KHR!xMSN!: Magical Crossover!

Chapter 5: Determination

"One, Two. One, Two."

Tsuna rhythmically controlled his breathing while jogging inside the Mahora Academy campus. His stamina and physical ability increased a lot during the last three years. During his run, he was once again, really amazed how big this school is, he will definitely change his jogging route daily, so he can explore this campus more. As for now, he was really interested in this 'World Tree', which located on a small hill. The 'World Tree' could be seen everywhere in Mahora as the tree is pretty much in the center and is unbelievable huge. On his first day in Mahora, Takahata explained to him that this tree even existed before the Academy was built and there was also a Legend about this it. There is also 12 other 'Holy Ground' similar to this throughout the world.

He was almost there as he just needed to go up the stairway to reach the plaza of the 'World Tree'. As he goes up the hill he noticed a familiar girl in front of him. She seems to be out of breath a little as she probably also was jogging in the morning like him.

"*Sniff* Am I really childish...? Am I missing something important?" The girl had a sad expression on her face, he could tell that she was struggling a lot. When he was able to see her face and he recognized her, she was one of his students, Sasaki Makie.

"Sasaki-san?" Tsuna decided to call her name to get her attention.

"Eh? EHHHHHH?! S-SAWADA-SENSEI?" Makie was very shocked to see her new History Teacher, "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Tsuna sweatdropped a bit as Makie was really bewildered to see him, "C-Calm down, Sasaki-san. Like you, I was also jogging."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry. I was really surprised." Makie quickly lowers her voice and apologies to him, she was really embarrassed by this situation.

"You don't need to apologize, it was my fault that I call to you without warning." Tsuna gave her a gentle smile.

Makie's face reddened, his smile felt so warm and gentle. Honestly, when she saw Tsuna for the first time, something about him immediately attracted her. She really likes Negi as she thinks that he is very cute and lately she also recognized his maturity despite his age. However, the attraction she felt for her History Teacher right now, felt very different.

"I can see that something is bothering you, do.. you want to talk about it, Sasaki-san?" Tsuna asked and you could clearly hear his worriedness in his voice.

"Eh?" Makie snapped out of her thoughts because of this sudden question, she was surprised how easily he has seen through on her, was she that obvious? She wasn't sure how she should answer him as she only was stuttering her words, "I-I, uhm.. is just.."

Tsuna noticed her uneasiness and he really felt bad for it, he shouldn't have forced it on her, "my apologies, Sasaki-san, I shouldn't have pry on it."

"N-NO! Is just... It's nothing, it's my fault anyway.. I-," Makie panicked, she didn't mean to decline him.

"I understand," Tsuna cut her off with a smile and gesture her that everything was alright, "I just want you to know, that whenever you feel like it, you can talk to me."

"T-thank you, Sawada-sensei," She didn't know why, but she actually wanted to tell him everything, yet she also didn't want to bother him with her unimportant problems.

Tsuna understood that it was probably still too early that his students would trust him with their problems as they just had met recently. He should be patient and build up their relationship for now. Suddenly he heard some noises above him and turned to Makie, "Shh, Sasaki-san, can you hear that too?"

Makie didn't know what her teacher meant, but as she quiets down and putting her hands behind her ears, she could faintly hear something was near them.

"It above the stairs, near the 'World Tree'... Hm, should we look for it, Sasaki-san? Maybe there is something interesting." Tsuna winked at her and maybe this will make her ease herself a bit.

Makie nodded immediately, her curious side awoke inside her and with Tsuna on her side, she also felt a little excitement.

Tsuna and Makie were about to reach the end of the stairs, leading to the famous 'World Tree' in Mahora. In the last two days, he saw the tree multiple times as it was pretty much THE tourist spot of Mahora, now seeing it from this closely, it looks even bigger, he did feel like a midget, just standing under it. Right in the front of the tree was someone, it was the source of the noise they had heard.

"It's Negi-kun!" Makie spoke out the same name, Tsuna had thought at that moment when they recognize him. "I will go to him," she smiled while running up to him.

Tsuna chuckled, her sad expression from earlier completely disappeared when she saw Negi. She was very energetic, it was clearly her true nature and it suits her more. Tsuna observed what Negi was doing. He seems to do some choreography, he recognizes some of these moves, it was Chinese Martial Arts.

"NEGI-KUN!" Makie shouts out loud, shocking Negi as he lost his balance and almost fell.

"M-Makie-san... and Tsuna-sensei?!" Negi first recognizes his student but also saw Tsuna a bit farther behind her. Tsuna waved at him while slowly approaching the two."

"Negi-kun, what was that? Was that the training you mentioned before?" Makie was curious about what Negi was doing.

"Y-yes, Ku Fei-san taught me Chinese Martial Arts since the day before yesterday." Negi was a bit embarrassed, that they just saw him training.

"Two days ago?" Tsuna was surprised, "do you had any experience before?"

"N-no. I didn't even know how to use my fist correctly, Ku Fei-san taught me a lot. I think I got a little stronger." Negi answered with a smile, Ku Fei is really strong. He was glad that Ku Fei accepted his request to train him.

"I see, that's amazing, Negi-sensei." It seems like Negi has the habit to amaze him every time. Yes, Negi made some mistakes in the choreography, however, within two days, it was already really impressive. He is clearly devoted to learning.

"Negi-kun.. I think you become a lot cooler since we came back from our school trip to Kyoto," Makie admired Negi even more.

"Ehh..? R-Really?" It also seems like Negi has the habit to be embarrassed every time he gets a compliment.

"Chinese Martial Arts, with other words, Kung Fu, huh?" A new voice approached the trio. But the voice was not alone, it was Evangeline A.K. McDowell and Karakuri Chachamaru was right beside her. On Chachamaru head was also a strange looking doll and Tsuna wondered if this doll is also a machine.

"You seems to have fun, boy," Evangeline said to Negi. Tsuna could hear a light dissatisfaction in her voice.

"Good morning, what are you two doing in the morning?" Negi greeted the two, however, he was a bit surprised to see them that early in the morning.

"... I heard you are learning Kung Fu now. Maybe you should forget about becoming my apprentice." Evangeline heard about the rumor of Negi learning Chinese Martial Arts, so she wanted to see for herself. But something about him having another teacher didn't suit her well.

"Ehh? Why?" Negi was shocked. You could tell that he was panicking. "No. This is. I was just researching for more ways to fight this 'white-hair' boy..."

"Don't worry about this. I wasn't planning on taking any apprentices in the first place. This actually works out fine." Evangeline didn't really want to hear his justification.

"Negi-kun, what's going on?" Makie was really confused by this conversation. Tsuna, on the other hand, was very interest in Negi wanting to be her apprentice. He could feel that Evangeline is someone very powerful and it's clearly related to magic.

"Uhm.. I wanted Evangeline-san to take me on as her apprentice, but..." Negi explained it to Makie.

"Well, it's fitting for a 'child' to play with Kung Fu. I would be wasting my time to train you, see you, boy." Evangeline indifferently said and wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

The word 'Child' triggered something inside Makie, "Eva-chan, wait a minute! Why are you picking on Negi-kun? Can you at least tell the reason, why you are not letting him become your apprentice?"

"She seems to be jealous." Evangeline companion, Chachamaru, answered the question without hesitation.

"W-What the hell are you talking about?! I'm NOT!" Evangeline was flustered shouting at Chachamaru. But she quickly composes herself again and turned to Makie, "...I'm just not interested in playing with 'children' as I'm also not interested to talk with a CHILDISH person like you, Sasaki Makie."

THAT IT, something inside Makie was breaking out as she got angry at Evangeline, "Hey! Eva-chan you're pretty a 'CHILD' yourself! You know what! Negi-kun is already strong! He doesn't need to play with a CHILD like you!"

"M-Makie-san?" Negi was surprised by her outburst, however, he was also very worried, where this will lead on.

For some reason, Evangeline was really annoyed with her wording and telling that Negi doesn't need her, didn't help either too simple ignore her. "Fine! Then I'll make a test right here and now. Boy, if you can hit Chachamaru even once with your Kung Fu. Then you pass and I'll take you as my apprentice, however, you'll have to fight one on one, so don't call up your "partners".

"Alright!" Felling that she had won, Makie quickly accepted this without consoling Negi, "You'll see, Negi will easily win!"

"M-M-Makie-san!" Negi was clearly not happy with this solution as he was waving his whole body to stop Makie.

"Go, Chachamaru," Evangeline ordered. However, Chachamaru wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. "Don't worry, just don't injure him too much," Evangeline was a bit surprised of her partner hesitation.

"I understand. Please forgive me, Negi-sensei." Chachamaru moved so fast, that she was already right in front Negi, surprising both him and Makie and about to sent him flying.

However, Tsuna immediately goes between them and easily blocked Chachamaru's attack.`She is extremely fast. However, she was holding back her strength, she didn't want to hurt Negi.'

"W-What?" All of them were surprised, especially Evangeline and Chachamaru. He was moving the same speed, no maybe even faster, as Chachamaru.

"Evangeline-san, I don't really know why you deeming Kung Fu as a 'child play', however, Negi just began his training two days ago, of course, he wouldn't be ready yet. And he wasn't prepared for this attack either. I believe as an apprentice test, you should give him a bit more time to prepare.

Evangeline was already aware that Tsuna was also here, but she never expected that he would interfere as she thought that he won't expose himself as he was clearly hiding something. Then again, it's not like she expected this outcome with Negi by coming here when she left her cottage in the morning either. At least, she saw something interesting, even though Chachamaru wasn't using her full strength, Tsuna could easily stop her attack.

"You have a point, Sawada-SENSEI. Boy. If you can't even hit Chachamaru once, then I see no further for you.. I'll give you more time. Sunday midnight. Same place. Let's go, Chachamaru." with that the Evangeline and her partner left the scenario.

Makie legs suddenly give in as she fell on her knees, "D-Did I do just something bad?" She realized that if Tsuna hadn't stopped Chachamaru there, Negi would have got hurt.

"No, you was trying to defend Negi and in the end, you did reconsider Evangeline-san decision, however, maybe you should be a bit more careful with your wording, Sasaki-san," Tsuna assured her, that she didn't do anything wrong and then he turned to Negi, "I'm sorry, Negi. I may be meddling in something I shouldn't have."

"N-No! Tsuna-sensei! That was amazing! You could match up with Chachamaru-san!" Negi wasn't sure what happened, but he knew in the instant as Chachamaru was suddenly in front of him that he had lost. He would have been knockout cold by Chachamaru if it wasn't for Tsuna."And thanks to the both you, I have another chance for being Evangeline apprentice, so thank you, Makie-san, Tsuna-sensei."

"Thank you, Negi-kun, Sawada-sensei." Makie felt a bit better, however, it was clearly her fault. She didn't have to outburst like that. She DID act like a child.

Negi seems to be more determinate than ever until he saw the big clock from the plaza, "Ah! It's already this late! I should go back and prepare for class! Tsuna-sensei, Makie-san, see you later!"

"Can you stand up?" Tsuna offered Makie his hand. "We should also go."

"Ah.. Yes, thank you..." Makie began to blush, while taking his hand and hoped that her hand isn't sweating right now. Never would she had thought that this morning was this eventful.

-Mahora Academy, Afternoon-

Konoe Konoka sighed. Ever since she had 'this' dream, she felt this uneasiness in her heart. At first she didn't think much about it, however, after meeting Tsuna, she couldn't help but felt that something was missing. But for now, she was just observing her homeroom teacher while he was taking Kung Fu lessons from Ku Fei. Negi seems to be more eager to learn Chinese Martial Arts since he came back from his early training this morning.

"So, he won't be able to become Eva-chan's apprentice if he doesn't manage to hit Chachamaru-san once?" Asuna asked Setsuna as both of them also watched Negi's training.

"Huh? Oh y-yes! However, Negi-sensei is still an amateur, it won't be easy." Setsuna was a bit absentminded but she managed to answer Asuna's question.

Asuna now a bit irritated of the behavior of these two and couldn't hold it in anymore. "Alright, Konoka, Setsuna! What is wrong with both of you? Since the new teachers appeared, the two of you are acting very strange!"

"Hm? What about us?" Tsuna just entered their space and overheard that they mentioned him and Chrome.

"EHHHH?! Sawada-sensei?!" Asuna jumped off, she didn't expect that one of them would suddenly appear. Setsuna instinctively hides behind Asuna for some reason and Konoka was really surprised to see him.

"Tsuna-sensei!" Negi also noticed that Tsuna was there and stopped his training to greet them.

"Negi-sensei, seems like, you go full throttle for the test, do you mind if I can watch too?"

Negi smiled, "no, not at all, but I am not really good, I don't think this will be interesting."

Negi-bouzu, you learn very fast-aru," Ku Fei praised Negi development, "and you have definitely a talent for this, but... Two days are too short to go against Chachamaru-aru."

"I know.. but I still want to try! Let's go one more time, Ku Fei-san!" Negi knew that he was still lacking, but he still wanted to try even if it impossible.

Tsuna smiled, then he approached Konoka, "do you mind If I sit here?"

Konoka was a bit speechless she didn't expect him to be here right in front of her, after thinking about him. She managed to answer him. "O-of course not."

There was an awkward silence between them. At first, when he saw the group from afar, he thought this would be a chance to talk to Konoka and Setsuna. But now being right beside them, made him more nervous than it should.

Asuna who was just standing there also felt this awkwardness between them and that Setsuna was using her to hide from Tsuna's view didn't help either. "Setsuna, what's wrong? Normally you would only act like that when Konoka is teasing you," she whispered to Setsuna.

"What? Uhm, I.." Setsuna couldn't form even a sentence.

Asuna could only stare at her in confusion, but something suddenly clicks and she began to grin, "Oh! Wait a second, could it be...?"

"Eh? A-Asuna-san I-I think you are misunderstanding something..!" Setsuna felt an ominous Aura around Asuna.

"No, no, I DO understand." Asuna grin got wider, teasing her even more. "Eh..? Wait a minute, why are you bringing out your kendo sword? Setsuna?!" Maybe she went a bit too far as she runs away and a blushing Setsuna was chasing her.

Back to Tsuna, he wanted to break the ice between them, "Konoe-san, you are the dean's granddaughter, right?"

"Y-yes, that right," Konoka, for some reason, was a bit afraid to talk to him, but maybe talking to him, will help her understand, why she felt so uneasy in the last few days. "Did you met him already?"

"I met your grandfather on the first day, he seems to be a very nice person. But sometimes I had the feeling that he was a bit... overexcited? I'm sorry to say that, but it was actually a bit scary." He remembered his first encounter with the dean. Don't get him wrong, he could tell that the dean was a very friendly person similar to his 'grandpa' Nono, but somehow he had the feeling that the dean had something back in his mind for him. "I hope I didn't offend you, Konoe-san."

Konoka finally began to chuckle, he was actually very cute, thinking that he may have offended her. "Don't worry, I really understand what you mean, Tsuna-kun," she widened her eyes as she realized that she just informally called him by his given name, no even as a nickname, it just came out naturally for her. She quickly corrected herself, "I-I'm sorry, Sawada-sensei, I-I-," you could hear the panic in her voice.

"C-calm down, Konoe-san. It's alright like I said, I prefer to be called Tsuna." Tsuna assured her that she did nothing wrong, and hearing his name from her, made him feel warm, he gave Konoka a smile. "After all, it would really unfair. You all already call Negi, by his given name."

Konoka couldn't help but lost herself in his warm smile. The uneasiness she felt the last days vanished just by talking with him. But something still felt unfair to her, "Then, it's the same for me, you don't need to be formal to me, Konoka is alright... Tsuna-kun."

"Sure, Konoka-san." It was rather easy for Tsuna to call people by their given name if they gave him their permission. After all, he often gave other people the permission to just call him Tsuna, but to his dismay, they often ignored that(Like Chrome or Gokudera). But he didn't really mind it anymore, he learned to accept that.

Hearing her name by him, made Konoka feel at ease. Sure, the dream of hers is still a mystery, but now getting to know him better, tells her not to worry anymore.

"NEGI-KUN!" Makie calls out from afar as she approached the group with a stack of big lunch packets on her hands, Ako was also beside her, bringing even more food. "I brought a whole bunch of food! You need a lot of stamina if you want to win, right?"

"Makie-san, Ako-san!" Negi stands up again after Ku Fei made him fall by countering a lot of his attacks. Asuna and Setsuna also stopped after they were out of breath. "Wow, you brought a lot! T-Thank you!" Negi was shocked by the endless boxed they brought.

"I'm actually a really good cook, please help yourse-" Makie happily hand over each of them a box one by one (she gave Negi a lot) and then it was Tsuna's turn, it took her a few seconds until she realized that he was there too. "EHH? Sawada-sensei?!"

"Hello, Sasaki-san. You.. didn't hold back, didn't you? You really want to help Negi-sensei." Tsuna admires her hard work.

"Y-yes, I mean it was my fault in the first place..." Makie blushed, then she turned to Negi with determination eyes, "Negi-kun! Here try this! Oh, this is also good! And-"

Makie only means well, however, by shoving so much food into Negi and him, being a gentleman and not denying any of this, became a lot fatter, making him unable to move.

"H-he became weaker-aru." Ku Fei was amazed at how fast he became that fat.

"OH NO! Negi-kun! D-don't worry! T-There is a secret diet technique from my club." Feeling responsible, Makie dragged Negi to her club to help him slim down.

However, like before, her plan backfired again as Negi became too thin and fragile.

"H-he became EVEN weaker-aru." Ku Fei sweatdropped of this outcome.

"Uwaaaah! Negi-kun, I'm so sorry!" Makie began to cry, everything she does, goes wrong.

Negi, slowly recovering, assured Makie that he was okay, "it's alright, Makie-san."

"I-I just wanted to help... but all I've done is stay in your way," Makie sniffed, "you only have two days left until Sunday... Wait, Sunday?"

"Something wrong, Sasaki-san?" Tsuna noticed that she was realizing something.

"I almost forgot! I have a rhythmic gymnastics selection test for the championship on this day!" Makie completely forgot of this today as she was so busy wanting to help Negi.

"Eh? Really? Are you going to be okay?" Asuna asked in a worried tone.

"I-I'm not sure... I don't have confidence at all.." Makie began to cry again.

"You have no confidence? But why?" Asuna now was really worried. Makie was usually very confident in her ability.

Makie hesitated a bit, but she knew they were all worried. "I... overheard a conversation between our PE teacher, Ninomiya-sensei, and Shizuna-sensei, she said that I was childish and undisciplined... And she was right, look, I even cause all sorts of trouble for Negi-kun."

Negi and the girls saw the sadness in her eyes, they wanted to help her, but they weren't sure how to cheer her up.

Suddenly Tsuna walks up to her and offering her a handkerchief, "I see, that's why you were down in the morning. And also why you were reacting like that after Evangeline-san called you 'childish'."

Tsuna felt bad for her, he understands her feelings. Back then, before he met Reborn, the teachers pretty much gave up on him. However, he doesn't think that her PE teacher meant bad for her, she is still young and she can still grow. She just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe not if things go right now.

"Y-yes. I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you with something like that, Sawada-sensei." Makie was a bit startled by Tsuna's move but accepted his handkerchief and wipes away her tears.

"...How about you show us some of your gymnastics, Sasaki-san? We will be the judge." Tsuna suddenly suggested.

"EHH? I can't do that!" Makie was unsure of this sudden idea. What if they don't like it.

"Come one! Show us! We already saw some glimpse of your ability, Makie-san!" Asuna liked the idea.

"I want to see it too! I've never seen Makie-san's gymnastics so closely before! Just a little on Library Island and it was still amazing!" Negi agreed, he became really excited.

"Uuh." Makie was still hesitating, however, by looking at Tsuna's encouragement to her, she couldn't turn their request down. "J-Just a bit then."

Makie began to dance with her pink ribbon. Her movements were breathtaking, her body was really flexible and her control over her ribbon was amazing, how could she not get entangled by it? At first, Makie had a worry expression, however, after it goes on and she slowly getting into it, her face lit up, you could tell she was enjoying it very much. She ended her performance gracefully with a smile, everyone on the scene was speechless.

"H-how was it?" Makie asked shyly, not really about this.

They all could only awe and gave her a loud standing ovation.

"That was great after all! Just as I expected from Makie-san!" Negi was the first to tell.

Makie was still not convinced, "but Ninomiya-sensei said that I was too childish... and the test is the day after tomorrow."

"Sasaki-san... Do you like rhythmic gymnastics? From what I saw, I would say, you really love it," Tsuna wants to tell her his feeling, "I don't know how you usually perform, but this performing right now hit right in our heart. Childish, you say? There is nothing wrong with being childish, it just means, that you can still grow up endlessly. However, you need a passion for it. If you give up now than it's really over."

Makie widened her eyes, the words from Tsuna affected her hard. She could feel the sincerity in his eyes, it filled her with encouragement. It was strange, she only met him a few days ago, but it feels like he knows what she wanted to hear. The warm feeling in her belly was spreading inside her body.

"That's right! Don't give up, Makie-san!" Negi suddenly felt a fire inside him, "...I don't understand gymnastic, but I think your performance was great! It was a beautiful, honest and direct performance! You can do it"

"Negi-sensei... Thank you." Makie smiled at her homeroom teacher, he is really supportive of her.

"For the next two day... Let's both do our best, Makie-san!" Negi reassured her with a smile.

Makie was really surprised of Negi coolness right now, she could only respond with a warm smile.

"Negi-bouzu, let's continue our training-aru." Ku Fei also felt more excited after they heard Tsuna's speech, to be honest, she wasn't sure if Negi would be ready for the fight on Sunday, however, like Tsuna said, they shouldn't give up, the fight isn't decided yet.

Tsuna smiled and excused himself from the group as it was time to meet up with Chrome, who was exploring the Library Island. When he was a bit farther away, he turned to group one last time and whispered, "that's right, your hard work will pay off, I'm sure of it."

It was already Saturday, on his morning jogging, Tsuna saw that Negi and Makie decided to train together. This time, Ku Fei was also with them, they probably wanted to use every free minute to prepare them for their own battle. To be honest, Ku Fei training methods reminded him of a milder version of Reborns training methods. She didn't make it too easy, however, she also made sure not to hurt them.

In the afternoon, Tsuna joined the group once again. Negi was still training with Ku Fei, he noticed that he was even better than yesterday, his growth is really amazing. Makie was also training, polishing her skills. Her friends, Ako, Yuna, and Akira came to support her. After their talk yesterday, Konoka and Tsuna became much closer, they could easily chit chat with each other now, Asuna noticed that Konoka was back to her usual self. Setsuna, on the other hand, was still avoiding him.

"Are you learning Kendo, Kagurazaka-san?" Tsuna brought this up after he saw Asuna training with Setsuna a bit in the background.

"Huh? Oh yes." Asuna answered while Setsuna froze a bit due to his attention to them.

"Is there a reason why you and Negi-sensei, began to train? I can tell, that you both just began recently." Tsuna was a bit curious.

"Ah, well, all sort of stuff happened during our trip... It's actually hard to explain... It just happened, its not something I have to do, but its fun to train with Setsuna." Asuna tried to avoid the main reason for becoming stronger, but it's not like she was fully lying.

"I see.. Sakurasaki-san. I can tell that you are very skillful with your sword. You've done a great job, teaching Kagurazaka-san." Tsuna turned towards her with a smile.

"Eh? No, I.. Thank you. Hehehe." Setsuna face became red in a second, however, she couldn't help herself but feel really happy, that he had praised her. It felt so familiar.

Asuna snickered in the background, which made Setsuna turn to her with a dark aura emitting from her. Asuna sweatdropped and quickly noted that she shouldn't tease her on a training session.

It became darker and they all decided to take a break and eat dinner.

"Do you think Negi-sensei have a chance?" Yuna asked this question to Ku Fei.

"Well, Negi-bouzu is a fast learner, he learned techniques, that would take a month to master, but he can do it within three hours. Sheesh, what's with this kid-aru?" Ku Fei never saw someone like that. Honestly, she is also a fast learner, but it would still take her a week, she really felt a bit jealous there.

"Wow, I guess he is really a genius boy," Ako was really impressed, hearing Ku Fei explanation.

"But he couldn't be a 10-year-old teacher if he wasn't like that." Akira thought about it.

As they were all really impressed by Negi growth, Yuna suddenly changed the subject and pointed at Konoka, "Hey, Konoka-san, since when did you get close to Sawada-sensei? You even call each other with your given name!"

"Uhm.. it just happens?" Konoka simple said when she thought about that.

"That's not fair! I also want to call him like that!" Makie cut in, you could feel that she was envious of them.

"I don't mind, you can all call me Tsuna," Tsuna simple said as he was digging in his food.

"Yay! But that also means that you shouldn't call us with our family name either!" Yuna grinned.

"Of course, well if you all don't mind." Tsuna easily agreed to this term, the girls were all happy, especially Setsuna and Makie.

"Hehe, that will surprise our class, can't wait for Monday." Yuna made a mischievous grin.

"Hey, Negi.. Aren't you kind of smelly..?" Asuna noticed this strange scent around Negi and frowned. "Don't tell me you haven't take a bath since you began your training?

"EEEEEEEEEEEEHHH?" All the girl looks shocked and slowly backed away from him.

"No, um.. This is... I just forgot to-" Negi tried to defend himself.

"No excuses! Come on! I'm going to wash you!" Asuna said and dragged him with her.

"Wait, Asuna! We are going, too." Yuna and the rest quickly followed Asuna, especially they didn't want to miss that. Only Akira was the one behind, they completely forgot the junk they left behind.

"Don't worry, Akira-san. I will take care of this, Just go with them and you can pick up the lunch boxes later." Tsuna said to her

"But I can't-" Akira felt bad for leaving him with all this junk alone, but he was insisting this, she had no choice but to give in, "Thank you, Tsuna-sensei. I will make sure the others will repay you." She bowed to her teacher and left.

Tsuna chuckled, it is okay to relax for a while, Negi only have a few hours till the appointed test.

-Mahora Academy, World Tree Plaza-

It was almost midnight, Negi was really nervous, but he took a big breath to calm himself down. He wasn't alone, Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, Ku Fei, Makie, Ako, Yuna, Akira, and Tsuna was right behind him. Most of them were very worried about him, however, they will support him no matter what. Then, It was finally Midnight.

"Evangeline-saaaaaaaan!" Negi shouted out. "Negi Springfield is ready for the apprenticeship-test!"

"You came, boy." Evangeline was already waiting for him. Her partner, Chachamaru, was right beside her. Evangeline expression was a bit mixed, she didn't look very enthusiastic, however, she had also a glimpse of expectation in her eyes.

"Well then, let's hurry up and get this started," Evangeline began, "There is just a simple rule, you only need to hit Chachamaru once with your Kung Fu, then you'll pass. You can try as much as you want until you're done and can't fight anymore."

Negi noticed something in her wording and smiled, "are those all the conditions?"

"Hm? Yes, that all." Evangeline wondered why he made this triumph smile. However, what really annoyed her the most was the crowd behind him, "Can't you do something about your damn audience?"

"Uhm, They just followed me..." It's not like Negi could stop them. The girls were obviously there to cheer for him.

"Negi-kun! You are going to be alright... right?" Makie was very worried.

"Just leave it to me, Makie-san," Negi assured her, "I'll try my best no matter what! I'll use the results of my training with Ku Fei to the full."

Makie was amazed by her teacher, he is full of determination and his cool expression is telling her that everything will be alright, "Negi-kun! I-I wish you good luck!"

"Negi-bouzu, I taught you everything I could in these short days and I believe you are ready, you can do it-aru." Ku Fei gave him an approved look.

"Negi... !-" Asuna gave Negi a very worried look on her face, she is probably the most worried out of the group. Negi reassures her once again that he will make it.

"It won't be easy, but I believe that you will be fine, Negi-kun," Tsuna gave him encouragement which Negi responded with a smile.

Negi finally approached Chachamaru and bowed to her, "Chachamaru-san, I'm ready."

Chachmaru didn't really want to fight her homeroom teacher, truthfully, he only had a 3% chance to hit her, however, as her master wishes, she will not hold back. "I'll be your opponent, Negi-sensei."

The girls on the sideline became very nervous. "H-He will be okay, right, Ku Fei-san?" Makie asked.

"Chachamaru is really strong. Negi-bouzu needs to finish this fast. If he can't hit her in the first minutes, it will only get harder-aru." Ku Fei said what she thinks about this situation.

"You May Begin!" Evangeline didn't want to waste more time and started the test.

Negi quickly cast a spell to himself, to strengthen his physical abilities for the next 90 seconds. Chachamaru was the first one to charge, like before, she moved very fast, however, Negi could manage to follow her trace this time and was able to block her continues attacks, with the Chinese Martial Arts he was taught by Ku Fei.

Negi was able to do some counterattacks, but Chachamaru could easily block them as well. Slowly, Negi was being pushed by Chachamaru, he decided to distance himself from her a bit to get his posture back. Konoka, Yuna, Ako, Akira, and Makie, who didn't have any fighting experience, were amazed by this fight, it felt like straight from a movie scene. Asuna, Setsuna and Ku Fei, on the other hand, were very worried, the fight was dragging on and while it looks like they were equally, it was clear that Chachamaru had the upper hand.

Chachamaru charged at Negi one more time and prepared to strike him. Negi was waiting for this moment, he dodges her attack and grabbed her hand and immediately counterattack with his elbow. Due to Negi holding her hand Chachamaru was unable to move left or right, however, as an experienced fighter, Chachamaru used her mobile android body to flipped above Negi and easily dodged his attack in the air and freeing herself from his grip. Negi and the girls gasped from shock, they thought he got her, especially Ku Fei as they often practice this moment, but she didn't expect Chachamaru to be one step ahead of them.

Chachamaru used the full swing to kick Negi from above, she got a direct hit and send him flying.

"NEGI-KUN!" The girls were shouting, it doesn't look good. Negi got a critical hit. Chachamaru really got him hard, it seems like he couldn't get up anymore.

Evangeline was truly disappointed, of his weak presentation, "Is that all you got? Too bad, boy, but that's just how you are. Go wash your face and fix yourself up." For some reason, Evangeline felt angry, did she expected too much from him?

"Not yet!" Negi barely managed to stand up again, but you could see the damage of this one hit. "I'm not done yet... Evangeline-san," he smiled confidently.

"Huh..? What are you talking about? Look at yourself! The match is over, time for little brats to be home and in their bed," Evangeline already saw enough and wanted to dismiss him.

"The condition was 'You can try as much as you want until you're done and can't fight anymore'. So, that means there's no time limit, right? I can still fight!" Negi never lost his smile.

"What? Don't tell me that you're.." Evangeline finally realized why he was smiling so triumphally back than.

"That right. I'm going to stick at it until I land one hit, no matter how long it will take! Chachamaru-san! Let's continue!" Negi charged again, however, his contract was already expired. He wasn't as fast as before. Chachamaru was worried for her teacher, but she didn't have a choice but to counter him, however, she tried not to use full power again.

"Chachamaru-san! P-Please fight me seriously, there is no point in winning if you go easy on me." Negi immediately knew that she was holding back, the attack from early was much stronger than this.

"B-But...!" Chachamaru was still unsure, but seeing his determination in his eyes gave her no choice but to accept his request. "...I understand, Negi-sensei."

The fight continued, but it was brutally one-sided. Negi face became swollen and every part of his body seems to be in pain. Just like that, an hour was already gone. It was painful to watch for the girls. But Negi was still standing, he was totally beaten up, however, it doesn't seem like he wanted to stop.

Even Evangeline felt bad. The angriness she had before disappeared and didn't know what to do. "C-come on, boy, isn't that enough already? I get that you are motivated, but there is no point anymore."

Makie didn't want to watch anymore and closed her eyes, she wanted that someone stopped them, but she suddenly felt Tsuna's hand on her shoulder, looking upon him, she saw his serious face towards Negi. Makie turned to Negi one more time and then she saw this determination in his eyes, at that moment she suddenly realized something.

"N-No..! Not yet!" Negi could hardly control his breath, but he still attacked Chachamaru again, which she responded with a kick and send him to fly once again.

Having enough, Asuna couldn't handle this anymore, "I-I can't watch this anymore! I'm going to stop him!"

"NO! Asuna! Stop!" Makie suddenly got on Asuna's way, stopping her to go further. "Don't stop him!"

"B-but.. !" Asuna didn't expect for Makie to stop her.

"Even if he's badly injured... he's still tried really hard to get to this point! I know what you're thinking..! I know..! But, didn't Negi-kun said he'd try his best no matter what!" Makie cried, even though it also hurt her so much seeing him to suffer. "If you stop him now, everything was for nothing!"

"Makie-chan... But he is still a kid! He is just being stubborn. I've got to stop him!" Asuna still wanted to stop Negi, he is only suffering right now.

"No, Negi-kun is already an adult! A child could never be stubborn to this point!" Makie once again defended Negi.

"But no matter how you look, Negi can't win this fight..!" Asuna wants to believe in him, but it hurts to watch him right now.

"I-I think he is already prepared for this pain. I realized j-just by looking at him! I can tell that he has an objective.. and he decided to do everything to achieve it! For the first time in my life, I never saw someone this ambitious, and I'm sure you are the same, Asuna-san... Negi IS an adult. You can't stop him now! Not while he is doing his best!" Makie put all her emotion in her speech which impressed them all, even Evangeline, who had only thought of Makie as the most childish person of the class.

"Well said, Makie-san," Tsuna stepped in and gave Makie a pat on her head.

Makie was really surprised and touched her head as she was still feeling the warm hand from Tsuna. She felt that he was telling her that she had done a very good job, it made her incredibly happy. Asuna, and also the rest of girls, were really shocked by Tsuna's bold move on Makie, especially Konoka and Setsuna had a strange feeling about that. However, the girl's eyes were strangely drawn to him when he enters the scene.

"Negi-kun!" Tsuna shouted to him and getting his attention, "it hurts, right? Every hit you take hurts. It hurt so much that parts of you actually want to give up and run away... However, you won't, because you know if you give up right now, something far worse than 'hurt' will appear... 'Regret'! So, once again show us your resolve! Show us your 'Undying Will' to win! Negi!"

-Flashback: Undying Will-

There are only a few hours until his apprentice test against Chachamaru. It made Negi really nervous, he was sitting on a bench to calm himself down. The girls wanted to be with him to lessen his burden, however, he really needed this time alone.

"You look worried, Negi-sensei." Tsuna suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"T-Tsuna-sensei?!" Negi jumped from his sudden appearance.

"Let us drop the 'sensei' when we are outside of school. For now, we are just two people who just wanted to relax." Tsuna chuckled. "Sorry, I know you want some alone time, but I hope you don't mind me joining you."

"Of course not, Tsuna-sense... Tsuna-san!" Being with Tsuna was really enjoyable, maybe because he emits such a warm feeling. Negi doesn't know why, but from the very first day, he already admires Tsuna and during the past days, Tsuna hang out with them, made this admiration even stronger.

"You are thinking about the test, right Negi-kun?" Tsuna didn't play around and ask Negi directly.

Negi sighed, "to be honest, Chachamaru-san is very strong. I already fought her once, but I had someone who had helped me. Now fighting one-on-one, even if it's just a hit it will be nearly impossible."

Tsuna smiled, "nearly, huh? So you actually saying that you DO have a chance?"

"Ehhh? No, I.." Negi waved his hand in a surprise due to Tsuna twisting his words, however, the eyes that Tsuna gave him, made him eventually tell his true feelings to Tsuna, "...yes, I really want to pass the test."

"Why do you want to be Evangeline-san apprentice? From what I saw, Ku Fei-san is also very strong, wouldn't be alright to just learn from her?"

"Ah! Uhm, Ku Fei-san is very strong and I'm really grateful for her and I also think that I can still learn a lot from her, but Evangeline-san is... Uhm..I-" Negi didn't know how to answer this question, as he wanted to be Evangeline apprentice because of her strong ties with his father and she is also a very powerful mage.

Tsuna noticed Negi struggle and chuckled, "I understand, there is something you can't tell me yet, then it's fine, don't worry about this."

"I-I'm sorry, Tsuna-san," Negi felt bad to keep this a secret, however, he can't just continue to expose himself as a mage. He blew his cover on the first day he arrived in Mahora, it was Asuna who caught him using magic and things lead to another. He already dragged to many people into this.

"Is there any reason, why you want to become stronger? Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it"

"I... I lost a fight," Negi began, he actually wanted at least tell him that and will try to avoid 'magic' related stuff in his next few sentences. "When I lost to this 'white hair' boy, I realized how weak I am. I couldn't protect anyone... And If Evangeline-san didn't come in the last minute, we could have lost everything. And that is when I realized that Evangeline-san is the only person I should learn (magical combat)... That I want to be her apprentice."

Tsuna realized how important this was for Negi. He really wants to win. "Negi-kun... Can I be honest with you? I saw your training the past days and it's undeniable that you have improved a lot, however, from the blow I received from Chachamaru, I could tell... that she was holding back, she is still above your level. The two days you got, wasn't enough."

"So, it's really impossible for me..." Negi head drooped with a big disappointment.

"I didn't mean that you don't have a chance" Tsuna patted the young boy and wanted to encourage him again, "it's true that your physical abilities are inferior to her as for now, however, a fight can be won not only by strength."

"Use your head," Tsuna pointed at Negi's head and then his finger goes down to his heart, "and show your 'Undying Will' to win!"

-Flashback End-

Negi smiled of this memory, Tsuna's advise really cheered him up. He had used his head to bypass a time limit using Evangeline words against her. Now, with Makie's and Tsuna's support, he will not give up, not now, not ever! The resolve in his heart is already set, he will make this one hit!

Evangeline and Chachamaru noticed the change in Negi's eyes, it was burning with passion, he had even more resolve than before. For some reason, it actually filled them both with excitement.

Tsuna suddenly saw a yellow flame ignited inside Negi's body, `Could it be.. ?'

Negi suddenly felt so much lighter, something was boosting his strength, even the pain vanished. With this newfound strength, he sprinted towards Chachamaru with full speed, surprising both Chachamaru and Evangeline, how is able to move this fast with his condition? Chachamaru could able to raise her arm in time to block his incoming attack, but to everyone surprise, his attack blew her away, making Chachamaru lose her balance.

"What?" Evangeline shouted aloud, completely shocked, "Where is this strength is suddenly coming from?! Did he cast another spell?"

"Eh..?" Chachamaru was suddenly in the air. She tried to find her ground again, but Negi was already in front of her, not missing this chance.

"I finally got you, Chachamaru-san," Negi made a small smile and hit her chin with a light punch.

*CLANG*

This sound of a hit finally ends the fight against Chachamaru. He did it! In took a few seconds before the girls realized that Negi hit Chachamaru! When it finally hits them, they began to cheer for his achievement, they couldn't believe that he actually did it.

Evangeline was still shocked by this outcome and she didn't understand what just happened. Chachamaru didn't even hold back, but he still managed to blow her away.

Negi fell to the ground, however, in the instant as he began to relax, the pain in his body suddenly began to arch inside his body, making him faint in an instant.

"NEGI-KUN!"

A small sunray glow made the sleeping Negi slowly regain his conscious. "Huh..? I-I.. D-did I? T-the test?"

Negi was trying to progress was just happened and he didn't notice that his head was lying on Makie's lap. The girls were also right around him, Asuna took his hand with a relieved smile.

"Negi-kun! You are finally awake!" Makie was really glad that he finally woke up. "You did it! You pass the test!"

"Well done, boy." Evangeline was also relief that he finally woke up, they did wait quite a while, Tsuna insisted them to let him rest and that he will eventually wake up, "by completing my test, you can come to my cottage any time and I'll train you, just like we promised. And... you should keep learning that Kung Fu of yours. It actually suits you."

It was still a mystery to Evangeline what just had happened in the end, he was clearly at his limit. This sudden boost came out of nowhere... Did the History Teacher do something? No, she didn't feel any magic from him. For now, she just had to accept this outcome. She couldn't help but smile... Huh? Was she actually happy that Negi passes her test?

Thank you, Evangeline-san," Negi smiled, "I did it..."

"Well done, Negi." Tsuna smiled towards Negi, but he also tried to trace any of the Flames he just saw early in this boy body, but it completely disappeared. He wondered if by pushing his 'Will', he unconsciously ignited his 'Dying Will Flame'. It was clearly the Characteristic of the Sun Flame: Activation, that helped him in the end. It temporarily stimulates his muscle and increased his body function drastically. But, after Negi didn't need it anymore, the pain it ignored for the fight, came simultaneously back and made him faint instantly.

Tsuna than turned to Makie, who was a bit surprised of his sudden attention to her, "you said it yourself, Negi is an adult because he decided to give everything he got for the objective he wanted to achieve... Is your resolve the same? I know you really like rhythmic gymnastics, I'm sure you can do it too. Do your best, Makie-san."

"Y-Yes! Tsuna-kun!" after seeing Negi determination and Tsuna's support for her, she really wants to give her best... for the both of them. She may still be immature, but she has the resolve to grow up. She really, really likes rhythmic gymnastics, however, she thinks she may like Negi and especially Tsuna even more than that.

Tsuna smiled towards both of them, he was really proud of Negi and Makie. To be honest, watching from the sideline and seeing Negi getting beat up, was really hard to bear. But he knew he shouldn't step in, it was a big step for Negi and it also positively affected Makie. People needed to have determination like that to be able to move forward and they should find that out by themselves, though that doesn't mean it was forbidden to give them some advice to the right direction.

In this very moment, Tsuna wondered if Reborn was always feeling like that when he became his tutor. Suddenly all the battles, trials and harsh training flashed inside Tsuna's mind, Reborn was always with him. He was pretty sure Reborn was often frustrated at him, however, he had always believed in him, no matter what. "I see.. that is the duty of a teacher, huh? Thank you, Reborn. Even though you are not here, you always show me the right way."

Looking at the group once again, Tsuna can see how earnest they all are and he really wonders if it really alright, to keep everything a secret. He really felt bad to lie to them. And it would be also more effective if they can freely talk to each other... Tsuna thought about it for a while until he eventually decided to at least tell them that he is aware of magic. The next opportunity he gets, he will talk about it. He only needs to make sure to keep them out from the mafia business.

-To Be Continued-

Next Chapter: Secret Unveiled

Author Note:
I'm really grateful to all the readers. I also didn't expect that people still remembered this Fiction from 2016.

I understand that people are worry because of this Fiction. It was mostly dead because of its long hiatus. But as for now I really want to progress the Story and I hope that I can continue on.

I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. See you next time.~