Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ A Christmas Wish ❯ Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu owns Negima and thank God for that! Although, I wish he could have placed more Konoka and Setsuna scenes but oh well. Also, Tal Bachman owns the song.

 

'Cause she's so high...
High above me, she's so lovely
She's so high...
Like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, or Aphrodite
She's so high...
High above me

 

 

Setsuna paced about the room like a caged animal as she tried to gather her thoughts. `How the hell will I explain the situation to her?' Setsuna's mind was thinking several thousand miles a second trying to piece together how she would present her case. “Look, Konoka-Ojousama, I know how it may appear, but I honestly didn't expect for you to know like this. I was seriously going to get rid of it so you wouldn't have to know.” Setsuna stopped pacing and stared at the ground.

Konoka's smirk disappeared from her face. `What is she talking about? Get rid of what?' Sliding off the desk, Konoka stood before the flustered samurai, “Set-chan?”

Taking a couple of steps back, Setsuna refused to look at Konoka. She didn't want to see the pity or the revulsion. “Just forget you saw it, Ojousama. It was only a passing thought; I wasn't going to really go through it.” Setsuna ran her hand down her face. Small, soft, cold hands cupped Setsuna's face and drew her face upward to face Konoka's concerned expression.

“What's wrong, Set-chan?” Now, it was Setsuna's turn to be confused, “I have no idea what you're talking about.” Eyes wide and mouth agape, Setsuna was too shocked to notice the close proximity of their faces to become embarrassed. Instead, Setsuna remained silent for a few seconds.

“Y..y..you aren't talking about…I mean the thing needed to be discussed isn't…I…that is I thought we….' Setsuna pulled herself away from Konoka until her back hit the door, “What were you talking about?” She finally managed to complete a sentence.

“I was talking about the change of plans for the Santa display. What are you talking about?” A deep concerned washed over the young princess' face.

“Nothing! I was too, heh.' Setsuna searched for the doorknob with her hand; a familiar scene replayed within her mind, “I was talking about the Santa suit. Yeah!”

“Set-chan…” Konoka took another step toward the once again cornered samurai. Setsuna felt the lock with her thumb. With precision and skill, she managed to flip the lock, freeing the now unbolted door.

“You know what? I should rehearse for my role. I can't allow myself to fail on such an important occasion.” Setsuna's hand turned the knob, `Almost there, just a bit more stalling and I'm home free.' Moving her body to the side of the door, she managed to crack open the wooden barrier but before she could slip through, the door slammed shut. Dreading the cause, Setsuna hesitantly dragged her eyes toward the now expressionless face of the princess.

“Not this time, Set-chan. I may be a princess, but the same method won't work a second time. Now, I want you to sit down on my bed and tell me the truth. What were you talking about? I know it wasn't about the Santa change.” Konoka waited for the awkward, blushing half demon to sit before she sat across from Setsuna. The silence was thick. Konoka didn't mind; she enjoyed anytime spent in the company of the girl before her. Konoka was also confident that her patience would win out eventually.

Setsuna knew that Konoka would wait forever if need be until the swordswoman decided to confess. “I can't, Ojousama.” Setsuna finally blurted.

“Why?”

“I just can't.” Setsuna stood up and turned her back to Konoka. Setsuna wanted to leave. She felt a pair of hands holding onto the back of her shirt.

“Set-chan, please let me in.” Konoka leaned her forehead against Setsuna's back. Clenching her fists, Setsuna moved away from Konoka heading toward the door. Distinctly Setsuna felt her foot bump against something as she moved away from the bed, but she was determined to get away. The door closed softly behind the raven-haired girl; Konoka frowned as she sat down. Cradling her face in her hands, Konoka felt her body shaking.

`Why does it always turn out like this? I'm sick and tired of this.' She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. Pulling her face away from her hands, Konoka looked ahead. `She can be so stubborn.' Konoka took several deep breaths to calm herself. Glancing at her watch, she stood up. She had a luncheon with Asuna. She headed for the connecting bathroom to wash her flushed face.

Splashing cold water on her face, she scrubbed the palms of her hands against her skin. After a few dips, she dried off her face. She pulled back her sleeve to look at her watch once more. “Damn, I'm going to be late.” She quickly headed back into the room to grab her coat lying on her bed. As she snatched the coat, she discovered something on the floor. Placing the coat back on the bed, she knelt down to pick up a black box. Knitting her eyebrows together, Konoka stood up; she looked the box over in hopes of finding the name of the owner. With no such luck, she opened it and let out a gasp.

 

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On the night of the Christmas festival, Setsuna was dressed in her new Santa outfit. When Konoka called her to be fitted for the uniform, Setsuna feared Konoka would be upset, or even worse, want to talk about what happened. To her relief, the healer only measured her before finalizing the suit. Setsuna did find Konoka's behavior a bit puzzling though because the young healer was acting odd. Konoka's mind seemed to be elsewhere.

Whenever anyone tried to converse with the usual energetic girl, Konoka seemed deep in thought about something. After much questioning on the girl's odd behavior, both students and teachers eventually agreed that it was nothing to worry about. As the time of the Christmas festival neared, students ran around screaming in excitement as firecrackers and signs lit up the darkening evening skies.

Setsuna was sitting at her post with a cherry red face. Her outfit basically consisted of the normal Santa outfit that is well known throughout the world. She was adorned in red pants, hat, and jacket with black mittens and boots; she even had a beard pasted on her face. To give off an even more authentic look, Konoka sewed in padding in the middle. Snow was lightly flittering along with the gentle wind creating a more magical effect to the soft lantern lights illuminating the entire festival. Setsuna was impressed with how beautiful and well planned the festival was turning out to be, but she was not surprised since Konoka was the one in charge.

But then, the girl, Konoka, seemed to have disappeared after instructing the samurai to play the part of Santa on the stage. Being robbed at an early age of what a normal childhood was like, Setsuna had no idea who Santa was or what encompassed the job of playing one. Once Konoka told her who Santa was and the job Santa fulfills, Setsuna paled.

Konoka giggled and gently slapped the poor shocked girl on the back, “Don't worry, Set-chan. All you have to do is take your pictures with them.”

“But, Ojousama, why didn't you just have one of the teachers to play the part. A man would have filled the role much better than I.” Setsuna argued her case to Konoka, who was ignoring the samurai, as she held the Santa hat in her hands.

“I chose you because I know you will do a great job. Now, you won't break your word to me, will you?” Setsuna growled as she realized Konoka not only trapped her but was giving Setsuna payback. Konoka stuck her tongue out at the quiet, defeated girl. “It's okay, Set-chan. It won't be that bad. Besides, I doubt that many girls would want to sit on your lap.” Konoka winked as she placed the Santa hat on the half demon's head. Before Setsuna could voice her concerns, Konoka disappeared.

That was the last time Setuna had seen Konoka. `Well, she is in charge of this entire festival; I suppose once it's begun her job would still be incomplete. I wonder though if her strange behavior has anything to do with our previous conversation. I wonder if she's still upset. I should have told her the truth, but she would probably not understand.' Setsuna continued on her line of thinking all the while playing her role as Santa.

After a few hours, another Santa stepped up to the platform. “Setsuna, go take your break. I'll be filling in for a few hours.” Nodding, Setsuna stepped down from the platform in the back.

`I never knew that sitting around doing nothing can be so exhausting. I should try to find Ojousama. Even if this is a festival, I am her bodyguard.' Even as she thought to herself, her stomach growled. `I suppose you need to be fed.' Stifling a yawn, Setsuna headed out to take in the wonders of the festival. She bought herself some dinner, eating on her search for her young master. Games booths of all kinds were set up along rows hosted by the student clubs. Instrumental Christmas music played through the speakers posted on tall wooden posts scattered throughout the festival.

Never one for being social, Setsuna didn't participate in any of the games. Even after the trip to Kyoto and making friends, she still preferred her own company more than in crowds of any size. It still amazed her how many students attended Mahora Academy at all. Students of all ages attended the festival. In Setsuna's mind, ten people was to be considered a crowd, but the moment she had stepped inside Mahora, her opinion of a crowd drastically changed.

It had already been twenty minutes and no sign of Konoka. Setsuna wasn't overly worried about her charge since she wasn't the only one with magical abilities, but she still remained uncomfortable not being near the Konoe heir. Setsuna bled into the shadows after disposing of her dinner plastic dish. Making sure she was well-hidden, she closed her eyes in concentration. Her index and middle finger pointed upward while the other fingers on her right hand curled in a fist before her nose. Setsuna was glad she placed a bit of her own magic upon Konoka just in case Setsuna needed to track down a missing princess.

The festival and the many people about in one place made the search difficult, but Setsuna knew her own magic's aura. Locating the elusive healer wasn't too hard. `Aha, I found you.' Konoka was with Asuna and Negi. A brief smile visited her face as she headed for her charge. As she neared the chattering trio, she stopped as terrifying words echoed in her ears.

“Oh, so you found it? I was afraid it might have gotten lost. When I returned after seeing the Headmaster with Takamichi, the box had disappeared along with the note I posted on it.” Setsuna immediately recognized Negi's familiar British accent.

“Yeah, I found it as I was grabbing my jacket to meet Asuna for lunch. I guess it fell underneath my bed. When I met up with Asuna, she told me that it was from Set-chan.” Setsuna's heart quickened in beat.

`NO! She must have found it after…I was that close to it!' Setsuna wanted to bang her head against a brick wall. Annoyed, Setsuna's cheek muscle twitched.

“I didn't know that you found it, Konoka. It was supposed to be a surprise from Setsuna for you.” Asuna's regretful voice followed.

“Well, Set-chan was mentioning about something but not wanting to give it to me. I wonder if she meant this. I don't know why she wouldn't want to though. It's beautiful.”

“Indeed it is. I must have cost a fortune.” Negi grinned so big Setsuna could hear it in his voice.

`She wasn't supposed to know…DAMMIT!' Setsuna knew now that it was all over. Their friendship and anything else, everything was gone. Angry and frustrated with herself, she didn't notice that the group noticed her.

“Set-chan!” Jerking her head up, Setsuna took a step back then another. Before long, she turned around and ran. She didn't care where she was going; all she knew was that she needed to get away. She had to disappear completely from Konoka's life. The one person she didn't want to know about the gift. `It's all over.' Setsuna's powerful legs carried her through the thick woods further away from people and onto more familiar territory.

She needed to get away now. The damage was done. Konoka knew. There was no way she could show her face to the princess now. She should have walked away from Asuna's suggestion. Stopping next to a large tree resting nearby a lake, Setsuna leaned her back against the rough texture of the trunk and slid down. She was far beyond caring about the condition of the Santa suit.

The snow soaked through her Santa pants and Long Johns. Glaring out at the lake, she couldn't believe her slip up. Wanting to scream and cry, Setsuna just punched at the hardened, cold earth. For the rest of the night, she remained rooted in her spot. The cold no longer bothered her. She was, once again, alone.

 

AN: Yay, you didn't have to wait a month or two for this. There really isn't much to write here except thanks and a bow to my editor, who has an enormous head from all the praise I give to her. Anyway, enjoy!