Classes let out early that day, and all the Mahora students rejoiced at having a three-day weekend, for Labor Day. Negi, on the other hand, had to stay in his classroom, having to make up a test for the day his students returned to class.

Since no one was in the classroom, Negi figured he'd make it easy on himself, so he decided to use a little magic. Whatever he thought of, an enchanted piece of chalk wrote it down on the board for him; every once in awhile, he turned around to check what he had thought of. He was just getting into writing the test when he heard the door open; he quickly ended the spell and looked up to see a grin and an art book walk in.

"Hello there, Haruna-chan," said Negi. "What can I do for you?"

Haruna walked in, an amazed look on her face. "Negi-kun, you're not stuck in here, are you?"

Negi smiled. "No, not really; I just wanted to get your tests made for Monday, so I wouldn't have to do it over the weekend."

"Not a bad idea," said Haruna, "but I've got a better one for you."

Negi leaned back in his chair. "I'm all ears."

Haruna grinned. "I thought you might be. As it turns out, the arcade just got a new game in."

Negi looked puzzled. "You know I don't play video games much, Haruna-chan."

Haruna's eyes grew wide. "I thought everybody was a video game addict… Anyways, I think you'd really like this one, Negi-kun. It's a virtual-reality simulator, one that you can do literally anything in…"

Negi leaned in, his interest piqued. "Anything, you say?"

"Yup," said Haruna, "anything. I was thinking about going down there now that class is out for the long weekend."

Negi got up and grabbed his backpack. "Let's go, then."

Haruna smiled evilly. "I thought you had to finish your tests, Negi-kun."

"I did," replied Negi. "You didn't see me doing them during our conversation?"

Haruna laughed. "You're good, Negi-kun." Negi just smiled, then held the door open for Haruna to exit. Soon, they were out in the streets, walking side-by-side. They were about halfway to the arcade when Haruna reached out and took Negi's hand. Negi's head swiveled in Haruna's direction. "Wh-what are you doing?"

He was surprised to find Haruna blushing. "Just… something I've wanted to do for awhile, Negi-kun."

Negi's hand closed around Haruna's. "I can't deny the wishes of my students," said Negi with a wink, which only caused Haruna to blush even harder. They got to the arcade after awhile, and they found a sizeable crowd there already. Sakurako was doing crowd control, and her face lit up when she saw Negi and Haruna there, though she looked a bit jealous at Haruna holding Negi's hand.

"It's about time you two got here," Sakurako said. "Yue wanted to talk to you two." The pair walked in, letting go of each others' hands as they entered. Yue and Nodoka were standing by a pinball machine, and Nodoka blushed when she saw Negi. Yue simply smiled. "Hey, Haruna. Welcome, Negi-sensei."

"So, what did you guys want us for?" asked Haruna.

Yue grew serious. "Someone issued us a challenge- you, me, Nodoka, Asuna-chan, Konoka, and Negi-sensei. A six-on-one Battle Royale here at the VR machine- all spells allowed."

Negi's eyes widened. "So… you think it's really a mage that issued the challenge?"

"It has to be," replied Yue. "And it'd have to be someone who knows us all well, because the only ones outside the class who know you're a mage are the teachers, Takane-san, and Mei-chan."

"So, do you think it was a student or a teacher?"

"Probably a student, I'd guess," said Nodoka.

"The question is, who?" came a voice from behind them. Negi turned around; his face broke into a wide grin.

"Welcome to the party, Asuna-chan," said Negi. "Glad you could make it."

Asuna smiled. "This thing tomorrow's gonna be fun… though I'll need your help a bit, Negi," she added in a whisper. "I'm still not too good with the whole magic thing."

Negi grinned. "You got it, Asuna-chan."

"Well, as long as we're out and about," said Konoka, who had just joined them, "do you guys want to go out for dinner?"

"Sounds good to me," replied Asuna, smiling at Negi as she said it. Negi blushed slightly. "Why'd she just look at me like that?" he thought to himself.

Luckily for Negi, who was running a bit short on money, Konoka and the others chose an outdoor stir-fry place that Negi knew was pretty inexpensive but had never been to before. After ordering, it was only a few minutes before the waiters brought the food out; Negi tasted it and found it very much to his liking. He was a bit nervous throughout the meal, though- he was sandwiched in between Asuna and Haruna, both of whom he suspected of having a crush on him.

"What'd happen if it turns out both of them like me?" Negi thought as he munched on a water chestnut. (Random Writer's Note: Those things are addictive as hell if you eat 'em straight from a can…) "I already know that Nodoka likes me, and I have a hunch Yue does, too, but now Asuna and Haruna, too? Now what?"

"Come on, Negi," called Yue. "We're leaving."

Negi looked up to find the girls already a good distance away, waving at him. "Coming!" he yelled. Just then, a pair of hands covered his eyes. "Who is it now?" he asked. No response came, so he turned around- and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What- what was the idea with that, Chao-san?"

Chao grinned. "Just trying to scare you, sensei."

Negi's heart began to slow. "Well, it worked."

Laughing, Chao said, "I need to get going. Good luck tomorrow." She tipped Negi a wink, then walked away. Negi's mind raced. "What'd she mean by that? Could she know about the VR thing tomorrow?" He got up and went over to where the girls were sitting on the bench.

"Who was that with you back there?" asked Nodoka.

Negi hesitated. "Chao-san," he responded.

Asuna choked on the milk tea she was drinking. "Huh? Come again? What did Chao want with you?"

"She just said 'good luck tomorrow' then left."

Haruna's eyes got wide. "Could she know about our thing tomorrow?"

"I asked myself the same thing," said Negi. "Did the word accidentally get out to someone who's close to Chao-san?"

"I don't think so," replied Yue. "We kept it pretty much a secret amongst ourselves."

The whole way back, everyone's mind was on what role Chao would play in the VR match the next day- everyone, that is, except for Haruna, who was too busy thinking about Negi to do much of anything else. "I never noticed it fully before," she thought, "but Yue and Nodoka are right- Negi is really cute. There's no way he'd like me, though. Not with Nodoka and Yue fighting for him… And what was with Asuna today? Does she like Negi, too? Wow…"

The next day came faster than they thought, and at exactly 2:00, they met at the arcade. They stepped into the arcade, ready to do it- until they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Welcome, Negi-bozu. Welcome, my classmates."

They all spun around, mystified.

"It- it's you!" gasped Yue.

TO BE CONTINUED

(Writer's Note: Sorry I had to end it like this, but y'all deserve a few cliffhangers every now and then. lol, but seriously… I'm not sure how the whole VR thing is going to turn out, so I'll post the second part a little later, once I get the whole thing down. Sorry to those of you who were expecting the full thing; what you think may or may not come about- you'll just have to wait.)