Chapter 3 has arrived... finally! Sorry for the super long wait.
I sat on it for a while revising it over and over until finally getting it the way i wanted it.
At any rate, enjoy and feel free to comment.
"...from the head I guess."
"I see. By the way, which side is the head? The fat side or the skinny side?"
"I think the skinny side is the head."
"I thought the fatter side was the head."
The casual conversation between the two friends is interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open. Pale light from the dorm hallway spills into the moderately sized room. The two girls sit on their beds in silence waiting for their unexpected visitor to come into view. After a few seconds, a child appears around the corner with a sheepish smile.
Konoka Konoe shoots up taking a few steps towards the child in disbelief. She inches closer slowly as if the child would run away if he were to be startled. Her apparent joy was only slightly hindered by the reminder of the painful memories she had been fighting very hard to cope with. The girl hesitantly reaches for the boy praying that she was not dreaming.
The child summoned as much joy as he could muster and simply smiles at his student. "I'm home."
The simple phrase, those two short words, were enough to tear down any hesitation the girl was feeling. In a flash, she had the boy in a monstrous hug. "Negi-kun... thank goodness." Tears well up in the girl's eyes. "I...I was so worried."
"It's ok now konoka-san, it's going to be ok."
The girl's embrace grew stronger and stronger, not wanting to give Negi the chance to escape ever again. The usually talkative and cheerful to a fault girl was beside herself with relief. She struggles hopelessly to find the many words she wished she could say, but in the end could only manage a single phrase. "Welcome home."
The ever cool headed Setsuna Sakurazaki sat quietly watching the spectacle unfold. The uncharacteristic smile she wore, however, had been brought on by the joy returning to her childhood friend rather then the safe return of their teacher. Having been raised with the notion of actions speaking louder then words, she knew her smile would be more then enough to convey her feelings.
The three talked late into the night catching up on anything that may have been missed. After all, it had been quite some time since they had opportunity to talk so candidly.
Negi slowly opened his eyes looking around the familiar room, the memories of the eventful night returning. The early morning sun was just starting to rise, filling the the room with a dim light. There were still a few hours before he had to get ready for work.
The boy tried to sit up but was finding it to be a chore. The arm of his over-protective student had wrapped around his body some time during the night. He fought fruitlessly against the girl's vice like grip for a few minutes before finally deciding to use magic. A few more minutes of clumsily rummaging through his belongings yielded a small practice wand with a childish yellow star.
"Rastel Maskil Magi-"
"Negi?" The incantation had awoken the girl from her seemingly deep sleep.
Negi silently scolded himself for what he hoped would not be a costly blunder. He had wanted to sneak out before any of his roommates had woken up. "Go...good morning Konoka-san." He laughed nervously hoping she would fall back to sleep without asking any questions.
Konoka rubbed her sleepy eyes while turning to look at the clock sitting on top of the desk. "What are you doing up so early Negi-kun? Don't tell me you have a paper route now too."
Knowing that the girl had healed enough to be able to joke so freely brought a smile to the child teacher's face. "N...no there's just something I need to do" he answered while quickly changing.
The tired girl slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, her disapproving frown telling the boy she would not let him leave so easily. "'Something'?"
He laughed again nervously, fervently assuring the girl that she need not worry. His heart skipping a beat as his glance fell upon his newest roommate. The young guardian had fallen asleep sitting on her heels in what looked like a meditative position. Her katana lay firm in her hands, half unsheathed and ready to strike at any moment. Negi idly noted how excellent her posture was while sleeping.
Konoka giggled at the sight of her childhood friend. "Don't worry Negi-kun, Se-chan always sleeps like that. It might not look like it but she's a heavy sleeper. The only thing that could wake her up right now is if I cried out for help or tried to leave the room."
Negi sighed in relief, Konoka he could deal with but Setsuna was a different story. He imagined she would have let him go but may have attempted to follow him. The task he was preparing for was something he did not want to do with a large audience, so was glad that he would not have to worry about it.
"Well then I had better be off or I will be late for class." Negi hurriedly left the room before Konoka could get another word in.
"Ah geeze, I'm wide awake now. Should I study or something?" Realizing she was now alone with her childhood friend, she grinned mischievously at the possibilities. "I'm sure Se-chan won't mind if I test to see how heavy a sleeper she is." The trouble making girl beemed with anticipation at the thought of her friend's embarassed face.
The large school was still quiet and empty. The early morning sun slowly prepared to welcome the eager children ready to learn.
Negi slowly walked around the campus surprised at how different the area looked from night till day. He slowly wandered the campus still half asleep, wishing for the convenience of his staff. Because of the suddenness of the previous night's fight, he had not given the details of the ending results much thought. What was he going to do now without his staff? He supposed he could always use one of his smaller childish looking wands. It would do for now but he would be at a disadvantage in a serious fight.
"Yaa! Yaa!"
The sudden cries of exertion pierced the child's thoughts suddenly replacing them with worry. Was someone being attacked? It was his duty as a teacher to find out and help. With that thought he hurriedly rushes towards the origin of the sound.
Gracefully dancing in the morning light was a lone student. Her dark skin and light hair glistening with sweat as she moved about fluidly transitioning from stance to stance. The young girl's traditional Chinese dress gently swayed with every movement. It was not until the girl performed a series of sweeps ending with a flip onto a ledge that he realized the girl had been practicing martial arts.
The girl, suddenly aware of her audience, calls out to the child teacher. "Negi-bozu! What you doing here so early?"
"Ku Fei-san, good morning!" The child scratches his head nervously. "I just had some business to take care of." The sparkle of amazement returns to his eyes. "Wow Ku Fei-san I had heard you were good at martial arts, but you were amazing! Do you practice out here every morning?"
"Of course!" she answers beaming with pride. "Chairman of Chinese Martial Art Club need stay in perfect form."
"Chairman? Wow amazing!" the child gushes over his student, his exuberance revealing the true maturity of his age. The nearly forgotten dilemma regarding his staff suddenly inspires an idea. "Ku Fei-san, will you umm... teach me Chinese Martial Arts?"
The young karate master stares at the eager child dumbfounded. "Teach you? I never have pupil before..."
The child stares at the girl intensely as if she were holding his Christmas present.
Awkwardly watching the child's very eager demeanor, she realizes that no matter how strong she was she would not have the strength to refuse his request. "So you want to be stronger then?"
"Yes."
"Ok, I teach you. But I warn you Negi-bozu, just because you child I not go easy. I train you very hard and not let you quit."
The child smiles happily. "Thank you Ku Fei-san! I better go, I have to do something before class begins." The child turns and begins to run off.
"Meet here early tomorrow!" she calls out after him. Ku Fei watches as the boy runs off into the distance waving his arm in acknowledgment. "I glad you finally feeling better Negi-bozu." The young karate master turns to leave when she notices a blue haired stalker poorly following Negi. She laughs to herself imagining what the boy would do once he noticed.
"The Mahora fest is still a ways away, I cannot believe I have to go in so early to start organizing the books." Yue Ayase lets out a heavy sigh at the troublesome situation. "Nodoka and Haruna are probably already there waiting for me." She releases yet another heavy sigh at the thought of her two friends and fellow Library Exploration members.
Ever since she had begun to develop feelings for her teacher, being around those two had become quite troublesome. Because of Haruna's keen gossip sensing abilities, she was forced to constantly stay on alert to keep the busy body from finding out about her crush. After all, it was only a crush. One that she hoped would go away eventually. Nodoka, on the other hand, had become almost unbearable in her passiveness. She had confessed to him and even kissed him! Why then was she just content with leaving things as they were? Could it really be considered love to be happy with just watching from a distance? Despite how hard she tried to help Nodoka further her relationship, she seemed to be comfortable staying where she was at. It was all so very frustrating! The very thought of it all angered Yue that much more. She let out a heavier sigh, knowing that neither Nodoka nor Haruna were at fault for the way she felt. What really bothered her the most were the implications of having such strong feelings in a matter that really did not concern her very much.
"...amazing! Ku Fei-san, will you umm..."
The very excited child-like voice of her teacher brought the troubled girl back from her deep thoughts. At the sound of his voice, the girl instinctively hides behind a nearby tree. "Ah it's Negi-sensei and Baka Yellow... wait, why am I hiding?" Despite feeling ridiculous for hiding from her teacher and fellow student, she decided to continue listening in secret.
"...Ku Fei-san! I better go, I have to do something before class begins."
"Something to do before class? I wonder what it could be." Before she could finish her thought, she was already in pursuit of her teacher. The girl moved haphazardly from tree to tree, ducking behind anything large enough to cover her small frame.
Before long, the girl found herself following the teacher on the path towards the world tree. Aside from a few minor incidents she was fairly certain the boy remained oblivious of her precense.
Crack
The normally insignificant sound echoed through the silence like a foghorn announcing her presence. She froze mid-stride glancing down at the small twig she had just trampled after which she quickly looked back up to see if she had been discovered. To her surprise, Negi was nowhere to be found.
Yue steps out onto the path furiously scanning the small area for any trace of the child. She was sure he had been there; there was no way he could have just disappeared.
A sudden bright light followed by the sound of quick moving feet caught the girl's attention. The source was directly behind her, where she had been hiding only moments before. A small dark figure suddenly comes into view heading straight towards her at an inhuman speed. Instinctively, Yue reaches into her bag and pulls out the thickest book she had, swinging it as hard as she could. She was not sure which surprised her more, the fact that she actually struck the figure while swinging with her eyes closed or that the figure had cried out like a child in pain.
She slowly opens her eyes only to find that the creature she had struck was none other then Negi. "Negi-sensei! I… I'm sorry, are you ok?"
The boy hobbles to his feet rubbing his bruised head. "Oh it's you Yue-san, I'm sorry for surprising you! I think I'm fine, my barrier absorbed most of the impact."
"Barrier?" she asks quizzically.
Having finally realized what he said, begins to stutter desperately looking for a decent excuse.
"Negi-sensei, this may not be the best time to ask but it really has been bothering me. Are you some sort of wizard?"
"Hahaha! Wha…wha…what was that Yue-san? A wizard? I don't know what you're talking about" he replies laughing almost hysterically.
The serious face Yue usually wore cracked a small smile, something that typically happened when the girl was preparing to rationalize a situation with cold hard facts. "The first time I started to really suspect your magical background was during out school trip to Kyoto, I saw most of what happened that night. After all, I was the one who contacted Kaede for help when everyone at the temple had been turned into stone. Then there are the many odd occurrences that have been occuring since your extravagant arrival as a child teacher. The strong gusts on days with no wind, the exploding clothes, the jumping off and up buildings, the list goes on and on. Shall I continue sensei?"
Negi slumps his shoulders and hangs his head in defeat. "I should have known I couldn't hide it from Baka Leader for too long." His expression becomes very solemn and distant. "There's something important I must do at the World Tree today. I'll explain it to you after if you don't mind."
Yue nods in agreement and follows her teacher the rest of the way. Despite the relatively short distance, the walk felt very long. Neither of them dared speak, not wanting to disturb the very melancholic atmosphere that had formed around them.
After what seemed like an eternity, the duo had finally arrived. Yue glanced around at the surrounding area noting quite a bit of damage. There were deep craters, half melted slabs of ice, and debris from various shrubbery and objects littered all around. Had this been from the storm last night? It had gotten pretty bad at one point, but she had never heard of a storm being able to cause this kind of damage.
While Yue's attention had shifted onto the mystery of the change in landscape, Negi approached the large tree staring dully at its magnificence. He was painfully aware of how familiar he had become with the tree over the past several days. After some time had passed, he walks over to the base of the tree kneeling on the ground.
Once her curiosity had been satisfied, Yue turned to see what Negi was doing. He still had not spoken a single word since she joined him causing her worry to slowly return. She walked up to where the boy was kneeling, he had dug a shallow hole and was holding a small metallic object. It took a few moments before she finally realized what the object was. "Sensei is that...?"
"Yes, it's Asuna's bell." he answers simply.
The innocent smile on the child's face was enough to silence Yue. She could feel the tears and overwhelming despair he desperately tried to contain. She placed her hands on the child's shoulders hoping the simple gesture would make up for the words of encouragement she knew she had no right to say.
Negi slowly lowered the twisted ornament into the shallow grave, gently placing mounds of dirt over the object. "Asuna was..." he hesitantly begins. "Asuna was more then just a student and a friend." The tears the child fought to hold back begin to finally break through. "Asuna was my partner."
"Partner?"
"I am what the magical society has titled Magister Magi, in training at least. In order for a Magister Magi to survive, they must choose a suitable partner, a Ministra Magi." He pulls out the dead pactio card and hands it to Yue. "Once the Ministra makes a pact with the Magister, the partner gains unimaginable power and a special artifact to protect their partner. They are the shield to our sword. The pactio process itself is a sacred ritual, not unlike marriage as many partners eventually end up married."
Yue stares quietly at the almost blank card of a smiling Asuna. "What will you do now that Asuna is gone sensei?"
The child stands up, brushing the dirt off his clothes and wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. The decisive look on his face and the way he stood gave Negi an appearance much older then his years. "The only thing I can do, move forward."
"Negi-sensei... I know I could never replace Asuna... but... I... I... Negi please allow me to be your Partner!"
Negi warmly smiles at Yue then looks away remembering his promise. "Yue-san... sorry. I made a promise that I would never risk the life of another of my students again. I have to become stronger on my own. I have to become stronger to protect her."
Yue begins to say something in protest but decides against it after seeing the boy's determined face.
"Come on Yue-san, class is about to begin." The silent duo quickly make their way to join the rest of the students of 2-A.
That concludes this chapter! Accidentally made it into something almost kind of resembling a NegiXYue.
Already working on the next few chapters semi-simultaneously.
Look forward to the continuing story!