Student 32: Sunset Shimmer

by Show Stopper

Arc 3: Chapter 13

“Eh?! A letter from Negi-sensei?”

Sunset glanced over in curiosity. She and Nodoka had spent a free hour between classes digging through library island for a few books as a favor for a younger student who wasn’t allowed as deep as them. They were currently at the shoe lockers in front of the school, where Nodoka had opened hers to reveal a letter.

“Really?” Sunset asked. “That’s weird. He seems the type to just find you and tell you something right out.” Not to mention the kid’s too short to reach her locker.

“Y-yeah,” Nodoka muttered, opening the letter nervously. “I wonder what…” Nodoka’s jaw dropped, her face going instantly red. “Wh-wh-wh-wh-what?!”

Sunset sighed and walked over, swiping the note from Nodoka despite her protests. That kid. Honestly, what sort of misunderstanding has he caused now? She gave the note a quick glance.

Miyazaki Nodoka-sama,
After class, I’ll be waiting behind the dorms.
Please be my partner.
Negi.

Sunset blinked stupidly as Nodoka snatched the letter from her hand and hugged it to her chest. “Eh? Partner?”

“I-I-I,” Nodoka stammered. “I-I-I’ve got to go!” She darted off, leaving the stack of books behind with Sunset.

Sunset stared from the rapidly fleeing Nodoka to the books before letting out a sigh. “I don’t buy that for a second,” she muttered, hoisting the books into her arms and heading off to deliver them. “I’ll bet every coin I ever owned that that creepy little ermine is behind this.” She snorted, smirking. “I’d suspect Evangeline, but she doesn’t have anything to gain from it.”

The rest of the school day passed without incident, Sunset giving a vague non-answer when Yue asked where Nodoka was. She spent most of the day contemplating how she’d come to love the taste of meat and wondering if Library Island had any recipes for grilled stoat. When the final bell finally rang, Sunset wasted no time in leaping from the window and rushing off to the dorms.

She eventually made it to the the dorms and started to walk around. She paused before turning the final corner and looked up at the roof. An old piece of advice from one of the few guards she hadn’t intimidated under Celestia made its way to her mind. “When spying on an enemy, always watch from above if possible. Despite the fact that a third of our population can fly, nopony ever thinks to look up.” Smirking to herself, Sunset launched herself upwards, landing nimbly on top of the dorms. Getting better at that. She crouched low, quickly crawling over to the back of the building and peering over the edge.

Nodoka was standing there with Negi, and Sunset’s heart skipped a beat when she saw her. Nodoka had forgone her uniform and usual casual clothes for a cute, white dress and laced-up sandals that made her look adorable. It took a moment for Sunset’s other senses to catch up, but she eventually began to listen to what Nodoka was saying.

“...before yesterday, when there was that uproar with the vampire, you saved me again. Somehow, I feel like I’ve only been troubling you Sensei. I’m sorry.”

“N-no,” Negi said, shaking his head. “That’s not true at all!”

“So, in return,” Nodoka continued, “to be useful to Negi-sensei, I… I’ll do my best. So please, ask whatever you’d like.”

Sunset groaned quietly, shaking her head. Honya, you’re lucky you’re talking to a ten-year-old. If you said that to anyone our age- wait, no! Your age or older, this conversation could go very differently. Wait… Sunset’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as she noticed a certain ermine perched on Negi’s shoulder. I knew it! Just what are you planning? You’d better not be dragging Nodoka into this with a-

Chamo leapt down from Negi’s shoulder and cried out as he landed. “Pactio!”

A magic circle lit up around Negi and Nodoka, nearly blinding them and Sunset. That creep! Sunset rubbed her eyes before glaring down at Chamo. I can’t believe you’re seriously dragging her into it like this!

Sunset stood, preparing to leap down and intercept. As she did so, she noticed movement out the corner of her eye. She turned and saw Asuna rushing towards the scene, a letter clutched in her hand. Sunset’s eyes darted between the approaching orange-head and the two children below her as their faces got closer and closer. She grinned to herself, preparing her jump. Then again, this may just be an opportunity. Right as Asuna arrived on the scene, she leapt.

Sunset landed right beside Negi and Nodoka. She quickly pulled her friend away before grabbing Negi by the collar. “Blame the ermine,” she said before smashing her lips into his.

The kiss wasn’t much. It wasn’t even soft. Many would argue that it was more akin to Sunset slamming their faces together for a moment. Nevertheless, a bright flash of light lit the area enveloping Sunset, Negi, and a baffled and overwhelmed Nodoka.

“Hey, you perverted ermine!”

Sunset opened her eyes, scooped up a fainting Nodoka, and leapt back up to the roof of the dorms. She quickly stepped back from the edge, staying just close enough to hear the commotion going on below as she checked on her friend. Looks like a bit of magic overload, she thought, laying Nodoka down gently. Not surprising. That much magic combined with the emotional stress she was already under would put any normal person to sleep. Assured that her friend would be fine, Sunset crept over to the edge of the roof to listen to the ongoing conversation.

“That onee-san asking you to come here was a lie, right?!” Asuna was shouting, presumably to Chamo. “The truth is that you did bad things and fled here, right?!”

Onee-san? Sunset thought. The kid has a sister?

“Besides that, what’s this about?!” Asuna continued. “It says two thousand counts of stealing underwear!”

Sunset almost fell off the roof. She groaned, standing up and walking back to Nodoka as Chamo launched into a ridiculous sob story that was sure to win Negi’s forgiveness. Something tells me that listening to this any further will just give me a headache. She knelt down and picked Nodoka up, smiling down at her sleeping face. Come on, let’s get you inside. She sighed and leapt down to the front of the dorms, glad that no-one had caught up to her yet. Something tells me we’re about to have a loooong talk.

*****

Nodoka’s eyes fluttered open. The girl groaned as she sat up, rubbing at her eyes and looking around. She was surprised to find herself in her dorm lying on Yue’s bed, not remembering having fallen asleep there. She tried to think back to the events of the day, and blushed at the memory of an almost-kiss with Negi.

“Wh-what an immodest dream,” she stammered, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I-I-I had no idea I could even imagine something like that!”

“Really? I find that hard to believe.”

Nodoka jumped. She leaned forward, looking up to the loft and finding Sunset sitting there with her legs over the edge, a book in one hand and her wand in the other. She idly twirled the wand between her fingers, her brow furrowed as she read the page before her. “With how many books you read, you should have a pretty good imagination.”

“N-N-N-Nich-chan?!” Nodoka’s blush deepened. “B-b-b-but then, then that was…”

“Real.” Sunset sighed, snapping the book closed and placing it and her wand aside. She leapt down from the loft and joined Nodoka on the lower bunk. “And a really stupid attempt by the kid’s pet to drag you deeper into the magical world.”

“N-Negi-sensei’s pet?” Nodoka’s eyes went wide. “I-I thought I saw Negi-sensei talking with him. Is he magical too? Can he talk?”

“Yeah,” Sunset said, glaring at the ground. “Though trust me, he doesn’t really say anything worth hearing.” She groaned and massaged her temples. “I can’t believe he tried to form a provisional contract between the two of you.”

“P-provisional contract?”

Sunset nodded. She slipped her hand into her skirt pocket and pulled out what looked like a tarot card. She handed it to Nodoka.

The card depicted Sunset, wearing a leather jacket over her uniform and superimposed over a complex, green magic circle. She bore her traditional smirk, facing the front of the card with one foot placed confidently before the other. She was leaning over slightly, her fists touching at the knuckles just below her face. Said fists were clad in bronze gauntlets, studded with rubies at the knuckles. Her feet were similarly clad in bronze boots. The edges and corners of the card were cluttered with bits of other information, including Sunset’s star sign and seat number.

“Oh wow,” Nodoka whispered, examining every detail of the card, from the roman numerals in the corners to the name written on the front. “Crepusculum Ocassus?”

Sunset winced. “Yeah, not a huge fan of how it translated my name.”

“It?” Nodoka looked curiously up at Sunset. “How what translated it?”

Sunset took the card back, staring down at it. “This card is the symbol of a provisional contract between a mage and her partner,” she explained. “That’s what everyone’s been going on about.”

“Really?” Nodoka asked, surprise and a hint of disappointment in her voice. “So… it’s not a… a, um…”

Sunset chuckled. “No, Honya. It’s not a romantic thing.” Not until down the road, anyway. “You see, it’s an ancient mage tradition. A mage chooses a powerful warrior to team up with, someone to keep her safe while she prepare her spells from a distance. A mage provides her partner with a portion of her power, which manifests itself in increased strength, speed, durability,” she held up the card, “and this. This card can be transformed into a weapon or tool that the magistra, or contracted, can use to defend their magister, or contractor.”

“Wow,” Nodoka breathed, her mind gone to far-away fantasies. She imagined a powerful knight in shining armor battling a dragon while a beautiful maiden hovered behind him, power growing in her hands as she sung an incantation. “That sounds so… so…”

“Pathetic, right?” Sunset scoffed, unaware of the fantasy shattering right next to her. “Where I’m from, no spell-caster would be caught dead cowering behind some pega- some warrior, letting her do all of the dirty work. I could understand it if they fought side by side, and I’m sure some do, but from the way my books describe it, most mages are content to sit back and be glass cannons. Any mage that can’t fight for themselves doesn’t deserve the title.”

Nodoka winced. “I-it sounds like you’re really passionate about this.”

“Of course!” Sunset leapt to her feet, a fire burning in her eyes and a grin splitting her face. “Why, back when I was Tenko’s student, I was the most powerful and talented mage in the entire mage corps! No-one could beat me, not even the grand-magus! Warlocks and demons didn’t stand a chance, and monsters? Hah! Monsters begged their mommies to check under their beds for ME!” Sunset slammed a fist into her other hand, turning around to face an awestruck Nodoka. “Back in my world, there wasn’t a creature in all the realms who didn’t know and fear my name.”

Nodoka swallowed nervously, equal parts star-struck and intimidated. “S-so why did you leave?”

Sunset instantly deflated. Her shoulders fell along with her grin, her face falling into a neutral frown. She looked down and away, a long sigh escaping her lips. “That’s… a good question.” She rejoined Nodoka on the bed, folding her hands in front of her and staring down at them. “I… had everything. Power. Influence. Magic.” Celestia. “I… I guess I wanted more. It wasn’t enough.” Her frown hardened into a glare. “Tenko, my teacher, she was holding me back from my destiny.” Her hands began shaking, and she tightened her grip. “She… she wouldn’t give me what I want- what I deserved! And when she found me trying to look for other ways to get it…” Sunset sighed, the tension leaving her. “...I left. I ran through the portal into this world and never looked back. I had three days to return before it closed for two and a half years, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to return until I’d found something here. Something to show her that I was right all along. That I didn’t need her holding me back.”

“...but then you lost your magic.”

Sunset nodded. “Then I lost my magic.” She brought one of her hands up to her chest. “I can still feel it in there, pulsing right beside my heart. My wellspring, the source of all… all magic where I’m from. It hasn’t gone away or diminished, but it feels like there’s this barrier that I can’t get through.” She shook her head. “Heck, going through the mirror changed my anatomy so much, I’m not even sure I’d be able to use my old magic. For all I know, that barrier’s the only thing keeping my wellspring from tearing me to shreds.”

Nodoka shivered. She leaned down and picked up Sunset’s card from where it had fallen to the floor during her rant. “So now you’re learning magic here?”

Sunset nodded, taking back the card and stuffing it in her pocket. “And taking every advantage I can.”

Nodoka nodded as well, contemplating that for a minute. “...wait.” Her eyes widened. “Then when Negi-sensei and I were, well, when we were about to…”

Sunset smirked as the blush returned to Nodoka’s cheeks. “It’s called a ‘kiss,’ Honya. For some reason, it’s the activator for Pactio, the spell that forms the contract. Don’t worry, it meant nothing. You can still take the kid’s first real kiss.”

Nodoka’s blush returned, but she shook her head and continued. “So, that was a contract? N-Negi-sensei wanted ME to be his partner?!”

“Not quite,” Sunset replied, and was glad to see more relief than sorrow in Nodoka’s face. “Like I said, it was all the ermine’s doing. For some reason, he seems to want Negi to get a partner as soon as possible.” She frowned, staring off into space for a moment. “Probably has something to do with Evangeline. I really need to ask Asuna what happened between them that night.”

“Y-you mean…” Nodoka paled, “i-i-if I’d formed that contract, I w-would have had to f-fight Evangeline-san?!” She stared down at the floor, trembling and shaking. “That’s… that’s…”

“I know.” Sunset reached over and pulled Nodoka into a side-hug. “That’s why I’m so angry at the little creep. There’s no reason whatsoever for you to get drug into this mess. If it comes down to it, I’ll help the kid against Evangeline. You don’t have to worry.”

Nodoka shivered one last time before nodding. “Th-thank you, Nichi-chan.” She squirmed a bit in Sunset’s embrace. “Um… you can let go now.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, but nevertheless removed her arm and allowed Nodoka to scoot away a little. “I swear, people in this world are so embarrassed by simple affection.”

“S-sorry,” Nodoka muttered. They sat in silence for a moment before Nodoka cleared her throat. “So, wh-what now?”

“For you, nothing.” Sunset stood and stretched her arms over her head. “Like I said, I’ll take care of anything else that comes up.” She hesitated a moment before turning back to her. “Although, there is one thing. Could you tell the kid tomorrow that I won’t be in class?”

“Eh?” Nodoka asked, surprised. “Why not?”

Sunset shrugged. “Tell him I have a fever or something. I need to get some practice in with the card if I want to be able to use it effectively.”

Nodoka nodded, chewing nervously on her lip. “Do… do you really think you’re going to have to f-fight?”

Sunset shrugged, her eyes going distant once again. “Against Evangeline? I doubt it. But eventually? I don’t know anything about the magic in this world, Honya. I barely understand the non-magical portion.” Her eyes narrowed, a fire lighting within them. “But I’ll be damned if I let myself be caught unable to protect myself.”

And those important to me.

Comments

[the other sans]

I just realised. Since this is going to follow the book to some extent, Nodoka will still get into a Pactio eventually. Negi's going to need the help but anyways, she's going to be able to see into Hikaru's memories. That'll be a hoot to see.

[Dorath]

“But I’ll be damned if I let myself be caught unable to protect myself.”

And those important to me.

And we have character development!

[Show Stopper]

9010585
It'll certainly make things... interesting between Honya and Sunset.

[Pinklestia]

9010625

Ah yes, finally!

[redsopine]

Ok where's my Warhammer I have a ferret sized crater on the moon to make and I found a volunteer to go there

[Aemon Targaryen]

So, Sunset magic name/ title/name of her artefact is literally Twilight Setting ?! Uh, i don't know if it's weird, ironic or fitting in a twisted way.

[Darkriver101]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤