Well, what have we got here? Criticism. And a lot of it to. From my friends and from a reviewer. If I want criticism I'll go to Eternal Longing. Eternal knew how to criticize the right way! Anyways, thank you all who have read and reviewed.
Brave-Vigilante: I understand how you could see that I was pushing his bad boy side, I was merely trying to show that he hadn't become so soft so early on in the fic. First of all every main character of mine in every story I've ever written (even the ones not posted) smokes because I do in real life. Same with the trench coats because I own about 11 of them. You went too far with the jet and Matrix comments though. I hate the matrix and trench coats came out centuries before that movie. But if you don't like then don't read, no ones forcing you to. I realize this whole rant is rather tasteless. However, I hate people who read a story and then only review when they find something wrong. Especially when they've never written a story of their own. When you post a good story of your own, then come and tell me I suck.
I would like to apologize to everyone else for that tasteless rant of mine. I normally don't do that, but people like that annoy me. So I am sorry. Now on with the story.
Disclaimer: I mourn for the loss of my milk duds. I do not own Negima nor do I own milk duds. Anymore.
Chapter 6: Eliminating the Gray
Kaede stared up at the ceiling of her dark room. The ninja had been up all night going over the events of the day in her mind. The supposed attack on Konoka and Setsuna hadn't been an attack on them at all. At least that's what one of the bikers made it sound like. The rest of the day hadn't been all that bad. They ate out and then went for a little shopping. Konoka just insisted that they get Negi some 'cuter' clothes. It wasn't until they got back to the campus that things took an odd turn. Negi asked her to stay behind so that he could speak with her. She didn't see a problem with this. After all it wasn't like he wanted to try and fight her again. He just wanted to ask her a question. Although with the question he asked it probably would have been easier to fight him again.
Kaede rolled over on her side and sighed quietly. She could hear the gentle breathing of the twins from their bed. Most of the time she had no problem getting to sleep. In fact, sleeping was one of her favorite pastimes. Tonight however she had no such luxury of sleep. It was all ruined. All by one question that kept nagging her at the back of her mind.
Flashback
"There's something I have to ask you Kaede," Negi said softly. "Something about the past."
Kaede watched Negi lower his eyes to the ground. Whatever he wanted to ask must have been a difficult question. "It's alright. I'm going to be glad to try and help you remember," she said with a reassuring smile.
Negi nodded and took a breath. He learned from his training that breathing calmly was a good ay to remain in control of a situation. A slight breeze picked up, blowing their hair around slightly. It was a very tense moment for the ninja as her mind ran through the possibilities. After what seemed like an eternity Negi looked back up at her. His face was a study in calmness, except for his eyes. There was something in them that Kaede couldn't quite place. She took a step closer and waited calmly for him to ask his question.
"…Were we ever in love?"
Kaede's face turned as red as a cherry and she found herself stuttering helplessly. "I-I-I-I…" It was like she was a record that was stuck.
Negi held his hand up to her and waved. "Take your time in finding the answer. When you do, you know where to find me."
Flashback Ended
Kaede sighed. Just how was she supposed to respond to a question like that? It wasn't exactly a yes or no question. Well, she supposed it was. It was just one of those really difficult to answer yes or no questions. It was obvious that sleep was not going to come to her either. She wouldn't have been so annoyed with this if she didn't have class later that day. Kaede threw off her covers and sat on the edge of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and stood up before making her way to a desk that looked out the window. She never understood why she had a desk in her dorm. Neither she nor her roommates were very studious. She dropped down in the chair and opened the window. Allowing the early morning scents to make her memory run.
'Why didn't I just answer his question? I knew the answer. I shouldn't be losing sleep over something like this. So why is it bothering me so much?'
'I think we both know the answer to that,' said a voice in her head.
'Who are you?' Kaede asked mentally.
'Call me a guide. Sort of like the North Star,' said the voice again.
'Riigghhhtt. I don't know why I didn't just answer him. I mean the answer should have been simple right?'
'Should it?'
'Yes! We were never in love. Just friends. There were no romantic feelings between the two of us!' She cried mentally.
'That last statement is only half true. Isn't it?'
'What is that supposed to mean?'
'Come on, haven't you ever wondered why you were so upset when he left. And why it still hurts you today?'
'…We were really good friends.'
'Ha! Keep telling yourself that!' The voice laughed.
'You know you aren't helping any!' Kaede shouted back. 'Can you just leave me alone?'
'If you want. I will be back though, anytime you need me just give a call.'
"Yeah, like that's going to happen," Kaede muttered.
"Kaede-nee?" Asked a weary voice. Kaede turned around to see that Fumika was awake and staring at her through heavy lidded eyes. "Who're you talking to?"
Kaede smiled at the petite girl. "No one. Get back to sleep."
Fumika nodded. Instead of walking back to her bed she just collapsed on the floor. Kaede shook her head and stood up. She walked over to the fallen girl and picked her up in her arms. She walked over to Fumika's bed and gently put down the sleeping girl down. What was she going to do about this situation? She yawned and decided that she should try and get some more sleep. After all, she couldn't do anything about this problem right now. It could wait till she saw him again today.
Negi was lying on the couch with one arm draped over his face. Why had he asked her such a stupid question? Of course the answer was no. Hell, he wasn't even sure if that was her in the memory. For all he knew that could have been anyone. The only problem was that didn't explain her reaction or why he got a feeling of familiarity whenever he was near her. He didn't want to even think about the funny feeling he got when he was near her. It was a feeling of comfort and trust. Something that he couldn't ever remember feeling in his life. Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration; there were maybe one or two more people that he trusted. Then again there was another person on campus that made him feel the same way.
He got the same feeling around Mana. Sure she didn't make him feel comfortable not at all. But he did get the feeling that he could trust her. The gunslinger also felt familiar to him. If these were the things that he associated with love, then he should probably ask her the same question. No, that wouldn't be such a good idea. Kaede seemed to be a lot more understanding then Mana. In the short time that he had known the gunslinger, he could tell that she had two moods. Silent and abrasive. If he asked this question he could very well be shot. He preferred the first mood much better. Getting shot would end his mission pretty quick.
There were many things that concerned Negi at this point. The men that had attacked them yesterday. Who hired them? And who were they hired to kill? Something else that worried him was the feelings he got when he was around Mana and Kaede. He didn't really mind the feeling of familiarity; it just unnerved him that he didn't know why they felt so familiar. The main problem with this was that there wouldn't be any way to avoid them. The two of them often hung around Setsuna and Konoka. It wasn't like he could leave their sides ever. On top of that he was going to have to start going to classes with them soon. The dean had given him permission to go to all their classes as an escort. This job was really going to put a dent in his social life. Not that he really had one to begin with. He just thought his day would be better spent training than being with a bunch of giggly school girls.
Negi lifted his arm slightly so that he could take a look at his watch. "Still an hour of sleep until I have to wake up," he murmured quietly. "Let's hope it's better than the last seven of them."
2 Hours Later
"So are you nervous?"
Negi looked over at Asuna while they walked. Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna and Ku Fei were all dressed in their university uniforms. The only addition to the uniforms was a dark blue tie and a blue jacket that had the schools emblem on the front. Negi himself wore a dark blue blazer over a button down shirt. He completed the outfit with a pair of navy blue pants and a pair of black boots. It looked a lot like a messy version of the boys' university uniform, without the tie, emblem on the jacket or the shirt tucked in. He was wearing a pair of dark shades over his eyes, mostly to hide the signs that he was on a lack of sleep. Over all of the blue he wore his white trench coat; it was supposed to be colder today. Over his shoulder he had his nodachi encased in a black velvet cloth much like Setsuna's. He was prepared in case anything happened like yesterday.
"Why should I be?" He asked nonchalantly. "I'm not actually a student in the class, so I don't have to worry about the work."
"Speaking of which, are you sure that it's okay for you to come to class with us?" Setsuna asked.
Kamo nodded from his spot on Negi's shoulder. "The headmaster already cleared it with all of your teachers. So you get to enjoy our company all day!"
Negi nodded and his face contorted into a suspicious look. "I found it odd how the four of you have every class together, along with the gunslinger and the ninja."
Ku Fei chuckled. "We've all been in the same class since junior high."
Konoka giggled and nodded. "It would have been a shame to split us up, so we all requested that we could be in the same class."
"Even Tatsumiya?" He asked incredulously.
"It actually took a lot of work to convince Mana-chan," Asuna said sheepishly. "But eventually we got her to agree."
The rest of the walk to the university was spent in total silence on Negi's part. Instead he listened to the girls' conversations and kept a constant vigil for trouble. Most of the people they passed by were just ordinary schoolgirls trying to get to class. Most of the things that the girls talked about were pointless to him. The only he time he really listened was when the words training were involved. From what he could understand from it all Konoka was training to become a white mage and Setsuna was teaching kendo to Asuna. That at least explained some things to him. For example: How Asuna knew how to launch a beam of energy from her sword. It also explained why she appeared to be jealous when Konoka sat down in Setsuna's lap at the coffee shop the other day. Training together for so long can sometimes make it seem that there are romantic feelings between master and student. Judging by how close the two girls were, it could be a possibility.
"Good morning everyone." The group looked up and saw Takamichi walking towards them. He was dressed in his usual white suit but he looked different. He was sort of drawn and pale. Not to mention that he had a couple of bruises on his face. "Heading to class?"
Asuna blushed and started stuttering. Negi smiled and stepped forward to greet Takamichi. "Morning Takamichi. Why do you look like hell?" This garnered the reaction that he hoped from Asuna. She looked like she was about to strangle him until Setsuna grabbed hold of her. This made her blush even more and become quiet.
Takamichi smiled and looked back at Negi. "Good morning Negi. Why do you smell like flowers?"
Negi turned around and pointed at Konoka. "Told you it was noticeable!"
"I think that we should be on our ways. We both have classes to get to." Takamichi waved to them as he walked by.
Negi watched him leave; his acute vision caught what appeared to be teeth marks on his arm. To make matters worse it looked like there was a vampire on campus. After the meeting with Takamichi the girls realized just how strapped they were for time. They had to run the rest of the way to the building. The group burst through the doors and tore through the halls. After a series of turns they finally made it to the classroom. Just as they turned down the right hall there was a rush of girls trying to get into the right rooms.
"We made it!" Ku Fei cried triumphantly.
"Not quite," answered a calm voice. The girls and Negi looked up and saw a serene face staring down at them. "With the exception of Nagase-san the rest of you are late."
"Oh well," Konoka sighed. "By the why this is…"
"We've met," Negi replied.
The teacher looked up at Negi with a slightly surprised smile. "Oh, it's you."
Negi nodded. Their teacher just so happened to be the man that he had run into on his morning run yesterday. He was dressed in a dark grey suit and a black tie. He didn't look at all like he was angry about them being late. Instead his smile was teasing.
"You two know each other?" Setsuna asked.
"We ran into each other yesterday," the teacher replied. "So you are Negi Springfield? My name is Kitano Kurama. Call me whatever you wish." He extended his hand in a friendly fashion.
Negi shook his hand, "Tell me Kurama-kun. Are you a bad mage or a good mage?"
The girls around him widened their eyes slightly. None of them had any idea that their teacher was a mage. "To answer you question I would first have to ask you what you consider to be a good mage," Kurama replied.
"You teach philosophy don't you?"
Kurama closed the door slightly so that Negi could see the words on the door red Philosophy 101. "Very perceptive Negi-kun. This should be interesting."
"You haven't answered my question."
"…Let's just say that I'm on your side." There was the ringing of a bell. That sound meant that the girls were late again. "Get into class," Kurama told the girls. He still smiled and kept his eyes on Negi. "I won't hold it against you this time."
"You never do!" Asuna replied happily. She quickly led the two girls into the room, leaving the two mages alone in the hall.
"Come on Negi-kun. Wouldn't want to keep the girls waiting now would we?"
Negi nodded. "I appreciate your cooperation."
"Always glad to help out a fellow mage." He walked into the room with Negi following him.
"Always glad to meet a new ally," Kamo replied. "Names Kamo by the way."
Negi took a quick look around the room. This particular group of girls appeared to be rather rambunctious. Looking around the room he noticed Mana sitting in the back, polishing one of her guns. He caught her eye and gave her a small nod. She nodded back to show recognition of his existence. Near one of the windows at the opposite side of the room was Kaede. She was talking with a redhead that had her hair pulled up into two buns and dual pigtails. Kaede blushed slightly and averted her gaze when he looked at her. The redhead turned around to see what had made her friend so flustered. When she did she looked like she had seen a ghost.
"N-Negi-kun?" The girl asked, unsure of her own assumption.
Many of the girls in the class turned to look at her like she was out of her mind. Seeing her stare straight ahead though, they turned to look where she was looking. Maybe he was just being paranoid but he could swear that every pair of eyes in the room was on him. He decided to take off his glasses, but that was a big mistake. There was an intake of breath followed by the stunned whispers of many of the girls.
"Oh-damn," Kurama hissed. "I should have mentioned that these girls were your former-"
"NEEEEEGGGGGGGGIIIIIII-KKKKKUUUUUNNNNNNNN!"
A young pink haired girl with a petite body flung herself at him. Negi didn't have much time to dodge so he opted to catch the girl. The force of the tackle almost caused him to lose his balance and fall. He tried his best to push the girl off but a split second later he was hit by a girl with long blond hair. Then a girl with short red hair tackled him and finally knocked him to the ground; causing Kamo to fly off his shoulder and hit the wall. Before he had a chance to ask what was happening he was dog piled by the rest of the class.
"Negi-sensei why did you leave?!" Asked the long haired blond. She had pale green eyes that were sparkling with tears. She seemed a very affectionate girl and kept nuzzling his cheek with her own.
"Where did you go?!" Asked the pink haired girl. Her eyes were also shining with tears.
"What happened to your eye Negi-kun?" The redhead asked with concern. She wasn't crying like the others but she had an overjoyed smile on her face.
As he was being swarmed by the girls Negi couldn't help but wonder yet again, what he had done wrong in his past life. He didn't mind the fact that tons of pretty girls were all over him. That was fine, albeit a tad annoying, but why did it have to be more people that seemed to know him. While the girls mobbed him with questions he looked around the room. Asuna was smirking at him derisively from his seat. Setsuna, Konoka, Ku Fei, Kaede, Mana and Satomi all remained in their seats as well. There were only five other girls sitting down that he didn't recognize. One had short purple hair and she was standing near the windows with a short blue haired girl and a taller bespectacled girl with green hair. Two girls in the back right hand corner of the room. One with bright orange hair and large glasses and the other with white hair and dark skin. Over in the back in the left handed corner was a tall girl with light green hair. All of them seemed too shocked to move.
Negi gritted his teeth, annoyed with the surrounding girls. Before he could force them off he heard someone clapping their hands. He turned his head and saw Kurama towering over them. "Alright everyone. I know that you all are happy but you have to get back to your seats." Negi looked up at him with a small smiled of gratitude. "You can mob him after class!" Negi gave him a death glare.
The girls gave in to their teachers demand and climbed off of Negi. They made their way back to their seats all of them chatting happily and smiling at Negi. Negi got to his feet and looked around the room. His eyes landed on Kurama and he gave the teacher a look that said 'explain now.'
Kurama raised his hands urged the class to settle down. "I need to speak with Negi-kun outside for a moment. Asuna-kun," Asuna looked up from her book, "I want you to fill in the rest of the class on what's happened." His eyes shifted towards Negi in the hopes that she would understand. "Come on Negi-kun."
As Negi followed the teacher out of the room he scooped the unconscious Kamo off the floor. "You knew he was here!" He heard one of the girls shout.
"Aw shut up Ayaka! Baka shotacon!" He heard Asuna shout back.
About 45 minute later Negi found himself sitting in the back of the classroom listening to Kurume's lectures. He found the class interesting and concluded early on that the young teacher was a very smart man. Still he couldn't get over what Kurama had told him earlier. Apparently he used to be the teacher of these girls back in junior high. Not that he believed in any of this teacher crap. He would definitely remember that. Besides he would have been ten at the time. Who would hire a ten year old teacher? Then again he had seen much weirder things in the past couple of years. He also couldn't help but notice the change in the girl's behavior when he came back into the classroom. Whatever Asuna had said to them sucked out all the positive morale.
Now most of the girls avoided looking at him with direct eye contact, which didn't bother him one little bit. It made it easier for him to observe the rest of the class. Besides Kurama and the girls he already knew about he could detect several other magical auras. The girl in front with short black hair and a basketball under her seat had a faint signature. He guessed that she had magic in her family and just didn't know about it. The three girls that he saw standing near the windows earlier all had faint signs of magic around them. The white haired girl that sat in the back of the class juggling wasn't entirely human. Maybe she was a hanyo like Setsuna. His eyes swiveled onto the green haired girl in the back of the room with him. She wasn't human; in fact he couldn't trace any biotic signs from her at all. It was possible that she was a robot. There was a ghost down in front with the redhead that knocked him down. She didn't look dangerous though. Besides Ku Fei there was another person in the room that had some decent strength ki. He guessed that it was the blond girl that had tackled him when he came into the room.
He spent the rest of the class studying each girl's behavior to see if they were a threat. None of them seemed to have any ill intent towards him or his clients. In fact the entire class was like one big family. That wasn't something that he liked to think about very often. He didn't have any family himself, at least not that he could remember. People told him before that he was the son of a very powerful mage. He couldn't be sure how much of it was true and decided it best not to dwell on it. It wasn't long before the class ended. Kurama gathered his things into his briefcase and bowed to them before leaving the room. Negi followed after him, not wanting to be left alone with the girls. On his way out of the room he gave Kamo a small task. The ermine leapt off his shoulder and on to Asuna's desk.
"Aniki is going to meet up with the rest of us at the cafeteria. He said to come out to the courtyard once you all get your food," the ermine reported.
Asuna looked up from her desk just in time to see Negi's coat swish out of sight. "Negi," she whispered. Even though he was cut off from her, she still worried about him. There was a large shadow over her desk. She looked up and saw that most of the girls had now surrounded her desk.
"We have questions," Kazumi stated.
Asuna sighed in defeat. She doubted that she would live long enough to make it to the cafeteria.
"Alright, were here," Mana stated in her cool tone of voice.
The six girls, plus Kamo, had come out to the courtyard as they were told. Each one of them had a tray of food in their hands and was looking around impatiently for Negi. The group gathered around trying to catch a glimpse of him among the few students and teachers outside. They gathered around the tree and decided to wait there for him. They didn't have to wait long. Negi jumped out from the taller branches of the tree, scaring the hell out of the girls. He almost caused them to drop their food.
"What did you do that for?!" Konoka cried. She sat down on one of the benches near the tree, breathing heavily.
"Sorry about that?" He sounded more amused than apologetic.
"Yeah right!" Asuna huffed. She sat down and started to munch at her fries. "Real classy by the way. Leaving class so that you didn't have to deal with everyone," she scolded.
"Real classy talking with your mouth full," Negi sneered.
"Now now you two," Setsuna chided. She sat down next to Asuna and took a drink out of her bottle of water.
"Yeah let's play nice now," Konoka agreed with a big smile.
"Yes mother," Ku Fei chuckled. She settled down at the base of the tree and opened her own bottle of water. "What did you want to see us for?"
"Just to ask questions." Out of the corner he noticed Kaede flinch. The last question he asked her wasn't exactly conventional. "It's just about some of the girls in class. I spent the time observing them."
"You did that the entire class?" Setsuna asked, offering him the apple on her tray.
Negi accepted the apple with a small nod. "It's his job after all," Mana replied. "He has to make sure that there's no danger."
"Right," Negi nodded. "During that time I noticed several signatures besides ours in the class. Those three girls by the windows for example. And the young looking girl with the cross around her neck. Hers was moderately strong."
"Misora-chan?" Asuna asked. "You don't have to worry about any of them. Misora actually works as somewhat like security for Mahora."
"I also noticed a ghost in the class and the white haired girl in the back."
"The ghost is Sayo-chan," Konoka replied. She found it odd to explain stuff to him that he should already know. Negi took a bite of his apple and propped Mochidzuki against the tree. He watched Kamo pick food off of Asuna's tray when she wasn't looking. "Sayo-chan is really nice and harmless. You don't have to worry about her."
Mana nodded. "And Zazie is my roommate. Even though she's half demon you don't have to worry about her."
Setsuna started to choke and Asuna had to rub her back. "Z-Zazie-san is a hanyo," she gasped out.
"I'm surprised you didn't notice," Mana smirked. "I knew when I first met her in our dorm room. She's really nice unless you try to attack her. I learned that the hard way and got a scar to prove it." She reached up and rubbed the back of her head.
Negi spent the next few minutes mentioning the girls that had energy signatures high enough to worry about. He learned that the girl with the basketball was named Akashi Yuuna and her father worked at the school as a teacher. The green haired girl in the back was named Karakuri Chachamaru and she was indeed a robot. Setsuna looked impressed with his ability to pick up on the auras of others.
"You must be very good at aura detection to notice them when I couldn't," she praised.
Negi opened his eyes and looked at her. "One of the reasons that I'm good at my job is that I can read people very well."
"Really?!" Ku Fei asked excitedly. "Do it to us!"
"Any well trained magi can read auras," Mana quipped. "Tell us something personal about us. Or others in the class."
Negi smirked. "If you wish. I'll start with someone in the class. Take that girl with the basketball for example."
"Yuuna-chan?" Konoka asked.
"If that's her name then yes. In addition to having magical powers she is also dating one of the girls in the class."
Konoka, Asuna and Ku Fei all spit water from their mouths. The others heads turned to him so fast that they almost got whiplash. It was the first time since they came to the courtyard that Kaede looked at him.
"I thought she had a boyfriend," Kaede replied.
"Yeah, there's no way Yuuna is a lesbian!" Asuna replied.
"Well, my guess is that she only really had one real boyfriend. She probably loved him but he did something horrible that broke her heart." He thought about for a second and nodded. "Emotions suck. Anyways, she was upset and the first person she ran into happened to be that cheerleader with the long hair."
"You mean Misa?!" Ku Fei asked.
"I know she isn't gay," Mana replied. She was staring at him intently, wondering how he was going to explain this.
"When Yuuna ran into Misa, Misa comforted the distraught girl. Whether she had already broken up with her boyfriend or not, I'm not sure. But there was just something about holding the crying girl that made her fall for Yuuna. Likewise Yuuna fell for Misa because she was there for her when she needed her."
"Every time we ask Yuuna-chan about her boyfriend she says, that he's doing fine," Konoka said in confusion.
"She probably doesn't want anyone to know she's dating a girl," Kamo replied as he finished off the last of Asuna's fries.
Setsuna nodded thoughtfully. "That is a reasonable possibility. That doesn't mean it's right though. Now do us and we'll see if you are right or not?"
"Fair enough," Negi huffed. "We'll start with you. Setsuna, judging by the way that you reacted when you found out about Eishun-sama's death you were and the way you react to subject of parent's, you were an orphan." Setsuna's eyes widened slightly. "Also with the way you acted when I found out what you are; I'm going to say that whatever you are your parents abandoned you for it."
Setsuna's hand clenched on her skirt and her eyes became sad. Konoka put her hands on Setsuna's shoulder, but she shrugged her off. Konoka looked hurt by this and Asuna got angry. "Negi you baka! You went too far!"
"No," Setsuna whispered. Her voice barely held back the hatred she felt towards the ones that had abandoned her. "I don't need you to stick up for me."
"But…"
"You are right Negi-san. Please continue."
Negi nodded. He hadn't really meant to upset Setsuna, but now that he did there was no sense in worrying about it. "Ku Fei?"
Ku Fei Stood up and stared at him challengingly. "Let's see what you got!"
"You eat a lot. At first I thought that you just liked to eat. But I'm guessing that you have some kind of snack in your pocket or your school bag?" Ku Fei blinked, and then pulled out a pack of granola bars. "You're hypoglycemic. So you carry that in case you have to miss a meal."
Ku Fei blinked again. The only one that knew about her condition was Setsuna. The only reason Setsuna knew was because she happened to find her trembling on the floor one day. Mana was slightly surprised that she never knew. And that Ku Fei was able to keep it a secret for so long.
"Is that true Ku?" Mana asked pointedly.
Ku Fei kicked at the ground and nervously replied, "Yes."
"What is hypoglycemic?" Asuna asked curiously.
"It means I have low blood sugar," Ku Fei explained. She hadn't wanted the others to find out so she kept it a secret. "If it gets too low I could get sick."
"Like you start to throw up?" Konoka asked innocently.
"…I could die," she replied sheepishly.
Konoka gasped in horror and flung her arms around Ku Fei. Ku Fei blushed and shook her head with a sigh. Seeing that her roommate looked uncomfortable Setsuna gently tried to pry Konoka off of her. "How come you never told us before?" Kaede asked. "We could have helped."
"I-I just didn't want to worry anyone."
"Baka," Asuna muttered.
"Speaking of which, it's your turn," Negi said with a smile. Luckily for Ku Fei this pulled the attention off of her. "You have a crush on Takamichi and you've had it ever since you were little. He's the one that gave you those bells." He pointed to the ornaments in her hair.
Asuna blushed profusely. "So what?! Everyone knows that!" She cried.
Negi shrugged. "Okay," he said calmly. "Recently your crush on Takamichi has waned. I'm gonna say because he rejected you and more recently you've obtained feelings for-mmph!"
Asuna shoved his apple into his mouth. Her face was a dark shade of vermilion and you could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. "Shut it!"
"Asuna?" Konoka asked quizzically.
"He wins! Next?!" She cried sitting down.
Negi took a bite out of the apple and swallowed again before talking. "Konoka-Ojou-sama, I can tell that you want to have a family by how motherly you act. But your worried about whether you will or not because you aren't sure whether your prefer-"
"Next!" Konoka cried. She too turned an unnatural shad of red.
"You really are hitting the nail on the head today." Kamo climbed onto his shoulder and smirked. He smiled evilly and his eyes shifted to Kaede. "Do Kaede-nee-san now."
Negi turned to look at Kaede who was already staring at the ground. "Nagase…you come from a clan of ninjas." He said after a brief pause. "Most of your clan has probably given up their training. From the way you react to most men I can tell that your father didn't pay much attention to you. That's…that's why you train so hard. To get his attention."
Kaede didn't say anything but just continued to stare at the ground. The rest of the girls stared at Kaede until Mana decided that it was enough. She tried not to get involved with the emotions of others. Call it a business policy. Still, even she couldn't let one her friends hang in the air like this.
"What about me?" Negi turned to look at her with a mask of stony perfection. "Let's see how you handle someone who has been trained to hide the little things." She crossed her arms over her chest.
Negi stared at her blankly. "I don't feel like it," he said calmly.
"Afraid that you can't?" Mana was trying to goad him into a fight.
Negi chuckled derisively. "I just don't feel like fight right now. Besides, we have to get to the next class."
Just at that moment the bell to signal their next class rang. Negi smirked at the angry look on Mana's face and walked back towards the door. On his way he threw his half eaten apple in the trash bin near the door.
"Better hurry or you're going to be late." He called over his shoulder.
"Aniki, maybe you were a little rough on them?" Kamo asked quietly.
Negi shrugged. "You know what happens when I get challenged Kamo."
"You still could have given them a break."
Negi sighed and shrugged. "Whatever."
Negi inhaled the smoke from his cigarette and sighed in satisfaction. It had been a long day. Going to the classes themselves weren't too bad. He had never been to college, or school for that matter, so he found the lessons to be interesting. There were only a few problems that made the day seem very long. One was the fact that a lot of the girls from the first class were in the other classes as well. They wouldn't stop looking at him but they also didn't try to make direct eye contact either. Another problem that made the day seem long was the fact that none of the girls were talking to him. After what happened in the courtyard they decided that they would ignore him. This had been a good thing in one way though. E didn't have to answer anymore of their questions.
He took one more hit on the cigarette and snuffed it out. The only response that he wanted from any of the girls was from Kaede. He wanted to know whether or not the two of them used to be together. If they were then maybe she could help him remember more of the past. If not then he would have to keep looking for the girl in the memory. Another person that was steadily beginning to intrigue Negi was Mana. Why did she always have to try and turn everything into a competition? He had a few ideas why and all of them made sense.
Negi smirked as he felt a familiar presence behind him. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He turned around and locked his gaze onto the girl in front of him.
"Do you always hang out on the roof?" Mana asked.
"Only at night. Why? Were you getting worried about me?" He asked in a falsely sweet voice.
Mana glared at him and shook her head. "I just came up here to talk to you."
"Talk or fight?"
"Both," she growled.
"Oooh, feisty! I like that!" Negi said with a grin. He walked up closer to Mana and brushed a strand of his hair out of his face. "So what did you want to say to me?"
"It's about our fight the other day."
Negi groaned and waved his hand airily. "Is that your problem? Are you still angry because you lost?" He asked incredulously.
Mana shook her head and forced herself to remain calm. "I do not hold a grudge for you beating me. I do not expect to win all of my battles."
"What is it then? Am I not the person that you expected me to be?"
"No you are not. Then again, I cannot honestly say that I hate the person you have become."
"Then why are you ready to pull your gun out on me?" He asked with a smirk.
"Because of the disrespect that you showed me during the fight and after it," she stated calmly.
Negi snapped his fingers. "You mean that little trick when you were straddling me? Are you mad because it was disrespectful or because you enjoyed it!"
"That is neither here nor there!" Mana cried, her face flushing a light shade of pink.
"It's a matter of pride and respect then? Didn't anyone ever tell you that pride can be dangerous?"
"Only if you can't control it," Mana shot back. She cocked her eyebrow and stared directly at him. "Don't you have any pride? What would you do for respect?"
Negi knew what she was trying to do, but he would buy into it this time. "I am willing to suffer my pride and I will earn respect. But you take this too far."
"…"
"You see everything in black and white. But there are areas of gray."
"I suppose you are one of them?" She asked bitterly.
Negi chuckled and gave her a wry smile. "So what do you plan to do then?" He took a step closer to her and Mana backed up a step. "You like to see everything in black and white because that way you can control it. When you can't control a situation it scares you." His eyes fluttered down to the gun holstered inside of her blue jacket. "So you want to eliminate the gray area. I can see it in your eyes."
Negi stepped closer to Mana and again she took a step back. This time her back hit something solid and she realized she had her back against the roof's access door. Negi's left hand shot out and pinned her wrist against the door; his right hand hit the door right next to her head. Mana tried to struggle out but his body was pressing her against the door. Negi was staring her right in the eyes and she couldn't look away.
"During the fight you didn't know who I was and you came at me as hard as you could. Can you do that now that you know who I am?"
Mana stared right back into the brown eyes in front of her. His eyes pierced her soul and for once held something other than the blank look he normally had. It was a look of fiery passion; he was really in his element now. Normally she could throw someone off of her but this wasn't so easy. Negi's gaze held her in place and she found herself to be a little frightened and anxious about his next move. Mana could feel the blush rising on her face and her heart was beating a mile a second. There was only one other person to have that effect on her and he was long gone. Negi leaned into her, his eyes closing slowly. Mana knew that she should stop this but she found her own eyes fluttering closed. Despite her protests her body leaned into Negi's and she leaned up on her toes to meet him half way. It wasn't until she felt his cheek against hers and his breath on her ear that her eyes shot open.
"You're just like me," he whispered. "Haunted by the past. The only difference is that you can choose to let it go."
Mana's pale blue eyes widened and became glassy. Negi gently pushed her to the side and opened the access door. Without looking back he walked through the door and pulled it shut. Mana stared up at the sky, she was breathing hard and her heart was still beating too fast for her own liking. Somehow she could still feel the warmth of his body. She could smell the scent of tobacco and vanilla that surrounded him. A pleasant and almost comforting scent. Her right hand reached up and clasped the locket that hung from her neck. Her eyes closed and she felt a pang in her chest. She couldn't really being feeling that way about Negi could she? No, that was impossible. It had to be.
"Please," she tightened her grasp on the locket. "Please help me." She silently pleaded the lost. "What do I do?"
End Chapter
I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I did it on a fixed time limit, so I'm sorry if it isn't up to par with the rest. I also apologize once again for the rant I gave before the disclaimer. Please read and review for me. Gotta go! See ya!