[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 ^^.