Author's Note: Setsuna has unlocked a new power...what will happen next? Daniel is the only character that is mine. The rest belong to Ken Akamatsu.

On Patrol!

Setsuna awoke from her nap feeling not quite at a hundred percent, but it would give her enough energy for the evening. As she put on her shoes she heard soft snoring in the bunk above hers. Daniel must be back, she thought. She picked up the sword and left her room, careful not to wake her roommate.

Instantly she felt more at ease when she exited the building and walked into the warm twilight sky was a dark orange and everything seemed to have a little bit of orange in them. She smiled to herself, I can't relax just now, can I? I have a job to do. Her normal patrol route lead around the perimeter of the campus until someone came to relieve her of her duty.

The twilight slowly transitioned into night. Even though Setsuna was ready for anything, things were pretty slow. The demon barrier that protected the school usually kept the demons out, but sometimes one or two slip past it and it was her job to eliminate them.

She allowed herself to think about her training. She wondered what kind of things Eva will teach her. I think it's pretty obvious how to fight with claws, she thought, What else could she teach me that wouldn't come naturally by instinct?

She pasted by the woods that began near the border. She stared into the dark trees, something was unnerving her. Maybe I should check this out. Setsuna walked closer to the woods. A faint, low growl could be heard. She backed up and drew her sword, but with her sword halfway out a winged demon appeared from the trees and almost collided with her face.

Setsuna evaded it in time and the beast flew past her. Quickly, she slashed at it, just in time before it got any farther. Its body crashed to the ground. Her head jerked back to the woods, wondering if there were anymore strays, "Show yourselves!" She was answered by more low growls. Several more winged demons shot out of the woods. Setsuna counted eight. Eight? she mentally exclaimed. It's not that she couldn't handle them, the number is what shocked her.

Three of them charged her at once. She ducked and swung at two who were beginning to turn around and charge her again. The third came back around and attempted to attack her once more. She was ready for him. She sidestepped out of the beast's path and held out her sword with both hands. The winged demon didn't see the change in time. It slammed into her blade, skewered. With a flick of the wrist, she discarded the carcass. All done within seconds.

One had snuck up behind her. Well, tried. The beast sunk his yellow claws into her back, but a cloud of white smoke filled the air. When the smoke cleared, there was a paper doll on the ground. "Looking for me?" Setsuna said menacingly. Her sword fit under the demon's chin and in one swift motion she decapitated him.

The remaining demons circled around her. She cut them down, one by one. Once finished, she looked around. No more signs of life anywhere... She thought, breathing a sigh of relief.

"My my. You've made quite a mess here." The voice came from Mana. "I came to tell you that it's my shift, but I guess I'm gonna have to clean up your mess, too." Mana hoisted a carcass over her back, "I'll put this on your tab."

"Um, thank you, but this is important. Usually there isn't any action and now suddenly I get attacked by a horde of demons. What's going on?"

Mana paused for a moment, "Maybe there is a weak spot in the barrier. I'll look and see if I can find anything suspicious. The headmaster will want to know what happened. We'll go to his office tomorrow."

Setsuna nodded. Her training, lack of sleep, and fighting the demons made her exhausted. She somehow got back to her dorm room and passed out on the floor.

Setsuna knocked on the headmaster's door. She and Mana had agreed to come before school.

"Come in!" she heard the dean call. Setsuna opened the door and held it open for Mana. "Setsuna-kun! Mana-kun! How are you?"

Setsuna couldn't help but smile at his friendliness, "I'm fine, sir."

"Sir, Setsuna encountered something on her patrol last night."

Setsuna told him about her fight with the winged demons, "Mana told me that she would try to find if there is a weak spot in the barrier." She turned to her friend, "Did you?"

Mana shook her head, "No, I haven't. I will keep looking. This whole thing is odd, though. Nine stray demons at once. More than we're used to."

The headmaster stroked his beard thoughtfully, "All right, I'll alert the magical faculty. If you see anything else, tell me."

He dismissed Setsuna and Mana with a final nod. Setsuna glanced at the clock on the wall. She had seven minutes to get to class. Aw shoot! I'm gonna be late! Mana noticed the time, too. They would have to run for it.

Class 3-A stood as Negi entered the room, "Good morning, Sensei!" they all said in unison.

Negi smiled his cute little boy smile, "Morning everyone!" He glanced at two empty seats. "Are Setsuna-san and Mana-san sick?" He raised his voice, "Has anyone seen Setsuna-san or Mana-san today?"

Konoka raised her hand, "I didn't see her this morning."

"She wasn't in our dorm room," Daniel spoke up.

Negi heard the door knob turn. The door opened to reveal an exhausted Setsuna and a winded Mana. Setsuna bowed slightly, "Sorry that we're late, Negi-sensei." They quickly took their seats. Setsuna tried to ignore the eyes watching her as she hurried to her seat.

"Now that everyone is here I can start today's lesson," Negi said opening his book. He told the class to open their text books to page fifteen. Setsuna was halfway there when she felt something jab her back. She turned to see what it was when it fell into her chair. It was a mini paper airplane. In the corner of her eye she saw Asuna mouth, It's from Konoka!

Setsuna tried to prevent the heat from spreading to her face. A note from Kono-chan? She unfolded the note, hiding it in her book so it looked like she was reading along. Where were you this morning?

Setsuna smiled and wrote, Your grandfather's office. Something happened last night on my patrol. She explained her battle. Don't worry, only the demons were hurt :). She folded it up and tied it in a knot. She waited until she knew no one was looking before she threw it back to Asuna.

Setsuna knew that Konoka received the note because her unnatural hearing picked up the sound of shuffling paper. A minute passed when she felt it hit her back again. She reopened the note, Oh, okay! I'm glad you're not hurt! Remember, Set-chan, we're hanging out later today :3!

I know :). What would you want to do? Setsuna wrote back. Setsuna and Konoka passed notes to each other for several more minutes. She hadn't had this much fun in class ever. Then a paper airplane landed onto her desk. She opened it and read, Passing love notes? What's the scoop? A chibi drawing of Kazumi was on the bottom of the note. She looked up and saw Kazumi wink at her. Setsuna blushed and crumpled the note and shoved it into her bag.

The day seemed to go by quickly. Setsuna had something to look forward to at the end of the day so she was inwardly giddy with excitement. Before she knew it school was over and she was returning to Eva's resort.

"Ready for your next lesson?" Setsuna nodded, "Good. Before we can do anything you need to transform."

Setsuna transformed within seconds. She felt new energy and ripple throughout her entire body.

"I'm pretty sure that you think that using your claws and talons in battle would be pretty simple, right? Well, if you do something wrong you can tear out a claw." Eva grinned when she saw Setsuna wince at the thought, "I want you to come at me. I'll give you tips and hints as we fight."

Eva made a thin extra barrier around her. Setsuna knew that Eva was strong and highly skilled, but she wasn't going to take risks with her. Extra precaution would be expected.

Setsuna launched herself at her, claws out. Eva blocked her with her arm and shoved her back, "You have to think about where you're aiming! Don't just fly at the enemy!"

Setsuna felt ashamed. That was a basic thing she learned when she was learning the way of the sword. I guess the things I learned will help me learn how to fight in this form.

Setsuna swiped at Eva to only, once again, be blocked by her arm, "More power! Channel more chi into your arm! It will make your attack hit home."

Setsuna channeled more chi into her arms and landed blows onto Eva. Eva still successfully blocked them, but winced every now and then, "Good! You're doing better!" Eva kicked Setsuna in the stomach. Setsuna groaned and jumped back, "But you have to use your legs! Your wings! What do you think they are there for? Decoration? Use them!"

Eva charged at Setsuna. Right before impact she used her wing to block the attack. Eva was thrown off balance for a moment, giving Setsuna the opportunity to channel chi into her leg and deliver a powerful kick to Eva's gut. Eva was knocked down, but got back up in an instant. Her eyes were ablaze.

Eva charged at her again, Setsuna had her hands ready to block her attack. But Eva merely slapped her hands out of the way. Once exposed, Eva landed countless blows onto Setsuna's gut. Setsuna could hardly see a single punch. "To help build your defenses you can ether make a chi barrier, like mine, but it kills your chi. Or, your can channel chi to the area in need of protection. You can also use this to create barriers around vital organs."

Setsuna soon found out that these were very useful way to protect her body. An hour later both had used up a great amount of chi. Setsuna lay on the ground heavily panting and Eva was barely standing.

"That's enough for today," Eva said after a while, "Come back tomorrow. Same time like always."

Setsuna transformed back to her human self. She half walked, half jogged out of Eva's home. I'm coming, Kono-chan! Setsuna began to pick up the pace. She ran through the woods, a wide smile spred across her face. The closer she came, the more her excitement grew. I wonder what we're gonna do. Does she have anything planned?

Setsuna ran up the stairs to and turned the bend to the hallway here Konoka's dorm room. And froze. Setsuna's eyes were on Konoka's doorway and what was in it. In the doorway were Konoka and Daniel. They were engaged in a kiss. Daniel was holding her. Konoka's hands were at her sides, but she showed no resistance.

Setsuna let out a choked wail. This was enough to get Konoka's attention. Immediately she pushed Daniel back, "Se-Set-chan! I swear you got this wrong!"

But Setsuna didn't want to hear it. She wanted to disappear. So she did. Setsuna fled the scene, ignoring Konoka calling after her. She didn't care. All she wanted to do was get out of there.

Setsuna didn't know how she got to the lake by the barrier. Breathing hard she looked around, seeing if anyone followed her. No one did. Tears welled up in her eyes. What Asuna had told her a while back rang in her head. Do something before it's too late.

Well, it's too late... Setsuna thought sadly. She knelt by the water and cried harder than she ever had at any single moment in her life.

END

Another chapter down. That was quick. Geez, I wrote this and I feel kinda sad. More soon.