The Snowball Fight and the Snowman

The next morning, Nekane got up about seven in the morning to cook breakfast for the group. Careful not to wake Negi up she tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen. However halfway down the stairs she could already smell toast and waffles. Intrigued, Nekane continued into the kitchen. She was surprised to see the green-haired robot already cooking breakfast in a maid outfit.

"Oh, good morning Miss Springfield." said the robotic maid.

"Good morning, Chachamaru, oh my, you didn't have to get up so early to make breakfast."

"That's fine, I am used to it. I was programmed to serve Master Evangeline anyway."

"Master? You're not just her roommate at school?" Nekane asked while putting on an apron and setting about to make some tea.

Chachamaru continued with making waffles and said, "No. I'm also her servant and partner in combat. I am wondering why you were not scared of Master yesterday."

Nekane set the kettle on the stove and said, "She hasn't done anything to me, so why should I be afraid? And besides, I never expected the infamous vampire to be so cute! What kind of tea to you like Chachamaru?"

"I normally make Japanese style tea, so I am not familiar with English teas. I suppose whatever you feel is best Miss Springfield. Master Eva does not like to be treated like a child. She always feels that she has to scare people and act tough, so seeing someone not scared is a bit of a first for her."

"Okay then, I think you all might like some English Breakfast Tea, I think that might be a nice change than what you are used to. Still she doesn't have to be gloomy now, she is on vacation after all, and it's almost Christmas, how can she not smile more?" Nekane asked as she pulled out knifes and forks and set the table. She heard creaks from above signaling that the others were just getting up.

Chachamaru finished cooking the waffles and toast and carried it on a large plate to the table. "I am not sure."

Nekane was about to ask Chachamaru about Japanese teas when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Anya and Negi.

"Morning Nekane. Oh! You're already down here as well Chachamaru?" Anya said.

"Good morning sis. Wow! English toast and tea! It's been a while since I had that! Did you make the toast Nekane?" Negi asked while taking a seat at the table while Chachamaru came to pour some tea for him.

A few minutes later just as Negi and Anya were served tea, the other girls walked in still a sleepy eyed. Asuna would normally be up already but it seemed that jet lag got to her. She had her hair down presumably she forgot to tie her hair with her bells.

"Morning....." Asuna said still half asleep. She almost ran into Nekane on her way out of the kitchen and for a split second the two stared at each other.

"Oh that's right, I always said that Asuna here reminds me of you Nekane, especially with her hair down like that!" Negi said.

Nekane giggled a bit and set down the tea kettle she was holding. "Yes I noticed that. Would you like some tea?"

Setsuna gasped as she saw the similarity. Other than the different colored hair, "You two really do look alike almost like twins!" she said and took a seat next to Konoka and said good morning to her.

As Nekane poured tea for the younger Springfield, Eva walked in. She was dressed in a black frilly dress today with several lavender and white laces all around. Normally, it would come across as something sinister, but Nekane thought that Eva looked even more like an over-sized doll. She took a seat across from Anya and and helped herself to some toast. Unlike the other girls, she seemed wide awake.

Anya, though taller than than Eva by a few inches suddenly seemed to shrink as Eva sat down. Then again, making people seem tiny next to her was a skill that Eva could do, and only her. The little blonde vampire noticed this and caught Anya's eye and licked her lips.

"Eeeep!" Anya shrieked just loud enough for a few people to notice.

"Anya? Is something wrong?" Negi asked.

"N-nothing!" she said and quickly excused herself by carrying her dished into the kitchen.

Asuna sat down next to Eva and put on a concerned face as possible, "You didn't have to scare her like that you know." and helped herself to some breakfast as well.

Eva was slightly annoyed at this, "I can't help it if that little girl is scared of me. She seemed to have be fully awake now anyways." Eva said to the red-head. "Besides, who are you to tell me how to act, I am far older than you are." Eva said with her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Whatever, I'm starved. So this is an English-style breakfast huh?" Asuna said taking her yes off the vampire and glancing at the table. There was toast, waffles, fried eggs, assorted jams and tea all laid across the scrubbed wooden table.

"Yes it is. This is English Breakfast Tea and English-style toast. I don't know if you've ever had it before. Would you like some tea as well Eva?" Nekane said as she turned to the little vampire.

"Eh?! Oh, uh sure."

Nekane smiled as she poured Eva her tea. She seemed somewhat flustered though.

Eva picked up her tea mug and sipped her tea quietly. "It's been......a while since I had this....." she said to herself.

"Eh? You say something Master?" Negi asked.

"Oh, n-nothing."

Eva continued to drink the dark liquid slowly. True, she hadn't drank English tea for several years, the last she could remember was almost two hundred years ago. And since moving to Japan in the last century, she became fond of Japanese herbal and barley tea.

"Oh Miss Nekane? Can I help with cooking as well?" Konoka asked as she also ate breakfast. "I know a few English style dishes as well!"

"Ojou-sama....do you really have to offer like that?" Setsuna asked quietly.

"Of course! I love to cook!"

"Thanks for your offer. Perhaps you would like to help cooking lunch? I would love to see how the Japanese cook!" Nekane said. She was so happy to see that this was one of the roommates that Negi lived with at school. The chocolate-haired girl reminded her of herself in many ways. She was very caring and friendly, and always seemed to have a great big smile on her face. She was happy overall that Negi had so many kind people to depend on.

"Hey look outside! It's snowing!" Asuna cried out.

"So it is." said Chachamaru.

"Ooh! Wanna go outside and play in the snow! I've always wanted to build a snowman! The breakfast was excellent! I'm looking forward to more English style meals this vacation!"

"You're very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it!" Nekane said.

"C'mon Secchan! It'll be fun!!" Konoka said as she finished her breakfast.

So after the dishes were washed, the girls grabbed their coats and Anya and Nekane grabbed their mage's cloaks and followed outside into the chilly snow covered town. They all agreed that the open field just outside of town would be the best place to have a snowball fight and other recreational activities.

Naturally, the girls were very excited to see snow. Mahora Academy was a little too far south for snow, and seeing it in Wales in a western setting like this had a surreal feeling to it. Setsuna found herself being dragged around by the Konoe heir, but she had to admit that it was much more relaxing and fun, something that she hadn't done with Konoka for a while.

"Wah, slow down ojou-sama! What are you doing?" Setsuna asked.

"I'm going to build a snowman together!"

"B-but I don't......." Setsuna began, but it was already too late. Konoka was already gathering snow in a giant sphere and building the base of their snowman. Setsuna followed suit and also piled the soft snow into a pile to build the body.

Meanwhile, Asuna wanted to try a snowball fight. Asuna and Negi were on one side, while Anya and Chachamaru were on another. Asuna got to work building a small fortress while Negi made the ammunition. He had to admit, it was a nice pace since he was always teaching or learning magic. But then again, he never really played in the snow before.

"I'm not going to lose to you Negi Springfield!!" Anya cried, and pretty soon Negi felt a clump of snow hit him on the back of his jacket. Negi could only respond by tossing a snowball back at Anya. She loved competition, especially when Negi was her opponent.

"Oh ho! So that's the way you want to play? Okay then! Open fire!" Asuna yelled and started tossing snowballs across the field. Negi had to applaud his partner's skills, since Asuna had always been better at athletics than her schoolwork.

On the other side of the hill, Eva decided to stay on the sidelines and watch the other girls have their fun. She finally had a chance to be outside the barrier and although she could feel her body flowing with energy and power, she still felt bored and alone. She saw the other girls and Negi as childish and immature and felt that her pride as a vampire would not allow her to mingle with a 'lower' race.

Nekane decided to watch on the sidelines as well for a bit and decided to take a seat next to Eva.

"Hey, how come you're not playing in the snow with your friends?" Nekane asked.

"I......don't have any friends....." Eva said quietly. "Besides, I'm an evil mage......"

"Eh?! But's that's so sad! And besides, I don't think you're that evil!" Nekane said.

Why is this little girl calling herself evil? She need not put herself down like that!

But Eva wasn't putting herself down. The truth was that Eva actually considered herself evil, although no one else with the exception of Anya actually called her that. Talk to any of her classmates and they would tell you that she was mean and anti-social. Ask the teachers and they might say that she was quiet and well-behaved, but evil was the last thing from their minds.

"Do you want me to prove it to you? I could......."

Of course, Eva's peace was not meant to last as a stray snowball hit her on the side of the face and knocked her off her seat. For one tense moment, everyone froze in horror. Asuna and Negi knew all too well what happens when Eva gets pissed.

"Okay! Who threw that?!!" Eva demanded as she got back on her feet.

So the little pissed vampire decided to get revenge by using her magic and manipulation of the billions of ice particles to create dozens of snowballs and hurled them at the others. Since she couldn't tell who it was, she decided to hurl several at all four of them. The others screamed and ducked behind their makeshift snow forts.

Eva couldn't help but feel evil and powerful now. "BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! This is what happens when you mess with the Dark Evangel, ruler of darkness and ice! Fear me!!!" Evangeline cried out, her high voice piercing the morning air like knives. Most people would start running in the opposite direction now, but not Negi and the others. In fact, they started laughing heartily and started hurling snowballs back at Eva.

As angry as Evangeline was, she did join in on the fun nevertheless, although she kinda took it to the extreme.

"Hehe, now you're getting it Eva! Isn't this fun?" Asuna cried as she threw another snowball at Eva.

"I won't lost to you vampire! Anya shouted and started using her magic to start hurling several snowballs at Eva.

Eva dodged them all as if they were nothing. "You fools! You cannot beat me! Lic Lac La Lac Lilac! Come spirits of ice! Bury my foes in a blizzard of snow!" And not just dozens but several hundred snowballs came pouring down from the sky.

"Barrier!" Anya and Negi both shouted and a shield formed over the pairs. The snowballs rained down and pelted the barrier.

Ugh...such power....... Anya thought to herself as she desperately tried to keep the magical barrier from being destroyed.

Eva found herself somehow......enjoying this. These were the times she lived for. To utterly dominate the battle and stand high playing the evil vampire that was so rooted in her nature. Sure it was a four-on one battle, but who cares about that? She was the Dark Evangel after all.

So after several hours of playing in the snow and several hundred snowballs later, the girls and Negi decided to head back in for lunch and a break. Everyone except Nekane, Konoka and Setsuna were injured with some bruises here and there.

Konoka and Setsuna met up with Nekane first. "Well, we just finished our snowman. Ojou-sama wanted to move it back to your front yard if that was possible." Setsuna told Nekane.

Nekane said that would be fine and she conjured up a bit of magic of her own and in no time, Konoka's snowman was sitting outside their front door and when they got back, they could all view it.

"I just couldn't part with Frosty!" Konoka said. "He seemed so lonely when we tried to leave him!"

Konoka however put aside all thoughts about her snowman when she saw her classmates and teacher limp toward her.

"Eh?! What happened to you guys? You look like you just got back from a battle! I'll heal you right away!!" Konoka screamed and she saw the sorry state the five were.

Negi's glasses were askew, Asuna had a black eye and several bruises, Chachamaru managed to escape with all of her systems intact, and Anya's hands looked very red. As for Eva, well, she had a large smile on her face that only made her look more evil than she already was.

"Hehehe, well you see......." Asuna began...........

"It was just a snowball fight. No big deal!" Nekane explained.

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