AN: Well, whatever I was expecting, it wasn't this. Better get writing.

Touhou is owned by ZUN, Negima by Akamatsu. Everything else has been stolen by Marisa and is currently being retrieved. Please wait warmly.

Reimu wondered if her subconscious was some sort of genius mastermind. If it was, she wished that it could share some of its master plans, and not leave her completely in the dark.

For instance, letting Prodigy-sensei in the classroom first seemed such an inconsequential action. But in fact, such an action would all be part an intricate and detailed plan with multiple levels. Three layers, in fact.

Layer the first: someone, probably with a name beginning with Te and ending with Wi, had set up an intricate system dedicated to giving a horrible experience to anyone who opened the classroom door, consisting of:

An eraser positioned on the door to fall on an unsuspecting head.

A tripwire that, when triggered, empties a bucket of water onto aforementioned unsuspecting head.

Suction cup arrows fired from around the room to hit an unsuspecting adult's body. Or, in the case of a ten-year old prodigy, an unsuspecting head.

Layer the second: even the small, evil prankster had standards and the look of shock and guilt on her face when she observed the consequence of her efforts, a boy lying on the ground sobbing pitifully, it looked like she wouldn't be trying something like this anytime soon, securing the peace of 2-A from her antics for at least a day or two. Reisen, Tewi's favourite chew toy, will probably be screwed anyway.

Layer the third: Just before the eraser hit its target, it decided to ignore the laws of gravity for the briefest of moments, hovering just above Negi's head, before remembering physics and finishing its journey.

In fact, her subconscious was so secretive, Reimu only realised the first two layers.

"G-good morning everyone! My name is Negi Springfield, and I'll be teaching ma- English as your homeroom teacher! Please, let's all do… our… best…?"

Negi's speech faded away under the intense stares of the class. Though, he had surveyed the class roster just minutes before, it was completely different seeing the class simply stare at him. A long awkward silence followed. You could almost hear the staring.

"He's cute."

That was the cue for the mass glomping by half the class. Chaos reigned the classroom with frantic questions about Negi's heritage, age and favourite colour, until-

"Please! Let the teacher have his space!"

All the girls turned towards the source of the voice, and one by one they returned to their seats. But of course, there was always one who didn't listen.

Negi recognised her as Aya Shameimaru, remembering Takamichi's note saying that she ran the school's paper. Now, she was being a machine gun with questions for ammunition. It was quite hard to answer them.

The one who called for peace slowly approached. Negi recognised her as well, for three reasons. One, she was the class president. Two, she wore a curious hat. Three, Keine Kamishirasawa was a name that was much easier to misspell than forget.

She put a hand on the reporter's shoulder. "Shameimaru."

"Yes, Class Pres?"

"Return to your seat."

"But-"

"That was not a question."

Aya looked into Keine's eyes and only saw the promise of pain. Worse still, both of Keine's hands were now on her shoulders, meaning that she was in the perfect position for…

Aya returned to her seat without another word.

"I think we should all applaud our new teacher to welcome him, don't you think?" the Class President said in a warm and cheerful voice. This was further emphasised by her slow clapping.

"Y-yes, Class President!"

This was not a very emasculating experience for Negi, who suspected that the class was clapping out of fear rather than respect.

It was only made worse by the fact that Keine needed to give him a stool so that he could write on the board.

"So, what's it like being a shrine maiden?"

Reimu turned around to face the ten-year-old teacher. It was after a hectic day of classes, and the two of them were climbing the steps to the Hakurei Shrine.

"Essentially, the job requires me to give assistance to anyone who asks for it. Unlike some other shrine I don't simply pray for a miracle. The Hakurei way of doing things is much more hands on. Someone lost a cat? I have to go look for it. Someone sick and in hospital? I have to visit and bless them. Bullying? I have to go and deal with them."

Negi was impressed. "Have you done all that?"

"Uh… No, but if someone asks me to it, I would have to."

The two reached the top of the stairs in an awkward silence.

"Kochiya-san is a shrine maiden too, isn't she?"

Reimu groaned. "Sanae. She prefers the term 'priestess', and that really should tell you all you need to know about her. And, look!" She motioned to a poster that was put on the Torii (gate) to the shrine. "She puts freaking posters and gives out flyers. All she wants are more followers for her shrine. And she had the nerve to put one on my shrine!" She ripped down the offending advertisement.

Negi looked down the pathway to the shrine. The building had the hallmarks of something that had seen better days, whilst being much more impressive than now. Now, the shrine looked like it was abandoned by the main populace.

"Come on," said Reimu, still fuming, and she dragged Negi along. She slid open the door, and-

"WELCOME PRODIGY-SENSEI!"

The roar of an enthusiastic class shocked the pair into silence. Then…

"Suika. What the hell is this?" Reimu didn't shout. Rather, they were the words of the defeated.

The small girl slapped her hand to her forehead. "Oh! I forgot to tell you! We're having a welcome party for prodigy-sensei! I invited the whole class!"

"This is my shrine, and you told everyone except me about this."

"Yep! The guest of honour sits in the middle, prodigy-sensei! Come, come!"

Reimu was in mid-facepalm when she realised, "Suika, did you say the whole class?"

"Yeah! Only Fujiwara-san didn't come, said that she wouldn't go anywhere 'the princess' would be."

"Yeah, that's good, my shrine won't burn down, but that means…"

"Fire could only improve it, Hakurei-san."

If this was a movie, or a TV show, some sort of 'showdown' music would've played as Sanae Kochiya, priestess of the Moriya shrine, emerged from the crowd. Thankfully, Merlin Prismriver knew this, and provided a riveting trumpet solo, before being hushed by her sister Lunasa.

Reimu glared. "I had hoped that something as impure as you would burst into flame entering these holy grounds."

"These grounds must not be as holy as you think."

"So you admit your impurity, then."

"Shouldn't they stop?" Negi asked worriedly.

"Nah," Suika assured, "It's all part of the party atmosphere."

Already, bets were being made for the victor of the duel.

Reimu held up the poster she tore down before. "Explain."

"Oh, you noticed! Well, I just wanted to remind…"

"Hey, sensei." Someone tapped Negi on the shoulder. He turned to face a huge grin.

"Ah! Marisa Kirisame, am I correct?"

"Got it one! I just want to give you a personal welcome, and to ask you a favour!"

"Well, I always want to help my students, so-"

"Great! Great! Just come over here, this is private." She led Negi outside the building. "So." Her grin did the impossible and grew bigger. "How did you do the eraser trick?"

Negi's face turned into a mask of shock and guilt. "W-what eraser trick?"

"If you're living with Suika, you might want to become a better liar. She hates that sort of thing. You know what I mean, sensei."

"I- Uh- Wind?"

"Indoors? And at that specific spot and angle?"

Negi just looked down at floor…

"Is it magic?"

…and immediately his head shot up to look at the grinning blonde, who pumped a fist.

"I knew it!"

"But- but- how-"

"Magic exists! Patchy-patch said those books I read were rubbish, but I knew they were true. They made too much sense! And now, when they send a ten-year-old to teach my class…" She put her hands on Negi's shoulders. "Teach me."

"What?"

"Teach me magic, sensei! Please! It's quite hard to teach yourself! Believe me, I've tried! I need guidance!"

Negi was overwhelmed by Marisa's enthusiasm. "Alright. But keep this a secret! They'll send be back to Wales and turn me into an ermine if it becomes publicly known!"

Marisa ruffled the young teacher's hair. "Don't worry, sensei, your secret is safe with me." She winked. "~Ze?"

However, unbeknownst to the two of them as they walked back into the shrine, someone had overheard their conversation and was frantically scribbling down notes.

It was after the party, and everyone had gone home. Suika had already gone to sleep. Negi walked to the front of the shrine where Reimu was sitting down, watching the moon and drinking tea.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Isn't it past your bedtime? Sure, sit down."

She poured him a cup, and silence followed. Not an awkward silence, but a serene one.

Then Reimu asked, "Why did you become a teacher?"

"I-" just need to finish my magic diploma. Negi swallowed, "I made a promise."

Reimu looked at Negi closely. "What did your parents say? Were they the ones you made the promise to?"

Negi's heart fell. "Kind of."

"Hey," Reimu said, "Look up. Good. I'm sure with some courage, you can fulfil your promise."

"A little bit of courage is the real magic," Negi muttered.

"Neat." Reimu finished her tea. "And I'm sure they would be proud of you, either way. I'm going to sleep now. Don't stay up too late." She got up and took the teapot and her cup, and entered the shrine.

"Hakurei-san."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"Shrine Maiden. I serve anyone who needs it. That's what a Hakurei does. Good night, Springfield-sensei."

Then she was gone.

AN: Can't have Touhou without the second protagonist, right? Just wanted to get these out hard and fast before the dreaded procrastination sets in. I also want to practice writing these things faster. If I can create a steady pace, so much the better.

Oh, and thanks to all those who reviewed. Your comments have been taken into consideration. Really! I'm serious! Stop laughing!