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Pen Pal
By squallwis04
Rated: T
Rated: T
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.
Chapter 6
"Surprise Correspondence"
"Surprise Correspondence"
A day passed...then two days...then three.
All the while, Haruna couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty that lingered in the back of her mind about Jai knowing about the haunted house beforehand.
'And come to think of it, in all his other letters, he sort of knew what was going on...' she mused, though the most he did was mention about her friends peeking behind her as she read each letter. Haruna felt that it was something more than just that, however...
...it felt like something much, much bigger was afoot. 'But what the heck could it be?'
It was a wonder she was able to keep up with all the work everyone was doing, what with such a distraction weighing on her mind. The Festival was only a couple days away, and their class haunted house was still only about half done, even with Negi-sensei helping, and everyone working well past midnight.
Nodoka approached her friend during lunch one day. "You seem sort of uneasy, Paru...anything the matter?"
"W-who me? I'm just fine, just fine. See?" Haruna answered, laughing exaggeratedly.
The librarian nodded pensively. "Well, if you say so. Are you sure? You can talk to me, or Yue, or Konoka if-"
Haruna waved her off. "Nah, it's nothing. Probably just a little tired, that's all. Come on, let's have lunch at Satsuki-chan's place!" And she dashed off towards the famous food stand of one of their classmates.
Nodoka frowned a bit in worry, and then shrugged before joining her.
It was after class, and Haruna was hastily getting her things in order. She had been given the night off from haunted house duty, as she needed to finish her manga for a deadline.
'And it's not helping I have such a thing to worry about,' Haruna thought, exasperated. She almost just stuffed everything in her bag, when she noticed something sticking out of the side. Her curiosity turned to shock when she pulled out two white envelopes with cursive handwriting in front.
Relatively few other people were in the classroom – only Kaede Nagase, Setsuna and Konoka – so only they were the ones who heard her shriek in surprise.
"Paru! What is it?" Konoka asked urgently as she neared a stunned Haruna, with the other two following closely behind. The bespectacled girl was holding two white envelopes.
One was labeled "Haruna Saotome – (do not panic; please open and read as soon as you get to your dorm room)"
The other one read "Konoka Konoe, Kaede Nagase, Setsuna Sakurazaki – (please open and read amongst just yourselves...though could you also please help Paru to her dorm room? Thanks)".
The three other classmates looked at each other in astonishment, Kaede and Setsuna more so.
"Paru, how did you get these?" Konoka asked, but Haruna only gave her a confused look and shrugged, and then held out the one envelope marked with three names.
Konoka gingerly took it from her, and the three went into a huddle in one corner of the room, talking in hushed tones. Haruna didn't hear, however; she was still staring in disbelief at the remaining letter in her hand.
Soon afterwards, they approached her again. "You gave us quite a scare, Haruna-san. Now come on," Kaede said softly, "it seems you have some reading to do."
The initial shock was starting to wear off, but Haruna was still as confused as before. "This isn't funny! What the hell is going on, Konoka? You had better tell me, or else..."
The other library club member interjected. "Whoa, there...it's not my fault, I swear! Why don't you let him explain?" She pointed to the letter Haruna still clutched.
"But-but that doesn't explain how I got these in the first place! Someone must've put them there, or...or-"
Setsuna clapped her on the shoulder. "That's quite a boyfriend you got, Paru."
Now, she was bewildered AND embarrassed. "W-what? S-S-Setsuna-san...?"
"Don't worry too much, Paru," Konoka said, leading her friend out of the classroom. "For now, let's get you to where you need to be, 'kay?"
And so Konoka, Kaede and Setsuna accompanied her all the way to her dorm room. Haruna was observing their behavior...while the other two were difficult to discern, Konoka was obviously trying hard to hide some happy emotion – and failing miserably. That was a good sign something sinister wasn't happening.
They made sure Haruna was settled; and before they left, Kaede said, "Just a little more patience, Haruna-san."
Then, she was alone.
That is, except for that letter.
"Well, Jai did say I should read it first thing I got here," Haruna said to nobody in particular, or rather, to herself. Despite all the assurances from her friends that all was going to be well, the whole chain of events was just...bizarre. Unless somebody was playing an elaborate trick on her, putting letters in her bag...
"Oh, what the heck!" She shook her head and tore open the envelope without a second thought.
Dearest Haruna,
First of all I am deeply and sincerely sorry for putting you through what must have been an extraordinary sequence of events just now, and in the days prior. While I do not doubt that you feel some sort of animosity towards an invisible prankster depositing things into your bag, I do assure you everyone in your class is innocent of such an act.
I realize the blunder in my last correspondence did not go unnoticed. I myself failed to detect – or rather, did not foresee it until it was too late. Understand that I have NOT lied to you in any of my letters. However, the information I have withheld from you thus far has been immense, and I feel that I have slighted you nonetheless.
I suppose I do owe you an explanation, seeing how upset you are. Unfortunately, it will be during the first day of the Mahora festival that I arrive in Japan; some pressing matters here in the Philippines have forced me to extend my stay for a while yet.
(On a lighter note, anime and cosplay have become quite popular here, especially among a fair amount of the youth; though I suppose this is doing little to assuage your concerns).
In any case, I have decided to reveal everything to you upon my return – everything you have been asking me; everything you need to know. It would be better face-to-face since these are rather delicate affairs we need to discuss...that, and I am much less formal in speaking.
I simply request your utmost patience in the meantime. Oh, and also your trust, if that is not too much to ask after all that had happened.
So after digesting the contents of this letter, I would want you to keep it, close your eyes, take a deep breath, count to three, and then start working on your manga. I guarantee you will feel much better.
And I would still like to read that manga, by the way, when I do get back.
Until we meet again personally, I remain
Very truly yours,
Jai Akira.
Haruna blinked, and then read the letter again. This one was much more serious than any before it. He did sound truly apologetic, and much sweeter, but there was just no humanly possible way that Jai was able to know all the things he was writing! Could he be a spy, or intelligence agent? Or a mind-reader of sorts? The Philippines was in Southeast Asia, right? That means he wasn't very far, and his next destination was Japan.
There was no mailing address written on the envelope interior, rather another cryptic message.
I will meet you for lunch. Do not worry about the venue.
Finally, Haruna just frowned and scratched her forehead. Things just kept getting more and more complicated. A million more questions popped into her mind as she tried to make sense of everything. 'It's a good thing I read a lot; someone with a lesser imagination might have exploded already,' she thought, so badly wanting to run out and look for Kaede, or Setsuna, or Konoka, and demand an explanation – they certainly seemed to know what was going on.
Instead, Haruna decided that there wasn't anything better to do than, like Konoka advised her, to hear it all from Jai himself. Sure, she was a little annoyed that he – as well as some of her classmates, apparently – was keeping secrets from her, but it was the excitement of knowing exactly what those secrets were that kept her from harboring any ill feelings.
She decided to wait for the first day of the Mahora festival. It would be an excruciating couple of days' wait, though.
So, she tucked the letter away in her desk with the others, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly counted to three.
And as she started to focus on working on her manga, Haruna realized that she DID feel a lot better.
"He said 'dearest Haruna'," she said to herself with a goofy smile, "and we're going on a date the moment he gets back."
All the while, Haruna couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty that lingered in the back of her mind about Jai knowing about the haunted house beforehand.
'And come to think of it, in all his other letters, he sort of knew what was going on...' she mused, though the most he did was mention about her friends peeking behind her as she read each letter. Haruna felt that it was something more than just that, however...
...it felt like something much, much bigger was afoot. 'But what the heck could it be?'
It was a wonder she was able to keep up with all the work everyone was doing, what with such a distraction weighing on her mind. The Festival was only a couple days away, and their class haunted house was still only about half done, even with Negi-sensei helping, and everyone working well past midnight.
Nodoka approached her friend during lunch one day. "You seem sort of uneasy, Paru...anything the matter?"
"W-who me? I'm just fine, just fine. See?" Haruna answered, laughing exaggeratedly.
The librarian nodded pensively. "Well, if you say so. Are you sure? You can talk to me, or Yue, or Konoka if-"
Haruna waved her off. "Nah, it's nothing. Probably just a little tired, that's all. Come on, let's have lunch at Satsuki-chan's place!" And she dashed off towards the famous food stand of one of their classmates.
Nodoka frowned a bit in worry, and then shrugged before joining her.
It was after class, and Haruna was hastily getting her things in order. She had been given the night off from haunted house duty, as she needed to finish her manga for a deadline.
'And it's not helping I have such a thing to worry about,' Haruna thought, exasperated. She almost just stuffed everything in her bag, when she noticed something sticking out of the side. Her curiosity turned to shock when she pulled out two white envelopes with cursive handwriting in front.
Relatively few other people were in the classroom – only Kaede Nagase, Setsuna and Konoka – so only they were the ones who heard her shriek in surprise.
"Paru! What is it?" Konoka asked urgently as she neared a stunned Haruna, with the other two following closely behind. The bespectacled girl was holding two white envelopes.
One was labeled "Haruna Saotome – (do not panic; please open and read as soon as you get to your dorm room)"
The other one read "Konoka Konoe, Kaede Nagase, Setsuna Sakurazaki – (please open and read amongst just yourselves...though could you also please help Paru to her dorm room? Thanks)".
The three other classmates looked at each other in astonishment, Kaede and Setsuna more so.
"Paru, how did you get these?" Konoka asked, but Haruna only gave her a confused look and shrugged, and then held out the one envelope marked with three names.
Konoka gingerly took it from her, and the three went into a huddle in one corner of the room, talking in hushed tones. Haruna didn't hear, however; she was still staring in disbelief at the remaining letter in her hand.
Soon afterwards, they approached her again. "You gave us quite a scare, Haruna-san. Now come on," Kaede said softly, "it seems you have some reading to do."
The initial shock was starting to wear off, but Haruna was still as confused as before. "This isn't funny! What the hell is going on, Konoka? You had better tell me, or else..."
The other library club member interjected. "Whoa, there...it's not my fault, I swear! Why don't you let him explain?" She pointed to the letter Haruna still clutched.
"But-but that doesn't explain how I got these in the first place! Someone must've put them there, or...or-"
Setsuna clapped her on the shoulder. "That's quite a boyfriend you got, Paru."
Now, she was bewildered AND embarrassed. "W-what? S-S-Setsuna-san...?"
"Don't worry too much, Paru," Konoka said, leading her friend out of the classroom. "For now, let's get you to where you need to be, 'kay?"
And so Konoka, Kaede and Setsuna accompanied her all the way to her dorm room. Haruna was observing their behavior...while the other two were difficult to discern, Konoka was obviously trying hard to hide some happy emotion – and failing miserably. That was a good sign something sinister wasn't happening.
They made sure Haruna was settled; and before they left, Kaede said, "Just a little more patience, Haruna-san."
Then, she was alone.
That is, except for that letter.
"Well, Jai did say I should read it first thing I got here," Haruna said to nobody in particular, or rather, to herself. Despite all the assurances from her friends that all was going to be well, the whole chain of events was just...bizarre. Unless somebody was playing an elaborate trick on her, putting letters in her bag...
"Oh, what the heck!" She shook her head and tore open the envelope without a second thought.
Dearest Haruna,
First of all I am deeply and sincerely sorry for putting you through what must have been an extraordinary sequence of events just now, and in the days prior. While I do not doubt that you feel some sort of animosity towards an invisible prankster depositing things into your bag, I do assure you everyone in your class is innocent of such an act.
I realize the blunder in my last correspondence did not go unnoticed. I myself failed to detect – or rather, did not foresee it until it was too late. Understand that I have NOT lied to you in any of my letters. However, the information I have withheld from you thus far has been immense, and I feel that I have slighted you nonetheless.
I suppose I do owe you an explanation, seeing how upset you are. Unfortunately, it will be during the first day of the Mahora festival that I arrive in Japan; some pressing matters here in the Philippines have forced me to extend my stay for a while yet.
(On a lighter note, anime and cosplay have become quite popular here, especially among a fair amount of the youth; though I suppose this is doing little to assuage your concerns).
In any case, I have decided to reveal everything to you upon my return – everything you have been asking me; everything you need to know. It would be better face-to-face since these are rather delicate affairs we need to discuss...that, and I am much less formal in speaking.
I simply request your utmost patience in the meantime. Oh, and also your trust, if that is not too much to ask after all that had happened.
So after digesting the contents of this letter, I would want you to keep it, close your eyes, take a deep breath, count to three, and then start working on your manga. I guarantee you will feel much better.
And I would still like to read that manga, by the way, when I do get back.
Until we meet again personally, I remain
Very truly yours,
Jai Akira.
Haruna blinked, and then read the letter again. This one was much more serious than any before it. He did sound truly apologetic, and much sweeter, but there was just no humanly possible way that Jai was able to know all the things he was writing! Could he be a spy, or intelligence agent? Or a mind-reader of sorts? The Philippines was in Southeast Asia, right? That means he wasn't very far, and his next destination was Japan.
There was no mailing address written on the envelope interior, rather another cryptic message.
I will meet you for lunch. Do not worry about the venue.
Finally, Haruna just frowned and scratched her forehead. Things just kept getting more and more complicated. A million more questions popped into her mind as she tried to make sense of everything. 'It's a good thing I read a lot; someone with a lesser imagination might have exploded already,' she thought, so badly wanting to run out and look for Kaede, or Setsuna, or Konoka, and demand an explanation – they certainly seemed to know what was going on.
Instead, Haruna decided that there wasn't anything better to do than, like Konoka advised her, to hear it all from Jai himself. Sure, she was a little annoyed that he – as well as some of her classmates, apparently – was keeping secrets from her, but it was the excitement of knowing exactly what those secrets were that kept her from harboring any ill feelings.
She decided to wait for the first day of the Mahora festival. It would be an excruciating couple of days' wait, though.
So, she tucked the letter away in her desk with the others, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly counted to three.
And as she started to focus on working on her manga, Haruna realized that she DID feel a lot better.
"He said 'dearest Haruna'," she said to herself with a goofy smile, "and we're going on a date the moment he gets back."
