Sunset stood outside her new classroom, leaning against the wall by the door with her arms crossed. Six months of continual study had allowed her to not only master the Japanese language, but had also allowed her to catch up to class 2-A in English and other subjects. She fully expected to be top of the class by the end of the month; she hadn't been selected as Celestia's apprentice for nothing, after all.
Sunset's arms tightened and a glare took over her face as her thoughts turned to her old mentor. I swear, Celestia, by the time these thirty moons are up, I'll have enough magic to force you to give me my wings! I just have to find someone I can blackmail into teaching me...
"Here we are. This is your class."
Sunset looked to the side. There was the buxom blond nurse and guidance counselor, Shizuna Minamoto. She must be introducing the new teacher, Sunset thought. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the foreign kid at her side. Wait... but the only other person here is...
"Ah! The class roll!" Sunset's eyes went wide as the kid opened a folder and began looking through it. "Geh! T-there's so many!"
"Try to remember everyone's name and face quickly, ok?" Shizuna said before looking over at Sunset. Her smile faded a bit. "Ara, and it seems you have one of them right here. Shouldn't you be in the room already, Nichibotsu-chan?"
Sunset shrugged, still staring at the kid. "Takamichi said to wait in the hall until the new teacher had been introduced. Something about 'proper procedure.'" She kicked herself off the wall before walking over. "So, who's the kid?"
"N-nice to meet you," the kid replied, bowing deeply as he scanned the class roll. "Um, Hikaru Nichibotsu, right?"
Sunset rolled her eyes. "That's what I've been told. Just call me Nichibotsu. No honorifics."
"You'll have to excuse her, Negi-kun," Shizuna said, her smile now a bit strained. "Nichibotsu-chan is foreign as well and doesn't quite grasp the significance of honorifics."
"I grasp them just fine," Sunset growled. "I just think they're stupid."
Shizuna's eye twitched, eliciting a smirk from Sunset. "In any case, this is your new teacher."
"Y-yes," the kid said, bowing again. "Negi Springfield. Nice to meet you!"
So you've said. "The new teacher, huh?" Sunset asked, looking him up and down. He was definitely dressed for the part in his smart little pinstriped suit, his red hair combed neatly and a pair of spectacles perched on his nose, and he did seem intelligent - for a kid - but Sunset still had a hard time believing it. "I don't buy it," she said, crossing her arms and glaring up at Shizuna. "How's a kid like this supposed to be taken seriously by a group of air-headed middle-schoolers?"
"You tell me," Shizuna replied, smiling serenely. "After all, aren't you one of those air-headed middle-schoolers?"
Sunset rolled her eyes before turning and leaning back against the window to the classroom. "Whatever. Don't blame me when they tear him apart. I'll enjoy watching it from here."
Shizuna sighed before ushering Negi forward. "I'm sorry about her," she said once they were past. "She's been a little... difficult ever since she arrived. I'm sure she'll lighten up in no time."
"I-if you say so," Negi replied, swallowing nervously. Sunset turned to watch, smirking as she noticed the traps set up for him. Oh, this is going to be fun, she thought as he opened the door.
*POP*
Sunset's eyes widened. The blackboard duster had stopped, hovering a few inches above the kid's head. As soon as she noticed it, it dropped again, smacking Negi in the face.
"Ah hahaha, I see. cough cough. You really got me there."
Under any other circumstances, Sunset would have found the following tripwire, bucket trap, and dart arrows (along with her class's reactions to a kid being hit by them) hilarious. However, her mind was caught on the split second before the duster had hit. It stopped in mid-air, she thought, staring at the kid intently. That was definitely magic. Was it his doing?
She turned back in just in time to catch his introduction. "My name is Negi Springfield. From today onwards, I'll be teaching mag- uh, English at this school."
Magic! Sunset's jaw dropped. There's no way he wasn't about to say "magic" right there. A grin split her face as she walked over to the door. I think I've found my teacher after all.
It took a few minutes for the class to calm down, with Sunset making a mental note to keep her distance from the Class Rep and that crazy Asuna girl. Eventually, Negi stood before his seated class, looking like a cupcake before a swarm of hungry parasprites.
"U-um, before we get started," Negi stammered, "I'd like to introduce a new student, Hikaru Nichibotsu."
Guess that's my cue, Sunset thought. She straightened her tie before walking into the room, her hands clasped casually behind her head. She looked over the class, her face calm and indifferent. "Yo," she said, scanning the class before turning to the board. She grabbed the chalk and quickly wrote out her name, as she'd been instructed, before turning to face the class. "Just Nichibotsu is fine," she said. "I'm new here in Japan, and I hope we get along well." She shrugged. "Or something."
Without waiting to be prompted, Sunset started for the back of the classroom, ignoring the empty seat in the front. She sat next to a young looking girl (she thought, she still wasn't good at telling human ages) with long blond hair. The two exchanged nods before facing forward again. Sunset kept a close eye on Negi, looking for any more signs of magic.
*THOCK*
Sunset blinked, having just caught the moment when something impacted with the back of Negi's head. She quickly scanned the classroom, finding that Asuna girl from before preparing another chunk of eraser and a rubber band. Did she notice it too? Sunset wondered. She smirked and leaned back in her seat as another bit of eraser hit Negi. Either way, at least I'm getting some entertainment out of this.
The fun just kept going as Asuna and the Class Rep got into an all-out catfight. Sunset didn't bother holding back her laughter as they tried to strangle each other until the bell rang, signaling the end of class. "Well," she said, elbowing the girl next to her, "at least it looks like this class won't be boring, eh?"
The girl rolled her eyes, standing up and glaring at Negi. "He's an idiot," she replied. "And the old man is an idiot for thinking that this would work."
"Idiots all around," Sunset agreed, standing and stretching as she watched the class file out. "Well, looks like we're stuck together for now. What's your name?"
The girl regarded her out the corner of her eye before shrugging. "Evangeline. Evangeline A. K. MacDowell."
Sunset snorted as they began making their way to the front of the class. "Okay, that's nowhere close to a Japanese name. Is everyone I meet going to be a foreigner?"
"There are a few in the class," she admitted.
Not much of a talker, is she? Sunset shrugged, stopping on her way out to talk with Nodoka. "Oy! Honya!"
"Oh!" The girl jumped a bit but smiled when she saw her friend. "Hello, Nichibotsu. Did you enjoy your first day?"
"Eh, as much as I could," she replied. "Didn't get much learning done with all the theatrics."
Nodoka nodded, sighing. "Yeah, it can get quite loud with those two. Negi-sensei being so young doesn't help either. Takahata-sensei was at least able to keep Asuna-san under control."
"Eh, he'll be fine. Probably." Sunset shrugged. "So, did you still want help with those books?"
"Yes, please," Nodoka replied, leading Sunset out of the classroom and towards the library. "That new section of Library Island has a lot of strange symbols. We're going to need to do a lot of research to figure them out."
"Sounds good to me."
"And with you helping, we can carry twice as many books!"
"...sounds good."
"And since you're so much stronger than me, you should be able to handle the really heavy hard-covers!"
"...great."
***
And this is why telekinesis is vastly superior to hands, Sunset grumbled to herself. Nodoka had loaded her with an absurdly heavy stack of books before taking an equally tall (though notably less heavy) stack for herself. They had left the main building behind and were walking down the path to the dorms where Nodoka stayed with Yue and Haruna.
"Are you, grunt, absolutely certain we need, huff, all of these?" Sunset griped as they started down a set of stairs.
"Not completely," Nodoka admitted, shifting her stack to get a better grip, "but we might need any of them. Better to take some unnecessary books with us now than to discover later that we- AAH!"
"Nodoka!" Sunset dropped her books and lunged for the edge of the stairs, her hand just missing Nodoka's ankle as the girl fell.
"I knew it!" Sunset's eyes grew wide as Nodoka and her books came to a halt a foot above the ground. She watched as Negi dove towards her, the wrappings at one end of his... staff undone. He caught her just as his spell ended, wincing as the girl's full weight landed in his arms. "Owowowow," he groaned. "A-are you okay, Miyazaki-san?"
Magic! Sunset let out a sigh of relief, one that turned into a predatory grin. I've got you now, kid. You aren't getting away from-
In a blur of orange hair, Asuna ran up, grabbed the kid, and zipped off into the trees, her twin-tails disappearing quickly. Sunset blinked dumbly a few times before groaning. "Of course," she muttered. "No way I could get that lucky." She hurried down the stairs to where Nodoka was picking herself back up. "Oy! Honya! You alright?"
"I-I think so," Nodoka replied, staring off in the direction Asuna had taken Negi "Did... did Sensei just save me?"
"..yeah," Sunset said, deciding not to mention the magic. "Yeah, he did. Caught you just in time. That kid's surprisingly strong."
"W-wow." Nodoka stared off into the woods for a while before Sunset waved a hand in front of her face. "Gah!" Nodoka blushed as she began picking up her books. "U-um, anyway, w-we should get going."
Sunset watched her for a bit before smiling evilly, the sort of smile she'd picked up from hanging out with Haruna. "Oh my gosh," she said, kneeling down and helping her gather the books. "You like him, don't you?"
"Eep!" The book Nodoka was holding tumbled to the ground as her face flushed.
Sunset chuckled, stacking the rest of the books and patting Nodoka on the back. "Hey, nothing wrong with a little crush. Just be careful, ne? Not much you can do when he's our teacher, and the fact that he's a kid narrows your options down even further."
"O-o-options?"
Sunset let out another chuckle before standing up. "You go on ahead," she said as Nodoka got to her feet. "I need to gather all the books I dropped trying to catch you."
"O-okay," Nodoka said. She hefted her books into a more comfortable grip before walking off, her eyes unfocused and her face red. Sunset watched her for a bit before turning and running into the woods after Asuna.
Now, if I were a violent monkey, Sunset thought as she darted between the trees, where would I be hiding?
"Whatever! It's the same thing, isn't it?"
Sunset rolled her eyes, darting around a few more trees as she changed direction. Or not hiding at all. She rounded a final tree before ducking back behind it. She peered around the trunk, watching as Asuna and Negi shouted back and forth, the taller girl glaring down at the kid who almost had tears in his eyes.
"Please keep this a secret!" Negi pleaded, his arms flailing wildly. "I'll be in deep trouble if this gets out!"
"I think not!" Asuna shouted.
Negi stepped back, his back forced against a tree as Asuna glared down at him. "Uuu," he groaned. "Guess I have no choice then." He brandished his staff threateningly, prompting Asuna to back up. "You found out my secret, so I'll have to erase your memory!"
Crap! Sunset thought, ducking back behind the tree entirely. This better be a sight-based or line-of-effect thing! I'm not sure my mental training will work without my magic!
"You might become a tad empty-headed, but I can't allow you to tell anyone!" Sunset felt power gathering on the other side of the tree. Asuna stepped back into view, backing up from Negi and waving her arms frantically.
"J-just wait a minute!" she cried desperately.
"Vanish!"
Sunset stared in shock as Asuna's clothes vanished in a burst of wind, leaving only her jacket untouched. Wh-what the...
"Hey! What are you two up to?"
Sunset clasped a hand over her mouth, ducking further behind the tree and covering her cry of shock. That was Takamichi! Her shock turned to mirth as she imagined the scene: Negi with his staff pointed at a naked Asuna while a baffled Takamichi stared on.
"IYAAAAAAAAA!"
Sunset dropped to her knees, one hand over her mouth and the other clutching her stomach as she desperately tried to contain her laughter. Oh, this is perfect! What I wouldn't give for a camera right now! She got up and ran away from the scene, allowing a few giggles to escape. Looks like I've found my blackmail.
***
Sunset made it back to class just a few minutes before Negi and Asuna, having quickly gathered her stack of books and dropped them off at the dorms. Though she had no interest in officially welcoming the new teacher, she did want to make sure that Nodoka was alright. Besides, it was free food.
"Eh! He saved her life?"
Of course, Sunset had failed to consider how Haruna would react to the news.
"Well, what do you expect from a dashing English gentleman!" Haruna grinned, slapping Nodoka on the back. "I bet you fell head over heals for him for a moment there."
Nodoka blushed, waving her arms wildly. "N-n-n-n-no!" she squeaked. "I m-mean, it wasn't, I didn't-"
Sunset sighed, patting Nodoka on the head. "Give it up, Honya. Just admit that she hit the nail right on the head. Or do you really think that Haruna wouldn't have been able to sniff it out?" The long-haired brunette has an insatiable thirst for gossip.
Nodoka sighed, tapping her fingers together nervously. "W-well, I might have a bit of a crush on him."
"Oh?" Yue asked. "That might become a problem."
Haruna nodded, closing her eyes as she hummed thoughtfully. "Teacher-student relationships never do seem to work out. Unless there's something supernatural going on." She opened her eyes, looking over at Sunset. "You don't think he's an alien, do you?"
"You've been reading too much manga, Haruna." Besides, Sunset thought, he's a wizard, not an alien. Though I doubt that will help any "relationship" between them.
"Well, what are you planning to do, Nodoka?" Yue asked. "It's not like you can just ask him out."
"Are you sure?" Haruna asked. "I mean, some of the taboos might be a bit less severe since he's so young."
"Let's rephrase that," Sunset said, smirking a bit. "It's not like Honya can just ask him out."
"I'm not that bad," Nodoka pouted.
"Really?" Sunset asked, nudging her as she saw Negi take a seat. "Well, why don't you do it now? He's right there."
"Eh!" Nodoka flushed, looking around the full classroom. "You mean in front of everybody?"
"Why not?" Sunset encouraged. "Better now than later. It's his first day here and he just saved you from a nasty fall. Even if it goes wrong, we can brush it off later as a spur-of-the-moment, high-on-emotion thing."
"Yeah, go for it Nodoka!" Haruna said, giving her a thumbs-up. "You won't get a better chance than this!"
Nodoka looked from one encouraging friend to the other before taking a deep breath and steeling herself. "O-okay," she said, standing up. "Here I go!"
Haruna smiled as she watched her go. "Now that's some courage. Our little Honya is growing up."
"Yeah," Sunset said nodding. "Bet you 300 she bails before she can ask him out."
"Nichi-chan!" Haruna scolded, glaring at her. "How can you say that? You should be supporting her even from the sidelines, not betting against her!"
"So does that mean you're taking my bet?"
"...well you know," Haruna looked up and away, rubbing the back of her head, "we're really too young to be gambling, and it's such a vague bet without proper terms."
"You bet 200 on Asuna's fight with Iinchou earlier," Yue pointed out.
"Fine! I'll take it!" Haruna said, a massive grin on her face as she pointed over at Negi and Nodoka. "Looks like she's going through with it!"
"Please accept this book certificate as a token of my gratitude."
Yue sighed as Sunset smirked up at the frozen Haruna. "I take my payments in cash or chocolate."
"Th-there's still a chance!" Haruna said, her grin beginning to crack. "As long as Sensei's attention is on her, she still has a-"
"Sensei! I also have something for you."
Yue gave the Class Rep's bronze bust of Negi an appraising look. "How did she even get that made that quickly?"
"Who knows?" Sunset asked, reaching into Haruna's pocket and pulling out her wallet. "Changed my mind," she said as she pulled out a few coins. "Cash only." She smiled at Nodoka as the shy girl walked back to them. "Well, you gave it your best shot."
"Yeah, I guess," Nodoka replied, slumping down into a chair.
"There's always next time," Yue encouraged. "We do see him every day, after all." She nudged her still frozen classmate. "Ne, Haruna?"
Sunset opened her mouth to add her own bit of snark, but something caught her eye. Negi had run up to Takamichi and had his hand pressed to his forehead. What the heck? Excusing herself from her friends, she stood up and carefully made her way to within earshot of Negi as he ran back to Asuna. She picked up a meat bun from the confections table, eyeing it critically as she kept her ear on the child teacher.
"He was thinking, 'No panties!'"
Sunset quickly took a bite of the meat bun to stifle her laughter. She choked it down quickly as she saw Negi run back to Takamichi again. Mind reading magic, huh? Sunset thought, taking another bite and taking the time to enjoy this one. Better keep him away from my forehead, then. Seriously, that has to be the most suspicious method I've ever seen.
"He was thinking, 'Bear panties!'"
Braced for the absurdity, Sunset was able to keep herself from choking on her latest bite. She watched as Asuna stormed out of the room, Negi following close behind.
"Ohoho. What's going on with them, I wonder?"
Sunset glanced over her shoulder to see the spiky red-headed Kazumi Asakura of the News Club standing behind her, a grin on her face. "Who knows," Sunset replied. "Probably just some stupid drama. Sounds right up your alley."
"Ouch." Kazumi pretended to wince. "That one hurt. I'll have you know I only do legitimate stories! That said..." She reached into her bag, pulling out a camera. "I love a good piece of gossip as much as the next girl. What do you say we investigate a little?"
Sunset hesitated, pondering her options. One the one hand, it would be annoying for me if more people started learning about magic. My entire strategy to get the kid to teach me revolves around me being able to expose his secret. On the other... A smirk found its way onto Sunset's face. Getting certain rumors going would be fun. "Why not," she replied. "Let me go on ahead first, though. I'll come and get you if it's anything worth your time."
"Eh? That's no fun," Kazumi complained, but Sunset was already off after Negi. She followed the sound of his and Asuna's shouting until she reached a staircase. She peaked around the corner, seeing Negi standing on the landing below, his back to the windows.
Asuna must be right below him, Sunset thought, straining her ears as Negi pulled out a small notebook.
"It's like Ojii-san always said, 'Our magic is not omnipotent. A little bit of courage is the real magic.'"
Sunset rolled her eyes, and from the tone of Asuna's response, she hadn't really bought it either. Still, this was definitely worth it. That confirms it once and for all; Negi Springfield is a wizard.
"So, before that, let me practice confessing."
Sunset grinned, turning and running back for the classroom. Perfect! "Oy, Kazumi," she shouted, once she reached the door. "I just heard Asuna say something about a confession!"
"Asuna's confessing?!"
"Eh? But Takahata-sensei is still in here?"
"Does that mean she likes someone else, too?"
Sunset blinked in surprise as she found herself faced with not one, but five of her classmates. Kazumi still had her camera out and was grinning at the child-like Narutaki twins, Fuka and Fumika. Chao Lingshen, a genius Chinese girl who Sunset had immediately identified as an academic rival, looked confused but interested, and Ayaka Yukihiro, the often manic, blond haired class rep, just looked confused.
"That can't be right," Ayaka said. "Who would she be confessing to out there?"
"Well," Kazumi said, a little too casually, "Negi-sensei was chasing after her."
Ayaka's eyes grew almost as wide as the other classmates' grins. "Ne-Ne-Negi-sensei?!"
"They're down this way," Sunset said, turning and leading them down the hall. "But try not to interrupt them. It might not be the kid, after all."
Sunset led them down the hall and to the staircase. She couldn't see Negi on the landing anymore, but she could still hear Asuna's voice. "Down there," she hissed, ushering the girls down the stairs. She remained at the top, straining her ears once again to see what she could catch. She heard several pops from Kazumi's camera, followed by a few seconds of tense silence.
"A-Asuna-san... you..."
Sunset grinned, clasping her hands behind her head and whistling cheerfully as she walked back to the classroom, the stairwell behind her filling with the sounds of screaming girls. I wonder if Kazumi will let me have copies of those pictures?
***
"So it looks like she was just practicing to confess to Takahata-sensei," Haruna said, finishing her explanation of the "stairway incident" to Yue and Nodoka. "Looks like you don't have any competition yet, Nodoka."
"Competition nothing," Sunset snarked "He's still just a kid. He probably doesn't know the first thing about romance or crushes. Just start with friendship and you'll have something solid to go on when he finally does start noticing girls."
"I don't know," Yue countered, staring out over the lake as they made their way down the road towards it. "Negi-sensei seems pretty mature for his age. He'd have to be to teach English in a foreign country."
Sunset rolled her eyes. "So he's smart. Big deal. I still don't think he'll be chasing skirts anytime soon." She grinned, punching Nodoka in the shoulder. "Just take your time."
"If you say so," Nodoka said, wincing as she rubbed her shoulder.
The three of them reached the lake a few minutes later. The road before them continued on to the massive island in the middle and the colossal library that occupied most of it.
"Are you sure you don't want to come and stay in the dorms?" Nodoka asked. "It would be a bit cramped, but I'm sure we could make room for you."
Sunset considered the offer, as she had every time Nodoka or one of the others had made it. It would be nice to be closer to her friends, but... "No," she finally said, shaking her head. "I appreciate it, but I really do like in the library. Besides," she sighed internally as she fed them the same lie as always, "I need to do as much research on that room as I can. Something in there has to have a clue about where I came from."
Nodoka sighed, smiling slightly at Sunset. "I guess you're right," she said. She and the others bade her goodnight before turning and heading down towards home.
Sunset watched them go until they were out of sight before sighing and walking across to the island. Keep it together, Sunny, she thought, hands clasped behind her head as she watched the setting sun light up the lake. You can move out once you've made sure that none of those books talk about the mirror or Equestria. You can't let anyone discover the truth. If people found out you were a strange creature from another dimension... She shuddered. Well, it would probably be just as bad as them discovering magic.
She reached the island a few minutes later, walking around the massive library until she found the secret entrance that the Library Exploration Club favored. From there she made the familiar trek down two flights of stairs, across a rope bridge, up one more flight, through the hallways taking three left turns followed by a right, down a hidden spiral staircase, and up a sloped hallway leading to her room. She nudged a floor tile back into place, unlocking the bookshelf and pushing it aside.
The room had seen a good deal of change over the last six months. The mirror had been covered with a tarp and pushed against the back wall, out of the way. The desk was now covered in books and papers, its drawers now filled with Sunset's few belongings. A dresser stood on the other side of the room, a sleeping bag lying at the foot of it. A few boxes of cereal sat in one corner of the room, a few bowls and spoons stacked neatly next to them. Sunset's lunch and dinner were provided by the school, with everything else donated by her friends or the headmaster. It wasn't much...
And it certainly isn't "home." Sunset sighed as she dropped her bag next to the desk and began undressing. But it works. At least until I'm certain my secret will be safe. She carefully folded her uniform before placing it in her dresser. She stretched her back before looking over at the tarp-covered mirror. She glared at it for a moment before shaking her head. Two years, she thought as she crawled into her sleeping bag. I've already been here six months. I can make it two more years.