...You Still Have Me

[fanservicesnegi.livejournal.com]

She'd heard some rumors, but she wanted it confirmed. Asuna wanted to make sure she hadn't received false information before acquiring more evidence to the cause.

The best way to get that information? From her sensei, naturally. After looking for him all around the bus - and not finding a trace of him - she went to the only other place where he might be at. The Sensoriums. She'd wanted to stop by the last time he'd been there but had been otherwise preoccupied.

Konoka, then Setsuna...one by one, people she personally knew were being repodded and now...!

"Oi - baka Negi! You in here?!" Asuna made her way inside the area carefully, not expecting the place to look exactly like it had before...but really not expecting it to look like the entirety of Mahora at all!

Comments

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

Negi was there, and he had created a replica of the classroom where he was sitting on his desk, looking at ghostly shapes of his class that were chatting animatedly, but the sound was off. "Hi," he said, looking over at Asuna. He smiled, relieved that she was still there. "I just had to do some thinking."

[fanservicesnegi.livejournal.com]

"...She's been repodded too, hasn't she?" Asuna asked after a moment of staring at the images of her class - Yue, Class Rep, even Konoka and Setsuna...though it was seeing Nodoka there that prompted her to sigh lightly.

"You're still a lucky kid, especially after all you've been through and put us through. You know that, right?"

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"I know." Turning to look at Asuna he smiled lightly, if faintly. "I was lucky to have met mother. She wasn't the perfect mother, no one is. But she lived up to my expectations as one."

He rubbed his head. "To think that we could be reunited here, on Stacy even for a short time. I'm glad to have met her."

[fanservicesnegi.livejournal.com]

Asuna nodded, certain memories of Negi's mother finally having come back to her when she was younger - they hadn't all resurfaced, but some of them had. And she was pleased that they were good ones.

"And here I thought I was gonna have to talk you outta emo world, baka Negi...!"

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

Negi blushed, bowing his head and rubbing the back of it. "I had considered doing so. But it would be counter productive."

"I won't lie and say I'm not upset. It's... just I treasure all of the time spent with everyone. That includes the repodded."

[fanservicesnegi.livejournal.com]

'Counter productive...' If he didn't use big words, he wouldn't be Negi.

Looking over at an image of herself, much to her surprise, Asuna literally sat in her seat and nodded solemnly. "Don't get too upset, then. You've still got a lot of time to spend with people who aren't repodded. That includes me, too..."

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Yeah." Negi smiled and it was a little brighter than his calm expression had been. A sign that he wasn't taking it as hard as he once did when he realized Yue and Chao were gone as quickly as they had come.

"I can't do this alone, which is why you're with me, right?"

[fanservicesnegi.livejournal.com]

"Right...!" Asuna smiled herself, slightly surprised but pleased that Negi finally seemed to be taking her advice.

"I'm not going anywhere, so there's no need for you to be upset - got it, baka Negi?"

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

Negi smiled, nodding. "That's why we're partners. Cause I care for you and you care about me, right?"

It was quite honestly, brutal honesty, something that endeared him to her.

[fanservicesnegi.livejournal.com]

"Right...!" Asuna stood up at that moment, walked over to Negi's desk and eyed her sensei with a confident look; no hair ruffling from this girl, even if her fellow classmates weren't actually there!

"So, what's the deal with that card game I heard you playing last time you were here? Sounded like a lot of fun!"

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Ah, it was just me trying to have some fun," said Negi as he held out his hand and an Advent Deck appeared in his hand. "Remember the show that Kotarou-kun and I watch all the time? Kamen Rider? I was playing at being one of them."

[fanservicesnegi.livejournal.com]

"...You? A Kamen Rider?" Asuna found the thought to be rather amusing, but instead commented with, "Anything can happen, and knowing you it probably will."

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"In the sensoriums anything's possible," said Negi with a rub of his head. "Seems kinda silly doesn't it? I mean, even without Phillip's permission Devlin and I got to taste the power once."

He thrust out his hand holding the deck and a belt materialized around his waist. "It's not like anything can't happen in here, right?"