All Purpose Negima Fanfiction Thread

Chapter 7: Just A Little Mistake

Kirche had one simple priority. Deal with that thing before that thing dealt with them. Not an easy task, but simple enough to work with. The thing had easily ripped the ceiling off the abandoned shack and was now staring down at them.

No matter how fast Kirche's own reflexes were, it seemed Tabitha would always react faster. Her chant was almost completely inaudible, but the power that the tornado she conjured carried was undeniable. The golem, however, didn't agree and blocked it by simply standing perfectly still.

In one of those miracles that tend to happen, in which the rules of physics are forgotten for a moment, Kirche's Fire somehow managed to set it on fire. Granted, it was covered by a layer of grass, but that should have just shriveled up and been consumed by the high temperature blast. Nevertheless, it still shook the fire off like it was nothing.

Never being a pair to easily surrender, they were already moving out of the house before its fist came crashing down. Tabitha noticed something fairly obvious. The golem was slower and clumsier in its movements. It was obviously following a directive rather than actually obeying direct commands. Only a bonus, given that even so the thing was frightening.

There was no doubt about it, Fouquet was a fearsome triangle class mage.

A simple whistle had Sylphid coming to pick them up. They had to retreat ASAP and employ reinforcements in dealing with the massive monster. They didn't have the kind of brute force that crushing it would require.

However, as the thing tried to round about to face Louise and Tabitha helped Kirche onto Sylphid, something was clearly noticeable. Louise wasn't moving. Not a bright idea when dealing with a slow, but brutally strong target.

“What is she doing!?” Kirche snapped, yelling, trying to reach the stubbornly still girl.

Sylphid wouldn't have an easy time distracting the golem. Its claws couldn't pierce the golem's 'skin', and the comparison of brute force couldn't even be made, mostly due to sheer weight.

It was an odd sight to see Louise's yell and the ensuing explosion take a chunk off the golem. Sure, it regenerated almost instantly after, but it was still progress. The thing however seemed to only be vaguely affected by the force and was now looking to trample Louise.

“What are you doing you idiot!?” Yelled Kirche, as taking the chance Sylphid rushed to make it. She extended her hand and grabbed Louise by the back of the cloak, pulling her back before the stumpy leg could be brought down on top of her.

“I will face my opponent!” Louise spoke, both anger and pride evident in her voice. Not a good combination.

“Dodging is part of combat!” Kirche spoke, narrowing her eyes. Neither of them caring about the fact that Kirche had just pulled Louise up by her cloak. The cloth it was made from seemed resistant, granted Louise weighed almost nothing.

“... Dodge.” Was all the warning either Louise or Kirche got for Sylphid's evasive maneuvers. The dragon was doing its best to dodge the huge limbs that the golem was flailing around. A perk of being a lighter and more agile creature being the ability to dodge those.

However, what they were not expecting was the projectiles raising from the ground in vertical direction, attempting to impale Sylphid. Remaining above the treetops wasn't advisable, as they were clear targets for Fouquet.

The maneuvers were still sharp and quick, something which allowed Sylphid to safely descend to below the cover of the trees. There was still a huge danger.

Namely, the gigantic golem made of solidified dirt that seemed to know where they were going. To nobody's surprise, the dirt projectiles were meant to direct them into a trap. Something that Tabitha had recognized fairly quickly.

Sylphid acted as distraction, taking the golem's attention away from them as it nimbly flew around the golem, keeping its attention and allowing the trio to catch their breath.

“We have to retreat.” Kirche urged. “We don't know where Fouquet is and we can't harm that thing.”

“A noble that turns her back on an opponent is not a noble at all!” Louise said, her eyes narrowing.

A sharp cry distracted them. After waving her staff, Tabitha made sure that Sylphid was gone. The dragon was starting to get tired.

The downside was, they hadn't had much time to regroup and the golem was on them once again.

Louise once again stood her ground. Both Kirche and Tabitha moved their focii forward, but it was already too late.

Then again, remembering the advice, as the punch came down on her, she did have the decency to jump away...

Only for the shockwave to catch her anyway. The force of the blow was such that it sent her flying. A helpful tree stopped her flight, however. She didn't have the time to dwell on the shock from that, though, as the golem turned its attention on her again. A combined tornado of flame and wind struck it from the side, making it stumble backwards. The sheer force had to have been tremendous.

Louise stood up again and pointed her wand at it. The last time she'd tried this, she'd been pissed and failed miserably. She still missed her intended target, which was the arm it'd drawn back for a punch, but it was okay.

Center mass was still a good shot. It was nowhere near as powerful as the last 'Fireball' had been, it'd only managed to annoy the thing and tear off one of its 'eyes' (which one had to wonder what purpose they served, as they were dirt like everything else), and of course, make its attack miss entirely. Not the intended purpose, but good enough.

The thrill of a real battle was not lost on Louise, as she pointed her wand at it again and began chanting for a second not-really-fireball... However, her casting speed was, for lack of a better term, pathetic.

The golem had ample time to raise a fist and bring it down like a hammer.

Time slowed down for Louise, as she saw the fist, almost a blur, approach her.

She'd never quite seen Kirche glare that fiercely at anything, or any expression on Tabitha's face whatsoever.

Never freeze in front of danger. Move.

She'd have to thank her mother for that one. It had barely managed to save her by the skin of her teeth. Of course, she didn't walk out unscathed. The shockwave was much more compressed this time around, and it'd lifted a variety of small rocks and sticks and flung them at great speeds in every which direction, always away from the fist itself.

More than one had actually struck Louise as she was thrown away a second time by the force of a blow.

But it was better than taking a direct blow. The mere memory of the hits her familiar had taken was enough to spur her to get back on her feet despite being in quite a bit of pain.

She wouldn't prove them right by running away. No one would be able to call her a Zero ever again.

However, even if she'd wanted to, she could no longer move with complete freedom. She fell on her knees, she noticed the golem was temporally dealing with her two companions, being utterly unaffected by their attacks. Even the torrent of fire that had blinded it once for a second seemed useless.

She saw another barrage of spells blocked by the golem, most likely Tabitha's as the element was wind and tried to raise her wand again, but only managed a tiny, pitiful excuse for a explosion that had gone off in one of it's flanks.

Just a little mistake. Her last little mistake.

As it turned to her again, its fist raised, she glared at it one last time.

”Κρατιστη Αιγις” (Kratiste Aigis)

She blinked, eyelids heavy, and she felt the force of the blow perfectly diverted, not the slightest bit reaching her.

Not even a grunt as the thing's gigantic fist fell on a hand that was too white to be normal.

Lightning cracked.

He didn't even direct a word at her.

”Κιλιπλ Αστραπη!” (Khilipl Astrape)

But that was okay, hearing his voice was calming enough. The sound of stone exploding was welcome, too.

However, when he did turn to her, she'd expected to see his kind, warm and loving smile. Instead, all she saw was a neutral expression. His eyes were closed, as if he were straining to remain calm. “Master. You knew you were outclassed. Why didn't you retreat?” His voice was cold. Unusually so.

“It doesn't matter what happens! A noble that turns her back on an opponent is not a noble at all!” She repeated it from memory once again. Such an important rule it was to her.

“Such a thing won't matter if you're dead! Why did you do it?” He refused to believe she'd have such a stupid reason to do such a thing.

“Because... Everyone is always making fun of me! I'm a humiliation! If I run, everyone will laugh at me!”

She didn't care about the wetness that she felt in her cheeks. She felt truly pathetic, the lowest of scum. She had failed to do anything, like always.

Louise was just reminded that his chest seemed a very comfortable pillow, for some strange reason, as she was pressed against it once again. “Silly girl... Didn't you think about the people who would miss you? You're all banged up...” he asked, her only reply being raising her face so she could look at him in the eyes, as silence dragged on for a few seconds until she confirmed that he was, indeed, serious.

“B-But I'm just a failure... I'm Louise the Zero...”

“That doesn't matter, you're still precious to me, Louise.”

A Inn very very near Tokyo Disneyland:

The gray haired shirtless Bishonen in black pants and socks lounged on the lower bunk reading a book and casually holding a pose provocative enough to make our female readers (if we have any) know we haven't forgotten they deserve fanservice too. All in all, he seemed fairly pleased with the peace and quietness of the bedroom. With Saruyama in the hospital and Rito out doing who knew (or cared) what, he finally was feeling good for the first time since that blamed class trip had started.

So, naturally, Rito had to peek into the room one moment later. "Um... Ren?" he said, keeping his voice low.

"Ah, it's you," an annoyed Ren closed the book and set it down. "What's up? Why don't you just walk in?"

"Err, Ren, I think I kinda have a problem here," Rito spoke in nervous whispers. "You'll see, while I was outside, I ran into someone..."

"So? They stole your wallet?"

"Not exactly..."

"They stole your virginity?" Ren chuckled sarcastically.

"DAMMIT, NOT FUNNY, REN!"

"Okay, then what's the big fuss this—"

The words died in his mouth when he saw a beautiful innocent face peeking in over Rito's shoulder, looking in all directions around the bedroom. "Hey, hey, Rito, why the secrecy? Isn't this our nuptial room? Why are you so—" the pink haired girl then noticed the other boy and waved a hand at him. "Ah, good evening! You're Rito's manservant, aren't you?"

Ren trembled violently, and he backed away on the bed. "P-P-Princess...!"

Rito blinked. "Princess? How do you know she's—"

Pushing him aside, Ren fell to his knees before the tall girl, grabbing one of her hands and placing his forehead against it. "Princess Lala! To think that, after so long, we meet here out of all places! You're just as radiant and beautiful as back then! No, even more! Far more! Your beauty outshines that of the sun! Years have turned you from an angel to a goddess! My heart is filled with the greatest of unexpected joys...!"

"Hey, calm down, will you?" Rito asked him. "You look like you're about to have a strike!" He looked at Lala, noticing her confused, open mouthed expression. "From where do you know this guy?"

"... I don't know him!" she said.

That made Ren become a marble statue, with his mouth stuck open about to spout more flowery speech.

"Ah. Now this is more the Ren I know," Rito commented after a couple minutes of silence. "He's always so quiet it's creepy..."

Ren just pushed him aside again. "Princess Lala! How come you don't remember me?-! We used to play together, all the time! We were the best friends for years!"

"I'm afraid you're mistaking me for another Princess Lala..." she said, in a tone that held no hint or sarcasm. "During my childhood, I never was allowed playing with any boys..."

"B-B-But we were close friends!" Ren sputtered desperately. "I was your favorite Guinea Pig! Your human shield! Your sparring punching bag!"

Lala shook her head slowly. "No, I don't remember ever playing with you. My Guinea Pig, human shield and punching bag was a girl named Run..."

"HOW CAN YOU ADMIT ABUSING PEOPLE SO EASILY?-!" Rito screamed.

Ren looked at her with gigantic and unexplainably wet all of a sudden eyes, and finally squeaked like a wounded mouse. "But I'm Run! Don't you remember that either?"

"Eh, what, who, how, when, where?-!" Rito did a blank faced double take.

Lala pouted very slightly, looking about to scratch her head. "Run? You?"

"I have sealed that shame for years, hoping to grow into the manliest of all men in the universe and gain your family's approval, but yes, that was me! You have to remember! It happened a few times, right before your eyes!"

Now Lala scratched her head. "What happened?"

"Is this some sort of bizarre alien soap opera stuff?" Rito guessed to the best of his abilities. "Wait, wait, Ren, so are you a—"

Ren pushed him aside again. Rito took a mental note of kicking his ass later, when the world had regained some normalcy. "I'm a Memorzian! You do remember what that means, don't you?"

"Your planet has three Moons," Lala said.

"I mean other than that!"

"You were conquered by the Deviluke Empire five cycles ago."

"Yes, but I don't mean that either!"

"Your economy is weak because of your scarce natural resources, so you depend on the Empire's benevolence to prosper, offering your advanced technological development in turn..." Lala tried next.

Ren slapped his own forehead several times. "The sneezes! Remember what happened when I sneezed!"

"I never saw you sneezing! I never saw you at all, period!"

"R-Remember what happened when Run sneezed...!" he fell on his hands and knees.

"Ah, she turned into a cry-baby little boy," she said. Then, finally, the other shoe dropped. "Ahhhhhhh! You're Cry-Baby Boy Run, aren't you?-!"

"I always had my own name! It's Ren! Ren!" he cried.

Rito's jaw hung slightly loose. "Wait, whaaaaaaat?-! You can change genders, Ren?-! For real? Man, Haruna-chan will never believe something as weird as this!"

A faint ba-da-dump! rimshot was weakly heard in the background. No one really noticed it in the heat of the moment.