Chapter 4

*17 hours later, With Negi*

He did not know where he was.

It was frightening.

He knew he lost his mind yesterday, a side effect of his second curse and magical ability. All he remembers is running away from the hospital. He knows that it was a full moon that night though but he does not know how he ended up in this bed. It smelt like pheromones, sweat, ink, himself and another person; a female.

He honestly did not want to open his eyes. He was scared of what he would uncover. All he hopes is he didn’t kill someone. While he doesn’t smell blood, it does not change his fears.

He slowly opened his eyes and was startled with the amount of damage in the room. The floor has been scratched, an ink well was shattered on the ground, paper was everywhere and torn clothing decorated the floor near the bed.

He sat up, unsurprised he was in the buff after noticing his torn undergarments. He looked around the room and quickly realized it was a studio. Whoever owned the place had incomplete sketches and references everywhere. When he began exploring the room, he was surprised to see a stack of published manga with an art style the same as the drafts.

He scratched his head, questioning what happened the night before when the door was opened.

Haruna walked in with only a robe on and a plate of grilled fish. She seemed perfectly content with his nudity and even a little happy about it.

The green haired girl smiled at him, “Good Afternoon, Negi-kun.”

He stared at her hard then covered his face in shame. He had a clue what happened last night after seeing her tousled hair and bite marks on her neck. “We… laid together right?”

She gave him a hug and a kiss. “Much more than that handsome. You have been asleep for a long while but I can’t blame you. It’s time to eat.”

*3 hours later*

Negi found himself with Haruna snuggled into his arms. He didn’t push her off because he knew his actions were his responsibility. She informed him on all the acts they did the night before and how she was a willing participant. She also told him that afterwards she woke up with two cards by her side and no recollection on how they appeared.

Instead of lying to her, he told her the truth. The half brunette half red head explained that he was a mage with cursed magic. He told her that the full moon normally causes him to be a savage beast that murders and consume the flesh of his victims. She was surprised by this and told him was gentle with her and the bite marks on her neck were because she asked him to bite her.

Together they pieced a story. The artist thought Negi was a wizard with uncontrollable powers and mage thought his wild side needed a mate.

Now they were watching a random anime while Haruna processed the information.

“Negi,” he turned to Haruna, her eyes were glued to the screen. “what does this makes us?”

He pulled her closer to his chest, comforting her. “I do not know. I do know I will take responsibility. If I did take my medicines the times I supposed to then this would not have happened.”

She kissed his cheek, “I rather have it this way then.”

Instead of trying to convince her otherwise, he kissed her forehead and stayed there for her enjoyment while silently appreciating that school was out for the day.

*Next Day, With Sage*

Sage was losing it. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked to have been in a caged fight. She barely could stand in the classroom without breaking out in a fit of madness.

She searched for her brother a full 36 hours with no progress. She couldn’t find his magic signature, his blood, his smell; heck she couldn’t even find Konoemon. She spent the rest of the time waiting for a report about a berserk teacher but nothing came through the channels. She became stressed to the point she blacked out and woke up on top of a restaurant’s roof.

Now she is standing in classroom 2-A, waiting for the class to file in before the bell. She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and applied enough of makeup to empty a bottle of remover. She held a long gone cold and stale coffee, her sixth cup, while the other hand held an English book.

Her eyes darted to the clock mounted in the corner of the room, mocking her with it perfect placement.

‘Ten minutes. I can do this.’ She thought to herself.

She was about to sit when she heard the sound of feet. She placed a fake smile and greeted whoever entered only to lose it at the sight of them.

“Yesh. You look horrible.” Negi said as popped the last of his medicines in his mouth. He passed the bottle to Haruna who stored it in her cleavage.

Sage stared at him for what seemed like forever then fainted on the spot.

He caught her before she hit the ground then sat her on a spare chair next to the teacher’s desk. He took off his jacket and threw it on her as a cover. He could tell she fainted from fatigue and the smell of oak told him she most likely romed in the woods. He kissed her forehead then turned to his new mate.

She gave him a sly smile, “She is a wizard too?”

The red head sighed, “We cannot talk about this here. Later on we will.”

The young woman sighed, “I wish I could make a comic about this but I don’t want you to be in trouble.”

“What do you mean?” Lei Chao said as she entered the room, greeting Negi as she passed them.

The mangka gave a perverted grin, “The ultimate smut based off our Sensei! Think about it, an unspeakable taboo worsens by the fact they are twins! Negi-Sensei treats his sister so nice that even a skeptical viewer heart would be swayed. I could make millions off of them but we would be able to tell it is Negi-Sensei too easily! He would lose his job and I would feel bad.”

Most of the class walked in during her heated rant and honestly couldn’t think of a response. More than a few of the girls thought they would read it if she actually made a manga about them but did not want to voice their support.

The mage facepalmed, he could not believe what she said. This compounded with the fact his wild side thinks she is a good mate. “I’m surrounded by freaks…” he muttered under his breath.

Makie took a moment to wipe her nosebleed and said, “Negi- Sensei should be in the hospital. Kazumi and Sage told us you weren’t okay. Why are you here?”

The class turned to the supposed-to-be cripple then began voicing the same concerns.

He waved them off, “I am fine for the moment. I… acquired a medicine for the meantime that can keep my health at bay. My next prescription should be here sometime in the next few days. Until then I will be continuing the lesson plan and will allow one on one studying today. I realized that a few of you are struggling and this gives me rest.”

The class settled down at his words then began their lesson.

*40 minutes later*

Negi was done with the class. About ten minutes ago he told them to review among themselves but it quickly escalated into strip poker. He had enough of the class mania and decided to take a breather with Sage.

He laid his sleeping twin on a bench near the courtyard. He has never been so happy that a room was close to an indoor garden in his life.

The teen ran his hand through his hair and slumped his shoulders. He rubbed his face, revealing large dark bags and several scars. He looked at his palms to notice he rubbed off all his concealer. He groaned, knowing that heading back to class would end horribly for him as long as he looked that that.

He glanced towards his twin but his eyes connected with similar brown ones.

They stayed like that, in an endless silence, studying each other as if it was the first time they met. Her eyes strayed from his and examined the scars on his face. He shifted closer to allow her to trace his old wounds.

Her fingers followed the gash over his eye, provoking an old hurt to appear in both of their eyes. She drifted to a cut on his cheek, down his chin and to his ear. The memoirs of war came back to her in the form of blood. She took a harsh breath then looked away from her twin. She had forgotten how it felt to be safe with him; feeling as if they were the only ones in the universe.

He gave her a kissed on the temple, sweet and feathery. He let his lips rest on her ear then muttered a phase; a whisper almost, a forgotten passage from their youth. She nodded then left to check on their forgotten class, leaving him behind. Briefly he thought this may symbolize their place in life. She always strived for the future while he was stuck in the past.

He missed standing next to her.