The Magister Ashikabi

Chapter 1

A young man walked towards the meeting hall of the Magical Academy of Wales, he was very well dressed in a black blazer with a white undershirt and dark blue faded jeans. Smart sneakers and a long magical staff completed his ensemble. He had brownish red hair that fell in points on his face and ears, and held in place by a short ponytail. He was relatively short for his age, a respectable 5'' 10', and built like an athlete. But his short stature didn't in any way make him appear weak. Even though he walked with a charming smile on his youthful and somewhat feminine face, his bright brown eyes, hidden behind sleek oval glasses that looked as if they were on the verge of falling off his nose, held the alertness and power of an experienced warrior. He was the hero of the Magical World, known as the Herald of Darkness. A Prodigy at magic, and anything that he immersed his hands in, he had rose up the ranks of the Magical world, first as a mercenary, and then completed his self-imposed journey to find his father, saving the world along the way.

-X-

Tomorrow was the day that I would begin my journey as an Official Magister Magi. Official, because I was involved in a plot to destroy and imprison the whole of Magicus Mundus, literally translated as The Magical World. To put it in a nutshell, some bad guys led by a delusional Immortal, who called himself the Lifemaker, wanted to erase the whole world, and to put it literally, rewrite it as per their wishes.

I came to know about this little tidbit 3 years ago, while I was on a journey to find my father.

What followed after could be described as one conflict after another, fighting, whether with the backing of the government or our own fists and Magic.

But before I get to that, I think it would be a little less confusing if I told you about myself a little.

My name is Negi Springfield-Vespertatia, crown prince of Ostia, son of the renowned Thousand Master, Nagi Springfield and the Queen of Ostia, Arika Vespertatia. I am currently 18 years old, and an a little proud to say that have my own moniker in Magicus Mundus. The 'Herald of Darkness' is what they called me, perhaps because of the brand of magic that I use. 'Dark Magic' was a path that was rarely followed by the practitioners of magic, and most of those who did, didn't survive the harsh training. Apparently he had something extra that had enabled him to use Dark Magic, Magica Erebea, and use it to an extent that surpassed his Master.

'Not that I would dare tell her that to her face'.

But to gain power you had to make sacrifices, and I had sacrificed my humanity to save the world, I had turned myself into the very thing that I had fought against. An Immortal.

I shook my head as a thunderous sound of clapping assaulted my ears as I stepped into the Graduation Hall. I smiled charmingly at the people that were cheering for me, and blushed as I caught sight of various teenagers that were looking at me with hearts in their eyes. I must confess that I never really got the hand of being looked up to and adored by the whole of the Magical World.

'I wonder if my dad went through the same thing . . .but knowing him, he probably just basked in the glory. Good thing mother set him straight. '

I smiled slightly at the thought of my parents, and swept the waiting crowd, searching for the familiar visage of my family. I spotted them, my father whistling proudly as he danced around with a happy Nekane-oneechan. I caught the eyes of my mother and she smiled faintly at me, and then blushed and looked away. I knew that she was still a little overwhelmed to meet me after the time that she spent in stasis, captured by the Lifemaker. She didn't know how to act around me, and that in turn made me nervous around her.

I got in line with the other graduates, standing out pretty obviously as the only teenager there. Clapping politely as the other students got their diplomas, I waited for my turn.

'I hope they don't make a scene because of me.'

"Will Negi Springfield-Vespertatia please step forward to receive his diploma." I heard the Headmaster, a really ancient man that had more hair on his face than on his head, state.

I walked forward, and bowed slightly to show my respect and gratitude, and accepted my Diploma.

-X-

"Congratulations Negi." Nekane said as she grabbed me in a gentle hug, swiping her tears away, smiling brilliantly at me. "It's an important first step for you to begin your journey as a Magister. I'm so proud of you!" she hugged me tighter.

"Geez, Nekane. He's already a Magister, and has already saved the world, this diploma thingy doesn't matter to him, right Negi?" my father asked me, looking like he would beat me up if I were to disagree.

Before I could reply, my father was sent crashing to the ground, his face leaving a sizeable imprint on the floor, courtesy of my mother who had hit him on the top of his head.

"Just because you weren't smart enough to graduate doesn't mean that it isn't important." She said, glaring at the prone form of my dad. I smiled at the scene. "I think that you are just jealous." She declared.

I laughed softly, "Thank you, mom."

She ducked her head, and began twiddling her fingers nervously. I saw my father look at her incredulously.

"Just hug him for god's sake, Arika. He's your son, he's not gonna bite your head off or anything. . . right?" he turned towards me as he finished his question.

I spluttered my answer, and was suddenly grabbed by him and pulled into a three-way hug. "Start acting like family you two, or some heads are gonna roll."

-X-

Holding my diploma in front of my eyes, with Nekane and my father peering over me from behind my shoulders, I waited for the task that I was to undertake to appear on the diploma. My mother was standing beside me, her cheeks still a bit red, looking at my diploma as well.

Words began appearing on the paper as I waited with anticipation.

"A Pediatric Doctor in Shin Tokyo" it said simply.

'Shin Tokyo, if I remember correctly it was in . . .Japan. wow, haven't been there since I visited there searching for Master. But a children's doctor? Really? That's a little . . . unconventional.'

"Shin Tokyo? What's that?" my father asked, a clueless expression on his face. Really, it was hard to imagine that this man was regarded as the hero of the First War and more importantly, the King of Ostia.

"It's not what, dad. It's where. I believe Shin Tokyo is a city in Japan, it's capital I believe." I informed my father.

"But a doctor? Are you really qualified for such a job?" my mother asked. I looked at her and was surprised to see that she was a little worried. I wondered what exactly she was worried about.

"Well, I have quite a bit of knowledge on Magical healing." I started and was amused by my father's disgruntled expression. I knew for a fact that my father knew squat about Healing Magic. "But considering that Mages are to keep their magic secret, I believe I will have to study up on the healing techniques used in the Old World."

Ah, damn! I was hoping to use the six-month training time for trying out some of the new inventions of magic that I have been thinking about. Magical antiquities and artifacts were something that interested me greatly, and I was thinking about using the first free time that I had since the Second War ended to indulge my hobbies. But I have to admit, I was a bit excited to journey back to Japan.

"Negi. . ." my mother started, and I noticed that her worried expression hadn't abated. "Are you sure that you want this? Don't you think that you have done more than your share of work. Everyone considers you as a Master Magister, why do you want to do this? Why not come back to Ostia?"

I was a bit surprised at my mother's words. Not so much as what she said, but how long and passionately she had spoken. The offer to return to Ostia with my parents was awfully tempting, but I knew that I would regret giving up the first semblance of normalcy in my life.

"I appreciate the offer mom, but I want to do this." I stated in a firm voice, intending to make her believe that no amount of coercing could make me change my decision.

"Very well." She nodded, a bit sadly.

"I will still write to you regularly mom." I tried lifting her spirits, unable to see my mother even a bit sad.

"Make sure you do that. If I don't hear from you every day, I'll send a brigade of the Adrianne Knights to make sure that everything's okay with you." She nodded her head, as if she had made a decision.

I gaped. Then I turned pleading eyes towards my father who seemed to have trouble controlling his laughter.

"Arika, Negi is a grown boy. He doesn't need to check in with you every day! Once a month will be fine son." My father said and grabbed my mother's hand and yanked her away before she could begin protesting.

-X-

I put down the book on the modern human medicinal practices that I had been re-reading as the flight captain announced that the plane was about to land at Haneda International Airport. It had been a long flight, and I couldn't wait to get off the plane. I was grateful that my mother had insisted that I travel Business Class.

I had reached a compromise with my mother. I would write to her every month, but she had insisted on opening an account at the Tokyo Union bank. And buying me a house, and a car. I had objected, saying that these were unfair advantages that other trainee Magisters didn't have. She had insisted that I was the crown Prince of Ostia, and as such needed to get used to living in luxury. Seeing her happy and hopeful expression, I couldn't bring myself to refuse, and was a little wary of what my mother would consider as 'living in luxury'. At least I had been able to talk her out of sending a fleet of body guards and maids to stay with me. That would certainly have been uncomfortable for me.

Clearing my way through customs, and collecting my baggage, I walked out of the airport into the cool winter evening of Tokyo. Just as I was about to call myself a cab, my magical senses detected a magically powerful being that was further away from where I was standing. Looking around curiously, and berating myself for not being alert to my surroundings, I lowered my partially raised hand and concentrated. The results were a little surprising. Nevertheless, I moved towards him. I had recognized his magical signature, after all, he was my friend and I had often worked with him when I was in Japan the last time.

"Takamichi-san. It's nice seeing you again." I greeted the slightly greying, but fit looking man. He was dressed in his typical cream coloured formal suit, his hands, casually placed inside his pocket. He shook my hand firmly, and offered to take my luggage which I politely refused.

"Your mother sent me to make sure that you didn't have any problems adapting." Takamichi said, rubbing his stubble coated cheeks. He had informed me that he had parked his car in the Parking lot and we were going there. Hearing his reason for being there, I groaned inwardly.

'Of course she did. I should have known that she had agreed too quickly.'

"So, how long are you going to stay?" I asked politely.

"Oh, I'm leaving for Mahora tomorrow. Arika-sama asked me to scout out the city before you arrived. She wanted to make sure that there weren't any disturbances that you might encounter." Takamichi replied. Glancing at his face, I got the impression that there was something odd going on here.

"Not that I need to worry, but is there anything that I should know about?" I asked him. It was always better to know everything before someone makes a move against me.

"Well . . . there's something odd in the city. First of all, there are no Mages at all here." Takamichi said as he opened the door of his car.

I was honestly surprised by this. Even though Mages didn't reveal themselves, there were ways in which they could be found. One way was similar to the one I used to find Takamichi, the other was a fairly elaborate ritual, that would pinpoint locations of Magically attuned beings.

"None at all? Are you sure?" I asked him, verifying that I hadn't misunderstood.

"Not even one. I haven't been able to find any reason for this, but I have to admit it's a little strange." I merely nodded my head absently, pondering over the many reasons that might be the cause. None came to mind.

"Did my mother know of this fact?" I asked apprehensively.

"No, I figured I would ask you first before I report my findings to Arika-sama." Takamichi grinned.

I released a grateful sigh. "Thanks for that."

-X-

Turns out, I was worried needlessly over my mother's plea to provide me with adequate accommodation. It was a bit big for a single person to live in, but much better than what I had been expecting. I'll take living in a bungalow over a Mansion any day. Something about the sheer size of them just creeped me out.

The house was conveniently located close to the hospital that I had been accepted as an Intern, a half hour away by car and two stations away. Glancing at the neighborhood, I got the impression that it was a fairly strict neighborhood, cars parked exactly right, curtains closed to keep their privacy. Utterly boring.

Entering the house, I walked throughout it, admiring the various appliances that my mother had furnished the house with. While she may have bought a relatively small house, she hadn't skipped out on the appliances. It was every teenager's dream house, but somehow, I doubted I would be using them much. As far as I could tell, being a doctor was difficult and required a lot of hard work, and I was determined to excel in my work.

Satisfied with the house, I walked towards the back entrance, and into the garage. There were two cars there, I didn't recognize the name or the brand, but judging by their built and looks they appeared to be costly. As I neared the end of the garage, the Magical Sensing that I had been focusing on passively caught wind of a disturbance.

Flicking my right hand casually, I cast a recognition spell and then the unlocking one, moments within the other. The back door of the garage opened, revealing a false wall and on peering inside I resisted the urge to sigh in frustration.

Apparently my mom though it fit to install a mini-jail inside my home.

I slammed the false wall shut. Shaking my head I went back into the house and back upstairs. Turning in for the night, I wondered how I would fare as a children's doctor. But before I went to sleep, I practically bound the whole of my magical power. If this town didn't have any mages, I certainly didn't want to stand out.

-X-

"Kakizaki-san, the new intern is here to see you." The secretary spoke into the speakerphone, and after she got an affirmative, waved me through.

I smiled my thanks, and groaned as I caught sight of her rising blush. It was not that I didn't appreciate the girl's interest in me, but I couldn't pursue a honest relationship with someone who was unaware of the Magical world. Either she would have to become my partner, provisional or otherwise, or I would have to break-off the relationship. These problems were something that could be dealt with, but my condition . . .

"Springfeld-san, please sit down." I looked over the man, his tone suggested that he was used to his orders being followed, I bowed politely, and took my seat.

I think that he was impressed by the interview that I gave, but I was positive that he thought he had successfully hidden his admiration of my knowledge. He was good, but I was better.

-X-

I had been working at the hospital for three weeks now, and I have to say, being an intern was a very demanding job, especially if you are the only intern responsible for the Pediatric Ward. The resident doctor was of no help, and usually didn't even show up for his duties. I was angry that he was treating his duty so callously, the hospital was one of the best in Tokyo and patients were always coming in to get treated. Despite the increased workload, I had settled very well at the hospital. I have to admit, treating children was difficult, they cried, they wiggled and they never did what they were told to do. Some of the nurses had taken pity on me, and told me some of the methods that they used to get the children to comply with their wishes.

Teenagers were a little less trouble, but it was difficult to sort out the true cases of a disease, from an excuse to get out of school.

I was making my way over to the long term ward a happy expression on my face, checking on the only patient that I had there. Chiho Hidaka. She was a young girl, 15 years old and was suffering from an unknown virus that had rendered her bedridden. The medication that she was on wasn't healing her, only delaying the inevitable. I couldn't help but sympathize with her the first time I had met her. Orphaned at a young age, she had been in the hospital for over a year.

I had noticed that the staffs of the hospital were treating her as if she was non-existent, taking care of her emotionlessly, more out of need than compassion. It angered me to see such behavior, and I vowed to spend more time with her. Even after meeting her once, I could tell that she was the most kind-hearted young woman that I had ever met. Her selflessness and desire to not be a bother helped me make the decision to help her best that I could. I didn't want to use my Magical abilities, not until the situation was extremely dire, but I decided to make an exception.

After our first meeting, I had immersed myself in my studies, every waking moment that I had free, in order to find a cure for her disease, normal or otherwise. And after three weeks of tireless research, I had found the cure yesterday. As I had expected, normal medicine had failed, but the magical healing texts that I had with me mentioned a cure. As soon as I had heard of that, I had travelled for a quick stop to Magicus Mundus, travelling anonymously, in order to get the job done quickly. Travelling magic was something that I was one of the best at.

Reaching the appropriate ward, I opened the door and immediately noticed that the resident doctor was at Chiho's bedside, talking. I saw him glance up at me as I opened the door, and giving one final glance at her, he left the room. I didn't bother acknowledging him by a greeting, I had noticed the sad and distressed state that Chiho was in and I made my way to her immediately. I picked up the patient's information chart that was hanging beside her bed, worried that her condition might have worsened. I released a relieved sigh as I saw that there were no changes in her condition. Good, my cure can still work.

"Good morning, Chiho-chan. How are you feeling today?" I asked, putting a smile on my face.

"Ah, Good morning to you too, Negi-kun. I'm feeling good, no unusual pains or anything." She replied, trying to smile at me, making sure that I wouldn't worry about her. She was a very nice person, and I was proud to call her my friend. When I didn't say anything for a while she looked at me with an enquiring expression on her face.

"Is there something wrong Negi-kun?" she asked me.

I knelt down beside her bed; so that my head was just a little bit lower than hers. I didn't want her to strain herself looking up at me.

"There's nothing wrong with me Chiho-chan. But, please, tell me what is it that has you so worried?" I noticed that she appeared startled by my question, and immediately began shaking her head. "I'm not worried at all Negi-kun." She smiled at me again, but you didn't have to be an expert at reading facial expressions to see the quivering smile that she sported on her face.

"Please." I said simply, and reached forward to grasp her right hand with mine. 'Her hands are shaking.' I noted.

She seemed to wrestle with her response for a while, but I watched as she lost her battle, and tears started collecting in her eyes.

"Nakamura-san visited me just now. H-He told me that my health insurance will be o-over next week and I will be forced to discharge from this hospital. I-I don't know what to do. I have nowhere to go, no money . . .I'm so scared Negi-kun, I-I . . ." she sobbed.

My heart constricted in pain, sympathy surging within me. Nakamura was a worse human than I thought him to be, and I vowed that as soon as I was able to, that bastard would be kicked out of this hospital. I would make sure of it.

I hugged her gently, doctor-patient propriety be damned. "Shh, Chiho, it's okay, I promise that everything will be okay." This situation, as heartless as it seemed, worked out well for me. Chiho would be discharged, and even after I had healed her, there would be no raised eyebrows at her miraculous healing.

I felt her gently swiping at her eyes, and she leant back from the hug. "Thank you, Negi-kun." Her voice cracked.

"It's not an empty promise Chiho-chan, you can stay at my house for as long as you want. You are a good, kind-hearted person, and I can't allow you to live out your life like this." I told her firmly, willing my honestly to get thorough her pain.

"And," I said, leaning closer to her, "I believe I have found a cure for you, but I require your promise that you won't ever reveal it to anyone else. I could get into a lot of trouble, back with the people in my country, if they were to find out about what I did."

She opened her eyes wide, I saw the hope in her eyes, but as I had expected, she seemed to withdraw to herself within moments.

"Y-you don't have to, Negi-kun. That's too much . . ."

"I don't have to," I allowed her, "but I want to."

"B-But . . ."

"It's okay to be selfish sometimes Chiho-chan. I'm your friend, and friends help each other don't they?" I asked her gently. Tears again gathered in her eyes, and I was happy to see her smile a honest smile.

"Thank you, Negi-kun. Thank you."

-X-

After filling out the appropriate forms, arranging for Chiho to be transferred tomorrow evening, I ran into Nakamura. It was very difficult to not shout at him, but I left and made my way to the rooftop. I needed to calm down, and I always felt calmer when I was in an open area.

Making my way to the rooftop, I saw a woman sitting precariously on the edge of the fences.

"Hey!" I shouted, running towards her sedately, ready to go full out if she were to jump off. I saw as she turned around, and idly noted that she was a beautiful girl. I estimated her age to be near mine, she was well endowed, her breasts stretching the fabric of her pink belly top, with violet sleeves. She had blue Capri jeans that went down to her knees. Surprise shown across her youthful face, framed by long brown hair that she had styled such that it fell down her back to her waist, and another side-ponytail on the left side.

"What are you doing? That's dangerous. Get down right now!" I told her firmly. I watched as she looked at me intently, and was a little surprised at the blush that developed her face. Not a reaction that was unfamiliar with, but the circumstances were something that were occurring for the first time.

She shifted, and I watched her bend her knees to straddle the fence and come back down. I watched horrified as a sudden powerful gust of wind swept in front of me, and I closed my eyes to protect them from the dust. I began moving towards her, my eyes still closed and opened them to see that I was alone on the roof.

"NO!" I shouted, and without a moment's delay, jumped down the roof. I saw her falling, a little confused at her calm demeanor. I noticed that as she caught sight of me, her eyes widened in surprise, which gave way to fear. I was so surprised by her following actions that I didn't have time to prepare the appropriate spell that would slow down our descent.

I watched, a little confused, as she took out a roll of cloth from her back pocket. She snapped her hands towards me, and amazingly, the cloth apparently followed her commands and wrapped around me. The next thing that I felt was a pair of arms wrapping around me and a soft thud as we landed on the ground.

I looked up at the woman that I had intended to save and had become my savior, and I caught sight of her warm brown eyes. Before I could ask her who she was or even thank her for her help, she deposited me on my rear and jumped away. I thought of pursuing her, but by the time I had regained my bearings, and unwrapped the cloth from around me, I couldn't find her anywhere. I looked at the ground, and saw that the pavement had spider-web cracks on the surface.

There was something odd about that woman. I patted myself, and made my way back into the hospital.

'Whoever she was, I'm positive that she wasn't human.'

-X-

A/N:- I received some feedback that some of you are having trouble understanding Negi's childhood. So I am gonna attempt to explain it to you. First of all, and most importantly, Negi never went to Mahora. He didn't join the Academy in Wales. When the demons attacked him when he was 6, he left with Takamichi in order to train and find his father. Eventually he learnt about Evangeline, and visited her to request tutelage. Over time, she accepted and taught him. Learning that his father might be in Magicus Mundus, he left immediately. Meeting up with Rakan, he joined him in training and participated in various Arenas to gain experience and power. This would be where he learnt Magica Erebea. The rest would be the same as in the Manga, but without the flock of girls. He sealed up the Lifemaker for eternity, in the same seal that was holding his parents. He returned to Wales, and after a year, Graduated. He is 18 in the story when he gained Immortality.

The job that was given to him, as a doctor, is the same as Canon Negi received to go to Japan as a teacher. A fair warning though, Negi will be OOC, and I will try and write him as an older canon Negi.

Hope this clears up the confusion.