Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ Miscalculation ❯ Chapter 38

Negi awoke as usual, Asuna spooning with him from behind, Konoka cuddling him face to face, the two girls securely holding him in place; not that he minded. Exhaling happily, he breathed in their scents, familiar and comforting. Turning his head, he managed to kiss the corner of Asuna's mouth before craning his neck the other way to kiss Konoka. Both girls made happy sounds, though he doubted they were awake just yet.

 

Negi, having been raised by his cousin, had a very strong liking of girls in general. More than once he had heard passing talk in his village that Nekane was raising him as a fine girl, but it never bothered him. His `nee-chan' was always there for him, always took care of him, and always took his side in the not-infrequent incidents. He had followed her into Merdiana Magic Academy, along with his only other real friend/rival, Anya Cocolova.

 

Thinking of the competitive Russian girl he had grown up with, he grinned. I really should send her a letter, he realized. It bothered him that he had become so wrapped up in his own dramas at Mahora that he had hardly thought of her, let alone kept in touch. She said she was going to be working in London as a fortune teller, recalled the young mage. I'll need to see if Nee-chan has her address, he realized.

 

Once more, his thoughts turned back to Nekane Springfield. I should write to her about the cards, see what she thinks is happening, mused Negi, absently shifting in the twin embrace, the soft skin of the girls warm against his skin. I can't recall ever hearing about the Pactios changing like that, probational or not. Maybe something is wrong? He thought of his friend Chamo, who had done the casting for the bulk of the cards. No, Chamo knows what he's doing, doesn't he? he told himself. Besides, he wouldn't make a mistake on something like a Pactio, I'm sure of it, the young mage nodded to himself. Come to think of it, where has be been lately?

 

“Negi?” came the sleepy voice of Konoka. The granddaughter of the dean opened her eyes, though she kept her body close against his. “Everything ok?” she asked, more awake.

 

“Yeah, just woke up a minute ago,” he said, kissing her again, a soft, short giggle coming from her as they kissed.

 

“That's a nice way to greet the morning,” Konoka purred, her tongue gently teasing his before she pulled back a little.

 

“Hope you aren't planning on leaving me out of that,” came Asuna's voice from behind him. Smiling, he turned to meet her kiss as well. In doing so, he discovered that Asuna's arms were around him, reaching over to Konoka as well, holding her friend and fellow teammate to the two of them. Konoka's hand likewise crossed his body to rest on Asuna's sides. “What time is it?” asked Asuna between deep kisses.

 

“About ten minutes before we normally get up,” Konoka supplied the answer. Asuna stretched, the three shifting apart slightly.

 

“How about a morning bath?” suggested Asuna. “Since we don't have class today, we can relax and enjoy it,” she said, fluidly rolling out of the loft bed, landing cat-like on her feet. Konoka rolled out of the bed next, Asuna catching the girl in her arms and setting her on her feet. While athletic in her own right, Konoka was not quite as capable as the front line fighters, and Asuna had picked up Setsuna's habit of watching out for her to the point of almost serving the healer. Negi hopped out of bed easily, landing next to the two as Konoka gave Asuna a kiss as a thank-you for the catch.

 

“We should see if any of the others want to come,” Negi suggested, grabbing the towels and bath baskets. Swiftly wrapping his towel around his waist, he handed the two girls their towels. Both draped them over a shoulder as they headed for the door.

 

“Already done,” Asuna said, the door to their room closing behind them. “Not many of the Wings are up, but a few are, and they will meet us at the bathing hall,” she supplied. I like this team telepathy, she thought to herself. Once Eva had coached them in how to use it more effectively without compromising their own privacy or tipping off the sensitive mages and students at Mahora, the silver card group had been practicing. And Kaede needs her card converted, too, recalled Asuna. “Negi, how soon are you going to…with Kaede,” she edited herself, spotting a girl from another class exiting her room a little ways up the hall. The three nodded to the girl in passing.

 

“Well,” Negi began.

 

“You should see if you can do it before we go back to the Resort,” Konoka said calmly. “With the issue of Mana still up in the air, we need Kaede at full strength,” reminded the girl.

 

“I can't believe you said you needed to think about it,” Negi said to the girls. Asuna frowned slightly.

 

“Mana is our classmate, yes, but she has a history with us, you know?” murmured his primary partner softly.

 

“Yo,” came a voice from their left, where another hall joined their hall. Glancing over, the three spotted Kotaro and Natsumi, along with Ku, Setsuna, Nodoka and Yue. Joining together, the group approached the bathing hall on their floor.

 

“Where are the others?” asked Negi.

 

“Paru was up until barely an hour ago, working on some project of hers,” Yue shared dispassionately. “She even used four golems of herself to help her.”

 

“She late on a deadline again?” wondered Asuna.

 

Nodoka answered. “No, just a sudden case of inspiration,” the girl's tone was bland. Long since used to the weird habits of their roommate, the two were unconcerned.

 

“Why didn't she borrow the Resort?” wondered Konoka.

 

“She doesn't want to do that unless at least some of us go with her,” Yue took her turn. “Apparently, the `energy' or `feel' just isn't there without some of us around,” smiled the girl. You would have to know her to see her smile, though.

 

“She'll be along in a bit,” Nodoka added as the group entered the huge bathing area. Since they hadn't bothered with clothes, they moved straight through the changing room and into the bathing area. At that time of day, on a weekend, it was empty.

 

“Ah! The bath is ours!” smiled Ku, spraying herself off before jumping into the bath. Kotaro started to chase after her, but Asuna snagged him as he passed.

 

“Rinse off first,” she said, giving him a light push toward the facets. Grumbling under his breath, he did as told, settling next to Natsumi, who handed him the body wash without a word. Negi smiled, recalling when Asuna used to do that with him. Joining Konoka and the library duo, he quickly scrubbed down, rinsed and moved to the bath.

 

After dunking under the water, he wiped the warm water from his face and found himself face-to-face with Ku, the girl grinning at him. Before he could react, she was kissing him; not that he minded at all. “Hey! Be careful about doing that outside the Resort, Ku!” protested Asuna, stepping into the bath as well.

 

“Forgot,” shrugged Ku, unrepentant.

 

“Equal treatment for all,” came an amused voice from the door. Turning, the group spotted Kazumi and Chisame entering the bath hall. The immediate response from the girls was overwhelming, and Negi found himself kissing all his Wing girls for the next minute or so.

 

“Good morning,” came Kaede's voice from the side of the bath, the tall ninja standing there as if she had always been there. Probably has been, too, thought Asuna wryly. Another kiss, this one a little longer, followed.

 

“Kaede,” Asuna nodded to the ninja, “what are you planning for today?” she asked.

 

“I thought I would visit my training grounds in the mountains,” said the ninja. “I haven't been there in a while, so the camp probably needs a bit of tending-to.”

 

“Good idea,” Asuna said. “Take Negi with you,” she added quietly, meeting Kaede's eyes for a moment.

 

“I had hoped he would want to come with me,” she said, a smile on her lips.

 

“He does,” Asuna said, glancing at Negi. The young mage nodded.

 

“I'd he happy to escort you, Kaede,” he said honestly. “I think I will do better at food gathering this time than I did before,” he added, grinning as he recalled how pathetic he had been. Now, thanks to my training, I should be a lot better at it. He found he was looking forward to it.

 

“I'll go, too,” Kotaro chimed in. “I've heard about this ninja camp, and want to see it, too,” he explained.

 

“Not this trip,” Asuna over-ruled the only other male in the Wings.

 

“Aw, why not?” complained Kotaro, hands on his hips as he stood on the surface of the bath in front of Asuna. The girl stood up, her eyes now almost level with Kotaro's, even with him standing on the surface of the water.

 

“Because we said so,” Asuna said evenly.

 

“Wouldn't it just be easier for her to join with him here, instead of trekking all the way to the mountains?” Kotaro asked casually. Natsumi gasped. “What? You didn't know?” he asked the girl. Mutely, she shook her head. “It's because…” began Kotaro, only to have a hand slap over his mouth.

 

“Don't talk so casually here at Mahora, mutt!” hissed Asuna. “There are others here who don't need to know about…that,” she finished. Kotaro managed to pry her hand off his mouth.

 

“None of them are here, right now, so who cares?” he challenged her.

 

“You get into the habit of talking opening, and it will bite us all in the ass,” Asuna insisted. “Besides, there is too great a risk for them to do it here,” she thought out loud, imaging all that could happen - and likely at the absolute worst time. Our class is full of nosy girls and the school is crawling with mages. No, they need a little more privacy, just in case, she thought. Granted, nothing bad had seemed to happen when she, Konoka and Setsuna had deepened their bond to Negi, but she wasn't about to risk anything after what Eva had told them about the number of sensitive students and how densely the faculty was populated with mages.

 

“Do what here?” came the voice of one of their newest members. Asuna knew that voice well. Ayaka, thought Asuna.

 

“Good morning, Class Rep,” smiled Konoka.

 

“Konoka,” nodded Ayaka. “What were you talking about, Asuna?” asked the girl, persistent as always.

 

“Negi and Kaede have to run an errand today, that's all,” Asuna said. Ayaka looked over to Negi.

 

“But, I wanted him to come visit with me,” she pouted. Asuna glanced around her fellow wings for a moment.

 

“He can do that tonight or tomorrow, Ayaka,” she said.

 

“Is this about…” Ayaka paused, catching the expression Asuna's face. “…the club activities?” she carefully phrased.

 

“Yes,” nodded Asuna. “We don't need to attract any unnecessary attention,” she reminded the group at large.

 

“It could be a little late for that,” Kazumi said, entering the hall. “Heard some interesting rumors in the hall just now,” the intelligence gatherer shared.

 

“Rumors?” wondered Negi. Kazumi nodded.

 

“Someone is saying that Negi was seen using magic last night,” shared the pineapple-head.

 

“So? Rumors like that are common school fodder,” Chisame dismissed the news. “No one will believe the rumors,” predicted the girl.

 

“I'm not so sure,” Kazumi shook her head. “Someone saw Negi summon us in the park. They also seem to have gotten some cell-phone video of it,” explained the girl. Chinami's expression darkened slightly.

 

“Adeat,” she muttered, her Pactio activating and her `servants' popping into view. Swiftly giving them their tasks, she waited, the others watching her and keeping an eye out for any stray students entering the baths. Less than a minute later, Chisame sighed.

 

“Yeah, someone saw us,” she said. “The cell-phone video is poor; really poor,” she sneered, “but it is enough to make trouble,” she soberly reported. “I've deleted all the copies I could find, and my minions are digging around for any more, but there is no telling where the original is. I'm going to code up a virus to corrupt any copies that might survive, but we need to contain this - fast,” she urged the group.

 

“Agreed,” Asuna said. “Kazumi, see if you can find out who started this rumor. If we are lucky, we can nip this in the bud, since it hasn't gotten much traction yet.” Kazumi nodded.

 

“Already on it,” she replied.

 

“We've got company coming,” Kotaro said, cocking one of his ears toward the door. “Sounds like Chizu-nee and a couple more,” he added a moment later. “Guess I better make myself scarce,” he mumbled.

 

“They're at the door,” Kaede said, comfortably relaxing. “Little late to make an escape,” she grinned at the dog-boy. Kotaro grunted.

 

“Over here,” called Natsumi, motioning to the spot beside her. Kotaro moved over, sinking down until only his nose was above water.

 

“Ayaka, sit next to Natsumi,” Asuna said. Ayaka nodded, sitting down and fanning out her long, blonde hair, covering Kotaro's head, making the young man nearly invisible.

 

Just then, the doors opened, and Chizuru lead a party into the baths. With here were several of their classmates, including the cheer trio. Spotting Negi, the girls squealed in delight. It took Asuna, Setsuna, Kaede and Ku a fast minute to fend off their classmates, who seemed hell-bent on molesting Negi.

 

When the new arrivals were settled down some, Sakurako opened the topic the Wing girls knew were coming. “So, are you really a magician, Negi?” demanded the most hyper of the cheer trio.

 

“Magician?” countered Asuna blandly. “You believe in magic, Sakurako-chan? Aren't you a little old for such things?”

 

“I don't know,” Misa cut in, “magic would explain a lot of the strange things going on around here,” noted the girl.

 

“Really?” Konoka asked, smiling easily. “If you want magic, Zazie-chan is a magician,” she shared. The Cheer Trio glanced at each other.

 

“Not that kind of magician,” Misa insisted, absently fanning out her purple hair, “I mean like the kind of magic where you can summon people!”

 

“Yeah!” chirped Sakurako eagerly. “Like when Negi-kun summoned you girls in the park the other night!” Her two friends turned to stare as her along with the assembled Wings members.

 

“Sakurako,” gritted out Misa.

 

Guess we know who started that rumor now, thought Asuna, using the shared telepathy. Chisame's lips twitched briefly.

 

I'm wiping out their cell phones right now, she reported to the others.

 

I've got an idea for damage control, Kazumi added. I'll need Yue and Haruna to help me, and Negi will need to be gone for a bit, she added, grinning.

 

Right, Asuna agreed. “You three and your crazy imaginations,” sighed the girl aloud. “We were at our club last night, and came straight back to the dorms, so whatever you thought you saw, you imagined,” the girl said, standing. “Anyway, I'm hungry,” she said, the other Wings joining her lead. Before the newcomers could figure out what was happening, not a single Wing member was left in the bath.

 

“Where are they off to so fast?” wondered Misa, almost pouting. “Oh, well! We'll catch them later this morning,” she smiled.

 

“Have you ever thought that you shouldn't?” Chizuru asked placidly.

 

“Huh?” wondered Sakurako.

 

“Sometimes, things are better left alone,” Chizuru said, absently hefting her breasts in her hands. “By the way, what were you three doing in the park so late at night? And in such a remote location?” asked the bustiest girl in the class, smiling innocently. The three cheerleaders gulped, suddenly nervous.