Endings and Beginnings
Seven
Yue Ayase smiled to herself as the dark blue haired woman checked the mail, the university student flipping through the envelopes as she walked down the hall of the dorm. Bills went into one stack and letters another as she made her way to the room she shared with her girlfriend Nodoka, the short woman humming to herself softly.
"Yue," Nodoka looked up, the slightly larger woman lounging on their couch reading, her bangs falling cutely into her eyes as she said warmly, "welcome home." The apartment they shared was a bit larger than their rooms as high school students, with a bedroom and a combination living room and study, lined with shelves for their books. In fact their room was considered the unofficial dorm library, with their fellow students borrowing books regularly.
"I think we got some letters from Mundus Magicus," Yue waved the envelopes in the air as she walked to Nodoka's side, "one from Collet to me and the report we asked Mana to do."
As Yue reached the couch Nodoka reached out and gently drew her close, kissing her lingeringly on the lips. The purple haired woman drew back as she chided Yue mildly, "You make it sound like we asked Mana to spy on them."
"It's not that bad," Yue chuckled as they sat down together. She looked at Nodoka curiously, "Do you mind if I look at Collet's letter first?"
Nodoka reached out and grabbed Mana's letter as she said, "As long as I get to see Mana's first."
"Fair enough," Yue agreed as they moved apart just enough that playing the mystical letters wouldn't interfere with each other. She opened the letter and thumbed the play symbol, smiling as her friend Collet appeared.
The brown skinned girl smiled warmly as she tilted her head to the side in greeting, her lighter dog ears twitching slightly. Her brown hair looked a bit messy, as usual, but she managed to generate a charming if scruffy look about her. "Hello Yue," Collet smiled, "it's been a long time."
'That it has,' Yue agreed mentally. She had met Collet several years ago when she and the other members of Negi's White Wing had travelled to Mundus Magicus and had been scattered across the world by Fate's interference. She had literally been run over by Collet, losing her memory and becoming a magic student.
"Keeping up with you in letters is one thing," Collet added with a laugh, "but I'd still like to see you in person. Maybe you can visit the school some time?"
Yue looked at Nodoka as she smiled slightly, 'Maybe one day...'
"Your friends Setsuna and Asuna are doing well," Collet said cheerfully, "and your friend Mana just arrived in the city a week ago." She actually blushed faintly, "I'm rather glad she did, as she helped jar things into motion here."
'Oh?' Yue raised a eyebrow.
Collet smiled, "I think I mentioned in my last letter how close Headmistress Naoko had been growing with Setsuna, but Mana helped convince Setsuna to take things a step further." She shook her head, "Of course I continue to be astonished how shy she can be, so it may still be a while before anything happens between them."
Yue had to fight back a sigh at that. She occasionally wondered what might have happened if Setsuna had actually confessed her love to Konoka, rather than just following the lead of the other girl. It was still quite possible that things might have turned out the same way, but...
A blush colored Collet's cheeks as she added shyly, "Also, I finally decided I couldn't wait till someone else acted, so I asked Asuna out."
"What!" Yue yelped aloud, sitting up in surprise.
"Yue?" Nodoka looked up, her own cheeks flushed.
Yue shook her head, smiling slightly as she said, "Sorry, Collet startled me." She laughed, "It seems that Collet asked Asuna out."
"Asuna?" Nodoka looked almost as startled. "Mana clearly hasn't gotten that far," she shook her head, turning back to her own letter.
Chuckling Yue restarted the letter, amused by the fiercely blushing Collet. 'I wonder if she was my first crush on a girl?' Yue mused. 'Well, her and Nodoka.'
"We've had two dates so far," Collet smiled a bit bashfully as she added, "Asuna tried to tell me that she wasn't into women that way, but I reminded her that her nipples got hard watching the girls in the bath."
'Too much information,' Yue snickered.
Collet grinned, "I think I'm making good progress, and I'll let you know how it turns out later."
Yue sighed with disappointment as the letter ended, wanting to know what had been going on with Setsuna. She looked over at Nodoka, "Does Mana talk about Setsuna?"
"Some," Nodoka said wryly as they moved back towards each other, "she doesn't go into too much detail."
"Unlike Collet," Yue noted.
"Let me see," Nodoka murmured as she rewound it a bit.
Activating the letter they both saw Mana, the dusky skinned gunslinger looking like she was giving a military report. "So far Naoko and Setsuna don't seem to have slept together," she informed them, "but I suspect it's only a matter of time." With a faint smile she added, "If nothing else, I expect Naoko will get so impatient she'll do something rash."
"I don't remember her being that blunt," Yue blinked as they watched her.
"I think it may have something to do with being away from school," Nodoka guessed.
"I've been checking up on the effects of our earlier visit as Negi requested," Mana noted calmly as she continued her report.
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Negi Springfield shook his head as he watched Mana finish up her major points, sitting on a chair in his office. He had never expected that there were such consequences from the first trip to Mundus Magicus, both political and magical. It seemed that they had sparked a period of magical innovation, not to mention increased threats from certain branches of their society.
Sitting in another chair Takamachi looked at the hard copy of the report as the older man noted, "Fate did more damage than we realized." He still wore his brown hair cut short, but there was a slightly gentler side to him, possibly because of his dating the school nurse, Shizuna.
"Fate and I," Negi made a distressed face.
"Don't take too much on your shoulders," Takamachi reminded him firmly, "Fate planned his attacks years ahead of time." He smiled gently, "For someone who was operating almost totally in the dark, you did quite well against him."
"Maybe so," Negi conceded the point reluctantly as he considered the other bit of news in Mana's verbal report.
He had almost expected something to develop between Naoko and Setsuna, if Negi was honest with himself. Setsuna had lived long, long years loving someone who didn't love her, it seemed obvious to him that she might reach out to another. 'But if I can realize it, so can the Headmaster there,' Negi reminded himself, 'it's quite possible nothing inappropriate is going on.'
"Takamachi," Negi looked at him curiously, "what do you know about Naoko Kanoe?"
Takamachi smiled slightly as he asked, "Worried about Setsuna?"
Negi blushed a bit as he said, "Well, a bit."
"You shouldn't feel guilty over your relationship with Konoka," Takamachi pointed out to him, "it was her decision, after all. You didn't steal her from Setsuna, no matter how much you may think so."
"I don't feel guilty," Negi said with a blush.
"Hmm," Takamachi gave him a skeptical look, then he sat back as he thought a moment. "Naoko was a adventuring mystic, much like Nagi was. Not as famous but was still quite well known and a formidable fighter in her own right. She was known to be honorable, both on and off the battlefield."
"Good," Negi nodded thoughtfully, feeling somewhat reassured.
Takamachi smiled slightly, "And unlike the Thousand Master, she didn't have many pactios."
Negi blushed, well aware of how many probationary contracts he had once had. Thankfully he had cut down after marrying Konoka, but there were still nearly a dozen of his former students whom he maintained a contract with. 'Thank goodness Konoka isn't the jealous type,' he thought.
Curiously Negi asked, "Did she usually make contracts with men or women?"
Looking amused Takamachi pointed out, "That doesn't prove anything, you know. Your father had more than one male partner, remember."
"Takamachi!" Negi blushed.
Takamachi laughed, "She exclusively made pactios with women."
Negi looked sheepish as he said, "Thanks, that's comforting I guess."
To be continued...