Me: Yo! How's everyone? It's time for Chapter 6!! I hope the Library Arc ends this time. It's been overstaying it's welcome. (Woot! 2.6k Views though)
Chisame: Isn't that your fault.
Me: Ah, Chisame-chan, so mean -sobs-
Nodoka: Uh...umm...shouldn't you...umm...start TS-san...
Me: Fine fine fine. God, everyone's against me today. Chachamaru, say the disclaimer!
Chachamaru: TS does not own Mahou Sensei Negima.
ME: Well then, on with the show!
With Negi, Sayo, Ku Fei, Yuna, and Konoka
"...Hey!" Yuna called out to the others.
"What is it Yuna-san?" Negi asked as he looked behind him, panting slightly.
"Do you get the feeling were not moving anywhere?" she asked.
It was true. The whole group had ran into the pathway a few minutes ago. They obviously got the right way since there was not a trap in sight but they had been running for nearly 30 minutes and a while back they felt as though they weren't moving. They didn't know why. Negi looked around, there weren't any traps or anything. He looked up at Sayo. For some reason she looked a little disoriented. It was near the beginning of the pathway. They had only entered less then 5 minutes before she seemed to fall from the air slightly before righting herself. He had ignored it earlier but since it was persisting, he was a little concerned for his ghostly companion. He decided they should stop to rest.
"Alright everyone, we should stop running now. I think we need a break" Negi said as she slowed to a stop.
"Ahhhh" Yuna said as she sat down on the ground.
"I was getting tired-aru" Ku Fei said as she sat near Yuna.
"I know" Konoka said as she sat on Yuna's other side.
Negi sat down as well on the other side of Ku Fei. He looked up at Sayo. That was when he noticed something funny. She was still moving but at the same time not going anywhere. It was like running in place. She was literally flying in place.
"W-What the?!" he thought.
"Hey everyone, get back up and walked for a few seconds with me" Negi ordered.
"B-But we just sat down" Yuna complained.
They noticed the way Negi acted and didn't question further. They walked a couple seconds and stopped. Negi looked around but didn't say anything. He motioned for them to start walking again. A second later he told them to stop. It was slight but he felt something off. He gathered them to huddle up and whispered something. They all nodded. They got down and prepared to spring as fast as they could. They took the first step and...
"PSYCHE!" Yuna yelled just because she felt like it.
The ground suddenly jolted. Negi knew what was wrong.
"I got it! We really weren't moving anywhere!" he yelled.
"W-What?" Ku Fei questioned.
"When we walk, the floor is moving in the opposite direction. It's like those exercise machines that you run on" he explained.
"You mean we've literally been getting nowhere?" Konoka asked.
"Basically" Negi said with a sigh, he hated this library more and more.
He looked up at Sayo. She was probably hit my a magic spell that confuses people. Holding on to his staff as the others were looking away, he cast a minor spell breaker. Sayo gasped as she felt as though strings all over her body suddenly snapped. She shook her head and looked to see Negi wink at her before turning back to his friends.
"Hey g-" Negi was about to call them but was cut off.
Behind them, a large wall just slid out with large spikes protruding out. Everyone felt a sudden jolt as the wall appeared to come closer. That was when they realized, the wall wasn't moving...THEY WERE.
"RUN!!" Yuna yelled as they started running as fast as they could.
The hallway sped up to match their speed. It was like a giant conveyor belt! Ku Fei who was in the back dared to look behind her. The wall had opened up and moved back so the spikes just protruded from the side of the wall in an easy to avoid manner...until a second set appeared on the opposite wall along with a third set on top. The two on the sides suddenly jutted out and smashed into each other. As they moved back, the top part smashed downwards. EVERYONE saw that.
"I-IT'S GONNA CRUSH US!" Yuna yelled as tears streamed out of her eyes.
"Run everyone!" Sayo cried but only Negi could hear her.
Since Sayo was floating, she could see that they weren't moving at all.
"Aiyaaaah!" Ku Fei yelled as she ran faster.
"Ahh, we need to run faster" Konoka cried with tears also coming out of her eyes.
"I don't think we can run any faster" Yuna yelled.
"T-There has to be something controlling this hallway!" Negi yelled.
He looked straight at Sayo. She caught his idea. The ghost turned to the direction they were running and shot off like a bullet from a gun. She didn't have to worry about the floor so she searched quickly. Something or someone...somewhere was controlling the nightmare-ish hallway. She flew through the torch-lit hallway, looking along the walls for some sign. That was when she passed by a rather large one. She sweatdropped that there was a literal SIGN on the wall with a giant arrow that said "Conveyor Belt Control, this way". Deciding to question later why such a thing was THERE AT ALL, she flew in the direction the arrow pointed. She squinted her eyes slightly as she entered a large, circular room with two different hallways on the opposite side, a large podium in the middle. She could have SWORN she saw three golden triangles on the podium for a second. She flew up to it and saw it had 12 colored buttons in rows of 4. On the side of the podium were the words, Hallway Controls.
"Ahh...which button?" she thought.
She noticed a piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up and saw that there was a note written on the inside.
"Beware...10 buttons cause more misery. 1 button ceases all. 1 button ends it all" she read aloud.
It was probably a note to remind whoever uses it to be careful. 10 of the button cause more misery? Sayo wondered what that meant. What she DID know was that 1 button can save everyone and another button will crush them to death. Sayo gulped. Which button? She noticed a 13th button to the side. It didn't look harmful, a dull gray in color, so she pressed it. A large monitor-like screen showed up with Negi and the others. They were still running like crazy. That button was to see the effects of the others.
"What's that?" Sayo heard as from the monitor Yuna pointed out to something.
Negi looked up to see a strange floating monitor with Sayo on it. He gasped slightly.
"There's some kind of empty monitor" Konoka said.
Negi saw a look of hurt flash upon Sayo's face on the monitor. He gave a small wave to show he could see her. Since Sayo could see Negi, she felt much better. She took a deep breath as she chose a button.
"I-If I remember from the movies, it's always the blue button" Sayo said to herself.
She pressed the blue button. Instantly, giant spinning saw blades jutted out of the wall near Negi and co.
"EEEEEH?!" Negi screamed as he dodged the spinning metal.
"AHHHH!" Sayo yelled as she pressed the blue button again, bringing the saw blades back in the wall.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Yuna cried.
"I almost lost my head-aruka!" Ku Fei cried.
"There there Ku Fei. It's still attached" Konoka patted Ku Fei's back as she slowed down her run slightly to allow her to do that.
Sayo apologized as many times as she could to Negi who waved it off. He already saw the buttons and figured out that only one would help them and trusted his friend completely.
"In one movie it was also the green one..." Sayo thought.
She pressed the green one. Screams caught her attention. She looked at the screen to see giant guillotine blades start descending from different parts of the ceiling. Her transparent tears were streaming as she screamed and pressed the green button again. She decided not to trust movies. Maybe the purple one? More screams as she saw flames erupt from the walls. She pressed it again.
"Ahhhh! Which one is it!" she yelled to herself.
She looked as the screen to see Negi giving her a confident smile. He heard her yell. She couldn't let him down. Maybe the Yellow one. She pressed it. She didn't hear anything until...
"I CAN'T BREATHE!!" Negi yelled grasping his throat.
"IT CUT OFF THE AIR?!" she screamed as she pressed the button again.
She looked on in dread. Who the hell PROGRAMMED this thing?! (-Whistles innocently-) Maybe the black one. A hole opened up less then a foot away behind Konoka who was at the back of the running group. A large bubbling pool of lava?! She got rid of it. Maybe the...Orange one. The wall opened up near the group and large wooden hammer-like logs swung down on vines. Sayo pressed it again before they got hit. She was getting desperate now. 6 buttons left. She picked the white one next. Spears started shooting out of the walls. She heard Ku Fei use the large spear to knock them away, protecting everyone else. Sayo quickly smashed that button. Maybe the brown one. Water Hydrant-like gushes of water came from the walls. She pressed that again. The pink one seemed safe.
"AHHH?! AN ACID POOL?!" she heard Konoka scream.
Pink didn't seem safe all of a sudden. It was then she noticed just how lucky she had been. 3 buttons left and she hadn't pressed the one she labeled as the "Death" button. Red, Clear, or Diamond. She pressed the Diamond button.
"AHH! IT'S MOVING FASTER!!" she heard all of them yell at once.
She pressed the button and it turned off. Two left. One is the "Death" Button and one is the "Life" button. Which one? There is a 50 percent chance she might kill Negi or save him. She looked between the clear one and the red one. Clear is usually pure. Calm, collected, and nice. Red...in every movie, manga, or show she's EVER heard or read...you NEVER, EVER press the Red button. She was tempted to press the clear one but the whole library seemed backwards. The red one was the obvious choice...or was it? The place may WANT her to think it's the red one. She turned back to the clear one...but then she thought...
"What if the library KNEW I would suspect it and want me to press the clear button? But what if it expected me to suspect it suspecting me that I would choose the red one?" Sayo though.
Red. Clear. Red. Clear. RED. CLEAR.
"WHICH ONE?!" Sayo practically screamed in her own mind.
With Kaede, Yue, Makie, and Asuna
Kaede was holding her shoulder when she suddenly had the feeling of wanting to shout out "CLIFFHANGER!!". She shook off the urge and continued with the others. Her shoulder was KILLING her, quite literally. There were two holes in it after all. The poison was completely halted by her concentration of Ki. She was lucky she trained constantly. IF she didn't, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold the poison at bay for so long...or even fought those snakes at all. The others were resting. It had been over an hour since they had passed the riddle.
"I wonder where we are in this place" Asuna said aloud as she took a sip from her canteen.
"Well, we seem to go down more often then anything else" Yue said.
"So do you think we are near the bottom yet?" Makie asked.
"I don't think so-de gozaru. If we were I'm sure we would have met up with Negi-bouzu and Ku Fei-dono" Kaede answered.
"So we're at like...half-way?" Asuna whined.
"Probably" Yue said, a slight tone of aggravation in her voice.
"I wonder what day it is" Makie sighed.
"If I had to guess Makie-dono, I would have to say it's been 2 days since we came down here" Kaede guessed.
"Really?! I wonder what the others are doing in class" Asuna gaped.
"They probably think Negi-sensei took us for special studying before the big test" Yue said.
"I think it's about time we go-de gozaru" Kaede said as she started to get up.
"Fine fine. Let me finish my apple first" Makie said as she took her last bite and tossed the leftovers into an ancient looking trash bin.
"Why are there trash bins in here anyway?" Asuna asked as she looked at the thing.
"The people who built this city must not like littering" Makie said.
They proceeded on through the torch-lit hallway. Usually, around that time, a trap would probably have been sprung but everything appeared safe that time around. They walked slowly hoping to make sure they didn't miss a single thing out of place. After about 20 minutes, the saw a shaft of light near the end of the passageway. The next room was in front of them. They stopped before reaching the edge. It was a large room filled completely with water. There were no other passages.
"A dead end?" Makie questioned, an imaginary question mark floating above her head.
Kaede, using as little Ki as possible, walked on top of the water. She looked up. There was no way up. She was about to head back when she happened to notice something in the water. It was deep but she saw it. A passageway underwater!
"There's a way through underwater" Kaede said as she pointed downwards.
Makie jumped in to take a look. She could hold her breath the longest. A couple seconds passed before she resurfaced.
"It's too low! I can barely reach it before running out of air" she whined.
"How are we supposed to reach it then" Asuna groaned as she pulled Makie from the water.
They looked around to see if they could find anything. There was nothing. No item that can help them breathe under the water.
"I think there may be a way to drain the water but it MIGHT be in the tunnel under the water" Yue pointed out.
"So your saying they made something to get rid of the water...UNDER...the water" Asuna dumbed it down so she and Makie could get it.
"I know! The canteen-de gozaru! If you empty out the water, it can hold air for at least a minute if you breathe in and out of it" Kaede said as she fished out Makie's canteen.
"Right! And since Makie can hold her breath the longest...you will go down there" Yue pointed to the pink haired girl.
"Alright, I'll try" Makie said as she dumped the water from her canteen and brought it to her lips.
Makie dove into the water, swimming once more to the passageway. She started using the canteen near the end. She had to save the air first. The passageway was dark and eerie. There was moss growing along the sides and seaweed, which was strange since the water wasn't salty. Could it have adapted to freshwater? Makie shook it off as she went in further. Instantly, there was no light. She couldn't see her own hands let along the passage. It was getting a little hard to breathe. The air in the canteen was filling up with Carbon Dioxide. She kept going though. The air was really getting low. She needed to turn around. Right before she did though, she saw a shaft of light. Going near it, she saw a way back up. With a gasp, she broke the surface and climbed out of the small hole. She looked at her surroundings. It was completely different from the other rooms. The others were dark, dank, and dusty. This are was like an outdoor portion. It was bathed in the sunlight with many different kinds of wild and exotic flowers. It was basically a garden area, probably for recreational activities.
"Wow. So pretty" Makie said aloud.
She looked around. It was completely peaceful. She noticed a green flower, blue flower, and orange flower near each other. Asuna, Kaede, and Yue were still waiting for her. She looked around for something that can water. Near the other side of the garden, there was a passageway and next it it were two switches. She ran over to the switches.
"I wonder if this is it" she said as she reached for a lever.
It was a green one. She pulled it down. Behind her, small little sprinklers popped up and started spraying water. She giggled. Wrong one. She pushed it back up and reached for the red one. She pulled it down. She heard a large draining sound, kind of like when something goes down a drain. She probably hit the right one. She back, ready to call them into the hole but that was when she noticed something horrible. The plants! They had suddenly started goring larger...and larger...changing...morphing. In an instant, there was a garden of giant man-eating plants! Makie screamed as she dodged one plant who tried to gobble her.
"HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEE!" she screamed.
Asuna, Yue, and Kaede had heard the scream. The water had drained suddenly and they though Makie found the draining switch but a second later, they heard a high-pitched scream that chilled them to the bones. They jumped down quickly and ran. The passage was short. They saw the little hole in the ceiling. They also heard roars and more of Makie's screams. They scrambled up quickly.
"MAKIE!" Asuna yelled from across the room.
"ASUNA! RUN!" Makie yelled from inside the other passageway.
She had run inside out of the plant's reach. Kaede, Yue, and Asuna were still in shock at the deadly plants.
"W-What do we do?" Asuna yelled as she picked up a metal rod sticking out from the wall.
A plant lunged at her and she batted it away. It was anchored to the ground so it just got knocked back. It came around a second time and this time, Asuna swung hard enough to decapitate the vicious plant.
"Alright!" Asuna cheered...until she saw it grow it's head back.
"It's a plant, it can regenerate" Yue said.
"We need to burn them-de gozaru" Kaede observed.
"Do you of you have a lighter or something?" Asuna asked as she knocked away another plant.
"No" Yue said.
"Fine, everyone get a metal rod. I think the plant broke the wall or something so there are a few over there. We're gonna run through them" Asuna said.
"We won't make it" Yue said.
"Yes we will!" Asuna yelled.
"I think I have to go with Asuna-dono on this one. We can't burn them-de gozaru" Kaede nodded as she picked up a rod.
"Ahhhhhh, alright!" Yue yelled as she shakily picked up one as well.
"On the count of three. 1..." Asuna started.
"Two..." Kaede counted next.
"T-Three!" Yue yelled as they ran in.
Makie watched them run. They knocked away as many plants as they could. It was then that Yue got caught in a vine.
"Yue!" Asuna yelled as she knocked away another plant.
The vine was alive! It grabbed Yue's leg and pulled her towards a large, yellow, flower-like one. Makie ran out from her hiding place. Using her flexible body, she weaved between the lunging plants and let her ribbon fly. It wrapped around Yue's outstretched hand. Makie pulled as hard she she could as Asuna and Kaede protected her from the sides. They wondered slightly what that ribbon was made of to be able to hold enough weight for grown people. Makie pulled as hard as she could. A tearing sound was heard ans she looked down. It wasn't the ribbon but the vine that snapped. Yue flew through the air and was caught by Makie...before Makie collapsed from the weight.
"God...Yue. Your hair must weigh like 10 pounds by itself!" Makie groaned.
"It only weighs 9" Yue pouted.
Asuna and Kaede were still keeping the plants at bay. They ran to the end of the room and made it through the passageway. Everyone collapsed on the ground as the adrenaline faded away.
"Who ever built this library...one day my foot would like a meeting with his or her ass!" Asuna complained.
"I bet if we looked hard enough, we would probably find someone whose been stuck in here for 5 or 10 years" Makie sighed.
Inside Albireo's room
"AH-CHOOOO! Someone's talking about me" said a strange blue-haired man.
Back with Asuna, Makie, Yue, and Kaede
"Hey Kaede, are you okay? You seem more tired then normal" Asuna asked.
"Y-Yeah, I think I just overexerted myself. I'll be fine-de gozaru" Kaede said.
Fighting drained her strength and made concentrating on the poison a little hard but if she rested a little she would recover. She could hear the plants still thrashing around, probably searching for their lost prey. She sighed and hoped that Negi and Ku Fei don't enter that area. They rested for a good 10 minutes before setting off again. The passage was different. The walls weren't brown with dust and dirt but were white like the outside of the temple and the ancient city. There was moss and grass growing and there were skylights instead of torches.
"...Weren't we going downwards half the time we were in this temple?" Yue spoke up suddenly.
"Umm...now that you mention it..." Asuna said with her index finger on her chin.
"We should be underground by now shouldn't we?" Makie said.
"Maybe this place was built with a steep hill behind it and when we first entered we were already underground and went through to the other side-de gozaru" Kaede suggested.
"Possibly...but now we have no clue what's behind the temple" Makie moaned.
"Mmmmm" everyone hummed in thought.
They continued walking as that thought plagued their minds. Kaede was apparently right since the tunnel ended. They walked outside and was slightly amazed. Behind them was a practical mountain. The could barely see the temple at the top. They looked around them to see a large forested area.
"W-We're out of the temple!" Asuna cried with a victory pose.
"Yay!" Makie said hopping around.
"But now we have to go through a dark, dank, bug-infested, unknown forest" Yue said killing the mood effectively.
Asuna and Makie stopped cheering. Kaede looked around and saw something a little different.
"Looks like we don't have to go through the forest after all" Kaede said as she pointed to a sign to their left.
It was a normal sign with an arrow. It pointed in a direction that avoids the forested area. Asuna and Makie cheered again. Looks like they were going to go in a different direction after all. They followed the way the sign pointed out. They headed through a small field. Asuna and Makie were practically dancing around int he sunlight. Being in a dark place for a long time really makes someone appreciate the sun. Yue seemed a little annoyed at their antics but had to admit that the sun felt great.
With Negi and Co.
A rumbling shook the room Sayo was in. Large rocks were falling from the ceiling. Sayo gasped as a rather large one fell through her. For a minute she forgot she was already dead. She looked at the floating screen to see that Negi had forgotten it as well. He looked shocked and was mouthing "Are you okay?". She nodded as she turned back tot he buttons. Red or Clear. She still hadn't chosen and the others were REALLY tired. She had no choice. She prayed to god that he would help her. She chose to press the clear button. She reached out for it but...
BA-KOOM!!
The roof suddenly shook harder then ever. Sayo saw Negi and the others looking fine so whatever was wrong was above the room. A large rock came down and struck the red button. Sayo gasped. God must hate her. She looked at the screen to see that they had fallen down. She was about to cry, thinking they were dead...until he saw them panting heavily. The hallway had stopped moving and the traps had deactivated.
"Dear god...you're mean" Sayo sighed at his twisted sense of humor.
The room shook one more time at that moment and a large pillar fell down and blocked one of the two earlier passageways. Sayo ignored it as she returned to the original way she came and floated along to meet her friends. She found them panting heavily.
"I-I think I've...-pant-...exercised enough for...-pant-...a whole year" Yuna moaned on the floor.
"N-Negi-kun...you don't have to come to training for the next week-aruyooo" Ku Fei said, her eyes nothing more then spinning lines.
"That...-pant-...acid pool almost...-pant-...got me" Konoka said as she crawled over to Negi "Are you...-pant-...okay Negi-kun? You're only 10"
"I-I'm fine Konoka-saan. Just let me rest for...the next 3 days" Negi said, his eyes also spinning.
"Negi-sensei. Was I helpful?" Sayo asked hopefully.
"Y-Yes...Sayo-san. You were a...big help. We couldn't have...lived without you" Negi praised the ghost.
Sayo inwardly cheered. She was feeling bad a while back since all she did was basically float around. Everyone was too tired to do anything so they just laid along the walls. Normally, sitting on a dirty, stone floor wouldn't be very appealing. Negi was feeling really tired. His eyes dropped slightly. Yuna crawled over to him.
"You sure you okay there Negi-sensei?" she asked.
"Y-Yea...just tired" Negi said, struggling to stay awake.
"We've been in here for who knows how long. Everyone is sleepy" Yuna yawned herself.
It had been about 2 days and they hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Negi looked over to his master to find her dead asleep. Konoka's head was tilting slightly. Negi silently worried that she might wake up with a sore neck that way. Yuna herself wasn't looking like her usual overly-energetic self. Well actually, she hadn't been her usual energetic self from the very beginning. Sayo didn't need to sleep but she could and was already dozing off. He watched her float in mid-air, hands behind her head in a comfy position. Before he knew it, the world was fading. Yuna gasped slightly as she felt Negi lean on her shoulder. She looked over, slightly alarmed, to find him asleep. She smiled slightly.
"He really is adorable. Makes me wanna just pinch his cheek" she slurred slightly.
"Aww, I wanna switch with you" Konoka said making Yuna jump slightly.
"I thought you were asleep" Yuna whispered loudly.
"Not yet" Konoka replied in a sing-song tone.
"If I move, I might wake him" Yuna sighed.
"Then just sleep" Konoka said as she tookt he vest-like part of her uniform, folded it, and used it for an impromptu pillow.
She heard Konoka and Negi's soft breathing. She looked across to the other wall. Ku Fei was obviously dreaming happily since she was starting to drool slightly. She was probably dreaming about food...again. Yuna yawned. Negi was warm and it was making her sleepy. She hadn't been sleeping well ever since her "ghost" incident so she wasn't up to par anyway. Speaking of the ghost, she glance in Sayo's direction. She felt the presence disappear as they were running but after the walls stopped, it came back. She was too tired to care. Slowly, her eyes closed.
4 hours later
Yuna woke up slowly. She yawned and stretched her arms up and then rubbed her eyes. She opened them to see two large brown orbs staring into her own. She almost screamed if Konoka hadn't covered her mouth and kept her from jumping up. Konoka put her finger on her lips and "shushed" her.
"What the hell?! What did you do that for?!" Yuna said in a loud whisper.
"Negi-kun is sleeping in your lap" she said.
"Ehhh?!" Yuna looked down to see a familiar patch of red hair.
"Ku Fei is also still asleep" Konoka further explained.
"Why don't you just wake them up!?" Yuna whispered loudly.
"Because waking up sleeping people is rude. Besides, I need to get a picture of this" Konoka whispered as she pulled out a camera.
"Where did you get a camera from?! And take a picture of what?!" Yuna nearly screamed.
Konoka pointed at Negi. Yuna looked down once more and noticed just HOW he was sleeping. He wasn't just laying on her lap, turned tot he other wall but had his arms around her, face buried in her stomach. She turned around to face Konoka and heard her camera snap a photo.
"AAAH?! KONOKA!" she whispered loudly again.
"What?" Konoka said as she put away the camera.
"DON'T TAKE A PHOTO OF THAT!!" she whispered back.
"But it's cuuuute" Konoka whined.
"It's embarrassing!" Yuna said irritated.
"I'm keeping it" Konoka said with a pout.
Yuna wanted to kick her. Sometimes she can be such a difficult person to argue with. She felt really annoyed with Ku Fei. Wasn't she a disciplined martial artist? Don't they always wake up early out of habit or something? She felt so tempted to chuck a rock at the blonde girl. She felt Negi move slightly. He snuggled up a little closer, burying his face further into her stomach. She almost laughed since she was slightly ticklish. She heard another snap of a camera.
"KONOKA!!" Yuna yelled again.
Konoka giggled as she put the camera back where she got it from.
"This is sexual harassment dammit!" Yuna cursed.
"Yuna! There is a child present" Konoka waved her finger in a "no-no" fashion.
"A child committing sexual harassment!" Yuna yelled.
"He doesn't know what he's doing" Konoka said.
A yawn caught their attention. Ku Fei was waking up. The blonde looked around a second before yawning again. Wiping some drool off her mouth she started looking around again except with an awakened brain.
"Aiyaaah...Negi-kun did it again" Ku Fei sighed as she got a good look at Yuna.
"What do you mean again?!" Yuna complained.
"Oh, he does that every now and then-aru. He used to sleep with his Onee-chan or something like that and doesn't like sleeping alone-aru" she explained.
"So he cuddled you before?" Konoka asked, a funny gleam in her eye.
Ahh, Konoka loved gossip. She leaned closer to Ku Fei as the Baka Ranger tried to backed away.
"N-No" Ku Fei lied.
"But then how did you know?" Konoka poked her int he stomach, her smile getting bigger and Ku Fei giggled.
"He told me..." she continued lying.
"Aaaaaand" Konoka said poking Ku Fei in to stomach again.
"Stop that-aruyo! Tickling is cheating" Ku Fei said as she backed up against the other wall.
"I won't stop until you tell me" the other girl said practically singing as she started poking Ku Fei.
"Guys, you're gonna wake up Negi-sensei" Yuna warned but looked like Ku Fei was too...distracted.
"Hehehe, n-nooo! N-Not there! PFT" Ku Fei tried to stifle her laughter.
"Teeeeell Meeeee" Konoka practically sang.
Yuna made a mental note NEVER to hide information on anything from Konoka again. She should ask Asakura to learn the art of the Paparazzi. She felt Negi move in her lap again. The noise was starting to make him up.
"AHAHAHA! Y-YES! H-HE CUD-HAHA-CUDDLED WITH ME! HAHAHA" Ku Fei admitted as Konoka finally stopped with a victory pose.
"Guys! You're waking Negi-sensei up!" Yuna said, but it was too late.
"Nnnn...wha? WHA?! Y-YUNA-SAN!" Negi yelled as he woke up, waving his hands in front as though to protect himself "I-I didn't mean to do that!"
Yuna pretended to be mad and put her fist on Negi's head. She grinned when he flinched.
"Make sure it doesn't happen again" she warned him when he opened his eyes again.
"Neeegi-kun! You didn't tell me you couldn't sleep without your sister" Konoka turned to him.
"W-Wha? Master Ku, you told her?" Negi whined.
"She tickled it out of me-aru" Ku Fei said.
As they laughed and talked, Negi noticed his ghost of a friend still asleep in the air. She was apparently a heavy sleeper. While the others weren't looking, he grabbed her shirt and pulled her down gently and nudged her...which made her roll over face-don in the air. He poked her shoulder and whispered quietly...
"Wake up Sayo-san" he whispered in her ear.
Sayo slowly woke up. she was having the best nap she's had for the last...40 years. She always found it weird for a ghost to sleep and since she never got tired she usually didn't. She woke up to Negi's smiling face (which just made her day a good day) and yawned. She stretched in mid-air as the others started to get ready. Ku Fei strapped the naginata she carried on her back as Konoka helped tie Negi's staff to his own back. They walked towards the next room Sayo had been in before. The fallen pillar blocked one route so they took the other one. They felt the path going upwards. That was when the say it! The end of the tunnel! They saw light! They had been stuck in underground tunnels for who knows how long (Now 3 1/3 days). It was good to see light. They rushed to the doorway and entered a large meadow. They had just gotten through what seemed like a mountain.
"N-NEGI-BOUZU-DE GOZARU?!" came a voice to his right.
Everyone turned to find Kaede, looking equally surprised.
"KAEDE-SAN!" Negi ran up to the ninja.
"Konoka-dono, Yuna-dono(?), Ku Fei-dono!" Kaede greeted happily "GUYS! IT'S NEGI-BOUZU AND THE OTHERS!"
Asuna didn't have time to react as a large brown blur suddenly slammed into her, completely knocking the wind out of her. Negi had the same experience with a pink blur. They had finally run into the others. Kaede was busy getting Ku Fei off her as well.
"Where were you guys!" Asuna said happily as she shook Konoka off her.
"We should ask you the same thing!" Negi said as Makie still clung to him.
"Why is Yuna here?" Yue asked.
"It's a long story" Yuna sweatdropped.
"Kaede! There are two large bite marks on your shoulder-aruka!" Ku Fei pointed out.
"Kaede-san?! Are you okay?!" Negi asked as he took a look.
"She got bitten by a snake" Makie said.
"Sn-Snake?!" Negi panicked as he checked for poison.
"I-It's nothing. I'm fine! It wasn't poisonous or anything" Kaede lied.
"G-Good" Negi said, abandoning his search with relief.
"Now tell us where you were and why Yuna is with you" Asuna said.
2 hours later
"And after running through the man-eating plant garden, we wound up here. It was still rampaging when we left" Yue finished.
Sayo looked intrigued. That might be what caused those quakes earlier. Those falling rocks and fallen pillar. Speaking of which, if that pillar hadn't fallen, there was a chance they would have taken the other path and wouldn't meet with the others. Negi was listening tot hem like all small children listened to brave, adventure stories. Yue made a good story-teller.
"I'm sorry Konoka dragged you into this" Asuna apologized to her friend.
"Don't worry. I'm still alive...thankfully" Yuna said the last part a little harshly.
"Don't get mad. You go to sleep wi-MMPH" Konoka started but Yuna blocked her mouth.
"Sleep wi-" started Asuna but Yuna cut her off.
"I-It's nothing!" she brushed the subject away while still holding Konoka's mouth before whispering to Konoka "Remember! What happened in those tunnels, STAYS in those tunnels!"
With the group reunited...with 2 extra members, they set off again when they found another sign with an arrow. They followed it until hit another sign. They followed it to a third. Then a fourth. Finally they found a large entrance leading underground, kind of like a cellar door.
"...Do we HAAAAVE to go back down there?" whined Makie, Asuna, Ku Fei, and Yuna all at once.
"Do you want to get back home?" Yue asked.
The whining ceased immediately. Negi wished he could quiet the class that easily. They opened the large wooden doors to find a pair of lamps and some matches. Igniting the old fashioned oil lamps, they proceeded into the darkness. It was probably the last route before they find an exit of sorts. Negi told Sayo to float near him, just in case something hits her again. They tunnel was quiet. The only sound was their footsteps and echoes. It gave off melancholy vibes that made some shiver. Negi and Yue walked ahead, shining the light in front and also making sure not to run into anything dangerous. They were to most observant so they were the best candidates for the job. Ku Fei and Kaede stayed in the back for protection.
"Feels like a ghost might come out and eat you more then then other areas" Makie spoke up.
"D-Don't even think about that" Yuna shivered since she was behind Negi and that "feeling" was VERY close to her.
"Yuna's afraid of ghosts" Konoka whispered in Makie's ear.
"I AM NOT!" Yuna yelled.
"BOO!" Asuna yelled as she took Negi's lamp and put it near her face in a creepy fashion.
"WAAAAH!" Yuna screamed as she clung to the person nearest her.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the orange haired girl laughed.
"T-That's not FUNNY!" Yuna yelled.
"Can't...breathe...air..." Negi gasped out.
Yuna had clung to Negi and was crushing his windpipe. She let go quickly before Negi fainted. Asuna gave back the lamp, giggling slightly.
"Quit messing around" Yue said.
"Aww, it was just harmless fun" Asuna waved her hand.
Ku Fei and Kaede shook their heads. Hard to believe that the group could easily be ambushed by multitudes of traps any minute. Everyone's so carefree...well except Negi and Yue.
"Anyone here hungry?" Makie asked.
At that moment, Konoka, Ku Fei, Negi, and Yuna's stomach growled.
"Eeeh...forgot we hadn't eaten since...actually we haven't eaten at all" Negi thought.
"You mean the whole time you've been in this library, you haven't eaten-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.
"We were a little busy trying not to die" Yuna said.
"Oh right! We've got some food. Asuna and Kaede made sure we saved some" Makie held out some fresh fruit they had found near the edge of the forest earlier.
Negi's group (except Sayo) chowed down on the food while walking. They had finished their last bite when they reached saw a light near the end. They ran to the next area. It was HUGE! It was a cathedral-like room. There was even stained glass in large tower-like windows. In the very middle of the room was a podium.
"L-Look! A book!" Asuna pointed out.
"Is that the one we were looking for?" Ku Fei asked.
Negi's eyes widened. That wasn't any ordinary book!
"T-That's the Melchizedek Bible! (I'm sure that's what Akamatsu was referring to)" Negi yelled out.
"The...Mel-what?" Asuna asked.
"It's a supposed legendary book said to allow the reader or owner to "understand" reality. Making the impossible possible. Literally making miracles completely possible through the understanding of reality. It will do more then make you smart!" Negi explained to the awestruck group. (Trust me, it's a myth although it seriously was sort of explained that way)
"Negi-sesnei really knows his stuff" Yuna said.
"So you mean it would make us smarter after all-aruyo?" Ku Fei asked.
"Smarter?! This would make your wildest dreams possible" Negi said as though he couldn't get an clearer.
The group was wondered if taking such a thing was good. They sorta felt stealing such a thing would be a crime above crimes. They got through hundred of traps and life-threatening situations though. They probably deserved it.
"Who wants to go get it?" Makie spoke up.
"Something like that HAS to be trapped" Konoka said.
"Alright, all of us together. We all grab it at once" Negi compromised since no one seemed willing.
A group "Fine" was heard. They walked through the cathedral slowly, headed for the podium. Each person reached for it simultaneously. They all touched it and pulled it off...nothing happened.
"Eh?" Negi wondered when he looked around.
"Nothing? That's it? No big climactic end to our search?" Yue questioned no one in particular.
"Not one trap? Are you sure we have the right book?" Asuna asked.
"There's a bookmark in here" Makie said as she pulled out a bookmark from the book.
"I.O.U. 1 climactic ending" Yuna read.
"The hell?!" Asuna gaped.
"Whoever made this place probably didn't expect anyone to get through-de gozaruna" Kaede said.
"B-but! What's the point of that?! I wanted to fight SOMETHING-aruyo!" Ku Fei whined.
"It feels like I'm in some really cruddy fanfic" Yue muttered to herself.
"I think you should be happy something didn't pop out to kill us" Yuna said.
"Negi-sensei, I see a door over there. I think it leads to the exit" Sayo told Negi, pointing to a door near the end of the room.
"Looks like the way out is over there" Negi told the others.
"Well...I guess we leave" Asuna said.
Everyone nodded a little unenthusiastically. It really was a weird end to their adventure. Makie put the book in her backpack and and opened the door for the others. Yue and Negi had put the lamps on the podium since there seemed to be light on the other side of the door. They walked out into a large area. There were tree roots growing all over the walls. They appeared to be glowing. There were lakes EVERYWHERE filled with books. Shelves seemed to have been strewn everywhere and building seemed to be misplaced. But everywhere there were books. It was a reader's paradise.
"Woooow-aruka" Ku Fei gawked.
"This place finally looks like a library...sorta" Yuna said.
"This place gets more amazing by the minute" Konoka giggled.
"This...is ridiculous!" Asuna yelled.
"Look look! The books aren't wet even though they are in the water!" Negi yelled as he fished out some books.
"Be careful or you'll fall in Negi-bouzu" Kaede said.
"Ahh! Negi-sensei!" Sayo yelled as Negi fell into the water.
"It's not deep" Yue called over when she walked into the lake.
"Are those roots glowing?" Makie asked in wonder.
They went exploring for a little bit. Kaede fished Negi out of the water. She winced slightly. She had pulled him out with her injured side. Yue was picking book after book off the shelves. Asuna, Makie, Konoka, and Ku Fei were exploring the misplaced buildings. Yuna was just wandering around while Sayo wacthed Negi get fished up. Asuna's group came back a while later.
"We found food and stuff in the buildings!" Asuna yelled showing a large chicken leg.
"Mmmph!" Makie agreed with a mouthful of food.
"Anyone find an exit?" Yue called.
"Sorry nope" Konoka called back.
"Where's Yuna-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.
"She wandering around" Negi answered.
Just as they said that, they saw Yuna come running down to them. She was panting hard and looking excited.
"I THINK I FOUND AN EXIT!" she yelled.
This caught everyone's attention. They scrambled after her as she ran back they way she came. They ran for a bit before seeing a large tower-like building that reached all the way to the top of the area. It definitely looked like an exit. Everyone rushed towards it...except Negi and Sayo. Sayo wondered why he stopped but Negi's eyes looked wide. He sensed a powerful source of magic coming from nearby. It was getting closer and fast! He looked to the girls.
"WAIT! DON'T GO UP THERE!!" he yelled but it was too late.
A large crash came from near the tower. The girls all stopped when a wall practically exploded. Without warning, green vines shot out from the smoke. Makie, Yue, and Konoka didn't react quick enough and were snagged.
"MAKIE! YUE! KONOKA!" Asuna yelled.
The smoke cleared and they saw the culprit. The garden of plants from earlier! It had grown 10 times larger then before, possibly from the magic water and sunlight, and was rampaging before them.
"AHHH! HELP!" Makie yelled as the vines wrapped around her.
"AHHHHHHH!" Konoka screamed.
"Quick! Get away!" Yue yelled.
Asuna, Kaede, Ku Fei, and Yuna jumped away as Negi rushed up. The plant monster grabbed Makie's backpack.
"I think it's after the book!" Yuna yelled.
She was right unfortunately because a second later, the black book was eaten. That annoyed them. They went through a lot of trouble for it. Ku Fei brandished her spear and swung at some incoming vines. Kaede tossed some kunai as Yuna and Asuna lured the monster near the other two. Negi pulled out his staff. He saw a vine appear behind Kaede from the ground.
"KAEDE-SAN! BEHIND YOU!" Negi yelled quickly.
Kaede flipped foward, narrowly avoiding it. Ku Fei was holding off as many vines as possible but the plant kept growing more.
"It keeps regenerating!" Yue yelled before the plant knocked her out with a little pollen that put the others to sleep.
"Dammit! We still don't have anything to burn it with!" Asuna yelled as she dodged another vine intent on sending her flying.
"Asuna! Look out!" Yuna yelled as she pushed Asuna away from a large rock pillar.
The plant had picked it up from the ground. Yuna hacked up a bit of blood as it slammed into her stomach. 1...no 2 ribs were probably broken as she was sent flying.
"YUNA-SAN!" Negi yelled as he magically powered his feet.
Using his already improved physical strength with his magic, he was JUST fast enough to catch her. She was out cold. Negi gently laid her on the ground. He was getting mad. NO ONE...err...NOTHING attacks HIS students! Ku Fei sliced through vines holding the pillars gracefully as Kaede flung kunai at it's large body. Asuna was kicking at the large head-like parts trying to eat her as Negi was bashing away at random vines. Sayo was tending to Yuna as she dragged Yuna's body out of range. Yuna shivered even though she was unconscious. The plant seemed to be getting angry as it's vines stopped going for the "grabbing" and started more on swinging, stabbing, and smashing. Asuna barely got away, within hair's width of getting impaled. The plant seemed to get smarter through out the battle. One of the large bulbous "heads" opened up and spat large brown liquid.
"What the heck is that?!" Asuna yelled as she ducked under some.
Ku Fei dodged and closed in, prepared to slash at it's body-like area, but had to stop quickly. The plant stuck Makie, Konoka, and Yue's unconscious forms in front of it like a shield.
"It's using them as captives-aruyo!" Ku Fei yelled angrily.
Kaede was fighting fine until she found out just how much energy she was using up. She gasped in pain as her shoulder ached. She had lost her concentration on the poison for a second and it had spread at least half an inch. It seems the poison was pain-inducing. She grunted as she quickly side-stepped a vine...right onto a large glob of the brown gunk. She let out a groan of disgust.
"I-It's sap!" Kaede yelled to the others as she tired to pull her foot free "Crap! It's hard too!"
Negi ran over to Kaede, knocking away the vines that turned towards her vulnerable form. Asuna wasn't faring well either. Unlike Kaede and Ku Fei, she wasn't used to such strenuous activity for too long. She was getting tired. A large pod came at her. With her usual, monstrous strength, she kicked the thing. It burst as purple pollen exploded outwards.
"GAH!" Asuna yelled as he body suddenly went numb.
"Asuna!" Ku Fei yelled but it was too late.
The paralyzing pollen had already got her as three vines slammed into her. She was definitely knocked out as she slammed into a wall. Negi, distracted by Asuna, missed a vine. It grabbed Kaede. Kaede felt her leg come free but wasn't too happy that the plant was the one who pulled her out. She pulled out another kunai and held it like a knife. She cut the vine around her waist and dropped to the ground gracefully. Negi cursed in his mind. If he could only use his magic. Unfortunately, his moment of carelessness caused him to miss another vine. His staff was knocked out of his hand, far to the back. Well, since he was not weighed down by his staff, he easily dodged through the other vines. Ku Fei saw Negi defenseless and ran towards him. Negi was keeping it at bay thanks to his Kenpo so she didn't need to worry too much. Kaede fell to her knees. Concentration was really hard when faced with the monster. Unfortunately this caused her to get grabbed by a vine that came from below the ground.
"KAEDE-SAN!" Negi yelled.
The plant was prepared this time. It wrapped it's vine completely around the ninja, making sure her arms were bound. A spray of pollen later and she was reduced to another sleeping human shield. Ku Fei and Negi were the only two left. They stood next to each other in a completely overused "Back to back, Master-Student, team kicking all the asses of a bunch of enemies when surrounded" stance. Until a vine grabbed Negi's left leg. He was hoisted into the air.
"NEGI-KUN!" Ku Fei yelled.
Negi turned his head to her as he saw her chuck her only weapon. Negi caught the naginata and sliced through the vines but knew it came with a price. Even with her masterful martial arts, Ku Fei was waaay to close to the plant. At least 30 or 40 vines were all around her and she couldn't defend against them all. She was finally subdued, much to Negi's chagrin and knocked out. Sayo had pulled Asuna over to the sidelines near Yuna. She was Negi fighting single-handedly. Negi remembered an important fact, Sayo already knew about his magic so...
"Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister! Sagitta Magica! Series Ign-GACK!" Negi started, the arrows of fire turning into smoke.
Sayo had tackled him. Negi looked surprised for a minute.
"Negi-sensei! What were you planning on doing?" Sayo scolded.
"I was going to shoot arrows of fire" Negi said.
"And burn it? You'll burn the others too!" she said.
"Geh" he hadn't though of that.
He backed away. He couldn't burn it while they were still in it's grip. But then what could he do?! He thought hard as he used the spear to slash the vines. He gritted his teeth when they regenerated. Burning was the only option. That way it couldn't regenerate. He sliced off another group of vines but missed one. It was trying to impale him. Sayo flew in front and held out her arms. She concentrated as hard as she could. Negi nearly tried to push her out of the was if she wasn't already dead. The vine would go through her...until he felt a small flare of magic. He opened his eyes to see the vine was frozen solid. Sayo was breathing hard.
"S-Sayo-san! You used magic?!" Negi gaped.
"I-I only did it once bef-fore...-pant-...I thought if ghost's were already...-pant-...in tune with nature, I could use it" she said but Negi saw her float a little lower to the ground.
She was probably only able to use it once before needing rest. He looked at the frozen vine...it didn't regenerate. A light bulb practically appeared above his head. Why hadn't he thought of that. Plants don't grow in winter after all. He looked at the plant confidently. He did NOT like what he saw. The plant must be hungry again after eating the book. It was trying to eat his students. He snapped.
"DON'T..." he started as he ran "Ras Tel..."
The plant turned to him, ignoring it's meal for the moment.
"TOUCH..." he continued holding the spear in front "Ma Scir Magister..."
The plant shot off multitudes of vines in his direction, each one ready to impale him.
"MY STUDENTS!!" Negi yelled as his magic concentrated onto his spear "Hiberna Ventulus!! (Winter's Breeze)
His spear was wrapped in magic ice. He chilled the air around it causing the water in the air to freeze and take the spears shape with it as a medium of sorts. The ice at the tip took the blade's shape and enlarged. The ice spear grew longer and hardened. Negi sliced through the vines, freezing them instantly. Ice magic wasn't his specialty but chilling the wind was possible so they froze even before getting cut. The plant let out a strangled noise, like a scream. Sayo cheered him on. Negi dwindled it's vines into nothing. It placed it's human shield's in front. The young mage used the gathered ice on the spear and turned some into arrows. He shot them and upon impact, froze only the vines holding the students. They all fell to the ground unharmed. Ku Fei landed on her head. She let out a groan and opened her eyes for less then a second. The sight of a large frozen spear in Negi's hands, fighting off a monster was seen before she fell unconscious again. With the last of his strength, he chucked the spear like a javelin. The ice reformed into the shape of one. It hit the monster's body dead on. With one last screamed, the body of the plant started hardening. The ice slowly traveled up until the whole plant was frozen. Negi rushed up to the large body that was 10 times larger then himself and prepared his fists. He charged them up with magic to increase his power.
"Hakyokuken! Hachi-Daishou-Shiki! Zetsushou! Tsutenpo!!" the boy cried, extending his left fist with all the power in his body behind it.
The ice statue shattered into pieces. The ice crystals lingered in the air as they melted, leaving behind a beautiful glimmering mist. Negi fell to the ground, exhausted. He was tired. He felt sleepy as well. He knew why.
"The mist...sleep...pol...len...zzzzz" he fell asleep.
3 hours later
Negi woke with a jolt. Makie was hovering over him. He backed away quickly thinking he might have clung on to her again.
"GUYS! HE'S AWAKE!" Makie called out.
"W-Wha?" Negi wondered until he felt an enormous pressure on top of him.
All the other girls (minus Sayo, Yuna, Kaede, Yue, and Asuna) jumped on him. They hugged him hard.
"Negi-kun! You beat it!" Konoka yelled happily.
"How did you do it?" Makie asked.
"He's my apprentice after all-aruyo!" Ku Fei bragged.
Ku Fei couldn't remember ANYTHING after she was knocked out. Her head hurt though. Negi shook them off and turned to the others. Kaede and Yuna were on those funny folding chairs people use at the beach. Negi ran over to Yuna first.
"Are you okay Yuna-san? Negi asked knowing full well she wasn't.
"Yes, just a couple broken bones" Yuna said a little painfully.
"Ahh! I'm a horrible teacher for letting you get hurt" Negi whined.
"It's okay Negi-sensei. You killed the thing. I think you're an awesome teacher" Yuna said patting his head.
Negi blushed at the praise then turned to Kaede who looked...for a better word, horrible.
"KAEDE-SAN! WH-WHAT HAPPENED?!" Negi yelled, tears streaming out of his eyes.
"She lied about that snake that bit her. It apparently was poisonous" Yue said in her usual drawl but every detected the tone of anger and worry in it.
"I'm sorry Negi-bouzu. I wanted everyone to worry about getting out of here first" she said with a pained grin.
"Do you at least have an antidote?!" he yelled.
"Yue made one from a book she found in on the shelves. There were supplies in those buildings as well as intricate instructions on how to use them. Any later and KAede might have died" Asuna said angrily.
"I didn't mean to worry you-de gozaruna" Kaede tried to appease the red-head's anger.
"Speaking of books...what happened to the-" started Negi but Yue shook her head.
"It got digested" she answered.
Negi couldn't tell whether to be sad or horrified. One of the world's rarest and most powerful books was just destroyed before his eyes. He turned back to the group.
"We have to carry Yuna and Kaede back up to the surface don't we?" Negi asked.
"Yes. Ku Fei should carry Kaede and Asuna will carry Yuna" Makie said.
"Umm, I think I should at least carry one person" Negi said trying to take responsibility.
"Dont' be silly you brat. As if you can carry either of them" Asuna said with her fist on his head.
Negi picked up Yuna bride-style to demonstrate.
"Alright alright! God, so persistent!" Asuna said as she picked up his staff and spear which they retrieved.
"Don't I get a say in this?!" Yuna whined.
Negi held her carefully since she can't be put on his back. Her ribs were wrapped up and that would only hurt her further. Sayo floated next to Negi, taking care not to accidentally brush against Yuna. They entered the tower-like structure and found a long set of spiral stairs. They walked up there no problem, all the doors were open for some reason. They ran up and found an elevator. They entered...and found out they were too heavy.
"EEEEH?! Too heavy?!" Asuna wanted to kick the machine.
"I think we are 1 person too heavy-aruka" Ku Fei said.
"I'll get off and ride up next. Take care of Yuna-san" Negi said as he stepped off.
Still to heavy.
"What the hell?! Still too heavy?!" Asuna yelled again.
Negi stepped back on and let Ku Fei walk off. Maybe a full grown person needed to get off. It was still too heavy.
"Guy's, I'm not that injured. Me and Negi can ride up next" Yuna offered.
"You're still injured unlike us! You need immediate attention" Negi said.
"I'm fine! It's Kaede that needs immediate attention!" Yuna argued.
In the end, Negi gave into her whim and took both of them off.
"You know I CAN stand right?" she asked.
She ordered him to let her stand. He did...and caught her as she wobbled. She saw Negi's look of dissatisfaction. She sighed.
"Save our lives once and suddenly you're so commanding" she joked.
"I am not! You're hurt!" he complained.
"I'm fine. We should be more worried about you" she said.
"M-Me?" he asked.
"Of course. You're 10 years old and you've been in so much danger because of us" she explained.
"I'm actually 10 in Kazoe years" he said.
"...That's...even worse" she sweatdropped "We were dragging a 9 year old around, nearly getting him killed multiple times"
"I'm your teacher! It's my job to protect my students" he said cheerfully.
"Ahh, what happened during your childhood? You're too mature for your age" she sighed.
Negi had gone quiet. She probably hit a sensitive subject.
"Uhh...err...forget what I just said" Yuna said, waving off the subject and switching to another one "I wonder how long it is until out test"
"Test...THE TEST!" he jumped up suddenly.
"Y-You forgot about something that important?! Weren't you going to get fired if we were in last place again?" she yelled at him.
The ding of the elevator caught their attention. They looked over to the side to see the elevator open up. They were finally headed back to the surface. Negi and Yuna stepped onto the elevator and went to to greet their friends. He stepped out and they found themselves outside the library. The elevator descended into the ground!
"Negi-kun! The test is tomorrow and it's already night-time!" Konoka yelled.
"WHAT!?"
The next morning
Negi and the other spent the whole night studying and woke up just in time to get to class. Negi walked into his homeroom to greet his other students. Ayaka looked...dead.
"Umm...G-Good Morning Class!" Negi greeted.
Ayaka suddenly looked lively as the whole room shouted "NEGI-SENSEI!". They hadn't missed his absence with the others for the past three days. Thy put it off as Negi giving them lessons and studied hard after learning from Asakura what the "bad thing" was. An instructor came in with the exams and Negi had to leave. He looked into the room, hoping. Ku Fei looked down at her test and read the first question in her mind.
"If a person was to fall down from the height of "Y" at a velocity of "Z", how long would it take to hit the ground?" she read.
Wait...Height of (Y) (You insert whatever you want to Y and Z). Wasn't that waterfall the same height? Kaede looked at hers. It was a simple, what was NOT the answer questions. She remembered how you had to look for something out of place, just like in the mountains. The others had a look of wonder as well. A good portion of the test was covered over some kind of event that happened underground. The rest of the class had never heard the pencils of the Baka Rangers work so vigorously.
The next day
"Negi Springfield. Please report to the Dean's office" came a voice over the intercom.
Negi left the room as the next announcements rang out. Negi entered the room of the dean's.
"Good Morning Dean Konoe" Negi greeted.
"Ahh, Negi-kun. I bet you're wondering about those scores and your test" he smiled.
"Y-Yes sir!" Negi nodded.
"They are coming up now" the Dean pointed to the intercom.
"Coming in 3rd place is...class 2-E" came the voice of some person on the Student Council "Coming in 2nd place is...class 2-F"
He waited as the skipped over the 1st place for dramatic effect. 4th, 5th, 9th, 12th...Last.
"Last place goes to class...2-K!" the person announced.
Negi jumped out of his chair. He could have sworn her heard his own classroom as well.
"1st place...in a big upset...is class 2-A!!"
"YEAH!" Negi yelled jumping.
"Ahahaha, yes Negi-kun. You're class passed. You expect to pass as well do you not?" the Dean asked.
The way he phrased that didn't sound right. Negi stopped cheering.
"To tell you the truth Negi-kun, your test was actually something different" the Dean continued.
"D-Different?" Negi asked.
"Indeed. The true test Negi-kun, was if you could ACT like a teacher. I spread the rumor of the magic book and knew everything that happened in that library" he continued once more.
"E-Everything?" Negi gulped.
"Yes, everything. Every time you were all nearly smashed, squashed, and crushed"
Negi looked down. He must not have done a good job.
"And in the end...I was very pleased. You did as I expected. You protected your students, helped them along the way, and would have willingly risked your life for theirs. You even went further and became friends. Negi-kun, you passed with flying colors" the Dean smiled widely.
Negi looked ecstatic.
"Starting next week, after the break to let everyone relax, you are an official teacher!" the asserted.
Negi cheered. His class did as well since the Dean allowed class 2-A to hear the last part as well. The whole room cheered.
Me: GUH! It's finally over. I wanted it to end so badly I kinda rushed a little on the ending. Sorry for the long wait as well, I'm like a day late. I kept getting distracted. I hope you all like Chapter 6!
Ku Fei: It's finally over-aruyo!
Asuna: I'm never going to the library again!
Negi: Me neither.
Me: Well, read and review people! (11k words! Dang!)