Chapter 6 Vol 2: Between Incredibly Lame Pun And A Hard Place

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except the O.C.'s I've created to dance to my mad tune.

A/N: Hey everybody! The update schedule for this story is going to get random for the next couple of months, so I'm apologizing in advance. Oh, and I'm going to start separating the story into volumes to help with organization. And one more thing... sorry this chapter is so short....

Please R&R

Bullet Train, A Few Minutes Later

To the anyone not familiar with Spartans it would seem as if John was sleeping. What he was really doing meditating to try to figure out why he was hearing music. It had started around right after Eva's test and had not stopped since. It was a haunting melody, orderly yet chaotic, and it really was starting to piss John off. Even when he was sleeping it plagued his thoughts.

What was really odd about the song was that if John concentrated on it a single word would pop into his consciences... SHRIKE. It would eventually fade and voices would start to whisper things to him in a language he could not identify. At that point John would try his best to ignore the song, and the voices would start to fade.

It was maddening and a bit frightening to John. He had seen things and had things talk to his mind that would make lesser men curl up in a nice corner for the rest of their life's. He wondered if all that mental trauma was starting to take it's toll. John decided to stop that bleak train of thought as Negi made his way to the front of the train car with Shizuna, the school guidance councilor.

The boy wizard cleared his throat and started to speak. "All right everyone! The 15th annual school trip is about to begin! Please make the most of these five days and four nights! There will be a lot of free time on this trip for the groups, so I think it will be a fun trip for everyone! Please trip not to get hurt or los-" John raised his hand, "Yes John-san?"

"Watch out sensei..."

"What do you mea-"

Before he could complete his sentence one of the train attendants hawking box lunches slammed her cart into Negi's back causing him to fly face first into the floor. John shrugged and went back to his bleak thought's, while Asuna merely sighed and grumbled, "Seeesh.." A second or so later she thought to her self, it's going to be one of those day's.

After a few student's asked if he was ok, Negi muttered a weak excuse and walked back to his seat as the train got underway.

The Dimensional Sea, Unknown Dimensional Warship, Midnight Ship Time

Rick, the D.D.S. (Dimensional Disturbance Scanner) duty officer, was bored. Manning the dimensional monitoring equipment was always a less then present duty, but he had the night shift (Because of a incident involving, contraband booze, a female engine tech and a few hours between duty shifts). Nothing ever happened during the night shift, and to make matters worse they where in one of the more tranquil area's of the dimensional sea. To kill some time Rick had pulled out a month old magazine titled curiously enough 'Modern Magic'.

While distractedly reading a article titled "Retro Or Not: Wand's"a holographic window popped up and beeped to get his attention. Sighing, Rick put down the magazine and tapped a few keys. A few seconds later he had a frown on his face and was rapidly tapping keys. A minute or so later he leaned back in his chair.

"Huh... That really weird." Rick tapped a few more keys and another holographic window popped up with the face of the bridge duty officer. The women on the other end of the connection looked up and asked, "Yes?"

"Ummm, Captain the D.D.S. just picked up a faint shockwave indicative of a brute force dimension shift. And, well, you should see the data for yourself." Rick quickly tapped a few more keys and sent the data he had collected so far to the O.I.C (Officer In Charge). The Captain's face looked to the side for a second then frowned in confusion.

"Is this-"

"I believe so ma'm. The pattern match's ancient Belkin shifting technology and the under laying pattern match's the host universe's magic waveform by eighty-four percent." The Captain's face turned thoughtful for a few second's, then she shook her head and focused on Rick. "Good work Kato. Keep it up and I just might convince the Chief to put you back in the daytime duty roster." Rick smiled. "Now, I want you to pull all relevant data about the host universe and use that to make a preliminary report."

The Captain cut the connection and Rick just sighed. Should'a just kept my big mouth shut. Looking at the amount of data he had to go through he sighed a little louder. It's going to be one of those nights... With that in mind he started to his search for the relevant data in the ships archives.

Captain Julie Sinclair sighed and looked around the tomb quite bridge. Why is it always so quite at this time of night? Sighing again she made a note of what D.D.S. tech Rick found in the ship's log and made a mental note to bring it to the attention of the Admiral next time she saw him. Looking around the bridge again Julie placed her elbow on one of the command chair's arms and placed her chin on her palm.

It's going to be one of those night's...

Bullet Train On It's Way to Kyoto, Three Hours Later

As the train sped on John sat wondering what else was going to happen. A hour or so into the trip the class was beset by frogs which, while unusual, was not what you would call a threat. A minute or so later he, Ku Fei and Kaede had managed to capture the two hundred or so slippery little amphibians. What kind of boggled his mind was that Kaede had a bag with the word frog written on the front.

When he approached Negi about what had happened (The whole affair stank of magic) the boy seemed to be searching himself for something. Before he could ask about what was wrong the sound of something flying through the air caught his attention. Cobra quick John's hand shot out and caught a piece of paper in the shape of a bird. Before he could speak the bird disintegrated in his hand.

Asking Negi about it a white Ermine that he had seen running around the school hopped on his shoulder and told John that that bird was trying to steal a letter Negi was told to deliver while in Kyoto. At this point in his life John was beyond surprise. The only part that caused him to pause was when the talking rodent called him 'Scary soldier-san'.

After finding out that the bird was a shki-gammi John decided to take it to the only expert in Japanese magic he knew, Setsuna. After explaining the situation he asked she could learn anything by examining the paper. A few minutes later, shaking her head, she told him that the only information she could glean from the remains was that the person who made the bird was a woman. Thanking her he promptly returned to his seat and pondered.

Well, that was odd but helpful. Looking around he was fairly sure it was not anyone in the class and that meant a outside element was behind the incident, frogs and all. He knew of Negi's mission and the significance of the letter he had carried. The schools Principle had seen him about Negi's mission and had asked that he help him out discreetly.

As he sat and thought the song in his mind started up again driving John to distraction. He sighed and tried to meditate again. Before he fell into the frame of mind needed a thought floated to the surface. It's going to be one of those day's...

A few moments later...

John was brought out of his meditation by the trains PA announcing, "We will be arriving in Kyoto shortly." Stretching his back a little John reached up to grab the single bag he had taken for this trip. He listened with half a ear as Negi started to tell the class to get ready. "Everyone prepare to disemba-" John raised his hand. "Yes John-san?"

"Watch out sensei..."

Negi whipped around and found nothing, only to get hit in the back by the a large suite case that had fallen from the overhead storage compartment. Once again he made a weak excuse as the other students asked if he was alright. John shrugged his shoulders and chalked it up to a bad case of Murphy's law.

I think I'll need to train him before he kills himself accidentally. With that departing thought John readied himself for what was to come.

Dimensional Sea, Unknown Warship, 8AM Ships Time

(A/N: In case your wondering, time flows differently in the dimensional sea)

Rear Admiral Jean Luke Sulu McCoy (His friends called him Jack) frowned at the report that D.D.S. tech Rick had compiled. Jack was a easy going man (And if the rumors where true, a bit of a drunk) and his command style called for loose discipline during tours like this, so the serious face that he sported made the rest of the bridge crew weary.

The TSA Hull Number-117, Star Fury class dreadnought Lady Luck was one of the few actual warship's that the Time Space Administration kept in case of emergencies. She was also old, like 50 years old, so she was constantly under repair by crack Mage Machinist Mates. Beside the repair crew, the rest of the crew could be loosely described as misfits, and it showed. Their helmsman had only one eye, a eye patch and a strange tendency to talk like a pirate, their navigator was obsessive compulsive and their weapons techs where triplets that had a annoying habit of finishing each others sentences (Nicknamed Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Shoot Evil In The face).

The two Enforcers they had on board where a bit odd as well. Both where S+ ranked but beyond that they where considered useless. The first was 78 year's old (And had a bad case of Alzheimer's) and the other was 16 year old bishsounen who'd rather get a good tan than fight. The ships Marine compliment was no exception. The Captain in charge was a womanizer, his XO (eXeutive Officer) was a former bikini model, and the rest where known collectively as the 120 Thief's. The only normal ones where the ship's XO, Captain Julie Sinclair, and Master Chief, First Class, Engineering, Grant Stibons (Even if he had the mouth that would make most sailors blush).

Captain Sinclair, who had just arrived on the bridge, saw how many people where paying attention to the Admiral and not their duty stations. "Action-front people!" More then a few people jumped and turned back to their stations. Turning to the Admiral she coughed into her fist to get his attention and asked, "What do you think Sir? Is it Belkin?"

Jack looked up and frowned. "No, it's not Belkin, but something about this is familiar. It's like... the Belkin's used this technology to make their dimensional engine. See here?" He turned the holographic window towards her and pointed at two wavy lines that represented the pattern of the disturbance and the pattern for a Ancient Belkin dimensional engine. To Julie they looked exactly the same, so she shook her head and said, "I don't see the difference Sir."

In response Jack zoomed the graphic in a bit closer then Julie understood what he was talking about. From a distance both patterns looked the same, but on closer inspection the pattern for the Belkin engine had small micro tremors while the pattern they had picked up last night had no micro tremors. Julie quirked her eyebrow and looked back at Jack. "I can see you're reasoning Sir."

Julie sighed internally and remembered the reason the Admiral was out here. Jack was a certified genius at ship handling and dimensional physics, so, the rest of the Admiralty felt that even though the ship was a dumping ground they needed someone that they could rely on in case a warship was ever needed. Julie was in the same situation really. The only one who wanted to be here was the Chief and not even the Admiralty could figure out a better use for the man.

Jack, after turning the window back around, thought about the data for a few seconds then shrugged. "Lt. Mayweather please set a course for..." Jack rattled off a string of numbers that signified the location of the universe that the disturbance came from.

The one-eyed man nodded and replied, "Aye cap'n..." Jack looked at Julie at quirked a eyebrow. "But I'm not a capti-" Julie cut him off, "I know Sir. just ignore it..." Jack just shrugged and crossed his arms behind his head. Well at least the crew can function at the very least. After a moment or two another thought crossed his mind. Now, where did I hide that bottle of rum?

Two hours later a blood curdling yell emerged from Admiral Jack's quarters, "WHY IS THE RUM GONE?!!"

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Two Hours Later

Interesting... Thought John as they finished taking a group photo. He had been standing next to Kaede for the photo, when he noticed more of those paper birds in the air. He gave no indication that he had seen them and fallowed the rest of the class. Better the spy you know, then the spy you don't. The girls of the class chatted and remained oblivious while John watched the sky for threats.

One of the girls near him, Yue, started to talk about where they where. John paid her little attention after he spotted what she was drinking, a juice box labeled 'BBQ Sauce & Mango Surprise'. He shuddered internally and resolutely decided never to ask her about her drinking habits. Yue started to talk about a fortune telling place that they could use to find out about there love life's and immediately several girls started to push Negi toward the indicated location.

John sighed and ambled along after them, deep in thought. These incidents indicate that the 'they' want to annoy rather then kill, which just doesn't make sense. John decided that to think on this later and jogged to catch up with the rest of the class. John arrived on the scene just as someone announced, "This is the stone that foretells your love life!"

Curious, John walked up to the girl nearest to him, Chiame Hasegawa, and asked what this was all about. The girl jumped a little, as she had not heard him approach, and shrugged her shoulders. John nodded and decided to watch. Apparently, the objective was to get from one stone to the next without opening your eyes. John could of done that in his sleep with a broken leg although he had no desire to participate.

While watching the class president, Makie, and Nodoka stumble around John noticed something was wrong. Someone had dug a pit fall. Striding out from the crowd then around Ayaka and Makie, John walked up to the spot and stomped lightly (For a Spartan at any rate). A hole opened up beneath his feet, a hole filled with frogs. The questions being shouted at him died down.

Turning John spoke softly to the two who where quickly shuffling toward him and the hole. "Incho-san, Sasaki-san you're both headed toward a trap. Please stop." Both opened their eyes and saw the hole they where running toward. Ayaka frowned at John and asked, "How did you know?" To answer John pointed at the dirt surrounding the hole and said smoothly, "Freshly moved soil always has a different color." Ayaka nodded and Makie let out a "Ohhh".

Both girls frowned at the barely audible "G-goal!" as Nodoka made it to the stone. John chuckled softly at the irony of the situation. Makie spared him a second glance as he finished laughing. He has a nice laugh... John caught Makie's glance and cocked a eyebrow causing a blush in response. The rest of the class laughed as Asuna and Ayaka started to fight with one another and made their way to the next fortune telling spot.

The class made their way to the next hot spot, a waterfall that fell upon a temples roof and was split into three subsistent streams. The girls all swarmed over to the stream that Yue announced would bestow good fortune and marriage. After drinking from the stream for a few seconds many of the girls started exclaim how good the water tasted. John frowned as he watched the scene with Asuna and Negi.

Many of the girls where starting to get red-faced and wobbly on their feet. John walked over to the stream and poked a finger into the stream and pulled it out and then licked the end. Alcohol... Asuna saw John look up at the roof and frown. Something on the roof is making the class act weird? Asuna quickly made her way onto the roof fallowed closely by John and Negi as the class started to pass out.

The trio found a large tub of sake placed so it's contents mixed with all three streams. Asuna shook her head and wondered who would do something like this before hopping down to help get the class back on their feet. John and Negi both wore identical expressions as they stood on the roof and thought. John's mind was going over the tactical implications of their enemies actions while Negi was still reeling from what happened.

While his mind tried to work out the problem John let his eye's wander. A half second later he spotted two teachers from Mahora converging on the classes current location. He lightly hopped down and moved to intercept the two teachers before things could get blown out of proportion. Wavering his hand to get their attention both teachers turned to look at him. The first teacher, Nitta greeted John warmly, "Ah, John-san! How's the man who aced the entrance exam?" The other teacher, Naruhiko, raised a eyebrow at the admissions councilor cheerful grin and the deadly serious boy.

John dipped into a small bow and asked in a quite voice, "Just fine Nitta-sensei. I was wondering how my application for the advanced academics program is doing, if you don't mind?" Naruhiko was a bit taken aback by how polite the foreign student was but then recognition dawned in the man's mind. "This is him? The one who scored a 100%?" At Nitta's nod the youthful looking teacher smiled.

While John and the two teachers talked Negi, Asuna, Konoka and Yue all tried to wake the class out of their alcohol induced nap. John internally winced at some of the noise they where making while he tried to distract the two in front of him. Naruhiko finally noticed something going on behind John a few minutes later and asked, "What's wrong with them?" John looked over his shoulder at the class laying on the ground obviously asleep and shrugged. "My class took a short hike before we came here and most of the class are not used to that sort of thing so we decided to take a short break. It seems that a combination of fatigue and the pleasant surroundings has caused many of them to nod off."

Both teachers chuckled at that. After a few minutes of conversation with John (Who treated the two teachers like military officers), both men nodded and walked off talking animatedly about Johns future academic prospects. A few seconds later Shizuna walked up and asked Negi the same question before John could intercept her. After a few minutes of confused conversation the students still able to stand started to help their friends to up so they could load up onto the bus.

While John was carrying Ku Fei and Nodoka on his shoulders he spotted Setsuna on the roof of a nearby temple. He quickly gestured to her join up with the rest of the class and she responded with a 'wait' gesture. He nodded his head and continued on.

Up on the roof of the temple Setsuna whispered quietly to herself, "I guess I'll have to step up the overt protection..." She walked off the edge roof a few seconds later and landed in a slight crouch and continued on like the fall was nothing. At the top of the temple a man wearing a brown trench coat and black fedora whispered to himself, "Yes, you do. Tell me, what do you think Cat?" A massive panther climbed out of his shadow and spoke, "I think talking to yourself is not conducive to you're mental health Hatter."

End Chapter 6