Eh?! Why's Negi-sensei looking at me?!
As Negi carried out the reading of the class list, the woman currently sitting in the fourth seat (counted from the right as seen from the teacher's desk) in the fifth row (counted from the row closest to the teacher's desk) was busy tapping some personal notes into her laptop for later inclusion at her homepage when she got back to the dooms and away from her classmates. She kept her ear tuned as Negi read off the list. She knew her place on the class list. When Hakase Satomi's name was called out, she knew she would be next.
Yet still . . .
"Naba Chizuru-san?"
"Hai, Negi-sensei."
Did I do something wrong?
Quickly thinking about it, Hasegawa Chisame then shook her head. No, she went very much out of her way to keep her nose out of the weird things that often haunted her more free-spirited classmates. And yes, while she did currently possess a probationary contract with the young sorcerer from Wales -- the magical card with her name in Latin script was in her breast pocket -- she wasn't inclined to go out and actually seek trouble.
"Narutaki Fuuka-san?"
"Hai, Negi-sensei!"
It couldn't have been anything concerning her homepage. Chisame knew Negi was a fan of her Internet alter ego, although he didn't leave any messages in the chat room page whenever he did look in on things. Being a Net idol like Chiu could, if things went certain ways, open doors for Chisame that the general public agreed should never be opened, so she never surrendered to temptation.
"Narutaki Fumika-san?"
"Hai desu!"
Chisame then grinned as she remembered something. When she did get old enough, she would do some things that would have cultural conservatives rip their hair out of her head.
"Hakase Satomi-san?"
"Hai, Sensei!"
Only for her husband, of course.
Her dear wild horse . . .
"Saotome Chisame-san?"
"Hai!" Chisame called out automatically.
Silence.
"Eh?!"
She jolted, her eyes instantly sensing the surprised stares from all her classmates. Looking wildly around the room for a second, she then paused as she remembered what Negi had called her when he got to her point in the roll call. Taking a deep breath, she then stood up, placing her hands on the desk. "Negi-sensei, I thought we agreed not to have me called that at this time!" she said as she gave Negi a knowing look.
Negi returned her look with a smile. "Gomen, Chisame-san. But given that Nabiki-san called me earlier to tell me your husband's back in Japan . . . "
That did it. "EH?!" everyone screamed out.
"Ranma-dono's returned?!" Nagase Kaede gasped.
"He's finished his training trip?" Sakurazaki Setsuna pondered.
"When?!" Sasaki Makie wondered.
"Is Ranma-kun coming here?" Konoe Konoka asked.
"Oh, at last! Now we can start to prepare for Ranma-san's and Chisame-san's REAL wedding!" Yukihiro Ayaka, ever the romantic, swooned as she clapped her hands in delight. While the civil ceremony everyone had held for the newlyweds in December -- this had been done on the private island Ayaka's family owned; it had been Konoka's grandfather (as head of the Kantou Magical Association) who had officiated -- had demonstrated a lot of passion between them, it still lacked the romantic touch a real wedding ceremony presented.
"That's right," Saotome Haruna -- who wasn't a near relation of Chisame's husband, of course (which she privately went to her knees and thanked all the kami for every night!) -- said with a nod and a raised finger to emphasise her point. "I'm still working on the wedding dress design!"
Everyone burst out laughing, even Chisame (whose cheeks were now bright red; she had seen some of Paru's earlier "ideas" for a wedding dress). "Wait a minute!" Asakura Kazumi called out. "Why did Nabiki-sempai get told first?"
Negi blinked, and then he balked as he remembered what else Nabiki had told him earlier. As panic crossed his face, he then glanced once more at Chisame. The computer expert/Net idol was quick to see his look, and then she sighed. "I'll worry about it later, Asakura," she said. "We got classes first."
Everyone looked at her, and then they relaxed as people took their places. Negi stared at her for a moment, and then he breathed out before turning back to his nominal roll to call out Evangeline McDowell's name . . .
Sometime later . . .
"WHAT?!"
Chisame looked as if Saotome Genma had appeared out of nowhere to punch her hard in the gut, and then leave her behind on the streets to be run over.
Those sitting close to her -- the others who had probationary contracts with Negi; Evangeline and her current ministra magi, Karakuri Chachamaru; many of the others from Class 3-A and several other teachers -- didn't blame the poor woman for the shock she currently felt.
"Can he do that to Chisame-san?" Akashi Yuuna asked before she turned to stare at her father. Everyone was meeting at the Chao Bao Zi yatai, which was currently located in the plaza close to the World Tree. "Dad?"
A deep breath as he crossed his arms and shook his head. "He could push it once he learns how young Chisame-kun is, Yuuna," he then said. "Traditionally, the husband is head of family. While Ranma-kun's mother is quite supportive of their marriage, would she go against her husband in this case?"
The others hummed. "She would if she had known about this damned thing with the Tendous," Chisame said as she rubbed her forehead. "I even asked her if Anata . . . " -- hearing her call Ranma by the traditional title a wife used for one's husband, most of the girls swooned with envy -- " . . . had anyone else he might have liked. This was just before we went to the island for Koochou-san to marry us. She didn't tell me a thing."
"Saotome-san did strike me as the type who wanted grandkids real bad," Ayase Yue noted before she took a sip of Last Elixir.
"Hai, that is true," Miyazaki Nodoka affirmed with a nod; she had once scanned Saotome Nodoka's mind with her Diarium Ejus to see what sort of mother she was. While the elder Nodoka was very traditional -- and, yes, wanting to have little ones to dote over -- she did turn out to be a caring and loving mother who also wanted the best for her son. And while Hasegawa Chisame was certainly no traditional girl by far, Ranma's mother couldn't deny how much he did love her and had given her blessings to their marriage right away.
"So if Ranma-kun winds up engaged to one of the Tendou girls . . .?" Makie began to ask.
"His mother might go for it since having Ranma-kun marry someone of his age or older wouldn't be as embarrassing as marrying someone who's still a year under the legal limit," Takahata Takamichi noted before he slurped his ramen.
Evangeline closed her eyes. "If she does that, I'll Lightning Axe the bitch!" she hissed so softly, only Chachamaru could hear her. "You need to be blind to not see how much Chiu and the booya love each other."
Chachamaru nodded. "Agreed, Master. Ranma-san and Chisame-san do make a very lovely couple."
That had been loud enough for Chisame to hear; the gynoid's words instantly made the computer expert's cheeks go tomato-red. "Would the Tendou sisters actually want this?" Satomi asked.
Eyes locked on Nodoka. "Hon'ya-chan?" Kagurazaka Asuna prompted.
The shy bookworm shook her head. "If this was before that awful attack on Kasumi-sempai by those hoodlums -- the one Ranma-san stopped -- it might have turned out that way. But not now. They did support Ranma-san and Chisame-san marrying; they were there at the ceremony."
The others nodded. Haruna reached over to squeeze Chisame's shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry, Chisame-chan. We'll make sure you get your hubby back."
Chisame blinked, and then she nodded. "Thanks, Paru."
As people broke up to return to classes . . .
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(Posted Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:16)
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