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 68:
So That's the Story
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
"And that's that," Kanako proclaimed simply, clapping her hands together over her now empty plate, as she had been sneaking in bites from her dinner during her explanation. It had taken her close to an hour to brief the Springfields on "current events," glossing over especially sensitive material that might provoke her flat-mates into some righteous foolishness. However, there were things she had to reveal absolutely in order to test the mettle and character of the mages present.
"Gochisou-sama. Now, does anyone have any questions?" Across the way on the far wall, she noticed the clock reading "8:00 PM", much to her silent surprise. She had not been expecting the evening to fly by so fast.
There was a still silence at first "This is outrageous! I can't believe Headmaster Konoemon would do such a thing!"
"What's so hard to believe, Nekane-san?"
"Why he's the honorable Magus Konoemon, head of the Konoe Clan, and Headmaster of this very institution. To go against the Laws and-"
"Nekane-san, haven't you heard that absolute power corrupts absolutely? And besides, aren't you benefiting from this?"
"Ah-!"
"If Konoemon-yarou wasn't doing all this, Negi-bouzu here would be on a one-way trip back to England, no?"
"OOOOOOO-oh, this vexes me! And on top of that --- agh, how could you bring THAT --- that thing into my house?"
Kanako could feel Setsuna beside her flinching from the sting of the --- spiteful remark, which was almost enough to make her see red with blind fury. Lashing out in indignation would solve nothing, unfortunately, so instead she clasped the girl's hand gently to show her support. Somehow, it was enough to ease Setsuna's anguish, much to her surprise, as the raven-haired girl reciprocated her gesture, bringing a warm, calming feeling to her warring heart.
"H-Hey, Sis, don't be like that!" Negi interjected suddenly to everyone's apparent surprise, save for perhaps Keitaro who sat almost serenely watching things unfold.
"But, Negi! She's one of them too! Demons, Negi. DEMONS. Demons were the ones that destroyed our village!"
Demons destroyed their village? was probably the mutual sentiment shared by all present.
"I --- I know, but --- but didn't Gramps say that we shouldn't judge everything we see before we understand its nature?"
"But what's there to understand, Negi? They're all rotten! Terrible, evil monsters!"
"B-But! S-Setsuna-san seems like a nice person. I mean, she even works for the Konoe Clan."
"Bah! This is all crazy! Bloody. Bloody. CRA-"
At this point, it started to become rather clear that talks were not going to get anywhere tonight, and in an astonishing show of initiative, Keitaro stood up and proclaimed, "Oh gee-whiz, I'm feeling awfully tired! Yare-yare, I guess we'll just have to stop here then, right, Nekane-san?"
"Y-YOU! I haven't forgotten about you, so don't you 'Nekane-san'me, YOU PERVERT!" Nekane snapped back at him, bolting up out of her seat as well.
"Eh-hehehe, sorry, Springfield-san, but still, don't you think it'd be smart for you to get some time alone with Negi-kun and Anya-chan about all of this stuff Kana-chan, just told you?"
"Hmph! Whatever. Thank you for the meal once again, Urashima-san, and good night. Negi! Anya! COME. We've got a lot to talk about between the three of us."
"Wai-desu! Let's go, Negi-mate!" Anya giggled cheerfully as she all but dragged Negi out of his chair, causing him to scramble up to his feet.
"Oh-oi, An-Anya, I'm com-ing!"
"Hey, Negi-kun!"
"Huh?" Negi stopped in his tracks, turning about to find Keitaro addressing him with one of his sheepish smiles again.
"It's up to you whether you want to work with us or not. If you wanna do this on your own, I don't mind since you've definitely got your reasons. Thing is, uh, I do gotta say, your Gramps does have the right idea, and suppose we assume he's right, wouldn't it be better if we worked together?"
"Kei-Keitaro-san..."
This tiny moment was not meant to last, however, as Nekane quickly reigned in the youngsters into following her lead, "NEGI! ANYA! Quit dawdling and come along!"
"Think about it, okay?"
"Um, al-alright!"
With those parting words, the company parted ways with the mages retreating back to their hall where a resound slam of the door punctuated the silence moments later. It was a clear sign that Nekane did not want to be disturbed, not that Keitaro had any plans try to go smooth things over right now. Looking back, he wondered why Kanako had glossed over certain topics and yet had been crystal clear on others. Could it be that this was her way of testing the Springfields? If so, just how bad did they fail in her eyes?
"Well then, guess it's just me, Kana-chan, and Sekkun now, eh?" Keitaro remarked, addressing the girls with a helpless smile. How he could even smile at all after such a big bad fallout like that said something for his will power.
And needless to say...
"Nii-san..."
"Urashima-kun..."
...it was doing wonders for his popularity without him even realizing the impact (as usual).
"Come on, let's clean up and then we can head on over to my room for a talk. Oh, and Kana-chan, don't forget to at least leave the light on in the kitchen and the foyer, 'kay?"
Kanako sniffed airily, as Keitaro turned away to see to gathering up his share of the plates. She did not need to have her dear big brother reminding her of little things like that, but still it was times like these that told her exactly why she loved him so much. Now, if only he would not...
"Ah, Ura-Urashima-kun, your foot-!" Setsuna cried out in vain upon noticing the sign of a rather grave disaster.
"Hu-WHAA!"
CRASH!
"Always the loveable klutz," the hazel-eyed girl murmured aloud with a defeated sigh as she messaged her throbbing temple. "Oh well, at least, he managed to save the plates."
Keitaro's --- no, that was much too informal of her --- Urashima-kun's room was exactly what should have been expected out of a ronin's home with plenty of study books lining his main book shelf, Setsuna supposed. She did not know what his original room looked like at the Urashima residence, wherever that might be, but knowing Kanako, the girl must have arranged this room to be as close as possible to the original. There were plenty of colorful, expressive posters to go around from motorcycles to anime, including one of the Hanshin Tigers, apparently his favorite baseball team. Of course, one poster in particular distinguished itself completely from the rest, being a rather nostalgic, antiquated poster of some foreign American movie. If she was not mistaken, the title in English spelled out:
"C-A-S-A-B-L-A-N-C-A."
"You like that one, Sekkun?" Keitaro's voice grasped her suddenly, jarring her out of her reverie.
Setsuna managed to hold back her yelp, but she could not quite stop herself from jumping at his voice, a crimson blush tinting her cheeks, "N-N-No! I-I --- I just-!"
What was she getting so embarrassed for? It was only a poster, though there seemed to be a strangely magnetic attraction between the dour man and the luminous woman. Kanako lilting laughter, however, detracted her attention away from the puzzling train of thought. But before she could even turn around, facing away from Keitaro's easy smile from where he sat at desk by the window, Setsuna felt a familiar pair of slender arms wrapping themselves around her waist from behind. The enthralling smell of cinnamon and spices, sweet and warm, let her know exactly who it was as the pleasure virtually made her melt in Kanako's embrace, and it was taking all of her willpower just to stay standing.
"Wow, she feels just like a feather," the hazel-eyed girl purred in her ear with a devilish giggle. The sensation of Kanako's hot breath brushing against the especially sensitive skin of her neck was sending her head spinning with a feverish spell. "Nii-san, you should try hugging, Setsuna! You'd be surprised how sensitive she is to --- touch. Fuu-fuu-fuu..."
Setsuna attempted to protest, though she did not get very far as an ecstatic gasp threatened to escape her lips, "K-Kanako-sama! I-Iya! P-Please, not in front, Urashima-!"
"Um, y-yeah! I'm gonna have to --- have to, uh --- ow, geezus --- it's getting w-way, er, too hot in here," Keitaro stuttered timidly, trying his best to tear his eyes away as he floundered in his seat. Of course, he was failing miserably to make any progress at all, considering his superego had long checked out of the building. This left him hopelessly red-faced, his glasses fogging over as steam seemed to billow out of his ears, at the mercy of the --- well --- mystifying "beautiful" imagery.
"But, Nii-san, Setsuna looked just like a girl in love when she was staring at your poster of Casablanca!"
"Uh, well...I guess it has that kind of effect..."
"Ka-Kanako-sama, wh-what are you talking-ah!"
"That's no good, Set-su-na. You really shouldn't lie about the things you really like around Kei-oniichan and me, no?"
"Errr, um, I think --- um, I think I should really leave the room." Whoa, Sekkun's really sensitive. Then again, there isn't much Kana-chan can't do to somebody when she really wants to...
"No! Ura-Urashima-kun, please don't leave!"
"Heeeeeeeehhhhh!" Are you freakin' kidding with me? I'm losing my mind here!
"Oh, are you reaching your limit already, Nii-san? And I've just gotten started with little Setsuna here."
"KA-KANAKO! That's --- that's --- er, dirty --- you know, not nice --- X-rated, er..."
"X-X-X-rated?"
"Gyaahhhh! Sekkun, d-d-don't say that! I don't need any more ideas, dang it!"
"See, Nurse Setsuna? This is Patient Keitaro-niisan's greatest weakness: hypergynoallergy, or should I say --- hypergynosensitivity?"
"NURSE! Ka-Kanako-chan, I really, really think I've had enough of shock therapy for one day. Please? Pretty please? I'm on my knees here, Kana-chan; I promise I'll take you all out to the mall or something! So please stop doing that really sexy thing you're doing with Sekkun!"
"Okay, but you have to come over here and pinky promise both me and Setsuna, Kei-onii-chan!"
At this point, Keitaro was literally in tears. He could quite put his finger on when Kanako decided to start this kind of shock therapy to treat his unique "condition." Though the therapy seemed to have been effective in building him some resistance, a whole lot better than whatever the doctors and therapists were doing to him, but over these past few years, the shock seemed to be overriding his resistance a whole lot faster than he could build it up. Could this be a "magical" result of that awesome thing called "puberty" finally catching up with his dear younger sister and nearly every other girl withn a "1,000,000 km" radius? Shoot, he never even noticed it that much in high school so why now, darn it?
"Okay, I promise!" Keitaro conceded, sulking over submissively wherefore he pinky promised the two waiting "goddesses" in strangely ethereal supplication. "There; happy now, Kana-chan? Please?"
Of course, it would be a long time down the line before the ronin would ever consider where things had began to change faster than even he could perceive with his own two eyes. For now, Keitaro was more concerned with the fact how Kanako oh-so-casually just dropped Setsuna right into his arms. The raven-haired girl subconsciously cuddled up in his arms with a satisfied sigh that sent off blaring alarms in his head, as he felt his own face coloring hotly with red.
"Geez, you two are such lightweights!" his hellcat of a sister complained airily, before she tossed herself onto his bed with a dignified huff. "At this rate, Nii-san's never going to get cured."
Keitaro could only cut back and forth wildly with a flustered expression between Kanako settling into his bed like a cat and Setsuna, her face a feverish red and way too cute at the moment. His thoughts were racing at a billion kilometers per second as he could only think of a small prayer to offer to the heavens:
Oh Buddha, save me!
For her part, Setsuna would never admit it aloud, but she had actually --- enjoyed that --- being touched, being watched --- experience. The fact Keitaro linked his finger with hers was nice, not to mention he was presently cradling her in his arms was an added "bonus" too. Wait a second...
Oh Kami-sama, what kind of craven fiend am I turning into?!
"So what do you two think, Nii-san?" Kanako asked aloud to break things up. As much as she enjoyed watching her schemes unfold, there were more important things to consider, such as about a certain duel she needed to inform her dearest person. "Was it a success or a failure?"
"Hmmm, well, errr --- we didn't fail nor did we succeed either," Keitaro replied to her sheepishly, glad for the timely diversion.
Setsuna spoke up as well, though she was not quite yet conscious of her rather compromising position, "W-We --- We didn't succeed or fail?"
"A half-success, huh? I guess, you're right, Nii-san, since that Nekane woman wasn't outright declaring she was going to betray us to Konoemon-yarou."
"K-Kanako-sama, you shouldn't disrespect-!"
"Setsuna, you know it's all his damned fault that everything is in a mess, right now."
"Maa, maa, it won't be that bad. 'sides, I think there's hope for Negi-kun to help us out."
"That runt? What's so great about him?"
"Ah, Kanako-sama, we --- we should think of --- um..." Should I really be saying "we" at all?
"Hehe, that's it, Sekkun! Go ahead and say it."
Did he notice? "Um, our allies with a little more respect. Magi Negi likely isn't a Magister Magi yet, but he must be a capable magi, especially to be sent here under Konoemon-sama's supervision."
"That's it! You're getting it, Sekkun!" Keitaro cheered her on.
Setsuna blushed, a faint smile gracing her face. I guess --- I guess, he did notice my hesitation. A-Arigatou, Urashima-kun.
"Is that so?" Kanako remarked, not even batting an eye at the touching moment. If it was any other girl getting chummy with her dear big brother, she would have been madder than a woman scorned, but Setsuna was an exception. Of course, she was not going to just give Keitaro to her; oh no, her plans were much more grander.
"In that case, there's something you need to know, Keitaro."
"Eh? What's with the serious tone, Kanako?"
"I challenged Aoyama Motoko to a duel."
A dead silence settled over the room. The blare of the air conditioners filled the emptiness, accompanied by the electric hum of the soft lights above, glowing bright and yet doing nothing to alleviate the oppressive tension. The temptation of simply walking out of the room did occur a very real option to Kanako; in fact, it would be the second time in her life she had ever run away from anything.
With great deliberation, Keitaro rose to his feet, carrying up a shocked Setsuna with him effortlessly before setting her down on her feet. He then proceeded to march across the way towards his bed, wearing a blank, stoic expression, much to Kanako's private terror. At this point, the young man who was the keystone of her very life seemed to tower above her like a god, his glasses catching the light with an eerie glow that sent chills up her spine, and she could not help but tremble in his presence.
The last thing Kanako expected was to have Keitaro laugh exuberantly, clasping her by the waist and pulling her close into an loving embrace, "Mattaku, hah-haha, you're always doing troublesome things, aren't you, Kanako-chan?"
"Nii-san..." she breathed wide-eyed, her cheeks flushing red.
In fact, even Setsuna was surprised by how things had turned out, "U-Urashima-kun, you aren't-?"
"You tried to stop her didn't you, Sekkun?"
"Ah, hai. Gomen, but I failed."
"Nah, it's okay; I'm more happy to hear that you cared enough to do that Kana-chan's sake. You two really are getting along just fine. Thank Goodness."
"U-Urashima-kun..." the hanyou girl found herself blushing as well. Her blush, of course, only grew redder when she saw Keitaro unclasp one of his arms from Kanako, beckoning for her to join the two "siblings."
"Hehe, come on, Sekkun; show some love too! You're part of this too now, remember?"
"E-Etou, all right, Urashima-kun."
"Ah, Setsuna-!"
"URASHIMA LOVE HUG!"
"N-Nii-san! B-Baka, embarrassing lines aren't allowed!" Kanako protested in outward mortification, even though she was actually this sentimental moment in private.
"But, KA-NA-KO-channnn! You're always trying to grow up so fast; it near breaks my heart every time trying to keep up with you. That's why I like it better when you're cute like this, ne, Sekkun?"
"A-Anou...uh, I guess, Urashima-kun," Setsuna conceded with a small smile. She did not understand why exactly that she felt so --- good --- to be together with these two people who had suddenly become such prominent influences in her life. Still, the raven-haired girl did not mind the mystery because for the first time in a long time she felt like she truly belonged somewhere, and that somewhere was right here with Kanako and Keitaro.
"B-Baka! Both of you are embarrassing idiots."
"Phew, now how much time do we have?"
"Until the new semester when we're going on the Kyoto Spring trip."
"Tsk, tsk, only two months give or take? That's gonna cut it close. We'll have to ramp up Sekkun's training regimen fast so she can keep up with you during sparring, plus when we're teaching her new tricks too, not to mention we'll have to decide on a new club for her by then."
"My-my training?"
"Nii-san, are you sure?"
"Positive. I love you too much to just lose you in a stupid fight like this, but knowing you, the stupidity of the fight is exactly the whole point, so I'm going to make sure you wipe Aoyama-kun all over the floor."
"B-But Urashima-kun, Aoyama-sempai..."
"Hmm, Aoyama-sempai? Oh dear, do you know Aoyama Motoko, Sekkun?"
"H-Hai, I do."
"Great, and would she happen to be Aoyama Tsuruko's little sister?"
"Yes."
"Nuts; this is getting complicated. Man, Kana-chan, why couldn't you've picked a fight with someone else?"
"That brat deserves it, Nii-san! After what she said about Setsuna, our family, and me, I couldn't just..."
"Okay-dokey, guess diplomacy's out the door completely, since Tsuruko-san doesn't seem to be on good terms with Motoko-san either. Yare, yare, we can worry about this over the week, but right now, let's get down to the most important piece of business tonight."
And with his intent declared, Keitaro released his embrace, parting from the circle, much to the private disappointment of the two girls. Of course, as usual he had no clue about the unbelievable effect his "Mister Nice Guy" personality was having on his popularity, in regards to anything with more than one "X" chromosome, namely Kanako and Setsuna at present. The ronin was much more concerned with rummaging through his recently arranged closet, and to his audible approval, a shout of "EUREKA!", found the items of interest in a secret compartment, just where he liked it too. He had hand it to his dear little sister; she always did know exactly how he wanted his stuff laid out.
"And now, Ladies, for the much awaited highlight of the night --- TAA DA!"
Keitaro cried jubilantly as he spun about and powerposed, an audible "ting!" sound effect ringing off his million dollar smile. Twirling in his hands were three colored scrolls, intricately decorated and bound, that left visible scintillating trails of yellow, red, and green. Even though he had not done anything special at all to them, there was a perceptible atmosphere of power radiating off the scrolls; each speaking for themselves in their own way be it in impulse, elegance, or the very breath of life itself.
"I present to you: The Scrolls of the Seals."
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
A-one, a-two, a-three, and we're live! Episode 68 --- SET UP --- GO!
Well, there you have it; chapter 68 in all of its glory. Again, I do not really know how to sum this one up, as we kinda hit the whole range of emotions and shiz-nit here, so I'll leave it to y'all to draw your own conclusions of what was important and what was just there to make y'all happy.
So what's gonna happen next?
Perhaps, 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.
So without further adieu, that wraps it up, folks: Semper Fidelis. Always faithful. Carry on.
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Episode Preview!
Chapter 69:
The Evening Night
"I lied to you, Urashima-kun."
Tsudzuku!