For the fifth time in the past half-hour, Negi found himself flat on his back. He slowly got up, his back aching from hitting the ground one too many times. "Ku Fei-san," said Negi, "why do we have to do all this? I'm already getting more than enough training from Eva-master…"

"Eva train in magic," replied Ku, "but magic only go so far. Strength better for everyday life."

Negi knew she was right, so he readied his stance once again. He lunged at Ku, striking out with a left hook. Ku blocked it and spun around to trip him up; Negi dropped to one knee and swept his right leg across the ground, hitting Ku in the one leg she still had on the ground. Ku backflipped and landed perfectly in a crouching position. "Better," she said, smiling, "but you still have much to learn." She ran at him, and Negi ducked, extending his arm. Ku's eyes bulged, and she tried to stop in time, but motion took over; she hit Negi's outstretched arm and vaulted over it, landing on her back.

Negi backpedaled a few steps, so he was standing over Ku Fei's body. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Ku Fei smiled. "You do good. Is first time you could flip me."

Negi laughed. "And I don't believe I will be doing it for awhile, either." Just then, Kaede walked into the gym. "Come on, Ku Fei, we're headed to the park. Wanna come?" Just then, she noticed Negi standing there.

"Hello, Sessha," Negi said, and Kaede blushed. "Hello to you, too, Negi-kun." She looked at Ku, confused. "How'd you end up on the ground like that?"

Ku smiled. "Negi-sensei very good."

Kaede laughed. "Okay, come on, let's get going." She turned to Negi. "Have a good afternoon, Negi-kun." Negi smiled. "As to you, Kaede-san."

As the two left, Negi couldn't help but let his gaze linger on Ku. "I really do get a lot of good training in when I'm with her, but… I'm always focused on the training and not on the trainer… She really is kinda cute, especially when she looks so determined, like when we train…" Negi brushed those thoughts aside and walked out, still limping a bit. He hadn't gone too far when someone jumped down from the roof and tackled Negi. They rolled onto the grass, laughing.

"Kotaro-kun! What was that for?" Negi said, still laughing.

Kotaro grinned. "You just looked so… serious. I had to."

Negi laughed. "Now could you help me up? I'm still a bit sore from Ku-san's training…"

Kotaro helped Negi to his feet. "You're still training with Ku-san, even though you're getting the hell beat out of you by Eva-san?" Kotaro asked.

Negi said, "Well, it's like Ku-san put it: Magic can only go so far; for the rest, I need to be strong."

Looking a bit confused, Kotaro said, "Well, isn't there a way for you to get stronger without nearly killing yourself training?"

Negi was amused by this. "This is coming from the 'Hey, let's go train even though it's 3:00 in the morning' guy? I'm surprised."

Kotaro scowled, then launched himself at Negi again; Negi was ready this time, and he blocked Kotaro's fist easily; what he didn't count on, though, was the leg-sweep Kotaro performed at the last moment, and Negi found himself on his back… on the ground… again.

"Why…" Negi muttered, "why didn't I see that coming?"

Kotaro laughed. "I saw you use that trick on Ku-san, so I had to see if you'd be ready to have it used on you. Guess not…"

Negi jumped up. "Okay, get back here!" Negi began chasing Kotaro, both laughing; they almost ran into a group of girls, but took no notice of them. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" yelled Haruna.

"Hey, wasn't that Negi-kun?" asked Nodoka.

Yue strained to see the pair, as they were a good distance off by then. "Yep, Nodoka, it was… and if my eyes didn't deceive me, that other one with him was… Kotaro, I think his name was." Just then, Yue remembered what Kotaro had said to her about love. "I'll be right back, guys. You two head to the library, and I'll meet you there in a bit." Her eyebrows narrowed. "I've got something to take care of…"

Yue found Kotaro and Negi sitting on a park bench, talking. Negi noticed Yue first. "Ah, Yue-san," Negi said, smiling. "I assume you enjoyed yourself at our little get-together a few days ago." Yue smiled, blushing furiously. "Yes, Negi-kun, it was the best time I've had in ages." She turned to Kotaro.

"Ah, crap, it's you!" Kotaro yelled, finally recognizing her. "You were the one who I got into that argument with… Listen, I'm really sorry about what I said."

Yue was about to say something that involved PG-13 rated vocabulary, but at this, she simply let her mouth hang open. "I've heard a lot of things about you, Kotaro-san, and one of them is that you're an extremely prideful person. So, needless to say, I'm a bit shocked at this."

Kotaro smiled. "Yeah, well, I do tend to fly off when I'm challenged about things. But I get now what you're saying about love: that it's needed in order to find true strength."

Yue smiled. "Well, from the other things I've heard about you, whichever girl you're with is extremely lucky to have such a faithful friend." Kotaro's eyes filled with tears, and he looked away so no one had to see him.

Turning to Negi, Yue said, "I never really got to congratulate you formally on doing so well in the MahoraFest martial arts tournament. I admit, myself and Nodoka were a bit worried when you faced Ku:nel-san, but you turned out alright."

Negi smiled. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun."

Yue smiled back, still blushing a bit. "That's good you said that, because I've got a proposition for you- and Kotaro, if he's interested."

Kotaro turned to Yue, his eyes a bit red. "What's that, Yue-san?" he asked.

Yue smiled. "Not many people are going to know about this, but… Ku Fei-chan had so much fun at the MahoraFest martial arts tournament, she's decided to hold her own tournament."

At this, Negi's eyes grew wide. "When is it?" he asked.

"Well," replied Yue, "you're automatically in it, Negi-kun; she pre-registered three people and issued invitations to five more. One of the five was Kotaro-san, so that's why I'm asking him to. So Negi, you're in no matter what. Apparently, she wants to see if you've got what it takes to beat everyone. Oh, and the last opponent faced in the tournament will be Ku-san herself."

Negi smiled. "She wants to face me, in front of whoever is there. She wants to find out who really is best. Well, tell her I'm in."

"Count me in, too," said Kotaro.

Yue laughed. "Excellent. I'll tell her the news."

"Um, Yue-san," said Negi, "you never said when it was."

Yue looked confused. "I didn't?" she asked, then shrugged. "Oh well. It's tomorrow afternoon, at 5:00, in World Tree Park."

Negi's eyes bulged. "T-tomorrow? How does she expect me to train? I've got teaching duties!" Just then, they heard a voice from behind them.

"Balance is key to win."

Kotaro and Negi both turned to find Ku Fei standing behind them, smiling; with her were Chao and Satsuki.

"Good afternoon, Chao-san, Satsuki-san," said Negi. Chao bowed and Satsuki inclined her head, blushing a bit.

"If you want win," said Ku, "find balance in fighting and peace."

At this, Kotaro scratched his head, perplexed. "What the hell is she talking about?" he muttered. Negi, on the other hand, seemed to understand immediately.

"Yes, Ku-san," Negi said. With a bow, Ku and her companions left.

Negi turned to Kotaro. "Well?" he said. "Let's start training."

Tomorrow came too soon, and Negi and Kotaro found themselves at the meeting place before they knew it. Just then, Negi heard a very familiar voice behind him: "N-Negi-kun? You're here, too?"

Negi turned around, and a grin split his face. "It's good to see you out and about, Mei-chan. Did you get invited to the tournament, too?"

Mei smiled. "Yeah, as soon as Ku found out my leg was healed." She tipped him a wink as she said that, and Negi blushed. Kotaro turned around to find out who he was talking to, and his eyes grew wide.

"Hey, I remember you!" he said. "I fought you at the MahoraFest contest."

Mei smiled. "Yes, you did, and I still can't figure out how you did that without even touching me…"

Kotaro laughed. "A blast of air, that's all it was."

Mei looked amazed. "I don't think I would have thought of that. Well, I know you don't like to hit girls, so I guess you beat me without breaking that rule." Kotaro was amazed, for that was exactly why he did it the way he did. Smiling, Mei walked up to Negi and took his hand; Negi took hers, and the three walked towards the meeting area.

Ku was standing there with five other people, and when he saw Negi, she began blushing immediately and said, "Ah, Negi. You almost late. We start soon."

When Negi, Mei (who refused to let go of Negi's hand), and Kotaro made it up to the stage, Ku got a microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, here the eight contestants: Negi Springfield, Mei Sakura, Kaede Nagase, Kotaro Inugami, Kita Minamura, Nodoka Miyazaki," (Negi's eyes grew wider than ever and he looked over at the contestant indicated; sure enough, Nodoka was standing there, looking about ready to faint) "Nana Kurumiya, and… Asuna Kagurazaka."

Negi thought to himself, "Wow… two of my students are in the tournament… How Nodoka-chan got invited, I don't want to know."

"Now," said Ku, "you will see who you face."

Everyone looked up at the board, and Negi's eyes widened when he saw who the pairings were.

Negi Springfield – Kaede Nagase

Kotaro Inugami – Mei Sakura

Kita Minamura – Nodoka Miyazaki

Nana Kurumiya – Asuna Kagurazaka

Negi turned to Kaede. "Good luck, Sessha." Kaede smiled. "This should be good, Negi-kun. Do your best."

The first matches were intense: Negi ended up barely beating Kaede, Kotaro won against Mei (despite Mei's use of a different artifact, one that looked strikingly similar to Negi's staff…), Nodoka defeated Kita by using her artifact to stay ahead of Kita's moves, and Asuna used her harisen to soundly defeat Nana.

With the first rounds over, there was a fifteen-minute break, and Kaede walked up to Ku Fei. "You do well," said Ku. "Negi-kun very talented."

Kaede smiled. "It was a pleasure to finally face him. Although I couldn't help but notice you stared at him the whole time, even when he wasn't fighting…"

Ku blushed. "Is nothing."

"Oh, is it now?" Kaede asked. She leaned over to Ku. "You should tell him how you feel, after the tournament."

Ku's eyes widened. "No… Negi my disciple. I could no do that…"

Kaede laughed. "Oh, come on. I'll be with you for moral support."

Ku still looked unsure, but said, "I guess I need be brave. I will tell."

Soon, the next matches began; the first pairing was Kotaro and Negi. "Hell yeah, Negi!" Kotaro yelled. "We're finally getting to have our fight!"

Negi smiled. "Don't take it easy on me, okay?"

Kotaro looked at him funnily, then smiled as the bell rang. "Wasn't planning on it!" he said loudly, then lunged at Negi. Negi ducked as Kotaro's fist came his way, then swung his leg to trip Kotaro. Kotaro was ready for it, though, and he jumped, doing a half-backflip so he was doing a handstand on Negi's leg. "Gotcha," he said, and swung his legs around in a whirlwind kick. Negi used his hands to block it, only a few inches from his face. He threw Kotaro's legs around, causing Kotaro to lose his balance and fall on the ground. Negi launched himself at Kotaro in a body-slam, but Kotaro jumped out of the way, and Negi was forced to improvise, landing in a crouch position. He turned to Kotaro, just in time to see him pull a card out of his pocket. Negi's eyes widened.

"There- there's no way he could have Pactio-ed with someone; the only girl he likes is Madoka, and she doesn't know about magic yet… does she?" Negi thought.

Kotaro laughed. "Watch and learn, Negi!" He ran at him, faster than Negi had ever seen him run before, and before Negi knew it, Kotaro's fist smashed into his face, and Negi went flying backwards, landing on his back. Negi jumped up immediately, but Kotaro was there, and Negi felt both Kotaro's legs hit his chest; Negi crumpled to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

"Is that all you got?" yelled Kotaro tauntingly. "I thought Ku-san's training would have done you a whole lot more good!"

Ku's face flashed into Negi's mind. "I may be in love with her," he thought, "but that's not why I do this…" Negi planted his hands on the ground and flipped forward, smashing his legs against Kotaro's chest; Kotaro flew backwards, flipping, and landed on his stomach. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he yelled, and ran at Negi, swinging at full force; the only thing he connected with, however, was thin air. He heard Negi say something from behind him, and he turned around to see Negi all the way on the other side of the ring, grinning. "How- how'd he get over there that fast?" Kotaro thought. "Okay, Negi!" he yelled, "this is where it ends!" Kotaro gathered his chi into his hands and, with a yell, fired a massive ball at Negi. Negi's hands went up to fire a ball of magical energy at him, but Kotaro's ball hit him before he even had the chance to mutter a spell. A blast shook the arena, and the whole crowd gasped.

Kotaro's knees buckled. "That… that was enough to kill him!" he realized. "Negi!" he yelled. "Are you alright?"

It wasn't for another ten seconds that the dust cleared, and when it did, Kotaro was amazed at what he saw. Negi was standing up, unharmed, the ball of chi held in one hand. Negi incanted a spell and jumped high in the air. "It's my turn, now!" yelled Negi, as he used his magic to fire the ball from his hand. It hit Kotaro, defenseless on his knees, and the ball punched a crater into the stage.

Negi landed and ran over to Kotaro. As the dust cleared, Kotaro stood up, badly bruised and cut. "You… you were awesome," said Kotaro. "I guess… now… now we know who the better one is…" Kotaro fell flat on his back, and the ending bell sounded. A man rushed up with a stretcher and carried Kotaro away; he muttered to himself as he carried him, "What the hell kind of fight was that?"

After Negi and Kotaro's fight, the next one was a bit anticlimactic, as Nodoka stood no chance against Asuna; even with Nodoka's artifact, Nodoka lost handily, though Asuna didn't do too much physical harm against her, being afraid of killing her. The round before the championship pitted Negi against Asuna; even with Negi only using his staff against Asuna's harisen, Negi still managed to (barely) win.

Ku stepped up to the microphone. "Now, the last match. Negi will face me."

Negi stepped up. "Let's see what you got, Ku-san."

Ku smiled, then took a stack of coins out of her pocket.

"Wait a second…" thought Negi, "isn't that how Mana beat Ku during MahoraFest?" He saw a glint of a coin, but it was too late to stop it, and it smashed into his knee, causing Negi to fall to the ground. Negi smiled through his pain. "Nice technique, Ku Fei. Where'd you learn it?" Ku was startled, and found herself on her back a moment later, as Negi had used Kotaro's air-blast technique (Kotaro having taught it to Negi before the contest) to land a blow on her from far away. Ku got up slowly, to find Negi standing in front of her; a well-aimed kick sent the coins flying from her hand and all over the ground.

Ku smiled. "I will do hard way, then," she thought, and swung her fist around at Negi. Negi was ready, though, and he ducked and stuck his arm out. Ku hit it and for the second time found herself on her back, Negi's staff pointed at her throat.

"I win," Negi said.

The ending bell sounded, and the breathless crowd began to roar. "Ladies and gentlemen," said Asakura, who had come up to the stage to take over Ku's duties, "I give you the winner of Ku's tournament: Negi Springfield!!!"

The crowd cheered again, and Negi reached down to help Ku up. "Was good fight," said Ku. "You have good sensei." Negi laughed. "I sure do," he said.

A little while later, Ku and Negi visited Kotaro, who was sitting on a bench, his arm wrapped in a sling. "Sorry about putting… a little too much force into that last attack," said Negi.

"Ah, it doesn't matter," said Kotaro. "That was the best fight I've ever had; even my battle with Kaede-san didn't compare to that."

Negi remembered something. "During the fight, you pulled out some kind of card. Was that a pactio card?"

Kotaro laughed. "What, this?" He pulled out an oversized playing card. "Just trying to trick ya."

Negi grinned. "Well, it worked. It probably would have even fooled Kaede-san."

"Speaking of…" said a voice from behind them, and they all looked to see Kaede walk up to them. "Let's leave poor Kotaro alone," Kaede said. Ku, Negi, and Kaede walked off; after a little ways. Kaede winked at Ku and left, leaving Ku and Negi standing there.

"You were an excellent fighter," said Negi.

Ku smiled. "Yes, but fighting not everything."

Negi was irresistibly reminded of Yue and Kotaro's banter, and he smiled. Ku spoke again: "Negi… there something I want tell you."

Intrigued, Negi said, "Okay, what is it?"

Blushing, Ku said, "I… I love you."

Not expecting this at all, Negi's eyes bulged. "When… when'd you decide this?"

Ku replied, looking down at ground, "At MahoraFest, watching you fight. You look more… determined, more amazing than anyone else. That was when I fell in love."

Negi smiled. "I'm not the best in the world at this, but I think I can manage," he said; he leaned in and kissed Ku. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him; they stood there for awhile, not seeing Kaede watching them, not noticing the look of jealousy on her face…

After awhile, they broke apart. "We'll have to train sometime," said Negi.

Ku smiled. "We will, Negi-kun." She walked away, smiling brighter than she ever had before. Negi stood there, smiling; he felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around his chest, and he took both her hands in his.

"You were great," said Mei. "I just wish I could have beat Kotaro… He was very good, though."

Negi smiled. "There's always next time." Mei walked beside Negi; they took each other's hand, then walked back to Takane's car to go home.