Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Twelve: Nothin's Gonna Stand in Our Way

The newspapers screamed the news the next morning: Draw!

Despite the official announcement, the watching audience had differing opinions about the outcome, and fights and squabbles over whether Aiden had simply allowed Kalan to fight him to a draw or Kalan really had outfought Aiden the entire time raged across the city…in addition to the 120,000 watching audience members, over one million citizens and visitors in Orimus watched on the most expensive pay-per-view program to ever be levied against the common folk. Only one thing was agreed upon: it was the most magnificent, stupendous battle ever witnessed.

"But that doesn't do us much good," Kain sighed. "While I'm really satisfied—I didn't honestly expect to even get that far against Aiden—I didn't earn the money I needed to get to free you girls…."

They were gathered together on the roof of Dolnegus' estate—a large portion of the group, including the slaves, Mai and her roommates, the kekkaishi and Tear and her comrades, Chisame, Kenjirô, Nodoka, Ami, and the Fairy Tail group, Lina and Gourry, Hinagiku, Erika, and Rei, Kazumi, Kaoru, and Riku. Most of the others had stopped in to at least congratulate Kain for his efforts, but were now out and about on other errands or pursuits—obviously, too many to innumerate.

"N-no, it's all right, Kain-kun," Izumi assured him. "You were amazing…we can't ask for anything more…."

"Well, we certainly wouldn't be anywhere without you," Miki admitted. "While we'd certainly like to be freed more quickly, I'm sure you have some other, back-up plans, right?"

"That's right," Riza agreed. "Our super-genius teacher would never leave us as slaves, right?"

Yukari stared at her curiously. "When did you find out about Kain-sensei's identity, anyway?"

"Oh, I figured it out a long time ago," Riza assured her with a thumbs-up. "It was kinda obvious, you know?"

"Yeah, right," Mai muttered. "Well, at least she can go with the flow…."

"So, what ideas do you have?" Momo pressed.

"Well, if it comes down to it, we can always cancel the contracts and make a run for it," Kain said. "As strange as it is to say, Dolnegus has actually been rather good to us, so I hate to go that route unless it's absolutely necessary. We still have several weeks before the Festival finishes and our time to use the Gate is optimal, so we can figure something else out. I'm sure I can raise the rest of the money through some sort of clever enterprise, or get Aiden or Saber to help me access my father's funds…."

"Ah, don't think too hard, Kain. You've done enough of that recently…you'll sprain something."

Everyone glanced over in surprise as Aiden entered, flanked by a beautiful dark-haired woman who was probably near middle age. He was wrapped in bandages, which Kain wasn't—he'd had the ministrations of Kagome to help him—but he was grinning broadly and seemed in good spirits. "Aiden…" Kain murmured.

To his surprise, Aiden tossed him a heavy sack. "Here. The rest of the winnings. You earned it. Now go buy your girls' freedom…one million juls, right?"

"A-Aiden…?"

"Oi, what's this?" Chisame demanded in surprise. "I thought you were going to keep your winnings for yourself, no matter what…."

Aiden chuckled. "Well, honestly, I was being stubborn then, but I admit defeat now. Kain won that match…even if I wasn't there to specifically win, as you gathered, you outperformed me. I prepared everything to push you as far as I could, I spent a couple million just on consumable enchantments and the like…they're all gone now, and you fought your way through every one of them. I've acknowledged you as a 'real man', an 'adult' or whatever is important to you…you more than earned that, Kid. I have nothing left to teach you…you've 'graduated' as my student, that's for sure. Nicely done."

The woman behind him smiled. "Any one of those techniques you came up with would be enough to make any magic university professor go weak in the knees," Iria informed him. "To have pushed Aiden so far with them…that's a real talent. Even using one as a simple lure…anything any man could say a fighter needs, 'brains and tactics', 'sheer strength', 'guts'…you've demonstrated them all."

Aiden nodded and turned to go. "I've got nothing more to say right now, Kain. Now, you kids go get yourselves out of this mess…you've still got some work ahead of you."

He started to go, but then stopped suddenly and added almost as an afterthought, "Oh, that's right…since we did acknowledge you as a man and everything…I can say now that Aeli Kanna was most definitely your mother. As you saw, she was a feisty little thing…kinda makes your own reserved nature all the more remarkable. Anyway…take care of the rest of your duties here, Kain." And, with his wife trailing him, he walked out.

Kenjirô chuckled and stepped forward, slapping Kain on the shoulder as he watched Aiden leave. "Well, there you go, Kain. Mission accomplished. After all that, you got everything you wanted. Knowledge about your dad and your mom, the money to free the slaves…we're on the fast track now."

Kain smiled and shook his head. "Everything? No…we've just gotten started." Then he turned to Izumi, Miki, Riza, and Yukari. "Well, then…I guess the first thing we should do is get you girls taken care of…."

"Y-yes! Please take care of us!" Izumi said.

"Oh, yokata…" Miki breathed. "Finally, we're done with this…."

"All right!" Riza cheered.

"Right…Kain-sensei…Kenjirô-kun…thank you for everything," Yukari finished.

8-8-8

The transaction was made, and the ceremony for the freeing of the slaves was set up—in its seemingly ridiculous fashion, the buying, selling, freeing, and so forth of slaves was an international law with great pomp and circumstance attached to it. The sale was not the slaves to 'Kalan', but officially recognized as the act of Kalan Lockeheart and Kôjirô Tanabi purchasing the freedom of the slaves and officially paying off their debt. Kain paid Dolnegus' representative before a notary public, who turned out, to Kain's surprise, to be Mashiro Kazahana herself, and she turned the keys over to Kain and Kenjirô. Kain then unlocked the collars of Miki, then Izumi, while Kenjirô unlocked the collars of Riza and Yukari. With this, the four slaves were symbolically and quite legally and officially freed.

"Kalan-dono," Dolnegus' representative suddenly said to the man as Kain and his group prepared to leave. "Dolnegus sends his best wishes to you and yours for your future endeavors. We know we are unlikely to ever see you again, seeing that your participation in our group was merely due to unfortunate circumstances…but if you ever feel the need to fight or earn money again, do not hesitate to call on us…our league is always open to you."

Kain smiled and nodded. "I understand. Thank you…and thank Dolnegus on my behalf."

He let the others go on ahead of him and lingered behind slightly as they headed out of the estate. "Thanks for earlier, Tôkasa," he said to the man standing in the shadows by the gate. "I only managed to pull that off because you beat some sense into me. It doesn't mean I forgive you for mistreating my friends earlier…but I have to acknowledge what you've done recently with gratitude."

"Ah, stuff your thanks," Tôkasa said. "You're right when you say you won't forgive me…you don't have to, you shouldn't, and I don't want you to. I'm a villain and a piece of trash, and there's no point in messin' with the likes of me. I just didn't want to see the damn upstart that was makin' me look bad look even worse in front of Aiden Rylack. And now I don't ever want to see any of you little brats again." He came up from his slouch and passed back into the manor, waving at Kain as he left. "Later."

Kain smiled slightly and shook his head. "Heh…'I don't want to see you again' and 'later'? He's tough to figure out…but I guess he's proof there's rarely absolute good or evil in anybody." Then he finally started hurrying after his friends.

8-8-8

"We can finally say goodbye to these forms," Adult-Form Kenjirô noted as he and Adult-Form Kain relaxed in a small backroom of Urahara Shoten.

"It's kinda funny," Kain chuckled. "Now, after that tournament, it's definitely easier to be wanted fugitives than it is famous heroes. Now that they've served their purpose and attracted so much attention, we definitely need to put them away for a while."

They popped the pills and returned to their normal forms, then dressed from their oversized gladiator outfits into their more casual clothes (Kain, as was his want, with a snap of his fingers).

They wandered out and were greeted by Mai. "Hey…well done, both of you."

"Of course," Kenjirô said easily. He glanced around. "Where are the ladies of the hour?"

"Don't know…haven't seen them," Mai admitted. "They disappeared shortly after we got here." She focused on Kain. "I haven't had a chance to say anything, really, about your tournament battle…but I guess I really shouldn't bother. Congratulations, and all that. In any case, we've accomplished that...what's our plan now?"

"We still have a few more things to take care of," Kain informed her. "Later on tonight…as a prelude to the party the class is definitely going to throw…I'll talk about the next stage of our plans." He glanced around and noted the missing Kamo. "Well…if you'll excuse me, there are things to be done…."

8-8-8

"Now, there's one other important matter to discuss," Nanami informed the girls in front of her. With Kamo riding her shoulder, she had grabbed and now was instructing Izumi, Riza, Miki, Yukari, Riku and Kaoru. "I think some of you have heard about them already, but there's something very important to understand: while we're all together now (minus one we should be able to recover soon), we still have the bad guys, the Obsidian Star, standing in our way. We might have to beat them to save both this world and ours; at the very least, we'll have to get past them in order to go home. But you six are super novices in the way of magic, which brings big problems. At worst you'll be in the way, and at best you'll simply be in constant danger as we attempt to seize the Gateport below the city."

"T-that's true," Riku muttered. "I hate to admit it, but…if there are any fights similar to what we just saw in that tournament…then we could be killed just from being in the area…."

"So, you want us all to get contracts with Kain-sensei, so we'll have additional protection?" Miki asked blandly.

"Score one for the nosy girl," Kamo chuckled. "That's right…for many reasons, we should have the whole class contracted to Kain now. If we're really lucky, it may give you abilities and items and that will make you useful in the upcoming fights. If nothing else, it'll help keep you protected through the contract's power, and we can keep you in a safe place and summon you with the contract once we're ready to go through."

Muttering, the girls exchanged glances and agreed with this general assessment of the need for assistance. "So…how do we get these contracts?" Kaoru asked.

"Oh? You really don't know, Kaoru?" Miki asked her with interest.

"No…Artoria-san talked about them sometimes, but she never said how they were made…just that Kamo-kun was responsible for them…."

"Oh, it's nothing hard," Kamo informed her cheerfully. "You just have to share a kiss with Kain while I've got the circle ready."

"Wait, a kiss?" Riku breathed, horrified. "You mean…Kain-sensei…w-with more than twelve girls…!?"

"Yes, yes, a kiss," Kamo sighed. "It was funny the first few times, but even I'm getting tired of it, and I'm sure our readers are, too. Yes, because of various emergencies, some of which they've told you about, Kain has had to kiss and form contracts with a whole slew of girls, but that's all in the past. With the exception of some particularly aggressive ones, he hasn't been kissed by them apart from the contract."

"And 'kissed by them' as opposed to kissing them," Miki noted. "Yes, that sounds about right…."

"So, anyway!" Nanami insisted. "Your lives are on the line here. You guys decided to ignore all our warnings and everything we told you and followed us to this crazy world; now you have to live with the consequences of your actions. If you want to get home safely, you'll have to bite the bullet and kiss Kain-sensei. It's not that bad a deal…."

"Yes, that's true," Riza said levelly. "I don't see what the big deal is, right? One smooch on the cheek and it's over…."

"No, no, it has to be the lips," Kamo corrected her. "We're talking a real kiss, not a weird French greeting or familial display of affection."

"Oh? Well, even so, it's not that bad. To get one of those cool swords or awesome power-ups? I'd kiss ten guys to get my hands on that…."

"Then why don't you go do it right now?" Riku said scathingly.

"Sure, why not? Oh, Kain-sensei! Here I am, you predatory young male teacher! Come and kiss me!" And she ran off in pursuit of her target.

The group stared after her. Kamo chuckled and vanished. Riku sighed and shook her head. "I forgot. She really is a baka, isn't she?"

Miki turned to Izumi. "So, do you want to kiss Kain-sensei again, Izumi?"

"W-what!? N-no…!"

"Wait, again?" Riku demanded.

"W-wait! T-that's not it! I-I was…."

"I thought I saw you blush when Kamo-kun said that 'aggressive girls' had kissed him," Miki murmured. "Was it before or after you found out Kalan-san was actually Kain-sensei?"

"I-I-I really…I-I mean…!"

"Oh, after…how surprising…."

"Eh?" Kaoru started, snapping out of the daydream she had been having. "Wait…Izumi-chan, you kissed Kain-sensei…?"

"I-I-I, well, I-I-I mean…."

"Ho…" Nanami murmured to Kaoru. "Another powerful rival appears, huh? This is interesting…."

Sighing, Yukari, who had been silent the entire time, left the horseplay and wandered off on her own.

8-8-8

Izumi sighed. She had managed to find a little solitude, peace, and quiet away from everyone in order to sort her thoughts. She would have been quite happy to try to forget about her lost love and just go back to her cheerful, quite airheaded self, but this most recent bomb dropped by Nanami and Kamo and this most recent teasing at Miki's hands had unsettled her again. Even now, she began to wish that the man hadn't been an illusion….

"Izumi-san…so here you are."

Izumi started and glanced up. She was in a quiet, unfrequented park, previously alone, but now, with that white ermine riding his white shoulder, was her hero.

"K-Kalan-san…but you're…."

"What are you talking about? I'm right here. Sorry I haven't had a chance to talk to you since we freed you…are you doing all right?"

"Y-yes I am…b-but…you can't be here…i-is this a dream…?"

Kalan chuckled. "Dreams, or reality…who can say? Reality is subjective, after all. Well, the reality I'm concerned with…should be to keep you safe now. Would you make a contract with me, Izumi-san, so I can keep protecting you?"

Izumi stared at him dreamily. "K-Kalan-san…."

Kamo hopped down and formed his circle while Kalan leaned his face in towards Izumi's. Then Izumi suddenly reached up and popped a pill in Kain's mouth, and he swallowed reflexively. In a moment, the younger man was there in his ill-fitting clothes. "Huh? Izumi-san…what was that for?"

Izumi giggled. "Thank you, Kain-kun…I see what you're trying to do…but it's not necessary."

Kain rubbed his head and sighed. "I know that these kisses tend to upset you girls…I thought that if it was your hero, Kalan, it might be easier for you…."

Izumi smiled and shook her head. "No, it's all right. I appreciate everything you do for me, Kain-kun…as my Sensei and as Kalan-san. But it's all right…I can make this decision myself." And then she reached out, took Kain's face, and kissed him.

The power flashed, the cards appeared, and Kain withdrew. He shook his head in bemusement. "Well…you pulled one over on me this time, Izumi. I underestimated you. Please take care of me." And he bowed.

Izumi giggled, blushing from her action. "N-no…I should be saying that to you. Please take care of me…now, and in the future."

Kain nodded and stood. "Now…if you'll excuse me, I do have three to go…."

"T-three?" Izumi asked. "What about…?"

"Riza already tracked me down and forced the contract on me." Kain shrugged. "She got a pair of guns or something. From her reaction to it, I think she was rather impressed by Aiden's fighting in the tournament. Yukari is seeing other sources, so there's just Riku-san, Kaoru-san, and Miki-san…."

8-8-8

Kaoru started as Kain and Kamo appeared. "K-Kain-kun! There you are! I was looking for you!"

Kain chuckled. "Well, we were looking for you, too. Kamo tells me you've already heard about the contracts. Are you ready to make a contract as well, Kaoru-san?"

"Y-yes! I definitely want to!"

As Kamo formed his circle, Kaoru enthusiastically took her place in front of Kain…and suddenly began to feel awkward and embarrassed. ('W-what? Why…am I feeling reluctant? We need this after all, and it's Kain-kun….')

She shook herself and steeled her resolve. ('No…I want to do this…not just for the protection, but for myself…because I won't fall any more behind anyone!') "I'm ready, Kain-kun."

They shared their kiss, and again Kamo's circle flashed.

8-8-8

Yukari knocked on the door. After a moment it opened, and Kenjirô glanced out at her. "Oh…Yukari-san. There you are. I was wondering where you'd been…."

"Just…around. Anyway…now that we're free...we should make sure to stay protected…right?"

"Ah…of course. So, you've come to make a contract? Just for that protection?"

Yukari shook her head. "No…I've been thinking about everything. I…I am willing to make this contract and be your disciple, and stick with you, Kenjirô-kun, no matter where it takes you."

"Well then…if you're serious…but I'm afraid we'll need Kamo…."

"Right here," Kamo said, appearing. "You kids are keeping me busy, that's for sure!"

"K-Kamo-kun…" Yukari began. "Do you just hear it whenever anyone talks about contracts or something…?"

"No, no…I'm a supernatural spirit of magic and mana, so I have supernatural senses. I'm able to see things that aren't happening around my manifested form if I'm trying to keep track of them. So I was watching you, waiting…don't worry. I don't do it all the time." His circle formed. "So…shall we get on with it?"

The youths nodded. "Yes," Yukari said. She turned to Kenjirô. "Shall we?"

And they shared their kiss.

8-8-8

Miki glanced over at Riku. "So, how long are you going to sulk about this?"

"I-I'm not sulking!" Riku stopped and took a deep breath. That kind of reaction was sounding surprisingly like her sister after she got a fortune she didn't like. She didn't relish the thought. She sighed. "No, I mean…I just…."

"C'mon, now…you don't really think Kain-sensei is a predatory villain of some sort?"

"No, no…he's been with us long enough that I know him that well." She sighed. "I just don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Fine, fine. In any case, if being another one of Kain-sensei's conquests bothers you, you can contract yourself to another of our party: Yukari's going to see Kenjirô-kun, for instance."

"Really? Well…what about you? Are you considering having someone other than Kain-sensei be your 'master'?"

"Hmm. That is a good question. Apparently Hinagiku is actually a mage descendant...I suppose I could be Hina's disciple. That wouldn't be too bad…." She shook her head. "No, if it comes down to it, if I'm going to magically commit myself to anyone, it should be to the strongest member of our group. I'll have to stick with Kain-sensei."
Riku sighed. "Yeah…I guess you're right…."

"Here you two are," Kain said cheerfully as he walked in, startling both of them. "So…what's up?"

"Hmm." Miki looked over her teacher and noted Kamo now on his shoulder. "Well, since you're here…I guess we should get on with it…."

Miki wandered up to Kain, who nodded. Once again he shared the action as Kamo made his magic…in this case, Kain noted that it was the most 'business-like' one he had received yet. Then Miki turned to Riku. "So, then…your turn, Riku."

Riku had been staring at the act in shock. As Miki mentioned her name, she started, and began, "W-w-wait, I-I-I'm not ready…."

"If we wait until you're 'ready', Ojô-chan, we'll be waiting forever," Kamo smirked as he again formed his circle around her. "C'mon, now…get on with it…."

"B-but…but…."

"Sorry about this, Riku-san," Kain apologized, stepping up to her. She looked up at him in shock, and he pressed in and delivered the act.

('O-oh…this is….')

After Kain finally withdrew, Riku stood for several long seconds, quite stunned, and then shook herself to life. She gave a small scream. "Y-you thief! T-that was my first kiss, a-and it's just been stolen…!"

"S-sorry…" Kain said again. "I regret this, too…but it's for the best. Right?"

Riku let her rantings go and took the card Kamo proffered. "Y-yeah," she agreed, hiding her flushed face behind the card. "I-I know…it's just…."

"It's okay. I get it. I'll leave you now."

"W-wait."
Kain stopped in the act of his hasty withdrawal and turned back to her in surprise. "Yes?"

"Well…I-I mean…it wasn't…no, never mind. I'm sorry for overreacting. You and Miki-chan and everyone are right…this is really just payment for my past actions. I'm in your care, Kain-sensei…."

Kain nodded and finally made his departure.

Riku looked after him, then glanced down at the figure in the card—her, dressed in her lacrosse uniform and holding a jeweled staff rather like the one she had used in the Mahora Festival final event. ('So…this stupid thing that Risa was so hot for…and I got it, not her, because….')

"Well…that wasn't so bad, was it?" Miki whispered in her ear.

Riku jumped. "I-it was just necessary! Now c'mon…the party should be starting soon, right!?" And she stalked out, pocketing her new prize.

8-8-8

The six were once again cornered at the gathering place in Urahara Shoten by Nanami. "So, you all did it? What did you get? Let's see those artifacts!"

With various expressions and emotions, the six produced their new items, changing as well into various outfits—Riza in a 'combat shrine maiden' dress, Izumi in a princess dress, Miki in a party dress of some kind, Yukari in a black suit with a heavy black trench coat, Riku in her lacrosse uniform and Kaoru in her gym clothes. Riza quite proudly showed off her two pistols. "These are 'Thunder' and 'Sunder'," she said, attempting the names in English and generally making them sound identical. "I'm not sure which one's which…I'm not sure how Americans even tell the difference in the names…. Anyway, I'm now a magical gunman, just like Aiden-san! You better watch out!"

"I'm almost afraid of those being in her possession," Kamo remarked from his place on a nearby table. "But as long as we point her at the enemy, she should at least be a deadly distraction." He turned to Izumi. "And you?"

"Um…this…." Izumi held up a small pill-like object.

Momo and Rukia, who were also watching, stared at it. "That looks…almost like Soul Candy," Rukia remarked.

"It's actually based on it," Kamo chuckled. "It's a Golem Pill. It makes anything you put it into a golem controlled by its owner, with beefed-up powers. A stuffed animal or full-body costume can suddenly become a powerful guardian…of course, you need something like that on hand to make full use of it. We'll need to be on the lookout for something…."

"Oh! This!" Rukia enthused. She produced, from somewhere, a small stuffed animal in rabbit form. "Behold! Chappy!"

The others stared at it. "Y-you're still carrying that around, Rukia?" Momo asked her.

"Q-quiet! I like Chappy! And rabbits!"

Izumi carefully took it from her and, with trepidation, put the pill near its unopening 'lips'…and suddenly the pill sunk into it. The eyes of the creature actually, somehow, blinked, and the creature turned to look at Izumi. In shock, Izumi dropped it, and Chappy landed easily on its legs. It seemed to be standing at something resembling attention.

"Oh! It really moves!" enthused Rukia.

"But is something like that really a guardian?" Riza scoffed, poking it with one of her guns.

The stuffed animal suddenly reached out, wrapped its stubs around Riza's arm, and actually threw her to the ground. Then, using its whole body, it put that arm in a lock, causing the girl to cry and thrash about in pain.

"S-stop!" Izumi insisted, and it did indeed as the pill suddenly popped out. She carefully picked up the pill again.

"It'll work entirely at your mental command, although it's programmed to defend itself," Kamo chuckled. "As with all of them, it's all about practice! Now…."

"These seem perfect," Miki remarked as several small camera-like robots floated around her, zipping mostly unseen through the air above the rest of the milling girls (and occasional males). "Little spy-bots, all my own…the perfect thing for a snooping politician's daughter…."

"Yes…frighteningly perfect. No-o-o-o-ow!" Kamo's speech was turned to a surprised yodel as his table was suddenly lifted into the air.

"It's a silly headband," Kaoru remarked from underneath the table as she lifted it up in one hand…and was, indeed, wearing a rather plain-looking white cloth around her forehead. "But…this works, I guess…."

Kamo glanced down around the edge at her. "Yes, indeed…that Headband of Strength opens your Gate of Strength, giving you superhuman strength and stamina. If only we had some tanks or something around here for you to pick up…anyway, seems like you like that one…."

"It looks like you're at Mahora Festival's final event again," Riza remarked to Riku. "That staff…?"

Riku looked at the staff in her hand. "Yeah," she muttered. "It feels…familiar, too…."

"But for you, Yukari-chan, I heard you didn't make your contract with Kain-sensei," Izumi noted. "Who'd you contract to?"

Yukari blushed, and then hid her face behind the white mask she held in her hand, a rather standard plain white mask with the black smile and triangular black eyes on it. As she slipped her face behind the mask, she suddenly vanished.

Izumi stared at the vacant spot, confused. "Who are you talking to, Izumi?" Riza demanded of her.

Izumi continued to look confused. "I…I don't know…I guess I was imagining something…."

Yukari lowered her mask and reappeared with a rather exasperated look on her face. "Oh, come on," she sighed.

They all jumped. "Y-Yukari-chan! Where'd you come from?" Kaoru demanded.

"I've been here this whole time!" She glanced down at her mask. "Did this really…?"

"Oh, yes," Kamo laughed. "That's a real nice one, too…when you wear that Guze Mask, it makes you…not exist. It should do even more than that, too…we'll have to see later. Now, it seems our illustrious leader is about to make his appearance…."

Kain entered and surveyed the group milling around Kisuke's little party room, getting refreshments from tables or just talking excitedly. He smiled and called out, "Hello, minna…I assume we're all doing well?"

A loud chorus of cheers greeted this assessment. Kain chuckled. "Well…here we are. Most of our current objectives are met—we're finally back together. Now we just have to look ahead to our return home…the Obsidian Star is standing in our way...but they won't stop us. Nothing will stand in our way. We're all going back…to Mahora Academy. We'll all get there together!"

Again, cheers greeted his declaration. Then, with his blessing, they returned to their party and, with the Baka Rangers in particular freed from their interrogation at Nanami's hands, they were able to add their own energy to the party. Kain watched them with a small smile but stood apart from the rest, still quietly musing over things.

"You say we're all together…but that's not entirely true," Tear said, approaching him. He turned to glance at her, and she continued, "Ayase Yue is still absent…we don't have her here with us yet…."

Kain shook his head. "No…she's not here with us, but she's not exactly absent. She's here in the city…I'm seen her, and I've spoken to her. There are still difficulties involved, but she's here…I'll make sure she's with us before we leave." He turned to Nodoka, who, because of this and other concerns of her own, had also been lounging in the background not far from Kain, and had drifted closer upon hearing Tear's comments. "I promise, Nodoka…she'll be with us in no time."

Nodoka managed a smile. "Yes…I believe you…thank you, Kain-sensei…."

8-8-8

Aiden stood at the place he had come to share with Kain at the shores of the flying island, drinking a bottle of spirits. "Well…what a kid…I wonder if he'll actually pull it all off…."

He stopped and stared behind him as a glimmering figure began to form. "Well…" it said, a lilting almost-human voice emerging from a small golden pseudo-form. "Isn't this interesting? So, the legendary flying city of Orimus…the boy has arrived at an interesting place…."

Aiden stared at it. "And who or what are you supposed to be?"

"Me? How rude…the gentlemen doing the asking should always introduce himself first…."

"Really? By the sound of it, you think of yourself as a lady…and considering where you are, I'd think you'd be well aware of who you're talking to…eh, 'Golden Angel' Alysaser? I thought that you were sealed inside Mahora Academy…."

"Ah…and you must be Aiden Rylack, then. I'm pleased you've heard of me…and I must assume, if you know of me and my condition, that you have already been in contact with Kalan's son. Well, I am still quite bound, but thanks to that boy I've been exercising my power quite a bit recently and I've discovered…avenues of escape, as it were. Mahora is a magical place, after all, and there are a few places inside of it I can use to enhance my meager powers. Even so, this is the extent of what I can do—peeking inside this sealed-off world just to satiate my curiosity…."

"Oh…is that so…worried about your protégé and come to check up on him?"

"Hardly worried. As I say…the boy simply alleviated some of my boredom this past year, and now that he's run off, I'm left bored again. Seeing him struggle is always worthwhile."

Aiden chuckled. "Seeing him struggle, eh? Well…he's been doing his fair share of that, for sure. But he's handled it all…remarkably well, considering. I'm not sure you'll even recognize him when you see him again."

"Oh? I've heard some tales about you, Mage-Killer…you were quite an extremist when you were young. What have you done to that boy?"

"Nothing he didn't ask for. As you're well aware, he's obsessed with his father…but I think you were one of the things that's inspired him to go as far as he can. If you're really bored, I'll tell you about it all…give you a leg up on the new legend. After all…right now, from what I feel, Kain and his little band of merry ladies are going to be the keys to saving the world this time…."

F I N

Author's Note: Hitting the Climax

Well, here we are, another Act in the books! We've finished up the tournament and Kain has done his hero thing thus far.

Again, this finish was very much after the original Negima model. The Invincible Jack Rakan wouldn't even go down after Negi hit him with his own ultimate attack, but they were both so drained all they had left was Rakan's favorite, that unsophisticated brawl. Aiden isn't so fond of simple brutal fisticuffs himself, but it's a good finish for the fight, and Aiden saves his pride, which, honestly, he does really care about. He didn't lose…he just got fought to a draw. As long as the public recognizes that officially, he's vindicated, and Kain still got everything he asked for. His declaration of Kain's parentage was a little premature—Rakan waited until the party forthcoming in Act 14 in the original—but it's one of those things where, especially in mine, there were too many clues already there. Although there are moments coming up that might be slightly more emotional if Kain (like Negi) were still in the dark, I really don't think it makes enough difference to be worth worrying about. Kain knows where he comes from now.

The last few Pactios with Negi's students were spread out over time, but my group is more thoughtful and insistent about them, so I decided to get them over with. Some of the items are adapted from Negima or stolen directly, like Yukari's mask, Miki's spy bots, and Riza's guns. Izumi's I came up with on the fly. Riku's I decided on a long time ago, and with no Negima equivalent or real DNAngel Artifact I could really adapt for her, I figured the magic staff, like she used in the Festival, was good enough. And for Kaoru, I was also determined on this. My most endearing images of Kaoru Konoe are her determined pursuit of Shun Ukiya while both her target and her rival are clueless…and of her superstrength. In particular, the whole reason I saw Gatekeepers was, in watching previews, I saw a girl lifting a tank above her head. Just a brief scene, girl picking up a tank. Girls with superstrength lifting tanks? Yes, please. She turned out to be my favorite character anyway and even has an incarnation in another of my stories, and so one of my reasons for including her in the story at all was so that she would have this chance to finally become a magical girl and get the powers of her Gate of Strength. It was hard coming up with an appropriate item…the headband made the most sense to me overall.

Well…now we're at the end of it. We're moving on…next, we reach the Climax! Nothin's Gonna Stand in Our Way…Not Tonight!