Disclaimer: I do not own Negima in any form or any character or borrowed from an outside source. Any such idea will be marked by and accredited to its rightful holder(s) in the chapter introduced.
Chapter 2:Skeletons in the closet
In a lively bar in Nyandom, in the midst of the clamor of drunken cheers, a group of friends discussed their next course of action two weeks of being lost at sea and looking for their lost companion.
"Well, that's there aren't any other ports between here and Valcan," said Lynn.
"You think that maybe they could have been transported to another part of the world or maybe another dimension?" asked a depressed Aisha. The man just sat there, staring at the one thing remaining of their friend, her white wing badge.
"I don't know, but maybe we could use this in a locater spell," suggested Craig.
"I don't think so. For something as major as we would need, it would take something more than a one of her things. Also, there aren't that many who could that around here," replied Lynn.
"Come on, Craig, I'm sure that where ever Nodoka-san is she's alright. After all, she is much tougher then she looks!" added Aisha hopping to cheer-up her companion.
Craig's mood and tone remained unchanged, but he did try to give a smile. "Thanks, but this just brings back a lot of bad memories."
What! This isn't about Nodoka! How can he not care that she might be dead! After all this time, she was just a way to relive a memory! How could he be so cruel? Aisha fumed mentally, however, her fuming was cut short when the shouts of, who was supposed to be getting the drinks.
"Guys, hurry! This is something that you have to see!" Christian yelled as he approached the table. "Quickly, it's Ryuikes, he is in the tournament!"
The group did not need to hear any more thanthat; immediately, they got up and rushed to see this event pushing through the crowed to get a good look at the TV behind the bartender. When they arrived, the Sword's interview had just been announced. When the man came into view, they were hesitant to make a call, but their minds were decided once he spoke.
"Wow, you were right. That fighter Sword is incredible! I'm so glad that you recorded this," said the barkeeper to the man next to them. "Customers just love watching this match if not for the fighting; it's to see the close up of that cutie Shield's face."
"What did you say! This is taped!" shouted Christian, alarmed by his mistake. "When was it taped?"
"The last match got over about two hours ago and we've been replaying the last two matches since." explained the bartender as he cleaned a glass. "Good thing too, people are so into the Sword and Shield fight that they have forgotten that the cable is out."
"Would you show us the part where his partner's face?" asked Craig showing signs of his old self. "We were separated from our friend, and Sword sounds like the one that took her.
The news surprised the pair. After exchanging a look with his friend, the bartender grabbed the remote and rewound the video to the part where Shield fell back.
When they first saw Shield, it was clear that she was not their friend
"Well she's about half a foot too tall to be Nodoka-chan." Aisha commented dishearten.
"She looks like she's around our age or even closer to 30." Lynn added in her same static tone.
"Ya not to mention, her chest is far too noticeable to be Nodoka." Christian said jokingly earning him a set of punches from the women of the group sending him crashing to the floor.
"Pervert." Aisha and Lynn said together.
Differences aside all three had to admit, the woman still bore a striking resemblance to their friend; her hair was very close to black while still a purplish tint to it, her dress was similar in design despite reaching her feat and being black. However, the two things that struck hardest was just how much her face looked like an older Nodoka, and right as she readjusted her hood on the close up, you could see a ring that looked exactly like the Comptina Daemonia.
None of this went through Craig's mind, for it was in far too much shock at the face of Shield. She may have been too old to be to Nodoka, but she was the perfect age to be the girl he knew so long ago.
"Where was this taped at?"Christian asked picking himself off the floor.
"It doesn't matter. The last matches were today and after the two day's allowed for travel and relaxation the two winning teams from each of the four selection locations duke it out at the festival in the old capital," explained the bartender, putting the glass up and reaching for another. "If you really want to get there, you would need a private airship, or really good connections."
"Did you ever hear them called anything other than just Sword and Shield?" asked Craig in a shaky voice.
"Sure, Sword usually introduces Shield and himself to any of the favorites before he beats them, 'Sword of the Nexus' and 'Shield' of Antigona," replied the bartender, and only moments later did the eldest treasure hunter hit the floor.
Two hours later, he awoke to the sight of Aisha asleep next to him. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was, and soon realized that he was in the bar's storeroom, if not for the crates of alcohol all-round, the smell of it gave away the room's identity quickly. While sitting up he nudged the girl by accident, waking her as he just managed to sit-up straight.
"Craig-san you're up!" cheered the girl once she saw him. "What made you faint like that?"
"No..." stated the adventurer, but was quickly cut off by his companion.
"Don't give me that. You have been acting weird ever since we lost Nodoka-chan."
"It's personal," he said coldly
"Lynn told me about your friend." She added, earning an immediate look of bewilderment from her friend. "Was Nodoka-san just a convenient way to relive that memory? Are the rest of us just a convenience to you?" "Of course not!" Craig objected with traces of uncertainty in his voice.
"Then why are you acting this way?" Aisha fumed with tears and hurt in her eyes.
"Because they're just too similar!" He admitted furiously with a look of despair and intense pain in his eyes. "Even in how they disappeared, my friend and Jou-chan are too similar to believe."
"What do you mean, Craig-san?" Aisha asked as her anger finally started to fade.
"Mikomi's disappearance was also because I went along with something that I shouldn't have. Both were taken right from under my nose, never to be found. They were close to the same age and look almost identical. I do want Jou-chan to be ok, but losing her in such a way...it just brings back too much, and then there's that 'Shield'!"
"Is she...?" started the young woman timidly, almost afraid of the answer, but was quickly cut off.
"I don't know! She looks just as I imagine Mikomi would look now, claims to be from Antigona, and even specializes in defensive magic, but the Mikomi I knew would never react like that to someone falling on her."
"Well, looks like we can't lose going after that piece of crap!" declared Aisha happily. "As soon as the others get back we can be off to make him pay!"
"Where are Christian and Lynn?" asked Craig, after finally having time to realize that he hadn't even heard his other friends.
"Christian went to find a ship to take us to the old capital, and Lynn…" replied Aisha giving a short pause, before resuming with a strong sense of uneasiness in her voice."Well, she said she had some shopping to do, but the list of things she asked the bartender about is just odd."
"Odd? How?" he asked perplexed.
"I just don't understand what she would need the fish hooks, line, sand paper, glue, and high heels for." Aisha replied in a pondering manner, still wondering the propose of the items. "I can understand the nightstick, bat, and barbed wire, but what could the rest be used for...?" She stopped when she noticed that Craig's face was pale; he had broken out in a coldsweat. "Craig-san, what's wrong!"
"Aisha, please remind me not to get Lynn angry at me for a while," he replied shakily.
6:00pm Gem's residence island sector
All was calm on the first of three islands, despite the active volcano and the jungle infested with killer animals between it and the sandy beaches. It was really quite peaceful. On a flat-toppedboulder rock, facing the pavilion housing the teleportation platform on the sandy shores, sat a student had at work on the exercise left to her by her teacher. A faint blue glow encased her body, as the wind blew through her hair. She breathed in deeply, trying to steady herself as she prepared to move to the next step of the exercise. She placed her hands in front of her, framing out a triangle. Slowly, the glow receded from the other parts of her, and made its way to the center of the triangle. She continually shaped the glowing energy into different forms.
After about ten minutes of converting the energy into shapes of all different dimensions and densities, the teleportation platform flared to life as her teacher appeared. Although her first thought was to greet him, the time that she had spent training under him told her that it was ill-advised. She tried to refocus her attention on her task, but the energy faded, as did all sense of satisfaction.
"Hey! How goes it?" Gem greeted the girl in a friendly manner, as he took note of her mood. "If you messed up, don't worry about it, I knew you would before I came."
Shield's mood worsened. "Sorry, I will try harder," she replied, hanging her head.
"What are you apologizing for? It is just part of who you are as a mentalist, and that is something even I can't change," he replied while walking the short distance from the platform to his waiting apprentice. "Really, I should be the apologizing for sticking you with this exercise when we still need to perfect the key skill in your fight in four days."
"Look, dinner is almost ready; we can start on it after we eat..." Gem admitted stopping five feet away from the girl, waiting to see the signs of relief appear on her face before continuing, "But first let's see how solid you can mold your mental energy. Just remember, you must not fight your emotions. For this part of mentalism, you tap the power of your astral body; meaning that you must convince the logical side of your mind to go along with your emotions, or the energy can't flow right and cause failure. Any questions before we start?"
A quick glance at the face of Shield would answer that question, as it showed ample signs of hesitation and confusion. "What are the differences between the Mental and the Astral bodies again?" Shield asked, in a voice so soft that it made one question if she wanted to be heard.
"You've got to be kidding me," he replied with astonishment evident in his voice. "How can you possibly not get that at this stage of the training? It's a core concept that you've used everyday up to this point." Gem started on what looked to be a long rant, but was cut off by someone's arrival.
Natsumi appeared on the teleportation platform. She quickly spotted the pair and began to walk over to them; "Um, dinner is read…" started the girl as she stopped a few steps behind Sword, only to find herself interrupted by the yelling of a familiar voice.
"Natsumi-san! What are you doing here?" Shield shouted, walking past her teacher to make sure her tired mind, or more likely, her teacher was not playing tricks on her. The look on her friend's face told Shield that it was at least not her mind tricking her; her mind could not create such a look of surprise, relief, and hesitation that Natsumi's face held.
"How does she know my name? It can't be…could it? She looks just like…" thought Natsumi in response to hearing her name from the familiar looking stranger. After a moment's consideration, she decided to go finish her previous thought out loud. "Nodoka-san?" she asked, hesitantly unsure of who else it could possibly be. The answer she received was much different then she expected.
"Natsumi-san! It is you! Why are you here? Who else is here? Any word on the others?" The girl asked franticly, not even giving Natsumi a chance to answer.
"Hey! Apprentice!" Gem interjected, causing both girls to look at him. Their faces gave the impression of drastically different questions ― Natsumi's face said: 'who you talking to?', where as Nodoka's said: 'What now?'. "Would you mind giving my guest a chance to answer? You sound like one of those poorly written television interrogations."
"Guest! You bought us!" Natsumi objected furiously, much to the surprise of her friend. "You have not stopped giving us things to do since you finished showing us around!
"Well, my job doesn't give me much time to clean, and I'm going to need to use the house a lot for Apprentice's training of course it needs to be cleaned." He explained, trying to reason with her, while not discarding his detached attitude. "Besides, for the million it to bail you and the other two out of true slavery, you could at least clean and cook until you go back to Japan. "I mean what does that what does that equate to, twenty grand an hour. You can't possibly think that is an unfair wage, in your free time you use anything I showed you, and my bringing you here was for your own safety to boot. How am I the bad guy; I mean, it's not like I'm actually going to do anything I like those brats think I was, and so what if I was a little rough with them."
"What did you do to Kotaro-kun and Negi-sensei!" Natsumi yelled desperately, inwardly praying that her friends were still okay.
"Negi-sensei? You said he was training!" Nodoka shouted, panicking over the possibilities. This only worsened as her friend add a new bit of information that she couldn't believe her teacher had managed to keep hidden from her.
"Nodoka, they are in the tournament, trying to buy us out of slavery! You are going to have to face them in the finals! You must have known!" Natsumi yelled at her friend accusingly. However, the look on Nodoka's face made her immediately regret it, as it showed a magnitude of horror that even a veteran actor would have trouble faking. "You didn't know… Nodoka, I'm sorry."
"How...how could you lie to me about this?" Nodoka whined furiously towards her teacher, completely ignoring her friend. "I can't do this! I can't fight Sensei!"
"Ahhh, well, you don't have to fight him! I have a policy against lying, deceiving, leaving things out, over generalizing, and the like, sure, but never lying!" Gem stated skittishly, as Nodoka's eyes took on a fire he had learned to be wary of. "You see, Negi-bozu is training. It's just, well, I kind of left out one or two kind of important details that I knew you would dislike. You fight Kotaro using this new skill, while I fight your sensei. Really, the whole reason we are in the tournament is to help, and I only plan make it look like I am going to kill him, to help him with..." He tried to reassure her; as anyone could see, she was taking this even worse than he had expected.
"No, no, no, you can't! I can't let you hurt Sensei! What if you really do..." She started, unable to finish as a picture of the feared event wondered into her mind. Nodoka violently shuck her head, as if trying to break loose of the idea's hold. When stopped shaking her head, she erected a barrier between them cutting across the entire island, hoping to cut off from the teleportation platform as she declared, "I won't let you do it! "
The strength that he saw in the girl's eyes was unlike anything he had seen from her though out the training, while nervousness there was present so was great sense of determination that made him smile inwardly. "Apprentice, do you really think that a simple wall can stop me? Around, over, under, or many other options…" He taunted her, only to find himself in a translucent box of barriers. "Well, this makes things more difficult," He admitted sheepishly through telepethy before recomposing himself with his usual knowing smirk. "But how long will you be willing to keep this up." His word apparently made the girl realize something shocking, as her face held a look of absolute horror.
"Nodoka-san, what's wrong!" Natsumi asked urgently, alarmed by the horror that echoed from the girl's entire body. She turned hastily towards the box and yelled, "What's wrong with her!"
The box began to fade and Sword's voice could soon be herd. "Simple, mentalism is called so because it uses the power of the mind, but the mind is not a simple thing like everyone thinks it is." He pausing momentarily as his prison faded out of existence, and he made contact with the ground. " It is a joint effort of the 'Mental' and 'Astral' bodies, the mediums between the physical body and the soul."
"Astral…what?" Natsumi repeated completely proplexed by the statement.
"The mental body is what most think of as the mind, and is responsible for interaction with the physical world, including: memories, logic, language, muscle movement, magical ability and such thing; of course, parts can get blocked while others still function. The 'Mental body' hands the information over to the 'Astral body' which gives it word, and then a verdict is decided." He was about to go on, but was interrupted by an outburst from Natsumi, as Nodoka dropped to her knees in defeat.
"Why is Nodoka-san like this?" She whined with irritation.
"Because she realized that she would have to want to let me die in that box." He replied calmly; seeing Natsumi's confusion, he continued his explaining. "The current ability she is learning takes energy from the Astral body, the embodiment of one's emotions, made of energy from the 'Astral Plane', which connects all other planes. Since it is an energy from a superior plane, matter from this plane can't pass though it, including air."
This finally made things clear to her, maybe some of it was a little fussy, but she did understand what Nodoka would've had to do to protect their Sensei and Kotaro, and understood why she couldn't. "Nodoka-san, it's okay." Natsumi told her friend hopping to be of some comfort. However, it seemed to have the opposite effect.
"No, it's not. I'm still useless. No matter how much I train, when it comes down to it, I still can't protect Negi-sensei like the others." The girl said with disappointment and frustration abundant in her voice. "I still can't hurt anyone, even if it is to protect Sensei."
Natsumi wanted to say something, but she didn't know what really happened to their Sensei and the others before this trip. The situation made her realize a fact that she ignored until this point: she really didn't know that much about any of them, even Kotaro. The last part of the thought saddened her, the boy had done so much for her and even lived with her, but she knew nothing about him before the point he came into her life. To her surprise, the words of comfort she wanted to offer came from the man that Nodoka just attacked.
"You're wrong," he started solemnly, conveying a sense of compassion and understanding that echoed in each word. "What you would've had to do just now and what your friends have done in the past are completely different things. Not only have they never been faced with having to take a life, but you would have do it without feeling anything for some someone dying slowly right in front of you. If you were able to go through with such a thing, you would be undeserving of such fine friends, and if they would want you to they would be undeserving to be your friend." He explained with a warm smile, relieving her sadness and confusion. "Look, I give you my word on this. I will not harm the boy in any way that will last past your return to school, and if you want to know my plan think about the technique use when your training goes wrong."
Nodoka's eyes widened again, realizing what he was talking about, and remembering just what he had planned. "You can do that in battle!" She asked in disbelief. Nodoka saw him nod in reply. "But what about me? I can't hurt Kotaro-kun." she added, urgently snapping Natsumi out of her thoughts.
"Don't worry, the technique I'm going to teach you is more or less illusion; you won't even need to lay a hand on him for real." He saw his apprentice's relief and Natsumi's confusion, and offered as he walked towards the platform. "I'll explain it more after dinner. You can observe if you like."
Natsumi nodded firmly. She really didn't think Nodoka would hurt Kotaro, but she couldn't help being concerned. "Nodoka-san you wouldn't hurt Kotaro-kun...would you?" She asked nervously as the girl got to her feet.
"No, of course not," she replied nervously, freaking out a little at the accusation. "Kotaro-kun is my friend. I would never..." She would have continued had Natsumi not interrupted her.
"Good!" she responded adamantly. "We better go eat. By the way, what did he mean by 'when your training went wrong'?"
"Um, well..." Nodoka replied even more nervously. "Maybe I should wait till dinner, so everyone can hear." she suggested hoping to avoid the topic, as she thought to herself. How do I explain that! Natsumi still looked like she wanted to know, but agreed to leaving the issue till dinner. Nodoka breathed a sigh of relief as they headed to the platform, believing that she had avoided having to explain a subject she didn't fully understand herself. What she didn't know was this belief would be shattered only moments later when they arrived on the teleportation directory in an hidden room at the center of the second floor.
The room was huge; thirty feet squared with a large magic circle with a platform coming off each point of the six-pointed star, leaving just enough room to walk around it. Fortunately, the platform for the island was located in front of the sliding door that lead to the hall. Just as they opened the door, an earsplitting scream of absolute horror filled the house. Nodoka got the feeling that she knew what caused it and where it came from, and gulped at the thought of what her classmates would think of her after this and the explanation it would require. Oh no! They found it!
6:30 In a vacant room at the stadium
Kotaro awoke to a sharp, throbbing pain in his head. The blurs around him slowly came into focus enough for him to get an idea of where he was. It was definitely the stadium, but it was much smaller and darker then he remembered. Across from the sofa he was on, there was a small stove pantry, and one cabinet of counter space. Near the sofa's end sat a table with three chairs shoved into the corner, with a small chandelier hanging over it. The chandelier was lit, giving off enough light to see nearly half of the small room, and more than enough to see the three figures sitting at the table below it.
"Kotaro-kun, you're awake!" One figure shouted joyously as they got up to approach him. The figure was easily identified; by voice alone anyone who knew could tell it was Negi Springfield. Kneeling at Kotaro's side, Negi continued his inquiry, "What happened? Where are the others?"
"Sold!" Kotaro answered darkly.
"Sold!" Negi echoed in disbelief, the shock of the news evident on his face.
"That right, SOLD!" Kotaro shouted furiously with a strong element of depression in his voice. "I had the bastard and let him get away! What kind of man am I!"
"It's not your fault, Kotaro-kun." Negi told the boy in an attempt to comfort him. He was a little surprised at how well it seemed to work, and even more surprised by what Kotaro did after hearing it.
"You're right!" He said as though making a realization, surprising his friend, leaving a momentary pause before tackling Negi as he shouted, "It's yours!" He wrestled with Negi on the ground, trying to punch the boy while yelling at him, "This whole trip was your idea! If you didn't have to find your father then Natsumi-nee-chan wouldn't have to be a slave in the first place!" Kotaro's stunned Negi, to the point that stopped his efforts to dodge. Kotaro was about to strike Negi square in the face when a flying sidekick to the jaw, sent him flying into the door. The kick was rather weak, but it still stung as Kotaro picked himself up. "What's the big idea! Mind your own business!" Kotaro yelled at his attacker, a very hostile noncombatant, Chisame Hasegawa, who despite her current appearance served as Negi's temporary guardian, and as shown by the kick took the job seriously.
"Looking after the brat is my business, and we should be asking you that question!" Chisame fumed as she stood with authority, arms crossed in front of her. "What happened?"
Kotaro knew he could easily force the girl out of his way, but as soon as the idea occurred to him, he became disgusted with himself for even thinking it. His frustration settling, and realizing what he had just done, he decided to explain. "Fine!" He replied defiantly before informing them what had occurred in their absence.
Negi could not believe his ears as Kotaro explained the events his one comment caused, at least the way he heard it. He honestly wished that Chisame had let his rival beat him to a pulp, because there really was no way around the one fact that Kotaro had pointed out, the fact that had haunted his mind this entire trip, they were here because of him. He found no comfort in the words of the last figure, the man who he had been training under while all this was happening to his friends, Racan of the Thousand Blades, rival of the Thousand Master.
"Well kid, it sounds like it is all your fault," Rakan stated jokingly earning him a kick in the knee from Chisame. He continued his thought, ignoring the kick completely. "That is if he was really doing this because of what you said."
The words hit Negi like a thunderbolt, bring with them a sense of great relief, and one daunting question, "If it wasn't what I said, then what does he want?" he thought out loud, unknowingly.
"He could be with the group from the gate port, maybe even the guy in charge," Chisame suggested, seeing their stares she explained her conclusion. "Based off of what he said we can assume a few things: he wants to keep you two divided, works for someone who thinks some of the people in this little group has a lot of power, has some means of keeping us all under surveillance, and wants public support." Although she didn't notice it, Negi's eyes widened in realization once she mentioned surveillance, instantly knowing what his next task must be.
"If that were the case then why not kill me, or use the others to lure Negi into an ambush?" Kotaro questioned doubtfully.
That's right, if he really was out to get one brat why not kill the other, further more why even offer to give Ako and the others back let alone such an easy one? Damn, there goes that idea. Chisame admitted to herself silently. "Well, do you have any ideas what he wants, or better yet what we should do next?" She countered furiously. He was about to say something when Negi spoke up.
"We make sure he doesn't have any more of our comrades!" he declared adamantly, showing no signs of the guilt he had been wallowing in. Instead, he gave the sense of an insurmountable wall one could get behind without fear. Without another word, Kotaro reached into his cloak and pulled out the pactio card of Kazumi Asakura, the one charged with reuniting their group, and began his inquiry.
Notes: Sorry if Nodoka is a little out of character I have not seen a example of how she'd act in anything close to this. I am also sorry Gem seems to be taking over, but it did not seem in character for Nodoka to give a clear enough explanation of mentalism, and I wanted to give some idea of what lies ahead. Gem will not appear again for a while he has one more thing to do, but that won't take long. For those wondering what happened at the temple, that will be explained once the white wings realize "Bookstore" is missing. Dark magic draws its power from negative emotions; well Negi is going to get a lot of power. I hope mentalism makes some sense, and I have not made it overpowered, but some of the components of its complicated nature and Nodoka's personality should balance it out. I posted a revised prologue, if my beta should get back to me with chapter 1's revision soon. Any advice is appreciated, please tell me if anyone is majorly out of character.