Disclaimer: The following story is a fan made work of fiction. Fairy Tail and Mahou Sensei Negima! are owned and written by Hiro Mashima and Ken Akamatsu respectively. Please support their official releases.

Update on 10/18/15: Man... rewriting this chapter was a massive pain. But in the end it was worth it, as the resulting material is FAR better than what was originally posted.

Chapter 3

Welcome to Mahora

"Hello passengers, and thank you for listening. We will be arriving shortly at our destination. Please make sure that your bags are properly stowed away and vacate the aisle as we pull in so as to ensure a safe and orderly disembarkation. Thank you for traveling with us; we hope that you had a pleasant ride."

As he listened to the woman's polite voice come over some kind of hidden audio system, Natsu gurgled, his utter hatred of her statement overflowing. His usual nausea from traveling on a vehicle had set in with a vengeance, leaving him virtually paralyzed for the past few hours. If Natsu had known that going back with Negi and his friends would involve train travel, he would have elected to walk to Mahora on foot. Wearing a red t-shirt and tan shorts with sandals an older guy named Eishun had given him, Natsu knew that he must look absolutely pathetic.

Damn this strange world, and damn those old geezers for getting him stuck in it!

After his initial outburst upon realizing that he was once again in a reality other than his own, and after subsequently being subdued by those around him, Natsu had calmed enough to rationally deal with the situation. For the second time in his life Natsu was trapped in another reality. For the second time he was separated from his guild mates.

Only this time Natsu was well and truly alone, with neither Happy nor Lucy beside him, and the dragon-slayer had absolutely no idea of where he needed to begin in order to find any of them. This time there was no Mystogan around to tell him what needed to be done. This time there was only a young boy, almost a child, who possessed almost as many questions as Natsu and a bunch of young girls who seemed to be the kid's students. None of them filled Natsu with much confidence, but they were the only ones he could depend upon other than himself.

It wasn't the worst situation Natsu had ever been in, but it came close.

It had taken some persuasion, but after talking with Negi and the others Natsu was able to get the magical bindings they had used to restrain him taken off of his body. He had not really apologized for his actions, but he had also avoided rubbing their faces in the fact that his initial explosion had caught most of them completely by surprise. The only one who had responded quickly enough to protect their self had been the tan skinned girl with black hair, the one who had managed to take him down within the forest.

Her bullets had stopped his initial burst and, much to Natsu's pain and utter annoyance, proved just as effective at knocking him out as they had in the forest. Three point-blank rounds to his forehead had left him feeling woozy, and when he woke back up he could swear that there was an indentation on the back of his head shaped like the butt of her gun.

With that being said, Negi and the others had eventually told him what they knew after he had recovered. It basically boiled down to three things.

First, that Natsu was now on a planet called Earth and that he was in a country called Japan. Second, that Negi and his companions had been in the middle of a pleasure trip gone wrong and that Natsu had barged into the middle of their battle against a group of unknown enemies. Third, that no one in the group had ever heard of Natsu's world and had no idea how the dragon slayer might go about returning to it.

That last part had been particularly bitter to learn, and in truth Natsu still had not fully accepted it. Being told that there was no known way for him to do what he wanted was fine; as a member of Fairy Tail, making the impossible possible was an occupational requirement.

It was just that, for the first time in his life, Natsu had no idea how he might go about shoving his usual rejection of society down the world's collective throat. There was no enemy to beat, no magic council to flip off, and no reality bending magic for him to focus on obtaining. All of his brainy friends were missing and Natsu well and truly had no idea as to how he should go about finding them. He was many things, including a skilled tracker, but unless there was a trail to follow or an obstacle in need of overcoming, he was out of his depth.

So, in the hopes of finding a new path, Natsu had decided to accompany Negi and the others back to their home. The kid had offered to help the dragon-slayer out, and until a better option presented itself, the kid represented Natsu's best chance at finding a way home.

Yet as the train neared its destination Natsu thought that he may have made a mistake in deciding to go with them. With his hands on his belly and shivers going down his spine, Natsu wondered if it was possible that Warrod's spell had transferred him to some kind of personal hell.

A hell complete with a devilish tour guide who went by the name of Haruna Saotome.

"And this, Mr. Pinky, is my favorite manga," Haruna told Natsu with glee. The black haired, bespectacled girl flipped through the book's pages as she sat next to him, taking care to hold each one close to his face before each turn of the page. The girl looked like a harmless geek, but it was just a shell. Underneath it laid the heart of a sadistic, seasoned veteran of torture.

"You can see how the artist drew the body proportions of each character with extreme care. The lines and shading are superb, displaying a detailed yet incredibly minimalistic style."

Haruna shifted in the seat next to Natsu as two other girls, Yue and Nodoka, looked on from the seats across from them in silence. Natsu had begged them to intervene with his eyes, but other than an initial offer of juice from blue haired Yue, neither girl had lifted so much as a finger in his defense. Instead, both girls kept casually looking away whenever their gaze met his own, determinedly keeping themselves out of the conversation.

Natsu didn't really know them, but he was certain of one thing: for abandoning him to hours of torment at the hands of their friend, neither of the two girls rated very high on his list of great human beings.

"Okay, now look at this chapter here and at this scene in particular. The two main characters share a passionate kiss as they hold one another tenderly in their arms. The detail is incredible. Just incredible! If you look into their eyes you can feel the emotion, the passion, that both men are experiencing. Gah! You don't get to see this kind of steamy, forbidden love between two people in just any manga. No, this is a limited edition Sahoto Ashisu original, and you should count yourself lucky to see it. I have an in with her teacher you see, the great Yuki Aito, and thanks to him I was able to get it before anyone else. Hahaha!"

Staring at the page with eyes blurred from pain, Natsu could only manage a single pained moan in the hopes of finally conveying his complete and utter disinterest in the subject. Natsu didn't care about some stupid doodles – he just wanted her to shut up and leave him alone!

Yet Haruna nodded her head in agreement anyway, completely disregarding Natsu's communication.

"Right? It really is amazing, I know. Someday I'll be capable of this level and higher. As I grow in fame my fans will spread across the globe and usher in a new era for all humankind! Mwahahaha! Fear me, o' powerless masses! Adore your future queen."

As the girl continued her mad rant Natsu closed his eyes and pressed his face harder against the cool, hard surface of the train's glass window. Traveling on a vehicle was bad enough, but this was torture. Whoever had placed him next to this girl had wanted to punish him.

What made the experience worse was that Natsu could understand every single word of the never-ending flow without needing that young mage, Negi, to cast a spell of translation. Thanks to a small charm tied around his right wrist, Natsu was able to understand any language spoken. It had seemed like a good idea to wear it at the time, but at that moment Natsu wanted nothing more than to rip it off of his arm, light it on fire, and laugh as he watched it burn.

Natsu made a weak motion with his left arm, but another wave of nausea hit just as he managed to get his fingers on the charm. His fingers slid off of it, failing him in this hour of need.

Being unable to fight back was horrible, and what made it feel even worse was that Natsu felt like he hadn't even done enough damage to deserve this sort of punishment. He had only been able to burn down a couple meters of forest before Mana and the others had taken him down. That was damn light by Fairy Tail standards.

Thinking back, it had been Mana who had had tied the charm onto his arm. She had even done it while wearing a smile – now Natsu knew why she had been smiling. Since the moment he had told them that he didn't do well with vehicles, the sadistic girl must have known that this was going to happen to him. Damn her!

Haruna had been asking him all sorts of weird things since the train ride began; questions about the color of his hair and how far down it went, why he had such a muscled physique with so many small scars, and if he could give her an option on those books she kept shoving into his face. Neither his silent screaming, his nauseated face, nor his inability to coherently respond to her questions seemed to bother the girl.

At one point during the journey, Natsu was certain that the little she-devil beside him had wrapped some sort of yellow tape with weird markings around his waist and other parts of his body, all while she had called out numbers to a classmate elsewhere in the carriage. He couldn't be certain because he had been going in and out of consciousness at that point; dreams of an invisible dragon and a giant, white-haired warrior flying in and out of a chaotic battle had also passed through his head at that time and Natsu was sure as hell that that had been either a dream or a hallucination.

"I know that you're Negi-sensei's cousin, Natsu-tan, so I was really hoping to get your opinion on this one doujinshi that I'm working on."

Haruna shuffled her hands around in some sort of handbag before shoving another pile of paper into his face. The pages swam in and out of his vision as Natsu fought against his ever-present nausea.

"It's my secret work, my greatest and most ambitious effort to date. I haven't even shown this to Yue-chan or Nodoka-chan yet; but you know Natsu-tan, I really feel like you and I have bonded on this trip. And with your insider knowledge of the two subjects, I don't think that there is anyone more qualified to critique it. So, please, tell me what you think of it; and don't you hold anything back either."

Natsu blinked his eyes as he tried to make out details. If he could actually make a comment on something she shoved into his face, then maybe, just maybe the girl would leave him alone. The dragon-slayer bent his mind and will towards the goal, pushing his body to the limits as he stared at the sheaf of loose-leaf paper in front of his eyes. He had never before managed to overcome this sickness, but there was always a first.

Yet when the pictures began to come into focus, Natsu almost wished they had just stayed as blurry dots. Haruna's nonstop, breathless explanation of the pictures only made them worse.

"See, Natsu-tan? It's a what-if story involving Negi-sensei and our class' old teacher, Takahata-sensei – you know him too, right? Of course you do, since you're Negi-sensei's cousin – that I came up with one night after listening to Asuna and Iinchou – she's the foreign looking girl probably drooling over sensei, by the way – have another one of their fights over them; you see, Asuna likes Takahata-sensei and Iinchou likes Negi-sensei, and those two girls are constantly arguing over which guy is hotter. But, more importantly to me, rumor has it that Negi-sensei and Takahata-sensei have known each other for years, making a relationship between them the ultimate in taboo love!"

Haruna flipped a few pages as she spoke. Natsu was unable to really see any of them in detail until she stopped and pointed to one page in particular.

"I'd really like to get your opinion on this scene in particular. Specifically, do you think that it's plausible in ten years? Takahata-sensei is already all grown up, but I really had to scratch my brain hard when trying to think of what Negi-sensei might look like in ten years. Because as great as a forbidden love between them might be today I really don't think that Takahata sensei would go for the ten year old Negi-sensei. He doesn't strike me as the lolita or shota type."

Haruna paused as she spoke, taking the first breath since she had taken out her strange book of pictures. Natsu saw her flick her eyes towards several of her classmates as she breathed deeply. Her gaze lingered longest on a tall, busty blonde. "That's the style of... other individuals, if you get my drift, Natsu-tan. But hey, I'm not one to judge whose love is wrong and whose love is right. All I can do for now is hope, dream, and scheme to make it all come true. Because one day I, Haruna, shall rule the world and force all of humanity to serve me! Muwahahahahaha!"

Across from him, Natsu saw the girl named Nodoka blush redder than the sun as Haruna laughed. The other one, Yue, buried her head into a book as she too blushed. Natsu finally felt some empathy for the two of them as he saw their reactions. After all, they had to deal with Haruna day in and day out. If Natsu had been in their place then he too might have decided to throw the new guy to the dogs.

A particularly hard jolt then ran through the compartment as the train pulled into the Mahora station, saving Natsu from having to try and answer Haruna's question. The jolt crashed Natsu's head against the train's metal bulkhead, and fate finally decided to smile on him as it did. Natsu's body decided to give out on him, and the sweet relief of darkness stole him away.

Negi stood up as the train pulled into the station. With his class roster book in hand, he called out to the class of girls who filled the compartment around him. "Okay everyone, I hope that you all had a wonderful time. Please exit the car safely, and remember, school begins on Monday, so finish any assignments before it starts. Thank you, and stay safe everyone!"

As if his words were a magic spell, everyone around him leapt into motion. The girls disembarked in a flurry of activity that left him feeling dazed, twisting and pulling each other's hair and clothes as they competed to see who could reach the dorms the quickest. The girls laughed and yelled at one another as they moved past him, with some of the girls trying to grab a hold of their young teacher as though he were a piece of luggage that they had almost forgotten.

It was something Negi had been expecting.

The young boy moved through their attempts with a polished ease, avoiding their prying hands as he spoke with each one in turn. Fuuma and Fuuka, the small twins, were easily distracted with sweets he pressed into their hands. Red haired Misa and her two friends were appeased by a promise from him to let them open class with a cheer. Others were content with a wave and a smile.

Then there were the troublesome ones.

Evangeline, despite having saved his life and touring all of Kyoto with him, gave him a stare that made him feel like a bug she was thinking of squashing. Chisame gave him a look which clearly said that, in her eyes, he was incompetent, and poor Ayaka had to be dragged off the train kicking and screaming by an irate Asuna. Negi could only stare at that pair of squabbling friends while rubbing the back of his head, and in doing so he had failed to notice the approach of yet another dangerous member of his class.

"Negi-sensei!" Kazumi Asakura called out to him, her brilliant red hair shaking as she shoved some sort of metallic device into his face. "Is there any way I could get an exclusive interview regarding the events at the hotel before we leave the train? Specifically, could you please explain the kissing craze that broke out on the final night? I have eyewitnesses who claim that you were able to kiss almost half-a-dozen of your students in a single night!"

The young boy continued to rub back of his neck as he laughed and did his best to dodge the girl's questions. "Sorry Asakura-san, there's nothing to say. Nothing like that actually happened."

He tried to escape her as he spoke, but the reporter-in-training refused to let him get away so easily. Her slim arms shot out to each side, boxing him in place as she pinned him with a determined stare. A wry grin twisted her lips and put a twinkle in her eyes as she replied.

"Riiiight, sensei. Sure it didn't happen. Is that the company line they've got you spouting? Did the powers that be get to you and break your angelic will to their thorny will? Are they now stopping you from realizing your forbidden love with your own students, and becoming the world's youngest harem king?"

"Um, uh, I'm not really sure what you mean by that, Asakura-san," Negi said as he tried to push his way around her. He didn't want to use magic on her, but for an untrained civilian she was making it rather difficult to escape.

"Uh huh, I've heard that line before. Next thing I know you'll be asking for a lawyer and pleading your innocence before a jury of your peers. If that happens, just know that I'd be happy to work on your media perspective. Give me the juicy details before you tell anyone else and I'll be all yours, sensei."

A bead of sweat formed at the base of Negi's neck. He knew that she and Chamo had spent some time together during the school trip, and this sounded just like the type of nonsense the ermine was always spouting, but this was just ridiculous. Negi didn't even know what a harem king was, but judging from the context it was nothing that he wanted!

He tried to stutter out a response to that effect – he wanted none of the usual misunderstandings which followed Chamo's meddling – but Asakura cut his words off with a swift poke to his forehead. "Shhh... you don't need to answer me now, Negi-sensei. I was just messing with you. Just remember that I still need to get a real pactio card from you one of these days, sensei. Chamo told me all about them, and if you really want my help in the future then that will be my price. Understood?"

The boy blushed a deep, deep red as he merely nodded his head in reply. Finding it satisfactory, the girl released him and backed away. She gave another laugh as she moved towards the train's exit.

"See you around then, sensei."

As Negi watched Asakura walk away he knew that there was something he needed to do, an action which he needed to take.

Negi put opened the class roster book in his hands and, taking a black pen out from within his suit's inner pocket, made a quick notation. He wrote it in bold across the top of the class page and then underlined it for good measure.

Then he put the pen away, closed the book, and started looking for Natsu. Asakura had been the last girl left on the train, and with that duty done it was time for Negi to take Natsu to see the elderly principal of Mahora Academy. Negi didn't know of a way for the older boy to return home, but it was possible that Konoka's grandfather knew of one.

As Negi thought to himself about the upcoming meeting and searched for Natsu throughout the compartment he noticed an odd smell. It was acrid and biting, and for some it made him feel nauseous. He paused as he tried to place it.

When he finally did place the smell, Negi covered his nose with one hand. Someone had definitely thrown up on the ride back from Kyoto, and they had done it right at the end of the trip too.

Ugh!

"Play the video again, Chachamaru. I wish to see Boya's expression once more."

With a soft noise of whirring gears the robotic looking girl standing beside Eva moved to comply. As she did, Chachamaru turned her head away from the floor and looked at her tiny sovereign.

"As you wish, my Master," the robot stated with calm precision. "But you have already seen it twenty-four times. I would recommend archiving the video for a later date and concentrating on your bath before the bubbles disappear."

Evangeline splashed the robot with water. Sadly, Chachamaru gave no reaction.

"Once more," Evangeline commanded impreiously, "then you may go. I've never seen Boya with such an amusing face. Now play the video of the pink idiot once more."

Chachamaru turned her head back to the floor. Beams of light shone from her eyes and a picture of the previous day's events came to life on the floor by Evangeline's tub.

Evangeline sighed, groaning in ecstasy as she dipped lower into the steaming hot bath. Watching the video again for the twenty-fifth time, Evangeline still shivered with delight. Few things in the world felt better after releasing her full power than a nice hot bubbly bath drawn by Chachamaru and watching an entertaining video.

Thinking back on the events of the past few days was rather pleasant for the small vampire. Eva had been able to truly stretch her wings for the first time in a decade. Powering up during the festival was fun and all, but she had been able to use her power. Dispatching a demon older than herself, terrifying Boya and his little ministra, alongside seeing the greatest display of idiocy since the Thousand Master himself... well, that was cause for quiet celebration.

She giggled at the thought. Boya's class of girls was mildly entertaining the more she learned of them, but not enough to hold her attention for very long. Too many years spent with girls their age had dulled Eva's interest. Yet between the little Springfield, Kagurazaka, Sakurazaki and this new idiot friend of theirs, she might be able to have more enjoyment than any time since before Nagi sealed her into the damn academy ten years ago.

As the hologram flickered to an end, the tiny woman cupped her hands together beneath the water and slowly brought them above the surface. Bubbles glittered on her palms, refracting light in a glittering cascade of rainbows. They were beautiful. She blew them apart and smiled.

The hologram soon came to an end and with it Evangeline's desire to think of anything complex. "Aah... this really is hitting the spot," she hissed to herself as Chachamaru left the room. Still smiling, the Evangeline leaned back and closed her eyes. The vampire lost track of time while she soaked in a world of heat and bubbles. Dreams ran through her head, of men and boys with red and pink hair.

When she awoke from her impromptu nap, Chachamaru and the rest of her attending dolls had left the vampire alone in the room. Evangeline nodded at their absence as she stepped out of the still warm bath. Efficient use of time and energy on their part was pleasing to their master.

Wrapping herself in a soft, blue-white robe placed at the foot of the tub, Evangeline slowly made her way out of the bathing area and back to her room. A great yawn split her face as she walked, exposing two pairs of needle sharp fangs. The tiny vampire most likely would have looked very cute in that moment had anyone been around to see it. Anyone who had witnessed it, though, would have died shortly thereafter.

After sipping an exceptional vintage of Syrah from a glass left in an alcove near her room, Evangeline turned the lights off with a mental command. Such an excellent day deserved to be topped off with an equally great rest, she thought to herself as she made her way through the dark. The petite vampire gratefully climbed into her mussed up bed and let a pleasurable sigh escape her lips.

It was only when a warm, muscular arm made its way around her waist that Evangeline knew she was not alone.

"Ooh, what's that Negi? Can I eat it? I'm starving!"

"No, you can't, Natsu-san! You just threw up all over the train compartment!"

"Awww. But I'm all better now. See?" Natsu gave his toned stomach a hard slap. "Now I just need to get something inside of it to replace what went out."

"No means no, Natsu-san."

"Bah! Erza and Happy would support me."

"I don't who they are, but I still seriously doubt that they would do so. No normal person would."

"Exactly! They're better than normal, they're in Fairy Tail. But fine, whatever. There'll be more food wherever we're going, right?"

From his place ahead of the young boy, Natsu heard Negi pause for a moment. When he replied, it was in a very cautious tone.

"Um... you know Natsu-san, maybe it would be a good idea after all to get some food before we reach our destination. What do you think, Takamichi?"

Beside Natsu, the large bearded man Negi had just spoken to smiled and nodded his head. He was a big man, around the same body type as Gildarts, and had a similarly carefree look in his eyes. But also like Gildarts, Natsu could just feel the power Takamichi held within his body. The bearded man was a powerhouse, and every time Natsu looked at the other man Natsu could feel his fighting instincts welling up within his body. Being off of the train had rejuvenated Natsu's mind and body, and he felt like his usual self.

When Natsu had come to, he had found himself in a strange room. It had reminded him somewhat of the Magic Council's offices, only smaller. Another difference had been the old man lying on a futon with a bag of ice on his forehead. It was an odd sight, but Natsu had seen odder.

In any case, Natsu had not stayed within the room for very long. He had only just been able to start looking around when Negi had tugged on his sleeve and motioned towards the door. Figuring that there was no reason to stay in a room with a seemingly exhausted old man, Natsu had followed the young boy out of the room and into the hall. There they had met Takamichi, who introduced himself to Natsu with a smile on his face. It appeared that the white-clothed man had also been in the room but had left earlier than Natsu and Negi.

Of course, the only reason why Natsu cared about any of it and had not started setting nearby objects on fire was because Takamichi claimed to have some information about the magic which had brought the dragon slayer to this strange new world. He had used some big words to describe it, none of which really mattered to Natsu. All he knew was that the gist of it was that he was not supposed to be in this world, and that apparently some kind of weird resonance that was changing the planet's field of magic had been centered in Kyoto, right where Natsu had appeared. Added all together, it was unlikely to be just a coincidence.

Meanwhile, another one had just happened in Mahora and Takamichi was on his way to investigate. Excitement had raced through Natsu's body at those words. Finally, a lead as to how he might find his friends had appeared!

With an emphatic slap to the big man's shoulder Natsu had declared that he and Negi would accompany Takamichi on his mission. The older man had shaken his head in amusement at Natsu's words but, after a quick look at the old man, had given his consent.

Thus, with some clothes on, no vehicles, and no Asuna or Haruna around, Natsu was now enjoying himself immensely. With a lead to pursue and a new place to explore, things were looking up immensely. To make it even better, Negi's town was amazing!

People were walking around everywhere, in greater volume than even the capital of Fiore, and they had all sorts of really cool gadgets in their hands that Natsu had never before seen. To make things even cooler, there was a ridiculously huge tree in the town's center. It was awesome! It reminded Natsu of the giant tree on Tenrou Island. Not just the size of it, but that it also pulsed with a magic which put Natsu at ease.

Maybe too at ease, because as they passed various stores Natsu couldn't help but try to go into them. What Takamichi had referred to as a thirty minute trip had taken them over an hour so far, with Natsu constantly wandering off and the other two mages having to constantly reel him back onto the street.

However, Natsu didn't really care for how they felt. After begging him not to use magic due to it being illegal in public, the two of them were watching Natsu like a hawk for any signs that he was going to let loose and disobey. Doing so was tempting, very tempting, but Natsu still needed their help to find his friends. So unless another way forward were to present itself, the dragon-slayer was stuck obeying their rules for the time being.

As they passed one particularly fragrant area, Natsu's nose twitched in curiosity. "Hey Negi, what's that shop over there do?" He said, pointing. "Can we go in it? It smells really good!"

The trio of mages stopped and looked where Natsu had pointed. Takamichi shook his head and pulled out a cigarette while Negi pinched his nose before replying. Natsu took great pleasure seeing Negi's annoyance; seeing it gave him an idea of just how far Natsu could push the young boy in the future, a must when you might have to trust your life to them.

"It makes pastries, Natsu-san." Negi said tiredly as he and Takamichi kept walking. "And before you ask, the one next door is ice cream, the one after that is a clothing store, and the one beyond that sells shoes."

"Ooh! So you guys have ice cream over here as well? That's awesome! I can't wait to show this place to Lucy and Wendy. Can we go in and try some out?" Natsu thought about it for a moment. "Ya think they have dragonberry flavor? That's my favorite."

Negi sighed again. Natsu had found a button for the young boy and was really pushing it. "Could you please ask questions later, Natsu-san? After we get to Evangeline-sans house?" The boy replied. "We are on an important mission which could be time sensitive."

"So?"

"No means no, Natsu-san."

Bah! Besides being genuinely interested in the ice cream – dragonberry was the best ice cream flavor in this or any other world which might happen to exist – Natsu was trying to match and catalog all of the various smells. It was tough going too. The dragon slayer had to constantly ask the two other mages about the places they encountered and then try to figure which scents went to which objects by using their information and his own general knowledge. He figured that he was only succeeding about fifty percent of the time.

But wait, did Negi just say Evangeline? As in that crazy child who had just sat and laughed as Natsu had been pummeled by Mana and the others?

That was where they were going?

Aha!

Yes! Natsu thought to himself, if that's where we're going, maybe I might get a chance to duke it out with her. According to what Negi had said back in Kyoto, Evangeline was supposed to be some sort of ancient badass vampire mage in this world. What with Negi being too weak and Takamichi a pansy, the childlike vampire was probably Natsu's best bet for a good fight.

But if he were going to be fighting against a badass, Natsu would need to get some food in his belly. He hadn't replaced the food he had thrown up earlier, and if he didn't get some energy in him then there was no way he would be at peak fighting ability.

Judging from Negi's resistance towards feeding him any sort of normal food, that left Natsu with only one option.

"Fine!" Natsu said loudly. He laced his fingers together and placed them behind his head as he spoke. "Then point me towards the nearest forge or bonfire, 'cause I seriously need to eat something. If I don't get anything in me then I might seriously die. I'm starving!"

Negi paused at Natsu's remark. The young boy, who up until now had been placing barely any thought into his answers, was now staring at Natsu with a perplexed look on his face.

The kid gave voice to his confusion. "Natsu, do you mean to say that you can eat fire?" Negi said with a note of interest in his voice.

Natsu nodded his head in reply. "Duh. I'm the dragon-slayer of fire. Don't you guys know what that means?"

Negi shook his head. Then the young boy looked up at Takamichi to see if the older man knew. Takamichi shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as well.

Seeing their looks of confusion ticked Natsu off. "Damn alternate worlds," he muttered. "You guys don't have dragon-slayers here? Bah!"

He was seriously tempted to give them a demonstration on what it meant to be a dragon-slayer, but Natsu was just too hungry.

Thankfully it seemed that Takamichi also did not want to delve too deeply into a discussion on magic styles. The big man placed a hand on top of Negi's shoulder just as the kid opened his mouth to say something.

"As interesting as that is, Natsu-kun," Takamichi said. "I think that we can wait to see you eat fire some other time. Doing that where non-magic users could see you would be illegal. We will just have to take your word on it for the moment."

The tall, bespectacled man pulled a cigarette out of his pocket as he spoke, lighting it with some sort of strange metallic device he pulled out from another pocket. Natsu's eyes, drawn by the thing's flame, followed it as Takamichi continued to speak.

"So how about we stop for some food? If we are going to be meeting Evangeline, it would be best if we were all in a calm and relaxed state of mind. Besides, unless my nose is deceiving me, I think that there is a truly excellent source of food nearby."

Natsu's ears perked up at that bit of information. Takamichi could smell something tasty? Something that was close by their location? Hell, if that nose-blind man could smell it well enough to roughly judge its distance then Natsu would pinpoint the place's exact location and lead everyone to it.

The fact that Natsu didn't actually know either the restaurant or the smell of its food was of no importance. Upon his pride as a dragon slayer, there was no way that Natsu would let a little thing like that get in his way.

He breathed in deeply, taking in the scents of everything nearby. There were at least ten restaurants within a one mile radius of their current position. Of those restaurants three were close enough for a normal human to smell, and only one of them smelled like the food they were cooking was even half-way edible. That had to be the place.

Smiling in victory, Natsu nodded his head in the direction his instinct told him was the place. "That one over there, right?"

The big man raised an eyebrow in surprise at Natsu's words. "Natsu-kun, unless you are also a mind reader, I don't think that it's possible for you to know - "

Natsu cut Takamichi off mid-sentence. "Nah, not a mind reader," he said toothily. "But I've got a dragon's nose."

Natsu then continued walking in the direction he had picked, and lengthened his stride to force the other two to keep up with him or get left behind. The footsteps of the other two mages soon joined his own, and the three of them made their way quickly through the crowded streets of Mahora.

It was a quick walk from their current position to the restaurant. As soon as the place Natsu's nose had detected came into sight, the dragon-slayer heard Takamichi give a sigh.

Natsu shot him a shark toothed grin in reply. "See? See? Ha! I was right, wasn't I?"

Takamichi tipped his head in reply. "You were right, Natsu-kun," the big man said as he rolled his eyes.

"Haha! I knew it! You should never underestimate a dragon's nose Takamichi!"

"But your humble attitude could sure use a little more work."

Natsu cocked his head in confusion. He knew that he had heard that word before, but he couldn't remember what it meant.

"What's humble mean?" He asked innocently.

The bespectacled man opened his mouth to respond, but closed it as a loud rumble sounded from Natsu's stomach. "I suppose that's a lesson for another time, Negi-kun," Takamichi said. "Let's get some food in us before we talk any further."

Takamichi pulled an item from his pocket, probably made of leather by its smell. The big man then took out some stamped pieces of paper and handed them over to Negi.

"Here Negi-kun, use this to pay for three orders of Baozi and make the order to go. I'll move ahead and take some preliminary readings while the two of you get the food and make your way after me."

Takamichi turned to leave, but paused before he had gone very far. "I think that the restaurant's owner and chef will be a surprise to you, Negi-kun." He said with a smile. "Make sure to give them my regards."

"Of course I will Takamichi. We will see you soon."

With Negi's reply registered, the bearded man placed his hands into his pockets and walked back the way they had come. His large frame disappeared into the night, leaving Natsu and Negi standing next to the restaurant.

The crackle of coals in a nearby brazier broke the silence.

"Alright – time for food!" Natsu said happily as he made a beeline for the brazier. The fire was cracking merrily and was a beautiful cherry red over a white hot bottom. Whoever had lit the brazier had used quality coal, the smell of which made Natsu lick his lips in anticipation.

His plans for a fiery snack were soon foiled, as the young girl standing next to the brazier called out to them. Grabbing tight to Natsu's shirt, Negi brought the older boy along with him to speak with the girl.

"Negi-bouzu, Natsu-san, how nice to see you frequent our establishment-ne." The young black-haired girl said as they got near. She smiled charmingly, her perfumed lips glistening in the evening.

"I didn't realize you knew tonight was the test run of Chao Bao Zi's new menu ahead of the festival. But as expected of my honored bouzu, you did-ne."

Negi put a hand behind his head and moved it through his hair nervously as he responded to the girl's words. "No, no, it's nothing like that, Chao-san. Takamichi, Natsu-san and I were walking nearby when Takamichi smelled your restaurant's cooking. He was the one who said we should come here, not me."

"Aha. Takahata-sensei always did like the food served here. He was one of our most frequent customers."

"Really? Your cooking must be really good then, Chao-san! Takamichi only eats at really good places."

Natsu saw Chao's eyes sparkle at Negi's words. Something about the way they sparkled didn't seem quite right to the dragon-slayer. Natsu wasn't the sharpest person when it came to making conversation, but his instincts were yelling at him to be on his guard around this girl.

Negi seemed to catch the change in the girl's eyes, too, as the young boy's gaze sharpened. Unfortunately, as the girl's gaze briefly met Natsu's, the dragon-slayer knew that their own reaction had also been noticed.

The girl beckoned them closer, her lips quirked upwards as she did. "Indeed, Negi-bouzu. Now, please, come closer so we can converse more easily. Will you be dining here or do you want your orders to go? And who is this person accompanying you this evening?"

Natsu glanced down at Negi before staring back at the girl and giving her a shrug. "Eh... hey there. The name is Natsu, Natsu Dragneel." Natsu wasn't very good at small talk with random people he had just met. Hopefully that short introduction satisfied the girl.

Luckily for him, Negi was there to pick up the slack. "Of course, Chao-san," the boy said cheerily, his sharpened gaze disappearing like mist on a hot summer day. "But I'm afraid that I – I mean, we – can't stay for very long. Natsu-san is new to Mahora and the three of us are walking around as we introduce him to the city."

The little mage walked up to the counter as Natsu followed behind, gazing longingly at the fire as he moved. The girl had a sharp gaze, but surely she wouldn't notice if one coal went missing.

The other two continued to speak with each other as Natsu planned how he might be able to swipe a coal unnoticed.

"This should be enough to pay for our meals, Chao-san." Negi said as he placed the paper notes on top of the counter. "Three order of Baozi, please."

Behind the counter another girl raised her head. She nodded and began placing ingredients into a frying pan. Her hands moved with quick, practiced gestures, and the smell of frying food filled the air.

The girl named Chao, however, waved her teacher's payment away. "I'm afraid not, Negi-bouzu. If you are purchasing it to go then that is not nearly enough-ne for three bowls of Chao Bao Zi's special dish."

Her words caught Negi by surprise. They caught Natsu by surprise as well. He wanted his food, and he wanted it that moment, dammit! What more did the girl want of them?

Stepping lightly in her red silk dress as she spoke the girl leaned down so she could whisper into the ear of her much shorter teacher. She seemed to be trying to keep her next words between the kid and herself.

"But I would consider doing it for a magical kiss from you, ne."

"M-m-magic k-k-kiss?" Negi stuttered as his face became panicked. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Chao-san. And besides, it-it really wouldn't be proper. I'm too young, an-and you're my, well, you're my student and -"

"Ne, ne, don't worry about it Sensei. I promise that I'll be gentle."

"No – I mean, that's not really the problem, Chao-san."

"Oh? Then is it that I am unattractive to you, Negi-bouzu?"

Negi's face flushed a bright red. "No, no, I didn't mean that either!" The kid yelled. "Ahhh, Chao-san, stop being mean to me!"

"Haha! I apologize, but seeing the normally calm and collected Negi-bouzu panicking over something as small as giving me a kiss is quite amusing-ne." The mysterious sparkle in the girl's eyes brightened as her quirked lips gave birth to a light laugh. "Besides, I am still waiting for your reply – and before you deny me again, Negi-bouzu, remember that the fate of your meal may rest in the balance."

Natsu scratched his head as he watched the exchange go on in front of him. The girl was obviously toying with the now stuttering Negi, but Natsu felt like he was missing something. Sure the kid was young, but it wasn't as though there was anything wrong with it. The girl had four years on the kid at most.

Besides, if it got Natsu some grub to go along with his fire, then Natsu was all for it.

He nudged the still stammering wizard with his right hand. Healed from its earlier injuries by the kid, Natsu's hand didn't feel so much as a tinge of pain in it as he used it to apply pressure to the young boy.

"C'mon kid, just hurry up and kiss her already. S'alright by me. It's not anything all that weird, right?"

Negi's flush deepened. He continued to stammer as he responded in broken sentences. "No... I mean, well, Asuna says that I shouldn't do something like that unless I really mean it, and uh, Asuna would be really mad at me if I did something like this when she wasn't around, so, uh, I really shouldn't do it with Chao, otherwise I might get her pregnant, and uh..."

The kid's voice began to dwindle as he tapped his forefinger against the other in a nervous tic. By the time his voice reached the point where even Natsu couldn't hear it, the kid's words had become completely incoherent.

Kissing someone could get them pregnant? Natsu wasn't certain how things worked in this world, but that was definitely not how things worked back in Earthland.

At the kid's side, Natsu saw Chao's devious smile widen as she watched her stricken teacher. The girl lifted her eyes to meet Natsu's. As she did, Natsu knew what to expect. She was going to try doing to him what she had just done to her teacher.

She moved to engage him quickly.

Walking a circle around the fire mage, Chao lifted a slim finger to her lips as she spoke mischievously. "You know, Natsu-san, a kiss from you might do nicely as well."

The spark within her eyes nearly glowed as she spoke, lending her delicate features the look of a bird of prey. "Since you're Sensei's cousin, I'm sure that you are a wonderful gentleman as well, and a strong, experienced man like yourself would probably know –" Chao's voice cut off as Natsu made his move.

He had seen Negi's passive strategy fail miserably, and his pride as a dragon-slayer refused to let him go down as easily as the kid. Natsu was a man of action, and in a situation like this there were two viable options available to him.

Option one was to punch Chao in the face, set the surrounding area on fire, and then run away with the food. However, since it was likely that Natsu would be seeing her again in the near future, that option was probably not the best. Which was too bad since it was one of Natsu's favorites.

So, with only option two left to him, Natsu followed the advice Gildarts had given to him many years ago. In one smooth motion the dragon-slayer placed both hands on Chao's waist and brought his lips to her own.

After a moment of shock and resistance, Natsu felt the girl's smaller body begin to melt into his own. Chao's arms snaked around his neck with surprising force, dragging him closer as she deepened the kiss between them. Rational thought began to flee from Natsu's mind as the kiss went on, nothing like the kisses Lisanna had given him when the two Fairies had been young.

"Here Negi-sensei. I finished your orders," Natsu dimly heard another girl say as Chao began to push her face upwards. "I hope that the three of you enjoy the meal, and that you stop by the restaurant when we open during the school festival."

Natsu paid the words little heed as he found himself caught up in the moment. Natsu only returned to his senses when a sharp, tingling pain in his side broke through the haze in which he found himself. It was Negi, and if the smell coming from the bag he held was any indication the kid also had their food.

Food!

Reminded of his overwhelming desire for food, Natsu broke the kiss and separated himself from the girl. However, as he went to let go of her waist Natsu realized that he was actually supporting the young girl's entire weight. If he moved and let go then the young woman would probably fall to the ground.

Crap! Kissing Lisanna when they had been young hadn't resulted in this, and Gildart's advice had only covered the offensive tactics leading up to the kiss. Natsu was now in uncharted territory.

He gave Chao's body a slight shake. "Oi, you alright?" he said gruffly.

She didn't respond, and her eyes remained tightly shut as she continued to cling tightly to his neck. He gave her another shake and called her name. Still no response.

Feeling panic begin to well up as she remained unresponsive, Natsu turned to face Negi. "Oi, uh, Negi, come over here. I think I did something wrong when I kissed her."

It was a poor decision on his part. "Um, Natsu-san," Negi said hesitantly. "I think that she might be pregnant now."

"No! That's not how things work!" Then Natsu paused as a thought occurred to him. "At least, it doesn't work that way back where I'm from. And it's got to be the same here, right?"

Negi didn't respond. The kid's face looked to be deep in thought as he considered Natsu's reply.

Natsu felt his stomach sink as he saw Negi's pensive expression. "I mean, right Negi? Right? Please tell me that I'm right."

"I don't know, Natsu-san. You might have to take responsibility for this."

"What? What the hell does that even mean? I always take responsibility!"

Negi's eyes widened. "Yo-you mean, you mean to say that you've gotten more girls pregnant than just Chao?"

Natsu opened his mouth to shout out a full throated denial when he saw Chao's eyes flutter open. The girl stared at him, her eyes soft and confused pools of light within the night air. Well, Natsu couldn't really blame her for being confused, not after the short argument which had just taken place over her supposed pregnancy.

"Um, never mind Negi. She's okay." Natsu said as he grinned sheepishly. He tried to cover up his embarrassment by changing the tone of the discussion.

"Sorry about that," he said to Chao, "but with the kid not paying up and you offering, I decided to pay instead. I hope I didn't step over any boundaries or somethin'. I mean, it was really good! I definitely enjoyed myself."

Chao's dark eyes glittered in the brazier's firelight. The girl's soft eyes turned into a hard stare as she looked at him, and seeing it made Natsu recall his earlier instinct regarding her. He had let his guard down when he kissed her, forgetting the dangerous sparkle he had seen within her eyes.

The dragon-slayer's nervousness grew further as he recalled one of Mirajane's lessons from his youth. 'Never kiss a girl that didn't ask for it,' the white haired S mage said to Gray and Natsu after the two young boys had listened to Gildart's talk about how to deal with women. After a moment's thought Mirajane had also added, 'and even if she did, make sure she actually meant it'.

It was that part of the woman's advice which Natsu found himself remembering most vividly, as it most likely applied to his current situation.

His thoughts on the subject were broken off when Chao stopped her piercing stare and instead began to smile at him once again.

"Ne, it's quite okay, Natsu-kun." the girl said as she disentangled herself from his arms. "Even if it was somewhat in jest, the offer was honestly made." She patted his cheek and stepped back. "Besides, I enjoyed myself as well. You have quite the unique..." She seemed to search for words, "flavor, and someone has taught you to use your body quite well, ne."

Chao then bowed her head slightly and clasped her hands over her embroidered silk dress. "May the two of you have a pleasant evening and enjoy your food. It was good to see you, Negi-bouzu."

Negi bowed his head to her in return. "It was my pleasure, Chao-san. I will see you in class."

Chao's eyes turned to Natsu, and her sparkling gaze raised the hair on the back of his neck. "It was a pleasure to meet you as well, Natsu-kun. Please come and visit my restaurant in the future, ne."

Unsure of how to reply to her, and suddenly feeling as though he may have gotten himself in over his head, Natsu merely gave her a thumbs up and a hurried answer that yes, he would visit her restaurant again. Every instinct in his body was screaming that he needed to get out of the area as fast as he could. Natsu had no idea why it was screaming at him, but when his instincts went off Natsu knew better than to disregard them.

Besides, he had been able to fish a hot coal out of the nearby brazier while Chao and Negi had bowed their heads to one another. The longer he stayed still, the more likely it was that someone would notice he had it hidden in his left hand.

Yet as they left the restaurant, Natsu heard Chao whisper under her breath. "You I did not plan for at all, cousin Natsu. Oh no, not at all."

Puzzled by her words, Natsu tried to think of why a restaurant owner would make plans for him. He came up with nothing and decided to put it to the side for the time being. Instead, he concentrated on more important things, such as taking a bite out of the hot coal the moment he thought himself out Chao's line of sight.

"Mmmm." Natsu said aloud as the coal's heat worked its way down into his stomach. The uncertainty caused by kissing her had definitely been worth it to get a bite of fresh fire.

There was nothing else like the feeling of eating a good flame.

Next Time in Fairies of Negima: Eva gets a little softer; Natsu finds a Fairy; and the big picture begins to come into focus.

A/N: Didn't see Chao coming, did you? Actually, neither did I. The dang scene wrote itself – I think it was my subconscious wanting to give Natsu a wonderful break from the torment.

R&R if you liked it – or didn't. In any case, this will be the last of my initial burst of updates. Hopefully it is enough to tide you over while I work on the next burst. Thanks once again go to the excellent Raiyoukai, who got this chapter edited with lightning speed.

Until next time,

Elsil