Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson
Summary: What if Konoka got fed up with the recurring marriage meetings and vented about it to her grandfather? What if Negi showed up a little earlier to his teaching assignment? What sort of amusing mishaps might occur then? Well, here's the Hawk-style version of it!
Disclaimer: Mahou Sensei Negima, Mahora Academy and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.
If the layout looks screwy or symbols seems to be missing, you're probably reading the quickedit-mangled version of this fic on ff dot net, if it grates on your nerves too much, read it on hawksgalaxy dot com or something.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger or through e-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.
"speech"
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers
/thoughts/
-/telepathy/-
-translation-
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+
Where you guys aware that ff dot net didn't have a Mahou Sensei Negima section up until now? That is a crime of the worst fashion possible! The manga is simply awesome and the anime only slightly less so. There's a couple of msn-fics around on ff dot net, but finding them can be a real bitch! Hence, I decided to get off my lazy ass and make an effort to change all this. Trouble is, in order to request a new category, one has to have a fic ready to be published, which I did not have. I didn't even have any fics in the works, which is very unusual for me.
So, once one decides to sit down and write a msn-fic, what to write about? Well, three ideas came to mind pretty much instantly. Even if Asuna has a strong resemblance to his big sister, I've always found it kinda odd that Negi would latch on so strongly to her, especially considering how she treats him in the early chapters. ( Just what the heck is up with anime males getting hung up on abusive girls? ) So, one of the three stories that I started working on was 'Go Magical Girl Nodoka', where Negi latches onto Nodoka instead. The second was this one, where Negi forms the initial connection with Konoka instead of Asuna. The third idea that came to me, was what if Negi decided that looking like a nine-year old never would work out and thusly he took advantage of the age-illusion pills right from the beginning, keeping the fact that he's so young from all his students? That idea was what led to 'Adult Sensei Negima'.
But the idea that had the most appeal to me is the one I'm basing this fic on. Thusly, I decided to put the other two aside for a moment and focus on this, thinking that if ff dot net just gets a Negima-section, other writers will get cracking and publish loads of cool Negima-stories for me to enjoy. :P
And if anyone wonders just why my stories are so weird, well, I was listening to the Kill Bill soundtrack when I started writing this particular story. :)
-Oh, what a cute little foreign boy! What are you doing here all alone, little boy?-
Negi looked up from his book and focused a bewildered glance at the woman addressing him. He wracked his memory for what little Japanese had managed to stick in the three days he'd studied it, but all he managed to translate was that this woman had said something about 'boy', 'little' and 'alone'.
-Sorry, Japanese good not. Understand not, sorry. Negi stuttered out in halting Japanese.-
-Oh, how cute! You're even learning the language! What a good boy!- the woman exclaimed cheerfully, and then her forehead scrounged up as she appeared to struggle with something. "What are you doing here all alone, boy? Are you lost? Where are your parents?" the woman asked in English that while slow and accented, was much better then Negi's Japanese.
"Oh, no. I'm not lost." Negi assured the woman, happily switching to his native English. "I'm studying Japanese, listening to people talk while I read about the language, to learn more quickly." he explained and held up the two books he had in his lap. One was an English - Japanese dictionary and the other was a book on Japanese grammatics and sentence structures.
"Oh, then I won't disturb you in your studies any longer. Have a good day, boy." the woman wished him, bowed and as he returned her bow with one of his own and a stuttering 'goodbye' in Japanese, she smiled one last time and then left.
"What a nice lady." Negi said to himself and lowered his gaze to the dictionary again.
He had been worried at first that perhaps it was a little too early to go to Japan, but he was starting to feel better about it by the minute. It had been hard to part from his sister and his friend Anya, but he'd steeled himself and decided to go. Which had been one of the hardest decisions of his life. All the way up until he got onto the plane to Japan, he'd constantly considered turning around and stay at home for as long as possible.
He had been SO close to staying at home until the last possible moment. Heck, he'd even checked the plane and train schedules and reached the conclusion that he could stayed home long enough that he could get to school only fifteen minutes before starting his first class and actually considered it!
No, it was probably for the best that he'd left already or he might never have gone off to Japan at all!
He pulled out his cell phone, looked down at it and frowned, Takamichi still hadn't returned his call. Perhaps the older man wasn't even at home! He sighed and put the phone away, wondering what to do. He had counted on being able to stay with Takamichi, at least up until he'd gotten his first pay check. He had some savings and could afford to stay at a hotel, but it wasn't exactly his first choice. He sighed again and looked up from the book and up into the sky, watching the clouds drift on by. The park he was seated in was very nice, not up to par with the welsh countryside of course, but nice none the less.
"Perhaps Takamichi is at school?" Negi wondered out loud to himself and closed his books, rummaging around one of his pockets until he found the letter of acceptance that the schools principal had sent him. He double-checked the address, then stashed away the letter and his books, rose and started walking towards the nearest train station.
"Wow!" Negi mumbled out loud to himself, looking out over the enormous campus. This school was even larger then Oxford University back in Great Britain. Larger even then the magic university he'd been enrolled in for the last seven years. Not that he could tell anyone that, so he'd gotten some fake papers from the magic university that said that he'd graduated from Oxford university and taken a few trips there to familiarize himself with the school, in case someone asked him any questions about it.
But this place, Mahora Academy... It was awesome! Great open spaces, huge buildings, a park-like environment, imposing statues and grand fountains. Not to mention the gargantuan tree that seemed to catch his eye whenever his gaze tried to pass it by. He looked down at the map and swallowed, he couldn't even see all of it from where he was standing. There was some big island, a large forest, a Shinto temple and even more buildings.
"Amazing..." he muttered and shook his head. Now he was even more pleased that he'd went to Japan so early. If he hadn't, he'd likely have gotten lost trying to find his way to his classroom. Probably wouldn't even have found the principals office without help, from the looks of it. At least not in time for his first class, not without help. But now, he had more then two weeks to get used to the place, learn the language and prepare for his first class. He looked down at the map and eventually managed to figure out more or less where he was standing on it and guesstimate the general direction of the administrative building where he could hopefully find the principal working despite the summer vacation. Perhaps he could even find someone who could tell him where Takamichi was at the moment.
After a couple of false turns, he found his way inside the administrative building, where the pretty female receptionist greeted him and showed him the way to the principal's office.
-Ah, you must be Negi-kun.- the principal greeted him. -Nice to meet you.-
-Sorry, Japanese still bad, only learning just begin. Sorry understand very little.- Negi apologized.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Negi-kun. I heard that you were a fast learner, you'll have it down pat before you start teaching your students, right?" the principal asked.
"Yes, sir! I'll study hard!" Negi assured the principal.
"That's what I wanted to hear." the principal replied. "So, coming to Japan as a teacher for your training. What a troublesome assignment. Well, in order to teach here, one first has to go through an internship. So, from when school starts in two and a half weeks until March, you'll be an intern teacher here. After that, we'll see."
"I understand, principal. I'll do my best!" Negi exclaimed.
"It's a very difficult assignment, Negi-kun." the principal warned the young mage. "If you fail, you'll be sent back home. No second chances. Understand, Negi-kun?"
"Yes, I understand. I want this chance more then anything. Please give me this chance, principal!" Negi pleaded with the older man.
"Ho, ho, ho. The enthusiasm of youth." the principal chuckled. "Very well, Negi-kun. I wish you the best of luck in your new assignment. Just make sure that nobody finds out that you're a mage, or you'll be turned into an ermine!" he cautioned Negi with a mischievous wink. "Come, I'll introduce you to our schools guidance counsellor, Shizuna-kun." the principal instructed and slowly rose, though he never got any further then that as the door was thrown open, tossing Negi who had just been about to hold it open for the older man aside with a pained grunt.
-Grandfather! How could you do that to me! He was thirty-eight years older then me!- a female voice demanded as a young girl dressed in a beautiful kimono strode into the room, marching right up to the principals desk and slamming a folder down on it.
-Konoka-chan, I was just...- the principal started.
-Thirty-eight! Konoka wailed. When I'm twenty, he'll be fifty-eight! How could you!-
-I just want to make sure that you'll be well taken care of once I'm gone. the principal insisted.-
-This one could be dead before you are, grandpa! He coughed his way all through the omiai.- Konoka admonished her well-meaning grandfather.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow..." Negi whimpered as he slowly got back onto his feet, interrupting the 'conversation' between Konoka and her grandfather.
-Eh?- Konoka exclaimed, then looked over at the door and then over at where Negi had been lying, as well as the way he nursed a sore spot on his forehead. -Oh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!- she apologized, bowing deeply with scarlet cheeks as she realized that she had interrupted something and on top of that, injured her grandfathers guest.
-Eh, problem no.- Negi stuttered out as he dusted himself off and bowed in return. -I'm Springfield Negi, I'll be in your care from now on.- he added, having learned certain phrases well enough by now to use them.
-Konoka-chan, this is Springfield Negi-kun. He's the new English teacher and your new homeroom teacher. He's only just getting used to Japanese, so you can practise your English with him until he's gotten used to speaking Japanese.- the principal instructed.
-Eh? Teacher?- Konoka exclaimed, looking over at Negi with a stunned expression. -Wait a minute, isn't he a little too young to be a teacher?-
-Negi is very bright, don't worry. He's already graduated from the Ma... From Oxford University. He's qualified to teach, even if he is young.- the principal replied. "Negi-kun, this is my granddaughter Konoe Konoka-chan." the principal introduced his granddaughter, switching to English for Negi's benefit.
"Oh, yes. I'm Konoe Konoka, pleased to meet you, Springfield-sensei!" Konoka introduced herself in very passable English, only slightly accented, as the principal suddenly got a thoughtful expression on his face. He'd been trying to set Konoka up with older men, so that they could protect her well from her enemies. Mages, one and all of them. But here was a mage closer to her own age, he was very young and inexperienced, but from what he'd heard, very powerful none the less. He'd be teaching here for a while and had time to learn, get the experience he currently lacked. As long as Konoka studied here, she would be protected by others and once she graduated, well, if she was married to Negi by then, she could be protected by him.
He almost opened his mouth right then and there to ask Negi if he had a girlfriend, when he recalled the betrayed expression in Konoka's eyes as she stormed into his office. She probably wouldn't take well to his meddling at the moment, so he kept his mouth shut and formulated another plan.
"Konoka-chan, since you don't have anything special to do for these last couple of weeks before the new term starts, could I ask you to show Negi around campus and help him practise his Japanese?" he asked and Konoka turned to look considering at Negi for a few moments. "Of course, I understand if this would make you too busy to partake in any more marriage interviews while you're guiding Negi around, even if I do have another couple of good prospe..." he started to add, but he was cut off by his granddaughter.
"I'll do it! Gladly!" Konoka exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Oh, I'm sorry Negi-kun, but we're doing some renovations in the teachers dorm at the moment, so we don't have any rooms to spare for you just yet." the principal lied while chuckling mentally. He glanced down at his desk and browsed through a rooster for a couple of minutes, before he sighed. "It doesn't even look as if we have any spare rooms in the student dorms either."
"Oh, that's okay, I was going to ask Takamichi if I could stay with him anyway." Negi assured the principal.
"Takahata-kun? He's on a business trip to Kyoto, I'm afraid. He won't be back for another ten days." the principal replied, glad to have that threat snipped in the bud before he could implement his own little scheme. "Konoka-chan, could you let Negi-kun stay in your and Asuna-chans room temporarily, until renovations are done in the teachers dorm? Negi could practise on his Japanese while you and Asuna practise on your English."
/No marriage interviews! No marriage interviews! No marriage interviews/ Konoka cheered mentally, before she snapped out of it as she realized that her grandfather had asked her a question. A weird question, granted, but... She looked over at Negi. Teacher or not, he was only a little boy. A cute little boy. If he'd been a grown up, it would have been another matter entirely, but this she could deal with.
"Sure, that's a good idea!" she agreed enthusiastically. "Plus, he's so cute! I don't think Asuna will mind!"
"That's good." the principal said. /Jackpot/ he cheered mentally. Once Negi got to know Konoka, surely he'd get interested and the foundation for a future relationship would have been created. "Well, I was going to have Shizuna-kun show you around the academy, Negi-kun. But... Konoka-chan, can you show Negi around the campus instead?"
"Sure, grandpa!" Konoka agreed cheerfully, still on a no-marriage-interview-high, inordinately pleased at not having her last two weeks of vacation ruined by a series of marriage interviews.
"Oh, Negi-kun. Here's the class rooster. Study it well before school starts. Takahata-kun left some notes for you in it, I think." the principal added and handed Negi a thin leather-bound book.
"Oh, thank you, principal!" Negi gushed as he accepted the book.
"It was nothing. My door is always open if you want anything. Shizuna-kun can also answer any questions you might have about the school and your students. Good luck, Negi-kun." the principal finished.
"Thank you, principal. I'll work hard, I promise!" Negi swore, then followed Konoka out of the room.
The End! ( For now... )