Selfishness

A Mahou Sensei Negima! Short Story

By: Mister Spark

She was always a very selfish person.

Being alive for eternity tended to do that to people. Why bother trying to be nice to someone if they were going to die eventually? As an immortal, she couldn't die through conventional means, so what was the point? Even if she did go out and help people, they would forget about her soon enough and she would forget about them too. It was a waste of time and effort.

At one point, like many other people, she wanted to be remembered, to make a mark in the history books. Yes, going out into the night to drain countless people of their essence and watching as the village panicked as they were drained, one by one, until they turned on each other like the animals that they were. She was past that phase now, she preferred instead to spend her time drinking tea with Chachamaru or pestering the dean of Mahora, or better yet, beating up her disciple. Indeed, she looked upon those days of the past with a deep sense of nostalgia.

Unfortunately for her, with any sense of nostalgia came the horrible memories from forever ago of the night she was turned, or the weeks she spent wandering around wastelands in search of nourishment. The years where she was vulnerable to sunlight, having to desperately search for shelter before the sun rose and burned her to a painful death. The nights when she was forced to feed upon cattle in order to survive, however humiliating it was to do. The times when she was caught and burned at the stake or drowned in the river, neither of which guaranteed ways to kill a vampire, also surfaced.

Or even the night that the Thousand Master cursed her to remain in Mahora until she learned to live in the light, whatever that meant. Thinking about Nagi Springfield caused a dull ache to rise in the center of her chest, a sort of pain she only felt when thinking about him.

She loved him, and he gently rejected her. It was that simple.

But no, she was always a very selfish person, determined to get what she wanted.

Coming to that conclusion, she chased him around the world relentlessly until he was forced to use the infamous Infernus Scholasticus curse. Forever she would remain trapped within the bounds of Mahora campus unless the dean felt generous enough to sign field trip documents every five seconds, which was not often.

Along with the thoughts of the Thousand Master came the more recent thoughts of his son, Negi Springfield. The two were so different, polar opposites, even.

Nagi was skilled, Negi was not. Nagi was powerful, Negi was not. Nagi was brave, Negi was not.

The list goes on. She's made a little habit of it, comparing the child with his father. The differences between them are staggering.

She wasn't surprised about their differences, she expected it. Following in the great Thousand Master's footsteps was no easy task. Being his son meant that he had to step out of his father's shadow and become his own man, something he's had trouble with until recently. Even so, the boy looked up to the man like some sort of deity. It was admirable, if a bit obsessive; the only thing that he cared about was finding his father.

Now, the young man was out in the Magic World with his students. She was confident that he would be able to handle himself, though. After all, he was following in her own footsteps by learning Magia Erebea.

"Oh, there's another one."

Nagi chose light, Negi chose darkness.

She was perplexed about this decision. On one hand, it brought her a sense of pride that her disciple was following in her footsteps. Of course, that wouldn't stop her from beating him from an inch of his life whenever she next saw him, as per usual.

On the other hand, it made her a little sad that he was selling his inherent humanity for power. But just a little.

It reminded her of herself, in a way. That's what made her a little sad. But only a little.

Sighing aloud, Evangeline calmly stood up from her beach chair in her ocean resort and called for one of Chachamaru's many "sisters" to prepare her clothes for returning to Mahora. That fool Albireo Imma invited her for another gathering over tea, and she figured that she would go, if only to curb her boredom.

Not having Negi around to beat up was rather boring.

"Ah, Evangeline, how nice of you to join us," greeted Albireo Imma, clad in the same mage cloak as usual, barring the hood.

Lately, these meetings called by Albireo were being called more often. They would meet in his rather elaborate abode under the school. Most of the time, she didn't even respond to the invitations, but she still went once in a while. Occasionally the dean or his son-in-law, Eishun would join them, or even some of the more renowned mage teachers in the campus, such as Takamichi, who was currently in the Magic World as well.

"Yeah, well, I was bored and had nothing better to do." Observing her surroundings, she noticed that Eishun Konoe was present as well. He greeted her with a smile and a nod, to which she scowled in response.

It wasn't that she disliked him anymore than anyone else, but she recalled the situation in which Setsuna Sakurazaki found herself a while back; having to choose between Konoka Konoe and her skill in the blade as her bodyguard. It was blatantly obvious that the two held a deep romantic relationship, the fact that neither Eishun nor the Dean seemed to notice bothered her. Of course, it wasn't any of her business, and it was quite entertaining to watch Sakurazaki squirm when the subject was brought up.

"Ah, of course, with Negi-kun and friends out in the Magic World, things sure have quieted down as of late, wouldn't you say?" chimed the calm voice of Albireo, seemingly oblivious to the glare she was sending an equally oblivious Eishun.

"Indeed, there doesn't seem to be much going on at the moment. In fact, I'd say that it was almost like the calm before the storm," replied the shinmeiryuu master, nodding his head with a pleasant smile upon his face, "it would be smart to savor this peace while it lasts; something tells me that it won't be for long."

Taking a seat at the small table, Evangeline crossed her legs in a seated position and wordlessly accepted the tea offered by the host. She didn't really want to be here, but there was absolutely nothing to do. Sure, people like Zazie and Satsuki were nice company, but they got old after a few days, which isn't a very long time for an immortal.

After a bit of pointless small talk between the three, a short silence followed.

Scowling, Eva complained, "God, it's so boring around here. There isn't a lick of anything to do!" Taking a sip from her tea, she set down the cup and crossed her arms defiantly.

"That's strange, coming from you, Evangeline. You always seemed to enjoy being alone, why the change in attitude all of a sudden?" commented Eishun, with that calm, idiotic smile still plastered on his face.

"Indeed. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you miss Negi-kun and his companions. Or maybe it's just Negi-kun?" added the cloaked figure, teasing smirk upon his lips.

The vampire grinned viciously, "Me, missing the boya? I don't think so, that screw-up made the decision to go to the Magic World on his own. If he comes back, great, I'll be the one to beat him senseless for almost getting himself killed around three times. If he doesn't, no skin off my back, it would be his own fault for getting himself killed." Eishun frowned while Albireo's smirk only faltered somewhat.

The cloaked mage responded, "You don't really think that, Evangeline, do you? Surely you've grown attached to the young man. After all, you sure have grown on him; he talked about you as if you were a queen, always defending your honor when others spoke ill of you and he would always spread news about how wonderful his master was."

For a quick moment, a look of surprise flashed upon her fair countenance. Rapidly changing her expression to a smirk, she asked, "That's how a disciple should treat his master. And how would you know this? You didn't exactly talk to the boya a whole lot, back when he was here."

After noticing a quick change in demeanor, Albireo's playful smirk returned and the long-haired wizard responded, "Maybe, maybe not, but I hear things. Why would I lie about this?"

Frowning, she replied, "To mess with me, of course."

He grinned victoriously, "Why? Does knowing that Negi-kun thinks very highly of you, even when you're not around, bother you? If I didn't know better, I'd almost say that the boy has a serious crush on you."

Evangeline, High Daylight Walker, the Dark Evangel, Lord of Darkness, Apostle of Destruction, and the Queen of the Night, was speechless.

Seeing Evangeline silent as such, Albireo chuckled, knowing that she fell right into his trap.

Quickly composing herself, the immortal replied calmly, "Well, who can blame him? He's probably got some messed up hormones or something like that. That tends to happen to kids like him. It doesn't matter to me anyway. He's only good to me as a blood bank in the first place."

Smile not fading in the least, the cloaked man added, "If that's what you think, so be it."

"Good," said the blonde girl, with an air of finality. She got up at her own pace and calmly walked away.

Albireo nodded to her and watched her walk off.

Looking utterly confused, Eishun asked, "… So what was that all about, Al?"

Turning to his companion, the dark-haired mage smiled and replied, "Oh, nothing you need to concern yourself with, dear Eishun. That reminds me, I called you here for another reason; it's about your daughter and her bodyguard, actually. Do not fret, it isn't anything bad, just some advice I have for you…"

"That fool doesn't know what he's talking about."

Evangeline strode along the Mahora campus streets toward her secluded cabin, muttering to herself every once in a while.

That idiot called her there only to tease her, as she should have expected, there was no way she would ever attend another of those stupid gatherings.

But it wasn't as if she was completely shaken by this news, she wouldn't be surprised if that perverted man made it up just to make fun of her.

"…"

Even so, she couldn't deny that she had a soft spot for the child prodigy. She could have easily killed him during their first encounter, but she did not. At the time, it was because of his uncanny resemblance to his father, Nagi, whom she loved. When he came to her to ask for training, she obliged him, at first seeing it as a way to break the curse: training in exchange for his blood. But later she began to secretly enjoy having him revere her in such a manner…

She also enjoyed beating him to a pulp, draining his veins, and overall just making him squirm nervously but that was normal for her. Like that time that she kissed him out of nowhere after a short sparring match; he was so easy to unnerve.

If she were to believe that her disciple had a crush on her, however petty it may have been, how would she feel?

Scowling, she inwardly cursed the warm feeling that rose in her chest, in the same spot that ached when she thought of the Thousand Master.

Entering her home, she sighed, "I guess that answers my question."

So she admits to herself that she likes the boya. It's not a big deal, really. She wasn't some stupid airheaded schoolgirl, like everyone else in her class. She wouldn't go into an emotional fit and start crying or something over it. She wouldn't blush and stammer whenever the dumb kid looked her way or said something to her. She knew herself too well, it came with being an immortal; your own thoughts became your best companion after a while.

It's not like he could fill the spot that his father left broken and empty, anyway. He's nothing like Nagi, so she mentally brought up her list, reminding her of that fact and adding a few for the heck of it.

Nagi was stupid, Negi wasn't, most of the time, anyway.

She thought about it, that wasn't a bad thing about the kid, unlike basically every other item on the list.

Nagi was charming, Negi wasn't.

That was a strange one, while Negi certainly didn't act charming on purpose, he certainly ended up as that despite all of his faults.

Nagi tried his best to ignore her, Negi always tried to include her.

She wasn't exactly happy about this one, it hurt to remember that Nagi always ran away from her, but it made her smirk a bit when she thought of the idiotic things Negi wanted her to partake in for his class, even though nearly everyone discouraged him from inviting her in the first place.

Nagi didn't choose her, Negi…

She couldn't exactly answer that, she didn't know what the boya thought of her. He probably didn't even think of her that way, anyway, so it didn't matter to her. If he didn't, then it wasn't as if her heart would stop, she'd continue living, like she has for hundreds of years. If he did, then great, it would provide her with a few years of comfort before she grew tired of him, or he grew tired of her, or he withered and died.

As if the thought had just struck her now, she realized; she would live on for eternity while he grew old and died. That made her depressed.

If she truly loved him, that would be a problem, wouldn't it? Obviously, she wouldn't say that she even loved the boya in the first place. She liked him, she was sure of that much, she liked him a lot. But she wouldn't love him; that would be too painful in the long run. If she admitted it, when he died, she would be broken, at least for a while, if she didn't, then she could pass it off as just a stupid crush.

"Damn."

That didn't make a lick of sense, even to herself. Great, thinking of Negi was causing her thoughts to go erratic, now she really felt like some stupid airheaded schoolgirl, as much as she loathed admitting it.

Why would the boya's death trouble her like she imagined? She had said not too long ago that if he died in the Magic World, it would be his own fault.

Sighing, Evangeline threw herself on her bed in her room, curtains closed as to block the afternoon sunlight.

"It doesn't matter, anyway."

She was getting ahead of herself, she was immortal and he was not. Even if he did return her feelings, he would die and she would not, there was no way around that.

It would be better just to forget about these idiotic feelings and beat up the kid like she always did; she would almost say that she missed beating him into paste.

There was no point to thinking about him anymore, as a vampire, eternal life was always meant to be lived alone and-

"…"

Suddenly, the blonde vampire grinned toothily. She exposed her fangs and licked them once.

She always was a very selfish person, determined to get what she wanted, no matter who or what was in her way, even if that 'who' was 'what' she wanted in the first place.

Indeed, she would live on forever while he died of old age.

Unless…