Alternate storyline that starts during the Kyoto fieldtrip. While Negi and Asuna are away, someone challenges Haruna to the card videogame...ParuOC POSSIBLE SPOILERS! Character piece. First of its kind, I guess, and a bit experimental.
It was later in the evening. Jai and Haruna had gone around enjoying the festival a little after the incident with Negi and Asuna. The others had, as Jai had put it, "somewhere to go", so they had some time to themselves.
At the moment, they were having tea, and talking about said incident. "So it was because of the World Tree that Negi-sensei was acting like a kissing monster?" Paru asked, keeping her voice down to avoid prying ears, especially in case Asuna was around.
Jai nodded, "That's why a lot of them are on patrol. There's so much magic power that even a seemingly harmless request could become an incantation."
"So that means...Asuna requested...she wanted...that? Oh my gosh, I was right to think she's in the running!"
He laughed. "Not exactly; it was actually Nodoka-san's request, but somehow was transferred to Asuna-san."
Haruna stood in surprise. "What?! Nodoka did?"
"Don't act so shocked; you were the one who was pushing her, might I remind you," He stated matter-of-factly.
She sat back down. "It's just...I didn't expect her to really go through with it. Nodoka is just so fun to tease about Negi-sensei."
Jai took a sip of his black tea. "Just like your classmates teased you sometime back, huh?"
"Please, don't remind me," Paru replied wearily, remembering when she was the center of attention after the class fieldtrip. But then she gave a start, suddenly becoming apprehensive. "Oh, right! Y'see, I was meaning to ask, uh, well...aside from being a wizard, you said you're also a prince? I mean, that wasn't a joke, right?"
"One thing you should remember," Jai said, his demeanor becoming serious, but still gentle, "as a seer, I cannot tell a lie. I can express my opinion instead, or I can choose to hide the truth and not say anything, but I can never distort it."
"Uh...okay," Paru was a little taken aback, but nodded.
His expression then returned to the usual. "Thank you. As for your question, yes, I am considered a prince. My mother is the High Seer of a small acropolis in the Himalayas Mountains; she's regarded as a princess, or rather now the queen."
She was awestruck. "That's so awesome! So your hometown is in the Himalayas? What about the rest of your family?"
"Actually, I was born and raised in Mundus Magicus, or the Magic World. Foreseeing is passed down in our family, from mother to child. Travelling to this world in the Himalayas, which began generations before, was either supposedly to protect the power or as part of a vision long ago, but now I suppose it's more of tradition than anything."
Paru stopped him, but she was even more excited now. "Wait, wait...slow down! I'm trying to process all of this...so you're from the Magic World? And does that mean our children won't be able to see the future like you can?"
Jai smiled. "Our children?"
Haruna caught her mistake, and suddenly went as red as a tomato. "W-wha?! D-did I say...I-I-I mean your..."
He laughed. "You're so cute. Anyway, yes. Most wizards are from Mundus Magicus. As for my family, I have two younger sisters...twins. They're staying with mother in Tibet. My dad is a mage, and an explorer; right now he's in a South African desert, though he'll be going home soon."
Haruna's thrill was now tempered by embarrassment at her earlier slip. Still she managed a "that's nice".
"Well, it's about time we went elsewhere. Let's continue our talk on the way, shall we?" Jai said. And with that, they stood and left.
'This actually feels nice,' Haruna thought to herself, clutching a stuffed panda bear as they started walking. Jai was good at all the carnival games, and had won that for her at one of them. He was pleasant company, and always knew precisely what to do...
But of course...he could see the future.
Jai spoke. "As for your question about foreseeing, unfortunately, only my sisters' children will inherit the power. You can say that it is a rather fickle ability."
After a pause, Haruna requested. "Tell me what tomorrow will be like."
"That's rather vague," Jai replied, "Anyway, my answer is that I can, but I probably won't."
Haruna arched an eyebrow. "Eh? Why not?"
"No seer's powers are truly perfect; no vision is absolute. For the future as we see it to become reality, we shouldn't interfere. There are some variations to this principle, especially for some particular seers, but that's the general idea."
"I...don't quite get it..."
"Let me put it this way..." he said. They were walking on a bridge, and paused to look over the side. "What if I told you that you were going to bump into someone and push her over this bridge and into the river below?"
"Well, if it's someone I don't like, I'd probably push them anyway," Haruna said, chuckling a bit.
"And if I said it was Nodoka you'll push into the river?"
She recoiled at that. "Well then, I'll make sure it doesn't happen."
"And so the future I told you that should happen, ended up not happening after all. Does that make sense?"
Haruna took a moment to think about it. "I guess it does...but then what happens to your prediction?"
They resumed walking as Jai spoke. "It's really not 'predicting' anything. I can actually see the future, parts of it anyway, and anything I do can cause what I see to change, such that my previous visions might end up being utterly useless. Even simply telling other people could alter something."
She frowned. "Doesn't that make acting on your visions kinda pointless, then? What about that student you helped with her phone?"
"Ah, that. I first said that somebody else will get the phone; then after a while, I said that she'll be able to get it, remember?"
"Yeah, you did say that!" Haruna exclaimed, recalling the event. "Wow, talk about fickle. But did you know what will happen when you told her? I mean, did everything change? What about your mom or sisters, or others who can also see the future? You must be causing a lot of disturbances for them."
He smiled again. Paru thought it was sort of annoying, the way he always had an answer, had an idea. Then again, she found it reassuring...not to mention charming. "The vast majority of seers in the entire history of the power only have visions of large-scale or far-off events, as in years or decades away; thus foreseeing is usually considered a vague ability, and useful only in some situations. Very, very few are good at actually being able to pick out details and see into the near future – in terms of weeks or days, or even minutes and seconds."
Haruna looked somewhat confused, but pressed on, "And you're one of those, uh, what's the term?"
"Aberrant, rare, unusual," Jai replied. "I inherited it from my mom; she's good at everything. My sisters are more of far-seers. And as for me disturbing them, they just stay at home and meditate almost all the time, not doing anything themselves, so they probably can foresee exactly what I'm doing and what repercussions there will be. In my case, the ability is particularly tricky since if I concentrate enough, I am able to see several possible near-futures, the possible consequences of what I do, or of what I plan to do. Only one eventuality actually occurs, though, and there is no foolproof way of knowing other than 'by feel', which is why I have been training a lot over the years. Sometimes I still do mess up, or miss a few details, like when I made that mistake in one of my letters."
Haruna looked completely lost; apparently all this was too much even for her imagination to handle. Jai laughed. "I am sorry if I got you confused. Don't worry; even most wizards can't get their heads around the whole concept. Let's just call it fickle, and leave it at that." .
They stopped at a bench, where Jai sat and motioned Paru to do the same. It was almost seven o'clock in the evening. The Mahora Martial Arts Preliminary had begun not long ago, but Paru didn't feel up to watching right now, saying she'd had enough excitement for a day.
Jai shrugged. "Tomorrow will be more interesting anyway, it's not like you'll be missing much tonight."
It was at that point two youths walked nearby. "It might be a good idea to get some rest before the tournament," one of them said, a voice Haruna recognized.
"Negi!" It was Jai who called out first.
The 10-year old turned, but seemed only mildly surprised. "Jai! I was wondering when you'd show up. This is the fourth time through after all, like you said."
His companion was going to say something, but another voice blurted out from Negi's shoulder, "Is that really Jai? What the heck're you doing here?"
The seer nodded in acknowledgement. "That, Albert, is for me to know. Easy there, Paru," he said, putting a hand on Haruna's shoulder. The girl was just about to scream about a talking ermine, but then instead just wordlessly pointed at Chamo, while slowly looking towards Jai for an explanation.
"Yes, that is a talking ermine. Don't get too close, however, he could be dangerous at times," Jai replied with a cunning grin.
Chamo retorted, "Hey! Who are you calling dangerous..."
"Oh, uh, yeah, Negi-sensei. I also know about you being a wizard and all," she answered casually.
Negi went white. "Y-you do?! But, I mean, how did...?"
Jai interrupted, "I told her, Negi, and so did Takamichi. It's okay."
The teacher seemed to calm down a bit. "Oh, Takamichi did too? Um, if you say so," he then turned to Haruna and bowed. "I'm sorry if you feel like I've been lying to you..."
She waved off his apology. "No problem, sensei. I got that line too from Konoka earlier. I feel like all this stuff about magic and seeing the future and wizards still hasn't really sunk in, to be honest. And I understand about keeping secrets like that from the famous rumormonger of 3-A." That last she said with a haughty tone.
"But your reporter friend knows," Chamo piped in impishly.
"Asakura? Wow, the list of girls I need to talk to just keeps getting longer. But you know, with all that has been happening, I'm not so surprised anymore," Paru said. "Also the class rep?"
Negi shook his head, "Not quite yet, as far as I know."
"Oh, okay. Anyway, sensei, how do you know Jai-kun?"
Negi brightened at that. "We go way back, like with Takamichi," he replied. "I didn't see Jai as much in Wales, though, since he was living off in...Tibet, was it?" Jai nodded in reply at that. "Anyway, he would visit sometimes with his dad, and tell us about seeing the future, among other things. I do remember asking what I'd get for Christmas one time, but he wouldn't say."
Chamo scoffed. "He's a pain, that's for sure."
"I'm telling you not to steal those violet lingerie in the girls' dormitory later tonight, ermine," Jai simply stated.
"Hah! You think that's gonna stop me?" the ermine shot back, then spoke again after an awkward pause. "I mean, no, I have no plans of sneaking out tonight! Whaddaya mean?"
"In any case," Jai continued, ignoring Chamo, "you're being rather quiet, Kotarou Murakami."
The other boy, who had been just standing the whole time, flinched. "I'm, uh, just tired from the tournament, that's all."
Haruna was shocked at that. "Kids like you are allowed in the tournament? Well, I guess using magic gives people an advantage, huh. And you're taking lessons from Ku-Fei after all, sensei. Did you do well?"
Negi seemed excited. "Yeah, and many of the 3-A contestants made it through also. Only..." he then lost his earlier enthusiasm, and started becoming worried. "I'm gonna have to face Takamichi in tomorrow's match."
"Yeah, that'll be something," Chamo mumbled.
Kotarou clapped Negi on the back. "Hey, let's just do our best tomorrow, right? But for right now, how about getting some rest?"
Jai agreed. "True, you are pretty worn out. We won't keep you longer, just wanted to say hi."
"Just one more thing, though," Negi prompted, "what brings you to Mahora, Jai? And I'm surprised Haruna-san is with you."
The seer laughed. "It has been a long time since I've been here last. To take in the festival, I suppose. Haven't had this much fun in a while. And I admit I have been giving Paru some concerns over the past several weeks, and am now making up for them. Isn't that right?"
"Ah, okay then, as long as you're having fun," Negi and Kotarou seemed indifferent about the whole thing, but Chamo's eyes glinted. The ermine hopped off from Negi's shoulder and nudged Jai's foot. "O-ho, is that it? You two made a Pactio yet?"
Jai only raised a palm in the air, then made a motion as if pushing something down. Instantly, Chamo seemed to be getting flattened against the stone floor by a powerful force. "Urk...I-I give! Uncle! Staaaaahp!"
Jai put down his hand, and the ermine lay for a while panting, before scampering back up to Negi's shoulder. "See? He's a jerk!"
The boy teacher chuckled. "Haven't seen that gravity magic of yours in a long time, Jai, and I should say you probably had it coming, Chamo."
"I did have a good sensei after all," Jai answered, "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Negi, and Albert too I suppose. And nice to make your acquaintance, Inugami-kun."
Kotarou gave a start, while Negi began laughing.
"It's nothing," Jai casually quipped, addressing the wolf-boy, "ask Negi to explain it to you. Now off you two go. Rest easy, you hear? Tell Eva I said hi."
"Well, okay then, we'll see you guys tomorrow maybe," Negi said, then they left.
And it was just the two of them again.
Paru asked Jai, "Didn't you call that Kotarou kid 'Murakami' before? Is he related to Natsumi?"
"Eventually," Jai started, but then said instead, "or rather, it's an identity they're using so that he could stay at the dorms on campus. It's a long story how he got here. It seems he hasn't been very fortunate in the past, but it's good to see him getting some positive influence now."
She nodded, satisfied. "And that ermine was saying also something earlier about a...patio or something? What does that have to do with anything?"
"Basically, a Pactio is a provisional contract between a master, called 'Magister' or 'Magistra'," he said holding up one hand, "and a servant, called 'Minister' or 'Ministra'," he continued, holding up another hand. "The contract serves to transfer some of the master's power to the servant, granting magical abilities, usually via an artifact of some sort, and boosting the natural talents of the designated servant. Traditionally, it has been used in battle, as a means of support or protection for the 'Magister'."
"I see. Have you made any Pactio before?"
"No."
"If we make a Pactio, will I be able to do magic too?"
"Er, not exactly as you've just seen me do, but yes."
"Well then, I'm in! Let's make one!" Paru was becoming increasingly eager with each question.
"I'm not sure..." At the same time, Jai was becoming increasingly hesitant with each answer.
This made Paru curious, and also a little worried. "Is there a grave reason, a life-threatening consequence that might happen if we do make a Pactio?"
"...not really," he meekly replied. Paru silently thanked his inability to lie. At the same time, it was interesting to see him acting so shyly.
"Then tell me why, and I might drop the whole thing if that's what you want."
He was looking around, probably stalling for time, then said, "Knowing that there's a punch coming is different from actually getting punched."
Was she going to punch him? Paru was now getting slightly irritated despite herself. "I guess it's kind of like knowing the plot of a romance or fantasy novel being different from those things actually happening to yourself. Now, what is the matter?"
Jai closed his eyes for a few moments, then suddenly looked straight at her and asked, "Do you really want to do this?"
"You already know what I'm going to say to that."
"Then not here. Follow me," he said, taking her hand and moving purposefully down the walkway.
And here she was thinking she'd had enough excitement already.