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 47:

Lurking Shadows

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

Thus, the two unlikely companions set off towards their destination, although Keitaro suggested he could walk just fine now and Setsuna vehemently insisted that he was in no position to argue. It was in this fashion that their exchange grew into a familiar banter the ronin often traded off with his own sister, and back and forth they would go for hours on end. Maybe it was a childish game, but he liked it all the same, and even Setsuna managed to find some solace in the activity. She felt --- comfortable around him, even though he did most of the talking.

Keitaro seemed to be able to bring out the strangest things in her.

Of course, little did they know that a very interested party, indeed, was monitoring their progress. A swirl of black feathers flowed into the plaza, carrying bemused laughter, feminine and rich. They coalesced together in mid-air, giving shape and form before materializing as one.

Twin black wings unfurled to reveal the figure within their protective fold, a girl-child cruel and beautiful all at once. Clad in an elaborate, regal pseudo Gothic-Victorian dress of dark blues and white lace, white crosses marked the sword-like pleats of her skirt. The dark blue choker encircling her throat matched the lace headpiece she wore through her long fine silver hair that flowed to her waist. Black ribbons and amethyst roses, the same color as her eyes, complimented her slim figure along side the snug, feminine dark blue riding boots that reached the tops of her white lacy bloomers.

Suigintou, the Mercury Lampe, had no illusions about her destiny and the powers she commanded at will. Right before her own eyes, she had born witness to fortune and misfortune in the same day. The destruction of her precious experiment was regrettable. The other two from earlier today had managed to survive intact, although their vessels were sadly unrecoverable.

"My dear, dear little Heartless, that man destroyed you completely, turned you into --- junk," she hissed malevolently with a grin as she surveyed the battle torn scene. It was going to take some work to clean this mess up. "I can't even sense a sliver of your presence anymore. You've become junk my child, my dear little me. Junk --- and all because of that man!"

The amethyst gem shaped like a rose on her ornate silver ring glowed ominously with anger.

Keitaro Urashima.

Oh, how she hated the name of that righteous human! The product of her hard work, the black heart born from her own bosom that allowed the Hollows to at last roam through this "protected" city, had been destroyed by him. It was a masterpiece! Something her sisters could never have dreamed of creating; something that she could have used to easily win the Alice Game, but Suigintou did not care to play Father's game anymore.

Her "death" at the wretched hands of Shinku was --- regrettable, but her rebirth could not have been better. A maestro --- no --- someone even greater than a maestro or even Father had called her back, rebuilt her anew from scratch, erased Father's flaws in her, given her a new body, and most importantly, given her a heart. Yes, no more was she a mere doll, a measly Rozen Maiden, a puppet that danced at the whim of Father.

She loved Father with all her soul, but Suigintou had been set free, and now she would become Alice on her own terms. With her newfound power, she could easily defeat her sisters at anytime. She could play Father's Alice Game and become Alice whenever she pleased. However, the "Maker" had given her a new purpose, a new goal worth fighting for, a dream of her own will to grasp, and she would grasp this new dream at any cost.

This Keitaro Urashima would pay dearly for his transgression, and yet she had to applaud him. He had just unknowingly discovered the perfect medium for her. Perhaps, she would grant him a small mercy when the time came to strike him down as thanks.

Setsuna Sakurazaki was hers.

"You can come out now, human," Suigintou called out haughtily as she glided down to the pavement. "Come out, or I'll flush you out."

From the relative concealment of the tree line, a lilting laugh echoed forth. A tall dark-haired woman clad in a red hakama and a white gi, and a polished wooden cane in hand, stepped out into the open with a jingle of bells. She wore a disarming smile on her face and yet there was something dangerous in her graceful, steady gait. Suigintou reckoned the woman was a "demon" hunter or possibly an "exorcist" in the employ of the Kensai Association as anyone who regulated their inner energies that well was far different from the average layman.

Then again, with the heart she now possessed, only the dead could ever hope to escape her notice.

"Fufufu, it seems I have been caught in the act, de gozaru," the woman stated formally in an open voice.

"Hmph, and how long have you been watching those two children, human?"

"I could ask the same question of you --- say, just what are you exactly? I have never encountered one such as yourself before, that I have not, and you seem to be much more sophisticated than any mere Familiar a magi could wield..."

Suigintou grinned toothily. "Che, a Familiar? Me? Ha, I'm my own master!"

"Well, I certainly cannot sense anything odd about you and that in itself is an oddity, that it is. You are not a human child certainly, as your proportions appear to be a touch --- exaggerated for the sake of aesthetics, quite beautiful. Besides, I do not recall children having wings, much less black ones."

"My, my, what an eye you have, and by that formal accent, you're from Kyoto, aren't you?"

"Why yes! And I imagine that body --- better yet --- your entire form can shift its size and proportions at will. For example, if you wanted to pose as a teenaged human child of fourteen years old, you certainly could. After all, it's not always convenient to appear to be a living doll, would it?"

"Hooo, a good guess. Your imagination's quite impressive, Kyoto no Onna, but you're only half-right..."

"Oh, am I, de gozaru?"

"...I'm not a doll," Suigintou hissed as her black wings expanded suddenly with a deafening roar.

A direct burst of black feathers whistled through the air like daggers, filled with murderous killing intent for the woman in red and white. It was a low-level attack but still highly effective. If she could not deal with such a simple attack, then Suigintou supposed she would have to clean up one extra corpse in the mi-!

There was a flash of ringing steel, so quick that her astonished eyes could barely keep up with the incredible motion. In a near instant, the winged girl-child watched as the burst of black feathers was obliterated into crackling blue embers by a single sweep of the woman's sword. Freed from its disguise, Suigintou discerned it was a katana but not just any ordinary one either. There was a great power radiating from the honed gleaming edge of the blade, a unique resonance that identified it undoubtedly as a zanpakutou (or soul cutter).

"Your skills are impressive, Kyoto no Onna-san, as to be expected from the Kensai Association's finest," Suigintou applauded the woman with a mocking smile. "Or at least, I don't believe they just hand out soul cutters to any new recruit nowadays."

The woman's dark olive green eyes hardened visibly in recognition, as she brought her zanpakutou down low to her side. "Hmmm, you are not any ordinary magical construct either, that you are not."

"Of course! I am Suigintou, the proud masterpiece of Father, the First Rozen Maiden doll!"

"Rozen --- Maiden?"

"Yes, but no longer am I just a mere doll!"

"Hm, then what are you exactly now?"

Suigintou giggled madly, veiling her face with the sleeve of her dress in a pompous aristocratic gesture. "My, where are your manners, Kyoto no Onna-san? I've told you my name, but what about yours?"

"Ah, how rude of me," the woman apologized to her with a sheepish smile, as she returned her amethyst gaze unflinchingly. "I am Aoyama Tsuruko, de gozaru."

"What? No titles? I've heard many a thing about the Aoyama Clan, Tsu-ru-ko-san."

"Ara ara, I am truly sorry, but I am not much for titles, that I am not, Suigintou-han."

"Is that so? Well then, I think I'll be leaving now."

"And what if I refuse?" said Tsuruko plainly, brandishing her zanpakutou with a whistling deadly flourish for further emphasis.

Suigintou smirked in reply, "Hmph, as if you ever had a choice in the first place, foolish human."

Suddenly, the purplish glow radiating from her ring flared brilliantly, catching the swordswoman off guard as she was forced to shield her eyes. Tsuruko muttered a choice curse under her breath at her own carelessness. If the girl was a magical construct, then it certainly would not be unusual for her to be able to use magic too! She had never fought a magi before, but any hastily constructed battle plans dissolved when the blinding violet light dissipated.

Her opponent was gone, and in Suigintou's escape, the entire plaza had mysteriously repaired itself. There was not a scratch anywhere, not a bench unturned, and the pleasant water fountains were all fixed! What was going on here? What was Suigintou's motive for doing such a thing?

"Let's meet again sometime, Aoyama Tsuruko-san. But who knows? By then, my dear little Heartless may have already taken this city --- as mine. Tee-hee-hee! Fufufufufufu!"

That girl knew something and she was most definitely up to no good.

"Keitaro!" shouted Kanako as she bolted awake.

Everything came suddenly rushing back to her in a cold sweat, black pupils dilating. Between ragged breaths, she saw flashes of things, a mess of colors and sound, but always his name appeared in the foreground of the cacophonic static. Again and again, she read his name:

Keitaro.

Keitaro.

Keitaro.

Keitaro.

"Keitaro..." she murmured again between clenched teeth as she clutched tightly at the blanket in her hands.

There was a burning affliction spreading through her, like a fever. The air felt dry and suffocating against the lining of her throat, stifling her forced coughs, which were now anything but productive. Questions of when, where, and how erupted across her hazy thoughts as a persistent, ugly sensation of nausea wormed its way into her gut. In short, she felt like hell, and her sense of self was going haywire.

Was she losing herself again, like earlier today? No matter, Keitaro was waiting for her. He was --- nearby, so close --- and she would go to him no matter what the cost!

With a growl, Kanako tossed the blankets aside and paused, a shocked expression blossoming on her face. Her school uniform: all the unsightly tears and rips were gone, just like new when she had first worn it this morning. Did somebody change her clothes? No, they would not dare to touch her!

The raven-haired girl scowled angrily at the thought, the urge to break, to destroy something welling up inside her. She surveyed the dim ward, lit only by the faint traces of orange-hued light from the setting sun streaming through the opened windows. There was not a soul here besides her, the ward empty save for the hospital-style beds, eight in total. Awkwardly, her raged died down as a cold feeling of loneliness pervaded her soul.

Kanako bit her lip, clutching at her trembling arms in a futile effort to calm herself. She felt vulnerable and weak. So many horrible things had happened, many of which she had caused, and yet there were also things that she could not explain. She did not want to be in this place, in this terrible place anymore!

Wait, it's around sunset, right? Yes, Mahora Academy usually closes around four or five p.m. in the afternoon, which means... the troubled girl drifted off in her thoughts. Hardly, did she notice the faint blue huge radiating from her presence flicker crimson red, blackening, before fading back to blue and fizzling out with a hushed whisper.

Ah, yes, now she remembered! Keitaro said he would be coming to pick her up after school, just like always. He should be waiting for her right now.

"Oh no, I have to hurry!" Kanako murmured urgently before she vaulted out of the bed. "I shouldn't keep Nii-san waiting for me. Stupid! How could a little imperfect talisman like that keep down for so long anyway?"

To her good fortune, she found her pair of shoes for school on the floor beside her bed, which oddly enough was in the same state of "newness" as her Mahora Academy school uniform. The notion irked her, but Kanako quickly slipped them on, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another curious sight. On the bedside table was a folded note beside her very own school bag, the contents hastily scribbled on, and so it read:

"Hope repairs sufficient. Ratio. Satisfactory! Compliments Eva-sama. Anytime. Correlation. Thanks for Data! Busy-Busy! Tech Support/Complaints. Inquire: Call Engineering (ext. A08-7796). Hakase Saotomi, #24, 2-A. P.S. Welcome aboard!"

Kanako cringed for it appeared she had just indirectly met another one of Eva's accomplices, or perhaps to be more precise, her "servants." To make matters worse, they were also in the same class too. Evangeline A.K. McDowell might just prove to be a devil that she had no choice but to confront in the long run. It was all part of her grand master plan of course, although she had to admit that her aspirations to destroy Mahora Academy may have to be put on hold for some time.

Stashing away the note in the pockets of her jacket for future reference, she grabbed her school bag and proceeded towards the door. Already she had wasted enough time, and Kanako did want to make her dear brother wait any longer for her arrival. Quickly, she left the empty infirmary, sprinting down the seemingly deserted halls as fast her legs could carry her.

If she had bothered to glance back, she might have noticed a figure gazing at her retreating back with a pair of eyes, the subtle difference of sky blue and dark blue. The knuckle clenched fists trembled as the twin bells jingled in ominous foreboding. Asuna Kagurazaka stepped into the fading light, her face bathed in acid hate.

"Urashima Kanako... I won't forgive you for what you did today..."

Little did she notice the iris of her right eye glow, flickering from its sky blue to a matching light violet, before igniting into an angry smoldering green.

"...Ever!"

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Oh Lordy, is it finally that time again? It's chapter 47! Am I finally giving us some evidence of an immediate larger plot, besides the multiple character driven sub-plots and vice-versa that seem to be mainly driving this story? Did I gyp you all out of some awesome WAFF and drama? You bet, but it'll be here next time, so please put down the pitchforks and torches. On the other hand, rivalries are heating up!

Looks, like Asuna is never going to forget what happened today, which could certainly spell some great doom, gloom, and plenty of not so nice pranks. And Evangeline took care of Kanako's stuff? Why does Gin-chan plan to take over Mahora City with an army of Hollows no less? What's the big scheme here? Who's this person, The Maker, who fixed her up? And what will Tsuruko's next move be?

Well, maybe we'll find out on the next episode of Glass Moon-desu!

Reviewers and readers alike, I'd like to thank you all very much for your continued patronage. Hontouni arigatou desu! Remember, I 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.

Oh, and Mister Kippenberger, you really should register so I can reply to you better in person. Yeah, I see where you're coming from, and they'll get their dues too. Though, on the subject of Shinobu and Kaolla's age, I kinda just implied they were in the same age group as Kanako, but oh well, I'll take care of it later.

So without further adieu, that wraps it up, folks (see you around the same time as usual): All ZIG, LAUNCH! FOR GREAT JUSTICE!

Omake!

Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu

Episode Preview!

Chapter 48:

The Yojimbo and the Ronin

"They'd use me until I turned into dust."

Tsudzuku!