Nodoka almost tripped up the stairs on the way to her dorm room.
"What is Negi-sensei thinking about me now? How can he fall in love with a clumsy girl?" thought the bookworm.
Nodoka opened her dorm door and found no one inside. She took her library coat off and hung it up.
"Nodoka calm down. He is only ten years old and in his heart he has no one yet," is what she kept telling herself to no avail.
She kept replaying the falling into Negi's arms and the brief kiss over and over in her head. She changed her clothes and climbed into bed under the covers.
"How can I face him after what I did?" asked Nodoka to herself with tears streaming down her cheek.
"Your professor kissed you I see," said Nodoka's inner voice.
"Yeah he did. His lips are so soft against mine," replied the bookworm.
"Was it romantic?" asked the voice.
"Well you were there. For a moment I just gazed into his eyes and did not hear anything. It was like something out of a romance novel or a movie," said Nodoka blushing.
"It was romantic then," said the voice.
"Then why did I all of the sudden run away from him," asked Nodoka.
"Why are you asking me? I think deep down you are afraid to not only get hurt if he never reciprocates your feelings. There are a lot of girls that like him more then a professor. And probably there will be more falling for him if giving time they spend with him. Another reason could be you may not want anyone to see you in a way that no one has before. You were always scared of boys before the professor. The professor is cute and you adore him so much that it has changed you. That is frighten for someone like you," said the voice.
"Changed me?" asked Nodoka as she drifted off to sleep dreaming of Negi.
Negi approached his dorm room door as he looked over toward Nodoka's door.
"I have hurt her somehow by my actions," thinking Negi.
Actually it was not that, but since Negi is still too young to know that what happened earlier Nodoka fell deeper for him if that is possible. He was the one that initiated the kiss unlike the first two kisses where Nodoka fell on him and her kissing him at the festival.
"I should not be here now. I need to take a walk," said the little professor hearing Asuna and Konoka inside the dorm room.
Negi turned around and started to walk down the steps.
Haruna and Yue quickly vanished to where Negi could not see them.
"Wonder where he is off to?" asked Haruna quietly.
"He looks down. Wonder what happen with Nodoka-san to make him look that way," said a concerned Yue.
"Well you can go ask him since you care about him," smiled the manga artist.
"I do care for him, but I will not put myself there to hurt Nodoka-san," said Yue.
"You will never find happiness," said Haruna.
"Hmpf!" replied Yue as they watch Negi leave the dorm.
"Where do I go? I need to think and it is late. I could go to World Tree plaza," pondered Negi as he started in that direction.
A few high school students were wandering to their dorm.
"I cannot believe what I did to her. How can a teacher do such a thing to a student? Onee-san (Nekane) I am sorry I cross that line that you told me not too. I am a bad teacher after all," sniffed Negi.
"What is the matter professor? Did Asuna-san do something?" said a familiar voice.
Negi looked at the direction where the voice came from. Standing there was a long blond hair beautiful class rep from his class.
"Ayaka-san what are you doing out at this time of night?" asked Negi.
"Not to worry professor. I am heading to the dorm as we speak," smiled Ayaka.
"Alright make sure you do," said Negi.
"Are you alright?" asked the class rep.
"Yeah I am. Just have things on my mind these days," said the professor.
"Mind if I am here to listen?" said the class rep who cares deeply for Negi like a brother at times.
"It is just...that everything has been hectic since I got here. From the class getting attacked by someone to the fighting tournament. And even now that I gave a gift to a student and someone took that gift away from the student," said Negi half crying.
Ayaka now very concerned said, "Professor honestly you could not have prevented the attacks on the students. I was surprised that you were that capable to fight even though it looked staged. And with the rose that you gave to bookworm, I think that person who stole it was mean and should never ever get near you again. I will do everything in my power to help you find the culprit."
"Thank you, but you should leave this to me. You may end up getting injured," said Negi.
"Does he care about me? Oh my God this is perfect," thought Ayaka dreaming of her and him under the tree alone having a romantic picnic.
"Well you should be going?" said Negi as he burst Ayaka's dream bubble.
"Yeah hope you are better by class professor," said the class rep as she waved bye.
Negi stood there for a minute and looked up at the tree.
Negi headed back to the dorm to get some sleep as possible before he trains with Fei Ku.
Negi only got a few hours of sleep before getting ready to go train with his martial arts instructor Fei Ku.
Asuna left for her paper route as Konoka slept soundly in her bed.
Negi quietly closed the dorm door and slipped out of the dorm heading toward Fei Ku.
Konoka opened her eyes and said smiling, "There he goes again off by himself."
She fell back to sleep instantly.
Fei Ku already warmed up by the time Negi got there.
"Ah you show up finally to train. Was concern disciple did not like me anymore," winked Fei Ku.
"Sorry Master Ku-san," said Negi as he bowed.
"No need to bow. We need to start with the basics again since you have missed a lot of training," said Fei Ku.
"Alright!" replied Negi.
Several minutes have passed as Fei Ku watched Negi go through what he has learned from her.
"Disciple is anything wrong? You out of place in movements," asked the martial artists.
"Sorry Master. Things on my mind," replied the professor.
"That not good for practice. You need focus," said Fei Ku.
"Sorry again," said Negi.
"No worry. Can you say what bothers you?" asked Fei Ku.
"You know that the rose I gave Nodoka-san went missing? Well her and I have been sleuthing," said Negi softly.
"Sleuthing?" asked Fei Ku.
"It is an English slang word meaning searching for clues like a private detective," replied Negi.
"Ah like Sherlock Holmes?" questioned Fei Ku.
"You know about him?" said Negi.
"Sure Fei Ku does. Is that a surprise?" asked Fei Ku smiling.
"Yes it does. Anyway, we have no leads as to who would want to take the rose," responds Negi.
"So am I suspect?" laughs Fei Ku.
"No unless you took the rose without being detected in Nodoka-san's room," smiled Negi.
"Do not have stealthy move to try yet," smiled Fei Ku back at Negi.
Negi is more relaxed as he moves fluently with Fei Ku's Chinese martial arts.
"There you go," said Fei Ku as she smiled bigger this time.
"I am so happy you are my instructor. I have learned a lot and it helped me with that tournament," Negi cheerfully said.
"He looks so mature when he trains serious. I wonder if he gets strong that he may be interesting to marry someday," thought Fei Ku.
"Master Ku? Are we done?" asked Negi as he is out of breathe.
"Yes we are. See disciple in class," responds Fei Ku almost blushing.
Negi takes off toward the dorm for a bath before breakfast.
"Cannot be that I like disciple," said Fei Ku to herself.
Class is starting as Negi rushed into the class room filled with half of his students thinking he was real late getting there.
"Professor you have plenty of time so you do not need to rush," said Ayaka.
"Sorry it is a force of habit," replied Negi scratching his head out of embarrassment.
The rest of the class filed in but one student. Eva showed up unexpectedly out of boredom.
That one student missing was Nodoka. Negi looked over to her seat and no one was there.
"Is Nodoka-san sick?" asked Kuzumi.
"I do not know. Haruna-san or Yue-san? Do you know where Miss Miyazaki-san is?" asked Negi.
"No professor we do not," replied Haruna.
"She was not in the dorm room when we woke up. She did not have to work this morning either," said Yue.
"Maybe she is sick and is in the infirmary then," said Negi.
"I do not think so professor, but maybe after I left she came," said Ako who is a nurse's aid.
"Alright will check on it after class," said Negi.
"You do not think that kiss had a negative affect on Nodoka-san?" asked Haruna through her pactio card to Yue.
"That is not like her to miss class and especially professor's class," responded Yue.
"Bookworm will be find you two. That idiot professor probably did something to embarrass her," said Chisame through her pactio card.
"No he would never do that. Something else is going on between those two that we do not know about," said Yue.
"CLASS FOCUS," yelled Negi out of character.
The whole class stopped whispering and immediately focused their attention to Negi.
"What is the matter professor? Losing your teaching skills so much that you lost a student," evilly said by Eva smiling.
"I should not have yelled. Sorry class," said Negi in his best apologetic tone.
Negi carried out his lesson without any more interruptions as the bell rang to dismiss the class.
Back in the girls dorm, Asuna and Konoka were alone in their room without Negi.
"Negi-sensei sure was acting weird today," said Konoka.
"He is always weird. How is today any different," said Asuna.
"I think Nodoka-san's absent affected him," said Konoka.
"You think? That perverted kid probably did something so horrible to bookworm that she could not face being in class," said a furious Asuna.
"He is just a ten year old Asuna-san," said Konoka.
"That ten year old has seven pactios, a multiple times of kissing the same people, and a lot of the girls in class are falling for him. Is that normal for a ten year old boy?" asked Asuna.
"No, but he is a magi so pactios come with his job sort to speak. Yeah he has kissed more then once with some including you Asuna-san. And Nodoka-san confessed her feelings to him. The others have not done that. Even if they did confess, you really think he would confess back? He has told bookworm he wants to start out as friends," said Konoka in her lecturing mode.
"Hey I was not the one who wanted to kiss him at all," said Asuna blushing.
"Well he needed a partner against Eva-chan. He thought you were his sister when he smacked you twice. And he did give you an adult kiss during the festival," laughed Konoka.
"Do not ever mention that adult kiss again. I swear I will end your life before See-chan can protect you," replied a red face Asuna.
"Face it girl, if we did not suggest giving Nodoka-san that rose. All of this would not be happening. I am concerned as well Asuna-san about Negi-kun's behavior lately. But, we have to trust him as we are his partners after all," said Konoka smiling.
"You seem like a big sister to Negi-sensei more then me sometimes," smiled Asuna.
"Well being an only child like Negi-kun does that. We have a little connection says the tarot cards. His dad was my father's best friend after all. It was fate maybe," giggled Konoka.
Shizuna Minamoto, Negi's adviser and motherly figure to him, walks into the teacher's room where Negi was there to be found.
"Negi-kun?" asked Shizuna.
"Yes what is it?" replied the little professor.
"Alright there you are. The dean would like to speak with you now if you do not mind," said Shizuna.
"Alright!" responded Negi as he was finishing up what he was doing.
Both Negi and Shizuna walked out of the teacher's room and headed for the dean's office.
"Are you doing alright?" asked Shizuna.
"Yes I am," replied Negi with a little sigh.
"Are you sure? You can always come and talk to me," said a worried Shizuna.
"Thank you, but everything is fine," smiled Negi.
Shizuna opened the door to the dean's office as Negi walked inside.
Behind his desk was Konomon Konoe who was the Mahora Academy dean and grandfather of Konoka.
"Well Negi-kun come come," waved the dean.
Negi sat in a chair facing the dean.
"So how have you been since the festival?" inquired Konoemon.
"Fine dean thank you for asking," replied Negi.
"Is my granddaughter doing well," asked the dean.
"Yes both studies and health since Setsuna-san is with her," said Negi.
"So sorry we had to use you to protect Mahora. My deepest apology," said the dean.
"It is fine dean. It comes with teaching here," smiled Negi reflecting on his battle with Chao.
"Well as long as the class is doing well and you are doing well on your job," said Konoemon.
"Yes both are doing well," laughed Negi.
"That is great. Well it is getting late so you should be better getting to where you suppose to be," smiled the dean.
Negi climbed out of the chair and left the dean's office.
"He has a lot of things on his plate these days. Are you sure it is alright?" asked Shizuna to the dean.
"Despite him being that young. He is fighting toward something that will either make him stronger or lead him to an early death. One cannot say which. But, if he is like his father, he will survive and make it out unharmed," said the dean.
Negi leaves the school building as Eva was waiting impatiently for him.
"Boya where the hell have you been? I have been out here a long time waiting," said Eva angrily.
"The dean called me into his office. Sorry Master," replied Negi.
"Fine then, for payment for making me wait I will suck your blood," smirked Eva.
"Wha! I cannot train with you tonight. Teaching duties tonight," said Negi.
"Boya you always have teaching duties despite training," said Eva.
"But Master I need another night off," asked Negi.
"Because of that mousy bookworm is it. You know you should not fall for any of your pactio girls," said Eva.
"Why is that?" asked Negi.
"Because if one gets caught by your enemy, you would be too emotional about it and rush in without formulating a plan of attack," said Eva.
Eva actually is lying because Negi would probably become more powerful if it is someone he cares for. Eva does have her motives for her speech as well.
"But there are all just friends and my pactio partners," said Negi.
"Are you sure about that? Miyazaki-san confessed to you, Kagurazaka-san very close to you, Konoe-san saved your life, Sakurazaki-san is willing to protect you, Saotome-san has her own motives, Ayase-san cares for you despite her cold attitude, and Hasegawa-san is intrigued with you. All in all they all like you in there own way and care what happens to you," said Eva.
"All pactios were necessary in some way," said Negi.
"Miss Miyazaki-san's was not necessary until Kyoto if I recall," said Eva.
"Um...well...it just kind of happen because of Chamo," said Negi.
"She will sacrifice her life just to protect you. She did at the festival. You need to think hard kid about her feelings and the rest of the groups feelings. Even Chachamaru beginning to want to protect you," said Eva.
"I know Master. I will try," said Negi.
"Try? Hmpf!," said Eva as she walked away from Negi.
Negi watched as Eva walked out of sight.
Nodoka appeared in front of Negi in tears.
"Huh!" as Negi looked at Nodoka as she had her eyes close.
"Professor...help...me," said a shaking bookworm.
"Calm down Nodoka-san. I am here," responded Negi.
"Is it really you professor," asked Nodoka.
"Yes!" said Negi as he touched the shaking girl.
"Oh thank God," said Nodoka as she opened her eyes.
Nodoka rushed at Negi with her arms opened and hugged him tight weeping.
Negi was befuddled but manage to hug Nodoka back.
Nodoka looked into Negi's eyes and more tears went streaming down her cheek.
Negi wiped some of her tears away as Nodoka pressed her hand against his on her cheek.
"I never want this moment to fade away," thought the bookworm.
Nodoka took her hand off of his and place her head on his shoulder as Negi and her fell to the ground.
"Professor please hold me," whispered Nodoka.
Negi did what Nodoka wanted as he could hear her cry some more.
"What happened to you today?" whispered Negi.
"Professor just let me be and I will tell you in a moment," sniffed Nodoka.
Negi held her tight against him brushing her hair away from her eyes.
"I will tell you now what happened to me," said Nodoka.