"Oh, Father do I have to do this?" Kasumi asked.
"Yes!" Soun shouted back, tears flowing freely from his eyes.
"Please Kasumi! If we can't get rid of that demon Inverse our
two schools can never be united!"
"Oh, dear... But she seems such a nice girl."
"But Kasumi!" Soun cried.
The eldest Tendo daughter was forced to calm down her father,
as the flow of tears increased to the point where Nabiki started
to offer umbrellas to their guests - for a price of course.
The two guests, a short, eldery shinto priest and his teenaged
granddaughter, stared numbly at the scene before them.
They had come immediately upon hearing of a possession -
after all, genuine cases were rare at this day and age.
Supposedly an evil spirit had possessed one of the house's
guests, disturbing the peace of the Tendo Dojo. But, if this was
the 'peace' of the place, there wasn't much anyone could
disturb without leveling the house.
Their client was crying his eyes out, despite his eldest
daughter's attempts on calming him down. The middle daughter
was following the proceeding calmly, shielding herself with an
umbrella. The father of the supposed victim was standing next
to the doorway, wielding a huge wooden mallet, having assured
them the ghost could be rendered unconscious.
"Are you sure it was a smart idea to accept this commission?"
The girl asked.
The old priest could only shake his head.
* * *
Slowly, Ranma woke up, gradually peeling through layers of
unconsciousness. He blinked at the bright light coming from...
somewhere and wearily tried to shade his eyes with an arm. He
was feeling extremely tired, like somebody had come and
sucked the life from him.
Groaning, Ranma stood up, blinking his eyes. He was lying on
a some sort of bed in what looked like a doctor's office.
"Lina?" a soft voice asked.
His eyes finally adjusting to the light, Ranma looked at the girl
sitting beside his bed. It was one of the Tendo girls - Akane.
<Urhhhh...> Lina groaned, trying to shade her eyes with an
arm. For some reason she couldn't move it however. It was like
she was... <Ranma! You're awake!>
"Uhh... Yeah, I guess." Ranma mumbled, rubbing his forehead.
"Lina?" Akane asked again in a confused voice.
<What happened, Lina? Are we in the infirmary or something?>
<Ouch,> Lina replied, trying to cope with a headache without
the help of hands to rub it. <It's kinda long story. It's still my day
so...>
"... give me back the control."
"Are you all right, Lina?"
Lina looked up at the concerned girl. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ranma's
awake too."
"Oh, that's good."
<Ugh, my head's totally zonked. I have these weird memories
of a purple-haired girl floating around...> Ranma said.
Lina visibly paled. <Big Sister!>
<Big...? Those were your memories?>
<Y... Yeah, I guess...>
Had he been in control of the body, Ranma would have
shuddered. <Must have been pretty nasty, having a big sis like
her.>
Lina nodded. <Yeah.. I got these weird flashes myself, about
pops pushing you into pit full of hungry s-s-slugs...>
<Slugs? Pop never pushed me in pit of slugs!?>
<Huh? But...but, where did it come from then?> Lina frowned.
<You sure pops never put you through Slug-fist training?>
<Yeah! He didn't use hungry slugs, but hungr...>
<Hungry what?>
Ranma laughed nervously. <Uhh... Nevermind! Nothing!
Nothing! He never trained me in Cat-fist, honest!>
<Cat-fist, eh? So you're afraid of cats?> Lina's features twisted
into a smirk.
Akane blinked in cofusion. What was going on? Was Lina
talking to Ranma again or was this some sort of weird side
effect of the pressure point? "What's going on, Doctor?"
<Hey! It's nothing to laugh at! Hungry c, uhh, felines are really
dangerous!>
<Now who would have thought that. Ranma Saotome's afraid of
cats!>
Tofu adjusted his glasses. "I'm... not sure, Akane-chan. She
seems to be physically all right, but unaware of her
surroundings. Has anything like this happened before?"
Ranma spluttered a little. <But! Hey! Uhh... What about you?
You don't like slugs, eh?>
Lina's smirk slipped. <Umm... Yeah, I don't like em, but I ain't
afraid of them either!>
"Lina-san?" Tofu asked, waving his hand in front of Lina's face.
No response.
<Riiighht... So you wouldn't mind being in a small pit full of
slugs, eh?>
It was Ranma's turn to smirk, as Lina started shuddering.
<Let's not talk about that, okay? You don't mention s... you
know, and I don't mention cats?>
There was a moment of silence.
<Okay.>
"Ouch! What was that for!?" Lina cried, batting Tofu's hand
away from her side.
Tofu straightened up, smiling down at the redhead. "I'm sorry,
but you seemed to be a bit... unresposive, so I tried a mildly
simulating pressure point to wake you up."
"Oh, sorry." Lina hopped off the bed. "I was talking to Ranma."
* * *
Quarter an hour later the two girls were strolling back to Tendo
dojo, Lina busy recounting the day's events to Ranma.
<You registered at school as WHAT!?>
<A girl, of course! You yourself wanted to keep the curse a
secret!>
<Yeah, but not like this! I ain't going to school as girl!>
<Well, that's too bad. I guess I'll have to take that burden
then,> Lina replied with a wide smile.
<No way! I'm gonna fix this up first thing tomorrow morning!>
<Oh, and just how are you going to do that?>
Pause.
<I... I'll tell them the truth! There's no way I'm going to school
as a girl!> Ranma finally shot back.
Lina shrugged. <Whatever...>
* * *
At the gate of the Tendo Dojo, Lina stopped to stare at the van
that was still parked next to it. "Hikawa exorcism Society, eh?"
she said, cracking her knuckles.
<What's that?> Ranma asked.
<Remember your and the Tendo's pops' ridiculous scheme?>
<That exorcism thing?>
<Yep. They didn't waste time, apparently.>
"You coming, Lina?" Akane called from inside.
* * *
"I'm home!"
Inside the main hall of the Tendo House, Akane's shout caused
a flurry of panic.
"Hey! What are you doing!" the young priestess protested, as
Mr. Tendo ushered the two exorcists to the back yard.
"Please be quiet, Hino-san!" Soun admonished the girl. "Your
presence must be kept a secret!"
Like the van on the street wouldn't alert it to our presence, Rei
thought.
In the living room, Genma lifted the mallet. He would have one
shot at this, and it would have to work.
"What's the deal with the car, Kasumi?" Akane asked at the
door.
"Uhh... Well... I think you to should come inside." Kasumi
answered hesitantly.
Lina narrowed her eyes as Kasumi's turned her back. The
eldest Tendo girl was visibly nervous. What were those fools
up to?
Warily, Lina followed the others to the living room, keeping her
eyes open for danger. She didn't know Akane's pop very well,
but Ranma's was bound to cause some trou...
Genma swung the mallet with enought force to almost split it in
two.
"Lina!" Akane cried out, as redhead was slammed through the
floor. "Why did you do that, Saotome-san!?"
Genma didn't answer, but raised the mallet again. As Lina
twiched, he swung the weapon again.
Throwing herself to the way, Akane intercepted the mallet with
a kick. The wooden weapon's handle was broken, and it went
flying, crashing through a wall.
"Oh, my!"
Akane pivoted on one foot, losing the rest of the kick's
momentum and settled to a defensive stance over Lina's fallen
form.
"What's the meaning of this? What are you doing?"
Genma stood to his full height, crossing his hands over his
chest. "Please stand aside, Akane. This is all for the sake of my
son." he said in a rather bad attempt of intimidating voice.
"Sake of you son, huh?" The redhead girl muttered as she
clambered out of the mallet-created hole, and to her feet.
"Lina?" Akane asked.
"Out cold." Rubbing his head, Ranma stared sharply at his
father. "So just how are you going to help me pop? By killing
Lina?"
"Please cooperate, son. Wouldn't you want to be free of her?"
"Yeah, sure. But I ain't gonna kill her."
Genma sighed, tensing a little. "By the way, son, Kasumi is
about to hit you with a frying pan from behind," he said with a
cold smile.
"Huh!?"
Genma was almost angry that his son fell for the oldest trick in
the book. Almost.
* * *
A few minutes later a gagged and bound Lina was lying in the
center of the Dojo. The two priests prepared their exorcism
attempt, while the Tendos and Mr Saotome were clustered near
the entrance.
The elder Hino looked at the... patient. Such a lovely young girl
she was, despite her gaijin looks. What had she done to suffer
such a hardship?
"You know, what to do Rei-chan?"
The young priestess nodded, pulling a gohei and small stack of
spirit wards from her sleeve.
Grandpa Hino nodded, beaming. "Good girl."
The two slapped a few spirit wards on Lina, several to the floor
surrounding her, a few to the walls, a one or two at the doors
for a good measure. After that the two sat on opposite sides of
Lina and started chanting, waving their gohei around in the
traditional manner.
Genma narrowed his eyes as nothing seemed to happen. He
was sure that he should be seeing, at least, some sort of glow
coming from his son. "It just ain't right without the glow," the
elder Saotome mumbled to himself.
* * *
Ten minutes later, nothing had happened. The Hinos stopped
their prayers, and the elder priest wiped some sweat off his
forehead.
"Hino-san?" Soun asked.
The old priest wiped some sweat off his forehead. "This case is
harder than I suspected. But don't worry, Tendo-san, we're not
giving up."
Rei glanced sharply at her grandfather.
"It's just that this ghost's hold on the girl is extremely strong.
We need to use... stronger measures to get rid of it."
Everyone else developed huge drops of sweat, as the old
priest pulled out a huge stack of spirit wards from his sleeve
and slapped them on Lina.
It was hard to see the redhead from under all the wards.
"Come, Rei. It'll work now!"
"Ummm.. I guess..."
* * *
Five minutes later the ward-covered bundle started squirming
violently.
"Come on Rei-chan! Put your soul into it!" the elder Hino
shouted and started swinging his gohei like a madman.
"Ye... Oh, forget it!" Rei shouted, springing up. "This's leading
nowhere!" The young priestess stormed out of the dojo.
"MhmmHHMMMM!!"
Dropping his gohei, the elder priest stared after his apprentice.
"Wha...."
A second later the ward-covered form snapped the now
smoking ropes holding her, and ripped off the papers covering
her face.
"Okay, Pop, now you're going to get it!"
* * *
"Aaaa!" Rei was roughly showed aside, as Genma bolted from
the Dojo, Ranma hot on his heels. The young priestess could
only stare in disbelief, as the Saotomes started fighting over
the pond decorating Tendo's back yard.
The two were blurring as they sped over the pond, exchanging
kicks and punches in mid-air. A constant rain of spirit wards
was falling to the water and rocks around it.
The aerial fighting spectacle came to a sudden end, as Ranma
was able to grab his father in mid-air, and body-slammed
Genma to the pond.
Before the the splash from Genma's belly-flop had dropped
back, Ranma threw him high up in the air. As Genma started
coming down, Ranma jumped and intercepted him with a rising
jump kick. Spinning in mid-air he grabbed Genma's hand and
twisted so he could body-slam the older Saotome again.
The pair came down accompanied by a huge thump, and a
cloud of dust that obscured what happened next, but the sound
of numerous punches hitting flesh was clearly heard.
As the dust settled rose, standing over the beaten and
unconscious panda-form of his father, breathing hard. The rest
of the house, and the two priests were standing back, looking
at the scene nervously. "Stupid Pop..." Ranma muttered before
storming inside.
Reaching kitchen, he picked up the kettle of hot water Kasumi
had toughtfully left there. pouring the water over his head, he
turned back to his real form.
<Lina?> Ranma asked.
For a few seconds, he waited for an answer. There was none.
Emptying the rest of the kettle to the sink, he stomped upstairs.
* * *
"A... panda?" Grandfather Hino muttered.
Rei crossed her arms and glared at the Tendos. "Could
somebody _please_ tell me what happened here!?"
The Tendo sisters started sweating purposefully, as Soun
started crying another river of tears.
* * *
<Lina?>
As there was still no answer, Ranma resumed his study of the
ceiling. The day really hadn't been a good one for him, first
spending most of it unconscious and the being knocked out
again.
The only good thing about it was that he could spend some
extra time controlling the body.But that wasn't worth being
knocked out, tied up, gagged and covered in wards.
Ranma's sulking was suddenly interrupted by a knock. He
rolled to face the door.
"Yeah?"
The door was opened hesitantly. Behind it stood the two priests
who had tried to exorcise Lina. Or something.
"Ahh... Saotome-san. Can we come inside?"
"Whaddo you want?"
The elder priest coughed to his fist. "Well, it seems that we've
been working on incomplete information here. Nabiki-san and
Akane-san were kind enough to explain most of it, but I wanted
to hear your version of the story. And, uhhh, Inverse-san's."
Ranma shrugged and stood up. "Sure, whatever."
"Thank you," the priest said before the two stepped inside and
closed the door.
* * *
Upon regaining conscioussness, Lina's first thought was: 'oh
no, not again!'
After a few seconds she regained her wits enough to see what
was going on. Apparently Ranma was controlling the body, and
speaking with somebody.
"Naah, it's OK. I've gotten used to it, you know."
<Ranma?>
<Lina? you're awake!>
<Yeah, what happened?>
<Er, could that wait for a minute. I'm kinda speaking with Hino-
san here...>
"Ranma-san?"
<Who?>
<He's the priest guy pop and Tendo-san hired for the exorcism.
He's okay now, I've told him how things really are.>
<Oh.>
"Ranma-san? Hello? Are you there?"
"Wha...? Oh, sorry. Lina woke up."
"Ah, I see."
<So, then Ranma...> Lina began. <What have you been telling
them and why are you controlling the body on _my_ day?>
<Hey! I ain't told them no lies, and you were out!>
The Hinos started wondering if Ranma did need an exorcism,
when he suddenly gritted his teeth and flushed red from anger,
for no appernt reason.
A few seconds later, however, he seemed to relax, and started
examining his arms.
Rei blushed crimson as the boy before her patted his chest,
and then peeked into his shirt. "What are you doing?!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that!" He laughed nervously. "Wait here
for a moment, okay?"
Grandfather Hino nodded, and the boy left the room in a hurry.
* * *
"Are you sure he's okay?" Rei asked after Ranma had left the
room.
The elder Hino was silent for a moment. "I don't think we're
dealing with Ranma anymore," he finally said.
"You mean that was..."
The old priest nodded. "Lina Inverse."
"Oh."
A minute later Lina, now in her own body, stepped back in. She
flopped down, crosslegged, on the futon and shot a rather
sharp glance at the two priests before her. "So, whadda you
want to know?"
"Well," Grandfather Hino said, "first if you'd..."
* * *
"You except me to believe that?" Rei exclaimed.
"LIGHTING!"
"Magnificient!" Grandfather Hino closely examined the ball of
light held in Lina's hand.
"Would you like to become a maiden at Hikawa shrine?" he
asked hopefully.
"Grandpa!"
* * *
Only Lina and the three Tendo daughters were there to say
goodbye to the priests.
After hearing Ranma and Lina's side of the story, Rei had
given the two father's a tongue lashing of a life time.
Apparently, the pair hadn't been scolded in decades, and had
escaped the young priestess' rage by fleeing to the Dojo.
"Don't worry, Lina," Grandfather Hino said. "I'll spread around
the tale of those fools. Soon, they won't find anyone willing to
take this comission."
Lina nodded. "Thanks."
"Take care."
"It was nice to have you over."
"Bye!"
Lina waved at the retreating form of the Hikawa Exorcism
Society van. It was nice to know there was some magic left in
the world, even if it was rather weak compared to her sorcery.
* * *
The next morning, Ranma was standing, in his female form, in
front of student affairs office. Gripping the kettle of hot water he
had taken from the boiler room a bit tighter, he opened the
door.
* * *
Togusa-sensei blinked at updated name list he had just
received. "Uhh... Ranma Saotome dash Lina Inverse?"
"Yeah," a teenage Japanese boy, wearing a pigtail and clothes
identical to Lina Inverse's answered. He was sitting on
Inverse's desk.
There was a minute of silence, as everybody except Akane
stared at the new boy.
"Mind telling us what is going on?" Togusa finally managed to
say.
Grimacing, Ranma stood up. "Well, it's like this..."
* * *
During the lunch break, Togusa brewed himself some extra-
strong coffee, hoping it would somehow restore the reality.
Furinkan High had had some rather interesting students in the
past, but an ancient, teenage, aquatranssexual martial
artist/sorceress with a multiple personality disorder was
definitely a new record.
Maybe he should have become a cop like he planned.
* * *
The righteous wrath of a samurai on a most noble of quests
flowed through the veins of Tatewaki Kuno, the shining hope of
the noble caste of the samurai in this era of merchants and
other common rabble, the blue thunder of Furinkan High, the
undefeated champion of High School Kendo for three years
straight, and the heir to the most noble house of Kuno, as he
marched towards classroom 1-F.
Once again, the mercenary sister of the noble Akane Tendo,
Nabiki, had supplied him with invaluable information. The new
bane of Tatewaki's existence, the brand-new arch-enemy of
house Kuno, danger to fair maidens everywhere, the most foul
dark sorcerer, Ranma Saotome, who had enslaved the hearth
of the exotic Lina Inverse, had dared to show his face at
school. And, to add to the insult, he dared to attend the same
class as Kuno's twin loves, Akane and Lina.
Drawing his bokken, the would-be samurai reached the door to
classroom 1-F. He took a deep breath. Now, it was time for the
heinous Saotome to feel the warth of heavens.
Kuno stepped inside the classroom, and swept it with his gaze,
trying to locate his nemesis. The picture provided by the
mercenary Tendo had costed a fortune, but was well worth the
price.
Kuno frowned, as he failed to locate Saotome in the room. Had
the foul magician sensed his trap and fled before his righteous
anger? No matter, he'd find the coward soon enough.
Kuno grabbed the boy nearest him by the lapels. "Tell me,
where has Ranma Saotome gone?"
Hiroshi started sweating. What the hell did Kuno-sempai want
from the new guy? "Uhh... I think he went out to have lunch with
Akane and her friends."
Kuno's eyes widened. "With Akane Tendo!?"
"Yeah... I gueuuf!"
Releasing the peasant, Kuno raced for the school's yard. So,
the dark one didn't waste any time, but was already trying to
weave a spell on fair Akane! As there were no other warriors
such as him in Furinkan, it was up to the Blue Thunder to put
an end to Saotome's diabolical plans.
"Just you wait, Ranma Saotome!!!!"
* * *
"Atchoo!"
"Bless you."
Ranma rubbed his nose. "It's okay."
"So you and Lina share the same body?" Yuka asked.
Ranma nodded. "Yes. She drowned in this magical pool in
China, a thousand years ago, and I somehow picked her up
when Pop knocked me into the spring."
"Wow! That's so cool!" Sayuri piped in. "Can we talk to her?"
"Sorry, it's supposed to be my day in control."
"Please?"
<Oh, come on Ranma. Just for a moment?>
Ranma sighed. <You're always butting in on my days...>
<Thanks!>
The three girls blinked, as Ranma suddenly devoured his lunch
in the blink of an eye.
"Ahhh! That really hit the spot!"
"Lina...?"
Lina nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yep! The one and
only!"
Yuka and Sauyri both stared a bit. The speech patterns were
the same, but everything else had changed. The boy before
them sat much more relaxed now, almost slouching against the
tree he was leaning at. The voice had a much higher pitch,
almost ridiculous-sounding, coming from such a masculine
figure. The mannerisms were different, a bit alien. It couldn't be
Ranma anymore.
"Wow! What's it like?"
Ranma sighed again, as Lina started talking.
* * *
"Ranma Saotome!!!"
Upon hearing Kuno's voice Lina jumped to her feet, and while
spinning around, gave control of the body back to Ranma.
Stumbling a bit at the sudden change of perception, Ranma
stared at the hakama-clad boy running at him, bokken held
high over his head.
<Kuno!> Lina groaned.
Ranma tensed as the older boy ran straigth at him, and just
before he was sliced in half, jumped back, easily clearing
Kuno's wild swing.
Not wasting breath for explanations, Kuno wrested his weapon
from the hole his blow had created in the ground and renewed
his attack.
Ranma dodged the incoming blows almost casually. The guy
was pretty good, but nowhere near his level.
<You got any idea what I've done to him?> He asked Lina.
<Not the slightest.>
<Guess I'll hafta find out then.>
Ranma dodged a few more swings, preparing for his own
attack. Then, when Kuno once more over-extended himself,
Ranma darted inside his guard and punched the samurai
wannabe to chin, knocking him back.
"Yo, Kuno. Want to tell me what I've done to you?"
Picking up his bokken, Kuno regained his footing. "Don't feign
ignorance, foul sorcerer! It is bad enough that you've managed
to snare the beauteous Lina Inverse in your dark webs, but
trying to weave your evil magic around lovely Akane Tendo is
too much!"
"Huh??"
<Foul sorcerer!?> Lina screamed. <Lemme go and I'll show
him who's the sorceress around here!>
<What the hell's he babbling about??>
Kuno smiled in triumph, as the evil one stumbled, undoubtedly
surprised that his plans had been unvieled.
"Have at thee!"
"Ranma! Look out!" Akane shouted.
Twisting madly, Ranma was barely able to dodge Kuno's latest
blow. Hopping over Kuno's follow-up attack R,anma kicked the
enraged kendoist, knocking him back a few steps.
<Shuddup, Lina! I'm kinda busy here!>
<Hmph!>
Ranma landed on a ready stance, waiting for Kuno's next
move. Again, the kendoist came with his bokken held, and
Ranma was forced to dodge a flurry of blows.
Kuno smiled. The foul sorcerer had surprised him at first,
managing to hit him with a few glancing blows. But now the
forces of righteoussness had once again gained the upper
hand. The sorcerer was forced to retreat, and soon he'd be out
of room. He was steadily pushing Saotome back towards the
school building. In a few moments the nefarious one'd literally
be against the wall.
Kuno redoubled his efforts, and with a chant of, "Strike, strike,
strike, strike!" forced Ranma towards the school building.
<Ranma! You're running out of room!> Lina shouted.
<I have a plan!>
Reaching the wall, Ranma jumped up and bounced off it,
landing behind the startled Kuno. Snapping off a quick kick, he
planted the kendoists face in the wall.
Ranma smirked. "Piece of cake."
That was, of course, the moment cold water was dumped on
him and Kuno.
Instantly, Kuno shot to his feet. What had he been doing,
resting while the demon was still free?
"Where is Saotome!" Kuno thundered and glanced around.
Then, all thoughts of the foul sorcerer were swept from his
mind, as he noticed the small figure standing next to him.
His beloved had come to him! "Oh, beautyous Lina Inverse, I..."
"Hand's offa me!!!"
So, she is still under Saotome's diabolical spell, Kuno thought
while rapidly closing on the school's outer wall. At least Akane
Tendo was still free...
"Ah, Akane! I'm sure our love will help you resist the foul one's
spell..."
With a loud thud, Kuno's head was introduced to the school's
brick wall.
* * *
Most of the male student body of Furinkan High was gathered
at the front yard of the school. When the Blue Thunder had
something to say you listened. Or got hit in the head with a
bokken. Hard.
"Hear me! From this moment on, if anyone wishes to date the
beauteous Akane Tendo he must best her in combat!" Kuno
was standing on a hastily erected platform, waving his bokken
as he spoke. Around stood the male students of Furinkan High,
some of them even listening to what he had to say. Most of
those were part of the daily get-beaten-up-by-Akane-Tendo
mob.
Upon hearing this most people listening to Kuno blinked in
confusion. Hadn't this been proclaimed long ago?
Unnoticed by the mob, the twin 'loves' of Kuno Tatewaki were
standing near-by. Akane was rubbing her forehead, hoping to
ward off a headache and wondering if she should bother
bashing her idiotic sempai.
"And!" The Blue Thunder continued before anyone had a
chance to ask anything. "Whoever wishes to date the lovely
Lina Inverse must slay her enslaver, the diabolical dark
sorcerer Ranma Saotome!"
Lina fell down to a twiching heap, and tried to figure out just
how insane and stupid Kuno was.
"Saotome?"
"Who's that? Her boyfriend?"
"I heard they're the same person."
"What?"
"Yeah, I heard the Inverse girl has a weird Chinese curse or
something, and turns into boy."
"What I heard was that this Saotome has the curse and _he_
turns into Inverse."
"Ummm... Who'd want to date a flatchested girl like her
anyway?"
Lina had jumped up, her body bathed in blood-red aura, and
her mouth twisted into scowl. Akane was a bit disturbed as it
seemed like Lina had suddenly grown a pair very sharp
canines.
Suddenly, there was a huge gap in the crowd around the poor
idiot who had carelessly let the comment escape his lips. He
started sweating purposefully as Kuno's eyes, full of the
Righteous Fury of the Blue Thunder locked on him. Kuno was
just about to open his mouth to demand him to defend himself
when the air was filled with feminine scream of righteous rage.
"JUST WHO SAID THAT!?"
"Ummm... Ehhh..."
Lina posed for a second, her arms held straight above her
head. Her aura seemed to intensify around her hands. Very
quickly, the gap around the student widened and a path from
Lina to him opened in the crowd, as people were madly
scrambling away.
"MEGA BRANDO!!!"
Though no others were caught in the blast, several people got
hit by falling debris.
Lina dropped to her bottom, exhausted.
Damn. Gotta get that temper under control, for a little while at
least, she thought.
* * *
The next morning, the daily mob had diminished a little.
Apparently a few of the boys had thought that Akane and
Ranma combined were just too much. The remaining ones
were preparing themselves in silence. They knew it'd be a hard
match.
"Here they come!" one of Nabiki's henchwomen cried. The mob
picked their weapons. Saotome had managed to beat Kuno. It'd
be a hard match.
Fifteen seconds later Akane and Ranma raced inside, leaving a
pile of twiching bodies in their wake.
* * *
The following day, the mob was even smaller. The beating they
had recieved yesterday had been pretty bad. But, according to
information they got from Nabiki, Ranma wouldn't be coming
today. Which meant they'd have to beat just Akane.
The wiser ones had left, remembering Lina's actions the day
before yesterday.
"Akane's coming with Lina!" A henchwoman shouted. The mob
made the last adjustments to their equipment and, as one, fixed
their gaze at the school gate.
A few seconds later their waiting was rewarded as Akane
Tendo, along with her gaijin friend Lina raced to the school.
"Akane Tendo! I love you!"
"Please be defeated by me!"
"I won't let anyone else beat you Akane!"
"FIREBALL!!"
Lina and Akane stopped at the middle of the small blast crater
filled with blackened forms of their fellow students.
"Are they all right, Lina?"
Lina giggled nervously. "Ahh, don't worry, Akane! It was just a
big firecracker. Guaranteed to cause no permanent damage!"
<You sure?> Ranma asked sharply.
<Oh shut up! Don't you ever let go?>
"So, Lina Inverse... Akane Tendo." Kuno stated, suddenly
appearing next to them. "It seems that the foul sorcerer has
once again fled before my righteous wrath."
Akane narrowed her eyes, while Lina's eyebrow started
twiching. A lot.
"Now, come so we can consummate oOOF!"
"Akane, why don't you go ahead. I have something to discuss
with Kuno." Lina shouted over her shoulder, as she ran after
the airborne kendoist. "RAY WING!"
Akane stared the the rapidly disappearing form of her friend.
What was Lina up to?
* * *
<What are you doing Lina?>
<I'll just clear up one misunderstanding.>
<You're not gonna...>
<NO!>
<Sheesh! You don't have to be that sensetive!>
<You don't have to be so damn suspicous!>
<Sheesh, what a tomboy!>
<Why, you, you... You stupid jock!>
<Relic!>
<Jerk!>
<Brick!>
<What did you say!!!!>
* * *
A minute later, after settling her... internal argument Lina
landed next to Kuno. The boy had been planted, face first, in a
trashcan in the business district.
Quickly freeing Kuno's body from the trash, Lina dumped him in
the middle of the alley, and threw a bucketful of cold water on
the him.
"Oh, what happened to me? Where am I... Lina Inverse! Oh,
my love! Thou hast finally freed thyself from Saotome's spell!"
Lina gritted her teeth and barely held herself back from
electrocuting, or frying, or blasting or just plain disintegrating
the samurai-wannabe who currently hugged her friecely.
"Kuno..." she said, twisting the boy's hand so he had to let go
of her. "There's something I need to show you."
"Beloved?" Kuno replied, rubbing his aching wrist.
Lina raised one of her hands, holding it palm up in front of
Kuno's face.
"Look, Ranma isn't a sorcerer. He hasn't put any sort of spell
on me. He can't do _any_ magic at all."
Lina snapped her fingers, and a small ball of flame came into
existence on her hand.
"I, on the other hand, am one of the most powerful sorcerers on
Earth. And I don't like you, don't want to date you, and frankly
want nothing to do with you. Do I make myself clear?"
For a moment Kuno gave the small magical flame intense
scrutiny. Finally, he stood up, standing tall and handsome over
Lina. Then, in one swift motion, he pulled out his bokken, and
started screaming to the heavens. "Curse you Saotome, for
putting such a powerful spell on the lovely Lina Inverse, so
she'd go to such lenghts for defending you. But know this, I the
Blue Thunder of Furinkan high won't let you get away with this
horrible crime! I shall hunt you down..."
"Oh, for crying out loud! Can't I get it through your thick head,
Kuno! I'm the sorceress! Me! Lina Inverse! Not Ranma!"
As if noticing Lina for the first time, Kuno once again swept her
in crushing embrace. "Oh, lovely Lina Inverse, I shall surely..."
"DIGGER BOLT!"
* * *
"Foul Saotome! Prepare to meet your uuuh!"
Ranma rubbed his knuckles. "Man, that felt good!"
* * *
"Oh, beautyous Lina Inverse! I..."
"DILL BRANDO!"
Lina studied the twiching form. "Damn! He's still alive!"
<Lina!>
<I'm joking, I'm joking! It was just a joke!>
* * *
"Dark sorcerer Saotome! I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of
Furinkan High, heir to the..."
"Awww.. Kuso!"
"That's Kuno, you abomination!"
"Yeah, whatever. Come on."
"Have at thee!"
*SNAP*CRACKLE*POP*
* * *
Fortunately everyone has their limits, even Samurai on The
Most Noble of Quests. Kuno didn't show up the next morning.
* * *
A week later, the students of Furinkan High stared at the dusty
and weather-beaten figure standing in front of the school.
In the last five days the students had mostly gotten used to the
increased level of weirdness, but unknown boys, clearly waiting
for something were a new.
The boy in question was wearing dustly, travel-worn clothes
and had a huge pack, with a red umbrella on the top, on his
back.
For long moments, the boy just stood there, looking at the
building before him. Then, when a male student wandered too
close, he moved with a speed that rivalled Ranma's, and
grabbed the boy's shirt.
"Wahh! What do you want?"
"Where is Furinkan High School?" Ryouga Hibiki asked.
end chapter 7.
Sorry this took so long, but a lot has happened that prevented
me from releasing the fic, even if it was more or less ready to
shredded to pieces by the members of FFML. Also, I know that there's
a lot more jokes and comedy in this chapter than the previous ones,
but I don't think anyone will mind. And yes, Lina's dream sequence
about slug-fist was inspired by a spamfic recently posted to the
FFML. I can't remember the author, but he/she deserves a great big
thanks anyway.
Next chapter will come out before summer, if all goes well. ^_^
notes.
Sailor Moon and all related characters are copyright by Naoko
Takeuchi.
However, there are no Sailor Senshi in this world, and never
will be. Rei's just a semi-normal shrine maiden with some
psychic powers. ^_^
gohei: a prayer stick used by shinto priests. I usually try to
avoid using Japanese words in HaS, but 'prayer stick' just
sounds so corny. I didn't use the Japanese for the spirit wards,
since I'm not sure what they are called. I think it's 'ofuda', but
am not sure in this occasion...
Burst Rondo: a spell that shoots dozens of spheres of light at
the target. The spheres explode on contact, frying the target. In
issue 1 of CPM's Slayers manga Lina uses it when she finds
herself in the receiving end of an unexpected hug.
Mega Brando: Dill Brando on steroids. Instead of just blowing
up the ground beneath the target, it also burns it to crisp.
Mono Bolt: a spell that shoots a stunning ball of lightning from
the caster's hands. The lethal version of this is called Digger
Bolt.
Lighting:a basic light spell.
Zokathra. Anyone who's won Dungeon Master, should know
what this is. ^_^
Black Fox. A thief. Manga-Lina met him in a one-shot story. ^_^
Lina says life force, about everybody else says chi.
Live with it. ^_^
Next: Half a Sorceress chapter 8: No Title Given Yet.
Ranma vs. Ryouga in the showdown of the cent^H^H^H^H chapter,
Soun and Genma running around, trying to find somebody to
exorcise Lina and invasion of the Chinese Amazons.
(well, not really, but the next best thing anyway.)
- Jussi Nikander