Mahora Academy Dorms, Monday Night
The lights were on all throughout the academy dorms; it had just begun to be nightfall, and the light outside was growing dimmer by the minute, so the lights automatically turned on to illuminate the students' pathways. Right about now, the students were all over the academy- some were in the park, enjoying the light, refreshing breeze; some were at the gym, playing a round of basketball or doing a little swimming. One room, though, was occupied, by just one person, completely engrossed in what she was doing.
Her computer screen flashed, betraying the otherwise dark room- it was only because of this that anyone looking in through the outside window could even tell that someone was in the room. This was just the way that she liked it- to live her personal life in secrecy, and distance it as far away as she could from her "other" life, her school life...
The computer beeped once. "You've got mail," it said, as a pop-up box appeared in the lower right hand corner of her screen, telling her the exact same thing the computer itself had just told her.
Chisame sighed; it was probably just another annoying spam ad, or some credit card company wanting her to establish a line of credit with them. Much to her surprise, though, it was from one of her classmates.
Chisame, the email started off, if you would, I'd like you to come down to the university lab for a few minutes. Chachamaru said she wanted to talk to you about something, but she won't tell me what it is for the life of her... Well, not literally, of course, but... I think you get what I mean. Just come down here whenever you get this message. It was signed simply, Hakase.
Looking a bit puzzled, Chisame looked at the date that the email was sent. From the date and time, she figured out it was sent about five minutes previously. Why in the world would Chachamaru want to talk to me? Is this about what we were talking about at MahoraFest?
She made up her mind, then clicked on the reply button: Sure, Hakase, I'll be over in about ten minutes. I just need to get dressed and head out. She pushed the "send" button, then turned her computer screen off; she had originally planned to do a couple of photo shoots of "Chiu" that night, but she decided that could wait. Her curiosity had outweighed her desire to get her shoot done...
Checking to make sure that the blinds were closed, she took off her windbreaker jacket and pants, leaving her standing in her room with just her bra and panties on. Glancing over at the mirror, she couldn't help but smile; she really did like the way her breasts were filling out lately. Though, if only her skin weren't so pale... That was one of the only things that she didn't like about her body... Snapping out of her revery, she grabbed her pants and put them on slowly, then grabbed an old t-shirt and put it on. Oddly enough, the shirt had "Chiu" printed in large, bold letters across the front chest; no one seemed to get the reference, though- they all just thought that Chisame was another fan. Everyone, that is, except for Negi... one of the only people who knew the "real" Chiu...
Stepping outside her door, she stopped for a moment. Something tells me that I'm forgetting something... she thought to herself. For the life of her, though, she just couldn't remember what it was that she was forgetting. Keeping the door propped open, using her body's weight as a prop, she patted herself down, trying to figure out just what she was forgetting... Alright, I've got my school ID so I can get back into the dorms, I've got the key to my room, I've got my gum, my flash drive... Her mind was at a blank as to what she thought she'd forgotten, so she simply shrugged it off and stepped out of the doorway, letting her door shut behind her.
Briskly walking along the hallway, Chisame glanced around nervously every few seconds; she just couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed... but every time she glanced around, trying to catch her supposed stalker, there was always just dead air around her... I'm going paranoid. Maybe it's from staying on the computer so much... She opened the door leading to the outside world, and stepped out.
The sun was just beginning to go down, so the heat was still lingering around her, but it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been this time of year. Still, a bead of sweat ran down Chisame's face; she brushed it away absentmindedly, squinting into the light, trying to find the direction she was supposed to go in. She'd only been over to Hakase's lab once, though she had an excuse for never going over to the university side of campus- she had a few years left before she would be able to attend school in that district. Five and a half, if she had it calculated it correctly.
Finally, she figured out what direction she was supposed to go in, and headed that way. As she walked along the sidewalk, again at a brisk pace, she still couldn't help but think that someone was watching her every move; this made her shudder in fear, despite the heat surrounding her. She shook her head slightly, trying to shake the thought out of her head, but all it did was recede into the recesses of her mind, ready to pop up at the most opportune moment...
It took her only a few minutes to walk over to the other side of campus, and get to the building that housed Hakase's lab; it didn't look like it at first, but Chisame could be quite athletic, if she wanted to, and she could walk pretty fast most of the time. She opened up the door, and heard a greeting from the other end of the hallway: "Welcome, Hasegawa." She looked up to see Hakase standing by the elevator, grinning widely. "Welcome to my world."
"Erm... thanks..." was the only response that Chisame could come up with; to keep herself from sounding like more of a complete idiot, she asked, "Did Chachamaru ever tell you what she wanted to tell me?"
Hakase shook her head sadly. "Not even a hint. If it's something that she won't even tell her creator... I can't even begin to guess what it could be..."
Chisame smiled. "Let's head up there, and we can talk about it on the way up." She walked forward to join Hakase by the elevator, and the two stepped in, as Hakase punched in the floor number.
"This really isn't like her, you know," said Hakase, sounding utterly bewildered. "I mean, she'd usually tell me anything." She looked up suddenly at Chisame, as though an idea had just hit her. "Do you think she likes you?"
This one threw Chisame for a loop, and she laughed nervously. A bisexual robot...? I mean, I guess it could be possible, but in what fantasy world? "I don't think that'd be it... I mean, we were together for about two or three hours one day after MahoraFest, and she didn't mention anything that would make me suspicious..."
"True," replied Hakase, as the door slid open after they had reached their floor. "But what else could it be?"
"Beats me."
The two stepped off the elevator, and headed in towards Hakase's lab. "It's a bit of a mess," warned Hakase before opening the door. "I don't get much time to clean up around here."
"No problem," replied Chisame. "As long as I don't trip over anything big, I'm fine."
The door slid open, and Chisame's jaw dropped; she'd never been in Hakase's lab before, and was absolutely astounded at the mechanical gadgetry that filled up her lab. Of particular interest to Chisame was a large computer, complete with a modem the size of Chisame's bed.
"You like it?" asked Hakase, noticing Chisame's interest in the computer. "Biggest computer I've ever built." Just then, Chachamaru opened a door that Chisame had missed on her initial scan of the room, and stepped out of what could have been a recharging room.
"Oh, you're here," said Chachamaru, seeing Chisame. "We need to talk."
"So I've heard," replied Chisame. She turned to Hakase. "So, is robotics all that's inside Chachamaru?"
"As far as her actual body is concerned, yes, but I do use some magic to help her systems run smoothly."
Chisame stopped dead in her tracks. "You... know about magic?"
"Sure, I do. A lot of people at this academy are students of magic."
Should have known... This explains a lot of the weirdness around here... "So, Chachamaru, do you want to go anyplace to talk?"
"That won't be necessary," said Hakase. "I need to run to the library and pick up some books, so you two can just talk in here-"
"Actually," interrupted Chachamaru, "I'd be more comfortable if we were out on the grounds walking."
Hakase looked surprised, but said, "Alright... If you're not back by the time I come back, I'll just come find you."
Chachamaru and Chisame walked out into the hallway, and entered the elevator; it began to descend.
"Why do we need to talk outside?" asked Chisame.
Chachamaru looked at her in all seriousness. "Something's been following you, and I want you to see what it is."
You knew the entire time? Why didn't you tell me? "What 'it' is?"
"I don't think it's human. In fact, I don't even think it's from this world."
"From the magical world, then?" Chisame didn't want to know the answer, but she asked it anyways.
"My guess is yes."
They exited the building, and walked over to the park. "This is where most of the sightings have occurred, so we'll just wait here." She noticed that Chisame was staring off into the distance. "What is it?"
In response, Chisame just pointed. Chachamaru looked over her shoulder, to see a shadowy being floating to them. As it approached them, the air seemed to grow much colder, and Chisame felt like all the happiness would just float away from her...
"Is that what's been following me?" asked Chisame.
"Yes," replied Chachamaru. "I believe it is from the magical world."
The thing was about four or five feet away from them, when Chachamaru said, "Let's go." She picked up Chisame and, putting her over her shoulder (and ignoring her cries of protest), ignited her jets, sending them soaring up into the sky.
"What was that thing?" asked Chisame; she looked down to see if it was following them, just in time to see it disappear, leaving no trace it were ever there.
"As I said, I'm not sure," replied Chachamaru, "but I do know one thing for sure- we can't beat it on our own..."
Evangeline's House, Later That Night
"So let me get this straight," said Evangeline as she leaned back in her rocking chair, "You want me to let you use a very sophisticated piece of equipment- one that I haven't used in over a hundred years- to look into the future and find out whether Chao is really related to you or not? Why the future, may I ask?"
"You were there," replied Negi. "She said she was 'from the future,' so the most obvious choice is to look into the future."
Evangeline sighed, as she let the chair fully rest on the ground. "Listen, kid, I'm not trying to discourage you from doing this; I know you must be dying to find out what Chao-san meant by that. But here's a bit of advice, from master to student: some things in the future aren't meant to be changed-"
"But I'm not trying to change anything!"
"-And some things, even by simply looking into the future, will change just because of that one event," continued Evangeline, as though Negi had never interrupted her. "And the whole thing is, neither you nor I know what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into even by looking to future events."
"I'm willing to accept that risk," was Negi's reply.
Evangeline had a look of apprehension on her face. "Once we do this, there's no going back, you know."
"I know. And I still want to do this."
"Fine." Eva got up, and went over to a seemingly solid section of wall. Cantanus, occimatum, parlichanta, she chanted in a sing-song voice... or something like that. Just as she finished, a door appeared, and Evangeline opened it.
"Wait, Master."
Evangeline turned, smiling. "Having second thoughts already?"
"No, not at all. I was just wondering... what was that thing that you wanted to know, but you couldn't find out for yourself?"
Eva seemed to consider this for a second, then beckoned for Negi to follow her. "Follow me, Negi-bozu, and I'll tell you on the way down."
Negi walked over to where Evangeline was standing, and the two descended into the darkness; the wall closed up, leaving the spot just as bare and bland as when the house had been built.