Pani Poni Dash! Fan Fiction / Mai-HiME Fan Fiction / Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ Vegrandis Magister Ferociter ❯ 01 - 1st Encounters ( Chapter 1 )

Seven will descend.

 

Seven will bless.

 

Seven will bring forth new light.

 

And

 

Mankind will learn.

 

 

~ Translated from an ancient scripture found at Fuuka

 

 

It is the break of the dawn and the sun is slowly rising, casting its gentle rays of warmth onto the deck of the cruise. A lone solitary figure, dressed in gym clothing stood in the stance of a veteran martial artist, kicking and punching into the air. He is a young boy, not even in his teens yet.

 

This young martial artist is Negi Springfield, gifted magi, son of Nagi, probably the most popular teacher of Mahora Academy, despite being younger than his students and a natural magnet for trouble.

 

It is currently the year end semester holidays and there are no more classes to be held for now. Instead, Negi Springfield has been sent by the Headmaster to represent Mahora in the Annual Teacher's Convention, this time to be held at a Fuuka Academy. Takahata-sensei who has accompanied him as a guardian and colleague, has been a great traveling partner, introducing Negi to things he has never seen before and keeping him company. But at times like this, the wee hours of the morning when Negi would wake up, haunted once again by dreams of his past and his father that he truly feel alone.

 

Despite his maturity and power, Negi is after all still a child. He is by his own rights, still naïve and innocent to the way of the world. Takahata might be a fatherly figure to Negi but he is neither a good consoler nor confinee.

 

Negi finally sat down in tiredness, having completed his daily routine of warm-up exercises. Though he is far from his school and students, he still feels compiled to maintain his daily morning exercise. Plus it keeps his mind from wandering too much. It is only the first few days of his trip and he was already feeling somewhat lonely without the ever presence of his hyperactive students.

 

Negi leaned along the railings as the sea breeze blew gently across the deck of the cruise and gave a sign of loneliness. It was not that he disliked the cruise or the trip in any way. In fact he had enjoyed himself a lot these few days but he had been so used to traveling with his students that being away from them for even a couple of days seems long, let along one whole week. If he closed his eyes, he can still hear the faint encouragements and advices his beloved students gave him before he left.

 

He missed Ku Fei correcting his every stance as he practices. He missed the maternal presence of Asuna who also practice her sword fighting with Setsuna in the morning. He missed Nodoka and Konoka's cheers of encouragement. He even missed Evangeline's scolding.

 

“Oh, cheer up, Boss. I'm still with you.” A white ermine climbed onto Negi's shoulder. “It's only for a week or two. Before you know it, you'll be back.”

 

“Thanks, Chamo.” Negi said to the ermine. Chamo has officially been Negi's pet since Negi saved him from his captors. Yet, in many ways, Chamo is Negi's teacher as much as Ku Fei and Evangeline. It is him who taught Negi all those extra skills and techniques that made today's Negi, Negi, even if it means lying to that innocent mind of Negi's. But he always remained loyal and gratuitous to his savior.

 

“Come on, Boss. It's time for breakfast.” Chamo urged.

 

“All right,” Negi replied and made his way back to the bunk to have a change of clothes. Then he made his way to the cruise restaurant.

 

Takahata was already at their table when Negi reached there. “Good morning, Negi-kun. Feeling better?” Takahata greeted the young teacher as he approaches.

 

“Good morning, Takahata-san. Thank you for your concern.” Negi returned the greeting and sat down.

 

Takahata blew rings of smoke into the air as he stares at the gigantic electronic board at the wall. “Looks like we will be reaching port soon,” He said to no one in general.

 

“Takahata-san,” Negi asked in curiosity, “Have you ever been to this Teacher's Convention before?”

 

“Yes,” Takahata replied with a smile, “Some people call it the Oscars for education, honoring the best within the academic field. It is quite an interesting event where you can meet many other teachers from other schools and exchange many ideas with them. I'm sure you will have a lot of fun there.”

 

“Wow,” Negi became interested. Despite his loneliness, he had still looked forward to attending this event. He has been told that he has even been nominated by the Headmater for a `Rising Talent Award'. `How proud the students will be if I won,' Negi thought to himself.

 

As Negi was lost in his daydream, Chamo was looking around in interest. Just because he is now an ermine meant that he had lost his human tastes. The amount of pretty girls aboard this cruise was nothing compared back at Mahora but it still provided plenty of eye candy. Somehow, girls are naturally attracted to Negi's boyish charms and hanging around him has allowed Chamo to get very close to them.

 

Just as he fantasized about that cute little girl over at the next table, he glance a white darting figure of a rabbit at the corner of his eyes. He quickly turned around but it was gone. `Could it be… that coward?' Chamo wondered.

 

“Chamo. You're acting serious. Are you fine?” Negi asked in concern.

 

“Fine, Boss. Can I have your bacon?” Chamo quickly replied, dismissing that apparition of a rabbit as his own imagination due to hunger.

 

Later that day, Chamo pressed Negi into going to the pool. “After all, it is the holidays. You can afford to have some fun.”

 

Just as Negi arrived at the pool, he was promptly stopped by the serious hulk of a lifeguard.

 

“Just what are you bringing here, kid?! No pets allowed in the pool?!” The lifeguard growled.

 

Negi had no choice but to leave Chamo outside the pool area. “No problem, Boss. I'm fine with this, really.” Chamo told the apologizing Negi and scuttled away.

 

Before Negi can attempt `Enter the pool, Round two', a loud, shrilling whistle halts him again. “Where did you think you are going, kid?! That is the adults' pool?!” The lifeguard shouted at Negi. Then Negi found himself unceremoniously led to small, wading pool with hardly any swimming space.

 

“Good little kids stay here and be safe?!” The lifeguard said gruffly and left, leaving a very disappointed Negi behind.

 

Negi walked into the wading pool and realized with increasing disappointment that the pool was too shallow to even tread water, let alone swim. He unhappily lowered him and sat on the floor, blowing bubbles onto the surface.

 

“What a gorilla! Why do they even call this a pool?”

 

Negi found himself agreeing that, and then he realized that he was not alone in this pool.

 

Looking around, he realized that the voice belonged to a sulking girl who is also sitting in the pool. Kicking the shallow water in frustration, she cussed the lifeguard, calling him names. Negi found himself listening to what this girl had to say, nodding with agreement to every word.

 

Despite his well-mannered nature, Negi started to look at the girl in interest. Her pinkish-blond hair tied to the back in a bun. Her navy-blue school swimsuit with her name displayed on it. `So her name is Miyamoto…' Negi thought to himself, `She is quite cute.'

 

Before he knew it, Negi had spoken his very thoughts. The girl known as Miyamoto got interrupted from her chain of cusses and looked to Negi's direction. She finally noticed that she was been looked at.

 

“Uhm… Hi,” Negi ventured a greeting as he blushed, embarrassed with his ill manners.

 

She just scowled at Negi, “What are you looking at?” Before Negi could reply, she stood up. With a huff, she said, “It is bad enough to be in a kiddy pool, let alone being with a hentai who stares.” Then she strides off, leaving Negi alone in the pool.

 

There is something about this girl that attracted Negi. Perhaps it is the fact that despite his constant exposure to girls, almost all of them are older than him. This is the first time he gets up close with someone his age. Perhaps he saw similarities between themselves, both of them being foreigners and forced into a situation they did not enjoy. Or maybe he found her foul temper interestingly attractive. Or simply that this little girl had looked very cute pouting in the pool with all the indignancy in the world.

 

Negi gave a sign of disappointment, he would have liked to speak to the girl or even make friends with her. Now that she had left, there was no point staying in the wading pool. He decided to get changed and return to the cabin to rest.

 

On his way back, just as he walking past a room, he heard a shrill scream of “Eeekkk!” coming from within.

Negi, not one to leave a troubled soul in a lurch, quickly burst into the room.

 

Immediately after the door opened, a white figure jumped onto his shoulder.

 

“Boss! Run for it!” The familiar voice of Chamo urged Negi. “Oh, it was only you, Chamo. What are you doing here?”, Negi said, somewhat relieved, then he noticed that in Chamo's mouth hung a small piece of white clothing.

 

“Panties?”, Negi blushed at the sight of it, “Chamo, what have you been do…ing?” The relevance of this had begun to sink into him. He finally took a look at his surroundings, and before him stood what some would call a sight between heaven and hell.

 

It was the girl from the pool before, Miyamoto as Negi knew her. She was half-dressed, her swimsuit stripped to her waist, trying to cover up what breasts she had with her arms, her face crimson red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

 

She raised a trembling finger at him. “You again…” She said, but could not continued, her voice and body shaking with anger.

 

Negi knew he was in big trouble. He had to do something before the misunderstanding get any worse. He took the panties from the protesting Chamo and held it gingerly in his hands before him.

 

“Err… I… think this… uhmm… this belongs to you…. I'm… terribly sorry for what my…. ermine has done…” he said as he tried as much as possible to avoid looking at the trembling sight before him.

 

There was no response.

 

Negi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he starts to walk forward with his arms and the accidental booty stretched in front of him. “Here, please take it back…” He offered as he approaches Miyamoto.

 

“I'm warning you….Don't… come closer…. Stay there…” He heard Miyamoto said.

 

Negi paused. “But…”

 

Then he heard footsteps approaching him. `Yes, she accepts my apologies.' He thought gladly, `Perhaps there is still a chance of becoming friends.'

 

“Don't… move… I'm going to… take my…. My thing back.” Negi heard the voice of Miyamoto.

 

“Here! No offences, I hope.” Negi eagerly thrust the panties out and took a step forward.

 

Before he knew it, he had stepped on something and fell forward with a shout. A scream accompanied his fall.

 

“That hurts.” Negi mumbled painfully and realized that he had fallen on something soft. He felt around with his hand. He heard a gasp of surprise. It felt soft, very unlike the floor he was walking on just a while ago.

 

He had a very bad feeling about it. He ventured a peek from his eyes and saw that he had fallen on Miyamoto. Her hair had been undone, her long blond hair spread out behind her. Her arms were no longer at her breasts, hiding it from view; instead they lay at her sides. Negi was so close to her that he can smell the chlorine from the pool previously. He did not know what to say, and judging from her facial expression, neither did Miyamoto.

 

So both their faces became redder and redder as the silence between them grew.

 

Finally, Negi backed off slowly. “Uhmm… Are…are you okay?” He asked softly.

 

Miyamoto sat up and looked away, no longer attempting to hide anything anymore.

 

“Go away.” Negi heard faintly.

 

“Err…” Negi struggled for words, perhaps to apologize once again, perhaps to console.

 

“Go away.” The words grew louder.

 

“Uhmm…” Negi found himself slowly backing off to the door. He was feeling confused, embarrassed and very, very guilty.

 

Miyamoto turned furiously to glare at Negi. Her eyes red as tears flowed from them.

 

“Go away!” She wailed, sadness echoing in her cries.

 

“Sor…ry…” Negi tried to say as he moved closer to the door.

 

Miyamoto let loose a round of loud, angry `Go away!' before she started sobbing loudly.

 

“Go away.” This time softer, a plead.

 

“I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!” Negi quickly said, grabbed Chamo and ran off, slamming the door behind him.

 

As Negi ran, he thought unhappily about the events that just past. He had done something very wrong and he knew it.

 

After a couple of turns, he finally stopped. He leaned against the wall and started to pant. He can still feel the soft body of Miyamoto against him and in his hands. It was not that things like this had not happened before. In fact it had occurred so many times during his misadventures with his class, he was almost used to it. He can no longer recall how many times he had accidentally blown off Asuna's clothes or saw her in the nude.

 

But, this time, it felt different. While in the past, he had always felt guilty and apologetic, this time he felt terrible, the guilt weighing down his heart like a rock.

 

Negi felt that he must go back to at least atone for the disfavor he had done for Miyamoto but he too knew that going back would only make things worse for her.

 

There was nothing he can do.

 

“Cheer up, Boss. It's not so bad. At least you gained something.” Negi heard Chamo speak and glared at him. After all, Chamo was the whole reason why the incident occurred in the first place.

 

Then he noticed that Chamo was still holding on to those white panties.

 

“Oh, Chamo… why did you do it again?” Negi scolded Chamo in frustration.

 

“Well, Boss. At least now you have a reason to go back and get her.” Chamo said.

 

Negi snatched the offending item from Chamo and looked at it with growing embarrassment and guilt. `Yeah, I will have to go back and return this to her.' Negi thought.

 

`Maybe not today, and probably not tomorrow. But I will return this to her and properly apologize.' Negi vowed to himself.

 

With that, he walked back to the cabin. He would need to prepare himself for his inevitable meeting with Miyamoto again.

 

 

~ End Chapter Point Five ~

 

 

 

She continued to sob for some time before she finally wiped away her tears.

 

`Come on, Rebecca. This is not you to do that.' Rebecca Miyamoto thought to herself as she sullenly continued her interrupted changing.

 

`You will fight back. Make that bastard pay for what he did.' She thought as the events slowly replayed in her minds again.

 

Rebecca Miyamoto. Born to an American father and a Japanese mother, she is a child genius who graduated from M.I.T. with triple majors at the tender age of ten. She enrolled as a mathematics teacher a year later at Momotsuki Academy and became the infamous `chibikko-sensei' or `Becky' as her students liked to call her.

 

Now she was on her way to Fuuka Academy to attend the Annual Teacher's Convention in which she had been nominated for the `Rising Talent Award'. The teachers who were to be her guardians for the trip, Igarashi and Saotome were no where to be seen. Igarashi was probably drinking herself silly at the bar which Rebecca cannot enter and Saotome was probably exercising in the gym where Rebecca hates.

 

So with nothing to do, she decided to go for a swim, only to end up been escorted by the gorilla of a lifeguard to the wading pool. Rebecca sat in the pool sulking, feeling absolutely annoyed and bored.

 

Perhaps she had been spoilt too much. Even during her jungle trip to visit her professor, her students had insisted on tagging along for the wild ride. Now, left truly alone, without the lively presence of her eccentric students, she could not find anything to do. She even missed those never-ending calls of `Becky', the appointed nickname for her by the students that she had started out disliking.

 

She heard a splash as someone enters the pool beside her. She ignored it, probably just another kid.

 

“What a gorilla! Why do they even call this a pool?” she cussed to no one, as she kicked the pool water, sending water droplets splashing everywhere.

 

“Lower life-form! Idiot! Nincompoop!,” Rebecca continued, feeling better already.

 

“Stupid King Kong!” she cussed as she kicked the pool again.

 

“So her name is Miyamoto…She is quite cute.” Rebecca heard and turned her head to the one who spoke it.

 

Before her, sat a young foreign boy with spectacles and orange hair tied to the back. He had just realized he had spoken his thought out loud and blushed. “Uhm… Hi” he greeted Rebecca.

 

Rebecca scowled and retorted, “What are you looking at?” She was just getting rolling and she had disliked being interrupted, even if it was by this boy which she admittedly found quite cute.

 

Without giving the boy time to reply, Rebecca decided to leave and stood up. “It is bad enough to be in a kiddy pool, let alone being with a hentai who stares,” she confirmed with herself. She had had enough of the wading pool, maybe she should just go back to the cabin and sleep. Then, she strides off, back to her cabin.

 

Back at the cabin, Rebecca undid her hair and started to dry herself with a towel. Throwing the wet towel onto the floor, she opened her drawers and took out her lucky panties and pajamas, laying them out on the floor. She was happily looking forward to a good nap. Perhaps she would have some happy dreams.

 

She begun to change, taking off the top of the swimsuit. Just as she was about to strip off the swimsuit, Rebecca heard a scurrying sound. Looking towards the sound, she saw a white rodent trying to approach her.

 

For a while, Rebecca just stared at the rodent that had seemed have discovered that his presence had been detected. Then she did what most girls would have done when they saw a rodent, she screamed.

 

“Eeekkk!”

 

The rodent quickly grabbed her lucky panties in his mouth and ran for the door.

 

Rebecca was about to give chase when the door burst opened and someone entered. She realized that it was the foreign boy at the pool. The rodent leaped onto his shoulder.

 

She swore that she heard the rodent said, “Boss! Run for it!” but there are more urgent matters to look to than a talking rodent. Rebecca had realized that she was standing half-naked before a boy. Luckily she had not totally taken off the swimsuit. She quickly covered her exposed breasts with her arms. She can feel her face growing redder and redder out of anger and embarrassment.

 

The boy had not seemed to notice her presence but was in fact talking to the rodent. Then, he discovered the rodent's booty and blushed. He looked around and finally noticed where he was and who stood before him.

 

Now, Rebecca was feeling her anger rising, the rodent had actually belonged to this perverted boy. He was probably responsible for the incident. She raised a trembling finger at him, trying to accuse him.

 

“You again…”, she started but could not continue, out of anger.

 

The boy was blushing madly as he took her panties away from the ermine and held it before him. “Err… I… think this… uhmm… this belongs to you…. I'm… terribly sorry for what my…. ermine has done…” he stuttered as he tried to look away.

 

Rebecca did not know how to response. She had been so sure of his responsibility that she was about to launch her verbal assaults at him. His obvious embarrassment and hesitation had indicated his non-involvement and made her confused.

 

The boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then with his arms extended before him, he started to move towards Rebecca. “Here, please take it back…” he said.

 

Rebecca looked around frantically, this was unexpected by her. While she had understood his intentions, she was still scared, confused, angry and embarrassed. She then noticed that the boy was about to step on the slippery towel left on the floor.

 

“I'm warning you….Don't… come closer…. Stay there…”, she warned the approaching boy who did not had the sense to at least study the surroundings before attempting to do a blind walk.

 

“But…” the boy said. Rebecca decided to walk forward. Might as well quickly retrieve her panties and get him out of the room earlier. “Don't… move… I'm going to… take my….,” she hesitated for a while, “my thing back.”

 

The boy smiled. Rebecca knew that usually boys would rather be taking in as much of the sight as possible before getting chased out; this boy has acted as much like a gentleman as situation allowed.

 

`Maybe,' Rebecca thought, `I'll asked him to wait outside later so that I can properly talk to him.''

 

Then the boy said, “Here! No offences, I hope.” He thrust the panties out and took a step forward.

 

Onto the slippery towel.

 

And fell forward.

 

Onto Rebecca.

 

As the boy shouted in surprise, Rebecca screamed in accompany as he brought her down on the floor with him. Before she knew it, the boy was on top of her, pinning her down flat on the floor.

 

“That hurts.” She heard him mumbled. Then he moved his hand about, trying to feel for his location. As his hand felt her breast, she gasped in surprise. Whatever good impression Rebecca had of this boy had been overturned and once again, he was an evil hentai hell-bent on taking advantage of her.

 

The boy finally opened his eyes and looked at her. Both their eyes met. Rebecca had no idea on what to say or how to react. All she could feel was panic, anger, confusion, an entire melting pot of intense emotions.

 

Those minutes of silence felt like hours as they stayed in their position, faces growing redder.

 

The boy finally made the first move by slowly backing off.

 

“Uhmm… Are…are you okay?” Rebecca heard him asked gently.

 

Rebecca sat up and looked away from him. She no longer tried to cover her breasts. After all, he has already seen it all and even felt it. There was no point anymore. She felt anger but she was just too tired, too confused to go with it.

 

“Go away.” She said softly. She could only muster enough energy to say so.

 

“Go away.” She repeated before the boy can respond. She felt hot tears streaming from her eyes.

 

She heard him stutter for words again. Why won't he just go away and leave her alone? She did not even respond with violence as she knew she should. All she wanted now is to be left alone.

 

She turned and glared at the offending boy. “Go away!” She wailed.

 

The boy was already moving closer to the door. “Sor…ry…” he tried to say.

 

“Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away!” Rebecca screamed at him before she finally broke down into tears.

 

“Go away.”, she pleaded for the last time.

 

“I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!”, the boy said quickly. In her tears-blurred vision, Rebecca saw the boy grabbed the rodent and ran off, slamming the door behind him. Sounds of running footsteps grew fainter and fainter.

 

She was once again alone.

 

When Rebecca finally regained control of herself and got changed, the sun was setting. She just sat on the bed, silently contemplating her next course of action. She will extract revenge on the insolent boy, he had came, taken advantage of her and gone, and her lucky panties were missing, probably still in his hands.

 

`How?,' she thought, `How?' This cruise was the only place she knew he will be but it will soon reach the next port where she will have to alight to go to Fuuka Academy.

 

At that moment, the door burst open and Saotome entered, carrying Igarashi behind him. Igarashi was once again in a drunken stupor.

 

“Come on, Saotome… Sing with me….*hic*… What is the… malted *hic* “, Igarashi sang out-of-tune and tried to goad the gym teacher along.

 

“You are drunk, Miyuki-san.” Saotome complained and he struggled to lift her back to the bed.

 

“Good evening, Miyamoto-san” he greeted Rebecca, “Please take care of this drunk.” as he laid Igarashi down onto the bed.

 

“Barman, I want another one of your best.” Igarashi murmured and then proceed to start snoring.

 

“Sometime, I wonder who is the older one, you or her,” Saotome tried unsuccessfully to joke with Rebecca and looked at her. Then he noticed Rebecca's bloodshot eyes.

 

He quickly knelt down and looked closer. “Miyamoto-san, have you been crying? Who did this to you?” he asked out of concern.

 

“It's okay.” Rebecca assured Saotome. She smiled faintly at him. She had felt better with the presence of the older teachers with her. While intellectually, they might not be smarter than her, but they had been her de-facto guardians for this trip and they, even Igarashi to a certain extent had shown her care and concern like her parents overseas.

 

“We got a convention to attend soon. So I got no time for now. So he will pay for it later.” She said it with her smile switching to a devious one. She knew that Saotome knew that she was plotting something up her sleeves. She could see him shiver in fear for a moment.

 

“At least you seem fine.” He said, “Don't go overboard.” Then he left the cabin for his own.

 

Rebecca listened to the rhythmic snoring of Igarashi and thought for a while. That boy will get it from her eventually. All she need is an opportunity. First she would have to calm down and use her brain against him. After all, he is only little boy, not like he can use magic or anything.

 

With that, she lied down onto the bed. She will need to prepare herself for her inevitable meeting with that boy again.

 

“I wonder where Mesousa is?”, she wondered.

 

 

~ End Chapter One ~

 

 

Mesousa was scared. He was always scared. But this time, he was SCARED.

 

He had noticed to his horror that Chamo was on board of the cruise and was lucky to have narrowly been discovered by him.

 

`If not for his hare-brained schemes,' Mesousa paused for a while to contemplate of the irony of his thought, `we could still be humans.'

 

Ever since that fateful day, Mesousa had lived as a cowardly rabbit, always sobbing his fate. Years had made him accept the fact that he can no longer enjoy the delights of being human, such as fingers but that did not mean he cannot cry over the spilt milk.

 

He had since split up with Chamo and found himself in the companion of Rebecca Miyamoto. She had called him her companion but that did not stop her for treating him like a slave and asking him to do the ridiculous, like fighting a giant baby.

 

During that fight in which the baby shrunk back to her original size, he had wondered if perhaps his lost magic had returned to him, but somehow no one seemed to remember the incident and life as a sobbing rabbit went on as usual.

 

Currently, he is hiding himself in the boiler room of the cruise in order to avoid Chamo. He figured that he could probably re-unite with Rebecca someday in the future, if he was lucky that she had not forgotten about him first.

 

`I will be left alone again on board of the cruise,' Mesousa sobbed, `Curse you, Chamo. Why do you appear again and torment me so?”

 

Just then, the door burst opened. Mesousa quickly covered his mouth to muffle his scream, tears of fear streaming from his eyes.

 

A tall figure stepped in, darkness shrouding his features. He looked around for the presence of people. Then, he shouted, “I know you are there. Come out now.”

 

Mesousa started to shake in fear. Scary…. His brain froze with only that thought. Even more tears of fear streamed out. He wondered if there was heaven for cowardly rabbits.

 

Just then, another figure materialized from the shadows and stepped forward.

 

“Very good. You notice my presence. You are John Smith, I presume.” The new figure spoke with a deep, German accent.

 

Mesousa's brain was now going into overdrive, he was scared witless. All this time, he had never noticed this new figure who was supposed to be here.

 

“Yes. And you must be Garf Wilhelm Josef von Herrman. We, from the SEARRS Foundation welcome you to the Golden Millennium. We would like to hire your service.” The John Smith spoke with an American accent.

 

“Call me Garf Wilhelm. My full name is quite a mouthful, don't you think so? I will be of service, if the price is right,” Garf Wilhelm said.

 

“Oh, we have just the price for you…” John Smith replied confidently.

 

Mesousa never heard what came next. He had already fainted.

 

 

~ End Chapter One Point One ~

 

~ To be continued ~