All Purpose Negima Fanfiction Thread

@Darkenning: Ahhhhhhhh.... Wait, then why isn't Negi looking for Nodoka to stop her?

What, being uber-cute/uber-handsome (depending on age), very well-mannered, morally and ethically sound, highly intelligent, of unshakeable willpower when properly motivated, and quite caring about his friends/comrades/family/loved ones isn't enough for her?

Y'know, funny as I find all this Twilight-bashing to be, because I really don't like those books either ... Charlie/Bella fanfic is cool, though ... but, anyway, I feel obligated to point out that the first book wasn't released until 2005. And Negima's present is the summer of 2003. So references are kind of anachronistic, don't you think?

All of the patrons had left the Chao Bao Zi by now, leaving only Yotsuba, Haruna, Zazie, Ku and Hakase in the place, gathered around a table sharing a few drinks before separating for the night.

"We're falling apart at the seams," Haruna lamented. "How did this happen? We used to risk our lives for each other without any doubts, and now... We barely can stand each other. It's as if everyone's ready to jump for each other's throats at the drop of a hat..."

"That isn't true," Ku Fei said. "We're still the same!"

"Maybe you!" Haruna argued. "And thank God for that! But no one else has been the same ever since we returned from Mundus Magicus, and you must realize it, Ku-chan! Nodoka... Nodoka has become a bitter shadow of herself, Konoka's acting weirder than ever, Setsuna looks on the border of an eternal nervous collapse, and Asuna... oh, if only I told you about Asuna!"

The martial artist grew concerned. "What's up with Asuna-aru?"

Haruna looked aside. "Never mind. I promised her I'd keep her secret."

"You are holding back on gossip?" Hakase asked. "Oh my. You have changed a lot, too!"

Haruna's hair antennae drooped. "I guess you're right."

Ku slammed her hands on the table, snapping it by half. "Enough! Okay, maybe you're right! Maybe things haven't been the same! But we can work this out! We only need to talk it over..."

"Not as long as that awful, domineering woman is around," Haruna snarked.

"Evangeline?" Hakase asked.

The mangaka actually sulked for a moment. "Well, yeah, she too... But mostly, I mean Negi's mother. It's all her fault. Hers... and Yue's."

"See, that's the core of your issues," Satomi said. "You still can't let her go."

"She betrayed us," Haruna mumbled darkly. "Even after years of friendship, after all we went through together, after we swore we'd be inseparable friends forever... She decided to stay with people she'd just met! Despite having all of her memories but those of the past year back! And that's assuming she didn't just lie about not remembering everything, because I can see her doing that to 'alleviate the blow' and pull another crappy I-Want-you-Two-to-be-Happy useless sacrifice on Nodoka and Negi. But in truth, she never considered Nodoka's feelings! She never understood she never wanted her gone! She broke her heart on nothing but a selfish whim!"

"A selfish whim of the heart begets another," Zazie calmly observed from her corner.

Baka Yellow scratched her head. "How's Negi's mom is a bad woman now? And Eva-chan? She's done so much for us! She trained us—"

"Wake up, Ku!" Haruna told her. "Not a single thing she has done has been with our best interests in mind! At the end, it's all for her own benefit! We're nothing but expendable puppets for her! She'll never be our friend, and I was an idiot fooling myself on treating her like one!"

Hakase hummed. "It is true Evangeline-san is a difficult person to deal with, but—"

"The Mistress of Puppets," Haruna crossed her arms. "And I'll say it again, we're nothing but dolls to her. Well, count me out of that from now on. She doesn't want us in her resort? Fine, I'll never set a foot there for the rest of my life! Not even if she came bawling to me!"

Hakase couldn't help chuckling. "I don't believe there's a big possibility of that ever being the case..."

"Yeah, I know," the librarian muttered. "Still, it's nice to imagine it."

Hakase hummed thoughtfully. "I haven't noticed much of a difference, but then again, we never were that close. I thought I had observed something strange about Chachamaru's recent behavior patterns, however. She has been acting slower than usual lately, but her systems are working at full capacity. I had chalked it to a failure in the inner power core, and I was trying to locate it, but I suppose it is possible there is a psychological reason behind it instead..."

"Ah?" Ku Fei blinked.

"Chachamaru's depressed," Haruna summed up.

"Ah!" Ku said. "What if we throw her a party?"

Haruna sighed and rapped her knuckles on the martial artist's forehead. "Wise up, Pinkie Pie. It isn't as easy as that."

"Normally, you'd be all for the idea," Satomi pointed out.

"Nodoka said it herself, I messed up a lot of things before," Haruna mused, her Pactio artifact twirling between her fingers, doodling a scene of herself, Yue and Nodoka together, which hovered over them like a holographic image. She had been gaining greater control over its functions now she was practicing more seriously. She waved the quill, and the image dissolved in the air. "I meddled where I wasn't needed, and I didn't help my friends where it mattered. Even in battle, I never did as much as I could have. Now it's too late to make up for it."

"It's never too late!" Ku said firmly.

"Ku-san is right," Hakase opined. "What's so hard about making up? Granted, in Yue-san's case it can't be helped since she isn't here anymore, but..."

Haruna gave her a jaded glare. "Since when do you know anything on human relationships?"

Hakase stared back, frowning. "The way you all are behaving lately, I'd say even I know more on the subject than you."

Haruna slumped her head in defeat. "Good point. Sorry about that, Prof-chan."

"No offense taken," the scientist shrugged, starting to gather her things. "Well, I have a few late experiments to run, so if you'll excuse me..."

"Wait, Satomi-chan," Ku grabbed her by a sleeve, then pulled her along as she also motioned for the others to get close, scooping one after another in a tight group hug. "You too, Zazie, Satchan. We're friends, you hear me. All of us-aru! We only stop being friends when we decide stop being so! I don't believe on dark vague forces of fate separating us! If there's a problem with us, then it lies in us! And we only can work it out by actually getting together instead of brooding on how unfair life is!"

"Ku-chan!" Haruna gasped. For such a Baka, she could display very hight levels of insight at times. "You..." She smiled and patted her back. "You been reading too many Chinese fortune cookies again, haven't you?"

"Well, can't help it! Who do you think writes and puts those messages in?" Ku grinned. The girls around her couldn't help but laughing. Even Zazie had cracked a brief small smile.

"You're right, Ku-chan," Haruna petted her head. "Thank you. We need you around to remind us that."

They went their separate moods in a more spirited way after that, promising to get together again the next day to decide what to do next. Even Hakase had been convinced to skip a few hours at the lab to join in; it remained to be seen if the scatter brained genius would actually remember it. But since it involved Chachamaru's wellbeing, Haruna was reasonably sure she'd come.

At the end, only Satsuki and Zazie remained there.

"Zazie-san?" the cook asked. "Will you want anything else tonight?"

She nodded. "Actually, I'd like to stay with you tonight."

"You would?"

Another nod. "Mana won't be coming tonight. I feel lonely."

Satsuki lowered her gaze. "Yes. I understand..."

Ever since Chao had left, she had felt just as lonely, if not more.

"I still have... an empty bunk left at home..."

Zazie bowed. "Thank you."

Satsuki smiled again. "Well then, let's go!"

Then she reached over to grab Zazie's thin, cold hand in her small, chubby and warm one. Zazie, never being used to any sort of human touch, made a very brief jerking motion for a moment, but her expression softened as she walked out with Yotsuba.

It felt good. Very good.