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
The New Life at Mahora...
Chapter 62:
Hither and Thither
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
She should not have a face like that...
The bespectacled boy swallowed and took a long drag from his soda can, deciding that he had had quite enough! Boldly, he spoke the passionate words that came erupting out of his heart, "Chachamaru-san, don't be like that!"
"Ne-Negi...sensei?" stuttered the neon green-haired girl, blinking in astonishment at his startling outburst.
"Just because they aren't related to you doesn't mean they aren't family! Blood and things like that shouldn't matter. You live together and spend your lives together right? Shouldn't that be --- shouldn't that be enough? ...Right?"
Impossibly, against all of his expectations, another deathly silence enveloped the office. Negi sat stock still, his back as straight as possible, putting on a brave face, despite the stares he received. Surely, he had said the right thing, had he not? He did not make a mistake --- right? After all, this was --- this was what he had been taught, more or less. It was --- the right thing to say, was it not?
And in an equally impossible twist, the person who would support his beliefs was the same man he had only reconciled with moments ago. Negi barely managed to hold his composure as Keitaro smiled with a bright laugh, leaning over from across the way to clap a hand approvingly on his shoulder. It was an oddly --- well --- brotherly gesture of approval, something more so he would have expected out of Nekane than a complete stranger (though in her case it would have been sisterly). The act and the preceding events before now, made the magi boy seriously wonder just what kind of guy Keitaro Urashima really was, as he seemed to be doing a spectacular job of ruining his initial impression of a determined, if not a ruthless enforcer.
"Wow, Negi-kun, you just said something pretty cool," the old boy said teasingly to him, "No wait. You ARE pretty cool. Isn't that right, girls?"
Negi blushed red, as he felt their tentative eyes fell on him. Of course, it was hard to say which one was worse: Nodoka's unseen eyes or Chachamaru's open emotion in her neon green eyes. Geez, Keitaro's an even bigger nut than Takamichi!
"He-Hey now!"
"Come on, girls, Negi-kun might be a kid --- for now at least anyway --- but I think he's a lot wiser than he looks. Definitely a good heart in him, and what he said just now, well, I couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I'm a firm believer in it too, aren't you, Karakuri-kun?"
"I-I --- I see. Thank you, Negi...Negi-sensei, and thank you as well, Keitaro-sensei," Chachamaru smiled shyly, accompanied by a faint giggle from Nodoka.
If he thought he could not humanly turn any redder, at that moment the magi boy was certain he had just been proven wrong. "Well, it's just --- well, I just said what I felt was right...at least from how I grew up, I think."
"Is that so, huh? Ummm-hmmm. So what brings you girls here?" Keitaro asked casually, changing the subject. He really did want to make another mistake so soon by getting into Negi's background, especially not in front of his students. "Oh, and by the way, thanks for treating us to the lemon bread and soda. I don't know if Negi-kun would've made it to the cafeteria in one piece, though it kind of, um, messed up my plans to treat him to lunch instead, since he is my senpai technically."
"H-Hey! I wasn't delirious from hunger!"
"Just kidding, just kidding. Although your stomach does sure growl loud to let you know what it wants."
"Kei-Keitaro!"
"Ack, sorry! I'm just exaggerating a little, you know, and it's not like I'm trying to get Karakuri-kun and Miyazaki-kun to bring you a set of bentou every day either. Although if you want, I could probably get Kana-chan and Sekkun to make some for you."
At this point, much blushing and yelling ensued, mostly with Keitaro having to shield himself physically from Negi's wild swings with his wrapped staff, while apologizing profusely to the younger boy. Again, he insisted he was only exaggerating, and somewhere in the middle of this vibrant commotion, Chachamaru and Nodoka were able to communicate their party plans to the two squabbling "teachers." Of course, at this point they seemed more like siblings because as soon as Keitaro agreed off-handedly that he and his sempai would take care of their part just fine, Negi immediately got on his case.
He began harping about the older boy doing things in a heavy-handed manner. Negi insisted that he should consider other people's feelings first before making such an impulsive decision to which Keitaro retorted simply: "But, er, you were going to agree to it and come along with me anyway, right? Besides, the Headmaster said so himself, turning Kana-chan into a model student was your responsibility. I'm just here to catch you in case you fall."
At this point, the girls felt it was a good time to excuse themselves, as Negi fervently chased the half-laughing and half-apologizing older boy around the office with his implement of --- discipline. Several crashes echoed out into the hallway, but according to her motion sensors, there appeared to still be a healthy amount of movement coming from both occupants. Her logic matrix calculated with assistance from the Human Interface protocols that Keitaro and Negi were getting along just fine, and there was nothing to worry about them.
"Anou, Chachamaru, is it all right to leave them-?" Nodoka began to ask her, as they strolled away to finish their own preparations for the bash.
Chachamaru replied promptly to assuage her doubts, "Keitaro-sensei's a very different person from his younger sister. I'm confident we'll be in good hands this year after all, despite Takahata-sensei's absence, if Negi-sensei is allowed to continue his tenure here."
"U-un."
"Besides, I believe they make a good team, friends --- just like brothers. Don't you think so, Nodoka-san?"
Nodoka blushed, smiling faintly as the strangest idea yet blossomed in her mind. It was even crazier than the one she had thought of in the beginning to go see the enigmatic neon green-haired girl to thank her. But things were different now, through this brief time together she had learned that Chachamaru was --- Chachamaru was like her, similar to her. If they were similar, then they could --- they could try to be friends, could they not? It --- it would not be too forward of her now, would it? She --- she could ask, right?
"A-Anou, Chachamaru --- would you-?"
"Hm, yes, Nodoka-san?"
"I-iie, No-Nodoka's fine, Chachamaru. E-Etou, would you ---- I, well, could --- awawa --- would you join the Library Exploration Club, please? Onegai? It's --- i-it's not like I'm asking you --- to be my --- my f-friend --- it's just that... I... Could you...join...anou..."
"I would be happy to be your friend, Nodoka-san," she replied unconsciously, surprising even herself and her logic assessment systems before she had a chance to even evaluate such a request. She had not "thought" about her response at all. It should have frightened her, made her doubt and reconsider, and yet...
"Re-R-Really? Hontou ni? Chacha-Chachamaru?"
"Hai, the best of friends if you wish, Nodoka."
"Ah! Ah-Th-Thank you, Chachamaru!"
Yes, it felt right; completely right.
Now, if she ever uttered this word aloud, she knew any number of people who would come hunt her down personally and reprimand her for such foul language. Ayaka, being the goody-two-shoes she is, would harp about it for months afterwards, if not shove toothbrush and mouthwash forcefully into her mouth, scrubbing and washing, until she repented. Old man Konoemon would laugh before promptly handing her off to Takahata-sensei, professing that her English needed some more work, even though explicit Japanese idioms clearly had nothing to do with English. Finally, Naru-sempai would be positively horrified to know she had picked up such a colorful vocabulary "all of a sudden," although she had secretly been hoarding it up for years.
Since she could not use the R-rated version, she opted for the next best thing.
"THIS SUCKS!" Asuna Kagurazaka roared tremendously at the top of her lungs, the awesome effect of which was ruined by the fact Konoka Konoe was openly giggling at her in her company. Instead of coming across as terrifying, she probably seemed more like Godzilla on a bad day, with Magical Girl Lyrical Konoka to keep her in check, if she tried to go on a rampage. Now was one of many times she loathed the Japanese school system. After all, it was this system's decision to have the academic curriculum apply equally to all students, and thus, it would keep them all together in the same classes.
Thanks to this system, not only was she in the same class as that snot-nosed "brat" Kanako Urashima, she could not follow her dear Takahata-sensei and was stuck dealing with his two bumbling replacements: the brat's big brother, Keitaro Urashima, and that perverted high-brow foreigner kid, Negi Spring-whatever. She hated all three of them but none more so than Kanako; that girl had not only screwed her up --- heck, she screwed everybody and everything up --- but she had also hurt Naru-sempai! Asuna swore she would never forgive the girl, and...
"Konoka! Do you really have to follow me every-where I go?" the auburn-haired girl complained hotly to her best friend. Oh, how she wished she could bump into that brat, Kanako, right now in this empty hall way and finish what she started yesterday!
The Konoe heiress gave a dainty giggle in reply, not in the slightest bit affected by Asuna's fiery irritation, "Hai-Hai, Asuna-chan! After all, Ayaka-iinchosan said it herself, if we let you have it your way, you'll just get into trouble."
"Che, who asked her to care? I can deal with Kanako-yarou by myself! Besides, I'm just getting started."
"Demo, you can get into a lot of trouble, if you keep this up, Asuna-chan. Kanako-san said-"
"She said it herself! The teachers won't touch this, so we can do as we please, right?"
"Well --- well, I haven't spoken with Ojii-san yet, but I'm-"
"No need, Konoka. I don't want the old man getting involved; heck, it's HIS fault they we're all messed up right now, letting a screwed up brat like that into our school."
"Asuna..."
"I so wanna just beat the living daylights out of that Kanako! I'll punch her face into a bloody pulp!" Asuna snapped angrily with a loud stomp, coming to a dead halt as she whirled defiantly upon the shorter girl.
Konoka flinched at the deadly intent burning in her friend's eyes, shrinking away despite her best efforts to hold her ground. Frightening thoughts screamed through her body, as a vivid memory began to course its way to the surface from her hidden heart that she dared not show. "A-Asuna-chan!"
"What? What's the big deal, Konoka? After what she did to me, to all of us yesterday, she deserves it!"
"B-But --- but didn't Narusegawa-sempai say so herself yesterday when we were visiting her that Kanako-san's too strong? You can't-!" This --- This was just like back then when...
"I WILL beat her! Naru-nee...Narusegawa-sempai has already taught me plenty. Yesterday was just a fluke! Nothing more."
"A-Ah...! But --- but didn't Takahata-sensei also tell you to-"
"Eh, he's just being a big softie that's all. Besides, thanks to that --- that girl I've sped up my training already. I'll have my chi control mastered by the end of the week, and then I'll show her why Hyakkyou-ken doesn't need a second blow!"
"You're in the way," deadpanned an apathetic voice, breaking up the argument abruptly.
Even as Asuna moved protectively to her side, shielding her physically with her own body from any possible threat, Konoka could not help but sense the voice was eerily familiar. The lifeless tone and steely inflection was something she had only heard once in someone else --- important to her, a long, long time ago. Today, that person had appeared before her again, like a mirage, joining her class as if it were the most natural thing in the world. At the time, she could hardly believe her own senses, doubting them, but there was no mistaking this time that this illusion was very real indeed. She knew she did not have to see it anymore with her own eyes, as she had already seen plenty this morning --- but still, Konoka peeked out from behind Asuna's protective back, and there standing was one of the many results of her greatest sin.
"Says who the-! ...H-Huh? Wait, aren't you-?" the auburn-haired girl began in confusion, before she promptly cut off of by the much taller girl.
"Aoyama Motoko, Student Number Thirty-Three, the same class as yours: move."
"Wha-! Hold on a second here, why the heck do we have to move? There's plenty of room in this hallway!"
"You're eating into my lunch time; stand aside, now."
"The HELL?"
Just like the illusion --- no --- reality had shown her this morning, time had not been unkind to Motoko Aoyama. Like they had all known, when they had played together as children many years ago, as the successor to the Shinmei Ryu, she was most certainly destined to be beautiful and graceful, a living sword of flesh and blood, and oh, how she had grown. She was perfect, flawless, no doubt the pride and joy of her clan, but those steel green eyes bared no warmth, a cold silent storm waiting to unleash something terrible. It left a question to be asked in the pit of her stomach: perhaps, Motoko had become too perfect.
"You wanna start something, HUH?" Asuna snarled back at the condescending girl, brandishing her fist threateningly.
Of course, Motoko was not really being patronizing or anything like that at all. She had not even started to be condescending --- yet, "I won't waste my breath arguing with your irrational rationale. Move."
"'IRRATIONAL'! Look, who's talking you overgrown stuck up little-"
"Ten seconds."
"WHAT?"
"Move now, or I'll move you."
"Is there something wrong with your head-?"
"Seven seconds left."
"I don't think you've got a clue who you're messing with!"
"Five."
Konoka knew she should not get involved with this altercation: chances were that Motoko was ignoring her presence on purpose. But she could not sit by and watch Asuna get hurt again, despite how much worse she would make the situation if she interfered. At least, in the worst-case scenario, she would take the blow herself --- for a friend.
"Three."
"I don't care if you're some Tenth-whatever kendoka; I'm still going to take you down!"
"One."
"St-Stop it, Mo-chan!"
The sound of her voice, so tiny and struggling as it was at that moment, equaled the force of an exploding atomic bomb, all sound ceasing seemingly on the spot. Nobody moved a muscle: not Asuna, not Motoko, not even herself. Glancing timidly to her left, Konoko saw the stupefied expression on her hot-headed roommate's face, her jaw hanging agape comically while her mismatched siamese eyes shouted an open accusation, "What the HELL were you thinking?" Apparently, she had completely missed the "obvious" memo by Asuna's body language that she was not to get involved in the first place, and in fact, she should have probably ran away when she had the chance.
And right across from her...
Motoko.
...she had never seen that kind of expression on someone before, an eerie caricature of a cold expressionless mask that did not veil the emotion of the eyes worn by someone who had been --- poisoned --- betrayed by the person closest to them. No, it was the exact opposite. The mask magnified the untempered, overflowing river of broiling hate pouring out of those venomous pools of steel and green, fatal to the touch, as they condemned her to a thousand deaths, each more horrific than the one before in the brimstone pits of Hell. There was a raging bloodlust threatening to murder her, rip her to pieces, right here and right now, and damn anyone foolish enough to get in the way. However, just as quickly as it had emerged, the "darkness" returned inside the samurai's grasp, leaving behind the unfeeling, efficient steel once more.
And, oh, how efficient her words were...
"Well, well, and so the whore of the House of Konoe presents her soiled self before my sight," Motoko stated casually, not even the slightest bit concerned by the terrible wounds her words inflicted upon their sole recipient. "Come to spread your legs again so soon? Or your dear grandfather couldn't find you a suitable craven debonair cock again? Hmph, how despicable."
Konoka flinched.
To Be Continued... This August 2006.
Author's Notes:
A three, a two, a one --- ZERO! Episode 62 is LIVE!
I don't have anything really to say about this chapter, as I believe the impact and what happened here should be pretty vivid. Plus, can you say? CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-HANGER? Hehehe, I'm sorry that we had to stop here instead of at episode 63, but I promise in August when I get back, we're going to kick Glass Moon off again with a BANG! What's gonna happen next?
Hehehe, 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. 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. And man, I definitely hear you all, and I apologize that I cannot spare the time at present to reply to y'all personally, since I'm on a high speed schedule.
So without further adieu, that wraps it up, folks: Semper Fidelis. Always faithful. Carry on.
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Episode Preview!
Chapter 63:
Harsh Words?
"YOU. SHUT THE F---! UP!"
Tsudzuku!