Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ The Thirteen Seals ❯ Preparations ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Preparations

 

Firedude: I'm such an idiot! I'm sorry everyone I kept asking for reviews, but I had anonymous reviews turned off! I'm very sorry! I changed it though so you can review now. By the way, I noticed that Makie's last name was also Sasaki, so from this chapter on Rikimaru will be Masaki and not Sasaki.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Negima! or any of its characters.

 

Firedude: Once again I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Ready? Set? On with the Show!”

 

River bank: Where we left off

 

Rikimaru awoke on a river bank when it was dark. He sat up and wiped the sand from the bank off of him. He stood up and took a look around. He saw nothing around him except for a tall building in the distance. He rubbed the side of his head trying to remember how he got there until it finally hit him. Damn that's right! I've got to go save Ako! Rikimaru tried to run towards the building, but fell over onto his face. Have I really not used magic in this long? He got up once more and began to limp towards the building. There's no way I can fight those things like this... I need a weapon...

 

He stumbled into the distance for what seemed like an eternity, until he was a bit of a distance from the building. He watched from the bushes as people went by. Looks like this is one of the dormitories... he heard the sound of something being thrown into wood nearby. A wooden dummy was situated on a stick as a tall girl with gray hair threw knives into it. Setsuna appeared in the door way of the dormitories and called to the girl. “Kaede! Are you coming in or what?” Kaede stopped throwing the kunai and looked over at Setsuna. “I'll be in soon!” Setsuna sighed and walked back inside.

 

Rikimaru felt relieved Great! I can probably borrow Setsuna's sword from her! I'm sure she won't mind if I ask properly. Rikimaru was about to stand up when he came to a realization. Wait! I can't tell her... I want to save Ako on my own, to prove to myself that I'm not useless... she'll probably step in and do it herself... He watched as Kaede collected the kunai from the dummy and walked in. ...But if there's more girls like Kaede and Setsuna... then I'm almost asking them to kill me! I've no choice though, I need to do this.

 

Rikimaru stood up and walked near the corner of the building he looked around the front door and saw that no one was there. I should really disguise myself, so if I do get caught they won't think I'm a pervert or something. He looked around and saw a rag on the ground. With no other ideas he put it over his face like a bandit. He crept up to the front door and peeked inside. There was no one in the front lobby so he opened the door and walked inside. He saw Setsuna and Kaede walking down the hall together. They must share a room. This is good, two birds with one stone.

 

When they disappeared down the hallway Rikimaru continued his advance. What the hell am I doing? I'm not a ninja, there's no way I can keep this up... Well, I already pulled off one spell, time for another miracle! He held both his palms about an inch away from his eyes. “Hades, may your helmet cloak me along my path.” Suddenly Rikimaru slowly became less and less visible, until the point he could no longer be seen. It worked! I don't know how long this is going to last so I better get moving! Rikimaru quickly moved down the hallway, overconfident in his invisibility. As he ran past two identical girls they turned towards his direction and caused him to stop in his tracks.

 

“…Did you just feel that Fuka?” one twin said to Fuka. “Yeah, it was like something ran by us Fumika!” The two of them walked up to the very spot Rikimaru was standing in and looked around carefully. Rikimaru held his breath as the girls stood next to him. Fuka's face got dangerously close to his and Rikimaru was having trouble holding his breath. “…It was probably just a draft… let's go sis.” The twins walked away and Rikimaru exhaled. He sighed and continued to walk while looking behind him to make sure the twins weren't coming back. That was too close...

 

Because of Rikimaru's further carelessness he bumped into someone. Rikimaru panicked and jumped backwards. The girl with a single brown pony tail on the left side of her head blinked surprisingly. She reached in front of her to try to feel the invisible force she had walked into. She continued forward to see if she would do it again. “Yuna, you're going insane…” The girl continued forward and disappeared around the corner. Alright that's it! I'm watching where I'm going!

 

Rikimaru turned around to walk down the hall once more and was face to face a tall girl with long green hair. She was starring directly into his eyes. Rikimaru did not even move an inch. She can't see me... I haven't bumped into her or made a noise so it's impossible... “What is it Chachamaru?” Rikimaru looked around Chachamaru and saw a short girl with emerald eyes and long, blonde hair. Chachamaru said to the short girl without looking away from Rikimaru “Master Evangeline… my thermal sensors are picking up a life form right in front of me… but I see no one.”

 

Oh my god she's a robot! Evangeline walked around Chachamaru and looked up at Rikimaru too. “Your right… I don't see anything, but there definitely is magical energy emitting from this spot.” Oh great, she's a sorceress too! Evangeline pointed a finger at Rikimaru and the tip of her finger glowed yellow. “Reveal yourself to me.” Yellow dots began to fly out of her finger at Rikimaru, but in a feat that even amazed him, Rikimaru leapt over both Evangeline and Chachamaru. “…The spell is not working… this must be just another one of those magical manifestations that have been occurring…” Rikimaru didn't wait around this time to see if they would walk away. He bolted down the hallway and jumped up the stair case in a single bound.

 

He took a second to catch his breath at the top of the stairs and look around. Rikimaru was sweating, he was almost caught so many times and he had no idea how much longer this spell was going to last. On the next floor he took a more cautious approach on his sneaking and it was working much better. He saw Setsuna and Kaede enter their room and shut the door. Alright I'm here! Now I just need to get in there and... *sniff* *sniff* what's that smell? Rikimaru looked around and saw a door right near him. He couldn't resist the temptation of the smell. He poked his head in and saw four girls around a portable stove.

 

“Come on Fei Ku! Are they almost done!?” A Chinese girl with blonde hair was working with something on the stove. “I'm going as fast as I can Haruna! Just give me another minute!” A shy girl with purple hair comment “Take your time Fei Ku, we're not that hungry.” A girl with long blue hair looked over at the purple haired girl. “Wasn't it your idea to ask Fei Ku to make these Nodoka?” The girl with the Purple hair got embarrassed and exclaimed “Yue!” Haruna laughed “its true Nodoka.”

 

Rikimaru silently moved into the room and looked over them to see a lot of meat buns on the stove. Oh my... I haven't eaten in two days... Rikimaru felt himself salivating. He'd been out of money for so long and couldn't afford food, but he knew it was wrong to steal. He was about to leave when there was an explosion in one of the nearby rooms. The four girls ran out into the hall to see what it was. “Satomi! Are you alright!?” Rikimaru gave in and took the opportunity to take a couple of meat buns. He quickly wolfed them down before they came back into the room. Rikimaru went up against the wall so that they didn't touch him by accident.

 

“I hope Satomi is going to be o-.” Fei Ku stopped speaking. “Who sneaked some meat buns?” They all were silent until Haruna spoke up. “What do you mean Fei Ku?” Fei Ku turned towards Haruna and pointed at the stove. “There were eight meat buns when we left this room and now there are six!” Haruna got offended and shot back “Are you saying I took them?” Fei Ku said back “Well Yeah, you couldn't wait to eat them!” As the two argued Nodoka and Yue stood to the side and watched. “Here we go again…”

 

“Shouldn't we do something Yue?” Yue shook her head in reply. “It's best to leave these things sort out themselves…” Rikimaru took the chance and dashed out of the room. Alright, now that I'm full I can get back to work. He began to walk towards Kaede and Setsuna's room, but both of them exited the room in nothing but towels. Rikimaru went against the wall so they wouldn't touch him. As they walked by Rikimaru noticed that Setsuna still had her sword with her. When they disappeared down the stairs Rikimaru relaxed. They must be going to the baths on the first floor... I really hope I don't get caught!

 

Rikimaru quickly sneaked down the stairs into the baths. Crap... there must be twenty girls in here. The baths were all full of girls and Rikimaru was extremely nervous that his spell would wear off. He quickly searched the room and tried to find Setsuna. He found her and another girl with long brown hair bathing together. He wasted no time and quickly moved towards the sword. “Fuka! Fumika! Stop that!” Rikimaru looked to his right to see a girl with long blonde hair scolding the twins for splashing her. “Oh come on Ayaka. Don't be such a spoil sport!” Fuka splashed at Ayaka again but she moved out of the way. Unfortunately for Rikimaru the splash hit him instead.

 

...Dang was all Rikimaru could think of as all the girls turned towards him. He was still invisible, but his invisible form was covered in water and was able to be seen. There was silence for a minute before a girl cried out “Pervert!” A girl with long black hair and tan skin stood up and pointed a rifle at him. “Who are you and what are you doing here!?” Rikimaru threw his arms ate his sides and cried “Oh come on! Who brings a rifle into a bath with them!?” The girl turned a laser sight on and the dot was in the middle of his forehead. “I'm the one asking the questions.” Rikimaru had no idea what to do. He looked around and saw Setsuna's sword leaning on the nearby wall.

 

His eyes went back and forth between the crazy girl with the rifle and the sword. Rikimaru took a chance and ran for the sword. The girl fired a bullet and it missed him by an inch. Just as Rikimaru got a hand on the sword, Setsuna got one of her hands on it to. Unfortunately, her hand was on the handle and she unsheathed the sword. “I got him Mana!” Setsuna took a swing at him and barely missed the bridge of his nose. Rikimaru flew backwards and almost lost his balance.

 

Rikimaru tried to assess the situation the best he could. “Don't move again or I won't miss!” called out Mana. He scanned the room and saw that his chances weren't good. He saw both Chachamaru and Evageline nearby who looked as though they were both about to take action. Even Kaede still had some kunai on her. Rikimaru took a deep breath and made a very risky decision. He turned around and ran away. He heard the shouts of all the girls behind him chasing after him and the sounds of the gun shots being fired at him. Rikimaru turned towards the door, but there was a bunch of girls already there blocking the exit. Rikimaru took an alternate route and bolted towards the stairs.

 

This is definitely not good! If I told them now they probably won't believe me... screw it, I'll just have to fight those things in this condition. He felt the running taking its toll on his already worn out body. He got up the stairs and dived into a closet and locked the door. “Did anyone see where he went!?” Rikimaru listened as the search went on for him. After about fifteen minutes they gave up. “We can't find him but everyone keep an eye open tonight.” He heard a lot of the girls return down stairs to the baths but a couple stayed upstairs. “Well, I'll be leaving now.”

 

“What? Why are you leaving Mana?” The voice sounded like one of the twins, but Rikimaru couldn't tell which one. “My family needs me to go to the shrine tonight, so I just came home to bathe.” Both the twins said bye and Mana walked downstairs. Rikimaru remained in the closet for another few minutes before cracking the door slightly. He looked around outside and everyone had left. Rikimaru looked at his hand and saw that the spell had worn off. Damn... it must have just worn off. I'll be out of here in a minute anyway.

 

Rikimaru walked out and looked at Setsuna's room. The door was cracked, someone had gone in there. It's a slim chance, but maybe Setsuna dropped her sword off in there, well what do I have to lose. Rikimaru then recalled the danger he was just in. Oh yeah... my life. Rikimaru ran to Setsuna's room and peaked inside. No one appeared to be in the room, so he quickly flipped the light on and went inside. He shut the door behind him and scanned the room. Where is it... she must have it in a case or something. Rikimaru quickly searched the room. Not under the beds... not in the dresser... not in the closet... where the hell is it!? “Are you looking for this?”

 

Rikimaru heard the sound of a blade being drawn and saw the shining steel against his neck. “Put your hands up and turn around.” Rikimaru reluctantly turned and faced Setsuna. “Take that rag off your face.” He hesitantly reached up and removed the rag and revealed himself. “What the? Rikimaru! You're the pervert!?” Rikimaru laughed and stated. “No, no… well I was the one who was sneaking around, but I assure you I'm not a pervert!” Setsuna sighed and sheathed her sword. “What are you doing here?” Rikimaru's smiled disappeared and his face saddened. “I'm sorry but… I need your sword…”

 

Setsuna blinked for a minute. “You turned yourself invisible and snuck into the girl's dorm for my sword? Why?” Rikimaru smiled once more and replied “I'm sorry, but I can't tell you.” Setsuna unsheathed her sword a little and stated “If you don't tell me, you can't borrow it.” Rikimaru remained silent for a little bit as he thought about it. He put on a serious expression and reluctantly replied “Ako has been kidnapped by demons. And the only way I'm too weak from using magic earlier today, so I need a weapon to stand a decent chance.”

 

“Why didn't you just ask me before then? I'll go get Dean Konoe and we'll-.” Rikimaru suddenly became fierce. “No! I need to do this myself! It's my fault she was kidnapped. For some reason those things are after me and I think they want this.” Rikimaru removed his glove and revealed the seal on his hand. “What is that?” Rikimaru shook his head. “I'm not sure myself, but it's very powerful. It kind of killed my father… but let's not talk about that please. If I'm going to save Ako, I'm going to need your sword.”

 

Setsuna remembered how badly hurt his pride was from the confrontation with the crab demon earlier that day. Setsuna sighed and held out her sword. “If you do not return from wherever you're going by dawn, I'm telling Konoe and we're coming after you.” Rikimaru nodded and accepted the sword. “I will return it, do not worry.” Rikimaru leapt out the window and hit the ground with a thud. He had forgotten that they were on the second floor, but he shook it off and sat up. He focused hard and tried to detect any magic sources that resembled the crabs'.

 

There's so much magic at this academy, I can not tell what is what. Rikimaru was finally able to find the crabs and Ako. There were now four of them surrounding Ako in the deep in the forest near the school. Damn, I'm going to have to take the train, that's going to take too long though. Who knows what might happen to her during that time... Rikimaru stood up and checked himself over. I think I recovered just enough energy for three more spells... Rikimaru took a runner's starting position and called out “Hermes! Allow your speed to carry me!”

 

Suddenly small golden wings appeared on Rikimaru's shoes. Hmmm... I'm better at magic than I remember. He then took off and ran in the direction of the school forest. He was running at speeds that he was not used to and the G- force was pressing against him as he ran. The wind hitting his eyes made him tear as he continued running. After about two minutes he stopped and skidded across the ground. He looked up and saw that he was right in front of the forest. I am not using that spell again! The wings disappeared from his feet and he trudged up the forest path slowly.

 

The forest seemed to go on forever, but he felt that he was getting closer. The length of the path and the steadily increasing elevation was taking a toll on his legs, but he pushed on. As he got over another hill he spotted a shrine. I'm getting closer, but my legs are killing me... I won't be any use if I'm tired, I'll take a quick break and continue. Rikimaru walked up to the shrine and sat down on its steps. He leaned back and looked up in the sky. Suddenly, thunder cracked loudly as a bolt of lightning struck the ground in the distance.

 

Then rain began to fall and Rikimaru became relaxed. He closed his eyes and let the rain hit his face. He always felt relaxed when it was raining. For some reason it always soothed him and brought him at peace. However, this feeling was rudely interrupted by the sound of a hand gun being loaded behind him. “Don't move.” Rikimaru sighed as he felt the gun only inches away from the back of his head. “You're that pervert aren't you?” Rikimaru enjoyed the rain a couple seconds more before replying “It was not my intention to be at the baths, I just needed Setsuna's sword.”

 

Mana saw Setsuna's sword tied to his hip and she held her free hand out. “Hand it over.” Rikimaru remained silent. “…No.” Mana got pissed and said in a more forceful voice “You stole that from Setsuna! Do you really think that I'm going to let you keep it!?” Rikimaru stood up and put his hand on the sword. “I admit I was trying to steal it first, but then I explained myself to her and she understood. So she let me borrow it.” Mana smirked a little. “You expect me to believe that? So what are your intentions anyway?” Rikimaru turned towards her to answer, but then a bolt of lightning struck the ground near them. This caused Mana to flinch and Rikimaru took a chance.

 

He grabbed the wrist of the hand Mana had the gun and slid his foot behind her legs. He then took his other hand and grabbed her throat and knocked her onto her back. Mana struggled, but she couldn't get out of his grip. “Drop the gun and I'll let you free.” Mana looked him in the eyes and stated bluntly “I see it in your eyes, you don't have it in you to hurt another human being.” Rikimaru simply kept his cool and replied “You're right and I don't, but you're stopping me from saving somebody. And if it comes to it I will have to hurt you if you aren't going to cooperate.”

 

Mana's expression remained the same, but after a minute she sighed and dropped the gun. Rikimaru released her and took the gun off the ground. He checked the clip and saw that it was fully loaded with 15 rounds. “I promise that I'll return this to you when I'm done with it.” Rikimaru then turned the safety on and put it into the waist line of his pants. He turned and walked away, but then stopped as he heard Mana call from behind. “Hey pervert! What's your name anyway?” Rikimaru turned around once more and put on his smile. “It's Rikimaru, Rikimaru Masaki.” Mana nodded and replied. “I'm Mana, I better get that back when you're done. Rikimaru nodded and disappeared up the forest path.