Lo and behold, I am in fact, still alive! It is once again summer and hopefully (unlike last summer) I will have time to write, at least before I head off to University. Well here's the next chapter! And one again I'm gonna reiterate something.

The voting for Naruto pairings is over. It's going to be Naruto/KuFei/Setsuna.

The secondary pairing for Negi is still up for grabs though so send some ideas. However..I'm sorta leaning towards Negi/Asuna/Ako….but you never know!

Ninja Magi Naruto

Chapter 8

The man wore a long black trench coat and hide-brimmed hat. From what Naruto could tell, he looked to be around forty years old, with long gray hair that curled out from under a black wide-brimmed hat. He was tall, very tall. And gave off a very troubling vibe. Naruto frowned. It was familiar…

"It's useless to try and escape. You won't get out of our special water prison without some pretty strong magic." A small girl hovered up in front of the bubble containing Negi and the four girls. "Just be happy we didn't melt you down and eat instead." There was a small, evil grin on the creature's face that made Naruto shiver slightly. Just what the hell were these people?

"What do you want with us?" Asuna practically screamed at the man. She seemed more angry than anything else. Of course, she WAS tied up in some very sexy lingerie. Naruto had to fight off a minor nosebleed.

Again.

It wasn't easy being surrounded by four scantily clad girls, one of which he, as hesitant as he was to admit it, had feelings for. Their captor chuckled.

"Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Wilhelm Josef von Hermann. I've brought you all here, Negi's companions, to attract Negi. Rather simple." He said with a shrug. And then he looked at Naruto with a small frown. "Though I didn't plan on you. Who are you exactly?" He asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Just an assistant teacher." He said.

"Indeed? Well I suppose it doesn't hurt to have one more captive." Hermann said. "But as I was saying, I've invited all eight of you here." He looked away from Naruto further down the stage, where Setsuna hung from a smaller, personal bubble. The bubbles, Naruto surmised, were created by the three small water girls that floated around his prison. "I had to keep the exorcist separate, or she would cause quite a bit of trouble. And as for the other one, well she simply got caught up in earlier events." He said. Naruto glanced away from Setsuna to the other side of the stage where Chizuru hung suspendered and unconscious, same as Setsuna.

"So, you captured us to force Negi to fight?" Naruto asked. The man nodded.

"Of sorts, yes. Truthfully our assignment is reconnaissance. To see how much of a threat Negi and Asuna-san will pose to us in the future." He said. Asuna blinked in surprise.

"Eh, me?" She asked. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Suddenly Hermann turned and stared off into the sky, away from them.

"It seems they have arrived. I really am looking forward to seeing how much Negi has progressed from all those years ago."

Naruto scanned the circular bubble, trying to think of a way out. He couldn't do anything without revealing any of his power, and that would compromise him. He mentally swore. 'I'll have to leave this one up to you, Negi..'

Negi sped towards the stadium on his staff, the dog hanyou Kotarou holding on tightly behind him. "I see them!" Negi yelled over the wind, pointing down. He raised an arm towards the stadium and began chanting.

"Ras Telma Scir Magister, Sagitta Magica! Seventeen wind spirits, capture thine enemy!"

The magic came forth, shooting at Wilhelm. The man made no move to dodge as the missiles flew at him. When the attack closed in, it suddenly and unexpectedly exploded in front of the man, leaving him unharmed.

"Damn, a barrier?" Kotarou muttered as he and Negi landed on the stadium steps. Negi shook his head, frowning.

"No, something else. It's like he canceled it out." He said as the two boys walked down the steps toward the stage. "Hey mister" Negi yelled. "We came like you asked, now give back my students."

Asuna, for a reason she couldn't quite understand, felt suddenly relieved when the red-haired teacher appeared. "Negi!"

Negi paused and glanced at the prisoners. "Why are you doing this?" He asked their kidnapper. And then his eyes finally registered what exactly (or lack thereof) Asuna was wearing. "And why are you doing perverted stuff to Asuna?" He all but shouted, trying to cover a blush. Asuna gave a short cry of dismay.

"Just get us out, baka!" She yelled angrily. Behind her, all the other girls trapped in the large bubble prison pressed themselves up against the side.

"Hey, Negi-kun!" Konoka called. "Get us out of here." Negi nodded and then blinked in confusion when he saw Naruto.

"Eh..Naruto-san? Why are you in there with my students?" He asked. The other girls glanced at him. Yes, that was something they wanted to know too. Naruto saw a dangerous gleam in their eyes. He inwardly shuddered, but outwardly shrugged calmly.

"Long story, and I don't think now is the time for it." He muttered. Negi nodded and looked back at their "host". Naruto frowned. Who was that black-haired kid with Negi? Naruto had never seen him around Mahora before now.

"I sense youkai coming from that one. A dog demon. Or a hanyou." Kyuubi said in Naruto's mind. Naruto's eyes widened a fraction. Demons? Here?

"Hey...that kid's from Kyoto." Yue said with a calculating frown. Naruto glanced at her. Kyoto? He'd been hearing references to it before, but never actually found out what they were talking about.

"You all know that kid?" Naruto asked. Yue nodded.

"More or less." She answered in her typically clipped fashion. Beside her, Nodoka was giving worried looks at the duo confronting their kidnapper.

"Kotarou-kun." She said softly. Naruto looked back at the dog-boy again. Kotarou huh? Well, great. Another unknown.

"I apologize for doing such rude things to your class, Negi." Their captor said politely. A little too politely given the situation. "But if I don't hold a few hostages, you won't fight at your full potential, will you?" He asked with a predatory grin. Naruto's frown deepened. This man had kidnapped them for the simple sake of fighting Negi? Why? Sure, the guy was a mage, and apparently a very talented one. But why would anyone capture them simply to force Negi to fight them? "I want to know your abilities, Negi-kun." The man explained. "Defeat me and you may have them back. Those are the conditions I lay down."

Negi gulped, staring at the man intensely. 'Damn. Because of this, my students got involved. I have to rescue them no matter what.' The boy mage thought, slipping into a Kenpo stance. "Right. I'll go first. Kotarou, stand down." He said.

"Eh?" Kotarou looked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about Negi? There's no way you can win by yourself, you're just a mage! Just let me handle this." The hanyou said furiously.

"What are you talking about? You were JUST defeated by that guy." Negi argued back, both boys now completely ignoring everything else.

"I could have won easily if I could summon my spirit wolves!"

"Well you don't have them now, besides, I did beat you before, so I'm obviously stronger!"

"You ambushed me! There's no way you'd win if it happened again!"

"I don't care, just get out of my way! Without your wolf spirits you're nothing, so just let me do it."

"You ass!"

"Let's end this here and now!"

Naruto resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall of his prison, settling for a groan instead. Honestly, were they REALLY going to fight each other here? "Hey, are you two going to help us or not?" Asuna screamed the two boys. Hermann sighed.

"Honestly, being energetic is good, but don't you think you two should be working together?" He asked, and as if on cue, his three girl minions jumped in to attack the boys. Both boys, caught by surprise, were sent flying back by powerful kicks from the three girls. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

'Stronger than they look.'

"Naruto." Kyuubi spoke up. "I've been getting a strange aura from that man, there. He's hiding something about himself." The demon warned.

'Any idea what it is?' Naruto mentally questioned. The demon hummed thoughtfully.

"It feels almost like…wait, that's it." Kyuubi's tone turned more serious. "That man, he's a demon!" Naruto's eyes widened. A demon? He stared at their captor, who was gazing curiously at Negi and Kotarou, both of which were holding their own against the three slime minions. Naruto was drawn back to the fight, watching Negi almost dancing around his opponent in a flurry of Kenpo moves. Naruto gave a small grunt of approval. The kid was a fast learner, and pretty talented at that. But the blond couldn't help but think that might cause problems for him later on…

Suddenly Negi gathered magic into his arms and sent his opponent flying with a double palm strike. The slime girl shrieked and went flying. "Not bad." The slime muttered and landed heavily. Negi and Kotarou stood back to back, fists raised.

"Hey Negi, what was that?" Kotarou asked curiously.

"Oh? That was my supplemental magic "Battle Hymn". Negi said.

"No, I mean those moves you were using. The martial arts."

"Oh, it's Chinese martial arts that I'm learning.." Negi began but Kotarou cut him off with a laugh.

"Chinese martial arts huh? That's nice." The boy laughed with a tone that could only belong to one who loved and lived for battle. Both boys leaped at their attackers, catching the three slimes off guard and sending them launching backwards. With a triumphant grin, the two boys charged at the Baron. The man didn't even budge, regarding them with a small hmm of amusement. "Remember, " Kotarou grunted. "The range is 2.8 meters. Don't screw it up."

"Got it." Negi replied. Once again the three slimes attacked, but this time, Negi dodged around them, continuing for the Baron. The slime girls made to catch him but Kotarou grinned and blocked the slimes.

"You guys are pretty persistent, but your opponent is me!" Two kage bushnins of the boy appeared and joined the attack, effectively blocking the slimes. Negi took the opening, pointing his small practice wand at the baron and firing off a single sagitta magica arrow.

Hermann raised an arm and cancelled out the attack with an almost bored expression on his face. 'Interesting, he didn't even chant the spell.' Negi wasted no time on being surprised, instead slipping under the baron's raised hand in a fluid motion, appearing behind the man. A small bottle was in his hand, raised at Hermann like a weapon.

'What is that, I wonder?' Naruto mused.

"It is a device used to seal demons. Quite rare, those."

"We've won." Negi declared. "Demon Sealing Bottle!" Light sprang from the opening of the bottle, and wind rushed from within, trying to suck the man inside. Asuna let out a confused 'huh' as the pendant around her neck began to glow. She screamed as magic coursed over her body. "Asuna-san?" Negi asked in confusion. The bottle in his hand began to glow brightly…and then dropped to the floor, utterly silent. And utterly useless.

"What?" Kotaro was the first to vocalize surprise. Naruto stared hard at the bottle. What had happened? It was working fine a minute ago.

"He-he stopped the sealing spell?" Negi asked/said incredulously. Hermann smirked.

"Well, it seems the experiment was a success." His eyes drifted to Asuna, who was hanging from her bonds, panting heavily. "It works completely against magical attacks." He regarded Negi for a moment. "I suppose it's time I got serious." Negi and Kotaro tensed. "I've set up a barrier around this place. If we go all out, no one will see or hear us." With that said, the man struck. Even Naruto was slightly surprised by the speed. "Demon Fist!" A beam of magic shot from his fist, sending both boys flying. Kotaro landed on his feet, grinning.

"You'll have to do better than that, old man." Hermann glanced away as a series of magical arrows struck at him, glancing harmlessly away as they were cancelled. Negi and Kotaro paused, assessing the enemy.

"We can't seal him away. We're just gonna have to go all out." Said Negi.

"Damn, if that's what it takes…"

Negi launched into an incantation, and then suddenly ducked out of the way as Kotaro lunged forward, launching an attack. "Inugami Ryuu Kuu Ga!" Just as he fired, Negi fired his own spell. The two attacks struck at Hermann…and did nothing. Asuna shrieked as the pendant on her once again glowed, sending shockwaves of magic over the girl. "Asuna-san!" Negi cried.

"Damn, it was nullified again." Kotaro spat.

"Magic neutralization.." Hermann murmured, as the smoke from the two attacks cleared away. "Known as the ability to completely nullify magic. I wonder..how is it that a normal girl like Kagurazaka Asuna here to have such an ability? It is both extremely rare and dangerous."

Naruto regarded Asuna with a surprised look. This girl had such a power like magic nullification? She had always seemed to be the most normal of the group, not to mention the fact that none of these girls should have had any power at all. 'I have severely underestimated the power of these mages, and their companions.'

Negi was looking at Asuna, something finally clicking in his mind. "Kamo-kun…" He began.."

"Yeah." The ermine responded. "Could it be that Ane-san's power wasn't because of the contract, but innate?"

"Asuna-san, are you alright?" Negi called out worriedly. If it WAS natural for her, just what was this fight doing to her? Asuna grinned weakly.

"I'm fine, Negi. Kick this old man's ass for me." While this happened, Kamo stared at the pendant around the captive girl's neck. An idea came to him, and the ermine jumped off Negi's shoulder.

"I'll be back, aniki! I have an idea." Negi glanced at the rodent and nodded, turning his attention back to Hermann. The man settled into a fighter's stance.

"Well, Negi, since projectile fighting won't work, then let's settle this with our fists!" Negi and Kotaro barely dodged out of the way as their opponent punched with lightning speeds, destroying the bleachers behind the boys. Negi glanced over at all of the captured students. He was rewarded with a solid punch to the face, courtesy of Hermann.

Naruto watched the fight with growing anxiousness. He needed to get out of this prison. Help some how. He glanced at Asuna, and noticed Kamo sneaking close to the girl. "Ane-san!" the ermine whispered.

"Eh, Kamo?"

"Let me get that pendant off you. If that's gone then-" He got no further as he was promptly snatched up by one of the slimes who was guarding the prisoners. Naruto groaned. Well, there went that escape option.

"Kamo you idiot!" Asuna added her –and secretly Naruto's- opinion.

"In you go." The slime girl tossed Kamo into the bubble prison along with Naruto and the others. All three slimes sat outside the cage, watching the fight. "They're not gonna make it. Quite a pity." One commented.

"W-what are you saying?" Yui asked.

"Oh, don't worry about yourselves. You're just the bait. Our orders were to disable Negi from combat for a while, regardless of our research. But really, Wilhelm's petrification powers are awesome." Another said. "Heh, if something goes wrong, they might get their limbs permanently petrified." She said matter-of-factly, while the captured girls stared, horrified.

Wilhelm let loose a barrage of attacks, mercilessly beating on the two boys. Naruto winced. It truly did look like the two were going to lose. This Hermann man was vicious. Negi and Kotaro were sent crashing painfully into the bleachers. Wilhelm walked slowly towards the two, his face holding disappointment. "Well, is this it?" He asked. "Those attacks of yours are powerful, Negi-kun. But they have yet to even slow me down."

Negi gritted his teeth. "Are you alright, Kotaro?"

"I can still fight."

"Then let's go!" Both boys launched themselves at the man again.

"Or maybe," Hermann continued, parrying the attacks with ease. "It looks like," He swung a vicious right hook, catching Kotaro across the face. The hanyou was sent flying across the stadium, crashing into the other side. "Perhaps, you're not giving this your all?" Hermann scornfully said. Negi blinked.

"O-of course I am!" he cried. "I'm giving this my best!" Hermann cocked his head.

"Oh, really? Pfff, I had heard that the son of the Thousand Master was supposed to be a strong adversary. But compared to that man, you're nothing. The complete opposite!"

Naruto was drawn from the fight as he saw that the girls were huddled together. He quickly scooted over to them. "What are you doing?"

"I have an idea." Konoka replied, revealing a small training wand. "If we can all focus whatever magic we have into this, we might be able to break out of here. " Naruto nodded. It sounded good. Heck, anything sounded good at this point. He and the girls leaned in and focused. Kyuubi had said it was possible for him to use magic, so he really hoped this would work.

"What do you fight for, Negi?" Wilhelm asked. Negi considered it for a moment.

"What..I fight for?"

"Yeah. Look at Kotaro. He fights simply because he loves fighting. And you? You fight for your companions? Ridiculous! You disappoint me. A person's reason for fighting is always for himself, no exception. Hatred, Anger and Vengeance are the most common reason. Or like Kotaro, fight simply because it proves to yourself that you are strong."

"I don't fight for self satisfaction." Negi retorted. "I..I fight because.."

"Because of guilt?" Hermann offered. "Because of the guilt you feel when you get mortals involved in your affairs?" He shook his head. "No no, even that sense of responsibility could never motivate you to fight, Negi-kun." He seemed to almost be playing with the boy. "Or.." He narrowed his eyes. "Could it be, that you simply wish to run away…from those memories of that snowy night?"

Negi paled. "how…how do you know about.." He shook his head. "No! That's not true!"

"Is that so?" Hermann taunted. "Well then…" He slowly reached up and removed his hat. Asuna stared at the man in confusion. From his spot, Naruto's concentration broke, as he suddenly felt a shark spike of youkai. He stared across the stadium.

Wilhelm's features had changed completely. Gone was any trace of humanity from that face. Instead, the man's head was black and featureless. Save for a gaping maw for a mouth, and two haunting eyes. A pair of jagged horns jutted out from either side of the man's head. He could only be described as one thing. He could only be a demon.

"Well, Negi? How about now?"

AN:) And there is yet another chapter! Hopefully I'll update this soon, but I wanna get some other stories updated first. Till then, be sure to review on your way out!