Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ The Dreamer ❯ Who Loves You, Baby? ( Chapter 9 )

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

-----Author’s note: Time for true anime style filler chapter 1! (Yay no real plot development!) I’ve taken some dialogue from volume 10 of the manga, so there’s the spoiler warning right there. I do not own Negima!, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy.....-----


Negi, accompanied by his temporarily mundane aid, entered the classroom on a murky Saturday morning. It had been nearly a week since the shooting, and since Sakurako had been unwittingly informed of the existence of magic in the real world. So far, she had kept quiet about it as per the request of her two teachers, Shizuna, the headmaster, Konoka and Setsuna, Asuna, Nodoka and Yue, and pretty much everyone else who didn’t want Negi to wind up as an ermine.

Connor folded his arms as he entered the classroom with the boy, muttering more to himself than to Negi, “Why do we have to have class on Saturday? One day off per week is a load.”

“Mahora still uses the six day school week system, but Saturday is only a half day, so it’s not that bad,” Negi replied, setting his bag down on the desk, “Besides, getting to see all of them so much is nice, don’t you think?”

“You know how if you eat too much chocolate, you eventually don’t want anymore? Yeah, it’s sort of like that,” Connor replied in a whisper.

The class rose to bow, which Negi awkwardly returned. Was he ever going to get used to that? So much respect being thrown his way was kind of overwhelming.

“Today, we’re going to.....” He trailed off when he saw a hand up in the air, “Uh.....c-class rep, you have a question?”

Ayaka stood up, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders as she brushed her bangs back to speak. Connor could have sworn he saw some kind of flowers for a split second.....maybe he hadn’t fully recovered from that bullet, after all. “Negi-sensei, tonight I’m going to be hosting a-“

“Yay! Party!” Fuka jumped onto her desk, which was the sign that it was ok for the rest of the class to get up and waste the rest of the period by either swarming Negi, talking over him, playing some kind of ‘studying’ game, or some combination of the three.

“Y-You guys, please get back in.....” With a sigh, Negi let his head droop.

“Good to see you’ve got such a tight leash on them......” Connor snickered, leaning back in his seat beside the desk, tipping the chair up onto two legs.

“Why don’t you make them stop? You are, after all, my helper!”

Asuna and Ayaka began to fight. Negi had no idea why, and before long the usual bets were being thrown around.

“Because it’s funnier if I don’t help.”


“I don’t think it’s funnier!” Negi exclaimed, pointing as Asuna flew across the room, “Does that look funny to you?”

Connor nodded, “Yeah, a little bit.”

Yue watched as Negi tried to get in between the two fighting friends, who only stopped when one of them accidentally smacked him on the head. She gazed at the slightly wavering boy as he stuttered some kind of lecture about how fighting was bad, especially among friends.

Haruna looked over to her philosophical friend, her eyes glinting, “I smell something.....like rotted candy almonds.....”

“Like what? I.....” Realizing she had a tinge of color in her cheeks that would without fail pass as a blush, she looked away indignantly, “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You can’t fool me! You’re totally in love!” Haruna whisper-yelled, now right up next to her friend.

“I am not! I-He.....I can’t, because.....the age is too much, for me, I can’t.....what would Nodoka think of me....?”

“The age isn’t that big of a deal! What’s four or five years, really? In ten years nobody would even look twice! Nodoka? She’d probably love it! Well, inside, anyway.”

Yue looked at her friend like she was insane. Was this the same person who had tried so hard to get Nodoka and Negi together?

“Of course, I can’t just let you have him.....”

That sounded more like Haruna. She wouldn’t turn on Nodoka.

“I mean, I want him for myself, so don’t count on any help from me,” She laughed, patting Yue on the back.

“What? You.....” Yue looked over at Connor, a light bulb going off, “You like Connor-sensei? But he’s such a.....”

“Hey, don’t go off on him, now. After all, you’re not one to preach, wanting him too! I don’t know if either of us has a shot, though. Ku Fei’s already got a big head start on either of us, and Asakura’s been acting strange around him, too.”

“I-I told you,” Yue mumbled, relieved that the situation had steered away from Negi, “I don’t love anyone.”

-

“I love you so much!” Negi exclaimed, looking up into the eyes of the person before him, “I never thought it was possible for me to feel the way I feel when I’m with you, I didn’t know such a good feeling was even out there!”

“R-Really?”

“Really. You make me a better person.....you compliment my good points, and help to cover up my bad ones.....you complete me.”

Connor grinned as a blush spread out on the girl’s face. It looked like she was about to pass out. He had definitely set Negi on the right path.....

“N-N-Negi-kun.....you shouldn’t s-say such things.....”

“I love everyone in my class, but you’re different. What I feel for you is.....is.....”

“Come on, just say it, kid. You’re one word away from sealing the deal with a kiss and netting me some cash.....”

Chamo, who was perched on Connor’s shoulder, was just as anxious to see Negi get a move on. He had exhausted a lot of money and connections trying to get a lead on the masked people, only to come up broke and empty-handed. 50,000 ermine dollars would go a long way in filling his wallet back up, and getting another probationary contract was the quickest way to get it. He had offered Connor a share in exchange for him talking the boy into it, and even giving him a few tips on what to say.....

“Uh.....” Words began to fail Negi. He didn’t have the heart to lead his student on, like this. It was wrong.....he liked Makie, but to try and drag her into the magic world would be wrong.....

“I.....like you, too.....Negi-kun.....” Makie said softly, slowly leaning down for a kiss.

Connor’s mouth dropped. Chamo stuck a cigarette in it, jumping down and writing a magic circle around the two so fast no one even noticed.

“How the hell does he get older girls to like him, like that?” Connor muttered, not noticing the unlit cigarette resting between his lips as he gawked at the two from his hiding place around the corner of a building. “He hasn’t even dropped yet, for God’s sake!”

Makie eased herself onto her knees, so Negi was about an inch taller. She wasn’t sure what was going on. Negi hadn’t ever shown any kind of special affection for her before now, she’d always thought her affinity for him had been.....well, just like a little brother. Now that she was caught up in the moment of his ‘confession’, though, she was wondering if it was something deeper than just a sibling-like friendship. Now that her lips were mere inches from Negi’s, she was pretty sure her feelings were a bit more.....

Just before the climactic moment Connor was silently cheering for, a blonde flash rushed into Makie, knocking her clean off her feet and sending her a good twenty feet away. His eyes wide, Connor trotted over to Makie to make sure she was alright. Aside from being knocked out cold, she was fine.

“Negi-sensei! Just what was going on?” Ayaka looked down at her stunned and embarrassed teacher. The boy saw a hint of desperation in her eyes.

“C-Class rep! It.....It wasn’t what it looked like.....there was.....something on my face.....”

Connor set Makie down on a bench, laughing as he made his way over to the rep and Negi, “You knocked her clean out. Such rough behavior is unbecoming a refined lady such as yourself. Negi was telling me earlier what a nice person you were, and you do something like this, to repay his faith in you.....” Connor shook his head in feigned disappointment.

“Negi-sensei said I was.....I’m so sorry,” The flushed girl gave an apologetic bow to her little teacher, who muttered that she should be apologizing to Makie, “I just came to invite you to my place tonight.”

“J-Just us two?”

Ayaka’s face lit up at these three words, “If you want it could be just us! I can tell everyone else to.....”

“No, no, it’s ok! What time should we show up?”

“We? Oh.....” She glanced over at Connor, who shrugged. “Well, if you want to bring him.....about seven should be fine.”

“Is there anything I can bring? I could help you set up, if you’d like,” Negi, in true gentleman style, offered his assistance.

Ayaka grabbed his arm, running off with him, “Of course, Negi-sensei! There’s so much to do, and so little time to do it! You’re so well mannered, not like.....”

“Connor! Please take care of Makie-san!” Negi called out as he trailed behind the powerful class rep.

Connor watched them go, then turned to look at the unconscious pink-haired gymnast. “She’s fine,” He muttered, walking away.

Chamo leapt up onto his shoulder as he made to leave her, though, “Hold on, there! We need to have a talk.....”

“Last I checked, little white rats aren’t supposed to talk, so I think I’ll pass, thanks,” He tried to flick the ermine off of his shoulder, but the broke animal hopped up onto his head.

“Don’t talk to me like that, Emo. This is a big deal.....one that I think you’ll be very interested in hearing.....”

“Alright, alright, I’m listening. What is it?”

“It’s about the probationary contracts.....why don’t we get you one?”

“Get me a what, now? Ha, ha, I don’t think Shizuna’s interested, rat.”

“Shizuna? She’s too much woman for you to handle, punk. I was thinking more along the lines of.....well, let’s step down about ten or so years from her.....”

“What, the students? What kind of pervert are you? I can live without the whole ‘pedophile’ label, thank you.”

“Who says it has to go beyond a kiss? There’s plenty a girly out there who’d give you a kiss, no strings attached! You don’t even have to tell them, we’ll still pocket the money! Come on, what could it hurt to try?”

“My self respect?”

“You have enough of an ego to survive it, trust me.”

Connor thought about it. Would it really be so bad to try out a partner? He preferred to do things alone, sure, but he’d gotten shot alone and that hadn’t played out all that well. He’d have died if Kaede hadn’t shown up. Hm.....Kaede would make a good partner, wouldn’t she? Not to mention there was the fact that lots of mages ended up marrying their partners. Would marrying Kaede be a bad thing? He pictured her in his mind, mulling the thought over.

“We would have damn good looking kids,” He muttered aloud, much to the confusion of Chamo.

“What are you talking about?” The ermine mumbled, lighting a cigarette to help clear his mind. It seemed that he was really considering the probationary contract idea. Good.....

“Uh, nothing.....right, nothing. You have anybody particular in mind? This might actually work out.”

“Well, tonight is the rep’s party, right? Your entire class is going to be there, so that would be the perfect time to strike! We might even be able to get a whole bunch, if we play it out right.....”
“Whoa, hey, we don’t live in Utah, alright? Polygamy isn’t gonna fly, here,” Connor grinned to himself.

“What the hell’s your problem? The more money, the bigger your cut! Geez, you make it sound like the contract is marriage.....”

-

“Set-chan, you need to be more careful, ok? I don’t want to have to worry about you all the time.....” Konoka said, unwrapping the remainder of Setsuna’s bandages. She was now completely healed, all of her cuts and bruises vanished, leaving no mark on her pale skin. Though she was alright outside, she was hurt inside. She’d lost pretty thoroughly, something that she didn’t want to have to accept. It had been a fake, at that. Was Connor really that much stronger, or was the imposter that much stronger?

“I know, Ojou-sama.....”

“Geez, don’t call me that! It makes me sound old.”

“Sorry, Ojou-sam.....sorry,” Setsuna stood up, brushing herself off. It felt good to have all of those stupid wraps off, she could move freely, now. It had been awhile since she had gotten hit enough that she needed almost a week for a complete recovery. Or maybe it only took that long because Konoka was paranoid about scarring.....that was probably it. “Thanks for helping me,” She said with a little bow.

Asuna laughed at her formality, scooting her desk chair back to hop up, “You need to relax, Setsuna-san. We help you out because we’re friends, you don’t need to be so uptight about it.”

“Y-Yeah, I know.....”

“Are you gonna come to the rep’s party, tonight, Set-chan? We were all invited, so.....”

“I don’t think so.....I’ve missed a few days of training, so I was planning on catching up a little. Besides, I’m more of a.....not-party person,” Setsuna admitted with a forced grin.

“Aw, come on. It’ll be fun! I think Bookstore’s gonna do something, too.....” Asuna said, nudging Setsuna in the side.

“What makes you think that?” Sakurako asked, sitting on the edge of Konoka’s bed. She had taken to hanging out with these three lately, trying to wheedle any information she could about magic from them.

“I overheard the library trio talking about it during lunch. I don’t really know the details, but Negi might be in for an interesting night.....”

Chachamaru looked over at them from the loft, wondering exactly what was going to happen. Hopefully nothing that she might feel compelled to intrude upon.

-

Connor strolled up to the massive iron gate outside of the Yukihiro manor, looking around at the massive garden he could make out through the bars before him. He could hear people off in the distance, talking and laughing. It was faint, but it was there. His eye caught a little intercom panel, which he stepped over to.

“Ritzy,” He muttered, pushing down a button, “Hey, I’m here for the thing,” He spoke down into the device.

“Come on, Emo! At least act like you’ve got a little class. Some of these girls go for that kind of thing, and you won’t get in here with that kind of.....” Chamo, who was tucked away into Connor’s coat, trailed off as the gate began to slide open.

“You were saying? Anyway, I need to find Negi before I even start playing this game. He’ll know who I should go for.....” Thunder rumbled off in the distance as he crossed over onto the estate.

The teen made his way through the vast gardens of roses and violets, eyeing the big yellow flowers growing on bushes as he went. He had no idea what those were.....a testament to his masculinity. As he drew nearer to the sound of people, the sound of footsteps was what caught his attention. Someone was running his way.

Negi tore through the gardens, his hope soaring as he spotted Connor. He dove into some nearby bushes before whispering, “Send them off somewhere else!”

Connor had no idea what was going on until Ayaka, Makie, and Asuna came into his sight, apparently a little out of breath. “Where.....Which way did he go?” Ayaka asked, using Makie’s shoulder to hold herself up.

He thought about pointing the boy out, and if he didn’t need to talk to him, he would have done it in a heartbeat. He thrust a thumb over his shoulder, “He ran by that way. You ladies be nice to him, now.”

He caught Makie’s arm as she went by, pulling her to a stop. “You alright, pinky? You got hit pretty hard earlier.....”

Makie looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about, which she confirmed when she spoke, “Huh? When did I get hit? I remember I met Negi-kun earlier today, but the next thing I remember is waking up on a bench. Are you saying I.....”

“You’d better hurry up or those two are gonna get to him before you do!” Connor pushed her to move, which she did. “Thank God she doesn’t remember Negi’s fake confession, that could have ended up messy. Guess I owe the blonde a thank you.....” He made his way over to the bushes to pull the boy out.

“Thanks, Connor. They’d have caught me for sure if you hadn’t shown up.....” Negi muttered, brushing himself off.

“Why are they chasing you, anyway? You didn’t do anything I wouldn’t approve of, did you?”

“You mean use manners? Guilty as charged,” The boy laughed.

“Ha, ha. Funny. I helped you out, so now I need some info,” Connor knelt down to be face to face with the teacher.

“Ok, what is it?”

“Ok, now I need you to be serious, and honest, alright? Ok, first off.....on a scale of 1 to kick-ass, of all the students, who would you say kicks the most ass?”

Negi blinked a couple of times before speaking, “What?”

“No, really. Who’s the toughest of all of them?”

“Evangeline-san.”

“The toughest that isn’t in a comatose-like sleep.”

“Um.....Setsuna-san, or Kaede-san.....maybe Mana-san, I don’t know. One of those three. Why?”

“Hang on, not done yet. From ditzy to genius, who would you say is the smartest of all of them?”

“That one’s easy, Satomi Nakase, Hakase-san,” Negi replied quickly. “Chao-san is pretty smart, too, though.”

“Wait, who the hell is Hakase?”

“Um.....just check the class roster, later.”

“Alright, here’s a good one. From Springer to super-model, who’s the cutest? Don’t say you are, seriously.”

“C-Cutest? I don’t.....uh.....why?”

“Out with it, kid. I don’t have all night.”

“Uh.....N.....Nodo.....Asu.....Kon.....I don’t know.....” Negi was sweating bullets right now, knowing there was no real ‘right’ answer to this question.

“That’s fine, your opinion doesn’t mean a thing to me, anyway,” Connor grinned, “Ok, this is an important question here, and I need a solid answer. Of all of them, which one do you think likes me the most?”

Negi, now that the spotlight was taken off of his opinion of cuteness, looked at Connor as though he were a stranger. “Since when do you care what they think about you?”

“Hm? I still don’t. But come on, no questions, just answers.”

Negi knew that a few people cared about Connor, which was a bit more than he could understand. Ku Fei was the first person who came to mind. She had actually told him that she.....’liked’ the teacher. Then there was the incident involving the imposter with Asakura. He had said that he felt some of Connor’s emotions, and that he had kissed Asakura because of that. Ever since the event, Asakura had been acting a bit off around him. Sakurako had already expressed feelings for him with him around, and while she thought he may be dead. Several other girls had some affection for him, but these three were probably the top candidates, Negi rationalized.

“Ku Fei-san, Asakura-san, and Sakurako-san. They probably like you the most. But.....why the sudden interest in other people’s opinions of you?”

“Already told you kid, I still don’t care. Just wondering who I can get for a pactio without a lot of effort.....” Connor admitted, standing up.

Negi’s face went blank as he squeaked, “For a what? But.....you can’t bring them into this! We have to protect them, not use them!”

“Two of those three people you just named are weak. Lending them a little power through one of these contracts would actually help make them safer, wouldn’t it? It’s not like I’m going to throw them out into a war-zone. Besides, how many do you have? I know you’ve got at least four, so get off my case,” Connor waved the boy off, walking away.

Chamo hopped up onto Connor’s shoulder, waving a goodbye to Negi, “Sorry, Aniki! This is the best move we can make, though!”

“I.....need to go to the bathroom.”

-

Nodoka squirmed uncomfortably in her little purple dress, looking every which way for Negi, prepared to.....hide from him. No matter what Haruna said, or even what Yue said, it didn’t make actually talking with Negi any easier. Well, talking wasn’t as bad as it used to be. Pushing the level up to casual make out sessions, that was the part she found impossible. Ugh.....Haruna needed to give her a little more space.....

Yue gave her nervous friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder, looking around for Negi herself. It wasn’t because she wanted him to see her in her own dress.....it was because she wanted him to see Nodoka.....running away from him. No! That’s not right, she wanted them to.....have an argument.....dammit!

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Yue muttered, leaving the tranquil banter of the gardens, a little surprised that 3-A hadn’t totally wrecked it yet. To be able to use the word tranquil while they were involved was weird, she had to admit. She entered the mansion, immediately lost. After a couple of minutes of wandering the massive halls and hundreds of rooms, she heard a welcome noise. She approached the sound of footsteps, calling out, “Excuse me, I’m looking for.....” Her voice failed her as she saw who it was she was calling to.

Negi, pleased to find someone at all, hurried over to her, “Yue-san, I’m glad to see you! I just came in here to use the restroom, but I can’t even find one!”

“S-Same here, Negi-sensei.”

“Come on, we’ll look together. There’s something that I need to talk to you about, anyway.....” Negi continued his search, with a surprised Yue behind him. What could he possibly want to talk to her about?

The two continued their wandering of the seemingly bathroom-less mansion in silence, one too flustered to talk, the other wondering how they should go about it. It was, after all, a delicate matter he needed to ask her about. After taking in a deep breath, Negi found the courage to talk, “Yue-san, I don’t suppose that.....there’s someone special in your life?”

Almost tripping over flat ground, she had to use the wall to catch herself. “W-Why would you ask that? I’ve never.....have I?”

Negi stopped walking to wait for his student, whose legs seemed to have gotten weak on her. “No, no, it’s nothing ‘bad’, I was just.....it’s just that Nodoka-san.....”

“Oh, it’s about Nodoka?” Yue exhaled, half pleased, half depressed at this realization.

“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you, it’s just.....well, you’re one of her best friends, so I was hoping you could explain what she.....” Wow, talking about this with somebody was harder than he had thought it was going to be. He was pretty good friends with Yue, at least he knew that was the case on his end, but it was still unpleasant. “That you could tell me what she expects from me.....”

“What she expects....?” The two continued to walk, even if at a slow pace.

“She.....She told me she loved me, and I just.....the thing is, I don’t know how I’m supposed to face her.....knowing that. She deserves an answer from me, but.....”

“I-Is the problem that you don’t like Nodoka, Negi-sensei?” She asked quietly. The words, not exactly choice in themselves, just seemed to come out without her consent. She couldn’t tell if she was asking for her friend, or for herself.

“N-No, no, not at all! I like talking with her about books, and stuff.....I just.....wish I knew what it was like when you, you know, when you really love someone,” He turned an awkward smile to his student and admitted, “I don’t know what to do.”

‘Why do I keep forgetting....? Negi-sensei is only ten.....he’s never been in love before!’

“What do you think I should do, Yue-san?”

“I.....If that’s the case, then.....there is the fact that you’re a teacher and she’s a student. M-Maybe you could wait until she graduates.....and then talk with her about it.....”

“Y-You think so? You don’t think that would be rude to her?”

“No, not at all. In fact, I’ll bet she wasn’t even expecting a solid answer when she told you that.....”

‘Oh my God, what am I saying? Why.....’

“I don’t think she’s even in that much of a hurry.....I mean, she might not have done any of it if Haruna and I hadn’t pushed her into it.”

‘There’s Negi-sensei to consider here, too. Even if Nodoka doesn’t.....’

“I think she just wanted you to know how she was feeling, that’s all. If she’d have known how much it was going to upset you, I’m sure she wouldn’t have said anything at all. So.....I’m not sure that you should do anything at all. Nodoka would probably like it better that way, herself.”

‘I just.....’

Negi nodded a little, flashing Yue a smile, “Just keep doing what I’m doing, and not worry about it, huh? I knew you were the one to talk to, Yue-san. I was feeling.....pretty bad about all of that, but I feel better, now,” He came to an abrupt halt, causing Yue to falter a second time. Walking was turning out to be a lot harder today than usual. “Finally!” The boy exclaimed, pointing to the bathroom they were nearing. “I’ll just be a minute!” He paused before closing the door, “You’ve been a great help, Yue-san. Thanks.”

Yue slumped against the wall opposite the bathroom, wondering what she had just done. Had she just....?

‘What’s with this strange sense of relief? Why does Negi-sensei not having someone special make me feel so.....to know his relationship with Nodoka won’t be going anywhere for awhile, why would that make me feel so.....good? What have I done?’

She brought her hands up to her face, trying hard not to cry over her traitorous actions, ‘Why does my chest hurt....? What kind of idiot am I? I should be ashamed of myself! Not only did I manipulate Negi-sensei’s feelings, I framed Nodoka’s feelings in a way that suited me best! I’m.....a horrible friend!’

She didn’t even notice the figure leaning against the wall a few yards away, watching in amusement as she wallowed in her self loathing.

‘I can’t kid myself any longer.....I tried not to notice these feelings, but I can’t ignore them anymore. I.....I’m so.....’

“You are so-o-o-o in love with that kid aren’t you, idiot black?” Connor finally spoke up, breaking into Yue’s very personal thoughts.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, immediately more flustered than she had been at the sight of him, “C-C-Connor-sensei!” She yelped, trying to hide her tears.

“Don’t call me sensei,” He replied with a little point of his finger, “What a pal, huh? What a friend! Hiding your feelings so your friend won’t get hurt.....”

“What.....I.....You.....Huh?” Yue stammered, waving her arms. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to shoo Connor away or if she was trying to maintain her balance, or what. Did Nodoka do it because she felt like this a lot?

“Ha, ha, ha.....you can’t hide it from me, kid. I have a natural talent for catching the depth of people’s affections,” Uh, not my own though, or people’s for me. Kind of funny, that..... “And guess what? During my ‘not-so-active’ week, I’ve had plenty of time to piss off doing things that just don’t make much sense! Take this, for example!”

Connor reached into his coat, pulling out a scroll which he raised up over his head, letting it fall open down to his feet, “Being the bad-ass that I am, I require all of my things to be equally awesome, so this magically reinforced scroll is constantly in the know about that little punk. Everyone who loves him is listed here, and even in order of who loves him the most! Check out your number, sweety!” Connor laughed at Yue’s stunned expression, and suddenly felt that such a seemingly pointless creation had actually been worth the effort.

“Ah! St-Stop it! Cut it out! Pl-Please!” Yue moaned, so embarrassed and ashamed she thought she was going to die. If a big black hole sucked her down into nothingness, she wouldn’t have the heart to complain. She’d actually be grateful.

“I lo-o-oved that bit about ‘waiting until she graduates’! Very smooth, kid.”
“Ah.....uh.....I’ll tell him right now to answer her properly!” She rushed for the bathroom door, but Connor tripped her up before the first step had even fallen.

“Slow it down, sweety. Nothing you told him is technically wrong, so what’s the problem?” Connor asked with a smile, holding onto Yue’s leg to keep her from jumping up and breaking down the bathroom door.

“The problem is that I betrayed her trust!”

“Hey, now. Asking Negi to come up with an answer right now isn’t going to get anyone anywhere good. What you said is what’s best for them. You know, and you, too.”

“Please let go! I need to talk to him!”

Negi looked over at the door, wondering if he had heard something. The mansion’s doors were built of a solid oak, great for blocking out sound. If Yue had knocked, though, he would have heard. Oh well.....

“He-he-he, Come on girly, ‘fess up! We’ll jump in together! The maelstrom of love and hate.....the tortured triangle of forbidden romance.....it’ll be fun!” Connor laughed, letting go of her leg.

“D-Don’t say that! Nodoka’s my best.....” Yue’s head felt like it was about to explode. No amount of philosophizing was going to simplify this problem.

“It’s because she’s your friend! That’s why it’ll be fun! You really think that everything’s gonna be blue skies and rainbows from here on out? You can’t feel like you do and stay her friend, don’t you get it? I mean, really, have you done what a real friend would do? Well? Let’s hear it, girly!”

“I-I.....I never.....”

The bathroom door swung open, Negi hopping out, “Sorry It took me so.....Yue-san, are you crying? Connor? Did you do something to her?”

“I’m not crying!”

“Why would I make a girl cry?”

-

Kaede’s arm shot out, snagging Fuka and Fumika as they rode the blasts of wind with an umbrella. Rain was coming down in monstrous sheets, lightning bursting through the sky like a bullet through tissue paper. The bright flashes made the night sky seem like daytime, a siren off in the nearby city was going off.
“Everyone get inside!” Ayaka commanded, ushering everybody into the building. Once inside she, along with several maids, led the group of people into one of her fantastically large rooms, complete with crystal chandelier above and intricate carpet below. She flicked on one of her no doubt many big screens, upset to find typhoon warnings on nearly every channel.

“Well great, are we stuck here?” Chisame grumbled, wishing she hadn’t come at all.

“There are worse places to be stuck, you’ve gotta admit,” Chizuru replied with a warm smile. Chisame swallowed her comebacks, deciding on keeping quiet.

“Well, it looks like we’ll just have to wait it out. Anyway,” Ayaka clapped her hands for her maids to snap to attention, “Please prepare more food and drinks for our guests, they may be here for awhile.”

The lights flickered, dying off with the television.

Ayaka sighed as several of the girls screamed, “And candles, too.”

Konoka latched onto Setsuna’s arm as a peal of thunder roared through the sky, causing the building to rumble.

“It’s alright, Ojou-sama. The rain is soothing, really.”

“What about when it’s trying to tear the mansion down? Listen to that.....” Sakurako mumbled, looking around at the dark room. She was about to burst, though. What could be better than a night in a mansion during a storm with all of your friends? The only thing that could make it better was some experimentation with magic.....now she only had to find someone willing to share their gift with her.....where was Negi when you needed him?

-

The child prodigy shivered as the lights went out, the three suddenly enveloped in an all-consuming darkness.

“Well isn’t that nice?” Connor muttered, beginning down the pitch black hallway. Negi lit up a ball of light in his hand, following after his aid, pulling Yue behind him by the hand.

After taking a second to be paralyzed by his touch, Yue pulled her hand back with a little yelp, “N-Negi-sensei, I’ll be fine! I’ll just follow the light.....”

A flash of lightning broke through the darkness, the peals of thunder loud enough that even Connor winced. When they straightened up, Connor turned to look over his shoulder. His voice tinged with frustration, he spoke, “Come on, kid, put the light back on.”

After a few seconds without a response, Yue spoke, “Negi-sensei? Where are you?”
Another flash of lightning broke through the windows, flooding the hall with light. Yue and Connor were the only two anywhere to be found.

Connor let his head bang against the wall as he groaned in anger, “Oh, son of a b-“


-----Author’s other note: I decided to go with all three ideas, because I’m just that flexible. If anyone’s got any preferences for what they want to see happen, plot-wise or partner-wise, let me know. We’ll see what happens.....thanks for reading!-----