I've recently fell into with a group of Negima authors who are just about as crazy as they come. You all should know one of them: Shadow Crystal Mage. Well, to make a long story short, I was inspried by his Negima/Nanoha fic to write my own. Don't worry, this will not take away from International Magic.

The grounds of Mahora stood rigid with a lack of activity. The spring semester had just begun for the High School portion of the academy. In one recently promoted classroom, a feeling of anguish and trepidation reigned supreme.

"Where's Negi-kun?" Konoka wailed while her bodyguard/lover/minstra rubbed her back.

"Why would he run out on his class like this, aru~?" Ku Fei added, crushing yet another pencil to dust. Each one of the thirty-two girls expressed their 'distaste' over the loss of their child teacher in their own way. Except for one.

Everything came to a halt as the door slid open. Two men, one of them well into his senior years, stepped in. After the girls finished the morning ritual, the old man, Headmaster Konoemon, began speaking.

"As I'm sure you all know, Negi Springfield will not be with us for this school year." The girls raised up in a chorus of cried and shouts. It took several pounds on the desk by the headmaster's companion to silence them again. "He has received his mage's certification and has moved on to teach elsewhere."

"But why didn't he take us!" Yunna shouted.

"Yes sensei," Ayaka agreed. "We are his Minstra, so shouldn't it be appropriate that we accompany him?"

"Listen to me," the second man, Takamichi Takahata, shouted. "Negi-kun told me that he wants all of you to finish your schooling. As your former teacher, he does not want any of you to lose out on a future because of him."

"But why did he leave?" The cheerleading trio shouted.

"He told me that the reason was because he wanted to be on his own this time." Takahata announced. "He wants to try teaching without having to worry about burdening his students with thoughts of his magic. He wants a fresh start to spread his wings."

"That idiot could have told us first." The resident chibi-vampire, Evangeline, muttered. Her hand, however, rested on a large manila envelope that had been deposited on her doorstep. Even though she was depressed over losing her student, he did fulfill his debt to her. Once midterms were over, she would be free once more.

"Now," the headmaster continued. "Takamichi-kun has volunteered to be your homeroom, English, and History teacher, since everyone else seems to be afraid of your class' reputation." A smattering of laughter greeted the dean's comment. "I know you're all upset about this, but Negi-kun is a smart, responsible young man. He will be fine." Somehow, every eye in the room came to rest on one red-haired girl.

"Asuna-san, Negi-san will be alright. He saved the world." Luna Shiori, the latest addition to the class, placed a hand on Asuna's. The normally firery redhead ignored her new roommate, favoring instead to stare out into oblivion. Of all the girls in the class, she had taken Negi's twilight departure the hardest.

()()()

Nanoha Takamachi stretched in her seat, groaning to herself as her back arched around her seat. She couldn't be happier. After the chaos of the Fall semester and the Book of Darkness incident, she now had her four best friends seated around her on the first day of school. Thanks to some fancy footwork, Admiral Lindy had been able to hack into the school records and have Hayate registered in their class. Of course, this forced Signum and Zafira to pose as her adopted parents. Nanoha didn't think she'd ever stop laughing at the sight of Vita being forced to call Sigunm 'momma.' But now, it was a new day, a new semester, and a new teacher.

"So who do you think the new guy is?" Arisa asked turning around in her seat to get a better look at the two brunet's sitting behind her.

"I've heard that he's foregin." Suzuka injected.

"How foreign are we talking?"

"They say he's from Wales."

"He was raised by fish?" Fate asked, cocking her head to one side in confusion. Arisa, Suzuka and Hayate started giggling.

"No Fate-chan," Hayate explained. "Wales is a country in Great Britain. It's on the other side of the world."

"Don't worry Fate-chan," Nanoha sighed, patting the blonde's arm reassuringly. "I didn't know Wales was a country either."

"Do you think Chrono nii-san and Yunno-kun are in Wales?" Fate asked.

"Well, they said they were going to survey other countries, so it's possible."

After the TSAB had received the full report on the Book of Darkness incident, it was decided that a more thorough survey of Unadministered Planet 97 was required. Chrono had volunteered for the assignment and had asked Yunno to accompany him. During the time of the survey, the Asura had been ordered to maintain a position just inside of Earth scanning range. Lindy was ecstatic about it, because it meant that she didn't need to cancel the lease on the apartment she had.

The student's chatter ceased as the principal walked into the room. She was an old lady, rumored to be over seventy years old, with deep set eyes, iron grey hair, and more wrinkles than a worn shirt. However, one icy stare was all it had taken in order to silence the rowdy group of elementary school students. She paused momentarily, allowing her presence to sink in a bit more for the students. Finally, she made the introduction.

"We have the honor of hosting a very special teacher this year. He is the youngest graduate of Oxford University in Great Britain with a degree in teaching. He also speaks fluent Japanese and will be your homeroom and English teacher." Her eyes narrowed. "Now, I do not want to hear of any problems. This teacher is well recommended by an old friend of mine. I expect you to treat him with the same respect you show the other teachers and I." Without hesitation, she turned to the door. "You may come in now Springfield-sensei."

If this had been a cartoon, Nanoha's jaw would have hit the floor. A red-haired boy, just about her own age, walked into the room and began writing his name on the board. He looked like a kid, but he carried himself as an adult. From the wine-colored leather suitcase he carried to his green pinstripe suit, everything screamed 'teacher.'

"Good morning everyone," he introduced. "My name is Negi Springfield. I'm from Wales in Great Britain, so Springfield is my last name. I will be teaching you both English and Western literature, as well as supervising you as your homeroom teacher. While I will do my best to help each and every one of you learn English, I must ask that you all do your best during class." During his speech, the principal had slunk out of the room. Which was a good thing, because she missed what happened next.

"A rat!" One of the girls shirked, jumping up onto her chair. Looking over to the next aisle, Nanoha caught a glimpse of a white streak running down between the rows of desks.

"It's not a rat," Negi announced. "It's just Kamo-kun."

"A ferret!" Nanoha shouted, leaning over in her chair to look at the small, white rodent.

"Actually, he's an Ermine," Negi corrected. "Or to be more specific, he's an albino stoat." Asuna watched in stark fascination as the white animal looked up at her. However, it turned and darted towards Hayate. It nimbly climbed her wheelchair and jumped into her lap. "Don't worry, he's completely tame." Negi shouted. Hayate giggled in nervous fascination as she reached a hand down and stroked the furry animal now residing in her lap.

"Ermine are considered good luck in Japan sensei, did you know that?" She asked as Kamo darted up her arm, coming to rest on her shoulder.

"No I did not, umm, what was your name again?"

"Yagami Hayate." Negi nodded, having opened his class roster.

"Yes, here it is," he commented. "You're new to this class Yagami-san, right?" Hayate nodded, occupied with rubbing Kamo's furry head. "Don't worry Yagami-san, I take good care of all my students.

Nanoha giggled as she saw Kamo stretch himself out across Hayate's shoulder. "Alright, we need to get started now. Kamo, come here." Negi shouted. Perking his head up, the sleek ermine leapt off Hayate's shoulder, leapfrogged over people's desks, and landed perfectly next to Negi's hand. The class burst into applause as the ermine darted up Negi's sleeve and up onto his shoulder.

"I've had a long time to train him." Negi replied, earning louder applause from his students.

"I wonder if I can convince Yunno-kun to do that." Nanoha whispered to Fate. The blond girl giggled a bit at the thought of her best friend training the ferret-changeling.

()()()

"I was great today, wasn't I Aniki?" Kamo announced, proudly standing atop Negi's mane of red hair.

"Do you really think it's a good idea for you to be a class pet Kamo-kun?" Negi asked as he navigated the maze of corridors that were his new apartment building. It was after school and Negi couldn't wait to see the apartment headmaster Konoemon had rented for him as a thank you gift.

"Don't worry Aniki, remember, this is all a part of the plan."

"What plan?" Negi asked.

Kamo smacked a paw to his face. "Remember the reason why everyone at Mahora found out about your secret?"

"Wasn't it because there were so many bad guys trying to attack us?"

"Well, there's that," the ermine fairy admitted. "But also because so many of them snuck up on you. With me as a class pet, I'll be able to hear everything they're saying and pick out anyone who might be getting wind of your secret."

"Kamo, wire-tapping didn't work for the American government, and it won't work for us." Negi sighed.

"We're not tappin' nothin'," Kamo insisted. "Yet."

Negi was so withdrawn into his conversation that he failed to notice someone while rounding a corner. He painfully bumped heads with someone before crashing to the floor.

"I'm so sorry." He groaned while rubbing his hand on his injured head.

"No, it's my fault." A familiar voice answered. Negi looked up and saw a young blond girl dressed in a familiar white uniform sitting on the carpeted floor in front of him. "You're from my class," he announced, pointing a finger at her.

"Wait a second. You're Testarossa -san, right?"

To Negi's surprise, the girl visibly flinched at that name. "A-actually, I'm Harlaown-Fate. I don't think the school received the adoption papers yet."

Negi felt the pit of his stomach drop into his knees as he saw the young girl pick herself up off the floor. Her face was chiseled with a hard look of sadness and despair. He was at a loss as to what to respond. However, he was 'saved' the sad fate of an awkward silence by the timely arrival of the regularly scheduled comedy relief.

"Fate-chan, what's taking you?" A tall, buxom woman poked her head around the corner, catching sight of the two children. However, as Fate's back was to her, she couldn't see the anguish played out across her face. Rather, her attention was immediately drawn to the bishonen boy sprawled across the floor.

"CUTE!" The woman shouted, before darting around the corner and launching herself at Negi. "Oh my god you're so adorable. Oh you can't be any older than Fate-chan!" She shouted, right before shoving Negi's head right into her ample cleavage with the force of her hug.

"Hey Fate-chan, I didn't know you had a boyfriend!" The overly-friendly woman announced. From the sound of the muffled *thump*, Negi assumed the poor girl had fallen over.

"A-a-arf, he's my teacher!"

"Oh really?" She asked. The woman, now identified as… Arf, extracted Negi's head from her chest and took a good look at him. "Can I keep him then?"

"Arf, what are you talking about?"

"Oh please Fate-chan? I'll love him, and feed him, and call him…"

"Arf-san, Fate-chan." With a resounding *thud*, Arf dropped Negi like a sack of potatoes at the sound of the new voice.

"We're out here Lindy-san."

A new face obscured Negi's field of vision. This time it was of a much older woman, looking down on him with a motherly gaze.

"And who are you?" She asked with all the delicate tastes of a full-time mom. Negi was instantly hooked.

"I'm sorry, I think I hurt Harlaown-san when I bumped into her." He confessed; all the time staring at the woman with wide, doe eyes.

"Oh I'm sure you didn't mean to do it on purpose," she looked over at Arf doting over Fate while she dusted off her uniform. "And I don't think there's any real damage." She smiled again, gaining Negi's complete attention.

"Still, I should be more careful around my students." He confessed. For some reason, the woman's motherly gaze only served to enhance his feelings of guilt.

"Teacher? Oh, you must be Springfield-sensei," she squealed. "I never imagined a child teacher like you could be so cute."

She reached down and stroked Negi's spiky red hair. "I'm Fate-chan's mother, Harlaown Lindy."

"I'm Negi Springfield." He replied, still caught in Lindy's motherly aura.

"Well Negi-kun, would you like to have dinner with us?"

Lindy must have been some sort of master of hypnosis, because the next thing Negi knew, he was seated at a large dining room table, being served salad by another young woman. "Please sit down Amy, you know I hate it when you're walking around at meals."

"Of course Lindy-sama."

Amy, the Harlaown family's 'live at home' maid took a seat right next to Negi, squishing him slightly closer to Arf. It wasn't until Negi crunched down loudly on a crouton that he snapped out of his daze.

He had to confess to himself that dinner with the Harlaown family had been a most enjoyable experience. While Amy's cooking could nowhere near rival Konoka's, she did make a mean spaghetti. For some reason, Negi felt utterly bizarre. For the past year, whatever meals he had were nothing like this. Either it was Asuna groaning about studying while Konoka offered her mild support or the entire Ala Alba going off on some random tangent about getting stronger and publishing their own manga series. Nothing he ever did had this kind of relaxed, welcoming air. Well, except maybe those few times when he had been able to sit down to dinner with both Nekane and Anya. But even back then it was rare for the three of them to eat together. They all just seemed to be so busy.

"Negi-kun," Arf poked him in the head. "Hey, are you awake in there?"

"Huh, what?" He asked, snapping out of his daydream.

"Lindy asked you something."

"I wanted to know where you lived Negi-kun."

"Oh, um…" he dug around in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out the creased letter the headmaster sent him out with. "Apartment 523."

"That's right next door." Amy announced.

"Oh yay," Arf shouted. "Now I get to see Negi-bozu even more!"

"Easy Arf," Lindy sighed. "I'm sure his parents will want him home conscious."

"Actually, Harlaown-san, I'm here on my own." The four women stopped and stared at him.

"You're here in Uminari City all by yourself?"

"Well, save for Kamo." Negi replied sheepishly.

Lindy's palm met her forehead. "What kind of irresponsible parents send their child out to a foreign country unattended and unsupervised?" Negi could practically feel the disappointment radiating from the older woman.

"Can we keep him," Arf asked, wrapping her arms around Negi. "PLEASE?"

"Arf, Negi-kun is a human being," Lindy sighed. "Not some stray taken in off the street."

"Or Yunno-kun." Fate muttered under her breath, eliciting several giggles from the women present.

"You don't need to worry about me Harlaown-san," Negi argued, not even bothering to struggle against Arf's vice-like grip. "I'm used to living on my own."

He practically wet his pants when he saw Lindy's eyebrows meet in a crumpled look of anger. However, that quickly faded as she regained her composure. "Alright Negi-kun. But feel free to stop in if you ever need any help, or if you're just hungry." Negi stood there, torn between arguing for his independence, and thanking the woman profusely.

"And no more of this 'Harlaown-san' business. You make me sound like an old woman. Call me Lindy." Negi paused, still wrapped up in the motherly glow she emanated.

"A-alright, Lindy-san." She sighed on the inside. At least it was a start.

We're off to a good start. I'm going to make an effort to write LONGER chapters from now on. Maybe that'll get more reviews