<RANMA><SI><FANFIC>
  Puck & Circumstances II
no, no i don't wanna write this...ahhhhhghhh. another
sleepless night. oh well.
by greggsharp

	"What a mess," Nabiki looked at the most recent
battlesite- the foyer. A Ranma shaped hole here, several
mallet impact sites over here, a sliced area where a
spatula separated two people, another area stained by
a spilled bowl of ramen, another area stained by 
whatever it was that Akane had made.

	Usually Akane's skill in the kitchen had 
improved to the point where it was actually edible. The
exception being the times when she felt she had 
something to prove or was so angry she was nearly as
blind as Mousse.

	"It is a mess, isn't it?"

	"I'm sorry," Nabiki took a good look at the
gaijin who was standing just outside the ruined door.
"The training hall is closed for the moment, if you
need lessons, you'll have to come back tomorrow."

	"Tempting as that offer is, I'm here to see
you, Nabiki Tendo." The gaijin smiled and performed
a credible bow.

	"Oh." Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "Well, I'm 
rather tired, so tomorrow would go for that too." Odd
facial markings on this guy, two slashes almost like
a second set of eyebrows leading from the top of the
nose to almost the hairline.

	"Sorry, Tendo, but that isn't it at all. I
would NOT have thought you'd qualify for it, but I'm
here to grant you a wish. Oh, I'm a demon by the way."

	"Yeah right, and I'm the Queen of England."

	Holding a hand up, the gaijin spoke into the
empty air. "File on Tendo Nabiki, highlights and the
embarassing incidents file please." A blue glow formed
in the outstretched hand, transforming a moment later
into a manilla folder. "Letsee, your name is Nabiki
Tendo, current damnation level 87%- you've been a 
Baaaaaaad Girl. Oooh, extortion, lying, ruining lives,
sloth, jealousy, dishonorable conduct in an honor based
society, lack of personal responsibility, tsk tsk."

	The demon looked up at her and continued to
read. Nabiki shrunk back as names and dates and places
were detailed, some things that NO ONE should know.

	Nabiki looked at the gaijin again, and damned
if she was going to beg for her life!

	"Pride," said the demon with a tsk. "Though in
this household it's more a given than a choice."

	"So you're here to take my soul?" Nabiki was
prepared to fight, to argue and bargain for more time.

	"Me? Oh, heav...er...no. Damn, i keep forgetting
about that." The demon sighed and looked heavenwards.
"This REALLY sucks, you know. No, Tendo, i AM a demon.
i don't work for the Infernal Revenue Service, nor a 
collection agency. i'm banned from Hell due to my mental
and spiritual bent, and from any Heav...upstairs agency
due to currently being a demon. So i am working for the
Rival Relief Office."

	"You're a demon who doesn't work for..."

	"i'm a nice guy, one who's never had truck with
the Hell crew. Unfortunately i got turned into a demon,
by someone with a really perverted sense of humor. 
Hell's got no use for me, and Hea...upstairs doesn't 
even want me to mention them."

	"So why ARE you here?" Nabiki was getting the
impression that immediately being dragged off to some
pit of fire or being chained for all eternity in front
of a TV that only showed "Captain Tsubasa" reruns was
not going to happen.

	"Actually i don't think they do the pit of fire
thing anymore."

	"Okay, so you read minds too."

	"Part of what i am, i'm afraid. i'm really low
power, but reading surface thoughts is part of the basic
package for the type of demon i am."

	"What kind is that?" Nabiki remembered 
something she'd read. 

	The demon mumbled something and didn't seem
to want to look at her. Nabiki blinked. A demon was
blushing?

	"I didn't quite catch that."

	The demon glared at her, the effect spoiled
somewhat by now blushing quite furiously. "An incubus,
okay, that bastard turned me into an incubus. Which is
why i'm a low power demon..."

	Nabiki started to laugh. An incubus, a male sex
demon, who couldn't even talk about what he was without
blushing much less sex. Oh, this was too rich.

	"Well, i don't find it amusing." The demon 
sighed. "At least we cut through that demon-mortal
negative imaging. Anyway, i'm Grey. i'm here to offer
you a wish through the Rival Relief Office, which will
be granted by invoking the Adequate Force."

	"Adequate Force, the name lacks something."

	"Ultimate Force is used by the good guys. 
Infernal Plot Devices are the bad guy's province. We're
sorta the good guys, but we make do with less resources
and no big Almig---Creat---oh HIM overseeing the whole
thing."

	"Can't even say the name, huh?"

	"It really, really, sucks. Can't even attend
church anymore. In order to recharge or get a power up,
i need to, uh, y'know, and i don't believe in casual 
sex. Anyway back to business, then i can at least get
back to playing Final Fantasy X."

	"I thought they were only up to VII."

	"i know people who play around in the time
stream, one of the few perks of this job. So now that
someone has prayed for your salvation, gotten the RRO
and i've been dispatched, what're you gonna wish for?"

	"Who'd pray for my..." Nabiki stopped. "Kasumi."

	"Yup." Grey adjusted his jacket. "Make it a good
one, though. Gotta warn you, with a damnation level that
high, you've got to be careful you don't make it too
much worse. Then the IRS will show up and you'll be 
turned into the evil recurring villain in a bunch of 
Magical Girl series, and that's just the breaking in 
period."

	Nabiki shuddered. She looked at the damage 
around her. Wishing for money would probably be a Bad
Thing, though it was tempting.

	"That's why they call it 'temptation.' Despite
the phrase 'ugly as sin'- sin is usually quite 
attractive, otherwise there'd be a lot more saints, ne?"

	Wishing that she could do it all over again,
that would likewise probably be bad and trap her in
some infinite loop. Distantly she heard crashing and
yelling. It sounded like Ranma was being pursued again,
with Akane, Ukyou, Kodachi, and Shampoo all arguing
again. Alarms went off. It was coming from the dojo,
and Kasumi had gone out there earlier to clean.

	"Oh my," Nabiki said. "Damn, I wish those
people could all just get along... Oh my." Nabiki
looked horrified. "IT WAS JUST AN EXPRESSION!"

	It was too late, the demon was whirling around.
Light flared. There was a rumble of thunder.

	The demon Grey stopped and looked at Nabiki.
"i'm sorry to inform you, your wish has been granted."

	Nabiki closed her eyes and tried to calm 
herself. "Not half as sorry as I am."

	"Look, Nabs, i'll try to stop by later. i gotta
go get some sleep, but i'll see what can be done later."

	Nabiki nodded absently. Time to go see how much
damage she'd done THIS time.
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HEY ZEN, i've got an "Ukyou" card keychain! can i 
  bribe you to finish "Long & Winding Road 3"???