Hiya, Secchan again. I was watching all my Negima again, and this includes everything-the good and the bad. I also rewatched Negima: Ala Alba and reread some parts in the manga. I love KonoSetsu, but I'm a total sucker for Ayaka and Asuna, obvious by my previous story-Ichiban Taisetsu. I decided to do another Ayaka and Asuna because there really are not enough.
I hope people see their potential and decide that they like them as well. They have so much subtext, that's it's hard to not think- yuri. I love their love-hate relationships and constant bickering, because deep down you know they probably have fun making-up. Anywho, this story is based around chapter 176 of the manga or Ala Alba episode 1. The festival, prior scenes, and my own interpretation of what happens afterward. So without further ado...
(Iincho-means class representative/ sensei-means teacher)
Night of the Festival
Asuna Kagurazaka and Ayaka Yukihiro
by: Setsuna Revolution
Asuna sat patiently in the Mahora Middle School's lobby. She had lost track of just how long she had been waiting for a certain blonde to show up. She sat in the plush, white chair off in the corner secretly enjoying the feel of comfort that it had provided. She had been training night and day for their trip to England. Even though Evangeline's resort made time seem longer than it actually was, it didn't alleviate some of the muscle aches from the nonstop training exercises. Asuna rubbed the kink in her back and sighed, 'It's not like I should be complaining, I am getting stronger, after all.'
Asuna relaxed her head on the back of the chair as she heard the all too familiar sound of her oldest childhood friend approaching. Ayaka slowly made her way down the stairs and in front of the red-head. She was holding an important packet of papers that were clipped together under her left arm.
'I see she didn't let me down. I knew I could count on her,' Asuna thought as she opened her eyes and stared at the tall, blonde in front of her. Ayaka stood gracefully in front of her with her hand on her hip. She was wearing a low-cut white dress that wasn't all that long either, but fit her snug in all the right places. Asuna blushed slightly and quickly tried to dismiss all thoughts of her attractive best friend. 'Leave it to her to make everyone else always feel underdressed,' she thought as she looked down at her own outfit. A plain, light blue t-shirt and a white skirt.
Asuna vividly remembered the new swimsuit that her friend bought just for the class' pool party. She also remembered the fits of nosebleeds she almost had at the sight of the revealing two- piece. She was almost as bad as Setsuna when the poor girl had to suffer through Konoka's latest purchase. Asuna was too hardheaded to admit it, but she knew she had feelings for the class leader. Whether she was unintentionally arguing with her or whenever she developed the sudden urge to just grab her and...
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Asuna-san," Ayaka said, disrupting the red-heads thoughts, something for which Asuna was grateful for at the moment. "These are the investigation results."
"No, I didn't wait at all," Asuna laughed, while mentally kicking herself to try and focus on the current situation. "That was fast, Iincho."
Ayaka let out a high-pitched laugh. Any other time and it would have been annoying to Asuna, but not today. "For the Yukihiro Consortium, this sort of work was just child's play." Ayaka took the seat across from Asuna, adjusting her dress with her free hand.
'I somehow doubt she got a team to look all this up, I bet she did it herself,' Asuna thought, making her want the information even more knowing that Ayaka actually spent some time doing something for her.
"Besides, it wasn't for your sake, it was for Negi-sensei's," Ayaka smirked. She knew she was lying through her teeth, after all, Ayaka was quite stubborn, too.
'So much for that.' Asuna teardropped. "Ahh, right. Right. So how is it?" Asuna asked, with a slightly irritated tone.
"About that," Ayaka replied, staring intently at the girl across from her, noting her irritated face. "It would seem that Negi's father, Nagi Springfield, disappeared ten years ago, that's definite." Ayaka pushed the packet towards Asuna. There was a picture of 'Nagi' on the front, wearing a blue suit. Not typical Nagi fashion.
"So, it's not like he's dead?" Asuna asked with a questioning look, stealing a glance at her friend whom she couldn't seem to look at in the eye.
"I don't know. In any case, it seems he's missing," Ayaka replied. Asuna put her hand up to her chin and contemplated on her newly found information. 'So it seems people around here think he's missing, too.'
"So what do you intend to do next?" Ayaka asked, snapping Asuna from her thoughts. She knew she was hiding something from her, but resisted the urge to pursue it. Ayaka stood from her sitting position, eyes still locked with Asuna's. "This is the limit of the paper investigation. If you intend to continue, it will take a lot of manpower and time."
'Eh? What exactly are you suggesting, Iincho,' Asuna thought. Suddenly, Ayaka's hands were in front of her face in a prayer style motion as she looked toward the ceiling, dramatically lost in her own world.
"Of course, if it's for Negi-sensei, I would conduct a worldwide search using 10,000 people," Ayaka said loudly, with a determined look on her face. Asuna almost couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. She knew Ayaka liked the little brat, but did she really have that much feeling for him.
"Ahh, hold it! You don't need to go that far," Asuna said, waving her hands frantically in front of her, grabbing Ayaka's once zoned out attention. "We've already got a lead, so it's fine for the time being."
"Ah, is that so?" Ayaka asked, pointing and silently cursing Asuna for interferring with her brilliant plans.
"Thank you Iincho," Asuna replied sincerely, "Thanks to you, I think we're even closer to finding Negi's dad,...I owe you one." Asuna smiled at her friend that she had somehow rendered speechless.
'Damn, it's that cursed smile that I can't deny,' Ayaka thought, trying to figure out something to say, but Asuna's smile had always been her kryptonite. 'Why does Asuna-san care so much for Negi-sensei? Could she possibly have feelings for him.' Ayaka tried to forget her doubts, when they suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the stairwell. Asuna and Ayaka turned to see the Narutaki twins and Makie running rapidly down the stairs, straight for them.
"Asuna! What is the meaning of this," Makie shouted angrily, as she bombarded the defenseless red-head with Fuka and Fumiko surrounding her on both sides. "You traitor!"
"Eh...what do you mean?" Asuna asked innocently, putting her hands up in defense. Ayaka, still angry from being interrupted at what she felt to be an 'important time,' stood in front of Asuna to defend her.
"What's this about, Makie-san?" she asked. 'And this better be good too, I feel my patience is wearing thin these days.'
Makie explained that the new found club was making plans to head to England on some kind of mission. Much to Ayaka's dismay, only certain people were allowed in the club and they were to leave the next day. Asuna just stood quietly. She knew she was in trouble with her closest friend. It was the inevitable. Asuna pondered and went through her options in her head of how she might get out of the situation alive, but she came up empty-handed. She could only wait for her punishment.
"What did you say? They've formed a club to find Negi's father," Ayaka said angrily, giving a slight glare to Asuna, "And they're planning on going on some love-love trip while keeping it a secret."
"No, we weren't keeping it a secret," Asuna said, speaking up in defense, "There's no love-love in it either." Ayaka felt a weight lift from her, but decided it was better to argue more, besides, that's how she got her daily helping of Asuna. And as long as the trip isn't about love.
"No excuses accepted," Ayaka said, putting on her best furious face, "You're so cruel, Asuna-san. Even though I provided you with information, you left me out of an important event." Even though Ayaka was merely acting, the fact that Asuna didn't include her in their so-called trip did actually hurt her feelings.
"Honya-chan and Paru are going as well, right?" Makie chimed in, "Asuna, you heartless person." Geez, and here I thought I was working alone, Ayaka thought. Wait, even the bookworm and the artist are going!
"I want to go," exclaimed Fuka.
"Me too," Fumika added, as they both developed big puppy dog eyes, while staring helplessly at Asuna.
"Okay!" Asuna yelled, as she got frustrated, "The club and the trip is true, but even though it's England, we are going to some special places. So we've been conducting some special training ever since the school festival ended." Asuna was positive that get them off her back for sure. No such luck.
"Special places," Makie replied, "As in mountains." It took everything for Asuna not to fall down at the unintelligent remark. Ayaka knew something was up, she had the feeling they weren't going on any ordinary trip.
"Yeah, that's right," Asuna replied, feeding into Makie's ego, "We're doing things like rock-climbing. So you can't come until you have training for it. Understand?" Asuna put her hands on Makie's shoulders. She thought about her answer for a minute and realized how bad it actually sounded. Sure, Makie and the twins would probably fall for it, but definitely not Ayaka. As a matter of fact, she and Ayaka both went rock-climbing previously together. Even though it was almost two years ago, it was still one of Asuna's fondest memories.
"And you think that I would accept such an excuse," Ayaka said angrily, confirming Asuna's thoughts, as she stared her dead in the face. After all the years, Ayaka knew exactly when Asuna was lying. Ayaka reached out to grab the packet of information in Asuna's hand. "Return those back to me!" She missed. Ayaka stood in awe, she didn't even see Asuna move. 'I imagined that, I'll just try again.'
She reached out for the papers that were now above Asuna's head, jumping to grab them. She had missed again, as a very agile Asuna pulled the papers back down by her side.
"Asunaaaaa!" Ayaka said angrily, as she glared evilly at the red-head for teasing her.
"Iincho?" Asuna asked with a concerned tone.
"Return that, return that, return that!" Ayaka screamed, while reaching in three different directions for the papers, each time resulting in a failed attempt. Asuna noticed how slow her friend had become or could it be how fast she became after all the training in Evangeline's resort. They were usually on par and quite the match for each other. Asuna jumped in the air, as she flipped over Ayaka's head onto one of the tables closest to the stairs.
"Capture her," Ayaka commanded. At once, four bodies came hurling at Asuna. Makie, armed with her ribbons. Asuna jumped in the air, quite easily missing the ribbons. She tapped Ayaka in the head, as she landed on the stairs. Her attackers ran into each other and landed in a pile on the floor. Asuna held her hand up to apologize. She found an opening so she decided to leave while she could.
"Oh dear...sorry Iincho," Asuna sincerely apologized, "I'll definitely pay the favor back later, please forgive me!" And with one last look at the blonde, Asuna was off to her dorm room. She had to hide the information safely away and find her kimono to get ready for the Mahora festival. And most importantly, figure out what to do about the thoughts that kept bugging her-how exactly to return the favor to her Iincho. 'My Iincho,' Asuna thought, running full speed to her room, her bells becoming a distant noise.
Nighttime had arrived fast for Mahora. With all the excitement of the festival taking place, everyone worked extra hard to set it up. There were stands as far as the eye could see and many events taking place. There were takoyaki stands, riceball stands and other popular foods. There were also fun games to play, such as darts, and a goldfish scooping game that Negi and Kotaro had become quite engrossed in as they battled in a winner-take-all goldfish challenge. There was even a huge ferris wheel and a stargazing hill that were very popular every year among the people, mostly couples.
"Ha ha ha," the petite vampire laughed. Evangeline and her partner, the newly updated Chachamaru, were standing on one of the buildings watching over the progress of the vampire's newly found plan. In the midst of Evangeline's growing boredom and as honorary advisor of the club, she decided to play a game with her classmates. She needed something to pass the time until they arrived in England. She watched as Yuuna's group failed to capture the white wing pins from Yue and Nodoka. She laughed at their failed attempts. It didn't surprise Evangeline much that no one was able to capture a pin; after all, she trained the club members. "Come, Chachamaru, let's go check on the Iincho's progress."
"Yes, master," Chachamaru obeyed, as she followed closely behind.
'The object of the game: Get a pin and you can join the official club to go to England,' Ayaka thought. 'Well how hard can that be, right. I'll try for Asuna-san again...and here I thought, I wasn't going to have that much fun tonight.' Ayaka ran off in the direction of the last place she saw Asuna.
She was going to try earlier to capture her pin on her own, but before she could, Ayaka had noticed how excited Asuna became during the festivities. She hid behind one of the stands to watch her dear friend. Ayaka realized how enamored she was with the red-head, it had been a while since she saw her smile that much. She spied as Asuna talked to Konoka and Setsuna. Watching how comfortable the swordswoman and become with her princess and how close they had become, Ayaka couldn't help but feel envious of the couple. 'They're so freaking cute together, it should be illegal.'
She watched as their robot classmate, Chachamaru, handed the group of girls their designated pins. Asuna, Setsuna, and Konoka clipped the pins in place on the left side of their yukatas.
"It's so cute!" Konoka exclaimed, as she eyed the pin closely.
"Eva-chan's giving out presents, that's a little suspicious," Asuna said, shooting an unconvincing glance at the robot.
"Yes, master named the club after the Thousand Master's group," Chachamaru explained, "The crimson wing, but she changed it for the group, or rather, she hated the name. It is now the White Wing Club. Please, make sure you don't lose the pins."
Ayaka watched, standing closely by, as Asuna and her comrades claimed their prizes. Then she noticed a presence or two presences rather, behind her.
"We failed Iincho...it's impossible," the twins sighed in perfect unison.
"It seems as though I'll be taking things in to my own hands, now," Ayaka laughed. Asuna may have won the first battle, but Ayaka was determined to win the entire war. She locked on to her target and ran through the crowds of people at an incredible speed.
"Asuna-san!!" Ayaka called out, speeding past the festival-goers, including the samurai and her princess walking with Asuna."I challenge you!" Asuna turned quickly, taking another bite out of her candy apple, only to see a blonde tornado barreling straight towards her. Iincho?
Without a second's thought, Asuna threw her hand out. It was done merely as a reflex to prevent the taller girl from colliding into her, but thanks to Evangeline's brutal teaching methods and profuse training exercises, she found the blonde girl flying through the air over her own head. Ayaka unwillingly crashed to the ground, her yukata coming up, while her ego hit rock bottom.
Asuna snapped out of her marvel at her own brute strength. Oh god, I hope I didn't hurt her. "Are you alright, Iincho?"
Ayaka remained in her defeated heap on the ground. Asuna-san used to be on par with me, since when did she become this strong? She collected herself and stood defiantly, albeit hesitantly, facing her rival once more. I can't give up, I shall be serious now. Ayaka channeled her energy into her one very special attack. Thanks to all the martial arts classes she took over the years, it came natural to her.
"Ayaka Yukihiro-ryu, Aiki-jujitsu. Palm of Heaven and Earth division," chanted Ayaka, as she stretched her arm out fully, and in one one lightening fast motion, thrust the palm of her hand into Asuna's jaw. She moved at an average speed. It was faster than the naked eye, but Asuna followed the move carefully as it hit her full force. The strike hurt, but it wasn't anything Asuna felt she couldn't handle, as a matter of fact, it stopped tingling after the first few seconds. 'Got to give her credit, she actually landed a blow,' Asuna thought, feeling proud of her friend.
Ayaka's face drew into a tight smile, "How was tha..." But before she could finish her sentence, Ayaka was being flipped through the air again. During Ayaka's jubilation over the face palm she delivered, she didn't notice that Asuna had grabbed her arm and flipped her in three, fast circles before she landed on the ground once more.
'Argh,' Ayaka blushed, realizing that Asuna threw her down once more, and without lifting her a finger. Asuna had grabbed her arm between her strong legs when she flipped her. 'I always thought of Asuna-san as my rival in martial arts. Being defeated like this is...humiliating.'
"Ahh, I told you I was doing special training, right?" Asuna said scratching the back of her head nervously. "Hey," she added, gently reaching out to touch her unmoving rival.
'An opening!' Ayaka thought, as she hastily jumped and reached for the shiny white wing on Asuna's chest. Her plan backfired yet again, as she found herself being thrown through the air a third time. 'Oh, no.'
"What are you doing, Iincho?" Asuna asked, regreting her brute strength, "What do you want?"
"Unfair...meanie...Asuna-san...you...you...idiot," Ayaka replied, standing and throwing a childish temper tantrum. I want a lot of things, but I suppose that's rather childish of me. As to confirm her thoughts, Setsuna and Konoka, standing nearby, commented on her being a spoiled child. Keep yourselves and your unbearably, cute relationship out of this. "I don't care anymore," Ayaka said, the results of the day and the failed attempts finally catching up to her. "Just hand me the badge and I can get into the club, as well."
Deep down, she just wanted to spend some time with her crush. The red-head had been training so much that they barely saw each other, with the exception of school. Ayaka was even starting to miss the random fights, about anything and everything, they would have. Wait, I should be glad for that burden being taken off me, why do I miss it so much then?
'It's the attention,' Ayaka thought, 'When we fight, all her attention is focused solely on me, and mine on her. It's the only time we get to be together, in a sense.' Asuna's laughter snapped her out of her reverie. Asuna's suspicions were confirmed, she knew what Evangeline's little game was now.
"I'm sorry, Iincho," Asuna apologized. It's just too dangerous.
"It's unfair, why you all?" Ayaka persisted, as the group of crowding girls agreed.
"There will be dangers over there," Asuna answered, as she looked worriedly at the blonde. And I don't want you getting hurt, especially considering we don't even know the people that we will have to face.
"What are these dangers," Makie said, standing beside Ayaka.
"Dangers!" Ayaka said loudly, "What kind of dangers require special training, I can't let Negi-sensei go to these places. Of course...that applies to you, as well. As class president, I disapprove!" She's going to do something that could be potentionally life-threatening.
"Why don't you get someone else to go, like the police," Yuuna suggested, joining in their discussion. Asuna sighed. If we could do that, we wouldn't be in so much trouble.
"Fine, I'll tell you. I'm sorry for keeping it quiet," Asuna said, continuing their small argument, "Negi has to find his father by himself or it won't have any meaning to it. If he doesn't settle things, he won't be able to go anywhere. After finding out, we realized-he's that troublesome, but we decided to help him out."
Ayaka took in all of Asuna's words. She was genuinely trying to help out her teacher. Ayaka was one of the few people Asuna actually let down her guard around. The blonde just held her affectionate stare towards her friend, trying to hold the tears back. She was about to speak up again, but was interrupted by none other than the person they were just discussing.
"What's everyone talking about?" Negi asked, walking up to the mass of girls. He and Kotaro were on their way to the goldfish scooping stand again, for a rematch, when he could have sworn he heard another one of Asuna and Ayaka's arguments. He didn't hear any of it thankfully, as he walked up on the end. He glanced back and forth between his students, waiting for an explanation.
"Ehh, this is...' Asuna tried to explain, but came up short at a loss of words. She racked her brain to try to think of what to tell him, without actually telling him that she let Ayaka know the reasoning behind their trip.
"Nothing at all, Negi-sensei," Ayaka laughed, covering for Asuna. 'Asuna-san's never been really good at lying,' she thought, shooting her friend a smile. She directed her attention at her now unconvinced teacher, wondering what she could tell him to make him believe her. Thankfully, Konoka came to the rescue. She grabbed Negi by the arm and gave him an offer he couldn't refuse-fried noodles. The chocolate-haired girl had caught on to the situation quickly and decided to spare everybody a headache, after all, it was a festival and they were supposed to be having fun.
As she dragged Negi away by the arm, she turned to motion for Setsuna, Kotaro and the others to join them, leaving Asuna and Ayaka standing by themselves. 'They need a little time to themselves,' Konoka thought, catching on to the developing relationship rather quickly.
"I understand now, Asuna-san. The determination of everyone else, too," Ayaka said, watching the others disappear into the growing crowd.
"Iincho, you've finally understood," Asuna blushed, in slight disbelief. She felt like hugging the taller girl. She reached out to embrace her but Ayaka held her hand out between them, halting her advances.
"But, I cannot accept how you kept such an important thing from us for so long," Ayaka said confidently, as she moved closer to Asuna, grabbing her by the shoulders. Their faces were inching closer and Asuna's blush was getting bigger.
'Is she going to...' Asuna closed her eyes tightly. Oh god, Iincho, if you actually knew how I felt. Ayaka's right hand moved gently to Asuna's left cheek.
'Sometimes messing with her is just too much fun,' Ayaka thought, as she pinched Asuna's cheek, laughing at the shorter girl's reaction. "You're going to have to explain it to me clearly, later," Ayaka said, pulling on the poor red-head's cheek more.
"Ahh, I'm in trouble," Asuna yelled. 'Why would Ayaka kiss me, we're friends, and why should it matter...and why the hell is it bothering me so much,' Asuna thought as Ayaka released her from her death grip.
"Now then," Ayaka announced, clearing her throat, "If you'll excuse me, I should probably let you get back to the festival." Ayaka gave Asuna another smile and turned to walk off. She wanted to spend time with Asuna, but really didn't want to bother her too much. After all, they were friends, and Ayaka felt that Asuna would talk to her about everything when the time was right. She wasn't going to pressure her. Hmm...Friends...
"Oi...Iincho," Asuna called, waiting for the blonde to turn around. "Why don't we enjoy the rest of the festival together?" Ayaka was stunned, but she happily nodded her head in agreement. Never in a million years had she imagined Asuna and herself doing such a thing. It almost seemed like a date. 'Yeah right,' Ayaka thought, tossing the idea aside.
"Are you sure about his, Asuna-san?" Ayaka replied, looking unsure of the idea.
"Of course I am, or I wouldn't have asked you, geez, sometimes you can be such a ditz," Asuna argued, "You better watch it or people are really going to think you're a dumb blonde."
"What, you want to repeat that!" Ayaka yelled, angered by the snide remark. She could feel her blood start to boil, Asuna had generously opened that door, she initiated another fight. Ayaka moved in close to Asuna, getting in her face in their typical stare-down fashion.
"Gladly,... dumb...blonde," Asuna repeated, drawing out each word. She didn't necessarily want to fight her friend, but the words left her mouth before she realized that she was pass the point of no return. She couldn't help but feel so invigorated, she should've stopped, but she couldn't. Asuna was pretty sure she had a dominance issue. The good thing about arguing with her friend was that she, too, had the same issue so it always made for one hell of catfight.
A crowd began to form at the sight of the arguing girls, everyone waited for Ayaka's retort. "Well, at least I'm not some super-powered ape like you," Ayaka grinned, as she fought back. She was proud of that sting. Ayaka's grin stretched wider, 'Asuna-san's got nothing to counter that one.' But just when she thought she had won, Ayaka heard a fit of laughter erupting from the red-head.
"And just what is so funny!" Ayaka said, surprised by her friend's persistent laughter.
"Nothing," Asuna said, whipping the tears from her eyes, "It's just...we always do this." Ayaka couldn't help but laugh, as well.
After her fast recovery, Asuna tugged her friend, by her yukata sleeve, through the crowd. "Come on, Iincho, there's a place I want to show you."
Asuna knew the perfect spot to go. After scouring the area earlier in the day, she found a semi-remote lake where there wouldn't be too many crowds. They walked on the pathway towards the little grassy hill. They could see the full moon's reflection on the black water.
As Asuna figured, there weren't too many people there, just a few couples enjoying the tranquility that the place offered. Instinctively, Asuna removed her grip from Ayaka's sleeve and grabbed the following girl's hand instead, nervously interlocking their fingers. Asuna wasn't sure what persuaded her to do such a thing, but it just felt right, her increasing heartbeat reconfirming the feeling.
Ayaka felt their hands intertwine. It was at that moment, that she, once again, began to struggle with her feelings for the shorter girl. 'What does this mean, does Asuna-san care for me? Oh, I'm probably blowing this way out of proportion,' Ayaka thought, as she ran into Asuna's back, not knowing that she had stopped at their destination.
"Geez, you klutz," Asuna teased, "You should watch where you're going, we're here now, by the way."
"Well if you wouldn't stop so abruptly," Ayaka joked, taking in their surroundings. The sun had finally gone down so that the moon could take over. It radiated over the lake and shined brilliantly in the sky, lighting up the area. Ayaka recognized it immediately as the spot that everyone in their class had been talking about since news of the festival broke loose. It was originally a place for people to come and relax, but as of recently it had become a hot-spot for couples. Why did she bring me here?
Asuna released Ayaka's hand as she took a seat on the soft ground. Ayaka stared in awe of the magnificent area. She scanned the beautiful expanse. There were more couples than before now, all marveling at the view. The near black lake sparkled due to the countless stars and the fireworks that were being set off in the sky, adding extra, colorful light to the area. There were also many trees in the area, all lit with festive decoration such as colored streamers and the traditional papers with wishes on them. Ayaka's eyes reached Asuna, who patted the spot beside her, motioning for Ayaka to sit down. 'Beautiful,' she thought, as she fell gracefully beside the red-head.
They sat in awkward silence as they gingerly watched the fireworks. A cool chill blew through as Asuna scooted a little closer to her friend. "Hey, Iincho, sorry for not telling you all about the whole England thing," Asuna said apologetically.
"You're forgiven," Ayaka accepted, "Besides, I guess you had a pretty good reason for not telling everyone, but next time just know that can tell me these things. After all, we're friends right, Asuna-san?"
"Yeah, best friends," Asuna responded with an unintentionally sarcastic tone.
"Hmph," Ayaka sighed, standing from the ground as she dusted off her yukata. "If you're going to be like that Asuna-san, fine. You were the one who invited me, but I see that I'm not really wanted since you're being such a downer. So I'll just leave then."
"Hold it, drama queen!" Asuna yelled, grabbing Ayaka's hand and pulling her back down to the ground rather forcibly. "I didn't say I wanted you to go anywhere, I was going to explain the situation, but never mind now."
"Oh, I'm a drama queen," Ayaka argued, as she clenched her fist, staring into Asuna's mirrored glare. "Well, you got my attention now, bells. What do you want to say!?"
The words repeated through Asuna's head as she finally snapped. Her annoyance tolerance and anger reaching its high. 'What do I want to say, huh?' she thought angrily. But instead of saying words, Asuna acted on a spontaneous whim. Something she had wanted to do for a long time.
She grabbed the back of the blonde's hair with her free hand, her other hand still holding on to Ayaka's hand from before, and moved forward, crushing her lips to her class representative's slightly open mouth. Ayaka's mind froze. All she could hear were the echoing of Asuna's bells and the sounds of fireworks in the midnight sky. She almost forgot to breathe. Asuna, after realizing that she wasn't getting a response from Ayaka, that she didn't kiss her back, broke the kiss. She let go of the blonde and turned away, embarrassed.
'I can't believe I just did that, I'm such an idiot,' Asuna thought, as she buried her face in her hands. 'I guess I was wrong about how I thought she felt.' They remained in silence for what felt like an eternity to the girls. Ayaka brought her hand to her mouth; her fingers touched the spot on her lips where Asuna had kissed.
'That was our first kiss,' Ayaka thought, 'My first kiss...'
Her thoughts were interrupted as Asuna jumped up from the ground and started to run off at an incredible speed. Ayaka was too stunned to react at first, but she jumped up soon after and ran after the red-head.
Asuna wasn't sure where she was running to; she let her legs guide her. She wanted to be anywhere but with her friend. She felt like she screwed up big time. She made a mental note to apologize if Ayaka ever talked to her again. She ran past the lake, into a clearing at the top of the hill. Unbeknownst to her, she had a pursuer hot on her trail. Asuna was about to turn and see how far she had gotten when all the sudden a warm body slammed into her from behind, knocking them both to the ground. Ayaka had caught up with her finally, she secretly thanked all her extra martial arts classes, she didn't think she would be able to catch the overly athletic girl.
"What's your problem, Asuna!?" Ayaka yelled, dropping the formality. She was positioned above Asuna, her hands and knees placed on both sides of her petite body. "You don't just kiss someone and then run away before they can say anything."
"Sorry," Asuna yelled back, almost in tears as she turned her head from Ayaka's mesmerizing glare. "I didn't mean to freak you out, I'm such an idiot. I know you really care about Negi, I just..." she stopped.
"You just what?" Ayaka asked, her semi-angry gaze burning into Asuna.
"I'm not...sure," Asuna replied, almost in a whisper, avoiding her crush's bright green eyes. Asuna didn't know how she was going to get out of this predicament because Ayaka had her virtually pinned down to the ground. She opted to just remain silent and hoped it would all pass.
"Don't run away before you give me a chance to answer, okay," Ayaka said, moving her left hand to Asuna's cheek, making her avert her gaze towards the blonde. Their eyes met again. "While it's true I care for Negi-sensei, I have no romantic connotations towards him, he's like a little brother to me, since I didn't get to meet mine."
Ayaka paused for a moment to remember the day she found out her little brother had died. During such a tragedy, she remembered one good thing about it, Asuna had come over to her mansion, without hesitation to help her get through the pain. 'I think that's when I fell in love with you,' Ayaka thought.
"Ayaka," Asuna said, as she surprised both of them. Ayaka couldn't even remember the last time Asuna called her by her real name. "Look, I'm sor...mmfp," she tried to finish, but Ayaka bent down and claimed her lips, cutting her apology short. Ayaka broke the kiss before Asuna could react. She stared into her blue orbs.
"It's okay," Ayaka confirmed, "Sorry about the first one being messed up, but you shocked me, I think I forgot how to function."
"Really, that good?" Asuna laughed, as she pushed up from the ground to rest in a more comfortable position on her elbow, Ayaka still kneeling above her. Asuna laughed again when Ayaka nodded at her question. She closed the gap between them again, this time getting the reaction she wanted.
Ayaka greedily kissed Asuna's soft lips as Asuna grabbed a fistful of Ayaka's hair as she intertwined her fingers in the blonde locks. Ayaka's hand moved down from Asuna's cheek, gently caressing the soft skin as she worked her way down from her neck, her collarbone and then to the top of her yukata. Her fingers traced over the small white wing, all thoughts of trying to steal it becoming a memory.
Asuna wrapped her free arm around the taller girl's waist and pulled her down on top of her, eliciting a whole new kind of feeling. Ayaka trailed her tongue over Asuna's lip, as she begged for entrance. Asuna granted it, but not before gently biting Ayaka's swollen bottom lip. Must have been that dominating factor again. Asuna let out a small moan as their tongues met and they explored every bit of each other's mouth, the kisses becoming more passionate. Ayaka finally broke the kiss, almost cursing the fact that she had to breathe sometime. They laid in silence while trying to catch their breath.
'Damn, that was way better than I imagined,' Asuna thought. She was about to initiate another kiss when she felt herself being pulled up from the ground. Ayaka pulled them both up into a standing position, not sure if her wobbly legs could handle it. She's ignored the Gumby effect as she reached out and embraced Asuna, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's shoulders. Asuna looped her arms around Ayaka's lower back, resting her head on the taller girl's shoulder.
"I know it's going to be dangerous over there," Ayaka stated, gripping tighter, "So please, be careful."
"Of course," Asuna replied, matter-of-factly, "Geez, Ayaka, you worry too much."
"You know," Ayaka stated, staring the red-head lovingly in the eyes, "That sounds so much better. Now, it's getting late, let's get you back to the dorms so you can at least get some rest for tomorrow. "
"I'm not really all that tried," Asuna argued, as they began their walk back to the dorms hand in hand.
"Well I am, and besides I still have to pack," Ayaka argued back.
"What do you mean pack?" Asuna asked, confused.
"I've planned to go on trip to England for the break," Ayaka laughed. 'She can't be serious,' Asuna thought.
"You're kidding, right?" Asuna asked, as they neared the Mahora dorm rooms. They didn't realize how long they had been out until they arrived back and noticed most of the school was quiet. Everyone was either still at the festival or asleep by that point.
"Of course," Ayaka lied, as she squeezed her friend's hand. They were in front of Asuna's dorm room within a few minutes.
She unlocked it to find that Konoka hadn't arrived home. She plopped down on her roomate's bunk as her girlfriend sat down beside her. "Rest easy, and I'll see you soon," Ayaka had told her before she kissed her forehead, then her lips and left the room. After taking a quick shower and changing into pajamas, Asuna quickly fell into a deep sleep, Ayaka on her mind.
xXxXxXxXx
Asuna yawned before stretching out all her muscles. She had been on the plane now for a good half day catching up on most of the sleep she had missed the night before. If it wouldn't have been for Ayaka setting Asuna's alarm clock before she left, she probably would have slept right through the takeoff.
"Are you ready, Asuna?" Negi asked, as he threw his bag over his shoulder, ready to leave the plane. The same plane that Ayaka so generously let them borrow for the special trip. Asuna smirked at the thought of her girlfriend. 'I hope she's finding something to preoccupy herself with, I really don't know how long we'll be out here,' Asuna thought.
Asuna followed Negi and the rest of the White Wing club out of the plane. They were discussing their next stop when all the sudden another plane landed in the area. It was a small, expensive-looking jet with a crude picture of Negi drawn on the side of it. It halted to a stop as the door opened immediately. 'It can't be,' Asuna feared.
A tall blonde stepped out of the doorway with what looked like half the class following her. She laughed at the sight of everyone looking confused. "Good evening, everyone, " Ayaka smirked, walking down the ladder towards the speechless club members. Asuna sighed, she was pretty sure she could feel a headache coming on.
A/N: Well that is that folks, didya like it? If so, tell me about by pushing that beautiful little button in the bottom left hand corner. Sorry it became a little longer than I expected. As for the festival, I think it was like some weird combination of Tanbata, some kind of amusement park-esque thing, and cliché festivals. I hope I put enough bickering in it. I have to say, Asuna and Ayaka as a couple are right up there on the KonoSetsu level for me. I'm thinking of continuing as Negima progresses, they're stuck in Ostia, :( no random AsuAya for me...yet.
So I'd like to say thanks to the following(not in any order) for helping me during my writing splurges: my fans (if you are out there), mountain dew, cheez-its, um...carmelldansen, my thinking cap (aka: my Haruhi Suzumiya headband). And thanks to Youtube: for messing up while I was trying to watch my Mermaid Melody. But if it wouldn't have, I would've finished this story later than my deadline. So woot, see ya'll next time...