DISCLAIMER: I don't own Negima.

A/N: I like AU fics, so this my attempt at my own. If you like the idea, please let me know and I will continue updating it if people think it's okay :3

Just as a bit of a warning, I've drastically altered the appearance of the Uzoku demons to fit with what I want them to look like, and also one must assume that in this universe Konoka can't cook or do anything remotely helpful in the domestic sense.

Now, onward to thy chapter! :D

"Ah!"

Konoka hissed in pain, quickly moving to stick her injured fingertip into her mouth to suck off the spot of blood that had welled up from the prick of the pin she was sewing with. Across from her, Madoka snorted and ducked her head, trying to stifle her laughter as the aforementioned girl shot a peeved frown in her direction.

"Konoka, I hate to say it, but you really suck at this. Maybe you should just stick to cleaning, huh? Or perhaps you should learn from the kitchenhands? Either way, you're... uhh..."

Madoka paused to let her eyes linger on the other girl who was awkwardly grasping a garment and attempting to sew the hem, which had thus far only managed to cause her numerous tiny pin wounds and an atrociously stitched lace collar that had been attached crookedly.

"... Well, you're just not cut out for fabric work, Konoka."

Sighing and pouting, the sepia-eyed girl tossed her project onto the back of a chair and shifted on the old wooden stool she was seated, tossing chocolate-brown hair over her shoulder and groaning despondently.

"I'm not cut out for anything, you mean."

"Ohh don't be that way! Look, everyone comes here without any skills to begin with, but that's why we practice until we find what we're good at~!"

Konoka looked up at the optimistic girl who was still sewing away on her work and she shook her head disbelievingly with a cynical smile.

"Yes, people who first come here have no skills... I've been here for three years now and I'm still useless!"

"Oh Konoka, that's not what I -"

"It's true though! I-I can't do anything domestic at all! I can't cook, I can't clean, as we just saw I can't even sew... Grr!"

"Hey, you can do that freaky wacko thing with your hands, right?"

The frustrated girl stopped short her whining and blinked at Madoka's words. Then she smiled sadly again.

"Well yeah but people like us can never be discovered anyway, so all the magic in the world is pretty useless to me as a career choice, you know."

Madoka stopped working and peered over at her friend who was sitting with her feet up on the stool and her arms wrapped around her legs. The seamstress-in-training couldn't help but smile sympathetically at the downcast girl as her eyes trailed over Konoka's off-white tunic - the standard garb amongst all the children staying in the orphanage - and landed on the small black pouch haphazardly tucked into her belt.

She was curious, always had been curious, about the black satin item Konoka had carried around with her for as long as Madoka had known her, but never once pried about it. For one thing, Konoka wasn't the kind of person who handled pestering very well. She was quite a cheerful girl, strange girl as a lot of the children staff members called her, and as far as she was aware Madoka was her sole friend.

It led her to wonder just how Konoka got by on her own in here, before Madoka herself arrived a year ago. From what she had heard, Konoka had grown up without a maternal figure, her mother dying shortly after giving birth to her, and her father a foot soldier in the king's army. A little over three years ago his squad had been declared missing, and the aunt that she was staying with promptly had her dumped at the run-down orphanage where she met Madoka and remained until this day.

The way the so-called 'orphanage' worked was quite simple. The children were taught some form of domestic duty and sold off as slaves to the nobles, freeing up beds and making room for more unfortunate orphans who were dumped by uncaring family members or plucked off the streets by conniving staff members.

As illegal and unfair as it was, the country was war-torn and going through a period where fear and basic instincts ran rampant amongst the lower class, and morals were a thing that was rare to be found. Places like this orphanage were operating all over the country - If anything, Madoka was thankful to have wound up in a slave workshop instead of one of the child prostitution rings she had heard about.

The world really was a sad place, Madoka would think, and she would think about the times she'd previously lived on the streets before being brought here, and she would wonder how a little girl like her managed to survive in a world of men with ill-intentions and the stories of demons that stalked the outskirts of the cities during the night, preying on foolish people who wandered too far.

Shaking her head, Madoka sighed and resumed her sewing. She and Konoka were both going to be 18 winters soon, and as it was the age that they were considered adults, if they hadn't managed to catch the attention of any customers that came by looking for slaves to purchase then they would be abandoned by the orphanage as soon as their birthdays rolled around.

"What about cleaning? Everyone can clean. You can't honestly say you have trouble sweeping a floor, right?"

Madoka tried to lighten her friend's mood with the cheeky statement, and it worked in the sense that Konoka flashed her a tiny smile back before sighing loudly and tilting her head back to gaze at the roof.

"But I hate cleaning! Argh! I think I'd go crazy if I was cooped all day scrubbing some stuffy merchant's carpets or something..."

Madoka chuckled evilly.

"Yes, or heavens forbid you end up a personal handmaid and have to scrub some stuffy merchant's greasy body as he bathed..."

"M-Madoka! That's just - Eurgh!"

Laughing openly at her friend's horrified expression, Madoka was startled when the door suddenly slammed open and an old grey maid in a faded dress stormed in, snatching Konoka by the ear and pulling her to her feet as she cried out with a yelp of pain.

"QUIET, GIRL! I told you an hour ago to get down to gardens with the younger lasses and finish hanging out that washing and yet I find you in here making a mess of the fabrics?!"

"I - Ow! I was just helping Kugimiya-san finish these dresses -"

Madoka quickly dropped her eyes to her work as Konoka was sharply whacked across the back of the head, causing her to jerk forward and narrowly avoid tripping on the stool she had been sitting on moments before.

"Look at this disgusting job you did on the hemming! You're useless! Everything you touch gets RUINED! I don't why I keep you around, child, you're a curse!"

Straightening up, Konoka rubbed the back of her head where the blow had landed and nearly stumbled over her own feet as she tried to hurry over to the door.

"Get going! Go and do something productive for once! I'll only have to be stuck with you for a little while longer before you're 18 and no longer a thorn in my side, so I can be rid of you once and for all..."

"It can't come quick enough..." Konoka mumbled to herself under her breath as she swung open the door and left the room, making her way down the filthy dust-covered stairs and out into the back gardens where sure enough about ten younger girls were fervently sifting through enormous towers of laundry and hanging it onto the wire tied from the porch railing to the side of the house, forming a makeshift washing line.

Plastering on a friendly smile, Konoka trudged over towards the nearest basket and wasn't surprised to hear one girl gasp and step backwards from her, abandoning that particular basket in favour for one that was further away from the older girl. She sighed.

It was always like this, the majority of the other children intimidated by her and spread scary stories of her like wildfire, ranging from rumours of her secretly possessing a flying broom and even stories as far-fetched as her apparent ability to kill you with magic merely by looking you in the eye and concentrating.

Of course, it was all ridiculous nonsense. People were scared of Konoka purely due to the whispers that followed her regarding her magical lineage.

And this, she would never admit, was actually true.

Mages were feared and hated by the people, blamed for the plague of the demons that had been brought upon the earth.

Demons, as they were called, were a breed of winged humanoid beasts that appeared many years ago as a result of black magic being performed across the country and going wrong - mages who were unsatisfied with the powers they were naturally given were turning to the darker rites of Satanic rituals and messing around with forbidden magic that they shouldn't have touched.

These mages formed a covert society and named themselves the Occult, and although any affiliation with the group was punishable by law of the king, many secret members continued the practice until one day a calamity occurred as a result of their interferences.

Essentially, a gateway to hell was accidentally ripped through the dimensional boundaries and marked the beginning of mankind's nightmare at the hands of the demons.

Nobody was quite sure where the tear existed, but it wasn't long before the invaders took advantage of it and began to cover the countryside. At first they seemed to ignore the people, more intent on surveying and exploring the land than stopping to fight the terrified armies that had been assembled to eradicate them. But the king pushed on, ordering a decimation of the demon race, which soon prompted them to retaliate.

And unfortunately for the human race the demons were soon discovered to be elite fighters, although human-sized they were near impossible to be brought down with crossbows and swords and their advantage of flight just made them even more formidable a foe.

And no more than few weeks after the fighting broke out, the raids began.

Random towns and cities were swarmed, the young and healthy rounded up and driven out of their homes in the hundreds, and forcefully lead away by the demons to never be seen again.

When Konoka was young, very young, she could vaguely remember her own village being attacked one night. She remembered finding it hard to breath as her father clutched her tightly against his chest, head pressed into his shoulder to keep her quiet, while the pair crouched behind a large set of drawers in the bedroom and their front door was kicked down as the house was searched for people.

She remembered hearing all the noise from outside - Mothers crying and screaming hysterically, begging for their children back. And the anguished yells of fathers and brothers who desperately tried attacking the demons only to be effortlessly slaughtered themselves before the demons took their leave, setting alight numerous buildings and walking off into the night with 60 youths in tow.

Nobody actually knew where the kidnapped were ever taken, and there were many rumours surrounding the mystery with explanations such as the people being used to feed the demon soldiers, and others suggesting that they were taken back through the gateway and into the demon's own world.

While there were rumours abound, nobody knew for fact just what went on as anybody who tried to follow them ended up missing themselves. Everything was left to speculation.

It was after this incident that Konoka's father and some of the remaining men from their village decided to leave the village and join the king in his search for the gateway's location, relying on the slim chance that the hostages were actually kept alive by the monsters they were taken by.

Konoka remembered as Eishun knelt and hugged and kissed her and promised her that he would return to her. And then, she was bundled up into a horse and carriage and taken to her aunt's house in a distant city. By the time Konoka's 14th winter drew close, news of the disappearance of Eishun's group reached the city. Her aunt wasted no time in getting rid of her.

And it's how Konoka found herself at the orphanage, alone and miserable until at least Madoka came along. No matter how kind and friendly Konoka was, no matter how compassionate and caring, as soon as people got wind of her mother's position as a healing mage before she died people would discard Konoka like a diseased rodent.

Which was ultimately why Konoka told nobody except Madoka, not even her own father, about the hidden gift she had discovered when she was little - The ability to restore or rejuvenate whatever she touched.

She discovered it by accident one day out in her father's gardens, playing amongst the flowers. She had gently touched the stem of a dried-out and near dead plant only to watch in awe as life and vitality flooded into it, causing it to stand tall and green amongst it's fellows again.

Konoka soon discovered that this unnatural skill, when she concentrated enough, could be applied to almost any object whether inanimate or living. And, in complete secrecy, she would continuously practice and hone her abilities while growing up.

Upon arrival at the orphanage, she restored the rotting wooden limbs of her unstable bed into fresh, young timber again. She sat outside and healed the stray cats that were cruelly kicked in the head by the frustrated staff members who caught them digging through their trash bins.

And then there was, the entire reason she befriended Madoka, the incident a few weeks after Madoka had just arrived at the orphanage and Konoka found her upstairs in the attic crying after a severe beating at the hands of one of their 'carers.'

Konoka had been quick to summon her powers and immediately dispel the bruises scattered across the other girl's flesh, and after a few initial minutes of freaking out on Madoka's end, the two had become friends and Madoka was sworn to secrecy about Konoka's gift.

Despite this power, Konoka was at heart a kind girl. Unfortunately, even the merest whisper of magic in Konoka's bloodline was enough to scare the other girls and have them scramble away from her like she herself was one of the demons.

Konoka shook her head in exasperation when she looked up to find that the other children had all scuttled off to the far end of the washing line, leaving her to work on an entire mountain of washing on her own.

"Um, excuse me, could some of you guys please come and help me with this one? It's got the most in it and I'm doing it by myself, so..."

Konoka trailed off as she watched the other girls just ignore her words and gather up their now-empty baskets before quickly moving back into the main house. Now alone, Konoka sighed again as she eyed the tower of washing and estimated how much time it would take to finish. When the answer displeased her, she simply sat herself down in the grass and rested her back against the basket, stretching her legs out in the grass and digging her bare toes into the cool soil.

Tilting her head back, she gazed up at the dying sky of the late evening, feeling the once-warm wind become crisper with each breeze that brushed past her skin.

I suppose supper will be ready soon, I wonder if I'll be able to get back inside without them noticing that I haven't finished the washing...

Shaking away her thoughts of the orphanage, Konoka cast her mind back to the times where she was a carefree child, her father still there for her and she would play with the children of her village. Most of which, sadly enough, had been taken during her village's invasion and left Konoka unsure if her old friends were even alive still.

Konoka remained sitting out there until the shadows eventually began to creep up along the land, and the lightman came along on his horse and illuminated each streetlamp in preparation for the night, the oil lanterns burning cheerily up on their perches and dotting the streets like numerous little floating orbs of sunlight.

Lost in her thoughts and listening to the crickets' chorus, Konoka was snapped to attention when suddenly the back door was flung open with a bang and one of the mistress' adult sons stepped heavily out onto the porch, gripping the railing unsteadily for support.

"Oi bitch, what the hell are you still doing out here?! And why aren't your chores finished?!"

Scrambling to her feet, Konoka felt herself break out into a cold sweat as a jolt of fear shot itself down her spine.

"I uh, f-forgive me, I was just -"

"GET OVER HERE!"

Konoka remained bolted to the spot, knowing that if she approached the man she was likely to get the living daylights beaten out of her. This particular man, Tosaka-san, was notorious for his foul temper and wasn't anything but heavy-handed with the girls.

"I, I... please, just..."

"I TOLD YOU TO GET HERE, GIRL!"

And throwing himself over the porch railing and landing on his feet, the man broke out into a run directly towards Konoka... who in turn spun around and fled towards the far end of the yard.

"STOP RUNNING AND GET BACK HERE!"

But Konoka was deaf to the man's words as terror and adrenalin had already gripped her, spurring her into flinging herself over the wire fence which encircled the yard and, nearly falling over in the process, made a stumbled landing before taking off down the street.

She heard the loud crashing of either Tosaka jumping the fence as well or merely kicking it - whichever one, Konoka wasn't about to stop and turn back now to see as she continued running down the dark road, the man's infuriated yells promising her death at his hands if he were to ever see her around the orphanage again.

Now wandering aimlessly around the city, Konoka quickly ducked her head and crossed to the other side of the road as she passed a group of obnoxious, drunk men who whistled loudly in her direction and made lewd comments as they stood on the street corner, drinking. Turning down yet another unfamiliar road, Konoka had to reach her hand up and wipe away a stray tear that had made it's way down her cheek, a combination of the after-affects of her adrenalin rush and the feeling of hopelessness as it dawned on her that she had no clue how to survive out here on her own.

If only I was as street-smart as Madoka, or Madoka was here with me...

She sniffled some more as she thought about her friend, knowing that she'll probably never get the chance to see the girl again and didn't even leave with any kind of goodbye.

I should've just taken my punishment, then I could be inside right now eating supper with the other girls and...

Hearing stumbling footsteps behind her, Konoka cast a look over her shoulder to find the same group of men walking behind her, laughing to each other and looking entirely too threatening as they followed Konoka down the street.

Ducking her head, Konoka tried to ignore them and walk faster as her heartbeat sped up and for the second time that night a rush of fear coursed through her system. Turning another corner, Konoka gasped as she found herself face to face with the dead-end of an alleyway.

Oh my god.... Please, don't let this be happening to me...

"Heeeeyy sweetheart, there you are. We were wondering where you'd gotten to..."

"Yeah! Fer' a while there we were worried we'd scared ya off!

Konoka pressed herself flat against the wall as the men crowded around her, still periodically swigging from the unlabelled bottles they clutched, and one being so bold as to reach out and touch her arm. When she reacted by screaming and knocking their hand away, the men howled with laughter.

"Well boys, we've got a feisty one!"

"It's 'cause she's young, usually it's only the same old skanks working the streets around here..."

"Woooyeah, this one'll make a nice change, eh?"

Konoka, breath coming in strangled sobs as she trembled all-over like a leaf, screwed her eyes shut and burst into tears which only amused them all the more.

"Hey, don't be scared now. It don't hurt, unless you want it to babe..."

"Shuddup you idiot, you couldn't hurt her if you tried with the size of your pathetic little -"

"Hey, who cares if you wanna hurt her or not, I'm having her first!"

Suddenly, there was the loud thwack of metal meeting skull and Konoka opened her eyes to see one of the men crumble to the floor. Blinking, Konoka saw the flash of a steel bar in the lamplight as it was swung viciously at another man, who screamed in pain and fell to the ground also, clutching his temple.

"What the f-?! Oi, who the hell do you think you - ARGH!"

And one by one the rest of the men were taken by surprise and felled, until the only ones remaining conscious were Konoka herself and a girl who looked roughly the same age as her with a crowbar clutched tightly in her fist.

After a few moments of staring at each other, the tanned stranger smiled at Konoka and lowered her weapon.

"I thought those men were bothering you, so I stepped in, aru!"

Konoka allowed her heartbeat to return to it's normal rate as she stepped out and flung her arms around the new girl, who blinked in surprise as she was enveloped in the hug.

"Thank god you were here! Those men, t-they...!"

Awkwardly patting Konoka on the back, the girl gently stepped out of the hug and placed her hands on Konoka's shoulders.

"You are alone… Do you have place to stay?" the newcomer enquired softly, tilting her head to the side.

Still teary-eyed, Konoka cast her gaze to the floor sadly and shook her head. She knew better than to try and return to the orphanage now... although she could just heal any damage the staff inflicted on her, she knew that if they saw her doing so, using magic, applying just the barest hint of truth to the rumours of her being a mage, they would probably burn her at the stake in a fear-fuelled frenzy or something equally as reckless.

"Well, my name is Ku-fei aru. You can stay with me if you like... Not a home, only broken cart under the bridge, but at least it can give you shelter for this night, yes?"

Despite the other girl's obvious foreign tone, Konoka couldn't help but smile at the warm offer this girl was extending to her. First she saves her from potential rape, and then she offers her a place to stay... It made Konoka wonder if there really still was some good left in this rotten city.

"Thank you, Ku-fei-san, I'd like that. My name is Konoe Konoka, by the way."

"Pleased to meet you, Konoka-san."

With no other option but to trust this Good Samaritan, Konoka followed her new friend throughout the winding network of alleys and cobblestone streets until at last they reached the enormous bridge that Ku-fei had mentioned.

"It is down here, aru."

Following where the other girl was pointing, Konoka saw a crashed wagon turned on it's side - sheets of metal and wood obviously placed there by Ku-fei in an effort to patch up the holes littering the sides of the former vehicle. Walking over towards the remains of a campfire, the blonde foreigner began working on a fire using a piece of flint and some dry straw.

Curiously inspecting the inside of the shelter, which was cushioned with various strips of fabric and soft items that formed a make-shift bed - rather like a bird's nest - Konoka's attention was pulled away when Ku-fei stepped up beside her after having successfully lit the fire.

"Konoka-san, you are my guest so sit and I bring food."

Nodding gratefully, Konoka sat herself down cross-legged in the sand near the fire's edge and patiently watched as Ku-fei began fishing around in the cart for something. Konoka decided to initiate a conversation.

"So, I assume from your accent that you're not from here, Ku-fei-san. Well, originally at least."

Pulling back with a bundled cloth item in her hands, Ku-fei hummed in confirmation as she sat down across from Konoka with a bright grin on her face and placed her folded handkerchief on the ground before her.

"Yes, I came to this country long time ago after yoma destroy my own."

"Yoma..?"

"Our word for 'monster'." the girl replied nonchalantly as Konoka flinched, realising that the girl was referring to the demons. Ku-fei finished unwrapping her cloth, revealing a few pieces of stale bread nestled carefully inside.

They didn't look particularly appetising to Konoka, with the suspicious blue tinges of mould beginning in the corners, but from the look on Ku-fei's face she could tell it must be quite a treat for the homeless to obtain. Swallowing deeply as Ku-fei began tearing the bread into equal strips for the both of them, Konoka shot her an uncertain look.

"Um, Ku-fei-san, is this normally as little as you eat?"

"Aru, normally I would be one to pick the pockets of men like those ones back there, but even so is rare for one like myself to find more food. Why you ask, Konoka-san?"

"Oh, no reason... it's just that..."

Konoka paused, uncertain if she should help the girl out or not.

She might attack me if I scare her suddenly like that, but at the same time she just saved me from those men so it's the least I can do to say thanks...

Curiously watching the conflicting emotions playing out on Konoka's features, Ku-fei temporarily stopped dividing the bread to enquire with concern.

"Konoka? You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yes I'm fine thank you, but let me do something here..."

Leaning forward, Konoka rested her hand over the food as Ku-fei raised an eyebrow quizzically. Taking in a steady breath, Konoka closed her eyes and concentrated on what lay beneath her palm as she felt the familiar dizzying wave of magic swirling through her veins.

Ku-fei gasped loudly and fell backwards, scrambling back a few feet as a gentle light emitted from Konoka's hand and, before the tanned girl could even blink, the old slices of bread began to swell and stretch into an entire loaf again. With a sharp inhale of breath, Konoka willed the magic to cease as the light blinked out immediately and she was left with a fresh loaf of bread sitting under her palm. Raising her eyes nervously, Konoka glanced up at the astounded expression on Ku-fei's face.

"Konoka... You... You.... magic?!"

"Oh, I can use it Ku-fei-san, but I'm not a bad person! I swear! I only use it to help -"

"You are occult member?!"

Feeling a stab of hurt at the other girl's fearful expression, Konoka shook her head adamantly and held out the newly formed loaf, trying to convince Ku-fei that she wasn't dangerous.

"No! No no no! See, I did it to give you better food! I can't even perform any dangerous spells - all I can do is fix things. I swear!"

After a few seconds of panicked hesitation, Ku-fei finally sat upright again and slowly reached out to take the food from Konoka's grasp.

".... Aru, thank you Konoka-san."

The girl scooted forward and broke off a chunk of bread, eyeing it in amazement before looking up at Konoka again.

"This is safe to eat?"

Konoka nodded again and tried to smile reassuringly.

I really, really don't want to scare her off...

There was a silence as Ku-fei bit into her first mouthful of food, cautiously swallowing her bite before smiling gently up at Konoka.

"Wow, this really is good! Konoka-san, I can't believe you can use magic..."

Konoka laughed nervously and scratched the back of her neck.

"Yeah I don't really use it in public.... a lot of people are scared of it, so I keep it a secret."

Ku-fei nodded through another mouthful before swallowing and speaking.

"Yes, that smart thing to do. Mages are considered bad, here."

"Mhm."

The conversation lapsed into more silence as they both finished the remainder of their dinner, and Konoka couldn't help but notice Ku-fei's eyes stray towards the pouch at her belt numerous times during the night. Finally deciding to call her up on it, Konoka placed her hand over the black bag and pulled it free.

"You're curious about this, Ku-fei-san?"

Startled, and a little embarrassed that she was caught staring at it, Ku-fei grinned sheepishly and twisted her fingers together.

"Ahaha, well, I was just thinking aru... that perhaps Konoka had money in her purse?"

Then, realising how her sentence sounded, the girl frantically waved her hands and tried to take back her words.

"Oh, not like I want to steal! No, I just curious if Konoka was from a rich family maybe? Sorry, I did not mean -"

Konoka interrupted her frantic explanations with a giggle as she fiddled with the black drawstring on the pouch.

"Mah, it's okay Ku-fei-san, I know you didn't mean it that way. I had a friend who was also very curious about why I carry this around everywhere, even though she pretended not to be."

Feeling relieved that Konoka hadn't taken her words as a threat, Ku-fei let out the breath she'd been holding in as she unfolded her legs and stretched them out in the sand, leaning back on her palms.

"So what is in there, Konoka-san?"

Konoka smiled distantly as she looked down at the satin bag in her palm, feeling it's familiar weight and debating on whether or not to tell her new friend what lay inside.

If she was a bit spooked about my power, then she'll probably freak right out if she knew what was in here...

"... It's something my mother used to own, before she died. My father gave it to me as a keepsake in her memory."

"Oh, I'm sorry Konoka-san. Did not mean to pry."

Konoka smiled cheerily at the other girl's sympathetic tone and shook her head, holding the bag up.

"No, it's okay Ku-fei-san. She died a few days after I was born, so I never even knew her. I don't really get upset when I think about her anymore."

She paused, her eyes lingering on the bag dangling from her fingertips before moving her gaze and meeting the brown eyes of her companion.

"Ku-fei-san, if.... If you promise you won't run away from me or anything, I can show you what's inside if you like?"

Ku-fei frowned at Konoka's words and tossed a wary glance at the bag.

"Be scared? What is in there? Human knucklebones?"

Konoka stifled a snort of laughter as she held her hand over her mouth before shaking her head.

"No, not anything like that. But still, I don't want you to be scared of me if you see them."

Ku-fei hesitated. Obviously if Konoka was giving her a warning, whatever they were is something she won't like. But on the other hand, her curiosity about it had been stirring all night and now was piqued by Konoka's mysterious words. Allowing her inner self to debate about the issue for a few more moments, the blonde girl finally nodded and eagerly leaned forward. Curiosity had gotten the best of her, it seemed.

Raising her hand, Konoka gently withdrew the string tie on the bag and turned it upside-down, allowing five small objects to drop onto the sand with a muted thud. Ku-fei's eyes widened with disbelief as she once again drew back from the shock.

"Runestones?!"

"Yes, apparently my mother used to use them -"

"Konoka, that's bad magic! Evil! Put them away!"

Konoka pouted, reaching out and lifting up one of the smooth, round stones with an arcane symbol ingrained onto the surface in crimson. Holding one of the stones up to Ku, Konoka was stunned when the tanned girl knocked her hand away in horror and pointed at the objects.

"Konoka-san, please! Please put them away!"

Drawing her legs up flat against her chest, Ku-fei lifted one hand to her face and turned her head away, not wanting to look at the forbidden tools of the occult that Konoka had just scattered before her. With a worried expression, Konoka swiftly gathered up the stones and dropped them back into her pouch, drawing it shut tightly and tucking it back into her belt before glancing up at the other girl.

"Ku-fei-san, I'm sorry -"

"Konoka-san, maybe you should go, aru."

Staring at the blonde girl incredulously, Konoka felt a stab of hurt when her companion wouldn't so much as look at her - Ku-fei's eyes were firmly cast at the ground while her fingers were scrunched into the sand.

Opening her mouth to protest, apologise, beg - Konoka quickly snapped it shut and her entire demeanour seemed to shrink as she wordlessly stood up and dusted the sand from her clothes. Casting another sad look in Ku-fei's direction, Konoka took in a shaky breath and thanked her for her hospitality.

"It was very kind of you, Ku-fei-san, everything you did for me tonight. And...."

She paused; blinking back the annoying sting she could feel was welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"And, um, I'm sorry."

When the other girl just nodded her acceptance, still not looking at her, Konoka bit her lip and left the warmth of the fireside as she trekked back up the sandy bank from under the bridge and into the chilly night air again.

Now alone again, Konoka wrapped her arms around herself as she walked down a dead silent street where the lamplights were already beginning to dim and burn out. The material of her clothes was cheap and thin, not offering any comfort against the coolness of the night that sent shivering breezes blowing against her and making her long hair swirl into her face and over her eyes. Irritably tucking her hair behind her ears for the nth time, Konoka continued further down the road and was about to take yet another step when all of a sudden she froze and a realisation hit her.

The wind... it disappeared....

Standing dead still, Konoka felt unease wash over her as she confirmed her initial thought, then began to panic a little more when she realised the night had suddenly become dead silent too.

The crickets have stopped....

Glancing around nervously, and feeling her instincts beginning to flare and tell her there was danger approaching, Konoka wondered if she should scream out and alert the people in the surrounding houses before a hand suddenly clamped itself over her mouth.

"Scream, and your life ends right here."

Konoka felt the very blood in her veins turn to ice as her eyes widened and a droplet of cold sweat ran down the side of her face. The voice that commanded her was low, deep, and definitely not human.

Eyes widened to their limit, Konoka glanced at the hand wrapped around her face and felt the bile rise in her throat when she saw dark, scar-covered flesh with each fingertip ending in a black talon. Unable to breath through her fear, Konoka couldn't control the tiny squeak that welled up from her throat and although it was muffled by the creature's large hand, it was still loud enough to be heard.

The mouth next to her ear released an angry hiss as another hand flew up and wrapped around her throat.

"I told you to be quiet!"

And with one sudden movement, the hand around her mouth was suddenly hovering behind her head where it delivered a sharp blow to the back of her head and she felt to her knees in the street, vision fading into complete black before she'd even hit the ground.

The feeling of somebody pressing a damp cloth to her forehead was what Konoka first registered as she opened her eyes groggily, blinking into the dim light as a stranger's face came into view.

"Thank goodness! I wasn't sure if you were even going to wake up!"

Trying to speak but realising her throat was completely parched, Konoka made an odd gasping noise as the boy looming above her smacked himself in the head.

"Oh, that's right, you need water!"

And by the time Konoka had sat upright, there was a small ceramic bowl of said liquid being held to her face by the kind-looking young boy with scruffy red hair.

"Drink up miss, you've been unconscious ever since you were brought here, and that was hours ago."

A little bewildered and still unsure of her surroundings, Konoka slowly took the bowl from the boy's grasp and drank deeply, eyes trailing around the room as she did so. It was more of a stable than a room, she decided, as her sights took in a gigantic room bare only except for the straw that covered the floor and clumps of hay bundled in the corners where people were resting on like makeshift beds.

There were a lot of people - Some young, some old, and all adorned in tattered rags that Konoka could tell were once normal clothes. The was a small archway over to one side where Konoka could glimpse through and see a filthy bathroom, and other than that was the huge set of wooden doors at the end of the room. With a rusty creak, Konoka watched as these doors were pulled open and yet another person in rags slipped through and entered the room. Eyes widening, Konoka dropped the bowl from her limp fingertips which fell softly onto the hay as she watched the new person making their way towards them.

It can't be...

The boy kneeling beside Konoka shot a cheery grin in the newcomer's direction as the girl drew nearer.

"Look, she's finally awake!"

The redhead girl walked over towards them and stopped as she smiled down at the boy and Konoka, the latter of which was staring up in disbelief like she had just seen a ghost.

"A-Asuna?"

"Hey, long time no see, Konoka."

"ASUNA!"

With that Konoka launched herself upwards and into the girl known as Asuna, sobbing hysterically and wrapping her arms around the taller girl's frame like she was about to disappear at any second. Asuna choked back her own sob as she buried her face into her friend's shoulder and hugged her back just as tight. The young boy on the floor smiled up at them and ran a hand through his messy hair, watching the affectionate interaction between the two as they broke their hug and looked at each other.

"Asuna, I can't believe it's really you! After that night our village was attacked and you were taken away, I thought you were... were..."

And Konoka couldn't finish her sentence, just lifted her hands to rub her eyes and cried some more, so overwhelmed at seeing her missing childhood friend alive and well before when she had convinced herself that she never would. Asuna laughed and wiped a tear from her own eye before catching one of Konoka's wrists in her grasp and gently pulling her hand away from her face, making the brown-haired girl look at her.

"Konoka, it really is me. After that night we were brought back here and... Well, I guess this is where we've been ever since."

Clearing her throat and inhaling a shaky breath, Konoka looked up at Asuna excitedly.

"A-and the others...?! Akira-san, Ako-san.....?"

Asuna's mouth tightened into a straight line and her eyes became sad as she gazed at Konoka, shaking her head solemnly even though Konoka could already tell from her expression that they were dead.

"Oh..."

And before either could lapse into further misery, a head of scruffy red hair popped up next to them and Konoka found her hand being shaken politely by the boy.

"Pleased to meet you, Konoka-san, Asuna-san has told me quite a bit about you! My name is Negi, by the way."

"N-nice to meet you too, Negi-kun. I hope we can get along."

With a faltering smile, Konoka returned the pleasantries as Asuna clapped the boy gruffly on the back in a way which was meant to be friendly but actually causing him to stumble forward and gasp with the wind knocked out of him.

"Yep, Negi here is kinda like my little brother; we stick together in this place. Right, brat?"

Straightening up and adjusting his frayed shirt, the boy shot Asuna a wary glare which soon melted into a warm expression and he smiled brightly as he nodded. Konoka moved her gaze back and forth between the tall girl and the little boy, immediately sensing the camaraderie there and feeling a warm buzz in her chest at the knowledge that she'd at least have friends in here..... Wherever here was.

"Say, um, Asuna.... just where are we, anyway? I don't seem to remember much other than being grabbed by something in the street..."

Asuna's expression turned grim once again as she and Negi shared a worried glance. Eventually, it was the boy who spoke.

"Well, to put it technically, we're in hell."

"What?!"

At Konoka's panicked cry, Asuna sharply elbowed Negi in the side, causing him to yelp as she frowned at him before reaching out and grabbing Konoka's shoulders, stilling her.

"Look Konoka, it's not actually hell. It's, well, the demon's world, I guess you can call it. Their realm, their plane, their, uh, dimension?"

Negi stepped up beside her again and nodded somberly.

"Yes, Konoka-san, this is what it's like on the other side of the gateway."

"The gateway....? You mean, we're stuck here in their world...?"

Asuna nodded quietly, dropping her hands from Konoka's shoulder and gesturing around the room.

"Yeah, this is basically our living quarters, and we're kept here because -"

Asuna's sentence was cut short abruptly as the large doors flew open with a crash and a tall demon stood at the entrance, arms flung out to either side and wearing some kind of decorated armour. The sudden appearance of the monster caused Konoka to choke and cling onto Asuna, terrified.

"Listen up, filth! A member of the royal family is returning back from the flip world, everyone get your asses outside and line up to greet the procession! NOW!"

And with the end of the sentence, the humanoid creature turned around and left, the people in the room beginning to stir and filter out of the room in droves. Konoka dug her fingers into Asuna's shirt and looked up at her fearfully.

"W-we're not going to follow it are we, Asuna?"

Asuna laid a calming hand on Konoka's shoulder and tried to smile reassuringly. Beside her, Negi turned back from the people moving out of the room and glanced back at the pair as he began to follow them.

"Asuna-san, Konoka-san, we have to hurry."

"NO!"

At Konoka's shout, Asuna turned and lightly placed both hands on the sides of the terrified girl's face, lifting it so she could meet her gaze.

"Konoka, it's okay, they won't hurt us. Trust me, just do as they say and you'll be fine, I'll explain it all later -"

"Asuna-san, we're going to be left behind!"

Looking away from Konoka to glance up at Negi, Asuna swore under her breath and grabbed Konoka's hand, leading her towards the doors.

'Look Konoka, just follow me for now."

They caught up to the rest of crowd and were lead by a pair of warrior demons up a gigantic flight of stairs into a massive courtyard where an entire crowd of demon citizens gathered before a raised platform against the side of the huge palace, a huge split down the middle of the audience forming a neat road that was lined with a red carpet.

Konoka blinked up at the sky and was overcome with awe as she found that this sky was red instead of the blue of her world's.

The humans were led over to the far edge of the carpeted walkway, far away from the demon citizens who sneered at them in disgust as they passed.

"Ugh, humans...."

"They stink. I don't see why they should even be out here greeting the procession at all..."

"Now now, they're owned by the royal family. They're like pets, you know?"

Glancing over her shoulder at one of the demons that whispered a particular nasty comment, Konoka found Asuna's hand jerking her head back to face the front and the girl leaning over to hiss in her ear.

"Don't look at them, Konoka. It's a sign of disrespect to make eye-contact with them."

They were organised into a single line along the walkway, instructed to kneel down and sit quietly while the chatter from the crowd of conversing demons filled the air. Konoka discreetly glanced at the demons out of the corner of her eye, taking in their appearance.

Their skin was a dark-bronze tanned colour, limbs long and sinuous and talons trimmed into sharp, black points. Their general appearance was strikingly humanoid, sharp noses and defined chins, very thin dark hair with a glossy sheen to it. But then there were the points that made them so starkly inhuman, like for one the sharp eyes where the whites were instead completely black, and the irises a bright gold. And as they talked amongst each other, Konoka could glimpse the pointed rows of teeth that flashed every time their lips were pulled back, and of course there were the enormous black-feathered wings that emerged from their shoulder blades.

They wore folds of clothing that wrapped around and tucked in, similar to yukatas and hakamas, Konoka thought, and both the male and female ones wore jewellery of some kind. Gold necklaces and bracelets, and rings both on their fingers and in their pointed ears.

Konoka's observation of them was broken when the crowd fell into a hush and golden eyes all turned towards the end of the walkway. From her place kneeling down along the side of the road, Konoka leaned forward and turned her head to look down the road and see a line of demons marching up long the path.

Eyes fixated on the group drawing ever closer, Konoka was nearly shocked right out of her skin when a booming voice directly behind her yelled out.

"BOW DOWN!"

In a flash, all the humans lined up along the walkway threw themselves forward onto their stomachs, arms folded underneath themselves and foreheads almost touching the ground in front of them. After a few confused seconds of delay, Konoka copied their movements.

Although her head was pressed to the ground, Konoka could hear the metallic clinking of the soldiers' booted feet as they passed in front of her, the procession walking in tandem rhythm as the crowd of citizens further down burst into applause and cheer to welcome their heroes.

Unable to help herself, Konoka tilted her head upwards a bit and glanced up at the proud warriors that marched past, staring in awe at the intricate armour they wore which looked similar to the set worn by the demons who had led them from the chambers outside, but far more surreal.

The men wore black and silver armoured chest and shoulder plates but left their lean, muscled abdomens bare, waist covered with an iron belt and plated groin-and-hip guards worn over loose scarlet trousers, which tucked into sharp-pointed metal boots. The women wore the same black and silver armour, although they had a tight-fitting red shirt underneath their chest and shoulder plates rather than leaving their abdomens bare. Both genders wore exquisitely crafted armoured gauntlets which ran from wrist to the crook of the elbow, leaving their upper arms bare save for where the shoulder plates began.

The most noticeable piece of military-wear, however, was the chilling metal helmets each soldier wore. Neatly settled over their heads, they acted more like masks - with an open back to allow hair to spill free, and the rounded tops sporting three small spikes. The front of the mask fell down either side of their cheeks, freeing the mouth, chin and eyes but curving over the nose and ending in a long, sharp point. It gave them the appearance of a dark metal bird's beak, oddly fitting for their golden eyes and powerful wings.

They looked insanely intimidating.

Konoka continued to watch line after line of soldiers go past until the civilian crowd upgraded from a chorus of loud cheers into a ferocious uproar of applause and praise as an important-looking gilded cart edged in gold and being pulled along by a pair of solid black steeds came into view. As it's large wheels rolled past directly in front of her, Konoka craned her neck upwards in caught a glimpse into the shadowy window of the passing window.

White....?

Feeling Asuna's hand on the back of her head pulling her back down into a bow, Konoka gave up on watching the rest of the procession as she remained face-down like the rest of the slaves. Eventually, they were instructed to sit back up again on their knees when the procession had eventually made it's way onto the platform, the large cart rolling to a stop and two waiting soldiers rushing forward to pull open the carriage door as the crowd fell silent again.

Squinting, Konoka intently watched as the doors were drawn back and that the figure inside stepped out onto the platform regally. Konoka felt her throat go dry.

This one, was so different...

Although dressed in the same armour as the other soldiers, save for the addition of a dark cloak, Konoka could see even from this distance that the demon who had just emerged into the open was nothing at all like the rest. The slim figure and red garment across it's torso alerted her to the fact that it was a female, but as it stepped up and began walking to the front of the platform with languid grace Konoka's vision was simply fixed on the wings folded neatly at it's back.

White wings.

Not only that, but from what she could see of the upper arms this demon had pristine white skin too, and it looked starkly misplaced amongst the dark soldiers who had at this point dropped into a crouch and were bowing before the female who came to a stop at the front of the platform.

Excited whispered coursed throughout the crowd as all attention was fixed on the figure who lifted up their hands and lifted off the helmet, dark hair with a streak of white falling about the shoulders and framing a feminine face which looked out at the crowd with black eyes, irises the colour of blood rather than the usual demon gold.

Konoka remained staring at the exotic being as another loud, booming voice of one of the soldiers yelled out over the courtyard and spurred the crowd into another eruption of frenzied cheer and applause.

"ANNOUNCING THE LONG-AWAITED RETURN OF SETSUNA-HIME!"

A/N: Yes, I'm planning forbidden attraction and romance for this fic, uwahahahaha. If this sounds like it should be continued, or if you think that the idea is ridiculous and should be killed, please let me know!

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