with Akamatsu's tradition when it comes to his leading male characters. Both Keitaro and Negi obviously are something of a magnet for feminine "outbreaks of violence," and even Seta-san for all his coolness is not exempt either.

To the Master of MUR-DAH MUZAK, Mister M. Blade, nice to hear from you again, man. Don't worry, I'll get around to giving you a new evaluation on Lineages eventually. I'm just sitting around waiting for the story to blossom some more before going in to take stock of the situation and give you the new 4-1-1 on your progress.

Well, that wraps it up, folks, so until the next time we meet (next week again): Rock on!

Hums Tori no Uta from the anime Air as he exits stage left. (Hint-Hint!)

Omake!

Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu

New Pairings Sighted?

NaruxAsuna --- There's something not right with this picture, isn't there? Oh Heavens...! It sounds like Armageddon!

And where would we be without the...

Episode Preview!

Chapter 20:

Recovery

"Thanks for the information, Sensei. Now I really have to meet this girl."

Tsudzuku!