Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ The Dreamer ❯ Bulletproof ( Chapter 8 )

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

-----Author’s note: I don’t own Negima!, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy!-----


Tick.....tick.....tick.....tick.....tick.....

Sakurako sat in silence on a plastic chair, hands folded in her lap and eyes lowered to watch those hands. She’d been in this position for the better part of the last two hours, sitting beside a deathly quiet Kaede, who was beside an equally somber Ku Fei.

Tick.....tick.....tick.....tick.....tick.....

Kaede& #8217;s eyes wandered from one girl to the other. They were each like a bundle of quiet depression, wrapped up in a pretty package and set on either side of her to remind her of last night. Not that she needed a reminder. Not too often you see someone get shot. She couldn’t help but cringe with every stupid tick that clock made. Did they have to sit them next to the only thing within God knows how far that made noise?

Tick.....tick.....tick.....tick.....smash!

Sakurak o looked up at the now shattered clock. A kunai was stuck in the center of it, jammed through the face, and through the gears it concealed. Kaede made no sign that she had done anything, or even noticed a change at all.

With the clock finally silenced, Ku Fei could hear just how raspy her breathing was. She could feel a lump in her throat, like a chunk of ice. It sat there, refusing to budge, numbing her neck, but not so much that she couldn’t feel the throbbing that not crying had brought on. She tried to hear what the other girl’s breathing sounded like, but was unable to make any noise out other than her own. She kept remembering what had happened, still trying to grasp it. The night had passed by, the sun had come up, the next day had begun, but she was stuck in the past, lost in his dying eyes.....

Connor dropped to his knees, his face showing no emotion other than a little surprise. Ku Fei caught herself screaming as she saw the puddle of blood expanding from him. He fell into his own blood, apparently unable to stop himself. In a panic, Ku Fei dropped to the ground, rolling him over.


“You ok? Connor! Say something!” She pleaded with him, down on her knees as she tried to keep him awake, keep him alive.
Ku Fei glanced at the lower half of her kimono. Stained a red that would probably never come out. She had wanted to keep him alive, to save him, to have even been some kind of use. All she had done, though, was panic. She hadn’t even done the basic ‘apply pressure to stop the blood flow’. All she did was call for help.....

‘If I hadn’t dropped my phone, would things have wound up different?’ Sakurako wondered for what felt like the thousandth time. She had convinced Misa to let her go back to find her missing cell phone, only to find that her teacher had been shot. She ran over to help, but.....

Ku Fei’s pleading eyes shot to the sound of the footsteps. She was hoping for anybody who could help her. More importantly, for anyone who could help him. It was Sakurako.....

“What happened?” The cheerleader called out, screeching to a halt as she spotted the ever-expanding blood, “Wh-What.....”

“I-I.....he just fall down.....” The blonde replied, “Get help!”

Sakurako reached for her phone, but came up with nothing. “I lost my phone!” She exclaimed, spinning around as her eyes scanned the ground in the hopes it was nearby.

‘It’s a good thing curiosity got the best of me.....’ Kaede thought as she waited for something to happen. They hadn’t forgotten about them, had they? No, they were just busy with the problem she had brought them.

Kaede fell from the World Tree, landing with as little noise as a shadow. Sakurako’s surprised expression was enough of a warning for Ku Fei, who stood up and spun with a punch aimed at whoever was behind her. The ninja caught the punch, letting her friend withdraw her fist of her own will.

“We need to hurry. He’s not dead, yet,” Kaede scooped Connor up, blood running all over her as she slung him over her shoulder.

Kaede reached up to her shoulder. The blood was dry, now. It had run down her back, she could still feel the warmth of it gradually fade to cold. She just couldn’t stay away, she had to see how Ku Fei was doing with him. Was it her own fault that this had happened? It was at least partly her fault, she had, after all, told him to go there. But no matter how bad she felt, Ku Fei had to feel worse.

The three girls all turned as footsteps killed the quietness, breaking their somber thoughts. Were they about to find out if he was alright?

-

Negi, having left Asakura in the safety of the headmaster’s presence, followed Shizuna in silence, though it was killing him inside. He was near full to bursting with questions, but didn’t seem able to put them into words. Every time he opened his mouth, he quickly shut it. He knew Connor was alright. He had to be. He had already saved him once, and did so like it was nothing. There was no way anyone could hurt him, at least not seriously enough to warrant worrying.

He soon realized that Shizuna was leading him towards Library Island, a place he was fond of. Early on in his teaching career he had delved into the depths of the island with the baka rangers, and it was there where he solidified good relationships with them. Well, Asuna was different, but with the others he had.

“Why are we coming here?” He finally spoke, surprising himself a little.

“This is where he is. After the incident, he was brought here for emergency attention,” Shizuna replied quietly.

“Incident? So.....is he alright?” Negi decided not to ask what had happened, at least not yet.

“It’s questionable, but I think he’ll live. Come on, you can see him yourself in a few minutes.”

The two entered the gargantuan library, Shizuna maneuvering through the labyrinthian bookshelf halls as though it was the inside of her apartment. Negi was soon in stretches of area he had never stepped foot into. After several minutes of turning corners and descending stairs, the young teacher could make out several figures off ahead of him. They turned to meet him.

“Negi-kun?” Sakurako called out as she hurried over to the boy, dropping to her knees and pulling him into a hug.

Before Negi could understand what was going on, Ku Fei had knocked him over in her own hug, both girls crying on him and talking at the same time.

“Negi-kun, it was awful!”

“Negi-bozu, is my fault! I sorry!”

“He-He was j-just bleeding ev-everywhere! I-Is he ok?”

“I sorry! I-I.....”

“H-Hey! Stop, stop!” Negi sat himself up on his knees, placing a hand on both girl’s shoulders, looking them both in the eyes, first Sakurako, then Ku Fei. Shizuna was behind Negi, waiting to see what he was going to do. This was one of those defining moments where he could be a ten-year-old boy, or a ten-year-old man. He could make them feel better, or he could come up empty.

Kaede watched the three on the ground, a little smile curling up on her lips as he pulled them back into the hug, one chin on both of his shoulders. Shizuna stepped by the crying girls, making her way over to Kaede.
“It’s hard on them.....” The ninja whispered to the approaching woman.

“He hasn’t even been here a week, but he’s already got some fans.....come on, I’ll take you to see him, first,” Shizuna continued to walk, Kaede following after one last glance at the three on the ground.

“So what are we going to do about Sakurako? Do we tell her everything?” Kaede wondered aloud as the two wandered through the dark halls, stepping over books that littered the floor as they went. If the library trio ever made it to this place, they’d clean up. At any rate, it didn’t appear Shizuna cared about the books at all.

“I’m not sure, the headmaster is going to have to make that call. We may be able to pass the event off as.....a more.....mundane oriented problem.....” Shizuna chose her words carefully.

“Mundane? Wait.....are you saying you want to pass it off as just a random shooting? Even Sakurako wouldn’t believe that.”

“Not so much random, as much as.....a street target, of sorts.....”

Kaede stopped walking, “You want to make it look like a gang shooting? No one would believe he’s in the Yakuza!”

“Have you ever met him?” Shizuna stopped now, turning to face Kaede, “Sure he can be charming, but who can’t turn on a little charm now and then? He wears a bandanna, a black coat, and he talks like he’s God’s gift to earth.”

“The back of his coat says ‘the way of God’. Do you really think someone with such a lofty comment on them will be taken for a member of organized crime?”

“There have been stranger things. The only real problem with this idea is that how could we possibly employ a member of the Yakuza as a teacher? We certainly can’t circulate the rumors and keep him employed, and we can’t afford to have him be separated from the campus. The number of targets will gradually rise, and we’re going to need all of the help we can get,” The two resumed walking.

“So telling her the truth and asking her to keep quiet is the best move, right?”

“We’re talking about Sakurako. She’s a nice girl, but can you really expect her to keep quiet? In the best case scenario, Misa and Madoka are the only ones to find out, but with the three of them knowing, how long until Negi’s entire class does? It could turn into a campus wide problem,” Shizuna snapped her fingers, “Like that.”

“I think with something of this magnitude, especially if Negi and Connor ask her to, she can be trusted. You said yourself she was his ‘fan’,” Kaede pointed out.

The two wound a corner, several doors now visible. Bookshelves to the left, a wall to the right, books beneath two sets of feet, and a ceiling so far above them that they could barely make it out. Kaede took what she could see in, but it wasn’t much because of the lack of light. Shizuna approached one of the several oak doors, unlocking and opening it. The two entered in silence.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Shizuna stammered, looking away with a blush as Connor reached for his coat, which was draped over a little chair beside the bed he was supposed to be resting in. He had his black jeans on, but that was all. The sight of his well-toned body was enough to make even the usually collected counselor a little flushed.

Connor slung the coat on, ignoring the little hole in the back of it. The white shirt he had been wearing beneath the coat was ruined beyond all hope, so he went without it, leaving his chest and stomach exposed. He flashed the two a quick grin before approaching the door, “Getting the hell out of this crap hole.”

He bumped past the two ladies, who turned to follow him. “Connor, you need to be resting! The wound isn’t completely healed, and you lost a lot of blood!” Shizuna pleaded with him.

“Wound? What wound? Relax,” He paused to look over his shoulder, “I’m fine as long as I redirect my magic to the.....spot, so let it go.”

“You were shot. Magic or not, you need to take it easy,” Kaede said, putting a hand on his shoulder to try and turn him back to the room.

“A certain musical artist I know was shot nine times, and he’s still walking,” Connor shrugged the hand off, continuing down the hall, though he didn’t really know where he was going. “He didn’t even have magic.”

“She’s out there crying because she thinks it’s her fault you were shot! If you won’t rest for yourself, do it for her!” The ninja folded her arms, satisfied that she had caused Connor to falter in his steps.

After a few seconds had gone by, he continued to walk, “That’s ridiculous.”

The two watched him fade off into the shadows as the halls stretched on, the sound of his footsteps gradually dying off. “He’s the only ridiculous thing here,” Shizuna muttered, following after him. With a sigh, Kaede brought up the rear.

-

Negi eased back out of the three-way hug, putting his hands on top of both girl’s heads, “It’s alright, Shizuna-sensei says that Connor’s gonna be ok.....” He left out the ‘it’s questionable’ part, “So you don’t need to cry, ok?” He stood up, taking his student’s hands and helping them back to their feet.

Sakurako sniffed, wiping her face dry, “She said that?”

“Yeah, so don’t worry.”

With a sigh of relief, Sakurako began to trot away, “Ok, now that I know I really, really need to go to the bathroom. After I find one, I’ll be back!” She called over her shoulder.

Ku Fei and Negi, now realizing that Shizuna and Kaede had left them behind, sat down in two of the three chairs to wait for their return. After a couple minutes of unpleasant quiet, Negi spoke up, “Ku Fei-san, why did you think Connor’s getting hurt was your fault?”

“I still think it my fault he get shot, Negi-bozu,” She replied half-heartedly, keeping her eyes low.

“He was.....shot? But.....how could that have possibly been your fault?”

“Cheerleaders find out I like Connor, and help me meet him by World Tree so I.....so I get to te.....” She trailed off, looking away.

“‘Like’ him? You don’t need to take him to the World Tree to.....” Negi now took his turn at trailing off, remembering the time the Narutaki twins had taken him to the World Tree. They said something about telling the person you love that you love them there, and then you’d become a couple for sure. ‘I guess they didn’t really love me.....I mean.....I guess the legend is a farce.....’

“Is embarrassing.....”

“Y-You don’t have to tell me about it.....it’s ok. But you didn’t pull the trigger, right? So it’s not your fault. If you had know, there’s no way you would have been out there, right?”

Ku Fei nodded, still averting her eyes.

“So don’t get all down on yourself over it. Connor told me himself that you were the best of 3-A! He wouldn’t want you to feel bad about something that nobody had any control over. Besides, that I know of, you’re one of the only people he doesn’t seem to hate,” Negi paused at this point, wondering if he had said the right thing. Yeah, he probably had, just not the right way.

“It’s not that I hate most of you fools, it’s that I don’t like you,” Connor stated, hands in his pockets as he came into view.


The two jumped up, both amazed to see him up and about. Ku Fei rushed for him, but Negi grabbed the back of her kimono, eyeing Connor suspiciously.

“Where’s Setsuna-san?” He asked wryly.

Connor tilted his head to the side as though he wasn’t even sure who that was, “What, you mean my fellow lady-lover? How the hell should I know, dipstick? I haven’t even talked to her, yet!”

With a groan, Negi released Ku Fei. That sounded like Connor, alright. Setsuna must have beaten that fake.....

Ku Fei wrapped her arms around him, trying not to cry. She was so glad he was alright, the heavy burden she had felt on her shoulders began to lift. He hadn’t died because of her.....

“Why do you think Setsuna is a.....lady-lover, if you haven’t even talked to her yet?” Negi mumbled.

“Have you seen the way she looks at the headmaster’s granddaughter? Here’s a metaphor for you, kid. Setsuna = 600 pounds of unadulterated obesity, and Konoka = a Big Mac. That’s the best you’re gonna get out of me, for now, kid.”

Negi now sported a confused look, coupled with a bubbly stomach. Was he hungry, or sick?

Connor looked down at the girl who was holding onto him as though her life depended on it. “Easy, Sunshine. I’m alright, but only because I’m redirecting all of my magic to the.....” He refused to say ‘wound’ or ‘injury’, or any other variation of those words, “Spot. I’m as normal as they come right now, and you’re kinda hurting me.....”

“You ok, though? No need magic to live, right?” Ku Fei asked, releasing him and looking up into his eyes. Bright and lively.

“Well, technically, without it I’d be bedridden and borderline dead, but yeah. How 50 did it, I’ll never know,” He muttered in response.

“Who’s Fitty? I’ve never met him, have I?” Negi asked, his innocent face looking up to Connor for a straight answer, but all he got was a laugh.

“If you couldn’t do magic, kid, you’d just be a waste of organs. You’re so culturally.....well, we’re in Japan, so I’ll let it go. Plus, you’re only ten. Anyway.....uh oh.....” Connor stopped talking, his eyes falling onto Sakurako, who was staring at the three like she had never seen them before.

Negi and Ku Fei whipped around, both freezing at the sight of the cheerleader, “Oh crap, this bad.....”

“Saku-Sakurako-san, how long have you been there?” Negi squeaked.

“What are you.....magic? What.....” Sakurako wondered, looking from one teacher to the other.

“Quick, erase her memory!” Connor pointed at the girl, who took a step back.

“But I can’t-“

“Kid, now’s not the time, hop to!”

Negi, though a little unsure, aimed his staff at the girl, chanting to the spirits to help him. Before Connor could wipe his brow and take that sigh of relief, Sakurako’s clothes exploded from her body, leaving her embarrassed and naked on the ground.

“What the hell? That’s not what I told you to do, you perverted little runt!” Connor shouted, hitting Negi on top of his head.

“That what you say, but your nose bleeding,” Ku Fei grumbled, holding up her already ruined kimono to wipe the blood off of her teacher’s face.

“I didn’t mean to do that! I tried to tell you I can’t do that spell, right! Just ask Asuna-san if you don’t believe me!” Negi defended his head by ducking down low and covering himself with his arms.

Kaede and Shizuna looked from the naked Sakurako to the three who were apparently guilty about the girl’s shed clothing. “Looks like we’re going to have to go with the truth, after all,” Shizuna sighed, moving to help the nude cheerleader.


-----Author’s other note: Ok, cool! We’ve gotten by a fair amount of drama and angst, so now it is definitely time for some true anime style filler episodes which are, in this case, chapters! I say this because I want to write a little about some happy stuff, yeah, that’s just the kind of dude I am. I’m going to list some choices here for what the next chapter can be about, and whichever gets picked by a reviewer, or the most reviewers if more than one person chooses, I’ll write on. If no one reviews, I’ll just pick one myself.

1. Ayaka is throwing a party at her mansion! Naturally, all of class 3-A (especially Negi, begrudgingly Asuna) are invited. When the power goes out, though, and a heavy storm kicks in, preventing anyone from leaving, the things that go bump in the night decide to make their presence felt. Can anyone say ‘night in a haunted mansion’? I knew you could.

2. Haruna and Yue try and push Nodoka’s relationship with Negi further, but when the class rep finds out, she decides to intervene. She can’t directly get in the way, so she enlists Connor’s help in keeping the two apart. Without his magic, how’s he going to ‘discreetly’ come between the two? Will Yue be able to overcome whatever it is she feels for Negi, and does Haruna have a thing for the new teacher, herself?

3. Chamo needs money. Bad. Negi is wary of the ermine’s plans to get him to kiss his students, and instead suggests Connor gets a pactio card. After all, what’s a mage without a real partner? Emotions are sure to be touchy as he begins his search for a ‘partner’. Ku Fei, Asakura, Sakurako, and others all want a piece of this action.....

Here are the choices, this time. I personally have no real preference, I just feel like writing about the lighter side of Negima! For a change of pace. If you have a cooler suggestion, let me hear about it. Also, if there’s a specific character you want to be thrown into the mix (any of the suggestions above, or even your own), say so. No Konoka/Setsuna stuff, though. Sorry, Connor can joke about it, but I don’t roll that way. Thanks for reading!-----