Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ Miscalculation ❯ Chapter 1

Miscalculation

 

By: AZ Mark II

 

Disclaimer: Akamatsu owns these things.

 

-

 

“Let's see what we have today,” muttered a voice in a dorm room at Mahora Girls' Academy. The soft clicking sound of keystrokes filled the quiet room. None of the three human residents were in the room. The final resident of the room, however, was. At the laptop computer of the youngest of the resident, a white ermine logged onto the magi-net through a special portal in the school's intranet. “First, let's see how my auctions are going,” chuckled the ermine, absently fishing around for a cigarette.

 

Finding his pack of smokes, he tried to shake one out, only to find that someone had poured glue into the pack. Groaning in annoyance, he tossed the pack into the trashcan. “Does Ane-san have any idea how expensive those are?” he asked the empty room rhetorically. Of course, if she did know, she would only do it more often; and with more glee, the small stoat thought to himself. Asuna ane-san has a mean streak in her, after all.

 

Foiled in his attempt to light up a coffin nail, the animal turned his attention back to the computer. I'll just have to order some more, he decided. But first, he smiled, I need to see how the bids are going, he cackled, his furry paws flickering as he typed in the address for mBay, the magic online auction house. With a flourish, he logged into his account and checked his current items. Seeing the high number of bids, he tittered with glee. “Yes, that's right,” he cooed to the screen, “bid my connoisseurs of fine undergarments; bid and bid some more!”

 

Briefly, he reflected on the chance comment that had led him to his current enterprise. Chibi ane-san was right, he mused, selling girls' underwear and uniform parts is much more rewarding than just hoarding them! Looking at the bids on a pair of Yue-san's panties, he blinked. “Wow! Never would have anticipated such a draw from Chibi's underwear,” he admitted to himself. True, she wears more adventurous undies than most of the girls, but still! he marveled. His eyes scanned down the item list, pausing at a matched set of panties and bra he had `acquired' from Konoka-san the week before.

 

“Truly, someone has good taste out there,” he said, pausing to sip from some coffee. The granddaughter of the school's dean had nice, if understated taste in panties and bras; something that the ermine could appreciate as a chronic panty thief. Now, if only Negi would catch on, he sighed. It was still his primary goal in life to introduce his `big brother' Negi to the wonders of the female form; a form he himself greatly appreciated. I should have thought of this before, he realized, logging out of the auction program, I get all the thrill of stealing their unmentionables in addition to funds for selling them. Life is good!

 

Logging onto a forum, he checked the posts and replies before swiftly creating a new post, announcing the availability of a new set of dirty pictures, `Schoolgirl Heaven volume Twenty One'. It had not taken the furry mammal long to realize the potential of living in a girls' dorm. He had also taken to the fetish-rich Japanese culture like a longshoreman to beer and cigarettes. Within a week of arriving here - barely a step ahead of a squad of magic-using policemen out to collar him for his rash of panty thefts and assorted petty crimes - he had collected enough photos of the girls in Negi's class in various states of undress to create his first digital photo book.

 

It had sold like mad, of course. Glancing at other announcements on the forum, he snorted. Those fools! The secret is not to sell dearly to a few, but cheaply to many, he thought, seeing the purchase price of a copy of a photo collection of a popular woman of the magical world in the nude. His photo collections were not of famous people, nor were they fancy. No, Albert Chamomile, panty thief, con ermine, letch and pervert, had realized that with the bevy of tastes represented in Negi's class, he needn't exert that kind of effort. Instead, he organized nicely-sized photo groups by type and taste. With access to the insanely-large communal bathing hall, the changing rooms, and the dorm - not to mention the random chaos that seemed to infest this school and often resulted in girls losing their clothing in various ways - he had virtually unlimited source material for his collections.

 

He offered sets with dark-haired girls. Sets with big-breasted girls. Sets with loli girls. Sets featuring glasses. Martial artist sets. Sports fetish sets sold nicely. Up skirt sets were always hot sellers in the University circles. Chisame Hasegawa even had an on-going series of sets for cosplay. Though, if Chisame-san ever finds out I am the one doing it, I am probably going to die, he thought, a small shiver running down his spine. Recalling the money that series of sets had so far netted him, he shrugged off the shiver. The thrill is the reward, he told himself piously as he logged out of the forum, leaving the `pay and download' sub-program to do the rest of the work.

 

Typing in a new address in the magi-net, he checked his balance in the ermine section of the familiars branch of the magical world banking system. Once he had logged into his account, he checked his balance. Seeing the figure there, he blinked. “What is this?!” he gasped. After refreshing the browser's window to make sure it wasn't a glitch, he moved into his transaction log, looking for the answer. Here are the deposits from the auctions, and here are the payments from the picture sets, and over here are my purchases from the magi-web and my deductions for my retirement fund, so where…? Not seeing the answer, he looked deeper, pulling up past statements.

 

It hit him as he was looking at his old statements. Like a nail-bat to the head, he suddenly saw it. “No way!” he breathed. Furiously typing, he brought up the transactions in question, studying them intently. Each probationary contract card that big brother Negi creates with a girl nets fifty thousand ermine dollars through the Ermine Familiar Society, and in turn, I get five thousand as my broker fee for being his familiar, the white ermine thought slowly, so why do I have deposits of five hundred thousand for each pactio card he has with the girls from his class? Glitch in the program? Bank oversight? Thoughtfully, he sat back and considered his options.

 

If it is a glitch in the program, then the bank will figure it out pretty fast. Same if it is a bank error, he weighed his situation. So, I can contact them and ask about it, maybe getting me a small reward from the bank, or I can transfer the funds out before they find the problem, or I can pretend not to notice and hope they don't, either. The payment for Asuna's card has been in there for several cycles already, and they have yet to catch it. Decisions, decisions, he sighed. On the other hand, if the EFS catches me doing either of the later options, I could be fined, suspended or even kicked out of the society! And that would mean that I would be broke and back on the street with no way to get back into this cushy gig! he silently mourned the possible hardships before him.

 

“Guess I have little choice in the matter,” he growled in annoyance, quickly firing off an account support email to the bank and to the EFS website. “Might as well see what new and interesting things are available,” he sighed, beginning to surf his favorite magical trinket sites. Bare minutes later, the computer chirped, signaling that he had email. Blinking, Chamo opened the emails, finding them to be from the EFS and the bank. “In regards to your question of…” he mumbled, reading aloud as he scanned past the form-letter part of the reply, “…'the deposits have been verified and your current balance is confirmed as accurate as of today, the…' what the hell?” wondered Chamo. He closed that email and opened another. “What does the EFS have to say, I wonder?” he muttered, scanning the reply.

 

“Holy panty heaven!” breathed the ermine a moment later. Leaping up, he scampered over to his corner of the room, swiftly pulling out his copies of the pactio cards and intently studying them. “No way,” he denied, hurriedly tucking them back into the hiding spot he kept them in before nimbly climbing up the small bookcase above Negi's desk and wrestling a magic book free of the shelf. Tossing the book to the floor of the alcove where Negi had his `office' in Asuna's and Konoka's room, he flipped pages, one after the other, looking for what he wanted to check.

 

Finding it, he scanned the diagram, re-read the spell, and heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank god! I thought I had done it right,” he said smugly. Moving back to the laptop, he began to compose his reply to the EFS, but stopped when he saw that the original reply had a small attachment. Frowning, he clicked on the attachment, opening it. Seeing the diagram in the attachment and the spell, he almost had a heart attack. Frantically dragging the book over to the laptop, he compared the two side by side. “Oh, god!” he breathed before fainting.

 

-

 

“Phew!” sighed Asuna as she and Negi's group emerged from Eva's resort. “I am glad that's over!” she said. With the time off-set of the resort, they were getting a full day for each hour in the `normal' world. Of late, the group had been using two-hour blocks as the rate of their training picked up.

 

“But we go back tomorrow evening, don't we?” asked Konoka. Asuna scowled.

 

“Don't remind me,” she said sourly.

 

“But you are making lots of progress, Asuna,” interjected Setsuna from just behind the bells-wearing girl. “Already, you have far surpassed where you were in the tournament,” she assured her comrade.

 

“She's right, you know!” added Negi excitedly. “You are awesome!”

 

“What I am is sweaty and tired,” Asuna grumped, though a small smile flittered across her lips. “Let's get cleaned up,” she said, moving out of Eva's basement and toward the dorms. Behind her came the rest of the party: Konoka, Setsuna, Nodoka, Yue, Haruna, Kaede, Fei Ku, Kazumi, Chisame, Kotaro, Eva and Chachamaru. Evangeline and Chachamaru separated from the rest, going into the dining room and kitchen of Eva's cabin while the rest moved out the door and toward the dorm where they lived.

 

“Tea, mistress?” asked the gynoid, offering the shrimpy vampire mage a cup of freshly brewed tea.

 

“Thanks, Chacha,” Eva said, taking the offered tea and sipping.

 

“Is something the matter?” wondered Chachamaru, studying her mistress.

 

“Hmm?” wondered Eva, distracted by her thoughts. “Oh, it's nothing,” dismissed the Doll Master. Chachamaru was silent, but Eva could practically hear the girl's thoughts. “I said, it's nothing, Chachamaru,” Eva insisted. Her partner bowed.

 

“As you will,” she conceded. Eva sighed.

 

“Fine!” she complained. “Something has been bothering me for a while now.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I don't know what it is, exactly, but there is something…off about the group,” she mused out loud. “Almost like there was a conflicting magical pulse I can't quite find,” she muttered, frowning. “Sort of like a bonding spell had been mis-cast,” she further dissected the discordant vibe she had been feeling for a while.

 

“Um, perhaps it was like the wrong spell had been cast?” came a voice from the floor. Blinking, Eva leaned over so she could look at the floor beside the table. Seeing who was there, she scowled.

 

“What have you done, idiot?” she asked icily. Her and Chamo were not on good terms, by and large. The ermine annoyed her, and she scared the ermine, which was never a good basis for a friendship. Oddly enough, though, Chamo was a constant drinking companion to Chacha Zero, one of Eva's dolls.

 

“You know the spell for forming a probationary Pactio? Well, it seems there are two versions of it,” Chamo began. Eva growled, her eyes narrowing to slits. “Funny thing is, one of the versions is nearly exactly identical to the bonding Pactio spell, save for one little sigil,” he went on.

 

“You cast the Pactio spell for each contract that the brat made, didn't you?” she accused.

 

“Sort of,” shrugged Chamo. Eva began to say something, but stopped, her scowl becoming a thoughtful expression.

 

“But, if you did that, why does he have cards for each of those girls?” wondered the evil mage to herself. There can be only one Pactio bond, after all, so…?

 

“Well, it seems…” Chamo trailed off, once more wondering if this was the right move to make or not. Feeling a cold glare on him, he swallowed moved on. “It seems they are all valid Pactio contracts,” he finished.

 

“Impossible,” snorted Eva. “Such a thing has never been heard of,” she added, folding her arms over her compact chest.

 

“But, somehow, big brother Negi has ten valid, binding Pactio contracts with those girls,” Chamo said. Eva began to smile a wicked smile.

 

“Oh, this could be fun,” she purred, seeing some interesting possibilities. Abruptly, her smile fell from her face. With inhuman speed, she lunged down, grabbed the ermine by the throat and jerked him up so they were face to face. “What about the bond?” she hissed, her pupils beginning to slit as her whites began to fade to black. Dark Evangeline was about to make a full-on appearance, and Chamo didn't like the inherent risks of that.

 

“I was hoping you might have some ideas,” he squeezed out. Just as suddenly, Eva negligently tossed the small predator aside.

 

“It doesn't really matter,” she shrugged, her smile once more returning. “Boyo would have had to cross that bridge sooner or later anyway, if he is to progress down the path he has chosen,” she sniffed disdainfully. Silent, Chachamaru watched and listened. That does explain what this odd vibe has been, though, she thought, sipping her tea.

 

-

 

“Ah! Nothing like a nice bath at the end of a long training session,” sighed Asuna, rising from where she had rinsed off and crossing to the pool-sized bath for a soak. The others were likewise finishing up and moving toward the huge tub.

 

“At least Negi had gotten over his fear of baths,” giggled Konoka, seeing Negi and Kotaro rinsing off. Kotaro's tail and ears could be clearly seen when he was bathing.

 

“And at least it's late enough that we shouldn't be bothered,” added Yue, seeing that they had the bath hall to themselves. Chisame was quietly soaking a little ways away from the main group, still somewhat uneasy around them, even after all they had been through. Kaede and Fei Ku stepped into the bath and settled down.

 

“Training in Eva's resort is good,” Fei Ku said. “I already far stronger than before,” she added happily. Kaede nodded.

 

“And the different worlds she has added recently make for good practice grounds, too,” the ninja opinioned. Chisame silently agreed that the resort area was a welcome refuge from the madness of Mahora Academy.

 

“Look out!” cried out Kotaro, jumping over the heads of Yue, Nodoka and Haruna to land with a splash that sprayed the three with warm bath water.

 

“Hey! Don't jump into the bath!” complained Yue, wiping water from her face. Kotaro just grinned at her insolently.

 

“A little water won't kill you, Chibi-nee,” he scoffed. Yue scowled.

 

“Who are you calling chibi, dog-boy?” she shot back. Kotaro absently flicked some water drops from his left ear. Negi hopped into the bath, distracting Yue.

 

“Come on you two,” said Konoka as she and Setsuna stepped into the bath. “Let's just enjoy the bath,” she suggested. Tomorrow was a school day, after all. “Naba-san will probably be looking for you before too long, Kotaro,” added the granddaughter of the school's dean. Kotaro blinked.

 

“Uh, yeah, I probably should hurry up,” he muttered, suddenly a little nervous. For some reason, the woman who he roomed with scared him more than any enemy he had ever faced.

 

Chisame looked at the others, noticing that except for herself, Nodoka and Yue, none of the group was bothering with a towel for modesty. Blinking, she realized that her own towel was resting on her lap, below the water, leaving her topless. When did I get so casual about this? she wondered. Yeah, Asuna and Konoka and several of the other girls were never sticklers for modesty, but… she shook her head. Not like it matters, she reflected. Grimacing slightly, she pulled her own small towel off her hips and set on the edge of the tub.

 

By misfortune or fate, their young teacher had had ample opportunity to see every last inch of their bodies; repeatedly and in close-up detail. Unwillingly, Chisame felt her lips twitch in to a smile. And we have gotten our chances to see him naked, she recalled, feeling a little spark of vindictive glee. Glancing over once more, she saw Negi, seated between Asuna and Konoka, animatedly talking about the newest combat moves they had learned in the latest training session at Eva's place. Chisame frowned as she saw that he was developing the same kind of leanly-muscled build that Kotaro, Kaede and Fei Ku displayed. He's going to be a little bishie when he gets a bit older, she thought. Maybe I should introduce him as a friend of Chiu? Or maybe as Chiu's boyfriend? she wondered. She was half-way to planning out the debut of Negi with her web-persona before it struck her what she had just thought.

 

“Something wrong, Chisame?” came Haruna's voice. The mangaka had heard a commotion and looked to see Chisame lightly slapping her cheeks with her hands.

 

“Nothing!” Chisame replied, turning her head away to keep the overly-nosey artist from seeing her blush.

 

“If you say so,” shrugged Haruna, turning her attention back to the group chat going on in the tub. Her eyes fell on Negi once more. He would make a neat base for a character in my current book, she thought. A little brother to the main, perhaps? No, then I couldn't get him involved with the supporting character. He would have to be…a school friend; or maybe rival. Nah, why not just make him an admirer from a year down? thought the Yaoi-obsessed fan girl. Yeah, that will work! He could have the cutest little crush on Hajimi, and when Hajimi hears him confess this to another, he would have to respond to it. Now, how would Hajimi react to that, I wonder? Haruna began to plot out the next issue of her doujinshi for the upcoming convention.

 

“Haruna,” came the annoyed voice of Yue, “wipe your chin; you're drooling,” said the quiet, serious young woman. “And for the love of god, don't tell me whatever twisted thoughts are making you leer like that,” she added, shaking her head. “And leave Negi out of your sick little hobby, hm?” she murmured, glancing at Negi to make sure he didn't overhear her warning to Haruna.

 

“It wouldn't be Negi,” denied Haruna piously. “It would just be a character loosely based on him,” she added innocently. Yue rolled her eyes.

 

“I've seen your sketches in the room, Haruna,” she shot back. “Negi could shave with those,” she sniped.

 

“If he were old enough to shave,” smiled Haruna, undeterred by her roommate's cynical view of her hobby. “Speaking of that, do you think he will chose to be clean-cut or grow a beard?” she gossiped idly. I can always use input for character design, she thought. Yue studied Negi for a moment.

 

“Clean,” she said with great certainty. “After all, all the pictures of his father show that he was clean-shaven, so it is reasonable to think that Negi - with his obsession with his father - will follow that lead,” she explained. “Don't you agree, Nodoka?” she brought the third roommate into the discussion.

 

“Um, yes, probably,” said the shy library girl, color touching her cheeks. Her feelings for her teacher were as evident as always. “I think he would look better without facial hair,” she added softly, gazing at Negi.

 

“You've been watching him a lot, haven't you Nodoka-chan?” came the slyly teasing voice of the mangaka. Her face red, Nodoka slowly nodded. Haruna lunged over Yue, pinning the small girl to the wall of the tub with her tits as she got face to face with Nodoka. “And you like what you see, hm?” she purred. Nodoka's blush moved down her neck.

 

“Can't breathe,” came a muffled voice along with small hands pushing on her breasts. Haruna leaned back over, hearing Yue suck in a breath.

 

“Sorry, Yue,” she grinned at the girl. Yue gave her a dirty look.

 

Their little disagreement was interrupted by a splash from the far side of Negi. All three turned to look past Asuna, Negi, Konoka and Setsuna to where Fei Ku and Kaede were doing something or other as Kazumi watched closely through her camera. “See? Nothing to it,” said the Chinese girl. “Just a decopin with some ki,” she said. Kaede nodded.

 

“I see,” she said. Holding her hand out in front of her under the surface, she exhaled slightly, the water suddenly exploding like someone had stuck a firecracker under the surface. “You're right,” agreed Kaede, “nothing to it.”

 

“Is fun, yes?” replied Fei Ku, doing it again.

 

“Hey! I wanna try!” Kotaro wanted in on the action. He concentrated, and a moment later, a huge spout of water exploded out from in front of him, almost reaching the ceiling and showering the entire group with warm bath water.

 

“Hey!” complained Yue. She had her long hair nearly coiled up, not wanting to have to dry it before bed.

 

“You lack control,” noted Fei Ku.

 

“Enough horsing around, you all,” Asuna barked. “We have class tomorrow, you know,” she added.

 

“Oh! Did you finish the homework, Asuna?” asked Konoka. Asuna blinked.

 

“Homework?” she echoed her roommate. “Homework!” she gasped an instant later, jumping out of the bath and hurriedly dashing out of the bath. “I knew I forgot something,” came her irritated voice as the door to the bathing hall closed behind her.

 

“You not running off, too?” asked Kazumi, stretching her arms as she looked to Konoka. The other girl shook her head.

 

“I finished mine at the resort,” she said.

 

“Same for me,” Setsuna added. “Ojou-sama helped me,” she added quickly.

 

“Come on, call me Kono-chan,” insisted the Konoe girl. “How about you, Kazumi?” she asked the reporter.

 

“Close enough to finish it before bed,” shrugged the girl. “I'm guessing that the Baka Rangers have yet to finish?” she grinned, seeing Fei Ku, Kaede and Yue fidget a little.

 

“It's due tomorrow in homeroom,” said Negi, standing and getting out of the tub. “If you need help, come see me,” he added, grabbing a towel.

 

“Where you going, Negi?” wondered Kotaro.

 

“Asuna'll probably need help,” shrugged Negi. “I thought I would go see how she is doing,” he added calmly, wrapping a towel around his waist and moving out of the bath toward the room he shared with Asuna and Konoka. Just before he exited, he glanced back at the bevy of bathing beauties. “Kaede, Fei Ku, Yue,” he said, “please at least try to finish it, ok?”

 

“Ok, Negi,” agreed the three in unison.

 

“He is getting more and more comfortable in the role of teacher, isn't he?” shared Haruna idly.

 

“Indeed,” agreed Setsuna. “And I have seen a marked improvement in the attention and effort that the entire class gives in recent months, as well,” she noted.

 

“He devoted apprentice,” Fei Ku nodded. She stood. “Maybe we should go study?” she suggested to Kaede and Yue. The ninja grabbed Fei Ku's hand, jerking the shorter girl back down into the bath.

 

“Not just yet, Ku-chan,” she said, a small smile on her face. “Let's soak a bit longer,” she suggested. A soft giggle from Konoka was interrupted by the door to the bath opening, and the sports club girls arriving in riot form.

 

“Not much option now,” said Chisame, seeing Kotaro skillfully slip past the girls using his skills. She knew that within moments, he would be busy dealing with the class rep, Naba and Natsumi. Man, he's whipped, she thought gleefully.

 

-

 

Entering the room, Negi saw Asuna sitting at her desk, her towel over her shoulders, her hair - still in twin pigtails tied by bells - cascading down her bare back. Negi glanced a little lower, seeing that she had donned a pair of panties, but not bothered with anything else. Grabbing a pair of boxers, Negi hung his own towel over his hook in the cramped bathroom before moving over to stand next to Asuna. “You need any help?” he asked her.

 

“I can do this,” she said, her tone distracted a she wrestled with the English homework. Negi saw that she had already missed two answers, but he and she had come to a sort of understanding about this issue.

 

“I know you can, Asuna,” he said. “Just remember, all you have to do is ask if you need some help,” he said. “I'll be grading some papers in my loft,” he told her, briefly touching her shoulder.

 

“Ok,” replied the girl. Negi climbed up to the loft and picked up a stack of papers before grabbing a red marker. For many minutes, there was only the sound of pencil and marker on paper in the room. Eventually, Asuna sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Want some tea?” she asked Negi, standing.

 

“Huh? Oh, yes, please,” came the reply. Asuna hung up her towel before beginning to heat water for the tea.

 

“Where's Chamo?” wondered the girl, fishing around in the small cupboard where she and Konoka kept their modest snack and food supply. Finding some green tea, she set aside two bags. Negi looked around.

 

“Now that you mention it,” he said, “I don't see him. Maybe he's drinking with Chacha Zero again?” he suggested. Asuna snorted.

 

“As long as the perv isn't here, it's all good,” she said. She still held a small prejudice against the ermine over his panty theft and general lifestyle. Glancing at the clock, she frowned. “I can't believe that it's this late already,” she complained. “And I have my mail route tomorrow morning, too,” she sighed.

 

Negi's reply was interrupted by the return of Konoka to the room. Seeing the tea being prepared, she smiled. “I'll finish the tea up, Asuna,” she offered, hanging her towel up on her hook on her way to her dresser. Opening her underwear drawer, she surveyed the contents, frowning. “Asuna, have you seen my teal silk panties?” she asked, quickly double-checking the drawer. Asuna shook her head.

 

“Not recently, Konoka,” said the other girl. “Comet to think about it, I'm missing my new lace and flannel panties, too,” she noted. An instant later, she scowled. “Chamo!” she hissed, striding over to the small bookshelf that the ermine called home and throwing open the door to the shelf. She spotted two pairs of panties in the ermine's bed, but neither were the ones that she and Konoka were looking for. Rather than take the ones there, she left them. Experience had shown her that if she took them back, the ermine would steal more. So, she left the ones that were there to protect her better ones.

 

“Not there?” guessed Konoka, stepping into a different pair and settling them. Asuna shook her head. “And those were expensive, too,” mourned the girl. “Guess I will have to get another pair,” she decided. Reaching over to the foot of her bed, she picked up her pajamas and slipped into them before handing Asuna the large tee shirt the other girl had taken to sleeping in rather than pajamas like she used to.

 

Pulling the shirt over her head, Asuna tugged her hair out from under it, leaving her ready for bed. The large shirt came to her upper thighs, barely below her crotch, but she had found it more practical for sleeping of late than the pajamas that she had previously had. Seeing Konoka setting out the tea on the small coffee table, she called Negi, the young man settling at the table as Konoka poured the water and placed a tea bag in each cup.

 

As the tea steeped, there was a knock on the door, and Konoka opened it to find the remaining Baka Rangers there, along with Nodoka and Setsuna. Before they knew it, Negi was re-teaching the lesson the homework covered, Konoka, Nodoka and Setsuna being pressed into service as assistant teachers to the Rangers. It was much later than any of them had expected it to be when they turned in for the night.

 

“I've got my paper route tomorrow morning,” said Asuna, setting her bells aside before laying her head back on her pillow, “so if you need to crawl into bed with someone, sleep with Konoka, Negi,” she asked, yawning.

 

“Ok,” said Negi, his tone slightly embarrassed. “If it's ok with Konoka,” he added. The dark-haired girl smiled at him.

 

“Of course it's ok,” she assured him, turning off the light. “I hardly ever get to sleep with you,” she teased him, crawling into the lower bunk bed while Negi settled down in the loft. In moments, the group was asleep.

 

-

 

Chamo huffed as he struggled with a book in one of the `hidden' sections of the Mahora library. This section was not open to many, being a repository for magical texts and histories. It was, in fact, off limits to Chamo. Not that that stopped the ermine. Still sweating the mistake he had inadvertently made, he had been on a quest to find out what would become of his `big brother'.

 

To that ends, he was seeking a certain book in this section. Eva had made casual reference to it before, almost mockingly, when he had admitted his gaff to the Nosferatu Magi. If there were any leads to be found, this book was one of the most likely sources, she had said. She had gone on to sneeringly tell him that it wasn't likely that he could get to the book. Never underestimate an ermine! thought Chamo as he finally wiggled his furry hide onto the shelf. Nimbly moving along the shelf face, he fond the book he sought.

 

“Why me?” he complained, seeing the size of it. Sighing, he worked it off the shelf, the book landing with a thud! on the floor. Going down was easier than climbing up, and before the dust had settled, Chamo was flipping pages in the large, heavy book. In particular, this book was supposed to contain the basic pactio theorem as it applied to casting and bonding. The single largest thought in Chamo's head was rather or not he would have to return nearly all of his ill-gotten ermine funds if the cards failed.

 

Got to be in here somewhere, he thought, flipping more thick, heavy pages covered in hand-written notes. Spotting a familiar set of runes, he paused, reading the page. “Ah hah!” he gloated, swiftly skimming through the text. Turning the page once more, he found what he was looking for. “Ok, pactio spell allows partners to…blah, blah, blah…artifact cards are created when a pactio is formed…blah, blah, blah…once a pactio has been made, the spell binds both partners together….blah, blah, blah…as the bound pair grow stronger, so does the bond. Excepting probationary pactio spells, the bond is unbreakable save by death of both partners.” Chamo paused. That could be problematic, he though uneasily.

 

Eyes back on the book, he read on. Ten minutes later, he sat back to think. No matter how he looked at it, this would be trouble for Negi and his girls. On the other hand, I can't see how the pactio cards could disintegrate, so my money is safe; and it isn't like big brother will be harmed by this! he mused. Might even do him some good, like the blonde bloodsucker suggested, he considered. Damned if I know how this happened, since the spell to create a pactio contract shouldn't have worked after Asuna's card, but does it matter at this point? Hurriedly closing the book, he turned it over before leaving the room. He could never put it back on the shelf, so he had to hope that whoever found it would just assume that it had fallen off the shelf somehow and think no more about it.

 

-

 

An alarm sounded, shattering the silence of the room. Fumbling fingers found the clock and shut it off a few moments before a long-haired figure sat up, rubbing her eyes before stretching her arms. Damn newspaper route, thought Asuna sourly. Maybe I should quit, she mused, carefully climbing down from her bunk. Konoka-chan is always insisting that I don't need to do it, and with the training and Negi and all, I'm busy as hell, the girl thought, pulling off her sleeping shirt and fishing around in the dark for a bra with one hand as her other adjusted her crooked panties on her hips.

 

In the dim light of the assorted clocks, computer, cell phones and from outside the windows of the room, she checked the small thermostat that showed the temperature inside the room and outside. Early autumn was closer to late summer this year, with higher-than-normal temperatures. Pausing, she considered the bra in her hand for a moment before putting it back in favor of a lighter, thinner bra. Probably should wear a short skirt and summer blouse, she decided, disliking having to shower when she got back from her route due to breaking a sweat.

 

As she easily shrugged into the bra and adjusted her breasts comfortably in the cups, her eyes - adjusted to the dim light - swept over Negi's pallet in the loft. She could see that the covers were tossed back, the futon empty. Lips twitching slightly, she turned to look at Konoka's bed. Under the thin cover, she saw her dark-haired friend cuddled up to a slightly smaller form, her arms around Negi as she slept. Shaking her head, she carefully retrieved her bells and tied up her hair, doing her best to keep them from making any sound as she zipped up a short pleated skirt and picked up a pair of socks. Her habit was to put on her socks and shoes outside the door to her room, the better to keep from disturbing Konoka's sleep.

 

“Be sure to take your cell phone,” came a soft whisper as Asuna reached for the door handle. Turning to look at Konoka's bed, she couldn't see if the other girl's eyes were open or not, but it didn't matter; she already knew that Konoka was awake.

 

“Got it,” she murmured back. “Take care of Negi, hmm?” she said, opening the door.

 

“Of course,” Konoka whispered back. Asuna slipped out of the room. As she stepped into her shoes after pulling on her socks, she found herself jealous of Konoka holding Negi. What do I care? she thought, irritated. He's just a brat, she added after a moment. Jogging out of the dorm, she hurried to her part-time job.

 

“Ah! Asuna-chan!” came the voice of the newspaper shop owner. “I was wondering when you would be back,” he said. Asuna blushed a little.

 

“Sorry,” she said contritely. “School and…things have been crazy lately,” she said. I have been missing a lot of work days, she thought.

 

“Well, I can't say that school isn't important,” said the man, “but it is kind of hard to run a business when you don't know if your workers are going to show, you understand?” he said. Asuna laughed weakly.

 

“Gomen,” she said again.

 

“It's fine, Asuna-chan,” the man said. “But I just wanted you to understand my situation. I picked up another kid to cover your normal route. This morning is his first day,” the man said. Asuna blinked. “I want you to show him how the job is done, ok?” said the man. Asuna frowned.

 

“Sure,” she said. Just then, a young man in the uniform of Mahora Middle School entered the shop.

 

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he breathed.

 

“No problem. Tokata-kun, this is Kagurazaka-chan. She will be showing you the job and route,” said the man. Asuna gave the younger man a brief bow.

 

“Tokata-kun,” she said.

 

“Kagurazaka-sempai,” he replied respectfully.

 

“Pay attention to her, kid; she'll show you how to do it,” said the man, turning back to his work. Asuna got right to it, showing him where the route bags were, showed him how to check the sheet to see if there had been any changes in subscriptions, and before five minutes had passed, she and her `apprentice' were out the door and on the route.

 

Absently, Asuna kept up an intermitted monolog about the job, but her mind was on other matters. Eventually, as they were making their way back toward the shop, she felt a touch on her arm. Months of sparring with Setsuna, Kaede, Negi, Evangeline, Fei Ku and other assorted heavies of their secret group had ingrained automatic responses in the girl. Before she realized what she was doing, she was standing over the young man, his arm in a locking hold. “Uh, sorry, Tokata-kun,” she said, releasing the surprised young man. “Reflex,” she offered obscurely.

 

“I…it's ok, Kagurazaka-sempai,” he weakly, massaging his arm and shoulder.

 

“Need something?” wondered Asuna, absently frowning at her hand. I'm getting as bad as Fei Ku about that, she thought wryly. She had painfully learned that if any of the more dangerous fighters in Negi's White Wings group got their hands on you, you were done for, so she tended to react instantly to unexpected touches.

 

“I just wanted to ask you why you were changing routes. This one seems pretty good, sempai,” he asked her, his tone a little nervous. Asuna glanced around the neighborhood. Not far from her was Takahata's house. He was away from the school on business of some sort, so the house was dark.

 

“I'm not changing routes, Tokata-kun,” she said, suddenly reaching an important decision. “I'm quitting,” she said firmly. “In fact, today is my last day. If you have any questions, ask them now,” she said firmly. Tokata did have questions. When they reached the shop, the young man hurried through the last steps of the job, bowed to Asuna, and ran off to make class on time. Seeing him gone, Asuna turned to the shop owner and bowed her head.

 

“I have decided that today was my last day. Thank you for the opportunity,” she said formally. The man looked at her for a long moment.

 

“I'm sorry to see you go, Asuna-chan,” he said, “but I can see you won't change your mind, so I wish you luck!” he said. Asuna smiled.

 

“Domo,” said the girl as she exited the shop. For some reason, she felt ridiculously good.