Eva and Cha-cha continued to streak toward each other. Chachamaru was the first to attack, swinging her blade at Eva's neck. Eva grinned at her as she barrel-rolled to the side and up, away from the sword.
Chachamaru: !!
Eva: [ 11 magic arrows of darkness!!]
Eleven bolts of pure black shot from Eva's hand, all of them impaling Chachamaru from behind. The android's eyes widened before going blank. Her boosters cut out and she began to fall.
Eva: You deserve no less. Traitors will die, especially those who betray Dark Evangel.
Negi vaulted over the lip of the building, speeding downward on his wizard's staff.
Negi: CHACHAMARUUUU!!!!
Reaching down until his hand almost tore itself off, he grabbed Chachamaru's hand before impact, and with any luck, before anyone below noticed. He brought her back up about twelve stories before Evangeline blocked his path.
Eva: Drop her.
Negi: I-i won't!
Eva: Yes you will. You will or i'll cut your hand off with her in it. You can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I have no qualms about maiming you, Negi Springfield.
Negi: I don't care! I won't let my student die!
Eva: Stupid brat! She's already dead! You can't save her now! And even if you do somehow get her repaired, i swear i'll hunt down anyone who assisted and kill them too! Be it Satomi, Lingshen, anyone! I will drink them dry. I'll even drink anyone who helped with gathering research materials. Hmm. Miyazaki gathers research materials for a lot of groups, doesn't she?
Negi: Don't touch her!!
Eva: Don't try to threaten me, boya! If you won't drop Chachamaru, i'll drop you both, and then some! If i'm already killing my best friend, i might as well kill people i care far less for, right?!
Negi: Evangeline...you're crying.
Eva: So what if i am!? You heard my ultimatum! Drop Chachamaru or your students die! DROP HER, GODDAMMIT!!! D-drop her...~
Evangeline lowered herself slowly onto Negi's wand and buried her face in his chest, sobbing without restraint. He placed Chachamaru's body on the rooftop and wrapped an arm around his still-living student.
Eva: N-nagi...
Negi, lowering his voice slightly: Yes. It's alright, Eva. Everything will be alright. Don't worry, no one can see you. You can cry if you need to.
Eva: ....professor...you really do sound a lot like him...
Negi, thinking: Considering i've only heard his voice twice, and not recently at all, that's pretty good.
Minutes passed before Evangeline pulled her head away from Negi. He smiled down at her; she blushed.
Eva: I-i've decided....i don't want you to use that spell. At least not until we graduate. I think i'll hang onto immortality a bit longer. Oh, and you can....you can go ahead and bring Chachamaru in to be fixed, if you want to. Just make sure Hakase erases this...unpleasantness from her memory, alright?
Negi: Evangeline....yes! I'll take her in right now!
Eva: Good. I'll go with you.
Negi smiled and reached for Chachamaru, but his hand was blocked by another.
Eva: If you don't mind, i'll carry her.
Negi: Not at all.
The flight went unremarkably for a long time.
Eva: Negi. You do know that i still want to be released, don't you?
Negi: Of course. I just don't know why. Mahora isn't so bad, is it?
Eva: Even heaven gets boring when you can't leave.
Negi: I suppose so. If i can find a way for you to leave without killing Chachamaru, i'll let you know. Until then i'll be working hard on it! I will find a way, please believe in me!
Eva, blushing slightly: Sure, whatever. Oh, and professor Springfield?
Negi:?
Eva: If you tell a soul i cried on you today, i WILL kill you, got it!?
Negi: G-got it!
Eva: I'm not kidding! If you so much as allude to it, i'm going to make a mixed-blood cocktail of you, Kagurazaka and Miyazaki.
Negi: I won't tell anyone, Eva. Trust me.
Eva: .....fine.
Negi: .....Need a tissue?
Eva: No.
Negi: Are you sure? I bet any number of people would give you one if we told them how much you criiiiied!! HAHAHAHA!!!
Eva: What's that you say? 'Please kill me and everyone i care for?'
Negi: Hahaha.
Eva, thinking: This brat reminds me of Nagi more and more everyday. No wonder i hate him so much.
Evangeline looked at Negi, who was still chuckling to himself. She smiled.
Eva: Negi Springfield. You could only be his son.
Back on the rooftop...
Asuna: DWAH!! Where the hell are they!?
Konoka: I guess we just missed 'em.
Asuna: AAAAAA!! We ran fifteen blocks plus all those stairs and we MISSED THEM!!!? |