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.
My preference is to NOT use honorifics. I make partial exception in this chapter due to the nature of the character's relationships.
Warning: Raciness and things that aren't nice in this chapter.
"Our loyalty given first to our duty, then to each other..."
-Excerpt from Kyoto Shinmei-Ryu graduate's pledge.
Ala Alba in the World of Magic: Tales From the Fireside.
Chapter Nineteen: Of Shinmei-Ryu and Maiden.
(-)
Three days went by with only the barest amount of rest.
Konoka Konoe came down in the middle of a disaster. A huge storm spawning an appropriately massive whirlwind had just passed over the city of Nyandom. Damage in the city itself was limited, but outlying areas had been severely battered, and her appearance coincided with the arrival of the first casualties at what passed for Nyandom's hospital.
Most of a day passed before Nyandom's chief magical healer even realized she was assisting him. Part of another before he gave her Tradespeak, then left her to do as she had been, dealing with those less seriously injured, children and smaller animals. By the middle of the third day, the healer was exhausted, and had gone home to rest. Konoka was left all alone with the responsibility of dealing with the few remaining casualties still drifting in from remote area's.
After no new casualties had appeared in several hours, Konoka Konoe found herself beginning to doze off on a rustic, vine-weave couch in the healer's office as the third day drew to a close. Just as her chin touched the Onmyoji robes of her Pactio Artifact, the clarion call to duty came once again.
"Lady Konoe! Some herdsmen found another injured person in the mountains yesterday! They're just now getting here with her!"
Konoka staggered to her feet as a pair of rough-looking Ku-Jin men brought someone in on a makeshift stretcher. Straightening her robes once more, she began gathering her last reserves of energy, and prayed this casualty would finally be the last.
Exhausted beyond belief, Konoka only saw another person needing her help. Not even that the person was lying face down because of their wings aroused her attention. Several families of To-Jin bird-people lived near Nyandom, and she'd treated two already. Not until after carefully performing an initial magical examination of the unconscious person's obviously broken leg, then raising a battered wing to look at the rest of their body, did she realize who was actually on the stretcher...
"Se-chan!"
(-)
Setsuna Sakurazaki stood as she had been born beneath a waterfall in a mountain grotto near the city of Nyandom. Flexing and shaking her shoulders, she used the refreshing spray of water to rinse several days accumulation of dirt and sweat from her wings. Normally kept hidden, her presence in the Magic World allowed more freedom to leave them out, and at her charge Konoka Konoe's request, she had reluctantly started doing so.
Confirmation by HD Viewer of the presence of Class 3A's Professor Springfield in Granicus City, along with letters sent and received, had eased Setsuna's worries over staying in Nyandom somewhat. At first, despite both of them being listed as wanted criminals, Konoka had wanted to stay to make sure of the proper healing of patients from the same storm that had dashed her to ground after the Megalo-Mesembrian Gate Port incident. Then had come a young, foolish dragon, raiding the farms still recovering from the storm. Setsuna had volunteered to help Nyandom's residents dispose of the menace as payment for the protection the city was giving the two of them. After nearly a week of tracking, watching and waiting, the dragon had been cornered and dealt with. Next came several parties of bounty-hunters. Lured by the rumors of two fat bounties near Nyandom, they sought to collect those bounties. Most went away disappointed, a few, unconvinced by the citizens of Nyandom claiming there was; 'No-one of that sort around here!' had to be dealt with appropriately. (Those citizens, being most unwilling to turn on their benefactors, had once surrounded a large group of bounty-hunters bent on overwhelming Setsuna and thrashed them severely!) After that, it simply became easier to stay in Nyandom, than to go to Granicus City, then come BACK to the Ala Alba's eventual gathering point in the old capitol of Ostia.
Turning slightly, Setsuna saw the reason she was selfishly happy to stay in Nyandom, even if just for a little bit longer.
("A peach...")
Konoka Konoe stood a short distance away, leaning over and washing her hair in the same pool of water Setsuna now bathed in. The image the Konoe Heiress's posture presented made her turn away blushing. She had her duty as Konoka's guardian, and there was no time for any impure thoughts! Still... maybe one or two were okay, and staying put at least gave the two of them time to be alone together...
When Konoka wasn't helping Nyandom's healer, or amusing the city's residents by telling fortunes, and Setsuna wasn't checking out the rare rumor of a 3A classmate or helping deal with bandits or the occasional single bounty-hunter, the two of them could hide in this little hidden paradise, talk casually, watch the sun set over the nearby mountains together, or simply sit and enjoy each other's company. Life away from the Ala Alba would come to an end soon enough, but until it did, she intended to make as many summer memories with 'HER' Ojou-sama as she possibly could!
Konoka Konoe finished rinsing her hair and turned to watch Setsuna Sakurazaki out of the corner of her eye. Her 'Se-chan' had reacted as expected to her deliberate teasing, and was busily shaking the water from her amusingly water-soaked wings to distract herself from what she'd seen. ("Se-chan! You're so cute when you blush!")
Setsuna was back to her best form now, thanks to the personal and loving attention of her 'Ojou-sama.' She had come in to Nyandom with a broken leg and smashed feathers, but after more than a week of work, had been able to fly again. Long and loud had been her protests over the attention Konoka lavished on her, but she could see the longing for closeness in her guardian's eyes, and was perfectly willing to provide it. Clucking her tongue and shaking her head at Setsuna's protests, she had simply continued her ministrations. Under the guidance of a matronly To-Jin resident of Nyandom, she slowly and carefully preened and healed each of her 'Se-chan's' feathers until all were perfect again.
Much to her distress, Setsuna had promptly gone out to help the residents of Nyandom deal with a marauding dragon.
Nyandom's Magistrate and the city's citizens kept Konoka safe, but she wanted SETSUNA to keep her safe!
An entire week alone without her 'Se-chan!'
She spent the time helping Nyandom's healer check up on those injured in the storm, tending the various hurts of children both large and small, telling fortunes, worrying about Setsuna and praying for her safe return.
That return was the first time she actually became angry at Setsuna.
Setsuna nearly single-handedly dealt with the dragon, but she also came back with her feathers damaged again. Setsuna expected Konoka to be happy about her successfully helping to deal with so dangerous a menace as a dragon, but instead, she had promptly blown up at the shocked girl.
Why did Setsuna take such risks? Did she think so little of herself? What would she have done if that dragon had seriously hurt or even killed her? Did she not understand that her 'Kono-chan' wanted to be with her always?
For the first time ever, after Konoka threw her arms around Setsuna and began sobbing into the winged girl's shoulder, 'Se-chan' had returned the embrace, stroking her hair and promising to be more considerate in the future.
Konoka finished wringing the water out of her hair, then climbed out of the waterfall pool and onto the surrounding rocks. She quickly picked up a towel and dried her hair, then wrapped the towel around her chest. Just as she turned to wave at Setsuna, someone seized her from behind, covering her mouth and preventing anything but a short squeak from escaping as they pulled her further down and behind the rocks.
(-)
She was Kyoto Shinmei-Ryu. Trained to fight. Either working Free-lance as a mercenary, or as Guardian for an Onmyou-user, her life was dedicated to battle.
Generally speaking, Shinmei-Ryu worked for what might be considered the 'Forces of Light,' but that wasn't actually a hard rule...
During her training, she was constantly being compared to another student one-year ahead of her.
Master Aoyama never made such mistakes, but other instructors and students would say things like;
"Her technique is excellent, but that other student is better."
Or;
"She can complete her exercises in superb form, faster than anyone else, but that other student has better form, and is faster still."
And;
"She works hard, but that other student works harder still."
"But."
She hated that word.
Sure she was an orphan, just like that 'other student.'
"BUT!"
Never was she praised in the manner that 'other student' was.
Never were her efforts good enough to be called; 'The best!'
She was always second best.
Master Aoyama was the only one who praised her sincerely for all the effort she put into her training.
Master Aoyama saw her pain, and tried to council her that unless she conquered the stigma she felt at being second best after 'that student,' she would never truly understand what it meant to be Shinmei-Ryu.
Master Aoyama eventually arranged her first job, even before she formally completed her training.
"You must go and challenge your personal demons, and the only way to do so will be in opposition to she who vexes you so."
Presenting as she did so weapons matching the style of fighting she knew her student preferred, the long blade 'Tairitsu,' and the short blade 'Ukeire,' Master Aoyama had sent her out with one last cryptic comment;
"Go now. Find your deserved victory in those blades. Along whichever path their fate lies, so lies yours."
With what amounted to tacit permission for open conflict with 'that student,' she went to meet her first employer.
Unfortunately, her assignment as a guard for Chigusa Amagasaki ended badly. She escaped, but Chigusa was imprisoned by the authorities of the Kansai Magic Association.
Restrictions on her actions, based on Chigusa's goals, had prevented any real chance to challenge 'that student.'
Master Aoyama met her when she tried to return to the Shinmei-Ryu.
No words passed between them. Master Aoyama's eyes said everything.
She had failed.
Even if Chigusa Amagasaki had been arrested by the very Magic Association the Shinmei-Ryu normally worked for, it mattered not. She had failed to protect the mage she had been assigned to. A most mortal sin for ANY Shinmei-Ryu.
Her fault, 'that student's' fault, it mattered not. She had lost herself in battle against 'that student's' associates and FAILED in her primary duty...
Master Aoyama refused to permit traveling the easiest path to expunge the dishonor she'd brought to the Shinmei-Ryu. Snorting derisively, Master Aoyama had wondered if she even had any shame. That left only one choice, she must strive for redemption. Even if it meant traveling along the path of darkness.
Too weak for the moment to single-handedly free Chigusa from the Kansai Magic Association, she turned to another of Chigusa's helpers during the Kyoto incident as a potential, temporary employer.
Fate Averruncus seemed from his actions to be a decisive, competent mage. Since he had spoken of being in conflict with those 'that student' was involved with, she saw an opportunity to train involving her still simmering resentment, and offered him her services.
Thus began a period of waiting, study, and practice. Chopping up those robots at Mahora Fest, something she did on her own apart from duties Fate assigned her, had been a most wonderfully cathartic release of pent up energy. Caution and prudence, learned as a result of her previous failure, along with the indirect interference of a person named Chao Lingshen, kept her from challenging 'that student,' but there would surely be other opportunities.
Despite his promises, her conditional loyalty to Fate Averruncus suffered a severe blow when he suddenly announced they would be going to the Magic World to stay for an indefinite period of time.
What of her desires? She served him out of the promise of battle with 'that student!' For the training needed to make herself strong enough to free Chigusa Amagasaki! Not so she could rot on some other world while her life's obsessions went unfulfilled!
'Fate,' as it were, was both cruel and kind. It compelled her to go with Fate Averruncus, but it also brought 'that student' to the Magic World as well. After Fate deliberately sabotaged the transfer system between the worlds, 'that student' was trapped there with her, with no possible chance for escape.
She would remain loyal to 'Master Fate,' for now, but only because it still partially served her purposes.
After a rough period of adjustment to the Magic world, the chance to openly pursue 'that student' finally came.
If she could not help Chigusa Amagasaki for now? Then she would pursue her older obsession with her whole heart.
She would make sure the other principles remained focused elsewhere. Then, when the time was right, she would settle things once and for all with her 'Setsuna Sempai.'
(-)
"se-mmphh...!"
Setsuna looked back towards Konoka at the sound of a barely audible gasp. Ripples traveled out from where Konoka had obviously left the water, but there was no other sign of the chocolate-haired girl's presence.
With the chill of fear making feathers on her wing-roots stand on end, Setsuna began wading rapidly towards the place where Konoka should be. "KONOKA OJOU-SAMA!"
"se-ermph!"
Setsuna looked to where her sword Yunagi lay on the rocks near two piles of folded clothes. ("There shouldn't be any trouble out here! This place is nearly impossible to find...") A sudden breeze, rustling the feathers of her wings, provided the answer by reminding her of the one thing, directly related to her ancestry, she should never have forgotten about the Magic World. ("...unless they can fly!")
Rushing forward, Setsuna leapt from the water, seized and unsheathed Yunagi, and came down on the other side of the rocks ready for a fight all in one smooth motion.
'chmp!'
"OUCH!"
"SE-CHAN! RUN!"
Crow Tribesmen!
A Crow Tribesmen holding Konoka stopped shaking his hand and quickly grabbed her around the throat. "Drop your blade Hanyou! I don't want to hurt your friend, but I'll wring her pretty little neck if you don't cooperate!"
Setsuna was tensing up to attack anyway when the four Crow Tribesmen surrounding Konoka were joined in a rush of feathered wings by nearly two-dozen more. All were heavily armed, mostly with the huge blades Crow Tribesmen seemed to prefer, some with huge, knobbed war clubs. If Konoka were free, she would still fight, but any one of the Crow Tribesmen were capable of doing fatal harm to her friend before it would be possible to stop them all.
Well then, she knew why they were here. Her wings. Her WHITEwings. A color taken as a bad omen by Crow Tribesmen. Long ago, when she was still a child, a Crow Tribesmen had cornered her outside of the Kansai Magic Association and told her what would happen if she ever came to the land of her father. She had forgotten that warning in the joy of the moment, and now there was a price to be paid. However, if Konoka survived, so would she. Therefore the decision to surrender and not risk injury to her friend was easy. "Do you swear by what little honor you have that Lady Konoe will not be harmed?"
Still wary, lest Setsuna try some surprise gambit, the Crow Tribesmen holding Konoka nodded. "Of course! Our conflict is with you, Hanyou whelp, not with the Konoe family! Fail to cooperate though, and we won't hesitate to harm her!"
Setsuna looked at Konoka's fear-filled eyes and regretfully remembered her promise to be more considerate of Konoka's feelings. ("Konoka's not going to be happy when she realizes what's about to happen...) Sheathing Yunagi, she tossed it gently to a nearby Crow Tribesman, "Do your worst!"
Konoka's captor gave a flick of his beak, and four other Crow Tribesmen rushed forward to pin Setsuna face-down across a large boulder. Handing Konoka to another tribesmen, he then came forward and roughly lifted Setsuna's chin so he could look into her still defiant eyes. "You should have stayed in your mother's world, you 'white-winged' affront to the Crow Tribe! By coming here, you just made yourself fair-game for what a Hanyou whelp like you deserves!"
Setsuna glared up at someone who in all likelihood was a relative of her father, then suddenly opened her mouth and bit down hard enough on his thumb to draw blood.
Yelling in pain for the second time, the Crow Tribesmen back-handed Setsuna to make her release him, then jerked his wounded digit at her wings, "DO IT!"
Konoka saw how the Crow Tribesmen had Setsuna pinned and expected something awful, but when one tribesmen braced his foot on the rock and grabbed hold of one of her Guardian Angel's wings, and another approached with an extremly sharp looking knife, she suddenly realized what they planned to do was far worse than she could have possibly imagined. "SE-CHAN! NO!"
Setsuna looked over her shoulder as Konoka began to fight against the Crow Tribesmen holding her. "Ojou-sama! Stop! I'll be fine, as long as you're not hurt!"
Konoka stopped struggling. "But Se-chan... your beautiful wings..."
Setsuna held Konoka with her most determined look. "Are a sacrifice I'm willing to make, as long as you're safe! They're not here to 'intentionally' kill me! That would transfer the onus of my being a 'Bad Omen' to them! Now be still!"
Konoka stared at Setsuna, tears rapidly starting to stream down her face. "Se-chan..."
Setsuna watched as Konoka nodded and turned away, then looked back up at the two Crow Tribesmen preparing to remove her wings. "Hurry up! I haven't got all day to deal with the hatred all of you feel for me!"
Bracing his foot on the rock once again, the Crow Tribesmen holding Setsuna's wing reset his grip and got ready to pull.
"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE? 'SEMPAI?'"
Setsuna looked up as the sound of a familiar voice echoed around the grotto.
"JUST GIVING UP? WITHOUT ANY KIND OF A FIGHT AT ALL? WHY HAVE I BEEN SO OBSSESSED WITH CHALLENGING YOU, IF YOU'RE THIS 'WEAK,' 'SEMPAI...'"
Setsuna felt the grip on her limbs weaken as the Crow Tribesmen began looking around in confusion, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.
"I SUPPOSE I SHOULD HELP YOU OUT, 'SEMPAI,' WE ARE BOTH SHINMEI-RYU, AFTER ALL..."
As the Crow Tribesmen who's hand she'd bitten started shouting orders, Setsuna felt those holding her right side and wing suddenly let her go.
Konoka watched with growing excitement as Setsuna rolled over, using her wings to knock away the Crow Tribesmen holding her left arm. As that tribesmen stumbled and fell back, Setsuna began kicking the one still holding her leg in the face.
Setsuna freed her leg from the Crow Tribesmen holding it, and was crouching to launch herself towards Konoka when a huge, knobbed war club smashed the rock she was standing on. With granite splinters flying everywhere, she dodged a second attack, and a third, before she saw Konoka struggling to escape as her captor reached for a knife. "Ojou-sama!"
Coiling to leap towards Konoka once more, in spite of the risks, she suddenly saw a small cloaked figure wearing a mushroom like cap somersault down from the rocks above to land behind Konoka's captor.
"ZANMAKEN!"
There was the flash of twin blades as Setsuna dodged her own attacker once more, and the Crow Tribesmen holding Konoka dissolved in a burst of smoke. Another Crow Tribesmen brought a huge sword down on his fellow tribesmen's attacker, causing Konoka to yelp from the resultant sparks and jump forward a bit, but the chocolate-haired girl's liberator was already gone. Another shout, and that attacker also went up in smoke.
Konoka Konoe watched in amazement as the little twin-blade struck down the Crow Tribesmen holding Setsuna's Yunagi, then delivered that blade into Setsuna's hands.
Yunagi was instantly out of it's sheath, and with a shout, Setsuna's attacker went down in yet another burst of smoke.
Both Shinmei-Ryu began moving so fast it was almost impossible for Konoka to watch them. One would attack and look vulnerable for the briefest of moments, but the other would usually be there to protect an exposed back.
It almost looked like a dance.
One was violent, explosive in her actions, the other calm, precise. Their styles were completely different, but at the same time strangely complementary. Setsuna and this mysterious benefactor worked so well together it began to make Konoka feel jealous. She wanted to meld like this with Setsuna, work this closely with Setsuna, be this complementary to Setsuna, and not be just a burden.
As a third Crow Tribesmen attempting to attack her was struck down practically at her feet, Konoka realized her previous analogy also fit in another way. She was a Maypole around which her two defenders danced. They would only go out so far, never beyond some invisible line, and in that way she was never without an immediate defender, and they not so far apart as to make it impossible to protect each other's back.
"ZANHAKEN!"
With a chorus of shouts and an explosion, a boulder Konoka had failed to see one of the remaining Crow Tribesmen throw at her shattered overhead. Crying out in surprise at the mostly harmless rain of gravel, she covered herself with her arms, then looked up to see Setsuna and the twin-blade standing nearly back to back, each pointing a weapon a the few remaining Crow Tribesmen.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Konoka suddenly found herself blushing at the sight in full view before her.
Realizing he and his fellows no longer had any serious chance of achieving their purpose, the Crow Tribesmen who had verbally and physically harassed Setsuna the most signaled the remaining tribesmen to retreat, then pointed a taloned finger at Setsuna. "This isn't over yet, Hanyou! You had your chance to live, and now you've thrown it away! You don't have the protections you did in the Normal World, and there's still a big bounty on your head! I'd watch my back if I were you! One way or another, you're mine!"
Setsuna watched as the leader of her Crow tribesmen tormentors leapt into the air and flew away. Chest still heaving from the exertion of battle, she slowly became aware of the strain in her muscles, as well as the sting of sweat-salt entering the various minor wounds she'd acquired.
Tsukuyomi sheathed both her blades, then turned slightly and suddenly noticed the lean vision of winged beauty standing beside her. Flushed with her battle-fever, it was easy to succumb to another, equally intense feeling... "He's wrong about something Sempai... I intend to be the one who 'conquers' you..."
Setsuna felt a furious blush and a spine-tingling shiver as a gloved hand suddenly started tracing it's way up her bare back. She leapt away, Yunagi at the ready, only to find Tsukuyomi kneeling on one leg at Konoka's feet, holding the surprised girl's hand like some gallant who had just rescued a princess. "O-OJOU-SAMA!"
Tsukuyomi sent a look of multi-intent desire at Setsuna, then returned her attention to Konoka Konoe. "Lady Konoe, if you'll not leave this indecent person who fights unclothed now, would you join me once I best her in battle?"
Konoka looked over at Setsuna, who instantly shrieked and shrank down into a ball covered by wings when she suddenly realized how she'd fought the entire battle. Even her Se-chan's feathers seemed to be blushing as Yunagi snaked out between the concealment they provided to snag a towel from where it still lay folded on a rock near the waterfall pool. Such a reaction just made her Se-chan too cute to leave! "I'm sorry. I thank you for your gallant help, but I won't be parted from my Se-chan!"
Tsukuyomi sighed and patted Konoka's hand. Her mage was Chigusa Amagasaki, but taking Konoka Konoe for her own would be one more way of establishing her superiority over Setsuna. Doing so wasn't that important at the moment, so she stood up to watch with imperfectly concealed disappointment as Setsuna emerged from her feathered dressing-room in a slightly bloodied towel, and not her 'suit.' "Too bad. Perhaps you'll change your mind, but I can see why you might not.'
Setsuna still felt as if her head would explode, but she'd recovered enough dignity and modesty to point her blade at Tsukuyomi. "I hope you weren't responsible for those Crow Tribesmen, that would be low, even for you! If not, then why 'are' you here?"
Tsukuyomi winced as she realized she'd acquired a few wounds of her own. "Perhaps it would be best if we made use of Lady Konoe's services first? I don't want you claiming later that I defeated you just because of previous injuries."
Setsuna observed the blood beginning to stain a tear in Tsukuyomi's clothes over the small girl's ribs, and calmly lowered her blade.
(-)
While Setsuna went a short distance away to get dressed, Konoka, once more clad in the Onmyoji robes of her Artifact, sat in the growing nighttime darkness, tending to her blonde, bespectacled savior Tsukuyomi in the light of a magical fire. While working on the wound over the small girl's ribs, she could see her watching Setsuna with an odd, confused kind of longing. "Tsukuyomi. Do you hate Setsuna?"
Tsukuyomi started, then winced as Konoka began using a water-soaked cloth to clean the wound over her ribs. "NO!" Konoka smiled and continued cleaning the wound. "It's just that it was always; 'You're good, Tsukuyomi, but she is better!' I grew so tired of hearing that I wanted to scream!" Turning to face Konoka, she began venting. "I'm every bit as good as her! Why was it she received so much praise? All I ever really received was a figurative 'pat on the head!'"
Konoka smiled again, unconsciously invoking a different kind of healing and causing Tsukuyomi to turn away, ashamed by her outburst. "Anger management perhaps?"
Tsukuyomi flinched at the truthful sting of Konoka's words. "Anyway, until I fight Setsuna in a proper duel. I'll never know if everyone said she's better because of 'skill,' or 'anger management,' as you say."
Konoka worked carefully and precisely to make sure Tsukuyomi's last wound closed without a scar, then stepped back to put away her artifact while the petite twin-blade re-dressed. "Is there no way I could convince you not to fight?"
Tsukuyomi looked into Konoka Konoe's kind, doe-like eyes, so free from malice, or guile, and had to turn away again. Hating herself for what she was about to do, but knowing no other way to achieve her desired duel with Setsuna, she took a deep breath and faced Konoka again. "Please stop trying to change my mind, Lady Konoe..." Her expression became hard, and that made her gentle healer take a step back. "...Besides! After I deliver the message that was part of the reason I came here... even someone as kind as you may start to hate me..."
Konoka watched as Tsukuyomi pulled out a set of damaged hair ornaments, and a blood-stained Pactio card. She stared at the card, with it's missing name and numbers, until she realized what the little Shinmei-Ryu twin-blade actually held.
"IIYAAAAAAAHHH! ASUUUNNAAA!"
Setsuna had just finished tightening her school uniform's tie when she heard Konoka's scream. "Ojou-sama!" She ran out of cover to see Konoka sitting on her knees, shaking her head and shrieking incoherently at the top of her lungs. Tsukuyomi was just standing there. "What did you do!"
Tsukuyomi turned and held out Asuna Kagurazaka's bell-ribbons and Pactio card. "It was a most unfortunate thing. For some reason she followed us when we teleported. There wasn't really any choice, since she attacked first."
Setsuna could only stare at the items Tsukuyomi held, too shocked to even be angry over being informed of a friend's apparent death.
Tsukuyomi stepped up and placed the three items in Setsuna's hand. "Asuna went berserk as soon as she arrived. She beat me and both of Master Fate's mages. She even came close to beating him. If not for a betrayal by her own blood, she would have..."
Setsuna stared at Asuna's smiling face, looking up at her from the nameless Pactio card. Her first friend after Konoka was gone forever. Would never train with her again, laugh with her again, or fight beside her again. That death was something Shinmei-Ryu knew to expect in their line of work didn't make the loss any easier to accept. "As long as she went down fighting, and didn't die a dog's death..."
Tsukuyomi turned away, surprised and overwhelmed by the intensity of the emotion she saw on Setsuna's face. "I think perhaps I should be going..."
Setsuna reached out to stop Tsukuyomi. "No. It's too dangerous to go back to Nyandom in the dark." When Tsukuyomi looked at her questioningly, she just gave the girl's shoulder a small squeeze. "I declare truce. After tomorrow, if we meet, we fight. Now, be at ease."
Tsukuyomi nodded as Setsuna left her and went to comfort Konoka. Wishing momentarily that she had someone who cared so intensely about her, she slowly brought her emotions back under control, and started looking for a place to sleep. While trying to make a minimalistic bed out of Setsuna and Konoka's towels, she knocked over a small pack. Bending down to replace the items that spilled out, she noticed a letter addressed to 'SS' that contained a magical postmark from Granicus City.
Later on, with the stars bright overhead, and the magical fire providing warmth against the night chill, Tsukuyomi woke when she sensed Setsuna slipping out of Konoka's arms. She rose and silently followed the now wings-hidden Setsuna until her Sempai was a discrete distance away from Konoka. Surprisingly, Setsuna began heaving with silent sobs, pouring out her grief and emotional pain through tears and muffled cries until both slowly came to a stop, like the last water running out of a cup. After wiping at her eyes several times, Setsuna returned to Konoka and slipped back into that girl's embrace once more.
Setsuna knew Tsukuyomi had been watching her as the twin blade silently returned to her pallet of towels. She didn't care. Truce was truce. If Tsukuyomi violated it, Grand Master Aoyama would know about it somehow, as she always managed to know such things, and the petite twin-blade would have the devil to pay. Asuna's loss simply had to be dealt with now, in a time when it was possible to easily do so. That way, when the time to fight again came, probably after she and Konoka met Negi and the other Ala Alba survivors in Ostia, she would be ready.
Other 'Ala Alba' survivors...
Pulling Konoka Konoe's tear-stained face closer in to her chest, Setsuna thought about two things as she reached for fleeting sleep. That those idiot gym-club tag-alongs would be made to understand the price of their folly if it was the last thing she did, and that she was going to have to write another letter.
tsuzuku
(-)
Author's Notes:
Shinmei-Ryu: "Gods Cry School." Sword fighting style/school based in Love Hina/Maho Sensei Negima Kyoto.
Master Aoyama: Motoko Aoyama, late of Hinata Sou.
Grand Master Aoyama: Tsuruko Aoyama. (Retired.) Known by some as 'Tsuruko the Devil.' We won't talk about who she might be married to. CHOUGH.(Personal Favotite: Eishun Konoe.)CHOUGH.
'Zanmaken.' "Evil Cutting Sword." Ougi Secret Technique. Used to disperse certain types of spirits/creatures.
'Zanhaken.' "Stone Breaking Sword." (I hope!) Hiken Hidden Sword Technique. Used to smash rocks/boulders.
Tsukuyomi's blades.
'Tairitsu (Long blade.) 'Conflict.'
'Ukeire,' (Short Blade.) 'Acceptance.'
Both weapon's names have deeper meanings, possibly straight-forward and easy to guess, which will be revealed later.
Tsukuyomi didn't register to fight in the 'Mars versus Mahora Mage Order' game, she simply fought. If the Tanaka's took a defense point, she simply went elsewhere to continue fighting until even she was satisfied.
Tsukuyomi will ALWAYS be able to find her 'Setsuna Sempai.'
Crow Tribesmen. I take them to be, in this case, the beaked-winged guys Setsuna and crew fought at the Kansai Magic Association way back in v06.
'Death' for the Crow Tribesmen may not necessarily be literaly that, buy simply dispersal of their bodies until such time as they can reform themselves.
Crow Tribesmen must be really good at serching for things...
Chapter 20: Princess vs. the Ninja.