Chapter 3: Day.

The twins briskly walked away from the office, keeping their abilities and presence to nill. Their efforts worked as the employed loitering around the building did not notice the duo.

“I hate this place already.” Negi grumbled while avoiding the afternoon traffic. Apparently, all of Mahora’s streets were packed with people by this time.

Sage shrugged, dodging a stray elbow. “At least we know he was searching for us...you.”

He went silent and stayed like that until they reached the forest edge. There was a maintained road that led deeper into the woods. Halfway down the road was a fork one side had a ‘do not disturb’ sign in the middle of the path and the other was growing weeds.

They looked at the sign then at each other. “Broken road?” Sage questioned, kicking a rock towards the sign.

Negi smiled at her, amused by her antics. “Of course, stupid.”

They took a pleasant stroll down the path, observing how the road increasingly became worse the further they followed it. Eventually they found the cabin. It was actually large and seemed to been made for a family of six based off of sheer size. It looked relatively new and the only thing that revealed its age was a few vines growing on the walls.

Sage stepped up to the door and pushed at it; It silently opened an revealed a modern living room with the lights on. She stepped in to feel a strange sensation, as if her blood was on fire. She collapsed without noticed and clutched her chest. Her breath was shallow, rushed and forced.

“Sage!” Negi yelled then ran into the room. A burning sensation swallowed him but his adrenalin powered him through the pain. He pulled his sister to his chest and held her close. Tears came to his eyes; it was a mixture of pain and worry that created the tears.

Then it was gone as if it was an illusion. Negi looked around and saw they were standing on a magic formation. From what he could see it was created to judge the bloodline of the person standing on it. Rage filled his senses but he calmed down the moment Sage coughed. She was unconscious but physically fine.

He empowered his body with mana and lifted his sister. Staggering, he managed to find the bedroom and collapsed on it with Sage by his side. The exhaustion and softness engulfed his senses, then darkness.

“Negi. Are you okay? Negi!” He groaned as a response, his body felt like it was made of lead. He managed to open one eye to see his sister’s worried face.

He rolled over while mumbling, “Your roots are showing.”

She clutched her head, brushing her fingers against natural white hair. She frowned. “Oh well. We have a class to teach and we can’t afford to be late.”

“What time is it?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his flip phone, it read 0634. He chucked it towards Sage then whined, “It’s only 6. Let me sleep for awhile longer.”

She smacked his shoulder then stood from the bed. “This is Nagi’s temporary hideout.” She gestured to the pictures of a tall, redhead hanging from the wall. “I’m going to cook breakfast. Apparently, this place sits on a formation that alters time. Now that this place sees us as the owners, I changed the time to 1 hour out there to 3 in here.”

Negi sat up with an annoyed expression. “Then let me sleep longer.”

She smacked him again. “I did that like seven hours ago. You slept a total nineteen hours. I had to go outside and pick up our money and buy groceries. That took me like three hours. That means you were alone, sleeping for eight hours straight. I had to sit you up and slip soup down your throat.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

At that he sat up, suppressing the urge to scream. “What was the original setting on the house?”

She scratched her head, trying to remember the setting. “I think it was a ratio of 5 to 1. Nagi have been gone for ten years or so. This means the house only experience two years without being maintained. Before I woke up, ten hours have passed out there.”

“Hmm, interesting.” He replied, not engaging more in the topic.

After a brief silence, they started to prepare for the day. Negi found the bathroom and managed to take a long shower while Sage cooked breakfast. He exited the shower to let Sage in and ate his breakfast in silence. He looked around to see if there was anything else of Nagi’s in the house but he could only find the pictures in the bedroom. He did find a baby crib and a picture of blond haired lady but nothing else. He decided to never open that room as long as they stayed in the cottage.

Sage quickly dressed then gave Negi a nudge. “You know I can sense your emotions.”

He glanced her then muttered, “Sometimes I hate twin sense.”

She smiled. “Sometimes I hate having a depressing brother but I don’t complain about it.”

He shut his mouth then exited the house. The awful sensation he was feeling earlier have subsided and he was happy to breathe in the fresh air. Behind him, Sage changed the time on the formation. He knew she would be angry if they came back home and the food in the fridge spoiled.

They decided to not use magic and only used their enhanced bodies to rush to their class. They continued to suppress their presence, making it seem like a fast bird flying low rather than a human. It did not take long for them to reach the building and slip through the doors. Once inside they stopped suppressing their auras and walked around. Shortly after they done so, Takamichi greeted them.

“Hello Negi. Hello Sage. When did you come in? I didn't see you at the door.” He greeted with a grin.

Negi knew he was probing them so he went along with it. “We went through the front door. Someone opened the door and we followed them in.”

The gray haired man felt there was something more to the situation but did not push it. He knew he was already standing on thin ice with teens. “Let me show you your class.” He pulled out a cream folder and passed it to Sage, showing respect. “I compiled all the maps of the school and you class roster. The roster is the second page.”

She thanked him as she took the folder from his hands. She instantly flipped to the second page and was shocked by who were the students. Takamichi noticed then inquired, “Is something wrong?”

Negi leaned over Sage’s shoulder and read the class roster. After he read all the names he chuckled, mirth present in his voice. “Actually, we are familiar with quite a few of these students. Some are family friends.”

The older mage plaused for a moment, processing the data before going back in step with the twins. “Oh. That’s good. Maybe you can reach the troublemakers, they have a hard time with the studies.”

“How many times do I see them and how long is each course?” Negi asked.

“English is their second class of the day, so you teach at 9:40 until 10:30. Due to your special circumstances, we locked your class in the same time slot and you are highly recommended to watch other teachers. It may seem rude but the school have informed the teachers of your situation. Despite Konomon saying your class must be in the top ten, he did not mean overall. He meant top ten in english as the other classes are not your majors.” Takamichi explained.

Negi gestured him to continue, by now they were standing next to his future classroom. The adult nodded and continued, “The students have free study on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Mahora decided to make a mixed approach to Saturday classes, the students can chose to attend free studies. Free studies starts at 10:20 and ends at 2:30. The homeroom teacher, or in this case you, is required to stay for a least three hours. Most of us use the time to read a book or practice our skills due to a low turnout. You can also can send referrals to students, asking them to attend the course so you can help them one on one.”

Sage looked at Negi then suggested, “We could rotate who teaches. Tuesdays can be you, Thursdays can be me and Saturdays is us both.”

Her twin nodded, “Sounds good to me, however this is our first month as teachers so we should teach together.”

Takamichi looked into the room 3-A and saw it was full of students. “It’s time for your debut, Springfields.”

Sage entered the room first and triggered the trap. Instead of walking forward she backed up and watched the chaos ensue. After the layed prank was done she walked in with Negi and Takamichi in tow, ignoring the class surprised faces.

She turned to her class and announced, “I am Springfield Sage and this is my brother Springfield Negi. We will be your newest English and Homeroom teachers. Please treat us well.”