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 26:
Cat and Mouse
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
Honestly.
What a fool I am.
What have I accomplished with this futile, righteous gesture?
Isn't it completely the opposite of what I hope to accomplish?
Death would've been a mercy compared to what I had in store for them.
So why bother?
What am I supposed to be anyway?
Yes, I made it in time.
But-!
Agony.
Damn, thank goodness to our ancestors for coming up with the Chakra Yoroi technique.
Looks like all that training was not completely worthless, after all.
Still, it doesn't change-
Pain.
Ugh!
Cocky little...aghk!
The second roaring explosion was accompanied by a black blur whistling through the air where it slammed into the decorative water fountain behind Negi and Anya. They scarcely had enough time to dive out of the way in that instant, before the raw force of the impacting projectile obliterated the fountain altogether, bursting the water pipes underneath.
Geysers of rushing water shot upwards from the bursting pipes, dousing the immediate area under a light shower briefly, before the pressure in the pipes began to die to down.
Luckily, they had not been sitting at the main fountain or the damage could have been even worse.
"Negi-sensei, Blanchett-san! Are you alright?" Chachamaru shouted at them, hoping that neither had been hurt. She was standing safely outside the radius of the shower, cradling the dark violet-haired student protectively in her arms.
Anya was the first to reply. "Oh, we're good, Chacha-chan! All in a day's work for the-"
"Raiton --- Kaminari Fuuin no Jutsu!"
A streak of lightning cut through the air with an explosive clap of thunder, passing right over the heads of the duo, leaving the hairs on the back of their necks standing on end. Fortunately, the android girl's sensors had detected the unusual build up of energy beforehand and had leapt well out of harm's way along with her apparently unconscious charge. The crackling lightning bolt slammed into the towering dark debris cloud at the top of the stairs an instant later with a brilliant blinding flash of light. An inhuman scream, distorted by a thousand cacophonic voices speaking out at once, tore across the plaza, shattering the lights and glass panes on nearby lampposts as it shook the very ground to its foundations.
Negi recovered first, lifting his head up cautiously to take stock of the situation. He had never heard a scream like that before, similar to a Dementor's cry but unique in its one way, and he has certainly never seen a monster like that!
"My God, what is that thing?" he murmured in astonishment. "It's enormous!"
The dark cloud of debris had been dispersed, and there the creature stood, ensnared in a cage of brilliant crackling blue electricity that was held in place by an oddly familiar steel ruler. Half-man and half-serpent, a pair of glowing yellow eyes gazed through the bleached white skull it wore over its face, as the creature writhed and howled in its imprisonment. The thing was easily the size of a school bus, and it was not happy in the slightest bit. Hatefully, it glared outwards, but surprisingly not at him or any of his companions; its anger was focused on something further back.
"Ugh, thought you had me finished back there, didn't you?" chuckled a familiar voice, cold as death, over the crackling din emanating around her.
No way.
She's-!
She's alive!
Negi pushed himself hurriedly off the ground, rising up to his feet with his wrapped staff in hand, and turned about face, his dark brown eyes filled with eagerness to confirm what his heart already knew. There she stood proudly upon the rubble of the water fountain, a little bit beaten up with a touch of soot on her beautiful complexion, while minor tears and rips reveled upon her black singed clothes, but she was alive. It was as if she had just survived an explosion. How she was still standing after everything that transpired within the last few minutes was anyone's guess.
Even better yet, how was it that the crackling blue electricity emanating from an electric ball held seemingly in her outstretched hand was not electrocuting her? Kanako was standing right there in the center of the wrecked fountain with water pooling around her and the raven-haired girl's clothes were not in the slightest bit wet. A humming blue aura laced with bolts of lightning emanated from her body into a vibrant sphere that pulsed with a life of its own. The water was certainly electrified to deadly levels judging by the plentiful bubbles and broiling waves that raged out of the spilling pool.
I definitely don't want to be in there with her, but how is Urashima-kun doing all of this? thought the bespectacled boy in amazement as his other companions recovered. They too were caught in varying states of astonishment and wonder like himself. He had heard stories about the practitioners of magic in the East, but this was unlike any magic he had ever seen.
Was it even really magic at all?
Kanako grinned toothily, basking in the mixed sentiments of the eyes that gazed upon her. It was similar to the feeling she felt back in the classroom, facing down the mob of students on her own, but this was different. There was a thrill, a rush of electricity jolting up her spine, her blood hot with fire for battle. She was freed at last and she was going to use all of her might to crush that vile lost soul, returning it back into the eternal slumber of oblivion.
"Now then, let's end this!" she cried, lifting up her freehand as she applied more force to the ball of electricity, causing it to brighten with a roar. Quickly, the raven-haired girl performed a series of one-handed hand seals, focusing her chakra to perform a new technique.
Nezumi. Hebi. Ohitsuji. Tora.
"Kaminari Kyuu!"
The cage of lightning constricted violently around the Hollow, sending the malicious spirit writhing into the throes of agony. A putrid stench caught into the breeze as its flesh was seared and burned by her power, spurning Kanako onwards as she continued to pressure and crush the flaring ball of electricity in her right hand. The beast screamed in fury, pushing back defiantly against the closing walls that threatened to extinguish its very existence.
All she needed now was one more push and...
A sudden ominous shiver shot up the raven-haired girl's spine, causing her to shudder wildly. "What?"
The Hollow's great yellow eyes flared up with an eerie, emitting an unnatural pitched squeal. A hazy distortion of pure force that the creature's spirit force shot forth from its body in an abrupt shockwave, shattering Kanako's steel ruler that was the focus of her technique into sparkling shards of pure energy. The electric cage fizzled out instantly as the reverse feedback flowed back to her, making the ball of electricity in her hand explode. With a choked yelp, she staggered back, convulsing erratically from the errant electric flow, her battle aura dissipating into nothingness.
Any cries of shock that her "spectators" were silenced when the wave of spirit force from the Hollow knocked them to the ground. Kanako was not so fortunate as the crackling psychic wave slammed into her, flinging her clean off her feet. She hurtled backwards in a forced somersault, sailing helplessly through the air, before she landed roughly on her side against the pavement with a pained cough.
"Ugh, itai..." the raven-haired girl slurred drowsily. Her head was swimming with a bittersweet cocktail of pain and dizziness. Wisps of smoke rose from all over her body thanks to the electric burns she had just incurred. Luckily, the electric techniques she can generate using chakra tended to lose their voltage quickly once the chakra flow was severed. If it were not for that, she would have been happily deep-fried by now.
Still, it did little to soothe the angry curses Kanako flung mentally at herself for overconfidence. She had underestimated her foe grossly and had not been expecting to meet a Hollow of such caliber. To have been able to grow to such immense proportions; she should have remembered that a Hollows of this size and power correlated usually with its age. The older they were, the more powerful they became, and the ability to harness their own spirit force and use it offensively or defensively was certainly the mark of an experienced wraith.
She grit her teeth, willing her battered and burnt body to stand. Now was not the time to be lying on the floor, nursing her wounds like an amateur. The vile little beast should be phasing back out of the visible spectrum...
The Hollow screamed murderously.
...and charging down the stairs to gut her. Its hands crushing the precious stone steps to a thunderous din, as it pulled itself ahead faster, whipping its tail about for balance. There was no time consider any repercussions. The Hollow was closing in with frightening speed, its incomprehensible bloodlust enflaming her veins with renewed vigor. Kanako turned about face, her singed ponytail billowing outwards, and she fled from the scene, fast as the wind. There was only a trail of uproarious destruction in the raven-haired girl's wake as the most dangerous game came to pass between the spirit and herself.
In the end, only one would survive.
"Ooooo-oh bloody Lovely-desu! Please, tell me --- ow --- that's just my head --- ugh! --- and not the alarm clock," coughed Anya miserably. Her head was positively coming down with the mother of all headaches, and on top of that she could feel something wet sliding down the side of her face. This probably was not a good sign as she was feeling a touch light-headed too. Calmly, she reached up with a free hand, dabbed on the stuff, and took a lick right off the tip of her finger.
It was red and tasted like copper. "Yup, that's blood, definitely. Water, plasma, red blood cells: blood. No mistaking it. Must've taken a bit of a cut there when I got flattened again."
"Blanchett-san, are you all right?" a familiar voice asked her that immediately brought a cheery smile on her face.
Negi always did know how to make friends with the most lovely of people! It was never a boring moment with him. Of course, she should probably stop smiling and get serious. The blood slipping down the side of her face from the shallow cut above her brow made her smile a touch too disturbing to be in good taste.
"Ah, Chacha-chan, good to see you're doing fine!" the tawny-haired girl replied in good spirits as she pushed off the pavement and stood up. The aches and pains she could feel across her body were really annoying, but it was nothing a good healing spell could not solve later, including the cut above her brow. "Oh, and how's the student?"
Chachamaru blinked at the response. She was still carrying the unconscious female student in her arms, which her internal databases had identified immediately as her fellow classmate, Nodoka Miyazaki, Student #27. Miyazaki would be just fine, perhaps a little traumatized, but the android girl was certain that her friends could get her through the experience --- that is, if she tried to open up to them about it. The dark violet-haired girl was notoriously timid and had a rather gross fear for the male species.
Speaking of which, why did Blanchett-san... "'Student'?"
"You didn't know? I'm a teacher here too, just like my mate Negi. Anya-sensei of Class Two-F, please take care of me-desu!"
She's quite energetic. "I see, Blanchett-sensei."
"Please, call me Anya-sensei, it's what my students call me anyway (plus Anya-chan, Ayu-chan, nehehe), and if you want, even just Anya will do. I'm still learning the ropes with Japanese customs, so I hope this isn't too forward of me!"
Yes, she's very energetic, and she certainly doesn't appear to be a bad person either. "It's no problem --- Anya-sensei."
"Fair enough. Oh, and I also have a part-time job at Yomogi Nursery School in Mahora City!"
Anya paused suddenly, a serious expression on her face. She had just remembered something very important, like a light bulb going off over her head, her eyes shifted her attention towards the disturbing havoc that had been wreaked across the plaza. The huge water fountain beside her was completely totaled, leaking water all over the place, joining the randomly strewn concrete debris, while various craters cut through the grounds. It was like a battlefield, and someone very important was missing.
He had ditched her again.
The apt look of disapproval on the tawny-haired girl's face did not go unnoticed by the android. "Negi-sensei went ahead after Urashima-san, and told me to look after you. He said it was too dangerous."
"Is that so? Oh, that boy really gets on my nerves when he does this to me! This has to be the fiftyieth time alone since we graduated!"
"'Fiftyieth'?"
"Exactly! Negi does this all the time, trying to be the-" Anya paused in mid-sentence, her dark brown eyes flashing with another revelation. She looked neon green-haired girl in the eye and noticed just how serene her companion was about the entire situation. A normal person would have gone into a frenzy or a panic by now, considering the unreal destruction and supernatural events that had just transpired here. Why was she not going completely bonkers?
She's staring at me. I wonder why? "Is something the matter?"
"Umm, anou --- it's n-nothin', really." I'd better watch my step around her. Something's not right here. I'm supposed to be the calm one, not her! Bloody goodness, how did she manage to jump that high anyway?
"Karakuri-san, perhaps you should leave Miyazaki-san in the care of myself," interjected a new voice silkily from behind the tawny-haired girl, "and Blanchett-sensei, don't you think?"
It was times like these that Anya Mireille Blanchett was glad that she was a touch emotionally slow. Of course, she insisted it was simply a result of her maturity and being a year older than her fellow peers, including Negi, but the truth was, she just did not react quickly to ordinarily "fiery" sentiments. She would certainly react, except there was a slight delay from her being "Okay" and her going "Goodness FLUXING Gracious!".
Turning around very slowly, deliberately in fact, she locked eyes with a pair of dark blue sapphire eyes, which quite honestly could have passed for precious gems. She was a beautiful petite girl, the same height as Anya, virtually flawless for her youthful, prepubescent age and the tawny-haired girl felt a twinge of envy rise up in her like a seething viper. Of course, it would be foolish to ignore the visible thorns that accompanied this perfect rose.
The girl was smiling, gazing at her with the look of a beaming cat that had just found itself a new toy.
"M-Mc-McDowell-san," stuttered Chachamaru, the barest hint of dread in her voice, as a violent tumult of questions raced through her mind. What is my Mistress doing here? What does she intend to do with Miyazaki-san and Anya-sensei?
Anya forced out a smile, ignoring the cold tremors she could feel spiking up her feet, "Waii, a last name! And judging by your uniform, you're a student here at Mahora Academy too."
"Evangeline A.K. McDowell, Student Number Twenty-Six of Class 2-A," Evangeline replied cordially, "it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
"'Ma'am'? Oh please, I'm not that old yet, McDowell-san." Lovely, I think I'm trapped, but why did Chacha-chan sound a bit worried? Isn't she in on this too?
The blonde-haired girl giggled with a smirk. "Ah, of course. By the way, feel free to address me as Evangeline-san, Blanchett-sensei. 'McDowell-san' is much too --- cumbersome for a form of address."
"In that case, please call me Anya-sensei too, Evangeline-san."
"McDowell-san, what are you doing here?" interjected the android girl, much to Evangeline's private ire. Her servant really should know better than to interrupt her when she was busy. "This place is dangerous. There was an-"
"Don't you have something to be doing, Karakuri-san?"
"Ah!"
The blonde huffed airily, rolling her eyes at the tall neon green-haired girl. "You really can be quite a handful sometimes. Look, leave Miyazaki-san with Anya-sensei and me. I'll have you know that I'm perfectly qualified with first aid. You, on other hand, ought to be contacting someone in authority, getting emergency services down here, or..."
"I..."
"...you could go after --- Negi-sensei --- and my Kanako-chan."
Anya barely suppressed the urge to raise her brow at the haughty girl's remark. It was the first time, to her record memory at least, that she had ever heard somebody refer to someone else with such a possessive tone, as if they belonged to them, like property. What sort of scheme was Evangeline up to? And what was up with that barely restrained hostility she gathered from when the blonde mentioned Negi's name?
"I suppose so, McDowell-san," Chachamaru admitted hesitantly, her face an expressionless mask. If she showed her mistress a frown, there would certainly be more severe repercussions later. Insubordination was not tolerated in her mistress's house. These powerful emotions were extraordinarily difficult to master, in spite of her inherent superhuman superiority. How was it possible that humans could even manage them?
In veiled resignation, the android girl bent down, shrugging off her uniform's jacket with one arm while holding onto Nodoka securely with her other arm. Sweeping her jacket flat on the pavement, Chachamaru offered an impromptu cushion for her unconscious charge. It was all in common decency, of course, before she turned back to the watchful attention of her mistress, making way with a courteous bow to excuse herself.
Evangeline hardly wasted any time getting to the heart of the matter. She was completely confident in where she stood with her servant, and regardless of what Chachamaru did, the neon green-haired girl's actions would only benefit her more. Chachamaru would never lie to her; she was incapable of doing so, an important incorrigible facet of her personality layer that the vampire princess had seen to its design, personally. She would never allow herself to be betrayed again, and most certainly not by her own servant!
There would be much suffering to pay for, if that should ever happen again.
"Saa te, at last we're finally alone, aren't we, sensei?" Evangeline cooed ominously, flashing her gleaming white teeth in a predatory smile.
It was smile that Anya certainly did not like, as it spoke of much doom and malice. She was sort of glad that Miyazaki would not be awake to see this, and quite frankly appreciated the kind gesture on Chachamaru's behalf to the timid bibliophile, even though the brunette suspected that the neon green-haired girl something to do with this --- conspiracy. There was some dreadful business going down here. She would have to put on a brave front for Negi until he returned.
Anya beamed with a bright smile in reply, "Why --- is something the matter, Evangeline-san?"
"First, a question."
"A question, Evangeline-san?"
"Yes, there was something I wanted to confirm with you..."
"And what could it be?"
"You're a magi, aren't you?"
Silence.
Oh, this was bad.
This was very bad.
Now, she really wished she had not left her wand in her luggage!
"Just. Like. Negi Springfield." Evangeline smirked.
Black Queen to White Bishop.
Check.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
Yes, another fight scene and a chase! We're finally moving away from some of the angst. But what's this I see with Evangeline? Ohhhhh, she's got some plans, doesn't she? Bad vibes, folks, bad vibes. What's a Chachamaru to do? Oh, and what about Nodoka? Is she going to wake up and see something --- she shouldn't see? Will she get her own episode too?
Heck, we won't find out until the next episode of Glass Moon, so stay tuned week!
Thank you all for your time and 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.
I don't got much to say to our loyal reviewers today, except keep doing that good stuff you guys and gals do. Motivation; Motivation; Motivation! Of course, I gotta warn you, Alpha Draconis1 was pretty off with his guess. Hehehhe...
Well, that wraps it up, folks, so until the next time we meet (probably next Monday): Read on! And please, sleep tight! More Hinata Girlz are on the way!
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Episode Preview!
Chapter 27:
Running the Diamond
"Sure thing, sure thing, Shinomu! But --- Could you maybe put me down first? I think I'm losing circulation in my shoulders here...oohhhh, dizzy. Need bananas..."
Tsudzuku!