Negima FanFiction Discussion

[Finalage]

Nice, although I wonder if Asuna will catch on...or will her famous hot headedness get the better of her? Ahh! Next chapter for me up as well! No, not fifty one, fifty two is up! Yes, I am insane like that! Two chapters, five days! I've been doing things like this for a long while now...you'd think I would get used to it.

Chapter fifty one.

Harsh language apparent!

Chapter Fifty two.

Spoiler:

That which is not real should not be able to feel. It should be a law. A fricken law. Damn. I am nothing but a tool that the world will use, so tell me, why does my heart ache? All emotion comes from the brain, one should right upon their cards that they love one from the bottom of their brain, but the human anatomy clenches muscle in emotional distress, and the most diligent muscle in this area if the heart.

It's just a fricken muscle! Nothing else, but it hurts, aches. Why? Just because of my mother? My idiot father? Is it because of a girl I have come to realize as my aunt so easily losing her innocence and sundering mine, without so much a shred of outward remorse? Or is it the fact that I have come to realize companionship, only to realize I must now give it all away?

Life is...cruel, so many times, it is cruel, to me.

Negi sat, calmly, at the "dining room" table, just hearing himself think. The place was fancy, Rakkan's house... He had never let himself just sit down and see it. The chairs were a fine Mahogany type of wood, solid and strong to fit the table, which was set for about twelve people. The room was well furnished, if a bit spartan. Just right for Rakkan.

In front of him was Chisame's laptop, it was time for him to keep his promise after all and charge it, along with the other electrical devices of hers. It was a nice exercise, doing this; it allowed him to control his magic small scale, for precision more than anything. While he did this however, he took advantage of using the thing. Internet was a disgrace of course, and working through Mahou Net was a pain, but he could manage.

"Negi..."

It was when his mother walked in that "Grand Finale." began playing as loud as possible, and by no coincidence at all. It blared out, starting off violently into its hard guitar, made the woman jump. He didn't want to talk to her, that's basically what he was saying, without any solid words. Calm as you please.

This morning, he had seen Asuna lose to Kago, and Kago promised that tonight, they would begin his training in the code, if by that time he still wanted to learn it...Negi didn't quite understand that comment, but he had a feeling that Asuna had been hiding something from him, something that Kago knew as well, and unlike her, he planned to tell the boy.

"Negi..."

Arika swallowed as the music entered into a false end, a short solo of a piano fading into nothingness. She was about to open her mouth when the music blasted her again, once more making her jump. Loud as hell, and harsh, that's what it sounded like to her, but she recognized the energy behind it.

"Negi..."

She knew, as he was a vampire, that the noise was probably assaulting his ears. Yet she could also see that he was using it as an excuse. He had heard her, but he was ignoring her. Now, after seeing Asuna just...appear...the way she had, and sporting the obvious fact her memories had been shared with Negi...it sparked a fear in her. Many of those memories would be very damaging to her relationship with her son...

"Negi..."

She just needed a confirmation, but as the music entered into a more pronounced Cello (Or violin, she couldn't tell...) theme and less of the hard guitar, her patience with Negi thinned. Her mind was more of a mother than an actually logical person when her mouth opened next, forgetting just how Negi worked.

"Negi Tajaiwar Springfield!"

The boy, needless to say, turned slowly, instantly shifting the volume down a near minimum, but loud enough for both parties to still hear it, while he reset the track. He looked at his mother full on. Tajaiwar hmm?

Tajwar was an Arabic name for crowned king. Yet, Tajai? Closest thing he had heard to that was the Thunder God, meaning, if he was correct, the name meant Crowned Thunder King...some kind of middle name, hmm? So that's what the smudged "T' word on his birth certificate said...his eyes took their time in giving Arika their attention, even if they were trained on her, there was no focus.

"Tajaiwar? Funny how my first elemental affinity was Lightning magic then, hmm? Unless I misinterpret the name...What do you want with my life? Come to drill me on what Asuna told me? Or are you here to "hug" me and tell me it's all a lie? I tell you right now, doing that to a steel rosebush, thorns bared, would be a more comfortable experience at the moment."

He was, as always, too quick for his own good, too smart. Arika paused as once again, the song entered into its false ending phase. She didn't jump when it started again, but she found her heart beat along with the pace of those ever present Cellos. Negi watched her, carefully.

"Listen...I don't know what Asuna showed you, but you have to understand, whatever it was...you know that we love you, right?"

Avoiding the issue, like a true diplomat... and he said so too, plainly, to her face, just as his music reached a new crescendo, a constant thrum of string to back up his words, she was angry, but he let her be. She didn't expect him to see past the stall, or worse, she did, but hoped he would be blind to it, wanting love.

"Negi...please."
"Paused to long there, and you stall. Listen to me; I am no judge of sin. I am not god. I can't know what you have been through; I can only know what I saw. I'm not going to sit here and hate you, or my father, for what you did. You people acted like people always do, for the moment. No one can see the future, not even I can predict it, not for any real purpose, it's a fleeting gift."

It just so happened that Negi had a playlist on that laptop, one that Chisame kept out of plain respect, and the fact his soundtracks weren't all that bad to listen too...as "Grand Finale" faded away, taking with it it's elevated energy, the music brought one down gently, playing another, softer track. Negi stood up slowly, still letting the electricity play from his hands into the machine's ports, slowly, methodically.

"You know, most people now a day, don't listen to the words of a song, Arika. They listen to the beat, the tone. The song can spew blasphemy left and right, but they won't hear it. That is the twenty first century... "

The boy sighed, casting his free hand out to the computer behind him. He shook his head before continuing. He reset and paused the track currently playing.

"That's one of the main reasons I generally stick to soundtracks. I never chose a song without a meaning behind it however. It becomes a game. The last one was called "Grand Finale, or "Postludum"...besides its intense theme, I enjoy it because it does indeed remind me of my grand finale, a grand battle in which I have to lose. A catalyst as I am can only expect that...

Pressing play, he waited a few seconds before the a chorus of strings entered into the play, but he did not waste those few seconds, he spoke, and the music caught up to him.

"This one is called "Finding Beauty" recently brought to life just this year. It is, perhaps, one of my favorites. Do you know why? Listen to it... Hear that? Those instruments sing. They sing, for Christ's sake! F*ck, you have to hear it! The world vibrates goddamnit! The world...!

The impression of waiting, of seeking, of dreaming, is played out in such a clear, powerful way, and right in the middle, when the power comes to bear, do you see...it is only in music can I see. Life is full of so much terror, so much "ugly" that I forget sometimes...its beauty...

I have to find it, chase after it, and yet, every time I come within a hair, it slips away...my dear woman, I have hardened myself. I have become so hard, due to those mistakes you made, due to my own mistakes, that the beauty runs away. It runs from me. You hear me? It runs!"

At this point, Negi swiped at his own face, and Arika was surprised to find they had become teary, actually teary. The boy was actually spilling a piece of his soul, once more, to another, letting the world peek in for a rare sight, the admission that he still was alive, and could still be hurt inside.

"A catalyst, born because his father wanted power, a catalyst, whose own mother, out of sorrow, tried to kill, numerous times! A catalyst who failed to save his own family, regardless of the excuse of being too young to know. One who should not be able to feel, who has killed, stomped and eradicated so much beauty from his own mind, the beauty of innocence!"

She would have interrupted him, but he was pacing now, wildly casting his eyes about looking everywhere, anywhere but at her, all at once and the same time. He was looking for the words to describe what he wanted to say, looking for the means.

"I am that sole figure, that fool! Tell me something, does a screwdriver pine for companionship? Does a saw search for a mate, do pens ache for love? Why does this hurt, why do I even care? I shouldn't, as I am nothing, and nothing can't care if it dies, won't give a damn if something changes…"

He looked at her now, stopping near the table to stand stock still, just staring, unblinking at her. It was creepy. He was switching from one emotion to the next, a tirade of flowing energy, and she couldn't pin him down to anything, not any one mode.

"I am not saying this music exemplifies all of this mind you. I am simply saying what it makes me feel like, and what is on my mind because of it. My life is not mine to control, I am not like you. You may listen to this and think it beautiful, and yes, perhaps it is, but I see deeper into it, and when I apply it to my life, it takes on a whole different level of meanings to me. Not the music's beauty, but the music that life beats out, that is the beauty, and horror, that I am looking at."

She came closer to him, a means of comfort, but Negi backed away, dangerous, unpredictable. His eyes managed to snag the screen of the computer, which confirmed a full battery, and just in time, for he felt that any longer wouldn't allow him to control his flow anymore.

"Don't touch me. I don't need to be told I'm wrong, not again, my life is made up of lies, what's one more, if it even is a lie?"

He swallowed once and his eyes were clear once more. It was as if it had never happened, not as he powered down the computer. His eyes burned as his father chose that time to come in through the same door. He stopped when he felt the sparks fly however. He had been around long enough to know when Negi was dangerous to come in contact with, and this was one of those times.

He stared at Nagi for a few seconds, Negi did, before seeing Rakkan and Eva enter after him. It must be near lunch time, only reason people would be coming in, in such numbers. Was it only time for lunch? Really? He thought it was, hoped it had been, later than that. He sighed as the culprit herself, Asuna, paused behind Eva.

"What's the hold up?"

This had come from Rakkan, and for it, he received a full on blast from Negi's eyes. Not that it had any real effect upon the carefree, "invincible" man. In fact, Rakkan welcomed it. It meant the boy was ready and looking for a fight, and if he wanted one, his elder would only be too happy to oblige. Negi pointed a vicious finger at Arika, although his tone was calm, smooth…dangerously so.

"Oh, there is no hold up at all, just Arika over here trying to interrogate me. Why don't you move out of the way so the people can get through? I'm pretty sure it's time someone went and started to prepare lunch, and I'm certain it isn't my turn."

By now, she was steaming, and she really had no idea why. All she knew is that all of her careful groundwork, the rebuilding of a bridge she had never have let get torn down, had been swept away in one fell swoop by a tsunami named Asuna, putting her at odds once more with her son, and she didn't even know how far the damage went…

"I…I never tried to kill-"
"Of course Arika, of course you never tried to kill me. It was an accident, right? The first time, oh, you were cutting peaches while I was watching and your hand slipped, right? The second time, you were trying to open a package in front of me and, ohhh; you used just a bit too much force, hmm…

Ohh! Let's say the third time you forgot you had me in the bath! The forth, hmm, what should I say? Ahh! You conveniently forgot to lift my head when giving me a second pillow, and it wound up on top of my face instead of under me, oops!

How about the time you almost cut off the arm from my foster mother's body, as she tried to stop you from butchering me, oh sorry, I meant that family turkey. You were using the wrong knife Arika…ohh dear. Ahh, and all those times you screamed at night, at the top of your lungs, to shut me up, or the times you would mar your fridge with words of hate, that wasn't about me…it was a story you where writing, yes? So creative you are!"

She took a step back, accidentally tripping over Nagi's foot and winding up in his arms, pressed against him. That didn't have her attention at all however. No, her ears were the only part of her that was working right now, and they were being shot down. Stunned. How much had she told him about that?

That… that was…all these old demons, dark days, coming back to haunt her, and yet, Negi was never one to leave things half done. Never. Now that he had started, he continued, spilling out all he knew, things hidden in his mind, things Asuna had not even shown him, but hidden there, just for him to see, when he cared to know…

"Ahh, the amount of cursing you pulled off, I see where I got my tongue from! You literally built a plan in your head, no? Since you couldn't kill me, after trying several times, you'd go off and try to find Nagi, leaving me to Nagi's sister, but ahh, that's not the whole story, is it?

Who was it Arika? Who was it that left the note? Who was it that whispered to the darkness that Nagi's son and his wife lived here, hoping, praying that while you lived here, demons, dark foes of Nagi, would rage the village. You figured Nagi would come to save you, no? Ah ha, ah ha! I see your eyes now! You!

While you lived in that village, plagued by rage, you sent those rumors spreading about, hoping that, if attacked, Nagi would come! Yet you grew impatient when nothing happened, and you up and left the village you had doomed! You left me there too, to die with them all! You…you killed them, all of them!"

His voice had finally broken from that whisper into a strangled yell as he blurted out what seemed to be blasphemy. Nagi took a step forward, and so too did Rakkan, but Nagi was quicker, appearing right next to Negi, his knee coming up to hit him in the gut, but Negi was too quick for him. He teleported to his back and grabbed his left foot, literally lifting him off his feet and tossing him to slam against a wall, hard.

"You too, yah sick b*stard! I know who actually f*cked my mother, you piece of…oh don't even let me start! You…I don't even know what to call you, you're just a dude whose DNA is a part of me, but you ain't my father. Shit, I don't even know if I can be qualified to say I have one. I'm made up of human DNA and magic; I'm a fricken test tube monster!

Not only that, but would you love me to tell your friends just how you got all that power of yours? Would you like to see their faces as they discover how weak you are, why my pain spell affected you so much, just how hard they worked compared to you? No? I thought not. You're silent now, aren't you?"

Indeed, Nagi had slipped from the wall unto on knee, and he was gritting his teeth. He didn't say a word, knowing full well what the boy was referring too. He swallowed, painfully. Demons, old demons, brought to bear, just like a criminal who, twenty years after committing a murder, is caught and brought to trial, the evidence final, the judgment passed. It matters not how old the crime, not to the law. You still must pay, and pay in full you will. Still, Negi's voice calmed as he brought back his control. He took a deep breath before, seeing Chisame, shoved her laptop in her arms, perhaps a bit more carefully than he wanted too.

"You...I don't even have a curse word severe enough to describe what I feel right now, the word Negi should become the newest and more offensive swear in the world, for it would describe all the shit and hate in my whole, damn, short, life. Yet, I don't blame you, I've cleansed my soul, in this very room, and I'll leave you all to clean your own. I've said it once; I'll say it again...

No one can ultimately predict the future, and even divination is simply a guide, a warning, of what can and could happen. I blame no one for the result of their actions here, for they could not have known, and I would hope that, when they made the decisions that brought forth the effects I see, they were choosing the best option available to them at the time, and thus the cause matches the effect justly…good day."

Spinning on his heel, Negi left the room, taking with him nothing; leaving behind him in his wake a train wreck of emotion, past demons, shattered faith and, finally, truth. Nagi stood full up, brushing himself off and walking to Arika, who was shaking.

She spun around to find Asuna, whom she knew had come up behind her, but, Alas, her sister had vanished, gone at the same time Negi had spun, hiding a secret, knowing smile. Arika could hear peals of untamed laughter somewhere down the hall, but Nagi held her tight, and she quite suddenly found that her body had been stripped of the energy to give chase. So this was revenge then, hmm? How far will you go...Asuna?

"Uhh…whose turn it is to cook? I'm getting kinda hungry here."

How…the…hell…could Rakkan still be thinking about food? Didn't he see, anything of what just happened?

"Revenge, after all, is a dish best served cold...ice cold, straight from the fridge. When it's ready, you put on your suit, Sunday best, and pop that sucker outta the fridge...enjoy..."

+-1-+

"Alma. Please. I am not your master."
"I am sorry, Master."
"Damnit Alma, I'm not worth being anyone's f*cking master!"

Negi grasped his head, pushing back his hair as Alma, slightly sheepish, simply repeated the line. You would think, that after so long, either Alma would crack or Negi would learn, but neither would happen it seemed. Negi looked up at the late midday sky. Taking a deep breath of the air, he marveled at the fact it was all illusion. Just like him.

Life can be so cruel, and beautiful, all at once, but for one like me, I don't deserve the wonder it grants mine eyes, day by precious day. We see such wonder every which way, but we let it slip by, leaves upon the wind of flowing times... Life's stress robs us blind, drives us mad, takes our love and dashes it like sand...the hell am I doing? Poetry? F*cking insane, that's what I am. Insane. I can't look at a flipping sunset without breaking out the melodrama and singing the sad song.

Oh, it didn't matter what one told him, he was fully well convinced now that he didn't meet the requirements to be called a real boy. He was Pinocchio, minus the happy ending. A puppet to be controlled, used, and then, when finally broken, discarded to the winds, burnt, ashes the only grace that remains. Licking his lips to rid them of that annoying dry feeling, he looked sidelong at Alma. She saw herself as a tool too. Only problem was that she was wrong. She was a human and a real, solid person at that...

"Alma. Do you see yourself as a tool? You do, don't you?"

She said nothing, but her eyes, the same color of his own, were trained on him. She was listening. He indicated the area next to him on the balcony he stood upon, looking over the low railing. She joined him quickly, obediently, but his hand slowed her motion. It wasn't an order, his eyes claimed, it was a request. Everything he told her was a request. He had long laid that rule. She did not have to obey, and he made a point of claiming he would like her to refuse some of his "commands".

She refused to listen to that one, which kind of exasperated him, but at the same time made him smile. You see, she was already disobeying orders, even if the order was for her to behave normally. Each time she called him master, she disobeyed an order too, which confused her, and for about a week, she had not said anything at all, afraid of disobeying orders and conflicting traditional training.

"You should not think of yourself that way... You are a person, with your own ideals, dreams, hopes, life. No matter how long the life, or how much you feel the need to be under another, you are your own individual. I am no one's master Alma. I am a teacher, and a tool. A true tool. You are human but I am...I suppose you could call me a doll. I am just like that wand Anya has. My only purpose is to direct and store magic. I create it too. Just an engine, with a bomb attached. I can only get hot enough to blow up, you know?"

She didn't quite understand his point, so she stayed silent, but she knew, from magical study, what a catalyst was. It was a terrible diagnosis to say the least. Short, painful lives, full of sickness or drama, until they died from disease or killed themselves. In that quite sudden moment, she was afraid. This master...was very different from the others, besides the want for her not to call him master.

"I asked you this once before, but I want you to really think about the answer this time. What do you want to do with your life? Where do you want to be?"
"I…do not know."
"That is the perfect answer."

Confused, she looked at him, to see his bangs fly back in a gust of wind. His face was completely free of guile, and he seemed genuinely happy with her answer, although she had no idea why. He told her though, and she was surprised with his response.

"It means you are thinking, and that you truly know you can't see into the future. You aren't resigned to your "fate" in life, you have no sure destiny. Your path is thus yours to choose. Not knowing where you will end up is the first step to admitting that you know nothing about where you are going after all, and… that you are free to go wherever life might take you."

He had a spark, a personality, a way with his words. He was a powerful mage, a being with a clever wit and an agile mind. Tactician and solider all in one, with the heart to teach and the strength to lead. She had heard a saying, a while ago, that reflected him, that good men always seemed to be the first to die…

"I…"
"You don't need to think. With what you just said, you admitted what you already knew, deep inside, that you are the slave of no one. I was never your master, but you chose to call me that out of your own free will. The very fact you disobeyed the order not to call me it means that."

What? No! Yet it was true. She did disobey many direct commands, but she had considered them conflicting with her training, and had thus ignored him, no she followed all of her proper training, if her master was unconventional, some conflicts would be obvious, but she had to let those go and focus on her code, her job, and that meant disobeying some orders...right?

"W-what..but...wait…master…no…"
"No what? I never said you were part of my employ, so nothing changes. I release you from your services, if that's what you want me to say, but you never were bound to me, not in truth, and you know that. It's your choice to do what you wish now."
"M-master?"

Including calling him master, including following him around all the time, including all of it, she could still do, but it would be her choice. It had always been her choice. Now he showed her, her simple stubbornness to stick to tradition had blinded her to the very fact that she wasn't following orders, wasn't following the tradition.

Slaves don't have to call their master "Master"; it was a preference after all... Slaves did not have to follow their master all over the place either… that too, was a preference. Slaves had to, however, follow every order, every command, not the ones that they thought were appropriate. If she had been in any traditional community, she would have been hanged for her impertinence.

She stuck to him because she found that, after years of having one, and being starved of that security from her ordeal, she needed that security, unconsciously, again. She had needed to have a master to follow around, and who she could follow, so she didn't have to think, about the past, about anything.

Again, he had proved himself above normal, breaking through her and shafting light. For once, perhaps the first time in years, decades maybe, she hesitantly allowed herself to smile, just before it broke into a full one, which probably had never seen the light of day itself, in centuries... Negi nodded his approval.

"There. That is better. Now you look proper, and now, you can do what you wish."
"I still wish to call you master then."

Negi looked at her, and she let loose another full smile. Damn, look how much that face can change with just a smile on it. He shook his head. Looks like he still managed to lose, didn't he? At first, he had been a bit pissed when she said it, but the smile shook his peeved face away. Damn her and her impertinence, he still couldn't get rid of it, could he?

Ahh what the hell, you can't win them all.
"…Damn. Alright, you win, just don't f*cking over do it, will yah?"

Negi turned back around to look at the sunset, while Alma, allowing her smile to fade slowly, took up her place next to him. Just a little behind, slightly off to the side, a bit below his standing. Perfect. The way the sun looked now, fading down to kiss the last of the horizon goodbye, reminded her of a dandelion, and that, in turn, reminded her of how much she used to love flowers, nature...life. A sad little twitch of the lips, but she had fulfilled her smile quota for the century, thank you, she kept firm.

"Master?"
"Yes Alma?"
"Are there people who just take care of nature, animals, trees...are there people like that here? Once, long ago, there was nothing but farmers, but I loved to see the wild things grow...is it all gone now?"
"No Alma. There are plenty of people who look after nature, and those who cherish it, love to let the wild things grow as they please. I should show you one day, if I ever find the time, if I ever survive."
"...Thank you Master."

As the sun finally gave up its grasp upon the final strip of horizon, and Negi heard quiet, calm footsteps approach, brought about by the swish of a robe, Negi turned to look at Alma, full on and nodded his head. He was ready. His mind was set, and his heart was open, at peace if not pure, it could never be pure anymore, after all.

"You are welcome Alma..."

+-2-+

"It is not necessary to be human to learn the code, but to wield the key and control such an ancient spell such as the one that makes this world, in order to wield the code well enough to find the grand master key...one must be a human Negi Springfield. Your aunt tried to steal a cross from your room, I assume she knew about it before, and perhaps wanted to force my hand, have me teach you before you could be offered your choice...but I have spent years reading eyes to see desire and motivation Negi...it's how I know one is genuine in their faith, or trying to play a farce...

They all sat, Eva, Asuna, Arika, Nagi and Rakkan, quietly. It was a sun room, but now, in the night, the sparse light from a fireplace cast an eerie glow all around. Negi stood, facing Kago, who, form his long dark robes, pulled out a cross Negi was familiar with. The Immortal Rosary. So, Asuna had tried to steal it huh? All at once, his mind jumped forward, formulating reasons, ideas, motive, but Kago stopped thought, simply with his voice.

I caught her with this, and now I know why she puts so much urgency upon teaching you the code. You are a vampire, but with this...with this, you could become a human, can't you? Of course, using it in such a way, in inexperienced hands, would cause it to shatter, and by inexperienced, I mean earthly. I might have, perhaps, been able to use it twice before such an effect, but now? I have no purity in my soul, never had and never will, I only believed I did before. So I present you with the choice, Negi...

It was obvious now, what he was going to say. The answer was the hard part though. What was Negi to say? In all ways, however one looked at it, it was a lose-lose situation. Did he want to just let this world collapse, in all of its importance? Regardless of being fake, it would be an incredible blow to the entire society of mages, not to mention those unaware of their predicament, snuffed out like candles in the high wind.

Will you risk all to save this world? Will you chose to be a human, slowing your reflexes and mind, weakening your body...degrading you potential lifespan...so that you can fully control the code? Knowing full well you might die on this quest, knowing full well that your chances of doing so are somewhere in the ninety nine percent range? Or will you choose to live what remaining joy and peace you have in your life, forgetting all about this...?"

He had to give it all up now, didn't he? That is what Kago was telling him now. He held the item high, an item he had ripped from Asuna's hands. Where she had found it, only God knows, but Kago knew it belonged to Negi, and he knew that the boy could not hold it, no longer could he hold something like this, no vampire could, or should, be able to hold it at least. Kago had paused to look at Eva when he claimed "degrading your lifespan."

Negi knew what he had meant with that look...

The priest held it still, by what power, Negi didn't know, for it had glowed brightly upon his touch in that dark cave, that hell hole, he had found it in. Now it was plain, quiet, a shining piece of what seemed to be white silver, adorned with designs and simple, large gems. Asuna was the one who did not look happy now, for the boy had blurted out the secret now, of all times, when he was most uncertain, when the boy was most likely to want peace, solidity.

"My choice huh?"
"Yes. No one else's. yours. No one can blame you either way."

It was a time like this, as Kago well knew, that Negi would want to abort the project the most. A time like this, amongst all the pain, that he would want to just forget it all and run away. Here and now, Kago knew that Negi would not be forced into doing anything. Asuna had planned to train him, to wait while Negi discovered the power the code could give, hiding certain lessons, certain words, until she was sure he wanted more, and then tell him, when he was most likely to want, to say yes...was Kago tactless?

No, not tactless, he was stupidly trying to prove some kind of honor. The world needed a savior, and by god, Negi was the only one truly fit for the job. Kago the immortal fool, stealing Rakkan's title for idiocy in one smooth blow, was giving Negi a choice instead of a commandment. At the time when his answer was seventy five percent of more likely to be the one Asuna did not want to hear.

Negi however, smiled, seeing her face. The boy was sharper than any knife, and he saw through this all. The face she had stolen the rosary, trying to force Kago to go her way, only to get caught by Kago himself, was the best possible scenario or this, he swore. Irony is a b*tch, they do say, or if not, they should. Yet, his smile faded. He was faced with a choice here.

He looked to Eva, seeing her face stock still, stone. She wasn't going to say or do anything to encourage or discourage his decision, yet Negi knew, having become a true meter for her emotions, just how much control that took, and how much turmoil was going through her right now. Just how much restraint. Irony really was a b*tch.

Sending him in there as a human was the only way he could wrestle that Master Key from Fate and destroy him. It was the only way he could use all that magic to find the Grand Master Key and rework the world, completely breaking it apart to rebuild it from scratch, and yet, sending him in there as a human was suicide.

True and utter suicide. Damn. His heart, for whatever it was worth, beat like hell. It wanted out, that was how hard it was beating. It wanted to beat right out of him and go splat on the floor, and for what kind of life it was seeing, who could blame the muscle? Negi took in a breath, painfully, for there was a tension in his chest, not from nerves, he just ached.

This should be easy, just forget about it all, you've been through enough, seen enough, just blow them all off and walk away. It's easy. Why am I making it difficult for myself? There is no way I can win. None. If I give up, I can go back to peace, this world isn't my responsibility, I can just leave it to let it rot, it won't disintegrate for probably decades anyway...and Fate can't do jack without the Grand Master Key...

Yet, even with this assurance of knowledge from what Asuna had gave him, he was hesitant. He had to do it, not because no one else would, not because he knew Fate would destroy this world and the next if he didn't stop him, but because...he had promised. He had promised Eva among all the others, that he would do it. Forget about telling Asuna, he didn't care about that. He kept promises.

To those of whom great power is given...

He wanted to do it. He shot forth, faster than Kago had even seen him do, faster than he could react, and grabbed the cross, screaming unbidden as it touched his skin, burning, blistering, seeming to melt away his hand as he held it high, clasping the other over the searing object, calling forth magic, quickly, eagerly, light consuming him, and all the vision of those present.

...so too, is a great responsibility.

Light. It faded away slowly, alighting upon the smile Asuna had on her face. Maybe the priest wasn't such a dolt after all. Give him a choice and not only does the boy praise you for not forcing him into anything, he still chooses the option you wanted him too anyway. Perhaps he's as sly as she was...maybe more. Who knew? Maybe holy men were slippery b*stards too...

Upon the floor, Negi lay, face down, and Eva knew, even if his look had not changed one bit, that he was no longer one of her own. In his hands, the cross shattered, just as she was certain his own heart had… and perhaps hers too, she hadn't known it was still there. His eyes, still open, said it all. Life well and truly...sucked b*lls. Yet, time robbed him of his mind, as he fell into a dreamless sleep, out like a light.

+-E-+

Gah ha ha...well, I have my work to do, speaking of which I ran into an interesting review, after wistfully wondering where my reviewers had gone, it made me wonder...does anyone else agree with this? This was given on chapter fifty one.

Spoiler for Review:

I think a reason you might not be getting to many reviews is that the story is too 'balanced.' I mean no part of your chapters sticks out. No one part is any worse than the others, just as no one part is any better than the others. I believe the expression 'When everything becomes extreme, nothing is extreme anymore' applies to this fic.

Your writing has become too developed for most criticisms to leave any major impact. At this point criticizing would be akin to preaching to the choir.

That is not to say that is a bad thing. I enjoy reading such a work written on a level I can't even dream of achieving. I look forward to your next chapter

[Kurush]

I don't really know about that. I mean, sure, your writing is a little complicated for me at least to read, and I'm not sure I could stomach Negi being bitter against his dad, either. But you make a good job, at least. But this latest entry, where he rages against his own Mom, makes me want to stay away. Just my honest opinion.

Now, this would be the last part of the Negi vs. Aris fight and go into another part of the chapter.

Spoiler for Pt. 4:

If anything, this fight was surely the toughest one Negi and co had ever done. Not even Fate matched up to this one. Aris had prepped himself up real good for this battle and he knew what to do. Granted, Alicia was there to help Negi's side, but it was no walk in the park, either.

Aristodemus' armor protected him nearly all too well for them to make any real damage, and he knew how to counter their attacks with his own moves. He had troubles himself, as the attacks that the kids did land on him was enough to disrupt him and bash him away, if only for a brief moment.

Kotarou was the most aggressive of the four, going ferociously on the Spartan with fists, kicks, even claws and his Inugami dogs to keep the elder fighter distracted. However, Aris had fought Inugami and demon summoners before, and his Chi blasts, concentrated and accurate, kept most wolf spirits at bay and the hanyou in check from dominating the battlefield.

Asuna in almost sheer contrast, went straight at the Spartan with her great blade, not swinging it wildly for once. She kept herself in check for once and used every chance she got to just hit the old man with her fists and knee strikes, alongside Kotarou. If it wasn't for the other two combatants there as well, the Spartan would have taken them both out in one go.

Speaking of which, the little girl in the big (Very big, actually) suit of armor was the worst, both physically, and mentally. Alicia was his daughter, even though not biologically, he had in the short time they had been together, come to see her as his daughter, even though she was helping beating the crap out of him. What's more, the armor she had was very expensive, not to mention unique, and he didn't really want to break it. Best thing he could do was just throw it away from him, only to have her return it to him, not in a friendly manner. Lochaber didn't help things either, taunting the old man with that Scottish accent of his. “That be tha wurst toss ah've evah seen! Ye couldnae hit tha broadside of a barn if ye wanted to!”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, you bloody talking axe!!” Aris shouted back at him. “I should have emptied your grammar store when I had the chance!”

Finally, Negi was very adamant. Being a slippery one and fast as well, the young mage gave Aris more trouble than he wanted, using his own martial skills to tremendous effect. Most likely based that Aris could follow him anywhere, so he decided to just keep going forward against the Spartan, eventually trying to find a weak spot. He's found plenty and used most of them, since he desperately needed them against this opponent.

“Okay, go away now.” Aris said shortly after a long moment of battle and fast before he slammed them all away with pure Chi energy, sending them flying a good distance away from him, as the blizzard raged on now, going in full force. “Whew, that bought me some time. Not that the blizzard is going to hold them for long...”

“Argh! Nothing works on him!” Kotarou complained, getting alongside the others.

“Actually, we done lots of damage ta him. 'tis just that armah ov his that takes most ov it.” Lochaber argued, and he made sense. If only he could drop the accent, then things would be easier. “We need a way ta hurt tha armah massivahli, then keep it sappressed undah hevvy barrage and go in cloos on 'im.”

“So...” Asuna tried to decipher what Lochaber had said just then. “We need to make one big blast on him first, then just keep shooting at him whilst going in melee with him at the same time?”

“Right.” Alicia said, through the helmet's visor, at any rate, it sounded coarse and not like the sweet voice she usually has. “I can use the suit to provide the suppressive fire on him, but we still need a powerful shot.”

“Then change into suppressive fire mode while we got this window at least!” Kotarou shouted over the blizzard. “Negi, think you could throw a spell at him to make a dent?”

“Afraid not.” Negi replied to him. “We might something with more kick to it and goes a lot faster than my chanting.” At that, Alicia's armor went off. The huge left arm remodeled, or transformed more like, into a great version of an energy firing gatling gun, whilst two smaller guns with oddly formed barrels emerged on the top of the armor right above her helmet. The helmet itself, opened up sideways to reveal the little blond girl with several hologramatic screens going up in front of her, as well as a minor one going right in front of her right eye for aiming. “...for once, I find something like that extremely cool...” The young mage said, seeing the newly transformed armor redirecting its guns towards the Spartan.

“I think I'm gonna have to agree.” Kotarou said, staring at the big guns. Not that he was a gun nut, but because the armor was able to bring them out. The blizzard ended just then for them to see the Spartan and their opponent's widened eyes as he saw the guns that Alicia had brought out.

Somewhere else, Mana had set herself up with providing actual cover fire for the team of children. “This one's for free, Negi-sensei. Any more rounds and I'll charge you.” She had armed herself with a massive railgun, a rifle that used magnetic rails to send small iron projectiles into massive speeds against their targets. In effect, it's a tankbuster weapon. “Bang.” She whispered to herself before firing the weapon.

At seven times the speed of sound, the others didn't realize that Aris had been shot until they saw him fly backwards by the blast, along with a hole on the left shoulder, quite a biggie. The little blond girl in the suit of armor didn't hesitate, but with a reluctant look on her face, fired upon her dad, not wishing to hold back.

“Now's our chance!” Asuna cried over the gunfire. “Kotarou, take the left flank, I'll take the right! Negi, you stay back and prepare something!” With that, she went straight for the right side of the gunfire against the Spartan, whilst Kotarou rushed to the left without even getting a chance for discussion.

Negi stayed reluctantly behind, and prepared one spell which would take time, but got that bit covered by the teamwork of his comrades. “...Rastel Maskil Magister To Sumbolaion diakoneto moi...”

Meanwhile, Aris did have loads of trouble fending off attacks from three different directions. One side, fine. Two sides, may be a bit tricky. But three sides at once? Now that is very difficult to pull off on the defensive side. Kotarou kept charging Inugami at him, since he had a whole lot more control over them since Ostia, and Asuna acted with heavy bombardment of her Kankahou empowerment not to mention going in close on occasion against him with her greatsword to get a good aim too on where to shoot. If that didn't make things bad already, Alicia was employing the suit's entire firepower on him on the front.

Negi wasn't anywhere to be seen. Odd, since he was the initial starter of this battle. He was most likely behind Alicia, but he couldn't move to investigate. Not while under fire, that is, and Kotarou and Asuna weren't making things easier for him as well.

“The red-hedded runt 'as finished 'is incan-inca-inc, 'is spell singing! Gat in cloose ta him and keep 'im busy!” Lochaber's voice was heard in Asuna and Kotarou's vicinity, somehow, and without registering, they went in close. Alicia decided to follow suit, transforming her left arm cannon back into its normal hand shape.

“Yes!” Aris cried that out pleasingly, as his opponents went in for the kill on him. “Mistake!” He responded to Kotarou first, knocking him downward to the ground, before turning on Asuna. The redhead skipped her blade and went with her regained Muay Thai skills, only he countered her with similar moves along with a vicious throw down on the wolf boy. “Good initial attack, but your mistake was to get in close on me, kids.”

“You might want to look for another attack.” Asuna smirked at him, even though Kotarou had his face down her bosom.

“Eh?” Aris said, confused before looking up. The first thing he saw was a giant Terminator armor with Alicia as the head, charging straight at him with Lochaber in hand. “Oh.” On pure reaction, as Alicia was swinging her giant fist, he blocked and deflected it with his right hand, then used his other to take hold of the mid-section of her suit, and with his right hand taking hold on her shoulder, lifted the giant armor clear off the ground. “Nice try.” He said, before he noticed that his daughter was not surprised, but maintained a sturdy look on her cute face. Thump-thump. Huh? This is time in between heartbeats... Aris thought instantaneously whilst he was holding Alicia's armor up and the second heartbeat had yet to come. She's maintaining a strong face? Wait... she was prepared for this. This attack was only a diversion! But if they planned for this, then that means Negi's right- Thump-thump “Fu-”

The Spartan couldn't finish that, because of the massive spear that penetrated his cuirass and sent him flying rapidly against the mountain wall. This is the Spear of the Lightning God, the Titan Slayer! Aris thought as he felt the great lightning weapon through the armor and into his own body, causing him to cough up blood. I should have seen this one coming! He had little time to think further before slamming into the rock, the spear sticking him into it, and his helmet came loose and flew off high into the air.

“Alicia, Now!” Negi cried out, as the armor landed on both feet safely on the ground next to him. Alicia didn't answer, but fired off instead the two railguns above her head to a position above the Spartan, near the top of the big cliff.

“...uh oh.” Aris could only exclaim as the rock slide came tumbling down upon him, crushing him alive underneath the massive rubble, sword and all.

All the children could do was to pant and catch their breath while the helmet bounced off the pile of rocks and sliding down to their feet. “...We...” Kotarou said, as Negi's Thunder God form was starting to turn down, back into his normal form. “...we did it.”

“Yay.” Asuna managed to get out. That fight exhausted them all. “Now, we can, convince him... to say no.” She panted heavily.

Negi didn't feel so comforted. But he was at least glad that was over. The platform with the spectators had mixed reactions. Konoka and Luna were cheering and hugging each other in joy, Yue let out a relieved breath she didn't know she held, Kenichi and Ukita had dropped their jaws in surprise. Ashracai merely nodded at their success, whilst Fate merely huffed.

It didn't take long before the rubble began to move on the top. Negi was the only one standing, save Alicia in her armor. Lochaber didn't count, because he was held. Asuna and Kotarou were still on the ground, the former had rolled off the latter when she realized what position they were in after the fight, so they were a bit slow to get up. Only... they didn't need to. Aris came crawling out on the top, all bruised and covered in dust. He didn't seem to be in the mood to fight either, just crawled on the rocks to get to even ground. He must have broken something, because he slipped with one hand and that led to that he fell down the rock rubble, his silver blade accompanying him down to the ground.

The very bruised and damaged Spartan managed to at least get into a sitting position, to look at the young mage with exhausted eyes. “...Why?” He asked softly, catching them off-guard. “...Why go this far... for just one...student?”

“Wha... What do you mean 'Why' now!?” Asuna exclaimed, very angry. “We told you that this is about a highly special student and friend! What more reason is there?!”

“Asuna, he wasn't talking to you.” Negi cut her off softly. “He's talking to me.”

“There is never enough reason for something like this.” Aris informed them. “And no teacher, regardless of level, would go as far as this for one student, as it violates teachers' requirement of education equality...” He paused to give a few coughs. “...Even for a friend, no one would risk such high levels of insubordination.”

“Even so...” Negi tried to explain his situation. “You know that I would do anything for my students. Nodoka-san is both friend and student.”

“And that's violating the equality for education.” Aris interrupted the young mage. “You want to do a great job being a teacher, but right now, you're just being selfish, as you were with finding your dad. Do you think she would have preferred to see you like this?”

“Wha-” Negi could only get out of his mouth, before getting a sudden but slight pain in his chest. “What do you mean?”

“I'm saying, Negi...” Aris tried to get up, but in vain because of the pain load he had received. “...that I doubt that while she would appreciate it personally, Miyazaki would scold you for going this far for her. Why are you even doing this, even if you know it is wrong, even if you realize what amount of trouble you would be in with other people?” he asked of the young mage.

“...Because...” Negi tried to find the right words but couldn't bring them out. “Because- Because-” Then the pain grew stronger in him. “Be-Aaaargh!”

“Negi?!” Asuna and Kotarou exclaimed, seeing the young teacher get down on one knee and clutch his chest in agony.

“Negi?” Aris tried to step forward, but his own pain made him fall down. “What's going on?”

“Negi-san?” Alicia stepped forward to put her hand on Negi, but as she did so, the young mage spun around faster than she could see him, and gave a vicious if not ferocious punch against her armor's torso, sending her high into the air and then crashing down against the ground. Those on the platform, were stunned and looked highly confused as to what was happening.

“What the!?” Kotarou exclaimed, but a look at Negi, changed everything. He looked the same as to when his Magia Erebea went into berserk, only much more dangerous and corrupted, in a way of putting it. His Gospel of Darkness had emerged out of nowhere, and it didn't look like it was gonna go away soon. “Oh, boy.”

“...What is that?” Asuna could only get out of herself.

“...This is so not good.” Aristodemus said, not smirking nor smiling to himself, as demonic presences was always difficult to handle, as his old Paladin experience with the church had taught him that the hard way. Upon hearing the Spartan's voice, the possessed Negi turned around to view him as a first target. “Crap.”

123454321

“No, you don't.” One scolded the other for trying to sneak off, willing to investigate the explosions in the distance. The two had been in a cave all along once a blizzard had kicked in. “You are not leaving this cave, until you've mastered that last one.”

“But, sensei--” The other one, roughly smaller and more slim tried to reason with her.

“It's Master, young birdie.” The taller one cut her off.

“Master,” The smaller reluctantly repeated. “Those blastwaves have only been increasing since the blizzard came upon us. Don't you think it is worth looking into?”

“I do.” The Master replied. “But I want you to be able to change at least your own hair color before we go out there to check what's going on. Now one last try and focus on this one, lest I go all over you again.”

“Yes... Master.” the disciple replied bitterly and sat down again toward the fire. The last time she was insubordinate, she had been forced down onto her own bedroll, stripped bare of clothes and then molested and licked by the Master. Not raped or anything, but close to it. So it was something she didn't want to experience.

“That's it...” Her master said, as the disciple breathed slowly, as her hair began to somehow take life of its own and take several colors it didn't originally have. “...Good. You're keeping an open mind on what to have... keep going... Now... give in t-”

KABOOOOOM! That last explosion occurred right outside their cave, throwing both of them off-balance.
“Changeofplanswe'regoingouttheretoinvestigatetheex plosionsrightnowwhatsayyouSetsuna?!” Rachel screamed after the boom had laid off, the older of the two by unknown years having been completely upside down by the explosion, whilst Setsuna, who was the disciple in the cave.

“Right.” Setsuna said and took out at least her pactio card she had with Konoka and the two left the cave to find out what was going on. What they stumbled upon was complete chaos. If one said that a battlefield was more of a massacre, but the defendants were capable of staying alive, then this was it. Something dark was going ferociously on Asuna, Kotarou, the Spartan and Alicia in her armor, the named ones having mixed difficulty handling themselves, and protecting each other from the dark thing. “Wha- What's happening?!” Setsuna exclaimed seeing it all happen beneath them.

“Forget asking!” Rachel proclaimed immediately. “We gotta get in there and pull their asses out of there!”

“Wait!” Setsuna stopped her, to take a look at the sinister form attacking them. She gasped loudly when she saw who it was. “That's Negi-sensei! His Dark Magic must have taken over!”

“Wait, that's Negi-chan!?” Rachel asked, taking another look. “...Fuck, this is gonna be harder than I thought, if it's him.”

“Erm... shall we?” Setsuna asked gently whilst summoning forth her blade that Konoka gave her upon their Pactio forming.

“Yeah... Let's before this party becomes worse than it is.” The shapechanger drew her own Falx blade and jumped first into the fray.

123454321

“What the hell is that?!” Kenichi burst out of himself, seeing Negi's terrifying form.

“Um, well-!” Konoka tried to explain, but words failed her.

“That would be his Magia Erebea.” Fate said shortly. “Dark Magic.”

“Dark magic?!” Ukita exclaimed, shocked fully.

“It's a bit of a- Hey, what gives!?” Kazumi, who had stayed quiet mostly, felt a rough hand grasp her shoulder.

“Hey!” Konoka said, getting one as well.

“Ow!” Luna said shortly, being grasped as well.

Fate felt one take his own arm. “I thought I said-” He was cut short by seeing the Gith Archmage having grasped all four of them with each of his arms, since apparently, he had four arms at the time, and his eyes were glowing bright blue.

“The Githyanki got four arms!?” Both martial artists shouted, seeing that sight as well as everyone else. “We're screwed.”

“Silence.” Ashracai demanded of them. “I'm finding out about this Magia Erebea right now. “Do not interrupt me.” He instructed them shortly, while Negi was going on a rampage, and then they saw Rachel and Setsuna intervene the possessed mage in his attacks, to hold him off until at least Alicia got away from him. “...So that is how it is.” Ashracai said quietly.

“Eh?” Konoka said. “That fast for you to find out?” She asked while the Archmage removed a belt from underneath his cloak and picked a few small things out of a backpocket. Then she felt two of the four arms that Ashracai had at the moment, the next thing she knew was that they had jumped off the platform. All she could do was scream loudly in fear.

“Why are we falling off!? Why are we falling off!?” Kenichi's voice was heard next to her, and the healer noticed the martial artist being held by the Gith as well. Then, a loud thump and crack with an abrupt stop.

“Time is of the essence right now.” Ashracai said putting them down. “You two stay here. Konoka, I need you to hold on to this.” Without letting her have a say, he had hung a beautiful necklace around her neck, a large ruby linked in a platinum chain. “If you wear that, everything should be fine. Also have this.” He handed her a card that featured some sort of dismounted knight with a greatsword in hand. “It's a Servant card. If you use it, then you'll summon a magic Servant to come to your side and follow your instructions.” Then he turned to Kenichi. “Shirahama Kenichi, was it? I want you to protect Konoka at all costs. I'll give you this to aid.” He handed the young man a Servant card as well, this one featuring a bowman with a mask, rendering its identity unknown.

“Wait.” Konoka said, getting the Archmage's attention. “How do I summon the Servant? And what will it do?”

“The Servant will aid me in the task I intend to do. It'll know what to do. All it needs are your orders, or permission to do so alongside me.” He instructed her. “To summon the Servant, you just need to say its Title.”

“Not that I know what the title is...” Konoka tried to explain her situation to him.

“...Saber.” He said shortly. Konoka repeated the Title to the card and that worked. The card split into two energy forces, one of those going into her arm to form elaborate tattoos on it, the other took shape in front of her. It turned into a kneeling knight, clad in really archaic armor, chain-mail beneath strong bronze colored scales of some giant beast the knight had probably slain in the past. Along with a short encompassing white mantle, the knight had no helmet, revealing... her to be a Githyanki as well. She had long black hair tied into a horsetail and she had more features that made her seem more... human looking than what Ashracai looked like.

“Once again, I have been summoned.” The named Saber spoke softly. “I have rested a long while and come forth yet again to-” She stopped when she looked up to view a frightened Konoka in front of her. Saber rose up fast to take a better look. She was considerately much taller than the healer. “You aren't my usual Master.”

“A-hem.” Ashracai interrupted that awkward moment between the two. “Little time to explain, Saber. But we need to save somebody.”

“Who?” Saber asked and the mage pointed to the great battle where Negi was holding off against the others, minus a fleeing Alicia with Lochaber. “I see...” She said, grasping the situation. “And you gave me to another because...?”

Ashracai pointed to the necklace around Konoka's neck. “That is why. We've done this before, Saber. We're going to do it once more.”

“What? Do what?” Kenichi tried to be in the loop.

“Long story, no time.” The Archmage told him. “Cut short, we're going to stop Negi.” He said later.

“And how are you going to do that?” Kenichi asked of them this time.

“Everything will be revealed in due time.” Ashracai explained. “In due time. Whilst Saber understands what we're about to do, I'm afraid that Konoe Konoka, does not. Even with her own partner out there fighting Negi, or whatever it is taking hold of him, it is not enough. My method will work, and Saber will be the one to execute it along with me, but we do need Konoka's permission to do it in the first place.”

“So... you want me to give you permission to aid this situation?” Konoka asked them, bringing out her smart side again.

“We won't lie.” Saber started off. “What we would do will seem horrifying to you at first, and cause major confusion to you. For us to do this without any complication, we need this out of the way. Besides, you are my Master at the moment, Lady. What is your order for me in this battle?”

The healer didn't think of any at first, but a glance back at the battle where Negi was holding off Rachel and Setsuna, whilst Asuna had to carry a wounded Kotarou back, and Alicia had put her dad on her back to fall back as well, She reached a conclusive one for Saber. “...Please. I... I want you to save Negi-kun. He doesn't know that he's out of control, he can't get a grip of this... So,” She paused to stop a few tears that had come out and took a deep breath. “My orders are this: Whatever you plan to do, you must save Negi-kun. I don't think I could settle for less.”

“...Understood, Master.” Saber said, turning then to the Archmage and nodded. “Give me the weapon needed for this.” She asked of him.

“Finally, now we can set thought into action.” He replied and pulled a great two-bladed sword, two long blades sharing the same handle, each on its own end. The first blade was glowing brightly white like the sun, warm and gentle, and the other was its direct counterpart, pitch-black and held a near scary and cold atmosphere to it. “This is what we'll be using.”

“I see...” Saber responded, before noticing Konoka's distress. “Have no fear, Master.” She calmed her whilst grasping the weapon. “No matter how many times I would stab him, Negi-kun would never die from this blade.”

Spoiler for Notes:

- I needed some reason for Negi to snap and go into his Gospel of Darkness form, which is basically his berserk. I will explain if you ask questions as to how it happened, should you not figure it out. But I will accept aid in rewriting this, as I'm not done with chapter 36, yet.

-Hooray! Set-chan's back! And she had been stuck in the Himalayas! I was stuck in the Himalayas, once! (I think I saw a Yeti.) And she had been training under Rachel all along! ...wait, that cannae be a good thing. Couldn't they have just practiced in the castle? I'm so confused, but it Owns! (Influenced by Chester A. Bum, just then)

- Let me confess something: YES! I ripped off the Fate/Stay Night idea for Servants! I took Saber, Archer, Berserker and everybody else and turned them into different people. Because it was So Cool! I just couldn't leave out something as awesome as that system when I am in the middle of making a multi-crossover!

*Pant, pant* Your thoughts?

[444yum]

A New chapter is now uploaded to Story #3 - Chosen Fate. You can check it out here.

[Finalage]

On my way to read, when I can.

My main purpose for this story was that same thing however. I set out with the idea for a story that broke the normal tide, shattered it actually. It was to take the darkness in Negi's character and expand it, wrap it around him in a cloak. He wouldn't be an older lady killer, or a youthful dunce, not in mine. I set out with the intention of making him caustic and abrasive.

In essense, I wanted to weave a tale in which no one is a straight cut good guy, or a one purpose bad guy. I wove darkness where there was once light, and light where the darkness one reigned.

This is not the first "altercation" Negi has had with her. Mainly, his personality is not one that will easily except another person, he's not a happy go lucky boy who latches on to new people easily, he's a paranoid and suspicious character...

Yet, trust me when I say that for as much damage this may seem to have caused, Negi has an understanding heart underneath all of those spikes, and this on' destroy the two of them.

Of course, the brain child of it being Arika who originally spread those rumors of where she and Negi were living, leaving the door wide open for demons to rampage thier village, was a particularly twisted blow, I must admit. Terrible of me, ehh?

[Merctrin]

There may come a day when I update this story at a normal time. But it is not this day.

Prequel
Prologue
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6

Spoiler for Day 7:

Setsuna was no stranger to being late. Being friends with Konoka, Asuna, and Negi meant that mad dashes to their classroom in the morning because someone hadn’t managed to wake up early enough were to be expected. In time, being late had almost become part of their daily training regimen. Running at a fairly demanding pace while avoiding throngs of people in as much of a rush as they were was good exercise.



However, she could count the times she had been late for an actual event—instead of just its preparation—on one hand.



So when she ran into the headmaster’s office thirty minutes after her appointment was scheduled, it was fair to say that she was most assuredly out of her element, and very, very embarrassed—and possibly a little jumpier than usual. That feeling was not helped in the least by the abrupt way Mana had chosen to wake her up.



Or the lack of sleep.



“I’m so sorry sir,” Setsuna immediately started babbling, bowing as low as she could without making it painfully obvious that she wanted to hide her face in shame. “With everything that’s happened it completely slipped my mind that I was supposed to report back to you and—”



“Setsuna-kun.”



Setsuna stopped talking and dared to raise her head. The headmaster smiled at her.



“I should be thanking you, Setsuna-kun.” He took a sip of his coffee, looking so relaxed that Setsuna almost felt like it had been expected for her to show up late. “Looking at the past few, you might not know it, but I am far from appreciating working this early on a Saturday. In fact, maybe we should arrange these meetings at a later time for both our sakes. Would that be any problem for you?”



The mortified swordswoman shook her head. “No, Headmaster, of course not. Even if we stayed at the earlier time, I would still make sure I was better prepared than I was today. I will definitely arrive on time in the future. I just—I’m sorry sir, but I completely forgot.”



Konoemon waved her excuses aside with a wave of his hand. “I have no doubt you will. As for this morning, please do not concern yourself with not being on time. I have hardly gone out of my way to remind you, and considering how trying this past week must have been for you, I should have. Asking you to keep so many new duties straight in your head was unfair.”



“Still sir, I apologize for making you wait. And, uh, I will gladly pay any fee Tatsumiya required for waking me up,” Setsuna added, wincing slightly.



The headmaster chuckled into his mug. “Thankfully, she was willing enough to help you without putting a price tag on it this time. Something as mundane as waking a roommate wasn’t enough to warrant her usual rates.”



Setsuna sagged in relief. Since returning from the Magical World, the gunslinger had started charging for even the smallest service provided by her. According to Negi, it had to do with something Shiori had done while she was acting as Asuna.



What that was, Setsuna had no idea; she was just glad that, for now, her wallet wasn’t one of the victims of Mana’s skyrocketing rates. Her tab was sizable enough without anything extra added to it.



Konoemon put aside his coffee and leaned forward. “Now, onto business; how did Tsukuyomi-kun handle her first week as a student?”



Setsuna shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably.



“She’s—behaving.”



At least, the girl was following the rules that had been set down for her a week ago. Even the incident with Tsuji hadn’t been a result of Tsukuyomi deliberately misbehaving; she just didn’t stop to think that mundanes—or even people in general—might have a problem with her casually mentioning murder.



Killing people, Setsuna corrected herself, remembering the careful distinction Tsukuyomi made. She didn’t know for sure that it had been murder.



Beyond following the letter of the rules mentioned by the headmaster, Tsukuyomi wasn’t overly concerned with controlling herself. Setsuna was pretty sure she spent most of their classes doodling or otherwise distracting herself, and her casual approach to their interaction was maddening. Sometimes it felt like she’d forgotten how close they came to killing each other.



But Setsuna didn’t say any of that. She informed the headmaster that Tsukuyomi had been prompted into making some unfortunate remarks that could easily lead to Tsuji suspecting her of something sinister if he cared to think about it and left it at that. That Setsuna found the blonde’s default behavior annoying was her problem, not her superior’s.



Konoemon did not seem too concerned with their episode with Tsuji (most mundanes were not going to take throwaway remarks about death seriously at all), so thankfully Setsuna wasn’t forced to go into detail about what was said.



He did, however, want to know what she was doing about her own training.



“I’ve mostly been using our room,” Setsuna said. “I can’t leave Tsukuyomi alone, so it’s best just to wake up before she does.”



Konoemon stroked his beard thoughtfully. “That’s hardly a convenient way to train, Setsuna-kun.”



Setsuna couldn’t really respond to that. He was right, but she couldn’t think of any other way to watch Tsukuyomi without neglecting her training.



“Negi-kun spends his lunch hour with Evangeline, correct?”



“Yes sir.”



The headmaster smiled. “Well then, considering your report, I don’t think it would be unreasonable if you left Tsukuyomi-kun alone in your room while you joined him. Unless you can think of a reason why stricter supervision would be required?”



Yes, she could think of several. Easily. But most of them were personal in some way, and the thought of spending every day of Tsukuyomi’s confinement trying not to destroy her dorm room worried her. And an even shallower part of her was reminded that training in Evangeline’s resort meant spending time with her friends… her partner.



So all she could really do was smile and nod her head at the headmaster’s suggestion.

------

Setsuna left the headmaster’s office feeling uncomfortably on edge.



One of the many conditions that allowed Tsukuyomi to stay at Mahora, under the Ouroboros Seal, instead of somewhere else, was that Setsuna report once a week on her behavior. Konoemon had an unusual degree of trust in his students, but he was not comfortable with having someone with a record like Tsukuyomi’s running around campus with only one person aware of her activities.



Setsuna agreed with that, but somehow, being reminded that her roommate was actually being cooperative bothered her. She wanted to be free to hate Tsukuyomi in peace. That was better than looking at her and seeing an innocent girl that could turn into a heartless, bloodthirsty monster at the drop of the hat.



And last night, lying awake for countless hours, that was all she could see.



It was disturbing.



Before Tsukuyomi opened her mouth yesterday, Setsuna had done a very good job not thinking about their past interaction. She let herself dislike Tsukuyomi, but the memories influencing that stayed far away from her conscious thoughts. The less she thought about her history with the girl, the better.



But last night, that was all she could think of.



Setsuna slowed her pace. Tsukuyomi had been sleeping in later and later, so there wasn’t much danger of the girl waking up and causing trouble. She could afford to have a little time alone with her thoughts.



Why did Tsukuyomi kill her parents?



She kept coming back to that question. Setsuna thought she knew Tsukuyomi pretty well—not that she was happy about that, but she did.



And she just… didn’t understand. She couldn’t say it was out of character, because Tsukuyomi’s love for killing was well-established, but it felt weird. Tsukuyomi might like killing people, but she didn’t always—



“You’re… cuter… alive.”



Setsuna stopped.



Why wouldn’t she make that exception for her own parents?

------

Tsukuyomi flopped down on Setsuna’s nest, curling up to the warmer parts of the bedding. It was a little frustrating to feel the lovely heat from something that couldn’t bleed, but it was still nice. Somehow, the room seemed to be getting colder every day.



And Setsuna wasn’t there.



That was more frustrating than the lack of warmth.



The note left by her bed said that her Senpai was attending a meeting of some sort with the headmaster, and would be back shortly. Tsukuyomi didn’t know when the note was left, but she thought she’d been awake for long enough that if the note had any truth to it, Setsuna would be back by now.



She couldn’t just leave the room and check for her roommate either; the wards kept on blocking her from getting out.



She did not like being stuck in a high school dorm room without Setsuna.



Tsukuyomi rubbed at her eyes. Things were always so much better when her Senpai was around. There was an extra spark to their interaction that Tsukuyomi’s past victims had always deprived her of. They bled and died satisfactorily, quite a few of them screaming, but after the high wore off, there was nothing left.



Setsuna was a very special victim. She was there again and again, surviving everything Tsukuyomi threw at her. It was such a thrill to fight with her that Tsukuyomi hadn’t even noticed how bloodless their first few fights were. Fighting Setsuna was heavenly.



…Was that why she’d felt happy when Setsuna walked away breathing?



No, Tsukuyomi noted. Back then, she’d been certain of her own death. The idea of living long enough to have another proper fight with her Senpai wasn’t something she’d entertained seriously. It was a nice thought, but bleeding to death didn’t usually lead to more battles.



They would certainly have a battle like that again though. Tsukuyomi grinned. She could feel her blood begin to boil at the thought. A true fight where only one of them could walk away to kill another day—



No, that wasn’t right. Something in Tsukuyomi’s chest twitched.



She sighed and rolled over to bury her face in Setsuna’s pillow.



She wished school was every day of the week. Now that she had an idea for removing the Seal, being kept from interacting with one of the key components of her idea was annoying. She needed the Seal gone. It was one thing to have strange thoughts about an opponent when she was bleeding to death.



It was another to feel strange things about her favorite pastime.



When was Setsuna coming back?



At first it was fun to poke around the room and look at her Senpai’s stuff, but all of the fun toys were locked up tight under the bed. Tsukuyomi had tried to unlock the boxes, but some paranoid person had set up the most convoluted chain of padlocks.



Then she’d looked around on the floor for something she could use as a weapon. No matter how careful Setsuna was being around her, she was too vigilant to not keep a spare within easy reach. If Tsukuyomi had a place she consistently slept in (before her imprisonment), she’d want several things hidden around the area.



On the other hand… Setsuna knew her better than anyone else. Not as well as she’d thought—yesterday proved that—but still well enough to know how she’d behave if left alone in their room. And Setsuna definitely did not like taking any chances when it came to her.



In the end, Tsukuyomi had dutifully searched the rest of the room without expecting to find anything. She did find something, but it was only useful in psychological warfare. She didn’t mind that, but she only liked it when it was mixed with slicing people.



Not that a picture of Setsuna with her dear Ojou-sama was likable in any way.



Tsukuyomi pulled the heavily worn picture out of her pocket and scowled at it. She recognized the clothes, and that helped, but she did not like the way Konoka was clinging to her Senpai.



She couldn’t touch Setsuna because the high the older swordswoman tended to induce was something reserved for when she had a weapon in her hands. In her current state, she was forced to avoid physical contact with Setsuna. Also, her Senpai disliked touching her.



Setsuna’s arm was wrapped around Konoka in the picture.



They would probably never fight—never spill each other’s blood ever because Setsuna was nothing if not diligent when it came to her duties. That was something that would never happen.



All the same, the small photo of them was enough to make Tsukuyomi feel somewhat jealous.



The door squeaked open and she looked up from the source of her frustrations to see her Senpai’s cute face go from pensive to ghostly pale and horrified. When she looked down again, the photo was gone, and Setsuna was several inches away from her hand.



Tsukuyomi was tempted to reach across those several inches, but she unfortunately knew better.



Besides, it had been far too long since she’d had a chance to catch Setsuna off-guard. She smiled at the dismayed expression on her cute little Senpai’s face. Far, far too long.



“Where did you get this?”



“It was next to your nest.”



“It’s not a—what are you doing on my bed?!”



Tsukuyomi propped herself up, keeping their distance the same and making Setsuna flush in something that didn’t look much like anger to her. Her grin broadened. Oh, that was just adorable. She was suddenly not feeling at all happy with Setsuna’s ex-primary charge, but really, Setsuna could be so impossibly cute.



“This is not a bed. That,” she pointed at her bed, “is a bed.”



Setsuna took several deep breaths and very carefully, very slowly, opened Yūnagi’s case and slipped the picture inside. “Not mine.”



“You’re more than welcome to change that.” After I find something to fight you with. Not before. It can’t be before.



Setsuna’s unfortunate, predictable reaction to that was to put half a room of space between them. “No.”



“I keep forgetting; you don’t like them.”



“No you don’t,” Setsuna said sharply.



Tsukuyomi raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t think she pulled off a very affronted expression. That was more like it. After yesterday, she’d been slightly concerned. She was now perfectly willing to forget Setsuna keeping a photo of her and her ex-charge next to the place she slept.



Setsuna crossed her arms and looked away.



Tsukuyomi took advantage of the lack of attention and let her eyes linger on the older girl’s features.



She looked exhausted.



Tsukuyomi wasn’t used to that.



Setsuna had obviously slept poorly last night. After Konoka started spending more time with the bodyguard, the dark circles under her eyes had all but vanished. Something must have happened to put her in one of her over-thinking moods yesterday.



What though?



Setsuna stopped her imitation of a gargoyle and met Tsukuyomi’s eyes with the most peculiar, piercing expression. Tsukuyomi stopped wondering about Setsuna’s odd moods and sat up straight.



That was a serious look she recognized.



“What made you kill your parents?



That? Still?



Tsukuyomi blinked. “Their blood was warm.”



“And that’s all the reason you needed?”



“Yes.” That was all the reason she ever needed.



Killing was the reason she lived. Why didn’t Setsuna understand that?



Setsuna didn’t say anything for several minutes. She just kept looking at Tsukuyomi. It was enough to make the murderess feel very lightheaded.



That expression…



Right now, there could be no question that her Senpai was looking only at her.



Setsuna sighed and looked out the window, breaking off her intense gaze and leaving Tsukuyomi feeling tingly all over. “You’re going to be spending your lunch hours alone on school days.”



What?



“You’re supposed to keep an eye on me at all times, aren’t you?”



“Because you have behaved yourself so well this past week,” Setsuna almost growled the words, “the headmaster has decided that you can be trusted enough to not cause any problems alone in our room for one hour a day. Since I need to keep up my training, I will be leaving you here every school day at noon to work with Negi-sensei and the others.”



Tsukuyomi felt her good mood evaporate, a dull chill taking over the hollow of her chest. Her heartbeat was strangely loud.



Setsuna was going to be spending even more time alone with Konoka.



She was going to leave her in this empty room, alone, for an hour without anyone to play with, five days a week.



And all of the time Tsukuyomi lost would go to Konoka.



Training or not, with her partner in the same room, Setsuna’s thoughts were always, always, insufferably on her.



And… and…



Her Senpai just wouldn’t be there, would she?



She’d be gone.



That—Tsukuyomi didn’t like that.



She didn’t like this room without Setsuna in it.

Spoiler for Notes:

Setsuna catches a break and Tsukuyomi has yet another problem to deal with. Poor Tsukuyomi.

Argh, when I first decided that only one day would be dealt with per chapter, I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I really want to rush things along and murder my pacing to get to the fun stuff at this point, but since the start of the fun stuff is only one chapter away, the planned pace lives. Barely.

...Note that people have different definitions of fun. The aforementioned fun falls under my definition.

Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon, but now that Tsukuyomi's getting serious page time in the manga I'm panicking about my characterization more than usual, so things are a little slow. Sorry about that.

Thanks for reading.

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by Merctrin

There may come a day when I update this story at a normal time. But it is not this day.

Prequel
Prologue
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6

Spoiler for Day 7:

Setsuna was no stranger to being late. Being friends with Konoka, Asuna, and Negi meant that mad dashes to their classroom in the morning because someone hadn’t managed to wake up early enough were to be expected. In time, being late had almost become part of their daily training regimen. Running at a fairly demanding pace while avoiding throngs of people in as much of a rush as they were was good exercise.



However, she could count the times she had been late for an actual event—instead of just its preparation—on one hand.



So when she ran into the headmaster’s office thirty minutes after her appointment was scheduled, it was fair to say that she was most assuredly out of her element, and very, very embarrassed—and possibly a little jumpier than usual. That feeling was not helped in the least by the abrupt way Mana had chosen to wake her up.



Or the lack of sleep.



“I’m so sorry sir,” Setsuna immediately started babbling, bowing as low as she could without making it painfully obvious that she wanted to hide her face in shame. “With everything that’s happened it completely slipped my mind that I was supposed to report back to you and—”



“Setsuna-kun.”



Setsuna stopped talking and dared to raise her head. The headmaster smiled at her.



“I should be thanking you, Setsuna-kun.” He took a sip of his coffee, looking so relaxed that Setsuna almost felt like it had been expected for her to show up late. “Looking at the past few, you might not know it, but I am far from appreciating working this early on a Saturday. In fact, maybe we should arrange these meetings at a later time for both our sakes. Would that be any problem for you?”



The mortified swordswoman shook her head. “No, Headmaster, of course not. Even if we stayed at the earlier time, I would still make sure I was better prepared than I was today. I will definitely arrive on time in the future. I just—I’m sorry sir, but I completely forgot.”



Konoemon waved her excuses aside with a wave of his hand. “I have no doubt you will. As for this morning, please do not concern yourself with not being on time. I have hardly gone out of my way to remind you, and considering how trying this past week must have been for you, I should have. Asking you to keep so many new duties straight in your head was unfair.”



“Still sir, I apologize for making you wait. And, uh, I will gladly pay any fee Tatsumiya required for waking me up,” Setsuna added, wincing slightly.



The headmaster chuckled into his mug. “Thankfully, she was willing enough to help you without putting a price tag on it this time. Something as mundane as waking a roommate wasn’t enough to warrant her usual rates.”



Setsuna sagged in relief. Since returning from the Magical World, the gunslinger had started charging for even the smallest service provided by her. According to Negi, it had to do with something Shiori had done while she was acting as Asuna.



What that was, Setsuna had no idea; she was just glad that, for now, her wallet wasn’t one of the victims of Mana’s skyrocketing rates. Her tab was sizable enough without anything extra added to it.



Konoemon put aside his coffee and leaned forward. “Now, onto business; how did Tsukuyomi-kun handle her first week as a student?”



Setsuna shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably.



“She’s—behaving.”



At least, the girl was following the rules that had been set down for her a week ago. Even the incident with Tsuji hadn’t been a result of Tsukuyomi deliberately misbehaving; she just didn’t stop to think that mundanes—or even people in general—might have a problem with her casually mentioning murder.



Killing people, Setsuna corrected herself, remembering the careful distinction Tsukuyomi made. She didn’t know for sure that it had been murder.



Beyond following the letter of the rules mentioned by the headmaster, Tsukuyomi wasn’t overly concerned with controlling herself. Setsuna was pretty sure she spent most of their classes doodling or otherwise distracting herself, and her casual approach to their interaction was maddening. Sometimes it felt like she’d forgotten how close they came to killing each other.



But Setsuna didn’t say any of that. She informed the headmaster that Tsukuyomi had been prompted into making some unfortunate remarks that could easily lead to Tsuji suspecting her of something sinister if he cared to think about it and left it at that. That Setsuna found the blonde’s default behavior annoying was her problem, not her superior’s.



Konoemon did not seem too concerned with their episode with Tsuji (most mundanes were not going to take throwaway remarks about death seriously at all), so thankfully Setsuna wasn’t forced to go into detail about what was said.



He did, however, want to know what she was doing about her own training.



“I’ve mostly been using our room,” Setsuna said. “I can’t leave Tsukuyomi alone, so it’s best just to wake up before she does.”



Konoemon stroked his beard thoughtfully. “That’s hardly a convenient way to train, Setsuna-kun.”



Setsuna couldn’t really respond to that. He was right, but she couldn’t think of any other way to watch Tsukuyomi without neglecting her training.



“Negi-kun spends his lunch hour with Evangeline, correct?”



“Yes sir.”



The headmaster smiled. “Well then, considering your report, I don’t think it would be unreasonable if you left Tsukuyomi-kun alone in your room while you joined him. Unless you can think of a reason why stricter supervision would be required?”



Yes, she could think of several. Easily. But most of them were personal in some way, and the thought of spending every day of Tsukuyomi’s confinement trying not to destroy her dorm room worried her. And an even shallower part of her was reminded that training in Evangeline’s resort meant spending time with her friends… her partner.



So all she could really do was smile and nod her head at the headmaster’s suggestion.

------

Setsuna left the headmaster’s office feeling uncomfortably on edge.



One of the many conditions that allowed Tsukuyomi to stay at Mahora, under the Ouroboros Seal, instead of somewhere else, was that Setsuna report once a week on her behavior. Konoemon had an unusual degree of trust in his students, but he was not comfortable with having someone with a record like Tsukuyomi’s running around campus with only one person aware of her activities.



Setsuna agreed with that, but somehow, being reminded that her roommate was actually being cooperative bothered her. She wanted to be free to hate Tsukuyomi in peace. That was better than looking at her and seeing an innocent girl that could turn into a heartless, bloodthirsty monster at the drop of the hat.



And last night, lying awake for countless hours, that was all she could see.



It was disturbing.



Before Tsukuyomi opened her mouth yesterday, Setsuna had done a very good job not thinking about their past interaction. She let herself dislike Tsukuyomi, but the memories influencing that stayed far away from her conscious thoughts. The less she thought about her history with the girl, the better.



But last night, that was all she could think of.



Setsuna slowed her pace. Tsukuyomi had been sleeping in later and later, so there wasn’t much danger of the girl waking up and causing trouble. She could afford to have a little time alone with her thoughts.



Why did Tsukuyomi kill her parents?



She kept coming back to that question. Setsuna thought she knew Tsukuyomi pretty well—not that she was happy about that, but she did.



And she just… didn’t understand. She couldn’t say it was out of character, because Tsukuyomi’s love for killing was well-established, but it felt weird. Tsukuyomi might like killing people, but she didn’t always—



“You’re… cuter… alive.”



Setsuna stopped.



Why wouldn’t she make that exception for her own parents?

------

Tsukuyomi flopped down on Setsuna’s nest, curling up to the warmer parts of the bedding. It was a little frustrating to feel the lovely heat from something that couldn’t bleed, but it was still nice. Somehow, the room seemed to be getting colder every day.



And Setsuna wasn’t there.



That was more frustrating than the lack of warmth.



The note left by her bed said that her Senpai was attending a meeting of some sort with the headmaster, and would be back shortly. Tsukuyomi didn’t know when the note was left, but she thought she’d been awake for long enough that if the note had any truth to it, Setsuna would be back by now.



She couldn’t just leave the room and check for her roommate either; the wards kept on blocking her from getting out.



She did not like being stuck in a high school dorm room without Setsuna.



Tsukuyomi rubbed at her eyes. Things were always so much better when her Senpai was around. There was an extra spark to their interaction that Tsukuyomi’s past victims had always deprived her of. They bled and died satisfactorily, quite a few of them screaming, but after the high wore off, there was nothing left.



Setsuna was a very special victim. She was there again and again, surviving everything Tsukuyomi threw at her. It was such a thrill to fight with her that Tsukuyomi hadn’t even noticed how bloodless their first few fights were. Fighting Setsuna was heavenly.



…Was that why she’d felt happy when Setsuna walked away breathing?



No, Tsukuyomi noted. Back then, she’d been certain of her own death. The idea of living long enough to have another proper fight with her Senpai wasn’t something she’d entertained seriously. It was a nice thought, but bleeding to death didn’t usually lead to more battles.



They would certainly have a battle like that again though. Tsukuyomi grinned. She could feel her blood begin to boil at the thought. A true fight where only one of them could walk away to kill another day—



No, that wasn’t right. Something in Tsukuyomi’s chest twitched.



She sighed and rolled over to bury her face in Setsuna’s pillow.



She wished school was every day of the week. Now that she had an idea for removing the Seal, being kept from interacting with one of the key components of her idea was annoying. She needed the Seal gone. It was one thing to have strange thoughts about an opponent when she was bleeding to death.



It was another to feel strange things about her favorite pastime.



When was Setsuna coming back?



At first it was fun to poke around the room and look at her Senpai’s stuff, but all of the fun toys were locked up tight under the bed. Tsukuyomi had tried to unlock the boxes, but some paranoid person had set up the most convoluted chain of padlocks.



Then she’d looked around on the floor for something she could use as a weapon. No matter how careful Setsuna was being around her, she was too vigilant to not keep a spare within easy reach. If Tsukuyomi had a place she consistently slept in (before her imprisonment), she’d want several things hidden around the area.



On the other hand… Setsuna knew her better than anyone else. Not as well as she’d thought—yesterday proved that—but still well enough to know how she’d behave if left alone in their room. And Setsuna definitely did not like taking any chances when it came to her.



In the end, Tsukuyomi had dutifully searched the rest of the room without expecting to find anything. She did find something, but it was only useful in psychological warfare. She didn’t mind that, but she only liked it when it was mixed with slicing people.



Not that a picture of Setsuna with her dear Ojou-sama was likable in any way.



Tsukuyomi pulled the heavily worn picture out of her pocket and scowled at it. She recognized the clothes, and that helped, but she did not like the way Konoka was clinging to her Senpai.



She couldn’t touch Setsuna because the high the older swordswoman tended to induce was something reserved for when she had a weapon in her hands. In her current state, she was forced to avoid physical contact with Setsuna. Also, her Senpai disliked touching her.



Setsuna’s arm was wrapped around Konoka in the picture.



They would probably never fight—never spill each other’s blood ever because Setsuna was nothing if not diligent when it came to her duties. That was something that would never happen.



All the same, the small photo of them was enough to make Tsukuyomi feel somewhat jealous.



The door squeaked open and she looked up from the source of her frustrations to see her Senpai’s cute face go from pensive to ghostly pale and horrified. When she looked down again, the photo was gone, and Setsuna was several inches away from her hand.



Tsukuyomi was tempted to reach across those several inches, but she unfortunately knew better.



Besides, it had been far too long since she’d had a chance to catch Setsuna off-guard. She smiled at the dismayed expression on her cute little Senpai’s face. Far, far too long.



“Where did you get this?”



“It was next to your nest.”



“It’s not a—what are you doing on my bed?!”



Tsukuyomi propped herself up, keeping their distance the same and making Setsuna flush in something that didn’t look much like anger to her. Her grin broadened. Oh, that was just adorable. She was suddenly not feeling at all happy with Setsuna’s ex-primary charge, but really, Setsuna could be so impossibly cute.



“This is not a bed. That,” she pointed at her bed, “is a bed.”



Setsuna took several deep breaths and very carefully, very slowly, opened Yūnagi’s case and slipped the picture inside. “Not mine.”



“You’re more than welcome to change that.” After I find something to fight you with. Not before. It can’t be before.



Setsuna’s unfortunate, predictable reaction to that was to put half a room of space between them. “No.”



“I keep forgetting; you don’t like them.”



“No you don’t,” Setsuna said sharply.



Tsukuyomi raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t think she pulled off a very affronted expression. That was more like it. After yesterday, she’d been slightly concerned. She was now perfectly willing to forget Setsuna keeping a photo of her and her ex-charge next to the place she slept.



Setsuna crossed her arms and looked away.



Tsukuyomi took advantage of the lack of attention and let her eyes linger on the older girl’s features.



She looked exhausted.



Tsukuyomi wasn’t used to that.



Setsuna had obviously slept poorly last night. After Konoka started spending more time with the bodyguard, the dark circles under her eyes had all but vanished. Something must have happened to put her in one of her over-thinking moods yesterday.



What though?



Setsuna stopped her imitation of a gargoyle and met Tsukuyomi’s eyes with the most peculiar, piercing expression. Tsukuyomi stopped wondering about Setsuna’s odd moods and sat up straight.



That was a serious look she recognized.



“What made you kill your parents?



That? Still?



Tsukuyomi blinked. “Their blood was warm.”



“And that’s all the reason you needed?”



“Yes.” That was all the reason she ever needed.



Killing was the reason she lived. Why didn’t Setsuna understand that?



Setsuna didn’t say anything for several minutes. She just kept looking at Tsukuyomi. It was enough to make the murderess feel very lightheaded.



That expression…



Right now, there could be no question that her Senpai was looking only at her.



Setsuna sighed and looked out the window, breaking off her intense gaze and leaving Tsukuyomi feeling tingly all over. “You’re going to be spending your lunch hours alone on school days.”



What?



“You’re supposed to keep an eye on me at all times, aren’t you?”



“Because you have behaved yourself so well this past week,” Setsuna almost growled the words, “the headmaster has decided that you can be trusted enough to not cause any problems alone in our room for one hour a day. Since I need to keep up my training, I will be leaving you here every school day at noon to work with Negi-sensei and the others.”



Tsukuyomi felt her good mood evaporate, a dull chill taking over the hollow of her chest. Her heartbeat was strangely loud.



Setsuna was going to be spending even more time alone with Konoka.



She was going to leave her in this empty room, alone, for an hour without anyone to play with, five days a week.



And all of the time Tsukuyomi lost would go to Konoka.



Training or not, with her partner in the same room, Setsuna’s thoughts were always, always, insufferably on her.



And… and…



Her Senpai just wouldn’t be there, would she?



She’d be gone.



That—Tsukuyomi didn’t like that.



She didn’t like this room without Setsuna in it.

Spoiler for Notes:

Setsuna catches a break and Tsukuyomi has yet another problem to deal with. Poor Tsukuyomi.

Argh, when I first decided that only one day would be dealt with per chapter, I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I really want to rush things along and murder my pacing to get to the fun stuff at this point, but since the start of the fun stuff is only one chapter away, the planned pace lives. Barely.

...Note that people have different definitions of fun. The aforementioned fun falls under my definition.

Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon, but now that Tsukuyomi's getting serious page time in the manga I'm panicking about my characterization more than usual, so things are a little slow. Sorry about that.

Thanks for reading.

Late here, so sorry for the short review . But I think that the characterization is perfect, it's moving along at a nice, believable pace. I'm so spell-bound by the Setsuna/Tsukuyomi interaction, and by the characters' thoughts on each other even if they're alone: amazing detail of how Tsukuyomi observed that spending time with Konoka comforts Setsuna, and how Setsuna is more preoccupied in her thoughts with Tsukuyomi rather than Konoka...such beautifully subtle things that do an amazing job of making the characters so interesting.

On another note, here's a short thought-piece from Konoka about her friendships, with a little about Asuna's own friendships.

Spoiler for The Million Little Things of Friendship:

The Million Little Things of Friendship

Konoka hated to use the term “best friend”.

Saying “best” was so…singular and general, while being devastatingly exclusive. Best meant one, only one. The one above all others.

But Konoka could never make that kind of solid, firm statement, and point to one person and say, that is the one friend I love above all others.

Asuna understood. Setsuna didn’t.

But that’s okay.

Setsuna was her good friend.

Konoka loved Setsuna like nothing else. Even as a bubbly, chubby child of five Konoka had adored her earnest guardian and earliest friend. That adoration simply deepened to warm affection and desire when they grew older. The moment Konoka slipped her hand into Setsuna’s, she knew from the blushing smile and shiveringly fierce flare in the half-demon’s eyes that she was in the safest place on Earth. Konoka knew that when she spoke, Setsuna’s attentive gaze would focus on her and only her, and her dear friend would listen gravely and always with a fervent concern that touched Konoka’s heart.

Konoka had no friend who could ever replace Setsuna.

Without Setsuna, a bloody scream would echo inside her until Konoka became consumed with the empty pain.

Setsuna was a dangerous whirlwind that stirred wild passion and quiet contentment in Konoka. It was the kind of warm happiness that a person could use to power a smile even in the darkest downpour.

But sometimes that wasn’t enough.

Asuna was her good friend.

Asuna didn’t stir the same kind of crazy craving in Konoka that Setsuna did. However, Asuna was always there—in the mornings, when Konoka opened her eyes with the sunrise; in the afternoons when Konoka delightfully spilled the minute details of her day, and in the evenings when Konoka tearfully ranted about something clueless that Setsuna had said again. Like no other friend Konoka had, Asuna was always there for Konoka in the little moments that passed so quickly but meant the most in the world. They’d shop for clothes together and tease each other about their significant others, and offer each other advice on the daily hassles that drove either of them up the wall.

If Konoka called her at three AM to rant about something, she knew that Asuna would grouse but listen patiently, and respond appropriately with hearty agreement or logical lectures, depending on the occasion and mood.

Konoka had no friend who could ever replace Asuna.

Never jealous, Setsuna accepted that truth, even if the depth of Konoka’s dependence on Asuna puzzled her.

Without Asuna, a piece of Konoka would crack and die and never be fixed again.

Asuna understood.

Her red-headed roommate had a coveted friendship full of that same maelstrom of burning desire and aggravated love in one Ayaka Yukihiro, class rep. On one agonized night in Ostia, Asuna had answered Konoka’s silent, questioning touch on her tear-stained cheek with a one sentence answer.

“I miss Ayaka.”

Even surrounded by close friends, there was a gaping hole inside Asuna’s soul that could never be filled by anyone else.

Konoka knew that she was also a special kind of friend to Asuna.

So Asuna understood.

“Best” was not a label to be used lightly.

Not to be used at all.

Because for both of them, the earnest phrase “You’re my best friend” would be a lie.

Spoiler for Random note:

Hehe, I noticed at the end that I had left the identity of Asuna's partner ambiguously blank ...

[Kurush]

Just put up chapter 36. If you want the starting link, check my signature.

Spoiler for Edit:

One small edit, should you read the battle between Negi and Saber, I recommend listening to "All About Us" by T.A.T.U.

[Merctrin]

I finally managed to finish a chapter before midnight. I'm in shock.

Prequel
Prologue
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6
Day 7

Spoiler for Day 11:

“It’s not like I asked to be put in charge of you!”



Setsuna marched out of their room, slamming the door shut behind her.



She doesn’t seem very happy with me.



Tsukuyomi tapped her pencil rhythmically against the posts of her bed. Her dear Senpai had decided to let her keep the pencil during lunchtime so that she’d have something to do besides staring out the window at people she wasn’t allowed—or able—to slice up. Usually the pencil was taken away from her when they weren’t in classes, never mind that it was about as dangerous as a toothless kitten.



Or a caged bird.



Small cracks appeared in the tiny, hopelessly dull writing tool.



In all fairness, she wasn’t too pleased with Setsuna either.



It had all started very innocently, with her being very mature and quiet about the sudden gaping hole of misery in her schedule. She would go about her days without complaining, productively taking out any irritation building up on the temperamental princess. Setsuna had been a little confused by their sudden lack of communicating, but she didn’t say anything. She went out of her way to avoid speaking to Tsukuyomi in the first place, so the change in attitude was even appreciated on some level.



That conclusion did not help Tsukuyomi’s mood at all.



Instead of limiting herself to bothering the princess, which had a very clear purpose, she started baiting Setsuna just a little. She would have preferred annoying Konoka, since a surprising amount of her frustration was directed at the girl, but at least this way Setsuna couldn’t ignore her.



It started small, with her bringing up certain behaviors and actions that were certain to embarrass her Senpai. Just little things like how, most days, she avoided completely looking away from Tsukuyomi when they were getting dressed in the morning. Setsuna’s paranoia could be delightfully fun.



Setsuna had carefully kept her temper in check, enduring every remark with a startling level of control and silence.



Then today had happened.



She probably should have expected that bringing up Konoka would immediately turn their heating interaction into a real argument. Setsuna was not rational when it came to her partner.



Tsukuyomi’s pencil snapped in two.



Pointing out that she was Setsuna’s primary charge now, so it wasn’t very proper at all for her to be sneaking off with Konoka so often, probably hadn’t been the best idea either. Actually, the slammed door pretty much confirmed that.



They’d never had a real argument before. Usually, Tsukuyomi just wasn’t bothered enough to answer Setsuna’s temper with her own. Very few things could get under her skin in a way that left her open for provocation. The last time she’d had an argument with someone that wasn’t completely one-sided—



Never, maybe?



Tsukuyomi groaned and banged her head into her mattress.



Setsuna could make things so complicated.



Even when they first met, Setsuna just—being Setsuna had caused her problems. Having such delicious prey waiting for her—everything else became stale. She still killed, and she still felt the delirious thrill that came with fighting strong opponents, but Setsuna was always in the back of her mind. The quiet, serious girl who was on fire even when she wasn’t bleeding.



Her best possible opponent.



Her favorite.



Tsukuyomi pushed herself off the bed and went over to Setsuna’s nest, picking up the shards of her pencil as she moved. The bedding was far from warm by now, but it was still comforting to rest where Setsuna slept.



She tapped the sharpest piece of wood against her wrist thoughtfully.



If she—ignored her argument and otherwise frosty interaction with her Senpai, things were not going badly. The princess had a temper that was more than easy to manipulate, and she didn’t like Tsukuyomi in the first place. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that she’d start lashing out soon.



And then it would take a little more work to get Asuna using her artifact, but after that, the Seal would be destroyed, and Tsukuyomi would be free to do whatever she wanted. After, of course, saying a proper goodbye to Setsuna.



Oh. But if she wanted that, she’d have to plan things a little more thoroughly. If she stayed, someone would force her to get the stomach wound treated, and if it was a real medic instead of Konoka, they would probably know to check on the Seal, and when they found out it was gone, they would reapply it, and that just really wouldn’t work.



And she couldn’t say goodbye before the Seal was destroyed because she didn’t know when the princess would finally lose it.



Tsukuyomi thought about it for a few seconds.



If it was the injury that would end up causing her trouble, then Asuna was the problem. Her style was still too unrefined to predict easily, so instead of a direct hit, Tsukuyomi would have to force the sword through the Seal from wherever it landed in the first place. That would make the injury too large to ignore.



There wouldn’t be a problem if the wound was small enough, but she couldn’t expect that kind of accuracy from an enraged girl who didn’t realize she was supposed to be aiming at anything. And besides that, Asuna preferred a slashing motion to a stabbing one. Using the princess meant that a large, bloody wound was practically guaranteed.



Did Luna’s technique work on artifacts? She couldn’t remember. If it did, she could just ask for a favor. Luna was very fond of Negi, but she still felt guilty about betraying her comrades. She could definitely be convinced to help Tsukuyomi.



But what if it didn’t work like that? Then she was stuck with using the princess and she’d have to leave the second the Seal broke.



Tsukuyomi prodded her palm with the broken remains of her pencil.



She didn’t know what to do.



Maybe she should put everything on hold until she had a better idea.



A shiver ran up her spine. She didn’t like that idea much at all. She had practice going uncomfortable lengths of time without the joy of killing someone, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore how cold she was during the day. She needed—and wanted so very badly—to spill someone’s blood as soon as possible.



The pencil dug into her hand.



She looked down at it.



It was sharp. Not very, but if she wanted to break the skin, she could.



She didn’t want to yet.



Too much pain for too little blood, and she’d probably get a splinter. The pencil really wasn’t sharp enough to use properly.



Also, Setsuna might notice. Then the pencil would get taken away, and she’d be in worse shape than she was already in.



Tsukuyomi poked the wood deeper into her hand and looked at the clock by the windowsill.



Forty-five minutes to go.



…She really disliked Konoka.

------

“You had a fight?”



“She started it,” Setsuna muttered into her tea. Across from her, Konoka was holding back a smile. It made her concerned expression look entirely unconvincing, and Setsuna could feel her cheeks burning. She turned away, pretending to be interested in Evangeline tearing into Negi.



“Did she?”



“Yes.”



If Tsukuyomi had just kept quiet, things never would have escalated the way they did, and Setsuna wouldn’t have to worry about how close to breaking their door was. She didn’t think it would take much more abuse, and if it broke, the wards keeping Tsukuyomi in there would break, and she didn’t know what Tsukuyomi would do if she was free of her confinement, but that was a horror best not imagined.



“It’s hard to imagine Tsukuyomi-san arguing with anyone,” Konoka said. “I know she’s—very good at irritating people, but it’s hard to imagine something bothering her.”



Setsuna sipped her tea awkwardly, keeping her eyes on Negi and Evangeline. Negi had really improved. He still wasn’t good enough to actually beat his master (thanks in no small part to the severe injuries he’d taken from fighting Fate), but she was no longer holding back when they fought. If anything, since hearing about his adventures with the scroll version of herself, she’d started going out of her way to make sure she was dominating their matches.



“Set-chan?”



“She’s not sleeping well either.”



Setsuna didn’t know why she said that, and if the look on Konoka’s meant anything, her partner didn’t either. It had next to nothing to do with their argument—it had nothing to do with anything, but she’d still noticed. Anyone would notice, and right now it seemed like—like it mattered. Tsukuyomi’s sleep was getting more and more disturbed. Setsuna was shocked that she was still waking up looking so well-rested.



Konoka slid out of her chair and walked around the small table to sit herself on Setsuna’s lap and tightly wrap her arms around her partner. Setsuna’s eyes widened. Konoka’s head was curled into her neck, and Setsuna could feel every warm breath beating against her skin. Her arms automatically rose to hold Konoka closer to her.



“You are though?”



“Um. Yes. I’m much better Kono-chan.” Konoka was far too close. Setsuna could barely feel her smile against the raging heat taking over her entire body.



“That’s good.”



“Y-yeah.” Very, very good. With Konoka in her arms like this, it was impossible for something to be not good.



Konoka sighed happily and cuddled closer to Setsuna. “Hey, Set-chan? We should—”



“Konoka!”



They both jumped at the sound of Asuna’s voice, and Setsuna had to hold Konoka even tighter to keep the girl from falling off her lap. Konoka smiled gratefully before twisting around to grin tightly at their friend. The expression slid from her face when she looked over Asuna’s shoulder. Setsuna followed her gaze to a smoking crater near the pool.



Maybe Evangeline was being a little too rough with Negi.



“Negi-kun!”



Konoka jumped out of Setsuna’s lap and rushed towards the crater, drawing out her wand. Her voice echoed around the resort as she lectured the unconcerned vampire in between propping Negi up and trying to comfort the semi-conscious boy. Asuna quickly joined her in reprimanding Evangeline, though she was much louder and more direct about it.



The smoke was clearing, and Negi was starting to sit up on his own, protesting the use of Konoka’s magic because the fight wasn’t over, and it wasn’t fair that he got to be healed in the middle of it. Asuna started yelling at him instead of the diminutive vampire while Konoka pointed out that he shouldn’t be taking unnecessary risks during training.



Negi hung his head and agreed with her quietly, all the while trying to stand up on his own and avoid the wand she was waving at him.



Setsuna leaned back in her chair, feeling a smile pull at her lips.



She’d missed this.

------

Tsukuyomi leaned over the side of her bed, watching Setsuna sleep.



She looked relaxed.



Happy, almost.



It wasn’t fair that she could look that happy in her sleep when they weren’t getting along.



Setsuna came back from her time with her friends perfectly willing to forget that they’d ever had an argument. She came back to their room, took Tsukuyomi to class, and didn’t say a single word about it. Or anything else.



It wasn’t fair.



How could she just brush it off like it was nothing?



At least the silence had seemed a little irritated.



And Setsuna did have an extra day to think about things.



Tsukuyomi shivered and pulled her sheets around her more tightly.



Tomorrow, she’d make sure that her Senpai couldn’t ignore things.



“Good night, Setsuna-senpai,” she whispered.

Spoiler for Notes:

In case I haven't mentioned, this story splits from canon after chapter 290. I don't think it's relevant for this chapter specifically, but since I wasn't very specific before... yeah.

Also, this was a pain to write. All I could think while I was writing this chapter was how badly I wanted to work on the next one. Because the next one is going to be fun. Mostly for me. ...That probably means I'll get stuck writing it and won't finish it for about a month.

Thanks for reading.

[Kurush]

Nice, very nice... I'm gonna add this to my Favorites out there.

I got something here. Not KonoSetsu, like I promised, but I swear to Ahura Mazda that I will set it up once I get to it.

Spoiler for Setsuna's court martial:

“Tell me, have you heard of the Character Alignment system, Setsuna?” Aristodemus asked of the Hanyou whilst they were in the botanical greenhouse of the castle.

“...I'm afraid not, Sir.” Setsuna answered him as they walked down a lane filled with trees and birds flying about.

“Quick version, then.” Aris responded and turned about. “The Character Alignment system is a two-dimensional grid from the role-playing game called Dungeons & Dragons. It has two axes, one which measures the 'moral' continuum between good and evil, and another 'ethical' between lawful and chaotic. There is also the idea of 'Neutrality', the side that goes in the middle of these ideas, who are indifferent, committing themselves to balance and all that. By this system, people can been seen as by nine different kinds of alignment: Lawful Good, Neutral or Evil, Neutral Good or Evil, and Chaotic Good, Neutral or Evil.”

“Why only two Neutral choices, then?”

“You can't have Neutral Neutral, that one is seen as 'True Neutral'.” Aris answered her. “Now, here's the idea: By learning that Lawful Neutral for example, is the school of which you follow orders, respect the law, yet want nothing to do with others and such, you will see where I'm going with this.”

“You're saying that I'm just your average soldier if we follow those terms?” Setsuna questioned the elder commander.

“Oh, I wouldn't say that, Setsuna. I'd say you'd be more of the Lawful Good type. The Lawful Good are the ones who respect the law and order, believing it to be for the benefit of everybody. Honest and benevolent, they generally set themselves within a certain hierarchy of codes of honor and strives to work within the established system to make it fit for everybody, for the good of all. You are a good example of this, because you work within the system and codes set by your fellow members of the Ala Alba, to help make the world a better place, with the ultimate goal of finding Negi's father.” Aristodemus explained to the young samurai who took in the information. “However...”

“Somehow, I'd knew you'd said that.” Setsuna interrupted, the Spartan waited to hear that sentence and then continued.

“Did you choose to enter Ala Alba because of your own free-will, or because Konoka decided to do so, whilst you were just drafted in because she said it would be fun?” He accused her. “Your loyalty to Konoka as a Shinmeiryuu warrior takes place above your position in Ala Alba, leaving you more Lawful than Good in that opinion. It wouldn't be wrong to call you Lawful Neutral, once you start to think about it.”

“Sir, now you've lost me.” Setsuna replied to the man. “Does it even matter what alignment I am?”

“I'm getting to the point sooner or later, so bare with me.” Aris told her. “Your mission to protect Konoka takes priority first, am I right?”

“...Yes, Sir.” Setsuna answered him.

“And when you are faced with the dilemma of whether you should help an injured man, even though you know fully that he's evil, from certain death, do you do so, or leave him to his fate?”

“Do I have to answer that one, Sir?”

“What if Konoka had told you to help him?”

“...Then I would have saved him, I suppose.” Setsuna answered that one at least.

“Well, then, you are Lawful Neutral if you have to rely on what Konoka says.” Aris informed her. “But this does leave you with two alignments, and we can't have that. So we're chucking the alignment system into the waste bin and get to another point of where I'm getting at.”

“...Can I just ask one question?” Setsuna asked him.

“Of course.” The Spartan responded kindly.

“What alignment would you be if we followed this system?”

“That, is for you to decide after I tell you of this one. Instead of using alignments, we're going to think of Allegiances.”

“Difference being?”

“You must be an airhead on this sort of thing, aren't you?” Aris told her bluntly. “Okay, the allegiance idea makes you instead of following a certain faction, without regard to moral or ethical codes getting in the way, allowing you to do whatever you need to do in the faction's name. Therefore, it is entirely possible for people to commit virtually any task imaginable for the faction, as long as it fits the faction's bill.”

“I see...” Setsuna didn't really grasp the full idea, but something in that direction at least.

“Since we're the only ones here, I'll use us as examples.” Aris explained to her, starting with himself. “There are mainly three levels of Allegiance, namely which one you serve the most. For me, my first and greatest allegiance is to the Greater Good. I work and strive in order to make the whole world a better place. I also put a high value on life on an overall scale, as many people do nowadays. Above all, though, I prize innocents, generally speaking women, children and elderly folk, as well as the soldier who wants to help people instead of killing and following orders.”

“And how does that justify you being against the Senate and all?” Setsuna inquired of him.

“Since the Senate doesn't seem to care about how many people will fall, as long as they get what they want for themselves.” The Spartan answered her. “Which leads to my second allegiance: Traditions. As much as change is needed to preserve a working society, traditions are needed as well to make sure that people do not forget who they truly are or where they come from. That reflects my position as Grandmaster over the Knights. When Vespertatia was occupied by the Senate of Megalomesembria, our people got a major loss of morale. I simply can't stand idly by while they trample the refugees around, proclaiming the propaganda that Arika, my best student in centuries, was the one who destroyed the capital. So, this cuts in with my third one: Monarchy. You get the idea on that one.”

“I don't get it.”

“It's okay, I didn't explain it fully. Basically, all three allegiances that I hold, allow me to make my master plan to bring them down. That does require a willing and living member of the Royal family. What I want is for them to gain a lot of popular support with the people, who make sure that the high officials stay in power, and therefore form a form of uprising. Now, the situation would leave the Senate with mainly two options: Either acknowledge the lost kingdom of Vespertatia as its own independent state once again and step down, or go to war.” Aris explained to the swordswoman.

“And you think that the Senate would just stand idly by while your prodigy to the throne gets more and more support from their people?” Setsuna asked of him.

“I didn't say that.” Aris replied almost immediately. “But they are faced with these options. And I learned this action a while back: The point of this war is not to win, but to eliminate every option the enemy has except the one to lose.” Aris informed with a smirk for once.

“...You're gonna coerce them into submitting?”

“As much as the idea of assassinating people is disgusting, the appeal in it is that it works. I pay scores of assassins to stand ready by the Senate to get rid of them when I give the word. The senators are fully aware of my intentions to get rid of them, but they can't do the same trick to me. 'Cause... you know... immortal.”

“Yeah. Like you being shot in the throat wasn't a hint enough. And that doesn't count your fight with Negi-sensei just yesterday where you lost thoroughly.” Setsuna gestured to him.

“I do not deny that fact.” Aris said. “There were over a dozen witnesses who saw that pile of rocks crushing me alive, not including you. But that's not the point. To them, I am a constant threat that cannot be removed, no matter what they try. They even tried to blow my house up once with me in it.”

“They did?”

“I'd rather avoid that one.” Aris told her. “Thing is, I've got nothing against war on a personal level, but you do need to consider all the amount of innocents that would get stuck in the middle of the conflict. So, would you have preferred that really bad men would be killed cowardly over that millions of good intentioned, decent people would be over a petty thing?”

Setsuna stammered on that answer. “...I suppose I would.”

“See? Greater Good. End of story.” Aris said. “Now it's your turn.”

Setsuna didn't know what to say first to him. Allegiance? Alignments? Factions? What the hell? Oh, might as well go for it. “...I suppose my first allegiance, would be to Konoka-ojousama.”

“Good start.” Aris praised the girl. “Your greatest allegiance is to serve Konoka, and to protect her as to what Eishun asked of you when you transferred to Mahora. From there, it should be easy to determine what comes second, yes?”

“That would be... 3-A, yes?” Setsuna asked now. “My obligations to them as a fellow classmate?”

“Hooray! You're catching on!”

“Now, what would be my third one be?”

“That one doesn't matter right now.” Aris told her. “Now, do you see where I'm going with this?”

“Has this something to do with me having been arrested for dereliction of duty after we healed Negi-sensei?”

“Something like that.” The Spartan replied. “What I'm actually saying, is that you broke your allegiance to Konoka when you took off like you did, leaving her worried and without so much of a note.” Those words struck true into the swordswoman.

Spoiler for Notes:

- In the last chapter, Setsuna was in fact arrested for desertion. Although a serious crime, the Commander is in a delicate position, fixed with fragile bonds between himself and his units. This is not the full discussion, just something I made up before starting on the full chapter 37.

- It wouldn't actually be wrong to call Setsuna Lawful Neutral, since she seems more Lawful than Good, in mine and a few others' opinion. I'm just stating the facts here and we threw the system in the waste bin.

- Allegiances come from D20 Modern, a subgame of D&D. It works the same way as described up there. Anyone care to use that system to make up a chart for the Negima cast?

[deathcurse]

Previous chapters

Love and Duty Come in Chains
Chapter 6

It seems like there hasn't been lots of discussion on this thread for a while, eh?

[Finalage]

Oh, poopy. I was trying to keep away for a bit, working in silence. Ever since putting up fifty two news here, I have gotten to fifty five. I'm working on number fifty six right now. I am really planning to end this all at the 60th chapter with the epilogue and all.

Number fifty five is here.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5366768/...plied_Approach

Of this chapter, I once again dive into the issue I have writing scenes with a bit more...affectionate feelings in them. I seem to excel in writing for anger, action and the like, but my "fluff" ain't all that fluffy. I kinda glazed over it too with this piece...

Spoiler for Snippet:

"So... now, you are missing a tooth."
"Just one more esperihence to put on my plate."

The wind blew in his face, this early morning. It woke him up, all the way, an annoying habit of the human being, needing a second or even third refresher to get them to one hundred percent alert. He watched as the sun began to rise. A bit behind him, Eva stood, yet she came up to him, putting her hand on his face.

"Smile one for me."
"You gots a camera?"
"I wanna see how it looks, you idiot."

Obeying her, he gave her a toothy grin, allowing her to see the plain new blow hole he had now. She grimaced at the sight, tilting her head just a bit to take in the full effect. Damn. Oh well, it wasn't going to last long anyway...none of it was.

"Damn. It makes you look cute, and you ain't a person whose supposed to look cute."
"Oh my, I think I'll just fall ovesh and dies! A shenturies old vampire thinks' I'm cute, oh, oh my hi!"
"...If you like, I can give you another missing one to make a pair."
"Ho ho, hooo... no thank you!"

Negi held up his hands upon that statement, prompting him to see the backs. Tiny things they were. Incredible how much he had used them for. He thought about his plans, and what he was about to do, looking up into the sky. His fist clenched as he recalled the words that Kago had given him, and the conversation they had indulged in just minutes before...

"You know as well as I, the cost of unleashing the seal of Gramyre, Negi. It is meant to bond all; it is what gives magic language. Without it, you can gather the matter needed, use the raw energy needed to create a world, but with a price. You know that I will join you in this battle...but you know I will die, don't you?"

Negi looked off to the side, casting his eyes from the tired face in Kago. He knew the young man had not cast the whole spell in front of him. Much of the unsealing Negi had gone through was unincanted, as the priest did not want Negi to know...to hold that spell. Even in all the memories Kago had given him, he could not find even a hint of where it was inscribed, or a snatch of the verse. The man had simply said the part out loud he knew was untraceable, the part now completely lost, courtesy of his grandfather and a homey fire... Negi knew that he could research for it, and he just might piece it together, despite the damage done by Kagashi and Kago...but he respected the priest's decision...this was one spell he could let die...

"You have been robbed of your "time" as far as I can decipher."
"A forbidden spell always comes with a price Negi, you know that. This one is life. I completely unsealed you, I gave you a life of freedom, in exchange, I shall lose mine...in about twenty hours."
"...All of this...for a world. For a boy you know nothing about, for a boy once a vampire. You, the last Vicused, would give your life..."
"You need not worry about the line of Vicused's...the knowledge lives on in you. Once you analyze it and absorb it, you could well enough carry on the line, if you saw fit. As for my life..."

Here he paused, an looked off in the same direction Negi was, into the open, dark sky, an archway in front of them both, a pathway into the future, a portal to the past in time. He was at a loss for words for a moment, just staring, but his eyes said it all.

His life was never one that was free; it was made to be a sacrifice. His grandfather had once been a good man...but the code had destroyed him, to the point in which he wove his grandson into the mix, making sure that if he failed, the boy would continue the line...

He even enslaved Fate to his will, making sure the chaos would continue until what he had first believed was right was achieved. Kagashi was a good man...but his will, his soul, was too weak. It was consumed by his power, and, for all Nagi's arrogance and wrong reasons...was right to destroy him.

Kago knew that he too, had a soul that would be consumed. He was no poet. His power was no match. Yet, this boy, so young...had so much riding on him too. This boy...was a poet, a true spell weaver, and he was worthy of being free of his bonds, one with magic. He needed this to do what was right, to end the cycle...and if it cost Kago his life...

He'd happily give it.

"Myself, Asuna, your mother, Nagi, even Fate, we are but magic users. You, however Negi, you...are a PART of it. From the very day you were born, you became a part of it, a catalyst, creating magic. Then, you crafted yourself, gave yourself a wide knowledge base, drew from dozens of sources, you honed your talent, quenched your thirst for knowledge, hammered the staff a poet wields...

Life gave you adversity, and you used it to hone yourself, gave yourself power, wrapped around you the cloak a master wears. Finally, I gave you the tools. Negi, you need only take the master key from Fate.

He does not know how to use it. Not truly. No one can simply "find" the grand master...you must use all of the master's together to find the grand master...but a poet need only use one. You can see where the others are, link them together...yet, I think that you won't have to look far...in fact, I think it is right behind Fate's eyes..."

Negi whirled to look at Kago, who was leaning on a staff, still and quiet, eyes upon the darkened horizon, waiting for the sun. He looked incredulous, but his incredulity faded into anger. However, when Negi angrily barked out his statement...

"You mean to tell me he knows where the damn thing is already!? Is he just stringing us along? That what you're suggesting? If so, why the hell are, what the hell are, we fighting for?"

Kago simply shook his head, not taking his eyes from the sky.

"No. I don't think Fate is even aware of the fact he knows. I believe Kagashi placed the fact in his head; just the same way he placed all those memories in mine. Perhaps he hoped someone like Nagi would defeat him time and time again, unable to stop the cycle until Fate came back the final time, the time after this one supposedly.

At that point, Kagashi probably believed nothing could stop Fate's drive, as little can stop it now. At that time, I believe the knowledge of where the key is located would be unlocked, and Fate would wreak a final concerto, a terrible havoc, upon this world...

Yet, you have the power to stop him Negi. Destroy the code, break the cycle. Make this world real; breathe life into that which had none. Only you have the mind capable for it. Only your mind is beautiful enough, only your mind is harsh enough...you will never forget to give the bee its stinger, the rose it's thorn.

You listen to detail and you take in the expanse. You think thousands of steps ahead, but you still take one at a time...Our parties are assembled, and the plan is set...and as you know, your friend Shiori never left our premises...she's willing to fight on our side..."

Kago threw that one in as a side note, a distraction. Negi knew the girl was still hanging around, he had found her this morning. Ahh well, you couldn't get rid of them all... She claimed ignorance on how to operate "this glass ball thingie."

Negi told her the "blasted pretty bauble" could be chucked down her throat, but he said it without any guile. In his mind, he had already placed her on Vir, the rear guard. She, along with Asuna, Chisame, Nodoka, Yue and Eva, would provide a "getaway car" kind of role, but they had the added job of keeping stuff of the other's backs.

He knew his mother was out doing the stupidest thing in the world, trying to buy a ship. That ship would house Anya, Alma, Jasnin, Issac, Kago, Rakkan and Negi, and this one's job was easy, they were the main party. It was their job to infiltrate, confront and exploit the enemy.

Nagi, well, he was a single scout unit. He was plenty strong enough to take care of himself anyway. Besides, if it was not enough, he'd have Arika along with him...

His thoughts drifted away as He felt a cool presence on his shoulder, and Negi realized, with some shock, that it was Eva's hand. In her free hand, she held a ring. Its inscription winked in the growing light, reading in Latin, something akin to:

"In place of a wand, I will stand as your key to power."

"I...I know it's impossible, but I feel compelled to give you this...if you'll promise you won't lose it...It's stupid...but...don't leave."

She wasn't turned to him, she seemed to radiate too much shame...or perhaps it was sadness, vulnerability, even. Negi closed his hand upon the object in her hand, taking the hand with him to enclose it in another. He knew when to be serious about something...but his personality couldn't help but throw in a quirk. He did attempt to speak clearly however…

"You know I don't make promises I know I can't keep. Yet...there is a first time for everything, isn't there? Fine. I'll promise you. I won't lose it... Even if I know it's a pie-crust promise. I won't leave you, so stop looking so... pathetic."

She turned around to look at him quickly, too quickly, but he held up a free hand, and the ring slipped from hers to his. He deftly tucked the ring unto his proper finger, letting it catch the rising light. That same winning smile, damn, it did only increase his appeal, that missing tooth...

"Please, don't leave me."
"Don't worry, I won't leave, silly..."

They say that history repeats itself. Just like you, sister...you promised me, promised me that you wouldn't leave...but you did. Just like that...just like that time...now, I make a promise I know will be broken...Please don't leave...but you, Nekane, and I, Negi...will leave them... leave them all alone.

In this rising sun, I wonder...you forbade me from heaven before...will you forbid me now, if I go again? It is a compelling thought... Good night, exit stage right...my dear friend.

He didn't need that ring, of course. With the seal unlocked, he didn't need language, he didn't need wands. Magic could flow freely now. It was unlocked, unbound. That was what the seal did after all, it limited magic, gave it a language and form, forced a user to be restricted to a tool for usage, so only a select few could use it...without it...Negi could cast magic like he could as a vampire, only he didn't need to incant a spell...

He still could, but it was...un-needed, obsolete. The ring was nothing to him...but it still was something. It held...symbolic value. That symbolic value of the first, and last, promise that he would make with the intention of breaking. His last link to this world...shattered into a million pieces. He'd keep it on...until the very end, he'd keep it on. They'd have to pry it from his dead, cold fingers...

That's the way it was supposed to be.

I used a flashback as cover. I can't seem to be able to write affection for any amount of time. I have improved of course, with time, but the progress is slow. Any ideas for some help?

[Merctrin]

Originally Posted by Kurush

Nice, very nice... I'm gonna add this to my Favorites out there.

I got something here. Not KonoSetsu, like I promised, but I swear to Ahura Mazda that I will set it up once I get to it.

Spoiler for Setsuna's court martial:

-snip-

Spoiler for Notes:

- In the last chapter, Setsuna was in fact arrested for desertion. Although a serious crime, the Commander is in a delicate position, fixed with fragile bonds between himself and his units. This is not the full discussion, just something I made up before starting on the full chapter 37.

- It wouldn't actually be wrong to call Setsuna Lawful Neutral, since she seems more Lawful than Good, in mine and a few others' opinion. I'm just stating the facts here and we threw the system in the waste bin.

- Allegiances come from D20 Modern, a subgame of D&D. It works the same way as described up there. Anyone care to use that system to make up a chart for the Negima cast?

...Okay, alignments are hard. The only one that really makes sense in my head (besides Setsuna's, thanks to you) would be Haruna as a Chaotic Neutral, with a solid allegiance to her friends. Maybe. ...Alignments are really, really hard. Or I'm just bad at them.

New chapter from me. Fun chapter this time around. And by fun I mean... well, I had fun with it.

Prequel
Prologue
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6
Day 7
Day 11

Spoiler for Day 12:

Setsuna had to remind herself every other minute that Tsukuyomi was doing this on purpose. That was the only thing keeping her from unsheathing Yūnagi and teaching her roommate a lesson. Tsukuyomi was only acting like this to bother her.



Unlike yesterday, Tsukuyomi wasn’t just acting out because she was irritated—she wanted Setsuna to get angry. She wanted a reaction.



But she wasn’t going to get one.



Not when Setsuna knew she was being played with.



Yesterday, Tsukuyomi was upset and taking it out on pretty much anyone she spent time with. For the most part, that meant Setsuna, but Asuna also got thrown into the line of fire. Luckily, Konoka was spared, but as today went on, Setsuna was growing surer by the second that the only thing stopping her was a lack of desire to speak to Konoka.



As convenient as that was, Setsuna wasn’t sure how she felt about Tsukuyomi actively disliking Konoka. No matter how powerful her magic was, Konoka was still a beginner, and Tsukuyomi had years of experience and a disregard for human life—any life—that couldn’t be matched.



Setsuna’s hands shook as she fit her key into her door. She was starting to wish Tsukuyomi would go back to silently moping like she had during the weekend. She didn’t particularly like seeing Tsukuyomi that unhappy, but at least then they weren’t fighting.



Not that they weren’t fighting now. Setsuna was making sure of that. She wasn’t going to let Tsukuyomi get to her again.

------

This was harder than she thought it would be.



Tsukuyomi rested her chin in her hands, watching Setsuna undress.



After yesterday, she’d figured that getting something out of her Senpai would be easy. Setsuna had come back from her time with her friends happier than Tsukuyomi liked, yes, but all of the irritation she felt during their argument couldn’t just vanish, could it?



“You really seem to like taking your clothes off when I’m around. Should I take that as a compliment?”



She might have said a little much there. Making Setsuna stop unbuttoning her shirt wasn’t a desired effect of the baiting, even if it did get her to turn around.

------

“We share a room,” Setsuna bit out. “If I could avoid changing around you, I would.” And she did. She usually managed to get her uniform on before Tsukuyomi woke up. Really, it was just getting ready for bed and changing into clothes more suited for training that was awkward. It wasn’t anything like what she was suggesting.



“Why? You didn’t seem to mind bathing with the princess. If anything—”



“You saw that?”



Tsukuyomi’s smile was starting to look a little too content for Setsuna’s tastes. She hadn’t seen the other girl look that—dreamy since—



She really didn’t think remembering that would help her control her temper. She could already feel her hands straining for Yūnagi, and it was taking every ounce of restraint she had to keep her ki in check. She’d fought with Tsukuyomi too many times to lose her temper around the girl without it turning into something more violent than she was comfortable with.



“And it’s not like I haven’t already seen… all of you.”



Setsuna buttoned her shirt back up. She could change at the resort.



“Hey, is that why you did it?”



Tsukuyomi looked like what other people might if they discovered the meaning of life.



“Did what?” She should really leave now. She did that yesterday. The door was just a few feet away. She wasn’t obligated to answer Tsukuyomi’s questions. Or talk to her. Or do anything besides watch her.



Tsukuyomi bounced off the bed and walked over until she was only a couple feet away from Setsuna’s face. Her eyes were bright and far, far too innocent.



“Kissed her.”



Setsuna’s blood went cold.



“That—that has nothing to do with you.”



“No?” She was really starting to hate that smile. “I think it might. You only let her talk you into it after we had our fight, and I don’t think that went quite the way you wanted it to. It makes sense that you’d want to get stronger after that.”



Setsuna’s breathing sped up. Her hands moved to grab Yūnagi. She needed her sword if she was leaving.



That wasn’t why.



She wouldn’t—she didn’t kiss Konoka over something that trivial. They had already come close to making a pactio before they left for a Magical World. It would have happened eventually, and—Konoka was the one who started it, not her.



Tsukuyomi took another step forward.



“Be honest now, Setsuna-senpai. When you kissed her, were you thinking of me?”



Setsuna snapped.

------

For a thrilling fraction of a second, Tsukuyomi thought that Setsuna might actually kill her. Her blade was drawn, and she moved so fast that she might have been able to cause their teacher some trouble. People who moved like that didn't want anything less than the blood of the one in front of them spraying through the air.


So even though she did want a proper fight from the bottom of her heart, Tsukuyomi couldn't help feeling delighted at the emotion in Setsuna's eyes. After seeing something like that, even if she could never see it again, she thought she might die happy. Any punishment was worth this.


Then the rest of the second passed, and Tsukuyomi remembered—dimly, with the small part of her brain that wasn't fading into ecstasy—that all of the baiting in the world couldn't make Setsuna slaughter someone under her charge.


Heat exploded all over her body as Setsuna tackled her to the carpet, her sword to Tsukuyomi's neck.


And suddenly, that was all Tsukuyomi could feel.


That blazing, burning warmth.


Setsuna.


Every inch of her body was on fire.


I WANT her.


She reached out for her ki, wanting nothing more than to have their true battle—one without Konoka—and take Setsuna right this second. She needed her Senpai. The blood in her veins was burning and her breath was coming in short, exhilarated gasps and she needed to ride the wave of desire before it tore her apart. She wanted and needed and how had she gone without this for so long?


But her ki wasn't answering her call. Tsukuyomi was left clawing at the horrible, wretched Seal that was closed around all of her magical energy.


No, she whimpered. Why? WhywhywhywhywhywhyWHY


Let me. Just let me PLAY. Let us have our game.


Let me rip and tear and take every last inch of her. She is MINE and I want her NOW. Let me have her!


It wouldn't budge. Why wouldn't it budge? Why couldn't it let her have one small taste? Why?


Setsuna's grip on her shoulder tightened, and she had to bite her lip to keep from passing out from the thrill of heat the motion sparked. She looked up into the pitch black, golden eyes of her Senpai, shivering with joy.



"You think that baiting me puts you in control?" Setsuna was shaking too. Oh, Tsukuyomi knew that look. She knew it, she knew it, she knew it, and she hoped Setsuna's resolve would give out soon. "It doesn't. I'm guarding you. I’m the one in control. It doesn't go the other way, so don't you dare play with me!"


It was deliriously pleasurable, having Setsuna on top of her and saying things like that with her sword so eager for flesh.


She wants it. She wants it too. Now, Senpai. Release me from the Seal NOW and I can give you exactly what you want. It doesn't matter that I don't have a weapon—I don't need one. I will slice apart your flesh and spill your blood and make you cry out so prettily, and it won't stop until you've—


It stopped.


The warmth was still there, but—


No...


—something cold was flowing in to counteract the marvelous heat that Setsuna was giving off.


Images came, too.


Memories.


She'd seen it before. Setsuna dying.


Briefly, very briefly.


Kyoto.


And then...


That feeling. That relief. Because she’s alive.


She wanted to fight Setsuna.


But Setsuna dead....


Her mind not even registering that Setsuna was off and running out of the room, slamming the door shut, Tsukuyomi let out a high-pitched wail and jerked herself into a ball, rolling over on the floor.


Nonononononononononono.


She could feel something in her starting to snap.


Senpai's blood is always so delicious to look at. Always.


I want to see it flowing it needs to be flowing always


She brought up her hands to her head and clawed at her skull, crying out when that did absolutely nothing to relieve the pressure building in her thoughts.


It hurt. That area in her chest was pounding relentlessly with each and every thought of her Setsuna dying.


But she still wanted. The thrill from earlier was still there, and the only way to relieve it was to shred Setsuna's body to pieces, sending that burning blood erupting all over the room, drenching her clothes in gore—


NO


Not Setsuna not Setsuna not Setsuna


ANYONE but her


Her ears rang with the echoes of the screams her past victims hadn't been able to stifle. It was harmonious, and Setsuna's were part of the symphony, but...


There was an odd stinging in her eyes that she couldn't identify. Tsukuyomi bowed her head and curled further into herself. Strange, alien noises were coming from her throat and her glasses were fogging up.


I want the satisfaction. Give me the satisfaction. Let me take her. Let me kill—


NOTSETSUNA


Tsukuyomi dragged her fingers across her scalp, digging them as far into her skin as she possibly could and rolling over so she could bash her head into the floor.


The pain was good. The pain that wasn't in her chest or head or stomach was good.


She thought she might be screaming. Her throat hurt now too. And every part of her was starting to feel cold and shaky.


I—I can't.


She wanted Setsuna back here.


But I can kill anyone—any body is just a vessel meant for me to dispose of; Setsuna is the sam—


She wanted her Senpai's warmth back.


But I can't.


I can't. I can't kill her. I can't.


Her chest and head throbbed painfully.


...Why?

------

Setsuna went down two flights of stairs before she could bring herself to think about what just happened. The look in Tsukuyomi’s eyes before she came to her senses…



She’d scared Tsukuyomi.



The girl who had ripped her clothes off and pinned her to a rooftop, promising to have fun with her—was scared.



Because of something she did.



Impressive, her thoughts whispered.



Setsuna felt her still-shaking legs give out.



She was disgusted with herself.



What had she been thinking? Letting Tsukuyomi get to her like that when she knew that was what the murderess wanted?



Killer, she hasn’t murdered anyone in a long time.



Setsuna felt herself fish her phone out of her jacket and text Mana. She didn’t think it was a good idea for Tsukuyomi to be in class right now. It wasn’t a good idea for her either. Neither of them was going to manage being around people properly. Tsukuyomi had enough trouble with that normally, and Setsuna…



I’m not like her. I’m not.



Her whole body was still shaking.



What had she been thinking?

------

Mana was leaning against the door of their room when Setsuna finally remembered that she was only allowed to be away from Tsukuyomi for an hour a day, and if she spent any more time sitting in the stairwell her hour was going to be more than up.



“Do I want to know why my roommates are going to be missing their afternoon classes?”



“No.” Probably. “I just—we sort of had a fight, and I don’t think Tsukuyomi should really be around other students when she’s—and, well, you know, I’m supposed to watch her at all times, so I have to stay with her.”



“That certainly explains why you’re almost half an hour late getting back to our room.”



Setsuna shuffled her feet awkwardly. “Yes, well… You’ll tell Negi-sensei, right?”



Mana eyed the straining grip Setsuna had on her sword. “I suppose. I’m adding the half-hour I spent watching our room to your tab though. Like you said, you’re supposed to watch her at all times. It’s not my job.”



“I know.” Though Setsuna was really starting to wish that the headmaster had chosen someone else—anyone else—for this job. No one else would have lost it with Tsukuyomi. Everyone except Asuna could brush the girl’s comments off like they were nothing, but she couldn’t—



“…Thanks, Tatsumiya.” Setsuna got out her key and shoved it in the lock, mentally preparing herself for whatever state she would find Tsukuyomi in.



“A word of advice Setsuna?”



Setsuna looked up. She doubted that any sort of advice would help her with her roommate, but if anyone had an idea of how to deal with someone like Tsukuyomi, it would probably be Mana.



“Anything.”



“Let it go.”



“Wha—?”



Mana cut off Setsuna’s confused response with a wave of her hand. “I don’t know what happened between you two, and I’m sure I don’t want to know, but between the way you act around her and Kagurazaka’s ranting, it’s obvious that there’s more going on than a simple rivalry. But holding a grudge against a person like her doesn’t work. She’ll never understand that she did something wrong, so there’s no point being upset about it. You’ll only frustrate yourself into getting into situations like this. If you want to be an effective guard, get over it.”



With that, Mana turned around and left.



Setsuna banged her head against the very worn-out door.



She should have just said no when the headmaster asked for her help.



She pushed open the door and walked in, bracing herself. She didn’t think Tsukuyomi would want to start their fight up again, but if Tsukuyomi was going to be afraid of her… She didn’t want that. She didn’t like having Tsukuyomi scared.



But it looked like she’d have to wait until later to find out what her roommate thought of her.



Tsukuyomi was asleep on the floor, curled up in a very tight ball and shivering on top of Setsuna’s bedding.



Setsuna barely contained a sigh of relief. She stepped forward cautiously, keeping her breathing light and steady. She walked around to get a good look at Tsukuyomi’s face.



Are those… was she crying?



The little part of Setsuna that was still upset shriveled up and died. She bit her lip and kneeled down to take off Tsukuyomi’s glasses. With Tsukuyomi’s sleeping habits, the lenses would probably end up broken if they stayed on.



Setsuna carefully placed the glasses on the bed after pulling the sheets off and wrapping them over Tsukuyomi. The girl didn’t look like she’d be waking up any time soon, thank goodness. If she was as exhausted as she looked, there was a chance that Setsuna could put off any confrontation they might have until tomorrow.



Setsuna went back to the doorway and collapsed on the floor.



Nicely done.

------

“Eishun-sama… there’s a girl… a blonde girl with glasses… near Gödel-san… at the bottom of the tower... she needs healing… please help her. Please, Eishun-sama… Don’t let her die.”

Spoiler for Notes:

So I was wondering what it would be like for a crazy person to go insane. I don't know if I really managed to make it work, but I had a lot of fun writing it. ...Which speaks volumes about me, I'm sure, but, uh... yeah.

Okay, so this is where the story starts getting a little more interesting. More fun. *cackles*

Thanks for reading.

[Kurush]

Originally Posted by Merctrin

...Okay, alignments are hard. The only one that really makes sense in my head (besides Setsuna's, thanks to you) would be Haruna as a Chaotic Neutral, with a solid allegiance to her friends. Maybe. ...Alignments are really, really hard. Or I'm just bad at them.

New chapter from me. Fun chapter this time around. And by fun I mean... well, I had fun with it.

Prequel
Prologue
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6
Day 7
Day 11

Spoiler for Day 12:

-Snip-

Spoiler for Notes:

So I was wondering what it would be like for a crazy person to go insane. I don't know if I really managed to make it work, but I had a lot of fun writing it. ...Which speaks volumes about me, I'm sure, but, uh... yeah.

Okay, so this is where the story starts getting a little more interesting. More fun. *cackles*

Thanks for reading.

Well, alignments are hard to understand if you haven't heard of them before.

Spoiler for Full details:

As Aris explained, there are nine different alignments, building on the two axis we have available to this.
Lawful Good - "Law is order, and good law is good order."
— Aristotle
Neutral Good - "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."
—Frederick Douglass
Chaotic Good - "I may be a burglar, but I am an honest one, I hope, more or less."
— Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit
Lawful Neutral - "Fame...justice...I'm not interested in either. A woman was murdered. I'm out to find the killer. That's all."
— Inspector Lunge, Monster
- True Neutral - "I stick my neck out for nobody."
— Rick Blaine, Casablanca
- Chaotic Neutral - "Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for."
—Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean
Lawful Evil - "Peace through tyranny."
— Megatron
Neutral Evil - "I've got no complaints as long as I get to kill who I want and steal what I want."
— Revy, Black Lagoon
Chaotic Evil - "Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes... chaos. I'm an agent of chaos."
— The Joker, The Dark Knight

Quotes comes for free. This is derived from D&D, as mentioned in my previous post, and it has had an immense impact on modern society, whether you know it or not. Given that some here might not know the alignments of the Negima cast, let me give a few examples.

Lawful Good: Setsuna (as shown in the manga), Queen Arika, Ayaka
Neutral Good: Negi, Konoka, several of the other girls in class.
Chaotic Good: Asuna, Chao (still debated), Kotarou, Nagi Springfield
Lawful Neutral: The Soldiers (so far)
True Neutral: Kazumi (her allegiance is the news), Mana (she works for the highest bidder)
Chaotic Neutral: Eva, Haruna
Lawful Evil: Kurt (debated), Fate Averruncus (my opinion)
Neutral Evil: Chigusa (remember her?)
Chaotic Evil: Tsukuyomi (oh gods, run!)

Would that help? Or would you like the link to the alignments instead?

Edit: Finally, I've done the KonoSetsu moment! With a touch of Atsuna as well.

Spoiler for Special moment:

Setsuna sat stuck next to the coffin in the library. Of all the places Fate placed her, he had to pick the Coffin. Secured under a tight barrier, and even magically shackled to the box didn't improve her chances either.

Deserter... Setsuna thought to herself, remembering the charges Aris had invoked. Although I wasn't off campus, it could be considered true. I didn't report to them for days, I left my designated place alongside Konoka... The situation looked rather grim for herself. Am I going to get court martialled for this?

(Somewhere, in the vicinity, somebody was watching, having a bowl of popcorn, by the smell)

Oh, damnit, now I'm getting hungry as well...

Footsteps approached her, making the swordswoman stand up next to the big box, only to see Asuna come to her, flanked by two guys, one blonde haired and dressed in a blue shirt, the other was a bit more... odd. He had a hat with a feather on, in a matching suit. “Asuna-san...” Setsuna could only utter, seeing the redhead, not so happy about seeing her.

“Setsuna.” Asuna said briefly. “First of all, before we go into anything, let me introduce you to Takeda Ikki,” She gestured to the blonde guy, who gave a brisk salute. “And Kugenin Hibiki, also known as Siegfried or just Sieg.” The one with the hat nodded at Setsuna. “We picked them up shortly after you took off.”

“...I see.” Setsuna could only reply to her.

“Now, that that's over, I'd like to get to the point.” Asuna said, and Setsuna realized that she was going to scold her for leaving. “Boys, hold her tight on the arms.”

“Got it.” Takeda replied, taking Setsuna's left arm.

“Sure.” Sieg acknowledged, taking her right arm.

Okay, being beaten by Asuna was going to hurt a lot...

The first blow was a classic punch, right on the chest, possibly cracking a rib or two on the raven-haired girl. “That, was for leaving without so much of a note.” Asuna told her, sounding bitter as well. Setsuna coughed twice on that, feeling it real good on herself, but kept stable thanks to the guys holding her up.

And then came the knee strike on her gut. “That was making Konoka worry almost to her death. You could at least have thought about her first before taking off.” The redhead scolded her, whilst Setsuna tried to get air.

“I need to lie down, I need to lie down.” Setsuna told the guys and they gently just plonked her on the floor. “Ooow...” She managed to get out of herself first. “You haven't been skipping on your own Muay Thai practice, Asuna-san.” She tried to lighten the mood, but got a kick on the stomach instead.

“And that's for making me worried!” Asuna replied back to a curling half-demon. “What were you thinking, leaving like that?” She knelt down to the swordswoman. “And thanks to you on a side note, Konoka has been forcing me to act like some person-pillow to her, since she thought it'd be embarrassing in public to buy one for herself.” That got the two guys, at least Takeda off-guard. “Get your mind out of the gutter before I bash it back into you, Ikki.” She paused to tell him that, and he stepped back with a fake smile. “The sheer embarrassment it's been on my part. I thank God that Negi has become a heavy sleeper now and is also too busy with keeping Alicia-chan away from sneaking into his bed.”

(Whoever was munching on those popcorns, certainly gave a thumbs up on this.)

“Well,” Setsuna coughed as a pause there. “What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry?” She asked, crawling to the side of the coffin. Asuna couldn't say anything at first, just faces passing her own.

“Just... I'm just... No. Just, zip it. Save it for Konoka when she gets here, and that's gonna be worse than what I put you through.” Asuna finally said, getting up and starting to walk away. “Come on, guys. Let's give the spouses some time for themselves.”

“Er... yes, ma'am.” Sieg replied, starting to walk away first.

“Nice meeting you, Setsuna-san.” Takeda said nicely to the sitting swordswoman.

“Likewise.” Setsuna replied. Being left alone by the coffin, she couldn't help but lean on it because of Asuna's beating. As soon as her head bumped into the box though, something broke and gas of a sort hissed hastily out of the coffin. It sure gave Setsuna a shock, making her step back. It went out as soon as it came, so the danger was immediately over. But it got Setsuna curious as to what was inside, since it seemed okay to open it now. On a practical level, not morally. But she was curious.

She couldn't help but to get up, place her hands on the seemingly open lid and opened it up. Who? She thought, looking first at the middle. There was indeed a coffin, otherwise there wouldn't be a body there. Hold on. I know those legs. This is... She gasped, seeing who it was. But before she could look any further, the lock was slammed back down.

“Perhaps I should have placed you elsewhere, Konoe Setsuna.” Fate told her, having his hand on the lock. He didn't seem angry, but you couldn't tell with his face. “A minor valve loosened, it seems. Nothing major to worry about.” Walking up to where it had busted, Fate also snapped his fingers past Setsuna, and she didn't feel shackled to the box any longer. “You're free to leave for now. And I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about what you saw, understood?”

“Uh... yes.” Setsuna wanted to be away from Averruncus as fast as possible, so she walked away from there as fast as she could without running. It didn't take long for her to walk right onto the one thing she didn't want to encounter today: A scolding from Konoka. “K-k-k-k-Kono-chan...” She stammered out of herself, frozen with fear.

(That person munching popcorns seems to have followed her by the noise.)

“My deepest apologies, Kono-chan!” Setsuna started, bowing deeply before the healer. “I did not plan fully upon sneaking off like I did. Well, okay, maybe, but I wouldn't have done it without making sure you knew where I took off! I only did it with the best interests for everybody here!” She quickly got out of herself, not looking up to see Konoka's expression. But she was more frightened of this than Asuna's beatings. Please don't hit me, please don't hit me, please don't hit me! One part of her shouted inside her whilst another simply said; Hold on, I probably deserve this....

Konoka didn't seem to say anything at first, wondering what to do with her own wife. At first, she just sighed and stepped closer in on the swordswoman. Setsuna let an audible gulp off, seeing the healer so close to herself, and embraced herself for the worst. She found hands instead guiding her torso upwards, and then she was caught in yet another tight hug, though this one seemed more gentle than the one she was given in the Himalayas.

“Secchan... just... tell me next time, okay?” Konoka said sadly, holding Setsuna close, but not looking at her face. “...Baka.” She also added at last, making the swordswoman feel a big twinge of guilt on herself.

(Popcorn-eater had stopped eating for once and gave two thumbs up, seeing the two girls.)

“Master, may I dispose of the intruder on this moment?” Saber interrupted the two girls, holding someone seemingly invisible to them, but the 'Aargh!' gave it away that Saber wasn't joking with them.

“Hey, let go, you bitch.” Rachel said, struggling to get down, but a snap from Setsuna made her stop and the two elder women looked at the raven-haired girl. “Se- Set-chan?”

“You... you...” Setsuna said, with flames gathering up around herself, after getting out of Konoka's grip. “...You...”

“It's a library.” Rachel tried to calm her down, having been put down by Saber, but couldn't move out of fear. Saber merely went and opened the main a few meters away. “We're in a library!”

It didn't help her being tossed fast out of there. She was screaming out of fright once she was out of the bookplace, going off into the distance from where the girls saw her. Didn't take long until they heard a klong on the bottle wall.

“A most impressive throw, Lady Setsuna.” Saber complimented the raven-haired girl. “I have not seen a throw like that for many centuries.”

“...Thank you.” Setsuna replied quietly. “I'll admit that I wasn't going to be complimented by a Githyanki.”

“I am not Githyanki anymore. I am in some ways dead, and therefore unable to claim some form of heritage of race any longer.”

“A-hem.” A tanned tall woman with a staff came in through the door. “You don't know me, Setsuna-san, so I'll tell you. I go under the name of Freya, I lead the Valkyrie group here in the castle. The Commander said that he wants to see you in the botanical greenhouse, now. I'm to escort you.”

Setsuna felt a big gulp in her throat at the moment, and she felt Konoka cling on to her back. “It's alright.” Setsuna assured her. “I don't think it would be a serious punishment, at minimum.”

“Best of luck then, I suppose.” Saber told her. “I'll look after her whilst you're talking with the Commander.”

“Thank you.” Setsuna repeated to her and followed Freya out of the library.

Spoiler for Notes:

It should be noted that a lot of you guys who favor KonoSetsu writing prefer that Konoka goes angry, speaks with a foul mouth and generall gets angsty whenever she can't be with Setsuna. What the hell is wrong with you people? Konoka is just too friggin' nice to be all that. She might cuss once or twice, but never in Set-chan's presence. I wanted this to be as good as I could make without an OOC thing coming from either of the two. So there. It may not be much, but it's the best I could do at the moment since I got them hitched together.

Atsuna is short for Asuna/Setsuna.

[Finalage]

I'll provide it because I know one and the fact that I feel I need to participate..

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...acterAlignment

Looking at the chart, I'd have to say the way I portray my characters makes sure none of them are really, truely "Lawful good" unless I don't put much emphasis on them. Negi is kind of a toss up between Chaotic Good and Chaotic Neutral, but if I had to chose, he'd be a good, even if he is just a plain ol' lunatic sometimes... The general good guy who doesn't mind getting his hands a little messy.

Providing an example, My story setting is based in chaos, but with a constant struggle to gain the order. Negi is a character that does what he thinks is right, regardless of the law, but he doesn't feel like overextending himself in everyway. He's the kind of guy who would go into a burning building, but he's not gonna stop to catch the girl that jumps out the window, unless he feels like it that is...

Classic to the story, he doesn't mind abusing airpiort staff to avoid tripping the metal detectors, or avoiding detection. He'll freeze um, lock them in broom closets, he doesn't care, as long as he gets where he needs to go.

[Merctrin]

TV Tropes has ruined my life... still, thanks for the link. *twitches*

Originally Posted by deathcurse

Previous chapters

Love and Duty Come in Chains
Chapter 6

It seems like there hasn't been lots of discussion on this thread for a while, eh?

Dang, but reading this can be painful. On the plus side, added angst makes it more difficult to be really angry at either of them, but it's still very, very angsty. Which I suppose is a lot of fun, but... yeah, painful.

I kind of figured that something like that happened with Setsuna, but it still isn't very nice to think about. Makes a horrible amount of sense, too. I think. Afterward, Konoka would feel incredibly guilty over not managing to protect Setsuna, and Setsuna would be a wreck for more reasons than it's sane to consider. Is that how things fell apart so easily along with the wards? Just looking at everything right now, it looks like it at least has the potential to have a lot to do with it.

Hm... Okay, hypothetically, Konoka feels that she failed Setsuna once already, so when Setsuna starts pulling away after Halloween, she feels like she doesn't have the right to reach out, since she's the one who caused the recent emotional turmoil in the first place. And due to some misplaced, ongoing guilt, she refuses to cause Setsuna any more trouble than she already has, even if it's for her partner's own good.

Meanwhile, Setsuna... I don't really want to think about how she must have been feeling after Konoka saved her. But at the simplest and least emotionally scarring level, she's supposed to take care of Konoka, and she can't even protect herself. So when something new shows up, that she feels responsible for, that causes Konoka a lot of stress, she thinks the best thing to do is detach herself from their deeper emotional connection. When Konoka doesn't immediately snap her out of it, the feeling's given the opportunity to take over.

And. Well. From there, things just keep getting worse. Because they don't talk to each other.

Even if that's not exactly it, I'm with Asuna and Evangeline. They're idiots. And all their complicated angst is making my head spin.

More please?

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by Merctrin

I finally managed to finish a chapter before midnight. I'm in shock.

Prequel
Prologue
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6
Day 7

Spoiler for Day 11:

“It’s not like I asked to be put in charge of you!”



Setsuna marched out of their room, slamming the door shut behind her.



She doesn’t seem very happy with me.



Tsukuyomi tapped her pencil rhythmically against the posts of her bed. Her dear Senpai had decided to let her keep the pencil during lunchtime so that she’d have something to do besides staring out the window at people she wasn’t allowed—or able—to slice up. Usually the pencil was taken away from her when they weren’t in classes, never mind that it was about as dangerous as a toothless kitten.



Or a caged bird.



Small cracks appeared in the tiny, hopelessly dull writing tool.



In all fairness, she wasn’t too pleased with Setsuna either.



It had all started very innocently, with her being very mature and quiet about the sudden gaping hole of misery in her schedule. She would go about her days without complaining, productively taking out any irritation building up on the temperamental princess. Setsuna had been a little confused by their sudden lack of communicating, but she didn’t say anything. She went out of her way to avoid speaking to Tsukuyomi in the first place, so the change in attitude was even appreciated on some level.



That conclusion did not help Tsukuyomi’s mood at all.



Instead of limiting herself to bothering the princess, which had a very clear purpose, she started baiting Setsuna just a little. She would have preferred annoying Konoka, since a surprising amount of her frustration was directed at the girl, but at least this way Setsuna couldn’t ignore her.



It started small, with her bringing up certain behaviors and actions that were certain to embarrass her Senpai. Just little things like how, most days, she avoided completely looking away from Tsukuyomi when they were getting dressed in the morning. Setsuna’s paranoia could be delightfully fun.



Setsuna had carefully kept her temper in check, enduring every remark with a startling level of control and silence.



Then today had happened.



She probably should have expected that bringing up Konoka would immediately turn their heating interaction into a real argument. Setsuna was not rational when it came to her partner.



Tsukuyomi’s pencil snapped in two.



Pointing out that she was Setsuna’s primary charge now, so it wasn’t very proper at all for her to be sneaking off with Konoka so often, probably hadn’t been the best idea either. Actually, the slammed door pretty much confirmed that.



They’d never had a real argument before. Usually, Tsukuyomi just wasn’t bothered enough to answer Setsuna’s temper with her own. Very few things could get under her skin in a way that left her open for provocation. The last time she’d had an argument with someone that wasn’t completely one-sided—



Never, maybe?



Tsukuyomi groaned and banged her head into her mattress.



Setsuna could make things so complicated.



Even when they first met, Setsuna just—being Setsuna had caused her problems. Having such delicious prey waiting for her—everything else became stale. She still killed, and she still felt the delirious thrill that came with fighting strong opponents, but Setsuna was always in the back of her mind. The quiet, serious girl who was on fire even when she wasn’t bleeding.



Her best possible opponent.



Her favorite.



Tsukuyomi pushed herself off the bed and went over to Setsuna’s nest, picking up the shards of her pencil as she moved. The bedding was far from warm by now, but it was still comforting to rest where Setsuna slept.



She tapped the sharpest piece of wood against her wrist thoughtfully.



If she—ignored her argument and otherwise frosty interaction with her Senpai, things were not going badly. The princess had a temper that was more than easy to manipulate, and she didn’t like Tsukuyomi in the first place. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that she’d start lashing out soon.



And then it would take a little more work to get Asuna using her artifact, but after that, the Seal would be destroyed, and Tsukuyomi would be free to do whatever she wanted. After, of course, saying a proper goodbye to Setsuna.



Oh. But if she wanted that, she’d have to plan things a little more thoroughly. If she stayed, someone would force her to get the stomach wound treated, and if it was a real medic instead of Konoka, they would probably know to check on the Seal, and when they found out it was gone, they would reapply it, and that just really wouldn’t work.



And she couldn’t say goodbye before the Seal was destroyed because she didn’t know when the princess would finally lose it.



Tsukuyomi thought about it for a few seconds.



If it was the injury that would end up causing her trouble, then Asuna was the problem. Her style was still too unrefined to predict easily, so instead of a direct hit, Tsukuyomi would have to force the sword through the Seal from wherever it landed in the first place. That would make the injury too large to ignore.



There wouldn’t be a problem if the wound was small enough, but she couldn’t expect that kind of accuracy from an enraged girl who didn’t realize she was supposed to be aiming at anything. And besides that, Asuna preferred a slashing motion to a stabbing one. Using the princess meant that a large, bloody wound was practically guaranteed.



Did Luna’s technique work on artifacts? She couldn’t remember. If it did, she could just ask for a favor. Luna was very fond of Negi, but she still felt guilty about betraying her comrades. She could definitely be convinced to help Tsukuyomi.



But what if it didn’t work like that? Then she was stuck with using the princess and she’d have to leave the second the Seal broke.



Tsukuyomi prodded her palm with the broken remains of her pencil.



She didn’t know what to do.



Maybe she should put everything on hold until she had a better idea.



A shiver ran up her spine. She didn’t like that idea much at all. She had practice going uncomfortable lengths of time without the joy of killing someone, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore how cold she was during the day. She needed—and wanted so very badly—to spill someone’s blood as soon as possible.



The pencil dug into her hand.



She looked down at it.



It was sharp. Not very, but if she wanted to break the skin, she could.



She didn’t want to yet.



Too much pain for too little blood, and she’d probably get a splinter. The pencil really wasn’t sharp enough to use properly.



Also, Setsuna might notice. Then the pencil would get taken away, and she’d be in worse shape than she was already in.



Tsukuyomi poked the wood deeper into her hand and looked at the clock by the windowsill.



Forty-five minutes to go.



…She really disliked Konoka.

------

“You had a fight?”



“She started it,” Setsuna muttered into her tea. Across from her, Konoka was holding back a smile. It made her concerned expression look entirely unconvincing, and Setsuna could feel her cheeks burning. She turned away, pretending to be interested in Evangeline tearing into Negi.



“Did she?”



“Yes.”



If Tsukuyomi had just kept quiet, things never would have escalated the way they did, and Setsuna wouldn’t have to worry about how close to breaking their door was. She didn’t think it would take much more abuse, and if it broke, the wards keeping Tsukuyomi in there would break, and she didn’t know what Tsukuyomi would do if she was free of her confinement, but that was a horror best not imagined.



“It’s hard to imagine Tsukuyomi-san arguing with anyone,” Konoka said. “I know she’s—very good at irritating people, but it’s hard to imagine something bothering her.”



Setsuna sipped her tea awkwardly, keeping her eyes on Negi and Evangeline. Negi had really improved. He still wasn’t good enough to actually beat his master (thanks in no small part to the severe injuries he’d taken from fighting Fate), but she was no longer holding back when they fought. If anything, since hearing about his adventures with the scroll version of herself, she’d started going out of her way to make sure she was dominating their matches.



“Set-chan?”



“She’s not sleeping well either.”



Setsuna didn’t know why she said that, and if the look on Konoka’s meant anything, her partner didn’t either. It had next to nothing to do with their argument—it had nothing to do with anything, but she’d still noticed. Anyone would notice, and right now it seemed like—like it mattered. Tsukuyomi’s sleep was getting more and more disturbed. Setsuna was shocked that she was still waking up looking so well-rested.



Konoka slid out of her chair and walked around the small table to sit herself on Setsuna’s lap and tightly wrap her arms around her partner. Setsuna’s eyes widened. Konoka’s head was curled into her neck, and Setsuna could feel every warm breath beating against her skin. Her arms automatically rose to hold Konoka closer to her.



“You are though?”



“Um. Yes. I’m much better Kono-chan.” Konoka was far too close. Setsuna could barely feel her smile against the raging heat taking over her entire body.



“That’s good.”



“Y-yeah.” Very, very good. With Konoka in her arms like this, it was impossible for something to be not good.



Konoka sighed happily and cuddled closer to Setsuna. “Hey, Set-chan? We should—”



“Konoka!”



They both jumped at the sound of Asuna’s voice, and Setsuna had to hold Konoka even tighter to keep the girl from falling off her lap. Konoka smiled gratefully before twisting around to grin tightly at their friend. The expression slid from her face when she looked over Asuna’s shoulder. Setsuna followed her gaze to a smoking crater near the pool.



Maybe Evangeline was being a little too rough with Negi.



“Negi-kun!”



Konoka jumped out of Setsuna’s lap and rushed towards the crater, drawing out her wand. Her voice echoed around the resort as she lectured the unconcerned vampire in between propping Negi up and trying to comfort the semi-conscious boy. Asuna quickly joined her in reprimanding Evangeline, though she was much louder and more direct about it.



The smoke was clearing, and Negi was starting to sit up on his own, protesting the use of Konoka’s magic because the fight wasn’t over, and it wasn’t fair that he got to be healed in the middle of it. Asuna started yelling at him instead of the diminutive vampire while Konoka pointed out that he shouldn’t be taking unnecessary risks during training.



Negi hung his head and agreed with her quietly, all the while trying to stand up on his own and avoid the wand she was waving at him.



Setsuna leaned back in her chair, feeling a smile pull at her lips.



She’d missed this.

------

Tsukuyomi leaned over the side of her bed, watching Setsuna sleep.



She looked relaxed.



Happy, almost.



It wasn’t fair that she could look that happy in her sleep when they weren’t getting along.



Setsuna came back from her time with her friends perfectly willing to forget that they’d ever had an argument. She came back to their room, took Tsukuyomi to class, and didn’t say a single word about it. Or anything else.



It wasn’t fair.



How could she just brush it off like it was nothing?



At least the silence had seemed a little irritated.



And Setsuna did have an extra day to think about things.



Tsukuyomi shivered and pulled her sheets around her more tightly.



Tomorrow, she’d make sure that her Senpai couldn’t ignore things.



“Good night, Setsuna-senpai,” she whispered.

Spoiler for Notes:

In case I haven't mentioned, this story splits from canon after chapter 290. I don't think it's relevant for this chapter specifically, but since I wasn't very specific before... yeah.

Also, this was a pain to write. All I could think while I was writing this chapter was how badly I wanted to work on the next one. Because the next one is going to be fun. Mostly for me. ...That probably means I'll get stuck writing it and won't finish it for about a month.

Thanks for reading.

Very, very clever of Tsukuyomi...and the best part of her plan is that it's all behaviour that is not only in character for her, but would be like routine, making it seem less likely that she had other goals in mind . Now, the most interesting part about Tsukuyomi's plan is that she wants to say goodbye to Setsuna, and that illogic could possibly ruin everything. So to see her risk so much on a simple goodbye speaks volumes, all of it so subtle that I'm absolutely drooling at how well-written this all is .

Konoka and Setsuna moments are soooooooo sweet . Regardless of whether this is a Tsukuyomi<-->Setsuna or a Tsukuyomi-->Setsuna<-->Konoka or a full-blown love triangle, the moments when those two are together feel so much in character that any reader would forget any other ships and start shipping KonoSetsu there. Beautiful writing, incredibly convincing and subtle.

Tomorrow, she’d make sure that her Senpai couldn’t ignore things.

Oh Tsukuyomi, you excel in ominous thinking!

Originally Posted by Merctrin

New chapter from me. Fun chapter this time around. And by fun I mean... well, I had fun with it.

Prequel
Prologue
Day 1
Day 2
Day 6
Day 7
Day 11

Spoiler for Day 12:

Setsuna had to remind herself every other minute that Tsukuyomi was doing this on purpose. That was the only thing keeping her from unsheathing Yūnagi and teaching her roommate a lesson. Tsukuyomi was only acting like this to bother her.



Unlike yesterday, Tsukuyomi wasn’t just acting out because she was irritated—she wanted Setsuna to get angry. She wanted a reaction.



But she wasn’t going to get one.



Not when Setsuna knew she was being played with.



Yesterday, Tsukuyomi was upset and taking it out on pretty much anyone she spent time with. For the most part, that meant Setsuna, but Asuna also got thrown into the line of fire. Luckily, Konoka was spared, but as today went on, Setsuna was growing surer by the second that the only thing stopping her was a lack of desire to speak to Konoka.



As convenient as that was, Setsuna wasn’t sure how she felt about Tsukuyomi actively disliking Konoka. No matter how powerful her magic was, Konoka was still a beginner, and Tsukuyomi had years of experience and a disregard for human life—any life—that couldn’t be matched.



Setsuna’s hands shook as she fit her key into her door. She was starting to wish Tsukuyomi would go back to silently moping like she had during the weekend. She didn’t particularly like seeing Tsukuyomi that unhappy, but at least then they weren’t fighting.



Not that they weren’t fighting now. Setsuna was making sure of that. She wasn’t going to let Tsukuyomi get to her again.

------

This was harder than she thought it would be.



Tsukuyomi rested her chin in her hands, watching Setsuna undress.



After yesterday, she’d figured that getting something out of her Senpai would be easy. Setsuna had come back from her time with her friends happier than Tsukuyomi liked, yes, but all of the irritation she felt during their argument couldn’t just vanish, could it?



“You really seem to like taking your clothes off when I’m around. Should I take that as a compliment?”



She might have said a little much there. Making Setsuna stop unbuttoning her shirt wasn’t a desired effect of the baiting, even if it did get her to turn around.

------

“We share a room,” Setsuna bit out. “If I could avoid changing around you, I would.” And she did. She usually managed to get her uniform on before Tsukuyomi woke up. Really, it was just getting ready for bed and changing into clothes more suited for training that was awkward. It wasn’t anything like what she was suggesting.



“Why? You didn’t seem to mind bathing with the princess. If anything—”



“You saw that?”



Tsukuyomi’s smile was starting to look a little too content for Setsuna’s tastes. She hadn’t seen the other girl look that—dreamy since—



She really didn’t think remembering that would help her control her temper. She could already feel her hands straining for Yūnagi, and it was taking every ounce of restraint she had to keep her ki in check. She’d fought with Tsukuyomi too many times to lose her temper around the girl without it turning into something more violent than she was comfortable with.



“And it’s not like I haven’t already seen… all of you.”



Setsuna buttoned her shirt back up. She could change at the resort.



“Hey, is that why you did it?”



Tsukuyomi looked like what other people might if they discovered the meaning of life.



“Did what?” She should really leave now. She did that yesterday. The door was just a few feet away. She wasn’t obligated to answer Tsukuyomi’s questions. Or talk to her. Or do anything besides watch her.



Tsukuyomi bounced off the bed and walked over until she was only a couple feet away from Setsuna’s face. Her eyes were bright and far, far too innocent.



“Kissed her.”



Setsuna’s blood went cold.



“That—that has nothing to do with you.”



“No?” She was really starting to hate that smile. “I think it might. You only let her talk you into it after we had our fight, and I don’t think that went quite the way you wanted it to. It makes sense that you’d want to get stronger after that.”



Setsuna’s breathing sped up. Her hands moved to grab Yūnagi. She needed her sword if she was leaving.



That wasn’t why.



She wouldn’t—she didn’t kiss Konoka over something that trivial. They had already come close to making a pactio before they left for a Magical World. It would have happened eventually, and—Konoka was the one who started it, not her.



Tsukuyomi took another step forward.



“Be honest now, Setsuna-senpai. When you kissed her, were you thinking of me?”



Setsuna snapped.

------

For a thrilling fraction of a second, Tsukuyomi thought that Setsuna might actually kill her. Her blade was drawn, and she moved so fast that she might have been able to cause their teacher some trouble. People who moved like that didn't want anything less than the blood of the one in front of them spraying through the air.


So even though she did want a proper fight from the bottom of her heart, Tsukuyomi couldn't help feeling delighted at the emotion in Setsuna's eyes. After seeing something like that, even if she could never see it again, she thought she might die happy. Any punishment was worth this.


Then the rest of the second passed, and Tsukuyomi remembered—dimly, with the small part of her brain that wasn't fading into ecstasy—that all of the baiting in the world couldn't make Setsuna slaughter someone under her charge.


Heat exploded all over her body as Setsuna tackled her to the carpet, her sword to Tsukuyomi's neck.


And suddenly, that was all Tsukuyomi could feel.


That blazing, burning warmth.


Setsuna.


Every inch of her body was on fire.


I WANT her.


She reached out for her ki, wanting nothing more than to have their true battle—one without Konoka—and take Setsuna right this second. She needed her Senpai. The blood in her veins was burning and her breath was coming in short, exhilarated gasps and she needed to ride the wave of desire before it tore her apart. She wanted and needed and how had she gone without this for so long?


But her ki wasn't answering her call. Tsukuyomi was left clawing at the horrible, wretched Seal that was closed around all of her magical energy.


No, she whimpered. Why? WhywhywhywhywhywhyWHY


Let me. Just let me PLAY. Let us have our game.


Let me rip and tear and take every last inch of her. She is MINE and I want her NOW. Let me have her!


It wouldn't budge. Why wouldn't it budge? Why couldn't it let her have one small taste? Why?


Setsuna's grip on her shoulder tightened, and she had to bite her lip to keep from passing out from the thrill of heat the motion sparked. She looked up into the pitch black, golden eyes of her Senpai, shivering with joy.



"You think that baiting me puts you in control?" Setsuna was shaking too. Oh, Tsukuyomi knew that look. She knew it, she knew it, she knew it, and she hoped Setsuna's resolve would give out soon. "It doesn't. I'm guarding you. I’m the one in control. It doesn't go the other way, so don't you dare play with me!"


It was deliriously pleasurable, having Setsuna on top of her and saying things like that with her sword so eager for flesh.


She wants it. She wants it too. Now, Senpai. Release me from the Seal NOW and I can give you exactly what you want. It doesn't matter that I don't have a weapon—I don't need one. I will slice apart your flesh and spill your blood and make you cry out so prettily, and it won't stop until you've—


It stopped.


The warmth was still there, but—


No...


—something cold was flowing in to counteract the marvelous heat that Setsuna was giving off.


Images came, too.


Memories.


She'd seen it before. Setsuna dying.


Briefly, very briefly.


Kyoto.


And then...


That feeling. That relief. Because she’s alive.


She wanted to fight Setsuna.


But Setsuna dead....


Her mind not even registering that Setsuna was off and running out of the room, slamming the door shut, Tsukuyomi let out a high-pitched wail and jerked herself into a ball, rolling over on the floor.


Nonononononononononono.


She could feel something in her starting to snap.


Senpai's blood is always so delicious to look at. Always.


I want to see it flowing it needs to be flowing always


She brought up her hands to her head and clawed at her skull, crying out when that did absolutely nothing to relieve the pressure building in her thoughts.


It hurt. That area in her chest was pounding relentlessly with each and every thought of her Setsuna dying.


But she still wanted. The thrill from earlier was still there, and the only way to relieve it was to shred Setsuna's body to pieces, sending that burning blood erupting all over the room, drenching her clothes in gore—


NO


Not Setsuna not Setsuna not Setsuna


ANYONE but her


Her ears rang with the echoes of the screams her past victims hadn't been able to stifle. It was harmonious, and Setsuna's were part of the symphony, but...


There was an odd stinging in her eyes that she couldn't identify. Tsukuyomi bowed her head and curled further into herself. Strange, alien noises were coming from her throat and her glasses were fogging up.


I want the satisfaction. Give me the satisfaction. Let me take her. Let me kill—


NOTSETSUNA


Tsukuyomi dragged her fingers across her scalp, digging them as far into her skin as she possibly could and rolling over so she could bash her head into the floor.


The pain was good. The pain that wasn't in her chest or head or stomach was good.


She thought she might be screaming. Her throat hurt now too. And every part of her was starting to feel cold and shaky.


I—I can't.


She wanted Setsuna back here.


But I can kill anyone—any body is just a vessel meant for me to dispose of; Setsuna is the sam—


She wanted her Senpai's warmth back.


But I can't.


I can't. I can't kill her. I can't.


Her chest and head throbbed painfully.


...Why?

------

Setsuna went down two flights of stairs before she could bring herself to think about what just happened. The look in Tsukuyomi’s eyes before she came to her senses…



She’d scared Tsukuyomi.



The girl who had ripped her clothes off and pinned her to a rooftop, promising to have fun with her—was scared.



Because of something she did.



Impressive, her thoughts whispered.



Setsuna felt her still-shaking legs give out.



She was disgusted with herself.



What had she been thinking? Letting Tsukuyomi get to her like that when she knew that was what the murderess wanted?



Killer, she hasn’t murdered anyone in a long time.



Setsuna felt herself fish her phone out of her jacket and text Mana. She didn’t think it was a good idea for Tsukuyomi to be in class right now. It wasn’t a good idea for her either. Neither of them was going to manage being around people properly. Tsukuyomi had enough trouble with that normally, and Setsuna…



I’m not like her. I’m not.



Her whole body was still shaking.



What had she been thinking?

------

Mana was leaning against the door of their room when Setsuna finally remembered that she was only allowed to be away from Tsukuyomi for an hour a day, and if she spent any more time sitting in the stairwell her hour was going to be more than up.



“Do I want to know why my roommates are going to be missing their afternoon classes?”



“No.” Probably. “I just—we sort of had a fight, and I don’t think Tsukuyomi should really be around other students when she’s—and, well, you know, I’m supposed to watch her at all times, so I have to stay with her.”



“That certainly explains why you’re almost half an hour late getting back to our room.”



Setsuna shuffled her feet awkwardly. “Yes, well… You’ll tell Negi-sensei, right?”



Mana eyed the straining grip Setsuna had on her sword. “I suppose. I’m adding the half-hour I spent watching our room to your tab though. Like you said, you’re supposed to watch her at all times. It’s not my job.”



“I know.” Though Setsuna was really starting to wish that the headmaster had chosen someone else—anyone else—for this job. No one else would have lost it with Tsukuyomi. Everyone except Asuna could brush the girl’s comments off like they were nothing, but she couldn’t—



“…Thanks, Tatsumiya.” Setsuna got out her key and shoved it in the lock, mentally preparing herself for whatever state she would find Tsukuyomi in.



“A word of advice Setsuna?”



Setsuna looked up. She doubted that any sort of advice would help her with her roommate, but if anyone had an idea of how to deal with someone like Tsukuyomi, it would probably be Mana.



“Anything.”



“Let it go.”



“Wha—?”



Mana cut off Setsuna’s confused response with a wave of her hand. “I don’t know what happened between you two, and I’m sure I don’t want to know, but between the way you act around her and Kagurazaka’s ranting, it’s obvious that there’s more going on than a simple rivalry. But holding a grudge against a person like her doesn’t work. She’ll never understand that she did something wrong, so there’s no point being upset about it. You’ll only frustrate yourself into getting into situations like this. If you want to be an effective guard, get over it.”



With that, Mana turned around and left.



Setsuna banged her head against the very worn-out door.



She should have just said no when the headmaster asked for her help.



She pushed open the door and walked in, bracing herself. She didn’t think Tsukuyomi would want to start their fight up again, but if Tsukuyomi was going to be afraid of her… She didn’t want that. She didn’t like having Tsukuyomi scared.



But it looked like she’d have to wait until later to find out what her roommate thought of her.



Tsukuyomi was asleep on the floor, curled up in a very tight ball and shivering on top of Setsuna’s bedding.



Setsuna barely contained a sigh of relief. She stepped forward cautiously, keeping her breathing light and steady. She walked around to get a good look at Tsukuyomi’s face.



Are those… was she crying?



The little part of Setsuna that was still upset shriveled up and died. She bit her lip and kneeled down to take off Tsukuyomi’s glasses. With Tsukuyomi’s sleeping habits, the lenses would probably end up broken if they stayed on.



Setsuna carefully placed the glasses on the bed after pulling the sheets off and wrapping them over Tsukuyomi. The girl didn’t look like she’d be waking up any time soon, thank goodness. If she was as exhausted as she looked, there was a chance that Setsuna could put off any confrontation they might have until tomorrow.



Setsuna went back to the doorway and collapsed on the floor.



Nicely done.

------

“Eishun-sama… there’s a girl… a blonde girl with glasses… near Gödel-san… at the bottom of the tower... she needs healing… please help her. Please, Eishun-sama… Don’t let her die.”

Spoiler for Notes:

So I was wondering what it would be like for a crazy person to go insane. I don't know if I really managed to make it work, but I had a lot of fun writing it. ...Which speaks volumes about me, I'm sure, but, uh... yeah.

Okay, so this is where the story starts getting a little more interesting. More fun. *cackles*

Thanks for reading.

Tsukuyomi brings up some very interesting speculations there, and she may even be right to a certain degree. Very thin line between love and hate there, Setsuna!

The mental struggle was creepy...like, serial killer psychopathy creepy. Perfect for Tsukuyomi!

Setsuna seems to enjoy banging her head on walls in fiction!

That last flashback is interesting...I'm thinking it could be either Tsukuyomi's and Setsuna's very young childhood, when they first met, or it could be their last fight before the story started. And the urgency of the tone makes me wonder if it's guilt that's driving the speaker, or worry.

Some great lines:

She didn’t particularly like seeing Tsukuyomi that unhappy, but at least then they weren’t fighting.

Now that has me happily seeing Tsukuyomi x Setsuna subtext . And I have to say, I'm amazed that there are always moments that have me shipping those two hard, when I'm a KonoSetsu fan .

Making Setsuna stop unbuttoning her shirt wasn’t a desired effect of the baiting, even if it did get her to turn around.

....I just laughed . Out loud, getting me some weird looks from my family.

Originally Posted by Merctrin

Dang, but reading this can be painful. On the plus side, added angst makes it more difficult to be really angry at either of them, but it's still very, very angsty. Which I suppose is a lot of fun, but... yeah, painful.

I kind of figured that something like that happened with Setsuna, but it still isn't very nice to think about. Makes a horrible amount of sense, too. I think. Afterward, Konoka would feel incredibly guilty over not managing to protect Setsuna, and Setsuna would be a wreck for more reasons than it's sane to consider. Is that how things fell apart so easily along with the wards? Just looking at everything right now, it looks like it at least has the potential to have a lot to do with it.

Spoiler for I know what you're thinking, but...:

I know how it looks from the flashbacks, and indeed, I didn't realize just how much it looks that way until I went and re-read it myself . But my real intention isn't quite that.

Spoiler for If you really want to be spoiled for the backstory:

Tsukuyomi didn't sexually assault Setsuna (well, rape her at least), but even if she didn't physically touch her, what she did inside Setsuna's head came about to the same sort of thing. She used mind games to twist Setsuna's confidence, thoughts and memories (there's a subtle hint to this in Chapter VI), tortured her physically by making her beg to be stabbed (where some of Setsuna's masochism comes from) and other things to permanently traumatize her inside and out. Part of the problems between Konoka and Setsuna was due to Tsukuyomi's clever meddling. When she broke Setsuna, she really did it thoroughly .

But now I'm wondering, should I just let people assume that Tsukuyomi did more than I had intended? I meant to Joss (TV Tropes reference! ) that notion in the next couple of chapters, but I could do some interesting things taking that into account. I just worry that things might get way too dark if it goes that way....

I have heard some interesting speculations about the Wards, but so far no one has actually hit the nail on the head yet, although many people are incredibly close .

Hm... Okay, hypothetically, Konoka feels that she failed Setsuna once already, so when Setsuna starts pulling away after Halloween, she feels like she doesn't have the right to reach out, since she's the one who caused the recent emotional turmoil in the first place. And due to some misplaced, ongoing guilt, she refuses to cause Setsuna any more trouble than she already has, even if it's for her partner's own good.

Meanwhile, Setsuna... I don't really want to think about how she must have been feeling after Konoka saved her. But at the simplest and least emotionally scarring level, she's supposed to take care of Konoka, and she can't even protect herself. So when something new shows up, that she feels responsible for, that causes Konoka a lot of stress, she thinks the best thing to do is detach herself from their deeper emotional connection. When Konoka doesn't immediately snap her out of it, the feeling's given the opportunity to take over.

And. Well. From there, things just keep getting worse. Because they don't talk to each other.

Even if that's not exactly it, I'm with Asuna and Evangeline. They're idiots. And all their complicated angst is making my head spin.

More please?

Wow, that's in words what I've been trying to show . Amazing summary of it all, and having Kyo thrown in there makes Konoka's side of things not-so-straightforward as well!

I mean to slowly explain what lies behind all the angst between them, but plot will begin to pick up more from here on out, so I'll have to find some way to cram it all in . And yes, they are idiots, but isn't complicated angst fun???

[Kurush]

Just put up chapter 37.

Further note: Meep-ah. I do my best giving you a KonoSetsu moment and I get ignored? Okay, I admit it wasn't the best, but I tried at least.

[Finalage]

Ha ha, I'm ignored a lot too. Ehh, I know why though, my story, with all of it's darkness, is both for far along and too...dare I say, insane? My next one, coming up soon, will be easier on the eyes...well, no, not really, but it will have more of the action most look for...heh heh....

Sorry Merctrin, I did not know that the site had wronged you. I will keep further note...

[deathcurse]

Well, I apologize for skipping lots of the fics here ...I'm sure they're of excellent quality, but I'm a vague Negima fan at best, and I'm sad to say that I don't have enough of an interest in the fandom to fully appreciate all the details of the world. I gloss over magic in my stories since I still don't particularly get the recent conflicts dealing with it, and I'd much rather tell a story about the core cast instead. The fics you guys do seem to dive really deeply into the politics and the world, which isn't really my main interest.

[444yum]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

The fics you guys do seem to dive really deeply into the politics and the world, which isn't really my main interest.

I don't think mines have politics... lol o--o;;

A New chapter is now uploaded to Story #3 - Chosen Fate. You can check it out here.