WolfGear Presents: Negima? The mage and the Gunslinger
Pairings: Negi X ku-Fei Kaede X OC
Chapter 50: Reunion
I don't own Negima!
Ray McCoy was having a bad day, well maybe not a bad day, more like what his father would call an interesting day; then again he and his father had different meanings for stuff like that so it was a bad day. Why was it a bad day? What the fact of the matter is he picked up two teen girls (though they looked like grade schoolers to him) on his regular visit to home. They were cute enough he supposed, but they drove him crazy with their constant questioning well they were on the road, stuff like what's that, and that and, that's cute can we keep it? It was maddening, and the pranks, the pranks were vicious, and they pulled them in every town they went through that one poor soul would be forever traumatized by the color pink.
After a week of this, they finally reached the McCoy ranch only to find two more girls! One was an over protective samurai that tried to lop his head off when he walked through the door, and the other was actually ok by his standards, a little dizzy sometimes but overall not bad, but she was just a little too nosey at times. Asking questions about the old photographs that hung on the walls and the locked room on the far side of the hall his parent's old bedroom.
"So why can't we go in there?" Fuuka asked the old gunslinger. After Konoka had asked about the room, and was told not to ask about it, she was curious right away. She just had to get one peek inside that room, even if it turned out to be nothing interesting.
Ray gritted his teeth. "Because for the thousandths time it is my father and mothers' room, it's theirs and only they can open it! Now stop asking about it!" He yelled and stormed out of the house.
"Where are you going?" Fumika yelled after him.
"To do the chores, it seems the ranch hands thought they needed a vacation!" Ray angrily replied and slammed the front door shut.
"I think you should leave Mr. Ray alone for a while Fuuka, Fumika." Konoka gently told them. She could sense that something really bothered the old gunslinger and that they should let him deal with it on his own. That didn't mean they wouldn't help him if he needed it, but he was so closed off from them, and plus they had just met so it was to be expected. You can't trust your secrets to strangers you just met.
Outside Ray started on the chores, inspecting the horses, feeding the cattle, checking the water tanks, and checking up on the dragons. Now there were four Dragons on the ranch, mostly they took care of themselves by eating of the land and then coming to nest here on the ranch. The four were War, a red fire dragon, Pestilence, a black venom dragon, Triton, an aqua blue water dragon, and finally his father's personal dragon, Death, a pale white wind dragon the rarest of its kind.
Ray checked the dragon stables, but the only dragon there was Death, sitting dispirited in its pen, munching on an old giant buffalo bone the size of three regular buffalos. The pale beast turned its attention from its entertainment to see if its master had returned, but only saw Ray and turned away.
"Still depressed old girl?" Ray asked the hulking beast. Its only reply was the crunching sound of the bone it had in its mouth. "Yeah me too, I guess you heard our new guest with those sharp ears of yours." He asked it, and received a small nod.
Ray smiled. "Lively bunch, a little too curious if you ask me, want to know about pa's room." Death turned its head up a little at this always interested to hear about her master, even just a little. "Yeah I know, you miss him too." He said patting the dragon's head. "I'll see ya later; maybe the others will be in sometime in the week. It's been awhile since any of you been checked out properly." At this Death turned her nose up in disgust, she knew a checked out met the vet, and that mean some stupid human ogling over her because she was a rare pale white instead of green like the rest of her kin.
"Yeah, yeah I know, I know, you don't like doctors, but just behave this time, you want to be in top shape for when pa comes back don't you?" Ray said smugly. Once he mentioned his father the old girl would perk up and listen to whatever he said, which was a good thing, Death was getting close to death's door, and he wanted her to see pa's one more time, if possible.
Later that night, when everyone had gone to bed, Ray stood outside his parent's door once again trying to work up the courage to go inside. After the house was burned down by his mother's murders, his father rebuilt it, and when Evangeline came to live with them again, she slept in this room. He guessed that's why he was afraid to enter, he was afraid that there wouldn't be anything left of his mother, he always played with the hope that his father saved a picture of her and stored it in here, but he never looked, and never asked, even after his father's disappearance.
"This is stupid," Ray told himself. He's faced the worse both worlds had to offer, lived through the worse war in magic history and he was afraid of a damned door! Seriously grow some back bone, he scolded himself, and grabbed hold of the door knob, and… then let go.
"Not yet…" He said and returned to his room.
The next day Ray read the morning paper usual while enjoying a cup of early morning coffee. He had to emitted that brown girl, Konoka, he believed her name was could really make a good cup of Joe, and the rolls she made this morning were delicious too.
Looking up he saw the two pinkettes and the samurai chick doing the chores as he requested, if they were going to stay here they would have to earn their keep, plus he was an old man, better to let the youngsters do the work, it's not like they had anything better to do.
"Looks like you're having fun," A sweet voice said, it was Xia Redshanks, a member of the red Dragovian tribe, she may look like a twenty year old woman, but in reality she was much older than he was, her beautiful red hair and tan skin was the same as it was thirty year ago.
Causally Xia stepped on to the porch and took the open seat next on the porch swing next to Ray, for years she has visited the old gunslinger whenever he had returned home, one might say she had feeling for him, and he the same.
"This is the first time I ever seen you have company over and four young girls no less, you must be lonelier then I thought, maybe I should bring some friends next time?" Xia giggled. The expression on Ray's face was priceless! She knew the gunslinger had a hard time with people. "I'm sorry, but really what's their story? They're not your daughters are they?" She asked with a little edge in her voice.
"What?" Ray exclaimed how did she come to that conclusion? None of them even look like him! "In my father's name no! Their Jack's friends or something like that," He said dismissively.
"Jack… you mean John's son?" Xia questioned. She only saw the kid once when he was a baby, so it was a safe bet that he was all grown up now.
Ray nodded. "Aye that's the one. They came here looking for clues to John's and Nagi's whereabouts."
"They? How many people came with him?" Xia asked.
"From what the girls told me, it's Jack, Nagi's son Negi, their girlfriends, Thomas's son, Rubi's daughter, and a robot girl named Chachamaru, plus the four girls here, so eleven of them if I counted right." Ray said counting off with his fingers. He's embarrassed to emit it but he never went to school, but he didn't want to look like a dumbass in front of Xia.
"That's quite a party." Xia said amazed that the sons of the two heroes are actually friends, what are the chances of that! Really that's something you only see in a comic book or something.
Ray turned the page of his newspaper. "Yeah… What the fuck!" He yelled furiously, making everyone stop what they were doing. In the article, it read that one of the five legendary items made by his father would be the grand prize for this year's Dragon battle race.
What in the hell is Timaius thinking? What part of lock those dammed things away and throw away the key didn't he understand? Ray growled, he liked the old dragon, but this, this was crossing the line!
"Xia…" he said quietly, trying to keep his anger under control, he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but there was no way she wouldn't have known about this.
Xia sighed; this wasn't the way she wanted him to find out. "I know, I know, I was going to tell you today after we finished our banter. You know try to get you into a good mood. I knew you wouldn't know what was going on because you never bother to update yourself on current affairs when you travel, but just know that Timaius isn't doing this by choice."
"He's the leader of the Dragovians! Don't tell me he can't do whatever he wants!" Ray spat. Xia laid a calming hand on his shoulder.
"Even he has his limits Ray. A Dragovian by the name of Dgir has been undermining Timaius power for years now, and has finally gained enough support from the younger dragons to try and over throw Timaius, and if that happens I fear my kind will be back to living in caves again in ten years." Xia's voice was filled with sorrow as she imagined her people being hunted for trophies again, and all because of a power hungry fool! "Please Ray you're the only one who can do something about this!" Tears filled her eyes. "Please I don't want my kin to be hunted again, please do something…"
Silently the gunslinger pulled the Dragovian girl into a one armed hug, the most affectionate thing he could ever do for someone, and gently stroked her hair whispering. "Sorry love, but if I get involved there could be another war, and this time it would be between the Dragovians." He could sense Xia's hopes shattering, and continued. "But that doesn't mean I can turn a blind eye to this either, those item do belong to my father, which means as his son it's my duty to protect it." He smiled reassuringly.
Regaining her composer Xia wiped away her tears and returned the simile. "Thank Ray. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"Oh I can think of something," He said coyly, making the Dragovian giggle. She knew exactly what he had in mind.
"But really," Xia said getting back on track. "What are you going to do?
Ray smirked. "Option one is I go in and steal the items back before the race."
"Ever since the shield was stolen security has been beefed up, plus you techniques are too unique they'll know it was you." Xia interjected.
"Ok… Option two kill Dgir and make it look like accident."
"This close to the start of the race? No one will believe it was accident."
Ray sighed; his father always seemed to make things so simple. "Ok how about I just enter the race and win the prize?"
Xia rolled it over it in her head, it sounded like it could work, but there was still a flaw. "Hmmm… That could work, but you could be accused of helping Timaius by Dgir, besides you're too old to be dragon racing. No offence, but it's not like fighting were you can simply kill you opponent, there are rules, and we bother know how you deal with rules."
"Fine, what's your idea?" Ray huffed, everyone always shoot down his ideas.
"How about we place someone else in the race?" Xia suggested.
"Who? We some be strong, smart, courageous and stupid enough to actually do it!" Were the hell were they going to find someone like that?
"Old man Ray can I borrow one of your dragons?" A voice asked.
"Yeah whatever Rakan…" Ray waved dismissively, ignoring the muscle head and the three short figures behind him.
"Thanks man!" Rakan boasted and took off towards the stable. Suddenly like a bag of bricks Ray realized who he was talking to.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" He yelled, making the muscle head and his three companions stop and sweat. "And who are those kids with you? I swear if you came here to dumb them on me and leave I swear I'll rip out your guts and eat them to you through a straw!"
"No, no, no Ray I just came to teach Negi here how to ride dragons for the race, I swear!" Rakan said nervously, in the back of his mind, the ditching the kids had always been an option, he's been considering, but now it looks like he's in it for the long haul, and most likely he won't be getting that money anymore either, seeing how the amount he swindled out of Negi and his friends was to help pay of the debt he owned to the gunslinger.
"Oh and this kid with the red hair is Negi Springfield, Nagi's son, and this little angel is Sayo Malone, Rubi's Foster daughter, and this dog kid is Kataro Inugami McCoy, Thomas's son." Rakan pointed to each one. Rakan secretly hoped that the presence of his Niece and Nephew would be enough to quail the gunslinger's anger, turns out he was wrong.
"Do I look like a babysitter?" Ray asked, quirking an eyebrow. He then turned his attention to Negi. "And you, why do you want to learn how to ride dragons? The only people who do that are either brave or stupider then shit." Normally most people would tremble in fear, by merely being in Ray's presence, others would shit themselves when he spoke to them, and what did Negi do? Neither.
The young mage stood his ground and stared into the Gunslinger's dark eyes with no fear. It was a battle of wills; something that only true men did, each one was trying to make the other back down first.
"I want to prevent the suffering of the innocent if I am able to, and those items in the wrong hands will cause a lot of suffering." Negi said determined to get his way, he knew the only way to beat Ray was to show him that he was serious about this, and to not give an inch or show any weakness, for this is what Jack had told him, many times in their travels.
He smirked, and then he laughed, the truth that shown through this youngster's eyes was the same as his father's. Ray knew the kid would run in that race even if he didn't know how to fly. It was that kind of brave stupidity that was required to ride a dragon.
"Really now, and how do I know you just don't want the items for yourself lad?" The gunslinger asked with amusement. The youth could ready be interesting these days, he thought.
Negi stood firm. "I fight with my own power, and my power alone. That and the strength of my friends are more powerful than any force." For the second time today, Ray laughed, but it was a joyful one.
"Aye good answer lad!" He exclaimed. Leaping from his spot on the porch, Ray landed beside the mage and placed his hand firmly on Negi's shoulder. "I will teach you how to ride. And don't worry unlike that idiotic muscle head over there, I won't charge you."
"Hey, I got to live too!" Rakan interjected.
"Shut up!" Ray said sternly.
"Yes sir!" Rakan replied meekly hiding behind Sayo.
Ray coughed in his hand. "Now let's being… right after you round up the dragons."
Negi paused. "Wait what?"
"You death?" Ray asked the mage. "I said round up the dragons. They're scattered around here somewhere and someone as to bring them in, and it sure the hell ain't going to be me." He said returning to his seat and sipping on his coffee. When he noticed no one had moved, he drew his gun and fired at the ground around their feet!
"Come on we ain't got all day!"