Magister Negi Magi is owned by Ken Akamatsu and Kodansha Ltd. Tokyo in Japan, and by Funimation and Ballantine - DelRey in the United States, NOT by me.
SPOILER ALERT! AU story occurring after c189.
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"Occasionally, even on such a thing as failure, does history turn."
- Kazumi Asakura. Author of: "One Million Steps : A Journey to Megalo-Mesembria and the World Beyond.
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Ala Alba in the World of Magic: Tales From the Fireside.
Chapter Fourteen: Rock - Paper - Scissors.
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There was a dream Princess Enteofushia never told anyone about.
Not her father the King of Enteofushia, who despite his smiles and pretty words, never seemed anything more than cold and calculating, not her regular servants, and certainly not her primary 'bodyguard.' If the young boy assigned to that position could be called by such a polite term.
His watchfulness, constant presence, and worry over every detail in her life bothered her more than the fact her father treated her like an object.
In the dream, she saw a boy on a hill with a huge tree, crying over a grave.
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Princess Enteofushia woke to the sound of a bird chirping on the balcony rail of her room in Enteofushia Castle. Blinking, she realized she'd been crying in her sleep. Desperately, she reached for the fleeting memory of the dream to find out why. For the first time, she'd seen a name. 'Kagurazaka.' The name on the stone had been 'Kagurazaka.'
Sitting up, Princess Enteofushia winced and lightly touched her still tender ribs. There was no memory of the incident, but her overzealous bodyguard had explained she had been the victim of an assassination attempt by her Father's enemies. Barely surviving, she had lain unconscious for more than a week, recovering slowly under the attention of the kingdom's best magical healers.
Hearing a polite knock at her door, and a request by her personal maid to enter, (another bodyguard, though thankfully less obsessive than her primary one,) Princess Enteofushia wiped angrily at her tears. ("Why would I care about some commoner boy crying over a grave? I've never met any such people... have I?") The tears refused to stop, and it took several moments before she could compose herself enough to sit up straight in the bed. "COME!"
A small girl, wearing glasses and a maid's outfit, entered the room and dutifully helped her get up and start dressing. Even a week after her recovery, she still had issues with memory, so when the maid brought out close-fitting garments instead of the usual flowing robes of a princess, she gave the maid a questioning look. "Tsukuyomi, these clothes..."
Tsukuyomi gave a nod without pausing in her duties. "Today will be the resumption of your weapons training Princess Enteofushia."
Princess Enteofushia felt her hand close involuntarily, as if remembering the grip of some bladed weapon. "Who will be training me? Averruncus? Or other of the King's retainers? I can't seem to remember."
Pulling Enteofushia's linen shirt up her arms, Tsukuyomi closed the back, then began lacing it up. "Master Averruncus will supervise, Princess. However, he and the King have unexpected business this morning, so the resumption of your weapons training will be delayed until this afternoon."
Princess Enteofushia settled the shirt on her arms and shoulders as Tsukuyomi finished tightening the laces. "Did Averruncus or the King specifically forbid me from attending this 'business?'"
Pausing briefly, Tsukuyomi retrieved Enteofushia's leather breeches and held them out for her. "No Princess. However..."
Shaking her head, Princess Enteofushia turned and looked down as Tsukuyomi secured the fasteners of the breeches. "Then I will attend. How can I recover my memories if Averruncus and the King continue to shelter me so much? Their over-protective fawning borders on irritating." Tsukuyomi helped her don footwear, then stood back. "Bring me an appropriate vestment, then show me to Averruncus and the King's 'business.' Let them order me away if my presence is unwelcome."
Tsukuyomi hesitated momentarily, unsure how Fate might feel about Princess Enteofushia's unexpected appearance on the Gate Jump Platform. Knowing only that Fate was going there to greet someone with King Enteofushia, she allowed herself a mental shrug, then bowed. "Very well, Princess Enteofushia."
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Fate Averruncus climbed the stairs to Enteofushia Castle's Gate Jump Platform in a state of mild irritation. ("I wonder what Enteofushia's up to this time? I'm trying to pin down rumors of an Ala Alba member near Nyandom, and finalize Princess Enteofushia's training, and he interrupts me with this distraction!") Turning onto the last flight of stairs, he recalled the content of a recent meeting between the King and his allies. ("Could this have something to do with the people they've lost contact with on Elysium?")
King Enteofushia smiled smugly as fate Averruncus, as inscrutable as ever, climbed onto the Gate Jump Platform and walked over to join him. "Fate! Thank you for coming! You're just about to see that my insistence through my allies in the Magic Council on rewards for those people you fought wasn't so foolish after all!"
Fate, simply took his place at King Enteofushia's side, not caring to comment on a plan he still felt wasteful. Why use valuable resources chasing a scattered foe? Enteofushia wanted to eliminate his enemies. Even though his actions were partially responsible for the current situation, Fate preferred containment through monitored disregard. Resources used convincing the Magic Council to have the Ala Alba hunted down would have been better spent securing additional pledges of support for the Separatists. Now, after their counter-attack at the Megalo-Mesembrian Gate Port, he understood that such a threat would motivate the Ala Alba beyond simple reunification. Every time one of them was attacked and survived, they would gain valuable experience, a most troublesome prospect. When they did eventually reunite, and he had no doubt many of them would, their growth would make them stronger and harder to handle. Besides, the only worthy target at the moment, and the least likely to be caught so soon, was Negi Springfield. Eliminate him, and the entire Ala Alba would fall apart.
King Enteofushia glowered at the unresponsive Fate Averruncus. The boy was borderline insubordinate, but since his skill and competence were so frustratingly valuable, his attitude had to be tolerated. A faint trickle of energy began to flow along the lines of the permanently drawn magic circle in the middle of the platform, so he turned his attention away from Fate. "Hmph! Ah! Here they come!"
Fate watched with bored detachment as three columns of magical energy appeared in the center of the Gate Jump Platform. ("I wonder who they've captured? Looks short, probably Kotaro then. He won't know much, but I suppose petrifying him slowly for his betrayal would let me extract what he does know.") Mentally, Fate began to prepare his petrification spell.
King Enteofushia watched with smug satisfaction as the figures in the center of the platform resolved into recognizable forms. Fate's eyes grew wide at who stood there flanked by a male-female pair of Pembroke type Inu-Jin guards. Seeing surprise in the boy's face pleased him to no end. "See Fate! Now if that idiot Nagi Springfield still lives, we can draw him out, and the last critically serious obstacle to our plans will be removed!"
Fate stared hard at the dejected looking Negi Springfield. Something about it didn't 'feel' right... ("IT?") "ASSASSIN! LOOK OUT!"
King Enteofushia stumbled back and nearly fell as Fate finished a held spell and moved out protectively in front of him.
"ETERNAL PETRIFICATION!"
One of the 'Negi's' guards had the presence of mind to jump away, but the other was caught in the spell's effect. When the side effect smoke cleared, the Inu-Jin male was frozen forever in a rictus of shock. The 'Negi Springfield' simply stood up, brushing away the crumbled remains of his bonds, after somehow blocking the petrification spell's effect.
"How wonderful! The white-haired boy!" Seeing Fate's shocked expression, Dopple-Negi gave a satisfied grin. "Don't be so upset! Or don't you know paper trumps stone?" Now his expression grew grim. "Time for pay-back, my 'White-Haired Lizard.'"
Fate tensed to attack the fake 'Negi' as it leapt towards him.
"PAPA!"
(Princess Enteofushia watched in slow-motion from her position on the Gate Jump Platform stairs as some small boy moved to attack her bodyguard and King Enteofushia. The boy's face turned at the sound of her voice, and she instantly recognized him when he smiled. This was the boy in her dream! Before she could react, some part of her seized upon the image and the positive feelings related to it, said to forget such things, then pulled it all down within the deepest recesses of her mind.)
"MASTER FATE!"
Tsukuyomi drew steel and launched herself from the top of the stairs at the charging 'Negi.' Before it could cross half the distance to Fate and the King, she hit with both blades, impaling and pinning it to the surface of the Gate Jump Platform. With a burst of blood-red flame, the 'Negi' dissolved into two pinned sheets of heavy paper which rapidly began to consume themselves. She jumped back to safety, and the flames quickly raced across the paper until almost nothing remained.
King Enteofushia moved up next to Fate as the boy clasped both hands behind his back, watching with guarded tension as a faint breeze began to carry bits of still glowing paper and black ash across the Gate Jump Platform. "You've already punished one fool for allowing that 'thing' to get this far, perhaps I should send you after the others!"
Fate looked up at King Enteofushia, feeling nothing but contempt for the man. Instead of doing something useful, like shielding the unexpectedly present Princess Enteofushia from possible harm, he had remained behind Fate, building and reinforcing his own defenses. Of course, telling the man directly he was one of those 'fools,' would be terribly impolitic. "My Employer. Whomever built that golem had access to very high-level magical knowledge. At a minimum, two mages would be needed to make it. More likely three or four, considering it was apparently detailed enough to make it this far without once arousing suspicion. Perhaps it would be better to worry about who would want to do such a thing, instead of about wreaking vengeance on ignorant subordinates."
King Enteofushia felt his guilt anger flowing away at Fate's words. Anyone else working for him would be too afraid to express such an opinion, but the boy's distressingly dispassionate, analytical abilities were one more reason why he was tolerated. After glancing with disdain at the shaking female Inu-Jin guard, he looked down at Fate. "Could that have come from one of those people the rewards were set on?"
Fate walked out to where Tsukuyomi had done her work. Now, holding her paired Shinmei-Ryu 'scissors' at the ready, she stood protectively near Princess Enteofushia. Kneeling down, he picked up a small corner of unburned paper. None of the faint magical signatures he felt were immediately familiar. One seemed similar to Negi Springfield but... not... two of the taints reminded him of Kyoto, but he wasn't sure why. The only person from Kyoto who might have done this was Eishun Konoe, and he was definitely still in the Normal World. The only other possible person was Chigusa Amagasaki, but she should still be in custody. Confusing things even more was the golem's final words; ("White-haired Lizard? Who would call me that?") "I don't believe so. None of the Ala Alba, not even that Shinmei Hanyou, has shown the knowledge or skill to make something like this. It may be an ally they've acquired, or perhaps an ally of yours who hopes to take advantage of the reward the Magic Council posted. They kill you, blame the Ala Alba, then advance their position after your death."
King Enteofushia nodded, rubbing thoughtfully at his chin, before turning and walking away. "I'll look into that possibility at once. You clean up this mess."
Fate bowed slightly to accept the order. "Yes, my Employer." He waited silently as King Enteofushia walked past Tsukuyomi, who watched him warily, and then Princess Enteofushia, whom he simply nodded to once. After the King the was gone, Fate moved over to stand near the Shinmei-Ryu swordswoman. "Tsukuyomi. Please escort Princess Enteofushia back to her suite, then prepare yourself to go outside. There is a small matter I wish you to investigate." Turning slightly, he faced his charge. "Princess Enteofushia, if you would be so kind, I'll join you momentarily, and we can proceed with your weapons training."
Princess Enteofushia climbed the remaining stairs to the Gate Jump Platform, until she could stand and look down at Fate. "Was that necessary?"
Fate glanced back over his shoulder to where Princess Enteofushia pointed at the petrified guard. "An unfortunate accident, but it is my duty to protect you and King Enteofushia, Princess."
"I see." Giving Fate an emotionless look he found hard to match, Princess Enteofushia continued to watch her bodyguard for a few moments, then turned to proceed back down the stairs without another word.
Tsukuyomi sheathed her blades, then bowed to Fate and followed Princess Enteofushia.
Fate waited until both were gone, the walked over to where the surviving guard was sobbing at the feet of the first.
Reacting to his approach, the pudgy tri-color Inu-Jin girl looked up at him with unconcealed hate tinged by fear. "You bastard... this was my partner..."
Fate didn't much care for the partner system, feeling it presented an unnecessary vulnerability. He preferred instead to fight with easily replaced or interchangeable groups of associates. He considered the possibility of manipulating the Inu-Jin girl for some use against the Ala Alba, but looking into her shock filled eyes, he saw the pain and emptiness caused by loosing a partner that marked her as damaged goods, unreliable and worthless anymore for anything. In any case, such things wouldn't matter in the near future when what was planned came to pass. "Get rid of your 'partner' within an hour, or you'll join him and I'll push you both off this tower." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked off.
tsuzuku
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Authors Notes:
That's it for a bit! I need to take a break for two things; To work on a Chao Lingshen story, 'Coming Home,' I've been promising people for about two months, and to get my planning for the next chapters of 'Ala Alba in the World of Magic' worked out in more detail.
Hopefully I won't be gone from 'AAitWoM' more than a month. Considering that ideas for the next few chapters are racing through my mind like swarm of ermines, it may be less, so please keep an eye out for the next chapters, or enjoy my other stories if you haven't read them yet!
Chapter Fifteen: "Darkness before twilight..." No wait, wrong flat-chested red-head! There is also a chance that a character who has only been present by proxy may show up!