Hello there people! this is my first attempt at a negima fan-fic Before! I hope that you all will read and enjoy it! I had fun making it!

Negima is owned By Ken Akametsu, the idea and lone character belong to me

Pale Roots

Prologue 1: A Visitor

"Gah… I always hate going down here…it's always so dark… I hate dark places…"

A rather feminine looking man wearing a work suite was looking around the dark hall nervously with a flashlight.

Another man, dark skinned and more battle hardened looking, gave a sigh and pushed his glasses back onto his face "would you stop nagging Seruhiko-kun? In case you forgot, We're down here because of a strange magical signal that was detected in the roots of the World Tree, so stop your whining and help me look for it" the one named Seruhiko looked around the large hall filled with giant roots for a minute or two and nervously walked alongside the dark toned man.

After a minute or two, he asked "Do we happen to know where in the roots it might be Gandolfini-san?" Gandolfini kept looking around as he gave his response "it wasn't specific. Apparently whatever it is keeps moving around, but it seems to be close to the gate in the deepest roots last we checked."

Seruhiko looked at him with a quizzical look "Moving around? Then it's alive?" Gandolfini shook his head "not sure, there was a lack of life signs when it showed up, so it could be an elemental or spirit. That's why we're down here to check. So shut up and start looking."

Seruhiko slightly cringes at the scolding and goes back to looking, muttering under his breath "I still hate the dark…"

The two men continue their search for the strange signal for about another hour in silence before something interesting happens. Seruhiko was still acting slightly fearful of the dark place they were still in before he heard something in the distance "…ugh… ungh…" The pretty male quickly flashed his light in the direction of the noise but saw nothing. His nerves where on high alert trying to hear the noise again.

Gandolfini noticed his sudden apprehension "what's wrong Seruhiko-kun? Did you see something?" Seruhikos eyes where narrow slits as he waited for the noise again "not see, heard. I think there is something over there." Gandolfini quickly pulled a gun from his belt and had it trained down the hall, finger dangerously close to the trigger in anticipation for the worst while the pair tries to make themselves unknown.

Several tense minutes go by before another noise is heard "ugh…*cough*… I know you're there…so could ya help me out here?" Seruhiko and Gandolfini both flinch at the voices recognition of them and they both quickly get ready for a fight "hey! Hey! HEY! I just asked you if you could help me out!" the voice sounded like it was starting to panic.

Gandolfini stops but keeps his gun trained ahead "who are you? And for that fact, where are you?" there was silence for a moment before a light chuckling is heard "he he he… I'll tell you my name as soon as you help me out, as for where I am? Judging from your lights, really high up, Ha ha h-ahh! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Pain…"

The men looked at each other in confusion at first and then flashed there lights up at the ceiling. What they see is actually very comical and they both try not to laugh at it. Close to the ceiling is a young man that looked to be about 17 or 18 years old. He was rather pale and had a rather haunted look to him, though he still looked rather handsome despite that. His hair was a pale white color and was tied into a short pony-tail that went to the back of his neck.

They really couldn't see anything else because the young man was tangled in a large mass of roots and he looked like he was bent into all kinds of weird angles. The young man noticed there slight snickering and started to get angry "hey! Stop laughing! This is not fun for me! In fact, its quiet painful! As a matter of fact I also think- Ow! Oh sweet Terrathrax!" he suddenly spun around and he was almost bent all the way back with the back of his head almost touching his feet. "Could you get me down already! This hurts like Carotis!"

Both men lightly laughed at his situation again before they decided to do something. Seruhiko was the first to say something "alright we will get you down, but you will need to be brought in for questioning. By the way, that is not up for debate." They could hear the young man groan out loud, but not due to the conditions "Fine! Alright! Just get me down already! I think my spine is crackling…" Seruhiko nodded to Gandolfini. When he saw that, he turned the safety off on his gun and rapidly fired at the roots holding the young man. After at least 10 shots the roots gave away and the young man fell to the ground in a heap.

"ouch… well that was graceful…" Both men watch the young man stand up and dust himself off. They notice for the first time that he was wearing nothing but dark clothing. Black shirt, black pants, even black shoes, and all of it was surrounded by a black cloke. The only thing that looked like it had color on him was his eyes, they where a gentle sky blue color which seemed out of place on him. After he gets done straitening himself out, The pale youth looks back at the two men "alright then, since you guys helped me out, I guess I should comply with your demands and follow you to whatever interrogation room ya have set up"

Both men look at each other at that last remark with Seruhiko lightly cringing "um… sorry if it came off that way, but we really just want to ask you a few questions, Honest" The Pale youth raised his eyebrows in amusement and lightly smiled "oh, social visit then? Alright then, let's go… eh… what are your names?" Seruhiko smiles and introduces himself "my name is Seruhiko, and the man next to me is Gandolfini- san" The dark skinned man only nods his head in greeting.

"Nice to meet you both, my name is Thane Mastizetai. Now that the intros are out of the way, let's go …uh… 'Socialize' with whoever we need to meet." The pale youth watched as the two men turned around and motioned for him to follow "this is getting better by the minute…" Thane lightly sighs and follows them. Thane suddenly felt a strange pang in his chest and he started to look around quickly, knowing that there was something close by 'what was that? It felt… similar…' "Something wrong?" Gandolfini was looking at him with some suspicion. Thane shook his head "no nothing…" he quickly followed, taking one more glance behind him 'I'll worry about it later…'

Xx almost 2 hours later xX

Both men and Thane where standing outside a pair of large wooden double doors "alright, here we are. Seruhiko-kun, you stay here with him while I go talk with the headmaster." Gandolfini walked through the doors and lightly shut them behind him, Leaving Seruhiko and a bored youth in the hall.

Several awkward minutes passed by with Seruhiko observing the person they found. He had been very quiet when they had traveled through the tree roots, but when they had got to the surface; the young man named Thane got very excited upon seeing the Mahora campus for some reason and had started to pester them with questions about the campus and its history. They didn't reveal too much about it and had simply told him that the headmaster could answer his questions, but the truth was that they had no idea about whether he was a mage or not so they couldn't say much.

Seruhiko decided to break the silence "so…uh…Thane-san?" the pale youth looked at him with a blank face "yes?" "Are you perhaps a foreigner? We don't get a lot of people that look like you around here" Thane just looked at him for a few minutes before he answered the question "… foreigner… I guess that in a sense, yes I am."

Seruhiko found the way he worded that odd but didn't press at it "so what country are you from? America? Russia? Germany maybe?" Thane simply gave him a confused look. Before he could answer the question, the double doors opened again and Gandolfini stood at the doorway "both of you, come on in" was all he said before he disappeared behind the door.

Seruhiko motioned for Thane to go first, and they entered. Thane looked around the large office and the massive bookshelves that lined the walls. He looked around and saw a beautiful Oak desk with several nice chairs in front of it. He noticed that, Other than Gandolfini, there were three more people there. On the left of the desk he saw a beautiful older woman with Teal colored hair wearing a long skirt and long-sleeved shirt with a pair glasses on her face. Her most impressive feature however, was the nicely protruding bust on her chest.

Thane stared at her for a minute longer, feeling the heat rise to his face, before he turned and saw an older gentleman on the right. The man looked friendly enough with his work suite and glasses, but Thane could feel a calm pressure coming off the man as if he was expecting trouble. "Oh that fellow is strong; I can feel him from over here." Thane gave the man a friendly smile before he turned his attention to the last unknown in the room.

Now Thane could tell without the shadow of a doubt that this old man was the headmaster simply from the way he held himself. He was wearing some strange looking clothing that Thane could not identify along with a pair of large gold earrings on his elongated earlobes. What caught Thanes attention about the man was his strangely shaped head; it looked almost like a gourd with a long white pony-tail coming out of the back.

The old man was smiling at him behind his beard. Thane stopped in front of the desk, waiting for what would happen next. The old man motioned for him to sit down, which Thane did with hesitation. Seruhiko walked up next to him "Headmaster, this is the person we found in the roots of the world tree. It is unknown if the strange signal we detected came from him or not, but so far nothing has happened"

The Headmaster simply observed the young man for a little while longer before he decided to say something. "Alright then, thank you Seruhiko-san, Gandolfini-san. Now for our young guest" Thane slightly stiffened at the Young part but was quiet. "Nice to meet you, my name is Konoemon Konoe, Headmaster of Mahora Academy; may I ask for your name young man?" Thane shrugged his shoulders "I don't see why not, my name is Thane Mastizetai. Now forgive me if I am being rude, but I have many questions that I need answered and quickly if at all possible."

The Headmaster raised his eyebrows in amusement "Oh? And why quickly?" Thane looked at the old man for a few seconds with a slight glare "because I have something important that needs to be done. I am afraid that is all I am able to tell you before you answer my questions." Thane closed his eyes and thought for a moment "but I do not ask for a one sided bargain, I am willing to provide you with any information that you so wish to know, I will let you have the courtesy of asking your questions first since I am the stranger here."

The dean bent forward and placed his elbows on his desk, his hands obscuring his mouth. Thane felt the piercing look of not just the old man, but of everyone else in the room. 'I hope I didn't just piss them all off' though he was feeling nervous about this, Thane wasn't letting it show on his face.

The old headmaster leaned back in his chair with a soft look on his face "very well Thane-san, I agree to your terms." Thane let his body relax, not realizing that he had been tense and let out a exasperated sigh "Oh thank you" the headmaster simply smiled "You are quiet welcome, now I would like you to answer these questions truthfully, but if there is something that you cannot answer please let me know."

Thane nodded his head in understanding "now for the first question. Is the name you just provided us with your real name or an alias?"

Thane slightly tensed at this "… the last name is real, but my first name is a nickname. If at all possible I would rather not tell you my real name, but I will tell you if it is necessary."

The Dean shook his head "that is not required, second question. What where you doing in the roots of the World tree and how did you get there?" Thane was lightly laughing at that one "what I was doing was getting lost and somehow end up tied into a knot in some tree vines. As for how I got in there, I will need to ask a question of my own first" the Dean signaled for him to continue. Thane took a deep breath "does the word 'magic' mean anything to you people?" Thane quickly looked around the room and saw everybody's expressions go to mild shock except for the old man.

Konoe just observed him for a moment "then I take it that you are a mage?" Thane nodded his head "In a way, yes I am a user of the arcane arts." Thane saw everybody seem to relax at that info. The dean was tapping his fingers together in thought "which magic organization do you belong to? Kansai? Kanto? Or are you apart of the Western School of mages?" Thane gave the young man a curios look "I am sorry, but those names are unfamiliar to me…" Thane suddenly went into serious thought.

The headmaster watched him for a few minutes "is something the matter?"

Thane looked back at the old man with a serious look "… This may sound strange to you considering the situation, but I need to ask this." the deans eyebrows raised in a curious fashion "Go ahead." "What planet are we on?" Thane saw even the old man look at him with a strange look along with everybody else.

"Earth, last I remember" the old man watched the young man's expression change dramatically from neutral to surprise.

"… Earth? he…ha ha…HA HA! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Everybody in the room watched Thane laugh like a mad man for a good long while before he actually started to cry from laughing so hard. The older gentleman finally decided to interrupt him "may I ask what is so funny Thane-san?" the pale youth started to stop laughing and wiped away the tears from his eyes "he he…ha…*phew* because, I finally got away from the madness Mr.…?"

the older Gentleman gave him a nod "the names Takamichi T. Takahata, and what do you mean by 'madness'?" Thane leaned back into his chair as if he was exhausted "The madness I talk about is the same as the madness of most men. War, and thanks to an accident on my part I and my little ones are now finally free from it all…" Thane looked up at the ceiling with closed eyes and an expression of peace.

The Headmaster wasn't done with his questions however "what war? And what do you mean 'little ones'? Is somebody else down in the Tree roots?"

Thane looked at the old man with a grin "the war doesn't need to concern you people, it's in a place that will never effect your world. As for the little ones…" Thane reaches into his cloke and pulls out three small eggs that where the size of his fingernails. Thane noticed that everybody was confused "these are my little ones, my 'children' if you would, or their souls anyway. They currently don't have corporeal forms so I will need to provide them with some in the near future. But enough about that. To answer your original question, I got to this world via a teleportation misfire. Do you have any more questions for me?"

Thane stuffed the small eggs in a pouch on his side and slung it around his neck for safety. The old man was leaning back into his chair "yes, a few more. You said that we need not worry about this war that you mentioned, saying that it wouldn't affect our world. If I read what you said just right, then you are saying that you are from a different world, am I right?"

Thane nodded his head to answer him "that is correct"

"is it Mundus Magicus?" Thane gave the old man another confused look "eh… Mundus magi-what? Sorry, but the world I hail from is called Estoria."

There was a silence in the room as heavy as lead. 'This can't be good…'

The Headmaster looked at him while stroking his beard "that's very interesting…" the silence persisted in the room for a long while.

Thane was fidgeting in his chair from the uncomfortable feeling in the room "I'm sorry if this surprises you, but what I am saying is the truth"

Old man Konoe lightly chuckled "oh, don't worry, I believe you. However… I must know about this war you mentioned in your world. I know you said that it won't affect us, but if you could get here then so could your enemies in an attempt to chase you. I don't want to put my student's lives in danger simply because one man told me it was safe."

Thane could see the old man's point of view "Like I said Headmaster, you don't need to worry about it. The only reason I managed to get to this world was because… I'm rather special in certain regards. Plus it wouldn't be my enemies you would worry about, but my Allies so to speak"

Konoe noticed the amount of venom in the young man's voice on the one word, but decided to not delve into it. "Alright then… I am willing to believe that for the time being… Last question then."

Thane stood ridged at this, waiting to see what this would be about.

"Since you are now here, what are your plans? In other words, what are your plans for the future here at Mahora?"

There was a shocked look on Thanes face at the question "future, sir? I… hadn't thought about my future per say. My only plan was to restore my little ones back to their physical forms."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Thane saw the old man giving him a serious look, as if testing his next answer.

"The only way to restore them is a special ritual that will take a large amount of time. But it will only require me and a few magical reagents, no blood magic or demonic binding will be involved if that is what you are worried about."

Thane saw the look of slight confusion on the old man's face "I am familiar with the concept of demonic binding, but I have never heard of blood magic before."

"Good, because it is a vile form of magic and better off not being known to anybody else, but back to your original question. I have no plans for myself besides releasing my little ones from their bonds, anything after that… well… I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it."

The Headmaster smiled at him "I see. Well, thank you for being honest with me and having the patience to put up with an old man's questions. If there is anything that you would like to ask now, feel free."

Thane shook his head "no, all of my questions were answered in our earlier conversations. Though, I would ask a favor of you Master Konoemon Konoe."

"My, why the formality all of a sudden?" Thane stood up and got on both knees, and lowers himself so far to the ground that his head is touching the ground, which surprised everybody in the room " I would humbly ask you, if at all possible, to please give my little ones a chance to study at this Academy. Beyond the life of war, they know nothing and have a lack of a normal education or even a normal life. This is the only thing I would ask of you. In return, I will do any favor you ask of me, be it to teach you the magic of my world or any other task you see fit."

The headmaster was impressed by the young man's devotion to these 'little ones' "Very well. I will not turn away a child's opportunity to learn and I will happily take them under my wing to study. So please Thane-san, go ahead and stand, you don't need to beg for such a request."

Thane got back up and sat back in the chair

"however, your fate has yet to be decided, and such a decision will not be made easily. Though I do not doubt your intentions, I am still not sure of what kind of power you can wield, so I must keep an eye on you for the time being. Give me one week however, and I will have come to a decision of what to do with you"

Thane bowed to the older man again, though not on his knees this time "thank you. You have shown me much kindness despite my shaky origins, and have even given my little ones a chance at new life."

"No trouble at all, however I have a question concerning your children."

Thane stood back up quickly "What is it?"

"Will they have a Physical form by the end of the week? The new term begins next Monday and I would like to go ahead and put their names down for classes"

Thane looked confused "uhhhhh… I would hate to ask this of you but… how do you measure time in your world?"

Thane saw the well endowed lady take the stand on this one "Sorry, allow me to answer that. My name is Minamoto Shizuna, nice to meet you Thane-san" She held her hand up in greeting. Thane was looking at her hand, but his eyes kept glancing over at her chest 'this woman is friggen huge! In the military back home, she wouldn't even be allowed in because those things would be a distraction from the troops' All this was going on in his head but his face showed no sign of it.

Thane held out his hand and shook hers "likewise." She gave him a friendly smile "in answer to your question, we measure time like so. One year is divided into twelve months. One month ranges from 29 to 31 days but the average is 30. One day is twenty four hours. An hour is 60 minutes, and one minute is sixty seconds. Would you like for me to repeat it?"

Thane had his eyes closed and was lightly mumbling "…some things are…some similarities… No you don't need to repeat it. I got it, and I am surprised to see that there are many similarities in how we keep time, so in answer to your question Headmaster, it will take about four months to release them, though that's a shaky estimate based on the types of reagents I can find."

"Ah I see, Thank you. You are dismissed" Thane bowed and walked out of the office. After he closed the door he walked down the hall a little and suddenly slumped to the floor "Oh Sweet Terrathrax! I thought I was gonna be locked up or something!" 'My poor legs where knocking the whole time! Man… It is not easy to put on the cool and collected mask. But at least I managed to stay free. And the best part is no more wars! By Terrathrax, I thought I was going to sing when he told me I was in a different dimension! I got really lucky when that thing misfired, plus I am the only one in my world who can warp to different planes of existence. Super lucky! But I can't celebrate just yet. I need to get the reagents for Levy, Dark, and Troy so they can get their bodies back.'

"You alright there Thane-san?"

"HOLY FRIGGEN CRAP!" Thane literally jumps into the air and lands on his butt with a loud thud. He quickly turns around and sees Takahata T. Takamichi grinning at him with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"Ah ha ha! Sorry, did I scare you? Didn't mean to." Thane quickly gets up and dusts himself off, putting on his serious face "*ah-hum* no not really, I was just startled that's all Takahata Sir"

Takamichi gives Thane a strange look.

Thane slightly squirms under his gaze "um… is something the matter sir?"

"Kinda. You know, you can stop forcing the 'cool guy' act. Everybody knows you where acting, I mean it was good acting, would defiantly fool anybody without the proper training, but to people like me and the headmaster, it seemed rather forced."

The instant he said that, Thanes cool guy act melts away like ice in an oven "seriously! Aw man! And I thought I was doing ok…"

Takamichi laughed again "Like I said, not bad, but not perfect either. By the way, you don't need to be so formal with me either; just Takamichi is fine with me."

Thane looked at the older gentleman with a dejected look "so what do ya need? Headmaster decide to lock me up anyway?"

"No, no nothing like that. You heard him right? We need to keep an eye on you. Guess who the eyes are."

Thane kept staring at Takamichi "… are you saying you're going to watch me for a whole week? 24/7?"

Takamichi took out a lighter and lit his cigarette "not all the time, but I'm gonna keep my eyes on you for a while until the Dean decides what to do with you. Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to hound you every day. You'll still get some time to yourself, just… mostly under my supervision. So come on, let's take a walk around campus shall we?"

Takamichi waved for him to follow as he walked down the hall.

Thane could only shake his head and sigh "should have known better…" "Come on Thane-kun, there's a lot of campus to explore and not as many hours in the day to do it" Thane jerks quickly and dashes after Takahata yelling "yes! Coming!" The pair exits the building and, with Takamichi in the lead, begin to explore Mahora academy.

Xx Several hours into the exploration xX

At this point in time, Thane had grown to love Mahora academy. Its sheer size and lively atmosphere had left him stunned when Takamichi had shown him the view from a bird's eye perch.

From there, the older gentleman had shown him all the popular shops and restaurants, even paying for the food as they went.

Thane had a bitter-sweet crepe in his hand and was staring at it with childlike wonder "these 'crepe' things are awesome! Along with the ramen, sukiyaki, hotpots, even the Fried squid balls where great! What did you call em? Tako-something or other?"

Takamichi lightly chuckled at the pale youth's enthusiasm "Takoyaki. And you're welcome"

Thane suddenly realized that he was behaving like a child and quickly apologized "Ah! Forgive me Takamichi! I must look like some kind of dork right about now…"

The older man just laughed at him "Don't worry about it Thane-kun, but I can guess from the way you're acting that you didn't really get to have a lot of fun in your world eh?"

Thane's face took a serious and sad tone at this "no, I never really had fun in Estoria. I was always in fights and dealing with… unsavory characters to keep me and my little ones safe. There was never really much time for 'fun' "

Takamichi was silent while he puffed on his cigarette "sorry about that. I guess I brought up something painful huh?"

Thane shook his head quickly "Oh! No! Don't worry about it! I mean, I'm away from all of that now, so I don't have to worry about fighting anymore!" Thane Nods his head to this idea "yep… nothing but peace to fill out my days from now on"

There was silence for a little while before either of them broke it. "So Thane-kun, what is your impression of Mahora so far?"

Thane's eyes quickly lit up "there are no words to describe it! The place simply radiates a vigorous atmosphere! Not to mention all the great views and places to eat! I mean, look at all these mythical creatures!" Thanes eyes where scanning most of the female populace as he said that.

"That's an odd way to put it. I take it that you haven't had a lot of dealings with the opposite sex before?" Takamichi pulled out his lung killer and snuffed it out, placing it in a garbage can.

Thane shook his head while keeping his eyes on all the girls "No, not when you're a part of the military, tends to be a 'distraction' for the troops."

Takamichi gave him a surprised look "you're a military man?"

Thane suddenly realized what he just said "oh… you weren't supposed to know that…"

Takamichi just gave him a strange look "cats out of the bag now, mind telling me about it?"

Thane simply sighed "I can't really tell you much. I guess it would be easier to say that, though I was a part of the fighting, I was never a part of the Military. Anymore than that, I don't really want to discuss, if that's alright with you…"

Takamichi just lightly smiled "it's alright, everybody has a skeleton or two in there closet. I won't try to dig yours out till your ready"

Thane was slightly shocked to see that he didn't prod, but he smiled at this anyway "Thanks…"

Takamichi kept smiling before he noticed a large clock "wow! Is it really 4:30? Time sure flies when you're having fun, eh Thane-kun?" However, Thane was not paying attention to him and was staring wide eyed at something. Takamichi gave him a confused look "eh… Thane-kun? Are you alright?"

Thane lifted his free hand and pointed to a building "Takamichi is that what I think it is?"

Takamichi looked at where he was pointing and saw the junior-high Library. "well, if you think it's a library, then yeah you would be-"

The sound of a formula 1 race car can be heard followed by a sudden gust of wind. Takamichi looked over at the spot that the Pale youth was standing and only saw a trail of smoke leading straight to the library doors "hot damn… he's fast when he wants to be…" Takamichi quickly followed the vanishing smoke trail.

When he got to the entrance however, he saw that Thane was standing right outside the doors looking at something on the wall. Takamichi walked up beside him and saw what had stopped him. 'No food allowed beyond this point' Thane was glaring at the sign as if it was an evil little bug that he couldn't crush.

He kept taking glance from the sign to the half eaten cherry-melon crepe in his hand. "Damn you sign! What did my crepe ever do to you! You will rue the day you got between me, my knowledge, and food!"

Takamichi was lightly laughing at this predicament "hey, if you want, I can-"

before he could finish that statement, Thane threw his arms into the air "Fine! Food is temporary, but knowledge is forever!"

Before Takahata could ask what he was talking about, Thane proceeded to stuff the whole pastry into his mouth, causing his cheeks to bulge like a chipmunk.

The sight was so funny that Takahata had to throw his hand in front of his mouth to keep from busting a gut.

Thane tries to chew the large amount of food in his mouth and proceeds to try to swallow. "Wait Thane-kun, you might cho-"

too late.

Thane starts to grab at his throat, his air passages blocked by the quickly-becoming-lethal pastry. Takahata only sighs and quickly punches him in the back to dislodge the deadly crepe.

Thane finally manages to get it down his throat and begins to cough furiously for a good 3 or 4 minutes before he recovers enough to talk.

"Are you alright now Thane-kun? Thought I was going to have to call the medics for a second there" Takamichi was observing the youth with a mild look of amusement.

Thane was rubbing his sore throat "yes, I'm fine now Takamichi. Now onward to the wonderland that is books! I'm coming my sweet flowers!"

Thanes eyes where sparkling in excitement as he dashed through the double doors. Takahata was laughing again "that guys got a ton of energy… kinda reminds me of Yuna-san…" The older gentleman goes through the doors as well and almost bumps into Thane in the process.

Thane was not paying attention and was looking at the vast amount of books with a dreamy expression on his face "I think I died and found my heaven… ahhhh…"

Takahata only shook his head while smiling. At that same instant, Takahatas cell-phone started buzzing. He pulled it out and saw that it was the headmaster.

Thane was busy looking at the vast amount of books in his line of sight, trying to figure out where to start, his hand rubbing his chin in concentration. 'Ohhh! There is so much reading to be done! Should I start with the fiction? Or maybe the myths and legends? Ohhh…How about the Philosophy? Does this world even have Philosophy? No! The first thing I need to read is this world's history! Need to familiarize myself with my new home; better get some about this campus while I'm at it'

"Thane-kun!"

"Waugh!" Thane jumps at the sudden shout and turns to see Takamichi putting his small phone away

"Finally… something's come up and I need to go check it out. Can I trust you to stay here while I'm gone? It shouldn't take very long."

Thane quickly salutes to him "yes sir! I'll be here when you get back!" 'Not like I would go anywhere else anyway.' Takamichi nods his head and quickly leaves the library. Thane turns back toward the vast display of books and begins to wander in search of this new world's history.

Xx An hour and a half later xX

After a good bit of time spent searching the vast Library, Thane could officially consider himself lost. Though he really wasn't complaining about it, considering the large stack of books in his hands. 'Ok, so I may have deviated from my original train of study, but I'll read it all eventually! I mean, look at it all! There is nothing like any of this in my world!'

Thane saw an empty table to place his books and set them down there. He then started to look around for more books before he saw something besides Literature. He saw that there was another person in the library with him, a girl with a purple helmet like-hair to be precise.

She was on a ladder with a large stack of books in her left hand while reaching out with her right to try to grab another, hanging off the ladder rather dangerously.

'She shouldn't do that. She could fall and hurt herself, especially with such a large amount of weight on her pers-' before Thane could finish that thought, he saw the girl lose her footing.

"Kyaaaaaaa!" Thane watched her start to fall in what seemed like slow motion.

"Watch it!" Thane quickly dashes under her and reaches out to catch her. Thane manages to grab her around her waist, though it was an awkward catch considering his face was under her skirt and in close proximity to her rear.

Oh, he also was on the verge of falling, though not from a dangerous height.

"Ah WA WA WA WA WA!" The poor girl was struggling madly, her arms flailing wildly and her legs kicking at the unknown force that kept her aloft. Thane was receiving many kicks to his lower body while trying to keep them from falling on both their butts, while also trying not to think about where his head was

"OW! Stop kicking me you-OW! I'm trying ta he- OW!" The girls' kicks continued with no sign of stopping. Thane, having had enough of kicks to his stomach, squeezes her around her middle to get her attention "HEY! KNOCK IT OFF!" the girl stops her kicks and freezes.

"Good, now let-" Before he continues, a loud shout is heard behind him "let go of Nodoka you pervert!" Thane turns his head around and sees a rather small looking teenage girl with large pigtails that where a light violet color and a wide forehead charge at him and launches head first into his back, causing him to drop the girl to the ground.

Thane falls to the ground, pushing his now out of place back.

"Go get help Nodoka! I'll keep this guy busy!" The forehead girl was holding a pair of books and was getting ready to start bashing the perverts head in. The one named Nodoka, however, was trying to explain to her friend what just happened "wa- wait Yue! He didn't do anything wrong! He was only trying to help me!"

the one named Yue was looking at her friend with confusion on her face "what? He had his face up your skirt! How is that helping!"

Thane slowly started to get back up, the pain in his back now subsiding "the only reason that happened was because she fell and I caught her wrong. I had no ill intentions for the girl." the Yue girl kept looking back and forth between the pair and eventually put the books down "can one of you please explain from the beginning what I saw there a moment ago?"

Xx a few minutes of explanation later xX

Yue was bowing her head in apology "I am so sorry sir! I simply reacted without thinking, and caused you harm even though you where only trying to help!"

Thane was simply waving Yue's apology aside "there is no harm done, minus the dislocated disk in my back. You where only trying to help your friend here, so stop worrying about it Miss…?"

The girl named Yue quickly stood up "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yue Ayase" The other girl nodded her head "Eh… my… my name is Nodoka Miyazaki… Thank you for helping me earlier Stranger-san"

Thane noticed the strange name she just gave him "Oh, sorry. I should probably introduce myself after you ladies where so kind to do so." Thane cleared his throat "my name is Thane Mastizetai. Nice to make your acquaintance Nodoka, Yue"

Thane gave them both a bright smile to show that he was a friendly soul. Nodoka sees the smile and begins to relax while Yue gives a small smile of her own. Yue clears her throat as well "well, now that all the misunderstandings are out of the way, would it be alright if I ask you a question or two Mastizetai-san?"

Thane shrugged his shoulders "I don't mind, but on one condition"

Yue's expression didn't change at all "what is it?"

"don't call me by my last name. It's rather long and annoying and can be a bit of a problem when you try to say it multiple times. So just call me Thane, alright?"

Yue nodded her head once "understood, that brings me to my first question. Are you a foreigner Thane-san?"

Thane sat down in a chair and looked up at the girl "yes, as a matter of fact I come from America. I am an exchange student from the… uh… Estoria elitist school of genius and advancement or EGA for short." Thane and Takamichi had decided to make some kind of cover story for him incase people started to ask any questions about him.

Yue raises her eyebrows in surprise at this "I've never heard of that school before, have you heard of it Nodoka?" The girl shook her head "never"

Thane noticed that her bangs covered her eyes, obscuring most of her face. 'Pity, I bet she has cute eyes' "it's no wonder you have never heard of it before. The school is only known to a selected few and will only allow the best of the best to attend its halls. The amount of people that actually attend the school ranges less than 200." 'That sounds convincing, hopefully they buy it'

Nodoka looked impressed by this "so… you're saying that you're a super elite?"

Thane knew that he would have to pick his words carefully in fear that he trips over one of his own lies "sort of. You see, my education is still rather lacking so I was transferred to Mahora to complete my education in certain things."

Yue continued to observe him "that's Impressive Thane-san. However, this leads me to my next question. Now I don't know how incomplete your education is, but I noticed that you haven't put any Honorifics on mine or Nodoka's names. I don't know if your being very formal or not, but in the Japanese culture, that is considered rather rude."

Thane was looking at her with some growing fear in his gut "… Honor…ifics?"

Yue left for a moment, leaving him and Nodoka to ponder for a little while before she returned with a book "here, this should explain better than I could Thane-san"

Thane picked it up and observed it "Japanese honorifics: a way of life" Thane looked it over and began to read it 'thankfully I can read and understand nearly all languages due to my small reserves of magic. Thank goodness for the small blessings' Thane continued to read, and the more he read the more he began to understand.

He places the book on the table. A few minutes of silence ensue. Thane quickly throws himself on the floor, hands and forehead on the ground, which surprised both the girls. "I am so sorry! I have insulted both you and myself in the most despicable manner! I have dragged my tongue through a sewer of my own arrogance! I am less than a human being and hence seek both of your forgiveness in my lack of even an appropriate greeting and my sheer stupidity!"

Nodoka was panicking trying to stop the display, while Yue was trying to get him to be a little quieter. " No! it's Ok! You obviously didn't know! We are not insulted at all! Right Nodoka?" the Girl quickly bobs her head in quick agreement.

Thane stops ranting for a moment "you mean it? You both aren't disgusted with my person?" they both nod their head in Unison quickly, hoping that the foreigner will be a little less loud. Thane stands back up and dusts himself off with a light blush on his face "he he… Thanks, and sorry about that. I tend to overact to things..."

Both Yue and Nodoka gave a nervous laugh.

Thane sat back down and looked at the two girls "well, if you are done with your questions, may I ask one of my own Yue?... uh -san?"

Nodoka lightly giggled at his awkward attempt, causing him to blush more deeply. "sure, what do you need answered Thane-san?"

"Could I ask both you and Nodoka…-san to help me with finding books on both world history and Japanese history? I hate to admit it but I got lost before I stumbled across you both."

Nodoka seemed to jump at this opportunity "sure! In what ages are you looking for?" Thane thought about it for a moment "as far back as possible, even though I am an Elite student, I may find something in the history books here that weren't anywhere else" Yue nodded her head "I'll help out as well" The trio all set about looking for books with a great amount of energy.

Xx About an hour later xX

Thane and the two library girls had come to be fast friends in a short period of time, mostly due to their scholarly interest in books and literature.

Yue and Thane would discuss about Philosophical out-looks on everything while he and Nodoka would just share in small talk about most any good book. During that time Thane also had the opportunity to meet Haruna Saotome, the third member of the Library trio, he also had grown to like her crazy if not slightly dangerous ways of thinking.

"So you say you're from an elitist school so elite, that even elites have trouble getting in? This sounds like the beginning of a cliché Shoujo manga! Or better yet, the begging of a mystery! Mark my words you two! There will be a murder by the end of next Tuesday, with mister Pretty boy here at the heart of it all! Oh I think my imagination is on fire!"

Thane was giving her a nervous laugh 'this girl is nuts! But in a good way, I like it'

Yue was only shaking her head at Haruna's overactive imagination, while Nodoka's face was unreadable behind her hair. But Thane could see a smile on her mouth. Yue leaned in close and whispered into his ear "sorry about her Thane-san, she can be a little… eccentric at times"

Thane was only laughing lightly "no problem Yue-chan, I kinda like it." Thane looked over at the clock and saw the time " Sweet mother of Luxitaries! Is it really 6:30! Damn! Where is Takamichi?"

The library trio looked shocked when he said that, which in turn, caused Thane to look at them with a quizzical look of his own "what? Did I say something funny?"

Yue was the first to say something "Takahata-sensei? As in older man with graying head of hair with a light beard, glasses and Cigarette in mouth most of the time Takahata-sensei?"

Thane looked at her with recognition on his face "hey! Do you know him as well Yue-chan?"

Haruna got up quickly "of course we do! He's our homeroom teacher! How do you know him?"

'he's a teacher? Funny, didn't strike me as the teaching type' "Takamichi is kinda my guide while I am here in Mahora, though he is kinda late right now" Thane got up and bowed to the girls " well I better head on and see if I can find him. I'll see you girls tomorrow, if you're here that is."

Thane bowed again and left the Library, the girls waving back at him. Thane was outside looking around to see if Takamichi was on his way or if there was something waiting for him. Nothing, Thane was getting slightly pissed, mostly due to the fact that he was getting hungry and didn't have a way to pay for his food.

"Where is that old man?..." Suddenly Thane saw Nodoka running at him calling out his name "Thane-kun! Wait!"

Thane watched as she got closer until she stopped to catch her breath "what is it Nodoka-chan? Need me for something?"

Nodoka slightly blushed at being called 'chan' but quickly shook herself out of it "here, this is from Takahata- sensei" Nodoka handed him a letter with 'to Thane-kun' on the face.

Thane took the letter from her and opened it. Its contents, however, left him with an angry scowl on his face 'sorry Thane-kun, something has come up and I won't be able to keep my eye on you. Here is 10000 yen for the rest of the week, hope you behave yourself. From Takahata T. Takamichi' Thane was visibly shaking at this point in anger. 'that stupid old man! I don't know how to use Japanese currency!' "And where the Carotis am I gonna sleep tonight!"

that last part was said out loud as Nodoka was looking at Thane as he continued fuming to himself "Um… Thane-san… if… if you want… you can stay at the dorm with me, Yue, and Haruna!"

Thane quickly looked at her with some confusion in his eyes "Huh?"

the Library girls' cheeks where very red as she tried to continue "um… well… I was just… thinking that, since you saved me from breaking my neck earlier… I thought I might return the favor… if you want to… that is…"

Thane looked at the girl in stunned silence for a few more seconds before he burst out in laughter "AH HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! Oh Nodoka-chan! You are too much!" Thane walks over, placing his right hand on her head and starts ruffling her hair, all while giving her a big smile.

"AWAWAWAWAWAWAW!" Nodoka was confused and could only blubber out incoherent noises in confusion.

"you don't need to force yourself to endure a male presence in your own home now do you? I can tell that your shy around guys, but you did very well in staying close to me the whole time. Plus, I might just be a really bad guy trying to get into a girls house"

Thane was surprised to see a look of strength in her eyes "I don't think a person who loves books as much as you do could do bad things Thane-san!"

Thane was taken aback at the confidence in her voice, but after a few seconds of stunned silence he starts to blush and puts her in a head lock, all while giving her a light noogie "aw, your making me blush Nodoka-chan"

"AYE YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!" she starts to flap her arms madly due to the sudden discomfort on her quickly heating scalp.

Thane quickly lets go and gives her another smile "you're a sweet girl, you know that? But I still won't take you up on that offer."

Nodoka was about to protest when he holds up his hand to silence her "but if you really want to repay me, let me do something here real quick. You got to promise not to flinch, ok No-do-ka-chan?"

the librarian suddenly started to blush from his kiddy talk, but before she could do anything, Thane quickly got close while pushing his face mere inches from her own and lifted up her bangs to reveal a twin set of light Violet colored eyes.

Nodoka started to blush madly and Thane quickly pulled away, a mischievous grin on his face "I was right. You do have cute eyes; you really shouldn't hide those you know?"

Thane takes a bow and walks away, leaving Nodoka slightly dazed and confused. She watches him walk away and starts to lightly tug on her bangs "he said I had cute eyes…"

Thane was walking away with a huge blush on his face 'my face was mere inches from a girl! One large step for me! While being a small step to getting over my shyness of girls.'

Xx several hours later (9:30) xX

Thane was sitting on a bench under a street lamp with a dangerous look on his face, and when I say dangerous, I mean you don't get close in fear that you lose an arm or a leg.

'well after I left the Library, everything went to shit. I get lost on campus in hopes of finding some kind of motel, and when I finally do find one, it's booked to capacity. I suddenly get hit by a freak wind storm and get blown into a mud pile when some damn light green bluer runs me over. I think it was a robot, followed by some mad scientist looking chick riding some two wheeled thing. Ran my damn face over. And when I go and try to wash the grim off in a pond some cop comes along and calls me a hobo trying to arrest me for public indecency. I mean seriously! My shirt was the only thing off! I think the only good thing to happen in the last few hours was the bath I managed to get, but I still had to break into a gym to do it!.'

Thane quickly stands up and starts to shout out "what in the name Luxitaries did I do to deserve this!" Thane saw the most retarded looking dog thing he had ever seen waddle out of the shadows over to him and proceed to take a piss on his feet.

The cross eye drooling retard quickly waddled back the way it came. Thane looked at his feet and at the spot the creature disappeared, suddenly swearing loud profanities that would make a sailor cringe.

After a few more minutes of profanities, Thane took his shoes off and placed them under the bench, leaning back on the bench with a defeated expression " I should have accepted Nodoka's offer… no use crying over broken glass, best just to make do with my current situation."

Thane yawned loudly and unbuttoned his cloke, using it to cover himself up ' at least the night is warm, so I don't have to worry about catching a cold.'

After a few minutes of sitting huddled up, Thane took off his pouch around his neck and spilled the small eggs out onto his open palm. He proceeded to roll them around in his hand for a moment or two before he kissed each one.

"Good night Levy, Dark, Troy. I bet tomorrow will be an even better day for us." He placed the eggs back in the pouch and strung it back around his neck, a sad smile on his face.

Thane looked up at the sky and proceeded to observe the night sky. "Kinda sad that there aren't as many stars here as there is in Estoria. I miss the Ever night forest now. We could always see billions of stars anytime we wanted to. Oh well, this will be our new home now… Not That Thane Mastizetai had a home in the first place…" Thane only sighed as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

So what did you all think? did you enjoy it? should it be tossed into the dredges of hell, never to be gazed upon by human eyes? I'll never know if you don't leave a review! But my hope is that you enjoyed it!