Negima FanFiction Discussion

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by Merctrin

Hm. Yeah, I think I like Kyo. Could do without him being married to Konoka, but then I suppose he'd just be nice without much of a purpose. He's... likable. He was completely distressed last chapter when he yelled at Setsuna, but he was still able to keep himself from blaming her during the meeting. That's a very pleasant attitude to have. Hazan's good too, though I don't think she showed up this chapter.

Everyone else with the last name Wallward I could do without. They should have had better security. I mean, Kyo obviously understands what could happen when/if the wards collapse, so why can't the rest of his family get that their own guards should be equipped to deal with the failing of the wards? I'd tolerate any number Wallwards disliking Setsuna for her failure if they had done anything significant to help with security that would actually do something against demons.

Konoka's starting to get on my nerves, but... eh, no clue why at this point in time.

Setsuna going to Shizuna is a little odd, but only because I can't think of a single time they've interacted in canon. It makes sense for her to seek out a nurse for whatever fun heritage issues she might have (which I want to see more of very, very badly), but it still seems odd. Interesting though.

It was most wonderful to see Negi and Evangeline out and about. Negi's as pleasant as Kyo without being married to Konoka, and the world can only benefit from more Evangeline.

This wasn't really a happy chapter, but I like Setsuna angst that is not entirely related to Konoka, and there was Evangeline. So, fun fun fun all around, even if it isn't the sort of fun anyone within the story would be likely to appreciate. I'd ask for a speedy update, but considering my own practices...

Still, more ward issues/Setsuna-angst-fun is very much desired. Just so you know.

I meant to have a series of other scenes in this chapter that I ultimately ended up cutting and relocating to Chapter 4 , so Konoka seems pretty flat and annoying here with no explanation about her behaviour yet.

I meant to have Negi come in later in the story, but people seemed to want to see him so I threw him in a little early .

Originally Posted by isagrimorie

Things are really beginning to move! A move to Mahora included! (Hee, I see you found a way to bring Mahora back into the picture!) and with that Negi and Evangeline!

I admit I d'awwwed at Negi and Asuna's reunion. Kyo remains an upstanding guy but the Wallward Matriarch? Yeaaaaaah. They might be powerful in their own right but considering the power house mages that are in the Kyoto Magic Association and their allies in Mahora she needs to bring her antagonism down a notch. I can see where Evangeline's scorn for the Wallwards are coming from, the Matriarch can point fingers all she wants but its not going to win her any friends (well, at least from this reader)

Just a note though... doesn't Eva still have a million dollar bounty on her head? The Headmaster only seem to inform people around his circle about Eva and never informed the other magical circles about Evangeline's whereabouts. I kind of don't see the Headmaster telling the Matriarch about Eva. If Eva's in her child form maybe the Wallwards won't figure out who she is?

(Oh, and just another thing, small nitpick-- Asuna's always referred to Evangeline as 'Eva-chan' much to Eva's eternal annoyance)

The ending with Shizuna and Setsuna: Heeee.... Setsuna, you drama ninja! And I guess, a divorced woman is a good person to ask about falling out of love!

Ah, I'll have to consider all the points you mentioned when I edit the chapter! As for Evangeline's bounty, I'm assuming that the Wallwards are considering themselves starting to be a part of the Konoe's family business, so I doubt that they'd turn in Evangeline (if they even recognize her, since they're not the most well-versed on magical world news) since she's clearly a friend of the Konoe family.

Evangeline is so fun to write, she can be totally blunt and rude and no one will say anything against her! (except maybe Asuna.... )

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

How did you know I was a Negi/Asuna shipper? Okay, I know it's not intended to be romantic (maybe), but still, I like to indulge.

Kyo continues to be a very sweet guy, even in the face of his family. He might not be in love with Konoka, but he definitely cares about her and Setsuna enough to step up and defend them. A nice additional touch in having Konoka rip apart the paper when Asuna nearly wrote down her abilities; it shows that she cares for her friend and doesn't want her to be in danger again, though knowing Asuna....

Speaking of Asuna, seems she's starting to catch on to what happened all those years ago. That.... won't end well.

Interesting to see that Setsuna is steadily becoming more demonlike with her heritage, from your hints. If I guessed, I'd say it probably started when she began to isolate herself further from her friends, and since she has a bit more angst and guilt to deal with (and she's matured more) since she was a teenager, it's manifesting itself more clearly than it ever did in the manga. Granted, that doesn't change the fact that I still want to slap her. I can't stand a character who feels like she's being lied to when someone says they care. You just lost points with me, Sets.

I had just gotten a brainwave over connecting the dots of a lot of Setsuna's problems that I've been hinting at , so I'll probably rewrite a little of this chapter. Yeah, the part where she feels Konoemon is lying wasn't something I really liked when I wrote it up, but I kept it in at the time. After thinking about it and seeing your feedback, I'm likely to cut it out ^^.

Oooh, I like the way you think . That's a big part of why Setsuna's demonic side has come up, but there's something else linked with it that I'm going to dive into soon ^^.

[deathcurse]

Chapter 3 of "Love and Duty Come in Chains" is posted to Fanfiction.net.

In addition to the name changes isagrimorie pointed out, I also did a few more things.

Changes made:

1. Setsuna and Konoemon's conversation: As RB pointed out, Setsuna's response provokes a "want to slap her" response , so I cut it out. The conversation I replaced it with was a scene I wanted to include in my first draft, but took out because it's a little confusing at this point in the story (but I put it back in since otherwise this whole scene becomes useless ).

2. Added one line to the end of the scene where Konoka and Kyo present to their families.

3. Setsuna and Shizuna's conversation: I inserted a few more lines of dialogue ...

I had considered writing "Chapter 4" directly at the end of Chapter 3, but who can resist that melodramatic cliff-hanger?

[Finalage]

My my, you people leave me behind in your dust with this conversation. Eva indeed has a six million dollar bounty, properly a million drachma in Mundus, yes I believe you did the math right, but I can't be sure...as for myself, I just took the bounty completely by the horns myself.

True, my story is quite..."raw" in the beginning, but if anyone wants to look upon it, and stick with it...I do get better as it goes along yah' know. I'd like feedback if one has time to give it. Chapter forty six is up for me...aye, I'm that far along. I'm nearly complete with this one, and I am formulating the beginning of another, but any feedback is welcome, even at this point.

I'll admit however, writing as Eva is quite entertaining, indeed. The way I've formed Negi's character also makes him very entertaining to write, of course, sometimes his caustic personality "overpowers" me, and I end up editing quite a lot out...

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

I had considered writing "Chapter 4" directly at the end of Chapter 3, but who can resist that melodramatic cliff-hanger?

Oh, you're evil.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by Finalage

My my, you people leave me behind in your dust with this conversation. Eva indeed has a six million dollar bounty, properly a million drachma in Mundus, yes I believe you did the math right, but I can't be sure...as for myself, I just took the bounty completely by the horns myself.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm hopefully sliding by on the assumption that the Wallwards don't recognize Evangeline , and even if they did, that they wouldn't be turning in friends of their in-lawed family (not after all the effort they went through to get into said family).

True, my story is quite..."raw" in the beginning, but if anyone wants to look upon it, and stick with it...I do get better as it goes along yah' know. I'd like feedback if one has time to give it. Chapter forty six is up for me...aye, I'm that far along. I'm nearly complete with this one, and I am formulating the beginning of another, but any feedback is welcome, even at this point.

I'll admit however, writing as Eva is quite entertaining, indeed. The way I've formed Negi's character also makes him very entertaining to write, of course, sometimes his caustic personality "overpowers" me, and I end up editing quite a lot out...

Sorry if I haven't read your fic, I'm just personally not a huge Negima fan , unless it's a character short about my preferred characters or a KonoSetsu that looks dazzling from the summary. And since I totally understand about getting the feedback, I'm really sorry about that .

Yeah, Evangeline gets a larger spotlight in Chapter 4, and she's definitely very entertaining to write .

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

Oh, you're evil.

And this is news to you?

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

And this is news to you?

Dear, you've been getting more and more evil with every chapter you post.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

Dear, you've been getting more and more evil with every chapter you post.

This is evil? I haven't even gotten full stride yet!

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

This is evil? I haven't even gotten full stride yet!

...

Have I mentioned yet that you are evil?

[444yum]

-shivers- ~.~;; s-since there's a fanfic thread, I'll p-post up mines:

Story #3 - Chosen Fate
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rated: T (may turn into M later on)
Status: Ongoing
Chapters: 19
Pairing: NegixSetsuna (-hides-)
Description: As Negi graduates from his magic school, he finds out that he has to start his training in becoming a Magister Magi. But this training involves familiarizing himself with a chosen partner while being a teacher at the same time.
Opinion(s): Well, it starts out with my old fanfic skills, but I later improve them as I go through the series, so don't get wasted on the first one xP And suggestions are recommended ^^;;

[Kurush]

Hey.

I uh, I don't know if I should be posting this to get support or anything, since the whole thing is VERY confusing at the time this is up, but I just want Someone's opinion on this.

Spoiler for #1:

"...Let me understand this, straight with you, good messengers...." Konoemon said with an understandably angry tone at the three Githyanki in archaic armor, with the robe wearing one in the front of them. "...you want me to authorize an expedition of a special group of magic users and fighters, to help you strike down a little girl that I know, personally?"

"...This is just a small request from our side." The robe wearing Gith explained to the old mage. "We understand your fury about this, but sometimes, one just...has to let go."

"And you expect me to just let go of the hand and life of a girl I know, a student here as well?" The dean retorted back at the Gith. "We humans don't share the lack of respect for life as you seem to have."

"...True, but you humans also tend to look out for yourselves as well. You would even throw away the life of a child, if it was to save your own. There is no denying that." The Gith messenger said, as the door opened to reveal a troubled Aristodemus along with Takahata, Gandolfini and Averruncus walking into the dean's office.

"Sorry, we're late, but we needed to collect ourselves before coming here to listen to this...ridiculous-sounding request." The Spartan said as he walked with near demonic speed past the Githyanki, just standing there to see the newcomers. None of them save Fate seemed happy to see gith this far into Mahora itself.

"We were told to understand that we were to listen to a request of sorts." Gandolfini said, almost snarling at the Giths.

"...Is this everyone in high command here?" The first messenger inquired, unbeknownst to all of them that there was a little infiltrating party up on the roof, standing on an invisible floor, so they could hear what was going on, yet remain unseen.

"...This is some incredible skill you have, Ashracai-san..." Yue said amazed, seeing as the Arch-mage had not only made a small dimension door from the World Tree to the dean's office, he also created a whole floor, without even chanting a single word, or even use a catalyst for it.

"I merely do what I can do." The Githyanki mage responded to the philosopher.

"...Now, then. Let's hear the full story on what it is you want from us." Aristodemus demanded of the messengers. "We don't really share the best history between our races."

"Very well." The first Gith said gently. "If that is what you ask. We are Githyanki, yes. But we are not part of the faction that had attacked you in the past. We serve a different master among the Githyanki. We serve the original one, Vlaakith."

"Vlaakith?"

"Our Queen. She is the one who sent us here, to request your aid. You see, one little girl from this world, has been given a prophecy elsewhere. What it's about doesn't matter. What does matter is what needs to be done to fulfill that prophecy."

"And?"

"Let me put it like this: In order to fulfill this, she needs to gain control over a certain scepter of power. Our Queen holds this scepter. Since this prophecy would certainly strike a blow against the Imperium, we feel that this human wouldn't let go of that power the scepter holds."

"If this girl is such a threat to you and your Queen..." Fate asked of them. "Why don't you take care of it yourselves?"

"Ah, now that is where it gets...interesting." The Gith messenger answered the construct. "You see, she is at the very heart of the Imperium, their very home world as they claim it to be. We can't get there without being detected. In an immediate circumstance, we would just be taken for another ship of theirs, but they would find us eventually."

"And you turn to us, because...?" Aris inquired.

"A few reasons, but to put it short, you're in need of some form of reinforcements. The United States here won't let you have their magi, and China says it is not in the best interest of their people that you gain control over their military forces. Ignorant fools, I say. If they're going to act like that, despite what you say, then we'll step in for you."

"And the other reasons?" Takahata interrupted them.

"We came to you because you are the best in your fields of operation, and you have the vital opposition against her."

"Explain." Aris told him.

"The prophecy also stated that she needs to face two individuals: A sword-wielder descended from the divine, and a Gorgon. We do not know the full term of a Gorgon, but we are certain that you know." The messenger answered first.

"Gorgon; in ancient times, referring to a trio of supposedly immortal sisters, each beautiful as the gods." Fate began the explanation of the term. "The most famous of them, Medusa, was believed to be more beautiful than the goddess Athena, that the goddess was so jealous that she put a curse on her, so that anyone she laid her eyes on was turned into stone. From her, Basilisks are descended from, as it's believed. Nowadays, the term Gorgon is used to refer to Magi who specialize in stone and Petrifaction spells."

"Among other things." Aris said, having his arms crossed. "But even so, if we agree to this request, what is it that you offer to help with?"

"We got espionage, saboteurs... we could even have doomsday speakers shout in the streets that the sky will fall down upon them all, and people would listen. Enough so that the governments would have to take action. But if that is not enough, we can always hide a legion of about... 3 million seasoned veteran here on Earth until the Imperium shows up. The human magi's armies, along with our psionic powers, would drive back those traitors until we reach their borders."

"And in taking the fight to them, you would be able to gain more people of your own, as well as this war could be won swiftly, in comparison to how long your race has stood." Aris concluded as well.

"Oof, I would hesitate to make a deal with them, if I was that man." Ashracai said as the sneaking group watched over this conversation.

"Why is that?" Luna asked of the Gith mage that stayed up with them.

Down there, Aris decided to ask something of them. "Hang on, why did you call this, Imperium 'traitors'? Have they done something to you?"

"...Hence why we are two factions." The Gith messenger answered. "Millenia ago, whilst this planet's inhabitants were still using copper as the main metal, they rallied to one who believed that our Queen's ways were wrong and sought to get out. He even committed the sin of slaying a fellow Githyanki when he was summoned to appear before her. And he was a clever one. He had gathered the leaders of several Githyanki clans to his cause and they broke out of our ways. We have been called 'Loyalists' since then, because they deem us too old-fashioned and dying, whereas it is they whose heretical beliefs will bring down our race."

"I see." The Spartan said softly. "I will not question your hatred for them, nor whether your beliefs or theirs are wrong, but I need to think over this decision." He looked up to the roof, perhaps unknowingly that he was staring straight at Negi. However, Negi was seeing him at the same time, and that's when he realized that Aris had known they had been there all along. "...Come back in two days' time, and you'll get your answer."

"...Very well, then." The messenger said, and gestured for his two escorts as they seemed to be. "We'll be back in two days. I hope you'll see reason and answer our request." With that, the trio of Githyanki left the office, leaving the humans to think on this.

Spoiler for Notes:

This is the first entry on something that relates heavily to a small adventure plot I'm putting together. For those who don't know, the Githyanki are owned by Wizards of the Coast, current owner of Dungeons & Dragons. I'm a player of D&D myself, and I like the Yanki on a personal level.

Here, these Gith here, are canon to the D&D world setting, being loyal to a lich of their kind. More will be revealed as you continue down.

Spoiler for #2:

"Should we really agree to this?" Gandolfini asked the group as they were in the dean's office, shortly after the messengers had left. "Send a team out to...eliminate a student from this school?"

"We can use names on this, Gandolfini-sensei." Aris said, not sounding happy. "They did tell you who it was they were talking about before we came in here, didn't they, Dean?"

"They did." The principle even provided the picture of the girl. "She's one of Negi-kun's students, even." He said as the Spartan saw the pic of Nodoka lying on the desk.

"Why would they even bother with asking us to begin with?" Fate inquired as he picked up the picture to see her. "They could just train up someone in petrifaction themselves and try somebody else descended from divinity to do this."

"That they could do, no doubt." Aris responded. "But I feel that this is something of a test to them, for us. It could be that they want us to cut ties with those who cannot fend for themselves, and in getting rid of Miyazaki, would be a devastating psychological blow to us, not to mention morale would sink here at Mahora. We would get the support we need, yes, but I don't think that they would give us the aid simply like that, for nothing."

"So what do we do?" Takahata asked.

"I took the call to make a choice, I decide what to do. On Monday February 23rd, two days from now, do I give them the answer." The Spartan answered, crossing his arms. "Tacky, Gandolfini, please return to the classes and then inform the other magi here of what transpired here."

"What about Negi-kun?" Takahata inquired now. "What should we say to him?"

"That will be taken care of, Takamichi." The dean answered him. "Now, do return to your lessons."

The two teachers didn't like doing this, but they did as they were told and left the office, leaving Averruncus, Aristodemus and the dean to discuss among themselves of what to do. "Now then, if we take on this mission... I'm not saying that we are, but if we did, who would we send to do this task?"

"Finding a divinely descended person who can use a sword wouldn't be easy to do." Fate started. "I could fill the role of being this Gorgon, as I am one by definition of what I told the Githyanki. But if that is in disfavor, then I could always take an apprentice in that matter."

"Finding this divine person isn't a problem. We know the person who fits that just fine." Aris said as well.

"Who?"

"Setsuna-kun." The dean said. "As much as she fits the bill, I doubt that she would want to strike down a classmate even if ordered to. And she's been missing for a few days."

"What about Kagurazaka?" Fate asked. "Do you think she's eligible?"

"No. It would depend on how one sees the Maker, but that fellow was never a god to begin with." The Spartan responded to that. "He may have created a whole world, full with people, creatures and plants, but he is still just one person. That Asuna is descended from him doesn't prove that she's of divine blood. Besides, that would also make Negi-kun a choice as well."

"Not morally speaking. I doubt he would approve of this, to begin with." Fate added to this.

"True." The commander said. "Who else would we send on this?"

"We would need some sort of communication between the team and here, meaning we need a transport as well."

"I'll see if I can get something. There is also the need for a 2nd-in-command tactician for this mission. In the event that the first team leader would get incapacitated, then the 2nd-in-command would take charge and investigate further details into the Imperium whilst they are there."

"I see." Fate said. "The whole task of making Miyazaki fail would be just a secondary mission. We could have a full espionage of the Imperium, and it's forces, giving us enough preparation for our defenses."

"So... what do you kids think of all this?" Aris decided to get the little sneakers out to talk openly with them down in the office. "There's no longer a need to hide."

A few seconds later, the figures of Negi & co, along with a new tall fellow appeared above them, all of them landing smoothly, with Negi holding Luna at least in his arms. The new robed figure landed softly, levitating slowly down to the floor. "I thought that you knew we were up there all along."

"And I'm surprised you managed to stay up there for so long, without barging down here to slam away those Giths." Aris said softly. "But let's focus on the subject at hand."

"This assignment." The dean said. "It's not the best one, morally speaking, but the benefits we would gain from this, is... well, substantial for our side."

"...Wait, principle." Yue interrupted him. "You're willing to sacrifice our friend for a benefit for when the Imperium comes at us?"

"...We didn't say that." Fate countered. "At most, sympathetically, I would understand your unwillingness to... go through with this."

"Understand?" Yue retorted. "She is our friend. Ours. You've been trying to kill her ever since she learned how to use the Diarum Ejeus, and now you claim to understand our side?" She accused the construct.

"...Now, now. There's no need to throw accusations at one another." Aris tried to calm them down. "And who the heck is your tall friend? Looks Xeno to me."

"...I can speak for myself, thank you." The Archmage retorted, sounding insulted by that. "My name is Ashracai, and I happen to be on your side, not politically speaking of course. Otherwise, I'm just another enemy. But I would advise not to attack. I only came here to talk."

"Did you now?" The Spartan said, somewhat unconvinced. "Well, let's hear what you have to say for your side at least."

"You mean, why my faction is going to invade what is practically an ass end of nowhere planet, or why those loyalists spoke of us, so scornfully?"

"Both, would do nicely." The commander answered that one. "Start with the scorn."

Spoiler for Notes:

I would like to point out that this is partially a War-fic, along with being an AU, after the events at Ostia. Here, the first Major Original Character, or MOC; Aris, is the Commander in Chief, having actually not full command over everybody he's in charge of. More will be explained.

MOC 2; Ashracai, happen to be on the fanon side of the Githyanki, ergo, my reboot of them.

Spoiler for #3:

"Is it true that you did betray this Vlaakith woman?" Aris asked of the Gith Archmage.

"You mean, if we truly did sway under another leader, killed fellow Giths to protect ourselves and leaving the Astral Planes and the dead god-isles in search of another future, then yes, we did." Ashracai answered him. "But we had good reason to do it."

"Good reason?" Luna asked of the elder alien.

"There was a reason why Vlaakith was also called among others as the 'Lich Queen'. She sustained her life by harvesting the souls of those who grew too much in personal power. She had grown highly paranoid and demanded that every 'outstanding' general would go see her in private. What happened to them was that they'd become soulless, zombies enslaved to her. Lel at that time, decided we had enough. Several of us clan leaders, of Githmir, Samasal, Zuriith, Druustya, to name a few, rallied under Lel's command and we left, with all our clans and their members."

"So you left because she was slowly killing all of you clan leaders?"

"To an extent. It wasn't just personal for us. She also wanted to become a god. To do that, she needed a lot of energy. Life energy. At first we didn't mind, but after we found that she had been killing us just to ascend herself, that's when it snapped."

"Fair enough, I assume." Aristodemus concluded. "I won't dive any further on that issue. Now, on to other matters."

"Ah yes, why my faction is going to invade this small blue planet." Ashracai pointed out. "We have little reason nowadays to attack inhabited systems, with full military and nuclear capabilities. Plus, a planet on which the inhabitants possess magic, makes it even tougher for us. Even if we did win, the losses would be enormous and costly."

"So it's not for strategic value or anything?" Konoka asked.

"In what way is a planet of strategic value? And I did say that this planet is on the Ass end of nowhere. If we wanted resources, then we could just go pillage the asteroid belts. They hold much more valuable minerals and holds more of it than just one planet."

"And why do I have a feeling that other galactic civilizations out there would feel not too pleased about you invading a planet which is filled with sapient life-forms, either?" Ukita just had to ask that one.

"That's true, as well. We already have a damaged reputation with several other federations, empires and hierarchies." Ashracai answered him. "No, we would need a solid reason to do this invasion. What it is, though, I've no idea so far."

"Well, this leads us nowhere." Aris said, scratching his chin. "But, regarding the request they gave us, anyway... It's not an unreasonable agreement they are suggesting."

"Eh?" Several of the girls, including Negi, exclaimed.

And there, was the explanation for why there are two factions in this story.

Spoiler for #4:

"You can't do this." Yue said, trying to get some sense into the Spartan.

"I certainly can." Aris responded to the philosopher. "I don't want to do it, but I must, if we want a chance against them."

"Sacrificing our friend isn't going to be the best choice." Negi argued.

"I don't like it either, but what choice do we have? We'd be walking into a fight, blind, deaf and dumb if we didn't take up this offer." Aris countered. "I don't want the Imperium to walk over us with ease."

Sound argument for a Commander, there... Ashracai thought to himself, preferring to stay out of the conversation.

"Isn't Nodoka-san the very reason we got started preparing for war?" Negi countered the Spartan. "And you said, that you would help us get her back, too."

Now there was another...

"Times change, Negi-kun." Fate joined in on this. "Miyazaki may have been the start of all this, but that doesn't mean she has to be still alive at the end of this."

"You can talk of it as if it's nothing, but I won't leave this alone." Negi said, almost angry now. "Nodoka-san is my student, do you really think that I would just let you do this?"

"Negi, I'm not really in the best position to choose the option where we all work together to bring her back." Aristodemus countered. "You are her teacher, yes, but this is a war we're being dragged into. So I make the final call here."

"I'm not just going to let you send a team, to kill one of my students!" Negi said, now sounding furious. "Why should we even listen to these Loyalists to begin with!"

"It's just one life, Negi." Aris argued. "It's less important to save than millions of others."

SNAP!
The window shattered as the Spartan was slammed into it and then fell down to the ground...

Spoiler for Notes:

Naturally, why would Negi not knock his superior officer out the window because he was thinking of killing off one of his best friends and potential future lover? I'll leave it at that.

¨

Spoiler for Final entry:

"Well...that one I did not expect to see." Ashracai said, bothering to look out the shattered window to see the Spartan lying there on the hard concrete. "At least not so early into the discussion."

"It was just too much there." Negi said in his own defense. "Like I was just going to let him do as he pleased."

"Pleased?" Fate echoed the word. "You believe that he actually wants to eliminate Miyazaki? It isn't as simple as it seems."

"But to me, it seemed like he was going to authorize an execution." Negi countered. "And how can I stand idly by while the one being sent to the block was a very close friend of mine whom I vowed personally to protect?"

"But did you have to knock Aris-sensei's lights out to get your point clear?" Kenichi asked as he and Luna were looking out the window as well, whilst the dean sat in his chair the whole time, somewhat surprised himself that Negi went and did so.

"Wouldn't you have done the same if it was one of your personal friends, Kenichi-san?"

"That's a rather poor argument, Negi-kun." Konoka said, bringing out that fact. "But... I feel that you are somewhat right. I know I would do the same for Set-chan if I had the ability."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on, hold on." Ukita stopped everyone talking and arguing, in order to catch up with everybody else. "So, the reason you kids joined in on this...war effort is to to find a way to rescue this Miyazaki-san?"

"We showed you a picture of her, didn't we?" Negi asked the Judo user and momentarily produced the Pactio card he had with the bookworm. "That's whom I want to save, from the start of all this. If I was to just let things go by and have her get killed, then how can I even stay part of the war effort?"

"...Now there was a sound argument if there ever was one for you to stay part of all this." Ashracai said, looking back at the young boy. "But somehow, I think there is more to it than just that you want her saved that you punched out your commanding officer."

"Huh?" Negi could only respond in curiousity.

"Who is that alien to decide what is best for us? We should teach him a lesson..." A dark sinister voice with lethality in its tone spoke inside his head, making him flinch.

"...You can say that again, good mage." Aristodemus' voice cut in, as the Spartan had come up again, through the window and sitting on the railing, all apparently bruised up and a broken nose. "Kenichi-kun, your Karate teacher is Sakaki, right?" He asked the disciple, who nodded since he was speechless at seeing the old man just sitting there. "He tends to say that while words can hide a man's intentions, it's his fists that always reveal the truth. When Negi punched me, there was a lot more anger against me than just that I was thinking of sending some execution squad to kill Miyazaki. Otherwise, my nose wouldn't have been broken so," He stopped to crack the nose back into shape. "...easily."

"Really? What would most of that be?"

"A few things that would border on your point of view as; terrible actions against your family, this, and plotting to upset the 'natural' order of Mundus Magicus." Aris pointed out as a few examples. "I'll admit that I'm doing these things for the greater good. It has always fallen to the sacrifice of few in order to save the lives of many."

"Well, that's not going to happen in this case. Here, the life we're talking about here helped us find a way to save the Magic World in the first place." Negi countered, sounding angry now. "If it hadn't been for her to begin with, we wouldn't have found a way to sustain the Magic World's energy."

"To keep the illusion up for another decade, or so." Aris retorted. "Yes, we should feel indebted to you and her, Negi, but this is reality now. The Real world. War is hell and it never changes. Hence why I quit it so long ago."

"If that was the case, then why did you take the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Magic World in the first place?"

"What, you think I want some jerkass, lousy fancy-pants pen-pusher to have the job? Someone in the Senate, the one group of politicians I wouldn't put my trust in, even if Both worlds were in danger and they proposed to save mankind? Martialus is old as he is, and Theo doesn't have the personal experience of leading millions. Godel is an asshole on his own, and the only one who had any form of guts in the Senate was Frollo, and you saw what happened to him twenty years ago. No. I took the job to prevent that we wouldn't fall or be caught with our trousers down. That is why I'm in command here, Negi."

"...Even so, you do realize our loyalty to you is only built on trust? You can't order us around as you please, which is why you wanted sub-commanders, those who put their trust in that you can accomplish this. In addition, the sub-commanders are put in charge of a particular area or unit to lead on their own deprived of orders from you in order to ensure Earth's protection." Negi added to make the topic more clear.

"...If you say that you are cutting yourself and 3-A away from this chain, then fine. That only means I can authorize the mission without your permission. So if you want to... Oh, so that's how this is going to be..." Aris said, realizing the truth.

"That's one way of putting it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to grasp my perspective so fast." Negi said, crossing his arms, making the girls go back in shock of what was going to come.

"Dean?" Aris asked the principal.

"...Well, I suppose. Negi-kun has been rather stubborn whenever it comes down to his personal students. And he won't take his mind off it otherwise."

"Very well, then. Castle Leben Schult, young man." Aris instructed the young magi in front of him. "...We've got a lot to talk about..."

...Any thoughts on these? I haven't gotten any reviews or so from these two last chapters, so I wonder what people would think of this.

For those who doesn't get it: Aris stood for the idea of sending a strike team off somewhere to eliminate Nodoka, who wasn't at Mahora at the time. Negi on the other hand, rejected the idea completely and stated that they should work together to save her instead.

Practically, the strike team is not such a bad idea. They have little support to begin with, since USA and China (No Offense at all to people here from mentioned countries) refuse to throw in their magi for support to stop an alien invasion since the States claim that it is not a threat to National Security (Note: This is during the Bush regime) and China says they can hold their own against the aliens. Other states and nations, are uncertain or haven't decided due to lack of evidence of an incursion. This is understandable. The Canon Githyanki (Loyalists in story) however, offer to change that, by convincing the nations to lend support, and even bring in major military aid as well. This is an opportunity they can't ignore, if the countries of the world can't come to aid the Magi with their support.

Morally, however... Well, you get the idea.

[Finalage]

The idea is interesting to say the least. I haven't had much time to read things recently, been too busy writing things. I have been trying to remedy that situation however...I am reading a few stories. Mainly, a new story that, ironically, was started because of my own. See here: James Ray Edward's: Springfield, Ph.D.: A Different Paradigm

While I am happy they began writing this based upon my own story, it makes me feverish to try and improve my style. My story has seen me improve quite a bit, from rustiness to true and solid improvement. It gives a bad first impression, but improves throughout. Makes me worry a bit, mainly those who just read the first chapter and lose interest. worry me most.


Chapter Fourty Eight is out, and personally, this chapter gave me plenty of unrest and problems. Not because of the story itself, but life kept getting in the way. Here's a section of it:

Spoiler for Chapter 48 slice:

"It's how you look at the blasted situation, that's all. You can look at this whole damn world we are living in as nothing but a farce, sure, but then, what's giving you oxygen right now? Shouldn't you have suffocated long ago? What about that guy I know you were looking at yesterday in the square while I was running errands...ahh, I see a blush, get that damn blood off your face..."

Indeed, Yue had gained a flush to her cheeks at the mention that she had been looking around and observing the people in town yesterday while she had been with Negi collecting supplies, and, in a perfectly innocent manner, she had been watching some people who qualified as attractive in her eyes. It was only natural...however; leave it up to the professor to make even the natural embarrassing, and a platform to launch a point off of.

"My point is Ayase, real is a very subjective word here, and to answer your question, yes, I care whether or not Fate and his albino ass blows up this "imaginary" world, very much. One reason being the simple fact that we are currently in it. Besides, where the hell am I gonna put this big lummox if he does?"

Negi's hand came out to slap the shoulder blade he was using as a steering wheel, piloting Vir through the skies, more for his exercise than anything else, although he was looking for some signs of the governor canceling his ball this week, Negi wanted to catch him in the act of running away with his tail between his legs...just so he could pull him, whimpering all the way, back.

He'd swoop in so fast with fire roaring from a dragon's maw, he'd roast the bug alive before he even knew what the hell hit him upside the head. Of course, Negi was growing increasingly impatient as his promised week of time slowly, ever so slowly, withered away. Why was it when the kid wanted to hurry up and get something done that time loved to drag its dirty arse along the carpet?

Talk about rubbing it in. He had left Yue in a rant about her findings on the magical world's composition, most of which he had already guessed or hazarded at reading somewhere, to focus on what, this? How far away the end of the week seemed? Yue was blithering to Nodoka without a care in the world, sitting quite firmly between two of Vir's spines, while Nodoka held on for dear life unto her own assigned spines.

Maybe it was because the girl was in rant mode, or perhaps because she had been practicing with that broom a helluva lot. Alma was next to him, looking out from her assigned shoulder blade. Maybe it was just him, but lately she seemed more distant than usual. Almost as if she were reflecting on something.

Hair flying back in the wind, indeed, she was reflecting on things, year's worth of memories flashing by in instants, her hands could scarcely grasp them before they were ripped away. Questions, numbering in the millions, contrasted them...they lumbered about with such a sluggish pace that, for all she cared, they were stock still...

"Master."
"Ahh. You confuse me, you do."

"You are my property, rightfully so, as I purchased you fairly from your previous owner ten years ago."
"...Yes Master."

In a dark room, a man beckons, atop his chair, what he considers his "throne" he calls her to him. His eyes scrutinize her, in every detail, before he gives a verdict. His mouth quirks. His property is a mystery he has yet to solve, indeed.

"In these ten years, you do not appear to have aged. You are the same bud, having yet to blossom into a woman. This intrigues me to no end...yet, I can experiment with you no longer. You are to be sold to Karest. You should do well to fetch a good price...yet, while you are still mine...get a mat out."

"...Yes Master."

Years, they come and go, and yet, their grasp fails to hold fast upon her. Slippery, more than even the purest of eels, she slithers away. Immortal, it seems. Fire springing from her hands for the fires she has denied, illusion woven out of the fabrics her mother refused to school her in making. Negi interrupted her thoughts with a harsh laugh, his whole entire being, small as it was, moving along with it.

"You really believe that? Do you? Then you, my good student, are stupider than even I gave you credit for! What if we all were just some damn characters in a story book, huh? Would you want us to die and have no one care? Honestly, I wouldn't mind, but I'm pretty sure as hell you would. I have a feeling you would hate to discover you were nothing but a figment of someone else's dream."

Conversation moved on, relentlessly. Negi seemed to root himself in the point of them all being nothing but characters following the whim of a particularly cold hearted author, who was probably going to kill them all off before their time even came. His point was further solidified with the belief of many millions of people and articles on such a subject, the belief that we all are nothing but pieces of a board game or a story, moving along the canvas of an author's mind. Each person playing a part, but to the author themselves, only a few are important...

In essence, claiming that a true author creates a world in which all characters are alive, even if the creator does not even focus upon them. That, in every story, where the main characters are Bill and Tracey, with Phil stuck in for drama, there is a Tony and Margret next door, never mentioned, and a Holly who loves to shop on Tuesdays at Midnight, or a Robert in a lonely waiter's position at the local fancy restaurant.

Life, moving on with or without the creator's permission or knowledge, for the author has only created their world for one purpose, but it is used in every way possible. Negi knew that, somewhere in this world, someone was cursing, someone was kissing, another was sleeping, still someone else was taking a shower...but he wasn't aware, and if authors are to be thought down to earth and not Omni-potent, they probably wouldn't know either, unless they focused their scope upon that particular character.

"...but Magi-sensei...we can't be imaginary..."
Negi managed to give a half hearted smile, halfway between placation and pity for Anya. She had her arms around him, for she couldn't grip the spines Vir sported properly. He shook his head. Leave it to her to pick this time to try and analyze what he was saying, getting herself hopelessly confusing in the onslaught of words she wasn't meant to have heard for years to come.

"Why ever not, Anya? Are we special in some way? If you think this world is imaginary, and thus not worth your time, you have to think all those people in here are imaginary too, and not worth your time. Then, you have to think; "Well, what defines real then?" Is it the ability to think for one's self? Is it the ability to desire, to eat, breathe, live? Is being real simply existing? For I'll tell you, all these people out there...they do those things, just as you or I would. So if they aren't real, what's stopping someone from saying we're not real, and not caring what happens to us? Who can argue with them? Who knows the secrets to all of life, who can be one hundred percent sure, hmm?"

He made a grand gesture with his hand at the mention of the people out there, sweeping his hand past the scope of vision trained upon him and into the open skies. His face was completely calm, once more a teacher in his flying classroom, although normally those stay rooted firmly to the ground...at least Yue had fallen silent. Not that he had beaten her in debate, just that he had chosen a better view to defend.

"...Hell, if you were to step into a story book, do you think you'd be shipped from one task to the next like you are in the story? Hopefully not. Your presence might even change the story, and how do you handle that? The world and by extension, life, is nothing but an ever changing story, in which all the possible outcomes have already been determined, it's your job to pick which one becomes yours. An infinite amount of endings, and all of them with your name on it, the scope of it is too large for human minds to perfectly comprehend...and don't any of you start about me being able too."

It was Anya who first spoke, again bringing her insight into the conversation. She wasn't stupid; she would have everyone know that. Maybe a bit dumb compared to them all, especially when she had first come into Negi's care, but she had been working just as hard, if not harder, then they have to catch up...except for Negi. No one seemed to work as hard as he could.

"...So if we're all fake, who are you in the story Magi-sensei?"

At first, he didn't want to answer the question, yet...that only lasted for a split second of his existence. Quite after that, he was eager to formulate a response, weaving a story about himself, his fanciful interpretation of himself perhaps, but one that just might have been spot on.

"Me? I am...the character that...well, I suppose I'm the guy who stands behind the main one. You know the one, the one who either joins the party first or was the main character's friend from the beginning, the guy who is either a mage or a brawler. He's always got really cra- bad luck, but really wants to good too. He turns evil near the end and tries to kill the main character, gets killed, causes the main a whole bunch of anguish, meets him in his dreams as some kinda angel spouting advice and apologies and that's the end of that. In other words, I'm the idiot who, for all his power and strength, for all the good they wanted to do, chose the dark path and got his stupid ass killed."

Negi said no more as he pushed upon Vir's shoulder, prompting everyone aboard to grab onto something as the dragon took a steep dive, the wind sailing through hair and whistling in all ears. Indeed, if this place was fake, what was real? Who cared?

[deathcurse]

Chapter 4 mostly continues from Chapter 3, so not much action but lots of character.

Love and Duty Come in Chains

Previous chapters

Spoiler for Chapter 4:

Chapter 4
Same Day

Setsuna felt stupid.

As usual, it was mostly her fault that she felt that way. But she felt utterly stupid making a kite out of a plastic bag and a pair of chopsticks while sitting on the World Tree hill.

The Scotch tape kept folding on itself in the wind.

…It had been Shizuna’s idea.

Actually, after her initial protests and inquiries as to why—to which Setsuna didn’t bother answering—the nurse’s first suggestion had been to write Konoka’s name on a rock and symbolically throw it into the ocean. It was a classic method to cast her feelings away and let the water wash her free, something like that. But Setsuna couldn’t quite bear the idea of chucking anything that had Konoka’s name on it like a piece of garbage into the sea, and so Shizuna had suggested writing Konoka’s name on a kite and letting it fly free.

Letting a kite go seemed a tad less crude than chucking a rock into the water, so Setsuna decided that she might as well give it a shot.

Setsuna couldn’t help but wonder if Shizuna had already thought of that alternative for herself before, as the older woman oddly had all the materials needed to make a kite in her desk drawer.

But those wild-mass guessing predictions were Konoka and Asuna’s territory, not hers.

Making a kite wasn’t that hard.

Cut the plastic.

Tape the chopsticks as frames to the plastic.

Tie and tape down the thin twine of kite-string—the oddest item by far that Shizuna-sensei happened to have on hand.

Carefully, holding the plastic stretched out between her knees, Setsuna wrote “Konoka” on the sheet. Was that good enough? Adding “Konoe” would be more specific, but it felt too formal. But if she wanted formal, maybe she should have written “Ojou-sama”…but Setsuna wasn’t in love with Ojou-sama, but with Konoka…

Maybe she should have written “Kono-chan” instead…

Setsuna made to cross out “Konoka” but hesitated. Finally, she printed “Kono-chan” in brackets lower down and capped her Sharpie.

“Let her go, huh?” Setsuna muttered, picking up the roll of kite-string in her free hand. Honestly, she doubted that a psychological trick would get rid of her problem, but at this point Setsuna was willing to give try anything to help relieve some of the tension.

Slowly, she played the crude kite up into the air, tugging it back and forth in the wind until it whipped high above her head under the World Tree’s canopy.

Let it go.

Setsuna bit her lip, watching the kite flutter above. Maybe she should play out more line, she still had some of the string rolled up in her fist. She promptly did so.

Now. Let it go.

The wind changed, and Setsuna yanked on the string to tack the kite steadily through the sudden gust, playing out the rest of the line in a jerk.

Okay, now.

The string was biting into her palm.

Her feelings for Konoka—she just had to let go. Supposedly, she’d feel better afterwards. Like more of a resolution had been reached.

Let it go. Open your hand.

She sweated.

LET. GO.

High above, the kite suddenly dipped and blew sideways in a torrential updraft. A sharp slicing pain made her jump. “Fuck!” Setsuna swore as she felt the kite string slip through her bleeding palm and snap like a loosed elastic into the sky.

She stuck her hand in her mouth, tasting blood and the sting of torn skin.

“Why don’t I lick that for you?” a familiar leer came from above her.

Setsuna looked up, dropping her hand from her mouth. “Evangeline-san.” Ah, shit—the daywalker was holding onto her kite, a smirk on her young face. Setsuna winced.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“It’s just…don’t…” Setsuna hung her head.

Evangeline held out the plastic kite and smirked at the name written on it. “Letting go of your precious Ojou-sama, huh? Did it work?”

Setsuna stared, then looked down at her palm, still oozing a line of blood down her wrist. Suddenly she started laughing, red spittle dropping from her lips. What a joke! Laughter continued to shake Setsuna’s slim form as she collapsed onto the grass, still giggling.

“Hmpf,” Evangeline grunted, disturbed, and raised an eyebrow. She released her grip on the plastic bag kite. The crumpled kite fell a few feet before wafting open and catching a breeze that sent it tumbling away and into the sky. Evangeline dropped off a branch and landed gracefully on the ground. “If you’re done, I’m bored. Let’s have a match.”

Feeling her last few chuckles trickle away, Setsuna wiped her hand on the grass and picked up Yuunagi’s case. “Sure,” she agreed.

They walked towards Evangeline’s cabin, using the sly paths instead of the main ways. Setsuna knew all the side streets well from her middle-school patrol routes, and with newly-practiced ease she memorized the minute changes in architecture and landmarks as they walked.

“I see you’ve given up on your silly disguise,” Evangeline commented languidly. “Why?”

“The eyes keep people from looking at me too long. It’s how I like it.”

“Interesting,” Evangeline smirked, and Setsuna checked herself, wondering how much she should reveal to the vampire. If the worst Evangeline would do was mock her, that wasn’t too bad—but giving Evangeline too much information could possibly backfire on her in unexpected ways. Idly, Evangeline drawled, “But you kept dying your hair.”

“Easier to disguise myself. And it’s more intimidating.”

“More like more emo,” Evangeline taunted.

Thankfully they had arrived at Evangeline’s private cabin. Both of them headed towards the training area in the woods. Setsuna undid the ties of her sword case and drew out Yuunagi. “Rules?”

“What rules?” Evangeline grinned before she launched a sudden attack.

Setsuna caught the first punch on Yuunagi’s sheath, and despite her digging her heels in the blow knocked her back. Block then strike then block again, the two of them trying to draw the other out while gauging their skill level.

I can keep up with her, Setsuna marvelled, ducking a backhand from Evangeline and spinning into a roundhouse kick that missed as the vampire rolled away. Unlike last time, I’m matching her blow for blow.

“OOF!” A blow to the stomach knocked the air out of Setsuna’s lungs for a split moment before she reacted and nailed the charging Evangeline with an elbow strike to the chin, gaining enough time to catch her breath again.

“Don’t get cocky now,” Evangeline warned, circling her.

“I won last time,” Setsuna pointed out. “With you at full power too.”

“Shut it,” Evangeline growled, although she seemed more disgruntled than truly angry. Then her smirk returned. “Although this time, it seems you’re choosing the sword instead?”

Her eyes narrowed, and Setsuna lunged forward, drawing her blade in a flash of silver.

**O**

“Got you!” Asuna said satisfactorily as she latched onto Konoka’s wrist. Konoka grimaced—she knew that she risked being ambushed by Asuna if she stepped outside the conference room, but Konoka really couldn’t handle staying in that room any longer. The moment the break was called she had slipped out the door and was immediately caught.

“Alright, let’s go for a walk?” No one could be around when Asuna forces an explanation out of her.

They drifted to the gardens behind the high school. At this hour, school was over and so only a few students were left on campus as they participated in their various clubs around the grounds. There was no one in the garden though, giving them the privacy they needed.

Asuna didn’t waste any time. “Why did you lie back then?” She demanded. “You told me that you and Setsuna entered the outer ring of wards last Halloween.”

Konoka sighed, running one hand through her long hair. “It’s…complicated.”

While Asuna may have been the leader of the Baka-rangers, she wasn’t stupid when it came to logical deducing. They had all grown skilled in the Magical World, in the years following it. “You said that after you walked through the Wards and when Setsuna joined you, the Wards started going nuts. Setsuna called out her wings, didn’t she?”

Defeated, Konoka nodded.

“But demons have hit the Koyane Wards before without breaking them. So Setsuna grabbed you, and she must have been flying…then she hit the stone.” Asuna paused, her blue and green eyes narrowed. “And she broke it…because she’s a half-demon. That has to be it, if nothing has ever broken the Ward stones before. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Please,” Konoka said.

“That’s also why she couldn’t enter the Ward’s outer ring later on, since she must have been channelling Demon at that time, and that…anti-demon barrier kicked her out, right?”

“We had suspected already that there’s probably some kind of anti-demon barrier there, and Set-chan just proved it for us. It seems like we can generalize half-demons with full demons in that case—”

“Why did you lie, then?” Asuna asked again, persistent. “Setsuna broke the stone uniquely because she’s a half-demon, but why could she enter the first time—”

Konoka fell to her knees in front of Asuna and bowed her head.

“What? Konoka!” yelped Asuna in shock.

“Please,” she whispered tearfully, clutching at Asuna’s sleeves as the red-head tried to get her to rise. “Forget all that. Just…don’t mention it again, and especially don’t let Set-chan hear.”

“Okay, okay, please get up!”

Konoka refused to budge, tightening her grip as she babbled on. “Asuna—you know how Set-chan is. Knowing that would break her into a hundred pieces. Please, she can’t ever find out.”

“But it’s not her fault, if you explain it right—”

“Please!” Konoka begged. “I don’t care what my family thinks, but Set-chan can’t know. You know her, Asuna, you know how she feels about herself! It would break her…please…”

Asuna crouched down, putting a hand on Konoka’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I promise, okay? I won’t breathe a word of it again—except maybe to Negi, I think he could help, I really do. And you know he won’t tell anybody. Okay?”

Swallowing, the brunette nodded. “Okay, Negi-kun. But not another soul. Just Negi-kun.”

“Okay,” Asuna agreed, and Konoka recognized her tone as being deliberately low and calming, as if she wanted to keep Konoka from bolting like a frightened animal. “But Konoka…” the redhead hesitated. “Don’t you think that Setsuna would, um…that she might have guessed herself?”

“If she did, I’m not going to confirm it for her,” Konoka clenched her teeth, finally letting Asuna pull her up. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I won’t let her guilt herself to death with that knowledge. I won’t.”

She knew that Asuna didn’t approve of her secrecy.

But Asuna didn’t understand—Konoka had so little of Setsuna already. Nothing could entice Konoka to risk losing any more of her dearest person in the world.

**O**

*“I don’t want us to be just friends anymore…ne, Set-chan?”*

The blow to her face made Setsuna’s head snap back, and she followed through with the punch to protect her neck, falling onto her back. She shook her head to clear the white stars from her vision, panting and sliding Yuunagi into its sheath in a wordless forfeit. A trickle of sweat dripped down her cheek and Setsuna wiped it with the tip of her white shirt sleeve.

Evangeline stood in front of her, her hands on her hips and scowling. Bluntly, she said, “You let that one hit you. God, you are a masochist, aren’t you?”

Setsuna’s eye twitched.

*“So pick—where should I stab one of these, or shall we go back to Fate’s Psychi Kinigi?”*

“Oh, that got a reaction out of you,” Evangeline leered, eyeing her intently.

“Nothing Evangeline-san should be worried about,” Setsuna answered easily. “And speaking of things you don’t need to worry about, I’ll tell Asuna that you haven’t lost your edge a whit.” She rubbed her cheek. It was probably bruising, but it would be gone in a few hours.

Puffing out her chest, Evangeline said haughtily, “Of course not—did that stupid monkey hint at it?!”

“May I use your shower?”

“What?”

Setsuna tugged at her shirt collar, loosening her tie. “It was a pretty intense fight.”

“Fine,” Evangeline groused. The vampire stalked up her front steps. “You know where it is.” She flounced up the stairs, shouting for Chachamaru to hurry up with the tea.

Setsuna smiled, nodding a greeting to the unfazed Chachamaru as she entered. She walked into the bathroom and locked the door. As she had hoped, there were dark blinds on the window, which Setsuna promptly pulled down. Evangeline was a high daywalker—her blinds weren’t completely opaque, and although the sun was setting light still filtered into the bathroom.

Still, it was dark enough for that to be easily remedied—Setsuna carefully laid Yuunagi within arm’s length of the shower stall and closed her eyes. Everything went dark.

She undressed briskly, folding her clothes and laying them out in a neat row on the counter. It was too bad that she didn’t bring a spare change of clothes, but she hadn’t expected to get into a fight with Evangeline. At least she hadn’t ripped anything, sewing was always a pain.

Setsuna didn’t need to feel for the shower door, one glance around the bathroom when she had first entered fixed the location of everything in her mind. Perfect body coordination meant that she could move as if complete blackness was a brightly lit room. Definitely one of the handier skills she had picked up. Useful too in improving her fighting skills—Setsuna loved killing two birds with one stone, and she chuckled to herself at the ironic idiom.

She showered quickly, not lingering over her bare skin and towelled herself as long as she could bear before rapidly putting her clothes on again. Slightly damp skin under clothes didn’t even bother her anymore, and she opened her eyes to comb her wet hair before opening the bathroom door.

“That was fast,” Evangeline commented, now lounging on her couch while Chachamaru served her tea.

“Efficient.”

“Yeah right. You don’t like showers, do you?”

Setsuna felt herself twitch slightly. “I watched the movie Psycho, and that movie would turn anybody off showering. You’re vulnerable.” Learning how to misdirect was difficult, and the hardest part for Setsuna was keeping her responses as close as possible to her normal style of speaking. Otherwise, it would be too obvious.

Evangeline just looked at her with her amusedly cruel smile. But below the surface, she was clearly adding up all her little observations about Setsuna’s behaviour and probably reaching conclusions that Setsuna didn’t want her to reach. The vampire waved a hand. “Sit down, and have some tea. You’re not due back until late.”

Gingerly, Setsuna sat down across from her and nodded her thanks as Chachamaru poured her a cup.

“Speaking of psychos,” Evangeline drawled, “I heard that a psycho bitch owned you a while back.”

The word choice brought a black wave in Setsuna’s head, but a few deep breaths calmed her turmoil once again. She lifted her cup and drank. “I mean to make her pay for that.”

“Hm. Could you even, when the time comes?” Eva asked slyly.

“I’m better than I was. And I’ll get better still.”

“Ah, yes, I did notice that.” Evangeline sipped at her tea. “In just physical fighting, mind, you should come back at full moon sometime…” She paused and tilted her head, running her tongue over her fangs. “You do have a different whiff around you.”

“…A smell?” Setsuna asked confusedly.

“Your aura. I’m getting all kinds of things from you.”

Setsuna shifted under the girl’s gaze. “…Evangeline, do you know any tengu?”

“Nope.” Evangeline refuted cheerfully. “And even if I did, kid, that ain’t what you’re giving off.”

“What?” breathed Setsuna.

Snorting, Evangeline replied in disdain, “Please. Tengu aren’t stupid beasts. The demonic air I’m getting from you? That’s the stuff of dumb, raging demons full of nothing but all the fun nasty things of violence, hatred and a delicious tang of malice. You know—the kind you used to kill here.” Chuckling darkly, Evangeline winked. “How ironic, hm?”

Chilled, Setsuna dropped a hand to Yuunagi’s hilt. “I won’t,” she whispered.

“So you say. If you get your head out of your ass for just a minute, you’ll realize that you’ve got friends who give a damn about what you might become.” Tossing her hair back, Evangeline scowled, giving Setsuna her long-suffering I’m surrounded by idiots glare. She crossed her arms. “Especially your precious “ojou-sama”, even though she’s got her own pile of crap to deal with. So as entertaining as all this angst is, why don’t you two grow a pair already and address it?”

That was oddly kind and logical from Evangeline, but Setsuna shook her head. “It’s not that simple. I wish it was.”

Apparently, that was Evangeline’s goodness quota of the day. “Meh, whatever,” she said lazily, kicking her bare feet onto a cushion. “I must say, it’s like seeing the old you again, but improved. Like the keen edge of a re-sharpened sword. A fight is much more fun that way,” she grinned.

“I’m glad to have been entertaining,” Setsuna said dryly as she finished off her tea.

Calculatingly, Evangeline said, “So you’ve chosen, then. The sword?”

Setsuna dropped the tea cup. It spiralled down towards the floor, the thin handle spinning, until she quickly caught it an inch from the hardwood floor. Setsuna firmly set the cup on the table, feeling the china creak under the force. “Respectfully, Evangeline—mind your own business.”

The front door opening distracted both of them, and Asuna bounded in. “Hey Fang-girl, let’s—oh, Setsuna? What are you doing here?”

“I was just leaving.” Setsuna picked up Yuunagi, her knuckles white, and stalked for the door. “We’re all departing soon Asuna, don’t be late back at the cars.”

Asuna watched the door slam shut behind the swordswoman. “Hm.” She turned and raised an eyebrow at Evangeline. “So, you guys were talking about her idiot dance with Konoka?”

“I’m about to give up on all you dumb losers,” Evangeline rolled her eyes, flouncing back on her cushions. “All self-sacrificing and frigging martyr complexes. No wonder you guys keep screwing things up.”

Asuna sighed. It was nice to have someone who agreed with her. “They’re both such idiots. Sometimes, I wonder who’s trying to protect who.”

“—from who,” Evangeline finished, rolling her eyes. “Idiots.”

[isagrimorie]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

Chapter 4 mostly continues from Chapter 3, so not much action but lots of character.

Love and Duty Come in Chains

Previous chapters

Spoiler for Chapter 4:

Chapter 4
Same Day

Setsuna felt stupid.

As usual, it was mostly her fault that she felt that way. But she felt utterly stupid making a kite out of a plastic bag and a pair of chopsticks while sitting on the World Tree hill.

The Scotch tape kept folding on itself in the wind.

…It had been Shizuna’s idea.

Actually, after her initial protests and inquiries as to why—to which Setsuna didn’t bother answering—the nurse’s first suggestion had been to write Konoka’s name on a rock and symbolically throw it into the ocean. It was a classic method to cast her feelings away and let the water wash her free, something like that. But Setsuna couldn’t quite bear the idea of chucking anything that had Konoka’s name on it like a piece of garbage into the sea, and so Shizuna had suggested writing Konoka’s name on a kite and letting it fly free.

Letting a kite go seemed a tad less crude than chucking a rock into the water, so Setsuna decided that she might as well give it a shot.

Setsuna couldn’t help but wonder if Shizuna had already thought of that alternative for herself before, as the older woman oddly had all the materials needed to make a kite in her desk drawer.

But those wild-mass guessing predictions were Konoka and Asuna’s territory, not hers.

Making a kite wasn’t that hard.

Cut the plastic.

Tape the chopsticks as frames to the plastic.

Tie and tape down the thin twine of kite-string—the oddest item by far that Shizuna-sensei happened to have on hand.

Carefully, holding the plastic stretched out between her knees, Setsuna wrote “Konoka” on the sheet. Was that good enough? Adding “Konoe” would be more specific, but it felt too formal. But if she wanted formal, maybe she should have written “Ojou-sama”…but Setsuna wasn’t in love with Ojou-sama, but with Konoka…

Maybe she should have written “Kono-chan” instead…

Setsuna made to cross out “Konoka” but hesitated. Finally, she printed “Kono-chan” in brackets lower down and capped her Sharpie.

“Let her go, huh?” Setsuna muttered, picking up the roll of kite-string in her free hand. Honestly, she doubted that a psychological trick would get rid of her problem, but at this point Setsuna was willing to give try anything to help relieve some of the tension.

Slowly, she played the crude kite up into the air, tugging it back and forth in the wind until it whipped high above her head under the World Tree’s canopy.

Let it go.

Setsuna bit her lip, watching the kite flutter above. Maybe she should play out more line, she still had some of the string rolled up in her fist. She promptly did so.

Now. Let it go.

The wind changed, and Setsuna yanked on the string to tack the kite steadily through the sudden gust, playing out the rest of the line in a jerk.

Okay, now.

The string was biting into her palm.

Her feelings for Konoka—she just had to let go. Supposedly, she’d feel better afterwards. Like more of a resolution had been reached.

Let it go. Open your hand.

She sweated.

LET. GO.

High above, the kite suddenly dipped and blew sideways in a torrential updraft. A sharp slicing pain made her jump. “Fuck!” Setsuna swore as she felt the kite string slip through her bleeding palm and snap like a loosed elastic into the sky.

She stuck her hand in her mouth, tasting blood and the sting of torn skin.

“Why don’t I lick that for you?” a familiar leer came from above her.

Setsuna looked up, dropping her hand from her mouth. “Evangeline-san.” Ah, shit—the daywalker was holding onto her kite, a smirk on her young face. Setsuna winced.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“It’s just…don’t…” Setsuna hung her head.

Evangeline held out the plastic kite and smirked at the name written on it. “Letting go of your precious Ojou-sama, huh? Did it work?”

Setsuna stared, then looked down at her palm, still oozing a line of blood down her wrist. Suddenly she started laughing, red spittle dropping from her lips. What a joke! Laughter continued to shake Setsuna’s slim form as she collapsed onto the grass, still giggling.

“Hmpf,” Evangeline grunted, disturbed, and raised an eyebrow. She released her grip on the plastic bag kite. The crumpled kite fell a few feet before wafting open and catching a breeze that sent it tumbling away and into the sky. Evangeline dropped off a branch and landed gracefully on the ground. “If you’re done, I’m bored. Let’s have a match.”

Feeling her last few chuckles trickle away, Setsuna wiped her hand on the grass and picked up Yuunagi’s case. “Sure,” she agreed.

They walked towards Evangeline’s cabin, using the sly paths instead of the main ways. Setsuna knew all the side streets well from her middle-school patrol routes, and with newly-practiced ease she memorized the minute changes in architecture and landmarks as they walked.

“I see you’ve given up on your silly disguise,” Evangeline commented languidly. “Why?”

“The eyes keep people from looking at me too long. It’s how I like it.”

“Interesting,” Evangeline smirked, and Setsuna checked herself, wondering how much she should reveal to the vampire. If the worst Evangeline would do was mock her, that wasn’t too bad—but giving Evangeline too much information could possibly backfire on her in unexpected ways. Idly, Evangeline drawled, “But you kept dying your hair.”

“Easier to disguise myself. And it’s more intimidating.”

“More like more emo,” Evangeline taunted.

Thankfully they had arrived at Evangeline’s private cabin. Both of them headed towards the training area in the woods. Setsuna undid the ties of her sword case and drew out Yuunagi. “Rules?”

“What rules?” Evangeline grinned before she launched a sudden attack.

Setsuna caught the first punch on Yuunagi’s sheath, and despite her digging her heels in the blow knocked her back. Block then strike then block again, the two of them trying to draw the other out while gauging their skill level.

I can keep up with her, Setsuna marvelled, ducking a backhand from Evangeline and spinning into a roundhouse kick that missed as the vampire rolled away. Unlike last time, I’m matching her blow for blow.

“OOF!” A blow to the stomach knocked the air out of Setsuna’s lungs for a split moment before she reacted and nailed the charging Evangeline with an elbow strike to the chin, gaining enough time to catch her breath again.

“Don’t get cocky now,” Evangeline warned, circling her.

“I won last time,” Setsuna pointed out. “With you at full power too.”

“Shut it,” Evangeline growled, although she seemed more disgruntled than truly angry. Then her smirk returned. “Although this time, it seems you’re choosing the sword instead?”

Her eyes narrowed, and Setsuna lunged forward, drawing her blade in a flash of silver.

**O**

“Got you!” Asuna said satisfactorily as she latched onto Konoka’s wrist. Konoka grimaced—she knew that she risked being ambushed by Asuna if she stepped outside the conference room, but Konoka really couldn’t handle staying in that room any longer. The moment the break was called she had slipped out the door and was immediately caught.

“Alright, let’s go for a walk?” No one could be around when Asuna forces an explanation out of her.

They drifted to the gardens behind the high school. At this hour, school was over and so only a few students were left on campus as they participated in their various clubs around the grounds. There was no one in the garden though, giving them the privacy they needed.

Asuna didn’t waste any time. “Why did you lie back then?” She demanded. “You told me that you and Setsuna entered the outer ring of wards last Halloween.”

Konoka sighed, running one hand through her long hair. “It’s…complicated.”

While Asuna may have been the leader of the Baka-rangers, she wasn’t stupid when it came to logical deducing. They had all grown skilled in the Magical World, in the years following it. “You said that after you walked through the Wards and when Setsuna joined you, the Wards started going nuts. Setsuna called out her wings, didn’t she?”

Defeated, Konoka nodded.

“But demons have hit the Koyane Wards before without breaking them. So Setsuna grabbed you, and she must have been flying…then she hit the stone.” Asuna paused, her blue and green eyes narrowed. “And she broke it…because she’s a half-demon. That has to be it, if nothing has ever broken the Ward stones before. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Please,” Konoka said.

“That’s also why she couldn’t enter the Ward’s outer ring later on, since she must have been channelling Demon at that time, and that…anti-demon barrier kicked her out, right?”

“We had suspected already that there’s probably some kind of anti-demon barrier there, and Set-chan just proved it for us. It seems like we can generalize half-demons with full demons in that case—”

“Why did you lie, then?” Asuna asked again, persistent. “Setsuna broke the stone uniquely because she’s a half-demon, but why could she enter the first time—”

Konoka fell to her knees in front of Asuna and bowed her head.

“What? Konoka!” yelped Asuna in shock.

“Please,” she whispered tearfully, clutching at Asuna’s sleeves as the red-head tried to get her to rise. “Forget all that. Just…don’t mention it again, and especially don’t let Set-chan hear.”

“Okay, okay, please get up!”

Konoka refused to budge, tightening her grip as she babbled on. “Asuna—you know how Set-chan is. Knowing that would break her into a hundred pieces. Please, she can’t ever find out.”

“But it’s not her fault, if you explain it right—”

“Please!” Konoka begged. “I don’t care what my family thinks, but Set-chan can’t know. You know her, Asuna, you know how she feels about herself! It would break her…please…”

Asuna crouched down, putting a hand on Konoka’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I promise, okay? I won’t breathe a word of it again—except maybe to Negi, I think he could help, I really do. And you know he won’t tell anybody. Okay?”

Swallowing, the brunette nodded. “Okay, Negi-kun. But not another soul. Just Negi-kun.”

“Okay,” Asuna agreed, and Konoka recognized her tone as being deliberately low and calming, as if she wanted to keep Konoka from bolting like a frightened animal. “But Konoka…” the redhead hesitated. “Don’t you think that Setsuna would, um…that she might have guessed herself?”

“If she did, I’m not going to confirm it for her,” Konoka clenched her teeth, finally letting Asuna pull her up. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I won’t let her guilt herself to death with that knowledge. I won’t.”

She knew that Asuna didn’t approve of her secrecy.

But Asuna didn’t understand—Konoka had so little of Setsuna already. Nothing could entice Konoka to risk losing any more of her dearest person in the world.

**O**

*“I don’t want us to be just friends anymore…ne, Set-chan?”*

The blow to her face made Setsuna’s head snap back, and she followed through with the punch to protect her neck, falling onto her back. She shook her head to clear the white stars from her vision, panting and sliding Yuunagi into its sheath in a wordless forfeit. A trickle of sweat dripped down her cheek and Setsuna wiped it with the tip of her white shirt sleeve.

Evangeline stood in front of her, her hands on her hips and scowling. Bluntly, she said, “You let that one hit you. God, you are a masochist, aren’t you?”

Setsuna’s eye twitched.

*“So pick—where should I stab one of these, or shall we go back to Fate’s Psychi Kinigi?”*

“Oh, that got a reaction out of you,” Evangeline leered, eyeing her intently.

“Nothing Evangeline-san should be worried about,” Setsuna answered easily. “And speaking of things you don’t need to worry about, I’ll tell Asuna that you haven’t lost your edge a whit.” She rubbed her cheek. It was probably bruising, but it would be gone in a few hours.

Puffing out her chest, Evangeline said haughtily, “Of course not—did that stupid monkey hint at it?!”

“May I use your shower?”

“What?”

Setsuna tugged at her shirt collar, loosening her tie. “It was a pretty intense fight.”

“Fine,” Evangeline groused. The vampire stalked up her front steps. “You know where it is.” She flounced up the stairs, shouting for Chachamaru to hurry up with the tea.

Setsuna smiled, nodding a greeting to the unfazed Chachamaru as she entered. She walked into the bathroom and locked the door. As she had hoped, there were dark blinds on the window, which Setsuna promptly pulled down. Evangeline was a high daywalker—her blinds weren’t completely opaque, and although the sun was setting light still filtered into the bathroom.

Still, it was dark enough for that to be easily remedied—Setsuna carefully laid Yuunagi within arm’s length of the shower stall and closed her eyes. Everything went dark.

She undressed briskly, folding her clothes and laying them out in a neat row on the counter. It was too bad that she didn’t bring a spare change of clothes, but she hadn’t expected to get into a fight with Evangeline. At least she hadn’t ripped anything, sewing was always a pain.

Setsuna didn’t need to feel for the shower door, one glance around the bathroom when she had first entered fixed the location of everything in her mind. Perfect body coordination meant that she could move as if complete blackness was a brightly lit room. Definitely one of the handier skills she had picked up. Useful too in improving her fighting skills—Setsuna loved killing two birds with one stone, and she chuckled to herself at the ironic idiom.

She showered quickly, not lingering over her bare skin and towelled herself as long as she could bear before rapidly putting her clothes on again. Slightly damp skin under clothes didn’t even bother her anymore, and she opened her eyes to comb her wet hair before opening the bathroom door.

“That was fast,” Evangeline commented, now lounging on her couch while Chachamaru served her tea.

“Efficient.”

“Yeah right. You don’t like showers, do you?”

Setsuna felt herself twitch slightly. “I watched the movie Psycho, and that movie would turn anybody off showering. You’re vulnerable.” Learning how to misdirect was difficult, and the hardest part for Setsuna was keeping her responses as close as possible to her normal style of speaking. Otherwise, it would be too obvious.

Evangeline just looked at her with her amusedly cruel smile. But below the surface, she was clearly adding up all her little observations about Setsuna’s behaviour and probably reaching conclusions that Setsuna didn’t want her to reach. The vampire waved a hand. “Sit down, and have some tea. You’re not due back until late.”

Gingerly, Setsuna sat down across from her and nodded her thanks as Chachamaru poured her a cup.

“Speaking of psychos,” Evangeline drawled, “I heard that a psycho bitch owned you a while back.”

The word choice brought a black wave in Setsuna’s head, but a few deep breaths calmed her turmoil once again. She lifted her cup and drank. “I mean to make her pay for that.”

“Hm. Could you even, when the time comes?” Eva asked slyly.

“I’m better than I was. And I’ll get better still.”

“Ah, yes, I did notice that.” Evangeline sipped at her tea. “In just physical fighting, mind, you should come back at full moon sometime…” She paused and tilted her head, running her tongue over her fangs. “You do have a different whiff around you.”

“…A smell?” Setsuna asked confusedly.

“Your aura. I’m getting all kinds of things from you.”

Setsuna shifted under the girl’s gaze. “…Evangeline, do you know any tengu?”

“Nope.” Evangeline refuted cheerfully. “And even if I did, kid, that ain’t what you’re giving off.”

“What?” breathed Setsuna.

Snorting, Evangeline replied in disdain, “Please. Tengu aren’t stupid beasts. The demonic air I’m getting from you? That’s the stuff of dumb, raging demons full of nothing but all the fun nasty things of violence, hatred and a delicious tang of malice. You know—the kind you used to kill here.” Chuckling darkly, Evangeline winked. “How ironic, hm?”

Chilled, Setsuna dropped a hand to Yuunagi’s hilt. “I won’t,” she whispered.

“So you say. If you get your head out of your ass for just a minute, you’ll realize that you’ve got friends who give a damn about what you might become.” Tossing her hair back, Evangeline scowled, giving Setsuna her long-suffering I’m surrounded by idiots glare. She crossed her arms. “Especially your precious “ojou-sama”, even though she’s got her own pile of crap to deal with. So as entertaining as all this angst is, why don’t you two grow a pair already and address it?”

That was oddly kind and logical from Evangeline, but Setsuna shook her head. “It’s not that simple. I wish it was.”

Apparently, that was Evangeline’s goodness quota of the day. “Meh, whatever,” she said lazily, kicking her bare feet onto a cushion. “I must say, it’s like seeing the old you again, but improved. Like the keen edge of a re-sharpened sword. A fight is much more fun that way,” she grinned.

“I’m glad to have been entertaining,” Setsuna said dryly as she finished off her tea.

Calculatingly, Evangeline said, “So you’ve chosen, then. The sword?”

Setsuna dropped the tea cup. It spiralled down towards the floor, the thin handle spinning, until she quickly caught it an inch from the hardwood floor. Setsuna firmly set the cup on the table, feeling the china creak under the force. “Respectfully, Evangeline—mind your own business.”

The front door opening distracted both of them, and Asuna bounded in. “Hey Fang-girl, let’s—oh, Setsuna? What are you doing here?”

“I was just leaving.” Setsuna picked up Yuunagi, her knuckles white, and stalked for the door. “We’re all departing soon Asuna, don’t be late back at the cars.”

Asuna watched the door slam shut behind the swordswoman. “Hm.” She turned and raised an eyebrow at Evangeline. “So, you guys were talking about her idiot dance with Konoka?”

“I’m about to give up on all you dumb losers,” Evangeline rolled her eyes, flouncing back on her cushions. “All self-sacrificing and frigging martyr complexes. No wonder you guys keep screwing things up.”

Asuna sighed. It was nice to have someone who agreed with her. “They’re both such idiots. Sometimes, I wonder who’s trying to protect who.”

“—from who,” Evangeline finished, rolling her eyes. “Idiots.”

Update! It is *so* good to have Evangeline back and the way she tries to give Setsuna advice in her own Evangeline way.

Asuna sighed. It was nice to have someone who agreed with her. “They’re both such idiots. Sometimes, I wonder who’s trying to protect who.”

“—from who,” Evangeline finished, rolling her eyes. “Idiots.”

Hee. Asuna and Evangeline bonding on how dumb Setsuna and Konoka are and then for Evangeline to have the last word? ::hearts::

[deathcurse]

I warn you, I don't really get why things are happening , as I don't know D&D or what kind of setting that provides, so I'm going on just what I feel as I'm reading.

Originally Posted by Kurush

Spoiler for #2:

"Should we really agree to this?" Gandolfini asked the group as they were in the dean's office, shortly after the messengers had left. "Send a team out to...eliminate a student from this school?"

"We can use names on this, Gandolfini-sensei." Aris said, not sounding happy. "They did tell you who it was they were talking about before we came in here, didn't they, Dean?"

"They did." The principle even provided the picture of the girl. "She's one of Negi-kun's students, even." He said as the Spartan saw the pic of Nodoka lying on the desk.

"Why would they even bother with asking us to begin with?" Fate inquired as he picked up the picture to see her. "They could just train up someone in petrifaction themselves and try somebody else descended from divinity to do this."

"That they could do, no doubt." Aris responded. "But I feel that this is something of a test to them, for us. It could be that they want us to cut ties with those who cannot fend for themselves, and in getting rid of Miyazaki, would be a devastating psychological blow to us, not to mention morale would sink here at Mahora. We would get the support we need, yes, but I don't think that they would give us the aid simply like that, for nothing."

"So what do we do?" Takahata asked.

"I took the call to make a choice, I decide what to do. On Monday February 23rd, two days from now, do I give them the answer." The Spartan answered, crossing his arms. "Tacky, Gandolfini, please return to the classes and then inform the other magi here of what transpired here."

"What about Negi-kun?" Takahata inquired now. "What should we say to him?"

"That will be taken care of, Takamichi." The dean answered him. "Now, do return to your lessons."

The two teachers didn't like doing this, but they did as they were told and left the office, leaving Averruncus, Aristodemus and the dean to discuss among themselves of what to do. "Now then, if we take on this mission... I'm not saying that we are, but if we did, who would we send to do this task?"

"Finding a divinely descended person who can use a sword wouldn't be easy to do." Fate started. "I could fill the role of being this Gorgon, as I am one by definition of what I told the Githyanki. But if that is in disfavor, then I could always take an apprentice in that matter."

"Finding this divine person isn't a problem. We know the person who fits that just fine." Aris said as well.

"Who?"

"Setsuna-kun." The dean said. "As much as she fits the bill, I doubt that she would want to strike down a classmate even if ordered to. And she's been missing for a few days."

"What about Kagurazaka?" Fate asked. "Do you think she's eligible?"

"No. It would depend on how one sees the Maker, but that fellow was never a god to begin with." The Spartan responded to that. "He may have created a whole world, full with people, creatures and plants, but he is still just one person. That Asuna is descended from him doesn't prove that she's of divine blood. Besides, that would also make Negi-kun a choice as well."

"Not morally speaking. I doubt he would approve of this, to begin with." Fate added to this.

"True." The commander said. "Who else would we send on this?"

"We would need some sort of communication between the team and here, meaning we need a transport as well."

"I'll see if I can get something. There is also the need for a 2nd-in-command tactician for this mission. In the event that the first team leader would get incapacitated, then the 2nd-in-command would take charge and investigate further details into the Imperium whilst they are there."

"I see." Fate said. "The whole task of making Miyazaki fail would be just a secondary mission. We could have a full espionage of the Imperium, and it's forces, giving us enough preparation for our defenses."

"So... what do you kids think of all this?" Aris decided to get the little sneakers out to talk openly with them down in the office. "There's no longer a need to hide."

A few seconds later, the figures of Negi & co, along with a new tall fellow appeared above them, all of them landing smoothly, with Negi holding Luna at least in his arms. The new robed figure landed softly, levitating slowly down to the floor. "I thought that you knew we were up there all along."

"And I'm surprised you managed to stay up there for so long, without barging down here to slam away those Giths." Aris said softly. "But let's focus on the subject at hand."

"This assignment." The dean said. "It's not the best one, morally speaking, but the benefits we would gain from this, is... well, substantial for our side."

"...Wait, principle." Yue interrupted him. "You're willing to sacrifice our friend for a benefit for when the Imperium comes at us?"

"...We didn't say that." Fate countered. "At most, sympathetically, I would understand your unwillingness to... go through with this."

"Understand?" Yue retorted. "She is our friend. Ours. You've been trying to kill her ever since she learned how to use the Diarum Ejeus, and now you claim to understand our side?" She accused the construct.

"...Now, now. There's no need to throw accusations at one another." Aris tried to calm them down. "And who the heck is your tall friend? Looks Xeno to me."

"...I can speak for myself, thank you." The Archmage retorted, sounding insulted by that. "My name is Ashracai, and I happen to be on your side, not politically speaking of course. Otherwise, I'm just another enemy. But I would advise not to attack. I only came here to talk."

"Did you now?" The Spartan said, somewhat unconvinced. "Well, let's hear what you have to say for your side at least."

"You mean, why my faction is going to invade what is practically an ass end of nowhere planet, or why those loyalists spoke of us, so scornfully?"

"Both, would do nicely." The commander answered that one. "Start with the scorn."

Spoiler for Notes:

I would like to point out that this is partially a War-fic, along with being an AU, after the events at Ostia. Here, the first Major Original Character, or MOC; Aris, is the Commander in Chief, having actually not full command over everybody he's in charge of. More will be explained.

MOC 2; Ashracai, happen to be on the fanon side of the Githyanki, ergo, my reboot of them.

Intriguing story idea...

I'm immediately curious as to how the Dean could be cold enough to allow/command this mission to kill Nodoka--my first thoughts were, what kind of events must have happened in this war to justify murder from the good guys? What's at stake, more than just a vague "one million lives", but something concrete that would have some of the more moral characters even considering such a move? Those are the questions I start thinking of right away , which makes me want to keep reading so I can hopefully get some answers.

I also wonder why Setsuna would be missing, and not protecting Konoka...Either she's away by choice (as in, maybe she doesn't agree with what these people are doing), which makes the current group of people pretty hefty bad guys, to force Setsuna to abandon her Ojou-sama; or Setsuna was captured, injured or brainwashed or something.

Spoiler for #3:

"Is it true that you did betray this Vlaakith woman?" Aris asked of the Gith Archmage.

"You mean, if we truly did sway under another leader, killed fellow Giths to protect ourselves and leaving the Astral Planes and the dead god-isles in search of another future, then yes, we did." Ashracai answered him. "But we had good reason to do it."

"Good reason?" Luna asked of the elder alien.

"There was a reason why Vlaakith was also called among others as the 'Lich Queen'. She sustained her life by harvesting the souls of those who grew too much in personal power. She had grown highly paranoid and demanded that every 'outstanding' general would go see her in private. What happened to them was that they'd become soulless, zombies enslaved to her. Lel at that time, decided we had enough. Several of us clan leaders, of Githmir, Samasal, Zuriith, Druustya, to name a few, rallied under Lel's command and we left, with all our clans and their members."

"So you left because she was slowly killing all of you clan leaders?"

"To an extent. It wasn't just personal for us. She also wanted to become a god. To do that, she needed a lot of energy. Life energy. At first we didn't mind, but after we found that she had been killing us just to ascend herself, that's when it snapped."

"Fair enough, I assume." Aristodemus concluded. "I won't dive any further on that issue. Now, on to other matters."

"Ah yes, why my faction is going to invade this small blue planet." Ashracai pointed out. "We have little reason nowadays to attack inhabited systems, with full military and nuclear capabilities. Plus, a planet on which the inhabitants possess magic, makes it even tougher for us. Even if we did win, the losses would be enormous and costly."

"So it's not for strategic value or anything?" Konoka asked.

"In what way is a planet of strategic value? And I did say that this planet is on the Ass end of nowhere. If we wanted resources, then we could just go pillage the asteroid belts. They hold much more valuable minerals and holds more of it than just one planet."

"And why do I have a feeling that other galactic civilizations out there would feel not too pleased about you invading a planet which is filled with sapient life-forms, either?" Ukita just had to ask that one.

"That's true, as well. We already have a damaged reputation with several other federations, empires and hierarchies." Ashracai answered him. "No, we would need a solid reason to do this invasion. What it is, though, I've no idea so far."

"Well, this leads us nowhere." Aris said, scratching his chin. "But, regarding the request they gave us, anyway... It's not an unreasonable agreement they are suggesting."

"Eh?" Several of the girls, including Negi, exclaimed.

And there, was the explanation for why there are two factions in this story.

Spoiler for #4:

"You can't do this." Yue said, trying to get some sense into the Spartan.

"I certainly can." Aris responded to the philosopher. "I don't want to do it, but I must, if we want a chance against them."

"Sacrificing our friend isn't going to be the best choice." Negi argued.

"I don't like it either, but what choice do we have? We'd be walking into a fight, blind, deaf and dumb if we didn't take up this offer." Aris countered. "I don't want the Imperium to walk over us with ease."

Sound argument for a Commander, there... Ashracai thought to himself, preferring to stay out of the conversation.

"Isn't Nodoka-san the very reason we got started preparing for war?" Negi countered the Spartan. "And you said, that you would help us get her back, too."

Now there was another...

"Times change, Negi-kun." Fate joined in on this. "Miyazaki may have been the start of all this, but that doesn't mean she has to be still alive at the end of this."

"You can talk of it as if it's nothing, but I won't leave this alone." Negi said, almost angry now. "Nodoka-san is my student, do you really think that I would just let you do this?"

"Negi, I'm not really in the best position to choose the option where we all work together to bring her back." Aristodemus countered. "You are her teacher, yes, but this is a war we're being dragged into. So I make the final call here."

"I'm not just going to let you send a team, to kill one of my students!" Negi said, now sounding furious. "Why should we even listen to these Loyalists to begin with!"

"It's just one life, Negi." Aris argued. "It's less important to save than millions of others."

SNAP!
The window shattered as the Spartan was slammed into it and then fell down to the ground...

Spoiler for Notes:

Naturally, why would Negi not knock his superior officer out the window because he was thinking of killing off one of his best friends and potential future lover? I'll leave it at that.

¨

Hm, Negi seems the type who would want to obey his superiors, as he's a really polite and lawful individual, but I can't seem to see him even bothering to stay or continue to acknowledge these people as his superiors if he thinks that what they're doing is morally wrong . So yeah, I can see him chucking his superior officer out the window, but I'd also see him turning around and breaking off to run his own rescue mission...

Spoiler for Final entry:

"Well...that one I did not expect to see." Ashracai said, bothering to look out the shattered window to see the Spartan lying there on the hard concrete. "At least not so early into the discussion."

"It was just too much there." Negi said in his own defense. "Like I was just going to let him do as he pleased."

"Pleased?" Fate echoed the word. "You believe that he actually wants to eliminate Miyazaki? It isn't as simple as it seems."

"But to me, it seemed like he was going to authorize an execution." Negi countered. "And how can I stand idly by while the one being sent to the block was a very close friend of mine whom I vowed personally to protect?"

"But did you have to knock Aris-sensei's lights out to get your point clear?" Kenichi asked as he and Luna were looking out the window as well, whilst the dean sat in his chair the whole time, somewhat surprised himself that Negi went and did so.

"Wouldn't you have done the same if it was one of your personal friends, Kenichi-san?"

"That's a rather poor argument, Negi-kun." Konoka said, bringing out that fact. "But... I feel that you are somewhat right. I know I would do the same for Set-chan if I had the ability."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on, hold on." Ukita stopped everyone talking and arguing, in order to catch up with everybody else. "So, the reason you kids joined in on this...war effort is to to find a way to rescue this Miyazaki-san?"

"We showed you a picture of her, didn't we?" Negi asked the Judo user and momentarily produced the Pactio card he had with the bookworm. "That's whom I want to save, from the start of all this. If I was to just let things go by and have her get killed, then how can I even stay part of the war effort?"

"...Now there was a sound argument if there ever was one for you to stay part of all this." Ashracai said, looking back at the young boy. "But somehow, I think there is more to it than just that you want her saved that you punched out your commanding officer."

"Huh?" Negi could only respond in curiousity.

"Who is that alien to decide what is best for us? We should teach him a lesson..." A dark sinister voice with lethality in its tone spoke inside his head, making him flinch.

"...You can say that again, good mage." Aristodemus' voice cut in, as the Spartan had come up again, through the window and sitting on the railing, all apparently bruised up and a broken nose. "Kenichi-kun, your Karate teacher is Sakaki, right?" He asked the disciple, who nodded since he was speechless at seeing the old man just sitting there. "He tends to say that while words can hide a man's intentions, it's his fists that always reveal the truth. When Negi punched me, there was a lot more anger against me than just that I was thinking of sending some execution squad to kill Miyazaki. Otherwise, my nose wouldn't have been broken so," He stopped to crack the nose back into shape. "...easily."

"Really? What would most of that be?"

"A few things that would border on your point of view as; terrible actions against your family, this, and plotting to upset the 'natural' order of Mundus Magicus." Aris pointed out as a few examples. "I'll admit that I'm doing these things for the greater good. It has always fallen to the sacrifice of few in order to save the lives of many."

"Well, that's not going to happen in this case. Here, the life we're talking about here helped us find a way to save the Magic World in the first place." Negi countered, sounding angry now. "If it hadn't been for her to begin with, we wouldn't have found a way to sustain the Magic World's energy."

"To keep the illusion up for another decade, or so." Aris retorted. "Yes, we should feel indebted to you and her, Negi, but this is reality now. The Real world. War is hell and it never changes. Hence why I quit it so long ago."

"If that was the case, then why did you take the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Magic World in the first place?"

"What, you think I want some jerkass, lousy fancy-pants pen-pusher to have the job? Someone in the Senate, the one group of politicians I wouldn't put my trust in, even if Both worlds were in danger and they proposed to save mankind? Martialus is old as he is, and Theo doesn't have the personal experience of leading millions. Godel is an asshole on his own, and the only one who had any form of guts in the Senate was Frollo, and you saw what happened to him twenty years ago. No. I took the job to prevent that we wouldn't fall or be caught with our trousers down. That is why I'm in command here, Negi."

"...Even so, you do realize our loyalty to you is only built on trust? You can't order us around as you please, which is why you wanted sub-commanders, those who put their trust in that you can accomplish this. In addition, the sub-commanders are put in charge of a particular area or unit to lead on their own deprived of orders from you in order to ensure Earth's protection." Negi added to make the topic more clear.

"...If you say that you are cutting yourself and 3-A away from this chain, then fine. That only means I can authorize the mission without your permission. So if you want to... Oh, so that's how this is going to be..." Aris said, realizing the truth.

"That's one way of putting it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to grasp my perspective so fast." Negi said, crossing his arms, making the girls go back in shock of what was going to come.

"Dean?" Aris asked the principal.

"...Well, I suppose. Negi-kun has been rather stubborn whenever it comes down to his personal students. And he won't take his mind off it otherwise."

"Very well, then. Castle Leben Schult, young man." Aris instructed the young magi in front of him. "...We've got a lot to talk about..."

"That's a rather poor argument, Negi-kun." Konoka said, bringing out that fact. "But... I feel that you are somewhat right. I know I would do the same for Set-chan if I had the ability."

Having Konoka say this completely knocked me out of my Suspension of Disbelief . Konoka has never seemed like a logical individual to me, but more of an emotional/believe in her heart kind of character. So unless something happened to change her personality (like, a tragedy that destroyed her innocent faith, or some kind of failure) I just can't see this whole part happening at all.

Sorry if some of this is answered already in the sections, as I tried to read the plot narrative but I didn't really get it, so I glossed over those parts . But overall, I find the ideas interesting, but without knowing why any of the Negima cast, who are all idealistic and fiercely loyal to each other, even considering or just allying themselves with people who are plotting to kill one of their friends, keeps me from truly immersing myself into the story. Unless this is a pure AU where the characters all have different backstories that changed their personalities?

...Any thoughts on these? I haven't gotten any reviews or so from these two last chapters, so I wonder what people would think of this.

For those who doesn't get it: Aris stood for the idea of sending a strike team off somewhere to eliminate Nodoka, who wasn't at Mahora at the time. Negi on the other hand, rejected the idea completely and stated that they should work together to save her instead.

Practically, the strike team is not such a bad idea. They have little support to begin with, since USA and China (No Offense at all to people here from mentioned countries) refuse to throw in their magi for support to stop an alien invasion since the States claim that it is not a threat to National Security (Note: This is during the Bush regime) and China says they can hold their own against the aliens. Other states and nations, are uncertain or haven't decided due to lack of evidence of an incursion. This is understandable. The Canon Githyanki (Loyalists in story) however, offer to change that, by convincing the nations to lend support, and even bring in major military aid as well. This is an opportunity they can't ignore, if the countries of the world can't come to aid the Magi with their support.

Morally, however... Well, you get the idea.

Ah, this part lets me know that I should probably have read the previous 2 chapters before reading this? Well, all my comments above are based on my feel for the Negima characters, so maybe they're all completely off due to the setting. So take my comments with a grain of salt, I guess?

[Merctrin]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

Chapter 4 mostly continues from Chapter 3, so not much action but lots of character.

Love and Duty Come in Chains

Previous chapters

Spoiler for Chapter 4:

Chapter 4
Same Day

Setsuna felt stupid.

As usual, it was mostly her fault that she felt that way. But she felt utterly stupid making a kite out of a plastic bag and a pair of chopsticks while sitting on the World Tree hill.

The Scotch tape kept folding on itself in the wind.

…It had been Shizuna’s idea.

Actually, after her initial protests and inquiries as to why—to which Setsuna didn’t bother answering—the nurse’s first suggestion had been to write Konoka’s name on a rock and symbolically throw it into the ocean. It was a classic method to cast her feelings away and let the water wash her free, something like that. But Setsuna couldn’t quite bear the idea of chucking anything that had Konoka’s name on it like a piece of garbage into the sea, and so Shizuna had suggested writing Konoka’s name on a kite and letting it fly free.

Letting a kite go seemed a tad less crude than chucking a rock into the water, so Setsuna decided that she might as well give it a shot.

Setsuna couldn’t help but wonder if Shizuna had already thought of that alternative for herself before, as the older woman oddly had all the materials needed to make a kite in her desk drawer.

But those wild-mass guessing predictions were Konoka and Asuna’s territory, not hers.

Making a kite wasn’t that hard.

Cut the plastic.

Tape the chopsticks as frames to the plastic.

Tie and tape down the thin twine of kite-string—the oddest item by far that Shizuna-sensei happened to have on hand.

Carefully, holding the plastic stretched out between her knees, Setsuna wrote “Konoka” on the sheet. Was that good enough? Adding “Konoe” would be more specific, but it felt too formal. But if she wanted formal, maybe she should have written “Ojou-sama”…but Setsuna wasn’t in love with Ojou-sama, but with Konoka…

Maybe she should have written “Kono-chan” instead…

Setsuna made to cross out “Konoka” but hesitated. Finally, she printed “Kono-chan” in brackets lower down and capped her Sharpie.

“Let her go, huh?” Setsuna muttered, picking up the roll of kite-string in her free hand. Honestly, she doubted that a psychological trick would get rid of her problem, but at this point Setsuna was willing to give try anything to help relieve some of the tension.

Slowly, she played the crude kite up into the air, tugging it back and forth in the wind until it whipped high above her head under the World Tree’s canopy.

Let it go.

Setsuna bit her lip, watching the kite flutter above. Maybe she should play out more line, she still had some of the string rolled up in her fist. She promptly did so.

Now. Let it go.

The wind changed, and Setsuna yanked on the string to tack the kite steadily through the sudden gust, playing out the rest of the line in a jerk.

Okay, now.

The string was biting into her palm.

Her feelings for Konoka—she just had to let go. Supposedly, she’d feel better afterwards. Like more of a resolution had been reached.

Let it go. Open your hand.

She sweated.

LET. GO.

High above, the kite suddenly dipped and blew sideways in a torrential updraft. A sharp slicing pain made her jump. “Fuck!” Setsuna swore as she felt the kite string slip through her bleeding palm and snap like a loosed elastic into the sky.

She stuck her hand in her mouth, tasting blood and the sting of torn skin.

“Why don’t I lick that for you?” a familiar leer came from above her.

Setsuna looked up, dropping her hand from her mouth. “Evangeline-san.” Ah, shit—the daywalker was holding onto her kite, a smirk on her young face. Setsuna winced.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“It’s just…don’t…” Setsuna hung her head.

Evangeline held out the plastic kite and smirked at the name written on it. “Letting go of your precious Ojou-sama, huh? Did it work?”

Setsuna stared, then looked down at her palm, still oozing a line of blood down her wrist. Suddenly she started laughing, red spittle dropping from her lips. What a joke! Laughter continued to shake Setsuna’s slim form as she collapsed onto the grass, still giggling.

“Hmpf,” Evangeline grunted, disturbed, and raised an eyebrow. She released her grip on the plastic bag kite. The crumpled kite fell a few feet before wafting open and catching a breeze that sent it tumbling away and into the sky. Evangeline dropped off a branch and landed gracefully on the ground. “If you’re done, I’m bored. Let’s have a match.”

Feeling her last few chuckles trickle away, Setsuna wiped her hand on the grass and picked up Yuunagi’s case. “Sure,” she agreed.

They walked towards Evangeline’s cabin, using the sly paths instead of the main ways. Setsuna knew all the side streets well from her middle-school patrol routes, and with newly-practiced ease she memorized the minute changes in architecture and landmarks as they walked.

“I see you’ve given up on your silly disguise,” Evangeline commented languidly. “Why?”

“The eyes keep people from looking at me too long. It’s how I like it.”

“Interesting,” Evangeline smirked, and Setsuna checked herself, wondering how much she should reveal to the vampire. If the worst Evangeline would do was mock her, that wasn’t too bad—but giving Evangeline too much information could possibly backfire on her in unexpected ways. Idly, Evangeline drawled, “But you kept dying your hair.”

“Easier to disguise myself. And it’s more intimidating.”

“More like more emo,” Evangeline taunted.

Thankfully they had arrived at Evangeline’s private cabin. Both of them headed towards the training area in the woods. Setsuna undid the ties of her sword case and drew out Yuunagi. “Rules?”

“What rules?” Evangeline grinned before she launched a sudden attack.

Setsuna caught the first punch on Yuunagi’s sheath, and despite her digging her heels in the blow knocked her back. Block then strike then block again, the two of them trying to draw the other out while gauging their skill level.

I can keep up with her, Setsuna marvelled, ducking a backhand from Evangeline and spinning into a roundhouse kick that missed as the vampire rolled away. Unlike last time, I’m matching her blow for blow.

“OOF!” A blow to the stomach knocked the air out of Setsuna’s lungs for a split moment before she reacted and nailed the charging Evangeline with an elbow strike to the chin, gaining enough time to catch her breath again.

“Don’t get cocky now,” Evangeline warned, circling her.

“I won last time,” Setsuna pointed out. “With you at full power too.”

“Shut it,” Evangeline growled, although she seemed more disgruntled than truly angry. Then her smirk returned. “Although this time, it seems you’re choosing the sword instead?”

Her eyes narrowed, and Setsuna lunged forward, drawing her blade in a flash of silver.

**O**

“Got you!” Asuna said satisfactorily as she latched onto Konoka’s wrist. Konoka grimaced—she knew that she risked being ambushed by Asuna if she stepped outside the conference room, but Konoka really couldn’t handle staying in that room any longer. The moment the break was called she had slipped out the door and was immediately caught.

“Alright, let’s go for a walk?” No one could be around when Asuna forces an explanation out of her.

They drifted to the gardens behind the high school. At this hour, school was over and so only a few students were left on campus as they participated in their various clubs around the grounds. There was no one in the garden though, giving them the privacy they needed.

Asuna didn’t waste any time. “Why did you lie back then?” She demanded. “You told me that you and Setsuna entered the outer ring of wards last Halloween.”

Konoka sighed, running one hand through her long hair. “It’s…complicated.”

While Asuna may have been the leader of the Baka-rangers, she wasn’t stupid when it came to logical deducing. They had all grown skilled in the Magical World, in the years following it. “You said that after you walked through the Wards and when Setsuna joined you, the Wards started going nuts. Setsuna called out her wings, didn’t she?”

Defeated, Konoka nodded.

“But demons have hit the Koyane Wards before without breaking them. So Setsuna grabbed you, and she must have been flying…then she hit the stone.” Asuna paused, her blue and green eyes narrowed. “And she broke it…because she’s a half-demon. That has to be it, if nothing has ever broken the Ward stones before. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Please,” Konoka said.

“That’s also why she couldn’t enter the Ward’s outer ring later on, since she must have been channelling Demon at that time, and that…anti-demon barrier kicked her out, right?”

“We had suspected already that there’s probably some kind of anti-demon barrier there, and Set-chan just proved it for us. It seems like we can generalize half-demons with full demons in that case—”

“Why did you lie, then?” Asuna asked again, persistent. “Setsuna broke the stone uniquely because she’s a half-demon, but why could she enter the first time—”

Konoka fell to her knees in front of Asuna and bowed her head.

“What? Konoka!” yelped Asuna in shock.

“Please,” she whispered tearfully, clutching at Asuna’s sleeves as the red-head tried to get her to rise. “Forget all that. Just…don’t mention it again, and especially don’t let Set-chan hear.”

“Okay, okay, please get up!”

Konoka refused to budge, tightening her grip as she babbled on. “Asuna—you know how Set-chan is. Knowing that would break her into a hundred pieces. Please, she can’t ever find out.”

“But it’s not her fault, if you explain it right—”

“Please!” Konoka begged. “I don’t care what my family thinks, but Set-chan can’t know. You know her, Asuna, you know how she feels about herself! It would break her…please…”

Asuna crouched down, putting a hand on Konoka’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I promise, okay? I won’t breathe a word of it again—except maybe to Negi, I think he could help, I really do. And you know he won’t tell anybody. Okay?”

Swallowing, the brunette nodded. “Okay, Negi-kun. But not another soul. Just Negi-kun.”

“Okay,” Asuna agreed, and Konoka recognized her tone as being deliberately low and calming, as if she wanted to keep Konoka from bolting like a frightened animal. “But Konoka…” the redhead hesitated. “Don’t you think that Setsuna would, um…that she might have guessed herself?”

“If she did, I’m not going to confirm it for her,” Konoka clenched her teeth, finally letting Asuna pull her up. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I won’t let her guilt herself to death with that knowledge. I won’t.”

She knew that Asuna didn’t approve of her secrecy.

But Asuna didn’t understand—Konoka had so little of Setsuna already. Nothing could entice Konoka to risk losing any more of her dearest person in the world.

**O**

*“I don’t want us to be just friends anymore…ne, Set-chan?”*

The blow to her face made Setsuna’s head snap back, and she followed through with the punch to protect her neck, falling onto her back. She shook her head to clear the white stars from her vision, panting and sliding Yuunagi into its sheath in a wordless forfeit. A trickle of sweat dripped down her cheek and Setsuna wiped it with the tip of her white shirt sleeve.

Evangeline stood in front of her, her hands on her hips and scowling. Bluntly, she said, “You let that one hit you. God, you are a masochist, aren’t you?”

Setsuna’s eye twitched.

*“So pick—where should I stab one of these, or shall we go back to Fate’s Psychi Kinigi?”*

“Oh, that got a reaction out of you,” Evangeline leered, eyeing her intently.

“Nothing Evangeline-san should be worried about,” Setsuna answered easily. “And speaking of things you don’t need to worry about, I’ll tell Asuna that you haven’t lost your edge a whit.” She rubbed her cheek. It was probably bruising, but it would be gone in a few hours.

Puffing out her chest, Evangeline said haughtily, “Of course not—did that stupid monkey hint at it?!”

“May I use your shower?”

“What?”

Setsuna tugged at her shirt collar, loosening her tie. “It was a pretty intense fight.”

“Fine,” Evangeline groused. The vampire stalked up her front steps. “You know where it is.” She flounced up the stairs, shouting for Chachamaru to hurry up with the tea.

Setsuna smiled, nodding a greeting to the unfazed Chachamaru as she entered. She walked into the bathroom and locked the door. As she had hoped, there were dark blinds on the window, which Setsuna promptly pulled down. Evangeline was a high daywalker—her blinds weren’t completely opaque, and although the sun was setting light still filtered into the bathroom.

Still, it was dark enough for that to be easily remedied—Setsuna carefully laid Yuunagi within arm’s length of the shower stall and closed her eyes. Everything went dark.

She undressed briskly, folding her clothes and laying them out in a neat row on the counter. It was too bad that she didn’t bring a spare change of clothes, but she hadn’t expected to get into a fight with Evangeline. At least she hadn’t ripped anything, sewing was always a pain.

Setsuna didn’t need to feel for the shower door, one glance around the bathroom when she had first entered fixed the location of everything in her mind. Perfect body coordination meant that she could move as if complete blackness was a brightly lit room. Definitely one of the handier skills she had picked up. Useful too in improving her fighting skills—Setsuna loved killing two birds with one stone, and she chuckled to herself at the ironic idiom.

She showered quickly, not lingering over her bare skin and towelled herself as long as she could bear before rapidly putting her clothes on again. Slightly damp skin under clothes didn’t even bother her anymore, and she opened her eyes to comb her wet hair before opening the bathroom door.

“That was fast,” Evangeline commented, now lounging on her couch while Chachamaru served her tea.

“Efficient.”

“Yeah right. You don’t like showers, do you?”

Setsuna felt herself twitch slightly. “I watched the movie Psycho, and that movie would turn anybody off showering. You’re vulnerable.” Learning how to misdirect was difficult, and the hardest part for Setsuna was keeping her responses as close as possible to her normal style of speaking. Otherwise, it would be too obvious.

Evangeline just looked at her with her amusedly cruel smile. But below the surface, she was clearly adding up all her little observations about Setsuna’s behaviour and probably reaching conclusions that Setsuna didn’t want her to reach. The vampire waved a hand. “Sit down, and have some tea. You’re not due back until late.”

Gingerly, Setsuna sat down across from her and nodded her thanks as Chachamaru poured her a cup.

“Speaking of psychos,” Evangeline drawled, “I heard that a psycho bitch owned you a while back.”

The word choice brought a black wave in Setsuna’s head, but a few deep breaths calmed her turmoil once again. She lifted her cup and drank. “I mean to make her pay for that.”

“Hm. Could you even, when the time comes?” Eva asked slyly.

“I’m better than I was. And I’ll get better still.”

“Ah, yes, I did notice that.” Evangeline sipped at her tea. “In just physical fighting, mind, you should come back at full moon sometime…” She paused and tilted her head, running her tongue over her fangs. “You do have a different whiff around you.”

“…A smell?” Setsuna asked confusedly.

“Your aura. I’m getting all kinds of things from you.”

Setsuna shifted under the girl’s gaze. “…Evangeline, do you know any tengu?”

“Nope.” Evangeline refuted cheerfully. “And even if I did, kid, that ain’t what you’re giving off.”

“What?” breathed Setsuna.

Snorting, Evangeline replied in disdain, “Please. Tengu aren’t stupid beasts. The demonic air I’m getting from you? That’s the stuff of dumb, raging demons full of nothing but all the fun nasty things of violence, hatred and a delicious tang of malice. You know—the kind you used to kill here.” Chuckling darkly, Evangeline winked. “How ironic, hm?”

Chilled, Setsuna dropped a hand to Yuunagi’s hilt. “I won’t,” she whispered.

“So you say. If you get your head out of your ass for just a minute, you’ll realize that you’ve got friends who give a damn about what you might become.” Tossing her hair back, Evangeline scowled, giving Setsuna her long-suffering I’m surrounded by idiots glare. She crossed her arms. “Especially your precious “ojou-sama”, even though she’s got her own pile of crap to deal with. So as entertaining as all this angst is, why don’t you two grow a pair already and address it?”

That was oddly kind and logical from Evangeline, but Setsuna shook her head. “It’s not that simple. I wish it was.”

Apparently, that was Evangeline’s goodness quota of the day. “Meh, whatever,” she said lazily, kicking her bare feet onto a cushion. “I must say, it’s like seeing the old you again, but improved. Like the keen edge of a re-sharpened sword. A fight is much more fun that way,” she grinned.

“I’m glad to have been entertaining,” Setsuna said dryly as she finished off her tea.

Calculatingly, Evangeline said, “So you’ve chosen, then. The sword?”

Setsuna dropped the tea cup. It spiralled down towards the floor, the thin handle spinning, until she quickly caught it an inch from the hardwood floor. Setsuna firmly set the cup on the table, feeling the china creak under the force. “Respectfully, Evangeline—mind your own business.”

The front door opening distracted both of them, and Asuna bounded in. “Hey Fang-girl, let’s—oh, Setsuna? What are you doing here?”

“I was just leaving.” Setsuna picked up Yuunagi, her knuckles white, and stalked for the door. “We’re all departing soon Asuna, don’t be late back at the cars.”

Asuna watched the door slam shut behind the swordswoman. “Hm.” She turned and raised an eyebrow at Evangeline. “So, you guys were talking about her idiot dance with Konoka?”

“I’m about to give up on all you dumb losers,” Evangeline rolled her eyes, flouncing back on her cushions. “All self-sacrificing and frigging martyr complexes. No wonder you guys keep screwing things up.”

Asuna sighed. It was nice to have someone who agreed with her. “They’re both such idiots. Sometimes, I wonder who’s trying to protect who.”

“—from who,” Evangeline finished, rolling her eyes. “Idiots.”

Setsuna, I'd have to say that you have more to feel stupid about than your little kite. And did you know that giggling maniacally with blood in your mouth is one of the sure signs that you're going slightly nuts? ...Which, as it so happens, is kind of enjoyable, especially since it happened around one of the few people who wouldn't address the insanity of it all directly.

Come to think of it, I believe that part of the reason Konoka's idiocy is more bothersome than Setsuna's is that it's kinda expected for Setsuna to act like an idiot about certain things, and her demon heritage and Konoka are at the top of the list. It's unfair, but it just feels like Konoka is supposed to be the more sensible of the two.

Hm. I'm curious now. Do Setsuna's issues with showers have anything to do with the, ah, psycho bitch? Probably completely off the mark, but I just couldn't help asking.

Absolutely loved this, and am desperate for more.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by isagrimorie

Update! It is *so* good to have Evangeline back and the way she tries to give Setsuna advice in her own Evangeline way.

Hee. Asuna and Evangeline bonding on how dumb Setsuna and Konoka are and then for Evangeline to have the last word? ::hearts::

Not only was Evangeline fun to write, but when I thought about who could actually be the kind of inconsiderately blunt personality capable to rubbing Setsuna's face in her failings to try and turn her around, Evangeline was the only one I could think of .

I had mentioned to RB before, but I actually tweaked that scene from where it ended up going just to let Evangeline have that line at the end . It was just too Evangeline to cut out!

Originally Posted by Merctrin

Setsuna, I'd have to say that you have more to feel stupid about than your little kite. And did you know that giggling maniacally with blood in your mouth is one of the sure signs that you're going slightly nuts? ...Which, as it so happens, is kind of enjoyable, especially since it happened around one of the few people who wouldn't address the insanity of it all directly.

Come to think of it, I believe that part of the reason Konoka's idiocy is more bothersome than Setsuna's is that it's kinda expected for Setsuna to act like an idiot about certain things, and her demon heritage and Konoka are at the top of the list. It's unfair, but it just feels like Konoka is supposed to be the more sensible of the two.

Hm. I'm curious now. Do Setsuna's issues with showers have anything to do with the, ah, psycho bitch? Probably completely off the mark, but I just couldn't help asking.

Absolutely loved this, and am desperate for more.

LOL, yeah, Setsuna isn't really walking around with a full deck of cards lately . Part of why I had them go to Mahora to have the lengthy Koyane Ward exposition was so that I could have Setsuna encounter Evangeline in this moment of stupidity .

Ah, that's an interesting way to look at it! I guess Konoka does, despite her ditzy depiction in the manga, seem to be more sensible (in terms of "who cares about that? *GLOMPS Set-chan anyways*), but here I have her be more restrained. It might be a tad out of character, but I'm trying to consider some of the backstory elements that I haven't fully revealed yet that have changed Konoka, as well as the obvious marriage to Kyo thing. I'll keep an eye on how I write Konoka, thanks for pointing that out!

Spoiler for only read this if you actually want to possibly be spoiled for later on:

Ah, your question is very on the mark ...

Hopefully I can get the next chapter out quickly, but I've got an upcoming midterm...(but then again, exam pressure seems to get me churning out more chapters... )

[Merctrin]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

Spoiler for only read this if you actually want to possibly be spoiled for later on:

Ah, your question is very on the mark ...

Spoiler for response to spoilery material:

Yay!

Great, now you have me wondering more and more about this line: *“So pick—where should I stab one of these, or shall we go back to Fate’s Psychi Kinigi?”*

It's so very, very cruel, but Setsuna angst is actually very delightful. Poor Set-chan. Or not so poor, depending on how masochistic she gets.

[Kurush]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

I warn you, I don't really get why things are happening , as I don't know D&D or what kind of setting that provides, so I'm going on just what I feel as I'm reading.



Intriguing story idea...

I'm immediately curious as to how the Dean could be cold enough to allow/command this mission to kill Nodoka--my first thoughts were, what kind of events must have happened in this war to justify murder from the good guys? What's at stake, more than just a vague "one million lives", but something concrete that would have some of the more moral characters even considering such a move? Those are the questions I start thinking of right away , which makes me want to keep reading so I can hopefully get some answers.

I also wonder why Setsuna would be missing, and not protecting Konoka...Either she's away by choice (as in, maybe she doesn't agree with what these people are doing), which makes the current group of people pretty hefty bad guys, to force Setsuna to abandon her Ojou-sama; or Setsuna was captured, injured or brainwashed or something.

That is somehow easy to explain if you've read the whole story, but I'll give you the shortcome: In this scenario, the magi are preparing for a global defense against a magic-wielding race, ergo the Githyanki, and regardless of what the outcome is, Magic will have become open knowledge to the mundane world.

Aristodemus is in charge of the whole operation and he can't act on his emotions, something that the dean would understand as well. They both don't want to kill Nodoka, because she is very dear to Negi. But they are in need of aid, since the Old World governments aren't giving them permission to set their own troops on Earth so they could raise enough defensive ability to hold back the Giths.

As for Setsuna not being with Konoka, she is away by choice, though not because of the disgust of the superiors, but because of what another OC and fellow guardian of the Konoe family (named Rachel for that matter) said to her. Setsuna was also thinking of taking off herself to find Nodoka and bring her back. No matter how much OOC that is to you, she did want to stay away from Konoka in the story to ensure that she would be happy. Knowing that Konoka would be safe with Rachel standing with her, she thought that she could leave. When I update to chapter 36 (soon), you'll see where she is.

Hm, Negi seems the type who would want to obey his superiors, as he's a really polite and lawful individual, but I can't seem to see him even bothering to stay or continue to acknowledge these people as his superiors if he thinks that what they're doing is morally wrong . So yeah, I can see him chucking his superior officer out the window, but I'd also see him turning around and breaking off to run his own rescue mission...

Well, look at it this way: Negi joined the war effort completely because he wanted to save Nodoka in the first place. That they want to kill her, makes him feel disgusted with them, but the only reason he doesn't rush off to find her is because he doesn't have a space-ship. Had he one from the start, he would have used it a long time ago to track her down and punish the Big Bad for taking her, but nope, all he's got is a lousy sword to show that he met the Big Bad.

Having Konoka say this completely knocked me out of my Suspension of Disbelief . Konoka has never seemed like a logical individual to me, but more of an emotional/believe in her heart kind of character. So unless something happened to change her personality (like, a tragedy that destroyed her innocent faith, or some kind of failure) I just can't see this whole part happening at all.

Sorry if some of this is answered already in the sections, as I tried to read the plot narrative but I didn't really get it, so I glossed over those parts . But overall, I find the ideas interesting, but without knowing why any of the Negima cast, who are all idealistic and fiercely loyal to each other, even considering or just allying themselves with people who are plotting to kill one of their friends, keeps me from truly immersing myself into the story. Unless this is a pure AU where the characters all have different backstories that changed their personalities?

Konoka is not a dumb person. She tends to use logic from time to time, but here, she can only stand by and watch, something she finds awful. She wants to find Setchan most of all, and since she doesn't know where her wife is (YES, I did that to them!), what else can she do?

Ah, this part lets me know that I should probably have read the previous 2 chapters before reading this? Well, all my comments above are based on my feel for the Negima characters, so maybe they're all completely off due to the setting. So take my comments with a grain of salt, I guess?

Oh, I took it with salt. I need to take things with salt sometimes, so that I know where I go wrong. I was just hoping for some sort of opinion of it, otherwise I would feel like I was being ignored. I have those feelings.

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

Chapter 4 mostly continues from Chapter 3, so not much action but lots of character.

Love and Duty Come in Chains

Previous chapters

Spoiler for Chapter 4:

Chapter 4
Same Day

Setsuna felt stupid.

As usual, it was mostly her fault that she felt that way. But she felt utterly stupid making a kite out of a plastic bag and a pair of chopsticks while sitting on the World Tree hill.

The Scotch tape kept folding on itself in the wind.

…It had been Shizuna’s idea.

Actually, after her initial protests and inquiries as to why—to which Setsuna didn’t bother answering—the nurse’s first suggestion had been to write Konoka’s name on a rock and symbolically throw it into the ocean. It was a classic method to cast her feelings away and let the water wash her free, something like that. But Setsuna couldn’t quite bear the idea of chucking anything that had Konoka’s name on it like a piece of garbage into the sea, and so Shizuna had suggested writing Konoka’s name on a kite and letting it fly free.

Letting a kite go seemed a tad less crude than chucking a rock into the water, so Setsuna decided that she might as well give it a shot.

Setsuna couldn’t help but wonder if Shizuna had already thought of that alternative for herself before, as the older woman oddly had all the materials needed to make a kite in her desk drawer.

But those wild-mass guessing predictions were Konoka and Asuna’s territory, not hers.

Making a kite wasn’t that hard.

Cut the plastic.

Tape the chopsticks as frames to the plastic.

Tie and tape down the thin twine of kite-string—the oddest item by far that Shizuna-sensei happened to have on hand.

Carefully, holding the plastic stretched out between her knees, Setsuna wrote “Konoka” on the sheet. Was that good enough? Adding “Konoe” would be more specific, but it felt too formal. But if she wanted formal, maybe she should have written “Ojou-sama”…but Setsuna wasn’t in love with Ojou-sama, but with Konoka…

Maybe she should have written “Kono-chan” instead…

Setsuna made to cross out “Konoka” but hesitated. Finally, she printed “Kono-chan” in brackets lower down and capped her Sharpie.

“Let her go, huh?” Setsuna muttered, picking up the roll of kite-string in her free hand. Honestly, she doubted that a psychological trick would get rid of her problem, but at this point Setsuna was willing to give try anything to help relieve some of the tension.

Slowly, she played the crude kite up into the air, tugging it back and forth in the wind until it whipped high above her head under the World Tree’s canopy.

Let it go.

Setsuna bit her lip, watching the kite flutter above. Maybe she should play out more line, she still had some of the string rolled up in her fist. She promptly did so.

Now. Let it go.

The wind changed, and Setsuna yanked on the string to tack the kite steadily through the sudden gust, playing out the rest of the line in a jerk.

Okay, now.

The string was biting into her palm.

Her feelings for Konoka—she just had to let go. Supposedly, she’d feel better afterwards. Like more of a resolution had been reached.

Let it go. Open your hand.

She sweated.

LET. GO.

High above, the kite suddenly dipped and blew sideways in a torrential updraft. A sharp slicing pain made her jump. “Fuck!” Setsuna swore as she felt the kite string slip through her bleeding palm and snap like a loosed elastic into the sky.

She stuck her hand in her mouth, tasting blood and the sting of torn skin.

“Why don’t I lick that for you?” a familiar leer came from above her.

Setsuna looked up, dropping her hand from her mouth. “Evangeline-san.” Ah, shit—the daywalker was holding onto her kite, a smirk on her young face. Setsuna winced.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“It’s just…don’t…” Setsuna hung her head.

Evangeline held out the plastic kite and smirked at the name written on it. “Letting go of your precious Ojou-sama, huh? Did it work?”

Setsuna stared, then looked down at her palm, still oozing a line of blood down her wrist. Suddenly she started laughing, red spittle dropping from her lips. What a joke! Laughter continued to shake Setsuna’s slim form as she collapsed onto the grass, still giggling.

“Hmpf,” Evangeline grunted, disturbed, and raised an eyebrow. She released her grip on the plastic bag kite. The crumpled kite fell a few feet before wafting open and catching a breeze that sent it tumbling away and into the sky. Evangeline dropped off a branch and landed gracefully on the ground. “If you’re done, I’m bored. Let’s have a match.”

Feeling her last few chuckles trickle away, Setsuna wiped her hand on the grass and picked up Yuunagi’s case. “Sure,” she agreed.

They walked towards Evangeline’s cabin, using the sly paths instead of the main ways. Setsuna knew all the side streets well from her middle-school patrol routes, and with newly-practiced ease she memorized the minute changes in architecture and landmarks as they walked.

“I see you’ve given up on your silly disguise,” Evangeline commented languidly. “Why?”

“The eyes keep people from looking at me too long. It’s how I like it.”

“Interesting,” Evangeline smirked, and Setsuna checked herself, wondering how much she should reveal to the vampire. If the worst Evangeline would do was mock her, that wasn’t too bad—but giving Evangeline too much information could possibly backfire on her in unexpected ways. Idly, Evangeline drawled, “But you kept dying your hair.”

“Easier to disguise myself. And it’s more intimidating.”

“More like more emo,” Evangeline taunted.

Thankfully they had arrived at Evangeline’s private cabin. Both of them headed towards the training area in the woods. Setsuna undid the ties of her sword case and drew out Yuunagi. “Rules?”

“What rules?” Evangeline grinned before she launched a sudden attack.

Setsuna caught the first punch on Yuunagi’s sheath, and despite her digging her heels in the blow knocked her back. Block then strike then block again, the two of them trying to draw the other out while gauging their skill level.

I can keep up with her, Setsuna marvelled, ducking a backhand from Evangeline and spinning into a roundhouse kick that missed as the vampire rolled away. Unlike last time, I’m matching her blow for blow.

“OOF!” A blow to the stomach knocked the air out of Setsuna’s lungs for a split moment before she reacted and nailed the charging Evangeline with an elbow strike to the chin, gaining enough time to catch her breath again.

“Don’t get cocky now,” Evangeline warned, circling her.

“I won last time,” Setsuna pointed out. “With you at full power too.”

“Shut it,” Evangeline growled, although she seemed more disgruntled than truly angry. Then her smirk returned. “Although this time, it seems you’re choosing the sword instead?”

Her eyes narrowed, and Setsuna lunged forward, drawing her blade in a flash of silver.

**O**

“Got you!” Asuna said satisfactorily as she latched onto Konoka’s wrist. Konoka grimaced—she knew that she risked being ambushed by Asuna if she stepped outside the conference room, but Konoka really couldn’t handle staying in that room any longer. The moment the break was called she had slipped out the door and was immediately caught.

“Alright, let’s go for a walk?” No one could be around when Asuna forces an explanation out of her.

They drifted to the gardens behind the high school. At this hour, school was over and so only a few students were left on campus as they participated in their various clubs around the grounds. There was no one in the garden though, giving them the privacy they needed.

Asuna didn’t waste any time. “Why did you lie back then?” She demanded. “You told me that you and Setsuna entered the outer ring of wards last Halloween.”

Konoka sighed, running one hand through her long hair. “It’s…complicated.”

While Asuna may have been the leader of the Baka-rangers, she wasn’t stupid when it came to logical deducing. They had all grown skilled in the Magical World, in the years following it. “You said that after you walked through the Wards and when Setsuna joined you, the Wards started going nuts. Setsuna called out her wings, didn’t she?”

Defeated, Konoka nodded.

“But demons have hit the Koyane Wards before without breaking them. So Setsuna grabbed you, and she must have been flying…then she hit the stone.” Asuna paused, her blue and green eyes narrowed. “And she broke it…because she’s a half-demon. That has to be it, if nothing has ever broken the Ward stones before. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Please,” Konoka said.

“That’s also why she couldn’t enter the Ward’s outer ring later on, since she must have been channelling Demon at that time, and that…anti-demon barrier kicked her out, right?”

“We had suspected already that there’s probably some kind of anti-demon barrier there, and Set-chan just proved it for us. It seems like we can generalize half-demons with full demons in that case—”

“Why did you lie, then?” Asuna asked again, persistent. “Setsuna broke the stone uniquely because she’s a half-demon, but why could she enter the first time—”

Konoka fell to her knees in front of Asuna and bowed her head.

“What? Konoka!” yelped Asuna in shock.

“Please,” she whispered tearfully, clutching at Asuna’s sleeves as the red-head tried to get her to rise. “Forget all that. Just…don’t mention it again, and especially don’t let Set-chan hear.”

“Okay, okay, please get up!”

Konoka refused to budge, tightening her grip as she babbled on. “Asuna—you know how Set-chan is. Knowing that would break her into a hundred pieces. Please, she can’t ever find out.”

“But it’s not her fault, if you explain it right—”

“Please!” Konoka begged. “I don’t care what my family thinks, but Set-chan can’t know. You know her, Asuna, you know how she feels about herself! It would break her…please…”

Asuna crouched down, putting a hand on Konoka’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I promise, okay? I won’t breathe a word of it again—except maybe to Negi, I think he could help, I really do. And you know he won’t tell anybody. Okay?”

Swallowing, the brunette nodded. “Okay, Negi-kun. But not another soul. Just Negi-kun.”

“Okay,” Asuna agreed, and Konoka recognized her tone as being deliberately low and calming, as if she wanted to keep Konoka from bolting like a frightened animal. “But Konoka…” the redhead hesitated. “Don’t you think that Setsuna would, um…that she might have guessed herself?”

“If she did, I’m not going to confirm it for her,” Konoka clenched her teeth, finally letting Asuna pull her up. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I won’t let her guilt herself to death with that knowledge. I won’t.”

She knew that Asuna didn’t approve of her secrecy.

But Asuna didn’t understand—Konoka had so little of Setsuna already. Nothing could entice Konoka to risk losing any more of her dearest person in the world.

**O**

*“I don’t want us to be just friends anymore…ne, Set-chan?”*

The blow to her face made Setsuna’s head snap back, and she followed through with the punch to protect her neck, falling onto her back. She shook her head to clear the white stars from her vision, panting and sliding Yuunagi into its sheath in a wordless forfeit. A trickle of sweat dripped down her cheek and Setsuna wiped it with the tip of her white shirt sleeve.

Evangeline stood in front of her, her hands on her hips and scowling. Bluntly, she said, “You let that one hit you. God, you are a masochist, aren’t you?”

Setsuna’s eye twitched.

*“So pick—where should I stab one of these, or shall we go back to Fate’s Psychi Kinigi?”*

“Oh, that got a reaction out of you,” Evangeline leered, eyeing her intently.

“Nothing Evangeline-san should be worried about,” Setsuna answered easily. “And speaking of things you don’t need to worry about, I’ll tell Asuna that you haven’t lost your edge a whit.” She rubbed her cheek. It was probably bruising, but it would be gone in a few hours.

Puffing out her chest, Evangeline said haughtily, “Of course not—did that stupid monkey hint at it?!”

“May I use your shower?”

“What?”

Setsuna tugged at her shirt collar, loosening her tie. “It was a pretty intense fight.”

“Fine,” Evangeline groused. The vampire stalked up her front steps. “You know where it is.” She flounced up the stairs, shouting for Chachamaru to hurry up with the tea.

Setsuna smiled, nodding a greeting to the unfazed Chachamaru as she entered. She walked into the bathroom and locked the door. As she had hoped, there were dark blinds on the window, which Setsuna promptly pulled down. Evangeline was a high daywalker—her blinds weren’t completely opaque, and although the sun was setting light still filtered into the bathroom.

Still, it was dark enough for that to be easily remedied—Setsuna carefully laid Yuunagi within arm’s length of the shower stall and closed her eyes. Everything went dark.

She undressed briskly, folding her clothes and laying them out in a neat row on the counter. It was too bad that she didn’t bring a spare change of clothes, but she hadn’t expected to get into a fight with Evangeline. At least she hadn’t ripped anything, sewing was always a pain.

Setsuna didn’t need to feel for the shower door, one glance around the bathroom when she had first entered fixed the location of everything in her mind. Perfect body coordination meant that she could move as if complete blackness was a brightly lit room. Definitely one of the handier skills she had picked up. Useful too in improving her fighting skills—Setsuna loved killing two birds with one stone, and she chuckled to herself at the ironic idiom.

She showered quickly, not lingering over her bare skin and towelled herself as long as she could bear before rapidly putting her clothes on again. Slightly damp skin under clothes didn’t even bother her anymore, and she opened her eyes to comb her wet hair before opening the bathroom door.

“That was fast,” Evangeline commented, now lounging on her couch while Chachamaru served her tea.

“Efficient.”

“Yeah right. You don’t like showers, do you?”

Setsuna felt herself twitch slightly. “I watched the movie Psycho, and that movie would turn anybody off showering. You’re vulnerable.” Learning how to misdirect was difficult, and the hardest part for Setsuna was keeping her responses as close as possible to her normal style of speaking. Otherwise, it would be too obvious.

Evangeline just looked at her with her amusedly cruel smile. But below the surface, she was clearly adding up all her little observations about Setsuna’s behaviour and probably reaching conclusions that Setsuna didn’t want her to reach. The vampire waved a hand. “Sit down, and have some tea. You’re not due back until late.”

Gingerly, Setsuna sat down across from her and nodded her thanks as Chachamaru poured her a cup.

“Speaking of psychos,” Evangeline drawled, “I heard that a psycho bitch owned you a while back.”

The word choice brought a black wave in Setsuna’s head, but a few deep breaths calmed her turmoil once again. She lifted her cup and drank. “I mean to make her pay for that.”

“Hm. Could you even, when the time comes?” Eva asked slyly.

“I’m better than I was. And I’ll get better still.”

“Ah, yes, I did notice that.” Evangeline sipped at her tea. “In just physical fighting, mind, you should come back at full moon sometime…” She paused and tilted her head, running her tongue over her fangs. “You do have a different whiff around you.”

“…A smell?” Setsuna asked confusedly.

“Your aura. I’m getting all kinds of things from you.”

Setsuna shifted under the girl’s gaze. “…Evangeline, do you know any tengu?”

“Nope.” Evangeline refuted cheerfully. “And even if I did, kid, that ain’t what you’re giving off.”

“What?” breathed Setsuna.

Snorting, Evangeline replied in disdain, “Please. Tengu aren’t stupid beasts. The demonic air I’m getting from you? That’s the stuff of dumb, raging demons full of nothing but all the fun nasty things of violence, hatred and a delicious tang of malice. You know—the kind you used to kill here.” Chuckling darkly, Evangeline winked. “How ironic, hm?”

Chilled, Setsuna dropped a hand to Yuunagi’s hilt. “I won’t,” she whispered.

“So you say. If you get your head out of your ass for just a minute, you’ll realize that you’ve got friends who give a damn about what you might become.” Tossing her hair back, Evangeline scowled, giving Setsuna her long-suffering I’m surrounded by idiots glare. She crossed her arms. “Especially your precious “ojou-sama”, even though she’s got her own pile of crap to deal with. So as entertaining as all this angst is, why don’t you two grow a pair already and address it?”

That was oddly kind and logical from Evangeline, but Setsuna shook her head. “It’s not that simple. I wish it was.”

Apparently, that was Evangeline’s goodness quota of the day. “Meh, whatever,” she said lazily, kicking her bare feet onto a cushion. “I must say, it’s like seeing the old you again, but improved. Like the keen edge of a re-sharpened sword. A fight is much more fun that way,” she grinned.

“I’m glad to have been entertaining,” Setsuna said dryly as she finished off her tea.

Calculatingly, Evangeline said, “So you’ve chosen, then. The sword?”

Setsuna dropped the tea cup. It spiralled down towards the floor, the thin handle spinning, until she quickly caught it an inch from the hardwood floor. Setsuna firmly set the cup on the table, feeling the china creak under the force. “Respectfully, Evangeline—mind your own business.”

The front door opening distracted both of them, and Asuna bounded in. “Hey Fang-girl, let’s—oh, Setsuna? What are you doing here?”

“I was just leaving.” Setsuna picked up Yuunagi, her knuckles white, and stalked for the door. “We’re all departing soon Asuna, don’t be late back at the cars.”

Asuna watched the door slam shut behind the swordswoman. “Hm.” She turned and raised an eyebrow at Evangeline. “So, you guys were talking about her idiot dance with Konoka?”

“I’m about to give up on all you dumb losers,” Evangeline rolled her eyes, flouncing back on her cushions. “All self-sacrificing and frigging martyr complexes. No wonder you guys keep screwing things up.”

Asuna sighed. It was nice to have someone who agreed with her. “They’re both such idiots. Sometimes, I wonder who’s trying to protect who.”

“—from who,” Evangeline finished, rolling her eyes. “Idiots.”

Well, interesting to see that my predictions on Setsuna's nature becoming more demon-like was correct; also very interesting to see that Evangeline is picking up on the small changes and bits. It makes sense that she would notice Setsuna's behavior and aura changing like that, since she tried so hard to convince Setsuna to give her sword up during the Chao arc. So of course, she can see what others don't want to see; or blind themselves to.

Equally interesting to see that Asuna has put two and two together. She might not be the sharpest character in the set, but when it comes to her friends she makes connections; I'll bet anything that Mana is starting to pick up on the changes too, since she's worked with Setsuna before and knows her well.

Also, the opening segment cracked me up in the best way possible. XD There's just something hilarious about the whole kite and rock concept.

Gotta admit I'm a bit surprised that none of the other members of the main group have made an appearance. I figured that with Konoka in trouble they'd all come running to her aid.

EDIT: .... Bah, okay, I'll say this now because it's seriously bugging me. >>;;;;

I get what you're aiming for with the whole KonoSets angle. I really, really do. But for some reason the execution of it just bugs the ever living hell out of me and makes it hard for me to cheer for their happy ending. I mean, the whole issue is a built up case of miscommunications and secrets and attempts to hide true feelings and fear of confiding in each other. I don't care what kind of hell they go through, that kind of base does not make for a healthy, low lasting relationship. I mean, dammit, Konoka, you bitch; I know Setsuna has a guilt streak a mile wide, but really, do you think you're doing her any favors by hiding something she's starting to figure out on her own? Jesus Christ, I want to reach into the screen and throttle her for that moment.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

Well, interesting to see that my predictions on Setsuna's nature becoming more demon-like was correct; also very interesting to see that Evangeline is picking up on the small changes and bits. It makes sense that she would notice Setsuna's behavior and aura changing like that, since she tried so hard to convince Setsuna to give her sword up during the Chao arc. So of course, she can see what others don't want to see; or blind themselves to.

And it's hilariously ironic, since Setsuna seems to have gone the other way from where she was in the Chao arc, now that she seems to have chosen duty over personal happiness (although maybe not completely...)

Equally interesting to see that Asuna has put two and two together. She might not be the sharpest character in the set, but when it comes to her friends she makes connections; I'll bet anything that Mana is starting to pick up on the changes too, since she's worked with Setsuna before and knows her well.

Also, the opening segment cracked me up in the best way possible. XD There's just something hilarious about the whole kite and rock concept.

Yeah, I never thought of Asuna as particularly "street-dumb", especially after you see her in the Magical World arc. And she also had the advantage of actually hearing from Konoka what had happened the Halloween that the Wards were broken, so she was able to connect the dots better than most.

I giggled as I wrote the kite scene , it was just so silly and tragically lame!

Gotta admit I'm a bit surprised that none of the other members of the main group have made an appearance. I figured that with Konoka in trouble they'd all come running to her aid.

Some of the old Ala Alba members will be cameo-ing in later chapters, but I really wanted to keep the cast small, as the story is ultimately about Konoka and Setsuna and not about the Ala Alba. Another in-story reason for it is that the Wallwards and the Konoe are being very careful around each other, and the whole situation with the Wards is sort of a symbolic first-collaboration the two families have together. Konoemon had already pushed it by sliding Setsuna (and Mana) into the fray, but too many outsiders would possibly cause the political situation to blow up in their faces.

Even for the possibility of the end of the world, politics come first!

EDIT: .... Bah, okay, I'll say this now because it's seriously bugging me. >>;;;;

I get what you're aiming for with the whole KonoSets angle. I really, really do. But for some reason the execution of it just bugs the ever living hell out of me and makes it hard for me to cheer for their happy ending. I mean, the whole issue is a built up case of miscommunications and secrets and attempts to hide true feelings and fear of confiding in each other. I don't care what kind of hell they go through, that kind of base does not make for a healthy, low lasting relationship. I mean, dammit, Konoka, you bitch; I know Setsuna has a guilt streak a mile wide, but really, do you think you're doing her any favors by hiding something she's starting to figure out on her own? Jesus Christ, I want to reach into the screen and throttle her for that moment.

It's fair that it's bugging you, no problem!

Technically, at this point I'm not actually trying to get Konoka and Setsuna together . I've got 4 "story-arcs" for this story, if you will, and I'm just about to close on the first arc, which is setting up just how screwed up they all are. The emotion I was trying to express here is that both Konoka and Setsuna had given up hope of a "happy ending", and so they're both just trying to get through life the best they can, and despite the angst even actually enjoying life at times . (Which, of course, will bring us into the next arc where the real angst starts ...)

I have to say, personally , that I feel sorrier for Konoka actually...since Setsuna can actually mope around and angst, but Konoka has to show a good face for her new in-law family, for her husband who doesn't deserve to get hated for it and who she actually does like, and ultimately be the one responsible if the Wards crash and screw the world over... I dunno, I suppose that I have a bit more sympathy for Konoka because her behaviour affects many people, while Setsuna only affects herself?