Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ The Dreamer ❯ One on One ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

-----Author’s note: First off, I do not own Negima! Or any of its characters, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Sorry about the delay in updating. Last time I tried it didn’t work, so I just left it. Didn’t think anyone cared much, either way! Well, enjoy.....-----

Connor watched her sleeping, slumped against him as she had finally found some kind of peace in her mind. Asakura was breathing quietly, her mind so shot from exhaustion that she may have very well been unable to have dreams, and would have been safe from the voice in that sense. She had drifted off to blissful darkness, however, knowing she’d be alright beside her teacher. Even if some minuscule part of her mind warned her to stay awake, that maybe she was in danger, even if she died here and now, would there be a better way to go than beside the person you.....well, that was probably the lack of sleep talking.

He watched her in silence as the train sped along, bringing them where its tracks led, where the others were waiting. He wished she’d stay asleep for the whole thing, so he wouldn’t have to see the look of pain in her eyes. He didn’t want to see her, with her thinking he had betrayed her. He leaned over a little, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

God.....keeping Connor’s form for so long had started to imprint some his actual emotions into his mind. Damn, he didn’t have a thing for the girl, did he? He’d heard that Connor had been a headache for her, but the confused thoughts in his head said that he actually cared about her. He hardly knew her!

‘What a pedophile. At least wait for them to hit eighteen, damn,’ The imposter thought, trying to ignore Connor’s emotions.

A thump brought Connor out of his enthrallment with Asakura, drawing his attention up to the roof above. It sounded like something had fallen onto the train. Or maybe like something had.....landed? Had he already been found out? Well, that was fine. When the train hit the next stop, give or take ten minutes, it would be too late for anyone to do anything.

The emergency escape hatch in the roof flipped open, a young boy dropping down into the train. Negi pointed his staff at Connor, who grinned in return.

“Who are you?” The boy asked, his eyes moving from the sleeping Asakura to the familiar stranger.

“What are you talking about, Negi-kun? Is there something wrong?”

“Cut it out! I know you’re not Connor. He wouldn’t call me Negi-kun, and he definitely wouldn’t take Asakura-san out on a date!”

“A date? That’s so forward.....” Connor stopped smiling when he realized there was no way to convince Negi that he was who he said he was, so he raised a hand to the girl’s face, instead, “Well, Negi, looks like you’ve found me out. The honorifics thing, is that really what gave me away? He just outright refuses to use them? I’ll do a little more studying, next time.”
Negi, apprehensive because the man’s palm was opened in front of Asakura’s face, inched forward as he spoke, “Who are you, really? What do you want with my students?”

“And you, too, don’t forget. Hold on, stop there or I’ll finish my mission another way,” The man instructed, pointing to Negi with his free hand, “That’s better. You want to know who I am? Seems kind of pointless, really. I mean, I could be practically anyone you wanted me to be. Connor is a good enough name, for me.”

“Then.....what are you? A mage? Nobody could pull off a disguise like that so well. There’s not even a hint of magic on you, anywhere.”

“My magic is a special kind of magic, bred on the fields of life and crafted in the hearts of all. I can tap into people, read them, understand them, become them. A gift from my master, a certain voice in a certain dream I believe you to be acquainted with.”

“Who is she?” Negi asked, afraid to move any closer for fear of endangering Asakura.

“Wow, you already know that much? Unfortunately, you won’t ever know more than that. You’re a mark, and that makes you fair game for us. But hold on, hold on, let me get into character, really. Usually I don’t go so far, especially with someone like this,” The man motioned to himself, indicating Connor, “Because with him, I might get so full of myself I’ll refuse to switch anymore. Wouldn’t want that.....”

“You mean.....you actually ‘become’ the person?”

With a glance at Asakura, who was still asleep behind him, the man nodded a yes, “Everything I’m feeling right now is tainted with his actual feelings and emotions, which is why I kissed her.....” The man’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head, but quickly went back to their original state.

“Wh-What do you.....kissed.....”

“Ugh.....kid, why you gotta play the idiot all the time? I thought you were some kind of child prodigy,” Connor snickered, pushing Asakura off of him as he released a small pulse of magic into her.

“What’d you-“

“Relax, dipstick. She won’t be waking up for a couple of hours now, that’s all. Wouldn’t want her to interrupt our.....” Connor trailed off as he realized he was in his brown suit, which turned his face up into a frustrated scowl, “Dammit! Why the hell am I wearing this, again?” Mumbling to himself, he snapped his fingers, his black coat appearing over him, “That’s better.”

“Please, let me take Asakura-san back! If you’re feeling what he feels, then you have to want to do the right thing!”

“The right thing? Don’t get all preachy on me, kid,” He dove to the ground as a blade slid through the window behind him. It would have gone straight through his head if he hadn’t picked up on her presence, “After all, you were about to let me get stabbed in the head. I mean, damn. You’re ten, that’s kind of extreme.”

Setsuna hopped down through the emergency exit, smirking at Connor, even though her attempt at a quick solution had wound up in failure.

“Setsuna Sakurazaki. People call me a womanizer, but damn!”

“What’s that mean?” Negi asked Setsuna, who was sporting a deep blush.

“I-It means I’ve been misinterpreted for the millionth time!” She replied, raising her sword to meet the imposter.

Not having his own sword, Connor reached into his coat and pulled out a silver fountain pen.

Setsuna snickered, waiting to see if he had anything else.

“Hey, don’t play it down, oh not-so-straight-and-narrow,” Setsuna fumed at his second comment about her relationship with Konoka. Negi wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but he wondered if that was really something Connor had thought up. “Haven’t you ever heard that the pen is mightier than the sword?”

“Haven’t you ever heard ‘shut the hell up’?” Setsuna, blinded by the taunts, rushed him.

-

Yue Ayase’s eyes popped open as Haruna Saotome smacked her on the head with a rather thick manga. They, along with Nodoka Miyazaki, had finished the test recklessly fast, and had gone back to their dorm room to kill off the time until their next class started, about forty-five minutes. Yue had fallen asleep, much to the annoyance of the gossip.

“Yue, what’s wrong with you? This is serious plan making time for Nodoka! She can’t.....won’t, do it by herself, and Negi isn’t gonna be free forever!”

“Only about three more years before he’ll even care, whatever will we do?” Yue moaned as she sat upright, “Why did you hit me on the head to get me up? A light tap on the shoulder would have done it.”

“You were muttering something about something. Sounded like a nightmare. I got you up the quickest way I could think of.”

Nodoka, who had been watching the two the entire time, finally spoke up, “I-It’s ok, Haruna. Really.....I told him, and that’s enough, so.....” She trailed off, her face as red as her uniform. In her embarrassed fluster at the remembrance of her telling Negi that she loved him, back in Kyoto, she didn’t see Haruna take to the air, a kick thrust at her face.
Yue watched as Nodoka was sent sprawling onto her bed after being nailed with the kick. She couldn’t help but wonder how whenever Haruna managed to pulverize her, she always seemed to be alright. Maybe the manga artist knew some kind of way to pull her attacks at the last second without losing its ability to send people flying. Was that possible? Didn’t sound like it.

Finger pointed heatedly at her friend, Haruna exclaimed, “No! That can’t be enough! How long do you think the rep’s gonna wait before she drops some kind of love-atom-bomb, and totally steals him from you?”

“She never really ‘had’ him,” Yue muttered, raising a finger.

“I’ll tell you how long: Not long, that’s how long!” Haruna ignored her glum friend. In a flurry of motions that was near impossible for either to follow, Haruna had busted out her sketchbook and drawn a very realistic picture of Negi proposing to Ayaka, both looking very much in love, “Huh? What, you like that? This is what’s gonna happen if we don’t make a move!”

Nodoka, upon seeing the incredible likeness of her teacher proposing to who could very well be her #1 rival for his affection, flushed and began to babble about how that would never happen. She didn’t sound all that confident about it, though.

“Or what about this? ‘Cause you know it’s coming!” Haruna, in true manga artist fashion, busted out a second picture in record time. The contents of said picture, for rating purposes and because it caused Nodoka to black out, will not be disclosed. Suffice to say, in the top right corner of the picture, the title was displayed: ‘Let’s Do Something H!!!’ “You know she would!” Haruna muttered, lifting Nodoka up onto her bed.

“That was kind of over-the-top,” Yue mumbled, trying not to look at the picture that lay on the table before her. There was no way Ayaka would do that.....how could she even get in that shape? “I think you’ve sunken to a new kind of perverted low.....”

“She needed to see it. When she wakes back up, we’ll have her full attention. Then we’ll.....”

“Go to our next class? She probably won’t be getting up until then. I mean.....” She caught herself glancing at the picture, quickly looking away, “I can understand how that one knocked her out.”

Haruna was about to say something in return, but paused to sniff the air. Her eyes darted over to Yue, who looked at her like she was insane. “I smell the love-reek!”

“I do not reek!” Yue defended herself, pointing at her nosy friend, “That’s just Nodoka, who overdosed on your shotacon picture!”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. If you were in love I would have found out before now.....besides, you’re not the type to fall for a kid,” Haruna laughed, sitting at her desk to draw up some more ‘motivation’ for Nodoka.

Yue stood up and entered the bathroom, grabbing a fistful of toilet paper, which she used to wipe away the little bit of blood that was coming from her nose. ‘It’s just from Haruna smacking me on the head with a book, that’s all. Nothing to do with that smutty picture. Not a thing. She’s right, I’m not the type to fall for a kid. Even if he’s.....different from other kids, he’s still just a kid. Not to mention Nodoka’s already admitted to him how she feels, so I could never.....No! It’s the book, the book!’ Yue banged her head into the wall, trying to knock loose whatever in her head was making her think that maybe Negi meant something more to her than a friend.....

“You ok in there?” Haruna’s voice cut into her thoughts.

“I’m fine!” She called back, rubbing her sore forehead. ‘I’m going to finish my nap, go to my next class, and help Nodoka get closer to Negi. That’s the right thing to do, and it’s what I.....it’s what I want to.....ugh, that’s what I’ll do.’ Flushing the toilet paper away, Yue made to leave the bathroom. ‘I hope I don’t have that dream, again.....’ She thought as she turned the doorknob.

-

Connor dipped under Setsuna’s blade as it whistled towards him, a smirk on his face as he wove elegantly through her attacks, backing away to make up for the lack of space in the train. The two passed by Asakura, allowing Negi enough room to rush over and scoop her up. Thank God magic kept him in prime condition.....

“Negi-sensei!” Setsuna shouted, not relenting against her snickering opponent, “Take Asakura-san and get her away from here! I’ll take care of him!”

“But.....” Negi knew Setsuna could handle herself, but could she handle the imposter? His ‘magic’ allowed him to become the person he wanted, to a degree. Did that mean he gained their abilities and strength, as well?

“Go!”

With a frustrated growl, Negi jumped up through the emergency exit.

“You sure that was a good idea, pet?” Connor asked through a laugh, jumping back the last ten feet to the door which led to the next car, “Sending away your only backup?”

“I don’t need any help to stop someone who has to hide behind someone else’s face. Not to mention, all you’ve got is a pen!” Setsuna pointed out.

“Hey, now! I told you not to belittle the pen, you curvy little punk. I.....”

“What? ‘Curvy little punk’?” Setsuna interrupted, “I expected something a little more.....more, from Connor.”

“What, you didn’t get it? You know, I’m straight, Sunshine’s straight, Negi’s straight, you’re.....not.”
Setsuna looked at him like he was a moron, but was grateful he was so easily distracted. Considering the imposter had taken on Connor’s characteristics and image, she had thought he would be a little more on-the-ball. Maybe Connor was just stupid.....

“Look, I’m not ‘really’ him, so my name calling might be a little off, alright? The point is,” He cleared his throat, holding the pen up, “Being the bad-ass that I am, I require my things to be equally awesome. The pen’s no exception.”

“I don’t think you’re tough. I think you’re just an immature, semi-pedophile, who thinks that the world revolves around himself.”

“You mean it doesn’t?”

Setsuna was infinitely glad to have said that to an imposter Connor. She never could have said that to the real deal, and now it was off her chest. Him hitting her on the head with a water balloon hadn’t left the greatest impression. Now she’d never have to say those things out loud ever again. “If the world did revolve around you, it would only be because of your sun-like ego capturing it in its gravitational pull.”

“Oh, that’s it. It’s about to go down. Right here,” Connor grinned, closing the gap between them with a single lunge.

Setsuna moved to deflect the shiny pen as it came down over her, but her sword was forced down under the weight of the attack, the pen carving out a deep gash in her arm. She jumped away, a trail of blood following her through the air.

“What.....”

“Magically reinforced titanium. It can take all the weight of my strength and then some. Got a nice ball-point tip, too,” Connor pretended he was advertising the pen, moving one hand in a little circle beneath the bloody writing utensil as he spoke.

Without any warning, he leapt forward a second time, sliding across the metallic floor to attack her from below. She swung her sword down at him, but he rolled onto his side to avoid it. She took a quick second swipe, which Connor countered by pushing himself up onto his hands, swinging the sole of his foot up to meet the blade’s edge.

A clang sounded as Setsuna froze, wondering why she hadn’t just cut through his foot and leg. Connor, who was upside down in a handstand at this point, allowed himself to roll with the attack, using his other leg to sweep her from behind. She went to the ground with a thud, and was quickly stomped on as Connor cartwheeled back to his feet.

He hopped off with a laugh, “Steel-soled boots are the way to go, pet. I told you my things were bad-ass.”

Setsuna jumped up, a little winded, but otherwise alright, “So what was that? Capoeira? Isn’t that more for video games and television?”

“Landed you on your ass, didn’t it?”

She dove at him, the two quickly engaged in a rush of movement. Connor was mostly dodging, but Setsuna could feel little cuts appearing on her as the fight dragged on. He was moving too quick for her to land a solid hit, or even to completely avoid his counters. She dropped low, sweeping her leg across the ground to knock him over. The teen put his hands on her shoulders, flipping over her to get out of the way. He threw a kick into her back, sending her to the ground for the second time.

Setsuna rolled forward, turning to face him again. Holding her sword out in front of her, she called out, “Raimeiken!”

Connor laughed, watching her charge at him, her sword about to burst for the electrical current pulsing through it. She swung it down at him, the entire car flooding with a blinding light. When her vision returned, she was staring into Connor’s eyes, her sword a couple of inches from his face, held in place by the pen, which he had a solid grip on. She stumbled back as his knee shot up into her stomach, followed by an elbow to the chin. She teetered backwards, but refused to fall down. Connor swung his boot up into the side of her head, knocking her over into the chairs. He lowered his hand to her, a wave of black magic spilling over her. He was careful not to bust through the train, but he didn’t cut her any more slack than that. After a couple of seconds, he let the attack fade off, pleased to find her borderline unconscious.

“You’re looking a little out of breath, there. Wanna take a break?” Connor mumbled as he scooped her up by the throat, “Come on, I barely touched you. At least TRY!” He slung her through the train’s side, glass showering the pavement below. She flipped, driving her sword deep into the ground to avoid a messy landing. She watched Connor dive through the busted window as she skid to a stop. He rolled forward, popping up like he had just gotten up from a nap.

He waited for the train behind him to rattle by before speaking to his kneeling opponent, “After all the talk, I’m pretty disappointed. All I’ve used so far is a pen. What would you do if I decided to use, like, a quarter, or something? Well, I’ll just finish up, then. Negi and Asakura can’t be too far off. With the aura I can track them down like that,” He snapped his fingers before aiming an open palm at Setsuna, who glared at him.

Before another move could be made, a faint ringing caught her ears. With an aggravated look on his face, Connor took out a cell phone, “Hang on, I’ll kill you in a sec,” He mumbled, “What is it?”

Setsuna tried to move, but the black magic attack had left her with almost nothing. She had used the last of her strength to pull off her landing after being thrown from the train.

“I know I’m not there. How could I be here and there at the same time, you moron? Yeah.....yeah.....I know she’s gonna be pissed, but what do you want me to do about it? I’m about to take care of the sword girl, that should be enough to make up, right? .....Really?” Connor looked over at Setsuna with a confused frown, “You’re sure? .....She really doesn’t want me too? .....No one can? That doesn’t make any sen.....Ok, I’m coming.....Yeah, I’ll be right there, relax,” Connor ended the call, folding his arms and turning around.

“You lucked out, fool. I’m not supposed to kill you, at least for now. Keep getting in the way, though, and you might catch me in a rule-breaking mood.....” He snapped his fingers, vanishing in a blast of smoke.

Setsuna tried to stand, tried to understand what had just happened. A timely phone call had saved her life? It was like something out of a fictional story, but she was glad for it. She was alive, and Negi and Asakura had gotten away. Everything turned out alright.....

-

Shizuna looked from Asakura, who lay on the headmaster’s sofa, to Negi, who stood before her with a stern look plastered over his usually pleasant face.

“I want to know the truth, Shizuna-sensei!” He exclaimed, “Where’s Connor?”

-----Author’s other note: That was a tough chapter to get out.....not too much of a Setsuna fan, myself. But I do like the library trio (I liked the part they had in here, specifically), so expect to see more from them coming up. Now that Negi knows something’s wrong about Connor’s ‘absence’ , I have no choice but to promise you guys that the next chapter will tell what happened to him and Ku Fei. Thanks to everyone who reads.....-----