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 51:
Phone Calls
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
It was not after seven in the evening when they finally arrived to their home, a modest single-family house by Tokyo's massively inflated standards, in the suburbs of Nakano-ku. Ambivalence had stunned Kanako the moment she had laid her eyes upon her dear brother. Keitaro looked the way she felt, a subtle contradiction of battle weariness and simultaneous gratitude. Fear, anger, joy, relief, and worry assaulted her all at once at the sight of him.
In this singular moment, all she could manage was to run to him and throw her arms around him into a rough embrace. Keitaro had been surprised by the "warm" reception, to be frank. The ronin had expected his little sister to give him an earful for coming back to her in such a state of "disarray," though he looked like he had just walked away from a car wreck, minus any wounds. His clothes, on the other hand, were not so fortunate.
Privately, Keitaro thanked his lucky stars that nobody had bothered to question them in the slightest bit on the way home. He did get the odd stare, but more likely than not people probably thought he was Kanako's delinquent boyfriend, upper classmen, or something. And as far he was concerned, they could think what they wanted to as long as nobody called the cops on him.
"Nii-san! You can't be serious about still going out tonight," Kanako pleaded with him for the umpteenth time that quarter of an hour alone. Ever since they had taken their showers, got dressed, and met once more in the living room for a little "heart to heart," she had been hounding him left and right.
Keitaro laughed amiably in reply, as he sat down on the step in the lit foyer and began to slip on his shoes, "Hey, but I promised you, didn't I? And you were looking forward to this too."
"Demo... But that was..."
"Before what?" he asked her innocently, pausing in tying a shoelace to flash her a wide smile. "By the way, that looks cute on you."
She blushed at his offhand remark, spluttering incoherently, "B-Baka! Stupid, don't say embarrassing things like that. Aren't you..."
"Am I not-what?" Oh boy, here comes the big one, I bet...
"...Aren't you MAD, Keitaro-niisan?"
"Mad? ...Wha? You mean, like 'Am I crazy' mad?"
"Keitaro-baka!" Kanako snapped furiously at him. She shook her fist emphatically, causing Keitaro to curl up just a little, to make her point clear that she was serious. "Aren't you angry at all?"
The ronin laughed in reply, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Oh, so that's what you meant! Sheesh, you could've just said so in the first place, Kana-chan."
"Kei-TA-RO...!" I love you, Keitaro-oniichan; I really do, but right now, you're just pissing me off!
Oh dear, that tone Kanako's using can't mean good things... "All right, all right, geez, I understand..."
"Baka! You should've told me in the first place instead of smiling like a jack---! and then telling me oh-so-casually what the hell you did today!"
"Well, we both messed up, didn't we?"
"Of course, we did --- but that's beside the point!"
"So are you mad at me?" Keitaro asked her finally.
Kanako gasped, her irrational rage fizzling out into nothing. In its place, a new emotion took root, almost like guilt but sweeter. She gazed at him with a torn expression, unable to voice quite what it was that welling up inside her. Of course, she should have been mad and he as well, because in the course of a single day they had put the family at more risk than it had ever experienced in generations.
"I'm not mad at you, if it helps any, Kana-chan," he told her casually, removing his newest pair of glasses to examine them. Rimless spectacles, not exactly his style, but they would do just fine.
"...Nii-san?" He's not angry at me?
"Under those circumstances, you reacted pretty much exactly how I expected you would, and besides, I already I had the hunch that you had no intention of going to Mahora Academy to start fresh. You were planning on tearing that school apart, and you've just gotten started."
"I..." So he knew all along?
"I knew you didn't want to leave Kitsusho Academy either, but I hoped that maybe Mahora Academy might've been a good change for you. Hehehe, guess I was wrong, huh?"
Is that...? "Are you --- disappointed in me, Keitaro-oniisan?"
"Nope, because you did exactly what I expected you to do. Now, I'm not exactly keen on you nearly losing your head five times in one day, getting into fights, making enemies out of pretty much out of everyone, but in that process, I think you've made a little change as well."
Kanako blinked in bewilderment at his vague statement. "I've changed a little?"
"Yup, I can't be for certain how, but those circumstances, everything you've told me... You've grown up a little, after all."
"Eeeehh?" I don't get it at all. How have I changed? I don't feel any different.
"I can't make you change unless you want to, Kana-chan. As your older brother, I can only show you the way and accept responsibility for whatever might happen in the future."
"Accept responsibility?"
"Keep doing what you want to do, Kana-chan, and I'm not going to stop you, but the moment, somebody comes knocking on that door, it's my job to take the responsibility. I'm the eldest here, I'm the one who's taking care of you, watching over you, and nurturing you, and I'm where the buck stops. That's why otou-san and okaa-san entrusted me with you."
"Keitaro..." No, he couldn't mean... No, I'm not an animal like them! Yes, I did get a little rough with Narusegawa, but even I wouldn't go that far. Never.
Keitaro laughed sheepishly aloud, a mild attempt to lighten the mood as made another connection. "Heck, I'm the idiot who delivered you straight to Headmaster Konoe Konoemon, and I just have the nastiest feeling that old guy knows a lot more than he lets on. He might even be playing around with us. Kami-sama knows who he managed to find out about us..."
"Ah...Nii-san," Kanako murmured, uncertain how she should comfort him. Even she was shocked to learn that they had all been pulled into some kind plot by the old man, somehow.
"Talk about a mess, huh? But you know, I won't force you to change. You're you, and if you're going to change that change has to come from inside you. You've got what it takes inside you; I know it! What happened today proves it. The fact that you want to go back tomorrow, back to school, and try to find out what's really going on in Mahora Academy --- heck, I couldn't be prouder!"
"But.."
"Just try not to put anybody in the hospital for life, okay? If you're going to break somebody's arm, I'm going to expect you to set it right and heal it, in the least. I'll see if I can help you investigate some stuff, but I'm not going to help you settle any grudges with a fist. Besides, you know how I am. I'm useless in a fight anyway, unless it's against Hollows or whatever youkai from Keiji, with my weird chakra and reiatsu. Heh, my chakra is completely unreliable, and even though I have so much, I can't use a drop of it, so we might as well say that all I have is reiatsu."
"Hnn..."
"And you know, reiatsu can't harm material beings, at least according to the texts we've studied."
"...ugh..."
"So are you mad at me, Kanako?" Keitaro asked her again, slipping back on his glasses with a beaming smile.
Kanako sighed in exasperation. She honestly did not know what to say to her dear older brother. He had practically given her free license to do anything she pleased, including the pranks, the fights, whatever. She was relieved and dismayed at the same time. Keitaro was not angry at her, but this did not feel right either.
I feel like I should be punished, the raven-haired girl thought solemnly to herself, "I'm not mad at you either, Kei-niichan."
"Really?" he beamed hopefully at her. His dark brown eyes were sparkling like a child's, as if he had expecting to be punished when he had clearly done less wrong than her.
"Yes."
"Ah, that's great to hear! I thought you were going to flip-"
She glared at him with a visible angry tick in her brow. "But it doesn't mean I liked what you did either."
"Uhhh, well..."
"I don't like how you decided to befriend this 'Sakurazaki Setsuna' --- thing."
"But, Kana-chan, she's a good person, really! And she's even from the same school as you."
"She's a demon, Nii-san! A karasu tengu!"
"Hey now, Sekkun's only a half-demon, a hanyou. She said so herself, and even if she was a full-blooded demon, a taiyoukai, I don't think it makes a difference in the slightest. She's even agreed to-"
"She's a DEMON, Nii-san! Even you have-"
"You're right. Even I've read from the texts about demons," he replied in a firm voice, unfazed by her angry protests. "But then again, even that Zazie-san didn't exactly fit the description of what we've been taught now, did she?"
"I don't trust Rainyday Zazie in the slightest bit. She's a freak and a demon!"
"But she wants to be friends with you, doesn't she?"
"Grrr...that --- that --- ooohhh, that stupid, stupid, stupid-!"
"Kana-chan, Hina-baachan's always telling us that we need to make all the good friends we can get, and I think they're worth it, both of them: Setsuna and Zazie. Besides, think about it! If you stuck with them, you'd at least some allies with you all the time at school."
"Bah, you're crazy! And even worse, you want me to help you train that Sakurazaki thing?"
"You know I can't do it alone, and who knows, maybe we can learn a thing or two from her too. She did say she was a yojimbo trained by the Shinmei Ryu."
"Oh, those angry, ignorant bigots!"
"The Shinmei Ryu?"
"Yes, them! Those idiots! And thanks to this newest piece of knowledge, Nii-san, you've just informed me that they're hypocrites too! I can't even imagine why they would want to train and raise a hanyou..."
"Hey, you called her a half-demon! That's great," Keitaro beamed happily. Addressing Setsuna as a "Half-demon" was an improvement in his opinion, especially when it was coming from somebody as hard-headed as his beloved little sister.
"...grrr, whatever! Urashima Shinkage Ryu is vastly superior to anything they've got to offer!"
"Yup-yup!"
"And what's with this Ichihara Yuuko woman? You're not going to go see her again, are you, Nii-san?"
The ronin sweatdropped at the flaming daggers Kanako was virtually glaring at him with through her hazel eyes. She had not said a word earlier during their "heart to heart" session, but if his hunch was right, she might just be jealous. He had gone into quite extravagant details when describe his encounter with the beautiful ethereal woman...
"Oh, and did I forget to mention Aoyama Tsuruko? Isn't she with the Shinmei Ryu too? And what are you going to do about her since she saw you fighting too?"
...oh, and there was the swordswoman from Kyoto too. A fiery aura was literally radiating off his little sister's body as her eyes glowed with an unearthly light. If he did not do some smooth talking fast, there was no way they were going to make it in time for their dinner reservations at C'est la Vie en Rose, an extremely popular fine dining restaurant in downtown Odaiba-ku at this rate. He had picked the place specifically tonight instead of Yorokonde as originally planned just to surprise and (hopefully) please Kanako.
"Well, I've really got no plans to be honest," he admitted to her shyly. "In fact, I wouldn't have a clue of what we're going to do if Negi-kun or Kitsune-san busted through the door right now. Plus, there's still Konoemon-jiisan to worry about down at Mahora Academy."
Kanako gaped at him dumbfounded, causing the "special effects" to promptly turn off. "What? You don't have any plans at all?"
"We'll just have to deal with it as the situation develops, I guess, since there's nothing we can do about it, except for control how we react to what may come next. I didn't plan for any of this to happen, Kana-chan, and neither did you, I think."
"Che, of course not!" she sulked with a pout, crossing her arms disapproving over her "modest" bosom. After hearing Keitaro's remarkable tale about the extraordinary women he had met, she had begun to wonder if he was a magnet for ridiculously well-endowed women. On top of that, it sounded like both the Ichihara woman and the Aoyama woman want to see him again, there was no way she was going to keel over and let them take Keitaro away from her; the same applied to Sakurazaki Setsuna too, that little demonic minx.
She found him first!
"But --- are you sure about this?"
"Hmm?"
"Keitaro-niisan, are you okay about not telling anyone else about this mess, and keeping this just to ourselves?"
"Well, that's a tough one. Yup-yup, definitely a tough question."
"You do know the consequences, don't you?"
"Sure do, but if we go and squeal to this to kaa-chan and tou-chan, we'll be packed away back to Hinata Sou faster than you can blink."
"Hai..."
"Plus Hina-obaachan isn't going to be happy either, and I don't even wanna think what she looks like when she's mad."
"Mm..."
"Come on, let's go out and enjoy ourselves tonight," he prodded her jovially. "We should both be thankful after everything that's happened today, we're still together. Nothing really bad happened, right? We can fix this problem together. I'm sure we can! And when everything is all nice and happy again, we'll still be together like always, isn't that right, Kana-chan?"
Kanako flushed bright red, "K-Kei-Keitaro-baka! Don't say embarrassing things like that!"
"But it's true, and I still think you look cute in that outfit: the red three-piece business suit (with a modest skirt of course), the white blouse, the red necktie, and the black nylons..."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don't know what you're talking about, Nii-san!" Even though...I do like it when you say things like that about me.
"But, Kana-chan, you're so super moe-moe cute with the mature business woman look! Now, if I can find you a pair of gloves..."
Suddenly, the telephone in the living room rang, breaking the playful rhythm of the siblings rapport. Like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, they both shot pale looks into the living room, taking near simultaneous nervous gulps of air. They shared a mutual gaze for a moment, both asking the same questions:
Who was it? What did they want? And who was going to pick it up?
"Nii-san, I'll-" Kanako began to offer before Keitaro rose to his feet, kicking off his shoes.
He met her gaze coolly, perhaps too coolly. It was frightening to see her dear big brother like this with his grim, severe expression. She felt her voice catch, the strength fading underneath the intensity of his eyes that demanded her obedience, robbing her of the will to protest utterly, and then --- the most strangest thing happened.
Keitaro smiled nervously at her, flashing a bright grin, despite his own obvious misgivings. "Ne, don't worry about the phone, Kana-chan: it's probably just Ayasegawa-san from my delivery part-time job. He's always trying to con me into an extra job, since he says I'm his best man! Now, why don't finish up here and decide what pair of shoes you want to wear? If you go with the combat boots, I'm definitely going to have to find those gloves!"
Admiration blossomed in her heart, an electrifying sensation that made Kanako giggle --- just a little, of course, as she watched his retreating back. She could tell easily enough that he was scared too, but in spite of that he was pressing onwards. Yes, though he did not realize it, Keitaro could really be cool sometimes. He was her dear big brother, after all...
Trip.
"Oh sna-UOOF!"
Crash!
...but he was still an habitual klutz at the worst moments, especially after his bursts of "coolness."
"Hello, this is Urashima Keitaro speaking," the ronin answered the telephone finally with a wince. His jaw still smarted from his abrupt reunion with Earth's gravity and his own house's wooden floors, but at least his new pair of glasses had been spared. He had a feeling that the bills this month would be going up a bit more than usual, considering the costs for another set of glasses and a new cellular phone, not that his parents ever really minded.
However, it was something of a matter of private honor to see that he kept his end of filial duty too. If he could not get into Tokyo University right away, then at least he would be a positive contributing member of the family, instead of lamely sitting around and drowning himself into more practice tests in a semi-state of depression. Keitaro absolutely detested the idea of him becoming a "real" loser, especially when he had Kanako to think about too. It was the reason why he pushed himself so hard in the first place.
Such thoughts fortunately managed to distract him from an eerie subconscious feeling that he was holding a gun to his own head, even though it was just the telephone receiver in reality.
"Ah! Perfect! I was hoping you'd be in, Keitaro-kun!" the ancient, raspy voice on the other end of the line replied to him excitedly. "Do you remember me, young man? We've spoken quite a few times, you know, although we've yet to actually meet in person."
This voice... I know it from somewhere... Could it be? "Umm, Konoe Konoemon-kouchousan?"
"AH-hah! Splendid! You do remember!"
Keitaro began to sweat profusely, like they were bullets streaming out of his skin. This was bad. This was very bad. If the Headmaster of Mahora Academy, the devilish old man himself was calling, it could only mean... Crap, what should he do? Should he play along with the game for now, or blow everything out of the water now? No, he could not do something risky like that, better just to play along until he can come up with something better.
"Sumimasen, Kouchou-san! I'm terribly sorry!"
"Hmm? Sorry about what?"
"If it's about Kanako-chan, sir, I fully-"
"Oh, nonsense, my boy! Nonsense! She's doing just fine."
The ronin gaped in shock. "Wha-What?"
"Well, things did get a bit rough today from what I hear from the faculty, but in my honest opinion, she's adjusting in just fine."
"She --- She is?"
"Yes, and I'd say in about a month or so, all her delinquent, rebellious behavior will disappear and we can really see her genius begin to shine. I'm positive she will become a positive influence on the rest of Two-A and uplift the rest of the class with her; after all, she is her big brother's little sister."
Huh? What's he talking about? Does he even have a clue about what happened today? "Um, Headmaster, I don't think I quite-"
"Oh, it's nothing big, Keitaro-kun, but what is BIG --- as in big news --- is you, my boy."
Pause.
"Me?" What would Mahora Academy want with a dope and a drop out ronin like me for? Hell, what is Konoemon-kouchousan exactly up to now?
"I've done a little homework on you, my boy. Hope you don't mind the intrusion, and I'm terribly sorry if you do, but I've found that you, Urashima Keitaro, are exactly the sort of young man I'm looking for!"
"What? Are you serious?" What does he mean by 'homework'? This can't be good...
"Yes, there's no mistake. It's regrettable that you failed to enter Toudai on the first try, but your past meritorious conduct in and outside of your academic career has lead me to believe-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out! What's going on here?"
"I'm getting to that, Keitaro-kun," Konoemon laughed over the phone, clearing his throat with a dramatic pause.
Whatever it was, Keitaro had the sinking feeling that his entire was about to be turned upside down.
"Urashima Keitaro, how would you like to join my proud staff as a special intern at my prestigious institution?"
"H-Huh?"
The Headmaster giggled benevolently, which was more disturbing than soothing to be honest. "There are some key conditions, a catch or two, but trust me, my new young friend: I'm making you an offer you can't refuse."
What the hell?
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
It's that time of the week again for a new episode of our weekly broadcast. Episode 51 --- FAIA! And boy, what a long day it has been for our heroes and heroines. Took me 51 chapters and 9 months later here in the real world to completely "re-envision" the first chapter of the Negima! manga and legitimize this uber altra-meta-multi-Alternate Universe, and yes, there were probably better ways to do this, but then again, I'm a linear sort of a guy, so I felt compelled to get all of this stuff done first. The alternative, of course, was to scatter little things here and there, but why wait when you can get it all done in one go, right? Anyways, it's all over now, folks! Congratulations for making it this far, and this extends out to both new and old readers alike. And you all deserve a big round of applause! Three cheers around for everybody because we wouldn't have gotten this far without you all.
Now, the real fun begins! The stage has finally been set more or less, and the future is looking bright, though I'd be careful of the shadows here and there. Looks like Keitaro will be joining the fun, the ladies, and the mayhem over at Mahora Academy. Boy, is his potential love life looking up or what? On the other hand, family politics/relations seems to be taking a nose dive big time, while Kanako gets cuter, madder, and more stubborn than ever. And Konoemon definitely has to be up to no good. Where are we going to go from here?
Well, THAT 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, and hope that you will continue to support this fic by continuing to read and shout some reviews and whatever's on your mind to me. 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.
So without further adieu, that wraps it up, folks (see you around the same time as usual): We are the Champions, my friends! And we will keep on fighting to the end!
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Episode Preview! Here comes --- VOLUME 2!
Chapter 52:
A New Day
"Well, uhhhh, it's not much of a surprise anymore, more like a half-surprise. Eh-heheheh... If you want to, you can think of it as me being a super cool big brother since there was no way I was just going to up and leave you unescorted in the morning, isn't that right, Urashima Kanako-chan?"
Tsudzuku!