Chapter 4: What A Class

The class 3-A stared at their new teachers for a few seconds then exploded into questions and complaints.

An orange haired bells in her pigtails girl slammed her hands into the table and exclaimed, “No! You must be our teacher, Takahata-sensei! We need you!”

A glasses wearing, dark-orange haired girl screamed, “They are too young to be our teachers! I am sure they don’t have the qualifications to teach us!”

A girl with her red hair pulled into a ponytail pulled out a recorder and asked, “Springfield-senseis, how did you become English teachers to worst class in Mahora Academy?”

The twins waited until the shouts and comments settled some before Negi haughty declared, “We are your teachers because we are overqualified.”

A pregnant silence filled the air. Sage took advantage of their silence and stated, “We graduated from Meridiana Academy in Wales in 2001. We were 14 years old walking out with four degrees. Together we have a masters in English and Science with bachelors in mathematics. If necessary we do have an associate degree in Art and Culture.”

She looked straight at the glasses wearing girl. “We traveled all over the world growing up. We are fluent in Japanese, English, African, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Latin. Of course our talents are spread between the both of us so it is best to ask Negi if you have issues with African or Spanish.”

She walked up to the girl and leaned into her face. “We are here because your class is so bad and we are more than qualified to teach you. Do remember, I am not Japanese and I will punish you how I see fit if I hear another outburst from you. Understand?”

The girl nodded, too scared to open her mouth. Sage smiled at her. “Good.”

Negi clapped his hand, gaining the attention of the class. He leaned over the teacher podium and said, “You may ask questions now.” He glanced at a few girls in the class then rested his eyes on a tan blonde fidgeting in her sit. “You may move, walking only.”

The redhead stood up, prepared to barrage him with questions when the blond walked up to Negi and gave him a hug.

The class was silenced again until Takamichi, who was forgotten, spoke, “You know each other?”

The mage rubbed her head and answered, “Yes. When we were seven, we lived in Ku Fei’s village for a few months. Living there is where we learned Chinese.”

She looked up and said in Chinese, “Airen, you left so quickly and my heart started to hurt. All you left me with was jade and a promise. Why did it take you so long to find me?” Tears came to her eyes as she clutched Negi’s shirt, hoping it wasn’t a dream.

He looked her in the eyes and replied in Chinese, “There is a lot to talk about and now is not the time.” He patted her head. “However, I did keep my promise. No?”

She nodded her head, not trusting her voice as she wiped her tears. “I’ll sit, Airen but promise me you will stay.”

He bounced his head, thinking about her request. “I can only stay for so long Qizi. I will see what I can do.”

She sighed, not truly accepting that as an answer. “I will do as husband wants.” Then she returned to her seat, mournful.

Kaede and a brown haired girl of Chinese descent looked at the situation with observant eyes. They could speak and understand Chinese so for Ku Fei to call him husband was a big deal.

Sage patted Ku’s back then asked, “Do anyone else wants one on one time with Negi before questions are asked?”

Then from the back, Zazie walked up to Sage and gave her a big hug. She patted the silent girl’s back then watched as she sat back in her seat. “Okay, anyone wants one on one time with Negi and I?” She corrected herself.

This time no one stood up so she pointed at the red head. “Go ahead and ask your questions now.”

The reported turned on her recorder then announced, “Hello Mahora Academy! This is ace reporter Asakura Kazumi and I have the new scoop for you! Our class, 3-A, have two new teachers and they are around the same age as us. Luckily they are willing to answer our questions!”

She pointed the recorder towards the twins. “Let’s start with the first set of questions! What is your full name? How old are you? Where are you from? And are you single?”

Sage answered first, “My name is Sage Mira Springfield.” She slipped by saying her name the western way. “I am 16 years old and was born in Wales, United Kingdom. Yes, I am single.”

She turned to Negi, who was still leaning over the podium. “My name is Springfield Mira Negi. We do share the same middle name. I am 16 years old and was born in Wales. No, I am not single. Before you ask, Sage and I are twins.”

Takamichi suppressed his reaction. ‘16?’ he thought, ‘They only supposed to be ten! I know he stated something about a time formation but six extra years? I have to talk to Konoe-sama about this.’

Kazumi smiled at the information then grilled them. “How did you become teachers? How many students do you know? What is your relationship with Ku Fei?” Now this was a question everyone wanted to know, even the older man.

Negi rolled his jaw and let Sage answer this. “We became teachers to grow closer to people our age, after all we graduated much earlier than most. We know quite a few of our students due to family connections. For example, our youngest sister is friends with Zazie and it surprised us to see so many familiar faces.” Her eyes flickered to a dark skinned student with long black hair. “Ku Fei is family to us. Through her tribe’s traditions and our own preferences, we just haven't seen her for a long time.”

The redhead wasn't convinced. “If you are family then why did she hug Negi and not you?”

Negi spoke up, “Sage was deathly ill. We came out of a bad situation and I wanted to make sure she was okay. Once the villagers let us borrow a hut, they basically never saw her. I was the one who interacted with them on a daily basis. I think Ku Fei realized I had a sister within the last month of us staying with them due to Sage finally gaining the strength to walk.”

Kazumi looked at Sage then back at Negi. “I think this concludes the interview, for now.” She turned off the recorder then sat back in her seat.

The twins looked at her with humor. Their story, while strange, was not the exciting tale she wanted to hear.

“Any other questions?” They asked in unison, this time their eyes were focused on Kaede and the tall girl with long black hair.

Kaede grinned at them, not bothered by their stares while the other girl bristled. She growled, “Why are you here? Beyond us being the worst the class.” Her eyes flashed gold. “Why are you my teacher?”

Negi stared at her, a reminiscent and slightly haunting stare. “Hello Mana. Other than this class being the worst in studies, significantly so in English, we were told to be here.” He raised his hand, halting her response. “This was negotiated between Mahora Academy, Meridiana Academy and… the Grand Elder of the European Education Board.”

The last phrase was special. If the person hearing the phase was a mage that passed any form mage education, they would know it stands for the Grand Oracle of Central Mage Union. The code worked by stating which ‘elder’ was involved in the mission the describing which branch. European Education Board is a code for the Central Mage Council. However, councils do not have grand mages or oracles, leading them to believe it is the higher ranking organization such as the Central Mage Union.

The country or continent must fall into five quadrants: central, north, west, east, or south. The code was created to inform ally mages that if the mission fails they must send a message to the corresponding faction.

Takamichi hummed in thought. He knew that an oracle gave Negi this mission but it surprised him that the highest level oracle was the one to send him the mission. Usually it that means if the mission fails it will have a permanent consequence on Earth and the Magic World. Yet, somehow two teenages retreved a mission of that magnitude.

Mana clenched her teeth. Despite the hatred in her heart she will wait for him to finish his

mission, then she will get revenge.

An awkward silence filled the room. The students without ties to the magic world did not understand the weight of his words and wondered why Takahata looked like he was worried. The students with heavy ties to the magical world started to sweat. They shared discreet glances at each other, seeing fear in each other’s eyes.

Sage clapped, breaking the silence. “Well class is about to be over and lets be real. We can handle a class of 31 students; may not be the easiest job but we can do it. If we did not have the ability to do it then the Grand Elder would not have given us the job.”

Negi bumped her shoulder, smiling at her confidence. “If Sage says we will be fine, then we will be.”

Takamichi chuckled. “I believe in you. You two have a fire inside of your soul.” He looked back at his former class. “I hope you will treat them well. They will do anything to see all of you succeed.” Then he left. He had nothing else to say or do there. All he had to do now was find out Negi’s history.

The bell rang loud and clear, informing them class was over. The students quickly gathered into groups and started gossiping about the events played before them.

While the attention was off the twins, Negi approached Ku Fei. He bent down and whispered, “Come to the forest after school, the eastern side. There will be a path and I’ll be waiting there.” He patted her shoulder then left the class with Sage.

He looked at his sister then asked, “What day is it?”

She gave him a deadpan stare and muttered, “Wednesday. We have four more days of this. As the flipping new teachers.”

“Oh no.”