Disclaimer: I do not own Negima or any of the characters from the anime or manga.

Chapter 1

"You're up early." Setsuna jumped out of her kata's current stance in surprise and immediately came back down in a ready stance, sword out in front, facing the person who'd just walked in on her exercises. "Any particular reason, or is the view of the sunrise just nice from here?"

Setsuna lowered her blade slowly when it registered in her mind who had walked in at her and looked the dark haired girl up and down. "Why did you come out here?"

"Normally it's polite to answer someone else's question before asking your own." Kaede said, her traditional grin not leaving her face. "But, I guess polite isn't your strong suit." Indeed it wasn't, in all the time Kaede had known Setsuna, polite was never the word she'd use to describe her, proper yes, polite no. "I heard you get up and leave and I noticed it wasn't even close to being day out. We don't have to leave for class in at least an hour. And you've been here for a while."

"I presume you've been watching me since then?" Setsuna asked, already knowing the answer. Kaede Nagase was one of the only people ever to consistently sneak up on her and, considering the girl was her current roommate, she had plenty of chances to do so.

Currently Kaede was dressed in her school uniform, obviously in preparation for later that day, leaning up against one of the many trees in the area. She was by far and away the tallest girl in the class, aside from Chachamaru, who really didn't count considering she didn't really grow. She also was fairly fit, with well muscled legs and arms and quite skinny.

"Nin-nin," Kaede said in what Setsuna guess was an assent. The girl used that word every now and again, always with her customary blank smile. It gave the odd feeling that there was nothing in her head, though that was far from the truth…even though she was not the best student in the class. The fact she was a baka-ranger showed this.

"I see." Setsuna sheathed her weapon with a sigh. Kaede wasn't the easiest person in the world to read. And for someone like Sakurazaki, who was used to sensing how others around her felt with ease, it made her more than a little uncomfortable. Yet that wasn't something new. Her entire current situation made her uncomfortable, Kaede being the least of her recent worries.

"Now are you going to answer my question, Sakurazaki-san? Or should I say, Se-Chan?" Nagase said, getting her point across without even having to emphasize the name Se-chan.

Setsuna tensed up at the words and glared at Kaede. The girl knew full well why she was up here; that was clear by her words alone. Sakurazaki often did her Shinmeiryuu exercises when she needed time to think and this morning was definitely one of those times.

'Se-chan', as she was called by Konoka, was built very differently than Kaede. Not the shortest girl in her class, she wasn't the tallest one either and though she was also muscular and skinner, it had an over all different effect than Kaede. Half of her hair was tied back in a pony tail, while the other half flowed freely; giving her a very threatening appearance indeed when combined with her other features.

"There's no need for that." Kaede said, referring to the look she was getting from Setsuna. She was one of the few people alive whom the look wouldn't frighten at the sight of.

"There's no need for you to stick your nose where it does not belong." Setsuna growled, still glaring at Kaede, showing just what she thought of the 'spy' in question.

"Nosey, me?" Kaede let out a small laugh and stood up, taking her back off of the tree, "Is that what you think of any one who's ever concerned with your well being. You are my classmate after all?" The girl moved forward now, towards the warrior, not seeming the least bit afraid of the armed, and quite dangerous, girl.

"There's no reason for you to be concerned." Setsuna said, trying end the conversation here and now, before it went any further, into realms she didn't want it to explore.

"Really?" Kaede asked, stopping in front of the black haired girl. "For some reason I don't believe that."

To tell the truth, Setsuna didn't believe it either. 'I thought I'd hidden it better,' She thought o herself, finally easing up her facial expression. "It's still none of your concern."

"Maybe not, but still, it sometimes helps to talk to other people about these things. Believe me, I should know."

"I doubt you understand even to the tiniest extent what I am feeling." Setsuna whispered. She wasn't even sure just how she was feeling. She'd felt so many different things after coming back from Kyoto and resuming her friendship with Konoka.

A friendship that, if anything, meant more to her now than it had before, especially after 'Ojou-sama' had seen her true form and actually not shown the slightest bit of disgust. In fact she'd actually found the sight of her, Setsuna, with wings to be beautiful. It was something she had never expected.

The wings, to Setsuna, had always been the greatest burden she'd had to bear, and the only one she had not willingly taken upon herself. She'd been ashamed by it, and by what it meant. She was in-pure, marred, and a freak. A beast, if one was so bold to call her that.

"You'd be surprised," Nagase said; sounding so smug and aloof that Setsuna debated whether or not cutting her down was a good idea. "I know you came up here to be alone, just as sometimes I go into the mountains to train just to be alone, rather than for the purposes I state. But I also know that, in the end, it's always better to talk to someone when you're bothered."

"Is that all you came up here to say?" Setsuna tapped her foot against the grass impatiently.

"Nah, I also came up here because I wasn't really tired. And I felt like I needed some exercise." Kaede eyed the sword in Setsuna's hands. "You do know that the best training comes from when you face a live, and skilled, opponent."

"Is that a challenge?" Setsuna asked, eying the girl standing in front of her, in a relaxed pose.

"An invitation," Kaede corrected as she slowly brought both hands in front of her, causing Setsuna to smirk, and draw her sword. She needed to release some of the tension she was feeling today, especially after what she'd promised Konoka the day before.