Ignisha: Chapter five done...

Six Paths in Mahora

Episode Five: Love Fortunes and Info Gathering! The Moment of Truth!

Nagato watched as the class started to get off the train. It was during times like these that he was happy to have Storage Seals. Looking around, he noticed as Setsuna seemed to be staring at him with an accusing gaze before walking off. Nagato sighed. "If this keeps up, I will have trouble staying hidden..." He thought as he walked with the class.

"KYOTO~!" Sakurako screamed in delight as the twins cheered alongside her. "This must be the place where you jump off!" Yuuna explained in interest as Fuuka yelled, "Someone jump off!"

"Alright then..." Kaede said as Ayaka yelled, "STOP THAT!" while Nagato sweat-dropped at Kaede's easy-going nature. The toad from the previous chapter croaked on top of his head. He looked up at it as it looked back, while the girls continued to look at the scenery.

"What a bunch of high-tension people..." Chisame thought as Yue continued to sip her box juice. "This is the Kiyomizu Main Temple's Kiyomizu Stage, isn't it?" She asked, continuing off. They use it for dancing and enacting Noh Plays in honor of the Buddhist goddess Kannon-sama. It's listed as a national treasure now. This is where the famous phrase; 'I'm going to jump off the Kiyomizu Stage...' comes from." Yue continued. "During the Edo Period, there were 234 recorded cases of people actually jumping off. The survival rate was said to be 88%... High isn't it?" She wondered as Yuuna shocked. "A FREAK!" She yelled as Nagato sweat-dropped.

"An informant... She'll be useful as well..." Nagato thought to himself, a little too gladly though.

"Yue actually loves these kinds of things..." Haruna commented as Yue made a "v" sign.

"Such a nice weather!" Makie said as Ako nodded. "You're right...!" Madoka grinned. "Hey, somebody take a picture!"

Yue then pointed a finger. "By the way, if you go further down, there will be a fortune telling stone that will fortune tell about your love life!" She said with great excitement. Among the ladies, it's very popular!"

Nagato watched with interest as a few girls started guiding Negi towards the stone as Yue continued on about fortune telling. He noticed a few girls staring at him with lust, but he paid no attention to it, choosing to continue walking as he saw the stone with tags tied to it. He watched in mild interest as the three girls, Nodoka, Ayaka and Makie in particular, closed their eyes to compete for Negi's heart. He sighed tiredly. "Such hyper children are they not?" He wondered as the toad croaked in agreement. He looked up. "By any chance do you know of a certain Ninja named Uzumaki Naruto?" The toad stared at him with a hint of surprise. Nagato, deciding not to pry anymore, lest he reveal himself, looked around before noticing something. "Sakurazaki? What is she doing staring at the class?" He wondered gazing at the same area she was glaring at, and noticed Negi standing over the hole, trying to help Makie up. He sweat-dropped. "Surprising they didn't notice that when it's in broad daylight... Oh wait, they had to close their eyes... Then what about the onlookers?" He went over to help out when he notice something off about the hole, beyond the toads inside. He jumped in as Makie rubbed out the last of her tears. "Eh, Nagato-senpai?"

The red-head waved her off. "Go ahead, I'll catch up." He reassured the pinkette as she nodded hesitantly, following her class. Turning around, he frowned, gazing at the skeletal hand near the hole's wall. Looking at it, he noticed that it was already starting to turn into dust. "Whoever it was had large amount of Chakra to preserve the skeleton's freshness..." He thought as he dug deeper, taking out more skeletal parts. Wiping out his sweat, he swat-dropped at the scattered skeleton parts. "Must have been decapitated or something..." Nagato thought, digging deeper. He dug until he hit something hard. "Hm?" He blinked as he dug harder, before feeling something stringy. Wrinkling his brows, he dug deeper until he felt skin. Widening his eyes, he dug deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper until-...

"IT'S ABOUT F&%$IN' TIME SOMEONE F&%$IN' FOUND ME! HAH, HAH, HAH, DO YOU KNOW HOW F&%$IN' BORING IT WAS TO STAY IN THIS F&%$IN', SHITTY HOLE!" A very paled beheaded head screamed at the top of his voice as Nagato stared in surprise at it. "GOD F&%$IN' DAMMIT! WHEN I FIND THAT SHITTY NARA, I WILL F&%$IN' OFFER HIM TO LORD JASHIN!" The head yelled. Calming down, the head noticed the composed face of Nagato. A tick mark appearing, the head yelled, "What the f&%$ are you staring on about, you f&%$in' cock-head! You wanna be offered to Lord Jash-MMMPH!" Nagato quickly covered the head's mouth with a spell tag before looking away with a deadpanned face. "How is he still alive...?" He wondered, resting his head onto his hand.

Nagato turned back and proceeded to take out the tape before stopping. The head glared daggers at him while muffling more colorful words that would make even a certain chibi vampire blush red. Nagato, deciding that this was safer, took out an empty sealing scroll, unscrolled it, and proceeded to seal the head in, much to the head's distress. "Hopefully I can find some answers..." He thought to himself as he jumped out of the hole, before turning to the skeletons and sealing them as well. Walking towards his class, he was shocked in surprise to see more than half the students on the ground in stupor drunkenness. Nagato resisted the urge to slap himself. "Take a deep breath and try to stay calm..." He said to his mind as the toad croaked in nervousness.

(Arashiyama)

"There's no doubt about it!"

Chamo yelled. "It's gotta be the work of that damn Sakurazaki Setsuna!" He blurted out as Negi had a troubled look on his face. "Nnnnn~..."

"Oi! Negi!"

"Ah, Asuna-san!"

"What's going on here?" The girl asked. "I told the others to take the drunken guys into their rooms, so they should be fine, but... What's going on?"

"Ah, well... The truth is... erm... well..."

"Just tell her Aniki!" Chamo yelled.

"Eh! Class 3-A is being targeted by some weird Magic organization from Kansai!" Asuna yelled in surprise. "Hai, it's called the Kansai Magical Association..." Negi confirmed. "Fuuh... I knew there was something weird about those frogs..." Asuna muttered. "Toads, Ane-san, they're toads!" Chamo corrected.

"Another disaster involving Magic, huh...?"

"I-I'm sorry Asuna-san..."

"Fhm... Well, it looks like you're gonna need my help again, right?" Asuna said with a smile. "Noopuroburemu (No problem), I'll help out!" She declared as Negi smiled in happiness. "Asuna-san!"

"Oh, that's right! Ane-san, that Sakurazaki Setsuna in your class! She appears to be a spy!" Chamo yelled out as Asuna blinked in surprise. "Sakurazaki? A spy? That's a surprise!" She "hmm"d. "Well, I heard she was close friends with Konoka, so... But I never heard the two talk to each other before..."

"Hm... Chotto matte (Hold on a minute), Ane-san... If she was friends with Konoka-nee-san... then that means..."

"Ah, matte kudasai (Please wait a minute)!" Negi said, taking out the class roster.

"Ahh! Mite mite (Look look)! It says 'Kyoto" here!" Negi cried out in shock. "No doubt about it, she's from Kyoto alright..." Chamo muttered. "Kami... Naru-Ryuu? The heck is that?"

"I never knew that..." Asuna called out in a low voice as Negi shivered in fright. "Ehh? Th-then that means..."

"That's right, Aniki! She's an assassin from the Kansai Magic Association!" Chamo declared and confirmed, clenching his fist. "Fuuuh... You sure about that?" Asuna asked. Chamo nodded. "Plus, we have to watch out for that Uzumaki Nagato guy as well!"

"Eh? Nagato-senpai?" Asuna asked, thinking about the red-head. "But he seems pretty nice..."

"Naïve! You're being Naïve, Ane-san!" Chamo yelled.

"Negi-sensei, it's almost finishing time for the staff to bath!" Shizuna told the Child Teacher as said-teacher yelped in surprise.

"Hyah!"

"Ah, h-hai, Shizuna-sensei!" Asuna waved bye. "We'll talk about this more during Free Activity time, aright?"

"H-hai...!"

(Baths)

Negi stripped and proceeded to enter the onsen when he noticed someone else there. It appeared to be Nagato sighing with his head just above the water, a toad on his head.

Nagato sighed as he puffed out a sigh of air from his mouth. Looking up into the starry night, he thought, "Roughly a thousand years has passed since my passing... Which means the Ninja Era ended, judging from Kami-sama's Infogen no Toutsuu (Information Fist of Pain) (Note: Just named, lol)..." Nagato shivered at the thought about the punch. Sighing out loud, Nagato opened his eye half-lidded. "To think such time has past... I want to know about what happened to the Ninja Era..." Groaning as he lifted himself up, he looked at his hands. "And what Kami-sama said about Uzumaki Naruto's being incapable to go back..."

(Flashback)

"What do you mean by Uzumaki Naruto not able to go back to the living world?" Nagato asked the goddess herself. Kami sighed. Pouting, she said, "Datte ne, I wanted to give him another life, but he ignored it and denied it!" She complained, confusing the red head.

"Eh?"

"I mean, such a hero-like figure like Naruto-kun, I want to give him another chance in life, but yet, he said no, and I can't at the same time..."

"Iie, etto... wh-what do you mean by Uzumaki Naruto denying your request?"

Kami sighed. "Well, he said that he doesn't want to go back to the living, as he wants to spend the rest of eternity with his loved ones... And another..." She waited for a dramatic setting. "He wanted the next generation to uphold peace for him..." She said with a blush. "Hyyaaah~, isn't that bold? How nice of him, to trust in the next generation so easily...!" The goddess said with a blushing, holding her cheeks. Nagato stared at her with a deadpanned and surprised expression written on his face. Gaining his composure back, he asked, "And why you cannot give him back...?"

Kami opened her eyes, staring straight into Nagato's eyes. "I can't give him back to the living, because his father, the Yondaime, making a pact with the Shinigami, made Naruto-kun stuck in the world of the dead. Giving pacts to the Shinigami means that he now has control and full grasp upon your soul. That includes anyone who summoned him and whoever became a Jinchuuriki. It's so sad, isn't it?" Kami said sadly. "Those who have demons sealed into them... are cursed into serving Shinigami for eternity and unable to return to the world of the living... nor reincarnate with their loved ones..."

Nagato gazed at the shining ground as the two stood in silence.

A cough caught him off guard as Kami covered her mouth. "Anyway, I think that's enough information I can give, now for the information..." She said, clenching her fist.

And that's when the headache starts.

(Flashback End)

Nagato sighed until he heard footsteps on water coming. Sitting up, he found Negi cautiously coming into the onsen, staring at the red head with worried eyes, his ermine pet glaring at Nagato in suspicion. Nagato chuckled, smiling. "Negi-san, would you like to take a bath?"

"Ah!" Negi sputtered, flustering. "U-um... uh, err..." Nodding meekly, Negi sat several feet away from Nagato. Nagato smiled at the boy as Negi fidgeted. "Oooh~... First it's Setsuna-san, and now, Nagato-san... What to do... awawawa... Plus, Setsuna-san is a swordswoman, a natural enemy for Mages, and we don't know what Nagato-san is yet..." Negi sighed as he lowered his head towards the water, blowing out bubbles out of his mouth. Nagato gazed at the boy as Chamo whispered. "Aniki, better to ask Uzumaki about himself!" Negi nodded before sitting up straight. "Um, ano... Nagato-san..."

"Hm?"

"How have you come to be a teacher at Mahora?"

Nagato blinked. "Ah, so he wants to gather info now, hmm? A very smart, yet foolish move, Negi-san, to ask questions in the open with no weapons..." "Do you want the honest truth? Or a small summary of it?"

"Eeto... A small summary would be fine..." Negi replied. Nagato chuckled. "To be honest, when I came to, I had no idea where I was... I thought I was dead, but then, Gakuenchou-san came in and invited me to become a teacher at Mahora... with nothing else to lose, I took the job." Nagato described as Negi started sobbing. "Are, Negi-san, are you-..."

"Uwahh! Nagato-san's life seems so sad!" Negi wailed. "It's not even close to sad..." Nagato thought with a sweat-drop.

Suddenly, Nagato tensed as well as Negi. The two looked over the rocks to see a smll figure. Realizing who it was, Nagato immediately ducked behind the rock with a huge blush on his face. "What is Sakurazaki doing here!" was his thoughts as Negi blushed a bit, a look of shock on his face. "Come to think of it, this is a mixed bath, isn't it...?" Nagato thought bashfully as Negi continued to stare. "Stop staring!" Nagato whispered as Negi blushed crimson at being caught accidentally peeking. It was at that moment that Negi started to slowly swim away.

"Phew..." Setsuna muttered. "How troublesome... if Negi-sensei is indeed a Mage, then I must take action soon..." She thought out loud as Negi clearly was starting to have a fried mind. "Oh no...! Sh-she knows! H-how! C-can she... Can Setsuna-san really be a s-spy...!" He thought, tightening his grip around his toy wand.

Setsuna perked, releasing her Killer Intent. Nagato felt the K.I. and immediately turned on his Rinnegan. "Who's there!" The girl yelled out, breaking the only lamp.

"Sh-she noticed me!" Negi thought in fright.

"You won't run away...!" Setsuna yelled. "Shinmei-Ryuu...! Zanganken! (God's Cry Style: Stone Splitting Blade)"

Negi yelled in shocked as he stared at the once full stone. "Sh-she cut the wall in half!" "Ras tel Ma Scir Magister!" Negi pointed his toy staff towards Setsuna. "Frans Exclamatio!" He declared, letting wind take its duty and blew off Setsuna's Nodachi. "Yes! Unarmed the attacker, eh!"

Setsuna meanwhile, only smirked. Nagato, not liking what was going to happen next, immediately perform a Kawarimi (Substitute) with Negi. Nagato, after switching with Negi, immediately chocked as a soft hand threatened to squeeze the life out of his lungs and his manhood. "Oof!" Nagato blinked as Setsuna glared at his rippled eyes. "Who are you...? If you don't answer, I will crush it and break it off!" She threatened as Nagato blushed at where she was holding. "Sa-sa-sasa-sa-saku-... Sakurazaki... Wh-wh-where... d-d-do y-you th-think... You're touching!" He yelled as Setsuna blinked. "N-nagato... sensei...?"

Negi only watched with a blush as that could have happened to him. Setsuna only gazed at her red headed teacher before releasing her hold. "N-nagato-sensei! I-I'm so-sorry! Um... uh...!" Negi looked at Nagato as the red head shivered lightly at the thought of his precious life-giving tool being snapped off of him, the experience also reminded him of a certain blue-headed girl's threat about a certain topic. Setsuna looked at the hand she was using to grab Nagato's manhood before swapping it behind her. "Umm... w-well, I was ermm... I mean, well... to aim for the vital spot it a logical theory, so um...!"

"That does it, Sakurazaki Setsuna! That line just proved that you're a spy for the Kansai Magic Association! Am I right!" Chamo accused on top of Negi as Nagato sunk onto the water, having regained his composure. "Wh...! Th-that's not true Sensei!" Setsuna explained as Chamo growled a bit. "Yeah yeah, tell it to the ermine! Just cause I'm one does not mean you can underestimate me, ya'know! We're onto you, so confess!"

"I... I am not your enemy! I am Sakurazaki Setsuna, seat number 15, and Sensei's ally!" The girl declared.

"Eh...?" Negi said thoughtfully. "S-setsuna-san... what did you mean by..."

"I mean, I'm Konoka-ojou-sama's-..."

Setsuna was interrupted by a familiar scream as the two flinched. "Was that!"

"That voice..."

"Ojou-sama!"

CLIFFHANGER!

Ignisha: Stayed tuned for Chapter 6!